BTW, I agree with some of the earlier posts in the thread regarding the business reasons another NWN (in the way that we mean it) is so far away from happening. Among the things that make NWN great is that it, in addition to all of the great player-made SP modules, it allows for true MP persistent worlds, and both with modules that were largely built using a toolset that is well within the usability grasp of a very significant fraction of players/enthusiasts. The development and support of a toolset like that can be a huge endeavor, particularly if one throws in a goal of supporting updated graphics and art assets. So, some company has to look at that and decide that they can make money doing it. That's the issue.
And, yes, they would have to release their own campaign along with the toolset. But, really, that's not the bottleneck. The module released with the game doesn't have to be earth-shaking to make this work, particularly if building one's own world is promoted as the real draw.
And, yes, I know (and agree) that the IP issues are their own stumbling block. But, I can almost guarantee that, if someone figured out a way to make money building the next version of NWN, then it will not be the case that all that stands in the way of doing it are IP holders who weren't willing to sign off, even though they were being fairly compensated.
IMO, the reality is that we are asking for a game where we create worlds and invite other players to play in them in SP and MP modules, and we don't charge them and their only monetary investment is the initial cost of the game. I think a lot of companies will look at that and say, "Um, so where is the part where we make the money back we spent on creating this toolset and an engine that flexibly supports online play on non-monetized third-party servers?" I am not saying there isn't a way. I am saying that, I suspect that the real reason we haven't (and perhaps won't) see a new NWN is because no one has found that way and convinced people of the business case for it.
