Seriously considering *not* buying NWN

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I've been looking forward to this game quite a lot, but now I'm not so sure anymore.

• Two patches in the first couple of weeks.
• Lots of problems with hardware.
• Distribution is screwed up by Infogrames.
• Can't play with a party in Single Player.
• Damn expensive game.

I'll stop here, but you all know there are many more reasons. As I said I'm thinking about if I really want this game or not. Not so long ago it wouldn't even have occured to me to question whether I should get it.

 

i have had no problems
also the patchs don't matter if you play single player I still haven't patched it.
I for one really like this game.
I had just finished Dungeon Siege cpl weeks ago and in comparision I like Neverwinter nights ALOT better.
mostly because Dungeon Siege load times pissed me off. taking 5+ mins to save my game is BS.
load times are fairly fast with NWN and the graphix are just as good if not better.
the last time i liked a game this much was when i got Diablo 2.

 

Earl Grey,

In response to your five points;

1) I'd rather have the problem fixed via a patch then not be. And they are doing it timely so who cares.

2) It you want to play a new cutting edge game you will have to have hardward that is from at least the last few years. Don't expect state of the art software to work on your old P100. You can't have you cake and eat it too. When software improves so much hardware.

3) It's true that the game should have been shipped to Europe around the game time it come out in the US. But to be honest don't the majority of US game take a few weeks to be released over seas. NWN is no different.

4) Not having a party in single player is not an issue. NWN is designed for multi-player use, where you would only have one PC. The simgle player campaign is simply a bonus so you can learn to play. Enjoy it but remember what the focus of NWN is.

5) How much did you pay for BG, IWD, BG2 and all lkie games when there were released? NWN is about the game price. In 1997 BG was $45, IWD was $45 in 2000 and BG2 was $50 in 2000. NWN is $55 when you take inflation into consideration where is the problem? How much did you expect a newly release cutting edge game like NWN to go for?

 

Call me a fanboy but IMHO its worth $55 just for the toolset. Sim medievel City with beautiful graphics and sounds! Check out the boats bobbing up and down in the realistic waters of the docks, the crane nodding in the breeze, the spray from the waterfall you can almost feel ...
Oh yes, and there's a game AS WELL!

 

Earl Grey - It's *so* worth getting the game! I've been very impressed with it in every respect. And as of yet, I haven't noticed any bugs, although I'm only in the early portions of the single player game. The patch is (supposedly) meant to fix some bugs with the DM client, and since I'm still heavily involved with the sp module, they have plenty of time to come out with a patch that properly addresses all the issues.

As for your hardware concerns, I was worried about that myself. My video card and RAM make the cut fine, but my processor is only 350 MHz (no laughing please), which is well below the recommended processor speed. It causes the mouse icon to flicker, which isn't a big deal. The *only* problem is that the game slows down noticeably in the very large areas, and even then it's really only the conversion/dialogue that slows down, which isn't a huge problem at all. In all the other areas (about 95% of the game world so far) there is virtually no noticeable slow down, and my enjoyment of the game has not been affected. I can live with a very few slow areas until I upgrade later in the summer or early fall.

And as Erran says, just the toolset is worth it! Probably about half the time I'm using NWN, I'm playing around with the toolset This is a game that has a built-in 60 hours of single play, and is virtually unlimited when you consider the toolset.

As for the NPC followers, having only one in your party I don't find a problem or a limitation. The single player module is designed for only one player and a single follower, so you're not over matched in any respect. And these NPCs (so far) seem fairly well designed. They have a mind of their own, and beyond giving them instructions and orders, they act on their own, which (to me) replicates the P&P game more than have five NPCs you can control 100%.

In short, NWN is living up to my expectations and is most definitely worth it. I don't see myself getting bored of it all, and there's no question about it's replayability I'll be unlikely to turn to another game (other than my regular P&P game) for a very long time!

 

Well, you can do what you want, but I'd tend to think you'd be foolish to pass up this game.

1) Two quick patches is a good sign, it means the game company is serious about supporting the title. Also, if you look at the patch texts, you realize that most of the issues are networking problems, not game play. The only real gameplay problem was introduced in the first patch.

2) Hardware problems are overstated. Every game is going to have its share of hardware problems simply due to the wide variety of (often bizarre) configurations used by people. Just make sure the game supports your video card and you meet the system requirements. Personally, I've completed the single player campaign with no crashes or any other noticable problems.

3) Who cares if Infogrames is incompetent? How does that affect anything? You can get the game by mail order/internet if you live in an area where they can't manage to get the game in the stores. It certainly has no effect on the quality of the game.

4) Well, I don't miss controlling an entire party, though the BG style interaction was nice. And if you really want a big group, you can get it with summons, familiars, etc.

5) Yes, its expensive but its not noticably more than other similar titles.

Aloha
Vormaerin

 

My opinion ? Just look up

I highly recommend this game. I told all my friends to go buy it and.. what am I doing here ? I should play NWN. Later

 

This reply is for everyone, but mainly Voltric.

