Neverwinter

[Tinker 90]

Have any of you played this? I couldn't find a thread about it for some reason. 

[Longbottom Leaf 44]

I just started playing this 3 nights ago. Like a few others around here, I'm an old school D&D fan that tries out virtually everything with the D&D license attached to it. It's like an exact cross between DDO and one of Cryptic's other games- Champions Online. Unfortunately, it seems to have inherited a lot of the flaws of both games. What I've always wanted was an "Open World" Forgotten Realms MMO, but this is just another "City of Doors" like DDO or my beloved and deceased City of Heroes/Villians.

 

It's action packed and fast moving. Either the game is really easy, or my Hunter Ranger really is as overpowered as she feels. I haven't yet teamed up with other players, so I can't comment on the group dynamics, but the level of discourse in chat and floating player names leaves A LOT to be desired(I've seen both Aragorn and Legolas, plus tons of other blatantly stupid names).

 

Still, it's F2P, so you lose nothing by giving it a try.

[Ilodid 46]

I got a character to the cap when it came out. Leveling was fun enough but I quickly got bored after that.

 

 

It's action packed and fast moving. Either the game is really easy, or my Hunter Ranger really is as overpowered as she feels. I haven't yet teamed up with other players, so I can't comment on the group dynamics, but the level of discourse in chat and floating player names leaves A LOT to be desired(I've seen both Aragorn and Legolas, plus tons of other blatantly stupid names).

 

When the game came out, level 50+ content was a lot harder than early content. But balance could have easily changed since then.

[drul 68]

I've played beta of it once it was available for free.  Even though I knew I would not play it because of business model, I've still wanted to check what it is because it's D&D.

 

It's almost an lobby game or like Longbottom Leaf written "City of Doors". It was preety boring to play too. Additionally it is extremly tawdry.  

 

Overally it is defintely not something I would want to play. Not suprisingly Neverwitner was not occupying my HDD for too long.

[Bango 136]

The group content is not too bad and the some of the user-made foundry stuff is well thought out. The main issue though is the total imbalance of the classes - most end game group content can be run with just great weapon fights and control wizards. 

 

Well worth spending some time on their forums before investing any significant time in the game.

[Tinker 90]

Thank you all for your input. I finally downloaded it last night and created a character. The controls are a bit different from Rift & LOTRO, but that's not a deal-breaker so far. I'll take my char to lvl 10 or so and see what I think.

[Ilodid 46]

Thank you all for your input. I finally downloaded it last night and created a character. The controls are a bit different from Rift & LOTRO, but that's not a deal-breaker so far. I'll take my char to lvl 10 or so and see what I think.

 

I'd say take it between 20-30. The 1-20 content isn't as fun comparatively 

[Trilwych 279]

After being so annoyed by the original Neverwinter Nights railroaded storyline, I swore off the entire franchise.

Hope you enjoy yourself, though!

[Leafblade 168]

Egads...really?  I loved the original Neverwinter Nights.  You followed the story, yes, but it had atmosphere.  

[Silverangel 9]

Played the beta, and just don't enjoy the F2P aspects, like LotRO. I loved Neverwinter Nights by Bioware, such a beautiful, well-made, classy game. How many single player games have had three+ expansions.  Plus it had the online multiplayer mode with player-made and hosted private/public multi-zone campaign maps.

[Longbottom Leaf 44]

After being so annoyed by the original Neverwinter Nights railroaded storyline, I swore off the entire franchise.

Hope you enjoy yourself, though!

When people talk about the original NWN, they aren't talking about the official campaign that came with the game. They're talking about the vast plethora of user-made content that people(like me!) made for everyone to download off the NWN Vault. Some of the user made stuff was WAY better than Bioware's highly-polished demo.

 

The Hordes of the Underdark expansion was really well received by comparison to the OC. It's worth checking out if you enjoyed the game engine itself. NWN2's 2nd expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, is regarded as one of the best SP RPGs of all time. It was designed to be a spiritual successor to the infamous Planescape: Torment.

[drul 68]

I am in a similar boat as Trillwych when it comes to original single player campaign.  Huge let down when compared to rpgs like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, etc

 

Althrough yeah, I've heard about Mask of Betrayer - I will have to check it out one day    Can I play it without playing original NWN 2 game/campaign first?

 

 

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As for newest NWN Online - it is great example of how powerful franchise is and how naive big% of players are.

