Pavlos Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Mod note: I split it since it's probably better to have this in a separate thread after all. The thread title was getting too long to include all that. ~M Two threads about this game in the space of two days didn't seem right, so I just thought I'd post this piece of exciting information (well, I think it is exciting... but I liked Peragus so what do I know?) Obsidian's Blog Rob McGinnis said: Granny Beta Underway! That’s right! We started a closed beta last week for the Granny Animation export tools for Max. With this tool, Custom Content Community members will be able to create creatures, placeables, clothing and much more to extend the content of Neverwinter Nights 2! Many of your favorite Custom Content people are involved in the beta. Hopefully next week I will have some screenshots to share. Being that the beta just started, it will be a little while before the tools can be released to the community. I'd imagine that we'll start to see the custom content community start to pick up a bit more once we can successfully model creatures and so forth. Edit: Oh... well, that's small time news because now we're getting an expansion pack . Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.
stoffe Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Pavlos said: That’s right! We started a closed beta last week for the Granny Animation export tools for Max. With this tool, Custom Content Community members will be able to create creatures, placeables, clothing and much more to extend the content of Neverwinter Nights 2! (snip) I'd imagine that we'll start to see the custom content community start to pick up a bit more once we can successfully model creatures and so forth. Very nice. Even if I'm not a modeling guru it's always useful to be able to tweak and adjust things with the models. I wonder if there will be an Import Tool as well, so you can tweak existing models, or if you must create them from scratch? Hopefully it will work for gmax as well and not just 3dsmax. The latter is a bit expensive to pick up to use for minor model tweaks for a game. Pavlos said: Edit: Oh... well, that's small time news because now we're getting an expansion pack . Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Ohh... seems like they do continue the current story and doesn't just leave us buried under a pile of rubble for the rest of eternity. Seems like it will be more action-oriented and less dialog-oriented than NWN2 was though... Don't know if that's a good idea (unless I misinterpret what that Press Release stated).
Pavlos Posted April 12, 2007 Author Posted April 12, 2007 stoffe said: Ohh... seems like they do continue the current story and doesn't just leave us buried under a pile of rubble for the rest of eternity. Seems like it will be more action-oriented and less dialog-oriented than NWN2 was though... Don't know if that's a good idea. Yeah, I was unsettled by that too but they have promised "several new advances in story development" - I have no idea what that means but at least thought is going into the plot and we won't be landed with a hack 'n slash... I hope. *Does jig regardless* Edit: Actually, I'm rather pleased by "hordes of new monsters; and enhanced modding tools."
Arátoeldar Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 stoffe said: Ohh... seems like they do continue the current story and doesn't just leave us buried under a pile of rubble for the rest of eternity. Seems like it will be more action-oriented and less dialog-oriented than NWN2 was though... Don't know if that's a good idea (unless I misinterpret what that Press Release stated). I love the fact that they continue the story. I was disappointed that Bioware started with a 1st level character in SoU.
Emperor Devon Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Oh, YEAAHH!! This sounds excellent! It's fantastic to hear they're planning to continue the story. Hopefully they'll incorporate the option to play as evil PC in this, as they seem to have canonized the ending as the good one. (But then again, that ending would show up if you refused to share any power with him) Hmm, I'd hope the line "the player awakens alone and stranded" doesn't mean all the party members got killed off... I'd hate to adventure throughout Thay without AJ, Grobnar or all the rest. Reveal hidden contents Especially after they were nice enough to kill off Shandra, too! That would be truly ironic. Well, the expansion looks to have a lot of potential, and that's not even getting into the new features. Epic levels (yay, my wizard can cast Hellball again) and all those new classes... And this new toolset feature looks great, too (though kind of vague).
Jae Onasi Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 As long as I can have Sand around, I'm happy. We'll be getting the expansion pack too, as soon as they have things sorted out with the bugs.
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Looks like I'll have to reinstall NWN2 in Fall 2007 then...
