Release!!!
3/27/09
Ladies and gentlemen, The Third Sign is now available at the NWVault! Download and enjoy!!! :)
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Pre-release screenshots
3/26/09
I've got a few last-second pre-release screenshots to hold you over for the next 24-odd hours until it's available on the Vault! Check'em out.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Release Imminent!
3/25/09
Hey all,
It's been awhile since my last post -- I've been rather busy with school. However, I've now finished integrating all the fantastic voice-overs into the game, and I'm testing it over the next few days in anticipation of a Friday/weekend release. I'm excited!
As a quick recap, the teaser offers:
+ a professional-quality story by Gregory A. Wilson converted to NWN2-module-form by a professional developer
+ several new music tracks composed expressly for The Third Sign
+ voice-acting for major characters
+ custom VFX's
As the module is a novel-to-game conversion, it is by nature extremely linear; it is meant to immerse the player in the world of The Third Sign. Both Greg and I hope that those of you who play the module will be inspired to purchase and read the book -- to be published by Five Star Press this June -- so that you can read the rest of the story! The game constitutes promotional material for the book, just so this is clear. :)
Looking forward to release!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (2)
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Finished!
1/5/09
Hey all,
The teaser for The Third Sign is officially finished -- and has been since late December, actually. :) All that remains is to get the voice-acting and custom music (some of which is still being created) into the game, then test it once patch 1.22 is released (so that the awful 1.21 errors are corrected). I'll start shamelessly plugging the project in forums once we are close to release, but my hope is to have it out in early February.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (1)
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New screenshots
12/14/08
It's been awhile since I last posted, but I've been making progress on TTS -- here are some screenshots of an area I've been working on recently:
Hope you enjoy them! More to come as I get work done over winter break.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (5)
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An uncomfortable seat
11/14/08
Hi! :)
Just thought I would share these screenshots. They may seem to be inspired from that Canterville ghost tv series long ago. However, they are rather screenies of my attempting to interpret, visually, a special aftermath event in the Third Sign plot. Like before, there are no characters/figures in the pictures presented here.
Here are the 3 screenies:
Indira :)
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Posted By indira :: Comments (4)
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A gloomy city center
11/11/08
Hi! :)
Currently, I am slowly going through the book in order to gather all sorts of useful aspects beneficial to the Third Sign game. It is very rewarding, given the drama as well as the depth of the story.
I have also more or less finished a seemingly large exterior that is really rather small. I cannot tell you more than it is a gloomy, ominous city center. Here are some screenies for you to enjoy:
Indira
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Posted By indira :: Comments (0)
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A peek inside Ek'thon's Tomb
10/29/08
Hi! :)
I am just as happy as y'all are that Wyrin D'njargo is aboard! The project of TTS will be more of a team effort and what a great team to be a part of!
I have now begun working on the area design for 'part 2' of the TTS campaign. For dramatic reasons, this scene from the inside of a tomb will be part of a series of events starting TTS part 2 off, several of which ring of gravity, urgency and grief for the entire Nation of Klune and the world of Elmin.
Here are the 3 screenies of the tomb:
Enjoy! :)
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Posted By indira :: Comments (0)
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...and welcome, Wyrin!
10/24/08
More big news! In addition to Indira hopping on board the TTS development squad (huzzah!), Wyrin D'njargo of Dark Avenger fame (and Chapter 2, too) has also agreed to join us in this novel-to-NWN2 conversion endeavor!
We're very excited at the prospect of having both Wyrin and Indira on board, and we hope to deliver a product of the high quality you've come to expect from these extremely talented community designers. So, again, welcome Wyrin!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (2)
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This will be so fun!
10/23/08
Hi all! :)
Thank you for your big, warm welcome, Alex!
Yes, it is true folks. I have just gladly accepted the honour of taking over Alex's torch in order to complete the conversion of the upcoming book The Third Sign into a game using the NWN2 toolset. It is a very exciting project, for so many reasons. Most of all, it is a bold endeavour to present in a more interactive form a gripping piece of fantasy literature.
There is a lot to be done. Thankfully, Alex has paved the way most elegantly, so I will have a steady foothold when I continue working on TTS. Furthermore, I feel safe from knowing that Alex will remain as a kind of unoffical advisor for the remainder of the project. Also, it may very well be that I will have an extremely competent co-developer by my side, as I proceed in my work to bring TTS to completion. We will get back to you on that, as soon as we know more.
As of now, I am reading up on the nation of Klune, as well as enjoying Alex's design docs! Soon enough, I will get back to the toolset and create entirely new sights. I look forward to sharing with you some of those areas right here!
