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Messages - Lance Stargazer

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1
Development Journals and Discussion / Among the back alleys...
« on: April 09, 2021, 09:38:19 pm »
...all through Vehl and Arnax street runners pass messages that a Lord Gronk of Vehl is looking for mercenaries comfortable with wetwork to drop a bird to the innkeeper of the Harpy or a dockworker in Arnax.

"Little scamp," thinks Naldin, as a street urchin ducks past him, having just passed the news on to a mean looking half-orc who was in the process of voiding his lunch over the flag stones of the back alley behind Miggin's Mug. Needless to say, the half-orc was not in the mood for interaction with anyone at this time, and had tried to give the urchin half his mind before heaving violently again.

"Lord Gronk, eh?" He might have a pretty penny or two thought Naldin. Yes, he was definitely going to have to find all about this Lord Gronk, and his relationships in this nest of vipers that is Fort Vehl. Who were his "friends"? Well, allies at least. More importantly, who are his enemies?

Naldin looked over to see the half-orc had collapsed flat on the floor, his eyes rolled back in his head, his tongue sticking out. Yes, the poison Naldin had dripped into the half-orc's meal had worked quite well.

Naldin pushed his trolley-cart over to the fallen half-orc. With a practised motion, he heft the half-orc's body up and into the empty cart, then drew the hinged lid shut across the top. Naldin stooped in his ragged clothes, once more becoming the itinerant rag and bone man, pushing his knife sharpening cart about the streets of Vehl.
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2
Layonara Server / Version 3.72 Is Online!
« on: January 21, 2019, 05:45:35 pm »
Just a quick patch update with a few fixes

Fixes:
  • Fix battletide weirdness permanently (was fixed in dynamic scripts)
  • Fix animation bugs on some creatures
  • Fix some traps being able to be recovered when they shouldn't be after a reset
  • Fix random quest's not resetting after 5 days
Enhancements
  • Store subrace appearance on sql DB not Bioware DB
  • We don't need 10 separate card game areas, dropped it to 5
  • Clean up old items in the palette that are unused
  • Make the PC pick up a disarmed weapon or if their inventory is full tell the whole party that it's on the ground
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3
Important Layonara Announcements / Re: Site Update
« on: February 10, 2018, 10:16:03 pm »
Looks very nice and thanks for all the work!  Just wondering if there is still a server-status page?

Not yet, no, I'm sorry, there'll be one soon.

The Server Status is a block in the middle of the Forum Home page.
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4
Important Layonara Announcements / Re: Site Update
« on: February 10, 2018, 09:02:53 pm »
Looks very nice and thanks for all the work!  Just wondering if there is still a server-status page?
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5
General Discussion / NWN Enhanced Edition Information Compilation
« on: November 24, 2017, 03:58:47 pm »
Whew, okay, I've redone this post with more up-to-date information. I think it's shorter overall because of more links available and the removal of NWNX:EE info. There is no freed space I cannot fill.

Beamdog has released Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition! It's $19.99 through Beamdog, Steam, or GOG. (Note that if you buy from BD, you will also get a Steam key!)

There's a FAQ here with good info, check here first if you have a question.
Here's the Roadmap, which notes what is currently in development as well as what has already shipped.

Cumulative patch notes so far

Greatest hits -
  • Master server is back
  • properly cross-platform again (toolset is Windows only but works with Wine)
  • works on modern hardware
  • UI scaling
  • shader support
  • fancymaps
  • toolset QoL, eg clicking a placeable in the area view no longer resets its position on the z axis, hold key to scale along z, etc
  • new scripting functions
  • area instancing
  • Steam/Galaxy "join friend" support,
  • workshop support (not that great for anything but overrides and modules, but still nice to signal NWN is a game for modders)
  • nwsync option which autodownloads and deduplicates PW custom content (so a nwsyncable server changes a single file, you only download that one file!)
  • completed language support (1.69 was English-only)
  • general performance/stability
  • new ini options like StickyCombatModes, customizable NWN theme, camera settings, limits to various bonuses/penalties, upping max texture memory
  • also selling on Android (iOS "coming soon" ? after 64bit update most likely)
  • The primary NWN dev at Beamdog was/is a member of the existing NWN community and an nwnx maintainer, plus a few other members of the NWN community are volunteering their time and have been given source access or are otherwise working with BD

I didn't include things there were some rumors of that we haven't seen yet, or even things we know they're working on but haven't shipped, and some of those entries are reaaaally packing a lot in one sentence, like "fancymaps" could go on for quite some time, hah. Same with "new scripting functions", which includes being able to translate/rotate/scale objects/creatures/etc. (Though engine-wise, they are still in the same place, so it can be tricky to use in some instances.)

