The Spellthief Trials. Need reviews, will Trade :P

almostcool · May 2013

I could really use some reviews/advice/suggestions on my quest. I'm trying to hit that big 20. I will review yours in return and document it here. Every single one :P

Quest Name: The Spellthief Trials
By @Stebss
Short Code:NW-DM900IFHK
Mission Type: Humorous adventure with unique boss fights and hand crafted/fully detailed environments.
Average Duration: 20 minutes
Amount of Combat: Heavy.
Mission Summary: A secret group of powerful mages have established a magic academy in the Underdark. You’ve been hired to foil their plans in the most epic fashion possible. Work alongside an accomplished Spellthief to steal the most powerful spell-books within the academy and battle your way through a school full of ambitious wizards, witches, Arch-Mages, and their hordes of minions.

Tested/waiting

Valkyryja - "A Dark Heart" - Part I: "Duskmoor and the Pit" - Reviewed and rated.

Eulerdmoogle - A small dwarvish grudge: NW-DUI8A8I7R - Reviewed and rated.

Maddriver - A Path to the Underworld: NW-DA4N8EOZD - Reviewed and rated

Tabris82 - Tale of a Key-losing Rat:NW-DLNI2LJDW - Reviewed and rated

Chinspinner - The Three Dials: NW-DMEWA2PW3 - Reviewed and rated

Lemonkingi - Sinister Manor - An Invitation: NW-DLZZGA446 - Reviewed and rated

zekrallmizzrym - The bones of Xunvrae: NWS-DNNZST5FJ - Reviewed and rated

Xhrit - Feast of the Moon: NW-DADOERMFX - Reviewed and rated

Nevfe - Choice or Fate: NW-DNVS9P8CJ - Reviewed and rated

Jintortle - A Night with Terrible Terrance - NW-DM9UDUMUK - Reviewed and rated

Note: If you would like my review posted on your quest thread please let me know here.

valkyryja · May 2013

Sounds fun, I'll do it.

Here's mine, http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?229641-quot-A-Dark-Heart-quot-Part-I-quot-Duskmoor-and-the-Pit-quot.

eulerdmoogle · May 2013

Ok, I'll trade reviews.

My mission: A small dwarvish grudge. NW-DUI8A8I7R
Solo Mission
Combat and story, some humor.

maddriver · May 2013

Played and rated in-game.

It is both a serious quest and one with humor. I liked the references to various...other fantasy works. Pyke was the best character, even if he had only a few things to say. Stebs is portraited as a powerful Spellthief and rightfully so, since he appears to be able to fight lots and lots of monsters.
The Gossiping Necromancers were a great addition. All in all the attention to detail is impressive and the humor works.

The fighting isn't forgiving and that's a good thing. I played as a level 25 Control Wizard with a rank 14 Healer companion.
There were some instances where the odds were really against me, but thankfully my companion took most of the damage and kept them busy so I can fight them one by one.

There aren't a lot of things I would suggest, since there is little to...complain about. Since we're exploring a Nec. Academy, you could add stuff to bookshelves where you find out about their history and their motives.
Traps may also works here and there. For example some can appear right when you're told to escape the Academy.

In conclusion it was an enjoyable experience. And I will certainly play the continuation.

The quest I'd like to share is called Path to the Underworld. It is not so combat-intensive and there is still some work to be done on it. That's why any feedback would be appreciated.
NW-DA4N8EOZD

valkyryja · May 2013

LOL, I just finished and rated it. It was really good. I'm a sucker for puns. The varied settings added a lot to the quest. The Academy had some running, but the placement of gossipers and other silly characters in between made the run not even noticeable. You made me love Pyke, darn you. The moment I saw Golem-Mancer Steve. . . "YES!" Hector Rodriguez? YES. Okay, I won't give away any more.

