Bedine Update

Sidequest chains for two places are in and tested. The areas for these are mostly complete, needing primarily a polish pass. And a sound object pass, I always do that last in my area building workflow for whatever reason, probably because I don't have a good ear for that. These two quest chains have been my primary building focus since my last update (along with non-Bedine stuff like retexturing the undead for the community to use).

One additional area is also complete, which took a lot of time to figure out how to build, but does something hopefully not seen before in nwn2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OEP2IT2Zs&list=UUTB3It7cV5bt9luZ4hFSlCw (link is external) The questline involving that area is mostly and tested as well. Like the main quest, I haven't quite figured out how I want to handle the end of it. I've fleshed out the story for the Gem Mines of Amazandar area I showed a picture of.

The main questline is all tested up to the endgame area. I haven't decided exactly what I want to do with that yet. Storywise of course I know what the bad guys are up to and what they're trying to accomplish in the endgame section, I just haven't figured out what I want to do with it from a game perspective. For a Storm of Zehir comparison, it would be like knowing you're going to have the party confront the avatar of the bad guy, but havn't yet decided what you want to do for the temple where you decided the confrontation happens.

I have one section of the Anauroch I'm trying to get ideas for so it's not just empty area with wandering monsters. The problem I'd been having is that nothing from the official lorebooks that seemed like it could make for an interesting questchain also seems doable in the toolset. It's taken some time, but I think I've got a working idea for this part of the Anauroch.

So... with all this talk about completing quest chain testing, how close is Bedine to release? Well, further away than it would seem. Previously, I've done all the writing, area building, adding "life and color", etc first, testing quests and such was the last part of work before release. This time I have been adopting my own advice on getting things working first, then worrying about the exact details later. Of course I have also been working on things as I feel like it, so my area building is fairly far along as I generally like doing area building.

Oh yeah, I figured out how to make something that looks like flying carpets awhile back, don't think I mentioned that here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SufCOzAHsX0&list=UUTB3It7cV5bt9luZ4hFSlCw (link is external)  Bedine won't actually have flying carpets.

A Bedine Update

I've worked out the plot for two sidequest areas, written the dialog and done the testing for them in my test areas. I still have to finish the maps, do all the blueprints, and such. But the scripts, conversations etc are written and the quests tested. Since the setting is a desert, I'm making fewer sidequests areas that are more involved than the Storm of Zehir overland map where small areas are common. They are closer in length to to the town in SoZ north of Neverwinter that the Luskan's have taken over.

For one of the sidequests I've had to do three custom maps as I couldn't find any prefabs that looked like they would fit. These are partially made, I know where things will go and the maps are partially decorated. For the other I was able to find a prefab map that I could retexture to use as one of the maps. The second map I've placed all the tiles for and know what happens where, and the third map I haven't decided on yet other than knowing what will take place there.

Desert placeables for all!

http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/model/kamals-tints-and-reskins
Arid/desert placeables for all. As well as very desaturated placeables to allow a wider range of tint options. The pack includes versions of most of the stock placeables, and includes multiple options for things like rock faces/boulders, stone walls, etc. With this finally done, I can get back to Bedine.

Placeables, placeables everywhere.

Not feeling particularly inspired for building, I turned to reskinning existing placeables to give people alternate versions and make arid terrain themed objects. Most of the buildings are now available with an arid theme, as well as many placeables such as the stock statues in a sandstone texture. You can see more in this thread on the forums. Not all these will get used for Bedine, but I'm enjoying doingg it and it seems to be very popular.

Bedine Progress Update

When I released my  tileset project, I hadn't expected that community member rjshae would start turning out new and expanded tilesets on a regular basis. I've updated the ptoject six times in little more than two months as rjshae released new tiles and tilesets. And there's at least two more in the pipeline from him, converting a nwn1 drow tileset and an all new adobe tileset.

Since Bedine will use a SoZ style overland map and the existing Obsidian documentation on the OM was.... well I'll say it was incomplete. So I've been doing documentation on the OM like I previously did documentation and a demo for the SoZ trade system. It's rather time consuming, but will be a good community resource. And like when I did my commoner ai, it's taking a bunch of time to get something together I consider essential for my mod.

That plus a new job taking my time during the week, so I've only been working on this during the weekends. Quests and areas and such are things I haven't worked on much if at all. It was the same when I did the commoner ai, just did that, so it's not out of the ordinary.

PJ's placeable cornucopia

 PJ's Placeable Cornucopia gets special mention in this post, for making these screenshots possible. I've been bringing placeholder areas up to standards and adding content from PJ's Cornucopia. Numerous different content haks come together in one master placeable 2da, complete with blueprints.

First shot: RWS cliffs, PJ's tintable stone walls.

Second shot: mushrooms from about 4 different packs, Callisters lights package

Third shot: RWS (tents), Morbane (arcane circle), Callister (lamp), Dragonlance (netting), Jaesun999 (rugs), Amraphael (rugs, lamp), Purgatorio (razorvine), Dreamteam (hanging bag).

Last shot: The screenshot contains content from MoW, Purgatorio, Dragonlance placeables, rjshae, and zspirit.

Bedine Progress Update

With the exteneded time on the tile and exterior texture projects there is not a tremendous amount to update on Bedine. The main quest seems to work reliably in the test module. Some placeholder sidequests have been added.

I also want to thank Boccob's Blog, which has two posts on it with some two hundred (and two!) quest ideas. Lots of good ideas there. Not all would be suitable for implementing in Bedine, but a couple will show up as sidequests as I use the author's ideas to get me through a creative block in the toolset.

Pictured: The Zhentarim stronghold at Taroudant, it controls the eastern portion of the Black Road, the trade road that goes through the Anauroch. To the Bedine, the Zhentarim are known as the Black Robes. Some Bedine tribes work with the Black Robes as the Zhents are very generous with gifts, some tribes do not wish to work with the outlanders.