Content Creation effort

[Ronan]

Alright, if we want ALFA2 to be consistant in loot, challenges, etc., everyone here has to start playing the same game. That means the same creatures, items, traps, placeables, doors, etc. We need, very badly, to replace NWN2's standard pallete with our own. In addition to making us more consistant in canon and standards across servers, this should also cut down on the effort to build a module considerably.

We need to fill the palette up with everything that can be visually and mechanically represented in NWN2. With the ability to scale and tint things, this could really be a LOT of content (think of every creature type in MM1-4 and MoF which could be represented by NWN2). We need people to oversee each part of the palette, possibly creating such things themselves, or possibly (and preferably) gathering the content from builders who make them as they go along. Or much of OE's content could already be suitable or near-suitable. I don't really care how its done as long as it gets done.

I will post guides to the wiki on how to create each type of content under the ACR2, and what sort of things to create. I will also let it be known what content we cannot yet create but will be able to (such as items worth silver or copper pieces), so as to keep people from building incompatible content.

So, any volunteers? Please do not volunteer for something you don't think you'll end up doing.

• Creatures: Ronan (and hopefully someone else)
  http://www.alandfaraway.org/docs/Techni ... MCreatures
• Doors:
• Items: Rusty
  http://www.alandfaraway.org/docs/Technical/A2BMItems
• Placeables: Blackwill
• Traps: Thangorn

[Fionn]

I can likely handle doors. I'm not anticipating a large number of them, but we need a few versions with different scripts on them. I am not anticipating hard coding every appearance/color possible, just AutoClose60, SyncLock, etc.

[Audark]

I've very little experience building a mod or anything comprehensive, but I am sure I could lend what skill I have to the creation of items that do not require scripts and such.

If you need someone to pump out a bunch of different looking mundane or low magic weapons and armor in short order, that would be something I could accomplish. I really enjoy creating weapons and armor so this is not something I'd neglect.

[Ronan]

I can likely handle doors. I'm not anticipating a large number of them, but we need a few versions with different scripts on them. I am not anticipating hard coding every appearance/color possible, just AutoClose60, SyncLock, etc.

All doors have the same scripts, its the variables on them which vary and make their features differ. Its a lot less annoying than making a new script for every new setting IMO.
http://www.alandfaraway.org/docs/Technical/ACR2Doors
If you need a feature thats not present in that specification, let me know and I'll add it. But I don't want people choosing their door features by looking through a gazillion script sets.

But yeah, we'll need each type in the DMG, maybe a few more types "in-between" the stats on DMG doors. NWN2 will likely have more door appearances than the DMG has types of doors. Then we will want a very variations on each type. Autoclose, unopenable (ie plot, for doors with no AT behind them or DM-only areas), and default. And maybe others. I don't think we should make any with the auto lock/unlock timers for shops, as I think thats something builders will want to customize per shop. So that means we've got a number of doors in the pallete equal to 3 or 4 times the number of door appearances OE provides.

Halrin, I don't really care how the stuff gets done as long as it does. So if you want to do it and find someone else to do the more complex stuff, thats fine. I don't anticipate getting too many items with custom scripts done, but the more the merrier really. The vast majority of it is weapons and armor. We'd want every type of weapon and armor at standard, MW, +1 and +2 levels. If you want to do multiple appearances for each, thats great too. But keep in mind this is the base pallete stuff, and it should look "normal", not exotic. I definitely don't want just any type of item you can make in the toolset, but instead the canon ones (from D&D and FR) which are supposed to be in more common use in Faerun. So with the exception of generic properties like +1, +2, etc. I'd like items to be based off of sourcebook material (ie, a Cloak of Elvenkind and Lesser Piwafwi instead of Cloak of Hide +whatever).

[Fionn]

I'm assuming that all functions are linked to the AT Target then? Lock/unlock/etc? What about knocking (onFailToOpen) or listening to the other side?

One other variable that may be desired is ACR_DOOR_OPEN_MESSAGE (string). This way you can force a stuck door to see no AT, but a message stating the room is choked with rubble.

