Mod News NWN Pirates of the Sword Coast released

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Neverwinter Nights

<a href="http://www.bioware.com">BioWare</a> has released <A href="http://nwn.bioware.com/premium/module_pirates.html">Pirates of the Sword Coast</a> as part of their premium module line up for <A href="http://nwn.bioware.com/">Neverwinter Nights</a>. The cost of the module is <b>$9.99</b> and has the following features:
<br>
<ul><li>Embark on this epic seafaring journey by yourself or in multi-player with your friends!
<br>
<li>Live the swashbuckler's life in this high-spirited tale of pirates, parrots, and peril!
<br>
<li>Explore the popular Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
<br>
<li>Start the adventure in the port of Neverwinter, now recovering from the events of the official campaign.
<br>
<li>Experience multiple endings, interactive henchmen, and a rollicking tale of woe!
<br>
<li>Build a loyal and hearty crew from your choice of ten potential sailors!
<br>
<li>Written and developed exclusively by BioWare writers and designers.
<br>
<li>Feast your eyes on scads of new artwork by mod community darlings, DLA!
<br>
<li>Enjoy more excellent music commissioned from community composer David John!
<br>
<li>8-12 hours of gameplay (our biggest Premium Module ever).
<br>
<li>Starting Level: 5 to 10. This adventure will scale to your character level. Characters level 4 or lower will be automatically set to level 5.</ul>
<br>
8-12 hours is epic?
<br>
<br>
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's News</A>

 

[Spazmo]

I think they just throw epic into PR material reflexively now.

 

[Shadowstrider]

Played it, its not all that impressive. A lot of the things they "hak'd" in isn't really necessary, and add very little. The new tilesets have a lot of pathfinding problems. My characters got stuck more than I would like to.

The begining is extremely, extremely weak. They use typical BioWare forced begining style. Within the first 5 minutes you should get into a fight, which then never ends unless you clean out 4 locations of bad guys. Everytime you kill one, another will replace it seconds later, and it gets very, very tedious. The NPC's dialog is overly verbose, however the extent of the player options in dialog is fairly refreshing. Having the ability to intimidate, coerce, provoke and more in dialogs is entertaining, especially since spells are now used. I intimidated a foe by using a curse spell and putting 'a pox on every coin he makes.'

Many of the battles are simply overpowering because one of the henchmen is UTTERLY worthless, while another is useful but the pathfinding problems in some of the new tiles broke his usefulness.

I completed it in about 8 hours (yeah I'm sad and played it all day today).

My closing statement: How can they make a pirate game without sailing? I've seen a really good hakless sailing system, why they couldn't make one is beyond me.

 

[Jed]

8-12 hours is epic?

This is the same hype-factory that describes the yet-to-be-finished-not-even-to-mention-released Dragon Age as a "blockbuster" afterall...

 

[DemonKing]

8-12 hours is epic?

This is the same hype-factory that describes the yet-to-be-finished-not-even-to-mention-released Dragon Age as a "blockbuster" afterall...

LOL - this is what irks me about Bio - I've enjoyed almost all of their games I've played, and I'm happy to list the BG series and KOTOR as absolute classics, but the shameless hype is grating, and hyping a game that won't be released until 2007 as a blockbuster reeks of arrogance.

Oh well - off to play their latest epic "Pirates of the Sword Coast" now... :wink:

 

[Volourn]

"Played it, its not all that impressive."

What's really impressive is that you continue to throw money at them despite how much you think pretty much everything they do sucks. Pathetic.


"but the shameless hype is grating, and hyping a game that won't be released until 2007 as a blockbuster reeks of arrogance."

Not arrogance, marketing. Every company hypes their product pretty the same way. It's marketing; get over it.

 

[jeansberg]

See, now you've gone and upset Volourn.

 

[Volourn]

I'm never upset. I'm in Happy Happy Land aka the Codex. :D

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Not arrogance, marketing. Every company hypes their product pretty the same way.

It's actually both. That several other companies market their games in the same or in a similar way doesn't mean it's not an arrogant way of doing so.

 

[Volourn]

It's not arrogant though. It's just marketing.

 

[Taoreich]

True, RP, but the fact is that:
(i) Bioware's hype can be "hype-ier" than many (which is consistent with other companies who have enjoyed recent success)
(ii) Codex denizens tend to be more pedantic about BW press. Every adjective is carefully scrutinized, and woe to Tom Olhe if the context is deemed remotely inappropriate or misleading

 

[Volourn]

1. Sure. of course, BIO's hyping is skillz is also part of the reason why they can enjoy the success they do. It is illustrated by someone like Shadowstrider who bashes BIO all the time yet he rushes out to spend $10 on a 10-12 hour module to a three year old game that he supposedly hated. If overhype can get morons like him to waste cash just so he can complain more about them; I'm all for seperating a moron from his cash.

