October 2002

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NWN Nominated for EMMA Award
Posted Thursday, October 31, 2002 - 16:22 CET by Mollusken

Neverwinter Nights has been nominated for the 2002 Electronic Multimedia Awards, in the best PC game and best online game categories. While Morrowind and Warcraft III are also nominated as best PC games, the competition in the best online game category were somewhat unkown to me (Itsnotrocketscience and Bitcasters). You'll find all the nominees here.

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Inon Zur Interview at RPG Codex
Posted Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - 16:19 CET by Mollusken

RPG Codex has done an interview with Inon Zur, who composed the music for Icewind Dale II and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. The questions are related to both RPG music and Zur's personal stuff.

If you could have had complete creative control with some of your recent projects (RPGs - BG2: Throne of Bhaal and Icewind Dale 2), is there anything that you would have done differently?

From a composition point of view I feel I had been given almost all the freedom I would exercise if I had done the music for the game without supervision. In many cases however, I am looking for the right style for the game with the audio director. Together we try to see what will work best for the game, and that is sometimes a trial and error process. You have to understand that games, like other media, are being created by a team that the composer is part of, and the final product needs to reflect the combination of everybody's effort. This is also the beauty in it.

When you were growing up, did you ever foresee yourself becoming as talented and successful a composer as you are today?

This was always the dream of my life - to become a composer, and every milestone, every score or musical piece I'm doing is another dream come true. I started with music at a very young age playing piano and composing short pieces and my heroes were always the great composers from the past. Of course, I have a long way to go but I'm happy and thankful for where I am today.

Read everything here.

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IWD II Review at Loaded Inc
Posted Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - 16:15 CET by Mollusken

There's not much new to read about Icewind Dale II at Loaded Inc, and just like most other reviewers they gave the game an 8 out of 10. Here's their summary:

ID II is a solid dungeon romp. The story is a mildly entertaining distraction, and provides a good vehicle for the diverse experiences throughout the game. Despite a couple bugs (which are fixed for the most part via the patch) and the occasional graphic slow down the game ran pretty smooth. Although the Infinity engine is starting to show some age this latest edition is still fun for D&D fans, and the new 3rd edition rules definitely make it a new experience worth giving a try.

Read the whole review here.

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Celebrating 30 years of Dungeons and Dragons
Posted Monday, October 28, 2002 - 20:49 CET by Sorcerer

If you weren't an athlete, but you were a teen-ager in the 1970s and if you had a certain bent for fantasy, you probably played or at least knew people who played Dungeons and Dragons. The fantasy game turns 30 this year, and even in an age of high-tech electronic adventures, its appeal endures.

This is the beginning of a radio feature aired last Saturday by NPR, which was brought to my attention by our faithful community member Mathetais. You can listen to the sound clip here (7 minutes). While on the whole it's not much (and certainly no news to anyone familiar with D&D), here's another CRPG-bashing quote from it by Gary Gygax, Co-author of the original Dungeons & Dragons:

All those [computer games] are is seek-and-destroy missions. They're exciting, you know, graphically, but, you know, I think Aristotle told us that the least element of the tragedy is the mighty special effects. And there is no group playing, there is no camaraderie, there is no role-playing. Go find something, kill it, get its treasure, get a little more powerful, so that you can go kill the toughest thing in the game and then the game's over.

His pounding on computer RPGs never fails to bring a smile to my face, but as I'm sure many of you will agree, some D&D CRPGs are a lot more than just seek-and-destroy missions. Or maybe we just want to believe that... Feel free to comment below.

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Black Isle Pumpkins
Posted Monday, October 28, 2002 - 19:31 CET by Mollusken

The guys at Black Isle don't only make good games, but also cute pumpkins. You can see more from their Halloween lunch hour fun here.

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Game Axis Reviews Icewind Dale II
Posted Monday, October 28, 2002 - 19:25 CET by Mollusken

Another great score for Icewind Dale II at Game Axis, who gave the game a score of 8.1 out of a possible 10. And to all my fellow Europeans out there: I just found out the game is delayed another week at Amazon.co.uk (current date is now November 8th)...

Although IWD2 did not revolutionized the CRPG genre like what Neverwinter Nights did, it proved that a well polished good old engine can also fork out an immeasurable number of fun. Incorporating right combat balance, consistent pacing, good dialogues, refined gameplay and new rules, IWD2 has established itself as one of the most enjoyable CRPG released this year. Without a doubt, BIS has yet again proved they know what makes a CRPG tick and delivered where it matters.

Read everything here.

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Bioware Community Newsletter
Posted Monday, October 28, 2002 - 18:27 CET by Z-Layrex

Bioware have just today released Volume 1, issue 1, of their monthly newsletter concerning all things Bioware.

This month we're treated to a whole bundle of goodies from all over the Bioware globe, including highlights of 100nights, an update on the ever growing series of Witchwork modules, plus news of what's big in the Neverwinter Nights fan-based community.

The newsletter opens with a rather unashamed boast on the success of their hit CRPG Neverwinter Nights:

"With Baldur's Gate, we sparked a role-playing renaissance; with Neverwinter Nights, a revolution."

Taken from one of our early promotional videos, those words are now becoming a reality. With an active, registered community of over 500,000 strong, Neverwinter Nights has been taking the gaming world by storm. At the time of this writing, there are over 1,500 player-made modules available on the Web, some of those achieving over 50,000 downloads each.

According to GameRankings.com, only four PC RPGs in history have achieved an average review score of over 91%. Three out of those four (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Neverwinter Nights) were developed right here at BioWare and the other (Planescape: Torment) was powered by the BioWare Infinity Engine.

If you haven't picked up your copy of Neverwinter Nights yet, there's no better time than the present. Live the 100+ hour Official Campaign by yourself or with a party of your friends. Continue your adventures by weaving your own story with the powerful BioWare Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset or by adventuring in worlds created by other members of the fan community.

If you already own the game, make sure you create an account on BioWare's Official Neverwinter Nights Community Site: http://nwn.bioware.com/ so you can stay involved in the community and make the most of the Neverwinter Nights revolution!

There's also coverage of Bioware's upcoming RPG for the PC and X-box, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

To receive this newsletter direct from BioWare upon publication, you can sign up for a BioWare community account. The newsletter will be delivered to your private message inbox on the community site. You can also request to receive this newsletter by e-mail by selecting the appropriate preference setting under your account options.

To read the entire newsletter on the Bioware website, click here.

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Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Saturday, October 26, 2002 - 17:39 CET by Veldrin

J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer

Cleric Spell Harm: I asked Jason Suinn to look into changing the Harm weapon. As I understand it, the problem was that in the case of spells like Slay Living and Destruction, the core damage gets done on a failed save, no matter what. A failed save consists of two case effects getting applied. So, if we had a save case where the character took 6d6 magic damage (for instance) on a successful save against Harm, that damage would still be applied if the save were failed. Obviously, this leads to instantly dead characters. 6 1s still put a 4 hit point character below zero.

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, October 26, 2002 - 13:33 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: How do you apply official patches/bugfixes released for the new games you play?
(310 votes total)

I apply any patches as soon as they're available (156) 50%
I apply patches only when I remember to look for them (87) 28%
I usually don't apply patches unless I encounter a severe bug that is fixed by them (57) 18%
I don't buy/play the game until the first patch for it appears (10) 3%

The overwhelming majority of people who have voted in the poll (50%), patch up their games as soon as the game makers release the bugfixes. A wise practice these last few years when most companies are rushing games to the market and fix bugs they know of later with patches...

However, 28% of poll participants are not so diligent, and they only apply patches when and if they remember to look for them. Considering that I can count the games that I've played in the last 5 years that didn't need a patch on the fingers of one hand, it's pretty certain that there is an official patch for almost every game you're playing.

18% of those who voted are really sloppy... They don't install patches unless they encounter a very big bug that can only be squashed by the official patch.

Lastly, only 3% of people who voted in our poll are wise enough to wait for the first patch(es) for a game to start appearing before buying or playing it.

