My Sword Coast Legends First Impressions

I grabbed the head start for the upcoming D&D videogame from n-Space last night (the actual release is this coming week) and played it for an hour or so. Overall, I enjoyed it. My system isn't quite up to it, being 7 years old now, so the experience was a bit jerky, but I coped. I really need to upgrade! So, first impression: this is Neverwinter Nights. It looks like NWN in terms of interface and general view (that familiar 3D isometric view). It sounds like NWN. It feels like NWN. The gameplay and plotting feels like NWN. While playing the single player campaign, I could totally believe I was playing NWN.

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I've only tried the single player campaign stuff so far.

Character creation is D&D-ish, but adapted for the format. That's fine by me. I'd have preferred a more direct conversion of the tabletop rules, but it's not a problem. It's quick - choose race, class, background, allocate ability scores, pick some feat/skill type things. It takes a couple of minutes, plus however long you want to spend customizing appearance and voice. The feats/skills are where it really differs from the tabletop game -- it's a branching tree of abilities you purchase with skill points. I had 3 points to spend, and went for Charge I, Charge II, and Charge III for my fighter character.

The biggest issue I had was that it took me ages to realise you could move the viewpoint via WASD. My guys kept moving to the edge of the screen and I couldn't see any further. Once I realised that, it was easy.

So the game - I woke up in a tavern bedroom in a dream sequence. The tavern was on fire. Brief conversation with some allies who said to meet them downstairs. Wandered around upstairs a bit, found some clothes/armor/weapon, went downstairs. Solves a super-easy problem to open a secret basement entrance, went down there, fought some bad knights, met a demon, fade to black.

Then the game started properly. I was guarding a caravan. Wandered round doing the usual talking to everyone and picking up the expected quests - get some mushrooms for one woman, find this guy's brother, get a bit of backstory from this guy, etc. I always struggle with game dialogues which try to give you info about the plot or region, because it's not usually very interesting.

One mild curiosity was the sheer amount of loot just lying around in crates and bags around the caravan camp. Nobody seemed to mind me helping myself, so I grabbed a pile of potions and other stuff. Plus some better armor, weapon, helm, boots, etc.

That's as far as I got. It was late! Overall, if you like the NWN single player stuff, you'll like this, though it is only a brief first impression. I haven't tried the DM stuff, though I hear a rumour those tools are "robust".

 

[EthanSental]

Well, I'm in the minority then as I've thoroughly enjoyed the story mode so far and at level 6. Temple of elemental evil, like mentioned above is about the closest PC game to the ruleset and although I'm a stickler for rules, having to rest after my spell casters used up their 2 spells for the day is a drag. SCL is more fun than pillars to me so it meets my expectations of what I was hoping in the gameplay.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Ethan, the Gold Box games are the PC games that adhered closest to the D&D ruleset. Pool of Radiance, and such.

The "Gold Box Engine" had two main game play modes. Outside of character creation, game play took place in a screen that displayed text interactions, the names and current status of your party of characters, and a window which displayed images of geography, and large or small pictures of characters or events. When combat occurred, which was often in these games, you switched to a full screen combat mode, in which player character icons could move about to cast spells or attack icons representing the enemies. All the games typically involved long dungeon crawls, and were heavier on combat than on role-playing.

This replicated the TT experience: your party explores until they encounter monsters, at which point the game switches to turn-based combat. Character builds, equipment, and spells are strictly AD&D, exactly as they exist in the PHB.

In other words those games were no more or less than D&D, on your computer. And they're widely credited with causing the mass migration of gamers from TT to computers/videogames. They're available in a collection (every game in the series) on GOG for $10: http://www.gog.com/game/forgotten_realms_the_archives_collection_two

Really, that's all I want. A new Gold Box game. I don't need fancy graphics or voice acting. All I need is D&D.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Zaruthustran - I'm fairly certain I've seen far larger numbers than 50.000 for the PHB sales. I think 500.000 would be closer to the real number, and some groups (including my own of 7 people) have only 1 PHB. There's plenty of sales to be made by D&D'ing it up.

Oh, certainly total sales are greater than 50,000. The site I cited was specifically for Amazon's sales. Sorry; I thought I mentioned that.

I'd be surprised if total sales were 500,000, but I don't have any data to go on. I'd be curious if anyone has a reputable source for global sales to date.

Point still stands, though: the TT audience is a tiny fraction of the videogame audience. Which justifies the decision to cater to the perceived preferences of videogamers instead of TT players.

