Neverwinter Nights 2
 

Sooooo, anybody on NPF getting it?

http://www.nwn2.com
http://www.nwn2wiki.org/Redemption

There's the main site (along with some shameless advertisement) if no one's heard of it, though if you haven't heard of it or its predecessor, you've been living underground in North Korea for the past 7 years.

NWN has been my top game for the past half decade, easily. Even though I often advertise myself as a FPS fiend, it's actually an RPG that's clocked the most hours with me, beating out Call of Duty by at least a few hundred hours.

To be honest, I didn't like the single player campaign much, at all. Maybe when I first got the game, I didn't appreciate the game engine or style of the single player, I'm not sure. But the custom worldbuilding IMMEDIATELY captured me, and held on, right up to this day. I've been the administrator of the PW (Persistant World) module for 3 years now. I'm not one to brag, since there aren't THAT many PWs, but we're probably one of the better PW Action servers.

But despite the pros of the server, and the incredible game NWN and its expansions are, it IS time for a change. Better graphics, more customization. The module itself is also plagued with un-updated stuff dating back before the changes of expansion packs; legacies of a less overpowered age. Obsidian did a very smart thing when taking on Bioware's baby: they admitted NWN was an amazing game and sought to change none of its good qualities, only build on the poor/absent ones.

NWN2 was released two days ago in North America, and I'm hoping it's on the shelves here in Canada so I can pick it up tonight. And I'm ANXIOUSLY looking forward to building a new PW.

The only downside I've heard so far is hardware requirements (client and server) and a rather steep learning curve for the new toolset.

How's about you?!

Oh man!
NWN2 is amazing,
IF you can run it...
There are just so many awesome things now and everything is streamlined...
If you really want to see this thing for yourself in action, you should really head over to http://www.atari.com/nwn2/US/gallery_videos.php to see this really nice Machinima created to show off the wonders of the new game called "Neverending Daze"* created by the same numbskulls that gave us the NWN Machinima Neverending Nights which will aslo use NWN2 for their upcoming season 2...
They have been working with the Dev Version of the game for the past few months and the only bad thing Tawmis can say right now about it is that in his Dev version, he has no DMJump to work with...
But don't let that deter you since he is just a cranky old man who hasn't hasn't filled his beer quota for the month...

If you can run it an are a fan of PC RPG's, then run to your local shop and demand it be in your hands .3 seconds after walking in...
You won't regret it...
Well, except for the possible jail time you might get cause they think you are trying to rob them....
And then there's the social life problem too... well, for some of us... not me...
<.<
>.>



*You need to make a free account on Atari's NWN2 site to see the videos sadly... but its worth it!

I just checked the shelves in my own Canadian city, and it ain't here yet.

But since my list of favorite games inlcude NWN, BGII, KOTOR and KOTOR2, I shall most definitely be acquiring the latest jewel of RPGs.

The specs are heavy. My computer stacks up nicely, but from what I've read the serious requirements are the only draw back because the game doesn't effectively utilize the power available in higher end computers, yet requires higher end computers to run.

But I'll still be getting it. I'm too loyal a fan...

Run it on a Raedon 9200?

Right.

I liked the original NWN's engine.

I fucking hated the main campaign.

It was like the Dungeons and Dragons gauntlet. Run from point A, talk to people who are uninteresting and boring, then run to point B. Everything between is overrun with fucking monsters and thieves and bandits. Your only help is a couple of AIs who have more personality than the NPCs but half the functionality.

As if that wasn't bad enough, by the time Aribeth turned evil I just didn't give a shit. Now I think a paladin turning blackguard because of a mob-killed lover would spurn something out of the writer in me.

However. I played Shadows of Unrentide with a friend - starting a small series I write called Monk and Rogue - where the two of us ran the whole campaign. It was a complete blast.

When the devs at Obsidian said, "We know the storyline was lacking in the first game." I had high hopes for NWN2.

I thought the storyline, while not thrilling, was at least mildly interesting. I really, really, REALLY loved some of the NPCs, and, well, didn't give half a fart about the others. Tomi was alrgiht, but I loved the Elven cleric woman.

Haven't played HotU, but I have played SoU, and it was a blast, of cours.e

Granted, my level 20 Rogue made everything a bit too easy, but the 1st level Paladin just didn't quite make it the whole way.

I just wish they got over the classic A-to-B-to-C-to-A thing.

Oh, I also liked the 3rd chapter in the Main Camp. Finding all the powerstones was actually fun, though the rest of that chapter sucked.

It's the exact same for me. But I'm the kind of guy that just can't say no to multiplayer. It's like instant bonus points on a game review. Couple that with a user-friendly way to create almost whatever I want in a D&D setting. WIN!

And the engine really did allow you to go quite a bit beyond the stuff in the single player. I think some of the most fun I had at least pure hack n' slash wise, was on CTF Arena servers. Anyhoo, I'll be stepping out in an hour or so to go try and buy it!

My specs are decent, I hope I'll run it all right. AMD 2.6ghz, 1 gig DDR, Geforce 256 megger...

I am going to so fucking buy Neverwinter Nights 2 this weekend. I am going to buy it so fucking hard it will seem like rape.

Then I'll play it so long it will feel like seconds.

Edit:

I loved that part about Neverwinter.

Sir, there's a plague destroying the city! Thousands are dead!

:) No problem, I'll get that cure.

Oh no, Sir! In the confusion brought about by the plague, the
prisoners have just broken out of the prison and overrun the city!

Oh... Okay, well, I'll get that sorted out too, then.

You'll never believe it, sir! Pirates have docked and overrun the city, looking for the cure to the Wailing Death! They've killed all the escaped prisoners and are butchering people by the thousands!

Um...

:gonk: BY THE GODS, SIR! ZOMBIES

I bought it! I own it! Woohoo! No time to play tonight er uh, this morning though. Later today...before Borat!

EDIT: Blast. Well, the game runs great on my system. *almost* maxed out with occasional lag (hard to say if thats my system struggling or early game glitches?). That means I'll get great FPS when and if I choose to crank down the graphics for smoother play.

I must say, it's taking a lot of getting used to. The re-imagined companion system seems exactly like Baldur's Gate. Though I personally prefer controlling only one character, I hope to get used to having multiple. The question remains...do you command multiple in multiplayer? And how are PC to PC parties handled with companions in the mix? Duh duh duh...

And damn it, there's something wrong with my game/Obsidian's patching system. I can't seem to patch to 1.01.

Well although I have played NWN and all the expansions as well as kingmaker (and beaten all the modules on kingmaker by the way), I just never really got into the main storyline. It was just too flimsy a concept and the gameplay was needing. The first thing I noticed being an avid Baldur's Gate fan is that there is only one henchman. I mean come on! If your going to make a game based off of D&D you gotta have more than 2 party members. Plus the second thing that annoyed me a lot is that there were something like 8-10 sidequests per chapter that had you running back and forth (sorta like the worry center side quests in Paper Mario for GC). I just really do not like games like that. I liked paper mario because it had a strong story and gameplay, which NWN 1 seriously lacked. It will be highly unlikely that I get NWN 2 unless they go back to their D&D roots and allow at least 4 party members and really WOW me with the storyline.