May the speculation begin...

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Yes. There is a lot of truth here. Even the older games of yesterday have a more immersive story than NWN does. Remember Ultima? Their storylines were great! BG and BG 2 were good stories. The story must be great! Hacking and slashing through your enemies gets boring if you have no real goal in mind!

Other things that would make the game better:
Variety variety variety!
Mix and match capability like someone else said earlier (as in with Daggerfall and Morrowind) is a great idea.
How about the ability to own your own building? Have a store with a storekeep working for you?
Maybe have another PC wanting you to craft some special armor (if you have high crafting skill) or enchant something and you charge for it?

I mentioned some other things in the other post about wishes. Maybe a way to switch to first person view like in Daggerfall or Morrowind if you are interested in that?

The ability to target specific body parts with magic or weapons?

 

They need to keep in mind where the OC failed, and where the expansions (such as SoU) succeeded. I really enjoyed SoU, but the OC bored me off my ****. There was just to much relentless hacking through really easy monsters, with genuinely interesting battles coming all to infrequently and then the Greater <whatever>'s Belts would often mean an easy contest. Chapter 2 was horrible for that. The whole thing was like chewing on gristle. SoU, on the other hand, always kept you on your toes a bit (no easy regeneration items, for one thing), and every magic item gained a real bonus. It really felt a suitable reward getting Blackguard plate (for instance), versus the effort to get there. I never got that with NWN itself. I still haven't got far with HotU (and probably won't for a while), but hopefully it's not as relentlessly HnS.

And lastly, if they want to make NWN2 really good, they should use the Infinity Engine, but balance AC better than IWD2. That would be badass, but it won't happen.

 

Some things I'd like to see in NWN2

-Improved Graphics, Models and spell effects.

-NPC's with some hint of personality

-An upgraded toolset with dozens of new placeables, tilesets and... 'stuff'

-A more rich and engulfing storyline, that is not linear. The thing I loved about BG series is that you could be evil, to an extent.

-Maybe some new classes

Thats all I can think of right now

 

I know this idea may not be popular and against the rules, but they never obeyed them strictly anyway .. but instead of having to memorize spells you could choose whichever spell you wanted on the fly .. I really can't stand sitting there for an hour picking out spells just to find out that I need to use a protection of fire spell 5 minutes later ... then having to rest do what i had to do w/ pro. from fire then rememorizing the spells i want .. I mean .. I'm not Ms. Cleo

 

True...and that's what Sorcerer's are there for. It's all about natural spellcasting ability mate!

I for one want more prestige classes, better AI and more challenging fights. IWD2 fights were the BEST! It's a pity that IWD2 was too linear, but my best moments were the fight with the Guardian in Jungles of Chult, the Defense of Kuldahar, the Battle at Shaengarne Bridge, the huge fight in front of the Ice Temple with Sherincal and many more.

If they can get that epic heart-in-your-throat feel with NWN2, I'd be willing to forgive a not so very engrossing storyline etc. I mean, I solo games like IWD2 and BG2 anyway! And after the 6-7th time through...you stop paying attention to the story anyway...non linear games are great for that!

 

"True...and that's what Sorcerer's are there for. It's all about natural spellcasting ability mate!"

Oh, my bad, I was really referring to clerics. *shrugs* It makes sense since they pray for spells, why should they have to memorize them like a wizard? Maybe dependent of what God they worship they would get different spells to balance it. Like an evil cleric would only be able to cast cure wounds once per day but get more cause wound spells or something along those lines.

 

What I'd like is:
1. A more coherent storyline. Aribeth's betrayal WHAT.. in her story she is chosen by a God to become a paladin and she throws it all away because a crowd said give us blood and it was her lover... If she was that unstable would Tyr have chosen her and he didn't interfere when she fell because reptiles scared him or ....
2. NPC's that bring something to the table and better interaction between Npc's and (dare i say) protagonist.
3. A longer campaign just as I was really beginnning to enjoy the game it ended (Baldur's gate II SoA/ToB was the best for this).
4. Banks and gold that weighs something, in one go at this game I was playing a sorcerer who could carry 115lbs of equipment and yet had over 300,000 gold coins allowing 1oz per coin this means that he was carrying over 8.4 tons of gold ???

