This is a 24 x 24 exterior area inspired by the Empath Abbey Keep from the world of Ultima, but was also designed for general use by the community. The keep has an inner courtyard, a fully walkable roof, and another small, middle level that would be good for something like a shrine. Please note that there are no interior areas created for the keep at this time. Instead, the three doors in the courtyard are currently linked to the upper levels of the keep so that you can walk around on the roof. I have also included a custom load screen for this area. There are some locations on the roof where the walkmesh is a bit quirky, but it's the best that I could get after many attempts.
The area around the keep consists of grassy plains, lightly forested areas, a deeply forested area, a coastal beach area, and a couple of streams that lead into the sea. There is also a vineyard behind the abbey, although only a portion of it is inside the walkable terrain. There are several walking paths that were implemented in such a way to provide convenient transition points from different kinds of terrain. I went a bit light on the placeables associated with the keep, figuring that they would be pretty specific to each person�s own intentions. I have intentionally dismissed the idea of cutting out individual trees from the walkable terrain because this can be irksome to those who play with tree fading enabled.
Feel free to inform me of any serious gaffes in the area (trees floating off the ground, places where the camera swings inside the keep, etc.) and I�ll do my best to make them right. With an area of this size and scope, there are bound to be some spots that can be touched up and improved upon, but hopefully the majority of the terrain is usable as it is.
Acknowledgment when using this prefab is much appreciated!
Installation and Use:
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This area has the following dependencies:
I have packaged this area into three parts: 1) A module demo 2) A hak file 3) An ERF file. The module and the ERF are compressed using the freely available 7zip archiver.
Demo Module: A fully baked version of the area with the custom loadscreen and a little scripting to turn outside lights on and off at appropriate times.
HAK pak: This contains the 2da changes and MDB files used by the community content as well as my own custom loadscreen and placed effects.
ERF file: This contains the exported ERF file for the area.
To try the demo:
1. Download the module and place it in your ../My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2/modules directory.
2. Download the hak dependencies noted above as well as the empathyabbey.hak file down below and place it in your ../My Documents/Neverwinter Nights 2/hak directory.
3. Start a new game -> new module and select "Empath Abbey". Any character will do, there are no encounters.
For builders:
I don�t need to tell you, you know the drill. You can either download the HAK and associate it with your module and import the ERF file if you don�t already have your own 2da changes, or you can merge my changes in with yours. I tried to be sensible in my 2da assignments. Hopefully they don�t collide too badly with yours.
Acknowledgments:
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Nytir�s BCKII is a brilliant piece of work that made this possible. If you enjoy this area, be sure to go and give him a big ole, high vote. He did such a great job with it.
SGK�s collision helpers for their indispensable value in preventing the camera from swinging inside the keep and completely killing immersion. Without the collision helpers, you would experience some really ugly moments with the camera passing through the walls of the keep, so please remember SGK with a nice vote if you make use of this area. Link
Posted by Dorateen at 2010-09-09 19:46:02 Voted 10.00 on 09/09/10
This is a wonderful area. The natural aesthetics speak for themselves, through the flowing river, cascading fountains, flowers in bloom, and the ambient sounds of the woods.
And then there is the architecture of the Abbey itself... great fun being able to ascend and walk along ramparts and battlements.
That's alright Nimue, I certainly don't mind hearing it again. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. =) O:-)
Posted by NimueDA at 2010-02-27 13:15:36 Voted 10.00 on 02/27/10
Shame on me, I should have done this much earlier. It's just beautiful, but of course I've told you that already :-)
Posted by Darklord Snafe at 2008-12-21 12:07:51 Voted 10.00 on 12/21/08
Very gorgeous and appropriately fitting for Ultima! _________________________ Snafe Composed: What is a game without music? Neverending Nights - A NWN Machinima
The screens are beautiful. I think I'll have to grab my Chaos Shield and take an ingame stroll tonight. Nice Work. _________________________ Raith Veldrin
Sands of Solvheil Series | Atlas & Gazetteer | Blog
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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at 2010-09-09 19:46:02
