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Old 08-15-2003, 11:13 AM   #1
Dreamer128
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Join Date: March 21, 2001
Location: Europe
Age: 39
Posts: 6,136
I have noticed that there is no shortage of resourceful module builders here at Ironworks. Now, anyone who has worked with the Aurora toolset in the past knows how difficult it is to create a good functioning module. That’s why I'm inviting other builders, writers, artists, etc, to join me in building a new module. Working title: “Ironworks Inn”. A meeting place for people when run online, but with enough features to be used in single player as well.
It is a small project to see if it is possible to work as a team. But it will be easy to add additional areas once it is done. Now, anyone who would like to contribute anything (be it suggestions, area's, npc's, items or dialogue) is invited to post here. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them.
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Old 08-15-2003, 11:48 AM   #2
philip
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Join Date: June 24, 2002
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Quote:
Originally posted by Dreamer128:
That’s why I'm inviting other builders, writers, artists, etc, to join me in building a new module.
If it takes a few hours a week to do (so it doesn't take up huge amounts of time) and everyone sort of promises to do some work on it every week, I want to join. I built one area for another mod here on IW (which didn't come farther than an idea and a few loose areas) it's on my site, see my sig. I'm also building a new series of modules. I can write, build, script, do some basic custom placeables and changing edge tiles.

Quote:
Working title: “Ironworks Inn”. A meeting place for people when run online, but with enough features to be used in single player as well.
Will it be just an inn or will we see that later? as in sp just an inn seems really small, especially if we get a group of people.

Quote:

It is a small project to see if it is possible to work as a team. But it will be easy to add additional areas once it is done. Now, anyone who would like to contribute anything (be it suggestions, area's, npc's, items or dialogue) is invited to post here. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them.
i can do everything of the above so let's see what's needed.

will we use an im or something to keep contact and coordinate the work?

I have some more ideas but they depend on the number of people who want to join
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Old 08-15-2003, 11:58 AM   #3
Legolas
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Join Date: March 31, 2001
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What did you have in mind, excalty? Is this going to be a single room with a few chairs where people can sit and tell stories, will it be a larger building with lots of NPCs to talk to who can also give you small quests, were you looking for something with a clear storyline a single player or party could go through or something offering the player a lot of freedom and places to go?
Is this just the inn, or the small town around it as well? Do you intend to add the area surrounding the town/village, or just the bits the player has to go through in order to complete a main quest, if any. Should that plot be realisable in a session, or is it something all the players will have to contribute to? Do you expect DMs to provide most of the entertainment during multiplayer with quests made up on the spot (or meticulously plotted out by the DM staff days in advance)?
Will the story include only those areas around the inn, or is it just a starting place (or stopping place) somewhere along the journey?
What about level advancement? Should this be slow or rapid, should players start off at level 1 or 6 or 20? Is it intended to be played using local vault characters, and if so do you plan to disable level restrictions? What about selling custom-made items for use in the mod, and items with unique powers? Shall we be adding hakpacks or keeping it pure? What shall be the average outdoor map size?

It's a fine idea to try something like this again, but as with any team effort it won't work unless people know what it is they are expected to do. 'Just build something and we'll put whatever we have together later on' isn't going to work, I'm afraid.

We'll likely be needing the following:
1. A storyline, background and setting. Only needed if there shall be a main plot, and even then a rough idea will be enough.
2. Areas. These are likely going to be divided into several regions. The first might be the inn and village; I'd suggest these are built by a single person so everyone else can get a feel for the kind of area which shall be needed. After that, builders can provide their own regions, but I'd suggest that whoever creates 'the large forests to the north' makes both the forest maps and any caves personally, to make sure the areas match in style.
3. Quests. Aside from the main quest there is room for countless other quests which, again, should each be built by a single individual (the main quest should also be written by only one builder). Rewards for quests can be balanced later on to ensure they do not grow out of proportion and upset further game balance.
4. People, the regular guys and girls you talk to that are not involved in any quests. These need their own dialogue and possibly some behaviour patterns, walkpoints and so on. The good thing about these is that they can come from anyone, and the more variation the better (which, depending on the setting, needs not be an invitation for extraplanar creatures and monsters who know to speak common).
5. Merchants and their items. I'd suggest not adding more than one or two until the rest of the module is working, because these need to be well set up for balance. Alternatively we can put these down and return to balance them later.
6. Random baddies. These should fit the terrain, so if there's a quest involving you clearing out the orc cave, putting orcs out in front would make sense. On the other hand, penguins in the desert would be a definite no-no (usually anyway).

Because it is hard for several people to work on the module if there are less areas than builders (as you'll be making changes to the same room someone else is editing, and someone will have to merge the two together) it would be best to build enough areas first.
After the initial areas, builders should move on to constructing quests, and adding any new areas required to complete them. Encounters could be added at this stage, or later on.
Once the quests are up and going you have the basics of a module complete. All that remains is to flesh it out, which is done by bringing some life into the mix, in the shape of people, more encounters and possibly a new area or two.

