This module is EPIC and different from any other module out there. It is considered by many to be almost a completely different game that could stand by itself.
I have been working on this for years and adding to it by request and because, I enjoy playing this module. HUGE replay value (every game is different). Play against other players, Play against the computer, Play with other players on a team against the computer, or any combination you like. It has 100s of adjustable settings so, you can vary the way each game plays.
I have not completed it at the level I want it. There are still issues I am aware of. I feel I need to release what I have so far though as I may never get a chance to complete it.
This game does not work very well when playing from saved games. I've improved it some. It is best played in a single setting. It also runs best when running it on a dedicated server (even if it is on the same machine you are testing on). This module has a lot of hugely complex things going on so, it pushes NWN engine as far as it can go. In some cases it may break. Dedicated Server mode seems to be the most stable. :)
If I get around to it I'll fix the other things I am aware of. I recently almost died in the hospital due to complications with a galbladder removal so, I need to get you what I have as you never know when something might happen.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Requires Latest version of CEP
Download and extract the file... it will extract to a NWN folder. Simply copy that folder over your NWN folder and it will copy the haks, modules, and TLK files into the appropriate locations.
Or you can copy those files manually.
SOME THINGS ADDED AS OF 1.26 BETA 33 RELEASE:
Horse Support
All doors in the city go somewhere (randomly generated each game). So, you can unlock, or knock doors in the city to enter people's homes, find some specialty vendors, or perhaps stumble upon a crime in progress that leads to a quest.
More of the spells completed.
Lair Add-Ons added to lairs which changes the game play substantially when used.
Many Spells completed
Variations on Control Point Capture provided to command units.
Team Coloring and Appearance
Sub-Races
Lycanthropy
A number of maps have been altered or added to.
Random Dungeon Area Added
People were requesting some modding documentation - I am providing some files I have as I find them. They may not be useful or they could be useful to some of you.
How to create and add new units to the module as of 1.26 Beta 28. I Completely changed how units are stored and defined as of 1.26 beta 28. It no longer is defined using a horde of waypoints. It is done using 2DA files. It is easier to add more units, and more flexible than before.
This more modding docs. This simply is the document I wrote while I was making the Challenging AI so, it was not intended for use by others. I provide it anyway for those of you modding the module.
Lost interview questions and answers from back when Homelanfed interviewed us for a game site. This is an OLD interview. I dug it up while looking for modding files for you guys.
This is a list of changes made from 1.26beta15 through 1.26beta33 pulled from the mantis bug reporting tool. This is provided for those that wanted this.
I entered the undead lair and created 30 skeletons and 2 skeleton archers right off the bat. I didn't send them on any missions simply so, I could have a nice full screenshot.
The starting room - I have chosen the Undead team and have chosen a sub-race Skeleton with a random appearance. In this case it gives me a blackish almost Pseudo-Zombie look.
Surface Area Map with no labels. This is just the SURFACE areas and does not include the dungeons, the outer planes, or numerous interior areas. This module has a massive number of areas. You can explore, or you can fight, or you can do a bit of both.
Posted by Qlippoth at 2012-05-05 13:50:38 Voted 9.00
Wow, hella late response. I think the enemy AI won't spawn enemy units that roam outside of their Lair until they reach level 3. You can change the settings from the control panel (the first area you are put in when you start a game) and default all players (and AI leaders) to level 3. That should spawn enemy AI units that roam the map. If PCs start at Level 1, then they will level up over time and send out units.
I suggest upping you level to 3 or 5 so you can start exploring right away, it is still balanced since all other units will be made tougher to match your level. Good hunting!
Posted by Noggin at 2009-09-25 07:50:14 Voted 9.75 on 09/23/09
Unfortunately i'm having trouble with nwn memory leaks and ATI drivers atm. But whenever I fix it up I'll check it out. =)
Posted by Qlippoth at 2009-09-24 22:21:48 Voted 9.00
Hey Noggin, we have a forum (qlippoth.servegame.org/forum/) and I often host my own test games. I've been thinking about hosting a long term game for a few weeks now. I have the server and module on a dedicated VM machine, so I can pause and resume a game without dealing with the old save game issues.
