I think I have all but one level to finish up...

February 28, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I think I have all but one level to finish up before I call my mapping finished for the module. I have lots of mysteriously labeled areas where I'm not quite sure what'll go there, but they give me enough of a hint that I'll likely come up with something interesting.

I used to be a high school science teacher long ago and I've set up a few areas where I might be able to use that ancient knowledge. I'll try not to slap anyone's wrist with a ruler, though apples on the desk are always appreciated.

I was a mapping maniac today, getting about h...

February 27, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I was a mapping maniac today, getting about half of the remaining areas scribbled down. It's a bit of a challenge as the map is where the overall plot and the individual encounters come together. I'm leaving myself room to throw in interesting ideas and puzzles as well, as there's likely going to be some nifty things that I only find out about after the game is released.

Hopefully I can finish up the mapping and then start putting in the details such as the dialog, puzzles, and special encounters.

The Demon Card testers continue to find vario...

February 26, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

The Demon Card testers continue to find various issues with the game, though fortunately they seem to be small and easy to fix. The latest is that the Atlantian card says it will only use up to 5 magic generators when cast, but the reality was that it would use all of them. Since that made it overwhelmingly powerful in some cases, putting in the limit of 5 will hopefully help with balance issues.

Strangely enough, I still enjoy playing the card game, even after all these years and months fiddling with the thing. I don't think there's any NWN thing I've made that I enjoy after playing through it a few hundred times.

Finally, I've decided to hunker down with graph paper and map out the main area in the new module, just like the good ol' pencil and paper days.

I'm starting to work on various placeables fo...

February 25, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I'm starting to work on various placeables for the game. This particular one is for the mirror puzzle I was working on a long while back. You might notice that the picture is rather small, which is because I'm not particularly happy with the way it's turning out. The normal map is extremely rough and I'm not satisified with the diffuse map either. Maybe I'll get some time to fiddle with it more later.

I'm also feeling the need to do some mapping and writing soon. I really need to get some of the game's key moments better organized on paper.

I continue to play with normal mapping

February 24, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I continue to play with normal mapping. This one involves the photography method I used on the moss. I salvaged some images from my dead digital camera and turned them into a diffuse and normal map. The shadow effect is great, especially as you pan the light source around. The only down side is that I got the lighting a bit off in the original, so it looks overly dark from one side.

I'm tempted to try it again as it simply looks far too cool and doesn't take that much time.

As an aside, I had a musician offer up their talents. It's being fun getting all these offers for help.

Yesterday was singularly unproductive

February 24, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

Yesterday was singularly unproductive. I did some e-mailing to the Demon Cards testers and scribbled down some ideas for a psionic combat system. Still, I didn't feel like I accomplished much.

Someone in the forums asked for a side-by-side comparison of normal maps, which I thought I'd share with everyone. This first image is a close-up view, while this second one is further back. I'm still hopeful that I can reuse the Dwarven Halls geometry - the normal mapping adds quite a bit to the feel, especially if you have a light source moving around.

It seems my whining to the Demon Card testers...

February 22, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

It seems my whining to the Demon Card testers paid off. I got some good feedback yesterday and incorporated it into the game. I also added a new enchantment, Power Stream, which causes all players to draw an extra card for a fairly low cost. It stacks too, so multiple castings leads to a huge number of cards coming in. Pretty quickly, the play becomes frantic and huge swarms of creatures are battling it out on the playing field.

I also made the cost of the Pit Fiend a bit more steep and toned down his power a bit. He now destroys two magic generators when cast, which makes for a nail-biting experience to see if your enemy will fall before your last magic generator is destroyed.

There were other changes too, hopefully making the game a more fun and interesting experience. The lower-cost cards in particular got some attention. Right now it seems like the best strategy is to hold on until you get some big cards out. With some of the new cards, hopefully the little guys have a chance again.

Well, I worked on my book, but that's about i...

February 21, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

Well, I worked on my book, but that's about it yesterday. I keep waffling on how I want to do mapping. For Shadowlords, I did some elaborate Photoshop work that ended up looking really good. Of course, it was fairly pointless as no one really saw the build notes except me. I suppose I should just start with pencil and paper and go from there.

I haven't heard from the Demon Card testers in a long while. I think I'll try to see if they're done with testing and just post the thing. It feels weird sitting on it for so long.

I worked a little more on the normal maps, mo...

February 20, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I worked a little more on the normal maps, most of it in Photoshop. I added some Victorian-style scrollwork to the metal which gives it the look I was aiming for. Now I want to do a damaged version of it at some point.

I managed to write down the dialog I'd been thinking of yesterday, though it's not yet electronic. I find myself hauling a journal to scribble things in as I follow the kids around the house. The only way I get anything done these days seems to be when I heavily multitask.

I might take a side jaunt and work on some books and other miscellaneous placeables, just to improve the ambiance a bit. We'll see how much I can really manage.

After retexturing and normal mapping other pe...

