Incline Let's brainstorm a new Icewind Dale game.

[Lagole Gon]

Let's make an entertaining intellectual experiment and design a new Icewind Dale game. Just throw ideas for fun. No strict rules, but keep things somewhat realistic. Except licensing, just ignore that completely.

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I'll start:
- Obviously, no joinable NPCs. But add a little bit of flavour to the created party members. Some voiced lines when entering a new location, simple stuff like that. Maybe even BG1 style generic interactions without dialogue window.
- Mixed magical loot system, 95% is not random. Once in a while you will find Obviously Cool Chest with good random loot from pools of premade items. RNG is rolled at the start of the game, so no savescumming. With some luck you can get good items early. I suggest favouring unpopular weapon types - spears, short swords, daggers. This system adds some spice and might force the player to get out of his comfort zone and invest in weapons he usually doesn't use.
- Hire Chris Avellone Krzysztof Aweloński, but forbid him to write any nude grandmas. Anything but this. He wrote Lonelywood and it was great. More of that Chri... More of that, Krzysztof.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

 

[vortex]

Icewind dale 3: A song of snow and sand is a collaborative effort of Obsidian, GRRM and Avellone. Sawyer - project director.

 

[Ghulgothas]

Re-hire Justin Sweet as concept and portrait artist, but mandate that portraits depicting Tiefling characters be inversely proportionate to that of better races. And make more for Half-Orcs.
Appropriate lost concepts and art from the unfortunately cancelled Stonekeep 2 and Black Hound.
Disregard Dragonspear entirely, bring back Devilz n' Shieet.
Do not acknowledge Dark Alliance at all.
Keep continuity-wank between it and Baldur's Gate to a minimum.

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Icewind dale 3: A song of snow and sand is a collaborative effort of Obsidian, GRRM and Avellone. Sawyer - project director.

Made on the Gold Box engine

 

[Gargaune]

I'll start:
- Obviously, no joinable NPCs. But add a little bit of flavour to the created party members. Some voiced lines when entering a new location, simple stuff like that. Maybe even BG1 style generic interactions without dialogue window.

Yes, an expanded form of the 5E Backgrounds system for a bit of flavour and maybe even some side-content.

RNG is rolled at the start of the game, so no savescumming.

No! Begone and take your "incline" with you!

I suggest favouring unpopular weapon types - spears, short swords, daggers. This system adds some spice and might force the player to get out of his comfort zone and invest in weapons he usually doesn't use.

Right, 'cause we wouldn't want the player to enjoy himself too much, would we?


Adding a couple of my own:
- NWN2 SoZ-style party conversations;
- develop on ToEE's alignment implementation, but instead of restricting party components, implement a party reputation and character morale system: the closer an individual character's Alignment matches the party Reputation, the better their Morale, and vice-versa.

 

[Darth Canoli]

- develop on ToEE's alignment implementation, but instead of restricting party components, implement a party reputation and character morale system: the closer an individual character's Alignment matches the party Reputation, the better their Morale, and vice-versa.

Completely irrelevant with no hirelings...

Obviously, the best version of an Icewind Dale game would be IWD in a ToEE or KotC/KotC 2 engine with a good encounter design and not 20x the same combat over and over again.

 

[Lagole Gon]

I suggest favouring unpopular weapon types - spears, short swords, daggers. This system adds some spice and might force the player to get out of his comfort zone and invest in weapons he usually doesn't use.

Right, 'cause we wouldn't want the player to enjoy himself too much, would we?

The player will enjoy making a difficult decision about investing in totally lame weapons like spears after (possibly) finding early a powerful Spear of Snowing Cold Ice +3.
Ah... The heavenly pleasure of gameplay related choices and consequences.

 

[Dyspaire]

I replay Icewind Dale nearly every year around this time, and am doing so now. It's in my top-5 crpgs, probably.

I love it because it evokes a mood and atmosphere rarely matched. Even with RTwP, I think it's probably the best pure dungeon-crawl game I've ever played. (With all due respect to Ultima Underworld.)

Although it may not be the point of this thread, and although I may normally prefer to make my own characters and party from scratch, I have to say I would love, love, just one time, to play through as Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis, and Catti-Brie.

(Yes, I know I can LARP and make my own versions, and I have.)

