Break out your Bow...

On my 3rd web host at this point. Somehow I always get mixed up with the shitty ones like 000webhost.com. Seriously, worst customer service I have ever dealt with.

Let's just say they pulled down my site, with no warning or explanation, and refuse to say anything but "TOS violation". Now being the sort of fellow that I am.. I read their TOS over 3 bloody times before I uploaded anything, much less pulled down the site from my previous host, so I knew there was nothing I did that would violate TOS.

Anyway, New host, playing at being a bit less open about things now too. I think I'm gonna keep this a private party, so I know who's interested and who's involved. Anyway, map's back up I'm working on forums, and going to be saving ALL information as text documents now(000 Screwed me out of roughly a years worth of writing and planning).

I've gotten in a tentative Arcane Archer imbuing system, and Probably gonna try and knock out Archer, and AA classes for the next test build.

Archer will be just that, Any race, Any class, 2 or 3 BAB and a bow focus feat needed I think.
Will gain the +1AB/dam that AA use to, as well as Seeker arrow(Minus the idiotic spiral), and hail of arrows, both of which will be on a recharge timer.
Additionally, it'll get "fletching" which boils down to some math details. Any arrows that have a gold cost below a threshold value(calculated off of class level) Won't run out. Simple as that.

Arcane Archer, will better live up to its name. It will gain +1 magical damage(per 2 class levels) to any equipped arrow. The ability to imbue several combat spells onto arrows, and a caster level increase.
This boils down to say.. an 8 wizard, 12 AA
Having 4 caster levels from wizard(normal)
And 3 caster level's from AA(4 class levels = 1 caster level).

That's 7 caster levels, where a pure wizard would have 10. Weaker caster than a pure caster, Weaker BAB than a pure warrior. But a nifty mix of the two.

Additionally, I've got a new notion in mind. Archer, AA, and Ranger(I think), and possibly Jester(harper scout) will get access to a pair of new feats related to entrenching a position.

Right now, Entrench will take 1+1d2 rounds, and create a barricade in front of the user(I'll probably make it target able later) To keep this useful, my plan is to allow for 1 barricade per 4 levels. At max level you can throw down 10 in 20-30 rounds(2-3 minutes real time) and build yourself a nice little fort. Of course the barriers can be bashed down, and any player who can put 'em up, can take 'em down. Take them down instantly in fact.

Let's face it, range units in NWN get screw in about every way possible. You can't run and shoot easily, you run out of arrows constantly, Heck with it! I want to give rage shooters, and rangers some love back, and allow them to control the combat area some. We'll see how it plays out, but its a novel idea, and I really think its a good one.

After all, any idiot in the woods can drag some fallen tree limbs and rig up a place where its hard to be flanked. I know, I'm just such an idiot.

Still working with NWN1

Someone asked me the other day, why I was still working with NWN1. I confess, I sat there, and tilted my head like a dog trying to put its ear in position to listen better.

It took a second to put the question into terms that made sense to whit: "Why haven't you moved onto a newer game?" That one, I could answer. The difference lies in the spectrum of answer. Dane Cook, I believe it is, has a joke in his stand up involving a some sort of sandwich.

Rarely ordering this kind, he had no idea what was on it by default, and started telling the waitress what he wanted on it. I understand that, simpler to list the 4 or 5 things you want on it. This being a joke and all, the waitress asked him to list the things he didn't want on it instead. "OK, I don't want a cat's paw on my sandwich. I don't want a sheriff's badge on my sandwich. I don't want motor oil on my sandwich."

Bass Ackwards way of stating what should be, and what shouldn't be on the sandwich 'eh? Anyway back to NWN.

"Why are you still working with NWN?" has so many answers that its nonsensical to even try and answer. "Because I can't make classes for Pacman. Because I dislike like no clerics in Dragon Age. Because I had a dream where merlin told me to. Because the Halo toolset sucks(and it doesn't have classes)."

