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For the first session, the module used the HABD bleeding and death system. I had ported that over from NWN, but never got it working quite right due to changes in how death and death animations are handled by the NWN2 engine. I've recently done more testing, and found even bigger problems than I had thought were there. Some day I may revisit HABD and try to get it working right, but I've spent hours and hours on it over the last two weeks, and enough is enough. So, I've switched the module to the HCR bleeding and death system. One big difference between the two is that with HABD, you ALWAYS bled before dying - if a blow dropped you to -10 or beyond, HABD adjusted you upwards to -5 so that you would bleed before dying, and have a chance to be saved by your comrades. HCR, the new system, does not do this. If a single blow drops you to -10 or lower, you are dead. A few other differences:

1. When you fall unconscious, your items drop in a loot bag to the ground (so your comrades can retrieve healing items, for example)

2. If you die, you go to a new area, the Fugue Plane. Please wait there until I get a chance to interact with you.

3. Unlike with HABD, there is no chat window message telling you that a comrade is bleeding to death, or how long until he bleeds to death. So, if you see a comrade down, you should act quickly, as he or she might be very close to death.

With low level characters, dead probably means dead, as you won't be able to afford raise dead items. At higher levels, HCR follows official D&D rules, which means even if you have a cleric that can cast raise dead, it is still expensive.

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A session summary from the May 13 session has been posted in the forums.  In addition, the roleplay forum for next session is set up.  There will be a 100 XP bonus to anyone who participates in the forum before next session.  Finally, the registration page for next session is up as well.  Please sign up so that we have an idea how many can make it next session.  Registration closes 8 hours before game time.  If you can't make it, please post in the Session Availability section of the forums.
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The server is up.  Connection info is in the right side menu on this page. You must be logged into this site to see it. Go into the chat room here if you have trouble (link to the chat room is in the User Menu, bottom left).
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Is anyone using a lower spec video card?  The list of supported cards (from best to worst) can be found in the second post in this thread in the official forums.  The reason I ask, is because of a problem I had on my end, and the hopes that none of you run into this problem.  I have been building and testing the module on my main machine, with no problems (well, that's an exaggeration, as the NWN2 toolset has all sorts of problems, but the game at least ran).  My final step today was going to be to go through and tune all the encounters for difficulty, by running the DM client on my main machine, and the player client on an older laptop.  This laptop has a video card just below spec (it is a Radeon 9600 with 128 MB of memory, with the 9700 being the minimum spec for the game).  Still, it ran the official campaign fine (with all settings turned down).  With the Naeldor module, though, it was crashing whenever entering an outdoor area   I switched roles, running the DM client on the laptop and the player client on my main machine to see if it was a bug with the module from the player end, and the laptop still crashed.  I did some more cursory testing, and it seems the laptop can run older modules fine, but crashes newer stuff.  I haven't done an exhaustive test, and this is just a wild guess, but I'm guessing a recent patch did something to the engine, which affected the toolset.  If you are running a lower end card, please let me know so that I can hold my breath the first time you transition to an outdoor area (the first area after the start area).  {mos_fb_discuss:14}
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Later today is our first session.  A few housekeeping items:

1.  I've posted Important Campaign Information, part 2.  Please look it over.

2.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. U.S. EDT (4:30 p.m. PDT).  The first part of the session will be used for character creation.  The server will also go up about 10-15 minutes early in case of any connection problems, so feel free to log in early if you want, although it is not necessary (but please be on time so that six other people aren't waiting for you).  With that said, please take your time once logged in, and don't feel rushed to get your character set up.   I know what it is like to set up a spellcaster, for example, when you think everybody is waiting for you.

 3.  When you show up in the starting area, I will be giving out starting gold per the official 3.5 edition D&D rules, as follows: Barbarian 100 gp, Bard 100 gp, Druid 50 gp, Fighter 150 gp, Monk 13 gp, Wizard 75 (I think that covers all the classes we have in the campaign).  There is a room off of the start area with some starting merchants.  These are set up to buy and sell at 100% of listed price, so you can sell back any items you made a mistake on.

 4.  I will also be giving you the HABD bleeding tools (bandages to stop other players from bleeding, a rulebook, a death statistics item) when you log in.

 Any questions, please ask. {mos_fb_discuss:14}

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I've tested the new pwc file extensively, and all seems to be in order once again, so it is back up and ready for download through WorldGate.  Please get it now.  It is dramatically smaller than the first "final" release (if the news item below this one made any sense, you'll know it is because the old pwc file basically was for TWO modules - one within another.  This update fixes that).  Sorry for any inconvenience.  Chalk this up to the learning curve.  If you haven't run WorldGate yet, you can run it following the instructions in this thread.  If you've already run it, then running it again should only take a few seconds, as all it needs to do is clear out the redundant files mentioned in the news item below this one.  You will also get the warning message explained in the instructions thread.  Just click "Yes" to proceed at that point.

