chevalier
Sun, 3rd Sep '06, 1:19pm
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">Andy Woo, NWN2 Programmer</font>
Knockdown Question (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=493772&post=4277591&forum=95&highlight=)
Any special attack that uses Discipline as an opposed check is out. There were only two that were not cut: Disarm and Knockdown. There used to be Sap and Called Shot but those are not in the game.
Knockdown and Disarm do not do damage anymore.
Knockdown is an opposed roll of attacker's STR plus (attacker's size - defender's size) * 4 against the the defender's STR or DEX, whichever is higher. +4 stability for dwarves/4-legged animals, is NOT in. Knockdown does not draw AoOs, nor do you need to do a touch attack to initiate it. There is no counter-trip. Improved Knockdown makes the attacker seem one size larger. You can only knockdown a creature one size larger than you or smaller. It uses up one of your attacks in a round.
Disarm draws attacks of opportunity and does no damage. It uses up one of your attacks in the round. The attacker makes an opposed attack roll against the defender modified by (attacker's size - defender's size) * 4, and the relative weapon size * 4. The defender opposes with an attack roll against the attacker modified by his relative weapon size * 4. NWN2 uses a hybrid 3.5/3.0 weapon size system that I'm not going into right now. If the attacker wins, the on-hand item, if any, is dropped on the ground. Improved Disarm does not draw AoOs and puts the on-hand item in the attacker's inventory.
This is as close as it's going to get, folks.
More: They must all be selected individually as feats.
An observation about ZOTS. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494056&post=4280510&forum=95&highlight=)
Allow me to weigh in on this one.
I have a PHB, DMG, and MM sitting on my desk, and I know those rules inside and out. Does it make me very sad that we can't implement a stacking system that has different stacking types (enhancement, morale, competence, & etc.)? Yes it does. Does it make me cry a little inside that you cannot crawl 5' per round while down while drawing attacks of opportunity, while not being vulnerable to sneak attacks? Yes it does. Do I curse the legacy Aurora engine that makes implementing the Mystic Theurge approximately one billion times harder to implement than another class that only grants bonus caster levels to one casting class? No I do not. Well, I curse the engine, but the Mystic Theurge is no loss.
Quite simply, there are realities about what can and cannot be implemented in a 3D realtime engine given a pencil & paper ruleset. The human brain is an amazing rules processing engine that handles exceptions very well. Code is not.
Think of NWN2 as D&D 3.14159. It is its own ruleset that has more than passing similarity to 3.0 and 3.5. But it is its own thing.
One final note: it is very easy to focus discussion on one particular rule and its implementation. But D&D has dozens, if not hundreds, of closely interacting rules. The "Weapon Focus" feat is "easy" to implement. But what about Weapon Focus (Ray)? What if the engine you inherited does spell touch attacks differently than regular melee and ranged attacks? What if there are dozens, if not hundreds, of interactions and exceptions just like that? Then what? I'll tell you: you get D&D 3.14159. You get NWN2. You can't have your pi and eat it, too.
I'm just happy I got Monkey Grip working.
Barbarian Rage (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494014&post=4280793&forum=95&highlight=)
In a one-time, fan-service, make-my-eyes-bleed, "they're going to revoke my programmer license" change, Barbarian Rage ability bonuses (only) now stack with all other ability bonus effects (which do not stack with each other). Frenzied Berserkers and Dwarven Defenders (and other classes with powers that grant ability bonuses) continue to not stack.
Now who wants flying mounts in the game? I have this great halfling paladin idea, and the medium flying mount to bypass interior space limitations combined with the double-damage smiting power-attacking lance charge is going to be awesome!
Will I be able to equip weapons without the feat? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494475&post=4289228&forum=98&highlight=)
It is easy to change one line of code.
More: My post was a direct response to the question, "How hard is it to change one line of code?" It is easy to change one line of code.
However, changing equipping logic is not one line of code.
Will there be an option on one handed weapons(Katana) to swing them with 2 hands. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494317&post=4289255&forum=95&highlight=)
I just want to note that there are these fantastic tools, http://fantasygrounds.com/ and http://www.openrpg.com/, that allow you to play D&D on-line with exactly the rules you want. And, in the case of OpenRPG, they are completely free! You can grapple! You can trip! You can bull rush! You can have mounts! You can fly! You can use any weapon you want with an appropriate non-proficiency penalty!
I'm just sayin'.
What was so difficult that sheathing is propably not in? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=495230&post=4294389&forum=95&highlight=)
In WoW, they have this cool button, where, when you click it, it allows you to play with thousands of other people. I don't see why it's so hard to not have that in NWN2.
I agree with Gooseman. If we had more time, I'd prefer that we got the prone thing fixed rather than implement sheathing.
