Sanctum of the Archmage

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Since we've got a new set of NWN forums here to migrate from the old ones that are being shut down soon, this is probably a good opportunity to post a thread for the ongoing work on my NWN module series, Sanctum of the Archmage.

Chapter 3 is currently in development in NWN. My current plans for the series can be found here, and there are some screenshots from the new module here. More links to information about the series on my website and blog can be found in my .sig.

The series will eventually be continued in and/or ported to Dragon Age, although I'm still trying to work out a good place to make that transition. Chapter 3 will be definitely be released for NWN, although I have been considering trying to start an effort to port the series in parallel starting with chapter 2.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 13 juillet 2010 - 10:55 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Here's a screenshot from Chapter 3:



The Tower of Nicodemus the Mage
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 01 août 2010 - 03:06 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Beerfish]

               Wow that looks great Andarian, love the tower.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_SheilaD67]

               Wow!  Nicely done, Andarian.  Looking for to the continuation of this wonderful series.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Masked Rog]

               That is a beautiful screenshot. Looking forward to the next episode of the series.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Thanks for the kind words, all!

Here's an update on the romances for Sanctum 3 (on the Romance Modules thread). And while I'm at it, here's another screenshot:

Highpeak Castle at Night

               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 01 août 2010 - 03:04 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_luday87]

               are close to finish?

i loved your mods.

there is something that bothers me a bit: robin can slap the PC while he is male and the PC female (i read it via toolset, he accepted my PC's kiss), that's not nice
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Luday: Thanks for your kind words! I'm afraid it's not close yet, no. This may change if I'm successful at recruiting more members for the Sanctum Team, but right now I'm still shooting for the end of the year.

About Robin's potential slap in Sanctum 2: actually, in the current version it can't happen if Robin is male and the player is female. What you saw was probably in an earlier version of the mod, but I changed it in one of the updates last year. Now only a female Robin can slap the player, but even that won't happen unless they (a) don't have a good romance rating with her (in which case they arguably ought to know better than to try it), or ( repeatedly  persist in trying to kiss her despite being asked not to. There's also a dialog option for them to use their talent to predict whether she will be angered by it. So it's not something that the player is likely to experience without some carelessness or provocation.

You're right that it's not nice, but that Robin has a volatile/dark streak is part of his/her characterization and a part of the story. That's something that Orion should have warned the player about during the conversation with him in the second passage. Robin's romance is a lot more complex (and often frustrating) than those for Orion and Diana.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 01 août 2010 - 05:07 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_MaxQuartiroli]

               

AndarianTD wrote...

You're right that it's not nice, but that Robin has a volatile/dark streak is part of his/her characterization and a part of the story. That's something that Orion should have warned the player about during the conversation with him in the second passage. Robin's romance is a lot more complex (and often frustrating) than those for Orion and Diana.

And that's the reason why I discarded her for Diana.. I am not such a patient person
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Kenrae]

               Mmm... I will eventually play these mods and it seems I'll choose Robin...

I fail to see why it's not nice when Robin is male but it's no problem when Robin is female.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Kenrae, 02 août 2010 - 06:57 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               

MaxQuartiroli wrote...

And that's the reason why I discarded her for Diana.. I am not such a patient person ../../../images/forum/emoticons/tongue.png

And that's precisely one of the role-playing choices that I presented in the modules. '> Robin's romance is there for players who want a more difficult, "angsty," and possibly frustrating romance challenge to overcome. Orion's and Diana's, by contrast, are for players who want something simpler and more straightforward, with a partner who has no impediments to having a relationship. The potential for a "romance triangle" (Robin/Diana or Robin/Orion) is also written into the plot, so it won't be until a later chapter (after chapter 3) that you'll be forced to make a final choice. How all of that will eventually play out would be a spoiler, so I can't say more about that now.

Kenrae wrote...

Mmm... I will eventually play these mods and it seems I'll choose Robin...

I fail to see why it's not nice when Robin is male but it's no problem when Robin is female.

It's because of the strong social stigma against a man hitting a woman.  On reflection I decided that having a male Robin hit a woman player who was his best friend and partner would be perceived as too far out of character for him, which is why I changed it. While it's an extreme thing for Robin to do in either case, it is less socially unacceptable (at least to my mind) for a woman to slap a man who is repeatedly making unwelcome advances toward her (trying to kiss and seduce her), without taking no for an answer.

I already had scripts checking for Robin's gender, so it was easier for me to use one of those rather than write a new one that checked both conditions (Robin male and player female). Also, I wanted it to be consistent with an earlier scene (Orion's story about the courtier), which for plot-related reasons also differs based on whether Robin is male or female. I could have allowed a male Robin to slap a male player, but doing so would then have been inconsistent with that earlier scene.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 02 août 2010 - 07:11 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Kenrae]

               Ok, I'm personally against that stigma (not saying it's cool for a man to hit a woman, just that I find the opposite to be equally bad), but it's true that most people see both cases differently, or at least react differently.



Whatever. This is one of the mods I want to play, once I finish my current DA:O run and another series of NWN mods.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               There's a new post on my blog about an upcoming update:



A NWNCQ Makeover for Sanctum 1?



               
               

               
            

[Legacy_jmlzemaggo]

               Looks great. That would make a replay very possible. How are you going to manage the use of NWNCQ, through the hak way I suppose? I saw you were playing a girl in it yourself, which I do most of the time: this is where I have one piece of advice here, check those (male &) female heads, tip N°10 (and N°7 as I'm at it...) on my "NWN community's favorite add-ons" list, and see if you could have them showing in your module.
Those are not only the nicest faces I know of around, but ones you can change eyes & lips colors' at will.
With tip N°3.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par jmlzemaggo, 09 août 2010 - 04:09 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_AndarianTD]

               Jml, thanks for the feedback! Yes, everything will be done by hak (I never use overrides). I'm actually familiar with Salt's head pack and may use some of it. The one in the screenshots is from Estelindis' Kotor Heads, which is what I've been tentatively thinking of using. Este also uses the tattoo channels for eye and lip color; you may have noticed that on Robin, Orion and Diana's heads, which are her work. (Orion and male Robin are from Kotor Heads, and Diana and female Robin were custom-built by her for the Sanctum series.) Since it looks like it's a mostly transparent update I'll probably try to make playing with NWNCQ optional by providing an "empty hak" version of it for those who don't want to download it.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 09 août 2010 - 04:34 .