Incline Hearkenwold - an IceBlink and DC engine Campaign

[slowdive]

Actually, it is in the Rules Editor:

 

[Mustawd]

Dorateen , off the top of your head, was wondering if you could help me out with two questions on the iceblink engine (IF you know of course):

1. Can you easily replace art assets or add your own assets?
2. Do you know what the resolution of each tile is (i.e. length and width in pixels)
3. Is there a way to add in your own sprites?

Sorry, but been working on learning pixel art and this engine seems great to use if I can manage to create my own cool sprites and tiles.

 

[slowdive]

1. Yes
2.
http://www.iceblinkengine.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=450

3.yes, place in your module's appropriate folder and then it will be available in the toolset.

 

[Mustawd]

Nice! Thanks for the responses.

 

[Dorateen]

Thanks, slowdive for staying on top of this. Yes, the engine is quite accommodating for your own customized art assets. Lots of potential, and always interesting to see what other builders will come up with.

 

[Wayward Son]

slowdive Dorateen Can I manipulate the classes and the base way the rules work if I use this engine. In the project I was wanting to work on, setting reasons demand some slight changes to DnD rule sets to maintain consistency. Thank you ahead of time for any responses.
Edit: Also, what are the licensing terms for the engine? How does distribution work under the liscense?
Edit2: BTW, Dorateen I like the artwork you did, it looks really good.

 

[Crichton]

slowdive Dorateen Can I manipulate the classes and the base way the rules work if I use this engine. In the project I was wanting to work on, setting reasons demand some slight changes to DnD rule sets to maintain consistency. Thank you ahead of time for any responses.
Edit: Also, what are the licensing terms for the engine? How does distribution work under the liscense?
Edit2: BTW, Dorateen I like the artwork you did, it looks really good.

It's a mixed bag; you can create custom classes and control HP, mana, item usage, spells allowed, when those spells are allowed, traits allowed and when those traits are allowed. Obviously this is enough for a lot of systems but there are a couple holes currently.

i) you can't control how often players can select a trait, it's 1 per level provided that one is available.

and

ii) you can't control how many spells are gained per level, it's 1 per level provided that one is available.

This means that D&D standards like gain 1 feat every 3 levels or gain 2 spells from this list at 1st level aren't really doable which means that there's fewer options for characters than I'd like. Currently, I'm working on a module where each character gets two traits based on class, no options. I hope that someday I'll be able to let them select from a list every x many levels.

 

[Wayward Son]

slowdive Dorateen Can I manipulate the classes and the base way the rules work if I use this engine. In the project I was wanting to work on, setting reasons demand some slight changes to DnD rule sets to maintain consistency. Thank you ahead of time for any responses.
Edit: Also, what are the licensing terms for the engine? How does distribution work under the liscense?
Edit2: BTW, Dorateen I like the artwork you did, it looks really good.

It's a mixed bag; you can create custom classes and control HP, mana, item usage, spells allowed, when those spells are allowed, traits allowed and when those traits are allowed. Obviously this is enough for a lot of systems but there are a couple holes currently.

i) you can't control how often players can select a trait, it's 1 per level provided that one is available.

and

ii) you can't control how many spells are gained per level, it's 1 per level provided that one is available.

This means that D&D standards like gain 1 feat every 3 levels or gain 2 spells from this list at 1st level aren't really doable which means that there's fewer options for characters than I'd like. Currently, I'm working on a module where each character gets two traits based on class, no options. I hope that someday I'll be able to let them select from a list every x many levels.

Okay, thanks. It sounds like I can do what I want, I'll try to fiddle with it later tonight.

 

[slowdive]

Classes, traits, spells, effects are customizable in many ways including creating your own, deleting all pre-made ones, etc. In IB1 we had each class level define how many spells and traits to select at level up...we intend to add that to the IB2 code as well. There is no licence for IB2, completely open source, fork it, sell it, do whatever your want. IB2 isn't a money making venture for us, just hoping for good modules from the community. It is on github, search for iceblink engine. Most of Dorateen's artwork comes from the frua community.

 

[Wayward Son]

Thank you for your swift reply slowdive and thank you for the time you put into this engine.

 

[Dorateen]

I've been continuing work in IceBlink 2. One of the little things added in the previous builds was the skull animation that is played on enemy deaths. A nice touch, I think.

This week, I put together a conversation with a Lizardman Warrior and Shaman that will offer an alternate resolution, depending on choices the characters make.

And if things don't go peacefully, you get to fight new enemies. Notice the UI feature of the red box showing this guy in the back is too far away to reach. A green box will frame a viable target. Also, mouse hovering over a creature will display Hit Points, Spell Points, Armor Class and Status.

 

[Mustawd]

This is looking great Dorateen. I definitely need to give your module a spin.

Hopefully in a week I can get back to drawing/painting my new combat icons as well.

