Well, this pisses me off. Expecting this game in three days, and find out not for another couple months. I'd backhand someone if there was a sole guilty culprit in this all, but there isn't. I'd call and yell/email/homing pigeon beamdog and get my money back, except I spend more than 18 bucks on coffee every week and I'd not even notice the addition. Oh well, I already waited 6 months, WHATS ANOTHER TWO?!
@VampQueen31 We're not testing a limited content beta here, we have access to the full game. An open beta would be the same as letting everyone download the full game to their computer. Its simply not feasible for a game of this kind.
You do realize they have the game, right? Let me shed a tear for the emotionally stressed beta testers who are playing the game as we speak [/sarcasm]
@neur0 I know you probably won't care about what I have to say but:
- I haven't "played" the beta for over two months now. All those bugfixes that make it into the open forum have to be tested so we're sure that they're actually fixed, and that's where I spend most of my time. - I wouldn't be surprised if 50% of the time I "played" the beta was me in Candlekeep CLUAConsole'ing stuff to test if the game mechanics are working properly. - The stuff that I can't test in Candlekeep is tested by me teleporting my character to relevant places, not by actually playing the game. - Testing quests? The way I test them is by creating a save before the quest and then constantly reloading it to test if every single condition is working. - A lot of my beta-testing is also spent looking up item/area/creature codes online. - At one point we had to do a run-through of the character creation process to make sure that everything was working correctly. That was 7 hours going through the menus testing all the conditions. - The new content? My experience of the new content has been limited to creating 5 Dorn's to add to my party when I need to kill something manually (I found out the hard way that CTRL+Y'ing stuff breaks quests). Thankfully other beta-testers have been looking into the new content.
And when I find a problem? Time to load up vanilla BG1 or BG2 to see if the problem comes from the original game or if its something that popped up in BGEE.
I was in the Diablo 3 beta, and yeah, I played that beta a lot. BGEE? Not really.
Don't get me wrong, its a privilege to be able to help, but don't get the idea that all I do is play BGEE all day. I'm really don't consider this playing it, I'm testing it.
It is disappointing. But, if they can improve it and get rid of bugs, that's better! I had planned to re-play Baldur's Gate using certain mods, when I stumbled onto the news of BG:EE. One thing I wanted to try was BG Tutu. Now BG:EE takes care of that! If they can take care of the things I want, like removing racial restrictions to romances, true grand mastery, and using custom portraits for our characters and NPC's without me worrying about how to install mods, that's great.
@VampQueen31 We're not testing a limited content beta here, we have access to the full game. An open beta would be the same as letting everyone download the full game to their computer. Its simply not feasible for a game of this kind.
You do realize they have the game, right? Let me shed a tear for the emotionally stressed beta testers who are playing the game as we speak [/sarcasm]
@neur0 I know you probably won't care about what I have to say but:
- I haven't "played" the beta for over two months now. All those bugfixes that make it into the open forum have to be tested so we're sure that they're actually fixed, and that's where I spend most of my time. - I wouldn't be surprised if 50% of the time I "played" the beta was me in Candlekeep CLUAConsole'ing stuff to test if the game mechanics are working properly. - The stuff that I can't test in Candlekeep is tested by me teleporting my character to relevant places, not by actually playing the game. - Testing quests? The way I test them is by creating a save before the quest and then constantly reloading it to test if every single condition is working. - A lot of my beta-testing is also spent looking up item/area/creature codes online. - At one point we had to do a run-through of the character creation process to make sure that everything was working correctly. That was 7 hours going through the menus testing all the conditions. - The new content? My experience of the new content has been limited to creating 5 Dorn's to add to my party when I need to kill something manually (I found out the hard way that CTRL+Y'ing stuff breaks quests). Thankfully other beta-testers have been looking into the new content.
And when I find a problem? Time to load up vanilla BG1 or BG2 to see if the problem comes from the original game or if its something that popped up in BGEE.
I was in the Diablo 3 beta, and yeah, I played that beta a lot. BGEE? Not really.
