Heck, I'd love to see BG1 and BG2 with the same game play mechanics but much improved character graphics and animations. The backgrounds are fine as is. It'd be sooo great to see realistic fighting animations in the game.
I still like character graphics and animations in BG. If only someone could add them more details to match high resolutions this could be the best option.
In case of NWN EE I would be very happy to play entire campaign as party-base gameplay (like Baldur's Gate) running on Infinity Engine. Just imagine all areas as hand-painted environments. It would have some artistic taste and completly new gameplay experience than original solo campaing. Neverwinter itself could gain unique insight and atmosphere like Baldur's Gate or Athkatla. Neverwinter presented by Aurora Engine looks soulless. I'm sure that everyone would like to help fight plague in the city and will commit to this quest if only could see how beautiful it looks in 2D background.
If i can import my character to nwn ee after tob than ill beg for nwn ee... Otherwise i dont see why a remake cause i still plays it... I rather see a remake of icewind dale with npcs to recruit
As was Kotor and to some degree, Mass Effect. All are based on the same basic NWN engine (by way of NWN2).
KotOR work on Odyssey which in fact evolved from Aurora, but Mass Effect is running with Unreal Engine 3.
ToEE would be great but from all cRPG which EE I would like to see first is Planescape Torment. I've played it again some time ago with widescreen mode, but whenever I've cast spell fps drop causing game to freez. It requires decrease hardware acceleration but after that mouse cursor left tracks on GUI and chat window. It was very disturbing. So I prefer Planescape Torment Enhanced Edition more than any other game. Besides scenario Planescape Torment has the best spells and critical hits animations in game history!
I loved NWN1. Not for the OC but sotu and hotu were awesome IMO. But the real value in NWN1 was the toolset. it blew nwn2 away as far as ease of use went. I couldnt do squat with NWN2's toolset but I could create worlds with nwn1's. Sometimes less is more.
I'd sell my neighbour's soul for an NwN:EE, if only to aquire the premium modules. Never had a chance to play Pirates of the Sword Coast, Infinite Dungeons and Wyvern Crown of Cormyr.
I loved NWN1. Not for the OC but sotu and hotu were awesome IMO. But the real value in NWN1 was the toolset. it blew nwn2 away as far as ease of use went. I couldnt do squat with NWN2's toolset but I could create worlds with nwn1's. Sometimes less is more.
That makes two of us. I like how the NWN2 toolset looked more or less the same as the NWN1 toolset, except nothing was the same functionally. Why fix something that isn't broke?
After playing NWN, it scared me away from 3D games for a while. That's how 3D games are, that butt ugly? I won't play one again. There's nothing you can do with that pile unless you turned it into a 2D game or a 3D game that is using a modern good 3D engine, which would cost a lot of money.
i loved the look of nwn and the fact is graphics weren't good meant that it was accessible to most computers (this fondness is a bit biased as i was cursed with bad computers for a long time, they wore out faster than people claim xbox 360's wear out) and if you looked at some of the mods and hakpaks there are for NWN 1 you can see at how good the game -can- look. if you play with the toolset long enough you can see just what was possible, ive seen sci-fi modules, historic modules, modules that remake games, hell. i spent a long time on a wheel of time module. with much better mechanics than the wheel of time game. it was amazing.
i think the graphics were what they were on purpose because people could mod them more easily in my opinion, without a word from bioware / atari then we wont know but thats my speculation.
edit: as an after thought if anyone is complaining about the graphics, have you all actually played baldurs gate? they weren't graphics really it was a bunch of JPEGS you moved on and everything moving in short loops ont he spot. and it was an amazing game, graphics dont mean a damn thing when it comes to the gameplay or the story
i loved the look of nwn and the fact is graphics weren't good meant that it was accessible to most computers
But when NWN came out requirements was too high for most people. I could only play in low resolution without shadows and low textures settings and not only me but most of my friends. I must admit that real time shadows and light effects looks great even today and melee combat has uniqe feel (all these dodge and parry).
