My Reaction to BG:EE
ElectricMonk
Member Posts: 599
Update: As expected, all of the issues that I mentioned below have been more or less resolved, and the team consistently displays a continuing commitment to the ongoing improvement of the game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, I just wanted to comment on my experience so far with BG:EE, and potentially give some people with disappointments, etc. a couple of things to think about.
First of all, my pre-load went smoothly and my game runs well, I have experienced no game-breaking bugs (yet). I understand that there are people who have not had such a smooth experience, and I sympathize with your reactions, although there seems to be an inordinate amount of negativity from those experiencing issues.
I am pleased so far, the game is as I expected it to be, so I thought I'd touch a bit on expectations. For those that bought this game without researching what exactly it was (and were expecting a full remake), I do understand your frustration. However, the developers have made it very clear from the beginning what exactly this Enhanced Edition would encompass, and they have delivered on their promises. I won't get too much into all the complaints along the lines of "this is just BG with some mods..." because I feel that I have addressed enough of these complaints prior to release, and in my eyes that argument has no merit.
There seem to have been some unrealistic expectations regarding a bug-free release, so I thought I'd touch on that as well. In my experience, there is essentially no such thing as a bug-free release, most games are buggy upon release. This game has been developed by a (relatively) small team of developers, and I was certainly expecting some bugs. They are, as always, completely responsive and accountable as concerns these bugs. They are taking great strides to ensure that all bugs are being worked on. So, have some patience, and let them know if you're having issues.
On a similar note, I saw a thread concerning the loss of the "first playthrough" experience due to bugs. I believe that there's some nostalgia-related misremembering going on in these cases, and I doubt that all those fondly-remembered first playthroughs of the original BG are memories of playthroughs on the day of release. More likely, you're just remembering the experience of playing this game for the first time, whenever that was (probably quite a while after release), and the great experience of the first file that you played to completion. Expecting that experience again is unreasonable, this is not a different game, but rather an "enhanced version" of the game that so many of us have come to know and love. Over time, the patching process will (I'm assuming) take care of the bugs out there, and we will all build fond memories of playing this enhanced edition as well and, with some luck, eventually be able to play BG 3 for the first time.
There are some issues I've run into, all of which have already been reported by others. Again, I fully expected a few bugs, so I'm not all that concerned, although I will probably wait for a bit of patching before playing a serious playthrough of the main campaign. I did see one suggestion concerning a public beta as a means for discovering issues with a large range of machines, which I thought sounded like a very good idea. I'm not sure if this is possible or not for BG2:EE but, if it is, I think that it would be a great idea. I would also like to say thank you to all the developers and beta testers. I know that you all worked (and are continuing to work) very, very hard to bring this game to us, and we greatly appreciate it. I only feel compelled to mention this because of some of the hate that has been directed at the devs and beta testers in particular. The beta testers did a lot of work which was, if I'm not mistaken, unpaid. So, thank you.
There are some things that I am displeased with regarding BG:EE, so I thought I'd mention what I would have liked/would like to see with BG:EE.
1. I was disappointed to discover that the Nietzsche quote was taken out of the beginning of the game, seeing the words "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you" at the beginning of my BG experience was quite fulfilling, even before I knew who Nietzsche was. It's a small thing, and I doubt they'll change their minds on it, but I think that it was a great quote to have at the beginning of this game. Fixed
2. Zoom lock. This may be a moot point as I've seen it mentioned already, so they may already be working on a solution to this; but I would definitely appreciate the ability to not have the zoom reset on area transitions. Fixed
3. Generally increased customization. There are some Options Menu issues I've encountered which I believe to be bugs, so I'll pass over those. Ultimately, the ability to change the FPS and all the other varied options that used to belong to BGconfig should have been brought over to an in-game configuration menu in my opinion. I would appreciate more control over the game in an enhanced version, not less. FPS added, other options coming.
