NWN2 devchat in 2 hrs

[Llyranor]

Don't forget about this.

 

The first one went so well that we're doing it again. Finally...the NeverWinter Nights 2 team is coming back to Warcry! We've confirmed the following members of the Obsidian team will be attending: J.E. Sawyer, Chris Avellone, Nathaniel Chapman, Darren Monahan, Brian Fox, Charles Mead, Adam Brennecke, and Frank Kowalkowski.

 

When: April 13, 2006 at 9pm EST.

Where: irc.warcry.com:6667 (irc.chatspike.net:6667) #nwn2

 

If you don't have an IRC client, the Java client will get you in. See you there!

[Judge Hades]

DAMN IT! In two hours I will be deep into my PnP game. WHY, OBSIDIAN WHY?!?! Why couldn't you do this on Friday?!?!?

[Cantousent]

Someone grill the devs for me, please.

[Llyranor]

If you guys have any questions you want me to ask (or try to, anyway) the devs, you can put them here.

[Judge Hades]

My question would be "What deviations of the 3.5e rules and Forgotten Realms canon did you make and why?"

[Kaftan Barlast]

Its the aftertalk when they release the moderation thats the interesting part

 

 

 

sadly, my brain will be half comatose by then so I doubt Ill be able to contribute anything remotely intelligent.

[Judge Hades]

sadly, my brain will be half comatose by then so I doubt Ill be able to contribute anything remotely intelligent.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And that would be different from normal how?

 

(j/k)

[Dark_Raven]

I will pass. Now if Feargus was involved I would be there.

[LoneWolf16]

Was waiting for another one of these...too bad I'm busy tonight.

[Gromnir]

chrisA were a no-show at the last nwn2 dev chat. weasel were helpful... but he is no longer with obsidian.

 

btw, for folks not aware, the moderated chats is useless... but you can get info by hanging 'round After the chat and speaking with the developers who decide to slum it with the masses. is pretty chaotic, but the questions and answers post-chat is always more enlightening than the moderated q&a sessions.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Cantousent]

God, the denizens of the best left Forgotten Realms have turned "canon" into a swear word.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Theyre currently grilling Adam Brennecke on how many at OE speaks french. interesting "

[Dark_Raven]

Sounds like a waste of time. Where's the important questions, like for the games they are developing?

[Kaftan Barlast]

The chat hasnt actually started yet so its just spam. And some people, this person just got into the chatroom and asked what NWN2 was.

[Dark_Raven]

What is NWN2? That is sad, truly it is.

[Volourn]

Fear this chat as it fears me.

[Llyranor]

Okay, it's starting. I'll give live updates in here.

 

ALFA-Wynna: I'd like to know what, if any, changes they've made to module/object Events particularly what they're adding.

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> All of the original events have been preserved from NWN1, but in order to really flex our NWN2 muscle, we had programming add a few more.

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> In particular, there is an event called 'OnClientEnter' that we use to sync the arrival of multiple PCs innto an area.

________________

Miru: Quick Question. You've listed that there will be a world map for NWN2, can we expect any strange or eclectic special encounters, I.E. The Cafe of Broken Dreams in Fallout 2?

 

<[OEI]JESawyer> We currently aren't using special encounters on the NWN2 world map. It functions very similarly to the Icewind Dale world map where transportation is more or less instantaneous.

<[OEI]JESawyer> Without random encounters.

______________

Strutter: Question to be asked: What are your plans for database support? Can you share with us your direction and chosen db?

 

The devs have opted to pass on this question.

______________

Llyranor: Question: What divergence have you had from 3.5e rules, and for what reason?

 

[OEI]JESawyer We really haven't diverged very much. The only thing that really comes to mind are some relatively minor specialist wizard changes. Otherwise, we're trying to stick very closely. Things like the new Damage Reduction rules, ranger class, etc. are in.

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[bbnwn]Baldurien: One of the best thing of NWN1 was the ability to add custom content. Could we know a little much about the 3D tools that will be necessary to use to create new placeable and/or monsters? Could we import a floor rendering or a customized sky?

