The Dark Sun for NWN Project

[Tonden Ockay]

NWN Dark Sun

Our goal for this project is to recreate the world of Athas ( Dark Sun ) using NWN (Neverwinter Nights). You can get the complete NWN game on the Beamdog Store or on Steam.

Dark Sun is an original Dungeon & Dragons campaign setting set in the fictional, post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas known as Dark Sun. The product line began with with the original Dark Sun Boxed Set setting which was released by TSR for AD&D 2nd Edition in 1991. The product was released again and updated by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 4th Edition in 2010.

Contact use at:
Website: http://nwndarksun.gamerlaunch.com/
On Discord: NWN Dark Sun
My name on it is Tonden#9076
Facebook: NWN Dark Sun

About us:

A lot of work went into this project to get it to where it is today. So I will start of by giving you some back ground on how this project got to where it is current state. Dizzitt Gradan and I (Tonden Ockay) are really close friends in real life and have know each other 27+ years. We first started playing PnP AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Sun in 1992 and still to this day it was some of the funnest PnP times we ever had. We had just about every 2e Dark Sun book/adventure made and read through them all many times. We really loved and enjoyed the Dark Sun Campaign. So in Dec of 2015 the two of us started the discussion with each other about recreating the Dark Sun Campaign we loved so much using NWN.

We continued to talk about thing over the coming months trying to lay out and decide on what we really wanted to accomplish with a NWN Dark Sun world. We took our time until we felt confident on what it was we wanted to do and that we would see this project through. It was at this point in time (in the fall of 2016) that we started reaching out to the NWN community and recruited a very small team of Dark Sun fans. At which point we spent the rest of 2016 searching through years of content on the Vault downloading anything that we felt might be useable for Dark Sun. Then going through all of it picking out what we felt we could use. Then it all got sorted through pulling out what all we wanted to keep and then created base haks for each area.

- Races
- Items
- Placeables
- Creatures
- Classes
- Sky's
- 2da's

After all that we still needed a really nice desert tileset and after spending a lot of time searching and testing different ones we realized we really needed to create a custom one.

This led to most of 2017 being spent researching/learning to work with all the different custom content files and tools needed to change the NWN Forgotten Realms setting into a full Dark Sun game world. Along with learning Gmax to be able to create fully custom models. Plus there was a lot we didn't know or understand when it came to the limits of the game engine, which we had to learn as well. Due to all of this is a lot of time was spent at this point in the process. However by the end of 2017 we really had started the ground work on a total custom desert city tiles and playable character models.

By the summer of 2018 we had a small collection of some really nice custom models that we felt we could start sharing. This was when we felt that it would be a good time to ramp up recruiting.

Currently our team has been growing a little each week and we are seeing some really great things being create. Even though we have a nice foundation started, we are still in the development process. So a lot of work still needs to be done.

There for we still could use people who know how or are willing to learn how to create custom models and/or scripts. The nice thing is everyone on our team is willing to help others to learn. So don’t be afraid if this sounds like something you would like to do we will help you help us

- 3d Model Creators using Gmax, 3dsMax, Maya, or Blender
- Class Development (help with finishing the Dark Sun Classes)
- Setting up NPC's, Creatures, and Quests using NWN Toolset
- Scripter using NWScript https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWScript

 

[aweigh]

Sum

 

[Sinatar]

A NWN module about the evils of mathematics? I'm in.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Good luck with this, fellas. And yeah, aweigh's right, and for a change, he's posting the right thing in the right place.

 

[JarlFrank]

Why NWN? It's one of the worst RPGs ever made.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Why NWN? It's one of the worst RPGs ever made.

Because you didn't release Chaos Realms Beyond Chronicles and the editor associated with it.

 

[octavius]

I at first read Tonden Ockay as Trent Lackey.

 

[Martyr]

You can get the complete NWN game on the Beamdog Store or on Steam.

is this mod only compatible with the EE and not with the diamond edition?

 

[Morality Games]

Sounds/looks really cool, but is this supposed to be a module with adventures and narrative or just a model?

 

[ProphetSword]

Will it have that annoying sun logo from the screenshots moving across the screen the whole time? If so, I think you've got a winner...

 

[Micormic]

NWN sucks, cant believe people are still making/playing modules for this shit game. I was done with it a few weeks after getting it as a gift in like 2003 or 04

 

[Tonden Ockay]

Why NWN? It's one of the worst RPGs ever made.

It has a base core game engine that allows for you to change a lot. So in the end you can almost make a totally new game. While at the same time it doesn't take 70 people 5 years to do using something like Unreal/Unity.

is this mod only compatible with the EE and not with the diamond edition?

This will use EE, because EE opened a lot more up for making custom Races and Classes

Sounds/looks really cool, but is this supposed to be a module with adventures and narrative or just a model?

Its going to be a Server that will have adventures you can play through. Our goal is to recreate all the old 2e Dark Sun Flip book adventures. Once the flip book adventures are up and running on the server, we would then like put each one up on the internet for offline players to download and play through them on their own and or with friends.

NWN sucks, cant believe people are still making/playing modules for this shit game. I was done with it a few weeks after getting it as a gift in like 2003 or 04

I understand if your just logging on the base game, but this game has so much to offer as a base game engine/platform for you to create your own game. We have a nice team of 3d module creators and scripters. However we are always looking for more.

 

[Mustawd]

I’m assuming this will be a single char module and no party?

 

[Tonden Ockay]

I’m assuming this will be a single char module and no party?

Our server will be up and running 24/7 and set up more like an MMORPG with adventures players can team up and do together. While the download able modules will be for players to download and play through on their own or with friends.

