RPG Programs

[Cloud_Nine]

I'm pretty sure this has been covered a multitude of times, but I'm just wondering. Do any of you guys know of any good RPG makers? ( Besides rpg maker, oblivion cs, and the Morrowind cs ) It can be either 2d or 3d, I don't mind. I've been tinkering with the Blade of Avernum editor, but to be honest, I'd like something a little more "advanced". Any help would be appreciated.

[Palog]

Have you tried Neverwinter Night 2? Well I just quote it because you forgot it in your list.

[Cloud_Nine]

No I have not, maybe I can try that.

[Konjad]

Start from NWN editor before you'll do anything in NWN2 editor. First version of this editor that is in first NWN is much easier and you can do there nearly everything anyway.

[Evnissyen]

Honestly... I hear so much about Neverwinter Nights 2... I played the demo, and... moving camera aside (I absolutely hate that stuff), it seemed to have a decent beginning of a story in place, and decent character development... which is I guess one of the reasons why I was able to tolerate the moving camera. But the demo wasn't long enough to give me a good idea of the game. So... my question is: does this game get more interesting after the demo? Does the storyline develop more? And the characters?

[CrazyBernie]

You know, I blasted through the first NWN and enjoyed it immensely.

In NWN2 for some reason I was unable to get past the first act... even though I enjoyed the character development/dialogue more than the first game. I think it may have been during one of my genre transition phases... or maybe I was too busy playing WoW to really appreciate it. I do remember at some point waiting for the expansion to come out because of some graphics enhancements that were being talked about. I think I'm going to have to shuffle around through my stuff and see if I can't dig it up.

*** Edit ***

Here's a quote from the wiki:

"Reviews of Neverwinter Nights 2 have been generally positive. Reviewers were pleased with the changes that had been made from the first game in the series, especially regarding the storyline and party management. The game won GameSpot's Best Story award for 2006. Despite the positive reception, numerous technical glitches prevented the game from receiving higher scores."

NWN2 struck me as closer to the BG series than the first. Now I'm definitely itching to go back and play it... O.o

[realmzmaster]

Hello everyone,

In my humble opinion NWN2 and its expansion Mask of the Betrayer are excellent (Storm of Zehir is a different matter.). The game is linear, but the story and character development is excellent. The game is not as open ended as Morrowind or Oblivion where you can leave the main story line and pick it back up when you are ready. The interactions are interesting and parts of the story will leave you angry and frustrated because you cannot prevent some events from happening! I liked both NWN and NWN2, but YMMV.

[Evnissyen]

Actually, linear works for me; I definitely prefer it over "go wherever and do whatever you want", and especially over simple hacking & looting & hacking & looting which makes my character want to raise his/her hands to the sky (if there is one) and shout, "¿Why? What's it all for?" (In Eschalon at least I got to be an Atheist, which took care of that. There should be a notation on the character sheet: "Understands and embraces pointlessness of existence.")

At any rate, I like to feel that some sort of [interesting] story is developing, and that I'm somehow a pivotal aspect of it. Which is why I prefer, say, Spidweb's [later] games over Diablo 2. As for Eschalon... well . . . it's beautifully made, and I love the game (I'm playing it for the second time right now, which is unusual), but I'm hoping the story and characters get more attention in Book 2 than they did in Book 1.

I think I'll try NWN2, except for one little problem. Apparently while PC version of the game costs $30, the Mac version costs $50. Why? I don't know.

Well, at least the Mac version on Amazon includes the expansion packs... . I think it's a few dollars less than $50, too, if I remember correctly. Maybe I'll go for it.

[CrazyBernie]

That's a pretty common thing for older Mac games that are predominantly pc based... low supply = high price, provided it was a popular game. You can find Fallout and Fallout 2 for mac on Amazon... both astronomically priced (above $70). And you wonder why some people pirate games... *sigh*

"Hmmm... I could buy this copy of Fallout for $119.99 for my Mac when GOG.com has it for PC for $5.99.... or I could click on this Torrent link and pay nothing..."

I guess its part of that Mac experience...

[Evnissyen]

Ah, yes . . . the experience of shelling out money you don't have for the privilege of being a Mac User.... Even after using a PC for 3 years, I just couldn't resist coming back.

A strange thing, Mac.

It's like it's inside your skin. It won't go away. I wash... and wash... .

[Reinhart]

Macs are fine except that some people see them as a lifestyle and not a collection of microchips and whirring doohickeys. I've got a friend who looks down on people who use "lowly" PCs, attitudes of elitism make me sick to my stomach. Other than that, they're fine enough machines.

[Evnissyen]

Apple's designs and their obsession with miniaturization are part of the mystique, of course. For example: Why doesn't Apple ever lower it's prices? Because high prices = quality, for one, and for another, yes: high prices = elitism. Plus... if you own a Mac then, yes, you can feel as if you're a cut above everyone else. The reasons I went back to Mac are numerous. It wasn't so I could go back to feeling superior to others. (I don't.) But... I paid my money, was happy with the product, and this is coming from someone without much money. So, no matter what anyone says, Apple will never, ever lower their prices even in the current economic climate. Just look at the prices of their newest lineup. Then go to your nearest mall and stroll into a Mac store and see how many people are there.

This is how you change a subject quickly.

[CrazyBernie]

Hehe, you can blame it on me for making the jab.

My biggest problem with apple is not the elitism (although I hate it with a passion). If I was driving around a swanky new BMW, I'd probably look down on all the tricked-out civic owners out there. Hell, I don't drive a BMW and I still look down on them. It's not the styling of their products, although I've never cared for the designs either.

By biggest problem with Apple is Steve Jobs. I can't stand his attitude... he's a whiny little jerk that throws a tantrum whenever he doesn't get his way. I remember back in July of '03 when ATI accidentally leaked some specs on the upcoming G4 systems that were going to have their graphics cards in them. Jobs threw a fit and had all ATI cards pulled out of all the macs and removed all references to ATI in his Macworld keynote. I for one have no inclination to give any of my money to any company that he runs. He reminds me of a fat little rich "princess" who's parents don't believe in disciplining, and you'd strangle her if you could find a neck to fit your hands around.

Anyways... as I was playing some NWN2, I made an observation that a lot of Eschalon'ers would probably look down on the fact that if you're wounded, you can just walk a certain distance away from your enemies (provided they haven't seen you) and rest back up to full health in five seconds.... The game does have a decent difficulty settings range though.