March 3, 2014
Seems I've been slacking in keeping this thread updated. So, here's what's been added to Aenea since October...
Safer Passage via Familiar: PC spellcasters are able to set a target location for the teleport spell while possessing their familiars, which makes the sneaky mouse and cat familiars more useful.
Big Stick: The greatclub is a brand new item type for those giants and others that just want to hit things with a big stick. It's supported by weapon feats for clubs, so it's actually a rather useful weapon.
Messier Kills: No more brown loot bags left behind as remains. Joining new remains models added a few months earlier are ones for giants, dragons, beholders, and a generic "bloody mess".
New Hands: I made all new hand models to replace existing ones, and even added several brand new ones, such as ones with rings and ones with claws (which are great for those wolfblood or dragonsoul characters).
Conjuration Focuses: Spellcasters that have Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, and Epic Spell Focus in conjuration spells now have summoned creatures (via the summon creature spells) that last longer and gain bonus to attack, AC, and hitpoints.
Other Spell Focuses: Spellcasters that have Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, and Epic Spell Focus in other spell types also benefit by gaining longer durations for some spells or more damage from other spells.
Monster Treasure Hoards: Some monsters, such as dragons and beholders, now leave most of their treasure/loot in treasure hoards within their lairs instead of dropping them in their remains when defeated. Players still have to defeat said foes to get the treasure, but it just makes more sense for beholders to stash their stuff somewhere centralized rather than carry it in non-existant pockets. Same goes for dragons. This system makes use of Cestus Dei's treasure models from one of the past CCC themes.
Q Update: Aenea was updated to use version 1.7 of Project Q.
VFX Pets: The faulty VFX shoulder-mounted parrots have been fixed (from way back in 2010, finally figured out the issue with the model). I also added four brand new shoulder-sitting VFX pets: a faerie dragon, a pseudodragon, a mouse, and a raven.
Ice (Water) Elemental Fixed: Removed pink glow from the "diamond golem" model that is in the CEP so that water elementals summoned during freezing weather are now properly white.
Fire Elemental Glow: Based on a suggestion from my own kid that now plays NWN, I added a dynamic light emitter to the fire elemental model, so that druids in elemental form can still see in the dark when they're made of fire.
Slimy, Yet More Satisfying: Added all new models for oozes, slimes, and jellies to replace the ones included in the CEP and default game. Ochre is usually orange, and the slithering tracker is now dang hard to see.
Hide the Cubes: Updated the look of the gelatinous cube model to make it harder to see (in D&D they are supposed to be easy to mistakenly blunder into in a dungeon corridor). I also added a smaller version, since they reproduce by budding off a mini cube.
Natural Invisiblity for the Hunter: Added a very transparent lion model to the game for the "invisible hunter" creature so that it's hard to see even when the game engine forces it to drop invisiblity momentarily when it attacks. This replaces the old "white lion" appearance that was used for years.
Acid Splash gets Subtle: Added a new toned down projectile VFX for the 0-level acid splash spell. The bright green glowing blob was just too obvious for such a low-powered spell.
New Ore Icons: Added all new inventory icons for iron, silver, gold, adamantite, and mithral ores, as well as a new icon for uncut gems.
New Mineral Veins: Added brand new "mineral vein" placeables for a proper visual cue that mining can be done in various places.
Old Tyme Smelter: Created and added a new model based on medeival smelters so that PCs have a proper place to turn ores into workable metals.
Burnin' Time: Added new salamander models to the game. These guys will soon have homes within places frequented by fire giants.
Fire Giants: Thanks to Pstemarie's work in Q 1.7, I had an excellent model to work with for fire giants. I've since modified them to use full PC animations so that they can use weapons like bows and can use emotes. I'll be building an area for the fire giants soon.
Pixie Fun: Spellcasters with pixie familiars will notice a change in their look, as the little fey will change to an all-new model which will be different depending on the master's alignment.
Gargoyle: I never liked the original gargoyle look, and was not satisfied with the hardpoints' one that's in the CEP, so I finally created my own, based on Aenea's balors (which are themselves based on Project Q's balrog model).
Forest Dragon: A brand new plant creature will start showing up in wooded areas. He doesn't take kindly to unattended campires.
Stone Giant: I never liked the stone giant models in the CEP, which is why they never got used. Now that I've made my own, they'll start appearing in mountainous regions. This one is based on the DLA ogre, a PC head model, lots of model adjustments, and texture work.
Shambling Mounds Get Busy Growing and Dying: Replacing the models found in the CEP with brand new ones based on the Q stone golem shape, Aenea has brand new living shambling mounds and decaying ones as well.
New Spells: The most recent hak update (yesterday) added 8 brand new spells for various casters in Aenea: castigate and repudiate (which harm demons and undead), desecrate and unhallow (which help demons and undead), focus (adds +1 to skill checks), shillelagh (adds attack and damage bonus to clubs and quarterstaves), and limited wish and wish (which summon djinn to grant wishes).
New Magic Item Creation System: Overhauled the way PCs enchant new items (that aren't like wands, potions, and scrolls with selectable caster levels). There are nearly 450 different items PCs can make themselves.
New Magic Item Empowering System: PCs have been able to add basic AC and enhancement values to armor and weapons for years. Now, however, PC spellcasters can add many more properties to basically any existing item. Between all the item types, there are over 1,100 different properties that can be added to things, from 1d6 fire damage vs. plants on a greataxe to reducing the weight of full plate armor to 5 pounds to turning a dagger into a holy avenger dagger...PCs have many more options.
So, yeah. Aenea is still alive and growing, with work on stuff going on almost daily behind the scenes.