Don't get me wrong, its a privilege to be able to help, but don't get the idea that all I do is play BGEE all day. I'm really don't consider this playing it, I'm testing it.
@Tanthalas Yes, but consider the context of my post which was what CamDawg posted: "The only people more frustrated than us [beta testers] are the devs themselves." I strongly disagreed about this, because it sounded like some patronizing, "this hurts me more then you," etc BS. I realize (now) that this is not like most closed betas I've participated in, but still it is, as you say, a privilege and it is a much better BG:EE experience until launch then waiting for the next screenshot/story which I expect to be much rarer now that the release is so far away.
I will survive the delay, I won't like it. I understand having to push the release date in order to improve the game. But honestly pushing the release date just 4 days before launch is weird. And you are pushing the release date 2½ months hence it is not just some brushwork needed to be done, and if so then you must have known prior to this date that the deadline would not be met. So why keep it from us for so long? The main reason I'm annoyed by the delay is that I was getting all worked up like a kid waiting for Christmas - counting the days. I would much rather had known in advance so I wouldn't have gotten all excited for nothing. The only explanations I can think of is either a huge communication lapse or a last minute realization that the product wasn't as good as you initially thought, in that case a welcome insight so you can fix it, but also sorta scary cause what else might you have missed.
I have also preordered the game and won't cancel it. Hopefully your deadline in September would be accurate. I wish Baldur's Gate a worthy revival and have trust in you that you can do this.
But i wasn't happy either, when i heared that you delayed it so shortly before the origin release date. Please use the time to add some more banters to the party members (like the NPC banter projects).
Can't wait for the release of the remake of my most favorite games of all times (Baldurs Gate 1+2).
Munin said: I'm not as young as most of you kids. What if I don't make it to November?
I'm in this category as well after just recovering from heart attack #6 when i discovered this BG:EE and got excited. But i survived this long by being stubborn and i'll last till November I'm sure.
I too would rather it be 100% done at realease than go through the typical BS that rushed games go through by making you d-load patches almost weekly or monthly if it's EA. Besides november means it's closer to my next b-day and i'll need something to cheer me up then rather than face another year OLDER lol
pushing back the release date is a good idea, I read in German magazine Gamestar that the game was rather on the buggy side (even though I don't trust this magazine very much)
so maybe this will allow the devs to do some more work on NPC interaction, eh?
I'm not sure how they would be able to know anything about BGEE.
I'm sure they honestly were trying their best to make the 18th September deadline. When it simply became obvious that they wouldn't make it they still needed to talk to all parties involved before they could publicly announce it.
Its bad that the game had to be delayed, but it was for the best.
Lol, if that is TRULY the case, why did it get delayed 2 months? You can't tell me that they didn't see it coming a long way away. I saw it coming since sept 1st with no info released. This was a bad call, no matter how you slice it.
Like I mentioned before, when they make a decision to make info public it has to go through their partners first, which is likely why we're getting this news so close to the release date instead of a week or two earlier.
As for a reason for a 2 and 1/2 month delay? Its probably better to set down a larger frame of time to fix the current issues than delay the game for 2 weeks and then do this all again 2 weeks later.
For myself , i almost like a kid to re-fresh the forum/push mail every mintues recent days When i saw the announcemnt of postpone the launching schedule , i was quite angry in that moment It's because of no clear reasons , apologies , and what they will done for future 2.5 months ,
Fix Bugs ? No... They are professional engineers , they must be know if the game can be released on time very well
If yes , why don't let us know more earlier ? At least , i don't need to hang out my computer so long time... Whole week waiting = 9 screenshot = 3 chip of audio , and spend lots of time to read Reddit AMA FAQ If they announce the push back in Reddit FQA , i beleive we don't disappoint the Ship Date Delay so much..
Commitment is really important for the image of the company, it should be cherished well.. Just $17.9 , it's nothing for most of people , they just feel sad why don't tell us more earlier I never speak fuxxxng something , due to it's no meaning for developers and all of BG fans I hope Overhaul done the nice job in BG-EE in 2.5months later...
