11 réponses à ce sujet

[Avalon Aurora]

My wish list for the next game:

1. fully 3D terrain and navigation (allowing more complex ranged combat and cover calculations, flight, jumping, swimming, climbing, etc.)

2. Mounted combat

3. Better quality faces (NWN2 elves and half-elves are particularly off) or possibly a face designing engine similar to Mass Effect or Oblivion.

4. 'Underwear' base character models (similar to NWN1) which actually 'wear' outfits to allow more potential outfits without skin tone conflicts and such.

5. Hair, rings, accessories, and tattoos system, so you can apply tattoos anywhere on your character's skin, change their hairstyles (possibly by visiting a barber or taking certain potions or something), wear various bits of jewelry in different places (like picking the fingers for rings, or which arm to wear a bracelet on, or putting earrings on, etc.), and pick various accessories and how to wear or carry them, such as being able to wear different flowers or broaches and stuff in your hair in the hairstyles that have a place for such.

6. Character journal, a part of your journal which records named characters and generic archetypes you fight or speak to, which is semi-searchable, and can be used with disguise spell or skills to disguise yourself as such (although such will likely have to be blocked in many less complex modules), along with some generic character archetypes for disguise spells.

7. Functioning reincarnation druidic magic (including random new races and random new gender), useable raise dead magic (even on viable NPC targets at some points), functioning cursed gender-change items and gender change magic capabilities.

8. Customizable clothing and armor symbols on some sets of clothing and armor, being able to select different symbols and colors from lists.

9. Psionics included in initial release

10. Bonus accessories or outfits or something for those who get Mass Effect 3 (and bonus stuff in Mass Effect 3 for Neverwinter users, probably a bonus armor like that special Dragon Age armor in ME2) ((Extra bonus if you have the time, for DMs and possibly some odd cameo stuff in the OC, have Mass Effect alien races in the engine as monsters, and most of the humanoid ones playable (except Volus and Quarian, whose appearances without suits are secret) so you could let players play a Turian, Asari, Drell, Krogan, or Salarian in some games, and use stuff like Rachni as monsters for random encounters))

[Rex Radar]

I hope that my reply here does not make me look like a twit.



I agree with most of what you have requested, however...



1) NWN3 as a continuation of the NWN/NWN2 experience will not likely happen for a number of reasons. If you do a search on NWN3 you should find several topics that can elaborate further.



2) A new "NWN" game featuring the 4th ed rules is currently under construction. It is to being billed as something between a persistent world and a MMO. Search topics here and you will find several.



3) Atari, Hasbro and other parties are still trying to decide how they want to handle the DND computer game licence. This may have been cleared up, but I'm not sure. Again a search for the topic should shed some light.

[M. Rieder]

Someday, somewhere, someone will build a sequel that is analogous to what we have with NWN2. When they do, I wish that the toolset would include software to edit/create custom models and animations. Yes, I know this is probably never going to happen, but it would be nice!

[dunniteowl]

I must once again beat my own drum, toot my own horn and play the piper:

It won't be "Stuck" with a D&D rules set, but here: Plan 9 From Outer Space is dedicated to creating something that would or could concieveably take the mantle from NWN/2 and not be tied to D&D, adds power and flexibility to the process of module making, and allows you to ultimately not only create your world your way, it should also provide the means to implement all of your own rules for pretty much any aspect of playing a 3D environment RPG of whatever sort.

That's the Plan, any way. I am going back to school in order to gain the actual technical skills to help realize this. In the meantime, I am always willing to add more folks to the list of those inclined and able to help (either or both.)

Other than this effort, I have seen nothing on this order, indedpendantly or through a Publisher/Developer of any sort.

dunniteowl

[M. Rieder]

dunniteowl wrote...

I must once again beat my own drum, toot my own horn and play the piper:
It won't be "Stuck" with a D&D rules set, but here: Plan 9 From Outer Space is dedicated to creating something that would or could concieveably take the mantle from NWN/2 and not be tied to D&D, adds power and flexibility to the process of module making, and allows you to ultimately not only create your world your way, it should also provide the means to implement all of your own rules for pretty much any aspect of playing a 3D environment RPG of whatever sort.
That's the Plan, any way. I am going back to school in order to gain the actual technical skills to help realize this. In the meantime, I am always willing to add more folks to the list of those inclined and able to help (either or both.)
Other than this effort, I have seen nothing on this order, indedpendantly or through a Publisher/Developer of any sort.
dunniteowl

Wow!  That's a really great idea! 

[Alupinu]

M. Rieder wrote...

dunniteowl wrote...

I must once again beat my own drum, toot my own horn and play the piper:
It won't be "Stuck" with a D&D rules set, but here: Plan 9 From Outer Space is dedicated to creating something that would or could concieveably take the mantle from NWN/2 and not be tied to D&D, adds power and flexibility to the process of module making, and allows you to ultimately not only create your world your way, it should also provide the means to implement all of your own rules for pretty much any aspect of playing a 3D environment RPG of whatever sort.
That's the Plan, any way. I am going back to school in order to gain the actual technical skills to help realize this. In the meantime, I am always willing to add more folks to the list of those inclined and able to help (either or both.)
Other than this effort, I have seen nothing on this order, indedpendantly or through a Publisher/Developer of any sort.
dunniteowl

Wow!  That's a really great idea! 

