Biting the bullet

This interior area in Trinity has been giving me headaches and very low FPS since the beginning (between 9 and 26 fps in a benchmark test) and I finally decided to do something about it.

I looked at whether it was due to poor custom tileset optimization, or abundance of point lights and VFX. Adjusting Fog clip didn’t have any impact, nor was the clipping even noticeable in game! Lowering draw distance in the game settings though helped a lot.

Finally I accepted that the poor performance had to do with size really (no doubt the fact that the place was packed with objects of all sorts helped…). The area was 24x30 or so. Didn’t think it would have been much of a problem given it was an interior area.

So I finally came around to the idea of cutting the area up in 3 parts, and now am getting fps in the 23 to 81 range. A better experience for everyone.

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Besides that, I’ve been working lately on setting up pretty cool fights with fire ants, ghosts and a death tyrant beholder (different fights, not at the same time). I attached some popping VFX’s on the ghosts’ death that give a lot of spirit to the fight.

Also been working on some gameplay mechanics and custom items. After suggestions from players in this thread, I decided to make a statuette that summons 2-8 pseudodragons (when I used to play PnP, pseudodragons were THE coolest thing) and a gem that you can imbed in any of your weapons to turn it into an elemental weapon that will deal random elemental damage, complete with appropriate VFX.

I’ve got a bunch of other custom scripted items done and in mind, in addition to many custom items that use conventional properties. Besides at the outfitting store in the staging area of the mod, most items to be bought or found in Trinity will actually be custom made. I always find it nice when playing when I find an item I’ve never seen before.

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In other news, I’m leaving on vacation for a week in Mexico, this Thursday. After the harsh winter we had last year, my wife and I made a promise to ourselves that we’d try to escape it this year, even if just momentarily. The whole family is going to an all-inclusive resort (the first time in my life!) on the Riviera Maya. I am not bringing my laptop or any notepad of any kind. ;) See you all back soon!

No one likes to play alone

This will be old news to those who visit our site, but I thought I’d finally officially post the results of the poll we conducted some time ago on preferred party size.

Sixty-eight people responded to the question (a great turn-out!): “In a solo mod, what is your ideal NWN2 party size?”. And the results were:


Two results of special note: no one likes to play solo, and a larger proportion of players like to have 3 companions to adventure with.

Sure seems like the folks at OEI got it right in SoZ with their party of 4 player-created characters, doesn’t it.

Trinity is built around a party of 5 and you start off with the full roster of 4 companions. While players will be able to dismiss any of them at any point in the game without breaking conversations or quests, the mod will be balanced for the complete party and a good part of the banter and interjections will rely on all party members being present. My recommendation then will be to play with all companions, on a first run-through at least.

If I were to do it again, I’d probably go with 3 companions. But now, I’ve grown too attached to each of them and can’t see myself cutting anyone from the roster.

Storm of Zehir Walk-through

I just wanted to let everyone in on what we've done over at The Thieves Guild.

We finally finished our Walk-through for SoZ. I've also listed a few very helpful links to other great resources for OEI's second expansion to NWN2.

Storm of Zehir Walk-Through

Storm of Zehir Trading Guide

Storm of Zehir Item Data Base

Sorm of Zehir Crafting Guide

Storm of Zehir Cohort Guide

I hope y'all find these guides useful.

I know this post has absolutely nothing to do with the awesome stuff GPS is working on, but now that we've finally got these done. I wanted GPS and friends to be the first to get their hands on it. ;D

Happy New Year!

We wish you and yours health, happiness, and success for the new year, and some good NWN2 fun too, of course.

With the expected release of a bunch of mods from NWN2 bloggers and a slew of others for sure, it’s shaping up to be a pretty good year for NWN2 fans everywhere.

Have fun!