What is known so far

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:36 am

This is information gathered from the boards and various unofficial FAQs out there.

Developers:
Obsidian Entertianment will develop Neverwinter Nights 2. They will get aid from BioWare as to the working of Neverwinter Nights.

Publisher:
Atari will publish the game.

Game Engine:
The game engine used will be a tweaked version of the Auroa (Neverwinter Nights). It will be made to utilize the functions of DirectX 9. It will run using the Direct3D component.

Setting:
The game will play out in the Forgotten Realms. And it is stated that the city Neverwinter will likely be an important part of the game.

Rule set:
The rule set has currently been set to version 3.5 D&D

Levels:
The game will most likely at release contain a level cap of 20. This is due to balancing the single player.

Multiplayer:
The game will be both single player and multiplayer.

Compatibility:
The developers will strive to make the game as compatible with Neverwinter Nights as possible, so community efforts can be reused.

Release:
The game is currently set for a release in 2006.

Platform:
So far it has been announced as PC only.

Paranitis · Post by **Paranitis** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 2:05 pm

It's nice to know there is SOME info on the game..even though it is useless information to me..what I want to know is what the story is about..because it can't be another plague in neverwinter..and at the end of HotU after you take down big red it mentions him wanting to get revenge and it being "another story"..so I would have thought the game would continue from HotU or something. They better freaking have Deekin make an appearance! Especially with his cute little wings!

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 12:45 am

The gamestory will almost certainly not be continuing HotU or NwN:OC. This is visible by the expected level cap.

It would be like building a BG3 continuing BG2:ToB with insane levels and overpowered items.

Paranitis · Post by **Paranitis** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 2:47 am

Yeah, I know..just saying that they can't just redo the old story.

And they need to have an appearance by Deekin!

Admo · Post by **Admo** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 7:42 am

[QUOTE=Xandax]The gamestory will almost certainly not be continuing HotU or NwN:OC. This is visible by the expected level cap.

It would be like building a BG3 continuing BG2:ToB with insane levels and overpowered items.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps they could take elements out of those stories though. I mean, a brand new story for a brand new character, but either a continuation of the stories from NWN/SoU/HotU, or with lots of references to it. Would make it much better IMO than completely disassociating with the original and expansions.

Obviously you wouldn't meet your character, but if (like they say will be the case in KotOR2) you could enter some basic details about how you played out the others (or saying you didn't, perhaps random details for those that didn't) and the story contains references to your old character and what happened after the game finished. Would be a very good addition if you ask me, gives it a much greater role-playing feel, like you are just part of an ever-expanding story.

Paranitis · Post by **Paranitis** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 8:22 am

Well, you COULD have it set up so that BG3 reads other games a little bit..meaning that if you were the good guy in BG1/2 that it would give references to that, if you were the good or bad guy in IWD then mention that..and if you were a good or bad guy in NWN then mention that a little bit. Could even have guest cameos from other characters based on how you did in other games. Wouldn't focus the game on the other games..but say like..with me in NWN..

..I ended HotU with Deekin still alive, and he is my friend at the end and it says he goes back to his cave and becomes the chieftan and tries to get his kobolds to be good guys..possibly have Deekin mentioned in BG3..could have a large group of kobolds with Deekin leading them against some other decent sized force of say..goblins..then you help out the kobolds and Deekin thanks you, gives you a copy of his book, and then the kobolds go on their way..

..BUT if you didn't play NWN or end that game like that..say Deekin hates you at the end..then have it so that you and your group just comes up against a large group of goblins that you have to fight, and nothing is special about the encounter..it's just another "random" encounter..

..could have little special things like that happen from time to time and have BG3 read what you accomplished in all the other games to get a little more content out of it.

asurademon · Post by **asurademon** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 11:46 pm

I'm looking forward to hearing more about this game. What I'd really really love to see personally; the option of adding wings and tail to PC characters without a separate program, and more races (especially tieflings and aasimar would be nice, they are my favorites as far as +1 level adjustment and below races go). If Drow are prominent having them as PCs might be a good idea. And yes prestige classes would be good to have, the ones in the 2nd expansion were great. I personally think the 2nd expansion made a huge improvement on the game. Oh yeah, and don't have the first act drag on so painfully long, it really seemed to go way too slow to me. Maybe something a little bit different could be done to at least make it not seem so monotonous. Referances to the first game, and perhaps the expansions, would be nice as well.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 10:46 pm

Well - the adding of "tails and wings" they have said nothing about. It could be in the toolset - but I doubt you would see thiefling and aasimar(?) as playable races.

Ravager · Post by **Ravager** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:07 pm

I know this is an old thread, but I thought it might help a few more people if it was updated...

(And I didn't think it really deserved a new thread)

[QUOTE=Xandax]Game Engine:
The game engine used will be a tweaked version of the Auroa (Neverwinter Nights). It will be made to utilize the functions of DirectX 9. It will run using the Direct3D component.[/QUOTE]

The updated engine is now being called Electron.

The release date may be in June, though on the main FAQ it's simply listed as Summer 2006.

SLI and 64-bit CPU's are supported (though Windows XP x64 edition is not).

Something I noted from the Game FAQ:
[QUOTE=FAQ]Will Neverwinter Nights 2 make use of advanced features of newer video cards? [/b]

Yes – The game fully supports Shader Model 2.0 and 3.0 cards (such as the NVIDIA GeForce 6 and 7 series and the ATI Radeon X1800) to achieve stunning visual effects at a much higher framerate than possible on older video cards.

The game requires at least a DirectX 9.0c compatible video card that supports at least Shader Model 2.0.[/QUOTE]
NWN2 Official Site - FAQ
This might cause problems for a few people...though, I believe older video cards than the ones mentioned may run NWN2 such as the GeForce FX5600 (and greater/newer as long as it has 128MB) and the same 128MB+ requirement for ATI cards (found here: http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/vi ... 4&forum=99)

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:36 am

The manual is online, and approved by Obsidian Entertainment, which provided a link to it on their forum site. You can find it here. Mind, some of this information may be out of date, so don't take it for final copy.

I'm for one pretty damn intrigued over the "complete control" of your party members as mentioned in the manual, and which explicitly differs from using the character AI. I have to wonder if this means a return to the good old days when we could tell each character in a party what to do, making combat more strategic, instead of the laughable party AI in NWN1 that led to henchmen and summoned creatures getting stuck far behind you, or attacking when you didn't wish it, or not attacking when you do.