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(Spoilers) Dialogs: What they couldn't enhance.

marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
When I first heard that Overhaul couldn't change the game dialog, my heart sank just a little. To me, despite the writing goodness of a good deal of the Baldur's Gate series, both games always appeared to me schizophrenic when it came to their dialog. Very little consistency in writing and style that would even allow words like "cool" and "moron" to make it to the vocabulary of the protagonist and NPCs alike.

This is a thread, if you so wish, to post those bits of dialog you would love to see a firm editor's pen on, but which will never happen outside the mod community.

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PS: Thanks @belgarathmth for the instructions on how to post an image.
Post edited by marfig on

Comments

  • ChowChow Member Posts: 1,192
    Why would you want to change that? It's the single best line in the series.
  • marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
    Why is it the single best line? Because it's funny?
  • ChowChow Member Posts: 1,192
    marfig said:

    Why is it the single best line? Because it's funny?

    It's just the sort of humor I like, and it manages to summarize pretty much the entire series. And I was never bothered by people talking like they lived in the present day.
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    < img src=http:www.yourimagelink.com >, except, without the spaces before and after the "< >". Remove any "IMG" tags from before and after the link.
  • ShinShin Member Posts: 2,344
    I'd like pretty much all the werewolf island dialogue rewritten. Not because of anachronisms, it's just poor and feels hasted.

    As for the occasional wacky dialogue option like the one linked, the tarrasque one or dinkamus littlelog etc, those are just fun, parts of the game really.
  • marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
    edited December 2012
    I do appreciate the humor in the game. It's well placed on many occasions and smart. But that... what's worse about it is that this encounter happens fairly early in the game for all except the most unconventional players. Elminster (that useless old bag) has only spoken to me once, if memory serves me right. The whole line feels completely out of sync with the adventure that is just unfolding. A true suspension of disbelief killer that would have nonetheless worked wonders if it had been placed way farther in the game... Baldur's Gate for instance.

    I'm also biased against what I feel is saucy humor. On this case, a long rant purposely constructed to call for a laugh, not because its smart but because its irreverent.
  • StraylightStraylight Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2012
    This particular dialog-option always appeared to be out of synch for me aswell...but on purpose not because of bad writing. Like an easteregg.
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    You might want to spoiler-tag the thread.

    I dislike how a lot of the dialogue often has you be a completely humble goody-goody or a total douche. There isn't much middle ground a lot of the time. Take for instance a conversation with that named farmer lady in southwest Nashkel. She says something about how hard things are and what bad times we live in, etc.

    To this you can either respond something along the lines of "Oh my, but whatever could be wrong in this beautiful pastoral setting?"... which on top of being incredibly cheesy is a really stupid question, unless you're being sarcastic. At this point you must at the very least know about the iron crisis and Nashkel mine having trouble. Quite likely you have also been approached by that guardsman telling you about Brage.

    The other option is something like "Hey, it can't be that much worse down in the mines than up here on your filthy dirt farm."

    Why is there no 3rd option where you can just ask "What in particular is it that troubles you?" or something like that? Nah, you have to come across either as ignorant or douchey. There are lot of those scattered throughout the game.
  • NukeninNukenin Member Posts: 327
    The "offending" line of dialogue in the original post is entirely apropos and fitting for many an incarnation of CHARNAME.

    That it resonates with the player as well is just a happy circumstance. Or not, I suppose.

    I do agree that the response trees for many dialogues would've benefited from accommodating a more reasonable breadth of approaches to accommodate different player and/or roleplaying styles.

    It is unfortunate that sometimes you realize the best response is to not engage the particular NPC in conversation at all if you can help it.
  • marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
    Nukenin said:

    The "offending" line of dialogue in the original post is entirely apropos and fitting for many an incarnation of CHARNAME.

    Eh? How so? Note that I don't want to enter into an argument, just a friendly debate on what makes you say that.

    I find that one of the most inappropriate lines in the entire game. My argument isn't even about what I perceive is bad humor, but the fact it is completely misplaced in time. It's something you'd expect charname to say much, much later in the story.
  • ElendarElendar Member Posts: 831
    I think they should have added more completely out there responses..... :P
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    IF they changed that line, they'd have a siege laid on their HQ by Irate fans faster then the patch could finish downloading. Look it up, it's one of, if not THE most memorable lines in the entire series.
  • marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
    A bit long to be memorable, won't you think?

