| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Faraer |
Posted - 07 Jan 2006 : 21:40:31
What are the signs of how Realms-authentic Neverwinter Nights 2 is going to be? The first game wasn't, either in feel or in details (I was unsurprised to read one of its lead designers confessing he didn't like Spellfire -- well, you're the wrong person to design a Forgotten Realms CRPG, then).
The environment system is 3D vertex-based rather than tile-based, which means much harder to use, but I'd love to see a well-built Haunted Halls or Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
O powers, tolerate my non-Realms asides.
I'm looking forward to The Lord of the Rings Online -- not so much to play it, because it'll be full of MMORPG players, but to see the creative work its designers do in extrapolating places and quests of Eriador in Middle-earth, a similar task someone running Middle-earth RPGs faces.
I also want to play Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. Haven't played computer games much in years. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tenacious1 |
Posted - 16 Jan 2008 : 05:26:27
quote:
Originally posted by Karzak
I can't go back and play NWN, now, because the graphics are not only hideous (even at release, they were already outdated), every area looks more or less identical.
 Well, in PnP we have no shiny graphics, and for me it's mostly about the Role Play aspects of playing online... the graphics (and they are pretty weak comparitively) are just a bonus. |
| dirtywick |
Posted - 15 Jan 2008 : 19:28:09
Almost forgot, the most important thing you can do is immediately turn off autosave. It has a tendancy to corrupt your module. |
| dirtywick |
Posted - 15 Jan 2008 : 19:20:15
Yes, the tutorial it came with is awful. That site I linked covers everything you're trying to do. Let me know if you need further help after reading it, and I'll walk you through how to do it with screenshots, but at this point I fear the effort it'd take to do that here would be redundant. |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 15 Jan 2008 : 18:15:14
The first thing I tried to do was set up a shop with a shopkeeper. Just so I could experiment with making items and seeing how they worked out. Making a shopkeeper was a bit complicated with the NWN1 toolset, but essentially you create a shop, and then you tie it to a shopkeeper. With the NWN2 toolset, I could not make a custom shop/shopkeeper. Also the "baking" of the module was weird, and I could not even get an interior area to work. Anyways, thanks for the site, I will have to check it out. The tutorial that came with sucked. |
| dirtywick |
Posted - 15 Jan 2008 : 17:35:31
It takes some getting used to.
http://www.nwn2toolset.dayjo.org/ToolsetTuts/getstarted/gettingstarted.html
Check out this site for the basics about what everything does and how to do it. I suggest reading it in full.
What are you trying to do that's giving you problems? |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 14 Jan 2008 : 23:15:41
Maybe I am just stupid, but the NWN2 toolset UI is so difficult that I have not been able to figure how to make it work and do what I want. This frustrates me to no end. |
| Karzak |
Posted - 14 Jan 2008 : 23:00:24
The toolset is definitely more difficult. But then, unlike NWN, it doesn't rely on the godawful tileset systems to create areas, and for that I can forgive ugly UI. I can't go back and play NWN, now, because the graphics are not only hideous (even at release, they were already outdated), every area looks more or less identical. |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 14 Jan 2008 : 22:34:55
My biggest problem with NWN2, is that the UI for the toolset is a lot more difficult to use then the UI for the NWN1 toolset. |
| Karzak |
Posted - 14 Jan 2008 : 21:32:50
I actually thought NWN's interface was something of a travesty when I first played it. I've gotten used to it since, but it's still fairly clumsy and isn't all that customizable. Compared to WoW - which I started playing long after NWN - it's a cumbersome beast. Bioware could learn a lot from Blizzard regarding UI polish and streamlining.
NWN2's does take some getting used to, but the quick-cast menu makes it a lot more bearable. As for MoW, which I doubt I'll touch with a ten-foot pole - eh, what. It's a module, not an expansion pack. I doubt it'll do anything drastic to the engine and provide better support for anything in particular. |
| tenacious1 |
Posted - 14 Jan 2008 : 16:40:59
quote:
Originally posted by Karzak
I loathed the original OC. I couldn't even force myself to go through all of it and quit at around chapter two or so, it was so tedious and so very boring. I got as far as Elanee (bland bland bland), Neeshka (fracking annoying and obnoxious), Khelgar (typical dwarf), the pyromaniac sorceress girl (not as bad as the rest, but so unmemorable I can't recall her name) and Casavir (bland bland bland). I pretty much hated all of the joinable NPCs.
Mask of the Betrayer, though? It's simply amazing and restores nearly all my faith in Obsidian. Huge, huge bonus points for not taking place on the Sword Coast, which happily brings you away from most of the typical fantasy stuff I've come to find intolerable. Everything they did wrong with the first OC is gone, and it seems Obsidian's learned a lot about joinable NPCs and writing a satisfactory story, which is something they haven't done since Planescape: Torment. (KotOR2 was a disastrous mess, NWN2 OC was crap, etc.) It looks like they've finally weaned themselves from the teats of Bioware's predictable writing and stock characters.
I agree with most of your assessment Karzak. I also quit the OC somewhere in the campaign... in fact, it's been so long I can't remember where exactly.
