OK, you want joke with allusion on modernity go on, I am not against it, but till this moment, all modernity I have seen in new content is limited to beeing just stupid!
And this is what I believe the real issue is. You don't like the new content. Not that there's any problem with that - if you explore these forums a bit more you'll find plenty of criticism towards the new NPCs and their quests.
Its ok, if you want allusion on hippie, but its not ok if you put actual hippie - because it is very observable, this NPC is voiced and from a fantasy of sword&magic I suddenly teleporting to California mid 70s!
It's difficult to agree with your argument that certain new NPCs are too removed from the game's reality. Not unless you hold the same opinion when it comes to people like Bub Snikt. Do you find yourself teleporting to an X-Men comic book when you meet him? (I kinda do, to be honest)
And what about Galileus, the astrologer? Does the teleport you to 14th century Italy? (Not my case, actually - I think he's pretty cool, sometimes these references are amusing, you know)
And let's not forget Peter of the North, most likely named after a real-life porn actor who was pretty famous back in the 90s. Does he tel... nevermind, you get the picture.
All these NPCs are from the original BG1, by the way.
But I'll give you one thing: "Bad Cop" is a terrible name for a journal entry. Specially because in the original content, quest titles are mostly very straightforward/objective.
So far, all I've seen here is the "Bad Cop" journal entry that I partially agree with. The hippie being in game is well on par with the rest of the original game in my opinion so that doesn't bother me.
From my perspective, I think Beamdog has done a fantastic job outside the buggy releases that were corrected over time.
So please Beamdog: No more "Bad Cop" journal entries and no more buggy releases, but otherwise carry on like you have been and I shall be one ecstatic customer.
Well, all high fantasy is a mixture of pseudo-medieval. You are right, I havent explored all characters etc, but when you make a new content for some "eternal classic" you must be prepared, that many eyes will be on it, as many people like me, beeing grown up just wants to replay the game and remember childhood feelings. I may be harsh on it, but something isnt quite right with how new content is done, there is a feeling that some things are done superficially. Like that dialog "tree" what I wrote earlier with Baeloth. Do you really think its ok?
@Tuta I played the BG series when I was young aswell and returned for those same childhood feelings that you describe. I found that those childhood feelings were intact. I will admit that I haven't played around with Rasaad, Baeloth or Hexxat yet, but I have done a full playthrough with Dorn and Neera and I found them to be welcome additions.
I'm not saying that you are wrong in your perspective... Perhaps you are just more sensitive to mood changes than I am. What it comes down to is this: If you dislike certain EE characters, then I implore you to not play with them in your party. That way you avoid any of the "new" content. Whether or not you buy Siege of Dragonspear really should be your decision. If you are worried about the quality, then I would suggest postponing your decision on buying the game untill after the game has released and have had a few reviews, that way you can make a more informed decision. Previously I used to buy any game that I got excited about as a pre-order, but I've been disappointed so often that I now normally wait untill I can see reviews before I buy a game. In this case however, I am going to pre-order.
I want SoD to be completely devoid of Englishisms.
Best I can promise is the exclusion of any extra "u" that otherwise would be found in the British/Canadian spelling of words like colour.
No no no, you misunderstand me! I am tired of all English isms, whether american, british, or australian! I demand Beamdog cater to me and insert more Swedishisms!
Well... I'm not a natural english speaker, but I must confess that I found the beamdog characters far less interesting than the Black Isle's characters.
The way Neera talks is really out of place. I see that they tried to make her similar to Imoen in the manners of speaking, but they missed the target. Imoen really seems like a kid speaking, while Neera is like a teenager of nowadays into the game.
Dorn had a good voice actor, and his way of speaking matches BG atmosphere. But his lines are just boring. He doesn't get to the point and overextend the dialogue length so much.
Hexxat was a great idea of character - an equivalent of Bodhi to be added to the party. But I thought her story was so much uninteresting. I had no problem with her way of speaking... Actually, her accent was nice. But she was too much different from the style of vampires that were stated in Shadows of Amn. She really seems misplaced for me.
I can't talk about Rasaad, because I hadn't interact with him. But as soon as I found him and he spoke his first lines, I twisted my nose and I got away from him as fast as I could.
I've never encountered Baeloth, so I can't talk about him too.
I guess it basically boils down to "I don't like this character's dialogue for reasons". I can understand that, and that's why the BG series is so great.. there's a wide variety of characters to play with. All the original characters are there, you don't have to play with the new ones.
Personally, I find a couple of the original characters dialogue annoying. Not naming names in case of offending people who like them.
All I'm saying is: it's not unique to the new characters.
