There's no way to stop piracy, its deeply tangled with internet anarchy nature, but specific in Baldur's Gate, i believe we're not going to see much piracy, it's an old game, most old players respect BG legacy too much and unlike other companies we have direct contact with the devs (a little at least), and somehow many of us added content (mods) to the game. This make things personal somehow.
Maybe we bump in some tries, but by the nature of BG EE, many crack groups gonna find themself into a difficult moral position. BG EE is a enhance of an old game, the "if you like buy" can't be used here, the install.exe gonna be downloaded so no EA Games cretinism. To crack BG EE is to lose all arguments covers.
I have a huge personal position about piracy and it's definition that i will not share here to avoid conflicts. I usually point the diferences betwen piracy and Unofficial copy, as piracy term in many countries need a monetary relationship with the act.
But here, today with baldur's gate (and later BG2, PS:T...) i say that in my view any group that crack the game gonna lost moral in internet.
@kamuizin Boo will come and take their eyeballs out of their heads along with nerves and bite their throats and their reputation will decrease, so some awesome people may leave their party.
Seriously though, I believe that piracy can't be avoided too, and the only way to mitigate the consequences is to deliver awesome content. I try my best to inform people about BG:EE because many think that it's widescreen mod+few new characters. And I'm not joking. BG:EE doesn't have millions to spend on commercials, so the community must spread the word. Also, the press releases could be bigger, but that's up to publishers what is approved. I've sent few mails to Polish game magazines and websites so that they can know about new features from this forum. What is more, I've contacted a guy from big Polish BG clan (forum ~86000 posts) and many of them didn't know about the forum (including modders who were unsatisfied that they can't tell what they want from BGEE, unaware that they actually CAN). The word of mouth has too small range, I think websites should be informed about this forum, because it was opened to public quite quietly.
BG EE could use some game events to expose the game, E3 coomes in mind.
In Brasil, for example, i found the Brasil Game Show, an E3 alike event that gonna happen in 11,12,13 and 14 october. They expect more or less 80.000 visitors to this event, and gonna happen little after the release of BG EE. From what i read on their site, there gonna be coverage of newspapers and specialized sites from United States, France, Italian and Japan. On the past, coverage from newspapers and specialized sites from UK, Paraguay, Mexico and Bolivia already happened.
So @PhillipDaigle, will not be an pre-order sale, but this kind of disclosure could help a lot, no? Just named you here cos you created this thread and can take this info to the other members of Team BG.
I would kill for a collectors edition that comes in something that is similar in dimension and artwork to the original big box edition from back in the day. Including a cloth map and a dagger replica of some kind. That would be awesome. Thanks :-)
Hi, I'm new here. I am always interested in playing BG, but never actually played it. Been considering buying one from GOG.com, but once I read the announcement of the Enhanced Edition, I consider on buying that instead. But since I'm not from the US, where the exchange rate may differ from months to months (I think... ;D), I'd like to clear things up first before pre-order.
1. If I were to pre-order now, and let's say if (that's a big if) somehow you guys decided to up the ante by offering the game LESS than what is offered now when it is, let say, a month or a week before release date, what will happen to the early adopters? I hope this is not the case since you promised the offer is until the release date of the PC version, but just curious because it's almost two months from now, it is a very long time and anything can happen in between.
2. You said we can install the game in multiple computers. But can it run on multiple computers at once, like let say I run mine on my laptop and my younger brother run his on his laptop, for some multiplayer session, using my installer/installed files on his laptop?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It basically means that a company has put restrictions on their digital product once it has been released for any number of reasons. With video games, DRM involves putting restrictions on how many times a user can install a game before they have to re-purchase it, or have some sort of account system so that people have to log-in to an always internet connected service so that their game is accessible (like Steam or Origin). Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition has none of this. You buy it, you can download it as many times as you like from your Beamdog account, and there are no installation restrictions.
Quoted from the official Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition FAQ:
"Will you need an internet connection to play Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition?
No."
Also, from another FAQ:
"The DRM will be a minimal system that does a quick check to start the download. After that, BG:EE can be played completely offline if desired. When launched, the updater will check for an update: if there is none, it will launch the game directly and shut down; if there is an update, a GUI will pop up asking if you want to update now or just play the version you have."
So, basically - all you'll need is an internet connection to download the game, and then to update it. The game will be playable either way.
If not gonna exist collector's edition and only online product, the pre-purchase could give some bonus to who brought it, as a discount to BG2 EE, vouchers to get some DLC(s) for free... etc.
