Kinslayer's Guide to Playermade Content

[Kinslayer988]

Kinslayer's Guide to Playermade Content

Hi everyone, as someone who was always eager to make things as a player, I wondered how to contribute. I didn't understand what I was doing at the time, and found few resources. I decided not to build, but now that I have devoted time to build I am surprised how easy it is. If you want to build custom content for EFU, I am more than happy to oblige in interpreting player content into server content.


What can I make?
What EFU can always use more of is explorable content, quests, in-game dungeons, and scripted systems. To define:
- Explorables are areas that spawn in the world based on EFU's in-game timer. Explorable cycle for the tags in the area. Content resets when the server resets.
- Scripted Quests are static quests found in the world where players must complete a certain objective, and then collect a reward. The quest resets anew after.
-  In-Game dungeons are static dungeons that can be found in the gameworld. These are expected to be completed once and removed, unlike the other two.
- Scripted Systems are a combination of scripts that allow for something unique in the gameworld. A puzzle, a new type of quest, a special feature, etc. This is the least needed and if you want to do this you will HAVE TO talk to one of our DMs in our Discord's #player-workshop first.


How do I make this? I don't know any of the connecting scripts!? What if I want to use extra features like climbing or underwater?
I know that you don't know the connecting scripts that make EFU work. Let me break it down for you. EFU has many scripting systems that stores info on our online database. There is no way for you to connect your content to ours without it. So don't worry about it! I will personally (unless I am not around) connect the content. If you have an EFU custom feature that needs to be implemented, tell me where and I will put it in for you. I will do my best to work with players to make sure your content comes into the game the way you want it, complete with all of our bells and whistles.


Custom Features Include:
- Climbing (You have to tell us yes or no)
- Loot tables (EFU uses a system where loot is stored in a container. When another container is opened, it pulls an item from the storage container. Simply put the loot reward you want to give in a container. Label the container with the loot as lootcontainer, and the containers you want players to open for loot as lootreceiver. Make sure the lootcontainer is in an inaccessible corner)
- Ambient Area Description (We are able to set triggers to certain places where when a player walks through it, they receive an ambient message. If you would like that, name the trigger as Ambient Area Trigger and when sending the area in, send us your descriptive text and if there are any restrictions on who gets it)
- Underwater (You have to tell us yes or no)
- Environmental Effects (EFU has a number of weather effects such as blizzard, storm, and wild magic zones. if you want one, tell us which. You can't have all of them.)
- Special Traps (We have some special traps such as rockfall, pitfall, teleport, spawn monster, etc. Tell us if you want one and label it in your module)
- Certain puzzles (While we have a few puzzles such as pillars and colors, you would likely need to script your own puzzle features)
- Visual Effects (We use a tag system that changes the visual property of both NPCs and objects. If you would like for an object to be affected by a visual effect, such as shadowshield or barkskinned, make notes when sending me the content)
- And more... (We have many unlisted custom features that if you find something ig not listed, PM me and we can talk about it)


OK! I am ready to make my custom content. How should I start?
The best way to start is to draw a map of what you want to make, along with a feature list. Listing your npcs, items, objective, and story. When you have the base of your content ready, it is time to implement it in the aurora engine. if you are unfamiliar with the engine, my best advice is to play around with it on your own. It is easier to make content once you understand how it works. I suggest that you run this by other players and/or a DM in #player-workshop when you are ready. I will separate my advice into the various types of custom content:


Explorables Content
While complex for people who focus on its scripting nature, explorable content is by far the easiest content to make. Explorables are areas that spawn in the world based on EFU's in-game timer. Explorable cycle for the tags in the area. Content resets when the server resets. What this means is that you have to build a small scenario that resets with EFU's reset.

When designing an explorable:
- Create a particular scenario. Lets divide scenario into: Ambiance, battle, and trade. Ambiance explorables focus on setting a mood or tone particular to the area. Battle explorables focus on an encounter with an enemy (If you want an EFU monster, tell us. If you made your own, put them in the module). Trade explorables focus on a trader NPC/Object that the player can purchase special items from (you need to make your own shop, we will not make it for you unless it is one of our already made shops).
- Use one module area. An explorable area usually has 2-10 separate scenarios within them. Keep scenarios to 2x2 to 5x5 tiles large. If you want to go bigger, look at the In-game dungeon advice.
- Create a tangible risk/reward for each area. if a player is talking to an NPC, don't give them 1,000 experience points or if a player kills a goblin don't give them a super sword. Likewise, don't put a 'Unkillable behemoth' meant to grief players into your battle explorables.

Scripted Quest Content
Scripted quests are one of EFU's key pillars. They are complex in the surface, and rely on the aurora engine, and efu's custom online data. It would be impossible player-side to make a 100% compatible quest, so you will need someone on the DM team to help make your dream quest a reality. But first, lets make sure that you can do everything you possibly can on your end, and thus make integrating your quest eezy-peezy.


