Neverwinter Nights Review at EuroGamer
Posted Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 18:46 CET by Sorcerer
EuroGamer came up with a review of Neverwinter Nights and rated it 7/10. They weren't particularly impressed, like this bit shows:
The problem is that Neverwinter Nights has no party dynamic - you are limited to your main character and one follower, which may be a hired henchman, a magical familiar or a creature companion. This may come as something of a shock to fans of Bioware's previous games, and it was certainly a huge disappointment for me. In the Baldur's Gate series you have a party of half a dozen varied characters at your disposal, usually including a thief, a mage and a priest as well as warriors, giving you a wide range of spells and abilities to take advantage of. In Neverwinter Nights you only have two characters at a time, one of which really needs to be a dedicated close-range fighter to stop the hordes of evil doers from overwhelming you, and one of which needs to be proficient at picking locks and disarming the many traps you'll stumble across. Even with the increased freedom you have in developing your character, this doesn't leave players with much room for manoeuvre, especially in the early stages of the game. And given the incredible length and plodding pace of the main campaign, there's little encouragement to come back and play your way through the whole thing again with a different character type.
If you're interested in the rest, click here.
Neverwinter Nights Patch 1.22 - *BETA*
Posted Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 18:37 CET by Sorcerer
An unsupported beta patch version 1.22 has been released by BioWare. You can read all about it and download it here.
These are the fixes in this patch:
4 New Icewind Dale II Screenshots at VE
Posted Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 18:24 CET by Sorcerer
Voodoo Extreme posted 4 new IWD2 screenshots recently, and I must say the look very nice. Click here to check them out.
BioWare at Gen Con
Posted Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 14:04 CET by Sorcerer
Going to Gen Con this year? So is BioWare. They will be showing Neverwinter Nights, of course. You can find them at the Infogrames booth, #127, where they'll have a game pod set up and scheduled stage presentations.
Neverwinter Nights TV Commercial
Posted Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 13:47 CET by Sorcerer
Games Domain reports that "the outsourcing games specialist Babel has produced a TV commercial for chart-topping PC title Neverwinter Nights.
Developed by Bioware, the creators of Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights is using the 3rd Edition of the rules of Dungeons and Dragons and has been widely anticipated by gamers worldwide. Since its release three weeks ago, it has topped the PC charts in both the US and Europe and has received critical acclaim from the gaming media.
The 30-second commercial will be broadcast in Australia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. It uses animations created by Babel, in-game graphics and Full Motion Video (FMV) from the title. Babel wrote the script, sourced and recorded voiceovers in both English and German, added special effects and edited the final product."
The commercial mostly features scenes from the official intro movie. You can download it here.
Icewind Dale II Preview at Khabal Gaming
Posted Monday, July 29, 2002 - 21:12 CET by Mollusken
Khabal Gaming has put up a preview of Icewind Dale II, and they say it's the best use of the Infinity Engine (so far).
The soundtrack… yes. The soundtrack, I'm not kidding. The pieces are brilliant, of course they are all instrumental pieces (I'm a sucker for those) and aren't too long or repetitive so it won't make you get totally sick and turn off the music. The voiceovers are another winning element, true to Black Isle tradition, they've managed to get some damned fantastic work done here. Never a moment will you be plagued by cheesy overdramatic characters (unless they are meant to be that way, but then that's just the beauty of it all).
Read the whole preview here.
Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 23:46 CET by Mollusken
Armchair Empire (9.5/10):
I’ll admit to being a bit wary when I first opened Neverwinter Nights (NWN). The hype had become a big problem for me. Now, unlike some people, I don’t dismiss a game simply because it is being hyped heavily in the mainstream press. My problem with the NWN hype was that it mostly involved the game’s editing suite. So little was being said about the actual game that I became worried that the single player game was just a bonus for buying the marvelous, modular NN tool kit. Thankfully, soon after installing NWN on my hard drive, my niggling fears went directly away. Neverwinter Nights is a brilliant and highly polished RPG masterpiece, and I have never been so glad to be wrong.
Planet Savage:
Okay, so it has bugs, the graphics are a little dated, the AI leaves a little more to be desired, and the Official Campaign isn't at par with the epic feel of the Bhaalspawn saga in Baldur's Gate. So what? That goes for 99% of all the CRPG's that comes along, anyway. You don't like the campaign? Build one yourself.
If you're looking for a Diablo clone, go away. This is definitely not a click-fest. If you're looking for Baldur's Gate 3, you're still out of luck. The Bhaalspawn saga is over, and the Infinity Engine will finally be retired after Icewind Dale 2. Neverwinter Nights actually combines the best aspects of these two games and then some. In order to truly appreciate the grandeur of this game, you have to play the game from all sides, as a player, a DM and a module builder, as BioWare would say it. You will never be able to accurately assess how good NWN is if you've only played it as one of the three. Take my word for it.
Unknown Regions (50/60):
Buy the game. Probably the coolest (or in fact, the opposite of cool, in that it's SO geeky it becomes amazingly cool) thing in CRPG ever. I'll be making my own campaign, and I'll be playing other people's campaigns. This is the CRPG that I'll be playing for some time, and if I'm at a LAN party, this will be the RPG I will play if we play RPG games.
Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 20:56 CET by Sorcerer
What we asked:
Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate Neverwinter Nights?
(934 votes total)
9 (293) 31%
10 (best) (257) 28%
8 (207) 22%
7 (91) 10%
6 (31) 3%
1 (worst) (19) 2%
5 (18) 2%
3 (8) 1%
4 (6) 1%
2 (4) 0%
Well, the results pretty much speak for themselves. The majority of those who voted (31%) rated Neverwinter Nights 9 out of 10.
10 out of 10 was given to NWN by a few poll participants less (28%).
22% of people who voted awarded NWN 8 out of 10. After this, the scores go down rapidly. 10% of people thought NWN deserves a 7 out of 10 rating, and all subsequent ratings of the game (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) combined were voted for by 10% of poll participants.
The average combined rating of all who voted is 8,4 or 84%.
Icewind Dale 2 Preview at Games Domain
Posted Friday, July 26, 2002 - 21:13 CET by Mollusken
Nothing new to learn about the character generation or the prologue of Neverwinter Nights here, but it's still another preview.
Icewind Dale II, despite its new fangled rules additions, is very much a throwback, almost quaintly retro title. Those happier with BioWare's more recent interest in single character design and 3D graphics probably won't be interested in such a jarring move back to 2D and RTS party mechanics. Those of us who love the Infinity Engine, solid epic storytelling, and controlling a party of six completely of your own devising… well, great tidings ahead, it turns out you can go home again. Welcome back to the Spine of the World.
Read everything here.
Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Friday, July 26, 2002 - 21:10 CET by Mollusken
Game Revolution (A-):
It's like a bottle of bourbon to a recovering alcoholic, this Neverwinter Nights. Right when you think you've gotten a hold of yourself, Bioware decides that it's time for you to get rid of that tan and lock yourself in your room for a few weeks. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because despite a few small problems, Neverwinter Nights delivers on its promise to completely ruin your social life.
The game is essentially a vastly updated version of Bioware's award-winning Baldur's Gate games, featuring a similar game flow and single-player structure. However, a brand new engine, new 3rd edition D&D rules and an outrageously ambitious multi-player scheme take the art of PC D&D role-playing to brave new heights.
Game Industry News (4,5/5)
Given the long development time and the many, sometimes conflicting press releases and various other information I read about the product, I really did not know what to expect. Some people thought, and based on the feedback I get from our readers still do, that Neverwinter was a massively multiplayer game in the realm of Ultima Online or Asheron's Call. Its not, though you could hardly blame gamers for thinking the wrong thing.
EpiGamer (7,5/10):
The whole concept of Neverwinter is ambitious, but it is almost like handing people a copy of C++ and telling people the possibilities are endless. Everybody knows about the great potential of Neverwinter, and so I’ve focussed on the negative, I have no doubt that one day the true brilliance of Neverwinter will be revealed, but until then it’s simply not the be all and end all of RPGs that it claims to be.
Gamer.tv (8,9/10):
But despite the game's intrinsic complexity, it's pretty easy to get into. That fact could see it bridging the gap between hardcore role-players and the more casual Zelda generation. Neverwinter Nights is a cracking game and a safe, bankable product for BioWare, one that looks like setting the standard for the genre. I've lost many hours sleep to this game already, and I've enjoyed them all.
BioWare at Fragapalooza
Posted Friday, July 26, 2002 - 21:00 CET by Mollusken
BioWare attended this year's Fragapalooza, a local LAN party in Edmonton, Canada. There they demonstrated Neverwinter Nights just like they did on E3: a few lucky fellows played the game DM'ed by BioWare employees. Read BioWare's Fragapalooza report here.
BioWare Support Canadian Liver Foundation
Posted Friday, July 26, 2002 - 20:57 CET by Mollusken
BioWare has donated $1000 to a golf tournament arranged by the Canadian Liver Foundation. The tournament raises funds for research into pediatric liver disease. Read more about this at the CLF and BioWare sites.
More NWN 1.21 Patch Problems
Posted Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 20:17 CET by Mollusken
The Neverwinter Nights 1.21 patch has introduced a new bug to the game: when you equip an item which gives skill bonuses, the skill will disappear. As BioWare's Dave McGruther explains in this post at the official forums, the problem can be solved by saving and reloading after you've equipped the item. He also says that the problem will be fixed as soon as possible.
Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 17:14 CET by Mollusken
Yesterday's new treat from BioWare was a total of 22 new scripting tutorials by David Gaider, a tutorial on making a hidden door by Robert Babiak, an update on the windows dedicated server instructions and another wallpaper has been added to the wallpaper gallery.
Neverwinter Nights Interview at Neverwinter Connections
Posted Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 17:10 CET by Mollusken
Brent Knowles from BioWare has answered a few questions about Neverwinter Nights over at Neverwinter Connections. Here's one of them.
There have been a few interviews with different Dev's from NWN and it seems as though they all think the NWN game is pretty thorough. As Lead Designer, what can your team look forward to now that NWN is finally on the shelves?
Most of the design team has already been shuffled to the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic roleplaying game that BioWare is currently working on. Others are working on the Live Team for Neverwinter Nights to help with using the tools and to build online content.
Read everything here.
Icewind Dale 2 Preview at ActionTrip
Posted Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 11:30 CET by Sorcerer
ActionTrip has let us know that they've posted a preview of BIS's sequel to Icewind Dale, due to be released in early August. While there isn't anything new in the article if you've read the other previews out there (like our own), it's still worth a read. Here's a snip:
The good thing about this playable demo is that it gave us a chance to test just enough features to keep us going until the final game comes out. Also, the game doesn’t appear to be demanding in terms of hardware power, which I’m sure will make tons of RPG fans happy. Even in the demo there seems to be a replay value that increases thanks to the variety of new possibilities: a huge number of new spells, numerous side-quests to complete, enhanced character development system (enter 3rd edition rules), and so on. This is a title that all gamers should look forward to, especially those who are addicted to the D&D world and the RPG genre.
Read the rest here.
Neverwinter Nights Interview at IGN PC
Posted Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 15:06 CET by Mollusken
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, joint CEOs of BioWare, has answered a few questions about the successful release of Neverwinter Nights at BioWare.
Now that the game is done, are you guys going to take a short break or have you jumped right in to your next projects?
Ray Muzyka: Both Greg and I tried to take short holidays (me a couple weeks ago, Greg last week) but we both somehow managed to be diverted into coming back into the office multiple times during our holiday, and/or checking email continually from home...for us, work is a lot of fun...too much fun, I guess. Both of us work on all of BioWare's projects to some extent as co-executive producers, and also on the business side of BioWare as joint CEO's, so we're never short of things to do...
Greg Zeschuk: We've still got a lot on the go with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and a few secret projects as well. Most of the Neverwinter Nights team is now re-grouping after a very well-deserved holiday so we're going to start looking more closely at what we're going to be doing in the next few months.
Read everything at IGN PC.
NWN Patch 1.21 Problems
Posted Wednesday, July 24, 2002 - 10:01 CET by Mollusken
If you have experienced problems with the latest Neverwinter Nights patch, you are not alone. BioWare has made a thread at the official forums where the users post their problems as well as solutions to them. The thread is 18 pages long at the moment, so if you have a problem you might find a solution to it there.
Neverwinter Nights Interview at GameSpot
Posted Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 20:30 CET by Mollusken
BioWare joint CEOs Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk answers a few questions about the release of Neverwinter Nights over at GameSpot.
The game received a small patch at about the same time as it was released, and some users are still reporting technical issues. In light of that, would you say the game shipped sooner than it should have? How goes the process of stomping all the bugs?
We've discussed Neverwinter's release internally and we are extremely satisfied it was released at an appropriate time--it wasn't released prematurely, and for the vast majority of users, it has been extremely stable. There are some users who have had problems with the game, and ultimately that's a reflection of the PC industry. Any PC release that uses the latest technologies and drivers will result in some users being unable to run the game. As a PC developer, you can't guarantee people are using the latest drivers for their hardware, or even hardware that is actually supported by the game. Many factors in development are truly beyond our control. Knowing this, we put in as many fail-safes as possible, but they can't detect every problem.
Read everything at GameSpot
Neverwinter Nights Reviews
Posted Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 20:17 CET by Mollusken
PC Gameworld (98%):
When Neverwinter Nights was first announced it sounded like an ambitious project, and indeed, in the hands of anyone but Bioware it may have crashed and burned. While no computer game can ever capture the thrill of tabletop gaming NWN does a magnificent job in bringing the experience to your monitor better than any game has before.
D2K (10/10):
So here it is. The one RPG to the rule them all. And bind them… in the darkness… or something. Seriously, Bioware first commenced work on this game almost five years ago back when Baldur's Gate was but a twinkle in their bearded eyes. The premise behind Neverwinter Nights? To create a set of tools that would allow us, the players, to recreate the immensely popular Dungeons and Dragons RPG experience on our PCs, complete with a highly user friendly 'construction kit' style world builder and support for live Dungeon Masters. In short, an RPG of ever increasing proportions delivering the power of game creation to the masses.
PC Gaming (3/5):
Uninspired and repetitive, Neverwinter Nights, simply put, is a disappointment, and certainly not the epic we were told it was going to be. A mixture of a poor story, dated graphics and unimpressive sounds, The RPG crown still sits proudly on Baldur's Gates head. Bring on the next challenger. There is a shining light with the fantastic Aurora Toolset, but not enough to redeem this lacking single-player campaign.
Neverwinter Nights 1.21 Patch Out
Posted Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 11:28 CET by Sorcerer
Time to hit the Update button again! Here are the fixes in this patch:
Instructions on how to patch manually are available here.
Brent Knowles Interview at GameGuru
Posted Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 11:22 CET by Sorcerer
Brent Knowles, BioWare's Co-Lead Designer for NWN, has been interviewed by GameGuru in a rather short, hardly informative and definitely grammar-imperfect piece of text. Seriously, I think it's one of the most awkward interviews I've read in the last couple of years, even for online standards... It's amazing how someone can cram so many basic interviewing no-no's in such a short text. Anyway, here's a remotely interesting bit (unless you've seen the same question in about 3 other interviews before):
Predrag: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is probably the best RPG on market now when Neverwinter Nights is stepping in. Can you compare this two products for us? Do they target same gamer's population? Be honest and tell us, which game is overall better?
Brent Knowles: They are two totally different games. The Neverwinter Nights campaign is focused more on adventuring and solving quests. Morrowind is a fantastic exploration game (I've been playing it on my Xbox lately). The questing in Morrowind is secondary to exploring this huge and wonderful world they have made. Overall I like Neverwinter more (but perhaps I'm biased :) But both are really great games!
Groan at the rest here.
SP Mails Fixed
Posted Monday, July 22, 2002 - 12:02 CET by Sorcerer
All our mails are now supposed to be fixed, so I'll be getting mail again if you send it. ;)
If you sent me anything over the last two days and had it bounce back, please resend. Also, everyone with a @sorcerers.net alias, please send yourself a test mail to that alias to see if it's working ok.
Site News - New Additions
Posted Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 18:34 CET by Sorcerer
Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate
The online version of Librarius Ex Balduran turned into a dead link, so I have replaced it with a downloadable version. Get in the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate 2
Not much new stuff here, except for the "Improved Illyich" mod, which has been added to subsection #7 of the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale 2
Our recent preview of Icewind Dale 2 has been added to the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection, along with an extensive look at the 5 pre-made parties that will ship with the game.
In the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection, the Official FAQ has been updated with the latest info. The only notable changes are in the system requirements.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Neverwinter Nights
In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can download the latest versions of three walkthroughs, and I've also added a link to an online one.
Four new additions have been made in the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection. One is a character guide for playing monks, the next is a general compilation of character tips, the third is a link to Windows dedicated server instructions and the last is a nice guide to creating & importing custom portraits.
The Editors, Hacks & Tweaks subsection has two new additions. Check out the mod that allows you to play with multiple henchmen, and the latest version of NWN Viewer.
In the Toolset & Related subsection you will find a nifty guide which shows you how to create a hidden trap door. Lower on the page you can also find an amazing searchable resource of all (!) official campaign scripts, and a huge and helpful scripting guide.
Moving on the the Modules subsection, where you can find a link to the latest Blackstone mod, The Curse of Anubis.
The last new addition for today can be found in the Miscellanea subsection. It is a scan of the Neverwinter Nights paper map which I'm sure many will find useful.
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 17:04 CET by Z-Layrex
David Gaider, Designer
x-Packs: Robes and cloaks might certainly be possible in an expansion. I would venture, however, that the amount of work required to implement horse-riding and all it entails is not something you would see short of a sequel. The amount of work vs. the return in the game just wouldn't make it worthwhile for anything less.
NWN Modules In A Sequel/X-Pack: This isn't really the kind of thing we can say for certain until we get to that bridge... it will depend largely on the specific kinds of changes that will be made in any future versions of the engine. If we implement a full z-axis in the game, for instance (skies, flying, climbing, etc.) I suspect that all tilesets would have to be changed and old tilesets would be incompatible. Just a guess on my part but not too unreasonable to assume. When it comes to other parts of the game, however, such as creature models, NWScript, dialogues... maintaining backwards compatibility might be less of a challenge. The question that also arises, however, is the ease of transferring an 'old version' module into a newer version one... especially if you have some things that are compatible and some not.
So again, basically, there's no real answer until we're aware of the specifics. We have talked about backwards compatibility, however, and it will definitely be on our minds. The less compatibility there is, the easier it is to move forward unimpeded... but I truly doubt we would ever enter a situation where all the work of individuals and the community would be disregarded as a whole come a sequel. That would be silly. To assume that everything you create will be useable forever would be equally foolish, though, don't you think?
