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[UGC] Cullwood Outpost (Feedback Request)

kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
edited May 2013 in The Foundry
Cullwood Outpost
NW-DC4BNASDA

I've just published 'Cullwood Outpost' and would love any feedback.

My goal was to tell what was originally a fairly hefty story without requiring too many massive blocks of text for a sense of context and connection.

Naturally it got trimmed repeatedly as I don't want to force people to read through pages and pages when they can be swording people - I'd prefer telling as much of the story as possible through action.

So hopefully the result is a fairly polished and interesting/fun story that moves along at a swift pace and balanced with a good amount of relevant combat.

Overall the whole adventure takes between 15-25 minutes so far.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks a bunch.

Kyridus@Kyregul
'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
Post edited by kyridus on

Comments

  • kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    It might still be in the 'For Review' section. Wow that's rough to sort through.
    'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
  • zagemoggazagemogga Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    You need to give us the short-code otherwise new quests cannot be found...
  • kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    NW-DC4BNASDA

    Thanks, I appreciate it.
    'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
  • zagemoggazagemogga Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Very good storytelling and some really good ideas about interactivity.
    Love the maps! Stupid drunk mercenaries!

    The woods are a little large, I ran off to explore but without mount...

    The bears are great, but I didn't really notice anything until they were already fighting. There are literally no waypoints or golden trails in the woods, not sure if intended.
    I love Gust and followed him all the way to the well. However, he ran in circles at the end. Maybe you could make him stop close enough and then make me talk to him again with a changed dialogue? (he looks huge on close up :))
    Some of the final encounters have knockback, which is really scary in the cave where you can fall?
  • kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Odd, I replied to this earlier but it must not have gone through.

    I've made quite a few changes (based on what feedback there is plus having learned a few new tricks to handle certain encounters).

    I've changed Gusts AI for after you deliver him the pouch - he just eternally wandered before, now he makes more sense.

    The woods are large - and more empty than intended, I think I lost a few encounters? There's actually a figure that walks through the background of a conversation scene (intentionally subtle as it's not directly required for the main quest) but if followed, leads to a few encounters and a bit more background regarding what's taking place.

    As for the knockbacks on a ledge: There's quite a few invisible floors that make it very hard to fall (or should do) but some gaps do exist. It should be rare that anyone dies from ledge jumping. I like the threat of falling, but I think a small chance conveys that just fine. I'll decrease the chance of death by falling if it becomes a problem.

    The Bears: I'm open to suggestions on this, would welcome them in fact. Having a group of bears that start off as 6 cowardly companions, then evolve into 3 capable and 3 cowardly for the next fight, and finally all 6 fully trained for the final encounter took a lot of fiddling (as this is my first foundry, lots of trial, error and iterations). That part is pretty important to me though so I'm all for improving it.

    Lastly, I changed the final encounter to reflect that all the 'friends' you've made are coming to your aid, but I'm not sure that it's always obvious: Fights can be a bit chaotic and friendly names don't really show up unless hovered over I think? Is it possible to have 'Guard' encounters become contacts after a trigger, or do I need to despawn/respawn new copies of the NPCs?

    Thanks again for playing and taking the time to critique, I really really do appreciate it.
    'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
  • kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Publishing a new version now with a ton of alterations and improvements if anyone's interested in running through it.

    Thanks.
    'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
  • lanessar13lanessar13 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Review: Wizard's Challenge

    Summary
    A nice quest with a good amount of action, excellent ambiance and nicely driven (although there are some timing issues with the quest spawns). If you like the feel of the original PnP mod of B2 - Keep on the Borderlands (but with a reason you are in the borderlands), this is the quest for you.

    Technical points

    Overall: There is something off with the way the spawns occur. Either they occur too late, or too early. I'll give some specifics below.

    There are random mercenaries which spawn, and are hostile. However, there is no explanation for this. I gather they are bored? I think this would be better directed as part of the quest - i.e subdue the mercenaries. There were a few different conversations occurring with people, so it might not have been made clear what was occurring.

    Bears appear, and then continue forward with you, but then another batch appears in front of you before the last batch has "vanished", making for a confusing experience. The actual idea is an awesome one, and the action pace of the groups of mobs are really well done. I'm hesitant to suggest how to handle this (since I personally haven't done it), and my immediate thought would be to spawn/despawn based on a conversation - which would make this seem less "action-y" than it was supposed to be, and I enjoyed the fast pace of this fight.

    Also, when you go to descend the well, you interact with said well, get a convo box and then get ambushed. This is a no-no. getting out of a conversation box is a bit awkward, so the mobs get two or three hits on you before you can escape it (as the default option is a travel option, and as you are in combat, can't travel). I like the idea, but the ambush needs to occur before you have the chance to interact with the well.

    Also, after talking to the were-rat guard, some mobs spawn right behind him (and right around the corner) You end up killing them, walking through the archway, and a little ways in you get a message that you've been ambushed. I'd scrub this message entirely. Relying on timing for such messages are generally tricky (and it's also kind of obvious when it's happened).

    At the last battle, you have several NPCs spawn which are friendly. I get that they are assisting you against the evil guy. Mid-fight though, either I'm missing a message with all the action going on or missed this part of the story from a conversation.

    The ambiance and areas you use are incredibly well done. The outpost itself is really beautiful, I enjoyed the rain details sounds and lighting. I also enjoyed the almost "open questing" feel where there were several dis-related tasks which folded into the main plot nicely.

