NWN premium modules earn one last gasp
by Alan Rose 
{ Sep 15th 2006 at 11:25AM }
BioWare has given Neverwinter Nights fans a pleasant surprise this week. In addition to posting the 1.68 update, the company has announced they are selling a new premium module, Wyvern Crown of Cormyr. How exactly did this happen after Atari pulled support for NWN back in May? A moderator on BioWare's forums has this to say:"As for WCoC, it was the most complete of the premium modules at the time the decision to cancel the program was handed down to us, in fact it was very close to release. Atari and other parties were very impressed with the amount of content and quality of work that had been done and how close to completion it was, so they changed their mind and decided to make an exception for this module."
It's more likely Atari's about face has a monetary incentive. Their financial woes have gotten so bad lately, some quick digital download revenue wouldn't be unwelcome. That might also explain Cormyr's $11.99 price tag -- the highest yet for a BioWare premium module. Still, this will also be the largest NWN adventure to date, and you can ride horses now. On second thought, maybe that's why Atari approved this release -- horse armor!
Don't forget to check out the excellent (and free) Darkness Over Daggerford module from Ossian Studios.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
harper @ Sep 15th 2006 11:53AM
Sweet! Price is a little steep, but BioWare has yet to disappoint. They'll probably have a sale for the holidays like they did last year and bundle the modules together for a reduced price.
FSK405K @ Sep 15th 2006 12:30PM
If Atari finally bites the big one, Bioware and NWN2 aren't hosed, are they?
obi-wan @ Sep 15th 2006 12:38PM
If Atari does go down, I would hope that BioWare/Pandemic would buy the rights to D&D. BioWare and Obsidian is where the franchise belongs.
Elemental Evil, Demon Stone, D&D Heroes, Dragonshard, and DDO have all underperformed. The only Atari D&D game to do well is the one BioWare made. Otherwise, Atari has been bad for the franchise.
Black Isle forever!
Scooby Doo @ Sep 15th 2006 12:44PM
I don't think a company like Bioware is going anywhere soon. I'm sure another publishing company would pick them up in a New York Minute.
I will be probably be purchasing this expansion pack this weekend, although I agree that 11.99 for an expansion pack seems a little high. I was disappointed with Infinite Dungeons, but Pirates of the Sword Coast was kinda fun. Still waiting with bated breath for NWN2, though.
Georg Zoeller @ Sep 15th 2006 2:13PM
Without judging the value of the cited horse armor, the comparision is unfair and evokes a wrong image of what you get for your $11.99 (certainly not a new texture and a defense buff...)
The Wyvern Crown of Cormyr is the most expansive premium module we have published so far, in fact, calling it a module is kind of an understatement:
It features 18-20 hours of singleplayer story, is made from nearly 100% unique, new art, adds horses, mounted combat, jousting, a new prestige class and a variety of other new features to the game and comes, uncompressed at a size of more than 700MB, coming close to the size of the official expansion packs to the game.
I think the $11.99 price point is entirely justified and people will find that they get plenty of value for their hard earned cash; A look at the credits for the module gives a good insight into the production cost.
Clearly the DLA team (http://www.dladaventures.com) deserves most of the kudos for this Premium module - they put countless manhours into this project and the result speaks for itself.
However, without approval from Atari and the other involved parties (Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast) this module would never have seen the light of day.
regards
Georg Zoeller
Senior Technical Designer
BioWare Edmonton
eugaet @ Sep 15th 2006 4:06PM
Correct URL is: http://www.dladventures.com/
Sintua @ Sep 23rd 2006 4:03AM
Georg Zoeller,
I believe the horse armor comment was meant only as a joke, not as an attack on the module.
If it was meant as an insult, it was more likely intended as a stab against Atari, due to their financial troubles.
Bioware is generally trusted as a company that produces quality, not cheap 'horse armor' level material.
On a side note, love your work.
~John G.