So I'm trying out NWN

[Thrasher]

I need to try that. I haven't installed NWN for about 5 years.

 

[Average Manatee]

Hmm, I'm tempted but wary of installing all of that shit again only to give up after an hour thanks to the ugliest graphics and most horrendous UI known to man.

 

[Cosmo]

But it's linear, so C&C fanatics beware. A lot of destiny related mindfuck to be had.

I found it really painful to play, because you're bound to be repeatedly fucked whatever you do during the large majority of the 3 modules, and you know it. There's no incentive; like i said it felt like a chore. Building a RPG whose principle is denying choice to the player is a contradiction in and of itself.


Anyways, thank y'all for the suggestions.

 

[sea]

So do people claim Hordes of the Underdark is actually good? If so, do I need to have played the original stuff to enjoy it at all or know what's going on?

 

[deus101]

Alot of references and some NPC's from the Original Campaign.

But the game sorta picks of from where Shadows of Undertime stopped(your role attleast)

 

[hiver]

No. because nothing is going on in the original.

 

[waywardOne]

So do people claim Hordes of the Underdark is actually good? If so, do I need to have played the original stuff to enjoy it at all or know what's going on?

You need the context of how shitty the game was prior to HotU in order to think HotU isn't shitty.

 

[Wyrmlord]

So do people claim Hordes of the Underdark is actually good? If so, do I need to have played the original stuff to enjoy it at all or know what's going on?

Two things that were done decently, although it starts off as very boring and reverts back to boring moments often.

There is a sequence of travelling through the planes somewhere mid to the late game of HotU.

All the distinguished heroes of the past from all over the FR world are gathered in some frozen hell, and all of it is an appropriate depiction of a world where immortals and god-like heroes gather once they tire of adventures in the mortal planes. So they throw the most powerful enemies of the world - angels, demons, dragons, avatars, demigods, interplanar monsters - at the player, and you get the chance to take the assistance of other god-like immortals or fight them one on one. The interesting element here is that since everyone is powerful, the real edge you get is from knowing True Names of your foes, which you can use to manipulate anyone and everyone you see. It will drive you bankrupt, but it will force your way to get the best from everyone. This was **decent** and could probably be rated at the level of Curst to Baator to Carceri in Torment.

Another somewhat enjoyable moment in the game was the Underdark, where you gather several armies in the area to fight the enemies of the drow.

I believe they could have eliminated much of the filler and expanded on the Underdark and the interplanar moments.

 

[Infinitron]

So do people claim Hordes of the Underdark is actually good? If so, do I need to have played the original stuff to enjoy it at all or know what's going on?

It's a sequel to the first expansion, Shadows of Undrentide. Which is also nice, in a gritty, small-scope low-level sort of way.

Wyrmlord Sheesh, don't spoil the entire thing for him. But yes, that chapter was a rare moment of Bioware clearly being inspired by BIS/Obsidian's type of storytelling - Torment, specifically - and doing a pretty good job at it.

 

[Cosmo]

gritty

o_O Are you sure you meant that ?
From what i remember, SoU is every bit as childish and boring as the OC...

 

[Infinitron]

gritty

o_O Are you sure you meant that ?
From what i remember, SoU is every bit as childish and boring as the OC...

Being a low-level campaign makes it gritty since you're weak and under-equipped pretty much throughout the entire thing.

Another thing I liked about SoU was the use of the tracking skill in hunting down the kobolds that raided the village and robbed you at the beginning. Following their tracks through the snowy wastes of the Silver Marches, discovering what happened to them, how they split up into several groups, where each group ended up. Detail!

 

[Albers]

NWN was something you played for the 1% of multiplayer servers that didn't suck. Disregard the SP modules, theyr'e just a glorified tech demo for the toolset.

There used to be a web site which was like a matchmaking/dating service for NWN players. Someone would agree to host/DM a game and he'd get 3 or 5 players to log in at a certain time on a certain night. No, I'm not talking that pseudo-MMO/persistent server stuff, but a fairly table-top experience with a small group of players. And you could use the matchmaking site to find like-minded players and burn through some of the better modules from the player community. This is why NWN was great and well worth the money back in the day. Of course, that web site is long gone now and everyone has moved on. But there were a couple good years when, despite the engine's shortcomings, you could have some fun with it.

But yeah Codex, OC sux lol.

 

[Ulminati]

Yeah, I played in one guys regular campaign in NWN. I ran some oneshot scenarios myself with content before integratign it into the PWs I was GM/Builder on

 

[Dele]

NWN was something you played for the 1% of multiplayer servers that didn't suck. Disregard the SP modules, theyr'e just a glorified tech demo for the toolset.

There used to be a web site which was like a matchmaking/dating service for NWN players. Someone would agree to host/DM a game and he'd get 3 or 5 players to log in at a certain time on a certain night. No, I'm not talking that pseudo-MMO/persistent server stuff, but a fairly table-top experience with a small group of players. And you could use the matchmaking site to find like-minded players and burn through some of the better modules from the player community. This is why NWN was great and well worth the money back in the day. Of course, that web site is long gone now and everyone has moved on. But there were a couple good years when, despite the engine's shortcomings, you could have some fun with it.

But yeah Codex, OC sux lol.

http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/

Its still going strong, haven't played in a campaign for a while though.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I was in a good PW on NWN back in the day. Was called Glorwing or something like that. Active playerbase and there was always a DM or two on to get things going.

 

[Renegen]

Well I bought NWN2 recently, anyone looking to go through a module together?

 

[Data4]

The only good thing about NWN was the soundtrack.

 

[Wyrmlord]

The only good thing about NWN was the soundtrack.

The material was quite appropriate for an escapist fantasy videogame. It was but wasted on the wrong game.

On the other hand, while the good part of Neverwinter Nights 2 was that it reused the tracks of Neverwinter Nights, the bad part was the new tracks introduced for that game alone.

Posters on RPG Codex are not necessarily taken in by Jeremy Soule soundtracks, but he delivers on the elevated feeling that a videogame is supposed to deliver. His Dawn of War soundtrack is proof of that.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

That soundtrack clip reminds me of exploring the forests on my old PW. Damn you Wyrmlord for giving me nostalgia like that. Fuck, I'm going to have to see if the PW is still going now.

 

[Infinitron]

I thought the original tracks of NWN2 were pretty nice too, though not quite as memorable.

They're a bit more bombastic, and lack Jeremy Soule's serene touch.

 

[Dele]

I thought the original tracks of NWN2 were pretty nice too, though not quite as memorable.
They're a bit more bombastic, and lack Jeremy Soule's serene touch.

Soz also had excellent music(the title atleast), i haven't found a way to play the .bmu files in foobar but winamp can play them.

Most of nwn 1 music is really good too, for me the music was a huge part of what has kept me playing the game.


Also the Ammon Jerro music from nwn2 OC was awesome. Ammon also had great voice-acting, reminded me of Irenicus.

 

[Infinitron]

Yes, MotB and SoZ had even better music than the OC.


Also liked the Githyanki music in the OC. It really stressed how these things were a fucking nefarious extraplanar menace that could not be stopped. I liked how it seamlessly flowed into the combat theme.

 

[Falkner]

I thought you could just rename the files? That's how it worked for me.
And yes, SoZ has pretty good music.