Deth Ironfist
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Joined: 11 Aug 2002
From: Gemstone |
 Posted: Saturday, 23 July 2005 05:46PM |
Of late I've seen a lot of people with a whole shopping list of questions about multiplayer... I hope the following helps.
Deth's guide to multiplayer:
The first thing to do is pick a “type” of world vault. There are two types of world vaults.
Server vault: In a server vault world you will have to start a new character (this is also the route I would suggest for anyone just starting) On a server vault world the builders have more control over what items are available and characters can’t be hacked by the leet kiddies.
Local vault: On a local vault world you can play any character you’ve already made. While this may sound interesting I would suggest caution. Often characters have been hacked and have gear that pushes the limits of “uber” over the top.
Picking a world: There are a couple ways to go about deciding what PW you want to start on... You can poke around the vault listings Click Here and see if you find one that sounds like it'll fit your playstyle. The upside of looking on the vault first is you should be able to get a good idea of what style PW you're joining and get any haks (more on haks below) you need in advance.
You can also poke around in Ye Old Tavern Click Here
Or... If you have a general idea of what playstyle you think you'll like you can open the list (to open a list simply click the world type listed in the upper left corner... Action, RP, Story... ) Decide how you want to sort them (when I started I sorted by number of players as I didn't want to join an empty world and with the thought that the more people playing the more likely it's a well build world) Then read the descriptions... Pick about 2-3 that sound like you'll enjoy them... Get the haks you'll need to join (in the description it should tell you if you need any and where to get them... have a pencil handy as there is no "click to download" available in Gamespy)... Download and install the haks and jump into your new play experience.
Haks:
Some servers require downloads, (haks) some do not.
The most common hak is the CEP http://nwn.bioware.com/players/cep.html This download is basically more eye candy for builders to use to enhance your play experience.
Some servers will require other haks. Most of those can be found on the vault http://nwvault.ign.com/
If you check the description before you join they should tell you what haks you need and where to get them.
Once you've joined and made a new character:
READ!!... This is important! Open your journal read the rules, read what changes the builders have made, read any signs that may be at the starting point... Read everything!!
Talk to NPCs... They often hold important information on where to go to get started
Look for other players... Being new to a PW can be a little intimidating... There's all these guys running around with nice gear.... It seems every player you examine is rated "impossible"... And everything around you doesn't look like anything you're familiar with from the OC... Don't let this intimidate you. Talk to some of these more experienced players. Most of the time you'll find them at least willing to point you in the right direction.
Now that you're playing:
Give the new world you've joined a chance before deciding if you like it. Play at least one character for a couple hours (I would say "play at least one character to 5th level" but 5th level is a couple week undertaking on many of the RP worlds)
If you find that you’re not enjoying your playtime go hit the next on your list. There’s something for everyone out there so don’t give up!Edited By Deth Ironfist on 07/23/05 17:56 |
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Wizard Weatherwax
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
NWN 2
NWN 2: MotB
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
From: Portugal |
Posted: Monday, 25 July 2005 10:41AM |
A very good and useful thread, Mr. Deth Ironfist!
Great work!
It will certainly answer most of the Multiplayer doubts that people may have.
Bye!
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Deth Ironfist
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Joined: 11 Aug 2002
From: Gemstone |
Posted: Monday, 25 July 2005 08:40PM |
Thanks Mr Weatherwax
Perhaps someone could add their thoughts on Neverwinter connections. I haven't used the service so I wouldn't be qualified to give accurate info or guidance.
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With a sword of fire and a horse of air to the wilderness I wander
Gemstone Forum
Deth's Guide to Multiplayer |
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Ackrax
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Joined: 30 Aug 2003
From: Middletown Pa |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 July 2005 01:52AM |
Nice post Deth, I’d like to add a few things that I’ve come across that may help a newcomer to the online playing field choose a world they like. Here’s a quick list of some it the major features you may what to consider when choosing a world.