Ok I pre-ordered game . I hope you are right . If you are not true I will not use this game . because I mentioned I haven't internet connection in my gaming rig .
@azurit, so what? I'm paying in advance you know. I didn't wait for evaluatons of the game, metacritic and gamspot previews... i just paid before a single trailer has been spread, so i think i give a serious jump of faith here, that would justify something more ! Even the screenshots, i only saw them after the purchase, on the Beamdog download plataform.
@Kyon you need internet at least to download the file (but since you're here and is speaking with us i assume you have a way to temporally connect to internet).
@kamuizin i would love to have anything more too but let's be realistic - 10% discout for pre-ordering is enough i think especially if you already know the game will be really cool!
@azurit as i said, i gave a leap of faith, and ONLY cos this is Baldur's Gate, otherwise i would never trought in buy a game before a demo or even a video teaser at least. But the trust Beamdog ask from us is not well rewarded enough with 10% discount (since i had to do an international transaction and with the exchange rate i probally gonna end paying more than $18,00).
I'm not asking to BG EE be cheaper, i'm asking advantages to trust and suport the company in a blind purchase as i did, they can give discounts to BG2 EE purchase to whoever brought a pre-order, give vouchers to minor DLC(s) be free, or a discount in huge DLC(s), let who make a pre-order of BG EE has the right to be an beta tester on BG2 EE...
I dunno but the only thing a pre-order get me is a badge on the forum.
Edit to change Jump of faith to leap of faith on frist line:)!
Yeah people are right about piracy concerning BG. The only people who gonna buy this game are probably fans and maybe few newbies(not enough money for marketing etc). I personally am dedicated pirate but when i love certain product i do everything to support it: I bough all battlefield(apart from the third) and thats after trying playing like pirate. Same with CS. I will try everything to buy this bg although i dont trust digital apart from Steam. I really hope this company will continue their great work like they did in MDK2 HD. Awesome improvement though i am still little bit afraid to buy from unknown\new client using other person's visa. I travaled few cities back in here to find all the old BF games, so if even limited edition can be arranged i would gladly pay MORE money just to get the limited. Also somehow i though it would cost 60 dollars not 20. All the games i want to buy lately cost much less then the usual price tag AKA BG:EE ,CS:GO
I dont understand why anyone pirates? I pay for everything I buy because that is how the world works, you pay for the product which someone has placed there time and effort into, if the product is good then the money that you spend is well placed, I make sure everything I buy is something that is worth while I dont want to support things that I dont like or are not good. this goes for music, films and Games and you tend to find all these things relativley cheap if you know where to look and make sure you buy them when they are sales and discounts.
@Majoca- are you from usa? or wealthy otherwise? i'm not trying to be an asshole, but your argument is predominant to people living in upper classes of the rich countries, which turns out to be a economically related cultural issue.
i preordered as soon as i found out about BG:EE being available, and try hard to support every quality product i can, but at the same time, i have absolutely no money to pay for EVERY god damn update to every program i use (for job or entertainment). not to mention how many products simply exist to milk your pocket. also, prices usually GO UP in poorer countries. i wont get into neoliberal critique but i mean it when i say i feel no remorse for not paying to some companies that are bathing in money, even if i still (have to) use their products.
@Trinit, though I completely understand what your trying to say but you ask questions that are both wrong, I am from the UK, where 'economically speaking' we are not doing very well and neither is the USA. I am also not very wealthy, I do work when I can and I am currently at university. It totally depends what you do with your time, personally I am good with my money and am easily pleased Id rather spend £5 on a book and read that than spend £50 on drink and food on a good night out.
There tons of reasons to pirate @Majoca, and in EA GAMES you can multiply those reasons x2, you can't see this as a black and white situation, cos it's not, but here and now isn't the proper place to discuss something so polemic.
This project in my point of view is one of the fews that reduce to few the reasons for piracy, even putting the conventional crack groups into a moral dilemma. I will raise 1 and ONLY 1 comment here cos it's something out of United State and other countries context.
Taking PS2 games from the past, you could buy them for $30 on USA market for example, but when the product was imported to Brasil for example, it reached a value of something like R$ 230,00 (R$= Real, the official brasilian coin).
