chevalier
Sun, 13th Aug '06, 2:35pm
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">J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer</font>
Exclusive NEW screens @ nwn2news (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492108&post=4254376&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />I can tolerate ingame graphical anamolies but there is NO EXCUSE for bad 2d art in a GUI - its straight forward work in photoshop and illustrator. I'm just aggrivated that someone is getting paid for that level of work.<hr />Many of the problems you're referring to are the result of GUI renderer bugs. It improperly filters some of the GUI elements so the alphas look bad and some portions look blurred. The source art looks fine.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Patrick K Mills, Production Tester</font>
Gen Con Pictures (from NWN2Wiki) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492213&post=4255893&forum=95&highlight=)
A few things, though a lot of it has probably already been addressed or will be later today.
- The Neverwinter Nine prestige class is a generalist class with neat feats for casters, sneakers, and brawlers alike. It's not just a fighty prestige class.
- Sacred Fist and Mystic Theurge are not in, a lot of the legacy stuff remains behind, though.
- We do have new voice sets, but we are (probably) including the originals as well.
- Tatoo colors are controled by the eye-color. This may change, not my department.
- The Eye in the lower left is essentially the "start button." It brings up a bunch of useful menus.
- It's pretty silly to quible about minor bugs like someone's hair clipping oddly. Though feel free. The game isn't finished.
More:<hr />The character is leveling up and it some of the skills are blue colored, while others are white. What does it all mean?<hr />Blue are class skills, white are cross-class. Red is prohibited.
More:<hr />Not to be nit-picky but can soemone please explain why this was placed in one of the most easily viewed area's of the game and then hard coded so as to -not- be movable??<hr />It's where it is because you use it a lot. If your anticipation for the game went down "50%" based on that, then you fail at not being nit-picky.
The button opens your character sheet, inventory, journal, spellbook, map, party management, multiplayer list, etc. It's also much smaller now, scaled to be in-line with the hotbar.
More:<hr />I thought there weren't any prohibited skills by 3.5 rules. At least that's what everyone was shouting about...
"I want my fighter to have UMD and perform..." Silly powergamers! http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_ignore.gif<hr />We made it prohibited for the campaign because no one but bards use perform. It an be changed with a 2da edit for your own campaigns.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Jason Keeney, Programmer</font>
Doors (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490434&post=4254576&forum=100&highlight=)
Being as a building *is* a placeable, you could hang a door on any placeable built with an appropriate frame.
So I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do everything mentioned in this thread so far.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Anthony Davis, Programmer</font>
Question about the PC's starting clothes (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492153&post=4254515&forum=95&highlight=)
In NWN2 you start out with a base outfit that is determined by your class. For some classes this is a base armor of some sort (fighters, rogues, etc), for other classes it is a cloth outfit (monks, wizards, etc).
This starting outfit is also settable in the 2DA where we have columns for hat, chest, hands, feet, and I *THINK* cloak, though I'm not positive on the last one (and I wrote the code!).
More:<hr />Sounds like the same as it was in NWN1 (plus a cloak)?<hr />No, in NWN1 you got chose your outfit, but it had no real affect on the game except as a role-playing value.
Plus in NWN2, the hands, feet and cloak armor show up on the character.
More:<hr />Just to toss in a semi-related question regarding clothes and armor, how customizable are they in the toolset? Can I make pretty much whatever outfit I want, like the NwN 1 toolset allows me, or is it more restricted, considering how much more detailed the outfits are? Can I still choose from lots of different pauldrons, necks, chests, arms and legs to create the outfit of my dreams? http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif<hr />Yes.
Exclusive NEW screens @ nwn2news (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492108&post=4254524&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />I have to admit I find it extremely amusing when someone comes in and rants and raves and acts like a such jerk only to be yanked up short when it's found out he's ranting and raving about stuff that was mere place-holder material and has been changed. Not the first game I've seen this happen with. I'm sure it won't be the last. And I'm sure the ranting types will never learn and provide more amusment for me in the future...<hr />I didn't mean to come down hard on him, I welcome critical assessments of the game or work going into the game. However, keep the discourse rational, hyperbole has very limited use in a critical assessment.
