The million dollar ($20) question though, will BD create new NPCs?
It does feel a bit out of place for them to do that, as it's lack of NPCs is what allures some people.
As long as they make sure modders have the freedom to include them in various ways.
As it stands, I'll probably wait until a couple of NPC mods are out there with hopefully interaction among each other as well, before I'll give IWD a try.
Then surely those who want to create their own party could just ignore the additional npcs as previously stated? I don't understand why anyone despite their stance would reject high quality additional content, assuming it is optional.
Its pretty dangerous to explore that region; you cant easily scavenge for food, nights are freezing cold and the fauna is vastly more hostile than Sword Coast or Amn. I enjoyed the explorey paths of IWD2, lots of smaller areas.
Besides, its not a very settled region. Explore for what??
Its pretty dangerous to explore that region; you cant easily scavenge for food, nights are freezing cold and the fauna is vastly more hostile than Sword Coast or Amn. I enjoyed the explorey paths of IWD2, lots of smaller areas.
Besides, its not a very settled region. Explore for what??
I'm sure they could squeeze a few frost troll caves, ruins, burial temples, abandoned fortresses and perhaps even a barbarian encampment or two in
For the record I have completed IWD twice, it is still massively inferior to either of the baldurs gates and perhaps on a par with TOB in my opinion, I just feel they could do a hell of a lot of fleshing out with this one.
If they fleshed out IWD any more it would be positively corpulent... the lore is very meaty to begin with. Its a story driven game.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
This reminds me of the postulants from Auril's church. They undergoe a personal ritual called "The Embracing". The ritual consists of them running through a blizzard all night long... dressed ONLY in boots, a thin shift, and body paint depicting symbols sacred to Auril. Well, most of them perish of exposure as one might expect. But those who survive the ritual will become Aurilits and receive innate immunity to cold.
Which reminds me: We ought to get the Priest of Auril kit in IWD:EE!
If they fleshed out IWD any more it would be positively corpulent... the lore is very meaty to begin with. Its a story driven game.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
Antarctic explorers didn't have clerics and rangers ;-)
And on a serious note, new areas can be added as part of quests you get along the way ( or hints about some area that is located in the NWSE of ____ ), I wasn't talking about "hey lets check what there is north of here" BG style exploring, I agree there is no much sense in that... but then again being teleported from the middle of the frozen heartland to the middle of the Anauroch desert doesn't make much sense either, In real life that's a recipe for a heart attack.
In my opinion what IWD is missing is quests and areas that are not related to the main story line.
@Kamigoroshi that ceremony may be read more as those who survived did so because Auril chose them.
However, Auril poses a problem as a patron, her followers are WIDELY hated in the North; Umberlee is tolerated, Talos molified, but Aurilites are really unwelcome.
Inuit guides are better than 2nd Ed Rangers, in the arctic anywsys. But seriously, really dangerous to wander places that far north without guide and a full years supply of food for each person. The Mounties inspected American prospectors to verify they were bringing a heap of food; otherwise they were turned back.
I totally agree there could be some 'paths' to placed, ie areas of interest/special risk when approaching a plot area. Doesnt have to be directly plot related (perhaps you stumble upon a raided caravan, or a long destroyed village revealed by an avalanche... OR BETTER YET! You could stumble upon THE DREADED YAKFOLK! Eh, no relation to Yakman), ideally giving some XP and maybe handy Monk items that are otherwise lacking?
If they fleshed out IWD any more it would be positively corpulent... the lore is very meaty to begin with. Its a story driven game.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
I'm not suggesting anything on the scale of BG however I'm sure to get to the severed hand you walk for a day or longer, surely they could flesh out the route to the Severed hand (and other locales) instead of teleporting you there with a delayed fatigue effect kicking in.
If they fleshed out IWD any more it would be positively corpulent... the lore is very meaty to begin with. Its a story driven game.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
I'm not suggesting anything on the scale of BG however I'm sure to get to the severed hand you walk for a day or longer, surely they could flesh out the route to the Severed hand (and other locales) instead of teleporting you there with a delayed fatigue effect kicking in.
