NWN2 - Storm of Zehir Expansion Pack Revealed

Dhruin

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Yep, a second official expansion pack for NWN2. Atari Europe seems to have jumped the gun on this, with Spanish site Neverwinteros first breaking the news. NW Vault contacted Obsidian and had the news verified by marketing/PR producer Matthew Rorie and KazikluBey writes in to point out a thread at RPG Codex with Anthony Davis answering some questions. So, a translated description courtesy of NW Vault:
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir hearkens back to the days of the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale franchises by including full party customization, dungeon crawling, and free exploration of a non-linear game world via an Overland Map. The gripping storyline foreshadows the events that will take place in the Forgotten Realms with the coming of release this June of the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game.

In the aftermath of the defeat of the King of Shadows, the Sword Coast is in the midst of an uneasy economic recovery. Trade syndicates have sprung up to exploit the post-war confusion for their own ends. The players’ party will wade into this uncertain environment; in order to increase their own fortunes, they can either ally with a syndicate to create a trade empire, or cut their own path through Faerûn by preying upon caravans and selling the goods on the black market. As they attempt to extend their influence, players will become aware of a new faction working behind the scenes: the evil, shapeshifting, serpentine Yuan-Ti.

In addition to trading and economic manipulation, the Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Overland Map allows players to explore the Chultan Peninsula and Sword Coast in a non-linear manner never before seen in any of the Neverwinter Nights games. Exploration will take players from well-known locations, like Neverwinter and Crossroad Keep, to more exotic areas, such as the xenophobic jungle nation of Samarach. Groups of highwaymen and monsters populate the Overland Map and the farther from civilization the player roams, the more difficult the encounters become. The 15-hour campaign in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir is also packed with new classes, spells, creatures, and playable races.

Fans of the compelling multiplayer features of Neverwinter Nights 2 will also be able to take advantage of new improvements to the multiplayer experience, while modders will be able to take advantage of the power and flexibility of the Overland Map and Trading System features along with other world-building enhancements.

Game Features:

· Travel the Sword Coast and Samarach using the open ended exploration of the new Overland Map. Use skills like Spot and Survival while on the Overland Map to avoid ambushes and even find hidden locales and lost artifacts.

· Create your own full party of adventurers. Devastate your foes with a squad of fireball-flinging Sorcerers, form a solid wall of steel with a party of Fighters, or strike the perfect balance in your party by spreading out the classes you choose for your characters.

· Improved party gameplay including streamlined party conversations, a new Teamwork Benefit System, and powerful party feats.

· The world's economy reacts to your adventures and choices. And, through trading and quests, you can expand your merchant company into a massive trading empire.
Anthony Davis isn't able to say much in the RPG Codex thread linked above but does confirm Storm of Zehir is not an epic-level campaign and adds:
I will say this about the game, the very first time I saw the new over land map stuff, it FELT like a completely different game than NWN2 and NX1, in a good way.
We'll let you know as soon as the "real" official announcement comes.
More information.
 
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Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir hearkens back to the days of the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale franchises by including full party customization, dungeon crawling, and free exploration of a non-linear game world via an Overland Map. The gripping storyline foreshadows the events that will take place in the Forgotten Realms with the coming of release this June of the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game.
;)

Leveraging game media to transition the lore from 3.5ed to 4th ed is a Good Thing(tm)

PS, the forum time clock is really borked.
 
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Nathaniel Chapman is answering some questions in the Codex thread as well, now.

The description makes it sound like awesomeness is a definite possibility.
 
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It is the official announcement, I got this directly from Atari (I'm german community representative). The press release will follow soon, but all informations are already in this text.
 
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They opened a forum, devs posting there.

Guess the press release is laggin' a bit. Eh.

Tidbits:
- You begin as plain old "adventurers"
- magical stuff will be "more scarce"
- as befitting an open game: if you go to the wrong place too soon, you will get whomped
 
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-erm-

Look what's happening when I'm not around :(

All the good stuff seem to be happening when I'm away :(

On the other hand, I have tomorrow off :) so I can just read all the forum pages all day :)

Maybe more on topic:

I really like where this 15 hour expansion officialis is going. Finally after 10 years, we will get the same level of control and customization over our party -- I guess pushing graphics only works for a while ?
 
