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More NWN2 impressions (free for all)

Data4

Arcane
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Over there.
If anyone is still waiting for more impressions of the game, this thread is for you. If anyone wants to offer their impressions of the game without starting a bajillion NWN2 Impressions threads, this is for you, too.

I'll start.

I've basically been playing for the better part of the weekend and overall I'm very pleased. Initially, I was ecstatic, because I was worried about the Oblivion effect, so I was willing to overlook some of the issues with the game. Now that I've progressed pretty far into it, I think I have a more reasonable, non-fanboyish opinion of it.

I'll try to keep spoilers out of it, but this is no guarantee that there won't be any herein, so consider that a warning if you're trying to keep yourself pure before playing. I'll list key areas and my opinion of them to make this easier.

Story:

Simply put, it's very good. It's not Shakespeare, but it does a good job. It started off kind of abruptly with a major event happening right after the tutorial. I thought it started off a bit too soon, but I guess it satisfies the need for people to "get into the shit" quickly without putting the more slow-paced gamers like myself off. The presentation is what I'm really impressed with, as the dialogues are great. The voice acting was a bit flat in places, but overall adequate. Personally, I can do without voice acting in general, but since it's here, it's worth mentioning that it's not bad and much better than that "O"ther game.

The way the main quest merges with the side quests is also nice. It gives a sort of cohesiveness to the world. [MINOR SPOILER] For example, getting into the Blacklake district to address a specific part of the main quest requires you to do some sidework on either side of the law. The path I'm taking has me doing stuff for Neverwinter crime lords and it's taken me out of the city for a nice little jaunt against some orcs.[/SPOILER]

All in all, I have to say that so far, the story and related elements get a thumbs up.

Characters/NPCs:

Some of them I like. Some of them I hate, but not for reasons that would be a black mark against Obsidian. Some of the characters you come across are downright annoying, but within the scope of their characterization. An annoying singing gnome is exactly that, for example. The tiefling that has already been mentioned is also irritating, but she's growing on me. I swapped her out for someone else and found myself missing her. She's an asset to a party for those in need of a good rogue. Since my character is also a rogue, it seemed a bit redundant, but I'm developing him into more of the smooth talker type, so Neeska's trap dectection and disarming comes in handy.

Graphics:

They work. They're not photorealistic, and there's some clipping issues, but I would never suggest to anyone to let the graphics of the game be a determining factor on whether or not you purchase it. Where it may lack in bling, it makes up for in substance in spades. The camera does like to get caught up in scenery, though, and I know this isn't news. It is worth mentioning, though, and maybe with Patch 2, it will be addressed.

I'm also going to include the UI here. I think it's fine. Sure, it takes a little getting used to if the radial menu in NWN1 has become second nature, but I dropped that game long before finishing the OC. It reminds me a lot of WoW with the quick slots and all. It's functional and allows me to customize it appropriately to my playing style. A UI is a very subjective thing, I'll admit, but for me it works, so that's all that matters.

Misc:

Annoyances will fall here, but not every miscellaneous thing I'll say will be negative. To be fair, though, there are some things I just have to say, and there will be some minor spoilers.

First, there's the Tomb of Betrayers. Unless it serves a use later on in the game, right now it's just contrived. So far, the only purpose to it I've seen was for a wink-wink moment at the end, where you fight the ghost of someone familiar to NWN1 players. I do remember a locked door that neither I, nor Neeska could open at the time, so maybe there's more to it. I know it's a sequel and all, but I'd rather the game rely on it's own new stuff instead of looking back. That particular quest was a pure sidequest, however, so I guess it's not too terrible.

I'm a bit disappointed in the city of Neverwinter itself. I didn't play the first game all the way through, and I'm getting the impression the city was destroyed or damaged significantly before the game was over. I suppose it would explain how the city looks different this time around, but I'd love to have seen the Beggar's Nest and Prison districts return. I suppose the Back Alley is a substitute for the former, but it's more of a dungeon than a part of the city. Also, the Temple of Tyr is way, way different. It looks like a small priory, rather than the expansive hall that served as an infirmary during the plague. Again, if this is a rebuilt temple after being destroyed, I understand. It's also not a gamebreaker by any means, but I thought it needed a mention.

My biggest gripe, however, has to be the utter lack of any other tavern/Inn than the Sunken Flagon. Neverwinter is supposed to be a very large city. True, there are buildings that have signs indicating they're taverns of some sort, but you can't go in them.

Well, I guess that's all I can think of for now. I'll post more later.

