I quite like the idea of more paper dolls but i think i would prefer the time and energy to go on some more quests for the game. But i would not say no to prettier paper dolls
i agree with the first post in its entirety.new portraits->must, better paperdolls-> must, animations->must
also: 1. virtue like reputation system (or anything separating reputation from the moral orientation)
2. kits for kitless classes
3. npc interaction/relationship
4. GUI skins
basically, i support anything that expands the interactivity, immersion and enhances visual aspect. the less of these gets into post-ship area the better.
Back to the inclusion of regular portraits, I may take a stab at making my own. My style is a little different to the current BG portraits, but I reckon it could just be a nice alternative? ... still, that's 25 portraits, ugh. It would have to be an ongoing project in-between commissioned work! Oh and here's my blog to get an idea of how they'd look: http://jackmrhughes.tumblr.com/
I'd like: - new portraits, voice sets, GUI skins; - return to the original paperdolls and animations; - new weapon/armor/shield/helm skins and animations; - more kits, especially for clerics (there's plenty of different gods to choose from, I'd hope to get one for every alignment and maybe some non-human deities like dwarven/elven/gnomish) or new classes inspired from 3rd/3.5 edition's prestige classes (like Dragon Disciple, Dwarven Defender, Shadowdancer, Hexer, Harper Scout); - more NPC interactions (not likely to happen because of contractual restrictions); - separation between reputation and alignment & local reputation (like in Fallout) - why being a hero in Beregost would also make you one in Nashkel / Gullykin? Again, highly unlikely to happen as it would mean changing content in the original game.
More kits: eg. clerics of non-human deities would be great, but I'd settle for one kit for every alignment instead of just generic good/neutral/evil; More quests: random encounters or quest-lines (with multiple endings based on PC choices, alignment, PC class and race) Expanded NPC quests or additional NPC quests: eg. Xzar and Monty investigated the source of the Iron Crisis.. help them deliver the news to a pre-determined location, be ambushed by Harper agents on the way... who drop a note about a contact in the area... in whose hideout you find a map to a dungeon they're investigating... which turns out to be home to a vampire lord... whose mistress manages to teleport away... only to ambush you with a group of mercenaries in Baldur's Gate at night... and if you spare one of them they lead you to the mercenary base where you can become an associate and receive further quests.That sort of thing. More portraits: gnome females first please
The big thing I want Trent has already said they want to look into.
That's setting up weapons like they are in IWD2 instead of the current BG2 format. Finally being able to Dual Wield, Switch to a 2h weapon or ranged weapon and then to a weapon and shield without the hassle of always going to the inventory screen would be great.
Ok, i think i have a suggestion about this post ship feature called new character sprites, also @AndreaColombo, wouldn't it be a good idea to create a sticky about such requests? So the devs can actually see them and at least consider some of these?
Anyway, back to the request for new character sprites. I think i have found a foulproof way of implementing new character sprites, bypassing the problems of visual consistency, and allowing Beamdog to see if it's actually worth it.
So let me explain the idea, and then argument about why i think it's solid.
The proposal is : New character sprites/animations DLC, released in parts, for a fair price.
Let's see the problems Beamdog said that exist, and how we can bypass them.
Beamdog said : Character models only would not be a bad idea, but it would create visual inconsistency if monsters are not uprgaded as well, and monsters is a huge task.
Solution : Use an editor and take a look at a random human fighter, a human mage, and then a half- ogre monster and a lich. You will notice that the monsters actually are more crisp, and have smoother animations than the character models. You will see that the characters are more pixelated, while you can make out even details in the monsters armor or clothes. Then, take a look at the surroundings, you will see again that the characters are the only pixelated thing in the graphics department. Improving the characters, would not bring visual inconsistency, but rather visual consistency.
Like they created new art for new areas from scratch, they could create new character models, that will not look like super-high definition or whatever, but will be rather better looking than the current ones, closer to anything else in the game graphically.
The key point is releasing it through DLC however. The reasons are as follows:
1) You release it in parts, as it's done slowly.
2) You actually see how many people download/buy them. You can then measure if it's worth it and if you need to proceed to further visual upgrades. In other words, you can get a value of if this thing sells.
