August 2002

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, August 31, 2002 - 8:49 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: Now that Neverwinter Nights has been released, some gamers' allegiance to the venerable Infinity Engine has shifted in favour of NWN's Aurora engine. Which is your favourite?
(450 votes total)

Old school Infinity Engine (BG2, IWD2 etc.) (251) 56%
I like both equally (122) 27%
New generation Aurora (NWN) (77) 17%

The poll results show quite clearly that the Neverwinter Nights engine has a lot to live up to. Having seen so many excellent games made with the (now) classic Infinity Engine, players' emotional attachment to it is definitely huge. Aurora's design which does not allow for a whole party (unlike IE's), and the hardly memorable single player campaign of Neverwinter Nights are off to a bad start in this long-term remembrance competition. While there is certainly a lot going on in the NWN area in terms of fan-created content, I also expect BioWare to come up with some more roleplaying modules in the future, since the official campaign was really more of a cross between Diablo and Baldur's Gate than the promised roleplaying experience. Only time will tell why Neverwinter Nights will stay in our memories - because of excellently crafted roleplaying experiences or because of tons of custom content with little substance.

In any event , here is what the poll outcome looks like:

More than half of the people who voted (56%) say that the old school Infinity Engine remains their favourite, with games such as Baldur's Gate 2 and Icewind Dale 2 being the pinnacle of the engine's use.

27% of poll participants take no sides but feel that both the old and new engines are equally good.

Finally, only 17% of those who voted in the poll feel that the new generation Aurora engine beats the good old Infinity as their favourite.

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Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Saturday, August 31, 2002 - 1:20 CET by Z-Layrex

Tax Young, Quality Assurance

Resistances: Resistances are now handled in 'points of damage', so aasimars would get, for example, 21-5=16 points of damage from a fireball.

Portraits and the collector’s edition: There are no extra portraits in the CE. They have more cards than the adventure pack, which some of the portraits appear in, I believe, but there are no extra portraits in-game or anything like that.

Both the CE and the adventure pack have the same new portraits as the regular version of the game.

Difficulty settings: I just checked this, and the way the difficulty settings work is as follows:

The difference between very easy, easy, normal, hard, and insane, is the BAB of the monsters and amount of damage that they do. Each difficulty setting has a bonus/penalty to enemy BABs and damage, which modifies the values in relation to the normal difficulty setting.

The amount of XP given for all difficulty settings is the same, whether the game is set to very easy, easy, normal, hard, or insane.

The number of enemies also does not change based on the difficulty level of the game - it is determined by the party's level.

Chad Nicholas, Scriptor

Length of time to cast a spell: Spells take anywhere from 1/10th of a round (one round = 7 seconds in the IE) to 10/10ths of a round just like in previous IE games. We had talked about the idea to make all spells either be half a round or a full round to cast per the ROOLZ, however I don't remember the reason for not doing the change.

Cloudburst: And Cloudburst; it's comedy gold.

Speaking of which, if you're playing a druid or ranger, don't forget to change your memorized spells when heading indoors. You can't cast Entangle or Cloudburst (and others) indoors.

Controlling elementals and demons: There is a reason you can't control elementals and demons directly -- they kick much butt!

The elemental that you get from a 7th level spell can be a much better ally than a monster from another 7th level spell.

If you're going to summon both elementals/demons and monsters/animals, summon the monsters/animals first, gather them around your caster, and cast Magic Circle Against Evil. Nothing is worse than summoning a bunch of undead or monsters and having them attack/attacked by that elemental/demon you just summoned.

Elementals and demons only attack the closest creature that doesn't have PFE. This means that even if you lose PFE, just make sure that there's an enemy of yours closer to the elemental/demon than you are and you'll be fine.

If you or an ally is being attacked by an elemental/demon, cast PFE on them and the elemental/demon will change targets after a few seconds.

Damien Foletto, Junior Designer

Playing tips: 1) When in battle, pay attention to the dialog box. Important information, like what kind of damage a beasty is susceptible to, scrolls in there.

2) Scout with your thief. I'll say it again: Scout with your thief. One of the best battle tactics you can use is hiding your thief and sending him/her out to scout ahead. This helps to reveal upcoming threats, thus allowing you to create a plan for attack. Hide and Move Silently are skills that cannot be emphasized enough for your thief.

3) Have your mage or sorcerer learn Invisibility as soon as possible. Say for some reason you decided not to put a lot of points into Hide and Move Silently for your thief, having Invisibility handy for casting helps to counter that deficiency. Just remember not to attack anything while invisible and alone.

4) Turn undead is a lifesaver. Always put a few ability points into CHA to help out your cleric's Turn Undead feat. If you can afford it, take Improved Turn Undead (I think that's what it's called) when you get a chance to choose feats a few levels up. There are quite a few areas where the undead rear their decomposed heads, and Turn Undead can make those encounters A LOT easier. It's especially fun when you're evil and have a horde of undead end up fighting for you.

5) Don't let a race's ECL (Effective Class Level) deter you from choosing them for your party. Just because they may not level as quickly as non-ECL races, that doesn't mean they aren't powerful. Take the deep gnome for example: They get a natural +4 to AC and get the ability to cast Invisibility once per day as a natural ability. This little guy makes a great rogue, no doubt about it. Another example is almost everyone's favorite anti-hero race, drow. With high natural magic resistance and bonus to intelligence, these are natural wizards. And nothing beats an aasimar for a cleric, imo.

6) Look for clues. Many of the game's puzzles and quests have multiple ways of solving them. Sometimes the most obvious (KILL THEM ALL!) way through is not always the best way through.

7) Always make sure your fighter-type has both a slashing weapon and bludgeoning weapon set up in the quick weapons slots. There are many beasties in IWD2 that may be impervious to one type of attack, but very susceptible to another. Since fighters are proficient in all weapons, this won't take anything away from their core development.

That's all I have for now. I'm sure there are more hints, and I'll post them once my brain lifts from the fog that is Vicadin induced.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Saturday, August 31, 2002 - 1:00 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

Conversation Bug:

Quote: Aaah, the one that can be worked around simply by removing the default "end conversation" script, or commenting out the ClearAllActions() call in that default script, eh?

Correct. Technically this is not a bug... it's something that has been brought to everyone's attention since the WalkWayPoints() command was automatically added into every dialogue file in v1.22. WalkWayPoints() has a ClearAllActions command which would clear out the action queue of any action scripts in the dialogue. Not good, but it's doing what it is supposed to... prior to 1.22, the script with WalkWayPoints just generally wasn't added to dialogues of this kind. So it's not a hard fix (there are several ways to go about it)... we've just got to decide which would be the best way to go without demolishing already existing stuff.

DM Fixes:

Quote: What about the other issues being looked at by Bio? Any response from a Bio-passer-by...?

Well, we haven't before actively asked for feedback on issues that involve new functionality, simply because the focus was on bugs. We have kept an eye on what people have been commenting on, however, and will be looking at perhaps changing some of these things in the near future. Insofar as the chat system, itself, is concerned, this is a list of some possible changes... most of which have been taken from feedback here:

~~change DM to be able to hear all forms of chat (including Party)

~~The ability to disable individual chat channels on a per-player basis using a scripting command. This would allow DM's the ability to prevent dead players from chatting (which they can't currently do), prevent players from Shouting, if desired, and also have plots in which players are seperated from the rest of the group and can't contact each other.

~~Change so that pressing 'Enter' to type another message doesn't immediately clear what is already on-screen.

~~A DM-possessed creature using Talk will have text displayed on the bottom of the screen (more of a minor bug, this, really, I suppose).

~~Change Shout so that it is area-wide only and not module-wide.

~~Add a small sound to any DM chat useage.

These are only things that are under consideration, however, and not guaranteed alterations. If you have any suggestions on reasonable changes or feedback on the above, I'd be glad to hear it.

