Skip to content

New DLC (character portraits)

themazingnessthemazingness Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 702
edited August 2017 in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
There is new DLC on Steam for BG:EE:
store.steampowered.com/app/687500/Faces_of_Good_and_Evil/
and
blog.beamdog.com/2017/08/new-portrait-pack-faces-of-good-and-evil.html

I'm kind of surprised this is a thing, since we can get thousands of portraits for free. At the same time, I can see Beamdog needing to give their artists something to do while they figure out IWD:II or whatever their next project is.
«13

Comments

  • lefreutlefreut Member Posts: 1,462
    edited November 2019
    ***
    Post edited by lefreut on
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,459
    I've taken to commissioning character portraits recently. I don't think I've used a default portrait in ages. I'll buy the DLC though just to support the idea.
  • themazingnessthemazingness Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 702
    Kamigoroshi said:

    Faces of Good and Evil... looks like good ol' Neutral has been left out of the picture. Like always.
    Ah well, let's see what we have here.

    *looks at the steam page*

    • human male
    • human female
    • human male
    • human female
    • human male
    • human female
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .




    Where does it say they are human? The two screenshots use them as a female elf and a male half-elf. But it is true none appear to be halfling, gnomish, or dwarvish.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited August 2017
    themazingness said:

    Where does it say they are human? The two screenshots use them as a female elf and a male half-elf. But it is true none appear to be halfling, gnomish, or dwarvish.

    Nowhere. But the pictures themselves speak more than a thousand words.



    All of them are no doubtly humans. The only exception may be the lower right female. Since I get a Kara-Turian half-elf fibe from her. Still, that makes her half human all the same. All in all I see no value in this pack for myself. Given that I basically never play humans, or half-elves for that matter.
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,459
    I don't think there's a single female gnome or female dwarf portrait are there? I've used Alora's picture in the past for a gnome but she's a halfling.
  • themazingnessthemazingness Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 702
    edited August 2017
    @Kamigoroshi Makes sense. I almost always make Charname neutral good, which none of these seem to fit either. But I will say they look nice. I may get them at some point and use them in IWD instead if this is ever available on GOG.
  • themazingnessthemazingness Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 702
    Vallmyr said:

    I don't think there's a single female gnome or female dwarf portrait are there? I've used Alora's picture in the past for a gnome but she's a halfling.

    Yeah, short people seem to be discriminated against in most D&D cRPG's portraits. Maybe that is the next portrait pack Beamdog needs to do.
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    themazingness said:

    Vallmyr said:

    I don't think there's a single female gnome or female dwarf portrait are there? I've used Alora's picture in the past for a gnome but she's a halfling.

    Yeah, short people seem to be discriminated against in most D&D cRPG's portraits. Maybe that is the next portrait pack Beamdog needs to do.
    You know, I had heard a rumor that Beamdog had hired Randy Newman as a consultant. Now it is confirmed.

  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    tbone1 said:

    themazingness said:

    Vallmyr said:

    I don't think there's a single female gnome or female dwarf portrait are there? I've used Alora's picture in the past for a gnome but she's a halfling.

    Yeah, short people seem to be discriminated against in most D&D cRPG's portraits. Maybe that is the next portrait pack Beamdog needs to do.
    You know, I had heard a rumor that Beamdog had hired Randy Newman as a consultant. Now it is confirmed.

    All that's left is for Peter Hayden Dinklage to get on board. :p
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    @JuliusBorisov - Any chance these are coming to the Beamdog store and/or GOG?
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    The upper left portrait of a male rogueish character is really, really awesome. One can see it in detail in the Steam link preview.
  • _Luke__Luke_ Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,535
    @JuliusBorisov - Any chance these are coming to the App store/Play store?
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    Its biggest sin is that those portraits don't fit with the other ones.
    The original portraits are busts basically. Focusing from the chest and up, centered on the face.

    You introduce all sorts of different angles and extra stuff, it becomes unfitting and looking off.
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    edited August 2017
    @Archaos exactly. Feels like any other portrait I can get on Pinterest.

    I think that Artrastrophe should be named the official portrait-maker.
  • trinittrinit Member Posts: 705
    if i buy the content on steam but have games through beamdog, will i be able to play the game with new portraits?

    or should i wait for beamdog/gog version?
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,760
    edited August 2017
    I've passed questions of @AstroBryGuy and @Luke93 to the team.

