A lot of people suggest various features and systems in these sorts of threads all the time. Some requests are small and simple, others can be very ambitious. Almost inevitably, somebody will show up in these threads in order to say "They can't do that because of CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS"
So far we've seen new NPCs with new adventures and new kits. We've also had new portaits and sound packs.
My question is: Do the sorts of things we have already seen added to the game represent the true contractual limitations of bg:ee as you understand them? Or will more ambitious and unusual enhancements, which go beyond the limits of what we have seen so far be added in the future if things go well?
Whenever you see ideas get shot down with the "contractual obligations" argument, are they roughly speaking correct? Or is their understanding severely limited?
Finally, if the game continues to succeed going into bg2:ee, do you think it is likely that current restraints on what overhaul can do with the game would be eased or even lifted entirely?
Can you improve the artificial intelligence of enemies? Like when you fight a group of enemies you will not be able to exploit the fog of war trick and lure them one by one but rather they will fight together as a group. That would be addressed by Sword Coast Stratagems, which does improve a lot of the AI scripting.
Is [Specific Popular Mod] going to be compatible with the game at launch? We've brought a lot of the modders in as either beta testers or scripters, so if there is work that needs to be done to make their mods compatible they're free to start that work early. We try not to direct the work of modders, however; if a specific modder chooses not to update their mods for the Enhanced Edition, that's up to them.
When will we see a Linux version of the game? So far, all that has been confirmed is that we have the rights to make a Linux version. There has not been any planning yet as to what that would entail or when (or if) it will be done.
What about familiars? There are some issues to consider (the HP exploit is one), but the behavior from the original BG2 game has not changed in this regard. We may look at tweaking it a bit later on.
Will certain BG1 items transfer as they did in the original? Yes, this behavior will be as it was in the original game. Hang on to those pantaloons!
Will Tome stat-boosts be imported from BG1 to the non-protagonist characters in BG2? No, but BG2 NPCs have boosted ability scores regardless, which should make them a bit more competitive.
Will there be non-heteronormative romance options in BG2? Yes, for both male and female protagonists.
Will the romances for the new NPCs (Dorn, Neera, Rasaad) be expanded in BG2? Yes, rather significantly. You can expect the new NPCs to have romance paths almost as long as the original game's options.
Can we get a portable hole to put in our bag of holding (or vice versa)? We tried, but it kept crashing the game and sending our servers into the Astral Plane...
What does it really mean when people say "Can't because CONTRACT!"? There's a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but suffice to say that changing content or adding new content to existing characters is a minefield that we generally would prefer to avoid. So yes, it's an accurate assessment of the situation.
Will Overhaul be addressing any unfinished content, such as [NPC X]? This falls into the same category as the contract issue mentioned above (changing or adding significant content for existing characters), but we also try not to comment too much on the story of the game. We have to leave some surprises, after all.
Someone asked about Kickstarter. Someone's always asking about Kickstarter, it seems.
The primary reason we don't use Kickstarter is that our contract partners have expressed a desire to not use Kickstarter, and out of respect to their wishes we will not. I'll put a note in the FAQ about that.
And here's a freebie:
Will Dorn, Neera, and Rasaad have new portraits in BG2? No, they'll keep their existing portraits.
Although there is probably no point in asking, since i half-know the answer.
Are we ever going to see better graphics (especialy sprites), for BG2:EE? And what would need to be done to see it?
Don't take it the wrong way, but a lot of us were disappointed by the "source art roadblock", and as for how much the other enhancements can make up for it, it's subjective for everyone, regardless of the work involved with them.
Will we ever see "properly" HD sprites? At this point, most likely not. The costs associated with rendering all new sprites and then re-rendering them as sprites to use in-game are prohibitively high, and it would take a lot of resources that we simply don't have. Even if we did, the engine would need to be reworked to accommodate the higher-resolution sprites, which would take yet more development time.
So although it makes a lot of people unhappy (and we're totally with you on that), no, the graphics will not be redone in HD.
Do you have any plans to improve Slayer transformation in BGII, so that it would be actually useful in ToB?
This falls into the same category as changing kits--any change of that scope would drastically affect the balance of the game, and so requires a great deal of consideration before any change is made.
Hey Dee, You guys are doing a great job! Can't wait for BG2:EE.
Some kits (shapeshifter, wizardslayer, beastmaster,...) are less popular, in some cases less powerful then other kits. I understand you don't have solid plans to rebalance existing kits at the moment, because it potentially could break things.
