HoW Downloadable Expansion (Dungeon Set) A more complete story...but no release date

[Larry_OHF]

About a year ago, Black Isle Studios, the award-winning CRPG division of Interplay released Icewind Dale. Set in the titular region in the frozen far north of Faerun, an area popularized in a series of AD&D books by author R.A. Salvatore, the game successfully captured the feel of pen and paper dungeon crawl modules. These are typically adventures that take place in a self-contained geographic location - thus the title - featuring plenty of combat and treasure hunting within a storyline that tends to be fairly linear in nature. When applied to a computer role-playing game by the talented and imaginative Black Isle team, the formula proved successful as well, receiving a large number of critical plaudits and ringing up strong sales at the cash register.

The game quickly proved popular enough to merit development of the Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter expansion pack. Released in the early part of this year, it extended the adventure via a lengthy add-on quest dubbed a "mini-campaign" that gave most gamers between about 15 and 25 more hours of playing time. It turned out, however, that the team and the adventure aren't finished yet. In the relatively near future, fans will be able to download a free "dungeon set" that is currently in development. We have been watching the bits of information that have come to light about it, and we decided to see if we could learn more. Fortunately, Designer Steve Bokkes of Black Isle was kind enough to oblige us with this informative Icewind Dale Dungeon Set Interview.

Jonric: On the Icewind Dale site, the term "downloadable dungeon set" is used to describe the project. What will it actually include? Will there be one dungeon or more than one? And does the project have a title, or will it have one?

Steve Bokkes: Well, the project has been described as a "downloadable dungeon set" because that is exactly what the original concept called for. The idea was that we were going to put together a couple of free dungeon levels so players could continue their adventures beyond the scope of Heart of Winter. It sounded pretty straightforward at first. It wasn't until we actually began to design the first few areas and flesh out the details of the story that we began to see the project as much more than a mere "dungeon set." Suddenly, in addition to the two massive, subterranean levels we originally planned for, we had an entire ruined castle, complete with a multi-level keep, four towers, and an enclosed courtyard.

Then, on top of that, we decided that the story demanded even more areas. So, we added a sprawling, maze-like crypt and a huge dungeon complex beneath the castle. In total, I think we have well over 200 screens worth of new level art and God knows how many pages of design material for this free expansion. As far as the name goes, we haven't decided on the official title yet, but I'm sure we'll have one soon. We've come up with a whole list of really good potential names, but haven't hit upon the perfect one just yet. Call us picky.

Jonric: Whatever it ends up being called, who is working on the dungeon set, and in what capacities? Are you doing this full-time, part-time, or just in your spare time?

Steve Bokkes: We've got pretty much the same bunch of guys that worked on Icewind and Heart of Winter working on this new expansion. Darren Monahan is once again our fearless producer, backed by his right-hand man, Kevin Osburn. Pete Meihuizen leads our team of artists, as well as does the lion's share of the project's animation. Jason Manley has painted some new character portraits, and continues to amaze me with his fabulous concept paintings. We still have our master modeler, Aaron Brown, cranking out level after level of beautifully detailed dungeon environments. We also have artists Dave Pursley and John Dickenson working on level art and animations. Tom French is handling the programming for the project, with the help of Jake Devore and Rich Finegan, who are both working simultaneously on another unannounced project. On the design side, we have John Deiley and myself working on story and level design. And we are lucky to have Dave Hendee, Scott Everts, and Jason Suinn on technical design. Most of us are dedicated solely to this expansion, though a few team members are periodically helping out on other projects.

Jonric: In terms of the story that you mentioned, what's the basic premise or concept? Where does it take place? How many locations are involved and what different types?

Steve Bokkes: The setup is accomplished through a newly arrived stranger in the Whistling Gallows Inn of Lonelywood. This stranger, a gnarled, old halfling by the name of Hobart Stubbletoes, spins a tale about a lost artifact hidden away somewhere within the haunted ruins of a distant castle. Once the diminutive fellow has captured the interest of the adventurers, he'll offer to show them the way to this castle, in exchange for a fair share of the loot, of course. And thus, the adventure begins.

The majority of the action takes place within the walls of the haunted castle itself. So, it's not surprising that we spent a lot of time and effort coming up with an original concept for the ruins. I wanted to steer clear of the classic haunted castle setting-you know, the stereotypically gothic castle, perched high upon the stormy cliffs of a dark and dreary landscape. So, instead, we opted to place our ruined fortress smack dab in the middle of the vast Anauroch Desert. As a result, all of the exterior locations, from the castle's abandoned-though certainly not unoccupied-courtyard, to the crumbling parapets of the outer walls, they all have this eerie bleakness to them. I think the artists did an excellent job of capturing the desolate feel of a desert setting. In addition to the aboveground ruins, we also have several other distinctly unique environments ranging from dusty crypts, to damp dungeons, to dark catacombs deep within the bowels of the desert - yikes… how many D's was that?

Jonric: Do you have a sense yet of how long it should take to play through? And is it aimed at characters of any certain minimum level?

Steve Bokkes: We've only just begun the testing and balancing phase, but, all in all, I'd say it should take at least eight to 10 hours to complete the adventure. As far as level requirements go, we had a hard time deciding the exact level range we wanted to gear the adventure towards. Since this project is all about the fans, I posted a poll on our message boards asking what level we should shoot for. Most of the replies indicated that the players wanted a high level adventure for parties of 14th level and up. That sounded about right to me. However, as Darren was quick to point out, it is possible to complete both Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter and still have a party that is well below 14th level. So, we've decided to try and accommodate as many players as possible by scaling the difficulty of the adventure according to the party's level. For the most part, this is accomplished through the programming magic of Tom French. Encounters will be scripted so that the number of creatures, as well as their type and overall combat strategy, will vary depending on the party's average level. However, you will need to be at least 11th level to actually embark on the adventure to begin with.

