Why can't I play multiplayer?

Axenotis9

Let me explain my case really briefly.

I had a Baldur's Gate 1 (Not Enhanced edition) game for a long time. It was a gift from my uncle long ago.
I played it and that is how I was introduced to the game. That made me buy the Baldur's Gate collection from amazon. One of those three games and one expansion that the package had was the Baldur's Gate 1 (Not Enhanced edition).

So I thought I would be able to play BG with my brother, since I have two copies of the game. But I can't do that, do you know why?

Is it because I added the expansion on my computer- or that the servers have closed and are only available if you have the enhanced edition.

Thanks

thelovebat

GameRanger supports 3rd party multiplayer servers for the non-Enhanced Edition Baldur's Gate games.

Because the official servers for the original games no longer exist, playing multiplayer that way will require more work to get things going, and there's a multiplayer sticky explaining how to do that though it's fairly complicated for someone just looking to get into a game. The servers for the Enhanced Edition games don't support the original games, so they're entirely separate.

To play on the Enhanced Edition servers, you have to be using the Enhanced Editions of the Baldur's Gate games. For an unofficial server to play the original games, GameRanger is free and provides a way to do that in a convenient manner though I've never tested it myself on there.

Axenotis9

Thanks, you've been really helpful.

sarevok57

and also for the vanilla series, your game version has to match, if they don't they will never be compatible with each other, and your frame rates have to match as well, so if one player is playing at 30 fps and another is at 60, the games will not connect together, and if you have the expansion installed and your brother doesn't then again the games will not connect to one another, if you want to play vanilla with your bro, it would be easiest if you were both on the same internet connection, because the way on how vanilla bg does multiplayer is so archaic you will need to use IP addresses and what not, and being on the same internet connection is easiest when you do it IP wise

thelovebat

sarevok57 said:

and also for the vanilla series, your game version has to match, if they don't they will never be compatible with each other, and your frame rates have to match as well, so if one player is playing at 30 fps and another is at 60, the games will not connect together, and if you have the expansion installed and your brother doesn't then again the games will not connect to one another, if you want to play vanilla with your bro, it would be easiest if you were both on the same internet connection, because the way on how vanilla bg does multiplayer is so archaic you will need to use IP addresses and what not, and being on the same internet connection is easiest when you do it IP wise

This is also true. If using CD versions of the game it's important to check that the version of the game your brother is using is the same as the one you have installed. Personally the GOG versions of the Baldur's Gate games make this much easier as both automatically come with the expansions and the most up to date official patches, but if wanting to stick with the Baldur's Gate collection you have then look for the latest official patches online (for both the base games and expansions) to make sure you're both up to date.

The same also applies for any mods you might consider using, though I guess that probably wasn't in the plans for you two. Your Baldur's Gate game folders have to basically match each other to the letter to make sure you don't encounter any issues or a game crash. If using custom portraits you also need to make sure you both have a copy of the portrait in the portraits folder, otherwise the other player's portrait will appear as a blank space or a ? mark while playing.