VFX

IskatuMesk · VFX

I've begun creating my own and modifying existing VFX from both normal NWN2 and the VFX pack. It's actually pretty easy, just time consuming that I need to keep restarting the editor to recognize changes in the .zip file.

My VFX will have the abbreviation "mom" for Mansion of Madness. Sorceress Ashura may release them as a part of her VFX pack. I am creating them as I need for my module, so there will be some pretty strange and unique stuff in here. So far I've created 4 usable effects, three of which are intended to be given to monsters or characters to give them an aura-like effect. The other is a glowy mass of pretty blue lights (Not the ones at the crystals, which are from Ashura's pack) that I am going to be using for charged "residue" from the city-sized dimensional gates used by the Forces of Evil throughout the campaign, but I can see it being useful for any ambient magical area or the like.

Upcoming effects include the Bloodfire effect, which will be used for Elite Gamash of the highest order, Isadorians (demonic lizardmen), and other really evil individuals, some edits of the Star Rings for usage of the Dimensional Gates and the Stormpire, and whatever else I can come up with.

Here's a screenshot. From left to right, evileffect00, holyeffect, mightyevileffect. The blue glowy stuff floating around is the ambclusterglowblue, which has quite a large radius.

Here's two screenshots. Ignore the raid boss, Hogger, and the odd lighting in the back. It was the only place in the Stormspire I could get good lighting in.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5497/nwn2ss123106110101oq8.jpg

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8907/nwn2ss123106110043jd5.jpg

I'll upload the VFX once I have more completed, possibly later today.

Also, somewhat on topic, I plan to do a video self-interview for my LoL community, which will also cover Mansion of Madness and what I plan to do with it. I'll make that video available here as well, so you have some idea just how insane I am.

Dokes in my coke.

Update -

Some more stuff.

http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/1340/nwn2ss123106121828hc8.jpg

Includes the Bloodfire effect and a Hellgate portal. Unfortunately the portal ring doesn't seem to turn with the helper when you try to turn it, so it has a fixed direction. :\

SorceressAshura

They look great Iskatu, yes, the editor is pretty powerful when you know the basics. Keep it up, you'd be surprised how many people will have other ideas for your vfx.

IskatuMesk

Heh, wish I could make the sky light up with lightning that comes down. No idea how to do that yet, though Razz

Gonna try to record some of these in motion for a promotional video.

IskatuMesk

I went out and did the retarded.

http://files.filefront.com/MoMtestavi/;6452525;;/fileinfo.html

Take a glimpse at some of the stuff I took in motion while at the same time seeing how my out of date rig still manages to handle the stress of NWN2 AND fraps going with respectable results.

And if you're curious, no I did not do the music for that video. Also I have no idea why anything even remotely sharp in video quality takes up so much freaking space.

SorceressAshura

*Looks at FlashGet, downloading avi. Kicking it* Hurry up! ... I wanna see.

SorceressAshura

Well the sound I can hear, but for some reason I have a problem seeing anything. Says it cant decompress the avi... I use Real Player.

IskatuMesk

Eh... real player? That is pretty dated.

You need the Xvid codec. Alternatively you could use the Videolan VLC player.

SorceressAshura

LOL I though so... where can I download it? I hate Real Player.

IskatuMesk

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

That should set you on the right road.

SorceressAshura

Awesomeness. We'll we will see when its done d/ling. teehehe

SorceressAshura

Thats pretty cool. I like it. Theres alot you can do with it though. Adding different clips of zones, (hiding the nwn UI. hehe)... How did you make a movie form of the game?... I've seen alot of people do stuff like that and always wondered how they did it.

IskatuMesk

You can hide the UI? How?

As for recording, I use a utility called Fraps. The catch with this video is that fraps is a power hog, and I'm running a system that NWN2 SHOULD be lagging on, but isn't until I run fraps, and even then it runs respectably.

As for different zones, if I can kill the UI in DM mode I'd do that.

This is mostly just to show my new effects.

SorceressAshura

IskatuMesk

Yeah, I was looking through your FX, and at the star rings, and I was thinking, "How would I go about making a realistic portal?" So, I figured, well, I'll make one of these rings verticle, and then I need a core. I stumbled across a random effect you made and with a bit of tweaking came out with that core. The lightning was something that came to me at then. "This will look sick!" and it's really an impressive sight ingame.

That is an idle gateway - active ones will have more lightning and glow.

As for fraps, you can either download it or buy it, depending on your moral standing of that sort of thing. If you want to buy it, it will cost a hefty penny and your computer might not be capable of handling it IE if NWN2 hammers your comp pretty hard fraps will annihilate it.