"Why haven't you moved onto a newer game?" Oh, ok, that's better, and simpler. "Because after all these years of experience, I can make NWN sing A Capella, Oh and NWN has a massive range of CC, and still gets more added on a regular basis. That, and the little fact that all its graphical shiney's don't push graphics cards and the like."

I mean, not to be unkind, but I have played 5 FPS halo games now, and not once did I pay any particular attention to the water. Meanwhile, Mass Effects Hammerhead hover-tank had be constantly paying attention to Lava, and acid and the like. I think you could honestly remove half the VFX from NWN, and I wouldn't mind.

True, graphics are damned nice, but no matter the level of detail, so long as I'm looking at a screen, I won't be immersed. When we have 3d holography draping the area around us when we're playing.. that's when I'll care if the bloom, and source lights and all look perfect.

NWN's graphics are adequate. Most all of the recent content pushes them from that threshold upto "Good", if not beyond.

Now with all that said, yes I am still working in NWN. Mostly on classes at the moment, and a bit on web stuff. I have my Knight base class, and my Warlock, and both handle about as I want them to. I won't share details here, not yet.. But I will share.. a world map. The set up for that was less than you think. A bit of writing PHP code to display it, and a nifty little app on the vault to generate up minimap's from existing area's.

Example:



That was done for a prefab with CTP babylon. But the point is, I can make changes to the maps, save module, Run App, upload images.. and the big world map, will adjust exactly that quick. Talk about awesome. Thus far, I lined up most of the edge borders and the like that way.

Anyway, enough babble for now.. More later perhaps.

In a Dragons Age..

So.. I'm going to talk about Dragon Age, and while I'm not entirely sure how to begin, the best I can come up with is to start with the beginning. I picked it up at 10AM from bestbuy(Which opens at 10AM), on November 2nd.

Today is November 16th, and I'm finally getting around to writing something about it.

I picked up the Xbox 360 version(Shame on me) for a rather simple reason: I wanted to get my Christmas shopping done, before Christmas came around. That would not be happening, if I got the DA toolset, which is a download that only works if you have the PC version. The side effect of this, is I get to play the game on the idiot-friendly, pre-built hardware box, with idiot-friendly controllers, and idiotic achievements.

First thing first, I'm impressed with how control is handled on the Xbox. Usually, RPG's are the star shaped peg that are beaten into a round hole with an over abundance of brute force. You can see some of the inventory controls below.


Now the truth is.. More quickslots would be a godsent, but its not realyl feasible to duct tape buttons onto the controller, still it was handled well.

You got 3 programmable letter buttons(X,Y,B) and 1 default action button(A). That sounds bad, until we get more into it. Those 3 buttons wear two hats each, which means they also have alternates functions when you depress a trigger, giving you 6 programmable buttons. But wait, There's more! Those 6 buttons, are tied into the Weapon set your using. So really you have 12 buttons(or if your like me, 10. I mapped X on both weapon set's so that it'd swap weapon sets.)

What that all boils down to is.. For example.
X = Swap weapons
Y = Activated talent 1
B = Activated talent 2
T+X = Activated talent 3
T+Y = Activated talent 4
T+B = Activated talent 5

That's just how I did it though. Now let's elaborate, knockdown in NWN would be an activated talent. Parry/Expertise would be a sustained mode, And passive talents, you can't map to a button anyway.

Assuming you made a Bard/Weaponmaster/Arcane archer for a minute(No, don't ask why), think about how many activated feat's you'd be using. KD, Disarm, Called shot, Ki Strike, bard song, curse song. Except in DA, Bard song is a sustained thing, so you can turn it on and leave it active for the next four days. Doesn't really need to be on the quick buttons 'eh? Likewise, healing is a trigger pull, and thumb rotation away. IT doesn't need to be quick-mapped.

In my example above, that covers most Melee things you'd be using right? Do the same for archer. Rapid shot is sustained, so ignore it. Called shot, fireball arrow, homing arrow, death arrow.. what else? Anyway, point made right? More buttons would be nice, but its enough, it works.

