Neverwinters Nights vs Dragon Age

[Falksi]

I loved DA:O so have just tried playing NWN2 again for the 3rd time, and I just can't. It's just so bad to actually play in terms of controls & gameplay that I've had to give up again.

 

[Jaesun]

Oh gawd, this thread just gave me an idea....

 

[Sykar]

I loved DA:O so have just tried playing NWN2 again for the 3rd time, and I just can't. It's just so bad to actually play in terms of controls & gameplay that I've had to give up again.

Really? I thought DA:O was not any better. In fact fighters work a lot better in NWN 2 than in DA:O imo. Never had major with controls athough they are for sure not great. OC was also a bit better than the OC in NWN 1 imho.

Also build diversity dwarfs DA:Os:

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Power_Builds

And that is just the tip of the ice berg.

 

[Falksi]

Really? I thought DA:O was not any better. In fact fighters work a lot better in NWN 2 than in DA:O imo. Never had major with controls athough they are for sure not great. OC was also a bit better than the OC in NWN 1 imho.

Also build diversity dwarfs DA:Os:

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Power_Builds

And that is just the tip of the ice berg.

Fighters are weak in terms of enjoyment in DA:O, but overall I much preferred the combat. Gutted coz NWN2 seems like it's got loads of potential. But the general control to move about are such hard work, and your companions just rush headlong into every enemy.
If there's ways round that I'd be more than happy to try them.

 

[anvi]

You can change the controls in NWN2 to be like Dragon Age.

 

[Falksi]

You can change the controls in NWN2 to be like Dragon Age.

It handles nothing like it tho. NWN2 is all over the shop when it comes to manoeuvring (as a default).
Also I played Origins on console, and that fit brilliantly from the off.
Any suggestions to get the most out of NWN2 are much appreciated tho.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Any suggestions to get the most out of NWN2 are much appreciated tho.

Roll a Barbarian.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I have grown to appreciate the NWN combat experience. It's refreshing to have AI-controlled companions for the most part. My Bard compatriot in Swordflight does all sorts of silly and interesting things. I'll be ready to rumble and all of a sudden notice all the enemies have been put to sleep. :D Or I'll wonder why I'm knocked on my ass (the enemies will be, too) and realize that she caught me in her Area of Effect spell. :D Stuff like that adds to the charm and unpredictability.

Somewhat releated, but does the Lore skill or any other skill affect the intelligence of AI companions in NWN? I thought it would be cool if, for example, a higher Lore skill meant that your companion was more likely to hit the enemy with things that they are weak to. And if the companion has a poor skill in either Lore, or Intelligence, etc., they may occasionally try things that don't work. Is that how it works or is that a futuristic idea I came up with from playing the game recently?

 

[Falksi]

I have grown to appreciate the NWN combat experience. It's refreshing to have AI-controlled companions for the most part. My Bard compatriot in Swordflight does all sorts of silly and interesting things. I'll be ready to rumble and all of a sudden notice all the enemies have been put to sleep. :D Or I'll wonder why I'm knocked on my ass (the enemies will be, too) and realize that she caught me in her Area of Effect spell. :D Stuff like that adds to the charm and unpredictability.

That's the type of stuff which disconnects me from the experience as I don't feel in control.
Fair POV tho, not something which I can subscribe to, but kudos for being able to adapt to get the most out of it.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

That's the type of stuff which disconnects me from the experience as I don't feel in control.
Fair POV tho, not something which I can subscribe to, but kudos for being able to adapt to get the most out of it.

Well, the "less control" aspect is what I appreciate about it. I mean, if I want full control I can play ToEE, or Baldur's Gate. NWN fundamentally changes the experience by limiting control, which I find refreshing as an alternative to the control-heavy games.

 

[Falksi]

Well, the "less control" aspect is what I appreciate about it. I mean, if I want full control I can play ToEE, or Baldur's Gate. NWN fundamentally changes the experience by limiting control, which I find refreshing as an alternative to the control-heavy games.

Even though I didn't take to it with NWN2, I get where you're coming from, and enjoyed Persona 3's combat for similar reasons.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I find a bit of the classic D&D unpredictability and RNG to be a lot of fun for me lately. I find it interesting to play a game "naturally" and not try to control everything in a robotic fashion, and when there are heavy dice rolls and what not involved, the end results are often unpredictable. When it rolls in your favor, it's also often pleasantly surprising and rewarding.

 

[Volourn]

"That's the type of stuff which disconnects me from the experience as I don't feel in control."