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Icewind Dale II Reviews
Posted Friday, October 25, 2002 - 20:04 CET by Mollusken

AroundCinci (8.9/10)

Although the gaming aspects of the Infinity engine have stood up to the test of time, one place where its age is evident is in the graphics department. The first 10 minutes of the game had me completely convinced that it was Baldur's Gate all over again. They look exactly the same, from the spells to the characters. The similarity is only be skin deep, but it's a tragedy to take such great game play and package it with graphics that, while amazing 4 years ago, cannot hold a flame to such games as Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind.

Game Chronicles (8.6/10)

Hopefully we will see a trilogy in this series and the next version will actually have a new engine that can give us a greater visual experience. I also hope that the developers spend a bit more time on the pathfinding AI so that I don’t have to continually watch my party and manually guide them through some of the tougher areas. For those of you that enjoy a good RPG, head to your nearest software store to pick up Icewind Dale II!

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Witchwork Update
Posted Friday, October 25, 2002 - 17:38 CET by Z-Layrex

There is a new update on the status of the Witchwork Series of modules being produced by BioWare's Rob Bartel, Co-Lead Designer of NWN. Looks like things are coming along at a very good pace. Here's an excerpt:

Witchwork is progressing steadily, with a fairly even balance between bug fixes and new plot content. Rob expects to have the critical path complete and fully playable by sometime next week, at which time he'll be able to turn his attention to additional sublots & combat zones, bug-fixes, balance issues, and the final polish. In the meantime, the Witchwork Guild doubled in size last week and is now over 1,000 members strong. A big thanks to everyone who signed up for the beta test and sorry to all those who were unable to slip in before the deadline.

There are also several positive comments from fans on what they've seen so far.

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, October 24, 2002 - 14:05 CET by Mollusken

BioWare has released another texture bundle, which contains textures for minotaurs, wererats and werecats. They've also added 30 new portraits which you can select in your account profile on the BioWare site. The last of yesterday's treats is a profile on Archaegeo's Hardcore Rules (HCR), which is part of the fan created content in the upcoming Witchwork series.

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Amazing Icewind Dale: The Collection Offer
Posted Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 18:14 CET by Sorcerer

This incredible compilation pack includes these excellent games from BIS: Icewind Dale and its expansion Heart of Winter. Also included is the Icewind Dale Soundtrack by the critically acclaimed composer Jeremy Soule, the IWD and HoW mini strategy guides, plus a bonus CD that includes the full strategy guides for both Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter AND a trailer of Icewind Dale II.

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this package to hit the stores, so now is the perfect opportunity to buy it. It has been added to our Game Store, or you can go directly to Amazon.com and buy it. The bundle is well worth the $29.99.

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ALFA Player Apps Reopens
Posted Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 16:55 CET by Mollusken

Erran, HDM of the Phlan server in the A Land Far Away project, has sent us words that the ALFA have reopened the player applications, and they're now inviting mature and serious role players to apply. Follow the link above and you should find "Player Application" in the menu on the ALFA site.

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IWD2 Review at RPGDot
Posted Monday, October 21, 2002 - 21:37 CET by Z-Layrex

After 5 years of success, after 5 very good if not excellent games and 3 expansion packs, Icewind Dale 2 seems to be the final Infinity Engine game. Is it a worthy conclusion of the IE games series? And how well is it implementing the 3E D&D rules? Check out RPGDot's Icewind Dale 2 review to find out... Here's a snip:

The sound effects are pretty good. The familiar spell chanting and echoing while casting as well as some pretty decent monster sounds and ambient sound isn't grating. There are several voicesets to choose from for your intrepid band of adventurers. Furthermore, the voice acting for the enemies is pretty solid all around. The musical score is very pleasant... not once did I feel the urge to turn a track down, even while getting the living daylights pounded out of my party...

They give it an overall score of 82% and you can read the entire review here.

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Icewind Dale II Online Solution Update
Posted Monday, October 21, 2002 - 20:07 CET by Sorcerer

The Bartholomew team has just sent in Chapter 4 of their online Icewind Dale II solution. Check it out here!

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Witchwork Status Update
Posted Monday, October 21, 2002 - 16:15 CET by Mollusken

The beta testing of the Witchwork module series from BioWare has begun, and here's what a few of the users had to say about the module.

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Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 16:11 CET by Veldrin

Darren Monahan, Producer

Other Fixes: Here are some other minor fixes I took from our buglists:
- Fixed client monks don't see the feedback results of using Empty Body.
- Fixed a problem that would cause Oswald's ship to disappear prematurely from the Ice Temple.
- Fixed a problem where Energy Drain might not show up after loading a game.
- Fixed some minor item description bugs.
- Fixed problem if character was hidden in shadows, he couldn't leave dialog with a Mezro Warrior.
- Fixed a particular problem with Ennelia quest repeating same line of dialogue after saving Braston.
- Fixed problem with multi-classed Barbarian/Druids losing shapeshifting ability when choosing Wild Shape: Panther and Extra Wild Shape AND getting a second Barbarian Rage.
- Fixed problem with Melf's Minute Meteors giving semi-permanent 5 attacks/round.
- Oagla'ta, a character in a premade party has been given Oagla'ta's Dead Cat Snack.
- Fixed a couple spelling errors here and there.
- Fixed some reported problems people were having with Torak.
- Fixed a problem with the Battle Square swapping a character for another in your party.
- Tweaks made to the Guardian to ignore Otiluke's Resilient Sphere.
- Modified the spellcasting routines for Izbelah.
- Changed Madae's spellcasting routines a bit.
- Removed the 'Critical Path Flag' from some characters that didn't need it after certain events occurred (for example, Nikodemus)
- Fixed a couple saving throw bugs with spells.

There are some other changes as well, but that patch.txt covers most of the big ones reported here.

One sort of big change is that we nerfed Animate Dead to only summon a maximum of level 10 critters, and also tweaked some of the undead stats.

Tex Yang, Quality Assurance

Game Won't Install: 1. Make sure your Icewind Dale II CD 1 is in your CDROM/DVDROM drive.
2. Click on your Windows Start button.
3. Select Run...
4. Click on Browse.
5. Browse to your Icewind Dale II CD 1, select setup.exe, and click Open. The path of the setup.exe program will be copied to the Run window.
6. At the end of the path, type in -CleanRegistry.
For example, if your CDROM drive is D:, you should end up with D:\setup.exe -CleanRegistry
7. Click OK to run the Icewind Dale II installer in registry cleanup mode. This will remove all Icewind Dale II registry entries.

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IWD2 Review at Game Industry Network
Posted Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 12:01 CET by Z-Layrex

A new review of Black Isles' Icewind Dale 2 has been published at Game Industry Network. Their rating is an excellent score 4.5/5 gems. They have a lot of praise for the game, as you can see from their conclusion:

If you like role-playing games, but don't like having to write a book just to keep track of what is going on, then the linear nature of Icewind Dale II should show great appeal. At times hardcore RPGers like myself may feel a bit frustrated by the constant combat, but this is easily balanced by interesting tactical puzzles and a surprisingly rich storyline. Plus, epic-sized battles that would make Baldur's Gate characters give a double take are a ton of fun to tackle. Wading through a seemingly hopeless situation to the light at the end of the tunnel is wonderfully satisfying, and you do it so very often here. Icewind Dale II earns 4 and 1/2 GiN Gems for its rapidly accumulating treasure trove of awards.

Read the entire review here.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 11:46 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

Cloaks/Robes:

A few things:

1) The 'man in tights' in the KotOR screenshots is just a temporary player model. You are jumping to conclusions if you assume this is how you will appear throughout the entire game or if you assume there will not be robes or other types of clothing. As far as I am aware, there has been no information released either way.

2) We have always said that robes and cloaks were possible in NWN but that it would take a lot of time and effort to make it look good. We chose to spend that time elsewhere in the initial release of the game. That time and effort could be spent doing that in the future, if it was deemed worthwhile enough, but would also take an expansion team (and could not be issued in a patch, as some suggest).

