May 2002

Neverwinter Nights Portraits at Gloomveil
Posted Friday, May 24, 2002 - 16:37 CET by Mollusken

Gloomveil reports that they have 40 colour and 100 (!) different Neverwinter Nights portraits available for download at their site. All the portraits are available here.

NWN Contest at Sorcerer's Place - Final Reminder
Posted Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 21:19 CET by Sorcerer

Only a day and a half more before the contest ends!

The contest to win a beta copy of Neverwinter Nights ends on midnight of May 24, so get to work quickly and come up with a story according to our contest details. Since the rules are pretty strict (the age limit is very annoying, I know) and we do have 2 beta copies to give away, your chances of winning one are still pretty good - if you come up with a good story, that is!

Neverwinter Nights Interview at FiringSquad
Posted Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 20:24 CET by Mollusken

FiringSquad has asked BioWare a few questions about Neverwinter Nights. We've seen a lot of interviews now, but if you study closely there may be a few new things to learn in each one of them.

Most of the screenshots we've seen for NWN show a 3/4 overhead
viewpoint. Will it be possible to script different camera angles?
Perhaps zoomed-in, over the shoulder of your character, or a directly
overhead shot?

There are actually 3 different camera modes in the game, with 2 different camera angles – one angle is similar to Baldur’s Gate, and the other angle is an over the shoulder 3rd person view. Both angles are fun to play. The 3 modes are: 2 chase cam modes (one high view and one over the shoulder view), and one free moving camera mode. Overall there is a good amount of variety for all players.

The whole interview can be found here.

Icewind Dale II E3 Trailer and More
Posted Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 17:38 CET by Mollusken

A fresh Icewind Dale II trailer has been spotted, and it's available for download at FilePlanet. GameSpot has written a few E3 impressions from the game, which you can read here.

We were able to run through some of the game's environments and levels, which include popular areas from the Forgotten Realms' universe, such as the snowy reaches of Icewind Dale and the jungles of Chult. As with the original game, Icewind Dale II will be a mostly linear game, but it will let players make some intelligent use of dialogue options--for instance, in order to infiltrate an evil monastery in Chult, you'll be able to defeat a group of monks guarding the entrance, steal their robes, and disguise your party to sneak past the guards. If you've paid careful attention to the monks' dialogue, you'll be able to bluff your way through the temple without having to fight the sizeable groups of guards.

Neverwinter Nights E3 Stuff
Posted Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 17:27 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has posted their E3 diary part 6, which includes a lot of pictures from the BioWare booth. Neverwinter Vault has made an E3 Update section which at the moment has a movie, screenshots and more. They've also recieved a sample of Jeremy Soule's compositions for the game, which can be downloaded in mp3 format here. Finally, at GameSpot you'll find a review of what they've seen from the game at E3, as well as even more screenshots.

Icewind Dale II Music at RPGDot
Posted Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 16:57 CET by Mollusken

RPGDot has recieved 3 music samples from Black Isle's upcoming Icewind Dale II. The music is composed by Inon Zur (Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal and Fallout Tactics), and they can be downloaded here (click on the guitar images).

NWN Model and Movie at Neverwinter Stratics
Posted Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 19:58 CET by Mollusken

We've just recieved this announcement from Neverwinter Nights Stratics, with words that they have another model for the Model Viewer and another short teaser movie.

Neverwinter Nights Stratics is proud to announce the addition of two special Neverwinter Nights features provided to us by BioWare for your viewing pleasure.

The new model for the Neverwinter Nights Model Viewer features the Wight, the tragic result of excessive use of hair care products and a number of unnecessary face-lifts, these creatures inhabit places that are infused with death and desperation like underground catacombs, dusty burial mounds and public washrooms. Much like boy bands, Wights are invulnerable to mind-influencing effects and can create more undead simply through infecting those unfortunate enough to succumb to their evil.

You can download the Wight from our Model Gallery.

The second is a new Neverwinter Nights Teaser movie which reveals more of the magic, majesty and mystery that lies within the lands of Neverwinter. The 1:50 minute movie is a 16.6M mpg file that is worth every download moment. You can find the movie in our Movie Gallery.

NWN Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 19:42 CET by Z-Layrex

Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager

New Item Limits Info: I sense some issues regarding this level restrictions on items and so on? Right now the system is set-up so that the level item restriction stuff is part of the Enforced Legal Character (ELC) setting on a server. The ELC is a watchdog setting that checks to make sure a character is legal according to the character creation rules (i.e. a 1st level character does not have 20 feats). The level item restrictions are a separate system continually used within the game of not allowing a character to equip items that are too powerful for that character's level (i.e. a first level character would not be able to equip a +5 Holy Avenger). These items can be seen and part of your inventory but cannot be equipped for use. Several people are unhappy with this and so the other option is to have two separate settings on a server:

1. ELC- on/off
2. Enforce level item restrictions- on/off

David Gaider, Designer

Cliffs: The only way to have a sheer-face cliff that is more than the normal one-height-transition in height is to have a tile that specifically does that. There is a 'Cliff' tile in the Forest tileset, but not in the Rural tileset.

Items on tables: Um. Okay I love this game and all, but this is just insanity. I mean you NEED basic functionality like this in order to have an rpg. I could think of an infinite number of reasons why you'd need to put a sword on a table, hopefully I don't need to point this out to you guys. There are lots of tables and such that are part of the interior tilesets. Even on outdoor tilesets, you will find some surfaces. You can place items visibly on these. Placeable objects cannot have items visibly placed on top of them... whether they are a table or a crate or a statue. Placeable objects can be placed on top of each other, but not items. Why? Because placeable objects are 'selectable' by the cursor on their own... tileset objects are not. Regardless, any placeable object can be marked so that it is a container... you can therefore put any items which are 'on' the placeable object inside the object's inventory. So you can click on a placed table and 'open' it to see it's inventory (what's 'on' it). And that's only if you don't have a tileset surface where you need it.

Donations: The easiest way is in dialogue. When you've reached the point of the dialogue where the PC has agreed to give the beggar gold, just use this command:

TakeGoldFromCreature(Amount, GetPCSpeaker());

The 'Amount' is the number of gold pieces the beggar will take.

