we are all excited for the new patch, but speaking like this to the devs only make them realize that is not a smart thing to speak with the community.
Nonsense. The overwhelming majority of posters here are good folks; even the aggressive comments are generally from posters who are passionate but frustrated with XYZ. Even if expressed in less-than-polite terms, I'd caution anyone from trying to shut down these posters or comments. While positive feedback is very much appreciated, letting us know what isn't working will lead to improvements in the game, which is good for everyone.
The reason why you don't see many devs engage is that we're generally busy working on the game and can't weigh in on every feature request/bug report/balance suggestion. For every thread I post in, I've probably read 30.
@{{{@Dee}}} . Hugs. Everything is going to be okay.
Passions and community tension are running high right now, but it can be seen as a good thing if you look at it a certain way; that is, people are having such intense emotions because everybody wants your hard work, really bad, and they want it to be good, and they want it now. Please forgive all the impatience and impertinence.
I think maybe some of the super negative posters can't help it. Being pessimistic and negative can be a powerful and often effective psychological defense against fear of disappointment for some people. I've succumbed to the temptation to use that defense before, to my regret.
And could everyone maybe, pretty please with sugar on top, cut @Dee some slack for being human? As someone else said, I'd much rather have public relations for a company I'm dealing with handled by a real, relatable, intelligent, nice human being, than by some "professional" schmoozer who is all flash and no substance.
I think that as customers, we've been treated by Beamdog and its representatives with far more respect, care, and courtesy than I've ever seen from any other gaming company.
I apologize for my post earlier. It's been a longer week than usual.
I also apologize for the earlier estimate, because as I said in my previous post I did push for a date based on the feedback and rage I saw on the forums. That bit is my fault, so you can lay your grievances at my doorstep.
As soon as I know a real, concrete date for the patch, I (or someone else) will post it. I know you've all been waiting (some more patiently than others) for a long time, and I know it's frustrating to see the finish line move back a bit every so often. It's frustrating for us as well.
To anyone who has never had experience in software development: I'd like to point you to a nice explanation of why it's so hard to make estimates and respect them.
There will, unfortunately, always be negativity in any business pursuit that involves customer service. This is always especially the case when something is eagerly anticipated, as a great many things are here in this forum. Between being pressed for release dates, feature requests, and bug fixes, the mods still manage to come let us know as much as the NDA will let them. Dee has been especially on the ball with this, as shown in the "Ask Us Anything" forum. Kudos to you guys, and keep up the good work.
I'll take BG:EE and all subsequent patches when they come. When/if the dev team has/will misjudge(d) a time frame, life will goes on for me. This is a great game and the greatness of the game, and how great it will be, will not change if a patch comes out tomorrow or in another few months. Keep up the good work, Overhaul! I for one am looking forward to the quality product you release; whether it be quite soon or not, whether it is released exactly when you predicted it to months ago or not.
please take this with a grain of salt, not looking to start any arguments. Just adding my 2 cents
It's kind of funny to complain about a forthcoming patch when nothing game-breaking currently exists(correct me of I'm wrong as I am in my very first playthrough and I have only experienced minor bugs)
I also find it funny with all the posts that exist both here and on steam forums bastardizing this version. Most remakes don't work out so well (DMC anyone?). While this isn't a complete remake it is one hell of a job to attempt this while keeping the core of the game intact. As far as I am concerned that goal was achieved.
While I did not play the original back in the day, I own both versions. I bought both of them recently and spent 5-6 hours in each, comparing the two. It is my belief that the EE is the definitive edition.
You know what Dee? Its been almost a year since the game was released, but more importantly its been over 3 months since the patch announcement was made. So at this point patience doesn't even come close to what many of us have been demonstrating.
Frankly I'm sick of the excuses and delays and everything else that's gone along with this drawn out process of getting the game in a playable, stable, and "enhanced" state.
I bought the game not long after release and gave up playing it not too long after, I jumped back in once each patch was released and saw some small improvement each time, but still its been a long drawn out process and its frustrating for everyone. 10 months since release and STILL the game is in an unfinished and unpolished state (imo and many others too).
