Bioware Announces New Neverwinter Module

Despite assurances that we'd seen the last of new NWN modules, Joystiq is reporting that Darkness over Daggerford is now available for download, thanks to the folks at Ossian Studios. From the article: "Ossian Studios is comprised of BioWare veterans and RPG enthusiasts, and while they had originally planned Darkness over Daggerford as a premium module release, this lengthy single-player campaign is now available as a free download at the Neverwinter Nights Vault. Check out BioWare's interview with Ossian co-founder Alan Miranda, and let us know what you think of Daggerford."

Comments

am I the only one

[Anonymous Coward]

that was incredibly disappointed with NwN?

After playing BG/BG2/IWD, I really expected a lot more... they made it way too much like Diablo2....

not trolling. ...off to finish KOTOR2

Re:am I the only one

[zyl0x]

I found that while the game was lacking in overall content compared to BG/2/IWD/2, the jump in graphics and character diversification more than made up for it. I like to consider NWN not so much of a great game as it was a great step in the right direction.

Re:am I the only one

[n9uxu8]

Matter of preference, I suppose. I was never able to get into BG, but my NWN CD never left my dvd drive until they released the no-cd patch. The expansion modules were all a bit short, but some of the user-created modules are fabulous (though there is, of course, a veritable cornucopia of crap content as well). The interface just works for me, I don't feel like I am always fighting the same fight as I do in Oblivion, I don't have to direct each henchman as I do in ToEE (not that I EVER play ToEE). Dave

Re:am I the only one

[servognome]

that was incredibly disappointed with NwN?

The original single player game was boring and uninspired, the expansion packs were much better.

Re:am I the only one

[Arcane_Rhino]

I completely agree. In addition, I have to add that, for me, NWN has provided the single greatest return on my entertainment dollar, bar none. My whole family played it for years and my kids still do. In fact, I still like to re-enter the world on occasion. The enthusiasm and involvement of the community was just unbelievable to me. And, no slam to WoW, which I currently play, the non-technical experience felt a bit more mature. Many of the modules really did take me back to pencil and paper gaming experience.

I also liked the fact that some modules provided, ahem, more adult content and themes. That really brought back the old D&D experience. I was one of the fortunate few who actually found real live girls that like to play D&D. Yep, lots of virtual sex and mayhem.

(On a side note, I have always been bit bemused that some of NWN's community modules never seemed to come up in the whole "save the children" hysteria concerning gaming. Hopefully I didn't just fuck that up.)

Re:am I the only one

[Anonymous Coward]

I found the original campaign to be standard D&D fluff. The expansions, dear god, I never even finished Wh.. err, Hordes of the Underdark.

The true value of NWN can be summed up in six words:

Penultima/Penultima ReRolled

Shadowslords/Dreamcatcher/Demon

Re:am I the only one

[hav0x]

i don't think the original was boring, or uninspired. I think it is pretty fun and with a good replay value.
On the down side, it is way too long. It took me an awfull long time to finish the damn thing. The first two parts/chapters of the game are a PAIN to finish.

Re:am I the only one

[jonwil]

I didnt really like NWN.
I only played the single player and the main thing I didnt like is that if you powered through the game you missed all sorts of side quests and then got to a point where because you missed all those quests (and the stuff they gave you, experience, items etc) you were not powerfull enough to continue.
At least that wat my experience.

NWN is piles and piles of fun

[Travoltus]

NWN is one of the GREATEST games I've played yet... because

a) I can play it on my older laptop when I'm not near my super duper desktop PC
b) The game is very, very long (and even longer with the additions), you have lots of side quests and a large universe to explore, plus a boat load of spells and weapons (and magic bags to carry loot)
c) It has a ton of user made mods
d) I can play it without sound and follow the whole story regardless

I like this more than Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath because of a) and b) and c), and I like it more than Dungeon Siege because of a) and c) and d).

