Posts on the Sanctum Blog have been fairly sparse recently, though I hope to be able to start changing that again soon. The main reason for the dearth of updates is that I’ve temporarily had to set aside work on the saga (especially on Chapter 3) for a couple of other priorities. The main one was professional: my career was badly in need of a reboot, and I needed some time this year to work that out. The good news is that I have a new position now, with better prospects and in a better area. I’ll be moving over the course of the next month, and hope to be able to get back to modding again in a more serious way once that’s done.
One thing that I have been working on, though, is a final remake to the first two chapters to implement a lot of the design changes I’ve made to the series for Chapter 3. I mentioned this in a recent blog post, and the changes are actually quite major. Part of my motive in doing the update was that I wanted to get some of the good work I’ve done for the third chapter out there. Some of it is custom content related, such as integrating Project Q and CEP 3.4, using the fabulous Sanctum Flying Skyscape tileset that Estelindis built for me to remake the flying areas at the end of Sanctum 2, revamping the score with some of the new tracks from the expanded Sanctum 3 soundtrack, and so on. The technical base of haks used by the v4 update will be the same one used by Sanctum 3 when it’s released, which will make integrating the third chapter with the first two a much easier task.
Some of the changes, though, are to start removing some of the unnecessary D&D references included in the modules. I originally did a lot of that for convenience, and to help make the setting feel a little less unfamiliar to NWN players. When I first built the modules my ability to do things like create new races and appearances was limited, and using player-familiar ones from the toolset was much easier. Most of these elements really don’t fit well with the non-D&D story world of the Sanctum novels that I’m working on, though, and on which the modules are based. Some examples of this are the Drow and the Deep Gnomes, which don’t even exist in them at all.
I’m reworking a lot of that now, and including a lot more of the lore from the original world of the novels — including things like history, religion, custom races, and the like. (For a spoiler hint about what will replace the Drow, and the new face of General Y’Thra, see here and here.) I expect to have the v4 update out before the end of this year, and be back on track building Sanctum 3 for release sometime next year.
I’m excited to hear that there will be more of the original lore of Glorn. I always find that they will add more depths to the game when they’re done well, and having played SOA modules, I know they will be done well indeed.
Since you mentioned things like religion in your post, is there a possibility that our pc will be able to choose his/her religion? I’m curious because with D&D settings, religions, or deities rather, represents a very important part of the experience, and because of the possible effect on Orion’s storyline as well.
So, v4 update as a Christmas present? 😉
Aderyn, thanks for your comment! Sorry for the delay in responding, but we’re in the thick of packing and preparing for our move next week. I should be able to get back to posting more regularly sometime next month.
Because philosophy plays such a central role in Sanctum of the Archmage, the religious and philosophical traditions of the story universe follow from the core plot and theme (“The role of philosophy in the rise and fall of civilization”). That theme is expressed in the conflict between the three factions among the Ancients: the predatory Demans, the altruistic Provans, the realist Andarians. The first two embrace religion and the last two embrace benevolence. That structure provides room for a number of “archetypes,” including individual deities with matching religious “portfolios.”
It’s mostly in the form of choices among the core ideas of those three traditions, and the archetypes that follow from each, that the player will have the opportunity to express their religious and philosophic “identity.” (For example, in Sanctum 3, there will be an opportunity for the player to choose to define himself among the warrior archetypes of the three traditions: The Defender, The Destroyer, and a third Andarian alternative that’s yet to be revealed.) But that’s all designed to be more of a process of discovery for the player as the story progresses, and one that will have a definite effect on Orion’s storyline as well.
I’ve been aiming for an end-of-year timeframe for the Sanctum v4 update, but it may have to slip into January because of the other demands on my time right now. I’ll see how things are going and try to give a status update in a few weeks.
Real life issues take priority for all of us, so take all the time that you need please. Whenever you’re finished you will still have at least one fan (but I suspect many, many more) waiting eagerly as ever 🙂
PS. My toes are tingling with excitement at hearing we’ll be able to learn more about the Andarian tradition. Yay!
“Whenever you’re finished you will still have at least one fan (but I suspect many, many more) waiting eagerly as ever.”
Definitely! Though I haven’t commented on this blog before, I visit it every couple of weeks. I still find myself enjoying many NWN modules as much if not more than the XBOX 360 games that I play and I’m looking forward to Sanctum 3 as much as to Mass Effect 3. 🙂
I know, right? It’s amazing how NWN is still so much fun after all this time. Although I am also a Mass Effect fan, I have to confess if I have to choose between the two, I’ll probably choose SOA over ME.