Why the fuck don't we make a NWN2 module or something?

[AlaCarcuss]

Because NWN2 is really a pain in the ass to make mods for.

I was working on a remake of Serpent Isle for the NWN2 engine, and to be honest it's not really a pain in the ass, it just takes a while to get to know and understand the toolset. Hell following vast tutorials that are available and the helpful people on the bio forums I picked it up quite easily.

I think a Codex Mod for NWN2 would be EPIC. I's say start with a good story (tons of choice and consequence, skill checks etc...). Once you have a good solid story to build from, then you can start working on the mod.

I'd be glad to offer my help. I can script, and I can re-skin placables, tilesets etc...

Not to be rude, but why would anyone remake Ultima 7 or 7.5 in NWN2, or any other engine for that matter? The engine fits those games perfectly, and still looks decent by 2D standards. Even Exult simply improved the engine, rather than replace it.

I saw someone remaking Ultima 7 in the NWN1 engine, and I had the same response. Though both of U7 and U7.5 have fairly crappy combat, I still don't think any other engine is necessary or could do those games justice. Especially not a 3D engine designed specifically for a DnD ruleset with area-based loading - Ultima games need to be seemless.

Well, U5 was remade with the Dungeon Siege engine (Lazarus) and it was pretty damn good. Another group is working on U6 using the same engine....

Ha, I can see the codex developers thread now...all the bitching, name-calling, crying - it would be epic! I say go for it if only for the entertainment value that would provide

 

[Silellak]

Because NWN2 is really a pain in the ass to make mods for.

I was working on a remake of Serpent Isle for the NWN2 engine, and to be honest it's not really a pain in the ass, it just takes a while to get to know and understand the toolset. Hell following vast tutorials that are available and the helpful people on the bio forums I picked it up quite easily.

I think a Codex Mod for NWN2 would be EPIC. I's say start with a good story (tons of choice and consequence, skill checks etc...). Once you have a good solid story to build from, then you can start working on the mod.

I'd be glad to offer my help. I can script, and I can re-skin placables, tilesets etc...

Not to be rude, but why would anyone remake Ultima 7 or 7.5 in NWN2, or any other engine for that matter? The engine fits those games perfectly, and still looks decent by 2D standards. Even Exult simply improved the engine, rather than replace it.

I saw someone remaking Ultima 7 in the NWN1 engine, and I had the same response. Though both of U7 and U7.5 have fairly crappy combat, I still don't think any other engine is necessary or could do those games justice. Especially not a 3D engine designed specifically for a DnD ruleset with area-based loading - Ultima games need to be seemless.

Well, U5 was remade with the Dungeon Siege engine (Lazarus) and it was pretty damn good. Another group is working on U6 using the same engine....

Ha, I can see the codex developers thread now...all the bitching, name-calling, crying - it would be epic! I say go for it if only for the entertainment value that would provide

Oh, don't get me wrong, I am a Lazarus fanboy through and through. I think their team did a fabulous job re-imagining a classic game.

That being said, the Dungeon Siege engine wasn't horrible for an Ultima game - maybe not the BEST choice, but it at least had a "seamless world" factor going for it. The engine is also far more expandable (going so far as to allow externally written DLLs), while the NWN and NWN2 engines are almost entirely limited to the built-in toolset, thus severely limiting how "Ultima" you could make the game feel. Lazarus felt like an Ultima, but I just don't see how any game using any NWN engine that would "feel" like a real Ultima. Also, more superficially, Ultima 5's graphics are far more dated compared to Ultima 7's. Ultima 6 is somewhere in the middle, so I'm not nearly as excited about that particular remake as I was about Lazarus.

I just don't see the point in remaking Ultima 7 and Ultima 7.5 in a clearly inferior engine. Just because NWN1 and NWN2 are in 3D does not make their engine in any way better. Quite the opposite, really.

 

[buccaroobonzai]

More Forgotten realms hardly ever seen or used settings:
Anauroch
Al Qadim
Kara Tur (oriental adventures)
Thesk (unnaproachable east)
Hordelands
Great Glacier
Thay
Lantan
Old Empires (Mulhorand (Egyptian),Unther (Sumerian), Chessenta (Greek))
Even a time travel mod going back to era of Illefarn, Netheril, Ilmaskar(spelling ?)


There are a good amount of D&D settings that could use more CRPG gaming:
(besdies Raveloft and Planescape)

Dark Sun
Spelljammer (ther is a NWN1 SPelljammer base mod or two done)
Eberron
Blackmoor Land of Black Ice (D&D basic ed. setting)
Hollow World setting

D20 fantasy/steampunk made by non WoTC:
Iron Kingdoms (all the rules are seemless with the 3.5 ed. rules and classes.) Its steampunk.
Swashbuckling adventures (D20)
Arcanis
NeoExodus: A House Divided
Midnight
Ptolus
etc...

