ForceUser
Explorer
Wow.
What an amazing game. Starting Friday afternoon, I put about 36 hours into NWN through midnight last night. My character is almost 16th level. I only stopped playing to eat, shower, and sleep. I haven't been this into a single-player game since Half-Life, which I finished in something like 10 hours of play. NWN just blows me away.
My background: 15 years of p&p D&D and assorted other RPGs, as both player and Game Master. Intimately familiar with 3rd edition D&D game mechanics. CRPGs: Final Fantasy IV, EverQuest (3 years), DAoC, entire Baldur's Gate series, Diablo 1 & 2, Morrowind.
I wanted to list my background to assure you that I know what I'm talking about when I say that NWN is the truest CRPG interpretation of D&D to date. There are some funky rule changes, but I've only noticed them because I'm a hardcore D&D player. Luckily, though the Dungeon Master in me grumbles a bit, most of these changes are totally transparent to the average NWN player - a good thing.
On the surface, NWN doesn't seem that much different from the Diablo series or the BG series. I haven't played Dungeon Siege but I hear the gameplay is similar to Diablo. Ok, so yes, you run around talking to NPCs, collecting items, gaining levels and beating up monsters. Nothing new here; it's a visceral experience, though one masterfully crafted by BioWare. The single player game is certainly not a CRPG in the vein of Morrowind; these two game, in particular, are apples and oranges. However, where NWN surpasses Morrowind is the gritty and entertaining combat system, and the promise of endless adventures online with lots of other players. Morrowind is great for what it is, but it is ultimately finite, and that's that. So you won't read any more NWN-vs.-Morrowind comparisions from me.
On to the game!
Graphics: I am not a computer guru. When one of my guru friends tells me what works, that's what I buy and install into my system. My computer has a 2.0 Ghz CPU, 512 Mb RAM, and a GeForce 2 64 meg video card. I was initially disappointed the first time I loaded the game. I ran the 1240 x 1024 resolution setting with all the bells and whistles on and experienced low frame rates, chugging especially badly near open flames. I experimented a bit, turned off a few things, turned down a few things, and the game runs fine now except for slight lag during spellcasting in large zones. That's acceptable though. I can't lose anymore visual luster; there's just too much good stuff to see. Next month I'll hopefully upgrade to a GeForce 4.
The combat animations, character animations, and spell animations are all top-notch. I love the way characters in melee drop into realistic fighting stances and maneuver around each other, constantly jockeying for better position. I love the way, when you're talking to an NPC, your NPC partner turns their head in the direction of the conversation. That will be especially neat in multiplayer, because will enhance roleplaying between player characters. This little feature plus emotes will enhance the versimillitude of the game, making it appear that character are actually engaging in conversations. The spell animations are well-done, but similar to those in other CRPGs. No matter if you're playing EQ, DAoC, NWN, or Morrowind, you know what a heal looks like. I suppose there's a certain level of comfort in that.
The tilesets are the treasure here, though. Yes, the terrain is not as varied as in many other games. But this is a blessing, of course, for world-builders. Although variety is currently low, there's room to grow. A lot of room. Expect amazing things here. So far, by the way, my favorite tileset is the one I like to call "autumn forest." It's very pretty.
Gameplay: Thumbs way up for the radial menu. Right-click, drag, right-click, one fluid motion. Takes some getting used to, but it's handy for buying and selling, opening and disarming traps and locks, and bossing my associates around. The toolbar is also very nice, though after playing EQ and DAoC for years, my hands instinctively seek the number keys, not the F-keys, unless I give it half a second of thought. To quote Yoda, Butt-kicker Mastah, "you must unlearn what you have learned." It's a great setup though. I especially enjoy the different camera modes, and the fact that I can move by point-and-click, or by using the keyboard.
