Neverwinter - Foundry Spotlight In-Depth Video Walkthrough

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TheKoalition.com has a three part video series with The Foundry's Producer at Cryptic Studios Rob Overmeyer.
Part 1 - Overview, Story Structure and Dialogue

Part 2 - Maps, Mapping and Maps

Part 3 - More Maps, NPCs and Final Questions

More information.
 
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I played the open beta for an hour or so and Neverwinter seems pretty fun, actually. This Foundry thing sounds awesome. Will the lack of content problem of MMO's finally be solved?
 
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It won't. There is Foundry in STO too. To be able to use it (completely) and create additional content, you have to be a paying customer. Most of stuff in it is crap you don't want to see in your life and there is no actual filter that'll weed out rubbish from some really good "episodes". Also there is a certain daily (GRINDING AGAIN) quest that asks you to finish three "episodes" so ppl created many quick click-to-finish trash.

In short, it's not a new thing, it's a great idea, but it's and it'll be badly executed.
 
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I played the open beta for an hour or so and Neverwinter seems pretty fun, actually. This Foundry thing sounds awesome. Will the lack of content problem of MMO's finally be solved?

If I were Cryptic - I wouldn't be worrying about content - but about compelling long-term design.

It's the very definition of shallow combat-driven gameplay in an empty shell of a world.

Getting players to do your work for you is not a bad idea, but the toolset is by its nature quite limited - and after your 50th player-made dungeon/instance, you'll start to feel like you've had your fill.

Personally, I don't even need a single player-made dungeon to feel completely full of what this piece of crap has to offer.
 
Seems a bit early to judge I'd say. The game has only been widely available for a few days now? Once the good creators get more done in the toolset maybe some interesting adventures will be available. Also I expect Cryptic will expand the toolset capabilities in time.

But I agree the core gameplay seems a bit shallow for a D&D game, based on my first impressions.
 
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Personally, I don't even need a single player-made dungeon to feel completely full of what this piece of crap has to offer.

Wow, harsh. I think you'll find its actually pretty fun if you give it a play.

It's lightweight and fun and progresses nicely. I've been challenged by many encounters, wiped on bosses. (this is important to me; I don't like games to be too easy.) I've made my own trollingly hard map with a secret entrance I don't think anyone will ever find. (Gobbys Challenge!) The PvP works surprisingly well and I've had some good fun with that too. It's all been very positive.

Thing is, if you just take Neverwinter for what it is and forget about all the things it's not then you should find what it is is good. I can't think of anything wrong with it for what it is; only wish it was another game.

It's just the name Neverwinter is slightly misleading.
"OMG the first time I get to play a 4E computer game and see what it's all about and its going to have 4000 damage crits?! How many d8s is that? THAT'S NOT D&D", said I.

But then you have to remember Heroes of the Lance, Hillsfar, shadows over mystara, etc - They ARE D&D games, but they're not Curse of the Azure bonds style, not the D&D games I wanted most. There was even one which was a dragon flightsim! This new Neverwinter is a million times better than any of those games and while its not my perfect game (divinity:OS is looking like it has a shot at that title), its a fun arcade game and its free business model is awesome.

Just felt like I should stand up for it considering how much Ive been enjoying it for the $0 I've spent. I've played a lot of MMOS and this is easily one of the best freebies.
 
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Unfortunately, I don't change my preferences because a game is free or because it "is what it is".

I'm glad people are enjoying it - and I probably would be enjoying it as well, if it wasn't for my very considerable experience with the genre, and especially with Cryptic. I've learned my lesson when it comes to investing in their games.

On the surface - it's an entertaining action RPG romp with very combat driven gameplay. I guess that's fine if you can stand the awful animations and the awful narrative and subpar voice acting. Eventually, however, most people will want something beyond action and looting.

Let's talk again in a few months and I'll be very interested to hear if you still think it's good.

However, I do concede that if you're the sort of person who's likely to enjoy something simply because it's free - then Neverwinter is excellent.

It's like a lot of people I know who seem to enjoy free meals more than those that cost money. Something I've never been able to understand - but I recognise that it's a widespread position.