3) If you think that adding skirts, cloaks and robes into the game, along with other things such as visible gloves, boots, hats and other accessories is a simple matter, you are incorrect. It is also incorrect to suggest that anything less than our best effort would be acceptable should any of these things be implemented in the future. We are well aware of how popular such customization options would be... but we also have to factor in the amount of work vs. its actual impact on the game as well as the graphical processing intensity of these additions and the workload increase on server speeds.

If we're going to do it, it would have to be quality work, be a significant addition with sufficient options and not be something that only high-end users with cable modems would actually find useable. Beyond that, it's just a matter of fitting it into a project schedule somewhere. Hope that makes it clear.

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Icewind Dale II Patch 2.01 Out
Posted Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 11:14 CET by Sorcerer

Finally, the long-awaited patch for Icewind Dale II is here. Here are the details:

Version: 2.01
File Size: 4.95 MB
Released: October 18, 2002

This patch addresses a number of issues found after the release of Icewind Dale II:

NEW STUFF

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BG2 + TOB Review at Epigamer
Posted Friday, October 18, 2002 - 20:12 CET by Z-Layrex

Epigamer has posted a review of Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and its expansion, Throne of Bhaal. The combo get an excellent score of 9/10:

But seriously, as I tried to point out at the beginning of this review, you either love these types of games or you don’t. The gist of the game is this; if you strip away all the graphics and beasts and fancy gizmos all would be left is the idea of improving your character so he can beat up tougher opponents. And this goes on for… well in my last run through the saga (that’s one, two and the add on) it was going on 200 and a few hours. My brother goggles at me, completely not understanding how doing it could be perceived as fun. And he has a bloody good point in the odd moment of clear thinking that clouds my head at key points in the game. At some points, there is little to no skill involved. You put your mages at the back your ‘tanked’ up fighters at the front and anybody else in between and go on a rampage. If you have high enough levels, you’ll win, and if you don’t, well then a trip to that quick load button will be a short pause away where you will either try and wing through the fight with luck or go and level up some more. You’ll always trying to forward that Short Sword +whatever or afford some nifty armour or spells. And that, to some people, is the RPG phenomenon that is Baldur’s Gate.

View the entire review here.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Friday, October 18, 2002 - 20:02 CET by Z-Layrex

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Character Limit: Yes, there is a limit of 1024 characters that one can have in a single conversation node or any other text property of an object (ie name or description). This restriction was put in place because of bandwidth considerations. As far as I'm aware, there are no specific limits (up to the maximum value allowed by the datatype) to the number of PC responses (or any conversation node) that a particular NPC node can have, although there may be practical ones (ie ones that are the result of GUI restrictions).

Rob Bartel, Co Lead Designer

Play Dead Animation: 1.25 introduced a new animation constant that I'll be using for my opening Witchwork module. I think it's ANIM_DUR_DEAD_FRONT or something similar.

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Last Week's Poll Results
Posted Friday, October 18, 2002 - 19:23 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: If an official expansion for Icewind Dale II was made, would you buy it?
(372 votes total)

Yes, definitely (236) 63%
I don't even have the game yet! (86) 23%
Maybe, depends on the reviews (34) 9%
No, never (16) 4%

Surprisingly enough (or not?), people can't get over the fact that Icewind Dale II was the last game to use the the granddaddy Infinity Engine, and they want more. Even if just an expansion.

63% of people who have participated in our poll clearly stated that they would buy an expansion to IWD2, should one be made.

23% of people who voted unfortunately still don't have the game. The release date for Europe has recently been pushed back yet again, so the latest one is November 1, nearing two months' delay since the US release. Needless to say, this delay got even some of the most patient people to revert to illegal means of obtaining the game, so I'm sure that the percentage of people who don't have a legal copy of the game (yet) is much higher.

9% of those who voted aren't so sure an expansion to IWD2 would be worth their money, so they would wait for the reviews of it and then decide.

Only 4% of poll participants voted for the option that they would not buy the expansion under any circumstances.

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Icewind Dale II Reviews
Posted Friday, October 18, 2002 - 15:59 CET by Mollusken

Games First (4/5)

The Infinity engine still operates pretty much the same way it always has, though it hasn’t aged well. Standing IWD II beside this season’s other mammoth RPG Neverwinter Nights is like comparing a Honda Civic to a Ferrari: they both get to more or less the same place, but one drive is noticeably sleeker and more stylish. The Infinity engine just can’t support the kinds of animations IWD II’s storyline asks of it, so that brewing a potion or poisoning a water supply looks a lot like picking up treasure or visiting a store.

RPG Fan (89/100)

Although IWD2 doesn't have the immediate visual appeal of something like Morrowind, it's still an attractive game. Granted, it does look a bit dated, but the 2D graphics lend a certain charm to the game. The character sprites look the same as they have since the original Baldur's Gate, but the backgrounds are very attractive. The spell effects are decent, too, although it's nothing that hasn't been done before. The game unofficially supports resolutions up to 1024x768, although the characters start to look a little too small when you turn it up too high. All in all though, the look of the game is solid and doesn't do anything to detract from the experience. And hey, look on the bright side...at least you won't have to worry about manipulating the camera just to keep track of where characters are in the middle of a fight.

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In Memory of Jeff Hagerl
Posted Thursday, October 17, 2002 - 23:28 CET by Sorcerer

I'm writing this with a heavy heart, still scarcely believing it myself. This is the main part of the e-mail I just received:

I have some sad news to report. I am Jeff Hagerl's girlfriend. I found this address in Jeff's address book. I saw this: (PinkGiraffe... Incubus) I am going through his address book informing his friends about a terrible tragedy that occured last week. Jeff was in an automobile accident. He spent a week in a coma, before passing away quietly around 4 a.m. this morning. Jeff spoke of your website often. I am sure that he enjoyed working for you.

You might have noticed Jeff posting news here on the front page a couple of times under the alias PinkGiraffe, or posting on our boards as Elementus... He got in touch with me about posting news only a little more than two weeks ago. I believe I still spoke with him on ICQ on the same day before the accident happened.

I already expressed my sincere condolences to his loved ones, and I hope you will also take a moment for a good thought or a prayer. Jeff, you will be missed.

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, October 17, 2002 - 10:20 CET by Mollusken

The Witchwork module series beta testing will soon begin, and if you're interested you can sign up as a beta tester at the BioWare Guilds and Registration site. You'll find links to this and all the info you'll need here.

A complete standalone dedicated server application for Windows and Linux was released yesterday. It's a free download, and there's links to download mirrors and more info to be found here.

And last but not least, artist Mike Sass has made a new wallpaper, which after my opinion is one of the best NWN wallpapers thus far. You can view and download it in the BioWare wallpaper gallery.

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Neverwinter Nights 1.26 Patch Released
Posted Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - 16:03 CET by Mollusken

Many new bugs have been introduced with the 1.25 patch, and this new 1.26 patch should fix those and a few other things. It's available for download with the update function in the Neverwinter Nights launcher. Here are the release notes.

WARNING! ALL MODULES CREATED/SAVED WITH THE VERSION 1.26 TOOLSET ARE TAGGED AS REQUIRING VERSION 1.25 OR HIGHER OF NEVERWINTER NIGHTS GAME OR TOOLSET. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BRAND YOUR MODULE AS 1.25 OR HIGHER THEN DO NOT EDIT YOUR MODULE IN THE VERSION 1.25 OR HIGHER TOOLSET.
IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 1.25 OR 1.24, WE HAVE A REVERT PATCH AVAILABLE.

Neverwinter Nights Game

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Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 22:44 CET by Veldrin

J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer

Placing Items In The World: The problem with placing unique magic weapons "in the world" instead of in stores is that we can never know what weapon a player might want. By placing at least one weapon of each major power level (+1, +3, +5) in stores, we give all players access to at least one weapon of "their type" for each section of the game. If all of those items were placed in the world, the player would typically use two or three of them, then sell the rest for huge amounts of money. Huge amounts of money for which there is no decent equipment to buy (since they already have the weapons they want).

