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Bg1ee to bg2ee

SindyanSindyan Member Posts: 146
Has anyone heard word of a import future for bg2ee going on the iPad? I am wondering how we can import for bgee1
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  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    Considering iPad apps are sandboxed (isolated) from each other, I don't see how you could possibly import a BG:EE save into BG:EE2 without the use of the cloud or enabling a file sharing service within BG:EE/BG:EE2. As the game stands, you will definitely have to work for it.
  • SindyanSindyan Member Posts: 146
    Ok. So it will be a hard process but doable if you can transfer pc saved games to iPad, etc.
  • IllydthIllydth Member, Developer Posts: 1,641
    While I don't have a definitive answer to this, I would SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY doubt they'll release BG2:EE without an ability to import a previous saved game from BG:EE on the iPad.

    As @sindyan says, at MINIMUM I would expect the ability to download and upload your current iPad saved game to make this work, however apps are not quite as silo'd as you might think.

    Go to the various document apps, there are several out there that allow you to take a document in one app and open it in another app. I absolutely believe there's an API or shared storage area to allow interaction between applications.

    I don't think I'd give this too much worry.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    The whole idea of releasing these as two separate apps is stupid beyond comprehension.
  • SindyanSindyan Member Posts: 146
    But the problem is the apple app size limit. I think it would make everyone life easier of it wasn't such a small limit.
  • nsrnsr Member Posts: 174
    I am not looking forward to the amount of space bgee and bg2ee will consume on my ipad. And then of course the hassle if updating both apps.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    edited September 2013
    nsr said:

    I am not looking forward to the amount of space bgee and bg2ee will consume on my ipad. And then of course the hassle if updating both apps.

    This is exactly what I'm talking about. The two largest things contributing to the game's size are the engine and the artwork, and those are shared almost entirely, so there is no reason whatsoever to duplicate them. Especially not when it makes the playing experience less streamlined, where you have to launch a different app to continue the de-facto very same game. Ludicrous.
  • LiamEslerLiamEsler Member Posts: 1,859
    @iKrevetko The engine size is fairly small in comparison to the content (art, audio, etc) -- most of which is unique to each game. There is some duplication, but by no means a majority. :)
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    Kaeloree said:

    @iKrevetko The engine size is fairly small in comparison to the content (art, audio, etc) -- most of which is unique to each game. There is some duplication, but by no means a majority. :)

    I don't really see how most of the content is unique. Creatures, spells, tilesets, items, combat sounds, portraits and a lot of other stuff are the same or mostly the same. In fact, only the videos and the dialogues are completely unique, and those don't seem to be a massive part of the artwork and the size of the game in general.
  • LiamEslerLiamEsler Member Posts: 1,859
    edited September 2013
    @iKrivetko The largest part of the game are the areas and the audio, which have very little crossover between the games. In fact, pretty much all of the things you mentioned have little crossover, excepting spells and character sprites. :)
  • viaderviader Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 875
    edited September 2013
    Creature animations in Infinity Engine keep full space, because aren't models 3D, are almost clear images... It is >500 MB
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    Can 2 apps use the same iCoud storage to import saves?
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    Is it likely that bg2 will come as an update to bg1 and the whole thing just be one giant app? I'm gonna have to delete all the other stuff on my iPad.
  • LiamEslerLiamEsler Member Posts: 1,859
    @meagloth They are two separate applications. :)
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    Got it.
  • alnairalnair Member Posts: 561
    davemo said:

    Can 2 apps use the same iCoud storage to import saves?

    In theory, yes.
    I have no idea if/how Beamdog is going to implement such a feature, though.
  • IllydthIllydth Member, Developer Posts: 1,641
    There is a shared area / data transfer area in iOS that multiple apps can get ahold of. For instance I can upload a book into one documents app and then tell it to open in another one without a problem. There are definitely walls built between applications in iOS...but they're not insurmountable.
  • SindyanSindyan Member Posts: 146
    I hoping they found a solution. When the new 1.2 patches I'm going to play through bgee has either a archer or halfling cleric. I really want to be able to play with the same character all the way through the entire trilogy with the tomb bonus.
    A work around could be just to give ipad single player game all of the tombs at the beginning on bgee2.
  • LaniartyLaniarty Member Posts: 7
    edited November 2013
    It wouldn't surprise me if BG2EE was released as 'dlc' for BG1EE on the ipad. This would alleviate a lot of the issues thrown up in this thread.
  • IllydthIllydth Member, Developer Posts: 1,641
    Just to update quickly: They are working on a data transfer from BG:EE to BG2:EE natively it seems...it's one of the things that has been identified as why they are releasing the iPad build of BG2:EE later than the Windows release.

