Hello
Vlad
Member Posts: 17
Just posted at another thread and now I see there is a special thread for modding. Really impressive. BG forever! So some smart guys decided to eventually commercialize all this stuff and to squeeze some $$ from the BG modification, which has always been provided for free by all the modders around. Good. And I'm particularly impressed by the version for Android. Another smart move, taking into account that most of the games for Android just suck. Reuse, recycle and reuse again, just make money on everything that is possible. Good luck guys!
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More on topic I think he is upset that there is a remake of the game because he sees monetising of something he currently has for free (after initial purchase) as a bad thing. I disagree with him on this fron as he is not being forced to buy the game, and the old mods will still be available.
I also do not think he realises that the enhanced editions are a platform for the company to launch from to make whole new isometric games! No one else is really doing this at the moment but Beamdog need to prove to investors that this is a good idea, and so making a remake of BG1 is a good way of doing this. In addition to this the enhanced edition has new content and will be easier to mod. However should Vlad disagree, he is welcome to his opinion but I suggest that this forum may not be the best place for him to discuss it if he is looking for positive replies.
Lets keep things civil.
Let Dracula speak however he wishes, who cares? Let him be cynical. BG:EE to me is just a repackaging of the game with all the fixpacks added, but the reason I'm not unhappy about that is because NOW it's OFFICIAL and I don't have to do it myself. The bonus goody bag stuff is nice but I'm happy to have a spit shined BG now.
I only deleted one post that was basically flaming you, as that kind of behaviour isn't tolerated on this board. So no, no one is preventing this discussion. I'll let the comparison to communist countries slide this time, but if you want to post here insulting the moderators of this board isn't a good idea.
As for you not understanding why it should be comercialized, well this discussion has been held here before. To summarize:
- Beamdog as a company has negotiated with all the rights-holders of the BG property to be able to release this new version of the product.
- Although some of the stuff that BGEE will provide is already offered by the modding community, BGEE will also include improvements to the engine itself that currently cannot be accomplished through mods. They will also be adding new content to the game.
- Another very important point is that BGEE will not include any current mod content without the express permission of the people that originally contributed to the mod.
- Beamdog is a company and I imagine that their employees have bills to pay, so if they choose to charge for the work that they are doing that is their decision. They certainly do not answer to you.
- In the end, if you don't want to purchase BGEE then don't, no one is forcing you to.
Seemed to me by the other posts somebody (whose name I won't mention even though it's obvious) said some rude things to you and Tanthalas deleted their post. He was doing you a favour. :P
BG:EE isn't comprised of the most original ideas. After years of modding there's nothing else for them to think of, the community has done their work for them. Now if they can repackage these fixes so we, the customers, don't have to use seedy mods anymore which glitch 50% of the time, I'm happy. I guess seedy is a harsh word, but you know what I'm saying.
It's not just Trent the Programmer and Friends either, they've recruited some of the most well respected modders out there, all working on the game too. There's an entire team dedicated to the bug/fixes forums. This isn't just some money grab, it's getting something done.
Beamdog is not a group of modders, its a game company that needs to raise money to pay their employees. I really don't get this attitude from people that expect companies to work for free.
As for "most well respected modders" that agree with you popping in here to say the same, they're free to share their opinions as long as they keep it civil. I will not allow the board to become a centre for whining.
I could tell you that this is Canada but there's a really wide variety of people on the board with accompanying language and ideology differences. We've asked before including any mods(basically the fixpacks and 1PP) so if you haven't been asked, you don't have to worry about your content appearing in the game. Also, who is Ken? Turns out I didn't do a very thourough background check on @jcompton. Or anybody else.
In fact, the whole gemrb team (i know of) are happy about BGEE.
They would have joined beta, if they had more time, but they 'delegated me' to 'hold the line'.
TBH was about to be commercial as well, if i recall correctly, JC will surely come in and tell.
This endeavor and TBH are quite close legally. Technically, you are partially right, the codebase is not new.
But it is familiar and takes modding seriously. @vlad you are the first 'modder' who isn't happy about bgee. I'm not sure what exactly is the problem. This is about all i want to care about this stuff.
The rest of us, however, do actually care that players are able to play complex multi-mod installations without issues. If I may remind, the whole purpose of WeiDU is to allow such installations. And the rest of us all agree that BGEE is a good thing.
Following installation instructions, as surprising as it may be, is hardly possible for a beginner. Detailed step-by-step guide may ease it, but that's it. You can say one should not attempt megamod games without some experience under the belt, but good luck delivering it to them.
If you mean two certain figureheads of a certain modding community, I would dare to say they are "most scandalous modders" who had successfully alienated themselves from the rest of the scene.
TBH, if memory serves, was officially proclaimed as dead by JC, around a year or so.
There are specialized lists of installation orders to follow, yet still they don't work along the way. You're lucky if you get to the end of it and have a game that does exactly what it should.
BG:EE means no more 30 mod installations. I'm not paying for extra content, I'm paying for officially issued and supported mods.
The tweakpacks though, due to their nature as tweaks and not bugfixes, will remain relevant. Everyone that likes to play with mods that add new content to the game (like the BG1NPC mod, SCS, extra kit or adventure mods) will still need to install them with BGEE.
What I'm trying to say is that it will still be possible for people to want to add 30+ mods in an install if they want to play with all that stuff at the same time. But hopefully, with BGEE already incorporating the BG2 engine and bugfixes in the basic install, less conflicts will occur when installing these mods and the game will run smoother.
Most people are most satisfied when they work on things which ship. As BGEE is being produced by people who know how to ship games and TBH was produced by me (who clearly does not), I would say working on BGEE is probably the better course to personal satisfaction.
Man, I remember seeing TBH years ago. I was actually looking for it the other day (couldn't remember the name). Unfortunate that the game was canned.
On-topic:
I mean, at only $18, with cross platform support, tidying up the game, and adding new features really what's not to love?
I'll give you an example of another game which had a similar overhaul and got rave reviews: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. It featured new character classes, new characters, multiplayer support, new encounters . . . on a new system.
So what if it takes less "work" than making a game from scratch. The big thing you have to look at is does the overhaul give you $18 of value? I believe it will, it will also open up more popularity and modding for BG1.
I respect your opinions, and being a big fan of much of the modding work you've done over the years. I had many annoying nights of installing mods, uninstalling and getting everything to work together. And tbh I had fun with it.
I fully understand those who do not think it's fun, and infact giving these people an alternative with bg:ee is something the series needs.
This game is so damn perfect, that bringing it out to as many as possible only could be seen as a good thing.
If your grief is directed at the fact that bg:ee alone is capitalizing on already well done enhancements, then I certainly agree with you. But I'm not sure that is where this project is going.
I hope you will bother explaining your opinions some more at some point and share with me why you think this is all bad, besides the issues about freeware vs. a licenced product.
I belive creative people like yourself should be on the wagon, not off.