5-Stars overall (actual=4-Stars)
This reviewer is HIGHLY IMPRESSED.
Good story, good humor, but not overdone.
Good combat balance; NOT another stupid hack-n-slash-grind-trash.
NEEDS Dialog Box fixing and initial quest direction fixing.
In short: among the most entertaining Foundry Works I've played thus far as of this writing.
Great I am looking at submitting this to be Featured but was waiting on this review to see about changing a couple of things.
The combat might need to see some readjustments: the actual combat is pretty well balanced, but the difficulty (solo player, "normal" difficulty) might need some rearrangements: put the easy-to-kill minions near the front of the quest and the more difficult one nearer the end.
That's the main thing I was still tweaking. Swapping some encounters to be easier to make "normal" difficulty easier for lower ranked players. Almost at encounter cap though (currently used 50/50 but have 1 to play with if I want to) so it's tricky trying to balance this with a higher difficulty.
This quest should definitely be spotlighted by Cryptic, author should be subscribed-to for certain. Amazing attention to detail and 99% glitch-free.
It's taken a lot of work and testing by people from the Scribes' Enclave to get it there. Still finding odd things (like only needing to kill one of the Guardians to get to Cuimhne) but it's mostly there.
I'd have to say the only negatives of this wonderful work are the beginning of the quest proper and that goddammed dialog-box paradigm thing. Other than that - this is a MUST PLAY quest.
Fixing that in my next release (which will be 1.I)
First impression on entry into the quest: Begins in PE - but no description of what I must do there. Only a Journal entry with the title of the quest, no goals mention. Fortunately the pixie dust path leads the way. It leads me to some guy called Guard Frinko - but I have no idea why I'm seeking him out or what he wants to say to me.
This is a bug. The quest actually had the description "Go to speak with Guard Frinko" (I'm updating this to "Go to speak with Guard Frinko beside The Trade of Blades") set to it but it doesn't always display (bug seems to be related to Guard Frinko only since my other quest starts with the Merchant Guild Rep and displays text correctly...)
Consistency: Goblin and goblin are used interchangeably; watch capitalization constancy in descriptions, etc. (Since Goblin is a noun, I should think it's always capitalized. I could be wrong, though).
It's on my to-do list. The Foundry is not kind to this kind of editing though since you can't search for text
There are pronoun inconsistencies also; the dialogue does not specified who wrote or sent the note we are speaking about, but my only reply states "Did he give instructions. . . how do I know it's a "he"?
Most people do this subconsciously when they speak (men tend to use "he" and women "she" for unknown/generic references [rather than they] and switch to the opposite gender when they are frustrated with someone e.g. men assume that a good driver is a man and that a bad driver is a woman) It's really obvious if you watch a lot of TV and pay attention to what the characters are saying. Using the above logic - since Guard Frinko is male, he makes the assumption that the author of the note is male.
The conversation abruptly ends with the note in my hands - Ginko never told me what to do with it, I never asked for it and the Quest Journal does;t tell me what to do now; there is no description of pixie dust path to lead me on. Player experience alone tells me to head to gate. Were I a new player I might give-up and drop the quest. #justsayin'
I have to really look hard for any new locations on the overland map - finally: something called The Goblin Cave appears, but no waypoints or anything. I'm not entirely sure if this one related to the current quest or one of the half-dozen other active quests in my journal. NOTE: I realize this may be a Game BUG (it seems I am seeing a lot of this lately) - ERROR-CHECKING would be to place a description in the dialog itself. Something to the effect of "Leave the city and head for the Goblin Cave southeast of the city and speak with NPCNAME". This describe where to look on the overland map in case this scenario (no goals appear in Journal) arrises.
It is a bug. My quest actually has "Go to meet Bocan Bodach in The Goblin Cave" as the text for this transition. (Updating to "Go to meet Bocan Bodach in The Goblin Cave near The Kryptgarden Forest". In the dialogue about the note Guard Frinko also says to go to the cave near the Kryptgarden Forest.
Immersion logic: I went from a city gate and landed directly in an underground tunnel. This is okay I suppose. I would have the player land in an outdoor area if only for transition purposes; make a short quest to "find the cave entrance" to help develop immersion.
The really early builds actually had a very simple outdoor area for this (that's where the first Goblin dialogue actually happened) but I didn't feel it added too much aside from an extra transition. Plus the quest was long enough already.