There were only a few things I noticed, mainly grammar and capitalization. There are a fair number of grammarians out there who probably won't hesitate to rate down quests because of little things like that. It really didn't bother me, but just in case, here's what I found:

"girlscouts" - maybe capitalize?
"Disobediant Skeleton" should be "Disobedient Skeleton."
"I got" and "you got" should be "I've got" and "you've got," respectively. But it's colloquial speech, so that's debatable.
In Xipher's first dialogue somewhere he mentions "academys" when it should be "academy's."
In maybe (?) the same dialogue, he mentions the player's name (cool feature BTW, I want to know how to do this >.>) There should be a period after the name.
In Pyke's first dialogue, the "eek!" should be "Eek!"
In another of Pyke's, "halfling" should be capitalized.

In the first conversation with the super cool guy in the first room, one final option is "You got it" and the other is "Continue." I'm not sure if that was intentional, or if it was supposed to be some sort of player response option, rather than "continue."

When I entered the classroom, it took me a sec to realize that the sparkly thing was what I was supposed to interact with, and not the professor. That was just me derping, though.

I thought it was great. More, prease.

almostcool · May 2013

@Valkyryja - "A Dark Heart" - Part I: "Duskmoor and the Pit"

The story and characters are very well done. The dialogue is error free except for one part when Lilis says "Priviledge" instead of "Privilege." The dialogue choices are fun and made me actually want to help poor Rosie. The halfling wizard and the ghost on the island were nice quirky touches and I especially liked your idea of using a blood pool as a portal.

I went in as a lvl 45 TR with a cleric companion and had no problem difficulty wise and I actually managed to skip some of the mobs in the beginning, like most of the pigs and the mobs on the island. I know that isn't your intention for them to be skipped but I saw an ogre dressed as a pig and I hate fighting ogres haha. I do have one issue so far though and that is the assembly lines of mobs you have to fight (i.e. the legion devils and ooze monsters) I know you don't emphasize on combat as much as you do story but it is still something that players look for. I just feel like there are too many, like instead of 10 groups maybe lower it down to 4 or 5 since you do have the pitfiend's test right after. I also feel like them just standing there doesn't add much to your environments, might I suggest making them roam the road? Sort of like they are patrolling to make sure no mortals like myself step into their domain.

While fighting the legion devils I also noted that some of the imps were costumed as legion devils and vice-versa. I don't know if this was intentional or not. Either way it's comical nonetheless seeing legion devils flit about in the air.

The mindflayer hulk that you fight during the pitfiend's test is named "Shadow Wolf." Again, I am not sure if this is intentional or simply an accident.

Other than those small things, nothing is game-breakingly wrong with it. I enjoyed it immensely and left you a nice tip

almostcool · May 2013

@Maddriver I'm happy you enjoyed it, thank you for the feedback. The balance with monsters is something that I try really hard to focus on. I want it to be challenging but not murder your wallet by having to constantly chug potions, hopefully it wasn't the latter. I do like your suggestion for more lore within the academy I have considered many lore based Easter eggs but this being my first quest published I rushed it a bit and lost patience after designing all the maps. Your suggestion for traps is brilliant though and would fit perfectly, I will actually try to include those in some clever ways.

@Valkyryja I am happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for the feedback. I will fix those grammar issues as soon as possible. I commend you on your use of the English language within your posts and quest.

almostcool · May 2013

@Eulerdmoogle - A small dwarvish grudge.

A very big issue at the start of the quest. On the part when it says "Enter Gaddi's Metal Works" Not only is the door difficult to target but it also has two options: one that says "Enter the workshop" and another that says "Inspect" or "interact," one of those two. Out of curiosity I clicked the "inspect" button and it made a noise as if putting something in my bag then did not allow me to interact with the door anymore, forcing me to have to leave and retake the quest. less important is the name of the door, it just reads "Human door- door 03"

Grammar is spot on and the story is alright, but I feel like some aspects of the quest didn't need to be there or could be worded different to make it feel more important. For instance you have a part in the quest where it tells you to put the files on the desk, I think you could just include that into the dialogue with the secretary like "hand him the papers" That part kind of made me feel like a simple errand boy

Some suggestions: There was a lot of combat and I personally feel like there were too many mobs and not enough variety, I realize that bandits tie into the quest but space them out a bit and when you are fleeing the town maybe add some fire FX and more guards to make it feel like a real enemy raid rather than just a wall of bad guys you have to mindlessly hack through. I would also like to recommend you take a little more time to add more details to your maps. It can be tedious but the feeling you get walking into a room with blank walls and a single desk vs a room with paintings, banners, weapons, a seating area, book shelves, and scattered papers on said desk helps to liven it up a bit more.