Come on to our boards and let me know if you're interested.
And the Animal companion I think is as designed for play balance. Not that it can't be changed.
- Qlippoth
Posted by Noggin at 2009-09-23 17:35:20 Voted 9.75 on 09/23/09
The sheer amount of time I have put into playing this mod is unreal, I thank Deva and all those who was part of the development for this unique and refreshing game.
I can only hope it will be updated even more in the future, and if I may, with some form of defence against the unlucky autofail roll against petrification since it blocks out the afterlife process, during one session my nigh-immortal friend wielding that unique scythe and I got a nasty and abrupt "game over" from basilisks, and in solo it's a forced reload.
Also for what it matters here, there seems to be a few pretty big bugs/issues in this version I have noticed. One is that summoned creatures dont share exp when they land a killing blow and created creatures with [specific] requirement tags (at least the few I tested), dont require those at all allowing for some pretty gamebreaking spammage of bonus/rare/powerful units that otherwise need artifacts or power units.
Voted 9.75 since it's (hopefully!) a work in progress in the expanded areas, and thanks for the new version. =)
(now if only I had more player minions to gather mana for my new lair upgrades...)
Posted by Qlippoth at 2009-09-03 08:44:59 Voted 9.00
Hey Deva!
I had them removed, I thought they would be confusing. If you wish to make a comment go for it, but I thought we could make a News announcement and I didn't want to confuse new players.
Okay, so I released 1.26 Beta 33. I do not believe there are any significant differences between this and 1.26 Beta 32 but, I was not sure.
This is the first public release of the version that now uses CEP. CEP 2.2 is required and is a big download. It enabled me to add a lot to the module and to reduce my custom hak sizes.
There have been a HUGE number of things done with this since the last release here which was (1.26 Beta 13).
There is still a lot I would like to do. Though due to life and things I am not certain when or IF I will get a chance to do it. How fragile life is was recently drilled home to me so, I thought I better get what I have out to you so, you have the latest and greatest.
On July 11th, I went into the hospital in severe pain and it turned out to be my galbladder which was near gangrenous and had many large stones and small stones. Surgeon figures I'd been living with galbladder issues for 12 or more years. Anyway, my galbladder was removed and then I had just about every complication that can possibly occur with such a surgery except for death and alergic reaction. I had septic shock, absesses, bile leakage, and other issues. On the 4th or 5th day (not sure which) in the hospital I was spitting up bile and they called a rapid response team and I almost died that day. My heart rate hit 215 at one point and it took them a bit to get it to go lower. So, it was rough. I was told if I had not come into the hospital when I did I would have likely died, and then I almost die 4 or 5 days later. So, you never know when something will happen... it's important to get what you can out there. I was out of commission for over a month.
I am also working on some board games, and custom coded (ground up) casual PC games, so, not sure when/if I'll get back to this project. I am rather fond of playing this module so, there is always a chance I'll come back and do more on it.
Posted by Qlippoth at 2009-03-31 19:26:04 Voted 9.00
Yeah, I got Hinterland a month or so ago (RPG/RTS research). I had quite a bit of fun, but found it a tad simplistic and not a lot of fun after a few days. The controls were a little rough and tedious. It's actually something very similar to a project I wanted to do a few years back, and I still plan to use some of the ideas (great minds?) they ended up realizing in that game. NWN is just more fun to play in general. Come to think of it, NWN2 promised this sort of thing, which is why I bought it, but the execution was incredibly simplistic. Of course, I can't expect them to design another game within their NWN2 game either, to be realistic. I was hoping they would do most of the heavy lifting. If they had I would be doing something in NWN2 right now, but NWN is still much more flexible. :P
I had a LOT more fun with Majestty Gold, which I got for $5 at a used book store last month. Fun to play around with on my old laptop when I'm out of town.