The biggest thing that annoyed me with NWN2 is that I didn't feel the interface of NWN1 was broken. The play-ability of NWN is a LOT better. The radial menu and other menus were so much faster and easier to use. I was really hoping they would upgrade the graphics and the engine... but no...
This New Premium Module, is supposed to provide better support for creating custom multiplayer mods...from what I heard anyway... I would love if someone has information on that aspect.
The Custom Mods and Player Interface are the main reasons I'm still involved with NWN1... and looking forward to 1.69 landing ;)
|
| Karzak |
Posted - 05 Jan 2008 : 19:27:31
I loathed the original OC. I couldn't even force myself to go through all of it and quit at around chapter two or so, it was so tedious and so very boring. I got as far as Elanee (bland bland bland), Neeshka (fracking annoying and obnoxious), Khelgar (typical dwarf), the pyromaniac sorceress girl (not as bad as the rest, but so unmemorable I can't recall her name) and Casavir (bland bland bland). I pretty much hated all of the joinable NPCs.
Mask of the Betrayer, though? It's simply amazing and restores nearly all my faith in Obsidian. Huge, huge bonus points for not taking place on the Sword Coast, which happily brings you away from most of the typical fantasy stuff I've come to find intolerable. Everything they did wrong with the first OC is gone, and it seems Obsidian's learned a lot about joinable NPCs and writing a satisfactory story, which is something they haven't done since Planescape: Torment. (KotOR2 was a disastrous mess, NWN2 OC was crap, etc.) It looks like they've finally weaned themselves from the teats of Bioware's predictable writing and stock characters. |
| Thangorn |
Posted - 04 Jan 2008 : 12:16:56
Ya Mask of the Betrayer is pretty good.. I'm not really one for the OC though. I only bought NWN2 so I could recreate bits of the realms for ALFA.
I'm still building Zhentil Keep for my PW project and I just finished bits of Phlan and its looking pretty good. I dont suppose anyone here has the game, a decent computer, some free time to learn the toolset and a passion for the Moonsea?
:)
|
| khorne |
Posted - 03 Jan 2008 : 14:27:58
Just got Mask of the Betrayer. Oh boy oh boy, I can't wait to play it! |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 03 Jan 2008 : 14:02:43
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
well ... my point is allso in some way from a roleplaying PoV ... i can't see any reason why Neeshka wouldn't stab me in the back (even less follow me) ... thats the part that 'annoys' me ... 
Well, I *will* say that the amount of influence you gain with her makes a difference towards the end of the game. She can be tough to gain influence with if you aren't always encouraging her thieving (and selfish) tendencies. However, there are other ways you can gain points with her, too--there are online guides that can help you with that. :) There's one at thieves-guild.net (I think that's the address). |
| Sian |
Posted - 03 Jan 2008 : 10:37:38
well ... my point is allso in some way from a roleplaying PoV ... i can't see any reason why Neeshka wouldn't stab me in the back (even less follow me) ... thats the part that 'annoys' me ... |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 03 Jan 2008 : 00:31:53
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
its not the much the Influence, (even though i tend to get very much along with Elanee) ... its more about being able to be around them without fearing for my characters life ... ie. getting to unfreindly or have to diffent opinions than they have
Well, there's nothing wrong with having different opinions than those characters have. As I pointed out, some of their opinions are quite silly. Would your character be his own person if he just nodded and agreed with everything his (I'm assuming it's a "he"!) companions said? And of course, there are situations where the PC can't please all characters at the same time. There ARE going to be times when you lose influence with NPCs, period. And I would suggest you not be afraid of it--not only is it better (IMO) to roleplay your character, but this game also doesn't usually punish your character for falling out of favor with your companions.
Really, one could write tons of posts on this topic, but I'll just conclude by saying that if you are really friendly with an NPC, losing a few points here and there won't make a difference. And if you are totally incompatible with an NPC, then rubbing them the wrong way only makes sense from an RPG standpoint if appeasing them reduces the PC to the nodding puppet I mentioned above. |
| Sian |
Posted - 02 Jan 2008 : 19:46:23
its not the much the Influence, (even though i tend to get very much along with Elanee) ... its more about being able to be around them without fearing for my characters life ... ie. getting to unfreindly or have to diffent opinions than they have |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 02 Jan 2008 : 19:00:33
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
finally got myself together to play though the game ... running a Paladin/Fighter/Divine Champion of Torm with a Monkey gripped Greatsword and Towershield ... but have a problem finding good partners ... roughly halfway though Chapter one now and neither Qara or Neeshka is anywhere near loving me (and have an idea that i shouldn't be along with the latter due it)
If you're looking for "love" in the romantic sense, you'll only find it with Elanee (or Casavir for female PCs).
