Neverwinter Nights: EE - Patch 8193.32

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BeamDog has released a new patch for Neverwinter Nights: EE, with new curated content, fixes, improvements, scriptable UI and Apple M1 support.

Patch for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition: Apple M1 support, Performance Improvements & more!

Greetings, Neverwinter Nights players and modders!

Today we're releasing Patch 8193.32 for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition! This update brings dozens of bug fixes and new features-- including some exciting updates for content creators! Curated community content is also getting a new addition: A Hunt Through The Dark, by Markus Schlegel!

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

  • Renderer | Significant performance improvements & better shadows
  • New Curated Content | Play as a drow in Markus Schlegel's campaign, A Hunt Through The Dark
  • Scriptable UI | Module authors can now create custom UI panels!
  • Apple M1 support | Owners of Apple M1 devices now will have a much better experience playing NWN:EE!
  • More than 100 fixes | Many other new features, script commands & fixes
[...]

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Thanks @Lucky Day, who also spotted the update! :)

More information.
 
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They'll still be patching this in 2025. Seems like a pretty significant patch anyways.
Yeah, patches 3 years after release, not even considering bugs that may have been in the original version. That game didn't look that complex to me, though it has multiplayer. And they've changed the rendering.

At least they're still working on it, that's more than what other companies would do. But the new platforms (Android, M1, iOS) may be part of the motivation. ;)

I was surprised by the size, too. It's only 63+ MB for all this, while an apparently simpler patch for ATOM is several GB.
 
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You can't really infer too much from patch sizes - a lot of it has to do with the way things have been compressed and packed in archives, meaning that tiny changes have to be pushed very inefficiently. If you can just target the bytes you want to alter, 63 megs could make massive changes to a game.
 
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At least they're still working on it, that's more than what other companies would do. But the new platforms (Android, M1, iOS) may be part of the motivation. ;)

I agree, and I think Beamdog gets a lot of undeserved hate. While it's true that they're mostly milking old games, they're also providing a level of post-release support that you rarely see in this industry.
 
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You can't really infer too much from patch sizes - a lot of it has to do with the way things have been compressed and packed in archives, meaning that tiny changes have to be pushed very inefficiently. If you can just target the bytes you want to alter, 63 megs could make massive changes to a game.
That was my thought, actually. But I know making an efficient diff can be very difficult, or time-consuming. I think it's worth the effort globally, it's a bit of a shame to waste so much bandwidth.

The remark had been made to Larian & GOG several time, and both made a significant effort to improve the update process of BG3.

I agree, and I think Beamdog gets a lot of undeserved hate. While it's true that they're mostly milking old games, they're also providing a level of post-release support that you rarely see in this industry.
I was wary of buying an EE game from them when I saw all this hate in GOG forums and elsewhere, but I never had to regret it.

I'd love to see them working on a new single-player RPG game, for a change. There was something in the works, if I'm not mixing everything up (not Axis & Allies or the cancelled BG3).
 
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I wasn't interested in this as I already own the Diamond edition on GOG, but I got a discount that made the game and all premium modules something like $5 and I gave it a go. What is really improved is performance. Diamond Edition, although old, runs like crap on my relatively modern PC (when I say it runs like crap I mean that it sometimes falls under 60fps even though the framerste for such games is usually in the hunderds). EE runs really well, no drops below 60 and framerate usually between 150 and 250, even with some mods that add a bunch of polygons to maps.
 
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I am always glad to see NNW:EE thrive. There were a lot of naysayers when the EE released, and it has proven to be quite the QoL improvement, in all aspects. Sure, it meant a little extra invesment, but it was well worth it.

The fact that it still gets developed and improved is astounding.

I'm afraid, from what I gather in the NWNX:EE Discord, they might cut off the supply sooner than later, but I hope it at least keeps some maintenance mode and doesn't get completely forgotten.

The game has survived long periods of drought, but I've always believed that if only more RPers around the world knew of it, and how easy and intuitive it is to get into it these days, it would have way more population than it is currently enjoying.
 
There were a lot of naysayers when the EE released
What? Where?
I thought I'm the only one.

But to be precise, I never cared it's called EE or whatever distribution, remaster or something.
NWN sux, 'nuff said. :)
 
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What? Where?
I thought I'm the only one.

But to be precise, I never cared it's called EE or whatever edition, distribution, remaster or something.
NWN sux, 'nuff said. :)

Well, it's a long story, really.

I'm quite involved with the community (or was, I dropped it a bit lately) but there was a lot of drama and poison thrown about, for some people it was the biggest deal they could imagine.