I want in...

[dunniteowl]

Sign up (if you haven't already) at the Citadel and Check the threads the link shows. There's an introduction and talent section to post in to express interest and your preferred focus.level of determination.

dno

[I_Raps]

Avalon Aurora wrote...

useable raise dead magic (even on viable NPC targets at some points)

There is a place in NWN2 where Raise Dead works that way - and can save a headache.  And nobody knows about it.

Or do they?

Modifié par I_Raps, 26 février 2011 - 03:34 .

[Vaalyah]

Avalon Aurora wrote...

My wish list for the next game:
...

So, you actually want something like The Sims2 plus fighting!
Ok, I stop joking. I think that an interface for creating characters like in Sims2 or in Aion-online would be fantastic: you can create thousands of characters completely different. Also a build-in-game tool to create custom contents, like faces, hair, armors, weapons... just like in Sims2 and maybe also a tool for capturing videos and pictures from many point of view, directly in game.
I would also like to see the possibility to built a keep (not like... ahem, you know, *that*  which is already built) from scratch, like in old D&D first edition.
Than, of course, I would like tons and tons of NPC interactions and the possibility to do *everything*, to really change the output of the story (ie: again, avoiding spoilers, I would like to resurrect people, since I'm a cleric of high level, not see someone killed for stupid reasons, without any option to resurrect).

[MasterChanger]

While I agree with wanting things to be pretty, my ultimate hope for the next cRPG-with-toolset (and I think DNO's Plan9 will be it!) is that it work smoothly while being able to integrate new things. What do I mean by this?

I've observed recently that in NWN2 between clicking on something and having that thing happen in-game, it's a fairly glitchy experience. Nowhere is this more clear than in the walkmesh and pathing. Even in well-designed areas, clicking on some point in the distance will not always take you right there. If the walkmesh is the least bit crowded or jagged, this gets much worse. If there are any placeables (or environmental objects with cutters around them) in the way, a moving PC or NPC will seem to trip over tiny rocks.

I built a minor AI system at some point that made certain creatures seek to surround an enemy rather than all attacking from the closest spot they could reach--i.e. use actual pack strategy. It worked to some extent. However, the jerkiness of the creature movement to move around behind an opponent, especially if a friend was next to the creature and they had to loop around them, really made the whole system feel much less professional.

Now, one relatively easy solution to this would be to have very little customization in the cRPG in question. If all the areas are professionally done and the developers spend a huge amount of time on them, then I'm sure the pathing can be totally seemless. But I, for one, won't be satisfied with this easy out. NWN 1&2 are above all a platform for continual story-telling; without a toolset that makes telling entirely new stories possible, the cRPG in question won't be a successor to NWN at all.

The other potentially easy out for movement is to make it First-Person Shooter style, using WASD keyboard movement only. A game that uses this will also not be a successor to NWN. A successor to NWN has to at least offer the possibility of party play and certainly of tactical movement. Tactical movement and positioning, IMO, require that there is actual collision and blocking between objects--that you can't just run through your enemies to get at the softies behind them. I think point-and-click movement has to at least be included to create this kind of experience.

I was discussing this on the IRC channel recently, and peachykeen brought up using a node-based system for describing the terrain rather than a walkmesh-based system. That potentially sounds awesome, and it sounds like it's what will be done for Plan9. I think that's awesome.

There are many other things that I want to be included in the next cRPG-with-toolset. It is looking more and more like, in order to get the kind of community-inclusive game experience we want, the game itself will have to come from the community. I'm going to make a commitment to help Plan9 in any way I can, and I hope others consider doing this as well.

[dunniteowl]

INTRODUCTION OF AN IDEA:

Plan9 was born, initially, more than 25 years ago while I was reading science fiction books and in the Air Force.  I had the concept of using simulation training via computer to reduce training exercise damage to equipment, accidents, breakdowns, used fuel and ammo, as well as to prevent injuries and deaths (all of which occur during live training exercises regularly.)

So I thought about how that could be done.  You have to bear in mind, this was 1983, actually when the idea began to take on serious shape.  There was, as of yet, no Internet.  It was still ARPA net for a few more years.  Networking was in it's formative stages and visual graphical displays?  Not really.  But I knew it was coming.

At the same time, I had been working on my gameworld, P'arn`Nath for about 4 years by then.  The idea from training simulation to gaming platform seemed, to me at least, a natural fit.  My only real mis-step through all this was saying, "What have you got in electronics?" Instead of saying, "What have you got in computing?" When I joined the USAF in 1981.  Since then, the technology has made my ideas not only possible, but have now put me behind the knowledge curve.  I'm a game designer, not a programmer. 