More:<hr />All i'll say is this: i'll believe it when I see it. I have heard the "THIS IS OLD!!111" from the developers everytime something critical comes their way.
(Half-joking)How hard is it to run the game and press print screen and leak it to the public? You'll have the game out before Atari has time to get a legal team into the courts. If your game is as flawless as you claim wouldn't you be outraged that your producer is so misleadingly advertising the labor of years work with outdated 'placeholder' art? Who spends hours coloring stuff as a placeholder? usually placeholders are developer's faces, a box that says PLACEHOLDER or something funny. Who would spend hours to make placeholders in full color that are going to be removed anyway?
Sawyer's post seems to directly contradict what Davis is saying. Sawyer says all the source 2d art is flawless and its a rendering issue, Davis seems to think that it is geniune artistic shoddiness that has been redone from a state of being a 'placeholder'
Like I said, i'll believe it when I see it.<hr />It doesn't contradict what I said at all. Everything I said, and everything Josh said is 100% correct. I told you one part, he told you another. I didn't go into more detail because I didn't FEEL like going into more detail about texture atlasing, 2d art dimensions that are non-powers of 2, and other various and sundry rendering issues.
If I don't take the time to tell you the whole story it is because I am either too busy to tell you, or I don't think it is necessary for me to tell you.
Placeholder art can be anything from a box I draw in MSPaint to any NON final piece or artwork. Sometimes this includes an actual piece of art that is made by an artist, but is still NOT final! If a button is needed for some new GUI screen and the art isnt done yet, sometimes art is used from another GUI screen that is similar.
Also, at no point did I say the previous art in the game was 'shoddy'. Do not put words in my mouth. What I said was that the screens were 'old' and that the game no longer looks like the screenhots anymore. I then went on to list a SMALL example of what has changed.
More:<hr />Most of the complaints from this thread:
Click Here (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=492108&forum=95)
have been apparently fixed. GUI has been considerably improved and changed I noticed in this build as well as the character models. The moon elf looks so *Drools* upclose.
Good job Obsidian! Now all we have to wait is the official good looking screenies now.
Thanks for taking the time to take the pics Austicke though its a little too much http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif Of course, not complaining and actually, do bring us more goodies http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif <hr />For example,
this picture here:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3556.JPG.html)
is new GUI art. There are some minor changes that have happened since this build, but this is an example of the new GUI art.
edit: Basically if you want to know if a particular image is old or new, and what some functionality or other does, make sure you include a link to the picture in your question. Thanks in advance!
More:<hr />All I can say at this point is that if what the devs have posted is true, then Atari is following some straaaannnngeeee marketing scheme. It's two months before the game's release - the marketing machine should start hitting hard and fast soon.<hr />this picture here:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3556.JPG.html)
is new GUI art. There are some minor changes that have happened since this build, but this is an example of the new GUI art.
I will now post all my responses regarding the game adn the GUI in this thread:
Click Here For My Great Answers!(lawlz) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=492213&forum=95)
Gen Con Pictures (from NWN2Wiki) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492213&post=4255218&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3689.JPG.html)
Is this the new Balor/Balor Lord? Pretty sexy if I do say so myself.
Btw the Gui does look a lot better than the pics in that other thread. Vast improvement.<hr />I think that is the Pit Fiend. The Balor has a flaming whip and a flaming sword.
edit: yeah I think the above poster is right. I just know that it is definitely NOT the Balor.
More:<hr /><hr />In many of the in-game shots, there is a NWN Eye in the bottom left corner of the screen. What purpose does this serve in the game?
Here's some examples:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3582.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3583.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3606.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3617.JPG.html)
More importantly, can it be disabled via scripting?
Second, can the Atari shirt in the background within this picture be purchased somewhere?
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3545.JPG.html)
Thanks,
'ol FP!<hr />I would imagine that the eye is the pause function.<hr />The 'eye' button is the equivalent of the windows start menu. We call it the start menu or sometimes the player menu.
The mini button next to it is the rest button.