1. Set up a theme, power level, and objective.
- Theme Examples: A Satyr's Wood, An Animatron Gone Mad, Glimpsing Into the Void, Demonic Clothing, Bludgeoning Only, Girl Kidnapped By Goblins
- Common Level Groups: 2-4, 3-7, 4-9, 6-12
- Objectives: Save a Damsel, Kill a Boss, Protect a Ranch, Defend a Leyline from Invaders, Explore a Cave, Talk Down a Mad Wizard


2. Pick a tileset and box out the area
- Quests should typically be 10x10 tiles large, with some deviation depending on power level.
- The time it should take to finish a quest is often dependent on the difficulty, size, and quest level. The higher difficulty a quest, the longer it is likely to be. I suggest that you keep your quests around the 45 minute mark. If you wish to make a longer quest, understand that some players may become fatigued or disinterested after the 45 minute mark unless you can keep the player excited and promise them something special for their efforts.
- Try to use only one area for your quest. If you wish to go bigger, understand that it will take more effort to get it integrated with our server.


3. Create your challenge
-  Challenges can be environmental, monster based, or trap based. Being able to combine these elements lead to an interesting quest.
- Your environment should revolve just as much around battle as it does immersion. Understand how players will act in your environment is key. Are there choke points? Will players be playing cautiously or will they run through the open space? A notorious example is taken from EFU:A long ago, with the Orcs 1 quest. In it, players had to fend off a horde of orcs attacking their exposed position save for a tower. However, players did something funny. They found a rock in the corner and managed to completely block line of sight while taking on only a few orcs at a time. It broke the quest completely and had to be changed. Be mindful of your environment while building.
- Monsters will be the core of player engagement. It is difficult to build a balanced monster, but here are a few helpful tips. It is much better to have higher ab and lower damage, than to have high damage and low ab. Depending on the quest, keep your monster HP high and their AC low. It makes attacking the monster feel much more rewarding. When designing your monsters focus on a gimmick/theme. An orc berserker has high strength and an axe, but has low HP. While they can deal a lot of damage, they can be hurt easily.
- Traps go hand in hand with environment. Some players love traps, others hate them. Lucky for you, the DM team loves traps, but not always in the traditional way. EFU has a number of custom trap features including: defensive obelisks, magic shooters, spell projectors, and custom traps. If you would like to use those, please name the object/trap in the module as the name of the object you want. So name a tower defensive obelisk and we will make it an obelisk. Traps can add a great amount of difficulty on quests, so focus on where you use them. It is better to put high damage traps on objects rather than covering a whole hallway with 1d100 traps. The less a trap does, the more you can put them around.


4. Start Adding!
- Use builder's notes and stick to them, else you get a quest with a weird identity
- EFU's quests use the nwn encounter system to function. What this means is that the encounter pulls NPCs from the creature palette and spawns them at a certain area when players walk over the encounter trigger. Remember to place your encounters ahead of where the enemies spawn (unless they are assassin types).
- Try to build around what EFU systems you are missing. If it is integral, we will try to work with you hand in hand to make sure your quest's vision meets ours.
- Reflect on steps 1-3 again to make sure you are on track.


5. Sending it In
There will be a big send-in section up ahead detailing what to do to send it in.


In-Game Dungeons
Imagine explorables, except they can be done only once and are larger than a scripted quest. EFU has had many In-Game dungeons in its history. Some examples include the Mad King's Oubliette (EFUM), Castle Avgardii (EFUR), Thultanthar (EFUM), the Illithyri Crown Dungeons (EFUM) and Traensyr (EFU1/EFUR). These areas are expansive and are often complete with traps, high power enemies, tricks, hidden stories, and something for players to do. They are not scripted quests, and don't reset. Players will be expected to complete these areas over multiple resets, with various checkpoints to save their process (keys, passwords, puzzle answers, etc). These areas are ambitious undertakings and I cannot recommend them for newer builders.


Some things to take in mind while building this:
- These dungeons are a massive undertaking and I suggest you run the idea past a DM first to find a combined vision for the dungeon in the gameworld.
- Understand what your players would want for their investment in your dungeon. Is it some massive treasure, rumors of a magic item, some puzzlesolver's challenge, a lore secret (less likely) or a big fantastical boss encounter.
- I cannot recommend this for newcomers because you will very likely NEED to do some scripting if you want to include custom puzzles, riddles, etc. EFU likes to keep its codebank clean so if we can do it in our system all the better.
- When building think about how the dungeon will interact with the main world. Is it a dungeon hidden in the Dark Lake? Was an entrance dug up by miners? Do you get to it through a strange portal? Who made that portal and why? Keeping these in mind helps your dungeon better integrate with the gameworld. An example of something appropriate would be the lair of a famous thief who wants to challenge other rogues, the den of a werewolf and its coven, or the caverns ruled by an estranged half-beast druid. An example of something inappropriate would be the home of a demigod, the den of a dragon, or a gateway to literal hell/elemental plane. While EFU is fantastical, we try to place a limit on these big world-impacting challenges.
- Understand that the dungeon is a contained experience, and will likely not be affecting the gameworld outside of a text announcement/rumor of its existence to entice players.


