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Hi! I'm a big fan of your games been watching the development of D OS2 from the very beginning! Bought it the minutes it got EA release :)

To the point of this thread now:

I started playing the game alone, played it for hours when my friend asked me to join his game. I thought I could just join him with my created character as already somehow leveled him up and had some gear. But then I found out that I can only create a new character if I want to join a new campaign with a friend.

So my suggestion is : Please consider making an option to save our characters and then be able to join our friends by importing it to their campaign.

Last edited by Testad; 15/09/16 10:48 PM.
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I think it would be cool to export a character build and import it into character creation, but I think that importing a character mid-campaign would be weird.

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Originally Posted by Ayvah
but I think that importing a character mid-campaign would be weird.


Why? Its an old concept already introduced in a few great RPGs - Neverwinter Nights for example.

Imagine the game develops further, you spend lots of hours developing you character. Then some dlc or mod comes out and to play it you will have to just throw your 500+hours of gameplay into the trash and start all over again.

Last edited by vometia; 16/09/16 04:58 AM. Reason: formatting
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Originally Posted by Testad
So my suggestion is : Please consider making an option to save our characters and then be able to join our friends by importing it to their campaign.


If DOS 2 was designed in the same way as DOS 1 - and I suspect it was - I do not believe that is possible to do.

Quests are spread out, and have multiple solutions. It's possible for Playthrough 1's characters to have done quests in a certain way, meanwhile Playthrough 2's characters have not done the quest at all, or have done it in a completely contradictory way.

Playthrough 1's characters are all level 5, Playthrough 2's characters are all level 9.

The way DOS 1 worked, it was completely, totally impossible to separate a character from the campaign which had happened so far.

Now, perhaps Larian has redesigned the systems so it is possible, but I think that's unlikely.

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There is no respawning in DOS2, so if a character at - say - level 3 is imported into the game in which other characters are at level 10, then the level 3 character won't stand a chance to participate in battles without being instakilled.

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Originally Posted by Stabbey
Originally Posted by Testad
So my suggestion is : Please consider making an option to save our characters and then be able to join our friends by importing it to their campaign.


If DOS 2 was designed in the same way as DOS 1 - and I suspect it was - I do not believe that is possible to do.

Quests are spread out, and have multiple solutions. It's possible for Playthrough 1's characters to have done quests in a certain way, meanwhile Playthrough 2's characters have not done the quest at all, or have done it in a completely contradictory way.

Playthrough 1's characters are all level 5, Playthrough 2's characters are all level 9.

The way DOS 1 worked, it was completely, totally impossible to separate a character from the campaign which had happened so far.

Now, perhaps Larian has redesigned the systems so it is possible, but I think that's unlikely.


Simple solution, you join the game as a companion for the host of that game so all his quests are directly shared with you. Like you hv been there from the beginning. But from the moment you connect its your choice to go along with the party or to do everything else on your own (competitive quests).
You cant join level 5 characters if you are level 9. Lets say the limit is +\- 1-2 levels.

Originally Posted by Elwyn
[quote=Testad]There is no respawning in DOS2, so if a character at - say - level 3 is imported into the game in which other characters are at level 10, then the level 3 character won't stand a chance to participate in battles without being instakilled.


Same as I said the put the level limit to +\- 1-2 levels.

Its really a well known and very good concept no need to create something new here.

Even the limitation of the levels is not required at all actually. If you are lower level you could wait for your teammates to level you up. If you are higher level you can help your teammates if needed.

Such a great game with such a great concept should be replayable as much as possible.

And with the modding tools there will be custom made scenarios. Well it would be wonderful to dive into new adventures with a familiar character.

Last edited by Testad; 16/09/16 10:12 AM.
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Sorry for bringing this thread again but I think we need more opinion on this matter.

So does everyone ok with making a new character every new adventure? Or there will be no DLCs no custom made campaigns etc etc?

