(Assuming, of course, the topic is to speculate about / suggest to / implore beamdog as to what their next project should be - but is that even the topic? I have no clue...)
I for one would love to see a turnbased game. It worked for Divinity, so why not? Something like Realmz, but more modern.
There are two tricks to a turnbased; 1. Turns must pass fast, so the interface must be REALLY streamlined. I think a timer based on the character INT or PER or similar is a neat solution for that - but again, unless the interface really is streamlined the timer is a teeth-grinding annoyance, so streamline is the be it all end it all of turnbased. (Yes, I am looking at you Temple of elemental evil, WTF were you thinking with roughly 14 clickety-clicks to cast the simplest of cantrips?) 2. As the amount of skill due to timing your clicking with events occuring on the screen literally is 0, challenge must come from skillful planning and AI of opponents, which prompts skillful character building and intelligent tactics on the players part.
Edit: Oh, and include user-friendly dev tools in the release. User-generated content is what keeps a lot of these games alive and kicking, and encouraging players to contribute by making contributions child-play is a great way to encourage this.
I remain hopeful that a patch for the Baldur’s Gate: EE Editions is still in the works.
For instance, not long ago there was much discussion about the possibility of more UI options being offered.
After seeing what a lovely job they did with Planescape: Torment: EE, how much care was taken to preserve the original feel, art and style of the game while adding new functionality and options, I am excited to see if they will be offering the same treatment for Baldur’s Gate: EE and Baldur’s Gate II: EE.
I for one would love to see a turnbased game. It worked for Divinity, so why not? Something like Realmz, but more modern.
Technically, all Infinity Engine games ARE turn-based, because D&D is turn-based. It's an option you can tick. By default, it's not turned on, however.
I for one would love to see a turnbased game. It worked for Divinity, so why not? Something like Realmz, but more modern.
Technically, all Infinity Engine games ARE turn-based, because D&D is turn-based. It's an option you can tick. By default, it's not turned on, however.
Options -> Gameplay -> Autopause -> End of Round
It's been there for a long time.
Just give your orders while paused and let the next round play in initiative order. Not that much difference from tabletop in this aspect actually.
Edit: Also, the current 5e setting I think is fine? Though I'm not sure all the discrepancies. Eilistraee, Mystra, Vhaerun, Bhaal, Myrkul, and a bunch of other gods have been retconned back into existence. I think there was a conscious effort to make 5e FR back to 2e/3e FR since a lot of the 4e specific stuff seems to be not present. At least that is what I gathered from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.
It wasn't really a retcon, more of an event (the Second Sundering) that brought them all back by Ao's reforging of the Tablets of Fate. So, it was some kind of partial reboot explained (in a broad and handwavy way) by an in-world event, if you will. Bhaal has received an adventure for his return, Mystra a novel, Eilistraee hasn't received any explicit explanation in novels, only passages in Ed Grenwood's novels that tell that she's back and *very* active (she's even getting a new temple in Waterdeep), but Ed has explained her survival.
During this event, it turned out that a lot of gods didn't really die during the Spellplague or the ToT. Some did, and Ao resurrected them during the Sudering. However, many of them actually managed to survive by hiding somewhere safe, and used the upheaval of the Sundering to gain back a lot of what they had lost.
Mystra, for example, had foreseen the Spellplague. It was even needed to "reboot" the Weave, because it had grown unstable and worn out by reckless magic. When Cyric came from her, she already had backup plans. Even though things went rather out of control, her contingencies made it so that she never died, and the Weave never was destroyed, but reduced to "strands" (if it had been destroyed, magic would have qucikly exlpoeded ina huge burst, destorying most of Torilian life and making its use no longer possible on Toril, as per "Magic of Faerun"). Afterwards, Mystra hid part of her essence in a bear in the King's Forest, while Helm hid in a goat. When Ao's decision to reforge the tablets of fate and to start the Sundering came, amidst the chaos that ensued, both Mystra and Helm managed to gain back their full power through the help of their chosen.
