NWN worth it?

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I played a bit of NWN at Master of Nuhn's place yesterday, and I must say I'm impressed. The visuals, the gameplay all looked very good and promising. I liked the interface, and combat is much more fun to watch than the games in the infinity engine, where they just stand around and whack at eachother...

Now I'd like to get this game, but there are a few factors that come in play when deciding to buy it.

Replayability: Is the singleplayer campaign fun to play through a couple of times or do you have to resort to modules quickly? Is this a game I can have fun with a long time, and pick it up again after not playing it for a while?
Drop System: Will I find different items when going through the game several times, or is every drop set the same for every game? Are there random drops?
Modules: Are there good modules available? Or is it just random crap thrown onto the net? Are there those few precious gems that are actually worth downloading and playing?
Multiplayer: Is this viable? Is there a server to play on with several people, or do you have to resort to LAN's or IP games? Is multiplayer balanced? Does the game adapt to the number of players in the game? Or is it coming at the computer in overwhelming force with three characters because it is only designed for one?
Quality of MP: If there is a general server, is it of good quality? (Lagwise and availability) And is the community on it good, or similar to blizzard's Battle.net? (ie. constantly dodging hackers and playerkillers)
Game Balance: Is the game balanced properly, or can you get one hit killed for no apparent reason? Same goes for classes, are there ünterclasses and überclasses? (Aside from the standard DnD rules inbalances of course )
Bugs: Are these many and annoying, or few and minor?
Patches: Are these good and regular, or do they just tend to screw up the game more, and leave you waiting months for a new patch to fix the old?
3rd Edition: Does the game follow the rules as good as possible, or does it have strange changes like the "only walking when using sanctuary" in IWD2?
Modification: Is it easy to use the editor to make my character's armor look different, or does 90% of your modifications look like a dog's droppings?
Overall: What grade (from 1 through 10, 1 being horrific, 10 being incredibly good) would you give this game in general?
Compared to: What do you think of NWN compared to other games like Morrowind?
Roleplayability: For example, if I want to play an evil character, can I do so to the fullest, or am I constantly forced to do the good thing because there are no evil options? Are there evil quests?
Computer Upgrade: In order to run the game smoothly, what specs would I need?

I ask all this, because I'd have to get myself a new computer in order to run NWN, and while I should be able to afford it, I'm not sure if it's worth it. I'd hate to spend lots of money on something I'll have only three weeks of fun with.

[ February 22, 2003, 13:38: Message edited by: Faragon ]

 

Well, I'm not buying a comp solely for NwN, I can use the upgrade. I must be the only person alive still using only 64MB ram, and who has no 3d card. If I want to play future games I will have to upgrade someday. The question is just wether I do it now, and get NwN, or wait and forsake NwN, and buy a better comp for the same amount of money in the future for another game.

You say anyone with a copy can be a server, this means that you can only play in another's game if you have someone's IP, right? Like with IWD2. (LANs excluded of course)

It's good to hear there are good modules

 

Replayability: Little to none. As BTA pointed out, the single player campaign is very easy. IMO, it is difficult to get through the first time around, let alone doing it all over again. I have started the game with all classes, just for the sake of trying out different classes, but got bored before Chapter 2.

Drop System: The good stuff is in the same places every time. Beyond that, the trinkets and minor treasure are random.

Modules: There are some. Sorting through all the junk to find the good ones may take a while, mind you.

Multiplayer: This is more than viable, this is what the game was intended for.

Quality of MP: MP is most readily available through GameSpy though its quality depends on the quality of the module being played and, of course, the people with whom you are playing. I have not had too many problems with PKing - there are some, but they are generally dealt with. Also, there are plenty of kids running around with uberweapons (doing hundreds of damage) so choose your servers carefully.

Game Balance: As mentioned above, I find the SP game to be too easy. You don't have things killing you for no apparent reason. Online, however, is different (see above). I have played the game through with all classes and they perform their intended roles quite well. Druids seem a bit too beefy though.

Bugs: Relatively few but quite annoying. You don't want an ATI card if you're playing this game.

Patches: Relatively frequent though of mediocre quality. I can't remember which patch exactly, but one of them created more problems than it resolved. Overall pretty good.

3rd Edition: I am not familiar enough with the PnP rules to say.

Modification: The editor is very easy to use and the items generally come out looking quite nice. More importantly, creating custom items is also very easy so you can tailor your gear to suit your character. (Caveat: This can very quickly ruin the game, don't go overboard.)

Overall: 6.5, maybe 7.

Compared to: Not as well done as the BG series, doesn't hold a candle to Morrowind.

Roleplayability: You can play an evil character but not too well. You may have some nasty things to say but the effect on the actual game will be next to nil.

Computer Upgrade: 1GHz processor or better, 256MB RAM, 128MB video card.

 

I have found some GREAT modules at nwvault.com. Just go to the "top rated" screen and have at it. Some of the modules that I have played there are better than the original campaign!

