Neverwinter Vault Chat (August 23, 2001)

Attendees from BioWare:

• Marc Holmes, NWN Art Director (bio_marc)

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<Maximus> Hi all, we will be starting soon. I would like to Thank Marc Holmes for attending the chat as well as Thoranbrook for organizing it!

<Thoranbrook> I to would like to Thank Marc Holmes for being with us and I would also like to Thank Maximus and Mayseth for all their help and support they have shown and given me.

<Maximus> <Tod> Alrighty helmets... How do they work, will they be component based like the weapons or are they just objects already set in stone?

<bio_marc> Helmets - they are constructed in the toolset out of components, of which there are three, helmet shape and two decorative bits. Once created as an item they are on piece that replaced the players head when equipped.

<Maximus> <PittAWAY> How many NON-combat related objects have been designed yet? (Something like movable objects, chairs, candelabra, tables, forks... etc.) Do you feel that (art related) the game will be 'world-like' (Many interactive objects)?

<bio_marc> Non-combat items - we call them placeables - there are quite a few, we've chosen them to help users personalize the map, so you've got your candelabra, your treasure, your practice dummy, small furniture, idol, paintings, basically anything about human sized you can use to spice up the open area on a tile. There will be limits imposed by pathfinding as to how many you can place.

<Maximus> <lindamus> Modeling: Importing custom models? Skeleton structure, and type as well...

<bio_marc> Custom models - anything I tell you now is suspect until we have final info on what the programmers can support. Creatures share animation skeletons, so you can make a new creature that takes advantage of existing animations so it's best to make humanoids or common monsters... you can be fairly imaginative, but you have to create a new creature that overlaps an existing one's pivot points, or you will see odd behavior in the animation. If you are an animator, go for it, but you have to replace the entire list of animations on a creature..or adopt an old list and override specific ones...

<Thoranbrook> <NuKe> Can you tell us the extent of how customizable the monster models/skins will be in NWN in regards to changing colors and things of that nature? Let me give you an example what am talking about. Suppose there is a Frost Giant in NWN but no Fire Giant. Could we in the monster editor/wizard take that Frost Giant and make his skin black, his hair orange, and give him a big two handed sword instead of a battle axe? Or would we just be forced to create our own separate skin in an external art program?

<bio_marc> ok - creature variants in toolset in the giant example, no problem - we have both kinds of giants... he he
But in general, you cannot change the creatures texture color, they are not done like players we have dedicated the texture memory to have a unique texture per player, but monsters share textures this is on the assumption that there will the a boat load of some creatures, like goblins so you have to make custom textures in photoshop or whatever. However, you can change what weapon the creature holds, and customize the colors and shape of the weapon.

<Maximus> <SpaceLord> Will lighting be static once a module is running, or will we be able to change it as a module plays out?

<bio_marc> Static lighting - we are working on a way to overcome the frame rate hit of calculating lights and shadow volumes. I cannot promise anything, but we want to able able to allow dynamic lights and we're working on it - no promises though. Did i say no promises? I am not a graphics programmer and they will kill me if you misquote.

<Thoranbrook> <Dave_Lister> Are special effects like flames etc. going to be addable to monster/Character models? (This would allow creation of creatures like Flame Cats and also Burning NPCs in ravaged towns etc.)

<bio_marc> um... flaming creatures... well we are not allowing you to put flames on your creatures in the toolset - effects are costly so we don't want too many flaming things on the screen at one time - plus and more importantly, the particle system for the game is quite complex. I will take the fifth on that for now, ask us again in six months how we will do this...

<Maximus> <Vulcano_of_Mystara> Can we have a rough idea of the download size for a tileset with approximately 100 tiles, placeable objects, and textures (high quality, of course)?

<bio_marc> no, he he. Sorry, but actually I have no idea right now we are working on compression...

<Thoranbrook> <Keegan> How many types of hair designs are there? As in long hair short hair, black hair, blue hair?