 

[Roqua]

Why not make it for the extremely superior ToEE engine with temple+?

Well, its probably too late, but thank you for bringing more attention to the great Dark Sun games, and working hard to create an rpg mod many people will like.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Why not make it for the extremely superior ToEE engine with temple+?

Well, its probably too late, but thank you for bringing more attention to the great Dark Sun games, and working hard to create an rpg mod many people will like.

Probably because this has been in development for ages, I think.

 

[Tiospo]

One of the biggest NWN modder crews was called Dragonlance Adventures
They won't care given its NWN, which is a D&D thing

 

[Sitra Achara]

Why not make it for the extremely superior ToEE engine with temple+?

Well, its probably too late, but thank you for bringing more attention to the great Dark Sun games, and working hard to create an rpg mod many people will like.

Sadly authoring content for ToEE is still far from a streamlined process.

 

[Neanderthal]

Dungeon Siege has a lovely desert tileset, really Lawrence of Arabia-ish. Always thought that'd be good for Athas.

Used to be a rumour back in day that Athas were Oerth in far future, wonder if that were true?

Anyway good luck.

 

[ProphetSword]

I’m assuming this will be a single char module and no party?

Our server will be up and running 24/7 and set up more like an MMORPG with adventures players can team up and do together. While the download able modules will be for players to download and play through on their own or with friends.

So, essentially this will just be a PW. Gotcha. There are plenty of those (I've been running a Hall of Fame NWN PW for 14 years).

Why is yours different than the others that are available?

 

[Alex]

Do half giants still get double hp and do you still become a dragon as a high level defiler?

 

[Tonden Ockay]

Why is yours different than the others that are available?


We are recreating Dark Sun

* Total New Custom Tileset

- The Ziggurat
- The Arena
- The Golden Tower
- Adobe City Buildings
- The Large City Walls, Battlements, and Main Gates


* Total New Player Character Models they can have Tattoos or not, can change skin and tattoo colors, with different heads to pick from, all the new races can use and wear armor and weapons

- Half-Giants - 10 foot tall +4 to Str +2 to Con and Double hit points
- Muls
- Tri-Kreens - +5 to AC and a +4 to Dex
- Humans
- Half-Elves
- Elves - 7 foot tall
- Dwarves
- Pterran
- Aarakocra


* Custom Classes

- Defilers - that create dark areas on the ground when they cast spells, the higher level the wizard the more appears
- Elemental Clerics - Earth, Fire, Air, and Water
- Gladiators
- Bards - that don't cast spells but use poisons
- No Paladins
- No Beserkers


* Total new custom Armor and Weapons


* Advanced Beings

- Dragon's
- Avangion's
- Elemental's
- Spirits of the Land


* Total New Custom Dark Sun Mounts


* Total New Custom Creatures

- Dragon King Models
- Avangion Models
- Nightmare Beasts
- Fire Drakes
- so, so much more


* Recreating all the old 2e Dark Sun flip book adventures.


* There is so much more when you get into scripts and spells.



This isn't just one or two guys working on this project we have a small team of people and are looking for more every day.

 

[Bocian]

Too bad it's EE, otherwise I would be sold. I'm not going to touch any of beamdong's "games" with a ten foot pole.
Also, fix the link to your website.

 

[Tonden Ockay]

Too bad it's EE, otherwise I would be sold. I'm not going to touch any of beamdong's "games" with a ten foot pole.
Also, fix the link to your website.

EE brought back the server lists, made it easier to create custom races and classes. They have opened a lot more of the game for builders and creators with more things to come. Like for example they are now working on a way to allow players to just automatic down load haks needed for a server.

I would agree that at first there wasn't much for players, but there is a lot of things still coming. If you don't want to buy EE that is your choice but I have owned and worked with both the older game and EE and i'm telling you it has a lot brighter future.

I just check the link to our website and it worked for me, so I'm not sure what it wrong with it

 

[Bocian]

EE brought back the server lists, made it easier to create custom races and classes. They have opened a lot more of the game for builders and creators with more things to come. Like for example they are now working on a way to allow players to just automatic down load haks needed for a server.

I would agree that at first there wasn't much for players, but there is a lot of things still coming. If you don't want to buy EE that is your choice but I have owned and worked with both the older game and EE and i'm telling you it has a lot brighter future.

Server lists are needless due to the existence of nwnlist.com. Automatic download... well, I think that manual download and unpacking hak files into hak folder (and .tlk into tlk folder, etc.) is within anyone's skill set, so it's just another bullshitty thing to put on a changelog to show that "something" is being done - and this is basically beamdog in a nutshell. They release old games with some pathetic improvements like outlines in IE games or depth of field in NWN, make vague promises of improvement "in the future" and release for 20 dollars. In my opinion, endorsing such "developers" is against principles, and promoting those scam artists does anybody no good.
I am/was in contact with people modding the game and I acknowledge that EE improved the toolset somewhat, which at the moment is basicaly only selling point. The reality is that everyone who owns the game since years untold has to pay up and wait for volunteers to make the "true" enhanced edition themselves using the "reworked" toolset and fueled by hype carefully built by promising a pie in the sky. Compare amount of work and effects of things such as CEP (or Sinfar server framework which features custom tilesets, models, combat animations, and also things such as changing of color mapping, color overrides, and size scaling of each separate part of the model, or changing size of the whole player character in general - which now was only mentioned by beamdog as a possibility) to what was done in more than 6 months after EE release.
I know that for people who played this game since release it can be exciting news to hear that the game is being reworked - and I'd probably be optimistic myself if just anyone other in the world than beamdog was involved in it. Knowing their history and track record I can only frown in disgust at best.

About the link, I check the URL in your original post and it's a redirect.