BG2:TOB World Transition Project

[Chevar]

Please note;

I am restarting the topic pertaining to my MOD in progress. I deleted the prior discussion because the discussion had gotten out of hand. If that pattern begins to imerge again this toppic will be removed and restarted again.

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There have been numerous BG2 mods made over the last few years. The majority of these mods have been simply added to the existing BG2 playing environment;

Gameplay tweaks, new NPCs, more banter, rules changes, new items, new spells.

There have additionally been a number of partial conversions with new quests. Most of these new quests reuse map areas from either the baldurs gate series, or other infinity engine games. Some modified, others not.

There have also been a small number of total conversion, however most of these have never made it to 'full release status', and even then most of the areas are simply reused.

The world Transition Project is a project, and not a MOD in the technical sence. It is an attempt to get the BG2 modding community involved with the creation of a whole new world in which to create MODs.

There have been other projects which have tried to venture down this road, however each of these has been limited, to one degree or another, by the framework in which they are built. BG2 itself is based on the Forgotten Realms series of book, which demains a certain amount of world 'consistency' within that framework. Mytera - the world of the World Transition Mod has just enough ancient history to give MODmakers a leg up to create their own world and their own history.

The name of the new world which this project plays is a two-fold play on words. Mytera sounds like a corruption of the word myth, and at the same time it spells out my-terra, because it will be a new world for us (the modding community) to create.

The project is in it's infancy, only a few weeks. I have been generating graphical maps to flesh out the world of Mytera. The average is one 'new' map every day and a half. Most of these maps have been generated using modified Diablo 2 tile sets, and custom tiles provided by the D2 modding community.

The formatting of D2 tiles in their native form, and the tools available through the D2 modding community allow for fairly easy map generation, and I must take a moment to thank them for their efforts.

Through discussion on forums specific to MOD making, polls indicated that people enjoyed being allowed to wander through the world, like in BG1. This is being incorporated into WTP. I am working on making maps to completely fill in the new world map which will be used for Mytera, so a character can effectively walk from one side of the pangean supercontinent to the other.

The reason I say it is not a MOD in the technical sence is because what I am creating is a 'hollow world' A world full of maps ready to be populated by the modding community. There are also some adventure modules that are currently being worked on, which will work in conjunction with the new WTP system when it is completed.

Project Homepage;

http://members.blackwyrmlair.net/Chevar/

footnotes;

At the conclusion of the WTP project I plan on releasing some of the tilesets used during graphical map creation.

Many 'total conversions' fail or disappear prior to their completion. WTP has already planned for this possibility, and if this comes to pass, tennative arrangements have been made to pass the maps along to a similar, paralel project, and any mods made for it will be released as normal quest mods.

[ 09-18-2004, 02:56 AM: Message edited by: Chevar ]

[Hank Parsons]

Good luck with this massive undertaking. I see it as a new approach for modding, and wish you success in the experiment. Please keep us informed of progress!

[Dron_Cah]

If I had any abilities with moding, I would be very interested, lol. Sounds liek a very cool idea, though. Hope it works out! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Chevar]

Originally posted by Hank Parsons: Good luck with this massive undertaking. I see it as a new approach for modding, and wish you success in the experiment. Please keep us informed of progress!

Most of the updates/screenshots etc' are through the 'official' forum. I came to ironworks in part to look for 'retired' modders, and to have a broader audience to bounce ideas off of. The modding community has it's merits, but the players are the people whos opinions will count the most in the end.

[Hank Parsons]

I think you'll find generally more intelligent players/responses on IW than other general-players forums. You might find retired modders, or new people who played the game for years, but just now decide to try their hand at modding. Even if not qualified to spearhead mod development, new coders could do incremental tasks under leadership direction. In any case it's entertaining to watch this creative mod-type begin to take shape.

[Chevar]

In addition to quest modules, there will initially be an unending need for simple mods - NPCs in particular. ranging from joinable adventurers to simple townsfolk.

It is really a community involvement concept. Some think the modding community is ready for such a thing, other don't.. I intend to find out.

[ 09-18-2004, 02:19 AM: Message edited by: Chevar ]

[Chevar]

I added a few screenshots

[Hank Parsons]

I respect the idea of trying new things in modding, especially new organizational schemes. The internet is ripe for community-based dispersed contribution models. Keep the updates coming. Any luck so far recruiting more modders to contribute in significant areas? I wish I had more time to learn more about IE modding.

[Chevar]

Originally posted by Hank Parsons: I respect the idea of trying new things in modding, especially new organizational schemes. The internet is ripe for community-based dispersed contribution models. Keep the updates coming. Any luck so far recruiting more modders to contribute in significant areas? I wish I had more time to learn more about IE modding.

Only the two I've had from the start. I'm finally working on sone of the more intricate areas for the reptilian controlled region. adding fissures and trying to make them seamless is a real pain in the behind.