Psa: How The Bazaar Really Sounds

[*MimiFearthegn]

It would be a problem to overload the market, for performance reasons. Even a scriptless npc is still more loaded resources. Also, as the player hub, we need empty space for PCs to use.

It would not be a problem for there to be more npcs (or things that look like npcs) in side areas, where there are not likely to be as many PCs at the same time. I tried something like that out in the Great Foundry. I still don't recommend crowds of hundreds, though.

Also yes, please assume that the city is bigger than what you see.

[*WhenWizardsWar]

I personally would advocate using a "busy market" sound effect as the "music" there, but my understanding is that we can't due to licensing.  :(

The problem is, ninty nine percent of nwn2 players dont play with the music up or the sound playing, so forcing the game to pipe out realistic sounds for immersion just wont work in most cases.

[*Mr_Otyugh]

I have actually wanted to make NPC looking placeables or visual effects a long time, that'd help with the resource effect and help to busy-fy the streets while also making it easy-ish to see who are actually worth interacting and who are not. And get around walkmesh issues... I mean can you imagine NWN2 pathing if there were a hundred NPCs walking back and forth all the time? Granted we'd probably get a lot more serial killers around if that did happen. :lol:

@coyotesage, I am rather much a self-proclaimed oppositionist. I do think it's always better that people express their own perspectives, even in the face of adversity, so they can actually be taken into consideration for a more fulfilling whole. So feel entirely free to agree or disagree with me on anything. ;)

[*Darkrob]

If we could make non-resource NPC markers of some sort, that would be awesome. It would give a more 'alive' feel to many areas. Who cares if they don't interact of respond to threats. They wouldn't even have to move around. They'd just be eye-candy to facilitate RP :)

[*MimiFearthegn]

Like I said, I made some for the Great Foundry. Just have to make some for the (non-market) streets, really.

[*Rayanne]

No sane person would use a grenade launcher to take out a single target surrounded by innocent targets.
I think the same would apply to offensive aoe spells in Sigil. :P
You have single-target spells for a reason. Or, gasp, wait until your target isn't literally in the busiest and most crowded place in the city.

I always try to immerse myself in my characters. Imagine to be in their place, which includes being aware of their surroundings and, let's face it, just a bit of logic and sense. If they are at the centre of the bazaar plaza, it's a given that there are going to be other bodies around.
And then, of course, there's those times when you're having a casual one-on-one conversation in a corner of the bazaar, and somebody else, 3 tables across and on the other side of a wall, who's currently engaged in a conversation with someone else, pipes up and joins your conversation despite not even having a clear line of sight to your character. That's just bad RP form. :P

[*Mr_Otyugh]

Actually if it is the busiest part of the city, all violence is going to hit outsiders. I mean how do you swing a sword when you have to wade through crowds? Or even try to hit with magic missiles or any other spell that requires a direct path to hit the target. Again, this is incredibly selective RP, if there are zounds of people, they are going to be in the way of everything or none at all. :P

[*Artifice]

Don't be silly. To hit someone with a sword you declare a target and roll a dice to see if it damages them or not. There's none of this 'swinging' or 'spatial geometry' to worry about in Sigil.

:P

[*MimiFearthegn]

Don't be silly. To hit someone with a sword you declare a target and roll a dice to see if it damages them or not. 

Yes, and let's not forget the five foot square of personal space to which we are each entitled.

[*Mick64]

I think a fair assumption when fights break out in crowded places is that all the invisible NPCs have a brain and can detect when violence is about to spark and know better then to be in the immediate vicinity of an angry planeswalker or the target of his anger.