Ask Us Anything!
Dee
Member Posts: 10,447
Hello intrepid adventurers!
We are aware that communication from the team has not been as organized as it should be. We post regularly on the forums, but if you’re new to the area it’s not always practical to go through every post in every thread looking for answers. We’re going to try to improve that, and this thread is the first step toward that. Ask any questions you like--about the game, about the developers, about something else entirely--and if it’s within our power to answer them, we will.
Any questions that we are unable to answer (due to contract limitations, or simply because we don’t want you to know how many gallons of Mountain Dew we drink in a given work day), we will try to communicate that as well.
All of the questions we answer will be posted in a separate thread. Yes, even the silly ones. We will also try to post answers to questions from elsewhere on the forums, so continue to discuss things where you like. You can find the centralized "FAQ" thread HERE.
I look forward to hearing about what you’re most interested in knowing. I can’t promise that we’ll answer every question--we have to develop the game at some point, after all--and I can’t promise that all of our answers will satisfy everyone’s curiosity (sometimes it’s good to leave a little mystery), but I think this will be a good way to get things rolling.
We are aware that communication from the team has not been as organized as it should be. We post regularly on the forums, but if you’re new to the area it’s not always practical to go through every post in every thread looking for answers. We’re going to try to improve that, and this thread is the first step toward that. Ask any questions you like--about the game, about the developers, about something else entirely--and if it’s within our power to answer them, we will.
Any questions that we are unable to answer (due to contract limitations, or simply because we don’t want you to know how many gallons of Mountain Dew we drink in a given work day), we will try to communicate that as well.
All of the questions we answer will be posted in a separate thread. Yes, even the silly ones. We will also try to post answers to questions from elsewhere on the forums, so continue to discuss things where you like. You can find the centralized "FAQ" thread HERE.
I look forward to hearing about what you’re most interested in knowing. I can’t promise that we’ll answer every question--we have to develop the game at some point, after all--and I can’t promise that all of our answers will satisfy everyone’s curiosity (sometimes it’s good to leave a little mystery), but I think this will be a good way to get things rolling.
Post edited by Dee on
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Comments
I was wondering about adventure y. It sounds like it is supposed to be a section that lets us live our capture by irenicus. Can anything be said about the adventure and when we will be able to play it?
Since you guys hired DavidW will SCS be somehow implemeted in BGEE and BG2EE, and again little details would be nice.
Will
- the "old" voice-overs from BG1 and
- the (some time age recorded) voice-overs for the new content and
- the latest tlk
be part of the coming update ?
EDIT: There was nothing mentioned in the "patch description thread", that's why I'm asking.
EDIT 2: Sorry if that question has been asked before somewhere.
Anyway, I'm not expecting this to ever made possible. So I guess my true question is what the developing team's thoughts are in this regard?
ps: An excellent initiative to make this thread!
I'm still holding out on starting my fighter/mage, just in case you bring Bladesinger out as a class in the future
1) What is really happening with the translation teams? In particular, the Japanese (nihongo) translation seems to have stalled; there are other languages of import, as well (no surprise there).
2) Can the bow to sword/shield swap fix (a la IWD) ever make its way to BG:EE (as in - is it technically possible or is it a hard-coded issue)? This would by my #1 hope for enhancement, really!
3) Why is a raven like a writing desk?
4) Are additional voice sets going to happen (as part of BG:EE or added when BG2:EE comes on line?
5) Should we expect BG:EE to become F2P like everything else, with a real world auction system and, perhaps, automatic anti-bad behavior bans? (/sarcasm)
6) How close is the mythical 'patch' from being reality?
7) Can frame rate FPS be added to options for those that want something other than 30?
8) The most important: Is EA buying Overhaul, too?
I understand some of this might not be able to be answered due to contract limitations... but...
Is the match-making service to be implemented in patch v.2015?
