17 replies to this topic

[Kellen]

ATARI ANNOUNCES
NEVERWINTER NIGHTS ? 2: MASK OF THE BETRAYER
Expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2 Features Engrossing New Campaign; Epic Levels; New Companions and Much More

NEW YORK ? April 12, 2006 ? Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the world?s most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced the development of the next chapter in the Neverwinter Nights saga ? Neverwinter Nights? 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the expansion to the award-winning Neverwinter Nights 2 is set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Forgotten Realms® universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS). DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from HPG, the licensing division of Hasbro. Neverwinter Nights? 2: Mask of the Betrayer will be available in North America in Fall 2007.

In Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, players are transported back to the Forgotten Realms shortly after the events detailed in the original Neverwinter Nights 2. Following the climactic battle against the King of Shadows, the player awakens alone and stranded deep beneath the earth. Surrounded by a horde of evil spirits, the player embarks on an epic adventure that reveals his true destiny.

?Atari?s commitment to the Neverwinter Nights franchise and the enormous community is strong,? said Nique Fajors, Vice President, Sales, Marketing, Atari, Inc. ?We are on track to release the Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion pack this Fall, less than one year since the launch of Obsidian?s outstanding sequel, and are confident the new features will deliver a role-playing experience that further engages and satisfies fans.?

Set in harsh, spirit-rich Rashemen, near the powerful nation of Thay, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer will present players with an exciting new campaign; epic levels; dozens of new feats and spells; new races, base classes and prestige classes; new companions; new weapons, armor and crafting options; hordes of new monsters; and enhanced modding tools.

?Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer?s engrossing campaign will conclude the storyline that began in the original Neverwinter Nights 2 and focus on combat, exploration and classic D&D dungeon-crawling,? said Feargus Urquhart, CEO, Obsidian Entertainment. ?We?re also making new advances in story and character development as well as improving upon the acclaimed companion Influence System used in both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords and Neverwinter Nights 2.?

The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than three million copies worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of gaming. To date, fans of the franchise, which includes Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide? Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark? and Neverwinter Nights 2 have created more than 5,000 modifications to the original game using the award-winning toolset included with the full game that allows players to create their own universes, quests and storylines.

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer is scheduled for release in Fall 2007. More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at www.nwn2.com, which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.

Thoughts?

[Archmage Silver]

Woop! Woop! Excellent... going to buy it right away when it's released. I really liked NWN2 and am definitely looking forward to this sequel, considering that the ending of NWN2 was open for some more story. I just have to backup my saves to make sure I still have my character to import next Fall. That said, can't wait.

By the way, why do you think they have this obsession about "betrayal"? Aribeth anyone?

[Lord Ernie]

Cause betrayal is possibly one of the strongest story elements ever, and makes the main character personally involved with the 'villain' that betrayed him. Examples are numerous, and the more unpredictable the betrayal, or the more involved the character was at first, the harsher said betrayal.

As for the expansion: this looks like 'HotU 2.0' for NWN2, bringing epic levels and all. As long as it has HotU's quality storyline as well, I won't complain .

Edited by Lord Ernie, 13 April 2007 - 01:03 AM.

[Bluenose]

Looks excellent. I'll be buying it.

I hope they implement the things they didn't have time to finish in the OC, such as rideable mounts and the prestige classes they left out. My cleric needs some more options. I'm not that surprised that they can get it out that soon, as there's a lot of things in the 2da files which set it up for extra options.

I also hope there's at least some follow through based on what you did in the first game. I'm quite certain my elf eldritch knight would like to see Elanee again.

And let's have something that doesn't tail off at the end quite the way Kotor2 and NWN2 did. That would be disappointing.

[MorningGlory]

Anyone want to speculate on who and what survives from NWN2?

http://www.gamebansh...hebetrayer1.php

Are we going to again meet Bishop, whom we all think of as the "Betrayer?" Or, was it just his evil twin that we encountered in NWN2..

