I finally got around to installing Neverwinter Nights 2 the other day. It amazes me how despite the advances computing technology makes, there are always programmers out there who can find ways to use up every erg of available power. Now, I don’t have a particularly weak machine. (It’s not a beast, but it’s no 90-lb weakling, either.) Athlon 64 3200+, GeForce 7600 GS, 2 GB or RAM. Still ain’t too bad; I have no problems with Oblivion in 1024×768 mode. Yet, even when I dial it down, NN2 is really, really choppy and is definitely trying my patience. Nothing kills a buzz like a poor frame rate.
Now, I know that it’s relatively easier to develop for a console. After all, you have fewer variables: the speed, makes and models of the components are known, the amount of memory is known — everything’s already set. Still, you’d think that with all of these years of practice that people would find a better way to develop some smarter software, stuff that can better adapt to differing hardware. It’s like the hardware companies are secretly (or maybe not so secretly?) urging developers on, saying, “Hey, make something that shows that guy that that hardware he bought a couple of months ago is about to go the way of the dodo.” (And no, I’m not gonna head off on another marketing rant. :-P)
I’ll see if I can rack up some quality time with this game soon, but at the moment, I’m not optimistic.