<bio_marc> Hair color - for every player there are 32 hair colors to choose from. Number of hairstyles depends on race. we've been biased to humans, elves, dwarves in that order for now, but will make it up if we get to do a mission pack. You can make your own heads of course... that is quite easy, just take ours and pull points...

<Maximus> <daz_uk> Hi, I am creating some of my own tiles at the moment (rough), can you tell me what scale I should be working at please so they are not too HUGE or tiny when I port them into the game please? Thanks a lot

<bio_marc> Tile size - one cm = 1 max unit and they are 10m square. Building stories are 3 m high. Can you post on the boards on this and mail me later, I will get final confirmation on building story height

<Thoranbrook> <Petyus> Will there be a description page/drawing for each item like in Baldur's Gate?

<bio_marc> Yes. you can inspect any item and see the description, but you see the game icon not a drawing. We have larger icons than BG so it works better.

<Maximus> <StormKing> How will DarkVision be represented? Black and White? Shades of Green? Red?

<bio_marc> Hmm... darkvision. Actually we have not started that yet. That's pretty easy to do later, so no answer right now. Good question...

<Thoranbrook> <Kalis> Marc, I'm interested in seeing more of your work. Any chance of starting a web site with a gallery of the work you've done for Bioware with artwork that isn't cropped for games?

<bio_marc> Re-my art - flattery will get you a long ways... but actually I can't post work for hire that is not used yet... that's how the illustration industry works - they get first crack at giving an exclusive... and actually I don't do much work outside of BioWare... next game less spreadsheets more painting, I promise. I do have a homepage, perhaps the mods can give it out later, but it's mostly not game art..

<Maximus> <Gunz-a-Blazin> what's the coolest-looking spell effect/monster yet?

<bio_marc> Well I do like the demon...and the d-
<bio_marc> oops, you bastard
<bio_marc> you almost made me give it away!
<bio_marc> you have to wait...
<bio_marc> ;)

<Thoranbrook> <tjeerd> How will the camera position change around the character?

<bio_marc> camera position - follow camera looking down, or manual, your choice. Perhaps zooming in for conversation or using machinery, but we are still testing that...

<Maximus> <No-One> - effects: That Other Game (DS) claims they'll give designers access to the particle system - any chance we'll get NWN's?

<bio_marc> um - why don't we wait to see DS and we'll do what they did?

<Thoranbrook> <ChanQui> How easy will it be to bring models into 3d studios to edit skins and create "new looking creatures"?

<bio_marc> Ease of modeling - that's a tough one, it does depend on your skills so that's hard to answer. It's no more difficult than any other game art... except if you want to make a texture that allows players to change the colors.

<Maximus> <largo[mt]> will there be a placeable item that is a NPC? - or will NPC fall under a different class of objects entirely?

<bio_marc> um, apples and oranges there largo. Objects is objects, creatures is creatures, they use the same painting system, but you pull them from different lists.

<Thoranbrook> <Dice-Chucker> How will characters with darkvision view the lighting in dungeons? I.E. Will the Dwarf in the party be able to look down the dark hallway and see the gibberling monster in a reddish tint outside the light-radius of the torch held by his Human companion?

<bio_marc> see above on darkvision.

<Maximus> <daz_uk> Hi, I was wondering if volumetric fog was 'placeable' on a specific area of the map? What I mean is could i have a Tavern's Tap-room with a slight smoke effect in the air, or just a section of fog in a swampy area? If so, would this be 'area-wide' or placeable on a 'per-tile' basis? Thanks a lot!

<bio_marc> Fog - fog pretty much has to be area wide. It's kind of more up to open gl that to the artists. You can change fog density and color as well as lighting so you can make a smoky room easily...

<Thoranbrook> <Vulcano_of_Mystara> I've heard height transitions are either 4.5m or 9m. If it were kept low poly, could a higher transition be achieved? 20m for example?

<bio_marc> Height - this is not so much a function of polys. It's more a matter of the top down style of game... The buildings are not too tall, so they don't fill the view. If there's an object that's too tall, you cant really see it anyway, you just see the first few stories... so we are keeping low.