Brenon Holmes, Programmer
Heartbeats: Heartbeats are not time based. They are AI based. The more AI you have running, the longer it will take for each individual heartbeat to get called... generally it's around 6 seconds per HB, but this is the main reason that it's not a good idea to do expensive operations in the heartbeat script... you can rely on the fact that it will run again at some point... just not on the fact that it will run exactly every set time interval. I should also point out that a combat round is 6 seconds long... it has nothing at all to do with heartbeats...
More:
Quote: As long as heartbeats have nothing to do with the duration of spells and combat rounds, then this is fine. However, if a spell is listed as having a duration of 10 rounds, and it lasts for 80 seconds instead of 1 minute, that can have a huge affect on any combat that might last that long.
Nothing. 10 rounds is 60 seconds... not 10 heartbeats. The heartbeat event is related to nothing but the heartbeat event. Every event has only one hook into the game which is usually the condition which calls said event. They are not related to anything else.
Don Moar, Tools Programmer
Event Spawned Creatures Walking Waypoints: I think you outsmarted yourself. If you create a new encounter using a standard skeleton, and create appropriately tagged waypoints, when the skeletons spawn in, they should patrol automatically. This is because the default spawn in script should already be calling the walk waypoints function. However, since skeletons are hostile to PCs, they will stop walking waypoints and attack as soon as they perceive them. As an experiment try using a non-hostile standard creature to make sure that works. I'd also recommend that you check out the tutorial in the "For Builders" section for an example of how to set this up, but it looks like you know what to do. Still, it might help you streamline your process.
Neverwinter Nights Reviews
Posted Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 15:46 CET by Mollusken
TechTV (4/5):
Despite a few shortcomings "NWN" is an amazing achievement in RPGs and one any fan of the genre should pay attention to. Ignoring the adventures you can create or share with friends, the mod community surrounding this game is growing by leaps and bounds. Soon the very best RPG content will be free and downloadable by anyone with the game. The potential is all there, just waiting to be seized. Zounds! It doesn't take an 18-wisdom score to see that.
Virtues:
All in all Neverwinter Nights has lost a lot compared to Baldurs Gate. The game feels like a complete redesign of the engine and it by far isn't as done as BG used to be. In addition to that not only was the rich and complex AD&D ruleset replaced with the rather simple D&D one, but the whole playing experience has gone a similar path.
If you aren't easily bored and like a strong storytelling element, this game might keep you busy for a bit. Else - stay way from it.
E-Mail Issues
Posted Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 23:21 CET by Sorcerer
All the @sorcerers.net mails are currently down, and your mails will bounce back if you try to mail any of us. We're working on fixing this issue. *Fixed now*
Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 21:38 CET by Sorcerer
What we asked:
Q: Are you going to use the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset to make your own modules?
(528 votes total)
Yes, definitely (335) 63%
Maybe, but I doubt it (128) 24%
No, highly unlikely (65) 12%
As expected, the huge majority of those who voted in our poll (63%) will be using the Aurora Toolset to make their own modules.
A bit less than a quarter of poll participants (24%) voted for the option of possibly giving the module creation a shot, but feel that it is unlikely that they would do it.
Only 12% of people who voted will not be making their own Neverwinter Nights modules.
Icewind Dale II Preview at RPGDot
Posted Friday, July 19, 2002 - 17:54 CET by Mollusken
RPGDot has also written a hands-on preview of the game, and here's a summary of the bad things they found in the game.
In the 10 hours I spent playing with the demo, I didn't find much I didn't like, but every game has its downside. The only real negative I found was the journal which fairly rapidly filled up and didn't empty as I completed quests. After I finished the main goal of the demo, it was an annoyance to go through the journal looking for quests that I hadn't finished.
Read everything at RPGDot.
SP Moving... Again *Update*
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 23:24 CET by Sorcerer
The move is going to happen sooner than I anticipated since our current server keeps running into more and more problems and I don't want SP to still be here when a fatal one occurs... Currently the boards on this server are closed until we complete the move to a new server. Once there, the boards will be reopened.
During all of this the site should be normally accessible, only the boards won't be active. Sorry... :(
*Update*: If you are reading this, you are already accessing the server we moved to! :)
Icewind Dale II Preview at Stratos Group
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 20:19 CET by Mollusken
The last preview for today comes from Stratos Group, and they too seemed to like the game.
That is what it all comes down to, I suppose. If you are looking for something brand-new, this is probably not it. If you did not like the earlier games, you will probably feel the same way about Icewind Dale 2. On the other hand, if Black Isle is able to take what the preview version had and spread it throughout the rest of the game, then they will have a real winner. It will be the things that made each of the other games good, plus the lessons that Black Isle has learned over the past five years, mixed together and condensed into what could potentially be the best Infinity Engine game to date. If they can pull it off - and I really hope that they can!
Read the whole preview here.
Edbis Previews Icewind Dale II
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 20:16 CET by Mollusken
Another Icewind Dale II preview is up at Edbis, and they rated the game with four and a half lightnings (probably out of five, but that's just my guess).
The Icewind Dale series has always been a bit the small sister of the Baldur's Gate series and aiming on hack 'n slash it could also make Diablo II players switch to an Infinity Engine game.
The Infinity Engine is also a topic that makes fans sad.
Although it has been strongly used by Black Isle throughout all of their popular games like the BG series,
Planscape Torment and the ID series, Icewind Dale II is the last game that is going to be powered by the already several years old Infinity Engine.
Read everything here.
Icewind Dale II Preview at Gamespot
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 20:13 CET by Mollusken
GameSpot has posted a preview of Icewind Dale II, which focuses on the general aspects of the game. "A new way to hack'n'slash" was one of their sub-headlines.
Though Icewind Dale II will be mostly focused on challenging combat, it will also have numerous quests that your characters can perform for rewards of experience points, money, or items or some combination of all three. Like in Black Isle's other RPGs, you'll sometimes be able to perform optional quests simply by virtue of your character class. For instance, early on in the game, you'll meet a wounded soldier of Targos, whom you can heal for an experience reward if you have a character with the ability to use healing magic.
You can read everything at GameSpot.
Neverwinter Nights Reviews
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 20:03 CET by Mollusken
GameZilla (4/5):
In short, I give Neverwinter Nights a Fans Only rating for the time being, being as that the single player game lacks the fun factor that I expect newer fan created modules will. In a month, new adventures built by fans will definitely push this game into the ranks of Recommended Buy.
Gameitopia (90%):
Technically, the game is a mixed bag. The graphics are quite lovely, although bland in some areas such as wall tiles. The shadows, however, are some of the best I have ever seen. The characters are a bit blocky, but their animations are fluid, and their actions are quite realistic. The sound effects and music are adequate as well, but nothing special, and hardly worth noting.
Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 19:51 CET by Mollusken
Yesterday's goodies from BioWare were instructions to the Windows dedicated server, a tutorial on how to create a hidden trap door without scripting and a guide to creating and importing your own portraits.
Icewind Dale II Preview at IGN PC
Posted Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 16:49 CET by Mollusken
IGN PC has posted an Icewind Dale II preview, which focuses a lot on the 3rd edition D&D character creation process in the game.
Two of the most highly specialized classes have always been the monk and the paladin. To reflect the high dedication of their disciplines, they've been given severe penalties for multi-classing (switching back and forth between character classes to create a more well-rounded -- but also diluted -- character). Normally a paladin or a monk who switches classes can never progress along their original character paths. While this still holds true here, monks and paladins are given a few avenues for multi-classing that make them a bit more versatile.
Read everything here.
Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 16:43 CET by Mollusken
GamePen (5/5):
There’s something wonderful about gathering together with a group of friends, pulling out the dice and rulebooks, and having an evening of role-playing goodness. Maybe it’s the fact that, together, you’re creating a story, each person adding their own personal touches to the tale, spinning an ever-changing, ever-growing yarn. Maybe it’s the social aspect of hanging out with like-minded individuals. Or maybe it’s all about rattling those little plastic polyhedrons for hours on end. In any case, computer role-playing games have never been able to capture that feeling of a truly organic world, one that can be tweaked on the fly by a talented game master to cater to the whims of the individual players. Computer RPGs have been static things, puzzles to be solved and quests to be conquered, instead of stories to be told. But now comes a game that offers a huge step forward in bridging that gap between pencil-and-paper and keyboard-and-mouse.
Loadedinc (9/10):
I found it impossible to sit down and play the game for less than three hours at a time. The gameplay combined with the sheer size of some areas usually wound up taking that long just to complete. Not only that, but the inclusion of the Aurora Toolset has intrigued me to create my own modules, providing increased replayability. Also, the variety of character classes, feats, spells, henchman, and multiplayer component make this game highly desirable in the replay value column.
As far as comparisons, this game is a lot like Planescape: Torment, but more focused on battle than doing mindless chores for others. I highly recommend this game to any role-playing game fan. [Persuade] This is a must-have for Dungeons & Dragons table-top role-playing fans.
SpinXero (A-):
Neverwinter Nights has definitely succeeded in raising the bar for RPGs, and while it might not appeal to everyone(specifically those who like to have a full party at their disposal) the masses will be more than happy with this game. The toolset will ensure that the game will be around for a long time to come and hopefully in further patches the pathing issues can be resolved. The engrossing single player story, the large amounts of side quests, the customizable characters all ensure that even die hard fans will find something to keep them happy.
