@cryocore: How can you argue that adding content disrespects the games while advocating that they should have been made to resemble contemporary products? You say "all that was needed was to update and polish" while calling for new models, new sprites, new UIs, new graphics, new spell animations...
The feeling I get is that if you'd had your way, BG:EE wouldn't resemble "Baldur's Gate" at all.
WOW! Way to miss the point. How about you actually read what I wrote and rethink your response.
I dont want the game changed, the only things I am advocating are aesthetic. Improved models/sprites/animations (in this context they're the same thing) has zero affect on the content of the game, nor how it is played.
The UI has been already been changed, I'm just wanting some more functionality to go in there.
@cryocore, "Why should anyone preface anything with 'I think'? "
Have you heard of a very important life skill called "diplomacy"? Or a personal attribute sometimes called "charisma"?
What is your goal for coming to the EE forums and posting a very critical post about the EE?
Do you want the devs to take some suggestions to improve their product?
Do you want to hear contrasting opinions that might change your mind about the product?
Or, do you want to bolster your own ego by cutting down others? Do you want to hurt other people's feelings, because it makes you feel better about yourself? Do you want to try to increase your "professional" status among certain websites that might pay you for your willingness to tear down the work of others?
What exactly is your motivation to post your criticisms of the EE team?
If those motivations are at all positive, then you would benefit from learning about the skill of diplomacy in wording demands and criticisms.
If those motivations are negative, as many here assume, then of course, you have no need to preface any statement with "I think...", or "in my opinion...", because, your motivation is not to persuade, to create, or to motivate construction, but rather, simply to tear down, denigrate, and hurt, because it gives you pleasure to do so.
So, could you please elaborate to those here who are willing to reason with you and give you the benefit of the doubt:
Why are you invested in criticizing the EE? Would you like to see the devs of the EE do something within their means that will satisfy you, based on your criticisms? Or, are you just trying to tear down the EE and its devs for some unknown motivation?
Criticism is not inherently negative, its that sort of attitude that promotes the "yes man" mentality that breeds ignorant fanboism.
Expressing an opinion is a basic freedom, and I expect nothing. Neither agreement, nor action. Expressing an opinion is just that, expecting results from it is not only presumptuous, but arrogant and unrealistic.
My opinion is not unique however, and the majority of critics are in agreement that the enhancements are thin on the ground. I am sick of pandering, and the inane PC mentality that insists that all commentary, or critique must be sanitized as to not upset or offend.
An opinion given without embellishment or sugar coating is the only way I will ever express my self. Its the reason why people ask me my opinion and why I was offered a position as a reviewer. I will always give my honest opinion, warts and all. I adore many things, but that doesnt mean I cant see faults in them. That doesnt take away from my enjoyment of them, but ignoring them would be me expressing my own bias without context. Good and bad they get equal airplay with me. Read my review. I am critical, and still gave it an extremely high score.
People taking offense to what I say when I intend no offense are the ones at fault, and says far more about them than me.
Well, here's my opinion. If Beamdog had approached the EE as described by Cryocore, I would not have bought them. I am far more interested in new content and additional character options than in attempts to upgrade graphics. I don't think the EE are perfect, but I am enjoying them immensely and consider them money well spent. If the ability to enjoy an imperfect game and not denigrate the overall effort makes me a fanboy, so be it.
I have not labelled you as such, and see no reason to. If someone loves the game, then that's great. My point is that my opinion is as valid as yours. I couldn't disagree more, and find the idea that anyone would want someone else's content injected into one of the most respected and critically lauded RPGs ever made frankly stunning and I cant understand it at all. The content of the game was already complete and as close to perfect as you can get. But you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, and should feel completely secure in expressing it.
The one reason I hope that this team goes no where near Planescape is the fear that they'll again try to inject content into the game. That would be the single worst thing they could do.
I wish there was an option to excise all the extra content. Its well made for what it is, but it is NOT Baldur's Gate, and the arrogance to put it in there is galling to me.
@cryocore, but, you beg the question. *Why* do you express your opinion, here, and in this context, exactly?
Should everybody in the world go about expressing their opinions at all times, absolutely and without hesitation, and in all contexts?
That would be a very chaotic and unpleasant world, and one in which I don't care to live.
"Dear, that outfit makes you look fat. In fact, *all* outfits make you look fat, because you *are* fat!"
"Dear sir, that mole on your face makes me want to retch! You are truly the most hideous person I've ever had the displeasure of having to talk to!"
"Yes, boss, in fact, I do think that all your management decisions are wrong, and stupid, and you are the worst manager for which I've ever had the displeasure of working for!"
"You strike me as the silliest and most ridiculous idiot I have ever had to talk to!"
"Your hard work is meaningless! You made wrong decisions at every turn. What were you thinking? The world would be better if you were never born."
"Your creative effort was wasted. The world would be better if you had just never started this nonsense."
"Your entire country/culture/economic system/way of life is so alien and repulsive to me, it is in my best interests to bring every military resource I can muster to bear to eradicate you as soon as possible."
