To newcomers on the BG:EE Forums
![sandmanCCL](https://forums.beamdog.com/uploads/userpics/229/nK3AKASHCVU1F.png)
Welcome! We're glad you're here. If there's any community of gamers welcoming to anyone else that happens to share our little niche of the computer gaming world, it's ours. Glad you could make it.
However, I've noticed a number of topics that quickly degrade into shouting and anger. I dislike shouting and anger. Here are a few topics you might want to avoid. Let's consider this a lesson in Netiquette.
FREQUENTLY CREATED TOPICS TO AVOID
- "I am still not convinced BG:EE is worth the time or money."
Sorry to hear that. Your opinions about why BG:EE doesn't appeal to you are valid, and have been noted. I've followed the development of the game and believe me when I say a great deal of fan base complaints have been addressed directly through the AMA's the developers did over at Reddit and in dev topics created in these forums the past few months.
However, think about the motivations behind posting what you're posting. The first thing to consider is the audience (and I would say this goes for any time you write anything on the internet). The people who frequent a forum like this are fans of Baldur's Gate and are excited about the upcoming release. If you're simply here to tell us you're not excited about something we're all frothing at the mouth to play, it's going to fall on deaf ears and there's a good chance people will automatically assume you're here just to troll and will therefore troll in return. It's unfortunate, but that's the internet for you.
Secondly, the game is not out yet. It'll be out Tuesday, but still. It's not out yet. Poo-pooing on a game because there are still a lot of unknowns is kind of pointless, don't you think? Instead of saying you're not wanting to pick up the game because of X and X and X, wait til some early reviews are out and initial impressions by those who want to play it can be assessed. At the very least, phrase your skepticism in a way that allows people to attempt to change your mind. It's extremely frustrating when someone comes in here with a pre-conceived notion of what BG:EE is and lists several reasons they won't pick up the game but none of those reasons are actually true.
- "Who is your favorite X?"
Polling is fine. Polling can be fun. Excessive polling, especially if you're new to the forums, is incredibly annoying. Chances are, if you want to find out who the forum's favorite romancable NPC is, or people's least favorite NPC, or even the NPC people wish was a different gender, several polls have already been made about it. Use the search function before polling!
If you want to create a poll, try to think of something new, or at least something that hasn't been asked in awhile. Please don't make a new poll topic while you have one still actively being engaged, as well.
- "X is broken/overpowered/underpowered. Please rebalance X. Please fix X."
Legitimate complaints about bugs has it's own forum. A list of fixed bugs can be found here. If you have a feature you'd like requested, there is even a category for that.
However, requesting that something get totally changed because something was too strong or too weak or whatever is an exercise in futility. Some of the devs actually helped make some of the rules for AD&D back in 1989, and Baldur's Gate has been one of the most successful and beloved RPGs since its release 14 years ago. Rather than make demands of how Overhaul approach rebalancing the game for the main client, try seeking out a modder in the sub-category topic designated for just that. There are a lot of people who are fans of the original game because there were all sorts of silly rules meta-gamers could exploit. The old addage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies.
- "I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME WARGARBLE"
Step 1: Remain calm.
Step 2: Ask, do not demand, for help. People will be glad to pass on advice.
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit.
In all seriousness, there's a sub-category for that. It's supposedly spoiler free, but I'll admit when dealing with a game this old a lot of people (myself included) forget there are actual newcomers and get ahead of ourselves. So apologies in advance if that happens. Still, if you need info, post topics there. We're a helpful bunch, partly because we all had to go through that same learning curve to truly understand the game ourselves so we know how dense the rules can be.
- "Does this game do X?"
There's an FAQ for, go figure, frequently asked questions. Check there. If you don't find the answer, ask away!
However, I've noticed a number of topics that quickly degrade into shouting and anger. I dislike shouting and anger. Here are a few topics you might want to avoid. Let's consider this a lesson in Netiquette.
FREQUENTLY CREATED TOPICS TO AVOID
- "I am still not convinced BG:EE is worth the time or money."
Sorry to hear that. Your opinions about why BG:EE doesn't appeal to you are valid, and have been noted. I've followed the development of the game and believe me when I say a great deal of fan base complaints have been addressed directly through the AMA's the developers did over at Reddit and in dev topics created in these forums the past few months.
However, think about the motivations behind posting what you're posting. The first thing to consider is the audience (and I would say this goes for any time you write anything on the internet). The people who frequent a forum like this are fans of Baldur's Gate and are excited about the upcoming release. If you're simply here to tell us you're not excited about something we're all frothing at the mouth to play, it's going to fall on deaf ears and there's a good chance people will automatically assume you're here just to troll and will therefore troll in return. It's unfortunate, but that's the internet for you.
Secondly, the game is not out yet. It'll be out Tuesday, but still. It's not out yet. Poo-pooing on a game because there are still a lot of unknowns is kind of pointless, don't you think? Instead of saying you're not wanting to pick up the game because of X and X and X, wait til some early reviews are out and initial impressions by those who want to play it can be assessed. At the very least, phrase your skepticism in a way that allows people to attempt to change your mind. It's extremely frustrating when someone comes in here with a pre-conceived notion of what BG:EE is and lists several reasons they won't pick up the game but none of those reasons are actually true.
- "Who is your favorite X?"
Polling is fine. Polling can be fun. Excessive polling, especially if you're new to the forums, is incredibly annoying. Chances are, if you want to find out who the forum's favorite romancable NPC is, or people's least favorite NPC, or even the NPC people wish was a different gender, several polls have already been made about it. Use the search function before polling!
If you want to create a poll, try to think of something new, or at least something that hasn't been asked in awhile. Please don't make a new poll topic while you have one still actively being engaged, as well.
- "X is broken/overpowered/underpowered. Please rebalance X. Please fix X."
Legitimate complaints about bugs has it's own forum. A list of fixed bugs can be found here. If you have a feature you'd like requested, there is even a category for that.
However, requesting that something get totally changed because something was too strong or too weak or whatever is an exercise in futility. Some of the devs actually helped make some of the rules for AD&D back in 1989, and Baldur's Gate has been one of the most successful and beloved RPGs since its release 14 years ago. Rather than make demands of how Overhaul approach rebalancing the game for the main client, try seeking out a modder in the sub-category topic designated for just that. There are a lot of people who are fans of the original game because there were all sorts of silly rules meta-gamers could exploit. The old addage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies.
- "I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME WARGARBLE"
Step 1: Remain calm.
Step 2: Ask, do not demand, for help. People will be glad to pass on advice.
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit.
In all seriousness, there's a sub-category for that. It's supposedly spoiler free, but I'll admit when dealing with a game this old a lot of people (myself included) forget there are actual newcomers and get ahead of ourselves. So apologies in advance if that happens. Still, if you need info, post topics there. We're a helpful bunch, partly because we all had to go through that same learning curve to truly understand the game ourselves so we know how dense the rules can be.
- "Does this game do X?"
There's an FAQ for, go figure, frequently asked questions. Check there. If you don't find the answer, ask away!
Post edited by sandmanCCL on
22
Comments
Link to the FAQ, to the Feature Requests section, to the Modding section, and to the various platform sections (Windows, Mac, Android, and iPad).
Good topic.