35 replies to this topic

[leahnkain]

Splitting this dialog is a good suggestion.Thank you Ashara. I have written a lot of dialog so far and my biggest concern is that all of the characters sound a bit different. My other concern is the dialog sounds natural with some conversations seeming awkward at times due to the relationship of the characters. (Althon you will learn in the MOD doesn?t like Vildamyr.　So there should be some awkwardness in there conversations) I have been holding back at times not using my full vocabulary range because I don?t want all of the characters to speak unnaturally like a novel. I am an English literature professor (I live in Japan but I am Canadian) so at times I worry about how complex my written English can be at times. Ashara I like your writing style and your ideas are great! Would you like to write an NPC or contribute? There are many who need text, it might also be nice if someone could proof read my text once in a while.

Edited by leahnkain, 22 August 2005 - 12:19 AM.

[Sir BillyBob]

Somebody proofing besides me!

[Fluttering Butterfly]

Hey Sir Billy Bob, as soon as the modules are released could u tell us which NPCs are going to have quests or if some NPC plays a major role ? I'm not asking for a spoiler, just an advice for use certain NPCs  ....BTW, I think it'd be worthwile to have a list of NPCs with their own quests......Thx for the great job !!!

Are you going to give spoilers like the characters personalities. I guess Vildamyr and Althon aren?t good. Who are the main NPC?s? I agree with Mauro, I want to see some of NPC quests listed. I wonder who is the MOD team? Is it Sir Billybob,wizard and leahnkain? Can they tell us about themselves? This is the biggest idea for a Mod, finally no son of Bhaal story. If you need a woman?s voice with German accent I can help. My English isn?t so good yet. I am studying at Elmira college. I am going to get a microphone soon.

[Sir BillyBob]

Here is some info about the starting lineup of NPCs:

Shadow - halfling thief, Chaotic Neutral
Rurik - dwarf fighter/cleric, Lawful Neutral
Dirbert - Human archer, Neutral Good

I made all three neutral aligned so reputation would be a factor this early in the game. It doesn't matter if you are going to play good or evil, they shouldn't leave you immediately and you won't have to listen to them bitch about how happy or mad they are about your rep.

I did this and then never bothered to add anything to change your rep. Mainly because I think solving a problem for a clan of kobolds is not something the common folk of Faerun are really going to care about. Reputation issues don't start until you head to Saltmarsh. Even then most of the quests do not raise or lower your reputation.

Charisma is a whole different issue. In Saltmarsh, the town is under stress from refugees coming in from the smaller villages that are getting raided and burned. You are a stranger in town, your reputation means nothing because they don't know you anyway. Your charisma however can effect dialogs with some peasants and stores. If you have a low charisma and you are a stranger, they don't want to talk to you. A paladin or any other high charismatic person, even unknown to them, can get people to open up and talk.

By the time you pick up Aesdale, you should have a full party that is basically good to neutral. You can pick up Althon, who is lawful evil, to start turning the party evil. There will be other evil NPCs later.

Remember people that I am no where near done. I suspect this project will take over a year to fully build. There will be changes and more opportunities for you to play evil or good as you see fit. As I mentioned in another thread, there will also be opportunities for you to change your alignment. Althon is your starting point if you want to become truly evil. You can always create a character that is evil but like in Candlekeep, it isn't realistic (great word for a fantasy game) to start that way. Unlike Candlekeep, you can actually guide your path to the dark side.

[leahnkain]

As for NPC banters my target is to create enough dialog to be comparable to the bioware NPC?s. The dialogs are clean?what I mean is it is similar to the bioware dialogs with no strong language or vulgarity. I think this way everyone can enjoy. I have no idea how many pages of dialog I have sent to Sir Billy Bob but I at this moment everyone has something to say. Some combinations of NPC?s have heavy dialog made for each other at this moment. For example, Aesdale, Althon and Blush. Althon, Markessa and Vildamyr. I hope in the future to flesh out all NPC?s so you can enjoy many interesting combinations and I want the player to feel everyone is useful. Every NPC will have there own side plot?hopefully. So this will make the game more enjoyable to reply over and over again. Maybe Sir Billy Bob can give a better idea of how many pages of dialog has been already created. Already it is a lot and more files are coming his way?

[Sir BillyBob]

For anyone who knows dialog files, most NPCs are having links in the 50s and 60s. So that means there are at least that many comments/statements made by each one. In some banters, the talking goes between 3 people but most are just 2. Erky and Rurik have the least. I am not sure why since I started out with them having more than the others, but maybe it is because I haven't really worked on them talking to Aesdale and Althon yet. Shadow and Dirbert both talk more to the later NPCs, with Shadow probably having the most dialog of anyone (didn't I say she was like Imoen?).

We have some banters that you will not see yet because they don't take place until the slaver mods (A1 - A4). I still have a few areas to make before then (Selgaunt and MistMoor) and I still have to wrap up this latest patch/update so you all can see the changes I have been working on.

[Sir BillyBob]

Oh, are you using PST or BG dialogue style?

I didn't know PST had a different dialog style. I guess that means I am using BG.

[Sir BillyBob]

Oh. Well I type them all into DLTCEP and export the results to D files. I would only need to write code like that if I was adding to existing files (like a mod for SoA). Looks like I used long-hand for those mods.

[Fluttering Butterfly]

Who are the main NPC?s? I agree with Mauro, I want to see some of NPC quests listed. I wonder who is the MOD team?

Still no answer. Will you use any original sounds for the NPC'S, how about pictures? Will you post more screenshots for us to see Are any potrait pictures original?

[Sir BillyBob]

Still no answer on what? We have 3 of the NPCs listed with some dialogs and stat info about each one. Portraits and soundsets can always change with the growth of this mod. Most of the NPCs have IWD soundsets right now (Althon has TheWizard's voice). I would gladly change any of them if someone out there is willing to make a soundset for me (make, not steal from a TV show or movie). Portraits come from various sources, some from IWD, some from other websites. We are working with someone to make originals for some NPCs.

I have already said what I can about quests. There is nothing else to add at this point. They aren't done but are planned for future chapters. Most of your questions could be answered by downloading and installing this mod.

[leahnkain]

the Read me also has alot of information. You should check it if you haven't read it yet.