Doesn't beat Oblivion, though Oblivion would utterly kill my laptop with a Daedric Warhammer of Fire Damage & Soul Trap (thus causing my laptop to burst into flame.. get it?)

I don't like NWN because it often costs me my lunch hour at work!

Re:NWN is piles and piles of fun

[SScorpio]

You mentioned Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath. I have to assume that you are referring to the console Baldur's Gate which where action hack and slash games. The Baldur's Gate games you'll hear people talking fondly of are PC only, and they are 2.5D and will run on an older computer than Neverwinter Nights. I highly recommend picking up both games, You can get a pack that includes both Baldur's Gate 2 it's expansion for $20 and will give you 200+ hours of gameplay. There is also a pack for Baldur's Gate 1 and it's expansion, but it's a little harder to find.

There has been user created content for both games; however, nothing on the scale of Neverwinter Nights which was create with this in mind. But if you like a good store I highly recommend checking them out.

Re:NWN is piles and piles of fun

[Voltageaav]

Baldur's Gate 2 is one of the best games ever... I love Neverwinter Nights, but I'd pick BG2 over it.

Re:NWN is piles and piles of fun

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget:

e) it has an official Linux client that runs well and doesn't require hours of dicking about with Wine or Cedega.

Re:NWN is piles and piles of fun

[Anonymous Coward]

Nitpick: NWN is 2.5D with models. BG is Isometric with sprites (like Qbert).

Re:NWN is piles and piles of fun

[SScorpio]

NWN is full 3D where you have full control over the camera. The Baldur's Gate games are isometric; however, that's what used to be called 2.5D unless my memory is failing more than I thought it was.

Not the only one

[kaizokunami]

I didn't like NWN nearly as much as I expected to. I don't really like the "henchman" party system and I didn't really find the story or characters as compelling as some of Bioware's other offerings (i.e. Baldur's Gate, KotOR).

Re:Not the only one

[i kan reed]

The modability was great, but the lack of colorfulness, uniqueness, and individualized characters(asside from deekin, of course) as well as empty dialog compared to the earlier offerings made it less than steller.

Re:Not the only one

[rayde]

i hated the henchman system... definitely loved certain aspects of NwN, especially modability, and the freedom, but as far as personal enjoyment, i honestly preferred BG 1&2

Re:Not the only one

[Swift(void)]

I didn't like NWN nearly as much as I expected to. I don't really like the "henchman" party system and I didn't really find the story or characters as compelling as some of Bioware's other offerings (i.e. Baldur's Gate, KotOR).

Try the HoTU expansion. Skip SoU, its rubbish, HoTU is much much better though. The campaign that shipped with NWN was lackluster, primarily because if Bioware had their way, they wanted to just ship the DM Client and Toolset as a game building program, instead of a game, so the campaign was pretty much a tech demo of what you could make in the toolset. The user community pretty quickly surpassed it.

Hopefully Atari's financial issues won't kill NWN2

[Maul]

NWN was great because it was supported for a long time. Free content was added periodically, in addition to the interesting premium modules. Bioware continued to support and help the community as much as possible long after both expansions were finished. This is amazing for a non-MMO, and lead to an impressive community that still creates mods for the game and enjoys it greatly.

I'm hoping that Atari's financial issues won't cause the NWN2 community to be "stillborn." Yes, the game will be released with the built in campaign, but I'm worried that the Obsidian will not get the approval to provide as many patches or community assistance as Bioware got with the original.

great timing...

[pb]

I was just playing this again the other day, testing out my new system, (now I can finally view the end video for HotU on Linux...) so I'll have to snag this too!

Now all we need is a Baldur's Gate/Baldur's Gate II remake done using the NWN (Aurora) engine... hey, I can dream, right?

Re:great timing...

[corky842]

Now all we need is a Baldur's Gate/Baldur's Gate II remake done using the NWN (Aurora) engine...

Just in time for NWN2!

Re:great timing...

