'Alcheringa' means 'dreamtime', the age of dreams (look it up if you are interested in what language :). This module is built around the concept of entering the dreams of other people, as well as your own. One of the goals behind it was to make the gameplay have narrative meaning and story be interactive and told through the gameplay; dreams, with their literal use of metaphors, seemed to be a very appropriate theme for that.
Gameplay-wise, I'd say it's closest to a 'sandbox' adventure game, although it also has enough resource management, exploration, and fighting if you choose to fight (which you *can* do in most cases). For the most part, the puzzles are not hardcoded but rather built around using NWN/DnD core mechanics to achieve a specific goal (so in many cases there are several possible solutions, likely even some I haven't thought of). According to the feedback I got so far, some puzzles are fairly hard, but there's a built-in multi-tier hint system. First, mild hints are dropped in the journal, then you can ask your dream emissary for more direct ones.
The module is designed for a fresh level 1 character, although if you import a high-level one you might still enjoy some puzzles and hack your way through the ones you don't like (as I mentioned, in most cases direct unabashed violence *is* an option). In fact, you can even *finish* the module while staying at level 1. As an another 'in fact', your main ('awake') character will stay at level 1 anyway, only your dream avatar and dream companions can level up. Since many puzzles involve casting spells, a caster type is recommended, but both arcane and divine casters are available as companions, so it's not a necessity.
The setting of the module is something I would call 'postfantasy', meaning it's how a generic (FR-based in this case) fantasy world could look like if it undergoes a modern-style globalization (this affects only the social part; there's no science or steam-punk involved). It's kind of effete, deconstructive, and secretly envious to its brutally straightforward heroic past.
I'd describe this status of this module as 'release candidate'. I'm deeply thankful to Silversong and Buckwheezer who helped me test it and squash many bugs, though given its open-ended structure and lots of custom scripting, some might still be there (should they surface though, I'll do what I can to provide quick workarounds that don't require starting a new game).
Gameplay notes:
- sometimes the game requires you to say something outside the conversation mode. Use NWN talk interface for that: press Enter, type the text, Enter again to say it (you can switch between shout/talk/whisper if you like - gameplay-wise it shouldn't matter);
- don't hesitate to use z-highlighting of interactive objects. There are some non-plot-critical objects that don't highlight and you'll have to mouseover them; this is not because I really wanted to introduce pixel-hunting (to earn the right to be called a 'proper' adventure game), but simply because I found no good way of making highlighting work for them:(
- while it's not required, sometimes it's a valid gameplay option to attack neutral NPCs (from the right-click menu). In order to be able to do that, you must start the game on D&D hardcore rules (or higher);
- if you mostly play in 'strategy' camera mode, note that sometimes I flip camera modes from script when PC changes (unfortunately, I haven't found any other way to move the camera to a new location). The mode does return to whatever it was, but in strategy mode it resets the 'free-moving' checkbox in the options, you'll have to set it again manually if you prefer having it on. Sorry about that;
- you might want to clear your override folder;
- pay attention to the messages in the game console (it's where the combat rolls are printed). All really important stuff is duplicated in the journal, but it can still be helpful at times;
- it might be a good idea to have several saves.. just in case
I must say I worked on this mod for a *very* long time - somewhere close to 4 years (with some interruptions), so a lot of thought was put into the design, even though it might not be always apparent :). It's rather funny how its release coincided with 'Inception' (although personally I don't think it's just 'funny' - it's at least an act of synchronicity). I was actually very impressed with the movie, but I think it's sufficiently different from my mod to completely wipe the floor with it. I'd like to think of this mod as Inception with a more Jungian approach to the subject (dreams) and a more David Lynch-wannabe plot.