-D4
 

Texas Red

Whiner
Joined
Sep 9, 2006
Messages
7,044
"First, there's the Tomb of Betrayers. Unless it serves a use later on in the game, right now it's just contrived. So far, the only purpose to it I've seen was for a wink-wink moment at the end, where you fight the ghost of someone familiar to NWN1 players. I do remember a locked door that neither I, nor Neeska could open at the time, so maybe there's more to it. I know it's a sequel and all, but I'd rather the game rely on it's own new stuff instead of looking back. That particular quest was a pure sidequest, however, so I guess it's not too terrible."

Im not sure I understand what the problem is here. There is a lever you must push in the room with the "wink wink" and it will open the door.
 

Data4

Arcane
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Messages
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Location
Over there.
The Walkin' Dude said:
"First, there's the Tomb of Betrayers. Unless it serves a use later on in the game, right now it's just contrived. So far, the only purpose to it I've seen was for a wink-wink moment at the end, where you fight the ghost of someone familiar to NWN1 players. I do remember a locked door that neither I, nor Neeska could open at the time, so maybe there's more to it. I know it's a sequel and all, but I'd rather the game rely on it's own new stuff instead of looking back. That particular quest was a pure sidequest, however, so I guess it's not too terrible."

Im not sure I understand what the problem is here. There is a lever you must push in the room with the "wink wink" and it will open the door.

No, that's to get out of the Tomb through the same door you came in. I'm referring to a grate/porticulis type door in a room where Tomb Guardians keep spawning. Maybe it's nothing. I'll probably check it out when I play again since I've gained a couple of levels since then.

-D4
 

Pussycat669

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
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667
Location
In a fine suit
The one on the east side?
You need one character to stay on a platform near the room entrance to trigger a 'trap' which will open the door. Just make sure he keeps staying there.
 

Data4

Arcane
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Messages
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Location
Over there.
Pussycat669 said:
The one on the east side?
You need one character to stay on a platform near the room entrance to trigger a 'trap' which will open the door. Just make sure he keeps staying there.

Doh! I r teh stoopid I gess. :) I'll give it a shot. Anything worth the trip beyond that gate? Just a yes or no will suffice.

-D4
 

Kortalh

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
278
Data4 said:
My biggest gripe, however, has to be the utter lack of any other tavern/Inn than the Sunken Flagon. Neverwinter is supposed to be a very large city. True, there are buildings that have signs indicating they're taverns of some sort, but you can't go in them.

They pretty much negated all non-plot-critical building interiors. All of the merchants stand outside by carts rather than inside their own buildings. It's pretty dumb as far as the setting goes, but on the other hand, it must take 20-30 seconds to transition between areas, so I'm sure I'd be complaining even more if I had to enter 3 different buildings just to restock my guys with all the latest gear.

I'm really disappointed in the load time altogether. It's my biggest complaint, bar none.
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
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Messages
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Huh? Outside of the world map load times, loading is REALLY quick for me.
 

Zomg

Arbiter
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Oct 21, 2005
Messages
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My early impression: The game is a sin against God, and I want to strangle you faggots that made me think it might be interesting.
 

suibhne

Erudite
Joined
Aug 21, 2003
Messages
1,951
Location
Chicago
I go back and forth on the game. Some quests are great, some are painful. When I got to Neverwinter, I loved the atmosphere and the plot developments, but then I got railroaded into a long string of boring-ness with only a few sidequests to break the tedium. And having to contend with 50 sneak-attacking evil Rogues in 10 different waves, in several dungeons in a row...wow, it was almost as bad as the BMC.

But yeah, load times not so bad. They're good enough that I don't hesitate to load a saved game.
 

Kortalh

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
278
Maybe I'm the exception, but I've got a fairly decent computer so it shouldn't be a factor. I'd say loading time is at least as bad as Bloodlines was, and people complained to no end about that.

It's not game-breaking or anything, but it does get frustrating -- especially during multi-scene cutscenes, or when you have to travel through a series of maps all at once (say, from inside the Watch in the Merchant Quarter to the Sunken Flagon).
 

sheek

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Cydonia
Thanks Data. This game is at the top of my list for when I at last get a decent desktop computer (currently reading up on exactly what I'll need).
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
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No. BL's loadtimes was like watching the movie Ten Commandents in one setting. Nice try though with your bullshit.
 

suibhne

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Volourn said:
No. BL's loadtimes was like watching the movie Ten Commandents in one setting.

Hey, we agree! :D

Not sure if folks just have selective memory, but I played Bloodlines with the same rig (including hard drive) that I'm now using to play NWN2 and load times for BL were significantly longer.
 

