Spider
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I recall JE saying that the mandatory NPCs is not a choice he would have made but when he came aboard it was too late to change it.
I personally didn't mind it so much. I think having everyone hanging out at the Flagon or the keep is fine and while I can udnerstand the frustration of having to bring certain NPCs to certain maps, I don't share it.
The only real issue I have with it all is Ammon Jerro. I liked the character and didn't mind having him around per se, I just feel a role-playing choice of killing him would have been nice.
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" Non linear plot,"
this is a fiction. there has never really been a non-linear plot written by a human being in the history of forever, but we know what you mean.
Actually, Michael Moorcok experimented with non-linear fiction in the 60s I think. I've read some of it and it's incomprehensible mess. Masterfully written, but still a mess. So I agree with the notion that no one in their right mind wants an actual non-linear plot in a game.
How much extra happiness would I get if I found a copy of the limited edition somewheres? I don't mind paying the extra, but I don't care about the nicknacks in the least. How many goodies would I find ingame?Basically, you get two additional feats. Either Blessing of Waukeen or Merchant's Friend depending on what edition. However, both feats are in the regular version of the game as well and can thus be given to any character with the console.
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There are actually at least 6 King's Tears in the game.
Really? I think I found three my last playthrough, but it could be four. And I know it's quite possible I missed one in Castle Neverwinter due to lack of lockpicking skills. But I thought I got all valuable gems outside of that. Unless Sand's inventory resets, never went to his shop before he joined tha party. Or if one of the keep merchants I didn't got has one. Although my point still stands (depending on how many items you want Bracers +8, Strength +8 or Energy resistances +30 on)
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And you have no mods installed?
But since it's beta it's a bit hit and miss, I guess. Some people have even reported problems with the game they didn't have prior to patching.
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alan, the part of the quote I was mostly responding to was "I'm not sure at all how this happened. How on Earth were you able to even hurt a non-hostile NPC?". That seemed to be about AoE spells to me.
But no, when it comes ta targeting allies that seems to be a big no-no. Well apart from a couple of specific instances.
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Don't forget that you now can but two weapon combos in the quick bar and turn off the confirmation dialogue at merchants.
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first issue is that we ain't given a safe place to store loot. after chapter 1 ends a bunch o' places is no longer reachable...
There will be a stable base of operations available to you in Act II, so at least that'll be fixed.
also, to change party members (and their inventories) one must exit inn.While the procedure will be the same, this will improve a little once you change base of operations. You still have to exit the area to change party, but exiting brings up the world map where you can simply cancel and stay at the area. Fine for just switching stuff between NPCs at least.
dr and armour bonuses is... screwy. bracers o' defense should not stack with magical plate. the best magical bracers gives you an armour bonus of +8... which is what plate armour gives. is complete different from ENHANCEMENT bonus.I personally don't have any thoughts on the actual issue, since I'm not familiar with 3.5 rules enough. I have seen the logic used by people defending this choice and it is as follows. Apparently armor have two sets of AC modifiers. On one hand it has it's base armor value, which is a static number, ie 8 in the case of a full plate. Then it has it's magical armor bonus, which is an added value, ie +5 or whatever. The bracers provide an armor bonus which is functionally different from armor value. Two armor bonuses don't stack so only the highest of the one from armor or bracers is used. Regardless of which armor bonus is used, it still stacks with the armor value.
I don't know if this is the way it's supposed to work in 3.5, but it is the way it works in NWN2.
crafting w/o xp costs is ridiculous. can outfit entie party with some serious hardcore weapons and stat boosters early in game.Personally I hate XP costs in crafting, so the current system suits me fine. There is a limit to how much of the best gear you can craft though and that is the availability of gemstones. I think there are only 6-7 blue diamonds, 2-4 Rogue Stones and 3-5 King's Tears available in the game and that puts a fairly hard limit on how many of the more hardcore stuff you can do. Enough to give everyone +5 weapons, sure (unless you have multiple dual wielders) but you only get to full equip one character with the absolute best.