"The color of your skin/your sexual orientation/your gender/your economic class/your very existence offends me. I shall fight through legal means, shunning, and violence where necessary to eradicate you."
Some opinions are poisonous, and people who express them are poisonous, and those people have poisonous motivations against all that is good and creative, and they revel in their poisonous nature, like rattlesnakes and black widow spiders.
Bear you, @cryocore, I am in no way saying that you are poisonous or that your opinions are poisonous, or that you intend to poison by expressing them.
I am merely pointing out that many people who cry out about "this is my opinion, and I can express it as I will, in the name of free will and free expression!", have nefarious motivation for expressing their opinions.
Again, I know that you do not, and you do not fit the paradigm I am suggesting. So, once again, exactly *why* were you posting about your "opinions", again? What good is to be accomplished here?
@cryocore, but, you beg the question. *Why* do you express your opinion, here, and in this context, exactly?
This is a game discussion forum set up expressly to discuss these games. Your question seems to suggest, that unless its positive no comment should be made.
As for the rest of it... SERIOUSLY. Its called CONTEXT, refer to my previous sentence.
Perhaps you had better look at why you post instead.
How dare I say something critical in a discussion forum. Perhaps we all should go worship at the alter of Overhaul and Beamdog.
Lastly dont even for a second equate what I have said with that valueless borderline hatespeech and bigotry you've compared it to. Frankly I find your entire post intellectually offensive.
HUH? the only real additional cost is time, and much of that could be recouped by dropping the extraneous content that also required time and money. I have no idea what the make up of the team is, but they should have artists and designers in there, and they cost money no matter what they're actually doing. Production of in game assets of course costs, but as I said the split focus was the real cost here, both in terms of resourcing and the final product.
You obviously have no clue on how much time it takes to first create sprites and then render them.
You are also probably clueless of how many sprites there are in the game. Because every single last one would need to be recreated for this to work. Go ahead, guess how many there are.
You are also clueless on how long it actually takes to create and flesh out characters. Design stories/adventures around said characters and implement them into a decade old game. I'll give you a hint. I can probably create 5 different characters with full background and interactions before a graphic artist can create one animated sprite and render it for use.
All the extra time would not have been "recouped by dropping the extraneous content." You would be just recreating a decade old game where the nostalgia feeling would have been lost for a lot of players with nothing actually added to differentiate it from the gog version except for shinier toons. It would of atleast doubled the cost on release to a demographic that would not choose it over titles such as Diablo III, or Dragon Dogma.
If Overhaul main goal is to create Baldur's Gate 3, it has to win over the franchises passionate fan base by demonstrating that they can create memorable characters and unique plot lines without disrupting the story that has been told for the last decade. They don't do it by recreating sprites because every company can do that.
The amount of ignorance and presumption in your post is almost beyond belief.
All of the spites could have easily been designed, created, and implemented within 12 months. I would love to know what exactly makes you think you know better than me. Oh wait its ignorant presumption again isnt it. Making the meshes would be not too much trouble, as its pretty simple to modify a mesh to make variants. The skinning would take time, but these are not difficult things to do, or even expensive.
The whole "You would be just recreating a decade old game where the nostalgia feeling would have been lost for a lot of players with nothing actually added to differentiate it from the gog version except for shinier toons." is utterly moronic. The difference between the two is purely the technical improvements. The extra content adds nothing for new players (they have no basis for comparison), and the vasy majority of old fans didnt buy it for the content, but new features and enhancements... of which there are too few. The reality is its the ease of use and accessibility that is the selling point. Also BGIIEE has not been a commercial success. The reason being there is nothing here for someone new to the franchise. It wears its age very obviously. Which is a shame, because the actual game is exceptional, but not making it look like it has been noticeably upgraded ultimately made it of limited appeal.
Many fans dont want new content to alter and/or dilute the game, and there is not enough to illustrate that it is a demonstrably better experience. Basically your own bias is colouring your perception of what the game needed to do.
Take your condescension and ignorance elsewhere.
As for Baldur's Gate 3. I have seen nothing to warrant any confidence in their ability to make a game worthy of the ip. The amount of bugs, both old and new and the competent, if uninspiring writing all indicate a company trying very hard to ride on the coattails of better developers. As a show reel of their ability it is an abject failure on every level.
HUH? the only real additional cost is time, and much of that could be recouped by dropping the extraneous content that also required time and money. I have no idea what the make up of the team is, but they should have artists and designers in there, and they cost money no matter what they're actually doing. Production of in game assets of course costs, but as I said the split focus was the real cost here, both in terms of resourcing and the final product.
Time is money. And, as any of the devs will tell you, recreating every sprite and animation, especially with brand new, higher-quality art, is a monumental effort for which they did not have even nearly large enough a budget. What you are demanding was impossible given the constraints of their budget.
The amount of ignorance and presumption in your post is almost beyond belief.
All of the spites could have easily been designed, created, and implemented within 12 months. I would love to know what exactly makes you think you know better than me. Oh wait its ignorant presumption again isnt it. Making the meshes would be not too much trouble, as its pretty simple to modify a mesh to make variants. The skinning would take time, but these are not difficult things to do, or even expensive.
