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Latest General News Headlines:Neverwinter Nights 2 Patch 1.21 Released - November 18, 2008, 9:13 pm by Urithrand Storm of Zehir Reviews; Thieves' Guild Start the Ball Rolling - November 18, 2008, 9:09 pm by Urithrand Immersion vs #'s at BioWare's Blog - November 18, 2008, 9:00 pm by Urithrand 12 Reasons PC Gaming is Better than Consoles at TechRadar - November 18, 2008, 8:55 pm by Urithrand Dragon Age Official Site Updates - November 18, 2008, 8:49 pm by Urithrand Weekly Wizards of the Coast News Round-up - November 16, 2008, 5:34 pm by Taluntain Play Infinity Engine & Older (A)D&D Games Online - Easy - November 14, 2008, 3:21 pm by Taluntain The 26 Best RPGs at GamePro - November 12, 2008, 10:18 pm by Urithrand Storm of Zehir Interview at NWVault - November 12, 2008, 10:08 pm by Urithrand Neverwinter Nights 2 Patch 1.21 Sneak Peek - November 12, 2008, 10:03 pm by Urithrand  Latest Active Threads on Boards o' Magick:
How one becomes an attorney in your country (Alley of Dangerous Angles post by Loreseeker)
Chromatic Orb (Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn post by saros)
12 Reasons PC Gaming is Better than Consoles at TechRadar (General News & Comments post by Loreseeker)
Random Babbling Post #104 (Whatnots post by Loreseeker)
Why don't more RPGs use "Party Banter"? (The Playground post by Tassadar)
HoF is a bit boring... (Icewind Dale 2 post by Silvery)
Neverwinter Nights 2 Patch 1.21 Released (General News & Comments post by Urithrand)
Your party - Tell us! (Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal post by pplr)
Holy Liberator kit (Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal post by pplr)
Neverwinter Nights 2 Patch 1.21 Released Posted: November 18, 2008, 9:13 pm by Urithrand  The latest patch has arrived, and no-one can tell us about the exciting updates better than the man himself, Rob McGinnis of Obsidian. Here's a clip from his forum post:General * Playable races now have a proper stealth animation. * Added in the AI functionality from TonyK's AI. * In a peer-to-peer multiplayer session, the hosting player may now unpause the game unconditionally. Toolset * Added properties associated with the overland map, including camera positioning and the flag to mark the area as an overland map. * Added camera positioning functionality settings in the area properties to support overland maps created by the community. * Added a flag in the area properties to set an area to be an overland map. * Added Campaign flags for Unrestricting NPC level ups (Lets them chose any class at level up) * Added Campaign flags for Conversation Distance limit override. * Added Campaign flags to turn off party-control character swapping for dialogs on a global level. * Added Campaign flags to enable Party Creation and setting what the size of the party should be. * Added Campaign flags to toggle the new death system. The entire list can be viewed here. [Add/Comments: 3] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 18, 2008, 9:09 pm by Urithrand  The first of an expected torrent of reviews of SoZ has appeared, written by those lucky dogs at Thieves' Guild. Having managed to get their mits on an early copy, they've given us the chance to get those all important first impressions before we buy. Here's a quick snip:Monsters will spawn frequently on the overland map. In fact, they seemed to spawn a little too frequently at times at the end of my first extended playthrough, and then spawned a lot less on starting up the next session. You can deal with the roving monsters in a myriad of ways: run from them, hide, parley with them, bribe them and simply gird up your loins and go to a mini-map to fight them. Kill 'em, grab the lot, heal the party as needed and exit the min-map back to the overland map. You can NOT rest on the mini-maps. So exiting to the Overland Map can be an adventure in itself. It's entirely possible to exit from one encounter right on top of another with NO avenue for escape. You can encounter monsters that you are not prepared for or equipped to handle. The difficulty rating for encounters does not scale to match your party's level. So be careful where you go. You're not in Kansas anymore Toto. Once back on the Overland map, you can attempt to rest, heal and memorize spells but there is a risk of being discovered and attacked. A high survival skill comes in extremely useful here. There is a lot to be discovered, such as various items and other quest locations that you can find on the Overland Map. General directions to some of these locations can be discovered by asking the bartenders at the various taverns for recent rumours. Well the release date might be here, but for those whose retaillers don't open the locked doors until Friday, read it and drool with the rest of us. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 18, 2008, 9:00 pm by Urithrand  Everyone's favourite blog these days has been updated with another three-parter entitled "Immersion vs #'s" but you'll have to excuse the overuse of apostrophes and read a little bit to whet your appetite:So do I avoid looking at the numbers? Unfortunately, no. If they’re easily available in game, I have to look. Sometimes I try not to… but they’re right there! So I’ll take an example of a hard fight I did on two separate play throughs of Mass Effect. (I did not work on the first game so it was all fresh and new to me.) The Matriarch Benezia fight is generally considered tough. The first time I played the game on the regular difficulty setting, I wasn’t looking at numbers carefully. This was the extent of my numerology: “Oh this thing makes my bullets do more damage. So does that one but it has a IV after the name… I’ll use that one.” It was a tough fight, and