I just restarted Baldur's Gate II: SoA!

[mor2]

What we know so far:

Enhanced, high-res graphics. Still 2D isometric, no 3D content.

Improved UI. Whether this is the BG2 UI imported to BG1, or a whole new interface, is unclear.

At the moment, compatible with most existing mods and with original saved games. They're hoping there's no code changes forced on them which will make them incompatible.

All of the content of the original game, including original VOs and music.

New content, including some new characters who will have newly-recorded VOs. New content is being worked on by some of the original writers of BG1+2.

The games will retain the D&D 2E rules. As the creator points out, moving to 3/4E would necessitate a ground-level rewrite, which is not possible.

Sounds interesting. I dont care as much for the VOs but new content and music sounds great. I just hope that the new content would be substantial, because I dont doubt that heir price would be(for something I already own and has a lots of content mods for). Also new interface is a blessing for most old games, that are usually missing basic functionality features.

[mor2]

I'm presuming that by BG3 they mean a similar game (2D, Infinity Engine) maybe set in the same Sword Coast region, but probably not involving the same characters. ToB pretty much wrapped up the Bhaalspawn story. Some cameos would be nice but otherwise I think a new story is the way to go.

Nah, too good to be true.

With this remake, hope of BG3, Westelands 2, the promise of kickstarter projects and XCOM: Enemy Unknown(a 3d remake that not only do not suck/waterdown, stays close to the source and improve :eek: or so it seems... if not I'd go with xenonauts ) and i am starting to hope that the time has come that non massmarket FPS are back in fashion, hopefully more classics will get true to the source sequels.

[Werthead]

Update.

BG: Enhanced Edition's new content will be a few new quests and a new party member. The game will also ship on iPad as well as PC.

[Kaldaur]

Interesting. An iPad version of this game will increase its market, hopefully driving up sales and proving that there is a place for these 2d RPGs in the new technological climate of the 2010s. It's not just nostalgia that leads people back to BG and BG2; the fact that they were damn good games will hopefully spur interest in further 2d games being developed.

[Werthead]

Beamdog on their ambitions for the BG remakes.

They emphasise that the remakes need to be a success before they start talking seriously about BG3. They also reveal that the iPad versions will be less than $10 and that BG2 Enhanced will ship 'shortly' after BG1. They're also going to emphasise the possibilities of the multiplayer co-op mode on the games, which was present but neglected on the originals.

[Werthead]

More detailed information on the remake.

The PC release date is 18 September. The price is a - somewhat surprisingly high - $20. There's some intriguing things in it, such as several new characters and a new dungeon which is separate from the main game. You create a six-man party from scratch to take into the dungeon (Icewind Dale-style) which is an interesting addition. There's also all-new cut-scenes.

Overall, interesting, but the price is surprisingly high given that most of the legwork was done years ago by BioWare and then subsequently by modders.

[baxus]

You create a six-man party from scratch to take into the dungeon (Icewind Dale-style) which is an interesting addition. There's also all-new cut-scenes.

what's the point of playing baldur's gate without minsc?

[Kouran]

I pre-ordered already. One of the things I think you might be missing Wert is that they fixed something like 400 issues, either bugs or code issues. So I would expect a bunch of the unfinished business mod is now part of the game. Also recall that most mods will work right out the gate with the game. So you will be able to play a more optimized game with the new NPC's, adventures, better engine and mod support with DLC for that $20.00.

Lets face it, $20 for ~200 hours of playing is dirt fucking cheap.

[Sci-2]

Hmmm....murdering Demogorgon was incredibly fun...

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

Is it ok for me to get a halfie thinking about this game?

[Rorshach]

You may. As long as you don't share it... (the halfie, not the game..)

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

Next week is the release: http://baldursgate.com/windows.en.html

So pumped.

[haLobEnder]

Screw the Enhanced Edition, I want to play

of BG2 right now!

[baxus]

i want to play both! :greedybastard:

[Crazydog7]

Minsc and Boo stand ready. Sorry I just say that to myself sometimes always perks me up.

[baxus]

miniature giant space hamster - the best sidekick in video games history!

[haLobEnder]

Just got an email from Beamdog to inform me that the release date of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition has been pushed back to November 30th.

It took them 4 days from deadline to figure out it wouldn't be out in time? Really?

As someone who was on the fence about paying $20 for a 14 year old game in the first place, this news is quite disappointing.

[Cuellar]

Shit, that blows. : (

That means serious problems if they're waiting that long...

[Werthead]

Apparently there are additional features they wanted to implement, not to mention a possible bit of post-release DLC they actually want to get into the game itself before release. I get the impression that they were stung a bit by complaints about them charging $20 for the game given the amount of work they've put into it, and want to give people as much bang for their buck as possible. One of Beamdog's employees on Twitter let slip that a lot of the team have been working on the game voluntarily without pay - presumably in exchange for getting paid afterwards - and that the amount of work put into the game is way more than what people might be thinking.

[haLobEnder]

Apparently there are additional features they wanted to implement, not to mention a possible bit of post-release DLC they actually want to get into the game itself before release. I get the impression that they were stung a bit by complaints about them charging $20 for the game given the amount of work they've put into it, and want to give people as much bang for their buck as possible. One of Beamdog's employees on Twitter let slip that a lot of the team have been working on the game voluntarily without pay - presumably in exchange for getting paid afterwards - and that the amount of work put into the game is way more than what people might be thinking.

Shucks, now I feel sort of bad about my complaints. I really do hope this succeeds for them, and that it's a lucrative endeavour.

But lets not pretend like this is the main course. What people really want to see is the Enhanced Edition of Baldur's Gate 2, if not Baldur's Gate 3. I sort of just wish they'd get the original game out of the way so they could focus on those two games instead (er, not that I'm suggesting more content is a bad thing).

One thing I did forget to mention is that the email said they were planning a little something extra for people who've already preordered; Can't get too mad about that.