FAQ - General

[Leanthar]

This project, is this a standalone game?
Yes

If it is, will it be using its own engine?
We are using a heavily modified version of the engine (TGE) from Garage Games and it is geared for an MMO.

Will it cost money?
Yes. There are some factors that could change this, but they are not very probable. We are not willing to discuss this any further at this time.

Will my character be able to re-created in this project?
This is a complicated question that is difficult to address without getting more into detail about the project. Characters will not be transferred over from NWN in any way of that we are certain.

What about my approved (CDQ, GCDQ, WLDQ). Will I have time to complete that, and what if I am approved and the plug is pulled before I can begin?"
We understand that characters are important to everyone and we will keep that in mind, but there is only so much we can do here. We have a lot of things to consider and a lot more to go to complete in order to get the next version of Layonara out to everybody.

Most likely development quest applications will be given a cut off date at a not yet determined time, likely in the early fall, not guaranteed but likely but we are not sure of the date. With the expectation of a rush, we may ask game masters to curtail normal run quests to handle a greater in flux of applications for PCs looking to make their final mark on the world in the NwN version. This is all up in the air and we will have to play it by ear as we get closer to NwN being brought offline, which is a ways off as it stands now.

If GMs want to run CDQs then they are free to do so, that is not changing from anything we have been doing for years. We may shut down WL applications at some point down the road, but mainly due to the amount of time it takes to plan and execute them. Those WL apps that are approved and pending or in-progress will likely be allowed to continue or be completed if that happens; but no new ones after whatever date we pick (if we pick one even).

The other thing is that while our intent is to keep the player base, we are really not counting on it very much as we have seen how the community ebbs and wanes. We hope everybody stays but we are also quite positive some (or a fair few) will not, but that is all their choice and their actions and not ours. To those who do continue to commit to develop their character to the end of the NwN we will make as many efforts as possible to make the transition an amicable one and give them as ample opportunity as possible to put their final stamp on this incarnation of Layonara with their current character; within reason.

What is happening with the disputes forum?
That greatly depends. Dorganath will continue to work on the technical and db stuff but he will not be working on the administration part of the disputes. Administration is the part of moving posts around, working through to see if the request is approved or denied and all of that stuff. It takes a ton of time and effort to handle that front end and we can not spend our time there, sorry. We are looking for a GM or a few GMs to help out on this front. If we can find help on this front then we will likely keep them in operation until the help fades away (if it ever does), if not then they will be shut down.

If/when the servers go down, will the website still remain up and running?
Yes, the new website was partially done in order to prepare for the future growth of Layonara.

Will there be a forum created for "The next stage of Layonara" where people in the community can post ideas and suggestions?
Yes, and in fact since you are reading this FAQ you are in the new forum. Please be aware that we do not have millions of dollars backing us and are doing this in our "spare" time and that means we need to concentrate on creating/finishing the game before implementing ideas and suggestions on other systems.

Will the community of Layonara be able to first purchase the final product?
That is up to each of you as an individual, not us. You will likely be the first ones to help beta test and all of that, past that it is really up to each of you as individuals.

Will the new game run on Linux?
Every effort will be made for native WinXP, OS X and Linux support "out of the box".

For those of us who wish to help out, what is the best way to do this? Just donate cash? Or are there other ways we can be helpful as a community?
Please help keep the community alive and tell more people about the world. Everybody you know. Oh and money goes a long ways in helping us to reach our goals; a long ways.

This may seem obvious, but I guess if Layo is going to be sold and such, character approval process is gone?
This is an area we cannot discuss at this time. But to touch on it our current plan is to find ways to cut down on the nightmare administration workload that NwN brought to us. With that said I will not say it will or will not be gone, it can not be fully answered at this time. As such, we will not answer it in any way other than what is stated here.

Will this be just multiplayer or are there plans to have a single player campaign as well?
I wish we could do both but we simply can not with the small amount of money we have and the resources that we have on hand. It is an online game as mentioned above. Who knows what will happen in the future but a single player game/campaign is not in the cards at this time.

Is Layo still going to be a D20 (aka DnD) world?
No. You are allowed to write books and such with the open d20 license but you are not allowed to do a game (coding and such) in d20 (or DnD) in any way without licensing through Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast. That is just not going to happen for us which is pretty clear so we are forced to go down another path. With that said, rest assured we will make the best decision to allow for Role-Playing in an immersive online game world. I happen to think that is better though as it gives us complete control over all decisions instead of trying to fit in to a glove that was created for us in the first place. I can not say more than this at this time.