1.) Polish version check on font. It will be 8 month
Will the new NPC in BG2EE be a full-fledged character along the lines of Dorn, Neera and Rasaad, or an "easter egg" like Baeloth? @shawne
The new NPC will be a fully fleshed out character with a story of its own. I won't go into any more detail than that, though; have to leave some surprises.
How were the art assets lost? @Pecca
No one is certain. Our nearest guess is that the art assets simply weren't backed up properly, or that the hard drive they were on was misplaced or stopped working altogether. A company goes through a lot of computers in fifteen years, and not everything gets preserved as well as it should be. It's likely that when the game was first released in 1998/1999, no one expected that we would be looking to rework it fifteen years later--or that we might want to re-render the artwork when we did. An unfortunate loss, to be sure; but it also spurred us to do more with the game than we might have done otherwise.
What's taking so long with the translations? @reedmilfam
Our translation teams are comprised of volunteers, for the most part, and they put in as much time as they can spare for a project they care about. They've done a terrific job so far, but the smaller the team the longer the translation takes. We think the translations will be worthwhile once completed, but we have to be patient while they do the polishing to make it great.
What about weapon swapping, such as from a sword-and-shield to a bow? @reedmilfam
It has more to do with the way that creature files are set up; a lot of things would need to be rewritten engine-side, which would break things in a major way. We don't have any plans to rewire the inventory screen, but we haven't ruled out the possibility of making it a bit more fluid.
Why is a raven like a writing desk? @reedmilfam
I can't give you any specifics, unfortunately; the last time we brought Alice in for questioning, she ate a muffin and destroyed the entire office.
Is it possible to soft-code the character creation process?
Strictly speaking, anything is possible, but in this case the process is deeply hard-coded. Any time you have dependencies between systems, it's hard to move them around. For instance, the Ability Scores screen requires a class because it needs to know what minimum and maximum stats to allow; it needs a race because that modifies those minimums and maximums. The Class screen needs a race to determine which classes (and kits) are available.
There might be a better order for character creation in general, though, but we'll need to look at that when we have the ability to shape that process from the ground up.
Do you plan to make Baldur's Gate ever go "Free to Play", with microtransactions, auction houses, and bans for bad behavior? @reedmilfam
No, nothing like that is planned. Although bans for bad behavior might be an interesting layer of complexity for evil characters... Hmmmmm....
---
Other answers will come shortly. I need to check with the monkey in charge of our legal department, and I have to stop at the supermarket first to buy him bananas...
(This might be blatantly obvious to those who have paid more attention to the announcements and discussions than I, so forgive me if it's already been answered twenty times!)
Yes. Or more specifically, the new renderer will. It may not solve all performance issues--if your computer is from 1985, you might want to stick to Math Blaster.
And don't be afraid to ask questions even if they seem obvious; there's no judgment here (except from the monkey).
I am about to start a new game, but was wondering if I should wait until the patch is released since im not a big fan of restarting
Spoiler-tagged. ~Dee
Some of the changes will require a restart, yes; broken quests (such as Firebead's Identify scroll in Candlekeep), for instance, will only be fixed in a new game. Other changes will take effect regardless, but to get the most out of the patch you'll probably want a new game.
2. Do you plan to add more content to BGEE apart from adventure Y? I mean content like NPCs, quests, items, areas, monsters, spells. Free or paid DLC, does not matter right now
3. Are you able to support somehow BG1NPC mod? I am one of many people who really wait for this mod before starting playing BGEE. Can you somehow "improve" existing NPC by adding new quests , banters etc ?
4. Long time ago, when BGEE was delayed for the first time, I remember reading announcement that those who preordered game already, will get some extra bonus. What was it?
5. Is it possible for you to add kits to some existing NPCs?
Time ago I read that it is not possible, but I cannot understand why. These NPCs were not in Shadows of Amn or Throne of Bhaal, so developing their return would not been against your contract limitations (or so I guess).
Since I am curious, what BG NPCs would you like to see again in Athkatla?
...
Is my dream ever going to come true?
2. Will we be able to play BGEE and BG2EE as one game (like BGT) or do we will have to wait for a BGTEE ?