I was tired of one by one ,piece by peice for release the information .. show us video , gameplay , and let people trust your guys had done some great job ,
We are not kids , company must give us more respect then customer will respect your guys more
pushing back the release date is a good idea, I read in German magazine Gamestar that the game was rather on the buggy side (even though I don't trust this magazine very much)
so maybe this will allow the devs to do some more work on NPC interaction, eh?
I'm not sure how they would be able to know anything about BGEE.
Well, if they published that after the shipping delay news, it is understandable
This thread is funny. Release dates are not promises, they are estimates. No one can predict the future. If they don't meet your expectations get a refund. But don't confuse an estimate with a promise. Delays are a fact of life in MANY fields.
Ever had an airplane run late? I travel a lot and have delayed flights all the time. I don't scream in the airport, "But, but, but you proooooomised!" Stuff happens.
Almost every construction project I've ever seen has experienced some kind of delay. Walk up to a construction worker and start yelling, "You promised!" and see what it gets you. Stuff happens.
I do a lot of shipping in my profession and I've had several UPS and FedEx packages delayed, even when paying extra for expedited shipping. "You promised" just gets a chuckle all around. Because stuff happens.
Ever had your food take longer than you expected. Yell "You promised" at the McDonalds guy when he asks you to pull forward to wait on your fries and I wouldn't recommend eating those fries. Because sometimes nasty stuff happens.
I could go on and on. Delays are just one of the many great challenges we face in life. And the person who said Microsoft doesn't have these sorts of delays was comical. Microsoft does a lot of great things. But timeliness does not come to mind. Longhorn was delayed, stripped of features, delayed again, released unfinished, and then quickly abandoned. Is this the standard you want for BG:EE?
Ease up on these guys. They made a good faith estimate and fell short. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Get a refund if you are that upset. Myself, I want to see what the reward is for the preorders. It may end up being well worth the wait just for that.
After recently reviewing the game and then consulting with our partners, we've decided to ensure that Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is the best possible product on launch. Thus, we have pushed back the release date of the game. Our plan is to release in November, 2012.
-Trent Trent Oster President, Overhaul Games
Welp, time to start playing Baldur's Gate until then
That suggestion is that you sell the PC and Mac version bundled. There are a lot of super geeks out there like me that actually are running a gaming PC and a high-end Mac. I'd like to be able to purchase the game once and then be able to run it on both machines to see which one runs it better and then choose one of those machines to play it on.
Yes, I don't get why the Mac version is MAS-only. Ordering directly from Beamdog should get you both versions. It's probably something written in their contract--the same reason why Steam is excluded (which would be SteamPlay.)
Since the game is ancient I'm sure both versions will run flawlessly, but there is another reason I'd like access to both versions: mods. Not all mods will be built to run on both platforms.
I am disappointed by this new, but i want the best, so i accept this. Perhaps the partners is responsible for this delay, or the devs want more freedom,... because the pre order is good and fans want more and more. Perhaps a big bug with windows 8??? Dev need support for the best version. I am waiting a complete version of BG since many years, and so BGEE arrived. Stay patient and courage to developers
That suggestion is that you sell the PC and Mac version bundled. There are a lot of super geeks out there like me that actually are running a gaming PC and a high-end Mac. I'd like to be able to purchase the game once and then be able to run it on both machines to see which one runs it better and then choose one of those machines to play it on.
Yes, I don't get why the Mac version is MAS-only. Ordering directly from Beamdog should get you both versions. It's probably something written in their contract--the same reason why Steam is excluded (which would be SteamPlay.)
Since the game is ancient I'm sure both versions will run flawlessly, but there is another reason I'd like access to both versions: mods. Not all mods will be built to run on both platforms.
You should be able to use the same mods for all platforms. The only reason why you might not be able to is if it requires a .exe installer, which Macs can't run. But the framework for the game is the same on all platforms.
Some further notice would have been nice, but I'm fine with waiting if it results in the best possible end result. Besides, I have a huge backlog right now and I should have a hole by November hopefully.
I don't understand why they can't release the game as it is now, and then just have us re-download it again later when they're finished with the updates.
