How close is the EE to classic IWD these days?
Berinvar
Member Posts: 19
The question is in the title, but let me elaborate a bit:
Icewind Dale is my favorite IE game, and I have been very much on the fence for a very long time about moving from the classic game to the Enhanced Edition. The same was true for the BG games for a long time, but I recently bought them on Steam and -- in large part due to the excellent Dragonspear UI++ mod -- I can honestly say I don't think I can / will go back.
But IWD is a slightly different beast, and not just because it's my favorite. I can forgive upgrading BG's systems to BG2's because 1) it's the sequel and having systemic consistency across the series kinda makes sense, and 2) IMO BG was always just as much about the story and exploration as it was about the combat, and I don't feel that much gets lost in the switch.
For IWD, however, Black Isle very much created their own branch of the IE AD&D ruleset which, combined with how combat-centric the game is, made the switch to the BG2 engine a Big Deal.
How close is the EE to the Classic game these days? I have seen some patch notes about Classic IWD spells being added, spell effects being changed to the original visuals, etc. but haven't been able to get a good, broad overview.
I don't necessarily mean the addition of the new classes, kits, and race btw -- I can just choose not to use those -- I'm thinking more in the sense of how Proficiencies work, which spells are available / added, etc.
And if there is indeed still a big difference, is their a mod that can bring the EE closer to Classic?
Icewind Dale is my favorite IE game, and I have been very much on the fence for a very long time about moving from the classic game to the Enhanced Edition. The same was true for the BG games for a long time, but I recently bought them on Steam and -- in large part due to the excellent Dragonspear UI++ mod -- I can honestly say I don't think I can / will go back.
But IWD is a slightly different beast, and not just because it's my favorite. I can forgive upgrading BG's systems to BG2's because 1) it's the sequel and having systemic consistency across the series kinda makes sense, and 2) IMO BG was always just as much about the story and exploration as it was about the combat, and I don't feel that much gets lost in the switch.
For IWD, however, Black Isle very much created their own branch of the IE AD&D ruleset which, combined with how combat-centric the game is, made the switch to the BG2 engine a Big Deal.
How close is the EE to the Classic game these days? I have seen some patch notes about Classic IWD spells being added, spell effects being changed to the original visuals, etc. but haven't been able to get a good, broad overview.
I don't necessarily mean the addition of the new classes, kits, and race btw -- I can just choose not to use those -- I'm thinking more in the sense of how Proficiencies work, which spells are available / added, etc.
And if there is indeed still a big difference, is their a mod that can bring the EE closer to Classic?
Post edited by Berinvar on
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Comments
The biggest difference for me has been that EE feels overall easier. Above all, some BG2 classes and kits seem to be OP compared to original IWD classes. Some BG2 spells like contingencies and spell triggers seem to be also quite OP.
There are some new items all the way throughout the game, but I haven't felt that they would break the game. Some of the random drop lists have been modified in EE though, and due to that some random drop weapons might not be available anymore (there might be a mod for restoring original drops?).
The change of proficiency system to BG2 style decreases options and makes some weapons almost never used due to bad proficiency category. But it is not necessarily a bad thing since it makes the game a bit more difficult.
There are also a few new quests and restored content that was cut during development from IWD Classic. They are a nice to addition.
So, maybe it is worth giving a try for EE? It might be fun to experience something new from a game that you know very well?