I would love to have Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle show up. Athrogate. Zaknafein. Etc.

I normally don't prefer pre-gen, story-driven games, but the 14-year-old in me would love an Icewind Dale game that let me geek-out with those characters I loved so much at that age.

Intangibles that the original Icewind Dale had going for it:

David Ogden Stiers was probably the best narrator I've ever heard in a crpg. It really added something.

The one-and-only Jeremy Soule did the music as most here know, and that contribution cannot be over-stated. It's my favorite score of his, and that's saying something.

In my opinion, the best background art of any IE game.

Icewind Dale didn't have some epic, convoluted, chosen-one story to tell. But a simple straightforward story told well... it's hard to beat that; and Icewind Dale was nothing if not a well-told tale.


2c

 

[JarlFrank]

- 6 characters, fully self-created by the player
- female characters can wear sandals despite the cold (personal Jarl agenda addition)
- there's snow
- there's lots of enemies
- combat can be switched between RTwP or turn based to provide an actual fun and monocled experience for the turn based enjoyer

that's it
story is just an excuse for fighting mobs

 

[Glop_dweller]

- 6 characters, fully self-created by the player
- female characters can wear sandals despite the cold (personal Jarl agenda addition)
- there's snow
- there's lots of enemies
- combat can be switched between RTwP or turn based to provide an actual fun and monocled experience for the turn based enjoyer

that's it
story is just an excuse for fighting mobs

If this were my post... it would have been in jest; (as we can do all of those things in IWD)...even have it pause every round. Is it?

(Though of course simply pausing is not [real] turn based mechanics; but they each have attacks per round, and execute their actions in a private turn.)

 

[TemplarGR]

NO. Just no. Leave Icewind Dale alone. Make a spiritual successor, sure, but no reason to dessecrate yet another corpse.

 

[Gargaune]

- develop on ToEE's alignment implementation, but instead of restricting party components, implement a party reputation and character morale system: the closer an individual character's Alignment matches the party Reputation, the better their Morale, and vice-versa.

Completely irrelevant with no hirelings...

No, I mean having a Morale system that impacts gameplay, like combat rolls or skill checks, not something that makes 'em leave. For instance, imagine a party that has a Lawful Good reputation: your Paladin could get a flat +1 bonus to his rolls, your Neutral Good Cleric would be unaffected and your Chaotic Good Ranger takes a -1 penalty. Something like that, with fixed character alignment and dynamic party reputation.

For a party-based game it could be fun, since you get free reign on alignment composition (which then has interplay with loot, spells and conversation options) at the expense of penalties for non-compliant characters, or you roll all members close, maximise the Morale bonus, but restrict your options in the field.

The player will enjoy making a difficult decision about investing in totally lame weapons like spears after (possibly) finding early a powerful Spear of Snowing Cold Ice +3.
Ah... The heavenly pleasure of gameplay related choices and consequences.

Eh, was mostly joking on that, I get the point.

 

[Butter]

- 2nd edition AD&D.
- 6 party members, full party creation, no recruitable NPCs.
- Turn-based combat.
- Fewer, more thoughtfully designed encounters.
- Story is incidental, focus is on exploring dungeons
- Puzzles kept to a minimum
- Jeremy Soule music

 

[Grunker]

5e

no justin sweet no go

loot is pre-made but mostly not pre-placed/all loot have multiple places where it might be

really besides changing it to 5e all i'd add is tiny tweaks

 

[NJClaw]

Snow, good music, great characters and backgrounds art, more snow, a self-contained plot, a lot of combat and party compositions and items to play with. Add a bit more snow and you have the perfect game right there. But obviously, to make a great IWD 3, you need to recreate that same magical atmosphere that permeates the series.

I replay Icewind Dale nearly every year around this time, and am doing so now. It's in my top-5 crpgs, probably.

I love it because it evokes a mood and atmosphere rarely matched. Even with RTwP, I think it's probably the best pure dungeon-crawl game I've ever played. (With all due respect to Ultima Underworld.)

[...]

Intangibles that the original Icewind Dale had going for it:

David Ogden Stiers was probably the best narrator I've ever heard in a crpg. It really added something.

The one-and-only Jeremy Soule did the music as most here know, and that contribution cannot be over-stated. It's my favorite score of his, and that's saying something.

