Neverwinter Nights 2 is set for release on October 17th, and it looks like it's going to be "the" contender of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
It's being developed by Californian Studio Obsidian Entertainment, the Studio responsable for last year great Rpg success Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: Sith Lords, so that's encouraging, though sadly I would've love that Bioware continued with the excellent work they did with Neverwinter Nights, but Bioware has projects of their own, wich by the way look great so far (I'll talk about them later).
But retorning to the main issue of the post, just take a look at the INSANE requirements of Neverwinter 2:
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
RAM: 512mb
Video Card 128MB Direct3D compatible video card with DirectX 9.0c compatible driver (NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500+ / ATI Radeon 9500+)
Remember this are the MINIMUM requirements for the game, that means that if you got a Rig like this you'll only get to play it in the lowest quality setting, so if you want to REALLY play Neverwinter 2 this is what I think you'll need:
CPU Speed 3 GHZ
RAM 1 GB to 2 GB
Video Card ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card.
So watch out Oblivion 'cause there it comes Neverwinter 2.

Sweet mother of mercy, 2 gigs?
I guess they assume that if you've got money to blow on new PC games, you've really got money to blow on a gaming rig.

I have to say that I hope they took some good lessons away from KotOR 2 and made the game flow better than the first NWN did. (For the main single-player quest at least) They pretty much just lifted the 3.0 ruleset whole cloth, made some changes in the name of programming ease, and then let the campaign run, and it was a pretty much combat-focused campaign at that.
That would be great for tabletop with a bunch of geeks around a table, but with only your main PC and one henchman and a pet, a primarily combat-focused game will move in stops and starts. Fightfightfight, rest. Fightfightfight, rest. Advance plot, fightfightfightdie.

In their starwars games, they gave you two henchmen that you had complete control over in terms of combat and level advancement, and they tended to be a damn sight better at helping you than the henchmen in NWN. They also scaled the enemies differently and (in a complete lack of realism) gave you and unlimited inventory so you didn't have to go back to sell your loot after every other fight. Unrealistic? Sure. But what works on the tabletop does not necessarily work for electronic gaming.

Sheesh, I'm incoherent. Gotta get back to work.

Quote from: RubioSweet mother of mercy, 2 gigs?
I guess they assume that if you've got money to blow on new PC games, you've really got money to blow on a gaming rig.

I have to say that I hope they took some good lessons away from KotOR 2 and made the game flow better than the first NWN did. (For the main single-player quest at least) They pretty much just lifted the 3.0 ruleset whole cloth, made some changes in the name of programming ease, and then let the campaign run, and it was a pretty much combat-focused campaign at that.
That would be great for tabletop with a bunch of geeks around a table, but with only your main PC and one henchman and a pet, a primarily combat-focused game will move in stops and starts. Fightfightfight, rest. Fightfightfight, rest. Advance plot, fightfightfightdie.

In their starwars games, they gave you two henchmen that you had complete control over in terms of combat and level advancement, and they tended to be a damn sight better at helping you than the henchmen in NWN. They also scaled the enemies differently and (in a complete lack of realism) gave you and unlimited inventory so you didn't have to go back to sell your loot after every other fight. Unrealistic? Sure. But what works on the tabletop does not necessarily work for electronic gaming.

Sheesh, I'm incoherent. Gotta get back to work.

Apparently the new Neverwinter will be more focused on the story, and you'll be able to play with a full party (of 4 or 5 Pc I think) from wich you'll have complete control (you'll get to choose how to advance them),
From GameSpot: "And those who enjoy a good story with memorable characters to go with their hacking and slashing will likely spend a great deal of time exploring and enjoying the adventuring party system in Neverwinter Nights 2's single-player game. You'll be able to create an adventuring party with up to four characters (your original character plus three companions), and you'll have full control over each one's actions if you care to take it. Though you can control only one character at a time--in battle, for instance--you can pause the game and switch control to a different character whenever you like. You can also control your characters' advancements by choosing different feats and skills as they gain levels, manipulate their inventories, and equip them with different items."

This is what NEverwinter 2 Lead Designer J.E Sawyer said on the matter:

GS: Neverwinter Nights 2 is supposed to have a much stronger emphasis on story, but could you give us an idea of just how much deeper the story will be? For instance, we've heard that there's going to be a much more "believable" world, or, at least, as believable as a fantasy world filled with elves and dwarves can be. What does that mean, exactly?

JES: Your character comes from a very humble background. West Harbor is a pretty rural community and not a lot happens there. When you first arrive in Neverwinter, people don't think much of you. Your actions help build your reputation among people. Over time, you become increasingly feared and respected. Your role in the story increases in a manner that is believable within the setting. The reactions that people have to you are reactive and sensible. By the end of the story, you're entrusted with matters of grave importance because you have built up a reputation befitting a heroic figure.

GS: We've also heard that the henchmen (and women) will be a lot more interesting in Neverwinter Nights 2. But the henchmen in the original game already had their own stories, so what could you do to make them more interesting? Will you have more control over henchmen in general, and will they be more useful in combat? And will you finally be able to manipulate their inventories on a more detailed basis?


Neverwinter Nights 2 takes place sometime after the events of the first game, and you may see a familiar face or two.

JES: Some of the companions are integral to the plot and how it unfolds. They also have quite a bit to say throughout the story. On the technical side of things, they can be directly controlled during combat and their inventories can be manipulated directly.

(You may also be able to get e-smooches from your companions if you play your cards right.)

GS: How are you incorporating the latest version of the Dungeons & Dragons rules (version 3.5)? What sort of challenges does this create? After all, it's difficult to do a straight translation of pen-and-paper rules so that they apply in a virtual, real-time world.

JES: We're upgrading as much as we can. We're switching out all of the major components that changed for 3.5, but remaining issues have less to do with the virtual, real-time nature of the game engine and more to do with how the legacy Neverwinter game logic works. In a nutshell, the rules in the book are less restrictive than the rules in the code.

My guess is that definetly NW2 will be outstanding, let's hope I'm not wrong.