Edited by MorningGlory, 13 April 2007 - 10:44 AM.

[Lord Ernie]

Hrmm... I, for one, hope that they use some sort of campaign structure so they can actually tie it in with your choices and influence in NWN2's OC. Meaning, if Sand stays with you over Qara at the end, he's there, and she's dead. etc. It would also mean the romances can be continued; it seems like the overall most interesting option - please no 'you have Jaheira and Minsc along' like BG2 plays on you. It could make the whole influence shebang from the OC worthwhile.

As for the storyline, I'm not gonna venture any guesses . You can say what you like about Obsidian's games, both Kotor2 and NWN2 had somewhat atypical storylines.

Edited by Lord Ernie, 13 April 2007 - 03:26 PM.

[Archmage Silver]

Hrmm... I, for one, hope that they use some sort of campaign structure so they can actually tie it in with your choices and influence in NWN2's OC. Meaning, if Sand stays with you over Qara at the end, he's there, and she's dead. etc. It would also mean the romances can be continued; it seems like the overall most interesting option - please no 'you have Jaheira and Minsc along' like BG2 plays on you. It could make the whole influence shebang from the OC worthwhile.

As for the storyline, I'm not gonna venture any guesses . You can say what you like about Obsidian's games, both Kotor2 and NWN2 had somewhat atypical storylines.

One way they possibly could implement tie-ins to OC influence/choices, is to have a dialogue on initial NPC encounters in MotB, so that you get to choose some line (E.g. CHARNAME: "I always thought you were an idiot Khelgar, and that's why I never helped you with your clan") that will determine what your choices were, and what dialogue is going to be used now. Kind of along the lines of determining Revan's gender in KotOR II, and whether he/she was Light Side/Dark Side.

[Lord Ernie]

That is definitely possible, and it would allow one to play the new campaign without having to import a character from the original campaign. Still, I'd like to have all my hard done influence work pay off somehow - you know, an advantage that those that don't import a character don't get.

As for "the Betrayer" - I recall mention of it in the OC. A cutscene with the Githyanki when the Sword Saint discovered you were carrying shard pieces with you, where she said "Forget about the betrayer, this one's more interesting" or somesuch.

Oh, and considering this is the first campaign set in Rashemen, I'm really curious as to how they'll do. And with the setting in mind, 'Hathran' and 'Rashemen Berserker' seem definite possiblities for prestige classes .

Edited by Lord Ernie, 14 April 2007 - 04:31 PM.

[Archmage Silver]

That is definitely possible, and it would allow one to play the new campaign without having to import a character from the original campaign. Still, I'd like to have all my hard done influence work pay off somehow - you know, an advantage that those that don't import a character don't get.

As for "the Betrayer" - I recall mention of it in the OC. A cutscene with the Githyanki when the Sword Saint discovered you were carrying shard pieces with you, where she said "Forget about the betrayer, this one's more interesting" or somesuch.

Oh, and considering this is the first campaign set in Rashemen, I'm really curious as to how they'll do. And with the setting in mind, 'Hathran' and 'Rashemen Berserker' seem definite possiblities for prestige classes .

Hmm... another possibility is adding "flags" to the player character, and have different dialogue depending on which position the flags are.

Basically it would work somewhat like this scenario:

CHARNAME has lost 2 influence points with Khelgar. Flag [Khelgar Influence] responds by changing the influence rating it has recorded since the campaign began.

When the OC is over, the flags would tell the game exactly what influence ratings you had, and also what choices you made. That in turn would determine the available dialogue. Kinda like variables (E.g. Docks District Visited 0 or 1) from BGs etc.

Aye, the setting is certainly interesting, always wanted to see Rashemen. I wonder what kind of monsters they will add in the game? Probably at least Hags. I'm also expecting a lot of Minsc references.

Edited by Archmage Silver, 14 April 2007 - 06:48 PM.

