Hey From LA

Talk talk talk about anything.
Post Reply
LiquidAcid
Noobie
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:22 pm

Hey From LA

Post by LiquidAcid »

\o, I am a moder for NWN2, and while I know this is for NWN1, I have come here because I have been offered the task of taking over a project that the people who put it together don't have time (or for some other reason) have been unable to continue.
It is called the Community PW Project (CPW) and while it is still strugling, I think it might yet prosper in times to come.
I had placed a post on the NWN2 boards (CPW Post) and had someone point me here.
I havn't really looked around that much, but from what I understand, the X-Roads Server that we want to make for NWN2 follows along the same lines as what you have already done here with CoPaP!
Anyhow, I am wondering if you have plans for migrating to NWN2, and if not, can I borrow certain of your ideas and research to do what we are planning on NWN2.
Looking forward to hearing from the crew here at CoPaP, since there might be a considerable time saver for us here!
Zebranky
Ambassador: The Grey Wastes
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:31 pm

Post by Zebranky »

I think some worlds are considering NWN2; Avlis is definitely working on a NWN2 version, but I don't think they have any plans to link.

As far as advice, I can help you out mostly on the technical end, as I've worked extensively on Vaultster, the system we use to transfer .bics for portals (along with NWNx2). It's a pretty straightforward system in theory; the sending server triggers the Vaultster plugin, which sends a character file to the Vaultster server (built into the plugin) waiting on the other end. When that's done, the plugin signals that it's ready, and NWN portals the character using the built-in portal function. It has some spurious issues, but is generally reasonably stable. It shouldn't be too hard to port to NWN2/NWNx4.

The other issues that you'll run into (or at least that we have run into) involve interactions between worlds. The central X-Roads organization is going to need to be fairly strong, especially if you want to use the same set of in-game scripted systems. The developers need to be somewhat independent of member worlds, or you'll get disparities in the versions of code that worlds have running. There are different levels of authority that you can give the central administrators over the member worlds, and these have trade-offs. Worlds (and their teams) will resent being imposed upon by anyone else in any way, which is only natural, because at that level, your world is your baby and to hell with anyone else.

The CoPaP approach is to link the worlds (in-game) and integrate them by similar systems, voluntarily shared code, and occasional discussions on these forums. This leads to frequent turf battles, though mostly passive (e.g. people get bitter because someone else doesn't bother letting people know what they're doing). A wiser approach might be to consider X-Roads a self-contained world, and then manage sub-worlds within that. This mentality encourages some deference to the overall organization. It's up to you whether you want a "confederation", or a stronger self-contained entity.

Good luck with your project. It almost makes me want to get involved with NWN2. 8)
LiquidAcid
Noobie
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:22 pm

Post by LiquidAcid »

the Vaultster plugin
It shouldn't be too hard to port to NWN2/NWNx4
I must confess I know very little C++, though I can stand my own ground with C#, I would assume you have written it in C++, and wouldn't mind looking at any tech docs you might have about it.
The developers need to be somewhat independent of member worlds
yeah - I had already thought about this for some length, I had kind of like thought that I might put up some general ratings (like None,Low,Medium and High) for various styles of PW (like RP, Hack/Slash, traps n' puzzles, etc...) and break the X-Roads into several seperate divisions to handle similar themed worlds. Beyond this I havn't spent a hell of a lot of thought on it, mostly because there is no real demand for this on NWN2 yet. I wanted to get this up and started, but on the same token, I find I am spending a lot of time in the planning phase, and now, research is crucial to the outcome of this project.
Worlds (and their teams) will resent being imposed upon by anyone else in any way
This is understandable, if not compleatly unimaginable.
The CoPaP approach is to link the worlds (in-game) and integrate them by similar systems, voluntarily shared code,
We were going to have a sub section of CommunityPW dedicated to making compatible systems on request, but lack of members is straining this idea at the current time, providiing custom made systems, that were optional, and also universal. kind of like a HCR module, which might or might not be implemented, or a deity system, are but two examples.
A wiser approach might be to consider X-Roads a self-contained world
We were considering the X-Roads Server to be simply the portal itself, kind of contained with-in the gate, a world that existed neither here nor there, but in the actual journey itself.
Good luck with your project
Thanks
It almost makes me want to get involved with NWN2
Your more than welcome to jump on our irc channel and have some input if you desire, it is currently fairly dead, but it would be great to talk in depth with you and the others from CoPaP - it is #CommunityPW on irc.neverwinterconnections.com
Thanks again
LA
Post Reply