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Neverwinter Nights Forum News (Oct. 26, 04)

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by chevalier, Oct 26, 2004.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Remove all ads!
    Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 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.

    Derek French, Live Team Producer

    User modifications
    Out of curiousity, will this 'mod-locking' function become available to the community as well?
    No.

    More:
    While that is excellent news, not being able to add things like DMFI Tools or other such devices will quickly become a "turn off" to most dungeon masters.
    None of what we are selling is intended for modification. There are thousands of modules out there that you can go and use and modify to your heart's content. The Premium Modules are not for that. That, and the fact that 2 of the modules are SP only....

    More: Its important to keep things in perspective. By selling 3 modules, we are not removing anything from the community as all the existing thousands of modules are still available for download and the Toolset still allows you to create your own worlds.

    For the people that wish to purchase some new BioWare content for NWN, we have 3 BioWare Premium modules for sale that we think many of you will enjoy. If you choose not to purchase one of these modules, you will not have lost anything in the NWN community.

    Piracy
    ...so prehaps a small demo of each module is inorder to get a feel for what we're potentially paying for.
    There is a good chance that future modules will contain this feature, just not in our initial offering.

    Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager

    Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker
    Saved from death for one purpose. What must you sacrifice to become king? Need more info? Check out the full site: Click Here BioWare Store- Coming November 10th! http://store.bioware.com/

    Neverwinter Nights: ShadowGuard
    Chosen above all. Will you earn your rightful place amongst the ShadowGuard?

    Who are the ShadowGuard? Find out more: Click Here

    Neverwinter Nights: Witch's Wake
    Enjoy this completely remastered classic from Rob Bartel! Find out more: Click Here

    High level modules?
    Yup- we agree. We are hoping that if there is enough interest that modules of different power levels will be available plus more chapters in the current line-up as Dan mentioned.

    DD as a gift?
    'Gift Codes' Basically you go to the store buy a module and instead of being able to download it you are given a magical secret code that you hand over to a friend that can be redeemed at the store for the module you bought.

    We were assuming that family members that needed to make a purchase but didn't have any idea about downloading, CD Keys and all that hoo-ha would find this easier.

    What is the difference between the "Full" and "Lite" versions of the Kingmaker?
    Yup- the VO is no present in the lite version. If look at the download size of each you will see why. We wanted an option for people with slower connection speeds who would find it daunting to tackle the larger file.

    How often will new modules be offered?
    A very good question actually. The creation of a module is pretty time-intensive task that then requires a long dev cycle, a good deal of ongoing QA, fiddling and finally the addition of VO. We are hoping that new modules can be released in fairly regular intervals but as with any game development the schedule might get slapped around a little.

    Rob Bartel, Senior Designer Live Team

    Are these modules going to be English-Only ?
    Yes, for the time being, these modules will be English-only as the costs and logistics of translation appear to be prohibitive. If the modules are successful in English, we may consider localizing these or other BioWare premium modules in the future. Thanks for your interest in this new initiative from the Live Team

    User modifications
    Actually, due to the security systems we have in place (of which we shall not speak on pain of death!), end users will not be able to open BioWare premium modules in their toolsets. That said, in cases where we feel a particular scripting system may be of value to the broader community, we'll strongly consider showcasing it as an independent Wednesday item or making it available for download. Security systems are there to protect the integrity of the modules and to protect the overall system from abuse. They're not there to deliberately prevent access to content that may be of use to our builder community.

    Subscription
    Yes, at this time we are not considering a subscription module, due largely to the argument that Orik presents above. We believe in creating quality content and expect BioWare premium modules to sell on the basis of that quality. Thanks for raising the question, however,

    Custom Content Included
    For the record, we will not be making changes to the base 2da's, etc., when developing these premium modules. Any 2da changes that are made (and yes, there are some), are made within the hakpak associated with that module, meaning that it won't interfere with the CEP or any other community created content (unless you're doing 'very bad things' like putting stuff into the Override directory). In the future, we will likely introduce new content and 2das into patch 1.65 and beyond, just as we have in the past. The onus will be on us to ensure that these do not interfere with BioWare premium modules. If, for whatever reason, we need to support, update, or fix a premium module subsequent to its release, a new version will be made available for download from our site at no charge to those who purchased the original. Make sense?

    Multiplayer
    Of our three launch modules, only Neverwinter: Witch's Wake supports cooperative multiplayer, though we hope to have more modules that do so in the future.