Those New Script Functions: Derek has to sift through the patch notes that are written by the various programmers and 'translate' them into a version readable by the public. It's possible that a programmer related something regarding putting in the coding for these commands and Derek may have assumed that this meant they were in the release (when in fact there was still one step left to go), I don't know. Regardless, it qualifies as an 'oops!'. As for 'damaging our reputation'... uhhh, okay, sure. Someone made a mistake. I'm sure it won't be our last one, either. I doubt it's worthy of painting a big red letter on our forehead. There are more added commands planned for the 1.24 patch, I believe (that patch is actually pretty big on new content), but new content of any kind that is done by the Live Team and not left for an expansion will always depend on the time & difficulty of implementation. We're well aware of the kinds of commands that have been asked for here since release... no link necessary, thanks.

Item Creation Thread: (Ed. Note: Stop by and let them know what you want to see :)
Ok. The system of creating items in the toolset needs some changes. We're aware of that. It worked pretty well for the official campaign, perhaps, but it didn't leave a lot of options for module creators... and we always knew that a really useful system was only going to be creatable once everyone got their meathooks into things and discovered what they did and didn't like. So, anyway, now's the time to discuss what we can do about it... and your opportunity to provide some feedback. Before we begin, however, a few things you need to be aware of:

Ideally, the system of controlling what items can be brought into someone's module should be the responsibility of the DM, the module maker and the server... not ours. At best, we can only bandaid stops versus cheaters, as they will always be one step ahead of us, and many of these stops affect creators more than is reasonable. DM's, however, need a method of directly looking at what a PC has... opening up their inventory and inspecting away. A module maker needs proper scripting hooks to be able to create scripts that sift through and evaluate an entering player's inventory. Servers need the option of determining exactly what items and values get filtered and which do not. Really there should be no reason why we couldn't provide all three methods for cheating control. That level is, however, going to take time to reach. Until that point, we do absolutely need to keep the multiplayer aspect of the game in mind when we're dealing with how items are created and transferred. Hopefully, however, we can minimize the impact prior to that.

Secondly, this is only in reference to creating items using the toolset. We are not talking about editing .2da files here or creating custom item types and so forth. Just to make that clear. Ok, then... here's my list of some changes we could consider. These are not guaranteed changes, of course... just a list that I've gathered based on the feedback I've read and what I believe to be reasonable outside of an expansion (an expansion is where much bigger changes such as new item properties, wholesale changes to current item lists and so forth can be made).

?value? and ?cost? of an item need to have separate values. Currently, the item?s properties have a ?cost?? this is also the amount they are bought & sold for within a module. The creator can only raise this value (not lower it), and this also happens to raise the minimum required level for an item (which is cost-dependant). The value of an item should indeed be determined by its properties... and it should supply the default cost, which can then be changed by the creator for their own module. Only possible issue: players creating items with inflated prices in order to sell them for mega gold within a module.

the Lore value for an item needs to be editable. Changing the Lore value really has no bearing on the multiplayer aspect or cheating, so there seems to be little reason that the module creator can?t directly change it. If there is any way we can have a ?ignore minimum level? selection on an item, we should have it. Previously, the ?plot? selection performed this function? but that was removed because people were taking plot items into other modules that were enforcing minimum levels and still being able to use them. Perhaps we could do the same thing with items as we did with characters... if the plot selection of an item is on when you enter a module, it gets turned off automatically. The reason that creators want this? So that they can still have ILR on their module but do stuff like create subraces (which require items to be used in the creature inventory? items with properties that often push the min level of the item into the 10?s or 20?s) or special module-only items (like the big artifact sword that the characters must get and use) without sacrificing the restrictions on items being brought into the module.

There seems to be little method as to the properties that can or can?t be assigned to items. Understandably, combat-type properties should only be applicable to weapons. But why is it required that you have a property on a wand? Can?t you have a non-magical wand? Why can no magical properties be assigned to gems? Weight should also be editable? although that might involve adding an additional property, I suppose. Currently you can reduce the weight of an item with a special property? but only by percentage amounts. You cannot increase an item?s weight. There needs to be a module event for OnItemEquipped and OnItemUnEquipped. Without these, any type of scripting for cursed items or special bonuses/negative for using weapons & armor is completely impossible. The current event only fires when an item is picked up or dropped? and that isn?t enough. This may be something that can only be added in an expansion, however. Another quick thing to keep in mind: changes insofar as damage or additional properties do need to remain seperate item properties, for the most part, instead of being directly editable. Why? Well, all item properties are listed on the item... so if a DM or player pulls up an item they can quickly identify what changes have been made to the base properties. Some changes (such as Lore) probably don't need to be singled out this way, I think.

---------

Okay, whew. At any rate, this is what I have so far. Feedback on stuff I may have missed (please be specific) or on what's already on the list would be welcome.

More:

Quote: But the set Armor AC and type just sucks. If you want something that works at mithril, or other things here and there, you just can't do it.

As I understand it, properties do exist to increase/decrease the AC of armor. The only problem with doing it currently is that the subsequent value of the item skyrockets. If you could apply the AC +/- as an item property (so it shows up in the list of properties and is easy for a DM checking it out to see) and still adjust the cost as a completely seperate value... wouldn't that be enough?

Quote: EDIT: And.. also.... very important. Negative ability/possibly skill attributes. I don't mean cursed, as you can't equip unidentified items. But rather, sometimes even a good magic item may have a penalty.

Hmmm... I think these exist as item properties as well. If they don't, however, you won't be seeing them outside of an expansion. I think our ability to add new item properties is very limited.

And More:

Quote: - It would be nice to be able to control the special effects that appear on an item as properties in their own right.

This would require either a large change to the current item properties or new ones. You could only see that in an expansion.

Quote: - Weight. Getting a finer grain on weight would be a pleasing thing. It would be fun to create an artifact sword that needed Titanic strength to wield without falling over.

Adjusting the weight is one thing... that only affects encumbrance, however. Setting up something like 'Minimum Stat Required' would require a new item property... though it is a fine idea. Having a proper OnItemEquipped would also allow you to script this. If someone equips the item, you check if their Strength (or whatever) is above a certain amount... and, if not, force them to immediately unequip it.

And Even More:

Quote: Perhaps the value calculation could take negative properties into account. For example, a sword that does loads of damage but is nearly impossible to hit with - the extra damage increases the value, but the fact that you can barely use it doesn't reduce it again.

Well, here's the problem with that... and the reason that we took out the calculation of negative properties in the first place: you can very easily add on completely useless negative onto an item and bring its value/level down very low while at the same time applying very powerful properties. We were able to do this in many types of variations, getting super-powerful items that were min level 1 and worth 1 gp. Until the controls I mentioned in my post (for the DM, the creator and the server) are put into place, I'm not sure that we can even look at revamping item value calculation.

Must. Kill. Gaider:

Quote: Why can scripts not be directly attached to objects, such as rings, wands, and more? All of these require the use of Unique, which is a really roundabout way of doing it. If you have many unique powers in your game, you have to put a separate check for each. Wouldn't it be easier to be able to set it up so that a wand has X power, attached to X script, named Y? That way, we could get some really unique effects going on.

I think this is just the way the game was built. Inventory items aren't the same type of 'object' as many other things in the game are... and they aren't required to exist as an instance in the module, just like the player character. Hence neither can have scripts. You've also got to consider that these things have to be transferrable to other modules. You certainly wouldn't want someone's item scripts coming with them into your module, would you? What you need are module-level scripts for both. As I mentioned above, adding an OnItemEquipped event would open up the number and type of effects you could create... as well as having more than one Unique power (and being able to name it... I find that more annoying that anything else, personally).

Quote: Onhit abilities for weapons. Why can new ones not be added? I'd like to be able to make venomed weapons, as many others would, but the poison on hit is a 1d2 poison based on a stat. Is there any way you can add the poison information to that, cause saves, etc?

Expanding item properties and adding new ones is something that has to be done in an expansion. They require a lot of work, even seemingly small things. The big deal with them is the layering of multiple effects... it has the potential for so many bugs it's not even funny.

