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.
I’d have to see it in action to really gauge it[/quote]
I can’t speak for the upcoming game, but a friend of mine played that in a PnP game and it was pretty good without being the end all be all of classes…
Overall, I’m not that much worried about what classes or races they decide to include or not include, though I’m a huge fan of choice and of a party (which it sounds like went with this time)… I’m more interested in the influencing of companions ala KOTOR II and an interesting, engaging storyline. KOTORII, even with it’s obvious lack of an ending, was maybe the best console RPG I’ve ever played…and it would rank in the top 3-5 overall. At least for me.
That’s what I’m hoping for from Obsidan this time around, a storyline and a party that feels alive. And maybe an ending or three.
KOTORII, even with it’s obvious lack of an ending, was maybe the best console RPG I’ve ever played…and it would rank in the top 3-5 overall. At least for me.
Not just for you. KOTOR II set a new bar for party management/interaction in RPGs, as far as I’m concerned.
I thought it was a pretty damn good game, too.
As for NwN2, I think the very first thing they can improve in that sequel is to improve the camera. NwN’s camera just gave me a damn headache. Limited PoV and not even a good one, at that.
I think he just means that it was confining that you couldn’t move the camera angle around your 3D avatar with the same sort of freedom that you can do in, say, WoW 3rd person…
I appreciate the sentiment – felt it most of all in Summoner, where I was annoyed at the inability to see the sky etc. – yet of course 2D isometric games are always that way and it’s not an issue. I guess there is that feeling that once you move to 3D, and you can in theory move the pov more, why not be able to do it. I value vistas in RPGs (WoW and Morrowind for example) but at the same time I rather like the old isometric perspective… ideally you probably want to be able to choose from a few different preset camera styles, though this could affect gameplay in certain ways.
I played NWN for the first time less than a year ago, but I remember the camera could be moved anywhere at the time. There was just a checkbox in the config that unlocked it.
Yeah, with the latest expansion and some patch, if I remember correctly, you could move the camera angle how ever you wanted. I keep thinking I should play NWN + latest expansion again, but I keep remembering how I only get two compatriots to go with me and I keep thinking I’ll just wait until I can play with a bigger party. DnD was created with a party of 4-6 characters as the ideal.
That was so annoying – they go through the trouble of creating a deep and interesting gameworld filled with tons of majestic architecture, and then restrict the camera view so you can’t even see it all.
Just for clarification, are you saying that you play PnP DnD controlling 4-6 characters?[/quote]
No, I’m saying the D&D game system was designed targetted to a group 4-6 characters. It’s not related to how many character I control directly, it’s related to how the classes are designed (with the idea of being supported), how the monsters were designed, how the feats were designed, how magic was designed, etc, etc.
That was so annoying – they go through the trouble of creating a deep and interesting gameworld filled with tons of majestic architecture, and then restrict the camera view so you can’t even see it all.[/quote]
Again, that was fixed with a patch a long time ago. There are now skies above your world when you are outside.
I really, truely urge all players on NWN (or the future NWN2) to try multiplayer with 4-6 players and a DM. It really shines in this play mode, and approaches the feel of a tabletop game. A good DM can dramatically change the plot on the fly to fit the needs of the story and the players in ways that scripted games cannot imagine. After having played and DMed games like this, I have trouble playing even highly rated SP RPGs because they do not feel “alive”.
Players and DM can connect via a modem, although the server should have a broadband connection. There are many DMed games at www.neverwinterconnections.com, and there are many Persistent Worlds that have good DMed events. DMed games, in my experience, have a very low % of idiots, griefers, and other internet morons. www.neverwinterconnections.com has a review system that actively discourages internet idiots, and most PWs are very agressive at booting/banning such players.
Just as many morons, I think, but having a DM gives you more power over them than you would have in any other MP experience. Plus, if it’s a regular campaign or multipart adventure there is an incentive in getting everyone to play nice.
What’s up with PC Gamer’s cover story of NWN2 with the neato graphics on top and then inside there is no other screenshot or explanation for it? Is it even from the game at all?
I’m sorry, POV in areas like photography, refers to what’s commonly called first-person perspective in gaming, i.e. any shot that is supposed to be from the point of view of a person, not one that is “omnisciently” hanging in the air. I see you simply meant any kind of view.