Morning Stars: Morningstars are in... similar to a mace but with a spiked ball at the end of the handle. No chain. Flails are also in (light and heavy)... a handle with a ball connected by a small chain. The chain in NWN is necessarily not very long, but there's definitely a chain. This is as according to the pictures in the PHB.

Edge of Map: You can tell that there's a vague 'edge', but beyond that edge, the terrain of whatever meets that edge seems to continue off into the distance. If it's plains that meet the edge, it will seem to continue on into plains. If it's a forest tile, there will seem to be a larger forest continuing on beyond the edge.

Helmets with open faces: There are some head models that have an open-faced helmet on them. It's not an item, however... and if you put a helmet item on that model, the head will be replaced by the regular close-faced helm.

Spells on Items: The problem we had with spells that added effects onto items, as I understood it, was in the stacking of these 'temporary effects' with the effects a weapon might already have had. Given enough time, it's definitely possible that this problem might be rectified (allowing enchanted arrows and likely equippable non-proficient weapons as well). Seeing as an expansion usually prioritises extra content (like spells), getting the time to solve this on an expansion is quite possible. Too early to start a wish-list though

Sorcerer's Place Wants Your Screenshots
Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 22:34 CET by Mollusken

That's right. If you've got any cool, unusual or funny screenshots from any of the games we cover here at Sorcerer's Place (including the Aurora Toolset Beta), then mail them to sorcerer --AT-- sorcerers.net. Just remember that the subject has to be "Screenshot of the week" or "SotW", and that you should also attach a short text to go along with the screenshot (like you've seen in previous SotWs).

Further SotW guidelines can be found here.

New Neverwinter Nights Screenshots
Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 13:27 CET by Mollusken

Adrenaline Vault has posted five screenshots from Neverwinter Nights. Go here to view them all.

BioWare's Road to E3 Part 4
Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 13:12 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and they're busy preparing everything for E3. At BioWare's site you can find a lot of images from the preparations, as well as some images of Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic banners and posters around the center.

NWN Contest at Sorcerer's Place - Reminder
Posted Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 18:50 CET by Sorcerer

The contest to win a beta copy of Neverwinter Nights ends on May 24, so get to work and come up with a story according to our contest details. Since the rules are pretty strict (the age limit is very annoying, I know) and we do have 2 beta copies to give away, your chances of winning one are pretty good - if you come up with a good story, that is!

Aurora Toolset First Impressions
Posted Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 11:53 CET by Mollusken

Neverwinter Vault has written a short review of the Aurora Toolset, and they've also captured a lot of screenshots from it.

In conclusion, the experienced world builder from games such as Quake and Half-life will find themselves at home in the toolset, with more tools then they can imagine at their disposal. The experienced gamer will find it relatively easy to learn the tools, and is it easy enough that your grandmother could use it? Well that might be a slight exaggeration if she's 89 years old with bad eyesight and her idea of computers involve robots but if she reads the documentation, then I don't see why not. Look forward to our series on using the toolset, where we will create tutorials that will help guarantee tons of grandmother friendly lessons on using the toolset.

You can read everything at NW Vault.

Aurora Toolset FAQ
Posted Sunday, May 19, 2002 - 11:48 CET by Mollusken

Moderator Urthpaw has posted a long list of questions about the Aurora Toolset for Neverwinter Nights at the BioWare forums.

How do you make a weapon flaming?

Under Item properties for the weapon (I haven't found the property for bows yet):
Properties: Damage Bonus -> Element – hahnsoo
For visual effects to appear on the weapon from elemental damage you must set to damage bonus to +4 or greater. You also get effects from bonuses against alignment groups good or evil. Bonuses against good have an evil looking red glow, bonuses against evil have the holy avenger look.

You can view the questions and all the answers here.

NWN Forum Update
Posted Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 23:33 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Wallpaper Graphics: These models are rendered in 3D Studio Max for the the wallpapers so there are a number of rendering options that can be done there that makes the models look better.

Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager

E3: Sorry about the lack of news- I spent the ENTIRE day getting the module ready for E3. Changing the traps, putting some different monsters down, giving better treasure etc. I even have this room where about 10 ravens are flying around until some rowdy PC hits one and then they swarm whomever attacked. Very cool.

Can we tone down the violence?: There is a violence setting that can be adjusted within the game.

David Gaider, Designer

Why no shield spell?: Shield spell is not in because 'cover' is not implemented fully. It simply adds to AC... and if that was the case, a full +7 AC bonus to AC would be hellishly powerful.

Why were some spells taken out?: As I just posted elsewhere, there are various categories of spells that are, indeed, possible to do... given enough time. Seeing as we only had time to do so many hundreds of spells, a significant number had to be put aside until later to implement.

Mislead is definitely one. Detect spells, weapon enhancement spells, etc. The main effort was to include as broad a selection as possible, covering the bases for the various schools and tactical uses.

Adding more spells into the game is definitely something that will be done in the future... if the fans don't beat us there, first (and even then, most like).

What do the different species of Dragon look like?: I believe that the dragon bodies look more or less the same (different color, naturally), but the dragon heads are the individualized portion.

There is only one size for the models, as well.

Last Week's Poll Results
Posted Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 18:46 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: What do you think of Icewind Dale 2's new main interface panel?
(253 votes total)

A change for the better (133) 53%
As long as it's there, I don't care what it looks like (88) 35%
A change for the worse (32) 13%

It appears that more than half of the people who voted (53%) really like the new interface. (You can check screenshots of it on Page 2 of our IWD2 Screenshots subsection.)

The second large group of votes (35%) goes to complete indifference... Quite a lot of people obviously don't care what the interface looks like, as long as it performs its function.

Finally, 13% of poll participants think the new interface is worse than the old one.

Aurora Toolset Beta Released
Posted Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 10:40 CET by Mollusken

The beta version of the Aurora Toolset has been released. With this, we can now get an idea of what creating modules will be like. The toolset features two out of the nine different tilesets in the game (rural and crypt), and a few selected monsters and objects. You'll find download mirrors for the file (which is about 250 mb) here. When you've downloaded it, you'll find an introduction to the toolset here.

Neverwinter Nights Community Site Launched
Posted Friday, May 17, 2002 - 22:41 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has launched their community site for Neverwinter Nights. This is community manager Jay Watamaniuk's short announcement.

