Spells Visual Effect

[Fullgazz]

Hello all,

I'm new in the server and have to admit that is the best i ever see, there's only one thing that i think could be improved, the buffs visual effect.
I Agree the visual effect helps to identify if other character have spells up or not, but that difficult to see the screen and reduce the framerate. I particularly do not like to make RP with the barkskin effect and if you drank a potion then you cant clear the effect. What you think about that folks?

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[thaelis]

The terribleness of visual effects has been noted by many, and there's even a recent thread in the suggestions section regarding it. The answer has always been no it's not being changed.

Apparently it's to discourage people walking about fully warded.

[Fullgazz]

Hahaha! Terrible but makes sense. Those who take care with the RP sense will not to walk away like a magic ball. My opinion is to create then a button to disable the wards in case of potions.

Regards,

[Doubtful]

I think they're as ugly as hell but they do prevent perma-buffed people from sitting around the campfire.

Course it might be as funny as hell to have a bunch of azuthian/mystran clergy toddling around unplugging abusers from the weave. Funny as hell till everyone pulls a mopey sad face and whines about being arcane blocked.

[GodBeastX]

My issue I have is that it makes certain things look like they are bigger than they are. For example, dispelling magic is a subtle thing, but when Maine does it, there's GIANT FLASHES AND SOUNDS AS SHE SIMPLY TURNS OFF SPELLS!

Then people around are like OMG YOU'RE CASTING CRAZY MAGIC!

No... I'm actually casting something benign...

So the RP gets out of control.

It also tends to let people who don't have an ounce of spellcraft know what you're doing even though they shouldn't.

[Valhalla]

Even spells that would, ICly, have a more subtle visual effect have (usually) both Verbal and Somatic components to the point where anyone with sufficient Spellcraft can determine what's being cast. If people are RPing knowledge of what specific spell is being cast, or even a general idea, without sufficient points in spellcraft, that's silly and on them.

The VFX for things like Dispel/Devour are really useful in PvP/PvE when you don't have the time to process that sort of thing like you would in PnP, and have to react in real-time.

[Farmboy2003]

And barkskin is the most fantastic buff vfx there is. It is skin of bark. I Found it rather interesting rping my ranger with the spell up. If You don't want to do that, [/I]don't use it[/I]...

[wangxiuming]

Is dispelling magic really benign? Buffing is considered sufficient justification to engage pvp, I would think that stripping buffs would be even more severe...

Just my opinion though!

[Valhalla]

In the context of what GBX is referring to, it was as benign as any magic fueled by a pact with a demon really can be. Overall, I would assume dispelling to be considered an equally hostile act to buffing, if not more so.

[GodBeastX]

Even spells that would, ICly, have a more subtle visual effect have (usually) both Verbal and Somatic components to the point where anyone with sufficient Spellcraft can determine what's being cast. If people are RPing knowledge of what specific spell is being cast, or even a general idea, without sufficient points in spellcraft, that's silly and on them.

The VFX for things like Dispel/Devour are really useful in PvP/PvE when you don't have the time to process that sort of thing like you would in PnP, and have to react in real-time.

Just so you know, Warlocks use invocations, not spells:

A warlock does not prepare or cast spells as other wielders of arcane magic do. Instead, he possesses a repertoire of attacks, defenses, and abilities known as invocations that require him to focus the wild energy that suffuses
his soul. A warlock can use any invocation he knows at will, with the following qualifications:

A warlock’s invocations are spell-like abilities; using an
invocation is therefore a standard action that provokes attacks
of opportunity.

And therefore:

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp)

Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A few spell-like abilities are unique; these are explained in the text where they are described.

A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus or have an XP cost. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability’s use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.

And then you got:

Spellcraft

15 + spell level Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.) No action required. No retry.

So the only thing you can do with Spellcraft on a warlock is if they have an effect that has a lingering effect on someone. Which is like, only a few abilities.

Essentially, nobody is supposed to know just what the hell a warlock is doing unless you use something like Knowledge Arcana to have an idea of the sorts of things Warlocks CAN do and say "That person is a warlock".

