Meet the developers.

ranncore

I'd like to.

Developers, if you're there, feel free to introduce yourselves and tell us what you do!

I know that Andy "The Squez" Velasquez is Lead Producer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pn7iU4EwTc

Zeke Sparks is Lead Designer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbrHCUwu4XM

and Craig Zinkievich is COO of Cryptic and Executive Producer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylmYKHBGlyQ

Cryptmapolis is Senior Environment Artist on the Neverwinter Foundry Team, and has also been known to bravely wade, alone and unaided, into the depths of the forums up against an onslaught of questions by starving and merciless would-be Neverwinter players.

Well I don't have a video of Cryptmapolis, but he said of his favorite areas in the game, The Chasm, is "a close second," and seeing as he is the Senior Environment Artist, posting the demo video for the chasm here seems a fitting tribute for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhNfK_LyZmI

Lindsay Haven - Systems Designer (that means Foundry!)

http://blip.tv/lorehound/lorehound-exclusive-an-in-depth-look-at-neverwinter-s-user-generated-content-system-6317680

Melanderi is Lead GM for Neverwinter! So play nice, because Mel will try to be in game several times a week and has plenty of in-game powers - not the least of which includes an apple-infused hime hairdo! It is also known that Mel has an evil twin.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Darthpanda16, resident cyborg sith panda for PWE, who is ready to field technical questions and concerns game and forum related! Thanks for keeping things working Darthpanda!

Spirals999 is a Sound Designer at Cryptic. How do YOU KNOW what a dragon sounds like when it roars?! Spiral doesn't shy away from the tough questions, and the questions that matter.

Dioxizine! Is a concept artist for the Neverwinter team. Are any of these yours, hm? These make great desktop backgrounds! It's good stuff and I'd love to see more of it!

http://nw.perfectworld.com/media/conceptart

Kevin Manthei will, in the worlds of Spiral, "once again be lending his amazing compositional prowess to our game." Kevin also is responsible for the music of Champions and Star Trek Online.

http://kmmproductions.com/

Christopher Bruce, aka ruffiana, is the Senior Animator for Neverwinter. As much fun as it sounds to get to animate the creatures of Neverwinter, I took one look at a set of tools ruffiana mentioned and decided it was far more complex for me to ever be involved in

Anyways hello, thanks for making this game, a lot of us are really looking forward to it and enjoying the videos you have put out so far. And thanks for giving us some forum space to hang out at!

(and sorry if I misspelled anything or got something wrong)

iamtruthseeker

Ahhh! Zombies are back! Start with the headshots...oh wait new thread not a necro! Nevermind!

Seriously, I think it would be great for all willing staff to just pop in here and say hi. But I've learned a lot are non-public so I respect those who are shy.


But we hope to hear more from those who do brave the public eye. Maybe even do an interview on the Neverwinter Online Crossroads Show/NOCS?

gillrmn

check facebook for more info and pics on some of them at work.

crypticmapolis

Mapolis here, Senior Environment Artist on the Neverwinter Foundry team, Cryptic employee since 2005. I've been playing D&D since early childhood, and I'm sort of a sick fanboy of the game already (since I can play it 24/7, nah nah . I'll do my best to answer what I know about the game's final design (which isn't everything unfortunately).

bitterwinter

mapolis are the "open world" areas similar to say GW2 in scope?
Do mages have any "fire" based spells?
I'm assuming that there is a themed story that starts from beginning to end?
Are we going to get into Castle Never?
How about Everember?
Any famous NPC appearances?

aandrethegiant

1. One question I have Cryptic, is can you lay out how the environment(s) will differ from DDO?
2. Could you give us a rundown on character creation (can we create our own starting stats, enhancements, feats, skills)?
3. Are the vanity options more varied than DDO's? Do they compare yet to Cryptic CO?
4. Are there any monies required to start developing the Foundry? When does money become a requirement?
5. Can you lay out how the cash shop is going to work?

ranncore

crypticmapolis wrote: »

Mapolis here, Senior Environment Artist on the Neverwinter Foundry team, Cryptic employee since 2005. I've been playing D&D since early childhood, and I'm sort of a sick fanboy of the game already (since I can play it 24/7, nah nah . I'll do my best to answer what I know about the game's final design (which isn't everything unfortunately).

Eh that sounds pretty fun What edition(s) of DnD did/do you play?

