Having just watched this YouTube video and seeing as you are looking to hire Unreal Engine programmers, I can only say that whatever your secret new game project is, it looks like the graphics for it are potentially gorgeous.
Having just watched this YouTube video and seeing as you are looking to hire Unreal Engine programmers, I can only say that whatever your secret new game project is, it looks like the graphics for it are potentially gorgeous.
Agreed. UE5 looks absolutely fantastic. And made for real-time gameplay. Here's hoping we get a ton of games using this engine in the future.
Would it be possible, not probable, for NWN:EE to transition to the Unreal Engine enabling more functionality with less limitation within the game? Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
Could you please let us know some details regarding 2.6 patch development? How long are we going to wait before you reveal release date for the patch?
Not much to look forward IMO.
There won't be ANY new content and the infinity engine tends to be nasty with bugs (I think Beamdog even said something along those lines)...meaning that even if we get a 100 fixes we might still get 50 new bugs as a bonus.
I kinda hoped for maybe a few new weapons or classes but the "no new content" rule makes even that unlikely.
Same with no chance for more cut content.
At best I can hope that they might give the option to upgrade some weapons...like that subpar new blackguard weapon which is trash compared to Carsomyr. Better shot at just giving it more power without improvements tho.
Maybe it will released half a year from now on. Or maybe a year from now. They might have started recently from scratch given that "something" big had to happen for the patch that was estimated to be ready for release in two weeks around 10 months ago with no release in sight yet.
Could you please let us know some details regarding 2.6 patch development? How long are we going to wait before you reveal release date for the patch?
Not much to look forward IMO.
There won't be ANY new content.
bug fixing and un-hardcoding is all we ask for ... the more conservative, the better. everything else is better off with mods at this stage.
best case to happen would be that 2.6 is the very last patch, and it's so stable and mod-friendly, the community can do their good work for years to come, without having to go the route of tobex again (which was very okay back then, but it's quite a harsh thing to do actually, better not need that again).
Could you please let us know some details regarding 2.6 patch development? How long are we going to wait before you reveal release date for the patch?
Not much to look forward IMO.
There won't be ANY new content.
bug fixing and un-hardcoding is all we ask for ... the more conservative, the better. everything else is better off with mods at this stage.
best case to happen would be that 2.6 is the very last patch, and it's so stable and mod-friendly, the community can do their good work for years to come, without having to go the route of tobex again (which was very okay back then, but it's quite a harsh thing to do actually, better not need that again).
Yeah, but what if said patch messes up more than it fixes?
There won't be any hotfixes given how 2.5 hardly received any as far as I recall.
If it will end up being a mess...then our only hope will be community patches.
There wouldn't be so much drama here IMO if Beamdog just released a few hotfixes to deal with the most annoying bugs left and gave BG a rest if it won't add anything more and the individual updates require years now. No point with promising something that they have that much trouble delivering.
@Mothor " No point with promising something that they have that much trouble delivering."
How long have you been here? Because honestly, the 2.6 cycle isn't all unique. Every release has had large delays. I'm still amazed at how cynical people have been over 2.6. You should have been here int he beginning, it wasn't really any/much different. Beamdog has always been painfully slow, they've also always delivered.
Not much to look forward IMO.
There won't be ANY new content
Quite the contrary! The french translation should be coming along and we have waited for one for ages.
That's a lot to look forward to! So yeah, pretty impatient even though I'd prefer they take their time and release a quality patch.
@Mothor " No point with promising something that they have that much trouble delivering."
How long have you been here? Because honestly, the 2.6 cycle isn't all unique. Every release has had large delays. I'm still amazed at how cynical people have been over 2.6. You should have been here int he beginning, it wasn't really any/much different. Beamdog has always been painfully slow, they've also always delivered.
The communication used to be FAR better though.
There used to be beta testings where fans could help.
We actually received some new stuff whether it were new items or cut content. This time its confirmed we get nothing aside from bug fixes. Maybe they will give the translations though. Maybe.
That said I'm not on "Super hater" mode. I do not see the current version as awful or anything of the sort. So if Beamdog said years ago that ver 2.5 would be the last I wouldn't make "ranting" threads.
