SoD Expansion going to affect/change the base game ?

Jonnecy

Is the expansion going to be delivered in the style of an addon, or as an addin (i.e. getting integrated into the already existing world, thus changing parts of it) ? I am primarily concerned that the expansions is going to also change a number of things in BG:EE, such as adding new items to the world, or minor changes such as dialogues or quests etc, which in order words would mean anyone who doesn't start a new character after SoD releases but re-uses one of their older saves would miss out on those changes.

JuliusBorisov

SoD will be a ToB-like expansion, without touching the content of BGEE.

However, there will be a pre-SoD patch for BGEE, with certain things from SoD (we still don't know the details) in terms of UI and a shaman class.

Fardragon

The Shaman class will be available in the base game, and may have some new dialogues to go with it.

These things may happen:

* Increased XP cap in base game
* New spells
* New kits (IWD cleric kits?)

Jonnecy

Fardragon said:

The Shaman class will be available in the base game, and may have some new dialogues to go with it.

These things may happen:

* Increased XP cap in base game
* New spells
* New kits (IWD cleric kits?)

Merp, that is what I was afraid of. Nevermind, gonna play Icewind Dale EE instead;P

Thanks for the answers!

Gallowglass

@Fardragon - I'll be surprised if they increase the BG1ee XP cap. If they were ever going to do that, I reckon they'd already have done it when they added the EE content.

New spells are almost certain, though. The devs have talked about new spells, and as an example one of the images on the SoD site illustrates "Wall of Force" being cast by an enemy, which isn't currently in BG1ee. The backwards-compatibility patch will have to add such spells to the game files, and any which are accessible at BG1ee levels will (presumably) become available for use.

New Cleric kits ... well they've already added the Priest of Tyr and Priest of Tempus kits to IWDee, so perhaps they'll port those into the BG series. If so, I'm not quite sure how they'll handle the allocation of strongholds in BG2ee, but that wouldn't be an insuperable difficulty. And a couple more Cleric kits would probably be quite welcome in BG.

@Jonnecy - I don't quite see the reasoning for shelving BG1ee at this point (although I have shelved BG2ee, so that my current parties will first be able to go through the new SoD content). The patching of BG1ee is very unlikely to include any new story content (which I would agree, as a completionist, would be a reason for shelving play until after the patch), and in any one run there's always some dialogue which you inevitably miss because of mutually-exclusive choices you've made as you proceed. I'm planning to use some existing saves from the end of BG1ee to start SoD, but then (of course!) I'll also re-play after the patch to try the new class and any new kits, and see any new dialogue, etc.

Fardragon

SoD is functionally the same as ToB, and when ToB was added it raised the xp cap for the whole of BG2, not just the expansion pack.

Gallowglass

Fardragon said:

SoD is functionally the same as ToB, and when ToB was added it raised the xp cap for the whole of BG2, not just the expansion pack.

Ah, yes, I see your point. I hadn't thought of that possibility. Oh.

dunbar

Likewise, when TotSC was released the XP cap for BG was raised.

LordInsane

dunbar said:

Likewise, when TotSC was released the XP cap for BG was raised.

TotSC was, in the terminology of the OP, an addin, so it would have been harder to have it another way (TOB and SoA could have separate XP caps since they were separate 'campaigns', but TotSC's content was added directly into the gameworld of BG1, so the choices there were only 'XP cap preserved' or 'XP cap raised' rather than 'XP cap preserved', 'XP cap raised generally' and 'XP cap raised for the expansion only').

Chaostic

Fardragon said:

The Shaman class will be available in the base game, and may have some new dialogues to go with it.

this is just what I was hoping to hear, now I'm hopping with joy

ilhdr

A little love to the scripts would be good to.

gugulug5000

So along the same line of thought, will SoD add some new areas to BG, like how ToB added Watcher's Keep to SoA?

Fardragon

gugulug5000 said:

So along the same line of thought, will SoD add some new areas to BG, like how ToB added Watcher's Keep to SoA?

No, SoD does not add any "Watchers Keep" style content.

Gallowglass

We know that some areas of BG City (although probably not all) are accessible at the beginning of SoD, but we've also been told that these are re-drawn and have new area codes, so technically they're new areas.

I *think* we had clarification somewhere (although I can't now see where) that this means that we can bring along only the equipment carried in our inventory during the final battle against Sarevok, because spare equipment stashed in the "same" areas of BG City won't transfer to SoD.

Calling @Amber_Scott ... can you tell us (or as the case may be, tell us again) whether this is so?

brus

gugulug5000 said:

So along the same line of thought, will SoD add some new areas to BG, like how ToB added Watcher's Keep to SoA?

You mean will Sod content be added to existing world map or it'll have separate world map?

gugulug5000

brus said:

gugulug5000 said:

So along the same line of thought, will SoD add some new areas to BG, like how ToB added Watcher's Keep to SoA?

You mean will Sod content be added to existing world map or it'll have separate world map?

I was referring to the idea of having the side expansion (ie the Throne of Bhaal main story) added along with a few base game modifications (ie Watcher's Keep) that can be accessed without actually starting the expansion's story, but it looks like @Fardragon already answered my question. Thanks though (and thanks for the response Fardragon).

Tenrecc

bengoshi said:

SoD will be a ToB-like expansion, without touching the content of BGEE.

So basically I can play through the original right now in order to "set up" for SoD? And not miss out on anything? Barring I want the shaman class etc.

SionIV

Tenrecc said:

bengoshi said:

SoD will be a ToB-like expansion, without touching the content of BGEE.

So basically I can play through the original right now in order to "set up" for SoD? And not miss out on anything? Barring I want the shaman class etc.

Correct.

Gallowglass

Tenrecc said:

So basically I can play through the original right now in order to "set up" for SoD? And not miss out on anything? Barring I want the shaman class etc.

That seems to be the case, yes, so that's what many of us are currently doing.