The staff of BioWare welcomes you to the official community site for their massive role-playing game Neverwinter Nights (NWN). This site is designed to offer a wealth of information about NWN and the many aspects of the game including the Official Campaign, the Dungeon Master’s Client and the Aurora Toolset. Our Web Developers, Robin and Dups, have created a spectacular place for fans to gather and learn more about BioWare's games.

Some of the main features of the site include the NWN forums where enthusiastic discussion is happening right now on a huge number of topics about specific parts of the game. As well, the Messaging featurewill help you get in contact and stay in contact with other NWN fans. Finally, a whole bucket of fantastic content For Players, For DMs, and For Builders.

I also promise to include more of the following essential comedy elements in upcoming editorials: monkeys, monkeys with funny hats, weasels, angry pigs, detonating kidneys, space aliens, the phrase ‘upside yo head’ and, of course, the ring-tailed Lemur.

We invite you to discover the endless adventure of Neverwinter Nights…

Jay Watamaniuk
Community Manager
BioWare

You'll find the brand new site right here.

Neverwinter Nights Radio Interview at XGR
Posted Friday, May 17, 2002 - 22:27 CET by Mollusken

XGR, X-treme Gaming Radio, has interviewed the joint CEOs of BioWare, Ray Musyka and Greg Zeschuk. The interview is avaliable in mp3 format and is split in five different files.

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are the Joint CEO's of BioWare and Co-Executive Producers for Neverwinter Nights. This upcoming RPG is loaded with a bunch of features that will have gamers everywhere very impressed. I had a chance to talk with both of them and here are some of the topics we covered:

More Neverwinter Nights Beta Contests
Posted Friday, May 17, 2002 - 7:16 CET by Mollusken

If you have any cool Dungeons & Dragons spells you've made, you might have a chance to win one of two NWN Beta spots at Neverwinter Stratics.

Have you ever played Dungeons & Dragons and found yourself wanting a specific spell but it is no where to be found and wished you could create it yourself? Well here is your chance! Create and submit the best spell that is not in Dungeons & Dragons but should be for your chance at winning a "Get into the Neverwinter Nights Beta Free" card!

BioWare has given us two (2) slots to award to members of our community for the upcoming Neverwinter Nights beta program. If you submit one of the two winning spells, you will join those that get to take the first steps into the lands of Neverwinter.

See the Neverwinter Nights Beta Contest page for the submission criteria, deadlines, and rules governing this contest.

Good spell casting and the best of luck in the contest!

At Planet Neverwinter you can win by describing a D&D character.

As we stated yesterday, we have two Neverwinter Nights beta test spots to give away to two lucky fans. Today begins our contest to choose them:

Describe a character in 500 words or less. All entries will be graded on originality and entertainment value by our fabulous PlanetNeverwinter staff. Please only submit descriptions of original characters (We already know who Minsc and Boo are, thanks)

For more details and to submit your entries, visit our contest page here.

Note: The contest ends next Friday, May 24th

NWN Contest at Sorcerer's Place
Posted Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 22:01 CET by Sorcerer

As I promised, here are the contest details. Since we have many creative writers in our community (and among our visitors as well, I'm sure), I've decided that the contest will be for the best fantasy story, written by the guidelines listed in contest details. Two of the best stories will be awarded with a Neverwinter Nights beta slot!

Neverwinter Nights Interview at Role Expert
Posted Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 16:09 CET by Mollusken

The french site Role Expert has asked BioWare a few questions about Neverwinter Nights. Most of the questions might be common knowledge, but there is a few interesting answers there.

Can we trust the release date of the 25 June or it is just another rumour?

We are going hard for a release before the end of June. Neverwinter Nights is a very big game, but everything is on track and proceeding as planned.

Read everything here.

NWN Rogue Class Analysis
Posted Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 16:01 CET by Mollusken

ShadeRaven has continued his 3rd edition class analysises at Neverwinter Vault, and this time he goes through the rogue.

Rogues are not terrific fighters like Rangers or Barbarians. They aren't powerful spell casters. What they are is resourceful at getting what they want. Some use stealth and deception while others can pick locks or even your purse off your belt. As their skills increase Rogues gain the abilities to attack vital areas on their opponents inflicting more damage, evade some spell attacks, dodge incoming attacks, and much more. In addition to these abilities they are often skilled at moving silently, hiding where they can't be seen, climbing sheer walls, opening locks, and picking pockets.

Without question, the Rogue is one of the most adaptable and flexible classes in the game. Thief, warrior, scout, archer, and even wizard (through use device) are roles the class can fill. Charming bandit, brutal thug, or smooth envoy, the class offers more possibilities to the imaginative player than any other. In Neverwinter Nights, I expect this to continue to be the case.

Read everything over at NW Vault.

BioWare Interview at Gamers Pulse
Posted Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 15:58 CET by Mollusken

The two joint CEOs Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka has answered a few questions about this years trip to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Do you hang out with other developers at E3? Who?

Ray: Definitely - this is one of our favorite things to do at the show. We always look forward to saying hello to our friends in the development community, and in fact both Greg and I make a concerted effort to visit many of the booths at the show to try to find and say hello to other developers we know. We know and greatly respect many, many other developers (both on PC and console), and if I tried to list them all I would only forget five times as many as I list…so I’d rather not list names :)

Are you planning to announce any future titles?

Ray: We do have another title in development now but we will not be announcing this at E3, but rather in the months following E3. Our focus this E3 is on our Dungeons and Dragons epic, Neverwinter Nights (demoed at our publisher Infogrames booth, BioWare’s booth, and at Intel’s booth) and on the first roleplaying game in the Star Wars universe, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (demoed at at our publisher LucasArts’ booth, Microsoft’s Xbox booth as a specially featured game, and BioWare’s booth).

Head over to Gamers Pulse for the whole interview. While you're at it, you might also want to cheack out BioWare's Road to E3 Part 3.

Aurora Toolset Beta Update
Posted Thursday, May 16, 2002 - 15:51 CET by Mollusken

BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk has posted this short update about the Toolset Beta on the BioWare forums:

We have just heard from our publisher that the packages for the Beta Toolset should be arriving in retailers hands this Friday (May 17, 2002)!

This means that some retailers will get the CD's for the Toolset on May 17th. Keep in mind the retailers may not have them ready for fans on the Friday.

Expect to see it available online for download shortly thereafter...