The combined hak for the module. Apart from my module-specific stuff, it contains the following contributions baked in: Aleanne's clothing pak 3 and 4; Male version of it by Chimneyfish (only one model from it though); Zylch's nudes (yes, the module does have some nudity); Miss O's elf heads; Equippable wings by D15C0RD; Hair extensions by Barrel of Monkeys; Big Tower by Botumys; Skull head by paladin3333; Custom NPCs by Ayrik. I apologize to the authors of these excellent pieces for not providing direct links to their haks, but I just felt it was more convenient for the users (and, admittedly, for myself) this way External Website Beyond Our Control
last update 19 Oct 2010; override with fixes (they are duplicated in the .mod with a slight delay, but if you only update the mod you'd need to start a new game): Second priest dream shouldn't start unless you've found your soul; The final church sequence with the priest fixed; Death ring identified initially; Journal entry on the soul quest; MAJOR: awake gold being lost upon exiting dreams; Closed exploits with multiple XP drains from the orb, selling non-existent flyweed to Antagrion; disabled map exit from the hermit's dream; The-source-of-light is no longer reusable; Added/improved some hints; locked/static-ized some dead-end doors; Added a short convo with the stoned elf expert in the mining village; The bartender will acknowledge you wearing the exotic suit; Locked some more doors; Hide awake Az once the quest is done; MAJOR: fixed roster corruption during in the mirror dream; Made sure all lingering effects are removed when companions respawn; Fixed item prices in the monastery; Golden orb doesn't disappear if used while awake; Added an alternative solution to the 2nd priest's dream; Tried to draw attention to the old tree External Website Beyond Our Control
the ultimate in-your-face spoiler for the mod. Only use it if you got stuck and neither the journal nor the emissary is helpful enough, or you've completed the mod and want to see if you've missed anything (of course, you can also read it if you don't really intend to play it and just want to check what's inside)
cannot access my account for some unfortunate reason; just created a new one (aptly named Adoniram1) to say that no, you don't need the override if you are starting a new game. should definitely make it more clear in the description.
I am downloading this for the first time. The overrides link doesn't work. Based upon the comments under the overrides file, do I need to download the overrides?
normally dreams only end when either your avatar "dies", or you ask the emissary for it explicitly. this one, however, also ends if your sleeping body (which is spawned on a bed next to you) gets attacked. i'm thinking maybe you have some damaging aura effect on your dream avatar?
I seam to have run into a bit of a snag, I talked with the bartender, and got the room, When I rest, I switch to dream mode then immediately revert back to wakeing world. I had to pause the game as soon as i went into dream mode and find the garbage pile in the dark, click on it and pause the split second it opened to grab the note, but right back to wake world again, I only get about 3 second of dream mode each time i try to rest.
Posted by seraphimsage1 at 2010-11-09 18:16:24 Voted 10.00 on 11/09/10
A very compelling module. Nice use of the Illefain braziers for the floating tower, interesting premise, and thanks for defining the title for us; it definitely adds to the experience. _________________________ My Website: Link
Looks like there was a bug when a purchase at the monastery was being finalized (which theoretically could have been responsible for the random item loss you had as well). It is no more.
The orb, well, it's a single-use item, it just doesn't do anything useful in awake mode:) I guess it could be classified as excessive harshness rather than a downright bug, but since it wasn't my intention, I fixed it as well.
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-17 02:33:30 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
Bug? The golden orb disappears if you try to use it while awake.
Also I think the monks are ripping me off. I bought out the whole stock twice and never found an item worth more than 11gp.
Thank you for very constructive feedback, Paul. I'll send you some explanations of what my vision of the story was in an email (since obviously, it's as spoiler-ish as it gets to put it here).
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-16 15:16:48 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
OK, I think I'm ready to give my overall review.
******* CONTAINS SPOILERS *******
This module was truly epic in concept, the gameplay premise, as it were, being that both the story and how well you know the story depends on how you play and the choices you make. I had to resort to the walk-through in a place or two, but in general the puzzles were infuriating but solvable (often in more than one way). I liked it a lot, at least through the early and middle section of the module. The problem I had was that while the story aspect was very important it was too easy to miss bits or (fail to) make choices without even realising you had done so.
The things that motivated my PC also didn't line up very well with what I ended up doing / knowing. What my PC was thinking about ...
* Who was the elven girl killed in the inn, who killed her and why.
* Who am I, and what do I have to do with all of this?
(towards the end of the module)
* Just what was Aethe's role in all of this, and what happened to her? (did find out some of this).
Then there were things that just came out of the left field. Like "Tree of life? Huh?"
I never really felt motivated to save Aio or to kill the Dux. That bit was all on Aio's say-so and I was pretty much 'Meh' on the issue.
The module lost me shortly after the 'deeper levels of the dungeons'. It was at that point that I realised that I had lost track of the story and wasn't going to be getting it back. After the fairly leisurely pace through the first half of the module suddenly everything was coming to a head but I just wasn't feeling it.
******* END OF SPOILERS *******
Ideas and suggestions. Maybe for your next project if not this.
