*** Requires Nwn 1.68, and these expansions: SoU, HoTU, and CEPv2.0 ***
Surrounded by deceptively sleepy rural farmlands and quaint hamlets, Crowley Hill is a kind of local landmark. It's colorful history and reputation for it being a haunted place make it a site of interest to adventurers as well as an icon of fear for the more superstitious villagers. There are many reasons, for exploring Crowley Hill... there is the spooky watchtower near the high wooden platform from which you can see all the surrounding lands for miles; there are dense forests with several wild trails that lead to an old ruined guard tower on one end, and wrap around the hill on the other; two remote graveyards where
fog and spirits often make the trip to the hill a memorable one; at least one trail that boasts a splendid view of a nearby waterfall... and yet another odd path, partly overgrown with time, that leads to a creepy cave. So come on and visit Crowley Hill! Come for the view, the legends, or the hiking... come to Crowley Hill... and stay for eternity!
Contains both a demo module and an .erf file to import into an existing module.
Posted by Ondaderthad at 2008-04-08 20:37:51 Voted 10.00 on 04/08/08
It's amazing that a prefab of that quality didn't get more votes.
Here is mine. Perfect without HAK and i do agree with chaos that a prefab using a hak pack has less value for a builder.
_________________________ The Best PW system is getting even better. PLATEMAIL Tech Preview
I see your point, too, Sherincall. No worries! Thanks for your vote, truly. When one considers all factors, it is more than fair. - See you next time!
Posted by Sherincall at 2007-01-30 00:23:06 Voted 8.25 on 01/30/07
I did give it 8.25, meaning it is better than most of the NwN areas I have seen. But on the other hand there are those flawless ones (which often require a HAK, but since I've been working on a HAK'ed PW, and been downloading them constantly I dont have that much of a problem).
While I completely see your point (trust me, I KNOW what you mean), the graphical side of the areas that you have to sacrifice costs you 1 point. (I would give it 9.25 if it were rid of some annoying things that exist in the rural tileset) _________________________ Shadows and Silver
Now that Hills and Homes is fixed, I though I should remark on one of the finer points of area building: things which cannot be helped by the builder who follows certain rules. Let us use this area as an example, shall we? It has been my experience, that most who download Nwn prefabs loathe using the ones which require Hak Paks becaue in using them it puts the requirement of the Hak Pak used as a requirement for use of the prefab and so it becomes a necessary requirement in turn for the use of the person's module. Seemingly this looks like a minor point, but it becomes a serious matter when someone who already has, say, a dozen Haks or so, wants to use an area only to find out that he or she can't becaue of it requiring yet another Hak Pak that he or she might not have room for. Also, sometimes a Hak Pak can conflict with other Hak Paks. Hills and Homes, even my updated version, conflicts with a great many Hak Paks out there, even some which I made myself. This makes the overall usefullness of a prefab a thing to consider when debating on if one should implement a Hak or not. As an example that illustrates best what I mean, I can cite the Young Kingdoms Project prefabs Isle of Melnibone and Pan Tang. These prefabs were, at the time they were released, some of the best prefabs anyone could design. One thing kept them from being greater... they both required the Hak "Airships and Nautical Alleys" and the majority of the areas in those prefabs which people could use was narrowed mostly to the ones in which the content from the Hak Pak was not implemented. Of course, there were some who could use the Hak Pak and it's content but just as many could not. So, while the two prefabs were useful to some, the full popularity level of them was not what it could have been had these prefabs been designed without the Hak Pak. In the case of the CEP, this is never a problem... since almost everybody has the CEP these days. So it is a good idea to make CEP prefabs (which all of mine are) from the ground up since almost everyone will get full use of them or at least have the option to. I've released Young Kingdoms prefabs since, which only used CEP and they all did well and were highly popular. But not everybody uses a Hills Hak, or an Airship Hak, or what have you. So, bearing this in mind, when I had designed this area... I did so within the rule of only using the CEP and no other Hak Paks. This is not because I don't like using Hak Paks... in fact, a couple of my modules require Haks and they did very well indeed! But a module is different from a prefab in that it will only be played, not used in someone's project... while prefabs will be used in someone's project to make a playable module. So, the same way I would make a module is not the same way I would design a prefab. It is these various points of order that establish the rules I build by. Now I mentioned before things that cannot be helped by a builder, and this is what brings us to the final thing I thought important to discuss... that Nwn1 is not Nwn2. While the graphics in games like Nwn2, Oblivion (which I own on my XBOX 360 and love!), and other recent titles are impressive and indeed incredible works of art, they are not Nwn1. So, of couse, one cannot expect a Hill in Nwn1 without a Hak Pak to be what it would