Instead of specific locales, I think some random encounter mini-maps would be cool. That wouldn't require new quest material.
Wishlist item: Battleguard of Tempus cleric kit. With that, a totemic druid, a skald, a barbarian, a ranger and an illusionist-thief, I'd be set for local party lore (well, the illu-thi is a bit of a stretch but you need a mage and a thief so...)
I would settle for cleric kits that where anything other than boring!
I just want more areas to explore, to break the linearity of the game a little bit.
This is very important! I 100% agree.
Additionally, I might go on to add that IWD absolutely does not require its own version of The Black Pits. The developers have probably already come to that decision themselves, but I would regret not mentioning it just in case: committing resources to giving us more areas to explore as a sideline during the main quest (at different points in the main quest) would be awesome! IWD kind of works as a super long and well-designed battleground anyway, so what Baldur's Gate earned from having The Black Pits won't be the same in IWD.
Moddable encounters would be awesome but I personally feel to bring this game up to the standard of the Baldurs Gates we either need optional quest locales ala BG2 or Wilderness routes to locations ala BG1. Plus NPCs!
I mean look at the world map, there are so many interesting areas that could be filled in with a bit of wilderness!
I'm not saying all of this is essential but for the game, but for it to truly feel "enhanced" this is what i would like. Besides it would give BD an opportunity to cut their teeth on creating new areas (I've not yet played BG2 so i don't know what they were like)
I agree with the Black Pits sentiments echoed here also, absolutely not necessary in a dungeon crawler.
I just started IWD a little while ago (I thought it would help kill time while waiting for the patch, then the patch came and the IWD:EE news followed). I haven't got very far but a couple of things stand out to me:
First - Travel. I'll use the word travel, rather than exploration, since I generally agree with the points raised about exploration 'in the North'. So, I wont suggest that IWD:EE should have wilderness areas added far off the beaten track - I do suggest that a beaten track be added though.
I'm disappointed that we seem to get to where we need to go, so quickly - It feels almost like skipping chapters in a book - missing out the journey. For instance, one map between Easthaven and Kuldahar - there could be at least one (I'd prefer two), between it and Kuldahar. Between the Friendly Arm and Nashkel, even moving in a straight line, there is so much to see - even between Candlekeep and the Friendly Arm. So, I do hope that areas will be added to give the feeling of journeying, if not exploring, and that these areas will be home to the side quests and content being suggested.
Second - Companions. I realise this is quite divisive, but I hope we will get some *real* companions. With the greatest respect to mods and those who produce them, I'm hoping for professionally written and voiced companions who will enhance the story, rather than detract from it (it *is* possible to have *too much* party participation). Something along the lines of BG's companions, though specific to the culture and atmosphere of IWD - and less of them - say three of each: good, neutral and evil would suffice (I'd be happy to purchase dlc 'companion packs' like that).
Really, this is an opportunity to show what can be done in future projects - to me, it would be a shame to let it pass. Perhaps once everything has settled a bit, the devs will give us some idea about what they envision for IWD:EE's future.
i don't really get the discussion about joinable npc's.. if you want to play the game like it was originally intended, make your own party. if you want to see what the new npc's are like, don't..
I hope that the special items like Evil Spider Crusher of Doom have the correct .eff files applied to them. In the generic game this club was supposed to grant an extra +2 against spiders but it doesn't.
Perhaps a new bard song at 13th or 15th level? I am uncertain what that song would do at this time but speculation should give some reasonable suggestions which would be simple to implement.
Comments
Is there new & improved AI to deal with new BG spells? [are mages finally a threat?]
Besides, its not a very settled region.
For the record I have completed IWD twice, it is still massively inferior to either of the baldurs gates and perhaps on a par with TOB in my opinion, I just feel they could do a hell of a lot of fleshing out with this one.
