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Interview NWN2: Storm of Zehir Interview

DarkUnderlord

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Tags: Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir

<a href="http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=333">NeverWinter Vault have an interview with Tony Evans</a>. Some bloke who calls himself the lead designer of that new NWN2 mod. Here's a slice:
<br>
<blockquote><b>It seems that there is an economic overtone to the players actions in the game. We saw this on a small scale with Crossroads Keep, but will the player truly see ramifications of their actions in the world economy as the game progresses?</b>
<br>
<br>
Though the trading aspect of Storm of Zehir is optional, players can choose to make it an integral part of the game. Throughout the lands that the party will explore, capitalism is a recurring theme. Particularly in the Sword Coast – which has been ravaged by war, its economy in shambles – merchants are seen as heroes in their own right. Players can choose how much attention to give to trading, and through their actions they can determine whether they will help to restore the economy of the Sword Coast, or take advantage of Neverwinter’s predicament to make lots and lots of gold. Whatever the party’s involvement in trading, it will be reflected in the end of the game.
<br>
<br>
<b>Can you describe the Yuan-Ti? Movement and combat actions alone must make them very difficult to model. Are they dynamic as far as armor and helms worn being visible?</b>
<br>
<br>
There are several types of yuan-ti that will be featured in Storm of Zehir. I’ll describe a couple of them. The Abomination is a gigantic snake with a humanoid torso and two arms strong enough to crush the skulls of a hapless adventurer. The Abomination uses a new skeleton, with a complete set of animations. It can wield any weapon with deadly proficiency. They don’t wear helmets or armor, because they don’t really need them in order to kill you. The Purebloods are the agents of the yuan-ti, and can pass for humans and elves with the aid of cosmetics or magic. Purebloods are always working from the shadows to corrupt the human kingdoms from within, paving the way for eventual yuan-ti world-domination. As your party explores sections of the Chultan Peninsula and the Sword Coast, you may be surprised at all the places in which you’ll find Purebloods working in secret. You will begin to regard with suspicion the friendly shopkeep, the local lord, and even members of your own party – for any of them might possibly be Purebloods.</blockquote>
<br>
There's also a bit on how awesome the music is going to be. Mod-makers today sure are cocky.
<br>
<br>
Thanks <b>Santander</b>!
 

Spectacle

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The more I hear about this game the more excited I become! It seems Obsidian has decided to make exactly the game I wanted. I hope it's a huge commercial success so that other companies get inspired to make some old-school party based RPGS!
 

Shannow

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"Several types of yuan-ti" He describes exactly two types. The types one knows from previous D&D games. Can I give most of my party the snake blood feat, sacrifice the others and join the yuan-ti? *g*

Yes, there is something I’d like to get off my chest... I am really, really jealous of all the people who will get to play Storm of Zehir later this year. You see, the team at Obsidian set out to make the kind of RPG that we’ve always wanted to play but, the problem with that is, game developers typically cannot bear to play the games they make once they are finished. It would be kind of like dating your daughter after you’ve finished raising her. So, you guys (and gals) will be able to enjoy Storm of Zehir in ways that are sadly lost to us poor developers.
That happens when the gameplay of your game is fucking boring.

EDIT: Oh, an be sure to read the comments under the interview.
Quote: Cohorts help us to achieve this goal. Though they lack complex conversations of their own, and none of them will be love interests, they offer special responses in conversations that the player can choose, or not. The end result is that cohorts always give you more choices rather than sometimes “hijacking” and taking away choices.

OMG, they have *interjections*. I just wish Obsidian could put its act together and stop experimenting with what had been extablished as fan preference for ages now. Interjections are *nice*, no argument, but random banter and friendship sequences (including the romances) are what also is needed for a complete character development and a 'living' companion. Stop cutting corners, for gods' sake. You don't want to voice - don't voice, but don't cut out 75% of all the char dev.

Romances 75% of character development :roll:
 

Spectacle

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Someone should make an RPG where the main focus is on romance, it certainly seems like there's a market. And by giving these people what they want then maybe they will stop demanding the inclusion of pointless romances in regular RPGs.

But it's not going to happen, the gaming industry won't dare to deviate from the tried and true formulas, even when it's likely that there's a huge untapped market.
 

Pseudofool

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I might even be willing to replay the NWN2 OC with this overland map modded on top of it; it might actually make it fun. Same with MotB--I hope someone in the mod community takes up both projects...
 

Lumpy

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I don't really see how the overland map could improve MotB. The main locations have to be unlocked through dialogue, and there's not anything else that could be put on the map except for random monsters.

SoZ will have lots of content on the map, so that's the whole point.

Also the cohort interjection thing sounds awesome. Yay for moar role-playing options.
 
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The concept of a party of adventurers is at the core of the Dungeons and Dragons experience. Though of course we considered how party management worked in Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale, we were also inspired by other party-based CRPGs including the Wizardry and Might and Magic series. One of our goals has been to incorporate old school, party-focused gameplay into a modern RPG.
Sounds good, but it's sad to see a core CRPG gameplay element like party management described as "old school".
 

deuxhero

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music being awesome?