The number people listed under the art department alone in the BG2 credits is higher than the total employee count of Beamdog. Not to mention you can't just tell everyone "ok now start making new sprites". Crazily enough people's expertises differ. If you have information on how they could easily accomplished the feat feel free to provide some evidence beyond your on word.
The amount of ignorance and presumption in your post is almost beyond belief.
All of the spites could have easily been designed, created, and implemented within 12 months. I would love to know what exactly makes you think you know better than me.
OK, I'll bite:
How many designers? How many hours? How many sprites? How many animations per sprite? How long to render each sprite? What is the cost to render one animated sprite? What glitches/bugs can be caused by introducing new sprites? How long would it take to fix these, if any? Answer each one of these questions to validate your 12 month assumption.
Many fans dont want new content to alter and/or dilute the game, and there is not enough to illustrate that it is a demonstrably better experience. Basically your own bias is colouring your perception of what the game needed to do.
Great, the "many" (vague term) fans can play the original or play the EE ignoring new the content. As stated, it is very easily to ignore 95% of it.
What fans do realize is that a decade old franchise is being resurrected and depending on the success of these two games, may allow a new title in the franchise. There is no bias to this statement. It has been a stated goal of Beamdog from the beginning. Many people purchased the EE version for this reason and this reason only. I am one of those people. I wanted to see if they could be trusted to deliver an amazing story that reflects the spirit of its predecessors. I believe they can. They demonstrated growth, handling adversity, and compelling story telling. I know it isn't something you agree with: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/7793/if-this-is-an-indication-of-overhauls-capabilities-and-quality-assurance-stay-the-hell-away-from-bg3/p1
which is fine. But don't come here saying you are fan of the EE project when time and time again all you do is complain and complain about the same crap that has been explained to you for the last 2 years.
Team members explaining why remastered sprites cannot be done. That is how I know. Research on the very topic I am attempting to explain to you. You writing reviews or just beginning to work at a game design company doesn't give you insight into things like project management, economics, marketing, branding, or consumer behavior all of which is more important than being able to touch up sprites and say "enhanced!"
And can you point me to where anyone has stated that BGII:EE is not a commercial success? Can you point me to copies sold and what beamdogs goal was? I know, through twitter that BG:EE was a huge success, I just find it hard to believe that the second wasn't and it being stated this early. Or is it just you "stating your opinion" on the matter with no facts to back it up (again).
Well, that project, while impressive, isn't really the same thing - the engines and game systems used are very different. And it did get quite a bit of attention (including in a bunch of gaming press) and downloading.
A remastering of the graphics could have gone well, it might not have gone well. It didn't happen, and so we can't be sure. It's not going to happen now, regardless of any arguments, so it's sort of a moot point. If @cryocore says that it would have sold better, nobody can prove him wrong, really. Maybe it would. But for me, the enhancements that BG:EE did make with the new UI and new characters is what got me to buy both games, and I don't think new graphics alone would have done that. But that's just me.
Really, though, the main problem here is that resorting to comments like "The amount of ignorance and presumption in your post is almost beyond belief." is an excellent way to ensure nobody who doesn't already agree with you will ever pay you any attention.
Agreed. The tone of your post won't convince people. As for sprites, hello no cirrent ones are fine.
They COULD have enhanced them, ie : adding additional animations for some spells/effects or adding additilnal bams for items / helms / weapons (like they did with the staff of the magi) on the other hand.
Regarding the UI, the only thing I still find lacking is picking a spell to cast when you have ~25 of them memorized.
The quick loot UI also is a bit clunky and could be improved.
Even if the team had the resources to redo all of the sprites from scratch (they didn't), you would still be left with two major problems:
1: having new, hi-res sprites would make the NPCs look substantially different than the ones we've grown attached to over the past decade+. You would have scores of players making the inverse argument to the OP's: "Why did you spend all of your resources messing with the characters when you could have been making new content?!"
2: new sprites would clash with the existing backgrounds. HD characters would stand out like a sore thumb against the 2000-rendered backgrounds, so those would need to be redone - in order for the OP to really get what he wants, the art assets would have had to be redone in their entirety, not just sprites. Assuming this team was large enough to take on such a task (it wasn't), there would have been absolutely no room for anything else.
Finally, a note on opinions and absolutism. Just because you do not personally like a product does not make it an "abject failure." Using hyperbolic and declarative statements in lieu of illustrating a personal stance does not a reasonable opinion make.
For instance: the star wars prequels were absolutely not my cup of tea. I didn't like them, don't care to watch them ever again. But that doesn't mean that they "failed on every single level" - obviously that's not the case, because MANY people enjoyed them. Just because something didn't work for YOU doesn't mean it didn't work at all.
Sooo, I might be the only one who doesn't get this, but what exactly is wrong with the player sprites? To the best of my knowledge, they are the same resolution as the area backgrounds, which in my opinion is adequate.
