Well, this isn't my usual fun update. That is because disaster struck over the weekend. I walked away from my laptop for about twenty minutes and when I came back, the system had completely locked up while the toolset still had my module open. This has happened before, so my normal routine is to make a copy of both the module file and the backup file before attempting to open the toolset again. This usually keeps at least one of the files intact. Well, not in this case! Somehow both files ended up FUBAR. Okay, so I take a deep breath. I've been a little more diligent making backups of my module since I had a similar disaster while making the first module... or so I thought. I went to my offsite storage, and to my dismay, the last good copy of my module was from Feb 18! I was certain there must be a more recent copy, but none was to be found. I guess I've gotten complacent since my last disaster was over a year ago.
Anyway, the good news (if you can call it that) is that I was able to open the backup file in the toolset and export the areas I created. The bad news is that the conversations can't be salvaged. So I'm having to rewrite, relink and rescript several thousand words of dialog that I had written over the past few weeks. And the past few weeks just so happen to be some of the most diligent work I've done on this module. The evil spirits of computers timed this perfectly and they laugh at my torment!
A word of warning to anyone who designs NWN modules, and I know a few of you do. After any significant amount of work has been done on your module always back it up off system. When you least expect it your system WILL crash and the toolset WILL eat your module. This is a guarantee. The toolset is unbelievably fragile and destructive to modules. Never leave the toolset open when you're not working on it. If your computer locks up or crashes while your module is open in the toolset, be scared. Be very scared and prepare to go digging for the last backup you saved. Don't think that saving it somewhere on the same system is good enough. The evil spirits of the computer world will take advantage of your misstep and just destroy your whole system to achieve their nefarious schemes. This is a guarantee. Let my ill-timed neglect be an example and ominous warning to other builders. It's daily backups for me from now on, no matter how much of a pain that is.
Never fear, I'm not letting this get me down (too much). I'm making
progress rewriting what I lost. Unfortunately, this is going to move my
target date well into April, so you'll have to indulge me just a little
more time to finish. I should have a more positive update next week.