Indira Lightfoot
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Posted By indira :: Comments (4)
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Welcome aboard, Indira Lightfoot!
10/23/08
Anyone who keeps track of the NWN2 community's activities will doubtless know of Indira Lightfoot, the prolific forum poster and author of the recently-released (and well-received) Trial and Terror module, a 10 hour adventure for epic level characters. Well, Greg and I have been fortunate enough to capture Indira -- we held him captive in a cage without food or water for 2 weeks, and he finally gave in and agreed to help out with The Third Sign module conversion.
Indira will actually be gradually taking over as project lead due to my own schedule becoming incresingly busy. The first portion of The Third Sign NWN2 mod, which will be all my work, will be released in the coming months -- in the meantime, while I polish this first installment, Indira will be getting up to speed in terms of the project and starting in on the remainder of the novel conversion. You can expect to hear an announcement from our new team member on this blog in the near future.
Greg and I are very excited to have a talented and enthusiastic designer like Indira on board. Stay tuned for more team news, both from Indira/Greg and, potentially, regarding yet another acquisition for the TTS development squad!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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An excursion and another screen
10/14/08
First, another screenshot from The Third Sign:
I should hopefully have plenty of time to get more TTS development work done and to post more pretty pictures this week, as I'll be away from school visiting a well-known game-design company's top-secret headquarters. In the free-time I'm anticipating having in the hotel, I'll hopefully be able to get some quality development work done.
Until Saturday (when they fly me home), adieu!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Screenshot!
10/13/08
By some miraculous twist of fate, I've managed to fix my NWN2 issues -- check my personal blog if you want to know the gruesome details. This meant I had a chance to go in-game and take some screenshots of the latest area I've been designing. Here's one for your enjoyment:
I'm pretty happy with the way I've gotten the textures to work out here. It's a fairly large area with both "rural" and "city" portions to it (it's a "Gate" area, so we have both inside and outside the city), but I think I've balanced things well environment-wise. I really like the sky and lighting in particular; it'll all make sense once you get to this area in-game. Anyhow, more screenshots as development warrants! Let me know what you think!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Back in business.
10/6/08
In the wake of an unfortunate experience involving patch 1.13, several uninstall/reinstalls, 2 lost areas, and much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I'm back in business with a working toolset (albeit version 1.10). I've been hard at work chipping away at the redo's of those two areas; both are looking far better than the originals did, so losing the first versions was probably a blessing in disguise.
Screens to come as I get'em!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Busy, but quiet
9/15/08
Sorry for the recent lack of updates: things have been busy with school being back in session. I've been plugging away on TTS, and I promise I'll have more shiny screenshots and juicy tidbits available soon.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Polishing.
8/30/08
I did a test run through Klune Anor to see what was working and what wasn't. Lots of stuff was working -- some wasn't, too. :) I've fixed all the issues I've encountered thus far, though, and I've snapped a few screenshots for your viewing pleasure. Welcome to Klune Anor!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (2)
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First Glimpses of Klune Anor
8/27/08
I'll let the screens speak for themselves. Enjoy!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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GenCon!
8/22/08
Hey all,
Just thought I would pop in to say that GenCon, which I just got back from, was a blast--got the chance to do a lot of networking, meet a lot of great authors, and talk up TTS in both book and game form. And apparently people are really pumped up about this entire project, even the ones who don't play NWN--so that's a promising sign. Alex and I have had a chance to talk about what's next, and I've seen an early version of Klune Anor...you won't be disappointed when you get a chance to see it yourselves. :)
That's all for now--you can check out my site at www.gregoryawilson.com for a more complete report about various GenCon doings.
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Posted By greg :: Comments (0)
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Klune Anor almost done!
8/18/08
I'm nearing completion of the first major playable segment of TTS. Screenshots are on the way VERY soon, I promise!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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First sidequest done!
8/12/08
I'm definitely getting back into my development groove -- it's been a lonnnggggg time since I've had a truly awesome day in the toolset, but I knocked off loads of stuff today. From journal entries, scripts and conversations to blueprint creation, area design, decoration, and sound/music placement, I was a machine! I've completely finished off the first sidequest I've been working on, which means I can move on to the next one tomorrow, in addition to designing a few more stores and NPC's. Then it's a matter of starting the core path and I'll be really off and running!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (2)
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Podcast Interview
8/10/08
My and Greg's NWNPodcast interview with Jay took place this morning! It was great fun, and I'm in the midst of downloading the preliminary version right now to give it a listen. :) I'll give you fair warning: my voice is nowhere near as awesome as Greg's. We can't all be lead-singers in progressive rock bands!