One thing I do NOT like is the fact that I can't change the camera's elevation at all. Over the years I've gotten used to total camera-angle freedom in EQ and DAoC, and in those games I play with my camera all the time. I push and pull and twirl, angling the view differently in each fight to get the most entertaining angle of whatever I'm doing at the time. I especially enjoy flipping the camera up from time to time and just looking at the virtual sky. Since there's no sky in NWN, this is impossible. I understand WHY they don't let you mess with the elevation, but it still bugs me. Fooling with the camera is a habit long-ingrained, and it's going to take me some time to get used to this. I just have to keep reminding myself that NWN is not an actual world, but the equivalent of letting the computer handle rolling your dice and moving your tabletop minatures around, as though you were playing pen-and-paper D&D. At that, it excels.
Let's talk about adventuring. There are three things of paramount importance that you need to figure out how you're going to handle - opening locks, disarming traps, and identifying magic items. Early on, I used the rogue, Tomi Undergallows, to do my lockpicking and trap-disarming, but since my character is a melee type, I soon came to need the cleric associate to keep me alive and deal with those pesky undead. Once I lost my rogue I was at a bit of a loss regarding what to do with getting into things. There are some places in NWN where you MUST have a rogue to progress (cue Safehouse cheering squad), and I was denying myself phat loot and exp because I couldn't open certain doors. Once you get higher level, powerful traps become apparent as well. Two or three times one well-placed chain lightining trap has wiped out my entire group. My personal solution to this was to take a few levels in rogue and get into the bloody things myself. Worked like a charm. If you DON'T want to follow that route, however, I suggest keeping Tomi around to do it for you. If you find that you need one of the other classes instead, my best advice is to stock up on healing potions and save the game before opening trapped chests and doors. Without a rogue, you are going to need a lot more healing. Fair warning.
As for identifying items, your best bet is to drop points in the Lore skill. You're going to get a LOT of magic items, some of which you'll want to use, and paying 100 gold per item will get old fast, especially at lower levels. Luckily, there are magic items that can aid you with this, such as a ring of scholars. If you aren't lucky enough to have one drop for you, buy it. It will save you gold in the long run.
Healing. There are two types - hit point healing and restorative healing. Most damage in NWN is hit point damage, easily healed by anyone who can cast heal spells, not to mention potions, of which you'll have a lot. But there's a dastardly, more insidious type of damage in NWN - ability score damage. Nothing sucks worse as a fighter-type than to get poisoned and watch your Strength score plummet to a 6 (this happened to me once). Negative energy attacks and disease can yield similar effects. Your best defense against poison, disease, and negative energy are your saving throws. Some classes, such as the monk, have godly saving throws. Other classes, such as the fighter, have one good save and two bad ones. Do yourselves a favor and make sure you have at least one item that buffs your Fortitude saving throw, as this is the save that will check against poison and such. So, in short, more Fortitude = less headache.
Classes. There is no bad class in NWN. There is no uber class that outshines all other classes. There is no way to screw up a NWN character. That said, there are many ways to improve them. Certain classes compliment each other well. For instance, my character is a human Ranger (10)/Fighter (2)/Rogue (3). I'm a ranger, but I took the fighter levels to get two bonus feats (one of which was Weapon Specialization: Two-Bladed Sword), and I took the rogue levels to get around those darned traps, not to mention evasion, uncanny dodge, and +2d6 sneak attack.
So picture this. I'm a ranger melee guy, specialized in the two-bladed sword. I got improved two-weapon fighting at 9th ranger level, and I picked up the improved citical feat as well. I have a ranger's animal companion, and I chose the rogue companion, the panther, which has a +6d6 sneak attack of its own. I attack five times a round, and half of those attacks seem to be critical hits or sneak attacks because I'm tag-teaming with my panther, who's also sneak attacking. It's a glorious thing.
That's just one example. There are several powerful, complementary class combinations you can play with. But no matter what, you're still going to be booyah. A recommendation, however: don't go sorcerer/wizard. Sort of a moot point.
In Conclusion: Awesome game. 80% true to 3rd edition D&D. Looking forward to expansions and legions of fan-generated material on the web. If you've been waffling about NWN, you can stop. Buy the game.
