Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault (http://nwvault.ign.com) from Obsidian Forums (http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showforum=21). Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Ferret, Developer</font>

Haste ('http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=10331&hl=')
As previously pointed out, NWN1 correctly implemented the 3.0 Haste rules. In 3.5 Haste no longer allows double casting. The 3.5 rules for Haste and spell-casting worry me a little, because I thought that waiting for a spell to be cast sans Haste could be a very time consuming experience in NWN1. Haste was like a breath of fresh air because I could cast spells faster, yay! In your guys opinion in PW and multiplayer is double casting all that imbalancing?

Exploits ('http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=2556&hl=')
We were going to release the game with no bugs, but obviously the public wants them. I'll ask the programmers to put a bunch in to make the fans happy. :)

Tab Highlighting ('http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=8294&hl=')
I'm going to answer to this one. For my own sanity, and perhaps the sanity of others: the blue highlights stay. Tab was one of the best UI improvements in the IE games. For people that don't like it, we can sell the special purist edition of NWN2 that comes with a screwdriver and detailed instructions on how to pry the Tab key off your keyboard. :) P.S. I can understand the sentiment, btw. But pixel hunting over many many hours gets very burdensome for most folks.

<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">FrankK, Programmer</font>

Tilesets ('http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=10705&hl=')
We will be using some form of tile system. At points we discussed moving toward a more complicated editor, but the consensus is that the end-users need to be able to lay out a level and play it in the game in hours, not days or weeks. Tilesets give the end-user that simplicity. The tileset system will change. We can't say how right now because the details are being worked and reworked, but we would ideally like to make those who wish to delve into more complex level design a little happier.

[ August 30, 2004, 19:37: Message edited by: chevalier ]

I'm going to answer to this one. For my own sanity, and perhaps the sanity of others: the blue highlights stay. Tab was one of the best UI improvements in the IE games. For people that don't like it, we can sell the special purist edition of NWN2 that comes with a screwdriver and detailed instructions on how to pry the Tab key off your keyboard. :) P.S. I can understand the sentiment, btw. But pixel hunting over many many hours gets very burdensome for most folks. Ah, at least someone with some sense. The absence of the highlight would have been a serious consideration for not buying it. Although I think they should change the color, or even better, give the player the option to customise the color. That blue was way too bright in nwn.

Agreed, the highlight must be there. It has always been a good thing for me. Saves so much stress. And there's nothing wrong with that, purist-wise. Just imagine it stands for the whole action of oggling the room or part of area up and down and you're set.

Yes, and one difference is that in real life you can spot chests and other containers easier from their surroundings than in games somehow. The only point where it spoils is if the designers implement uber-items or easter eggs in secret hard to find spots and then comes along the highlight, spoiling the fun of "accidentaly" stumbling on them. But that only happens if the highlight is added later, not if it is implemented from the start.

PS I actually like the screwdriver box idea :D Imagine, a screwdriver in your box with the handle in the shape of a dragon or some other fantastic creature/character.

Yeah, I would appreciate a dragon handle for my computer works screwdriver. But it needs to have a magnetic tip! :D