Dark Waters is set in a world on the edge of change, recovering from a war that flooded all but the highest peaks. The Gifted that once ruled with the power of their minds are long dead, leaving the ordinary folk to struggle to survive. Where once only science held reign, now magic and faith seep into the world, changing everyone they touch.
The story begins with a simple islander and their friends, coming of age in the shadow of an old mountain keep. When they find themselves trapped within, plans laid long ago are set in motion, memories of the past coming to life. They must find their way to freedom, though their journey will not leave them unscathed.
One thing I don't understand is how come there isn't any walkthrough to guide us during this game. Is it so damn difficult to make one? Obviously, I'm stuck. I had the dream and then I woke up, I realized I am Charles Xavier and I can read minds. I have absolutely NO IDEA what I am supposed to do next. Any advise? It's a shame I won't be able to enjoy this game.
Posted by GLWizard at 2012-08-20 11:52:14 Voted 9.00 on 08/20/12
After attempting to work my way through the first leg of Adam Miller's NWN2 contribution a couple of years ago, I finally finished the first installment of Dark Waters a couple of weeks ago. Color me impressed.
Dark Waters: Highcastle is, admittedly, far more linear than the typical D&D mod. I don't consider that a bad thing, though, especially for this first installment, as Adam has used this mod to provide the background for the adventure to come- and the world in which the players find themselves. (While I can see that repeating the prologue multiple times through several replays might grow tiresome, the mod does offer the option to skip said prologue.)
I've grown used to Adam providing a variety of different activities in his mods, set apart from the typical "kill the monsters" quests prevalent in most mods. DW1 doesn't disappoint in that regard. Players find themselves involved in activities as varied as playing hide-and-seek, fighting a war in the past, exploring one area while underwater, and (my personal favorite) attempting to pass exams in the disciplines of a long-ago civilization. (Those exams on the 4th floor were especially well done- and some of them really had me in stitches.)
As if they weren't enough, DW1 also saw the debut of Adam's SAGE system, which allows the player to enhance specially made items as he sees fit, using special gems found throughout the campaign. Honestly, I probably spent much more time than I needed to playing with my gems and socketed items, considering all of the possibilities.
I can't really think of anything about DW1 I didn't like, though I will admit there were times when I was hoping the mod would pick up (and I'm shocked to be saying this) its pace. Even so, given the fact that Adam was presenting an entirely new world in this first module, the pace he set forth here was probably about right. I will admit that while I did have trouble here and there in certain areas- the flooded area especially gave me fits- well, that's why I use walkthroughs. (Question: Apparently, while checking with my Game Options item at the end, I discovered that I had "completed zero goals" in DW1. I have no idea where I would have done this, or what activity this involves. Any ideas?)
So, overall... yeah, I'm going with a 9 for this one. Definitely a great start to the DW campaign.
Incidentally, I played through this campaign with a Chaotic Good Human Warlock. Along with a few Warlock invocation script overwrites, I also used the current version of Warlock Buddy. I've updated my game to version 1.23 (with SoZ and MotB installed). In DW1, at least, I had no problems using WB. _________________________ NWN: Shifter Expanded Classes hak, GLWizard Spell Pack
NWN2: GLWizard Spellpack with Extra Invocations
Posted by DavidtheGnome at 2010-08-16 12:29:03 Voted 5.00 on 08/16/10
This is clearly a very well made module. The areas are well designed, the basic premise is original, and there are voice-overs for every character, and plenty of custom content that gives this adventure a unique flavor (i.e., the pistols). Now some of you may be wondering how I could possibly give this a 5?
Unfortunately, I found this module to be extremely dull and lost my interest quickly. I don't mind puzzles / riddles in my rpgs as long as they are interesting, make me think, and give me a good aha! at the end. The puzzles in the first part were tedious and basically trial by error. Then at some point when I got to the school part I realized they weren't getting more interesting. The "psychology test" made little sense (and this is coming from a psych major). The riddles / puzzles felt like a chore and that's when I decided it wasn't worth continuing.
I do commend the author for putting in voice overs. It does add a lot to the personality of characters. However, quality of the voice overs was very inconsistent. Some of them are very good and are comparable to those in the OC. But other characters seemed to be reading their lines with no emotion or personality whatsoever... In those cases, it would've been better to have no voice.
