(my view) The patch 2.0 will certainly make BG1&2EE look like the games went through a huge re-work
JuliusBorisov
Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
I remember that when the EEs were first announced and when BGEE and even BG2EE were released, some amount of people kept saying that the changes the EEs brought didn't justify their price and/or those changes didn't make BGEE and BG2EE much different from vanilla games with mods.
Then when the patch 1.3 was released, the number of fixes and additions it brought was overwhelming. I thought at that time that if BG2EE in its prior-to-1.3 version had been a vanilla game, we could call the EEs as of the 1.3 version Enhanced Editions alone.
And now, after I tried the 2.0 version of BG2EE that is currently in the open beta process, I can go as far as to say that the changes this version bring certainly make the EEs look and feel different than vanilla games with any mods you can think of.
Whether all players like these changes or not is another question and I would greatly advice to share your views (if you haven't already) in the appropriate subforum - https://forums.beamdog.com/categories/bg:ee-bgii:ee-2-x-public-beta.
But the fact we have a very different UI, a lot of possible tweaks to game options, a shaman class with unprecedented feature of constant summoning and using druid spells in a sorcerer's way, the Legacy of Bhaal mode, plus all the additions from the 1.3 version and other previous changes, including the core elements of the EEs NPCs, items and kits, makes me think that it would be hard to say that BG1&2EE don't bring enough to call them worthy independent projects, and not just "a modded BG but for a price".
Again, whether you prefer the vanilla games or the EEs, whether you prefer 1.3 UI or 2.0 UI, are other questions. I just wanted to share my thought that as of the 2.0 version the EEs definitely look differently from the vanilla games with mods.
And although I don't agree on everything the new UI of the 2.0 version in its current state brings, I can perfectly understand and appriciate Beamdog here in a sense that they've been busy for several years after the initial releases of the EEs tweaking the enhancements to the engine to make the EEs much more characterized than what we could ever experience with the BG games.
Then when the patch 1.3 was released, the number of fixes and additions it brought was overwhelming. I thought at that time that if BG2EE in its prior-to-1.3 version had been a vanilla game, we could call the EEs as of the 1.3 version Enhanced Editions alone.
And now, after I tried the 2.0 version of BG2EE that is currently in the open beta process, I can go as far as to say that the changes this version bring certainly make the EEs look and feel different than vanilla games with any mods you can think of.
Whether all players like these changes or not is another question and I would greatly advice to share your views (if you haven't already) in the appropriate subforum - https://forums.beamdog.com/categories/bg:ee-bgii:ee-2-x-public-beta.
But the fact we have a very different UI, a lot of possible tweaks to game options, a shaman class with unprecedented feature of constant summoning and using druid spells in a sorcerer's way, the Legacy of Bhaal mode, plus all the additions from the 1.3 version and other previous changes, including the core elements of the EEs NPCs, items and kits, makes me think that it would be hard to say that BG1&2EE don't bring enough to call them worthy independent projects, and not just "a modded BG but for a price".
Again, whether you prefer the vanilla games or the EEs, whether you prefer 1.3 UI or 2.0 UI, are other questions. I just wanted to share my thought that as of the 2.0 version the EEs definitely look differently from the vanilla games with mods.
And although I don't agree on everything the new UI of the 2.0 version in its current state brings, I can perfectly understand and appriciate Beamdog here in a sense that they've been busy for several years after the initial releases of the EEs tweaking the enhancements to the engine to make the EEs much more characterized than what we could ever experience with the BG games.
Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
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Now it is time to use this awesome version of the Infinity Engine to develop Icewind Dale 3. Thanks
So that is a big plus.
I sincerely wish to all the people that prefer the EEs over vanilla to enjoy this new version.
However, this is the final nail in the coffin for me. I really like vanilla a lot, so I guess I'm definitely done with the EEs. I mean, excluding testing, I haven't used BG:EE to play since February 2013, but now I know for certain than I will never use it again.
Sorry, if this sound a bit overdramatic, but I had really high hopes for the enhanced editions when they were first announced. I should have known better, you can't really improve a masterpiece with a remake, and this for sure isn't a restoration.
Why do this? Because I do not share the belief that a 20 year old franchise needs to be redesigned to the point where seasoned muscle memory becomes incompatible with the enhancements. I am not looking for a new game, I am looking for a baldur's gate that runs as good as it did back then and to import the exact same way I used to play it before. New items and characters are optional (but appreciated). Considering the extremely moddable nature of the game and the lack of PvP multiplayer, I do not mind most bioware exploits. Everybody keeps saying "play it like how you want" and this is how I view the OP items or combos. If something is downright disgustingly broken, I'll just pretend it doesn't exist. The AI uses illegal moves all the time aswell so it evens out regardless.
On a side-note, I wasn't actually around during the first years of EE. I joined in with 1.3 and I have been overjoyed with the product so far. Let's see what happens next. Hopefully I can look back at this post in a couple months and tell myself I had no reason to worry (spiced up with the usual bit of cringe of course).
I don't think for a second it's any better or 'enhanced'. The new character sheet and inventory screens are awful IMO and they seem completely unnecessary, though maybe there were problems I was unaware of (though I doubt this since basically these same UI elements have served players well going on 20 years).
I didn't have huge expectations for the EEs as all I was looking for was a smoother engine for a more modern PC, less hassle installing, etc. I retained hope that all the bugs would be ironed out, and have been waiting for the next update to start playing again, but now that I've seen these changes, that hope is nearly extinguished. Not completely, and I'll still update them and give 'em a shot when they're released but I don't expect to play very long and I have zero plans to purchase SoD now.
If only they'd pretty them up a bit.