Know that at this exactly moment, the minimum wage on Brasil is R$ 622,00 per month to unseless you have faculty and your profession is listed in other law with better minimum wage. USA use a work/hour table from what i see on WIKI so lemme do this with the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
I will compare this to Brasilian maximum work/hour limit that is "8 hours per day and 40 hours per week" in most of the existent jobs:
So a person that gain the minimul allowed in law on united states gain $1.174.50 while on Brasil gain R$ 622,00.
Now see, on playstation 2 issue, a person on USA would pay $30 from her minimum wage total of $1.174.50 while on Brasil the same person doing the same job would have to pay R$230,00 from R$622,00.
While on USA you used near 3% of your wage the same equivalent person on Brasil used more or less 37% of his wage to buy the same product.
$1 atm is something like R$1,85 (i really don't know the exange rates of today) but when PS2 games sales were high (2006/2007 for example) the relation betwen $ and R$ was: 1$=2R$ more or less.
So R$230,00/2 = $115,00. with this you can see that the materialized medias cost near 400% more the original price (cos that time steam and other online stores didn't existed). Who's guilty in this point? The government and his lack of marketing programs.
But understand this is only a face of many that generate the current piracy. Sorry for the off-topic giant i made ppl, just to clarify a point here, i feel compeled to do this post with no restrains cos i already made my pre-order so it's clear that in BG EE issue i defend the brought of the original product.
@Kamuizin, I thought your opinion was informative and to the point. I can understand the dilema with the countries like that and would fan the flames of piracy, but you have to remember that was PS2, things have changed over time with digital copies, however again poorer countries will have to pay more.
All I can now say is that is how the cookie crumbles, people who cannot afford will have to do without or save the money. I just hope that this generation get to enjoy this game as baldurs gate is a gem among the many PC games out there.
Comments
There's no way to stop piracy, its deeply tangled with internet anarchy nature, but specific in Baldur's Gate, i believe we're not going to see much piracy, it's an old game, most old players respect BG legacy too much and unlike other companies we have direct contact with the devs (a little at least), and somehow many of us added content (mods) to the game. This make things personal somehow.
Maybe we bump in some tries, but by the nature of BG EE, many crack groups gonna find themself into a difficult moral position. BG EE is a enhance of an old game, the "if you like buy" can't be used here, the install.exe gonna be downloaded so no EA Games cretinism. To crack BG EE is to lose all arguments covers.
I have a huge personal position about piracy and it's definition that i will not share here to avoid conflicts.
I usually point the diferences betwen piracy and Unofficial copy, as piracy term in many countries need a monetary relationship with the act.
But here, today with baldur's gate (and later BG2, PS:T...) i say that in my view any group that crack the game gonna lost moral in internet.
Seriously though, I believe that piracy can't be avoided too, and the only way to mitigate the consequences is to deliver awesome content. I try my best to inform people about BG:EE because many think that it's widescreen mod+few new characters. And I'm not joking. BG:EE doesn't have millions to spend on commercials, so the community must spread the word. Also, the press releases could be bigger, but that's up to publishers what is approved. I've sent few mails to Polish game magazines and websites so that they can know about new features from this forum. What is more, I've contacted a guy from big Polish BG clan (forum ~86000 posts) and many of them didn't know about the forum (including modders who were unsatisfied that they can't tell what they want from BGEE, unaware that they actually CAN). The word of mouth has too small range, I think websites should be informed about this forum, because it was opened to public quite quietly.
In Brasil, for example, i found the Brasil Game Show, an E3 alike event that gonna happen in 11,12,13 and 14 october. They expect more or less 80.000 visitors to this event, and gonna happen little after the release of BG EE.
From what i read on their site, there gonna be coverage of newspapers and specialized sites from United States, France, Italian and Japan.
On the past, coverage from newspapers and specialized sites from UK, Paraguay, Mexico and Bolivia already happened.
Source: http://www.brasilgameshow.com.br/
So @PhillipDaigle, will not be an pre-order sale, but this kind of disclosure could help a lot, no? Just named you here cos you created this thread and can take this info to the other members of Team BG.
1. If I were to pre-order now, and let's say if (that's a big if) somehow you guys decided to up the ante by offering the game LESS than what is offered now when it is, let say, a month or a week before release date, what will happen to the early adopters? I hope this is not the case since you promised the offer is until the release date of the PC version, but just curious because it's almost two months from now, it is a very long time and anything can happen in between.
2. You said we can install the game in multiple computers. But can it run on multiple computers at once, like let say I run mine on my laptop and my younger brother run his on his laptop, for some multiplayer session, using my installer/installed files on his laptop?