    That said, even if that DOESN'T happen, iFunBox + Import will work same as it does with BG1:EE transferring saves between desktop and iPad or between BG1:EE and BG2:EE on the Desktop to Import a saved game.

    The solution to this does already exist, what they're trying to develop is a more seamless way of handling it.
  • SindyanSindyan Member Posts: 146
    Perfect! Sounds they are on the ball
  • famousringofamousringo Member Posts: 28
    davemo said:

    Can 2 apps use the same iCoud storage to import saves?

    I know one app which does this. Tweetbot syncs your Twitter timeline over iCloud, not only between the separate, non-universal iPhone and iPad versions, but also between the old version of Tweetbot and the new paid update.
  • TravelleriTravelleri Member Posts: 32
    Is there a size limit for dlc content? If no, then release the game as a dlc...
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    I can't see them doing BG2EE as DLC because it would not allow people to just buy BG2EE. Some might just want BG2 on the tablet. Or, there may be some who bought BGEE on PC, but they now have a tablet and want to buy BG2EE on the tablet.

    I played BG2 years ago, but I had never played BG. I did not feel like anything was missing back then, so it is reasonable that someone might just want to play BG2.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    I don't see people buying one but not the other. It's a saga and should be played as one. In fact, the whole thing should have been merged into one game, something like BGT, saving space, simplifying save transfers and reducing the hassle with mods by half. Alas, Beamdog chose a different path.
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    Like I said, I played BG2 years ago, but I am only playing BG now. BG2 is fine on its own. Some people may read a list of all time best games, see BG2 there, and decide to get it without worrying about BG. BG2 is not an expansion pack. It is a separate stand-alone game that people can enjoy even without playing BG.

    Add to that the fact that some people may already own BG and may have played it and may only be in the market for BG2.

    I doubt the game saves issue is a big deal. There are multiple possible solutions and it is just up to them to implement one.

    Are there positives to the DLC approach? Sure. But they are outweighed by the negatives.

    It would be nice to see them as a single game, but that could have meant 2 years of development before making a sale. It also would have meant that after those 2 years, we are probably waiting for patches to fix problems with the touch UI. Plus, how do they monetize that? If they charge double, mobile sales take a big hit due to mobile buyers being so unwilling to buy games $10+.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    edited December 2013
    Wow, seriously, more negatives than positives?
    Please clarify, you are saying that a seamless transmission between two parts of the same saga, saving a lot of space, not having to spend resources drawing different UIs (and probably composing music), not having to duplicate custom portraits and mods, not having to update two applications instead of one, not having to bother with separate IAPs like voice packs and so on is outweighed by a negative that is solved by having both parts sold as DLCs via one single app that is free, right?
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    The both games as DLC approach does seem convenient as a user. While I have no interest in mods, it is clear that power users are a significant demographic for this game purchase.

    I think game transfers are irrelevant to this because the games saves should have cloud saves that work across platforms. We should be able to access the same game save on the PC or iOS. And since the saves don't go back and forth between games, the game transfer doesn't seem like a problem. There are many solutions, even if they haven't told us theirs. If they aren't going to implement cross platform saves (or cloud saves at all) then the IAP idea has additional value in the the large IAPs can be deleted while keeping the game saves on the device with the shell app.

    I have no idea as to whether there are significant space savings in merging apps. Obviously there would be some, though it may or may not be significant compared to the non-shared content.

    Sadly, letting people download an app with no content is probably a dangerous idea unless you want a ton of one-star reviews with people complaining that no game should cost $10. Charging for the base app at least limits reviews to people who are real consumers. Then again, all the free downloads would make the game appear on the popular list, even with no sales.

    How does Apple handle updates to IAPs? Also, does the App Store support IAPs to IAPs? For example, can it not let you buy the voice packs IAP or Neera IAP until you have first bought the BGEE IAP?
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    >a ton of one-star reviews with people complaining that no game should cost $10
    XCOM didn't have that problem, I don't see why BGEE would.

    >For example, can it not let you buy the voice packs IAP or Neera IAP until you have first bought the BGEE IAP?
    It's perfectly possible to code it that way.
  • davemodavemo Member Posts: 147
    iKrivetko said:

    >a ton of one-star reviews with people complaining that no game should cost $10
    XCOM didn't have that problem, I don't see why BGEE would.

    XCom wasn't free. It cost like $20. So I don't get what you are saying.
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