I also think (I could be wrong about that though) that patches used to come once a year. Now we had two years with no hint whatsoever when the patch will come out. The last hint was almost a year ago with a likely release within two weeks. Which...did not exactly happen.
Oh well, whining won't help anyone but sometimes folks just want to share their thoughts on the matter. And I do not think that such things shouldn't include some criticism. And the fact that Beamdog used to be very slow since the very beginning (and might be even slower now) is hardly worthy of praise.
Looks like the redmine based website is gone - the one that had all the issues/requests. I'm not aware of any similar public facing replacement. I guess you have to look at that and conclude that they have finished with that and wont need it in future. So the 2.6 patch (if we ever do get it) will likely be the last.
Would it be possible, not probable, for NWN:EE to transition to the Unreal Engine enabling more functionality with less limitation within the game? Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
We live in the time of remakes, so in theory, everything is possible. But I think the main strengths of NWN have been its modability and persistent world servers. Those features will be hard to reproduce in any new engine.
There used to be beta testings where fans could help.
We actually received some new stuff whether it were new items or cut content. This time its confirmed we get nothing aside from bug fixes. Maybe they will give the translations though. Maybe.
That said I'm not on "Super hater" mode. I do not see the current version as awful or anything of the sort. So if Beamdog said years ago that ver 2.5 would be the last I wouldn't make "ranting" threads.
I also think (I could be wrong about that though) that patches used to come once a year. Now we had two years with no hint whatsoever when the patch will come out. The last hint was almost a year ago with a likely release within two weeks. Which...did not exactly happen.
The 2.5 patch had extensive beta-testing but it didn't save the game from having pathfinding bugs and other issues players sometimes find absolutely intolerable.
The 2.0 patch had a long open beta as well. And remember all the issues that were in 2.0 or 2.3.
So while an open beta is a great tool to find and determine bugs (and what is popular in the community), it's still not a guarantee of a stable release.
I'd leave communication issues to the public judgement, but my understanding is while during livestreams you could hear "we're working on stuff X,Y,Z", it actually didn't bring that stuff X,Y,Z any closer. This thread was started in January 2019, - before we hadn't even had one place where players could ask questions. The work requires as much time as it really requires, and can't be completed quicker. No additional banter can help that, sadly.
As for the time needed for previous patches, here is a rundown:
It's understandable patches are frequent during the active post-release window (1.0.2012 and 1.0.2014 after BG:EE release, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 after SoD release). If a period is not related to a game release, then patch cycles slow down (or even stop altogether).
The 2.5 update took 2 years and 2 months. 2 years and 2 months since 2.5 will happen in October, 2020.
Well.... I play on mobile only and the longest time between patches for me is - This patch!
2.5 was released simultaneously on all platforms, Android & iOS included, so I don't think I understand you correctly. 2.4 was mobile-only because at that time there were some urgent bad mobile-only issues.
Would it be possible, not probable, for NWN:EE to transition to the Unreal Engine enabling more functionality with less limitation within the game? Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
We live in the time of remakes, so in theory, everything is possible. But I think the main strengths of NWN have been its modability and persistent world servers. Those features will be hard to reproduce in any new engine.
There used to be beta testings where fans could help.
We actually received some new stuff whether it were new items or cut content. This time its confirmed we get nothing aside from bug fixes. Maybe they will give the translations though. Maybe.
That said I'm not on "Super hater" mode. I do not see the current version as awful or anything of the sort. So if Beamdog said years ago that ver 2.5 would be the last I wouldn't make "ranting" threads.
I also think (I could be wrong about that though) that patches used to come once a year. Now we had two years with no hint whatsoever when the patch will come out. The last hint was almost a year ago with a likely release within two weeks. Which...did not exactly happen.
The 2.5 patch had extensive beta-testing but it didn't save the game from having pathfinding bugs and other issues players sometimes find absolutely intolerable.
The 2.0 patch had a long open beta as well. And remember all the issues that were in 2.0 or 2.3.
So while an open beta is a great tool to find and determine bugs (and what is popular in the community), it's still not a guarantee of a stable release.
