Fairly short, slightly longer if investigate more details.
Number Players
1, but again, no reason there can't be 2.
Language
English
Level Range
1-3 should work; 3 being able to walk through just about anything
Races
All, preferably human
Tricks & Traps
Non-existent
Roleplay
Light
Hack & Slash
Light
Classes
All
Scope
Small
DMNeeded
No DM Required
Single or Multiplayer
Single Player
Max Character Level
03
Max # Players
02
Min # Players
01
Min Character Level
01
Content Rating
Mature
Alignments
Lawful Good only
Gameplay Hours
<1
Description
Madman at the Ruins! Classic
by Kelkesh12345
Madman at the Ruins is an atmospheric module for NWN, CEP 2, D20. The game follows your character, a new member of Ped's Personal Detectives, on a search for a group of teens who went into the nearby restricted ruins. The search takes a startling twist when the murders begin...
Gameplay: A focus on exploration makes up this game. Combat is included, but a smaller part of the game. As a detective, when you examine corpses and clues, you will receive your thoughts on them i.e. How they died, how long ago, thoughts as to the murderer.
Remember, report any bugs, issues, or just plain stupidity in this game, I'm a novice and people telling me what my game needs really helps me out.
BIG NOTICE!
If you complete this mod, remember to save your character with the Axeman's Key, as the remastered edition will have a secret bonus for peeople with the key, featuring the Axeman's Full Clothing Set, with stat bonuses, and other useful advantages.
WOOT! I just posted the Remastered Edition, now I wait for approval. I will add the link once its out! _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Cutscenes, wow...Euhghghhg...I have not done cutscenes, scripting however, is everywhere. I am also now planning a bonus for players who have already completed Madman at the Ruins before the Remastered Edition came out, the full clothing of the Axeman, and Archon has just drawn a great picture of the Axeman, so I can add that as well. So far, its coming along great, give or take a few crazy glitches that should take only a little while to fix. _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by Berra at 2008-08-16 05:25:02 Voted 8.00 on 07/27/08
Heh, um yeah. Its in the radial menu on your character, its under Special Abilities I believe. Also on there is the D20 Modern Feat, which lets you dual-wield weapons, jump, D20 Traps, etc... _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by Berra at 2008-08-07 04:50:32 Voted 8.00 on 07/27/08
*Kelkesh12345,
Great Kelkesh! Keep on going, man! :) Also, you are welcome when it comes to the Generator. I hope it'll help you create some pretty good stuff. :)
More fog, nice idea. Things I'm working on: More Oneliners said by your character as he's walking around, a new murderer, another area, HUGE sound improvment, you enter areas and hear people dying, screams of torture, pretty creepy. Also, your ammo problem Archon can be fixed by standing completely still and using reload. Wait until you return to a neutral stance, and you should be good.
Also, thanks Berra for the link to Lilac's Script Generator. That is the single most useful thing I have. _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by Archon357 at 2008-08-06 01:07:09 Voted 7.00 on 08/04/08
Oh, cool!
Here's another idea - try messing with the fog. From what little time I spent in the Aurora toolset, I figured that fog can be really effective at conveying claustrophobia - check out Berra's module Calm Before the Storm, and the 3rd floor of the tower there. That might be a good addition, just not as extreme as in the labyrinth. _________________________ =====================================
=Eye for an eye...and the whole world goes blind.=
=====================================
Archon
Darksun's Glare Graphic novel and my art album: Link
Archon, thanks for the analysis, and for a cool idea to add to the mod (The Mission Briefing Thing). And I agree, the Detectives Office was WAY too big. Music, yeah that one I was puzzled on. I had a strange glitch where the music I had set was set for nighttime, which the area was set for nighttime, but didnt play the right music. Thats being fixed :D!
And as for the murderers lack of well, anything, thats being fixed. And to your words on the victims, the idea I was trying to get across was that they were chased into the ruins, however it ended up being hard to get across if you didnt begin outside the ruins. To Be Fixed! I have enough support for this that I am going to release a remastered edition, after fixing all the many problems. _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by Archon357 at 2008-08-04 02:06:21 Voted 7.00 on 08/04/08
Just finished it yesterday. I think this mod needs a lot more polish to be really good, but the point is - it's not bad. Far from it.
-----------SPOILERS------------
Hmm. I mostly agree with Berra, though let me say it myself.
First thing - characters. There were none. I think that, instead of picking up a piece of paper about the mission, a briefing made by Ped would be alot more effective. Should work on that.
Next, we have the areas. They are mostly well done - properly sized, and well made. Except for the detective's office, wich was way to big.
The music - why on earth would there be a relaxed, bright music inside the creepy ruin where people got bruttaly murdered and tortured? And there is no music in the office, when there really should have been - so you feel more at home. The music would also help once you got back. Or, atleast some ambiental noises.
The fights were too hard most of the time. But, then again, it's my fault - I choose the wrong class, obviously. Yet I didn't have any idea what class would be suited for this, since there is no recomendation. The whole "combat is a smaller part of the module" made me think that picking the Smart class would be a good idea, which obviously wasn't. Oh well.
The villains also kinda fail, since you have no idea whatsoever why are they killing and torturing people. A dialog with at least one of them would help.
The ruins. Hmmm. Didn't really feel like ruins. More like a sewer or something. I think that at least a bit of backstory would help here.
Journal entries would also be great. Even as a way to convey the backstory and details.
