@Erg - fair enough. And to me, some of what you have posted seems 'Absolutes'.
My definition of "Unplayable" is Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. This game was so bad that if you saved a game while a character was invisible, you crashed to desk top. Certain potions would cause CTD on use in certain locations. Monsters would randomly cause endless loops for no apparent reason. Save games would randomly corrupt for no apparent reason. Certain spells would cause crashes in unpredictable ways. I think the longest I played the game WITHOUT a CTD was 20 minutes and so I would save it just about every time I was allowed. I never got past level 2 of the dungeon because the bugs would always cause me to have to do a complete restart before I got there. This game was so unplayable at release that, although you could load it up, you very quickly wished you hadn't been able too.
For me ToEE, a game that is famous for it's bugs and issues, I find quite playable, even in it's unModded state. I've had my fair share of issues with the game but ultimately completed it as released. I appreciate the Co8 patch more than I can say, but I don't find the original unpatched game "Unplayable", merely problematic.
My personal experience with BG:EE, is that I've gotten all the way through to the end without encountering any of the list of bugs that you referenced above (pre 1.3). I can't remember the last time it CTD and I've never had a corrupt save game. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had to reload due to a bug, which is not to say I didn't encounter them, merely that they didn't stop my play-through. I find it to be in even better shape than the Co8 Patched version of ToEE. Therefore, putting it on the same "Unplayable" plateau as PoR seems a bit unsympathetic. But that is my subjective opinion.
@atcDave: There's a long, long, long road between "I don't like this rule set" and "I had to reload the same scene four times to get the cutscene to trigger."
Neither may fit the textbook definition of unplayable, but the latter certainly makes playing BG2:EE a lot more difficult and unpleasant than the devs ever meant it to be. Andeveryonegetsitbutyou.
but the latter certainly makes playing BG2:EE a lot more difficult and unpleasant than the devs ever meant it to be.
Oh, absolutely. And that appears to be a point of contention. People seem to take this step towards more content as some kind of implied approval of the way the game is on the part of the DEVs. In fact, it is no such thing. I see the devs saying again and again that they are still working on BG. So where's the harm in working on something else Too?
Given the choice between the next patch taking a bit longer, and it Never coming out because the company went out of business, I'll take the longer delay please.
Oh, absolutely. And that appears to be a point of contention. People seem to take this step towards more content as some kind of implied approval of the way the game is on the part of the DEVs. In fact, it is no such thing. I see the devs saying again and again that they are still working on BG. So where's the harm in working on something else Too?
One of the most frequently-repeated lines in defense of Beamdog's practices is "they're a small team!"
Well, you can't have it both ways: if their team is too small to maintain two games simultaneously (as evidenced by the fact that they couldn't do anything for BG2:EE while working on BG:EE 1.3), then it's certainly too small to maintain three.
Comments
My definition of "Unplayable" is Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. This game was so bad that if you saved a game while a character was invisible, you crashed to desk top. Certain potions would cause CTD on use in certain locations. Monsters would randomly cause endless loops for no apparent reason. Save games would randomly corrupt for no apparent reason. Certain spells would cause crashes in unpredictable ways. I think the longest I played the game WITHOUT a CTD was 20 minutes and so I would save it just about every time I was allowed. I never got past level 2 of the dungeon because the bugs would always cause me to have to do a complete restart before I got there. This game was so unplayable at release that, although you could load it up, you very quickly wished you hadn't been able too.
For me ToEE, a game that is famous for it's bugs and issues, I find quite playable, even in it's unModded state. I've had my fair share of issues with the game but ultimately completed it as released. I appreciate the Co8 patch more than I can say, but I don't find the original unpatched game "Unplayable", merely problematic.
My personal experience with BG:EE, is that I've gotten all the way through to the end without encountering any of the list of bugs that you referenced above (pre 1.3). I can't remember the last time it CTD and I've never had a corrupt save game. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had to reload due to a bug, which is not to say I didn't encounter them, merely that they didn't stop my play-through. I find it to be in even better shape than the Co8 Patched version of ToEE. Therefore, putting it on the same "Unplayable" plateau as PoR seems a bit unsympathetic. But that is my subjective opinion.
Neither may fit the textbook definition of unplayable, but the latter certainly makes playing BG2:EE a lot more difficult and unpleasant than the devs ever meant it to be. And everyone gets it but you.
>:(
(Is he about to turn into #Daigledopple's double ... Aieee! A #Daigledoppledopple, no! No! Where's my Kondar +1/+3 ? ...)
Given the choice between the next patch taking a bit longer, and it Never coming out because the company went out of business, I'll take the longer delay please. You aren't the only gamer who enjoys the game. :-P
atcDave said:
I am pleased to be the only gamer who currently enjoys the game.
You aren't the only gamer who enjoys the game. :-P
Oh dang, here I was feeling pretty special...
Well, you can't have it both ways: if their team is too small to maintain two games simultaneously (as evidenced by the fact that they couldn't do anything for BG2:EE while working on BG:EE 1.3), then it's certainly too small to maintain three.
No one's breaking any rules, I just don't see the need to invite further repetition of already-stated positions, on either side of the issue.