We have an interview with NWN Hall of Fame author Commche about his new module
Shadows of Darkmoon v1.02 beta. Topics also include the creature AI, tips on how to get the best playing experience, and other systems he implimented into the module to make it a great H&S module!- June. 2007
1) Could you please introduce yourself, including your history of D&D?Sure! I'm a 35 year old Australian male currently living in Tokyo, Japan. I teach English as a second language and have been enjoying this career for about 6 years now. Previously, I cooked professionally for about 10 years.
I have always been interested in the themes presented by D&D, but apart from a slight dabble in high school, I never really got into it as such. This was more from lack of opportunity rather than lack of desire.
2) Could you please brief us on what Shadows of Darkmoon is about?I would like to quote a fellow builder here. Styzgy tackled this question with finesse and precision with his comment in the module thread:
"Shadows of Darkmoon is unapologetically a straightforward hack & slash mod with just barely enough plot to string together a series of fights against very powerful NPCs and a wicked enhanced AI. If you are looking for story-driven role-playing, skip it. But if you're in the mood for some mayhem, SoD is a fun and challenging romp."
I will say that while pretty thin and mostly to direct the player to the right areas, the quests should keep you interested enough to keep playing. There are three different paths you can take, which is determined by the guild you joined - which in turn is determined by your class type.
Probably the most impressive thing in this module is the cunning creature AI that I have managed to put together. These guys are really going to piss you off until you figure out how to shut them down. I wanted to make combat challenging without simply buffing the creatures to hell (something I admit to being guilty of in previous modules). I have to give credit to Orlander and CODI for their absolutely amazing work without which this system could never have been created.
The purpose of this mod was to create an ideal environment for hacking, slashing, looting and upgrading - and to take these basic game elements and make them as good as possible. While in my first module, "Dragon's Bane" most of the loot was sold to buy something from the overly stocked custom merchants, SOD has the player looking to the field to upgrade items rather than heading for the shops.
In this sense, there is a limitless number of possibilities - gear-wise for each and every game. I also wanted to recreate the feeling of pure elation when you get lucky with an item that is simply perfect for your character - even though it is generated randomly. There is also a pretty nifty random creature property system that buffs or debuffs creatures as they spawn. This will sometimes cause their weapons to glow: [ **secret** - red if their weapon received a buff or green if only they received a buff (and not their weapon) ]
So with the random loot, random monster properties, the enhanced AI, and the three quest lines, I hope to have created a module that can be played and enjoyed with a kind of 'freshness' many times.
3) Your other two Hall of Famers, seem to be for high level characters. Is that the case with this module?No. This module ends around the 16-17 mark at best.
4) Is this module balanced for all classes?For solo? No. Bards and rogues will get schooled. The other classes should be fine though. However, this presents another interesting element that I forgot to mention regarding SOD. The henchman system has been greatly customized to allow henchman buffing, potion drinking, player resurrecting and even real-time combat targeting. Because of this, it is possible to play through as a support class with one or more of your henchmen tanking.
Alternatively, you could play as a tank and have a support henchman healing and buffing you as you fight. This was something that really appealed to me and provided some really enjoyable moments during the many run-throughs I did whilst play-testing.
In terms of the in-game difficulty settings, playing through solo is characteristic of the 'Heroic' (and most difficult) setting. Given all of the work I put into the henchmen system (in part, to correct the dire mistakes I made in early Dragon's Bane), I guess I really intended this mod to be played though with at least one henchman. After all, it is strictly a single player module...I'd hate for the player to get too lonely!
5) Any general tips for specific classes?Bards and Rogues:
- Hire a tank at level 5.
- Try collecting herbs for your first 2 levels or so (talk to the guards in the forest to eliminate bandits)
6) Any general play advice for the module overall?
All Classes:
- Don't run too far ahead. Take each spawn as it comes.
- Keep a reasonable supply of potions - especially on your henchmen.
- Buff, buff and buff!
- Save your gold and put haste on a plain item using the item customize as soon as you can.
- The more properties on an item, the more expensive further enchantments will cost.
- Farm each level a couple of times to gear yourself well.
- Save early drops for when you finally get a henchman. Then you can equip them immediately.
- If you need to, run your henchman through one or two of the lower levels to gear them up when they join you.
- Buff, buff and buff!
- If you get the invisible creature bug, just save and reload your game. You will then be able to see them.
7) One of your scripts is a random lootable one. This seems to be the case with another module you like, Daniel Nations' Endless Nights 4. Did Daniel use this script?No. Not at all. I coded the SOD loot system from scratch. You can find it on the vault here
8) If not, how are Daniel's scripts different than yours?I haven't even looked at them to be honest, but from playing his game I'd say that the main differences are that my system has a semi-random naming function and uses a color convention (much like world of warcraft) that indicates an items power level. Also, I didn't include on-hit item properties in my system, whereas Daniel's system did. Other than that they are aesthetically quite similar.
9) Could you please compliment something positive towards Daniel Nations?Where do I start. The guy is a genius. He completely mastered the NWN toolset and produced my all-time favorite module - Endless Nights III. There were a lot of subtleties in that module that I'm sure went unseen by many. The incredible mystique of that game still draws me back from time to time.
10) Will you build the sequel with the original NWN toolset?It depends if there is enough demand for it I guess. If I clock more than 1500 downloads, I'll definitely create a sequel on the Aurora.
11) Do you have NWN2? Have you tried its toolset? What do you think?No I don't. No I haven't. I did a lot of reading when it first came out and I have to say that the negative response to NWN2 in general was a little overwhelming. I've decided to wait a year or so for sufficient patching in order to avoid any unnecessary frustrations.
12) Any more personal friendships/bonds formed since the last time you created modules?None that I can think of. Although Styzgy and I had a couple of exchanges that suggested a high affiliation with each other in terms of modding style. There's also the 'fellow builder' thing there too. So I guess, yeah in a way I'd call Styzgy a 'new buddy'. Heh!
13) Shadows of Darkmoon is already on the top rated mods list due to having at least ten votes. Any special/final thanks to those who voted?Yeah! Hopefully I've been able to convey my gratitude in my responses on the module thread. That said, I'd still like to send out a very warm hearted thank you to all of those die-hard NWN1 players / modders who have kept this great community alive. In addition to that, I'd like to extend a special thanks to those who have shown interest in SOD. Also, thanks Steve for your interest in SOD and your contribution to the vault via your interviews. Great questions and I always enjoy reading other interviews.
Finally, a huge thank you to QSW and Maximus. Still doing a fantastic job and providing plenty of support to us modders. Kudos guys! (and lady).
Shadows of Darkmoon by Commche.We'd like to thank Commche for taking the time to answer our questions and for his contributions to the NWN community. We'd also like to thank
Steve Stavicki for conducting this interview
