Neverwinter Previews

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Written by BuckGB on July 5th, 2011

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Although you can play solo, there's a real emphasis on partying up (as you'd expect from a Dungeons & Dragons game, really), and whether you choose to recruit other player characters or drag a selection of NPCs along for the ride, making the right call on who to buddy up with is essential.

While the class list won't be finalised until closer to release, all the staples (such as wizards, rangers, clerics and fighters) have been confirmed though, naturally, a larger pool of archetypes would help keep groups feeling fresh and complementary as more and more entirely different adventurers pass through your ranks.

While Cryptic Studios' first foray into the long-running Neverwinter Nights franchise will no doubt feature a meaty main campaign, it is after you have defeated that final boss that the game really promises to take off. User-created content has always been a major feature of the franchise, and Neverwinter is no exception. The title will launch with a toolset called The Foundry that will allow players to create and share adventures, and Velasquez says it will be accessible to as many people as possible, while still offering the depth and customization that hardcore users expect. (Coming into it, you can just click on the map tab and we're doing a very simple drag and drop system in terms of how to place rooms and objects. It's a very intuitive interface for people who want to just get in and start using it.)

Not only will creating modules be easier using The Foundry, uploading and sharing them will be as well. A quick button press will upload your mod to Cryptic's server, which will host all of the game's content, and finding it will involve simply browsing for it through a built-in search feature. Velasquez promises that when the game launches there will be enough assets available (monster packs, environment packs, exteriors, interiors, etc.) to create a whole bunch of adventures. The developers also plan on supporting the game post-launch with even more tile sets, monster packs and player classes, although there is no word yet on whether these things will be available through free updates or paid DLC.

Forgotten Realms is arguably one of the best fantasy settings out there. Not only because it was created with a finesse, but also because of the reason of many memorable names we had come to learn in time who lived there. Drizzt Do'Urden, Elminster, Wulfgar, Cadderly, Jarlaxle and such. There is a significant number of people who prefer Dragonlance books to Forgotten Realms ones (First six books and the Soulforge were great). But still, a considerable portion also believes that FR is a great setting to play a tabletop RPG.

Neverwinter features many of the tabletop elements we have. The game is based on 4th edition rules (personally, I always liked 2 and 2,5) and we will be able to see the creative flexibility of the set in Neverwinter. Of course, the game won't allow us to do everything we want, like we won't be able to name our characters after famous Forgotten Realms characters, but still, the players will have a quality treat. Just as a RPG fan would expect, Neverwinter promises an epic, classical style roleplaying setting.

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