BGEE or BG The Original Saga
I played the original BG back int day but was too pathetic to ever complete it. Mainly got it because I was into NWN and ting. When I heard about BGEE I got super interested and got it at launch and completed it as much as i could. Just got the original game again and I think I actually prefer the original to EE. Even though EE has a lot more ease of use and that, I dunno I just think the original has a lot of charm to it even though its a pain in the arse to use at times.
No idea why im making a topic about it. Im still glad EE exists or i probs would have never played the game again but still... I dunno. I just think the original archaic way was the best.
No idea why im making a topic about it. Im still glad EE exists or i probs would have never played the game again but still... I dunno. I just think the original archaic way was the best.
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There are some features of the original BG1 that I miss (i.e: the original cutscene movies, custom soundsets), but the good simply far, far outweighs the bad IMO.
And the new NPCs are pretty good. The modding community struggles with NPC mods because it's hard to find a good voice actor willing to work for free. Also, Beamdog can produce new areas more professionally that fan created mods typically do.
I mean, I do miss some of the mods from BGT. And I'm aware that probably most of them will never be updated for BGEE and BG2EE. (The authors have moved on to other things.) I just hope that once Beamdog has completed all of its commitments for BG2EE that they will still be able to continue offering quality DLC in the form of many new NPCs with their own quests.
I am really enjoying BGEE largely because I've just about played every mod that's compatible with BGTutu, and I really can't stand the old BG1 engine enough to actually play a game on it.
Honestly, BG1's sprites look like stop-motion animation to me. Which technically is. But they're much smoother in BG2 and the movements are much more believable, instead of plastic dolls.
As for BG1 the original I've needed to use it for testing within the last few months. Having played the EE I can't say I'd go back.
A lot of the "improvements" really aren't that fantastic. Kits? Cool, I guess. I get the feeling most people like them more than I. Zooming in and out? This varies from person to person; I always keep it at the same spot personally. Additional NPCs? Whether you like them or not, they stick out like sore thumbs. (Rasaad being the smallest offender there, he almost fits in.) Items? Almost all of them are in the new NPCs quest lines, which is just plain frustrating quite frankly. (Just as frustrating as that nice mage ring in Jaheira's quest line, mind you.) Improved graphics? They did what they could, which wasn't much. Superior engine? Yes, BGII's engine is more smooth, that's definitely an improvement. Multiplayer? It's been quite troublesome.
I definitely play BG:EE much more than BG1 but vanilla will always be more immersive to me, and I don't think you're crazy unlike everyone else on here apparently.
(Where's the unpopular opinion puffin)
Jokes aside, I always wondered what exactly you don't like about Tutu. Is it the spawning system? Because apart from that, almost everything that Tutu changes from vanilla has been changed in the same way in BG:EE. There are some minor differences, like NPCs proficiencies, but those can be easily tweaked with mods (some of which are still not available for BG:EE, like Level 1 NPCs, for example). If you mean sprites and paperdolls and such, then you just have to use 1pp and you can choose between the BG1 style, the BG2 style and the BG:EE/1pp style. Even the GUI in Tutu can be changed back to the stony one using a mod.
BGT is another story entirely, because its purpose is to make BG1 as much as possible similar to BG2, so that they can be played seamlessly like one giant game. Nothing wrong with that idea per se, but clearly not what you would like, if I understand you correctly.
Yeah, BGT's concept doesn't really work. The way I see it, BG1 and BGII are pretty drastically different games in art style, spirit, style of story-telling. BG1 is gritty, BGII is epic and grand. Style of story-telling, which a lot of people don't seem to understand and I'll freely admit it annoys the crap out of me -- a lot of BG1's story-telling was done through details and exploration. BGII throws it in your face. Both are perfectly good ways of telling a story, but a lot of people don't seem to understand BG1's style and dismiss it as the plot and/or writing to be poor. When really, if you look around, there's a ton of references to things, hidden every where. Hell, I just found an amusing reference to Carbos and Shank yesterday that I had never seen before.
And I do indeed, in the words of @Brude, have an "odd attachment to grey stone," I will freely admit. That is, BG1's interface. It's sexy.
