The ONLY enhancement I require and the only one that will lead me to purchase this game.
cryocore
Member Posts: 121
I am a HUGE BG fan
heres my Bog Box versions AND my GOG versions
http://iforce.co.nz/i/ifmzb3jh.hv4.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/m0ocqxvo.dm0.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/bunpglxn.c41.jpg
but what I've seen of the "enhanced edition" doesnt look all that enhanced to me. In fact the screens look almost exactly like vanilla BG. I can run mods that add Widescreen which work perfectly, and any number of tweaks and fixes that actually cover all of the bases listed for the EE, plus some not listed.
The only thing that will make this a sale for me is the ability to zoom in on the game while retaining the UI. If that is implemented then I will happily buy. The ability to zoom in during a fight and zoom out during travelling would be perfect.
So does the PC version allow you to zoom in/out?
heres my Bog Box versions AND my GOG versions
http://iforce.co.nz/i/ifmzb3jh.hv4.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/m0ocqxvo.dm0.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/bunpglxn.c41.jpg
but what I've seen of the "enhanced edition" doesnt look all that enhanced to me. In fact the screens look almost exactly like vanilla BG. I can run mods that add Widescreen which work perfectly, and any number of tweaks and fixes that actually cover all of the bases listed for the EE, plus some not listed.
The only thing that will make this a sale for me is the ability to zoom in on the game while retaining the UI. If that is implemented then I will happily buy. The ability to zoom in during a fight and zoom out during travelling would be perfect.
So does the PC version allow you to zoom in/out?
Post edited by cryocore on
1
Comments
(Note: You can also zoom in and out on touch screens, using the "pinch" gesture like you would in any browser.)
BG:EE has done a lot for the visuals. Check out the various screenshots they just put up and you'll notice a visible difference between then and now. Everything is crisp!
Zooming in and out is available and the UI is fully moddable (in case you don't like their UI).
The music has been converted from 22.01khz to 44.01khz, so there's a massive improvement in audio.
Most of all you get BG in high resolutions without the aweful skewed vision from the G3 widescreen tool.
I don't believe the current screen shots are showing the zoom feature in use; I think they're mainly intended to show off the new UI. The ones here ( http://baldursgate.com/news_2012sep10.en.html ) are the best and most recent examples of how the game looks, although it looks like they haven't started showing off the zoom. You can see subtle differences in the size of characters, though.
A video or series of screenshots would be appreciated, as the screens posted thus far dont really illustrate the work that been put in to enhancing the visuals too much imo.
If you're looking for a reason to buy, beyond the zoom feature (which is awesome, let me tell you), I can offer a few other "incentives", which may or may not appeal to you:
1) Three new NPCs, each with a full voice set and a personal side quest. Dave Gross and Phillip Daigle worked together on all three of them to make sure they fit with the rest of the NPCs, and I don't know if you've read @PhillipDaigle's or @Dave's posts on this forum, but...let's just say we're looking at some quality work here. You can get NPC mods anywhere, but you likely won't find one at this level of quality, and certainly not built into the game itself.
2) Portrait packs and voice sets for your player character to use. One of the portrait packs was created by Icewind Dale's artist Jason Manley specifically for use in Baldur's Gate, which not only means that the portraits are all exclusive to this title, but also that you should be able to find at least one among them that fits your particular needs as a player. The voice sets should also add a welcome layer of diversity to your characters.
3) Fully scalable resolution. And I don't mean, the game becomes huge and you're zoomed out into the stratosphere and can't read any of the text. The game has been redesigned so that no matter what resolution you're playing at, the game will look and feel the same; the primary difference you'll see will be in the amount of detail in the UI. And yes, you can still zoom in or out if you like.
Can you find most of these things through mods? Sure. Or rather, you can achieve similar things with mods. You can play in widescreen, you can install multiple new NPCs, you can grab portrait packs and voice sets; but nowhere will you find a mod that combines all of these elements into a cohesive whole, created by a single group and thus with a single vision in mind. (That's not to say that all the NPCs rely on each other to be effective, only that they don't step on each other's toes.)
