Ernie Noa's RPG Blog

I've posted about the Neverwinter Podcast Roundtable I was fortunate enough to participate in last month. The audio from the roundtable has been included in this months neverwinter podcast. Kudos to the Neverwinter Podcast team for the fine job they do. Their hard work is appreciated. Thanks also for inviting me to participate. Here's the link to Neverwinter Podcast #46 .

I've been busy playing Jedi Knight II with my youngest son, so very little modding work is being done, but there is some. I have some projects around the house this weekend so progress will be limited. Here's a picture of a sculpture my youngest son did. There are more on my personal blog. (see link at right).

Dungeons and Dragons has been a fixture in my life since I was 8 or 9 years old. Thank you Mr. Gygax for what has become a lifelong hobby and source of happiness for me. I greatly appreciate the wonderful game you created. ***************************************************************** By EMILY FREDRIX, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 20 minutes ago MILWAUKEE - Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69. ADVERTISEMENT He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax. Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies. Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of ...

The modding was light this weekend, but I got a few hours in. I'm continuing to blast through area design and layout for the mod. I've finished up the Port Leaton city interiors, and am working on what is the first major dungeon crawl of the mod. I'm keeping some parts of the original layout and will expand upon others. Should be pretty fun to work on.

Ever feel like you've been using the toolset too much? Here are some common warning signs. 1) You walk past the doors at your local hardware store and want to rotate them 45 degrees by clicking your mouse. 2) Your surprised when books on a bookshelf aren't one interconnected group, but are actual individual books. 3) You are startled when common objects have non-transparent bottoms. 4) You feel the need to bake your living room after re-arranging the furniture or rebake your front yard after mowing the lawn. 5) You can no longer change light bulbs, you spend all your time looking for the light source object and try to change the brightness. 6) You spend entirely too much time wondering if your dishes and silverware have been converted to environmental objects. Please post your own and contribute to the fun. (Note 2/28/2008 - people are adding to the list in the comments section. Absolutely hilarious stuff. You've got to read the comments for this post.)

No modding action last night. Looks doubtful until Friday or Saturday. Real life intrudes.

Ok, I'm pullin' the plug for the weekend. All in all it was a pretty light weekend of modding. I got a few hours in on Friday and a few today. Most of the weekend I was able to spend with my wife. My folks took the kids and my wife and I had the rare opportunity to have 24 hours of grown up discussion without fetching cereal or noodles. Don't get me wrong, for me the sun rises and sets with my children, but on those infrequent occasions when they are with someone else, I try to focus on my wife. It's nice to re-invest in each other so to speak. ... but back to the modding news. I spent most of my time finishing the palace then splitting it into three parts. It was running like a dog in the toolset and breaking it up was logical (from a layout standpoint) and will make it easy to work on later. I also finished the temple and the interior of an Inn of the Leaping Lizard. I need to do a few other building interiors, but don't feel inspired, just tired. Then a...