Black Isle Studios Board Update

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(Originally posted by Darien)

Well, these updates could almost become a daily feature, if those boys keep chatting up the boards. Anyway, here's more from the Black Isle Studios message boards, this time with comments from others in addition to Dave!

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal

Mark Darrah, Lead Programmer:

AI of thieves and backstabbing: This is intentional. The AI is really clever enough to get the thieves around behind you without putting themselves in danger. As such they just do it automatically if the conditions are right.

More: Actually No, proper backstabbing for NPC thieves isn't realistically fixable.

For NPC thieves to back stab here's what they would have to do:
1. Make sure they are unseen (relatively easy they already do this)
2. Determine their target (they already do this too)
3. Determine how to get BEHIND this target. The problem with this is that EXCEPT for back stabbing, facing doesn't matter. As a result the path finding doesn't take into account any desire to be behind someone. While this is technically possible, it would reduce the speed of the search dramatically (I won't go into the intracies of A* here)
4. Okay so now we know where we want to go BUT WAIT! our targets has turned! Do we calculate a new path to get behind them again? If so you could totally avoid thieves simply by spinning in place. If you do not recalculate then you can AVOID all backstabs simply by turning in place.

Importing from BGI: You can import BG1 characters into BG2 OR into TOB. Either way you will be allowed to pick a kit.

BG2's xp cap and ToB: The game does keep track of XP beyond 2.95 million. As soon as you install TOB this will be lost. The reason for this is so that you DO NOT instantly gain several levels.

Kevin Martens, Lead Designer:

Experience points awards: We have gone over the XP rewards several times. We're giving it out pretty carefully and certainly don't intend to give you XP you haven't earned.

Yes, we have a ton of XP to give out (around 2.5 million for your main character) but TOB is so enormous and epic so it's not actually that hard. You get to kill a lot of high level monsters and partake in earth shattering events. The game is over 30 hours long, even for our experienced testers. So, at no point, would we give out 480,000XP for talking to someone. Even if you used numerous clever puns.

Dave Gaider:

Computer game designers and mind-altering substances: I think there are almost as many stereotypes about the people who make games for a living as there are about Dungeon & Dragons and role-playing in general. Unfortunately, not a lot of them are very positive. Growing up, D was not only a hard sell to my parents but to my school when I wanted to start a D club.

I know that drugs are a part of life, and probably part of life in the Forgotten Realms as well...but hey, you know as well as I do that drugs are almost as sensitive an issue as violence. There's room for edgy material in almost every project, and I enjoy it as much as anyone else, but in a game that includes kids as part of its market let's not try to deliberately shoot ourselves in the foot, eh?

I know you were talking about an item you wanted to see in the game, sure, but as someone who still gets the occasional weird look when I tell someone I design computer games for a living, I know that perception is a big thing. It was a small miracle that I was able to convince my school's principal that D was a tool for creativity and a positive thing...I love computer gaming and I love role-playing, and I'd hate to see either slandered by offering free ammunition to those who are ignorant of its true value.

I know that wasn't the aim of your post, but it brought this thought to mind...especially considering recent events down in the U.S. I'd love to work in a society where edgy entertainment was viewed solely as that...entertainment...and not some mind-warping influence on children who no doubt encounter a hundred other influences to make them who they are. I feel fortunate that we can include what we do and have the freedom we have...because the alternative, vanilla PC-sensitive monitored output, strikes me as a very frightening thing.

And then again, it also makes me wonder to what extent we have a responsibility to the public. Do we? Or is our responsibility solely to provide the best entertainment we can? Sobering thoughts. (And I apologize for the sudden introspection...it's late and I'm tired and about to go to bed.)

More on thieves and backstabbing: Actually, we can no more program him to stand with his back to the wall than we can program him to try to get behind your avatar for a proper attack. Invisibility works as well for the player as it does for an NPC...and since it's our only option, we have to fake it in order to simulate the NPC thief using his backstab on you.

But otherwise, sure, it's our sole mission to take away all those 'time-honored' options from thieves.

Being a legendary Hero: Something we kept in mind consciously is that your character is very well-known at this point. There will still be the occasional person (of course) who doesn't know who you are and could care less, but for the most part you've become a legend in the area.

