Birger's NWN Blog-Archive

Hey everyone. I won't be keeping this back any longer, since it's something I've been juggling back and forward with for the latest months. It's bad news I'm afraid, folks, but here it goes ... I've finally decided to end my mod-making hobby for NWN1 . Sorry folks. I know some of you may feel pretty sad and/or disappointed with this choice but I feel that I have to do this ... it feels like I've kept modding for far too long ... and in the years since when I released Surviving Horror 2 back in the end of 2006 , well ... they haven't been that creative in the mod-making department , I'll have to admit. The creativity that I possessed then simply isn't there anymore, in the same way as before, and I've been going back and forth between different mod-ideas: Angelic Life - a fantasy one, A Resident Evil mod , Insania Fabula ... and in hopes of finding my creativity again, I started Puppet Masters in order to distan myself from previous ...

Heh ... what's with the title , you ask? I dunno. Honestly ... I don't . ... ... just kidding there. ;) Of course I know what it means. :D Let me tell you: The title basically means that it has been decided that Voice-Acting will be featured in Puppet Masters AND Insania Fabula . I sent a mail to all associated actors/actresses that has been set up for PM and they all accepted to make VO for IF too. Awesome people, if you ask me. ;) The only one that hasn't answered this call yet is CJ Colins ... but perhaps his mail's broken ... or something . ;) We'll see how that turns out. That's all for now folks. Happy holidays to all of you! :) Berra out.

Well, as the title suggests ... I'm looking for writers for my current module-project Insania Fabula . I simply don't have that much time anymore to be able to write everything I want for the module. So, I am currently looking for any talented writer-individuals that would like to write some pieces for me. I'm looking for someone that would like to do the following: * Make a story & personality for a character that the author creates . *Come up with ideas for sidequests ( not required, just a bonus ) . * Use his/her imagination to come up with other dialogs that would be fitting to the enviroments & areas . *Basically no other restrictions ! Use your imagination! Do you think another new area would make a place for a great dialog? Let the author know ! That's about it, I think. So please, anyone that feels that the above text would be doable , let me know by sending me an email from THIS PAGE! Berra out.

Hey everyone. The poll regarding whether if I should finish Insania Fabula or Puppet Masters first has just been finished and the winner is: ... INSANIA FABULA! But it was a very close race ... I.F. 's victory was settled thanks to just ONE VOTE! The end results ended at 12 votes for IF and 11 votes for PM . Thanks to everyone who voted! Now when that has been settled comes the next question ... should I feature Voice Acting for this mod as well? I'll let you readers decide. You'll find the poll at the top of this page . Gimme your votes people! Berra out.

Hey again everyone. :) Hope you've been enjoying the Halloween module-project so far. I've personally not found the time to play it yet but I'm hoping to start first thing tomorrow . :) Guys and gals ... I've been thinking . You all know that I've hired (and are currently hiring) voice-actors/actresses for my NWN1 module Puppet Masters , right? Well, I've been having thoughts about perhaps making voice-acting for Insania Fabula as well since many people ( more than expected , really) has showed their interest in voice-acting for my mod . So, why not spread it out a bit? :) This won't mean that a voice-actor/actress can't have a role in both modules , of course. As long as the actor/actress in question feel like it, that's always fine by me. Actually ... it's pretty awesome , even. :) It currently seems as I am writing this that Insania Fabula may win in the selection of which module that should be finished first ... and why not in...

The work of a total of 25 different authors has finally been fully tested and released to the NWN-Vault! Awesome that so many authors (including me ) could come together to do something like this for Halloween 2008 . Be sure to be the first to check it out! :) Berra out.

Hey everyone. I just thought I'd do a quick post about some thoughts I've been having about where to go next with my module-creation-business . As most of you may already know, I've just completed my first NWN2 work which is going to be included in the BouncyRock-Halloween Event Module which is scheduled to be released sometime this weekend for Halloween . But where should I go next? I have a little trouble deciding. I currently have two NWN1 projects on the line and both are listed at the top of this site under "Current Projects" . I've also posted a poll there. This poll is going to let YOU READERS decide whether I should complete Isania Fabula or Puppet Masters first. So be sure to lend me your vote ... YOU can make a difference . :) I'm looking forward of seeing what you guys think. Berra out.

