Project about Khoras in Neverwinternights

[Laurent MEKKA]

EDIT : Engine changed to Neverwinter Nights 1 instead of Neverwinter Nights 2 !!

Since years, I wanted to make a module for a game with a Khoras setting. A few years ago, I started a module for neverwinter nights happening in the Trackless Mire (and Stirling and Bogtown) but gave up after a crash disk...

Now I'm planning to do a module for NWN2 both big and reasonably doable. Thanks to Storm of Zehir, an expansion pack I'll be able to make a complete worldmap of Khoras and for example, when you arrive on a city and click on it, a menu appears to visit all important places (and festivals depending on the date...) so no need to map entire massive cities but only zones of interest.
At first I wanted to map everything and divide by 100 the population counts (ie Strathon would have 720 people, all in the game) but I think the task is too big and would put the project to the big list of unfinished projects announced on the Internet

I'm starting by Strathon. It could be a first module and I'll expand on it after that.
I have recensed 23 canon characters and I'm creating them in the editor, detailing their background, adding dialogues and quests...
I'll start mapping when everything on Strathon is planned.

Any suggestions or ideas will be welcome !

[tanis]

It's sounds great. I only have NWN, but if you can do it, it sounds like something that would be tons of fun to play. There's not much to say other than good luck!

[Laurent MEKKA]

Thanks Tanis !
Basically, once the overworld map is converted (the shape of the continent will be automatically generated from a map David will send me -I can't wait!!-, and I'll have to model the mountains, texture all...), it'll be fairly modular, as locations will be added through dialog boxes, I can start with a few areas for a small quest, and add more areas whenever I want (or can...).
It'll even be possible to other people to participate because all the areas are not linked between them, anyone could work on his side.
For example let's say for Strathon when you click on the city you have choice only to visit King Square or the Hounded Fox Inn, if someone feels like adding the Royal Palace or the High Guard Guild, it's just a matter of doing a standalone area and adding the choice to visit it in the menu, without the need to modify anything else.

[avisarr]

I've sent the maps to Laurent. Can't wait to see what you do with them. I'm also curious about NWN. I may have to look into that.

[Laurent MEKKA]

Here's a preview of Strathon on the overland map.
I hope once I got enough content for it to be a viable and interesting project, someone more talented would have a take on it. For example, the model used for the city is the standard city model, with a few houses and some docks added. It'll be replaced by a larger and more unique model.



The Pig's Pitt (Tavern/Inn) is also done and I'm starting to add npc with dialogs.

[tanis]

Wow, that's pretty well done. I never could really get any of mine to work. ^^;

But David, NWN is pretty awesome. I only have the first one, but it's a 3rd-person using DND v.3.5 rules. The story is pretty in-depth, and it takes some time to play. It's not quite as lengthy or epic as the original Baldur's Gate, though. You also can't have more than one or two party members (2 if you have a familiar or summoned creature). However, it is much more modular than the older game, and users can create content, DM, and many other enhanced features. There are also downloads for monster PCs and stuff like that, in case the player gets bored with the stock races.

[Laurent MEKKA]

The first nwn is easier to edit, has more custom content, a better multiplayer support (play like a morpg on world created by players, or play with a gm like pnp), and completely rule. I love it.
The biggest problem is map are made of tiles, so it can become boring. All cities looking the same, and too few tilesets to add (in fact, it's wrong, there's some totally new, like swamps, deserts, snowy, .... but no other city different looking enough that I know of, except the default tileset).

Nwn 2 has more playable races, is better looking x100 and the latest add-on has the overland map system necessary to Khoras !

I don't really know if I did the right choice with nwn2 instead of nwn, the overland map system decided for me. In fact as scripts and dialogs are the same files, I could change fairly easily if I change my mind. Still not sure 100%.

[Laurent MEKKA]

I finally decided to move on NWN 1 instead.
You need to be a real artist to make 3D exteriors areas in NWN2, and you can't really have a lot of zones, even with around 50 zones it'll take months and weight more than 700 Mb (and 50 zones is NOTHING, an Inn with 2 floors + 1 underground one and an exterior area is already 5 zones !).
I also was really frustrated as I'm not as fluent with NWN2 toolset than NWN.

For now I have the Pig's Pit inn completely populated, with customer alive and walking around, sitting on chairs, talking together, Tubby's wife as a waitress serving everyone, Tubby as the bartender and his older brother in the kitchen working, as the children are playing.
Started to add dialogs but I want it to be completely non-linear and depending of who you are (race, sex, alignment) so there's lot of dialogs for only one character for now, introducing you to the city and launching you to the main quest (more exactly, one on the main quest starters, because you can refuse to help and tell him "I don't think you're right" and later start the main quest on the opposite camp - in fact there's more possibilities depending on your alignement, as killing a plotgiver and going to the opposite camp to gave them his head, even if nobody asked you, so you can for example accept quests in order to being introduced to a more important character and when you meet him, you dont do the quest he gives to you, but you kill him and go to the other side !!)

Still a lot of work !!