Beamdog's remastered version of Neverwinter Nights was released in 2018, bringing graphical improvements like pixel shaders and post-processing effects to BioWare's other Dungeons & Dragons RPG. (The enhanced edition also restored its multiplayer server list.) Characters still had the same blocky, polygonal heads they had in the 2002 original, however. That's changed with the HD Models & Textures Pack, which unpacks to 4.1GB of better-looking characters, as well as weapons, armor, and shields.
Beamdog notes that "using remade models on lower-end machines can lead to potential problems with the game performance" and so the upgraded models and textures are optional. You can download them directly from Beamdog, and one enterprising player has already uploaded them to the Steam Workshop, where you can also find content like the player-made modules that Neverwinter Nights was famous for.
The enduring popularity of Neverwinter Nights is another reminder of how Dungeons & Dragons shaped every corner of PC gaming. If a shinier, newer D&D RPG is what you're interested in, development of Baldur's Gate 3 continues apace, with the latest update adding the sorcerer as a playable class and a new region called Grymforge.
- 23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the 'unpaid software engineers' of its unkillable community
- 23-year-old Dungeons & Dragons RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new, official expansion that continues its original story in a 'love letter' to the game and its community
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