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 19:26 CET by Z-Layrex

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Updating Instances: No, you're not missing anything. To update all instances of 20 different blueprints (creatures, doors, items, etc.) in your module, you will have to use the "Update All Instances" function 20 times. If we get the time, this might be something we can address in the future.

Tokens: I don't believe that the tokens available in the conversation editor will work in text outside that system (i.e. player messaging, item descriptions, etc.).

Build Module: The Build Module function is primarily intended to perform a series of sanity checks on the module. In particular, it can recompile all the scripts, check for unused resources (excluding those that are referenced only in a script) and look for objects that are placed in invalid areas (i.e. having a create on top of a house, which is unreachable by the player). The function can be configured to perform any of the tasks individually since a full build on a large module could take a long time.

More:
You're right, Av, that's exactly the way it works. A change to a header script (a script that does not have its own void main() or int StartingConditional() function) REQUIRES that ALL scripts that include it be recompiled in order for the changes to take effect.

Area Transistions: Just to be clear, doors (and other objects) have both a name and a script tag. Area transitions work off the script tag, so if they are not unique among the objects involved, the game will get... confused.

Conversation Editor: The conversation editor displays text as a sequence of alternating NPC - PC statements. By default, the NPC statements are red and the PC statements blue. Also by default, the NPC that speaks the text is the NPC that owns the conversation (i.e. the NPC that has this conversation assigned to it). It is possible, however, to assign any object to speak a line of text in the conversation by selecting its tag from the Speaker Tag field in the conversation editor. If the PC does not say anything during the conversation (i.e. all the PC lines are blank, resulting in either [Continue] or [End Dialog] nodes), then if the conversation is initiated via scripting (the player doesn't start the conversation by clicking on the NPC) the conversation will play without any involvement by the player. That is, it will look like the NPCs are involved in their own conversation, giving the player a sense of overhearing something.

Jonathan Epp, Quality Assurance

Chat Colours: Make sure you put it under the [Chat Colors] heading, like so:

[Chat Colors]
TalkColor=240,102,1

Also make sure you put it into the nwnplayer.ini, and not one of the other .ini's by accident.

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Gamer's Pulse Reviews IWD II
Posted Monday, October 14, 2002 - 17:13 CET by Mollusken

Icewind Dale II gets one of its lowest scores thus far, with 35 out of 50 (though the site doesn't say max is 50, but they stated 35 as "above average").

I was a little disappointed with the sound in the game. The sound effects were on par with Black Isles other games and there can be nothing negative said about them. I thought the music was quite repetitive though, there are multiple scores but the music just seemed to grate on my nerves a few times while playing. I think there was a vast difference between this game and the original Icewind Dale. Even if I didn’t enjoy the music that much, I can’t say anything bad about the voice acting in the game. Every actor who did voices for Icewind Dale 2 should be given an award. They are so very in character I was amazed. The NPC’s were not the only ones with the talent though. The narrator who cuts in between each chapter did a fine job and I actually enjoy getting further along just so that I can hear the tale told through her descriptions.

Read the whole review here.

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IWD2 Review at Gaming Nexus
Posted Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 20:32 CET by Z-Layrex

A review of Icewind Dale 2 has been posted at Gaming Nexus. This is their conclusion:

So is IWD2 a good game? Yes. It’s not groundbreaking and it’s not original. But it is fun, and that’s really the most important thing. Rumor has it that this will be Black Isle’s last game using the Infinity Engine. And I am really quite sad to see it go. Sure, it isn’t as flashy as some of the newer D&D games, and it may not have all the bells and whistles. But it’s such a wonderfully refined engine that designers can concentrate on gameplay and storytelling, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. And players can jump quickly into the story, completely familiar with the way it’s being told. It’s just a brand new trail walked in old, comfortable shoes.

Their rating is 8.0/10.

Read the whole review here.

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Inon Zur Interview at RPG Planet
Posted Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 20:29 CET by Z-Layrex

RPG Planet has interviewed Inon Zur, the composer of Black Isle Studios' Icewind Dale 2 soundtrack. Mr Zur has this to say about the competition in his genre:

There is room for many more composers in this fast growing sector. I hope that we will continue to set new high standards, and that the composers who join us will produce great work to further raise the level of quality in game music.

Read the interview here.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 20:06 CET by Z-Layrex

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Area Transitions: All area transitions operate off the Script Tag of the target object. This allows a lot more flexibility in how you set your transitions up. For example, you can write a custom area transition script that jumps to a particular NPC. The selection of door vs. trigger vs. waypoint in the Area Transition setup window changes the objects that are displayed in the wireframe on the left and in the list below.

More:
Since it cannot be guaranteed that a particular Script Tag is not already in use somewhere in your module, developing a naming convention for your Script Tags is always a good idea. For doors that are used in an area transition I use the following:

dt_[Source]To[Target][n]

dt - door tag
[Source] - starting area name
[Target] - destiation area name
[n] - number, used if there is more than one door between the two areas

eg:
Given a module with two areas, Town and Inn (where Inn is the interior of an Inn in the Town), I would use the following door tags:

dt_TownToInn
dt_InnToTown

ERF files: The Hak Pak Editor in the \utils folder is also capable of manipulating .erf files, although I think there is a bug that always forces the file extension to .hak (you can easily rename it, however). I'll see if I can get that fixed sometime.

More:
The Hak Pak Editor already allows you to open and edit .erf files (as well as .hak and .mod files). The only restriction is that you cannot do things like open a .erf and save it as a .hak.

And More:
The Open window only lists .hak files, but you can key *.erf in for the File Name and select the appropriate .erf that way or just drag & drop a .erf file directly into the editor.

Converstation Tokens: Due to coding problems I wasn't able to include the details of this post. You can view the actual post here though.

David Gaider, Designer

New 2DA files: I believe that's part of the prep for the easy-to-add custom creature stuff that's coming down the pipe. My advice: don't touch 'em. Either that or go ahead and touch 'em... but you'll probably just end up re-numbering again later, anyway. I don't think those reserved slots are being used right this minute, if that's what you're wondering.

DM: A DM being able to see party chat was big on the demand list, so it has been added. I'm not sure, personally, if you can shut it off... if you right-click on the message window you should get the menu options for your messages. The option might exist there, I'd have to check (it probably is). Beyond that, if you really want to exchange private messages, why not just use private tells? Isn't that what they're for? Party chat exists for groups to keep in contact with each other in game situations where there are non-party NPC's or other parties... just because someone is currently using it as a private chat function and their DM might be a stranger is certainly not a reason to not implement this option, I'd think.

Andrew Gardner, Live Team Programmer

New 2DA files:

Quote: So i could just alter my custom creatures to 390 and so on without problem?

You are free to use 307 to 349 (the ones with the names User###). You should stay away from 350 to 389 (the ones with the names Reserved###). Actually, if you start adding after 389, they are likely to get clobbered at some point. More User slots will be added as the need arises (ie. let us know if you need more).

More:

Quote: Thanks for the quick response. But could you explain why it would get clobbered? Is there a limit like the old placebles.2da? I'm not sure i understand that one. And 42 creatures is a little on the low side with all the re-textured creatures out there plus my own. in my old appearance.2da i had added about 60 new lines already.

There would be an issue if BioWare needed more beyond 389 at some point in the future. For now, just don't use the Reserved slots and more User slots will probably be allocated in a future update. My best guess would be to assume User slots will resume at 390, but I don't know for certain.

And More:

Quote: So I can just use the reserved slots for now until it becomes an issue. Also what do you mean by chopped or whatever, saying something like..won't work? I have entries up to 410 (including your reserved slots) Well, heres to hoping one of those slots includes a mind flayer =)

At some point in the future there will be a conflict between your content and BioWare's content if you continue to use the slots now marked as Reserved. I can't guarantee how slots 390 and higher will be allocated.