What an amazing game. Starting Friday afternoon, I put about 36 hours into NWN through midnight last night. My character is almost 16th level. I only stopped playing to eat, shower, and sleep. I haven't been this into a single-player game since Half-Life, which I finished in something like 10 hours of play. NWN just blows me away.
My background: 15 years of p&p D&D and assorted other RPGs, as both player and Game Master. Intimately familiar with 3rd edition D&D game mechanics. CRPGs: Final Fantasy IV, EverQuest (3 years), DAoC, entire Baldur's Gate series, Diablo 1 & 2, Morrowind.
I wanted to list my background to assure you that I know what I'm talking about when I say that NWN is the truest CRPG interpretation of D&D to date. There are some funky rule changes, but I've only noticed them because I'm a hardcore D&D player. Luckily, though the Dungeon Master in me grumbles a bit, most of these changes are totally transparent to the average NWN player - a good thing.
On the surface, NWN doesn't seem that much different from the Diablo series or the BG series. I haven't played Dungeon Siege but I hear the gameplay is similar to Diablo. Ok, so yes, you run around talking to NPCs, collecting items, gaining levels and beating up monsters. Nothing new here; it's a visceral experience, though one masterfully crafted by BioWare. The single player game is certainly not a CRPG in the vein of Morrowind; these two game, in particular, are apples and oranges. However, where NWN surpasses Morrowind is the gritty and entertaining combat system, and the promise of endless adventures online with lots of other players. Morrowind is great for what it is, but it is ultimately finite, and that's that. So you won't read any more NWN-vs.-Morrowind comparisions from me.
On to the game!
Graphics: I am not a computer guru. When one of my guru friends tells me what works, that's what I buy and install into my system. My computer has a 2.0 Ghz CPU, 512 Mb RAM, and a GeForce 2 64 meg video card. I was initially disappointed the first time I loaded the game. I ran the 1240 x 1024 resolution setting with all the bells and whistles on and experienced low frame rates, chugging especially badly near open flames. I experimented a bit, turned off a few things, turned down a few things, and the game runs fine now except for slight lag during spellcasting in large zones. That's acceptable though. I can't lose anymore visual luster; there's just too much good stuff to see. Next month I'll hopefully upgrade to a GeForce 4.
The combat animations, character animations, and spell animations are all top-notch. I love the way characters in melee drop into realistic fighting stances and maneuver around each other, constantly jockeying for better position. I love the way, when you're talking to an NPC, your NPC partner turns their head in the direction of the conversation. That will be especially neat in multiplayer, because will enhance roleplaying between player characters. This little feature plus emotes will enhance the versimillitude of the game, making it appear that character are actually engaging in conversations. The spell animations are well-done, but similar to those in other CRPGs. No matter if you're playing EQ, DAoC, NWN, or Morrowind, you know what a heal looks like. I suppose there's a certain level of comfort in that.
The tilesets are the treasure here, though. Yes, the terrain is not as varied as in many other games. But this is a blessing, of course, for world-builders. Although variety is currently low, there's room to grow. A lot of room. Expect amazing things here. So far, by the way, my favorite tileset is the one I like to call "autumn forest." It's very pretty.
Gameplay: Thumbs way up for the radial menu. Right-click, drag, right-click, one fluid motion. Takes some getting used to, but it's handy for buying and selling, opening and disarming traps and locks, and bossing my associates around. The toolbar is also very nice, though after playing EQ and DAoC for years, my hands instinctively seek the number keys, not the F-keys, unless I give it half a second of thought. To quote Yoda, Butt-kicker Mastah, "you must unlearn what you have learned." It's a great setup though. I especially enjoy the different camera modes, and the fact that I can move by point-and-click, or by using the keyboard.