I'd leave communication issues to the public judgement, but my understanding is while during livestreams you could hear "we're working on stuff X,Y,Z", it actually didn't bring that stuff X,Y,Z any closer. This thread was started in January 2019, - before we hadn't even had one place where players could ask questions. The work requires as much time as it really requires, and can't be completed quicker. No additional banter can help that, sadly.
As for the time needed for previous patches, here is a rundown:
It's understandable patches are frequent during the active post-release window (1.0.2012 and 1.0.2014 after BG:EE release, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 after SoD release). If a period is not related to a game release, then patch cycles slow down (or even stop altogether).
The 2.5 update took 2 years and 2 months. 2 years and 2 months since 2.5 will happen in October, 2020.
Fair enough.
Though I recall how Beamdog planned/promised to make the patches come out faster.
Wouldn't some hotfix for the most annoying bugs calm down many angry fans? Is there a reason why it needs to be such a huge patch?
Not that this is really comparable, but I know from experience that a "small" update is by no means really less work than a bigger one. It's not about the actual patch work. It's about testing whether it's stable and the actual shipping/announcing. And for me it's just a free mod I created, if there is a bug in my update then it's nothing grave because I do it as a hobby and can updat quickly again. But as a company BeamDog has QA protocolls that are probaly longer than the actual integration of the patch because they can't just push a quick fix the next day.
Not that this is really comparable, but I know from experience that a "small" update is by no means really less work than a bigger one. It's not about the actual patch work. It's about testing whether it's stable and the actual shipping/announcing. And for me it's just a free mod I created, if there is a bug in my update then it's nothing grave because I do it as a hobby and can updat quickly again. But as a company BeamDog has QA protocolls that are probaly longer than the actual integration of the patch because they can't just push a quick fix the next day.
Hmmm, but why then many companies do not need a year or two to release patches if they all need to go through some very lenghty quality verification process? I've seen hotfixes being released within a month or even a week.
Does Beamdog have stricter rules regarding standards or could it be some other reason like them being low on manpower or Wizards somehow slowing them down due to some extra rules imposed on them?
I know you are not working for Beamdog but maybe you have a better understanding regarding such matters than myself who I am not so knowledgeable in that regard.
@Mothor I was just answering to the suggested release of a "small (and quick)" patch, pointing out that it's not necessarily quicker than the whole thing. I didn't mean to give a reason for the duration of the actual patch cycle.
My guess: one reason for Beamdog's patch cycle length is that they work and finish things one by one and do not work on everything at the same time, which makes sense for a small company. And they probably have too many irons in the fire at the same time.
@Mothor I was just answering to the suggested release of a "small (and quick)" patch, pointing out that it's not necessarily quicker than the whole thing. I didn't mean to give a reason for the duration of the actual patch cycle.
My guess: one reason for Beamdog's patch cycle length is that they work and finish things one by one and do not work on everything at the same time, which makes sense for a small company. And they probably have too many irons in the fire at the same time.
And to add: the game is available on many platforms.
Beamdog has said that they wanted to release the same patch for all platforms simultaneously - so people could play the same game regardless of platform.
I welcome Beamdogs choice, but I reckon that it does mean a much slower patch circle... This is sad, but we can’t have all I guess.
I just hope that the many available platforms for gaming and the new BG3 will maintain and renew interest in the original saga - and maintain a vibrant community.
I don't see BG3 helping the originals at all. The people who like the gameplay and style will be expecting a VERY different game when they go to look back at the series.
Actually, the BG games have been experiencing a renaissance since the BG3 reveal last year. The audience of https://www.reddit.com/r/baldursgate/ have doubled, with lots of posts like "playing BG for the first time, it's so cool".
Wouldn't some hotfix for the most annoying bugs calm down many angry fans? Is there a reason why it needs to be such a huge patch?
We want to release patches at the same time for mobile & PC. Just remember the TotM situation and fans' reaction. Or the current situation with NWN on Android and PC.
Releasing patches on mobile requires a lot of mumbo jumbo, submission procedures are tough. We don't want to repeat the situation when BG2 and IWD were pulled down from Google Play. It makes any small hotfix impossible to release-- because it would require full QA work just to test a small patch.
