AL4 for NWN1, After All!

I had a good vacation. The sun shone, the alcohol flowed--albeit not quite as fast as the pages of Toll the Hounds--and I picked up yet another interesting pattern of burns on my poor under-protected flesh. Mental note for next year: sitting in the same position for three hours with minimal sunscreen is not a great idea on the first day of vacation.

I love the Greek isles. I could quite happily divide my time between them and Argentina. With a couple of weeks of rainy old Blighty tucked in somewhere, I suppose; likely April, when Argentina--more specifically Buenos Aires--starts getting colder and Greece is only just beginning to warm up. Anyway, enough about the weather. I wouldn't want to reinforce the old stereotype about the English and their favourite obsession.

So. I have made a decision, and that decision is to release AL4 for NWN1 as originally intended. I will do a solo project for NWN2 at some point, but a 30-hour epic isn't really the best place for it. I've agonized and procrastinated about this project for too long, so now I need to shut up and finish it. You'll hear no more declarations of self-doubt until it's up on the Vault. Promise.

I should note that 1.69 and all its inherent goodness played a big factor in this decision. What can you say about BioWare? They're just a fantastic company with fantastic people. Not all of them, I'm sure--when has it ever been the case?--but as a whole, BioWare are a constant pleasure to deal with and their dedication to the community is astonishing. And the funny thing is, you hear similar positive things even from other folk involved in the NWN1 Premium Module fiasco--e.g. Stefan Gagne--which shows, I think, the class with which they handled that and conduct themselves as a company.

I'll be updating AL1-3 to 1.69 compatibility (Final FINAL patches!) over the next couple of weeks.

In other news, I'm sinking more time into World of Warcraft--I have a 23rd level blood elf Warlock--and currently playing Asphyxia for NWN2. Wow, impressive module. I've put Subtlety of Thay on hold until Dirtywick releases the second part; makes sense to do them both together.

Oh yeah, and Civ 4 waits, gathering dust. Soon, my precious. Soon.

Mysteries of Wheregate

I hope I haven't just started something there.

So the introduction movie for Mysteries of Westgate has been posted on the Vault and it's receiving mixed feedback. It's difficult for me to see what some of the criticisms are--the encrusted diamonds on my 30" platinum-coated monitor tend to reflect an obscuring light on to the screen--but it seems that it's low-budget compared to the legacy game's opening movie, and not reflective of the backing and hype the adventure pack has received. Now think about both of those points for a second and apply some logic and you'll realize why I'm glad to be heading off for a week-long vacation tomorrow.

Yeah, it's been frustrating alright. I recall a conversation this time last year where the game was almost finished and we were hoping for a nicely appropriate Halloween release. I don't need to complete the second part of that thought, I expect.

In other news, I haven't yet decided on the fate of the Blades of Netheril. I am, however, very happy with the evident enthusiasm the community still has for the project. Thank you all for your feedback, words of encouragement, and occasional chastisement. The response was greater than I expected, and there was even a thread dedicated to my dilemma. Burning effigies of my devilishly handsome self were heart-warmingly absent.

Now then. Off to the Greek isles for a week or sun, surf, and Steven Erikson. Yep, Toll the Hounds. Has anyone else considered just how well the Malazan world would translate to a CRPG or, in fact, an MMO? Honestly; it's perfect. Tell me I'm lying, and I'll call you a Sicilian.

Laterz.