Lets start with how you want to play. Do you want a Role playing server or an Action server. A role-playing sever will expect you to act as if you are the character, such as a grumpy dwarf, of a sly assassin. When interacting with other characters you are expected act “in character”, and not to talk about things in the real world such as computers or cars. This kind of world is all about living your on-line life as the character you have created, while gaining him levels and exploring the world.
Then there are action servers. These are worlds where you do not have to worry about acting in character, though you can choose to if you wish. This type of world is mostly about killing monsters and gaining levels and treasure. There are various degrees to both types, but this is just in general. Check the world description to get some idea what kind of world it is.
Spell changes. Some servers change the way spells work. Some spells may not last as long, some may cause more or less damage, or some spells may not work at all. Check out the worlds rule on spells before you invest too much time in any world.
How pets work. Some servers change the way pets work. Some servers make them more powerful, some make them weaker, some change what creatures you can call to your aid. Also some severs do not allow you to feed your pets to heal them. This can very important to a young mage or druid.
How death works. This is very important. Some servers have pera death. When you die, you cannot respawn. You must roll up another character. Some servesr, while not having perma death, do have a heavy price to pay to respawn, sometimes losing levels and equipment to do so. Still other worlds have no respawn costs. This is a very important thing to learn when playing on any world. Most perma death worlds are considered hard core worlds, using the hard core rules system, or HCR.
This is just a list of some things to think about when choosing a on line world. Hope it’s helpful.
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If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
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Stanley Woo
QA Ninja
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: The BioWare Compound |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 July 2005 05:29PM |
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This thread has now been Stickied. |
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Bondo
Game Owner
 NWN
Joined: 21 May 2002
From: Edmonton, Alta |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 July 2005 07:31PM |
Quote: Posted 07/26/05 17:29:21 (GMT) by Stanley Woo
This thread has now been Stickied.
Glad to see your still up to your old tricks Stan..Edited By Bondo on 07/26/05 19:32 |
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Sir Nahme
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR Xbox
Jade Empire
NWN 2
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 30 Aug 2002 |
Posted: Thursday, 28 July 2005 02:28AM |
congrats Deth, useful
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Kyrie-san
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
NWN 2
Joined: 29 Jul 2005
From: somewhere far away |
Posted: Friday, 29 July 2005 08:52AM |
neat... and I was about to post a question about the online area of this game... well guess I wont have to post it now since you typed out what I needed to know. ^__^ XD. Tys and laterZ.
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As I leave this world, I entered a new world... As I take my last breath, I gave her a rainbow rose... As I walked out of my old life, I returned as a new life. My name is Kyrie Levant, the Mystical Time Traveler. |
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Litepulsar
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
From: Uk |
Posted: Monday, 01 August 2005 07:07AM |
This is excellent information, thanks so much for doing this! I do have a question though, and I apologise in advance if this in the wrong place, but is there any good tutorials on setting up/troubleshooting a LAN game?
Both my boyfriend and I have copies of NWN plus expansions, and would like to go questing together, just the two of us for now, maybe Multiplayer later with other people (stating the obvious I know LOL). Would we be able to play Official/Custom modules together over a local network, rather than the internet?
Sorry for such newbie questions, and you can get quite technical in descriptions if you like  I'm an experienced computer user (not a genius by any means though  )
thanks loads
LiteEdited By Litepulsar on 08/01/05 07:09 |
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Litepulsar
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
From: Uk |
Posted: Monday, 01 August 2005 01:08PM |
Sorry for replying to my reply, my previous post is now uneditable!
I've found some threads on configuring NWN behind a firewall, and port forwarding in regards to my particular router, I'm going to do that first, and see if I can connect ok, plus get my boyfriend to do the same for his firewall as well. |
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Deth Ironfist
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Joined: 11 Aug 2002
From: Gemstone |
Posted: Monday, 01 August 2005 05:04PM |
I didn't think about this origionally but if you are on a LAN with other players and want to play multiplayer locally or on a PW you Need to change the client port in the NWNplayer.ini file. The Default is client port=5121, each machine must have it's own client port IE: 5122, 5123...
