New Neverwinter Nights Game Probably On Its Way

[Sunseeker]

I don't agree. I know quite a few people who work there including their managing editor who is also one of the main writers. The game is VERY respectful of the Star Wars IP.

Respectful of the IP, oh sure, respectful of Star Wars canon? Not in the slightest. We've got extinct races that are fully playable, we've got ships the size of Star Destroyers existing some 300 years before their time. Oh yes, SWTOR may be Star Wars in the fact that everything in it comes FROM Star Wars, but hardly any of it actually fits the timeline.

 

[Derren]

Respectful of the IP, oh sure, respectful of Star Wars canon? Not in the slightest. We've got extinct races that are fully playable, we've got ships the size of Star Destroyers existing some 300 years before their time. Oh yes, SWTOR may be Star Wars in the fact that everything in it comes FROM Star Wars, but hardly any of it actually fits the timeline.

Does Star Wars even have a real timeline? From what I have seen the Extended Universe is about as bloated and structured as some Marvel comics.
And even the core story got shaken rather badly recently thanks to Force Unleashed (Sith squashing Star Destroyers) which is canon as far as I know.

 

[Sunseeker]

Does Star Wars even have a real timeline? From what I have seen the Extended Universe is about as bloated and structured as some Marvel comics.
And even the core story got shaken rather badly recently thanks to Force Unleashed (Sith squashing Star Destroyers) which is canon as far as I know.

The future EU(after RotJ) is pretty straight forward for a while, then gets really screwy what with the Vong and goes all over the place after a while. The past EU(Old Republic) is pretty much more solid, but then there's a lot less to it. And yeah, that Starkiller punk really screwed up even the normal storyline, and yeah, it's canon too.

I don't know what the deal is, but it seems like Lucas just isn't taking the time to keep his world straight anymore.

 

[Dungeoneer]

I played the NWN games. Those games are probably as good as they could have been. I think the fundamental issue is that they try to do to much (and the players demand even more). It seems like people expect a game with 1) a fantastic single-player campaign but which 2) can be played cooperatively 3) by a player using virtually any race and class all while expecting 4) a complete toolset for building their own campaigns.

I would like to see a third entry in the NWN series just focus on a good single player campaign that supports a decent number of races and classes. Granted I'm biased because I never got into the community stuff for those games. But I'm guessing neither did the vast majority of players.

Release a good, polished, single-player D&D game and you'll make a lot of people happy. All that secondary stuff can come later.

 

[Dungeoneer]

I'd also like to jump in with people defending Bioware's 'formulaic' games. Most good fantasy literature follows similar tropes, so it's hardly shocking that Bioware does. Add in the fact that they need a story that takes a player from level 1 to 20, from zero to hero, and they're even more constrained by the kind of stories they can tell.

Of course expansions are always a chance to break out of those constraints, which is why I think people like them so much. But in their main campaigns they use those tropes because they work. People enjoy the hero's journey and typically really connect with the NPCs in a Bioware game. They must be doing something right.

 

[Derren]

One thing about single player RPGs. The trend goes towards fixed characters with voice like in Mass Effect or Alpha Protocol. Even Dragon Age 2 will have a fixed character.

So if Obsidian is making a single player D&D RPG is is likely that it will also have a fixed character and ~6 companions you can choose from.

 

[Rabbitbait]

I'd just love them to work on the engine a bit more so that you are actually playing in a proper 3D environment. Imagine having characters that can run, jump or fly. I'd love to have a rogue who can scale walls or run along the rooftops. Yes, it makes it harder to railroad the players, but it would be so much more fun. I'd like the skill checks to be used for much more than just dialogue options.

 

[Teemu]

One thing about single player RPGs. The trend goes towards fixed characters with voice like in Mass Effect or Alpha Protocol. Even Dragon Age 2 will have a fixed character.

So if Obsidian is making a single player D&D RPG is is likely that it will also have a fixed character and ~6 companions you can choose from.

Which is not a bad thing, IMO. Some of the best CRPGs have been like this -- Torment and Deus Ex.

 

[frankthedm]

Which they have nearly done with SWTOR, it's such an impossible mish-mash of different eras of Star Wars that it's more of an alternate universe than something that could actually be canon.

Which means those efforts and anything similar to them are down the drain for Bioware. The IP of KotOR belongs to Lucas, it is like Bioware raised a flower in someone else's yard. Those efforts now benefit lucas and Bioware probably has to police itself to make sure they never make anything close to SWTOR less Lucas consider suing.

 

[Dausuul]

Release a good, polished, single-player D&D game and you'll make a lot of people happy. All that secondary stuff can come later.

Ehhh... the campaign construction toolset is one of those things that's usually hard to retrofit. At the very least you need to build the system with it in mind.

And I don't know that I buy the claim that it's impossible with modern 3D maps. Maybe you surrender some measure of control as a designer--you might have to use prefab rooms and terrain features, with built-in spaces for "decals," instead of customizing every nook and cranny--but it should still be possible.

I'd just love them to work on the engine a bit more so that you are actually playing in a proper 3D environment. Imagine having characters that can run, jump or fly. I'd love to have a rogue who can scale walls or run along the rooftops. Yes, it makes it harder to railroad the players, but it would be so much more fun. I'd like the skill checks to be used for much more than just dialogue options.

This would be freaking awesome. And I don't think you'd have to surrender that much control over the flow of the game; there would still be plenty of obstacles the PCs couldn't overcome. You may be able to swim a moat, but not if it's full of lava. (For a less extreme case, a stone mansion with no windows wider than arrowslits and all doors barred on the inside would be pretty hard for a PC to break into.)