I've always valued my time more than money - and this by a factor beyond my means to express.

So, I tend to want to spend my time playing the very best of whatever I'm in the mood for - and that's not Neverwinter if I want a combat driven shallow action RPG.
 
...if you can stand the awful animations and the awful narrative and subpar voice acting. Eventually, however, most people will want something beyond action and looting.

Let's talk again in a few months and I'll be very interested to hear if you still think it's good.
Well, I play roguelikes and stuff like Conquest of Elysium 3 with NO animations and that's fine by me. Cosmetic fluff.

Voice acting? I just spam 111111 through whatever they're saying because I'm there to play games. I'd prefer NO voice acting and a smaller client.

You want narrative go watch a movie.

If you want something beyond action and looting you want something it's not and should play a different game. It is what it is! And what it IS is good.

As for playing it for a month... It really depends what else comes out. Probably won't be, you're right.

So, I tend to want to spend my time playing the very best of whatever I'm in the mood for - and that's not Neverwinter if I want a combat driven shallow action RPG.

But when you do want a combat driven shallow action game... That's what it is and its the latest game. What would you pick in that situation, anyway?
 
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Voice acting? I just spam 111111 through whatever they're saying because I'm there to play games. I'd prefer NO voice acting and a smaller client.

That explains why you don't have a problem with these things, doesn't it.

You want narrative go watch a movie.

I'm not looking for a movie when I play a game. So, your suggestion makes no sense whatsoever.

If you want something beyond action and looting you want something it's not and should play a different game. It is what it is! And what it IS is good.

You're pretty perceptive :)

If I want something beyond what the game can offer me, I should look elsewhere?

That's pretty insightful.

As for it being good - I disagree. I think it's pretty bad.

As for playing it for a month… It really depends what else comes out. Probably won't be, you're right.

If you have nothing better to do with your time....

But when you do want a combat driven shallow action game… That's what it is and its the latest game. What would you pick in that situation, anyway?

I'd pick one of the best ones, obviously.

Something like Borderlands 2, Path of Exile - or something else.

You know, games made by people who care about their work.
 
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not trying to convince you to play it.

But whats all this about?

T
I'm glad people are enjoying it - and I probably would be enjoying it as well, if it wasn't for my very considerable experience with the genre, and especially with Cryptic. I've learned my lesson when it comes to investing in their games.

So your very considerable experience in the genre would pick Borderlands 2 as one of the 2 best new free mmos? What genre are we talking about again? Plus these games are old now! I've already got bored of them both VERY quickly. BL2 almost instantly and PoE I played in alpha days and have been meaning to try again some time. I like how they don't use gold in the game and its great to see a game from NZ… But I digress!

Imagine I went and posted on a puzzle game site about something like tetris and said, "bad animations, bad voice acting, bad story. I'd probably be enjoying it too if it wasn't for my considerable experience with the genre"

So?! Does tetris NEED these things? Do I REALLY understand the genre here? Do you play diablo3 or POE3 for the great narrative?

You say

"I'm not looking for a movie when I play a game. So, your suggestion makes no sense whatsoever."

But…. ARE YOU SURE? You're talking about cosmetic additions that don't change the core gameplay. Add these things to tetris and you still have tetris with some extra bullshit attached. If you understand the genre then why are you looking for a good narrative?! It's about killing monsters, leveling up and getting loot. Do you ragequit out of space invaders because the developers fail to properly explain the motivations behind the invasion?

Anyway, enough with this. It seems what it comes down to is personal preference.

I've played the game, leveled to 52 so far, have my own map with unique narrative to the main game(and there are 100s of unique quests that may contain an interesting story!). I played STO free2play and leveled both characters to max without paying a dime. I say Neverwinter will be enjoyable to many people. I'm sure of it. A lot of people will love it.

You've not played it, are jaded cos you wasted too much cash on STO and/or mmorpgs in general, don't care to create anything with the foundry (cos clearly you have no imagination and creativity anyway if you need voice acting to imagine the voices, etc:p) and you say "I don't even need a single player-made dungeon to feel completely full of what this piece of crap has to offer."

