New Countdown at BaldursGate.com - Page 2

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 1:57am

I think it looks good so far. But I would be interested in knowing about those 400 changes thy have made.

reepnorp · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:09am

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the changes is fixing Keldorn's armour so that monks can't wear it

Taluntain · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:23am

Marceror, the depth of field you're referring to is a 3D effect. The BG backgrounds are flat bitmaps. They're just blurry.

Marceror · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:26am

Quote:

Originally Posted by reepnorp

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the changes is fixing Keldorn's armour so that monks can't wear it

Seems a fairly safe bet. I'm betting that a lot of the stuff that you find in the more popular Fixpacks will be included in that list of 400. Why reinvent the wheel?

---------- Added 0 hours, 1 minutes and 35 seconds later... ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taluntain

Marceror, depth of field is a 3D effect. The BG backgrounds are flat bitmaps. They're just blurry.

It's a similar effect, to my eyes at least.

Gaear · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 3:01am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rawgrim

I think it looks good so far. But I would be interested in knowing about those 400 changes thy have made.

Haven't you been reading the tweets?!? (<<-- sarcasm about having to read tweets as a changelog)

Looking more closely at Marceror's still, I think what makes the center figure stand out is the lack of dynamic lighting/shading. (She appears to be standing in the shade of those trees and yet she's fully illuminated.) Didn't the BGs use that technology?

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 4:15am

Looks like the three new NPCs are getting alot of the new stuff. I wonder, though, if they have added alot mor dialogue and bantering to the rest of them. Would suck if I had to go with the new ones, simply to get all the content. The rest of the NPCs being exactly the same as in the original game.

Darion · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 7:39am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rawgrim

I think it looks good so far. But I would be interested in knowing about those 400 changes thy have made.

Maybe Typos!

Marceror · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 8:29am

Well... typos are horrible. So....

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:40pm

Typos indeed

Blades of Vanatar · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 3:46pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marceror

I believe there are actually 3 areas. The monk brings a new areas, as does the wild mage. And of course, there's the arena area in the Underdark. Sorry to "red-pencil" you on that BoV.

I missed where the Arena actually is... is it a new map area or inside one of the current areas?

Montresor · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 3:56pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blades of Vanatar

I missed where the Arena actually is... is it a new map area or inside one of the current areas?

As I understand it, it's a game apart from the game, or a separate adventure altogether, where you create a full party and then battle through the arenas.

http://www.baldursgate.com/blackpits.en.html

reepnorp · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 4:06pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Montresor

As I understand it, it's a game apart from the game, or a separate adventure altogether, where you create a full party and then battle through the arenas.

http://www.baldursgate.com/blackpits.en.html

Ugh, that doesn't sound fun to me at all. Even when they are part of a game like in Fable or the Elder Scrolls games it feels like a chore to me. If there isn't some kind of benefit to the main game I highly doubt I'll be doing this.

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 4:40pm

I see that one of the new ones is a Blackguard. Did 2ed even have those? i thought they were called Anti-Paladins. And that Blackguards popped up as a prestigue class for 3ed?

Blades of Vanatar · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 5:49pm

Yep, it was a 3rd edition Prestige class. But teh sorcerer and barbarian builds of BG2 are 3rd edition as well, so it is what it is I guess.

Battle Arena sounds fun, hopefully it will be replayable. B

The more I think about it, I will be buying it for Windows PC. This is my favorite type of game and no one else is making anything new out there that fits the bill. So what the heck... 20 bucks isn't breaking my bank....

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 6:09pm

I think the sorcerer, barbarian and monk were 2ed classes. They were about to be implemented into the 2ed, but Wizards of the coast bought the franchise, and 3ed came out soon after. Blackguard, however, is pure 3ed. Ergo...its filth has no business being in a BG game!!!!

Blades of Vanatar · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 7:29pm

The BG2 versions of Monk/Sorcy/Barbarian match up more closely to the 3rd edition versions as opposed to the early versions frmo back in the 80s.

But the Blackguard has already been added as a fighter kit in one of the mods. The mod version allows only ** in weapons, max rep of 14, no dual-classing options, poison use and some other minor abilties. I don't remeber what mod, but I have it installed on my home PC (I mostly post from work...)

Marceror · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 7:32pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rawgrim

I think the sorcerer, barbarian and monk were 2ed classes. They were about to be implemented into the 2ed, but Wizards of the coast bought the franchise, and 3ed came out soon after. Blackguard, however, is pure 3ed. Ergo...its filth has no business being in a BG game!!!!

Well, don't knock it till you try it. Maybe it will become your favorite class.

Even if it wasn't there, I don't see how it's so different than having, say, the assassin class. The assassin is essentially an evil rogue. The blackguard is essentially an evil warrior. Regardless, it's another option for players that should make the experience more enjoyable for those who enjoy that sort of character. I can't see any reason to get in a twist over that.