So what kind of places are we going to be hunting monsters through in the game? Obviously a portion of it happens in the city, and that gives lots of flexibility and options for cool hunting grounds, but do you have, say, a favorite area, either for visual aesthetic appeal or because it poses interesting obstacles in the terrain?

bitterwinter

....and he's gone:)

aandrethegiant

bitterwinter wrote: »

....and he's gone:)

Potty break?

bitterwinter

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Potty break?

Someone shut his computer off while typing responses?

stormdrag0n

crypticmapolis first off thanks for taking the time to answer these.

My question is about Henchmen, there has been some talk about them but nothing specific, could you give us some details, like when can you use them what are the limitations and so forth?

crypticmapolis

*Ahem* Now that my kid is in bed and asleep...

bitterwinter wrote: »

mapolis are the "open world" areas similar to say GW2 in scope?

I personally have not played GW2, so I can't confidently answer this question.

Do mages have any "fire" based spells?

The Control Wizard does not, however there will be incoming caster classes that do.

I'm assuming that there is a themed story that starts from beginning to end?

You assume correctly!

Are we going to get into Castle Never?

Yes.

How about Everember?

Who?


Any famous NPC appearances?

No, Drizzt has not yet made an appearance

iamtruthseeker

Neverember is in the world, and Foundry slots up to an undisclosed number is free.

chaddiwicker

Thank you for taking time to introduce yourself, for answering questions from fans and for your work on the game.

crypticmapolis

ranncore wrote: »

Eh that sounds pretty fun What edition(s) of DnD did/do you play?

So what kind of places are we going to be hunting monsters through in the game? Obviously a portion of it happens in the city, and that gives lots of flexibility and options for cool hunting grounds, but do you have, say, a favorite area, either for visual aesthetic appeal or because it poses interesting obstacles in the terrain?

I don't remember which edition I started with... whichever one was popular in the late 80's... 2nd edition I think but the rules were pretty modified anyway. I've recently gone through a few 4E campaigns and am currently using a high elf wizard in ta 5th edition beta campaign.

There are currently 5 zones that actually take place within the city walls, and many more zones along the Sword Coast. I would have to say my favorite zone is Pirate's Skyhold, which is a beautiful set of landmotes connected by rope bridges and run by pirates with skyships. The Chasm is a close second followed by Whispering Caverns (part of the underdark)

crypticmapolis

stormdrag0n wrote: »

crypticmapolis first off thanks for taking the time to answer these.

My question is about Henchmen, there has been some talk about them but nothing specific, could you give us some details, like when can you use them what are the limitations and so forth?

Henchmen are essentially AI companions that will fight alongside you. There will be a nice variety of henchmen and pets at launch that have a wide range of abilities. Some will heal you, some will tank for you, some will do some heavy damage, others are just quirky and interesting. Your henchmen will also level with you, and you can augment their abilities with enchantments and gear as well as change their appearance.

You can use them pretty much everywhere except for team instances. I'm not sure if they will be used in PvP or not, but I know they were testing companions in PvP before the holiday break (they do their wrap-up meetings right outside my office, it's cool)

They're mostly useful for soloing. I loved having my fighter do some tanking for me while I was leveling my Control Wizard.

crypticmapolis

aandrethegiant wrote: »

1. One question I have Cryptic, is can you lay out how the environment(s) will differ from DDO?
2. Could you give us a rundown on character creation (can we create our own starting stats, enhancements, feats, skills)?
3. Are the vanity options more varied than DDO's? Do they compare yet to Cryptic CO?
4. Are there any monies required to start developing the Foundry? When does money become a requirement?
5. Can you lay out how the cash shop is going to work?

Ugh, the last time I played DDO was at launch when it was a subscription game. It didn't really hook me so I ended up not playing very far into it. I was going to download and play it during the holiday break, but then I started leveling my Guardian Fighter in NWO...

Anyway, I can't answer your DDO specific questions but I will try to give some relevant info.

Neverwinter, like our previous games, is not a seamless world but rather a collection of persistent zones, instances, arenas and dynamic events. Zones are large persistent areas that contain open world quests, doors to instanced quest areas like sewers and caves, dynamic contests and queued zone events. Each zone has its own large dungeon that requires a group to complete and also ties off the story arc for that zone.

Character creation is being fleshed out to allow more customization at the moment, but currently you can choose from several core D&D races (I'm not really sure how many will be in at launch). You can adjust all the body proportions as well as hair, eye and skin color. You can also add scars, tattoos, and other flairs to your character.