Another case is that of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. As you said, they are alive (and surprisingly active) after the Sundering, but Ed Greenwood explained that neither of them actually ever died. When Vhaeraun attacked Eilistraee, she chose to spare him. She temporarily took his portfolio and imprisoned his sentience in the Weave with the help of Mystra, who enveloped him in a dream and convinced him to cooperate with his sister and herself to survive the Spellplague that Mystra had foreseen. Afterwards, when Qilué was killed while Eilistraee was inhabiting her body, as a chosen of Mystra her soul was dragged within the Weave (far from being destroyed like the solars in the novels believed--in fact, the Crescent Blade used against her could no longer do that, since it had only become a vessel for Wendonai, no longer holding its original powers, as we see from Cavatina's soul surviving it) and a large part of Eilistraee's power was therefore too drawn into the Weave. This rendered her unable to grant spells--or even to fully manifest--and forced her to keep a low profile and become essentially inactive, but never killined her. After Mystra "died" and the Weave was damaged, the Dark Maiden's power remained trapped in it. After Mystra's awakening and the restoration of the Weave, the Lady of Mysteries returned that lost power to both Eilistraee and Vhaeraun, while also waking the Masked Lord, allowing them to act again and returning their original portfolios to them. Eilistraee and Vhaeraun are no longer enemies now, and have been mainfesting to their followers to let the fight for their cause start again.**
Same thing for Azuth. When Asmodeus absorbed him, Azuth actually survived, his personality never fully destroyed by Asmodeus. It was only during the Sundering that Azuth gained strength to actually start emerging, and (helped by one of his chosen and with the use of the divine spark of another lost deity, Nanna-Sin), he managed to re-emerge (Asmo is now in fact a lesser power).
Of course, Bhaal is another example. When the last of his bhaalspawn died, the Lord of Murder returned to life, getting a hold of the portfolio of murder that Cyric no longer has. I suspect that the return of Myrkul is related to his essence hidden in the Crown of Horns, although we got no explanation for that (and he took the portoflio of death and decay, while Kelemvor retains that of the dead).
Kiaransalee's name was also never fully deleted, and it kept holding power in Necromantic spells and rituals, allowing her to survive (and it makes sense that her name wasn't deleted, the high magic spell that suppsoedly deleted it was a gaping plot hole that could have swallowed the whole story, as it made absolutely no sense in the context of the Realms--namely because it made no sense that the spell had never been used by the elves--the undisputed masters of high magic--to get rid of their enemies and of Lolth).
The Mulhorandi gods never died either. They were just in Abeir, and when their land was returned to Toril, so were they. Some Untheric gods also were reincarnated--Gilgeam is an example.
Other deities are a total mystery that was handwaved as Ao's doing. How is Leira back? Ao. How is Tyr back? Ao. And so on...
**(on a side note, other in-world rules could point to Eilistraee's survival. When the Lady Penitent used the Crescent Blade against Qilué Veladorn, since the was being inhabited by the Dark Maiden, it held only a part--however large--of her power (since deities could not fully manifest themselves on the material plane, as explained in On Hallowed Ground). That would mean that the blade didn't hit the goddess herself, but the part of her essence infused in her chosen's body. In addition to that, deities could only be truly killed while in their planar realm or by being starved of followers (again explained in On Hallowed Ground), so Eilistraee's survival could not be excluded. Furthermore, as I said, the Crescent Blade could not destroy souls anymore after being reforged)
Edit: Also, the current 5e setting I think is fine? Though I'm not sure all the discrepancies. Eilistraee, Mystra, Vhaerun, Bhaal, Myrkul, and a bunch of other gods have been retconned back into existence. I think there was a conscious effort to make 5e FR back to 2e/3e FR since a lot of the 4e specific stuff seems to be not present. At least that is what I gathered from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.
It wasn't really a retcon, more of an event (the Second Sundering) that brought them all back by Ao's reforging of the Tablets of Fate. So, it was some kind of partial reboot explained (in a broad and handwavy way) by an in-world event, if you will. Bhaal has received an adventure for his return, Mystra a novel, Eilistraee hasn't received any explicit explanation in novels, only passages in Ed Grenwood's novels that tell that she's back and *very* active (she's even getting a new temple in Waterdeep), but Ed has explained her survival.
