Preview: Community Foundry Contest - Docks District

eldarth

Preview: Community Foundry Contest

Okay all you Dock fanciers, I'm thinking since the "official" foundry contest is in full swing, it's time to resurrect/kick-off the first Community Foundry Contest. Take a look and let me know any feedback/suggestions and I'll post the official un-official notice soon.

Also, if anyone (non-entrant) wants to help determine "eligible" entries, feel free to volunteer!Background Lore

As for the original Docks District, that area of what is now Protector's Enclave simply no longer exists and is instead a sheer cliff down to the sea where the new Docks hug what is left of that area up to the Western Walls of Protector's Enclave. You can see this best when looking out to the West from the Moonstone Mask or its bridge area. The Original Docks area was rebuilt once but was destroyed again. Now it lingers as remnants of floating earthmotes that were once connected by rope bridges (akin to Pirates Skyhold's earthmotes).

The new Docks area now rests outside the City Walls to the West, both South and North of the Riverway. The only part of the old Docks area that remains is anywhere from 75 feet to 150 feet from the Western City Walls, down a steep cliff to the sea. The cliff itself is about half that distance, leaving just enough room for a road and wooden docks jutting into the see, with a few larger building in the areas that are just large enough for them.

Black-market trade does flow in from the Sea and some brave adventurers do still use the old earth-mote access ways. However, most of these black-market routes are underground routes that come in through access-ways in the side of the western cliff and usually travel through the sewers or other caverns and tunnels made during the Spellplague, Mt. Hotenow eruption, and beyond. Legal trade in the City, mostly flows in from the High Road through the main city Gates and from the Docks District into Protector's Enclave through the South City Gate by the Seven Suns Coster Market.

Contest Theme

While most rebuilding efforts have been focused on the docks on the south side of the river, Lord Neverember wants to begin sending architects and engineers down to the north side docks to beging evaluating and planning their rebuilding efforts. Unfortunately Sgt Knox and the Guards are busy keeping the new Cult of the Dragon cultists in check.
You have been asked to assess the situation down at the northern docks and "evict" anyone not authorized to be there.

Contest Requirements

• Speak to Merchant's Guild Representative about cleaning up old dock district
• North Docks District - post Spellplague & Hotenow, pre-reconstruction or under construction
• Required Visual Elements
  • Cliffs w/Protectors Enclave Walls
  • Neverwinter River mouth
  • Sea of Swords
  • Some form of path from docks up to Sleeping Dragon Bridge

Contest Eligibility Rules

• Submit Entries by November 3rd
• Eligible Entries list will be posted November 10th

Contest Judging

• Contest Completion will be December 8th
• Average (actual average) Rating for entries will be calculated for eligible entries
• Highest Average rating will be declared the overall winner
• ALL eligible entries will be added to two forum polls:
  • Best Visuals
  • Best Story/Lore

Contest Prizes

• Overall Winner: 1,000,000ad
• Best Visuals: 400,000ad
• Best Story/Lore: 400,000ad

Interactive Map of Neverwinter
Neverwinter Mashupforge
*Note: This map has Dolphin Bridge and Sleeping Dragon Bridge reversed. Sleeping Dragon bridge is the westernmost bridge closest to the sea/docks.

Map of Neverwinter



[Thanks to and assuming Zeb's okay with inclusion]
Some "Current" Images of Sleeping Dragon bridge and North Docks area
(just for inspiration- no requirements to match)

tipadaknife

We know what the current Sleeping Dragon Bridge looks like -- it was shown in the new class artifact quests.

Cool idea...

Also, I guarantee nobody wants me determining eligibility for the quest

bardaaron

Wait, wasn't the tutorial quest with private Wilfred and the Harbinger on the Sleeping Dragon Bridge?

iandarksword

Some lore about the area (from Versus Books NWN 1 Official Adventure Guide): The Docks District was under the control of the Bloodsailors Guild at the time of the Wailing Death. The Bloodsailors were a pirate's guild run by a sea captain named Vengaul. Some notable buildings/businesses are The Silver Sails, a dockside trading company in the center/waterside of the map, The Golden Apple, another tavern to the Northeast of The Silver Sails, Twenty in a Quiver, a weapons merchant, The Androd Estate, a home of a wealthy captain, and The Seedy Tavern, the headquarters for the Bloodsailors. A popular currency for the Bloodsailors was known as Smuggler's Coins. It's unlikely any of these structures survived the Cataclysm, but they could be buried beneath the volcanic rock that the new Protector's Enclave is built on.

