I don't know how many of you are tracking/anticipating BioWare's latest D&D RPG, Neverwinter Nights, nor how many of those people were disturbed/alarmed by the lawsuit against their publisher, Interplay, and how many of *those* people aren't paying very close attention to things.
Well, BioWare announced a while back that Interplay would *not* be publishing NWN, the CEO/co-founder/head honcho of Interplay quit earlier this week (he had issues with Titus gaining 51% of the IPLY stock), and yesterday BioWare announced that Infogrames will be publishing Neverwinter Nights.
Now, the whole, sorrid tale is convoluted and a mix of some of the best CRPG games put out in the past decade (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, BG2 Throne of Bhaal), the release of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, and the sale of Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames.
The short of it is thus: SSI has/had license to produce Pools of Radiance 2 under their previous licence for PoR and the "Gold Box" games. Interplay has/had exclusive licence to publish D&D Forgotten Realms computer games for the next few years. Wizards of the Coast bought TSR, created D&D 3rd Edition, and sold Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames along with the licence to publish D&D 3rd Ed computer games.
So we have SSI with a fading licence to develop D&D games (PoR2 has been considered the worst implementation of any ruleset out there, and should *not* be held up as an example of D&D 3rd edition), Interplay with an exclusive licence to publish D&D games set in the Forgotten Realms, and Infogrames holding the main licence to D&D computer games. In the middle of all that, you had BioWare. They developed what are arguably the best CPRGs ever, and have been credited with the renissance of CRPGs, especially under the D&D banner, and are in the late stages of developing what D&D fans have been dreaming of since the 70's. A multi-player recreation of "intimate" tabletop PnP gaming (as in 6-8 people, you perverts...)
Just a heads-up for those of you interested in what could be a fantastic, small-group online game.
Oh, BioWare plans on releasing NWN on PC, Mac and Linux. Simultaneously. All praise OpenGL! Sadly, the only platform with the toolset will be Windows, although Borland may be close to releasing C++ Builder for Linux, so a port of the toolset to Linux may follow the release. No word on the Mac port of the toolset, although a quick browse of the Infogrames US site had big banners from MacSoft, so who knows?
Did I mention the toolset? It's a tile-based system, with a powerful scripting language. You can make your own adventures! Whoot!
Oh, and while the clients (both player and DM) will require the CD (either via CD being required or CD-Key), standalone servers are unlimited. Buy one copy of NWN, fire up as many servers as you have horsepower for, and go for it! (My guess is we'll see a large number of dedicated Linux servers [much like Half-Life, Unreal, and Quake2/3].)
Sadly,the toolset is currently slated for Windows-only release,
which makes this a lot less attractive to those of us on
alternative platforms.
True... As I mentioned (I did mention it, right?), the Linux version of the toolset presupposes a Linux version of Borland's C++ Builder, which has yet to fully materialize, and the Mac version was lost in the fog of 3rd party Mac porting. Perhaps Infogrames can help BioWare get something going with MacSoft or something...
Anyway, it has been the position of BioWare that they *want* to release the toolset on all platforms, but they will *not* delay release just to port the toolset. When they do port it, it should be a free download (or perhaps a S&H CD buy).
While doubtful, there is hope that perhaps the toolset will run (although obviously not well) under either WINE on Linux or Virtual PC on Macs. I do *not* buy into the argument that PCs are cheap and you should just suck up and buy one (which is a common post on the BW forums), I sincerely hope that they *can* port the toolset and that *everyone* can join in on the fun of creation.
To stem the potential posts, I *know* that there are a good number of people on both Mac and Linux machines, who will *not* buy NWN because the toolset isn't ported to their platform. *Please* take it to BioWare/Infogrames. Clan Plaid can't do anything about it. ;^)
To stem the potential posts, I *know* that there are a good
number of people on both Mac and Linux machines, who will *not*
buy NWN because the toolset isn't ported to their platform.
*Please* take it to BioWare/Infogrames. Clan Plaid can't do
anything about it. ;^)
To stem the potential posts, I *know* that there are a good
number of people on both Mac and Linux machines, who will *not*
buy NWN because the toolset isn't ported to their platform.
When this was first announced I flew off the handle and spewed stuff all over some forums. It really truely was horriblely bad false advertising and a lack of foresight. But time heals all wounds and I've been playing 3e since it was released and can't wait to play a real game with the rules. After I put my money where my mouth is and buy it, I'll be pounding on them to get it ported. Many of my RPG friends have suddenly bought OS X boxes and I'm sure they will help out too
Thanks for the good news! I'll stop holding my breath now...
Personally, I was a bit skeptical that we'd ever see this game after reading Desslock's take on things. Knowing what I do about litigation, and what I *think* I know about the time-sensitive nature of software development, I figured this was set to be the lost opportunity of all lost vaporware opportunities. Hooray for being wrong!
