Mask of the Betrayer previews.

[Starwars]

So, first batch of previews for MotB are here.

NWVault: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NW ... ail&id=242

Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/neverwin ... id=6179110

IGN: http://pc.ign.com/articles/821/821071p1.html

Gamespy: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/neverwinter-ni ... 130p1.html

They mostly say the same thing so you probably don't need to read all of them. I think the new Spirit Eater mechanic sounds pretty interesting, and hopefully it will inject some sense of urgency (and strategy to combat) to the campaign.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

I like what they did with the resting system.
The rest everytime, everywhere resting system in NWN 2 was a travesty. It seems improved now.
The whole soulleater and soul spirit thing seems like a very interesting gameplay element.

Im really looking forward for Mask.

 

[burrie]

Looking more and more promising... the stakes sound bloody interesting. Really looking forward to see how far they'll be taking the soul element, and wether you can get in an unwinnable state.

 

[Starwars]

Also, the NWVault one talks a bit about the Purgatorio module (though doesn't go into detail) which MLMarkland got a chance to show off for the Obsidian/Atari people. Kudos to Obsidian for inviting NWN2 community people to the event.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

It seems Obsidian are getting their 'how to deal with the community' tips from Bioware and not from Bethesda.

I mean take a look at their forums and how often their developers chat to the regular members. Not all the time, but quite frequently. Quite similar to Bioware's own approach.

And fans do get a lot of input as to what goes into the next patch. Obsidian know they fucked up and are trying to fix it.

 

[Jaesun]

I like what they did with the resting system.
The rest everytime, everywhere resting system in NWN 2 was a travesty.

Don't click the rest button. Why is that so difficult?

 

[cardtrick]

Don't click the rest button. Why is that so difficult?

Because I lack willpower, and am a weak and worthless individual. Clearly.

Or, perhaps, because I kind of enjoy powergaming, and like doing as well as possible within the rules of a game. It cheapens the experience when I have to impose my own limitations in order to enjoy the game.

EDIT: On topic . . . everything I hear about this expansion makes it sound better and better. I really hope it lives up to its promise, because I think it has a chance to be one of the better RPGs in recent years. I'm really hoping that it's a totally unoriginal knockoff of PS:T . . . because that would kick ass. Seriously.

 

[Elhoim]

I like what they did with the resting system.
The rest everytime, everywhere resting system in NWN 2 was a travesty.

Don't click the rest button. Why is that so difficult?

Or play blindfolded.

because I kind of enjoy powergaming, and like doing as well as possible within the rules of a game. It cheapens the experience when I have to impose my own limitations in order to enjoy the game.

QFT.

 

[Starwars]

The spirit eater thingie seems to be thing of debate over at the Bioware forums. Seems a lot of people feel it will be to restrictive.

I can see why in all honesty. If it's done wrong, then it could very easily turn into a rather annoying game element. But some people say that it hinders their roleplaying, which is a very strange thing to say I think. I'm looking forward to it *because* of the roleplaying this will likely demand from the player.

 

[TrustNo1]

It cheapens the experience when I have to impose my own limitations in order to enjoy the game.

If your character's leg has been pierced with arrows, he will have to walk, not run until he gets the leg healed. Switching between Sneak mode and regular (upright) mode can represent limping.

If you get shot by an arrow in the head you might not want to use spells, as they require attention and focus. Or maybe your character died by getting shot in the head, or badly injured. You can't walk for a couple of (Oblivion) days. If you think your character should die from the arrow, reload your last saved game.

 

[Jora]

I mean take a look at their forums and how often their developers chat to the regular members. Not all the time, but quite frequently. Quite similar to Bioware's own approach.

That's the old Black Isle style. Started back when the Bioware fora were hosted on the Interplay site. Both studios have always talked to the fans. Dave Gaider worked with forum posters to make the Ascension mods for Throne of Bhaal and Black Isle made the Trials of the Luremaster add-on for Icewind Dale after receiving feedback that the main expansion pack is too short.

 

[OSK]

No forced party members and being able to piss them off enough to make them leave or even attack you is a major improvement in itself.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

No forced party members and being able to piss them off enough to make them leave or even attack you is a major improvement in itself.

Yes. I really wanted to piss off/kill Neeshka, Qara and Bishop so they would leave my party. And I just plain wanted to refuse to let Ammon join at all.

 

[Solaris]

Does sound a better bet than NWN2. Will wait for some community reviews this time though...not gonna get burned again on a bug infested piece of shit thats still broken a year later.

But apperently v1.10 gets released for NWN2 when MotB is released, which supposedly fixes everything once and for all....gotta love that. Honestly, if the rpg market wasn't so shit right now it would be unforgivable, but NWN2 is (sadly enough) one of the better releases over the last couple of years.

 

[Starwars]

Well, Obsidian said somewhere that it was pretty much finished at the start of the summer, and all time since then have been spent on polishing and bugfixing.

I can't back this up with any facts, but I get the feeling that one thing Obsidian want to do with this expansion is to provide a game that feels finished and polished (unlike KOTOR2 and NWN2).

I'm actually fairly confident that I will enjoy the story it has to offer. I enjoyed both the KOTOR2 and NWN2 stories (even though NWN2 had a boring premise with the whole "you're the chosen one and you must kill the evil King of Shadows").
The main thing I'm hoping for is to have more paths through the quests, and a greater world reactivity to the PC and his actions.