 

[OEI]BrianLawson We've used 3D Studio Max exclusively for this project. At this point in time that's the only package we have plug-ins for in terms of getting data out of. I believe there are plans for eventually releasing the exporter plug-in. This should cover all non-skinned objects. We're still currently investigating a solution for skinned objects (i.e. creatures).

_____________

Talwyn: The multi players game over internet will still be by GameSpy ?

 

[OEI]JESawyer Yes, still through GameSpy.

[OEI]AdamB Yes

[OEI]JESawyer TOO SLOW, ADAM.

[OEI]AdamB doh!

Edited April 14, 2006 by Llyranor

[Llyranor]

[OEI]AdamB Brian has more to say on the exporter stuff

[OEI]BrianLawson The sky is mostly procedurally generated. There is a sun and moon texture that could possibly be replaced. The colors of the sky and all of the clouds are generated programatically, so there really is no "overriding" them per-se. However, the parameters for tweaking those settings will be exposed for you to do what you want with them. The list of parameters is actually quite extensive.

___________

 

AelrynBloodmoon: Question Submission: Animal companions and familiars worked well within the context of NWN1, but I was wondering if we'll see something different and more involved for them in NWN2; have these companions been changed/improved upon, and in what ways?

 

[OEI]JESawyer Animal companions and familiars are still in the process of being implemented, but we are examining their role in the game more closely. Sorry I can't be more specific, but we're waiting on QA feedback once they're all in! We definitely recognize that familiars and animal companions are important to wiz/sorcs and druids/rangers.

___________

Himo: Will the UI be "rock-solid" as it was in NWN (and most other games) or will it have a certain degree of transparancy?

 

[OEI]nchap The UI supports transparency, and there will be various panels (i.e., the chat panel) that will be transparent in the UI that ships with the game.

____________

Pal_X: Will there be a pre-release toolset or viewer like the original?

 

[OEI]JESawyer We currently have no plans to pre-release the toolset. Sorry!

____________

noviere: Will half-elves have there own set of head/body models?

 

[OEI]nchap Yep!

______________

Benjamin: Can Obsidian talk about the diversity of Romance dialogue in Neverwinter Nights 2? For example, how much attention has female romance dialogue received.

 

[OEI]JESawyer The female romance dialogues has received the same amount of attention as the male romance dialogues. The characters involved in the romance vary highly in personality so of course the experience will feel different.

[OEI]JESawyer have received, even.

______________

ALFA-Wynna: I'd also like to know more about any NWScript API extensions they've made. I've heard lots of generic info. Specifics are what I'm after.

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> All the original NWN1 scripts are more or less in place, but I can tell you that the total scrip library has grown tremendously. Just the fac tthat the conversation editor allows you to attach scripts that accept parameters is super powerful, and has prompted us to write gazillions of scripts for our own development.

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> For example, one new function called GroupOnDeathBeginConversation utilizes a concept of 'groups' that allows us to control multiple creatures as a single group object. When the group dies, we trigger a conversation. That's just one simple example of the unlimited possibilities that will be available to the community.

Edited April 14, 2006 by Llyranor

[Llyranor]

Dwinblood: Can you tell us more about the Visual Effects editor built into the toolset and what we will be able to accomplish with it?

 

[OEI]AdamB The visual effects editor is one of the plugins in the toolset that Erik and I have mentioned on the forums a few times. It allows users to create and modify particle systems as well as our other effects systems in real-time. You can modify playback times and do all sorts of other neat stuff. All of our spell effects were created using this tool, and when you guys see some of the spells in action, I guarantee you will wet your pants

__________

NorD_fr: In term of gameplay, NWN had some special attacks for warriors that greatly added to combat dynamism (disarm, knockdown). Will there be new special attacks for NwN2? Will a charge special attack be included? Will it have an animation?

 

[OEI]JESawyer There are a lot of new animations in NWN2 but we are currently in the process of reviewing them. Because of the huge volume of animations, quality control is pretty tricky. Sorry we can't be more specific right now, but we really do want to make sure that everything you see animated in the game feels engaging and sharp.

