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Is 2.0 worth it?

The graphics are awful, but are there any crucial changes to the gameplay?
atakdog
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  • Diomedes33Diomedes33 Member Posts: 144
    A lot of thing piss me off about 2.0
    1. I miss the old character sheet. This new one is goofy.

    2. The Advanced AI should be set to off. I really hate having to turn off cast offensive spells. It seems the AI likes to cast a spell just as I'm ordering everyone to focus a particular target and then it cancels the spell. Much easier to just cast the acid arrow. Also the computer doesnt know not to save more powerful spells for things that need it. No, you dont need to cast Flame Arrow on the 1HD Goblin. Even Magic Missile is a waste.

    3. The graphics are bad. I would take the old ones any day. Its an old game, leave it alone.

    Theres probably more, but I'm at work and cant think of them.
    GodKaiserHellGozetaatakdog
  • GeronGeron Member Posts: 16


    I love the graphics changes myself.

    I've disabled all of the new GUI features and just enjoy the new polished overall look. I think it works great.


    jackjack
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    No no no. I have the perfectly modded and tweaked bg2 game on my Ipad. Tailored just to my tastes with scs+item randomiser+tactics+ascension and lots and lots of quest mods. Ain't gonna update to have all of these mods and my countless personal tweaks gone. Nothing in 2.0 can be worth it.
    athakdvdbangsrud
  • rapsam2003rapsam2003 Member Posts: 1,636
    lunar said:

    No no no. I have the perfectly modded and tweaked bg2 game on my Ipad. Tailored just to my tastes with scs+item randomiser+tactics+ascension and lots and lots of quest mods. Ain't gonna update to have all of these mods and my countless personal tweaks gone. Nothing in 2.0 can be worth it.

    Dude...can't you just like, move all the mods to a temp directory and then re-add them back in? I'm assuming that you have the actual mod installer files still in your /0766/ directory, yes? It's not even hard.
  • MalbethMalbeth Member Posts: 27
    If it is your first play through Baldur's Gate 2, then it is not worth it.

    If you are experienced, you can manage without often using the map, or know how to leapfrog. For example, leaving the Underdark I first needed to travel to an Eastern part of the city before I could click on the docks to travel there.

    Multiplayer is shot, so do not plan to use it.

    The character sheet is poorly designed, and quests appear broken but chunks of instruction can be seen if you click into the "Object Not Found" text. If you have experience, you do not use either of these very often (if at all) and so it is a minor (rather than major) irritant.

    All in all, BG2 will be improved when the BG1 UI is adapted to it,
    jackjack
  • BelleSorciereBelleSorciere Member Posts: 2,108



    But the main reason to go 2.0 is to be able to equip gear with different hand usage requirements at the same time. For example Longbow can be equipped while dual wielding, or sword/board. You don't have to manually unequip the off hand anymore.

    Oh my glob I've wanted this change for sooooo long.

    I actually assigned proficiencies based on avoiding that issue, even when it made my characters weaker.
    I haven't done that but given the irritation this has caused me I probably would have been better off if I had.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited April 2016

    lunar said:

    No no no. I have the perfectly modded and tweaked bg2 game on my Ipad. Tailored just to my tastes with scs+item randomiser+tactics+ascension and lots and lots of quest mods. Ain't gonna update to have all of these mods and my countless personal tweaks gone. Nothing in 2.0 can be worth it.

    Dude...can't you just like, move all the mods to a temp directory and then re-add them back in? I'm assuming that you have the actual mod installer files still in your /0766/ directory, yes? It's not even hard.
    @rapsam2003 Unfourtunately it is not that simple. Because the patch adds a lot of new strings to dialog.tlk. (New priest kit, shaman class, all of their abilities and info text) Thus, all mods should be installed from scratch in 2.0 or the old string references may be invalid and many game text will be gibberish. But most mods are incompatible with 2.0 too so installation is no go anyway at the moment. So.
    atakdog
  • GeronGeron Member Posts: 16
    edited April 2016
    There's only one criticism that i have with the 2.0 update. And that's the new black border area around every map. It's honestly quite a big thing for me, because the world/scenery is losing something through it. I can't exactly say what it is, but it has to do with immersion. And i'm curious what led to that decision. Ideally there would be another option somewhere in the menus to get back the old level borders, but i haven't found that so far.

    Anyone got any ideas how to solve that one?

    Cheers.
    Post edited by Geron on
    jackjackmarzbarz
  • NihilusNihilus Member Posts: 192
    IMHO, yes. The only thing I'm missing is the Charname soundsets from BG2, which should have been made available in BG:EE by now.
  • fkirenicusfkirenicus Member Posts: 331
    Geron said:

    the new black border area around every map. It's honestly quite a bit thing for me, because the world/scenery is losing something through it. I can't exactly say what it is, but it has to do with immersion. And i'm curious what lead to that decision. Ideally there would be another option somewhere in the menus to get back the old level borders, but i haven't found that so far.