I've pre-ordered BGIIEE because I see the value in what you're trying to do, but you need to address the community openly and honestly from the get go, and I sincerely hope that you're not splitting resources by having a few folk working on getting BGEE up and running and others getting BGIIEE in order for release. You should be putting ALL available resources in BGEE and if needs be holding off on the release of BGIIEE, becuase if its as big a mess as BGEE was on release there will be no end of anger, frustration, and no doubt abuse directed at all of you, and I for one will feel not one speck of sympathy for anyone.
You're a small team, and I doubt you have the resources to have a full dedicated team working on both titles. Get the first game sorted THEN work on the second.
Sorry if thats a little ranty, but I just really want to play BGEE without all the crap I am having to deal with.
Wait, what? So, you are not happy with the way things are, and feel entitled to changes right now...and you are so frustrated and sick of waiting that you just can't take it anymore.
So...you vent on Dee, who is actually being really transparent and human, unlike a lot of other game devs I've seen, and purchase the sequel, even though you admit you are extremely unhappy with the way you say they handled BG:EE?
@cryocore I'll be posting more on this soon, but we've grown the team in response to our specific needs for BG2, with a number of well-known modders onboard.
We wouldn't want @Dee touching code, trust me, but he is doing an amazing job refining our buglist. At the same time, we wouldn't want @Seth writing dialog, because while Seth makes a fantastic codemonkey, he's not a writer. (Sorry, Seth.) We have two separate teams with specific skillsets working on different areas and different problems -- it wouldn't make sense for everyone to work on the same thing, because it would be a waste of people's skills and experience.
Nothing is holding up the release of anything else. We're working on some plans to make things a little more transparent soon, but obviously the actual work on the patch comes first.
I feel fairly safe in saying the BG2EE release will be a lot smoother than the BGEE release. We've come a long way since then, and learned a hell of a lot.
Awesome. You'd think that most people would want you guys to take your time, and polish things up, and make it look/feel great. It is a re-make of one of the best games of all time.
Speaking of steam users, do we have to ask every now and then about our situation with the patch? Do you hate steam because of Atari? One of you (Dee) sugest that if we want stuff early we better buy the game from you, but that's not fair... I have the first game on steam and it will be a long wait aparently... that sux.
It's Atari you have to blame for that.. Beamdog / Overhaul weren't the ones that released te game on Steam, actually, they didn't even know about it untill it was done, if I remember the reaction from trent oster on his tweeter account about that.
It's Atari you have to blame for that.. Beamdog / Overhaul weren't the ones that released te game on Steam, actually, they didn't even know about it untill it was done, if I remember the reaction from trent oster on his tweeter account about that.
Actually, I thought it was pretty much common knowledge that the steam version was maintained by Atari. Guess I was wrong.
As for the patch, I'll wait forever and ever for it. I mean, I do have other games to play. The list is too long to actually start naming off games though. :P
Beamdog controls and maintains the version of the game sold on Beamdog.com and in the Mac and iPad AppStores.
Atari controls and maintains the version of the game distributed on Steam.
Meaning that... you don't give 'em the updates? Or, you give 'em the updates whenever you want because fuck Atari... and fuck those stupid ones who bought it there...
I apologize in advance for the mean words... it's just that in my mind you could be so great company and you are not right now. I'm gratefull though, I have fun with the first one a lot, the bugs and problems where not that bad, the game was enjoyable, but hearing all the cool stuff you have in mind for future versions... well, I feel I should have know better.
@siril_dana I'm under the impression that Overhaul submits the patch for the Steam version at the same time they issue it for the Beamdog version. It's just that they submit it to Atari, who then has to submit it to Steam, who then have to approve it and then put it online, hence the delay.
Beamdog controls and maintains the version of the game sold on Beamdog.com and in the Mac and iPad AppStores.
Atari controls and maintains the version of the game distributed on Steam.