You can proably do a lot more +3 and +4 stuff though, but there is plenty of equipment of that level available in the game so it really makes little difference. Also, I don't think that crafting the supreme gear impacts difficulty of the game overly much compared to only using in-game stuff.
I'm not sure at all how this happened. How on Earth were you able to even hurt a non-hostile NPC? I have nuked my own party numerous times and my NPC companions have never decided to start attacking me. I don't even think I can force them to attack myself. Are you sure the Paladin wasn't suddenly confused or charmed?Alan, you're playing on normal difficulty, right? On hardcore, you can definitely hurt your own party with AoE spells. I've never actually had anyone go hostile though (but I have had them go down on a few occasions, damned evasion characters for failing their reflex rolls).
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Gah
And so my second game comes crashing to an end. 
Bugs that eat savegames are not fun. Sounds like the "High Texture" bug where autosaving the game will crash the game, remove any autosave that existed previously and corrupt other recent saves. I've only heard about it corrupting one save apart from the autosave though (which is what happened for me). Don't know how it relates to high textures, but at least turning them off fixed it for me and most others.
Also don't know if it's been fixed in the beta patch, but that one is working like a charm for me. NWN2 with AA looks much better than NWN2 without.
(this part not a reply to Darque)
Also, I can't understand the complaint that inventory icons are tiny. I thought they were fairly large unmodded. Probably a resolution thing though, but at 1280x1024 they were fine. I have, however, added a gui mod that makes all of your inventory fit in one tab rather than four. THOSE icons are tiny. Still worth it though, I really hate the tabbed inventory.
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I think quicksave is F5. Or F9. Pretty sure it's one of those. it took me a long time before I figured it out as well, but eventually it showed up in a loading tip I think. Or maybe that was NWN2.
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It's a fun game, but definitely not without issues. It runs like crap on my computer (which is in the bottom part of medium end machines), it's only playable with basically everything set to minimum. This does not lead to a visually stunning game. Although the latest patch is said to improve performance so maybe it's better now.
I can run NWN2 with medium-high settings without a problem for reference.
Apart from the bad performance, the game isn't that buggy I don't think. Sure, there are some bugs (like the character not getting certain, or at least one, skills after they've been trained) but nothing really that major. Also, anyone complaining about NWN2 load times had better stay far away from this game.
But once you get into it it's pretty fun, if a bit repetetive. It's basically go to a town, do all the quests, decide whether to kill rebels or orcs (or hashishin or nomads), then wash, rince, repeat. But the gameplay is still fun and there is some variety at times. So I'd say give the demo a shot and if it's to your liking, then consider getting the game.
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Gothic 3 can, technically, be played in first person. However, doing so requires a fairly strong machochistic streak in the gamer. It's clunky and awkward and the second you interact with anything that isn't a hostile, you get sent back inte third person and have to zoom back. So it's certainly not adviced.
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Actually, it was more where programs go and how harddrives are viewed that I didn't like. Getting permission to place my storage stuff could be done, that I know. But to decide on what harddrive it was to be placed would have been a bit more complex iirc. Doable, though I think.
So to try and stay on topic, any hope for a Linux version of NWN2?
(yeah, I know that question has probably been asked and answered a million times, so I guessthere's no need to bother. It's not like I really care or even use Linux)
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You probably can if you're a god enough programmer. But I got the impression the thing I disliked was part of the core of how Linux was designed.
I never got any options on where to install programs and while I could probably save random files outside of my Home folder, it was heavily adviced against.
But someone with more knowledge than me will probably set me straight.
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There are a lot of active but inactive doors in NWN2. All the doors in Ember are usable, but they're all locked, and you never enter them. One wonders why they were included at all when most of the other areas don't even bother.
Are sub-areas that much of a problem, or was that simply a part of the game that couldn't be implemented due to cuts or time constraints or whatever? Because if it's the former at the very least it's problematic from a custom content standpoint.