mrthebozer

eldarth wrote: »

• Speak to Merchant's Guild Representative about cleaning up old dock district
• Cross war-scarred Sleeping Dragon Bridge from outside PE Sleeping Dragon bridge gate
• Path down to North docks from North side of Sleeping Dragon bridge
• Docks District - post Spellplague & Hotenow, pre-reconstruction or under construction

Out of curiosity, what's the thinking behind making those middle two criteria mandatory? I only ask because it seems like all the focus of the competition is loaded into the last bullet point. Even the nature of the assigned quest is focused on the destination, and while there are plenty of ways to keep the journey part from being tedious, it feels a bit like fat that could be trimmed.

Mind you, either way it sounds like loads of fun, and I hope I can muster up the dedication to put something together in time.

reiwulf

I agree that maybe there are too many requirements, all the entries might end up looking too alike, but that's just my opinion
Other than that I like the idea a lot!

eldarth

mrthebozer wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what's the thinking behind making those middle two criteria mandatory?

I was sort of thinking that requiring a bridge and path would pre-filter out some of those pre-fab/static encounter entries and make it more work than they want to contribute. And I figured a bridge/path really made sense immersion wise if you left through the sleeping dragon bridge gate. Also that since there already is some "large" ruins structures a bridge would be pretty easy to throw in.

I was also thinking the 1,000ad entry fee may have a similar effect although I'm thinking that may be more trouble to implement than is worth.

But -- totally open to other ideas for requirements -- even for less requirements.

mrthebozer

Okay, I can definitely get behind that line of thinking. What do you think, though, about any of these suggestions:

1) the blunt approach: "this is a previously unrepresented area of Neverwinter - no prefabs!"
2) the player's way of reaching the docks must be represented in some way. this can be as simple as a well placed detail or as complex as a whole second map, but it has to be clear the adventurers needed a way to get there that wasn't just "quick travel."
3) the location of the docks in relation to the rest of Neverwinter should be apparent. Again, as simple or elaborate as the author likes, but it must be clearly communicated.
4) A list of "must have" elements, but no specific direction on how to use them. The Sleeping Dragon Bridge can just be looming over the map if they like, but it has to be there in some fashion. Add however many items to this list as you think necessary.

Feel free to use any of those that catch your eye.

eldarth

mrthebozer wrote: »

Okay, I can definitely get behind that line of thinking. What do you think, though, about any of these suggestions:

1) the blunt approach: "this is a previously unrepresented area of Neverwinter - no prefabs!"
2) the player's way of reaching the docks must be represented in some way. this can be as simple as a well placed detail or as complex as a whole second map, but it has to be clear the adventurers needed a way to get there that wasn't just "quick travel."
3) the location of the docks in relation to the rest of Neverwinter should be apparent. Again, as simple or elaborate as the author likes, but it must be clearly communicated.
4) A list of "must have" elements, but no specific direction on how to use them. The Sleeping Dragon Bridge can just be looming over the map if they like, but it has to be there in some fashion. Add however many items to this list as you think necessary.

Feel free to use any of those that catch your eye.

Those all sound pretty good. With the exception, somewhat of #1.
I think we could easily use prefabs of (detailed) coast/wilderness type areas with water planes, but still somehow encourage creativity.

reiwulf

It's kinda unfair on me to comment on this, I love making maps and I think eveyrone should take the time to make an original and detailed map, but I know that for some people it's harder (like for me, storytelling isn't my strong point, clearly XD)

bardaaron

mrthebozer wrote: »

Okay, I can definitely get behind that line of thinking. What do you think, though, about any of these suggestions:

1) the blunt approach: "this is a previously unrepresented area of Neverwinter - no prefabs!"
2) the player's way of reaching the docks must be represented in some way. this can be as simple as a well placed detail or as complex as a whole second map, but it has to be clear the adventurers needed a way to get there that wasn't just "quick travel."
3) the location of the docks in relation to the rest of Neverwinter should be apparent. Again, as simple or elaborate as the author likes, but it must be clearly communicated.
4) A list of "must have" elements, but no specific direction on how to use them. The Sleeping Dragon Bridge can just be looming over the map if they like, but it has to be there in some fashion. Add however many items to this list as you think necessary.

