The expansions added a ton of content (tilesets, models, sounds, etc) that the original didn’t. So while it did split the community, it was necessary.
A huge majority of active NWN players have both expansions, so if you build your mod, you will have plenty of customers.
FYI: there is a way to build a NWN-only mod even when you have the expansions. You edit a setup file that tells the toolset what expansions you have installed. Then you build and its NWN-only. You will not have access to all the stuff added in the expansions, however. You have to toggle this setting when you want to go back and play/build in modules that use the expansions. You can even edit this in a preexisting module, but if you have expansion items in the module, the module will crash a NWN-only user since the NWN-only user does not have the expansion items.
As a person who uses the toolset to build for a weekly DMed game, I am also concerned about this. The new system will certainly be MUCH more flexible, but will I be able to build quickly enough.
In one of the previews, it stated you will be able to create a customized part of an area, save it, and then use it like a tile. This might be the ticket I’m looking for, but I will have to see.
If I read right, you just “paint” textures onto the height map. You can freely mix textures side-by-side, so I don’t think it will be that much harder. At the basic level, if you leave the terrain flat and just paint a big square of forest you should get the “same” result as NWN in basically the same time.
Who gives a shit about tweaking the number of leaves, number of branches, thinkness and so on?
Who gives a shit about having realistic looking trees? So who gives a shit about being able to customize the environment beside swapping tileset?
Someone does or they wouldn’t have put all that work to add all those possibilities.
The thread started quoting the possibility to finally break the environment into individual items. And it’s exactly the same idea that is applied to the trees. This is what we were discussing.[/quote]
That environmental stuff is nice, but it really has very little to do with gameplay. I have shelves full of very pretty games that otherwise are dull.
And no matter expressive they make the graphics engine, after a dozen hours with the game you won’t care that much anymore. You’ll be used to the look and trees with bending branches, more realistic water, nicer clouds, better lighting effects, etc., will be things the player takes for granted.
Mostly true, but sometimes great graphics still catch my eye even after I’ve played a game for a while. I never tired of gawking at the Ironforge entrance in Dun Morogh in WoW, for instance.
If this is true (and I hope it is), then they should just include some basic default tiles as well. For me, the best NWN modules were more defined by the writing, the characters and things like that, not how good the terrain looked.
The best thing I’ve heard about NWN2 is that you’ll be able to control your party members. They will still have some independant AI when it comes to the longer-term decisions you make for them, but it sounds like when the bell rings and the fight begins, you can have detailed control over them.
Speaking just for myself, I’m going to have to disagree with this pretty strongly. Yes there are certain games whose graphics lose their initial appeal, but for most games, this isn’t the case for me for some reason. Heck, I was playing a little Doom 3 the other night (just to compare its look to Quake 4), and I was blown away a number of times at how good it looked in certain cases.
I would LOVE a quest wizard, and a bunch of others.
Not to produce a quest and leave it at that. But it would be so much easier for me if I could make the basic structure of a quest with a wizard - the main locations, people, conditions for success (or multiple conditions/results), and rewards. Then I could play it, make sure it’s the overall structure I want, and then open up the module and start modifying it.
By starting with a simple, working quest that is wizard-generated, it would be easier to get a handle on making everything work. I could then change things, add things, flesh it out, and alter it one step at a time, testing after each step, to produce a fully unique quest that isn’t broken.
Think of it like buying a house in Sims 2 instead of an empty lot. Not that it’s as hard to build a house in Sims 2 as it is to make a quest in the NWN toolset, but starting with a house and modifying it is a lot easier. And after you make one change after another after another, you’ve got a house that’s nothing like the one you started with. Don’t like it, don’t use the wizard. :)
Warlock makes me antsy. This is a problem with not using full parties… when you have a party of three or more then wizard and sorceror are just fine at all levels. When you only get one backup AI dude who runs around like an idiot it’s a little harder. I’m just resistant to the idea of a dude who casts at will all day long, even if his spell set is limited. It’s hilarious enough playing a sorceror who can cast Time Stop 9 times without resting, as my sorc could do by the end of the original campaign.
It was even better in HotU where she took up RDD and had ridiculous strength and armor and could Time Stop like crazy.
Also antsy about an influence system. If I have a druid henchman and can fuck them out of all their abilities then that will suck.
I also sincerely hope that among all player races and subraces there will be room for a kobold. Because kobolds = entertainment and I deserve some entertainment since fully half of the rest of the fanbase will be playing Drizzt.
I liked what Obsidian did with KOTOR2 minus the whole dead female jedi that he really loved sob weep, and the whole lack of a real ending. I hope they get to really finish NWN2.
I think they’ve announced that all playable races from 3.5e will be in the game. I don’t know if that’s a misunderstanding on the part of the interviewer, but it’s pretty impressive if true.
Also, I’ve been hearing about this Warlock class. Does anyone know the specifics of it? I have only heard vague hints about its abilities.
The expansions added a ton of content (tilesets, models, sounds, etc) that the original didn’t. So while it did split the community, it was necessary.
