I remember someone mentioning four hundred thousand words added into BG2EE. Even in words, not in lines, the amount you mentioned is a lot. Would you care to clarify, please?
I've been told 500,000 words, give or take--editing and revisions bounce the exact number around a bit. Not sure about lines.
2) I'm pretty impressed by the amount of new monster sprites we've seen so far. I know those are a major pain in the behind to create for the Infinity Engine, and I wouldn't have thought we'd get more than a couple of them.
3) I'm glad there are optional explorable areas in the game, those are a really important part of BG, in my opinion.
Congratulations to everyone at Beamdog, SoD looks absolutely great so far!
Kinda bummed that there will be limited adventuring with Xzar and Montaron. However if i have Baeloth with me when i defeat Sarevok. Does the plot with him and Goblin still happen?
Something @bengoshi forgot to mention in his great list but was also in the stream is that
some returning companion's from BG1 have updated stats to make them more functional. In the stream Phil and Amber talk about how Safana is more useful due to some tweaks in her stats (she has pick locks now).
2) I'm pretty impressed by the amount of new monster sprites we've seen so far. I know those are a major pain in the behind to create for the Infinity Engine, and I wouldn't have thought we'd get more than a couple of them.
I have not seen any new monsters. They just took sprites from IWD to use them in SoD.
2) I'm pretty impressed by the amount of new monster sprites we've seen so far. I know those are a major pain in the behind to create for the Infinity Engine, and I wouldn't have thought we'd get more than a couple of them.
I have not seen any new monsters. They just took sprites from IWD to use them in SoD.
Might want to check around 44 minutes in. There is one monster shown that is new.
2) I'm pretty impressed by the amount of new monster sprites we've seen so far. I know those are a major pain in the behind to create for the Infinity Engine, and I wouldn't have thought we'd get more than a couple of them.
I have not seen any new monsters. They just took sprites from IWD to use them in SoD.
Might want to check around 44 minutes in. There is one monster shown that is new.
I know, right? Such lovely Vargouille "Bonebats" they are. Although I'm more fond of the Black Puddings and Bisons Wild Boars from the first live stream myself. They are simply fluffier.
So nice to see that you actually went the extra mile and fixed one of the most annoying things. You can actually switch from sword&shield/dual wield to bow! Does this work with two handed weapons as well? I mean is it possible to switch from sword&shield/dual wield to a two handed weapon?
Also are we going to get all these same new mechanics to bg2ee?
So nice to see that you actually went the extra mile and fixed one of the most annoying things. You can actually switch from sword&shield/dual wield to bow! Does this work with two handed weapons as well? I mean is it possible to switch from sword&shield/dual wield to a two handed weapon?
Yes you can equip both. When you switch to your two-handed sword it disables your shield.
I liked the stream, thks. But, you will notice that the first comment is exactly about what i said before. It has an answer, is it correct? Siege will be a dlc for bgee? no problem but it sounds strange... The health bars above chars IMO are not better than the portrait filling with red. If we could have that option...
I noticed you didnt pause much in the stream. I'am not someone who plays the hardest mode but I think one of the things that made BG memorable was its fights, and pausing and knowing what spells to use. I'am sure it isnt req. in story mode etc...
Beamdog writer Amber Scott and lead designer Phillip Daigle have shown off another hour or so of gameplay from the Siege of Dragonspear expansion to Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on livestream, a recording of which was later uploaded on YouTube (you can find it embedded below in the newspost). The livestream, which showcased an optional dungeon off the critical path, also included brief cameos from company CEO Trent Oster and new creative director David Gaider.
The dungeon shown during the livestream seemed to offer a good amount of content, with varied (but not overly complex or gimmicky) combat encounters, some puzzles, dialogue, and nooks and crannies to explore. By the end, Scott's party had been completely obliterated, although that seems to have happened partly because she was distracted and didn't have the chance to focus completely on the game. I have to reiterate that I'm very impressed by the quality of the area art, especially when compared to the new areas Beamdog had implemented in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. The jump in quality is enormous, not least because the developers implemented a number of new visual effects like colored fog.
Aside from the gameplay, the livestream is also notable because of the developers' willingness to talk about the new features that are going into the expansion and their own design process and considerations. We are promised, for example, more depth from the returning companions from Baldur's Gate, who will now have more lines and more complex personalities that go beyond their original superficial characterization. Some of these companions were also revised in terms of stats, so that they are more "functional" in terms of gameplay.
The companion lines are just a small part of the roughly 500,000 lines of text the writing team at Beamdog penned for the game, of which 8000 are voiced, some of which were penned for totally new companions like M’Khiin, a shaman goblin. To design the new class, the developers at Beamdog looked at very old iterations of the idea in the very first Dungeons & Dragons editions and much more recent titles such as Blizzard's RTS Starcraft 2.
New, more flexible AI scripts have also introduced to control the game's companions or, should the players prefer, a party of custom characters. While originally Baldur's Gate and its sequel only allowed custom parties for multiplayer games, Siege of Dragonspear will introduce the full party creation from Icewind Dale to the game's single-player mode, a change that will be backported to both Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Multiplayer games could technically be launched by a single player, so this is really more of an ease of use feature.
