NWN2 News August 3, 2007
Entry posted by Rob McGinnis
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Neverwinter Nights 2 Community Update
August 3, 2007
Time for another Community Update. This week we are going to look at some new spell chants for MoTB, a new feature for builders in 1.07 and a great Persistent World. We will also get a small peek at the options screens for the new camera and controls and a great new community addon by cdaulepp!
New Feature for 1.07
One of the things we have been trying to do is include some of the improvements from the expansion in the patches. Here Nathaniel Chapman, Assistant Producer on MoTB, shares some information about one of those features:
So, one of the new features in 1.07 that is a result of [including expansion features] is custom skydome support.
Essentially, this will allow you to completely replace the skydome that is used for a level. I can't reveal exactly where and how we use it in NX1's campaign, except to say that you'll notice that in this screenshot, the skybox isn't the usual starry NWN2 sky. You can also see our desaturation filter, something which may or may not make it into 1.07.
We'll be including a test module with one new custom skydome in the 1.07 patch, so you'll have a chance to take a look at how it works and what the model looks like.
Mask of The Betrayer News
New Spell Chants
One of the things we wished we could have done in NWN2 is to provide some new spell chants and some variations. With MoTB, we are adding in some new voicesets for players and these include some new spell chants. So, for the new player voicesets, companions and main NPCs in MoTB, they will have new spell chants for each school and the chants will be different for low level, high level and epic level spells.
As an example, here's a couple epic spell chants (you may need to right click and saave these files):
This first one is Safiya casting the new epic spell "Mass Fowl" which transforms a group of opponents into chickens. Click Here
This second spell is Gann casting the Epic Gate spell. Click Here
Camera & Control Options
We have been talking a bit about the camera and control adjustments we are making for MoTB. Here's a couple screenshots of the options screens. As a reminder, though, these are still works in progress.
The first one is for Strategy mode
This one is for Character mode
Community Developments
Random Loot Generator by cdaulepp
You can check out his forum posting here. I have not checked this out myself yet, but I am told this is a great little addon for any module.
Persistent World Spotlight: Shroudworld
- By Segal
For eons the Blood God has languished in his cell, imprisoned within a mountain on the mortal plane for crimes against his brother gods. His oozing essence seeps into the ground, and trickles into a small pool outside. An elven traveler drinks from the pool. He is wracked by dreams of violence and power.
Soon there are others, a whole congregation of worshippers for the imprisoned Blood God, and the Church of the Shroud is born. Mighty kingdoms fall before the Elders of the Shroud, and their dominion extends over all the realms of men.
Yet there is strife within the very heart of the church. The Elders praise their divine lord in public, but make no efforts to free him, seeking instead to make themselves gods in his place. Ancient prophecies have long predicted his release, but who listens to ancient prophesies any more in this age of corruption and debauchery?
The Shroud World NWN2 server was born of a proud tradition, our long-running NWN1 server was one of the very first Persistent Worlds to go live. Over the years, we have provided an entertaining and challenging experience to thousands of would-be heroes. We strive to continue that tradition with this new project.
This time around, we took the deeply detailed Shroud World storyline and moved it forward fifty years. We wanted old Shrouders to feel instantly at home in the new world but we did not want to simply rehash our NWN1 world. The timeline change allows us to give new life to our old tales and strike out on some completely new paths.
For those new to Shroud World, the game-play has some stark differences from what you experienced playing in the single player game. Most progression is driven by quest completion and this impacts nearly every aspect of the character; from level advancement to how NPCs will interact with you. We will soon be adding an advanced character progression system that will allow players to purchase new feats using rewards they have obtained through questing.
We chose to establish the quest system as the foundation of our world in order to offer a number of benefits to the players. Since quest completion is the primary source of experience, character classes that are less focused on brute force can often find other ways to resolve many of the quests and gain experience points. The quest system also allows us to better integrate the storyline into the day-to-day happenings of the player. The creative and humorous works of our lead writer, Rheumy Filcher, give the players a reason actually to read the dialogue of the NPCs. And finally, one of our primary goals is for players to have plenty to things to do when they log on: this is made possible by the hundreds of quests available to PCs.
When we sat down to outline what we wanted to do with Shroud World, we came up with some pretty straightforward design criteria. I think those criteria are important to present because they are what best defines the world for the new player.
Simply put, our design goals are:
- A Friendly Place to Play
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