Question for Devs Regarding Multiclassing and spending skill points (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=495174&post=4294400&forum=98&highlight=)
A. Max ranks are determined by the best of any of your classes, as it says in the PHB p. 62.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Andy Woo, NWN2 Programmer</font>
Knockdown Question (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=493772&post=4277591&forum=95&highlight=)
Any special attack that uses Discipline as an opposed check is out. There were only two that were not cut: Disarm and Knockdown. There used to be Sap and Called Shot but those are not in the game.
Knockdown and Disarm do not do damage anymore.
Knockdown is an opposed roll of attacker's STR plus (attacker's size - defender's size) * 4 against the the defender's STR or DEX, whichever is higher. +4 stability for dwarves/4-legged animals, is NOT in. Knockdown does not draw AoOs, nor do you need to do a touch attack to initiate it. There is no counter-trip. Improved Knockdown makes the attacker seem one size larger. You can only knockdown a creature one size larger than you or smaller. It uses up one of your attacks in a round.
Disarm draws attacks of opportunity and does no damage. It uses up one of your attacks in the round. The attacker makes an opposed attack roll against the defender modified by (attacker's size - defender's size) * 4, and the relative weapon size * 4. The defender opposes with an attack roll against the attacker modified by his relative weapon size * 4. NWN2 uses a hybrid 3.5/3.0 weapon size system that I'm not going into right now. If the attacker wins, the on-hand item, if any, is dropped on the ground. Improved Disarm does not draw AoOs and puts the on-hand item in the attacker's inventory.
This is as close as it's going to get, folks.
More: They must all be selected individually as feats.
An observation about ZOTS. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494056&post=4280510&forum=95&highlight=)
Allow me to weigh in on this one.
I have a PHB, DMG, and MM sitting on my desk, and I know those rules inside and out. Does it make me very sad that we can't implement a stacking system that has different stacking types (enhancement, morale, competence, & etc.)? Yes it does. Does it make me cry a little inside that you cannot crawl 5' per round while down while drawing attacks of opportunity, while not being vulnerable to sneak attacks? Yes it does. Do I curse the legacy Aurora engine that makes implementing the Mystic Theurge approximately one billion times harder to implement than another class that only grants bonus caster levels to one casting class? No I do not. Well, I curse the engine, but the Mystic Theurge is no loss.
Quite simply, there are realities about what can and cannot be implemented in a 3D realtime engine given a pencil & paper ruleset. The human brain is an amazing rules processing engine that handles exceptions very well. Code is not.
Think of NWN2 as D&D 3.14159. It is its own ruleset that has more than passing similarity to 3.0 and 3.5. But it is its own thing.
One final note: it is very easy to focus discussion on one particular rule and its implementation. But D&D has dozens, if not hundreds, of closely interacting rules. The "Weapon Focus" feat is "easy" to implement. But what about Weapon Focus (Ray)? What if the engine you inherited does spell touch attacks differently than regular melee and ranged attacks? What if there are dozens, if not hundreds, of interactions and exceptions just like that? Then what? I'll tell you: you get D&D 3.14159. You get NWN2. You can't have your pi and eat it, too.
I'm just happy I got Monkey Grip working.
Barbarian Rage (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494014&post=4280793&forum=95&highlight=)
In a one-time, fan-service, make-my-eyes-bleed, "they're going to revoke my programmer license" change, Barbarian Rage ability bonuses (only) now stack with all other ability bonus effects (which do not stack with each other). Frenzied Berserkers and Dwarven Defenders (and other classes with powers that grant ability bonuses) continue to not stack.
Now who wants flying mounts in the game? I have this great halfling paladin idea, and the medium flying mount to bypass interior space limitations combined with the double-damage smiting power-attacking lance charge is going to be awesome!
Will I be able to equip weapons without the feat? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494475&post=4289228&forum=98&highlight=)
It is easy to change one line of code.
More: My post was a direct response to the question, "How hard is it to change one line of code?" It is easy to change one line of code.
However, changing equipping logic is not one line of code.
Will there be an option on one handed weapons(Katana) to swing them with 2 hands. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=494317&post=4289255&forum=95&highlight=)
I just want to note that there are these fantastic tools, http://fantasygrounds.com/ and http://www.openrpg.com/, that allow you to play D&D on-line with exactly the rules you want. And, in the case of OpenRPG, they are completely free! You can grapple! You can trip! You can bull rush! You can have mounts! You can fly! You can use any weapon you want with an appropriate non-proficiency penalty!
I'm just sayin'.
What was so difficult that sheathing is propably not in? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=495230&post=4294389&forum=95&highlight=)
In WoW, they have this cool button, where, when you click it, it allows you to play with thousands of other people. I don't see why it's so hard to not have that in NWN2.
I agree with Gooseman. If we had more time, I'd prefer that we got the prone thing fixed rather than implement sheathing.
Question for Devs Regarding Multiclassing and spending skill points (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=495174&post=4294400&forum=98&highlight=)
A. Max ranks are determined by the best of any of your classes, as it says in the PHB p. 62.