I just finished reading one of the earlier postings called "Why do RPG expansions never work?" and I have to say I agree...... with both sides. This may sound dumb, but hear me out please.

One possible solution to the expansion problem would be to allow the storyline of the game to be created (recreated?) by public individuals or groups. Indeed some of the best AD&D games I've ever played in, was merely a good DM with a great story to tell. Now I don't claim to be a game coder/programmer, but there are people in the public sector (many of them AD&D players) who are and who would, I think, take a great intrest in this. I point out to you the wildly sucessful game Half-Life and its many "mods". I realize that the two games are very different and their are many arguments to be weighed for and against this idea, however, there is one thing you cannot argue with and that is SUCCESS. If you ask someone at Valve software, they will tell you one the biggest reasons for the success of their game is the mods. Because of this Valve even hired a liaison for the development of game mods and supports the mod creators. Most of the people that play the game, myself included, play one of the mods more than we play the orginal version. Everytime I play a new mod, I get the same freshness of playing a brand new game. I would challenge Black Isle and Interplay to give people in the public sector the ability to expand their game. I'm not saying we want to remake the game everytime, merely to tell the story of where one of the portals in the game might lead.......

-- Benrix (benrix@hotmail.com), November 11, 1999

Answers

You have to understand that the code for Half-Life and the code for BG is hella different. Valve may have set out in the beginning to make creation of mods easy. BG, on the other hand, has an entirely different engine, and basically you can't make new levels. People on the boards have begged for mod makers or level makers, but the complexity of the game forbids this.

Eidos included a level maker in Revenant, but I've heard that it's extremely hard and frustrating to use, and they ain't gonna give you any support. Well, that sucks. Now, Black Isle is aware of people wanting to tell great stories, and they're gonna satisfy people with Neverwinter Nights. So wait for it to come out. :-)

-- Kraal (msgboard@otaking.org), November 11, 1999.