Beyond appearance you will be able to roll and reroll stats, choose your area of origin within the Forgotten Realms, and your preferred deity. You can also write a bio for your character if you choose.

Currently you can pick between all the announced classes as well as a few unannounced classes. Each class additionally lets you choose a paragon class when you hit the right level, complete with its own feats, powers and gear. I don't know if a freeform class option will be available at launch.

For the Foundry, we have been taking the philosophy that we do not want to charge authors for creating content. I believe we will have to limit the number of free campaign slots you get, but that is in place to prevent a flooding of our servers with bogus quests.

As for the cash shop, all I know about its final implementation is that it will work a lot like our other games. It will be accessible in-game easily from the main UI, you will use the Zen standard currency. We don't plan to charge for quest content or zones or campaigns or episodes or anything like that, so the contents of the shop should mostly be cosmetics, consumables, mounts and services.

ranncore

Dude, thanks so much for coming to the forums to answer our questions and chat, we've been kinda starved for information

Out of curiosity, did you work on STO at all? I downloaded it just to check out the Foundry, wanted to know what I would be getting into in Neverwinter. Anyways, did the tutorial and first mission today, and I gotta say, it's a pretty cool game so far, more than I was expecting. Was disappointed to see that I couldn't hop right into the Foundry, tho Will Neverwinter also have a restriction like that?

*edit i think i just read the answer to my question about neverwinter foundry restrictons in one of your other posts actually

ruinedmirage

I agree! Thanks for answering all of our questions so far in this thread, and thanks ranncore for starting it. I just hope the momentum continues (and that there aren't too many repeats of questions)! I'm actually getting a little more excited about the game again ^^

denkasaeba

"unannounced classeS".... woah.

crypticmapolis

ranncore wrote: »

Dude, thanks so much for coming to the forums to answer our questions and chat, we've been kinda starved for information

Out of curiosity, did you work on STO at all? I downloaded it just to check out the Foundry, wanted to know what I would be getting into in Neverwinter. Anyways, did the tutorial and first mission today, and I gotta say, it's a pretty cool game so far, more than I was expecting. Was disappointed to see that I couldn't hop right into the Foundry, tho Will Neverwinter also have a restriction like that?

*edit i think i just read the answer to my question about neverwinter foundry restrictons in one of your other posts actually

You guys are justified in your frustration. I know marketing has big plans for next year but I'll talk to Craig about giving more love to the forum community.

Anyway, yes I've worked on every Cryptic title including CoH/CoV, Champions, STO and NWO. I worked on the Foundry for STO as well, and I can say Neverwinter's foundry builds on the foundation there but is quite a bit different and more full featured at this point than the original. We will probably at least make you create one character and finish the tutorial before making Foundry content, if for no other reason than you should have a basic idea about how the game functions before making content for it. I'm not sure if it will have the same level requirement of STO though.

ranncore

crypticmapolis wrote: »

We will probably at least make you create one character and finish the tutorial before making Foundry content, if for no other reason than you should have a basic idea about how the game functions before making content for it. I'm not sure if it will have the same level requirement of STO though.

Yeah I don't mind finishing a tutorial, that's kind of what I expected to be honest, and when I saw that it was some crazy dilithium requirement, I mean, I don't know exactly how much currency that amounts to, but it sounds like making content in the Foundry for STO is reserved for players who have reached end-game and are otherwise extremely dedicated. I'll probably never be able to play around with it.

stormdrag0n

crypticmapolis wrote: »

Henchmen are essentially AI companions that will fight alongside you. There will be a nice variety of henchmen and pets at launch that have a wide range of abilities. Some will heal you, some will tank for you, some will do some heavy damage, others are just quirky and interesting. Your henchmen will also level with you, and you can augment their abilities with enchantments and gear as well as change their appearance.

You can use them pretty much everywhere except for team instances. I'm not sure if they will be used in PvP or not, but I know they were testing companions in PvP before the holiday break (they do their wrap-up meetings right outside my office, it's cool)

They're mostly useful for soloing. I loved having my fighter do some tanking for me while I was leveling my Control Wizard.

That is simply fantastic news thank you for the info....but I wish I added if Henchmen would be available on the C store or do we pick them up in game and can we change their names like our STO Henchmen

tinypyro

crypticmapolis wrote: »

Ugh, the last time I played DDO was at launch when it was a subscription game. It didn't really hook me so I ended up not playing very far into it. I was going to download and play it during the holiday break, but then I started leveling my Guardian Fighter in NWO...

