This game was released in 2006, and is still the best when it comes to transposing D&D.
Despite being released in 2006, the online community is still very active.
User-created content accessible to anyone does not count for vastness.
With the engine of this game, masterpieces such as Baldur’s Gate and Icewindale have been faithfully recreated: Exactly, as downloadable content you can play these two games, perfectly reconstructed with the graphics of NeverwinterNights2.
This game is final!
I am currently developing an adventure myself; in its realization I think I have just exceeded half.
This is a reinterpretation of Dark Souls 3, this adventure of mine is very inspired by this game, especially in the progression of the levels and in the game mechanics.
As for the plot, I’m developing my own.
But how interesting can such content be in 2020?
How many people still play Neverwinter Nights 2?
Developing this campaign for me takes time and work, but is it worth it?
As I go on building my project, I look at it, and think, “Damn, it’s good! It’s very good!”
During these 14 years, I have started many projects, abandoned due to loss of interest.
But the current project still stimulates my creativity, what I am currently building, has not bored me, and continues to make me think it is a really good product.
But maybe all of this will only apply to me.
In the end I will create this huge campaign, oriented hack and slash, inspired by Dark Souls 3, which from the first level will take you well up to the thirtieth, and I will be the only one to play it.
So, to the community I ask, how much can such a content interest? How much would it be appreciated?
Is this work worth doing?
Hello and welcome to the show “The question only I can answer myself”.
Jokes aside - Neverwinter Nights 2 is probably indeed the last in it’s kind, if we view it as a standalone ideological progression of the genre that allows you to create a whole new world with a relatively low amount of effort, and if we don’t view NWN:EE as a sufficient replacement for the features that NWN2 has.
If you feel that you are not ready to break up this long-lasting relationship - you should definitely continue until you have created your final masterpiece which would deliver the feeling of accomplishment and will let you retire and move on to a modern engine.
New content is always welcome. Cannot tell specifically for the offline community as I am not a part of it, but I can tell that there are still some Persistent Worlds online, and you never know when a new one might release to the public. Those are always on the lookout for new content to integrate into their worlds.
Personally, I do it to pass the time, because my working hours have been cut in half. Since I love inventing games, I take advantage of this new available time that I have.
What I develop, I do because “I find it fun”. I don’t do it to satisfy a number of people, because otherwise you are taken hostage to build your things according to the statistics that you collect. Famous Stan Lee (Marvel Comics) said he first created his stories to please himself and it worked.
So do it for yourself. Tell yourself that if NwN2 make a returns to Steam, it’s possible that its popularity will regain some vigor (I know the game is on GOG, but it’s not the same at all).
It’s a great question and not necessarily an easy answer!
In my opinion:
Will you be the only person playing your module? Almost certainly not. The community has got smaller over the years but there are still NWN2 players out there supporting new content. @andysks is the modder who released a major adventure most recently (that I can think of?) and he has 1000s of downloads.
However…would you see more downloads, reviews and feedback from another, newer game, or even just NWN1, which seems to still maintain a busier community? Yeah, probably.
It really depends on whether you think NWN2 is the right vessel for the mod you want to create (and the right tool for you to work with over months or years).
I’ve tried experimenting with more modern toolsets for games, where the finished article might be played by more people…but because I find the tools hard to work with, or the assets aren’t flexible enough for the aesthetic I want, the odds are near-to-zero that I’ll end up completing a finished product! I’d rather release to a smaller audience, but feel comfortable and confident enough that I’ll eventually have something to release that I’m happy with.
I just wanted to clarify what your final language objective is going to be?, as that may have an impact too.
I think you would be wise to reassign your motives for building. I can often have moments of questioning like this, but I have my own personal reasons for continuing to try to make the best modules that I can build for the community. Otherwise, what was the point of starting to build in the first place?
When I started my modules in 2007, I did not know how long they would take. I am still making the occasional fix/update on module one that was first released in 2016! And unlike many others, I don’t think my own module has had more than a few dozen downloads. So, like you, I do sometimes wonder if I am potentially wasting time. However, if I did not brush such thinking aside, then module two would never have been started and I would not be here to answer this question.
I would love to have more feedback from the first module, but for whatever reason, it just has not happened. I think one needs to accept they may be only creating for an audience of one or two people. However, (and here is part of my own belief on the matter), if you believe you have done your best and can support that module for those that do download and play it (all the while you can), then you have done a good job.
In other words, your creation is unique, and should be cared for irrespective of potential target audience. That said, I also believe that it should not be all-consuming to the point that its demands outweigh real life commitments.
