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txiabxyooj
Fox Spirit
Joined: 06 Dec 2001
Posts: 971
Location: here, there & everywhere |
okay, the new module is out. has anyone bought it and what do people think so far?
_________________
"The origin of things, if things have an origin, cannot be revealed to me, if revealed at all, until I have travelled very far from it, and many revolutions of the sun must precede my first dawn. The light as it appears hides the candle." --Santayana
=member of the worshippers of the written word=
=member of the Non-flamers' guild= |
Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:39 am |
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ScOut3R
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 15 Feb 2002
Posts: 299
Location: Hungary |
I'll soon have it! I'm really excited about it:) I think this expansion is a lot better than the precious, but that was good too. I like the new tilesets, because the Underdark is a cool place (Drizzt:) And not to mention the epic levels:)
I will post my experiences when i will have tried it out!
Have fun with the game!
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:52 am |
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Aphazel
A Shadow of My Own Self
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 877
Location: Norway |
I haven't yet finished NWN, but I'm sure I gotta have it  |
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:28 am |
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MageofFire
Griller of Molerats
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Posts: 1594
Location: Monastery of Innos |
As much as I want this expansion pack, I won't be getting it immediately. I plan on finishing NWN before getting it. I'll probably pick it up sometime after Christmas.
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OMG! WTF?! MONKEYS!!!!
=Member of numerous usergroups=
=Active in none of them=
Mediocreties, I absolve you! |
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 1:57 pm |
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goshuto
Wanderer
Joined: 29 May 2002
Posts: 1142
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I think I'll buy it this weekend or early next week.
For those who do buy and install it, though, be aware that you won't be able to connect to servers which don't have HotU installed yet until the 1.60 patch comes out.
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"Tree stuck in cat. Firemen baffled."--Simcity 3K
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."--Soren Aabye Kierkegaard |
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 10:22 pm |
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konny666
Noble Knight
Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 219
Location: Babylon 6 |
I got it.
It's excellent.
Well worth the $30 I paid (special coupon, free shipping, no taxes, blahblah).
Shortlist of improvements, mainly those that mattered to me:
(*** there may be spoilers here! ***)
- can go to level 40 (!) with most of the old classes and all of the new classes (like 6 or 7 of them)
- new animation! (walking and running)
- skies! (cities actually look like cities now)
- lots of new skills (can brew potions, create wands, scribe scrolls, create armor, & even create weapons!)
- lots of new spells (nice new area-effect lightning spell for wizard spell level 2! really helpful for those tough low-level modules!)
- 5 New tilesets, i only saw one so far... nice... has a good "caverns" feel (Underdark)
- plenty of new music. more than DOUBLE the amount of new music that was in SoU. and it actually sounds good (!)
- TWO henchman + unlimited followers. henchmen are like before (can graphically adjust inventory, change tactics etc.) but with followers you can only view stats, no inventory management and they may leave your party when they feel like it
- *Vastly* improved henchman AI - but pathfinding still sucks on slower PCs, (like my 2 yr old AthlonXP 1700)
- ROBES - wizards and clerics actually look like wizards and clerics. several different robe styles to choose from. ladies can wear plunge-neck dresses (!)
- NPCs with WINGS and HORNS!
Stuff specific to the main campaign that I really like so far:
- Voice acting is used a LOT more than it was used in original NWN and SoU. this is a GOOD thing!
- (*) New henchman AI makes battles a lot easier to manage and easier to approach with tactics - BUT improvements still needed. i will probably upgrade to the Tony K henchman AI package, once the author upgrades his mod for HotU compatibility. But even without it, henchman behave "intelligently". they switch from missile weapon to melee weapon appropriately. they use specialist combat modes like Power attack, Expertise, Whirlwind attack, Disarm when they see fit. If you give them grenade-like weapons, they'll use them whenever the enemy is standing together in a group, etc.
- storyline is actually interesting... more than I can say for the first official campaign
CONs (only one so far):
- even at D&D hardcore mode, game is still too easy for me, for the most part. BUT i'm an experienced mod player - i've "trained" on all the hardest/toughest SP mods there are... so I'm probably not the "average" player. Also it doesn't help that my character is a wizard who has access to all the ridiculously powerful high level spells like "Issacs Greater Missile Storm". heh.
That's all I have to say for now... Basically I'm very impressed with Bioware on this.
Hope this capsule review helps those who are sitting on the fence about whether they should get this or not. Time for me to get back to the game... |
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 10:40 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Just curious, do you start the HotU campaign with a level 1 char, or do they include a trainer to kick you up to a higher level?
