Well, it is time once again for the Spotlight on the Forums. This week we have a treat for you fans out there. Here is a thread that was started not too long ago. Read it and then I'll tell you the goodies.
Vortimer writes:
As we still have many more months of frustration ahead of us before the game release how about a little competition to while away the hours and hone our gamesmaster skills? I can't offer any reward accept the satisfaction of winning but it may be great fun if enough people are willing to contribute.
My first challenge to you all is to write a short description of an interesting NPC in NO MORE THAN 50 WORDS. Include as much physical description and background as you see fit, and of course a name, but the most important aspect to portray is the personality of the character. Submit your entry to this thread and when we have enough contestants we can run a poll of the readers to elect a winner. No more than one NPC per contributor please, if you get a better idea before the competition ends please delete your first entry before you submit a new one.
If this idea proves popular I will issue further challenges to write some short roleplay sketches involving the NPC that you submit for the first challenge.
Ok here is what we here at Neverwinter Nights Stratics will toss in the mix to make it a sweet event. Depending upon how many entries there are, we will take the Top 5 or 10 winning entries and create scripted NPC's for inclusion in our City of Glendenmoor server. All winning entries will get credit for the scripted NPC's. And to top it all off, the #1 winning entry will get a character sketch done by one of our many artists here. How's that sound? So sharpen up your creative minds gang and may the best NPC's win. You can submit your entries here 50 Word Challenge
The First Ever Neverwinter Nights House of Commons IRC Chat is only one week away! Have you got all your questions ready? Tuesday November 7th at 6pm PST. For more information, tune into our Events Page
Every wanted to know more about the people who develop Asheron's Call? Then pop over to our new Meet the Devs section to read a Q&A with Designer Dave "Crowley" Javier. Look for more Q&As to come.
Competition Time! Win a Sidewinder Game Voice for submitting a profile for Asheron's Call for the Sidewinder Strategic Commander, or win a Strategic Commander for submitting a Game Voice profile. Read all about it.
Here at Atriarch Stratics we're proud to announce the third entry in our Developer Profiles series, which will be posted Wednesday morning of this week. Be sure to stop by and check it out! In case you missed last weeks profile on Mythfit, or the first profile on Joss, they are still available here!
Have you ever wanted to work with Atriarch Stratics? Does the idea of reporting and writing appeal to you? Well, if so, you might want to consider sending in an e-mail to atadmin@stratics.com with a quick application including any information you would consider pertinent. These positions will be volunteer only, however they are an excellent way to get involved in the community. I look forward to hearing from all interested.
As one of the newest additions to the Stratics network we present to you the Dark Age of Camelot, a full 3D MMORPG in a blend of old folklore and fantasy. We bring you News, Screenshots, Discussion Forums, Chat and many more. Make sure to drop us a visit!
Update to the new Spell Database and Items Database continue to come in. This utility lets you search for spells and items by class, race and a large number of other options. Check it out!
Everquest Stratics is proud to announce an Everquest House of Commons chat. Verant will be onhand to answer your questions about Everquest and its future. That chat will occur in #eqhoc on the Stratics IRC network on Monday, October 30th, at 6pm CST. Topics will range from the Scars of Velious to Epic Quests to EQ Festival 2000.
In The Addicted Player, Laton professes his views on the all too common addicted player of MMORPGs, and suggests a way to appease both the carefree, hardcore gamer and the immersed, dedicated role-player.
It's future is finally here! Stratics' newest MMORPG website; Neocron Stratics, is open for all to see. Be sure to check out the Neocron Beginner's Guide and get yourself prepared for some fast paced FPS combat and some hardcore roleplaying!
We have release the Glendenmoor section of Neverwinter Stratics site. This section is dedicated to information about our planned persistant Neverwinter Nights world called Glendenmoor. For more information on our plans for this server, maps, the Town Cryer and other information - see the Glendenmoor section of our site!
And last but not least... do not forget the upcoming Neverwinter Nights House of Commons chat with Bioware on November 7, 2000 at 6:00 PM PST. For the latest information about the chat, visit our Events page regularly.
Meet The Team - Several new members of the Origin Dev Team have begun posting to the message boards. Find out who they are and what they do in our Meet The Team Section.
Interview with Jeremy "Gaffer" Gaffney - The ORIGIN Stratics Interview Team recently got together with the Lead Programmer of UWO:Origin and asked a few questions about his views on the game that he has poured his heart and soul into. Make sure to check out our Interview Section and find out what it's all about!
Thanks to our great statistician Omenz, we now have completed Race to Class tables showing you exactly which classes may be chosen by which race. This will prove to be an invaluable resource when choosing your characters!
A great fan fiction story was submitted by Inkpot entitled Life or Death. Be sure to check it out if you're interested in a treat!
This week we'd like to point your attention to our Stories and Secrets section, where we store an archive of Ultima Online History. There you can find the text of in-game books, biographies, items & artifacts, the timeline and an essay on the virtues that Ultima is based on.
Also in Stories and Secrets, an archive of articles published on the official Town Cryer and Britannia News Network site and transcripts of several audio reports.
With many of our visitors wondering what BioWare's Neverwinter Nights is all about, we would like to direct our visitors, old and new, to the recently updated "What Is It?" page of our site.
Greyhawk and our roving reporter, Dead Velius, have pulled together some interesting information for this page that describes not only what Neverwinter Nights is but reveals some of its potential as well.
Enjoy!
Saturday - October 28 - 2000
Content Update: New Images Added to the Screenshot Gallery
We are pleased to announce the addition of the latest round of screenshots to our Screenshot Gallery.
Our Screenshot Gallery is a compilation of images provided by Bioware to many news and fan sites on the internet. The complete gallery allows you to follow the on-going development of Neverwinter Nights thus witnesses the growth of the game through its screenshots.
Neocron is a unique MMORPG being designed by Reakktor Media for release in the 2nd quarter of 2001. Set in a 27th century metropolis, Neocron allows you to live the online life you dream of. Whether it be normal day-to-day existence (in a futuristic setting) or running off on exciting adventures, the choice is entirely yours!
Neocron Stratics is the place to go to learn the latest about this genre-busting game! From the introduction, to a full listing of all game features, to the latest on the beta, to daily updated news, make Stratics your place to go for the latest in Neocron!
RPGPlanet posted a Neverwinter Nights "First Look" on October 25, while it does not reveal too many new things, it is a solid article and right now we need all of the Neverwinter tidbits we can find!
Here is a little bit from the article:
Even more hotly anticipated is the editing suite that will ship with the game called the Neverwinter Tools. Editors will be included that allow a DM to create just about everything necessary for a module besides the graphics. The buildings, passages and fields are all built from complex 10 by 10 meter tiles that include all the information about its looks, lighting and pathing. These can by arranged into a map by simply using a smart painting program; it knows how to connect them automatically. The editors also allow you to place monsters, non-player characters, items and treasure, the attributes of which can all be edited by the DM. it should offer everything would-be adventure builders need to make their own home-grown modules. In the future, BioWare plans to release expansion packs with new tile sets, items, monsters, spells, classes, and races.
