The last of the new quests for the Sanctum 1 remake are done! After a dedicated session of building over the weekend, the hardest part of the work — structuring the quests, creating the areas where they take place, setting up their scripting, and writing the associated dialogue — is all finished. I did a quick play-through of the critical path, and everything worked. There were a few minor glitches, of course, and it’s going to need a fair amount of tweaking to get everything just right. But today definitely marks a status change in the V4 update for Sanctum 1, when it finally goes from “in development” to “in QA and test.”
Here’s a quick list of some highlights for the new version:
- Three brand new areas, two new major quests, and five new minor ones
- 7 old areas split up, re-designed, and expanded into 16 new and re-built areas to replace them
- A new (temporary) henchman
- A dozen extensive new conversations and significant additions to existing dialogues
- Use of new CEP 2.4 and Project Q 1.5 content, including new monsters and placeables
- Expanded relationship options (including an increase in the max scores)
- Two quest tie-ins to the rewrite of Sanctum 2
And, of course, more. 😉
I’ll probably need at least a couple of additional weeks for that “tweaking,” and for alpha testing before it’ll be in a form that I’m comfortable putting out for a community beta test. But September is definitely starting to look more and more like a good target date for that. So if you might be interested in helping to beta test SanctumV4 Chapter 1, drop me a note or post here to let me know!
Congratulation! New highlights are very awesome, i already wait this new version – new conversations, quests and other are my dream=)
I began play in NWN moduls just recently, but your Sanctum’s series is really wonderful! Such good conversations and story i didn’t saw long ago in computer games. Therefore i wait new version Sanctum 1 and 2, and, of course, other parts=) Good luck you in your work! And thank you for it.
New fan.
Thanks for the kind words, Larite! They’re much appreciated.
I would like to help with beta testing, if you still need one more!
The new area and temporary companion sounds intriguing. Can’t wait to see them. And new extra dialogues are like gold mines for me.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any modder who perfects his/her work as much as you do. Can’t imagine how much time and effort must be spent on this, but just want to let you know there’s someone who really appreciates that.
I’ll most definitely help! This is my favorite NWN mod by far and I look forward to its completion. 🙂
Thanks, Aderyn! You’ve always had a place on the beta test waiting for you if you want it. And thanks to you too, Icedragon. I’ll get in touch with you when it’s ready. 🙂
A new henchman and new conversations sound good. I’m also looking forward to seeing Project Q in action.
I played Sanctum for the first time in 2008 or 2009, and the series still remain as some of my favourite NWN modules. One of the reasons is that all love interests are available for both genders. Usually module writers (and video game writers in general) forget or ignore the fact that non-straight people play games, too. More inclusivity is always good, although fanbase’s reaction to romances in Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 proves that way too many people think otherwise…
And while on the subject of s/s romances, I remember reading that once Robin takes back the throne, s/he and a same-sex lover have to give each other up. In my opinion, it gives the romance an interesting layer: the good of a few vs. the good of many. Overthrowing the Warlord frees Carlissa, but it also marks an end to the personal happiness of Robin and the Miracle Worker, at least until they move on. Dragon Age: Origins had a similar situation, but unless I’m mistaken, Robin doesn’t seem like someone who would have a lover alongside a spouse – it’s all or nothing.
I also like it that for once “the last of their line,” a military leader, and the last hope of a nation is a woman. Usually those roles are reserved for male characters. I know that Robin can be a guy, but for aforementioned reasons my playthroughs will always have a princess instead of a prince. Of course, this is just personal preference – I don’t think Randall (?) is somehow a worse choice than Randia.
Finally, if you need more beta testers I’d be happy to help. 🙂
Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Morwinyon, and for volunteering to beta test! Yes, there is a very definite “all or nothing” element to Robin’s personality that makes it hard to see her ending up with a lover and a spouse. Even before the Warlord the intensity of her first love suggests that when she’s ready to commit, she’s “all in.”
The fact that Sanctum was originally conceived (and is still being developed) as a series of novels does have a bearing on this. The love story between Robin and The Miracle Worker is a central element of that tale, and that made me reluctant to disallow a same-gender romance with Robin in the modules. Unfortunately I couldn’t see a way to make it work in the long run with the “free my country and carry on the royal line” plot of the saga. That was one reason (of many) why I introduced Diana in Chapter 2. She and Orion are intended to be the long-term same-gender romance prospects for the series.
None of this is an impediment in the novels, where Robin is female and The Miracle Worker is male; it was a result of trying to adapt the saga to a role-playing format. So there is a certain sense in which the “canonical” Robin — the military leader, last of her line and last hope of her people — is the princess rather than the prince. Prince Robin wasn’t even in the early versions of the module; I only added him in version 2.1M about 8 months after the initial release. That was the result of a discussion with a (female) player who’d lamented the plethora of “romance the princess” mods, but dearth of “romance the prince” ones. That was what gave me the idea of creating a prince Robin option at all, and I think it ended up working out well. 🙂
I would really like to help with the beta-testing as well. This has got to be my favourite NWN module of all times, and the one I’ve played through the most.
Really looking forward to seeing the latest version (and hopefully the continuation soon as well)!
Thanks for the kind words, Melian! I’ll get in touch with you and everyone else who’s interested as soon as the beta test is ready. 🙂
I would also like to thank you for a great module and if you still need more beta-testers I would like to help.