Meaning that... you don't give 'em the updates? Or, you give 'em the updates whenever you want because fuck Atari... and fuck those stupid ones who bought it there...
Not at all. We give Atari the updates as soon as we release them to our own customers; Atari then submits the update to Steam, who then releases it to theirs.
Beamdog controls and maintains the version of the game sold on Beamdog.com and in the Mac and iPad AppStores.
Atari controls and maintains the version of the game distributed on Steam.
Meaning that... you don't give 'em the updates? Or, you give 'em the updates whenever you want because fuck Atari... and fuck those stupid ones who bought it there...
Not at all. We give Atari the updates as soon as we release them to our own customers; Atari then submits the update to Steam, who then releases it to theirs.
That was informative, ty. Now I hate Atari, like a lot more than a few moments ago.
And, in this case, seems misdirected. Sometimes things can just take a while without there being a baddie.
Whenever any games company gives a game to Steam to put out they spend time checking and converting it to their platform. I suspect that with big releases this all happens quickly and in an organised way, so all avenues get released at once, or in accordance with a timetable at least.
In this case, getting simultaneous release would mean Beamdog letting the version go to Steam through Atari, then updating their own site when Steam released it, after a week or two. Now, why would Beamdog want to hold back on release through the channel they have most control over and profit from, just because the Steam process takes a while?
I think the problem may lay in all the submissions steam probably gets. You might think patches might get sent straight through, but with all the indie devs on there, someone might be malicious enough to include a virus. Not saying that would ever actually happen. I mean who would do this knowing they would never be trusted again? lol But from a business standpoint I think steam needs to take that into account. If it did happen everyone would complain on how steam could let this through, thus a screening process.
Not saying this is true, just offering opinion! And I am in no way implying Beamdog/Overhaul would ever do this. Love these guys for re-making these games
I apologize for my post earlier. It's been a longer week than usual.
I also apologize for the earlier estimate, because as I said in my previous post I did push for a date based on the feedback and rage I saw on the forums. That bit is my fault, so you can lay your grievances at my doorstep.
Why apologize for saying the truth? You weren't mean or rude about it that it would require an apology.
I apologize for my post earlier. It's been a longer week than usual.
I also apologize for the earlier estimate, because as I said in my previous post I did push for a date based on the feedback and rage I saw on the forums. That bit is my fault, so you can lay your grievances at my doorstep.
As soon as I know a real, concrete date for the patch, I (or someone else) will post it. I know you've all been waiting (some more patiently than others) for a long time, and I know it's frustrating to see the finish line move back a bit every so often. It's frustrating for us as well.
Thank you for all the hard work you are doing, Dee.
Bah, I logged on to be like, "open beta in ~a week!" only to find this. Halloween for sure though, right? I can put a bowl of candy on the porch with a note saying I'm busy playing video games?
Comments
The reason why you don't see many devs engage is that we're generally busy working on the game and can't weigh in on every feature request/bug report/balance suggestion. For every thread I post in, I've probably read 30.
Passions and community tension are running high right now, but it can be seen as a good thing if you look at it a certain way; that is, people are having such intense emotions because everybody wants your hard work, really bad, and they want it to be good, and they want it now. Please forgive all the impatience and impertinence.
I think maybe some of the super negative posters can't help it. Being pessimistic and negative can be a powerful and often effective psychological defense against fear of disappointment for some people. I've succumbed to the temptation to use that defense before, to my regret.
And could everyone maybe, pretty please with sugar on top, cut @Dee some slack for being human? As someone else said, I'd much rather have public relations for a company I'm dealing with handled by a real, relatable, intelligent, nice human being, than by some "professional" schmoozer who is all flash and no substance.
I think that as customers, we've been treated by Beamdog and its representatives with far more respect, care, and courtesy than I've ever seen from any other gaming company.
I also apologize for the earlier estimate, because as I said in my previous post I did push for a date based on the feedback and rage I saw on the forums. That bit is my fault, so you can lay your grievances at my doorstep.
