General:Morrowind Team IRC Interview/April 2001

This interview was originally archived by the team at Morrowind Summit.
----
Development Team Participants:

AFFA_MU[Bethesda] - Doug Goodall, Designer

blatantLiar - Mike, Programmer

BlueDev - Mark Nelson, Lead Cluttermonkey

bootyspice - Christine, Artist

Chris_Bethesda - Chris Innanen, Programmer

Matt_Bethsoft - Matthew Carofano, Lead Artist

Maverique - Christiane Meister, Lead Character Animator

noah{Bethesda} - Noah Berry, Environmental Artist

Pete - Pete Hines, Marketing and PR Director

Royal_[Bethesda] - Royal Connell, Associate Producer

Tedders - Ted Peterson, Lead Designer on Daggerfall

Todd[Bethesda] - Todd Howard, Project Leader

uncle_ken - Ken Rolston, Lead Designer

Victor - Victor Brueggemann, Programmer

WormGod - GT Noonan, Dungeon Builder


Moderators:

kathode

Dalinn

KC_2


Session Start: Wed Apr 04 17:30:10 2001


  Hi and welcome to the third "Whenever-We-Feel-Like-It" Super Crazy House Morrowind Slippery Fun Time Chat!

  That's the official title from now on by the way. I'm exercising my authorita.

  I'm kathode, and you should all know and despise me by now

  Dalinn nods

  hahah

  and helping me out in taking questions are Dalin, webmonkey of Morrowind Summit

  (

  And KC_2, some guy I found on the street

  KC_2 tips his dirty cap to the crowd

  With us today we have members of the Morrowind Development team,



'''  Why don't you go ahead and say your name, job title, and give us just a real short description of what you're currently working on...'''

  Ken Rolston, lead game designer and high lord of asci art

  Doug Goodall. Uh, designer or something. Quests, dialogue, the cure for cancer, that sort of thing.

  Hi I'm Noah Berry, environmental artist for Morrowind.

  Christiane Meister - Lead character animator and general Mr. Biped beater

  I get to play head-cheese-boy. Working on many script functions, dialogue, and such.

  Chris Innanen, Code monkey and interface munger.

  ken is currently working on the Fat Lute quest sequence.

  Hi. I'm Matthew Carofano, Lead Artist.

  Mark Nelson, Lead Cluttermonkey and all-around nice guy.

  Royal Connell, Associate Producer: in charge of making sure the world gets built and generally annoying all the designers. Also in charge of beta test stuff

  Mike Lipari. Creator and destroyer of bugs.

  ... and a very good liar

  ah, im the lead lizard wrangler, wearer of boots, and general artiste

  GT Noonan.... whatever nobody else feels like doing

  brb! someone overflowed a toilet... CLEANUP IN STALL 2!

  Late intro, sorry... Victor Brueggemann, programmer "in Tharning". Working on the magic system.


  Ok you guys should all know the rules, no flooding, no messaging the devs, no changing your nick over and over, etc.

  Also, I'd like to go ahead and invite any dev who wants to stay after the moderated session is over to do so.

  like a sleepover?

  So we're ready to start taking questions.

  oh yeah, and devs, just type "GA" or "Done" when you want to move on to the next question



'''    Can we get an update on the AI? Is it at the point where NPC's can follow the PC to some degree?'''

  Funny you should ask...had big meeting yesterday and hammered out the details...

  NPCs will be able to follow you (we have many escort quests)...

  Hammering out details of how they handle doors and fast travel, etc...

  They SHOULD go with you. We'll let you know for sure what EXACTLY they can do when it all works. GA



    which versions of EAX and and A3D will the Game supportand will it support dual processor systems under windows XP professional?

  Dual processors. No. EAX. Most likely. Not in yet though. GA




    Will Morrowind feature multiple endings?

  No. Or Sorta. Or yes.

  That's a trick question...

  We are not following the Daggerfall model. That made for some messy sequel problems.

  It will have multiple middles

  GA

  I can't recall many multiple ending software games that were very impressive. GA



'''    How will the `in-game' character generation work?'''