Game Rankings (94/100):
Then I hopped online and invited some other gamers to share my creation. It was pretty sparse at first, but it's grown since then. I now DM my own story, sending players through dungeons and giving them rewards, challenges, and a story to explore.
Buy Neverwinter Nights. The single player campaign is good enough for most of us… but the toolset and ability do DM your very own game makes this game one of the most revolutionary games in history.
The Gaming Lounge (5/5):
I used a GeForce4 card and had full details and all the bells and whistles switched on. Fireballs lit up corridors as they raced to fry Trolls, torches cast different shadows on your character and the water "reflects" light. One disappointing thing (as with Dungeonsiege) is the camera doesnt get low enough to the ground so you can really see what your new armour looks like on your character or see further along into the forest for Orcs with large clubs.
The Trades (A+):
My grade for this game reflects on the important things that Neverwinter Nights has achieved by bringing the richness of D&D gaming and stories to the PC, something that every game that has come before has failed to do in one way or another. It is somewhat disappointing that Bioware was not able to meet the level of graphics optimization that Dungeon Siege did as well as the no loading ability of that game. It is unfortunate for gamers to have to feel as if they are taking a slight step backwards when playing the game, because it is such a superior game in nearly every other aspect. This game is one to keep your eyes on even if you find the original campaign lacking in some way. The community is huge and hungry for quality module productions, especially after what many felt was a disappointing release of community tools and features from Dungeon Siege. The intricate game mechanics of Neverwinter Nights is a wonderful system for people to build their worlds upon. Diablo II had a rich environment filled with unique items and complex calculations that people could strive to combine into the best character they could.
A Different NWN Review
Posted Monday, July 15, 2002 - 21:55 CET by Mollusken
The reviewer at dlo.net decided to do a different review, and started playing the game with a hungry monk.
This is just my first experience in the game. I'm sure that down the road, Lard will become respected around the town and perhaps become a multi-classed Monk/Iron Chef. I also have some good ideas. I'm either going to make a gnome prostitute (about 3 foot tall anyone) or a Angry Drunken Dwarf.
Overall, my impressions of this game were iffy. I'll break it down: This game is good if you like a clicking game that isn’t exciting. But if you like to hang out at LAN parties and do live action RPG in the woods then this game is for you! Just watch out for those wacky 700 club members who call you a devil worshiper and tell your parents though.
Read everything here.
Downtime Report
Posted Monday, July 15, 2002 - 20:31 CET by Sorcerer
We had a minor server collapse which brought the site down for about 10 hours. This has been fixed and hopefully won't happen again. Thanks for bearing with us.
P.S. There are also some DNS issues we're working on fixing... Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.
Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 22:41 CET by Z-Layrex
J.E Sawyer, Lead Designer
Cross class skills: There is no such restriction in IWD2. However, I don't see this as a bad thing. If someone wants to shove tons of points into a cross-class skill, they'll still be worse off than a character that has it as a class skill. Ten skill points into Disable Device just gets you five ranks.
Chris Avellone, Designer
About EBGames still saying “kits” are in the game: Definitely no kits. Not a one.
One handed staff: It's intended to be a cool item for monks and mages and lets them have an extra hand free.
You have the chance to get it pretty early on, not surprisingly.
Tex Yang, Quality Assurance
About EBGames still saying “kits” are in the game: No kits, but there is one particular reference later in the game that is extremely hilarious.
Number of feats: If I remember right, the total amount of feats in the game (this is including the weapon feats) was in the high 60s, almost 70 if I remember correctly.
Well looks like I miscounted back then, the total is 75 unique feats. Armor (light, medium, heavy) is counted as one, so is cleave/improved cleave, toughness, spell penetration, blah blah blah (the ones that can be taken for more than one rank).
There is one more first level only feat, which is Resist Poison. This one allows Grey Dwarves and Half-orcs a +4 save against poison.
As far as I know, all the feats that have been removed were already mentioned in some way or another (riddlemaster feats, deathblow, yadda yadda yadda).
One handed staff: The whispering staff uses the mace animation and graphics, it's more of a role-play type thing, due to the fact we couldn't make a brand new animation just for that.
Number of CDs: The revs we've been getting have been 2 discs. If that's subject to change is yet to be seen (I doubt it will change though).
Spells per level: Now this is just a quickie, it's-after-midnite-and-I'm-still-checking-stuff, count - so I may be off a number or two.
Anyways, this is the number of spells which the classes can choose from per level - they are not unique spells, and will overlap into other classes:
Bards ----------------------> 11, 19, 16, 09, 06, 06, 04, 03, xx
Clerics ---------------------> 12, 16, 22, 15, 13, 10, 08, 11, 02
Druids ---------------------> 08, 11, 15, 11, 09, 05, 09, 03, 05
Paladins -------------------> 03, 05, 05, 07, 04, 03, xx, xx, xx
Rangers -------------------> 05, 07, 07, 09, 05, 06, xx, xx, xx
Sorcerers and Wizards -----> 19, 25, 21, 26, 22, 26, 17, 14, 09
*Cleric spells may vary by one depending on the alignment - the one I listed is for a good cleric.
We adjusted the spell tables to account for levels 21-30.
Number of monsters summoned per summon spell: Usually 3 or 4 each spell, some more, some less. So Monster Summoning I cycles between 3 or 4 monsters, Monster Summoning II cycles between 3 or 4 different ones, etc.
Create undead: Nope, there are no Create Undead or Create Greater Undead spells in the game. Animate dead does change what kind of monster shows up depending on the cleric level though, and they're not limited to skeletons and zombies - it's kind of a convenience type of thing.
I don't know the exact reason, but my guess would be to keep the spell casting as uncomplicated as possible, since a lot of the undead which are summoned by those spells get summoned by animate dead, just a matter of what level the caster is. Just speculation on my part though.
Fear spell: Fear has been removed from the game, horror is the one (fear-inducing spell) that's being used.
Endure elements is also not in the game.
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 22:28 CET by Z-Layrex
David Chan, Sound Effects Designer
Fragapalooza: If anyone is interested we are doing some sessions at Fragapalooza. If you are in the Edmonton area and want to find out more go to www.fragapalooza.com.
Don Moar, Tools Programmer
Temples: The Rural tileset contains several open-air temples, which do not require an area transition. Perhaps you saw one of the E3 2000 videos which showed something of that nature.
Chapters/Modules: It is the "story" that is divided into chapters, not modules. Each chapter is its own module. Once the players get to the end of one module (only you can decided when that is) write a script that starts the next module using the StartNewModule function. eg: You've rescued the Prince and returned him to the royal family. The king announces that because of you're dedication and skill, he is sending you on a mission to kill the dragon.
Chapter (module) 1: Rescue the Prince
Chapter (module) 2: Kill the Dragon
In Chapter (module) 1, in the king's conversation, on the node describing the task of killing the dragon, you place an Action Taken script which calls the StartNewModule function, passing in the name of the module to start.
Journals: If you want to do this by having the PCs having to talk with an NPC, simply construct the journal category and its entries in the Journal Editor and then associate them with a particular conversation node. If you want to do this without requiring the PCs to talk with an NPC, write a custom script that updates the player's journal and assign the script to an appropriate event, such as the OnClientEnter of the Module or the OnEnter of a trigger which the players must walk across in order to get into the game. There are examples of both the conversation and scripting approaches in the tutorial in the "For Builders" section. The only difference is that the tutorial uses the OnAcquireItem event to update the player's journal.
Decimal Problem: The problem is that the Toolset uses the '.' as the decimal symbol, regardless of the regional settings of your computer. You should be able to adjust this using your computer's Control Panal. This will be fixed in the next update.
Conversations: Don't forget the order of the nodes is important. Typically, you want to structure your conversation such that the nodes with conditions appear higher (before) the nodes without conditions:
WRONG:
Root
-->NPC: Please, we've never met but would you help me save my X?
---->PC: OK
---->PC: No
-->NPC: Did you save my X?
---->PC: Yes
---->PC: No
RIGHT:
Root
-->NPC: Did you save my X?
---->PC: Yes
---->PC: No
-->NPC: Please, we've never met but would you help me save my X?
---->PC: OK
---->PC: No
Notice that the NPCs introductory node is the LAST node in the list at that level. You would put the check of nFirstTimeTalked in the "Text Appears When..." of the "Did you save my X?" node and put the set of nFirstTimeTalked in the "Action Taken" of "Please, we've never met...". It is important to remember this when writing your conversations.
Icewind Dale II Interview at Icebound
Posted Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 21:29 CET by Mollusken
Lead designer J.E. Sawyer from Black Isle has answered a few questions about Icewind Dale II at Icebound.
What class has surprised you as being the most useful, fun to play, or valuable to have along for the journey in Icewind Dale 2?
Druids, I think. A druid with a focus on spellcasting can be extremely powerful. They don't have spontaneous casting, but they get some very cool offensive spells at low level and still gain access to most healing spells. At high level, their Aura of Vitality spell is awesome.
Read everything here.
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Saturday, July 13, 2002 - 22:23 CET by Z-Layrex
David Gaider, Designer
Toolset: The toolset is unsupported... which means that tech support won't assist with scripting problems. The problem seems to be that tech support didn't seem to recognize that you weren't asking for scripting help, that you were actually reporting a bug. Infogrames is definitely supposed to still take information on bugs regarding the toolset and NWScript. Like I said, if they tell you therwise, please tell us (Dave McGruther in particular, as he's the one dealing with this). Nothing bites my butt more than the thought that there might be people out there thinking that toolset bugs won't get fixed. That's not the case.