Sooo, I might be the only one who doesn't get this, but what exactly is wrong with the player sprites? To the best of my knowledge, they are the same resolution as the area backgrounds, which in my opinion is adequate.
Apparently, they're not good enough. @cryocore wants something along the line of Path of Exile, Lionheart, the canceled Fallout 3, Greed: Black Borders, or Diablo 3.
Here is my portfolio of my recent works to back up my case: [Spoiler] (This took ~6 Hours of Work via Microsoft Paint.) *More Weapons and Armour are Currently Planned for Release* Also I can draw Item Descriptions: Also I can create Creature Concept Art: (^ Above: Alkoth The Soul Reaver) I can also write 'Super Rich Item Descriptions' Also Here is an 'Unfinished' Item Description that I have yet to create the Item BAM for:[Spoiler] (New Item: Buckler of Unexpected Might) 'Current' Dialog File: "Buckler of Unexpected Might or also less commonly know as, but rather more controversially The Existentialist's Arm. This particular buckler is very old and began its life as a mere heraldric wall adornment for a particularly wealthy noble family hailing from the trading port city of West Gate. The once proud family crest is now indecipherable from having been angrily dashed and defiled and a new overlaid symbol of the 6th Level Mage Spell Tenser's Transformation has been imprinted upon its boss. As the story goes, of which many noble Westhavian historians disagree and refute with one another for most of the records are blurry, bloodied and rewritten at best; but most can agree upon these following basic details. Around 257 to 260 DR the trading port city of West Gate also knows as the 'Gateway to the west' -from the Inner Sea to the east- was successfully invaded and the ruling powers were seized and violently replaced by pirate forces from the Pirate Isles. The inflicting upheaval of the ruling families brought much turmoil upon the city's wealthiest families of trade for they were forced into extortion and unfair trade laws and heavy taxation upon their family operations. A great deal of sources argue and contradict one another over which noble family's house has this buckler associated with its tumultuous history but most all historians will say that the buckler transformed into its current form soon after the new unfair jurisdiction of the recent self-proclaimed 'Pirate King of West Gate'. Most sources agree upon that after a particularly heavy taxation of trade was placed upon the wealthiest of noble merchant families of West Gate it caused one highly regarded noble to speak out against the heavy taxation. The following high noon the influential nobleman was slain outright by a gang of the King's pirates within the city's market in broad daylight, in view and a stone's throw from most noble trade family's major buildings of operation. This was seen by the trade families as a draconian declaration of unquestioning agreement of the new taxation or a swift heinous death. From here the story begins to fall apart and spiral into a contradiction of major details and heated debate among the leading historians of West Gate. Although a few details remain coherent and concise. Soon after the wicked and untimely death of a particularly charismatic noble of one of West Gate's influential trade families a young noble Half-Elven Mage or Arcane Spellcaster was pressured to align with the corrupt ruling party of the Pirate King or with an outside Cormyrian force wishing to overthrow the ruling party from within. The sources argue fiercely over the next few brief segments of the story but most agree that the Half-Elven Spellcaster did not choose a side and violently departed on bad terms from their noble house of West Gate. As to ask why that was in the wrong places of West Gate could result in heated shouting matches, violent brawls and even facticidal bloodshed in between of some of West Gate's more questionable of noble houses. Many believe that the once young noble Half-Elven Spellcaster is to be of the same blue blood as the last true king of West Gate and the sole survivor of the king's blood after the pirate upheaval. As a result of this violent debate there has been much clandestine bloodshed among some of the long existing noble families from time to time. Some of the noble families argue that they should rule the city of West Gate for they believe fiercely that their blood lineage hearkens back to the Half-Elven Spellcaster whom once owned this particular buckler. As to whether or not the the matter will resolve peacefully or will even subside is unknown but one thing is for certain, the magical enchantment placed upon this tiny shield is very very strong. Many agree that it would certainly make sense that only a very powerful or well trained Spellcaster could have placed the enchantment upon this particularly controversial bulwark. As to why and how such a strange and bizarre set of abilities and requirements were used for the unusual enchantment is an argued mystery. Also unknown is how it was used or how the uncommon magic was placed upon this item. There is a of great debate amongst historians and scholars alike over the usage and endeavours of said item; ranging from tales of great adventure to accountings of meek, cloistered cowardice and evasion. Either way of which one looks upon the history and the controversy of and or over this small yet surprisingly powerful buckler one can be sure that the shield is of surprising value and unexpected might, both physically and politically.
STATISTICS:
Armor Class Bonus: 2 Special: No Missile/Piercing Attack Protection Special: Once Per Day Cast Tenser's Transformation: Tenser's Transformation changes the caster into a heroic fighter for 1 round per level of the caster. Thus doubling the target's hit points, and giving them a +4 bonus to their armor class. All of the damage that the caster sustains takes away from the bonus hit points first. All of the wizard's attacks have the same chance to hit as a fighter of the same level, additionally the target is allowed to attack twice per round with a +2 damage bonus per attack.