Screamin' Toolset Fan: Will the Toolset cause heart problems in the very excited?!
Jay: Yes. Use it wisely.
Screamin' Toolset Fan: Can the Toolset heal the sick?
Jay: No. Maybe in the full version.
Screamin Toolset Fan: I'm so happy I need to kiss someone!
Jay: That is advised only under strict consenting adult-type conditions.

New NWN Wallpaper
Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 22:15 CET by Sorcerer

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but trust me to dig it up for you sooner...

NWN Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 19:56 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

Time: Yes, you can set the time... forward only, not backward. The thing to be careful with this is that the time change is universal throughout the module. If you jump time forward, it's jumped forward for everyone.

Why no teleportation?: It depends on how they're setting up their module. What if someone decides to make their module without using triggers at all? That's not impossible, especially if they plan on having a live DM there to cover the bases. If they don't plan on having a DM, not having triggers will make it inordinately difficult to activate any kind of scripts inside of an area beyond the area/module events. Other people may come up with versions of teleport that work for their campaigns, such as disallowing it in certain areas or having it entirely scripted through items (as we've done with Word of Recall). We're not including it because it presents certain fundamental problems with its implementation and with regards to the official campaign that we simply don't have the time to try and address... it's a fairly complex issue.

Will NWN henchmen have as much dialogue as te BG2 NPCs?: Well, the NWN henchmen are different from BG2 NPC's in several ways:

- they don't start their dialogue randomly... if you want to talk to them and get to know them, you have to initiate dialogue with them.

- their dialogues when you talk to them are considerably longer than most BG2 NPC's (excepting only the romance NPC's there, I'd say). However, since the NWN henchmen don't interject into normal conversation and don't have inter-party banter (obviously), I'd say they overall have less dialogue.

- the NWN henchmen do have a few quests relating to each of them, but these are related more to the stories they tell when you talk to them... they aren't seperate stories that occur because you have the henchmen with you.

I think Bob mentioned once before that we all wish we could have spent more time writing scads of dialogue for the henchmen... that would have been cool. As it is, though, they have very distinct personalities and stories, and for those people who are interested in them, they will be worthwhile getting to know.

Especially Tomi. But, then, I could be biased.

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Toolset Beta: Two Facts:
1. Toolset Beta will be coming out, date not finalized yet, not today, not Wendesday, no idea about Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, etc. yet.
2. The Toolset WILL be shipping with the game. Not a beta version, not a pre-release, but the full Toolset.

Thank you, and drive through.

Win a NWN Beta Slot at Sorcerer's Place!
Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 18:56 CET by Sorcerer

BioWare let us know that the lucky visitors of Sorcerer's Place will get the chance to win 2 slots in the Neverwinter Nights beta test!

The catch is, you must win your slot through a contest that I come up with. I'll post the details here shortly, so check back soon!

Neverwinter Nights Beta Contest
Posted Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 10:04 CET by Mollusken

Neverwinter Vault has arranged a contest where two winners will be participating in the Neverwinter Nights beta testing. So if you have any skills in making models, scripts or other Neverwinter Nights stuff, you might have a chance to be one of the two. Click here to read more about the contest.

Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 22:51 CET by Arwen

Trent Oster, Producer:

Music format: MP3

David Gaider, Designer:

Cutcenes: From what I've seen, most cut-scenes people will need to do is covered with the regular scripting language. If I understand it correctly (I might not), you can script a PC to no longer receive commands from the player and basically play out your cut-scene as is required, not unlike the way we did in BG2.

As far as camera control is concerned, I simply don't know. I suspect there may not be very many options for scripting camera control at all. That's the only possible hitch that I can see, that you may not be able to 'detatch' the camera from the PC's and focus it somewhere else for your cut-scene.

But again, this is only my current impression and may not be the case... this may be changing even as I speak. Once we have definite word on what control you will have, we will all know, and this is why nothing's been added on the point to date. (Yes, we know you want to know about everything NOW but everything ain't done, dammit.

Shield spell: Since there is no cover bonus per se, the Shield spell can't be implemented properly. The 1st level spell for raising a mage's AC is Mage Armor.

Keep in mind that we had to come up with most of our spell list (as in the spells we wanted to implement... of course we can always change the details of those spells later) during a time when there wasn't even a 3rd edition spell list available for us to look at, never mind an errata. How's that for crazy?

Site News - New Additions
Posted Monday, May 13, 2002 - 22:31 CET by Sorcerer

Subsection Updates -> Games

Our game store has been updated with links to our two new partners - EBgames and Gamer.uk.com. EBgames is well known for its exclusive game packages (currently for Neverwinter Nights, where you also get the beta toolset if you pre-order), and Gamer.uk.com is an UK-based online game store with excellent prices.

With so many partners Sorcerer's Place offers you an unique service - you can compare prices of all the merchants we are affiliated with and always pick the best deal! By buying through our game store you also help us keep this site up & running, since we earn a small commission for each sold game, so please buy from us!

Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate

The TeamBG subsection has been updated with the latest versions of the high level rule packs, now for levels 30, 40 and 50. I have also added a similar modification which sets the basic D&D rules for high levels.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate 2

A number of additions have been made to the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection.

In Subsection #2, you can find a new item pack and another collection of Dragon Ball Z characters.

In Subsection #3, Extremist's excellent SP Fixpack has been updated to version 1.0, a major release. It includes fixes for more bugs left over in BG2 than you ever wanted to know existed.

In Subsection #5, a very cool Drizzt portrait and painting have been added, along with an updated version of the Playboy portraits collection. (Off limits to kids!)

Last addition has been made in Subsection #7, namely the Expanded Thief Stronghold mod.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale

There was only addition made here, the updated HoW Spells Guide in the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale 2

I have added links to places you can buy the official strategy guide from to the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection.

The Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection has also been updated. Here you can now find a listing of basic tips & hints for playing the game, courtesy of Chris Avellone and compiled by yours truly.

The Screenshots subsection has also been updated significantly. 5 new screenshots were added to Page 2 of the subsection, and 17 more to Page 3.

Finally, surprise, surprise, we also have 2 collections of portraits in the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection! How often does it happen that you can download portraits for a game before it is even released? ;)

Subsection Updates - Games -> Neverwinter Nights

I have reorganized the introductory page a bit, and added a table of the latest system requirements for Windows machines.

