We started with what was essentially BGIIEE, and then added a lot of new code to get all of the IWDEE content to work just right.
Does this mean you were able to add all the spells from the original game? According to the IWD in BG2 mod several spells could not be ported as they had dependencies in the IWD engine code(see http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?s=215ef6955463b83aab09448e1fd4166e&showtopic=21111) that wasn't present in the BG2 engine. I use several, especially Wall of Moonlight and Mordekains Force Missiles so it would be awesome if you were able to include them.
Hopefully you had access to the original engines code and was able to port the pieces needed.
We did a code level iwd in bg2 thingie. As in, anything that was just slightly clunky doing with scripting, got code support. Anything that was doable with the existing codebase (sometimes better than the original) was converted. So, what we got is a better than BG2EE codebase with lots of new things moddable.
Just curious, but with the updated engine, is it possible we'll get an updated IWD:EE in BG2:EE mod at some stage? That would be pretty neat.
It seems to me that would be pointless as they're both going to use the same engine anyway. The IWD in BG2 was only made so you could make use of some of the features of the better BG2 engine. That's already going to happen by default with the EE versions.
We did a code level iwd in bg2 thingie. As in, anything that was just slightly clunky doing with scripting, got code support. Anything that was doable with the existing codebase (sometimes better than the original) was converted. So, what we got is a better than BG2EE codebase with lots of new things moddable.
Are you planning to port IWD:EE engine features back to BG(2):EE engine? Things like the BitGlobal trigger (if it is still used) and other stuff unique to IWD for better modding possibilities in BG games?
We did a code level iwd in bg2 thingie. As in, anything that was just slightly clunky doing with scripting, got code support. Anything that was doable with the existing codebase (sometimes better than the original) was converted. So, what we got is a better than BG2EE codebase with lots of new things moddable.
Are you planning to port IWD:EE engine features back to BG(2):EE engine? Things like the BitGlobal trigger (if it is still used) and other stuff unique to IWD for better modding possibilities in BG games?
Well, porting features back to the old games has pro and con:
Con: It needs testing with all the original content Pro: It requires less maintenance if we have an entirely common codebase
I can only say, features that are immediately needed, usually get moved pretty fast between the projects. Also it is easier to move stuff into a work in progress, than into a patch that doesn't really require the new feature.
Well, porting features back to the old games has pro and con:
Con: It needs testing with all the original content Pro: It requires less maintenance if we have an entirely common codebase
I can only say, features that are immediately needed, usually get moved pretty fast between the projects. Also it is easier to move stuff into a work in progress, than into a patch that doesn't really require the new feature.
That makes sense...*hoping for an eventual 'bg(n)ee in iwdee' mod then*
Well, porting features back to the old games has pro and con:
Con: It needs testing with all the original content Pro: It requires less maintenance if we have an entirely common codebase
I can only say, features that are immediately needed, usually get moved pretty fast between the projects. Also it is easier to move stuff into a work in progress, than into a patch that doesn't really require the new feature.
In other words IWD features won't be ported back to BG:EE engine. I understand your reasoning, but it's quite disappointing.
Well, porting features back to the old games has pro and con:
Con: It needs testing with all the original content Pro: It requires less maintenance if we have an entirely common codebase
I can only say, features that are immediately needed, usually get moved pretty fast between the projects. Also it is easier to move stuff into a work in progress, than into a patch that doesn't really require the new feature.
In other words IWD features won't be ported back to BG:EE engine. I understand your reasoning, but it's quite disappointing.
It's more like, before any IWD feature is back-ported to BG:EE, it needs to be thoroughly tested, which means that priority will be given to the features that are specifically needed in order to fix issues or achieve functionality that we need for new implementation.
Wait for the game to be released before being disappointed, in other words. The outcome may be better than you might have hoped.
Actually, I'd like to see an Infinity Engine able to handle all of the different files formats, maybe by unifying them this could be reached (and no testing would be needed since each .CRE v1.0 would be different from a .CRE 2.0 but the game engine would be able to process both? I know how huge this would be, but once done it would be able to put all of the IE games on a single, 100% engine
Edit: or just convert the content to BG2:EE's engine like it was done with IWD:EE (but doing this with PS:T:EE, if it's ever done, would break lots of stuff since PS:T _needs_ several differences to work).
Comments
The original IWD engine is a BG2 SoA engine with features turned off or never implemented.
Hopefully you had access to the original engines code and was able to port the pieces needed.
Edit: or @Dee
Con:
It needs testing with all the original content
Pro:
It requires less maintenance if we have an entirely common codebase
I can only say, features that are immediately needed, usually get moved pretty fast between the projects. Also it is easier to move stuff into a work in progress, than into a patch that doesn't really require the new feature.
Wait for the game to be released before being disappointed, in other words. The outcome may be better than you might have hoped.
Edit: or just convert the content to BG2:EE's engine like it was done with IWD:EE (but doing this with PS:T:EE, if it's ever done, would break lots of stuff since PS:T _needs_ several differences to work).
One more question: what about file formats? Will the IWD resources (CHR, CRE, STO) be ported into BG2:EE format or use the original one?