Which are you more excited for?

[reepnorp]

BGEE or BG2EE? As someone who played the second before playing the original, I'm way more excited to see how Athkatla can look with updated graphics and whatnot.

I stuck this in here rather than the the BGEE forum just in case someone hasn't played the first one and doesn't want to see things spoiled in here.

How about you guys?

[Taluntain]

The first one for me, it's pretty much single-gamedly (heh) responsible for the creation & existence of Sorcerer's Place. I don't make it much of a secret around here that I prefer the original either. BG2 was way too cramped for me, with everyone and their grandmother wanting you to be their saviour and little freedom of exploration - you can't go 10 feet in any direction without bumping into a quest. I loved the exploration aspect of BG1 and I just hope that Oster & Co. don't stuff in a bunch of filler material into the more open areas. That'd just kill it for me.

I just want to play the original again, just in a proper interface for 2012. The inclusion of everything from ToB will already change the original way too much for my liking (call me a purist...). Ideally there'd be a switch to turn all the new stuff off to be able to enjoy both the original and the "enhanced" experiences separately. How about it, Trent?

[Blackthorne TA]

Yeah, same here. I like to wander around with a party and find something; I don't like islands of interest that you travel to and from instantly so much. I like things out there that you don't have to find; it makes finding them so much more interesting.

[dmc]

* Puts the fuddy duddy hat on

Yeah, me too. BG1 was way more interesting from a RPG perspective for me.


Heya reepnorp, long time.

[Dr_Asik]

The first one - not because it's a better game (I don't think it is personally), but because it'll most benefit from a remake. Right now we have to decide between BG1 and BG1Tutu, the first having graphical glitches, slow movement speed and various frustrations, and the second being kind of a hack and having its own inconsistensies. BGEE is a much-needed remake. I'm excited for Bg2EE as well but it's not as urgently needed.

[Marceror]

I can't vote in this poll because I'm hoping for both equally. BG2 has always been my favorite, but in this case I'm looking forward to going through the entire enhanced series, and expect that I will enjoy all of it will near equal vigor.

So for me this is akin to asking which of my sons I love most.

[Taluntain]

Originally Posted by Blackthorne TA

Yeah, same here. I like to wander around with a party and find something; I don't like islands of interest that you travel to and from instantly so much. I like things out there that you don't have to find; it makes finding them so much more interesting.

Exactly - I loved that discovery part of BG1. It felt way more true to life than the design of BG2.

[reepnorp]

You guys make some damn good points. It's definitely true that BG2, both SoA and ToB felt pretty linear from start to finish, the only real exception being the part after escaping from Irenicus at the start. They always had the dreaded "I hope I didn't forget anything, because I won't be able to come back for quite a while" part that I cannot stand in games.

On an unrelated note, I would be so happy if they worked in your BG1 end-game group into the start of SoA. For various plot reasons they can't really do this (first one that comes to mind would be Quayle somehow being the ringleader of a circus while accompanying you somehow), but I still think it would be pretty cool.

Oh, and a way more obvious conflict would be if you didn't have Imoen at the end of BG1... How was that not the first thing I thought of?

[8people]

I'm excited for both, obviously, but more excited for BG1.

I borrowed the game from Frosty all those years ago and fell in complete, unconditional love.

And it desperately needs an update!

I love how both are going to be updated - hoping to the same standard - to make the game more seamless. I also hope they bring a bit of the expanse and desolation back to BG2.

Also hoping they sort out the damn BG2 map... Seriously, since I found the 'real' map of the area in a AD&D book it's actually really bugged me how mixed around it is.

[Proteus_za]

I must be one of the only people that never cared for BG1. I think I played through it once. The Iron Throne storyline was interesting, but I didnt find Sarevok as convincing and menacing a villain as Irenicus.

I also really enjoy the variety of locations that BG2 has, such as the lower planes, the Underdark, as well as the variety of enemies, such as dragons, demons, beholders, mind flayers, etc. A BG1 level party would simply not be strong enough to take on the majority of those.