I still prefer playing with HoS, since I like modding it in little ways. It's really coming along, we're up to Beta 31 and working towards the next release (no date just yet).
As more incentive to contact me (see previous post below this one).
I have 1.26beta16 available for my testers. The vault currently only has 1.26beta13. I don't plan on releasing another beta on the vault. I WILL release the final. So, if you want to get the latest and help me get this completed contact me per the information in my previous post.
Anyone, that wants to be part of the beta testing process or help out in other ways please contact me by emailing dwinblood (at) gmail.com and devaw (at) ecollege.com The second one is my work email address. Qlippoth has been kind enough to setup a Mantis server. It gives an organized place to post bugs, test things I need tested, see what is in the works, and get versions of the module before I update them here.
I also have HOS2 Soul War project setup there but, have not begun placing information on that there.
Also, anyone willing to help me throw together a website. Qlippoth can host it initially and then I'd like to see about free hosting from the vault here when it is complete. I have some ideas of what I'd like to see and I CAN make websites. Unfortunately, I am in time crunch trying to finish the module so do not have time to do both.
Contact me and I'll get you added.
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-23 22:22:29 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
Is the Municipal Commander missions implemented? everytime I walk up to him, he says "You're bounty has already been collected" or something to that effect. I went and killed the swamp hag in the swamps, took everything off of the body, but nothing happened when i came back to the municipal guard commander.
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-21 17:21:04 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
So I found a small exploit I thought I'd let ya know about..If in the pre game area, you choose a team, remove your armor and weapons, and reset the teams, you will have an extra set of items.
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-20 09:58:55 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
Thanks for pointing those titles out, ill have to keep my eye on em. And let me know if you need any beta testing for your changes. Oh yeah and add horses!!! I was thinking of adding a stable to the town, or trying to figure out how to add one of the random merchants
I don't have any forums up for this yet. However, I likely will throw together a website for this soon. I'd like to get this more in the public eye so we can get more people playing.
I noticed more games are coming out that are similar to aspects of this but, not quite there.
Demigod and Hinterland.
Funny thing is in Hinterland the designers said as they were making it they wondered why no one else had thought of doing those things.
I had. So had some others. :)
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-16 22:59:42 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
Oh and does anyone know any threads or forums that were used to discuss strategies etc about this? Ive done some searching, but not much success
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-16 22:58:05 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
Me and my compadries look forward to both a final release of hos1 and an initial release of hos2. Good luck with your work stuff and your mod work
HOS2 - takes the control point idea and integrates it into the game. I used mostly the same map with new changes, new tilesets, and some additions. When you capture an area that area becomes populated by units from your team. You can indicate how much you are willing to pay per unit per area so, bigger normal units for that area can be spawned. So, some of what you are suggesting will be in HOS2.
HOS1 I do not plan on making a lot of changes at this point. I am trying to finish what was there. If I focus on changes it will pull me away from HOS2 too long and that might not be completed. I may not do EVERYTHING I planned in HOS1 before I release it. We shall see. I'll do what I can with the time I have. :)
I hit the busiest 3 weeks of work at work. I'll get a more detailed status here soon. I didn't get to work on anything the last three weeks.
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-14 02:18:05 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
So I just finished a 8-9 hours session of this mod with my two friends, and it was perhaps the best experience I have had so far with this mod playing against computer opponents. It was a control point game, something we hadn't really played much of, with all AI focused on control points.
There's a few things I would like to see added/changed, that I thought I'd mention here for whatever future versions may make it out.
1) death
I would like an option to make returning from the afterlife less "random". Maybe a holding zone for x minutes, or a timer where if you are in the underworld for x amount of time you automatically come back... It's just one of the things in the game that sometimes unbalances itself accidentally. One person just gets stuck there too long and things go bad...