As usual, there are also a couple of new things in the Miscellanea Subsection. One new movie has been added to my movies & trailers listing, and 3 new models/animations have been added to the Model Viewer models & skins page.

Icewind Dale II - Not on May 28
Posted Monday, May 13, 2002 - 22:20 CET by Sorcerer

Just in case you were wondering how BIS is going to release the game on May 28, when it's quite obvious they're still working hard on it at this point - well, they will not.

Icewind Dale II will be a Summer release. That's all I have for now. More details when I learn of them.

GamersClick Icewind Dale II Interview
Posted Monday, May 13, 2002 - 20:43 CET by Mollusken

Doug Avery from Black Isle has answered a few questions about Icewind Dale II. The questions are mostly related to the gameplay aspects of the game.

Tell us a bit about the dread foes we'll be facing. What creatures stand out most for you?

As I progress further and further into the game, I come across more new and unusual creatures that our design team has put in. The Chimera (a three headed beast with a goat's head, a lion's head and body, and a red dragon's head) are extremely deadly. The Will-o-Wisps are pretty freaky, but the Driders (think of a centaur with a spider's body instead of a horse's) take the cake when it comes to sheer creepiness. Admittedly, I'm not a big spider fan.

Head over to GamersClick to read the rest.

New Neverwinter Nights Screenshots
Posted Monday, May 13, 2002 - 20:31 CET by Mollusken

A few new Neverwinter Nights screenshots has been spotted at the Infogrames UK site. They feature a couple of spell effects both during daylight and at night. Go here to view everything.

NWN Forum Update
Posted Sunday, May 12, 2002 - 18:27 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

Will there be black Dragons?: No. Regardless, pitch black doesn't look good on any model if you want to see anything of its surface features (that's why the 2nd edition picture of the fire giant has its skin light grey... or were you all just pretending that that was really black?)... as I'm sure people who instantly re-color the fire giant model will discover. At any rate, I'm sure you'll be pleased when you finally see the dragon models. The thing I love the most about them, personally, is the attention to detail paid to the difference in each dragon's head.

Leveling up: Running around on a PW or a MMORPG generally calls for a different kind of design... levels going up to 50 or 100 so there can be constant 'levelling up' and little rewards that go along with each time you do (although, strangely, never really becoming much of a power in the grand scheme of things). Neither D&D nor NWN are designed with this scheme in mind, nor will they ever be. Even if Epic Level rules are eventually implemented (God help us), it still won't accomodate that type of game. We're talking episodic campaigns, here. Sure, your character can be built-up over the course of a few adventures (depending on the amount of fighting and XP being thrown about, you can do it in 5 min, can't you?), but it's supposed to be about the adventure and role-playing you do while playing that character. The only reason to bring out that level 20 veteran is for a specific story. This is NOT a game where you run around in a world and kill things on a constant basis and expect that the rules should accomodate you keeping that same character forever while making him more powerful all the time. And I'm not saying that there aren't people out there who are going to attempt a role-playing-oriented PW, either. But a player in one of those who's only goal is to level up will do so quickly enough, as well... and be in the same boat.

NPCs summoning NPCs?: When casting a summoning spell, NPC's have the same restrictions that PC's do (they only get one).
Alternatively, you could script a summoning and not use the actual spell. I could, let's say, go into the Succubus script and say that when she's half-damaged she adds into her action queue an action that makes her 'cast a spell'... which has a 10% chance of spawning in a Balor.
If I script creatures to be spawned in, however, they aren't considered 'summoned' and there is no limit. I could have an NPC spawn in 10 Balors, if I wished... but I would specifically have to instruct it to do so.
As for whether the Succubus has a spell that does the 10% Balor summon or not, I'm not actually sure.

Domain Spells?: Since a lot of the wizard and cleric spells haven't been implemented, that means that many of the domain spells in the various lists are not available.
We've balanced the lists (so they all have the same number of spells in their list), but gotten rid of the extra domain spell (which was only useable for a spell from the domain list... there's no point having an extra slot at 'some' levels, which changes for each domain)... your domain spells are available for memorization along with your regular spells.

Is a PC's Faction membership on a server saved?: The faction information is stored in the module, referencing that PC. It stays in place even after a save/restore and even if the PC goes through a portal to another server and comes back.

Icewind Dale II Designer Diary #7
Posted Saturday, May 11, 2002 - 22:44 CET by Mollusken

Chris Avellone from Black Isle studios continues RPG Vault's Icewind Dale II designer diaries. This one includes a few tips for playing the game, a short emotion-spells cartoon and a few screenshots.

Any hints for Icewind Dale II?

Now since I designed a large chunk of the first area of the game you're going to find yourselves in, I thought I would crap out some common-sense adventuring advice and some not-so-common-sense adventuring advice once you step off the ship and run around like a jaybird along the cliffs of Targos.

The following general advice can help you in your adventuring in Icewind Dale II. I know all you hardcore special forces RPGers have heard this junk a million times, so you can test out of this class and skip the next few paragraphs. If you need a refresher course, read on.

Tips for the Icewind Dale II adventurer

Wear Clothes: Do not play Icewind Dale II naked. C'mon, really. Keep your "Heart of Fury" where it belongs, no matter how hot that female halfling portrait is.

Stay Sober: It is not funny to intoxicate your Dreadmaster, then go into multiplayer games and start casting Finger of Deaths willy-nilly. Some players get really angry about this.

Read everything over at RPG Vault.

Icewind Dale II Screenshots
Posted Saturday, May 11, 2002 - 22:22 CET by Mollusken

A few new screenshots, showing the brand new game interface, have been released at the official Icewind Dale II site. Click here to view them all.

Last Week's Poll Results
Posted Saturday, May 11, 2002 - 20:30 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: The NWN beta test will be beginning soon. An enormous number of people have signed up for it, and yet only a handful of people will actually get to test the game. How do you feel about this?
(290 votes total)

I never play betas so I couldn't care less (124) 43%
It's no big deal if I won't be able to play the beta (88) 30%
I'll cry like a baby if they don't let me play it (56) 19%
I'll be very disappointed if I don't get to play it (22) 8%

Heh, not that big of a disaster after all. 43%, a vast majority of all who voted, couldn't care less about the beta test of Neverwinter Nights, since they never beta test games anyway.

