Your post said you aren't able to change original dialogues and romances, but are you able to change the timing and sometimes bugginess of them? For example, (and I realize BG2 is still a year away) would we still have to wait and hour of actual time 15 different times for the Jaheira romance or are you able to tweak that? Thanks for your time in this project, can't wait.
A little disappointment is perhaps normal, but I am still glad about BG:EE for reasons that are maybe very different from what a traditional player would think:
1) This project brought together the effort of many talented modders, some of them were practically retired and seem to have found now new inspiration
2) Some of the source code has been made available for engine modders/fixpackers like Ascension64 and aVenger. It's a great asset and I'd buy the game only because Beamdog have given such modders the chance to make their modifications even better thanks to the new informations shared (the IESDP will greatly benefit of this as well!)
3) I would have probably not liked the new graphic, no matter what it was. I love the graphic/visual of Baldur's Gate the way it is. Granted, some small aspects (animations and paperdolls, for example) took a turn for the worse in Baldur's Gate 2 and generally the art direction is less strong but still I did enjoy every single pixel
4) I am a nut for bug fixing. The available modification already existing do real miracles but it's different from a product that is released in a polished version. Hopefully BG:EE will represent the pinnacle of the legacy series and will pave the road for Baldur's Gate 3 (speaking of which, I do think that the visuals should remain as similar in style as possible as it's been in the first two games)
My only question is this: would it be possible to redo the cinematics? As graphic goes, the cinematic sequences represent the sore point: they *do* look outdated.
I can but wish good luck to the whole team behind BG:EE.
@niklas I agree with you, I prefer waiting for another year and have the best release of my life, a new Baldur's Gate Masterpiece than trying it the 21st September and being disappointed.
I don't really think BG is about graphic's, the isometric 2D is made for this game, and I don't want to "the modern graphics" to kill the great ambient atmosphere of this amazing game.
Whatever, again, thank for the hard work to all of the crew.
Iam really looking forward to this game. I played the original and its by far my favourite game. I personally have never used any of the mods and to be honest wouldnt know where to start with that so any extra content to me will be great
@niklas I agree with you, I prefer waiting for another year and have the best release of my life, a new Baldur's Gate Masterpiece than trying it the 21st September and being disappointed.
@leRenardruse Well, this isn't really a possibility. BG:EE will be the first release of this development team and they in no way have the funds to spend another year enhancing this game before they make any profits whatsoever... I know where you're coming from, a complete remake of this game with every possible improvement ever conceived would be great, but it just isn't practical, so let's just be happy with what we can get and support this team that will undoubtedly be able to provide us with great Baldur's Gate-esque RPGs in the future if we can keep them afloat with our support of BG:EE and BG2:EE...
My only question is this: would it be possible to redo the cinematics? As graphic goes, the cinematic sequences represent the sore point: they *do* look outdated.
I can but wish good luck to the whole team behind BG:EE.
@Salk, As far as I know they do remake the cinematics
However, I'm not really sure @Tanthalas would be comfortable with the title of "sidekick" LOL I mean, he's the one who is doing all the moderation work and merging the threads =D
Probably be wishing for a BG remake. I for one found your original post extremely enlightening in terms of knowing exactly what we will and will not see here in BG:EE and I for one am still extremely excited to start playing it especially after reading through some of the [Fixed] threads. I think I might have already accidentally made a slight request that makes more sense to be included in one of the DLC packs later on (hints of possibility of Jaheira/PC romance in BG2:EE). But I still think this game will be well worth the wait and extremely fun to play once the DLC is done and the modding really starts kicking in. It's especially impressive that the team is willing to do so much work to BG:EE and BG2:EE with such little time available.
Is it possible that the contracts can be renegotiated in the future? Say for example that sales are high enough that The Powers That Be decide it is in their best interests to put more time/resources into BG:EE or into developing new content for Icewind Dale and other games. Would there be a chance of that happening, slim as it may be?
