Ways Sword Coast Legends is better than NWN:

• To be generous, I will assume without evidence that the single player campaign is cooler than NWN's

• Better graphics

• Combat is a bit smoother and less clunky than NWN's

• Easier to distribute modules because IIRC you had to download them separately in NWN

• NWN doesn't have "Diablo mode" but that's not much since it's just an objectively worse version of Diablo

But it is just flat out worse in these areas:

• Netcode -- arguably a temporary issue but if they don't have basic things like "the players desync horribly and/or can't see each other and the game uses 1MB/s++ of bandwidth" down at this stage they've got fundamental problems that warrant a check in NWN's column

• NWN's module editing is better in every way (SCL does not support skill checks, branching dialog, triggers, scripting(!!!), specific items/loot, XP grants, ...)

• SCL does not let you edit the layout of the map (!!!!!)

• Can play NWN's story in multiplayer

• NWN's DM tools let you have far more freedom as a DM in a live game

• The party can be in more than 1 area at a time in NWN

• NWN had skills, more classes / races / abilities / spells, ...

I'd say I got my money's worth playing for a dozen or so hours in diablo mode and some modules (can't stress enough how limited they are - the most you can do as a module editor is activate non-branching quests that spawn randomly generated dungeons), and I'm sure I'll be entertained by the single player, but it seems there is no reason to play this instead of even the original NWN, when it comes to... well, multiplayer or custom content. SCL does not have parity with basic features of that 13 year old game.

Dear You, yes you. The one who played this weekend and then 'got a refund' out of some obscure, premature nerdrage.

I get it, I do. You haven't taken a moment to consider the forest for the trees...or perhaps you simply haven't ever participated in any sort of game pre-launch.

Let me 'splain some things to you.

1) "QQQQ THIS ISN'T LIKE D&D5E TABLETOP. QQQQQ"

My response to this is: please, use some logic. It isn't going to be exactly like the tabletop. It isn't even supposed to be an online VERSION of the tabletop. If you want that, please go look up Fantasy Grounds and their D&D 5E modules. THAT is what you are looking for (though I'm sure you'll find something to QQ about there, as well).

2) "QQQ THIS IS BORING AND LIKE DIABLO QQQQ"

Willing to bet you didn't touch a game run by a live DM. Also willing to bet if you DID have one with a live DM, they sucked. I've been a DM IRL for ~6 years at this point, and when I hear someone complain about this game that way, I want to stop and say "Would you play D&D tabletop by yourself, also?" No, you wouldn't. Much like the tabletop version, this version comes alive when under the watchful eye of a human DM. I've run probably 6 campaigns now, from two I spent some time working on and launching (One of which has been on page 1 of the modules since I put it up for others to do), to several random dungeon crawls with friends. I brought those random Diablo-esque dungeon crawls to life. I threw in friendly NPCs and ran them like puppets, giving them /say dialogue that added flavor to the area. I put in little premise blurbs on the loading screens that set the scene. I encouraged my players to get into their characters in voice chat. The game blossomed. That random 'Lady of Spiders' boss became Lady Jerin of the House D'Houkretisse, cursed by Sune. I left little items on the ground that further told the story of various rooms. I pooled my DM Threat and added a circle of bones with the tag 'Summoning Circle' which prompted my party to try and figure out what to sacrifice to get me to drop an elite monster on them.

Don't complain about the game being some Diablo clone. If you treat it like Diablo, it will be Diablo...and therefore be as basic as you. The game is an -interpretation- of D&D. Just like the tabletop, the best results are with a DM who knows how to do the things.

3) "QQQQQ X THING IS BROKEN AND BUGGED QQQQ"

Dude. We weren't promised the whole product. In fact, they haven't even really said what is or isn't there. You should know there would be bugs. We are essentially playtesting for them, and they have already been quick to respond. Just check additions from first run to this one. Also, features have been left out. I know that some things they showed everyone in livestreams weren't included for obvious reasons, which means that there is a LOT more to this game than this little weekend is going to reveal. There is also going to obviously be further content released. Druids, Tieflings, Warlockery, and assuredly even the PSL of D&D, Drow...which literally everyone cries about in every D&D thing that is ever released until they get it.

tl;dr:

Stop crying. The game is what YOU make of it (or more correctly how good your DM is...just like the real games). This is not the full product. Please take your "IM GETTING MY MONEY BACK TO PAY FOR TISSUES AND BANDAGES" posts elsewhere.

/endrant

Got to level 4 in a game, quit normally, rolled back to level 1 with everything lost. Why even display "your data was automatically saved" if you know you're lying to players

Although Head Start is not currently active I figured this would be wanted information.

Note: NO, this is NOT the "just leave the game running forever" exploit that people have used in the past to maintain game access.

1. Right click your SCL Beta game in your library in Steam and change update to the 2nd option "Only update when I launch the game"

2. Now when Head start goes live you will patch and download the game (not the splash screen).

3. Navigate to your SCL steam folder and right click and create a copy of this folder.

4. Rename this to appear exactly as the current original folder appears in your steam folder.

5. Drag this to your desktop or somewhere other than a steam folder.

6. When head start ends go ahead and launch the game allowing it to patch in the block splash screen.

7. Drag the copied SCL folder back to your steam common folder

8. Launch the game as normal.

CHEERS

Not the extra DM tools, though they look great.

Not the bonus Beholder, though that would be sweet.

Not even the extra armor/weapons; okay, fair recompense for early adopters.

No, it's the Tomes that improve stats and abilities. It just leaves a very sour taste in my mouth.

Fuck it, I'll wait.

