Never Winter Nights Game Overview

Another gripe is the deja-vu of repeated tiles... This isn't quite 
majority of customization isn't done through tiles... Rather, 
place-able objects and features can be used in their stead. For 
instance, using just tiles, a dungeon would be fairly barren. But 
slap down a couple torture devices, some burning corpses and the odd 
pile of skulls and it becomes a labyrinth that deserves the fear of 
adventurers everywhere. Many of these place-able objects are stackable.
For instance, a (place-able) wagon can be loaded with corpses (impaled,
mangled, zombie, or regular), and then set on fire with flame emitters.

Fog and ambient lighting, too, can be used to great effect. While the 
city of Neverwinter itself seems overly clean, drab and greyish, another
district (using the same tileset) has a completely different feel, 
simply by using yellow fog and ambient settings.

My other large concern, apart from the tiles, was the variety of monsters.
In this I was particularly blown away. I expected 20-odd creatures, and a
few permutations thereof. Instead, there's a menagerie of what seemed to 
be dozens and dozens of unique and excellently crafted creatures. From the
standard orc or goblin, to golems, demons and wild animals, there is a vast
array of monsters to choose from.

Game Overview
Imagine a RPG in which you design your own levels. 
Imagine being able to create your own worlds from scratch, 
you're very own stories, weapons, legends, and landscapes for your friends to traverse while you keep track of the entire world and interact with the characters. Also, imagine all this being available to Joe Gamer on his computer without any knowledge of 3-D structure, game design, or complex programming skills. That is the promise of Neverwinter Nights...  and it's a promise that's going to become a reality. 

Based on the Dungeons and Dragons third edition rules, Neverwinter
will come shipped with a fantastic 3-D engine and a comprehensive
single player campaign. These aspects alone would make Neverwinter Nights a great game. The graphics are so cool, you're going to drool all over your keyboard. I was struck by the amazingly realistic lighting and shadow effects, and the effect that had on creating a 
believable and vibrant world. The spell effects were also incredibly
beautiful, with some spell effects taking up half the computer screen. 
Monsters and character animation were also impressive. 

Still, the true promise of this game is going to change the actual 
landscape of gaming. While I was skeptical of the promise of everyone 
creating their own worlds and campaigns, I am now a believer. The editor
is, hands down, the best I have ever seen in a game. Within minutes, 
the game designer we talked with created an entire dungeon, filled with 
lava, creatures, and a magical weapon he created from scratch. Everything was point and click, and pull-down menus, and so intuitive it was almost not real. He was in his own dungeon hacking away at creatures not five minutes after he began creating it. 

The possibilities are endless for gamers, especially when you think of the 
game in terms of its multiplayer aspects. Just imagine an infinite world 
in which you can jump into anyone's user-created world and experience a new game all the time. Imagine having your friends along for an adventure that you create. It's going to be a special experience, and I'm sure it will be remembered for a long time as one of the games that actually changed the way we look at gaming. Now they just need to get the game out, because I don't  think I can wait much longer.

Character Vault Details
Power to the users: The Server Vault receives enhanced functionality
After much debate and discussion, we have chosen to migrate the functionality of the Central BioWare Official Vault into the Server Vault portion of the individual game servers, effectively handing power over to the server operators.

Why?
Well, there are many reasons, the most important being that the functionality of the Official Vault has been migrated to the Server Vault. With this move in functionality there remained little reason to run the Official Vault.

What does this mean?
There are now only two ways to store your characters: Local Vault and Server Vault. Local Vault means that player characters are stored on the client's PC (the player's computer). Server Vault means that the characters are stored on the game server only (the computer of whomever is hosting the game). Both Server Vault and Local Vault will benefit from the Enforce Legal Character option. This setting will enforce the settings that were once in the Official Vault on individual game servers.Neither of these methods has changed at all, other than new functionality being added to the Server Vault.

Can you explain in more details what the Server Vault is?
The Server Vault is a directory on the game server named "servervault". Inside the "servervault" directory you will find other directories named after any player (Player Name) who has joined a multi-player session of Neverwinter Nights on this computer. Inside those directories, you will find their individual Characters stored as Neverwinter Nights character files named the same as their Character's Name. This is how the Official Vault was going to work and we moved this functionality to the Server Vault. The Server Vault is NOT: a separate executable nor a mystical database program. It is just a directory with player character files in it.

What does this mean to someone trying to run a Persistent World?
We have added the ability to share a Server Vault. I will explain this in the following paragraphs. What this means for a Persistent World, is that anyone wanting to run more than one Neverwinter Nights game server can make all of their game servers share one Server Vault. This allows for characters that are moving within the persistent world's game servers to do so much more easily.