When I found out about BG:EE I just about jumped through the roof. I had recently tried to install my old copy of BG on my new laptop, not even thinking of compatibility issues (is this game really 14 years old??), with disastrous results. I have mixed feelings about the limitations facing BG:EE, and I think the price for BG:EE plus BG2:EE will be the biggest factor in my purchasing decision, especially since I found the Dungeons and Dragons Anthology: Masters Collection (which has BG 1 and 2, IWD 1 and 2, PST, plus TEE, with all expansions) for Windows 7 for $30. My worry with the modding and DLC is security. Is there any way to ensure the mods are safe? (Forgive me if this is a naive question, but I am unfamiliar with modding in general)
I remind you Trent's interview at Gamebanshee, where he said that the initial plan was to make an HD remake of BG. However, since the initial 3D models were lost, it was impossible. So they needed to do something else.
I'm pretty sure they were more than disappointed as well, so our disappointment is not unjustified, and it doesn't mean it is Beamdog's fault. Bioware deserves the most slaps to be honest.
The reason is simple, you hear about Baldur's Gate being remade/enhanced/overhauled/something about Baldur's gate anyway, you get excited.
The more excited you get, the more the chances of getting your hopes up too high.
Saying that, since their initial ambition was to remake it graphically, they will obviously find a way to tweak the graphics somehow, since well, they will have to look nice in very high resolutions with zooming.
Anyway, a HD remake of BG could have been a disaster. At least this could be a very solid stepping stone so we get to actually see a BG3, or in any way, a fresh 2D isometric RPG that they will create.
And as i said, i am open to surprises from the devs in the graphics department in any way they see fit, even if it means post release graphic enhancements in parts, like, some characters, then some monsters, later areas, or something.
@jaysl659 Well, you miss-understood my idea, I don't want a "newgame" , it's the opposite idea, just a 2d isometric Baldur's gate, like the original, but I don't want the crew to be too hurry and make the absolutes fans unhappy. Anyway i will be happy ) PS : and I can't wait any longer to talk to Drizzt Do'Urden
This was really informative, thank you! I won't lie, I'm a little disappointed that a lot of what I hoped for in the EE is impossible, but as has been said, I'm still REALLY excited for an iPad version of the game. If nothing else, that lets me have a great experience re-playing this game from my childhood that I adored.
It's a pity (avoiding the word disappointment, as it's apparently not up to Beamdog to decide what restrictions they face) changing NPC interactions is out of the game. One of the things lacking in BG1 was NPC interactions, making the NPC1 project a must-have. The way things will be with BGEE, the NPC1-project is still a must-have, to my opinion, so I hope an BGEE-compatible NPC1-project version will be out quickly after BGEE's release. BGEE will feel boring without chattering characters.
And an iPad version, well, that's only something for apple-tablet owners to be excited about. For a lot of people with tablets, it's just fingers crossed they will make an Android or (gasp) Windows 8 ARM version.
Atleast we get a new version at all, we can be thankful for that.
Yeah, I've only played through BG2 and its expansion. I'm really looking forward to playing through BG1 EE. Some people seem very anti DLC. But I'm glad that there are plans for continual enchancement and additions after release Who would have thought such a thing could happen to a 14 year old game
I will buy it no matter what, Maybe it isn't so bad that so much of content will stay untouched. I like it more as a good old baldur rather than completly renewed story with only a taste of what it was. Remember fans if it succeed ( I'm sure it will cause it's the best RPG EVER!) we can only wait for BG3 and again Im sure its just a matter of time.
I have a really important question: If BG:EE is just adding a new character and a couple of missions, a bit changed music and stuff, i wonder what the hole point of this is. The BG Community has a mod called: Baldurgs Gate1 NPC Mod which includes the following: - tons of new dialoges between the existing characters - new encounters - new quests - new music
Seriously, but if they cant change graphics, animations and stuff there is no point to all of this, except its playable on I-Pad and on Mac but thats not something big at all. Why the hell shall i pay 10 Bucks for a game that is: 14 years old and do not update the visual content. Cause everything else is already done by the community in a much smoother and bigger way. There are thousands of addons and a mod called Widescreen Mod that let you play the game on a size you want, even Widescreen.....so i ask again, whats the point of all this?
Comments
I imagine that kind of stuff can be tweaked.
