Reviewers/Raters needed - Don't "Count" on it (play for play) UPDATED

vaelic · May 2013

It's simple. you play my quest, I'll play yours. Trust me, I keep my word

Campaign Name: CH. 1 - Don't "Count" on it by @vaelic76

Short Code:NW-DQ3H4MXKG
Mission Type: Story/Mystery/Combat
Average Duration:15-20 minutes
Amount of Combat: Average
Starts at: Protector's Enclave
Mission Summary: A mysterious figure called "The Count" is rumored to dwell within the city of Protector's Enclave. Does this mysterious figure exist? Embark on an adventure where nothing is as it seems and the mystery unravels!

Direct Links:
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i255/vizionblind/Foundry1_zps5e94d9b0.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i255/vizionblind/foundry2_zps4c201571.jpg

*SPECIAL NOTE: should the window pop-up asking you to review/rate dissapear (known bug if you move when it pops up), type this command to bring it back: /ugcshowreviewgen

zlainfurry · May 2013

I'll give it a try in 1hr, doing some work on chpt 2 of mine. Try out one for me. NW-DS8ASIEED

annadruvez · May 2013

Well, I ran your quest and enjoyed it. To expand on the review I left:

There are two objectives in the sewers that are blank. I fulfilled them by killing everything in sight (at least, I think that's what did it). These objectives appear simultaneously with the "Kill the Sewer Guardians" objective.

Secondly, the use of area instead of waypoints - I love area objectives. They make it so I actually have to think about what I'm doing. Unfortunately, one of the areas (sewer guardians again), I have to leave the area in order to get to the second guardian. I wind up with a golden trail taking me back to where he isn't. Confusing, if you don't actually open the map and figure it out. I'd probably split the sewer guardians into two objectives. i.e. Kill the First Sewer Guardian, Kill the Second Sewer Guardian.

Finally, I love the story. Solid. Good work. And, it leaves it open for a sequel. (Always a good thing.) I find myself wondering what happened to the poor adventurer's wife? Will her tale ever be told? Will the villain be brought to justice?

Anyway, I look forward to the revised addition and more of your work after that.

My quest info is in my signature.

talli0 · May 2013

Running it as we speak. Will be back to add a review before the evening is through!

My quest information can be found in my signature.

vaelic · May 2013

zlainfurry wrote: »

I'll give it a try in 1hr, doing some work on chpt 2 of mine. Try out one for me. NW-DS8ASIEED

sent you a PM on the forums with my notes

voivodak · May 2013

I'll play your quest tomorrow mate...now I have to go to sleep

My quest is in the signature. I hope you will return the favor

Cya

mrthebozer · May 2013

Hey vaelic,

Just ran through and left my rating/review. I think what you have, as it is, is up to snuff with Cryptic's official content - but I challenge you to do better, if you find yourself with the spare time, to help make an already good quest stand out even more. A few suggestions:

1) Replace the journal drop item "interact with bookcase" objective with perhaps a dialogue objective with a book, and actually give us something to read about this legendary Count. It occurred to me when my dialogue option came up saying that I had read the journal - I actually had not. You give the impression that this is a man of mystery worth tracking down, so give us a little taste of that to pique the player's interest.

2) Customize those maps a bit. It doesn't have to be crazy - maybe even just some special non-objective lore items to give the impression that we're on the trail of this Count fellow. Tie it into your story visually, so it is not just a sewer full of enemies that we happen to be passing through.

3) As annadruvez said, part 2 please

Even if you pass up my advice for polishing this quest, I'd be quite happy to play a followup to what you have so far.

On to technical issues - there are only a few. As mentioned above, i'm seeing blank objectives. I don't know what is causing that - perhaps you laid down standard encounters as objectives in the story tab? Or it could just be a Cryptic-side error.

Nanook the dog played tank throughout my ambush at the bookcase. They just went straight after the poor little guy and ignored me. You might want to move him if you want that ambush to be a challenge.

All of the traps, and quite a few of the encounters for that matter, were easily avoided. Several groups of archers, and even the hulk, can be bypassed if you're even a little sneaky. Mind you, I say this after playing through as a wizard, not a rogue, so sneaky wasn't even my specialty. If this is unintentional, you may want to spread out the encounters a bit in Detail Mode so they have an easier time spotting the player.

If you have the time to "play for play," my own quest is Bonderleaf's Thorough Aggregator (NW-DBFUDMT8L). It only has a few palys so far, so every review helps.

Good work so far, and thanks for building!

vaelic · May 2013

annadruvez wrote: »

Well, I ran your quest and enjoyed it. To expand on the review I left:

There are two objectives in the sewers that are blank. I fulfilled them by killing everything in sight (at least, I think that's what did it). These objectives appear simultaneously with the "Kill the Sewer Guardians" objective.

Secondly, the use of area instead of waypoints - I love area objectives. They make it so I actually have to think about what I'm doing. Unfortunately, one of the areas (sewer guardians again), I have to leave the area in order to get to the second guardian. I wind up with a golden trail taking me back to where he isn't. Confusing, if you don't actually open the map and figure it out. I'd probably split the sewer guardians into two objectives. i.e. Kill the First Sewer Guardian, Kill the Second Sewer Guardian.

