Frayed Knights: 2:30 AM Ambushes
As usual, I started losing productivity after about 1:30 AM. And after 2:00 AM, I should have called it quits. But I didn't. Because I was ... almost done. I am just testing now, see?

Yeah, right. So now it's almost 2:30 and I find myself walking into an ambush, not remembering how I got here.

When I open my eyes (after just blinking for a moment... I'm sure), I find myself in the hobgoblin bunker. I realize I was in the middle of testing something, but for the life of me I cannot remember going through the entrance, fighting through two waves of attackers (I have a cheat key installed that auto-kills all enemies... it makes testing a bit faster) to get to the landing where I am now subjected to scripted arrow fire.

Vaguely I remember what I'm supposed to be doing. I've bypassed two guardrooms to get to the split-level chamber. At least I think I have. Since I've apparently been sleepwalking through the dungeon, I can't be certain. So what is supposed to happen is that two waves of reinforcements should arrive after this battle - not exactly an ambush, but a rough situation. Then, going back, I have to make sure that the rooms they vacated to reinforce / replace the archers are truly vacated.

I'm not entirely certain if this is going to play out to my liking. There is definitely an optimal path to try and ambush-the-ambushers, coming around from behind (after emptying out the guardrooms) to avoid the arrow fire and kill the archers. But aside from trial-and-error, I'm not sure how to telegraph this strategy to the player. It's not a make-or-break strategy - it's definitely a winnable combat regardless - but it does make things a bit easier.

Not that this occurs to me much at 2:30 - make that 2:35 - AM. This is about my sixth or seventh run-through tonight, and I'm more concerned about the fact that in the first guardroom - the one that rushes out to attack you instead of waiting for you to open their door - is still rushing to attack even though I killed them all in the previous room. not that a player would necessarily realize it's the same group... except I need to leave their door open. Yes. The guards need to open their doors when rushing out to reinforce the archers.

One more thing to put on the long, long list of Things To Do.

I make some changes to the script. Save. Run. Select start, which is currently hard-coded to load the Caverns of Anarchy. Wait through loading. You think load times suck as a player? Try being a developer and having to reload every single time you want to test a change. You folks who have scripted up Neverwinter Nights modules know exactly what I'm talking about.

Uh... where was I? I zoned out again. What time is it? 2:40 AM. Crap. I have to get up in less than five hours for work. Using the insta-victory cheat key I run through battle one, battle two, battle three with two sets of reinforcements... and then test the guardrooms (with doors still closed) - HAH! They are as dead as they should be. Nothing left to do but loot the empty rooms.

2:44 AM. Enough time to hopefully get four-and-a-half hours of sleep. Of course, when my head hits the pillow at 2:52, I still have visions of hobgoblin ambushes and gameplay concerns about the fairness of allowing hobgoblins to shoot at long range with impunity while the player must charge into melee range. Fortunately, sleep comes fast.

And the alarm clock goes off almost as fast, in subjective time. The day job beckons. Or, rather, demands. It's paying for this lifestyle, after all.

This is the life of a part-time indie game developer. Of this one, at least.

Labels: Frayed Knights, Geek Life, Indie Evangelism

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 7:00 AM (Permalink)