 

DO NOT buy NWN for the SP, it's easy, boring, just hack 'n slash (well almost) but some of the module are just GREAT and the multiplayer can be very good, if you have good player of course... Anyway I'd say 7-8...

 

Replayability: Yep I haven't the urge to replay the single player game like I did with BG1 and 2. I probably will replay it with a very different character (magic instead of muscle). 'Resorting' to the modules is not a bad thing though. Overall I don't think I'll get the playing hours from this that I did from earlier Bioware & BlackIsle games.

Drop System: Can't say I've noticed much other than potions weapons etc being random. Based on using the editor you can set specific items or leave it to the game to allocate something appropriate.

Modules: There are some very good modules available (Bioware has released some new free ones too). Don't be put off by people telling you they are difficult to fined either. If you go to
http://nwvault.ign.com/Files/modules/modulesTop2.shtml

you'll find loads of modules that have been rated. Do stick with rated modules though as these are finished. I've played through a few only to find that they are incomplete If you enjoy the modules, you could get very good value for money from the single player game.

Multiplayer: The game provides several options for multi-player. I've tried a few persistant worlds and they have been ok. Being free they can suffer from lack of bandwidth when they get busy and so get a bit laggy. There is also ALFA, which you can find out much more about from this site. Unfortunately they keep turning me down when I apply so I can't speak from eprsonal experience. I think the online play probably holds the most promise if you can find a group of mates to play with regularly. Maybe put a group together from these boards. I'm hoping my OpenRPG group convert to NWN befoe too long. On the multiplayer, I've aslo had lots of fun playing on 2 PCs at home with mates who wouldn'
at normally play computer games at all.

Game Balance: Haven't played enough character types to really say. It does seem easier to play a character with a familiar at lowere levels just because they can fight on your behalf.

Patches: I've had no problems with patches and find the auto-patching systme painless to use (though it can be a bit slow on a modem of course).

3rd Edition: I was a bit dissapointed by the rule implemtation. Their is too much focus on combat at the expense of softer skills. This is a problem with every computer RPG I've played though so you can't blame NWN. I've heard (though yet to try) that the recent free module from Bioware has more emphasis on role-playing rules though...

Modification: Haven't tried this, didn't know you could do it other than to change portraits.

Overall: Hmmm depends what you're after, hack n slash, story, single player, multiplayer etc. For me, SP - NWN 7.5, BG2 9, PST 9.5
MP (just dropping into any game) - NWN 7
MP (with mates) - NWN 9.5

Compared to: Have a look here for some of my other comments about the game.

http://www.sorcerers.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000976#000009

Just to coment on NWN versus Morrowind. I admit that the depth of Morrowind makes NWN look pathetic. However, I tried and tried but just couldn't get into Morrowind. The designers seemed to want to stop you from playing the main story (it just wouldn't get going) and despite the pretty graphics there was no atmosphere. NPCs are just unmoving notice boards without any personality. I've heard of lots of people who do love the game but they seem to be of two types. Those who have only started playing and are overwhelmed by the graphics and those that have played for absolutely ages and have progressed to high levels in a guild or two (I hate to think just how long they have been playing for). Morrowind seems like a MMOLRPG but without people to interact with.

Roleplayability: I'm never evil so can't comment. But if you play online you can roleplay as much as you like. Though I did some drow and dark dwarves getting lots of grief online. It was roleplaying of course, the townsfolk didn't want people like that hanging around (you have been warned).

Computer Upgrade: My P4 2Gh with 512mb and G3 card runs it beautifully. My Athlon 650 with 256 mg and Matrox G400 will run it but I have to turn the detail down so it looks a bit rough and it still occaisionally slows down badly.

In summary, if you buy it just for SP and expect it to live with BG1, 2 and PST you'll probably be a little dissapointed. If you get into it though and download loads of modules or play online or start using the editor, you'll certainly get value for money. I think it is the best option for online role-playing by far, I just wish I could convince my normal online role-playing buddies.

 

Thanks for all the replies people! I guess now it's just waiting for me to get a new computer

 

And a new firewall?

 

Yes, and I'll put it atop the other one so I can be 100% sure you can not bother me in a game!

Come to think of it, this board has an ignore feature.

[ February 24, 2003, 21:16: Message edited by: Faragon ]

 

If you intend to do much with the MP through GameSpy, I would strongly recommend springing for a broadband connection if you can get it. As mentioned, some of the servers have bandwidth issues and frequently collapse or boot you from the lack of strength. Avoiding peak hours may help. This game sends and recives a lot of information, hence my recommendation.

Also, note that some of the files at NW Vault can get quite large (in the neighborhood of 500MB+).

 

Well, I have a reasonably good cable connection, not sure how it will pull NWN... But I'm damn sure to organise a couple of LANs during vacations

 

That cable ought to be strong enough, but you may still have problems during peak hours. That's a server issue though, not a client side, so not much you can do about that.