Finally, I love the story. Solid. Good work. And, it leaves it open for a sequel. (Always a good thing.) I find myself wondering what happened to the poor adventurer's wife? Will her tale ever be told? Will the villain be brought to justice?

Anyway, I look forward to the revised addition and more of your work after that.

My quest info is in my signature.

sent you my quest notes in the rating window

xhrit · May 2013

Good quest. The encounters were and layout were good for the most part.There are a few issues that keep it from getting a perfect score tho.

First off, you need to rename all your npcs - the count's assassins should be named assassin, not Nesher rebel.

Second, the dialog could be more evenly spaced out; You should move the exposition from the player response into OOC text. For example, the part where the player reads the journal, the character says something like "I've read the journal, and discovered the count is in the sewers under neverwinter. I'll go there now." Instead you should make the character reply be "i'll go there now" and put "You read the journal and discover the count is in the sewers under neverwinter" in OOC text in the main body.

Third and last thing is the 'count' really needs a boss fight of some sort... even if it is just a wave of minions to distract the player while he escapes. Because I would have totally shanked him before he had a chance to escape otherwise.

That is all. I rated your quest at 4/5; fix the 3 things I have issues with to earn your last star from me. ^^

---

You can review the quest in my sig. The 3rd part, Shadow of the World, needs plays the most. ^^

talli0 · May 2013

Just finished your quest and it was an enjoyable little romp.

My main suggestion to turn this into a truely great quest would be to spend some time fleshing out the areas.
-Most of the mobs you have placed around the maps are all clearly visible from far away and are all standing in a line. Spread them out a bit, hide them behind things, even have some of them walking around a bit.
-Add more detail. For the sewers, add things all over the ground, maybe some fog effects. Put in more large items to break up line of sight and force people to zigzag through rooms instead of running straight through.
-Hide the assassins in the house. Put some indicators (like battle debris) that bad things have gone on in there.
-Definitely add a boss fight. Have Buckhard show up with some goons and you have to fight them while he sneaks out the back.
-Also, I was kinda sad about Reginald's wife. May want to have her tied up down in the basement so we can rescue her and she can tie up some loose ends or maybe give more foreshadowing to part 2, "The Hunt for Burkhard"

There you go, hope it helps. My quest info is in my sig and I'd appreciate any feedback you could supply.

vaelic · May 2013

Thanks for the AWESOME feedback everyone! I updated my quest based on your suggestions. I'm curious on what you all think of the new ending. give it a shot!

I'll be play testing the rest of the quests in this thread tonight in to tomorrow. count on it!

atiaxi · May 2013

I figured I'd give yours a play - you said you'd updated it and so I figured a once-over from someone who never played it before might be helpful. My quest's in my signature if you're still trading

Here are my notes:

- I like all the chatter in the bar

- Bookshelf has default "Press F to interact"

- Bookshelf: Has a lot of repetition in the text
-- "Count of protector's enclave has long been a mysterious figure to many folk in protector's enclave"
-- "Count" in quotes at least three times.
-- "I may discover if the legend is true", "for if the legend is true", "see if the rumor is true"

- Bookshelf is still interactable after you complete the objective, which is neat if you want to re-read, but not so handy if, say, you interacted with it again right as a bunch of ruffians were trying to stab you

- Burkhard: "The Count is not to be toiled with" -> "not to be trifled with" (x2)

- The "Kill the sewer champions" objective seems to have nothing to do with the overall plot. Also, with the 'area' setting the ellipse it ends up using to cover both looks really strange

- Nashers are still labeled "Nashers"

- Exotic chest, rare treasure chest have default "Press F to interact". Kinda a tease given we can't open them - especially given one specifically mentions how I need to find a key to open it.

- Burkhard says "'till we meet again'"... but he's sending people to kill me.

pavvo · May 2013

Hi Just reviewed and rated your quest.
Good storyline. Cliffhanger at the end. Hope there's a sequel. The spider and wight stacking were painful! I don't know if you know, but at higher levels, the wights heal themselves a lot! 3 wights took me a really long **** to burn down and interrupt!

The assassins at the end might benefit from naming as well. Right now they're Nasher's Rebels but I don't see the reference to them in game.

Cheers
Appreciate a review in return. (Link in Sig. Cheers)

vaelic · May 2013

pavvo wrote: »

Hi Just reviewed and rated your quest.
Good storyline. Cliffhanger at the end. Hope there's a sequel. The spider and wight stacking were painful! I don't know if you know, but at higher levels, the wights heal themselves a lot! 3 wights took me a really long **** to burn down and interrupt!

The assassins at the end might benefit from naming as well. Right now they're Nasher's Rebels but I don't see the reference to them in game.

Cheers
Appreciate a review in return. (Link in Sig. Cheers)

Thanks a bunch! I have updated the quest based on some of your feedback.