A scary scarecrow is hanging here ... creepy. (You'll find more screenshots at the end of this post.) My submission to the BouncyRock Halloween Project , "Berra's Estate of Horrors"; is finally COMPLETED! Man - that sure took more time than I had expected. :D It was a good thing that I had previous experiences from NWN1 because that helped a lot ... most things are actually pretty similar to the the Aurora Toolset (Toolset from NWN1) . Ahead comes my toolset experiences ... these may not make too much sense for someone who has never opened or developed something with the toolset but I'm trying to be as explanative as possible so you should have at least some clue of what I've been through but still, should you feel this is nothing for you, then go below the line I've written at the bottom in this post and read the rest from there ... so here it goes: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2/3 of the t...

Hey there everyone. I just wanted to let you all know that the BouncyRock Halloween House for NWN2 that I'm currently developing is almost done. I just have a couple of more stuff I need to add and various bugs/tweaks that needs to be fixed. I think most people should be able to enjoy my debut-NWN2 work but this short-mod will be a more rich experience for people who has already played my mods ... since I have various characters from Surviving Horror 1 & 2 , Calm before the Storm & A New Journey Begins featured in the mod. I gotta go now, so I'll make another post once I'm completely finished or almost done (a post which will feature info and a couple of screens, hopefully). EDIT: I just thought I'd let you all know that there's a dead-line for the halloween mods which is on this friday 17th of october . SECOND EDIT: The first dead-line was by Monday the 13th but God bless Jclef for letting us have a few more days. :) THIRD EDIT (17-18/10): I'm...

Hey there everyone. :) Since my last post I've been adding and mixing stuff to my NWN1 module Puppet Masters . I've changed/added a couple of things to the hak-file that I will use for the mod. Mostly stuff that will be featured for the main villian. ;) Pretty cool stuff, I'll have to admit. I've decided to use the Alternate Combat Animations v4.0 that was created by Ragnarok_mr4. That is a really cool hak-file as well. For those who hasn't seen or heard of it, it simply put adds more customizable combat animations to characters (and even to PCs!) like Ninja-stances , Samuraij-stances , Ogre/Orc stances, Fencing and loads of others. It now also features a load of new animations like, my favorite one, the Arcane-animations . It's basically that the character floats in the air with his/her arms crossed. Much like a Djiin or Genie. Really awesome. That's about it when it comes to mod-making. :) So, regretfully no progress on Insania Fabula yet. BUT ... I...

Hardcore-horror fans, like me, should really check out the NWN1 module "Vampire - Heaven Defied" . It has an awesome story, atmoshpere and a lot of creepy and disgusting situations that all horror fans will love. ;) Here's my comment from back at the vault : "This is an awesome mature-horror mod. Certainly not for people below 18, if you ask me since it contains various scenes of blood, gore, sex,*bleep* etc. but that's all mentioned in the descripion. As a horror-story, this mod does the cake very well. I'm used to horror but some scenes in this mod made even me feel very uneasy and disgusted, so applause to that skill even though I am not a fan of too extreme horror, like the lighthouse eremite for example. That's nothing I'd like to include in a horror work I make myself, since I find it too goddamn disturbring. :D Still, its fine when it's other people's work and I enjoyed getting a bit freaked out while playing your mod. :) The story also...

Hey again everyone. You may have noticed the new main picture at the top of this page. Isn't it awesome? :) It's the same I am going to be using for a Site-Ad ( *the box with various news at the main-page ) back at the Nwvault . Its the same picture I had featured before but this shows a lot more of the portrait. It's called "The Elephants" and was painted by Salvador Dali many, MANY years ago. His paintings are very surreal and it fits the the theme of horror very well, I think. Thus it fits pretty well for this site. :) You may also notice some other differences. Below the angel-picture to your right you'll now see a Visitor statistics-counter . It'll be pretty cool to see how many people actually read this stuff. ;) And if you scroll up a bit again, past the Berra Productions (YouTube Movies) - item, you'll see another new item. You can choose to become one of my devoted fans by choosing to follow my blog there if you like. It'd be hig...

Hey again everyone. I installed NWN2 again on my computer today. I've only had the original NWN installed until now ... but, since I'd try getting something done for the BouncyRock- Halloween Event I figured it'd be best to install it again and finally getting started. I've actually been missing the game now when I think of it. :D I also downloaded and printed ( ! ) Gilthonym's "Don't Panic: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the NWN2 toolset" . It is really useful, easy to understand, easy to read and all in all ... avery well done document! It's about 132 pages ( !!!! ) (but not that much text on each page , thankfully) so now you may figure how devoted I am to finally learning the NWN2-toolset . ;) Now when it comes to the progress of my current projects for NWN1 : I've not been able to work that much on Insania Fabula but I have done a REALLY LARGE portion of a conversation that introduces various main-characters . I've decided t...

