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The horror of updating Baldur's Gate. Trent Oster interview to Penny Arcade

mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
edited August 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
Trent Oster has been cursing the UI code for nearly a month and in his interview to Penny Arcade he just declared he had to go nuclear on it nuking portions of the code to see what actually works, among other "horrors" he found.
Read his interview here.

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/salvaging-baldurs-gate-the-horror-of-getting-the-original-code-in-shape-for
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Comments

  • CuvCuv Member, Developer Posts: 2,535
    Another good interview! Thanks for posting that.
  • Twilight_FoxTwilight_Fox Member Posts: 448
    Yes.
    I realy hope that this game will have all the succes that is needed to see a BG2:EE and a BG3. And if this is the case, maybe an IWD:EE and IWD2:EE and a TempleOfTheElementalEvil:EE and a Planescape:EE. ^^

    So in 10 years we players will all have these masterpieces on our laptops/tablets and because of the succes of these EE, beamdog/overhaul will create a new serie of handsome rpg games (bg and toee like) for the next generation. :)
  • immagikmanimmagikman Member Posts: 664
    Lets see, I need to have a playable copy for the PC and Ipad and an unopened Collectors Edition for on the shelf....and a copy for my brother so thats at least 4 copies of the game I have to buy ;)
  • ChippyChippy Member Posts: 241
    That screenshot was amazing.
  • KaliestoKaliesto Member Posts: 282
    There's alot of scrap data within BG if I remember right, like lost Art/items/NPCs/ you could only access them through the console if you could guess the right codes. My father managed to figure some out that most sites don't list since they haven't figured it out yet.
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    @Kaliesto What about giving him a little nudge, then? He might well just report it here, cause that's where the hardcore heart of the BG fan community is, I guess.
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    Awesome interview. Didn't really contain any 'new new' information, at least for those that keep an eye on both Twitter and this site, but still a nice read. I really hope Trent and his team manage to beat the Evil Codes (and succeed in not going mad in the process). :)
  • CommunardCommunard Member Posts: 556
    Kitteh_On_A_Cloud said:

    I really hope Trent and his team manage to beat the Evil Codes (and succeed in not going mad in the process). :)

    In its interface at Infinity, dead code waits dreaming...
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    Communard said:

    Kitteh_On_A_Cloud said:

    I really hope Trent and his team manage to beat the Evil Codes (and succeed in not going mad in the process). :)

    In its interface at Infinity, dead code waits dreaming...

    Beware... for in the Necronomicode lies nothing but madness :)
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    mlnevese said:

    Beware... for in the Necronomicode lies nothing but madness :)

    That's what you get for resurrecting a powerful old evil.
  • pklooppkloop Member Posts: 113
    kilroy_was_here said:

    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the Necronomicode, the Necronomicode also gazes into you..."

    El_oh_El :-)

  • kamuizinkamuizin Member Posts: 3,704
    At least the work for BG2 EE will be eased, the frist time is always hard :)! I don't know nothing about code, but in my view if BG is giving so much problem i don't even dare to think on the shit they gonna need to pierce through to make a Planescape: Torment EE, even PS:T Vanilla was highly bugged.
  • CoM_SolaufeinCoM_Solaufein Member Posts: 2,607
    Cry me a river. What do you expect from a poorly coded game? Trent knew that since he worked on it originally. Even the other developers from long ago like Gaider said the code wasn't fun to work with.
  • CommunardCommunard Member Posts: 556
    CoM_Solaufein said:

    Cry me a river. What do you expect from a poorly coded game? Trent knew that since he worked on it originally. Even the other developers from long ago like Gaider said the code wasn't fun to work with.

    Does knowing about something in advance remove your ability to complain about it?
  • CoM_SolaufeinCoM_Solaufein Member Posts: 2,607
    Complain for the sake of complaining. Its what makes the world go around.
  • jcomptonjcompton Member Posts: 157
    kamuizin said:

    in my view if BG is giving so much problem i don't even dare to think on the shit they gonna need to pierce through to make a Planescape: Torment EE, even PS:T Vanilla was highly bugged.

    Oh yes. The PST engine is a hideous nightmare. The GemRB people show a fine sense of humor and restraint when they call it "the most atypical" of the Infinity Engine flavors. The fact that Qwinn has been able to extensively mod the game is a tribute to his ingenuity and ability to master some very arcane requirements indeed.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    First time I played Planescape I couldn`t even complete it... The game crashed to desktop when I got to the cannons... never discovered what caused it but the crash was regular. Always the second cannon...
  • Jean_LucJean_Luc Member Posts: 228
    Ok, I'm ready for BG3 now. :]
  • CoM_SolaufeinCoM_Solaufein Member Posts: 2,607
    PST is the redheaded step child of the IE games. A total nightmare modding wise or even playing the boring game.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    PST is the redheaded step child of the IE games. A total nightmare modding wise or even playing the boring game.
    Blasphemy!
  • CommunardCommunard Member Posts: 556
    CoM_Solaufein said:

    PST is the redheaded step child of the IE games. A total nightmare modding wise or even playing the boring game.

    Do you want a more traditional burning at the stake or would you prefer to be hung drawn and quartered? The angry mob will need to know :p
  • CoM_SolaufeinCoM_Solaufein Member Posts: 2,607
    :) Well it does have its uses like its areas. It has some decent looking areas to use in mods. I've never been a fan of the PST realm. The Forgotten Realms is more my style.
  • mch202mch202 Member Posts: 1,455
    PS:T is brilliant game! this game is just.. dark and creepy... with a Great storyline - I Love It!

  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited August 2012
    Planescabe is more a story driven game than a combat oriented one. The mechanics of different dialogue according to your stats alone is proof of that. For those who want to play for combat alone, it may seem a little boring I guess. Just like people who skip the "boring" in game movies and dialogues to reach the next combat faster.

    Particularly I think it's one of the best computer RPG ever launched and would gladly pay for an EE even if it consisted only of a bug fix and interface modernization.
  • trinittrinit Member Posts: 705
    it is called planescape TORMENT for a reason obviously. i expect trent&co adding their sweet, sweet tears of sorrow and suffering of enhancing that game, making it a pinnacle of videogaming in past century.

    and don't tell me assets for that got lost also, or i'll go ballistic. >:/
  • kamuizinkamuizin Member Posts: 3,704
    CoM_Solaufein said:

    PST is the redheaded step child of the IE games. A total nightmare modding wise or even playing the boring game.


    Dude, just lay down and die.
  • kilroy_was_herekilroy_was_here Member Posts: 455
    That's it! @TrentOster is the original incarnation of the Nameless One!!
    His failure to make PS:T EE was a crime so terrible it would take eternal life to atone for. It all makes sense now...
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited August 2012
    Hmmm @TrentOster is combating madness and trying to bring joy to the world... wouldn't it make him one of the Elder Gods? :)
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