Don't the ambushers in Ember come out through those doors? Or maybe I'm thinking of something else.
Edit: Didn't BG2 have 3-4 years of devtime and NWN2 only 2? Even if not, I'm guessing there is a difference in time used when a new graphics engine needs to be writtn rather than using (and updating) an existing engine. Should account for 6 months at least
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Saved games in my documents folder is one of the requirements of vista. If you want to bitch and whine about it send e-mail to microsoft.
So does this mean that basically all older games wil be completely incompatible with Vista? Or at least saving will be?
As for the larger issue, I'm actually with Sand. I hate having save games in the My Docs folder, although not exactly for the same reason. I just don't like using it at all. I'm a bit of a control/neat freak when it comes to my computer. I want to decide where everything is going and I want to keep it free of clutter. I've even uninstalled programs I could have considered using simply because they didn't allow me to decide exactly where they were installed (only programs I was on the fence about or similar other software was available, if it's something I'll definitely use then I'll growl a little and leave it be).
I actually hate this about Linux. Tried it out some during the summer, but the lack of control made me very frustrated with it.
I also have issues with games using the My Docs folder because when uninstalling them, the typically don't delete all the files there. Or the one in the game folder for that matter. So that means I have to remember to manually delete two folders instead of one. Not a big issue, but annoying all the same.
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I still maintain that the latest IB (I think) Torgal battle was impossible in Chapter 2. Just impossible. He regenerates at about 5hp a second and hits about 4 times a round oding 20-30 damage and.. yeah. It was like fighting 3 Ravagers at once.
IB is Improved Battles, right? I installed that once and hated it. Almost every fight in that thing led to me getting completely pummeled. I hadn't had so much experience with Tactics then as I have now though, so I'd like to try it again sometime. Only it's not currently available (at least not last time I checked). The mod-fight that always gets me though is Tactics Improved Faldorn. I don't think I've beaten that yet.
In regards to the usefullness of Breach, by the way, there is a world of diference between paying BG2 with or without Tactics. Without it's pretty much a wasted spell slot, since most fights are pretty damn easy anyway. But with Tactics it pretty much becomes the most important spell in the game. All of a sudden mages become inteligent, have good pre-buffs AND a good spell selection, so if they don't go down quickly, they will cause serious damage to your party.
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I dont understand what happened to difficult battles in RPGS. Why dont developers design something that is actually challenging for the players anymore?
I think part of the answer lies in player experience. I've played enough D&D computer games by now that I have the mindset down in how to approach tougher fights. I have a decent grasps on what buffs and debuffs are good and so on. What I'm saying is that fights I found to be very difficult back in the BG1 days, I kinda laugh at now. I actually can't recall the last time I found a fight in any D&D game to really be challenging. Maybe something in ToEE, I'm not sure. Otherwise it must have been something in BG2.
What I'm saying is that someone who makes their first foray into computer D&D with NWN2 will probably find some of the fights plenty challenging. Bottom line, game companies wants people to actually be able to finish their games and making them challenging to veterans may go against that desire.
Hell, in order to make a D&D game actually challenging to me, they'd probably need to have encounters like those found in the BG2 tactics mod. But those would make newbies cry (some of them actually make me cry to this day). So fights of that difficulty is probably best avoided. Unless they're made completely optional (in regards to the main story) and plenty warning is given in-game. That could actually be kinda interesting.
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The dragon never joined me when I made a deal with it. When I came back to it, it was still talking about going to kill firegiants.
I got totally creamed the first time versus the dragon (to the level I was wondering how the hell I was going to beat it), but the second time, it just died. Better buffs and all, but it went down so easily I wondered how the hell it beat me the first time.
All in all, there aren't any fights in NWN2 that are particularly difficult if you prepare properly for them. My second playthrough I had to reload once due to party KO and that was more due to me being careless and not paying attention rather than the fight being difficult.