The fact is I DO LIKE new characters, the underlying idea of every one is very good, what I dont like is how its made. Its a pain for me for the reason that its a bit boring for me to play with vanilla chars as I went through all bg's some 10 times? so the new content is very appreciated and welcomed it should enrich gaming experience for veterans. Ok, I think message is sent and I really hope that guys from Beamdog will take it into consideration - even if you dont want to redo and revoice everything, it really would be great if you could make existing dialogues and texts for new content, well...plausible?... I will not drop a hope, at least!
Well theres no one in the office for the next week or so and its like -18 in Edmonton, so I think the chanting choice would be the least of your worries
I've always found Charname calling someone a "psychopath" to be more jarring than anything Neera ever said.
Why? There isn't any technological requirement for psychoanalysis (couches definately exist in FR) and with all those enchanters specialising in mind influencing spells, it seems likely that "the science of the mind" would be pretty advanced.
"Psychopath" jars with the medieval setting as it is a distinctly modern term, dating back only as far as the mid 19th century. However, that said, I would give the writers some leeway in this respect as I'm sure that we as players identify many of the characters we meet in BG as psychopaths.
I'm not sure what the OP's problem with the new content is, sounds like it isn't "medieval" enough for him, but for the record, I think Baeloth's dialogue is fantastic! Love it. Neera isn't bad either, very similar to Imoen's, haven't tried Dorn or Rasaad.
Remember, the original games were full of pop-culture references, Jaheria-"By your command" anyone? Obliviously the original writers watched Battlestar Galactica in the 70s. This is one example of many.
I think Trent and Co. did a fine job with the enhanced editions, on my 4th play-through of BGEE in preparation for SOD. I can name only two other games I've played thorough that many times- KOTOR 1 and 2.
I'm just glad this series still has life under new ownership, the Bioware that made these games is long gone and will likely never return.
...What? Why do you think there isn't? D&D is a very medieval scenario with magic and monsters.
Nope.
For starters, DnD is not a setting. Forgotten Realms is a setting. DnD can be played with Planescape, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron, Greyhawk etc.
Kara-tur has influences of Ancient China and Feudal Japan. Chult has dinosaurs. Mulhorand is basically Ancient Egypt, with the Egyptian pantheon and pharaohs. Calimshan is Arabic. Chessenta is basically Ancient Greece. Lantan is steam-punkish with flying ships. The Frozen North is Norse Viking era complete with Frost Giants.
No these aren't direct equivalents but it's influenced from various historical periods from various continents and places.
Saying FR is medieval with magic and monsters, is saying Star Wars is real life in the future with lightsabers.
Well, some mistakes were certainly made with the style of EE content not perfectly matching that of the vanilla content, but still I find it good overall. Yes, the "bad cop" is totally anachronical, but the "hippies" in Neera's camp are not. If you dig a little deeper you will find that such kind of "junkies" could be found at about any period of the history. Not to mention only Zaviak really is a hippy, and I find the explanation of Wild Magic and by-effects of the potion not too stupid afterall. And I'd like to add, concerning Dorn, that Beamdog did something totally new for BG2: a totally evil quest. There are few Evil characters and none of them has a blatantly evil quest, merely personal greed for power and riches that won't kill any bystander. There also are a few quests with an evil ending (Giving the deed to Firkraag, poisoning the grove, that's all I can think of) but these are few and less rewarding than the good ending. Dorn's is Evil, just evil
...What? Why do you think there isn't? D&D is a very medieval scenario with magic and monsters.
Nope.
For starters, DnD is not a setting. Forgotten Realms is a setting. DnD can be played with Planescape, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron, Greyhawk etc.
Kara-tur has influences of Ancient China and Feudal Japan. Chult has dinosaurs. Mulhorand is basically Ancient Egypt, with the Egyptian pantheon and pharaohs. Calimshan is Arabic. Chessenta is basically Ancient Greece. Lantan is steam-punkish with flying ships. The Frozen North is Norse Viking era complete with Frost Giants.
No these aren't direct equivalents but it's influenced from various historical periods from various continents and places.
Saying FR is medieval with magic and monsters, is saying Star Wars is real life in the future with lightsabers.
Even Baldur's Gate and Athkatla aren't very medieval. For instance you wouldn't expect sewer systems that advanced (with metal piping and valves) in medieval times. Same with the railway cars/tracks in the mines. Also the streets would be a lot more disgusting if it were emulating medieval times
Comments
"The black lotus... it expands your mind... You should try... sometime."
sounds pretty hippy to me.
(for the record that is from the original BG1. Also I think BG2 has a hidden room in the Copper Coronet that also has something similar)
And this is what I believe the real issue is. You don't like the new content. Not that there's any problem with that - if you explore these forums a bit more you'll find plenty of criticism towards the new NPCs and their quests. It's difficult to agree with your argument that certain new NPCs are too removed from the game's reality. Not unless you hold the same opinion when it comes to people like Bub Snikt. Do you find yourself teleporting to an X-Men comic book when you meet him? (I kinda do, to be honest)
And what about Galileus, the astrologer? Does the teleport you to 14th century Italy? (Not my case, actually - I think he's pretty cool, sometimes these references are amusing, you know)
And let's not forget Peter of the North, most likely named after a real-life porn actor who was pretty famous back in the 90s. Does he tel... nevermind, you get the picture.
