12/15/99 - Latest News

A few things on NWN
Berendir @ 12:13 pm EST

Heres several clips of info from the Neverwinter Nights Vault.

Portals and Network Performance

One way potrals to your system require no more network bandwidth than the normal listining for player logins. Portals from your system and two-way portals will contact the connecting server every minute or so to check if it is still up. Other than that they won't really affect network performance at all.

Scripting and Story Design

Remember, Neverwinter will be using a very different engine from that used by BG (it uses 2D pre-rendered art rather than 3D tiles, for instance) but, you're right, there will be a lot of similarities with regards to scripting.

To be honest, I'd recommend studying all the RAGs you have. Scrounge up your old campaign notes from playing pen & paper. On the computer, go back and play the old Gold Box Games, the middle Ultimas, Daggerfall, Might & Magic, etc. Play the newer ones, too: Revenant, Silver, Odium, Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate/Tales of the Sword Coast. Play the online games or, if you can't shell out the cash, have a close look at any of the million reviews out there for them and try to read between the lines. Study all of these games and figure out what makes them either tick or not tick for you. Think about what's going on behind the scenes in terms of scripting, creature placement, storytelling, dialogue, and so on. Neverwinter is going to be your chance to take everything you've learned from a lifetime of playing games and make the game *you've* always wanted.

On a related note, for those of you interested in story scripting, plot triggers, and the like, I recommend picking up a copy of the recently released 'Planescape:Torment.' It uses a modified form of the BioWare Infinity Engine originally created for BG and does some very exciting things with regards to scripting. It should generate some good discussions between all of you future module-creators.

Stealing

You steal the object from the NPC (the server is set for PVP). If the NPC doesn't notice, nothing happens other than a slight evil shift in your alignment. If the NPC notices he/she shouts for the guards and your fame goes up and your alignment shifts slightly in the evil direction. This added fame makes you a well know cutpurse for a period, as fame decreases with idle time it might be best to go to the thieves quarter and hide out for a while until your newfound fame blows over.

World History

The World History is entirely in the module desinger's hands. Use it as you see fit. For instance, in the module I'm working on right now, one of the possible paths to the conclusion is through a network of caves, another is through some cellars, and a third is accessible only via the local Thieves' Guild. I chose to advertise the first two in the World History and keep the third conveniently silent.

Competitive multiplayer modules are no different. You tell what you want to tell and hide what you want to hide. There may even be cases when you will want to put deliberate misinformation into the World History.