3) Making it DLC means whoever wants it, buys it, if you don't care for it, you don't bother. At the same time, you don't have problems like people preferring the old models over the new ones, they simply not get the DLC or uninstall it, if they want the old look back.
4) Obviously, you get money from the DLC, i believe it's something people will go after.
Anyway, that's my suggestion. Since you were able to create new areas from scratch without them looking much different than the existing ones, i'm sure you can create something analogous in character sprites and profit from it, while at the same time having your ass covered if people don't like it and evaluating the need for upgrading monsters or something else visually as well. If people don't buy it too much, you just sell the character models and stop. If they like it, why not upgrade more stuff slowly?
I'm not sure how do-able this would be, if even, so pardon me if it's not practical. I'd really like to see the paper dolls and/or the models reflect cloaks being equipped. I can definitely see not worrying about belts, bracers, etc, but if seems to me that cloaks are rather significant. All that one would need to do really is have one model for each sort of character and color it depending on the cloak. I don't know, there's just something cool about armored and cloaked knights.
I'm surprised the rumors are not running wild in the forums yet.I fully expected people saying that the original graphic assets were found or something similar...
I'm surprised the rumors are not running wild in the forums yet.I fully expected people saying that the original graphic assets were found or something similar...
Maybe they have got their hands on IWD art asset... yep that can be a good rumor..
Perhaps the introduction of a tailors in some major areas like bergost, and BG. These tailors would of course sell several clothing sets with new custom colours and paters that arent changeable in the inventory tab. This in turn can charnge the main clothing colours on the portraits of characters. New clothing sets and portrait combinations could be release monthly or something.
Hi, I agree with DivineBlood about tailoring. My request is somewhat connected - adding the workshop feature from BG:Dark Alliance 2.
The main reason for this request is that I would like to see gems be given more use than just possessing monetary value. So many gems and you can only sell them! Excluding Cespenar in ToB, gems should have better uses so why not use them to upgrade weapons/armour/items etc.
This would make BG so much more customisable than ever!!!
we saw something about more quests, and we thought of the accumulation of excuses to pop the level cap (via mod or otherwise)... and we thought:
how about meta with a twist - this could in fact be a prelude to BG2:EE (and even if not that exactly, would more than likely be the last release prior to it) - fighting off JI's abduction attempt(s)? let's back up. our initial reaction was 'can't add too many side quests - too much pre-2 xp!' then we remembered that there's supposed to be an xp cap. then we realized that the chief rewards for additional otherwise-xp-bearing game-play would be the new equipment and income, giving that 'material' edge when CHARNAME is imported - wait! you mean everything is plundered? scattered? disappears? (for the first time ever, i find myself wondering how BGT handles the money...) what can be done to preserve those saddlebags bursting with gp, and the inventory that isn't destined for chateau irenicus' cabinets? well, what if he didn't send enough thugs? or sent the wrong combination of thugs, or whatever. okay, hopefully nobody's going to pretend that he wouldn't have more resources at his disposal... so he takes fewer chances next time, right? any xp gain from successful resistance should have diminishing returns, of course - and naturally they aren't carrying money; maybe simple weapons. eventually, either he does the job himself... OR he moves on to an easier 'spawn target. in which case, you win! no need for that character to ever be used for bg2!
and frankly, the one thing that we took a LONG time to miss from Ultima (and pretty much every dungeon-crawler ever) is FOOD. it's understandable to avoid turning a campaign (especially one that isn't pure action) into a race against time, but when the calendar can just keep ticking away and the only sense of urgency is in the form of text (well - unless you're at Rep 1 or some such - which reminds me of not having given that a strategy test... and vaguely attaches back to the cap mentioned above...
@ryu1 said: "... I would like to see gems be given more use than just possessing monetary value."
hear, hear! ever since first cracking open 'dungeon master's guide' 1.0, we've been fascinated by the sheer variety of this type of loot. 30 years later, still suckers for any list (in-game, real-life, whatevs) along the lines of "properties of herbs & gemstones".