All these NPCs are from the original BG1, by the way.
But I'll give you one thing: "Bad Cop" is a terrible name for a journal entry. Specially because in the original content, quest titles are mostly very straightforward/objective.
Nothing
From my perspective, I think Beamdog has done a fantastic job outside the buggy releases that were corrected over time.
So please Beamdog: No more "Bad Cop" journal entries and no more buggy releases, but otherwise carry on like you have been and I shall be one ecstatic customer.
I have no problem with Baeloth's dialogue, no. I think he is great fun.
People in the Forgotten Realms do not speak "Shakespearian language". That would be out of place. For the most part, Common = modern American English.
I will admit that I haven't played around with Rasaad, Baeloth or Hexxat yet, but I have done a full playthrough with Dorn and Neera and I found them to be welcome additions.
I'm not saying that you are wrong in your perspective... Perhaps you are just more sensitive to mood changes than I am. What it comes down to is this: If you dislike certain EE characters, then I implore you to not play with them in your party. That way you avoid any of the "new" content. Whether or not you buy Siege of Dragonspear really should be your decision.
If you are worried about the quality, then I would suggest postponing your decision on buying the game untill after the game has released and have had a few reviews, that way you can make a more informed decision. Previously I used to buy any game that I got excited about as a pre-order, but I've been disappointed so often that I now normally wait untill I can see reviews before I buy a game. In this case however, I am going to pre-order.
The way Neera talks is really out of place. I see that they tried to make her similar to Imoen in the manners of speaking, but they missed the target. Imoen really seems like a kid speaking, while Neera is like a teenager of nowadays into the game.
Dorn had a good voice actor, and his way of speaking matches BG atmosphere. But his lines are just boring. He doesn't get to the point and overextend the dialogue length so much.
Hexxat was a great idea of character - an equivalent of Bodhi to be added to the party. But I thought her story was so much uninteresting. I had no problem with her way of speaking... Actually, her accent was nice. But she was too much different from the style of vampires that were stated in Shadows of Amn. She really seems misplaced for me.
I can't talk about Rasaad, because I hadn't interact with him. But as soon as I found him and he spoke his first lines, I twisted my nose and I got away from him as fast as I could.
I've never encountered Baeloth, so I can't talk about him too.
Personally, I find a couple of the original characters dialogue annoying. Not naming names in case of offending people who like them.
All I'm saying is: it's not unique to the new characters.
How could you! Do you have no honour?
Bt don't worry abot it, yo woldn't nderstand.
What do we want?
More "U"!
Where do we want "U"?
Wherever specified by the OED!
Hmm, must think of a more euphonious version for the picket line outside the Beamdog office to chant ...
Remember, the original games were full of pop-culture references, Jaheria-"By your command" anyone? Obliviously the original writers watched Battlestar Galactica in the 70s. This is one example of many.
I think Trent and Co. did a fine job with the enhanced editions, on my 4th play-through of BGEE in preparation for SOD. I can name only two other games I've played thorough that many times- KOTOR 1 and 2.
I'm just glad this series still has life under new ownership, the Bioware that made these games is long gone and will likely never return.
For starters, DnD is not a setting. Forgotten Realms is a setting.
DnD can be played with Planescape, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron, Greyhawk etc.
Kara-tur has influences of Ancient China and Feudal Japan.
Chult has dinosaurs.
Mulhorand is basically Ancient Egypt, with the Egyptian pantheon and pharaohs.
Calimshan is Arabic.
Chessenta is basically Ancient Greece.
Lantan is steam-punkish with flying ships.
The Frozen North is Norse Viking era complete with Frost Giants.
No these aren't direct equivalents but it's influenced from various historical periods from various continents and places.
Saying FR is medieval with magic and monsters, is saying Star Wars is real life in the future with lightsabers.
Yes, the "bad cop" is totally anachronical, but the "hippies" in Neera's camp are not. If you dig a little deeper you will find that such kind of "junkies" could be found at about any period of the history.
Not to mention only Zaviak really is a hippy, and I find the explanation of Wild Magic and by-effects of the potion not too stupid afterall.
And I'd like to add, concerning Dorn, that Beamdog did something totally new for BG2: a totally evil quest. There are few Evil characters and none of them has a blatantly evil quest, merely personal greed for power and riches that won't kill any bystander.
There also are a few quests with an evil ending (Giving the deed to Firkraag, poisoning the grove, that's all I can think of) but these are few and less rewarding than the good ending.
Dorn's is Evil, just evil