Neverwinter Nights 2 Forum News (Feb. 16, 05)

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Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault from Obsidian Forums. 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.

Brian D. Lawson, Programmer

Supported Video Cards

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Correct someone if I'm wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that SM3.0 doesn't really make the graphics better than SM2.0, but SM3.0 increases the performence.

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That's not _always_ the case as there are certainly a number of things you can do on a 3.0 card that you can't do on a 2.0 card. But, those things are pretty bleeding edge and in most cases only really suited for tech demos anyway. As for now, yeah there is usually no noticeable visual difference between the game running on a 2.0 vs 3.0 card, but it may not stay that way. Who knows...

Dynamic lights and shader effects
To address all of your guys' concerns etc...I will say this. Almost everything you guys have mentioned in this thread is being addressed. Without saying too much, I can say that there's new support for fully dynamic lights (several kinds). I'm currently in the middle of writing a brand new shadowing system. With the new tool set, you can place a torch sconce on a wall and whether or not you chose to "place" a light on/in that sconce will be up to you. If there's a light there, then expect light to be cast within the scene. If there's no light, then expect the usual...darkness.

More: Awww shucks...I'm flattered.

More: I'm working on a new shadowing system that will hopefully eliminate all of those previously known hassles/problems.

Ferret Baudoin, Lead Designer

Psionics (Devs please weight in)
This question has been asked from time to time, and I figure the fans deserve an answer. There are so many things we're trying to accomplish with NWN2 and a major feature like psionics would come at the sacrifice of many other important features. An individual psionic power can be tricky enough to knock off some other feature just by itself (a spell, feat, etc.) - and if you add a whole bunch of them together it is quite an expensive feature. I doubt it will shock anybody - but there won't be psionics in NWN2.

Tony Evans, Designer

Is NWN2 not having enough development time?

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2 years, eh? Hmm.. I recall reading this blog by someone calling themself the spouse of an EA employee...(etc.)

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Yeah, I've heard some horror stories about EA myself. I know a few people who work there or have worked there. From what I've been told, their crunch time is strictly regulated and their development cycles are often a year or less. In EA's favor, they do offer significantly higher salaries and stock options, which most development studios cannot hope to match.

Few people become game developers to get rich or to work a normal 9 to 5. And of those that do, most of them end up sorely disappointed.

I consider myself, and my fellows at Obsidian very lucky. At Obsidian, crunch time is not treated like a mandate. We work extra hours when needed because we believe in Obsidian and the games we make, and we like the people we work with. So don't cry for us if we have to work overtime without overtime pay. Personally, I'd rather spend 12 hours a day doing something I love than 8 hours a day doing a job that just pays the bills.

Will Aribeth be in NWN2?
With respect to NWN1 and its expansions, the story in NWN2 will not be a continuation of their plots. You can expect to see many familiar elements from Neverwinter Nights lore, but NWN2 will focus on different events and new characters.

Our lead designer, Ferret Baudoin, has crafted an enthralling plot, which will be meticulously implemented by some really talented designers and story-tellers, including Chris Avellone - who is largely responsible for the awesome stories in Planescape: Torment and KotOR 2.

I'm confident that the vast majority of fans will not be disappointed. And if anyone ends up feeling that Obsidian didn't do justice to NWN... they can use the snazzy new toolset to make their own NWN2 module.

As for Aribeth, may she rest in peace.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Just makes me want to repaet the good old Interplay motto: Games for players, by players.

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"For Gamers, By Gamers"

Rich Taylor, Programmer

GUI Customizeable?
At *this* point, the most you could do would be to make a new window and add text displays to that window that call existing engine callbacks to get information to display, or buttons to call already existing engine callbacks. (Adding your own hotkey bars would be doable as things currently stand, for example.)

I want to get to the point where you can add your own functionality, but I can't promise anything at these stages. All this stuff is subject to scheduling, deadlines, etc. We'll see what happens.