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.