Daily Radar has a recent interview with Trent Oster on Neverwinter Nights... and it has NEW screenshots! It also sports the newest Neverwinter Nights Movie from the Baldur's Gate 2 CD which you can also find in the Neverwinter Stratics Movie Gallery.
Here is a snippet from the article:
Daily Radar: Will all feats and skill be incorporated into the game? If so, will they be controlled in-game?
Trent Oster: Again, no. There are a huge number of skills and feats outlined in the PHB, and some of them do not really make sense in a computer game. We are striving to include as many feats and skills as possible. Our current plans include over 20 skills and over 40 feats, in addition to a large number of class-specific special abilities. All feats and skills requiring activation in-game will be controlled by the player through the radial menu or the quickbar.
With the announcement of the Glendenmoor server, we would also like to present the first taste of what Glendenmoor will offer. The expanded Glendenmoor section includes the following:
The Atlas - Includes a number of maps of the area surrounding Glendenmoor as well as a grid map of the city itself.
The Chronicles - The story of Glendenmoor, introducing many of the residents and the current intrigues of the town.
The History - Covers the past history of the area leading to the current situation that affects the town and its dynamics.
The Town Cryer - The newspaper of Glendenmoor provides information about the server and the goings on in the town.
More content will be added to this section - so check back regularly!
Neverwinter Nights Stratics is proud to announce its Neverwinter Nights game server: "Glendenmoor."
Located in the Forgotten Realms and based upon the storyline created by Stratics own Aartemis and Marizelle, Glendenmoor will take players into a thriving city filled with mystery, deception and high adventure. Continuing on from where the Glendenmoor Chronicles will eventually climax, players will enter into the storyline and continue the adventure as it plays out upon on our game server.
Night after night our dedicated Dungeon Master (DM) staff will bring to life the town of Glendenmoor and allow the players actions to write the pages of our ongoing epic story along with other side adventures that are sure to surprise you! During the coming months the Glendenmoor storyline will be revealed as the chapters of the Chronicles unfold. We will also be releasing Town Maps, Character Sheets, Timelines and other great bits of information to keep your appetite going until the town that is Glendenmoor becomes a reality with the release of Bioware's Neverwinter Nights.
"We provide the town and the history, how the story unfolds is up to you!"
Working on your first full adventure with the D&D 3rd Edition rules and need to figure how use your monsters more effectively? Wizards of the Coast is authoring a series of articles on monster tactics. Each article will cover a different monster and will supply information useful for both Neverwinter Nights Dungeon Masters and Module Creators as well as pen-and-paper Dungeon Masters.
Here is a small snippet from the article:
Setting the snare
Caravan raids garner the Narkal food and treasure, but their real purpose is to draw outsiders into the forest. Thrudahk knows his bugbears fight better in forest ambushes than in attacks against traffic on the road. After every raid, a squad of eight bugbears remains at the forest edge and leaves an obvious trail that meanders through the forest. The reprisal patrols and would-be rescuers that follow those trails are the Narkal tribe's real prey.
Thrudahk knows that someone follows the trail within three days of almost every caravan raid. Sometimes it's a military patrol, and other times it's a group of adventurers hired to rescue a captive. Often it's mercenaries hired by the original merchant to get the caravan cargo back. Thrudahk has connections with city folk through unscrupulous human bandits, and he often "leaks" that he's acquired noteworthy captives or rich treasure to draw victims to his ambushes.
After a day of trail making, Thrudahk splits his bugbears into three groups (typically eight bugbears and a 4 HD leader each, minus any casualties from the original raid). Each group sets an ambush along the trail about three miles apart.
Each ambush leader is under strict orders to withdraw at the first sign of serious resistance. Because the bugbears know the forest trails, each ambush group can typically elude pursuers and join the next group of bugbears down the trail in time to spring the next ambush.
Greetings Adventurer! Here's the latest on Gloomveil-
Gloomveil.com has grown significantly since its inception, and now sports a completely redesigned textual and graphical navigation system. The Gloomveil world continues to expand with the unveiling of "Rust Dragon's Lair," the encampment of a fearsome warlord.
Beyond the Web-based Gloomveil experience, "Extensions" to the Gloomveil world are being planned for cross-platform computer games such as Neverwinter Nights, Rune, as well as for print publication as a stand-alone game world manual.
Enjoy!
Bioware's Project Update for August & September 2000
Looks like with all the stuff going on around here we missed Trent Oster's latest project update! Here is the complete update or you can read it on Project Update for August & September 2000
The tempo of the project has slowly started to increase over the last month. With the completion of Baldur's Gate II we are now free to refocus the companies' energies on NWN and push aggressively towards completion. All in all, this has been a very interesting few months.
Programming
One of the most interesting additions to the Aurora Engine has been water. Our graphics programmers came up with a system for modeling water, creating very sharp looking pools and lakes with very little system overhead. Additionally, our collision detection system has undergone a massive reworking. The hit checking subsystem was the last bit of technology need for the game. From here on all the major questions have been answered and only implementation remains. The Linux, Beos, and Mac ports are coming along nicely and keeping pace with Windows version of the game. As well, the programmers have been hard at work on the game rules engine. There is still a large volume of work yet to support the 3rd Edition rules and all the combat and spell options we are planning. We are also hard at work assembling the huge array of GUI screens required by a D&D RPG. As a whole the programming tasks on NWN are massive and large in number. It is a credit to the talented and dedicated people who work here that we can develop such a large project.
Art
The NWN Art department is an unstoppable juggernaut, pushing forward tirelessly, creating volumes of beautiful artwork. Every day new tiles, characters, monsters, portraits and icons emerge from the talented staff to add to the impressive volume already created. With the GUI screens undergoing implementation we've been cranking out interface designs and the artwork required at a prodigious pace. From the character sheets to the icons we are ensuring that the interface will be very intuitive and easy to navigate, as this is crucial to the overall enjoyment of the game. Additionally, we have prototyped a number of new spell effects in the last few months. The effects systems are starting to look simply amazing and will do the D&D spells proud. I personally cannot wait to see some of the higher level spells. When the high level spells go off the world will seem to stand on end.
Design
Module design has been progressing at a brisk pace. The designers have been hard at work expanding upon the storyline to add more depth and variety to the gameplay. The designer database has been tweaked to make it more efficient and to better represent the game. We have also been finalizing the Skill and Feats systems and how they will be implemented in NWN. Overall, design has entered a consolidation phase where we take our earlier plans and condense them down into a final list of hard rules to be implemented.
Summary
Neverwinter Nights is a huge project. Our team has jumped to nearly forty skilled people. We are currently in the middle phase of development where ideas become final game content. I truly think that nothing can really prepare you when the concept that was only on paper and in your imagination is made real for the first time. We, as a team, look forward to the future and the completion of the grand vision that is Neverwinter Nights.
Check out our newly updated Stage 1 section, full of games that are new to the scene, but promise to revolutionize the industry. Just added, Dawn Stratics!
Are you a writer with something to say? Got a game coming out that you are super excited about? How about an opinion on the industry that you are dying to express? Stratics Central is looking for reader submissions for postings on the site. If you have what it takes, send in your article today!
There's a great community to participate in! Come on down and enjoy our Adellion message boards! Find the roleplayers and the strict roleplaying game you've been yearning for!