4. Game balance. The addition of BG2 kits and features leads to a corrosion of the balance in BG1. These are all issues that exist when playing the original BG1 via Tutu or BGT. These additions make the game considerably easier. While I think that this issue will only actually bother a small number of us, I do believe that it affects the quality of the entire game. I would have really liked to see some work done on balancing these BG2 elements which were incorporated into BG (Thanks to @sazaland for bringing this up). Note: Will be essentially fixed when SCS is ready for BG:EE Update: It seems to me that most people are satisfied with the current level of difficulty, and there's now a beta od SCS for those of us that aren't.
That's all that I can think of off the top of my head. I really do greatly appreciate what this team is doing, and am very much hoping that this game (and BG2:EE) does well enough to allow them to potentially enhance PS:T and the IWD games, and hopefully to create a BG3 as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, I just wanted to comment on my experience so far with BG:EE, and potentially give some people with disappointments, etc. a couple of things to think about.
First of all, my pre-load went smoothly and my game runs well, I have experienced no game-breaking bugs (yet). I understand that there are people who have not had such a smooth experience, and I sympathize with your reactions, although there seems to be an inordinate amount of negativity from those experiencing issues.
I am pleased so far, the game is as I expected it to be, so I thought I'd touch a bit on expectations. For those that bought this game without researching what exactly it was (and were expecting a full remake), I do understand your frustration. However, the developers have made it very clear from the beginning what exactly this Enhanced Edition would encompass, and they have delivered on their promises. I won't get too much into all the complaints along the lines of "this is just BG with some mods..." because I feel that I have addressed enough of these complaints prior to release, and in my eyes that argument has no merit.
There seem to have been some unrealistic expectations regarding a bug-free release, so I thought I'd touch on that as well. In my experience, there is essentially no such thing as a bug-free release, most games are buggy upon release. This game has been developed by a (relatively) small team of developers, and I was certainly expecting some bugs. They are, as always, completely responsive and accountable as concerns these bugs. They are taking great strides to ensure that all bugs are being worked on. So, have some patience, and let them know if you're having issues.
On a similar note, I saw a thread concerning the loss of the "first playthrough" experience due to bugs. I believe that there's some nostalgia-related misremembering going on in these cases, and I doubt that all those fondly-remembered first playthroughs of the original BG are memories of playthroughs on the day of release. More likely, you're just remembering the experience of playing this game for the first time, whenever that was (probably quite a while after release), and the great experience of the first file that you played to completion. Expecting that experience again is unreasonable, this is not a different game, but rather an "enhanced version" of the game that so many of us have come to know and love. Over time, the patching process will (I'm assuming) take care of the bugs out there, and we will all build fond memories of playing this enhanced edition as well and, with some luck, eventually be able to play BG 3 for the first time.
There are some issues I've run into, all of which have already been reported by others. Again, I fully expected a few bugs, so I'm not all that concerned, although I will probably wait for a bit of patching before playing a serious playthrough of the main campaign. I did see one suggestion concerning a public beta as a means for discovering issues with a large range of machines, which I thought sounded like a very good idea. I'm not sure if this is possible or not for BG2:EE but, if it is, I think that it would be a great idea. I would also like to say thank you to all the developers and beta testers. I know that you all worked (and are continuing to work) very, very hard to bring this game to us, and we greatly appreciate it. I only feel compelled to mention this because of some of the hate that has been directed at the devs and beta testers in particular. The beta testers did a lot of work which was, if I'm not mistaken, unpaid. So, thank you.
There are some things that I am displeased with regarding BG:EE, so I thought I'd mention what I would have liked/would like to see with BG:EE.
1. I was disappointed to discover that the Nietzsche quote was taken out of the beginning of the game, seeing the words "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you" at the beginning of my BG experience was quite fulfilling, even before I knew who Nietzsche was. It's a small thing, and I doubt they'll change their minds on it, but I think that it was a great quote to have at the beginning of this game. Fixed
2. Zoom lock. This may be a moot point as I've seen it mentioned already, so they may already be working on a solution to this; but I would definitely appreciate the ability to not have the zoom reset on area transitions. Fixed
3. Generally increased customization. There are some Options Menu issues I've encountered which I believe to be bugs, so I'll pass over those. Ultimately, the ability to change the FPS and all the other varied options that used to belong to BGconfig should have been brought over to an in-game configuration menu in my opinion. I would appreciate more control over the game in an enhanced version, not less. FPS added, other options coming.