If I can design an outdoor area I'm really happy with then I'll probably add one back in (I need practice in outdoor areas anyway).
Consistency: is this a crypt or a cave? (PC Option: "What have you seen in the crypt?") UPDATE: I see now that I am apparently inside a crypt (but this is long after I knew this would become a crypt).
Hadn't considered that. it's fixed now.
Too much yellow-highlighting of text in Ghost dialogue. Again, I defer to the link above about good dialog box paradigms. ALSO: If a PC option requires a specific skill or class, move it to the RIGHT in your dialog tree so that the non-prerequisite options appear first in the dialog box.
I've already found two doors (with no runes on them) that I cannot open. For consistency, I suggest: place an interactive invisible wall (or make your existing invisible wall interactive) - on interaction give player feedback "this door seems stuck" or locked or whatever.
Hadn't considered that. Updated to now have an interact.
I like the way I am made to rerun all the way through the way I came in. PRO-TIP: Add an interactive near the portal to guide me back there because the pixie dust leads directly back to Bocan - it tends to lead me through the wrong path in the crypt portion (past the entrance back to the cave).
I hope you mean that you used the shortcut room and then ran back a little (there's a waypoint for that!). I have added an extra waypoint by the teleporter so it takes you to there before prompting you to teleport (sadly the teleporter cannot be made as the goal of an interact quest stage).
My Foundry Quests:
The Silver Sword - NW-DEIPWYISA - Daily Qualified A Relaxing Stay - NW-DEEYNZYZ9 - Daily Qualified but going to be updated
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zebularMember, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 15,270Community Moderator
edited November 2013
Thread moved and title changed, per request. Thanks!
Great quest thank you. Enjoyed the story line, the balance was nice, appreciated the quick travel ability.
One exception, though. When it comes to the end, there's no way to complete the quest!
Battle monsters to get to the gate, then there's no way to finish; just a glowing waypoint and the instructions "Set the ... before more reinforcements arrive." Walk around everywhere and there's nothing to interactive with that will advance the story. Am I missing something or is this a bug?
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bazgcMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 184Bounty Hunter
edited December 2013
There's a point to place the explosives at the rocks behind and to the left of the gate as you look at it.
My Foundry Quests:
The Silver Sword - NW-DEIPWYISA - Daily Qualified A Relaxing Stay - NW-DEEYNZYZ9 - Daily Qualified but going to be updated
Good quest, fun, my first visit to the foundry (I'm a new player), it was recommended by the rogue in the tower area with all the orcs.
Pros: Good atmospherics. Odd creaking noises and sparse lighting.
Cons: Repeatedly asking the ghost for help only to be told "not yet" felt a bit redundant (not horrible, just a quibble). The pathing (discussed in previous posts) still needs work. I did notice the comment to check my map (and so I did) but the sparkling path routinely disappeared from veiw (through walls usually).
Final review: sadly, unable to complete.
I fought the goblins at the bottom of the ramp, got the explosives, walked up the ramp, and fought the big guy and his minions around the gate. The combat music kept playing but I could not find another target. Wandered around for about 20 minutes looking (which is probably as long as it took me to complete the crypt).
The quest stuck at "Quickly set the explosives before more reinforcements arrive". I was unable to use the explosives or find anything else to kill.
I eventually had to abandon the quest as I couldn't advance and also get a GM (apparently they don't help while you're in a quest?). I filed a ticket for a stuck goblin because I couldn't think what else it could be.
It turned out when I came here to read the forums that the stuck goblin was actually a hidden location to place the explosives (it sounds like the "rather obscure behind the sign" location problem may have affected me). I left the quest so I can't be sure, but I did look very carefully. There was no obvious location. If there was an un-obvious location (behind the sign, behind one of the burning urns, between the gate and the sign, where-ever the obscure location turned out to be) well that seems a bit harsh for new people.
As a new player whose 3 days into the game and in (literally) their first foundry quest, having to abandon it uncompleted just left me irritated with the whole experience.
Comments
Great
That's the main thing I was still tweaking. Swapping some encounters to be easier to make "normal" difficulty easier for lower ranked players. Almost at encounter cap though (currently used 50/50 but have 1 to play with if I want to) so it's tricky trying to balance this with a higher difficulty.