Jonric: What kinds of new monsters and opponents can players expect to face? How many new types will there be, and what are a couple of interesting or unusual ones?

Steve Bokkes: I was noticing the other day that, between John's areas and mine, we've actually added quite a few new monsters to the Icewind bestiary. We've got several new dungeon denizens, such as jackalweres, ochre jellies, and green slime creatures. The crypts are packed with all kinds of nasties, including some new and improved undead types. We've even imported a few old friends from BGII.

Jonric: Will there be much in the way of new weapons, armor and other items? And again, please tell us about some that players might find especially interesting?

Steve Bokkes: Since the overall size of the download is a concern, we decided to keep the amount of new items to a minimum. However, there will still be a good number of unique items for players to discover, including some "home-brewed" items submitted by fans on our message boards. We've also decided to implement the bag of holding, an artifact that I'm sure players will find useful if not interesting.

Jonric: And for spellcasters, will there be any new spells, and if so, are there any that you're able to describe for our readers?

Steve Bokkes: Actually, we decided early on not to include any new spells in this expansion. The original assortment of Icewind spells, plus the 59 new spells added in Heart of Winter, should be plenty for the adventure.

Jonric: While it's difficult to draw a definitive line, will the dungeon set be just a big side quest, or will it be a mini-adventure, possibly with side quests of its own?

Steve Bokkes: Personally, I consider it to be more of a mini-adventure. There are certainly enough story elements, characters, and individual locations to make this little dungeon romp more than just a big side quest. However, since the adventure is pretty much contained within the ruins, there will be no overland travel. So, naturally, there won't be too many opportunities for additional side quests.

Jonric: The musical scores were great strengths for both Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter. Will the dungeon set have any new music, and if so, who is creating it?

Steve Bokkes: We do have plans for some new music, including original scores by composer Jeremy Soule. But we'll have to wait and see just how big the download will be before we commit to including the rather sizeable music files.

Jonric: Earlier on, you talked about new character portraits. How many will there be, and what kinds of characters will they depict?

Steve Bokkes: Yes. There are actually six new character portraits by artist Jason Manley, including two fighter types, a mage, a cleric, a ranger, and a druid with a cute, little owl.

Jonric: How did the idea to create a free dungeon set come about? When did work actually begin, and where does development stand at the moment? What's your target completion date, and how likely is it that the size will be within the target range of 75 to 100 megs?

Steve Bokkes: The idea first started to get tossed around about a month after Heart of Winter shipped. The team was kind of in a state of flux. Some members were working on the patch, others were helping out on TORN, and the rest of us were ramping up for our next project. With our resources divided, it just didn't seem like a good time to begin production on our next title. So, instead, we decided to put together a free downloadable expansion to Heart of Winter. Development actually started in early March, and we hope to have it completed and available on our website sometime in June. As it stands right now, the game is shaping up quite nicely. The art has been finished for all the levels, and John and I are busy populating them with all sorts of nasty surprises. As far as size goes, we've been pretty good about sticking to our game plan. We should have no problem keeping the overall download size under a hundred megs.

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Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

[Lord of Alcohol]

bump for all those eagerly waiting, and thanks Larry for keeping us up to date!

[Larry_OHF]

More NEWS!!!

Hey everyone, It's been awhile since our last web update regarding the Downloadable Dungeon set, so we wanted to let you know about a couple of things. After some debating, we have finally come up with a name for our Downloadable Dungeon Set, Heart of Winter: Trials of the Luremaster. Also, we want to remind everyone that to play Heart of Winter: Trials of the Luremaster, you must have Heart of Winter installed. We are putting the finishing touches on it right now, and everything is looking great. It looks like it will be in QA later this week, so you can look for it this month.

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Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

[Lord of Alcohol]

bump, and due this month cross your fingers

[Bluestar]

Thank you for keeping us up to date with the info.

Bluestar

[Therro]

I Can't Wait!

This "expansion expansion" is going to kick some serious bootay!

[Gaelic]

I am knocking on wood as we speak.



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Gaelic

[DawnChaser]

I am looking forward to it, as well! (though I have not finished IWD:HOW yet)

"Bring on the baddies!"


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DawnChaser aka Thanatos (Dispositioner of Souls)

[Lrd Feanor]

I completed both Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter once but restarted from the beginning and have been at the last battle in Icewind Dale for three weeks tryingto kill the Brother Poquelin. This has been impossible at the insane level I have played the game in the second go round, however I will be ready when the expansion comes. With characters maxed at level thirty watch out. BTW why are there limitations on the dualling of humans from Paladin to Ranger or vice versa or multi-class ranger/cleric, ranger/druid, ranger/cleric/mage, ranger/druid/mage, ranger/mage/thief etc Finally, elves and half-elves should always be able to cast mage spells wearing elvin chain mail +1, +2, +3, +4, or +5. These need to conform to D & D rules. Pass this on to Black Isles, team members.

[Larry_OHF]

Originally posted by Gaelic: I am knocking on wood as we speak.

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Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

[This message has been edited by Larry_OHF (edited 06-06-2001).]