NWN2: Storm of Zehir is out!

[karka]

Well, I'm not. I hate KotOR II. For me, It's one of the worst sequels ever made.

[Matthew Rorie]

Wasnt SoZ billed as being "like IWD"? Meaning, no VO or party banter at all? Just a traveling party of mutes.

I don't remember. Can anyone else confirm this?

 

We've consistently used Icewind Dale as a comparison for the game, along with Fallout and Darklands and a few other inspirations, although we've never said it would be devoid of dialogue (there's still a decent amount of VO in the game, just not for every single conversation option from every party member). The focus here is on Full Party Creation with fewer companions to bring along for the ride (although you can still find over 10 of those as you play). Dialogue is intended to propel your adventure, and the game is well-written, but SOZ is really about adventuring and seeking out fortune and glory instead of talking to an NPC for ten solid minutes. We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion.

 

You can find some player impressions on the official forums, in threads like this and this, or at GameSpot, and I hear there are a bunch over at RPG Codex.

 

Relevant quote with respect to the comments above:

 

Conversation: The party conversation system is remarkably well done. If anyone in the party has dialogue options the current speaker does not, a speech bubble will appear on their portrait, and you can click on them to see what they have to say. Much of the time these options are skill related (ranging from bluff and diplomacy to craft and use magic device), but other factors provide their own options. Two of my characters, a LG doomguide and a CN warlock, often have a different response to given circumstances. When talking to a particularly polite servant, for instance, the doomguide would remark on the honor the servant was showing her while the warlock bluntly told the servant that there was no need for his toadying.

 

I was also pleased to find that the cohorts aren't quite as soulless as we've been lead to believe. While they behave exactly like PCs for the most part, they also seem to have personal responses to certain situations. The druid, for instance, seems to always defend dinosaurs when other people complain about them. In one particular instance, he brags that he and Yushai know a great deal about the surroundings when an NPC enlists the party to explore the region.

 

As with any RPG, SOZ is not going to be all things to all players, but we're pretty excited about the way it turned out and it looks like most of the people who have posted impressions have been pretty positive about it.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Well, I'm not. I hate KotOR II. For me, It's one of the worst sequels ever made.

 

And yet it's your most played game of all time.

Edited November 19, 2008 by Deadly_Nightshade

[Matthew Rorie]

Well, I'm not. I hate KotOR II. For me, It's one of the worst sequels ever made.

 

"ALL TIME: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - 85 hours "

 

[karka]

So no one can claim that I didn't try to love it.

[taks]

There is already a patch for the game. They don't learn.

there's nearly always a patch that comes out with the expansion. it's required so everyone can play together on MP servers without having to buy the expansion pack. also, MoW requires the securerom release that's supposed to come out with SoZ, which means a patch for that alone.

 

taks

[Matthew Rorie]

So no one can claim that I didn't try to love it.

 

Well we appreciate that you tried, at any rate. God knows I've played some games for a lot longer than they deserved, in retrospect.

 

But let's keep the discussion on SOZ! If you really like games that keep the mean-time-between-Yuan-ti-asskicking to a minimum, it'll be right up your alley.

[taks]

30$ for a game... , maybe in the bargain bin.

1998... wait, even the BGs were $40, right? i think i was paying between $20 and $30 for the C64 games in the late 80s, actually.

 

taks

[Matthew Rorie]

30$ for a game... , maybe in the bargain bin.

1998... wait, even the BGs were $40, right? i think i was paying between $20 and $30 for the C64 games in the late 80s, actually.

 

taks

 

I remember paying 70 bucks for an awful game called Iron Helix that came out right as CD-ROM games were first appearing. If you go back into old copies of CGW from 1995 and look at the advertisements for those early game warehouses, most games were 70-80 dollars. I know Final Fantasy II was 80 bucks when I bought it.

[Rosbjerg]

I almost feel ashamed that I forgot to keep track of the release date!

 

Well - downloading from Atari in a minute - since it probably won't be released in Europe for a few days .. and will cost twice as much.

 

Edit: Yeah, I should have read my order, it won't be availabe until tomorrow. Heh.

[Pidesco]

I'm trying to control myself, as my budget for this month is already stretched as it is.

 

 

By the way, for us Euros, SoZ is fairly cheap from Play.com.

[Nightshape]

OMG! With all the releases of late this one totally flew past me without me noticing...

[GreasyDogMeat]

I've waited an extra pointless year for MoW, I can wait a bit longer for SoZ.

 

F3 has been keeping me preoccupied.

[Nightshape]

So no one can claim that I didn't try to love it.

 

Well we appreciate that you tried, at any rate. God knows I've played some games for a lot longer than they deserved, in retrospect.

 

But let's keep the discussion on SOZ! If you really like games that keep the mean-time-between-Yuan-ti-asskicking to a minimum, it'll be right up your alley.

 

How would SOZ be suited to multiplayer? Thought I may play it at work with some folks...

[Marcus]

I'm trying to control myself, as my budget for this month is already stretched as it is.

 

 

By the way, for us Euros, SoZ is fairly cheap from Play.com.

Good deal. Maybe I will get it this week. I'm hoping to get some insight from other players. Neverwinter II's original campeigns and first expansion were very entertaining, so I'm hoping for a repeate in new experiences and such.

[Magister Lajciak]

I didn't manage to find it in the local store today. The earliest next opportunity I will get to buy it will probably be over the weekend. Download is not an option, because I despise online activations, so I will probably have to wait until the weekend at least.