The opening of the Fan Media Section draws nigh! Lined up for this brand-new section of Anarchy Online Stratics we have not only the Story Contest submissions, but also everything and anything created by you, the fans! Tales, essays, drawings, music clips - if it's appropriate and original we'll post it! Submit your pieces to Fan Media.
Bam! We're kicking it up a notch with the AC Stratics Cookbook, a collection of the recipes you can try in Asheron's Call. If you fancy something seasonal, try the Pumpkin Soup or the Pumpkin Pie.
Also, you can check out our new front page update-o-meter which lists what's recently been added to the Bestiary, the Atlas and the Lore sections. Now you can keep an eye out to see if we're slacking...
Here at Atriarch Stratics we're proud to announce the second entryin our Developer Profiles series, which will be posted Wednesday morning of this week. Be sure to stop by and check it out! In case you missed last weeks profile on Joss, you can check it out here.
Have you ever wanted to work with Atriarch Stratics? Does the idea of reporting and writing appeal to you? Well, if so, you might want to consider sending in an email to href="mailto:ats@stratics.com">ats@stratics.com with a quick application including any information you would consider pertinent. These positions will be volunteer only, however they are an excellent way to get involved in the community.
How could names be handled in MMORPGs? How could a game not have 'floating names' yet still be fun? Tormanth has an article on just that subject. Check it out!
Check out our redesigned statistic pages! We've got new, easy to use pages for engines, guns, missiles, and powerplants! Now you can easily see what new add-on you might need for your ship!
Neverwinter Stratics is proud to announce the first Neverwinter Nights House of Commons IRC Chat on November 7, 2000 at 6:00 PM PST in the IRC #nwnhoc channel.
Experience Chart - The Origin Dev Team has finally revealed to us the system that they plan to use to determine level increases. Make sure to check it our on our Experience Chart Section.
Merchandise - We've recently added a section to our site dedicated to promoting Ultima Online and Stratics merchandise. Of special note is the Sword & Dagger Set being sold by Museum Replicas. So head on over to our Merchandise Section now and check it out!
IRC's Finest Moments has been updated thrice, yes thrice, this week! Be sure to check out the zany going-ons of #shadowbane on irc.stratics.com, including our plot to create the ultimate MMORPG!
After days of grueling labor, Shadowbane Stratics is proud to announce its Discipline Section. This section, of course, follows the massive update to the disciplines list Wolfpack just released, so we guarantee you've yet to set your eyes upon this information!
This weekend we've made several changes to the Dungeons section. For all the dungeons in Britannia and in the Lost Lands, we've listed what monsters to find where since the latest patch.
Neverwinter Stratics is proud to announce the first Neverwinter Nights House of Commons IRC Chat on November 7, 2000 at 6:00 PM PST in the IRC #nwnhoc channel.
What is the House of Commons? Quite simply, it is a conference set up between the players and the game designers. Held in a moderated channel, questions are submitted to a designated question taker to be posted, one by one, for the developers to answer. The chat is moderated by players of the game, most often those who update fan sites and are familiar with the community. If you would like more information about the Chat process as well as the tools you can use to access the Neverwinter Stratics House of Commons, visit the Stratics Chat site at http://chat.stratics.com/.
This chat will cover general information about the status of the game as well as whatever Bioware wishes to reveal. This will be a moderated chat by members of the Stratics staff. We will not have a lot of time - so we wish to get the most out of this!
How can you prepare for the chat you ask? Read the Dungeon Master FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and the Neverwinter Nights Introduction found on Neverwinter Stratics as well as the FAQ on the official Neverwinter Nights website. We hope to use this time with Bioware to ask (and get answers to) questions that have not been answered on these documents so start thinking of new ones!
We will be providing more information and reminders as we get nearer the date of the Chat - we will see you November 7!.
Stratics Announces Its Newest Gamesite: Dawn Stratics
Stratics is pleased to announce the opening of its new Dawn Stratics website. Dawn is a unique new MMORPG in the alpha stage of development coming from Glitchless that is unlike anything you have ever experienced. Dawn will be the first game to be truly driven by players from the ground up. There will be no established cities populated by unintelligent NPCs when you arrive in this brave new world. Instead, it will be the players' responsibility to populate the land with towns and kingdoms and more. It will also be up to the players to create their owns laws and enforce them. Dawn will also be one of the first games to feature real death as well as the opportunity to choose your own parents!
Check out the Stratics Dawn Preview for more information about this exciting game! And then, don't forget to drop by #dawnhoc on the Stratics IRC server on Saturday, October 21st at 8pm CST for a Dawn House of Commons chat with Glitchless Software, and ask the designers your own questions about this groundbreaking game!
Gloomveil is an original work of online interactive fantasy - an eerie world enshrouded in a thick, magical Fog. Launched in February 2000, Gloomveil.com offers intrigue and adventure for players of any "pen-and-paper" or computer-based fantasy game. Gloomveil.com has grown significantly since its inception, and now sports a completely redesigned textual and graphical navigation system. The Gloomveil world continues to expand with the unveiling of "Rust Dragon's Lair," the encampment of a fearsome warlord. Beyond the Web-based Gloomveil experience, an extension to the Gloomveil world is being planned for Neverwinter Nights.
"Behold young adventurer, the fires of the city doth light our path and draw us ever nearer to the fabled lands." -Mordenkainen
Welcome once again to the Spolight on Forums where we showcase specific threads that rage on within our web forums, forging the way in uncharted topics. This week's spotlight is on a thread that was started on the topic of servers and details some concerns that the fans have about technical considerations versus area sizes for possible modules.
bertbo proposes
Very, Very, concerned about the functionality and promise of NWN. This post will spawn a ton of discussion, I hope, but let me list out my concerns and some thoughts.
#1) Every time I see a new post about game performance and limitations, I get a sick feeling in my stomach. I feel like there is WAY more hype behind this game than it may warrant. Example. The news post on Jason’s site about performance. A while back it was “NWN will run good on even lower end machines. There will probably be NO need for dual processors, and high-end servers. A decent system and a good line will be all you need.” BUZZ, BUZZ, (that’s the tap dance alarm going off) “. If you like that kind of scenario, I'd suggest you start saving for that 1Ghz+ server though.” This is bad.
#2) Every thing BioWare is releasing is very, very vague. They use terminology that changes meaning every different interview. Maybe I am getting myself confused on some of this and you guys can help me out here. What the hell is a module? I thought a module was an ‘adventure’ like a DM run one. Then it sounds like a module is a map. Then they use the term area. What is an area? 2 modules squared? Hehehe. Ok, help me out here.
I was working on my ‘world’ again this weekend. As of right now I have plans for 160 outdoor maps at approx. 32 X 32 in size. This is where I want to be in the 1st 2 months. There will be at least 160 more when my other DM’s get cranking and we expand. And the ‘high level’ adventuring area in the Dalelands, {The Ruins of Myth Drannor} are huge. This is an enormous city. I expect that this will cover an area of 30-40 32 X 32 maps! Now none of this even includes subterranean DUNGEONS! LOL. I need to know if I am planing WAY to big. I need to know if I am drawing my WRONG conclusions from the game info releases. Example off of the Drizah’s news post: “So if you imbue your 50 Orcs with complex AI, expect a bigger CPU hit.” …… ok? 50 Orcs on the screen at 1 time? Or 50 Orcs in the entire game, server wide?