That's all I can think of initially

 

I'm seriously inclined to agree with Darkstrider about the story aspect.
The story for NWN was weak in a lot of places. The concept of a Paladin which Tyr himself chose turning against Neverwinter simply because her lover was executed was rather poor.
After playing BG2 i found NWN a serious let down. I must have been through BG2 around 6 or 7 times now with both good and evil characters and there is still a LOT of new material that i havnt seen before. I've only been through NWN around 2 maybe 3 times and i allready get the impression that i've seen everything or at least very nearly everything. There was no variety. The game was far too linear.
I dont know what the designers were thinking when they made the NPC's for NWN. The NPC's for BG2 were numerous, found in multiple locations and interacted with you and each other in a colourful and sometimes hilarious way. I mean what happened? The NPC's for NWN were only around 6 and all conveniently found in the same location. After having a party of 6 people which were either laughing with each other, irritating each other or trying to rip each others heads off in BG2, only having 1 virtually mindless drone following you in NWN was rather depressing.
I personally hope that NWN2 is a lot more like BG1/2. Theres a distinctive atmosphere and magic to BG2 that i'm afraid NWN sadly lacked. And before anyone says 'NWN is its own game and should have its own atmosphere' please......it hardly had ANY atmosphere!!
FurriusBane has a good point about the stronghold concept. The option to have a Morrowind or BG2 style stronghold would be a great addition to NWN2. Yet another thing NWN lacked in.

 

You all make a very good point about Aribeth's betrayal. I never thought about that ...

I only enjoyed small sections of the OC, and never could get into any of the Mods for the game (especially now that the graphics look so horrid to me, even though I can still play the IE games with no problem at all).

So I'm hoping for a stronger focus on the Single Player aspect of the game, as if I buy the game, I most likely won't be downloading Modules or playing with other people.

I'd also like the game to be completable with any class, as my pure Rogue in NWN stood no chance whatsoever against the dual Dragons at the end of the game (having used Traps to off the previous Dragons). Not to mention the final battle is very much geared to Fighters or whoever has Harm. -.-

 

Well, ive been playing nwn for 3 and a half years now... and i gotta say the NWN DOES lack the magic BG and espically Torment had. Although with the new 3d games we will probably never see the magic happen again. Id rather not sound pestimistic but ive see some screen shots and talked a lot about it and it seems we are in for a long repetitive ride...

 

Hi all:
I would like to see a combat system like the one used in TOEE. I thought it was refreshing to actually see the threat area around an opponet, (close enough for an attack of opportunity) and radial menus for spells, feats, items, and so on. I for one would hate to see a morrowind type approach to the game. Most of the things everyone is wanting seems to be present in TOEE, maybe they could just fix that engine and use it.

 

Well, Obsidian already announced they would keep the engine from the first NWN. Luckily for you, SirChet, you used the term engine a bit loosely (and also wrongly). What you describe is not so much the engine, as well the graphical renderer. Since Obsidian has completely rewritten that one, we can only hope it will look better than NWN.

 

The toolset and scripting part was awesome in NWN. I hope they won't screw it up. I never liked the OC either, but the thing that got me into NWN was the endless possibilities of custom content.

 

Well we want hencman like Jaheira in BG2. (I am going to use her as an example). We want to control the spells, inventory, the route she walks, who she attacks etc etc. We all agree on that because that was wrong in NWN1. The party system works, as proved in both Kotors. But Jahaeira is a thinking sentient being who knows how to level up. jaheira want to keep some itmes, as her part of the loot. she will buy on occassion better stuff taht cannot be removed. She is the druid, so she levels as one and uses the stuff. It makes hencman more personal and less servant like.

This levelling can be done by interaction of the party. Like: Oh fearless leader do you want me to fight or just be a hospital? It is also a way to steer newcomers through the game.

It is a bit back to NWN1, I agree, but total control is a step to far.

 

In decreasing order of importance:
1. Have the option of creating a party and not merely carrying one henchman around with you.
2. (As a continuation of 1) Less frequent, but more difficult fights. Fights that force you to make use of all the skills available - cleric (not just for healing), wizard, thief, fighter.
3. Better control over party members, specially what spells they memorize, what they cast in middle of battle and whom they fight.
4. Better skills and feats. Skills are almost useless in 3rd edition games. More skills like tumble which actually improve you combat skills are required.
5. Racial disparity: The racial differences in IWD 2 were quite interesting. Problem is, the 1 extra feat & extra skills that humans get was nothing as compared the racial disadvantages. Ideally, each race must have different strengths but in the end, no particular race should have any huge advanatage over other (deep gnomes were really overpowered).
6. Storyline: Nothing like a good storyline to keep the interest in game. Storyline should have a strong motive for the NPC to do the things he/she does.
7. Talking NPCs: Already there have been many demands that NWN2 should be more like the BG series. Characters that talk and have a their own personalities was a important factor in the BG series.
8. Level up system: I understand that in 3rd edition, level up system was changed to promote greater emphasis on single class. But then, it is a well known fact that becoming a jack of all trades is easier than becoming master of one. If you are a level 20 mage, becoming level 21 mage will require much more effort than learning a bit of sword fighting and advancing as 1st level fighter. I still prefer the level system of 2nd edition.

