Dragon Age Forum News (Jan. 21, 05)

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Here are today's Dragon Age forum highlights, collected by NWVault. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

David Gaider, Designer

Day/Night Cycle Part 2

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So, Darcy, wouldn't this scenario require at least 3 versions of the valley with the necessity of stopping and potentially interrupting the rising tension--day, stop, load dusk, stop, load night--because there's no possibility of just having the ambient lighting fade?

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But why would we set up an encounter that specifically confounds features we don't have? That doesn't apply just to a day/night cycle... there's always going to be adjustments that will need to be made to a plot's implementation with regards to what you have to work with.

To wit, there simply hasn't been a situation yet that we haven't been able to work around, design-wise. We obviously cannot, however, predicate an entire plot on the possibility of un-triggered transition into night... but the question then would be: do you really need to set it up like that?

More:

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However, I'm also concerned about keeping as many options as possible available for the the handful of community module makers with real talent.

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And they will have options. They simply won't have every option, and nor did they with NWN either.

Keeping options open for the end-user, however, is admittedly not our top priority.

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Quote: Also, as it was possible to have independent and smooth day/night transitions in NWN, it just seems like a step backwards to lose said capability.

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It seems that way because you don't know yet about everything else that DA will be able to do. Start with NWN as the bar in your head, subtract one feature that it had, and suddenly DA seems like it is less than NWN. If you want to focus solely on this one element of storytelling to the exclusion of all others, however, then naturally you're going to end up with a skewed perception.

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Quote: How would you create the scenario I mentioned for above ground ruins while still maintaining tension via the necessity of getting out of there before nightfall *tick-tock, tick-tock*? Not everything dark and dangerous need always, always, always be underground, after all.

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Gee, how would I work around a scenario that is designed to specifically center on "the clock running out"? Ignoring the possibility that perhaps this is not the best scenario to go with in the first place, I would attach the time progression to the resting.
Whenever someone rests, put them in a camp set-up. Perhaps have NPC's comment nervously on how much time their exploration is taking. Then, upon resting once too often, play a quick cut-scene of the sun setting in the hills along with ominous music, have the camp area attacked by zombies, then return to the new dark area afterwards complete with zombie spawns galore...

...and, yes, that plot set-up would require day and night versions of the same area, the time expense for which you would have to consider when you pondered setting up such a scenario in the first place.

Stanley Woo, Quality Assurance

For those who are bored and love to write
Stanley Woo

In high school, they used both his first and last names when referring to me; the words had just the right "texture" to roll off the tongue. But now, more than 10 years later, I no longer roll off the tongue. Now I am the face of authority in an ever-increasing throng of malcontents, narcissists and the wilfully ignorant. Like a flesh-and-blood law enforcement officer, I walk a beat. First one neighbourhood, then the next, and so on. Occasionally, I approach a group of conversationalists surreptitiously, hanging back while listening to the errant bits of concept and emotion that streams back and forth among them.

There is no room for the uninitiated here. While the rest of the community is friendly and helpful, it takes but one guy--for it is always a guy--to shoot him down with magnesium-tipped bullets, taking down the innocent in a blaze of flaming... glory? No, there is no glory to be had here. This is a powderkeg of sedition and anarchy just waiting to explode. Segregation is the only solution. Keep business on the business side, and the rest get relegated to the Old Town. Very little "business" happens here; everyone's here for fun.

We staved off an invasion a couple of days ago, late at night, while the neighbourhood slept. Many aren't even aware of how close they came to ruination. But that's why we're here. And now that this part of the story comes to a close, a new one will rise from its ashes like some digital phoenix. That's the way it works around here... and I wouldn't have it any other way. I turn away from the Old Town and continue my rounds, a ghost of a smile on my lips.

OT is my beat. I'm a Moderator.

End of line.

A Good Ol' Fashion Ribbing
I think that's quite enough of that. Asked and answered. Thanks, ladies and gentlemen... and tae. *ducks to avoid thrown objects*

End of line.

Is Amberyl Ravenclaw here?
I'm sorry. The name Steve is inappropriate for these forums. As such, Steve is forever BANNED! Bwaahahahaaahaahhaaa! No more Steve for this forum! And it's all Amber's fault for bringing him here in the first place! Everyone is b--

Eh, what?... what do you mean? No, I was going to ban him for--... I see... yes, Mr. Prime Minister, I understand... yes sir... but I've already--... yes sir... thank you, sir... goodbye.

Um... well, ladies and gentlemen, I just got off the phone with the Prime Minister, and it appears that we don't actually have a a rule that states that the name "Steve" is inappropriate. As such, we can't ban Steve for having the name "Steve." We do, however, have an unwritten rule against men wearing plaid short-shorts. So, Steve, the question everyone's asking is this:

Are you wearing plaid short-shorts?

Welcome to the forum, feller-me-lad. You'll find us a bastion of normality and stability here, and seldom is heard a discouraging word. Unless your name is Beerfishalina, of course.

It's not, is it?

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And know this, Steve, all newcomers to the OT forum must Narfle the Garthok

Enjoy!

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Hey, watch the language! This is a family-friendly forum!