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Old 03-26-2001, 05:08 PM   #91
Memnoch
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Today's info - some interesting stuff.


Dave Gaider - (Senior Designer)
Final Infinity Engine tweaks for TOB: We plan on extending the current romances to the end of the Bhaalspawn storyline, that's for certain...as for new romances, there's nothing I can mention at the moment.

Amount of additional gameplay time: We've only a rough estimate, currently, which is around 40 hours (possibly more). We won't have a more realistic estimate until after we've completed all the areas and QA has had the chance to run through the complete product. The same applies to the split between the add-in and add-on...can't really say until we have a better idea of the overall length.

Ending the storyline: There's been no problem including the ending of the story into ToB. BG2 was quite a bit longer than an 'ordinary-length' RPG would be...so while we could certainly draw out the end storyline by adding more obstacles and more plots and such, it's really not pertinent to the endgame plot. Plus, it's fairly difficult to balance an adventure meant for 20+ level characters...especially when you've got so much variance for the number and level of characters that can be imported into the game, their equipment selection and the skill levels of the players. A full-blown sequel at this point would be a monumental task.

That said, ToB is no ordinary-sized expansion, either. It's a BG2-sized expansion, so take that to mean what you will.

An unlimited adventure game: There was a game that had something like this. Daggerfall. Interesting concept, but it got pretty old pretty quick.

I suppose I could see how randomized missions could be done, but in order to prevent them from being continuously repetitive or simplistic, a LOT of work would be required. If you've a suggestion (a feasible one) on how such an idea might be implemented and still be fun, that would be interesting.

Myself, I think NWN is the way to go as far as unlimited adventures is concerned.

Making an evil only game: I agree it might be cool, but then I'm a D&D fanatic. We may be vocal and obsessive, but our numbers are not exactly gargantuan. Making a product that would be very cool to a small number of people might make those people very, very joyous (heh) but it doesn't exactly translate into mass sales.

Not that mass sales is always the focus, but it is nice. Like getting paid is nice.

But who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. One can never tell what will catch the attention of the mass market. I certainly would have thought No One Lives Forever would sell a bit better than it did. But even though it'd be the marketing types telling me that catering to a niche market right off the bat would be a bad thing, they can't be wrong all the time.

(As for the game being completely engineered to be evil, I don't know. Maybe. Personally I think that'd be fun...once. And then it would just be kinda sad. But I know others may feel differently than me, so I don't feel very strongly about it.)

Giving the name of the new NPC: I know you're eager, but we've got to reserve some stuff for the sake of surprise.

As it is, I expect that as we get closer to release we'll start seeing elements being released for public consumption on news sites. But to blow our wad (so to speak) all at once would be a bit silly, I'm sure even you have to agree (no matter how momentarily satisfying it might be).

Allowing summoned monsters to move from one area to another: Sorry to disappoint, but as I understand it, there is a definite limitation to creatures being able to move from area to area with you. In fact, creatures that can do so have to be specified at the start of the game. Considerable programming had to be done just to allow for familiars, even.

If we could make the change you want, we would do it...believe me, it certainly wasn't a capricious thing. But the resources required are not so easily manipulated as you think.

In fact, I just asked Mark about this again just for fun and he gave me THE LOOK.

In the future, hopefully this will be something we can plan to accommodate. I wouldn't mind seeing that capability, either.


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Old 03-26-2001, 05:09 PM   #92
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Some additional stuff about rogues in the expansion.


Kevin Martens (Lead Designer)
XP cap and thieves: Rogues gain levels faster than any other class and get numerous, powerful high level abilities that are unique to rogues. Single-classed, kitted or otherwise, the rogue gains tons of levels and abilities and also gets class specific items.

To clarify - there is a cap of 8 million XP with a maximum level of 40. Things have to stop somewhere and, like all previous games, we chose this point. Unlike previous games, we've expanded the cap enormously. The actual typical XP to be reached in the expansion is 5 million. An enormous amount of experience. The rogue class only slows down at level 39. They need quite a bit of XP for the final level only. They reach level 39 faster than any other class.