  I can't divulge the WHOLE thing yet on char gen...

  but you play it. You hit new game and it STARTS. You'll be moving around before you;ve created an entire char...

  it's new and cool. We don't want you to wade through 10 screens before you start playing..
.
  it's wrapped in the fiction of the beginning. Sorry, all the specifics I can give for now. GA




    will the following npcs be able to defend themselves.. or assist you if ambushed/attacked? also if you kill an npc will they have so called goodies on them unlike the townie npcs in df?

  Yes NPCs are just like you. They attack, defend...

  and you can loot them like mad. (kill a guy and strip him down and leave him in the street is kinda fun). GA

  All the NPC -- even John Q. Public -- has all his stuff on him in Morrowind.

  Go ahead. Load up on stolen shoes. GA



    If I get to a place that isnt marked on the map, will i be able to mark it so i could fast travel to it ?

  You can fast travel through teleport spell on your own to where you want...

  but, fast travel service (buy a ride) is to specific places. GA



    what is the sixth school of magic?

  Conjuration...

  Conjuration has four major classes of spell effects:

  1. Turn Undead... standard waht you'd expect. "Beat it, dead guy..."

  you can Turn Ken's old, dead ass ;p

  2. Summon Undead, and Summon Daedra. Cover the world with nasty little biting things.

  "Seize them, my minions!"

  old people are fun

  they smell too

  until they break

  3. Command Creatures and Command Humanoids> Make monsters and NPCs suddenly love you a lot...

  and run off to smack your enemies...

  *smack*

  4. And... extra buttery good... Bound Weapons and Bound Armor...

  Summon magical daedric weapons and armor, with encumbrance ZERO [hear THAT, girly thief types?]...

  Ever so convenient, when you want to fly or swim, but worry about lugging along the magic weapon...

  golf bag and cast iron underwear. ga




    will there be a rumor mill in MW, can i get clues about the location of an item from different people, but never a direct answer without alot of searching, such as the ring of phynaster in TES: Arena?

  Many NPCs can give you information...

  If an NPC "knows" a topic and you "know" a topic, then you can get information out of him...

  You "learn" topics whenever someone says a new topic to you...

  There will be FOUNTAINS of information from NPCs.

  Some you'll come to know as vey useful and reliable sources of information.

  Books will also be a good way to get the straight dope. GA

  Yes, books will have more relevance to the game...



'''    Since there's a volcano on the island, I was wondering if heat was a factor taken into account and if it can affect the player's health.'''

  Not really to heat...

  there's some lava..so that hurts A LOT. But the volcaboe has been dead for a looonnggg time...

  it spews evil Blight, which is MUCH worse. GA




    Are the dwarven ruins just a side quest or an integeral part of the main plot?

  The dwarven ruins are integral to the main plot, but the mystery of the disappearance of the dwarves has its own special savor. GA



    How much DX8 and T&L incorporation will be included in the game when it ships?

  All of it...

  We're trying to figure out what pixel shader and other effects to use...

  because we have some AMAZING water demos, but may not work on anything under a Gef3...

  Ok, tell your friends to get a GF3. Unf***ing believable. GA



    When a character gets new cloths or new armor, can you see it on your character as it appears in the inventory? IE: In Battlespire you would pick up armor and when you put it on, it looked totally different than it did in your inventory. Will the same appy?

  What you have is what you see.

  yes

  On everyone.

  WYSIWYG

  Universal match between stuff in the abstract and stuff you can see.. and loot from losers...

  Another cool part of that is that they decide what to wear...

  Inventory can even show you how you look as you add and remove items.

  you can see this in the editor...

  so you may put armor on a guy in the editor and he won't wear it...

  because he isn't in character (armor is a skill). GA

  I can imagine each NPC's AI thinking... "Shall I wear the red shirt? or the Blue shirt?"

  GA




    Is there anything you can tell us new about how we mix potions?

  like Capt and Coke? ;)

  Potions = Alchemy. Alchemy is a SKILL...

  You can mix your own potions (like Daggerfall), but...

  you can carry the alchemy set around with you...

  collect ingredients...

  and mix on the fly..

  allows us to have more things in the world have actions...

  go out, pick flowers, mix them with other stuff...drink, yummy. GA



    when you sat Conjuration has 4 main part, how many spells is that likely to translate into?