30%, the next big group of poll participants, is not very concerned about not being able to beta test the game either, stating that it's no big deal if they don't get to play it.

19% of those who voted, however, will be devastated and cry like babies if they are denied the pleasure of getting their hands on the game early.

8%, least of all, voted for being very disappointed if they won't get to play the beta.

Updated NWN System Requirements
Posted Thursday, May 9, 2002 - 21:46 CET by Mollusken

The system requirements for Neverwinter Nights have been updated, and it seems like we need something more than a box which can barely run the Infinity Engine games. You can view the full system requirements at the official NWN pages.

NWN Forum Update
Posted Thursday, May 9, 2002 - 16:39 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

I have a case when an NPC calls for help. Now, I can certainly use the Create Object command, coupled with GetFactionAverageLevel to spawn appropriate enemies. Still, it would be cool to be able to trigger an encounter without the player actually entering the normal trigger area. No, the encounter system wouldn't do that for you. Encounters are just a very specific use of the triggers that sets up an encounter within that trigger based on a menu of creatures you provide and a difficulty level that spawns in the appropriate number/CR of creatures to the party/PC that activated the encounter.

Events? When events are triggered (whether on a module, a placeable object, or wherever), the most important part to using the event via script is being able to identify who or what triggered the event. Keep in mind that this is separate from the UserDefinedEvent... these are the events that are hard-coded into each individual object. You assign a script to that event and, when it is triggered, that script will run.

What are interiors like? Most of the interior tiles are pre-furnished with major furniture (beds, tables, some chairs, etc). The reason for this is so they can be accounted for in the walkmesh. Placeable objects can cause havoc on pathfinding... and while filling a room with them might look pretty, I wouldn't want to have an NPC who was trying to navigate amongst it all.
The only tile that is completely blank is a Castle Interior tile that is a 'stone room'. All the City Interior tiles at least have some furnishings in them.
As for the bed, the problem is actual dual: one, there is no 'lying down on the bed animation'. Combine this with the fact that the bed does not have a walk-mesh (it's a 'no-walk' area) makes it difficult to actually put someone on it. We had this same problem in BG... but there we also had an attribute you could apply to a sprite that allowed you to spawn it in overtop of a no-walk area (but you couldn't move it after that point).

Derek French, Assistant Producer

I was hoping for a better distinction between portals and new connections. For example, requiring a password to join a server, but allowing unchecked portals from a specific server. This would be useful for DMs needing to connect directly, but still force players to go through the gateway. The DM, having god-like powers on the servers they are able to log into, could connect to Server B and instantly move anywhere within that server. A DM in that 2 by 2 area isn't restricted in any way, because he has DM powers.

Bob McCabe, Designer

How does counter-spellcasting work? I actually did just this the other day. I was so proud.
Basically, I right-clicked off of the enemy spell-caster, radialed to counterspell, and then waited. When the wizard attempted to cast a spell that I recognized, and had, my wizard would begin casting as the enermy wizard did. At the end, his spell fizzled and I received the counterspell message.

Exclusive NWN Model at Sorcerer's Place
Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2002 - 23:52 CET by Sorcerer

You want exclusive stuff? How about this:

NWN PC Gamer Ad
Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2002 - 20:54 CET by Mollusken

A four pages Neverwinter Nights ad has been spotted in the new issue of PC Gamer. Click here to view the full ad.

Icewind Dale 2 Interview at TFH Gaming.com
Posted Wednesday, May 8, 2002 - 19:26 CET by Sorcerer

The guys at TFH Gaming.com have let us know that they've posted an interview with Josh Sawyer of the Black Isle Studios fame. Here's a snip:

TFH Gaming: Can you give us any hints as to which areas or quests in IWD2 you think will stand out in player's minds (as the Underdark did in BG2)?

J.E. Sawyer: I think that the Western Pass, Black Raven Monastery, and Dragon's Eye will be particularly memorable, albeit troublesome, regions. The Western Pass and its sub areas contain some complex character interactions and a number of difficult puzzles. The Black Raven Monastery is a monastery full of fighting monks in the Spine of the World Mountains. The player has the option of beating the monks' heads in or taking on their "chambers of trials" to pass by. The return to Dragon's Eye is particularly bizarre. The first few levels have some tricky puzzles in them, but it's the last level that really takes the cake.

Check out the rest here.

Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2002 - 23:41 CET by Arwen

Bob McCabe, Writing & Design:

Stealth mode and familiars: Q: If your rogue sorcerer hides in shadows and then possesses her/his familiar, does the character remain hidden? If so, does the character remain hidden? A:I just tried it in-game. I put my wizard into stealth, and then possessed my familiar. My wizard did not break stealth mode. I ran around as a panther (Feyna the Wonder Kitty) for a while, and watched as Mr. Wizard stood in place, in stealth mode. Afterward, I unpossessed my familiar. This caused stealth mode to break.

I think you can jump back in before anyone sees you, though, as it seems that there is some delay on the breaking of stealth...

David Gaider, Designer:

Stonecunning skill: Stonecunning: +2 to Search rolls when made underground.

Dwarves also get a racial +2 bonus to Lore, as well, incidentally.

Skill check bonuses for favored enemy: For favored enemy, you get +1 to damage, Listen, Spot and Taunt. That bonus goes up +1 for every 5 levels. (And, of course, you get extra selections later, too).

Animal companion levels: Rangers begin getting their animal companion at level 4 or 5 (I forget which). Druids begin getting theirs at level 1. Either way, the level of their animal companion stacks, yes... I just played a ranger who had just gotten his animal companion. When I leveled up, I took Druid, and the animal companion moved up a level, as well.

Factions: For one, each PC's faction is his party. If he's not a member of a party, then yes... he, himself, is a faction. As far as how other factions feel about an individual PC, that is 'Reaction'. Reaction is a rating that starts at the FR but changes according to an individual's actions.

As well, the ratings of faction to faction are NOT mutually inclusive. FactionA can be friendly to FactionB, but FactionB hostile to FactionA (a situation which would not last long if FactionB's members started killing FactionA's members).

As far as 'mixed' factions go, PC's are always members of their party faction... and that's it. The FR is how non-PC factions feel about the PC's and each other.

