Well, now that MotB is here and working smoothly, I've turned my attention to getting all the placeables and VFXs together into a RoU collection that I can distribute for area building.
Realms of Ultima is not just one module. It's designed to be many module prefabs that can be plugged together to make new story modules with an Ultima theme. To do this all a designer would need to do is download the RoU "Campaign Starter Pack" and associate their module with it, and they should then have access to all the RoU resources used in all other RoU modules out there.
Think of it as a CEP sort of thing, with an Ultima twist. Now, I'm not sure this is the best way, but since there isn't any documentation of how to best handle CC in NWN2, I'm making this up as I go along.
This was supposed to be simple, but there is some sort of issue with the Campaign folder. The custom placeables that I'm using are showing up in the toolset just fine, but they don't show in game. Very frustrating!
Perhaps I'll just go back to the old method of a HAK for each category, and forgo the Campaign folder until it's better understood.
Well I got MotB yesterday and I'm initially impressed and annoyed at the same time. Once everything was running it was okay...until it crashed...three times. The install was fine, but the patching was a joke, since no one on the official forums seems to know exactly what they should do. The amount of conflicting information is staggering, and I'm not surprised NWN2's fan base is as small as it is and NWN's is still going strong.
Visually, MotB is impressive and seems to run more smoothly, but still odd at times. The camera seems to swing around a little erratically, but all in all it finally looks like a real game. How game companies can get this stuff so wrong in this day and age just mystifies me.
There are several new heads, and most of the faces have been redone and look better then they did, not a hard feat mind you, as anything they improved would make the faces look better then they did. By far, NWN2's original head selection was one of the worst I've seen in a game, coming in second only to Oblivion for sheer ugliness. Obsidian needs to hire some modelers with talent for the human form next time.
I've started playing the OC from the beginning with a Favored Soul and will give a full review when I'm done. What this does mean is I'm taking a break from the RoU building to actually get some play time in. We'll see how long I go, before I get bored. DnD games have traditionally been harder for me to get into then other games. I just don't like all the rules.
Well, it's October 9, and 4 stores that I went to today did not have copies of MotB, and since I don't get to town very often, I just ordered it online and should get it by Friday. Very frustrating!
Basically I've been waiting for MotB to finish my Prefab Custom Content packs that I'll be using for all of my RoU prefabs from here on out. All areas will use the placeables, and VFXs that the packs will have and will most likely use my custom music pack as well.
On the good side, I got some more scripting work out of Driller for my Gypsy Conversation. Pretty soon, I'll release a RoU starter module that will include a gypsy fortune teller who will give you the Virtue quiz plue a gift based on how you answer.
I've been experimenting with Nytir's Building Construction Kit (BCK) 2.1 and it's pretty nifty. It really takes some tweaking to use, but you can build pretty much anything with it. NWN2 legos!
Take a look at a start at the Stonegate prefab! It still has 3 more levels to go, but it already looks imposing. Now if I can figure out walkmeshes for the upper balconies, we'll be all set.
I can't tell you how annoying it is that Atari decided to release MotB (Mask of the Betrayer) almost two weeks before the USA release in Europe. So, we're all left watching them have all the fun, while we have to wait...and wait...and wait.
I do have intentions of moving all RoU Prefabs to MotB once I actually get the game. I feel it helps support the game, and I really am not going to limit the content I can use in building prefabs.
Well, Tuesday can't come soon enough...
I've been pushing forward with New Magincia as one of the first prefabs for RoU. I don't know why I always seem to start with NM, but it just seems to be a simple town without a lot of flash to muddle things up, plus there's just something about islands.
RoU's storyline actually has New Magincia occupied by the remnants of the Gargoyle race after the collapse of their city of Ambrosia. I intend to release to versions of the prefab, one with fully populated and ready to explore and the other with just the town and no inhabitants. That way people interested in non-ultima modules can get some use from the prefab.
I've uploaded a bunch of sneek peek screenies to the gallery for your enjoyment. Currently there are 4 isles in the NM chain and I'm working on #3, so I don't expect it to be too much longer before I can make the first release.
Well, it's been a long time coming, but I'm finally off and working on Realms of Ultima and even have the first prefab release already out.