[Ronan]

I'm assuming that all functions are linked to the AT Target then? Lock/unlock/etc? What about knocking (onFailToOpen) or listening to the other side?

Yes, its all linked to the AT target. But the specifics are unimportant, you can build doors to that spec. If the system doesn't work, we'll fix it before ALFA does live and uphold the spec. Knocking would be external to the door system (since not everyone who fails to open wants to knock), and would probably be done via emote like our current knock emote that speaks "*you hear a knocking at the door*". Anyways, this stuff should be the door thread, not this one.

One other variable that may be desired is ACR_DOOR_OPEN_MESSAGE (string). This way you can force a stuck door to see no AT, but a message stating the room is choked with rubble.

Ah, good idea. But, please move suggestions to the door thread.

[Audark]

I've no problem adhering to whatever you want built, I don't need to make the most rediculous magical items to enjoy the process, I'm just interested in contributing in a way that I can. My original thought was to create 3 or 4 appearances for each mundane weapon, and far more than that for each armor. I would mainly be trying to appeal to an array of appearances so new characters have not only a choice of armor type, but style and colour scheme.

As for canon magical items, I do not own sourcebooks except a bare few in pdf form that i grabbed once I started playing in alfa. Given a list of item names and canon attributes I could easily handle this, but not comming from a PnP background I don't knwo those items off the top of my head.

[Fionn]

As for canon magical items, I do not own sourcebooks except a bare few in pdf form that i grabbed once I started playing in alfa. Given a list of item names and canon attributes I could easily handle this, but not comming from a PnP background I don't knwo those items off the top of my head.

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org ... Items.html

[ç i p h é r]

Also, please be sure to conform to the blueprint naming conventions found here:

http://www.alandfaraway.org/phpbbforum/ ... hp?t=27887

Fee free to comment on what's up there. It's better to adjust our conventions now rather than later.

Maybe we should move this information to the wiki as well?

[Ronan]

Cipher, I was planning on writing up a guide for each item type. Naming conventions would be part of that, and all in one place where anyone wanted to contribute could (I hope) do so easily.

[Spider Jones]

I'll be getting the pre-order toolset in a couple days (hopefully, friggin' delays) and I'd be willing to help out where needed. I have access to just about every D&D 3rd/3.5 book that might have creatures or items we'd like to include.

[Blackwill]

If the pre-released toolset works on my box, I'm up to help make items and NPC and such for the basemod.

[ç i p h é r]

One thing about creatures and items....do we know the scope of variables we want to record on them at this time? Some things which we've discussed:

• Item Curses
• Creature Tribes
• Craftable Materials/Components
• Extreme Environments
• Healing Properties
  ...

There's certainly more discussed in general terms in the respective content threads in this forum but also in more detail in the basemod technical forum under the respective systems. We really need to define as many of these as possible (where we know it's needed) while creating the blueprints. So I think it would be good if those of you who have volunteered can go through and identify what you can before hand by scanning the proper threads (someone's got to do it ). Alternatively, let's tackle items by category and review/nail down what's needed before actually creating the blueprints. Any other suggestions?

If anyone's making herbs, medicine bags, or other items with healing properties applied at rest time, check the Wiki under the Resting & Healing heading for the proper tag and variable definitions to make them work. Door properties are also defined in the Wiki, so it looks like Fionn chose wisely.

[Ronan]

Item Curses

These aren't on "normal" items, so I don't think we need to worry about these now,

Creaure Tribes

Never thought we'd want these in the basemod?

Craftable Materials/Components

More than that... Crafting feats and skills as well. It doesn't look like anyone has really made any sort of initiative on the crafting effort, and as I said I don't have time. Hopefully someone will, but it seems pretty iffy right now.

Extreme Environments

Good point. I'll look over 3.5's rules and try to get a spec up. Or maybe Rusty will?

Healing Properties

There aren't too many non-magical things with healing properties out there. One thing we were discussing in standards is less need for herbs and the like if we distribute priests with spells of proper pricing (5gp * caster_level * spell_level, ie 5gp for a CLW).

[Rusty]

I can pull out the extreme environment data, while my ISP sorts out my connection.