Got done with the intro, and on to the first chapter of Nihrim. As a total conversion project it's nice, with considerable time and talent going into it. As a game in it's own right though, it's rather underwhelming. The opening plot is rife with logical holes and melodrama. Exploration is nearly completely railroaded to the point of forcing you to a single track with invisible barriers, and the occasional forking path. The story is railroaded to the point that it forces you to sit back and not save people without any reason on two separate occasions, by freezing you in place. Level design is such that I was trapped in places they didn't anticipate players to get at least 4 times, which required rolling back to an earlier save. My initial torch ran out before I was even 1/3 through the first dungeon, which made it completely unplayable; the only solution was to bump the Gamma up like crazy just to be able to continue. The dungeon design as a whole was pretty poorly done, with clutter that made it visually busy, extensive dead-end passages with nothing interesting to see or find, and constant reminders of railroading. The challenges you're presented with have 1 solution, and don't allow for, or involve, any creative thinking at all; every solution was handed to you. The instant-death falls were another reminder of railroading, and were difficult to see (one was triggered by literally hopping 1/2 meter off the trail, and down onto a rock 5 cm below the ledge).
Given a brief break, I may be willing to give the rest of it a shot. I understand it's a beta, and also a fan project, but my standards when it comes to things like this tend to be rather high. I fully support the dev-team's efforts, but I'm not quite feeling it.
Deon, I'd highly recommend going through
Delte's List. I'll finish compiling a list of the mods I'm using later on, even with links if you'd like.