So, who's Gavin?

[EiriktheScald]

Eirik--

 

That link you sent me is fabulous. I'm only on the first layer, and it already looks a lot better. It seems the technique is very similar to soft pastels! Maybe I'll get comfortable enough with it to retry a certain skjald...

 

Thanks for that

 

Anytime! I think with a little practice you'll achieve the desired portrait. Then I'll take you up on your offer.

[berelinde]

Ha! If you do, I'll want one that isn't grayscale!

[berelinde]

My latest avatar is the portrait I'm going with for the time being. It represents the best effort I have been able to muster to date. It isn't perfect, but I'm trying to draw with a mouse (no mean feat for someone who is used to pastels), and I have reached the point of diminishing returns.

 

Naturally, if someone else can do better, I would be most humbly and eternally grateful, but any artistic talent I might possess can best be described by the words "enthusiastic amateur."

[Andyr]

See berlinde's avatar "Gavin, for Tutu."

 

Heh, oops. It looks nice! How big is the source image? Remember you need a larger portrait for the character record screen.

[berelinde]

The source image after cropping to the correct proportions (but *not* the correct size) is still larger than the epilogue-sized portrait for BG2, so it should be all right. Oddly enough, it also looks better as a .bmp than it does as a .jpg, but when you're uploading a file as an avatar, size matters

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[berelinde]

Gavin's family name has changed!

 

Due to the completely conincidental release of Wounded Lion's Morrow Gate mod , I have decided to change the name to Gavin Fife.

 

His portrait has also undergone subtle revision, as is reflected by my avatar.

[berelinde]

Done:

 

Banters

Interjections (unless something cool presents itself during playtesting)

PID

90% of all scripting (unwritten friend-talks and LTs have place-holders, but they're scripted)

CRE

Item (thanks, Gorilym!)

portrait

 

 

Remaining:

50% of friend-talks

LTs

NPC-initiated flirts

mini-quest

[berelinde]

Progress: completed friend-talks

 

A few sample banters:

 

Minsc tries to teach Gavin an appropriate battle-rage:

Gavin: ~Minsc, you have spoken many times of the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge, yet I know little about it.~

Minsc: ~Oh, to be admitted to the Ice Dragon Berserker Lodge is the greatest glory a Rasheman Ranger could have! All the greatest heroes tell tales of their greatest adventures, while lovely ladies bring them mead and meat. There can be no better place.~

Gavin: ~Sounds like a bit of a rough crowd.~

Minsc: ~No, friend Gavin does not understand. The heroes do not fight each other, except in a friendly way, and all rejoice in the brotherhood of goodness! You would like it.~

Gavin: ~I might, at that. But I do not think I would be worthy of such distinction. I am no warrior.~

Minsc: ~No, but you are a force of goodness, and your sword... er... mace arm is mighty. Maybe you should practice your berserker rage. Come on, Gavin, give it a try. Repeat after me: RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUURRRRRRGGGH!~

Gavin: ~RRraaaauuggh!~

= ~Hmmm. It seems to loose something in translation.~

Minsc: ~You just need to put more feeling into it. Come on. From your belly. RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUURRRRRRGGGH!~

Gavin: ~RRRAAAaaauuurrrggh! *COUGH* *COUGH* *cough*.~

Minsc: ~That was better! One more time, but remember to get a good breath first...~

Dynaheir, if present: ~Minsc! What dost thou? Thou should know that a proper berserker rage takes years of training. Strive not to alter the good cleric. Thou couldst hurt him.~

Gavin: ~Thanks anyway, Minsc, but I don't know if I have it in me.~

Minsc ~Oh, well. It was worth a try.~

 

Montaron and Gavin talk about ethics:

 

Gavin: ~Montaron, where did you get that knife?~

Montaron: ~*shrugs* Picked it up on th'job somewhere, like as not.~

Gavin: ~'On the job'?! Did you loot a victim for that thing?~

Montaron: ~Could ha' done. Why?~

Gavin: ~Because it's wrong, that's why! Picking the pockets of your prey is hardly ethical.~

Montaron: ~So, next time we run across a band o' nasties, ye won't be wantin' yer share of the treasure, then?~

Gavin: ~Well, we kill because we must. If we didn't, they'd kill us.~

Montaron: ~*looking at the knife* So would he, I reckon.~

 