What about the more casual player?
Beyond Persistent Worlds, friends could get together and agree to share a Server Vault, thus allowing all their characters to be used on any module on any server amongst these friends. Casual gamers are also protect on the game servers that run the Local Vault setting by using the Enforce Legal Character option.

What do you mean, "sharing a Server Vault"?
The Server Vault is just a directory and you can share directories in Windows, Linux, and Mac, albeit in slightly different ways. By this simple fact you can make many Neverwinter Nights servers all point to the same directory for the Server Vault. I won't address the technical details of this point here, simply because of the varied methods on each of the different operating systems.

Haven't we lost everything now?
No, because the Server Vault rocks. It gives you the ability to dictate the setting for you and your friend’s Servers. Infinite Cosmic Power! And we are not done adding even more features and options to it. It will continue to evolve based on the demands of the community. All game servers can use the Enforce Legal Characters option.

Darn you corporate automatons! You must be hiding something. There has to be a down side.
Correct. The casual player that wants to hop from server to server, carrying the same character into each different game server won't find this automatic or easy - unless all of these game servers were using the same, shared, Server Vault. Since most game servers will run Server Vaults, the player would be required to send their character ahead of time. 

Death Explained
What happens when my character dies? 
In the official Neverwinter Nights campaign, the default method for handling character death will be as follows: at 0 hit points, your character will be rendered unconscious. You will immediately be presented with the option of respawning at an assigned location and accepting a small XP loss. Alternatively, you can continue to observe the combat and wait for a party member to bring you back to consciousness via a potion or healing spell. Monsters and NPC opponents will only attempt to finish you off once they have neutralized your remaining allies. Death will occur at -10 hit points. At that point, you will need more than a simple healing spell to return you to the land of the living. The XP penalty for respawning will likely increase at this point or you can wait for a friend to raise or resurrect you.

Will there be different server settings?
For those that want them, there will be server settings offering a few variations on the default death option presented above. More importantly, 'on unconsciousness' and 'on death' events will be included in the scripting language, allowing module creators to develop their own methods for handling character death within the context of their modules. There will be a wide diversity of modules and styles of game play created using our Aurora Neverwinter Toolset and we want to ensure that important game mechanics such as character death can take enough different forms to be suitable for all of them.

DM Explained
Is the Dungeon Master there just to dump monsters in the players' path or is there something more to it? 
The Dungeon Master role is whatever you make it. If you want to run a simple dungeon hack, you're more than welcome to. However, the tools at your disposal are far more powerful and evocative than simply plopping down monsters and treasure. We give you the ability to interact with your players on a one-to-one basis, to truly be the character they are talking to. Tell a tale of love lost, have a feared orc chieftain sheathe his sword in the midst of battle when he learns that it is his half-orc daughter who opposes him, breath life into everything. We envision the Dungeon Master as a master storyteller, bringing wit and emotion to the gameworld and enriching the role-playing experience of the players. We want to challenge you, as DM, to have a deep emotional impact on your players. Possess the game's characters and fill them with drama. Build mood and atmosphere in everything you do. Your players will love you for it and spread word of your campaigns everywhere they go.

As a DM, can I alter a character's dialogue while in the game? 
Even better! When 'possessing' a non-player character, you can not only control their actions but also speak through them in real-time. Drop a clue for a player in need, respond to an unanticipated question, or heighten the dramatic tension of the moment. The story is literally yours for the telling.

Servers Explained
What is a server? Do I have to have a special kind of computer to host a game? 
Not at all. Anyone with the minimum system specs and a decent modem can host a game and become a server. 'Server' simply refers to the computer that launched the gaming session. Remember, while most Dungeon Masters will run their own servers, you don't have to be a Dungeon Master to do so. Anyone, including DMs and players, can use their computer as a server.

Any home computer conforming to our minimum system specifications will be able to act as a Neverwinter Nights server. The number of players that your server can support is primarily limited by your bandwidth. A basic 56k modem will support approximately 8 players, while LANs and dedicated servers with faster connections will likely be able to support up to the 64 client limit.

Is there a dedicated server?
There will be a dedicated server included with Neverwinter Nights for all supported platforms. By dedicated server we mean a stand alone application with no extra overhead, like drawing graphics. This standalone server allows you to run the server in it's most efficient manner.