Again, are you sure about that? I think maybe you do because until what you say comes from experience you're just working with assumptions, I'm dealing with the experience and facts.

edit: Point is, why are you commenting at all if people have nothing to gain from it? It's free. They should try it if they like action RPGS and that's just fact. I don't post in threads of games I have no interest in. Why do you? It;s just a disservice to people to warn them against a game you haven't even played!
 
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So your very considerable experience in the genre would pick Borderlands 2 as one of the 2 best new free mmos? What genre are we talking about again? Plus these games are old now! I've already got bored of them both VERY quickly. BL2 almost instantly and PoE I played in alpha days and have been meaning to try again some time. I like how they don't use gold in the game and its great to see a game from NZ… But I digress!

I don't know what genre YOU are talking about. I was specifically talking about shallow combat driven action RPGs - exactly like I said.

Borderlands 2 and PoE are both fantastic in that specific way. You asked me what game I would pick if I was looking for that kind of gameplay - and I answered your question. Whether they're "old" to you or not is completely and utterly irrelevant.

As for being "free" - I already explained to you that I don't care if a game is free or not. A game is a game - and I have no interest beyond that when evaluating whether it's worth my time. If it cost a million dollars - I'd get my hands on it some other way. It wouldn't matter.

Also, I think Borderlands 2 has a surprisingly strong narrative. Sure, it's not a serious story - but it's executed very, very well. I'm very entertained when I'm in the mood for it.

Imagine I went and posted on a puzzle game site about something like tetris and said, "bad animations, bad voice acting, bad story. I'd probably be enjoying it too if it wasn't for my considerable experience with the genre"

So?! Does tetris NEED these things? Do I REALLY understand the genre here? Do you play diablo3 or POE3 for the great narrative?

But…. ARE YOU SURE? You're talking about cosmetic additions that don't change the core gameplay. Add these things to tetris and you still have tetris with some extra bullshit attached. If you understand the genre then why are you looking for a good narrative?! It's about killing monsters, leveling up and getting loot. Do you ragequit out of space invaders because the developers fail to properly explain the motivations behind the invasion?

I'm afraid you need to think about these things first.

Neverwinter is an MMO, right?

I went looking for an MMO, right?

Turned out, Neverwinter was nothing but a shallow combat driven action RPG - and a bad one at that.

I really don't know why you think narrative is irrelevant in an MMO - but I don't think it's irrelevant. It might not be the primary focus of the genre - but it needs to be there, and I need to feel engaged by SOMETHING in the story - or it will be a major negative.

Incidentally, I feel the same way about story in non-MMO action RPGs - which is why I'm not playing PoE. It's just a better game than Neverwinter if we're exclusively talking about combat driven action RPG gameplay. Not just in terms of character development and loot mechanics - but because I can't stand stretching that kind of gameplay thin over hundreds and hundreds of hours. Such gameplay is best when you can experience the bulk of powers and toys within a shorter timeframe. There's not enough meat for an MMO timeframe on such gameplay. Not for me, anyway.

Anyway, enough with this. It seems what it comes down to is personal preference.

I've played the game, leveled to 52 so far, have my own map with unique narrative to the main game(and there are 100s of unique quests that may contain an interesting story!). I played STO free2play and leveled both characters to max without paying a dime. I say Neverwinter will be enjoyable to many people. I'm sure of it. A lot of people will love it.

Yes, indeed - it's about personal preference. Which is why there's absolutely no reason to get so upset.

You like it and you enjoy it - and you have your reasons. I don't like and I didn't enjoy it - and I have my reasons.

If we'd been in a room together, socialising - I probably wouldn't bother talking the game down. I wouldn't want to disrupt your enjoyment.

But this is a public forum dedicated to discussing games - and that includes the good and the bad.

There will always be detractors to any game - it's just a fact of life. Lots and lots of people are already loving it - and lots are not. Many detractors have the exact same issues that I have - and you need only open your eyes to find that out. Maybe we're all creatively bankrupt without imagination? Sure - that has to be the case :)

You've not played it, are jaded cos you wasted too much cash on STO and/or mmorpgs in general, don't care to create anything with the foundry (cos clearly you have no imagination and creativity anyway if you need voice acting to imagine the voices, etc:p) and you say "I don't even need a single player-made dungeon to feel completely full of what this piece of crap has to offer."

