Its Alive!

I got it working. Windows is installed. All my drivers for the various hardware parts are installed. It is running super cool. After try NWN2 for about 15 minutes the processor was still only at 26c and the graphics card that used to run at a straight 70c is running at about 49c. I did have a few little hiccups getting it to work but it wasn't to hard to figure out. More about that later. Here are some pics of it in action.






The DVD burner/drive I cannibalized from my old computer has a rounded front which prevents me from closing the upper door but I will eventually replace it with another. Also the floppy drive I cannibalized from an even older computer didn't work but I only put it in in case I ever had to flash the bios. That can be done from a usb drive anyway. Bottom line is it works and its way faster than my last one. Plus I made it myself.

Some shots of my new rig.

Here are the pictures of my new WIP.

First the case alone.


The case has a duct so the cpu fan can pull in fresh cool air from outside the case.
Here is what I got to yesterday.

As you can see the mother board is assembled and all the PCI/PCI xpress cards are installed.

I got a cooler specifically to cool the graphics card and hope to be able to overclock it at least a little. It runs really hot not overclocked, around 70C, so it still might not be possible. I will post more pics as I take them. Hopefully this weekend I will get to see how it handles NWN2.

Here is an extra shot with some of the case fans attached.

Also you can see the harddrive in its detachable tray to the right bottom. Cables are still a mess but after I figure out how to hook up everything I need I will clean them up and get them out of the way.

Today in the Obits

Well the bad news first. My computer is dead. The bios will not fire no matter what I do. I tried everything I could find on the internet and it dead. I hope the harddrive is still good because the last time I saved my mod progress to disk was in December.
The good news is that all is not lost. I am now building my first computer. This will take up my time for a few weeks but I will post progress as it comes. I have already received all the parts except a new copy of windows that should be here on Friday. Since my old computer likely failed due to overheating, I am taking precautions to prevent this. (5 system fans set up to create a positive air pressure inside the case to keep dust out.)

Here are the specs so far. Take in mind I am not rich and cannot afford to by the latest tech but I think I have made some good choices.
Processor: AMD 64 X2 5400 @ 2.8 GHz
Ram: 2 Gigs of Corsair with built in heat sinks
Graphics Card: for now I am recycling my old x1600 pro but will be upgrading to something better, likely an X1950 Pro, in a few months.
Case: An Ultra Alluminus, easy to build on with a detachable mother board tray.
600Watt power supply.
250 gig Western Digital Sata II harddrive, with 3gbs transfer rate.

I have already the mobo, processor, heatsinks, ram, power supply, and harddrive installed but am still working on configuring all the power cables to not block to much airflow. Hopefully by sat it will be running. I will post some pictures as soon as I am able to get the cam to load them on my girlfriends computer. Wish me luck.

World Map Coming Along Good

Well I am getting better at adding in details. This is what I have done so far. Still haven't figured out how to save a closer zoom so you probably can't see it in the same detail I can in CC3 but here it is.
More later.

First look at Isorropia World Map

Today I received CC3 Campaign Cartographer as a gift from my girlfriend. Though I am far from mastering its use I have managed to create a rough outline of Isorropia. I started filling in terrain and had problems so this picture is of just the shape of the landmasses. More to come in a day or two.
After filling in some detailed terrain in the area where the first module is taking place I tried to highlight, copy, and paste the area into a new map so that I could begin learning how to make a world map using the toolset but the highlighted square became part of the map and copypaste did nothing. I think that I used the wrong tool and the square was actually a drawing tool and not a highlighter. This is what I got and I can't figure out how to get rid of it.
I am pretty happy with the shape of the continents so I think I will keep working off the original map until I get better at adding in the details.

Welcome to Isorropia

So I haven't been posting for a long time. Life has been taking up too much of my time for modding for a while now. Also I realized that while I have what I feel like are good ideas for an interesting new fantasy world, many things are undefined and the places I have been creating where just invented as I was working in the toolset. So over the summer and fall I stepped back and have worked on simply designing the world where my campaign will take place.
First of all my world didn't have a name. Now it does. Isorropia. I also decided that using the forgotten realms pantheon of gods just didn't fit in the story I have in mind so right now I am working on creating a completely new system of deities. Isorropia while isolated from the planes now was not always in the past. At some point in the past the creator of Isorropia was punished by some greater power and the walls between it and the other existences broke down allowing, though not always by choice, beings from other worlds to enter Isorropia. The nature and hierarchy of the deities and other greater beings will be one of the themes explore in this campaign.
Before beginning designing any more areas in the tool set I want at least have a rough design of each area and its place in the world on paper. I am now working on actually drawing out the world map which once done I will either redo or scan in to the computer. I haven't really thrown out anything I made before but when I look at the first areas I made now I see so many ways to improve them that its easier to make new ones so I suspect in the end I will redo most of what I have done so far except for the the custom history books that don't mention deities.
Since this campaign will be starting at low levels, probably 1st or 2nd, there will be many lower level enemies to fight but I don't want to just send you hunting kobolds on your neighbors farm so I am trying to create some lower level villains who have their own plots for you to thwart along the path of the main story that may not be really connected to the main "enemy". It will be like side quest that also have their own small arcs in the story. I have several of these created already and will post some screenshots when I get back to my computer.
So that what I have been up to. I plan on being more frequent with posts from now on.

Busy

Sorry I haven't posted anything here lately. Work and real life has been keeping me busy; thus, I haven't had much time to work on my mod. I have been picking away at details but haven't yet put together another test mod to walk through and take sceenshots. Work may be slow for a while until real life slows down some but I haven't quit and don't plan on it.