1123 replies to this topic

[Suslik]

Personally I'd buy EE even if it'd only included core fixes and reworked UI. I am not really expecting them to add any content I'm interested in, but core fixes/reworked engine is a really worthy thing to pay for, isnt it?

About romances in BG2. I think I would have got bored of the game after 3th or 5th walkthrough if there were no romances/romance mods. And if there are some, things can be kept interesting far longer than that. Though I understand that virtual romances is apparently not everyone's cup of tea, it's definitely mine.

Edited by Suslik, 06 August 2012 - 09:53 AM.

[SirLancelot]

Edited.

Edited by SirLancelot, 11 August 2012 - 09:14 AM.

[GeN1e]

About romances in BG2. I think I would have got bored of the game after 3th or 5th walkthrough if there were no romances/romance mods. And if there are some, things can be kept interesting far longer than that. Though I understand that virtual romances is apparently not everyone's cup of tea, it's definitely mine.

I'm with you, mate. For me BG2 has always been the game where you kill monsters, do quests, level-up, sell loot and re-equip, play romance dialog, rest, rinse, repeat.

[Andrea C.]

SirLancelot, I believe they made The Black Pits because arena-style combat was quite on demand on the BG:EE forums. They have confirmed more in-plot material as post-release DLC, though.

[phordicus]

Andrea: how separate is TBP from BG? Durlag's Tower separate (xp & loot bloat in BG), or Main Menu separate (roll a party and go to it)?

[Andrea C.]

phordicus: I do not know. This information was never disclosed. I *think* that it's going to have its own separate menu, but that is pure speculation on my part (mainly fostered by the fact that they confirmed you can either import your BG1 party or create a new one).

[Aranthys]

phordicus: I do not know. This information was never disclosed. I *think* that it's going to have its own separate menu, but that is pure speculation on my part (mainly fostered by the fact that they confirmed you can either import your BG1 party or create a new one).

I'd be quite surprised if it was a separate menu.
The main point of playing BG is to have a unique, complete world. Addind a new menu item for so little content would be utterly stupid.

[shinino]

So here's my question:  

How easy (or hard) is it going to be to add mods to BGEE?  Is it something where modders are going to have to make special BGEE versions of the mods to work with it?

[Tempest]

We don't know yet.

[phordicus]

I'd be quite surprised if it was a separate menu.
The main point of playing BG is to have a unique, complete world. Addind a new menu item for so little content would be utterly stupid.

I already avoid playing TotSC if I'm planning on continuing in to BG2 because there's a huge difference in difficulty between starting BG2 with 89k or 160k.

I think the content itself is stupid only if it's supposed to be part of the BG2 story. There's no way they can integrate a mindless dungeon crawl because there can't be any justification for it borne of the original plot. That's why I think it will be a completely separate component. Going into chapter 6 with an extra 15 "levels" worth of XP and loot is just not on my to-do list.

[Aranthys]

I already avoid playing TotSC if I'm planning on continuing in to BG2 because there's a huge difference in difficulty between starting BG2 with 89k or 160k.

I think the content itself is stupid only if it's supposed to be part of the BG2 story. There's no way they can integrate a mindless dungeon crawl because there can't be any justification for it borne of the original plot. That's why I think it will be a completely separate component. Going into chapter 6 with an extra 15 "levels" worth of XP and loot is just not on my to-do list.

Too bad, ToTSC is great, and Durlarg's dungeon is probably my all-time favorite dungeon (Story-wise, it's fantastic, it's huge, and it has a great conclusion... I actually wish that they included another dungeon like this one rather than arena-style combats, but, oh well )

Since XP is capped anyway, the difference between 89k xp and 161k xp is not that huge (it's basically 1-2 levels, depending on classes... and if you play BG1 extensively by going in all the zones & doing most important quests, you'll reach the 160k cap quite fast anyway without even setting foot in durlarg..

[GeN1e]

there's a huge difference in difficulty between starting BG2 with 89k or 160k.

Hardly. One extra level makes no difference. I have completed the first part of BGT with 320k and guess what, it was no easier to defeat the dungeon than with 89k.

[Suslik]

Offtop: started over a new BG1 game with lvl1 char in BWP tactical on insane difficulty. And guess what? The first 2-5k exp are by far most difficult 2-5k exp I have ever gained - kobolds that give 5exp one-shot my tank D:

And yeah, one extra level can be crucial for a spellcaster, but when my party level is too low for a fight it may be wise just to leave it and complete it in the next playthrough.