Also, the Infinity Engine is tricky. I still remember how having the girdle of masculinity in the inventory of a character who had a two-handed weapon equipped AND a shield left to nasty crashes during the 2.5 beta. It's impossible to explain sometimes how one feature / fix is related to another. Releasing a quick hotfix would be potentially catastrophic, especially considering how much work is required for the formal procedures on mobile.
There are also other reasons, of course, similar to what jastey has mentioned.
@JuliusBorisov Who knows, sir? Perhaps this renaissance just might make WOTC rethink its stance on any new official content being made for the Infinity Engine BG titles. Here's hoping.
Question regarding the Aurora Engine: How tricky, or catastrophic, do you believe it would be to surpass the nearly-two-decades-old limitation keeping Unarmed Strike from qualifying for the WeaponOfChoiceFeat.2da list of weapons? I have tried posting my question on the Discord NWN Hub as you instructed with no response, thus far. Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
Question regarding the Aurora Engine: How tricky, or catastrophic, do you believe it would be to surpass the nearly-two-decades-old limitation keeping Unarmed Strike from qualifying for the WeaponOfChoiceFeat.2da list of weapons? I have tried posting my question on the Discord NWN Hub as you instructed with no response, thus far. Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
I've noticed this question is quite important for you. 1, 2 and now here. Sorry that we haven't provided a reply before.
Just as with any feature-related change, it would require getting community feedback before any decision is made. But in our opinion, the spirit of the Weapon Master class (WM) is that they are a master of a weapon in their hands.
"Weapon masters dedicate their lives to the study of a single melee weapon, often the katana or another type of sword."
There are other such mentions of having a "Master Work" of the selected weapon too.
If you want to be an unarmed master, the monk class is available and viable.
If you compare a normal WM (first class being fighter/Paladin/What have you) to the progression of a monk/WM: there are a lot of things that can upset a person attempting to follow the spirit of the weapon master. An example: monks' fists become 1d20+5 (20x2 multiplier) as opposed to a katana's max damage of 1d10+5(18-20x2 multiplier) (Or 1d12 great sword with 1.5x strength modifier) and other built-in benefits to the weapon you try to purchase or find within loot. Then there is the fact of monks' multiple hits with their Fists of Fury (6 attacks, can be increased to 7 from wiggle room with BAB's from taking other classes (Such as WM's +1 BAB per level)).
The community would know the repercussions of unleashing the unarmed strike limitation better. But our opinion is it (if implemented) would make it difficult to enjoy the game in a multiplayer perspective.
I am having a similar issue, but with my iPhone. Could one of you explain to me how I can gain access to specifically the CTRL 8 cheat in Baldur’s Gate? I have a Bluetooth keyboard.
@JuliusBorisov Yes, sir, it is very important to me. It's been a personal goal of mine ever since the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack was released for Neverwinter Nights: Classic Edition. I agree, it (if implemented) would make it difficult to enjoy the game in a Multiplayer, and especially, a Player Versus Player scenario.
Which is why I asked if this could be implemented specifically for Single Player modules such as, the Original Campaign, both of its expansions and any DLC designed as a single player adventure. Could this not also be implemented as a "Toggle On/Off" feature, so DM's running multiplayer games and PW Administrators could regulate how players may qualify for the Weapon Master prestige class?
It was never my intention to ruin, sour, or tarnish any player's gaming experience in NWN. I only wish to experience playing my character's concept in the spirit of achieving mastery of what he believes to be the ultimate weapon: his own body. Surely, there can be a compromise, can't there? Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
I recently got an old PowerPC PowerMac G5 up and running and dual booting Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.
So uh... when will you be releasing the updated PowerPC ports of NWN and Baldur's Gate? =P
Comments
TR
Agreed. UE5 looks absolutely fantastic. And made for real-time gameplay. Here's hoping we get a ton of games using this engine in the future.
Beamdog doesn't do release dates anymore. They used to, but uh, those didn't work.
Not much to look forward IMO.
There won't be ANY new content and the infinity engine tends to be nasty with bugs (I think Beamdog even said something along those lines)...meaning that even if we get a 100 fixes we might still get 50 new bugs as a bonus.
I kinda hoped for maybe a few new weapons or classes but the "no new content" rule makes even that unlikely.
Same with no chance for more cut content.