Neil Flynn, Programmer

Standard Item Library: Loading these on the opening of a module is a necessary evil. It adds to the flexibility of the toolset but takes away from the load time speed. There is currently no way to avoid it.

New ERF Format: Anything exported or saved with the latest versions of the toolset will required that version or newer to open or import. This is done to guarantee that the module or ERF opened will work with the toolset. As explained above, the file could have new scripts or content. We don't parse everything to see if it has new content or not.

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NWN 1.26 Beta 1 Patch
Posted Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 13:25 CET by Mollusken

Due to the bugs in the 1.25 patch, BioWare has allready released the first beta version of the 1.26 patch. You can download it here, and here are the release notes:

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Erran Appointed 4th ALFA Admin
Posted Saturday, October 12, 2002 - 20:38 CET by Sorcerer

Today ALFA appointed its 4th administrator - whom some of you know as Erran.

When asked how he felt Erran said: "A lot of people have said bringing off a Persistant World version of Faerun with the NWN toolset couldn't be done. Well, we have 30 active servers and over 100 active players and this is only the Beta stage. Whilst not underestimating the many hurdles we have still to overcome, I believe the talented team of DMs we have plus a great bunch of creative roleplayers can make this happen. I am certainly going to give it my best shot. Now watch this space for announcements about Player Aps re-opening!"

You might also want to check out The Phlan Crier, the official Phlan forum. (Phlan is Erran's ALFA server.)

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, October 12, 2002 - 17:24 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: Have you ever played any Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs?
(332 votes total)

No, and I don't intend to (121) 36%
Not yet, but I intend to (97) 29%
Yes, in the past (83) 25%
Yes, playing currently (31) 9%

The results of this particular poll are quite interesting. 36% of people who voted in the poll have never before played any MMORPGs, and don't intend to in the future either.

A surprisingly big percentage of poll participants (29%) haven't played any MMORPGs yet, but intend to do so in the future.

An exact quarter of those who voted (25%) have played at least one MMORPG in the past, but aren't playing currently.

Finally, 9% of participants in our poll are playing at least one MMORPG currently.

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Neverwinter Nights Wins BAFTA Award
Posted Saturday, October 12, 2002 - 14:29 CET by Mollusken

Neverwinter Nights has won the "Best PC Game" category in the 2002 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards. The event was also covered by BBC.

This single-player game will rank among the best PC RPGs of all time. Its toolset and Dungeon Master client provide limitless replayability and fantastic multiplayer gaming. The story and sub-quests are compelling, the game both plays and controls just like a 3D Baldur's Gate game should. The radial menus are an inspiration. Good graphics, beautiful lighting, outstanding score and great voices round off this superb game.

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Community Chat Log
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 - 23:27 CET by Z-Layrex

Well as many of you will know there was a community chat last night with some of the developers of Neverwinter Nights. The developers included in the chat are as follows:

Trent Oster - Producer NWN
Tom Ohle - Communications Assistant
Robin Mayne - BioWare Webmaster
Brad Grier - Communications Manager
Rob Bartel - Co Lead Designer
Derek French - Assistant Producer - NWN
David Chan - Sound effects designer
Jeff Marvin - Web Errand Boy
Duleepa Wijayawardhana - Jeff Marvin
Jay Watamaniuk - Community Manager

Neverwinter Vault would like to give a big hardy thank-you to everyone who attended the chat last night. Though Dups couldn't keep his hands off the network cable (causing several disconnects on BioWares end). But all in all the chat went well.

The log can be viewed here.

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Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 - 21:07 CET by Veldrin

J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer

IWD2 Fun Facts: * The statue in Ginafae's lair is the statue of Marketh from Lower Dorn's Deep in IWD.

* Viciscamera is bastard Latin for "chamber of change".

* Firtha is an aspect of Ravel.

* Garradun Tanner originally was the first character in IWD2 to mention the Legion of the Chimera by name. He also had a fireball scroll on him that he would read at ground zero if you exposed him. You could also pickpocket him and then laugh at him when he tried to go for it.

* If you let the villagers at Shaengarne die, they show up as Animated Villagers (undead) on the bridge.

* If you keep the Moonblade at Shaengarne, a load of goodie-goodies show up later in a little southern niche to beat the hell out of you.

* The Beastlord Harshom is a Barbarian 2 / Enchanter 12 / Ranger 2.

* It took approximately 1,000 years to get the Ghost Lights working properly in the engine.

* If you talk to Hiepherus of Bane with a half-orc or tiefling female, he hits on the character and spews craziness about breeding a master race.

* Every named character from the Easthaven expedition and Kuldahar who died in IWD is buried in Hrothgar's Glen.

* Rob Holloway unearthed scripting commands in the Infinity Engine that other script-folk didn't even know existed. That's how he did the crazy things he did in the Western Pass and Dragon's Eye.

* Mother Egenia was named after Iphegenia, the title character from Iphegenia at Aulis, by Euripides. In it, Agammemnon learns that the only way he can get himself and his men off of an island is to sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphegenia. He does so, earning the wrath of his wife, Clytemnestra. Euripides followed this up with the (someone depressing) Iphegenia at Tauris, where it is revealed that Iphegenia did not die at all, but was actually transformed into a deer and escaped, rendering the whole sacrifice worthless. Of course, that didn't stop Clytemnestra from killing Agammemon and setting the stage for her murder at the hands of her son, Orestes.

In conclusion, go read the Orestaia.

Darren Monahan, Producer

Assertion Errors: Two suggestions:

1) Install the beta patch 2 and see if that helps.

2) Reinstall (but don't delete save games). That usually happens when a file is bad. Also make sure the bottom of your disc 2 is spotless, no scratches, etc.

Are you using the beta patch 2? This error occurs when the game cannot successfully uncompress a file from the CD or your hard drive (depending on the install type).

What install type are you using (Min, Rec, Full)? Also does the bottom of your disc 2 look free of dust/dirt/fingerprints/scratches/etc.?

Definitely make sure to get the second patch, we included some retry code in it that might help.

Regarding the discs, sometimes during the manufacturing process they just get some cardboard fibers and lint - just a suggestion to check against as that can cause read problems.

If the patch 2 doesn't work and if you aren't using a Full install, try doing a Modify on your installation and upping it to a Full install.

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Neverwinter Nights - Patch 1.25 Bugs
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 - 16:32 CET by Sorcerer

It appears that the latest NWN patch is very buggy, so you should probably wait for 1.26, if you haven't patched yet. Here's what Derek French had to say:

We are aware and working on the following issues that have cropped up in the 1.25 patch.

- direct connect on the LAN page crashing the game

- AC modifiers such as Mage Armor and Barbarian rage not working

We apologise for these problems, and we are working on getting you a 1.26 beta patch for testing ASAP.

The latest beta patches are available here.

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Neverwinter Nights - Patch Version 1.25 Out
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 21:54 CET by Sorcerer

It's been a while, but now it's time to update again! There are some significant changes in this patch, so be sure to read everything below before patching. Here's a quick list of fixes:

Neverwinter Nights Game

WARNING! AS OF THIS PATCH, ALL MODULES CREATED/SAVED WITH THE VERSION 1.25 TOOLSET ARE TAGGED AS REQUIRING VERSION 1.25 OR HIGHER OF NEVERWINTER NIGHTS GAME OR TOOLSET. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BRAND YOUR MODULE AS 1.25 THEN DO NOT EDIT YOUR MODULE IN THE VERSION 1.25 TOOLSET.
IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 1.24, WE HAVE A 1.25 TO 1.24 REVERT PATCH AVAILABLE.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 19:30 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Content Installer:

Quote: But if content creators use this bioware tool to create exe files that won't run on the Mac, this is a gigantic step backwards.

Since this installer creates a Zip 2.0 compatible archive with a self-extracting header, Mac and Linux users can simply download the .exe and rename it to .zip and open it in their favorite decompressing utility. Same is true for Windows folks as well if you are interested in the content of the package.