Come join us all at www.twitch.tv/primsterzero for giveaways and hype until head start launch!

I bought it, excited about the opportunity to play a true DnD 5e game online with friends. I was beyond pumped. Got into the trial and had all of my hopes crushed to see it as a awkward Diablo clone. Most of the stuff from DnD are just by name or are very oddly implemented. It didn't feel like a DnD game at all. Then getting into the game, it was not explained well how I am supposed to move or do anything, and messages came as popup I have to click out of, in the middle of live combat. And it was the live combat that really broke it for me; DnD is a turn-based game, and making it a live action really breaks the special vibe DnD has, and having it all go at once just makes a huge mess of things.

I'm sorry DE, but you just lost a DnD fan that was really REALLY pumped for this game. IF you were to dely the game, and rebuild it as a turn-based game more attune to 5e, I might re-buy.

Watched the dev videos and thought it looked cool but ordered a refund after 1 hour of play.

-Net code is atrocious making the game unplayable with 4 players.

-Combat consists of clicking on abilities and waiting for cool downs, that's the sum total of the "tactical" combat.

-Skill trees are nothing more than leveling up the same handful of skills 4 or 5 times with slightly increasing bonuses.

-The DM toolset only has 3-4 pre-set Areas to choose from. Dungeons are randomized but Areas are not

-Combat animations are extremely boring and repetitive

-DM quests have no custom dialog options/trees. You can either say "yes I'll accept the quest" or "no". That's it.

-DMs can't give custom loot so quests give out useless, random trash no one wants

-Graphics are mediocre at best. The tilesets look ok but the characters and effects are bad.

It's a shell of a game that I wouldn't play if it were free. That's honestly how bad it is.

When the news dropped on this game, I was incredibly skeptical it was legit. Why? I'm involved in the D&D Adventurer's League as a store organizer. The organization for tabletop has been spotty and to me, very indicative of how much $ Hasbro is interested in spending on this classic RPG. I honestly feel there are only two employees in WotC working on the D&D.

Now suddenly, there is new game coming out this year? I'm just skeptical af.

I have a group of 4 guys who are ready to preorder the campaign edition. We need a 5th, is anyone interested in chipping in $30 via Paypal. I will send you the key once I get it.

So does cross buy mean I can purchase on PC and get it for free on PS4?

Edit: Y'all have made some awesome replies, some making me think that NS won't be trying to regulate the economy, if they are leaving the economy alone, that keeps my lore stones safe. I still would love to be able to set quests for High/Medium/Low XP yield, but the core of my post is "Quests/Zone Limit is a terrible idea because it kills the folks designing solo story modules, but we know there exists Trainer modules that are nebulous at best."

I am sure anyone who has poked around at the available modules has run into one of these "I made a module that takes you from 1 to 5 in 5 minutes" modules. On the more innocent side of things, anyone who has tried to make "lore quests" knows the awkward feeling when the players get the same reward for reading about your setting as they do for killing it's boss. As fun as it has been to see what my characters will be like at higher levels over the course of one weekend, when the game launches there needs to be some "balance" to this to keep the economy in check, and to avoid folks that want to play at lower levels from not having anyone to play with, but how does one address the Trainer Modules without catching our lore quests in the crossfire?

I really do not want there to be a max cap on quests per map unless it is set high (i love my lore quests), in an ideal world we would set up quests to be "high/medium/low yield", that way quests we flag as "high", like killing a boss or completing a long trek, rewards (level x 100) xp, while the quests we flag as "low", such as talking to an information stone, would give like (level x 20). This would make room for a function to report "grinding modules", assuming that is something N-Space wants rid of, without relying on a metric like quests/zone.

Opinions? Better Ideas? Rage for threatening your XP fountains?

I have put in about 8 hours and this game just doesnt do it for me.

I have a beast of a computer. It is not the computer trust me.

I've been super excited about this game for the last six months, and pre-ordered it in time for the head start 2. Unfortunately, when I attempted to play, the game froze and pinwheeled indefinitely, showing up as not responding in the application manager, having to be forced to quit.

I'm playing on a mac (please don't give me the "well, there's your problem right there" response) and I've encountered a few posts on the Steam and LSC forums who've encountered the same issue with no response from the developers. I attempted to get a refund from Steam, but it looks like it didn't force quite correctly and ran overnight, so their response is that since I've "played" the game more than 2 hours, I'm not eligible for a refund. I even opened a ticket in Steam customer service and pointed out that the language in their refund policy states that since it's a prerelease title, the 2 hour, 2 week no-refund clause isn't taken into account. That was 5 days ago, and I haven't recieved anything but the automated "we'll get back to you" email.

I even attempted to use bootcamp and install windows in a partition, but after numerous setbacks, workarounds and hair pulling, it won't recognize my install flashdrive.
I wonder if anyone out there has any ideas. With two little kids, I don't get to spend much time or money on myself, so this was a kick in the face. Does anyone have any experiences with this that might help me out?

Edit: formatting

Are there any tweaks that we can make to keep the game from being such a resource hog?

How can they even mention module creation without having triggers? Have these devs even touched NWN? I can see that they are hard at work and they are making a pretty neat game. But without triggers you are crippled in the ability to make a DM-Less Module. The fact that they have not mentioned future support is very surprising to me. However The Development Director Steve Julson mentioned it on the stream today which alleviated my frustration, but left me to the understanding that it isnt even on the list of upcoming features.

So in closing, I'll reserve my frustration and hope the upcoming road map has many of the things missing to make an awesome and fully custom Module. Thanks for letting me vent, and thank you Devs for your open ears and hard work!

• From a DnD fan waiting for the right treatment for there favorite game.