DIE!

Quote: I am curious as to how the maximum item properties were assigned? IE- 1 power on a potion? The 'updated' system should allow a DM or a mod-builder (MB from now on) the flexibility to allow virtually any item to have virtually any power.

A lot of the limitations regarding the # of effects on an item have to do with the layering of effects, as I mention above. I understand that people want more item properties and more control over them... revamping how item properties work requires an expansion, however, as I've mentioned. All I put on my list (and I'm not even sure this could be done) is have the same properties being applicable to all weapons and non-weapons, as an option. This does cover some of the things in your message (like the scroll), but I'm not even sure if this could be done without some major re-tooling.

Model Support: Now this is why I didn't want to give any ETA at all for the release of this stuff when you asked the first time. Reluctantly I said 'probably sometime in August', but I also said that was a total guess on my part because the timetable depended on so many other things. So now you're going to rant and make demands based on that? Well... I guess I know what to do the next time someone asks me for an ETA, don't I? The artists are, in fact, putting together the files we used for 3dsMax (and GMax, as well, if I heard correctly). That may include the .plt plug-in as well, I really don't know. Regardless, they have to go through everything and make sure nothing proprietary remains in there and that everything is legal and kosher and has been approved through the appropriate channels (like Ray and Greg, at the very least)... and that it comes with instructions on use, as well. Sorry, but we are not going to run over to our computer and 'drag over' our utilities to the send box just because you've decided to become impatient once again, rtrifts. We are busy and are working on it.

1.24:

Quote: Easy fixes I would like to see in next patch.

1. Add secret door .hak to Aurora base, so don't have to depend on others to download the .hak.

Done. Coming in 1.24

Quote: 2. Custom Items - allow the money value to be adjusted down... right now you can add value, I want to be able to lower value.

What we are actually considering is seperating the value (the inherent worth of the item from its properties) from the cost (the price of the item in the given module) and making the cost completely editable. It's just considering at this point, as we're still working out the details, so I don't know if that would be in in time for 1.24 or not.

Quote: 3. Custom Scrolls/Potions - adjust spell level. The sub-property cannot be adjusted; should be easy to make this adjustable so I can have custom scrolls based on lvl of caster, instead of picking from one or two static lvls.

Will consider this, but probably not for 1.24

Quote: 4. AdjustReputation and AdjustAlignment - option to adjust only the PC, not PC and his party. Right now it adjusts PC and party.

Noted.

Quote: 5. Merchants 'Max buy flag' - have a value that merchants will only buy items from PC that are cost 'x' or lower.

I think merchants are likely going to be revamped in the future (possibly in an expansion), but I would definitely like to see this myself. Also such additions, I think, as a 'no Identify' flag and an optional flag for the merchant to put money from purchases into a specific object and use the money in that object to fund purchases (so if he has no money, he can't buy... and if he only has 100 gp, he can only offer that much maximum). Just thoughts on my part, here, however, but I know we want to increase the facility of the merchants.

Quote: 6. Tavern Bar placeable - Should be easy to draw a large wooden bar so we dont have to use park tables for the bar.

That's a damn fine idea. I'll pass that on.

More:

Quote: Toggle Minimap on/off per area. Forgot this big problem. The minimap shows too much info, especially indoors. So, as DM I want the ability to not allow players the option to use it in an area.

This is under consideration, yes. Not sure if it's something that would be done in time for 1.24, however, but a scripting ability (or area property, maybe) to shut off the minimap would be a great boon for mazes and such.

Custom Content:

Quote: How long before we have an official guide to adding custom content? ie New creature models etc? Does something have to be done to the code for end users to handle .2da & .tlk files safely?

I think that the tools we used for 3dsMax to add creature models and tilesets will probably be released by 1.24... but custom content can never really be officially supported. There may be some tutorials to help people who wish to do that stuff, however. Not sure about your second question. With the last patch, most .2da's work in a hakpak normally. As far as 'handling' .2da's or the dialog.tlk, again that falls under the heading of custom content.

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Icewind Dale II Collector's Edition Update
Posted Friday, August 30, 2002 - 11:42 CET by Mollusken

For those of you who are still waiting for your preordered copy of the Icewind Dale II Collector's Edition, the following update has been posted on the Black Isle site.

Due to manufacturing issues that have now been resolved, Icewind Dale II Collector's Edition will be shipping on Tuesday, September 3, 2002.

You will be scheduled to receive your product based on the delivery method you chose.

IF YOU CHOSE:	YOU WILL RECEIVE IT ON:
Next Day UPS	Wednesday Sept 4th
3-Day UPS or Ground UPS	Friday Sept 6th

Please accept our appologies for the delay and we hope you enjoy Icewind Dale II.

These shipping times do not apply to the following: P.O. Boxes, Military APO's, Hawaii, Alaska and the Virgin Islands. These areas can expect delivery in 5 to 7 days. Orders into Canada can take 7 to 10 shipping days.

Sincerely,

Interplay Entertainment and Black Isle Studios

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 21:27 CET by Mollusken

Yesterday BioWare started the registration for a beta test of a Guilds and Registry section on their site. The first 500 registered visitors would win a place in the testing, but it's allready filled up and the registration is closed.

Derek French from BioWare has made a syntax definition file, which will provide NWScript syntax highlighting for those of you who use TextPad for scripting. The BioWare Live Team has started developing a brand new module series, called "The Witchwork Series". More information about this will come. And last, but not least, on this Neverwinter Wednesday on a Thursday is a new module called Naval Battle. It's made by BioWare's Keith Warner, and is based on the classic game of Battleship.

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Icewind Dale II Interview at DBF
Posted Thursday, August 29, 2002 - 10:11 CET by Mollusken

The Dragon's Breath Forge has asked Icewind Dale II lead designer J.E. Sawyer a few questions about the game and himself.

Since music is one of the last things done, what do you listen to when making/playtesting the game? Does what you listen to then ever change your mind about what kind of music you want in the end (like Kubrick with 2001)?

When making the game, I listen to all sorts of music. Unless I'm writing dialogue or making a new area overview, I generally don't use "theme music" to set the tone. After all, setting stats for a bugbear isn't monumentally creative work. When I was working on the Underdark areas, I think I was listening to a lot of Aphex Twin. For Kuldahar and the Jungles of Chult, I think it was All India Radio.

Read the whole interview here.

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Neverwinter Nights Video Interview
Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 13:53 CET by Mollusken

Tech TV has done a video interview with BioWare's community manager Jay Watamaniuk. You can view it here (click on Neverwinter Nights Video Highlight on the right side of the page).

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Sam & Max Sequel Coming!
Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 11:25 CET by Sorcerer

Totally unrelated to what SP is about, but I couldn't resist posting this. The original Sam & Max is one of my all-time favourite games, and I'm definitely buying this sequel. Leave a comment in the Comments below, I'm really curious how many people who are reading this are also fans of Sam & Max.

SAM & MAX TO HIT THE ROAD (AND OTHERS) IN LONG AWAITED CLASSIC ADVENTURE SEQUEL FROM LUCASARTS

Popular Madcap Dog and Rabbity Thing to Return for More Hilariously Skewed Adventures First Quarter 2004 on Windows PC

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- August 27, 2002 -- Sam & Max, interactive entertainment's most beloved canine and rabbit combo, hit the road again first quarter 2004 in a long awaited adventure comedy sequel for Windows PC from LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC. The follow up to the critically acclaimed 1993 adventure classic Sam & Max Hit the Road® will dispatch the Freelance Police into a wild world of screwy and vaguely quixotic missions. Each one will be jam packed with nerve-jangling action, brain-busting puzzles, and the kind of easygoing banter one might expect from a talking dog and a naked, hyperkinetic bunny.

Sam & Max are based upon the "Sam & Max Freelance Police" comic book series created by Steve Purcell. LucasArts' Michael Stemmle, co-director of the award-winning original game, will direct the sequel.

