Looking for advice to play BG:EE 1&2 on the go. Ipad or Touchscreen Laptop or Kindle Fire HDX?

squalltheonly

Hello, I play the game on the PC but now I am looking for a way to play it on the go @ work and other places. I am looking closely at the Ipad mini, because it's the cheapest one and also the smallest, and I'm very interested in it. Now I saw some touchscreen laptops that are small @ around 11"-12", some even smaller, and they are catching my attention as well.

Basically I don't want to play with the trackpad of a regular laptop, so it has to be something with touchscreen. What do you guys recommend? Go for an Ipad Mini? Or get a small touchscreen laptop? Also, what about waiting for the android version and getting a Kindle Fire HDX, which is the cheapest of all these 3 options. Last I heard is a different team working on it & they have no release frame.

Thanks.

DancingBugbear

An old convertible Lenovo or Panasonic laptop/touchpad should be able to run it with the new specs. The Toughbook CF-19 mk2 has the minimum requirements and you can use it in the rain, or use it to play soccer. It has an 11" 4x3 display, and a touchscreen/lightpen protected film layered screen. You can but in a WWAN card in it to get mobile broadband, and up to 4GB RAM (100 or 200x that of the highest end iPad). It also works as a standard office computer. It sells on eBay for about $475 to $550, less than you can expect for an iPad, and all it's parts are replicable, where if something breaks on the iPad, it's gone. Also, with the iPad, you're limited to everything in the iPad store, where with a convertible laptop, you can get any program available for MS Windows or Linux, and any peripherals designed for a PC.

keuunny

The only thing I have against going the kindle route is that it would be stuck to the Amazon market place. Of which I'm not sure BGEE would be sold in. (Kindle HDX does not have Google Play store)

Now of course, Beamdog could sell in Amazon market place as well as the device getting rooted in the future, but until then, there is no certainty. It is true that there is no current release date for android but I have hope that it would be released this year (so I can play on my cheap china knockoff tablet!)

The Ipad may be a good option if you want itunes apps or IOS and the current bugs in Ipad version would be eventually be fixed when patch 1.2 rolls out, but I find it hard to justify if you are just looking to play BGEE/BG2EE on it. (Ipad itself is a good device should you get one)

So all in all, think of what you want to use your new device in. If you want to use PC features, go mini convertable. If you think the benefits of a tablet is for you, (watching films while lazying around, ebooks ect) go tablet.

One thing I will say to you is that if you go Android Tablet route or Ipad route, it may be better to wait a little bit as both Apple and many Android tablet firms are looking to bring out next generations of their current devices soon. Maybe at least until end of october when news of new Ipads may appear. (for android, until announcements of Android version appears)

That post was waaay too long than what I thought it would be.

DancingBugbear

The convertible laptops have all the features of the iPads and Kindles. They lock up in tablet form, and they're a lot faster, and sturdier, and space available, with better support, and you can do with them everything a computer can do. And they have replaceable parts, and compatibility with other devices. The iPad and Kindle are designed, so you have to by all your applications from their store.

keuunny

DancingBugbear said:

The convertible laptops have all the features of the iPads and Kindles. They lock up in tablet form, and they're a lot faster, and sturdier, and space available, with better support, and you can do with them everything a computer can do. And they have replaceable parts, and compatibility with other devices. The iPad and Kindle are designed, so you have to by all your applications from their store.

well, yeah. I don't know what the OP wants out of their device, but if it's just to play BGEE on the go, the convertible laptops are good at the job. It doesn't really look like the OP needs a tablet anyway.

One thing I want to ask is I had a look at the The Toughbook CF-19 mk2, what is the GPU on this thing? it doesn't say on the spec sheet. Also it's 2.3kg (5.1 lbs) which is significantly heavier than tablets. (Although it doesn't say how much it weighs in tablet mode)

squalltheonly

Thanks for the replies. I apologize for not being more specific on my needs. Starting out, my budget is around $400 and if it could be much lower then it would be great, this is why so far the Ipad Mini is winning @ $279 from the Apple refurbished store. I have never had a tablet, but I have been using an Iphone since they came out, so I am familiar w/ the OS & I love what you can do with it. I wouldn't mind having a tablet instead of a small laptop, I could maybe finally get back into reading comics & books.

Do you guys play on Ipad? how does it feel? is it unplayable because of the bugs?

Chack

The game runs on iPad reasonably good (iPad 4, ymmv).