I don't care if I have to start a new game two months from now.
But that's just me. :P I'm cuh-razy like that.
I'll put it this way... If you think a portion of the forum went bonkers over the delay, what do you think would happen if the game went out full of crashes, obvious bugs, broken quests and items and spells littering the game, and weekly assurances for 10 weeks that next week's patch will fix everything? As part of the Beta Team, I've been increasingly well aware that we were not prepared for release on the 18th... There's only so much you can reasonably offer in patches... Had it gone out it would've been very promising- you'd have seen glimpses of numerous things that have been worked on and numerous things working wonderfully- but overall gameplay probably would've been no less troublesome than the initial BG Tutu. This delay will remove all that potential pain from your experience. ;-)
On another note, someone not connected to the devs nor to the Beta Team made a poll a month or two back asking if people would be willing to endure a delay... for a game... (I went looking for it- couldn't find it.) The vote appeared fairly overwhelmingly that it would be in favor of a delay... I think people sensed how large this project is and how difficult it had to be within a few months to have hammered it all out. My, how I was hoping the devs were taking notice. I voted for delay. hehehe
I do believe Beamdog/Overhaul genuinely thought it could manage this in the time it had, but if you've looked at the BGEE interview articles (or the OsterTweets), you'll see that they've been having unforeseen difficulties with working out the GUI code issues that just dragged on and on... for at least 2.5 months more than anticipated. I've been seeing BGEE as a work in progress, and despite how many "wow" moments have arisen during the process, it's just plain not ready yet. *shrugs* So what do you do? As long as 2.5 months may seem, in fact it looks just right to me here on the inside for getting through all the worst of the issues plaguing development and the most important of the game enhancements to be providing.
Can we tell you everything we're facing regarding the next 10 weeks? Hahaha... I mean, no. Contractual keeping mum and all that. But we're facing it. Adding new hydras and manticores is hard because they're taking a long time to get the animations right. :-P No, no, think basics... think what you need to play the game smoothly. Everyone knows how complex BG's environs and ruleset are and should have a sense of how difficult it is to comb through all the knots in all of that...
This could not have been easy for Trent Oster and the rest of the devs to decide... especially given how eager they've been to give folks what they want... and I can only imagine the scurrying about being done on their end trying to make the Sept 18 deadline and feeling their hearts sink at the impending reality. No one but they are in their shoes, so... And think about it... Trent's savings is riding on this rather huge venture. You think he's just playing around?
On yet another note... Really? Concrete plans to play on the day of release? I never trust new stuff like that! hehe Sorry, but no way... Not when buggy NWN2 came out, not when Windows7 came out... Never do I assume that it's going to be ready when it first gets released on the hapless de facto guinea pigs that snap it up on its first day out. That said, however, with this delay that wait will already be built into it. ;-) This is not Bioware/EA or Microsoft... which is sorta supercool. :-)
Comments
We're not testing a limited content beta here, we have access to the full game. An open beta would be the same as letting everyone download the full game to their computer. Its simply not feasible for a game of this kind. @neur0
I know you probably won't care about what I have to say but:
- I haven't "played" the beta for over two months now. All those bugfixes that make it into the open forum have to be tested so we're sure that they're actually fixed, and that's where I spend most of my time.
- I wouldn't be surprised if 50% of the time I "played" the beta was me in Candlekeep CLUAConsole'ing stuff to test if the game mechanics are working properly.
- The stuff that I can't test in Candlekeep is tested by me teleporting my character to relevant places, not by actually playing the game.
- Testing quests? The way I test them is by creating a save before the quest and then constantly reloading it to test if every single condition is working.
- A lot of my beta-testing is also spent looking up item/area/creature codes online.
- At one point we had to do a run-through of the character creation process to make sure that everything was working correctly. That was 7 hours going through the menus testing all the conditions.
- The new content? My experience of the new content has been limited to creating 5 Dorn's to add to my party when I need to kill something manually (I found out the hard way that CTRL+Y'ing stuff breaks quests). Thankfully other beta-testers have been looking into the new content.
