Altaza Arena (version 0.95 BETA) is a single-player module and prefabricated Arena area. Althought playable as a standalone mod, intended for use by other developers in their own modules. Emphasis is on social, entertainment, and roleplay aspects more than adventuring. Very involved scheduling system allows players to both bet and watch npc arena fights between eighteen gladiators of varying levels and register to fight themselves for a purse, should they choose. Some minor subplot/quest activities possible, as well. Intended for players level four to sixteen. Combat geared towards approx matching levels, but with enough class, race, and skill variance to make betting a challenge. Both module and import file provided, plus extensive module regarding the product. Large zip file, about 7 meg, but well worth it. Single-User only, multi-user to come in future. No DM or supervision required. Complete and self-running; player can participate or simply enjoy a day off 'at the fights'!
This is an initial post-BETA release module but I am still seeking additional testers. All design is done with native NWN graphics, sounds, and objects - no additional files/hak paks are required. UPDATED 07/19/2003 (0.95) for contention corrections, increased stability fixes (aoe spells and summoned pets, guard faction reactions) and initial multi-user changes. UPDATED 12/10/2005 for numerous reliability improvements and enhancements, including the near complete elimination of previous 'guard frenzy' issues and the full use of summmoned pets.
version 1.00 (initial release, post beta) of Altaza Arena. Corrections from previous versions include greatly enhanced reliability and elimination of many 'guard frenzy' issues that occurred in beta releases.
the timer is for both. Code-wise, there's little difference between the two (it was easier that way). But...... I've been so busy with MU, I plum forgot about that fix. Thanks for bringing it back to rememberance..
Posted by Deltor at 2003-03-1400:11:00
forgot to mention...on saw on your to do list about fixing the 3 minute timer for no-shows, I just wasn't sure if you were refering only to PCs, and not NPCs as well...and btw... that is definitely the best looking readme I have seen!
Posted by Deltor at 2003-03-1321:35:00
That'll be grand once you get the MP done... ...had another comment for ya ---> I was wondering if there is a way to put a kind of safe-guard in so that Altaza will reset the competitors if something should go wrong during the fight, such as, I was watching the fights earlier, and when he summoned the two fighters [NPCs], one of them decided to no-show. I had to restart the module to get the arena to resume itself; otherwise the one fighter that DID show-up just stood there. Maybe if the fight takes way too long to finish, Altaza could summon the next duo? (this has only happened to me once, so it may have just been that the module hiccuped) Just wanted to say again - thanks to you for this effort...it is really outstanding as is, but with a users individual touches and/or HakPaks, this arena really becomes something special. (as I am sure you intended) I decided to drop Maura's shield and give her a nice big halberd...she's kickin arse with it! :0
Posted by Ralph at 2003-03-1317:10:00
Thanks for the excellent feedback, Deltor! I truly appreciate that you took the time to post that. Some comments on each point: Kima - Yeah, that's been fixed in my latest, she stays sitting now. But I haven't uploaded yet; I'm waiting on a bit more inhouse testing. The thief/guard reaction is as expected. Though, now that you mention it, perhaps the 'commoners' shouldn't be all fire anxious to turn into vigilantes... I may look at that one some more. thanks. As to the lower arena guards "climbing the walls", well it's the same area, so I doubt there's much I can do about that. I'll take a look. If you're registered to fight, you can enter the lower arena for free, no ticket purchase from Gram, as soon as Altaza has SUMMONED YOU. That one is on my list, I may just go the 'free ticket' method that you suggest. The way it is now is as designed, but it can be annoying for early bird registered arrivals, yes. Caught me on Maura, yup. I'm on that one, as well. Gotta spice Maura up, some. she's one of my favorites (her and Talava) I'll save your comments, Deltor, and add them to my worklist. I'm in the process of trying to debug the Arena for eventual multi-user use... Thanks again
Posted by Deltor at 2003-03-1221:35:00
My humble 2 c's, etc... When I talk to Kima Aers...sometimes she sits back down, sometimes she wanders over to the door to give the knob a turn. I think that when you register to fight, you should get a free ticket (I added... SetLocalInt(oPc, "altazaTicket", 1); to Kimas convo) to enter the lower arena, in case you would rather wait out there until your fight (speaking from personal experience here...whenever I enter a martial arts competition, we always get free admission to the good seats) I got pickpocketed, then went to tattle-tale to the guards...afterwards the bookies and spectators turned hostile to him. I was on the upper area when I got pickpocketed, and when I told the guard I was on the lower arena...so the bookies and commoners kept trying to climb the wall to get to the dirty thief. When Maura Menset came out to fight her opponent, she had a shield in one hand, and in the other...nada :p...looked odd her fighting bare-handed with a large shield .. she lost the fight miserably :0 Ticket Master Gram has a small spelling error...he says Maste instead of Master at one point in his convo I got rid of half the outer guards, as it made things run a lot smoother upon entering the outer arena. thats it for now...thanks for putting this out, it is a lot of fun, and is very easy to set-up and tweak. Adds an element to my city that I couldn't have added w/out you and your talents.
