Neverwinter (New D&D MMO)

[Bison]

Ok.  I didn't even realize it was availible for purchase yet.  I was thinking later this year.

There are three pre-purchase options ranging from $20, $60, and $200.  I "think" it's free to play after you buy the game and you can buy whatever the currency is for the micro-transaction house.  If you got one of the two more expensive options you get access to the beta weekends and early access at launch.  $200 is too much for me, but I was planning on it costing $60 anyway so I jumped in.  What can I say I'm a sucker for D&D.

I've been trying to get some screenshots of the beta, but they are not posting into paint.  Maybe if I had FRAPs installed...

It's more along the lines of a traditional MMO.  Go here kill this, gather that, and come back so far.  But the game is very well done and the combat is pretty damned fun.  I love the tactical combat of DDO and this has some of that but it's more like LotR.  I've got through tomorrow for the first beta weekend still, but so far I think this one is going to be a winner. 

The one really awesome feature is the foundry, which allows players to build dungeons.

Anyway here's the link to read more.

http://nw.perfectworld.com/about


*EDIT* It is free to play after you purchase the game. 

[Huw the Poo]

I'm vaguely interested, I guess.  That $200 pack is a silly price, but it does let you play the rogue dark elf class, which is damn cool if it's not generally available to the playerbase.  That's going to tempt a few people!

[Nefaro]

I just heard about it recently, and it's piqued my interest.

But I'm not shelling out early to get into an occasional Beta weekend.  Those things drive me nuts.  Either run a steady beta in the long term or I won't bother.  :P

[Tpek]

I'm in the Beta.
A founder as well (Hero of the North level no less :P).

Seems interesting.
And yeah, they have the foundry, just like in Star Trek Online. Except this time it actually gives experience&rewards making it a worthwhile thing.

[Huw the Poo]

Wow.  Do you really think it's that good?  You're gonna have to tell us more!

[son_of_montfort]

So right now it is in Beta with beta weekends, but you can purchase? Hmm.... I do love the character progression of D&D more than any other RPG and I have been hankering for a new MMORPG. I need to research this, because I'm the type of numbskull that gets enticed by stuff like that $59.99 tier.

[Tpek]

So right now it is in Beta with beta weekends, but you can purchase? Hmm.... I do love the character progression of D&D more than any other RPG and I have been hankering for a new MMORPG. I need to research this, because I'm the type of numbskull that gets enticed by stuff like that $59.99 tier.

It's not exactly a real adaptation of the tabletop rules, especially not the 3rd edition ones with which I am most familiar (never tried anything but AD&D2 and the 3rd/3.5 edition).

[Swatter]

I have been down the MMO road a few too many times. Until some of those developer bone heads truly create something different, I think I am done with these type of games. I will probably read a review, but I am extremely skeptical about this game.

[Nefaro]

I have been down the MMO road a few too many times. Until some of those developer bone heads truly create something different, I think I am done with these type of games. I will probably read a review, but I am extremely skeptical about this game.

Dungeons & Dragons Online was a truly different MMO approach.  But it fizzled since you must group up for each 'quest' and the game world wasn't very expansive at all (mostly a bunch of little dungeon entrances scattered throughout a city).  They eventually added the NPC hirelings so you could essentially solo with bots helping you, but that was after the free-to-play model and I think some people were soured about having to purchase bundles of them for currency.  I'm also not sure how effective they could be, either. 

[GibbyG]

Thanks for the heads up. I went ahead and signed up with the $60 tier and put in a few hours tonight. Had fun so far but not sure of few things. Will have to do some studying before the next beta weekend.

[Tpek]

I have been down the MMO road a few too many times. Until some of those developer bone heads truly create something different, I think I am done with these type of games. I will probably read a review, but I am extremely skeptical about this game.

Dungeons & Dragons Online was a truly different MMO approach.  But it fizzled since you must group up for each 'quest' and the game world wasn't very expansive at all (mostly a bunch of little dungeon entrances scattered throughout a city).  They eventually added the NPC hirelings so you could essentially solo with bots helping you, but that was after the free-to-play model and I think some people were soured about having to purchase bundles of them for currency.  I'm also not sure how effective they could be, either.

Worse thing, is that they are limited time items.

[son_of_montfort]

The one thing that really attracts me to this game is the idea of the Foundry. I could see myself having more fun creating adventures than actually playing the game.

[Tpek]

The one thing that really attracts me to this game is the idea of the Foundry. I could see myself having more fun creating adventures than actually playing the game.

TBH, though I tried many player-made missions/quests in Star Trek Online, I never actually tried to create one myself :P
But maybe I will with this one.

[son_of_montfort]

The Foundry looks really cool and easy to use. No coding needed. It will be time consuming, but certainly has a lot of potential for fun creation. I'm trying to get some other friends into the game, so we can basically play D&D together!

The action-based system is a little strange (seems more like Diablo than D&D) and RPS said the character-level progression was a tad boring in the beta (maybe they will spruce that up a bit). Otherwise, however, the game has a huge amount of draw for me!

[Nefaro]

Have they announced an actual release date yet?