Did it live up to its hype

Dezarond the Red · Post by **Dezarond the Red** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 1:45 am

I just got into baldurs gate 2 again and log onta gamebanshee and NwN is out...all be damned...but i wanted to know from people who have played the game
1.Did it live up to hype
2.Do i need to go get the game right now
3.How does damage work in this game
?
?
?
well that it....thx for the help(if you help me...if not then....thx form trying

)

Eriks · Post by **Eriks** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 1:58 am

I don't know if it lived up to its hype but I will tell you that it is a great game

Lots of fun in single player and the toolset plus online play are great!

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 2:25 am

Though I'm not too far in the game.
I have to say it plays very nicely, can't really put my finger om it... but it does have charisma.
The game isn't as heavy on the specs as I would have thought. Perhaps this is due to the camera position, it always points down. Meaning your graficcard won't have to draw the sky and long distances.

Bewair of the bugs though.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 3:29 am

Don't know yet - I*ve only played a small part of the single player part, but it is the multiplayer part I look forward to, and the module-making

BUt looking at the possibilities in multiplayer I think it can be huge.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 5:57 am

Going through the campaign multiplayer with others and doing it competitively. It is a battle for who can advance the farthest and sort of a highlander thing. We attack each other all the time. We also decided not to have each others corpses "lootable". It's no fun losing all your stuff. I'd have to say the game is a great buy and provides so many different experiences. Single Player, Multiplayer, being a Dungeon Master, and building your own modules. There are some nasty bugs right now though associated with module building pertaining to conversation creation.

leeman_s · Post by **leeman_s** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 9:24 am

If you ask me, get this game! I think it lived up to it's hype, because I think it is awesome. It's one of those games where you play like 4+ hours per day. It's addicting. I always find myself saying "Ok, ok, just one more quest."

[-Mortician-] · Post by **[-Mortician-]** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 9:53 am

hmmm well lets see

if you're looking for a Baldur's Gate remake in 3D, i think you'll be disappointed. My buddy bought this game only because he thought it would be a "Baldur's Gate 3" and that he could import his old character, but he got screwed over. This game plays very differently from previous Bioware games, but is still thoroughly enjoyable. I loved every minute of it (except when you have to click on a chest 4 or 5 times just to get that stupid little Tomi to unlock it hehe) besides a few bugs the game rox!

Just dont expect a BG clone, cause thats not what you're getting

Tutoric · Post by **Tutoric** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 11:08 am

It is living up to its hype and will get bigger as more modules are created. The options are endless...

Ges15 · Post by **Ges15** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 11:24 am

It lived up to it's hype. Me and my friend are playing together online and having a great time. It can be addicting to play also. Another tip is to keep track of time while playing because it goes by very fast (atleast for me)

~Ges15

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 7:19 pm

The Toolset certainly didn't live up to the hype in my ever so humble opinion. I cannot alter spells, feats, skills... I fear I will have to wait until Near Infinity is updated for NWN. A great editor, that. No user friendly wizards like the Toolset, but at least you have options!

A shame BioWare leaves so much work to third party developers; the least they could do is build a decent toolset if they want the community to make the mods.

Magus · Post by **Magus** » Sun Jul 07, 2002 4:44 pm

Perhaps Bioware just wanted to limit how much you could tamper with the core rules of the game. Otherwise the whole system could be thrown out of whack by altering things that weren't meant to be changed. And since the game is supposed to be mainly multiplayer, any tampering would have more far-reaching consequences than if it was just a single-player game with multiplayer support.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 8:19 am

Originally posted by Magus
Perhaps Bioware just wanted to limit how much you could tamper with the core rules of the game.

Well... that I could understand, but it's not just the core rules.

For example; I cannot even make a rusty sword worth only 3gp pieces because item prices can only be adjusted upwards. No what? Am I supposed to let each goblin drop 200gp worth of equipment? Or should I go the BioWare way and not let them drop anything even though they clearly use equipment? Both make no sense, and the solution would have been so easy if only the toolset was designed with just that little extra thought.

limorkil · Post by **limorkil** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 9:35 am

Not sure whether it lived up to the hype because I stayed away from the hype. Having played it quite a bit, I'd say that it didn't, really, but hype is hard to live up to most of the time!

Single player is fun, but this is no Baldur's Gate 3. Main problem, from a single player perspective, are:
1. You only play one character (plus a henchman, which can be given limited instruction). Of course, the idea is to play multiplayer with friends.
2. The storyline/quest for the single player game is somewhat shallow and linear compared to the Baldur's Gate games. It's still good, but clearly less time was put into the single player because that is not the focus of NWN.

Actually, the game NWN reminds me of the most is "Darkstone". It's way superior to that game, but it has the same feel when you are playing it because of the way the camera moves and the fact that there are two characters under your control.

I'm not sold on the multiplayer/DM angle. Having played a lot of pen and paper D&D I am sort of disappointed with the limitations of the editor and the DM tool. There's just too many things you cannot change. I still think this aspect is EXCELLENT, just not as good as I hoped for. With any luck, new tools will be release for NWN that will greatly improve these features.

