I’m pulling the team back together for some patch work.  Zach is on board for some additional writing and companion interaction.  Laurence has been helping out with some bugs, and I’m taking care of the small stuff like minor bugs, encounters, balance, etc.

We’re going to try and put as much work in to make it worth a replay, so it’s going to take some time.  There’s been a lot of feedback and we want to address as much as we can.  At this point, we’re probably looking at mid-march, give or take a few weeks.

The module has been really well received so far.  It means a lot to know we’ve created something people are really enjoying.  We want to thank all of those who took the time to come back to comment and/or vote.

Polishing the Biosphere:

Meanwhile, in a galaxy far from Firglore, Jonny and I have been wandering around the Lunar Biosphere with our overalls and paint brushes – polishing up the place for a March opening. On one of our breaks, we decided to take a look around and stumbled into the main character’s dressing room. We started toying around with some of his cool stuff (like a grenade launching arm cannon – no Jonny, I will not pull your finger with that on…) when suddenly, we heard the sound of heavy metal stomp in behind us – and there we saw him…

Say ‘Ello to our Lil’ Friend!

LDU-1  stood there in his awesomeness.  As I looked, all I could see were our melting faces in his reflective mask.  But he was totally cool and we talked about the lame superbowl half-time show and how hard it is to find a good pub on the moon.

We’re almost done with the iPhone game we’ve been working on – Alex ported a demo build to the iPhone and it’s Slick – the fluidity of the controls is something people will notice right away if they’re used to playing sidescrollers on the iPhone/iPod Touch.  For those who’re interested, it will be on the appstore no later than March – more updates to come!

Some WIP Screenshots

READ ME

Thank you for the inspiration.  Thank you for the support.   Now go get slaughtered!

And that’s it, folks – Wow…

To be honest, it’s somewhat surreal to be this close to release. I’ve been working on this module, albeit off and on, for about 2+ years now.  It has become something I think about daily – characters and stories in a world which I feel both saddened and relieved to leave behind.   It’s as if the mists are clearing and I’m escaping Ravenloft myself!

But no cork-popping just yet – that’s for the next update!

And like all great adventures, we met a friend while traveling these unfamiliar and dangerous roads.  He hailed from the small village of Lucas Arts and was on a quest of his own (designing a game) and needed help finishing it.  So of course, we accepted this side-quest and have been working with him for several weeks now on Art, Sound, Story and Level Design.

The game is a Metroid/Megaman-Inspired title aimed to give a classic/nostalgic feel with some updated bells and whistles.  We’re shooting to release in Jan/Feb 2010, depending on how quick we can implement some final touches, but most of the game is complete (and FUN).  If you enjoy 2D puzzle sidescrollers, you’ll have a blast with this!

Here are some WIP Screenshots… More info will be posted in the coming days!

So this is a big part of why Misery Stone has been so slow out the door.  But timing-wise, with DA:O and all the other big NWN2 mods wrapping up, the delay isn’t that painful.  And let’s face it… who really cares about this dumb module anyway?

Meanwhile, I’ve been leveling up in 3ds max for our next project and managed to create and texture my first sword!  I’m also plucking the axe and poking the keys to generate some ideas for some of its music.  We’ll have some more info early next year about the new project.

Other than that, I’ve been sporadically engrossed with DA:O.  I’ll probably wait until some patches and plug-ins are developed before diving into the Toolset though.  I can’t wait to see what other builders come up with – very exciting stuff!

So I’m back to work – running through the lists of reported bugs.  The feedback from the testers has been pure awesome – their efforts will make this a much more polished experience for the players.  And seeing how I missed the Halloween release date by a mile, and Dragon Age is taking up most of the audience for the time being, I’m going to take my time and make sure I get it right.

Also, the DA:O pre-order arrived and I’ve been having quite a good time with it.  If you’re reading this blog, you most likely have already started playing it before I did, so  I’m sure you’re having a great time as well.

The only thing I’m having trouble with is some of the “un”natural areas.  For as much as they poured into this game, I was expecting more from the exterior terrains I’ve seen so far.  Does it bother me THAT bad?  Well, not yet… I hope they improve as the game progresses.

I tried opening the toolset, but quickly closed it after seeing the big blank screen surrounded by all those new buttons!

Meanwhile, the testers are definitely earning their tombstones.  The lists these guys are generating look scarier than the module itself!  So thank you guys, for your continued efforts in pointing out the broken, bad and ugly.

And while the module is nearing deployment, I’ve allowed my thoughts to stray & linger into other ideas -  If I do something for Dragon Age,  it’s going to be  small (5 areas) and simple (one quest) which will probably take an hour to complete.  Misery Stone is like the Goth chick you dated in high school… never again!

I should be back in business within the next few days, which will give testers a chance to build up their lists of findings, but this latest turn of events will certainly stall a Halloween release.  We’ll see what happens…

It’s probably due to how much I’ve been abusing the system lately without proper care and cleaning.  Serves me right, I guess.

If all goes well then, a Halloween release is imminent!