NWN2 Discussion Thread

[taks]

oh wow. you're pushing it. i'm on 1024x768. of course, i only have a souped up 6800 (vanilla with extra pipes turned on via rivatuner), so that resolution is good for wallpapers only. that and i'm on a 19" monitor, which causes text grief at such high resolutions.

 

curious, are you using an LCD? if not, have you dropped down to 1280x960 as a test case? i'm wondering what the difference would be.

 

taks

[Deraldin]

oh wow.  you're pushing it.  i'm on 1024x768.  of course, i only have a souped up 6800 (vanilla with extra pipes turned on via rivatuner), so that resolution is good for wallpapers only.  that and i'm on a 19" monitor, which causes text grief at such high resolutions.

 

curious, are you using an LCD?  if not, have you dropped down to 1280x960 as a test case?  i'm wondering what the difference would be.

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've got a 19" CRT. I use 1600x1200 for desktop stuff because I like the extra screen real estate. Never had a problem with small text, although I'm the only one in the house that can read text that small.

 

In the game I've been running at 1024x768. Any lower and all the text gets screwed up. Even at that resolution though it almost murders my 9600 Pro.

[taks]

I've got a 19" CRT. I use 1600x1200 for desktop stuff because I like the extra screen real estate. Never had a problem with small text, although I'm the only one in the house that can read text that small.

 

In the game I've been running at 1024x768. Any lower and all the text gets screwed up. Even at that resolution though it almost murders my 9600 Pro.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

oh, OK. not all that much different than what i'm doing, though the 6800 is a little beefier than your card, i think.

 

taks

[Dark_Raven]

Just thought I'd pop in. I still don't have my copy, but checking with Amazon.co.uk there are a lot of negative reviews. What the feth is going on?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Must be the cry babies from the Bioware forums visited there. There's nothing wrong with the game. A few bugs here and there and that is to be expected at game release. You would think they were talking about PoR2.

[Dark_Raven]

Hope I'm not OT here, but .. what's with the auto-respawn on death? You're not supposed to die? If you die, you just respawn and the game continues. I play on "normal"-difficulty. The story is 110% linear (so far), and you can't die. How fun is that? 

 

Sorry about the whining..

 

J.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You can die if your entire party dies. It's like as long as you have one person left you can drag the rest of your parties bloated and decaying corpses back to a temple to raise them, but without the tedious trip back to the city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like this feature, something they took from the Kotors. I have had a few times where my character died and it would have sucked if that ended it. Saving games is few and far between. "

[Volourn]

Yeah, because disliking a game = whining. I like the game, and I can easily see their complaints. Their complaints are usually logical unlike many fanboys' defense of the game (ie. it's your computer not the game, lololololollipop).

 

There's A LOT wrong with the game. In the end, I can deal with it because I LOVE the NWN playstyle.

 

Game over.

[Dark_Raven]

Yeah, because disliking a game = whining. I like the game, and I can easily see their complaints. Their complaints are usually logical unlike many fanboys' defense of the game (ie. it's your computer not the game, lololololollipop).

 

There's A LOT wrong with the game. In the end, I can deal with it because I LOVE the NWN playstyle.

 

Game over.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Blah blah, blah. Thanks for the memories!

 

If those clowns can't post their complaints in a civilized and respectful way, they get what ever is coming their way. Simple.

 

Game Over!

 

R00fles!

[taks]

the problem is that some folks come in and simply want someone to stroke their ego by saying "yeah, the game sucks, you're right." THAT is when it is whining.

 

taks

[Volourn]

Pot. Kettle. Black.

 

Most critisism is done in a civilized manner. Can't always say the same for the fanboyism.

 

 

 

"There's nothing wrong with the game."

 

Yo, Taks, look at that. NWN2 is perfect.

 

 

Taks: I can agree with that. :cool:

Edited November 8, 2006 by Volourn

[Dark_Raven]

Pot. Kettle. Black.

 

Most critisism is done in a civilized manner. Can't always say the same for the fanboyism.

 

 

 

"There's nothing wrong with the game."

 

Yo, Taks, look at that. NWN2 is perfect.