WHERE THINGS ARE HEADED: 

I'm changing that.  I am going back to school for a degree in Game Design and Programming.  Meanwhile, Plan9 (just a working title) is intended to be a toolset/game creation application that performs in accordance with principles I have espoused over the course of my online life (since about 1988 or so) and have promoted somewhat vigorously these last 8 years or so.

I want a toolset that allows me (or anyone else competent with it) to create any Genre or Milieu of RPG experience.  If I want Sci-Fi Action, or Modern Day Horror, or Spy vs Spy, Medieval Fantasy or Modern Magic, Steampunk, etc. I should be able to gut, rip out, change, modify or add to the rules set as I see fit, and as fits my requirements.

If I have a modeling program that allows me to make sufficiently detailed (and/or) animated models, then I want a rendering engine that allows me to convert to the game format from most , if not all, of the major professional modeling packages, some of the cheaper ones and even a few of the free ones that emulate the others.  Why would I want this?  Flexibility and power to add content is the key component to something like this.  If there aren't any groups that make science fiction models such as you deem necessary, make your own, find a friend who can, etc, and don't worry about having to spend thousands of dollars (or looking over your shoulder from jacking an application) to get your assets into the game.

If I can make it possible to slap in a Database -- a real one (and I can,) not just 2das, then I now have literally unlimited power to modify and control the assets, scripts, AI, NPCs, Creatures, whatever I want, with a true Structured Query Language that will allow me to input tables of rules, data, weather, you name it.  I can make it as complex or as simple as I can manage to have it and still have a working game.  That's the power to determine the look and feel of your game, your way.

All this, from the same platform, the same engine.  This application is designed, from the ground up, to be able to be Multi-Player and Single-Player compatible.  In this fashion, you can make games for either segment (or both,) or another entirely of the gaming niches for RPGs.  The same interface that allows you to start and launch a game, is also the same interface that determines whether you're playing offline or online, and whether you're playing, building, DMng or something else.  Those will all be controlled at launch.

Essentially, through access and permissions masks, the game will know if you're going to be playing, building, DMng, Admining, etc and whether you have the permissions to use only a tiny fraction, major portions, or the entire shebang of the toolset, because, for all intents and purposes, the toolset and the game are One.

Modularly constructed so that new plugins and modules can be added onto the game engine allows for changes in Physics Engines, Runtime Libraries, Rendering Engines, DBs, you name it.  This allows the engine to remain the engine and still be able to roll with changes in technology.  It should also allow for backwards compatibility so the new changes and additions won't invalidate your old favorites someone else made.  It's also built in longevity and stability of the platform as well as leaves it open to continued improvement.


THE "PEP" TALK:

Sounds pretty bithchin' huh?  I think so.  Like I said, I have the vision, but not the technical chops to carry this off.  It's being done as a Community Volunteer Project.  It's intended to be Open Source, with the provision for generating "For Profit" licenses and agreements such that the toolset would always be available for free, but assets, games (or Adventure Modules, if you will) could be freely distributed or sold for a reasonable price.

We all want something for nothing, but the sad truth is, we all would also like to get rich making things we enjoy and love making.  I see this Plan9 project as a way to bridge that gap.  Sufficiently capable teams and indy units could license the technology in the design to create games for profit, while the majority of builders and creators would simply be making modules (like now with NWN and NWN2) for free to share with our peers.

If you make assets, your models, while not protected any better than what's out there now, will at least have markers and identifiers inserted into the model structure such that you could prove "ownership" which allows the content creators to engage in the same level of free to share or pay to use (and there's a crapload of legal wrangling to get that sorted, but let's not go there just yet) in the same way as module development.

How many of us are/were willing to pay to have more content, new features, new playable games made by a reputable group/team/company that had the chops to pull it off?  Probably 89-94% of the population that plays these sorts of games.  Our overall demographic for the more involved RPG indicates a higher than average level of education, disposable income (or selective spending on this as the hobby of choice) and willingness to pay for those things we find worthy of our time.


HAT IN HAND:

Reading back you can easily see I am not a kid in age, just a kid at heart.  I am an idealist still, who recognizes that value is not always something we have to pay for, nor is it something we should take for granted and expect for free.  There is a middle road; and I honestly believe that the end result of the Plan9 Project is that middle road.  I also believe it will happen.  How long depends on the level of spirit, determination and cooperation that goes into it's design and creation.

It was my idea, but I don't think of it as mine only.  It's something I want to share.  Something I believe in and something I know I cannot do on my own.  It's not NWN3, but it could be the spiritual if not actual successor to NWN and NWN2 in point of fact.  Sooner or later, it's going to happen.  The rest is really up to who is really willing to invest the time and effort to help get it going?

best regards,
dunniteowl

Modifié par dunniteowl, 27 février 2011 - 01:53 .

[Vaalyah]

@Masterchange. please, not a fps way of moving characters! I hate it! I love the possibility to work in party, to have a lot of characters with me and to easily direct them with a click of my mouse!