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EE OSX Versions: Beamdog, GoG, App Store?

shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I have been running a wineskin version of BGT forever. However, with my retina MacBook Pro I am having trouble getting the widescreen mod to work. Now that most of the mods I use seem to work with the EE version, I thought it might be time to give it a try. I have a couple of questions from those who are running the game on a Mac before I purchase.

1. Is the game the same no matter where you buy it? I have bought a lot of stuff from GoG and I also see that it is in the Mac App Store.

2. I read a couple of reviews on the Mac App store that the game was unplayable with a retina Macbook Pro. Something about text and text tooltips too small to read. Anybody running on a rMbpro and have a good experience?

Comments

  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    I don't own a mac but enhanced editions of bg games (as of latest patches) now have the option to increase the text font size. You can do so in the game options menu, any time you want. You can make the text very big (up to 4-5 times bigger) and easy to read. So I do not think it poses a problem anymore.
  • urdjururdjur Member Posts: 53
    I too will be buying bgee and bg2ee for my new macbook shortly, and would love to hear more about the various purchase options.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    Regardless of where you purchase it its running the same version. The only difference is that in some cases (like Steam for instance) by purchasing the game you get access to it on multiple systems (in Steam's case that would be Windows, Mac, and Linux, while purchasing it from Beamdog gives you access to both Windows and Mac versions).

    The tooltip problem is a known issue. You can see an example of it here.

    http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/34621/known-9968-tooltip-font-size-too-small-to-read-on-mac-retina-displays
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  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    Dang it. Just missed the GOG summer sale. They were half off. :(

    I have bought so many versions of these games. Original BG1 + TOSC for both Windows and Mac, same with BG2 and also both as Windows GOG editions in a wineskin wrapper. Would have been nice to catch the sale since I have already bought them several times over already.

    I'd keep playing the wineskin GOG, but every time I run widescreen mod again to change resolution for my retina display, it corrupts the install. Luckily I kept a back up. G3 forums were no help for a fix.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited June 2015
    I always buy direct from Beamdog (except for iOS versions). However, BGEE, BG2EE, and IWDEE are still half-off at the Mac App Store (as of June 27). So, if price is your discriminator, you can get all three for $30.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition/id568196938?mt=12
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/baldurs-gate-ii-enhanced-edition/id746413884?mt=12
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icewind-dale-enhanced-edition/id909475396?mt=12

    Apple does lock down the write permissions by default, but it's a simple fix. Take a look here under "Purchased from Mac App Store":

    http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/31155/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-installing-mods-on-osx/p1
  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    Besides the easy permissions, fix does the App Store version get all of the same updates?
  • urdjururdjur Member Posts: 53
    GOG isn't EE though is it?

    Looks like I'll be getting it from app store then. $10 for each game is very nice.
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  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited June 2015
    shylaman said:

    Besides the easy permissions, fix does the App Store version get all of the same updates?

    Yes, but because they have to be vetted by Apple before being distributed, updates can be delayed compared to other channels.
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    edited June 2015
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  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    edited June 2015
    @subtledoctor I had GOG Windows Versions of both games installed via Wineskin plus mods (Windows versions). I installed Widescreen mod no problem. However, I set the resolution to my Cinema Display. Now I am on the road for awhile without the Cinema Display and ran widescreen mod again within wineskin. I did try to set to 1440x900. After it finished the game won't load. I get an error. I posted on their forums, but no help.

    So I am going through the process of installing again. It takes 5 hours or so with mods. Some mods like SCS take forever to install. I thought EE versions might be faster, but are more expensive than anticipated. I doing a new install step by step, five hours to install is crazy. :(

    My method was from a couple of years back. Maybe you have a better OSX strategy for best installing the games. How and what do you install? What versions of each game? OSX Mods or a Windows Mods?


    I install:

    Windows BG1 GOG
    Windows BG2 GOG
    Both in Wineskin wrapper.

    BG2 Fixpack
    1PP
    BGT
    BG1NPC
    BG1NPC MUSIC
    BG1 UB
    Some NPCs
    BG2 UB
    Dungeon Be Gone
    Crossmod Banter
    Song & Silence
    Divine Remix
    Rogue Rebalancing
    BGT Tweaks
    BG2 Tweaks
    WSR
    Refinements
    SCS
    WGUI
    Widescreen
    Bigger Font
    Biffing
    Post edited by shylaman on
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    edited June 2015
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  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    I spent all morning doing a fresh install. Got to installing SCS (last time I did this there was SCS1 and SCS2) and it won't install any of the AI stuff. Posted on their forums, waiting on an answer. After five hours of installing I was really hoping to be playing right now. lol

    I was following the BWS pdf for order. Once I figure out SCS, I'll try your order at the end.
  • urdjururdjur Member Posts: 53
    It amazes me that the mod installation process is still so complicated and prone to failure. It would be nice if you could just check a box called "SCS" and have it install along with the rest of the game, automatically.