ActionLockObject(): The 'ActionLockObject' command is used on creatures to tell them to go to an object and use their Open Locks skill to lock it. Doors and other objects don't have that skill, and telling them to use it will cause a crash. In a door's script, to tell it to lock itself:
SetLocked (OBJECT_SELF, TRUE);
TRUE means locked, FALSE means unlocked. Make sure, as well, that your door has the 're-lockable' box checked.
Blocking The Automap: There have been a couple of threads on this. We'll consider it in the future. Don't, however, expect any stuff to be added into the game right away... fixing bugs is our current priority.
Factions: As I understand it, only the standard factions can be cleared en masse with a single command (SetStandardFactionReputation). For the rest of the factions, you need to identify a single member of that faction. Then you can clear it like so:
object oClear = GetFirstFactionMember(oMember, FALSE);
while (GetIsObjectValid(oClear) == TRUE)
{
ClearPersonalReputation(oPlayer, oClear);
oClear = GetNextFactionMember(oMember, FALSE);
}
SetCommandable: SetCommandable determines whether or not they will accept any other orders from their AI. What I've done above is given them the order to run away and not listen to any other commands until they are 100 feet away from the hostile. ActionMoveAwayFromObject isn't all that great a command except in specific circumstances, however, as NPC's don't pathfind 'away' from something... and can very easily just run into a wall and be stuck there. It might actually be easier to have them run towards something specific. Note, as well, that if you don't expect to use your screaming commoners for anything specific, the BEST way to go is to have them scream and run towards a specific exit point and then destroy themselves... and SetCommandable to FALSE after issuing those orders. Then they will proceed to do just that and only that.
GetIsPlaceableObjectActionPossible(): Hmmm. Memory may be failing here, but I don't think that command determines whether or not the placeable can perform that action, but whether the caller of the script can perform the action in question on the targeted placeable.
More:
Right! That's it. It's basically a 'can I succeed at this action' command. You'll find it used in the generic OnBlocked script, I believe. Keys aren't currently taken into consideration. I know this is something that's going to be added into the functionality pretty soon... so that it not only returns TRUE in this kind of situation, but so that an NPC that must walk through a locked door in the course of his movement will automatically unlock it if he has the proper key. Oh... GetLockKeyTag currently (oddly) returns an integer rather than a string, as well. Bad command. This is due to be fixed in a patch.
Animations In Conversations:
Quote: 1) While a certain dialogue is being performed, I want my NPC to make hand gestures. The really annoying type - like Stan's Used Boats/Stan's Used Coffins (Monkey Island). I've seen this used in modules. Which animation would that be, and how do I use it?
If you select a line of dialogue in the conversation editor, go down to the bottom right and select the 'Other Actions' tab. You will see a pull-down menu for 'Play Animation'. Any animation you select will play when that line is spoken, and if 'Loop' is checked, it will continue to play after the line is finished.
Quote: 2) Is there a way to make an NPC point toward a certain object or waypoint? Literally. Point. Or gesture. My guess is no, but if there's a way, please let me know.
There is no pointing animation, no. You can have an NPC turn to face an object (via SetFacingPoint), but that's it.
Input/Output & Persistant Worlds:
As I said in the other thread where this was brought up, we've no current plans to add I/O functionality to the game. We are, however, interested in looking at this possibility in the future.
More:
Quote: I'll take that! It's better than "Never"
It's definitely not a never. I was talking to Derek French about this issue not so long ago, and I know there's interest in looking at this in the future. There are issues to be resolved (security is one, preventing character files from becoming bloated with information is another), and if we can resolve those and still produce enough functionality that it would be useable, then it could become a possibility. It's hard to say exactly what would be required until the Live Team does decide to sit down and re-examine this, however, so I certainly wouldn't want to imply 'we'll get right on that'.
Hostiles: Actually, you are correct. A creature is told by its OnPerception script to attack a hostile that comes into view. If it has killed its current opponent and another is not in view, it doesn't receive another DetermineCombatRound() command... and there's no OnPerception event occurring if the player respawns in the current area because going from dead to not-dead isn't a change of perception type. What you can do, if you wish, is put a simple script in your OnHeartbeat... make a check to see if 'the nearest hostile that I can see' is a valid object. If it is and I am not in combat, then DetermineCombatRound(). That will 'restart the engine', so to speak.
EffectCurse(): I don't remember the exact nature of the bug, but I do know that there is a crashing bug with EffectCurse that is fixed in the next patch.
Derek French, Assistant Producer
BioWare:
Quote: Here's some resons for not buying this game:
* The savegames gets corrupt in multiplayer when e.g. other characters steps through a door during save. I guess developers who creates a RPG with a built-in risk of corrupting the savegames has a great possibility to be expelled to some netherworld like Ravenloft
We are aware of this issue and it will be fixed in an upcoming patch.
Quote: * Expensive!
Hmmm. Not much we can do about this one. Patch or no. Infogrames sets the price for the wholesaler, who sets the price for the distributer, who sets the price to the retailer, who sets the price for you. We are quite removed from this process.
Quote: * Bioware/Infogrames support and customercare is more or less zero!
I have to disagree. We care a great deal about the issues that you are having. It is extremely frustrating to read that our customers are unable to play the game as it was designed. All of these issues weigh on our minds a lot. It is in our best interests to fix your issues and get you on your way playing. We are working contantly on these problems and trying to duplicate them. It does take time to investigate all these issues.
Logging Into Your Game As An Admin: You can't at this time. The fuctionality hasn't been added yet.
NWN:
Quote: Well, I've payed to buy NWN and you are payed to develop NWN. So, you've released a buggy game, a game that supports only nVidia cards ("Shiny waters" ?) and you pretend us not to be angry?
There is this self-fueling issue that NWN is "buggy". Yes, there are some bugs that the end users have made us aware of and we are working on them. Looking at a Tech Support forum is a bad place to judge a game's quality. Of course all the people that are playing the game with no problems are not posting here. And we are actively working on bugs. We have acknowledged the issue with Shiny Water and ATI. It worked right up until just before ship and we aren't exactly sure why it stopped working. It will be working in an upcoming patch. As soon as ATI fixes their drivers, a lot of other issues with NWN that will get resolved, as per the ATI sticky above.
ATI Drivers: Many people have reported that they are having problems with Neverwinter Nights and the latest Catalyst drivers. Many of those have reported that if they go back to the previous version of the drivers their problems go away. If you are having problems with the latest Catalyst drivers, please find the previous version from ATI's driver support page. After you select your OS and your exact video card, you will be taken to a page listing drivers for your video card. For example, if you had a Radeon 8500 under Windows 2000, you will be taken to a page listing with the Catalyst drivers at the top. Below that is a link to Previous Drivers. Here is the page from this example. Click Here, try the drivers at the top of that page.
Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager
Custom Content: We are working on solutions to the 3D solutions. I had a conversation with Greg Z. (one of the co-owners of BioWare) yesterday and he was adamant about getting the word to you folks that we are making every effort to help the custom community. We have a huge list of things that are critical and we are attempting to address them in a timely fashion that benefits the most people. The game has been out for about 3 weeks and there is a large laundry list of stuff that needs attention. We are waiting on a few things right now that are out of our hands but rest assured, things are in the works. As I mentioned before, you are the reason for all this community site. A game does not last if the people who create custom stuff do not have support. So, yes, we are very interested in what you are creating and yes, we will be offering support. I can't detail specifics because, again, we are wrangling a few things out now but it is being worked on.
More:
It's actually the 'doing it right' part that often delays things. At this point we do not want to rush into releasing anything that will not be a huge benfit to you folks. Anything that is a bit shaky will get people frustrated after waiting for at least some word on our plans.
X-Packs?: We are doing the planning for possible expansion pack stuff and throwing a lot of ideas around for what might be in there. We are hoping things become very clear in what is desired from the community- usually folks aren't shy about what they want. I would love to see stuff with an Underdark theme, larger ships, creatures, items, spells and so on. I shall have to wait and see what pans out. I am also taking a look at some of the custom tileset that have appeared-very cool. Having been working with the Toolset for about 6 months it's really cool to see something different.
NWN: I think NWN is about roleplaying not about getting stuff. I would hope the very fact you can make anything you want, have as much gold as you want, be as powerful as you want with 10 minutes work, would force people to move in the roleplaying direction. Power levels can be manufactured, great gaming cannot.
Speaking His Mind: Excellent letter that started this thread off- big thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts up here. At some point a game needs to be released or folks will get a little wacky. A lot of people were under the impression that NWN had reached a critical point and that great features such as a 'plot wizard' for the Toolset which would allow a non-scripter to design quests and have scripts automaticly included would have been a great, great feature for the average non-programming sort, such as myself. Unfortunately, time ran very short and there were several things that had to be set aside in favor of more critical game issues. I have a tremendous amount of faith in the mod community and certainly cannot keep up with all the things being created to aid the rest of the mod folks. BioWare built this community site on the foundation of helping and encouraging the mod community show us the potential of NWN through their talent and hard work. NWN has been out on shelves for about 3 weeks now and we are starting to see some of the work being done already. Some of it is pretty primitive, but it is amazing to me that folks could absorb NWN in a few weeks and then create anything at all in that time. I have no doubt more and more sophisticated utilities, mods and programs will be created that cater to the specifics needs of all levels of DMs, module makers and custom content creators. Quality takes time however and a good load of patience. I'm sure once those talented few who can rip something apart and understand the guts will be working on things to help those who do not have the technical know-how to do the same. I've been DMing for a long time as well and in the same boat for knowing zero about programming so I look forward to see what the mod community can come up with and what BioWare can contribute.