And a sample of the responses:
DL-Gabriel responds:
1) From all the things I have seen, you will not need a dual processing server or even a gigahert processor, because the server program itself is very small. I would suggest lots of ram and probably a p3 processor of 450 and up to get decent preformance. - Of course, Im not on the dev team, and not a beta tester, so I could be full of it. Just goin on info I have put together from various sites.
2) An area is an "Area" that you create with the Toolset, like the first level of a dungeon, or a small town, up to I think they said 98X98. - gee thats hard to explain but each one of your 32x32 maps would each be called an area, and your areas put together would be a Module, and several modules put together would be a campaign, just like several small adventures in pen and paper stuck together would be a campaign.
Server side you are not limited by the number of areas you can run, BUT you should have each module on a seperate server with a portal linking the 2 together to allow more people to play those areas, and at the same time keep server load down. I haven't seen any "Clear" Specs on this yet. Or maybe I have and can't remember.
With the orcs, that would be 50 orcs per server that are executing AI at the same time..
3) I am not aware on a max number of "Maps(Areas)" You can run as many areas at once (by running a module or campaign I think) that your hard drive can hold and your processor can handle. Im sure if you had 64 people on your server with 50 orcs with good AI and 60 areas running with npc's running as well with all their AI scripts and all the animals in the woods too it would get pretty heavy on the server. Id suggest at least right now without knowing the server load cause I dont have the program to try to keep it down to running 10 "Maps" per server untill you know you can handle more - this will keep you from going nuts if the game comes out and that actually happens..
Vortimer adds:
I think perhaps you're trying to "run before you can walk". I too hope to build a large interesting game world but I don't intend planning it out until I've learnt what the true limitations of the game really are. My guess is we won't know that until we've all had some experience running the game. To that end I'm planning to start small with just a village and a few local adventures and then build from there.
I do share your concerns about the "hype". Statements like "you can run an acceptable game" are very vague as they depend entirely on what you consider to be "acceptable". Also the ever expanding scope of the game worries me. I've been a software professional for nearly twenty years and worked on plenty of projects where the requirements have expanded and changed as the development proceeds. This nearly always end in disaster as the project overstretches itself.
Well the other responses are just as varied and exciting to read. I really enjoy reading everyone else's views on subjects. Please do stop by the forums and read more of this thread at the NWN DevBoard and look for the topic: Future server owner with big concerns...
Hello there gang, it's time once again to dip into the mailbag and answer your burning questions. Today's letter comes to us from SC.
SC writes:
Dear Greyhawk,
I have been viewing the Neverwinter Stratics site on a daily basis and I think you all are doing a fantastic job! I have several questions that I hope you could answer:
How will NVN implement dialogue? Will there be an option to use either keywords or pull down dialogue menus?
Will Bioware pre-publish any of the scripting specs? (I was hoping to get a jump on developing a campaign...)
Will Bioware allow Neverwinter Nights developers to charge for access to their persistent worlds? Is there any plan to license a more powerful "server" version?
Are they any tools that are recommended to develop a campaign that will eventually be ported to NVN?
Many thanks for good work!
SC
Thank for writing in SC. Here are some answers to your questions.
Neverwinter Nights will implement dialog by using a key word based system. In this type of system the NPC will respond to specific key words. In other words both of the following sentences might get the same response. If I were to say to the NPC "Where might I find the lair of the Evil Dragon Lk'beth?" the NPC might respond "Go south from the city until you reach the Scarrback Mountains". Or I could just ask the NPC "Where is the Dragon" and he might say the same thing. But with the Neverwinter Nights scripting language you could further extend this type of system by adding in a parameter of having the NPC respond to both negative and positive dialog. In this way if I were to say to the NPC "Tell me where the Lair of the Dragon is old man or I shall cut off your head" after which the NPC might respond "Since thou art a boorish person I shall tell thee nought". However, I could say to the NPC "Hail and well met kind sir, might I trouble you for some information, wherebouts does the Evil Dragon live" where upon he responds, "Brave Knight, if thou dost travel to the south of the city, thee shall encounter the Dragon's Lair".
As for Bioware publishing any of the scripting specs, you will have to keep an eye on their official web site in the hopes that the programmers are allowed to release some scripting snippets. Barring that the only other way would be to get in on a Beta test when they annouce one.
Ok here is the skinny on Bioware's thoughts (before the legal boys come out) on Pay-for-Play servers. Bioware has stated that they will not themselves have a server setup where they will charge you to play on. Once you pay for the game upfront that will be the only charge for them. Of course if you play the multi-player portions of the game some internet connection fees will apply. Now we tackle the aspect of allowing a regular user to charge for play on his persistant server. Although legally the server admin could not charge you for playing the game itself, he could charge you to play on his server if he say provided you with some extra ammenities like disk space usage for a home directory or say a personalized email address utilizing your characters name. Or they might even be able to charge you for the DM services as well as using the intellectual content of the story. But be aware that for every one person who tries to charge for play IMHO there will be thousands more out there that will play for free. The server portion that ships with the game will be powerful enough for all your needs, so there are no plans for releasing a more powerful server version.
Well some tips from an old-timer on what to use for a campaign that will be ported over to the Neverwinter Nights system - Good old graph paper and some sharpened pencils, No I am serious. When designing your areas amd maps it will help you to keep track of important places as well as transitions between places.
Well I have rambled enough and I hope that these answers help you out. Again I want to thank you for writing in SC.
GameSpy.com has posted an interesting article about Bioware's Infinity engine. The article talks about the engine and its impact on games like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate 2.
Here is a snippet from the article:
The engine will support much larger areas so players can choose to create their own modules that lean more towards exploring than story. On a side note, I had been recently been playing with our module builder that we will be shipping with Neverwinter Nights, and it doesn't really take very large city area to get completely lost in. Of course I like making mazelike street and alleys as opposed to wide straight streets.
Gather 'round the warm hearth gentlefolk, 'tis time once again for Ye Old Mailbag.
Mike writes:
I have a good question about NWN. Being a GM myself i was wondering whether the game would enable the players to use boats or ships to travel around in a water environment if i was to have islands in the world. If not then would they just have land tiles and no water tiles?
Thanks for writing in Mike, Bioware has stated that in the first initial release there will not be any water travel. They will have water tiles for a stream that can be waded across but water deeper than that will be impassable. They have also mentioned that although no water travel they will include static tiles for docks and ships. What you would have to do is script a transition portal to a text box that states something like "After an uneventful trip on calm seas you arrive at your destination". I know it sounds pretty lame to have to accept this but guess what? Imagine the look on your PC's faces when one day hoping to make the trip from Oolong to Bushwa they get this message "Your ship was beset upon by a raging storm, the valiant efforts of the crew managed to guide the ship to shore, but the ship was crushed upon the reef. You awake to unfamiliar territory and most of your belongings are lost except a few supplies". Mwuahahahahaha!!!!! Well I could go on but you will have to wait for the next episode... So thanks for writing in I hope this helps and fuels your imagination.
