I played v1.3 some time ago and thought the developers did a great job. I've since begun to play again and the game updated (I don't recall it asking me if that's what I wanted). I now have 2.2 and I, to be polite, really don't like it. Can I get 1.3 back again? Thanks.
If you bought the Beamdog copy you can ask them for a Steam key then you can have double the Baldur's Gate (or at least they were doing this at one time). It's really handy because I can keep a clean copy or a relatively clean copy, and also have another to just ruin with whatever mod I want to mess with.
What are the things you don't like in the new patch ? Maybe some of these can be fixed with mods. Or you can open feature request on redmine.
Where do I begin? It isn't likely to be a complimentery list of things, considering I want to change back. I'll list some of the things. Remember, all these are just my opinions and preferences.
1) In first place for a good reason: The zoom out/in feature when you choose between the game screen and the area map. I find it an epilepsy inducing eye strain. I can understand the technical prowess that went into implementing it, but it's, to be polite, upsetting.
2) The 'Travel' button on the world map. May be I missed out on a whole mass of people requesting this. And the travel times text on top of the world map icons. They uglify the map. It detracts from the idea that the map is both a game utility and fantasy drawing.
3) The 'Next Level in xxxxXp' thermometer on the character screen. I was thinking, some time ago, how nice it would be to have an option to remove all xp information from the character screen as it would also remove that bad habit of playing just to level up. In this scenario leveling up would be a surprise. This new gauge is a step in the opposite direction so again, just my ideals, it's not a feature I want.
4) The new smooth expanding dialogue window. Not a bad idea in itself, but it obviously interferes with the area-travel cursor at the south edge of any map. I'm thinking that the solution to this was to greatly increase the big black border at the edges of the map. Which is immersive breaking. You can turn this border feature off. But, since this messes with south edge exits you can get stuck in some locations. Try this in one of the gambling tents areas.
5) Lastly: Lightening Bolt. That level 3 spell. I could be completely off here, but it doesn't have the hair-raising rebounding it used to. But that be due to something else.
This a basic list of why I prefer v1.3. It's cleaner, more efficent, has fewer immersive breaking features. I don't know if I'm the only moaner on here who has such a list. But it's more just a matter of preference than moaning. As said previously v1.3 was a good job.
1) In first place for a good reason: The zoom out/in feature when you choose between the game screen and the area map. I find it an epilepsy inducing eye strain. I can understand the technical prowess that went into implementing it, but it's, to be polite, upsetting.
Completly agree. An option to disable this feature have been added to PST:EE after I opened a ticket on redmine about this. There is another ticket opened to port this option to other IE games. Maybe we will get it for v2.5.
2) The 'Travel' button on the world map. May be I missed out on a whole mass of people requesting this. And the travel times text on top of the world map icons. They uglify the map. It detracts from the idea that the map is both a game utility and fantasy drawing.
3) The 'Next Level in xxxxXp' thermometer on the character screen. I was thinking, some time ago, how nice it would be to have an option to remove all xp information from the character screen as it would also remove that bad habit of playing just to level up. In this scenario leveling up would be a surprise. This new gauge is a step in the opposite direction so again, just my ideals, it's not a feature I want.
4) The new smooth expanding dialogue window. Not a bad idea in itself, but it obviously interferes with the area-travel cursor at the south edge of any map. I'm thinking that the solution to this was to greatly increase the big black border at the edges of the map. Which is immersive breaking. You can turn this border feature off. But, since this messes with south edge exits you can get stuck in some locations. Try this in one of the gambling tents areas.
There are UI mods that fix some of these things. See the list here.
I also dislike some of the UI changes they made but with the new UI system, it's much more easier to adapt the UI to your preferences.
5) Lastly: Lightening Bolt. That level 3 spell. I could be completely off here, but it doesn't have the hair-raising rebounding it used to. But that be due to something else.
I'm not aware of this. Maybe others will know if it was changed, why and if there is a way to restore it.
This a basic list of why I prefer v1.3. It's cleaner, more efficent, has fewer immersive breaking features. I don't know if I'm the only moaner on here who has such a list. But it's more just a matter of preference than moaning. As said previously v1.3 was a good job.
You are not the only one. But v1.3 is only available in Steam and is no longer supported so you won't get any new bug fixes and newer mods may not work with this old version. Which is why I think it's a good idea to see why people prefer v1.3 to see what can be done to improve the current version (either by directly opening features request to Beamdog or through modding).
5) Lastly: Lightening Bolt. That level 3 spell. I could be completely off here, but it doesn't have the hair-raising rebounding it used to. But that be due to something else.
It's mechanics are completely broken in (v2.0-2.3) BGEE, (all v) SoD, (v1.3 - 2.3) BG2EE, and (v1.3-v1.4) IWDEE. There is no way for a mod to fix it, and it was reported rather quickly.
It's mechanics have been fixed in the v2.5beta, and the spells in BGEE and BG2EE updated. However, the spell was not updated in IWDEE v2.5b. Most likely this is because it's area's walls were and still are coded differently, so the wrong walls cause the bouncing effect. It continues to use the single-bounce on first target.
There are UI mods that fix some of these things. See the list here.
Thanks for the top tip. I've downloaded and installed. And a big shout out on it's behalf to anyone reading this thread who'd like to update their own UIs.
It's mechanics are completely broken in (v2.0-2.3) BGEE, (all v) SoD, (v1.3 - 2.3) BG2EE, and (v1.3-v1.4) IWDEE. There is no way for a mod to fix it, and it was reported rather quickly.
How did they break something that was working? What happened in the change between 1.3 and 2.0?
It's mechanics are completely broken in (v2.0-2.3) BGEE, (all v) SoD, (v1.3 - 2.3) BG2EE, and (v1.3-v1.4) IWDEE. There is no way for a mod to fix it, and it was reported rather quickly.
How did they break something that was working? What happened in the change between 1.3 and 2.0?
Beamdog externalized a great number of previously hardcoded features in v2.0 - most likely in preparation for their SoD expansion, which unfortunately also came with a considerable number of new bugs and limitations.
I'm surprised that some people don't like the ui changes, I played for 17 years with various enhanced resolution support and, later, widescreen mods, etc etc, and imho the ui changes in 2.5 are amazing.
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However, Steam? Isn't that like sacrificing your first born?
Using an old version is not ideal as you don't get all the bug fixes that were made in the 2.X series.
I also dislike some of the UI changes they made but with the new UI system, it's much more easier to adapt the UI to your preferences. I'm not aware of this. Maybe others will know if it was changed, why and if there is a way to restore it. You are not the only one. But v1.3 is only available in Steam and is no longer supported so you won't get any new bug fixes and newer mods may not work with this old version. Which is why I think it's a good idea to see why people prefer v1.3 to see what can be done to improve the current version (either by directly opening features request to Beamdog or through modding).
It's mechanics have been fixed in the v2.5beta, and the spells in BGEE and BG2EE updated.
However, the spell was not updated in IWDEE v2.5b. Most likely this is because it's area's walls were and still are coded differently, so the wrong walls cause the bouncing effect. It continues to use the single-bounce on first target.