February 19, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

After retexturing and normal mapping other people's work for awhile, I decided to do a little of my own. For some reasons, the organic mushrooms were pretty easy in comparison to the mechanical placeable I worked on today. I started with several techniques and finally settled on one that I was happy with. It still needs some extra work, though I'll probably finish up the normal map details using Photoshop.

I've tried a few times this morning to scribble down some extra dialog, but an annoying headache and children running around keep distracting me. I've also got to work on better documentation of the flow of the adventure. There's lots of map details I've yet to finish up.

I switched over to writing today, cranking ou...

February 18, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I switched over to writing today, cranking out a couple key dialogs that have been rattling around in my head for awhile. I'm also laying plans to put together an image gallery of sorts. As someone pointed out, pretty pictures seem to attract modelers like a moth to a flame.

My normal mapping experiment continues, with ...

February 17, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

My normal mapping experiment continues, with only a short pause to mourn the loss of my digital camera. Fortunately a new one is one the way which should hopefully read the last pictures it took.

I'm having a nervous conversation with some of the NWN2 developers. Hopefully my plans to reuse some of the NWN tilesets will pan out, as it would save me a lot of work in my goal of making some of the interiors look unique.

I've also got some dialog in my head that I need to write down before I forget. I'm really trying hard to keep the amusement level up as a nice contrast to the tension and mystery.

My digital camera gave the ultimate sacrifice...

February 16, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

My digital camera gave the ultimate sacrifice last night when I was taking pictures for normal maps. I was unscrewing it from the tripod when I heard a loud electrical sounding pop from inside the camera. It never turned on again.

I'm back to making normal maps using other techniques. The simplest is probably Photoshop, which lets me make a normal map from a texture very quickly. It works best for rough surfaces, with a little more time required if I put in some manual tweaks.

I'd really like to do some more writing today. I think I've finalized the plot of the first module for the most part and I'm eager to get it done. There's many more modules in this campaign and I'm eager to get started on them.

My little moss normal map experiment finish...

February 15, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

My normal map experiments continue

February 14, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

My normal map experiments continue. The etchings at the top of the wall are done completely with normal maps - the texture has no detail at all. So far I feel pretty good that I'll be able to breathe some new life into the old NWN tilesets.

Last night I sunk some time into a technique where you can make normal maps with a camera, Photoshop, and a lot of patience. We collected some of the moss that was growing around our house and brought it in for a photo shoot. I'm still working on the final images. So far the hard part seems to be turning it into a seamless texture. It's turning into painstaking work in Photoshop.

I rewrote a few more dialogs, recording them and putting them into NWN to see how it sounds. The final sound was too quiet, but otherwise seemed to work fairly well. I had someone who works in a studio volunteer their help, so I'll probably drop him a note and ask for advise. It's fun to learn all these different aspects of game development. It's also very time consuming.

I spent some time typing up some of my meetin...

February 13, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I spent some time typing up some of my meeting's scribbles. My wife was amazed at how small I could write and how many words I could fit on a page.

I also came to the conclusion that if I was going to do voice over for my dialog, some rewriting is required. When reading my own work, it seemed fine. When listening to the spoken words, it sounded unnatural and overly formal. I'm going to go back and hopefully give the dialog a more natural sound. So far, so good. I might even release a dialog or two to give people a feel for the direction I'm going.

The boring meeting continued painfully all da...

February 12, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

The boring meeting continued painfully all day yesterday, fortunately turning into various scribbles on my part. I just need to sit down and type it up.

This morning I was feeling only semi-motivated, so I whipped up a couple new mushrooms, one of which had a new texture. Making organic looking seamless normal maps is almost fun, so I'll probably crank out a bunch and pick the ones I like the best.

The Brazilian architect is back from Carnivale and working on the first modeling project. I'm really excited to see how it turns out, but I'm having problems connecting to my e-mail at work. I may have to wait until Monday before I see anything. Sniff.

Finally, I borrowed a high quality microphone and tried to do some voice over work. After saying the same lines over and over again, I started getting pretty sick of my own voice. I'm also coming to the conclusion that voice over work takes a ton of time.

I haven't decided if I'm brave enough to make everyone hear me speak one of the main roles. It's convenient, in the sense that I don't have to organize anything to re-record dialog. I'm just not convinced I can pull off being an actor in addition to a writer, modeler, and scripter.

I was stuck in boring all day meetings yester...

February 11, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I was stuck in boring all day meetings yesterday and again today. The good news is that it leaves me time to scribble down lengthy bits of dialog, descriptions, and other assorted writings.

Oh, I had an interview with NWN2 news a couple weeks back that I forgot to mention. I believe it requires registering for thier site. At some point I'll probably copy it to this one for posterity, assuming I get organized.

I've been trying really hard to find a way to...

February 10, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I've been trying really hard to find a way to reuse some of the great content that's out there for NWN. There's a number of highly rated hak packs that I haven't used in my modules and were created "late in the game" so that most casual players haven't seen it. The hope is that I can turn them into tiles for NWN2 or stick them together in an editor with Dragon Age, saving me a ton of time creating the raw geometry from scratch.