    Meanwhile, 5 lucky winners of the forum contest can get the portrait pack for free - https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/65814/forum-contest-5-keys-for-the-new-portrait-pack-faces-of-good-and-evil/.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    edited August 2017
    trinit said:

    if i buy the content on steam but have games through beamdog, will i be able to play the game with new portraits?




    Wait for it to appear at the beamdog client.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Steam is a pretty abysmal client. I only use when it is the only freaking option to play a game.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Papa_Lou said:

    However, I do agree that we need more gnomes, dwarves, halflings, and half-orcs. There are enough humans out there as it is.

    A shame that I cannot agree more than once to a post. :)

    It really was a lost opportunity that all of the portraits had to be human. For instance, the upper left male portrait would have made for an bonafide dwarf thief... if only his nose were about 25% larger, had about a 40% stouter build and sprouded a beard of some kind.

    There's a real shortage on agile, non-heavy armored dwarven portraits out there after all. In fact, I can only recall Grimgnaw's and Dorna Trapspringer's portraits at the moment.
  • trinittrinit Member Posts: 705
    AstroBryGuy said:

    Kamigoroshi said:

    Wait for it to appear at the beamdog client.

    Exactly.

    @trinit - I got the soundtracks via Steam before they went on sale in the Beamdog store (I had gotten Steam keys for the games from Beamdog). Big mistake. Steam's client required that the base game be downloaded and installed via Steam to download the soundtracks. This makes sense for in-game content DLC like Siege of Dragonspear, but not for something like a soundtrack. I already had the games installed via Beamdog's client, so I really didn't want to download them over again to get the soundtracks.

    Also, Steam's client is an overstuffed POS. No game downloader should add itself to my list of startup apps without asking. I shouldn't have to hunt down the option to opt out of such annoying behavior. I will NEVER buy from Steam again.
    i have absolutely no problem waiting for beamdog/gog version if we know it will appear eventually. i despise anything connected to steam and use it only if there is no other option, and even then i will rather think twice before i do.
  • SirickSirick Member Posts: 94
    edited August 2017
    If you're going to go to all the trouble of doing this, at least have the artist match the new portraits to the style of BG. As others have pointed out there are already millions of free portraits out there so make the official DLC ones stand out by seamlessly slipping into the games world.


    This is a problem I've had with most of the Beamdog portraits, it just seems lazy.
    Not to bash the artist at all, please don't misread.

    Example:-
    BG-BGII



    Same character, different styles to match the games.
    If a schmuck sitting at home can do, Beamdog can do better.
    Post edited by Sirick on
  • ChnapyChnapy Member Posts: 360
    Kamigoroshi said:

    All of them are no doubtly humans. The only exception may be the lower right female.

    Nah, Lower left got a short-but-pointy-ear sticking out from under her hair. Definitely half-human material here.

    Still, no dwarf, no halfling (i can understand the absence of gnomes for the obvious sanitary reasons).
    No way i'm buying this =c
  • 11302101130210 Member Posts: 381
    What the heck! Why is this for steam only?!

    >:[

    I want to buy them. :l
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    edited August 2017
    Seriously now:

    I don't know how, why or when, but seems like Beamdog lost the connection with its customers. This forum has thousand of requirements and suggestions and complaints. There is literally an entire section of it devoted to Feature Request.

    Apparently, it is not read by Beamdog. Since I got shot in service I spend a lot of time in this forum and I never saw any request for portraits. And I don't remember seeing any request in this direction.

    And what Beamdog choose to spend time, money, energy and manpower? In portraits.

    Portraits that could be easily achieved for free at the internet. Portraits that have not to do with the game's art - and this with a crowd of purist fans. I will be really surprised if it gives any marginal increase in Beamdog's profit. I would love to track its Balance Sheet and see what it provides.

    Please, listen to us once again. This company has potential, but this not the first time I see it taking a step towards failure.

    Respectfully,

    Gabryel.

    PS: The artists have all my respect. They just do as they're told to do and it is a nice work. But not a BG-style work or a work demanded by Beamdog's public.
Sign In or Register to comment.

2025 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2025 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.