Is adding a few unique items only useable by certain kits (and not by their main class) to make those kits more interesting a possibility you are considering?
For example a full plate mail restricted to wizard slayers, a spear only useable by shapshifters...
In BG2:EE, will new content be linked to the new NPC's you've introduced, forcing us to recruit those NPC's to enjoy the new content? (Personally I didn't like Rasaad and I have the feeling I've missed a bit of the new content in BG:EE because I can't force myself to recruit him ;-)
I really liked the black pits; will there be a similar addition in BG2:EE ?
I'm in the forest looking for bandits, so far the game is as good as I remember. The new aditions are most welcome (I never ever try the first game with mods) My new quiestions will be: are you going to add the missing cinematics in the game? And, what was the reason behind cutting dialog in cinematics (so far I notice missing dialog in the intro, where the first victim says that there are others or something like that.)
Will the romances for the new NPCs (Dorn, Neera, Rasaad) be expanded in BG2? Yes, rather significantly. You can expect the new NPCs to have romance paths almost as long as the original game's options.
"almost as"? why not "just as long"? what can we expect then? half the length, two-thirds etc.?
@Flashheart - A little harsh mate. They may not be the same as the BG2 portraits, but they are still of excellent quality. They are just a different style, which is what will happen when you use different artists.
I say "almost" because some of the original romances were so long that some people never saw the end of them.
I'd say that was at least partly due to restrictive some of the triggers were. Eg. I think Jaheira's romance trigger requires you to rest outdoors at some point and that is extremely easy trigger to miss. Especially if you then go to Underdark while that trigger is left "hanging" you have pretty much missed any chance of finishing the romance.
I guess my question now is then are you planning on doing anything to make the romance advancement a bit more fool proof?
Sorry if this has already been asked - I understand that there are limits to modifying existing content because contract, but what about adding, say, dialogue between new characters and existing ones (ie banter)? The idea of having Neera in a party with Minsc, Jaheira, Keldorn, and Imoen without the latter four ever acknowledging her existence seems like it would be kind of odd.
Then again, I think I remember a brief Minsc/Neera banter in BG:EE during a conversation, so maybe it's not impossible?
tl;dr: Shadows of Amn has party members that have frequent verbal interactions with each other and the world. Will we see the same with the new NPC's in BG2:EE?
@Shawne I'm aware. But also, I would like to be able to finish the game, since installing Ascension just to get one feature would prevent me from finishing the game - Ascension is just too difficult for folks like me.
Beamdog's contract allows them to add banters with new characters and comments on new areas to existing characters, so unless they got lazy, there should be banters between the existing characters and the EE exclusive ones.
What's the plan for paid DLCs , Will both of BG-EE or BG2-EE have possible ? What kind of type they would be , additional quests , new area ? or expansion pack include new features ?
Just to clarify regarding romances, they are shorter than the canon BioWare romances. When we were designing them, we wanted them to feel satisfying without being overly long and complex, as the canon romances can often feel. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we did putting them together for you.
@Purudaya There are some restrictions to romance progression, but if you miss something before the Underdark, you can easily pick it up afterwards without worrying about your romance breaking--as long as you don't break it off via a romance conflict somewhere along the way!
Can you give us some insights about what/how can BGEE DLCs be? I mean, it adds new characters, new areas, new quests, new unrelated games like The Black Pits... ?
I wish there were more cinematics for discovering areas. What are the % chance of that coming to happen?
Comments
Kidding, I'll keep waiting
A lot of people suggest various features and systems in these sorts of threads all the time. Some requests are small and simple, others can be very ambitious.
Almost inevitably, somebody will show up in these threads in order to say "They can't do that because of CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS"
So far we've seen new NPCs with new adventures and new kits. We've also had new portaits and sound packs.
My question is: Do the sorts of things we have already seen added to the game represent the true contractual limitations of bg:ee as you understand them?
Or will more ambitious and unusual enhancements, which go beyond the limits of what we have seen so far be added in the future if things go well?
Whenever you see ideas get shot down with the "contractual obligations" argument, are they roughly speaking correct? Or is their understanding severely limited?
Finally, if the game continues to succeed going into bg2:ee, do you think it is likely that current restraints on what overhaul can do with the game would be eased or even lifted entirely?
That would be addressed by Sword Coast Stratagems, which does improve a lot of the AI scripting.
