Unfortunately the title will be delayed due to this new drastic structure change, despite the fact that D&D fans are likely over the moon for the change from Co-op to MMO.

The new title will use the 4th Edition D&D rule set, which do lend themselves well to action settings such as those seen in MMO's (e.g. Baldur's Gate).

Neverwinter is being built with a modified version of the same engine used for Cryptic's two most recent MMORPGs -- Star Trek Online and Champions Online.

Combat will be controlled by mouse clicks, and where pattern recognition and reflexes are the keys to successfully murdering hordes of monsters according to Cryptic.

Neverwinter will be one of a very small number of games designed for the Western market to be free-to-play from its very inception. This is probably going to have and an effect on levelling curves, character designs, questing, skills and, well, virtually every aspect of the game. 

Cryptic has decided to make every content pack for Neverwinter totally free as well, via some kind of windows download.

Not all content will be free, though. The developer will be charging money for consumables (special potions, temporary items to increase experience gains, etc…) vanity pets and cosmetic items.

Unlike the current trend of ex-subscription-based MMOs that lock out portions of their content to free players, Cryptic plans to avoid making any content premium-only in Neverwinter. 

Content specifics such as which classes will be playable aren't being talked about at this point, though there is plenty of time to hear about them before Neverwinter launches.

Via [IGN]

So, no new Neverwinter until the end of 2012, with hopefully a beta test of some kind throughout the earlier parts of the year!

Any thoughts on the switch?

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