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The Maturation of Beamdog

YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
TL; DR: SoD represents the pinnacle of Infinity Engine-style RPGS; Beamdog has a vote-of-confidence for new original material, including brand new settings.


To start with: I loathed the early Beamdog additions to the BG games:
- I never play the Black Pits(es) and consider them a waste of development time
- the new NPC quests were shallow, unbalanced (sometimes irrelevantly easy), and badly written
- items added were frequently overpowered or obtained too easily (Gem of Seeing as a casual drop etc.)

I was just glad to be able play the BG games in new platforms hassle-free and that was that.


But Siege of Dragonspear (which I dreaded first and didn't play for over a year after purchase) represents such a huge leap from those humble beginnings that my opinion of Beamdog has shifted drastically:

1. Writing quality is much better. (The plot of SoD pulls the impossible feat of filling between the two games seamlessly while creating a deep and challenging story in itself. Scripted events are done much more fluently than even in the original games.)
2. NPC and quest depth is significantly better. (Let's table all the immature wailing about M'Zhena etc.)
3. Difficulty level is very nicely done. Particularly for a no-reloader, it will keep you on your toes without having any "you die just because" moments. (The original had such faults that SoD doesn't. Remember the kiss of death with Shoal the Nereid or the bandits-surround-you ambush when you are level 1 out of Candlekeep or other out of the blue shenanigans)
4. Items added were nuanced and carefully balanced
5. *** MOST IMPORTANT*** The AI is overhauled.
Yes, it is mostly adopted from the excellent SCS, but it is the right prerogative that Beamdog bothers with AI improvement. Having a no-tweaking-necessary version of SCS is excellent in a game.


Baldur's Gate series is popular after two decades for two simple reasons:
- engaging story
- excellent tactical challenge with depth
(Also, the same reasons why there is a dedicated "no-reload" following for the series.)

Beamdog's first forays to new content were amateurish (if polished) on both regards. Siege of Dragonspear, however, is a master class of both good story writing and tactical design. In my opinion, it easily matches and possibly exceeds the other state of the art such as Pillars of Eternity.


In short, I hope Beamdog will build upon this hard earned legacy, preserve its in-house talent of developers, and deliver us a brand new 100+ hour adventure that we will play for the next two decades.
JuliusBorisovGrond0semiticgoddessAvenger_teambgArctodusStefanOGusindaAstroBryGuyDev6StummvonBordwehrGrumAnduinThacoBellronaldoRaduziellolienmf2112bob_vengkanisatha[Deleted User]ShYarivButtercheese

Comments

  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147
    LOL.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235

    LOL.

    LQTM
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235

    God forbid someone makes a thoughtful, genuine statement that doesn't align with your own beliefs lest they suffer your mockery.

    Just a little harmless laughter :wink:
    Illustair
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745

    I... I feel it catching on!

    I CAN'T RESIST IT

    YEARGH

    @Buttercheese: You're an awesome artist and I love your stuff! Continue to bless the forums!

    @JuliusBorisov: You're a great moderator and you've made this forum a nicer place!

    @Blackraven: You're the one who inspired me to start no-reload runs!

    @Anduin: I had a lucid dream about a lich prostitute and it wasn't that creepy!

    People do not become undead to become sex slaves! How demeaning!

    ...

    Unless you are a sexy vampire and enjoy making money from people trying to penetrate you with wooden stakes...

    *budum tish*
    ronaldosemiticgoddessStummvonBordwehrBalrog99
  • NoonNoon Member Posts: 202
    Ygramul said:


    - I never play the Black Pits(es)

    Give them a try, the writing and secondary characters are far better than what you can see in the BG:EE adds. And i find the ambiance quite close to what they did with SoD.

    StummvonBordwehrIllustair
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Anduin said:


    @Anduin: I had a lucid dream about a lich prostitute and it wasn't that creepy!

    People do not become undead to become sex slaves! How demeaning!
    Yeah... Her prices were too high for me to afford the sex slave fantasy. I had to settle for "that girl you liked in high school but now she has a skull for a face."

    It actually wasn't bad. My only real mistake was saying yes when she asked if one of her other clients could watch us.

    I mean, I thought he'd be easy to ignore because she turned him into a tiny frog.

    But he just kept staring at me like
    Grond0AnduinStummvonBordwehr[Deleted User]
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    Stop looking at him then!
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 877
    edited October 2017
    Wow, we have a new player here. Glad new players can still appreciate the beauty of the game. While I won’t place SoD at the top of the series IMO (SoA firmly holds this spot for me), I would most certainly agree that the areas and the music are beautiful.

    Edit: Andrew here reminded me of Glint. As I kept on saying before, I love his writing and voice acting is spot on. BP2 NPCs were also fantastic, at par or at times even better than Bioware NPCs I must say — are they also your doing?
    Post edited by Illustair on
    mf2112[Deleted User]ThacoBellthe_sextein
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    AstroBryGuyThacoBellthe_sextein
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    edited October 2017

    Nice areas, nice fights, nice music. Good game. :) Still hoping to see M'Khiin and Glint in BG2 at some point.

    The improved AI in the fights was not something I was used to. That encounter with all the thieves and backstabbing... agh o_O

    I would buy a DLC that consists of nothing but Glint & Jan banter.
    tbone1[Deleted User]
  • EnilwynEnilwyn Member Posts: 140
    Southpaw said:

    That's just...like your opinion man.

    Aside that, I liked what they did with BGEE, BG2EE and SoD was great too. PSTEE...what is next? Beamdog has established it's name. Hope for a new and original project.

    Abide.
    tbone1
  • NimranNimran Member Posts: 4,875
    Beamdog: rated M for mature.
    Montresor_SPthemazingnessThacoBellButtercheese
  • themazingnessthemazingness Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 702
    edited October 2017

    Beamdog may be maturing but we sure ain't. lol

    At first I thought this thread was about Beamdog starting puberty. It turns out it was about the forumites instead ;)

    I loved every minute of SoD (well, once I kicked Corwin off the team; her attitude was bringing morale down). I agree that the Black Pits were terrible. I don't mind the idea, but the execution was obnoxious especially in BGII.

    I know PS:T was left untouched, and I think that was for the better. But if ya'll want to make an expansion for it, I'd love a game where you play through Fall-from-Grace's falling out with the Tanar'ri. I'd even write the story for it once my health is back in order.

  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059

    Ygramul said:

    Siege of Dragonspear, however, is a master class of both good story writing and tactical design. In my opinion, it easily matches and possibly exceeds the other state of the art such as Pillars of Eternity.

    I'm no longer with Beamdog, but thank you for the kind words re: SoD's writing.
    Good to be able to associate a name with a work well done.

    Good luck to you in your future endeavors.

    Your work will, I'm sure, be fondly remembered by people in this community for many years to come.
    IllustairStummvonBordwehrThacoBellJuliusBorisov
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 877
    @themazingness how about the BP2 NPCs, weren’t they wonderfully made? I don’t like the power scaling though...high-tiered battles should have been reserved for another story at a different plane with more powerful villains. But it was entertaining nonetheless, at least for me. The characters as I’ve said is another matter — loved them.
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