Achilles Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 I suspect that I'll be too busy with GTA:IV. I'll put this on my agenda for Spring/Summer 08
Balderdash Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Awesome. I really don't want to fight hundreds and hundreds more undead, though. Hopefully there's more to the antagonists of the expansion than "a horde of evil spirits" - I'm sure there will be. I too am intrigued by the disappearance of the rest of my party, and I would love to have Sand or Ammon around again... Who can tell me about Rashemen and Thay? I don't know much about them really. I remember there was that wizard from Thay at the beginning of SoU.
stoffe Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Emperor Devon said: Hopefully they'll incorporate the option to play as evil PC in this, as they seem to have canonized the ending as the good one. (But then again, that ending would show up if you refused to share any power with him) Quite, I wouldn't classify the ending options in NWN2 as a Good ending and an Evil ending, but rather as a smart ending and a brain dead ending. No evil character with an INT score above 10 would pick the second one unless they are either blinded by power and doubt their own ability to beat the KOSH, or are insane, IMO. Emperor Devon said: Hmm, I'd hope the line "the player awakens alone and stranded" doesn't mean all the party members got killed off... I'd hate to adventure throughout Thay without AJ, Grobnar or all the rest. Hopefully at least some of them return, if not all of them. Could be like in Baldur's Gate II where you get separated at the beginning but get a chance to meet up with some old party members from BG1 later in the game (along with a bunch of new ones). Reveal hidden contents At least the ones who didn't betray you and sided with the KOSH and subsequently got killed by you. If the expansion continues with a NWN2 savegame then the outcome of that scene will likely be available for the expansion pack to use. To start with a full roster of party members at the beginning of the game could make the party progression somewhat stale. Emperor Devon said: Well, the expansion looks to have a lot of potential, and that's not even getting into the new features. Epic levels (yay, my wizard can cast Hellball again) At least unless they implement the backlash part of Hellball this time, otherwise it will only turn your wizard into a suicide bomber unless you've put a fair number of attribute points in CON. I hope the selection of epic spells, feats and abilities is somewhat more inspired than the ones in NWN:HotU, where some of the epic spells didn't feel all that epic. Balderdash said: Who can tell me about Rashemen and Thay? I don't know much about them really. I remember there was that wizard from Thay at the beginning of SoU. There is a short description of them on Wikipedia. Essentially Rashemen is a "wild" country that's ruled by an order of spellcasting witches, while Thay is a Lawful Evil Magocracy ruled by the Red Wizards of Thay, and where the Red Wizards and Rashemen witches are sworn enemies. If you've played the Baldur's Gate series of games you've met a few characters from there. Edwin was a Red Wizard of Thay, Dynaheir was a Rashemen witch, and Minsc&Boo was a ranger/berserker from Rashemen.
Pavlos Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Woo! Game Banshee has an interview with Kevin Saunders, the lead designer on this project. Tragically, I don't think we'll be seeing our companions (at least from the get go) in the expansion: "Mask of the Betrayer begins almost immediately after the ending of NWN2. You will play your same character (if you wish), continuing his or her story. (Your weapons and gold are gone, but you’ll have many of your other equipped items still.) While the story in Mask of the Betrayer is connected to Neverwinter Nights 2, you don’t have to have played the expansion – the story stands alone, but players who have gone through the NWN2 campaign will recognize some references that occur in NX1."