OT, never got into the "jewelry" of "gems & jewelry" (even knowing how much more portable it was than piles of silver or lakes of copper; reading/rolling details of a necklace's constituent parts didn't seem worth it if you couldn't pop one of the settings out and use it to neutralize poison or as a fireball grenade or something... and from there [circuitously] it only got worse for RL, as the "collective consent of 'value'" concept finally crashed into my wee brain).
Is there any hope to add some new (possibly romanceable) NPCs every so often. Now, I have no idea how long it would take to implement such a thing, so maybe once every 6 months or so? (you can feel free to laugh at me if my time needed is completely unrealistic)
Six months is pretty reasonable to write the content itself and get it coded, although it would take a bit longer to get it approved by the higher-ups, and then if it causes any bugs in the existing game those have to be fixed. And then turning it into a DLC as well.
For a giant studio, it wouldn't take very long, but for a developer like OG that is somewhat limited in its available resources...
That said, I'm considering writing an NPC mod for BG:EE once I figure out how that all works. So we'll see.
Comments
also: 1. virtue like reputation system (or anything separating reputation from the moral orientation)
2. kits for kitless classes
3. npc interaction/relationship
4. GUI skins
basically, i support anything that expands the interactivity, immersion and enhances visual aspect. the less of these gets into post-ship area the better.
Oh and here's my blog to get an idea of how they'd look:
http://jackmrhughes.tumblr.com/
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/2646/upgradable-safehouse#latest
Another poll was set up to show players' opinions, unfortunately didn't get enough votes:
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/2832/the-developer-should-add-a-safehouse-in-bgee-through-a-dlc#latest
Need not be hundreds of hour`s long, It`d be mini IWD kind of thing.
- new portraits, voice sets, GUI skins;
- return to the original paperdolls and animations;
- new weapon/armor/shield/helm skins and animations;
- more kits, especially for clerics (there's plenty of different gods to choose from, I'd hope to get one for every alignment and maybe some non-human deities like dwarven/elven/gnomish) or new classes inspired from 3rd/3.5 edition's prestige classes (like Dragon Disciple, Dwarven Defender, Shadowdancer, Hexer, Harper Scout);
- more NPC interactions (not likely to happen because of contractual restrictions);
- separation between reputation and alignment & local reputation (like in Fallout) - why being a hero in Beregost would also make you one in Nashkel / Gullykin? Again, highly unlikely to happen as it would mean changing content in the original game.
More quests: random encounters or quest-lines (with multiple endings based on PC choices, alignment, PC class and race)
Expanded NPC quests or additional NPC quests: eg. Xzar and Monty investigated the source of the Iron Crisis.. help them deliver the news to a pre-determined location, be ambushed by Harper agents on the way... who drop a note about a contact in the area... in whose hideout you find a map to a dungeon they're investigating... which turns out to be home to a vampire lord... whose mistress manages to teleport away... only to ambush you with a group of mercenaries in Baldur's Gate at night... and if you spare one of them they lead you to the mercenary base where you can become an associate and receive further quests.That sort of thing.
More portraits: gnome females first please
That's setting up weapons like they are in IWD2 instead of the current BG2 format. Finally being able to Dual Wield, Switch to a 2h weapon or ranged weapon and then to a weapon and shield without the hassle of always going to the inventory screen would be great.
Anyway, back to the request for new character sprites. I think i have found a foulproof way of implementing new character sprites, bypassing the problems of visual consistency, and allowing Beamdog to see if it's actually worth it.
So let me explain the idea, and then argument about why i think it's solid.
The proposal is : New character sprites/animations DLC, released in parts, for a fair price.
Let's see the problems Beamdog said that exist, and how we can bypass them.
Beamdog said : Character models only would not be a bad idea, but it would create visual inconsistency if monsters are not uprgaded as well, and monsters is a huge task.
Solution : Use an editor and take a look at a random human fighter, a human mage, and then a half- ogre monster and a lich. You will notice that the monsters actually are more crisp, and have smoother animations than the character models. You will see that the characters are more pixelated, while you can make out even details in the monsters armor or clothes. Then, take a look at the surroundings, you will see again that the characters are the only pixelated thing in the graphics department. Improving the characters, would not bring visual inconsistency, but rather visual consistency.
Like they created new art for new areas from scratch, they could create new character models, that will not look like super-high definition or whatever, but will be rather better looking than the current ones, closer to anything else in the game graphically.