(it was the two dragons and I had one on the last sliver of HP which I assumed that my fighter would take care of, so I concentrated on the other one. It's just that my fighter had been knocked down and was no longer targeting the dragon, just standing there getting chewed to pieces and then two dragons made short work of the rest of the party. Had my character kept attacking the dragon after the knockdown, I wouldn't have to releoad a single fight)
(oh, and my party was something like Grobnar, Zhjaeve, Bishop and Neeshka at that fight, which is why they got creamed when they had to deal with two dragons)
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Electron is the graphics engine which is brand new and written from scratch. Nothing of Aurora in that. Modified Aurora deals with everything else. So NWN2 uses both Electron and Aurora.
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Ore problems still. Now I am in Act 3 and my places to visit are limited, anyone who can help out the Keeps ore issues?
Have you fought the luskan ambassador yet?
I was only able to upgrade my armor and weapons twice each before that encounter, and I found all the ore deposits pre chapter 3, except for one which I wasnt able to activate. At the ambassador fight you find the mother load of ore deposits, and I was able to upgrade both armor and weapons again. I dont know if a fourth upgrade is available for either armor or weapons or if I still have enough ore for it, but I will find out soon enough.
Three for weapons, four for armor iirc. There are three deposits when you do the dwarf allies quest which should go a far way.
One in the well in ember that can still be reached in act III if it was missed, another one in the Wendersnaven area.
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Those crying about how 'useless' the Cloaks and allies are; try buffing them. I cast various spells like barksin, flame weapon, stoneskin, and the like on them. Great fun!
As far as I know, that's only been me. And I didn't really say that they were useless, just that my party was tough enough to handle the siege without them. And even unbuffed, not a single one of them went down during the siege engines or gate battles. I don't think they killed more than 5-10 opponents total during those battles either.
But I'm sure they can be formidable, but it would have been nice if having crappy soldiers would actually make the siege more difficult.
Does anyone know if you cna get Sand, and Qara both to stay? Is there a scenario where Jerro will betray you? Doubtful; but that would be cool.What companions have others lost? Garious didn't even try to brainwash some of the npcs like Elanne, or Khelgar.
You only get one or the other in regards to Sand or Qara. Their dislike for eachother is fierce enough, regardless of how much influence you have with them.
I don't think Jerro can betray you, since that would kinda mess up the whole reason for him being there in the first place.
Bishop left during the siege, but at the final battle I convinced him to leave. It'll be interesting to see what happens with my evil character who actually has a lot of influence with him. Can he be persuaded to rejoin my side I wonder.
Apparently the Construct can betray you if your influence with Grobnar is too low. I think Elanee and Khelgar are always safe though.
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I got that. You don't need all that much influence with her to get that one. I didn't even notice that one was influence based, it comes when you ask her why she wants to go with you and why she thinks you can stop KoS or something like that.
It was a nice reference though.
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Yeah, but still... I could easily have done both the courtyard stuff and the siege engines without the dwarf detachments I had with me. Seriously, in the courtyard the shadows usually didn't even reach the dwarves with Qara greeting them with fireballs and me mopping up the survivors.
Same with the siege stuff. My character would typically handle one tower by herself while Qara and Zhaejve held down the next (with the dwarves, but again they weren't really that helpful). There was never more than two towers at the walls at the same time.
The troops may as well just not have been there. As for the slashing resistance etc. Does that EVER come into play? It's not like you get any strategic troop deployments or anything. You fight and get some buddies to fight with you. I get the feeling that there was intended to be more of an actual battle (where you were commanding instead of on the front lines) but that it got cut.
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Ok, so I did replay the ending. It says that stones came crashing down around them (the party) sealing them within and that the fortress or the knight captain (and companions) were never found.
And so my second game comes crashing to an end. 
Bugs that eat savegames are not fun. 
NWN2: Discussion
in Computer and Console
Posted
Or you can just use the console, which was my point to begin with.