So if graphic and animation isn't bad today, what else remains to remaster?
And yes - graphic isin't important but 2D background are just more detailed than any place created in NWN and even NWN 2 (but Mask of the Betrayer has some cool locations).
I don't particularly feel like it needs the update. The game still runs fine on modern systems, even the Linux version. Though the Linux version takes a bit of work to make it work on a 64bit OS.
The game did have it's flaws, but it was overall decent. I don't think anyone would argue that not being able to directly control party members directly was a serious flaw. But that was rectified in NWN2. HotU was pretty sweet, but the other campaigns were pretty lackluster. HotU still has my favorite high level battle, when you defend the stronghold in the underdark against that massive army. I think a big part of that is the fact you could only have the single henchman in the OC, so character development was nonexistent. I had no problems with the camera angles, and found the interface more intuitive that the BG series.
If this were to be undertaken, I think the only way it would be worthwhile is if the art assets are still available. The big thing that would be better updated and higher polygon models, and higher res textures. Those really haven't held up well over the years. It would be nice to have a full party, with directly controllable characters, but that would require a pretty heavy rewrite of the game. The difficulty was set for basically 2 person parties. Even soloing it was pretty easy, so having more party members in the OC would be pretty overpowered.
I still have very fond memories of the modules for it. The Paladain series, Twilight, Midnight and I think the third was Dawn or something were great. My favorite was the Blackguard series of modules. Great stuff for the evil player. For instance, you're trying to revive a skeletal dragon, but need to sacrifice a huge number of innocents. But where can you find that many innocents? Oh the town school, of course
I think I'd rather see Beamdog work on just about anything else. Be it IWD, Fallout (especially Fallout), BG3, or even their own new game, rather than a nwn:ee. They could always do what bioware did, and stop paying for the D&D license and make a whole new game set in a world of their own creation. That obviously requires a lot more writers, though.
NWN is one of my favorite RPGs. That's mainly because it was my first encounter with both D & D and Bioware. It holds a place in my heart just as the BG saga does for many people here. I would love to see NWN: EE
@DrHappyAngry Tbh, it needs an update for modern systems. It is very taxing on my computer it seems, much much more than relatively recent games like Skyrim or Mass Effect 3. I had huge FPS drops and it is also as if my computer is being cooked, 10-20 FPS IIRC. I could imagine others are experiencing the same. Maybe because of lack of multicore support?
@DrHappyAngry Tbh, it needs an update for modern systems. It is very taxing on my computer it seems, much much more than relatively recent games like Skyrim or Mass Effect 3. I had huge FPS drops and it is also as if my computer is being cooked, 10-20 FPS IIRC. I could imagine others are experiencing the same. Maybe because of lack of multicore support?
If you think it's a multi core issue try setting a cpu affinity for the process with the task manager.
The game runs fine on my desktop and even my laptop with onboard Intel graphics. Granted that laptop has the higher end Intel Iris 5200, but that still isn't that great.
It might be that I never had the performance issues since I'm running the Linux version of NWN. NWN was my first bioware game too, and they got my attention by providing a Linux version. Unfortunately they haven't made a native Linux game since then, but they did get me hooked. If they do overhaul this one, a Linux version better be out at the same time as the other versions. My friends haven't complained about issues with it on windows, though.
I still just feel like there are so many other things I'd rather see before a NWN:EE.
It might be that I never had the performance issues since I'm running the Linux version of NWN. NWN was my first bioware game too, and they got my attention by providing a Linux version. Unfortunately they haven't made a native Linux game since then, but they did get me hooked. If they do overhaul this one, a Linux version better be out at the same time as the other versions. My friends haven't complained about issues with it on windows, though.
No issues here either. But then I'm still using Vista too (would've been on xp still if that was viable).