    Ok, so what's the difference between buying the enhanced trilogy on App store vs GOG vs other sources?
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    urdjur said:

    Ok, so what's the difference between buying the enhanced trilogy on App store vs GOG vs other sources?

    Functionally none - it is all the same app. The one (non-functional) difference has been pointed out: Apple can refuse to publish an update we submit.
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  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    Wizard Slayer Rebalancing. Small tweaks to the kit. I don't know about your mod. I haven't done a new install in a couple of years. I haven't kept up with everything. Seems EE has breathed a lot of new life into the franchise,which is good.
  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    @subtledoctor Could you post your empty Wineskin wrapper (not including BG)?

    I did a fresh install of BGT using Wineskin, but it kept failing at character creation on a Bard. BGMain.exe error. I narrowed it down to something with SCS and my Wineskin wrapper. I have tried everything under the sun. I have spent more hours reinstalling BG than it would take to complete the whole saga. I get stubborn. I don't like when something doesn't work and I can't figure it out. I have narrowed down a few parameters:

    It only affects single class rogues.
    It only affects them after installing SCS.
    It doesn't matter if Song and Silence or Rogue Rebalancing are installed or not (figured a conflict since only affecting rogues).

    I even figured out how to install Windows using boot camp for the time (not easy without an optical drive and extra USB stick). I did manage to get it to work in Windows (using games installed via Wineskin on the Mac and copying over like you suggested). However, when I copied back to OSX, same error.

    So, I figured maybe something isn't playing nice with this version of the Wineskin wrapper (though it is the same one I used to get the game working fine in the past). Grrrrr. I even tried the wineskin wrapper from BG:EE figuring their wrapper has to be error free considering they have programmers making the EE versions work perfectly on OSX. Nope. Still crashes after installing SCS and trying to create a single class rogue.

    Anyhow, I know it is long winded, but I like to share the scenario. I hate when I am doing a Google search to solve a problem and people don't write what they tried or even worse, "I solved it" and don't tell you how.

    If anybody has any suggestions to try, let me know. For now I'll just have to create rogue characters in a different install and copy over, but that is a clunky workaround.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Wineskin wrapper for BGEE? BGEE is native on OSX. There is no wineskin wrapper.
  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    edited July 2015
    Are you sure? A friend had BGEE. I right clicked, show package contents, and voila wineskin. I don't know where he got it from, I just thought id test the wrapper to narrow down culprits of my issue.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited July 2015
    Yes, I'm sure. Your friend is running the Windows version of BGEE in a Wineskin, not the OSX version of BGEE. I don't know who made the wrapper, but I'd assume it wasn't Beamdog.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    Pretty sure that wrapper predates when it was available on mac. But its been years and I don't remember.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited July 2015
    elminster said:

    Pretty sure that wrapper predates when it was available on mac. But its been years and I don't remember.

    Good catch @Elminister! I hadn't noticed that! The version of Wineskin (2.5.8) is from before BGEE was released on OSX (technically, yes they could have copied a new version of BGEE for Windows into the wineskin without updating the Wineskin app).

    IIRC, BGEE was released on OSX in February 2013... Has it been SOOOOO long? :tongue:
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    @elminister has to have so many tags at this point. :)
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    elminster said:

    @elminister has to have so many tags at this point. :)

    Stlarning auto-complete! :smile:
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  • shylamanshylaman Member Posts: 173
    I'll give it a try. It doesn't crash under Windows. Only under OS X. In the last few weeks Id say I have installed a dozen different versions following the BWP guide. I'd say I have done at least 3-4 OS X installs in Wineskin over the year, never had a problem before. It is frustrating.

    I even tried your method of Install base game (GOG Windows versions) in OS X with Wineskin, install base games in Windows, replace Windows install with OS X install, test game, install mods, test game in Windows (works), copy back to OS X Wineskin. Doesn't work. Crashes in two spots, character creation with a rogue and when exiting Candlekeep with Gorion. My only other idea is that it could be TOBex, which one of the mods installs automatically.
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