You havent really dealt with my point though; unless we start lugging food and SHELTER, exploring off the beaten path is nuts. Arctic and antarctic explorers didnt have the best survival rates you know.
Which reminds me: We ought to get the Priest of Auril kit in IWD:EE!
And on a serious note, new areas can be added as part of quests you get along the way ( or hints about some area that is located in the NWSE of ____ ), I wasn't talking about "hey lets check what there is north of here" BG style exploring, I agree there is no much sense in that... but then again being teleported from the middle of the frozen heartland to the middle of the Anauroch desert doesn't make much sense either, In real life that's a recipe for a heart attack.
In my opinion what IWD is missing is quests and areas that are not related to the main story line.
However, Auril poses a problem as a patron, her followers are WIDELY hated in the North; Umberlee is tolerated, Talos molified, but Aurilites are really unwelcome.
Inuit guides are better than 2nd Ed Rangers, in the arctic anywsys.
I totally agree there could be some 'paths' to placed, ie areas of interest/special risk when approaching a plot area. Doesnt have to be directly plot related (perhaps you stumble upon a raided caravan, or a long destroyed village revealed by an avalanche... OR BETTER YET! You could stumble upon THE DREADED YAKFOLK! Eh, no relation to Yakman), ideally giving some XP and maybe handy Monk items that are otherwise lacking?
I wonder if that would be moddable? Hmmmm...
Additionally, I might go on to add that IWD absolutely does not require its own version of The Black Pits. The developers have probably already come to that decision themselves, but I would regret not mentioning it just in case: committing resources to giving us more areas to explore as a sideline during the main quest (at different points in the main quest) would be awesome! IWD kind of works as a super long and well-designed battleground anyway, so what Baldur's Gate earned from having The Black Pits won't be the same in IWD.
Plus NPCs!
I mean look at the world map, there are so many interesting areas that could be filled in with a bit of wilderness!
http://games.thehawkonline.com/infinity/iwd/maps/iwd-1.png
I'm not saying all of this is essential but for the game, but for it to truly feel "enhanced" this is what i would like. Besides it would give BD an opportunity to cut their teeth on creating new areas (I've not yet played BG2 so i don't know what they were like)
I agree with the Black Pits sentiments echoed here also, absolutely not necessary in a dungeon crawler.
First - Travel. I'll use the word travel, rather than exploration, since I generally agree with the points raised about exploration 'in the North'. So, I wont suggest that IWD:EE should have wilderness areas added far off the beaten track - I do suggest that a beaten track be added though.
I'm disappointed that we seem to get to where we need to go, so quickly - It feels almost like skipping chapters in a book - missing out the journey. For instance, one map between Easthaven and Kuldahar - there could be at least one (I'd prefer two), between it and Kuldahar. Between the Friendly Arm and Nashkel, even moving in a straight line, there is so much to see - even between Candlekeep and the Friendly Arm. So, I do hope that areas will be added to give the feeling of journeying, if not exploring, and that these areas will be home to the side quests and content being suggested.
Second - Companions. I realise this is quite divisive, but I hope we will get some *real* companions. With the greatest respect to mods and those who produce them, I'm hoping for professionally written and voiced companions who will enhance the story, rather than detract from it (it *is* possible to have *too much* party participation). Something along the lines of BG's companions, though specific to the culture and atmosphere of IWD - and less of them - say three of each: good, neutral and evil would suffice (I'd be happy to purchase dlc 'companion packs' like that).
Really, this is an opportunity to show what can be done in future projects - to me, it would be a shame to let it pass. Perhaps once everything has settled a bit, the devs will give us some idea about what they envision for IWD:EE's future.
And no NPC's (mods can make them) But I want to use all the Charnames-on-the-drawing-board in IWD in one (or 2) party.
Maybe we even could get some Two-Handed Clubs as well, forged by mastersmith trolls.
Perhaps a new bard song at 13th or 15th level? I am uncertain what that song would do at this time but speculation should give some reasonable suggestions which would be simple to implement.