"Sam & Max Hit the Road is a classic and as close to being a signature game as any LucasArts has ever done," says Simon Jeffery, president of LucasArts. "The Sam & Max sequel, much like the recently announced Full Throttle® II, perfectly complements LucasArts' renowned adventure game legacy and lends further support to the company's commitment to investing in and developing more of our original properties."

More info at Lucas Arts.

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Icewind Dale II in Stores!
Posted Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:35 CET by Sorcerer

Great news, fellow gamers! IWD2 is now available in stores. (In USA anyway, the rest will have to wait for a while longer...)

Third Edition D&D Dungeon Crawl is Now Available

IRVINE, California, August 27, 2002 - Interplay Entertainment Corp. (NasdaqSC:IPLY), announced today that the highly anticipated Icewind Dale™ II has shipped to retail. Icewind Dale II is the sequel to the award-winning computer role-playing game Icewind Dale and features the BioWare Infinity Engine™ that was used to develop the award-winning games Baldur's Gate™ and Baldur's Gate II (developed by BioWare Corp.), and Planescape®: Torment™ (developed by Black Isle Studios). Icewind Dale II uses the third edition core rules for the classic Dungeons & Dragons® tabletop roleplaying game within the popular FORGOTTEN REALMS® adventure campaign setting under licenses by Wizards of the Coast. The game hosts a large variety of new weapons, armor and magical items, and expands upon the gameplay elements found in the original Icewind Dale. Icewind Dale II offers feats and skills such as Power Attack and Diplomacy, further extending the character customization options available to players. Also introduced in Icewind Dale II are new character classes such as the Barbarian and Sorcerer and new playable races including the Drow, the famous dark elves of the Underdark, and the celestial hybrid Aasimar. Icewind Dale II includes over 50 new spells such as Executioner's Eyes and Aegis, bringing the total to over 300 spells, almost all of which have been revamped for the new rule set. More information on Icewind Dale II can be found at icewind2.blackisle.com.

In case you haven't yet, order this game from our Game Store now!

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Icewind Dale II Review at GameSpy
Posted Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 21:37 CET by Mollusken

82 out of a possible 100 is the score for Icewind Dale II at GameSpy.

The new "feat" system works wonderfully. There are over 75 feats in the game such as Power Attack, Cleave, Toughness, Rapid Fire, Spell Penetration, Hamstring (a lovely thief feat), and Lightning Reflexes. These new feats add even more flavor to your characters; as they gain experience and increase in level more feats are made available to them -- some of which are class specific. It cannot be stressed enough just how much they add to the game; going back and playing an older Infinity engine game without them seems impossible.

Read everything at GameSpy.

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Icewind Dale II Interviews
Posted Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 21:31 CET by Mollusken

The first interview is at paGn, where Black Isle's Darren Monahan answers a few questions about the game. I believe we've seen most of the questions before, but some of it is interesting reading.

Would you say Icewind Dale II is more RPG or Hack & Slash?

Darren Monahan: I would go so far as to say it is much more RPG this time around. It still has a lot of combat, but we've added a lot to the game that wasn't in the original. Skills and attributes have quite a bit of significance in the game, and one thing our fans have yelled and screamed at us for is making the path of evil a viable option. Your party will have a lot of choices to make throughout the game; many of them determine their future outcome and who their friends and enemies are.

The second interview is with Doug Avery at GameAxis, and there's not much new to learn there either.

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Neverwinter Nights 1.23 Patch Released
Posted Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 15:06 CET by Mollusken

If you still have problems with your cd-rom not reading your NWN cd, this patch should definitly fix it. BioWare have now removed the whole SecuROM check, and they've also fixed or added a long list of other things.

Fixes new to this patch:

Neverwinter Nights Game

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 12:25 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

ITP Fix In 1.23: I think it is. I believe Derek forgot to put that into the build notes for the patch.

More 1.23 fixes:

Quote: Were these problems fixed in 1.23? I saw no reference in the release notes.

Yes, I believe the problem with save games and the hakpaks are fixed in 1.23. I think Derek forgot to put the notes from one of the builds into the patch info... so a few things (like the DM-DM and Player-DM chat now being in blue text) aren't documented.

Source Directory:

Quote: What is the purpose of the Source folder? Is it ours to use? Is it Bioware's to use? Is it just a repository of needed 2da's for those who dont use the NWNViewer?

I think it is just a repository for commonly-edited .2da's, eliminating the need to extract them from the .bif for most. .2da's in a hakpak still get priority over them, just as they do over anything in the override folder. I'll ask Derek tomorrow to make sure, just in case he doesn't see this somewhere and answers it himself.

Custom Tilesets: Using the SetLocked command as above is the correct method. You CAN use ActionLockObject or Actually, I believe that the only lingering issue with custom tilesets in hakpaks was with the .itp problem in savegames... which has been fixed in the 1.23 patch. Keep in mind, however, that a great number of the tilesets that have already been released will not have this taken into consideration... at some point, they will probably have to be updated. If there are still problems remaining, please do let us know asap. The goal right now is to remove all the remaining barricades for custom content we can by the time the 1.24 patch comes out.

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Dialog.tlk: There are currently no plans to provide a means for editing dialog.tlk, although I believe a few enterprising community members have their own utilities. In most cases, the data being added by the community will be in .2da files. Currenlty, most .2da files have one or more columns that contain strrefs that the game and toolset use as identifiers in dialog.tlk when they display a string. On a case-by-case basis, we will be modifying the .2da files to include a new column for raw text that the Toolset will use if the strref column does not contain a valid number. There is no schedule as to which files will be modified or in what order so don't ask. We have already started adding such support in the .set files for tilesets. Given an invalid strref for the tileset's name, the Toolset will read the value from another key in the file as the raw text and display it when selecting a tileset for an area. I believe this has already been explained in other posts, so I won't go into it here.

Neil Flynn, Programmer

Tokens: In the lower left of the conversation editor is the text edit window. Right-click the mouse in here and select "Insert Token" and select the one you want. It will insert the token into the text where the cursor was.

Derek French, Assistant Producer

SecureRom:

Quote: Erm, since Bioware were blaming Infogrames for inflicting SecureROM on us isn't it Inforgrames we should be thanking? I ask 'cos Bioware said that their contract with Infogrames forced Bioware to add it.

Sorry, but that is a misquote that has been going out of control. Let me clarify. We have said the final decision to remove SecureROM had to come from Infogrames as the contract was between SecureROM and Infogrames. This somehow has been misconstrued to mean that BioWare had SecureROM "forced" on us. Sorry, but this is untrue. We all decided that SecureROM was the best choice over the other options (and we still believe that). But, since there has been such an obvious problem that has been inflicted onto our paying customers, we (BioWare and Infogrames) wanted to get this resolved. And this is what we did.

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Neverwinter Nights Review at ZenGamer
Posted Sunday, August 25, 2002 - 18:37 CET by Mollusken

ZenGamer gives Neverwinter Nights a score of 7 out of 10, and after their opinion the AI and replayability was the worst aspects of the game.

My review to this point may seem overly negative, and you may have gotten the impression that I didn't care overmuch for the game. To its credit, NWN is somehow far more than the sum of its parts. The game is a good deal of fun - both single-player and multiplayer (assuming you're with a decent group). It wasn't as sterile and plotless as Dungeon Siege, nor was every confrontation a combat puzzle as in Baldur's Gate II. It struck an enjoyable balance between Diablo II and Shadows of Amn.

Read everything here.

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 16:26 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: If another game set in the Planescape multiverse (like Planescape: Torment) was made by BIS, would you buy it?
(384 votes total)

Yes, definitely (280) 73%
Maybe, depends on the reviews (73) 19%
No, never (31) 8%

Well, there isn't much to say on this poll except that BIS should undoubtedly start working on another game like Planescape: Torment! The overwhelming majority of poll participants (73%) have enough faith in BIS that they would definitely buy a game like it.

19% of those who voted are undecided, but would probably buy it if they liked the reviews.