___________

[bbnwn]Baldurien: What about transitions between areas? In previous preview and interview, you spoke about a better system that allow us to "hide" the end of area? [NdT: in NWN1, if we had a road, the road was repeated after the limit of area, etc]

 

OEI]nchap There are two systems that we use (and that you can use) to hide the "edge of the world" in NWN2. The first is a 2 "terrain tile" border area that is non-walkable but can have placeables, trees, grass, and other objects put onto it.

 

[OEI]nchap The second system is a "skyring" that is simple geometry in the distance that is always present along the edge of the world. It stays on the sky, so it doesn't get closer as you move towards it, which gives it a nice sense of scale. It makes an area appear to extend far into the distance rather than showing the edge of the world and horizon.

____________

Pal_X: So are you guys still having fun? Cause thats important, and reflects a lot about the game for me.

 

[OEI]JESawyer Yes, the fun rises daily as the game gets better. For a while things were looking pretty rough -- that's what re-writing a renderer can do. But the wait has been worth it. Seeing everything come together is very exciting. Bugs are also pretty amusing. Today I cast Isaac's Lesser Missile Swarm and I could only target the ground with it. When it went off, all the missiles flew around and hit a little kid in the face. Good times

 

[OEI]nchap From a QA perspective, I can say that we're definitely still having fun. It seems like every week the game gets better, and that's something that's very gratifying for us in QA - assuring quality and all that.

_____________

Kalia Himo: Dialogues in NWN were extremely obvious... You could easily know the good and the bad answer... Will that be better handled? Will they be less obvious ?

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> The dialogue in NWN2 is really impressive, and like NWN1 there will be certain responses where the intent and outcome will be somewhat transparent. However, in NWN2, you have the element of developing and maintaining relationships with your companions, which can have a profound impact on the game itself. Some of those dialogues are less transparent or completely opaque.

[Llyranor]

NorD_fr: Will there be animated placeables for NwN2? Anything planned for traps for exemple?

 

[OEI]JESawyer Yes, there will definitely be animated placeables. Yesterday Tim Donley sent out some cool shots of the "Neverwinter Fleet" (not actually Neverwinter Fleet) bobbing around.

[OEI]JESawyer However, traps are still using standard particle systems when they go off.

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Targeter: Has the script editor seen any usability improvements, for instance the ability to use the main toolset while the script editor is open?

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> Here's the greatest thing that ever happened to the script editor: it's tabbed! This means that, unlike in NWN1, you don't have to close the last three windows you opened just to get back to the script editor!

 

<[OEI][C4][C4]BFox> You can switch between several different script files at once, all the while keeping your various area and conversation viewers open simultaneously!

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[PRC]GaiaWerewolf: How much voice acting will there be in the single player campaign?

 

[OEI]JESawyer We aren't doing full VO for all dialogue, but all major characters will be voiced.

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[DLA]BryanBlaire: The armor/clothing system has been described as a set of functional units capable of being manipulated on a per unit basis (shoulder, chest, knee joint). Is this going to be done in a similar manner to NWN, with actual model replacement, or with a layer system, such that you could have pants under plate mail?

 

[OEI]JESawyer It's a mixture of both. Some of the base components get fully swapped out, but attachments will snap on to the base pieces. So you could have a breastplate with a variety of pauldrons, for instance.

________________

Wulf I have a Question. If you're a first timer to NWN2. Will it be easy to understand and fun to play as a standalone?

 

[OEI]JESawyer D&D is a very complicated ruleset, so I guess it depends on how much of a nublet you to D&D or RPGs in general. That said, I think our tutorial is very well done. It's informative and well-integrated into the storyline.

[OEI]JESawyer I think that people familiar with RPGs should be able to get into it quickly, but total nubs will have problems.

_________________

 

NorD_fr: Big monster are always favorite when time come to fight! Can we have a scoop on some new

Edited April 14, 2006 by Llyranor

[mkreku]

Crap. I tried to login using the java client, but it seems to crash after every few minutes.

[Volourn]

Yeah, happened to me too. BOOO! Then again, Obsidian is probably happy about that so it evens out. :D

[Llyranor]

At least you guys got booted because of technical problems. Shadowstrider got kickbanned

[Dark_Raven]

[Volourn]

What did he do?