That's strange, perhaps it's another Nvdia Optimus problem then? I have already tried adjusting the affinity. The OC runs a bit smoother I guess, but some modules that like Darkness over Daggerford suffer terrible slowdown; but the most noticeable problem is that it builds up so much heat. That doesn't happen when I play other supposedly more demanding games. My laptop is not high end but an i7 and a 2gb GPU should be able to handle NWN well; I'm confused why it doesn't.
Ah Neverwinter Nights, I still play it with friends now after all these years We keep finding gems between all the player made modules. Some great ones (perhaps even comparable to Baldur's gate story wise) are the Prophet and the Aielund saga. Get some friends together and roleplay your way through them, you'll have the time of your life. I would love it if they would enhance it, Neverwinter Nights 2 just never did it for me somehow.
I tried to play NWN1 several times but it always ended up boring me in no time because it's basically just a dungeon crawler (which are really not my kind of game).
NWN2 on the other hand ~ Well, I really do adore this game to bits and it would be nice to see old bugs fixed, the crude controls tweaked and some of the original content restored (Bishop's and Neeshka's romances for example) and have the npc's more fleshed out.
Ah Neverwinter Nights, I still play it with friends now after all these years We keep finding gems between all the player made modules. Some great ones (perhaps even comparable to Baldur's gate story wise) are the Prophet and the Aielund saga. Get some friends together and roleplay your way through them, you'll have the time of your life. I would love it if they would enhance it, Neverwinter Nights 2 just never did it for me somehow.
I definitely plan to look up those modules now, for next time my friend and I decide to run through it. Thanks for the tip!
I tried to play NWN1 several times but it always ended up boring me in no time because it's basically just a dungeon crawler (which are really not my kind of game).
NWN2 on the other hand ~ Well, I really do adore this game to bits and it would be nice to see old bugs fixed, the crude controls tweaked and some of the original content restored (Bishop's and Neeshka's romances for example) and have the npc's more fleshed out.
I remember hating the first chapter of NWN1, but after that it really picked up in interest for me.
Sorry, but I had to ask the question: Is a Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition a feasible idea in the distant future?
For starters, Neverwinter Nights came out the same year as Icewind Dale 2, which is up for grabs as a possible Enhanced Edition project.
In contrast, I realize Neverwinter Nights was built on a newer (no longer isometric) engine, which some might view as modern enough and unfit for being "Enhanced".
So what are your thoughts? I have not seen any Dev commentary on the subject (though IWD and IWD2 were mentioned as being of "interest" to the Devs).
It is more of a curiosity of mine than anything, mainly because Neverwinter Nights is what got me back into the Infinity Engine games after almost a decade of not playing them.
I personally would welcome an Enhanced Neverwinter Nights, after Baldur's Gate 3, IWDEE, IWD2EE, and Planescape: Torment EE of course
Edit: Subtopic - I also remember thinking about how cool Neverwinter Nights could/would have been if the loading screens in Baldur's Gate were correct about transferring your characters to Neverwinter Nights and had come true. Neverwinter Nights on the Infinity Engine? Yes please
I get a kick out of the mods that have brought Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate to the NWN2 engine, because if I had more skill and knowledge (and time) with the Infinity Engine, I'd love to personally bring Neverwinter Nights to the Infinity Engine as an Icewind Dale 2 mod.
The official campaign for NWN is much maligned for its many shortcomings. Though it was a popular game, relatively speaking, I don't think it ever came close to the acclaim BG had. That is, not on it own merits. Fan made campaigns extended its life by a huge margin, but an EE version isn't really going to do much for that aspect of the game I don't think. The Enhanced Edition in my opinion is NWN2.
@marceror From a NWNEE I'd hope for a graphics update, polishing of the engine and rules, new content in the form of classes, spells, abilities etc. while retaining compatibility with existing content.