If it's that you are a 2ED purist, well, BG is anything but pure 2ED, so you should be over that by now.

And finally, hating on 3ED is so 5 years ago. Cool people know to hate on 4ED!

Rawgrim · Fri, 27th Jul '12, 10:18pm

Ohh I wasn`t hating on it. I just remembered the developers saying the game would be "pure 2ed".

And YES, i do hate 4ed. I guess i am cool.

omnigodly · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 6:48am

Pre-purchased for sept 18 o.O!

I'm such a sucker

4ed DIE!

Darion · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 9:22am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rawgrim

I see that one of the new ones is a Blackguard. Did 2ed even have those? i thought they were called Anti-Paladins. And that Blackguards popped up as a prestigue class for 3ed?

Yep, Blackguard was once Anit-Paladin. But in later editions, both became prestige classes of their own!

But BOT: I too will purchase BGEE, simply because!

Shrikant · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 1:26pm

Bought it.
Just the fact that this may work with far less issues (or work at all) on a Windows 7 machine is enough for me to buy this game.
Not to mention, I don't have this. I only have SoA, so its fine.
Rs. 1040 for a game that's considered the grand-daddy of all RPGs today is not that big a deal.
So about 20 days before I can play the beginning part of the game I have sunk more hours into (other than AoE II : AoC) than is probably healthy.
Cant wait.

hannibal555 · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 4:57pm

Bought it.
And only if for supporting this great game engine.

Nizidramanii'yt · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 5:49pm

I'm still waiting for a purchase. Right now I'm not seeing a visual upgrade, as the character models look dated as f*ck. I expected at least an overhaul in that department. Disappointing. Given the fact that we all played BGT or BG Tutu we already experienced the game with the BG2 engine. It's nice to have some additional content, but right now it doesn't seem worth it. Not to someone with little cash like moi.

Will definitely buy the remake of BG2 though, as I just love that game too much.

hannibal555 · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 6:07pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nizidramanii'yt

I'm still waiting for a purchase. Right now I'm not seeing a visual upgrade, as the character models look dated as f*ck. I expected at least an overhaul in that department. Disappointing.

They can't do that because the original models were lost.
Creating them new from scratch would have been too time consuming:

Quote:

All the original area art, paperdolls, monsters and character models are lost with the exception of a few 3D models of monsters from Throne of Bhaal. There is nothing anyone can do about it. Therefore, it is not possible for the devs to deliver Baldur's Gate HD, and/or re-render any art at higher resolutions. Significant modifications to sprites, like displaying cloaks and hats, adding new/more armor styles, or removing the mirroring effect from BG2 animations, are also off-limits.

As per Trent Oster, the devs are currently limited to the existing animations. There will be no new animations in BG:EE, so it is no use to ask for them. Recreating character models from scratch and rendering them at high resolution is out of question, because it would take more time and resources than are currently available to the devs. Also, recreating character models alone is not an option, as they would look glaringly better than all monsters that weren't re-rendered; if something got redone, then everything else should get the same treatment for the sake of visual consistency, thus making this an even more demanding (and unfeasible) task.

source: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discuss...t-cant-be-done

Gaear · Sun, 29th Jul '12, 6:27pm

That's just bizarre ... kind of like NASA losing the original tapes of the first f*cking moon landing.

I mean, I don't suppose at the time of BG's making they figured "yep, we have to preserve this for all eternity," but still, just because you don't think that shouldn't mean your hard drive with all those assets on it gets scheduled for reformatting the next day. That's just bad business practice, if nothing else. I bet there are countless crappy games out there that have all of their original assets safely stored away somewhere just because the developers knew it was prudent to do so.

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:23am	#28
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,797 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 151 Liked 120 Times in 78 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,135 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 48.7% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 47.11% Achievements Awards	Marceror, the depth of field you're referring to is a 3D effect. The BG backgrounds are flat bitmaps. They're just blurry.
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Fri, 27th Jul '12, 8:29am	#33
Marceror SPS Account Holder Editor Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sword Coast Posts: 2,394 Like: 21 Liked 92 Times in 75 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 5,823 Level: 23 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 66.45% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 3.17% Achievements Awards	Well... typos are horrible. So....
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Fri, 27th Jul '12, 5:49pm	#39
Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,550 Like: 36 Liked 41 Times in 29 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 9,773 Level: 29 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 53.31% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 58.79% Achievements Awards	Yep, it was a 3rd edition Prestige class. But teh sorcerer and barbarian builds of BG2 are 3rd edition as well, so it is what it is I guess. Battle Arena sounds fun, hopefully it will be replayable. B The more I think about it, I will be buying it for Windows PC. This is my favorite type of game and no one else is making anything new out there that fits the bill. So what the heck... 20 bucks isn't breaking my bank....
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Fri, 27th Jul '12, 7:29pm	#41
Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,550 Like: 36 Liked 41 Times in 29 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 9,773 Level: 29 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 53.31% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 58.79% Achievements Awards	The BG2 versions of Monk/Sorcy/Barbarian match up more closely to the 3rd edition versions as opposed to the early versions frmo back in the 80s. But the Blackguard has already been added as a fighter kit in one of the mods. The mod version allows only ** in weapons, max rep of 14, no dual-classing options, poison use and some other minor abilties. I don't remeber what mod, but I have it installed on my home PC (I mostly post from work...)
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Sun, 29th Jul '12, 4:57pm	#47
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Fri, 27th Jul '12, 1:57am	#26
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	I think it looks good so far. But I would be interested in knowing about those 400 changes thy have made.

