Phil, how about a scrollbar on the righthand side for more than 6? It would be very useful to us modders. Gemrb is coming out with a mod for 10 person parties later this summer.
Again, it's possible to add more, but to have a good UI experience you would want to design it for a higher number.
A scrollbar is okay if you're willing to put up with using it every time you want to click on a portrait, but I don't think that would be the best possible experience.
With the new UI system that we're introducing, however, you might be able to come up with a tight UI that works great for more party members if you're so motivated.
3. Any chance we could de'-hardcode npc limit of 5? With engine improvements, parties of 10 or more seem feasible and would be fun to mod.
IIRC, and I could be wrong about this because I'm not a programmer, there isn't much stopping you in the engine from having a larger party.
However, UI limitations immediately come into effect: the multiplayer lobby, the sidebar with portraits, etc. etc. You'd basically need to design it around having more party members, or come up with a new UI that can scale (and perhaps doesn't need to devote as much space to each party member).
It's comments like this Phil, comments like this...
Increasing the party size to be greater then 6 would be a significant challenge from a programming perspective. Also many scripts reference Player1 through Player6, and PartySlot1 through PartySlot6. All these uses in the game would need to be audited to make sure they work properly.
Again, it's possible to add more, but to have a good UI experience you would want to design it for a higher number.
A scrollbar is okay if you're willing to put up with using it every time you want to click on a portrait, but I don't think that would be the best possible experience.
With the new UI system that we're introducing, however, you might be able to come up with a tight UI that works great for more party members if you're so motivated.
Are there new spells (e.g. Not in vanilla or an EE) being added to the game? I know the main site says there are new spells but that could mean some spells from IWD EE were brought over.
One of the screenshots on the main site shows Wall of Force being used, but I can't tell if this was an actual spell that was cast or just something triggered for the encounter in that screen (to prevent you from running away).
Did I read that right? The Shaman is a "Class"? Not a "Kit"? Really?! I sure hope so. Because that would open for a *lot* more custom kit possibilities than currently possible. The more true to its AD&D counterpart it remains, the better. Especially when it differiate between spirits of the dead, animal spirits and spirits of nature. That would be sweet~
The drider encounter also looked great in the trailer. Makes me wish to be able to romance one of those instead of Viconia.
Did I read that right? The Shaman is a "Class"? Not a "Kit"? Really?! I sure hope so. Because that would open for a *lot* more custom kit possibilities than currently possible. The more true to its AD&D counterpart it remains, the better. Especially when it differiate between spirits of the dead, animal spirits and spirits of nature. That would be sweet~
The drider encounter also looked great in the trailer. Makes me wish to be able to romance one of those instead of Viconia.
On the character creation screen they showed at the very bottom under Barbarian I believe was a new tab titled "Shaman" so yup! Class, not a kit.
I'm super excited for this. I just finished a play through of baldur's gate EE and am a few hours into a play through of number 2. Not sure if I should put my play through on hold though
I'm glad I didn't know about this expansion 17 years ago, or I never would have played BG 2! "Sorry, but I'm waiting for the next BG expansion first before I move on to the next game..."
Congrats on all your hard work, Beamdog folks! I love the look of the game and am eager to check out all the new additions. The logo and name reminds me of Dragonlance (although I think Dragonspear castle probably predates the Dragonlance setting), because how much difference is there really between a lance and a spear (no doubt someone knows in great detail)? Which makes me wonder, will there be a secret unlockable kender companion??
2. Any chance in the future or an Enhanced Edition Trilogy game that combines bgee, bgSoD, and bg2ee in one game?
Yes, we would love to do that. Right now there are certain technical limitations for iOS and Android that don't allow for such a colossal game, but eventually that will change. If all else fails it could come exclusively to desktop.
We don't have a specific time frame to do build that, but it's something we've held in mind as a long-term goal since 2012. If it makes sense and we can do it, we will.
Dragonspear castle (from what I have found) was first brought up in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from 1987. Dragonlance does predate that by 3 years. Either way we're talking about something that was first written about at least 28 years ago.
This looks fantastic! Very excited, thankfully I have POE to keep me busy until this releases. Quick question, will EEKeeper work with SOD? Anyway, looks great, oh yeah, one last question, are there any plans for cloud saves? I used to use iFunbox to transfer between iPad and my desktop, but the latest iOS updates killed that. So now I have to pick one or the other for future play-throughs. Just curious.
The thing that worries me about seige,BG2 is gonna need a huge revamp difficulty wise if we can now start with a level 12 party. I mean if you duel a fighter at lvl9 you would have your levels back before the start of BG2 no matter what you dueled into and that's rather OP for the beginning of BG2.
