Neverwinter Nights worth it?

[Brown Jenkin]

As I posted previously I found the original Campaign less than fun. It was too hack and slash like diablo but not as much fun. Now on to the good news. I have now had a couple of sessions with our PnP group playing a seperate NWN campaign run by a DM. Boy is there a world of diference. He is using some of the scripts that have been come up with such as 3E resting rules, and combined with fewer tougher monsters and it is very much like PnP D&D. It has taken a little while to get used to the difference. The first time we tried it several of us tried playing like the OC or Diablo, that certainly didn't work as we were slaughtered. After we broke our bad habits and started playing as a PnP group with scouting and tactics, it has proved quite enjoyable.

If you are playing this way as a word of advice: stick with the modules with good reviews and even then whoever is running the thing will need to check over everything. Our DM looks for and fixes things such as infintely respawning monsters when such things don't make sense to the module and/or can result in a quick TPK if the players acidently step back onto a monster spawning trap.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Speaking as someone who has owned it for, ooo, about three days so far, I love it. It is great fun at the moment (even in the basic single player campaign). I've found it much easier to get into than Baldurs Gate, and visually it is very satisfying too.

I'd certainly give it a big thumbs up.

Caveat: I don't play much in the way of computer games. Someone who plays lots of CRPG is likely to have a very different opinion. I'm not sure which category you fall into.

Cheers

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

The fact that it almost universally was rated much higher than something like the also flawed, but infinitely more ambitious and creative Morrowind is completely absurd.

And maybe in two or three years the technology will exist to make Morrowind playable....

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

Morrowind is wacky. You level up faster as you gain power because your skills are higher and you suceed more. I'm having fun, but it is a little wacky.

NWN is very fun but the single-player campaign is very hack-n-slash make no mistake.

That being said, the online community has made ports for Keep on the Borderlands, Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, and a few other classics.

I have played 100+ hours of NWN. That works out to be about $0.50/hour for what I paid for it. An exceptional bargain.

I do not think NWN is well suited for large parties though. If you have more than four people in your group, things get a little hectic.

 

[mmu1]

And maybe in two or three years the technology will exist to make Morrowind playable....

Huh? Morrowind was playable for me on a 1.5 year old computer, so I imagine it'd run great on a top of the line machine. Of course, like with most games these days, the "minimum requirements" are a complete joke...

 

[maddman75]

I love NWN, even though I haven't gotten to play in awhile. This game is made by the community. I too got bored in the single player game. But give me some modules with the diablo elements taken out (too many weak battles, crates of stuff everywhere, stone of recall), and its a blast. Had a lot of fun playing Shaderaven's Keep on the Borderlands. Stefan Gange's stuff is beyond compare as well.

There's also custom content. I've seen things added in for just about anything anyone has even complained about. Ridable horses, cloaks, improved henchmen, improved combat AI, what have you.

The toolset is easy to use. You'll occasionally see someone claim that it isn't easy, but dollars to donuts these people have never tried to make a level before . The scripting is easy if you've done some kind of programming before. If you haven't, well, it's learnable. I can't really imagine how they could have made it any easier.

The game isn't perfect, but its well worth the money. This is a game I see playing three years from now. Maybe even five years from now. There's an expansion planned soon I do believe.

 

[EvilMountainDew]

I like it a lot. From a programmers perspective they did everything I expected, they left out a few spells, but logically speaking. How could someone program in the infinite minds that are people, take disintigrate for example. Very nice.

 

[Destil]

I would have been more impressed with NWN if they had proven that going to 3D ment gaining something. As is it's a graphics change from the infinity engein. If they had had more gameplay advantages of 3D having fly, for instance, then I think I would be more impressed. It's 3D for the sake of 3D, and looks a bit dated anyway, spell effects aside. I'd have prefered an improved infinity engein with new sprites for PCs and some pre-generated tilesets, since I bet they could have gotten stuff like fly and wall spells into it like that.

That said it's a great multiplayer game. Though there are some serious changes from 3E (lack of many key spells, item pricing wackyness). The single player really isn't worth it, I'd recomend Ice Wind Dale II over NWN in that reguard. (IWD II only has one really serious flaw in the game system, being rogues only get sneak attack on the first hit. Making the class useless by the mid levels in combat. Ah, 2E!)

 

[Kitsune]

I am not impressed with NWN. Using the 3E system is all well and good in theory, but in practice it possesses several drawbacks when put into a real-time computer format. First and foremost are AOEs; since you can't control combat so precisely as you can in the turn-based game, you wind up taking tons of such attacks. No free 5-foot steps here. Your henchmen tend to be more hinderance than help at times, you'll be busy being beaten by a mob of monsters while they sit by the door and watch, or they'll charge into a room while you're busy trying to set up a plan.

The graphics are nice, but, as has been pointed out, going 3-D has added absolutely nothing to the game. You may as well be playing Baldur's Gate.

 

[Tsyr]

Add me to the "very pleased with NWN" group.

Yes, the single player was a bit dull... but have you played Dungeon Siege, the "competition"? Released at the same time, with a very similar graphics engine, and with very similar goals... And I have never SEEN a more "follow the dotted line" game. It was horrible.