We need another BG/BG2, Forget the MMORGs!

[Bront]

I have played with some MMORGS (Guild Wars, D+D Online) and was disappointed. I also want to be able to play the game on MY terms (20 minutes here, a few hours there...) and not have to depend on a huge commitment just to stay current on the game (ie Evercrack/WoW).

I'm suprised.

Guild Wars, from what I've played, seems very well suited to be picked up at your leisure and played. You never need interact with other players if you don't wish, and can stick to the story line and quests, and just use henchmen, and later Heroes (who you have more control over). I get in anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours every morning after work, and it's quite easy for me to get up and stop for a few minutes if I need to.

It's not D&D, but it's the only MMORPG I've been willing to step foot in since Earth and Beyond, and the lack of subscription fees makes it fairly easy to put down and pick up again 3 months later.

 

[Bront]

There's a new version of RPGMaker coming out

http://tkool.jp/products/rpgvx/eng/index.html

Granted, it's for console style RPGs (and SNES era quality, too). And obviously isn't d20/D&D. But it has an advantage that you can actually sell the games you make with it.

And frankly, one of the biggest hurdles facing new computer game designers is being too ambitious and never finishing something. Starting with a smaller, simpler program than something like NWN (which isn't horrible, but not easy, either) lets you worry more about the adventure, not the programming issues.

I've played around with RPGMaker, or an earlier version.

It was pretty cool, but you have to write your own text for absolutely everything, work out the balance yourself, and you're stuck with that presentation. That's not nessessarily a bad thing, but it takes a lot of forethought to design games like that. More than you might thing form a programing and technical standpoint, even on that level.

 

[Jasperak]

I just bought BG2 and TOB online this past week. Is it me or does BG2 start with the same dungeon room as Planescape:Torment.

 

[takyris]

Hopefully Dragon Age will have what you're looking for.

 

[Agamon]

Hopefully Dragon Age will have what you're looking for.

Ooh, DA looks cool. Hopefully it's something a bit different though. I find BG, KOTOR, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect fundamentally similar games in different genres, especially with regards to NPC interaction. That's BioWare's shtick, I guess.

 

[ssampier]

Could be interesting. We really do need a good turn-based CRPG (even if it's not the same vein as BGII).

 

[Thanee]

A pretty classic singleplayer CRPG (but with 3d gfx) is currently in development in germany.

http://www.drakensang.com/

In an interview they said it could best be compared to the BG games, but in 3d.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Remus Lupin]

Just a quick note as I work my way through Neverwinter Nights 2: In regards to story and quests, I think it almost reaches BG levels of immersiveness and entertainment. On 1-10, with Baldur's Gate 2 as the hallmark of a 10 in this regard, I'd give NWN2 an 8.5.

It's still a resource hog, though, my 32 GB Windows partition on my Mac has dedicated almost 1/3 of its space to this monster!

 

[JahellTheBard]

I really thing BG2 is by far the best RPG i ever played ... all of what a RPG should be, or at least most of, BG1 second and NW1 next ... Ice Wind Dale was fine, but i hate the idea you just have to follow a story too strict ... NW2 was a real disappointment .. a lot of graphics ( maybe even too much ... was too much like an arcade, too confusing ) but a poor story ... having to follow just strict orders is not very fun ... and TOO MANY BUGS!!!

 

[Remus Lupin]

Well, YMMV. It wasn't as expansive as BG/BG2/ToB, but it was plenty interesting. I'd rank it above NWN1 (all of the preexisting campaigns), and I like the graphics! I found it much more satisfying than NWN1.