[Jaysyn]

There are very, very well done remakes of Diablo & Icewind Dale II: Heart of Winter for NWN however.

||shameless plug||

If you like the old Dark Sun setting, NWN &/or PvP you may want to check out Athas Reborn. Unfortunetley the server itself is down at the moment apparently because of a cut fiber.

Jaysyn

Re:great timing...

[Harker]

You know, it's been years since I've tried an online NWN game. I might have to give this a shot. I loved the Dark Sun setting.

H.

Re:great timing...

[Jaysyn]

We're back up & running.

Jaysyn

Great transition from the PnP experience

[gtmaneki]

NWN is the first and only PC game I've bought for a long time. My best experiences with it revolve around using it to continue playing D&D with my old friends from college. Now that we've graduated, moved, gotten jobs, gotten married, and have kids, it's a lot harder to get together.

NWN helped with all this. It also streamlined a lot of the 3rd edition stuff, which was good for most of us who never bother to learn the updated and expanded rules. Thanks to the mod community we can also change the in-game rules, as well as perform dice rolls and customize the Faerun setting to reflect our own little world. And most of it runs on Linux!

You didn't play NWN

[Chris Burke]

if you didn't play it with a Dungeon Master.

As a stand-alone single-player or coop-mode CRPG, NWN was okay but not stellar. The original campaign was pretty bad, but the expansions were decent enough. Either way it was just the same old RPG with 3rd edition AD&D rules underneath.

With a Dungeon Master or Dungeon Masters running the show, NWN is simply put the closest thing to table-top real role-playing that you'll get. It's a completely different experience, and it's freaking awesome. With a human being in control of the game, you can use real creativity and ingenuity to solve problems, unlike every other CRPG.

Perfect? By no means, but it's absolutely a major step in the right direction. Judging NWN by anything other than this aspect of the game is to miss out on its truly genre-defining qualities.

Of course the problem with playing NWN as a computer equivalent of a table-top game is that it takes a similar amount of planning, preparation, and organization. Thus a lot haven't experienced the real game and instead criticize it's admittedly lack-luster single player mode.

NWVault is why I play

[frankie]

NWN is by no means a perfect game. The D20 ruleset is saddled with old wrong ideas deep in its kernel (AC, level-based HP, memorization, etc) no matter how elegant they make the surrounding details. NWN's default AI is horrible; AI haks are erratic. And its 2.5D geometry is just plain sad compared to the true 3D engines used by most other games this millennium. But it has exactly one thing unmatched by any other CRPG since perhaps FRUA -- the toolset. Other games offer skins, maps, tweaks, etc. Thanks to sites like NWVault, NWN has entire UNIVERSES full of those things and more.

Point me in the right direction please!!!

[TheHornedOne]

Dear sirs I am new to the Intrnet. What are these "Role Playing Games" and where can I find one?

Re:Point me in the right direction please!!!

[khellendros1984]

Dear sir, your user number says differently. A good day to you =)

Yup, those were PS2 games

[Travoltus]

Great advice; I already have BG2 on mail order. :) Now to find BG1...

Re:Yup, those were PS2 games

[SScorpio]

You can get it at GoGamer.com for $15+s/h. http://www.gogamer.com/cgi-bin/GoGamer.storefront/ SESSIONID/Product/View/001BALGCI

I recommend playing through the original first. It's a little bit easier to get into, and you can import your character into BG2. BG2 took a little longer for me to get into, but the story grew quickly and drew me in about a 1/4 of the way through the game and I had a hard time putting it down.

Finally if you find you like those games I also recommend you pickup Planescape Torment. It was made by Black Isle using the original BG's engine and has one of the best stores ever in a computer RPG. Black Isle is the company that also made the Icewind Dale series and Fallout series. They were killed off by Interplay and became Obsidien Entertainment which is working closely with Bioware. The new company producted Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords and they are also the ones developing Neverwinter Nights 2.

Dungeon Master ?

