Neane

Hello Fellow Spellhold members. Neane here for a special Modder Post.

Taig Dale ( The modder for the Thone of Bhall Part of the Imoen Romance Mod ) needs Banters for her v2.0 Imoen Romance Mod.
She is writting and editing it so that there will be no problems between the SOA and the TOB of the Imoen Romance Mod.

Here is more Info on the Topic: http://imoen.blindmo...c.php?f=3&t=119

And here are her words:

Hello everyone!

I'm writing dialogs, and one thing I realized is that (perhaps obviously) there's some NPCs that I rarely take with me and probably can't write that well.

So, I'm taking volunteers who would like to try their hand at writing some unique NPC dialogs between Imoen and other (Bioware) NPCs.

Notes:
- You have to be fluent in English.
- Just because you write something doesn't mean I'll include it. If I don't think it's appropriate, doesn't fit well, etc., I reserve the right not to include it.
- You don't get anything in return for it, other than a mention in the ReadMe/Credits if your idea / writing is used. And my gratitude
- You can volunteer for up to three NPCs, but put them in order of first, second, and third choice.
- I'll fill in the list on a first-come, first-serve basis taking into account your preferences.
- I'll want at least two unique interjections per NPC. They don't have to be about anything specific, but keep in mind the important events for the PC (i.e. Cernd's kid, Edwin's sex change) that might be worth commenting on.
- While we're at it, I'm open to interjections for the TOB part as well. I'll store them for later use So specify if you want to write for TOB or for SOA.

If you're interested... let me know!

The List

Aerie - Complete - no additional dialogs needed
Anomen
Cernd
Edwin
Haer'Dalis
Keldorn
Korgan
Jaheira - Done! Great stuff from DoomForge!
Jan
Lilarcor [the talking sword] - Done! Two dialogs by Abdel
Mazzy
Minsc
Nalia
Sarevok [TOB only]
Valygar
Viconia

And:

I would prefer to assign certain people to certain characters, for two reasons:

1) It's no secret that some NPCs (*cough*Minsc*cough) are more popular then others (*sneeze*Cernd*sneeze*). I'd like to avoid a situation where I end up with 25 dialogs for Minsc and Jaheira and 0 for Mazzy and Cernd.

2) It helps me see in advance who's working on what, so I know what *I* have to fill in. If I end up with every NPC covered by someone, then I know I don't have to worry about any NPC banters. If everyone avoids Cernd like the plague, I know to add it to the list of things for me to do.

Of course, if no one wants to sign up for a particular character, then my idea is screwed and I'll take what I can get.

Regarding placement of the dialogs -- you're right, that'll vary for the characters depending on where in the game it takes place. I'd hope that the author would tell me approximately where it'd need to go (e.g. "For Anomen, before his test"). If it's pretty generic, then I can stick it in anywhere of course.

End Quote.


And here is why she is making the v2.0 Imoen Romance Mod before finsishing the TOB part:

Good morning everyone,

Lord Mirrabbo has frequently said that, if he had time, he would go back and re-write the SOA part of the mod. He doesn't, of course.... but I might.
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1) Do you think the mod would benefit from some re-writing? What parts and why? (For example, I don't like the 'totally random' answers like the famous 'I have to poo!' line.)

2) What *functional* things would you add/remove? (Specifically, I was thinking of some cross-mod banters, perhaps.)

Nothing plot-wise would change. The plot is just fine, according to me and Lord Mirrabbo -- so the dreams, the torture, the lake scene... it all stays. The only possible thing that might effect the plotline would be the inclusion of romance conflicts from other mods. (e.g. Kelsey / Imoen / PC)

Of course, if you can think of something cool to add that doesn't actually change the plot, but still adds something new, feel free to share that, too.

And:

Reading through Thone of Bhaal and hearing the decisions on SOA has made me realize that the very first thing I need to do is re-read all of the SOA things. I need to have a very good feel for Imoen's voice and for the flow of events, etc. Otherwise, I run the risk of making TOB in another voice and another flow that doesn't match what's in SOA at all.

So -- I'm going to start with the re-writing of Imoen: SOA, and after that I should have a good enough grasp on everything to continue TOB.

The good news is, then, you'll get some new SOA stuff. The bad news is, TOB is going to be longer in coming.

And:

That's the goal. The one thing I really *don't* want to do, is either:

1) Create TOB in a completely new voice _or_
2) Create continuity gaps.

Re-reading is a *must* to avoid both of them. If I don't re-read, I won't have a good enough idea of Imoen's voice and personality to continue in the right vein, and I'll forget things which came up in SOA that haven't (yet) been implemented in TOB.

Re-writing is an attempt to address several issues, all based on the fact that when TOB comes out, I expect a LOT of people to be re-installing SOA for a complete playthrough experience.

1) There's grammar and spelling mistakes in SOA, even after several proofreadings.

2) Lord M himself has said that, if he'd had the time/energy, he would have re-written a good majority of SOA's dialog.

3) I agree about some of the complaints about writing style (notably the cursing, the large amount of action text, and the totally-off-the-wall CHARNAME response options that seem to be there just to be there and not have a driving effect on the story).

4) I'd like to add some story improvements, such as more differences in the female/male romance paths, more involved romance conflicts with the canon Bioware romances, and maybe (maybe) some minor cross-mod compatibility.

and lastly:

5) Per Lord M, most of the dialog in TOB will need to be re-written and edited -- the ideas are there, but the text is choppy.

So, if I don't re-write SOA, we'll end up with SOA's dialog being 100% Lord M and TOB being about 50% Lord M, which is going to create voicing issues. If I can make it where both SOA and TOB are about 50% Lord M / 50% me, the entire Imoen Romance experience should have a solid coherency and voice.

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I know that people aren't going to be terribly thrilled about it, since it delays TOB longer, but I'm hoping that having new game material and a new playthrough experience will keep people interested and that they'll appreciate having a (hopefully) better quality product at the end.

And, as clarification, Lord M's SOA won't be magically disappearing. It'll remain just as it is, and the new version will be simply completely separate, so that people can decide which one they like better and either have the "original" SOA experience or the "v2" one.

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So if you want the Imoen Romance Mod for TOB to come out during 2012, go and write what Bioware NPCs will say about <CharName> and Imoen's love that transcends all bounds of human law. Otherwise, Taig Dale will have to spend a year making Banters for Imoen Romance SOA v2.0, and she might not be able to finish Lord Mirrabo's TOB portion by two years!!
And while you are at it, write some bonus content for Imoen Romnace SOA v2.0
( Your writing can be written in Planescape: Torment Format.)