  Dunno. About 15-20?

  Bunch a critters to summon, bunch of weapons and armors.

  Spell *effects* that is...

  plus the command and control stuff

  And you can always make your own new versions of spells with longer durations... when you become a REAL magician....

  Which is cool.

  GA

  Your skill determines the magnitude of the effect of your potions. Get good, and have real LONG spell effects.... GA



'''    Will NPC's be able to Climb, Swim, or Jump like the PC?

  NPCs can do whatever you can do. Some pathing issues to be resolved, but they are just like you. GA

  I been watching skeletons leap around like Olympic stars. Tres chic. ga

  the skeletons are BADDASS might I add!

  Yes, the skeletons are among the coolest looking creatures so far, methinks




    how will summoned creatures be handled in town? will guards attack you? is there a relationship/bond between you and the conjured creature that can change upon actions suchas if you order it to attack its own species etc. lastly is there a time/duration on summoned creatures or reagants needed suchas as a daedras heart to summon one?'''

  Summoned creatures are seen as part of you...

  if they start killing folks, it's your fault...

  Duration of summonings is key to their effective use. GA

  You don't need reagents to summon things...

  summoning is a spell. GA

  Summonned creatures do have a duration




    Will there be a polymorph/transformation spell, and if so, can a player use it on himself to, for instance, get through a partially blocked passage?

  No transformation polymorph effect. GA



    Will there be dinosaurs in Morrowind?

  only Ken

  Death to WormGod.

  Not what we'd call dinosaurs, no

  GA




    With the control conjuration spells could you force an NPC with a plot important object to just hand it over to you instead of having to do some quest to get it?

  No. You gotta beat it out of him, or perhaps charm him to improve his Disposition, so you can talk him out of it. GA

  HE will not just turn over his invenntory to you. GA




    Q: will Morrowind have multilanguage support out of the box - in other words, can MW be translated by means of only TES Construction Set?

  Not out of the box, but the editor is setup to translate the game via plug-ins...

  whcih means you could make a plug-in that makes the game "German"...

  Or "SillY".... ga

  we thought of that very early after translating huge games like DF.GA




'''    Will I run into other adventurers (unique NPC's) like myself in various dungeons? And if so, can I talk to them, get them to join me, trade stuff, ect?

  You will certainly encounter scripted NPCs who are interested in your agenda...

  but we will not be running simulated PC opponents. GA




    history - who came up with the ideology behind tamriel, the races and locations?'''


  The history has developed over the 5 games...

  The world was layed out in Arena..

  Daggerfall added A LOT (Julian Lefay, Ted Peterson, etc...)...

  The evolution of the histories and cultures of Tamriel have been very much a collaborative effort.

  No one man could have done it all...

  Battlespire some more...(Ken)..

  i could have, but i chose not to

  No one man can REMEMER all of it. GA

  Redguard was a point in time when we said...

  "we need a guide for all the new stuff..make it more unique", and the PGE was born...

  many of us worked on that...

  Michael Kirkbride did a good amount at that time...

  So everyone adds some for every game. We've added another 25% with Morrowind probably...

  big group effort. GA




  following up on that have you thought about doing a Pocket Guide type deal for Morrowind?

  Not a published one. But a lot in the game and in the new website.




    What is Bethesda going to showing off at E3 in terms of Morrowind? Is it going to be appointment only, public, or is Pete just going to stand there with his hairy back to the crowd?

  No more Morrowind for you Manveer. We'll be showing off Morrowind to a lot of folks that haven't seen it before. 

  Pete: showing movies, pics, demos, what? 

  and will any of that show up on the web soon afterwards? 

  So for a lot of people, it'll be the first time...and usually everyone is pretty stunned. No, actual gamepay. 

  It's appointment only. 

  gameplay 

  We're in a suite, so only people we want to see it will see it. 

  I won't be at E3 either. I will be hard at work, hunched over my dumb terminal in my tiny gray cubicle..
. 
  We'll be doing some promotional stuff on site as well, as if you care about that 

  GA




    what will be some of the benifits\abilities of owning your own home or stronghold?

  Um... too many to list at once? 

  1 or 2? 

  Place to sort and display your weapons, sorted by color and size. 

