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Just Finished BG for the First Time

Heya all,

Just finished Baldur's Gate for the first time (I played it when I was young but never did a whole lot with it) and I wanted to share some thoughts with you guys, and see how your experiences stack up.

First, the world was absolutely fantastic (for the time period). Everything felt very open and the npc's were engaging, and a good vein of humor ran through the entire experience. This part of the game really shone for me, and it's the reason I played all the way through.

The combat has been talked about to death, but personally I really liked it. I'm a fan of games like Frozen Synapse, Civilization, and Final Fantasy that encourage taking your time and coming up with clever tactics.

I have to say my one big disappointment was the actual main storyline. It may just be how I happened to go through the game, but for me it felt very understated. I understand the appeal of having a primary storyline that *doesn't* shove itself in your face all the time, but I often felt that much of CHARNAME's personal story was overshadowed by even small events and sidequests. Near the end especially I found myself slightly confused- I knew that I was Bhaalspawn (from a forum post, actually) but I'm not sure if I even would have picked it up until the very end if I hadn't known in advance. I felt that the final cutscene, particularly, was a little foggy. Maybe I just need to play through BG2 to understand it, but it was almost Mass Effect 3-ish for me. Obviously Sarevok dies, but I've no idea what happened after that.

Also, my game crashed after killing Sarevok for the first time which was a huge letdown. I was actually doing pretty badly- Minsc had gone berserk and was right in the middle of all the AoE, and most of the rest of my party were scrambling for their lives and throwing the occasional ranged attack out while trying to stay safe. Then, out of nowhere, a minute or two in Sarevok died and I release Minsc had just blown him to gibblets while berserk while somehow managing not to get hit by any crowd control. Then the game crashed... The next time I beat him was much less interesting and I finished with a party member dead which was disappointing for me.

Over all, it was a really fantastic experience and I truly hope all of this gets worked out so we can see BG2:EE. I'm loath to start playing BG2 before the EE, as I feel it would be a much more smooth transition that way. So cheers to all, best of luck to the dev team, and if you stuck around through this wall of text feel free to post your first Sarevok kill story and how you feel about the game!

Comments

  • mch202mch202 Member Posts: 1,455
    edited July 2013
    Many already know that you are a bhaalspawn when they first play it because of bg2, which is pretty much destroying the main storyline(which is about discovering you are a bhaalspawn obviously..) , i think that dicovering who you are without knowing it in advance is an overwhrlming feeling , but i guess it isn't year 2000 anymore..
  • seawiedseawied Member Posts: 24
    There are hints throughout the game that point to CHARNAME being a bhaalspawn. The biggest hint is in the opening cinematic, where Sarevok kills another Bhaalspawn, who mentions "there are others, I can help you find them!"

    Then you start off with Gorion urgently getting you out of candlekeep, right before he is slaughtered by the same armored figure? Pretty big hint.

    I like the way the storyline didn't assume players were stupid, and only let subtle hints throughout the game. How many games have started out with "An old prophecy told of a hero that would _____." When a game does that, is there really any question on who you play as?
  • KaltzorKaltzor Member Posts: 1,050
    Well, While it is Throne of Bhaal stuff, the whole bhaalspawn prophecy has multiple meanings... And I don't think a son of the god of murder is a "hero" so much...

    But regardless, my game did crash too when I beat Sarevok for the first time, I then decided to not take that, and did the fight again but kept the party alive with cheats and just had everyone attack Sarevok...

    I played BG2 before BG1, I knew the whole Bhaalspawn thing going into the game, and it turns out the reveal was kind of... Underwhelming in my opinion, you read about it in Sarevok's journal(s)... And the NPCs don't even react to it.

    But the rest of the game was still nice, as the BG2 just mentioned two things from the story, that you're a son of bhaal and that Sarevok at the end is killed by your party.
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  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited July 2013
    seawied said:

    There are hints throughout the game that point to CHARNAME being a bhaalspawn. The biggest hint is in the opening cinematic, where Sarevok kills another Bhaalspawn, who mentions "There are others...I can show you. Please, please!"

    Corrected :p (the original movie has two pleases, the BGEE one has only one probably due to efforts at saving time when squeezing the line in post-release).
  • zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
    my first time playing i didn't even know what i was doing and that there was a story i just killed things ;P
    final battle in bg1 was pretty easy with hoarding of wands of monster summoning with 30 monsters they die pretty easily
  • rathlordrathlord Member Posts: 171
    zur312 said:

    my first time playing i didn't even know what i was doing and that there was a story i just killed things ;P
    final battle in bg1 was pretty easy with hoarding of wands of monster summoning with 30 monsters they die pretty easily

    "You may only control 5 summons." Is that only in EE?

    Anyways, like I said above, I respect that the plot isn't in your face. I liked that it was very much a 'coming of age' tale and that you start off doing simple things, but I felt that it escalated a bit too quickly at the end and then came to a halt a bit too fast.

