Preview PC Gamer reveals first NWN 2 details

[Ellester]

Dont worry, the publisher is ATARI and Obsidien lacks a spine to stand up to their demands.

Expect something like KotOR II, half baked implementation of ideas, impossible to complete quests due to script errors as the game is rushed to meet the release date.

Not to say about ATARI support ... enjoy your 3 months wait for the first patch.

Bullshit, Atari is giving Obsidian more than enough time to finish this game. It’s not a situation like Toee, nor is it a situation like kotor2 with Lucas Arts deciding to shave off 4 months of dev time to make the holiday season. Atari is giving them 2+ years to work on the project. Now if they produce something like IWD2, which is a polished game, but crappy, well then Obsidian sucks, but right now I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. The reason being is Atari is actually giving Obsidian a long development schedule for NWN2. So I expect no rushing to meet a release date.

But I will agree post-release support is questionable. There is no way Obsidian can match Bioware’s post-game support of NWN without its own Q&A team. This is a serious concern.

Btw, I’m with DK, someone post some screenies.

 

[Spazmo]

I see a lot of people setting themselves up for some serious disappointment. I know what you're saying: "They'll have time to finish the game this time!" This may well be true. But remember that KOTOR2 would have been pretty average even if it had been finished. I can't imagine why NWN2 wouldn't be much the same, especially with hundreds if not thousands of fans ready to go "Yeah, but it's the toolset that matters!" upon release.

 

[Chefe]

I hear all this talk how Obsidian is made up of great designers, but do they ever plan on making their own damn IP instead of taking Bioware's scraps?

I'll probably download this thing once it's released, just to see if it's as boring and dull as the first one. If it's not, I might go out and buy it, but what I've seen so far in the way of screenshots and concept art doesn't impress me.

 

[Volourn]

"Bullshit, Atari is giving Obsidian more than enough time to finish this game. It’s not a situation like Toee, nor is it a situation like kotor2 with Lucas Arts deciding to shave off 4 months of dev time to make the holiday season. Atari is giving them 2+ years to work on the project. Now if they produce something like IWD2, which is a polished game, but crappy, well then Obsidian sucks, but right now I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. The reason being is Atari is actually giving Obsidian a long development schedule for NWN2. So I expect no rushing to meet a release date."

LA did no such thing. KOTOR2 was scheduled for a Christmas release from the start. Then it was pushed back before being moved again. There was no loss of 4 months. As for TOEE, Atari gave Troika more time than what was initially agreed to. No exuses there, either.

Anyways, you are right about NWN2. It's not being rushed. According to Feargus U., NWN2 will have a longer dev cycle than BG2 did.


"i like the reputation system and the fact you are a simple commoner at the start of the game."

repuation was horrible in KOTOR2. It was done better in other games like BG2, and Ultima. Unless you like the fact that the npcs only infulence you and you have no real influence over them.

Hahahahaha!


"Well, so far, it looks surprisingly "clisheless"."

It's full of cliche.

Example 1: The 'Nobody" gains a lot of power in a short of amount time and saves (or slays) the town, country, and the world. Hell, NWN did this.

Example 2: 2 Big bads fight it out, anothe rbigger bad intervenes and kills everything.

Example: Go find artifacts left behind by one of the three big bads.

WOW! Sooooooooo original!!!


Moron.

 

[Avin]

repuation was horrible in KOTOR2. It was done better in other games like BG2, and Ultima. Unless you like the fact that the npcs only infulence you and you have no real influence over them.

where BG2 has a better reputation? i can't see a big difference between reputation in these two games.

NWN2 will be better, it's my bet.

Hahaha

wtf...

 

[Vault Dweller]

I see a lot of people setting themselves up for some serious disappointment.

My sentiments exactly.

I know what you're saying: "They'll have time to finish the game this time!" This may well be true. But remember that KOTOR2 would have been pretty average even if it had been finished. I can't imagine why NWN2 wouldn't be much the same, especially with hundreds if not thousands of fans ready to go "Yeah, but it's the toolset that matters!" upon release.

KOTOR 2 featured crappy area design, pretentious dialogues, uninspiring one-dimensional characters, and "find 4 masters on 4 planets" story. Yay!

 

[Shevek]

I know what you're saying: "They'll have time to finish the game this time!" This may well be true. But remember that KOTOR2 would have been pretty average even if it had been finished. I can't imagine why NWN2 wouldn't be much the same, especially with hundreds if not thousands of fans ready to go "Yeah, but it's the toolset that matters!" upon release.

KOTOR 2 featured crappy area design, pretentious dialogues, uninspiring one-dimensional characters, and "find 4 masters on 4 planets" story. Yay!

I think KoTOR2 was fairly well put together if not for the last 20-25% of the game. Compared to most of the RPGs we have been getting lately (Metalheart, Fable, Morrowind, etc), KoTOR2 was decidedly ABOVE average in my estimation (maybe you disagree?). Had it been finished, it could have been the best cRPG from a major developer in quite a few years. I also take issue on the jab at the characters/dialogue/etc. In many ways, these things were a bit more fleshed out than their counterparts in KoTOR1 and this site gave that title a pretty favorable review.

I do agree that people should avoid getting too optimistic. Hope is often the first step on the path to disappointment. Still, I like what I'm hearing from the NWN2 dev team a heck of alot more than what we are getting out of, lets say, Bethesda. Moreover, the best parts of KoTOR2 certainly speak favorably for what Obsidian is capable of.

 

[jiujitsu]

So where are the links to screenie scans???