Two things to consider here:
* IE+ has an XP cap, not a level cap. So while level 12 is technically correct, it isn't very precise. Can't say more than this. * Many / Most of the encounters in BG2 already scale with party level.
Looking at level 12 progression tables, it seems to be roughly around 1 million, if you can reach 1 million exp you can do a duel class fighter/anything at lvl 9 and get your levels back besides maybe mage if you play it right and knowing BG there is always more exp than the level cap allows, so my question is what is the exp cap? Yes BG2 has two scaling difficulties with most boss fights, but does this scaling apply to normal minions? If it does I have never noticed it. Last question, there is a HoF mode added to the game which is awesome, can't wait for this to be added to the full saga, but without a SCS on release is the AI any good or is it the standard mentally handicapped AI BG has at the moment? because if it is, I suppose for a lot of old hands will just run through the game with nary a worry nor a care, which will be nice for story purposes, but terrible for general gameplay.
Just reread this and it sounds awful bitchy, sorry for that. I am truly stoked this thing is happening and congrats on getting it done.
Last question, there is a HoF mode added to the game which is awesome, can't wait for this to be added to the full saga, but without a SCS on release is the AI any good or is it the standard mentally handicapped AI BG has at the moment? because if it is, I suppose for a lot of old hands will just run through the game with nary a worry nor a care, which will be nice for story purposes, but terrible for general gameplay.
We re-designed AI from the scratch. Partly because it was rather blunt in vanilla games, partly because it simply could not handle the tasks we had set for it. So, albeit it doesn't necessarily top SCS - which wasn't a goal, for various reasons, - it still offers a comparable amount of challenge on high difficulty settings, as well as introducing a couple brand new features. You might have glimpsed one during the large battle in a courtyard.
I've avoided watching a lot of the gameplay footage in order to avoid spoilers, so I'm not very clear on this. Does anyone know how the new UI differs from the old one? I've seen the new journal and character record screens, and the new color picker. Anything else worth of noting?
I've avoided watching a lot of the gameplay footage in order to avoid spoilers, so I'm not very clear on this. Does anyone know how the new UI differs from the old one? I've seen the new journal and character record screens, and the new color picker. Anything else worth of noting?
Comments
That's great! Thank you
A scrollbar is okay if you're willing to put up with using it every time you want to click on a portrait, but I don't think that would be the best possible experience.
With the new UI system that we're introducing, however, you might be able to come up with a tight UI that works great for more party members if you're so motivated.
5. Any changes to existing spells? Perhaps more familiars from Find familiar?
7. How many new monster models?
8. Any chance for CHARNAME to hire his/her own mercenaries?
Increasing the party size to be greater then 6 would be a significant challenge from a programming perspective. Also many scripts reference Player1 through Player6, and PartySlot1 through PartySlot6. All these uses in the game would need to be audited to make sure they work properly.
Take a look at this Gemrb mod: http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=27138
More than 6 party members is something players have wanted for years. If it's at least de-hard coded, we would be so happy!
One of the screenshots on the main site shows Wall of Force being used, but I can't tell if this was an actual spell that was cast or just something triggered for the encounter in that screen (to prevent you from running away).
The drider encounter also looked great in the trailer. Makes me wish to be able to romance one of those instead of Viconia.
Congrats on all your hard work, Beamdog folks! I love the look of the game and am eager to check out all the new additions. The logo and name reminds me of Dragonlance (although I think Dragonspear castle probably predates the Dragonlance setting), because how much difference is there really between a lance and a spear (no doubt someone knows in great detail)? Which makes me wonder, will there be a secret unlockable kender companion??
Yes BG2 has two scaling difficulties with most boss fights, but does this scaling apply to normal minions? If it does I have never noticed it.
Last question, there is a HoF mode added to the game which is awesome, can't wait for this to be added to the full saga, but without a SCS on release is the AI any good or is it the standard mentally handicapped AI BG has at the moment? because if it is, I suppose for a lot of old hands will just run through the game with nary a worry nor a care, which will be nice for story purposes, but terrible for general gameplay.
Just reread this and it sounds awful bitchy, sorry for that. I am truly stoked this thing is happening and congrats on getting it done.
So, albeit it doesn't necessarily top SCS - which wasn't a goal, for various reasons, - it still offers a comparable amount of challenge on high difficulty settings, as well as introducing a couple brand new features. You might have glimpsed one during the large battle in a courtyard.
Uhm...
Is there any mummies?
...
You'd be surprised by the amount of interest in an answer to this question...
Edit: Sorry, I was mixing up my 'C-Name' characters. Bonus points if you know what Corwin I'm talking about.