 

[EthanSental]

Zar - that's is some old school goodness, I remember them well as they fed my D&D desire. Thanks for the link too, I'll have to pick them up soon.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I'd probably say the most faithful D&D games are, (in rough order and off the top of my head):

Temple of Elemental Evil
Gold Box games
Baldur's Gate and friends
NWN/NWN2
Eye of the Beholder and company

You can throw Menzoberranzen and probably a couple more I'm forgetting on there somewhere, but I can't remember the play experience well enough to rate them appropriately. Birthright: Gorgon's Alliance is a good one that's hard to classify, and there was a Dark Sun one I once had that I'd really like to have a copy of again.

NWN is definitely on the low side--but it's one the low side of the faithful recreations. There are plenty of other D&D-lore games that don't even try, some of which are great fun. The problem is that SCL is one of those that doesn't try, and it's apparently trying to market itself as one that does.

Ethan, the Gold Box games are the PC games that adhered closest to the D&D ruleset. Pool of Radiance, and such.
...They're available in a collection (every game in the series) on GOG for $10

They don't have the Dragonlance ones yet though! Hopefully they'll get them before too long.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

You picked Temple of Elemental Evil over the Gold Box games for rules closeness? The Gold Box games are so close to the rules of the time as to be indistinguishable.

I was just trying to imagine Sword Coast Legends with the same sort of adherence to rules the Gold Box games and I definetly think Id actually probably run it more like Divinity: Original Sin.

You would have your action points but everyone would have the same bar the Rogue (with the cunning Action). so if you spend your AP on all movment the game would conslude that you had burned your standard action for Dash.
Rogues would of course get their bonus cunning action. You could still use the number keys for 'powers' read spells and class abilities but their would be no refresh time.. you would simply have another screen which waiting for everyone else to click on that said short rest/long rest. Once everyone clicked on that then you would deal with either the short rest mechanics or long rest ones.

And you could still do this co-op. Combat starts. The computer rolls init for everyone based on their sheets and the monsters. You have a set time to do your action, then it passes to the next then the next and so on.

I know people keep saying that people wont buy those types of games, but lets be honest .. who is SCL marketed at? D&D players who want a D&D computer game, or Computer rpg players who would play those types of games? And if thats the case then why not at least try to use it as a tool to market it to those Computer game players who might think ' Hey.. this could of been a copy of Dragon Age.. but look.. no cool down timers.. and you need to rest to get stuff back.. thats different I might try that'

And if that leads them to think that they might try the Tabeltop after that then .. thats great for the hobby in general.

A) We wouldnt have to teach them much in the way of extra rules.. they would have the basics downpat
B) It would certainly raise the number of gamers.

As it is, a Computer gamer buys SCL via steam. They install it. They learn that D&D has Moon Elves and Sun Elves and Wood Elves and that there is a Human and a Human Variant and that there are a limited number of classes and they pick 'trees of skills' (again like DA).

They think 'Hey, D&D plays out like Dragon Age. I can level up my magic missile or my healing and it takes X amount of time to come back'

Then next week they are invited to a lets say Encounters game on the Wed night. They attempt to rebuild their character and look confused when they see no trees but a whole big list of spells to pick from in the Players handbook for their mage. Confusion isnt great, and Im not sure SCL is going to be a way to bring people into the TT version.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

You picked Temple of Elemental Evil over the Gold Box games for rules closeness? The Gold Box games are so close to the rules of the time as to be indistinguishable.

That's mainly based on things like weapon type vs. AC, declaration phase of initiative, and any other messy details that didn't make it in. Temple of Elemental Evil has a few tiny discrepancies, but follows its editions rules for initiative and such, so it's a pretty close call either way.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Im currently replaying the Gold Box Pool of Radiance. (Currently bashing heads over at Sokol Keep). The graphics might be ugly, the death sounds a little humorous, and due to my pc speed turns fly by but Im still enjoying it. I do however miss the later healing abilites.

 

[Jiggawatts]

Here's the Rock Paper Shotgun review...its not pretty.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/10/21/sword-coast-legends-review/

I checked for the IGN review also, but they haven't posted it yet.

The fact is that in this day and age, with the likes of Divinity: Original Sin, Pillars of Eternity, Shadowrun, the upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenera (which we all know is most likely going to be a masterpiece), etc, with all these great amazing games out there, developers cant put out a game mired in mediocrity and expect it to be successful and beloved. A worthy successor to Baldur's Gate this is not, sadly.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Yeah I was listening to the Tome Show look at the preview? or something like that yesterday on the way home from work and those guys are normally pretty much half full guys. Most of them were really laying the boot in (even almost the one that sounds a bit like a character I can remember from a Cheech and Chong movie) When the Tome Show does that then you know its not good. Am looking forward to the Next Divinity: Original Sin 2. If only for the Weresheep...

Edit: Anyone go back and watch the recomendation trailers for SCL? The one where PCGAMES called it : Batshit Brilliant!' or Nerdist called it 'The most Comprehensive D&D Experience Yet'. Damn its making me chuckled right about now.