One thing I do NOT like is the fact that I can't change the camera's elevation at all. Over the years I've gotten used to total camera-angle freedom in EQ and DAoC, and in those games I play with my camera all the time. I push and pull and twirl, angling the view differently in each fight to get the most entertaining angle of whatever I'm doing at the time. I especially enjoy flipping the camera up from time to time and just looking at the virtual sky. Since there's no sky in NWN, this is impossible. I understand WHY they don't let you mess with the elevation, but it still bugs me. Fooling with the camera is a habit long-ingrained, and it's going to take me some time to get used to this. I just have to keep reminding myself that NWN is not an actual world, but the equivalent of letting the computer handle rolling your dice and moving your tabletop minatures around, as though you were playing pen-and-paper D&D. At that, it excels.
Let's talk about adventuring. There are three things of paramount importance that you need to figure out how you're going to handle - opening locks, disarming traps, and identifying magic items. Early on, I used the rogue, Tomi Undergallows, to do my lockpicking and trap-disarming, but since my character is a melee type, I soon came to need the cleric associate to keep me alive and deal with those pesky undead. Once I lost my rogue I was at a bit of a loss regarding what to do with getting into things. There are some places in NWN where you MUST have a rogue to progress (cue Safehouse cheering squad), and I was denying myself phat loot and exp because I couldn't open certain doors. Once you get higher level, powerful traps become apparent as well. Two or three times one well-placed chain lightining trap has wiped out my entire group. My personal solution to this was to take a few levels in rogue and get into the bloody things myself. Worked like a charm. If you DON'T want to follow that route, however, I suggest keeping Tomi around to do it for you. If you find that you need one of the other classes instead, my best advice is to stock up on healing potions and save the game before opening trapped chests and doors. Without a rogue, you are going to need a lot more healing. Fair warning.
As for identifying items, your best bet is to drop points in the Lore skill. You're going to get a LOT of magic items, some of which you'll want to use, and paying 100 gold per item will get old fast, especially at lower levels. Luckily, there are magic items that can aid you with this, such as a ring of scholars. If you aren't lucky enough to have one drop for you, buy it. It will save you gold in the long run.
Healing. There are two types - hit point healing and restorative healing. Most damage in NWN is hit point damage, easily healed by anyone who can cast heal spells, not to mention potions, of which you'll have a lot. But there's a dastardly, more insidious type of damage in NWN - ability score damage. Nothing sucks worse as a fighter-type than to get poisoned and watch your Strength score plummet to a 6 (this happened to me once). Negative energy attacks and disease can yield similar effects. Your best defense against poison, disease, and negative energy are your saving throws. Some classes, such as the monk, have godly saving throws. Other classes, such as the fighter, have one good save and two bad ones. Do yourselves a favor and make sure you have at least one item that buffs your Fortitude saving throw, as this is the save that will check against poison and such. So, in short, more Fortitude = less headache.
Classes. There is no bad class in NWN. There is no uber class that outshines all other classes. There is no way to screw up a NWN character. That said, there are many ways to improve them. Certain classes compliment each other well. For instance, my character is a human Ranger (10)/Fighter (2)/Rogue (3). I'm a ranger, but I took the fighter levels to get two bonus feats (one of which was Weapon Specialization: Two-Bladed Sword), and I took the rogue levels to get around those darned traps, not to mention evasion, uncanny dodge, and +2d6 sneak attack.
So picture this. I'm a ranger melee guy, specialized in the two-bladed sword. I got improved two-weapon fighting at 9th ranger level, and I picked up the improved citical feat as well. I have a ranger's animal companion, and I chose the rogue companion, the panther, which has a +6d6 sneak attack of its own. I attack five times a round, and half of those attacks seem to be critical hits or sneak attacks because I'm tag-teaming with my panther, who's also sneak attacking. It's a glorious thing.
That's just one example. There are several powerful, complementary class combinations you can play with. But no matter what, you're still going to be booyah. A recommendation, however: don't go sorcerer/wizard. Sort of a moot point.
In Conclusion: Awesome game. 80% true to 3rd edition D&D. Looking forward to expansions and legions of fan-generated material on the web. If you've been waffling about NWN, you can stop. Buy the game.