 

[1eyedking]

I'd rather learn programming (which I loathe) by myself than work for/with NWN2's engine.

We call ourselves enlightened and intelligent, so why not spread such enlightenment and intelligence through massive propaganda outside the Codex? It's pretty fucking obvious most games nowadays are a friggin' borefest of mindlessness, so instead of asking for new old-school games (nice oxymoron right there, folks), why not give away our knowledge of old-school games to people that care?

Instead of capitalizing on today's blunders, why don't we exalt yesterday's past games and offer newer gamers a chance to see why we think they're great?

 

[Pastel]

I'd rather learn programming (which I loathe) by myself than work for/with NWN2's engine.

We call ourselves enlightened and intelligent, so why not spread such enlightenment and intelligence through massive propaganda outside the Codex? It's pretty fucking obvious most games nowadays are a friggin' borefest of mindlessness, so instead of asking for new old-school games (nice oxymoron right there, folks), why not give away our knowledge of old-school games to people that care?

Instead of capitalizing on today's blunders, why don't we exalt yesterday's past games and offer newer gamers a chance to see why we think they're great?

Why should we? It's not like we could really affect the market in any way. So a couple more people will play Fallout and Planescape Torment - well la-dee-fucking-da. That doesn't help me at all.

 

[Jaesun]

What we need is an Open Source RPG Game engine. Similar to NWN2 but with turned based combat, and a way to edit the rule system say via 2da tables.

That way the codex would make a FUCKING EPIC game!

So someone get programming!

 

[Pastel]

turned based combated

Unfixed.

 

[Korgan]

Fuck, if you hate NWN2, just use NWN1.

 

[Crichton]

As mentioned, I've made one NWN2 mod single-handedly.

1) It's not that much work. It took me about a year, working off an on in my spare gaming time (if I game came out that I liked, I'd drop it and go back after I'd finished). And it has a good deal of content (areas, quests, NPCs, dialog) but no custom artwork aside from a few jpegs for end-slides and the world maps. It also only really has one cutscene, the timing on those things is really tough.

2) It's more work than you think it is. It took me months longer than I'd originally envisioned and there were many features that were quite important that I hadn't anticipated (including the world maps, integrating TonyK's AI and two of the optional areas). I also delayed to integrate content from MotB. It's funny now, but at one time I was anxious to get a release out before Purgotorio got released. Now it kind of looks like I'll complete my 2nd mod before then.

3) It's possible to implement procedurally generated quests, as I've posted on this forum before. My 2nd mod will use them for most of the side-quests.

4) The overland map is pretty cute, if you were skeptical before, it might be enough to change your mind. I'll post a little more on what I'm doing with that later.

5) My first mod wasn't exactly a remake, but it borrowed very heavily its sources (Gygax's PnP Temple of Elemental Evil, Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil). This made things easier, fleshing out the plot of my 2nd mod without railroading the players has proven a lot more difficult.

6) Changing the rules mechanics of D&D in the NWN2 toolset is possible using a whole lot of custom 2das and scripts, but it's difficult and if you really can't stomach D&D, you'd be better off making your own game. The NWN2 toolset is great for allowing people to make their own little D&D game quickly and easily. Anything grander than that should really be a commercial project.

 

[Qwinn]

I would actually wait around to see what games in 4th edition D&D wind up playing like.

I can understand some of the complaints about 4th edition D&D (I haven't played it yet, but I've read the PHB pretty thoroughly) as it relates to PnP play, but it actually strikes me that it should work fairly well in a CRPG setting. It actually seems designed for it.

Qwinn

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

I giggle at this a little bit because people are screaming "OMG WTF NWN2 IS TOO HARD TO WORK IN" and then elsewhere they go "LOL GIRLS R STUPID." I'd make some kind of a point saying that I am female and yet I've worked in the NWN2 engine and managed to make functional shit... but then again, we'd get skyway and Volly shrieking "SOZ SOZ FUCK YOU RARRRRR" and/or other folks saying thus I must not actually be a girl.

Ah, Codex. We got a love-hate thing goin' on. You coy fuckers, you.

But no, seriously, fucking make a mod already. I know AndhairaX's thread a bit back got you all worked up and pondering this, and FR still has plenty of interesting crap to explore (very largely because the setting itself is everything and the fucking kitchen sink). Calimshan, Sembia, Vassa, Halruaa, the Shaar, open the map close your eyes and pick whatever your finger lands on THERE WILL BE SOMETHING WORKABLE THERE. Just try not to aim to the upper left.

