GB Feature: NWN2: Storm of Zehir Interview
-
Category: News ArchiveHits: 718
GB: Tell us a bit more about Storm of Zehir's storyline, as well as how the new overland map and trading system will function.
Matthew: We can't say much about the storyline at this point - suffice to say that Zehir himself is mentioned in some of the D&D 4th Edition manuals. While our game utilizes 3.5 Edition rules and takes place before the 4th Edition in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms, we still foreshadow some of the events of the new D&D edition.
The Overland Map is an exciting new feature for us, as it allows for more non-linear exploration of the game world, in a fashion somewhat akin to Fallout. We feel that this allows for more open-ended gameplay, and also allows us to set the player loose and explore the world in a way that selecting destinations on a map screen doesn't really emphasize. We're also excited about the new roles that some of the Skills will play on the Overland Map; things like Spot, Listen, and Survival will probably be much more important in Storm of Zehir than they have been in previous Neverwinter Nights games.
The trading system revolves around the classic capitalistic technique of "buy low, sell high". You'll also need to keep track of events that may influence the prices of various goods; some of these events might even be caused by your party of adventurers. There are also quests that tie into the trading systems, as well as merchant cartels that you can choose to ally with or oppose. In the end, we want the trading system to open up new role-playing opportunities, so you can expect your trading adventures to open up new quests and influence the story. Its implementation also encourages the player to explore the Overland Map.
One of the new prestige classes revealed within!
