Obsidian Entertainment Office Visit, Part One

Maximus from the Neverwinter Vault has begun a new three-part feature detailing a recent visit he paid to Obsidian Entertainment's studio in Orange County, California. In the first installment, he gives us an intricate preview of Neverwinter Nights 2 after getting a hands-on demonstration:
Nathaniel showed how the lighting system has been greatly improved with light now dynamic and glistening off the character's armor. Thanks to the new dynamic lighting system, shadows and lighting are handled in real time where each pixel is calculated depending on the light reflecting off it's surface and every other surface. Add to that, they've used normal maps, which use very hi-res textures scaled down on low polys to give the impression of very high detail without the cost of a lot of polygons. More on the graphics a bit later.

Next up was an example of the conversation interface which will be very much like that used in Jade Empire and the Knights of the Old Republic franchise, where you go to a letterbox style with black bands on the top and bottom. These areas display the questions at the top and your choices of replies at the bottom. You now have full control of the scripting camera both from the toolset and the conversation editor, which we'll cover when we talk about the toolset.