Way to state the obvious Obsidian. (seriously, if they don't completely own with the music they fail hard, seeing as how they have Alexander Brandon...)
 

Spectacle

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muds_animal_friend said:
Sounds good, but it's sad to see a core CRPG gameplay element like party management described as "old school".

There hasn't exactly been a lot of RPGs this century that let you create an entire party. The last I remember was TOEE, and that was pretty old-school too.
 

Warden

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There are 12 new creature models.. "several" are yuan-ti models (and if they include a new race that's 12 - 1 model already..) so I hope we get at least 7-8 non-yuan-ti models. Oh, I hope they'll include a Marilith model - those look nasty!
What do you think the new creatures will be?

I am also a bit bewildered by this, I'll quote: "I am really, really jealous of all the people who will get to play Storm of Zehir later this year. You see, the team at Obsidian set out to make the kind of RPG that we’ve always wanted to play.."

I'm wardening.. If SoZ is the kind of game they always wanted to play.. why didn't they start working on such a concept a bit earlier? Seems natural and logical to me to do so. I'm specifically talking about the NWN2 OC. Did they think it's best to first appeal to bioware fanbois who prefer linear driven story, logorrheic characters and easy encounters? (For the latter see the absolutely retarded 3rd post in a topic opened by Spacekungfuman, by a stupid bitch named "maria caliban", on the bio boards - just for the laugh if nothing else http://dragonage.bioware.com/forums/vie ... &forum=135 )


Oh, and yeah, don't forget to check the topic about the 5 things you'd like improved in SoZ (general rpg discussions).. I'm having new ideas as we speak. :p
 

Saxon1974

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Spectacle said:
Someone should make an RPG where the main focus is on romance, it certainly seems like there's a market. And by giving these people what they want then maybe they will stop demanding the inclusion of pointless romances in regular RPGs.

But it's not going to happen, the gaming industry won't dare to deviate from the tried and true formulas, even when it's likely that there's a huge untapped market.

Yea I could care less about Romance in my RPG, if you want that go read a romance novel. Seems like there alot of people on the Bioware boards that want that.....
 

Warden

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Saxon1974 said:
Yea I could care less about Romance in my RPG, if you want that go read a romance novel. Seems like there alot of people on the Bioware boards that want that.....

BUT.. how they dare to not make SoZ a dating and social sim? That's what made BG2 so popular! (tm by Melirinda http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/vi ... m=128&sp=0 ). :lol:
Please, calm down and spare the brick-in-face love for people like Mariaaa Caliban. Link posted in the other post.
 

Anthony Davis

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Warden said:
Saxon1974 said:
Yea I could care less about Romance in my RPG, if you want that go read a romance novel. Seems like there alot of people on the Bioware boards that want that.....

BUT.. how they dare to not make SoZ a dating and social sim? That's what made BG2 so popular! (tm by Melirinda http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/vi ... m=128&sp=0 ). :lol:
Please, calm down and spare the brick-in-face love for people like Mariaaa Caliban. Link posted in the other post.

People like what people like, shrug, I don't get upset.

Hopefully people who really enjoy romances will find other aspects of NX2 to enjoy.


Personally as a gamer, I don't think I have ever seen a romance done well in ANY video game. Even the ones people cite as 'romances done well' seem trite and annoying to me.
 

Solohk

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You mean, you haven't been able to get into choosing:

Tutorial
PC: [I agree with everything you say, innocent, beautiful, elven party member]
Act 1
PC: [I agree with everything you say, innocent, beautiful, elven party member]
Act 2
PC: [I agree with everything you say, innocent, beautiful, elven party member]
Act 3 - Just before showdown with evil necromancer
"BEFORE WE FIGHT - I LOVE YOU I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU, PC!"
PC: *tell the rest of the party to turn their backs while you and the elf chick TOTALLY do it in the dungeon just outside the necromancer's room*

What's not to like?
 

Murk

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Anthony Davis said:
People like what people like, shrug, I don't get upset.

Hopefully people who really enjoy romances will find other aspects of NX2 to enjoy.


Personally as a gamer, I don't think I have ever seen a romance done well in ANY video game. Even the ones people cite as 'romances done well' seem trite and annoying to me.

you gotta play merilinda's bishop romance man, that shit is hot
 

Jaesun

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Anthony Davis said:
Personally as a gamer, I don't think I have ever seen a romance done well in ANY video game. Even the ones people cite as 'romances done well' seem trite and annoying to me.

I detest romances in RPG's, usually in that there is no Gay romance option. :(

That said, out of sheer curiosity I did do the Gann romance in MotB. That was probably one of the best written RPG romance to date that I have tried before (BG2).
 

Texas Red

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I liked the PS:T romances because they didn't end happily and had some fantastical complexities that fit in well.

Here's a suggestion for a romance: Your protagonist falls for some woman companion but in a wild turn of event, she doesn't care the slightest for you. In fact, she plain disdains you. We've all been there and we all wanted to see the woman suffer and in the game you can actually fulfill your dark, borderline insane fantasy. I think Aerie was supposed to fall in love with another companion in BG 2 but management rejected this controversial idea because it didn't immediately satisfy the caveman player.
 