This whole snafu highlights the beauty of WorldGate - normally, you would have needed to download the entire 114 MB revised pwc file, even if you already downloaded the prior file.  Because of WorldGate, you actually don't even need to download anything when you run it this time (if you've already run it once).  WorldGate discards the removed files, and reassembles the pwc file.  Barring any more problems, any more updates to the pwc file before Sunday will be added material, not changed material (i.e. I will not be changing current parts of the module that you have already downloaded; I will only be adding to it, if that). {mos_fb_discuss:14}

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IMPORTANT - HOLD OFF ON DOWNLOADING THE PWC FILE (UPDATE - IT IS OK TO DOWNLOAD NOW.  AS EXPLAINED IN THE NEWS ITEM ABOVE THIS ONE, RE-RUN WORLDGATE IF YOU'VE ALREADY RUN IT ONCE, IN ORDER TO DELETE OUT UNNECESSARY FILES.  THIS SHOULD TAKE ONLY A FEW SECONDS) .   I discovered a big bug (crash causing bug) in my module.  Fixing it will likely cause the pwc file to be dramatically smaller.  If you've already downloaded it, then the next time you run WorldGate (once I fix the pwc file), you probably won't actually be downloading anything new, but instead WorldGate will actually be deleting files (so you're not going to have to redownload anything, most likely).

The boring details if you are interested: A module can be loaded in the toolset in "directory" mode or in "module" mode.  "Directory" mode is basically what it sounds like - if you look at your module (one saved in directory mode) in Windows, it is not packed as a single file, but is saved as a directory, with a bunch of files within that directory (the files being every part of the module - walkmeshes, creature blueprints, scripts, etc.).  "Module" mode, on the other hand, saves all those pieces into one file with a .mod extension.  Most builders build in directory mode, as it is much faster, and less prone to crashing.

The catch - unlike the game client which you play on, the standalone nwn2 server can only run a server in module mode - it can't run a module saved as a directory (although this will change in patch 1.06).  Thus, for example, I could test the module just fine on my machine, as the game client would load it just fine.  But, when a builder is done building for good in directory mode, he has to convert his module over into module mode, or use a community tool to pack the necessary server files as a .mod file that the standalone server will understand.

This is where my problem was discovered - every time I tried to save our module as a module (i.e. as a .mod file), the toolset crashed, and gave me an error.  This was a problem obviously, as I couldn't convert it into the required format to move it over to the server and run it there.

After a couple hours of digging, I think I have found the problem.  Somewhere along the way, a .mod file was introduced into my module directory.  Thus, whenever I tried to save my module as a .mod file, it ran into trouble (I'm assuming because you can't have a .mod file within a .mod file).  The .mod file in question was a version of the module from long ago, back when I built in module mode.  I'm not sure if a bug in the toolset introduced the problem, or my own carelessness.  Basically, without realizing it, I was trying to save a module file within a module file.

In any event, I've stripped the offending file from the module, and the module appears to be running (and saving) fine.  So, I am going to do a bit more testing to be sure, and then post a new .pwc file.  As noted above, this new file will likely contain what was in the old file, MINUS what was in the deleted file.  So, for those who already ran WorldGate, running it to update again will likely just cause it to delete the unnecessary portions of the file

Sorry for any inconvenience.

{mos_fb_discuss:14}

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The Naeldor Campaign will make use of the DMFI tools. The DMFI tools add features like languages, emotes, and player messaging to the interface. For example, if your intelligence is high enough, when you log in for the first time with your character, you will get to select extra languages that your character speaks. You will then be able to use the interface to speak that language, and only other characters that understand the language will be able to understand and converse with you when you speak that language. Instructions on downloading and installing DMFI can be found here, just below the WorldGate link. As far as I can tell, installing DMFI has no adverse effect on your game when playing non-DMFI modules. I had it installed on Sunday when we played through the official campaign, and the only difference was that one of my right-click context menus had a DMFI option on it that didn't do anything, since DMFI is not installed on the official campaign.

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The Naeldor Campaign will use the World Gate client for updating the required campaign files.  I have tested it out tonight, and gotten it working like a charm.  I have instructions here for downloading, configuring, and using the client.  You need to be logged in to read the instructions.  Don't be shy about messaging me (Venture) if you have any problems, or you may want to post in the WorldGate instruction thread so that others can benefit from any issues you have getting it working correctly.

The beauty of WorldGate is that it overcomes one of NWN2's biggest limitations - file size.  In all multiplayer modules, all players must download and install a pwc file, which contains all of the walkmesh data for the module.  If even one single change is made to the module between sessions, an entirely new pwc file would normally need to be downloaded and installed.  This could be quite cumbersome.  WorldGate gets around this.  A pwc file is actually made up of many smaller files.  WorldGate compares these small files on naeldor.com with the files on your local machine, and only downloads the parts that you need.

For now, you should download the client and make sure it is configured, but you may want to hold off on downloading the pwc file.  It could and probably will change in the next few days.  If you're not concerned about bandwidth, and want to see if the client works, you can feel free to download the pwc file with WorldGate.  If you do, and if it works, please let us know (one guinea pig would actually be nice, if someone is brave and unconcerned with bandwidth).

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I've posted a thread in the forums discussing some important campaign information. There will probably be one or two more of these posts in the coming days. Please check it out.

Also, there is a new poll on the bottom left of this page, asking how much advance notice you need to download a big file. It looks like the first pwc file will be approximately 350 megs. I will probably be able to zip this to a much smaller size, but for now want to assume the worst.

  1. Registration for 1st Naeldor session is up
  2. Forum overhaul complete
  3. Roleplay Forum experience point bonuses begin
  4. Fate of the Heaven Slayer: Preview 1

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