2) artifacts you can't use
I would really like there to be an option concerning a use for artifacts you can't use. I absolutely love the artifacts in this game, in a difficult to make list of my favorite things about this mod it would be high up there, but it is frustrating when you get nothing but artifacts you cant use. So I was thinking maybe there could be a vendor, like the many other random placed characters, that would allow have one or two artifacts, and for a fee you could exchange your artifact for one of his. So he would always have the same number of items, but what he has would change with what players traded to him.or perhaps a mission that at the end would allow you to gain something of value for an artifact.
3) less static map
I don't know if this is even possible, but an option to randomize the map some would be great. obviously some areas need to stay where they are, but i think with a bit of clever map design, you could make a lot more of it static. Now this is obviously not an option for everyone, but i think it would be great if it was a pregame option. Or perhaps instead in of randomizing the locations of areas, there could be a couple of different choices for some areas(I.e. sometimes cave A is the gnoll cave and sometimes its a bandit cave, etc)
And to anyone else playing this mod against the computer, Control point is by far the most challenging, if youve had the problem like we did of the game being a bit to easy against the computer.
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-09-04 11:08:49 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
Where are you update?
Posted by markb97402 at 2008-08-26 09:14:09 Voted 10.00 on 09/23/08
This is by far the best mod I have ever played, if it were more polished it could very well be the best game I have ever played. I often consider designing a board game around this mod. Hel, it's the only reason I check this web site. I look forward to the HOS update as well as HOS2
A project I was working on for $$ was recently cancelled but, I did get my machine upgraded out of it. That has resulted in me being free to work on my own stuff for the time being.
This Last Week:
I fired up 1.26beta15 and started working on this first HOS a bit. I don't plan on doing a ton with this but, I am doing some things. There are a couple reasons A) I want it updated to take advantage of Bioware patch 1.69, B) I want to get rid of the Beta categorization so I can move onto HOS2 without something nagging me in the past, C) I wanted to make it more accessible.
To this end: I spent several days converting this over to Bioware 1.69 and CEP 2.1 which enabled me to reduce the hak pack size of this version of HoS by a bit. Also, CEP 2.1 is used by HOS2 so, most of what you download will be reuseable.
What I've done with 1.69 so far:
Made some units be able to spawn and choose random heads, phenotypes, appearances, skin colors, hair colors, tails, etc.
This is purely cosmetic and enabled me to make units like the Necromancer Lackey differ in appearance some. So, if you create 10 of a unit they might not all look the same.
Converted the listener chat commands to the new module chat event and eliminated the listener.
I have more I am working on. I'll likely have another beta up soon. It'll require CEP 2.1 and a new download here but, the overall HOS download will be smaller. So, if you don't already have CEP 2.1 I recommend getting it. This is the largest part of what you'd need to download.
HOS2 is also coming along really well. It is a lot more polished than HOS1 and for that reason it is taking my quite some time to complete. I am focusing on making it moddable on a much higher degree so, other people can take my scripts and designs and make new modules for me to try out. I'll post more on it in the future. I'm going to try to have a new 1.26 beta for HOS1 released very soon. If the beta goes well I'll make it final and will then start pounding on HOS2 some more.
Just a quick update - I've been stretched pretty thin.
I have been working on HoS2 and making progress as time permits.
Unit creation, upgrading, etc. completed
Resource system completed and working
can be run persistent - completed
Following commands for units completed
Harvest Mana
Harvest Wood - Lumberjack
Harvest Minerals - Miner (Iron, Gold, Mithril, and Adamantium)
Capture Area
Follow
Protect
Explore
Guard Lair
Capturing areas completed.
So, things are coming along nicely
still working towards an Alpha 1 release. Will likely not include an AI opponent but, I may end up including a rudimentary AI just so aspects of the test work.
Posted by Tomaz at 2008-05-04 10:14:42 Voted 10.00 on 05/04/08
Site
at 2012-05-05 13:50:38
at 2009-09-03 00:05:20
