Monday 3 June 2013

The Forge of Winter

Current Foundry Rank: Artifex (Level 6)
Current Scribes' Enclave Rank: Member-Scribe

Decided to post this little tracker to let people know how I'm going with my quests being constructed in the Neverwinter Online Foundry, along with any notes I've found while using it and mistakes I make. Hopefully it proves useful to some others.

All the below are stand-alone and solo friendly.

One Step to Darkness [NW-DNJC9SK7A]  (1 hr story focus)
Rebel Incursion [NW-DFHLFGNQY] (15-20 min combat focus)
Dirty Rats [NW-DGLB37WLW] (15-25 min combat focus)
Spiders of the Glade [NW-DUWK7BEE7] (15-25 min combat focus)
Arroway Manor [NW-DP3GLWRDP] (8-15 min stealth focus)
Coeden [NW-DM719BCQ5] (15-20 min combat focus)
A Measure of Character [NW-DKJKPQKH8] (15-45 min story focus)

Notes:
  1. Given that people can still find/play individual quests out of order I'm not really fussed on releasing each one as they complete.
  2. So far, it's taken awhile to even complete one quest mainly due to the (not so bad, but still there) learning curve.
  3. Also spent sometime just writing in a notebook about how things will play out for the whole campaign.
  4. CTRL+S will save you if the editor hangs when you are dragging an item to the playing area.
  5. Don't duplicate maps after you put dialogue. Do it before.
  6. Don't add things to a map after putting dialogue or you'll need to add it in copied maps manually (argh).
  7. You can rig a timer by making guards fight monsters in a separate room.
  8. The Foundry Forums are a good source of info.
  9. People don't like running around. Tried to cut this down (Q1) but still ended up on the heavy side. I'm guessing especially the final part. Them tomb halls are huge. :P
  10. Dungeon prefabs don't always gel well together and cause odd graphic issues. To combat this I've put walls to try hide those missing textures.
  11. Knock backs can break a module if a monster falls to an unreachable zone and doesn't die. The players will then forever be in combat and cannot interact with stuff. With this in mind I paved over all the big holes I had (Q1) so it wouldn't happen.
  12. Getting reviews and plays is actually the hardest part it seems. Hopefully I can count on my guildies to get my content through the review phase (must get 5 reviews and 20 plays).
  13. Apparently it's common for new patch releases to break modules, according to Star Trek Online (another Cryptic game) foundry users. The only way to beat it is eternal vigilance. 
  14. After raging a bit I decided to have another crack at this, modifying my planned quests to be even simpler to better cater for the audience and more importantly, to work around the weaknesses of the editor.
  15. Having decided to switch to quick 15-20 minute quests I've realized it will be too cumbersome to try tell the story I had originally planned. Because of this I've scrapped my original campaign plan and have decided just to make a bunch of stand alone things that may or may not link together.
  16. Just as a note as of Febuary 2014 my quest and campaign limit has been bumped up from 10 to 15. Not sure if that was a global thing.
  17. Put up my current foundry rank. Totally aiming for level 10! Or.. 9... or 8... :P
  18. Joined the Scribes' Enclave to see what they are all about. They are bloody amazing. I strongly others to join too. Non-authors will be able to find some really fantastic hidden works in here as well. Unfortunately the Enclave has closed due to lack of activity.
  19. When posting for reviews on the Foundry Forums, always offer to trade. People are more likely to play your maps if they get some much needed plays and reviews themselves. 
  20. Join competitions. Especially silly ones since it will up your skill in things like decor and costume design! :P

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