<Maximus> <Pitta> Well having seen only combat related objects in past screenshot (swords, armours, and the like) I wonder how many NON-combat related objects (interactive objects) will be designed? (chairs, furniture, forks, dishes... all those little things that add to world realism)

<bio_marc> Non-combat - you wont have control over small tiny objects like forks but you can place chairs and tables, plants, statues that kind of thing... we are planning quite a few. Probably chests and barrels I think.

<Maximus> <NeoMaul> Regarding the falling leaves effect in the forest, will we be able to turn them off, and what other effects like this are there?

<bio_marc> Default effects - yes, you can turn them off. They are similar to weather and fog...

<Thoranbrook> <Yack> how many brands of beer the player will have access to in the taverns?

<bio_marc> Well, all good Canadian Brands of course, and no American pisswater... Had to say it, sorry, no kill I.

<Maximus> <Mr> lighting- how dark and how light can you make your module?

<bio_marc> Light levels - pitch black if you want. That forces the need for torches or light spells. Very useful in dungeons and caves where you want to slow exploration down. Also good if you have a scripted time limit to torches. Brightness is maxed out at bright daylight, - this is for complex reasons to do with lighting models in open gl

<Thoranbrook> <daz_uk> Hi, Will the objects such as chairs,tables and other 'breakables' be dynamic in their animations or will 'piece-of-wood-X' ALWAYS land at 'point-Z' ? In other words, will there be randomness to the animations of breakable options?

<bio_marc> Broken stuff - well, sorry, we are not spending clock cycles on physics for bouncing stuff. That looks great in other games, but we have lots of demands on the old cpu in NWN so we are using animated death on objects... it's one of those tradeoffs that allows pathfinding for many creatures, and players to hold many items.

<Maximus> <largo[mt]> is there any chance bioware could take some digitalcam pics of your 'artist wall' and get webslave Brad Grier to post them on your site to show what your art folks have been sketching for work and or for fun?

<bio_marc> Um... I suppose... right now I have a great painting done by our receptionist on my wall... Mail Brad. Lots. He has nothing to do... lol

<Thoranbrook> <Ryoku> how many character portraits will be available at initial release?

<bio_marc> 200... is that enough? Ok add in all the BG ports too is that enough? Ok, I'll beg Fergus to add all the IWD ones too.

<Maximus> <Pitta> Are MOVABLE objects in? I've read conflicting quotes (in the boards and in previous chats). IE, can players actually move objects like tables and chairs in game? How about pathfinding?

<bio_marc> Moveable objects - better ask Mark B that one - I'm not sure.

<Thoranbrook> <Petyus> Will all character models have that "weird" underwear-like clothing under the armor like we've seen in the E3 demonstration?

<bio_marc> Um, don't you have weird underwear-like clothing on right now? We can't have naked players running round man! That would be madness... That's up to you guys.

<Maximus> <Dice-Chucker> Can we expect any transformations to take place in the character models? I.E. Characters stricken with Lycanthropy or Polymorphing Wizards transforming into their respective shapes, perhaps even shapeshifting dopplegangers?

<bio_marc> Well... I don't want to promise anything about the story... all that is possible of course...

<Thoranbrook> <Dazeal> Besides 3D studio max, what other software can we use to make tile sets and what software can we use so we can implement animation?

<bio_marc> Software - nothing right now. We have export tools for Max, because that's what we use. That will be 20 bucks from the discreet rep, thanks. As far as extending the tools, that's possible, but we might not have time for the first ship. Fan programmers might help out with this... We are getting our tester copies of gmax soon, so more on that later.

<Maximus> <largo[mt]> how many different types of trees are there?

<bio_marc> Ok, now on trees. Um, I honestly haven't counted... They are all deciduous though. But you can change the leaf color. I have to admit, DS has great trees...

<Thoranbrook> <locke> what resolution will the portraits be, same as in bg/bg2, or bigger?

<bio_marc> Portraits - check the very detailed thread on the IP board.

<Maximus> <Perigon> Does the engine support vertex deformations? Are there any characters or monsters with a single mesh?