There are no game-breaking bugs, but the AoE spells get a little annoying (move the screen for the duration of the spell if you can). The next patch is supposed to correct this with the new renderer.

I use the iPad as my sole multimedia device (don't use any computer apart from my work laptop). I find it really confortable, no heating, no time starting up/ shutting off, and very easy to use.

keuunny

In that case, I suggest waiting a little bit as the ipad mini MAY get an update this year with better specs. Since you have an Iphone, you know how IOS and the app store works so that won't be an issue.

I personally don't have an Ipad since I'm more of an Android guy, but it is widely known that the Ipad version suffers from slowdown issues when using AoE spells (web, cloudkill ect) which is supposed to be fixed in the next update of which they are in the beta stage of. Although from the best of my knowledge you can play from start to end. (still would advise you to wait for patch)

Otherwise, getting an Ipad mini would mean that you could share your apps between phone and tablet.

(I wish my friend wasn't on holiday right now so I could borrow his Ipad 2 lol)

squalltheonly

I am going to keep a close eye on Apple & see if they announce anything related to a new Ipad Mini, hopefully before BG2:EE comes out. Having the 2 Apple products would be benefitial because of the sharing of apps & the compatibility of the 2 devices. I would get to play emulators on it, but it sucks that there isn't one that lets you emulate PC games, it would be sweet to play D2 & RTS games like Age of Empires. More games like these need to be ported over to iOS and other mobile platforms, which is why I am buying BG2:EE on PC & Ipad to support the devs & so that hopefully they make BG3 & Torment EE one day.

DancingBugbear

keuunny said:

One thing I want to ask is I had a look at the The Toughbook CF-19 mk2, what is the GPU on this thing? it doesn't say on the spec sheet. Also it's 2.3kg (5.1 lbs) which is significantly heavier than tablets. (Although it doesn't say how much it weighs in tablet mode)

It has an Intel Centrino Core Duo 1.06GHx2 (that's two 1.06GH processors, but not the dual core type). It's the same weight in tablet form. It's has a clasp, and locks in the same shape as when it's regularly closed. It has a strap/clasp to carry it with. It has a fanless magnesium alloy case, and is sealed, so it's moisture and impact/shock resistant, so if you do carry it around with you, it's durable.

You'll find that if you want many features, the iPad is much more expensive. I don't know if it would run much well in it's minimum cost version. Then, if you liked FF8, then you might like things that don't work.

squalltheonly

I didn't get the FF8 reference, the game played fine back in the Playstation but I haven't played it on the PSN or on a PSX emulator.

I checked out that Toughbook and it's too expensive, I also don't need it to be so sturdy because I would only use it on places like my job, my home, my car, & when doing laundry. The cheapest convertible PC I see in Amazon is a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 for $400, and in newegg is even more expensive.

So that is pretty much making me scratch off convertible from the list, so now is either the Ipad or another tablet. If I go the Android route it could be a long time before I can play any BG:EE games, but I could play other games in the meantime. I am going to give it some time, maybe Apple announces something about a new Ipad Mini or maybe the Android version of the games get a release date.

I also think the Ipad Mini can handle BG:EE fine and any emulator up to PSX/N64, which is what I would use it on. I got my gaming Rig at home for Crysis/Skyrim type of gaming.

DancingBugbear

squalltheonly said:

I didn't get the FF8 reference

They're both things that are amassed in flaws, and likely to disappoint, and cause frustration. I considered making an iPod life expectancy poll, but it didn't seem necessary to make a criticism of them. I'd guess not normally more than two years.

meagloth

I play on iPad mini and it's really wonderful. I think it has less lag than normal iPad from what I have read here, and the ipad mini is really great in general. I can even fit it in some pockets quite comfortably, and I really love it.

squalltheonly

meagloth said:

I play on iPad mini and it's really wonderful. I think it has less lag than normal iPad from what I have read here, and the ipad mini is really great in general. I can even fit it in some pockets quite comfortably, and I really love it.

I have seen videos of the Ipad Mini and it feels so much better in the hand, compared to the other Ipads. Even the screen is much better than the Nexus 7, which is an Android one that I had my eyes on as well. Now I am just going to wait for Apple to announce the Ipad Mini 2 and to hope that it will cost the same $320. In the meantime, I will play BG2:EE at home.

lunar

Playing the game on the go on an Ipad is great. Though Ipad mini wins in smaller size, Ipad (2 and later generations) is not bulky, they have a very sleek design and are not heavy/cumbersome/burdening at all. I think playing bg:ee on a smaller screen will be a worse experience than the regular Ipad screen.

