Module 6 is coming and the Foundry must be polished at last.

thane6000 · February 2015

With Mod 6 - Elemental Evil coming in March 17, I think it's high time that the Foundry be polished. By that I mean besides fixing the many problems regarding the rewarding system, the dialog editor and many more that others have already pointed out in other threads. Those problems are pretty basic stuff and should really be fixed.

Now, I realize that the following is a quite long list but it's what I feel should be done.

Many things are missing from the Foundry, be it friendly mobs, enemies, actual boss battle formats, costumes or even armor sets and fashion sets from the game.

First things first. The majority of classes are missing from the friendly encounters list. Right now we only have Control Wizards, Devoted Clerics and Guardian Fighters as friendly mobs. Oh, and some guards I guess...
What I'm saying is this: Trickster Roques, Hunter Rangers, Great Weapon Fighters and Scourge Warlocks should REALLY be added in this list. The list of different allies we can put in our quests is pretty thinned... This is something that can be done for sure. I mean we already have such allies or enemies in the actual game. Look at Xuna (TR) in the Dread Ring, Makos (SW) also in the Dread Ring AND the upcoming companion, Knox (GWF) same as Xuna and Makos. For the HR I am not sure, but it can't be that hard right? The Paladin should also be added.

All right, now that I got this out of my mind I can say that the number of assets a.k.a walls, buildings and pretty much anything that you can put in a map (besides actors) is pretty limited in some cases. I have heard coplains about that and from personal experience I can say that they are well justified. For instance I wanted to build a Fortress City but unfortunately I ran out of space and switched into a single smaller fortress instead.

MORE ARMORS AND CLOTHES!!! The choices we have for armor and stuff are narrowed and although we can do many different things (and wonders in some cases) with the already existing armors, it's only natural that as authors we want more materials to work with. Really, I am not asking much (I think). I am talking about the unique armor sets such as corrupted/purified black ice, draconic templar, thayan zealot, dread legion, accursed diabolist's; and those are only in the tip of my tongue. There are many others out there.
FASHION!!! Yeah, pieces like Dragon Cult Fashion, Courtesan's Fashion, Battlefield Medic and the list continues...

Oh, I forgot. The Dragonborn and Metallic Dragonborn Races should be included as costumes in the next update IF there will be one...

Boss battles. The current bosses we have now are the most elite mobs out there... but that's just that. Regular enemies from everyday in-game activities. Yeah, bosses can be fought regularly but they are a LOT stronger. Suffice to say that another list should be created at the encounters section labeled as ''Bosses''. In that section every dungeon and skirmish boss should be included. They may be more difficult, but that's why the author decides to put them in and with some backup or not. Also, that's why parties are made am I right?

Costumes. There are already many costumes out there, but I think some are missing that we could certainly take advantage of. Think about some epic costumes that you could work with! Valindra as an example. You all knew that one was coming.

Music is also a part of an adventure and in my opinion one of the basic elements in order to set the mood. Of course you must know when to put and don't put music; that's also crucial. But I digress. Relatively new music could certainly be added. Like the music that is heard during the battle with Tiamat! I get that it was designed especially for Tiamat but come on, Valindra's voice already exists in the music/sound roster!

That's all that I could come up with as further additions. All of these things must be included in the Foundry in Module 6 (in my humble opinion), that's why I created this thread, to remind that the Foundry must not be forgotten now that another page in this game's history is created. There must be other things that can improve the Foundry that I forgot to point out. If so, anyone that has other ideas should post in this thread!

mrgiggles651 · February 2015

http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?821971-Cryptic-Wants-Your-Feedback-on-The-Foundry

Very first sticky.

thane6000 · February 2015

Yeah I guess I should have said it there... however I wanted it to be actually seen you know...

I posted the URL of this thread there though.

orangefiree · February 2015

I think they are actually more likely to see it in the that the dev posted.

That said, I do agree with your ideas.

eldarth · February 2015

Yep. Agree on all points. Also agree that you ought to either copy-paste this into that thread or request a Moderator move it into that thread as they are definitely much, much more likely to see it there. At the very least we know spirals999 is watching and harvesting and presenting ideas on our behalf.

Definitely sounds like nothing will be happening until maybe module 8 (at the earliest) or 9.
As the majority of their developers are tasked with their newest MMO, any foundry updates will be anemic at best.

zahinder · February 2015

Foundry will be updated at NextModule+1.

thane6000 · February 2015

How can you be so sure Zahinder? Have you heard anything specific or...?

mrgiggles651 · February 2015

thane6000 wrote: »

How can you be so sure Zahinder? Have you heard anything specific or...?

The sun will come out tomorrow
So you got to hang on 'til tomorrow, come what may!
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow
You're always a day away

Annie - Lyrics from the song Tomorrow.

eldarth · February 2015

thane6000 wrote: »

zahinder wrote: »

Foundry will be updated at NextModule+1.

How can you be so sure Zahinder? Have you heard anything specific or...?

I believe what he is saying is Foundry will get some attention "After the next module."
So, when mod2 was testing -- "foundry will get updated in mod3."
...when mod3 was testing -- "foundry will get updated in mod4."
...when mod4 was testing -- "foundry will get updated in mod5."

