Neverwinter Nights: EE - Patch 1.78

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HiddenX

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Lucky Day spotted patch 1.78 for Neverwinter Nights EE. The main new feature is NWSync making automated download of custom content possible:

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition 1.78


Today, we are shipping Development Build 8186 to the stable branch of Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition as 1.78!

This is the very same build that was recently updated on the development branch and contains no changes since then.

The previous build (8181) is available as a Steam branch, so you can switch back if your favorite persistent world needs more time to update. To do so, select 'oldstable' under the beta dropdown list in the Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Steam properties.

New Feature: NWSync

This update contains a major new feature called NWSync, which will allow players to easily download required content data as they join servers, without having to manually manage HAK and TLK files. In this first iteration, this will mostly benefit persistent worlds, as it requires special setup on the server owner's part.

For details on this feature, please see the source repository that contains all the needed tooling and links to the most up-to-date documentation, here.

Client Changes

 Features:


  • We added a new console variable that enables a over-time FPS display. Type "fpstrace 1" into the game console to enable.
  • You can type `Gamma x` in the console, where x is a floating point value larger than 0. The default is 2.2. This value is persisted to nwn.ini (under a new configuration key). Gamma only affects the rendered ingame scenery, not menus or UI, as it is applied through a FBO shader, not GL/system-wide gamma correction.
  • The game now supports normal DDS textures without having to mangle the header.
  • The game now supports KTX texture containers.
  • The game now writes out all Aliases to nwn.ini even if the file already existed.
  • We bumped the default maximum texture memory to 256MB. Previous settings of 64MB are rewritten to this value. The new minimum is 96MB. The bigger-by-default texture memory should improve stability in some situations.
Fixes:

  • We fixed lighting uniforms not assigning properly on some GPU drivers. This should address some flickering and maybe improve stability.
  • Premium Modules don't show in "Other Modules" anymore.
  • Yet another crash for creature appearances with PERSPACE=0 has been addressed.
  • The multiplayer server browser now shows a progress window when downloading the server list. It also switched over to libcurl, which should prove to be much more reliable than the previous solution.
  • The chat window will not capture mouse clicks anymore, only scroll events. This means you can once again click through it to action the game world.
Server Changes
 Fixes:

  • Greater Sanctuary interacting incorrectly with True Seeing has been fixed.
  • A rare server hang when a relayed player suddenly regains direct connectivity has been fixed.
  • A bug in RetrieveCampaignObject has been fixed that resulted in a double free issue, crashing the game. This was another 1.69 issue that was unearthed by us switching to VS2017 for the Windows build.
Click to expand...
More information.
 
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Nice update! Though I wonder what happened to those "amazing shots" of new character models & stuff, that they announced they were about to show off "real soon", a month or two ago. Did I just miss them?

It may be superficial of me but I´m very interested in seeing this game brought "up to date" from a graphical point of view.
 
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Feist said:
Nice update! Though I wonder what happened to those "amazing shots" of new character models & stuff, that they announced they were about to show off "real soon", a month or two ago. Did I just miss them?

It may be superficial of me but I´m very interested in seeing this game brought "up to date" from a graphical point of view.
Click to expand...

They're dipping into rewriting the entire renderer, or writing a new one, since graphics are in their opinion what's holding back the sales a bit. That is exciting but it's going to take awhile probably.
 
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Hmm so they are finally updating the render? If so that's good news.
We fixed lighting uniforms not assigning properly on some GPU drivers. This should address some flickering and maybe improve stability.
Click to expand...
This should fix the shadow and light flickering on my screen.
 
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Couchpotato said:
Hmm so they are finally updating the render? If so that's good news.
This should fix the shadow and light flickering on my screen.
Click to expand...

In one of the streams I believe they said they're not just updating it, they're either writing a completely new, modern one, or they're not yet in the stage of fully understanding the renderer and it needs more time. I was watching a live stream you posted awhile back. Either way, eventually big graphical changes are coming at some point. They might also do content too, which I think would be cool but not as necessary since there's so much content for the game already.
 
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16 years later we finally get NWSync - something that would have kept many, many, many more casual customers. A lot fewer of them would not have quit in frustration after playing the OC.
 
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Haven't been playing anything else for the past month.

Obviously still a cash grab.
 
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I tested this game quite a lot late last year, and then took a very long break from it. Picked it up this week and I'm really looking forward to replaying this masterful game, and hopefully some modules that I've never tried before!
 
