The province of Renaar in Aurelia, my own custom setting
Gameplay Length
The main quest could probably be completed in around two hours, but if the player takes the time to explore and read the in-game books, it could be stretched out to between five and eight hours
Number Players
One - any more will break a large number of scripts
Language
English
Level Range
1-6
Races
Human
Tricks & Traps
Medium
Roleplay
Heavy
Hack & Slash
Medium
Classes
Any, but the plot assumes that the player is not a magic-user
It is a warm, summer's day in Selaster: a sleepy backwater in the province of Renaar. The people of this small but prosperous town have always lived peacefully in the shadow of a great, ancient monument, but a series of events are set to change all of that forever...
"The Stone and the Sentinel" is the first instalment in the "Summer's End" series by Versipellis. For story purposes, players are encouraged to play as a new, level 1 human character that does not use magic and is roughly eighteen years old, although any build is feasible.
The main quest can be completed in well under ten hours, although players are encouraged to explore the world as much as possible.
This module requires the CEP (version 2.4) in addition to both official expansion packs. It is heavy on both roleplay and action, although players are encouraged to pick their fights carefully.
Installation is a simple matter of extracting the archive to the �/Program Files/Neverwinter Nights/NWN� folder � however, I would encourage all players to gloss over the readme before playing.
Features: � Develop a new character from level 1 to level 6 as you face a seemingly-invincible foe
� Experience a multi-faceted and morally ambiguous plot unveiled through multiple-choice dialogue and roleplay-heavy gameplay
� Visit unique and diverse environments built with the help of custom content
� Explore Aurelia, a brand new fantasy setting exclusive to this series
� Fight bizarre and deadly monsters
� Adventure with three fully-developed companions
� Determine the fate of the world for millennia to come
@Bard - I'd assume that a lot of people just downloaded it then never got round to playing it/forgot to come back to the page afterwards; no hard feelings ;) _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Posted by Bard Simpson at 2013-02-11 07:24:13 Voted 9.25 on 01/12/13
Thanks for the information, Mr. Versipellis. The funny thing is, I tried that and still ended up with a whole heck of a lot of witches. Oh, well, I still had a great time!
Now I just wonder why there are only three votes here, even though there have been so many downloads. Come on, folks -- play and vote! Do yourselves, and the author, a favor. This is a very good introduction to what I expect will be a series well worth playing.
@Bard: I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thanks a lot for the feedback.
One thing I will point out about the castle battle is that the witches and cultists will generally take each other out. Wait by the sidelines for a few rounds and there won't be many enemies left to fight! I intended for that battle to be more of a spectacle and less of a challenge, if that makes sense. _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Posted by Bard Simpson at 2013-01-12 07:37:53 Voted 9.25 on 01/12/13
I really enjoyed this module. The setting is lovely; the world is quite interesting and well fleshed out. The henchies have personalities; not everyone will like those personalities, but they add to the game, nonetheless.
As has been said, Selaster is rather laggy; it is a beautiful village, though, and I didn't mind the lag too much. The "strong" language was a bit unusual, yet it didn't really bother me, either (perhaps, in part, because I was forewarned by previous comments). Neither of these issues ended up as a true problem, for me.
I must agree that some battles were quite difficult, however. I am not the best player, yet the castle was just too much for me. Perhaps another look at the challenge level of some opponents would be in order.
Other than that, I am just quite eager to see what may come in the next module. The end of this adventure leaves me somewhat perplexed how the story will continue. Please keep up the good work and bring us more, Mr. V.
@Phoenix1985 Probably an issue on your end. Make sure you've tried all the horses and have mounted them using the "assign mount" feat. _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
@shuurai: Thanks so much for the balanced and constructive criticism. I find it quite interesting how many people have objected to the bad language - the first people people who played the mod praised it for being realistic. I think it might be partly down to cultural difference - I'm a British college student, and so my peers tend to say "*bleep*" as casually as an older American might say "darn" or anything like that. I could well be wrong, though. Would you care to advise me on how I could improve the dialogue? I tend to read every line out loud to myself after writing it and I didn't generally find it to be too bad. I think it's worth noting that a lot of the characters who survived the "event" are meant to be either crazy or very eccentric. _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Posted by shuurai at 2012-12-27 18:30:00 Voted 8.00 on 12/27/12
Cool module. Story is interesting; world is nicely detailed, and the areas are well made. The main village in the beginning is a bit laggy. Combat is well balanced for the most part, but there are a few areas that can become a bit overwhelming, especially right after the "event" happens.
Some lights would be nice; rings, amulets, etc. Also, potions and healing kits are a bit too rare, especially considering the amount of combat in the second half. Would be nice to have more as loot or even for sale.
My only major complaint is the dialog. Far too many f-bombs and c-bombs, and overall a lot of it just seems corny and it actually ruins the immersion. I understand that the main characters are teenagers, but even a lot of the adults come across that way. Even setting aside the profanity, the dialog could use a lot of improvement; it just really doesn't seem to read like people actually talk.
Anyway, nice work - I'm looking forward to the sequel.
@Pusher: Again, I'm really sorry about the glitches but they're not ones that I've been able to replicate and they have not been reported by any of the beta testers. The glittering ring idea is a good one, and I'll be sure to add it to the second module in the series. _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Reinstalling NWN has not solved my issues. My quicksave was corrupted again just before the Enthis encounter. I cannot kill him either. Everything else seems to be working fine except for this module (I don't know why). Started anew just to take and same glitches appearead. I am not playing anymore and I am not voting either because it wouldn't be fair.