The Buckler of Unexpected Might is to be intended as a quest item / reward for Xan [To make him able to be a 'fighter' that he (supposedly) originally was before he got turned into "The only neutral Mage". I 'currently' plan for the Quest to be Activated and Finished by Xan, but the party (You) can kick him after and keep the item: If one wishes:-P). Does Anyone have Suggestions? If so.. Please suggest them?
The Current [above] Buckler can be used by the ('Current') Non-Player Characters (Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition): -> Xan: Lawful Neutral: Elf: Enchanter -> Quayle: Chaotic Neutral: Gnome: Cleric / Illusionist -> Neera: Chaotic Neutral: Half-Elf: Wild Mage -> Deder: True Neutral: Halfling: Thief[/Spoiler][/Spoiler] I am not a paid professional game developer nor am I a professional veteran of the game industry, but I can say F*ck You to Baldur's Gate II (Progressively Shittier) Blurry rush-job PAINTED Item BAMs, Dross Weak Item Descriptions AND NONEXISTENT ITEM DEPICTIONS (you lazy skimpwits!) and also a Crappier Game User Interface. Although I can also say Thank You Bioware + Black Isle Studios 1998-1999 for the Improved Diablo-esc 3D based Item BAMs, Long Insightful Item Descriptions and ACTUAL Item Depictions. That is Unlike YOU: 'Enhanced (>.>) Edition' Case of Plenty that sports BOTH a Shit Painted Item BAM 'job' and it has no Frickin' Item Depiction! Hell even Melicamp the CHICKEN has an Item Depiction... Mostly all of the new items are just excuses for the sake of 'new items').
Although I love Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Edition enough that I want to improve upon it and Fix some crappy 'enhancements' Like the Frickin' ITEM BAMs! But all and all I really like what they have done with a 'ghost game' and turned into a 'living game' for the rest the non-late 1990's / early 2000's video game enthusiasts everywhere to enjoy!
Who wants a better Game User Interface with a panel for choosing Original Features vs. Optional 'Enhancements'?
Comments
The feeling I get is that if you'd had your way, BG:EE wouldn't resemble "Baldur's Gate" at all.
I dont want the game changed, the only things I am advocating are aesthetic. Improved models/sprites/animations (in this context they're the same thing) has zero affect on the content of the game, nor how it is played.
The UI has been already been changed, I'm just wanting some more functionality to go in there.
Have you heard of a very important life skill called "diplomacy"? Or a personal attribute sometimes called "charisma"?
What is your goal for coming to the EE forums and posting a very critical post about the EE?
Do you want the devs to take some suggestions to improve their product?
Do you want to hear contrasting opinions that might change your mind about the product?
Or, do you want to bolster your own ego by cutting down others? Do you want to hurt other people's feelings, because it makes you feel better about yourself? Do you want to try to increase your "professional" status among certain websites that might pay you for your willingness to tear down the work of others?
What exactly is your motivation to post your criticisms of the EE team?
If those motivations are at all positive, then you would benefit from learning about the skill of diplomacy in wording demands and criticisms.
If those motivations are negative, as many here assume, then of course, you have no need to preface any statement with "I think...", or "in my opinion...", because, your motivation is not to persuade, to create, or to motivate construction, but rather, simply to tear down, denigrate, and hurt, because it gives you pleasure to do so.
So, could you please elaborate to those here who are willing to reason with you and give you the benefit of the doubt:
Why are you invested in criticizing the EE? Would you like to see the devs of the EE do something within their means that will satisfy you, based on your criticisms? Or, are you just trying to tear down the EE and its devs for some unknown motivation?
Expressing an opinion is a basic freedom, and I expect nothing. Neither agreement, nor action. Expressing an opinion is just that, expecting results from it is not only presumptuous, but arrogant and unrealistic.
My opinion is not unique however, and the majority of critics are in agreement that the enhancements are thin on the ground. I am sick of pandering, and the inane PC mentality that insists that all commentary, or critique must be sanitized as to not upset or offend.
An opinion given without embellishment or sugar coating is the only way I will ever express my self. Its the reason why people ask me my opinion and why I was offered a position as a reviewer. I will always give my honest opinion, warts and all. I adore many things, but that doesnt mean I cant see faults in them. That doesnt take away from my enjoyment of them, but ignoring them would be me expressing my own bias without context. Good and bad they get equal airplay with me. Read my review. I am critical, and still gave it an extremely high score.
People taking offense to what I say when I intend no offense are the ones at fault, and says far more about them than me.
The one reason I hope that this team goes no where near Planescape is the fear that they'll again try to inject content into the game. That would be the single worst thing they could do.
I wish there was an option to excise all the extra content. Its well made for what it is, but it is NOT Baldur's Gate, and the arrogance to put it in there is galling to me.
Should everybody in the world go about expressing their opinions at all times, absolutely and without hesitation, and in all contexts?
That would be a very chaotic and unpleasant world, and one in which I don't care to live.
"Dear, that outfit makes you look fat. In fact, *all* outfits make you look fat, because you *are* fat!"
"Dear sir, that mole on your face makes me want to retch! You are truly the most hideous person I've ever had the displeasure of having to talk to!"