Like Charon, I was pretty upset at the news that the toolset (which was and continues to be a major advertising point for the game) was only going to be Windows on release. I hope that you're right about the post-release download thing. I'm not an OS bigot, and I'm on a PC, but I do think Mac users /tend/ to be more creative, and I'd hate to see the mod community hampered.
Also: what plans have you or anyone else who frequents these boards got for a campaign? I know that there are a half dozen geezers at least who have been following this game. On paper, my plan is to play through the single player campaign cooperatively with some folks, and concurrently work on a module or five. Still, in the long run I'm more a player than a DM. Are any of you planning on running an ongoing campaing into which I could assert myself through bribes or sexual favors?
I do *not* buy into the argument that PCs
are cheap and you should just suck up and buy one (which is a
common post on the BW forums), I sincerely hope that they *can*
port the toolset and that *everyone* can join in on the fun of
creation.
PC's are cheap. Suck it up and buy one. Apple abandoned gamers years ago, and, with its current crop of machines, continues to orphan Mac gamers way behind the technology curve. And don't EVEN get me started on Cocoa.
I will be playing that game, the day it comes out. (Well, probably more like within a week or three, but still)
:
:
::flees, putting on aluminum helmet to avoid the mind control ray::
Shadowbane is also looking intriguing, though one wonders how long it'll take to come out for Mac. (It sounds like the Mac version may take a bit longer than the PC version)
Lineage - a good cross-plat solution, now that the Mac beta (free!) is running - may be interesting to some of you. I've only been on it for two days, but so far it's becoming the most addictive game I've played in awhile. (And this time, I'm doing battle; not mining, which is all I ever did in UO ;-)
It would have to be one spectacular fricking game to make me pay a monthly fee. Shadowbane as well. I considered it with some of the other big MMORPGs, and considering how much of my time I spend on free games I suspect I'd start to feel absurd that I was paying by the month for a game I wasn't playing half the time. ;-)
NWN OTOH, has some incredible potential... if it can meet it. MIII had incredible potential too, and failed to live up to it even though it's fun. The whole publisher thing NWN has gone through makes me wonder if the developers took a stand on a finished product, or if the publisherss realized the product was unfinishable.
>The whole publisher thing NWN has gone [quote] through makes me wonder if the developers took a stand on a finished product, or if the publisherss realized the product was unfinishable.
Ramses II
[/quote] My understanding is that the problem with the publisher had to do not with NWN, but with some other games that Bioware had made for Interplay, and which Interplay had licensed to third parties without Bioware's consent. That put the whole relationship into question. When one party to a contractual relationship starts aggressively looking for ways that the other party can be considered in breach of the contract, the relationship is pretty well doomed. I'm just glad that Infogrames picked up the ball, and I hope they're allowed to complete work on the game. The fact that the release date has been extended (the release "estimate" that is) makes me think they're going to put out a polished product.
There is a thread at the Old Folks' Home wherein Thameron is discussing a potential campaign. I don't know how large he's thinking of making it, but the discussion is fruitful regardless of whether you're considering playing with us/them.
NWN sounds like a awesome game....once it's finally released. I'm currently playing Pool of Radiance - Ruins of Myth Drannor. It's about as close to play D&D as you need to get. The game itself really 'feels' like you're playing D&D (especially due to the fact that it's not a 'clickfest' type game). I actually became bored with it at first, but forced myself back into finishing it.
I've played/finished all the Black Isle games (every Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale.....) and loved them. I'd definately love to join you guys once it is released, if you'd have me.
[quote] NWN sounds like a awesome game....once it's finally released. I'm currently playing Pool of Radiance - Ruins of Myth Drannor. It's about as close to play D&D as you need to get. The game itself really 'feels' like you're playing D&D (especially due to the fact that it's not a 'clickfest' type game). I actually became bored with it at first, but forced myself back into finishing it.
I've played/finished all the Black Isle games (every Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale.....) and loved them. I'd definately love to join you guys once it is released, if you'd have me.
Darklord
[/quote] Dark: there's been a lot of interest expressed at our messageboard ( http://static1-21.smithvilledsl.net/~obijuan/myth/board/ ). Please stop by and look for the topic: dis'Dain's Gaming Grotto, and the thread "Neverwinter Nights again." That's where we're currently discussing plans.
I don't know how large a campaign we'll eventually have. It depends mostly on Thameron, I'd imagine, but also bandwith for the host...
I'm interested that you finished Pool of Radiance. I got really bored with it after clearing the first massive dungeon. I presume it must have gotten more interesting?
