Years ago, I came across this post by Lord Rosenkrantz in the Beta 4 patch thread for 1.69. It's also in the Omnibus.
His basic request to Bioware's Craig Welburn was pretty simple. He was requesting environment mapping be enabled for VFX and that the visualeffects.2da row cap be increased. Probably to something really high. Here are relevant excerpts from that message:
--SNIP--
VFX models
Currently no VFX models can use an environmental map on the alpha channel of their textures. It isn't an issues as long as one uses emitters instead of meshes (most visual effects are done that way), but it becomes a real issue when one tries to use VFXs for less orthodox uses, like for example as a replacement for a "model attaching to creature node" system. Since this new engine option didn't make it in the patch (hence won't ever be added), PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let's have environmental mapping enabled for VFXs. I'm down on my e-knees begging you, there is a whole enormous CC project that is heavily relying on this change, and many CC authors are looking at it for future developments. It is a key features that would unlock new perspectives that are currently crippled.
Either having the engine to read in the txi files associated to the textures or having a "reflection" column in visualeffects.2da would work. Please, it's very important. We've already started collecting a bribe.
--SNIP--
Especially the VFX request is critical for future custom content development. If it helps the cause, you can have full details on the project that is relying on it, and it's something that would directly positively impact on players and not only CC authors or module builders. It'd allow for a better and more complete system that would offer a new gameplay style for NWN1.
To this goal there is a further request that is even more important:
please increase the visualeffects.2da row cap in line with the new cap for tails.2da and wings.2da. The cap is currently 65k, and it is not nearly enough to replace the "model attaching to creature node" system that we were hoping for.
We can do it by VFXs, but we need the cap to be raised for that. Please, during long chats on the DLA IRC channel we tried to figure out any workaround, but not even knowledgeable people like Ragnarok_mr4 or Brian Chung could come up with any solution to bypass the problem. Again, I'm down on my e-knees here, please raise the cap on visualeffects.2da
It wasn't until a few years after I read it that I started to run across the message above with some frequency in the Omnibus while searching for other stuff. I figured it had to do with brute forcing character customization combinations, for instance, which is why I assume somebody would likely need the 65K limit on visualeffects.2da raised.
But I can't be sure.
His use of the term "new gameplay style" made me think it might be something else. When I read that comment, I can't tell if he meant a truly different gameplay style (i.e. something other than Roleplay, Social, Action etc) or if, again, it was just something like character customization in the same zipcode as Goudea/Enki's hair as helmets idea.
His indication that "there is a whole enormous CC project that is heavily relying on this change, and many CC authors are looking at it for future developments. It is a key features that would unlock new perspectives that are currently crippled" gave me the impression that it was something more than, for instance, the 3-part shields in Project Q and also that there would probably be a few people around who could comment on what the idea was and why it couldn't be carried out some other way.
Can anyone comment and explain it further? Am I just seeing something that was already achieved but described vaguely enough that I didn't make the connection as to what they were talking about?
I can make some really wild guesses but does anyone actually know?
Thanks!
