There's also an difference between "using abilities and/or class checks instead of skills" and "not able to faithfully recreate skill checks without skills".
I agree with you that fully implemented non-weapon proficiencies would be able to successfully imitate Icewind Dale 2's skill usages in dialogues, quests and encounters. But again, we don't have those available without Beamdog rewriting their engine quite a bit. That's all there's to it, really.
Ehhh, there are tons upon tons of orcs and goblins in the BG saga. And let's not forget about the constant hobgoblin and kobold cannon fodders, which by all fairness are just as bland. At least Icewind Dale 2 also featured bugbears and other critters which cannot be found in Gorion's Ward's wake.
Also, D&D most boring monsters are clearly human opponents. No other encounters are as boring, generic and badly smelling as those hairless apes.
When BG1 was launched it did not include models for orcs and goblins. The developers stated that this was a deliberate decision because they felt those creatures where overused. Instead we got obscure Fiend Folio critters like Xvarts and Gibberlings.
Where goblins are used in later games it is usually sparingly. So in IWD1, once you get to Kuldahar far more interesting enemies are available.
But in IWD2, once you finish with the orcs and goblins, you just get slightly tougher orcs and goblins (orogs and bugbears), and so on, until at the end of the game you have to fight the bosses-of-the-orcs-and-goblins. There is no mystery to unravel, there are no sides to choose, there are no alternative solutions. IWD2 is basically Space Invaders.
@Akerhon: Yes! The Red Chimera Group is developing a fan-based EE version of the game, using WeiDU and EEex to streamline the game, expand the content, and improve and rebalance gameplay. We also have some artists working on the GUI and new portraits, and a few musicians working on a new and fuller soundtrack. Lately I've been writing dialog for the new NPCs, and @OlvynChuru has been hard at work making new spells and feats.
It's awesome there is an EE mod, and I realize this is years after the search was given up on, but just throwing it out there in case they could be helpful.
Comments
I agree with you that fully implemented non-weapon proficiencies would be able to successfully imitate Icewind Dale 2's skill usages in dialogues, quests and encounters. But again, we don't have those available without Beamdog rewriting their engine quite a bit. That's all there's to it, really.
Where goblins are used in later games it is usually sparingly. So in IWD1, once you get to Kuldahar far more interesting enemies are available.
But in IWD2, once you finish with the orcs and goblins, you just get slightly tougher orcs and goblins (orogs and bugbears), and so on, until at the end of the game you have to fight the bosses-of-the-orcs-and-goblins. There is no mystery to unravel, there are no sides to choose, there are no alternative solutions. IWD2 is basically Space Invaders.
You can read about it here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/79872/icewind-dale-2-enhanced-edition-is-here-and-the-red-chimera-group-is-looking-for-playtesters#latest. If you want to become a beta tester, send me a PM.
It's awesome there is an EE mod, and I realize this is years after the search was given up on, but just throwing it out there in case they could be helpful.