Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter is a new free-to-play MMORPG from Cryptic Studios,
developer of Star Trek Online and City of Heroes. Featuring solo, co-op and
competitive player-versus-player content, Neverwinter should appeal to all gamers
looking for a new, high-quality experience.
Like its cousin Daggerdale, Neverwinter is based on the 4th edition Dungeons &
Dragons rule set, though here the gameplay is deeper and more satisfying, with fun
and fluid fighting, and well-designed mechanics, including dodging, targeting, and
resource management.
Cryptic Engine: Smooth & Sleek
Using an improved version of Star Trek Online’s Cryptic Engine, Neverwinter looks
better than previous Cryptic titles, and runs faster to boot. It even includes a
work-in-progress DirectX 11 renderer that promises to improve performance, and will
open the door to new, more advanced visual effects that will help extend the game’s
graphical charm.
High-end users will have no trouble maxing out SSAO, shader quality, and the many
other options available, but if you’re not in that camp our performance comparisons,
benchmarks and screenshots will help you optimize your Neverwinter so that it looks
as good as possible on your system.
Before we get into the game’s nuts and bolts, be sure to go over the system
requirements detailed below (recommended requirements are in brackets):
Processor: Dual-core 2.0GHz CPU or better (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz CPU equivalent or
better)
Memory: 1 GB RAM (2 GB RAM or more)
Video card: Shader Model 2.0 or higher, GeForce 6800, 128MB+ VRAM (GeForce 8800 or
higher, 512MB+ VRAM)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound chip or onboard audio capability with the
latest sound drivers
OS: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP 2, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (Windows 7)
Internet: Broadband internet connection required