Feel free to use any of those that catch your eye.

I like this set of criteria.

bardaaron

eldarth wrote: »

Those all sound pretty good. With the exception, somewhat of #1.
I think we could easily use prefabs of (detailed) coast/wilderness type areas with water planes, but still somehow encourage creativity.

I took "no prefabs" to mean no complete maps premade. I think if a "detailed coast or wilderness area were used, but they added plenty of stuff to it to make it CLEARLY not just the stock map, then I think that would be fine.

mrthebozer

bardaaron wrote: »

I took "no prefabs" to mean no complete maps premade. I think if a "detailed coast or wilderness area were used, but they added plenty of stuff to it to make it CLEARLY not just the stock map, then I think that would be fine.

That's exactly what I was going for - just bad phrasing on my part. I just meant to rule out any cases where someone just slaps the name "docks" on the default Blacklake map and calls it a day. Maybe rephrased to something along the lines of "do not submit unaltered pre-generated maps" or "must show clear effort to represent a unique setting" or something like that.

bardaaron

I started making a quest at one point which involved a docks district, but unfortunately I don't think any of it is usable, since I made it not knowing any of the lore, so it doesn't fit with the lore.

eldarth

Okay, made a few requirement changes...comments?
(Also dropped the 1,000ad entry fee -- too much hassle)

Contest Requirements

• Speak to Merchant's Guild Representative about cleaning up old dock district
• North Docks District - post Spellplague & Hotenow, pre-reconstruction or under construction
• Required Visual Elements
  • Cliffs w/Protectors Enclave Walls
  • Neverwinter River mouth
  • Sea of Swords
  • Some form of path from docks up to Sleeping Dragon Bridge

Also added another map:

Interactive Map of Neverwinter
Neverwinter Mashupforge

mrthebozer

*Thumbs up*

Also, that map is awesome! Great find.

reiwulf

"Sea of swords" is the name of the sea, I guess, right?
I agree with the new requirements.

xetmk24

Hmm...
According to the map you provided Sleeping Dragon Bridge is far away from northern docks. Dolphin Bridge is way closer. And we already have Sleeping Dragon Bridge in game - in tutorial and during lvl 60 artifact quest. Why would we want to go there?

And why speaking to Merchant's Guild Representative about cleaning up old dock district?
If the quest is supposed to happen in the docks what's the point of limiting the reason why players have to go there?

And community foundry quest is a great idea.

bardaaron

Honestly the maps provided don't fit in with the game's layout of Protector's Enclave. Driftwood Tavern is on the wrong side of the River, Tarmalude Tradehouse seems to be on the wrong side of the city walls (though maybe the one inside in game is just what they've been struggling to get along with since the cataclysm), and the general layout of the buildings isn't even remotely close. If Cryptic ever adds an OFFICIAL docks district, it will probably look nothing like these maps suggest either. The descriptions are somewhat more useful, though.

As much as I love the idea of this though, both the community contest and the docks specifically, I doubt I will be able to enter. Another contest would murder my productivity on the 3+ quests I already have in the works. I just got committed to finishing one of them before the others, and adding a NEW distraction (a timed one at that) would set me way back again.

eldarth

xetmk24 wrote: »

According to the map you provided Sleeping Dragon Bridge is far away from northern docks. Dolphin Bridge is way closer. And we already have Sleeping Dragon Bridge in game - in tutorial and during lvl 60 artifact quest. Why would we want to go there?

Actually that map is wrong -- dolphin and sleeping dragon bridges are reversed - at least according to another map, and fitting in with cryptics map/storyline. Sleeping Dragon gate is just east of Hall of Justice -- and tutorial has undead streaming out of Castle Never which is just north of westernmost bridge.

xetmk24 wrote: »

And why speaking to Merchant's Guild Representative about cleaning up old dock district?
If the quest is supposed to happen in the docks what's the point of limiting the reason why players have to go there?

Just a slight attempt to enforce a little immersion -- the Merchants Guild Rep is in the Hall of justice which makes the "closest" travel gate be the "Sleeping Dragon Gate." And, of course, the Merchants Guild would want the docks operational as soon as possible.

huajia2

I love the idea of a Community Foundry Contest. Not sure I'll participate yet as I'm still learning how to work the foundry and am pretty slow at it. I love the concept though, and I'd love to see some quests based on it.