Messages from the official BG2 boards

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(Originally posted by Mollusken)

The following is a cut-out from the official Shadows of Amn message board:

Dave Gaider (Senior Designer):

Wild mage kit: The wild mage is in because it was pretty much already made in BG2...we just had to polish it a little to include it in the expansion. Beyond that there will be no new kits, period.

Using suggestions from fans: A lot of times plots and encounters get changed during the course of QA and bugfixing...sometimes beyond recognition. And sometimes they're nixed altogether (like the whole Haer'Dalis murder plot, tsk tsk).

I don't remember the specifics of your e-mail, but I do remember writing one down and using a very close version of it in the game. That was waaaay back, though, so who knows what happened to it?

But thanks for the suggestion, anyway, even if it looks like it didn't get in at the end. Sometimes a very unrelated suggestion will drag me out of a writer's block, which is very cool (and makes James stop sweating).

Adding Griffons in the game: Ahhhh, you know, we would if we could. Nothing would please me more, but unless said griffon was stuck on the ground (as the dragon is...think of the carnage we could make if dragons could fly...) there's no way the engine would allow it.

And if a griffon can't fly...well...it's basically just a giant cat with wings. Too bad.

Ending the story line: I'm sure that whatever we come up with will be dissected and reviled regardless of its merit or lack thereof by people who have preconceived notions of how the whole thing should go. Ideally, we'd include numerous endings for various types of players...but you and I both know that's not going to be enough for everyone.

So we're just going to end the game like we think it should be, and damn you all. How's that for ego, eh? )

(heh...just kidding...)

Kevin Martens (Lead Designer):

Bonuses given at the end of the game: To be honest, the bonuses that you were given at the end were not well enough planned out. I was originally planning to take them off of your character completely (it's not like you aren't powerful enough by the time you've finished BGII) but I have a feeling that this might not make sense so...

The current solution is that if you fight Irenicus and move into the expansion pack in that manner, the effects will remain. If you import from an earlier save or start a new game, you won't get them.

For those that might be worried about balance, not having the abilities doesn't seem to be making the game any tougher for our QA guys so I feel that this solution is best.

Summoning NPCs: You can only summon in characters who aren't in your party. If you import them in through your save, they will keep all of their current gear. If you don't have them and they're not dead, you will be able to summon them with the new stuff that I've given them. They will also be set to 2million XP.

Wild mage information: Wild magic is a new type of magic that is characterized by powerful and dangerous surges or unpredictable magic. Generally considered to be an unfortunate byproduct of the Time of Troubles, wild magic has recently begun to attract the attention or many a curious or scholarly wizard.

A Wild Mage is a wizard or specializes in the study of wild magic and has access to spells to protect him/herself from Wild Magic as well as bend it to his/her will. Wild magic is extremely unpredictable and should be used with caution.

Wild surges and wild mage spells: We have approx 100 wild surges and several Wildmage spells like Chaos Shield and Reckless Dweomer. The wild surges are very similar to those in the wild surge tables. Naturally, some of them could not be properly implemented so we added a few.

Making of the wild mage kit: Don't thank Design for the wild mage. Mark did it on his own time. He's the man! We just tweaked it.

Final save game: Yes, the new final save will overwrite the old. I would suggest simply making another folder called BackupSaves or whatever and copy the older save there before you reach the point where it will overwrite.

Curious to the outcome: They are running a poll at planetbaldursgate.com regarding which chapter people like best in BG2. If you have a moment, please respond to the poll. We're curious to see the outcome.

Or, you could respond to my post and tell me which chapter you liked and why.

Or both...

XP Cap: Playing without cheating, we expect the player to reach approx 5 million XP with one play through. All characters CAN go higher than that. Raising the cap to 8 million essentially removes it. There's really nothing to do after 40th level.