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I have been really enjoying the beta Android port once they fixed some game-killing stuff. I know it is another cash grab, but boy I still just love this game!
 
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For those interested, the EE edition is currently 66% off on Steam (or BeamDog, I've been told). $6.97 is worth a sandwich.
 
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TheRealFluent said:
They're dipping into rewriting the entire renderer, or writing a new one, since graphics are in their opinion what's holding back the sales a bit. That is exciting but it's going to take awhile probably.
Click to expand...

Oh thanks! That's nice to hear, though as you say, I'd expect something ike that to take a significant amout of time. I'd love to see NWN brought into something that could be considered "graphical parity" with NWN2. (assuming that is possible)

I'd be inclined to agree with their idea, that for many people who never played/experienced NWN back around 2002-2005, screenshots of the game today might be a tad off putting.
 
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Feist said:
Oh thanks! That's nice to hear, though as you say, I'd expect something ike that to take a significant amout of time. I'd love to see NWN brought into something that could be considered "graphical parity" with NWN2. (assuming that is possible)

I'd be inclined to agree with their idea, that for many people who never played/experienced NWN back around 2002-2005, screenshots of the game today might be a tad off putting.
Click to expand...

No problem. :) They really want to completely redo it or improve it greatly. That would be really exciting to see for a lot of people.
 
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KaosWarMonk said:
Epic character builders guild is back if you want to see how far you can manipulate the character building options

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nwnecbguild/index.php

An offline copy of the ye olde Bioware ECB forum is also available here

https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/other/epic-character-builders


And just in case it's unclear… NWSync is only for persistent worlds at the mo. If you do want to try a PW I recommend the World of Greyhawk server.

Have fun

:)
Click to expand...

Can you play World of Greyhawk with EE or do you need the old Neverwinter Nights?
 
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The thing to keep in mind is that even if they rewrite the graphic engine (and they could lift code from many open source engines); the textures are still low resolution and it would require a major effort to upgrade those.
 
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Hastar said:
Can you play World of Greyhawk with EE or do you need the old Neverwinter Nights?
Click to expand...

You can play WoG on both, the old Diamond Edition server is still online. I don't think the 1.69 server is getting module updates anymore though and you don't have the luxury of the server browser to connect to it. Details are here

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/worldofgreyhawkfr/index.php

Darkheart said:
Beamdog said the EE is completely backwards compatible.
Click to expand...

This is correct as far as offline modules go. When connecting to persistent world servers however client and server both have to be the same version.


:)
 
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Feist said:
Oh thanks! That's nice to hear, though as you say, I'd expect something ike that to take a significant amout of time. I'd love to see NWN brought into something that could be considered "graphical parity" with NWN2. (assuming that is possible)
Click to expand...

This from the latest Beamblog… http://blog.beamdog.com/

- We got a first look at the updated renderer for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition this week, and there are very interesting things coming down the line for NWN:EE.

- The first priority for any graphics engine improvements on Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition is the new renderer, as it very likely will have a big, positive impact on things like replacement for the PLT format, or 2da editing. This is a complete overhaul of the renderer, and it will allow for multiple rendering paths (for PC and mobile).

- One part of the rendering update is 3D. Toolset updates are currently being looked at and prioritized, but are contingent in part on the rendering update.
Click to expand...

Good to hear but as you say will probably take a while to be fully realized.
 
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txa1265 said:
I have been really enjoying the beta Android port once they fixed some game-killing stuff. I know it is another cash grab, but boy I still just love this game!
Click to expand...

I can't see Android being a good platform for NWN given the controls and the need for so many quickslots. I would think you'd need a wide screen to see everything that goes on. So how does it really play, Mike? Got any details.

I will say, at $9, the base price is better than it is for PC (at regular price) but its still too high - especially for a beta even if it will include the stable release version.
 
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KaosWarMonk said:
This from the latest Beamblog… http://blog.beamdog.com/
Good to hear but as you say will probably take a while to be fully realized.
Click to expand...

I don't see it ever getting to near the quality of modern games - let alone NWN2. Beamdog has no money. Textures aren't an issue - thanks to the free camera hack we learned that the textures can be quite detailed and UOAbigail blew up the game with all the impossible colours she added. The real problem is the models IMO - not enough polygons. The new lightning effects don't do anything for me.

But again, the real problem is the money. They can't possibly have the cash or get the ROI needed to keep this engine going.
 
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