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July 30th
Huge break in journal posts. I'm just adding this one because the first module Age of Shadows: Freedom is finished and ready to be beta tested by outside people. Parts 2,3 and 4 are already nearly finished because of my very early mistake of trying to make one huge module. I've added a ton of new features included the henchman leveling system which is really unique, also added some 'smart' magic items, that have different effects depending on who is holding it, where they are, and what creatures are around. The module is nearing the 1 year mark... I really need to release it. A big problem I am having is the damn custom content creators, every time I go to the Vault I see some new placeable or script that I want to use. January 28th I'm confident the first part of the module is bug free. I've played through it with 6 different classes and had only one problem. For some reason my familiar went postal and attacked a chicken in town for no reason. The chicken was commoner which caused the whole town to turn hostile, no explaination can be found, and it didn't repeat the next time I tested. I am pretty sure I am going to make this a series of modules ( I keep changing my mind back and forth about this). The module is really getting up there in size (10MB's just for the first section) and I don't want to exclude dialup users. Gametime for the first section is already 12+hours. Most of the other 3 sections are nearly finished, which brings the total module up around 30MB's and gametime is getting huge, probably close to 45hours. (only the first 12hours are completely playable at this point). The 3rd and 4th sections are very structured and have definitive endings. The second section is troublesome as a seperate module because the 'ending' is not strong. I've written up a really cool design addition for the second section, but it doesn't address the missing ending. In the first section the players earn their freedom by saving Telshahar and in the end, by performing a task for the King. In the second section, the PC travels to the other elven cities. Each city has it's own set of problems all of which relate to the overall issue (the Shadow army), but don't really effect each other. The second section ends when each of the cities are helped, however, there is no big battle or major archquest. The addition I am about to add is a Civilization type system. In the beginning of the second section, the King makes the PC the Baron of a small village comprised mostly of freed slaves and criminals (similar to the PC). The PC then allocates resources, collects taxes and generally controls the growth and protection of 'his' city. So as the PC visits the other Elven cities, he controls his city's growth (via messanger). Each time the PC visits New Haven (his city), there will changes to the appearance, including shops opening and more and more NPC's moving to New Haven. Of course all this won't happen if the PC is greedy and stifles the town's growth by collecting too much in taxes. As I'm writing this I think I just came up with a solution to the 'no ending' problem with section two. The four modules will be named Age of Shadows: Freedom Age of Shadows: The Baron Age of Shadows: Diplomacy Age of Shadows: War |
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January 8th Added a tavern in the southside of Telshahar named the Flying Dwarf Tavern, which boasts among it's attractions a dwarf tossing contest and it's own label ale named Kennie's Wicked Ale(inspired by recent experience with the real life Pete's Wicked Ale). There is also a dancing girl (pole and all) that may or may not be removed before publishing. I tend to disapprove of testosterone features (like hookers in the OC). The dancing girl was more just me playing around with Diva's script for NPC behaviors and seeing how powerful it is. (it is VERY). The dwarf toss scripting was pretty challenging (8+ hours to add a sequence that will last about 30 seconds ingame). I like it because it adds a side quest and has a big effect on the game based on the roleplaying of the player. I also simplified the murder mystery quest after some feedback that it was too difficult to solve. It's hard to judge difficulty when you know what the clues are, and how to piece it together. The change just involved changing some conversations of two of the suspects making them look less 'guilty'. |
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December 27th The module was put on hold for a few weeks as some friends and I took a three week trip to Boulder Co, for a skiing trip over the Christmas break. (best thing about being a teacher is x-mas and summer breaks). Since I've been back I added a map to the website (yay for Civ II's map editor) and made some minor changes to the Rules page. I spent a few hours this morning working on the combat tactics of one of the later boss monsters. I'm finding that two of the things I enjoy most about this project are customizing NPC's (the amount of options available for NPC's and clothing is amazing) and writing scripts that control the behaviors of monsters while they are fighting. I've also gone back and given more alignment/reputation branches in NPC conversations. (NPC's really frown upon you stealing from other NPC's or buying/selling stolen goods). I also made a rather substantial change to my reputation system. It originally was supposed to be controlled by three separate variables (fame/karma/respect), I've reduced it to one variable and instead use the characters alignment more fully. I think this will aid the role-playing aspect because of the constraints of druids, monks and paladins. It also makes it easier for the Player to see the results of his/her actions. I closed off some of the earlier quests to certain alignments, and added a few more minor quests. I also adjusted the points required for freedom to a number equal to about 55% of the total points possible. It is still possible for a person to fail to earn their freedom, but it is unlikely. I also added some conversation to Maggie where she tells players where they lost points. Of course there is no talk of 'points', it's all done in character. While on vacation, I also finally wrote out "the prophecy".. which is a fairly long ingame book. I always knew what the prophecy should say, but it is hard to write something and be vague and give the necessary double meaning. Last thing I did today was draw up a fairly complex quest/script that I stole from Might and Magic VII that involves sabotaging a mine lift. It's a fairly long quest that I think is excellent because there are different ways for each class to do it. Hardest part of building the module is finding quests that aren't Assassinate, Fedex, or Fetch. |
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December
3rd
Added a modification of Diva's scripts to enable much more lifelike NPC's. Most non-merchant NPC's now have a 'routine'. Added Maggie the gossip queen (unofficial title). Maggie knows alot about people and their problems.. and is a decent way to make sure you don't miss many of the side quests. With so many NPC's in the main sections of Telshehar, it is kinda easy to miss some of the quests. She also lets you know exactly what the people think about you. (afterall, everyone else gossips to Maggie too), thus giving you an idea of how you are doing on your quest for freedom. The first six hours are completely playable and will begin outside testing shortly. The six hours is how long it takes me to complete the first stage. I think actual playtime will be closer to 9 hours. This stage has a definitive conclusion and would be the stopping point if I do decide to break the module down into 4 separate modules. The problem with using separate modules is that you cannot save variables on characters. About 25% of the quests you get in the first stage have conclusions in later stages. Also your reputation is an extremely important part of the module, and is stored as three variables on your character. |
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First
progress report(Nov. 25)
AOS is about 80% complete, scripting is done, most of the quests are done(about 100), all the areas are finished(about 49overland areas including 11 cities, 10 multilevel dungeons and too-many to count interiors). Things I need to do yet are a TON of conversations, create about 40 more custom items (about 60 finished already) and hopefully make an introductory movie. I also want to go back to some of my female NPC's and add dress/skirts to them. I had alot of them finished before Lisa did her hakpak. The website just went up today and is finished in layout only. The fiction, although factual, is not particularly well written :) I'd like to update it at some future time. The map page doesn't have a map, only a text description of Akrage, hopefully I can make a decent map sometime soon. I also want to add a printable schematic that shows how the overland areas in the module connect to each other. This is information that the characters themselves would know, so it's not really a spoiler. With about 50 overland areas, it is very confusing (even for the designer)using area transitions without a guide. Expect finish date: Jan 1. |