frustrating. I had to try different strategies, some madcap schemes and even a few hail-maries. (Hail Mary +2!) Finally I downed her and moved on with my game, secure in the illusion that this was all real. The second time through, on veteran difficulty, I one shotted her. (In the sense that Shepard and both of my squad members each did one action then she was dead. Maybe that’s three shotting.) The difference? I’d looked at all the numbers carefully and designed a strategy around that. (The second play through was months later, so I didn’t remember what had worked the first time.) Did that make it less satisfying? No. But did it make it more satisfying? No. I still killed her the same. I couldn’t win more than I had the other way, just quicker. (And, uh, with no reloads.) But I didn’t think any of it was real. Benezia was a boss at the end of a level. Read on... [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 18, 2008, 8:55 pm by Urithrand  A rather fun little article comparing the joys of PC gaming with the dubious pleasure of console gaming (ahem) has been posted at TechRadar. Here's a couple of points to be getting along with:2. High screen resolutions While Microsoft and Sony scream about 'true HD' in their games – but in many cases don't actually deliver it – the PC has been happily running games at 1080p and above for yonks. In fact, the near-HD default res of 1,280x1,024 is very 2001; even a medium rig can handle 1,600x1,200 or more these days. 3. Free mods Were you a raw naif, you might be forgiven for thinking that LittleBigPlanet et al single-handedly invented the idea of (nnnggh) 'user generated content'. But guess what? PC gamers have been coding mods (modifications) such as add-ons, total conversions, unofficial levels and all manner of other gubbins for… well, pretty much forever. And then distributing it for free, for the sheer love of it. Linky. [Add/Comments: 4] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 18, 2008, 8:49 pm by Urithrand  A few things to report over at the official DA website, including the release of the official FAQ, and a short exposé on the Ferelden culture. Here's a teaser:The Fereldans are a puzzle. As a people, they are one bad day away from reverting to barbarism. They repelled invasions from Tevinter during the height of the Imperium with nothing but dogs and their own obstinate disposition. They are the coarse, willful, dirty, disorganized people who somehow gave rise to our prophet, ushered in an era of enlightenment, and toppled the greatest empire in history. That little update, along with a couple of other interesting snippets can be found over at the DA homepage. Clicky. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 16, 2008, 5:34 pm by Taluntain  » Draconomicon Excerpts: Dragonkin Kobold» Draconomicon Art Gallery » Draconomicon Map Gallery » Design & Development: Barbarian & Bard » Spotlight -- Quickling Runner » D&D Experience 2009 » Success Along the Adventure Path » D&D Miniatures Gallery: Demonweb » Spotlight Interview - Martial Power » Digital Insider #15: Builder Beta » Dungeon Adventure: Den of the Destroyer » Draconomicon Excerpts: Heart of Darkness » D&D Podcast: Episode 28 (November 2008) » Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet » Spotlight -- Curse Slaad » RPGA Report: DMing in Public [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 14, 2008, 3:21 pm by Taluntain  Well, at least so Scott from GameRanger would have us believe. Those of you who have played (or tried to play) these games online before know that more often than not getting online multiplayer to work with the older games can be a chore at best and impossible at worst. GameRanger is supposed to make it easy and since something like this doesn't come along every day, it certainly deserves our promotion. Here's the word from Scott Kevill of GameRanger Technologies:Hi all at Sorcerer's Place, just thought I'd let you know about a new multiplayer network I've created, called GameRanger, for playing online with these games covered at SP: - Baldur's Gate - Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast - Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn - Dragonshard - Fallout Tactics (including demo) - Icewind Dale - Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter - Icewind Dale II - Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Basically, GameRanger makes it quick and easy to play your friends online. It has full lobby support for over 500 different games and demos (including the above games, of course), without the hassles and headaches that usually happen with network connections (eg. routers & firewalls). I'm really excited to be releasing it, and hope it helps boost the Sorcerer's community by allowing people to play that were unable to until now due to problems with opening ports, etc. The more barriers that can be removed, the more likely the community will stay strong, as new users won't be put off. You can download it at www.GameRanger.com We're eager to hear user's experiences with this application, so those of you who try it out, please post about it here or in our Online Adventures forum! [Add/Comments: 3] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 12, 2008, 10:18 pm by Urithrand A member of staff over at GamePro has satisfied the desire to list 26 RPGs in ascending order of awesomeness, though there may be some arguament with anyone who rates Diablo 2 above BG2:SoA (nabbing the #18 spot) and Planescape: Torment (with a relatively respectable #22 rating). Here's a small snippet of what they have to say about BG2:In 1998, Bioware set the RPG world ablaze with its AD&D based dungeon romp, Baldur's Gate. For some companies, that would be cause enough to feed their audience a long line of rehashed