This image is from a test I did yesterday, creating normal maps for some of the existing textures. I had a hard time getting the "bumpiness" quite right. My first attempt was too subtle to the point where I thought something was wrong. I'm settling on this version, which seems a nice balance. I'm retexturing the diffuse maps too (what most people think of as textures), so that it's not quite so dwarven-specific.

No pretty pictures today

February 09, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

No pretty pictures today. I ended up writing a funny piece of dialog this morning that I'm very much looking forward to hear with voice over. I'm starting to feel that that's going to be a big part in my project. Already someone with a studio has offered up his help. My sister also has access to a studio and has offered her voice. She's got a great voice, can even sing, and I don't feel too embarrassed asking her to say some rather odd things.

I finally fixed the latest bugs from the Demon Cards game. I've just got to send out notices to all my testers that it's there. Whew. No rest for the weary.

I was beating my head against the wall for a ...

February 08, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I was beating my head against the wall for a long time this morning, trying to figure out why I couldn't make things transparent in Photoshop. Finally I gave up and did a test render just to see how it might turn out. I think it still needs some more work, though it's slowly going in the direction I want. Sometimes there's so much to do that it seems rather daunting. I've yet to get back to the Demon Card game. Maybe today.

I think I have my first semi-real thing that ...

February 07, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I think I have my first semi-real thing that I want to include in the final game. Ironically, one of the first pieces of custom content I made for Dreamcatcher was also a mushroom. This particular one has the top and stalk normal mapped, so it looks bumpy depending on the light position. It also weighs in at a fairly light 168 polygons.

I ended up creating two seamless textures, one for the top and another for the stalk. I figure it makes it easier to make multiple versions that way (different sizes and shapes). I'll probably create a few variations on the current theme, both different shapes and colors.

I really need to sit down and go over all the Demon Card bug reports today. I don't think it'll take a long time. It's just something that I've been putting off for awhile.

I whipped up another normal map test, just to...

February 06, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I whipped up another normal map test, just to make sure I wasn't crazy. This time it was a stretchy version of the snakeskin texture, stuck against the wall of a dwarven halls tile. So far I'm pretty happy with the way it's going and might start creating some things that will show up in the final module.

I've also been spending some time writing. I keep fretting that the first part of the module seems more like a book than an adventure. There's just so much background and character development that it's hard not to get wordy. I suspect I'll have to put in more dialog choices like "Blah, blah, blah. I get it already. Now shut up."

I think I've got a technique down for making ...

February 05, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I think I've got a technique down for making seamless normal mapped textures, one of the things I'll need for my projects. This particular ball is actually completely round, but it seems to have a bumpy surface due to the normal map. The next thing I need to master is figuring out how to take a high polygon object and turn into a low polygon object with a normal map.

Of course my fiddling comes with a cost. I've got some updates to the Demon Cards game that I haven't got to yet. None are huge, but it's work that should be done sometime soon.

I was a writing maniac yesterday, working on a couple different dialogs. One in particular was fairly humorous, which is something I try to fit a lot of into the story. It offsets some of the more suspenseful and serious tones nicely.

I've got a nice long list of things to fix in...

February 04, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I've got a nice long list of things to fix in the latest version of the Demon Card game. Fortunately the issues continue to get more minor.

I've also got the writing bug as of late. I just finished a key dialog that I felt turned out quite well. My only worry is that I get a little overboard with the amount of writing I put into this first module. I'm trying hard to focus on the characters as closely as possible, and this first module introduces everyone for the campaign. Hopefully people will enjoy it.

My normal mapping experiments continue, thoug...

February 03, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

My normal mapping experiments continue, though I don't have anything too productive to show people yet. I may settle on a range of tools and approaches depending on what I'm doing.

I also had an exciting offer of help from a Brazilian architect. As I continue to plan some areas in the campaign, the art requirements seem occasionally daunting. Having a professional helping out leaves me lots more time for scripting, dialog, and the like.

I'm also hoping to test out a new microphone for possible future voice acting stuff. I haven't decided whether or not to even attempt to do any roles myself. I haven't done any acting since high school, so I'd probably want to limit myself to bit parts at best. I had a real voice actor offer up his services a long time ago, as well as a more recent person who has a studio. This is all a bit new to me, so we'll see how it pans out.

I'm trying hard not to let all the fancy things like voice and modeling distract me too much from the core story. It's what really counts in the end.

I was stuck in all day meetings yesterday and...

February 02, 2005 by Adam in NWN2

I was stuck in all day meetings yesterday and half of today. Fortunately, all is not lost as I tend to scribble down ideas when people drone on. I keep refining the plot and mapping, slowly getting increasingly happy with the plan.

I'm hoping to hear back from testers about the lastest version of the Demon Card release. The multiplayer code is a bit challenging to perfect, as complicated things usually are. I did manage to fix a weird ante bug that involved getting huge stacks of cards when you won. Oops.