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

They've literally told us "next module" every time since mod3 was testing.

bardaaron · February 2015

It's ALWAYS "the next module" that we'll get a foundry update, meaning it is NEVER the next module. They always tell us they will, and they never do. It's just to settle us down. They tell us they are working on it, and that there are results in sight, but it is all a lie so they can string us along. In all likelihood they will never update the foundry more significantly than to add a handful of new detail pieces and some encounters. Cryptic has already moved most of their dev staff onto the next game, so Neverwinter in general is in maintenance holding mode. That's why "the biggest mod ever" is totally phoned in. Most of it is recycled cobbled-together pieces of things we've seen before. Old maps in different weather, with old mobs borrowed from other zones and upjumped to lvl 61+. If they can't even give the time to the OFFICIAL CONTENT there is no way in the Nine Hells of Baator that they will give a dingo's kidney of attention to solving the longstanding issues with the Foundry. I think they've officially abandoned us.

thane6000 · February 2015

bardaaron wrote: »

If they can't even give the time to the OFFICIAL CONTENT there is no way in the Nine Hells of Baator that they will give a dingo's kidney of attention to solving the longstanding issues with the Foundry. I think they've officially abandoned us.

Yes, I've also thought about this. I mean it looked odd that the ''biggest module to date'' brings us back in places we already visited, just with some adjustments. I just didn't find anyone who thought of this too, until now. I really hope that is not the case however, seeing that Mod4 was such a module and Mod5 served as an expansion to 4. Who knows they could end up making another zone like the Well of Dragons. However that would mean a lot of work and testing. Taking that into account it seems that the Foundry will be neglected yet again. If there was any major update we would be already hearing rumors. I don't think anyone is even bothering to lift a finger to resolve even the most basic problems, much less update it. And as Eldarth said, they keep postponing it. The future of the Foundry sure looks grim.

bardaaron · February 2015

It doesn't mean I'll stop asking them to improve it, or stop hoping, or stop trying to get as many people rallied behind the foundry as possible, but it's just looking less and less like they care. Or at least, they have fewer people with less time to devote to it, so at this point they may never give us the update we deserve.

grungyfoly · February 2015

Hey, i was wondering, with this and probably all other updates we cant test many things that have to do with Pvp armor wise because its hard to actually do domination because hardly anyone will do it on the preview server, so i was wondering if you guys would be able to add like a little merchant you could buy glory from with like gold or something so we could actually test this new equipment and stuff, along with that be able to buy the Seals of Triumph as well so we could give them a shot, i just wondered if its possible for the test server is all, thank you if you reply!

reiwulf · February 2015

what does that have to do with the foundry at all?

thane6000 · February 2015

bardaaron wrote: »

It doesn't mean I'll stop asking them to improve it, or stop hoping, or stop trying to get as many people rallied behind the foundry as possible, but it's just looking less and less like they care. Or at least, they have fewer people with less time to devote to it, so at this point they may never give us the update we deserve.

Exactly how I feel about this.

thane6000 · February 2015

grungyfoly wrote: »

Hey, i was wondering, with this and probably all other updates we cant test many things that have to do with Pvp armor wise because its hard to actually do domination because hardly anyone will do it on the preview server, so i was wondering if you guys would be able to add like a little merchant you could buy glory from with like gold or something so we could actually test this new equipment and stuff, along with that be able to buy the Seals of Triumph as well so we could give them a shot, i just wondered if its possible for the test server is all, thank you if you reply!

Um, maybe you mistook this thread or rather this discussion, for something else? Or have you confused the Foundry Editor with the Preview Shard??? Because as Reiwulf said this has nothing to do with the Foundry. I think you'd better repost this on the PVP discusion or General Discussion. Frankly, no one here can answer you that.

littlerave · March 2015

Before requesting new stuff, I think they should rather set priority on the many issues the foundry currently has. I was trying to build one map: dark and foggy. I soon realized, multiple backdrop selections don't work, only the last backdrop element is visible. Therefore the light in the pre-made rooms was too bright and I couldn't reduce it with layers of black fog. I've built my own rooms with the room builder which led to using many details and server disconnection because of huge loading times as soon as my map became a certain size. So I reduced it. Then I was faced with the only sounds working where the ones connected to effects. I read about backdrop sound issues but the workaround to add sound nodes and connect them to the current quest only works when the sound nodes are placed in pre-made rooms. When you add them to your own created ones, they don't spawn a single sound *sigh* How am I supposed to build a map with a feel to it without any sound? Later on I was trying to create a gate, which has to be opened via lever ... but there's no stupid lever at all in the foundry. Okay, use a key and blend the closed gate in if the key is not in the inventory, blend the openable one in otherwise. Oh ... wow, this doesn't work. The gates are all visible no matter what, having the key in the inventory or not doesn't change a thing. At least there was no collision, but also no matter if the key is in the inventory or not. I fell back to using the only existing door in the foundry. One single door ... come on.

I really don't wanna complain but there are SO many issues, building a quest is more frustrating than fun ...

melinden · March 2015

Littlerave: I have to run to faculty meeting in a few minutes but some of your problems can be solved. Why don't you post them in the mechanic question sub forum where we can get you some answers?

eldarth · March 2015

A quick note on backdrops as well -- they do work in a layered fashion -- if I recall, the "first" one is "closest" to the ground, and the others layer in sequence above that. There are also some backdrops that are basically opaque and others cannot be seen through them.

Definitely worth trying to juggle the ordering of the backdrops though to find some combinations you like.

As for sounds -- make certain you can see exactly where you've placed them in 3-d space - sound nodes have different radii as well (light blue circle on 2-d overview). If you are not within the radius you won't here any sounds.

littlerave · March 2015

melinden: Because I'm not allowed to post. All I see is this message: "Please note that, for a short period of time after account creation, posting new threads is disabled. After this probationary period, you'll be able to create threads as normal." Even though account creation is days ago now. Do you know how long that period may be?

I did play with the backdrops, I even made screenshots of the different layer orders to have a direct comparison and be really certain that some are missing.

Module 6 is coming and the Foundry must be polished at last.

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