What about DM mode? We will have to make new character every time we want to go for some dungeon crawling. I don't get it a bit.

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Bringing this back again folks =) Sorry but we need more feedback on this issue! Please don't overlook this feature. It was nice to have it in BG and NWN and a lot of other awesome RPGs.

I don't think there is another thread touching the same subject, so please leave some feedback!


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I just noticed that some of the suggestion threads been moved to other subforum. Please move this too.

I still think people dont really get that having option to save and import your fav characters to anyones games is so much fun.

I even suggest making some kind of portals, for example @vometia is a level 12 paladin, @ellary is a level 7 wizard and @slampow is level 15 warrior. So lets say Vometia and i are steam friends so she decided to invite my character to her world, as soon as invite is sent if my character accepts the invite ill get a portal opened in my characters world that get him to Vometias world. I have no contacts with Ellary and Vometia has no contacts with slampow so i invite slampow and she invites Ellary, both of them teleport to Vomitias world as her world becomes the host. But if i wanted to share my experience with said party i just cast a teleport again and return to my world and invite them in. All above mentioned names are fictional any resemblace to real people are purely coincidental.

Now i didnt think this thru yet so any suggestions are welcomed! - The world doesnt scale, and if its very hard for us to be in her world we will just come back later. Or invite someone to help us.

Last edited by Testad; 05/10/16 12:54 PM.
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A game with Ellary, Testad and Vometia? Sounds awesome! Count me in! =)

I totally play a mage though, haha!



As for the OP: I love Neverwinter Night an unbelievable amount, having spent around 2000 hours on the series and about 500 hours modding. I loved the import/export system, but there are a few problems with implementing it in DOS2.

The first, is origins. What if Testad had already recruited her? Could I still import my Lhose? I would be very sad if not, because I love playing Lhose.

The second is quests. Journals tied to the save like in NWN2, they're tied to individual characters. And quest items aren't tagged as such, so I could just import a character with, say, a purging wand and bum rush the final boss. If I couldn't, then I would be very sad, since I use the purging wand for damage.

The third is that NWN2 had character files, where characters were neatly stored with all their info. In DOS2, characters are a part of the world, as are their relationships and euipment. In DOS2, the world is saved with the characters in it, as elements of the world. In DOS, this was more of a problem, because of how homesteads would conflict, but in DOS2 we have similar problems, like aggression flagging after attacking someone being tied to the character. For example, if I were to import my character who had their collar off, aggroed the magisters, and was The One, what would be preserved?


These are just the most basic issues I can think of as I understand them. I'm certain there are more, of course. But, FWIW, I would love to have such a feature implemented. It would mean dropping into someone's game without having to create a new character, or needing to control an existing one. It would definitely be a boon to multiplayer, and... Oh hey, Testad wrote this! What's up, man! Great idea! +1!

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Originally Posted by SlamPow
A game with Ellary, Testad and Vometia? Sounds awesome! Count me in! =)

Seriously, no, I am The Worst. Everybody else has made it to the other side of the map happily pwning everyone in sight and I'm still wandering around the starting area with my trousers on my head.

Which is better than my attempt at playing Doom when I immediately shot my co-worker because I thought he was an imp or something (and yeah, I'm conscious of the time frame, I've mostly avoided MP since then!)


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Oh man, sounds like fun! I usually wander around collecting seashells and roleplay Lhose having a deathly fear of the water (can't swim in it, after all). The last game I had, we spent four hours at level 3, because we were playing hide and seek. The time before that, I spent an hour yelling at NPCs to join me pirate crew while helping a friend to set up Discord. So I totally get the slow playing thing. =D

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Hey thanks SlamPow!

I actually didn't give it too much thought. I hope guys with bigger brains can come up with some system that would be awesome!

