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Tupilak
Submitted by:
Submitted by paphjort on 2021-03-11 11:29.
Last modified:
2024-04-18 10:04
Tupilak - A Modern d20 adventure set in Greenland.
v 1.11
UPDATE : Trailer on Youtube : https://youtu.be/XhB8OcxtsD8
Please leave a comment. I'm always interested in hearing your feedback to the mod.
NB: Best played with headphones! :-)
Tupilak is also on Steam Workshop : https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2426848586.
Tupilak
A small carved figurine... or an evil spirit if you adhere to the old meaning of the word.
Also the title and subject of your last school essay, the cover of which is a photo of the Tupilak your aunt and uncle gave to you.
3 weeks after getting your A on the essay, you received a call from your teacher. One of his friends, a professor of Anthropology at Copenhagen University, wants to meet with you about a proposition.
You went to the meeting with your parents. The professor was apparently very impressed with your essay and had shown it to colleagues doing research in Greenland. They had decided to invite you to visit them in Greenland and see the work they are doing and were insisting that you bring your Tupilak with you.
The university would cover all your expenses.
Not an everyday offer.
So... here you are. In a window seat on Air Greenland GL781, destination Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
Next to you sits a German scientist who apparently is also meeting with Professor Rheinhart
IMPORTANT: Play the mod with sound on! (pref. headphones). Ambience, many custom sounds, custom music, voices etc. and there's a task that can't be completed without sound etc.
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| Gameplay Length | 4-8 Hours |
| Number Players | 1 |
| Language | English |
| Level Range | XP is not used in this mod, but there is still progression of skills/abilities in custom system. |
| Races | Premade character. Human. |
| Gender | Premade character requiered, choice of male or female. (no difference in abilities) |
| Roleplay | Light. Mostly storybased. |
| Hack & Slash | Mostly storybased, but has combat heavy parts. |
| Classes | Premade character |
Installation:
Put:
Tupilak v111R.mod in your /modules folder
Tupilak.hak
Tupilak2.hak in your /hak folder
Tupilak.tlk in your /tlk folder
The characters Anna Sofia and Emil are automatically selected by the mod.
VERSION:
UPDATE 1.11 fixed too big soundfiles making problems with nwsync. Small change to NPCs reaction to events.
1.10 Mod now automatically selects the character. You can change gender in the introduction if you wish.
Pacing/balance changes and bug-fixes.
The game is meant to be played with 1 of the 2 included characters:
Anna Sofia (default)
Emil (you're given the option to change to Emil in the introduction).
Please report any bugs via message to me. Thanks
DISCLAIMER:
This module is inspired by real locations, events and characters, but has been fictionalized for dramatization purposes. This is especially true regarding actions and intentions of individuals, groups and political parties. Some things are correct, but others are purily fiction.
Scientific facts and information are intended to be correct, but simplified and some parts are obviously fiction. I hope.
CREDITS:
See readme.txt
Files:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Module version 1.11 (140) | 5.14 MB |
| Haks and tlk (137) | 163.11 MB |
 Readme! | 4.21 KB |
Required projects:
[i cant seem to delete this comment, problem was solved]
Hi thebasker, great to hear you're enjoying it :-)
About being stuck: maybe you've activated the "Aim" feat (f9) ? The makes you unable to move until you deactivate it again? (Just Use it again)
Let me know if that solves it?
/Pap
This looks very cool and different. I'm gonna give it a try, and I'll make sure to come back and comment/vote.
Thanks, I appreciate that. Write to me if you have any problems. /Pap
Wow!
I haven't used D20 Modern in more than a decade - do I need to download and unpack all 15 files on that page individually (and are all of them needed for playing), or is there some rar package that contains all of the required files in one download?
Hi Olivier
Unfortunately you will need to download 12 of the packs, and unpack them in the right folders. (you don't need documentation, update_erf and modern_base, those are for builders). It would be much easier if modern D20 was on steam workshop, but it doesn't look like that's happening.
The right folders are for modern D20 :
Everything go in /hak , except for music (bmu) which should go in /music , ambient should go in /ambient and .tlk should go in /tlk. (my .tlk overrides the d20 one, but other d20 mods could need it)
For my files (Tupilak) use the instruction in the mod description:
I imagine this will be a barrier to people new to NWN and used to Steam workshop subscriptions too.
Cheers, Pap
Nevermind steam, as I understand it, the Neverwinter Nights Mod Installer Tool - NIT should work just fine at downloading all the required files.
TR
@TR Does this requiere anything from my part? Or does it work with D20 already?
/Pap
AFAIK it shouldn't require anything from you. It should work straight out of the box. You might want to check with @surazal just to be sure though as I am not the author of NIT.
