NWN2: Major disappointment - Character creation

[funcroc]

So few  ... time for writing up a translation and posting it here... might take some time...

 

No. I just wanted to say there are some English (and German, Spanish, etc) Magazine reviews already.

Edited October 31, 2006 by funcroc

[Jorian Drake]

No. I just wanted to say there are some English (and German, Spanish, etc) Magazine reviews already.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

add hungarian to the list

[karka]

Still no reviews, no detailed player impressions about gameplay, story, RP.... Weird.

 

We have some here (Holland/Belgium)...

(Or do you mean of actual players; not mag-reviewers with retailcopies?)

 

 

Both actual players and major sites like Gamespot, IGN, Gamespy, etc..

[karka]

From Bio. boards:

 

 

Actionbastard:

Hi everyone

 

Bought this game last night and got to play with it for an hour or so. Just wanted to post my initial impression about it (and give those who are waiting to get it something to read ;p.

 

Before saying anything though, I was a big fan of the NWN OC, and knew pretty much what to expect before buying NWN2. I say this because I saw complaints about the UI and not enough facial features and whatnot. It looked like those people had never played/liked NWN. If you did not like NWN, I'm confident that you will also NOT like NWN2.

 

So far, I've very much enjoyed the character creation process and even went through the tutorial for nostalgia's sake. The game is very much like NWN with a more sophisticated, but similar, UI and better graphics.

 

I'm not going to go through the details of playing the character creation process and the tutorial because most of you have seen it on the demos.

 

One important point about graphics : I have an AMD 64 3200+, 2G RAM, and an ATI X800pro video card. So my system is somewhat on the lower border of the recommended specs. I can play the game at a smooth frame rate at 1280 x 1024 with low shadows and meduium textures. If I switch to high quality textures, the game still runs fine but I have not gotten far enough in the story to make any further assessment.

 

Overall, if you were a fan of the original game, you will not be disappointed with your purchase of the sequel. For the 1st hour or so of playing at least ;p. Beyond that, I couldn't tell ya.

 

Most important part is "If you did not like NWN, I'm confident that you will also NOT like NWN2."

[funcroc]

another

 

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewt...&forum=109&sp=0

 

First impressions.

 

The game has a very different feel to it from NWN1. The artwork on the character screens and store inventories seems more like an Ultima or Gothica game to me. The feel of the mouse isn

[Azarkon]

Hmm. I think character customization is an issue, mostly because NWN 2 is not only a SP game but also a MP game and in MP games, people want their avatars to represent themselves. However, we're talking about the SP here, and the lack of Oblivion-like character customization didn't exactly kill KOTOR, another game where characters take up "1/3rd" of the screen, so I'm leaning towards the idea that the significance of this issue is exacerbated by the fact that many people find NWN 2's models "ugly" and therefore particularly un-representative of their personal fantasies. The increased resolution and lack of portraits contribute to the problem.

 

I wonder what prompted Obsidian to go with this style of D&D graphics, as opposed to giving in to the more prevalent theme, these days, of making characters super models.

Edited October 31, 2006 by Azarkon

[karka]

It's out in U.K. also.

 

http://www.gameseek.co.uk/pd/PCyatkw9qe695...winter-Nights-2

[Riftworm]

Hmm.  I think character customization is an issue, mostly because NWN 2 is not only a SP game but also a MP game and in MP games, people want their avatars to represent themselves.  However, we're talking about the SP here, and the lack of Oblivion-like character customization didn't exactly kill KOTOR, another game where characters take up "1/3rd" of the screen, so I'm leaning towards the idea that the significance of this issue is exacerbated by the fact that many people find NWN 2's models "ugly" and therefore particularly un-representative of their personal fantasies.  The increased resolution and lack of portraits contribute to the problem.

