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The psionic powers are fun to play with and I...
July 31, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
The psionic powers are fun to play with and I couldn't resist tweaking them more this morning. I also created some enemies to use them against. Pyrokinetics is going to be one of the more entertaining powers, I suspect.
I have a team chat in a few hours, so I practiced all my IRC skills, making sure I knew at least the basic commands.
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I've been testing out the various psionic pow...
July 30, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I've been testing out the various psionic powers some more, and they more or less work okay. I'll need to polish them up for the rest of the campaign, but they work well enough for now. The fun part is putting in little puzzles you can get around by using them. Telekinesis is going to be a favorite of mine already. Pyrokinesis is a bit too powerful at the moment as well.
There's a funny bug I ran into where I couldn't properly use a placeable object. I think the problem was really with the tileset as I was able to move the placeable elsewhere and it worked fine. Very strange.
I also did some watercoloring when watching the kids, trying to create a world map. It's a start, anyway, and can serve as a placeholder until one of the artists does a better job.
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Well, I started putting useable psionic power...
July 29, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Well, I started putting useable psionic powers in the game. After painfully wading through some .2da files, I finally got things working the way I wanted. The powers themselves aren't fully implemented, but I've started along the path.
Telekinesis is the first I tried. It's quite a versatile skill, able to be used on creatures to knock them down, doors to open them from afar, levers to pull, and items to pick up. Pyrokinetics is next on my list.
I'm not really implementing the full psionic system, but rather giving players a taste of things to come. There's no difference in skill levels and no way to use up or recover psionic power. It also currently works just for clerics. My plan for today is to get things working for all the base classes.
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I managed to squeak in a bit more time last n...
July 28, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I managed to squeak in a bit more time last night, polishing up my little underwater sequence and thinking about what's beyond it. I'm thinking I may have to start fiddling with .2da files shortly to get the proper effect that I'm going for. Hopefully it won't get me in too much hot water.
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I'm still far busier than I'd like to be
July 27, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
I'm still far busier than I'd like to be. I managed to polish up the underwater scripts. You can now swim around and run out of air, refilling when near a stream of bubbles.
I also got more henchman dialog in the game. There's still more I need to type in, and a handful more that I need to write. Slowly getting there.
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Yesterday was incredibly busy, so it was hard...
July 26, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
Yesterday was incredibly busy, so it was hard to get things done. I still have a couple e-mails from the team I've yet to respond to.
I did manage some time late last night and this morning to further work on my crazy underwater scene. Transforming a dry area to a flooded area is a bit of work, but I'm slowly getting there. I've still got a bunch of scripting and custom content to do, but hopefully it'll be a fun little area.
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Well, I started in on my crazy little area
July 25, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Well, I started in on my crazy little area. I'm not quite sure why I decided to try this one on, but I've been dying to play with certain game elements. You'll notice that the PC is swimming in this screenshot. Right now I'm using a trick that uses the zombie walk special property. There's a more elegant but bulky solution that I might look into as well. As a plus, it would let the henchmen swim along as well. Maybe later.
I also spent some time digging out some of the goodies from the Pirates of the Sword coast hak pack. There's certainly some fun stuff in there.
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Up until now, Daniel has been somewhat of a c...
July 24, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Up until now, Daniel has been somewhat of a comedic sidekick, rarely able to pull his own in anything but combat. I just added a new puzzle where he gets to strut his stuff. It's fairly fun, a fairly simple puzzle among the many.
As always, I hope people enjoy it.
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Well, I've finished up the fourth level and s...
July 23, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Well, I've finished up the fourth level and started in on the next. I had scribbled out a general plan some time ago, but now that I find myself actually doing it, I've been making a few changes. There's one change in particular that I'm being very excited about.
I also whipped up some simple placeables to give the tileset a certain feel. Who knows how they'll do things in NWN2, but it works well enough for the prototype.
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I finished up one short Proctor dialog yester...
July 22, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
I finished up one short Proctor dialog yesterday and did most of another. Hopefully today I can finish up all the dialog for that character and let the voice actors have at it. I also was a good boy and stripped out all my strings to put in the TLK file for easy translation. It'll also be fun to start mapping a new level, something I haven't done in awhile.
Already I'm starting to think ahead to the second module, which should have a very different feel than this first one.
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I finished the Proctor exam for the Art section
July 21, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I finished the Proctor exam for the Art section. It's rather silly, but fairly entertaining. Most of these puzzles would get old if they were any serious length, but they make for a nice thirty second distraction each. I think I have one more that's extremely easy, a final Proctor dialog to write, and then I'm basically done with this level.