That's the point. You *shouldn't* be in control of a npc. HOLY FUK. They ain't supposed to be robots. I like the multi headed monsters found in the IE, GB, or other games but there is a charm of having non controllable npcs as well. of coruse, the AI is always questionable since you will never get perfect AI for the most part in any game (see NWN, FO, or any other game with AI controlled companions) but the idea is way more RPGish.

 

[Semper]

It handles nothing like it tho. NWN2 is all over the shop when it comes to manoeuvring (as a default).
Also I played Origins on console, and that fit brilliantly from the off. Any suggestions to get the most out of NWN2 are much appreciated tho.

1) install skywing's client extension and minimize area map after starting nwn2
2) always activate puppet mode and zoom out the farthest. bind a key to select the whole group and another one to rotate the camera - both keys should be the same in exploration and in strategy mode. move around in exploration mode and set the camera to focus on the selected character. left click and hold to move the selected character/s around. press and hold the appropriate key to rotate the camera if needed. activate object fading and deactivate ceilings to minimize camera rotation.
3) while fighting you could switch to strategy mode - ain't mandatory in every fight. set left click and hold to marquee select and camera focus to free camera. deactivate focusing on selected character while using free camera.
4) never use character mode or keys to move your character. electron ain't made for this and there will be bugs with triggers sooner or later.

 

[mbv123]

Both are pretty boring and tedious. I guess I'd go for Neverwinter Nights since I've heard people say that custom player made campaigns are good (never played them, so don't know for sure), at least there's some potential to be had.
Dragon Age is just tedious shit with with one of the most generic and boring settings I've seen in video games.

 

[Falksi]

1) install skywing's client extension and minimize area map after starting nwn2
2) always activate puppet mode and zoom out the farthest. bind a key to select the whole group and another one to rotate the camera - both keys should be the same in exploration and in strategy mode. move around in exploration mode and set the camera to focus on the selected character. left click and hold to move the selected character/s around. press and hold the appropriate key to rotate the camera if needed. activate object fading and deactivate ceilings to minimize camera rotation.
3) while fighting you could switch to strategy mode - ain't mandatory in every fight. set left click and hold to marquee select and camera focus to free camera. deactivate focusing on selected character while using free camera.
4) never use character mode or keys to move your character. electron ain't made for this and there will be bugs with triggers sooner or later.

Brilliant, exactly what I'm after. Thanks for that, much appreciated. I uninstalled it over the weekend, but will reinstall over the next few weeks and try again.

 

[Musaab]

I don't remember any homosexual romantic encounters in NWN.

NWN will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially for the Persistent World RP servers I used to play on.

Dragon Age lost me when I was accosted by a faggot elf who tried to suck my dick.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

faggot elf

That's just redundant.

 

[mrlurker666]

I remember playing DA:O after playing BG and thinking that it was good just horribly simplified. Then going on to play NWN and being impressed by its in depth system. On NWN you can be the Dragon on DA you can make "xD random" about wanting to be a dragon.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

This question is actually harder than it sounds. When you first start playing these two games, the answer seems obvious. DA:O is way more polished, more beautiful, and at a surface glance, seems like a much more interesting, complex, and fun game. However, after you actually complete both, which not a lot of people have the endurance to do, you realize I think that it's much closer than you thought. And I would actually say that NWN: OC, as crappy as it is, is better than DA:O. They are both pretty bad games, but NWN is way shorter and less obnoxious.

To give an analogy, NWN:OC is like a crappy fast food burger that you eat and then feel like shit afterwards. DA:O, on the other hand, is like a slightly higher model of a crappy burger from the same joint, except the people behind it for some reason feel like it is a gourmet meal, and take 2-3 hours to prepare it, then 2-3 hours to serve it, all the while acting like they are doing you a favor, and telling you about their grandfather's past history in France.

 

[Volourn]

The OC is average. there are games that are clearly better (BG2, FO) and games that are clearly worse (POR2, SCL). Like I said, in the middle.

 

[Tom Selleck]

The problem is that NWN was the first not-Diablo CRPG I ever played and even though I've gone back and played the good ones, and the better ones, there is something about the naivete and the possibilities of what I experienced that's caused me to a) overrate it in my memories, b) never stop chasing that dragon and c) jerk off a shit ton to Aribeth and various nude elf cosplayer ladies in a Google-Safesearch-Off image search.

That being said, objectively, NWN OC is AIDS and DA:O is HIV.