Setting up our first online NWN game

Thaurin

SasqWatch
Joined
October 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
I know there are some people who have been doing multi-player online NWN (one) games for a while, so since I've never done that before and want to try it out, I wanted to ask how that works.

Okay, don't kill me for being a noob, I just want to be prepared for when we actually set a date and got everyone on Ventrilo. Sucks if things don't work out then and waste an evening. So, some questions.

Is there a beginner's FAQ somewhere? We have six people interested. Can we make one six-character party and do the original campaign with that? Will it be like one of those persistent servers where you can walk around where you want, or how will that work. Do we need someone to be the DM, and if so, is that hard and does he need to run a special DM client?

I'm not sure if there are things to look out for or special router settings that everyone has to take care of beforehand. I thought it was just the one running the server.

Maybe I'm making a bigger problem out of this that I should, but I want it to go down as smoothly as possible. ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
Thinking back to my days with Team Corwin, setting things up is pretty simple. One player (generally the person with the best broadband connection) hosts and everyone else ties into his/her IP address (like a LAN). While some modules require a DM, most do not. Watch out for modules that require a hak pack. There's nothing wrong with that, but every player will need to download and install the HAK in order to play. Everyone also has to be patched to the same version.

The DM client is pretty simple to work with, although I would recommend the DM "tinker around" with it for a few hours before going live. Players should create characters ahead of time and can use trainer modules to level and equip as needed for what the group intends to play. This can be done live via the DM client, but that's time consuming and boring to wait around for.

While you can play the OC as multiplayer, it does a few weird things when played that way. You're better off grabbing a user-created module that is designed around multiplayer. I'm sure Corwin and crew can offer up some recommended modules if you specify the number and level of players in your group. I loved the Penultima series, but I'm sure there are better ones out there after all these years.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
You could check out http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/

It's basically a match-making service for NWN players and has a lot of tutorials for playing NWN in multiplayer.

It's especially fun with a DM. A group of good role-players and a good DM can have fun for hours in an empty 2x2 room. The key is for everyone to improvise and have fun and don't let the game engine limit your actions.
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
2
Dte has covered the basics. Make sure the host sets up the mod using the SERVER launch icon (it has an S on it ). Set your permissions and Passwords (highly recommended to avoid strangers trying to join in). Visit the NWNVault and grab some mods. There are hundreds of excellent ones and they play MUCH better than the OC. Penultima is certainly a fine place to begin. While being a DM can be interesting, it's not as much fun as actually playing. I've done both, and my players can tell when I'm getting bored; I drop a few Dragons on their heads!! :biggrin: Now, we only use a DM when something goes wrong and all of us play as characters.
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
If you're behind a LAN Firewall be sure to forward your ports correctly, especially if you plan to play on Gamespy.

Specific Routers settings for NWN can be found here:

http://portforward.com/

If you plan to run a PW, NWNX is the best utility for autoloading servers.

Also ,we have a forum specifically for anything NWN.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
5,212
Location
The Uncanny Valley
Also ,we have a forum specifically for anything NWN.

Well, it's rather called an NWN2 forum ...

That's why I never posted there, while I'm playing NWN1 ...
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
We had a big discussion about it previously when I suggested a NWN subforum there. It was generally agreed upon to to just prefix any NWN threads as NWN1 or something to that affect.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
5,212
Location
The Uncanny Valley
Oh, okay. I considered posting in the NWN2 forum, but I figured it would generally piss off the NWN2 crowd. :D

Thanks for the advice and input, I'm sure it will be very helpful. We have six players right now, so I'm hoping that there's something good for that amount of players. Specifically, we have decided upon:

- Human Paladin
- Mage/Cleric/Druid
- Mage/Cleric
- Ranger
- Thief / Rogue
- Meatshield Fighter

Now to decide on a date and a good module... or start off with the OC just to get going.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
I'd really avoid starting out with the OC. The cutscenes don't work right in multiplayer, and there are enough of them that it can get a little confusing. If you pick a module that doesn't include a hak pack, only the host has to download anything, so it's pretty simple. Are you going with level 1 characters?
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
Right, thanks for the warning. It'll be good if only the host needs to have it installed. I guess we're going for level one characters. So that would put me in need for a module that supports multi-player, doesn't use HAK's (whatever they may be) and is geared towards level one characters. :)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
There's only about 500 mods that meet that description available over at the Vault, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. Picking just ONE will take the longest time!! :)
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
Okay, according to the website, Penultima "begins at a difficulty suitable for a lv3-6 character (or a party) working cooperatively", so I'm not certain how a party of six starting at level one will do.

Does the difficulty scale with the amount of players? I mean, will six people have a laughably easy time running through a module that is meant for a party of three of the same level? Or can you set the difficulty slider to accommodate for this?

Other than that, I'm inclined to go with Penultima as I have no idea what a good module is anyway. :)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
The more people you have, the easier the mod usually is, but NOT always. Some mods automatically scale, some don't. I wouldn't worry; with 6 level one chars for a level 3 mod, you should survive and eventually flourish. Have fun!!
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
There's a trainer in the first town of Penultima that bumps you to level 4 anyway. I've never attempted it without either using that trainer or an outside training module.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
Thanks! Right now, the biggest challenge is setting a date and time at which everyone can come. We have a TeamSpeak server and look ready to go. :D

Penultima looks interesting...
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
I have a question!

Last weekend we kinda failed to set up our own game, so we joined an existing one from the GameSpy server list. I'm not sure how this is supposed to work.

If you go to Multiplayer in the NWN menu, login with your account and select 'New Internet/LAN game', is it supposed to show up in the GameSpy list? Because the other guys couldn't find it, and then I wasn't sure.

I think I have the correct ports portwarded from my router/firewall to the machine I ran the game on, but I'll have to recheck. I just need to know that if I do this that it should be in the list, or that maybe you need to use Direct Connect, or something. I guess it should be in the list, but then that means something was wrong. :(

Did have some fun in Chapter 1 of the OC on the MadDog server, though. :)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
No, it won't show up. You'll have to tell your players your IP addy and the password. They have to type that IP and PW in and connect directly.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,535
Location
Illinois, USA
My server always shows up, but you need to note which game type you post to: action, story, etc. Also see if you have 'Hide Password Protected' ticked as that will mess you up. The easiest is Direct connect, but sometimes your router will issue a different IP each time you play. If you're ever online when either Cm or myself are, and you have Skype, one of us will be happy to guide you through the process.
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
Yeah, maybe I should do that, although I'm technically capable *cough*, or at least I should be or my boss probably has to fire me. :)

To be honest, I didn't check my router settings that night, but I had already set it up another time. It's just a little hard to check yourself if the server's running correctly. I should put a little more work in it next time.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
Back
Top Bottom