Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

While I was excited to find out about Neverwinter Nights getting an enhanced version like Baldur's Gate, I figured it was going to cut out multiplayer and just focus on single player play. Then I decided to check out the FAQ on Beamdog and I was pleasantly surprised to find this:

Beamdog.com wrote:Will the server browser work again?

Yes, the server browser has been rewritten so you can once again find servers for multiplayer. At this time the original NWN restrictions apply: The server host must be reachable at the external UDP address and port advertised through your NAT firewall.

I think this is great news. Not only an enhanced version of the classic, but official support for multiplayer and persistent worlds. And Beamdog is seeking the input of the NWN mod community to make it even better. It may even get a release on Android and iOS. Not only will this draw back old players but will bring the game to the attention of a new crop of players.

The question now is how will the remaining NWN2 PWs react to this? We're not likely to see a NWN2 Enhanced Edition due to Obsidian. "Stepping back" seems to actually be a step forward. What does everyone else think?

Daimondheart wrote:"Stepping back" seems to actually be a step forward.

There's a lot of things that would not work, from a technical standpoint, if we tried to migrate from NWN2 to NWN1 than from NWN1 to NWN2. That said, there's not much gained from going that route, and a considerable amount lost.

if they did a 100% reskin to update the old graphics, the mechanical limitations aos refers to would still apply

limit 3 classes per character, etc. someone posted this and others in another thread

i loved nwn 1 pws back in the day. calgary nordock, storm's lotr, stormplay, neverwinter, dawn of new magics

currently, for me, nwn 2 is it, though i am keeping my eye on the coming pc game legend of aria, which has hosting capabilities. they just finished their final alpha stage

i get the feeling LoA will be quite successful, because of people like us. if we're lucky, it will prompt wotc to pursue a nwn 3. of course, even if they did, they wouldn't release it until their mmo neverwinter became unprofitable

Aspect of Sorrow wrote:

Daimondheart wrote:"Stepping back" seems to actually be a step forward.

There's a lot of things that would not work, from a technical standpoint, if we tried to migrate from NWN2 to NWN1 than from NWN1 to NWN2. That said, there's not much gained from going that route, and a considerable amount lost.

Except... better and more optimised game, better mod support, LARGER player base... and lots of us want BGTSCC to hit the reset button. I believe we would see a lot of old players returning too. If they also give the game a graphical makeover, all the better.

The 3.5 ruleset and enhancements in NWN2 just make it a better game. My only gripes when it was released were the DM client and the removal of tile based area design.

I don't know about that... NwN1 was very easy to mod, I'd imagine Beamdog's collaboration with the modding community will make the new version even more flexible.

It's worth keeping an eye on it.

Xanfyrst wrote:I don't know about that... NwN1 was very easy to mod, I'd imagine Beamdog's collaboration with the modding community will make the new version even more flexible.

It's worth keeping an eye on it.

It was the tile based area design that made the creation of gameworlds very fast and easy. I was running a NWN1 PW with 300+ areas or something stupid because we could create them so quickly and easily. When NWN2 hit and we all migrated it was such a chore to learn and do that our group disbanded.

Have I misunderstood, or is this enhanced edition rather pointless?

cosmic ray wrote:Have I misunderstood, or is this enhanced edition rather pointless?

It is pointless for BGTSCC, but the potential for a NWN2EE is not. It could also bring allot of people back to this game.

RaiderOne wrote:

cosmic ray wrote:Have I misunderstood, or is this enhanced edition rather pointless?

It is pointless for BGTSCC, but the potential for a NWN2EE is not. It could also bring allot of people back to this game.

This. If NWN1EE does well then they might release an updated NWN2EE, which could really help things. New players, new assets, maybe optimized code and network support, etc. Maybe even new expansions that can be shamelessly stolen from.

For now, NWN2EE isn't even on the distant horizon. I think it would be foolish to dismiss out of hand that this might prove to be a major shot in the arm for NWN and that in turn wouldn't also draw people who currently play NWN2.

Xanfyrst wrote:Except... better and more optimised game, better mod support, LARGER player base... and lots of us want BGTSCC to hit the reset button. I believe we would see a lot of old players returning too. If they also give the game a graphical makeover, all the better.

I'll write a book about the actual differences and point out what some are taking for granted in the second game this weekend.

Aspect of Sorrow wrote:I'll write a book about the actual differences...

Here's what is improved:

Beamdog wrote:What's new in this version
Enhanced Features
Improved Display: Your portrait, combat bar, inventory, and other UI elements adjust in size based on your chosen resolution including 1080p and 4k.
Advanced Graphics Options: Pixel shaders and post-processing effects make for crisper, cleaner visuals. Enable contrast, vibrance, and depth of field options as preferred.
Community Endorsed: Original developers have teamed with key members of the Neverwinter Nights community to curate important fan-requested improvements to support players, storytellers, and modders.
Backwards Compatibility: Works with save games, modules, and mods from the original Neverwinter Nights. A galaxy of community created content awaits.

That said, there are a TON of mods out there that people have made to update graphics. Some people have imported models from NWN2 while others have already had updated shaders years ago. Server extenders has had ways of listing servers and NWNX2 has also had script hooks for skills, feats, and even a way to only show a visual on one client (imagine using that for detect alignment!).

The enhanced edition is simply a way for people to have these things with plug and play. For me, the custom content community has far more to offer and it's free.

No. It will make me hope for NWN2 EE.