- About the price.
I bought BG2 when it was released (Sep 2000) and paid 390 SEK - I keep the receipts - the price for NWN is 550 SEK. That's over 40% increase. Inflation has been between 1.5% and 3% since then so only taking inflation into account the price should be about 405 SEK, not 550!

This makes me a bit angry. The single player campaign is promised to be more than 60 hours of gameplay, so surely it's an issue!

I damn well do! If the distributor is incompetent, don't use them. They should bloody well know that delays are not acceptable. The latest push back of the release from June 28 to July 3 because of Infogrames failure is what finally made me start this topic.

- About the patches.
Extremely long time in development, we'll release the game when it's ready etc. Yeah, that fits well with a patch within 24 hours of release.
Is that patch good? No, it was a disaster! Dragons not using dragon breath etc. Horrible!
So now a second patch has been released. I don't know how the response to that has been.

- Hardware problems
I have a homebuilt 1.6GHz Athlon, w a GeForce2 so I believe it would work ok for me. My complaint was general, not primarily for fear that my system wouldn't handle it.
Isn't it true that several common graphics cards don't work with NWN?

- Hireling
They act on their own. I'd rather direct the hireling myself rather than be totally reliant on a script/ai. I understand there have been problems getting a hireling (rogue) to disarm traps. Any info on that would be welcome!
I'm not totally pissed off , I appreciate all your replies here, that includes the ones I disagree somewhat with.

Enjoy your gaming!

 

Single player is great! i've already logged about 20-30 hours and i'm still on chapter 2!
so don't get upset cause it is what they promiced and more! It is not just a bonus for practice!

 

well, I'm playing it without sound (make me very angry) and I still love it. Go buy it. Now. Or at least when it drops down to $40-50

 

Stealth Mode is one of the options when you right click on him. I've put him into it several times.

 

Well I say go ahead and give it a shot. The biggest complaint you should have to worry about is no party. OK I still think this wasn't the way to go. Maybe it's just me, I dunno. The compaint was vailid when they were dead set against pause in play, but then they add it rather late in development it seems in single player, and an option in MP to use it as well. They don't go back and redo the henchman system, which I've never really liked. Maybe it's just me, but if they'd just gone ahead and implimented pause n play in the first place, they could have made npcs for single player and left them out for multiplayer. I don't like this, but to be honest, it's still very enjoyable even without a party.

As far as the price, yes, it is more expensive, but it isn't out of line around here with the other big new 3d rpg titles, morrowind and dungeon siege. If it's a little expensive, save up and read the reviews while you wait to help you decide if you want it or not.

With what you have, the game should work fine. I don't think the hardware problems I've heard about have been that bad really. Most of the complaints I've heard have been from people scraping minimum requirements with either processor, ram, or graphics.

Infrogrames might well be incomptent overseas. I won't argue that point. But then, bioware had little choice but to use them if they wanted NWN released at all. Black Isle Studios wasn't after the lawsuit, and infrogames/titus is the only other company I beleive with a dnd license.

Two patches is a bit unsettling news I know. My first thoughts were of other buggy games that had been shipped before they were ready. But to be honest, I've fooled around with it quite a bit, and I haven't seen any problems. It's got a great system for updating, and I'm glad to know Bioware is at least on top of the problems. Yes, the game was seemingly rushed at release, and they looked to save late testing bug fixing for a patch instead of pushing back realease. I don't know if this was the right thing to do or not, but it's what they chose to do. I'd still give it a change though. I haven't seen any real major bugs yet, so that's a good sign. If the bugs scare you though, wait a couple more weeks, see if any major ones develop first before you buy it.

I hope maybe that might change your mind. It's a good game, and there's alot to like. I have my issues with it as well, most different from yours. But I still like it all in all. Perhaps not the shinning star most say it is, but still very very good.

 

@Crawl
Thanks for a good response well worth reading!

@BTA
Thanks for the info on the hireling!

@Tal
I was referring to the recent delay from June 28 to July 3rd, not to the two week difference between the US/Israeli release compared to the EU release.

 

@Earl Grey, today I found a shop here in Stockholm that already sells the game. So for 499SEK I am now a proud owner of a NWN game

 

You cannot blame the price on the developers or the distributors, its the fault of the people who make, use and sell illegal copies of games. Their copies are not free in reallity, us honest gamers pay for them aswell as ourselves. Oh, and no one post the lame-line-of-the-century "If the prices drop so will privacy". Perhaps that is true, but would you like to loose one of 2 millions and your company to help lower the piracy which you then wouldnt care about? Its only the players fault.

 

All I can say is, don't judge it till you've played it. Look at how many people absoloutley love this game. Most of us are experienced gamers and know a steamy turd game (*cough*Morrowind*cough*) wen we see it. Trust me, you will LOVE it, I give you my word on that. Everything about it is brilliant, from the fighting, to the items to the looks and even the resting, damn, I havn't loved a game like this since I opened a christmas present and saw FINAL FANTASY VII written on the box. Buy it and be merry. I LOVE YOU BIOWARE!!!