That's cool. It's not in my top 10 list, since again, I find that NWN2 already serves much of the function that a NWNEE would serve, and probably far better than Beamdog would be able to do with them having to go in and largely revere engineer the engine. But I certainly can't begrudge anyone from asking.
Personally, I'd like to see a few updates made to the existing EE games. Get them really polished and working awesome. Then have Beamdog pursue creating their own IP, effectively making Baldur's Gate 3 in all but name, and not using the D&D ruleset - marketing themselves as the developer that brought new life to Baldur's Gate, and potentially partnering with Obsidian to use their Project Eternity Engine.
NWN2 on the other hand ~ Well, I really do adore this game to bits and it would be nice to see old bugs fixed, the crude controls tweaked and some of the original content restored (Bishop's and Neeshka's romances for example) and have the npc's more fleshed out.
That would be awesome. I always wanted a romance option for Neeshka, and the mods that added it didn't look so great.
I'm surprised to see some of the slagging on the Aurora engine. Default campaigns aside, NWN1's engine and toolset are still peerless for a consumer multiplayer RPG toolkit. Really. While it does have some problems with newer video cards it mostly works pretty well, but the implementation of OpenGL is uses is sorely needing an overhaul, not to mention what a mobile implementation of the game would mean for players where a (presumably PC) server would support upwards of 60+.
Can you imagine being able to play on a multiplayer server like that from one's tablet?!
This is something I'd love to see Overhaul take on because if anyone could breathe life into an already vibrant worldwide NWN gaming community, Cam Tofer reworking the Aurora GFX engine could. Still, from my analysis of the engine and the game's content, though Trent worked hard to optimize the game as far as things like draw calls go, once the NWN franchise was in full swing (NWN1->Hordes of the Underdark), model (and texture) optimizations seemed to go out the window and, honestly, draw calls are through the roof without a fixed camera. There are other things that would need to be improved/fixed like the sound system. But these are all things Trent, Cam and others at Overhaul have intimate experience with.
But the game engine, itself? It's tight. And the networking system, which won awards at the time. Lot of impressive things about Aurora and Solstice (the toolset) by the time the game reached its final 1.69 patch.
Does anyone know whether such a thing is even possible after Atari's bankruptcy, though?
(a) the 'Worst' DnD engine/implementation to come out is hands down "Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Dranor". About a billion times worse than anything else.
Comments
In case of NWN EE I would be very happy to play entire campaign as party-base gameplay (like Baldur's Gate) running on Infinity Engine. Just imagine all areas as hand-painted environments. It would have some artistic taste and completly new gameplay experience than original solo campaing. Neverwinter itself could gain unique insight and atmosphere like Baldur's Gate or Athkatla. Neverwinter presented by Aurora Engine looks soulless. I'm sure that everyone would like to help fight plague in the city and will commit to this quest if only could see how beautiful it looks in 2D background.
ToEE would be great but from all cRPG which EE I would like to see first is Planescape Torment. I've played it again some time ago with widescreen mode, but whenever I've cast spell fps drop causing game to freez. It requires decrease hardware acceleration but after that mouse cursor left tracks on GUI and chat window. It was very disturbing. So I prefer Planescape Torment Enhanced Edition more than any other game. Besides scenario Planescape Torment has the best spells and critical hits animations in game history!
Obviously I am a failure at this whole thing LOL, that seriously made me laugh...
i think the graphics were what they were on purpose because people could mod them more easily in my opinion, without a word from bioware / atari then we wont know but thats my speculation.
edit: as an after thought if anyone is complaining about the graphics, have you all actually played baldurs gate? they weren't graphics really it was a bunch of JPEGS you moved on and everything moving in short loops ont he spot. and it was an amazing game, graphics dont mean a damn thing when it comes to the gameplay or the story
So if graphic and animation isn't bad today, what else remains to remaster?
And yes - graphic isin't important but 2D background are just more detailed than any place created in NWN and even NWN 2 (but Mask of the Betrayer has some cool locations).
