无冬之夜
Neverwinter Nights

BioWare, 2002
Windows, Mac 和 Linux

BioWare, 2002
Windows, Mac and Linux

BioWare 因制作了《博德之门(Baldur’s Gate)》和《博德之门 2(Baldur’s Gate II)》而声名大噪,这两款游戏被视为传统桌游电子游戏化的最佳案例。

《无冬之夜(Neverwinter Nights)》亮相时自然受到了广泛关注,而且它还是这段时间里又一个基于《龙与地下城》第三版规则的幻想 RPG[1] 。大多数人以为这是大名鼎鼎的《博德之门》续作,但是当游戏发售后,人们很快发现这游戏并没有这么单纯。

主流观点认为《无冬之夜》是 BioWare 迄今为止最杰出的作品,因为它在保留 D&D 精髓的同时简化游戏操作,降低了上手门槛。另一方面,RPG 游戏社群中很大一部分人认为这就是个粪作,全身上下找不出一个优点,都不配给 BioWare 之前的作品提鞋。要想解释这两种极端观点的冲突,我们必须得从旁观者的角度出发。

“团队”是大多数桌面 RPG 的核心内容,通常每一位玩家只能扮演一个角色,而 DM[2] 控制每个场景所必须的其它角色。

BioWare carved its name in history with the creation of Baldur's Gate I and II, which are frequently brought up as the best of examples of transitioning RPGs from tabletops to computers.

Naturally, this lead to a great deal of expectations when Neverwinter Nights was announced, especially since it was another fantasy RPG, based on the 3rd edition of D&D this time around. Most people assumed it would be the successor to the venerable Baldur's Gate, but when the game launched it quickly became apparent things weren't so simple.

The mainstream saw it as BioWare's greatest achievement to date, streamlining gameplay for accessibility while retaining what makes D&D great. On the other hand, a large part of the RPG community found it to be a dumbed-down sham which didn't only fail as a successor to BioWare's previous works but was a terrible game all around. To understand these two perspectives a step back is required.

Parties are a core aspect of most tabletop RPGs. Usually each player controls a single character, with the exception of the Dungeon Master who controls as many as needed for each scenario.

Beamdog(由包括 Trent Oster 在内的 BioWare 前成员组成的加拿大工作室)在 2018 年推出了《无冬之夜:加强版(Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition)》,增强了画面表现力和兼容性,并承诺会持续更新。

Beamdog released the Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition in 2018, adding improved graphics, better compatibility with modern PCs and promises of constant updates over time.

游戏使用第三版 D&D 规则,可体验多种职业、种族、魔法、武器、装备和道具。

The game uses the 3rd edition D&D ruleset and offers an extensive range of races, classes, spells, weapons, armour and items for players to experiment with.

由于大多 CRPG 只支持单人游玩,要想还原桌游的组队乐趣,就得让玩家控制多个角色去体验开发者制作的游戏内容,此时可以将“开发者”看成一个无法变通的 DM。

虽有例外,但大多数 CRPG 都是这种模式,西式 RPG 尤其明显。《博德之门》系列就是此类游戏的代表,但《无冬之夜》不一样。

在《无冬之夜》中,玩家只控制一个角色。战斗仍然采用了类似《博德之门》的可暂停即时制,但限制携带一名队友(拓展包[3] 中可携带两名)且只能下达大概指令——比起直接控制,这更像是战斗中喊出一个行动意图。

这些颇具争议的改动反映了制作组的野心:通过创造一个聚焦于多人游玩的 RPG 引擎,力图在 CPRG 里还原传统桌游体验。

该项目的核心理念是:如果玩家创建的角色可以登陆到网络,加入一个多人模组(Module)[4] ,与遇到的其它玩家组队,并由真人充当 DM 引导游戏进行,这不就是最真实的电子化桌游体验吗?

为了实现这个目标,游戏编辑工具没必要功能全面,但必须得简单好用。任何人都能开始一局游戏,即时编辑内容,甚至是创造一个全新的世界。

这催生了一款因拓展性极强而震惊四座的奥罗拉(Aurora)[5] 引擎。玩家既可以和几个好友联机,也可以创造一个“永久的世界”——最多可容纳 96 名玩家,一个可定制化的微型 MMO(Massively Multiplayer Online Game)[6] 。同时,奥罗拉工具箱(Aurora Toolset)允许玩家创造专属的游戏冒险。这么多年来,由玩家制作的 mod 数量(和质量)足以证明引擎的优秀之处。

Since the majority of CRPGs are single-player experiences, they solved this by placing the player in charge of multiple characters at once. He/she is all heroes at once, controlling them as they go through the content made by the developers – which could be considered an inflexible Dungeon Master.

Not every CRPG is like this but most are, especially in the West. Baldur's Gate falls squarely in this category. Neverwinter Nights does not.

In NWN the player only controls a single character. Combat is still real-time-with-pause, just like in Baldur's Gate, but companions are restricted to one at a time (two with the expansions) and can only be given general orders, which is more akin to shouting directions than taking direct control.

The reason for this controversial change was the ambition to emulate the true pen-and-paper experience by creating of a multiplayer-focused RPG engine.

The project was built around the idea that the player would make a character and go online, joining a module where other players would meet and form a party, while a human Dungeon Master controlled their adventures. It was meant to be a 1:1 conversion of physical role-playing games into digital form.

To make this possible, the tools not only had to be powerful, but also simple to use. Anyone should be capable of running a campaign, editing the content on-the-fly and even creating entirely new campaigns.

This lead to an incredible engine with amazing modding capability. Players could play with a handful of friends online, but also create “permanent worlds” – customisable micro-MMOs with up to 96 players. Meanwhile, the Aurora Toolset allowed anyone to create their own adventures, something which can be attested by the absolutely stunning amount (and quality) of mods that were made over the years.

__________

1 译者注:《无冬之夜》与同年的《冰风谷 2》(Icewind Dale II)都属于第一次批采用三版 D&D 规则的 RPG 游戏。
2 译者注:地下城主(Dungeon Master),D&D 的主持人,引导整个桌上角色扮演游戏(TRPG)的进行。
3 译者注:expansion,游戏发售后的补充内容,在原有基础上增加一些新内容,通常会额外收费。
4 译者注:与mod(modification)有细微的差别,通常指代遵循原本游戏调性的扩展内容(比如官方制作的 modules),在 TRPG 中约等于一个剧本。mod(modification)意为修改,是电子游戏的一种修改或增强程序,可以对道具、武器、角色、敌人、事物、模式、故事情节等做出修改,或加入新的道具和事物。
5 译者注:奥罗拉(Aurora),传说中古希腊的曙光女神。
6 译者注:即大型多人在线游戏,一般指可供大量玩家(1000 人左右)同时在线的游戏。

GameDB 相关游戏: 无冬之夜

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