And if you're still dissatisfied, the modding community will be hard at work making sure that their mods can be made compatible with the Enhanced Edition. So you can still get all of that mod content, combined with the more streamlined Infinity Engine. And then there's also this secret hidden fourth feature, that is often neglected:
4) When you buy the Enhanced Edition, you're showing Beamdog and the industry as a whole that these games are important, and that they need to be remembered. You're also supporting Overhaul's future efforts to restore classic games, and--maybe--helping to empower them to create entirely new games as well.
But since you present yourself so well I think people will have the common sense to not do that...
I will play on my PC while my brother will be playing on his MAC. And if you have friends with an Ipad or a Tablet they can also join the fun.
The game is designed as a primary PC driven game and the MP is limited to essentially combat only. Thats cool, but not how I like to play MP in an RPG (and not something that has been done well or often in cRPGs).
I am quite excited to see the game in action, and the improvements (which by the way should be posted on the main site and not buried in the forums which would have answered my questions without having to post here) seem to tick all the right boxes.
This will be my forth purchase of the game, so yeah I am a bit addicted.
Another thing that people often forget to mention - No Loading Screens! You move from one area and appear in the next, Not a 0.001s transition, but fast enough that the loading screens are not necessary.
Sure you can get alot of things through mods ( and still will with BG:EE btw, even better ones ), But for example I just upgraded my computer to Win7 and added more drives, Now I need to install BG1 TUTU from the start.. Ohh the headache!! It is so frustrating that I kept my install on my computer since 2010! just no to do it again. so now I only need to wait a week in order to get one single fast installation.
Also, though there are alot of mods out there, most of the mods created are for BG2/ToB and not for BG1. As I said before, the last Quest Related mods for BG1 are from 2009 and below.
So you can look at it this way: Along with the other things such as New music, New art, Engine Improvements, New Cinematics, New world Map, New Journal, New Voice sets&portraits and New NPCS you also get 3 New 2012 Quest 'MODS' which goes with each of the new NPCS, and thats without 'Adventure Y' which will be released post-ship. :-)
I havnt bought anything to add to the collection in a couple of years, but I'm thinking 2013 might be the year I try and find some other great games from the 80's and 90's.
I am not for a second suggesting that the EE is subpar or not worthy of purchase, it just isnt as must have for me due to my almost compulsive playing/modding of the game up until this point. As I said though I am in a VERY rare position.
You just made me want to drink now !!!!
7 days again
We're lucky the spell failed and no trolls appeared.
In a certain way I'm in the same position of the OP. I own boh games and expansions both in boxed sets and digital downloads.
When I preordered there was no news like OGG support or 44.1khz soundtrack. So why did I preorder in the first days? Simple. Let me summarize:
1) Bug corrections and code cleanup tell me this version will probably have a longer life without hitting incompatibilities with future OS. I fully expect to still be playing it in 15 years with whaterver OS will be out by then.
2) Revival of the modding community. I have seen names in this board that I haven't seen in years. I fully expect a revival of the modding scene and great mods to come.
3) Support from the developer to the community. For the first time ever a BG developer cleared the remaining doubts of the modding community about the unkowns in many file formats, even supplying the defining headers of the source code in some file formats. I believe there are no more unkowns left.
4) Sincerity of the developers. If they can't do something, they come out and say that, no promises. If they hit a difficulty they say it. If they have to postpone a feature due to time constraint, they say it. This alone would make me buy this game again.
5) For the first time I have the feeling Baldur's Gate is in the hands of people who actually like the game.
So now I have preordered the EE version and I cannot wait wait to get into it! The latest screenies look awesome!
Into the future BG:EE is going to be the De facto foundation for all new mods, and will likely spring a new series of mods for this franchise.
One last question, Do you find Tales Of The Sword Coast a 'must have' for you??
BG:EE's changes I view as a necessary enhancement, kind of like a long overdue patch. The number of mods and fixpacks that are being included will mean not having to install those mods and fixpacks at install; but it also means not worrying about whether or not those fixpacks will be compatible with each other.
It's been a long time since I've been this eager before a game is released,
and I've already preordered the PC version; only question is if I need the iPad-version as well..