 

I wonder what prompted Obsidian to go with this style of D&D graphics, as opposed to giving in to the more prevalent theme, these days, of making characters super models.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not supermodels. I just think a few more options to make your character look less like everyone else and more like I want would be better. Also the options they do have the features of the models look like Burt Reynolds after his face lift. They stare blankly back at you as if they just had injections of botox. They don't look "real". They don't have an organic sculpted look.

[Hassat Hunter]

Translation (as best as possible; some words/expressions are hard to find English words for);

 

It was a clouded night in Neverwinter. It didn't stop raining for days and many supersticious citizens feared that, after the war with Luskan, a new doom was threatning the city. Most people stayed at home and prayed the gods to prevent the impending doom. Thus the graveyard was abonded; yet this peace would be forcefully abrupted this night. Footsteps neared and a man in black appeared in sight. This man wore a cape hiding half of his face. He clearly knew why he was at this place during this dark hour. He got a staff from beneath his cape, muttered some words and knocked on the "zerk (what's that?)", who opened immediately. Then the man started to pull coffins from the grave. Mades crawled out of the bodies, no quiet meal for them tonight. A few spells later; the corpses raised from their coffins and moved toward the exit of the graveyard. The man in black nodded approvingly, his task was done. The dead lived once again...

 

PRELUDE

Previous mentioned event plays far from the main char however. In West Harbor, where you live, it is still peacefully and quiet. Not only did the sun shine for several days, there is also a faire in town. The tutorial let's you explore this faire quite extensively and learns you the various game mechanics. For example you'll learn combat and how to open chests with a rogue. After you completed these games, it is time for the true game. To true Neverwinter Nights tradition your vilage is being attacked for apparently unknown reason by hostile creatures. They are under command by some Githyanki, creatures from another dimension who rarely "honor" Faer

[Azarkon]

I can't agree with his assessment of NWN. Personally, I hated the NWN OC and couldn't see how Bioware could've done such a crappy job at the game. Whether NWN 2 improves upon that remains to be seen - somehow, I doubt it could be worse, simply because it'd take a monumental effort to be as bland and uninvolving as the NWN OC.

Edited October 31, 2006 by Azarkon

[Jorian Drake]

"...NWN2 allows one to become one of the Nine ..."

 

 

And this is simply wrong, it shouldn't be possible to be one of the nine <_<

 

so it becomes a 'ten'? or you just kick out of them one and take the place?

only a step further and the prestige class allows you to become a God

....or a prestige class to bacome Elminster or Drizz't

 

The Nine are unique, as all other identities, SHOULDN'T be able to do that.

 

 

 

...The only overpowered possible prestige class i could think about to be is the 'Bhaal Spawn', and I really suggest to change 'the nine' to 'chosen of mystra', it would be much better.

[Volourn]

LONG LIVE NWN1 + NWN2!!!

[J.E. Sawyer]

Pretty odd that the reviewer encountered so many crash bugs. I played through the entire OC and never crashed a single time. There were certainly AI bugs, UI bugs, and plenty of C and D gameplay bugs in our final release candidate, but a lot of those have also been fixed in Patch 1.

 

In terms of overall bugginess, I'd put this above the original IWD and KotOR2, about a light year above the original BG. It's probably buggier than IWD2 and BG2.

[funcroc]

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/sh...?t=30106&page=3

 

I will say that I encountered no major bugs - just a bunch of minor graphical glitches, or errors in text descriptions (and I doubt most players would have even noticed a lot of those - I just tend to do crazy things like have my weasel pull up descriptions of different enemies).

[Noceur]

"Obsidian Entertainment and bugs, the subject causes for alot of fury. But, alas, Obsidian does it again!"

 

I wonder if this guy is refering to KOTOR 2 or NWN 1 (which can't be right, since Obsidian didn't make that one)... I didn't have a single crash or game-stopping bug in KOTOR2. In fact, the only bugs I had where some looping convos, and one other dialogue bug. Oh, and that one planet that made the FPS drop (that you had to fix by clicking soft-shadows on/off or off/on).