Also if you don't even want FR but want to mix up your own setting (that's probably still fantasy because that's the easiest with the available assets), that's still easy as pie. In fact, I was going to add about fifteen new gods to SoZ and I was directly told NOT to as it would be yet more stuff to tweak. I'm going to be petulant and add them in whenever I get around to making a mod, because I actually find FR's great smorgasbord of deities to be hilarious.

 

[Thrasher]

I think that the backstories for Aglarond, Unthar, and Rashemen still have great potential for some innovative campaigns.

map

 

[Deleted Member 10432]

Yes, please do.

I could use a laugh.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

I giggle at this a little bit because people are screaming "OMG WTF NWN2 IS TOO HARD TO WORK IN" and then elsewhere they go "LOL GIRLS R STUPID."

It's not that it's hard, it's just a pain in the ass.
I mean, Christ, I spent a year making a dialogue-heavy Morrowind mod, and look at that dialogue building system. I have a tolerance for this kind of thing. But... yeah.

Okay, people are saying it isn't that bad when you get used to it, which I suppose might be true. But I don't have the patience for pissing about with it until that point. I am a Man.

 

[Micormic]

NWN2 SUCKS ASS(motb and soz are both equally bad )

 

[elander_]

NWN2/SoZ would be great for a Wasteland remake with the world map feature if that is also modable.

I wanted to play that game again but it's so unfriendly to get it working with the DOSbox with the save system and having to play with descriptions being written on the printed manual to save memory.

If that doesn't work then i believe that Jagged Alliance 2 with the latest patch is highly modable.

 

[Davaris]

What do you guys think of this for the NWN1 engine?

http://federicopeinado.com/projects/rcei

Its one component of a project to build RPGs with automatically generating stories. It could take much of the work out of making your mod. It also looks like someone is making an adapter for the NWN2 engine.

This has more details on what they want to do:

http://www.fdi.ucm.es/profesor/fpeinado/publications/2004-peinado-transferring.pdf

 

[Mantiis]

NWN2 SUCKS ASS(motb and soz are both equally bad )

Fuck you, MotB was good apart from the faggot ending. And Kaelyn has an orgasmic voice as has been mentioned before.

I haven't played SoZ as I am over the NWN engine

 

[Jaesun]

But no, seriously, fucking make a mod already.

Completely agree. People can bitch and bitch about combat, and other deficiencies in NWN2. But overall, it IS a great and easy engine to make a mod with.

I'm still waiting for that first Story Outline.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Whatever tool that ends up getting used, I volonteer to help write for the mod. Dialog, descriptions, npcs, romances, whatever. If it's text you need I can provide a lot of that in a fashionable manner. I can also do incredibly shitty voice acting IF it ever cums to that (highly unlikely, and that's why I offer the service). Heck, the only shit I cannot do is programming and graphics and anything work-related!

I can't carry it for you... but I can carry you!

 

[Rhett Butler]

Make a TB mod so I can actually enjoy MotB. Every time I play that game I am impressed by the atmosphere, dialogue, characters and general sense of maturity. Then I get frustrated as fuck with trying to manage all those casters in stupid, fiddly RTwP and realise that as original and beautiful as the game is I am not actually having any fun playing it and I do something else.

 

[Naked Ninja]

Those who can : do.

Those who can't : Sit around talking about it all day.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Make a TB mod so I can actually enjoy MotB. Every time I play that game I am impressed by the atmosphere, dialogue, characters and general sense of maturity. Then I get frustrated as fuck with trying to manage all those casters in stupid, fiddly RTwP and realise that as original and beautiful as the game is I am not actually having any fun playing it and I do something else.

Then create a character that involves as little fiddling about as possible.

Something like...a Monk/Cleric/Sacred Fist. So you have high speed and high AC, and fights can mostly resolve themselves if you have a good build.

 

[Volourn]

"Volourn has made a NWN 1 mod, ask him for advice.

(btw the mod sucked)"

Lie. I made no such thing.

 

[fastpunk]

Completely agree. People can bitch and bitch about combat, and other deficiencies in NWN2. But overall, it IS a great and easy engine to make a mod with.

Agreed. It offers good balance between what you can do and how hard it is to do it. Works especially well for dialogs, which is probably something an RPG Codex mod would have in large quantities. Now there's the Overland Map as well, and the party convo system for party based mods.

If nothing else, we can start small and at least try creating some uber-sprawling, hardcore dungeon, to add to the SoZ overland map.