Warden

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Jaesun said:
I detest romances in RPG's, usually in that there is no Gay romance option. :(

I don't know if I'd detest them any less even if there were gay romance options..

First, romances in rpgs are NOT challenging at all.. just fucking compare them to real life romances. :x Gosh, I would be so happy if rl romances become as easy as click-2-and-romance. Therefore seeing romances in rpgs can at most frustrate me.. now that I think of it. :/

But.. it would be cool to have, for example, a masculine muscular strong guy joining your party.. as a blind date maybe.. and then when you meet... He doesn't like you! :x :shock: :( .. But he doesn't have the balls to leave the party outright because you're a badass dual-wielding crazed pansy with a party of slave minions - so he waits until you click the rest button to run away.. and never CALLS BACK.. OR ANSWERS YOUR SMS! :cry:

And then you're so angry.. so angry.. and the masculine muscular strong guy is no more...
But (happy ending spoiler) then, one day, you meet him in a crypt as he's flirting with a gay from another party. And then you kill them both and feed them to the beings of the crypt. And then you destroy the beings of the crypt too to utterly destroy all of his parts that were left not totally destroyed. :D

That would be a great romance! ...
Damn, why is there this rule that if a man is masculine, attractive and a sportsman he must be cretinoid as well. :x :cry: That damn stupid uneducated ignorant bastard...
Khm..
 

Anthony Davis

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Dark Individual said:
I liked the PS:T romances because they didn't end happily and had some fantastical complexities that fit in well.

Ok, I guess I need to take back my previous statement.

I DID enjoy the 'romances' in Planescape Torment a tremendous amount, but I would never even call them a 'romances' personally. To me they were just another facet of the relationship between TNO and his fellow tormented souls. None of them were typical, none of them had a 'Hollywood' ending. They were amazingly well written though.
 

Darth Roxor

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Dark Individual said:
I think Aerie was supposed to fall in love with another companion in BG 2 but management rejected this controversial idea because it didn't immediately satisfy the caveman player.

Nooooo, that wasn't rejected. Aerie can fall in love with Haer'Dalis.
 

Warden

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Anthony Davis said:
People like what people like, shrug, I don't get upset.

Sure! They can like whatever they want.. but it is a bit upsetting when someone says, for example, that you like very challenging (optional) combat just because you want less skilled people (come on.. skill in rpgs? :roll: ) to suffer. That's not invented. http://dragonage.bioware.com/forums/vie ... &forum=135 3rd post, made by that stupid bitch mariah caliban.
I think she's the same retard who said to me that I want resting restrictions just because I want other people to have a less enjoyable/more annoying experience (sure, I do want retards like her to have a less enjoyable experience, but that's not the main reason). Gee, if I am ever going to physically flatten someone from the internets - it'll be her. Any free plane tickets for Las Vegas?

PS. Anthony, hehehe, you said to deuxhero on the NWN2 boards to be nice to Merilinda.. what a Paladin. bioWare moderator mode on/off? :lol:

Please, confirm that there will be a marilith model ins SoZ, pleeeassseee... :)
 

Anthony Davis

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Warden said:
Anthony Davis said:
People like what people like, shrug, I don't get upset.

PS. Anthony, hehehe, you said to deuxhero on the NWN2 boards to be nice to Merilinda.. what a Paladin. bioWare moderator mode on/off? :lol:

Not even. I just don't want the discussion to get derailed by people being dbags to each other.
 

deuxhero

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hey, when shes proud of the fact that Straw Feminist is an excellent description of her, even putting the wild mass geussing orginated insane theroys aside, there is seriously something wrong with her.

Hell, when every aspect of her can be described entirely via TVtropes links, you can question if that is really how she acts, or if this is all a a magnicent Xanatos Gambit that is a perfect example of rule 29.
 

Warden

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Anthony Davis said:
Not even. I just don't want the discussion to get derailed by people being dbags to each other.

Sorry, but.. since you insist (if I were you I would ignore this point and be ashamed in silence :p ).

You wrote:
"I would still like to see people be at least respectful even when they disagree."
What are you doing here then, you ain't gonna see this here. :/ Hell, people aren't respectful here even when they agree..


Ah, ok... but you should understand that people like to bash Merilinda from time to time. After all she's bashing Obsidian constanly because it doesn't have romances and banter like bioware and all that shit. I.. I just don't want you to be infected with the bioWhore fascistic-mod syndrome. ;) Yeah, you're still not even close though..


PS. 12 new creature models:

Yuan-ti infiltrator
Yuan-ti abomination
Yuan-ti boss/whatever
another Yuan-ti model

Batiri goblin

Another base-race model (?.. who cares, hopefully not; there's enough of those already)

Dinosaur.. yeah, pity, but prolly it'll be included.

Some snake..

Maybe a Zehir model.. doubtful.. but still

That's already 9...
What about a MARILITH, ANTHONY?? :cry:
 

deuxhero

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She doesn't even have proof at the lack of banter, it was her jumping to conclusions...
 

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