Team Return, busy at work on Return to the Serpent Isle, has just announced the release of their “Unified System“, a comprehensive collection of scripts for Neverwinter Nights 2 that add a host of Ultima-like features to the game, including:

8 level experience system
Custom party system
Custom Death & Injury system
Stealing / Prison system
8 level spell system based on mana and reagents
Ultima style stat system
Some custom combat mechanics
Ultima style resting system
Shopping and money exchange system
Encumberance system
Training points based skill training
Custom skill system
Harvesting system
Food system
Hit/Mana regeneration system
Ultima style poison system
Ultima style virtue based character creation
Ultima style character classes
Weapon/Armor condition system

I’ve seen some of this stuff in action; it’s amazing. Indeed, it represents a fundamental shift in the Neverwinter Nights 2 experience, and is pretty much a must-have for any would-be modders who decide to pick up and run with NWN2 as the vehicle for their Ultima-inspired story.

I have added the Unified System as a series of downloads for the Ultima Return project entry. It’s worth noting that the system is broken up into a few files: a module that contains the scripts, a few hak paks that contain supporting materials, and a pair of archives containing still images — formatted for “”normal” and widescreen resolutions — which will be used by the character creation system. And, of course, there’s documentation for all of it.

It’s also worth noting that Team Return have shut down their old phpBB-based forum and moved to an SMF-based forum instead. Be sure to update your bookmarks!