Alora and Imoen have a little fun at Gavin's expense:

 

Gavin: ~Alora, Imoen, what are you ladies giggling about over there?~

Alora: ~Oh, nothing, Gavin. *tee-hee-hee* Just a little joke.~

Gavin: ~If you're certain... ~

Imoen: ~ *giggles* ~

Gavin: ~You know, ladies, men get nervous around laughing women. It would take a pretty confident man not to wonder if he was doing something unintentionally comical, or if his laces weren't done, or something.~

Imoen: ~Oh, Gavin, lighten up! Alora was just telling me a story about her brother.~

Gavin: ~Well, that's a relief!~

Alora: ~Oh, and Gavin, check your laces.~

Gavin: ~*blushes scarlet and checks his garments* What? Where? I don't see anything!~

Imoen: ~Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee!~

Alora: ~HA-ha-ha-ha-ha!~

Gavin: ~(Walk away, Gavin. You must not pummel the girls, Gavin. Just walk away.)~

[Gorilym]

Wow, progressing nicely. At this rate perhaps we'll see an initial release before the end of the year...

[Lemernis]

Fun stuff, really looking forward to this! Seems your ear is well in tune with the NPCs, I think I'll enjoy seeing their interactions every bit as much as learning who Gavin is.

[Kaeloree]

Looks great! One little nitpick about Dynaheir's comment, though...

 

Dynaheir, if present: ~Minsc! What dost thou? Thou should know that a proper berserker rage takes years of training. Strive not to alter the good cleric. Thou couldst hurt him.~

 

Sounds a bit odd - specifically, 'What dost thou?' From what I know of Old High English, that means 'what are/do you?' which is a little bit off. An example would be: 'Why dost thou fight?'

 

I'd suggest perhaps 'What art thou doing?'

 

And also, should > shouldst.

 

 

Dynaheir, if present: ~Minsc! What art thou doing? Thou shouldst know that a berserker rage in truth takes years of training. Strive not to alter the good cleric. Thou couldst hurt him.~

[Lemernis]

Actually, the way the Bioware developers wrote Dynaheir has always irritated me a bit in their misuse of old English. For example, two of Dyna's selection responses are "Thy called?" and "Thy wish my ear?" She also says to Minsc "Stand easy Minsc. Thy needs not be so motherly."

 

I'm not sure why they felt the need to sometimes replace "thou" incorrectly with "thy." She does use "thou" correctly at other times.

 

Bearing in mind that the Forgotten Realms setting isn't earth, it's the fantasy planet Abeir-Toril. There's no England there. But anyhoo.

[berelinde]

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I am hoping to get an alpha version ready for sometime by the end of next week, provided some RL issues go all right.

 

Kaeloree, you make some good points. OE generally lacks the "to be verbing" construction, which is why I avoided it, but I think that "What dost thou?", while all right as far as it goes, is definitely ambiguous in terms of clarity. If I change it to "Art thou addled?" the point gets made, and the whole issue is avoided.

 

I am definitely going to go with your suggestion about the use of shouldst.

 

Lemernis: that bugged me, too. I know Faerun has no England, but it still sounds weird to use "thy" when "thou" would do. I'm trying to strike a balance between preserving her archaic form of speech without driving anyone with a sensitive ear crazy.

 

Here's a bit of trivia for anyone interested: the "Ye" in "Ye Olde Candle Shop" (or whatever) comes from a misinterpretation of early letter forms. The character "thorn" represented a th sound and persisted into the 16th century. Eventually, it was replaced. In typesetting, the character was a bow with both an ascender and a descender (cross between a b and a p). But in calligraphy, it looked a lot like a y. Thus, the error.

[berelinde]

You know, Lemernis, those same two quotes you made would have been only too easy to fix:

 

"Thy called?" could have become "Thy call?" and it would have been perfectly fine.

 

"Thy wished my ear?" could have become "Thy wish, my ear?" would have been all right, more or less.

[berelinde]

Nythrun, you are right, of course, but it does sound funny to a modern ear.

 

Never fear, you will have a while to get BG1 set up!

 

I thought progress was moving right along, but I was outsmarted by my browser this afternoon , so I'm sure there will be plenty of bug extermination to do before Gavin hits the streets.

 

On the plus side, I'm learning to use IESDP, which is making life ever so much easier.