Mostly some module owners thought that EE would ruin their work because the NWNX plugin would stop being developed for the 1.69 version and create a rift between Diamond and EE, dwindling an already small community even more, and making it difficult for both players and creators to find a common playground. In their view, the improvements that EE brought didn't warrant altering the status quo, and it was a mere cash grab at something that worked well as it was. The one spearheading this movement was the owner of an erotic persistent world, of all the things.

Time has shown that EE is a massive QoL upgrade, and it provided a much-needed facelift to a 20 year-old product, that was very welcome. There was a price tag, of course, but honestly, after playing NWN servers 15 years for free, it felt like a small tip compared to the amount of hours of enjoyment that people would get out of it.

I understand some people had to rebuild their modules from the ground up, especially ones that were heavily modded, but for most, it was a smooth transition. Those that didn't care for it and preferred to stick to their guns, still exist in the 1.69 version, and players can join using the old Diamond version of the game.

The servers that chose to adapt are extremely easy to join now, because Steam downloads all haks and mods necessary to play them when you join, you don't need to go hunting about the internet, picking and moving files, checking versions and such, so the game became not only better and more beautiful, but also incredibly more accessible.

There was a bit of an internal story to all of it, but now that the dust has settled, it's easy to see that EE was a very good thing for NWN and the people who enjoy it.
 
Yes it's an improvement but the fact I still have to convert every movie for older mods gets on my nerves. The graphics got an upgrade as well so that's a plus in my book.

Still the older version wasn't bad looking with graphic mods, and I don't play MP.
 
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Well, it's a long story, really.

I'm quite involved with the community (or was, I dropped it a bit lately) but there was a lot of drama and poison thrown about, for some people it was the biggest deal they could imagine.

Mostly some module owners thought that EE would ruin their work because the NWNX plugin would stop being developed for the 1.69 version and create a rift between Diamond and EE, dwindling an already small community even more, and making it difficult for both players and creators to find a common playground. In their view, the improvements that EE brought didn't warrant altering the status quo, and it was a mere cash grab at something that worked well as it was. The one spearheading this movement was the owner of an erotic persistent world, of all the things.

Time has shown that EE is a massive QoL upgrade, and it provided a much-needed facelift to a 20 year-old product, that was very welcome. There was a price tag, of course, but honestly, after playing NWN servers 15 years for free, it felt like a small tip compared to the amount of hours of enjoyment that people would get out of it.

I understand some people had to rebuild their modules from the ground up, especially ones that were heavily modded, but for most, it was a smooth transition. Those that didn't care for it and preferred to stick to their guns, still exist in the 1.69 version, and players can join using the old Diamond version of the game.

The servers that chose to adapt are extremely easy to join now, because Steam downloads all haks and mods necessary to play them when you join, you don't need to go hunting about the internet, picking and moving files, checking versions and such, so the game became not only better and more beautiful, but also incredibly more accessible.

There was a bit of an internal story to all of it, but now that the dust has settled, it's easy to see that EE was a very good thing for NWN and the people who enjoy it.

Where is a list of persistent world servers now? Would like to try a couple again.
 
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Yes it's an improvement but the fact I still have to convert every movie for older mods gets on my nerves. The graphics got an upgrade as well so that's a plus in my book.

Still the older version wasn't bad looking with graphic mods, and I don't play MP.

Is there a guide on what has to be tweaked in mods to9 make them work in EE? Any links?
 
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Is there a guide on what has to be tweaked in mods to9 make them work in EE? Any links?
Nope sorry no guide.

Nowadays most mods haven't been updated for the EE but you still install them like you did with the original version. The videos just wont work due to different formats.

Someone made a tool to encode them for the enhanced edition.
 
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You know you could always have installed those mods anyway, right? I remember that campaign. Didn't care for it, but I tried it. And so could you, sans Beamdog.
Yap all those mods have been available for download on the vault for years. Still it's nice to see they made it easier to install them, and promote the mods for new players.
 
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Same here, the only issue I recall having so far with mods is movies not playing. I copied my diamond addition overrides, haks, modules etc folders over to EE and off I went. I really got back into PW play with the new server browser too, soloing on PWs can be a real challenge.

I've been playing PF:KM lately and it got me thinking - it's a real shame these games don't come with easy to use creation kits. There's so many character options to try but only one campaign. For me one of the main reasons NWN is awesome is that it has the same plethora of character building options but also there's enough content to play them without having to replay the same story over and over.
 
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