NWN Revival

[kmj2587]

I said no, because i think more DMs would do more good than more servers. There's plenty of space to do things, just not enough folks to do them with.

Ideally I agree with this point. However...

Reason being that sometimes doing something highly impractical, but new and interesting, will bring the vim and vigor needed to improve things for a whole group.

I also agree with this point.

Shadowdale at one point had around one thousand areas. Legionnaire cleaned a lot of them out to make room for things that were still being built and added. There is more space on this server than any one person can use. I know Sembia and Norther Cormyr are also still building and adding and are probably of comparable size.

Additionally, the three have grown closer together. Shadowdale now contains a large swathe of Battledale and extends north up to Myth Drannor and south to Lake Sember. Sembia, which started as only Selgaunt if memory server, now extends out as far as Featherdale and Scardale. There is virtually no space left unbuilt between Northern Cormyr and the other two servers either. These are three huge servers that cover an incredibly large amount of territory taken together. It would be very easy for new players to find content in these servers that was not there last they saw them. With the large amount of territory covered, it would also be easy for a DM and a group of players to play and run a campaign separate from the existing campaigns/player base if that was their wish.

The experience is enhanced by the close-knit nature and good communication that exists between these servers as well. Chamu has DM rights on both SD and NC. JaydeMoon DMs on SD and Sembia. Legionnaire has DM access on all three.

However, Zelknolf is right that something new may do more to reinvigorate the project. If people really want a new server, my preferance would be for one contiguous with our existing servers so that we could expand the scope of the project without creating isolated pockets. Along these lines, there are several choices:
Daggerdale: Used to connect to Shadowdale
Western Frontier: Used to connect to Northern Cormyr
The Pirate Isles: Used to connect to both NC and Sembia
Baldur's Gate: Easily connected to Moonshaes by ship
Waterdeep: Also easily connected to Moonshaes by ship, but longer trip than Baldur's Gate

While VolV would also fall into this category, my understanding is that it was never updated to the 3.0 haks before being taken down. As such, updating it to work with the current servers would be a large investment of time and effort. Also, the areas it used to cover have largely been absorbed by Sembia and Shadowdale.

[Zelknolf]

Baldur's Gate: Easily connected to Moonshaes by ship

I might be wrong on this one, but I think NC absorbed the Baldur's Gate exteriors and a handful of its key interiors.

[Valdimir]

Sembia, which started as only Selgaunt...now extends out as far as Featherdale and Scardale.

Sembia extends from Mulhessen to the west(near the NC portal) to Prespur Island in the east (acquired from TPI) and as far north as Blackfeather Bridge in Featherdale (SD portal). Scardale was added last year. Additionally, there is a "new" dwarf mine begging for residents. I have not fully developed it due to lack of dorfs on the server.

We've been running an off-server Whitehorn campaign. I was on Baalster's team eons ago (w/ Thangs and Racerblue, et al) and I have put together a DM guide (10+ pg MS Word Doc) with excerpts from the DM forum. If anyone wants to DM there they are welcome to have a copy, however, BB brought up a good point. There are still bugs, some comical like the barkeep that spawns naked, but close DM oversight is a must to use it. Broken ATs and merchants abound. I, for one, am glad people are finally getting to experience what I thought was a phenomenal server, but would rather see returning DMs join an existing team to meet the onrush of returning NWN1 players (due to this post, of course, and not TSM being temporarily down...)

[ThinkTank]

The Hell I'm reinstalling all my NWN stuff and DLing the hax again.

[Burt]

I vote yes, providing there's a vault wipe.

[White Warlock]

I vote yes, because if a group in this community wants to update a module and host it, then nobody here should stand in their way.

Oddly, i do agree with Burt. I like NWN1, but am not keen to play in it because my 1st level tool of a PC is totally out of place surrounded by mid to high level PCs (including a few 20th levels). A vault wipe may not be a bad idea.

Other concerns are that of getting all the other presently hosted servers updated to 1.69, but that's for "the other" discussion.

