Realms of Ultima

JasonNH does it again!

2009-01-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been following the progress lately on the NWN2 Forums then you're in for a treat! JasonNH has uploaded a fully functional overland map system for RoU that features ship travel, buying deeds and dingys!! This system is part of the RoU Overland Map project which is attempting to recreate Britannia for use with the overland map system.

Here's a sneak peek:

You can find the thread here and download this awesome system, complete with demo mod from the prefab links to the left. Thanks JasonNH for this great work!

The Grumpy Strumpet Finished

2008-10-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say that I've finished the submission for the BouncyRock Halloween Project. Now hopefully they will be able to get everything working together in one mod. I can't imagine the headache it would be to get 30+ mods working together in a campaign.

With that finished I can turn my attention to my Realms of Ultima project: Shades of Doom. This is a smallish module based after the events of the Ultima games and the ascention of the Avatar. I'm working on the prologue now that will be mostly cutscene with a little bit of playable content. The intention is to fill the player in on all the back story and introduce the main villain.

Here's the story:

Many years have past and Britannia has survived a cataclysm caused after the
casting of the Armageddon spell and the defeat of the Guardian. Lord British has
died and magic, as it was known, has changed as well. The Age of Restoration is
at hand.

The Council of Virtue, formed after Lord British's death has entrusted the remaining Orb of the Moon as well as the eight Virtue Stones to the Lycaeum for study. Various experiments have caused moongates to open randomly throughout the universe. It is through one of these moongates that you now come, not called as the Avatar once was, but arrived none the less. Of what fate awaits, you can only guess...

Arcadion has waited many millennia for his chance to return to Britannia. Perhaps it was chance, or fate, or just dumb luck that managed his escape from Pagan, but with his freedom at hand, he was now free to search for the item of his revenge, the Shade Blade. You learn a lot about a prison from being inside its cells, and Arcadion was now armed with the knowledge that spells Britannia’s doom.

I've uploaded a couple screenies too:

Community Halloween Module Project

2008-09-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Bouncy Rock Entertainment has started a Community Halloween Project that I've joined. So far there are 30 module authors that have joined forces and when it's all said and done, it should be a pretty fun experience for the community.

Jaesun (THANK YOU!!) and I have been hard at work on The Grumpy Strumpet tavern as our contribution and I'll share some screenies of the work so far. The area is pretty simple and really will just have a few things to do, but it's been a fun divertion and I plan to use the tavern in Buc's Den later so it's not time wasted. I'm using some custom content available on the Vault. The majority of it is the excelent City Hak by Tupoun and the Fright Gallery by Frank Perez (a.k.a. Elysius). Both of which I have modified and will probably not use all the content so that the TGS Hak is smaller.

Storm of Zehir & Other Inspirations

2008-08-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

Things are quieter now and I find myself inspired once again. First, the announcement of Storm of Zehir, the second expansion for NWN2 has me all excited for the really cool new content, like Dinosaurs, and snakes, and everything tropical. The addition of the Overland Map and the new Party System is really cool and offers a lot of great story options that just weren't there before.

I'm not sure if it's the heat of California or I'm secretly wanting to go hike in the mountains, but I've almost finished an area prefab for the Serpent Spine Mountains that will be part of a trail leading to Stonegate. The picture is of an ice cave that the player can find with Yetis.

As if reading my mind, ArtEChoke from the Cutom Content Forums has done work on the Uthraki model from MotB and made Yeti. Hopefully they will be released on the Vault soon.

News Snippets From Strumpets

2008-08-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated things do to a rather extensive move to California and then summer hitting, which turns out to be my busiest time. The month of July was nuts. I was lucky to check news, let alone open the toolset.

California
After the ridiculous process of packing my life into a truck and driving across country, I've finally settled in. I've even had the chance to do some more photography, which this area is almost perfect for.

The scorpion is a common household pest here. At least these aren't the deadly type.

Go West Young Strumpet

2008-02-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well, you might have noticed a bit of a delay in news on the RoU front. There are several prefabs in the works as I type, but I am in the midst of a major move to California to take a new job. It will be a few weeks until I'm back to building, but in the meantime the other members of the team are working of various projects. News and screenshots to come soon.

New Magincia Prefab Released!

2008-01-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

I've completed enough of the New Magincia Prefab to get it released on the Vault. I'll be updating it of course with the finished version which includes the caves, house interiors and the Gargoyle inhabitants.

For now however, you can check it out.

New Magincia Prefab Nears First Release

2008-01-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have a small update about New Magincia. After getting inspired, I slammed out the second and third isles and have NM close to first release status.

The first release will be the external isles (4 total) in a 32x32 area. There is the small village of New Magincia as well as docks, a ring of stones for moongate travel, and the Shrine of Humility which is accessed via other means.

I'll be updating this of course with house interiors a small cave system and some final polish. That will be part of version 2.

Magic, critters, & wine oh my!!

2008-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a couple weeks since and update, but things really haven't been sitting still. Here's the latest:

Work begins on the Realms of Ultima Gameplay System
Jason White has joined the team and started work on the RoUGS which will be a large revamp of the NWN2 magic, class and racial systems to bring them more in line with the Ultima universe. This isn't a small task and Jason is awesome for taking it on. Here's a brief summary of the changes to the classes:

Classes change to 8 core classes: Warrior, Paladin, Mage, Tinker, Druid, Ranger, Monk, and Bard. Each class would have a patron virtue and city.