[Lord Ernie]

I think the game already works with variables to indicate influence, variables which are saved with the character when you export it. The problem is that they mentioned that you can start playing the expansion straight away, without having gone through the OC with your character - they can't assume the influence variables are set. Hrmm... although that would allow them to fill them in in a neutral position if there were no variables defined, and otherwise pick up where things left off.

Still, the intro mentions you end up there all alone - I don't put it beyond them to just whisk away all the companions, and start from a blank sheet, with only new ones, and maybe one or two references. That might even work best with a new story, anyway; I mean, outside of Neverwinter, characters like Casavir, Sand, Khelgar and Ammon Jerro lose part of their appeal, since they're no longer rooted in the world.

Edited by Lord Ernie, 15 April 2007 - 04:18 AM.

[Bluenose]

Interview posted on Gamespot concerning the expansion here.

http://www.gamespot....tml?sid=6169920

Some of it is already known, eg epic levels; some is or was entirely predictable, such as new races, and prestige classes (though two new base classes is a bit of a surprise); and the most disappointing thing to me is that none of your companions will return, though you may get a chance to learn something of their fates.

[Lord Ernie]

Sometimes, I don't like being right.

[MorningGlory]

I can't help but be a little wary.. Alright, a lot wary..

[rant] We have the dev sitting there saying (more or less), "...Yes, this is EPIC.. It's all big, new, with lots of goodies!!.... You're going to be swept off your feet!!..... Did I mention we'll only have about ten hours of game play? And, did I mention you'll be lucky if you find out what happened to your former companions, because we couldn't be arsed with giving you any explanation? And, did I mention that you just might bleed out from that hole in your chest from someone, or something, forcibly removing that shard of the Sword of Gith (lovingly referred to as the Sword of Git), and you, in turn are supposed to care enough to want it back that you're going to go trotting off to unknown places in search of it??"

I can't figure out if the promo interviews (to date) are to convince us, the players, or to convince themselves, the developers. So far, I haven't heard a heck of a lot to get excited about, except that they have supposedly made significant modifications to the toolset. Yeah.. Like making it actually 'work' would be a vast improvement. [/rant]

[Bluenose]

There was a demonstration of some of the new features at A-KON, apparently. Some of the confirmed features are entirely predictable, such as new landscapes - though I've got a use for a snow-covered area, so tht makes me quite happy; new monsters - including a rust monster ; and new spells. There will be at least two new classes - the Spirit Shaman was apparently being used as a demonstration character, and the Favored Soul appeared in a list of availble classes. They also confirmed Red Wizard as a prestige class. There was no more about the storyline other than confirming it was set in the Rasheman-Thay area.

[Tempest]

And that in the place of the sword of Gith is a dark hunger that threatens to consume your soul...

I most likely will buy the expansion, and I'll probably enjoy it, but I'm very disappointed in the preview. Why can't they make sequels in the vein of Throne of Bhaal anymore? Sequels that pick up with the characters right where they left off, and enhance and progress the original storyline, rather than randomly dropping the main character on the other side of the world with none of his old friends in sight?

[Kellen]

Hmm, perhaps Hathrans too? Or Thayan Knights?

Yes I'm really looking forward to it.

[Solar's Harper]

Hmm, perhaps Hathrans too? Or Thayan Knights?

Yes I'm really looking forward to it.

There are Thayvian Knights? I thought that country only employed Edwins or similar egotistical simians for its interests.

Yep, looking foward to how this turns out.

[Kellen]

Even the greatest wizards benefit from having something between them and the receiving end of a Fireball. Besides they help to get in the way of the berserkers of Rasheman and even the scale. Thus the Thayan Knight

Yep, looking foward to how this turns out.

Same here. Unfortunately they don't put a lot of stuff about it on the official site. However I found this video (And this one? too), which gives some interesting info. The first area was entirely too bright, but the second, Thay was actually very nifty. And apparently they'll be working so that it makes better use of the graphic cards. And also the Favored Soul and Spirit Shaman classes will be added.