2. True. Codex is still sufferng from speration disorder with the lack of Troika.

 

[AlanC9]

But is calling DA a "blockbuster" really hype, or just an accurate prediction?

All "blockbuster" means is that the game's going to sell, right? Given Bio's track record, I don't see too many scenarios where DA won't get huge sales. A ToEE-style QA disaster might do the game in, but other than that, what's stopping them?

 

[Surlent]

Codex is still sufferng from speration disorder with the lack of Troika.

HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ? (goes to cry in corner sob sob) now we'll never see Arcanum sequel.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

True, RP, but the fact is that:
(i) Bioware's hype can be "hype-ier" than many (which is consistent with other companies who have enjoyed recent success)
(ii) Codex denizens tend to be more pedantic about BW press. Every adjective is carefully scrutinized, and woe to Tom Olhe if the context is deemed remotely inappropriate or misleading

True. We all need our scapegoats one way or another, I guess. Bioware just gets one of my votes because their marketing does come off as holier-than-thou. It's also true they get a lot of flak and sometimes for trivial matters, but I disagree with Volourn that dubbing an unreleased game of "blockbuster" isn't arrogant. It's both arrogant and wishful thinking.

 

[Jed]

It's not arrogant though. It's just marketing.

At the very least it lacks decorum.

 

[Vandal]

scrutiny! ah well. You Codexers won't have to deal with me for much longer--it's my last week here. You can criticize me doing my job for another company soon, I guess As for Dragon Age... I'm fairly confident that it will be a great game. Not because I'm trying to be arrogant--far from it. I just think the team is really competent--made up of a lot of BG/BG2 vets--and that they'll turn out a game a lot of people will really enjoy.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Good luck in your new job, Tom. As for the old one, I'm pretty sure that someone else will be up to the challenge of informing the world how awesome, epic, and blockbusting Bio games are

 

[DemonKing]

scrutiny! ah well. You Codexers won't have to deal with me for much longer--it's my last week here. You can criticize me doing my job for another company soon, I guess As for Dragon Age... I'm fairly confident that it will be a great game. Not because I'm trying to be arrogant--far from it. I just think the team is really competent--made up of a lot of BG/BG2 vets--and that they'll turn out a game a lot of people will really enjoy.

Sounds good - but if Bio is such a totally awesome place to work full of amazingly talented game industry veterans, then why (and where) are you heading elsewhere?

 

[Shadowstrider]

"Played it, its not all that impressive."

What's really impressive is that you continue to throw money at them despite how much you think pretty much everything they do sucks. Pathetic.


"but the shameless hype is grating, and hyping a game that won't be released until 2007 as a blockbuster reeks of arrogance."

Not arrogance, marketing. Every company hypes their product pretty the same way. It's marketing; get over it.

When people are starving they don't turn away mexican food, because they don't like it. As usual, your illogic shines through, and your complete disregard of truth blinds you from seeing anything thats not directly in front of you. BioWare games I have disliked: Neverwinter Nights OC and Jade Empire. Stop being a troll.

 

[Vandal]

Sounds good - but if Bio is such a totally awesome place to work full of amazingly talented game industry veterans, then why (and where) are you heading elsewhere?

I'm leaving because I have an opportunity to work from home and spend more time with my kid.

 

[Spazmo]

Your epic, blockbuster, genre redefining kid?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I'm leaving because I have an opportunity to work from home and spend more time with my kid.

You can't do PR work for BioWare from home? Seems like that's one of the positions that actually could be handled remotely.

 

[Volourn]

"When people are starving they don't turn away mexican food, because they don't like it. As usual, your illogic shines through, and your complete disregard of truth blinds you from seeing anything thats not directly in front of you. BioWare games I have disliked: Neverwinter Nights OC and Jade Empire. Stop being a troll."

Don't whine because I called you out in your retardedness. You bash Bioware repeatedly yet you spend your money on them over,a nd over again. And, your food analogy is foolish. One needs food to surive; not so for CRPGs. Without food; you die. Without a RPG, it may suck; but you move on and wiat for one to come. Youa re the type of idiot who allows crappy games to be made.

Fool.

 

[Jed]

You bash Bioware repeatedly yet you spend your money on them over,a nd over again. And, your food analogy is foolish. One needs food to surive; not so for CRPGs. Without food; you die. Without a RPG, it may suck; but you move on and wiat for one to come. Youa re the type of idiot who allows crappy games to be made.

And you are the tireless apologist of same crappy games, so quit whining already.