At best I can hope that they might give the option to upgrade some weapons...like that subpar new blackguard weapon which is trash compared to Carsomyr. Better shot at just giving it more power without improvements tho.
Maybe it will released half a year from now on. Or maybe a year from now. They might have started recently from scratch given that "something" big had to happen for the patch that was estimated to be ready for release in two weeks around 10 months ago with no release in sight yet.
Oh well...
bug fixing and un-hardcoding is all we ask for ... the more conservative, the better. everything else is better off with mods at this stage.
best case to happen would be that 2.6 is the very last patch, and it's so stable and mod-friendly, the community can do their good work for years to come, without having to go the route of tobex again (which was very okay back then, but it's quite a harsh thing to do actually, better not need that again).
Yeah, but what if said patch messes up more than it fixes?
There won't be any hotfixes given how 2.5 hardly received any as far as I recall.
If it will end up being a mess...then our only hope will be community patches.
There wouldn't be so much drama here IMO if Beamdog just released a few hotfixes to deal with the most annoying bugs left and gave BG a rest if it won't add anything more and the individual updates require years now. No point with promising something that they have that much trouble delivering.
How long have you been here? Because honestly, the 2.6 cycle isn't all unique. Every release has had large delays. I'm still amazed at how cynical people have been over 2.6. You should have been here int he beginning, it wasn't really any/much different. Beamdog has always been painfully slow, they've also always delivered.
That's a lot to look forward to! So yeah, pretty impatient even though I'd prefer they take their time and release a quality patch.
The communication used to be FAR better though.
There used to be beta testings where fans could help.
We actually received some new stuff whether it were new items or cut content. This time its confirmed we get nothing aside from bug fixes. Maybe they will give the translations though. Maybe.
That said I'm not on "Super hater" mode. I do not see the current version as awful or anything of the sort. So if Beamdog said years ago that ver 2.5 would be the last I wouldn't make "ranting" threads.
I also think (I could be wrong about that though) that patches used to come once a year. Now we had two years with no hint whatsoever when the patch will come out. The last hint was almost a year ago with a likely release within two weeks. Which...did not exactly happen.
Oh well, whining won't help anyone but sometimes folks just want to share their thoughts on the matter. And I do not think that such things shouldn't include some criticism. And the fact that Beamdog used to be very slow since the very beginning (and might be even slower now) is hardly worthy of praise.
Rant over.
TR
We live in the time of remakes, so in theory, everything is possible. But I think the main strengths of NWN have been its modability and persistent world servers. Those features will be hard to reproduce in any new engine.
Unfortunately, we all still have to wait for the details.
The 2.5 patch had extensive beta-testing but it didn't save the game from having pathfinding bugs and other issues players sometimes find absolutely intolerable.
The 2.0 patch had a long open beta as well. And remember all the issues that were in 2.0 or 2.3.
So while an open beta is a great tool to find and determine bugs (and what is popular in the community), it's still not a guarantee of a stable release.
I'd leave communication issues to the public judgement, but my understanding is while during livestreams you could hear "we're working on stuff X,Y,Z", it actually didn't bring that stuff X,Y,Z any closer. This thread was started in January 2019, - before we hadn't even had one place where players could ask questions. The work requires as much time as it really requires, and can't be completed quicker. No additional banter can help that, sadly.
As for the time needed for previous patches, here is a rundown:
1.0.2012 January 2013
1.0.2014 - February 2013
1.2 October 2013
1.3 August 2014
2.0 March 2016
2.3 June 2016
2.4 September 2017 Mobile-only
2.5 August 2018
It's understandable patches are frequent during the active post-release window (1.0.2012 and 1.0.2014 after BG:EE release, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 after SoD release). If a period is not related to a game release, then patch cycles slow down (or even stop altogether).
The 2.5 update took 2 years and 2 months. 2 years and 2 months since 2.5 will happen in October, 2020.
2.5 was released simultaneously on all platforms, Android & iOS included, so I don't think I understand you correctly. 2.4 was mobile-only because at that time there were some urgent bad mobile-only issues.
Fair enough.
Though I recall how Beamdog planned/promised to make the patches come out faster.
Wouldn't some hotfix for the most annoying bugs calm down many angry fans? Is there a reason why it needs to be such a huge patch?