In my opinion, the best background art of any IE game.

Icewind Dale didn't have some epic, convoluted, chosen-one story to tell. But a simple straightforward story told well... it's hard to beat that; and Icewind Dale was nothing if not a well-told tale.


2c

IWD games get a lot of shit, but they have many devoted fans who like them for what they are (simple D&D adventures with a great atmosphere). Honestly, it warms my heart knowing that people are still playing those games and loving them as much as I do. Tomorrow the snow should cover the streets and roofs of my hometown, so it's time for me to revisit the dale once more.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Make it turn-based

 

[JarlFrank]

- 6 characters, fully self-created by the player
- female characters can wear sandals despite the cold (personal Jarl agenda addition)
- there's snow
- there's lots of enemies
- combat can be switched between RTwP or turn based to provide an actual fun and monocled experience for the turn based enjoyer

that's it
story is just an excuse for fighting mobs

If this were my post... it would have been in jest; (as we can do all of those things in IWD)...even have it pause every round. Is it?

(Though of course simply pausing is not [real] turn based mechanics; but they each have attacks per round, and execute their actions in a private turn.)

All of these things are in IWD, yes, except for cute bare feet and turn based combat

Which is why I listed them, as a sequel should be just like the original in its basic principles.

RTwP, even if round-based, is absolutely not like turn based tho. They're two completely different systems with different dynamics.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Snowy Icewind Dale adventures might be the right place to explore the more mundane aspects of adventuring, like camping, survival, natural hazards etc.
Part of me really wants to see a complex adventure management... but I'm not going to suggest it, because I'm not sure it can be done well in a game. Yeah... probably can't be done. It would turn into a chore very quickly.

 

[Old Hans]

first person action adventure loosely based on D&D brown books edition.

 

[Butter]

Snowy Icewind Dale adventures might be the right place to explore the more mundane aspects of adventuring, like camping, survival, natural hazards etc.
Part of me really wants to see a complex adventure management... but I'm not going to suggest it, because I'm not sure it can be done well in a game. Yeah... probably can't be done. It would turn into a chore very quickly.

You've already got games like RoA and Magic Candle that do it successfully.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Basic weather mechanics:
- Heavy snow gives penalties to ranged attacks.
- Slippery surface mechanics. For natural ice and spells.
- I can't really think of fun cold mechanics, except maybe for gimmicky locations. Something like... Destroy the magical cold crystal "Auril's Nipple" to stop enviromental dmg (non-lethal dmg, no stun animation) from cold.

 

[NJClaw]

- I can't really think of fun cold mechanics, except maybe for gimmicky locations. Something like... Destroy the magical cold crystal "Auril's Nipple" to stop enviromental dmg (non-lethal dmg, no stun animation) from cold.

Adventuring in the coldest areas with blizzards and shit progressively drains your energy (rendering your characters fatigued, then exhausted, and then dead), unless you expend resources to protect yourself from the cold. Camping requires even more of those same resources, so that you have to rest only when absolutely needed.

 

[Glop_dweller]

RTwP, even if round-based, is absolutely not like turn based tho. They're two completely different systems with different dynamics.

Preaching at the choir here.

 

[Lagole Gon]

So what's the best inventory system for our codexian Icewind Dale?
I'm leaning towards Arcanum style grid with varied item sizes. <- actually, not sure about this idea...
Oh, and you need camp supplies to rest. Kingmaker style. They take some space, just enough to make the player think about supplies. The mechanics shouldn't be harsh, it's more about a mental barrier against mindless rest spam.

 

[curds]

So what's the best inventory system for our codexian Icewind Dale?
I'm leaning towards Arcanum style grid with varied item sizes.
Oh, and you need camp supplies to rest. Kingmaker style. They take some space, just enough to make the player think about supplies. The mechanics shouldn't be harsh, it's more about a mental barrier against mindless rest spam.

Infinity Engine-style inventory does the job just fine.
Camp supplies as inventory item is a good idea. Anything else, though, is taking it too far into survival game territory.

Fuck IE-style pre-rendered backgrounds. I want a 3D world I can interact with in my RPGs (keep the isometric perspective, though).

Turn-based combat with optional RtWP to keep the die-hard purists happy.