stoffe Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Pavlos said: Tragically, I don't think we'll be seeing our companions (at least from the get go) in the expansion: He doesn't say anything about them in the part you quoted, so it may still be open. If it's supposed to be stand alone we might still see the ones who will be with you at the end no matter what you do. I think Khelgar, Jerro, Grobnar, Zhjaeve and Casavir are the only ones you can't lose. Though Zhjaeve and Jerro are probably done with you now that the KOSH is beaten, since that was their reason to ally themselves with you. Pavlos said: (Your weapons and gold are gone, but you’ll have many of your other equipped items still.) Hmm, if you get to keep your inventory aside from weapons and gold there might be some point to looting all those ancient skeletons in the Vale of Merdelain after all. Since my Warlock doesn't even carry a weapon (aside from the Silver Sword) that wouldn't be a terrible loss either way, though it probably hurts more for fighter types who've spent hours at the forge and magic workbenches to craft the most extreme implements of munchkinism imaginable. Wonder why they're so fond of stripping you of your equipment in NWN expansions? They did the same thing at the start of NWN:HotU after all. Pavlos said: While the story in Mask of the Betrayer is connected to Neverwinter Nights 2, you don’t have to have played the expansion – the story stands alone, but players who have gone through the NWN2 campaign will recognize some references that occur in NX1. I suppose this might be the strongest hint that you'll have to form a new party for yourself, since some of the NWN2 party members and their reasons for being with you is so strongly tied to the story. Might be good or bad, depending on how well they manage to flesh out the new characters in the much shorter gameplay time an expansion pack offers. In the BG series where you get to keep party members between games and expansions this might be due to the two games and ToB expansion all are part of the same saga telling the same over-arching story, while the NWN games seem to go for a more stand-alone approach with different adventures. NX1 = NWN Expansion 1 (Shadows of Undrentide), or NWN2 Expansion 1? Probably the latter.
Emperor Devon Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 stoffe said: No evil character with an INT score above 10 would pick the second one unless they are either blinded by power and doubt their own ability to beat the KOSH, or are insane, IMO. Lucky for my wizard he had such a high INT. stoffe said: To start with a full roster of party members at the beginning of the game could make the party progression somewhat stale. It would be easy to work around that if a previous NWN2 save isn't required (and from the comments about MotB being a stand-alone expansion it probably won't be) and they simply get rid of all the killable party members. stoffe said: At least unless they implement the backlash part of Hellball this time, otherwise it will only turn your wizard into a suicide bomber unless you've put a fair number of attribute points in CON. It'll probably be turned off on the normal difficulty setting. I think it was in NWN. stoffe said: I hope the selection of epic spells, feats and abilities is somewhat more inspired than the ones in NWN:HotU, where some of the epic spells didn't feel all that epic. A fair number of them were. Hellball, Greater Ruin and the dragon summoning spell (can't recall the name) were all quite flashy and very useful to use. Even the two buff spells, while not much in the way of eye candy, were still quite useful. The only pointless one was the mummy summoning spell IMO. Not a very powerful creature to summon. The spells were useful but they didn't quite seem like what an epic wizard would use - you selected them as feats and could only use them once before resting. Something like a 10th level of spells or simply more epic ones would be better IMO. (And while we're on the subject of high-level spellcasters, hopefully Obsidian will be putting the archmage prestige class into MotB. Can't have 30th level wizards who aren't even archmages) stoffe said: I think Khelgar, Jerro, Grobnar, Zhjaeve and Casavir are the only ones you can't lose. Though Zhjaeve and Jerro are probably done with you now that the KOSH is beaten, since that was their reason to ally themselves with you. Zhjave will probably be going back to Limbo, but I dunno about Jerro. He's no longer got a fortress or any demons to command, and now that the KoS is dead his life's purpose is basically over. The PC is the only person who even knows he's still alive, too. I can see him choosing to go along with him/her to Thay (especially since he can get to like good or evil players). Khelgar might be interested in going with the PC as they're good friends, but now that he's rejoined his clan going visiting Thay is probably the last thing on his mind. Hmm, being able import a previous savegame would be useful. So much of what your party members would want to do depends on what happened during the OC.
