NWN server, and starting out.

[Garrett]

Well i made a char on our server. "Garrett Shadowalker" lame and boring name. but it sucks. because all the monsters in the starting area are dead, and by the time i found out where to go, the current party was way ahead of me.

So whats the deal with this? do monsters respawn?

Ive found some other stupid things. like quests dont happen for some people (specifically the level up 'quest') if you dont talk to people in the right sequence before someone else talks to the right person.
I hope this isnt true for the rest of the quests.

[[AK]Palooka]

This is just for the prelude module, because it is only designed for one person. I think it would probably just be best to keep the server in chapter 1 for now.

[Badwill]

Ok. I have the game. It's installed. Do I just log onto the AK server and do the prelude? Are u guys all on level 50 by now hehe.

[[AK]The Beast]

Not me, Badwill; I've got a level 1 character for client-based multiplayer servers, and I haven't even created a server-based character for our NWN server yet. My single-player character is level 3 or 4--I only played a couple hours last night, and probably won't get the chance to play this evening.

[Pixelsponge]

A few things I have noticed... all the mosters are dead... well maybe not all, but most. So leveling up is next to impossible. Also been a couple times where I was just walking around and then all this crap will spawn around me, I am guessing its some DM thing, but I was dead instantly.

[Wickhawk]

It does kinda suck that all the stuff is done in the first area. On the other hand, questing around with Jackle and and other pubbers early in the afternoon was a world of fun.
Speaks volumes I believe, for when we lock it down and do some questing as a group.

[AK]Wickhawk

[[AK]Palooka]

Yeah, passwording the server will probably be preferred eventually.

On the sudden monster spawn, it wasn't a DM, Pix. I was only on as a DM for about 10 minutes today, and I didn't kill anyone.

[Zorro]

Yeah, there's a number of problems when playing the campaign in a multi-player environment... Interestingly, we've currently got 62 players in the server vault as of just a moment ago... Pretty cool patronage of our little server in the obscure reaches of the northwest... Most any time I check there are 4-6 players on the server playing away. Unfortunately, the mod won't reset until everyone leaves the server empty for a few minutes. On the bright side, Chapter 1 is pretty involved so there's no shortage of things to do for a little while at least...

What I think this means is that some real concerted effort needs to be spent by us in building a DAoC/EQ-style persistent world, complete with quests, respawning mobs, camps, and all the trappings of your average D&D wannabe interactive game... Obviously, the work required will be immense. Since the server needs to run a single module, the version control and whatnot will have to be precise, but I think it's manageable and could turn out to be a ton of fun to play... not just for us, but for the general public as well... Now, if I can just figure out how to draw a damned wall in the toolkit...

I was on DM'ing for a few minutes this afternoon, so it might explain the random pops... or it could just be the "encounters" that I created while playing around that were assininely difficult... I was pretty much thinking that they'd disappear once the server emptied out, but that hasn't happened today it seems... Anyway, resetting the server as we speak to shake out all the silliness and get some of the baddies back up... We'll figure this thing out eventually... Just don't get frustrated and take your wagon home in the meantime... This is just the speedbumps of being an "early adopter"...

In other news, the server is now running the game type "PW Story" or "Persistent World Story" to see if that fixes any of the problems you guys were having with late entry... lemme know...

[[AK]Squidly]

You can create encounter zones and spawn points. Some are one shot only, others are repeating.

In the mod that came with the game, the vast majority of encounters are one shot only.

I would say that folks should play the solo game on their machine to get used to the interface, and play the server version on the AK box if you want to interact with people - but don't get too attached to your characters just yet. It's doubtful they'll be re-used if people start running custom mods.

I'm working on a dungeon hack mod right now that you can use the characters in, and will contain many repeating spawns. It's just going to be for the "joy" of multiplayer combat (as well as getting me experience in using the toolkit.) My cable is down until Wednesday, so I'll have lots of "quiet time" to focus on getting it ready. Hopefully by Wednesday I'll have something for Zorro to implement.

[[AK]Faxman]

The 'random encounters' trigger in the toolset can be scaled to the players level. The module will scale up or down the difficulty of the encounter as desired. For example, you choose the type of encounter, say, repeating, then choose the class of monster (ex. goblinoids..) then simply draw a shape on the map, that when a player steps into it the encounter begins, and monsters appear. The toolset is surprisingly easy to use, but its the C scripting to make the module more interesting and add subtle nuances that's proving challenging for me. I'm having trouble having cattle follow waypoints around a farmers pen, or deer run through a forest for example. Its fine if they just stand there, but it would be nice to add some realism to the mix. I'll try some new things this weekend, and playtest it to see how it looks once more. But apart from that, using the toolset has generally been a pleasant experience.

[[AK]Squidly]

It would be nice if new creatures/tilesets/items are released in the future. What's out there seems more limited than I'd prefer.

[[AK]The Beast]

A computer version of the Monstrous Compendium? That would be cool.

[[AK]Faxman]

The toolset is defiantely a bit thin on the monsters...I mean, a D&D game without a Beholder? C'mon! They left out some very interesting beasts, but hopefully more will be added.

[[AK]Bribo]

Originally posted by [AK]The Beast
A computer version of the Monstrous Compendium? That would be cool.

That's Monster Manual for us old-schoolers. (I still have all my original AD&D books - replete with bad artwork.)

If Squid is already looking for the Beholder we all should be VERY scared!

[[AK]Squidly]

My goblin hordes will be more than a match for you, Bribo.

I just wish they'd included the entire original Monster Manual. As it is, they've only got a small sub-set, with a real weakness when it comes to lower level creatures.

Where's my Kobalds? My Gnolls? My 50 varieties of mold and slime?

Oh well, I'll make do.