Only 8% of the people who voted said that they would never buy it.

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Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 16:05 CET by Mollusken

It's been a while now, but here are more top scores for Neverwinter Nights.

Evil Avatar (3/5)

And there it is, the haunting question that computer role players have dodged for a decade. Do we really believe that a computer, with its limited interface, difficult set up, and complex software can adequately replace the actual social environment of role playing? It’s clear enough that you’re not likely to wander into a happenstance public server worth spending time in, so if you’re going to take the time to develop a regular gaming group, why do it across a network? If there is an answer to that question, then clearly the growing number of people who enjoyed a brief love affair with Neverwinter Nights only to abandon it haven’t gotten the memo.

OcPrices (Excellent)

It may not mean much to you but when I murder everyone in a pub I want people to know I want the guard to try and beat me to death, I want to be shunned by my former allies, I want to become the videogame equivalent of Michael Winner; feared and hated by all.
Although it may seem a minor point, for me it’s the computer game equivalent of a set wobbling in a TV show- It utterly destroys the sense of emersion.
In short Neverwinter Nights is a damn fine RPG, unfortunately it’s not the revolution in role-playing we were promised. Bioware had best start work on Baldur’s Gate 3...

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GZ Interview with BioWare
Posted Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 11:32 CET by Sorcerer

A NWN-centered interview with BioWare popped up at GZ recently. While it hardly delivers any new info, this should be of interest:

Q: Baldur’s Gate resulted in a chain of games. Will there be any sequels to Neverwinter Nights?

Tom: "We have not yet announced any expansion or sequel plans for Neverwinter Nights. There is certainly plenty of material out there that could be put into an expansion pack: new spells; monsters; tilesets; feats and skills. We’re definitely exploring the possibilities!"

In short, that's what you can expect to see in an expansion that's in the works but hasn't been announced yet. Read the rest at GZ.

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Icewind Dale II Review at Games Domain
Posted Friday, August 23, 2002 - 20:59 CET by Mollusken

Icewind Dale II gets a score of 4.5 out of 5 at Games Domain, and like most other reviews and previews lately they don't have much new to tell about the game.

Once you're into it though, there's plenty of reward to be had. The game does veer a little towards the hordes of difficult enemies the original was plagued by, with some sections feeling a bit more like a slog than an adventure. But with more hours of gameplay than the original and its expansion put together, there's more than enough to keep anyone going here for quite some time. As a last hurrah for the Infinity Engine, lesser RPGs should take heed and follow.

Read everything here.

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NWN Patch 1.23 Beta 3
Posted Friday, August 23, 2002 - 20:47 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has released the third build of the Neverwinter Nights version 1.23 patch. The patch will fix the following issues.

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Neverwinter Nights Concept Art
Posted Friday, August 23, 2002 - 15:58 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has released some of the concept art they used while making Neverwinter Nights. You can view the 10 images here.

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 16:30 CET by Mollusken

Yesterday's treats from BioWare was a module profile which takes a look at a module called The Sunken Cemetery made by Lord Niah. BioWare's Jonathan Epp has made a Danceclub Example Module with comments on how to use flashing lights and custom music, a tutorial on how to add your own .wav (sound) files to your module has been added to the builders section at the official community site and the BlackJack module has been updated to version 1.1 (players can sit on the chairs while playing).

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Icewind Dale II Review
Posted Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 16:24 CET by Mollusken

SavePoint have written a review of Icewind Dale II, and they give it a score of 8.5 out of 10.

Secondly, I love Neverwinter Nights to bits and will continue playing it well into the next year - but I truly believe that Icewind Dale has a closer more accurate take on the 3rd Edition rules. This might mean little to those who don't play D&D based games, but trust me - it's a good, well balanced RPG system and the closer the better!

Read everything here.

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D&D Monster Manual II
Posted Thursday, August 22, 2002 - 16:02 CET by Mollusken

Wizards of the coast has released a preview gallery of the next Dungeons and Dragons monster manual, which will be released in September. The manual features more than 150 different monsters. You can view the images here.

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Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, August 21, 2002 - 13:11 CET by Z-Layrex

J.E Sawyer, Lead Designer

Sneak attack: When I played through IWD2, my dwarven rogue would pull off multiple successful sneak attacks in every battle in which I bothered to try. The circumstances under which a backstab can be pulled off in IE limit how much you can use it without dying of fatigue.

Sneak attack requires virtually no set up (though hiding first can help) and, as such, can be used on multiple foes in each battle. The amount of damage done by a single instance of backstab has the potential to be greater than a single instance of sneak attack, but sneak attack does far more reliable damage. That's simply due to how the mechanics of calculating backstab and sneak attack work.

P.S.: It was even better when my rogue enabled Power Attack at +5.

Tex Yang, Quality Assurance

Cross class skills: Yes, you can put points into cross class skills when not leveling up as a rogue, but it would cost you 2 skill points instead of 1.

Strength requirement for items: Nope, there is no strength requirement for items in IWD2.

If you want to wear an armor that barely allows you to move, makes your thieving skills crappy, and kills your dexterity bonus, there's nothing stopping you from doing it.

Holy power: Holy power is a 4th level cleric/paladin and 5th level domain spell (forgot which cleric off the top of my head), which gives a +4 damage bonus for the duration of the spell.

Sneak attack: - Sneak attack works with any melee weapon, but there is no ranged sneak attacks.
- In order to execute the sneak attack, the enemy has to be 'facing' away from the rogue, so if they are chasing them around, there is no sneak attack that will be done (even if the character is hasted enough to, in an animation timeframe, be able to run behind an opponent). This is best accomplished by attacking enemies which are already engaged with other members of the party.
- Improved invisibility is also a *big* plus when sneak attacking - as some enemies will turn around and start attacking the rogue that just sneak attacked them.
- I'm not positive on the whole 'enable the backstab option' deal, as I have no clue what the ini switch was.

They would still need to leave the enemy's sight before being able to sneak attack the same enemy, but they can sneak attack multiple different enemy's without leaving the area. For example, there's 5 barbarians attacking the party. My thief can sneak attack barbarians A,B,C,D and E without leaving the area, but once I do so, they have to leave and come back.

Length of game: Length-wise it's as big as, if not bigger than, IWD+HoW+ToTL.

Removing armor in battle to cast a spell: Characters can remove their armor in combat, exactly like the original IWD.

Damien Foletto, Junior Designer

Strategy guide: We (BIS) looked over the strat guide a couple of weeks before we went gold, and corrected what was out of date. So the content is up to date as of print time.

Chad Nicholas, Scriptor

Amount of old areas in the game: Because when the game was due for release used to be sooner than it is now. We were operating on a shorter time table, and didn't have the time to create as many whole new areas as we'd have liked.

Chris Avellone, Designer

Extorting money: There are times you can extort money from people in the game, but it's not often. Sometimes it's subtle, sometimes it's not.

Magic weapons: Every weapon proficiency type is well-represented amongst the magic weapons in the game, so choose a weapon you want, and you won't be disappointed.

Between six characters, you'll pretty much cover all the bases anyway.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, August 21, 2002 - 12:34 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Patch 1.23 Update: There should be a 1.23 Beta 3 coming out today or tomorrow. Then the patch goes into full QA and should be available on Monday the 26th or so.

Neil Flynn, Programmer

Conversations: This was a MAJOR point of contention during the design of the links. The writers were split literally 50-50 between "copy-paste should place the link on the node I pasted on" and "... place the link on the node I copied". It seemed like the 'artistic' people wanted it one way and the 'mechanical' (for lack of a better term) people were comfortable the other way. Finally it was decided to make it an option. Go to the options dialog and change it to the way it make sense to you. You can set it individually for both ways of creating a link: Copy-Paste As Link, and Ctrl-mouse drag.

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Toolset Help: I believe most of this information is in the Toolset section in the printed manual:

RESREF
1. Length must be no more than 16 characters.
2. Can contain only a..z, 0..9 and _.
3. Should not begin with NW_ or X0_..X9_ to avoid collisions with (and the overriding of) BioWare resources.