    When playing multiplayer, all players will need to have purchased the module. We have made an effort to keep these modules affordable. For the record, the 'access to the internet' requirement is not only to download the module but also to authorize it with our master server (both in multiplayer and in singleplayer). Authorization only takes a couple of seconds and then you can shut it down again to start playing (or continue from a save). It shouldn't be all that prohibitive, even for those on dialup or pay-per-minute plans. For those with 'always-on' services like cable or DSL, it will be all but invisible.

    Non-module Premium Content?
    We may showcase new features like that in upcoming premium modules but, as Orik suggests, expecting the community to pay for them on an individual basis is a sure way to fragment and confuse things beyond recognition. If and when we do feature new content like that in our modules, it will either be a one-off example specific to that module or it will be something made universally available through a previous or upcoming patch. Hope that helps explain things,

    Making Modules For Money
    Our goal is definitely to expand our collaborations with talented community members in the future. In the current wave, we've had the opportunity to work with Ben "Altaris" McJunkin on his ShadowGuard module, and also with composer David John on his excellent theme music for all three premium modules. We hope to bring more module builders into the fold and also to enhance future premium modules with community art content. As mentioned, though, all community collaborations are on a contract basis that is agreed to by both parties. We're definitely *not* just yoinking stuff from the community and posting it for sale, nor are we vacuuming up all of the wonderful talent out there in the community and locking them up behind a legal firewall.

    If you're interested in becoming a collaborator on future premium content, please don't spam us with your latest work. The best approach is to take part in the free community, just like always. Build a reputation for yourself as a quality builder on the Vault. Develop an audience for your work. Get in the Hall of Fame. Prove yourself to be both talented and reliable. We want the free community to thrive and grow and if these premium modules can provide some of the incentive for that, all the better.

    Any multiplayer modules planned?
    Yes, Witch's Wake does allow for cooperative multiplayer and I intend for the series to continue in that vein. And, yes, we do have plans to offer further multiplayer support in some of our upcoming premium modules. Our survey data showed a significant interest in this type of gameplay and, surveys be damned, we just enjoy making them.

    This first wave of content has focused largely on single-player gameplay just to keep things simple and manageable for launch. If all goes well, you can expect a greater diversity of gameplay types going forward.

    Campaign
    Actually, the Witch's Wake campaign is currently specced out as a 5-part series, ultimately taking you into epic levels. I never make anything easy for myself, huh? Sigh,


    module length
    Modules have cost $0.00 up until this latest pricing scheme.

    So they are quite expensive!
    And modules on the Vault will continue to cost $0.00 well into the future, regardless of how we price Premium Modules. We're not taking anything away from you, here, only offering something new. The onus is on us to ensure that these modules are worth the money we're asking for them. If they're not and no one buys them, quite frankly, it serves us right. Personally, I'm confident that these and other upcoming premium modules will provide the Live Team with a stable, ongoing revenue stream that will allow us to support and enhance the community well into the future.

    Tom Ohle, Public Relations

    Piracy
    We do have security measures in place to try and prevent piracy of these modules. That said, we feel the price point we've set for these modules is reasonable considering the quality of the content and the type of content we've included. The voice-over is all absolutely professional-quality, in-line with what we've done with Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark; the new music is fantastic; and we've ensured a truly enjoyable and, importantly, stable product.

    Georg Zoeller, Designer

    Request for scripting commands: GffRead and GffWrite
    Well, Gorg, if we could atleast get the Read commands? Thy would allow us to do checks for things like the wings without you having to make a new command for every purpose Shadguy, I looked at letoscript but found it too "different" not being webdesigner type, instead I had our "inhouse programmer" make perl scripts for GffWrite and GffRead for out of game module editing (among other specific tools for specific needs) They are available in http://www.kivinen.iki.fi/nwn/index.html Might next look into myself (or more likely him.. as I am way too busy at the moment) to creating the same interface for NWNX2, but just tried to get Bioware to consider doing them ingame to really lower the overhead.
    Even the read command would be of very limited use as the object will most likely reside in memory (very likely) and not on disk anymore.

    IDEAS FOR THE NEXT PATCH
    Loadscreens are defined in loadscreens.2da and work fine with a custom talktable...

    Piracy
    There's always other methods of distribution then the vault too.
    We do not want to have this discussion here. Thank you. Keep in mind that the idea behind these module is to continue to fund the Live Team's work on NWN - so taking actions like this would not only be a bad thing for the BioWare, it would also hurt the community.

