chevalier
Thu, 9th Aug '07, 1:32pm
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">Rob McGinnis</font>
Satisfied with NWN2? #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=577905&post=5190989&forum=109&highlight=)
<hr />I simply notice that the thread where I had posted the comparative stats of long mods (> 5h) producion during the first year of NWN and NWN2 has been locked by an obsidian guy because "we don't need such arguing here" or something like that.
As if the lack of long mods after 8 months was out of interest though many people have noticed it.
I seriously suspect this forum of being friendly oriented toward the devs and subect to cencorship...
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif :x<hr />The reason I closed the thread was because it was started with the sole purpose of generating arguments and flaming, which is patently against the terms of service of this site.
If you think we censor negative comments about the game, I suggest you browse through the boards because I can guarantee you there are no end of negative posts, comments and threads here. We encourage constructive feedback in the form of negativity. But, make no mistake: These forums are for the growth of the community and the betterment of the game. Posts that are solely meant to bring the community down and/or cause harm to the community, devs or the game itself are another matter altogether.
WHEN CAN WE EXPECT A PATCH (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578528&post=5191262&forum=113&highlight=)
<hr />Nope i take it back.. It still does it. Will not load my module either from directory or module. and dont ask if im doing it right because i am. this has to be the only problem ive encountered with this toolset. Message to obsidian: take a lesson from epic games. They were due to release unreal tournament 3 a year ago but they kept pushing it back. why? because its not ready yet. this is what happens when you rush a game to the shelves. you end up patching the thing to death. sigh Im so frustrated right now. I give up.. this toolset has me beat .. for now anyway...more opinions on what the toolset needs.
the ability to save scripts and conversations "as" you know "save as" such a basic concept and yet it was left out? http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif Its no fun to have to manually rename all scripts and conversations from their defaults. (note: if im wrong about this and someone knows how its done please share)
oh yea and more accurate placeable selection please. i hate clicking on a door only to activate a nearby tree or the entire building the door is attached to. In the meantime i will hold my breath for a patch to address these issues http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif .
did i mention less corruption during saves? its not a random occurence either its every time. http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_evil.gif http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif : http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_cry.gif<hr />If you are having corruption issues 100% of the time, I would start looking at your computer itself.
Hard drive space, fragmentation, etc. Check to see what processes are running on your computer as well. Check your logs in the event viewer (if you have Windows XP Pro).
Crash when zoning to Weeping Willow (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578872&post=5191271&forum=116&highlight=)
You need to patch your game. You are on version 1.00 and we are up to patch version 1.06.980.
Any ETA for custom class fix? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5190977&forum=109&highlight=)
Hopefully we can see a fix for this with the 1.07 final.
The feedback I had received from community members was that it was working with 1.06 - and indeed it was, partially - but as far as working all the way, unfortunately I found out a couple weeks ago that this was not the case.
So, unfortunately the updated feedback didn't get to me until it was too late to be added to 1.07 beta.
More: (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5191251&forum=109&highlight=) You can currently add custom classes now. The problem is, once someone has taken one level of a custom class, they cannot level up to level 2 of that custom class.
More: (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5191287&forum=109&highlight=)<hr />By the way, is the 255 row limit still a limitation, because I know the PRC was going to have some problems with that.<hr />Unfortunately, the way the Neverwinter Engine is coded, it uses a data type that is very limiting. This makes it to where the 255-row limitation cannot be changed without redoing a lot of the engine.
Perhaps, if we ever get to the point where we have programmers that are bored from lack of work, this is something that can be addressed. But as it stands, any effort to work on this would probably make things worse.
HOT FIX FOR 1.06 STARTUP CRASH AVAILABLE (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=573982&post=5191515&forum=116&highlight=)
For those of you still experiencing this problem, have you heard anything from Atari Tech Support?
If not, contact me via PM and I will see if I can help you.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Adam Brennecke, Programmer</font>
Rob McGinnis, question for you regarding cutscenes (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578663&post=5190391&forum=109&highlight=)
The camera cutscene decision making in NWN2 is fairly complicated. Some things to consider (I'll use smilies as bullet points):
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif The camera needed to work with very large and very small creatures. (gnomez vs dragonz).
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Creatures can have very large heads. Some creatures do not have heads (in a human-like sense). This causes framing issues.
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Due to the nature of the engine, participating creatures turn to face the speaker/listener of the dialog. This causes headaches when trying to come up with a framing shot.
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif The camera needs to handle obstructions (crotches and buttocks blocking the camera) as best as it can. When an obstruction is found try to pick a better camera shot- This is easy, but can be difficult to solve with the bullet point right above this one. This could use more love from the programmers.
One thing that I would have liked to add is head turning IK like NWN1 so that creatures can turn their heads and look at each other. Due to scheduling this was cut so we could spend time on other features and polish.