I would suggest getting some webspace from which all the builders can down- and upload the module so far. You would d/l the module, build your bit, d/l the latest version, put your bit in and upload that one. Alternatively, we could send al bits and pieces to a single person to put it all together, but the downside is that only you know of all the things you've changed.
Oh, and remember to use a code for the scripts you make, for example, I might put LE in front of each script and all variables I use to ensure that they are not used more than once in the game. Anyway, back to Velk for a more concrete explanation of the setting envisioned [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Old 08-15-2003, 04:38 PM   #4
Chewbacca
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Join Date: July 18, 2001
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Age: 50
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I'm interested, but I would like to see a design document or even help develop a design document. Since the module would start small in scope then a design document would be no problem to whip up. I have a wip/proof of concept module up at NWvault if anyone wants to peek at a glimpse of my work.

http://nwvault.ign.com/Files/modules...29759340.shtml

I can do area layout, basic scripting, design plots, and encounters. I also enjoy making custom items. I can write conversations, but they typically need editing.

The idea of using a webspace to collaborate is a good one, The BioWare guild system offers one that includes private guild message boards and it is free!

Here is an example area design template I am using for my designing to give an idea how I am used to working. This comes after developing a master area list organized by tag and a written summary of the plot(s), setting, ect.

Quote:
010KingsChamber, Castle Interior, 6x6

The PC stands before the king with no option but to speak with him. A journal entry details the PC’s background as the adopted second child of the king of Paladia, a lawful good Theocracy. This could be portrayed in an opening sequence movie. Speaking with the king, the PC is ordered to visit the royal hunting grounds and await his fathers arrival. The PC will have options to play the good son/daughter or the bad or the indifferent. Regardless this scene will end when the conversation is terminated.

NPCs:
Plot-King Lawful Good tired older man intent on protecting his family and kingdom.

Other-Guard At door

Transitions:
Automatic to area 020 at end of kings conversation

Scripts:
Transition Script at end of kings conversation.
Script on door triggering the guard to say “ You can’t leave until you speak with the king, kings orders!”

Conversations:
King
King_guard_at_door

Sounds:
Background chatter light
King voice over possible here
Empty stone castle sounds.

Plot Files:
To the hunting grounds
My Brother, dearest…
Cursed woods near the hunting grounds

Placeables:
Ornamental

Items:
None/ornamental
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Old 08-15-2003, 06:11 PM   #5
Dreamer128
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Join Date: March 21, 2001
Location: Europe
Age: 39
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Philip: If this project gets off the ground, we'll see it all the way through, don't worry. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. Basic task assignment could be done through Ironworks, the details can be discussed through instant messengers. If anyone would like to reach me on MSN; check my profile.

Legolas: I was hoping to make the Inn the hub of the mod. PC's should be able to do story and none story related quests (for all kinds of levels), all centred around the village, which should be at the centre of the module. People should be able to engage in non-story related events there. Such as listening to a travelling bard, answering the riddles of a local wizard, hunting for vermin for the Inn owner, discussing lore with a cleric of Oghma, you name it. An example of the way I am hoping to set up the quests: the story could evolve around large numbers of people vanishing in the woods near the village. Story related quests could be things like searching for a missing caravan or delivering food supplies to a remotely located trade post or Inn. After each quest, the player and his party should have little difficulty returning to town. An example of a none story quest is for instance a wizard in the local Inn, challenging you to retrieve an artefact from a different plane. Upon agreeing to do his bidding, you are teleported from the Inn straight to this new area. Such quests should be quick and full of action while story related quests should focus on the atmosphere, the narration and the journey, rather then the destination.
Since this is a team project, the background and storyline are open for discussion. It is important to choose a setting everyone is pleased with.

Chewbacca: I definitely agree that it is important to make a design document, or at the very least outline what we expect of everyone. However, we should first get a global impression of what the module should look like.

[ 08-15-2003, 06:14 PM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]
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Old 08-15-2003, 07:33 PM   #6
Legolas
Jack Burton
 

Join Date: March 31, 2001
Location: The zephyr lands beneath the brine.
Age: 39
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Alright, so what we are looking to create is (and this is just me drawing rockhard conclusions despite knowing that there is a lot of room for change) a small town with at least some distance between it and other villages (perhaps later we could expand to include one or two of those). The main gathering site would be the local inn, a relatively large building where you can initiate the majority of the quests, but at the same time the place should not be too crowded.
There'll be no single main quest but many quests and responses of the commoners make it clear that there is something going on in the woods a short distance off. It'll be possible to explore the woods and, if your level is high enough, to do your job and come back alive, but nothing can be done to permanently solve the problem.
Apart from the disappearance-related quests which give you the better fights and experience, there'll be smaller quests ranging from running errands, to participating in heated debates, to destroying the everpresent undead menace in the crypts.