@Pusher: I'm glad to hear that you've sorted things out. If you haven't done so already, I'd also recommend that you double-check your CEP installation.
When you've finished the module, would you mind leaving me some feedback and a vote? Thanks! _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Thank you for your comments. I have found out that my two latest savegames have become corrupted somehow. I have also found that my NWN installation isn't okay per se, because I do not have any uninstall information (probably due to some leftovers from a previous OS reformatting XP -> W7). I am reinstalling NWN from scratch. I will keep you posted. (Fingers crossed). At least a very earlier savegame DOES WORK.
@Pusher: Yeah, that should work as far as I know. Maybe try downloading the latest version again if you're still having issues? By the way, remember that you can email me at any time if you're bored of waiting for me to check the comments on this page.
@gamer_queen Good luck! Remember - if you're going to play as a rogue, you'll probably want to make good use of your skills with stealth and ranged weapons and avoid hack-n-slashy situations as much as possible! You're most welcome, I had a lot of fun making it :) _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Just finished installing the hak packs and starting a playthrough with a level one rogue. I'll post more as I play/complete this. Thanks in advance for making the mod!
Loading from an earlier savegame didn't help me either. I don't know what's happening. I am going to try a different module to check my NWN installation. Or maybe it's CEP. What version do you need? 24a?
@Deris: Thanks for the constructive criticism. I am sorry that you didn't like the dialogue, although I would like to point out that Hendrik is supposed to be an irritating, spoiled teenager, and it'd be somewhat realistic to give him polite, interesting dialogue.
@Pusher: I'm really not the person to speak to about technical bugs, I'm afraid. I'm sorry that you're having trouble, but that bug isn't caused by the module's design - it sounds like you're having trouble either with your installation or with an unresolved game engine bug. Try searching the forums for a solution, or save your game in a different area? _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
No luck while trying to get it running. It also hangs when saving a game in Burgashir. Any ideas? I have redownloaded everything. I have made sure override folder is empty too.
I have reached Cliffon but as soon as I save my game, the game crashes to desktop. I have made several tries but to no avail. I am redownloading the module to see whether my copy is corrupt or not. For some odd reason this is the most glitchy module I have ever played.
Posted by Deris at 2012-12-24 23:11:24 Voted 8.00 on 12/24/12
Just finished this module and it was pretty short but interesting. I liked the amount of effort put into developing the background of Aurelia and how the races were developed. Had a different spin from the usual fantasy lore. Quests were mostly hack 'n slashy but there were also many situations that gave a lot of options to solve it, which I found satisfying. Map and dungeon layout was alright and had a good amount of exploration.
There were several problems though (also a spoiler warning). The first village was REALLY laggy like what was mentioned in the other review. I didn't find the dialogue that bad but there were several parts that were ridiculously over-the-top and kind of ruined the immersion, with f-bombs and c-bombs thrown everywhere. That #YOLO reference was a little annoying too, though I guess that was put in there more as a parody. Also, I was a little disappointed that the Hendrik got killed off so quickly and suddenly, especially since he was the only buffer and ranged member in the party. I know the farmer guy can be trained for range combat but he was my only tank at the time and I didn't really want to turn him into a hybrid.
So yeah, it was good overall but could have been improved. Will be waiting for the second chapter.
I'm glad that you're having a better time of things now! You're probably right about the graphics card - if I were you, I'd search for solutions to your game issues online since they aren't specific to my module. I'm not sure why the second story tiles option isn't working for you but I never really had any trouble in seeing what was happening onscreen once I had enabled fading.
If you have any more trouble, feedback or queries, feel free to email me at [email protected]. _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
Yes, I have tinkered with graphic options (remove some shadows, remove some other on-the-fly things and I have noticed a speedup). I am also well aware that OpenGL NWN doesn't get along well with AMD cards (like mine). If was designed with nVidia cards in mind which are king in the OpenGL arena. Anyway, very nice module. I am quite enjoying it so far. I am now level 3 so maybe I will have less woe from now on. Damn it, some combats can be tough when you are a level 1 rogue.
Pusher, I'm sorry to hear that you've been having trouble. The fps, map and pathfinding issues are all engine or custom content-related and I would advise turning down your graphics settings or upgrading your drivers/hardwear.
The sight crowding issue can be fixed by selecting 'hide second story tiles' in the options menu.
The lack of map exit markers is a design choice - I wanted to keep the player curious as to what lay beyond the transitions.
I am sorry to hear that you do not like Hendrik, but you might be able to make him act more usefully by talking to him about tactics - he can be ordered to stay back and attack with his crossbow if you find that more useful.
Thank you for the feedback - enjoy the rest of the module! _________________________ In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.
I am playing it right now. I have some complaints:
- The FPS in the first city (Salaster or something like that) ARE TERRIBLE.
- Pathfinding in general is terrible too (probably due to NWN engine that hasn't aged too well).
- When walking around most buildings and/or trees will cloud your sight. Is this normal/intentional?
- The maps display weird ugly white rectangles.
- Some map exists aren't marked at all.
So far, it seems to be quite a nice module with a nice touch in areas design.
PS - I hate the bard guy.. btw... he is almost useless... I hate when he gets killed because he is busy casting spells instead of focusing into the fight.
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