[ August 15, 2007, 17:08: Message edited by: chevalier ]
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Rob McGinnis</font>
Satisfied with NWN2? #2 (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=577905&post=5190989&forum=109&highlight=)
<hr />I simply notice that the thread where I had posted the comparative stats of long mods (> 5h) producion during the first year of NWN and NWN2 has been locked by an obsidian guy because "we don't need such arguing here" or something like that.
As if the lack of long mods after 8 months was out of interest though many people have noticed it.
I seriously suspect this forum of being friendly oriented toward the devs and subect to cencorship...
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif :x<hr />The reason I closed the thread was because it was started with the sole purpose of generating arguments and flaming, which is patently against the terms of service of this site.
If you think we censor negative comments about the game, I suggest you browse through the boards because I can guarantee you there are no end of negative posts, comments and threads here. We encourage constructive feedback in the form of negativity. But, make no mistake: These forums are for the growth of the community and the betterment of the game. Posts that are solely meant to bring the community down and/or cause harm to the community, devs or the game itself are another matter altogether.
WHEN CAN WE EXPECT A PATCH (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578528&post=5191262&forum=113&highlight=)
<hr />Nope i take it back.. It still does it. Will not load my module either from directory or module. and dont ask if im doing it right because i am. this has to be the only problem ive encountered with this toolset. Message to obsidian: take a lesson from epic games. They were due to release unreal tournament 3 a year ago but they kept pushing it back. why? because its not ready yet. this is what happens when you rush a game to the shelves. you end up patching the thing to death. sigh Im so frustrated right now. I give up.. this toolset has me beat .. for now anyway...more opinions on what the toolset needs.
the ability to save scripts and conversations "as" you know "save as" such a basic concept and yet it was left out? http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif Its no fun to have to manually rename all scripts and conversations from their defaults. (note: if im wrong about this and someone knows how its done please share)
oh yea and more accurate placeable selection please. i hate clicking on a door only to activate a nearby tree or the entire building the door is attached to. In the meantime i will hold my breath for a patch to address these issues http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif .
did i mention less corruption during saves? its not a random occurence either its every time. http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_evil.gif http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif : http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_cry.gif<hr />If you are having corruption issues 100% of the time, I would start looking at your computer itself.
Hard drive space, fragmentation, etc. Check to see what processes are running on your computer as well. Check your logs in the event viewer (if you have Windows XP Pro).
Crash when zoning to Weeping Willow (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578872&post=5191271&forum=116&highlight=)
You need to patch your game. You are on version 1.00 and we are up to patch version 1.06.980.
Any ETA for custom class fix? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5190977&forum=109&highlight=)
Hopefully we can see a fix for this with the 1.07 final.
The feedback I had received from community members was that it was working with 1.06 - and indeed it was, partially - but as far as working all the way, unfortunately I found out a couple weeks ago that this was not the case.
So, unfortunately the updated feedback didn't get to me until it was too late to be added to 1.07 beta.
More: (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5191251&forum=109&highlight=) You can currently add custom classes now. The problem is, once someone has taken one level of a custom class, they cannot level up to level 2 of that custom class.
More: (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578750&post=5191287&forum=109&highlight=)<hr />By the way, is the 255 row limit still a limitation, because I know the PRC was going to have some problems with that.<hr />Unfortunately, the way the Neverwinter Engine is coded, it uses a data type that is very limiting. This makes it to where the 255-row limitation cannot be changed without redoing a lot of the engine.
Perhaps, if we ever get to the point where we have programmers that are bored from lack of work, this is something that can be addressed. But as it stands, any effort to work on this would probably make things worse.
HOT FIX FOR 1.06 STARTUP CRASH AVAILABLE (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=573982&post=5191515&forum=116&highlight=)
For those of you still experiencing this problem, have you heard anything from Atari Tech Support?
If not, contact me via PM and I will see if I can help you.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Adam Brennecke, Programmer</font>
Rob McGinnis, question for you regarding cutscenes (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewpost.html?topic=578663&post=5190391&forum=109&highlight=)
The camera cutscene decision making in NWN2 is fairly complicated. Some things to consider (I'll use smilies as bullet points):
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif The camera needed to work with very large and very small creatures. (gnomez vs dragonz).
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Creatures can have very large heads. Some creatures do not have heads (in a human-like sense). This causes framing issues.
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Due to the nature of the engine, participating creatures turn to face the speaker/listener of the dialog. This causes headaches when trying to come up with a framing shot.
http://forums.bioware.com/_commonext/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif The camera needs to handle obstructions (crotches and buttocks blocking the camera) as best as it can. When an obstruction is found try to pick a better camera shot- This is easy, but can be difficult to solve with the bullet point right above this one. This could use more love from the programmers.
One thing that I would have liked to add is head turning IK like NWN1 so that creatures can turn their heads and look at each other. Due to scheduling this was cut so we could spend time on other features and polish.
[ August 15, 2007, 17:08: Message edited by: chevalier ]