The key point is releasing it through DLC however. The reasons are as follows:
1) You release it in parts, as it's done slowly.
2) You actually see how many people download/buy them. You can then measure if it's worth it and if you need to proceed to further visual upgrades. In other words, you can get a value of if this thing sells.
3) Making it DLC means whoever wants it, buys it, if you don't care for it, you don't bother. At the same time, you don't have problems like people preferring the old models over the new ones, they simply not get the DLC or uninstall it, if they want the old look back.
4) Obviously, you get money from the DLC, i believe it's something people will go after.
Anyway, that's my suggestion. Since you were able to create new areas from scratch without them looking much different than the existing ones, i'm sure you can create something analogous in character sprites and profit from it, while at the same time having your ass covered if people don't like it and evaluating the need for upgrading monsters or something else visually as well. If people don't buy it too much, you just sell the character models and stop. If they like it, why not upgrade more stuff slowly?
Cheers
Widest selection, lowest prices, and nary a fancy illustration. Just the goods, fair and plain.
if not, i refer to more race choices. (just trying to cover my bases)
New clothing sets and portrait combinations could be release monthly or something.
The main reason for this request is that I would like to see gems be given more use than just possessing monetary value. So many gems and you can only sell them! Excluding Cespenar in ToB, gems should have better uses so why not use them to upgrade weapons/armour/items etc.
This would make BG so much more customisable than ever!!!
how about meta with a twist - this could in fact be a prelude to BG2:EE (and even if not that exactly, would more than likely be the last release prior to it) -
fighting off JI's abduction attempt(s)?
let's back up. our initial reaction was 'can't add too many side quests - too much pre-2 xp!' then we remembered that there's supposed to be an xp cap. then we realized that the chief rewards for additional otherwise-xp-bearing game-play would be the new equipment and income, giving that 'material' edge when CHARNAME is imported - wait! you mean everything is plundered? scattered? disappears? (for the first time ever, i find myself wondering how BGT handles the money...) what can be done to preserve those saddlebags bursting with gp, and the inventory that isn't destined for chateau irenicus' cabinets?
well, what if he didn't send enough thugs? or sent the wrong combination of thugs, or whatever. okay, hopefully nobody's going to pretend that he wouldn't have more resources at his disposal... so he takes fewer chances next time, right? any xp gain from successful resistance should have diminishing returns, of course - and naturally they aren't carrying money; maybe simple weapons. eventually, either he does the job himself... OR he moves on to an easier 'spawn target. in which case, you win! no need for that character to ever be used for bg2!
and frankly, the one thing that we took a LONG time to miss from Ultima (and pretty much every dungeon-crawler ever) is FOOD. it's understandable to avoid turning a campaign (especially one that isn't pure action) into a race against time, but when the calendar can just keep ticking away and the only sense of urgency is in the form of text (well - unless you're at Rep 1 or some such - which reminds me of not having given that a strategy test... and vaguely attaches back to the cap mentioned above...
@ryu1 said:
"... I would like to see gems be given more use than just possessing monetary value."
hear, hear!
ever since first cracking open 'dungeon master's guide' 1.0, we've been fascinated by the sheer variety of this type of loot. 30 years later, still suckers for any list (in-game, real-life, whatevs) along the lines of "properties of herbs & gemstones".
OT, never got into the "jewelry" of "gems & jewelry" (even knowing how much more portable it was than piles of silver or lakes of copper; reading/rolling details of a necklace's constituent parts didn't seem worth it if you couldn't pop one of the settings out and use it to neutralize poison or as a fireball grenade or something... and from there [circuitously] it only got worse for RL, as the "collective consent of 'value'" concept finally crashed into my wee brain).
"Interactive bugfixing" is kinda necessary for a videogame these days.
Six months is pretty reasonable to write the content itself and get it coded, although it would take a bit longer to get it approved by the higher-ups, and then if it causes any bugs in the existing game those have to be fixed. And then turning it into a DLC as well.
For a giant studio, it wouldn't take very long, but for a developer like OG that is somewhat limited in its available resources...
That said, I'm considering writing an NPC mod for BG:EE once I figure out how that all works. So we'll see.