please tell me what you would like to see featured at a new BG fansite
I've been a busy bee. Over the last month I began a project to develop a fansite devoted to Baldur's Gate that covers all the usual bases (or will eventually), but also sort of opens up the creative dimension that I see expressed so often on this wonderful forum.
Well, not just this forum, but others like it as well, of course. In one respect the site acts as a kind of clearinghouse for all the BG fansites that still exist (and which might yet pop up, what with the Enhanced Editions and BG3).
It's called BG: The Wide. The goal of the project is to detail BG1(EE) first. Once that's at a respectable level of development it's on to BG2(EE).
I had long thought to do something like this... creating a BG fansite one day, that is... figuring it would be a be a fitting sort of testament to an enduring game that only a few old diehard veteran players would stumble onto. But now the EEs provided the extra oomph I needed to finally get it off the ground. And naturally the Enhanced Editions have greatly renewed interest in this venerable game.
I have a lot of work yet to do at this site--there's a lot of material to gather. What I have completed thus far is really just a start. But it is at the point now that folks can contribute their ideas, share links, and so forth.
I want to emphasize that I know nothing will top these BG:EE forums for any of us. I was as delighted to find this community as I was to learn that the Enhanced Editions (and possibly BG3!) were being developed. I'm sure this fantastic community will continue to remain my main BG hangout as well.
In any event, if you think you are interested in lending a hand by contributing ideas, that would be awesome. I'd love to hear your ideas about how to build on the start I've made. Hope you take some time to check it out!
***
You can watch the progress I'm making on implementing on your suggestions here.
Well, not just this forum, but others like it as well, of course. In one respect the site acts as a kind of clearinghouse for all the BG fansites that still exist (and which might yet pop up, what with the Enhanced Editions and BG3).
It's called BG: The Wide. The goal of the project is to detail BG1(EE) first. Once that's at a respectable level of development it's on to BG2(EE).
I had long thought to do something like this... creating a BG fansite one day, that is... figuring it would be a be a fitting sort of testament to an enduring game that only a few old diehard veteran players would stumble onto. But now the EEs provided the extra oomph I needed to finally get it off the ground. And naturally the Enhanced Editions have greatly renewed interest in this venerable game.
I have a lot of work yet to do at this site--there's a lot of material to gather. What I have completed thus far is really just a start. But it is at the point now that folks can contribute their ideas, share links, and so forth.
I want to emphasize that I know nothing will top these BG:EE forums for any of us. I was as delighted to find this community as I was to learn that the Enhanced Editions (and possibly BG3!) were being developed. I'm sure this fantastic community will continue to remain my main BG hangout as well.
In any event, if you think you are interested in lending a hand by contributing ideas, that would be awesome. I'd love to hear your ideas about how to build on the start I've made. Hope you take some time to check it out!
***
You can watch the progress I'm making on implementing on your suggestions here.
Post edited by Lemernis on
4
Comments
Suggestions:
Don't ignore the presence of Tutu and mods when listing information. Some elements can vary greatly between the original game, Tutu, BGT, and whether you've got things like Unfinished Business installed.
Find an angle and focus and stick with it. The web is brutally utilitarian -- if most of the information on your site can be found elsewhere, what do we need you for? Examples: Playithardcore.com is all about stats and easily scannable tables of information. Dudleyville has a linear, easily navigable, and bare bones walk through. Silver River delivers short, pithy recommendations on each NPC. I get the sense that each of the people behind those sites built them to 'scratch their own itch,' ie the made something they specifically wanted because nobody else was doing it.
Good luck!
@Brude Well, one thing the site will hopefully do is bring and tie everything that's out there together for easier reference and navigation. And it'll go much deeper and wider in scope than any of the other sites in isolation. That'll take time of course. What's there now is just a start.
As far as a niche goes, one major one is that The Wide will focus on creative approaches to replaying the game. That's one of the itches that I felt a need to scratch. (See the site's "BG1 Roleplaying Concepts" page.) I have to start hunting around on various forums for that. I'm also hoping for fan input on that subject eventually on the site's forum. Then too I need to start building up the section(s) on combat tactics, in-game lore, "fanon," and, if readers are game, featuring their submissions for favorite Player-Character builds. In the coming weeks and months I'll gather what I can glean from various fansite forums to build those sections up. But I'm also hoping that readers will contribute links and post fresh material as well.
We'll see how it develops. It's still very young, and has quite a bit of branching out to do yet. Hopefully with the input of fellow fans this little green sapling will grow to become the majestic oak.