Forums: I'm a little surprised that you would think that BioWare does not read and respond to these forums. While we cannot answer all threads as there are over 3000 posts a day and climbing we do try and spend time here and jump in when we can. As for documentation, we are seeing a great amount of stuff being written by talented users at this time. We are working on our own additional documentation but time will be a factor. As for any expansion pack possibilities we are taking a look at several ideas right now but have nothing firm to speak about.
What They're Doing: Yup, lots of folks who worked some pretty crazy hours in the last 4 months, if not longer, are lying on a beach somewhere sleeping. We are getting done what's needs to be done one piece at a time. I hate to say it but patience, my friends, patience.
Multiplayer: We sent out a survey to give us an idea where we can improve the multiplayer experience for gamers. We have received a great deal of information which we are taking a look at now. Multiplayer is where the game will find longevity and so it is a priority. I realize a survey is not terribly helpful for you but we need to get the impressions of as many people as possible in order to do the greatest good in using our time. most everything will get done but it is the order in which to place things that it becomes a bit tricky.
Patches: Making patches takes time. Why? Because every time something is listed as fixed the entire game needs to be tested to make the entire thing works. We released the Toolset fix because it did not require the entire game to be tested so we figured we would release that while we wait for the big patch to go through all the critical path testing. I supposed we could have waited and included it in the big patch which is scheduled for later as it would have been the easier thing to do...but that would kind be a pain for the module makers.
Dom Moar, Tools Programmer
Deleting Blueprints: Deleting any blueprint may take some time, depending upon whether you tell the Toolset to delete the instances of the blueprint in the module. Try deleting the blueprints without deleting the instances - it should be pretty fast. Otherwise, the time depends on the number of areas, the number of instances in each area and the object type. I believe items would take the longest since it would require searching not just through the list of items, but the list of creatures for those that have the item in their inventory and through the encounters that contain those creatures.
1.20 Patch: I'm not implying anything. I'm trying to determine where the problem lies. I believe the solution we have in 1.20 addresses the problem that caused the corruption and in _most_ cases will successfully recover corrupted modules. However, since I can't be certain what people have done to their modules to 'fix' the problem on their own, I can't be certain that 1.20 will recover all corrupted modules.
Custom Palettes: Yes, we looked at allowing users to create their own categories when we were first designing the palette system. At the time, our primary goal was making sure that the blueprints were organized in the same way between both the Toolset and the DM Client. It would reduce the learning curve on the user and make it easier for us to manage the thousands of blueprints that were already created. Now, the person running the DM Client is not guaranteed to be on the same computer as the server. This means the server would have to transmit the entire structure of each palette to the DM Client when it connected. This is very, very BAD. Our decision, therefore, was to provide empty categories that the module creator could then use as he or she saw fit.
SP Exclusive: First Icewind Dale II Preview
Posted Saturday, July 13, 2002 - 18:52 CET by Sorcerer
Sorcerer's Place is proud to announce the first preview of Icewind Dale II posted on the Internet.
Feast your eyes on 80 (!) screenshots I've taken from the game, and read my preview to see whether I liked what I saw. Click here to venture on a journey to Icewind Dale...
Last Week's Poll Results
Posted Saturday, July 13, 2002 - 17:13 CET by Sorcerer
What we asked:
Q: Neverwinter Nights has been released and Icewind Dale II is on the horizon. What will you do?
(895 votes total)
I will buy both (536) 60%
I will only buy NWN (289) 32%
I will only buy IWD2 (48) 5%
I will buy neither (22) 2%
60% of those who voted, i.e. the majority of poll participants, will buy both Icewind Dale II and Neverwinter Nights. A wise decision indeed, and one wholeheartedly supported by SP, since we feel that IWD2 is going to be an excellent game.
A percent short of one third of votes, 32% of people who voted will only buy Neverwinter Nights. I suppose if 3D is all that matters to them, IWD2 will not provide much in that area, though the game has many other qualities worth considering.
5% of votes came from people who will only buy IWD2, and I expect this to be mostly people who have computers that do not meet the system requirements of Neverwinter Nights.
Only 2% of votes were cast by people who won't buy any of the two games.
Site News - New Additions
Posted Friday, July 12, 2002 - 20:36 CET by Sorcerer
Subsection Updates -> Fantasy Books
Even more new additions here with this update. In the Robert Jordan Books subsection, his 10th book in the Wheel of Time series is now available for pre-order. In the Forgotten Realms Books subsection, 5 new books have been added, along with more sample chapters. The new books are: The Thousand Orcs, Insurrection, Hand of Fire, The Sorcerer and Sands of the Soul.
In the Dragonlance Books subsection you can also find some new books, namely: Divine Hammer, Dragon Isles and Masters of Dragonlance Art. Last two new additions have been made in the Miscellaneous Books subsection; Oath of Nerull and City of Fire.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate 2
An interesting text has been added to the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection. It is a well-argumented document describing why sorcerers are the most powerful characters in BG2, and why Berserker/Clerics are among the best dual class characters. The only other addition has been made in the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection #5, where a portrait of Melissan was added.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale 2
A rather small update here as well. In the Info Compilation in the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can read about a funny item that didn't make it into the game, and see 3 new screenshots in the Screenshots subsection.
Subsection Updates - Games -> Neverwinter Nights
In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can download the latest versions of three walkthroughs.
In the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection, 3 new additions have been made. Check out the Armour Types page, a listing of NWN console commands and an article on how to be a DM.
A bunch of new stuff can be found in the Editors, Hacks & Tweaks subsection as well. Check out the Universal Improved Henchman Battle AI, Henchman Inventory & Buffing Control System, HardCore Ruleset, The DM's Helper and NWN TLK Editor.
On the same page you can also download two portrait packs. The one I extracted contains 13 NPC portraits you normally can't choose to play with (Aribeth, Desther etc.), and the other one is a submitted pack of 5 various portraits.
Moving to the Toolset & Related subsection. Here you can find a tutorial on how to make your own pack animal, two new tilesets and an updated one, a bunch of new versions of the core scripting doc, an updated version of the NWN Script Reference (and another similar pdf) and NWN commonly asked scripting questions.
Last but not least is the Modules subsection. Here you can now download the three pre-order bonus modules BioWare created, one new fan-made one, and a utility module which enables you to browse through all available spell effects and see them in action.
Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Friday, July 12, 2002 - 17:14 CET by Mollusken
A whole lot of new reviews today, and we'll start off with Adrenaline Vault who gave Neverwinter Nights 5 and a half stars out of a possible 5.
Texture design is exceptional at the highest setting: Floors are covered with intricate patterns of stones, mosaics, and even actual blades of grass in some areas. Turning the texture detail down even a single setting results in an overcompressed mess, however. Shadows on characters and objects respond to multiple lighting sources, and are some of the most detailed and realistic shadows I've ever seen: shadows climb walls appropriately and animate perfectly in synch with the object that casts them.
Telefragged gave the game a score of 90%.
Is Neverwinter Nights worth your gaming dollar? It really depends on whether you've played previous D&D RPG titles, and how much you're itching for a multiplayer RPG. If you've never played the Baldur's Gate series, Planescape: Torment, or Icewind Dale, it's a fine single player game with the possibility of some very engaging multiplayer action. If you've already had enough of the type of game listed above, though, and don't really care that much for the online aspect, you may want to skip it.
At Wewp the overall score is 8 out of 10.
Neverwinter Nights is a huge step forward since the Baldur's Gate series. It's a much more realistic setting since the "painted on" backdrops of Baldur's Gate and the likes. Probably the most obvious advancement is the 3rd Edition D&D rule set. Neverwinter Nights is the first game to successfully (others have tried) implement this massive system into a Computer Role Playing Game. Not only is it 3rd Edition, it actually FEELS like D&D. They've done an excellent job at meshing a real time combat system and the "3E" rule system.
Thrustworld doesn't like the game, but the guy who reviewed it liked it anyway.
As I said at the start, I wasn't a huge RPG fan before I got this, but now I am. I'm only a relatively short way into the game and I've spent hours playing it and I'm enjoying every minute of it so far, I think thats only going to increase once some good multiplayer modules are released. I would, and indeed do, highly recommend it to anyone, even if it's someone who before wouldn't think twice about playing an RPG. It's got something for the Novice and the Expert to sink their teeth into, and it really sets the bar a few notches higher for the competition to try and beat. Go buy it now and tell them that xBa Jueir (the name the games random name generator help me come up with) - 6th Level wizard and potential D&D geek sent you :).
The overall score at OGR is 8.
Overall I had a lot of fun playing the single player campaign and I am having a blast playing through again in multiplayer with a friend. The game performs well and I enjoy the gameplay. I would probably rate it on the same level as Baldurs Gate, somewhat below Fallout and Planescape: Torment in terms of roleplaying, but the opportunites from the toolset give it a big boost that put it above them for me. The Toolset is really exciting and I am having fun designing my own module using it. Some people have written some really good scripts and I am sure that as time goes on we will see the multiplayer aspect of NWN really hot up.
And the final review is at Eye Talk Now, and the reviewer there doesn't seem to be too excited about the game.