Assuming all goes smoothly, the podcast should be the next one added to NWNPodcast's site. Sweet! I'll post again when it's up for real.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Impending Interviews and work on a city
8/9/08
I've been hard at work on the first major playable segment of 'The Third Sign', which takes place in the bustling market district of the city of Klune Anor during the Festival of Accession. To those unfamiliar with TTS's world, what this boils down to is lots of merchants and lots of tourists flocking in streets. There are many folk to interact with -- I think it should set the mood of the game nicely. You can expect screenshots of Klune Anor soon -- check back!
Additionally, as per today's entry's title, Greg and I will be interviewed by NWNPodcast about TTS in the very near future (at least, barring any unforseen difficulties, technical or otherwise). I also just sent back my responses for a Golden Dragon Interview for Moonshadows, so that should be available shortly as well.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Rendezvous!
7/19/08
I had the pleasure of actually meeting Greg and his family face-to-fiace earlier today in Burlington, where Greg was attending ReaderCon. It was really fun having a long conversation in-person as opposed to over Skype or email. And hey, they bought me lunch! As a poor, malnutritioned college student, free meals are always deeply appreciated. ;)
Seriously, though, it's great to have finally met my partner-in-crime in this venture! Here's hoping Greg feels the same way...!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (3)
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New website
7/6/08
Just letting everyone know that I've just launched my new website at http://gregoryawilson.com--all information regarding the book side of THE THIRD SIGN, as well as other writing projects I'm working on, can be found there. Please stop by and check it out.
Also, Alex is right--the opening cutscene does indeed look good, and much as I had envisioned it. A harbinger of good things to come, I'm sure!
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Posted By greg :: Comments (0)
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New Creature done
6/19/08
The last part of the opening cutscene was a cool plot-specific (and spoiler-ific -- hey, it rhymes!) creature that needed some custom VFX work done on it. Well, I did a lot of VFX work a few days back and I really think the new critter looks very sweet. I haven't taken screenshots or anything (and I probably won't, since it's very plottish), but the opening scene can basically now be officially declared done.
So, it's now on to scene two, where the player takes over! :)
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Opening cutscene (just about) complete!
6/13/08
The opening scene for TTS is just about done! I spent a few hours working through the latter part of the cutscene today -- I did a lot of script/VFX fiddling to try to get things looking right. Once music and sound effects are added, this I think this scene will be pretty sweet!
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Progress on Cutscene
6/11/08
I made a bit of progress on the opening cutscene, though I admit I've been mostly doing Moonshadows stuff over the past few days. I'll post here again when I have more to report. :)
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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Cutscene and Area design
6/7/08
I spent some time today setting up the opening sequence for TTS. I've got all the static cameras placed, and I finished the remainder of the terrain and texturing that was needed for the area in which the scene takes place. Finally, I created the first NPC of the campaign, outfitted him, and placed him. Such excitement! ;)
Overall, I'm pleased with the day's work. Tomorrow I'll do a bit more blueprint work along with some custom visual effect tinkering. Once that's done, I'll have all my "actors" ready, and I'll go ahead and script the cutscene itself.
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (0)
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First Screenshots!
5/31/08
The first area in which the opening scene of The Third Sign takes place is nearing completion -- there's still some decoration to be done before I can actually start scripting the cutscene, but I think it's looking pretty spiffy! Here are a few screenshots for your enjoyment:
Edit: I actually went back and changed the texture being used for the pathway -- this next screenshot reflects the change.
Questions and comments are welcome and encouraged! :)
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Posted By Alex :: Comments (8)
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Greetings!
05/25/08
Hello all,
Welcome to The Third Sign homepage, virtual home for The Third Sign game conversion! My name is Greg Wilson, humble author of The Third Sign, a fantasy novel due out in June 2009 from Five Star Press--and Alex Hugon, Neverwinter Nights modder extraordinaire and member of the Ossian Studios development team, will be converting my novel to NWN2 module form over the next year. As a gamer myself I've always been a NWN fan, and I feel fortunate to have gotten someone of Alex's caliber to put together this conversion.
We plan to have lots of pre-release information, goodies, places where you'll be able to buy the book after its release (and really, what could be more important than that? :) ) and other information, and so we hope we'll see you back here quite a bit. You'll also soon be able to find out more about this and other projects at both Alex's and my home pages, both of which we'll have links to shortly. Please feel free to comment on this page or drop us a line--and welcome again! We're excited about the future of this project, and we'll have a lot more to say as things move forward.
Best,
Greg
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Posted By Greg :: Comments (2)
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