10 réponses à ce sujet

[BelgarathMTH]

So, I just finished NWN2 for the second time ever, first time as a druid, this time as a Sorc*/AsoC10/EK2.

I don't remember much about my first time through, as it was at least a year or two ago.

But this time, I really got into the story, and all I can say is, OMG, wow!

Totally cool!

The management and payoff of the Keep, the tying together of all the storylines, the companion story payoffs, the final combat, all of it, way cool!

Figuring out that I had to get Zhjaeve and Ammon out of range of each of the final three Shadow Reavers' knockdown abilities and let the AI handle the rest while they recited the True Name spell three times without interruption in the penultimate battle before I could take out even one of them? Priceless! It was all such a satisfying  story experience!

And, OMG, those rest battles against pumped shadows and vamps! Only because I had well-managed level-ups and well-managed equipment for my companions was I able to make it through several spell-recharging, healing rest cycles during the Shadow Lord's Stronghold! How satisfyingly rewarding!

And then I figured out the statues in the final battle (Khelgar with the Ironfist Hammer was the quickest and best way to destroy them), the Shadow Lord's invulnerablility to everything except my severing of His portal with the Silver Sword, and even then, without Zhjaeve's Heal spells cast upon me at the last moment of severing the portal, I would have lost! So exciting!

I'm not sure why I didn't see it the first time!

NWN2 is going to go way up there in my book with NWN1, Might and Magic 6-8, Baldur's Gate 1-2, Titan Quest, Sacred 1-2, as a game that I will play over and over through years and years, trying different companion combinations, character builds, etc., etc.

I am just now starting Mask of the Betrayer for the first time. (Fresh meat, MotB virgin, anyone? Do NOT spoil me - I have never even set foot in the MotB forums.) I am SO looking forward to this! To anyone who has never finished the OC due to plot-slowing ennui in Act II, I have to say, the final story in Act III is SO worth it! (Dunniteowl!) You owe it to yourself to finish!

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 21 octobre 2010 - 11:19 .

[Axe_Edge]

I agree with all!  I just finished the OC and MOTB, again.  This time, knowing how to make proper builds (and using Kaldor Silverwand's "OC Makeover SOZ Edition" to level/multiclass the companions properly), it was easier and I could pay attention to the complex plot.  What a great story.  I'll be here years from now. 

I especially agree with the following:

BelgarathMTH wrote...

To anyone who has never finished the OC due to plot-slowing ennui in Act II, I have to say, the final story in Act III is SO worth it! (Dunniteowl!) You owe it to yourself to finish!

I cringe when I hear of people who stopped playing.

It only gets better with MOTB.  Have fun.

(As a note, I enjoyed SOZ, but I tended to focus on builds.  I really dug MOW)

Modifié par Axe_Edge, 22 octobre 2010 - 03:38 .

[nicethugbert]

Did you upgrade your PC since you last played the OC? I did and it helps a lot. The first time I played, I was lagging hard all the time. NWN2 is sluggish enough without all the lag of a low end PC.

[BelgarathMTH]

nicethugbert wrote...

Did you upgrade your PC since you last played the OC? I did and it helps a lot. The first time I played, I was lagging hard all the time. NWN2 is sluggish enough without all the lag of a low end PC.

Well, I have changed PC's since last time, but I think one of the reasons I liked it better this time was that I started managing Sand's, Zjhaeve's, and Elanee's spellbooks such that they only had stuff that was going to be useful when the AI decided to cast it in combat. Thus, I could mostly let them be independent while I played myself, making them more like real companions who could take care of themselves.

 Using TonyK's AI helped with that and other things. (I had TonyK's AI last time, but I guess I didn't want to take the time to get it to manage my spellcasters for me.) The voice menu commands were also critically helpful.

Furthermore, I recently got a new 82" DLP TV set supporting 1920x1080 resolution, and having everything so big made the interface and the camera controls much easier to handle. Having the interface windows taking up so little of the screen space greatly increases immersion. While the camera controls are still clunky and occasionally very irritating, they are much less so with the bigger screen and higher resolution.
 
And 82" of screen makes the spell effects during combat rather breathtaking, with myself and three other casters all casting offensive AOE's and the enemy spell fire on top of that. And I do have a graphics card that handles it all with little or no lag.