    Artistic points

    The story and the events which happen should be made a bit clearer overall. I got really fuzzy on some of the details about what was occurring and why I was doing what I was doing. The pacing is perfect; don't change a thing on that. I think perhaps the technical points on spawn issues may have confused matters a bit for me (since things were spawning or occurring before or after they were supposed to).

    Overall, though, I really can't fault much with this. It's a very pretty adventure, well worth the time. Dialog was well-written, the quest was interesting, and just enough text to drive you to the next point.

    In a perfect world

    I'd love more tasks in the outpost area. Turn some of those conversation bubbles into quest-givers, make this into a 1 hour series of tasks in this amazing area you've made, and I'd enjoy it immensely. Your ambiance is amazing, and I want to experience more in the map. Even a few sub-maps not related to the main quest would be great.
  • kyriduskyridus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    lanessar13 wrote: »
    Review: Wizard's Challenge

    Summary
    A nice quest with a good amount of action, excellent ambiance and nicely driven (although there are some timing issues with the quest spawns). If you like the feel of the original PnP mod of B2 - Keep on the Borderlands (but with a reason you are in the borderlands), this is the quest for you.

    Technical points

    Overall: There is something off with the way the spawns occur. Either they occur too late, or too early. I'll give some specifics below.

    There are random mercenaries which spawn, and are hostile. However, there is no explanation for this. I gather they are bored? I think this would be better directed as part of the quest - i.e subdue the mercenaries. There were a few different conversations occurring with people, so it might not have been made clear what was occurring.

    Bears appear, and then continue forward with you, but then another batch appears in front of you before the last batch has "vanished", making for a confusing experience. The actual idea is an awesome one, and the action pace of the groups of mobs are really well done. I'm hesitant to suggest how to handle this (since I personally haven't done it), and my immediate thought would be to spawn/despawn based on a conversation - which would make this seem less "action-y" than it was supposed to be, and I enjoyed the fast pace of this fight.

    Also, when you go to descend the well, you interact with said well, get a convo box and then get ambushed. This is a no-no. getting out of a conversation box is a bit awkward, so the mobs get two or three hits on you before you can escape it (as the default option is a travel option, and as you are in combat, can't travel). I like the idea, but the ambush needs to occur before you have the chance to interact with the well.

    Also, after talking to the were-rat guard, some mobs spawn right behind him (and right around the corner) You end up killing them, walking through the archway, and a little ways in you get a message that you've been ambushed. I'd scrub this message entirely. Relying on timing for such messages are generally tricky (and it's also kind of obvious when it's happened).

    At the last battle, you have several NPCs spawn which are friendly. I get that they are assisting you against the evil guy. Mid-fight though, either I'm missing a message with all the action going on or missed this part of the story from a conversation.

    The ambiance and areas you use are incredibly well done. The outpost itself is really beautiful, I enjoyed the rain details sounds and lighting. I also enjoyed the almost "open questing" feel where there were several dis-related tasks which folded into the main plot nicely.

    Artistic points

    The story and the events which happen should be made a bit clearer overall. I got really fuzzy on some of the details about what was occurring and why I was doing what I was doing. The pacing is perfect; don't change a thing on that. I think perhaps the technical points on spawn issues may have confused matters a bit for me (since things were spawning or occurring before or after they were supposed to).

    Overall, though, I really can't fault much with this. It's a very pretty adventure, well worth the time. Dialog was well-written, the quest was interesting, and just enough text to drive you to the next point.

    In a perfect world

    I'd love more tasks in the outpost area. Turn some of those conversation bubbles into quest-givers, make this into a 1 hour series of tasks in this amazing area you've made, and I'd enjoy it immensely. Your ambiance is amazing, and I want to experience more in the map. Even a few sub-maps not related to the main quest would be great.

    Thanks so much, that's some fantastic feedback.

    I'll look into altering the rowdy mercenaries so it's a bit more natural.

    The Bears: What's happening is - 6 bears spawn, timid, you literally have to run behind them to herd them to the fight. When the 1st wave is defeated, the 1st set of war bears despawn then same bears respawn but 3 as guards/3 as timid, then after the 3rd wave, all 6 are now trained and function as guards. It's the same 6 bears throughout, but as you only see names when hovering over them it may not be very clear what's going on.

    It is a bit clunky, this is my first foundry quest so there's likely a more elegant way to handle this. I'm open to technical suggestions :)

    As for spawn times - I'm only getting ambushed at the appropriate time, and it coincides with the 'Ambush' message, so I've had a look at the encounters, but since I'm not experiencing a delay, it's hard to pinpoint.

    As for your other suggestions, I'll have a long look at ways to improve those as I do agree ...now that you mentioned it. That's why another persons view is so handy in this situation - I'm too close/too familiar with it to see certain flaws or weaknesses.

    I re-published with major overhauls on 1st and 3rd map. Since part of that was repopulating, setting up encounters and pathing in the canyon, I absolutely will work on adding some optional quests in that area. Great idea.

    Thanks again, this kind of well thought out feedback is invaluable, I really appreciate it!

    Edited to add: You mentioned Keep on the borderlands - I happened to have been listening to the audio book of the novel based on that module while making this. I guess some influence seeped through...
    'Cullwood Outpost' NW-DC4BNASDA
  • lanessar13lanessar13 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    kyridus wrote: »
    Edited to add: You mentioned Keep on the borderlands - I happened to have been listening to the audio book of the novel based on that module while making this. I guess some influence seeped through...

    It shows. And you did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of this adventure. I will play again, for sure. Some of the mechanics you used and environmental touches were really well done. I've been playing quite a few Foundry quests, and there are very few people using these to good effect. I would love to see another offering from you.
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