SCRIPT TAG
1. Length must be no more than 32 characters.
2. Can contain only a..z, A..Z, 0..9 and _.

There are a few conventions that have been established for use with BioWare scripts (such as waypoint walking). These are described in the comments of the appropriate script.

Triggers: The difference is that the Cursor property of the trigger instance is probably set to something other than "Unclickable (No Cursor)". This is only an issue for triggers that have a script assigned to their OnClick event.

Rob Bartel, Co Lead Designer

New Creatures: Don't worry, new creatures are under consideration. They weren't included in the survey, however, because the work involved is primarily non-Design-related. They'll require 3D Modelers to build the creature models, Texture Artists to develop and apply the textures, Animators to make them move, and Sound Designers to create soundsets for them. All Design does is give the resulting creature their stats and maybe add a little bit of custom behavior scripting. The survey focuses on things that I can do without relying substantially on other departments (except the testing team, of course). If we put out a Live Team Art survey, I'm sure you'll find new creatures listed there. In the meantime, thanks for taking a look at the survey. We're all very interested in seeing the results and receiving your feedback on what you'd like to see next.

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Site News - New Additions
Posted Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 19:11 CET by Sorcerer

Helping Support Sorcerer's Place

It's been a while since my last call for help, and since there were only a couple donations in the last two months, this might be a good time to put out a reminder how you can help Sorcerer's Place. I have made an exhaustive list of all the ways each and every one of you can help support Sorcerer's Place in one way or another. The link to this support page can be found below the PayPal button on the left side of every page of Sorcerer's Place. I hope you will take the time to read through it and see if you are willing to do something to help.

My thanks go to all who have donated to SP in the past, or bought anything through the links on Sorcerer's Place. If it weren't for you folks to help me cover the monthly costs, SP probably wouldn't be around any more.

Subsection Updates -> Fantasy Books

R. A. Salvatore's Sea of Swords is now available in paperback, so grab it from our Forgotten Realms Books subsection if you've been holding back on the hard cover. You can also grab some new sample chapters from the same subsection, namely for "The Thousand Orcs" and "Hand of Fire".

Other new sample chapters are "The Lioness" on page 2 of our Dragonlance Books subsection and "The Living Dead" and "Oath of Nerull" in Miscellaneous Books subsection.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate 2

An updated version of the BG2 & ToB walkthrough has been added to the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection. Among other improvements, it now also covers the Solaufein and Ascension mods.

Another new addition can be found in Subsection #2 of the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection, namely Rastor's Item Pack.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale 2

Amazon is now shipping the strategy guides for the game, so order one from our Walkthroughs & Guides subsection if you're interested.

Additionally, almost 30 new screenshots have been added to our Screenshots subsection, pages 4 and 5.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Neverwinter Nights

In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can find two updates. The first is the NWN Official Campaign Guide, and the second the NWN Reference Guide.

In the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection you'll find 4 new character guides (Ranger, Rogue, Wizard, and Monk), a guide that shows you how you can select a monster skin and portrait and play the game that way, a guide on making custom soundsets, another one on making NPC portraits and finally a link to BioWare's guide on re-skinning the NWUpdater.

In the Editors, Hacks & Tweaks subsection you can download a bunch of cool new stuff. Probably the most interesting is the Camera Angle Hack which allows you to unlock the camera view in the game. Other new additions are the DialogTLK editor, Hakedit, ITP Tools, NWN Tileset Duplicator, MP3toBMU, Modganizer and NDubyaConfig.

All five of the Toolset & Related subsections have also been updated.

In Subsection #1 you can find 4 new tutorials. (Re-skinning Creatures, Creating Your Own Creatures, Adding NWN Chess to a Module and Creating Metallic NPCs.)

In Subsection #2 you can find 10 new tilesets. (Check the page for details.)

In Subsection #3 you can can download the latest version of NWN Lexicon, and two helpful new scripting additions, NWN Special Effects Descriptions and BrainFrameNWN.

In Subsection #4 you can download 5 new item packs and 2 new creature packs.

In Subsection #5 you can download 100 new outdoor placeables, animal masks, and a listing of NWN resources.

The last set of updates has been made in the Modules subsection. Here you can check out 5 new BioWare modules and 2 new fan-submitted ones.

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Trials of the Luremaster Review
Posted Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 11:48 CET by Mollusken

Just RPG has reviewed the free downloadable expansion pack for Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter, and they scored it with an A-.

During this section, Dungeons & Dragons fans will see some great classic creatures not seen in the other parts of IWD. Beholders, harpies, wyverns, rakshasa, djinni and jackalweres all make appearances in this new portion of the game. Make sure you save often, especially when dealing with the beholders, as they can disintegrate and use finger of death on you, placing you beyond raising or resurrecting. This is a great flashback to the dungeonhacking of D & D but really requires a good adventuring crew to take through.

Read everything here.

Interview Update at NWN Stratics
Posted Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 11:15 CET by Mollusken

A few things were edited out in the previous version of the GenCon interview with BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk, and they're now added in a new version. Read it here.

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Icewind Dale II Screens
Posted Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 10:59 CET by Mollusken

I think we've seen what there is to see from the preview edition of the game, but still there is a few new screenshots to look at while we wait for September. You'll find them at Icebound and Worthplaying.

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New Official NWN Module
Posted Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 20:32 CET by Mollusken

"Catapults" made by Rob Bartel is a module where your objective is to destroy the opponent's catapult before he destroys yours. Read more about this and download it here.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 19:49 CET by Z-Layrex

Trent Oster, Producer

Blood & Gore: I did the original version of blood and mixed up the emitters. Instead of creating one torso which sprayed a lot of blood and a number of small gibs which trailed token blood I created a huge number of blood fountain torsos. The framerate dropped to a frame every second and the screen was completely covered in fountains of blood. Quite funny to watch.

Derek French, Assistant Producer

SecureRom: We are not done resolving the SecureROM issue. Only one of the fixes is in 1.23 Beta 2 with another fix or two going into 1.23 final. This should resolve the SecureROM then. Another super-critical thing that you must do, is that you must report this issue to Infogrames. If you do not, then their Tech Support won't have any stats to support the issues with SecureROM.

1.23 Patch: Sorry, but its just not possible. The fix is available as a beta, but the entire patch must go through BioWare and Infogrames QA before it can be approved for public consumption. We have also just fixed a rather significant save game Loading bug, as well as we still need to fix that odd backwards typing issue with special characters. All of that gets fixed next week (with a Beta 3 around then, too), then it will go into patch release QA. Sorry, but nothing can accelerate this process as Infogrames must test and approve the patch first.

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Area Blueprints:
1. From the module contents panel on the left side of the main window, select "Create Copy" from the context menu of the desired area.

2. Change its resource name (ie ResRef) in the window that appears.

3. Select "Remove" from the context menu of the original area.

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 15:07 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: Have you encountered any problems with Neverwinter Nights so far?
(385 votes total)

A few, but nothing serious (169) 44%
Yes, some, but it's still playable (103) 27%
No, no problems at all (66) 17%
Yes, the game is unplayable (47) 12%

By now it's pretty obvious to any serious Neverwinter Nights player that the long game development cycle did nothing to diminish the number of bugs NWN shipped with. Thanks to the updater utility users at least don't have to manually seek out patches any more (except for those poor souls who don't have an Internet connection available on their gaming machine), but a bitter taste remains due to continuous need for patching to which there seems to be no end. On the other hand, PC gamers are a very forgiving bunch, and most of us take a number of patches for granted, and we're prepared to suffer this nuisance as long as the game is worth it.

44% of participants in our poll declared that they've had a few problems with Neverwinter Nights, but nothing really serious.

27% of those who voted experienced more problems, but concluded that the game was still playable for them.

17% of poll participants were the luckiest, they experienced no problems with the game at all.

Finally, an alarming 12% of people who voted can't play the game at all.