During this event, it turned out that a lot of gods didn't really die during the Spellplague or the ToT. Some did, and Ao resurrected them during the Sudering. However, many of them actusally managed to survive by hiding somewhere safe, and sued the upheaval of the Sundering to gain back a lot of what they had lost.
Mystra, for example, had planned the Spellplague. It was needed to "reboot" the Weave, because it had grown unstable and worn out by reckless magic. When Cyric came from her, she already had backup plans. Even though things went rather out of control, her contingencies made it so that she never died, and the Weave never was destroyed, but reduced to "strands" (if it had been destroyed, magic would have qucikly exlpoeded ina huge burst, destorying most of Torilian life and making its use no longer possible on Toril, as per "Magic of Faerun"). Afterwards, Mystra hid part of her essence in a bear in the King's Forest, while Helm hid in a goat. When Ao's decision to reforge the tablets of fate and to start the Sundering came, amidst the chaos that ensued, both Mystra and Helm managed to gain back their full power through the help of their chosen.
Another case is that of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. As you said, they are alive (and surprisingly active) after the Sundering, but Ed Greenwood explained that neither of them actually ever died. When Vhaeraun attacked Eilistraee, she chose to spare him. She temporarily took his portfolio and imprisoned his sentience in the Weave with the help of Mystra, who enveloped him in a dream and convinced him to cooperate with his sister and herself to survive the Spellplague that Mystra had foreseen. Afterwards, when Qilué was killed while Eilistraee was inhabiting her body, as a chosen of Mystra her soul was dragged within the Weave (far from being destroyed like the solars in the novels believed--in fact, the Crescent Blade used against her could no longer do that, since it had only become a vessel for Wendonai, no longer holding its original powers, as we see from Cavatina's soul surviving it) and a large part of Eilistraee's power was too, rendering her unable to grant spells--or even to fully manifest,--and forcing her to keep a low profile, but never killing her. After Mystra "died" and the Weave was damaged, that power remained trapped in it. After Mystra's awakening and the restoration of the Weave, the Lady of Mysteries returned that lost power to both Eilistraee and Vhaeraun, while also waking the Masked Lord, allowing them to act again, and returning their original portfolios to them. Eilistraee and Vhaeraun are no longer enemies now, and have been mainfesting to their followers to let the fight for their cause start again.**
Same thing for Azuth. When Asmodeus absorbed him, Azuth actually survived, his personality never fully destroyed by Asmodeus. It was only during the Sundering that Azuth gained strength to actually start emerging, and (helped by one of his chosen and with the use of the divine spark of another lost deity, Nanna-Sin), he managed to re-emerge (Asmo is now in fact a lesser power).
Of course, Bhaal is another example. When the last of his bhaalspawn died, the Lord of Murder returned to life, getting a hold of the portfolio of murder that Cyric no longer has. I suspect that the return of Myrkul is related to his essence hidden in the Crown of Horns, although we got no explanation for that (and he took the portoflio of death and decay, while Kelemvor retains that of the dead).
Kiaransalee's name was also never fully deleted, and it kept holding power in Necromantic spells and rituals, allowing her to survive (and it makes sense that her name wasn't deleted, the high magic spell that suppsoedly deleted it was a gaping plot hole that could have swallowed the whole story, as it made absolutely no sense in the context of the Realms--namely because it made no sense that the spell had never been used by the elves--the undisputed masters of high magic--to get rid of their enemies and of Lolth).
The Mulhorandi gods never died either. They were just in Abeir, and when their land was returned to Toril, so were they. Some Untheric gods also were reincarnated--Gilgeam is an example.
Other deities are a total mystery that was handwaved as Ao's doing. How is Leira back? Ao. How is Tyr back? Ao. And so on...
