NWN Multiplayer

[Darth Jebus]

So, in light of all the talk surrounding a BioWare MMO Studio in Austin, TX, and my horrible addiction to WoW (which is now thankfully subsiding after about a year of play) and also because of NWN 2 only a few months away from release, I decided to try out the multiplayer aspect of the original Neverwinter Nights.

 

Needless to say I had no idea what to expect. I've had the game for a looooong time and never even tried the multiplayer. I just didn't have any interest in it. In short, what I found from the various mods and servers out there for NWN is that the majority of them suck.

 

Seriously.

 

I mean, there was some really retarded stuff out there. But most disturbingly, aside from all the "Adult Only" servers there, I found that the multiplayer was no different then playing an MMO. In fact, it has some cool features an MMO doesn't have. The only real difference, other then you don't pay to play it (although some servers do ask for "donations" to keep them running) is that nothing in the game is instanced, and you can whisper the DM anytime you want depending on the server guidlines.

 

There are even several different types of servers. Some are story (PvE) while others are action (PvP) where you can be attacked and killed at anytime by a level 30+ epic sorcerer casting some truly outrageous spells that can one-shot you. Now, even though it depends on the server guidlines, it's kind of unnerving to know that you can be attacked, robbed, or killed by any other player with a chip on their shoulder. I mean, if I wanted that I would've played Ultima Online or Dark Age of Camelot.

 

Now the reason why I said all this was disturbing was because the general consensus on these boards is that peeps would rather be subjected to a tax audit rather then have to play an MMO. In fact, the only thing that seems worse than an MMO on here are those evil console games. Yet, the Neverwinter Nights Multiplayer is....well....a Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Sans the massivley part.

 

So I mean...WTF?

[Hurlshort]

1. Most open Persistent World servers for NWN are going to be pretty lax. If you want to see a good one, you will probably have to join a closed server. The reason is, a good server doesn't want every Tom, ****, and Jane to hop on and run around like naked idiots. They put time and effort into the world, so they want respectful players.

 

2. Persistent Worlds on NWN and MMO's are still very different. Persistent worlds still have a pretty small cap on how many players can join up. You also shouldn't expect stability, as they are servers run by average joes. The trade off here is the DM's will actually help you and don't have 1,000 tickets to answer.

 

3. Good Persistent Worlds have a pretty rigid rule set. The best one I played on was ALFA, and they had a ton of rules, but they also had almost 0 ganking and griefing. It was the closest thing to a PnP experience I've seen, right down to perma-death and extremely slow levelling. They created hundreds of miles of Faerun for people to explore.

[Volourn]

When I played ALFA it was friggin' boring. Large, and empty. The world was dead and nothing like the Realms that they promised.

 

As for NWN MP = MMO, it's nothing like it unless you play it like one. Afterall, DMs tend to be rather active on the better ones. Also, since there's not a thousand people around, it's a lot more persoanl and you can (usually) voice your disagreements or agreements without being destroyed.

 

Sure, there are PWs that are simply horrible or that allow mass murder amongst players but those are easily thrown in the trash.

[Hurlshort]

ALFA is a tricky one, because if you don't get a decent server with a decent DM crew and a decent group of players, there is no reason to play. I got lucky in that I started with a group right off and we built our characters up together. We also had an excellent DM team, which has since departed ALFA altogether. They also had what I consider the best server design. I still think it's an awesome project, but I agree that they need to worry less about making a huge world and more about filling it.

[Volourn]

Yeah, no doubt there was potential. Afterall, that's why I did their lame 'application' deal. Which should automatically clue in people of how much ALFA is a joke. They accepted me of all people. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

Lots of good dieas; but no follow throughs at the time. (it may be different now). I wa satken in by the diea that they'd recreate the Realms... but, if I thoguht their recreation would be so boring I'd have passed.

 

That said, the first time I saw one of their giant spiders, I was R00fling! Good times!!!

 

RUN, RUN, RUN!!!

[Llyranor]

Yeah, no doubt there was potential. Afterall, that's why I did their lame 'application' deal. Which should automatically clue in people of how much ALFA is a joke. They accepted me of all people. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

I can top that. They accepted me! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

I think I played on one server for like 15 min. Nothing happened.

 

I still get email updates about crap I don't read.

[Volourn]

"I can top that. They accepted me! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

 

 

 

Actually, I'm not surprised they accepted. I'd have been shocked if they didn't. I haven't played D&D for 20 years almost (about 15 then) for 'nothin'.

 

Not to mention Dming with stuff like sending 'just an orc shaman' instead of an 'uber demi god firebreathing child of a ultra god that can control time with just a whim and has the entire army of Hell under their control' super uber bad guy after the PCs. I mean. Come on.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Volourn

[Stephen Amber]

Over on the official boards, someone came up with the statistic of less than 5% of NWN purchasers ever even logging onto a PW, so it's not surprising your typical NWN patron might have an aversion to mmos. And, yea, when any punk kid or pom pom teanie bopper bimbo can set up a server and host a mod of course most of them will suck.

[Moose]

Now the reason why I said all this was disturbing was because the general consensus on these boards is that peeps would rather be subjected to a tax audit rather then have to play an MMO.  In fact, the only thing that seems worse than an MMO on here are those evil console games.  Yet, the Neverwinter Nights Multiplayer is....well....a Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Sans the massivley part.

 

So I mean...WTF?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Meh, I like MMOs. If it weren't for chinese farmers, IGN and ebay letting people ruin the economies I'd probably love them, but I'm afraid such things turn every MMO into **** after a while.

 

Not so on NWN. If you find a decent PW it's like a mini MMO without any of the bad crap. The only two major problems are PWs have a relatively small player base and that the technology doesn't stay up to date.