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:09am	#27
reepnorp SPS Account Holder Lim'n Lime Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada, eh? Posts: 1,671 Like: 6 Liked 7 Times in 6 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,164 Level: 20 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 46.18% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements Awards	I wouldn't be surprised if one of the changes is fixing Keldorn's armour so that monks can't wear it

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 4:15am	#31
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	Looks like the three new NPCs are getting alot of the new stuff. I wonder, though, if they have added alot mor dialogue and bantering to the rest of them. Would suck if I had to go with the new ones, simply to get all the content. The rest of the NPCs being exactly the same as in the original game.

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 2:40pm	#34
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	Typos indeed

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 4:40pm	#38
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	I see that one of the new ones is a Blackguard. Did 2ed even have those? i thought they were called Anti-Paladins. And that Blackguards popped up as a prestigue class for 3ed?

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 6:09pm	#40
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	I think the sorcerer, barbarian and monk were 2ed classes. They were about to be implemented into the 2ed, but Wizards of the coast bought the franchise, and 3ed came out soon after. Blackguard, however, is pure 3ed. Ergo...its filth has no business being in a BG game!!!!

Fri, 27th Jul '12, 10:18pm	#43
Rawgrim Gems: 21/31 Latest gem: Pearl Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 1,363 Like: 0 Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,337 Level: 18 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.11% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	Ohh I wasn`t hating on it. I just remembered the developers saying the game would be "pure 2ed". And YES, i do hate 4ed. I guess i am cool.

Sun, 29th Jul '12, 6:48am	#44
omnigodly Gems: 17/31 Latest gem: Star Diopside Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eh... Home Posts: 943 Like: 1 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 2,764 Level: 17 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 11.95% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 3.17% Achievements	Pre-purchased for sept 18 o.O! I'm such a sucker 4ed DIE!

Sun, 29th Jul '12, 1:26pm	#46
Shrikant Gems: 27/31 Latest gem: Emerald Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Bombay,India Posts: 2,615 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 5,875 Level: 23 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 75.61% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 1.58% Achievements	Bought it. Just the fact that this may work with far less issues (or work at all) on a Windows 7 machine is enough for me to buy this game. Not to mention, I don't have this. I only have SoA, so its fine. Rs. 1040 for a game that's considered the grand-daddy of all RPGs today is not that big a deal. So about 20 days before I can play the beginning part of the game I have sunk more hours into (other than AoE II : AoC) than is probably healthy. Cant wait.

Sun, 29th Jul '12, 5:49pm	#48
Nizidramanii'yt Gems: 10/31 Latest gem: Zircon Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Brussels, the City of Colours Posts: 376 Like: 3 Liked 3 Times in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 1,224 Level: 11 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 97.2% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 4.75% Achievements	I'm still waiting for a purchase. Right now I'm not seeing a visual upgrade, as the character models look dated as f*ck. I expected at least an overhaul in that department. Disappointing. Given the fact that we all played BGT or BG Tutu we already experienced the game with the BG2 engine. It's nice to have some additional content, but right now it doesn't seem worth it. Not to someone with little cash like moi. Will definitely buy the remake of BG2 though, as I just love that game too much.

Sun, 29th Jul '12, 6:27pm	#50
Gaear SPS Account Holder Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,680 Like: 48 Liked 69 Times in 45 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,753 Level: 21 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 67.34% Daily Activity 2.46% Weekly Activity 0.35% Monthly Activity 63.74% Achievements Awards	That's just bizarre ... kind of like NASA losing the original tapes of **the first fcking moon landing***. I mean, I don't suppose at the time of BG's making they figured "yep, we have to preserve this for all eternity," but still, just because you don't think that shouldn't mean your hard drive with all those assets on it gets scheduled for reformatting the next day. That's just bad business practice, if nothing else. I bet there are countless crappy games out there that have all of their original assets safely stored away somewhere just because the developers knew it was prudent to do so.