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With a sword of fire and a horse of air to the wilderness I wander
Gemstone Forum
Deth's Guide to Multiplayer |
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Litepulsar
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
From: Uk |
Posted: Monday, 01 August 2005 05:34PM |
Thanks for that information Deth Ironfist, I'll configure the .ini file!
It says at www.portforwarding.com that my particular router doesn't support the kind of portforwarding that NWN requires, so should I post this information somewhere? |
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ZipGypsy
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 28 Jul 2002
From: Scotland |
Posted: Monday, 01 August 2005 07:50PM |
Thanks for this info - just what I've been looking for 
However, I have come over another problem. I have forgotten the DM password. Is this the same as the one that you are asked for when you click 'Multiplayer'? If so, I have set it to 'remember' and I an't flippin' remember it myself!
How do you get your password back? Please help
Thanks folks,
Z |
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ZipGypsy
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 28 Jul 2002
From: Scotland |
Posted: Tuesday, 02 August 2005 08:06PM |
Quote: Posted 08/01/05 19:50:31 (GMT) by ZipGypsy Thanks for this info - just what I've been looking for However, I have come over another problem. I have forgotten the DM password. Is this the same as the one that you are asked for when you click 'Multiplayer'? If so, I have set it to 'remember' and I an't flippin' remember it myself! How do you get your password back? Please help Thanks folks, Z
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Elagneros
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Joined: 24 Jan 2005 |
Posted: Thursday, 04 August 2005 05:36AM |
Quote:
Local vault: On a local vault world you can play any character you’ve already made. While this may sound interesting I would suggest caution. Often characters have been hacked and have gear that pushes the limits of “uber” over the top.
I know what you mean. When I first started with MP, I'd go to a few servers here and there that were running parts of the OC. However, it would get boring real fast playing as a level 5 or so character when level 40 characters with hacked weapons doing 8 kinds of damage would pwn everything in sight.
Though I can't say I've never done similar things. I've logged characters on OC servers that had characters well over the module's suggested limits that would do annoying things like plant traps all around in the Temple of Tyr. Or the time I loaded a level 1 up on equipment I made in the toolset that gave me +20 bonus in every stat and other very powerful bonuses and set him loose on a server running OC Chpater 1 with a bunch of level 20+ characters. Not all of these were instances of me being a jerk, though, like the time I stuck a bunch of insane overpowered items I created in the toolset on a character and then dumped them all around the Temple of Tyr and left. 
Personally, I prefer server vault games to be PWs, and not servers running the OC or something similar. Playing the OC or the SoU/HotU chapters in multiplayer can be fun, but you have to play on the right kind of local vault server. Personally, I prefer servers that allow local vault characters, but that enforce legal characters, have only 1 party, and which have item level restrictions. This usually cuts down on overpowered character that make the game unfun, and automatically adds you to the party when you log on. The OC was designed for 1-4 players, so don't choose a server that has or allows more than 6-8 players, or you probably won't get much experience. A server which also adjusts the character level range so it's in line with the module instead of keeping it at the default 1-40 range is also a plus. Lastly, before logging onto the server, check the player list to see the class(es) and level(s) of the characters on the server. If the characters are way over the suggested level lmits for the module, then it's probably best not to bother with it.
Some other pointers:
If you're interested in multiplayer, you really need HotU. The number of non-HotU servers out there is pitifully small and really limits the choices you have. The number of non-HotU servers isn't getting any bigger either, if anything the opposite is true.
The player list: when you log on to the server and get the character selection screen, you can see who the other players on the server are. This is a pretty useful feature. You can use it when choosing a new server to see if there are other low level characters on the server that you might be able to party with for one.
When looking for a MP game, I suggest filtering out password protected servers and empty or full servers. You can keep empty servers if you're looking for a PW, blocking them out is more of a suggestion for playing the OC and such, since if you're going to play them by yourself, you might as well play single player. |
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