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Dec 04, 2003 10:55 pm |
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konny666
Noble Knight
Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 219
Location: Babylon 6 |
the "storyline" for HotU is like this: you play the character who was the Hero of Shadows of Undrentide (expansion #1). if you finished SoU, you can use that character. he should be 12th/13th level when finishing SoU. at beginning of HotU, you are given enough experience to take you up to level 15. you can keep all the nice equipment/loot you got from SoU.
BUT if you don't have SoU, OR didn't finish it, OR lost the character which finished it, OR don't like your SoU character (!) --- you can create a brand new character. Presumably, he will be levelled up to level 15. Otherwise the game would make no sense since you are already viewed by everyone as being the Hero of SoU ... |
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Fri Dec 05, 2003 12:16 am |
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txiabxyooj
Fox Spirit
Joined: 06 Dec 2001
Posts: 971
Location: here, there & everywhere |
thanks konny666, that was a really helpful review of HoU. if i wasn't sold on it before i am now. i just ordered my copy from amazon...
_________________
"The origin of things, if things have an origin, cannot be revealed to me, if revealed at all, until I have travelled very far from it, and many revolutions of the sun must precede my first dawn. The light as it appears hides the candle." --Santayana
=member of the worshippers of the written word=
=member of the Non-flamers' guild= |
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Fri Dec 05, 2003 4:12 am |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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I'll just sit here sighing until the review copy arrives. Sounds good, though.
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Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Fri Dec 05, 2003 3:25 pm |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
*Val is holding her copy in her hands right now!*
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Freeeeeeedom! Thank heavens it's summer!
What do I have to show for my hard work? A piece of paper! Wee!
=Guardian, Moderator, UltimaDot Newshound=  |
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Fri Dec 05, 2003 6:49 pm |
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Iron Man
Dazed and Confused
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 773
Location: Location Location |
Still not realeased in deepest darkest UK yet. 
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This box secretly turns into a picture and laughs at YOU personally when you're not looking. |
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Fri Dec 05, 2003 8:13 pm |
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Wolfgarou
Guards Lieutenant
Joined: 29 May 2003
Posts: 163
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I just finished it after a long marathon of HoTU. Took me just over 20 hours to beat the game. Verdict? It's SUPERB! If you hated the original campaign and thought SoU could've been better, this is the game for you. The story is very well written and is actually quite interesting with some serious plot twists  The new epic levels and prestige classes adds to the overall experiance too. The only bad things about the game are the graphics, which by now looks very washed-out, and it's abit too easy (especially if you created a 'tank' character). I started off with a new character (why? read the minor spoiler below), a dwarven defender, pumped all my stats into strength and maximize every proficiency/specialization on greatswords. I didn't die even once and never had to use more than one healing kit per battle.
Spoiler:
quote:
Originally posted by konny666
the "storyline" for HotU is like this: you play the character who was the Hero of Shadows of Undrentide (expansion #1). if you finished SoU, you can use that character. he should be 12th/13th level when finishing SoU. at beginning of HotU, you are given enough experience to take you up to level 15. you can keep all the nice equipment/loot you got from SoU.
If you start a new character, you'll be given enough exp to level up to lvl15. BUT if you start with an existing character you'll LOSE all your items (except gold) from SoU (for balancing purposes? the game's easy enough with the new items...). It's all in the storyline. But the items in HoTU are way better than the ones in SoU, so it's not really worth replaying with the same character. That's why I started with a new dwarven defender.
Btw, the BIG spoiler here is ......
Spoiler:
Deekin's back! And he gets to have dragon wings later in the game!
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The world is small, nasty and complicated, and everybody dies alone... - Sam Fisher |
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Sun Dec 07, 2003 4:26 pm |
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konny666
Noble Knight
Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 219
Location: Babylon 6 |
Wolfgarou,
You finished the game but you didn't figure it out? hehe
Chapter 1 Spoiler:
Spoiler:
All your old loot from SoU (and any SoU->HotU "bridge" modules) is taken away from you at the beginning, yes, but you have the opportunity to get it back right before the end of Chapter 1. It is sitting in a chest right outside the "boss cave" of Chap1.
end spoiler.
general statement; i'm in chap2 right now... but i'm starting to get a bit bored by it ;/
i think the easy combats may have something to do with it. i'm playing at Hardcore difficulty, wonder if i should bump it up to "difficult" |
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Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:27 pm |
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konny666
Noble Knight
Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Posts: 219
Location: Babylon 6 |
Oh, and I played with the same char from SoU because I'm an old schooler who likes the idea of character progression/development... i hate just creating someone and levelling him up all the way to 15. It's like robbing someone of their life history. i get more satisfaction from building characters up to lvl15 by playing them. |
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Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:29 pm |
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