And I also agree with Ayergo. Not enough players, not enough DMs as it is, but then again, I'm not all too keen to play in the existing NWN servers because there are not enough servers for me to travel about in, and the ones presently up don't interest me all that much.

But, ultimately, I'm for this community not standing in the way of virtually anyone who wants to make or update a module, to host a server, or to DM on a server. We have enough bureaucracy as it is that we don't have to lay down yet another layer, which we can dub the, "popularity" layer.

Oh, and if you do update one (or more), add a lot of statics... please.

[Mulu]

Both platforms are desperate for static content. Well, and players and DM's apparently. Still, I think anything that adds excitement to the idea of playing is a good thing.

[HATEFACE]

1377DR Year of Your mom. When the hard work of heroes across Faerun accounts for nothing when they are suddenly beleted. Faerun, in one solitary moment, resonates with a tumultuous dirge of a multitude of swords and loot bags hitting the pavement.

-So sayeth the wise Aluando

[psycho_leo]

Oddly, i do agree with Burt. I like NWN1, but am not keen to play in it because my 1st level tool of a PC is totally out of place surrounded by mid to high level PCs (including a few 20th levels). A vault wipe may not be a bad idea.

Right.. cuz the way to go is to ruin the experience of the people that currently play and DM in order to possibly make it easier for people who may or may not play. Yeah.. you're definitely onto something here.

[Wynna]

Vault wipe is a contentious topic. Personally, I think it goes against the idea of the 'persistent' in 'persistent world.' I grant that in a low population this makes it hard for new PCs to fit in/survive (and I have always preferred playing in a lower level world myself). I do like the freshness of BB's approach, not in the solution proposed but in the fact that he has a fresh approach to suggest for debate. Well done, BB. I, however, feel that your specific proposal is a short-term fix that will be a net loss in terms of trouble it will bring with it, and what we need is a more permanent fix--more low level statics and RPXP scripts. Easy to say; longer to put into play, I know, but I'd like to recommend statics like Ayergo's herb gathering, the wonderful fishing scripts and suchlike as examples of non-combat avenues for XP gain. (If the fishing isn't done for XP currently, it could be, surely?) Although it's been a long time since I've been in NWN1 Toolset, I'm sure I could find some time to help out with a universal static or two.

[Nalo Jade]

I voted yes.

Let the HDMs handle the statics, and low level content.

I would be against the vault wipe, that would cause some great grief for the players that are currently playing, it is not fair to them.

I am not a fan of hosting empty servers, when I left we had a bunch of NWN1 servers up with almost 0 activity on them...however I think having 3 servers up with low activity is worse.

We can use NWConnections to try and recruit people, ESPECIALLY for going live events and such...they can start their own low level groups.

anyway... I don't see any harm in hosting more NWN1 servers.

[danielmn]

Voted yes, more than willing to DM lowbies, level 1-5, 2-3X a week. If a fresh start is warrented, I can provide.

DAniel

[Mulu]

I used to pitch a system here used on the Dragonspire server back in the old days called Advanced Static Character. The idea, for those who haven't already heard me pitch it here twenty times in the past 3 1/2 years, was to start your PC at 6th level or so, and then gain no xp at all, manually going up in level once/ RL year. A balanced approach, as you trade normally unlimited leveling for a quick bump to 6th, and still have some modicum of level advancement thereafter. The system is a godsend for the infrequent or unscheduled player who would otherwise be relegated to being 1-2nd level forever.

Of course, lots of low level statics and DM coverage would be even better, but is a lot more work and much harder to provide consistently, and the vast majority of ALFA NWN1 statics have been removed as I understand it. ASC could be implemented in a day I suspect. ALFA is way too stubborn to try it, of course, but it would bring in more players to NWN1. I'd certainly roll one up. I suspect many infrequent players would.

[Marklos]

Someone is using my Luskan server as a campaign server? That's fantastic!

Heck, I can throw it up anytime if you want. It's still in the shape it was when I brought her down a little over a year ago. Just shoot me a tell, and I'll give PWs and everything.

Just got to give me time to put it up, is all.

[Creslyn]

TVS I says!