  GA 

  and many glasses and bottles 

  And a beer tree




   Will reputation propagate realistically through time, or after you do something will everyone have the reputation effect applied immediately?

  Reputation for us = fame... 

  And for gameplay it is applied immediately... 

  You have an individual rep with each NPC (disposition) that is effect by a GREAT number of things... 

  like crimes, factions, barterting, fighting, etc. GA




    When one rids a dungeon of all the creatures that reside within, will it repopulate? If so, how fast? Will it be instantaneous or will it be more realistic and require a few days?

  It's up to the designer... 

  ;) thats it is 

  You can make certain creatures "respawn"... 

  the time it takes changed I think...Mike? 

  Mike, stop working and listen! 

  uh...sure? 

  Dope... 

  It's either when you leave an area and come back... 

  or when the area gets chached out of the system... 

  cached, that is 

  yes 

  meaning you'll have to go in several other dungeons and come back... 

  Technically I forget which one is in the current version. GA




'''    In Morrowind Italia's interview, it was mentioned something like the game would adapt to the path we choose, in that case, if I were a merchant, the gameplay would adapt to that fact! I would like to know how far is this thing going to be? Will the game be able to amntain entertained someone who chooses to just play as a merchant, for example?
'''
  Hmm. 

  The game doesn't perceive entities like merchants. It just responds complexly to all SORTS of events and conditions. 

  When I say your gameplay influences the path, it is an aggregate of all the little elements... 

  Disposition, REP, cumulative effect of thousands of NPC attitudes towards you, that stuff.... 

  This is NOT the Sims. GA 

  aggregate... GA 

  Nothing stops you from playing as a merchant... But I don't want to say the game "adapts" 

  Not in the sense I think you're asking... 

  Hard to say




    "How are the human models in Morrowind handled? Are they a single mesh, or is each body part a separate object? And how is the texturing handled?"

  Well the characters are a mix actually.... 

  some parts are skinned to give a smooth appearance while others take advantage of being easily replaced for the mix and match armor system we have...

  GA




    Will the map be dynamic ? (if i make an island ... will it appear on the map ?) Will I be able to write notes on maps ?

  Kinda. sorta... 

  Parts are..other parts aren't. I don't think you'll be able to write on it (this isn't in yet)... 

  but we realized it HAS to be dynamic (plug-ins and all). So we're going to create the map when you enter an area... 

  don't ask me what it looks like yet. It will be top down 2-D though. 

  GA




    Can you gain new skills as the game progresses?

  You start with all skills..but you suck at 90% of them... 

  you get better at skills. Like DF. GA




    What is the biggest obstacle to overcome at this point?

  Uh. The fact that the world is HUGE. HUGE. HUGE... 

  and we have to fill it... 

  balance it...
 
  tell me about it... 

  make it look cool... 

  clutter.... 

  and also..uhh...oh yeh, kinda fun. GA 

  clutter... 

  and more clutter




    Can the PC be affected or mutated by the blight?

  PC can get blight disease. We are going to decline to offer further details at present. GA




    How powerful will the scripting system be? Will we be able to create very original stuff if we exploit the scripting at its fullest?

  absolutely 

  It's complex enough... 

  but not crazy... 

  Lord. You can do very original stuff just using the dialog editor. 

  easier than say..visual basic.. 

  You can do A LOT... 

  we're adding a lot of scripting commands... 

  if I can use the scripting system... ANYONE can ;) 

  It gives me more freedom than I expected... But with great power comes great responsibility... 

  as the quests get designed. 

  GA 

  GA




'''    how will encumbrance factors work in mw? will there be a limit on equipment storage space in your stronghold & if you don't have a stronghold will there be another place for storage like a vault in a bank?'''

  The stronghold is BIG. No way you could fill it up... 

  this is true 

  It's like a mini-keep... 

  now you gave em a challange Todd.... 

  If you're stronghold is too small for you, or you have Freudian issues, you can always make it bigger with the editor... 

  Encum effects you a lot...Mark could fill it though..he the clutter man. 

  GA 

  Hint: Standard adventure methodology... Pick up everything that's not nailed down - and cary it with you. ;) 

  GA 

  Fatigue is a bad thing. Definitely, very bad.