As I see it when anyone joins a host he starts to share the hosts quests. For example if you already finished the Act 1 and Vometia is still wandering around the starting area (a beach btw!) with her trousers! (see pants) on her head!! (no pants below) (it stuck in my "imagine this" section of the brain). Ok so, we share her quests, if lets say she plays as a Lohse and you would want to joint her as a Lohse too, we will get a blue screen of death and CTD. Well sh** I have no idea how to counter this.


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Okay. I'm now going to argue against everything I just said, because I am totally biased to take Testad's side, because he's Testad.

Originally Posted by SlamPow
The first, is origins. What if Testad had already recruited her? Could I still import my Lhose? I would be very sad if not, because I love playing Lhose.


Well, simple! Have the joining player replace the existing Lhose, with the approval of the host! There's no reason the existing character can't just be dismissed and overwritten while the player is connected.

Originally Posted by SlamPow
The second is quests. Journals tied to the save like in NWN2, they're tied to individual characters. And quest items aren't tagged as such, so I could just import a character with, say, a purging wand and bum rush the final boss. If I couldn't, then I would be very sad, since I use the purging wand for damage.


You're forgetting the fact that journals can already be shared! There's a "Share Journal" button at the bottom of everyone's journal, which is toggleable! Easy solution: automatically reset journals upon going to another world, and allow the player to have journals tied to both the world and player! Simple!

Originally Posted by SlamPow
The third is that NWN2 had character files, where characters were neatly stored with all their info. In DOS2, characters are a part of the world, as are their relationships and euipment. In DOS2, the world is saved with the characters in it, as elements of the world. In DOS, this was more of a problem, because of how homesteads would conflict, but in DOS2 we have similar problems, like aggression flagging after attacking someone being tied to the character. For example, if I were to import my character who had their collar off, aggroed the magisters, and was The One, what would be preserved?


Well, if they can isolate player data into a file (which I see as likely to happen, as it will most likely be a prerequisite for customizable Arena characters, which is a goal of Swen's), then it can be done on a most basic level.
As for the collar thing, just leave it off! They'll have to avoid guards, but that's an inherent risk in getting it off. As for magister aggro and The One status, that can be lumped in with journal data - tied to particular combinations of both world and player (so, Aleithia, my megamage, would have journal #1 on my world, and journal #2 on Testad's world, allowing her to progress at the pace of the world, and not necessarily the transient player).

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Importing characters between games just will not work, and will never happen, the end.

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Originally Posted by Stabbey
Importing characters between games just will not work, and will never happen, the end.


figured

but still worth a try

I didn't know about the housing until Ellary I think pointed it out. Inviting some of you to my house would have been so much fun. I mean main characters of that people not the ones in my game.

Edit : Somehow totally missed SlamPows post. See above are pretty good points from the guy with more brains! Someone with even more may come up with a perfect system.

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Originally Posted by Stabbey
Importing characters between games just will not work, and will never happen, the end.


I would think Larian would have to allow some sort of exporting/importing to have a proper GM mode. True it doesn't make much sense for the main campaign but it definitely does for being able to jump between maps created by your friends.

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I have seen this question asked a few times and agree completely - we need some for of character import and export - especially for GM'd games and custom campaigns - is there still no word from the developers on this subject?

Is it something that could happen later down the line? I asked the question on the Steam forums as well but there seemed no definitive answer to it.

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I've always wanted this feature too but since it depends so largely on quests story and decision making it would be real incohesive? It's like Skyrim with co-op. It really wouldn't make too much sense. Even the battles and interactions with every NPC is a decision. Diablo 3 is a lackluster story so you can join and rush and tag along with whoever whenever. It's not the case here it would just ruin all that's precious with this game.
I have a brother that is unable to play on release but will a week later, so I plan to dabble a character solo and a different one with him and maybe another friend. That way I have some alone time to enjoy the game when I get off work early but also another game when I want to really co-op it up.
You never know what the future holds I just want the game to release and enjoy it now

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I think i read that you might be able to save a character for the GM mode but im not sure.

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