BouncyRock-Entertainment (former Stygius & Misery Stone sites for NWN2 ) has issued a NWN2-event with a halloween theme . I thought since I am as I'd like to call it, "the master of horror" , I thought that this is really something that I should try and tag along with. The point of this event is that each author has to create his or her own house in the NWN2-world and make it very halloween-ish with a lot of ghosts, vampires, mad-toothbrushes ( ? ) and loads of candy. ;) I have currently no idea what I'd like to do and I have currently not started to try and learn the toolset either. :( The end date for the halloween-event is the 13th of October and I hope I'll get something done until then. At least I hope so. If you have any kind of ideas of what could be featured in Berra's room, then please feel free to let me know! :) You can all read MORE about all of this on the BouncyRock Halloween Event-forum ! Berra out.

My new favorite horror-author buddy Sam Dramstad a.k.a. " Kelkesh12345" has created a Remastered version of his Madman at the Ruins! mod for NWN1 . :) The original was good. I gave it an 8.00 vote but the remastered version manages to create such strong atmoshpere that even though I had played the original and knew what would happen, I still got a bit scared and pretty much drawn into the story in a horrific (positively, mind you) way. I can imagine how it could feel if one plays the new version for the first time (without playing the original first). :) Creepy stuff. I gave the remastered version a 9.25 vote and I urge you all to go and CHECK IT OUT . A side note though: you can gain some secret stuff if you carry with you the Axeman's key from the original mod and use it in the remastered version. Also, my fellow artist Archon (who created the CbtS wallpaper and the SH2 artwork ) has done a lot of progress on his DarkSun's Glare comic. It's a comic...

My fellow player/voter/artist Archon who made the Calm before the Storm Wallpaper to celebrate the release of CbtS (REMAKE) has just submitted his latest artwork to his website! This time, it's for Surviving Horror 2 ! I won't be ranting any more about it here, instead go to his pictures and give him your thoughts and comments RIGHT AWAY!! REMEMBER: YOU CAN COMMENT AS AN ANONYMOUS USER AS WELL! HERE'S THE LINK TO THE NEWS! HERE'S THE LINK TO THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM WALLPAPER! HERE'S THE LINK TO THE NEW SURVIVING HORROR 2 ARTWORK! I just KNOW you're all gonna love it. ;) Berra out.

Hey there eveyone. I recently played a very under-rated * module called "Mummy Dust" for NWN1 and I enjoyed it pretty much. So much that I gave it a 8.75 vote . The sad thing is that it was made way back in the end of 2004 and still no one had voted! It had about 380 downloads but no VOTES! Outrageous if you ask me. I urge you all to go and try it out . *an excellent module with few votes Here's my comment back at the vault : "Such a pity that no one has ever rated this mod. It's great! It has a very unique feeling to it and uses custom items/systems very well. One example is the ring. It is not just used for teleport but will help in certain puzzles as well! It ends up being a bit frustrating and very challenging at times since you have to be very precise in your movements and must have knowledge of exactly what you can and cannot click on in the NWN game. But I chose to oversee some of these elements since these elements tends to get pretty fun as well, ...

A new author to the vault named Kelkesh12345 has created survival horror modules similar to my "Surviving Horror series" . *I * was partly one of the reasons that inspired him of making these modules and it is great to see other authors create similar stuff. :) The author takes advantage of the D20 Modern Hak-files and this is one of the first mods that I have seen that have actually made a full-use of it's contents . If you like survival horror , Resident Evil , the Surviving Horror series or simply just horror, then be sure to download the two mods created by this new horror-author! :) Madman at the Ruins! Zombie Crisis 1 (Beta) And people, if you download any of his mods ; ***DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ONCE YOU'RE DONE!!!*** "The only way you can reward an author is through a VOTE and I know that it is highly appriciated by everyone ... both for builders AND for players. So people, be sure to vote on EVERYTHING YOU DOWNLOAD! One day, someone else yo...