We mentioned this interview in a compilation of news sent to us from GameSpy.com a few days back, but I decided it was worth a new post of its own. Lots of folks visiting our site do not know much about Dungeons and Dragons, its past or its creator, Gary Gygax, much less that the 3rd Edition is an overhaul of something that has been around for over 20 years.
So here is the interview with Gary which includes a lot of D&D history as well as cover art and other pictures relating to the 3rd Edition release. Here is a snippet from the interview:
GameSpy: Do you play any computer games? There are some very good RPGs out there now. Have you tried any of them, or do you still prefer pencil and paper?
Gary Gygax: The experience in playing a computer game is vastly different from that of playing an RPG in person with a group. From my perspective there is no way to compare the two experiences. I actually enjoy them both very much, different as they are. The question is almost like asking, "Do you enjoy eating and drinking?" The answer is yes to both, not rating one over the other.
Rolegamer.net an interview with Gary Gygax, also known as the father of Dungeons and Dragons. For those of you who are interested in D&D from days past and those who are just discovering it, Gary talks about where it all started and where it is going. And there are even a few pictures!
Here is a bit of the article:
Question: Like I said earlier, I wanted to go back in time a bit… When Dungeons and Dragons was released for the first time, did you ever expect it to become as popular as it has? I have wondered if you just “knew” that there would be a lot of others who would enjoy it as much as you, or if you really didn’t care whether it became big or not.
Response from Gary: Popular! Sure I “knew”! I was convinced that the D&D game would sell to virtually all wargame fans, likely the fantasy and science fiction crowd too. Asked anytime from 1973 through about 1975, I’d have assured you that we would sell no fewer than 50,000 units… maybe even a bit more.
Then in late 1975, about this time of year (October), in fact, when the fan letters were coming in at an ever increasing rate, it suddenly struck me. The demographics of the D&D audience were not quite what I had thought would be the core market. In fact, we were reaching lots of people who didn’t fit the profile.
So then I revised projections upwards, and my seat-of-the-pants projections for the next five years was very close to what TSR actually did in gross sales—margin of error was within 5%.
So I missed initially, but hit the bullseye later on.
Check out our new forum, SC DevCentral to discuss what you like and dislike about MMORPGs as well as what you would like to see in forthcoming games.
Be sure to read our awesome new Dawn Preview. Dawn is slotted for release next year, and incorporates several unique twists, including permanent death and the ability to choose your own parents. Then, don't forget to check out the Dawn House of Commons this Saturday in #dawnhoc!
There's a great community to participate in! Come on down and enjoy our Adellion message boards! Find the roleplayers and the strict roleplaying game you've been yearning for!
The September Contest has ended! The winners are being judged as we speak, and all the entries will be available for perusal in the upcoming Fan Section.
Also, looming on the horizon is Phase 3 of the Anarhcy Online Beta, meaning that 5000 more lucky players will get to visit Rubi-Ka within a few weeks! Will you be one of them?
October's event - Hollow Victory - is turning up some new Lore, with the Battered Journal of Sir Martine recording his capture by a band of Mosswarts and the subsequent Banderling attack, and his followup Withered Journal describing his adventures after the attack.
Our Hollow Victory Gallery has several shots showing many of the new additions this month, including a shot of the impressive, but unreachable, new Fortress in the Linvak Range. Several of the Hollow Weapon armed Lugian Raiders that surround the fortress have been added to the Bestiary.
This week at Atriarch Stratics we are proud to announce the first entry of our new Developer Profiles feature. On Wednesday of this week we will be posting an interview with crack World Builder Iimzodar of World Fusion. Remember to stay tuned, because we'll be posting a new interview each and every Wenesday for the next several weeks!
Iimzodar actually entered the Atriarch community as a reader of Atriarch Stratics, and met up with Serafina in our IRC channel, #atriarch. So, come on by! Meeting the developers is always fun =)
EverQuest Stratics now has Online Server Status Monitoring, refreshed every minute! If you can't connect, or want to find the lowest population server (or highest) for your first time playing, check it out! Want to know more about a server's population before you play there? Just click the server's name and you'll be taken to its related Message Forum!
This week's Staff Bio features Zargon. Zargon is a long time EQer and member of the EQSS News Staff. Read about him today!
Check out our redesigned statistic pages! We've got new, easy to use pages for engines, guns, missiles, and powerplants! Now you can easily see what new add-on you might need for your ship!
We'll be hosting our Third JumpGate House of Commons this week, on the 19th of October. It will be on Stratics IRC in channel #jghoc at 7pm CDT. Join us!!
Our Movie Gallery has been updated to include all of the Neverwinter Movies including the one released on the Baldur's Gate 2 CD.
In addition, we are working to create a compendium of Neverwinter worlds and could use your help.
If you are hard at work planning and preparing to host a persitant Neverwinter Nights world; we would like to hear from you! Neverwinter Stratics will be providing a peristant worlds information section where others seeking servers to play on can easily find servers and other players that share their interests and play-style.
If you are interested in being listed in this compendium, please submit the following information to our staff at Neverwinter Staff:
The name of your server/world
Your website's url
An email address for others to contact you about your server
A paragraph or two about the server - the play environment, setting, and other relevant information
The play-style of the server (non-pvp, situational pvp, etc.)
Other pertinant information about your project (hours, cost, etc.)
A name and email address for your server's main contact person (This information is for NWN Stratics use only to help ensure your server's information is kept current.)
Screenshot & Bestiary Sections - Several Screenshots from various locations have been added to our Screenshot Section as well as our Bestiary Section, including pictures of Zombies, of Orcs, and of a Nighttime Scene in Logos. Make sure to check them all out so that you can drool with the rest of us!
Poll on Most Wanted Feature - On the main page of Origin Stratics we are currently conducting a poll on the following Question - "Of the current known features to not make release, which would you like to see patched in first?" Answers include Housing, Mounts, Guilds, Sailing, Swimming, and Animal Taming. Make sure to head on over and cast your vote!
We've had a busy week here at Shadowbane Stratics, most notably we've had Warden in #shadowbane this week, giving what turned out to be the most informative chat session we've had in a long time! Check out the log!
The Roleplaying Center has recieved another update and a bit of an overhaul! It's features include; sections of Fan Fiction, Player Character Backgrounds and Editorials.
Our Tamer Forum moderator Mordanna has done it again :) With seemingly neverending enthusiasm she did a complete rewrite of the "Professions: the Tamer" essay. I suggest you first go read about what she has to say about...
Getting started
Animal Lore
Veterinary
What to tame and when
The ethical Tamer
Tricks of the Trade
...and then join her and many other tamers in the discussions going on about taming in our Taming Forum.
Also, check out the current rumors in Community News, where we have an interesting item about a possible new Ultima Online client that will be 3D, and many other news items that come from the community surrounding Ultima Online.
Neverwinter Stratics would like to apologize to anyone who was having problems accessing files in the Movie Gallery. As of now they should all be fixed but just in case you discover any other problems, please contact our staff (Neverwinter Stratics Staff) so we can get them resolved.
Welcome to another installment of the NWNSS Mailbag spotlight. Today our letter comes from Danny and he asks:
Ello there. I was wondering if NWN will include player-editable objects, such as blank books and scrolls? I'm hoping to be able to write a library for my campaign world.