<bio_marc> Single mesh - we use a hybrid system mixing parts and mesh. Armor is always parts pretty much... But there are some mesh bits for effects like wings and tails...

<Thoranbrook> <Vulcano_of_Mystara> In regards to "wading" through water. can you make an entire tile that one could wade through, so as to simulate a swamp tile?

<bio_marc> Wading - sure, no reason why not...

<Thoranbrook> <Dice-Chucker> We all know that monks don't fight with just their fists these days. Will we be seeing any fancy foot work and interesting "kung-fu" type animations?

<bio_marc> Kung fu - well, we have some hand to hand animation. Frankly there is more weapon work, but that's kind of the way D&D is... We will see what we can do in the future about better martial arts in games...

<Maximus> <Pitta> How many NPCs on screen is the Engine capable of? (Or do you think it will be)... Are crowded towns possible?

<bio_marc> Crowds - we think we can do pretty good crowds. You should see populated towns, and hordes of skeletons...

<Thoranbrook> <daz_uk> Hi, as a rough estimate (taking into account what stage in development you are at), how many building designs would you say are in the city tileset? By 'designs' i mean different building types. Also how many different 'themes' of buildings are there? i.e. Slum buildings, Grandiose Buildings etc.

<bio_marc> Hm...Tobyn could answer that better than I. We have slum, rich, merchants, castle, shopping lots of types... I cant really list them off my head...

<Maximus> <Perigon> How will animation be handled? Will it be possible to export the data from max and incorporate it to the skeleton?

<bio_marc> Animation - I'm not an animator, but here's the overview. Actions are done as a looping motion from the ready and back. so sword swings go from combat ready left, to swing to combat ready right... so if you add an animation it has to work with the appropriate ready. Even if that ready is simply the walk... but there is a limit to the max size of animations on a character which is RAM. So adding to the base human set might not be possible right now. When min specs go up you will see more and more animation...

<Thoranbrook> <NuKe> Can you tell us how the directory structure is going to work in regards to models and skins/textures. From my understanding a lot of the models will be using more than one skin. Another words in the monster wizard when we create a new monster will we be able to 1.) Select the base model the creature uses and then 2.) Select which skin it uses from various skins that are in that model's directory and then 3.) Do the res

<bio_marc> Re - skins and models - this kind of a misconception we have made a separate model for each creature with the skin pre-applied you can make you own variation and add your own skin, but it's a separate model again. This just keeps it simple.

<Maximus> <NeoMaul> What are the chances of having hybrid tiles that meld two tilesets together? example: a tile with half ground forest and half ground urban?

<bio_marc> Tile set - nope, you cant do that. Tile sets are limited by texture memory on your card. You only have so much memory to fill with texture and each set uses it all. In a shooter they load and unload textures as you go but you don't go through loading tunnels in NWN like you did in MDK2 for instance. You can make a NEW set if you want, but you have to stick to the same limits... So if you take the rural set and make all new textures you can create an arid town or snowy town, just with changing textures, but you cannot mix these sets. Keep in mind I am not going official here on what we will support for user content. Scott and Trent are going to kill me tomorrow. This is all somewhat theoretical until the time comes for an official announcement...

<Thoranbrook> <Nefrit> Are there emotes to allow a character to actually sit in a chair and such?

<bio_marc> Emotes - there are emotes, the usual wave, swear, dis, pray kind of things....

<Maximus> <Mr> I know they have tileset groupings, will they have placeable object groups that go well with a specific tileset?

<bio_marc> Organizing placables - we are trying to make placables work in any environment... who knows if you want to have an evil shrine in the forest or in the basement of an inn... they will probably be organized by type, like - furniture, decorations, organics... stuff like that.

<Thoranbrook> <Ryoku> Any plans on the box cover art yet?

<bio_marc> Box art - nope. We have a PR art department full of talented guys... they will be taking care of the rest of the high end artwork... I'm kind of sticking to the game for the rest of the project.

<Maximus> <WanGai> I am putting together a menagerie, which will include a casino. What gambling related artwork can I expect? Cards, dice, roulette wheels, slot machines...?

