s3rialthrill3r: The reviews have me believing that EE is shit compared to Diamond. Is that still the case?
It's not shit compared to Diamond. It has quite a lot of improvements behind the scenes and I think a majority of the NWN community has switched to it as their go-to version. It might just not offer that much new to you depending on where you're coming from. If you only ever want to play the main campaigns in single player and you care a lot about graphics, it might not be worth it. There was an HD pack for part of the models, but it's a matter of taste and it does not update ALL the graphics. I think there are still bugs in official content too occasionally, but I'm not sure if they are new bugs or old ones.
However, for multiplayer or if you're interested in new community content or the enhanced premium modules, it's absolutely worth getting NWN EE, especially considering how cheap it gets during sales or that you can currently get a copy if you've subscribed to Amazon Prime. You can now easily see and connect to servers in-game again, and some also allow in-game downloads, so you don't need to install server files manually anymore. Upcoming community modules might be EE exclusive, including a free series of sequel to the OC by the author of Tyrants of the Moonsea:
https://www.lukescull.com/2021/07/14/announcing-the-blades-of-netheril-an-unofficial-sequel-to-the-neverwinter-nights-original-campaign/
Among other things, previous patches have unlocked more freedom for module and mod authors concerning new UI elements, e.g. someone has experimented with that and created
a mod for a quickcast menu like NWN2 has. I think the EE also made mods for better control of henchmen and summons possible, like telling them exactly where to go. And the newest patch introduced visible targeting for spells, so you can see the radius of e.g. where your fireball will hit and don't have to guess anymore. Module authors can also allow multiclassing with up to 8 classes now, although I'm not sure that's a good idea. But the EE offers a lot more options for module authors in general now and future custom content might take advantage of it.
Personally, as a player, I like the option to keep both, Diamond and EE, as occasionally some old modules can have issues with the EE here and there. But tbh, since using the EE, I've hardly ever started Diamond anymore. Most old modules work perfectly fine.
Beamdog is officially done with NWN EE at this point, but the game still gets updates by a group of community members and Beamdog employees working on it in their free time, without payment.