Someone must have posted them somewhere by now.

I love the words "screenie scans."

Also, in other news, where the fuck are they?

Screenie scans. Now. Give or death shall be the consequence. Fuck PC Gamer I'm not buying your shitty magazine to get the goods. I want it for free and I can and will have it.

I could just go visit the dentist and read it anyway. His office isn't that far. A five to ten minute drive tops. Only a right a left a right a right a right and a park then I walk in. Don't make me go to the dentist. I hate it there.

 

[tilting_msh]

http://www.nwn2news.net/modules/news/ar ... toryid=391

In case a few of you haven't seen them yet.

 

[Sol Invictus]

NWN2 sounds good to me. Hated NWN1, but that's got nothing to do with it anyway.

 

[Shagnak]

NWN2 sounds good to me. Hated NWN1, but that's got nothing to do with it anyway.

Even the expansions? Or just the OC?

 

[Sol Invictus]

I hear all this talk how Obsidian is made up of great designers, but do they ever plan on making their own damn IP instead of taking Bioware's scraps?

That's probably because it isn't in their company's interest to make their 'own damn IP'. They have to establish themselves as a player in the industry before they can have the clout to market an IP of their own to interested publishers. Brian Sullivan's (of AOE and AOE2) has enough clout to market Titan Quest, and nothing needs to be said about Flagship Studios, but all Obsidian has are a bunch of mediocre sellers like Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment under their belts. Regardless of how good those games were, they didn't make large amounts of profit.

 

[Sol Invictus]

NWN2 sounds good to me. Hated NWN1, but that's got nothing to do with it anyway.

Even the expansions? Or just the OC?

Just the OC, but the engine, its poor graphics and its lack of pathfinding pissed me off. I replayed BG2 instead.

 

[Ellester]

http://www.nwn2news.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=391

In case a few of you haven't seen them yet.

Nice…. I have to say its light years past the graphics of NWN1. It’s hard to judge from magazine scans, but they don’t look as good as Oblivion or Gothic III. But so what, at least they got rid of the tiered block elevations that made you feel like you were playing warcraft 3, and game the impression you were walking through a maze, even in outdoor environments. Rolling hills… I would have never thought in a NWN game.

 

[Jaesun]

To be fair to Obsidian, both Oblivion and Gothic III are not multiplayer games. Oblivion and Gothic don't have to waste dev time on multiplayer and can work on TEH PRETTY GRAPIX.

I think NWN II's graphics are adeqate to me. Now I just hope they can come up with a decent OC.

 

[MrBrown]

Level 1 Commoners!

 

[Second Chance]

I find all this complaining about NWN 2 soooooooo strange...

Many of you are Fallout fanboys...

NWN2 is being made by the same person who did Fallout 2...

What else do you want? Another 3rd class RPG by Tim Cain?



Anyway judge the game for its merits (if it has them) when it comes out, instead of shaking and shivering every time the letters "NWN" are mentioned

 

[bryce777]

Well, the frst one I just couldn't bring myself to play, even though i bought it.

This one I have more hope for, but I think it's ridiculous to say you can' judge a game to some extent before playing it. The noises they are making all seem pretty good so far, though. It's also not a console oriented game like kotor 1/2 so I have more hope it will not be quite so insipid as those titles appear to be.

I was not slightly looking forward to it before, but I am slightly more optimistic now.

 

[dunduks]

What else do you want? Another 3rd class RPG by Tim Cain?

I would not go as far as calling Troika rpg's 3rd rate.
What we want is a game that really is RPG not a game with a label "RPG" slapped on for eXtrA KEWLNESS.

 

[Shevek]

What else do you want? Another 3rd class RPG by Tim Cain?

Yes.

 

[Sarvis]

Rolling hills… I would have never thought in a NWN game.

Actually, they've had rolling hills in NWN for a while now:

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

Many of you are Fallout fanboys...

NWN2 is being made by the same person who did Fallout 2...

What else do you want? Another 3rd class RPG by Tim Cain?

I haven't played it, but many people here think FO2 wasn't as good as the original. And (once again, I speak from no experience) NWN isn't all too popular here either.

Do you want to know what I really want? I want the former Origin guys at NCSoft and the Troika to hook up with the Junction Point crew and create what I'm sure we've all been waiting a long time for: the resurgence of text-based games!

 

[Vault Dweller]

Many of you are Fallout fanboys...

NWN2 is being made by the same person who did Fallout 2...

I wonder what the creators of FOBOS are up to now? I bet it's something awesome too.

What else do you want? Another 3rd class RPG by Tim Cain?

Bloodlines > KOTOR 2. 'nuff said

Anyway judge the game for its merits (if it has them) when it comes out

My favourite argument. U haevn't played teh gaem yet!!!1

 

[Avin]

I wonder what the creators of FOBOS are up to now? I bet it's something awesome too.

now you have gone too far. there some.... things... that should NEVER be mentioned.

deixa quieto o que tá quieto

 

[Azarkon]

Obsidian really needs to be prepared to support this game post-release. One can argue that NWN 2 without post-release is like a car without oil - it just won't work. Sure, you get the nice feel of the OC and the initial flood of modules from the toolset, but beyond that it's all about fixing the issues of the toolset, the engine, and providing incentives for people to continue supporting the game. It is for this reason that I was actually disappointed Bio let Obsidian handle NWN 2: I *know* Obsidian can make great single-player games, but I don't know if they can keep up with the kind of support a game like NWN 2 will need. It's only about one step down from MMORPGs in terms of how much things depend on post-release.