Coming Back to BG, Checking in on EE

fishhead202

Maybe I'm jaded by how "updated" games tend to be treated. To mods work on BG/BG2 EE? Is there a ToB EE? I've generally done BG/BG2/TOB tutu to make it rather cohesive.

If I get the EE, can I apply mods, and is there anything I'm missing?

Sertorius

There has been a major patch recently, so some mods may be incompatible at the moment, but in general, there are lots of mods for both BG:EE and BG2:EE, check the mod forum for more.

TOB is included in BG2:EE, so yes, it has been enhanced along with the rest.

You might want to check out Siege of Dragonspear, a recent expansion, which bridges the gap between BG:EE and BG2:EE.

rapsam2003

I really think the EE versions gave us a LOT of quality of life features that weren't possible, from a technical standpoint, back in 1998. I highly recommend BGEE, BG2EE, & Siege of Dragonspear.

dots

I would recommend the EE. As rapsam2003 said, there have been a lot of little tweaks and features made to the gameplay, things like the quick-loot bar that just make life so much easier. BG:EE is a lot like playing vanilla BG with TuTu. Both ToB and TotSC are included in the EE.

The original story and characters are unchanged. New NPCs, with banters, romances, and quests related to them have been added but they are totally optional. You don't need to use them if you don't like them. The new campaign, Siege of Dragonspear, attempts to bridge the gap between BG and BG2. It's a new story that brings back some familiar faces and adds a host of new ones. I found it a lot of fun and a worthy addition to the Baldur's Gate series.

The UI has been overhauled. If you're coming back to the series after an extended absence I suspect you'll find this largely a nonissue. Things will feel different and little awkward at first, but you'll get used to it quickly enough. That was my experience, anyway, and IMO most of the changes were for the better. The UI is also moddable now.

You can still use mods, though if you own BG:EE through Steam or GoG and have SoD installed you'll have to use modmerge to get them working. This is not an issue for BG:EE without SoD, BG:EE/SoD purchased through Beamdog, or BG2:EE. Most of the bigger, popular mods are compatible with the recent patch. You can find a lists of known compatible mods here and here.

eta: re: mods, the game is also being actively updated now so if you do play with mods you'll also want to use some common sense, like not patching mid-game or before you know whether must-have mods will work with the latest update.

fishhead202

Fantastic Info, thanks all! I've been playing with tutu, but I'll definitely be picking up the EE versions.

fishhead202

Just wanted to follow up. Based on all your advice, I've picked up all 3, and am digging through mods now. Looking forward to revisiting this classic again.

jackjack

I own both the originals and EEs, (disclaimer: I don't own SoD yet but will, so I won't speak on it), and I just can't play the old ones anymore. I've really been spoiled by the new features and see no reason to go back, as the mods I use all work with BGEE and BG2EE, so for me it's a no-brainer.

Erg

I own both the originals and BG:EE (disclaimer: I don't own SoD and I never will, so I won't speak on it), and I just can't play BG:EE anymore. I've really been put off by all the unnecessary changes and weird design decisions by Beamdog and see no reason to use the EEs, as the mods I use all work with Tutu, so for me it's a no-brainer.

doggy

I own both the originals and the EE. I do play the originals for the remember to eat loading screens, but I do tend to turn to EE more and more often these days. Especially with SOD. Am on my third play through and I am sure I still have missed so much.

Also the EE comes with the same content plus the extra. The same great game with a bonus. What's not to like?

And if there is new content or NPC's you don't like then just choose to play with the old ones.

I personally enjoyed most of the content and that's the important part. Can't love it all. All games have flaws, but in my opinion BG has very few.

I really don't find it buggy. Minor bugs only and that's acceptable.

magisensei

Having played both original and EE, here are a few pennies:

BGEE - is much better than the original - using bg2 has made it that much more flexible - I like the use of more 2ed rules - like weapon proficiencies, new class and kits. Plus the good thing is that EE works on modern OS - if you have the original cd they don't work with windows 7 or 10. The new NPC are a nice addition to the game but you get those from mods as well but still nice to have. The advanced AI is also a nice touch to give you greater options for controlling npcs without the need of micro-management all the time.

Overall, BGEE is quite good and worth checking out and playing.

BG2EE - for me unfortunately is not that enhanced at all, besides the new NPCs and their quests and a few items what makes it enhanced? Yes it works on modern on OS which is great but thats about it. You don't get the new advanced AI, the old UI is still the same ugly one (yes you get the new loot bar but thats it); the new npc quests are okay at best or rather pointless at worse

(hexxat quest are not well made in bg2ee and she's not a great vampire either, dialogue is okay at best - so much could have been done to make it better especially with all the new kits added but sadly it wasn't - so much missed opportunities to make her a better npc with a better story line)

After playing with each of the new NPC - you have to wonder if anyone will actually use them more than once - the original NPCs in general are done much better.

New kits are nice but nothing that mods didn't really add to the game. The new shaman class - for me at least had potential but so badly implemented that it makes it a pointless class - especially in bg2 since it gets no stronghold without a mod and that is just odd - why make a new class that gets nothing - plus if you make new npcs with the new kits why not add a new npc shaman as well - why make us wait for a npc shaman in SoD?

And with the updates that a times make the mods almost incompatible with the game it makes you wonder if it is worth getting the patches or just sticking with an early version of EE or the original BG2.

Overall, BG2EE is less worth it as for me it is barely enhanced - you could stick with the original BG2 with mods as the EE version beside being updated to be playable on modern OS really does not add to the game - in contrast BGEE feels almost like a new game.

I also own the new IWDEE but haven't played it yet so I'll review it after trying it out.