    Overall though, a fantastic experience and one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. It drew me in so much- I did everything I could find to do in the game, completed every quest, explored every area (that I could find, at least).
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  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Bg sure has its own charm. If you enjoyed npcs, and environments, you should play bg2. It really expanses npc personalities to a degree never seen before for its time. And the places you visit are too many and legendary. Bg2 loses some of the charming humour of the bg1, but it expands the gameplay on so many levels it is a must to play. It's a joy to play your character from the humble beginnings from Candlekeep all the way up to the Throne of Bhaal.
    [Deleted User]
  • zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
    rathlord said:

    zur312 said:

    my first time playing i didn't even know what i was doing and that there was a story i just killed things ;P
    final battle in bg1 was pretty easy with hoarding of wands of monster summoning with 30 monsters they die pretty easily

    "You may only control 5 summons." Is that only in EE?
    only 5 summons was added to bg2
  • Montresor_SPMontresor_SP Member Posts: 2,208
    zur312 said:

    rathlord said:

    zur312 said:

    my first time playing i didn't even know what i was doing and that there was a story i just killed things ;P
    final battle in bg1 was pretty easy with hoarding of wands of monster summoning with 30 monsters they die pretty easily

    "You may only control 5 summons." Is that only in EE?
    only 5 summons was added to bg2
    Yes, but BG:EE uses the BG2 engine so the 5 summons limit is also active in BG:EE.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Actually I am playing BG 2 straight after BG EE, and let me assure you there are no problems with transition. In fact there'd be a bigger difference between BG Vanilla and BG 2 compared to BG EE to BG2, since EE uses the BG 2 game engine, so I am already familiar with the interface. And of course the Enhanced Edition didn't mess with the plot, so everything still fits together well.
    atcDave
  • rathlordrathlord Member Posts: 171

    Actually I am playing BG 2 straight after BG EE, and let me assure you there are no problems with transition. In fact there'd be a bigger difference between BG Vanilla and BG 2 compared to BG EE to BG2, since EE uses the BG 2 game engine, so I am already familiar with the interface. And of course the Enhanced Edition didn't mess with the plot, so everything still fits together well.

    I was aware of this, but still unsure. I like the updated features and the bugfixes, so I'm stuck waffling on whether to shell out the $ 10 to GOG or not. I'd much rather wait and support Overhaul if/when they get it out. I have a feeling if I go ahead and buy it I'll play it for a month or two then get burned out and not buy the new EE.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    rathlord said:

    Actually I am playing BG 2 straight after BG EE, and let me assure you there are no problems with transition. In fact there'd be a bigger difference between BG Vanilla and BG 2 compared to BG EE to BG2, since EE uses the BG 2 game engine, so I am already familiar with the interface. And of course the Enhanced Edition didn't mess with the plot, so everything still fits together well.

    I was aware of this, but still unsure. I like the updated features and the bugfixes, so I'm stuck waffling on whether to shell out the $ 10 to GOG or not. I'd much rather wait and support Overhaul if/when they get it out. I have a feeling if I go ahead and buy it I'll play it for a month or two then get burned out and not buy the new EE.
    Well the way I see it. I have no idea when the legal issues will be sorted. It might be months, it might be years. BG 2 was very highly rated when it was released, and I expect most bugs to have been patched already in the GOG version. And indeed so far I have encountered no bugs in about 5-10 hrs of gameplay. A new EE edition for BG 2 may well introduce new bugs as much as solve any old ones.

    BG 2 will probably just introduce some new NPCs and new quests, like Neera and Dorn in BG EE, but BG 2 is already huge, and for my first playthrough, I don't wanna do anything crazy anyway (like play an evil party or use 'exotic NPCs'.

    Oh, when I bought BG 2 Complete from GOG, it was $5.


  • WispWisp Member Posts: 1,102

    BG 2 was very highly rated when it was released, and I expect most bugs to have been patched already in the GOG version. And indeed so far I have encountered no bugs in about 5-10 hrs of gameplay. A new EE edition for BG 2 may well introduce new bugs as much as solve any old ones.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure you need to install third-party bugfix mods (viz. the G3 Fixpack) yourself.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,146
    Wisp said:

    BG 2 was very highly rated when it was released, and I expect most bugs to have been patched already in the GOG version. And indeed so far I have encountered no bugs in about 5-10 hrs of gameplay. A new EE edition for BG 2 may well introduce new bugs as much as solve any old ones.

    Actually, I'm pretty sure you need to install third-party bugfix mods (viz. the G3 Fixpack) yourself.
    You don't really "need" to do anything. The game will run fine as is. Fixpack is a nice mod, but its a fairly recent addition (2002 maybe?) and many of us finished the game easily long before it was available.
  • WispWisp Member Posts: 1,102
    atcDave said:


    and many of us finished the game easily long before it was available.

    Pardon, but that's a non sequitur.

    Sure, you're perfectly free to not install the Fixpack, but your game is objectively buggier without it. If that doesn't bother you then great. Maybe Heindrich wants to play the game without any mods at least once, but he should be aware that gog does not sell it in a fixed state.
  • francofranco Member Posts: 507
    edited July 2013
    @Heindrich 1988 said
    "Oh, when I bought BG 2 Complete from GOG, it was $5."


    My experience is twice when I bought a game from GOG my computer was suddenly bothered by incessant pop ups for advertising that were very annoying. I've got the old boxed BG2, and I will wait for BG2EE hopefully.

    [Deleted User]
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited July 2013
    I've never had any popup problems with Gog. I own a fair number of games from them (over 30 anyways) and this is the first time I've heard of anything like that.
  • Montresor_SPMontresor_SP Member Posts: 2,208
    GOG sends me an email about once a week to announce which games are on sale during the weekend. I can live with that, and I have the option to unsubscribe (though I haven't checked if they respect that - I expect they would). I never had trouble with popups or malware from their site.
    elminster
  • rathlordrathlord Member Posts: 171
    I've great respect for GOG, but I think I'll wait and see if anything comes along for the EE. My main worry is that I'll be bored with the game by the time the EE is out if I buy it now, but I'd rather play the EE for a more coherent and bug-free experience. I think that any way you look at it an EE would be at least slightly better than the original (and possibly even with 3rd party bugfixes) so I'd rather experience it that way.

    Slightly illogical? Maybe. I think it's what I'm gonna do, though.
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