There's nothing really bad about Neverwinter Nights; and there's nothing else really good either. If you remove the Toolset, which, apparently, is not a priority to BioWare, NWN is a pretty mediocre game. The story is not as interesting as Baldur's Gate's, the gameplay is stifling compared to Morrowind, and the 3D engine is laughable compared to Morrowind and Dungeon Siege. The Toolset, and the people that will use it, are the only thing that gives NWN its worth. Hopefully BioWare will soon realize this and do more to support them.
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Friday, July 12, 2002 - 16:13 CET by Z-Layrex
David Gaider, Designer
CreateObject: It gets more interesting than that. From what I've been able to tell, if a creature is actually PLACED in the module, it's blueprint resref is changed to match its tag... and therefore its tag is useable for CreateObject. This is what confused me when I was looking through the official campaign. The skeleton bones placeable has a script that calls on a skeleton warrior... but using its tag (and it works... but only because skeleton warriors have been otherwise placed in the module). Same with a placeable object in the Beggar district in chapter 1... it is a fire that is spawned in using a tag that exists in neither the Custom nor Standard list of placeables. It ONLY exists in the resref of another placeable that has been placed. I didn't mention any of this in the description of CreateObject in the FAQ because:
a) it's inconsistent
b) it's confusing
Hopefully I can nail down a programmer to tell me exactly what's what with this at some point. Some of these results, however, could be completely unexpected even on their part (I suspect). Using the blueprint resref is what you'll want to do 99% of the time. It's relatively icky and it's something that the Live Team knows about and wants to work on streamlining after the bug situation calms.
Destroyable Objects:
Quote: I have the SetObjectDestroyable as (FALSE,TRUE,TRUE), and the body doesnt disappear. But I can't select him. When I move the mouse over the dead character, it changes into the attack icon. Clicking on him does not open up his inventory. Do I need to assign a second command that ends the combat, or some other manner of command?
Selectable actually just means that the icon gets a response... the player will see the creature's name, basically. A dead body is NOT a container like a placeable object is... you can't click on it and 'open it up' to see what is in its inventory. Creatures only drop their inventory when their body disintegrates. If you set the body to not disintegrate, this won't happen. Only way, reasonably, that you can do this is to have a script enact in the OnDeath event that spawns in a placeable object bag (or some container) and transfer the creature's inventory items into that. Then you have a permanent body and a lootable object. Incidentally, the 'No Permanent Death' box is mis-labeled and is being re-labeled in the next patch. What it ACTUALLY does is prevent 'chunky death' when checked.
Dialog Boxes: Yes, a dialogue box would be the way to use that currently. Something like you suggest would certainly be more user friendly. How about something like this:
DisplayPopUpGUI (string sGUItag, string sOption1, string sOption2 = "", string Option3 = "", string Option4 = "", string Option5 = "");
So you could cause a pop-up 'query' window appear that offered up to 5 options on it. When any option is selected, it sends a UserDefined event (using a POP_UP_OPTION* constant) to the module... where you could check for it like this:
int nEvent = GetUserDefinedEventNumber();
if (nEvent == POP_UP_OPTION1)
{
string sTag = GetLastGUIUsed();
if (sTag == "MANHOLE_OPENED")
{
...do rest of script
would that be easier to use or harder to use? I suppose another option would be to enter the file resref name of a script to run beside each option... so when the button was pressed, a new script would be run (using the reference GetLastGUIUser). Just a thought on my part, but I'm thinking that kind of thing could have multiple uses.
More:
Ok... just to re-iterate, though, the ONLY way to replicate that currently is via dialogue. The stuff I'm suggesting in my post is just a possibility for the future.
Conversation Ending: What you need to do is go to his dialogue file... in there, you'll see a tab called 'Other Files' and space for two scripts in OnConversation End and Abort. Put a script in those that simply called WalkWayPoints again (just like in your OnSpawn script) and he will go back to what he was doing. As for the sounds he's making, go into his creature file under the Advanced tab and I think there is a function there for changing or deleting his Voice Set. Those play automatically when clicked on... nothing to do with OnConversation or the like.
Jonathan Epp, Quality Assurance
Ending Conversations:
Quote: Is there anyway to tell if a player hits the ESC key to get out other than keeping a state variable that you change at each node of the dialog?
In the Conversation Editor, in the bottom-right, go to the "Current File" tab. There are two options for scripts - one will run when the conversation ends normally, the other will run when the conversation ends for any other reason (including when the player aborts the conversation with ESC).
Don Moar, Tools Programmer
Tileset Specific Doors: A tileset specific door will only show up using its 'proper' model when placed in the proper tile (feature or group). Take a look at the door created when painting the Wall1Gate feature in an area using the Rural tileset. That door is specific to the Rural tileset. If you delete that door and paint a generic door in its place it will show up using the same model as the tileset specific door you just deleted. Everything else about the generic door will be used, however (eg. hit points).
Conversation Editor Icons: The buttons you're referring to highlight the nodes that meet the criteria indicated by the button.
Highlight Actions - nodes that have an Action Taken script.
Highlight Quests - nodes that update the player journal.
etc...
The highlight is a red boarder around the icon beside each appropriate node. As for the actual icons beside the nodes:
~ (squiggle) means the node has a start condition script
v (checkmark) means that the node should always appear
> (triangle) means that the node is the default node and will appear if no other nodes are valid.
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 20:30 CET by Z-Layrex
David Gaider, Designer
Nearest NPC Creature: GetNearestCreature (CREATURE_TYPE_PLAYER_CHAR, PLAYER_CHAR_NOT_PC);
That will return the nearest non-PC creature to the caller.
More:
A couple of things I can think of:
1) The door is going to fire off this script every time the player hits it... it's possible that your guard could be receiving multiple commands,or could already be busy.
I would suggest that you send a ClearAllActions() to the guard (at least once) to clear his current queue before getting him to move to the PC.
2) Are you sure the guard is the nearest non-PC to the door? The PC doesn't have any companions or similar?
3) Instead of getting the PC with GetNearestCreature, it might be more accurate to use GetLastAttacker.
Conversation: BeginConversation is primarily supposed to be used within the context of an OnDialogue event. It IS possible to use it elsewhere, but ActionStartConversation is going to get you better results overall. The 'Useable' flag for an item you want to speak is immaterial. It is simply required that 'Static' must be unchecked. Check out the post on placeables & dialogue in the FAQ sticky up top.
Neil Flynn, Programmer
Highlighted Text: Hi,
The three types of highlighting are:
Action is for "Show the item to the king"
Check is for a skill check "Persuade"
Highlight is for other stuff you may want.
The highlights do not actually do anything. Just because I put a check highlight in the dialogue, doesn't mean there actually is a check. You have to add that in yourself through scripting (or the script wizard). The highlights are independent of any actions or skill checks, they are just a visual notification to the user.
Don Moar, Tools Programmer
Conversation Nodes: Yup, Brand has it right. The NPC will always say the first node whose start condition (Text Appears When...) returns TRUE. If a node doesn't have a script assigned, it returns TRUE by definition. So organize your conversations so that the node that has the most restrictions (conditions) is at the top and reduce the restrictions on each subsequent sibling node. If no NPC node has a start condition that returns TRUE, the game will use the last sibling in the list.
Neverwinter Nights Status Report
Posted Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 18:24 CET by Mollusken
Derek French has made a post on the official Neverwinter Nights message boards which shows what they are currently working on for future patches. You can the post here.
Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 18:15 CET by Mollusken
A lot of new stuff popped up on the BioWare site yesterday. A new server admin forum has been added to the official forums, a armor types guide has been added to the players section, 62 console commands for dungeon masters and 13 for players has been added to both DM and player sections and a new wallpaper has been added to the wallpaper gallery.
NWN Module Corruption Resolved
Posted Thursday, July 11, 2002 - 8:47 CET by Sorcerer
A new patch that addresses the module corruption issue that has popped up for some of the Toolset users is now available.
More info from the Community Manager Jay Watamaniuk: "The largest issue that this patch addressed is the situation of modules that became corrupted during a save in the Toolset. Since this patch dealt with only the Toolset, we did not have to spend time on a full critical path QA testing pass for the game to check to make sure everything was working. A larger, general game patch, is being tested right now for later release.
What was happening that we needed to address in this patch were some extra files being placed a Temp directory and added to the contents of the module. When the Toolset went to save a module, those extra files were not among the recognized file types and this caused the corruption error when attempting to load the module again in the Toolset. This has been cleared up.
Important Note: For those people who encountered this problem, you should now be able to open your previously corrupt modules. Simply reopen them in the Toolset. Do not be concerned with a warning box of extra material that is found, click OK. When you have successfully loaded your module save it again in it's new, uncorrupted form."
The official patch notes for 1.2:
Added code to prevent non-NWN files from corrupting modules in the Toolset
NOTE: As this is only a Toolset update, version 1.20 is multiplayer
compatible with version 1.19. This means if you patch to 1.20, and your friend doesn't (and is still using 1.19) you should still be able to play together.
You can get the patch by hitting the Update button in the game's launcher interface, or here.
Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 21:01 CET by Z-Layrex
J.E Sawyer, Lead Designer
Length of game: It should be longer than IWD + HoW + TotLM. It should not be longer than BG2. If it is, either we or you are doing something wrong.
Globe of Darkness not being in the game: Making a globe of darkness around a character's "head" is difficult because the engine doesn't really know where the "head" is. The result is silly looking misplaced globes that don't make any sense or gigantic globes of darkness that look equally ridiculous. The game effects, however, are easy to do.
