Attack of the BouncyBlog (Ree-do)

Hello everyone and Happy Friday!

When you get a chance, come check out BouncyRock's new & improved front page. It's a lot easier than a Forum to navigate around for information on BR releases and updates.

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Layout and Design by: Jonny Ree

Firglore: Overland Map

Storm of Zehir's Overland map system was my favorite part of the new expasion.  It felt old school and I liked it.  So after some quick discussions with Jonny and Dave, I began working on one for Misery Stone.  I must say, the OLM placeables seem to be visually appropriate for their respective areas so far, which I'm excited about.  Then again, you could just use scaling...

This is still a heavy WIP, and I'm hoping to convince Jonny that it would be worth his time to create a Ravenloft-flavored GUI for the Overland Map screen.

It's a bird, it's a plane...

It's post-apacolyptic kung fu Gargoyle, complete with PC-mauling action!

Ree was experimenting with Deep Normal Map textures so I quickly stole his output (that pile of sweetness that the PC and Stonehands are fighting on top of) - I basically swapped out those two Black Cobblestone textures and reformed some of the height mapping to accentuate the endless piles of rubble which now serve as the city's walkways.

You may notice a new Sky in the background as well.  BTW, those are moving clouds - not just a skydome.  :)

A few things...

Hi again!

Last night was the first time I saw Lexi and Simza in action for myself (along with some of those faces Ree has been making) and must say... they almost look out of place, haha! ;)

Since Dave came on board, things in the writing deptartment have picked up as well. I've found we also share a lot of the same design philosiophies, so this is working out quite well so far!

And if you're going to edit any 2da files, I would suggest using tlkEdit2 on the Vault. It rocks - that simple!

Also, here's a little scratch demo I wrote and recorded last night. It's just me, my guitar and some heavy delay... Kinda sounds like a Diablo Village Theme:

GC_Minor_Demo

I'm not entirely sure what to do with it yet - perhaps let it float around until it finds a home, or donate it to the other project that's going on in BouncyRock - we'll see... It could use some flute and double-octave strings, that's for sure!

Thanks for stopping by - Here's to another Thirsty Thursday!

Screenshot: Grey Meadows Tavern

New Year Gaming

So last night, Dave (Eat2Surf) and I played a little MP session of Misery Stone.  Now, the campaign itself likely won't be MP due to all the cinematics going on, but I thought it was a good way to give him a tour of the Island of Terror.

It was my first time playing a dedicated multiplayer session in NWN2 (I have played on some PWs), and I must say... despite some of the kinks we experienced, it kinda felt like those good ol' days.  Let's see if I can explain what I mean in a picture...

(Dave and I are those armored freaks on the Southwest side of the table)

What you see here is the game's Foyer area (aka BouncyRock Studios).  You have been invited to play a game of Dungeons & Dragons.  On the table is a Character Sheet (used to level up and provides some gold), an Arms & Equipment Guide (to purchase supplies for the adventure), and a set of Dice (use when you're ready to play)

Work on the module has been progressing...  I'm back to at least 15 hours/week on the toolset, though most of the time lately has been dedicated to spicing up design with new SoZ stuff.  

Thanks for reading, everyone, and may 2009 provide you with loads of Gaming Fun!!

Asylum Drainage Pipes & Updated Forest Lighting

Finding more uses for these SoZ placeables...

Below is a screen taken from the Asylum grounds.  Here, you see the PC standing before a strange looking drainage system.  The obscene amounts of blood which now spill into the lake have tinted the body of water with a sick red.

I've also been busy revisiting the lighting for most of the areas.  Below is a couple of screens from an updated Whispering Forest.