Yes, I've played it.

I haven't spent a dime on STO - and money is not really a concern.

As for not having imagination and creativity - well, I'm not sure if that's relevant. But if you think all people who appreciate good voice acting (as opposed to bad voice acting) - are like that, then you might want to take a look inside yourself before pointing fingers.

Oh, I like the foundry in theory - and I wish something like that existed in every game. Problem is that it's just an editor - it's not a game and it's not content. It's a praise-worthy feature - but releasing an editor will never amount to much in and of itself when I'm evaluating the game as is.

An editor can never replace quality game mechanics or quality long-term design. If the core gameplay doesn't appeal to me - then no amount of player-created content will change my mind.

Again, are you sure about that? I think maybe you do because until what you say comes from experience you're just working with assumptions, I'm dealing with the experience and facts.

Facts? Hardly.

As for me - I'm using my experience with Neverwinter (I played closed beta) - and I'm using my experience with Cryptic - and I'm using my experience with F2P and the genre in general.

The game absolutely SMACKS of the F2P plague - and Perfect World being behind it only reinforces my claim - if you have any experience with them.
 
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I don't know what genre YOU are talking about. I was specifically talking about shallow combat driven action RPGs - exactly like I said.

Borderlands 2 and PoE are both fantastic in that genre.

To me BL2 is a crappy FPS game with RPG elements and PoE 3 is isometric point and click style action RPG. I really have nothing against PoE3 at all, though.

Neverwinter is closer to Hellgate:London with its mouselook and leftclick to swing your sword. This kinda sets it apart to a sub-genre with very few competitors.

I wasn't really looking for an MMO. I was looking for a new dungeons and dragons game and NW disappointed me to no end until I started looking at it another way.

Free is important when it comes to entry point. The subscription business model is pretty much dead. It might not be important to you that you can try it without buying the box or signing up for a new bill, but to many it is.

I'm not upset, but I find your little quips regarding time and money distasteful. You're the type who comments about ppl living in their parents basements and having too much time to play games because they're losers with nothing better to do. Holier than thou, much?

There's room for narritive in an MMO, sure. But if the gameplay sucks, what good is it? I've never looked to games for a great story; that's what movies and books are for! Its a pretty "new" concept in gaming that's only been possible as technology improves to assist it. Back in the day when you had extremely limited resources games focused more on the game. Remember Cannon Fodder or Syndicate? What animations, what narritive, what voice acting? 100% gameplay and timeless classics! So, the gameplay in NW might be "shallow" but if you remember games like Golden Axe where you had attack, jump and magic as a classic game then here you have 2 attacks, 3 special moves and 2 magic and you can even swap them with other skills. It's limited but focused and makes for really readable PVP battles since there's not a billion moves to account for.

edit: You could take it so far as to say... Well, games in general... OK, lets go back a bit more. When games moved from 2D to 3D the gameplay evolution stalled for the graphics evolution to flourish. The trend today IS to jazz games up like Mass Effect to be so cinematic. Fully voice acted, AAA animation, teams of writers and directors of cinematography to frame people by the rule of thirds making games MORE movie like. Meanwhile, the gameplay is stagnant and nothing we haven't played before. Neverwinter really does do a lot differently to the norm and focus' more on content and fun, accessible gameplay without taking itself too seriously or bogging the user down with dialogue. Remember Inquisitor? Too much narrative can be a bad thing.
 
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To me BL2 is a crappy FPS game with RPG elements and PoE 3 is isometric point and click style action RPG. I really have nothing against PoE3 at all, though.

Fair enough - we all like different things.

Neverwinter is closer to Hellgate:London with its mouselook and leftclick to swing your sword. This kinda sets it apart to a sub-genre with very few competitors.

It certainly shares the narrative weakness with Hellgate - though I think Hellgate was a fantastic action RPG if you can look past the narrative. Oh, and the abysmal launch state didn't help much either.