    Don't you know? It's "enhancing" the game... :anguished:

    atakdog
  • GeronGeron Member Posts: 16


    Don't you know? It's "enhancing" the game... :anguished:

    I can live with the other changes, i like and understand most of them even. But this particular one does something to the game that's not working for me. And i don't really get the decision behind it. Before a map/scenery/level was a closed matter, and the world inside of it made sense that way. It had the right kind of scale and scope and it felt alive and authentic in a sense. Now, with the black areas surrounding everything, levels feel more like designed virtual set pieces, because we can see the larger stage they were built on. And it's not helping to bring the world to life. So i kind of fail to see bigger picture of this design decision, the benefit of it. If someone could try to explain some potential upsides of it to me, i'd be happy and willing to consider them. Because i think i/we have to live with this one for a bit now.
    jackjack
  • RobertMcDuckRobertMcDuck Member Posts: 133
    "We have a lot of improvements planned in the coming weeks and months as well; stay tuned for more information! "

    Be patient dear complainers. It is a good thing you give them feedback however.
    semiticgoddess
  • lololo555lololo555 Member Posts: 66
    @RobertMcDuck "dear complainers" oh gee weez! we forgot that it is (((2016))) and releasing a game without bugs is just an embarassment.
    atakdog
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Once I can have my mods working again, I'll get back to you guys on anything else. I'm really attached to certain mod NPCs in SOA, so putting my current set of runs on hold is depressing.
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    JuliusBorisov
  • RobertMcDuckRobertMcDuck Member Posts: 133
    lololo555 said:

    @RobertMcDuck "dear complainers" oh gee weez! we forgot that it is (((2016))) and releasing a game without bugs is just an embarassment.

    It is not embarrasing. No. It is a fresh update, of course there will be bugs! Name me ONE bug free game, and yes, a game that has never contained a bug what so ever. You should get som perspective and get rid of that arrogance of yours, my friend. Your comment is just so free of intelligence.
    Daevelon
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @RobertMcDuck: I don't agree with @lololo555 but insulting their intelligence and calling them arrogant is uncalled for.
    jackjackGoturalPteran
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211

    It is not embarrasing. No. It is a fresh update, of course there will be bugs! Name me ONE bug free game, and yes, a game that has never contained a bug what so ever.

    There's a difference between "I want a game 100% bug free" and "I want a game that WORKS". Because right now, the entire LoB difficulty is effectively UNPLAYABLE. That's a CRIPPLING bug preventing me from actually playing the game AT ALL.

    It's not unreasonable to expect bugs of that caliber not to make it to release. It should never get through internal QA. That it did means they were fine with that part of the game not working, simply because it only affects a minority. If you think that is okay, well, that is your prerogative.
    Ardulatakdog
  • RobertMcDuckRobertMcDuck Member Posts: 133
    Alrighty, if you were in some way offended, I beg your pardon. I kinda felt you made an idiot out of me too there, howere I don't mind. I haven't tried Legacy of Bhaal and I personally haven't had a single problem with the new patch thus far.




    It's not unreasonable to expect bugs of that caliber not to make it to release. It should never get through internal QA. That it did means they were fine with that part of the game not working, simply because it only affects a minority. If you think that is okay, well, that is your prerogative.

    Are you so sure that they didn't care about it, instead of just missing it. I know, sloppish work. But I think you are just a bit too upset about it. I don't think they would intentionally release a game that doesn't work. Or in this case, patch.

    And yes, I know you are gonna bring the "How can they miss a bug that breaks the entire game" argument to the table, but I'm sure it will be fixed with most haste, as the bug apparently (judging from your previous statement) is breaking the game for you (and probably several more.)

  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211

    Are you so sure that they didn't care about it, instead of just missing it.

    It was reported well before release, in several forms. Also it is so easy to reproduce that no form of QA could have possibly missed it (and they didn't, as we know from the reporting data we are privy to).

    I don't think they would intentionally release a game that doesn't work. Or in this case, patch.

    This is established industry practice. You make an assessment as to what is acceptable to be released and what isn't, since as you rightly mentioned earlier it is unrealistic to expect any game to be "100% bug free" at any point. There are deadlines and release dates, and the realities of game development force "incompleteness" to a certain degree - it's where that degree lies that most issues arise. Many minor bugs are fine for release, annoying some people here and there but overall not having a tremendous impact. But evaluating that is a choice that has to be made at some point, and at some point you have to weigh the pros and cons.