    More:
    Again, I'm not saying I am going to pirate, or condoning piracy but fans are going to pirate this, especially the 18 and under demographic because its totally unreasonable to expect people to pay so much money for a module, especially when your competition (People like NWVault) are giving it out for free.
    It's not that anyone is forced to buy it either, right? These modules are not out there to replace free content, which there is plenty of on the Vault and elsewhere. People have expressed their wish to get more BioWare quality modules for their NWN. We don't have illusions about people trying to pirate these modules, of course it will happen - however, as Tom said, the price point is very reasonable on the modules and success of the project will ensure further support, new content, etc for NWN. As for "Capitalist pigs" ... we are not running a charity operation here. As a business we need to stay profitable - otherwise you'll not seen any BioWare RPGs anymore, so I wouldn't really care if you had used that word - it would just demonstrate a total lack of understanding in basic economics.

    User modifications
    Feel free to talk to Altaris about how much work creating such a module is - very very few people in the community have the necessary time, endurance and skill to create a module that meets our required standards, there will be no sigificant brain drain on the free module builder's "market". If anything, people might be inclined to create better modules trying to capture our attention and to showcase what they can do, I can't see anything bad with this. Rich, your overall tone in this forum is quite negative so far, up to the verge of advocating piracy - I think, if you really don't like the idea, you should let go and accept that these modules might not be what you are looking for - there are and there will always be enough free modules to enjoy for you, if anything DD will reinvigorate the NWN community as a whole, meaning more people to play multiplayer with, more people to create module and content and more people to joust with on the forums.

    I don't think it's a reasonable request to ask us to drop support for NWN and move on. Many people in the community have been persistently asking for further BioWare or BioWare quality modules, and we are happy to deliver - without sacrificing the free content community but rather supporting it by funding further Live Team support with this project.

    Craig Welburn, Live Team Programmer

    Inventory turns empty! NOOO
    I thought we'd fixed all the ways that were causing this issue to happen. Unfortunately we will need steps to reproduce the problem before we can fix any remaining issues. Almost all the previous issues involved having a container open (magic bag or chest) when you closed your inventory (either by pressing ESC, the 'i' key, clicking on the inventory icon, bringing up other panels such as the spell book, or by possessing and unpossessing a familiar while doing stuff to your inventory in between). Your particular play style and the method that you use to open/close your inventory will affect whether or not this problem happens. What we need to know is what aspect of you play style causes this to happen. When ever this happens to you again try to think about how you last opened your inventory and how you last closed it (what key was pressed, or did you just walk away from a container, etc). That will help you to determine what steps are necessary to reproduce the problem. If you manage to figure out the steps to reproduce the problem, please send a bug report details the steps necessary to reproduce the bug to nwbugs@bioware.com

    Dan Whiteside - Designer

    Stopping Spreading Premium Modules
    There are security measures in place.

    Are these FR modules or generic D&D?
    Kingmaker is set in a world I developed. There are issues with using FR, though I do hope to see some set in it in the future. (That's an opinion, not a promise.)

    High level modules?
    If Kingmaker sells well, there is hope of a sequel, which would be higher level. I'm not sure how high you were hoping for.

    Will there modules have a game rating?
    The mods all had to go through Hasbro/WoTC approvals, so they all fit the game's Teen rating.
    And everyone who knows me knows I never try to slip naughty bits into the game!
    Non US users
    Legal issues. And Atari is a company based out of France, Hasbro WoTC out of the US, Bioware out of the coldest plane of hell... it's a very international game.

    How often will new modules be offered?
    It depends on how they sell, how busy everyone is and how long it takes to get a module into shippable condition.

    Are these modules going to be English-Only ?
    Ha! You have no idea how long it took me to get used to writing American English when I first started. Of course, I was a communications instructor at a college before I came to work here.

    GamePlay Hours
    2-3 hours? Where did you get that? Kingmaker is 6-10 hours, depending on how much you do, and it has a lot of replayability.

    Owen Borstad, Programmer

    GFF and CExoLocString
    Exoloc strings are used anywhere there is text that we might want translated. Mostly these are the "Name" and "Description" type fields. There may be other places that a exoloc string appears, but for the most part they should only be where text appears that would be translated.

    Platinum install on the Mac
    The Platinum CD's contain a "NWN Platinum Install Guide.rtf" which seems to be the root of the problems. The mac version of the game wasn't looking for the platinum files, but that has been fixed for the next patch. In the mean time, all the HotU CD's work (Mac and PC), but unfortunatly the Platinum CD's do not work (untill 1.65). Sorry. I'm not supporting this, but the thread at Click Here does have another solution, although we can't officially support it.

    Macintosh & Powergaming Premium Modules questions
    Quote: Second, will these modules automatically work for Macintosh as .mod files or will MacSoft need to create an engine for them?
    The modules have been tested with the mac version, and they do work. Never fear, you mac support is still here.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2018
    chevalier, Oct 26, 2004
    #1
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