That is the old version of the artwork for it. It is also not moveable and the new version looks a lot better.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer</font>
Exclusive NEW screens @ nwn2news (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492108&post=4254376&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />I can tolerate ingame graphical anamolies but there is NO EXCUSE for bad 2d art in a GUI - its straight forward work in photoshop and illustrator. I'm just aggrivated that someone is getting paid for that level of work.<hr />Many of the problems you're referring to are the result of GUI renderer bugs. It improperly filters some of the GUI elements so the alphas look bad and some portions look blurred. The source art looks fine.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Patrick K Mills, Production Tester</font>
Gen Con Pictures (from NWN2Wiki) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492213&post=4255893&forum=95&highlight=)
A few things, though a lot of it has probably already been addressed or will be later today.
- The Neverwinter Nine prestige class is a generalist class with neat feats for casters, sneakers, and brawlers alike. It's not just a fighty prestige class.
- Sacred Fist and Mystic Theurge are not in, a lot of the legacy stuff remains behind, though.
- We do have new voice sets, but we are (probably) including the originals as well.
- Tatoo colors are controled by the eye-color. This may change, not my department.
- The Eye in the lower left is essentially the "start button." It brings up a bunch of useful menus.
- It's pretty silly to quible about minor bugs like someone's hair clipping oddly. Though feel free. The game isn't finished.
More:<hr />The character is leveling up and it some of the skills are blue colored, while others are white. What does it all mean?<hr />Blue are class skills, white are cross-class. Red is prohibited.
More:<hr />Not to be nit-picky but can soemone please explain why this was placed in one of the most easily viewed area's of the game and then hard coded so as to -not- be movable??<hr />It's where it is because you use it a lot. If your anticipation for the game went down "50%" based on that, then you fail at not being nit-picky.
The button opens your character sheet, inventory, journal, spellbook, map, party management, multiplayer list, etc. It's also much smaller now, scaled to be in-line with the hotbar.
More:<hr />I thought there weren't any prohibited skills by 3.5 rules. At least that's what everyone was shouting about...
"I want my fighter to have UMD and perform..." Silly powergamers! http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_ignore.gif<hr />We made it prohibited for the campaign because no one but bards use perform. It an be changed with a 2da edit for your own campaigns.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Jason Keeney, Programmer</font>
Doors (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=490434&post=4254576&forum=100&highlight=)
Being as a building *is* a placeable, you could hang a door on any placeable built with an appropriate frame.
So I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do everything mentioned in this thread so far.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Anthony Davis, Programmer</font>
Question about the PC's starting clothes (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492153&post=4254515&forum=95&highlight=)
In NWN2 you start out with a base outfit that is determined by your class. For some classes this is a base armor of some sort (fighters, rogues, etc), for other classes it is a cloth outfit (monks, wizards, etc).
This starting outfit is also settable in the 2DA where we have columns for hat, chest, hands, feet, and I *THINK* cloak, though I'm not positive on the last one (and I wrote the code!).
More:<hr />Sounds like the same as it was in NWN1 (plus a cloak)?<hr />No, in NWN1 you got chose your outfit, but it had no real affect on the game except as a role-playing value.
Plus in NWN2, the hands, feet and cloak armor show up on the character.
More:<hr />Just to toss in a semi-related question regarding clothes and armor, how customizable are they in the toolset? Can I make pretty much whatever outfit I want, like the NwN 1 toolset allows me, or is it more restricted, considering how much more detailed the outfits are? Can I still choose from lots of different pauldrons, necks, chests, arms and legs to create the outfit of my dreams? http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif<hr />Yes.
Exclusive NEW screens @ nwn2news (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492108&post=4254524&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />I have to admit I find it extremely amusing when someone comes in and rants and raves and acts like a such jerk only to be yanked up short when it's found out he's ranting and raving about stuff that was mere place-holder material and has been changed. Not the first game I've seen this happen with. I'm sure it won't be the last. And I'm sure the ranting types will never learn and provide more amusment for me in the future...<hr />I didn't mean to come down hard on him, I welcome critical assessments of the game or work going into the game. However, keep the discourse rational, hyperbole has very limited use in a critical assessment.
More:<hr />All i'll say is this: i'll believe it when I see it. I have heard the "THIS IS OLD!!111" from the developers everytime something critical comes their way.