*minor spoiler*
The premise of reincarnation while interesting and original, just wasn't executed very well. The character's past lives just didn't seem that interesting and sine I only just met the characters I wasn't even sure how their past life differed from their current one.
Sorry but this is a 5 at best "fair, solid, yet Unremarkable".
Hi , so during the dialogue with robert in level 5 the game gets buggy and i cant move or continue playing just after i finish talking with him .. any suggestions?
Posted by White Raven at 2010-02-15 15:17:53 Voted 10.00 on 02/15/10
Thank you for your hard work, this module was very fun to play for me :)
I don't think it deserves a 10 but I'm rating it 10 anyway to offset the people voting 1 for stupid reasons
Posted by Maleficus Sadi at 2009-09-30 18:25:51 Voted 3.50 on 09/30/09
I don't get what all the fuss about is with this module, I really don't. Admittedly the architecture of the actual game is pretty solid, but everything else I just couldn't get into or care less for. Plot was pretty slow and hard to get into (for me), so I just couldn't get into the module :/.
Although to be frank, it is sad that people are boosting the scores just because other people rate it low. Makes you wonder what the *actual* score would be without so much boosting...
Still having troubles with the safe combination. I've tried almost anything in there (and yes, I've founded the diary and used the password that comes in it), but nothing seens to work.
I've tried to pick the lock, but the script seens to be buged and the password box keeps poping-up... the only option left is to "Walk Away".
It's very frustrating to be stucked in something that "simple" in such an awesome module. Please, reply as fast as you can, so I can grab the damn map and move along.
Thanks.
Posted by Raleana at 2009-09-13 12:01:11 Voted 10.00 on 09/13/09
A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking
This is the greatest unofficial module I have ever played.
It incredibly sad when people rate modules based on what they think the overall score should be. The only way a rating system has merit is when you rate it with the rating you would give it.
If you look at the rating and decide you're going to rate it higher than you normally would because you think the rating it currently has is too low, you ruin the system.
I do not look at a rating to see what some random person I don't know thinks it should be rated and therefore tries to influence the system to make the overall rating match the rating you would give it.
Give it your rating, not a rating to try to make the overall rating try to match yours. Just because you may have liked a module does not give you the right to influence the vote of someone who did not like it.
Congratulations on making the rating system less accurate and less meaningful because of you own inflated sense of worth. Yes it's true, your vote counts more because it's your vote and you're the most important person in the world, right?
anyone know how to open that sercer door (wall) in 4th level ?
Posted by logandoug at 2009-07-29 16:51:17 Voted 9.00 on 07/29/09
I used the debug tool to jump myself to the end part with Robert, and the scene played correctly and I was able to wrap it up!
Once that was done, I upped my rating to a 9. An excellent module!
Posted by logandoug at 2009-07-29 08:24:10 Voted 9.00 on 07/29/09
I have been really enjoying this. I like the new textures, and the interesting world you have created. But now I have hit a wall...
SPOILER
After getting through the area with the power giving gems, I reach the room where "Robert is in the center of the room pacing..."
I have tried all of the options, but when it gets to "Move toward him" the game kind of freezes up. Robert didn't actually appear in the center of the room, but he talked to me.
Any ideas?
Posted by GhostNWN at 2009-07-20 06:21:20 Voted 9.50 on 07/20/09
Very well made module, a very different kind of play from other NWN2 mods out there and definitely recommended.
While initially the lack of choice was a bit disappointing and the dialogue options sometimes seemed awkward (would my character really say that, or how does he even know that?), it more than made up with quality, voiceacting, excellent scripting (some of which was broken by recent patches, but nothing one can't workaround) and flair.
If it were more polished and brought up to be fully compatible with the recent patches, it would be a solid 9.75. For now, it is 9.50.
Posted by ubernerd at 2009-07-05 00:41:20 Voted 1.00 on 07/05/09
Another boring interactive novel.
Posted by dvd7587 at 2009-07-04 13:44:12 Voted 9.75 on 07/04/09
wonderful plot, at least about now...
and really good realisation, even better than the original campaign in my humble opinion...
only one question: is there any trick to pass out the academy labs where you first encounter the power-giving gems and 2 lizards that 'seem to be willing to follow your lead' ? cause i am stuck there and i can't bash the spoiled wall to get to the trapdoor, nor recruit those lizards...
