Thank You!/SoD Appreciation Thread
Purudaya
Member Posts: 816
I went into SoD expecting higher quality writing and better development than the previous added content simply given the fact that Beamdog has a larger staff and resource pool now than they did in the past.
What I didn't expect was an expansion that (in the first 7 hours at least) would blow me away with its creativity, thoughtfulness, competence, and overall quality. Really, really impressed so far – somehow, SoD has managed to feel fresh and innovative while staying faithful to the spirit of the game and hitting the right nostalgia buttons along the way.
There are going to be a lot of threads re: complaints and bugs over the course of the next few days (as is to be expected), so I thought there should be a place where players can express their thanks to the developers and list off a few of their favorite features, characters, and quests.
I'll start: hearing new dialogue from Minsc, Imoen, and others for the first time in 15 years has been one of my all-time favorite moments in gaming ever. Thank you
What I didn't expect was an expansion that (in the first 7 hours at least) would blow me away with its creativity, thoughtfulness, competence, and overall quality. Really, really impressed so far – somehow, SoD has managed to feel fresh and innovative while staying faithful to the spirit of the game and hitting the right nostalgia buttons along the way.
There are going to be a lot of threads re: complaints and bugs over the course of the next few days (as is to be expected), so I thought there should be a place where players can express their thanks to the developers and list off a few of their favorite features, characters, and quests.
I'll start: hearing new dialogue from Minsc, Imoen, and others for the first time in 15 years has been one of my all-time favorite moments in gaming ever. Thank you
Post edited by Purudaya on
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Comments
I just got off after only playing for about an hour, but I have to say, it is absolutely beautiful so far. I love the fancy transition to and from the map, and I SO appreciate the option to not have your darn ranged characters switch to melee when they use up a stack of ammo.
As I said, I haven't gotten far, but I am so incredibly excited to be playing! Thank you all so much for all your creativity and love!
And I am literally sitting there staring at the screen for like 20 seconds as it dawns on me that I've just heard the first line from Minsc in 15 years.
The nostalga is strong in this one.
As much as I love the returning characters, for me they've been overshadowed completely by Corwin. She's an amazing character- already becoming one of my favorites in the series. I love how they managed to introduce so much of her character before she even joined the party- I'm sure some will feel that she feels forced on them thanks to her huge early-game presence, but nothing about it seemed contrived. And her reactions to all of the crazy people you end up recruiting (or trying to recruit) are perfect! She's the only new NPC I've spent enough time with to get a feel for, but she's an enormous leap up from the quality of the EE characters.
Safana's definitely more interesting too, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much development a certain NPC that doesn't rejoin you is getting. Apart from the party members, Caelar is definitely an interesting character so far, and I really want to see more of her. Not what I was expecting, but in a very good way.
The short time in the city was great- I was constantly surprised at all the sidequests popping up. That continued in Chapter 8, too, although it was definitely more spread out. My only complaint about this Chapter is about one side quest in the middle of the main wilderness area- one of the objectives is in a very distant place that makes no logical sense, and that's not even hinted at anywhere (so far as I found). The dungeon was great though- had some nice puzzles.
The buildup to BG2 is great, too. Was expecting that to be more of a twist ending, but the buildup's there right from the start.
Still a long way to go to make a final judgement, but if the rest of the expansion is nearly as good as the start, then I'll be fully convinced that Beamdog has what it takes now to make Baldur's Gate 3. And since they said it's possible if there's enough demand, let me be the first to say: Schael Corwin is amazing, and I'd pay for a Corwin DLC for BG2:EE!
And I LOVE the new UI and all the new changes to the base game as well. I have tremendous nostalgia for the content of the old games but not for their UI or systems and cannot relate to the people complaining about those changes. Please continue to keep changing and evolving things because they make these old games so much better.
I can't wait for your next project - and desperately hope it is a brand new game using 5e rules and set in a previously unused part of the Realms. GO BEAMDOG!!
In every way that I can possibly convey, thank you to the Beamdog team, from bottom to top.
Cannot wait to plow through BGEE to get to SOD. (Glint is going to be a first round draft pick for sure).
Hyped hyped hyped! Xd
Thank you, guys and gals!!!
Corwin is a strong and well fleshed out character, I can not praise her enough.
thank you so much for giving us SoD! After playing (rushing really, the main story line had me absolutely enthralled) through the game I would like to point out some pros and cons, which I liked, respectively didn't like.
Con:
-Finicky side quests, even as a long time Infinity Engine veteran player I wasn't able to get all the side quests done which can be frustrating.
Pro:
+Those Voice overs! Superb fun listening to party banters or listening to anybody, really!
+Those new and old characters! Writers completely nailed the spirit of the original BG while creating something of their very own!
+Main story line! Oh my...! T'was one of the best, most iconic stories I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing! Gripping from the first moment to the curtain's call!
+The atmosphere, the scenery and the battles -- never before felt an IE game so immersive!
+No cheap villains / antagonists!
+New items were not too powerful, yet fun to acquire and use!
+Improving upon the old Infinity Engine which I still love.
Keep at it, Beamdog! SoD is, in my humble opinion, way better than Dragon Age, Dragon Age II and Dragon Age Inquisition combined! Having said that, I want you to know that, whatever your future endeavors may hold, you'll always have my support. I believe in you guys and gals!
Allow me to congratulate you on a job well done. A job, that no one could've done better.
You are indeed my personal 'heroes and heroines of Baldur's Gate'. And there is no greater title I could possibly bestow upon you.
Cheers,
Bhaalspawn Kavain
I'm not ashamed to admit that I would have paid 5 bucks just for Minsc's new lines.
Also, Glint is a great character with superb voice acting. I'm not sure if every new companion is going to make it into BG2:EE, but he's a priority candidate if you ask me.
The point is, I want more. I know Beamdog is looking to the future and wants to make their own title, but I really hope SoD does well enough to warrant more content in BG2. I see they just hired a certain new creative director who has notably wanted a better resolution to the saga's final chapters...
THANKS Beamdogs!
The only thing I have had enough time experience in game to really comment on is the amazing new SoD UI. I'm sorry to folks that don't enjoy it but the new UI has made the entire experience better for me already.
And the freaking awesome UI. I know some folks don't like it but just the UI alone has made the entire experience better for me.
It looks like a bg game, it sounds like a bg game, it feels like a bg game and it plays like a bg game. Conclusion: It is a new baldur's gate game