<bio_marc> Hm... not much I'm afraid. Honest answer, sorry. You will have to repurpose regular levers and machinery and then use dialog and scripts... Actually I would suggest you make custom portraits of poker players for best role playing effect...

<Thoranbrook> <Dave_Lister> Will monsters be able to be given an alpha transparency value (ghost goblins etc)?

<bio_marc> Transparency - not in tools, but in max. This is an art thing not a toolset thing. The tools are really the D&D game, not a graphics suite. We will also have a lot of ghosts and spirits ready made...

<Maximus> <Perigon> Is the animation data importable? (So I can get the ready and modify accordingly)

<bio_marc> Importing - you cannot import from the game data you need the original artwork we can't tell you what we can ship on this yet. This is an Interplay related question. I have to give you more later on that.

<Thoranbrook> <ScurvyRickets> Will we have the choice of three body types - thin, muscular, hefty? If so will there be body types for all the races?

<bio_marc> Phenotypes - we are planning to do different body types, exactly how we do this is not final. This is a technological trickery thing... But however we do it, yes it will be for all PLAYER races... no fat goblins sorry... Well, they are kind of pot bellyed...

<Maximus> <NeoMaul> What's the status on 2d maps within the game?

<bio_marc> Um... maps. Yes. Not done yet - we are working on an auto map generated from the tile info in the module. Art work maps is not mission critical, so that comes later.

<Thoranbrook> <Dazeal> I was upset that they used the same model in BG for the halfling and gnome. Please tell me these two will have their own model?

<bio_marc> Sure! Gnomes don't look anything like haflings... not in 3E anyway...

<Maximus> <Perigon> Is there a limit to adding custom models, textures, tilesets or tiles in a tileset? (Not taking into account one's computer memory... just theoretical engine limitations)

<bio_marc> Limits - hardware are performance is the major limit. You can't have more than 256 types of monsters in the world right now, but I'm sure you don't want that in one module anyway...

<Thoranbrook> <Ryoku> Will we be able to see blood either on the ground and/or on the players during and after a fight?

<bio_marc> Blood - not if you're from Germany. But if you're from good old USA then turn up the violence settings!

<Maximus> <No-One> Fog again - so there won't be ground-hugging fog, or floating whisps of fog, etc?

<bio_marc> Ground fog - not right at this moment, why don't you mail Scott or Peter W. our engine guy and mention it - I'd love to see it...

<Thoranbrook> <Vulcano_Mystara> For scripted cutscenes, is there any way to export that as some type of movie file (mpeg, avi, etc) to be used as a sort of "trailer" for a website?

<bio_marc> Exported movies - you guys don't want much do ya ;) We were thinking of shipping with email support too but Scott had an cardiac... seriously, I don't know on that, we might... depends on licensing codecs I suppose...

<Maximus> <Yack> textures are 16bit or 24bit? and the color change is handle tru hue or how?

<bio_marc> Textures are all 24 bit right now. Texture compression is not standard on all cards we support. Oh for the simple console days...Your average Nvidia card doesn't care what bit depth you use...

<Maximus> <Perigon> Is there a chance that Bioware will release together with the plugin, an exporter that works directly from the .max file extensions. That way ppl can find file converters and export to the game directly from windows (Shouldn't be hard)

<bio_marc> Yes, there is a chance. We want to do this, and we are trying to make it happen. There are, as always reasons why we cannot support your work directly... mostly due to the chance of getting sued by a maniac. But we are sorting out how we will do support. This is a future issue we hope to have an answer for soon.

<Maximus> <Petyus> Will the infamous BOO appear in NWN by any chance? Please, we want a positive answer - Worldwide Organization Of Boo Fanatics

<bio_marc> Boo will be sad if you don't buy NWN and play for a long, long, time....

<Thoranbrook> I would like to Thank Marc for joining us this evening and hanging with us Neverwinter NUTS!

<Maximus> Thank you very much Marc for your time this evening and Thoranbrook for organizing this event!

<bio_marc> Thanks for coming everyone, hope you love the game, and all get work in the industry with your awesome modules...