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This actually reminds me of the first 2 realms of Arkania games but in the Forgotten Realms universe with DnD rules.
 
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Sounds cool. It sounds like you can create all of your party members. I hope that they have some joinables left in it! (So long as they add to the plot of course!). Also sounds like they will be expanding the RTS element that they tested in the crossroad keep portion of the OC. I found it interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying. If they do it, I REALLY hope they do it, not the lite version we got in the OC.

Of course, I still need to play MoTB and MoW!
 
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It actually sound pretty nice - I might actually say I am looking forward to this - not to mention it does sound different than the original NWN2 and the expansion. Do we have an expected release date or something?
 
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Good news, although you can make any game sound good in a press release i.e. Dungeon lords.
 
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Interesting. MotB was good enough for an expansion, so no harm done by developing another one.

In the aftermath of the defeat of the King of Shadows, the Sword Coast is in the midst of an uneasy economic recovery.
Lol, are they sure it's Sword Coast and not US? :p
 
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;)

Leveraging game media to transition the lore from 3.5ed to 4th ed is a Good Thing(tm)

PS, the forum time clock is really borked.

Well, that depends. If the game requires you to have some kind knowledge beforehand (like the second book in a trilogy assumes you have read the first volume), then I think it is a bad idea to mix two completely different media together. I don't play PnP so I have none of the books nor do I plan to acquire any, and as such I would be completely in the dark as to what happened before the game takes places and what will happen after. Again sort of the second book in the trilogy where you haven't read the first one and you're not going to read the last one either. Confusing and incomplete.

On the other hand, I might be reading too much into this in which case: nevermind :roll:
 
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Spotted at Codex forums
From Something Awful:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/sh...erid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=46#post344603100

J.E.Sawyer said:
The overland map rulez. It feels like Darklands/Fallout. Terrain modifies your movement speed, so you travel more slowly when you move through forests/swamps, etc. Dudes spawn in and wander around the map, and can spot you depending on what the party's hidey skills are. If you're super tough, baby monsters will run away. Tough monsters will pursue you if you are a baby. If you contact wandering dudes, you can parley with them, take off, or just fight them.

Of course you can also encounter friendly/neutral dudes for trading/hanging out/murder.

It's sweet.

EDIT: Also, nothing is scaled. If you are cruisin' around and your Spot skill detects a cave and your 3rd level characters roll up on the grills of a bunch of trolls, you're in trouble.

Sounds sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet
 
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the overland map rulez. It feels like Darklands/Fallout. Terrain modifies your movement speed, so you travel more slowly when you move through forests/swamps, etc. Dudes spawn in and wander around the map, and can spot you depending on what the party's hidey skills are. If you're super tough, baby monsters will run away. Tough monsters will pursue you if you are a baby. If you contact wandering dudes, you can parley with them, take off, or just fight them.

Sounds like the overland map in...original pool of radiance.
 
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Well, that depends. If the game requires you to have some kind knowledge beforehand (like the second book in a trilogy assumes you have read the first volume), then I think it is a bad idea to mix two completely different media together. I don't play PnP so I have none of the books nor do I plan to acquire any, and as such I would be completely in the dark as to what happened before the game takes places and what will happen after. Again sort of the second book in the trilogy where you haven't read the first one and you're not going to read the last one either. Confusing and incomplete.

On the other hand, I might be reading too much into this in which case: nevermind :roll:
Hehe well I think as with all recent D&D games, the lore is a tool that can be used to enrich the experience, without being required. I mean, a good story is a good story - the fact that it also happens to be the official source of plugging a gap in history for D&D geeks is an added bonus :D

A non-D&D example might be Lord of the Rings - by itself it's a fun story which everyone can enjoy. It also happens to be an event that happens in Tolkein's ME mythology and has added value for those who are enjoying the mythology and wanting to follow what happens in the timeline.
 
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