First Impressions?

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Sorry that I can't post input myself as I'm still sorta waiting for others' reviews. I wanna hear it from the 'hardcore' players themselves, not the critics. If you could all post your opinions in this thread it'd be appreciated as it saves us having to scour through the dozens and dozens of other threads (oh, there's only 3? rly?).

One of the review summaries I read was that it was still inferior to the normal game + mods (BGT etc.), so I'm still waiting for someone to confirm that it's as awesome as advertised.

Thanks!

 

Pretty good so far. Played it for about 1 hour or so. Haven`t run into any bugs yet.
I will list down the changes I noticed in the EE game.

- New portraits
- New voice packs
- All the kits and classes from BG2 are included.
- Half-orc is included
- You can zoom in and out on the main screen. Very good feature.
- New cutscenes
- Improved graphics (but not too much)
- New interface.
- Spellbooks are changed abit
- Weapons from bg2 are included. Katanas etc
- World map seems abit bigger. Probably means some new locations.
- NPC portraits pops up in the chatboxes, like in BG2.
- Some cosmetic changes. Helmets looks different etc.
- Inventory is changed too, but for the better. It includes the stats for each equipment.


No complaints at all so far. Seems well worth the money.

 

Overall pretty nice.

Some minor annoyances:
- the only graphical setting option: Fullscreen or Windowed
No possibility to choose the resolution like in the widescreen mod
- a lot of icons and items and almost all spell icons appear blurry
- the text is blurry sometimes as well, as in the journal entry in contrast to the quests entry, where the text appears sharp.
They have added an extra box that shows the THAC0 of the character. But the calculations are wrong and not in tandem with the values in the record sheet sometimes.
(The game uses the correct values internally though)
- A lot of description errors

 

Thanks guys. I've also read on the forums that some people are disappointed as they report enemies or even PC's (Jaheira & Khallid) not spawning where they need to. FPS can't be changed in the ini. So apparently there are some minor annoyances that cause these disturbances.

Anyhow, for every complaint there are more that praise the game. Maybe it's better to wait with your purchase (or with your playthrough) until there are more mods and patches available. I know I will. But then again, I just played BG a year ago so.

 

Liking it a lot. Probably because it is something new... Shadowkeeper works according to a post on the Beamdog website. Haven't tried it yet, but I will for my next character.

Errors/Bugs that I have encountered so far...

- Monty was on the 3rd floor of the FAI, trying to open a locked drawer. When I tried to pick the lock, he ran through the wall, then through the back(north?) wall and got stuck about 5 inches into the black area surrounding the screen. A big WTF? moment I will have to say.

- I have the game settings at Normal mode, which means I should never fail when trying to scribe a scroll, Max Hps, etc.....but I am still encountering some failures when attempting to scribe a 1st level scroll with my 2nd level Skald and also with Xzar. Probably a simple fix in an update I guess.

- Like hannibal555 stated, some of the items/icons/letters are blurry. Inconsistently I might add. They should of caught that when testing, it's a can't miss type of issue. Unless your blind of course...

 

Abit off topic: But does anyone know where to find the new mage chic? Neera or something like that. I have found the other two new ones, but I need a mage.

 

Haven't yet been there, but according to the official forums:

Spoiler

north-east part of Beregost

 

Have to say I am a bit disappointed, my gaming experience has been halted a few time by crashes, and there are some annoying bugs and description errors. Also, while they stated in the past that they wouldnt do very much content-wise, that they would mostly focus on re-designing the new UI; it is a very bug-ridden UI at that. I am surprised the game is not more polished than it is at the moment, they remove a ton of old bugs, only to add a ton of new ones.

Oh, and I have to say I was really let down by the new cutscenes (or lack of them). The intro is cut shorter, and missing some of the lines from the original version. The Beregost and Gnoll Stronghold videos are gone, the Nashkell-video is only a still-image of some farmhouses, and the Friendly Arm Inn is just a still-image of the fort, with a bad cut in the music towards the end, which makes it skip a beat. And thats all the ones I've seen so far really.

Some positives:

- The new characters seem entertaining so far, interesting classes as well
- New Character Record sheet and inventory screen looks really nice
- It still is BG! Music is awesome, you know the story, you know the freedom you've got is all still there, in a polished state.
- Despite previously mentioned annoyances, its still very much fun, and nothing gamebreaking as of yet.

