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#1 Cal Jones

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Posted 15 April 2009 - 01:22 PM

OK so NWN2 is one of several games I've got for my new PC. I'm probably going to play Mass Effect first, but am interested to get some opinions on how to go about playing this for the first time. I've not got MoTB or Storm so should I just play vanilla the first time or are there any must-have mods?
(I generally like to play a vanilla game initially, but if there's anything I really need, let me know).
Also, what's the deal with romances and characters? Any suggestions on NPCs, character builds etc?

#2 berelinde

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Posted 15 April 2009 - 02:04 PM

If you're looking for romance in the game, try the NWN2 Romance Pack, and I'm not just saying this because I did part of it.

You won't like Casavir (judging from your preferences), but I'm thinking you'll like Bishop. Keep them both in the party at the same time for the most fun.

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#3 Cal Jones

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Posted 15 April 2009 - 02:58 PM

Is there a significant difference between the modded and vanilla romances?

I must admit I'm generally playing male characters these days - I prefer that lately. I guess it makes it easier for me to play a character different from myself. Anyway, no matter.

#4 berelinde

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Posted 15 April 2009 - 07:02 PM

I can understand that. I generally play male characters, myself.

For the male PC, adding the Romance Pack will enable the PC to flirt with the romance interest (PID). You can also choose Neeshka over Elanee.

For the female PC, there are almost 50 talks added, between Bishop and Casavir, in addition to PID flirting. Er, maybe I should have said that there are nearly 50 talks between the guys and the PC. They don't talk that often to each other.

So, yes, there is a significant difference between the modded version and the unmodded. When I ran NWN2 OC with a male PC, I was unaware that there even were romances, it was so blah. It's limited to a couple jealous comments here and there, nothing major. And then, if you do decide to go off alone with Elanee, there's nothing afterward to indicate that it even happened.

Edited by berelinde, 15 April 2009 - 07:03 PM.

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#5 Bluenose

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Posted 16 April 2009 - 10:58 AM

First, patch. I assume you've done so, but if you haven't you really need to.

Secondly, I agree with Berelinde on the Romance Pack. It's very good, and certainly worth having if you want the romances.

Third, there are a lot of other mods that affect the OC, but none of them are really essential. A lot of them are to do with characters appearance, different hairstyles and such. Others affect the visual effect of spells, like Ashura's VX Pack. A couple of my favourites alter the UI so there's more than one taskbar on the screen at a time, which is useful. One that I find really useful alters the inventory so that item's are easier to recognise, which is something I always have a problem with. While none of these things are essential, some are nice to have.

As for suggestions on character builds, in the NWN2 sub-forum one down from this, there's a stickied thread with my thoughts on the subject. It doesn't have the SoZ material yet, but the OC is fairly well covered. I'm perfectly happy to answer questions on the subject.

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#6 Cal Jones

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Posted 16 April 2009 - 02:16 PM

Cheers, I haven't taken it out of its shrinkwrap yet let alone install and patch it - as I said, playing Mass Effect first. But good to know. :)

#7 princesspurpleblob

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Posted 07 May 2009 - 05:51 PM

Just letting you know.

WARNING! The camera will drive you nuts :X

I've recently installed NWN2 again to try out NWN2 romance pack (I really wanted to try out Casavir romance and to see Bishop's new MotB ending) but I've given up due to: 1. camera issue 2. Bug!!!

That stupid bug does not let me collect my 1st shard from the ruins. Hence, I can't even get out of starting town. I'm REALLY sad.

I suppose I'm going to try to fix it today... if not, back to BG2, WoW and newly bought Jade Empire :X

If any of you have experience that bug and know how to fix it please let me know?!

#8 berelinde

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Posted 08 May 2009 - 07:04 AM

Apart from reloading an earlier save, no.

But here's a thought. Why don't you wait until after you've gotten the shard and been sent on toward Highcliff to install the romances. Bevil's dialogue file has been especially problematic because the same dialogue file name is reused between the prologue and act 1. The game did this, not the mod. Since the mod adds an override version of Bevil's dialogue file, it was creating issues. This was causing issues with his prologue dialogue, not his act 1 dialogue, but it wouldn't be the first time that an individual download had corrupted file. If the file got corrupted in download, it might affect Bevil's act 1 dialogue, and you might have an inability to complete that shard quest.

Installing the romance pack after you have already been sent by Daeghun to Highcliff avoids the issue entirely.


(As an aside, I'm getting to the point where any time there's a bug mentioned, I'm automatically trying to find ways Bevil might be involved. Seriously, I have had more trouble getting Bevil's various dialogues to work than I have had with anything else to do with the mod, probably more than *everything* else combined.)

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#9 Yovaneth

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Posted 08 May 2009 - 08:47 AM

And slightly off-topic: MotB was okay but if you go as far as SoZ, do *not* import your MotB character. In fact, try and import a character saved no later than the end of the OC. I imported my epic-level MotB character into SoZ and found that one blow was enough to flatten most opponents which took all of the suspense out of the game and I completely lost interest in it.

Camera = bleugh. I left it locked in character view because I couldn't get on with either of the others. The other thing I hated was not being able to swing the camera around the protagonist when on the move (a la Oblivion). I found that it made it harder than necessary to spot enemies and exits.

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#10 Bluenose

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Posted 08 May 2009 - 12:51 PM

SoZ is meant for characters of 3rd-4th level at the start. You'll be levelled up, though not equipped, if you go in with a 1st level party. It's an alternative to the OC/MotB rather than something to do at the end.

While I'm not a huge fan of the camera, I find Exploration Mode pretty easy to get round in except in a few situations. Never any problem scanning around in that, as far as I've found?

Back from the brink.

Like RPGs? Like Star Wars? Think combining the two would be fun? Read Darths and Droids, and discover the line "Jar Jar, you're a genius".

These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.