Anyway, I can't answer your DDO specific questions but I will try to give some relevant info.

Neverwinter, like our previous games, is not a seamless world but rather a collection of persistent zones, instances, arenas and dynamic events. Zones are large persistent areas that contain open world quests, doors to instanced quest areas like sewers and caves, dynamic contests and queued zone events. Each zone has its own large dungeon that requires a group to complete and also ties off the story arc for that zone.

Character creation is being fleshed out to allow more customization at the moment, but currently you can choose from several core D&D races (I'm not really sure how many will be in at launch). You can adjust all the body proportions as well as hair, eye and skin color. You can also add scars, tattoos, and other flairs to your character.

Beyond appearance you will be able to roll and reroll stats, choose your area of origin within the Forgotten Realms, and your preferred deity. You can also write a bio for your character if you choose.

Currently you can pick between all the announced classes as well as a few unannounced classes. Each class additionally lets you choose a paragon class when you hit the right level, complete with its own feats, powers and gear. I don't know if a freeform class option will be available at launch.

For the Foundry, we have been taking the philosophy that we do not want to charge authors for creating content. I believe we will have to limit the number of free campaign slots you get, but that is in place to prevent a flooding of our servers with bogus quests.

As for the cash shop, all I know about its final implementation is that it will work a lot like our other games. It will be accessible in-game easily from the main UI, you will use the Zen standard currency. We don't plan to charge for quest content or zones or campaigns or episodes or anything like that, so the contents of the shop should mostly be cosmetics, consumables, mounts and services.

This is fabulous. I am very pleased/surprised to see this amount of interaction. We are all starving for information like this and we all very much appreciate the time you have taken to share it with us. Keep up the good work

ambisinisterr

Your presence here is always truly appreciated Mapolis. You must be the most beloved of the Cryptic Staff on the forums and the most hated by Marketing
I truly appreciate any voicing up for the forum community, we truly have needed a bit more for a while.

I guess my main question would be what kind of support could we expect for The Foundry after launch? When I first played NWN I was just thoroughly amazed with every single bit of scenery but after a year or so I felt like I had seen everything in just about every combination I could imagine. Red Golem created this great script which literally made my eyes water and fall in love with the game's visuals again by making new terrain with placeables...
But still after years of playing and even the Community Hak Pak I just felt like the games visuals just faltered. I never saw anything new. It Grew stale.

What are the plans for post launch Foundry Support?
I want there to be a million and one classes but I can argue that redundant visuals and quest capabilities, no matter how grand at first, play as large of a role in long term player appeal.

Thank you again for taking the time to confirm some things which are set in stone. Every bit of it is much appreciated.

iamtruthseeker

Well, as Mapolis said, we don't know how many we'll get, but yes, we DO get free Foundry slots (unlike the STO's 10 K Dil secondary currency per slot) for Foundry creation! This I found out early and I am happy to confirm (and it's not been easy getting info,) that it's STILL valid! Huzzah! Thank you for publicly discussing this before Cryptic!


The one thing (besides these mystery classes of course) I'm not sure about is: are companions and henchmen the same thing, or two different things? When first reading it, I thought they were just a buddy you get for your character (companion,) now it seems maybe you can hire/earn additional people like said fighters for your wizard?

catburger003

I like Andy's ears and Zeke's stache and beard. They look cute.

aandrethegiant

crypticmapolis wrote: »

snip.

Wow thank you crypticmapolis for the excellent replies to our questions!!! You must be so busy with the CB launch right around the corner (we all hope, right!).

One more question I just thought of... How will weapon use work? In other words... will I be able to use all martial weapons on my fighter? Will I be able to choose between two handed weapons, sword and board, and a bow on the same fighter?

gillrmn

crypticmapolis wrote: »

... I don't know if a freeform class option will be available at launch....

Wait!!!! STOP PRESS!!!!

So are you planning to have freeform (hybrid or multiclass) at some point of time in the game?

Also if a lot of people demand it on forums and everywhere does that mean you will implement it?

That will be a great new to those who want more character customization.

denkasaeba

Maybe they'll add modular items that can be added/removed to a skeleton to form a new class.

WOAH.

gillrmn

denkasaeba wrote: »

Maybe they'll add modular items that can be added/removed to a skeleton to form a new class.

WOAH.

Lorewise, that can be possible. Compared to Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity, it is not that big of a thing.