BG1(EE) Portraits
BG1(EE) Soundsets
BG1(EE) Combat
BG1(EE) RPing Concepts
BG1(EE) Canon & "Fanon"
Baldur's Gate Fan Art
Mods for BG1(EE)
As you can imagine, I have much to find, compile, and organize. Slow and steady wins the race, me hopes. If any kind souls/avid fans are interested in helping me find links and other materials, by all means the help will be greatly appreciated. The combat and RP concept sections in particular are going to take a lot of work to build up.
Also, I'm now contemplating whether I should try Vanilla forums versus proboards. If I do switch, proboards doesn't port. So in a way it's a good thing that there isn't any activity other than my bare bones layout yet.
Just a heads up: Vanilla has a pseudo-open version of the forums available, but it's not as feature complete as their commercial product (which requires hosting with them and paying a hefty monthly fee).
Volothamp's Compeuppance
http://www.pocketplane.net/volothamp/bgguide.htm
(A Comprehensive, Spoiler-Free Guide to Baldur's Gate)
Monstrous Manual
http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00000.htm
(Stats, pictures and descriptions of most 2nd Ed. monsters)
and (just for fun)..
Seven Ways to Kill the Tarrasque (on thirteen experience levels or less)
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dkb1/dnd/tarrasque.txt
Let's see:
- A walkthrough (as the original game hasn't changed that much in regards to getting through the game, you can put original BG walkthroughs on your site, but don't forget to ask for permission! ^_^)
You could also write a walkthrough yourself just for fun!
- Portrait packs. These can be found by browsing the net and also again at older BG sites. Maybe even on DeviantArt or other fantasy-art related sites. Again, you could make portrait packs yourself if you wish.
- A list of mods for BG:EE, preferably with download links! (This could be a bit hard, knowing BG:EE has only been recently released)
- Character descriptions! Especially the ones from the new characters (Neera, Dorn and Rasaad)
- Party banters and quotes. Always nice to look up some banters from characters.
- A list of the items that can be found in the game, especially the newly added items in BG:EE!
- Maybe an explanation on some of the game mechanics, such as how THACO works. I know the devs have kind of 'simplified' this particular thing in BG:EE, but it would still be nice to know how it works, especially for D&D n00bies like me.
- Fan art! Lots and lots of fan art! You could ask some of the people on these forums. I've seen quite a few talented people on this site.
- Fan fiction! There can never be enough stories about the misadventures of Edwin.
- Poetry or ballads inspired by fans, even though I have seen few thus far.
- A collection of the soundtracks featured in BG:EE (I think most of the music is still the same, though. Watch for copy infringement!)
- A page where visitors can post suggestions. If you gather these and sort out the real useful ideas, you can post 'em here for the devs to consider!
Hmm, I'm sure I'm forgetting some important things here...But it's already late and I think this is a nice start. Good luck on getting your site together, @Lemernis! Don't stress, don't rush. Take it easy. Making a site should be fun, afterall! I'll make sure to pay your site a visit once it's finished and running.
Regarding the things that haven't been mentioned yet:
- Page (Metagaming?) dedicated to powerbuilds like Kensai13\Mage, Cleric\Ranger, Cleric\Thief backstabbing with staffs, etc.. Or with some recommendations regarding character development..
- Add link to Baldur's Gate Reference (forum discussion) android App by @PalaNIN. Considering that we will soon have BGEE on androids this app may be quite handy for a lot of people who are new to BG.
Other links:
http://www.mud-master.com/shadowkeeper/
http://www.baldursgatemods.com/ | http://www.teambg.org/ (same)
Thank you to everyone for their suggestions so far! Please keep them coming!
I have something brewing along these lines, i.e., the powergamer tactical section (in development) of Combat Tactics. And I have a Your Favorite PC Builds page. Those sections need to be filled out. But a page dedicated specifically to power-builds would undoubtedly be popular. I have to figure out how to integrate it into what I already have in development...
This idea I have expanded to include a page that includes a tutorial on how to hack characters using SK. And a gallery for all-time favorite hacked builds. I would think think a lot of players would appreciate that.
Also, with fan fiction, be careful what demons you summon. This can easily turn into a shitload of work. I was the webmaster of a project that also accepted fan fiction and the flood of contributions was impossible to manage alone. You should plan on having someone to proofread to weed out the worst spelling/grammar offenses to keep up a certain quality control. Alternatively, you could look for a page dedicated to Forgotten Realms literature and fan fiction and have a section with links to their best rated stories. Outsourcing and partnering with another project makes it more managable to run your own page. Plus, a partnership makes nice advertising and hence better placing in search results.
Can folks help me test the Comment Box and ratings feature (testing it for Rasaad, it's located toward the bottom of his page)? Thanks!
If you don't mind one more little test, I'm curious also to see how well the Comment Box works on the Give Us Feedback! page. You can type anything. I'm just testing for now.