If NWN were Overhauled, what improvements would you want to see and why?

[Legacy_OldTimeRadio]

               In just about every interview about Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition so far, Trent Oster (Beamdog/Overhaul Games) is invariably asked "the NWN question" and today's interview with Tor.com is no different:

Tor.com: While we’re on the topic of future projects... you were extensively involved in the development of Neverwinter Nights. Is the NWN franchise on Overhaul’s radar at all?

   Oster: We’ve talked a bit about NWN. The idea of an overhauled NWN sounds interesting, but again, our partners want to take a wait and see approach to the success of BG:EE.

Trent also mentions how their original intent with BGEE was to "to ninja in, fix a couple things and ninja back out.”  That plan didn't work so well for BGEE and they wound up fixing more than they anticipated but would a "ninja" approach work for NWN?

To be clear, the kinds of ideas I'm looking for aren't in the "more monsters, more prestige classes" category but engine fixes or adjustments: Things that would help out the custom content community.  And if Overhaul were going to be doing work on NWN, is there anything you think they should leave alone- and why?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ShadowM]

               Omg that be a big list '> just look back at the stuff that people wanted in the last patch that did not get added hehe.
Some off the top of my head
Fix the DM tool system with npc that got messed up from last patch.
Fix custom skill crashes.
Open up the race gui like the class gui
All the stuff that the Client Extender does like visuals on weapons
All the nwnx functions available.
Change the feat.2da so we can make feats that improve skills like  skill1, skill2, skill3 skill1amount, skill2amount,skill3amount. So we can put in all the skill feats (these would not count towards the skill cap either)

Leave anything alone that would ruin all our CC model wise (ok for 2da work) we all have made or anything that would basically make us start over with it.

Oh and the ninja approach would not work for nwn either, request we had in the past they have answered with that would require a lot of work in the engine. I see similar work as BGEE. I doubt it will happen, but if it did Trent the guy for the job and I buy a bazillion copies LOL just like I have for nwn. I think I have bought over 20 copies for me and friends over the years.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par ShadowM, 21 novembre 2012 - 01:32 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_kamal_]

               Support for multicore, 64 bit.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_henesua]

               I think the goals of such a project should be to
- maintain basic compatibility with content that works with the 1.69 patch. (while scripts may break, 2das may need reworking and some graphic resources might display a little differently, they would generally work, and be easy to upgrade if need be)
- take advantage of modern hardware (access more ram, multiple processors etc...)
- look at community improvements and consider integrating them into the upgrade (NWNX, NWNCX, NWShader, NWNTX...)
- revisit the business model for premium content produced by community modders so as to extend the lifespan of the software, and secure a longer term revenue stream for the developer (and thus increase longevity of the project)
- work with the community to unlock some key stumbling blocks created by hard coding in the engine (eg. HAKs should be loaded at client login during multiplayer, enable setting of more than 4 color parts on weapons, all text in the GUI should be editable rather than an image, every character class should be able to have its own spell list, row indexes in 2das should be agnostic (ie move shields and weapons around without disrupting game behavior), I could go on and on here.....)
- improve the toolset interface (eg. an area wok mesh should be toggleable on/off as virus man recently did for me)
               
               

               

                     Modifié par henesua, 21 novembre 2012 - 01:37 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_s e n]

               That would be amazing!

1.Emitter related
-pierce through fog bug fix
-chunk on spawn automatical rotation of model bug fix
-implement fadeable option for emitter controlled textures and chunk

2.Miscellanous
-allow edge tiles for multiple height values
-allow opacity values lower than 21%
-allow walkmesh configuration for multiple types of 3d grass for example
-add a lot of new types of pathnodes for tile woks
-bumpmapping
-allow shinywater to go hand in hand with animesh

more to come '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Aelis Eine]

               