 

 

Taks: I can agree with that.  :cool:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[taks]

Yo, Taks, look at that. NWN2 is perfect.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you'll never hear that from me. i've pointed out several flaws (my opinion of course) in many threads. so far, however, this is certainly one of the most stable games i have bought in quite some time. most of my complaints are minor implementation issues. definitely one of the most fun games, too. of course, that could simply be due to my starvation for _anything_ worth playing lately.

 

the gothics never really managed to capture me, and i've heard the latest is a bug-fest. NWN was meh, though i did enjoy HotU and several modules. toee was simply, well... you know. PoRII... don't even get me started. dragonshard, a bit of a departure, though still "related," is meh. there were a few others that i cannot even recall that i got some enjoyment out of, but the fact that i can't even remember their names says a lot about their overall worth. going back a little further was IWD2, but that was one of the most dramatic love/hate relationships i've ever had with a game.

 

taks

[taks]

oh yeah... morrowind doesn't blow, it sucks. and oblivion. similar to the gothics, i never got drawn in. there are some mechanics issues with these, too, that i absolutely cannot stand. lots of rinse and repeat questing, which is what i didn't like about NWN OC.

 

taks

[Volourn]

Don't have to debate me when it comes to stability. Stability is one thing I have no issue with NWN2 over.

Edited November 9, 2006 by Volourn

[taks]

yeah, so rare these days. i understand it is difficult to predict every possible HW/SW combo, but sometimes, it's just ridiculous. Ultima 9 comes to mind. nobody on the planet could run that. you had to wonder if anyone actually installed it prior to going gold, let alone testing the master copy. sheesh. there was a system hog once it was running, too. i wonder how it would do now?

 

taks

[alanschu]

The only real issue I have with the game are some interface issues, as well as AI (but you'll hear me criticize virtually every game for its AI, so meh).

 

I don't even care that the attack animation for Cleave doesn't show up (making Great Cleave with a powerful character a particularly humourous site).

[taks]

yeah, i noticed that. suddenly you have all these "cleave" hits running around the screen and your dwarf is standing there waiting for his next round animation. sorta funny.

 

AI still has a long way to go with any game i've played. nothing unusual there...

 

taks

[Tigranes]

Sawyer's logic apparently was that Cleave is supposed to be a FREE action, but all animations take time, and thus it cannot be free = so when you have a level 20 fighter cleaivng 6 opponents it takes up a lot longer than it should.

 

So now we have people falling over with blood spurting out for no reason. Personally I wouldnt mind losing that time and would rather have the animations, NWN1 style, but it's not that big a deal.

 

I play with Puppet Mode on and pause to order every action. I wish they'd still have basic AI (if I tell you to attack, once he dies move on to nearest enemy) but it's the best way IMO.

 

edit: Also, Take Freedom Away 101:

in the bandit camp near Fort Locke, the bandit chief and his lackeys are in a room; you CANT attack them, even with a massive fireball, before you talk to them. Then of course, my wizard is immediately surrounded by 5 thugs and pounded down. :crazy:

 

Edited November 9, 2006 by Tigranes

[roshan]

I dont even have an option for Vsync it seems? Cant find it under options and not in the *.ini file

 

 

Id better look again..  edit: nope, its not there?!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

it's not an NWN2 option. only through your windows control panel can you set it.

 

right click on your desktop. click the "Settings" tab. click the "Advanced" button at the bottom. one of the tabs will be either "GeForce <whatever>" or something similar for ATI. if it's a GeForce, click that tab and a little sticky will pop up on the left. the top option will be "GeForce FX <whatever>". click that and then "Performance & Quality Settings." there will be several things on the next screen, including a scroll-bar list titled "Settings" under the "Global driver settings" box. scroll down to "Vertical sync" and click it. at the bottom, a slider will appear with another check-box that says "Application-controlled." uncheck that box and move the slider to the left (or wherever the "off" position is).

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i have an ati radeon 9800 pro and i cant find the option anywhere.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ive got the same card. You can find the vsync option at the bottom in the opengl and direct3d tabs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

where? in the control panel? i just can't find it

 

me = dumb

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Right click on your desktop, click on properties, then settings, then advanced, and then direct3d.

