Later today is our first session.  A few housekeeping items:

1.  I've posted Important Campaign Information, part 2.  Please look it over.

2.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. U.S. EDT (4:30 p.m. PDT).  The first part of the session will be used for character creation.  The server will also go up about 10-15 minutes early in case of any connection problems, so feel free to log in early if you want, although it is not necessary (but please be on time so that six other people aren't waiting for you).  With that said, please take your time once logged in, and don't feel rushed to get your character set up.   I know what it is like to set up a spellcaster, for example, when you think everybody is waiting for you.

 3.  When you show up in the starting area, I will be giving out starting gold per the official 3.5 edition D&D rules, as follows: Barbarian 100 gp, Bard 100 gp, Druid 50 gp, Fighter 150 gp, Monk 13 gp, Wizard 75 (I think that covers all the classes we have in the campaign).  There is a room off of the start area with some starting merchants.  These are set up to buy and sell at 100% of listed price, so you can sell back any items you made a mistake on.

 4.  I will also be giving you the HABD bleeding tools (bandages to stop other players from bleeding, a rulebook, a death statistics item) when you log in.

 Any questions, please ask. {mos_fb_discuss:14}

IMPORTANT - HOLD OFF ON DOWNLOADING THE PWC FILE (UPDATE - IT IS OK TO DOWNLOAD NOW.  AS EXPLAINED IN THE NEWS ITEM ABOVE THIS ONE, RE-RUN WORLDGATE IF YOU'VE ALREADY RUN IT ONCE, IN ORDER TO DELETE OUT UNNECESSARY FILES.  THIS SHOULD TAKE ONLY A FEW SECONDS) .   I discovered a big bug (crash causing bug) in my module.  Fixing it will likely cause the pwc file to be dramatically smaller.  If you've already downloaded it, then the next time you run WorldGate (once I fix the pwc file), you probably won't actually be downloading anything new, but instead WorldGate will actually be deleting files (so you're not going to have to redownload anything, most likely).

The boring details if you are interested: A module can be loaded in the toolset in "directory" mode or in "module" mode.  "Directory" mode is basically what it sounds like - if you look at your module (one saved in directory mode) in Windows, it is not packed as a single file, but is saved as a directory, with a bunch of files within that directory (the files being every part of the module - walkmeshes, creature blueprints, scripts, etc.).  "Module" mode, on the other hand, saves all those pieces into one file with a .mod extension.  Most builders build in directory mode, as it is much faster, and less prone to crashing.

The catch - unlike the game client which you play on, the standalone nwn2 server can only run a server in module mode - it can't run a module saved as a directory (although this will change in patch 1.06).  Thus, for example, I could test the module just fine on my machine, as the game client would load it just fine.  But, when a builder is done building for good in directory mode, he has to convert his module over into module mode, or use a community tool to pack the necessary server files as a .mod file that the standalone server will understand.

This is where my problem was discovered - every time I tried to save our module as a module (i.e. as a .mod file), the toolset crashed, and gave me an error.  This was a problem obviously, as I couldn't convert it into the required format to move it over to the server and run it there.

After a couple hours of digging, I think I have found the problem.  Somewhere along the way, a .mod file was introduced into my module directory.  Thus, whenever I tried to save my module as a .mod file, it ran into trouble (I'm assuming because you can't have a .mod file within a .mod file).  The .mod file in question was a version of the module from long ago, back when I built in module mode.  I'm not sure if a bug in the toolset introduced the problem, or my own carelessness.  Basically, without realizing it, I was trying to save a module file within a module file.

In any event, I've stripped the offending file from the module, and the module appears to be running (and saving) fine.  So, I am going to do a bit more testing to be sure, and then post a new .pwc file.  As noted above, this new file will likely contain what was in the old file, MINUS what was in the deleted file.  So, for those who already ran WorldGate, running it to update again will likely just cause it to delete the unnecessary portions of the file

Sorry for any inconvenience.

{mos_fb_discuss:14}

I've tested the new pwc file extensively, and all seems to be in order once again, so it is back up and ready for download through WorldGate.  Please get it now.  It is dramatically smaller than the first "final" release (if the news item below this one made any sense, you'll know it is because the old pwc file basically was for TWO modules - one within another.  This update fixes that).  Sorry for any inconvenience.  Chalk this up to the learning curve.  If you haven't run WorldGate yet, you can run it following the instructions in this thread.  If you've already run it, then running it again should only take a few seconds, as all it needs to do is clear out the redundant files mentioned in the news item below this one.  You will also get the warning message explained in the instructions thread.  Just click "Yes" to proceed at that point.

This whole snafu highlights the beauty of WorldGate - normally, you would have needed to download the entire 114 MB revised pwc file, even if you already downloaded the prior file.  Because of WorldGate, you actually don't even need to download anything when you run it this time (if you've already run it once).  WorldGate discards the removed files, and reassembles the pwc file.  Barring any more problems, any more updates to the pwc file before Sunday will be added material, not changed material (i.e. I will not be changing current parts of the module that you have already downloaded; I will only be adding to it, if that). {mos_fb_discuss:14}

The Naeldor Campaign will make use of the DMFI tools. The DMFI tools add features like languages, emotes, and player messaging to the interface. For example, if your intelligence is high enough, when you log in for the first time with your character, you will get to select extra languages that your character speaks. You will then be able to use the interface to speak that language, and only other characters that understand the language will be able to understand and converse with you when you speak that language. Instructions on downloading and installing DMFI can be found here, just below the WorldGate link. As far as I can tell, installing DMFI has no adverse effect on your game when playing non-DMFI modules. I had it installed on Sunday when we played through the official campaign, and the only difference was that one of my right-click context menus had a DMFI option on it that didn't do anything, since DMFI is not installed on the official campaign.