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BioWare News
Posted Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 10:49 CET by Mollusken

A couple of new articles are up on the BioWare site, the first being a report from this year's GenCon in Milwaukee.

This was a great experience for us all! We had fun hosting the DM sessions, and playing Neverwinter Nights with the fans. It was a great social experience too. Many people, who are were die-hard pen and paper players of Dungeons and Dragons, had never played the game before, and after playing a couple of sessions, said they really enjoyed the experience.

The other article is a report from a BioWare paintball Sunday.

We played about a dozen games, and yes, overall, blue did win most. But, didn't yellow once slaughter all blue once? Yes! Didn't yellow win a few rounds on their own? Yes! So, just to clarify those mathematically challenged (cough...blue team... cough), there was NO WAY blue could have won all the games if they had been slaughtered (6 yellow vs. 0 blue... show me how you won this one? :P )

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Neverwinter Nights Quiz
Posted Friday, August 16, 2002 - 19:36 CET by Mollusken

RPGPlanet has made a Neverwinter Nights Gaming Test where you can check if you really know everything about the game. Check it out here.

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Better Times for Interplay
Posted Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 17:19 CET by Mollusken

Interplay has announced their second quarter financial results, and they had an income of $20.9 million compared to a loss of $12.4 million in the same period last year.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2002, the Company reported net income of $20.9 million, or $.22 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $12.4 million, or ($.34) per share, in the same period last year. The net income reported in the second quarter of 2002 was primarily the result of the recording of a $28.8 million gain on the sale of Shiny Entertainment. Net revenues for the second quarter 2002 were $11.8 million versus $14.8 million in the same period a year ago, a decrease of 20 percent. Gross profit margin for the second quarter 2002 was 10 percent, compared to 26 percent in the second quarter of 2001. Finally, operating losses decreased 38 percent from prior year to $7.1 million from $11.4 million reported in the second quarter 2002 and 2001, respectively.

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2002, the Company reported net income of $22.4 million, or $.30 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $20.8 million, or ($.64) per share, in the same period last year. Net revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2002 were $27.4 million versus $32.1 million in the same period a year ago, a decrease of 15 percent. Gross profit margin for the 2002 six-month period was 45 percent, compared to 33 percent in the same period last year.

Read the whole press release here.

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Neverwinter Nights 1.23 Beta Patch
Posted Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 14:32 CET by Mollusken

The version 1.23 Beta for Neverwinter Nights is available, and if you've had trouble reading your Neverwinter Nights CDs lately (the SecuROM problem), this patch should fix it.

The patch fixes the following problems:

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 14:28 CET by Mollusken

Yesterday's treats from BioWare was a BlackJack module, a tutorial on how to reskin the NWN updater and another texture pack which contains 7 versions of giants and ogres.

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Aurora Toolset Documentation
Posted Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 14:24 CET by Mollusken

A project called NWN Lexicon has finished the first phase of their work, which is to describe all the functions in the Aurora Toolset. You'll find the site here.

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New Icewind Dale II Screenshots
Posted Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 19:28 CET by Sorcerer

Impatiently waiting for the sequel to Icewind Dale to be released? Then check out 32 new screenshots at RPG Player.

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Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Monday, August 12, 2002 - 19:50 CET by Z-Layrex

Doug Avery, Associate Producer

Mass email sent out and collector’s edition: 1) Okay, just to lay any fears to rest, that e-mail was sent out to everyone on the Interplay mailing list. Heck, I received it this morning. If you've pre-ordered from us, your order will still be processed unless you receive something to the contrary.

2) The CE is the only place you can get the spiral bound manual.

3) Electronic's Boutique is also offering the CE from their online store, but they are getting them from our online store.

I hope that answers all of the questions that have been posed here. If not, ask away.

Icewind Dale: Ark of Warrior: Allow me to clarify. It is Icewind Dale, Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster being released in one package. There may be more swag included, but that is the core of the package. The title is currently under debate. There are currently no plans for an expansion to Icewind Dale II...it's big enough as it is.

J.E Sawyer, Lead Designer

Spell scrolls: Yes, you can get all of them. None of the spell scrolls are random. You can buy most of them and find the rest. Also, there are duplicates of most spells. There are a lot of scrolls in the game, including low-level ones later on in case you multi-class.

Killing children: All versions of IWD2 will have unkillable kids. Imagine that we're using GURPS cinematic rules and all the kids have their tunics pulled up over their heads.

Bards getting CHA bonus added and Paladins/Rangers getting WIS bonuses added on: They certainly do. A while ago, someone doubted the effectiveness of certain enchantment school spells in the game (Charm Person, Hold Person, Confusion, etc.). Here's a screenshot from my first run through the game. The wizard has a 19 Intelligence and Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment.

I encountered packs of these barbarians. They usually contained a dozen barbarian warriors and a barbarian shaman. Every time my wizard cast Confusion, almost all of the barbarian warriors failed their save by a huge margin. I tried just using blasting magic on them, but it was nowhere near as effective.

It depends upon whom you are using the spells. Using area effect damage spells that grant a Reflex save are usually not very effective against high level warrior characters and (especially) monks and rogues. They are great against masses of mid-level guys who aren't rogues or monks.

Fighters and feats: Fighters get feats very often, and it is frequently in your interest to gain focus and specialization in more than one weapon -- even melee weapons. Remember, all IWD2 fighters start with basic proficiency in ALL weapon types. Focus and Specialization in two weapons costs only four feats total.

Tex Yang, Quality Assurance

Skill points: Characters always get a minimum of 1 skill point even if their modifiers go into negatives.

Killing a lone mage: That is definitely true in IWD2 - a lone mage is a walk in the park even if they're high level, but throw in a few support units to keep the party busy for a few seconds, and suddenly they become extremely deadly.

Precise shot: Personally I haven't used it too much, as I'm more of a melee hacker, but there are some monsters that move extremely fast, thus closing the distance between them and an archer very quickly. If you don't micro-manage a lot, it's nice to have if you want your character to just do their own thing (Sometimes things get thick and heavy as well, and you don't really have time to micro-manage everyone), plus some enemies have this feat too, so it's helpful to them when they're cornered and do not have a melee weapon. In my opinion, this feat is more for role-playing and variety, but hey you never know when something might end up being useful.

Spot skill: There is no spot skill in IWD2. The only 'trap' that can be 'set' is the one that ghostwise halflings get.

Difficulty levels: Besides the monsters hitting more often and harder, you'll most likely get more XP in the earlier levels, thereby raising the party's level compared to the maps and generating more monsters on the process. If you adventure with less than a full 6, it gets even worse, since you'd advance a bit faster than that still.

Alchemy: Alchemy is a pre-req for the envenom weapon feat, is used in some dialogue checks, and also some other things in-game which which would be spoiler material if I divulged it.

Wall spells: I believe wall of moonlight and wall of fire were the only two that made it into the game.

Scott Everts, Technical Designer

Screen resolutions: At one point both 800 and 1024 were "supported". The rev I have at home only has 800 in the supported category while the other 3 are in the "unsupported" category. Now earlier versions were not like that. They had 800 and 1024 in the supported category. But I don't have the latest version at home so its possible it moved back.

Even if 1024 is unsupported I don't know of anyone at work that has had problems playing in that resolution. Its always worked fine for me on both my two work machines and my home machine. Now the higher resolutions do have some problems depending on the video card RAM you have.

The only reason I can think that 1024 was moved to "unsupported" was that it required more video RAM then what the basic system requirements allowed. All my machines have 4 megs or more of video RAM and the game works fine in 1024.

Don't know if that helps. When the game comes out try it on your system and see what happens. If you have problems, just drop it to 800x600.

Part of game most proud of: I'm most happy with the new interface. Brian, Aaron and I put it together and I think it turned out very well. And thanks to the programmers for making the code changes to make the new stuff work!

I'm also happy with the 3rd edition change. It was a very difficult job but it makes the gameplay very different. Character generation is so very flexible now. You can spend hours making a party (if you want to).