Tutu and BGT always worked like a champ for me. Honestly, there's very little difference to me between BGT (which I prefer to Tutu just to that I can have the seamless experience of playing the trilogy at one go) and the EEs in terms of the basic experience. The main difference is that EE offers the zoom feature, it's new kits, and more professionally designed NPCs; and BGT (and Tutu) offers many more mods--some of which are great, but it really shows when a NPC mod isn't professionally voiced. It's a matter of individual taste how good a job Beamdog has done with their new NPCs. Myself, I haven't had time yet to try the BG2EE NPC continuations and new NPCs, but I'm fairly pleased with the BGEE ones. As we know, it would be impossible to please everyone.
I agree with @Blackraven's take. Most fans switched to Tutu and BGT when those platforms were released. The number of fans who play original BG (i.e., unmodded except for bugfixes in the form of Balderdash and Dudleyfixes) is probably a tiny sliver.
I don't mind new movies, I don't mind updated graphics. The one thing I really miss? The loading screens in-between areas!!!!
Not that I had to wait for a loading screen back then, but just the awesome pictures of a party traveling through forests, climbing mountains and crossing rivers. I particularly miss the dwarf and the old wizard.
I think those added a lot of charm to the game and I regret not having them anymore (and I still prefer the old movies a bit in BG1)
1) Nostalgia. No1. Ever.
2) Original did not have 2's rules. Which means...
a) Unlimited summoned creatures exploit.
b) Wearing twin ring of wizardry, which doubled level 1 spells each.
c) Weapon masteries were far more powerful/efficient, plus one category used to affect many different weapons.
d) Certain cheese and exploitation being able to be utilized fully. Like fog of war.
e) It was better to begin a class in 1, and while importing it in 2, THEN to choose kit. This way, classes like avenger, had most, if not all, their drawbacks, practically nullified...
On the downside: No rest until fully healed. Magic resistance used to foil friendly spells like buffs or heal. No kinky kits in 1, in which you were meant to be pretty weak, as an upstart legend. When you were affected by spells like fear or hold, you used to throw your keyboard towards your screen in frenzy and anger; their mechanisms in 1 were very overpowered, and completely different to those of 2.
3) Animations. In original, there was both motion and gore involved, like the intro, in which Sarevok butchered another child. In EE, the animations consist of motionless pictures, which look like cartoon, too...
4) XP loopholes. I am one of those people who like to exploit the game hard, and start with a full party at max level. Cheap, i know, but i like stomping on masses of hapless enemies, with ease... Firebead Elvenhair no longer works in EE.
5) Money exploits. I always used to like going multiplayer, importing stash characters, selling all their inventory out, saving game, then load game, and import normal party, proceeding to buy out everything i need at once.
And staff. EE is nice and all, yet from what i hear, it contains certain mods that change things, balance things out, corrects glitches, loopholes and bugs, and puts certain, entire cheese heads, out of play. Not my style, to be honest, that is precisely why when i buy this masterpiece, i am so going to import all of my characters from the original games. Since i learned some time ago that if you wish so, then you simply can...
More feedback in half a month, approximately. That is when i am getting paid (and going shopping).
By the way, being decidedly neutral on the matter, I'm glad to see support for both versions of the game. It would sadden me if pretty much the entire BG community were to dimiss the original or TuTu/BGT games as completely outdated, or if they were to bash Overhaul's admirable effort with the EE games.
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and the same applies to shields, armours, etc.
But yeah, having the broader weapon categories was nice in the first game, where you're a lower level and have less proficiencies to spread around.
For some reason these pictures always captured my imagination when I was a 12-13 year old first playing this game.
In my mind the dude with the bow was Kivan, the dwarf was Kagain, the guy in full armor and the shield was Ajantis, the guy with the spiked helmet was Khalid, the mage was Firebead Elevenhair who would obviously join my party at a later date and finally my PC was the guy in the cape (because all proper heroes wear capes). I was just wondering what happened to Imoen, Xzar, Monty and Jaheira, haha
However, I AM starting up a new roleplaying campaign using EasyTutu, starting from Baldurs Gate and going through all the expansions all the way to Throne of Bhaal. If anyone is interested, feel free to messege me!