Overall I think you did a good job. Nothing major to complain about except the door at the beginning. Fix that and then you are golden. The rest is just opinion.

tabris82 · May 2013

Heya! I would also be interested in a trade:

Short Code: NW-DLNI2LJDW
Quest: Tale of a Key-losing Rat
Its soloable if you choose the first two levels of difficulty, although the second is already a bit a push over for solo play (hence a solo mode )
runs about 17-20min

I'll review yours after lunch and leave feedback here and ingame ^_^

As of mine, if you could leave the feedback on the thread http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?230912-UGC-Tale-of-a-key-losing-Rat it would be nice.

Thanks and i hope you enjoy it, and me yours xD

chinspinner · May 2013

I'll do a trade, I'll have a look at it momentarily.

Mine is: -

The Three Dials NW-DMEWA2PW3

15 minute solo story quest with relatively easy combat.

almostcool · May 2013

@Tabris82, the link you provided did not work but a quick forum search brought it up for me.

Will get to probably two of them today, after work and in between studying.

C'mon people we need more to trade

lemonkingi · May 2013

I'll bite here's mine: http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?234012-Sinister-Manor-An-Invitaton
Short Code: NW-DLZZGA446

e: Things that stood out
Seth's House, player drops in next to the hay bales. Should be on top.
Exit Door 'Press F to Lets Do This'.

Necro School, door on the left (exit) is sparkling too soon when you should be heading to the necro class.

Last area with the multiple waves, if you want a small delay place their spawn a bit further back and give them a one way patrol to where the combat area is.

Overall quite nice.

e: Congrats, your now eligible for the Daily Founders.

tabris82 · May 2013

Ok, just finished it. Well done!

The decor was amazing and the illumination too. The blood decals on the academy entrance were wierd though, not sure i would let them stay there - should they be intended.

The dialogs were funny altough i would like a bit more flavour instead of just an answer fits all. My char didn't really identify with them.

Nice combats and choices of mobs. Maybe the 2 times you fight xivier could have a different name on the quest "Fight Xivier on his terrain of choice" or smt like this, i might be wrong but both time it seemed the quest description was the same.

Also the whole go to pyke grave because you spoke to him once might have been over the top, but fits the humour i guess.

A very nice quest with impressive ambiance, all and all an amazing quest. Gave it 5*

/

Corrected the url on my post. Had it copied it from another post but the links get croped so had to relink ^_^^

eulerdmoogle · May 2013

I came across a showstopping bug. In the Academy Crypts, after talking to the former necro soon to be florist, I found the next door after a bit of searching, sparklies and everything, but I couldn't open the door. No error message, not even a "Press F to interact." So either

1) There's some weird bug that won't allow me to proceed.
2) Or you used sparklies in a very bad way. The sparkles are a cue to the player to interact with something, and so using them as decoration is a bad idea.

At any rate, I'll keep watching this thread to see which of the two it is and try again later. Oh, and yea, sitting on benches is so mainstream.

eulerdmoogle · May 2013

Update, found the correct door, meaning that you've got a problem with another door sparkeling too soon. Also, I had to abandon the quest as it was impossible for my lv 49 cleric to beat. I'll try again later with a dps class, but if you intend the mission to be soloable you might want to tone it down a notch.

almostcool · May 2013

Thank you for the feed back. I will replace the sparkly door with one that doesn't and just make the sparkly appear when you beat the professor. The invisible wall was put there to not allow access until the professor was beat, but that was done in my ignorance of the program. Let me know what mobs/parts you had trouble with, I am attempting to make it soloable for all classes at any level.

valkyryja · May 2013

almostcool wrote: »

@Valkyryja - "A Dark Heart" - Part I: "Duskmoor and the Pit"

The story and characters are very well done. The dialogue is error free except for one part when Lilis says "Priviledge" instead of "Privilege." The dialogue choices are fun and made me actually want to help poor Rosie. The halfling wizard and the ghost on the island were nice quirky touches and I especially liked your idea of using a blood pool as a portal.