I have finally fully released Calm before the Storm (REMAKE) ! With this release though ... another surprise came forth: A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS ( SEQUEL TO CALM BEFORE THE STORM ) HAS GAINED HALL OF FAME STATUS !!! TRIPLE YAY!!! :D BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD , PLAY AND FINALLY VOTE ON MY NEW REMAKE!!!! Finally has the one of my mods that is most deserving gained hall of fame. :) ANJB is my favorite right after Surviving Horror 2 . Berra out.

I have finally done everything that needs to be done with Calm before the Storm (REMAKE) . SO IT IS NOW READY TO BE RELEASED TO THE VAULT! I am currently doing some final preperations ... so it'll probably be released during the beginning of the week . I'll give you the link here once it has been fully released to the vault . Be sure to download it , play and VOTE!!! EDIT 2008-06-30: Here's the link for the module: LINK. It has not been fully released just yet but it should appear on the vault sometime tomorrow . Berra out.

I've been working on Calm before the Storm - REMAKE on and off during this month and it is almost completely finished . I have just a couple of henchmen dialogs that I'm planning to add, then there's only playtesting left . I've been thinking of perhaps having a beta test ... but I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps it's not necessary. Though if anyone is interested in Beta-testing of the NWN1 module "Calm before the Storm - REMAKE" be sure to let me know. Because if enough people give me a ring, then perhaps I'll consider doing a beta-test anyway. :) Berra out.

The time has come ... the time has come to finally reveal what my current secret project is . I told you earlier that it is something that both old and new fans would be able to enjoy ... it is also something that I have done in the past . The truth is that I am currently making: A REMAKE OF CALM BEFORE THE STORM , THE FIRST MODULE I EVER MADE!! See now? It's something both old and new players could enjoy, isn't it? :D Exciting huh? ;) So, what is this remake going to feature, you ask? I'll give you a quick check-list: * REVAMPED & EXPANDED DIALOGS . * A COUPLE OF COMPLETELY NEW DIALOGS . *NEW CUSTOM MUSIC FOR ALL AREAS . *A NEW HENCHMAN . * REVAMPED HENCHMAN-DIALOGS & COMMANDS . * IMPROVED ENEMIES AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF NEW ONES . *A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FINAL BATTLE & ENDING . *SOME QUESTS HAS BEEN EXPANDED WITH ADDITIONAL CHOICES . Also some things that MIGHT be featured: *NEW SIDEQUESTS . *NEW BONUS AREA ( THE REMAKE WILL CURRENTLY NOT INCLU...

I've finally finished most of the dialog ... a lot of work goes regarding dialog, that has to be said. So next: it's time for the combat. It needs to be fixed in a appropriate way. Heh, it's pretty hard trying to discuss module-work that you're still trying to keep as a secret ... BUT I might as well reveal it soon so that players knows what to expect. We'll see. But not in this post!! Muahuahau ... heh. :S In either case the next module-turn is the combat ... wish me luck. :D Berra out.

I've made a lot of progress on the secret project I mentioned earlier. I think I'm about half-way done ... or perhaps two thirds done. I'm hoping for a release day in perhaps a week or two ... and if I'm lucky, perhaps even before that . That really depends on how much enthusiasm I'm having and how much real-life work is draining me. :D In either case: it's getting closer . Berra out.

I've been pondering whether I should post these news or not ... but I ended up choosing to post it. :D I'm working on Insania Fabula as you all know by now but here comes a surprise ... I am also currently working on a secret project . As a matter of fact I HAVE been working on it this weekend. You're pretty curious of what it is, right? :) I'm not telling. :D Not until it's done. A little hint, though: it is something that should please both old and new fans of my work. That's it. I'm not telling you anything else. :D Feel free to give me your theories of what this secret project could be ... I'm all ears. ;) Berra out.

Hi everyone. I have just finished and uploaded my latest horror-movie to YouTube. It's called "The Day I Can't Remember" and has been inspired by the Silent Hill games. So since my Surviving Horror series was ispired by those series as well, fans of my horror modules should definitely check my new movie out. It has a great story, just like those modules. So, if you enjoyed either of my Surviving Horror modules, be sure to watch "The Day I Can't Remember" movie once it has been released! It has not yet appeared on YouTube but I will give you an update once it is fully online. Stay tuned, folks. UPDATE: IT IS NOW FULLY RELEASED . CHECK IT OUT , LEAVE A COMMENT AND VOTE ; TODAY! Berra out.

