Custom Content Challenge: August 2015: Open Seas and Rivers

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

The theme for this month's challenge: "Open Seas and Rivers":

  

Open Seas and Rivers: Placeables and creatures found above the sea/river surface. Ships, boats, vessels, rafts, or anything that sails or floats. Seafood, some new open water tiles, sea skyboxes, swimming systems and animations, fishing systems and animations.


More specific examples: crashed ship remains (ship parts, cargo - barrels, chests), floating bodies (dead or alive), whirlwind placeables, kraken and octopus designed in way they fit the walkable water tiles, sea storm skybox, open sea skybox, sea cave tiles, cliff tiles, rock above/under sea surface tiles etc.

This theme was suggested by Shadooow.

 

Guidelines:

• It must be fully working in game.


• Use of vanilla NWN or publicly available texture is fine.  Just remember that NWN textures must have dimensions in powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.).


• Teamwork is welcome.


• Beginners most welcome. Don't be afraid, just try, you'll be surprised!


• "Custom Content" includes many sorts of things: models, scripts, prefabs (areas, items, creatures, conversations, quests, etc.), sounds, portraits, or anything else new for the game.


• All submissions must be finished, working, and emailed to NWNCCCMakers@gmail.com (or a non-Vault link provided) by September 1st, 2015. Sooner than that is perfectly fine too. ;-)

Somethings you could include in the download/email that would make packaging everything up easier and faster:

• 2da lines needed.


• Screenshot from in game for use on the vault page (this also gives me hints on how to display the new goodie). Formats: .bmp, .jpg, .png, or .tga


• Portraits (if needed) of your new goodie. Placeables and monsters should include a portrait.


• Inventory icons (if needed) of your new goodie.


• Any credits you would like listed.


• If this is your first entry, please tell me what name you would like your work listed under and provide a link to your other NWN content if you want that displayed as well (the link bit is totally optional).


• Also if you would like an invite to the CC Makers group, send Rolo Kipp a friend invite. The group is nothing spectacular, mostly just documentation on 2da lines.

Remember, the Challenge is all about fun, sharing, creativity, and surprise!

 

This thread is for all sorts of discussion about this month's theme: ideas for things to make, questions/concerns, announcement of what you intend to make, screenshots of work in progress and/or finished projects.  

 

If you want to discuss the Monthly Custom Content Challenge idea as a whole or wish to submit ideas/themes for future monthly Challenges, please post in its thread here. 

When submitting a new theme, please provide a title and short summary of the theme.

 

If you have a technical question about some custom content creation, please create a separate thread so that the answers can be found later by anyone, not just people interested in this Challenge. 

 

We'll try to help!

 

Have no fear and join the fun!

 

And finally, you can: 

 
Submit theme suggestions. 
Vote for September's theme.

Email content to: NWNCCCMakers@gmail.com

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Amethyst Dragon]

               

Announced/Intended Projects:

Giant Trilobites (creature models) by Shadowing2029

Fishing System (scripts/prefabs) by Squatting Monk

 

 

Downloaded/Emailed Projects:

Anchors (placeable model) by CaveGnome

Fish Icons (inventory icons) by KlatchainCoffee

Eye of the Deep (creature models) by Mecheon

Bathysphere (placeable model) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Dive Helmet (placeable model) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

The Nautilus (placeable model) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Overturned Ship House (placeable model) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Sharks: Blue, Leopard, Thresher, White Tip (creature models) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Sharks: Great White, Tiger (creature models) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Stormy Seas (loadscreens) by PLUSH HYENA of DOOM

Boats and Flotsam (creature models) by Proleric

Walkable Water Tile (tile model) by  Proleric

Shark Cave Tile Group for Tropical (tile models) by Shadooow

Albine Cachalot (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Blue Whale (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Cachalot (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Dive Suit Diver (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Diving Suit Robe, Helmet, Tank (armor model) by Shemsu-Heru

Dolphin (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Harpoons (weapon models)  by Shemsu-Heru

Harpoon Gun and Bolts (weapon model and icons)  by Shemsu-Heru

Orca (creature model) by Shemsu-Heru

Open Sea Loadscreens (loadscreens) by Tarot Redhand

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shemsu-Heru]

               

Some ideas:

 

 

Tritons and Mermaids:

Lisa have made a great work in the past making a fishtail robe, that allows to use dynamic creatures for that. However have a new creature/s with tail animations would be amazing....

 

 

Giant rideable Hippocampus

 

 

Dolphins and Whales (Please):


If someone would have the kindness , of make the animations I could take care of the rest...

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PLUSH HYENA of DOOM]

               

Captain Nemo's submarine - The Nautilus!

Or... actually, in this case, PHoD's submarine - The Nautilus...

I started making the Nautilus in gmax about four years ago just as a test, to see if I could. I got a sort of gigantic, roughly cylindrical blob and gave up. It's been sitting there ever since. Now that I'm doing my ATLANTIS Modules, I suddenly had a vaguely silly idea and have thus pounced upon the not-at-all Nautilusesque blob and have been frantically hitting it with every available brick.

It now actually, startlingly, looks like an eccentric Victorian submarine rather than a blob! It isn't specifically based absolutely upon Jules Verne's descriptions in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, nor is it intended to be wholly accurate to the 1954 film version; it's just a sort of generic PHoD Nautilus. I can't imagine what the hell possible use the Nautilus is likely to be to anyone in NWN, probably not even me - but if nothing else, playing around with it made a REALLY nice looking screenshot underwater with some Sharks (and some herring).

