Neverwinter Nights Forum News

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(Originally posted by chevalier)

Here are today's BioWare 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.

Rob Bartel, Senior Designer

DD and mod teams
::sigh:: I should know better than opening up a big can of worms before the long weekend.

Okay, first of all, let's set the record straight regarding some of the big mod teams out there (someone took this thread as an opportunity to slag CODI & DLA, for example, which I think was in poor taste). To my knowledge, the reason why a number of the big mod teams for NWN have not yet released their initial modules to the community has NOTHING to do with them 'holding out' in the hope or expectation that their modules will be included in BioWare's DD project. The reason they've been taking so long is simply a result of their respective projects being massive undertakings. These guys are perfectionists. They're managing large teams of hobbyist contributors. Team members come and go, morale ebbs and flows (posts like the one I'm responding to here certainly don't help matters), data gets lost or corrupted, unforeseen pitfalls or engine limitations are encountered, but still they plug onwards, trying to create something that you, the community, can enjoy. Let's face it, it's a pretty thankless job at times and definitely an uphill battle.

Will we be approaching these teams in our search for DD content? Yes, I'm sure we will and, to a degree, we've already done so. Will we be looking for ways to support them and help them make their ongoing contributions to the community? Absolutely! Will we make an occasional purchase from them, either of actual modules or of art content to support internally developed projects like Witch's Wake 2? I sure hope so but I don't see why we would limit that to just the large-scale teams (to be honest, individual contractors are easier to work with from a legal standpoint). Also, I don't foresee anyone getting particularly wealthy off of this (the DD project is pretty experimental, after all, and is designed to operate on a shoestring budget). Will these mod teams and individual mod developers continue to develop free content for the community? I honestly don't see why not. They're contributing to this community because they have a vision and a passion. Sometimes those visions and passions may mesh with those of the DD project but, in many cases, they'll be better served by pursuing them on their own, without money and contracts and approvals and licensing issues getting in the way. I'm a firm believer in the notion of mutual benefits. Everyone can help each other and, together, we can make the community better as a whole. Free, community-created content is a vital part of what makes NWN what it is and the Live Team has no intention or desire to jeapordize that. We're just here to enable new directions and options for the community that weren't previously possible.

I hope that clarifies things, at least a little.

DD and mod teams

Just to make sure that I understand correctly and please correct me if I'm wrong. So you're saying that Bioware would actualy be ready to sub-contract Talented Mod Teams to create Modules or/and Custom Content? I mean as in "Possible".

Yes, you are correct. We may not have all of our infrastructure in place for that yet or be ready to open the gates wide and yell 'come what may!' but the subcontracting of Talented Mod Teams (tm) is a likely direction for the DD project as it evoles.