[l0cust]

I am not one of those old gamers ( no idea what Dungeon Master means heh) but I actually liked NWN single player mode. It could be because I have always been more of a fps/strategy games junkie and NWN was my first rpg, but I was simply dazzled by the sheer amount of details and the seemingly immense universe (loved those side-quests to the point that I was afraid I am getting some sort of OCD like Jack Nicholson in As Good as it Gets, since I refused to get on with the main quest till I was totally sure there was not a single side quest left in that map!)

The thing I liked best about it was that it never felt to be too repetitive (except maybe at a couple of points and it more than made up for them by throwing in some interesting characters/quests). They actually had a side thing where you can have a 'Hot Coffee' like experience on top of all the monster slashing you get to do. Never quite got to play the mods, started with SoU but had to leave midway..oh well.

Re:Dungeon Master ?

[Chris Burke]

I am not one of those old gamers ( no idea what Dungeon Master means heh)

A Dungeon Master(DM), or Game Master(GM) in any non-D&D RPG, is the person who is in control of the game world and decides what the outcome of the players' actions are. Even though there are rules in the manuals, fundamentally the Dungeon Master is responsible for evaluating the rules, vetoing the rules where appropriate, and deciding what happens when a player does something not explicitly defined by the rules. To analogize it with computer RPGS, the Dungeon Master -is- the game engine, running in his brain, and you use a verbal interface with him.

Coming from a pen-and-paper background, the implications of having a human run the show are obvious to me, and the ways in which CRPGs fail to live up to the pen-and-paper standard are as well. But let me try to explain exactly how this affects a game of NWN.

In the standard NWN games, when you talk to an NPC you are given a small set of things to say, based on the script the module author created. With a human Dungeon Master, you can say whatever you want to the NPC and the DM will decide how they respond. This allows more immersive role-playing, makes figuring out what an NPC knows both more difficult and more intuitive, and allows you to role-play your character with whatever personality you want (instead of a small smattering of personas that you are given in standard modules).

Or consider game actions and puzzle solutions. Let's say there's a trap impeding your progress, and a level on the other side which is there to temporarily disable the trap so that approved persons can be allowed through. Now the game engine says a rogue can attempt to disable the trap. However let's say you wanted to be clever -- you don't have a rogue, or the trap is too difficult -- and try to hit the level with a rock. Now certainly the module author could have allowed for this possibility, but if they didn't then you couldn't. But with a DM running the game, he could first decide if there are any appropriate rocks around, what the difficuly of hitting the lever is, and whether that would activate it. He would then let you make a to-hit roll, and determine if you succeeded.

Also, the DM can do things like quickly create and modify encounters, either adding monsters if the players are having too easy a time, subtracting them if too hard, or otherwise reacting to player actions.

Lots of things are still controlled by the engine ,like combat, and lots of things are fundamentally limited by the engine -- for example, all the terrain and geometry has to be pre-defined. In pen and paper the DM could just make up terrain as he goes, but that just doesn't work in NWN.

I hope that gives you an idea of some of the potential of playing with a DM. Basically it's about a finite game with posibilities limited by whatever the author coded up, and an open-ended game that can develop in new directions as the game goes on.

Article seems a bit misleading

[Shilkanni]

My understanding is that Atari canned the support for Neverwinter Nights and any future "Premium Modules". These were modules released through Bioware which you had to pay for (usually small-medium size modules for small-medium price). This was 'official' content and the ability for them to make a bit more money from NWN carried with it new features and content in patches.

There were no "assurances that we'd seen the last of new NWN modules" - no-one was ever suggesting that there would be no more user created modules, just that we wouldn't see any more "Premium Modules" and official content from Bioware.

This was one of the modules which was going to be a "Premium Module" but got cancelled, and they are releasing it for free, as is the case for a couple of other projects as well. I think it was pretty obvious this was going to happen when we learned that several work in progress modules were cancelled.

However, this does not signify a change of position from Bioware or Atari about the Premium Modules, and it's not an official release from Bioware. It's just another example of stellar quality free content from NWN.