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Monday, August 12, 2002 - 19:13 CET by Z-Layrex

David Chan, Sound Effects Designer

Soundsets: There are no plans to release any other sets at the moment. If we did an expansion there might be additional sets, but this hasn't been discussed.

More:

Quote: Thanks for responding quickly, David. Are there any plans to perhaps create a utility or even a tutorial on introducing your own PC soundsets? The little information I've been able to Dig up 'round here makes the process seem kind of technical. Any reason why PC audio soundsets weren't made as easy to customize as Portraits?

No particular reason, I think it was just the way it had to be done to make it work with the toolset. I will look into maybe getting a "How-To" for voice sets.

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NWN Interview at Neverwinter Stratics
Posted Monday, August 12, 2002 - 17:07 CET by Mollusken

BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk has answered a few questions about the release and future of Neverwinter Nights.

Some people have complained that the pace of combat is too slow and that some encounters are too easy, specifically the dragon encounter. Do you have anything you could say in response to this?

Well, we had to take the rules of the other company into consideration because its their intellectual property. Combat in table top games can go a lot faster obviously, but the length of rounds is specifically stated and we are bound to stay true to the companies wishes.

As far as the encounters being easier in some cases then expected, the best I can describe it is this. In a pen and paper game, your friend runs the game and is able to judge such things. But in a computer game you have AI so it's a lot harder. There has been a lot of time spent game balancing, between using the rules and making it fun for everything. You at one extreme has the people who absolutely love the Baldur's Gate series, and on the other side you have people who are dedicated to the Diablo series. We had to find a balance between the two.

Read everything here.

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Aurora Toolset Tutorials at NW Vault
Posted Monday, August 12, 2002 - 16:52 CET by Mollusken

Neverwinter Vault has added five new tutorials to their list, which now moves into intermediate difficulty. Read them all here.

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Preorder Modules Released
Posted Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 18:37 CET by Mollusken

The three modules which used to be available only to those who preordered Neverwinter Nights from a few selected online stores, are now available for all members of the BioWare community to download. The module names are To Heir is Human, The Winds of Eremor and The Dark Ranger's Treasure.

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Neverwinter Reviews
Posted Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 18:34 CET by Mollusken

ELiTeD (87.4/100)

Bioware has managed to bring us a RPG that is as much a tool to realize our dreams and fantasies, to make them tangible to ourselves and to others as well. As it is a wondrous tale of good and evil where the fate of Neverwinter lies in your hands. Truth be told, Neverwinter Nights is undoubtedly the most innovative roll playing game we have seen in many years.

Mad Gamers (7/10)

Ambitious but ultimately disappointing, Neverwinter Nights is a bold vision of the future but it seems destined to failure. Those expecting an involving single-player successor to Baldur's Gate will be most disappointed: Neverwinter Nights' included campaign is dull, cliché-ridden and frequently laughably simplistic. The game is really designed for multiplayer – where it opens up a great deal – but the difficulty of playing a sixty-hour game with the same group of people may mean that most people will be denied the true experience, and will instead to have to contend with the experience-grabbing carnage servers that already proliferate. Neverwinter Nights may have a bright future, but it will depend on the dedication of the user community and their skill in creating new and more interesting adventures: whether many will bother, given the uninspiring starting point, remains to be seen.

VN Roundup (92/100)

Neverwinter Nights is easily the best D&D-based role-playing game ever. The Baldur's Gate games are great, too, but they aren't Neverwinter Nights. When you add to this the multiplayer features and ability to create your own adventures, (that can be run by a live Dungeon Master) this game is really in a class by itself. This is the first computer role-playing game that delivers on the promise that was made back in the '80s:

"One day, you'll be able to play D&D with your friends from around the world!"

It looks like that day is finally here thanks to Bioware's Neverwinter Nights.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 16:25 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

DM Client Issues: Both of these are not simple matters, but we are working on them. The one you will see sooner is a change where the DM can select one of three buttons (Friendly/Neutral/Hostile) to determine his current 'stance' towards players (which will carry over to whatever creature he possesses). This requires a new GUI, however, but will shoot down a lot of birds with one stone. As far as the chat system goes, there are numerous changes that are being discussed. We probably won't be seeing any changes to the chat system for awhile, however. For those who are interested, I've been keeping track of some of the bug fixes in the next two versions coming out (1.23 and 1.24) and there are numerous fixes to the DM Client coming down the pipe that take care of some niggly badness... some GoTo fixes as well as a bunch of fixes for possession/unpossession and the DM's quickbar.

Custom Content: Well, one thing you have to realize is that some people on the Live Team have different skills and responsibilities. For instance, the Live Team has a designer now (Rob Bartel), who is the one working on the modules and little extras. He could probably help out with custom content no more than I could. Same goes for the web guys, who run the community site and are working double-time towards future upgrades to its functionality. The people who can help the most with custom content are unfortunately the ones who are busiest with the bug fixing.

As well, when and if tutorials are going to be put up, there's a lot of consideration that has to be put into it... as this is (more or less) the 'official' method. We have to make sure that all the tools exist to perform the operation, that the methods are official (no tutorials that involve .2DA or resource hacking, for instance, unless *absolutely* necessary) and that we are certain this is not only the best way to do it but it works 100%. The audience is also a factor. There is custom content info that is good only for the 'hardcore' (you know who you are) and the kind of custom content that is more widely in demand (like portraits) by people who wouldn't necessarily come to this forum or even know that there is info available on it. Since time is limited right now, we'll start with the easier stuff that's more in demand and work our way up to the harder stuff that's more specific, simply because the harder stuff involves impugning more and more on the time of someone who should be bug-fixing.

Regardless, the good news is that the bug team is slowly easing out of emergency mode. I have heard the Live Team having big powwows on CC for the first time, which is really good to hear, and when Ray and Greg get back from a trip they're on currently we should see some more movement on this. As always, however, this is going to take time and is not going to come all at once (you are not going to wake up one day and see a tutorial for everything you ever wanted to know on-line along with all the needed tools). The trickle of stuff you see now will start to expand and before long the waiting will be a memory. Whether you chose to believe us is up to you. The proof's in the pudding, sure, and all you guys have to do is tear your hair out, waiting. Even if you demand we do better, we can only continue as we have and do the best we can.

More:

Quote: I wait only for a thing... the 3ds plugin, this is all i need Ps: Of course also a way to insert the new models without editing the dialog.tlk. But i think you wait for this things too Polyhedral

Editing the dialog.tlk file is a big issue. We obviously want to avoid that as much as you content creators do. Really the only power you need is to provide a label in the toolset by which your model can be identified. We've already provided that ability in the ambientmusic.2DA and the tileset .set files... so the question, then, would be do we wait to release our 3DSMax tools until the appearances.2DA is patched with this kind of ability or not? Realistically, I suppose you could call your model by any string in the dialog.tlk... it doesn't matter if your model is called 'Hello! My name is George!' or 'Kobold' except to aesthetics, since when you use a model you assign a name to the creature in the toolset anyway. Still, it would seem like only half the capability was given to you guys in that case, wouldn't it?

And then, too: "Okay, I've got the ability to put a creature into the toolset... how do I give it its own soundset?" Totally different issue, but not, since the question will arise.And won't the 3DSMax script need instructions? It's not exactly set up for ease-of-use... there's no 'press this button to import model into game' and you're done. Not to mention that I suspect the maxscript might be only of immediate benefit to user who have 3DSMax 3.X (not sure of exact version). Do we wait until we can make different scripts for different max versions prior to release or let the community do it? Do we wait until we have a GMax gamepak ready and release them altogether? Should we even be releasing a maxscript... would releasing a GMax gamepak alone be preferential? These are the kinds of considerations that have to go into this sort of thing. In the meanwhile, everyone on the Live Team is super busy already working on bugs and whatever else... and those that can are working on tutorials for less involved matters which, while some of you may already have figured out for yourselves or have a workaround for, the 99% of the users