chevalier
Wed, 1st Mar '06, 3:47pm
Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault (http://nwvault.ign.com). 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 Baudoin, Lead Designer</font>
NWN2 Community Update #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471334&post=4006609&forum=95&highlight=)
Hrm - my answer to 4 made sense when I typed it, but I could see it being puzzling. The NWN1 prestige classes still don't have spell lists in NWN2. I sort of assumed that in context "in NWN2" is implied. And I know, I know the addage about assumptions.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Shane K. DeFreest, NWN2 Community Manager</font>
NWN2 Community Update #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471334&post=4006301&forum=95&highlight=)
Im just going to jump into this weeks update by saying thanks to all the Webmaster of both the fan sites and the Persistent World who have been submitting your information. Please keep it coming in.
While the response has been fantastic I do have to make a few clarifications that mostly pertain to the Persistant World community. When you send in your contact information I need REAL names (first and last)not online handles or the names of your character. We have some cool things in the works that we want to do for the PW community webmasters but we need your real name. For those of you who only submitted a online handle and email please resubmit with your real name.
Also, I'm going to make this known now that if your persistent world infringes on an already existing intellectual property (LotR, Shadowrun, World of Darkness, The Smurfs etc.) we will not be able to list it on NWN2.com. This is not to say you cant have it, just that we cant advertise it on the official site for obvious reasons.
Now onto other news of the week. Gamingreport.com has a new interview with Ferret up so make sure you check that out.
Click Here (http://gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=183)
Lastly before we get to the answers for some of your questions NWN2.com is now live. I you have not had the chance to check it out now is the time to do so.
Enjoy!
1) How is clothing/armor handled? Is it one piece as in NWN (next to gloves, helmet and such) or will every piece of clothing be a separate item (pants, shirt, jacket, cloak, breastplate, etc). Is clothing layered (and can some clothes layer over others so you can wear that breast-plate over any blouse and shirt and such) or does it replace the player model (like it did in NWN)?
Ferret: The way it works is there are different choices for the base armor. The base is something like a breastplate with no accessories. Then you can select different attachments to mix and match to create a look for the armor – so you can choose from different shoulder pieces, forearm pieces, leg pieces, etc. There’s enough permutation of attachments to make a wide variety of looks. Add to that you can change the color palette of the armor, too, so there’s a lot of flexibility.
2) I read on the WotC on some race article, that Drow have to actually surpress (i.e. turn off) their SR in order for it not to affect friendly spells (such as healing) the same way as normal offensive spells. Is this going to be implemented in NWN2 (unless the rule is out-of-date itself)?
Ferret: Drow’s magic resistance will automatically let beneficial spells go off. That’s a fun rule for pen-and-paper, but during gameplay that could involve too much micromanagement. In my experience most Drow players and DMs settle on the system we’ll be using for Neverwinter Nights 2.
3) Will classes still have alignment restrictions? (I ask because a recent interview about NWN2 seemed to imply that players will not be choosing an alignment up front. So, this makes me wonder if Chaotic Evil Paladins and Lawful Good Assassins are possible).
Ferret: Yes, classes still have alignment restrictions. And if you choose a Warlock, Paladin, or Monk initially then you won’t start off at True Neutral like everyone else. I think the system we’re adopting for the original campaign should make it fun for people to develop a character concept then stick to it and see what alignment you wind up (something people may remember fondly from the Ultima days). We have some fun moral choices throughout the game – so occasionally you might have to sit back and ponder some deep thoughts before you make your choice.
4) In NWN1, none of the PrCs had their own spell lists. Instead, they had a few special abilities they could use X times per day. Will PrCs (such as Assassins) have their proper spell lists in NWN2?
Ferret: The NWN1 prestige classes don’t have spell lists. That’s one of the reasons we pushed so hard to get spell progression prestige classes in our game because we wanted to have prestige classes that have a lot more “spell power.” There are a lot of prestige classes to choose from, so there should now be something for everyone.
5) NWN1 had several examples of class-specific quests, will NWN2 continue this and will it extend to race-specific as well?
Ferret: There are some class-specific quests – but expect a limited amount of them and don’t expect them to be incredibly deep. Especially as we add more classes and races, making content specifically for one of those means design or scripting work only is seen by a small percentage of players. We prefer to focus on the player’s in-game choices, not decisions made at character creation.
OMG I WAS WRONG... nwn2 site launch... (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471317&post=4006355&forum=95&highlight=)
"Um...how is a preamble for an interview written on the OFICIAL site not Atari approved? The November comment was not made by the interview. It was made by Atari on their site talking about the new interview."
No, this is incorrect. All the interviews are posted as written, AKA: unedited. The preamble is nothing more than the first few lines or paragraph of said interview. Do NOT take such things as an "official" statement just because they are on the site in an uncensored fashion.
-Shane
More: Let me clarify, if the preamble is not the first words of the interview its also sometimes cut and pasted from a "teaser" or preview paragraph on a main page.
http://gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=20341
Regardless, things posted in the interview section are not considered official statements from either the publisher or the developer. If there is a official statement to be made about the release date you will hear it directly from me first by way of these forums or an official press release.
Lets move on now.