Familiars: The familiars are tougher in the expansion.

High level abilities: Regarding high level abilities and high level spells - all classes and kits get some high level abilities or quests spells.


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Old 03-26-2001, 06:51 PM   #93
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Ooooooh! I can't wait!! Everything I hear about this expansion makes me more impatient!

But seriously, would others out there like to see more infinity engine RPGs after TOB?

I know that NWN is going to push forward the boundaries of the CRPG, but I can't help worrying that I'm not going to be able to play it easily - I have dreadful hand/eye co-ordination and, for example, I can't play FPS games AT ALL - I just can't get to grips with the 3Dness of it all, and I'm worried that simply controlling my character through a 3D environment will be too difficult for me to manage. I already learned that there will be no player pause allowed in NWN, which for my slow reactions spells disaster.

Also there's the issue of the hardware required for fancy graphics. At the moment, my PC cannot cope with flashy graphics (I can't manage 3D spell effects in BGII) and I know that I am not alone. I can't afford to upgrade every time something new comes out. This limits the market for graphics heavy games - as an example, I am sure that Black & White is a fantastic game, but it's not going to stay as a chart-topper for more than a couple of weeks because the specs are so high that most PC owners can't run it.

I know that this just sounds like a mega-whine, but what I'm trying to say is that I am a huge fan of the Infinity Engine and would like to see another game using this engine. I do agree that the Bhaalspawn story has run its course, but I'm sure there is mileage in something along similar lines?

Does anyone have any opinions on this? It is not that I am unwilling to see change, but it's a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' IMHO.

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Old 03-26-2001, 06:59 PM   #94
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Epona right with you here. Iim sure some folks will be able to race away on NWN due to Tomb Raider style skills. I like the isometic view of BG2, i think it is an intuative way of playing, like figures on a board. 3D games aren't as intuative, when in reality do we get to manouvre an object in 3 dimensions from a camera angle behind and above it? FPS are intuative as the view point matches our own everyday one to some degree.

Also I know Wolfie liked Severance, but I found the demo unplayable, as at no point was I entirely in control of my character. (for the unitiated Severance is played Tomb Raider style)

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Old 03-27-2001, 07:25 PM   #95
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Old 03-27-2001, 07:49 PM   #96
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I posted this earlier, should have posted it here:
I seem to recall that some of the outer planes affected spell casting, item abilities, etc. Has anyone heard if ToB will deal with this in some respect? I was also wondering about anti-magic zones, will we finally see some, as in some of the old pnp D&D modules? (I would really like to see some of those mage-heavy parties get a surprise!)


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Old 03-28-2001, 12:49 AM   #97
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Old 03-28-2001, 12:52 AM   #98
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Can't wait for this expansion to come out hehe.
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Old 03-28-2001, 09:09 PM   #99
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Old 03-28-2001, 09:41 PM   #100
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Quote:
Originally posted by Epona:
Ooooooh! I can't wait!! Everything I hear about this expansion makes me more impatient!

But seriously, would others out there like to see more infinity engine RPGs after TOB?

I know that NWN is going to push forward the boundaries of the CRPG, but I can't help worrying that I'm not going to be able to play it easily - I have dreadful hand/eye co-ordination and, for example, I can't play FPS games AT ALL - I just can't get to grips with the 3Dness of it all, and I'm worried that simply controlling my character through a 3D environment will be too difficult for me to manage. I already learned that there will be no player pause allowed in NWN, which for my slow reactions spells disaster.

Epona, I'm with you on this totally. My kids keep trying to get me to play FF8 and the like, but my reactions just aren't fast enough to succeed at the special sword skills etc. And I was NOT impressed with Ultima IX! The 3-D effects were too clunky and hard to control. I really prefer the point & click stuff, with keyboard being a choice, and not a necessity.

Maybe I sound old, but the infinity engine is a good creation and shouldn't be abandoned in my humble opinion.

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