TR
TR, I have such a bad conscience because you've recommended NIT countless times to me already and I just don't listen ... I have to admit I have a huge bias against its current implementation, and I guess mostly unreasonably so, but I can't shake it off that I feel somewhat uncomfortable in using it, because to me it seems a bit overwhelming and gives me the impression of doing things out of my control that I would not want, without properly informing me about it (e.g. merging the savegame folder location / directions for two different installations, Diamond and EE). I also feel bad because it's such an awesome and admirable project, and Surazal pointed me to its documentation for all I might want to know and also asked me how it could be improved, but I was kind of overwhelmed with that too and instead just went back to doing it all manually, the oldschool way. So I guess I really have no right to complain about something being a lot of work to download manually, heh ... (I don't use Steam Workshop either.)
The way I understand it, for those using NIT, it should work right out of the box, without requiring any additional preparation from paphjort, right?
BTW, the new dev. patch (.21) seems to change lighting a lot (gets very dark in places), so for now I recommend playing Tupilak with latest stable release, until tested.
/Pap
Okay, thanks for the warning! I haven't opted into .21 yet, but I thought about it, since the description above said that some issues were fixed in the latest development build.
What Beamdog does with the lighting in the EE seems really problematic to me if it affects modules in this way. I'm already unhappy with how the shadows on character models' faces have become worse and worse. I was never a big fan of the difference in how characters' faces look when not highlighted, but now the dark shadows on most of them look like weird beards, even the female ones (speaking in general, not about your module; I haven't tried Tupilak yet, but I'm looking forward to it).
I wonder if lighting gets better under version .22? I'm patiently waiting and playing other modules before going into this one, I adore D20 Modern!
:-)
NWN:EE Stable patch .20 + Tupilak 1.01 = Works fine
Development patch .21/.22 fixes something with placeable ligthing "intensity", which was apparently bugged. The problem with Tupilak 1.01 is that I built around those bugs, and with the adjustments in .21/.22 parts of the mod gets too dark. I've already fixed this in what will be Tupilak 1.02, but waiting for next stable patch to release it (in case they change more things)
Version 1.03 is up.
Module is now compatible with newest NWN:EE patches after lighting changes. Many bugfixes/safeguards and some new features. Huge thanks to Proleric and Olivier Leroux for thorough feedback!
NB! Best played with Headphones! :-)
I found Tupilak to be a truly outstanding module in a fresh setting. The immersive story-telling made me care about the characters, and the cinematic presentation kept things exciting from start to finish. But apart from that, the module also managed to surprise me at every turn with its own yet easy-to-grasp combat system and its great custom content (including use of sound), as well as its toolset tricks, including the challenging optional mini-games that I haven't seen done like that in any other NWN adventure before.
I don't give high ratings that lightly, but regarding the level of creativity and innovation, I think this module comes close to ambitious classics like The HeX Coda, Soul Shaker, or The Immortal Module, and it definitely deserves more attention. I was involved in playtesting earlier versions of it, not because the author asked me to, but because I found it absolutely worth my time to help give it the final polish, and I believe it is even better now. I recommend everyone to not get discouraged by the D20 download and give Tupilak a try!
Just a comment on the NIT question. When I did my Ruby module with various required projects, it caused a few issues with some folk getting the wrong download etc. @Suarazal was kind enough to write a download rule for that module which worked first time, choosing the correct haks etc. and installing them. I think if he were asked to do the same with this he probably would as he is keen to help.
I have to admit I started using it with a little trepidation but so far it has worked brilliantly for me. I won't pretend I know where everything goes or why but it just works . . .
Just off to download this module now. Will let you know if it works.
UPDATE: Well, the download and installation worked perfectly so I played it for about half an hour. Really different and worth a look as Olivier said. Not nearly finished - too many issues with walls, cramped camera positions etc. but well worth a look. Interesting concept and I might just be tempted to play a little more. If I do, I'll come back and vote. Great idea for a module though and I like the modern touch.
Olivier, I'm guessing some of your concerns might be around having both old and EE versions on your computer? If so, my setup is probably a lot simpler but I cant understand why more people dont use NIT. It takes all the hard work out of downloading modules with a lot of requirements. It also kept me informed of what it was doing and offered me choices at various times which were easy enough to understand.
FURTHER UPDATE: Well, having played a little more it seems obvious that many of the problems i've encountered are down to the tileset used and not the module appearing unfinished. I'm still really enjoying the storytelling and finding the module ingeneral a breath of fresh air. Still a few things I don't know or think could be better but since they involve spoilers i'll PM the author about them. This module is now heading for a top mark but I'll need to play more of it first and will then return.
Very interesting and refreshing module with lots of cinematics and intriguing story. Great deal of uniqueness in the combat too, especially after a certain story event.
Unfortunately, I found the end-game encounters too obnoxious for my liking to finish. Wave after wave of the same enemies that basically one-shot while you can't do the same to them consistently since your energy needs to replenish. Then at the end you even have to solve puzzles while in combat??? Sorry, I just couldn't take it anymore. I experience quite a few random crashes too. Even when I set all explosive charges I was unable to find a detonator anywhere so I could never finish it.
