chevalier
Thu, 13th Apr '06, 1:13am
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">Adam Brennecke, Programmer</font>
NWN 3 using the Unreal Engine (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476832&post=4071102&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr /><hr />Unreal is a great FPS engine and all but there's something to consider in the design philosophies between FPS engines/games vs. D&D/turn based games.
D&D uses a large number of abstractions to simulate things like newtonian physics, rules of combat, etc. (a game of percentages and probabilities) and is rooted fundamentally in the tabletop war gaming tradition (chainmail anyone?) relying on turns to resolve encounters.
FPS engines (like UnrealEngine) conversely, handle all of the calculations and simulations "in engine" and happen in real time; D&D "rules" at this point become meaningless and unnecessary.
I'm not saying it would be impossible to make a good "role-playing" game using UnrealEngine; you just couldn't make a D&D game (ie. NWN3) with it.<hr />Dragon Age is using the Unreal Engine 3. So, I would assume that to mean that it certainly is possible.
-edit-
I know DA, is not DnD. But it's basically the same thing. High-fantasy CRPG. Point is still relevant.<hr />No, Dragon Age is not using UE3.
Mass Effect is using UE3.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">J.E. Sawyer, NWN2 Lead Designer</font>
Bye, bye radial menu! [Episode III] (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476733&post=4070308&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />How can you not see the problems with using shift to change the focus mid-combat?<hr />Probably because I never expanded quickbars in WoW and always managed to switch between entire rows without difficulty. I didn't design the quickbars, but I've never had any problem with how they were designed. I also haven't heard any complaints out of QA about them. Most of the progression testers run through the game with 20th level characters, so if it were really that horrible of a design, I think I would have heard something about it by now.
<hr />Quote: From what you've described, the quickcast sounds exactly like the emote/voice stuff used by NWN1. I didn't really like it. One misclick and you're off on some menu that you didn't want that takes far too much time to re-do.<hr />Anthony already described how the quick cast menu works. You press a button (by clicking) or a hotkey (F currently) to open the quick cast menu. You click on a spell and the menu closes. I can't figure out where you got the idea that people are going to be flying off into some other menu. The quick cast menu simply displays all of your available spells and allows you to pick one. There's nothing complicated about it at all.
<hr />Could a Dev verify the casting friendly spells on hostiles thing? is it IMPOSSIBLE to do it, or do we just have to target it again with the spell?<hr />I think it's handled through the spell script, but I might be wrong. Currently, you cannot cast "beneficial" spells on hostiles or hostile spells on "friendlies".
More: <hr />Guess it depends on the QA team's prior experience with games. If the only experience they've had with game interfaces are ones that use the shift method to change focus, than why would they complain? It's what they're used to, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved on.<hr />The QA team's experience runs the gamut from total nubs to people with a lot of RPG (including original NWN) experience.
<hr />Quote: I'll be happy if you just give us the ability to bind the alt and ctrl key combinations to xml ui buttons. We'll be able to make our own improved and better UI.<hr />I think that's possible, but Anthony would be able to answer better than I would.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Nathaniel Chapman, NWN2 Q&A</font>
NWN2 2560 x 1600 max. settings (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476333&post=4070284&forum=99&highlight=)
<hr />I do however hope that NWN2 implements some kind of "fake HDR" or bloom or something =P (great example: guild wars)<hr />We've got bloom.
And, not only do we have bloom, but it's configurable in the toolset on a per-area and per-DayNightStage basis. So if you want the sunrise in the desert to bloom the scene out, well, you can. Also there's a dynamic sun corona that changes with the bloom level and the intensity of the sunlight. It's really cool - but dangerous, because you'll end up spending hours just goofing around with how cool you can make your areas look at different times of day.
Devs please respond: Character Portraits? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=475972&post=4070286&forum=99&highlight=)
We use 3D snapshots of your characters, which incorporate your currently equipped armor/helmet, actual hair and tint selections, etc. Now that we have character models that look really really good, it seems wasteful to generate a ton of 2D art that looks nothing like your in-game models.
