Faithless: The Making of an NWN2 Module

Concept sketch This is what I call a dog. It is my task to create a 3D model based on this concept sketch. When I offered to make a whole set of new models after proving to Dirtywick that I was capable of constructing them, I estimated that I could produce one per week. I was wrong. So far, I’ve been working on this critter for nearly three weeks. Actually, I encountered some unexpected problems while building this model. Firstly, I had to learn how to create a low-poly model using the Retopology feature of ZBrush. Rather than explain the workflow here, I’d like to direct curious readers to the following links, which have helped me immensely: Tutorial: Bird of Prey Topology & Flow Lab Something wicked this way comes Even with the above information at hand, I made lots of mistakes constructing the low poly model. Most of these mistakes had to do with not connecting vertices properly. I must have used up an entire week just fixing my errors. The learning experience was worth it, thou...

As far as our module "Shattered Dreams" is concerned, this is the boss. The boss scares me. It looks like this monster will have polygons numbering in the tens of thousands, but the standard upper limit for creature models is only 5000. To make matters worse, there are no existing skeletons that I can recycle for it. This means I'll have to make my own skeleton and animations. I've never done anything of the sort before. Then again, I had never made 3D models from scratch until I started on this project, so I guess I can hurdle this challenge. On the other hand, look at all those tentacles. That's an awful lot of appendages to animate. No time to write. Must construct 3D models.

Here is a design that I created for one of the buildings in "Shattered Dreams," a module in the making from bouncyRock Entertainment. It may not look it, but this picture was entirely computer-generated. Although I have some skill when it comes to art, I have little to no patience with drawing buildings, especially in perspective. What I did instead was to create this building in the toolset using Nytir's BCK II hakpak . I then took a screenshot of the building and manipulated it digitally to achieve an artistic effect. I sent this picture to Nytir and requested that he make a 3D model of it. Nytir happens to be on our team, so he's the obvious choice for modeling buildings. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with.

Below are a couple more concept sketches for "Shattered Dreams," an upcoming module from bouncyRock Entertainment. In a couple of days, I'll start making 3D art based on my drawings. I hope I'm up to the task.

While surfing the Internet for art references, I came across a dubious personality test called "Which Supervillain Are You?" . Amused, I decided to take it. As I was answering the quiz, I realized that the test didn't seem to be particularly well made. There were several questions bunched together toward the end that seemed to be blatantly referring to Poison Ivy. Anyhow, I completed the quiz and came up with the following result: You are The Joker The Joker 47% Lex Luthor 34% Apocalypse 34% Dr. Doom 34% Magneto 33% Mr. Freeze 32% Venom 31% Green Goblin 29% Two-Face 29% Dark Phoenix 25% Catwoman 22% Kingpin 19% Riddler 18% Juggernaut 17% Mystique 17% Poison Ivy 8% The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand. The Joker? Uh-uh, not I. A sense of humor is far from being my strong suit, although the part about me being a brilliant mastermind isn't so far ...

Dirtywick has given us the go signal to announce our upcoming bouncyRock module to the NWN2 community. The title of the module is... Shattered Dreams . I'd like to say more about our module, but words fail me at the moment. Instead, I'll show a few sketches that I drew in preparation for 3D modeling. These are some of the things that I'm hoping to create for the game. Dirtywick pointed out, however, that trying to release the module by April while building new models is going to be tough. I'd like to have my cake and eat it too, but whether these sketches become realized as full 3D models remains to be seen.