I went in as a lvl 45 TR with a cleric companion and had no problem difficulty wise and I actually managed to skip some of the mobs in the beginning, like most of the pigs and the mobs on the island. I know that isn't your intention for them to be skipped but I saw an ogre dressed as a pig and I hate fighting ogres haha. I do have one issue so far though and that is the assembly lines of mobs you have to fight (i.e. the legion devils and ooze monsters) I know you don't emphasize on combat as much as you do story but it is still something that players look for. I just feel like there are too many, like instead of 10 groups maybe lower it down to 4 or 5 since you do have the pitfiend's test right after. I also feel like them just standing there doesn't add much to your environments, might I suggest making them roam the road? Sort of like they are patrolling to make sure no mortals like myself step into their domain.

While fighting the legion devils I also noted that some of the imps were costumed as legion devils and vice-versa. I don't know if this was intentional or not. Either way it's comical nonetheless seeing legion devils flit about in the air.

The mindflayer hulk that you fight during the pitfiend's test is named "Shadow Wolf." Again, I am not sure if this is intentional or simply an accident.

Other than those small things, nothing is game-breakingly wrong with it. I enjoyed it immensely and left you a nice tip

Thanks for the feedback! I'll make sure to fix the spelling error. That's a good point about the amount of encounters. I originally had them patrolling down the path, but there were complaints by people who didn't understand timing, and would end up pulling three groups at a time. Instead, I guess I can lessen the amount required, spread them out, and make them patrol. The things about the swapped costumes is super lame. I've fixed and re-fixed this issue on three separate occasions, and for some reason they revert back at some point or they aren't changed in the publish. I'll try to fix it again. I'll fix the hulk's name, too.

Thanks a lot for the constructive feedback. Although hearing everything is great is a nice thing, I prefer the constructive criticism. Thanks again!

eulerdmoogle · May 2013

I got a second change to play your mission. This time I used a low level mage so I wouldn't get bogged down in the combat. After lv 25 or so, all combat becomes more difficult. So then, good news and bad news.

Good news:
1) Your decorations are excellent. I'm actually envious of your skill here. Detail placement, colorful npcs, it's beautiful. In a dark, horrific, necromancy way of course.
2) I love your sense of humor. The easy mobs being "Straight F Students" and such. Wonderful.

Bad news:
a) A lot of the combat setups feel awfully random at times. It's as if your impulse to put something cool in overrode your sense of story. Mind you that's not a bad thing in small doses, but here it overwhelms your storyline cohesion.
b) Speaking of storyline cohesion, sometimes I feel like I'm playing Monty Python meets Neverwinter, and not in the awesome way that mashup would imply. ... Umm, how should I put this, it's a bit difficult to articulate. You know how some foods are great hot or cold, but at room temperature they're just awful? At times your humor enters into the uncomfortable zone, where it's at the same time too zany and not zany enough. I'm sorry if that statement just completely confused you, I'm really not sure how to explain this one. The good news it that it's a minor point and I enjoyed the humor of the most part.
c) Guard encounters do not scale evenly with enemy encounters. A fight that the guards will easily win at lv 10 will be won by the monsters at lv 30. I played through as a lv 10 mage, but I suspect you may have a balance issue with your guard encounters.

That said I found the whole thing to be a lot of fun. Good job.

almostcool · May 2013

@Chinspinner. I played your quests and enjoyed it quite a bit. The costumes were good and I could tell you put some time into the details of your maps (That cathedral was amazing) I went in with 2 other people all 40+ so the difficulty was a bit skewed. I don't think there were any spelling errors except the word "recognize" in the beginning. I really liked the ending and that vista you had to fight the boss in, looking over the city and such. I am going to run it again today since my friend left, kicking us all out, before I could press "Okay" and rate it in game. I will also be releasing a "Let's play" Video with this one because I got the notion to start recording during it, and well, hilarity ensued.

almostcool · May 2013

@Valkyryja, You are very welcome thank you also.

