Contemplating The Blades of Netheril

For the last couple of weeks, I've been ruminating on something that probably won't please a number of this blog's regular readers. In short, I'm heavily considering switching the development of The Blades of Netheril from NWN1 to NWN2.

Why ponder such a major change? Several reasons. Firstly, the migration of the community to the sequel seems to be gathering pace. The majority of community members I've known for several years have now made the shift. There's still a significant number of builders enthusiastic about NWN1, but in the main, the more experienced modders are working with NWN2. I feel I'm getting left behind, especially since I can't talk about Ossian-related stuff with other builders.

The obstacles that made AL4 impossible for NWN2 a year ago--no epic levels, not enough content--have been removed. I'm confident the story and design can be ported across with minimal compromise. Had this been the case when I started the project, I might have elected to create the module for NWN2 from the start.

Another important consideration is the fact Ossian Studios are developing for NWN2. This provides some considerable benefits, which I can't really discuss, but suffice to say that I believe NWN2 still has a bright future; something which, if I'm honest, I wasn't so certain of 18 months ago. Like I said, I think the experienced building community is now mostly with NWN2, and while NWN1 remains a great game, I feel it'll probably be kept alive mainly by the PW folk. There'll still be new mods, of course, but the single-player base will only decrease in size.

If I had released AL4 last year, none of this would be an issue. But it's still deep in development, and as mentioned, I'm re-thinking a few things. Now might be the right time to change the nature of the project to something I'll probably see greater benefits from going forward.

I'd like to hear thoughts and opinions on this, from both sides of the fence.

Edit: I've added a poll so you can quickly register your opinion. Please vote!