 

This game does not have anything in common with either single player NWN Campaigns or NWN Multiplayer server system in any aspect, completly diffrent games in practically everything aside of name -  yet so much of old NWN players thrown serious money on it, either without checking what this game really is. (and then often complaining and felt let down afterwards)  

Seriously this was sad to observe.

[Jedy2 30]

 

 

Althrough yeah, I've heard about Mask of Betrayer - I will have to check it out one day    Can I play it without playing original NWN 2 game/campaign first?

 

 

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Yes. 

[androclese 83]

I tried it when it came out, but for some reason it just didn't feel quite D&D to me, not like some of the original FR games did.

[nosam9 211]

Ok game smackdown:

 

which is better Star Trek Online or NW Online?

 

I know they are both different - but seem in the same category - decent but not real MMO worthy.

 

Anyone still playing NWO or think it is worth while?

[androclese 83]

Ok game smackdown:

 

which is better Star Trek Online or NW Online?

 

I know they are both different - but seem in the same category - decent but not real MMO worthy.

 

Anyone still playing NWO or think it is worth while?

I prefer STO by a mile, I'm really getting into it, I hated it at first (back at release) and only played for a month, I found the control method clunky and unintuitive and just couldn't play it. A few months ago I picked it up again and I don't know what they changed but I'm loving it, managed to get three characters to level 50 in a few months and I'm working on the reputation system to kit myself out for STF's.

As to which is actually better, it really is like comparing apples and oranges, they are both very different games (despite being the same engine) and completely different genres, I really couldn't say which was the best, but I do think STO is the best for me.

[drul 68]

You say they are very diffrent, but I disagree.   

 

In many characteristics they are very similar.

 

They are both "lobby MMO"  with extreme zoning and lot of action taking place in one kind of instance or another.

They both very grindy at max level.

Both have similar Player quest/dungeon creator.

They both are using very similar PWE monetization system. (main diffrence being STO carrying legacy freemium "vip" sub).

 

So for me they're same genre.

[androclese 83]

You say they are very diffrent, but I disagree.   

 

In many characteristics they are very similar.

 

They are both "lobby MMO"  with extreme zoning and lot of action taking place in one kind of instance or another.

They both very grindy at max level.

Both have similar Player quest/dungeon creator.

They both are using very similar PWE monetization system. (main diffrence being STO carrying legacy freemium "vip" sub).

 

So for me they're same genre.

That's not genre.

DOTA is a lobby game, you wouldn't put that in the same genre would you? Many racing games are lobby games, you wouldn't put them in the same genre would you?

Genre isn't dictated by things like you listed, it's judged by its background, story, graphic style and game play style etc not whether it uses the same types of systems and technology or how you pay or not.

At the most basic level the difference between NW and STO in their genres would be sci-fi and fantasy.

[Darmokk 163]

What is a "lobby MMO"?

I like ST:O. Nice developing/owning company doing things for the players and good moneytization scheme. Good character models and cosmetic system. Good parallel developments, you get to develop:

- your character

- your crew

- your ship

Instead of your character and tossing your LI every couple levels.

Story is based on convincing lore that I happen to know (cough).

Space combat is too simple for my taste (half-flattened 3D).

[nosam9 211]

That's not genre.

DOTA is a lobby game, you wouldn't put that in the same genre would you? Many racing games are lobby games, you wouldn't put them in the same genre would you?

Genre isn't dictated by things like you listed, it's judged by its background, story, graphic style and game play style etc not whether it uses the same types of systems and technology or how you pay or not.

At the most basic level the difference between NW and STO in their genres would be sci-fi and fantasy.

 

This is wrong. No one was saying all lobby type games are the game. We were talking about MMORPGs.

 

If we use the term "genre" in sense, or of we use a better phrase "type of game" you can see that some MMOs don't have much of an open world and are "lobby games". Neverwinter, GW1 and STO are all like this, as opposed to LOTRO, RIFT and WoW (as far as I know).

 

If you use the term "genre" like it is used in books, then you mean setting. But this is not books - it doesn't matter what "genre" means - you can clearly see that these lobby-ish games are different from a standard open-world, theme park MMO.

 

NWO and STO are similar to me in that they are somewhat successful, but not hugely successful, lobby-type, non-open world, F2P games. They also both have player made content. So I think there are some parallels there. I was genuinely curious, for people who played both, which they thought was better. Both seem like something to try for a while, to me.

