Hearkenwold

[Dorateen]

If, while making the conversion, you think of any ideas on how to improve the IB toolset and engine, please share them.

Hi slowdive. Both engines have their strengths. It is a pleasure to write conversations in IceBlink. While, in the KotC example below, you can key dialogue responses to certain conditionals, it is not the same as selecting characters like the party chat system. But it is close to the general idea.



What KotC has going for it is the incredible depth of systems and smart AI behavior. This is what Knights of the Chalice was famous for, tough encounters due to the enemy making intelligent tactical choices. But beyond that, I would say the advantage the KotC toolset has is that all these spells and feats and special abilities are already present, ready to be applied to player characters and monsters alike. I think a lot of what is here could be replicated in IceBlink. But different builders like to focus on different things. I enjoy world building. But others like to focus on systems and mechanics. I recall Pongo had made a bunch of new spells available in the Eldarin Stone, I haven't gotten around to see if I could import them over. I think a big boost to IceBlink would be to include as many options for creature blueprints as possible. Creatures should also be able to access the same traits as player characters, if possible, like going stealth and performing sneak attacks. Again, there exists right now the ability for a builder to adjust the AI in IceBlink in a limited capacity. But it is not programmed to have a monster break away in a fight or switch targets mid battle to neutralize a threat. This is all combat related, of course, and not really fair to compare with Knights of the Chalice which was hailed for its tactical combat engine.

Ultimately, I think both toolsets are great and compliment each other well.

[Dorateen]

I have a new version of Hearkenwold available to download. It is still using the 196 build of IceBlink, but to designate this update, I have named it 196.1

If players already downloaded the previous version, they need only copy over the Hearkenwold module folder from the extracted download.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

The purpose of this update is to introduce the Wizard guild adventure, the final mission available to player characters. For a little background, Xemne gives information about the types of mages in the gameworld.



Significantly, if the players explore thoroughly, then a wizard in the party might find a way to gain a trait associated with one of the four orders.



Not to be too confusing, but this is separate from the guild itself, which is known as the Wands of Wonder. Rather, these traits function as a bonus to further customize a wizard character, much like the way Fighters can pick up a Barbarian trait from a certain trainer. The party will need to complete the overall objective of their mission to be able to march back to the wizard guildmaster and be granted membership accordingly.



As appropriate for wizard themed content, I have added a new spell into the magical arsenal, available at 6th level. Disintegration is a single target cast, that can possibly do enough damage to kill most creatures. In fact, it is a d100 roll, with a further fortitude save allowed. I hope the spell's high cost, and chances for success being hit or miss, will balance it out.



Finally, this battle with Hook Horrors showcases the Disintegration spell in action. Instead of capturing the moment of destruction, refer to the log that indicates, the monster failed its saving throw and took a massive 81 points of damage. No more Hook Horror.



With the completion of this guild quest, all organizations are available for player characters to join, respective of their class. In the course of the adventure, there will come a time when the party will seek counsel with the King of Astaria who resides in Castle Hearkenwold. And there must be present a member of the guilds among their ranks. But that is for a future update.

On a side note, I also completed a playthrough of all six guild adventures. Our Thief finished at level 10, and wizard was level 9. The rest of the party was 8th level. Accordingly, the next chapter of Hearkenwold will steer more in the direction of higher difficulty. Still, there are always earlier areas of the map, which I will return to and sprinkle with level appropriate content.

I'm going to be working on the conversion of the module into the Knights of the Chalice engine. But feedback on the IceBlink version is always appreciated, and I will give attention immediately to any design issues that are found.

[slowdive]

Congrats Dorateen on hitting this milestone. Downloading now.

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive!

September Update

For this progress report, I just want to give an overview of how the Hearkenwold campaign is structured at this time. Rather, than using the term "chapters", I like to say it was built up in stages. These are sections of the adventure that have content designed around a defining feature or objective for the characters.

• Stage 1 involves the investigation of the attack on Kelton Manor
  Stage 2 includes the return to the Manor itself
  Stage 3 is the journey to Relmfur and its civil unrest with the city of Skardale
  Stage 4 contains the six class related guild adventures

Now because Hearkenwold was designed with the principle of open ended exploration in mind, it is entirely possible for a player to move through these "stages" as freely as long as they able to. For example, the guild quests could be opened up before setting out to Relmfur. Or the party could in theory reach Skardale without ever bothering with the Kelton Manor angle. The concept of stages came about due to the natural chronological order of putting this all together. Now that everything is present, the player is welcome to have at it and tackle the gameworld however they choose.