• Cooldowns integrated into the UI (click a skill, it gets greyed out with a timer indicating when it comes back)
• BG2-style melee combat rounds, i.e. APR determines your attack speed, and the player can switch targets mid-round without standing still scratching their head.
• Melee combat abilities divorced from hardcoded functions, i.e. Knockdown, Dev Crit, Smite Evil and all be changed in NWScript
• Flexible casting/recovery times, i.e. if I cast a spell with 1 second of casting time I shouldn't be left hanging for 5 seconds unhasted. Have a second 2da column for recovery and halve both casting and recovery when Hasted/Quickened.
• Combat bug fixes for bullet casting, weapon switching, counterspell-bombing and other combat exploits
• A Map window that can be opened and closed so that players don't have to squint at the minimap.
• Remappable hotkeys. If I want to use 1 to 9 instead of F1 to F12 I should be able to
• Support for additional rows of quickbars
• Target locking instead of manual targeting for every skill, so that as a caster I can select a monster and click say, Daze then Magic Missile and the game fires them on the monster, and as a melee character I can select it then click Called Shot: Leg, then Called Shot: Arm and the game fires them on the monster one after the other, then continues using normal attacks on them. Only AoEs should require manual targeting
• Better AoE targeting. When I'm targeting an AoE, draw a nice circle or line or cone to show where the AoE is going to land
• Combat modes that do not disengage when combat ends. I still want Defensive Casting up when I go to the next spawn '>
• Support for weapon/ammunition trail VFX on ability activation. Like when a weapon is swinging a VFX can be applied like a motion blur or ripple in the weapon's wake, or tintable afterimages, or a simple energy trail. This can be used for melee special attacks like Knockdown and Smite Evil to improve visual feedback, so that the player has a better idea of what's happening in combat.
• Native support for Bloom/HDR.
• An Interact button for Driving mode that simulates a mouse click on the object closest to the center of the screen, so that pressing it while facing a door opens a door, then pressing it again, pressing it while facing a creature targets it, then talks to it on the second press if friendly or attacks it if hostile.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lightfoot8]

               Other then the things already stated,   i see two things. 

1)  Allow server admin's to run there own version of the Master Server.   When a player logs in they would have to enter there own password when joining the server.   The passwords being kept locally with the server.

2)  Remove support for Fixed resources from the Resource Manager  Since the system was never used.  The presence of the fixed resources is the reason we have the 16K limit on resources.   With removing the reserved space for fixed resources from the manager, The resource count would shoot up to 1,048,576 from the 16,384 that it is currently at.   I dout verry many of us would be able to fill the extra space.  
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Just a ghost]

               Basically anything that allows us to go in an fix stuff ourselves. O, and a way to push new content to our users.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_NWN_baba yaga]

               The rendering of alpha transparency needs to be fixed... an option for complete ligthmaps via a 2da entry for exterior and interior areas. A way to save and keep a certain viewangle and zoom with a hotkey while ingame. An animation preview window within the toolset for creatures with a dropdown list with all anims. dynamic grass turn on/ off in the toolset.  A water shader where you can define more then just one texture to display the water flow like in quake games or just rewrite it completely new to include modern ways of how to render water.

I´m sure i can come up with more but thats what i can say intuitively
               
               

               

                     Modifié par NWN_baba yaga, 21 novembre 2012 - 09:57 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Dark_Ansem]

               full update to 3.5 rules, better handling of shadows and that damn shiny water. and more more lighting possibilitues.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Tarot Redhand]

               A few others. Full skyglobe instead of skybox (necessary for next one). First person perspective centred on PC. Proper wide-screen support and coupled to that, the ability to have the quick-commands optionally positioned on the side of the screen. The trouble is deciding which are fixes and which are just wish-list items.

TR

TR
               
               

               
            

[Baaleos]

               I wouldnt mind a redux/refab of the scripting system.

I've seen it done for nwnx4  (NWN2)
Where they can actually code in C# directly into their nwnscripts.

I'd love a similar API to be available for Developers to build with.


Other than that, I'd love some new 3d engines -  God Rays, Volumetric lighting,
Oh - and someone please fix the openGL Crashes that happens with the more up to date graphic cards.
eg - TDR Timeout crashes.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Pearls]

               nothing but ogl and hard coded fixes, would be hard enough writing to support another different client base unless the original game gets fully updated too
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Pearls, 21 novembre 2012 - 02:47 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Zwerkules]

               Sen almost listed everything I would have asked for, too. :happy:

There's just one other thing I think could be improved and that is the mini map.
It really sucks to have to make mini map icons for tilesets when it seems so unnecessary.
There might be hundreds of tiles in a tileset that never get used in an area which all have mini map icons. Why not integrate something in the toolset that renders the area with all placeables and sort of takes a screenshot of it which will be used as the mini map. That way you would even see placeables on your map, it wouldn't need more memory than the mini map does now (except if the resolution was better) and the hidden parts of the map could have softer edges than the sharp rectangular edges they have now.
And of course nobody would have to make those bloody mini map icons any more.

Maybe also use speed trees.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Zwerkules, 21 novembre 2012 - 03:41 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_SHOVA]

               A workable Z axis.
The ability to mix and match creature parts in the toolset. (take a horses body the torso of a human and boom, centaur.) the ability to mix and match in  placeable parts, and even item parts too. (thinking of a living wall here)
True equipped rendering on the the PC, belts, boots, gauntlets.(not tied to armor)
helms that show the face, or hide the face with a click via the equipment page.
The ability to control armor in merchants based on AC of armor.
The ability to buy multiple of same item in stores with one click.
The ability to re-size popup gui in game. (video card issues with the game on wide screens)
Better AI for everything.
Dragon Age styled melee combat- shield bash, pummel
Dragon age spell stacking, grease and fire ball = fire wall.