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As previously stated I though the single player NWN game was a poor effort. But I did really get into making my own modules and made two massive modules that I ran my players through. I found the scripting easy. My main problem was how everything looked the same so I ended up making custom tilesets and models. So the two modules were a good 6 months worth of work. Ran my party through it more than once without a hitch.
Guess what … a patch (or maybe it was an expansion, can’t recall now) totally broke my modules. None of the 60,000 lines of dialogue worked anymore. That totally took the wind out of my sails and I gave up and just started playing face-to-face dnd again (which I had not done in a good 10 years).
They say in the interview that WOTC added warlock as a core class. This isnt correct. There is no warlock in DnD’s core manuals. In fact I have never seen a warlock except as a PRC.
Evidently it was added in the Complete Arcane. As written, sounds like a new core class because there is no mention of pre-reqs to take a level in Warlock.
The Pros and Cons of a Warlock
The warlock’s dark heritage gives him a limited array of useful powers. Most warlocks carry at least a small taint of evil, but a few manage to rise above their ancestry to become great heroes. Sinister or valiant, a warlock offers plenty of challenges and rewards for any player.
Warlock Assets
The warlock has access to several powerful abilities that he can use over and over. Though he can’t produce many magical effects, choosing the right ones creates a potent spellcaster who can hold his own in any adventuring party. Though he is a specialist in arcane combat, the warlock can also gain bonuses on a variety of skill checks and create numerous other useful magical effects. Below are several assets you have going for you when you choose a warlock.
* Winning Ways: A warlock needs to have a high Charisma score because that ability governs his spellcasting. But high Charisma also gives him an edge in negotiations.
* Good Will Saves: A warlock uses the best save progression in the game for Will saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). This natural mental strength helps him resist most effects that fool his mind or assault his spirit, including charms, compulsions, illusions, fear effects, and even inflict spells.
* Eldritch Blast: Starting at first level, a warlock gains the spell-like ability to release a magical ray that can damage creatures or objects. This eldritch blast affects only one target at a time, and it has a fairly short range, but the warlock can use it as a standard action as often as he likes.
* Invocations: Starting at first level, and once every even-numbered level thereafter, a warlock can choose an invocation. A warlock invocation is a spell-like ability that works at will. Some invocations merely alter the warlock's eldritch blast, but others provide new abilities that expand your capabilities beyond merely dealing damage.
* Many Class Features: A warlock's supernatural heredity grants him many useful abilities, including damage reduction, fast healing, energy resistance, and the ability to make and use magic items of all kinds.
* Fair Weapon Selection: The warlock is proficient only with simple weaponry. Though simple weapons aren't the most deadly ones available, the fact that the warlock has access to the whole category gives him more options than most other arcane spellcasters have. That versatility can be a lifesaver if his spells happen to fail him.
* Fair Armor Selection: The warlock is proficient with light armor, but not with shields. Light armor doesn't provide great protection, but it's better than what many arcane spellcasters have available.
* Good Attack Bonus: A warlock's base attack bonus -- +3 per four levels -- is second only to that of the more martial classes, such as the fighter. So if your warlock decides to enter combat, he can make a pretty good showing. He also has an excellent chance to hit most foes with his eldritch blasts, which are ranged touch attacks.
Warlock Weaknesses
Warlocks pay a heavy price for their powerful magic. Here are a few of the disadvantages you should keep in mind if you’re considering a warlock character.
* Fairly Low Hit Points: The warlock's 6-sided Hit Dice give him a few more hit points than most arcane spellcasters have. Nevertheless, he is still quite vulnerable to damage.
* Low Skill Points: At a mere two skill points per level, most warlocks don't accumulate many skill ranks, even with quadruple skill points at 1st level.
* Poor Reflex and Fortitude Saving Throws: Warlocks have the worst progression for Fortitude and Reflex saves in the game (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Thus, they aren't so great at avoiding attacks on their bodies.
* Limited Magical Choices: You begin play with your eldritch blast ability and a single invocation. During your entire career, you'll choose only 11 more invocations. You have a limited ability to change the invocations you know, but for the most part you're stuck with what you choose, so choose carefully.
I don’t know, I’m not so worried about what classes they include, since if I feel it’s too overpowering, I just won’t play it. I think I played NWN multiplayer about 10 minutes total…
I don’t know, I’m not so worried about what classes they include, since if I feel it’s too overpowering, I just won’t play it. I think I played NWN multiplayer about 10 minutes total…[/quote]
I probably won’t play it multiplayer either, and I won’t play the class because I have like 5-6 other classes I will play before even thinking about it. So I don’t know why I care, but for some reason I do.
Whoah! That class sounds broken (on paper). Its fine for a face-to-face dnd game where the DM can adjudicate on the fly if a class is overpowered. In a CRPG… I guess it isn’t a MMOG so its not such a big deal. I have been playing DnD since I was 11 years old (22 years!) and that smells like an over-powered class. Something similar to the kensai/mage dual class from BG2 or the druid/vow of poverty combo from the normal game.
