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Sevacro

Member
Oct 4, 2019
171
I'm surprised by the positive remarks for SotD given the bad reviews on some stores.

Also I will agree with those saying to play BG1. Have not played BG2 yet and I loved the first one.
 
Oct 30, 2017
5,495
I'm more than a little concerned about the fiddlyness of these games with a controller. Some of the mage battles require piles of management.
Still...sounding good!
 

Jegriva

Banned
Sep 23, 2019
5,519
Baldur gate 2 is the greatest video game ever made.

I flunked out of college because of this game
I am pretty sure I lost 6 month of University thanks to New Vegas, in my case.

BTW excited as hell for this ports. I was one of those poor souls who tried to play BG1 on a Pentium 75MHz with little success, and never btohered after then even tho I've bought it again on GOG many years ago and use all the fanpatches.

That is is absolutely correct, THAC0 values are so confusing especially when def and attack values do not match.

THAC0 is JANK.
Do I remember wrong, or THAC0 was already rid of in D&D3 ?
 

Boddy

User Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,160
Might as well to use this as an excuse to talk about my replay on PC.
Love my mods too much to play on console anyway.

This time I made an all evil party. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.
Using only 1 mod npc, was planning to use more, but my party setup works too well right now to change it.
 

Jimnymebob

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,636
I don't think I ever played these (I was more of a Diablo 2 person), but I'm defintely interested in getting it, as I loved Dark Alliance.
 
Oct 30, 2017
5,495
I am pretty sure I lost 6 month of University thanks to New Vegas, in my case.

BTW excited as hell for this ports. I was one of those poor souls who tried to play BG1 on a Pentium 75MHz with little success, and never btohered after then even tho I've bought it again on GOG many years ago and use all the fanpatches.


Do I remember wrong, or THAC0 was already rid of in D&D3 ?
Yeah it was gone in 3.
 
Oct 27, 2017
4,771
I'm surprised by the positive remarks for SotD given the bad reviews on some stores.

Also I will agree with those saying to play BG1. Have not played BG2 yet and I loved the first one.

Siege of Dragonspear is ok. Has a few cool dungeons and some fun weapons. The writing isn't all that great though and introduces some new plot threads that will never get resolved (they were planning a second expansion for BG2 but that's not happening). If people are going to skip anything in the package I'd say skip Dragonspear. It's interesting but unnecessary and the games are already long enough that there's a significant chance of getting burned out and adding another ~15 hours isn't going to help.
 

Jay_AD

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,911
I'm surprised by the positive remarks for SotD given the bad reviews on some stores.

Also I will agree with those saying to play BG1. Have not played BG2 yet and I loved the first one.

A lot of that is because the game dared to have a trans character, upon which the pissbaby gamer contingent threw a prolonged tantrum. Better be taken with a grain of salt.
 

Spehornoob

Member
Nov 15, 2017
8,946
Mentioned this in the review thread, but I had just a bit of time this morning to wander around Candlekeep. I love the direct movement. It feels very smooth. Combat is definitely going to be slower with the new control scheme, but I think it's very workable. A lot of work and care were put in making this function on consoles. I'm really excited to dig into this.
 

Staf

Member
Nov 7, 2017
3,755
Gothenburg, Sweden
Mentioned this in the review thread, but I had just a bit of time this morning to wander around Candlekeep. I love the direct movement. It feels very smooth. Combat is definitely going to be slower with the new control scheme, but I think it's very workable. A lot of work and care were put in making this function on consoles. I'm really excited to dig into this.
This is great to hear!
 

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
I'd argue if you have absolutely no experience with AD&D then the slow pace of BG1 can be less daunting. Use it as an opportunity to experiment and ask a lot of questions. After a few hours once you have your footing if you find it is too slow then consider jumping over to BG2.
 

Pilgrimzero

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,129
I remember it was a proto-gamergate because it included a trans character, which was actually in line with the Forgotten Realms lore.