[Gfted1]

Ill probably get SoZ at some point but right now Im burning my way through Northrend (WoW). AND AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, I WILL LEARN 3.5E!!!11!

 

Just in time to learn 4E.

Edited November 19, 2008 by Gfted1

[Magister Lajciak]

We've consistently used Icewind Dale as a comparison for the game, along with Fallout and Darklands and a few other inspirations, although we've never said it would be devoid of dialogue (there's still a decent amount of VO in the game, just not for every single conversation option from every party member). The focus here is on Full Party Creation with fewer companions to bring along for the ride (although you can still find over 10 of those as you play). Dialogue is intended to propel your adventure, and the game is well-written, but SOZ is really about adventuring and seeking out fortune and glory instead of talking to an NPC for ten solid minutes. We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion.

 

Yeah, this is true - Icewind Dale comparisons were plentiful, as was the emphasis on the gameplay/party system/overland map, rather than story/dialogue. It will be an interesting test whether Obsidian can shine in those areas, because other Obsidian games were particularly strong on the dialogue/story and MotB was absolutely superb in these. Indeed, it is these aspects that attracted me to Obsidian's games in the first place, so it will be interesting to see how well you guys have pulled of a less story/dialogue driven game.

[Marcus]

Wasnt SoZ billed as being "like IWD"? Meaning, no VO or party banter at all? Just a traveling party of mutes.

I don't remember. Can anyone else confirm this?

 

We've consistently used Icewind Dale as a comparison for the game, along with Fallout and Darklands and a few other inspirations, although we've never said it would be devoid of dialogue (there's still a decent amount of VO in the game, just not for every single conversation option from every party member). The focus here is on Full Party Creation with fewer companions to bring along for the ride (although you can still find over 10 of those as you play). Dialogue is intended to propel your adventure, and the game is well-written, but SOZ is really about adventuring and seeking out fortune and glory instead of talking to an NPC for ten solid minutes. We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion.

 

You can find some player impressions on the official forums, in threads like this and this, or at GameSpot, and I hear there are a bunch over at RPG Codex.

 

Relevant quote with respect to the comments above:

 

Conversation: The party conversation system is remarkably well done. If anyone in the party has dialogue options the current speaker does not, a speech bubble will appear on their portrait, and you can click on them to see what they have to say. Much of the time these options are skill related (ranging from bluff and diplomacy to craft and use magic device), but other factors provide their own options. Two of my characters, a LG doomguide and a CN warlock, often have a different response to given circumstances. When talking to a particularly polite servant, for instance, the doomguide would remark on the honor the servant was showing her while the warlock bluntly told the servant that there was no need for his toadying.

 

I was also pleased to find that the cohorts aren't quite as soulless as we've been lead to believe. While they behave exactly like PCs for the most part, they also seem to have personal responses to certain situations. The druid, for instance, seems to always defend dinosaurs when other people complain about them. In one particular instance, he brags that he and Yushai know a great deal about the surroundings when an NPC enlists the party to explore the region.

 

As with any RPG, SOZ is not going to be all things to all players, but we're pretty excited about the way it turned out and it looks like most of the people who have posted impressions have been pretty positive about it.

 

Thanks for the links. I will read through them.

 

"We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion."

Are you pissed or something? Not every fan of Obsidian's reads all the articles. I want an apology.

[taks]

AND AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, I WILL LEARN 3.5E!!!11!

if there is a god, i swear he does not want to witness the travesty that has become D&D... ahem!

 

i've got a buddy at home telling me he's getting 12 Mbits/s on his DL. i'm guessing that'll ramp down once it gets going (mine peaks real high sometimes, too, and we have the same cable service). anyway, i'm tempted to leave the orifice just to find out. the make your own party thing sounds cool. an evoker, a f/wm, a rouge and a cleric.

 

taks

 

ps: yes, spelling intended.

[Matthew Rorie]

"We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion."

Are you pissed or something? Not every fan of Obsidian's reads all the articles. I want an apology.

 

Pissed at what? I'm just letting you know what's been our company line on the product since we first started talking about it. If you thought it was some kind of attack, then I certainly am sorry about that, but that wasn't my intent.

[Marcus]

Edit -

I didn't see your above post. Just leave out 'in my opinion'. Its used in reference to make a smug attack. Apology is accepted.

 

You guys shouldn't expect all of the fans to read or memorize every detail. Thanks for the apology.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Marcus

[Gorth]

"We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion."

Are you pissed or something? Not every fan of Obsidian's reads all the articles. I want an apology.

How about a chill pill? >_

 

It's not like they've made a secret of what the game was about. Actually, it feels like we've been hit over the head with a sledgehammer about it (as in just about every single preview, interview, prerelease review and forums).

[Marcus]

"We've been pretty up front about that, in my opinion."

Are you pissed or something? Not every fan of Obsidian's reads all the articles. I want an apology.

How about a chill pill?

 

It's not like they've made a secret of what the game was about. Actually, it feels like we've been hit over the head with a sledgehammer about it (as in just about every single preview, interview, prerelease review and forums).

What happened to me was that all the information turned into white noise. Since there was so much information being thrown at me, I stopped paying attention to all of the details, interviews, and articles. Maybe there is a flaw in overwhelming the fanbase with so much information. People stop paying attention.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Marcus

[Killian Kalthorne]

What happened to me was that all the information turned into white noise. Since there was so much information being thrown at me, I stopped paying attention to all of the details, interviews, and articles. Maybe there is a flaw in overwhelming the fanbase with so much information. People stop paying attention.

 

And how is that Obsidian's fault and not yours?