I wasn't really looking for an MMO. I was looking for a new dungeons and dragons game and NW disappointed me to no end until I started looking at it another way.

Having grown up with PnP D&D - I knew not to expect anything so rich from a F2P game.

I would have been even more disappointed if I did.

Doesn't help that I think 4th Edition is a horrible ruleset. That said, Neverwinter doesn't seem to take those rules very seriously at all.

Free is important when it comes to entry point. The subscription business model is pretty much dead. It might not be important to you that you can try it without buying the box or signing up for a new bill, but to many it is.

I know that - but I'm not talking from any position other than my own. Obviously so.

I'm not upset, but I find your little quips regarding time and money distasteful. You're the type who comments about ppl living in their parents basements and having too much time to play games because they're losers with nothing better to do. Holier than thou, much?

Oh, really?

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

I doubt you'd find anyone participating in this thread to agree that I've said anything like that.

Basically, you're reacting very negatively to my dislike for the game. You're taking it personally - and you really shouldn't.

In fact, I think you're the one getting personal and you're the one talking down to me - calling me holier than thou and what not.

Well, except that I don't feel people are talking down to me. If people really ARE talking down to me - then I would consider that a weakness - and then they'd actually be talking "up" to me, if you take my meaning? :)

It's a natural reaction when faced with an opposing opinion about something you really enjoy. You think I'm actually talking about you in some odd way - when I'm just talking about a computer game. For some reason, your opinion is true and valid - based on facts. My opinion is a bunch of nonsense assumptions based on my imagination. Sounds about right?

You seem to be of the opinion that if I don't like something - I should either not talk about it - or I should polish it up and serve it in a more digestible fashion.

But that's not me. I like to be blunt and honest - so there's no misunderstanding.

You can hate me for my opinion if you must - but at least my opinion should be very clear. That's all that matters to me when giving it.

There's room for narritive in an MMO, sure. But if the gameplay sucks, what good is it? I've never looked to games for a great story; that's what movies and books are for! Its a pretty "new" concept in gaming that's only been possible as technology improves to assist it. Back in the day when you had extremely limited resources games focused more on the game. Remember Cannon Fodder or Syndicate? What animations, what narritive, what voice acting? 100% gameplay and timeless classics! So, the gameplay in NW might be "shallow" but if you remember games like Golden Axe where you had attack, jump and magic as a classic game then here you have 2 attacks, 3 special moves and 2 magic and you can even swap them with other skills. It's limited but focused and makes for really readable PVP battles since there's not a billion moves to account for.

Oh, I agree that if the gameplay sucks - then narrative doesn't help much.

What can I say - I want it all. I'm a greedy gamer.

Maybe - or maybe you're just easy to please? Who knows.

In the end, we just like different things. Time to take a deep breath and let it go, methinks.
 
Oh, really?

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

I doubt you'd find anyone participating in this thread to agree that I've said anything like that.
Originally Posted by SirJames View Post
Seriously, guys, it's not that hard.

If you're having trouble kick it oldschool and read the Hintbook! (wiki)

Games are not supposed to be interactive movies you just cruise through without thinking!


Since I'm not living in my mom's basement - I obviously can't invest myself during all those hours I spend playing games.

I do have the hours - but I don't have the "investment" energy.

Or something.

From some Dark souls No easy mode thread.
 
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(how is this under 5 characters? not letting me post. Saying this to add more)

Why don't you go back to the thread in question and follow its development.

My comment was SPECIFICALLY meant to point out the insulting nature of the person who actually made the original comment about living in your mother's basement.

It was overt sarcasm.

So, you've just demonstrated that I'm the sort of person who doesn't appreciate such base (and baseless in that particular case) insults - and you've demonstrated that you form opinions about strangers based on reading comments out of context.

It's ok to misunderstand - but I would advise caution if you're going to form personal opinions about people. You need to be really, really careful when you read posts - if you think you can tell what someone is like through the screen.

ESPECIALLY if you're going to carry around that baggage when coming into a new thread - and using your misguided dislike of your imaginary version of DArtagnan to evaluate his opinion about a game he doesn't like.
 