4. Game balance. The addition of BG2 kits and features leads to a corrosion of the balance in BG1. These are all issues that exist when playing the original BG1 via Tutu or BGT. These additions make the game considerably easier. While I think that this issue will only actually bother a small number of us, I do believe that it affects the quality of the entire game. I would have really liked to see some work done on balancing these BG2 elements which were incorporated into BG (Thanks to @sazaland for bringing this up). Note: Will be essentially fixed when SCS is ready for BG:EE Update: It seems to me that most people are satisfied with the current level of difficulty, and there's now a beta od SCS for those of us that aren't.
That's all that I can think of off the top of my head. I really do greatly appreciate what this team is doing, and am very much hoping that this game (and BG2:EE) does well enough to allow them to potentially enhance PS:T and the IWD games, and hopefully to create a BG3 as well.
Post edited by ElectricMonk on
19
Comments
I still perfectly remember the emotion it stirred into me the first time I launched the game (I was quite young!) and on the screen appeared the words "When you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you".
It may sound a little childish, but it was literally a memorable moment, if nothing else in the sense that I still perfectly remember it as if it was today. It was definitely a landmark in the memory of many, many gamers, since it signed a first clear hint we had that mature storytelling in gaming was taking a huge leap forward.
Why did they take it away is really a mistery to me, and a disappointing one (while generally my assessment of the EE is positive, btw).
Are all your *new* sidequests working properly?
Can you change a single thing in the graphics options apart from "Full screen" option?
Essentially all the challenge disappears by adding BG2 features to BG1, and cranking it to Insane and doubling damage rolls doesn't solve it at all.
I can understand though veteran Baldur's Gate gamers, like yourself and many others, to be a bit disappointed. I have noticed a lot of folk have not been too happy with the cutscenes, but for me it does not really make a huge difference. I also played through Planescape Torment for the 1st time this year as well and found the cutscenes to be far more interesting, and I definitely felt a lot more emotion within the whole story. Baldur's Gate was a lot more of a fun game for me, but Planescape Torment took me to a different darker place. I don't really know what my point is now lol...Baldur's Gate cinematics don't really stir much emotion in me...Planescape Torment does.
Try looking, there are many fixes available already. Future patches will officially fix these.
Then re-read the OPs post about initial bugs.
The way I add challenge to the game is with limiting reloads until I find some challenging level of this (such as only saving, and also maybe only sleeping, in inns). This has definitely made my BG experiences more fulfilling. Also, playing with your first stat roll (or limiting them to five or so) can add to the challenge. Also you can always just not use overpowered kits, etc., although this is obviously an area where those of us not finding the difficulty we desire must take it upon ourselves to create it. A bit disappointing, but I don't mind doing this, I realize that it likely would have been extremely difficult to balance these things.
I don't limit myself in rolling my character's stats, but it also doesn't affect much. Many of the NPCs have way under par stats, and the best ones tend to be evil, and therefore relatively fussy. One relatively bad PC isn't going to bomb the caravan.
Personally I would've either removed the kits entirely, or let you do some type of quest(or just pick from a menu honestly) a kit when you reach level 6-8 or so. This is when the kits begin making sense, and is around BG2's starting level. Likewise, removal of Find Familiar or making it a very rare scroll that you can't pick at character creation would have helped a lot.
I think weapon styles could've been balanced very easily: make enemies that use them! Drizzt is dual wielding fine, throw bandit/hobgoblin berserkers at us using two longswords or somesuch. Enemy assassins that hide, try to backstab, and use poison. Enemy archers who have the Archer kit could even work, they'd be that much more dangerous.
I just feel it would've been easy to do more on this front.
You're in a niche position as a player that needs/wants a higher level of difficulty than most. Although I do agree it is too easy for everyone, it seems far too easy to those of us that require more difficulty, so I don't know if this issue will be as noticeably unbalanced to others as it seems to us.
