Home For Builders Builder Profile - Martin E.

Builder Profile - Martin E.

Profile by Jay Watamaniuk,
April 30, 2003

As I have always said the more placeables you can give me the better. In this case Martin E. has created an exceptional hakpak that will expand and enhance the beauty of your module's forested areas. This hakpak of trees and plants is just the beginning however as work continues on the very impressive Celtic-themed tiles and hakpaks. You can check out his work at http://www.i-nation.co.uk/. Where can I find this fine salute to flora? Download from Neverwinter Vault

Any current updates for us on your fine hakpak?

I'm actually planning to post an update to the tree Pack in the next couple of days. This will include error corrections and the addition of medium and smaller sized versions of each of the trees, all models have been reduced in terms of poly counts (typically by 50%), some textures have been improved and finally some ground cover plants have been added (shamrocks, flowers and daisies). These changes have been completed but I'm trying to finalize some additional placeable shrubs and bracken / brambles before posting the revised HAK.

Why did you create the tree hakpak? Did you have a specific need for a variety of trees and vines for a module or a campaign?

The main reason for doing the tree Pack is for the Tir Na Og Module I was working on. It is a Celtic-themed module based loosely on the outer plane of Tir Na Og, with a more mystical 'earthy' setting than those offered with the standard tiles and placeables. I had already worked up a number of new tiles including standing stones, barrows, stone bee-hive huts, a few village huts, a stone church and graveyard and walls but needed something to help create more enchanted mysterious natural settings, particularly suited to druids, rangers, bards and barbarians. The original plan was to model about 12 to 15 different tree species, but since this is the first time I have done any modeling for a game, let alone any organic modeling, that was probably a bit beyond me. I settled on 6 main types and concentrated on providing variants of each. Rather than hold the models back I thought they would be useful to the community as a whole outside of the Celtic setting so I released them. The module itself is on hold as I've been consumed by the modeling.

What would you like to see created for NWN by the community in the future?

The joy of NWN is that the possibilities are endless with the efforts that the Community are making, assisted by help and release of tools by BioWare. I would love to see some different cultures represented; I know others are working on different settings including Oriental and Arabian as well as more Egyptian content in anticipation of the forthcoming Shdows of Undrentide. More varied settings are always welcome as well as more creatures. Also with a selfish plug, I'm looking forward to the release of the Dragonlance content (which I've helped with in a very small part) as well as CODI (City of Doors Initiative).

Can we expect more great work from you for NWN?

Sure, I'm carrying on work with the main Tir Na Og tileset, although its completion is a way off. I've decided to release the tileset in three separate Haks. The first will be a Celtic Graveyard, with a chapel, grave placeables, a set of wall tiles and a couple of other features. The second will be the Celtic village with huts and ruins and lastly the wilderness pack which will include the standing stones, barrow graves (and interiors) and a few other surprises. Again with a shameless plug, works in progress can be seen on my website http://www.i-nation.co.uk