The town shall be a place where one can wander in safety, chat and start quests, as well as forming the setting for a number of the safer ones.
The deeper forest shall be the ultimate destination for the adventurer, with the areas between it and the town the setting for most of the plot-realted quests.
Any other areas are there to offer players safer training grounds and to fill the gap between sitting around at the inn and getting to the bottom of the disappearance mystery. Quite possibly they shall also harbour specialised merchants and gathering places for those who do not wish to use the inn (too many evil people inside, or not enough nature, or whatnot [img]smile.gif[/img] ).

All that would make the module very much RP with some amount of action to be had as well. I would personally think that such a module with numerous quests and room for in character conversation is best suited for characters of lower level, unless we wish to add two or three regions to accomodate the higher level players with their godlike weapons and armour. The latter do not seem to truely fit the setting.

Since there shall be one main starting point for all quests, we'll have to tinker with XP reward levels and scaled encounters to ensure that the adventures remain challenging for some time, and that once the player has outgrown a quest the XP will be so unrewarding that he/she would rather move on to a more challenging area rather than farming the low-level areas.

I'd suggest aiming for a servervault game, and for those IWers who prefer to change their characters often perhaps we can craft some Wands of Poofing (but only if you answer correctly all the questions on the Origin of Spam, identify several items from the Shoppe of Shite, and speak aloud the five most effective means of throwing a dwarf, and you must also have 'Choc' entered in your character's deity filed), or perhaps we can say 'tough'.
Alternatively we could just strip everyone of gold, items and XP when they first enter and hand them a skirt and orders to wait on table 9.
An added advantage would be that we can concentrate on completing the low level quests first, and add the tougher ones later on when people are already able to play.

The areas we'll need first would then be
- the inn itself, possibly several levels with plenty of rooms,
- the village/town around the inn, with a handful of stores and temples (This place will see a lot of new buildings being added to it, so it'd probably be best to make it large and empty except for what essential structures have already been placed).
- a stretch of road to accomodate orcs and/or bandits, possibly with a cave or two or even a large tunel complex
- a bit of forest to harbour nervous lumberjacks (if I ever catch them singing a certain song to raise spirits, then I'll not be responsible for the things appearing in my own regions)
- possibly a graveyard and some crypts to accomodate the clerics
- various homes, wizardly abodes and the like, as required for questing purposes.
- The sewers if someone really can't do without.

Did I get that 'right', or are you envisioning things differently?

[ 08-16-2003, 05:26 AM: Message edited by: Legolas ]
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Old 08-15-2003, 08:40 PM   #7
Larry_OHF
Ironworks Moderator
 

Join Date: March 1, 2001
Location: Midlands, South Carolina
Age: 48
Posts: 14,759
I'm in. I have taken a break recently from my own module building to work in the RPG forum, but I would love to help in building for a team effort. PM me with what you would like from me, and I will do my best.
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Old 08-15-2003, 10:31 PM   #8
True_Moose
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Join Date: June 18, 2002
Location: Wolfville, NS / Calgary, AB
Age: 36
Posts: 2,563
I'd like to help, with designwork. No scripts, but storyline and construction (I take architecture in school) I'd love to help with. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Old 08-16-2003, 06:06 AM   #9
Dreamer128
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Join Date: March 21, 2001
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Legolas: I think that basically sums it up. Except for the server vault aspect. Server vault games draw far less players then local games. Perhaps we should make it clear what the difficulty of every quest is. And let’s not forget that even for local games, it is possible to set a level cap. Say... levels 1 to 8?
Besides this, it is pretty much what I had in mind. Does anybody else have something to add to this? Otherwise, we can start by making work schedules.

Larry & True_Moose: Its great to have you.

On another note: it is important that we all use custom names for our scripts, and the local variables we set in conversations. Otherwise, there may be conflicts when trying to integrate our mods.

[ 08-16-2003, 06:09 AM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]
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Old 08-16-2003, 06:49 AM   #10
Legolas
Jack Burton
 

Join Date: March 31, 2001
Location: The zephyr lands beneath the brine.
Age: 39
Posts: 5,459
Sounds good then [img]smile.gif[/img]
Get your bit of Bioware webspace and a mini module displaying your vision of the IW inn, and then we can get started on designing the various other areas.
A cap at level 9 or 10 would be perfect, just enough to let the high level clerics cast a Raise Dead spell, and nothing more.

I must admit, however, that I've no experience with writing scripts for multiplayer games and do not know how different that will be from writing SP scripts. I'm used to having only one PC and being able to leave variables on everything, I imagine that I'll need to be more careful with the phrasings from now on.
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