[Longbottom Leaf 44]

When talking about games, "Genre" refers to the type of game- MMO, SP RPG, FPS, RTS, MOBA, etc.

 

What nosam9 is talking about is what I refer to as a "City of Doors", like CoX, DDO, etc. Games where most of the time is spend inside of instances as opposed to the world at large. NW is a mix of both. You don't travel seamlessly between zones, but most of them are adequately large outdoor environments, IMO. You'll do the usual amount of Kill quests, and then get directed to a few solo instances which then culminate with a group dungeon.

 

Neverwinter has become my new game in the wake of LotRO's inexorable slide into utter shitiness. What can I say? I'm a sucker for almost anything with the D&D license attached to it, and it's scratching that itch wonderfully. I love the actiony style, and the dungeons are a blast. Combat is frantic and fast. Dungeon runs remind me of CoX because parties run from one fight to the next without downtime as opposed to pausing for a 15 minute strategy session before each boss.

 

The biggest problem with NW is its community. Especially coming from the most mature playerbase in the entire MMO genre, the incessant goldspamming and general stupidity I see in Protector's Enclave is hard to adjust to. It's the current F2P FotM, so all the retarded locusts are swarmed there for the time being. That said, I've met a few cool people.

 

I still haven't tried STO yet, so I can't make a comparison there. Give NW a try if you actually like Dungeons & Dragons. Just set you expectations accordingly, and don't fool yourself into being disappointed when it doesn't measure up to Baldur's Gate.

[androclese 83]

I understand what you mean, but I also disagree with them being both the same genre because they are both lobby based, to start with neither are lobby based, for example you don't sit with nothing but a chat box waiting for matches to start and that's what a lobby system is, in both you can move around and interact with people outside of "matches", yes they have various missions you can use a team finder to access, but that's not different than a dungeon finder in any other game, wow for example, and you don't call wow a lobby game.

[nosam9 211]

I agree. Just, how big are the worlds in these games? I thought the worlds are nothing at all like the real server worlds of WoW or Rift. Is there a world in NWO and STO that you can go to and see any player logged on? And aren't those spaces tiny compared to a world like WoW's or Lotro's? 

 

I don't mean lobby type game like team fortress. I mean a lobby-type MMO where so much of the space you spend time in is not in a large persistent world. It is instanced.

[Longbottom Leaf 44]

People new to NW might think that it's JUST instanced based on the lower levels of play. However, you'll be sent to larger outdoor areas as you level.  

 

Like I said, NW isn't a seamless world MMO, but some of the outdoor zones aren't exactly tiny either. They're large enough to accommodate the majority of your questing, but they're not cut out for really immersive exploration like there is in LotRO.

 

BTW, this thread needs to be moved to the "Other MMOs" subforum.

[drul 68]

That's not genre.

DOTA is a lobby game, you wouldn't put that in the same genre would you? Many racing games are lobby games, you wouldn't put them in the same genre would you?

Genre isn't dictated by things like you listed, it's judged by its background, story, graphic style and game play style etc not whether it uses the same types of systems and technology or how you pay or not.

At the most basic level the difference between NW and STO in their genres would be sci-fi and fantasy.

 

Background, story, graphic style are not desciptors of genre in games.  Best word for those like nosam9 wrote is "setting". 

 

Sc-fi or fantasy is a genre for books or movies,  genres in games are made on either camera & gameplay ( FPS, RTS, Hack&Slash, Slasher, Turn Based Strategy, RPG, TPS etc ) or via amount of people playing, payment systems and other associated stuff (single player, multiplayer, MMO, lobby online game, MUD, etc)  or combination of both (single player RPG,  MMOFPS, MMORTS,  MOBA, lobby FPS, etc) 

 

I am also not saying they are completly lobby game like CoD or League of Legends.  

 

Althrough they're highly "lobbyzed" MMOs similarly to GW1, Vindictus, D&D Online and few other games.  

 

GW1, Vindictus, D&D Online, STO, C9, etc  were always treated as diffrent (sub)genre from games like WoW, SWG, UO, Warhammer Online, Lotro, etc

 

Of course  "standard" MMORPGs like WoW, Rift, Swtor, GW2, etc  are getting increasingly "lobbyzed" too and whole MMO & MMORPG genres are focusing more on lobby-like gameplay,  but that's a matter for whole diffrent topic.