Hmmm, but why then many companies do not need a year or two to release patches if they all need to go through some very lenghty quality verification process? I've seen hotfixes being released within a month or even a week.
Does Beamdog have stricter rules regarding standards or could it be some other reason like them being low on manpower or Wizards somehow slowing them down due to some extra rules imposed on them?
I know you are not working for Beamdog but maybe you have a better understanding regarding such matters than myself who I am not so knowledgeable in that regard.
My guess: one reason for Beamdog's patch cycle length is that they work and finish things one by one and do not work on everything at the same time, which makes sense for a small company. And they probably have too many irons in the fire at the same time.
Beamdog has said that they wanted to release the same patch for all platforms simultaneously - so people could play the same game regardless of platform.
I welcome Beamdogs choice, but I reckon that it does mean a much slower patch circle... This is sad, but we can’t have all I guess.
I just hope that the many available platforms for gaming and the new BG3 will maintain and renew interest in the original saga - and maintain a vibrant community.
https://subredditstats.com/r/baldursgate
We want to release patches at the same time for mobile & PC. Just remember the TotM situation and fans' reaction. Or the current situation with NWN on Android and PC.
Releasing patches on mobile requires a lot of mumbo jumbo, submission procedures are tough. We don't want to repeat the situation when BG2 and IWD were pulled down from Google Play. It makes any small hotfix impossible to release-- because it would require full QA work just to test a small patch.
Also, the Infinity Engine is tricky. I still remember how having the girdle of masculinity in the inventory of a character who had a two-handed weapon equipped AND a shield left to nasty crashes during the 2.5 beta. It's impossible to explain sometimes how one feature / fix is related to another. Releasing a quick hotfix would be potentially catastrophic, especially considering how much work is required for the formal procedures on mobile.
There are also other reasons, of course, similar to what jastey has mentioned.
Question regarding the Aurora Engine: How tricky, or catastrophic, do you believe it would be to surpass the nearly-two-decades-old limitation keeping Unarmed Strike from qualifying for the WeaponOfChoiceFeat.2da list of weapons? I have tried posting my question on the Discord NWN Hub as you instructed with no response, thus far. Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
I've noticed this question is quite important for you. 1, 2 and now here. Sorry that we haven't provided a reply before.
Just as with any feature-related change, it would require getting community feedback before any decision is made. But in our opinion, the spirit of the Weapon Master class (WM) is that they are a master of a weapon in their hands.
"Weapon masters dedicate their lives to the study of a single melee weapon, often the katana or another type of sword."
There are other such mentions of having a "Master Work" of the selected weapon too.
If you want to be an unarmed master, the monk class is available and viable.
If you compare a normal WM (first class being fighter/Paladin/What have you) to the progression of a monk/WM: there are a lot of things that can upset a person attempting to follow the spirit of the weapon master. An example: monks' fists become 1d20+5 (20x2 multiplier) as opposed to a katana's max damage of 1d10+5(18-20x2 multiplier) (Or 1d12 great sword with 1.5x strength modifier) and other built-in benefits to the weapon you try to purchase or find within loot. Then there is the fact of monks' multiple hits with their Fists of Fury (6 attacks, can be increased to 7 from wiggle room with BAB's from taking other classes (Such as WM's +1 BAB per level)).
The community would know the repercussions of unleashing the unarmed strike limitation better. But our opinion is it (if implemented) would make it difficult to enjoy the game in a multiplayer perspective.
Which is why I asked if this could be implemented specifically for Single Player modules such as, the Original Campaign, both of its expansions and any DLC designed as a single player adventure. Could this not also be implemented as a "Toggle On/Off" feature, so DM's running multiplayer games and PW Administrators could regulate how players may qualify for the Weapon Master prestige class?
It was never my intention to ruin, sour, or tarnish any player's gaming experience in NWN. I only wish to experience playing my character's concept in the spirit of achieving mastery of what he believes to be the ultimate weapon: his own body. Surely, there can be a compromise, can't there? Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.
Edit: This marks my 300th post. Go Spartans!
Need a modern version of this game concept, badly.
So uh... when will you be releasing the updated PowerPC ports of NWN and Baldur's Gate? =P