My point being, sometimes a builder can be nothing more than what their nature is … they need to build to provide for others. If that only other is “you” and you do not compromise relationships with others in real life, then build it to the best of your ability and then, for myself, I dedicate it to God. (That’s the whole for me.)
Obviously the text of the game will be written in English, all very well google translated.
As already mentioned, since it is a soul-like, the action will be much much more dominant than very few things to read.
Thanks for your words, they are a good encouragement.
It’s definitely a niche product at this point, but there are still people playing the new modules when they are released. It depends on what you want to get out of it, and how many years you want to spend at it.
Totally up to you. People spend far more time and resources on hobbies when no one else will ever see their work. Does that make it a waste?
If it gives you the creative outlet you need and brings happiness to even a handful of others, it was worth it.
I don’t make content for NWN2, but I’ve made over a hundred modules for NWN1. I’ve shared two of them with close friends, and that’s it. I primarily make them for me. They’re ways for me to express an idea I’ve been thinking about, or attempt a programming solution I’d devised, or sometimes they’re even full campaign ideas that are left unfinished once I get bored with the story. If you enjoy the process, go ahead and do it. Even if your work doesn’t ultimately result in a published module, it’s still arguably time better spent than if you’d just sat on the couch in front of the television.
I do still have dreams. I’ve designed a working dynamic quest system that I’m hoping to implement into a small PW for friends, so we can have a little sandbox to play in when our group can’t meet for tabletop D&D, and I think there’d be general interest for it once it’s complete. But I feel absolutely no pressure to ever truly finish or release it, and I think that’s liberating.
When I make modules I do it mostly for myself. I find many of today’s computer games boring, so when I began making modules two years ago (I never thought anything would get finished), I found that I wanted to make something that I wanted to play myself. IMHO the great Bioware era is gone, and I own almost all of their games, so that’s what I like when I play: Games with good stories and characters first and foremost. When there were so few of those coming out I thought - Ok, I’ll try and make an adventure myself then (even though I had no idea how). Then I got stuck with how fun (and also quite frustrating) it was, and I loved how active the community still was and how much help and kindness everyone showed me when trying to develop things. I still have so, so much to learn, and this also takes way too much of my time, but I don’t care, 'cause this is a hobby I really like. And it’s really nice to share ideas with people and discuss things. If, in the end, someone wants to play what I’ve created, then I’m of course very happy, but I make these stories for myself to enjoy first and foremost.
I think I must have played about 50 modules or so for NWN1 throughout the years, and quite a few for NWN2 too, even though there are way less that have been produced for NWN1 compared to NWN2. So I’m all for playing new modules for NWN2, if it’s something that appeals to me, though I only play and create single player games, as I’ve never been a fan of MMO.
I released my campaign just last year and although I expected some people to play it I didn’t expect that I’d see people I never heard before comenting and endorsing. I think there is a bigger community out there than what we sometimes think. Just because they don’t post here it doesn’t mean they don’t play.
From a personal point of view, it is worth it. Seeing your work get downloaded, endorsed and talked about is a special feeling.
For me, making a module compatible with multiplayer is very important and would give modules a broader appeal. I often play mp with friends, but most modules break with multiplayer. BGR is an example of an unfriendly module for mp. A bunch of us tried like crazy to play BGR, but the module just doesn’t support it. The globals/variables get all mixed up.
A simple example is hunting rats in Candlekeep. Only the main PC could kill the rats. If a buddy killed a rat, the quest wouldn’t complete, even though all of the rats were dead.
I developed mods for NWN2 because I thought they would either enhance playing the game for others or myself, or they would provide a new adventure for someone. In some cases I enjoyed the challenge of figuring out a way to make something look a certain way or behave a certain way. There is enjoyment in building. The only downside is that you have to dread the occasional toolset crash that will happen. I do like to hear the occasional thank you from folks who have downloaded my mods, but there isn’t enough of that to be a main factor. If you want a large number of people than you should go develop a nude mod for the most popular games. I’ve always felt we could do better with NWN2 than that.
For what the two cents of a consumer that doesn’t have the skills for building is worth, I appreciate what all of you do. Myself and others like me do continue to enjoy the efforts of the building community. But yeah, the audience is going to be smaller than for a new game. So you will have to answer for yourself whether you think that audience is worth it.
For my part, I can offer help playtesting. Or editing text. Happy to give either when needed.
I can often have moments of questioning like this, but I have my own personal reasons for continuing to try to make the best modules that I can build for the community. Otherwise, what was the point of starting to build in the first place?
. imo