 

[Mustawd]

By the way, slowdive, the UI looks so much cleaner in the IB2 engine!

 

[slowdive]

Yes, and some of the minimalistic ui options (in module settings) that Karl has coded in recently look really nice.

 

[Dorateen]

I am trying to wrap things up for a mid-September release. Here are a couple of more recent screenshots.

Battle with some undead. Skeleton archers, oh boy!

 

[Wayward Son]

Good job Dorateen I will probably end up getting this and playing the fuck outta it.

 

[Dorateen]

Good job Dorateen I will probably end up getting this and playing the fuck outta it.

Thanks! With all the overt D&D and Gold Box influence this project has, I also take some design cues from early Might & Magic in terms of open exploration and letting players just wander around getting into trouble.

 

[Wayward Son]

I also take some design cues from early Might & Magic in terms of open exploration and letting players just wander around getting into trouble.

Might and Magic plz??

 

[Dorateen]

I have a new version of Hearkenwold available for download.

This uses build 21 of the IceBlink 2 engine, which is the most current for the PC. The module file can be downloaded here:

Hearkenwold

And the IceBlink engine is available at the link below. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to get the beta version 21 file.

IceBlink 2

For installation, just copy the folder named Hearkenwold from the uncompressed file, and move it to the modules folder of the IB2 folder.

There have been some UI changes since the last screens I posted. A calendar system has been implemented. Since I had not planned for this level of design, I took the names of the months and days of the week from Tunnels & Trolls, because I always was impressed with that game's depth of world building.

On the combat screen below, you will notice a new initiative bar on the top left, showing combat order. This can be toggled on or off with a button at the bottom of the UI. Also, if you want to hear the excellent original music provided by Islet then you will want to switch the sound on at the beginning. I believe loading a game starts with the sound off by default. And fiddle with it in each area, to get the music playing again. This is an engine issue that is being resolved.

Characters should be able to reach 5th level, with a thief who advances quickest making level 6, depending on how much content is explored.

 

[Mustawd]

Hey Dorateen, playing your module now. Quick question: Are all NPCs supposed to have a one box radius around them in terms of interacting? A few of them in the beginning level seem to have this buffer. So if I walk by them (within a square of them and without interacting with them), then the dialogue box opens.

Just thought I'd give some feedback.

Also, any sense in looking at the IB2 version? Dunno how playable that is right now.

 

[Dorateen]

Hey Dorateen, playing your module now. Quick question: Are all NPCs supposed to have a one box radius around them in terms of interacting? A few of them in the beginning level seem to have this buffer. So if I walk by them (within a square of them and without interacting with them), then the dialogue box opens.

Just thought I'd give some feedback.

Also, any sense in looking at the IB2 version? Dunno how playable that is right now.

Actually, I prefer not to have the one box radius completely around the NPC. Unfortunately Abigail in the castle is like that. Later on, I made an effort to position NPCs so they are against a wall or other barrier, leaving only one or two squares to step on and trigger conversations.

To clarify, here's an illustration of the trigger placement:

The woman on the right has four boxes placed around her. After numerous test runs, I learned to avoid those squares when traversing back and forth through this level so that the conversation window would not pop up. However in her case, she does have a side quest that will become available after a certain event so it's not such a bad thing that you might run into her dialogue again. Also, she's a bit of a court gossip, so I see her as the type who the party would be tripping over occasionally. Nevertheless, I do not have many NPCs elsewhere in the campaign that are surrounded by triggers this way.

In contrast, the character on the left only has two squares that trigger his conversation. The one to the immediate left of him is for a different event.

I think IB2 is worth playing and designing for. The latest version I uploaded is build 21 of IceBlink2. It has a lot of new features, which offer a more polished experience. We are working out small bugs for the next update, but it is quite playable.

 

[ProphetSword]

A question about running this on a PC. Do I have to have IceBlink installed or does it come with an executable that can be run in Windows?

 

[Dorateen]

A question about running this on a PC. Do I have to have IceBlink installed or does it come with an executable that can be run in Windows?

You just need to have the IceBlink engine in your documents folder. The campain folder (Hearkenwold) goes in the Modules directory, and the IceBlink folder contains the executable.

IceBlink 2 is available here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/iceblink/other/tool/iceblink-2-engine-and-toolset

 

[ProphetSword]

Thanks. Couldn't remember.

 

[Dorateen]

Today, I was fighting this battle from the recent chapter of Hearkenwold that I am in the middle of converting to FRUA.

I had used the Stinking Cloud spell, which caught a couple of the goblin assassins but none of them gagged from nausea. However, they would still show the after effects even once the air clears. Toward the end of the fight, one of the assassins was killed when it attempted to flee and got hit by an attack of opportunity. The next turn was another assassin, which showed the message: Goblin Assassin is Coughing. At first glance, it almost looked like it said "Goblin Assassin is Laughing". I don't know why I thought that, but was an amusing moment.

I love Gold Box combat!