For single-player fans on the fence, I'm not sure - if you do zero modding, don't like the stock shaders, and 1.69 already worked fine for you, I'd take a look at what's there and decide if it's worth it to you. Same goes for people who play exclusively on a pw that has not migrated. For anyone that hits even one of those fields though, it's a good investment and goes on sale often. Your favourite old modules will still work on EE, and even your OC saves will still be compatible. As time goes on, more servers and players will migrate, more content will be made that takes advantage of EE capabilities that 1.69 doesn't have, while 1.69 things will continue to work on EE.

Also, I hate to gloss over so many things that take so much time and $$, that are easy for players to take for granted. When "enhanced" versions of anything get released, I generally have fairly low expectations on the user end - lots of bug fixes, maybe some quality-of-life and translations, works on Mac and at higher resolutions, that kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, sky-high hopes and dreams, but it's a small company and stuff takes time and money. So I'm excited about what's already been done and for things to come.

At the same time, I think when anyone reads "enhanced", every person thinks of something different - the amount of people that clamoured for a full-blown redo of every asset in the game surprised me almost as much as Trent of Beamdog doing a 180 on his "let's not waste time/money revamping old content when we could focus on making new" stance. There have been some experimental overrides releasing every now and again that you can check out on the vault or the workshop.

It sounds like they may have signed up for a long-term refresh, which seems crazy to me - there are so many models in NWN. It will take a lot of time and a lot of money, and people really forget how small a company they are and how few people they have working on NWN. It sounds like they've gotten Ossian working on it, so we'll see. I can understand being concerned that new things would clash with the old, and I can reluctantly agree that a graphical refresh may be more likely to pull people back in off the street, in addition to being cool in general. I just hope it pulls enough, because in the meantime I've got a lot of other things on my wishlist :)

Meanwhile, there are some things just about anyone who has ever tinkered with NWN is hungry for, like unhardcoding certain class features, allowing custom spellbooks, and other things that are really complicated/entangled changes which may also rely on very long-term possibilities, like a UI overhaul. Scriptable GUI is the dream, but so far they've had a lot on their plate already.

Right now, there's a bit of a lull as Beamdog's cofounder is apparently ripping out the rendering engine and redoing it, so while there's a lot of awesome things that may come from it, there's also some trepidation in the custom content community about how that will impact things they are already working on. There are also some fixes/changes which have been gated behind the 64bit update for some time, so while it's mainly Apple users that will care about that particular change in the short-term, there's also a lot of desk-slapping waiting for it to come out so other things can be gotten on with  ;D

