So woo boy Dragon Age! I've been MIA for a bit, but have been busy. I crafted the Pink Pigtail Inn plank by plank, and lightmapped the bump normals and all that crap. It's actually REALLY sweet, but I began to realize as I was lip-syncing Homer Simpson WAV files into Elnia's conversation tree that the Dragon Age toolset is just ridiculous. It's a tool meant to be used by a whole team, and there's proof of this cooked right into the program itself. You check components out of the network library, work on them for your shift, and then check them back in. This is a tool for 50 people to cooperatively create an epic saga. Every time I opened a new menu, I realized that the 'iceberg' I thought I just discovered was in fact the tip of another iceberg. Then THAT iceberg was in fact just the ice planet Hoth, and there was an entire ice galaxy in the ice universe that I was just starting to dimly become aware of.
So if it's at all possible to say this without sounding like I'm copping out in any regard, I've gone back to NWN2. I REALLY want to stress that last sentence. I'm trying to prove I can wrap my mind around a toolset, not show that I'm the master of every single facet of game design. There are people who are sound engineers and level designers, and that's all they do. I was spending way too much time on every single aspect (because with DA, you can), but I need to step back and look at the bigger picture. It's great that you can lip sync Menudo while doing barrel rolls with the camera while shooting custom particle effects from every pore in your NPC's face as you manually align every nail in the floorboards, but it's good to take a step back and realize a simple fact: you can make an awesome scale pyramid using Legos, and you don't need to hand bake 10,000 tiny little adobe bricks in the desert sun to show you get it.
Cop out? I hope not.
Anyway. Every character is created, and about 90% of the locations are done. I've got the journal and quests written up, and all the quest items created. I'm putting the final touches on the conversation trees, then will begin Operation Desert Script. So far, I'm liking Jong's character the best. He wants you to kill ten rats.
Anyway.
Back to the mines.
-_-
ReplyDeletePPI looks cool. Its ambience fits that of the story line you told couple posts ago.
I loved the interior of the PPI! I'm glad I finally got the option to see any more of it than just the fire!
ReplyDeleteAnd about your work, I just can say: go, go, go and cheers for your dedication.
i reckon I'll still be using it as an example that i *can* sit down and crank out believable interiors. I'll eventually go ahead and export it so you guys can run around in it f you have Dragon Age.
ReplyDeletecool
ReplyDeleteI like the owl named owl. I hope he would've been a quest giver.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think you're using too many sustainable spells, you have 0 stamina/mana. L2playDA:O.
Been playing a lot of DA:O so it's pretty cool to see an NPC named after me in the engine. Keep plugging away!
ReplyDeletelooking great buddy, really well done! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the check in thing, do you mean like- it has a system showing who has done what at what time? thats pretty awesome if so.
@Kromus: the DA toolset uses a databaseto keep all the stuff lined up. You actually have to install SQL during the setup. You aren't working with individual files in folders. So when you connect to the database for the project, you can check out certain items, work on them, and then check them back in. It prevent two people from both working on 'bob' at the same time, and makes sure they don't clash with each other.
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge step up from 'open the single ixobelle.mod' file in my NWN2 folder.
Creating in NWN2 first is the way to go, especially if you're trying for design positions in the industry. NWN2 (and NWN too) has been the semi-standard for RPG design sandboxing for some time now, so your work will be better recognized.
ReplyDeleteDragon Age may replace it in that aspect, but that's going to take some time.
Plus, completing what you've started will look good too. =)
I haven't kept up on your whole process, but I'm assuming you're
D'oh! Truncated--
ReplyDelete-- I haven't kept up on your process but I'm assuming you're still working on your first NWN2 map? Are you openly releasing it or just using it for job submissions?