David Gaider, Designer

AC Bug: Actually, this is a bit seperate from the AC-calculation bug. I remember seeing Noel post a fix for vs-damage-type a day or two ago... so that wouldn't have been in the 2nd Beta. If it made the cut-off, you should be seeing that fix in the final release of 1.25.

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Exporting: If it's complaining about a missing *.ncs resource, recompile the script before exporting again. A .ncs resource is a Neverwinter Compiled Script. You NEVER see .ncs files listed in the toolset (since you can't edit them directly), you only see the .nss (Neverwinter Source Script) resources. Those are the resources you edit in the script editor. Each *.nss resource must be compiled to create its corresponding *.ncs resource. The game actually uses the *.ncs version during play.

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Sorcerer's Place - New Design Wanted
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 18:59 CET by Sorcerer

Sorcerer's Place could use a new design which would be more flexible than what we currently have. I've made a list of all the changes that would be necessary in the new design (compared with the current design) and it's quite long, but it would give any designer a good idea exactly what I want code-wise. Anyone wanting to undertake the task of redesigning SP would have to meet all of my specifications on that list.

The actual design and look would have to be similarly fantasy-oriented as it is now, of course. I should emphasize that redesigning SP is *not* something you would want to attempt unless you are an experienced web designer. I really don't want people to waste my time only to find out later that they can't meet my specifications. I will require you to show me an example of your previous work so that I can be confident that you'll be up to the task, and that I like your style. I work exclusively with Dreamweaver, so the whole design must be clearly viewable in that. I require no Flash or animations anywhere on the site, so that should not be a concern.

Payment will be $50's worth of merchandise from any of the online stores SP is affiliated with. So, if you're interested, ICQ (1508832), or e-mail me for details.

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Neverwinter Wednesday
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 16:56 CET by Mollusken

And here comes another Wednesday of different NWN treats from BioWare. The first new stuff this week is a profile on the malar panther, which will be available with the 1.25 patch.

It rips, it tears, it shreds, it slices, it dices, it juliennes, it's the all-new Malar Panther, now with 80% more fangs. Oh yes, you thought the original Malar Panther we released with our texturing tutorial was cool... well now we put Sung Kim (a real, live texture artist!) on the job and he almost didn't come out alive. That there is one meeeeeeeean-looking panther on the prowl.

Together with the 1.25 patch we will also get a new program called Neverwinter Nights Content Installer Creator. This program will let you add all your custom module content into one executable, which will be easy to download and use for those who download your module.

BioWare's Derek French has made a tutorial on how to add your own music to modules, and how you then can select your music as day, night or battle music.

Last but not least is a new profile on fan created content in the Witchwork series. The Inventory Spy is a script which allows the dungeon master to visually view the content of the inventory of the players, and also remove or add items there.

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NWN Witchwork Status Update
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 16:42 CET by Mollusken

Here's the latest words from the developers of the Witchwork module series.

Work continues on the initial module. The opening sequence is now in place, complete with an in-game cinematic, some robust conversation trees, and the first couple of areas built and populated. The underlying template module is constantly being tweaked and all of the required features from the 1.25 patch are now integrated and functional. Rob is moving on to the next major plot point which he will connect directly to the opening sequence. If there is sufficient time and need later, he'll create some intervening areas and mini-plots between them but, for now, the focus is still on establishing the core components and getting them into testing. For more info, be sure to join The Witchwork Guild and take part in the discussions there.

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Interplay Delisted From Nasdaq
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 16:37 CET by Mollusken

Interplay has been delisted from Nasdaq trade, and according to RPGDot this happened because the Interplay stocks stayed below 1 USD for a certain time. The stocks are now around 8 cent. Here's the press release from Interplay.

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interplay Entertainment Corp. (Nasdaq: IPLY - News) announced today that, after the close of the market yesterday, it received notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. that the Company's common stock will be delisted from trading on The Nasdaq SmallCap Market effective with the opening of trading on October 9, 2002, due to the Company not meeting certain minimum listing requirements. The company expects that its common stock will become eligible at that time or shortly thereafter for trading on the NASD-operated Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) under the symbol IPLY.

The company has until October 23, 2002 to request a review of the decision by the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council. The company is considering whether to seek a review.

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Icewind Dale II Reviews
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2002 - 16:32 CET by Mollusken

Worthplaying (8.6/10)

Black Isle employed the same top-quality level of aural goodness that you'll find in their other Forgotten Realms RPGS. Voice work is exceptional, only key characters are provided with voice-overs though. The sheer amount of dialogue in the game most likely forbids the option to make every piece of discourse audible but still, how cool would that be? The soundtrack consists of stirring orchestrations that fade in and out or ramp up to fast-paced war-like compositions when key combat sequences begin. The composer of Icewind Dale II, Inon Zur, does a very adequate job of giving the game an epic feel that is rivaled only by that of -- well, every other Black Isle Studios RPG.

FiringSquad (78/100)

Quite possibly the most annoying aspects of Icewind Dale II is the pathetic pathfinding. This reviewer had the number of nodes set to 400,000, the maximum the game would allow you to set, and characters, upon encountering any sort of obstacle, would suddenly turn around and begin walking away from their party, taking the longest, most roundabout route possible. In many cases this would have them stumble into inopportune monster ambushes, forcing frequent quickloads. This is especially surprising, given that Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal had such strong pathfinding. We’re confused as to why there would be such a regression.

Gone Gold (88/100)

Like other games its family tree, IWD2 bogs down in the middle a little for me. I found it extremely enjoyable in the beginning, but as the characters begin to level up less and less, I found myself anxiously longing for the finish of the game. This usually happens about thirty hours in, and as these games are quite long (IWD2 weighs in at over 50 hours), there is a dead period for me of about ten hours or so before things begin rolling towards the conclusion. Then its a lot of fun again, there’s just that little time of thinking to myself “Isn’t this game just a little too long?” I've felt that with all the Black Isle games, that if they were somehow 10-15 hours shorter I'd love them even more. But I shouldn't kid myself, right? If they were shorter I'd probably complain "if only they were a little longer". There's no satisfying gamers!

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Site News - New Additions
Posted Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - 19:59 CET by Sorcerer

Subsection Updates -> Fantasy Books

A number of new books have been added to the 3rd Edition D&D Books subsection. You can now (pre)order Races of Faerun, Relics & Rituals II, Arms and Equipment Guide, Savage Species and the Fiend Folio.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale

A recently released mini-mod called Project Auril has been added to the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Pool of Radiance: RoMD

In case you are playing this game, you might find the new trainer in the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection useful.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Baldur's Gate 2

In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can find a new walkthrough for the Shadows over Soubar mod.

Another mini-mod, this one dubbed Zotfix, has been added to the TeamBG subsection.

Four new additions can be found in the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection. In Subsection #6 you can download a new voice pack, and in Subsection #7, three new mods. (Imoen's Romance, Dungeon-Be-Gone and Battle at The Deep.)

Two very nice new wallpapers have been submitted to us and can be found in the Miscellanea subsection, near the bottom of the page.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Neverwinter Nights

In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection another (complete, for a change) walkthrough has been added. The Reference Guide on the same page has also been updated.

Some new stuff can also be found in the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection. A detailed guide to clerics, an updated version of the wizard guide and a new battle sorcerer guide should be an interesting read.

A link to the Linux Client info page has been added to the Miscellanea subsection, along with a very nice colorized picture of Aribeth.

As always, all of the Toolset & Related subsections have been updated. Check each of the subsections for more info on the items listed below.

In Subsection #1 you can check out 5 great new tutorials.

In Subsection #2, 5 new tilesets have been added.

In Subsection #3, 7 interesting new scripts were added.

In Subsection #4, 5 new item packs were added.

In Subsection #5, 13 new creatures were either added or updated.

Finally, in Subsection #6, 7 placeables were added.

Subsection Updates - Games -> Icewind Dale 2

In the Walkthroughs & Guides subsection you can get the latest version of our downloadable walkthrough (now up to Chapter 4), and check out our online solution with maps, screenshots etc. (up to Chapter 3) as well. An updated version of the 3e D&D FAQ can also be found in this subsection.