TO ALL: There is a special twist at the ending now, if you'd like to try it again

I'll be continuing my play through of everyone's quests today!

vaelic · May 2013

atiaxi wrote: »

I figured I'd give yours a play - you said you'd updated it and so I figured a once-over from someone who never played it before might be helpful. My quest's in my signature if you're still trading

Here are my notes:

- I like all the chatter in the bar

- Bookshelf has default "Press F to interact"

- Bookshelf: Has a lot of repetition in the text
-- "Count of protector's enclave has long been a mysterious figure to many folk in protector's enclave"
-- "Count" in quotes at least three times.
-- "I may discover if the legend is true", "for if the legend is true", "see if the rumor is true"

- Bookshelf is still interactable after you complete the objective, which is neat if you want to re-read, but not so handy if, say, you interacted with it again right as a bunch of ruffians were trying to stab you

- Burkhard: "The Count is not to be toiled with" -> "not to be trifled with" (x2)

- The "Kill the sewer champions" objective seems to have nothing to do with the overall plot. Also, with the 'area' setting the ellipse it ends up using to cover both looks really strange

- Nashers are still labeled "Nashers"

- Exotic chest, rare treasure chest have default "Press F to interact". Kinda a tease given we can't open them - especially given one specifically mentions how I need to find a key to open it.

- Burkhard says "'till we meet again'"... but he's sending people to kill me.

thanks for your notes! twist ending now published if you wanna give it another spin

DETAILS FOR YOUR QUEST

- I play with music off and I dont hear any ambient sounds in the maps. Can you add some?

- When I drink the free Ale, have a drink animation play

- it's a bit tricky taking the box of rations as it's right near the NPC and I kept talking to her by accident

- I LOVE the RPGness of trying to look inside the caravan

- check all of your braziers. one of them is half buried in a wall. the one before the first roaming hexer group in cave

- add some cobwebs where the spiders live

- I like the left and right hand of crumorn.

- the "press f to continue" on the stairs, change that text "use the stairs" or something

- Niles is quite... naked ehehhee

Overall I enjoyed this. Could use a few more encounters on the way but I am interested enough to keep going and wait for part 2!

vaelic · May 2013

pavvo wrote: »

Hi Just reviewed and rated your quest.
Good storyline. Cliffhanger at the end. Hope there's a sequel. The spider and wight stacking were painful! I don't know if you know, but at higher levels, the wights heal themselves a lot! 3 wights took me a really long **** to burn down and interrupt!

The assassins at the end might benefit from naming as well. Right now they're Nasher's Rebels but I don't see the reference to them in game.

Cheers
Appreciate a review in return. (Link in Sig. Cheers)

3 suns aligned quest

- have an animation for when you use the anvil

- think of clever names for your enemies aside from (drow assassin) etc...

- for the brief encounter zone, I hear no zone ambiance

- move bahtog's spawn point. he spawned on the chest and bounced up and down

- at the end, have something more natural to lead the player out of the zone, like a path instead of just hitting "f" to zone load

a pretty straight forward romp. I will continue the next chapter

vaelic · May 2013

For those of you whose quests I have reviewed. check your private message inbox

notification pop-up and email notification of new private messages are turned off by default. I sent a bunch of you notes but have not heard back

pavvo · May 2013

Thanks for the comments. I've updated my quests

Have also replayed yours too! A lot smoother now. Cheers

vaelic · May 2013

pavvo wrote: »

Thanks for the comments. I've updated my quests Have also replayed yours too! A lot smoother now. Cheers

awesome. thanks

boomba66 · May 2013

Just finished Don't "Count on it". I liked it.
1. Nice story that in a city full of adventurers would easily be tempting.
2. The Greater Demon in the sewer scared me

.
3. The end Villain made the PC angry enough to want to play the second part......so we can kill him. That is great way to create a good story someone the PC's love to defeat.

vaelic · May 2013

I have completely updated this quest.

- new tavern enhancements
- new sewer enhancements
- re-written ending

give it a shot as it qualifies for a daily

jintortle · May 2013

I have played your quest and I think you know about the Protectors Enclave bug. Every time I re-entered the PE the quest disappeared and would only appear when next log in. I reported the bug happens to admin (hope that helps).

vaelic · May 2013

jintortle wrote: »

I have played your quest and I think you know about the Protectors Enclave bug. Every time I re-entered the PE the quest disappeared and would only appear when next log in. I reported the bug happens to admin (hope that helps).

I fixed that long ago. You never go back to PE now. Try the quest again, you'll see a lot has changed

vaelic · May 2013

argh.. if you just ran it, try again. Apparently my last publish didnt save for some reason. It saved now and has all the updates. sorry and thanks!

vaelic · June 2013

jintortle wrote: »

I have played your quest and I think you know about the Protectors Enclave bug. Every time I re-entered the PE the quest disappeared and would only appear when next log in. I reported the bug happens to admin (hope that helps).

played it since? 220 plays with no issues

Reviewers/Raters needed - Don't "Count" on it (play for play) **UPDATED**

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Reviewers/Raters needed - Don't "Count" on it (play for play) UPDATED