Anyway interface babbling aside, they did a really good job overall, with 2 things I'd have liked to see.

1.) Clicking down on a thumb stick to switch to 1st person view, or zoom in like your bow had a scope. Nothing major, or dire importance there, but damned it'd be nice.
2.) and this is where they screwed the pooch.. In Mass effect you could set your own waypoint on the map to help keep you from running around in circles like an idiot. The age of Dragons despite being made after Mass Effect.. lacks this technology.

Not major, but it'd help at a lot for people on their first run through.

Now then I haven't looked at the toolset, or played with it yet, but I can't help but say they did wonders with the dwarven city. Let's look at some pictures for a bit 'eh?

Human city:

Dwarven City:

Elven area of the Human city:


Human Town:

Dwarven Town:

Elves out in the Bushes:


I won't go on a rant about how different, and correctly all this architecture feels to me, but I will invite, and encourage you to look into it more. I can't find pictures I like for some of the ruins that most impressed me, or the Mountain top temple. But the fact remains, while the area design could be better, the views and locations are for one, enough to make me impressed. NWN2 failed to do that for me.

I could go on more, and I probably will later. But as it stands, I need to get back to stopping the blight.

Mask is a Ranger?

Neutral Evil Human Ranger (3rd Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength- 13
Dexterity- 13
Constitution- 11
Intelligence- 15
Wisdom- 16
Charisma- 12

Alignment:
Neutral Evil- A neutral evil villain does whatever he can get away with. He is out for himself, pure and simple. He sheds no tears for those he kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. He has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make him any better or more noble. On the other hand, he doesn�t have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has. Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies. Neutral evil is the best alignment you can be because you can advance yourself without regard for others. However, neutral evil can be a dangerous alignment because it represents pure evil without honor and without variation.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Rangers- Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

---

Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17)

Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XXXX (4)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Chaos --- XXXXXXXX (8)

Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Neutral - XXXXXXX (7)
Evil ---- XXXXXXXXX (9)

Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Halfling - XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Half-Orc - XX (2)

Class:
Barbarian - (-6)
Bard ------ (-4)
Cleric ---- (-4)
Druid ----- (-4)
Fighter --- (-2)
Monk ------ (-19)
Paladin --- (-17)
Ranger ---- XXXXXX (6)
Rogue ----- XX (2)
Sorcerer -- XXXX (4)
Wizard ---- XX (2)

---

What are you?

Why I Can't, Don't, and Won't, trust CEP..

This is a link.

I'm really not sure if I need to add anything to that, but I'll tell you what I see.

1. Barry(CEP team) off on a rant about how the government is out to get him.


2. 420(Also CEP team) posting a single sentence out of a letter with no context. To be fair, he did exactly as he was asked, no more or no less.


3. Morikhan(Q Lead) adds context with the entirety of the letter.


4. Actual conspiracy is revealed in all the things left unsaid, by CEP team.

Any idiot can lie. Let's face it the act requires no skill. Concealing the fact you are, requires skill at masking ones telltales. But online, your not looking at someones face anyway.. so no skill involved. Misleading(all the more so when its deliberate) that requires talent....

For example
"Have you seen your father Jane?"
"No mom."

Now.. If janes father called her.. or talked to her without her making eye contact(Think yelling down the hall). She's being completely truthful. This is why court oaths require one to Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So there it is in a nutshell, Evasive answers, Misleading statements, a dearth of cooperation, and if asked to dig back, I can find and show outright lies.

Sorry, but with that resume, I wouldn't trust these people to walk my dog, much less run a large For-the-community project.

Mmmmm! Tastes like Q!

Begin with the link..

Then we can get into "about damned time" followed by "Totally worth it."

Let's poke around a bit.. Gallery of portraits.

MY personal favorite?

Even after a victorious battle, the march home is exhausting. It is only discipline and honor that prevent the Sapphire Knights from discarding their heavy steel shields that only 2 days prior, kept the barbarian hordes at bay.