Anyone know what kind of PC it'll required in order to play NWN2. I sure hope that my pc'll run it smoothly without too much problem. Meh.

[ November 22, 2005, 15:04: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

I believe they've only annouced the graphic requirements so far. Can't remember what they are off the top of my head - will look them up for you!
[Edited again] Just realised I've already posted them else where... Can't be of much more help than that,sorry! I don't believe much more has been annouced, nor will be annouced, until closer to the date.

[Edit] Here they are!
A post by Brian D. Lawson, a graphics programmer working on NWN 2 (found here (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=450706&forum=99&sp=15) 7th post down)

Okay okay!!

Here's the "official" deal.

Yes the game requires DX9.0c to be installed. It also requires a game that supports shader model 2.0 in hardware.

No 2.0...no run. It's as simple as that.

With that being said, ATI cards run the game just fine. ATI drivers do have some issues supporting certain components of DX9.0. While that is technically "their" problem...it's really "our" problem as developers. The burden is on us to find work arounds for those features that are not supported on ANY card...even when they are technically "supposed" to be.

With THAT being said, at the moment the game looks identical on all hardware that we run on and that includes various ATI Radeon cards (mostly 9800s and some X800s) and a variety of NVidia cards (5900s up to 7800s).

However, performance is another issue. While you can technically run the game with all of the optional graphics features turned on and maxed out, on some of the lower end 2.0 cards (9800s, 5900s) performance will degrade...as expected. But that's why they are "options".

So, for all the ATI peeps out there, rest assured that the game will run just fine on those cards. Note the bolded part. If your video card does not support Pixel Shader 2.0, you will not be able to run NWN2.

The cards that do support it are anything above a GeForce FX 5200 and for ATi, anything above a Radeon 9600. The good news is that both those bottom end cards are very hard to pick up, and not worth it considering how cheap GeForce FX 6600's are, which fully support 2.0.

So if your card doesnt currently support Pixel Shader 2.0, your gonna have to upgrade at least your video card to play NWN2

[ November 17, 2005, 23:35: Message edited by: Rotku ]

That sucks quite a bit for ATI users, I think.

Yes, but I *think* my ATI card will hold up to the demand, maybe not at full power but still.

Yeah, it's not about power as much as about simply having hardware Pixel Shading 2.0. The problem is, Radeon 9600 wields at least 150% of the power of GeForce 5200. The older Radeon 9500 is actually even more efficient but it still doesn't have PS2, not to mention the GeForce Titanium cards, some of which are faster than the lower end of the GeForce 6 series.

Well, I'm one of those Titanium card owners, and if I need to change it for just this game, I won't, and hence they won't be getting the money I'd otherwise spend on this game. The reason is quite simple : it is a waste of money to buy an AGP card now. This means that in order to buy a new vid card, I'd have to change my motherboard too. This is not something to do lightly (because it basically means you need to almost buy an entire new computer, except for the scavenging of some usefull pieces). Especially if what chev says holds true, meaning I'd have to spend alot of money to get the higher end cards so as to not loose power when switching (mine is a Ti4800SE). This is rather expensive for one game, and as such, either other games need to require the switch, or the game must be really so great I just can't withhold myself from buying it (which is rather hard, seeing the reduced time I have to game since working and the pile of unfinished games I own)

Yeah, it's not about power as much as about simply having hardware Pixel Shading 2.0. The problem is, Radeon 9600 wields at least 150% of the power of GeForce 5200. The older Radeon 9500 is actually even more efficient but it still doesn't have PS2, not to mention the GeForce Titanium cards, some of which are faster than the lower end of the GeForce 6 series. I have a RX9550 SE-TDI128 with 128 mo RAM. And on the box it says I have Pixel shader 2.0

D'you think it'll be enough?

Yes, but the nVidia 4000 series cards don't even support DX9. They are way behind the curve...a year from now they will be fossils.

it is a waste of money to buy an AGP card now AGP cards are going fast. Even the nVidia 6800 has been discontinued in AGP. But that card is already over a year old anyway. I just moved from a 5900 to a 6800 (AGP), since like Meatdog I had no desire to replace my mainboard. The difference between the 5900 and 6800 is quite stunning, especially running the HL2 Source engine.

BTW, the nVidia 6600GT blows both the ATI 9600 and the 9500 into the weeds.

[ November 24, 2005, 09:34: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]

when you only have an agp slot i would suggest to pick a good card up soon. it is a matter of time before the cards are only pci express. if you do not want to change your board that is.

I have an older board with an old card, so i made a in between jump in hardware and that is costly. I had a ti 4200 and now 9800 pro 128mb/256bit. No need to tell you that is was noticable. now I am safe for an other year or so.

so when the medium cards can take it with some minor extra's off: nice Rpg is gameplay and not graphics.

but how about processor speed? the card is one thing but can it run on an older p4's like many rpg players have?

i am stuck with 5200 fx ....still i thin the game will run

Doubtful.

Back in November it appeared that AGP cards were as good as dead. Now, after huge demand from the market, it seems there are just as many new AGP cards as there are PCI Express. AND the AGP cards offer some interesting configurations based on the 6800/7800 chipsets offered by nVidia. But that's only half the story.

To make things even more interesting the new Elder Scrolls game seems to be as much CPU intensive as it is for the GPU. One can purchase that new 7900GTX only to discover that it is CPU bound and only running as fast as the processor can fill it with data. So now it appears that the situation is even more muddled for the newer generation of games. It seems gamers will be faced with a total system upgrade to get the most out of the new generation of RPGs, including NWN2. Dual core processors and SLI graphics are just about a necessity if settings are anything close to the max, short of the new hardware which should be available later this year.

Question: I run a laptop with a Mobility Radeon 9800, which has performance comparable to a desktop Radeon 9600. Its got 256 MB of VRAM though. I can play Oblivion at half-decent graphics.

What I do not know however, is if Mobility versions of 9800 cards have PS2.0...do they? Will I be able to play NWN2 on my laptop? I better be able to...I can't upgrade to a new PC for a year minimum... :(

I have a Radeon 9800 on my desktop. I hope it'll be enough. I don't plan on upgrading my pc just to play a game...AGAIN!

Oh, but you know you will be enticed to do just that... AGAIN :lol:

I think my WILL save will be higher this time. I find myself playing on the pc less and less as years go by. SHocking? Yes. But I'm making a play at being a grown up. ;)

Although, I'm always up for hanging out with the pincushion in Faerun...So let me know, BTA.