As soon as I know a real, concrete date for the patch, I (or someone else) will post it. I know you've all been waiting (some more patiently than others) for a long time, and I know it's frustrating to see the finish line move back a bit every so often. It's frustrating for us as well.
It's kind of funny to complain about a forthcoming patch when nothing game-breaking currently exists(correct me of I'm wrong as I am in my very first playthrough and I have only experienced minor bugs)
I also find it funny with all the posts that exist both here and on steam forums bastardizing this version. Most remakes don't work out so well (DMC anyone?). While this isn't a complete remake it is one hell of a job to attempt this while keeping the core of the game intact. As far as I am concerned that goal was achieved.
While I did not play the original back in the day, I own both versions. I bought both of them recently and spent 5-6 hours in each, comparing the two. It is my belief that the EE is the definitive edition.
Frankly I'm sick of the excuses and delays and everything else that's gone along with this drawn out process of getting the game in a playable, stable, and "enhanced" state.
I bought the game not long after release and gave up playing it not too long after, I jumped back in once each patch was released and saw some small improvement each time, but still its been a long drawn out process and its frustrating for everyone. 10 months since release and STILL the game is in an unfinished and unpolished state (imo and many others too).
I've pre-ordered BGIIEE because I see the value in what you're trying to do, but you need to address the community openly and honestly from the get go, and I sincerely hope that you're not splitting resources by having a few folk working on getting BGEE up and running and others getting BGIIEE in order for release. You should be putting ALL available resources in BGEE and if needs be holding off on the release of BGIIEE, becuase if its as big a mess as BGEE was on release there will be no end of anger, frustration, and no doubt abuse directed at all of you, and I for one will feel not one speck of sympathy for anyone.
You're a small team, and I doubt you have the resources to have a full dedicated team working on both titles. Get the first game sorted THEN work on the second.
Sorry if thats a little ranty, but I just really want to play BGEE without all the crap I am having to deal with.
So...you vent on Dee, who is actually being really transparent and human, unlike a lot of other game devs I've seen, and purchase the sequel, even though you admit you are extremely unhappy with the way you say they handled BG:EE?
Riiiiggghhhht.
We wouldn't want @Dee touching code, trust me, but he is doing an amazing job refining our buglist. At the same time, we wouldn't want @Seth writing dialog, because while Seth makes a fantastic codemonkey, he's not a writer. (Sorry, Seth.) We have two separate teams with specific skillsets working on different areas and different problems -- it wouldn't make sense for everyone to work on the same thing, because it would be a waste of people's skills and experience.
Nothing is holding up the release of anything else. We're working on some plans to make things a little more transparent soon, but obviously the actual work on the patch comes first.
I feel fairly safe in saying the BG2EE release will be a lot smoother than the BGEE release. We've come a long way since then, and learned a hell of a lot.
Awesome. You'd think that most people would want you guys to take your time, and polish things up, and make it look/feel great. It is a re-make of one of the best games of all time.
My thanks to you and the team.
~Ascerion
As for the patch, I'll wait forever and ever for it. I mean, I do have other games to play. The list is too long to actually start naming off games though. :P
Atari controls and maintains the version of the game distributed on Steam.
I apologize in advance for the mean words... it's just that in my mind you could be so great company and you are not right now. I'm gratefull though, I have fun with the first one a lot, the bugs and problems where not that bad, the game was enjoyable, but hearing all the cool stuff you have in mind for future versions... well, I feel I should have know better.
To the best of my knowledge anyways.
Whenever any games company gives a game to Steam to put out they spend time checking and converting it to their platform. I suspect that with big releases this all happens quickly and in an organised way, so all avenues get released at once, or in accordance with a timetable at least.
In this case, getting simultaneous release would mean Beamdog letting the version go to Steam through Atari, then updating their own site when Steam released it, after a week or two. Now, why would Beamdog want to hold back on release through the channel they have most control over and profit from, just because the Steam process takes a while?
Not saying this is true, just offering opinion!
And I am in no way implying Beamdog/Overhaul would ever do this.
Love these guys for re-making these games
I do that every Halloween.