I've started to put the optional henchman dialog in the game. These happen when the player chooses to chat with their henchman. In the first module it's mostly to bring them further to life. In later modules they'll be tied to some of the more complex relationship aspects I'm shooting for. As always, we'll see how it goes.
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I'm back from the sunny Oregon coast, rested ...
July 20, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I'm back from the sunny Oregon coast, rested and refreshed. Not only did I have a good time, but I hauled along my computer and did quite a bit of work. The dice game I've been working on is finished up. I also managed quite a bit of writing, including some henchman dialog that should help bring life to the characters. I also had two really good ideas, one of which is fairly daring and has a high coolness potential. I'm not sure I can pull it off for NWN2, but I'll do it for the prototype and see if I can manage in the real game.
I also put in a tremendous amount of time on the pirate cards game. Nearly all the cards should be updated, the creatures changed, several cards completely converted, some new abilities added, and it generally looks much more finished then when I left. There's still lots of polishing to do, much of which is under the hood. The team is also working on getting the look right. Deadman made a great concept sketch that I may show folks eventually. Exciting things all around!
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This is going to be my last post for a few da...
July 16, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 This is going to be my last post for a few days as our family is off to the coast, disconnected from the rest of the world.
I ended up using a dice game called Pig, which is a great way to teach probabilities and risk. It involves rolling a die, accumulating points, and deciding whether to "bank" your points or risk them and try for more. The AI isn't very bright, which is probably a good thing. It's taken me awhile to win.
There's still a few bugs in it, but hopefully I can work them out while I'm away. Hopefully people will appreciate all these little puzzles.
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One of the delimmas of the Proctor area is th...
July 15, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 One of the delimmas of the Proctor area is that it's supposed to be both educational and fun. I've gotten to the Mathematics section and have been wracking my brain as to some sort of fun activity involving math. This morning it hit me - gambling! I spent some time modeling some simple dice. The tricky part was getting the animations working properly. They're pretty close now, good enough for a prototype anyway. Now I just need to script my little puzzle.
I spent some more time yesterday on the new pirate cards game. I cleaned up a scripting issue and fixed the focus gems. They now look quite spiffy spinning around on the board.
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Well, I got Juliano's new focus gem in the game
July 14, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Well, I got Juliano's new focus gem in the game. It's the one that'll be used for the pirate card game and probably the campaign itself. There's some problems still - it's too small and the animations didn't completely come across. I've got some clean up to do today.
I also worked on the main campaign some more, primarily around combat related things. I think I fixed a bug where one of your henchman can permanently die. I did have a funny moment where I spent a minute watching one of them catch on fire, collapse, then return to consciousness still enflamed. I need to add a bucket of water item in the game.
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I finished up yet another Proctor puzzle this...
July 12, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I finished up yet another Proctor puzzle this morning. This level is shaping up quite nicely, a zesty blend of combat and thinking. I've got a few more Proctor puzzles to do, some ambiance to add to the rest of the level, and then I'm off to starting in on level 5.
When I work on overall design, I try to leave big areas for myself to add in puzzles and interesting things later. In this case, I have a general outline, but lots of places to add in things. Hopefully I can get my creative juices flowing.
The rest of the team is merrily doing their thing. The musicians keep producing endless music. It has almost become a ritual to see what they've made that day and listen to it as I work. Juliano showed off the focus gem model to be used in the pirate cards game. Fun stuff.
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I've been splitting my time between the proto...
July 10, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I've been splitting my time between the prototype and the card game. I went through most of the bugs that have been reported, fixing errors when I can find them. This will likely be one of the most polished prototypes in existence.
It's been really fun working on the Pirate Cards game as well. I've been doing some writing for the other players, trying to work in various pirate themes. I've got the hook-handed pirate, a parrot, a practitioner of Voodoo, and assorted other scallywags. Great fun.
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I'm knee deep in the Pirate Cards game, comin...
July 09, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I'm knee deep in the Pirate Cards game, coming up with new card names, finding art, adding flintlock pistols, and generally making everything more piratey. I've been digging into the Pirates of the Sword Coast hak pack, finding parrots, hook hands, and peg legs for the occasion. It's admittedly a pretty entertaining process.
At this point, I think nearly all the cards have a new name. The art is the tricky part, as our one 2D artist is probably feeling overwhelmed at this point. I'm grabbing placeholder art when I stumble across it, but it still may be awhile.
I've also heard from most of the Londoners on our team. It sounds like they and their families are all okay.