    Will owning a stronghold generate money from serfs and such? does a remote come with the game to shut off my spouse while I play?

  yes 

  that's just wrong!!! 

  No. Your stronghold does not have serfs. GA




'''   Will NPCs remember that you've mind controlled them and resent it? Or will they get amnesia?'''

  They (NPCs) remember that they hate you, but they don't know why. 

  They will remember once it wears off. GA 

  GA



'''    "Will Morrowind feature a lot of pre-scripted scene's? Like in Half-Life?"

  No. 

  Not like Half-life. The intro though...GA




    The soundtrack to Daggerfall, although low quality set a mood and tone for the game to give it a gloomy feel to its dark gameplay, should we players expect the same and more?'''

  c'mon tell us about the music! :) I'm dying to know! 

  Yeah, Dagger's music was awesome....not the shop theme though...LOL. 

  I WISH I could talk about music...contract should be signed any day..or so my "people" tell me. 

  We are really looking forward to our score. It's gonna be SWEET! 

  GA




    How will a fighter class be able to climb walls if a thief can climb and a mage can use magic?

  Hope he can afford some potions.... GA 

  Jumping will also be helpful




    How does the enabling\disabling of plug-ins work? Will I need to restart the game? Will i be able to disable the main Morrowind game file and enable a totally new one?

  You, Todd... 

  You'll have to restart. GA 

  Let me clarify... 

  you have to restart the game..exit..change plugins.. 

  and run the game. You will NOT have to create a new character. You can load your save game... 

  but if there was stuff in the save from another plugin it cannot be loaded. GA




    guild interactions - could guilds have quests that interact with other guilds. Could I create a guild and create a quest where to advance in this guild you need to kill prominent member of that guild. Also, will guilds have real people, as in real NPCs or will they be the generic ones at each of the same guild in every town.

  Re: inter-guild strife... we got it in the game, but it is heavy design work. 

  Guild NPCs are like all other NPCs... real NPCs, not just interfaces for services... GA



  two more questions.



    when can we expect to see some screenshots of Morrowinds monsters?

  After E3. GA



'''    Say you go into a bookshop and maliciously murder the owner (for no apparent reason). The guards don't come because you did it quietly and you rob the store. NOW, what happens when you return two days later???'''

  SMART booksellers have a guard right in the store. This is a tough world. 

  GA 

  lucky dumb ones will be in shouting distance of someone else's guard. :)




  got time for one more? 
  one more sure



    Will there be any major difference in concept or gameplay style between DF and MW? 

  The main concept remains... 

  Yes. A world of difference. Morrowind is true to the scope and epic themes of Daggerfall... 

  biggest change is in the world around you... 

  its full of good/unique stuff to find. Wander the hills, find dungeons, find towns. More detail. 

  but the gameplay is far more delicately crafted. And custom-caressed. And we've added all sorts of subtle functionalities, which will give many surprises to players as they explore NPCs and interactions. GA



  I guess tha's it. 

  ok, thank you guys so much for coming and chatting with us 

  thanks to all the devs! :) 

  Thanks, all. Except YOU, gary... 

  Again I invite anyone to stay afterwards and chat. 

  :) 

  Thanks and hope we can do it again in the future. 

  wheee! 

  asta la booty 

  oh yeah and one last thing 

  Be sure and visit morrowind.telefragged.com and www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind lots and lots and lots! 

  hahaha 

  bye bye 

  thanx Devs, beer and wings for devs over in my chatroom :) 

  aND WHAT DO YOU DO TO MY CAR, GARY?


  kathode sets mode: -m


The Aftermath:

  No spider climbing. Boy, was THAT silly.

  No disguises. Implementing that would be a nightmare. And some NPCs may not be the soul of racial or religious toleration.

  No gambling as a mini-game.

  "Mine" in the sense of collect. You don't get to dig and stip mine or anything. Geez. That WOULD be cool, tho.

  Thief II has a very distinctive setting. So do we, and it isn't much like Thief II.

  You kill the shopkeeper, the store is no longer a store.

  Tech in fantasy is just fine, when handled delicately. But I admit, I usually find it distracting rather than appealing.

  Well, you seek out new locatioans and you find stuff there...