Glabro
Novice
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2004
- Messages
- 1
I must say, this thread has been a priceless read at 2:30 am....
I admit that I registered just to post this one reply, as it seems to me that the vocal majority
of the codex is ... how should I put it.... well, let´s just say that probably wouldn´t fit in here, and not because I don´t share the dislike of NWN that seems to be quite common here.
As for me, I can´t say I was disappointed with the game.
I expected two things out of it :
1. Well-done single-player modules from the fanbase
2. Well-done "persistent" multiplayer servers with mature roleplayers
I got both. Sure, most of the modules out there are utter crap. But I´ve never played them, let alone downloaded them. It was pretty easy for me to find well-made modules that I liked using NWvault - you couldn´t really go far wrong with the top reviewed and the most liked modules available. I don´t share the sentiment that an adventure needs to be professionally made in order to be worthy of my time.
As for the multiplayer part, I know that the majority of you were disappointed with it for various reasons. I know that if you just expect to play the single-player module online, or are trying to take your single-player level 20 character online, or are just trying to jump into a random server on Gamespy, you will be disappointed, that´s a given.
I also acknowledge that the majority of the players are morons and children - but that´s usually the case with most of the "mainstream" online games.
However, I don´t care for "the most" - I looked around on NWVault and the web, searching for a server that suited my tastes, and soon found one.
It was called Narfell, and I spent many months playing there. The people there were mostly all reasonable, adult roleplayers (If I remember correctly they screened the applicants a bit to get rid of most of the rubbish players - the rest got dealt with simply by their inability to get anywhere alone in the harsh land with their little level 1 characters). The characters were stored on the server, there was no cheating, and death was permanent, barring a spell of raise dead. And yes, it was very hard to gain levels - clerics of 9th level were truly a rarity.
Later on I left Narfell to join ALFA - admittedly a little too megalomanic project to recreate most of the Forgotten Realms on multiple servers - and they had the most meticulous of screening processes there is/was. Most applicants were rejected outright - it was elitist to the core. But then almost everyone that got in were great players - and there were over a thousand of them when I played (spread on different servers of course). The gaming experience I got out of ALFA is something was something extraordinary : online roleplaying with great people AND live DMs, that´s something I hope we´ll see more of in the future ( as a sidenote, I´m keeping an eye on WISH ).
In short - I got what I wanted, but ONLY after I spent a bit of time and effort searching for it.
After this long tirade/rant/whatever you want to call it, do I think that NWN was a good purchase for me and other roleplayers that can put a bit of effort into it? Naturally.
Do I think that it´s a great, flawless game, suitable for everyone out of the box? No.
It has its shortcomings, and there are quite a few of them.
The single-player campaign needs not mentioning - I never bothered to play it past the second chapter. I wasn´t really expecting it at all - but many, many people were.
In short, those who are either predisposed against unofficial modules and servers, or alternatively are unwilling to put any sort of effort into finding things to play don´t really find anything good in NWN. It´s somewhat understandable : for most it must feel like hunting for pearls in a pile of excrement. It really wasn´t like that for me, but I must have been different.
Then again, it´s debatable if this is the fault of the game or not....
Hm, I can´t come up with more gripes after all....the graphics are utilitarian, I really didn´t mind them....
Oh well, guess I´ll end up the long post already. As a sidenote, I haven´t touched NWN for at least a year....I moved on to other things - it really isn´t the end-all, be-all of games - but it provided, for me, much for my money, and it´s a game that´s very easy to go back to.
Thank you for reading. I´m not completely sure why I spent 45 minutes writing this, but I guess it passed the time....
PS. I took great care in trying not to insult anyone in the thread. However, I am of the opinion that "flaming" does nothing to get your point across, and is childish and a bit sad.