"Yes, boss, in fact, I do think that all your management decisions are wrong, and stupid, and you are the worst manager for which I've ever had the displeasure of working for!"
"You strike me as the silliest and most ridiculous idiot I have ever had to talk to!"
"Your hard work is meaningless! You made wrong decisions at every turn. What were you thinking? The world would be better if you were never born."
"Your creative effort was wasted. The world would be better if you had just never started this nonsense."
"Your entire country/culture/economic system/way of life is so alien and repulsive to me, it is in my best interests to bring every military resource I can muster to bear to eradicate you as soon as possible."
"The color of your skin/your sexual orientation/your gender/your economic class/your very existence offends me. I shall fight through legal means, shunning, and violence where necessary to eradicate you."
Some opinions are poisonous, and people who express them are poisonous, and those people have poisonous motivations against all that is good and creative, and they revel in their poisonous nature, like rattlesnakes and black widow spiders.
Bear you, @cryocore, I am in no way saying that you are poisonous or that your opinions are poisonous, or that you intend to poison by expressing them.
I am merely pointing out that many people who cry out about "this is my opinion, and I can express it as I will, in the name of free will and free expression!", have nefarious motivation for expressing their opinions.
Again, I know that you do not, and you do not fit the paradigm I am suggesting. So, once again, exactly *why* were you posting about your "opinions", again? What good is to be accomplished here?
As for the rest of it... SERIOUSLY. Its called CONTEXT, refer to my previous sentence.
Perhaps you had better look at why you post instead.
How dare I say something critical in a discussion forum. Perhaps we all should go worship at the alter of Overhaul and Beamdog.
Lastly dont even for a second equate what I have said with that valueless borderline hatespeech and bigotry you've compared it to. Frankly I find your entire post intellectually offensive.
But, I still can't see what positive end you are trying to accomplish here, other than to hurt and belittle.
Okay, I guess I'll just shut up, now.
You are also probably clueless of how many sprites there are in the game. Because every single last one would need to be recreated for this to work. Go ahead, guess how many there are.
You are also clueless on how long it actually takes to create and flesh out characters. Design stories/adventures around said characters and implement them into a decade old game. I'll give you a hint. I can probably create 5 different characters with full background and interactions before a graphic artist can create one animated sprite and render it for use.
All the extra time would not have been "recouped by dropping the extraneous content." You would be just recreating a decade old game where the nostalgia feeling would have been lost for a lot of players with nothing actually added to differentiate it from the gog version except for shinier toons. It would of atleast doubled the cost on release to a demographic that would not choose it over titles such as Diablo III, or Dragon Dogma.
If Overhaul main goal is to create Baldur's Gate 3, it has to win over the franchises passionate fan base by demonstrating that they can create memorable characters and unique plot lines without disrupting the story that has been told for the last decade. They don't do it by recreating sprites because every company can do that.
All of the spites could have easily been designed, created, and implemented within 12 months. I would love to know what exactly makes you think you know better than me. Oh wait its ignorant presumption again isnt it. Making the meshes would be not too much trouble, as its pretty simple to modify a mesh to make variants. The skinning would take time, but these are not difficult things to do, or even expensive.
The whole "You would be just recreating a decade old game where the nostalgia feeling would have been lost for a lot of players with nothing actually added to differentiate it from the gog version except for shinier toons." is utterly moronic. The difference between the two is purely the technical improvements. The extra content adds nothing for new players (they have no basis for comparison), and the vasy majority of old fans didnt buy it for the content, but new features and enhancements... of which there are too few. The reality is its the ease of use and accessibility that is the selling point. Also BGIIEE has not been a commercial success. The reason being there is nothing here for someone new to the franchise. It wears its age very obviously. Which is a shame, because the actual game is exceptional, but not making it look like it has been noticeably upgraded ultimately made it of limited appeal.
Many fans dont want new content to alter and/or dilute the game, and there is not enough to illustrate that it is a demonstrably better experience. Basically your own bias is colouring your perception of what the game needed to do.
Take your condescension and ignorance elsewhere.
As for Baldur's Gate 3. I have seen nothing to warrant any confidence in their ability to make a game worthy of the ip. The amount of bugs, both old and new and the competent, if uninspiring writing all indicate a company trying very hard to ride on the coattails of better developers. As a show reel of their ability it is an abject failure on every level.
How many designers? How many hours? How many sprites? How many animations per sprite? How long to render each sprite? What is the cost to render one animated sprite? What glitches/bugs can be caused by introducing new sprites? How long would it take to fix these, if any? Answer each one of these questions to validate your 12 month assumption. Great, the "many" (vague term) fans can play the original or play the EE ignoring new the content. As stated, it is very easily to ignore 95% of it.