In story based RPGs with multiple endings a common tricky point is when the game is on the long side for replaying. It's fun to level up three characters to level 8-10 once, but most people aren't going to be keen on repeating the process several times. So I think it should be clear when a scene coming up has a 'choice' that has significant later effect. Giving the player an opportunity to save beforehand would also be good. When I saw the Aethe scenes I had no idea that they were significant to later gameplay - I thought they were just background information / motivation stuff.
Thanks for putting the walkthrough up - I needed a few times - but it is easy to accidentally read more than you need to know. I think interactive hints like the Universal Hint system would be great. A web-page with client side javascript could handle the technical side.
Actually, I just checked, respawn only forces rest, but doesn't explicitly remove all effects, so I'll add that (although I have a nagging feeling I made it this way for a reason).
I did try buying all items and it worked fine (also, they are actually supposed to go to the same slots the originals were deleted from, since they are added with a delay), but since it uses a delay to add them, I imagine there can be non-deterministic issue here. *sigh*. Btw, buying *all* of them is not as profitable as one might think:)
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-15 09:41:47 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
> Does it come back to its normal size after a
> respawn?
It's difficult to tell - because I was too busy fighting for my life. :-P
> respawn clears all effects.
Well, maybe. But odd sizes when he's summoned into Dream Reaver fights seem to be quite often. He sometimes turns up giant sized too. I think scale changes from booster spells may be lingering when the dream avatar is killed off and everybody gets de-rostered suddenly.
> They are replaced with 'updated' versions once you
> close the window, but it has to first delete the
> originals, so you'll probably get a lot of free
> slots. Check the other inventory tabs.
I did, and they weren't there. The bug didn't repeat when I bought up only _half_ the monk's gems. I'll try again and see if it is a consistent bug.
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-15 03:15:20 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
Ouch! I bought up every single gem the monks had ... and they all disappeared from my inventory!
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-15 00:58:39 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
Hmm, ... my soul has shrunk to 2/3rds normal size. :-/
Either that's some metaphorical comment about the way my character is playing or it's a rather odd glitch.
ok, I think I was able to fix it by fiddling with the roster update order (an unfortunate side effect is that I had to flip camera modes when going through the mirror). Generally, the problem seems to be triggered by saving when a new roster member is added but not yet re-spawned, so I advice not to save immediately after Aerthon or Az were recruited.
Sure, good idea.
I'm still struggling with the roster bug though. Seems that even avoiding saving in the mirror dream doesn't guarantee safety.. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't:(
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-11 20:14:14 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
By the way, I would suggest putting the date of the latest update in the text next to the file links. So people can tell if they should download again or not.
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-11 05:58:26 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
Bugged again. :-(
This time I can select the dream avatar and the original character, but _neither_ can move. It was the first trip with the shaman again.
My email's blayDOTpaul@googlemailDOTcom - send me your email if you want to get a copy of the save file (4.3 MB zipped).
you are playing a rogue again, aren't you?:) thanks for the catch, I'm closing that loophole as we speak.
Now, using override with older versions of the module *shouldn't* cause any problems, but as far as bugs go, you never know. Actually, if you re-started using the latest module, you don't need override at all - it's only to patch you from a save. Please make sure your NWN version is up-to-date (I vaguely recall there were reports of bugs that would cause roster members to disappear during saving; I had one myself with Ammon Jerro), and if you have this bug again (which you hopefully won't), check it with this tool from the vault. If it's something I can fix in the mod, I would really love to do so.
Posted by PaulBlay at 2010-10-10 16:39:39 Voted 9.75 on 10/16/10
> That's really sad to hear:(
Meh, it was probably my fault. That was playing with the latest override files - but not the latest version of the module (I didn't realise at first that you had updated the .mod file as well!)
Anyway, I started again, again. We'll see how far I get this time.
To add insult to injury, my graphics card died playing this. (It must be cursed o_O; ) So I'm now playing in 800x600 resolution.
P.S. You know the church where you get the fruit? Did you know you can pick-lock your way to the High city from there?
He is. It's supposed to reflect the fact that it would be hard for the PC to get away with killing a guard in plain sight in a busy city. And also that pebbles are not exactly the most lethal weapon there is:)
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking 9 - Outstanding, a Must Have 8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone 7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation 5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable 4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements 3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized 2 - Very Little Appeal 1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
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