@ThacoBell and i did not know that they could be used LOL
one of the things that make this games so fantastic is that even after playing them for years or in some cases a couple of decades we can still learn something new.
But since only a single Sunstone Bullet is needed to kill it, the only time you'd ever need to defeat it normally would be if you playing a poverty run, a solo Kensai, a solo Cavalier, or a character who had absolutely abysmal THAC0 with slings.
or if like me someone simply ignores that those bullets are altar killers
as the sling is my preferred ranged weapon i surely will fight that battle in an other way next time...
As much as I enjoyed the series, it doesn't make sense to keep adding to it. There was a definite beginning (Candlekeep), a story arc (BG + SoA), and a definite end (ToB). We even have a bit more in the middle (SoD) It's time to move on from Baldur's Gate, as there are plenty of other realms in the Forgotten Realms to explore.
I do hope that there are more games using either the infinity engine, or another isometric platform, for mobile devices, though. I have thoroughly loved being able to play the series on my tablet and I particularly like the way the Baldur's Gate games have worked in general. I was actually astonished at how well the interface "got out of the way" on my tablet, and I would like to see a different saga using the same platform.
The Sunstone Bullets instantly destroy the Shadow Altar
WHAT
Wow, I've saved those bullets for later, and killed the Shadow Altar the old-fashioned way, literally every time I've played the game. Never knew they did something special there.
I didn't know that either. Fortunately, once you catch on to the trick there, it's not that hard a fight. I'm guessing the insta-kill is to help low-level parties, sort of like how you can skip through the previous room without a fight as well.
I would not want another expansion for Baldur's Gate, for all the reasons that everyone has already mentioned. What I would like to see, though, are one or more official NPC's added. The ones we got with the Enhanced Editions were really good, but there were only four of them. I'd like to see what else Beamdog can deliver in the way of quality NPC's. Unfortunately, for reasons I can quite understand, it's unlikely to happen.
@ANOF
it depends. to crete a new npc, with his own banters, is not so time consuming. there used to be a contest where modders had to create a npc in only 1 day, or few hours, now i don't remember exactily, and some of those npcs were quite good. to create romances (but why all the ee npcs should be possible to romance? only few original ones are...) and to create long npc related quests can be much more time consuming. and again no original npc but jaheira has a personal quest comparable to the ones of the ee npcs, quests like the de arinse keep, the planar sphere and prison, the temple ruins, the druid grove or the unseeing eye can be played without having the related npcs in the party and the other original npcs lack completely of a quest like minsc, aerie or nalia (even if the latter 2 are associated with quests that can be done without them) or have much shorter quests, like jan, anomen or cernd.
to create a original style npc is quite straight, to create a ee style one is much more demanding in terms of time and money needed. the new ee npcs can be something in between, and i can think of mod npcs, like tashia and keto, with interesting personal quests an for the sorcerer also a very well written romance. if a single not payed modder can produce such quests why a company in the business can not do it?
i personally would prefer that the beamdog devs would spend their precious time creating new npcs, maybe not all in a time and maybe with less content then the ones we have now, then fixing bugs that in some cases give very rarely unwanted results to the players and close exploits that are intentional and very rare to reproduce without intention. more freedom for the players to play the game as they like, please beamdog spend the money to create new content instead
(i know that i am evil telling this, but i can not refrain to do it... )
I would not want another expansion for Baldur's Gate, for all the reasons that everyone has already mentioned. What I would like to see, though, are one or more official NPC's added. The ones we got with the Enhanced Editions were really good, but there were only four of them. I'd like to see what else Beamdog can deliver in the way of quality NPC's. Unfortunately, for reasons I can quite understand, it's unlikely to happen.
I get the feeling they are tired of the Infinity Engine. That is a shame, because it works astonishingly well for mobile devices. (Not so much for performance reasons, as it was originally written to target Pentium II's and Pentium III's, but because it's interface works so well with a touch screen it feels like it was intentional)
Having just finished SoD, I really hate that. It's clear that old engine could still support newer stories, new characters, etc. When I saw the atmospheric effects, like the hot air over lava, the cloud layers, the water, etc., it made me a bit sad to realize that I was playing what is likely the end of the line for these kinds of games.
i like the infinity engine games for other reasons then the interface ( i don't play on mobile devices) or the isometric graphics. i like them for the gameplay that is completely different from the modern polygonal 3d games, much more oriented on strategy and knowledge then on using sharp reflexes and doing the right decisions in split seconds. i don't dislike also the other way, competitive and cooperative modern online multiplayer games are a great gaming experience.
