Neverwinter Nights Forum Update

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(Originally posted by Tiamat)

Derek French, Assistant Producer:

Dedicated Servers: You will be allowed to set up as many dedicated servers as you would like from your existing installs. The dedicated server does not require a CD Key to run. It is possible to create a dedicated NWN server and place the server in one location, create a second dedicated NWN server and place it in another location, and install the game on your main machine at your house, do all of my design and scripting. Log in and play with the NWN Client Or NWN DM Client and connect with your dedicated servers (each server containing one half of the persistant world), with only one copy of the game.

Install Size: Sorry, but until the game is almost finished, we cannot guestimate on the install size. Anything that we would say right now would be a complete guess and cause some sort of uproar.

Patching: Patching in NWN is entirly voluntary. The only requirement is that you can only play with people that have the same game version as you. If you are out of sync, you or they will have to patch in order for you to play together. The patcher is a separate program from the game executables (there are multiples).

Is Gmax in the game? Sorry, but we don't have an answer for you at this time.

Single-Player vs Multi-Player Sales: To clarify, the poll that ran on our web site has nothing to do with the percentage statement about multiplayer. While I cannot off hand recall the source of the original survey, I will restate it here.
For games that have both a single play mode and a multi-player mode, in North American, 60% of the sales are for single-player only. In Europe, that number is higher, at 80%.
"Rigging" of polls has nothing to do with nothing.
NWN is both single-player and multi-player in all things. The Official Campaign that ships with the game can be played by a single, non-internet connected PC and it can be played by multiple player via LAN or internet.

CD Checks and Backup Copies: Few CDs actually have "copy" protection on them. And for those that do, I don't know of any programs off hand that have had problems reading and backing up the CDs. I use Nero and haven't had a problem yet making a legal backup of my purchased software. I will state that BG2 and ToB are fully playable from backups. I keep my CDs safe in the original from my "mangler" CD-ROM drive. We intend for NWN to be the same. CD checks are put in by request of the publisher. While this can be problematic for certain CD drives, there is no way around this.

DVD Release of NWN: Unfortunately, the stats show that DVD drives have not yet reached that critical mass where they are commonplace. While everyone you know has a DVD drive, out of 30 friends and family that I can think of off the top of my head, none of them have a DVD drive. Its just too early for DVD on release titles.

CD Key Authentication: CD Key authentication takes place on a remote server. This way, you cannot see the authentication code or monitor the process. As for brute force cracking with no code inspection access, check out this attempt to crack a 64 bit cypher. 1539 days of distributed computing and only 63% of the keyspace checked and no solution found. There is no privacy violation with internet CD Key authentication as it is purely anonymous. I also am not aware of any games that force you to register in order to play them. That is not true with CD Key authentication codes. The games that use them for multiplayer have yet to sucessfully crack or generate a valid CD Key. The programs that proport to do so either are pulling from a list of already stolen Keys or read your Key from your computer and send it to a warez site.

New Level Cap: We have made no such statement. The only thing we have said, is that if rules for the 20+ levels are released, we might make this part of an expansion pack. Nothing definate and nothing planned at this point.

Brent Knowles, Co-Lead Designer:

Henchman System: NPCs are NON PLAYER CHARACTERS. That is, its the category of everybody other than players in the game.
Henchmen are a 'system', whereby each player can have one henchman with limited control(they can remove this henchman to take a different one, but the upper limit is always one).
You can 'script' an unlimited number of NPCs to follow you around or something, but that is not the henchman system. You cannot use the built in henchman control system to command these NPCs.
As of this moment there is no inventory control system with henchmen. Henchmen are a relatively new system and still remain to be tested.
We are aiming at creating a world that is more 'alive' than others we've made before. NPCs in the game will occasionally help you, but only for their own reasons, their own motives.
Yes, there is a maximum of 1 henchman.
Though henchman AI would know to use the better weapons, we just haven't added a method for them to get these better weapons yet.

Don Moar, Lead Programmer, Tools:

NWToolset: The nwtoolset already allows you to specify a text-only comment for just about everything, including the module as a whole, anyway. I don't see any reason why we couldn't use a standard structure as a starting point. It is even possible to obtain some of that information you've specified automatically, although I'm not making any promises about that - we've got more than enough to keep us busy as it is.

Yes, there is an export / import facility inside the NWToolset. It will allow you to export everything from individual scripts up to entire areas from one of your modules and import them into another. It checks for dependant resources and automatically includes them in the export. Thus if you're exporting your favourite creature, which has three custom scripts and a conversation file associated with it, the export utility will automatically export the scripts and conversation, too.

The script editor itself will allow you to cut & paste text to & from other programs, if you're so inclined.

Radial Menu: Yes, the radial menu is still in.

David Gaider, Designer:

Streams and Water: If you place a 'stream' in the tileset, it's something that's fairly shallow, and a player will be able to cross it on foot. There is also the 'water' tile, which makes the entire tile area deep water and impassable...and you can lay down as many water tiles as you need.
Both can be crossed by bridges. Oh...and someone once asked if there were houses on stilts. Originally I said no, but lo and behold I was in the game today and saw a series of buildings by the shore on stilts. Go figure. Apparently, the pre-made houses and buildings that you lay down can't go on water (and will generate land around them if you attempt it)...but the generic 'building' tile (which we use in the cities to represent a cluster of buildings, often for bordering areas...although they are fully useable and have their own doors and so forth) will have stilts if you place it on a water tile. Might have to be bordering actual land, though...I'll have to play with the toolset to find that out.

NPC Patrols: Heh...list this under 'Cool Thing of the Day' (hey! Bug Jay and maybe this will be a regular feature, eh? )...so I'm supposed to lay down a patrolling guard in the current area, right? In BG2, scripting this would be a headache-inducing labor involving finding the specific points and scripting the fellow to walk from point to point...and then hoping it didn't break if the player did so much as speak to him.

I'd never done it before with the toolset, so I punched up the instructions...and they looked deceptively short. I was sure this couldn't be it.

So I shrug and go ahead. I grab one of the generic guards with the default scripts attached to him and plunk him down. Then I select the Waypoint button and click on the 'New' button to create a new waypoint. It automatically gives the new waypoint a name...and since I'm not using this to place map notes on the area or anything...I can just plunk this down on the map, as well. A few more times and I've got the whole route the guard is supposed to take.
Select all of the waypoints together, right click, and one of the options you get is 'Create Set'...it asks you for the template name of a creature to associate the set with. I enter the guard's name.

And that's it. I think "That can't be it". Sure enough...the instructions include a command which you can include at the end of dialogue if you want the creature to re-assume its 'rounds'...but otherwise, it was indeed it.

Suspicious, I entered the game. Sure enough, there was the guard strolling about his rounds in the city. When I chatted with him, he stopped...and after we were finished, he went back about his business. Watched him stroll around until he came to the tavern, when he (as scripted...which was also a simple matter) walked up to the door and disappeared. (He went inside to have a bit of ale...and on duty, no less. Shame, shame.)

Looking at some of the complex reactions that exist within the default scripting...as well as the ability the DM has to set the 'perception range' of a creature...gave me some very evil ideas about how castles and monster gaves might be patrolled...

Anyway...back to work once again. (Hear that whip crack!)