Neverwinter Nights 2 Interview, Part Three

RPG Vault is offering up the third portion of their Neverwinter Nights 2 interview with Obsidian Entertainment's Ferret Baudoin. Here's a bit of what to expect:
Q: Did you retain any parts of the original editor? And what are the key functions you felt should be improved?

A: The toolset has been written from scratch but is modeled on the old toolset - this was to make it compatible with the new graphics engine and also to allow some fundamental changes that make life easier. It's modeless now, so you can switch between a script, dialogue and area seamlessly - looking things up as you go and then plugging things in. Another huge addition is that scripts in dialogues now accept parameters. So, you don't need a different script to check if someone's Strength is above 10 or above 15. Instead, you just have one script and pass it a number. It cuts down enormously on the number of scripts you need to make the game.

In the flexibility department, people can now sculpt their outdoor areas like clay, making for realistic and dramatic environments. And also, most objects can be scaled to different sizes and tinted different colors, so you can have your orc chieftain being taller than the rest and with bright orange skin. We want to make it flexible enough that people can use the exact same pieces, but with those things and dynamic lighting, create areas that feel completely different.

So start the countdown to modding bliss...