In the Editors, Hacks & Custom Characters subsection you can now read a detailed step-by-step guide on everything you ever wanted to know about the Bonus & Collector's Edition CD merchants. Here you can also find 31 new (mostly) female portraits and a link to Weimer's IWD2 mods.

Four new additions/updates can be downloaded from the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection. These are: a good character development guide, a look at the sorcerer/wizard combo, an updated version of the spells lists and an updated item list.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - 18:11 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Content Installer:

Quote: Couldn't it be restricted to adding new files in and below the neverwinter directory.

That is the only way it works. It cannot install files into the root NWN install directory.

Quote: What legitimate reason is there to install content outside the neverwinter subdirectory?

None, that is why the Content Installer only works if NWN is installed.

Quote: I think it shouldn't be able to replace files automatically, perhaps pop up a confirmation box..

That is how it works.

Quote: Or else people could try and construct packages that replace the main neverwinter exe, which opens the whole can of worms again

You cannot install .exe files with the Content Installer. It doesn't understand them.

Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager

Custom Content Installer: I'm not a techno-guy myself, but I do know that if you get anything from the net there will be risk involved as anything can be put into it. The idea was to create an easy way to get new content out to people that you have created. The choice for us comes down to either doing something that we think can be used to make things easier for the majority of people out there and perhaps make others nervous or not to develop anything at all. I would assume that any form of automation in getting stuff from the web will always have inherent risks and so it's either make something to help or don't. I think we would get a lot of mail if we did not make something like this and left people to there own devices. It's not a matter of not listening to the community, it's a matter of trying to respond to the greatest needs in the community. This is definitely a need. We, of course, only want to streamline the process for people who take the time and effort to develop new content for the community. This is one way we hope to achieve that. The thing to keep in mind is that this whole thing is a bit of an experiment and so we need to take risks in order to see what what is the best solution.

Noel Borstad, Programmer

Text Macros: The text macros can also be used for DM console commands using the ## prefix.. (ie. ##dm_levelup ) This could allow a DM to build a set of scripts to run that can be accessed off of the quickbar ( ##runscript BootAllPlayers )

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Weekly Poll: Here and Now
Posted Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - 17:24 CET by Sorcerer

Yesterday I was so busy preparating material for the site update which will be later today that I completely forgot about the weekly poll. I hope not too many of you went into shock when you discovered the poll hasn't been switched at the regular time.

Anyway, my point is that the new poll is here now and that we need to catch up on the missing votes, so all of you who usually don't vote in polls need to vote too. (Otherwise Bad Things may happen.)

Click here to be taken to the current poll.

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Icewind Dale II Review at RPGamer
Posted Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - 0:18 CET by PinkGiraffe

RPGamer has posted a review for Icewind Dale II. It gives IWD II a score of 7 out of 10.

Nearly all the text follows the olde English style that heightens the fantasy nature of the Forgotten Realms. Additionally, each of the voice actors must have thoroughly enjoyed their job as the emotions behind the text really carry through and make what little plot there actually is an enjoyable part of the game. The menus, though, are marvelously designed with easily identifiable buttons - which are further simplfied with the ability to hover the pointer over them for a text description - and are easily navigable. Want to check your inventory? Press one button on the keyboard. What's the most powerful creature your bard has slain? Click into his biography to find out.

You can view it here.

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Monday, October 7, 2002 - 20:56 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Content Installer:

Quote: As far as I understand, it is zip auto decompressing archive, with added functionality of automatically finding NWN directory ?

Correct.

Quote: Will we be able to at least rename it to zip and uncompress it ourselves with zip utility (as it is possible with most exezips) ?

Yes.

More:

Quote: Ok, so people will be distributed .exe files that install the custom content to the right directories? This makes me extremely nervous. What's to stop some anti-social person uploading a trojan horse exe and claiming it's something cool, getting people to download it and then having all sorts of nasty stuff installed in their system...I think having the community distributing exe files is an extremely bad idea from a security point of view. Would it be possible to package the custom content in a bioware propriety storage (BPS) format, and then have a custom content installer program that the client runs and points an the BPS file? Then the bioware made custom content installer program will extract the custom content from the BPS and place it in the appropriate place. As nice and neat as self extracting exe's sound, to me it sounds incredibly dangerous. Unless of course I've totally misunderstood something...

This is no different than any other .exe you would download from the internet right now. End-user security is up to the end-user. No one should be running a computer these days without running a full time virus scanner. Or for that matter some sort of firewall. Do you trust the site that you are downloading from? BioWare? NWVault? Bob's House of Mods? If you don't trust one of those, then don't download from there, or download and open the file manually. And scan for viruses.

And More:
I guess the point that I am not understanding is what is the difference between someone posting a malicious .exe on some Neverwinter fan web site today, and someone posting the same malicious .exe after our content installer has been released? What has changed? In this day and age, noone can afford to blind trust anyone on the internet. If you don't trust the file, don't download it and don't run it.

Guess:

Quote: Just make a version of the hakpak unpacker that unpacks neverwinter custom content paks into the appropriate sub directories.

Maybe this is the source of the confusion. This sentance above describes exactly what the Custom Content Installer does. I would like to hear back from you on this.

Here We Go:
The problem with the suggestion is that it doesn't solve the problem, it just moves the point of theat to another location. We need the content to be extractable by all 3 platforms, and this current method does that. Moving to the suggested method would restrict use to Windows only systems which is not acceptable. We are very sensitive to security issues here at BioWare, but this one is no more dangerous than anything else out there. You can use WinZip right now to make the exact same type of package that we are creating with the Content Installer.

Whistles Innocently:
Many people want to download one file, perform an action (run it, unzip it) and start playing. This program addresses this issue. Many other don't know what to do with a .hak file or an .erf file, or for that matter a .bmu. This program puts them in their proper place. Everyone can use zip files? Trust me, from both the nwbugs e-mail address, the Tech Support forum, and the support e-mail address, I can tell you that we have overwhelming evidence that .zip is too complicated for many people. Its a .zip file with a self-installing header for Windows included. To get these files for Mac or Linux, you just rename the file to a .zip and extract normally. You can even do this rename/extract with WinZip, Windows Commander, or any other utility that handles .zip 2.0 files.

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Baldur's Gate II Story at Sequential Tart
Posted Sunday, October 6, 2002 - 17:26 CET by Z-Layrex

A staff member of Sequential Tart had written a story of her experiences with Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and the expansion, Throne of Bhaal. Be warned, it's a bit of a read. Here's an excerpt:

For my birthday, I received a copy of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. (Created by BioWare, Inc.) It's the second chapter in the Baldur's Gate saga. You get to create/be the main character in an epic story of good versus evil. You, the Player Character (or PC), are joined in your destiny by many supporting non-player characters (NPCs) as you cut a swath across the fictional landscape of Faerun. I had a great time playing the first game and dearly wanted the second. I got it. I played it. I enjoyed it. Then, halfway through, I discovered something about the game that I hadn't even suspected was there. The creators of BGII had added ... romance. I came by this knowledge while cruising a fan created walkthrough site.

"Romance?" says I. "Well hot damn! How did I miss that before?"

How, indeed. As someone who craves complexity and depth in her entertainment, the idea of adding deeper character interaction to a computer RPG was sheer brilliance. As with any good book, I wondered how the story would play out and how the characters would grow. But better than a book, I got to be the main character and help direct the story. And now it seemed that I would get to be part of the subtleties, rather than just the action as in so many other computer RPGs. It was irresistible.

Without reading the rest of the walkthrough, I rushed back to my laptop and fired up the game. A whole new world of possibility was open to me and I was eager to give it a try. Suddenly, every male NPC was potential date bait, and each was sized up accordingly. After considering the one male then in my party, a brain-damaged ranger who often asked advice of his pet hamster, I decided to look elsewhere.

Read it here.