**(on a side note, other in-world rules could point to Eilistraee's survival. When the Lady Penitent used the Crescent Blade against Qilué Veladorn, since the was being inhabited by the Dark Maiden, it held only a part--however large--of her power (since deities could not fully manifest themselves on the material plane, as explained in On Hallowed Ground). That would mean that the blade didn't hit the goddess herself, but the part of her essence infused in her chosen's body. In addition to that, deities could only be truly killed while in their planar realm or by being starved of followers (again explained in On Hallowed Ground), so Eilistraee's survival could not be excluded. Furthermore, as I said, the Crescent Blade could not destroy souls anymore after being reforged)
And that's why, as far as I'm concerned, the sundering never happened... If I ever get the time to be a DM again, at least...
As far as I'm concerned, the end of 3e and then 4e never happened, so the Sundering goes with it. But, to me, the 5e Realms are far better than the 4e version. Both were introduced by cheap stuff that even conflicted with--or disrespected--characters and previous lore, but at least 5e includes beloved characters that were taken away in 4e because WotC didn't want them in the Realms, or for other pointless reasons (like "Drizzt must be the most speshul drow evah"--which he already is, btw).
I was hoping for a 5E new game, but IWD2EE would be an excellent treat in the meantime. However, we are probably talking about a year from now, at least, if the they find the source code soon.
I always liked IwD2 over IwD1 and as such I've long been extremely disappointed IwD2 never got an expansion. So for me it's a MUST that an IwD2 EE come with a full expansion.
Comments
(Assuming, of course, the topic is to speculate about / suggest to / implore beamdog as to what their next project should be - but is that even the topic? I have no clue...)
I for one would love to see a turnbased game. It worked for Divinity, so why not? Something like Realmz, but more modern.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realmz
There are two tricks to a turnbased;
1. Turns must pass fast, so the interface must be REALLY streamlined. I think a timer based on the character INT or PER or similar is a neat solution for that - but again, unless the interface really is streamlined the timer is a teeth-grinding annoyance, so streamline is the be it all end it all of turnbased. (Yes, I am looking at you Temple of elemental evil, WTF were you thinking with roughly 14 clickety-clicks to cast the simplest of cantrips?)
2. As the amount of skill due to timing your clicking with events occuring on the screen literally is 0, challenge must come from skillful planning and AI of opponents, which prompts skillful character building and intelligent tactics on the players part.
Edit: Oh, and include user-friendly dev tools in the release. User-generated content is what keeps a lot of these games alive and kicking, and encouraging players to contribute by making contributions child-play is a great way to encourage this.
For instance, not long ago there was much discussion about the possibility of more UI options being offered.
After seeing what a lovely job they did with Planescape: Torment: EE, how much care was taken to preserve the original feel, art and style of the game while adding new functionality and options, I am excited to see if they will be offering the same treatment for Baldur’s Gate: EE and Baldur’s Gate II: EE.
It's been there for a long time.
Just give your orders while paused and let the next round play in initiative order. Not that much difference from tabletop in this aspect actually.
During this event, it turned out that a lot of gods didn't really die during the Spellplague or the ToT. Some did, and Ao resurrected them during the Sudering. However, many of them actually managed to survive by hiding somewhere safe, and used the upheaval of the Sundering to gain back a lot of what they had lost.
Mystra, for example, had foreseen the Spellplague. It was even needed to "reboot" the Weave, because it had grown unstable and worn out by reckless magic. When Cyric came from her, she already had backup plans. Even though things went rather out of control, her contingencies made it so that she never died, and the Weave never was destroyed, but reduced to "strands" (if it had been destroyed, magic would have qucikly exlpoeded ina huge burst, destorying most of Torilian life and making its use no longer possible on Toril, as per "Magic of Faerun"). Afterwards, Mystra hid part of her essence in a bear in the King's Forest, while Helm hid in a goat. When Ao's decision to reforge the tablets of fate and to start the Sundering came, amidst the chaos that ensued, both Mystra and Helm managed to gain back their full power through the help of their chosen.
