I've moved these posts here due to the fact they no longer will apply to BG2, where these segments were being posted originally.

This is all I can give you at this time.

- Isometric view

- Each race will have its own starting point within its own racial city.
Humans will start in a human settlement
Dwarves will start in a dwarven settlement
Elves will start in an elven settlement
Gnomes will start in a gnomish settlement
Half-Elf characters get a choice of Elven or Human
Half-Orc characters get a choice of Orcish or Human
Halflings will start in a halfling settlement

- Full seasons will effect merchant trade, travel time as well as
be seen changing visually within the game itself

- NPC database, no static NPCs.

This system gets complex and detailing it would take quite sometime.
How this works is every NPC in the world is a nobody when you start
the game. The game engine builds the world and randomly puts together
each NPC, dropping in their race, sex, occupations, personalities and
dialog information based on their location. The engine will know not
to put a dwarven slave who's dialog speaks of being captured and thrown
into a cell if that NPCs location flag has placed him in say, a tavern
in Silverymoon.

This means that the next time you play a new game, that tavern you entered before
will be stocked with new NPCs, although the same amount will be there,
who they are and what they do and how they effect you will have changed.

- With multiple starting locations based on race, that also means multiple
endings within the game. How many "main" campaign plots there will be
has not been decided yet, but we're aiming for at least 3 per race.

- A world that changes with time and with seasons. Each NPC will have some
reaction to the events taking place within the main campaign plot and those
events that happen in a web radius near those NPCs. The database will handle
this during NPC creation, which will allow you, as a player to return to
Hills Edge after two seasons and actually see some changes, new NPCs arrived
while old ones moved on. Some NPCs may even tell you where those that left
have gone to, so you'll be able to find them again down the road.

- Romances will be available as they have proven to be quite the hit in previous
games. How they come about and who they are with will vary on the database
when the NPCs are built at the start of your game.

- Romances will allow the chance of sexual encounters, although not much detail
can be given at this time, but offspring will be available and at the end of
one "campaign", if you have any children born in the world, will be notified
and allow you to play again as one of your offspring.

- Characters will age with time. Your brave warrior will only be so brave for so
long, one reason it is felt that having realtionships is very important and healthy
to an epic campaign story. Just because your main character is old and "retired"
doesn't mean the campaign has come to an end, it only means that you now have a
chance to continue it with one of your own offspring. Details to this are not
yet available but will be made so in time.

- Main campaign storylines may span over a few generations.

- The availability to play an evil character and this will be handled in more detail
with the NPC database as NPCs react to your actions. Since each NPC can web out to
those around it, going on a killing spree is possible, but while you're killing one
NPC, another around that NPCs web radius, is now telling another NPC off the screen
and they'll tell another, just as long as they've seen you in the act.
Your own reputation will get ahead of your own travels
and heading from one town to another looking for more blood may surprise you when that
town is ready for you. Playing a more passive evil character is fully possible as well
as the NPC Database will cover and place NPCs with evil intentions, quests and dialog.

- Your alignment is based simply on your own actions as a player in the game. How you treat
your character within the world and how NPCs react to those actions in the world will be
how you are viewed. You will not choose alignment, but simply play your character as you
see fit. The NPCs will be the judge of you instead. With that said, starting a new game
lets you be who you want to be. Good or evil? It's yours to decide by action, not by
alignment selection as in previous games.

- Forming a party has not yet been decided and if so, the number of members that will be allowed
to join your party is still being discussed but we have thought about some party issues, as per below.

- NPCs that can join your party will come with their own goals, quirks and personalities. Some
NPCs that join the group may risk their lives for you in battle, bleed for you while you rest, etc
This comes with both negative and positive results. NPCs will be thankful of a leader who shares
the equipment that they risked their lives for, but don't think all NPCs will stand by you while you
strip them of the equipment they rightfully fought for and deserve. Doing so may very well have your
own party turn on you. Those within the party will keep a sharp eye on you if you're hogging items
as well and not handing out items of worth to those who risked their lives for you. Expect full
interaction by the NPCs based on your own actions.

- We are undecided on starting levels and are pitching for the 3E "20d system" setting in the Forgotten
Realms.

Syl...

Ooooo, pick me!!!

That sounds awesome Sylvus, what everyone wanted all rolled into one :D

I can't even imagine what it takes to do something like that as I am not exactly well-versed in all things computer related.

Anyway, my bumbling for words only shows how excited the idea of an interactive game like that makes me :) My whole point to responding was to tell you that I thought it sounded wonderfully new to me.

Um, but WTF is it?

Gawd you stretch things before getting to the point.

A standalone game? An online world built with the NWN engine?? A module for NWN???
Nothing connected to NWN of whatsoever????

:p

Nothing to do with NWN and if I get ahead of myself, I'll only be putting my own foot into my mouth. I posted what I know and that's that. As far as I know, no name has even been thought of (big deal really). Single player as far as I know too. More or else going for a very emersive game that concentrates on one player rather than a multiplayer game. Something like a good book where it's just you and the world created.

I'll post more information as I get it, but as of now, that's all she wrote.

Oh and Sorcerer, stretching things builds excitement, just like any good plot or movie. Who wants to get to the punch right away? It's better to be left thinking about something for a few days and that's my style.

Syl...



[This message has been edited by Sylvus Moonbow (edited November 10, 2000).]

Syl - That sounds *fantastic*! I've always wanted that kind of detail in the NPCs, with news spreading like word-of-mouth. Will you also change the truth is subtle ways as the news spreads from NPC to NPC like the old telephone game? Now that would be interesting! The farther away from the action the NPC is the farther away from the truth he/she will be! :)

I definitely would like a party though, and the party interaction you described above sounds great!

Can't wait to hear more!

Interesting. Give us more, O fountain of knowledge! :cool:

where did you find all this out? the game sounds brilliant, but there are some stuff i dont understand still, like who is making the game? whos idead is it? where can we go for more details? etc...

Due to the fact things are still being ironed out, there is no web site at this time or information I can point in you to get more added information on the subject.

Until things are set in stone, those making this game cannot be given. It would be too premature but I can tell you that I will be helping in its development once the wheels are in motion, one reason for all the posts in the BG2 forum about ideas and the like.

Syl...

Here's an idea...why don't you set up a ad&d game right here? It does stretch the imagination abit and will be slow but it can be achieved! So howabout it?

Salutations,
My first post here so hello everybody. This
sounds like a game I want to play. Sounds
like the replay value will be great. I`d be
interested in any updates. Well it`s getting
difficult to type, I have a cat who wants to
lay on the keyboard.

your cats wants to LAY the keyboard or the cat wants to LAY ON the kayboard huh? sweet name by the way ;)

I wonder whether i should be a wizard or a cleric...

Yes whenever I have my keyboard slid out of
it`s cubby hole on my desk, Hobbs my cat
wants to sleep on it. Calin my other cat just
sits on my lap and paws the keyboard, so I
find myself correcting typos a lot.
Thank you! It took a while to think of my
user name.

What give you the idea to use the name?

Also, so howabout a ad&d game right here?

I am an apprentice!
BWAHAHAHA!!!
Ok people...what new spells may i be granted then? And which mission do you require me to do? :)

I have the cat problem too, tuna uaually distracts them long enough though.

That would also distract me! :)