One a related note, I am almost done with the building of Stage 1 in the Knights of the Chalice engine. That should be finished in a few weeks, and then I will be working on Stage 2 in October, and so on. If I can continue to make good progress, I estimate I will be onto the guild quests by the end of the year. That means an early 2021 release of the KotC version, for those interested, and then back to designing new content in IceBlink.

Here are a few screenshots from recent work done in the KotC engine. Anyone familiar with Hearkenwold will recognize some of these scenes.

[Dorateen]

October Update

I am making good progress on the conversion of Hearkenwold to the KotC2 engine. It would be great to finish by the end of this year, but I think I will be working on the guild adventures early in 2021. After that, I can return to designing new content for the IceBlink version.

Here is a few screenshots to keep track of things













Anyone who has played through the module, will probably have an idea of whereabouts I am in rebuilding the adventure.

One thing I wanted to mention, in terms of possible refinements between IceBlink and KotC. In several of the screenshots above, you can see the area of effect targeting as a red circle that can hover over the map with effected creatures highlighted. I think it is very helpful to mouse over the field this way in order to get precises targeting for spells. In IceBlink, when a spell such a sleep or fireball is cast, the player has to click on the map, being aware of the range of squares for a particular spell. Then the targeting box is drawn. If the location is not correct (getting some allies in the box, or wanting to reposition) the player has to click again, or escape the spell and try again. I think this could lead to potential mis-clicks, and unintended targeting at least for new players unfamiliar with IceBlink. I'm not sure if this is coded in such a way, but it would be more comfortable to draw the targeting box for AoE spells, and let the player move that around the map, and THEN click to fire the spell when it is in the correct position.

edit: I probably did not describe the AoE targeting properly. I was reviewing a video, and basically when casting a fireball for example, IceBlink automatically draws the targeting box centered on the caster. The player has to click on a different spot on the map, in order to move the 5x5 square box. I think what is less fluid, is that usually a mouse click is associated with executing a command. It could be tricky to click to place the box, and then click again on the screen to cast the spell. With potential to click too soon, or activate the spell when you are trying to move the AoE target. It's not a problem, but I have watched it happen, and is something you get used to. It is just a comparison with KotC where you mouse hover over the area, freely seeing what characters are in range and affected, and then the player clicks to activate the spell or ability.

[slowdive]

Looks like you are making some great progress there so far. Having a targeting system based on hover-over rather than click would work great for PC, but I'm not sure how that will work for touchscreens. I had that same problem with the hover-over text on props for touchscreens. I think for the PC version, your suggestion makes more sense and is more intuitive. For the touchscreen versions, we may need to have a fall back option of touch once to place target and touch again to confirm. Maybe there is a way to add a player toggle for switching back and forth between the two options or have an auto detect looking for devices without a mouse.

[Dorateen]

You're right, I was not thinking of touch screens. After playing IceBlink for so long, I get used to how everything works. But with all the similarities to KotC, the one thing that jumped out at me was the smoothness of its targeting system.

[slowdive]

I agree, I think we need to change the default targeting system on PC to use hover-over to look for a target and then a single click to do the action. For touchscreens, we can set the default to be the two click option. We could then add a toggle (to the list of other existing toggles) to switch back and forth between the two targeting systems.

[Dorateen]

November Update

I want to keep giving a status report of the KotC Hearkenwold conversion project, as once this is completed I will be looking to resume the adventure with new content for IceBlink in 2021.

I wrapped up stage 2 of the campaign, which generally includes Asherim and the return to Kelton Manor. Over the past few weeks, I have at the same time been uploading into the editor maps for stage 3, which would be characterized by the road to Relmfur, the Fortress and the city of Skardale. That is going to be a big task recreating those areas, as they are fairly content dense. I'd like to finish before the end of the year, and then I will only have to add the six guild quests.

Here are some KotC screenshots from Kelton Manor. What isn't captured here, I am using a windy soundtrack in lieu of area music, which greatly enhances the atmosphere of desolation.

[slowdive]

Looks great! The use of a wind track should fit very well with the manor areas. It looks like you are making some good progress with the KotC conversion!