Question regarding Dragon AI: OKay, I know the subject of fighting dragons has been covered in numerous other threads...what I'm looking for, here, is a few ideas from those of you who regularly kill dragons on some 'cheap' kills that could be avoided with decent AI. So far, we've got the dragons using Wing Buffet to dispel cloud-type attacks, and the dragon takes time to cast healing and summoning spells if you move out of its sight...and when it's ready, it'll come looking for you.

What are some other possibilities you can think of? (Keep in mind not all dragons are master spell-casters...but some are, so should have access to a variety of spells, I suppose.) Thanks in advance.

Well, a dragon meeting a group of well-prepared arch-mages probably isn't going to do that well...if you've prepared for the battle, you've earned your victory. I'm not looking to void legitimate ways of winning.

Some good ideas, though, and thanks...it looks like getting the dragon to avoid the insta-kills is a major deal. I've already got it so that the dragon doesn't sit still if you leave it alone...and the new targeting scripts do prioritize mages (who aren't silenced or otherwise helpless, that is) unless there is a melee threat that is actually hurting them.

Maybe adding in Death Ward to their Contingency (replacing something less important) wouldn't be a bad idea. A really powerful and old dragon might just be plain immune to Slay effects, sure, but I want to avoid that if I can. In PnP, the lair is to their advantage because they can fly. How does a dragon take advantage of their lair in the Infinity Engine? There was a post above that mention using a Tail Slap (or something similar) that would cause an Earthquake-like effect. I kinda like that.

I could certainly see Silence...they do get cleric spells in addition to wizard spells. And in the last script I just did, the 'smart' dragon targets mages with his spells and attacks until the melee opponents really begin to annoy him...which seems to work OK so far. But immune to 4th level spells and lower. I dunno. There's enough big bosses that have plenty of immunities without giving ones to dragons that they shouldn't have.

Some good ideas, though, and I like some of the other ones I've seen, too. Wouldn't walking into a dragon who suddenly put up Death Ward and Spell Immunity: Abjuration and Stone Skins be a little specific, though? Would you think 'hey, smart dragon, this should be a challenge' or would you just roll your eyes and see another reload coming?

From what I can see, the problems with dragons are as follows:

1) Too easily defeated by lowering their Magic Resistance and then using an instant-death spell.
2) They don't recognize the true dangers facing them, spending time on summoned monsters and fighters instead of the mages.
3) Their offensive powers (whether magical or breath weapon) aren't used well/often enough.
4) They don't see and/or deal with invisible opponents well enough.

Is that about right? Because I THINK I can script around these things. But you have to be careful, because it should be challenging...not impossible.

Differences in Lead and Senior Designers: I'm not sure if I would want Kevin's job...and if I was going to be a Lead Designer, I think I'd want to be ready for it. It's a lot of stress.

Kevin Martens, as Lead Designer, does a LOT of work. Unlike what I do (which is a lot of the writing and scripting), a lot of what Kevin does you won't see much of. He makes himself responsible for all the details...he makes sure things get done, that areas are balanced, that sounds are put in, that all the items are tracked and placed, that all plots in the game are written up somewhere fully so QA can test them properly, that the XP given out is the right amount...he co-ordinates all the other designers and ends up doing all detail work that most designers don't like to do.

As a Senior Designer, I am responsible for a lot of the content in the game...I write a lot of the critical dialogue and story and do a lot of the story scripting. The other Designers are no less important than me...they just tend to focus more in one area. John Winski, for instance, is an experienced Designer...but he doesn't do writing, he focuses solely on scripting. Drew Karpyshyn did a lot of the dialogue writing on ToB, but he doesn't do as much scripting yet. Mike Geist is a great designer who works with scripting and the editors, but he also doesn't do much writing. It's a team effort, and my own title solely indicates my responsibility for critical areas.

Is there a difference in our pay cheques? If there's any justice, Kevin makes plenty. It's on him that all the stress falls, after all.

As for Ray and Greg...don't imagine for a second they sit around doing nothing. Far from it. Not only do they have to work to maintain their medical licenses, but they do a LOT of promotion for the games at the same time as they have a company to run...and on top of that, they both play-test the games at home.

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter

Steve Bokkes, Designer:

Starting levels in the expansion pack: Actually, we're shooting for a broader range of 11-18. Each individual encounter will be scaled according to your party's level. This seemed to be the only viable way to accommodate the greatest number of players. And, yes, the adventure will only be accessible through Lonelywood.