[phordicus]

there's a huge difference in difficulty between starting BG2 with 89k or 160k.

Hardly. One extra level makes no difference. I have completed the first part of BGT with 320k and guess what, it was no easier to defeat the dungeon than with 89k.

Combat thieves are much more able to hide & backstab. That extra 40 skill points is huge early on.
Mages get access to 5th level spells. How that doesn't make it easier is too stupid to worry about.
Warriors benefit the least, but that's typical of their class progression anyway.

This isn't even accounting for the fixed item import (can't remember if that's standard or not).

I can squeeze every ounce of advantage tactically, so even the slightest imbalance is an exploit for me to avoid. Good for you if it stays challenging even with all the extra perks.

[Aranthys]

there's a huge difference in difficulty between starting BG2 with 89k or 160k.

Hardly. One extra level makes no difference. I have completed the first part of BGT with 320k and guess what, it was no easier to defeat the dungeon than with 89k.

Combat thieves are much more able to hide & backstab. That extra 40 skill points is huge early on.
Mages get access to 5th level spells. How that doesn't make it easier is too stupid to worry about.
Warriors benefit the least, but that's typical of their class progression anyway.

This isn't even accounting for the fixed item import (can't remember if that's standard or not).

I can squeeze every ounce of advantage tactically, so even the slightest imbalance is an exploit for me to avoid. Good for you if it stays challenging even with all the extra perks.

You do know that TOTSC was already out when BG2 came out, right ? That means, it's perfectly intended for the PC to have up to 161k xp when he starts BG2.

Otherwise, rather than griping on how easy it is if you start BG2 with 161k xp, just edit the BG1 TOTSC XP cap to be back to 89k xp while still doing whatever you want in BG1+TOTSC ...

[Dakk]

I can squeeze every ounce of advantage tactically, so even the slightest imbalance is an exploit for me to avoid. Good for you if it stays challenging even with all the extra perks.

But my dad is bigger than yours.

[sigh]

[Valamyr]

Peresonally I'm excited to see the EE, made me look into the bg2 mod scene again Wow there are some cool projects here.

My only regret is that the EE didnt seem to go out of its way to secure rights to natively integrate many great mods that would have deserved it.

I hope itll be easy to port the mods to the new game. If I could actually use a modded BGEE on a tablet, Id be estatic!

The price point may seem high for the amount of content, but hey. I'll support them if they deliver professional-quality content.

Quite a few staple mods, like Tutu/BGT, Widescreen mods, bugfix mods, should be deprecated by this project once it comes to fruition, so I guess it will at least make the installation process of a modded BG much smoother.

Edited by Valamyr, 19 August 2012 - 10:08 AM.

[Miloch]

Quite a few staple mods, like Tutu/BGT, Widescreen mods, bugfix mods, should be deprecated by this project once it comes to fruition, so I guess it will at least make the installation process of a modded BG much smoother.

Eh, I'm afraid not unfortunately. BGT will not be deprecated any time soon since the entire BWP runs on it, and porting mods is no simple matter since both BGT and Tutu use different resource names (among other things) than the shipped games do.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Quite a few staple mods, like Tutu/BGT, Widescreen mods, bugfix mods, should be deprecated by this project once it comes to fruition, so I guess it will at least make the installation process of a modded BG much smoother.

Eh, I'm afraid not unfortunately. BGT will not be deprecated any time soon since the entire BWP runs on it, and porting mods is no simple matter since both BGT and Tutu use different resource names (among other things) than the shipped games do.

Very true... and I actually see the BG:EE as a bad version of the EasyTutu... I wouldn't actually be surpriced if the game takes way too much hard drive space with not so much as a whistle of what it actually entails, seeing as it's convertion material from BGI to BGII engine.
And let the bloodwar pour out again.

Combat thieves are much more able to hide & backstab. That extra 40 skill points is huge early on.... blah blah

Have you actually looked on the game fils and seen how the game is made ? See, as you gain levels, your party goes up in levels and that counter is actually perseved by the game and the mosters you encounter are adjusted. The difference can be from a few Mummy'es to Liches.

Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 20 August 2012 - 12:54 AM.

[Valamyr]

I guess itll take awhile for the dust to settle to see where the chip falls. But these guys have access to source code and making improvements modders cannot duplicate otherwise to the engine, so its likely modders will want to take advantage of that as a base somehow.

But yeah I realize itll take awhile. Would have been much better if EE included more material from the mod community...

Edited by Valamyr, 20 August 2012 - 05:14 AM.