1) This project brought together the effort of many talented modders, some of them were practically retired and seem to have found now new inspiration
2) Some of the source code has been made available for engine modders/fixpackers like Ascension64 and aVenger. It's a great asset and I'd buy the game only because Beamdog have given such modders the chance to make their modifications even better thanks to the new informations shared (the IESDP will greatly benefit of this as well!)
3) I would have probably not liked the new graphic, no matter what it was. I love the graphic/visual of Baldur's Gate the way it is. Granted, some small aspects (animations and paperdolls, for example) took a turn for the worse in Baldur's Gate 2 and generally the art direction is less strong but still I did enjoy every single pixel
4) I am a nut for bug fixing. The available modification already existing do real miracles but it's different from a product that is released in a polished version. Hopefully BG:EE will represent the pinnacle of the legacy series and will pave the road for Baldur's Gate 3 (speaking of which, I do think that the visuals should remain as similar in style as possible as it's been in the first two games)
My only question is this: would it be possible to redo the cinematics? As graphic goes, the cinematic sequences represent the sore point: they *do* look outdated.
I can but wish good luck to the whole team behind BG:EE.
I agree with you, I prefer waiting for another year and have the best release of my life, a new Baldur's Gate Masterpiece than trying it the 21st September and being disappointed.
I don't really think BG is about graphic's, the isometric 2D is made for this game, and I don't want to "the modern graphics" to kill the great ambient atmosphere of this amazing game.
Whatever, again, thank for the hard work to all of the crew.
Me and AndreaColombo aren't part of Overhaul. We're just volunteers doing some stuff on the boards, we don't have that kind of info.
That new features thread is just the already known info compiled into a single list.
New news will come straight from Overhaul guys, not us.
Love the work they are doing :O) and all the time they are spending in here, is also appreciated.
Thx.
However, I'm not really sure @Tanthalas would be comfortable with the title of "sidekick" LOL I mean, he's the one who is doing all the moderation work and merging the threads =D
My worry with the modding and DLC is security. Is there any way to ensure the mods are safe? (Forgive me if this is a naive question, but I am unfamiliar with modding in general)
I'm pretty sure they were more than disappointed as well, so our disappointment is not unjustified, and it doesn't mean it is Beamdog's fault. Bioware deserves the most slaps to be honest.
The reason is simple, you hear about Baldur's Gate being remade/enhanced/overhauled/something about Baldur's gate anyway, you get excited.
The more excited you get, the more the chances of getting your hopes up too high.
Saying that, since their initial ambition was to remake it graphically, they will obviously find a way to tweak the graphics somehow, since well, they will have to look nice in very high resolutions with zooming.
Anyway, a HD remake of BG could have been a disaster. At least this could be a very solid stepping stone so we get to actually see a BG3, or in any way, a fresh 2D isometric RPG that they will create.
And as i said, i am open to surprises from the devs in the graphics department in any way they see fit, even if it means post release graphic enhancements in parts, like, some characters, then some monsters, later areas, or something.
Well, you miss-understood my idea, I don't want a "newgame" , it's the opposite idea, just a 2d isometric Baldur's gate, like the original, but I don't want the crew to be too hurry and make the absolutes fans unhappy. Anyway i will be happy
PS : and I can't wait any longer to talk to Drizzt Do'Urden
CAN'T. WAIT.
I'm really looking forward to playing through BG1 EE.
Some people seem very anti DLC. But I'm glad that there are plans for continual enchancement and additions after release
Who would have thought such a thing could happen to a 14 year old game
If BG:EE is just adding a new character and a couple of missions, a bit changed music and stuff, i wonder what the hole point of this is. The BG Community has a mod called: Baldurgs Gate1 NPC Mod which includes the following:
- tons of new dialoges between the existing characters
- new encounters
- new quests
- new music
Seriously, but if they cant change graphics, animations and stuff there is no point to all of this, except its playable on I-Pad and on Mac but thats not something big at all.
Why the hell shall i pay 10 Bucks for a game that is: 14 years old and do not update the visual content.
Cause everything else is already done by the community in a much smoother and bigger way.
There are thousands of addons and a mod called Widescreen Mod that let you play the game on a size you want, even Widescreen.....so i ask again, whats the point of all this?