You can customise your game and even have some basic modding without jailbreaking your Ipad, if you are so inclined, check the threads in this forum.

squalltheonly

I think playing on a 7" screen of the iPad Mini is good enough, bigger would be better but also more expensive. Besides, it is just to play at work and on the go, which wouldn't add up to more than maybe 1 hour a day. I will play on the PC and keep the save file current in the iPad.

I saw the mods that work on the iPad and none of them catch my attention, BG was a game I never saw the need to mod. That's just me.

davemo

Keep in mind when considering Windows that BGEE is not written for Windows touch interfaces. You will either need to have a mouse/trackpad, or, I assume, a decent pen input device that can mimic mouse use. Sadly, this is the norm for games on both iPad and Windows. The Windows version don't implement multitouch interfaces.

riyahhassett

I have an ipad 2. I bought it when it first came out and I'm happy with it overall. Sometimes I use airplay with BG when I'm at home for a big game experience or to show the game off to friends. I'd recommend a refurb ipad 2 over an ipad mini. The guts are the same.

DancingBugbear

@davemo It works on typical convertable laptops.

Illydth

I realize I'm late to this conversation but let me throw a few things out there:

* If you are already an iPhone user, there is a really big draw to owning an iPad: Shared Applications. If you are already an iOS user, getting another iOS device is usually a better iDea (See what I did there?) than going to another platform. Apple makes adding devices to your iCosmos a no brainer.

* The windows convertible laptops are good for when you want more functionality from your device. That said, a bluetooth keyboard and a 10" ipad = Convertable Laptop. So long as you're not married to a specific set of applications (Word, Outlook, etc.) I've never found any functionality I could NOT re-produce on my iPad that I could do on a portable PC.

* If you are buying the device SOULEY to play BG:EE on, it really doesn't matter which you go with...both will give you a reasonable experience. At this point I would look at what ELSE you intend to do with the device before spending your money. The best advice I will give you is this: Before you look at budget, look at functionality. If you're spending $300 for an iPad Mini and an extra $100 would give you something that provides you a huge amount more needed functionality, wait, save the $100, and buy what will last you and do what you need instead of buying now.

* There is nothing about BG:EE on the iPad that is game breaking. I have completed an entire playthrough from top to bottom, all functionality, all quests, all features on the iPad. I was, at no point, ever stopped in my game play. I did run into a couple bugs but never was "unable" to complete the game. Despite all the "unplayable" you're reading on these forums, the game is far from that...

* If you prefer the Android devices, you will be waiting. How long is anyone's guess. And there has been absolutely NOTHING released denoting which app stores will carry the game for Android devices. Given you are already an apple user and given that android is pretty ephemeral right now, I would NOT recommend looking at the Kindle Fire as your BG:EE Device. YMMV.

* I LOVE my iPad. I own a full sized version and personally would not consider the Mini...I think it's too small. That said, there are some great advantages to playing with a full windows laptop. Still, tablets exist for a reason. 5.1lbs sounds pretty light and the durability / portability is great, but it's still a laptop, it's not 1.X lbs, it's not .75" thin.

Seriously, don't pick up a portable device because you want to play BG:EE. Pick up a portable device because you have a use for a portable device, and use "BG:EE" as a minimum requirement for what to get. With technology, $$$ does seem to equal Functionality. Don't cheap out and then regret spending $300 when $400 would have gotten you something much better. No matter how much you spend, spending money on a throwaway item that doesn't do EVERYTHING you need it to do is expensive and a waste.

meagloth

squalltheonly said:

meagloth said:

I play on iPad mini and it's really wonderful. I think it has less lag than normal iPad from what I have read here, and the ipad mini is really great in general. I can even fit it in some pockets quite comfortably, and I really love it.

I have seen videos of the Ipad Mini and it feels so much better in the hand, compared to the other Ipads. Even the screen is much better than the Nexus 7, which is an Android one that I had my eyes on as well. Now I am just going to wait for Apple to announce the Ipad Mini 2 and to hope that it will cost the same $320. In the meantime, I will play BG2:EE at home.

You finally got your mini 2. If you have the extra money the retina display is worth it, even if you have to save up for I while. It's disappointing how they didn't make it standard. A bad move in my opinion.