but probably the infinity engine will become completely obsolete in the next years, beamdog had made a great work enhancing those really old but fantastic games, but i opened a poll about when the forum members begun to play the baldur gate saga a couple of years ago. most of the voters started to play well before the beamdog era, many in the very first years, the players that had started with ee was relatively few.
if the voters of a poll can be somewhat representative of who actually ply those games i would say that beamdog had plenty of success in making the old players shift to ee, but far less success in getting new fresh players.
and to enhance something already existing is much less demanding then to create a completely new game.
i have no clue on how much costed to develop sod and how much money brought to beamdog, but i would say that if the return from the investment will be good enough is possible that they will invest more in the future on infinity engine based games, other way is logical that they focus on something more in line with the modern trend and technology.
as a carpenter i should say that people can poke me how much they want on how amazing are the chairs i build, but if there is not enough people buying my chairs i will probably produce something other less time consuming and more rewarding commercially, like those modern furniture made of sawdust and glue pressed together (mdf, particleboard) that is cheap, easy and quick to do and if last 30 years you are lucky. the chair i am sitting on now is at least 150 years old...
Comments
one of the things that make this games so fantastic is that even after playing them for years or in some cases a couple of decades we can still learn something new.
as the sling is my preferred ranged weapon i surely will fight that battle in an other way next time...
As much as I enjoyed the series, it doesn't make sense to keep adding to it. There was a definite beginning (Candlekeep), a story arc (BG + SoA), and a definite end (ToB). We even have a bit more in the middle (SoD) It's time to move on from Baldur's Gate, as there are plenty of other realms in the Forgotten Realms to explore.
I do hope that there are more games using either the infinity engine, or another isometric platform, for mobile devices, though. I have thoroughly loved being able to play the series on my tablet and I particularly like the way the Baldur's Gate games have worked in general. I was actually astonished at how well the interface "got out of the way" on my tablet, and I would like to see a different saga using the same platform.
I didn't know that either. Fortunately, once you catch on to the trick there, it's not that hard a fight. I'm guessing the insta-kill is to help low-level parties, sort of like how you can skip through the previous room without a fight as well.
it depends. to crete a new npc, with his own banters, is not so time consuming. there used to be a contest where modders had to create a npc in only 1 day, or few hours, now i don't remember exactily, and some of those npcs were quite good. to create romances (but why all the ee npcs should be possible to romance? only few original ones are...) and to create long npc related quests can be much more time consuming. and again no original npc but jaheira has a personal quest comparable to the ones of the ee npcs, quests like the de arinse keep, the planar sphere and prison, the temple ruins, the druid grove or the unseeing eye can be played without having the related npcs in the party and the other original npcs lack completely of a quest like minsc, aerie or nalia (even if the latter 2 are associated with quests that can be done without them) or have much shorter quests, like jan, anomen or cernd.
to create a original style npc is quite straight, to create a ee style one is much more demanding in terms of time and money needed. the new ee npcs can be something in between, and i can think of mod npcs, like tashia and keto, with interesting personal quests an for the sorcerer also a very well written romance. if a single not payed modder can produce such quests why a company in the business can not do it?
i personally would prefer that the beamdog devs would spend their precious time creating new npcs, maybe not all in a time and maybe with less content then the ones we have now, then fixing bugs that in some cases give very rarely unwanted results to the players and close exploits that are intentional and very rare to reproduce without intention.
more freedom for the players to play the game as they like, please beamdog spend the money to create new content instead
(i know that i am evil
I get the feeling they are tired of the Infinity Engine. That is a shame, because it works astonishingly well for mobile devices. (Not so much for performance reasons, as it was originally written to target Pentium II's and Pentium III's, but because it's interface works so well with a touch screen it feels like it was intentional)
Having just finished SoD, I really hate that. It's clear that old engine could still support newer stories, new characters, etc. When I saw the atmospheric effects, like the hot air over lava, the cloud layers, the water, etc., it made me a bit sad to realize that I was playing what is likely the end of the line for these kinds of games.
but probably the infinity engine will become completely obsolete in the next years, beamdog had made a great work enhancing those really old but fantastic games, but i opened a poll about when the forum members begun to play the baldur gate saga a couple of years ago. most of the voters started to play well before the beamdog era, many in the very first years, the players that had started with ee was relatively few.
if the voters of a poll can be somewhat representative of who actually ply those games i would say that beamdog had plenty of success in making the old players shift to ee, but far less success in getting new fresh players.
and to enhance something already existing is much less demanding then to create a completely new game.
i have no clue on how much costed to develop sod and how much money brought to beamdog, but i would say that if the return from the investment will be good enough is possible that they will invest more in the future on infinity engine based games, other way is logical that they focus on something more in line with the modern trend and technology.
We just need to poke them enough.
not sure that to poke is enough...