Overall, I'm personally really happy that NWN was adopted and brought back to life, and I think it will be in a much better place as a platform once they are done with it. (Assuming they become done with it, at some point.)
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6
*Belaruth settles on the small log bench in Center, relieved to be out of his armor and taking a rest. He opens a meticulously maintained journal bearing the symbol of Toran, and begins to write*By Toran's light it is good to rest. Michael and I have already brought a great deal of the judgement of Toran to Center and the surrounding areas. We assisted a sewer keeper in Port Hempstead to test our skills, purged some foul undead from a crypt below Center, set back the nefarious activities of some kobolds meddling with dark magics, and brought retribution upon a whole castle of undead and dark monstrosities, as well as an especially nasty monster in the surrounding forests. Truly we have brought many triumphs in Toran's name! I parted ways with my dear brother outside Hempstead, as we both had separate agendas we desired to fill. In the morning I believe I will attempt to deal with a goblin problem near Hlint, but for now I rest.    Toran Be Praised - Belaruth Dawnbreaker 
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7
Layonara Server / NPC Quests
« on: September 21, 2017, 05:22:10 am »
I posted in regards to this some time ago, but can't find the original to link to.Could we get the NPC Jobs/Quest system reset again?Of the six jobs usually in circulation, only 3 of them are now available.And of those three the jobs are Mithril and Yew requirements.Thanks. 
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8
Layonara Server / Anniversary Bonus Event
« on: June 12, 2017, 09:58:31 pm »
Greetings Layonara CommunitySome of you may know that Neverwinter Nights turned 15 this year. Most of you may not know, however, that the NWN incarnation of Layonara also turns 15 in just a couple of weeks.In observance of these major milestones, we will be holding an anniversary Bonus Event, starting Saturday, June 24th and running for about a month. During this period, XP, Fortune and gold drops will all be doubled. As with previous bonus events, the doubling of XP and Fortune will also apply to GM rewards for quests and RP.This event overlaps with another anniversary event targeted at the greater NWN community known as the Neverwinter Nights Player Appreciation Days (NWPAD). The details of the event are somewhat uncertain as yet, but if anyone wants to keep up with the news on NWPAD, here’s a link:https://neverwintervault.org/comment/31548Once we have something more definite on that schedule, we’ll be sure to update everyone with the details.Thanks to everyone who has played here over the last 15 years!
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9
Ask A Gamemaster / NPC Quests
« on: May 27, 2017, 09:56:48 am »
 Can GM's reset or complete the NPC quests?The NPC quests are an excellent add-on to Layonara, with one down-side.Mithril items eventually come around, and because no one is willing or able to use Mithril to complete these quests, they remain for the duration, until all available NPC quests require mithril in some form or other, and I think it's two weeks must pass-by before they are reset to something else.The NPC quests have currently been unavailable for about a week and a half, perhaps more, and there is a good chance when they reset that one of the "new" jobs they offer will again be a mithril based item, requiring another two weeks before it is reset. It would be useful if, like now, when all available jobs are mithril based and uncompletable, if a GM could reset them.
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10
General Discussion / Testers Needed
« on: May 08, 2017, 06:46:24 pm »
I need a few people to help me test a "quest-like" concept and make it worth doing for others, for no reward but the uh satisfaction of doing a good deed (or something) ? Looking for a group of three that can all make the same general timeslot. You can also separate yourself into multiple groups of three in different timeslots and we'll just go through them if the first works out, but at least one group to start :) You'd need... 
  • Patience - The reason we need to work this out together is that as it is right now, I don't know how many people would enjoy it... and what the best way is to make it easily accessible so it's a "show up and go" kind of thing. That means it's not a show up kind of thing right now, hehe. I think it could be fun, but it needs work.
  • Honesty/Communication - We want to make it better for people who come after, so we need to able to communicate what doesn't work. It's also possible that no one sees it working at all and it's not worth pursuing, so you need to be able to call it like you see it ! Constructive is best - what would work bettter? - but anything is good.
  • New Character - You won't have to write a submission, and it won't count against your cap, but you'd need to be willing to make a testing character to provided specs, even the name. This is only for mechanical reasons. We can talk about it more if you end up helping.
  • Bonus: Sense of humor. Something will probably go wrong. Best case scenario is that it goes wrong in a really entertaining way. An interest in the lore and stories in the world is good but not required. 
We'd get together IG in a few weeks, so general timeslot agreement is better than very specific dates for me. Volunteering in this thread as a group with timeslots already worked out is ideal, but if schedule-wrangling is the only option we can do that, too. If, after getting more information, you're no longer interested in participating, you can of course say never mind and we'll figure it out!
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11
Layonara Server / New Update Coming, HAK and TLK Download Required
« on: April 23, 2017, 05:20:13 pm »
Hello everyone,A new update will be coming soon. Players will be required to download some new haks and a new tlk file. There aren't a ton of features added yet but the new haks will prepare us to put some more fun stuff in place.Here are links to those files:Update Archive with new Haks (207MB): http://layonara.com/sites/layonara.com/files/nwn/haks/layo_update_4-22-2017.7z (Extract files into your hak folder)New TLK (758KB): http://layonara.com/sites/layonara.com/files/nwn/haks/layonara_v30.7z (Extract layonara_v30.tlk into your tlk folder)You can download them now and it won't impact your playing before the release. Once the update has been released I will let you know which old files you may delete for cleanliness.

Highlights of the Upcoming Release Version 3.70:

  • In game time has been slowed from 4 RL minutes to an in game hour to 15 RL minutes to an in game hour. Spell durations are unchanged. This time slow has been approved to be in effect to 1420 as per here so in game events will have new historical dates. The forum clock has already been updated. Includes: =c layodate for getting the current date
  • New animations (See video here for an example) Usage: =c setstyle Note: Not every single robe and cloak will work (look good) with these new animations, we tried to work in as many as possible.
  • Rangers can use more scrolls now
  • Fix Weird bug instakilling with Protection vs
  • Tweak whirlwind to not lock up player
  • Fix bugged tiles in Hammerbound Peaks
  • Fix furniture tool delays
  • Fix corpse robbing quest
  • Dragon updates
  • Fix interior lights transitioning when they shouldn't
  • Remodeled Tomb of Lost Heroes
  • Added some DM tools
  • Some Great Library lore tweaks.
  • Visual FX Removal alchemical potion added
  • New quest area added with new tileset
-orth
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12
Artificers and arcanists sought for insight on large infrastructure project with the goal of securing Leringard Harbour against invasion or dragon attack.Tower Academy faculty in particular sought.Contact T. Keel, Leringard, for more details.*Beneath, a wax seal of a crossed wand and sword, surrounded by a laurel*
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13
General Discussion / A weapon suitable for a demi-god barbarian
« on: April 10, 2017, 06:43:37 pm »
I just recently learned of the new titanium/silver enhancement's being piercing on a slashing weapon, and wanted to add an extra punch to Görmungard's weapon, and it turned out to be pretty nice. Almost overkill :D 
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14
General Discussion / Layonara is now on Discord
« on: April 10, 2017, 01:34:40 pm »
Layonara now has its own server on Discord.
 