Here's the breakdown:

Warrior - Basically a merge of the Barbarian and the Fighter (one mean raging sword swinging maniac)
Paladin - This is the Knight of the classes. Keeps all it's abilities, just no gods. (small fudge, but I can live with it. Patron Virtue is Valor.
Mage - This is a merge of the wizard and sorcerer, using mana and reagents.
Tinker - Basically the Rogue, but without the thief mythos. Tinkers picklocks, and know how to hide and disarm and use traps.
Druid - Virtually unchanged except that they use mana and reagents, but access the druid spell line. No gods, just nature. This becomes the primary healer class. Perhaps move all the healer spells to the Druid line.
Ranger - Unchanged, just use mana and reagents for ranger spells.
Monk - Warrior of Humility, basically unchanged.
Bard - Unchanged except uses mana and reagents for the bard spells.

A note about the Warlock - The warlock is disabled for RoU. Doesn't fit, never will. PrCs will be either disabled or changed to fit with the Ultima mythos.

RoU Custom Critters
I started to put together some custom critters for RoU prefabs and here's the result. I'll add more as time goes on, but these will be part of the RoU Starter Module available on the Vault.

Time to Make Wine!
A while ago TeLLan created a wine press model but it was not released in the proper format for NWN2. Thanks to Baron Rosencheckl from RWS we can now have our monks of Empath Abby making wine. Tavern owners rejoice!!

Merry Christmas to all from the Grumpy Strumpet!

2007-12-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

RoU Discussion Forums Added for Developers

2007-12-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

I've added a simple forum to aid in development. Right now only moderators are able to post, but people can follow along with what's going on.

Realms of Ultima Forums

JasonNH joins the team!

2007-12-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

JasonNH has jumped aboard the RoU ship and has been a busy bee starting with an Empath Abby prefab. He sent me some screenies and I have to say I'm excited, as he knows what he's doing! Great job Jason!

He's put the abby together using the Building Construction Kit (BCK) 2.1 by Nytir which proves just how versital a pack like that can be.

You can find JansonNH's other work here!

If you'd like to help out bringing Britannia to life in NWN2, email me!

Here's some screenshots of his work:

OMGsh!!!!! Colour Of Magic!!

2007-11-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

I just got wind that production is underway for a TV adaptation of The Colour of Magic which is one of the best Terry Pratchett books.

I'm a HUGE TP fan and I'm absolutely beside myself that I will most likely not be able to see it because it's being made for the UK and I'm in the USA. I wonder how I can immigrate...

Hopefully it will do so well that it will make it to the USA on DVD.

Incidently Hogfather (released in 2006) went on to break British broadcasting records as the highest rating original satellite commission in UK TV history.

Any of you UK people want to mail the Strumpet a Hogswatch present?

The Gypsy Fortune Teller

2007-11-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

What Ultima would be complete without a stop at the Gypsy Fortune Teller? I'm almost finished with the first area of the Gypsy camp and have the fortune teller conversation complete with virtue question finished. I'll be releasing this soon with the content packs.

My Appologies...I had a Crysis

2007-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well, between wanting to actually play through NWN2 & MotB and then finding the Crysis demo, I haven't made an update in a few weeks. That doesn't mean there hasn't been work done...'cuz there has.

I've pretty much finished the custom content packs that I'll be using as well as made some headway on a RoU module that I'll be announcing officially after the Ultima 7:Serpent Isle remake gets out the door. I've jumped on that bandwagon now and will be helping out where I can to get that module finished so they can help me. I've also done a little work with the custom spell system and the Spell Point system that is on the Vault.

If you haven't played Crysis and are a FPS fan even a little, you are missing out. Easily the best shooter I've played since the Half Life series. Once it hits the shelves, most shooter fans will be saying "What's Halo?"

I've also been playing through the NWN2 OC on my way to MotB and I have to say that I'm not really all that impressed with the story or the writing so far. The transition between chapter 1 & 2 was really choppy and seemed unfinished. Hopefully the rest will make up for it. I'll write a review when I'm done with the series.

RoU Content Packs

2007-10-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

I've started releasing the RoU content packs for use with the prefabs. This first in the installment is the Item Icon Pack. A pretty simple collection of icons for moonstones, charms and the blackrock serpents for Serpent Isle prefabs.

I'll soon be releasing the VFX pack and then the Placeable pack.

RoU Custom Content Battles

2007-10-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

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.

The Black Sword!!

2007-10-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

MWMDragon ROCKS HARD CORE!! He contacted me a few days ago out of the blue and asked if there were any weapons I'd like to see made. Naturally I mentioned that anything Ultima would be very cool. So now we have the Shade Blade complete with a glowing Soul Gem in the hilt.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to see this. I think Arcadion needs to make an appearance. >:)

Check out the sword in all it's dark glory! Make sure to vote and tell your friends!

MotB Here & The Fun Begins

2007-10-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Grrrrr....MotB still not here...

2007-10-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

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.

The Stonegate Experiment

2007-10-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Waiting....for....MotB....

2007-10-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

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...

Buccaneer's Den Off The Port Bow!

2007-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

ARRRRRGGG Mateys! Okay, I'm done...

I've done a bit of messing around with the toolset and have decided that an early project would make a smashing Buc's Den. I've uploaded screenies to the gallery of the work so far. It's rough to be sure, but in truth it was my first foray into the toolset, so I learned as I went. Once I get New Magincia finished, I'll start back in work on it.

New Magincia Sneek Peek

2007-10-06T13:16:00.001-07:00

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.

Welcome to the RoU Development Journal

2007-10-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Moongates is a fully functional blue moongate system with eight different colored moonstones and test town locations! Make sure you check it out on the Vault and remember to vote if you find it useful.