@Eulerdmoogle, Thank you for the review! My environments is what I paid the most attention to. I am not sure what to say about the mobs and that Monty Python feel haha. The main focus of this quest were the Archmages that you fight, everything else in-between was for extra flavor not exactly story so I see what you mean. As for the dialogue, I wanted to keep it short and not a chore to read but also engaging nevertheless. Thank you again!

@Tabris82, The blood decals are there on purpose, Stebs the spellthief did just massacre a small army of people. If we get into physics though the way that it cascades down the door doesn't make sense, I agree with that. Those decals are just such a chore to get placed right though...The dialogue is something I think I do need to work on, I try to make it funny but there isn't too much variation, I know. I just checked, the Xipher fight does have different quest text. Thank you for the review!

@Chinspinner, I played it again and left an in-game review. Here's the video of our play through, I hope you have a sense of humor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZQDfWn8RXs

almostcool · May 2013

Tabris82 - Tale of a Key-losing Rat - reviewed and rated. Review on your quest post.

zekrallmizzrym · May 2013

I like the sound of your quest, going to have a play now. Feel free to review my quest.

Reviewed: "The Spellthief Trials" 16th May 2013 (in game feedback and rating left)

Campaign: Resurrection of Xunvrae (4 parts)
Quest Name: The bones of Xunvrae
Author: Elimgarak83
Short Code: NWS-DNNZST5FJ
Tags: Story, Explore, Combat
Tested: 14 GWF, 60 CW, 60 DC, 29 CW
Quest forum post: http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?235592-Resurrection-of-Xunvrae

almostcool · May 2013

Thank you! Will get to yours soon.

zekrallmizzrym · May 2013

Just played "The Spellthief Trials". Was a great quest with some memorable characters and well written dialog.

Highlights

Funny dialog
Combat is well designed.
Dancing Golems! (this alone makes it worth playing)
Nice visual deign throughout the quest

almostcool · May 2013

Thanks for the review Zek! I will get to yours sometime today.

One more to go. I could really use some more quests to review. If you want to add to the list post here. Lets keep this trade post going :P

xhrit · May 2013

You can try mine...

Feast of the Moon
Module NW-DADOERMFX

"and that is where tieflings come from."

almostcool · May 2013

Will add it to the list Xhrit.

nokturnel · May 2013

Some feedback for ya.

Overview: Overall the story was effective, wasn't anything to write home about but it was pretty funny and epic. The amount of detail you put into your environments though is nuts. Like A+++++ work there. I could imagine you creating a masterpiece if the Foundry would allow for us to have more options with designing quests. Loved the banter between the necromancers at the academy. (Don't cross the streams!) Gave ya 5 stars, one of the best Foundry quests I've played. (Tipped ya too hehe)

Problems:
Sirio the mage caller or something in the Ice Arena's name is too long it trails off at the end. (Hence why I couldn't get ya the name perfectly lol) "Boal - Acolyte of Destruction" has the same problem in the Ice Arena. I'd suggest making "Acolyte of Destruction" his group name and "Boal" his name. Each mob in an encounter group can have a different group name. (Pyke - The Failing Demonalogist at the end has the same problem)

Hope you can review mine soon

almostcool · May 2013

Thank you very much, fine details are my passion :P
The foundry is limiting and without a Flymode details can be tedious, but in my opinion environments are what make a quest memorable and are worth the frustration to place.

As for the names, I will fix that as soon as possible, that is an issue. No point of a title when no one can read it.

Reviewed yours on your page, great job mate.

almostcool · May 2013

@Xhrit Feast of the Moon
Module NW-DADOERMFX

The story was great, love the twist, didn't notice any spelling errors except when you talk to Lady Neverex at the end when she says "Land ot Thay" I'm guessing it should be of. Nothing big.