Ball Lightning: Ball Lightning creates a bunch of missile weapons (like Melf's Minute Meteors). You can huck them around pretty quickly and do electrical damage. They are ranged touch attacks, so Dex bonuses apply, but physical armor is ignored on targets.
Status of the game: Nothing has gone horribly wrong. The game is fine. No joke, not trying to placate you. It really is. A few QA guys are still working on it, but the vast majority of the IWD2 team is on vacation right now. A well-deserved vacation, IMO.
Quests and battles: There are quests you can do that will alter the number of enemies and/or allies that fight in what could be dubbed "the final battle".
Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 20:54 CET by Z-Layrex
David Gaider, Designer
Effects: VFX_IMP_* -type effects can only be applied with DURATION_TYPE_INSTANT.
More:
Quote: apparently not...it is working fine now. just needed to make the object usable...which sucks, because now the object show up. Anyone know the visual effect for the Gas Trap?
You don't actually have to make it useable... it just can't have the 'static' box checked. As for the gas trap, it's not a visual effect... you're looking for EffectAreaOfEffect. I think Minor Gas Trap is EffectAreaOfEffect (AOE_PER_FOGACID, "NW_T1_GasMinoC1", "****", "****") ... but if you just want the visual of the cloud and not the effect just change the script reference in there to another "****".
And More:
Again, it doesn't have to be useable... just not static. Try making it a temporary effect (can have high duration). I'm not positive persistent AOE's can be permanent. That might not be the problem, tho. You might need to use ApplyEffectAtLocation with an AOE, instead (all the trap scripts seem to use this).
New Things:
Quote: 1. Allow the scripting of radial menus, including adding an option to a character's main radial as well as adding subradials. This includes the ability to do more than five subradials in a spell, and even to make sub-subradials and sub-sub-subradials.
Maybe I'm missing something. Why are more radial menus needed?
Quote: 2. We hope that someday, items might be able to have their own scripts...this would add in making spells like "bless weapon" as well as helping the poor fellows feel equal to NPCs and the like.
I doubt items will ever carry their own scripts. What can eventually be hoped for are more module events like OnActivateItem that allow you to script custom items within a module.
Quote: 3. We require "set" functions, so that they may compliment the "get" functions, and allow such marvels of the infamous sex changing girdles, spells such as "alter self", and allow such role playing options as changing one's deity and name (or declaring a subrace that you forgot).
A lot of these things can be done by the Effect commands (no sex-change effect yet, though), but I agree... more commands to directly affect changes in stuff is nice and will likely be looked at in the future.
Quote: 4. We need a compliment to the polymorph effect that that will only change the appearance of a creature, but none of its other abilities, as well as the potential to allow a polymorphed creature to be able to still equip (and perhaps stay equipped) after the shapechange. Then such delights as casting a spell while a Fire Giant (as one ought to be able to do, according to the Core rules) may be enjoyed.
Fire Giant models can cast spells. I assume you are referring to an ability to switch models so that players can assume creature models. It's hard to say if this will be possible anytime soon. There is a demand for more playable races, so we will definitely look at it in the future... the real issue for other models is being able to don equipment and have it reflected on the model. That requires considerable animation work. Simply switching models without consideration for equipment is also a possibility, I suppose.
Quote: 5. Our modifications are fettered, for our "hak paks" do not receive the priority they are due. Instead, we must tamper with the sacred "override" folder, a place that should be reserved for you alone.
You are incorrect, here. The hakpaks have the highest priority for override. If you are referring to the current issue with some of the 2DA's not overriding in-game 2DA's when included in a hakpak, that is fixed in the next patch. Aside from that, keep in mind that 2DA editing is not officially supported.
Quote: 6. Lastly, our ability to add comments and explanations for new spells and items is sorely pressed, and we require a method to reference such information to a file that is not the lengthy and unwieldy "dialog.tlk".
New spells? Again, I assume this is through 2DA editing, which is not supported. The only reason that we would have to edit the dialog.tlk table would be so imported custom resources (like models, tilesets, music, sounds, etc.) would have a tag so they can be selected from within the toolset. It may be possible that these tags can be added without requiring the dialog.tlk file, in which case no editor would be needed. If the dialog.tlk file ends up requiring to be edited, then I assume you could indeed use such a function for what you want to do.
More:
Quote: 1. Data structures: arrays, lists, maps
These will probably get added eventually, yes.
Quote: 2. Being able to write and read a file (make it secure by only allowing it to be in a special NWN dir). This will be helpful for storing data that needs to be editable without having to mess with #include scripts, recompiling, rebuilding, etc.
Mmm. I suspect that any I/O functionality will be restricted to specific commands with very restricted uses. Security is the primary reason that no I/O was included in the initial release.
Quote: 3. Need to be able to edit "Examine" string from within the script. So that when people examine something, they see a scripted string.
That sounds reasonable.
Quote: 4. Need to be able to create arbitrary, dynamically templatable dialogue trees from inside a script. This could be used for DM and Developer Helper type NPCs to report back to you all kinds of game parameters inside a dialogue (as opposed to one liners).
I have no idea what you mean by 'arbitrary, dynamically templatable'. I've used custom tags to report in-game data through dialogue... beyond that, I'm not sure what you're expecting.
Quote: 5. Definitely need scriptable radial or some other kind of menu! This can be used to make items such as 'Rod of Lordly Might' so when you use it, it gives you several options and you can turn it into a weapon of your choice. You can also use it to make an item such as "Rod of Teleportation" that can memorize 5 locations and teleport you back to any of the 5 locations, all in one item.
Not sure this requires a scriptable radial menu. More slots that the current Unique Power and Unique Power - Self, maybe, insofar as OnActivateItem-scripting goes is certainly possible.
Quote: 6. Allow scripts on any items. You can make it secure by implementing a sandbox model, like in Java.
This most likely will not happen, as I've already said. More item-related events will probably come in the way of the module events list.
Quote: 7. This is a biggie: need to be able to assign and de-assign event scripts/functions to any object from within a script.
Possible, I suppose.
Quote: 8. Functions should become first class. You should be able to store functions inside arrays, lists, maps. This will allow complicated automata to be created.
And, um, how many people would actually use this? Arrays, lists and maps, themselves, are likely only to be used by the programming elite.
Quote: 9. This one is a biggie: optimize for speed. Write a JIT compiler for your language.
This is a biggie, is it?
Quote: 10. Allow configurable heartbeats to lessen the impact of a 6 second spike. Not everything needs to be processed on the round. We can fudge it with DelayCommand even now, but it would be nice to have some syntactic sugar for it.
As you say, using DelayCommand combined with SignalEvent allows you to create a customized heartbeat in the OnUserDefined area. I can't see them changing the standard OnHeartbeat, itself, but you never know... would make it a little more user-friendly, I suppose.
Player Death: There is a reason why GetLastKiller doesn't work for PC's. When PC's 'die' (are reduced to 0 or below HP) their OnPlayerDying event fires. In most cases this eventually leads to an EffectDeath being used to kill the player officially. So as far as the program is concerned, the PC was not killed by an object. A GetLastPCKiller command would certainly make that easier, I agree. I'll certainly pass the suggestion along... though I think it'll be a while before we consider adding new scripting functions in.
Noel Borstad, Programmer
Checking For An Item: The object GetItemPossessedBy() command would be easier in this case than iterating through their inventory. Pass in the tag and the PC, and it will return the item if the have it, or OBJECT_INVALID if they don't. Iterating through an inventory is a pain because you have to also check equipped slots and containers.
Changing Models: To turn the commoners into ghouls you will have to destroy each one and spawn a ghoul in at their location (you'll probably also want to play a visual effect to cover the pop) The template gargoyles, and some of the lycanthropes have this behaviour. For your vampire, do CreateObject(OBJECT_TYPE_CREATURE, "nw_vampire", lWaypoint, TRUE) in the onUsed script for the coffin (make it useable, but no inventory).
Brenon Holmes, Programmer
Future Things:
Quote: We need more events. Some events would work better if they were split into two events that happened before and after.
OnBeforePCRest
OnAfterPCRest
These two exist already. There are 3 events that call the module rest for a PC... rest starting, rest cancelled and rest completed. There are access functions to determine which event type was called.
Quote: ~snip~The ability to change the scripts that are assigned to various handlers at runtime would be very handy and powerful. Please add this one?~snip~
This functionality already exists via ExecuteScript(). You can store a script set on a string on the object, then get the object to execute that script in it's event handler...
Quote: ~snip~Perhaps add GetFirstItemInContainer(oContainer), GetNextItemInContainer(oContainer), and GetItemContainer(oItem) functions?~snip~
These also already exist via GetFirstItemInInventory()... if you call the function on an item with inventory, then it will iterate through that item's item repository.
Quote: ~snip~David, I have to say that I totally disagree with this. I don't think the use of arrays etc. are advanced programming. I'm hardly an advanced programmer, and I find I am starving for these abilities. GOD, the long pain in the ass scripts that I have to write to make up for the lack of arrays. I really can't understand why they weren't included in the first place.~snip~
Basically what is being discussed is pointers... data structures containing function pointers and all that that entails... not too likely. Arrays as a defined structure would be nice... and probably possible... but the ability to have dynamic arrays of function pointers isn't too likely...
Neverwinter Nights Review at UGO
Posted Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 11:21 CET by Mollusken
Undergound Online has written a review of Neverwinter Nights, giving it an overall score of A-.
Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is the first product to come along since then to successfully mix such delicious elements. Bioware ha