Well I dug amongst some some dusty tomes and unearthed this quote:
Trent Oster (producer) Player-Editable Books: The module creator can put any text he/she wants into a book. The adventurers in the module could enter text into a pre-scripted "Guest book", but that would be the only possibility for player entered text. The bmp, gif request is tied to all the user created content, and as soon as we have a working system we will be able to better comment.
Hope this helps you and I want to thank you for writing in. Just don't forget to send me a library card when you finish the writings. :)
A GameSpy interview for all lovers of D&D to check out:
Hi all,
GameSpy talks to the grandmaster of the Roleplaying game, Gary Gygax, in a fun and revelaing interview about everything from the best RPG party to being on TV. Check out the interview at http://www.gamespy.com/interviews/october00/gygax/.
Have a great day! John Keefer Managing Editor GameSpy.Com
If you are hard at work planning and preparing to host a persitant Neverwinter Nights world; we would like to hear from you! Neverwinter Stratics will be providing a peristant worlds information section where others seeking servers to play on can easily find servers and other players that share their interests and play-style.
If you are interested in being listed in this compendium, please submit the following information to our staff at Neverwinter Staff:
The name of your server/world
Your website's url
An email address for others to contact you about your server
A paragraph or two about the server - the play environment, setting, and other relevant information
The play-style of the server (non-pvp, situational pvp, etc.)
Other pertinant information about your project (hours, cost, etc.)
A name and email address for your server's main contact person (This information is for NWN Stratics use only to help ensure your server's information is kept current.)
We look forward to hearing from you and helping others find your world!
Stratics IRC is looking for someone experienced with scripting Eggdrop bots to serve as an IRCop on the Stratics Network. All applicants must possess the following qualifications:
Knowledge of Eggdrop and TCL scripting
Familiarity with IRC commands
Willingness to dedicate about 15 hours per week to Stratics volunteer work
Interest in the online gaming community
If you possess these qualifications and are interested in the job, please send in an email application containing the following information:
Your name
Personal information (where you live, career, age)
Hey just wanted to tell you guys that we've finally finished re-designing our site. Part of the design has been there for a week or two but we just finished with the forum re-design, and the rest of the themes for the divisions.
Our goal is to emphasize on the fact that we're not just a persistent world project and that we're also looking to facilitate creation for DMs that want to run weekly campaigns, re-create single-player games in the DragonLance universe.
Stratics is proud to announce the launch of Camelot Stratics, our latest addition to the Stratics Network. This new web site is dedicated to providing the most up-to-date and accurate news and information regarding Dark Age of Camelot by Mythic Entertainment.
Dark Age of Camelot is a massively multi-player online role-playing game conceived and developed by Mythic Entertainment. Set in the Kingdom of Albion in the years immediately following the death of King Arthur, players of the game enter a world in chaos, where Arthur’s peace has been shattered and dark forces threaten the Kingdom. Unlike traditional role-playing games in which a player’s greatest challenge is fighting computer-controlled monsters, players in Camelot will come face-to-face with their greatest challenge yet, other players. In Camelot, players must choose to be members of one of the three Realms that are striving for mastery in this chaotic world: The Britons, the Celts, or the Norse. The Britons are the former kingdom of Albion, once ruled by the great King Arthur. The Celts are from the wild and magical western island of Hibernia. The Norse are the large barbarians from the lands to the north of Albion.
We hope you will stop by to learn more about this great new game! You can visit the site at http://camelot.stratics.com.
Monday - October 9 - 2000
New Content: One-on-One Adventures: Another Gaming Opportunity Both Off and Online
Neverwinter Stratics is pleased to introduce our newest staff member Nicodemus and announce the addition his first article to our site's content.
Here is a small sample from the article:
Have you even noticed that role-playing games almost always seem to rely on a group of people working together? With the advent of networked computer games, millions of people connect to a gaming site and compete with and against each other online. Even in non-computer situations, role-playing games are devised for group play. How many phone calls like the following on have ruined your weekly gaming session? "Mike and Janet cannot make the game tonight. With only two people available, we'll have to reschedule for next week." Many people are under the impression that Dungeons and Dragons needs to be a group experience in order to be enjoyable. Not so! Some of my favorite gaming moments have taken place with only one Dungeon Master and one player. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate the "solo" and the "one-on-one" adventure styles both offline and online.
Also in store this week: Think your art, comics and/or writings are worthy of publishing? AOS will be starting up our new Fan Media section, drop by and submit your Anarchy-Online related creations!
EQ Stratics now has a server monitor! This monitor shows the complete list of all EverQuest Servers, whether they are currently up, and how many people are on each. When a server is offline, its name will be red. Additionally, clicking on that server will take you to its corresponding forum.
Do you have a question about this groundbreaking game called JumpGate? Don't wait! Post your question in our forums! We'll be happy to answer (and hopefully start a discussion).
Come and join the round table discussions in the Neverwinter Nights Stratics forums! Join our regular visitors who are discussing foundational views and opinions that will shape the Neverwinter Nights Community. Some of these issues and more are already raging in the Aurora Tavern and DevBoard. Will you sit idly by without a word or will you help fuel these terrific discussions and be heard?
Development Forum - In the last few days we've had a lot of participation with the Origin Dev Team members. For the most part the discussion has focused on the Reputation System, the Death System, and the Looting System. Want to find out what their plans are or have some ideas of your own to share? Then make sure to head to our Development Forum now!
Jinx's Ramblings - Always one for controversy, Jinx has just put up a brand new Ramblings discussing 'The Unbearable Coolness of Being Me(er)'. Definitely a great read, so make sure to check it out!
With the Shadowbane beta looming around the corner, make sure you know where to go to hook up and explore with your fellow gamers! #shadowbane is the place to be for the latest in beta conversation.
When will Verant update us on the status of Sovereign? Who knows? At Sovereign Stratics, you can vote on when this will happen. You can also discuss this great game all you like!
A multitude of hours has been spent on Test Center by Mordanna, moderator of the Tamers Forum, to check and double-check the minimum skill level needed to tame animals and monsters. I am very proud to present the results in our Animal Taming pages.
With the opening of dungeon Khaldun on all shards, a whole slew of new monsters has been introduced in Ultima Online. Go visit the Hunter's Guide where we have gathered the first findings about these new monsters. You can find them all in the Hunter's Guide menu under 'Dungeon Khaldun'.
A funny thing happened yesterday while NWN Stratics collegue Trevour and I were out for a business lunch. We happened to be a few cities over from where we live and had some extra time between morning and afternoon meetings. So we stopped into a Software Etc. store in the mall we found and heard a gentleman talking to the clerk about Neverwinter Nights. After a while of listening, I stopped to introduced ourselves. What a surprise to find out the gentleman was none other then Father Murphy from the NWN Dragonlance Project. Sometimes the Internet is a very large place and other times it seems to make the world a much smaller place.
We had a wonderful conversation about Neverwinter Nights and a talked a bit about the work being done over at the Dragonlance Project. Interus and the others there have undertaken a great project in reproducing one of the best loved worlds in D&D. Be sure and stop by to see what they've been up to!