And when I find a problem? Time to load up vanilla BG1 or BG2 to see if the problem comes from the original game or if its something that popped up in BGEE.
I was in the Diablo 3 beta, and yeah, I played that beta a lot. BGEE? Not really.
Don't get me wrong, its a privilege to be able to help, but don't get the idea that all I do is play BGEE all day. I'm really don't consider this playing it, I'm testing it.
Yes, but consider the context of my post which was what CamDawg posted: "The only people more frustrated than us [beta testers] are the devs themselves."
I strongly disagreed about this, because it sounded like some patronizing, "this hurts me more then you," etc BS.
I realize (now) that this is not like most closed betas I've participated in, but still it is, as you say, a privilege and it is a much better BG:EE experience until launch then waiting for the next screenshot/story which I expect to be much rarer now that the release is so far away.
For the record, your post was deleted for being offensive, not because of the conspiracy theory.
I understand having to push the release date in order to improve the game. But honestly pushing the release date just 4 days before launch is weird. And you are pushing the release date 2½ months hence it is not just some brushwork needed to be done, and if so then you must have known prior to this date that the deadline would not be met. So why keep it from us for so long? The main reason I'm annoyed by the delay is that I was getting all worked up like a kid waiting for Christmas - counting the days. I would much rather had known in advance so I wouldn't have gotten all excited for nothing.
The only explanations I can think of is either a huge communication lapse or a last minute realization that the product wasn't as good as you initially thought, in that case a welcome insight so you can fix it, but also sorta scary cause what else might you have missed.
But i wasn't happy either, when i heared that you delayed it so shortly before the origin release date. Please use the time to add some more banters to the party members (like the NPC banter projects).
Can't wait for the release of the remake of my most favorite games of all times (Baldurs Gate 1+2).
best regards from germany.
I'm in this category as well after just recovering from heart attack #6 when i discovered this BG:EE and got excited. But i survived this long by being stubborn and i'll last till November I'm sure.
I too would rather it be 100% done at realease than go through the typical BS that rushed games go through by making you d-load patches almost weekly or monthly if it's EA. Besides november means it's closer to my next b-day and i'll need something to cheer me up then rather than face another year OLDER lol
Like I mentioned before, when they make a decision to make info public it has to go through their partners first, which is likely why we're getting this news so close to the release date instead of a week or two earlier.
As for a reason for a 2 and 1/2 month delay? Its probably better to set down a larger frame of time to fix the current issues than delay the game for 2 weeks and then do this all again 2 weeks later.
For myself , i almost like a kid to re-fresh the forum/push mail every mintues recent days
When i saw the announcemnt of postpone the launching schedule , i was quite angry in that moment
It's because of no clear reasons , apologies , and what they will done for future 2.5 months ,
Fix Bugs ? No...
They are professional engineers , they must be know if the game can be released on time very well
If yes , why don't let us know more earlier ? At least , i don't need to hang out my computer so long time...
Whole week waiting = 9 screenshot = 3 chip of audio , and spend lots of time to read Reddit AMA FAQ
If they announce the push back in Reddit FQA , i beleive we don't disappoint the Ship Date Delay so much..
Commitment is really important for the image of the company, it should be cherished well..
Just $17.9 , it's nothing for most of people , they just feel sad why don't tell us more earlier
I never speak fuxxxng something , due to it's no meaning for developers and all of BG fans
I hope Overhaul done the nice job in BG-EE in 2.5months later...
I was tired of one by one ,piece by peice for release the information .. show us video , gameplay , and let people trust your guys had done some great job ,
We are not kids , company must give us more respect then customer will respect your guys more
Ever had an airplane run late? I travel a lot and have delayed flights all the time. I don't scream in the airport, "But, but, but you proooooomised!" Stuff happens.
Almost every construction project I've ever seen has experienced some kind of delay. Walk up to a construction worker and start yelling, "You promised!" and see what it gets you. Stuff happens.
I do a lot of shipping in my profession and I've had several UPS and FedEx packages delayed, even when paying extra for expedited shipping. "You promised" just gets a chuckle all around. Because stuff happens.