What fans do realize is that a decade old franchise is being resurrected and depending on the success of these two games, may allow a new title in the franchise. There is no bias to this statement. It has been a stated goal of Beamdog from the beginning. Many people purchased the EE version for this reason and this reason only. I am one of those people. I wanted to see if they could be trusted to deliver an amazing story that reflects the spirit of its predecessors. I believe they can. They demonstrated growth, handling adversity, and compelling story telling. I know it isn't something you agree with:
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/7793/if-this-is-an-indication-of-overhauls-capabilities-and-quality-assurance-stay-the-hell-away-from-bg3/p1
which is fine. But don't come here saying you are fan of the EE project when time and time again all you do is complain and complain about the same crap that has been explained to you for the last 2 years.
Those questions above need to be answered before we can say who is being ignorant. If you don't have the answer, you need to read here:
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/320452#Comment_320452
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/1588/bg-ee-please-read-list-of-things-that-can-t-be-done/p1 (second time in this thread I am posting this to you)
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/22517/what-stops-beamdog-from-remastering-the-sprites/p1
Team members explaining why remastered sprites cannot be done. That is how I know. Research on the very topic I am attempting to explain to you. You writing reviews or just beginning to work at a game design company doesn't give you insight into things like project management, economics, marketing, branding, or consumer behavior all of which is more important than being able to touch up sprites and say "enhanced!"
And can you point me to where anyone has stated that BGII:EE is not a commercial success? Can you point me to copies sold and what beamdogs goal was? I know, through twitter that BG:EE was a huge success, I just find it hard to believe that the second wasn't and it being stated this early. Or is it just you "stating your opinion" on the matter with no facts to back it up (again).
A remastering of the graphics could have gone well, it might not have gone well. It didn't happen, and so we can't be sure. It's not going to happen now, regardless of any arguments, so it's sort of a moot point. If @cryocore says that it would have sold better, nobody can prove him wrong, really. Maybe it would. But for me, the enhancements that BG:EE did make with the new UI and new characters is what got me to buy both games, and I don't think new graphics alone would have done that. But that's just me.
Really, though, the main problem here is that resorting to comments like "The amount of ignorance and presumption in your post is almost beyond belief." is an excellent way to ensure nobody who doesn't already agree with you will ever pay you any attention.
The tone of your post won't convince people.
As for sprites, hello no cirrent ones are fine.
They COULD have enhanced them, ie : adding additional animations for some spells/effects or adding additilnal bams for items / helms / weapons (like they did with the staff of the magi) on the other hand.
Regarding the UI, the only thing I still find lacking is picking a spell to cast when you have ~25 of them memorized.
The quick loot UI also is a bit clunky and could be improved.
1: having new, hi-res sprites would make the NPCs look substantially different than the ones we've grown attached to over the past decade+. You would have scores of players making the inverse argument to the OP's: "Why did you spend all of your resources messing with the characters when you could have been making new content?!"
2: new sprites would clash with the existing backgrounds. HD characters would stand out like a sore thumb against the 2000-rendered backgrounds, so those would need to be redone - in order for the OP to really get what he wants, the art assets would have had to be redone in their entirety, not just sprites. Assuming this team was large enough to take on such a task (it wasn't), there would have been absolutely no room for anything else.
Finally, a note on opinions and absolutism. Just because you do not personally like a product does not make it an "abject failure." Using hyperbolic and declarative statements in lieu of illustrating a personal stance does not a reasonable opinion make.
For instance: the star wars prequels were absolutely not my cup of tea. I didn't like them, don't care to watch them ever again. But that doesn't mean that they "failed on every single level" - obviously that's not the case, because MANY people enjoyed them. Just because something didn't work for YOU doesn't mean it didn't work at all.
A tiny sprinkle of humility can go a long way.
Here is my thread on my in-depth opinion:
http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41397/do-the-new-item-icons-suck-in-baldurs-gate
Here is my portfolio of my recent works to back up my case: [Spoiler]
*More Weapons and Armour are Currently Planned for Release*
Also I can draw Item Descriptions:
Also I can create Creature Concept Art:
(^ Above: Alkoth The Soul Reaver)
I can also write 'Super Rich Item Descriptions'
Also Here is an 'Unfinished' Item Description that I have yet to create the Item BAM for:[Spoiler]
(New Item: Buckler of Unexpected Might)
'Current' Dialog File:
"Buckler of Unexpected Might or also less commonly know as, but rather more controversially The Existentialist's Arm. This particular buckler is very old and began its life as a mere heraldric wall adornment for a particularly wealthy noble family hailing from the trading port city of West Gate. The once proud family crest is now indecipherable from having been angrily dashed and defiled and a new overlaid symbol of the 6th Level Mage Spell Tenser's Transformation has been imprinted upon its boss. As the story goes, of which many noble Westhavian historians disagree and refute with one another for most of the records are blurry, bloodied and rewritten at best; but most can agree upon these following basic details. Around 257 to 260 DR the trading port city of West Gate also knows as the 'Gateway to the west' -from the Inner Sea to the east- was successfully invaded and the ruling powers were seized and violently replaced by pirate forces from the Pirate Isles. The inflicting upheaval of the ruling families brought much turmoil upon the city's wealthiest families of trade for they were forced into extortion and unfair trade laws and heavy taxation upon their family operations. A great deal of sources argue and contradict one another over which noble family's house has this buckler associated with its tumultuous history but most all historians will say that the buckler transformed into its current form soon after the new unfair jurisdiction of the recent self-proclaimed 'Pirate King of West Gate'. Most sources agree upon that after a particularly heavy taxation of trade was placed upon the wealthiest of noble merchant families of West Gate it caused one highly regarded noble to speak out against the heavy taxation. The following high noon the influential nobleman was slain outright by a gang of the King's pirates within the city's market in broad daylight, in view and a stone's throw from most noble trade family's major buildings of operation. This was seen by the trade families as a draconian declaration of unquestioning agreement of the new taxation or a swift heinous death. From here the story begins to fall apart and spiral into a contradiction of major details and heated debate among the leading historians of West Gate. Although a few details remain coherent and concise. Soon after the wicked and untimely death of a particularly charismatic noble of one of West Gate's influential trade families a young noble Half-Elven Mage or Arcane Spellcaster was pressured to align with the corrupt ruling party of the Pirate King or with an outside Cormyrian force wishing to overthrow the ruling party from within. The sources argue fiercely over the next few brief segments of the story but most agree that the Half-Elven Spellcaster did not choose a side and violently departed on bad terms from their noble house of West Gate. As to ask why that was in the wrong places of West Gate could result in heated shouting matches, violent brawls and even facticidal bloodshed in between of some of West Gate's more questionable of noble houses. Many believe that the once young noble Half-Elven Spellcaster is to be of the same blue blood as the last true king of West Gate and the sole survivor of the king's blood after the pirate upheaval. As a result of this violent debate there has been much clandestine bloodshed among some of the long existing noble families from time to time. Some of the noble families argue that they should rule the city of West Gate for they believe fiercely that their blood lineage hearkens back to the Half-Elven Spellcaster whom once owned this particular buckler. As to whether or not the the matter will resolve peacefully or will even subside is unknown but one thing is for certain, the magical enchantment placed upon this tiny shield is very very strong. Many agree that it would certainly make sense that only a very powerful or well trained Spellcaster could have placed the enchantment upon this particularly controversial bulwark. As to why and how such a strange and bizarre set of abilities and requirements were used for the unusual enchantment is an argued mystery. Also unknown is how it was used or how the uncommon magic was placed upon this item. There is a of great debate amongst historians and scholars alike over the usage and endeavours of said item; ranging from tales of great adventure to accountings of meek, cloistered cowardice and evasion. Either way of which one looks upon the history and the controversy of and or over this small yet surprisingly powerful buckler one can be sure that the shield is of surprising value and unexpected might, both physically and politically.
STATISTICS:
Armor Class Bonus: 2
Special: No Missile/Piercing Attack Protection
Special: Once Per Day Cast Tenser's Transformation:
Tenser's Transformation changes the caster into a heroic fighter for 1 round per level of the caster. Thus doubling the target's hit points, and giving them a +4 bonus to their armor class. All of the damage that the caster sustains takes away from the bonus hit points first. All of the wizard's attacks have the same chance to hit as a fighter of the same level, additionally the target is allowed to attack twice per round with a +2 damage bonus per attack.
Weight: 1
Not-Usable By:
Humans
Everyone except Neutral Aligned Characters.
Fighters
Rangers
Paladins
Barbarians
Clerics
Druids
Monks"
The Buckler of Unexpected Might is to be intended as a quest item / reward for Xan [To make him able to be a 'fighter' that he (supposedly) originally was before he got turned into "The only neutral Mage". I 'currently' plan for the Quest to be Activated and Finished by Xan, but the party (You) can kick him after and keep the item: If one wishes:-P). Does Anyone have Suggestions? If so.. Please suggest them?
The Current [above] Buckler can be used by the ('Current') Non-Player Characters (Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition):
-> Xan: Lawful Neutral: Elf: Enchanter
-> Quayle: Chaotic Neutral: Gnome: Cleric / Illusionist
-> Neera: Chaotic Neutral: Half-Elf: Wild Mage
-> Deder: True Neutral: Halfling: Thief[/Spoiler][/Spoiler]
I am not a paid professional game developer nor am I a professional veteran of the game industry, but I can say F*ck You to Baldur's Gate II (Progressively Shittier) Blurry rush-job PAINTED Item BAMs, Dross Weak Item Descriptions AND NONEXISTENT ITEM DEPICTIONS (you lazy skimpwits!) and also a Crappier Game User Interface. Although I can also say Thank You Bioware + Black Isle Studios 1998-1999 for the Improved Diablo-esc 3D based Item BAMs, Long Insightful Item Descriptions and ACTUAL Item Depictions. That is Unlike YOU: 'Enhanced (>.>) Edition' Case of Plenty that sports BOTH a Shit Painted Item BAM 'job' and it has no Frickin' Item Depiction! Hell even Melicamp the CHICKEN has an Item Depiction... Mostly all of the new items are just excuses for the sake of 'new items').
Who wants a better Game User Interface with a panel for choosing Original Features vs. Optional 'Enhancements'?