_________________________ davide
Posted by bjdnwn at 2009-06-24 04:24:40 Voted 10.00 on 06/24/09
Good: The story.
Very Good: Area and quest design, dialogue.
Execeptionally Good: Scripting, companion development.
Posted by ktalisin at 2009-06-13 08:37:19 Voted 9.75 on 06/13/09
I enjoyed this one ALOT. I gotta say that I'm a bit surprised at how well everything turned out with it. All and all pretty professional for someone working at home. Thanks for this one!
Posted by diophant at 2009-06-03 07:13:24 Voted 5.50 on 06/03/09
I must say I was somewhat disappointed, especially as I know Adams NWN1 modules. The scenario was nothing special (crawling in ancient ruins), although the flashbacks were nice. Fighting Slithers can be tiredsome if you do it all the time. Also the roleplaying part wasn't as good as expected, it mainly was about the friendship with your companions, but I had the impression that my actions have no influence on my alignment and vice versa. And the riddles, some were nice, but some were just a demonstration of what can be done with the engine but no fun to play (minutes of rolling the dice in the math test even with optimal strategy; what's the purpose of the arts exam?). The dialogues with partially recoreded voices were odd, I think no voice at all is better.
This all may sound harsh, but I won't say it was no fun at all. There were some really great scenes (especially intro and outro), the areas are well made, it's just nothing special. According to the voting standards, its somewhere between 5 and 6.
The good news is, I just started to play the second part (and already played Lute Hero as a preview of the third part), and there Adam returns to his great skills of storytelling and making unique things. The bad news: my main character is an addicted gambler and notorious smuggler ;-)
Posted by Azenn at 2009-05-27 14:35:47 Voted 10.00 on 05/27/09
This is one of my favorite modules for NWN 2.
I don't know if this module truly deserves a 10, but I'm voting it as such just to offset the douchebags who rated it a 1.
Really? 1?
Because it included firearms and a reference to God?
Posted by Libita at 2009-05-26 01:13:10 Voted 9.00 on 05/26/09
Good in almost every aspect, though I would have preferred a little more guidance in a few cases. With the fan, I didn't know what the numbers did and which setting I way even supposed to achieve with them. And try&error just doesn't work with 1000 possible combinations. A few other instances, I didn't know where to walk. And I would have preferred my choices (which are quite well chosen) to have a little more impact at times, especially when someone standing beside me is about to shoot someone else. And SPOILERS not checking a supposedly lifeless body for pulse END SPOILERS is ridiculous.
The ending made me cry. _________________________ One feels inclined to say that the idea that man should be "happy" is not included in the plan of "creation". - Sigmund Freud
Posted by Spidercat at 2009-05-21 15:59:23 Voted 8.00 on 05/21/09
I'm stuck after final battle and can't go on with part 2 : Edward disappeared so I can't talk to him and I can't get on the ship either. It's probably linked to the fact that I didn't have the conversation with Heather about not killing Edward (I got it afterwards while roaming around). I had hoped to just skip to DW2 but it just doesn't work that way. A really nice module, but I'm voting 8 because of this huge bug.
Posted by Spidercat at 2009-05-21 12:52:03 Voted 8.00 on 05/21/09
Currently playing and enjoying all the more for it reminds me of Babylon 5 psi wars. Ang getting to say "it's full of stars" was a nice little "Bab egg" =)
0_0 Never mind! Got it working. (I think) Thanks for all the help!! 8D _________________________ "Hold on, my train of thought hit a cow..." -Me
"Do you know what the Chain of Command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who is in ruttin' command around here!" -Jayne Cobb.
For Hentai User~
Thanks! But when I opened the NWN 2 folder, there are other folders in it. Do I need to place the files in a more specific folder, or will simply placing it in the NWN 2 folder do?
_________________________ "Hold on, my train of thought hit a cow..." -Me
"Do you know what the Chain of Command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who is in ruttin' command around here!" -Jayne Cobb.
Posted by Hentai User at 2009-05-11 00:05:07 Voted 9.50
For Branwenn_Wolf:
During the installation a NWN2 folder is created in "my documents" folder. This is where you must put the files.
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking 9 - Outstanding, a Must Have 8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone 7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation 5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable 4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements 3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized 2 - Very Little Appeal 1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
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