Ever had your food take longer than you expected. Yell "You promised" at the McDonalds guy when he asks you to pull forward to wait on your fries and I wouldn't recommend eating those fries. Because sometimes nasty stuff happens.
I could go on and on. Delays are just one of the many great challenges we face in life. And the person who said Microsoft doesn't have these sorts of delays was comical. Microsoft does a lot of great things. But timeliness does not come to mind. Longhorn was delayed, stripped of features, delayed again, released unfinished, and then quickly abandoned. Is this the standard you want for BG:EE?
Ease up on these guys. They made a good faith estimate and fell short. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Get a refund if you are that upset. Myself, I want to see what the reward is for the preorders. It may end up being well worth the wait just for that.
Since the game is ancient I'm sure both versions will run flawlessly, but there is another reason I'd like access to both versions: mods. Not all mods will be built to run on both platforms.
Perhaps the partners is responsible for this delay, or the devs want more freedom,... because the pre order is good and fans want more and more.
Perhaps a big bug with windows 8???
Dev need support for the best version. I am waiting a complete version of BG since many years, and so BGEE arrived.
Stay patient and courage to developers
Good luck
At least, I think I can.
(Quote stolen from a needlessly belligerent thread...) I'll put it this way... If you think a portion of the forum went bonkers over the delay, what do you think would happen if the game went out full of crashes, obvious bugs, broken quests and items and spells littering the game, and weekly assurances for 10 weeks that next week's patch will fix everything? As part of the Beta Team, I've been increasingly well aware that we were not prepared for release on the 18th... There's only so much you can reasonably offer in patches... Had it gone out it would've been very promising- you'd have seen glimpses of numerous things that have been worked on and numerous things working wonderfully- but overall gameplay probably would've been no less troublesome than the initial BG Tutu. This delay will remove all that potential pain from your experience. ;-)
On another note, someone not connected to the devs nor to the Beta Team made a poll a month or two back asking if people would be willing to endure a delay... for a game... (I went looking for it- couldn't find it.) The vote appeared fairly overwhelmingly that it would be in favor of a delay... I think people sensed how large this project is and how difficult it had to be within a few months to have hammered it all out. My, how I was hoping the devs were taking notice. I voted for delay. hehehe
I do believe Beamdog/Overhaul genuinely thought it could manage this in the time it had, but if you've looked at the BGEE interview articles (or the OsterTweets), you'll see that they've been having unforeseen difficulties with working out the GUI code issues that just dragged on and on... for at least 2.5 months more than anticipated. I've been seeing BGEE as a work in progress, and despite how many "wow" moments have arisen during the process, it's just plain not ready yet. *shrugs* So what do you do? As long as 2.5 months may seem, in fact it looks just right to me here on the inside for getting through all the worst of the issues plaguing development and the most important of the game enhancements to be providing.
Can we tell you everything we're facing regarding the next 10 weeks? Hahaha... I mean, no. Contractual keeping mum and all that. But we're facing it. Adding new hydras and manticores is hard because they're taking a long time to get the animations right. :-P No, no, think basics... think what you need to play the game smoothly. Everyone knows how complex BG's environs and ruleset are and should have a sense of how difficult it is to comb through all the knots in all of that...
This could not have been easy for Trent Oster and the rest of the devs to decide... especially given how eager they've been to give folks what they want... and I can only imagine the scurrying about being done on their end trying to make the Sept 18 deadline and feeling their hearts sink at the impending reality. No one but they are in their shoes, so... And think about it... Trent's savings is riding on this rather huge venture. You think he's just playing around?
On yet another note... Really? Concrete plans to play on the day of release? I never trust new stuff like that! hehe Sorry, but no way... Not when buggy NWN2 came out, not when Windows7 came out... Never do I assume that it's going to be ready when it first gets released on the hapless de facto guinea pigs that snap it up on its first day out. That said, however, with this delay that wait will already be built into it. ;-) This is not Bioware/EA or Microsoft... which is sorta supercool. :-)
We will be keeping you informed... daily.