Heh. I will just sit back and wait until it has been patched up nicely, while my copy collects some dust on the shelf (ok, not really; it's not even on the shelf). I can wait. Besides, my computer will probably require some upgrading, anyways, before it can be run decently.
I don't mind having to control my characters individually, but when Grobnar repeatedely uses the wrong freakin' inspiration, it really TICKS ME OFF!
One thing I find with the story over Neverwinter Nights OC, is that even though it is a zillion times *better*, it's harder to want to play through just for the sake of seeing a different prestige class or combination of classes (and races). Hopefully in an expansion, the NPCs themselves will have a more replayable aspect to them. That said, I do like the game as is. Once they get all of the bugs ironed out, it will have lived up to my expectations I think, completely.
As I recall, most people thought the story in SoU and HotU was tons better than the NWN OC. Now, imagine they could improve on NWN2 OC that much. If that were to happen, I wouldn't be surprised if they no longer think of the BG series and Torment as the high water mark.
Alright, because I'm a firm believer in balance, and since my last post was a bile-filled rant, I'm going to talk about the parts that I like. Really, if there wasn't a lot of it, I wouldn't nearly be so upset. So, good stuff.
Dialogue for most of the character is, IMO, pretty good. There are a few characters I'm not so fond of dialogue-wise (Zhajave, Elanee, Casavir). Grobnar gets a pass mostly because he has some great stuff with the others. Though I'm entirely convinced it's impossible for Bioware or anyone associated to write a decent Bard.
There are some great scenes in the game. Specifically, in Act II (
The Trial, and The Haven
) and in Act III (
The Siege
).
I like what they did with crafting. I'd like a little more robustness and some more Wonderous Items, but overall it's pretty great. I also like how they handled dissecting animals (using Alchemy to get essences).
Aside from Qara's idiotic AI (which, given her character, is amusingly apt), I like what they've done with spells, overall. The Quickcast panel is a great addition (as are the Mode/Bard bars), I love how the spell shows the exact area of effect before you cast, and I love the special effects. Lesser and Greater Missle Storm are still overpowered though.
There are a few challenging fights that are really fun, that I don't particularly want to spoil, so in spoiler font,
The final Githyanki attack, Lorne, the Red Dragon, the Black Dragons, Ammon Jerro
. Though I will point out that these are all pretty well laid out... which is the exception, rather than the rule.
Companions are leaps and bounds above what they did in NWN1. I like the companion/henchman dichotomy that is set up (companions are fully controllable, henchmen can only be commanded via Party Control). I would like to see some incarnation of Formations, and the ability to summon more than one creature (though I have an idea for doing this via scripting and the OnHeartbeat event).
The toolset is a LOT more powerful. I'm looking forward to some of the fan-made modules to come out. Area design in particular is very powerful, and some beautiful areas should be able to be created with it by the community.
The toolset is a LOT more powerful. I'm looking forward to some of the fan-made modules to come out. Area design in particular is very powerful, and some beautiful areas should be able to be created with it by the community.
I have to say that NWN 2 finally tought me how effective a well-prepared mage can be against a melee character. In my PnP games, the mages have always been slaughtered.
In the fight with L in Act II, I'd heard about it being difficult. But I wanted my character to do it...the articles I'd read said to use Khelgar. My character is a F1/W5/EK6.
So, at the start, my first action, standing at the other end of the arena, was to cast Stoneskin. L starts running at me. I cast Mirror Image. He starts swinging, I cast Empowered Ray of Enfeeblement, and he slows down. I back off a bit, he chases, I drop Bigby's Hand (the lvl 5 one that gives a -10 to hit) on him. He started chasing me around, and I kept running, trying to get room to cast spells. Couldn't get away, as I'd forgotten Haste. So, I turned, and started beating on him. A few rounds later, I took him down to really low hp, and he goes into a rage. I used Invisibility, ran away (and he still chased me, so that didn't work). I kept running until his rage wore off, then whipped out my bow, shot him, and the fight was over.
Hmm...found something really odd last night...probably something done when they were trying to balance the game. I created my first scroll, using Bigby's Hand (the lvl 5 one). It cost me 1800 gp to make the scroll. It is far, far less to buy it from a merchant. I think it was about 500 gp to purchase. Why so much more to make it? That makes no sense.
Hmm...found something really odd last night...probably something done when they were trying to balance the game. I created my first scroll, using Bigby's Hand (the lvl 5 one). It cost me 1800 gp to make the scroll. It is far, far less to buy it from a merchant. I think it was about 500 gp to purchase. Why so much more to make it? That makes no sense.
It might be that the scroll is created at your caster level rather than minimum caster level. That would make it more expensive. Unless you are at the minimum caster level in which case I don't know...
I got NWN2 as a gift for Christmas but my poor 2Ghz P4 machine isn't up to specs based solely on the processor. I'm looking at getting a new machine in the coming year but I am torn between getting a 3+ Ghz Pentium 4 processor or going with a 2.4 Ghz Dual Core. If NWN2 wasn't coded to take advantage of the dual core then the performance on the game should be pretty crappy.
Has anyone played it on a dual core 2.4 Ghz machine? If so, how does it play?