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I've been working on miscellaneous things lately
July 08, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I've been working on miscellaneous things lately. I was a good boy and took out all the text strings in my code and put it in the TLK file for easy translating. I worked on the Pirate Cards game some more, coming up with new card names and stumbling across some new art (there's some great early 20th Century fantasy painters out there). Finally, I wrote some dialog and worked on one of the traps on the fourth level.
The funny bug of the day involved one of the henchmen "helping out" and attacking a ballista. Unfortunately, after the fight he kept attacking, so we all sat around watching him pummel in futility against it with his bare fists.
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I think my son is officially hooked on the Pi...
July 07, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
I think my son is officially hooked on the Pirate Cards game. I might as well get him hooked on booze and cigarettes and get it over with.
I spent much of yesterday doing some writing, trying to come up with new card names and descriptions. I also worked on being able to upload images for our card database so the artists can have their fun too. I also worked on the prototype a little more, adding a new trap that's hopefully interesting for all.
Finally, best wishes to everyone in London this morning. Some of our team hails from there, and I haven't yet heard if they're okay.
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I was showing off the Pirate Cards game to my...
July 06, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
I was showing off the Pirate Cards game to my son, who got very excited about it. Fortunately the bulk of the gameplay is so simple that even a six-year-old can figure it out. The strategy and deck building are what get complex. The good news is that the game is still fun for me, even after working on it for years. I had to force myself to put it away.
Ove passed me a long list of grammar and spelling issues which I cleaned up yesterday. I also worked more on getting in more magic items. Finally, I spent some time last night polishing some of the combat encounters and adding a new one in. I'm shooting for each to be unique in some way as I've grown tired of the standard spawn and attack of most modules.
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Combat changes everything
July 05, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Combat changes everything. Up until now, there hasn't been much combat in the module. The player goes through dialog, explores, solves puzzles, and generally stays out of trouble. Now I've gotten to the point where the player starts to get a little rough and ready, which causes all sorts of problems to become apparent.
The first was that the custom tileset I'm using let players and enemies see and shoot through walls. After two solid hours of tediously updating the walkmeshes, that problem is no longer there. The second is that when your henchmen die, they're gone for good. I whipped up a placeholder respawn script so that they lived to fight another day.
Prework on the Pirate Cards game continues. I also have lots more work on the module itself. Busy, busy.
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I spent a good chunk of yesterday documenting...
July 04, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 I spent a good chunk of yesterday documenting all my thoughts and knowledge on the new Pirate Cards game the team is tackling. Some aspects are fairly ambitious, but I'm hopeful it'll go smoothly. I whipped up a quick web application for people to look at existing cards and suggest new names and such.
I also ran across a highly annoying bug in the custom tileset I'm using for the prototype. Enemies can see and fire ranged weapons through walls. It's due to the way the walkmesh was set up. Unfortunately redoing the entire walkmesh for all the tiles sounds a bit daunting. I may just hit the main ones so that my QA folks don't strangle me.
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Sometimes I wake up in the morning with an id...
July 03, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
 Sometimes I wake up in the morning with an idea stuck in my head. In this case, I really wanted to have some barrels rolling about. A bit of modeling and scripting later, they've become yet another strategic tool in the hands of your enemy.
The team meeting went well yesterday. It sounds like our first project will involve the conversion of the Demon Cards game. There's lots of work that touches on nearly every department, so it'll be a good test case for the new organizational structure.
I also got the gem and socket system in the game and working nicely. Sunjammer made some last minute tweaks to make my life easier. Now it's just a matter of continuing to put things in the game.
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The first big team meeting is today, in just ...
July 02, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
The first big team meeting is today, in just a few hours. I've blocked out time with my family, so hopefully I won't be interrupted by little critters wanting attention.
I installed the new web-based SAGE tool on my home and work computers. It helps me create the .2da lines to put into the module. Took a bit longer than I expected.
The last of the Mythology puzzle should be in place, though untested. It was pretty fun to do and hopefully nearly every character can pass it with a little experimentation. I snuck in a fallback way to pass that the tenacious can discover.
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I have yet another Proctor puzzle nearly done
July 01, 2005 by Adam in NWN2
I have yet another Proctor puzzle nearly done. This one turned out to be fairly amusing, if dialog heavy, and hopefully touches on nearly every skill a player might have. It needs a little more work today, but hopefully can be wrapped up and I can move on to yet another puzzle.
There's other exciting things going on as well. I have the socket system in the game, though I admittedly need to put some actual working gems in to play with. Sunjammer made another tool that should help with this. Deadman's working on a portrait of Heather, one of the main NPCs. Busy, busy.
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About Me
I've won multiple awards for my Neverwinter Nights modules, which I've been working on since the year 2000.
In the real world, I'm a web developer for a healthcare organization. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
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