Well, it's good to have that cleared up.

Pity you don't like Dark Souls. Fantastic gameplay with a controller. Destroys Neverwinters laggy combat system. :)

(I am from down under though and my modem is a koala with a coax cable up its arse )
 
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Well, it's good to have that cleared up.

Pity you don't like Dark Souls. Fantastic gameplay with a controller. Destroys Neverwinters laggy combat system. :)

(I am from down under though and my modem is a koala with a coax cable up its arse )

I like Dark Souls as a piece of art - and I admire what they've done with it.

But I don't have the stamina to invest myself on the level it demands - as I'm not all that compelled by what it has to offer.

That said, I'm contemplating giving it another go :)
 
As one of the gamers who hates MMOs, I'm having a great time with the game. Neverwinter is an action RPG and good one at that. Combat requires to use tactics instead of button mashing. And also challenging which I couldn't say when I have played D3 first time. Story is clichee, but serve its purpose, and quests are logical. It uses the Diablo 3 formula. Game doesn't bore the player with endless cutscenes and such. Instead every new piece of lore adds to your lore section in the journal and its fun to read that to learn about the background of the events, npcs, history etc. Really adds to the atmosphere, at least for me.

I am playing the game like a single player RPG and enjoy it much more than D3. I haven't play any of the foundry quests yet or to create anything. But I want to try sometime.
 
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I have to agree a bit with Dart on some points. It is certainly clunky and doesn't do any one thing exceptional. For me it's just a sum of its parts that's got me.

Forgetting the foundry for now, it has lore that really appeals to me. I can play solo or in a group. I don't have to worry about getting ganked and watching my back(I don't have time for that any more). I have a dungeon and skirmish grouping mechanism. Has worked pretty well for me so far. I can queue up a dungeon and just keeping playing or whatever till I get the call.

Crafting that I can do during any downtime and from other computers when I am not playing the game. I haven't seen Asian gold spammers. I get all the races and classes(there needs to be more) without paying and I don't have to really buy anything to enjoy the game. I like the missions ok so far and haven't had to kill a certain number of x creatures to make my next level. Ok loot ladder so far but there does need to be a way to make your next set of armor look different. It's the sum of it's parts like I said as I wait for the holy grail of MMO's which I don't see coming any time soon.

The Foundry is limited but so was NWN1 and NWN2. Didn't stop people from making thousands of modules and to be perfectly fair, there was a sizable array of crap in that content also. I played a module from Neverwinter Online last night that was based on the Planes. It was an alpha and it started a bit rough but you can see the potential.

During my three hour playthru, as I traveled to the Abyss and battled Alu-fiends, Balors and other demons, I figured out what this editor doesn't limit. Your imagination and the ability for people to tell stories. The only problem I had was the server went down for maintenance last night(it is still beta) and I couldn't finish it. Writers can punch our buttons in so many ways if you think about it. They lie. They promise and don't deliver. They can write a quest where you can't help but fail but the next quest could give you the promise of revenge.

Challenge yourselves and make a quest and put it in the game. Maybe you don't like to play the game but feel the need to dip your feet in the playground and have a story you want to tell. I haven't read anywhere that the foundry costs money.
 
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As one of the gamers who hates MMOs, I'm having a great time with the game. Neverwinter is an action RPG and good one at that. Combat requires to use tactics instead of button mashing. And also challenging which I couldn't say when I have played D3 first time. Story is clichee, but serve its purpose, and quests are logical. It uses the Diablo 3 formula. Game doesn't bore the player with endless cutscenes and such. Instead every new piece of lore adds to your lore section in the journal and its fun to read that to learn about the background of the events, npcs, history etc. Really adds to the atmosphere, at least for me.

I am playing the game like a single player RPG and enjoy it much more than D3. I haven't play any of the foundry quests yet or to create anything. But I want to try sometime.

Same experience for me as well. It's a fun little action romp in a typical fantasy setting. But the gameplay is quite entertaining and it looks really good.

I'm playing it as a single player RPG as well...and a free one to boot! :)
 
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