Scripted Systems
The reason why scripted systems are the least likely is that EFU tends to keep a clean codebank, and sometimes playermade systems can collide with that. If you would like to code a system for EFU it is best to talk to one of our script-savy DMs (you will know who is one if they redirect you or not). Talk out what kind of system you are creating, and if it would work well with the rest of the server. We know you want alchemy, we know you want to do a custom smithing system, but sometimes that just doesn't work with the design of the server at the time. It is better to keep scripted systems minimal and concise. An example of some great secluded features include:


- The Gould Wheel (Pay coin to spin lever for a chance to win prizes)
- Nghelion's Sphere (A long ranged communicator)
- A Scripted Sequence (Some of the special sequences of the 'Distant Shores' quest)
- Daily Merchant System (A merchant that changes his goods every reset)
- Making A Literal 'Lights-Out' Game IG (Look up the puzzle 'Lights-Out')
- Scripting a 'DIE' Barrel (Try to make your very own click and die object)
- A Boss You Can Only Hit By Certain Elements When He Changes Colors (Please don't steal Akmatt's wet dream)
- A Boss You Cannot Kill Normally (That this existed is something you Kant believe)


Some advice:
- Talk about it. Seriously, talk to a scripting DM or better, your fellow player in #player-workshop. Tons of people have knowledge on the niche Aurora Engine's scripting and there are many guides online. The community is a great resource if you get stuck scripting.
- Don't go too big. Focus on a finite system that you can port into the EFU world. If you want to add a big feature you will need to talk to us first. Stay away from things like new alchemy, smithing, custom haks, and server wide systems.
- Test your systems before you send them in please.


Sending In Your Project
For ease of sending in your project, please PM it to me through the forums instead of through Discord.


- Keep your project on one module, and focus on one project at a time. It is much harder to implement your content if you send me multiple projects at a time. Send in your content via PM and keep it on one module. When it is properly integrated IG and you can walk through it, send in your next project.
- Your module should contain the area, any custom enemies/items, and any custom scripts. Remember to keep custom scripts to a minimum.
- Try to follow these guidelines:


[hide="Kin's Custom Explorable PM"]
PM TITLE: Player Name - Custom Explorable - Custom Content Name


Attached File: Module (Module name should be Playername_Projectname)
Project Name:
Theme:
Number of Explores:
Basic Info On Each Explorable:
EFU Required Features:
Pictures of Where Features Are Needed:
[/hide]



[hide="Kin's Scripted Quest PM"]
PM TITLE: Player Name - Scripted Quest - Custom Content Name


Attached File: Module (Module name should be Playername_Projectname)
Project Name:
Synopsis (short):
Quest Type (Delivery, Survival, Kill Boss, Talk to NPC, Explore, etc):
Difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, Insane, Impossible):
Expected Length (In Minutes):
Level Range:
Questgiver:
Quest Name:
Journal Entry Description:
EFU Required Features:
Pictures of Where Features Are Needed:
[/hide]



[hide="Kin's In-Game Dungeon PM"]
PM TITLE: Player Name - In-Game Dungeon - Custom Content Name


Attached File: Module (Module name should be Playername_Projectname)
Project Name:
Theme:
Place Of Entry:
Description:
Dungeon Walkthrough:

Difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, Insane, Impossible):
Expected Length (In Hours):
Custom Scripts Used (Explain functions and use):
EFU Required Features:
Pictures of Where Features Are Needed:
[/hide]



[hide="Kin's Scripted System PM"]
PM TITLE: Player Name - Scripted System - Custom Content Name


Attached File: Test Module (Module name should be Playername_Projectname)
Project Name:
DETAILED Description of System (You will have to explain how your entire system works, and what it does):
Number of Scripts Used:
EFU Required Features:
Pictures of Where Features Are Needed:
[/hide]


And More...
I understand that what players can offer to help with is without bounds. If there is something not listed above that you would like to work on such as a perk, a class feature, a subrace, summoning theme, a custom lair, or something else, you will need to discuss it in #player-workshop with players and DMs. If you have an idea you like but are unsure on what you want to do, run it through the suggestions forum with a presentable write-up. I want to do everything within my power to see player efforts integrated into the gameworld. If you have anymore questions please go to #player-workshop.


A complete developer process through designing a custom quest coming soon.

[Kinslayer988]

https://neverwintervault.org/sites/neverwintervault.org/files/project/690/files/toolset_manual_v1.06.pdf

A good source for new builders!