I enjoyed wandering around the countryside of BG1 for a bit, finding different things, but never found the experience more compelling than that of BG2. BG2 just feels so much more polished, so much more... complete.

[Trminator]

Voted for BGEE.

They are both great games, but I feel BG2 has aged much better than BG1. Hence the remake will hopefully make BG1 both more fun (if that is indeed possible) and easier on the eyes as well.

[Montresor]

I voted BGEE. I couldn't get ToTSC to work on my machines and BG itself had so many graphical and technical problems that I never got very far before giving up. Hopefully the Enhanced Edition can fix that.

[Taluntain]

FYI, it'll be possible to play the original games without new content, as it can be ignored, Oster just confirmed.

[Solaufein]

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. I look forward to that using the ToB like version of the game engine.

[Strife]

I'm just so stoked for both of them, can't decide which one I'd like better.

[Barmy Army]

What is this? An official thing? Or someones attempt at re-jazzing the games with a new graphics engines, almost alá the Dragon Age mod?

[Marceror]

Um, Barmy, try checking the news on this board. It will answer your questions.

Quick version, it's an official enhancement of BG and BG2, sponsered by WotC and Atari, made by many of the original game developers.

[Rawgrim]

I think BG1 is the game that would benefit the most from this treatment. Its was really lacking when it came to party interaction, and all that. Plus I have noticed that its getting more and more "buggy", over the year, as i try to play it on newer systems.

[Harbourboy]

I found Baldur's Gate to be almost unplayable due to the crappy interface and the silly graphics of your characters scuttling across the screen like hyperactive crabs.

So from that point of view, I guess if something came along to improve that, it would be cool.

But I don't get why you guys love the 'exploration' aspect of the game so much. Surely you all know every inch of the game already so any aimless exploration must be a bit pointless now, surely?

[Taluntain]

Those who've been replaying the BG games for the last dozen years are mostly BG2 fans. I think BG1 is primarily the favourite between those of us who consider 3 playthroughs a lot (as opposed to 300...).

[Marceror]

I went ahead and voted when I had the realization that I am currently more looking forward to BGEE due to the fact that it's the first one that will be released.

[Barmy Army]

I prefered BG1's story, exploration and scale of areas. BG2 was a bit of linear and casual-gamer-friendly. I'd be more interested in the BG1 version of this EE thing, but I'd have to see screenshots and actual descriptive updates about what's going to happen before I decide on bothering with it.

[Nizidramanii'yt]

Voted the 2nd version, but I'm actually equally excited for all of them. I only played the first Baldur's Gate half a year ago, which is more then 10 years after playing the 2nd game. I did play it with a substantial amount of mods, basically the BGT mod (which adapts the game to the BG2 engine), and therefore probably enjoyed it more, but still... It felt pretty low on content compared to the 2nd installment. But if they make a good efford, I'll probably enjoy it a lot this time.

@BA: I actually thought the 1st game was more 'linear', as BG2 at least offered us a change of scenery. But I guess that's what you mean by 'casual friendly'.

[ushae]

I voted 2 since it was the one I felt had better characters, story and challenges. Irenicus was a once in a generation villain, unforgettable and there were many themes that made BG2 the best game I've played in quite a while such as kinship, rivalry and love to name a few.

That being said, I think the biggest impact will be felt by BGEE as it had a much more outdated look and feel to it.

I can't wait to see how the new characters look, I hope its not the crappy old paperdolls.

Those screenshots that will be released tomorrow will give us much more information.

[Blades of Vanatar]

BG1 one all the way. Like stated above by many, I like the exploration aspect of an RPG, BG2 was cramped big-time. I like to travel and explore, finding the hidden items in a game. BG1 did a thorough job in that regard. But the problem for me is, if they keep it pure as possible, it won't be much of a challenge, because I already played thru the original a hundred times, so I need some added content or changes in the various areas to make a re-do worthwhile.