Can anyone explain, why exactly is NWN so great, and how it is different from just ANOTHER BG (Not counting graphics or 3rd Edition DnD)? BG was excellent, but the gameplay and plot sucked in BG2...

Well, the plot is completely seperate, NWN comes with a world editor, as you said, graphics and 3rd edition rules, as well as a bunch of fancy thingies...

The gameplay and plot sucked in BG2...? Goodness, have we been playing the same BG2? I mean, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but when you ask a question that derives from an acceptance of that statement, and the statement itself flies in the face of both sales figures and the consensus of CRPG players' opinions, you've got a bit of explaining to do. ;) BG2 has been the most popular and successful PC-based CRPG of all times. Gameplay-wise, it is a much richer product than BG1, offering--

a) A greater variety of quests (less of the purely FedX type)
b) More interesting party NPCs, often with their own, more complex quests than in BG1
c) Choices that allow you to take sides in major conflicts
d) A greater role for alignment (not that I like it, but it *is* there)
e) Far better movement algorithms
f) Less of the annoying, endless walking across empty wilderness
g) A more complex antagonist with a more interesting background and friends
h) More puzzles
i) Larger dungeons
j) Better map annotations.
k) A better method of tracking information
l) Much more dialog to make NPCS seem "real"

As for your question: NWN will focus on a single character, not a group. You'll have a follower or two, but they really won't be major NPCs as before. This is a deliberate decision, and one I frankly regret that Bioware has taken. Still, if they're doing the game, I'm willing to bet it will contain everything else that has made BG2 so justifiably popular. IMHO. ;)

The big difference will not be with the pre=packaged plot that comes with the game. No, the difference is in the fact that it is coded in such a way that it is very scriptable and that it comes with tools for users to make their own adventures that will be far more rich than what comes with the game. The adventure that comes in the box is just a sample, really. It might be fun, but it's not the focal point of the game.

People will have persistent worlds of their own making out there on their own servers.

Totally agree with above. IMHO, BGII was the greatest game ever, especially the NPC's which contained adorable ones like Imoen and Viconia.

Just want to know if we can download other peoples custom adventures, add that to our game, and then play as a single player campaign OR would we have to play online like multiplayer.

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to play them in single player as well as multi.

[ 04-26-2002, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: Encard ]

Yes, according to the FAQ, there is a 50-60 hour single-player game, that I plan to play first to buff my character.

I just read a recent preview of the game and they described it pretty well, they call it a four module game. The first two modules are pretty standard for games recently, they are the single player and multiplayer parts, which will be similar to an upgraded BG2 type of game. But it is the other two parts of the game that will really make the difference and make this an incredible game if they are done right; the Dungeon Master client and the dungeon creation tool set.

The DM part will turn this into as close to a pen-and-paper RPG as can be...one player will have the responsibility of keeping the other players immersed in the game and making it interesting. This DM will be able to do anything they want on the fly...add creatures and treasure, inhabit NPC's, create dialog, inhabit monsters, etc. So if you're in a multi-player NWN game with a DM and you think the "AI" is boring, blame it on the DM. This aspect is very interesting, it's like having the game dungeon keeper and baldurs gate rolled into one, with both sides being played.

The tool set is also going to groundbreaking...can you say replayability? The dungeons will never end!!! I'm a huge fan of the Heores of Might and Magic series (which came with an editor), and if I ever wnated new maps to play I would just go online and download ones that others players created. I'm imagining the same thing here, an endless array of adventures.

If Bioware does this right, which they seem to be doing, this will be one of the best game in the last 10 years, with playability lasting a very long time. Of course, I'm a huge RPG fan, so I might be a little biased.

Nothing like big expectations, I hope my bubble doesn't get deflated.

I'm never in-sync with time or any awareness of it. Is 50-60 alot of hours to play? I know there's alot in BG2 with TOB. What's the number of hours for SOA?