Will there be a Mac/Linux/BeOs version? 
The BeOS version of Neverwinter Nights will not be completed. However, we are planning a simultaneous PC/Macintosh/Linux release for Neverwinter Nights, with all three versions to be included in a single box. On the PC, Neverwinter Nights will run under Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Service Pack 2, and Windows XP.

Portals Explained
Can I link my world to someone else's?
Yes. Servers can be linked through 'Portals'. Portals are created when one server operator requests a link and another server operator accepts. This will form a two-way transfer between the two servers, allowing players to travel between the two worlds simply by stepping through the Portal. Once a Portal is created, it remains until removed by one of the server operators. If the server on the other end is currently not operational, the Portal will appear closed. Players can view a wide variety of information about the server on the other end by inspecting the Portal. If the character does not meet the requirements of the new server, the player is not teleported and re-appears beside the original server's Portal. Servers can support multiple Portals.

What are some ways I can make use of Portals?
The implications of this Portal system are somewhat mind-boggling. By distributing the different areas and population load over a number of home computers with decent Internet connections, for instance, your game world can know no boundaries. On a smaller scale, two rival player guilds could agree to portal their guildworlds together to settle a dispute in battle. Freewheeling MUDs and MUSHes could also emerge where people cobble their different creations together into a larger, cosmopolitan world of adventure. Neverwinter Nights is all about getting people together and Portals allow that to happen on a grander, even more exciting scale

System Requirements
Processor
Pentium® II 450 MHz or AMD K6- 450 MHz (Required)
Pentium® III 800 MHz or Athlon 800 MHz (Recommended)

Operating System 
Windows 98/ME/2000SP2/XP

RAM
96 MB (Required)
256 MB (Recommended)

Hard Disk Installation
1.2 GB (Required)
2.0 GB (Recommended)

CD ROM or CD/DVD ROM Drive 8X

DirectX DirectX® version 8.1

Video Card 16 MB TNT2-class OpenGL 1.2 compliant video card (Required)
NVIDIA GeForce 2/ATI Radeon (Recommended)

Sound Card DirectX® certified sound card

Multiplayer IPX or TCP/IP via LAN or Internet

Multiplayer via Modem 56k

Other OS requirements coming later

Character Creation
I had to demonstrate the character creation process several times (many, many several times)  last week at E3 so I'll give you a break down...

1. Gender- M/F

2. Race- The core races plus a place to type in the name of a subrace (not recognized in the official campaign but can be scripted into user-created modules).

3. Portrait- Over 200 portraits to choose from. These get filtered for male and female once gender is selected.

4. Class- The 11 classes.

5. Alignment- There are 9 nine Alignments.

6. Abilities- Str, Dex, Int, Wis, Con, Char.

7. Packages- Packages are for beginners who wish to have a theme to their characters. These packages do not give you extra abilities they simply select certain skills, feats and spells that fit the text description given as you gain levels. You will always have the opportunity to choose everything yourself however.

Configure Packages:

Skills- 19 Skills in NWN. Some are class specific such as Perform.
Feats- Around 47 Feats to choose from. Some are based on base attack number (i.e must have +4 Base Attack as a prerequisite)
Spells- (If you are a spellcaster) over 200 spells in NWN based on character class and level.
Choose Familiar if you are a Sorcerer or Wizard. Animal companions are summoned in-game.

8. Customize
Head- many different head types based on race.
Tattoo
Body
Clothing- Several different starting outfits. These change when new clothing or armor is worn.
Skin Color- Choose one color from 32.
Hair Color- Choose one color from 56.
Tattoo Color- Choose 2 colors from 56.

9. Details
Name- You can type in your own name or hit the generate name button to get suggestions for a name based on race.
Background- Type in your own background.
Age- Age is set based on your race but has little affect on the game except in cases where a scripted event is based off your age.
Deity- Type in your own.
Voice Set- Choose one from a group of 6 for male and 6 for female.

It does not take very long to put together a character. The designers have implemented a 'Recommend' button if you are new to D&D and would like some suggestions as to what spells to take, abilities to choose and so on it will choose things for you. You can always alter these suggestions or simply do not hit the 'Recommend' button.

I can't say for sure how long the entire process would take if you carefully choose everything and type up a background story and so on. Anywhere from 2 minutes to....as long as it takes.

Points for 9-14 cost one point each

Points for 15-16 cost 2 points each

Points for 17-18 cost 3 points each

then you apply racial modifiers

Every 4 levels (4, 8, 12, 16 & 20) you can add one point to any of your ability scores (not point buy, just one point).

will there be an option for dice roll ability scores too?  No, but it's certainly possible to create a stat-modifying NPC with the toolset if you aren't happy with the point-buy.