Baldurs Gate 3?

Sarky

Cannot. Freaking. Wait.

All the joys of the original, plus extra content, without the hassle of 5 bloody CDs!

Polar101

I wonder if they changed the walking speed from the original.. the main reason the game took so long to complete was that it took ages to get anywhere.

Zapp Brannigan

Think you can run like BG2.

Have to say I'm disappointed to see it delayed again, but at least I have Persona 4 to keep me occupied.

Kiith

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Think you can run like BG2.

You can run in BG2? :eek:

How the hell did i miss that. I've pumped hundreds of hours into it. Always used to cast group haste on my party

Blowfish

BG2 has an option for the AI framerate. The default is set to 30, but if you increase it, you increase the game speed. It messes up the cutscenes a bit, but is well worth doing to speed up walk times if you've already played through multiple times.

Kiith

Last time i just kind of cheated and gave everyone boots which had a haste enchant. Walking around the Underdark used to annoy the hell out of me.

Totally cheating i know, but i'd done it all before :P

Newaglish

So did anybody get this in the end? Playing it at the moment, finding it quite addictive (as I did the first time around) but I would have thought they might have done a little more to jazz it up. Even new character models would have been an easy but significant improvement.

quarryman

Trent Oster ‏@TrentOster
Current iPad build has been rejected from iTunes. We've got some work to do!

Be lucky to see it this side of Xmas now.

This is really becoming a bit of a shambles.

Zapp Brannigan

quarryman wrote: »

Be lucky to see it this side of Xmas now.

This is really becoming a bit of a shambles.

Yeah definitely not looking good. Read the EG review and it mentioned that it quite regularly (on PC) kept crashing to desktop.

Wonder how bad it would've been if they launched it in September like originally planned?

quarryman

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Yeah definitely not looking good. Read the EG review and it mentioned that it quite regularly (on PC) kept crashing to desktop.

Wonder how bad it would've been if they launched it in September like originally planned?

Can you imagine. How on earth did they originally think they'd make September. That's almost as worrying, the complete under-scoping on how long it would take them to finish it. If its still this much of a mess after delaying for 3 months then they really haven't a clue.

gizmo

quarryman wrote: »

Can you imagine. How on earth did they originally think they'd make September. That's almost as worrying, the complete under-scoping on how long it would take them to finish it. If its still this much of a mess after delaying for 3 months then they really haven't a clue.

You think a three month delay while porting a game with such an old code base to such a large variety of platforms while also adding new content and languages is an indication that they don't have a clue?

EDIT: Hmm, I wonder what the "app requirement" was that they didn't meet for the iPad build. Can't see it stopping its availability before Christmas either way.

quarryman

gizmo wrote: »

You think a three month delay while porting a game with such an old code base to such a large variety of platforms while also adding new content and languages is an indication that they don't have a clue?

Yes I do. In my line of work if you announce in March to release something in September and you miss that by 3 months and then again in December and the initial release still has major bugs.... then you lose your job.

It doesn't matter how complex the port is, you scope that into your picking your release date.

gizmo

quarryman wrote: »

Yes I do. In my line of work if you announce in March to release something in September and you miss that by 3 months and then again in December and the initial release still has major bugs.... then you lose your job.

It doesn't matter how complex the port is, you scope that into your picking your release date.

If your line of work was software engineer and you looked at the task they're attempting to accomplish with the team size and funding they have, never mind the fact that they have former leads from Bioware/BG on board and they've added in additional work since the September delay, then I'd wager you wouldn't be so dismissive in claiming they "don't have a clue".