I'm interested that you finished Pool of Radiance. I got really
bored with it after clearing the first massive dungeon. I
presume it must have gotten more interesting?
No, I haven't finished it yet, but I'm close. It's more of a quest to finish it so I can delete it from my hard drive.
The latter part of the game is more of the same. It's just looooooooooooong, like the rest of it.
Comments
Well, BioWare announced a while back that Interplay would *not* be publishing NWN, the CEO/co-founder/head honcho of Interplay quit earlier this week (he had issues with Titus gaining 51% of the IPLY stock), and yesterday BioWare announced that Infogrames will be publishing Neverwinter Nights.
Now, the whole, sorrid tale is convoluted and a mix of some of the best CRPG games put out in the past decade (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, BG2 Throne of Bhaal), the release of Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition, and the sale of Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames.
The short of it is thus: SSI has/had license to produce Pools of Radiance 2 under their previous licence for PoR and the "Gold Box" games. Interplay has/had exclusive licence to publish D&D Forgotten Realms computer games for the next few years. Wizards of the Coast bought TSR, created D&D 3rd Edition, and sold Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames along with the licence to publish D&D 3rd Ed computer games.
So we have SSI with a fading licence to develop D&D games (PoR2 has been considered the worst implementation of any ruleset out there, and should *not* be held up as an example of D&D 3rd edition), Interplay with an exclusive licence to publish D&D games set in the Forgotten Realms, and Infogrames holding the main licence to D&D computer games. In the middle of all that, you had BioWare. They developed what are arguably the best CPRGs ever, and have been credited with the renissance of CRPGs, especially under the D&D banner, and are in the late stages of developing what D&D fans have been dreaming of since the 70's. A multi-player recreation of "intimate" tabletop PnP gaming (as in 6-8 people, you perverts...)
Just a heads-up for those of you interested in what could be a fantastic, small-group online game.
Oh, BioWare plans on releasing NWN on PC, Mac and Linux. Simultaneously. All praise OpenGL! Sadly, the only platform with the toolset will be Windows, although Borland may be close to releasing C++ Builder for Linux, so a port of the toolset to Linux may follow the release. No word on the Mac port of the toolset, although a quick browse of the Infogrames US site had big banners from MacSoft, so who knows?
Did I mention the toolset? It's a tile-based system, with a powerful scripting language. You can make your own adventures! Whoot!
Oh, and while the clients (both player and DM) will require the CD (either via CD being required or CD-Key), standalone servers are unlimited. Buy one copy of NWN, fire up as many servers as you have horsepower for, and go for it! (My guess is we'll see a large number of dedicated Linux servers [much like Half-Life, Unreal, and Quake2/3].)
Ratbert #CP#
Neverwinter Nights
Sadly,the toolset is currently slated for Windows-only release, which makes this a lot less attractive to those of us on alternative platforms.
True... As I mentioned (I did mention it, right?), the Linux version of the toolset presupposes a Linux version of Borland's C++ Builder, which has yet to fully materialize, and the Mac version was lost in the fog of 3rd party Mac porting. Perhaps Infogrames can help BioWare get something going with MacSoft or something...
Anyway, it has been the position of BioWare that they *want* to release the toolset on all platforms, but they will *not* delay release just to port the toolset. When they do port it, it should be a free download (or perhaps a S&H CD buy).
While doubtful, there is hope that perhaps the toolset will run (although obviously not well) under either WINE on Linux or Virtual PC on Macs. I do *not* buy into the argument that PCs are cheap and you should just suck up and buy one (which is a common post on the BW forums), I sincerely hope that they *can* port the toolset and that *everyone* can join in on the fun of creation.
To stem the potential posts, I *know* that there are a good number of people on both Mac and Linux machines, who will *not* buy NWN because the toolset isn't ported to their platform. *Please* take it to BioWare/Infogrames. Clan Plaid can't do anything about it. ;^)
Ratbert #CP#Z
Neverwinter Nights
But... but... Clan Plaid can do ANYTHING!
When this was first announced I flew off the handle and spewed stuff all over some forums. It really truely was horriblely bad false advertising and a lack of foresight. But time heals all wounds and I've been playing 3e since it was released and can't wait to play a real game with the rules. After I put my money where my mouth is and buy it, I'll be pounding on them to get it ported. Many of my RPG friends have suddenly bought OS X boxes and I'm sure they will help out too
Thanks for the good news! I'll stop holding my breath now...
Personally, I was a bit skeptical that we'd ever see this game after reading Desslock's take on things. Knowing what I do about litigation, and what I *think* I know about the time-sensitive nature of software development, I figured this was set to be the lost opportunity of all lost vaporware opportunities. Hooray for being wrong!