Hence why all the VFX's and evil sounding casting a warlock does pisses me off a little. Warlocks literally just suddenly do shit (Invoke it) and it happens! Maine might just go "It's peanut butter jelly time!" and suddenly people are blasted with magic!

"That seems like dark magic!"

"How can you tell?"

"Uhhhh..."

Just one of those things a video game makes crappy

[GodBeastX]

Is dispelling magic really benign? Buffing is considered sufficient justification to engage pvp, I would think that stripping buffs would be even more severe...

Just my opinion though!

It was being cast on a bench and campfire Just saying. In a perfect D&D world, nobody would even know she did anything. But NWN2 likes to make everything flashy.

[sonuvalich]

It's pretty simple IMO. Permabuff with the stuff that has no visual effects:
Improved mage armor, false life, GMW, Superior Resistance, etc.

You can have some constant bumps to your abilities that don't make you look like a Christmas tree on crack. Many of the spells SHOULD have effects (stoneskin, mirror image, displacement, etc.) and so they are fine.

Some (shield for example) should not have effects but in the game have giant IN YOUR FACE effects, and those are the only ones that even slightly miff me.

Tangent: if something happened to Maine, Artemis is gonna have to flip out and kill people. Poor girl was always on the edge of insanity...

Hence why all the VFX's and evil sounding casting a warlock does pisses me off a little. Warlocks literally just suddenly do shit (Invoke it) and it happens! Maine might just go "It's peanut butter jelly time!" and suddenly people are blasted with magic!

Nothing has ever made me want to play a warlock before today. The idea of having this as my battle cry has made me re-evaluate.

[GodBeastX]

I'm not saying people RP'd it badly or anything, given what we have for engine mechanics, I'm just saying why all the flashy vfx's and stuff bother me.

It's why there are things like inquisitions and stuff into whether people even HAVE demonic pacts and such, because people really can't tell these things normally.

[Kitsunestume]

Course it might be as funny as hell to have a bunch of azuthian/mystran clergy toddling around unplugging abusers from the weave. Funny as hell till everyone pulls a mopey sad face and whines about being arcane blocked.

Thats when we look to Lantan! Reminds me of Alkenstar from Golarion/Pathfinder: No more magic? Is ok, Has Bullets!

On topic, however: I still think we should just increase the transparency of many spells and effects, though with a slight modification to my previously proposed idea. Transparency based on school! Example spectrum below:
Evocations make energy: high opacity
Conjurations make or move stuff: high opacity
Illusion makes reality seem different: high to moderate opacity
Necromancy screws with life-force: Could go either way, or moderate opacity
Transmutation changes things, could be obvious (stoneskin) could be subtle (stat bonuses):Could go either way, or moderate opacity
Abjuration usually deals with prevention of stuff, or as a magical <delete> button: low to moderate opacity
Enchantment usually effects other creatures mentally, usually requires sence-motive to detect: low opacity
Divination usually effects the individual or makes an invisible sensor: low opacity


On another point that GBX brought up while I was compiling this post: I've got a mute cleric with the Silent Spell feat, and there are spells that are literally nothing but a verbal component. Darkness still has a Cast animation, same with all the 'Power Words', despite having literally NO components at all when cast silenced. It would be nice to see things like that fixed if possible*. Same with Stilled Spells and casting animations: If you just need to mutter words, why waves your arms like an idiot?

Food For Thought
Cheers,
Kit

*-I understnad it might not be, but I seem to recall that the spell .2da requires an animation and soundfile section for each spell. What if we left that blank?

[Valhalla]

It was being cast on a bench and campfire Just saying. In a perfect D&D world, nobody would even know she did anything. But NWN2 likes to make everything flashy.

Except anyone with sufficient ranks in Spellcraft. Most Warlock invocations have verbal and somatic components, and are considered spell-like abilities which can be ID'd by Spellcraft.

edit: In fact, as Kit pointed out, Warlocks are probably the most obvious casters. They can't silence or still and every Invocation has a verbal or somatic component or both, except for a handful that have super obvious effects (turning you into a devil/demon, making you vanish, summoning a wall of fire, etc).

The only one on there that can be cast subtly is Dark Foresight because it doesn't have an obvious, immediate effect and has no V/S components.