Reekwind

So they underestimated the workload or subsequently badly mismanaged it. I believe that this was quarryman's point

But then I'd dispute the notion that there was a mountain of work here. Playable versions of both BG and BG2 (with language and resolution/widescreen support) are already available on GOG. I'm not sure how it takes that amount of time to produce a buggier version of an existing game on the PC

gizmo

Reekwind wrote: »

So they underestimated the workload or subsequently badly mismanaged it. I believe that this was quarryman's point

But then I'd dispute the notion that there was a mountain of work here. Playable versions of both BG and BG2 (with language and resolution/widescreen support) are already available on GOG. I'm not sure how it takes that amount of time to produce a buggier version of an existing game on the PC

It was the not having a clue part in general I was disputing, I don't consider underestimating a workload to be indicative of that given the above factors. If a former Lead Programmer from Bioware in the BG days (who is now their CTO) can do it then clearly there were valid and unforeseen issues at play. Hell judging by some of the "optimisations" they've come across in the codebase and called out on Twitter, I have the utmost sympathies for them.

As for badly mismanaged, they pushed it back rather than staggering the SKU releases or releasing a highly bugged version and just cashing in on the IP, were upfront about the delay and also used some of the additional time to add further improvements and language support. To me that's the opposite of bad management.

Amount of work wise, again based on what they've said via Twitter and their IAmA from a few months back, they've done a lot of work under the hood to make sure it works across all platforms. Most of these fixes won't be visible while you're playing however as they include changing a bunch of threading code (or ripping it out as the case may be) and changes to the renderer. They've also called out drastically improved load times (whose slowdowns can be caused by a myriad of isues) but it's been so long since I've played the originals I can't really comment. Again, this is an ancient code base which, from what I've read, was a bit of a mess to begin with. They've also indicated that their partners have been extremely interested in the tablet version so I'd say a lot of work has gone into ensuring that the core game works properly across all the main devices, iOS and Tegra-powered Android tablets, as time went on.

Calhoun

Newaglish wrote: »

So did anybody get this in the end? Playing it at the moment, finding it quite addictive (as I did the first time around) but I would have thought they might have done a little more to jazz it up. Even new character models would have been an easy but significant improvement.

I got it, did the tutorial and nearly tossed the laptop through a window as i couldnt figure out how to do some of the thief stuff.

Now that i have got through it i am starting out as a beserker as i heard it is an easy class to play.

Anyone got any tips on a good class for a noob i assume it is the berserker?

Sarky

Do you mean Barbarian, or have they added new classes? Generally a fighter of some sort is easiest, they get the most hit points, they can wear the toughest armour, and they deal good solid damage. Mage is difficult to stay alive with, but with a few higher level spells you're unmatched in damage output.

Blowfish

Sarky wrote: »

Do you mean Barbarian, or have they added new classes? Generally a fighter of some sort is easiest, they get the most hit points, they can wear the toughest armour, and they deal good solid damage. Mage is difficult to stay alive with, but with a few higher level spells you're unmatched in damage output.

Berserker is one of the kits for the Fighter class introduced in BG2.

chrislad

I've never played BG (or any games like it, such as Neverwinter Nights etc)

What's the best way to start? Would I be better off paying 20$ for BG1 and 2 from GOG.com and doing the modding to improve the graphics, or just go for the Enhanced Edition?

Zapp Brannigan

Go for the GoG version with the mods. Play it through BGTutu and it's the best experience you'll ever have*





*may not actually be true

Kiith

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Go for the GoG version with the mods. Play it through BGTutu and it's the best experience you'll ever have*





*100% true

FYP :pac:

quarryman

iPad version is out:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition/id515114051?ls=1&mt=8

Polar101

I guess the iPad version makes sense, but if I want to play Baldur's Gate on the PC, I'll just find my old CDs and install some mods.

quarryman

Polar101 wrote: »

I guess the iPad version makes sense, but if I want to play Baldur's Gate on the PC, I'll just find my old CDs and install some mods.

Definitely. The EE PC version is a waste of money if you already own the game.

i'm enjoying the iPad version though. One major drawback is the lack of exit/door high-lighting which means trouble entering/leaving buildings.

Otherwise, it's Baldur's Gate on your iPad and that means awesome.