It's very hard to get influence with Qara--the best way to do it is agree with all of her (silly) opinions about herself, and most players tend not to want to do that. |
| Sian |
Posted - 02 Jan 2008 : 17:25:39
finally got myself together to play though the game ... running a Paladin/Fighter/Divine Champion of Torm with a Monkey gripped Greatsword and Towershield ... but have a problem finding good partners ... roughly halfway though Chapter one now and neither Qara or Neeshka is anywhere near loving me (and have an idea that i shouldn't be along with the latter due it)
is there any decent arcanist or rogue that is workable to be around as LG |
| KwizzN |
Posted - 27 Oct 2007 : 18:42:12
HawkinstheDM offline patching is possible, check out this post on the bioware boards:
http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=565489&forum=109
As for the story of the expansion, it is much more personal focusing on the origin of and cure for a condition inflicted on the player. I find it much more compelling than the OC story. Not least because your companions react to events you encounter with new dialouge. I not sure what is too much of a spoiler, but I will say that the ending has sparked a couple of heated debates on realmslore. Spoiler below.
The nature of the Wall of the Faithless. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 26 Oct 2007 : 19:20:25
quote:
Originally posted by aravine
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
Anybody got the Mask of the Betrayer expansion ?
I do and I installed it the other night but I haven't gotten around to playing yet. It's on my plans to do so though and to finish the 1st campaign.
my,my,my, do you have time on your hands! how co l that must be.
Actually, I don't have much time, which is why I haven't gotten around to actually playing it. :) |
| Aravine |
Posted - 26 Oct 2007 : 18:04:53
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
Anybody got the Mask of the Betrayer expansion ?
I do and I installed it the other night but I haven't gotten around to playing yet. It's on my plans to do so though and to finish the 1st campaign.
my,my,my, do you have time on your hands! how col that must be. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 26 Oct 2007 : 17:53:08
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
Anybody got the Mask of the Betrayer expansion ?
I do and I installed it the other night but I haven't gotten around to playing yet. It's on my plans to do so though and to finish the 1st campaign. |
| Skeptic |
Posted - 26 Oct 2007 : 16:43:38
Anybody got the Mask of the Betrayer expansion ?
|
| Hawkins |
Posted - 25 Oct 2007 : 18:44:38
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
Still can't play this game cause I don't have the system requirements 
I had to borrow my friend's computer to play it.  And now that my computer is all upgraded and supposed to be able to play it, it still won't work. I do not like Obsidian's patching methods either. At Bioware you could get a Critical Rebuild patch if the updater did not work correctly. Not so with Obisidian.  Though, Bioware's soul has now been sold to EA, so who knows what will happen to it now. And seriously, will Dragon Age ever come out? And when it does, how much upgrading will I have to do to my computer? [/rant] |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 25 Oct 2007 : 18:29:14
Still can't play this game cause I don't have the system requirements |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 25 Oct 2007 : 18:17:44
quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
I've no hope that the game will be a fount of Realmslore. If it was designed by Realms fans, though, there's a lot it could do to be Realmslike that wouldn't cost much in development hours.
Spellfire is the Realms work that encapsulates the feel of the Realms better than any other except maybe the Old Grey Box. Its feelings, speech, dynamics, are the Realms.
I don't agree with this sentiment. The Elminster series, the Drizzt series, the Cormyr series, the Songs and Swords series, the Moonshae series, and the Ervis Cale series all are more Realms to me than the Spellfire series, or even Spellfire itself, was to me. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 06 Oct 2007 : 05:47:44
quote:
Originally posted by BlackAce
The drama was excellent however and the charge up Mt.Galadrym and the confrontation with that backstabbing wyrm has to stand as one of my favourite moments in recent RPG games.
Yes indeed, the view as you climbed up the mountain was absolutely stunning. |
| BlackAce |
Posted - 27 Sep 2007 : 08:39:42
I'm about a year late all in all, but I've finally gotten around to a replay over the last month or so. So I'm gonna share my thoughts while they're fresh.
Great game overall. Like Rinona though, I had a few issues with the meta plot The oversymplifying of Phalorm/Illefarn and the Shadowweave annoyed me but it was a minor niggle.
I didn't so much mind the Githyanki being involved either. I think it worked OK, despite the similar plot device turning up in BG2.
My only real complaints were the limited scope of what you could explore. Would've loved to go crawling around the Southkrypt mines, camp in ruined Phandalin or run around the dungeons of Holk House. And they were right there. So why not add them in? Wouldn't've killed them.... *sigh*
Also, that brings me to my biggest Realmslore issue. Where was Leilon?  You'd think, after taking quite a bit of time to get the lore pretty accurate (the Netheril stuff is up for debate, though) they wouldn't miss a dirty great mining town right on the edge of the Mere!
The drama was excellent however and the charge up Mt.Galadrym and the confrontation with that backstabbing wyrm has to stand as one of my favourite moments in recent RPG games.
Overall. I'll give it a 9 for gameplay and a 7 for Realmsian flavor. |
| BlackAce |
Posted - 27 Sep 2007 : 08:19:35
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
So, what am I missing? The journal says I still need a sample of the original runes. I thought that was the item in the smithy?
Spoiler below.
You've probably cracked it by now, Kuje but just in case the rune sample can be found in one of the cauldrons in the Gem Mine smithy in Arvahn. |
