Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition announced
The web site has been teasing for too long, but now we finally know what's going on with the new Baldur's Gate. It's Enhanced!
Update 2: 1:29 p.m. with comment there will be two games.
Update: 12:40 p.m. with Beamdog rep comment.
All my fantasizing about a return to the Sword Coast has been rewarded. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is coming and Faerun will be alive again this summer.
The official Baldur's Gate site featured a countdown for noon PDT, but was getting hammered from curious fans. However, Edmonton-based Overhaul Games's site let the cat out of the bag:
"For years we've wanted to continue our journey on Baldur's Gate, and now after months negotiations we get to do just that. Right now we're hip deep in code and pixels making awesome."
Publisher Beamdog said via Twitter: "The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage. So sayeth the wise Aluando." Summer 2012 is under a menacing image of the Lord of Murder.
A Beamdog rep said that Overhaul has the original source code for the game and plans on adding new and original content, not just doing a remake, according to a post on Joystiq.
An update from Trent Oster on Twitter said there will actually be two games, the second being Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition. The first will include the original BG and the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion and the second will include BG2 and the Throne of Bhaal expansion.
Other tidbits from Oster (who was with BioWare when they developed the original games):
- Mods are very important to the development team.
- Screens and other assets will be rolled out next week.
- Many of the original Baldur's Gate team members will be working on the enhanced version.
- No 3D, still 2D isometric
I spent way too many hours playing the original Baldur's Gate and its Bhaalspawn sequel and expansions. Now I can anxiously fantasize about Minsc and his dutiful sidekick Boo "butt-kicking for goodness" one more time in updated fashion.
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Shacknews
replyJohn Keefer posted a new article, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition announced.
The web site has been teasing for too long, but now we finally know what's going on with the new Baldur's Gate. It's Enhanced!-
give us the hot scoop, keefs. what's the deets?
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He's still hitting F5 on the website with the rest of us.
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Old School Gaming all over my face plz!
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Not too many details other than Overhaul has the source code and is adding some original content and not just doing a remake.
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I'll take it.
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Yes.
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Well that was a letdown. Terrible timing too, what with Wasteland 2 getting funding.
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Have there been any screenshots anywhere yet?
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I finally got into the site and it's got nothing. I get building hype but a countdown to page timeouts and finally a thing that says "Hey the thing you pretty much knew already was right. Don't stop believing!!!!"
What a wet fart of an announcement.
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I thought Dragon Age was supposed to be the "new" Baldur's Gate.
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Preferably one with future sequels that won't be ruined by EA
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It was so good, and then they released DA2 :[
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A new game would have a lot of extra stuff involved, I would think. Far easier to port, update and "enhance" an old title.
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I think this is a perfect way to lead into Baldur's Gate III. Think about it.. they dig into the first two games and get (back) up to speed with how these games work by getting knee deep in the series again. They release these two re-made games... if they sell well... they go right into BG III!!!
I think this is awesome. I've tried to finish these games 2 or 3 times each and just never got around to it. Now I will have less of an excuse. If they remaster all the art so it's higher res and update the engine a bit so it's less clunky? I'd play the shit out of these games.-
The biggest barrier for newcomers is going to be making players used to the idea of (or changing it) dying suddenly and having to go back to a previous save.
This comes up a bit in modern games, but in the BG titles, it was very easy to get yourself trapped in an area with no spells, no healing (because resting might bring more monsters) and/or dead party members who can't be revived in the field until everyone is a much higher level. If new players can't get used to keeping a running rotation of saves and judicious use of quick save, it'll be hard to sell them on the series.-
I think newcomers will be able to take it, once they see the quality of the rest of the experience. Games like Oblivion and Skyrim have sold millions of copies... and they have similar save systems and points in the game where you get backed into a corner and need to load a previous save.
I think what might be even more of a barrier is tactical turn-based combat which takes actual patience and strategy! Games have become so easy lately.. Baldur's Gate is like the turn-based version of Dark Souls! It will kick your ass if you are not patient and/or paying full attention.
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It'd be nice if they just added in options for the kinds of house-rules people would sometimes use in D&D, like ignoring encumbrance or max HP on level up (which makes a *HUGE* difference in 2nd edition).
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Yeah, BG2 was a lot friendlier in terms of that stuff. The other thing I forgot is spell learning %, that shit is also brutal at times.
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Added a couple updates, partcularly from Trent Oster, who worked on the original BG games
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I can't even remember how many times I watched one or more of my characters just get gibbed randomly in the middle of a fight because they took a bunch of damage at once with no means of prevention save hoping a reload would make the enemy not roll so well.
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There was an awesome cloak in BG2 that made the beholder/mind flyer stuff in the Underdark trivial. But if you didn't get it, that place was a fucking nightmare.
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There was a cloak and a shield. The shield would actually reflect the Beholder rays back at them and kill them. IT was bad ass.
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I really hope they leave the difficulty alone or make it even harder. I don't want my hand held and easy fights, most of the fun I had was having to reload to try new strats. Also made the loot much more rewarding.
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SKEET SKEET SKEET!
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Agreed. Hopefully graphics are revamped a little too.
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Oster said they will be updating the graphics, but it is staying 2D isometric
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Literally a dream come true. That's exactly how I want it.
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Honestly, this is probably my most anticipated release now. So many fond memories.
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Mine too. I will want to play Diablo III, but I REALLY want this now.
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Patch the shit out of it and it's rock solid. http://thunderpeel2001.blogspot.com/2009/01/planescape-torment-fully-modded.html
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Very much this.
Qwinn's mod is essential for the best Planescape: Torment experience.
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I wonder if they'll include the stuff from BG2 in BG1 (like classes, race, kits, etc)
It'd be nice to have monks and wild mages and so on in BG1 without the mess of mods needed to do it currently.-
I wouldn't be surprised if they did. It would make sense that they can clean up and modernize the engine (interface)... then basically keep it the same across the two games and just keep the content basically the same.
Although.. playing with classes etc could potentially throw off the balance in a way which could add a lot more work for them. -
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the need to make the Demogorgon fight in the BG2 xpac the way it really should be. Think there was a mod or something that essentially unlocked his abilities and made him perform as he should have been allowed too and he would basically wreck your god like group unless you got good Saving throws or something...
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Carsomyr...is it nerdy that I know the names of and where to find EVERY weapon/armor piece in BG2?
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Oh god how I loved that sword! Towards the ends of the game my Palli would just one shot EVERYTHING.
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Hell yeah! Both BG1 and BG2!
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Never played Baldur's Gate, but still "2D isometric"...LOL, no thanks
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Exactly the kind of comment I was expecting, hehe :P
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No kidding. Only pretty 3D graphics are what make a game fun! So, if they made it look exactly the same and called it 3D isometric, then you probably be ok with it, right? LOL
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NO FIRST-PERSON HERP DERP
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I really would like to know. If this is being ported to iOS thats all I need to know to pull the trigger on a new iPad.
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Sick as fucking BALLS! Can't wait. BG2 hands down my favourite game of ALL TIME!
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I wonder which dnd rule set they'll be using. Long live THAC0!
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This is the wrong AD&D game to enhance. The correct one to soup-up is PLANESCAPE TORMENT.
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Although Planescape is probably the most well written game ever made, it's for that reason it DOESN'T need enhancing.
BG and BG2 (and Expansions) have DEEP tactical combat and rulesets, enhancing that and bringing the Sword Coast to a new 2D engine will be awesome. Planescape is more an interactive novel (albeit a great one!), it's greatness stands even today, but have you tried going back to BG1?
Even with WEIDU it's bad...can't wait for the Enhanced Edition.
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