I love how Ed Greenwood (creator of FR) got involved and said something like "it's a world of magic and elves and dragons and all kinds of amazing people and things, so of course there are trans people."
 

Deleted member 6215

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,087
I'm more than a little concerned about the fiddlyness of these games with a controller. Some of the mage battles require piles of management.
Still...sounding good!

I'd love to hear more impressions about this. I'm having a hard time seeing how the games will play nicely without a mouse/keyboard setup. Controller just seems like it would be an exercise in frustration.
 

Malcolm9

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,040
UK
Might look to pick these up, not at ÂŁ47.99 though, I'll wait for a price drop. Loved them both back upon their original releases.
 

Spehornoob

Member
Nov 15, 2017
8,946
I'd love to hear more impressions about this. I'm having a hard time seeing how the games will play nicely without a mouse/keyboard setup. Controller just seems like it would be an exercise in frustration.
I mean, I think mindset matters here. If you go into this and start comparing the control to a M&K setup, then yeah, it's gonna be a bit clunkier and you're gonna have a lot more button presses. It's just a fact of the UI and the move to consoles.

With that said, taken on their own merits, the console controls seem fine. Nothing's gonna compare to M&K, but they're functional and smooth and they get the job done well, in my experience so far (just beginning the game).

EDIT: I do wish there was some control customization though. I would prefer if the functionality on Y and X on the Switch controller was swapped.
 

garion333

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,722
FYI: Eurogamer "review" isn't an review, it's an "article", so opinion. Not sure if they're going to fully review it or not.

There's something to be said for pricing your console ports of ~20 year old games at the same price as something like Divinity 2. When deciding between games I already own on PC and mobile, I think I may just pass until the price drops precipitously and instead play some D2 on Switch instead. Really baffling choice on the price to me.
 

Spehornoob

Member
Nov 15, 2017
8,946
The price is interesting. It's definitely asking a lot for 20 year old games, and I think it would be easier to swallow they weren't exclusively bundled. That said, if you find you do like these games, there's hundreds of hours of entertainment here. But, I wouldn't blame anyone for holding off on a price drop.
 

dm101

Member
Nov 13, 2018
2,184
I bought 1 and 2 day one when they were released originally, and now I'm downloading both to my ps4 now!
 
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Bear_Raccoon

Member
Apr 11, 2019
11
I had on day one on the original launch days - I don't think I paid ÂŁ50 combined for both then.

I'd love them on my switch but the price is much too much
 

Pilgrimzero

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,129
For the sheer amount of content the price is fine. Especially considering they had to invoke the elder gods to update then AND get onto consoles.
 

bill crystals

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,079
Just booted it up, going thru character creation. There's actually a really impressive amount of options to tweak. This port seems really great.
 

jblanco

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,489
Hmm, I kind of want to jump directly into BG2 because I am at high risk of not liking these games (I could not get into Fallout 1).

Sounds like BG1 does a better job of introducing mechanics, but BG2 is an overall better game?
 

Anoregon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,049
Hmm, I kind of want to jump directly into BG2 because I am at high risk of not liking these games (I could not get into Fallout 1).

Sounds like BG1 does a better job of introducing mechanics, but BG2 is an overall better game?

Yeah, BG2 is pretty much completely superior. If you've never played either you should still start with BG1 though, it's a great game in its own right.
 

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
Hmm, I kind of want to jump directly into BG2 because I am at high risk of not liking these games (I could not get into Fallout 1).

Sounds like BG1 does a better job of introducing mechanics, but BG2 is an overall better game?

Neither of them are good at introducing mechanics really, though BG1's lack of abilities at the start of the game prevent a certain amount of info overload.. These are games from the "read the manual" era. Unless they've received extra tutorials, that is.
 

Pilgrimzero

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,129
Hmm, I kind of want to jump directly into BG2 because I am at high risk of not liking these games (I could not get into Fallout 1).

Sounds like BG1 does a better job of introducing mechanics, but BG2 is an overall better game?

Start at 1. The game can be kind of rough until you get a couple levels under you. Be sure to save scum.

