So long before Hordes of the Underdark when the Original Campaign was new…
Did cut scenes not exist ? I know someone made a cut scene generator at some point.
In the OC chapter transitions were a lot different than anything else that i ever encountered later. Nobody used that technique in mods past the OC. In Hordes there were numerous cut scenes that seemed effective additions to the story.
An example of where a cut scene would’ve been effective in the OC was late in ch3. The player encounters a dead brass dragon in a cave surrounded by dead fire giants that stole her eggs. The player could’ve been treated to an epic battle as a witness that couldn’t participate. Did the technology not exist in that time frame or was it a deliberate decision to exclude cut scenes from the OC?
AFAIK, the NSS commands necessary for cutscenes like those used in HotU didn’t exist when the OC was written. They were something added later on as part of the expansions.
Well that would certainly explain why they didn’t have it.
It’s always seemed like a missing feature. I vividly remember the first time playing through Hordes at how cool i thought the cut scenes were.
I think they bring an extra storytelling flair to a module.
One thing that people making modules don’t seem to realise is that not all cut-scenes have to be epic in length in order to be effective. In “Hrothgar’s Resting Place” I have a number (well it is at least 2 - may be more - can’t remember) of short cutscenes, the shortest of which is only 2 or 3 seconds long. That one just has the PC scream and wave their arms about as they give in to Seeker’s incessant whining.
The cut scenes are such an excellent story telling device. There have been several threads lately regarding writing, content, and story. I think the cutscenes bring a lot of value. It was a disconnect for me that the Original game didn’t use them at all. A short cut scene sets the stage if you will for the action to come.
Looking through the orb in Hordes and seeing Mephistoles advance was worth the price of admission by itself…