So getting so many techincal issues out the way definitely has helped me appreciate the story and character writing more, I think. It really is a great epic story, IMO, maybe not original or anything, but very good writing for a game. I don't really understand why people complained about it, unless maybe they were frustrated by tech issues, or not really wanting to spend the time to manage the party, or stuff like that.

I appreciate NWN2 now as a worthy successor to Baldur's Gate and a worthy ancestor to DAO. I hope the business legalities clear up and that we will eventually get more games based on the D&D rule system. IMO, the D&D dinosaur still has a lot of life left in it.
 

Modifié par BelgarathMTH, 22 octobre 2010 - 05:24 .

[I_Raps]

I hope you won't mind a few words of advice for MOTB:



When they come, kill each one.

When they die, stack them high.

When you're through, EAT THEM TOO!

[BelgarathMTH]

I_Raps, that's a great, funny rhyme. You must be a bard at heart.



I may have installed a mod that makes the "hunger" elements of MotB basically go away - I can't remember if I put it on my new computer or not. I installed it on my old computer after I read a whole lot of really negative complaints about "the Hunger" while doing my first abandoned playthroughs of the OC, thinking that I would not like that element of the story.



I've had the first involuntary experience at the beginning, played into the first town, and just added Gann to my party. (So far I really like him - he's exactly my type of opposite personality, moth-to-flame, attractive chaotic neutral character. I put some cat armor on him that I think suits him quite well - he seems very catlike in how he looks, speaks, and acts. I always like a Garrick/Jan Jansen/Haer D'aelis/Tomi Undergallows type in my party as a foil to my own tendency to be stodgy and over-serious.)



MotB does seem to put you under a lot of pressure to move to the "dark side". It reminds me of Might and Magic 8, where all the characters are "dark" or "evil" except for the clerics. Role-playing in MotB should be quite interesting and challenging, since I'm lawful good.



I guess this sort of discussion needs to be in the MotB forums now.

[nicethugbert]

MotB is a good module for LG.  You should conserve your ability to "eat" undead.

Modifié par nicethugbert, 23 octobre 2010 - 03:36 .

[Haplose]

BelgarathMTH wrote...

I may have installed a mod that makes the "hunger" elements of MotB basically go away - I can't remember if I put it on my new computer or not. I installed it on my old computer after I read a whole lot of really negative complaints about "the Hunger" while doing my first abandoned playthroughs of the OC, thinking that I would not like that element of the story.

It's a shame really. It really makes the atmosphere of that campaign. Also makes you think what to do next, pause for inventory browsing as to not waste gametime needlessly, etc. Adds a sense of urgency to the quest... which is very important and good.

Modifié par Haplose, 23 octobre 2010 - 11:20 .

[I_Raps]

BelgarathMTH wrote...

I_Raps, that's a great, funny rhyme. You must be a bard at heart. 

Not a bard... a student of hag-iography. 
To put it another way... "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of stories?  The Foreshadow knows!" 

Modifié par I_Raps, 23 octobre 2010 - 05:10 .

[Zaxares]

I_Raps wrote...

I hope you won't mind a few words of advice for MOTB:

When they come, kill each one.
When they die, stack them high.
When you're through, EAT THEM TOO!

"You were too salty... Too salty, my love! When I burp, I can still taste your sweet perfume!"

Also, I HATED the Skein. > A pox on all mazes!

Modifié par Zaxares, 24 octobre 2010 - 12:12 .

[BelgarathMTH]

I_Raps wrote...

BelgarathMTH wrote...

I_Raps, that's a great, funny rhyme. You must be a bard at heart. 

Not a bard... a student of hag-iography. 
To put it another way... "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of stories?  The Foreshadow knows!" 

Thanks, I_Rap, I got a good chuckle out of those.

I was feeling a little blue today, and now I feel much better! Ah, the healing power of laughter.

"Hag"-iography. The study of saints and female spirit-eaters?

BTW, I have discovered that I did not mod MotB on my new computer. I just beat a certain animal spirit, got a certain graphic added to my screen, and got a certain set of unwelcome feats. I can see how the game would not make much sense or have much immersion or urgency without these features, since the whole story is based on them.

So while I am filled with anxiety at how this is going to turn out, that just means I am hooked into the story. And I am very much enjoying getting to know my new companions, listening to all the pretty harp music in the theater, etc. etc.

Through the looking-glass and then out to sea I go....