» Advertisement «

For all role players who are role players, Neverwinter Nights offers something never previously explored. Most of the current Role Playing Games really aren't for true role-playing.

Have you ever played a RPG and still miss the old days when you and your friends would get together over a pizza and stay up into the wee hours of the night? If you thought when your companions left to live across country you would never be able to play a good ole game of Dungeon and Dragons again, never fear! Those days are coming back with a huge bang. If you were the person who could never picture gruesome trolls running at you this is the exact game for you. Neverwinter brings table top gaming to the computer in dazzling 3D.

Offering great single and multi-player action Neverwinter has something for every gamer. Neverwinter Nights has 7 great races and 11 classes, you will have a greatly varied selection. Characters are customizable. You will be able to change many aspects of your character from anyone else's.

Dungeon Masters will be able to design their own modules using the Neverwinter toolset. Using a script language similar to C and Java DMs will be able to add dynamic components to their campaigns. Best of all the Aurora toolset allows DMs to create involved modules in about an hour. They will have the power to possess NPCs at any time to get the adventure back on track or just add intelligent conversation to an otherwise dull NPC.

The possibilities don't end there either. With the use of portals DMs can link their servers to each other creating even bigger gaming worlds. With the use of portals DMs will be able to create vast worlds spanning virtual miles. And it's all in beautiful 3D. With a bit of creative thinking the Dungeon Master will be able to do virtually everything possible as in the tabletop RPG. It is even possible to create persistent worlds rivaling those of Everquest and Ultima Online.

One of the first multiplayer computer games geared toward actual role-playing, Neverwinter Nights is a hit in its pre production stages. Players of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons new and old are giving praise to NWN for its ingenuity and sheer brilliance. Featuring a powerful toolset with virtually innumerable possibilities, even someone with no programming experience what so ever will be able to create dynamic modules and campaigns.

The Neverwinter Nights toolset features a WYSIWYG style module editor so it is possible to throw together a module in about an hour, while one could spend days to create a more engaging detailed campaign. Neverwinter will not feature a monthly fee, for those of you that are skeptical. Will it have a single player feature? Neverwinter will feature a great single player style for those wanting a more intimate gameplay experience.

While Neverwinter will be great for recreating your favorite module and staying up with your friends that have moved all over the country, Neverwinter has even more potential than this. Although many players are just going to play single player and with a select few friends, the Aurora Toolset will be capable of creating persistent worlds such as Everquest, and Ultima Online. Many players are already in the process of world creation and are getting ready for the much-anticipated release of NWN. Depending on the amount of server computers involved, NWN will be able to hold many players at once. This will also depend on the capabilities of your internet connection hardware. It is said that a cable modem will be able to hold somewhere around 64 players, while a 56k will be able to hold about 10.

An average size area consists of a 32x32 tileset, where one tile represents a 10 meter by 10 meter square, but can be larger or smaller. This means that actual zones will be huge and will offer many hours of enjoyable game play. In a persistent game world, people will most likely create many of the largest size areas to offer a great multi-playing experience.

At last, a game with so much to offer, that you will challenge yourself to become creative! This game will offer hordes of imaginative options for veteran Dungeon and Dragons players, as well as easy to learn gaming fun for those new to the genre of online RPGs.

Imagine this; you are on an adventure in a diverse setting of a fantasy world with only an invited few by your side. Each element of your adventure will take place on a "server," which will ultimately decide who gets to play in this area! This will help all types of players; new players, advanced players, specific alignment players and even power gamers who like to twist the rules, to have their own server and even their own world. You can choose to start an adventure within a world with the aid of a veteran fantasy player called the "Dungeon Master (DM)" or play it with no DM and as a single player using BioWare’s scenarios. The DM will guide you through the adventure, control actions of monsters and non-player characters (NPC's) as you advance through a superbly rendered section of the world. The fun is being in control, through dialogue and action, to choose your own path.

Single player, multi-player, with or without DM involvement, all will be options supported in this game. There will be a character vault that will screen each character, making an area that holds the characters of players that abide by the standard rules. The Vault will give DM's and players a place to pick up or join other characters on their way into the fray.

The feeling of being rushed that is often present in other on-line games will be virtually non-existent – the power of communication, the fun of trickery, the satisfaction of smart thinking, acting as your character feels, and the utilization of your character’s special skills will make this environment rewarding and enjoyable. What’s great about role-playing in a D&D game, is its slowed down pace, which lets you create and act out as your character would in a given situation and through their entire life span. The end of this life means the start of another great adventure, trying out different races, classes, and skills that will give you new inspiration and imaginative gaming entertainment.

The Neverwinter Nights tool set is another feature in BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights. It lets you design your own adventures (called modules) of the games graphic environment. Within this tool is an easy point and click interface for adding/removing tiles and creating your own modules

Let’s say you have never tried this type of game – do not let that stop you – for this game will make new and old D&D players come together with new friends and new ideas. What will this game hold in comparison to other games – more strategy, role-playing, adventure, puzzle solving, action, and story evolution than has come before because the lack of imagination, your imagination, is the only limitation.

The publisher of Neverinter Nights, Infogrames has scheduled the game to line the store shelves in the summer of 2002.