As for customization, someone earlier in the thread said it well - there are a lot of customization options to make characters look different.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Adam Brennecke, Programmer</font>
NWN 3 using the Unreal Engine (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476832&post=4071102&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr /><hr />Unreal is a great FPS engine and all but there's something to consider in the design philosophies between FPS engines/games vs. D&D/turn based games.
D&D uses a large number of abstractions to simulate things like newtonian physics, rules of combat, etc. (a game of percentages and probabilities) and is rooted fundamentally in the tabletop war gaming tradition (chainmail anyone?) relying on turns to resolve encounters.
FPS engines (like UnrealEngine) conversely, handle all of the calculations and simulations "in engine" and happen in real time; D&D "rules" at this point become meaningless and unnecessary.
I'm not saying it would be impossible to make a good "role-playing" game using UnrealEngine; you just couldn't make a D&D game (ie. NWN3) with it.<hr />Dragon Age is using the Unreal Engine 3. So, I would assume that to mean that it certainly is possible.
-edit-
I know DA, is not DnD. But it's basically the same thing. High-fantasy CRPG. Point is still relevant.<hr />No, Dragon Age is not using UE3.
Mass Effect is using UE3.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">J.E. Sawyer, NWN2 Lead Designer</font>
Bye, bye radial menu! [Episode III] (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476733&post=4070308&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />How can you not see the problems with using shift to change the focus mid-combat?<hr />Probably because I never expanded quickbars in WoW and always managed to switch between entire rows without difficulty. I didn't design the quickbars, but I've never had any problem with how they were designed. I also haven't heard any complaints out of QA about them. Most of the progression testers run through the game with 20th level characters, so if it were really that horrible of a design, I think I would have heard something about it by now.
<hr />Quote: From what you've described, the quickcast sounds exactly like the emote/voice stuff used by NWN1. I didn't really like it. One misclick and you're off on some menu that you didn't want that takes far too much time to re-do.<hr />Anthony already described how the quick cast menu works. You press a button (by clicking) or a hotkey (F currently) to open the quick cast menu. You click on a spell and the menu closes. I can't figure out where you got the idea that people are going to be flying off into some other menu. The quick cast menu simply displays all of your available spells and allows you to pick one. There's nothing complicated about it at all.
<hr />Could a Dev verify the casting friendly spells on hostiles thing? is it IMPOSSIBLE to do it, or do we just have to target it again with the spell?<hr />I think it's handled through the spell script, but I might be wrong. Currently, you cannot cast "beneficial" spells on hostiles or hostile spells on "friendlies".
More: <hr />Guess it depends on the QA team's prior experience with games. If the only experience they've had with game interfaces are ones that use the shift method to change focus, than why would they complain? It's what they're used to, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved on.<hr />The QA team's experience runs the gamut from total nubs to people with a lot of RPG (including original NWN) experience.
<hr />Quote: I'll be happy if you just give us the ability to bind the alt and ctrl key combinations to xml ui buttons. We'll be able to make our own improved and better UI.<hr />I think that's possible, but Anthony would be able to answer better than I would.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Nathaniel Chapman, NWN2 Q&A</font>
NWN2 2560 x 1600 max. settings (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=476333&post=4070284&forum=99&highlight=)
<hr />I do however hope that NWN2 implements some kind of "fake HDR" or bloom or something =P (great example: guild wars)<hr />We've got bloom.
And, not only do we have bloom, but it's configurable in the toolset on a per-area and per-DayNightStage basis. So if you want the sunrise in the desert to bloom the scene out, well, you can. Also there's a dynamic sun corona that changes with the bloom level and the intensity of the sunlight. It's really cool - but dangerous, because you'll end up spending hours just goofing around with how cool you can make your areas look at different times of day.
Devs please respond: Character Portraits? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=475972&post=4070286&forum=99&highlight=)
We use 3D snapshots of your characters, which incorporate your currently equipped armor/helmet, actual hair and tint selections, etc. Now that we have character models that look really really good, it seems wasteful to generate a ton of 2D art that looks nothing like your in-game models.
As for customization, someone earlier in the thread said it well - there are a lot of customization options to make characters look different.