[roshan]

Actually, NWN2 doesnt have too much going for it. Its got great graphics and music, great joinables, a decent plot and multiple ways to solve quests and situations.

 

However its got a lot of repetitive encounters (I swear if I have to fight another thug I might quit playing the game), a clunky interface, several bugs(power attack is the worst of them), horrible party control, the worst party AI Ive ever seen in a game, is too easy for the most part, doesnt give the player any freedom to explore, doesnt let the player kill who he/she wants to, has areas that are pretty much empty etc etc etc.

 

I think that the game really needs to be polished up quite a bit.

[Tigranes]

How is the interface clunky, except for the small response lag and the lack of a Select All button?

 

I can't speak for content yet, but buttons are responsive (the only lag is in movement even with my crappy computer and bad fps), its not actually that bothersome to control your party (which is what you should be doing anyway, not leaving them up to stupidity) and it's not any easier than all the other RPGs in the last 3-4 years.

[roshan]

How is the interface clunky, except for the small response lag and the lack of a Select All button?

 

I can't speak for content yet, but buttons are responsive (the only lag is in movement even with my crappy computer and bad fps), its not actually that bothersome to control your party (which is what you should be doing anyway, not leaving them up to stupidity) and it's not any easier than all the other RPGs in the last 3-4 years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Lots of things.

 

Power Attack is bugged. (I never claimed all buttons are unresponsive, just PA)

You need to type the name of the game again whenever you save.

Inventory items need to be dragged around.

No option to reverse the camera controls.

No options for reassigning or mapping keys.

No option to use WSAD for the camera instead of movement.

You select the characters at one corner of the screen and access their inventories at the exact opposite end.

It takes two clicks to open up a characters inventory or character screen instead of the usual 1 click in most games.

The delay in bringing up the right click menu.

 

There are a lot of other examples for why the interface isnt good.

 

I would rather control my party then rely on AI but the lack of the ability to select groups of characters and issue them commands as a group makes it very difficult and time consuming. The infinity engine games gave us options for basic AI as well as some very good scripts for different classes and playstyles. But here the only choices are between completely **** AI and no AI at all. When you are fighting a massive horde of zombies it can be very tiresome to continously direct your characters to the next zombie. It is also very irritating to see one fighter surrounded by enemies and getting killed while your other fighter character stands right behind him doing absolutely nothing.

 

When I had Qara on scaled back casting, the supposed conservative casting mode, she kept frying the rest of my party with lightning bolts, the highest level spell she had access to.

 

When I turned off her spellcasting she kept running up to enemies and attacking them in melee. Another problem with the game is that the characters keep running towards each other even during combat. I keep having to order them to stand their ground. And stand your ground only works until another party member is selected upon which the command needs to be issued again.

 

The party controls, interface and AI in this game are an absolute nightmare, it may even be the worst among all the PC games that I have played for a significant amount of time.

[Volourn]

"it's not any easier than all the other RPGs in the last 3-4 years."

 

Yes, it is. At minimu,m it's at the level of thew KOTORs if not even easier.

 

And, while I'm not as anti NWN2's controls as Roshan as I've gotten used to them for the most part; he does make a LOT of great points.

 

 

[roshan]

I actually like NWN2. Its one of those rare games where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Edited November 9, 2006 by roshan

[taks]

Inventory items need to be dragged around.

i'm curious what you mean by this?

 

You select the characters at one corner of the screen and access their inventories at the exact opposite end.

my inventory screen comes up next to the character portraits.

 

It takes two clicks to open up a characters inventory

one click: i

 

or character screen instead of the usual 1 click in most games.

one click: c

 

The delay in bringing up the right click menu.

this is adjustable in the game options.

 

taks

[Oerwinde]

NWN2 is one of the best games I've played in a long time. There are enough options that playing through a couple times is almost a must. I'm nearing the end of chapter 3 and reading forums has brought up something over a dozen quests I had missed. Its definitely stable, I've only experienced one crash to desktop and I've been playing it pretty much non-stop.

 

Eagerly awaiting the inevitible expansion.