Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Gladiatrix III - Week 34 Update

Sierra and Tessa enter Darkenrealm, a place thought by many to be a myth, but they discover it is definitely real. One of their first encounters is with a troop of myconids, a strange plant and humanoid hybrid that closely resembles mushrooms. The colony seems peaceful enough, but they are cautious of our companions' otherworldy appearance. What the myconids don't realize is that the real threat to their colony is looming in the darkness.

To all who guessed that we would be taking a trip to the underdark, you guessed right! I don't really want to call it the underdark because that is too forgotten-realmy, and this world isn't really a forgotten realms world even though there are similarities. For now, I'm calling it Darkenrealm, but I'm not completely sold on it. If any of you have any ideas for a name for this underdark-like realm feel free to offer your suggestions, but I reserve the right to be very picky :)

Shamelessly tooting my own horn: Gladiatrix is currently ranked #3 of all files on the Neverwinter Nexus, which is primarily a place for NWN2 modules and files. Gladiatrix II is ranked #5. Not sure how long that will last, but I'll take it for now :)


21 comments:

  1. Frankly, I think that it should be the Underdark if it IS the Underdark with all the same inhabitants and shit. I like the idea of you calling it something else, with knowledge of it not existing on the surface, but if you encounter any Drow, and they refer to it by name themselves, they should call it the Underdark.

    I am fine with Sierra and Co. calling it the Darkenrealm or whatever, and it being referred to that way in Narration too.

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    1. It actually is going to be very much like the Underdark with drow and drow politics etc. I'm perfectly fine with calling it the Underdark, but I guess I'm trying to avoid people saying, "why is it called Underdark when your world isn't Faerun?". I'll see what kind of feedback I get on this topic and go with what the majority thinks.

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    2. the underdark isn't totally just a faerun thing though it is more wildlt known due to that. But if you wanting to shy away from Underdark then Underworld would probably be more apt a name simply because 90% of fantasy stories seem to attach the underdark setting to being the underworld.

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  2. Could always use the Drow name of Har'oloth

    Which basically translates as Underdark in Drow Common.

    I like darkenrealm for the name the elves give to it, though you could look up the elven translation of that phrase to use.

    Other names surface dwellers could use for this mythical place may include:

    The Once Realm (legend says the world turned upside down as punishment by the gods)
    Evercaves
    Evernight
    Night Hollows (probably more for a name of a part of the underdark)
    Underworld
    Undernight
    The Deep
    Deepearth
    The Deep Dwellings
    The Realms Below
    The Night Below
    The Lightless Lands

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    1. Hmm, I'm starting to like the Everdark, which is kind of a mix of a couple of your suggestions.

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  3. How about The Gloom?

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    1. Cool name. I might be able to use it as a section of the underdark or whatever I'm going to call it.

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  4. FallynRayne:

    Just in case you miss it (since it's an old entry), I've played the preview and posted a couple of bugs here: http://fallynrayne3.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/gladiatrix-iii-preview-is-available-to.html?showComment=1358276584721#c6027092114896277052

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    1. Thanks Arkalezth. I'll make note of those and try to correct them before the beta release.

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  5. Skyrim had an Underdark like cave they called Blackreach. The main feature was "Silent City". The Falmer there were blind and relied on hearing so it makes sence the realm has a realm of Shadows and Silence.Umm... That gives me another name sugestion: Shadowfear. Halls of Shadowfear or something if you want a part name :)

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  6. The Ebon Realm/World/Lands?
    Or, depending on your setting, it could be characterized as lost or hard to reach?
    The Nowhere Place for example.

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  7. the icky icky dark place

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  8. The Underdark has been used in a number of different campaign settings, so, if you want to call it that, I think you should.

    If you want to call it something else, I think you should do it because you think it's a better name, not out of anticipation of (unfounded) criticism. Darkenrealm sounds coolish. A number of the suggestions thus far sound pretty good too.

    Personally, I never found the name 'Underdark' to be very good.

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  9. I think "Everdark" is quite cool. In Drow it would be "Olave Rin'of." I'd probably tinker with that spelling a little, but I think it would be a good drow name for it.

    Frankly, I've never been a fan of 'Underdark.' It's not terribly atmospheric on its own, and there's no reason not to change it to suit your own purposes.

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  10. Honestly, I think it would be more terrifying if it didn't have a name.

    Just have people refer to it in hushed tones as 'below.'

    What's there? Is it inhabited? Nobody knows for sure. People just know not to go below.

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  11. How about calling the area, "thatdarkplacewheresexualshenaniganstakesplace".

    Ok, that's a working title. I'm sure someone can come up with a better name eventually. :P

    JC

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  12. Hello Rayne,

    First off, sorry for the unrelated post but I am having a bit of a problem with your previous mod, namely the 1st Gladiatrix and would like some help to solve this problem since I am really interested to play this mod

    However, I can't seem to contact you at the nexus forum nor the vault. Would it be okay if I were to write an email describing the problem to you and attach the necessary error log?

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    1. Hi. If you're the same person that posted on the Gladiatrix vault page I just responded there. If you need to email me you can contact me at fallyn_rayne(at)hotmail.com - replace (at) with @. I rarely check that email so drop me a note here if you send me an email so I'll know to check it.

      Here is what I posted in reply to the vault message. Hopefully one of these steps will fix your problem:


      - Make sure your override folder is clear. You can move override files you want to keep to a backup folder.

      - Make sure your hak folder only has the gladiatrix hak files and the CEP hak files mentioned in the readme. Move all others to a temporary folder. I've heard of conflicts between hak files before.

      - Make sure you have the latest version of NWN. It should be 1.69 on the nwn menu screen

      - Make sure you aren't using any cheats with the module or just doing really strange things that just don't make sense to the storyline. I don't think it is easy to do weird things in the module to cause your problems. I think someone would have to make an effort to break the module but it still shouldn't cause what you are describing.

      - If the above fails consider reinstalling the Gladiatrix mod/hak files in case a file got corrupt. Consider reinstalling CEP 2.4 in case some of the CEP files are corrupt

      - Are you having similar problems with other NWN modules? Maybe if you see a pattern it could help zero in on the problem.

      - Consider checking to see if your video card drivers are up to date. (DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK). I can't be held accountable if you update your video card and it causes problems on your system. I have heard of some video cards not agreeing with NWN

      - As time goes on, some newer systems just aren't as compatible with NWN. If all the above fails, do you have an older laptop or PC around your house to try it on? NWN is over 10 years old and you might have better luck trying it on an older system.

      That's about all I can think of. I hope you can get it working.

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    2. Thanks for the prompt reply but unfortunately I can't seem to solved the problem with the solutions provided. I've already sent an email to you containing the error logs during the time the error occurred, so hopefully you'll be able to identify the problem?

      Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience caused

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  13. I like the sound of The Deeps, leaves enough to the imagination and tells that there is pleanty of adventure to be found.


    - Shark Bait

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  14. I do not know why but seeing the mushroom men made me think that a fun little easter egg would be to have a reference to alice in wonderland =)

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