    Anyways, alright! It's a *ugh* popular line. But that's not the point, is it?
  • NukeninNukenin Member Posts: 327
    marfig said:

    Nukenin said:

    The "offending" line of dialogue in the original post is entirely apropos and fitting for many an incarnation of CHARNAME.

    Eh? How so? Note that I don't want to enter into an argument, just a friendly debate on what makes you say that.

    I find that one of the most inappropriate lines in the entire game. My argument isn't even about what I perceive is bad humor, but the fact it is completely misplaced in time. It's something you'd expect charname to say much, much later in the story.
    It's something I'm surprised CHARNAME doesn't say before even exiting Candlekeep.

    It's completely optional. You don't have to even glance at it. What were you doing hassling Portalbendarwinden in the first place? :D
  • marfigmarfig Member Posts: 208
    Nukenin said:

    What were you doing hassling Portalbendarwinden in the first place? :D

    Well, I'll give you that. :D

  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    I actually didn't find Portalbendarwinden until rather late in my original runthrough with Reggie the unlucky dwarven warrior. By the time I saw him, this response was completely fantastic and was like the crowning peak of all of his misfortunes and broken quests. I understand what you're saying, that it's possible to stumble across him earlier, but that won't necessarily happen to everyone.
  • NukeninNukenin Member Posts: 327
    His name is more befitting a gnome. (At least how I used to name my gnomes back in the day.)
  • DarkcloudDarkcloud Member Posts: 302

    You might want to spoiler-tag the thread.

    I dislike how a lot of the dialogue often has you be a completely humble goody-goody or a total douche. There isn't much middle ground a lot of the time. Take for instance a conversation with that named farmer lady in southwest Nashkel. She says something about how hard things are and what bad times we live in, etc.

    To this you can either respond something along the lines of "Oh my, but whatever could be wrong in this beautiful pastoral setting?"... which on top of being incredibly cheesy is a really stupid question, unless you're being sarcastic. At this point you must at the very least know about the iron crisis and Nashkel mine having trouble. Quite likely you have also been approached by that guardsman telling you about Brage.

    The other option is something like "Hey, it can't be that much worse down in the mines than up here on your filthy dirt farm."

    Why is there no 3rd option where you can just ask "What in particular is it that troubles you?" or something like that? Nah, you have to come across either as ignorant or douchey. There are lot of those scattered throughout the game.

    Well typical Bioware writing. Most of their games are pretty black or white with Jade Empire and Dragon Age 1 and 2 as the only big exceptions maybe Mass Effect 3.

  • Even Jade Empire, while it gave lip service to the idea of a more nuanced philosophy, ended up being pretty black and white in practice.

    The Mass Effect games always gave you some more options for responses, but pushed you to make the more extreme ones to max out your morality bar.
  • The_CheesemanThe_Cheeseman Member Posts: 175
    It's funny, I have always most impressed with Baldur's Gate's writing BECAUSE of this sort of humor. Keep in mind, this is a computer game based on D&D, and anybody who has played PnP D&D knows exactly what path table talk tends to take after the first couple hours and dozen cans of soda. All good narratives need some comic relief, and I love how this dialogue so perfectly echos all those silly things my playgroup has "suggested" we say to NPCs (much to the DM's chagrin!)

    Plus, y'know, it's the best line in the series.
  • AllbrotherAllbrother Member Posts: 262
    edited December 2012
    If anyone DARES to change that line, I'll take a large blunt object roughly the size of Elminster AND his hat and stuff it lengthwise into a crevice of their being so seldom seen that even the denizens of the Nine Hells themselves wouldn't touch it with a twenty-foot rusty halberd!
    Have I MADE myself perfectly CLEAR?!

    It's also a very fitting thing to say, considering what the character's been through. And Elminster is kinda famous in the FR. Not to mention CHARNAME probably met him numerous times while growing up in Candlekeep
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    edited December 2012
    Silchas said:

    Not to mention CHARNAME probably met him numerous times while growing up in Candlekeep

    Then you'd realize who he was on the first encounter though. Which the journal entries clearly indicate you do not. Considering the quote though, it would seem Elminster's hat is somewhat unique since it's brought up, which implies the character could be able to deduce it's him. That or tall mages with pointy hats are in short supply.
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