NWN Developer Update

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(Originally posted by Darien)

This update was posted by Jay Watamaniuk on the Official Bioware Forums:

A little summary of what some people are doing with NWN...

Trent O- Producer

I'm shaking everything down, seeing where everything is after the holidays. I'm looking at some texture pack issues and modules of different sizes; working so people with lower-end machines can still get a great looking game.

Right now, I'm finishing up answering questions for interview. Sometimes the interview can be pretty tough as I can't talk about some things, but I do want to give them something good to print.

I also will be meeting with Ray and Greg about how to get more hours out of the week...

Derek French- Assistant Producer

I'm working on the NWN patching system. We have spent about a month on it so far because it's an all-encompassing tool. We are shooting for a Cradle-to-Grave system that takes the user from 'I think there is a new patch' to 'You're fully patched and up to date'. Some issues that we are working to resolve are; error recovery, Internet connection, selecting the appropriate patch for game version number, providing the user with info and things like that. We will probably be working on that for another 2-3 weeks.

Don Moar- Lead Tools Programmer

Most of the major functions in the toolset are complete, meaning that pretty much everything the designers need to finish the game is in place and working. We have begun to evaluate the toolset's GUI to make it more intuitive and will continue to add wizards to make the process of creating modules easier. I think even people who have seen the trailers and movies and thought that the toolset was already easy to use, will be pleasantly surprised at the changes we're making.

Today, I am working on some issues with the install package and on the design for some new wizards.

Preston Watamaniuk- Writer/Designer

I continue to work on getting the spells data complete- that is making sure all the information on each spell is done and ready to go. I'm working with Alex (Scott) to tie in the visual effects for each spell as well as working with Allan (Miranda) on the sound effects so everything matches. Spells are also being sent to QA for verification and testing.

Today I am updating spells to work with the various player versus player settings.

Rob Bartel- Co-Lead Designer

The game is coming along really well- its starting to feel like an actual game. Today, I'm writing the default creature descriptions and talking to the testers about the Chapter 1 journal entries that I was writing and scripting before the Christmas break. I've also got some bugs on my plate regarding one of the major Chapter 1 quests. Yum, yum.
My favorite part of game so far is definitely the Toolset- I've seen some of what Don has planned for the GUI overhaul and it should be a great improvement over what was already very good. Ultimately, it's the toolset that going to give the game a long life span and keep players coming back for more... and more... and -- you get the picture.

Alex Scott- Artist

I'm responsible primarily for spell effects and effects in general for the game. Everything right now is on schedule and we haven't encountered any real problems. We started out with a core effects engine that has changed and evolved so much from our first version that it is nearly unrecognizable from its original form. (All hail the graphic programmers) The current engine is very powerful and we have some pretty kick ass particle effects.

This week I'm working on finishing the spell effects for players and next week I'll be working on spell effects for creatures.

Today I'm working on 9th level spells. If your casting spells at this level then you've put some major time into the game, you don't want to get a puff of smoke when you hit somebody. You want your spells to melt the monitor into the desk.

Karl Schreiner- Lead QA

I've been lead QA on NWN for about nine months now. Although this is the project I wanted to be on I was terrified at first at the enormity of it but after I saw the very thorough design documents I was able to organize the testing into coherent blocks. Things, of course, change over the course of development but the initial organization was very strong to allow for that change. The majority of the QA team came on about 6-7 months ago and, despite rumors to the contrary, testing begins from day one and not only after the game is finished. Right now some solid testing is being done on Chapters 1-3 as they approach a complete state.

Today I was dealing with some issues that related to the 'Fog of War' that were slowing down the QA team from it's testing. I am also doing a final pass on art for the placeable objects, and taking a look at Chapter 1 myself, as the designers who have been working on it for these past few months, feel that are too close to be objective. The rest of team is taking a look at the 0-3rd level spells from Preston and Alex, the journal entries for chapter one (grammar spelling, correct placement, functionality, etc.) and final creature animations so they can shipped off to audio to start recording the sound.