be in Nwn2. Different standards exist for different games because they are in fact... different. So, considering I built this area without a Hak Pak... and taking into consideration that I designed it for Nwn1 after all, it is really a better work than one may at first consider. While I freely admit that standard rural can be a bit on the outdated side, without Hak Paks, one must bear in mind, that Nwn1 in general is still Nwn1. A game that is *years* old, and kept popular mostly because of it's strong community, a thing which has made it as great as it is, which is great indeed. As a member of this community, I love and continue to make content for Nwn1... as do we all... but I never forget, that this game does have limitations which are not the fault of a builder. In fact, I do not see the *look* of Nwn1 as a fault at all. For it's day it was superb, and is still superb when one bears that in mind. But it's look is it's look, and so whenever I build with a tileset like the rural I do not expect it to do more than it can within the rules a prefab builder must follow by the logic I explained before. So, when one looks at prefabs one should bear these things in mind and consider the worth of the area or areas for what they are, not for all that they could be beyond what Nwn1 and CEP can do for them. If I want to say... add galleons, to a prefab set in a rural area to improve it's look, I don't lay that on the *builder's* doorstep. I add it myself, because it is how I want to use it. So, those who wish to add Hills and Homes to this now that it is updated... feel free to do so... that's what Hak Paks are there for. But I myself will not be adding it to this, since it would be a grave dis-service to those who might prefer to add a different Hak Pak to it, or who might rather use it as it is. In closing, I wish to state that I am not angry because some may view this area as "bad", that is up to them to decide for themselves. I just thought it prudent to explain why perhaps "bad" isn't as accurate as "good for what it is", or "good, considering what the builder had to work with" which is... in my honest opinion... what we have with prefabs such as this one. Thank you for your patience, and farewell for now.
Ok... after my last post I decided to make an updated version of Hills and Homes compatible with Nwn 1.68 and it is now not only finished but uploaded to the Vault, and pending approval as I write this. That will definately be useful, not only to me but to all the other builders out there who may have found themselves needing an updated version of that Hak Pak. Cheers, all!
Sherincall, no worries about the typo it's understandable! I sometimes make some very nasty typos when I'm typing fast. As for a Hills hak pak, I used to use Hills and Homes occasionally, but it was never *fully* updated for compatibility with the latest version of Nwn... so it conflicted with that new shipwreck terrain Bioware added to the desert, plus the homes doors conflicted with those new ship doors added to the city tileset. When I did add Hills and Homes into a hak pak of mine a while back... I had to do some *serious* editing of Hills and Homes, just to make it fully compatible. So, getting more to the point... do you know of any hills hak pak out there that *is* compatible with the latest version of Nwn? If so, I'd appeciate knowing about it so I could give it a download and check it out (plus, even possibly use it in future projects... since I must agree: standard rural is at times rather *dull* to work with). Thanks again, and farewell for now!
Posted by Sherincall at 2007-01-23 00:59:45 Voted 8.25 on 01/30/07
The biggest problem is that you are not using any HAK's (I understand why) but yet relly on the classical Raised Terrain to make it less monotoic. The original raised terrain (without hills/Gentle Hills) is really... uhm.. word.. bad! It often takes away from the area rather than adding to it.
Gah, I can't even type right :( _________________________ Shadows and Silver
Posted by Sherincall at 2007-01-23 00:57:25 Voted 8.25 on 01/30/07
The biggest problem is that you are not using an HAK's (I understand why) but yet relly on the classical Raised Terrain to make it less monotoic. The original raised terrain (without hills/Gentle Hills) is really... uhm.. word.. bad! It often takes away from the area than adds to it.
Good to hear from you, Sherincall! I am very happy to hear that you like my areas. As I do each new area, I try to think of unique backstories for them. It adds the right touch of personality to a map, plus it helps inspire mod makers who might like an area but otherwise be unsure how it could be implemented. However, I do always encourage those who download my prefabs to do whatever they like with them, as that's one of the many things that makes this game so great! Another thing I try to do is present an area in a unique way, and include some interesting features that would make exploring the prefab in-game an enjoyable experience. And speaking of unique ideas, my first character for the Nwn Vault will be available soon. (Can't say too much, it's a surprise!)So, I hope everyone likes. (Trust me, it's something cool and definately it has never been done before, in Nwn or D&D... as far as I know.) See ya then!
Posted by Sherincall at 2007-01-22 00:19:59 Voted 8.25 on 01/30/07
Quite okay. I always like looking at your areas _________________________ Shadows and Silver
You must be Logged In to post comments in this section.
Site
at 2009-11-20 08:51:12
at 2007-01-30 23:16:45