Welcome to this weeks spotlight on the forums, where we will be showcasing a thread from the many varied topics that are being discussed on our forums.
This topic was started by Amroth.
Amroth - wizards and sorcerers
I understand that sorcerers don't have to memorize spells. From what I've read I'm assuming wizards do. Is it just me or did TSR make a whole new class to take over the traditional role of the wizard? I mean who ever heard of a wizard memorizing spells? I think that's an absurd idea they put in as a way to tie the wizards to their spell books. Wizards should use mana or spell points, not memorization, and only have spell books as either a non-consumable component or merely as a list to organize all of their different spells in.
And the replies...
Steelwraith
Actually, the AD&D magic system was one of the major reasons my friends and I dumped the game. It was too unrealistic to say that as soon as you cast a spell you completely forget it and have to memorize it again the next day. Mana systems are much more realistic, and more flexible to boot.
Facemaker
Isn't trying to figure what spells your gonna need on a particular adventure the challenging part of being a wizard. If they went to a mana system the wizard would stand back (far from danger) and pull out any spell from a wide choice and make things too easy. Why do people want to have it "All" This is supposed to be fun and challenging, not a piece of cake or a muscle flexing contest.
Travis Storie
And as a post on the Tavern board made me think, the main point is to have fun.
What better fun than comraderie bashing a few monsters solving a few riddles and coming home heros... or in some cases villians.... "whadda ya mean that dragon protected the village, you had to give him all your gold didn't you? what could he have been protecting you from.... Uh-Oh."
Well these are just few of the posts on this thread. The rest of the responses can be viewed on the Devboard forum. Enjoy.
I was digging around in my mailbox when I found another great letter from a fan, so I figured I had better answer it. So with out further fanfare...
Drunken Dwarf asks:
Just a few questions from a long-time AD&D fan.....
1) Will a character of Good alignment be penalized in any way for doing evil things...such as attacking another Good character? (i.e....will a Ranger become a Fallen Ranger, such as in Baldur's Gate, for doing evil actions)
I would have to say that inherently no, this would not be included. The only way so far that I see this type of setup would be to have the DM "adjust" the character or assign penalities to the user's character in addition taking him aside as in the old days and notifying him of the consequences of his actions if he pursues this path. Mind you he may want to roleplay that aspect, so it would be allowable in my game.
2) If there will be a 'faction or reputation' rating....how will it handle encounters such as...A Good character casts an area spell and another Good character runs into it and dies?
Well again there might be some form of REP system you speak of but personally I would not implement it in this case because the Good Character that ran into the spell should die for being so stupid to run into it in the first place. (Just my opinion mind you).
3) Will there be a spell such as Reflect Allignment that will allow various characters such as a Chaotic Evil Cleric to 'reflect' the allignment of the person (lets say a Chaotic Good Mage) originally targeting them with the spell, and misguideing the caster of the Know Allignment spell, making them think the character is Chaotic Good as well....and in return welcoming that Chaotic Evil Cleric into their party?
We will all have to wait and see which spells Bioware will include in the game, because quite frankly there are alot in the 3E Players Handbook that make no sense when compared to all of the past posts about the game. However if this spell is not going to be included you could easily overcome this by a) asking the DM to recreate the spells efects by temporarily changing the target PC's alignment to relfect the desired change or b) create a "flag" that when applied to a character would instigate this effect.
4) Will a Thief be able to steal from his own party? If the Thief gets caught stealing from a character of Good or Neutral Allignment..will the Thief be punished in 'faction-reputation'?
Yes a Thief character will be able to steal from his own party if he DESIRES to do so. Again I would have to say that the REP system would not come into play here because if he successfully steals the item the PC will find out later and unless he reports it to the guards how would his REP rise or lower. The PC could spread the rumour around not to play with this character as he is a thief and that would take care of his REP. You would not want to script this with the guards because then everybody and his dog would be turning in whomever they pleased. On the flip side if the Thief is caught stealing from his party members, then no REP system I could come up with would do him justice like his disgruntled party members are about to do.
5) Will the actual Module Tool Kit be available prior to the anxiously awaited release of NWN? I am sure there are many of us eager to set up our own module(s) and have them up and running the day NWN arrives in the stores.
Sadly no I believe that the Toolset and the Game itself will be packaged together and released at the same time. However, I'm sure if they have a public beta test you will get a chance to use it.
6) Will there be an option allowing the DM to make it so certain character races (Drow, Half Orc..etc..) are killed on sight upon entering a predominately human/woodelf/halfling/dwarf town or region? Or will the evil race of the character be modified by 'reputation' (if there is a rep system) and allow that character free reign throughout the region if he/she had performed honorably prior to reaching the area?
Yes you could have this type of effect created but you would more than likely have to open up the NWNScript and tweak it to do your bidding for such a complex idea, by setting some global variables for the server to check against each character entering a certain section. I don't think this would be included in any wizard but who knows.
7) Will there be trade skills such as Fletching, Smithing and that sort? (I seriously doubt it and I dont forsee that the Trade Skills will be missed in a game such as NWN. But, I would just like a confirmation.)
Well agian I will have to say we will all have to wait. Bioware has stated that they are centering on the more critical issues in designing the game, instead of trying to implement everything they want to solidly create the core items before attempting the "nice to haves".
8) After a character advances in levels...many will have an abundance of loot and gold. Will that character (if playing stricly on a dedicated server which his character is only allowed to play on and not go adventureing elsewhere) be able to set up a shop to sell his wares and receive profit from those sales? Of course this would have to be set up through the DM..but will this be supported and possible to do?
Yes you can do this through your DM. Although I don't know the exact method to do this as of yet it seems to me that you could script such a feature on a NPC. The DM might be the only one to "stock" the NPC however, but time will tell.
Well that wraps up this installment of the NWNSS Mailbag. Thank you DD for writing in. Keep those letters coming.
Welcome to yet another installment of the NWNSS Mailbag. Here we answer questions that we recieve in the mail regarding the upcoming game Neverwinter Nights.
Joel writes:
Question #1
As I understand it, DM's will be able to host games. Will we be able to host more than one game on the same server? For example, I wish to have a server area for 1st through 3rd level and then another area for 5th through 7th level. While I have a portal to my friend's 3rd through 5th level area. Also, and totally unrelated to these areas, I would like to run a marketplace on a continuous basis. I would like to run all of these (including my friends areas) on my server. Is something like this scenario possible? Where you couldn't go to the higher level sections until your character was at the appropriate level.Thank you for writing in. First, let me toss out a few definitions.
Area - An area is a grouping of tiles in any configuration up to and including a 32x32 tiled area. What this means is that you could create a room that was as large as 32 tiles by 32 tiles. An area does not have to be this big, they are saying that so far it can be up to that size.
Module - A grouping of areas that are to be loaded/unloaded for the purpose of an adventure.
Session - A "process" that is created when one character "transitions" to another area. To explain this picture two PC's standing in the marketplace outside of a tavern. PC1 and PC2 coexist in one "session/process" at the same time. Now, PC2 decides to enter the tavern. The server will open up another "session" to accomodate PC2 entering the tavern. On its most basic level the server moves PC2 to another "area" by telling PC2's client to display the interior of the Tavern and stop displaying the Marketplace.