Characters from other Bioware/Black Isle D&D games? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471161&post=4006586&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />There are IP issues here. Anyone from the older games who isn't from the official FR books is still owned by the moldering corpse of Interplay.<hr />Actually when a character/monster/etc. is created in an offical capacity (eg: a licensed product) said character is then considered to be part of that franchise and is owned by whomever owns the IP. The only real limits to what characters could, or could not be used would be pending WotC's approval.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Ferret Baudoin, Lead Designer</font>
NWN2 Community Update #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471334&post=4006609&forum=95&highlight=)
Hrm - my answer to 4 made sense when I typed it, but I could see it being puzzling. The NWN1 prestige classes still don't have spell lists in NWN2. I sort of assumed that in context "in NWN2" is implied. And I know, I know the addage about assumptions.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Shane K. DeFreest, NWN2 Community Manager</font>
NWN2 Community Update #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471334&post=4006301&forum=95&highlight=)
Im just going to jump into this weeks update by saying thanks to all the Webmaster of both the fan sites and the Persistent World who have been submitting your information. Please keep it coming in.
While the response has been fantastic I do have to make a few clarifications that mostly pertain to the Persistant World community. When you send in your contact information I need REAL names (first and last)not online handles or the names of your character. We have some cool things in the works that we want to do for the PW community webmasters but we need your real name. For those of you who only submitted a online handle and email please resubmit with your real name.
Also, I'm going to make this known now that if your persistent world infringes on an already existing intellectual property (LotR, Shadowrun, World of Darkness, The Smurfs etc.) we will not be able to list it on NWN2.com. This is not to say you cant have it, just that we cant advertise it on the official site for obvious reasons.
Now onto other news of the week. Gamingreport.com has a new interview with Ferret up so make sure you check that out.
Click Here (http://gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=183)
Lastly before we get to the answers for some of your questions NWN2.com is now live. I you have not had the chance to check it out now is the time to do so.
Enjoy!
1) How is clothing/armor handled? Is it one piece as in NWN (next to gloves, helmet and such) or will every piece of clothing be a separate item (pants, shirt, jacket, cloak, breastplate, etc). Is clothing layered (and can some clothes layer over others so you can wear that breast-plate over any blouse and shirt and such) or does it replace the player model (like it did in NWN)?
Ferret: The way it works is there are different choices for the base armor. The base is something like a breastplate with no accessories. Then you can select different attachments to mix and match to create a look for the armor – so you can choose from different shoulder pieces, forearm pieces, leg pieces, etc. There’s enough permutation of attachments to make a wide variety of looks. Add to that you can change the color palette of the armor, too, so there’s a lot of flexibility.
2) I read on the WotC on some race article, that Drow have to actually surpress (i.e. turn off) their SR in order for it not to affect friendly spells (such as healing) the same way as normal offensive spells. Is this going to be implemented in NWN2 (unless the rule is out-of-date itself)?
Ferret: Drow’s magic resistance will automatically let beneficial spells go off. That’s a fun rule for pen-and-paper, but during gameplay that could involve too much micromanagement. In my experience most Drow players and DMs settle on the system we’ll be using for Neverwinter Nights 2.
3) Will classes still have alignment restrictions? (I ask because a recent interview about NWN2 seemed to imply that players will not be choosing an alignment up front. So, this makes me wonder if Chaotic Evil Paladins and Lawful Good Assassins are possible).
Ferret: Yes, classes still have alignment restrictions. And if you choose a Warlock, Paladin, or Monk initially then you won’t start off at True Neutral like everyone else. I think the system we’re adopting for the original campaign should make it fun for people to develop a character concept then stick to it and see what alignment you wind up (something people may remember fondly from the Ultima days). We have some fun moral choices throughout the game – so occasionally you might have to sit back and ponder some deep thoughts before you make your choice.
4) In NWN1, none of the PrCs had their own spell lists. Instead, they had a few special abilities they could use X times per day. Will PrCs (such as Assassins) have their proper spell lists in NWN2?
Ferret: The NWN1 prestige classes don’t have spell lists. That’s one of the reasons we pushed so hard to get spell progression prestige classes in our game because we wanted to have prestige classes that have a lot more “spell power.” There are a lot of prestige classes to choose from, so there should now be something for everyone.
5) NWN1 had several examples of class-specific quests, will NWN2 continue this and will it extend to race-specific as well?
Ferret: There are some class-specific quests – but expect a limited amount of them and don’t expect them to be incredibly deep. Especially as we add more classes and races, making content specifically for one of those means design or scripting work only is seen by a small percentage of players. We prefer to focus on the player’s in-game choices, not decisions made at character creation.
OMG I WAS WRONG... nwn2 site launch... (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471317&post=4006355&forum=95&highlight=)
"Um...how is a preamble for an interview written on the OFICIAL site not Atari approved? The November comment was not made by the interview. It was made by Atari on their site talking about the new interview."
No, this is incorrect. All the interviews are posted as written, AKA: unedited. The preamble is nothing more than the first few lines or paragraph of said interview. Do NOT take such things as an "official" statement just because they are on the site in an uncensored fashion.
-Shane
More: Let me clarify, if the preamble is not the first words of the interview its also sometimes cut and pasted from a "teaser" or preview paragraph on a main page.
http://gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=20341
Regardless, things posted in the interview section are not considered official statements from either the publisher or the developer. If there is a official statement to be made about the release date you will hear it directly from me first by way of these forums or an official press release.
Lets move on now.
Characters from other Bioware/Black Isle D&D games? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=471161&post=4006586&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />There are IP issues here. Anyone from the older games who isn't from the official FR books is still owned by the moldering corpse of Interplay.<hr />Actually when a character/monster/etc. is created in an offical capacity (eg: a licensed product) said character is then considered to be part of that franchise and is owned by whomever owns the IP. The only real limits to what characters could, or could not be used would be pending WotC's approval.