    If you see something like the LoB bug making it to release, it's a clear signal that a decision was made that put LoB players into a category of marginally important users that will have an acceptable negative impact on overall sales. As you yourself said, you didn't play LoB and didn't encounter any issues - for you, the product is fine. For anyone who plays LoB or, gods forbid, *only* plays LoB like me, the game is, however, practically unplayable (you could technically play it if you start a new game *every time you load a savegame*, and why would you ever need to reload in the ultimate difficulty mode anyway, RIGHT?).

    And yes, I know you are gonna bring the "How can they miss a bug that breaks the entire game" argument to the table, but I'm sure it will be fixed with most haste, as the bug apparently (judging from your previous statement) is breaking the game for you (and probably several more.)

    Again, no one thinks they missed it, and what little insight we have into the bug reporting process (a little more since last week) shows us it was known and reported, in several forms, for a while. The fix "with most haste" is slated for Thursday (for all we know anyway, not like communication has been clear), which means two weeks post release of being unable to play at all. Half a month of not being able to play the product, except in a difficulty mode so trivial it is, to me at least, not worth playing at all. It is the equivalent of "normal" users being forced to play in Story Mode, which I'm sure you'll agree takes away significant amounts of fun if you're used to something else.

    Now, of course the time frame for the fix is beyond objective evaluation, and I do understand the niche nature of LoB. Still, I cannot help but find myself in a position where my personal wishes as a consumer are not being met adequately. I also understand that it is unreasonable for me to demand that to change, possibly at the expense of a lot more people. However, that does not mean I should not draw consequences, and as a result spend my time and money on something else that matches my desires more. Which is what I'm doing, and urging anyone in a similar position to do as well. Not as a means of extortion, as some people portray it, but as a responsible consumer response. There are enough products out there waiting to be bought, and while they're certainly not identical, they are at least fungible to a degree that allows choice. That choice should be exercised, and hopefully it will end up creating some sort of feedback, somewhere, to allow for more, different choices in the future. Perhaps even including Beamdog products.
    atakdog
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    semiticgoddessJuliusBorisovGeronGozeta
  • mysterymeepmysterymeep Member Posts: 33
    I really like the interface changes. I find it a whole lot easier to use, and the little outlines on the sprites make them stand out. But maybe my favorite changes are the new AI, the easier-to-navigate UI, and the whole 'black and white on pause' thing that makes it easier to spot NPCs.
    Daevelon
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211

    It was fixed during the open beta then appeared again in the release version, likely after a related bug was fixed. No one is happy that it's there. We'll all be happy when it's patched.

    True, but even without an open beta those release versions went through internal QA. They knew it was broken, they just also knew it would take more time to fix and they did not want to delay the release just for the sake of a few LoB people. Having the game not work for a tiny fraction of people was apparently an acceptable trade-off for meeting the release deadline.

    I am not criticizing their decision to do so, at least not unequivocally. I don't know all the processes and decisions that went into those last-minute changes that caused the bug to re-emerge, so I cannot say if they acted negligent in some way. I would suspect not, and that this was all a calculated decision made with the greatest good in mind.

    That being said, I can understand the process behind a decision and still be upset with the result. It is not my job as a consumer to go through all the various steps of development, QA, and producing. I judge the end result, and though the process that led to it can influence that judgment, ultimately I am self-serving in my own choices. I spend money on what I enjoy most, and when I enjoy something less for some reason, I look into spending my money on something else. Details matter, but that's the gist of it.
    [Deleted User]Ardul
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  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    I've been considering reinstalling EE after hearing 2.0 came out.... but seeing this thread... is it really that bad??
  • lololo555lololo555 Member Posts: 66
    @RobertMcDuck I dont know how about you, but I remember times without internets, the developeres really cared about their product, bugs were rare because there were no convenient ways to patch them and if there were bugs, the game was thrashed in the press. But today with s*** companies like EA and UBISOFT people are used to getting severely crippled games/updates. I've been playing games since 1997 and only in about 201X I discovered there is something like a bug, now it is a tradition to release a broken product.

    I'm not talking about the 2.0 patch, because I didn't try it(I don't want to break my mods), but about the whole state of the industry. Oh but companies like Beamdog can now deflect criticism by stating that the mob is just furious that there is an trans character. /tantrum

    are there any mechanics changing besides spell concentration checks?
    atakdog
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    edited April 2016
    lololo555 said:



    are there any mechanics changing besides spell concentration checks?

    Rebalancing the assassin/blackguard poison is probably the most obvious mechanic change.

    I believe they also fixed the bug that exhausting ammunition in a range weapon would leave you with an unreasonably high APR in the melee weapon you pick up again - but that really is a bug fix :)
    jackjack
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