(Half-joking)How hard is it to run the game and press print screen and leak it to the public? You'll have the game out before Atari has time to get a legal team into the courts. If your game is as flawless as you claim wouldn't you be outraged that your producer is so misleadingly advertising the labor of years work with outdated 'placeholder' art? Who spends hours coloring stuff as a placeholder? usually placeholders are developer's faces, a box that says PLACEHOLDER or something funny. Who would spend hours to make placeholders in full color that are going to be removed anyway?
Sawyer's post seems to directly contradict what Davis is saying. Sawyer says all the source 2d art is flawless and its a rendering issue, Davis seems to think that it is geniune artistic shoddiness that has been redone from a state of being a 'placeholder'
Like I said, i'll believe it when I see it.<hr />It doesn't contradict what I said at all. Everything I said, and everything Josh said is 100% correct. I told you one part, he told you another. I didn't go into more detail because I didn't FEEL like going into more detail about texture atlasing, 2d art dimensions that are non-powers of 2, and other various and sundry rendering issues.
If I don't take the time to tell you the whole story it is because I am either too busy to tell you, or I don't think it is necessary for me to tell you.
Placeholder art can be anything from a box I draw in MSPaint to any NON final piece or artwork. Sometimes this includes an actual piece of art that is made by an artist, but is still NOT final! If a button is needed for some new GUI screen and the art isnt done yet, sometimes art is used from another GUI screen that is similar.
Also, at no point did I say the previous art in the game was 'shoddy'. Do not put words in my mouth. What I said was that the screens were 'old' and that the game no longer looks like the screenhots anymore. I then went on to list a SMALL example of what has changed.
More:<hr />Most of the complaints from this thread:
Click Here (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=492108&forum=95)
have been apparently fixed. GUI has been considerably improved and changed I noticed in this build as well as the character models. The moon elf looks so *Drools* upclose.
Good job Obsidian! Now all we have to wait is the official good looking screenies now.
Thanks for taking the time to take the pics Austicke though its a little too much http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif Of course, not complaining and actually, do bring us more goodies http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif <hr />For example,
this picture here:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3556.JPG.html)
is new GUI art. There are some minor changes that have happened since this build, but this is an example of the new GUI art.
edit: Basically if you want to know if a particular image is old or new, and what some functionality or other does, make sure you include a link to the picture in your question. Thanks in advance!
More:<hr />All I can say at this point is that if what the devs have posted is true, then Atari is following some straaaannnngeeee marketing scheme. It's two months before the game's release - the marketing machine should start hitting hard and fast soon.<hr />this picture here:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3556.JPG.html)
is new GUI art. There are some minor changes that have happened since this build, but this is an example of the new GUI art.
I will now post all my responses regarding the game adn the GUI in this thread:
Click Here For My Great Answers!(lawlz) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=492213&forum=95)
Gen Con Pictures (from NWN2Wiki) (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492213&post=4255218&forum=95&highlight=)
<hr />Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3689.JPG.html)
Is this the new Balor/Balor Lord? Pretty sexy if I do say so myself.
Btw the Gui does look a lot better than the pics in that other thread. Vast improvement.<hr />I think that is the Pit Fiend. The Balor has a flaming whip and a flaming sword.
edit: yeah I think the above poster is right. I just know that it is definitely NOT the Balor.
More:<hr /><hr />In many of the in-game shots, there is a NWN Eye in the bottom left corner of the screen. What purpose does this serve in the game?
Here's some examples:
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3582.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3583.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3606.JPG.html)
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3617.JPG.html)
More importantly, can it be disabled via scripting?
Second, can the Atari shirt in the background within this picture be purchased somewhere?
Click Here (http://gallery.usticke.org/v/gaming/gcnwn2/CIMG3545.JPG.html)
Thanks,
'ol FP!<hr />I would imagine that the eye is the pause function.<hr />The 'eye' button is the equivalent of the windows start menu. We call it the start menu or sometimes the player menu.
The mini button next to it is the rest button.
That is the old version of the artwork for it. It is also not moveable and the new version looks a lot better.