We're happy to bring you this new and improved community experience, as Discord brings many tools to our forum and chat that were not previously possible in IRC. IRC will still be working as we use a bot to communicate between Discord and IRC but we encourage you to try out Discord whether it's through the web interface, the mobile app or if you download the application.
 
Discord also keeps track of past conversations so you can catch up with anything you've missed being discussed. And for the brave among you we can set up some voice channels for you to discuss some things with a mic if that is your preferred method of communication.
 
To join, just follow this link:
 
Stay tuned, some more things are coming to Layonara as well!
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15
Rumour Has It / Word arrives from Arnax....
« on: March 25, 2017, 09:17:53 pm »
.... her majesty the Queen Louise Maillard has placed new bounties on a bounty board just inside the Arnax city walls. Rumor has it that these bounties are those that have eluded or destroyed the queen's attempts to capture them with the military, and are thus very dangerous.

///// This lasts until reset/all the bounties are collected! ////
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16
Layonara Server / WARNING: Do NOT log onto the server
« on: March 02, 2017, 12:30:04 am »
All,I'm tracking a problem with the server right now which may be either resulting from or causing character corruption.Do NOT attempt to log onto the server unless either a GM directs you to do so or I give the "All Clear".We apologize for the inconvenience.
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17
General Discussion / General Note of Apology and Catch Up
« on: February 08, 2017, 12:04:55 am »
Hey all,I just wanted to offer a general apology for the slow down of the Dragon Retribution plot line. As some of you are aware already, we've had a pretty bad time here over the winter. Every time I thought people were getting well again and I was ready to tackle stuff, someone would get sick with something else. It's been pretty awful. I would say one of the worst winters, health wise, in the history of our not-so-little family.Dorg is working on helping me get you all caught up so that we can get that plot moving a long again. Unfortunately, some people are still sick (including me) so I can't make any promises to how soon that's going to happen. I just mostly wanted to let everyone know openly what's going on and let you all know that it's not about a lack of desire or anything like that. Trust me, I'm feeling 'eternally' frustrated that it's still held up. We had wanted to transition the plot line long before the holiday but health has just been such a major factor.So thanks all for your understanding and continued patience. I hope that we'll be moving this along at something reasonable soon. Keep your fingers crossed.~row
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18
General Discussion / The Troll King Presents: Layo Dayz
« on: January 31, 2017, 03:48:14 pm »
So, I keep trying to squeeze in time here and there to run a quest, or even just play, and guess what? Something always bloody gets in the way, not to mention, a few hours just aren't enough.Thus, I did what any reasonable person would do. I reorganized my entire schedule to be able to devote an ENTIRE DAY each month for Layo activites. This includes general quests, impromptus, CDQs, and actual playtime for my characters.The first two days are on the Calendar (February 18th and March 11th). I'll be around IG starting as early as 11am CST/CDT, but more often starting around 2pm CST/CDT (I like to sleep in.), and going until I pass out, which is likely to be around 1am CST/CDT.I'll also list other events on the calendar that I'm running that day, if they are specific enough to have their own slot.

If you have ideas for events, list them here! Or point me to the threads where they are already being discussed.
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19
General Discussion / PSA: Pathfinder Comic/RPG Humble Bundle
« on: January 12, 2017, 05:40:09 pm »
Hey, just in case there's anyone that'd be interested, there's a Humble Bundle up right now that's a Paizo + Dynamite deal, featuring the Pathfinder RPG and Dynamite's comic adaptations, crossovers, and maps. If nothing else, you could get the (digital) core rulebook and some extras for a dollar... though as the bundles are meant to benefit charities and non-profits, there are other things locked to higher donations in hopes of attracting more. I would list them all, but why, when there is a page for that. Keywords Pathfinder, Red Sonja, Tarzan, cheap stuff, that is probably enough to target potentially interested parties, hehe. This bundle's beneficiaries of choice are Camden's Concert and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, but you can add your own from a pretty big list if you like. 

>> I am the link to all of the things <<

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20
General Discussion / Five Events
« on: December 27, 2016, 09:49:46 am »
Hey all, I just put five new events (exploration, adventure, mining and such themed) to the calendar, starting today 6pm Eastern. :)Hope to see many of you at each one!~Chazzler~
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