Another case is that of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. As you said, they are alive (and surprisingly active) after the Sundering, but Ed Greenwood explained that neither of them actually ever died. When Vhaeraun attacked Eilistraee, she chose to spare him. She temporarily took his portfolio and imprisoned his sentience in the Weave with the help of Mystra, who enveloped him in a dream and convinced him to cooperate with his sister and herself to survive the Spellplague that Mystra had foreseen. Afterwards, when Qilué was killed while Eilistraee was inhabiting her body, as a chosen of Mystra her soul was dragged within the Weave (far from being destroyed like the solars in the novels believed--in fact, the Crescent Blade used against her could no longer do that, since it had only become a vessel for Wendonai, no longer holding its original powers, as we see from Cavatina's soul surviving it) and a large part of Eilistraee's power was therefore too drawn into the Weave. This rendered her unable to grant spells--or even to fully manifest--and forced her to keep a low profile and become essentially inactive, but never killined her. After Mystra "died" and the Weave was damaged, the Dark Maiden's power remained trapped in it. After Mystra's awakening and the restoration of the Weave, the Lady of Mysteries returned that lost power to both Eilistraee and Vhaeraun, while also waking the Masked Lord, allowing them to act again and returning their original portfolios to them. Eilistraee and Vhaeraun are no longer enemies now, and have been mainfesting to their followers to let the fight for their cause start again.**
Same thing for Azuth. When Asmodeus absorbed him, Azuth actually survived, his personality never fully destroyed by Asmodeus. It was only during the Sundering that Azuth gained strength to actually start emerging, and (helped by one of his chosen and with the use of the divine spark of another lost deity, Nanna-Sin), he managed to re-emerge (Asmo is now in fact a lesser power).
Of course, Bhaal is another example. When the last of his bhaalspawn died, the Lord of Murder returned to life, getting a hold of the portfolio of murder that Cyric no longer has. I suspect that the return of Myrkul is related to his essence hidden in the Crown of Horns, although we got no explanation for that (and he took the portoflio of death and decay, while Kelemvor retains that of the dead).
Kiaransalee's name was also never fully deleted, and it kept holding power in Necromantic spells and rituals, allowing her to survive (and it makes sense that her name wasn't deleted, the high magic spell that suppsoedly deleted it was a gaping plot hole that could have swallowed the whole story, as it made absolutely no sense in the context of the Realms--namely because it made no sense that the spell had never been used by the elves--the undisputed masters of high magic--to get rid of their enemies and of Lolth).
The Mulhorandi gods never died either. They were just in Abeir, and when their land was returned to Toril, so were they. Some Untheric gods also were reincarnated--Gilgeam is an example.
Other deities are a total mystery that was handwaved as Ao's doing. How is Leira back? Ao. How is Tyr back? Ao. And so on...
**(on a side note, other in-world rules could point to Eilistraee's survival. When the Lady Penitent used the Crescent Blade against Qilué Veladorn, since the was being inhabited by the Dark Maiden, it held only a part--however large--of her power (since deities could not fully manifest themselves on the material plane, as explained in On Hallowed Ground). That would mean that the blade didn't hit the goddess herself, but the part of her essence infused in her chosen's body. In addition to that, deities could only be truly killed while in their planar realm or by being starved of followers (again explained in On Hallowed Ground), so Eilistraee's survival could not be excluded. Furthermore, as I said, the Crescent Blade could not destroy souls anymore after being reforged)
Would rather have a new expansion pack for IWD1.
Rules for avoiding a horrible death in IWD2:EE? Who knows.......
I mean come on...it's barely involved.
Now,
i hate to be that jackano actually i like it, again a hint at IE?Again? When is it going to be enough? Are we ever going to see something different from you, except EEs for everything? >.>
And considering there's only IWD2 left, it would make sense to do it (if they can find the source).
This comes from someone ardently hoping for a new D&D 5E game, but still: I'd pre-order IW2EE in a heartbeat.
Lords of Waterdeep is a game set in Waterdeep. It's not a role playing game, but you can't have everything!