However, if taken to extremes, it becomes tragicomedy. Flame me if you must, but know that it won´t accomplish much : I won´t stick around and will probably not remember to check any responses anyway. But if you have something oonstructive to say and want me to take a look at it, feel free to PM me (assuming this forum has such a function - I didn´t check)
I admit that I registered just to post this one reply, as it seems to me that the vocal majority
of the codex is ... how should I put it.... well, let´s just say that probably wouldn´t fit in here, and not because I don´t share the dislike of NWN that seems to be quite common here.
As for me, I can´t say I was disappointed with the game.
I expected two things out of it :
1. Well-done single-player modules from the fanbase
2. Well-done "persistent" multiplayer servers with mature roleplayers
I got both. Sure, most of the modules out there are utter crap. But I´ve never played them, let alone downloaded them. It was pretty easy for me to find well-made modules that I liked using NWvault - you couldn´t really go far wrong with the top reviewed and the most liked modules available. I don´t share the sentiment that an adventure needs to be professionally made in order to be worthy of my time.
As for the multiplayer part, I know that the majority of you were disappointed with it for various reasons. I know that if you just expect to play the single-player module online, or are trying to take your single-player level 20 character online, or are just trying to jump into a random server on Gamespy, you will be disappointed, that´s a given.
I also acknowledge that the majority of the players are morons and children - but that´s usually the case with most of the "mainstream" online games.
However, I don´t care for "the most" - I looked around on NWVault and the web, searching for a server that suited my tastes, and soon found one.
It was called Narfell, and I spent many months playing there. The people there were mostly all reasonable, adult roleplayers (If I remember correctly they screened the applicants a bit to get rid of most of the rubbish players - the rest got dealt with simply by their inability to get anywhere alone in the harsh land with their little level 1 characters). The characters were stored on the server, there was no cheating, and death was permanent, barring a spell of raise dead. And yes, it was very hard to gain levels - clerics of 9th level were truly a rarity.
Later on I left Narfell to join ALFA - admittedly a little too megalomanic project to recreate most of the Forgotten Realms on multiple servers - and they had the most meticulous of screening processes there is/was. Most applicants were rejected outright - it was elitist to the core. But then almost everyone that got in were great players - and there were over a thousand of them when I played (spread on different servers of course). The gaming experience I got out of ALFA is something was something extraordinary : online roleplaying with great people AND live DMs, that´s something I hope we´ll see more of in the future ( as a sidenote, I´m keeping an eye on WISH ).
In short - I got what I wanted, but ONLY after I spent a bit of time and effort searching for it.
After this long tirade/rant/whatever you want to call it, do I think that NWN was a good purchase for me and other roleplayers that can put a bit of effort into it? Naturally.
Do I think that it´s a great, flawless game, suitable for everyone out of the box? No.
It has its shortcomings, and there are quite a few of them.
The single-player campaign needs not mentioning - I never bothered to play it past the second chapter. I wasn´t really expecting it at all - but many, many people were.
In short, those who are either predisposed against unofficial modules and servers, or alternatively are unwilling to put any sort of effort into finding things to play don´t really find anything good in NWN. It´s somewhat understandable : for most it must feel like hunting for pearls in a pile of excrement. It really wasn´t like that for me, but I must have been different.
Then again, it´s debatable if this is the fault of the game or not....
Hm, I can´t come up with more gripes after all....the graphics are utilitarian, I really didn´t mind them....
Oh well, guess I´ll end up the long post already. As a sidenote, I haven´t touched NWN for at least a year....I moved on to other things - it really isn´t the end-all, be-all of games - but it provided, for me, much for my money, and it´s a game that´s very easy to go back to.
Thank you for reading. I´m not completely sure why I spent 45 minutes writing this, but I guess it passed the time....
PS. I took great care in trying not to insult anyone in the thread. However, I am of the opinion that "flaming" does nothing to get your point across, and is childish and a bit sad.
However, if taken to extremes, it becomes tragicomedy. Flame me if you must, but know that it won´t accomplish much : I won´t stick around and will probably not remember to check any responses anyway. But if you have something oonstructive to say and want me to take a look at it, feel free to PM me (assuming this forum has such a function - I didn´t check)