Thank you for your comments BowShatter :-)
Yes, I know I've made the combat difficult, but at that point in the game you should have a lot of options on how to manage combat (which will still be difficult though)
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't finish. If you got to a point with a puzzle during combat, I think you are actually VERY near the end!
I hear what you're saying though, and am looking at lowering the stress during end-combat somewhat... (taste differs)
(I'll send you a PM, to avoid spoilers here)
I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to trying this but I'm glad I did. Tupilak is a great little adventure with a unique, well-realized setting, likeable characters and clever gameplay mechanics wrapped in an intense back-against-the-wall survival adventure. The opening moments are slow, but once the stakes are suddenly (and permanently) raised, the pacing becomes relentless and I found myself heavily invested in getting any character I could out of the situation alive. Combat is a high point here with a great custom-made system that allows you to experiment with your abilities and there are some pitched battles that will push your character to the brink even with these new abilities.
I have to point out that I genuinely learned things about Greenland I never would have otherwise. At one point I even paused to see if I could find Disko Island on google earth and cheered when I saw it's exactly where the in-game description led me.
Tupilak is one of the best short modules I've played and is easily the best modern mod currently available for NWN.
Thank you for the review abject_self, much appreciated! :-)
This was a good little D20Modern module, with interesting built-in NWN Game was cool and real-world background was a nice touch.
I wish there were more D20 Modern Modules/Campaigns!
I did find the battles pretty hard near the end, swarm after swarm. I changed settings from Regular Hardcore Rules to "Normal" but it didn't help much for me. I chalked it up to just being me missing something or not clicking on strategy with this D20Modern Level 3 character. Maybe put it on my To-Re-Do List of Modules.
I couldn't see the End properly, I think it has to do with the UI Scale, since it did ask what Scale I was using at the beginning but it's limited to max 2.0, which is strange because the game parameters are 1.0 to 3.0. I run it at 2.3 and that's limit small characters on my screen.
Overall very good job Paphjort!
Hi MickMcKee
Thank you for the review! I really appreciate that!
"I wish there were more D20 Modern Modules/Campaigns!" - yeah me too. I'm working on something, but still a long way to go I'm afraid :-)
Difficulty: What version did you play? Since version 1.04 you can adjust the difficulty for the final half of the game by using the ingame Iphone (F12), choose settings.
(it's not NWN normal difficulty settings, but something done via dialogue in-game)
Plus there are *many* ways to optimise things both before and during the battles, several secrets :-)
Scale: I know some scale settings can give problems. It was difficult for me to show the custom images right at every scale, so I had to chose a range. You can adjust the scale for the mod again using the in-game Iphone , also under settings. Maybe set NWN to one of the supported scales and adjust it ingame too, så you can see the final cutscene again? Explains some things... :-)
Cheers,
Pap
Hi,
I played version 1.05. I believe it was the in-game iPhone difficulty setting that I used. I think it has a lot to do with me though, I was playing when pretty tired.
The scale though, at what resolution are people playing NWN EE? I have every setting at Best/Maxed and apart from a few Modules I recently played with huge battles it runs well in 4K (3840 x 2160).
Scale: I play at 1920x1080. That might be the problem then :-), Playing it at 4K maybe the reason the slideshow doesn't show right, I guess the same would happen with the "Tupilak" Splash screen in the intro cutscene and the intro Splash screen with the PS3 game?
difficulty : If you changed from hardcore to normal, then it's NWN inbuilt difficulty, which doesn't make much difference in those fights (some effects though).
The "internal" dificulty in tupilak is only adjusted via the iPhone and starts as "Normal" and can be set to "Harder" or "Easier" :-)
This module is very well done. Well though out, intricately layered and immersive in detail. It definitely delivers on the classic horror-movie trope of starting you in the "normal world of your normal life" and step by step drags into the fantastic.
There are some rough edges and I found myself accidently breaking things on occasion but a reload would get me past it. Normally the glitches would cause me to give a lower rating, but it's so full of nifty ideas that have been well executed that I thought it really deserved a higher rating.
If you're a player looking for something different to try, this module is a great choice. You will need to bandwidth and storage to handle all the downloads (d20 Modern 2.2 depends on CEP 2.65 or later itself) so total downloads will be over 2 GB if you don't have the prerequisites installed. Decompressed, it takes up about 14 GB for CEP 2.68 + d20 Modern 2.2 + Tupilak.
It does install well using the NIT tool, https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/other/tool/neverwinter-nights-....
Thanks for all the time and effort that obviously went into this, paphjort!
*** spoilers? ***
Unfortunately I've been unable to finish it. I've gotten stuck at the point where the PC (I'm using Emil) has gotten the green goo on his hand. I'll keep trying to figure out what I missed.
Thank you for the comment Dustin, much appreciated.
I'll send you a message to help you continue... :-) Pap
Following up -
I PM'd with paphjort & was provided a critical hint.
I finished it and rather thoroughly enjoyed it.
As well, some of the graphics gitches I saw are some sort of technical mismatch between d20 Modern & NWN: EE current. They're minor and don't effect play.
So I unreservedly give it a 10.