Will this new game incooperate static quests, or have a player accesable DM system ala. nwn?
Layonara is about GM'ing and the players changing the world, we need this sort of tool to continue on in the fashion that we all know and love about Layonara.

When your saying a long time until a beta is out, are we talking 2 and half year more, or smoething within a reasonabble tmieframe since you disclosed the news now?
We are on a time constraint, due to funds and real-life in general, and will do our best to get it out as soon as it is done. That is all I can say at this time, sorry.

Is the studio working with a game company in cooperation to distribute and finance this game?
No publisher is involved at this time.

Will it be an off the shelf game, or something more revolving an internet launch?
As it stands now it will be an internet launch with a download via the internet. We do not have the millions of dollars to get it in to stores, that is the minimuim it would cost; a few million. If a publisher picks us up (which I doubt) that may change but time will tell. The problem with a publisher picking us up is that it will delay us getting to the market by at least a year, of that you can be certain.

What is the current aim on the system requirements?
We hope to allow a number of players that can not currently play online due to poor systems to play in the game. We will have multiple levels of video performance buttons (low, mid, high, very high levels of detail). Right now as it stands people within the Low - Mid range will be able to play the game we think. Our goals is to have as wide of an audience as possible without sacrificing quality, time will tell how well we do on this front. We know a few in the community have low end machines and are doing our best to keep them in mind while creating the game. Other than this we can not go in to any further details about hardware requirments and such, but know we will do our best to reach out to as many as we feasibly can.

Does this announcement, and the reaction to it, mean that the Handbook release is now later than before? Will that be coming out far in advance of Layo NextGen?
The books will be out as soon as we can get them out. They have been in the works for quite some time and are getting closer to being released for sure. We are now having to re-write several sections though so that will delay them by at least a few months. The plan is to have them out before entering beta, but I don't know how possible that will be with the new work load that we have based on the re-writes.

Do we get to know when the beta will begin?
We willl announce the beta, but we don't know exactly when that will be yet.

Is your new game engine being paid for by people on the team?
Yes, we are paying for use of the engine but not in the MMO Licensing sort of way. TGE has a great licensing scheme that works well for us. We are also paying for various aspects of development, when/where we can. All I can say at this time.

Or do you have investors giving you money?
Right now? No.

How will you attract consumers to the new game?
We can not get in to this right now.

What is the current progress of it? 20% done?
Sorry, I will not state where we are at this time.


Will there be NWN-style area transitions or a more seamless environment?
There will be transitions, however an area is much larger (by a large amount) than in NWN. It is not a seamless world and there are area transitions.

Will indoor areas be visible through outdoor doors and windows? (eg. Looking through an open door of a tavern to see occupants, or evesdropping beneath an open window.).
Yes, taverns and meeting places will be directly accessible and in those locations you can see out the doors and windows. Other buildings will be transitioned into at the door and will mean you can not see through doors/windows to the outdoors.

Will the skills be set on skill trees, where one skill may require another skill as a prerequisite, or is each skill meant to stand alone? Some of one and some of the other?

As it stands now every skill stands on its own. There are no skill trees. With that said, every skill gets better as you use it. There may be sub-skills that are opened under that given skill that can be further improved upon. So for instance there are refined combat skills (as it stands now) that fall under specific weapon skills, but it is not really a skill tree as they are thought of most of the time; it is just access to another skill for that given weapon. And that new skill can be improved upon with use, just like all other skills (as it stands now).

Will skills have skill levels, with more focus in a skill granting a greater benefit, or will skills be more or less like D&D and NWN feats, either on or off, you have it or you don't? Or, again, some of one and some of the other?

All skills can be improved upon and improving that skills means you will be better at it. They are not just "on" or "off". As you use a skill it improves. If you don't use a skill it does not improve. To add to this, your attributes modify all skills so it will be important to improve the proper attributes when "leveling up" in order to fit a "class" that one is trying to become better at over time.

Will there be support at at least two names (for and last for instance)?

Yes. At this time in development we have this in place. I am not saying it will not change over time, but right now this is possible.

Can there be shared names?

By this I think you mean can two different players have characters with the same name. Right now at this stage in development, can not have the same name as another character; they must be unique. However, Orth just implmented a new feature (for other reasons) about a month ago that may allow us to change this answer to a yes. The real question is, do we really want it to be a yes, and I am thinking we probably don't. There are a lot of issues, engine wise and community wise, with two players having the same character name; more than most realize. So it will probably remain that characters can not have the same name. Time will tell.