If you're worried play a fighter use sword and board and/or bows. Ranges attacks are amazing and don't forget buffs. Especially haste when you get it.
 

Spacejaws

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,819
Scotland
Neither of them are good at introducing mechanics really, though BG1's lack of abilities at the start of the game prevent a certain amount of info overload.. These are games from the "read the manual" era. Unless they've received extra tutorials, that is.
Speaking of which, the Beamdog guys did an 'Adventurer's Guide' that is pretty much like a game manual. It goes over the stats and abilities and different classes etc. Will help anybody with BG1, BG2 and Icewind Dale to a certain extent.

 

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
Unless they've received extra tutorials, that is.
EE did add a tutorial, but if I am being honest it isn't amazing. They have updated it a bit for teaching controls using a controller.

It is a little bit fiddly, but easily better than anything I've tried to come up with using the steam controller. There are so many weird little details about the UI that they've been able to hammer out. It isn't perfect, obviously, but it works.
 

Spacejaws

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,819
Scotland
Also for any veterans trying out Icewind Dale EE, they added a bunch of new dialogues for different class/race situations. Some are for new classes and races that weren't in the original Icewind Dale, like talking to townsfolk as a half orc will get a much different reaction (Ten Towns folk aren't very appreciating of Half Orcs) or as a Barbarian going through the Heart of Winter expansion you'll get some unique banter or quest resolutions.

The best list I can find are the ones kinda gathered here. I am not sure how many of these were in the original, I never noticed, but there is dialogue choices for Assassins, Blackguards, Priests of Tempus(kinda notable in Icewind Dale) and all in just a really nice touch for the EE.

 

Dash Kappei

Member
Nov 1, 2017
4,842
At the moment is a no buy because I'm too disappointed not only you can't play with a mix of buttons/touchscreen on Switch but that the touchscreen isn't supported at all. With their asking price it's inexcusable.

will stick to the iPad port for now.
 
Oct 30, 2017
5,495
Had some eshop cred so I bought planescape. Really impressed with this port. Console controls are as good as they can be imo. I say this as a Beamdog skeptic: they done real good here.
 
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SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
Not sure if this was covered in the tutorial and I just blanked out but..

  • L+R to do party select.
  • ZL/L2 to manage and select groups. You have to long press A/X to select a person to rearrange the order. Like hold it down until they pop up sort of long press without moving the analog stick.
  • To pass around inventory items select the item and then switch party members with L/R

Screenshots of the controls since the picture I've seen floating around is outdated. I assume it is basically the same for the other consoles.

GyguYxy.jpg

zfSP89e.jpg
 
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LossAversion

The Merchant of ERA
Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,714
This is kind of a weird question but how is the actual role playing in these games? Like, how heavily are you pigeonholed into being the "savior of the world!" or whatever and how much room is there to behave how you want to behave?
 

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
This is kind of a weird question but how is the actual role playing in these games? Like, how heavily are you pigeonholed into being the "savior of the world!" or whatever and how much room is there to behave how you want to behave?
That's kind of one of the more interesting aspects of the games, imo. And why I think they are best played in release order, but that is a costly proposition at the moment so I'm not really pushing people too hard towards it or blame anyone for wanting to go straight into BG2 from BG1.

BG1 is pretty lame in that it really wants you to be The Good Guy, and the more evil paths, or shades between, are basically comic book goofy levels of evil. But then you see Bioware and Black Isle really hone their craft here in how they flesh out and explore moral paths and character progressions and arcs as the games move forward. Folks like Avellone are so well respected for a reason.

I'm sure many have played stuff like Mass Effect, New Vegas, or even KOTOR, so if you want to see where that stuff really developed into its own here is where you'll find it.
 

Dylan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,260
I've been trying to play Baldur's Gate II on my pixelbook for about a year but I can't get past the first area. I escape from prison and then usually get killed by a bat.
 

bill crystals

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,079
Is there a way to hide the combat log? Takes up way too much screen real estate in handheld mode