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D&D - what a waste of good license?

YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
I never played a tabletop game with the later D&D versions (4th etc.) and no CRPGs were ever made with them, but it looks like, not only did they screw up and excise away a lot of their background and pantheon, but also UTTERLY failed in licensing believable worlds to play in.

Here we are, still playing, gratefully, BG & BG2 (and other Infinity Engine games) because after 15 years nothing better was ever made.

This is at least partly due to the complex but well balanced game mechanics of D&D, coupled with a detailed mythology. You don't balance a complex game world without years of play testing by thousands of people.

In comparison, the new D&D Online looks like crap MMORPG fodder.

Why is there no decent online recreation of a table top like D&D environment?
OR, failing that, another intricate single player CRPG in the same cosmos?

The Suits, it seems, have control of the field to our collective chagrin. And their tastes are that of a twitch-happy 13 year old...
CrevsDaak

Comments

  • FrostyFrosty Member Posts: 190
    The visionary's that mad DnD are either dead or retired so now DnD is ran by business professionals. Who are chasing dolors by copying what was last most successful. Untill some get put in charge of DnD that is willing to take a risk and redevelop a old market or a new one DnD will continue to just fade away.
    Necomancerjackjack
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    @‌enqenq
    Absolutely right about MMOs!

    Also, very interesting news about Eternity...
    When is it expected to be out? What are its license conditions?
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    "License conditions"? I'm not sure if I'm understanding you correctly, but it's their own gamerules and setting.

    And yeah, Mask of the Betrayer was made. While suffering from the NwN2 engine, it still blows BG and BG2 out of the water when it comes to rpg content.
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    Mask of the Betrayer was indeed the best NWN/NWN2 campaign. Story telling is almost on par with Planescape Torment. Still combat engine and its complexity is better in BG trilogy in my opinion. (The ultra-high level stuff in MotB becomes very odd very quickly; I wish the original NWN2 campaign had such depth...)
  • enqenqenqenq Member Posts: 499
    Ygramul said:

    When is it expected to be out?

    Haven't seen anything about that. As I said I just found out about the game though. The latest video they posted was like, look how cool we can make a 2d world. And don't get me wrong, it's a lot better than the Infinity Engine, but it doesn't make you feel like a beta is around the corner :)
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    >balance
    >fighter/mage

    But yes, I would really love to see more dnd titles, especially 3/3.5, and it's a shame that there haven't been any for almost a decade.:\
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    enqenqbooinyoureyes
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    It is a bit odd that after a long run of critically aclaimed and commercially successful games there have been no D&D games apart from the MMO. The last real one was NWN2 in 2006.

    There's still definitely a market for mainstream Fantasy CRPGs as Skyrim and any number of other triple-A titles prove, and Gaming is bigger than Hollywood nowadays. Why the hell are they not trying to take our money?

    Even if they just licenced something like Spelljammer for a weird and wonderful one-off game it'd be good.
    enqenqbooinyoureyesAristillius
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Pathfinder, yo
    jackjackNecomancerCorvinoKlonoa
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    edited March 2014
    I am very tempted to post something on the official D&D boards requesting a single-player/party non-MMO CRPG. PCMag.com call ToEE the "last of the great single-player D&D RPGs" and they're right, it's a shame that such a lineage of games has lapsed.

    WOTC have an offensively good IP and their direction of MMOs and facebook games is completely derivative.

    *Edit* I've posted a thread on the D&D forums requesting the above:
    http://community.wizards.com/forum/dd-future-releases/threads/4068796

    I have high hopes for Pillars of Eternity, Tides of Numenera and Overhaul's future projects, but D&D still has huge potential.
    Post edited by Corvino on
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    ToEE was the best of the lot - in principle.
    Unfortunately, it was marred by bugs. (Co8 updates fix much of this.)

    Too bad NWN/NWN2 went into the opposite direction of more WoW-like gameplay, at the expense of a better intense single player experience.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    ToEE has an interesting engine and implementation. I replayed it recently. It's got some of the best stat and social-skill-use dialogue in any D&D game, with multiple different options for characters with different skills and stats. The quality of the dialogue overall is below the BG series and Planescape though.

    It also has very faithful implementation of 3.5E combat systems, with loads of scope for attacks of opportunity, flanking and stuff. It also does the customisability and character progression in 3.5E justice. If the module included was better, with more interesting joinable NPCs, better written dialogues and so on then it would be a top game. The CO8 mod does improve on aspects of it and is obviously a labour of love.
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    Corvino said:

    ToEE ... The quality of the dialogue overall is below the BG series and Planescape though.

    Oh, absolutely. I was referring only to the combat system.
    If Ironman version of a ToEE-like D&D was playable (*cough* save game corruptions *cough*) along with Planescape level writing it would have been the best CRPG ever made.

    One can hope...

    Corvino
  • KKnightKKnight Member Posts: 26
    We need more Turnbased Rpgs set in Dungeons and Dragons settings. So far there are only 4 I can think of-

    Temple of Elemental Evil-Great game but have not finished yet.
    Knights of the Chalice-Excellent and I have finished.
    Pools of Radiance Ruins of Myth Drannor-Havent played because it isnt on steam or gog
    Eye of the Beholder (gboy advanced version) havent finished but in progress

    Thats about it. There are 4 turnbased rpgs in the setting with 3rd and early edition rules. The old ones I could never stomach as I prefer the new editions. Is there something wrong where there are 4 games with 1 sequel in progress. Ahem, yet there are like almost a dozen real time ones. They are all great in their own way but someone needs to make some more. Either that or someone on here needs to tell me of another.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    D&D Haven't licenced anything but action RPGs, MMOs and browser/mobile/facebook games for at least 5 years. Hence the waste of a good licence.
    CrevsDaakjackjackFredjo
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