According to Daigle, a lot of the expansion has an "Icewind Dale" feel in terms of enemy spawns and combat mechanics, but the influence of Black Isle's dungeon crawl in the frozen north didn't stop there, as some enemy types from it were also featured. Being an expansion that's meant to bridge the gap between the original Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn, it's not surprising to learn that the developers also looked at some of the tricks used in the sequel. Siege of Dragonspear will feature dream sequences in the mold of Baldur's Gate II rather than the original, complete with in-game graphics and dialogue choices. Furthermore, the developers have also implemented some cutscenes from the perspective of other characters, much like the cutscenes that would follow Irenicus' exploits.
Finally, it's worth noting that the team confirmed that a release date for the expansion has been decided, and that now they're just figuring out when it's the right time to announce it. They recommended following the company's social media advice, though I'd imagine the announcement will be difficult to miss when it happens. For the future, though, we should expect a shorter turnaround between announcement and release, as Beamdog feels Siege of Dragonspear was revealed too early. The expansion has been in development for four years (although only two of full production), but it looks like we won't have to wait much longer.
Comments
BG:EE - 682k
BGII:EE - 1.65M
IWD:EE - 582k
This also means more translation work than for BG2EE additional content. Hopefully Beamdog will announce something in that area too.
Someday @Soulmarine will return to us and bless us with the Frostwood UI...
1) Two-handed/off-hand weapon switching! It's really true, they've actually done it! Yes!
2) I'm pretty impressed by the amount of new monster sprites we've seen so far. I know those are a major pain in the behind to create for the Infinity Engine, and I wouldn't have thought we'd get more than a couple of them.
3) I'm glad there are optional explorable areas in the game, those are a really important part of BG, in my opinion.
Congratulations to everyone at Beamdog, SoD looks absolutely great so far!
The stream is up on youtube, btw.
Also are we going to get all these same new mechanics to bg2ee?
@Reven Yes.
The health bars above chars IMO are not better than the portrait filling with red. If we could have that option...
I noticed you didnt pause much in the stream. I'am not someone who plays the hardest mode but I think one of the things that made BG memorable was its fights, and pausing and knowing what spells to use. I'am sure it isnt req. in story mode etc...
Beamdog writer Amber Scott and lead designer Phillip Daigle have shown off another hour or so of gameplay from the Siege of Dragonspear expansion to Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on livestream, a recording of which was later uploaded on YouTube (you can find it embedded below in the newspost). The livestream, which showcased an optional dungeon off the critical path, also included brief cameos from company CEO Trent Oster and new creative director David Gaider.
The dungeon shown during the livestream seemed to offer a good amount of content, with varied (but not overly complex or gimmicky) combat encounters, some puzzles, dialogue, and nooks and crannies to explore. By the end, Scott's party had been completely obliterated, although that seems to have happened partly because she was distracted and didn't have the chance to focus completely on the game. I have to reiterate that I'm very impressed by the quality of the area art, especially when compared to the new areas Beamdog had implemented in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. The jump in quality is enormous, not least because the developers implemented a number of new visual effects like colored fog.
Aside from the gameplay, the livestream is also notable because of the developers' willingness to talk about the new features that are going into the expansion and their own design process and considerations. We are promised, for example, more depth from the returning companions from Baldur's Gate, who will now have more lines and more complex personalities that go beyond their original superficial characterization. Some of these companions were also revised in terms of stats, so that they are more "functional" in terms of gameplay.
The companion lines are just a small part of the roughly 500,000 lines of text the writing team at Beamdog penned for the game, of which 8000 are voiced, some of which were penned for totally new companions like M’Khiin, a shaman goblin. To design the new class, the developers at Beamdog looked at very old iterations of the idea in the very first Dungeons & Dragons editions and much more recent titles such as Blizzard's RTS Starcraft 2.
New, more flexible AI scripts have also introduced to control the game's companions or, should the players prefer, a party of custom characters. While originally Baldur's Gate and its sequel only allowed custom parties for multiplayer games, Siege of Dragonspear will introduce the full party creation from Icewind Dale to the game's single-player mode, a change that will be backported to both Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Multiplayer games could technically be launched by a single player, so this is really more of an ease of use feature.
According to Daigle, a lot of the expansion has an "Icewind Dale" feel in terms of enemy spawns and combat mechanics, but the influence of Black Isle's dungeon crawl in the frozen north didn't stop there, as some enemy types from it were also featured. Being an expansion that's meant to bridge the gap between the original Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn, it's not surprising to learn that the developers also looked at some of the tricks used in the sequel. Siege of Dragonspear will feature dream sequences in the mold of Baldur's Gate II rather than the original, complete with in-game graphics and dialogue choices. Furthermore, the developers have also implemented some cutscenes from the perspective of other characters, much like the cutscenes that would follow Irenicus' exploits.
Finally, it's worth noting that the team confirmed that a release date for the expansion has been decided, and that now they're just figuring out when it's the right time to announce it. They recommended following the company's social media advice, though I'd imagine the announcement will be difficult to miss when it happens. For the future, though, we should expect a shorter turnaround between announcement and release, as Beamdog feels Siege of Dragonspear was revealed too early. The expansion has been in development for four years (although only two of full production), but it looks like we won't have to wait much longer.
http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/116813-baldurs-gate-siege-of-dragonspear-gameplay-footage-2.html