A party attacking Purple Dragon members would incur a small penalty to overall FR for each member killed. Those who have been attacked will have a hostile Reaction to all party members. You can script changes to Reaction and FR yourself, yes, but I wouldn't call that simple... it's not as customizeable as changing settings on a Module Wizard, for example.

Reactions are maintained individually and retained by the module. If a player is currently hostile with NPC A and logs off, when he returns he is still hostile with NPC A. The same applies to FR, although players with different FR's who band together in the party end up having a new 'party FR' somewhere in the middle (I might be wrong about this, but this is my understanding of what Sonya was talking about earlier in another post). So basically, if you team up with someone who is scum, you're not going to be looked on as highly, yourself.

Beyond that, yes... there are no functions for creating long-term player guilds in NWN as they exist in MMORPG's.

A PC does not 'join' an NPC faction. How that faction feels about the individual PC, however, determines their Reaction. If a PC 'joins' the Harpers and you set the Harpers to be Friendly to him... and when they are Friendly they defend him in combat and have dialogue that treats him as a member of their organization, THAT is how a PC 'joins' them.

The Faction system can be used to simulate a player joining an organization, but you have to get the idea of a player literally 'joining a Faction' in terms of the Faction system out of your head.

A PC is free to join any party he has been invited to, and may leave at any time.

As far as his relations with organizations in your game, that will be however you script their FR to the particular PC and the dialogue involved.

The Harpers on Server A are completely different from the Harpers on Server B. There is no 'Owner Faction' that crosses server boundaries... NWN is not set up that way, period. Like I said, it might be possible to communicate to the Server B that their relationship to the PC needs to chance when he portals to that Server, but that's something that you will have to figure out on your own.

Servers can share a vault and therefore have standardized filters to make player transfer easier, but there is no module-to-module communication beyond what you can script. Hopefully this is something that we can make easier for the PW crowd in the future.

I know these are a LOT of questions, but hey, just goes to show how unresolved/confusing the issue is.

Succubus: The succubus model is its demonic form... no wings, though. Originally the plan was to have bird & bat wings as selectable (so it could be either an erinyes or succubus), but it just couldn't be done properly (the wing issue has been mentioned before, I think, in regards to the humanoid models). The model was made demonic because a succubus trying to pass herself off as human would likely use a human model anyway, right?

It's definitely recognizeable as a demon, however... and insofar as showing demonic skin, I don't think anyone would mistake it as anything other than a succubus.

DM-ing large groups: 32 or 64 players or whatever is the physical limit on the server... which has nothing to do with the practical limit for how many you can run in your module.

If your module has a lot of automation and is specifically designed to handle a large number of players at once, then you may be able to get away with a larger number of players.

Same thing if you have more than one DM in the game... you'll likely be able to handle more players (depending on how well the DM's co-ordinate, I guess).

Beyond that, your average pick-up game will not be much different from your average PnP game. I might be able to fit 32 people in my living room... doesn't mean it's very feasible to DM them all in the same game at once. At least... not without a lot of preparation, right?

Can a magic item grant a weapon proficiency feat?: According to the list I just pulled up inside the toolset (I've never actually looked at it before, personally), the following is a list of bonus feats that are possible to be applied via an item property:

- Alertness
- Ambidexterity
- Cleave
- Combat Casting
- Dodge
- Extra Turning
- Knockdown
- Point Blank Shot
- Power Attack
- Spell Focus
- Spell Penetration
- Two-Weapon Fighting

So, as you can see, there isn't an item property that exists to grant a proficiency feat.

Derek French, Assistant Producer:

Can a server be set up to only accept portalling characters, and not direct (client initiated) connections?: No, but there is a super-easy workaround.

All modules must have a starting location. If I had 4 servers (A through D) each running one module of my world, I would make A my gateway server and hope that all people start through here. On the modules on the B though D servers, I would put the starting location in an almost empty 2 by 2 area with a portal to Server A. This way, even if they manage to connect to server B through D, they would end up at the gateway server, A.

Is that it, or did I miss a detail?

Spyware: No, version 1.09 of GameSpy Arcade that ships with NWN does not contain any spyware as certified by myself and AdAware. GameSpy Arcade install is NOT madatory and is NOT required to play NWN.

Icewind Dale II Preview at CG Online
Posted Tuesday, May 7, 2002 - 7:20 CET by Mollusken

Computergames Online has posted a short preview and a few screenshots from Icewind Dale II, which now has only three weeks left until release.

Don't head off to Old Navy for a set of mourning duds quite yet, though. Interplay isn't about to give up without a fight, and its chosen weapon is Icewind Dale II, a sequel to its well-received combat heavy Forgotten Realms game from 2000. Over the years, Interplay has taken good advantage of its access to BioWare's Infinity Engine, the venerable 2D role-playing game technology that powered the Baldur's Gate games, Planescape Torment, and Icewind Dale. Now, it's turning to a much-enhanced version for this latest game, due in May. Set a generation after the events in the original, it returns you once again to the mountainous region of the Ten Towns, and drops you in the middle of a growing threat to peace and prosperity.

Associate Producer Doug Avery outlines a host of changes that he hopes will set Icewind Dale II apart from its predecessors. Chief among these is the adoption of many rules from the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. "We have implemented many of the 3rd Edition rules thus far and are adding more wherever possible," he says, noting that the team is converting all of the game's items, spells, and bonuses to the 3rd Edition rules as well. Gone are the infamous THAC0 and arcane armor class and saving throw calculations of the earlier Black Isle RPGs; this new project will use the 3rd Edition's streamlined system in each case. In addition to combat, experience, and leveling rules from the 3rd Edition, Black Isle is also upgraded magic. "We are also using the 3rd Edition spells and their effects as opposed to the second edition ones used in all past Infinity Engine games," says Avery.

Read everything at CG Online.

Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Monday, May 6, 2002 - 22:27 CET by Tiamat

Feargus Urquhart, President - Black Isle Studios

Weapon specialization: It works the same way in IWD2. You need to have 4 levels of Fighter to get Weapon Specialization, not just some levels of Fighter and other levels from other classes that add up to 4.

Darren Monahan, Producer

Helms and critical hits: Nope – helmets in IWD2 don't protect you from critical hits like they did in BG or IWD. We also didn't hack critters that are immune to critical hits, we added a nice little flag for that in our creature files.