 

I don't get the whole 'unpolished-ness' it's not like they had to re-make the whole game.

 

gameplay is better
graphics are slightly better here and much better there
resolution is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE plus
zooming is awesome
kits are fun
NPC's are great
Lag spikes while fighting are not cool (PC runs Crysis games on ultra)
Changes are almost all cosmetic, with a few gameplay tweeks like some class abilities.
Bugs here and there, save often.


Starting at level 1 is lame, hurry up BG2:EE.

 

As with the original artwork, I wonder if they had the source files for those or if they're gone as well. Without, they would be limited to enlarging for today's resolutions and blur/pixelating them to death or showing the originals in tiny boxes.

You might be surprised at the effort required. You never just shoe-horn an old game into a new one.

 

With all the talk of bugs, I'm wondering if the fact that Dorn won't join my party is one of them. I've met him. He tells me if I continue to pester him he'll break my neck, and there's no option to get him to join me.

I'm not looking for spoilers. I'm just wondering if there's something that's supposed to happen later in the game that will give me the opportunity to recruit him.

 

Yes, just follow the storyline and you will get the chance to add him to your party. It happens before chapter three, that's all I will tell you.

I am playing an evil-run through as a NE Human Skald. I enlisted Dorn and he KICKS ASS! Plus his voicing and dialogues are pretty damn good as well. One of the best NPCs I have encountered(so far anyway...) and that is coming from a guy who has pretty much played every modded NPC out there...

And let's be honest everyone. Bugs or not, as long as the new NPCs are good and the added quests are fun to play, BGEE will be a win. We all can live with simple bugs as long as they are not game breaking. Hell, in today's gaming world, bugs are almost part of the game....

 

That's more than plenty. Thanks.

I am playing a NE Human fighter, and will dual to Cleric of Talos most likely at level 5. This is my first serious evil run through. I'm roleplaying that even though I'm evil, I'm usually a generally nice guy to those who aren't in my way.

My evil isn't about being rude to little old ladies, or killing innocent people for no reason. It's much deeper than that. I want to be liked. It's an excellent tool for taking the bigger things in life that I am due. And while I have always lived a generally "good" life within the walls of Candlekeep, now that the one person who ever gave a damn about me is gone, my path is leading me down paths much darker than I have known before. And they feel comfortable to me. For me, it's all about taking vengeance for Gorion's death, and finding a new, better place for myself in the world.

I left Imoen with Khalid and Jaheira, but I'm making my way with a darker crowd.

So far I haven't been overly impressed with what BGEE adds, but I'm still VERY early in the process. The updated videos were okay, but if a ton of them are missing, that's really a let down. To me the appearance of the the game world and characters isn't really any better than it was with the Widescreen mod. The helmets look better, so far. The UI is improved, if buggy, but is really just a cosmetic change.

I do appreciate the easier to manage journal. I also appreciate the lightning fast load times. Quicksaves don't even make the game flinch. Overall, it's still Baldur's Gate, and wandering around the outskirts of the Friendly Arm Inn invoked as much nostalgia as it ever has. I so love the background themes in this game. They really resonate with me.

 

Isn't vengeance a dish best served with lawful characters? Not that it matters, as roleplaying is more about the individual actions instead of the 'label'.

Will probably purchase soon though as it's kinda embarassing that I've only played the game once (as opposed to BG2).

 

In one of the new encounters, there are a pair of characters named Dorotea and Senjak. If any of you are Glen cook fans, Dorotea Senjak is the real name of "The Lady" in the Black Company chronicles.

 

Not necessarily. Often times revenge is about skirting the law, and taking matters into your own hands rather than following the lawful process of bringing the offender before the local authorities to be judged.

Spoiler

Just look at Anomen in Baldur's Gate 2. If you take vengeance on his sister's killer you go from being Lawful Neutral to Chaotic Neutral. Choose not to take vengeance and eventually he becomes Lawful Good.

In Star Wars the path of vengeance is the path of the Dark Side.

At any rate, there is nothing Lawful about the type of vengeance I seek. I simply want the pleasure of ending the life of one who has wronged me. I doubt the law would approve.