 

From what I understand, this may be possible. A few quotes below from the NWN2 FAQ page

http://www.atari.com/nwn2/faq.php?sec=4#1

Could you explain this idea a bit more? I thought them very useful, from an online game perspective.

Once again, looking at the FAQs it does seem likely

 

All the thigns about the story and horrible henchmen AI have been more or less discussed, so I'll go for a more prosaic thing to complain about: characterisation.

I want to feel like I'm stalking when I'm stalking with my rogue. How about a little crouching and tip-toeing when Hide in Shadows is selected? Not as exagerated as in Arcanum, but that would be something.

Rapiers are piercing weapons. The are not used to slash. Ever. If you try to slash with a rapier you'll sunder the blade. Please don't let me see my character slashing with a rapier.

Seeing my human character in NWN ducking a blow to the kness from a halfling was nearly a religious experience. If spiders can jump to avoid blows, so should my character. Or move to the side. Make size counts.

I want to see my weapon when I sheathe it. Either hanging from a belt, on the character's back, or something. I want to see the cloaks I use. CEP implemented cloaks quite nicely, use that. Also, I'd like to see the quiver where I am putting all those arrows. I want to see open-faced helmets, circlets, hats, and hoods.

Please hire someone who has actually seen different types of real armor in his/her life. Suggestive metal clothing for women warriors may be the latest fashion in Paris, but it doesn't really work for people whose hormones have calmed down some time ago. And a chainmail that protects your stomach while leaving your torso bare may be nice to keep the old belly in, but it looks plain silly.

Performing a "Whirlwind Attack" should be quite hard while carrying 100lbs of armor and weapons. In fact, it shouldn't be possible at all. I do hope that they change the animation to something less... "flashy", or that they prevent the character from using it unless wearing light armor.

 

Rotku,
I never play online games. I have only played NWN (as was as BG & IWD) as a single player. So it is possible that you actually found some use of skills.
My biggest dissatisfaction was that very few skills help in combat. Really, a intelligent fighter would learn to hit his opponents better than an unintelligent one, even if he was not as strong. Fighting with a weapon is a skill and not a pure strength function. Only tumble contributed directly to improving combat prowess.
As single player, the skills I used were - Concentration, Spellcraft, Discipline, Tumble, Use Magic Device. Others I chose only if I had spare points.
Appraise: I never had to develop this skill as there was always enough money in the game.
Craft armor/weapon etc: From the description of these skills, I never thought I would be able to come up with a armor better than what was available with merchants. So I never used it.
Open Locks: I can always bash open things with items that do elemental damage.
Disable Trap: Not required for rogue/monk because of evasion. Not required for cleric/wizard becasue of protective spells. Fighter classes are the only one that need to disable traps. Really, I have never bothered to search areas for traps even when I was playing for the first time. I just walked over them, and never died.
Persuade: Good skill for roleplaying purpose.
Set Traps: Well, NWN monsters were always too easy, so I never had to plan any traps etc.
Parry: Very limited usefulness becasue of limit placed on number of retaliations (3 I think).
Hide/Move Silently: Good skills for scouts/rogues but I always used invisibility spell/potion for scouting purpose.
Lore: Can always identify item at shops.
Search/Listen/Spot: Never needed these skills throughout the game.

 

Search/Listen/Spot affected your perception... For example, points in listen/spot allow you to detect characters hidden in shadows. But then, I never met any NPC's that hid in shadows during the OC. It had its uses in multiplayer only, if anywhere.

So... Make people actually need the 'old' skills before making new ones.

 

@Shivi

Agreed on the fighting issue. It is a matter of skill over simple brawn. Unfortunately, it wont be changed, it's too basic D&D rules. Skill increases just about anything, except for damage. Sadly, a 6 intelligence fighter gets the same increases as a 15 int fighter, except for skills, which a fighter doesnt need anyway.

What i want... just more realism. I dont mean no magic or such rubbish, but just common sense when creating the campaign. You could hire a professional crate basher in the original, for all the crates and boxes and chests around, for instance.