Maximum Players - This number will be impacted primarily by your connecting bandwidth, secondarily impacted by processor power. For each connecting PC "session" you will have to allocate a certain amount of bandwidth.
Now here are some thoughts to chew on concerning your setup. You will be able to script a portal/transition to another area that checks for certain criteria before allowing the PC to cross over. Thus you would be able to restrict a PC from entering the higher levels before he/she had obtained that level. So lets say that PC1 is 3rd level and PC2 has just obtained 4th level. PC2 would be able to enter the portal/transition to your friends level but PC1 would not. In my opinion you would be able to create this type of setup, however it would be quite a taxation on the server, so you might want to look at either sectioning off this setup to run on multiple servers of beef up one server with mucho RAM. Only time will tell what actual setups will work effectively.
Question #2
How will monsters repopulate? How close will I be able to come to making a perpetual world? Will I be able to have my Orcs, attack the nearby town when they reach certain numbers and have favorable conditions? Will, I be able to have the Orcs patrol an area, and if they get attacked and killed by PC's or NPC's, have the next (relief) patrol discover this and send a messenger back to the base camp for reinforcements? And then the base camp is on alert for a while, thus increasing the size and frequency of the patrols? Or will it be more like a situation like "if Orc #232 dies, then set alertflag = TRUE", ya know more computer programming oriented? I guess my overall question is how close will I be able to come to making a perpetual world where I can just sit back and watch the NPC's and wild animals interact with the PC's that come to visit?
Wow thats a neat idea. Well yes you will be able to do all that you asked by using the scripting language that NWN will be built upon. Some of those items may be included in the wizards but most of what you ask will have to be scripted by hand. You might have it drop a "flag" if Orc_Party_01 is defeated and when Orc_Party_02 comes along they react to the "flag" as you sugggest. Also here is something else you could do. Setup a OrcPatrol and script it to say take X minutes to complete its route and if defeated it would triger and event of sending another OrcPatrol out when it turned up overdue for its return. Also I believe you may be able to script the Orc Raids as you suggest by setting another event that states "When Orc_Numbers = 1809 then trigger Orc_Raiding_Party". As far as the re-population of monsters goes you will be able to set spawn spots that will maintain the status quo. Whew, again I want to thank you for writing in.
Another GameSpy.com update with at least a few little tastes of NWN thrown in to tease us!
Hi all,
GameSpy kicks in another one of our "20 questions NOT about your game" with Dr. Greg Zeschuk of BioWare. Lots of good and fun information, but little about BG2 and NWN. Check it out at http://www.gamespy.com/20q/october00/zeschuk/.
We also continue with our weekly hardware discussion by tearing Trent Oster away from Neverwinter Nights long enough to have him give his look at the future of hardware at http://www.gamespy.com/interviews/october00/trentoster/.
A bit of news from GameSpy.com - hidden the list is an interview with BioWare's Trent Oster on hardware - interesting read - and some other tidbits to help you pass sometime in our wait for NWN:
Hi all,
GameSpy continues with a BioWare weekend with the review of the highly anticipated sequel, Baldur's Gate 2. Did it live up to the hype? Check out the review at http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/october00/bg2/.
Catch up on all the events in Asheron's Call with this month's Annals of Dereth, Microsoft's monthly email for players and those interested in the game.
This week at Atriarch Stratics we're proud to put up the log of our fifth Atriarch Stratics House of Commons log. This month's HoC focused on the player species Cavolan, the industrious and secretive plantmasters of Atriana.
Remember, House of Commons aren't your only chance to meet and chat with the developers of World Fusion! Serafina and company often grace our IRC channel in order to answer questions and take suggestions from everyone present, so come on by sometime!
Do you have a question about this groundbreaking game called JumpGate? Don't wait! Post your question in our forums! We'll be happy to answer (and hopefully start a discussion).
Come and join the round table discussions in the Neverwinter Nights Stratics forums! Join our regular visitors who are discussing foundational views and opinions that will shape the Neverwinter Nights Community. Some of these issues and more are already raging in the Aurora Tavern and Devboard. Will you sit idly by without a word or will you help fuel these terrific discussions and be heard?
Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some of the best discussions in the Neverwinter Nights Stratics News - so join us and let us know what you think of the issues that will impact Neverwinter Nights as it moves toward release in mid-2001.
Player Written Origin Stories - Stratics is proud to share with the fans of Origin several stories that are written by and for the players themselves. Some of good folk, some of truly evil creatures, there is something here for everyone. So make sure to check out our Player Stories Section today and enjoy!
Dev Team Musings - Need to catch back up on what the Dev Team has been saying about Origin? Then we have the perfect solution for you. Make sure to check out our Search Dev Musings Section, a place that archives quotes from every Dev Team Member, broken out by several categories and even searchable by keyword. A must for any Origin Researcher!
Still have no idea what the Character Development system is like in Shadowbane? Well search no further because we have written up a great essay on how it's being handled!
When will Verant update us on the status of Sovereign? Who knows? At Sovereign Stratics, you can vote on when this will happen. You can also discuss this great game all you like!
This week the UO Community was pleasantly suprised with the addition of several new monster types, such as the Executioner, the Ratman Mage and Ratman Archer, the Shadow Wyrm and also the return of the deadly Phoenix. Read all about those and other new or changed monsters in the UO Hunter's Guide.
Will Neverwinter Nights incorporate property ownership, i.e. a place to call home similiar to property ownership in Ultmia On Line?
thanks JC
Hey there JC,
Well first of all, Neverwinter Nights is hosted/served by Players, not the developers which differes from MMORPG's such as UO, EQ, AC etc. Some players will host small modules while others will tackle creating a persistant world using the Neverwinter Nights Toolkit. Property ownership is something that will have to be handled by each "Realm" that the player DM's create.
For someone to create player housing on a small, non-persistant server does not make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if an organization creates a large persistant world with portals to other players servers, I would hope that somewhere I could "buy or rent" a house to hang my hat. So the answer to your question is "yes and no". Yes, NWN will support the ability for players to own property on persistant worlds, and also No, because each and every world is different and the local DM might not want to mess with housing.
Since Neverwinter Nights is built around "re-creating the pen & paper style D&D on a PC", each world is the creation of a Player DungeonMaster. NWN now makes it easier for multiple DM's to come together and create one persistant "town" onto which many of their adventure modules are run. There is no word on if Bioware will run their own world. I would doubt it. It might be more realistic to see Interplay sponsor a group that runs an "official" world. Bioware people will eventually have to get back to work making more wonderful things for us to play!
So how do you pass the time waiting for Neverwinter Nights? How about playing a little Baulder's Gate II? Ok, so it's not NWN but it is a lot of fun. Another nice ditty is that there is a new Neverwinter movie included on the Installation. I've uploaded here for your enjoyment. Just head on over to the movies page of our Gallery here at:
Another nice piece of information is that Baulder's Gate II characters WILL BE able to be imported into Neverwinter Nights. Now will they be able to play on everyones server? I dunno, with available items in BGII of Holy Crusader +5, Staff of the Magi and a ton more, people might want to consider allowing these high level characters in the adventures. Then again, some nice "semi-retired" players hanging out as NPC's could be cool!
About Stratics Plus