Posted by Ralph at 2003-03-0522:34:00
Oh, MokahTGS... I AM referencing Altaza (by tag) directly in one script, but only one. "test_schedule". change that one line in your version to reference the tag of your new "MC", and you should be all set.
Posted by Ralph at 2003-03-0520:03:00
MokahTGS, shouldn't be that big of a deal, actually. You can create a new 'Altaza'; just use the original as a guide. he's pretty straightforward, actually, and I'm not referencing him by 'tag' anywhere else in the module. (Typical Master of Ceremonies; all 'fluff' and no 'stuff'. LOL! :-) Watch the scripts: it's HIS script that governs the scheduling (made sense in dress rehearsal; he's da boss). Try and match mine exactly; expanding on them if you need to for other purposes. I'd suggest making him plot, as well. And, you'll have to search around for TITLING CHANGES, seeing the darn arena is named after him ;-) And, sadly, no: I did not tailor EVERY little detail of the Arena. Sorry. I was too busy getting this to work (still in that phase, but its nearing completion). But the changes are minor enough. The conversations are woefully generic by type: One for all spectators, one for fighters, etc. I'd probably leave the 'bookie' one alone, for obvious reasons. And, if you sub the guards conversation, try and incorporate the branches/nodes that deal with the "thief" problem on top of the walls. Otherwise, the conversations are mostly color. I've been meaning, once my beta testing is complete, to add some depth to my own, as well. Oh, be aware that some characters, like the spectators and the fighters, have conversations that use script routines to retrieve info about the current, last fighters, etc. And, the "Hall Monitors" do that, as well. (the little gnomes who give directons to the fighters between fights) Go for it. Let me know how it turns out. And, give me a yell if there's anything I can assist with. By the by: Uploaded a revised version (0.93 beta) for some additional stability fixes relating to the guards and those casters with summoned creatures...
Posted by MokahTGS at 2003-03-0512:11:00
I would love to incorporate this into my mod, but I will have to completely change the owner of the arena and change anything conversations that don't fit with my world mythos. How hard would this be? Are there a lot of conversations? What about the owner? Can I change him around? As a prefab, I'm hoping it's flexible enough for me to do this, because it will save me considerable time and add quite a bit.
Posted by Ralph at 2003-03-0508:49:00
Will be done, Morgan, but I need to finish testing on the beta single user stuff first. I've had some... interesting situations with enthusiastic guards and summoned pets :-) Most of the current coding was done with MU in mind, so I don't think it will be much of a stretch, once I get to it. drop me an email, regarding the single user mod and your results with it. The feedback will help with this final testing.
Posted by Morgan at 2003-03-0506:39:00
Any word yet on getting this to be functional for Multiplayer? I'd love to add it to my PW if it can ever work with more then a single player. :)
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