We don't know the reality of what happened behind the scenes with the development of BG:EE. Although it seems like it would be easy to do some of these things you've mentioned, I've certainly never worked on the code of a 15 year old game (or done any coding for that matter), so we can't be entirely sure how difficult some things are. More importantly, it seems like they've been overloaded with an unexpected amount of work. They had to prioritize, and maintaining balance may not have hit the top of the priority list, and I'm not going to second-guess their decisions concerning prioritizing their workload. Maybe they'll do some post-release balancing work. I doubt that they will, but you never know. It would certainly be welcome if they did.
So, this is obviously a bug which is not affecting the game for everyone, but is rather some incompatibility or something, which makes it pretty easy to understand how it could have been overlooked. Their testing process was limited, they didn't have a wide variety of machines to test for bugs on, etc. Beamdog is a relatively small team with limited resources. I touched on this in my original post, that I think it would be best if they did something along the lines of a public beta for BG2:EE to help with this issue.
This is not a AAA game company with a AAA budget and AAA prices. This is their first release, so I'm absolutely willing to cut them a bit of slack. As they mature as a team, my expectations will increase as well.
The game has still only been out for a couple of days, they're actively and diligently working on dealing with bugs. They will get fixed, so have patience. I'm not sure what the world-ending tragedy is here that makes it so ridiculous as to merit such responses. The game was just released. They haven't fixed all the bugs yet. Ideally, they will soon all be fixed as they're discovered. So, where's the issue? I get that it's an inconvenience, but it's hardly a serious one. Just take it in stride.
That being said, I can understand that you're frustrated. You payed for a product, and you're unable to effectively use it. I get it. However, there's not much that can be done apart from what is being done: as I keep saying, they're working on it.
I'm probably a bit biased toward the old cinematic, and this one will most likely grow on me over time.
I've always thought that it was very fitting given the nature of the journey to come.
The people who are having trouble are playing multiplayer. The reason they're having trouble is because in multiplayer, the game pauses when you rest. It pauses, goes to load a video that doesn't exist, and then hangs. If a guest leaves, the game unpauses as normal. But so long as multiple people are there, it remains paused, because it's waiting for the host to load a video.
So people saying this "bug" doesn't exist for you... yes. It does. You're just not affected by it. It's not a bug, it's a complete lack of certain videos.
Also, it's not really relevant, and all my previous statements regarding bugs still stand. I understand that the multiplayer is pretty buggy right now from what I've seen you and others say. They're working on it, have patience.
As you say I would love it if the extra lines could be put back into the intro movie.
I'm sure you just meant that you find him depressing, which is understandable, just thought you might be interested in another perspective
The annoying mousebug is gone and yesterday i had a nice multiplayergame with my old buddy over hamachi.
I had no ctd´s/freezes. I found ,while playing, various little changes, most of them useful and nice.
I also found 2 of the new Npc´s (still looking out for Dorn) and they are nicely done.
We re-found (hope this is right written) the "Baldurs Gate"-feeling and had a lot of fun in the Forgotten-Realms.
So all in all I am (now) satisfied with the product (still hoping for a better multiplayer without hamachi, port forward, etc.). Some more Characterpictures would be nice 2 and I had problems with importing my soundsetfiles into the game. But nevertheless i am 90% happy with the game now.
So i want to thank the Team and hope for an enhanced BG2.
Sincerly,
Mc
As I've posted elsewhere, I knew the original movies were going to be replaced but had assumed that:
a) all the originals would be replaced (when in fact over half have not been);
b) they would contain all the essential elements of the originals (unlike the new intro movie that drops the important "There are others..." line); and
c) they would be faithful in mood to the originals (the new versions are often not).
If a mod gets made that restores the original movies that would be great and would mean that I actually get some use out of my copy of BG:EE. If not, I will have only wasted a small amount of money and there are other versions of the game available for me to play which keep the original movies.
I guess most purchasers of BG:EE will not find this to be such a critical issue and I'm genuinely glad for them that they are able to enjoy the game in its current form.