I do have to point out a few things though. First your mobs are way too easy and encounters are pulled way too far apart. It's okay to let me and other players fight 3 kobolds at a time, we don't need to single pull those types of easy encounters. I recommend just putting them together and you'll be fine. You do a much better job with the encounters after the kobold lair.

You did some details which is great! However, I feel like they aren't enough in comparison to how big your rooms are. What I do is just think about the room you are making, choose a few items and then place them and duplicate them if necessary. Let's use a storeroom for example, duplicate a bunch of shelves, barrels, vegetable carts, crates and then messily throw them around and make it look semi-cluttered, it is a storeroom after all. You wouldn't do this for a noble house though, they are proper, everything is symmetrical, in order, beautiful and perfect, see where I'm going here? Build the rooms to fit the scene and if you make the rooms a bit smaller you wont need as many details to make it look full.

One more thing, I think there is a bit too much running around. For instance two of your quests are "Talk to feasting noble" and "Talk to dancing noble" I don't really understand the point of these two quests, there isn't any substantial dialogue and it felt like meaningless wandering. If you put it in place to show the rooms or make it coincide with the next part of the quest I think you could make it a bit quicker and more interesting like "Partake in the food and wine" then have the player get to choose from an assortment of beverages and foods. Simple, but quicker and gets your point across for the next part of the story.

Overall I enjoyed it, I think if you just tweak the encounters a bit, adjust some quest paths to make things flow better, and add a tad more detail to your rooms it will be a 5 in my opinion.

almostcool · May 2013

@zekrallmizzrym
Resurrection of Xunvrae-NWS-DNNZST5FJ

Just played your quest
Some corrections

"Wondering Wight" I assume should be "Wandering Wight"
Tattered Journal - "She will life force of my sanctum" I'm not sure what you mean here. "Themselves" should be one word.
Arcane Tomb- "I am able to tell you" should be "I am 'unable' to tell you" Also when you ask about the west door he says "The east door"
Odd looking ogre: When you kill him you set him to "Fight to submission" however this is buggy right now and you can't make him disappear after, so this causes two of the ogres to be there when the other one spawns.
Here's a list of some spelling mistakes in this conversation:
1. Innocent
2. Swirly and shiny are spelled wrong twice in both response sections.
3. What should be "What's"

Optional room, I can't go into it. After interacting with it it didn't give me an option to enter.
In the opposite room the magma brutes and lancers are not named correctly. Magma brute is a lancer and vice versa. not sure if this was intentional or not.

Your puzzle is awesome but seriously irritating. The crystal closest to the small tower isn't interractable, not sure if it's supposed to be. I got into the library inspected the only book shelf I could and didn't gain any clues as to how to get through the door. I had to opt for the secret passage. Now I may just be being stupid here but is that the only way or is there another? because that lever did have to do with N,E,W, and S and perhaps that was the clue from the portals, I don't know. Regardless I got the right answer by just clicking a bunch of random things and making educated guesses.

Mobs in the crypt room suffer from the same thing as the magma encounter. Your Wight Commander is skinned as a lowly skeleton archer and your archer is the wight commander.

"Fadeing Yasrik" Needs to be "Fading"

So now I am confused and perhaps you can clear this up for me. Aliisza and Pharaun come up for I'm pretty sure the first time in the story. Then Aliisza is referred to as Alinys and Pharaun as Xunvrae. Now I have read War of the Spider Queen and the three part book where Pharaun comes back in the end (Can't remember the names) so perhaps I'm mistaken but I don't recall them ever being referred to by these other names. To me it kind of looked like you just made a spin off involving these two characters but simply changed the name of the characters and the houses they were from.

Also, at the end, when you insult that one drow, the assassins spawn and attack them. Kind of immersion breaking when the assassins out to punish you scare their own leader.

Overall I thought your writing was great, the costumes were awesome, the dialogue options and triggers made it really fun and the portals/riddles were very engaging, I spent about an hour 1/2 in your dungeon and had fun doing it. So thank you. Just hoping you could clear up a few parts for me :P

The Spellthief Trials. Need reviews, will Trade :P

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