The ways that the people died were OK, but I just think that there were too many of them. Why would so many people go in there? Wouldn't the disapearance of 40 people be noticed and connected to the ruins? yadda yadda yadda. Still, it could be plausable.
The ending was too abrupt. I didn't feel like I did anything, or that the case is closed, or that the module actualy ends.
One thing about descriptions - I always found it to be more ambiental and scary if you DON'T say things like "the spike went thru his heart" and "his spleen was removed" (I know you didn't use this one, but you get it, right?) and similar stuff. I think that descriptions can be a whole lot more disturbing with inacurrate things like "the huge spike went right thru him, and almost tore him in half. His hands are still clutching the end of the spike. He was still alive when this happened" and "instead of his stomach, you see only a disgusting mess of blood and torn bowels. The stench is unbearable". Now, I know that you're supposed to be a detective in the mod, but keeping the cool aproach and words like "judging by", "according to", etc, really dillute the idea of danger and horror.
Now, I don't know if this is your fault, or is it some problem with D20 modern, but my character was pretty retarded when it comes to handling weapons. Several times, he had a full clip in his ammo box, and when he was supposed to shoot, all of a sudden the message "out of ammo" poped up, and he loses the entire clip. And a couple of times I had 12 or 18 bullets in my revolver. Guess that comes with the "smart" class, since you know of secret places for ammo and stuff :P. Just kidding. I'm guessing it's some bug, but wether it comes from this mod or the D20 itself, I don't know, and I won't take it into consideration.
---------SPOILERS END----------
So, let's just say that the backbone is there, and it has potential. Now, it needs to be fine tuned and polished.
I'll give this mod a higher rating, since it is, after all, the first mod of and aspiring builder.
cheers _________________________ =====================================
=Eye for an eye...and the whole world goes blind.=
=====================================
Archon
Darksun's Glare Graphic novel and my art album: Link
Wow, Thanks!
This was just intended as a little start up mod for Zombie Crisis, so its cool that you think so much of it. Personally, I think there is so much I could have done better, (as in the fact that the additional characters do very little, you dont talk to the Saget Axeman at all, so you cant really get a feel for why he does what he does.) I might have to release a revamped edition.
_________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by Berra at 2008-07-27 12:48:08 Voted 8.00 on 07/27/08
I think this was a good "horrormod-making try"! ;) I think it deserves an 8.00. :) Here's my review:
***SPOILERS***
I really liked how you created tension with the blood-trails ... which you had to follow to see what had happened to the different victims. The various death's were also very imaginative and interesting. :)
The characters seems to have potential of becoming more interesting in sequels. Not much personality here yet but they carry potential (perhaps not the generic detectives, but Lucy and Ped carry potential I think).
I also liked your ideas of what the monster's were; that they had been tortured mad by the Axeman. :) It was a simply and very horrific explanation of what these creates came from. And it makes it even more creepy when you know that they were once humans, not just regular zombies (sure, they have also been humans, but your idea is a little more intense, I think).
The Axeman seems to be a man worthy of the title "Mass-Murderer"! :D Such a psycho. ;)
The things that bring down the score were a couple of things:
*The music! Why use generic "Castle Music" for the ruins? This place needs a lot more creepy theme! Perhaps something from resident evil?
*The dialog was kind of primitive and had a couple of spelling errors (not a major error but it may be worth checking out).
Try adding different dialog options or at least let the various NPCs have different things to say instead of speaking the same line, over and over again. If you need info of how to do this, let me know! :)
I would've personally liked a little more interaction with the various NPCs but since this is a survival horror like Resident Evil, I think I'll have to let that pass since RE usally has primitive NPCs as well. :)
I liked that you created yourself within the mod (a thing that I have been doing with a couple of mods myself)! Thanks for thanking me for the help there. :)
Oh - another thing that I almost forgot, probably because it's a bit too obvious: I really liked the D20 haks! I've never seen them before in a mod so that was a really nice touch! Actually, I think you're one of the first modders to have included D20. :) Well done!
***SPOILERS END***
Overall, I really liked your mod! It still needs a bit of polish but I think, with experience, that you may have the potential of a new "survival horror-mod hall-of-famer"! :)
Oh yes, and Psudonym55, I can't believe I didn't add that in. I feel stupid, that would of been so much more fun for the game. Like, looking up the computer for the M.O.'s of the murderers (Using CPU Skill), using your Search skill to find little hints, maybe secret doors or something. Thanks for the advice, the next one I shall have to do that. This module was a bit rushed if you couldn't tell. _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
JettaJoe: Yes, you need to download, THEM ALL! It sucks don't it. If I didn't feel like I was stealing their downloads, I would post the whole D20 Modern hak in 1 or 2 downloads, For Broadband! I am kidding there, it sucks to have dial-up in this day and age. I upgraded recently, and it is development hell when you have to wait 3 days to upload something, only to find it doesn't work! Sorry, this became a rant...
D20 is very useful and fun to use, I released this module as a Companion module to Zombie Crisis. After playing through this, you will understand a few little things better in Zombie Crisis Part 1 (BETA). _________________________ Back in action, been out of the community for a while.
Posted by psudonym55 at 2008-07-20 12:54:54 Voted 8.25 on 07/20/08
Thought it was quite good. I personaly think it could be better if it involved using the characters skills to find out how the people had died.
One question...it says you need the D20 mondern hackpack.
I went to that page and there are LOTS of choices to D/L. Is there just one thing you can download to run this mod, or do you need to download each and every file listed on that D20 Modern Hak page?
If so, that would be a PAIN..
Joe
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