Like Charon, I was pretty upset at the news that the toolset (which was and continues to be a major advertising point for the game) was only going to be Windows on release. I hope that you're right about the post-release download thing. I'm not an OS bigot, and I'm on a PC, but I do think Mac users /tend/ to be more creative, and I'd hate to see the mod community hampered.
Also: what plans have you or anyone else who frequents these boards got for a campaign? I know that there are a half dozen geezers at least who have been following this game. On paper, my plan is to play through the single player campaign cooperatively with some folks, and concurrently work on a module or five. Still, in the long run I'm more a player than a DM. Are any of you planning on running an ongoing campaing into which I could assert myself through bribes or sexual favors?
Woo?
PC's are cheap. Suck it up and buy one. Apple abandoned gamers years ago, and, with its current crop of machines, continues to orphan Mac gamers way behind the technology curve. And don't EVEN get me started on Cocoa.
_/ C
::ducks in::
I will be playing that game, the day it comes out. (Well, probably more like within a week or three, but still)
:
:
::flees, putting on aluminum helmet to avoid the mind control ray::
MS
Shadowbane is also looking intriguing, though one wonders how long it'll take to come out for Mac. (It sounds like the Mac version may take a bit longer than the PC version)
Lineage - a good cross-plat solution, now that the Mac beta (free!) is running - may be interesting to some of you. I've only been on it for two days, but so far it's becoming the most addictive game I've played in awhile. (And this time, I'm doing battle; not mining, which is all I ever did in UO ;-)
- Noc
Lineage: The Blood Pledge (Garriot's new baby)
It would have to be one spectacular fricking game to make me pay a monthly fee. Shadowbane as well. I considered it with some of the other big MMORPGs, and considering how much of my time I spend on free games I suspect I'd start to feel absurd that I was paying by the month for a game I wasn't playing half the time. ;-)
NWN OTOH, has some incredible potential... if it can meet it. MIII had incredible potential too, and failed to live up to it even though it's fun. The whole publisher thing NWN has gone through makes me wonder if the developers took a stand on a finished product, or if the publisherss realized the product was unfinishable.
Ramses II
...took a stand on making a finished product...
RII
>The whole publisher thing NWN has gone
[quote]
through makes me wonder if the developers took a stand on a
finished product, or if the publisherss realized the product was
unfinishable.
Ramses II
[/quote]
My understanding is that the problem with the publisher had to do not with NWN, but with some other games that Bioware had made for Interplay, and which Interplay had licensed to third parties without Bioware's consent. That put the whole relationship into question. When one party to a contractual relationship starts aggressively looking for ways that the other party can be considered in breach of the contract, the relationship is pretty well doomed. I'm just glad that Infogrames picked up the ball, and I hope they're allowed to complete work on the game. The fact that the release date has been extended (the release "estimate" that is) makes me think they're going to put out a polished product.
There is a thread at the Old Folks' Home wherein Thameron is discussing a potential campaign. I don't know how large he's thinking of making it, but the discussion is fruitful regardless of whether you're considering playing with us/them.
Woo.
NWN sounds like a awesome game....once it's finally released. I'm currently playing Pool of Radiance - Ruins of Myth Drannor. It's about as close to play D&D as you need to get. The game itself really 'feels' like you're playing D&D (especially due to the fact that it's not a 'clickfest' type game). I actually became bored with it at first, but forced myself back into finishing it.
I've played/finished all the Black Isle games (every Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale.....) and loved them. I'd definately love to join you guys once it is released, if you'd have me.
Darklord
[quote]
NWN sounds like a awesome game....once it's finally released.
I'm currently playing Pool of Radiance - Ruins of Myth Drannor.
It's about as close to play D&D as you need to get. The game
itself really 'feels' like you're playing D&D (especially due to
the fact that it's not a 'clickfest' type game). I actually
became bored with it at first, but forced myself back into
finishing it.
I've played/finished all the Black Isle games (every Baldur's
Gate, Icewind Dale.....) and loved them. I'd definately love to
join you guys once it is released, if you'd have me.
Darklord
[/quote]
Dark: there's been a lot of interest expressed at our messageboard ( http://static1-21.smithvilledsl.net/~obijuan/myth/board/ ). Please stop by and look for the topic: dis'Dain's Gaming Grotto, and the thread "Neverwinter Nights again." That's where we're currently discussing plans.
I don't know how large a campaign we'll eventually have. It depends mostly on Thameron, I'd imagine, but also bandwith for the host...
I'm interested that you finished Pool of Radiance. I got really bored with it after clearing the first massive dungeon. I presume it must have gotten more interesting?
No, I haven't finished it yet, but I'm close. It's more of a quest to finish it so I can delete it from my hard drive.
The latter part of the game is more of the same. It's just looooooooooooong, like the rest of it.
Darklord