I've decided to abandon the "other-world" ( an evil paralell-world that mysteriously appears at random occations ) concept for Isania Fabula . Instead, it will take place completely in a "normal world" (without magic, strange worlds, elves, dwarves, dragons etc.). A normal world like the one WE live in. This was the whole idea in the beginning but somewhere along the way, for reasons unknown I guess, I felt like I wanted to include the "other-world" once more. I'm glad I've finally decided not to. :) I wasn't too happy with the other-world I came up with for this mod ... and there was something that didn't feel right with my ideas. Thus finally, just for fun, I decided to think of the mod without this "other-world-concept" and somehow, magically or not, the whole idea felt a lot better. :D I've featured an alternative world in two mods already ( A New Journey Begins & Surviving Horror 2 ) and that might have been ...

More progress today. The first act has been finished and the first "scary-area" has also been finished. Two other NPCs ( the more mysterious ones ) have been introduced as has the main villain . I think many people will find the first nightmare-area quite impressive and I also think many people will be disturbed of how the main villain acts and thinks . At least that's what I feel. :D Next I'll be doing a chat scene with the different main companions/characters in the module that will eventually lead to the beginning of a disaster-scene and eventually the beginning of a chase-scene. :P I've also had thoughts of doing a short humour-module for NWN1 as well. I've had thoughts of perhaps doing it during the same time as I create Insania Fabula but I may also choose to create it later on. It'll be a lot more light-hearted module with occasional dramatic themes . And probably feature a romance or two as well. ;) That's all for now folks. Berra...

I've made quite a bit of progress today/tonight. The two first areas of the module are finished and three of the mod's NPC's has been introduced . So you could also say that the module's introduction is finished as well because the next thing I'll be doing will be the beginning of the ... scary stuff. ;) I've decided to feature the detective-approach I mentioned in earlier posts but I simply can't avoid to include Silent Hill-inspired elements , in other words; to include an evil paralell world of the current world. But I think players who has finished/played my Surviving Horror series will be satisfied with what I'll come up with. Some other news are that I will be including hak-files like Chandigar's Gothic Estates to stay true to my prime-inspiration; the Resident Evil series . :D And as far as I know, this hak hasn't been included in any modules so far. I'll also be including Some_ux's Boat's and probably the Airship...

I came up with a name for my latest module this weekend. I usally start to create a module first when doing a new module before actually coming up with a name for the story. Though sometimes it's easier to find out the name first. That differs a little. In any case, my latest module is going to be called (if I don't decide to change it later): Insania Fabula . What does that mean, you say? Well, it's latin and basically means " Insanity Story" . I've chosen that name since the main theme for the story is going to be "insanity" and basically also because the player-character will be telling the story during the course of the game. To avoid the risk of spoiling the story, I won't be telling you more than that. But as of now, I feel pretty satisfied with what I have come up with. And that's always good. :) On a side note - I've just started another blog that is dedicated to the artwork I have created during a few years. This blog ...

As you may understand by the title , module work has gone up and down the latest days. I've still not been completely satisfied with my story ideas. Instead of doing a "final fantasy" module I decided to go back to horror , my favorite theme I might add, which I thought would be a lot more fun. The latest predicament is that I've been juggling thoughts about if I want to include magic or do a module completely without it . And I think the latter will be more appropriate though occasionally unexplained events will occur that will have a perfect natural-explanation later. I'm not completely sure yet but this is what I've come up with so far. I think I've managed to find a pretty good story idea now that manages to feel pretty good. The main theme I've come up with for now is more like a "detective-approach" with occasional survival horror . I'm also thinking of including my "run-or-die" concept in this latest module as wel...

Hello again everybody. This is my new blog for my future as well as past NWN modules . You will still be able to view Berra's Live Journal but it will not be updated anymore. So if you want the latest news be sure to bookmark this page and return once in a while. To celebrate the release of my new blog I'll share some screenshots with you from Angelic Life, the NWN1 project I later decided to abandon. But I thought that you should at least have the opportunity to see them. They feature the henchmen from the game . I am currently creating a new horror module for NWN1 instead of keeping on working with Angelic Life . Be sure to check back for more news about it. :) Berra out. NOTE: THESE ARE IMAGES FROM AN ABANDONED PROJECT THAT WILL NOT BE FINISHED. Character names from left to right : Amora (Butterfly-race), Cattis (Cat-humaniod), Lorenzo (Half-Dragon), Cornelius (Gnome), Lenna (Human).