sequels for decades to come, but not for Bioware. Just two years later, they managed to refine the experience in every possible way with Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. Telling a tale far too expansive to summarize or spoil here, BG 2 sees you and your fellow heroes from the first title waylaid, sacked and imprisoned for the purpose of a mad mage's torturous experiments - and that's just where the game begins. Bioware's trademark real time turn based combat, later made famous in Knights of the Old Republic and the more FPS-centric Mass Effect, finds its roots here in the BG series, as you can let your party members carry on as their AI defines or tap the space bar to pause the action and issue more specific orders. All in all, Baldur's Gate 2 is a must have title in every serious PC RPG player's collection. Here you can start at the bottom and work your way up to the #1 top spot, not entirely unfairly going to Final Fantasy 7. [Add/Comments: 13] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 12, 2008, 10:08 pm by Urithrand The intrepid adventurers at NWVault have conducted a short SoZ related interview with Scott Everts (technical artist), Matthew Rorie (marketing & PR), and Nathaniel Chapman (designer), all from Obsidian. Here's an appetiser:The big new toy you have added to the NWN2 franchise is the World Map. I have several questions about what can be done with it and how it can be used by module authors. First and foremost, how do you create it? It looks like a standard toolset area, but then at other times doesn't, due to scale. Is it built in the toolset? Are there walkmeshes and heightmaps just like a normal exterior area? Scott Everts: Hi, I'm Scott Everts and created both Overland Maps for Storm of Zehir. The Overland map is built using the exterior map editor. So it's a standard map and you can use all terrain tools, texture painting, and props on it. From an editor point of view it's no different than making any other exterior. You can control the overland map mode from Area Properties. There's an on/off toggle and controls for distance, pitch, and yaw of the camera. The camera always centers on the player's character. To make the new maps unique we created all new ground textures and props. The texturing tab list has new textures using the "TT_MAP_??" naming convention. The placeables blueprints list has a new "Overland Map" category. We came up with our own scale but you can make any scale you want. Just adjust the scale of the props to your liking. Plus you can mix and match the overland props with any from the other prop lists. Also you can mix and match any ground textures. Walkmeshes are the same. You can paint the walkmesh just like you are used to. Plus use the walkmesh cutters for finer control. And the heightmap system works the same, just use the terrain tools like usual. Since the scale of the map is so much smaller you have to be more careful with the terrain tools so you don't get texture stretching on your maps. We did optimize the ground textures and props. Since they were seen from a much greater distance the overland props are much simpler then our other props. And ground textures are lower resolution. It wasn't strictly necessary but we wanted to cut down texture/poly count as much as possible. Why waste it when you can't see the detail. So take that into account when using original game assets. If you have tons of original game props on a very large overland map it could cause slowdowns. As an example a building might be 3000 polygons and use a 1024x1024 pixel texture while the Overland version might be 500 polygons and use a 256x256 texture. We also created a new map border and some new custom interfaces. These are controlled by script. Here it is. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 12, 2008, 10:03 pm by Urithrand The title says it all, and this patch has been a while on it's way. Due for release at the same time as Storm of Zehir as was the case with Mask of the Betrayer. Here's a look at some of the changes we can expect:General * Item costs in the game should match the costs in the toolset. * Party members that have wands with 0 charges will now attack and use spells normally. * When dropping an item, characters will now use the appropriate "drop" animation. * Fixed an issue with opening two bags at once. You will now only be able to open one bag. *The tool tip for the Player Chat menu item will now say Player Chat. * Fixed an issue that caused freecam (console command) to not work properly. * Made several corrections to the Doomgude class description. * Snake's Swiftness, Mass will now affect the entire party. * Hellfire Shield should now play an appropriate sound effect when activated. * Hellfire Blast should now play an appropriate sound when activated. * The description of Hellfire Shield has been changed to appropriately reflect it is an Area of Effect shield. * Weapon Focus: Warmace will now be available to all qualified characters. * The ability score descriptions in character creation have been changed to be more informative and reflect changes to the game. * Fixed an issue that was causing certain AI behavior feedback to be displayed, even after being deactivated. * When the game is paused, a much more noticeable message is displayed. * Aura of protection will no longer provide "No Stacking" feedback. Take a look at the rest. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 12, 2008, 9:59 pm by Urithrand Alexander Brandon, audio director at Obsidian has left a nice blog entry over at IGN describing the roots and intentions of the SoZ soundtrack. Take a peek:Tony had a hand in filling out what pieces we required after I drew up a list based on the module design documents. After a bit of back and forth we settled on what music was required, but who was to write it? Tony's references included Heroes of Might and Magic, so I called up Rob King who did the soundtracks and got his rate. But we wanted to vary things up a bit and Rob also had a lot on his plate, so we reviewed several demos including some from Andrew Barnabas and Paul Arnold of Bob and Barn. Their work on Primal was excellent, and to top it off Andrew mentioned that a live orchestra would be possible (with live tavern instruments!). However there was still a significant amount of music to do, so either we used live orchestra for everything and got less music, or looked around for a rookie composer and got more. The latter won out with demos by Rogue Dao Studios, headed by Kevin Chow with additional music by Gábor Valasek, Närhi and Antti Mäntysaari. The styles all melded brilliantly and we had our team. Clicky. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 12, 2008, 9:55 pm by Urithrand  Massive Gamer have sat down for a nice cozy chat with DDO's executive producer, Kate Paiz (well, figuratively speaking at least). Here's a little snapshot of what they chatted about:“To go along with that new character generation we have a new, new player experience,” added Paiz. There is no reason for them to streamline character creation unless they hope new players will give the game a chance. The new system is more story-based than previous incarnations and aims to teach players as they play, rather than tossing them through a series of artificial scenarios. “There is about 10 hours of gameplay if you’re a ‘completionist’ who doesn’t know the game,” said Paiz, but noted that the average player will probably spend a couple hours. It won’t just be newbies who roll characters on the new island, though. Module 8 finally unleashes the Monk on the world of Eberron. The unarmed class has been well-received by the community, but has also had a pleasant side effect. You'll find the rest of that little snippet here. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 9, 2008, 8:24 pm by Urithrand  Over at Rampant Games, an interesting article/blog entry has been deposited by The Rampant Coyote, delving into the realms of level scaling, taking a look at several games including D&D and another favourite of many of our visitors, Oblivion. Take a quick look:A lot of what constitutes scaling depends on the system. In the earlier editions of D&D, damage output and armor class didn't increase much as players and monsters increased in power. A group of bugbears might hit less often and not survive as many rounds against your 14th level party as against your 4th level party, but would otherwise do the same damage. The biggest difference - besides their shortened survival window - is that the level of attrition represented by that numerical value would be significantly less at higher level. The magic-user might survive three rounds instead of just one. And the second-level spell he casts to thin out the bugbear ranks represents a much smaller consumption of his resources. Consequently, you had high-level modules in D&D that were still flooded by low-level monsters. Lolth, in Queen of the Demonweb Pits, was in an alternate demon dimension but still surrounded herself with the same orcs, hobgoblins, and bugbears that the party had been fighting since level 1. Fortunately, these were supplemented by nasty telekinetic demons and and stuff, but it was still an amusing mix. The virtue of a system like this is that encounters on the lower end of the scale - even those with little chance of defeating the party - remain interesting. Players can enjoy making short work of a monster that gave them so much grief at lower level, but they still can't take it for granted or sleep through the encounter. Blowing it away with a Finger of Death spell might feel good, but it might make the upcoming encounter with the witch-queen and her minions a bit harder without another use of that spell. Maybe that wasn't so quick, but it was talking about D&D so there. Linkage. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 9, 2008, 8:18 pm by Urithrand DDO's very own Kate Paiz (executive Producer, Turbine) has taken the time to spread a little love with the community over at Game Banshee. Take a peek:GB: For those who haven't followed DDO for awhile, can you give us an overview of what you've added to the game over the past year and what we can expect from Module 8: Prisoners of Prophecy? Kate: You bet. We’ve added a tremendous amount of new game features and content over the course of the year, starting with Module 6, The Thirteenth Eclipse. Mod 6 was released in January, and included a new content module, the Vale of Twilight, and increased the Level cap to 16. The level cap included new feats, enhancements and level 8 spells. My favorite 8th level spell introduced was Trap the Soul, which allows a Sorcerer or Wizard to force a particularly nasty monster’s life force and its body into a gem on a failed Will save. This gem can then be used as an ingredient in an Eldritch Device for certain crafting rituals. The Vale of Twilight brought to life a storyline which has dominated our playerbase this year – the invasion of the Devils Armies of Shavarath, the Plane of Battle. In this first chapter, players had to go to the Vale of Twilight and defend against the Pit Fiend General Arraetrikos, who was aligning the power of Shavarath with Xen’drik in an attempt to open a permanent, coterminous gateway between them. Click me. [Add/Comments: 0] - [View Comments/Permalink] - [Top] Posted: November 9, 2008, 8:15 pm by Urithrand The NWN2 homepage has been revamped with a host of new languages and a link to SoZ's new website. Thanks to Game Banshee for the head's up!
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