Finally, I have to say my main gripe with the game is the fact that it uses D&D 3rd edition rules. In many ways these rules are both better and worse that AD&D rules. The main problems are:
- Characters only go to level 20 and it doesn't take all that long to get there.
- By level 20, many classes have many of the same skills and abilities. Compared to AD&D, there is much more of a blending of classes.
- Some classes are just way too powerful compared to others. I think this is MORE true that in AD&D.
- The way a character is created (by allocating points) means that many characters of the same class will start with the same stats. I know the rolling method is limited because everyone keeps rolling until they get great stats, but this point allocation method is no less limited. Also, you get to increase your attributes (str, con etc) as you level, meaning that characters of the same class will eventually all look very similar.
I'm not blaming NWN for using these rules, because they are no worse than any other system. It would be good if you were able to CHANGE the rules to suit your tastes, which is what most Dungeon Masters do anyway.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 9:39 am

@Xyx:
Yeah - I've looked at it, and it truly is annoying.
I tried to open it in a Hexeditor (the one I got sucks) to alter the cost value to something else, but did something bad, cause it couldn't import the item again, so either I altered the wrong number, or not enough

Is it possible to alter the store, and if he buys a item with the specific tag, to reduce the money transfered.
I've not looked enough into scripting to see if this works, but I bet it is also hardcoded.

DrSlikk · Post by **DrSlikk** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 7:21 pm

It is a lot more linear in terms of quests and the amount of different areas to visit is also less than in BG2. I'm only in the first chapter, but there is one main quest with 4 components which can be founf in the 4 extensions of the city. U cannot travel to other areas, and are limited in what u can do. Also u can't have a party, only 1 "henchman" that u hire, plus summoned creatures. The party thing is what dissapointed me. In multi u can play with 16 people, why are u limited to 2 in the singleplayer campaign which is the same? Makes no sense Bioware!

Magus · Post by **Magus** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 10:48 pm

@Xyx: You got me there.

Overall, I pretty much agree with what everyone has said. The single-player aspect is good, but pales compared to BG2. I really miss the interactions with multiple party members, as well as the strategy and planning that go with a larger party. Plus, as limorkil stated, the story just seems a lot more shallow. From the very beginning I found trouble justifying why my apathetic PC was wasting his time trying to cure some stupid plague. From his standpoint, he had better things to do. It seems to me that if your character isn't motivated by a desire for fame, fortune, or goodwill, then he just doesn't fit in.

The multiplayer aspect I can't comment on quite yet, as I haven't tried it.

Wooly · Post by **Wooly** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 3:06 am

It seems to me that if your character isn't motivated by a desire for fame, fortune, or goodwill, then he just doesn't fit in.

At the start of a campaign the ideal motivation is a beautiful lady paladin saying, "If you save Neverwinter then me luff you long time." That always gets me.

--Wooly

slowcar · Post by **slowcar** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 5:52 am

At the start of a campaign the ideal motivation is a beautiful lady paladin saying, "If you save Neverwinter then me luff you long time." That always gets me.

hmm, as a halfling woman i can just shake my head in case of such ignorance.

a pally woman will never share your bed unless you share her devotion to her god, hmm?

Magus · Post by **Magus** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 11:13 pm

Originally posted by Wooly

At the start of a campaign the ideal motivation is a beautiful lady paladin saying, "If you save Neverwinter then me luff you long time." That always gets me.

--Wooly

Yeah, that ended up becoming his "improvised" motivation. Improvised because he is by nature solitary and slow to trust, and would never be beguiled by the charms of a complete stranger. I don't know...in BG2 there was just this sense of inexorable fate, of a destiny that refused to be ignored or avoided. To my disappointment, I don't find that in NWN.

*Warning: Prelude/Ch. 1/Ch. 2 overall plot spoilers*

There are also places where the plot just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. For example, why are you, a lone lvl 3 recruit, the only one that can get off his butt and do what needs to be done? What about the paladins of Tyr? Surely there must have been a least a few others besides Aribeth. Nowhere in Ch. 1 did I even see an attempt by an individual or group (besides you) to actively seek out and deal with *any* of the multiple threats plaguing the city. That's just not realistic. I've almost finished Ch. 2, and the pattern of "everyone is helpless but me" continues. Once again, any definite action against the foes of Neverwinter is up to the PC. Sure, others are supposedly "supporting" you, but who's the one who has to plumb the north caves? Who has to brave the dangers of Neverwinter Wood? They place all this burden on a single man, without even the slightest trace of a backup plan, in the probable case that the PC bites the dust? It's really perplexing.

In BG2 I didn't find that. The quest was a personal one, for personal reasons. Sure, you helped this group and that as circumstances required, but at least others had come before you and tried to do what needed to be done, though they inevitably failed. The Shadow Thief quest to defeat the rival guild comes to mind. The Shadow Thieves had done their best to thwart the guild, but hadn't any luck so far. So they hire you, in the hope that you could succeed where they couldn't. In NWN, they hire you, staking all on your success, without a second thought of what could be done to actively assist you, or what should done in case you fail.

Sorry for the long-winded rant. It's something that's been lingering on my mind for a while, and I thought needed to be said.

Wooly · Post by **Wooly** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 11:28 pm

Interesting. In most CRPGs it is inevitable that you, as the hero, are the last, best hope to defeat the oncoming hordes. But you are also right that usually it is explained why all the hopes rest on you. You are the summoner... you are the Nameless One... you are the Son of Bhaal. That is completely missing in the official module. In fact, you are nothing more than a promising recruit at the academy. At most you should be given a scouting assignment while Aribeth brings in the real heroes.

Good call! I have finished the campaign module a couple of times, but never really thought about this from that angle. Perhaps they should have started the player character searching for Never's tomb. You know, "We are all rather busy. You should report to the Priest of Tyr for whatever duties he needs you for. Oh, the Waterdhavian creatures? Surely you jest. You are a recent graduate from the academy. Perhaps better assignments will come your way in a few years. Now run along."

--Wooly