[Bokishi]

More reviews! let's see more reviews

[Hassat Hunter]

I wonder if this guy is refering to KOTOR 2 or NWN 1 (which can't be right, since Obsidian didn't make that one)...

 

Kotor2.

And I wonder how you could avoid it's bugginess. Okay; I didn't have crashes either... but did have a few gamestopping glitches and alot of the other mentioned issues.

Not to mention the total lack of teammate AI

 

I usually gave everyone commands all the time.

Best way to notice the wacky AI (all given commands ignored; engaging standard attack)

Edited October 31, 2006 by Hassat Hunter

[Noceur]

I wonder if this guy is refering to KOTOR 2 or NWN 1 (which can't be right, since Obsidian didn't make that one)...

 

Kotor2.

And I wonder how you could avoid it's bugginess. Okay; I didn't have crashes either... but did have a few gamestopping glitches and alot of the other mentioned issues.

Not to mention the total lack of teammate AI

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I was all over KOTOR 2, and never once got a gamestopping bug. Must be in the order you do things then. Heh, never really thought about the AI, I usually gave everyone commands all the time.

[Joseph Bulock]

One thing about the above posted review is that we cannot be sure of what build he was actually playing. As I have heard, some European reviewers played builds that were not the release candidates, and might have contained bugs that were not in the actual release.

[Darque]

Who cares about character's created appearance.

 

How do the clothes, robes and armor look? :D

[Maedhros]

The spanish PC videogame magazine "MICROMANIA" (november issue) has made a review of NWN2. This magazine is the most famous in the industry and have a good reputationmaking fair reviews (i buy it every month since 15 yeas ago and imho it is a very profesional and quality product).

 

Single player points 96/100 (oblivion had 95 ghotic 3 90)

Multiplayer points 98/100 -

 

graphics 5/6, music 4/6, gameplay 5/6, difficulty 4/6

 

i will try to translate a couple of sentences

of the review (sorry about my english);

 

-"The king has returned, long life to the king".

-"If you are looking for an RPG with the feeling of old classics and an awesome gameplay ; this is your game".

-"An incredible adventure;The single campaign is more than 40 hours and its history is deep like an splendid epic novel"

 

[funcroc]

Congratulations, Joseph! You became a junior designer.

[Hassat Hunter]

One thing about the above posted review is that we cannot be sure of what build he was actually playing.  As I have heard, some European reviewers played builds that were not the release candidates, and might have contained bugs that were not in the actual release.

 

The reviewcopy Atari sended them (they discussed reviewcopy bugginess around this rush-for-holiday-time somewhere else in the mag)... I doubt the publisher would send out older versions as such and get worse reviews; what good would it do them? Then again... they did keep sending out movies of older versions

[Pop]

what good would it do them?

Probably clear up some piracy issues. Nobody wants to illegally distribute something that's not the final product.

 

I remain optimistic. Lack of avatar choice in a game is a pet peeve, not a deal breaker.

 

As for the whole nine thing, perhaps we should start using

spoilers. Of course the Nine thing doesn't make sense, but maybe we're misinterpreting it. The nine are all 25+ level demigods. It's possible, since the PC is a key to some great evil power's plans (what with the sword and all) that he would be put under the Nine's protection at some point. That's at least what makes sense to me. Or alternately, one of the Nine is a ghost, so perhaps when you reach higher levels you're taken in as a replacement or made an "unofficial" member, or maybe you just work enough for the Nine as to be associated with them as a member, even though you really aren't. Of course, this "Nine" business is a little odd, seeing how I remember Mr. Sawyer (or was it MCA?) saying that none of the broadly recognizable FR characters would show up in NWN2. Maybe I'm just too much of an FR nerd to realize that the Nine are in fact not that important, but that's not very likely. Elminster? Khelben? The former is probably the most recognizable character in all of D&D.

 

[Volourn]

Wrong'the Nine'.

 

'The Nine' PrC is in reference to the Nine of Neverwinter which are Lord Nasher's elite bodyguards. i presume the PC has a chance in the OC to become a member...