Paladins of Ilmater: If you multiclass into a Cleric of Ilmater, then yes, you would get the domain spells, but unfortunately Paladins of Ilmater on their own do not get special domain spells. After multiclassing this way, when you go to your spellbook, you'll see three tabs: one for Cleric, one for Domain, and one for Paladin spells.

Dave Maldonado, Designer

Duergar Tidbits: Duergar "generics" tend come in three flavors: hammer-heftin' male warriors, crossbow-carryin' female bolters, and the oh-so-grumpy clerics of Laduguer, dour-faced Duergar Deity of Grumpiness (well not really, but he might as well be).

Do helms protect from critical hits? Helmets no longer protect from critical hits. As in 3E, they are considered just "part of the armor" unless they're magic.

Creeping Doom: It's currently the same.

Bard-Only Feats: This list was recently modified - currently only Lingering Song and Heroic Inspiration (previously a Skald ability) are "bard exclusive.

Number of Feats: There's between 60-70 right now, not counting the various weapon specialization and focus feats.

Traps: I don't have a handy table listing the every single trap in the game's Detect and Disarm rating, but the worst they get on the "balancing guidelines" sheet makes for DC's of 18-28 in the final areas. There are always exceptions to such, of course.
There is a random element; the PC "rolls" a 1d20 and adds his or her total skill (so plus statistics and item bonuses, etc.); meeting or beating the trap's DC means YOU = WINNER.

Stoneskin: The warded creature gains resistance to blows, cuts, stabs, and slashes. The subject gains damage reduction 10/+5 (it ignores the first 10 points of damage, though a weapon with a +5 enhancement bonus or any magical attack bypasses the reduction). Once the spell has prevented a total of 10 points of damage per caster level (maximum 150 points), it is discharged. This is how it currently works. However, there is the intent to switch it over to "10/everything" when possible.

Multiclass BaB: It appears that those wacky programmers finally got them stacking; a 3rd/2nd Barbarian/Fighter has a BAB of 5, for instance. Yey!

Summoning Elementals: Currently E, A, F, & W, and the spell's now called "Elemental Legion."

Shapeshifting: I will say that the shambler form is available as feat. The prereq is currently eight levels o' druid. There are a few more "extra forms" in there, too, but not werewolf.

High-Level Spell Progression Chart:
BARD
20 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 0
21 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 0
22 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 0
23 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 0
24 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 0
25 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 0
26 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 1
27 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 2
28 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3
29 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4
30 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4

PALADIN/RANGER
20 3 3 3 3 0 0
21 4 3 3 3 1 0
22 4 3 3 3 1 0
23 4 4 3 3 1 0
24 4 4 4 3 1 0
25 4 4 4 4 1 0
26 4 4 4 4 2 0
27 5 4 4 4 2 0
28 5 5 4 4 2 0
29 5 5 5 4 2 1
30 5 5 5 5 3 1

CLERIC/DRUID
20 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
21 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4
22 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4
23 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4
24 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 4
25 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 4
26 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5
27 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5
28 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5
29 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5
30 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 5

SORCERER
20 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
21 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
22 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
23 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
24 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
25 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6
26 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6
27 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6
28 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6
29 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6
30 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 6

WIZARD
20 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
21 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
22 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
23 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
24 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
25 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
26 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
27 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4
28 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4
29 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
30 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4

Druid Alignment Restrictions: Yes: N, NG, or NE.

Monster AI attacking other party members across the map if the attacker goes invisible: Depends on how the area's scripted. Much of the pre-fight scripting/AI will be very similar to IWD/HOW; it's the in-fight stuff that's been fiddled with the most.

Goblin Avatar: The goblin avatar colors haven't changed.

Malarites avatar: The Malarites use the Curst Townie avatar, as did Blackrose.

Interface dropping: The interface doesn't drop by the left or right half; it drops by the upper (portraits & customizable buttons) or lower bar (dialog box and interface buttons), or both.

Are there random encounters? No. And if there were, I certainly wouldn't tell everyone about them here and spoil the delight of coming upon it themselves.

Planescape: Torment Connections: Aside from some creature avatars, no, I don't think so.

Robes as armor: Plate mail that's as light as leather still isn't as flexible (and thus arguably shouldn't allow the virtual feats), and junk like elven chain or whatever should be considered "light armor" in the engine (e.g. we set it up so that the game thinks they're just robes with a good AC bonus or something).

Dispel Magic: Currently, I believe an enemy may make a Will save in order to resist having his, her, or its affects removed. It doesn't take the caster or casting levels of the various effects into account - I'm not sure if that'd even be possible within the engine. That is, I think that once the effect hits and is determined and applied, it's not really tied to the original spell or caster.

Spellcraft: Whenever an NPC starts to cast a spell, any PC in line of sight with the Spellcraft skill makes a check to determine what the coming spell will be.

New potions: There's the occasionally wacky thing like "iron rations" (which are basically minor healing potions), but nothing major or significantly game-play affecting.

Item distribution: The item distribution is still being tweaked, so I couldn't say at the moment. I don't think there are an exceptional number of "caster" items, though... most creatures that have them expend them (on your party!) before adventurers can get their grubby little hands on them, but there is a pretty wide variety and many are available in stores.

Doug Avery, Associate Producer

CD number: We are trying to get everything to fit on 2 CDs. Let me re-iterate that. We are TRYING to get everything to fit on 2 CDs. It is looking more like it will be three, but Darren may have a few tricks up his sleeve to make it fit on two.

Will there be new weapon types? There will be no "new" weapons, but there are new variants of existing weapons. For example, we have implemented throwing hammers as weapons now.

Hammers: The hammers are not all magical and can be bought in stores. They do use the axe animation, but it is a pretty quick animation and it works well for either weapon.

Chad Nicholas, Sciptor

Script Speed: Right now it's like IwD1. I'm not sure if we're going to have enough time to look into this before we ship.

Heart of Fury: You can always start a new game in HoF after beating the game, and use the character arbitration screen to make a party of newbies

Can clerics cast heal when you rest? It's be nice, but the difference is only between: "You have rested for 16 hours." and: "You have rested for 8 hours." It's not like it will seriously affect your clerics power or usefulness in your party.

Can your cleric not have a domain? You must choose a domain.

TCP vs. UDP: TCP is terrible for games. When you send a UDP packet, you can forget