Freescape: A world builders journey.
Cablefish
Member Posts: 37
So i've set out to create my dream world for the NWN:EE. It's a dream of a postapocalyptic fantasy sandbox called Freescape. Inspired by Chass' amazing world of Isandor, it's a place where players are thrown into a world with nothing but wilderness, old ruins, strange animals, mystical fenomena and natural ressources to exploit.
The vision
Freescape is what remains of a world where a magical disaster destroyed all civilization and tore up the fabric of reality itself. There are holes and cracks in curtain of reality and sometimes stuff from other worlds slip through. Powerfull and strange forces are at work in the shadows while players struggle to find their identity and purpose in this new world where anything is possible.
The features
There are no talking NPC's or merchants in this world. Everything is player or DM-driven even structures and settlements. Players however have the freedom to create monster races and subraces. It's a world of intense and exciting roleplay where your descisions and choices matters and consequences are real.
The journey
I'm gonna use this thread to chronicle my journey towards making this world a reality in NWN:EE.
I'm very much a novice when it comes to scripting, coding and world building but i know the dream is possible because i've lived it once. In 2010 i took another module called Overgate. I removed all the areas and customized it to make Freescape live. For glorious few months the world lived and breathed and at the end it had 30 daily players and almost never had any periods of inactivity. However good things never last. The summer ended and i got busy at the university. Spaghetti code resulting from me integrating too many different systems without truly understanding them meant i reached some dead ends with bugs i couldn't fix spiraling out of control. Furthermore i had no hosting service and had to run the server from my home computer resulting in downtime when i slept.
However with the release of NWN:EE there might be room and a playerbase for another shot at making the freescape dream live. As far as i know there are no fantasy sandboxes out there and they were a ton of fun so i bet people will play it. Also the bugfixes and support for the game should help a ton too!
This time however i'm determined to do it right. I'll learn the systems, code my own scripts and learn about what i'm doing when i put stuff in my module. And as i am still very much a beginner i think it might have value to other people deciding to follow along on my journey. Both so i can get input, help and feedback on my descisions but also to inspire fellow builders and coders out ther.
I don't have to do this alone either. As long as it's a fantasy sandbox with a heavy focus on roleplaying it doesn't even have to be Freescape. Any coders, scripters and builders who want to join should be most welcome! So are anyone willing to answer a ton of dumb questions. Later on i'll also need a ton of help DM'ing, designing areas and playtesting my work as it progresses.
If you wanna take this journey with me please join my discord server for updates and an easy way to reach me. It can be found here: https://discord.gg/SR6Q5jn
If you have any comments or anything feel free to post them below.
I'll update this thread with progress on my the status of the work. what i'm learning and what i'm doing! Now lets get started!
The vision
Freescape is what remains of a world where a magical disaster destroyed all civilization and tore up the fabric of reality itself. There are holes and cracks in curtain of reality and sometimes stuff from other worlds slip through. Powerfull and strange forces are at work in the shadows while players struggle to find their identity and purpose in this new world where anything is possible.
The features
There are no talking NPC's or merchants in this world. Everything is player or DM-driven even structures and settlements. Players however have the freedom to create monster races and subraces. It's a world of intense and exciting roleplay where your descisions and choices matters and consequences are real.
The journey
I'm gonna use this thread to chronicle my journey towards making this world a reality in NWN:EE.
I'm very much a novice when it comes to scripting, coding and world building but i know the dream is possible because i've lived it once. In 2010 i took another module called Overgate. I removed all the areas and customized it to make Freescape live. For glorious few months the world lived and breathed and at the end it had 30 daily players and almost never had any periods of inactivity. However good things never last. The summer ended and i got busy at the university. Spaghetti code resulting from me integrating too many different systems without truly understanding them meant i reached some dead ends with bugs i couldn't fix spiraling out of control. Furthermore i had no hosting service and had to run the server from my home computer resulting in downtime when i slept.
However with the release of NWN:EE there might be room and a playerbase for another shot at making the freescape dream live. As far as i know there are no fantasy sandboxes out there and they were a ton of fun so i bet people will play it. Also the bugfixes and support for the game should help a ton too!
This time however i'm determined to do it right. I'll learn the systems, code my own scripts and learn about what i'm doing when i put stuff in my module. And as i am still very much a beginner i think it might have value to other people deciding to follow along on my journey. Both so i can get input, help and feedback on my descisions but also to inspire fellow builders and coders out ther.
I don't have to do this alone either. As long as it's a fantasy sandbox with a heavy focus on roleplaying it doesn't even have to be Freescape. Any coders, scripters and builders who want to join should be most welcome! So are anyone willing to answer a ton of dumb questions. Later on i'll also need a ton of help DM'ing, designing areas and playtesting my work as it progresses.
If you wanna take this journey with me please join my discord server for updates and an easy way to reach me. It can be found here: https://discord.gg/SR6Q5jn
If you have any comments or anything feel free to post them below.
I'll update this thread with progress on my the status of the work. what i'm learning and what i'm doing! Now lets get started!
1
Comments
It can be found here: https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/other/nwn-university-document-help-pdf-reference-guide-tutorial-xls-collection
It was actually a lot of fun and i feel i learned a lot. When i look at uncommented code from other modules they tend to make a lot more sense now. Theres still A LOT i don't understand but it's coming more together. I've even managed to make improvements to some systems that my old module used (mostly involving message triggers and modification to crafting scripts)
Now i'm gonna move on to testing and modifications of the different systems in place for Freescape. The real basis for any module relying so heavily on crafting and survival is the Crafting System. There are two obvious candidates. But i really can't decide which one to actaully go for in the module.
The two candidates are CNR or UOAcraft as a base for crafting system.
Pros and cons:
UOAcraft:
+ Progress is slower and more suited for the freescape world.
+ System is bigger and has more diversity
+ Theres planting farm seeds and stuff thats truly amazing.
- The code isn't documented very well
- The system isn't complete
- Theres obvious bugs like the fishing system not working.
CNR:
+ Easier to costumize and the code is better documented.
- No plantable farming.
- Less cool and flashy.
Any input or help would be greatly appreciated.
The two systems can be found here:
CNR: https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/script/craftable-natural-resources-cnr
UOAbigails Crafting System: https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/script/uoabigails-crafting-system-v08a-hotu