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NWN Review at Gamer's Temple
Posted Sunday, October 6, 2002 - 1:30 CET by PinkGiraffe

A review of Neverwinter Nights has been posted at Gamer's Temple. The game was rated 86% and the review covers many features of the game.

The game's designers added a lot of small touches to the game to make the story and world more immersive, and RPG fans will certainly appreciate this. For example, magical weapons and items often come with a background story relating their origin. You certainly don't have to read about how a certain flail obtained its name and +1 rating, but it's nice that you can if you want to.

It's a two page review and can be viewed here.

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Icewind Dale II Review in Game Informer
Posted Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 13:17 CET by Z-Layrex

The Interplay website has updated with news about an Icewind Dale II review in this month's issue of Game Informer. The game gets a high score of 9.5 in their review and Interplay has included a few tasty quotes from the article.

Find it here.

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BioWare Looking For Experienced Writer
Posted Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 13:08 CET by Z-Layrex

BioWare's Communication Manager, Brad Grier, has sent word that their Human Resources are having trouble finding an experienced writer that has these requirements. Here's an excerpt:

Primary Task: Writing dialogue. Scripting dialogue. Must be able to write interesting dialogue in a timely fashion. Secondary Tasks: Updating documentation that details the level design in the game. Coming up with story and puzzle ideas.

Minimum education: Bachelor of Arts

Experience: Familiarity with the fantasy genre and role-playing games is a must. Should have some experience with the NWN editor. Examples of work must be provided (see below).

On a side note, the Elf Resouces have all positions filled and the Half-Orc Resources were all told they were fired but ended up torching the building due to their not understanding what that meant. ;)

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 13:03 CET by Z-Layrex

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Hak Paks: We are looking into various solutions including direct and re-directed Hak Pak downloading.

Placeable Limit: Sorry about this hassle. It seems that there was an artificial limit of 255 set on placables for no good reason. This will be fixed in the 1.25 patch due out next week.

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Last Week's Poll's Results
Posted Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 12:53 CET by Sorcerer

What we asked:

Q: Which of the games (and optionally also their expansions) covered on SP have you played through with just 1 character, i.e. solo? (Multiple selections possible.)
(766 votes total)

Baldur's Gate II (161) 21%
Neverwinter Nights (128) 17%
Baldur's Gate (127) 17%
None (126) 16%
Icewind Dale (79) 10%
Planescape: Torment (68) 9%
Icewind Dale II (46) 6%
Pool of Radiance: RoMD (31) 4%

Unsurprisingly, the most popular games & their expansions have also been played solo by the most people. The winner is Baldur's Gate II, which has been played through solo by 21% of people who voted in the poll.

Close behind are Neverwinter Nights and the original Baldur's Gate with an almost identical number of votes (both 17%).

16% of poll participants obviously do not cherish the challenge of going through the game with just one character, so they haven't soloed any of the games on the list.

The original Icewind Dale has been played solo by 10% of those who voted in the poll, closely followed by Planescape: Torment with 9% of votes.

Icewind Dale II is still very new (not to mention the fact that is hasn't been released outside USA yet), so the 6% solos figure is quite encouraging at this point.

The surprise of the poll is Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, which received 4% of votes. It's quite hard to believe so many people bothered to play it through solo.

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Official Community Chat Announced
Posted Friday, October 4, 2002 - 23:35 CET by Z-Layrex

Neverwinter Vault are proud to announce that they will be hosting the first post release "Community Chat" with members of the Neverwinter Nights development team, including Producer Trent Oster. Not only will Trent be there, but they'll have some members of the Live Team grace them with their presence as well. This will be a moderated session, where you can ask whatever question you want, and I'm sure the team will be happy to know that the "When will it come out" question won't be asked. ;) So if you've been waiting for a reason to see what an IRC chat is all about, this is definitely a good time. Here are the details:

When: Thursday, October 10th 2002

Time: 8pm(EDT), 6pm(MDT), 5pm(PDT)

Where: IRC Server with a program such as mIRC
chat1.ign.com
Port: 6667
#neverwinter

If you don't want to use a separate program you can access the chat through their web client.

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NWN Patch 1.25 Beta #2
Posted Friday, October 4, 2002 - 20:32 CET by Z-Layrex

BioWare has posted the second BETA version of Patch 1.25 for you to give a go.
Unlike the first one where you were not able to use the toolset, this patch covers all the toolset and more. You can look forward to these fixes:

Toolset included this time

fixed double-bladed weapon damage

fixed door initial state animation

Fixed GetFirstObjectInArea() and GetNextObjectInArea()

fixed CreateObject()

added GetResRef() scripting command

added DecrementRemainingFeatUses() scripting command

added DecrementRemainingSpellUses() scripting command

fixed GetHasSpell() to work for Sorcerers and Bards

Download it here.

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Icewind Dale II Solution Update
Posted Friday, October 4, 2002 - 18:39 CET by Sorcerer

Modjahed has just sent in Chapter 4 (and updates to all previous chapters) of his downloadable Icewind Dale II solution. Get it here!

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Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 22:41 CET by Z-Layrex

David Gaider, Designer

Creature Models: Yes, there are plans in the works for eventually adding inherent toolset support for new creature models... or, at least, making a valiant effort to do so. There are several things which have to happen first over the next couple of patches, however, in order to make that possible. Getting all the .2da's to finally work in hakpaks in 1.25 is the first step. After that, we're looking at some major revisions for hakpak use in 1.26. Inputting custom content will probably never be easy, but we are looking at making it much easier down the line.

More:
I suspect that .erfs and .haks will remain seperate, but the idea is that eventually using a roperly-formatted

'creature hakpak' to add a creature model into your resources would be a one-step process for the end-user, yes (perhaps as simple as selecting a menu option in the toolset, if that can be done).

Custom Music: Custom speech, no. Custom music, yes... it will be made easier to implement. Not as easy as we had hoped (the Live Team had hoped to make it so that all you needed to put into the hakpak was the .bmu with no .2da), but still easier.

Patch 1.26: I don't think we can actually officially sanction it seeing as it's a resource hack, but it's interesting to note how many people like it. I think the Live Team is looking at possibly including an option to unlock the camera fully in 1.26.

Derek French, Assistant Producer

Patch 1.25: We will probably have a second beta of 1.25 soon with some more improvements and I know there are some

scripting fixes, such as:

- Changed maximum size of compiled scripts from 256K to 512K.
- Added GetResRef() scripting command.
- Added DecrementRemainingFeatUses():
// Decrement the remaining uses per day for this creature by one.
// - oCreature: creature to modify
// - nFeat: constant FEAT_*
void DecrementRemainingFeatUses(object oCreature, int nFeat);
- Added DecrementRemainingSpellUses().
// Decrement the remaining uses per day for this creature by one.
// - oCreature: creature to modify
// - nSpell: constant SPELL_*
void DecrementRemainingSpellUses(object oCreature, int nSpell);
- Fixed ActionPauseConversation().
- Fixed CreateObject() - it was having problems if the template wasn't found.
- Fixed GetFirstObjectInArea() and GetNextObjectInArea().
- GetStartLocation() nows return a valid area.
- Fixed GetHasSpell() to work for Sorcerers and Bards.
- GetName() will work for modules and areas now (returns name in language of module).
- Fixed a crash in PlaySound() when called by module.
- Fixed main tile light constants and added constants for source lights.
- SetTileSourceLightColor() is now working properly.
- Fixed GetItemPossessor() to work when loading polymorphed possessor in a save game.
- Rotating placeables now rotates the walkmesh as well in SetFacing().
- AdjustAlignment() no longer effects DMs.

If there is anything else aside from those ones?

Don Moar, Tools Programmer

Multiple Spawn Points: The game determines which spawn point is least visible to all the PCs and uses it to place all the creatures needed to satisfy the encounter's requirements. Use multiple spawn points if there is more than one direction from which a PC may enter the encounter trigger.

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Icewind Dale II Review at AVault
Posted Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 12:59 CET by Mollusken

The Adrenaline Vault has reviewed Icewind Dal