Thanks in advance.
Hope this helps, @Kyon!
Quoted from the official Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition FAQ:
"Will you need an internet connection to play Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition?
No."
Also, from another FAQ:
"The DRM will be a minimal system that does a quick check to start the download. After that, BG:EE can be played completely offline if desired. When launched, the updater will check for an update: if there is none, it will launch the game directly and shut down; if there is an update, a GUI will pop up asking if you want to update now or just play the version you have."
So, basically - all you'll need is an internet connection to download the game, and then to update it. The game will be playable either way.
ha-ha, you fools! you already had me at "pre-purchase"
Edit: sry for the double post.
I'm not asking to BG EE be cheaper, i'm asking advantages to trust and suport the company in a blind purchase as i did, they can give discounts to BG2 EE purchase to whoever brought a pre-order, give vouchers to minor DLC(s) be free, or a discount in huge DLC(s), let who make a pre-order of BG EE has the right to be an beta tester on BG2 EE...
I dunno but the only thing a pre-order get me is a badge on the forum.
Edit to change Jump of faith to leap of faith on frist line:)!
The only people who gonna buy this game are probably fans and maybe few newbies(not enough money for marketing etc).
I personally am dedicated pirate but when i love certain product i do everything to support it:
I bough all battlefield(apart from the third) and thats after trying playing like pirate. Same with CS.
I will try everything to buy this bg although i dont trust digital apart from Steam.
I really hope this company will continue their great work like they did in MDK2 HD. Awesome improvement though i am still little bit afraid to buy from unknown\new client using other person's visa.
I travaled few cities back in here to find all the old BF games, so if even limited edition can be arranged i would gladly pay MORE money just to get the limited. Also somehow i though it would cost 60 dollars not 20. All the games i want to buy lately cost much less then the usual price tag AKA BG:EE ,CS:GO
I will be buying this pre-order on the first days of September...
i preordered as soon as i found out about BG:EE being available, and try hard to support every quality product i can, but at the same time, i have absolutely no money to pay for EVERY god damn update to every program i use (for job or entertainment). not to mention how many products simply exist to milk your pocket.
also, prices usually GO UP in poorer countries. i wont get into neoliberal critique but i mean it when i say i feel no remorse for not paying to some companies that are bathing in money, even if i still (have to) use their products.
This project in my point of view is one of the fews that reduce to few the reasons for piracy, even putting the conventional crack groups into a moral dilemma. I will raise 1 and ONLY 1 comment here cos it's something out of United State and other countries context.
Taking PS2 games from the past, you could buy them for $30 on USA market for example, but when the product was imported to Brasil for example, it reached a value of something like R$ 230,00 (R$= Real, the official brasilian coin).
Know that at this exactly moment, the minimum wage on Brasil is R$ 622,00 per month to unseless you have faculty and your profession is listed in other law with better minimum wage. USA use a work/hour table from what i see on WIKI so lemme do this with the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
I will compare this to Brasilian maximum work/hour limit that is "8 hours per day and 40 hours per week" in most of the existent jobs:
40x7.25= 290 per week.
290 x 4 (28 days) + 7.25x2 (2 days) = 1.160 + 14.50 = $1.174.50 (30 days).
So a person that gain the minimul allowed in law on united states gain $1.174.50 while on Brasil gain R$ 622,00.
Now see, on playstation 2 issue, a person on USA would pay $30 from her minimum wage total of $1.174.50 while on Brasil the same person doing the same job would have to pay R$230,00 from R$622,00.
While on USA you used near 3% of your wage the same equivalent person on Brasil used more or less 37% of his wage to buy the same product.
$1 atm is something like R$1,85 (i really don't know the exange rates of today) but when PS2 games sales were high (2006/2007 for example) the relation betwen $ and R$ was: 1$=2R$ more or less.
So R$230,00/2 = $115,00. with this you can see that the materialized medias cost near 400% more the original price (cos that time steam and other online stores didn't existed). Who's guilty in this point? The government and his lack of marketing programs.
But understand this is only a face of many that generate the current piracy. Sorry for the off-topic giant i made ppl, just to clarify a point here, i feel compeled to do this post with no restrains cos i already made my pre-order so it's clear that in BG EE issue i defend the brought of the original product.
All I can now say is that is how the cookie crumbles, people who cannot afford will have to do without or save the money. I just hope that this generation get to enjoy this game as baldurs gate is a gem among the many PC games out there.