The game did have it's flaws, but it was overall decent. I don't think anyone would argue that not being able to directly control party members directly was a serious flaw. But that was rectified in NWN2. HotU was pretty sweet, but the other campaigns were pretty lackluster. HotU still has my favorite high level battle, when you defend the stronghold in the underdark against that massive army. I think a big part of that is the fact you could only have the single henchman in the OC, so character development was nonexistent. I had no problems with the camera angles, and found the interface more intuitive that the BG series.
If this were to be undertaken, I think the only way it would be worthwhile is if the art assets are still available. The big thing that would be better updated and higher polygon models, and higher res textures. Those really haven't held up well over the years. It would be nice to have a full party, with directly controllable characters, but that would require a pretty heavy rewrite of the game. The difficulty was set for basically 2 person parties. Even soloing it was pretty easy, so having more party members in the OC would be pretty overpowered.
I still have very fond memories of the modules for it. The Paladain series, Twilight, Midnight and I think the third was Dawn or something were great. My favorite was the Blackguard series of modules. Great stuff for the evil player. For instance, you're trying to revive a skeletal dragon, but need to sacrifice a huge number of innocents. But where can you find that many innocents? Oh the town school, of course
I think I'd rather see Beamdog work on just about anything else. Be it IWD, Fallout (especially Fallout), BG3, or even their own new game, rather than a nwn:ee. They could always do what bioware did, and stop paying for the D&D license and make a whole new game set in a world of their own creation. That obviously requires a lot more writers, though.
Tbh, it needs an update for modern systems. It is very taxing on my computer it seems, much much more than relatively recent games like Skyrim or Mass Effect 3. I had huge FPS drops and it is also as if my computer is being cooked, 10-20 FPS IIRC. I could imagine others are experiencing the same. Maybe because of lack of multicore support?
I don't even want to think how many hours I spent playing this!
The game runs fine on my desktop and even my laptop with onboard Intel graphics. Granted that laptop has the higher end Intel Iris 5200, but that still isn't that great.
It might be that I never had the performance issues since I'm running the Linux version of NWN. NWN was my first bioware game too, and they got my attention by providing a Linux version. Unfortunately they haven't made a native Linux game since then, but they did get me hooked. If they do overhaul this one, a Linux version better be out at the same time as the other versions. My friends haven't complained about issues with it on windows, though.
I still just feel like there are so many other things I'd rather see before a NWN:EE.
NWN2 on the other hand ~ Well, I really do adore this game to bits and it would be nice to see old bugs fixed, the crude controls tweaked and some of the original content restored (Bishop's and Neeshka's romances for example) and have the npc's more fleshed out.
Personally, I'd like to see a few updates made to the existing EE games. Get them really polished and working awesome. Then have Beamdog pursue creating their own IP, effectively making Baldur's Gate 3 in all but name, and not using the D&D ruleset - marketing themselves as the developer that brought new life to Baldur's Gate, and potentially partnering with Obsidian to use their Project Eternity Engine.
Can you imagine being able to play on a multiplayer server like that from one's tablet?!
This is something I'd love to see Overhaul take on because if anyone could breathe life into an already vibrant worldwide NWN gaming community, Cam Tofer reworking the Aurora GFX engine could. Still, from my analysis of the engine and the game's content, though Trent worked hard to optimize the game as far as things like draw calls go, once the NWN franchise was in full swing (NWN1->Hordes of the Underdark), model (and texture) optimizations seemed to go out the window and, honestly, draw calls are through the roof without a fixed camera. There are other things that would need to be improved/fixed like the sound system. But these are all things Trent, Cam and others at Overhaul have intimate experience with.
But the game engine, itself? It's tight. And the networking system, which won awards at the time. Lot of impressive things about Aurora and Solstice (the toolset) by the time the game reached its final 1.69 patch.
Does anyone know whether such a thing is even possible after Atari's bankruptcy, though?