Bah

Arcane
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Oct 6, 2006
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Northwest American Republic
The NWN2 load/transition times are better than more recent games (Gothic 3 comes to mind) but they occur quite often. It's not quite as bad now that I'm in neverwinter because the zone is larger and there's more to be done in one area before having to go to another area.

*SPOILER ALERT*

But one of the more recent NWN2 load-time annoyances was on my first trip into Blacklake. I chose poorly in the conversation tree, and even though I had quicksilver on me, it punted me back to the merchant district. So I had 3 load times in a row with only 2 quick conversations in-between. Really annoying.
 

sabishii

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suibhne said:
I go back and forth on the game. Some quests are great, some are painful. When I got to Neverwinter, I loved the atmosphere and the plot developments, but then I got railroaded into a long string of boring-ness with only a few sidequests to break the tedium. And having to contend with 50 sneak-attacking evil Rogues in 10 different waves, in several dungeons in a row...wow, it was almost as bad as the BMC.
I agree 100%. The plotline isn't really motivating me to continue the game (at this point at least, when I just took out the orcs) and the expectation of waves of enemies isn't really helping. However, I am motivated to continue just for the dialogue/NPC interaction; even though most of it is scripted, there are a LOT of them and many of them allow me to pick one side or another and affect the end of the interaction drastically. The humor is kinda nice, too.
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
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Messages
24,924
OMGZ! Smart people in this thread! The lacking story is disspaointing; but the joinable npcs make the rather linear journey worth it. :twisted:
 

HanoverF

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 23, 2002
Messages
6,083
MCA Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Codex USB, 2014 Divinity: Original Sin 2
I was almost gonna go buy this as I have a small amount of money burning a hole in my pocket, but Guitar Hero 2 is out, so fuck that shit, I get to roleplay a rock god :P
 

sabishii

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Aug 18, 2005
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Question: How do you get... um... aggro away from certain party members? I had been trying to use Qara because she has crazy firepower, but she always gets killed because although my 2-3 melee can lock down their 2-3 targets, there are usually 2-3 other enemies that just run right past my guys after Qara.
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
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Switch characters. People on the baords refer to the fact that enemy AI seem to prefer targetting whatever character you enjoy. Otherwise, the best bet is to run around and have the enemy act like a moron while your melee characetrs get tons of AOO and free attacks on them. Hey, if Obsidian is gonna pull a Troika and give enemy AI one track minds then you might as well punish them for it.
 

Stalin

Scholar
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May 27, 2006
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497
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Sweden baby!
went to the shop, saw the manual (23pages). where is the rest? i asked
-on pdf they said. fine then so is your money I replied. 12 hours later it's sitting on my hard disk. I heard you got a real manual in the states...Fuck Atari they make interplay look like gods
 

Kortalh

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
278
Volourn said:
No. BL's loadtimes was like watching the movie Ten Commandents in one setting. Nice try though with your bullshit.

What? Do you mean to suggest that I would just make it up? What could possibly motivate me to do so? It seems your forum title is quite apt.
 

Nael

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Indy
suibhne said:
Volourn said:
No. BL's loadtimes was like watching the movie Ten Commandents in one setting.

Hey, we agree! :D

Not sure if folks just have selective memory, but I played Bloodlines with the same rig (including hard drive) that I'm now using to play NWN2 and load times for BL were significantly longer.

That's odd. I have the exact opposite situation. Loading in BL for me was pretty quick on average, probably under 5 seconds, ten at most. NWN2 is horrible on my machine. It takes about 20-30 seconds on average.

What're your specs?

Me:

AMD 3700+ (2.2 ghz)
2GB DDR2 RAM
IBM DTLA 307075 HD (7200rpm, ATA)
7800GT 256MB GPU
WinXP (5.1, Build 2600)
 

suibhne

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Messages
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Nael said:
That's odd. I have the exact opposite situation. Loading in BL for me was pretty quick on average, probably under 5 seconds, ten at most. NWN2 is horrible on my machine. It takes about 20-30 seconds on average.

What're your specs?

Me:

AMD 3700+ (2.2 ghz)
2GB DDR2 RAM
IBM DTLA 307075 HD (7200rpm, ATA)
7800GT 256MB GPU
WinXP (5.1, Build 2600)

Bizarre. :? I'm running a 3500+, and an earlier-gen card (X850XT), with only 1GB of RAM right now - but otherwise pretty similar. I'm still on SP1, if that could make any difference.

My saves in NWN2 load in about 8-10 seconds. Nothing to complain about, at least from my perspective.
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
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"It seems your forum title is quite apt."

And?
 

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