It's taken a lot of work and testing by people from the Scribes' Enclave to get it there. Still finding odd things (like only needing to kill one of the Guardians to get to Cuimhne) but it's mostly there.
Fixing that in my next release (which will be 1.I)
This is a bug. The quest actually had the description "Go to speak with Guard Frinko" (I'm updating this to "Go to speak with Guard Frinko beside The Trade of Blades") set to it but it doesn't always display (bug seems to be related to Guard Frinko only since my other quest starts with the Merchant Guild Rep and displays text correctly...)
It's on my to-do list. The Foundry is not kind to this kind of editing though since you can't search for text
Most people do this subconsciously when they speak (men tend to use "he" and women "she" for unknown/generic references [rather than they] and switch to the opposite gender when they are frustrated with someone e.g. men assume that a good driver is a man and that a bad driver is a woman) It's really obvious if you watch a lot of TV and pay attention to what the characters are saying. Using the above logic - since Guard Frinko is male, he makes the assumption that the author of the note is male.
It is a bug. My quest actually has "Go to meet Bocan Bodach in The Goblin Cave" as the text for this transition. (Updating to "Go to meet Bocan Bodach in The Goblin Cave near The Kryptgarden Forest". In the dialogue about the note Guard Frinko also says to go to the cave near the Kryptgarden Forest.
The really early builds actually had a very simple outdoor area for this (that's where the first Goblin dialogue actually happened) but I didn't feel it added too much aside from an extra transition. Plus the quest was long enough already.
If I can design an outdoor area I'm really happy with then I'll probably add one back in (I need practice in outdoor areas anyway).
Needed because the teleporter dumps you out in variable positions
Hadn't considered that. it's fixed now.
Too much yellow-highlighting of text in Ghost dialogue. Again, I defer to the link above about good dialog box paradigms. ALSO: If a PC option requires a specific skill or class, move it to the RIGHT in your dialog tree so that the non-prerequisite options appear first in the dialog box.
Hadn't considered that. Updated to now have an interact.
I hope you mean that you used the shortcut room and then ran back a little (there's a waypoint for that!). I have added an extra waypoint by the teleporter so it takes you to there before prompting you to teleport (sadly the teleporter cannot be made as the goal of an interact quest stage).
The Silver Sword - NW-DEIPWYISA - Daily Qualified
A Relaxing Stay - NW-DEEYNZYZ9 - Daily Qualified but going to be updated
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One exception, though. When it comes to the end, there's no way to complete the quest!
Battle monsters to get to the gate, then there's no way to finish; just a glowing waypoint and the instructions "Set the ... before more reinforcements arrive." Walk around everywhere and there's nothing to interactive with that will advance the story. Am I missing something or is this a bug?
The Silver Sword - NW-DEIPWYISA - Daily Qualified
A Relaxing Stay - NW-DEEYNZYZ9 - Daily Qualified but going to be updated
Pros: Good atmospherics. Odd creaking noises and sparse lighting.
Cons: Repeatedly asking the ghost for help only to be told "not yet" felt a bit redundant (not horrible, just a quibble). The pathing (discussed in previous posts) still needs work. I did notice the comment to check my map (and so I did) but the sparkling path routinely disappeared from veiw (through walls usually).
Final review: sadly, unable to complete.
I fought the goblins at the bottom of the ramp, got the explosives, walked up the ramp, and fought the big guy and his minions around the gate. The combat music kept playing but I could not find another target. Wandered around for about 20 minutes looking (which is probably as long as it took me to complete the crypt).
The quest stuck at "Quickly set the explosives before more reinforcements arrive". I was unable to use the explosives or find anything else to kill.
I eventually had to abandon the quest as I couldn't advance and also get a GM (apparently they don't help while you're in a quest?). I filed a ticket for a stuck goblin because I couldn't think what else it could be.
It turned out when I came here to read the forums that the stuck goblin was actually a hidden location to place the explosives (it sounds like the "rather obscure behind the sign" location problem may have affected me). I left the quest so I can't be sure, but I did look very carefully. There was no obvious location. If there was an un-obvious location (behind the sign, behind one of the burning urns, between the gate and the sign, where-ever the obscure location turned out to be) well that seems a bit harsh for new people.
As a new player whose 3 days into the game and in (literally) their first foundry quest, having to abandon it uncompleted just left me irritated with the whole experience.