Due to being BIG, the beautiful but almost certainly pointless PHoD Nautilus requires a significant amount of water in which to look sensible. Don't go trying to install it in small rural streams. It won't fit.

The domed viewing ports are set so that they have a slight glow, not visible in broad daylight, but notable at night or underwater.

Some assorted details of the Nautilus - the tail assembly, with rudder and propeller - an access hatch with little locking wheel just to raise the polycount a little further for no very good reason - one of the main hull viewing ports, with support rings done as geometry for yet more additional verts in the mesh when it could theoretically have been put on the hemisphere as texture... but it wouldn't look as good then.

Basic side view of the Nautilus... It's essentially finished, but there are still a lot of minor details I want to hit with small, subtle bricks... So there you have it... If anyone ever wanted to recreate 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in NWN (which I don't imagine anyone ever did) now's your chance! I'm still vaguely thinking maybe, just maybe, I'll bring the Nautilus and Captain Nemo into one of my ATLANTIS Modules... and failing that, I've now got this recurring idea about a certain wandering Time Lord and her stripy, feral friend encountering the Nautilus. I just keep thinking of these scraps of interesting discussions on morality between the Doctor and Captain Nemo... anyway...

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shadooow]

               

I got inspiration for this theme from Heroes of Might and Magic games.

 

Here is inspirational screenshot from Homam4.

 

Note I got one tileset group for tropical tileset already, its the copy of the sea cave modified to work and look well in sea. Will provide screenshot later.

 

Might as well get back into my unfinished realtime ship combat "engine". But no promises.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MerricksDad]

               

I've got some river tiles I may just put out for this. I think most of you have seen them in the tutorial I built... was that last year?

 

One thing you can do with river tiles which are walkable, is to make stationary creatures in them, much like the serpents that rise from the water in Diablo 2 and Dungeon Siege. To do that, and keep them from moving around too much, you need a placeable with donut shaped PWK ring to restrict movement into and out of the spawn point. On-spawn, create a copy of this model and lay it down directly at the spawn point. This keeps the creature from moving out of the ring onto land, or down stream to places it might appear more submerged, or other visual bad stuff you don't want to see. It is beneficial to keep multiple sized rings for various creatures, so you can have large, medium, or small river creatures. Just make sure that either A) the creature has a ranged attack, or the engine will get confused and the creature will just sit there mostly stunned, or B.) that the creature has a reach much larger than the blocking donut. You can also do like I did with my worms release, and that is use an appear/disappear script, so that the creature can change its location, as long as you put in some waypoint objects to help it judge where it can respawn.


An alternative to that idea allows you to create walkable streams from not walkable streams. Actually the description is backward from what is really going on. What you need is a fully walkable river. Then you create a placeable to slip over the river which blocks movement of the watery bits. Now say if you have an elf in your party, and only he knows where the secret ford is, he can cast a spell on the river area (or placeable object) which changes the placeable to another invisible object with different PWK layout, allowing the ford to be walked.


Similar to the walkable ford idea is a door on the tile, which once opened simply changes the walkable region. This basically works the same way, except that the ford is then visible as a door plane to everybody. They just cannot unlock it without a key, or otherwise the door open script blocks them from entry.


Some things to try out yourselves and have fun with.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shemsu-Heru]

               

Captain Nemo's submarine - The Nautilus!

Or... actually, in this case, PHoD's submarine - The Nautilus...

 

Thank you very much PHOD! Love your Nautilus!

Perhaps, Someone could make a little tileset of the Nautilus interior, too.........

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kamal_]

               

Due to being BIG, the beautiful but almost certainly pointless PHoD Nautilus requires a significant amount of water in which to look sensible. Don't go trying to install it in small rural streams. It won't fit.

Retractable legs for amphibious operation. '>

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Tarot Redhand]

               

@MD don't forget the Sea Serpents in the opening sequence for the NwN2 DLC "Mysteries of Westgate". Could somebody maybe convert those?

 

TR

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Mad Poet]

               

 

 

I know its a bit beyond the Medieval norm for NWN, but this would be AWESOME!

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MerricksDad]

               

@MD don't forget the Sea Serpents in the opening sequence for the NwN2 DLC "Mysteries of Westgate". Could somebody maybe convert those?

 

TR

 

I've been looking at those for some time now, drooling. I don't have the time for it at the moment, with other projects, but I do want people to know that the skins I did for the worms package I put out a few years ago were supposed to come with about 3x that many skins. That sea serpent was one of them.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shemsu-Heru]

               

What About some Sea Dragons?

 

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Mecheon]

               

What About some Sea Dragons?

 

If I can figure out the arcane methodologies to make Windows 8 obey my whims in respect to converting models, I may have some terrible things lying around

 

Key point: "Figuring out arcane methodologies"

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PLUSH HYENA of DOOM]

               

MadPoet:- No promises, but I have been thinking about a diver's outfit akin to that one to go with the Nautilus...

 

What I do promise is that there will also be a Victorian era type Bathysphere, because that is required in my ATLANTIS Modules.

 

As to a mini Tileset for the Nautilus interior, I've already been thinking about that. Whether I'll get round to doing it this month, that's another matter...

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_rjshae]

               

Something simple like a dugout canoe with outrigger and oars could make for a useful placeable.

 

Or for something more complex, perhaps a coastal boat like those used by northwest Indians?