Is [Specific Popular Mod] going to be compatible with the game at launch?
We've brought a lot of the modders in as either beta testers or scripters, so if there is work that needs to be done to make their mods compatible they're free to start that work early. We try not to direct the work of modders, however; if a specific modder chooses not to update their mods for the Enhanced Edition, that's up to them.
When will we see a Linux version of the game?
So far, all that has been confirmed is that we have the rights to make a Linux version. There has not been any planning yet as to what that would entail or when (or if) it will be done.
What about familiars?
There are some issues to consider (the HP exploit is one), but the behavior from the original BG2 game has not changed in this regard. We may look at tweaking it a bit later on.
Will certain BG1 items transfer as they did in the original?
Yes, this behavior will be as it was in the original game. Hang on to those pantaloons!
Will Tome stat-boosts be imported from BG1 to the non-protagonist characters in BG2?
No, but BG2 NPCs have boosted ability scores regardless, which should make them a bit more competitive.
Will there be non-heteronormative romance options in BG2?
Yes, for both male and female protagonists.
Will the romances for the new NPCs (Dorn, Neera, Rasaad) be expanded in BG2?
Yes, rather significantly. You can expect the new NPCs to have romance paths almost as long as the original game's options.
Can we get a portable hole to put in our bag of holding (or vice versa)?
We tried, but it kept crashing the game and sending our servers into the Astral Plane...
What does it really mean when people say "Can't because CONTRACT!"?
There's a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but suffice to say that changing content or adding new content to existing characters is a minefield that we generally would prefer to avoid. So yes, it's an accurate assessment of the situation.
Will Overhaul be addressing any unfinished content, such as [NPC X]?
This falls into the same category as the contract issue mentioned above (changing or adding significant content for existing characters), but we also try not to comment too much on the story of the game. We have to leave some surprises, after all.
The primary reason we don't use Kickstarter is that our contract partners have expressed a desire to not use Kickstarter, and out of respect to their wishes we will not. I'll put a note in the FAQ about that.
And here's a freebie:
Will Dorn, Neera, and Rasaad have new portraits in BG2?
No, they'll keep their existing portraits.
Although there is probably no point in asking, since i half-know the answer.
Are we ever going to see better graphics (especialy sprites), for BG2:EE? And what would need to be done to see it?
Don't take it the wrong way, but a lot of us were disappointed by the "source art roadblock", and as for how much the other enhancements can make up for it, it's subjective for everyone, regardless of the work involved with them.
At this point, most likely not. The costs associated with rendering all new sprites and then re-rendering them as sprites to use in-game are prohibitively high, and it would take a lot of resources that we simply don't have. Even if we did, the engine would need to be reworked to accommodate the higher-resolution sprites, which would take yet more development time.
So although it makes a lot of people unhappy (and we're totally with you on that), no, the graphics will not be redone in HD.
Do you have any plans to improve Slayer transformation in BGII, so that it would be actually useful in ToB?
You guys are doing a great job! Can't wait for BG2:EE.
Some kits (shapeshifter, wizardslayer, beastmaster,...) are less popular, in some cases less powerful then other kits. I understand you don't have solid plans to rebalance existing kits at the moment, because it potentially could break things.
Is adding a few unique items only useable by certain kits (and not by their main class) to make those kits more interesting a possibility you are considering?
For example a full plate mail restricted to wizard slayers, a spear only useable by shapshifters...
I really liked the black pits; will there be a similar addition in BG2:EE ?
I guess my question now is then are you planning on doing anything to make the romance advancement a bit more fool proof?
Then again, I think I remember a brief Minsc/Neera banter in BG:EE during a conversation, so maybe it's not impossible?
tl;dr: Shadows of Amn has party members that have frequent verbal interactions with each other and the world. Will we see the same with the new NPC's in BG2:EE?
I'm aware. But also, I would like to be able to finish the game, since installing Ascension just to get one feature would prevent me from finishing the game - Ascension is just too difficult for folks like me.
Beamdog's contract allows them to add banters with new characters and comments on new areas to existing characters, so unless they got lazy, there should be banters between the existing characters and the EE exclusive ones.
@Purudaya There are some restrictions to romance progression, but if you miss something before the Underdark, you can easily pick it up afterwards without worrying about your romance breaking--as long as you don't break it off via a romance conflict somewhere along the way!
I wish there were more cinematics for discovering areas. What are the % chance of that coming to happen?