Monday, 21 April 2008
Mysteries of Westgate Spotlight #7: The Quivering Thumb
The seventh Mysteries of Westgate spotlight has been posted. This one was written by me and concerns the Quivering Thumb arena. It was the one of the most enjoyable sections of the game to design. There are also some amusing easter eggs and references buried deep in there, which NWN1 veterans may or may not recognize!
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
The Blades of Netheril Update #2
Fear not, she's still alive and kicking.
I've been extremely busy recently--yes, who hasn't?--and I haven't had much time to update my blog, let alone work on AL4. Which is okay, since I'm still waiting on 1.69 to go final. Ideas are being refined constantly even if the toolset goes untouched; once I see some light ahead of me, I'll delve back in and make some real headway.
One thing that'll definitely get done over the next few weeks (1.69 release permitting) is an update of AL1-3. I'm not talking about massive sweeping changes: I plan to eliminate the last few niggling bugs, clean up the typos I am sure still remain, and take care of anything broken by 1.69. Then I can slam the book on them once and for all, safe in the knowledge that even if AL1 will still suck by today's standards, at least it'll be a polished turd.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of constantly revising and adding to work. While I am sure there is still the occasional player who downloads AL1 and concludes that, "Hey, this Alazander guy sucks, what the heck is the fuss about and why's he Ossian Lead Designer?," I also believe that there's nothing wrong with an author's/ designer's /musician's early and, indeed, amateur work being displayed in the public domain, in all its original g(l)ory. We all need start to somewhere.
I've been extremely busy recently--yes, who hasn't?--and I haven't had much time to update my blog, let alone work on AL4. Which is okay, since I'm still waiting on 1.69 to go final. Ideas are being refined constantly even if the toolset goes untouched; once I see some light ahead of me, I'll delve back in and make some real headway.
One thing that'll definitely get done over the next few weeks (1.69 release permitting) is an update of AL1-3. I'm not talking about massive sweeping changes: I plan to eliminate the last few niggling bugs, clean up the typos I am sure still remain, and take care of anything broken by 1.69. Then I can slam the book on them once and for all, safe in the knowledge that even if AL1 will still suck by today's standards, at least it'll be a polished turd.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of constantly revising and adding to work. While I am sure there is still the occasional player who downloads AL1 and concludes that, "Hey, this Alazander guy sucks, what the heck is the fuss about and why's he Ossian Lead Designer?," I also believe that there's nothing wrong with an author's/ designer's /musician's early and, indeed, amateur work being displayed in the public domain, in all its original g(l)ory. We all need start to somewhere.
Mysteries of Westgate Spotlight #6: The Lore of Westgate
The sixth Mysteries of Westgate spotlight has now been posted! This one is fairly lengthy and provides some interesting lore on the city.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next spotlight, which is due soon and was written by yours truly. Much as I enjoy these spotlights, I really hope they don't end up reaching double digits...
Keep your eyes peeled for the next spotlight, which is due soon and was written by yours truly. Much as I enjoy these spotlights, I really hope they don't end up reaching double digits...
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Mysteries of Westgate Spotlights #4 & 5
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Mysteries of Westgate Featured in May PC Gamer
Desslock writes in the latest issue of PC Gamer:
"THE ADVENTURE RESUMES- There's a welcome new slate of D&D Modules -
I've preached like a Cleric towering over a lectern about the need for Dungeons & Dragons to return to its roots by toning down its rule-crunchiness and just releasing great adventures. The pantheon of RPG deities has responded favorably and delivered a bounty of modules.
Most notably, Ossian Studios has developed Mysteries of Westgate, an official adventure pack for Neverwinter Nights 2. Ossian released one of the most popular premium modules for Neverwinter Ngihts, Darkness over Daggerford. Studio founder, Alan Miranda, was the producer of the outstanding Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (which was simply the best RPG expansion pack ever released) and an associate producer for Neverwinter Nights. Westgate is another great adventure.
The city of Westgate is an urban oasis in the largely wild and contested Dragon Coast area of the Forgotten Realms world of Faerun. It's rare and refreshing for a D&D module to consist almost entirely of adventures in a single sprawling city, which you arrive in seeking to rid yourself of a cursed mask. The city is home to a hodgepodge of humanoids, thieves, gladiators, assassins, pirates, and more malevolent groups. The enigmatic underground guild, the Night Masks, has traditionally pulled the strings of power in the city, but now, they have competition from some newcomers calling themselves the Ebon Claws. The storyline doesn't overlap with other NWN2 adventures, so you're best off starting a new character who will immediately be promoted to level 8.
It's a singleplayer only module and it doesn't introduce any new classes or races, but you can choose from any of the dozens of options introduced in NWN2:Mask of the Betrayer. Enemies seem to act less scatterbrained, courtesy of more effective customized AI scripts. The three new companions are all complex and somewhat broken or malleable individuals, such as Mantides the fallen Paladin whose lust for violent retribution caused him to lose his faith. There are only a handful of new monsters, but they're all memorable, and there's nary a bland or tedious encounter. Ossian tags the campaign at 15 hours long, but it took me around 20, and its competing factions and the conflicting choices you'll have to wrestle with make it worthy of at least one additional playthrough."
"THE ADVENTURE RESUMES- There's a welcome new slate of D&D Modules -
I've preached like a Cleric towering over a lectern about the need for Dungeons & Dragons to return to its roots by toning down its rule-crunchiness and just releasing great adventures. The pantheon of RPG deities has responded favorably and delivered a bounty of modules.
Most notably, Ossian Studios has developed Mysteries of Westgate, an official adventure pack for Neverwinter Nights 2. Ossian released one of the most popular premium modules for Neverwinter Ngihts, Darkness over Daggerford. Studio founder, Alan Miranda, was the producer of the outstanding Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (which was simply the best RPG expansion pack ever released) and an associate producer for Neverwinter Nights. Westgate is another great adventure.
The city of Westgate is an urban oasis in the largely wild and contested Dragon Coast area of the Forgotten Realms world of Faerun. It's rare and refreshing for a D&D module to consist almost entirely of adventures in a single sprawling city, which you arrive in seeking to rid yourself of a cursed mask. The city is home to a hodgepodge of humanoids, thieves, gladiators, assassins, pirates, and more malevolent groups. The enigmatic underground guild, the Night Masks, has traditionally pulled the strings of power in the city, but now, they have competition from some newcomers calling themselves the Ebon Claws. The storyline doesn't overlap with other NWN2 adventures, so you're best off starting a new character who will immediately be promoted to level 8.
It's a singleplayer only module and it doesn't introduce any new classes or races, but you can choose from any of the dozens of options introduced in NWN2:Mask of the Betrayer. Enemies seem to act less scatterbrained, courtesy of more effective customized AI scripts. The three new companions are all complex and somewhat broken or malleable individuals, such as Mantides the fallen Paladin whose lust for violent retribution caused him to lose his faith. There are only a handful of new monsters, but they're all memorable, and there's nary a bland or tedious encounter. Ossian tags the campaign at 15 hours long, but it took me around 20, and its competing factions and the conflicting choices you'll have to wrestle with make it worthy of at least one additional playthrough."
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