stoffe Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 Emperor Devon said: The spells were useful but they didn't quite seem like what an epic wizard would use - you selected them as feats and could only use them once before resting. Something like a 10th level of spells or simply more epic ones would be better IMO. (And while we're on the subject of high-level spellcasters, hopefully Obsidian will be putting the archmage prestige class into MotB. Can't have 30th level wizards who aren't even archmages) There are 10th level spell slots, but no 10th level spells, so they can only be used for metamagic-ed versions of lower level spells. Epic spells have special Epic spell slots they can be memorized in. The feat solution used in NWN:HotU was only used since they probably didn't have time to do the extensive engine rewrites needed to add Epic spell slots. Remains to see if Obsidian is more ambitious in that regard. Emperor Devon said: I dunno about Jerro. He's no longer got a fortress or any demons to command, and now that the KoS is dead his life's purpose is basically over. Then it's time for him to take a one-way trip to Baator to make good on his end of the deals and pacts he made. Unless the player is keen on going there as well they most likely part ways after KOSH is beaten. Seems like the female NPCs are more expendable than the male ones. Only Zhjaeve who will stick with you no matter what. Reveal hidden contents Shandra gets killed, Elanee can abandon you to rejoin her druid circle in fighting you, Neeshka gets compelled by Garius to fight you, Qara can betray you to Garius and fight you. Emperor Devon said: Hmm, being able import a previous savegame would be useful. So much of what your party members would want to do depends on what happened during the OC. Hopefully they will set it up similar to Throne of Bhaal, in that the game just automatically continues on to the Expansion after the normal end if you play through it, but you are also given the opportunity to start a new game straight in the expansion. Would give a more fluid experience and allow gameplay decisions to carry over to the expansion.
Pavlos Posted April 14, 2007 Author Posted April 14, 2007 stoffe said: Reveal hidden contents Shandra gets killed, Elanee can abandon you to rejoin her druid circle in fighting you, Neeshka gets compelled by Garius to fight you, Qara can betray you to Garius and fight you. Reveal hidden contents Neeshka doesn't always get compelled by Garius - there is a second influence check and if you pass it she fights him off and joins your side.
Point Man Posted April 18, 2007 Posted April 18, 2007 Wow! The screenshots look great! I can't wait for the expansion pack to come out.
Emperor Devon Posted April 18, 2007 Posted April 18, 2007 stoffe said: Then it's time for him to take a one-way trip to Baator to make good on his end of the deals and pacts he made. Unless the player is keen on going there as well they most likely part ways after KOSH is beaten. I actually don't think AJ would be headed off to Baator - he looks more like he forcibly summoned his army of fiends than made any pacts with them. Mephasm tried to use the PC to run off during the middle of a mission, and Koraboros claims AJ "imprisoned" him and tries to kill him for it. Being law-abiding devils, they'd have remained loyal to him if they/their superiors had made any pacts. Demons I doubt would even bother with any agreements, as they violate then as they saw fit. AJ could still adventure with the PC, though there'd probably be quite a few vengeful fiends on his tail. (Though I suppose his fate is sealed, as he's Neutral Evil and bound for the Lower Planes anyway)
Pavlos Posted May 1, 2007 Author Posted May 1, 2007 Some new news, guys Clicky I must say, the story sounds interesting.
Jeff Posted May 1, 2007 Posted May 1, 2007 I'll have to get the first one played soon! I still haven't really given it much time.
Jae Onasi Posted May 1, 2007 Posted May 1, 2007 Ack. I won't be able to have Sand in my party in the expansion!!! I'm bummed. The rest of it looks like it'll be fun, and at least a resolution to Reveal hidden contents the 'you saved the world, but you died in a basement' icky feeling I had at the end of the game.
Emperor Devon Posted May 1, 2007 Posted May 1, 2007 Obsidian certainly looks like they're putting a lot of effort and new ideas into this - having influence with companions determine how much you can order them around is a nice touch. But ten thousand curses, no more AJ and Grobnar!
Pavlos Posted May 2, 2007 Author Posted May 2, 2007 Emperor Devon said: But ten thousand curses, no more AJ and Grobnar! Know that they are the two best characters in the game... along with Sand.
Emperor Devon Posted May 2, 2007 Posted May 2, 2007 Pavlos said: Know that they are the two best characters in the game... Oh, and Zjhaeve. Can't forget about her. I'd love to see Sand again, but there's even less chance of that than the other characters with how he or Qara has to has desert.
SpaceAlex Posted May 6, 2007 Posted May 6, 2007 Emperor Devon said: Oh, and Zjhaeve. Can't forget about her. Know that i'm glad i will never see her in my party again. I actually think it's a good idea your old companions are not in the expansion. I already know everything i need to about them. It would be nice to see them again (if only to speak with them) at some point in the game though.
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