Company News Beamdog working on a Baldur's Gate interquel set between BG1 and BG2, and some other stuff

[Transfiguring Roar]

Uuuuuhm.... so how the fuck is this going to tie in into the series? Especailly considering levelups and new party members and shit like that?

Since you begin BG2 at the level you finished BG1 at... uhm. Yeah. What? How? How will they solve this? If this is to seamlessly tie in to the series, there should be exactly ZERO levelups during that interquel.

HOW THE FUCK IS THIS GOING TO WORK?!

I believe they've thought about this and are working on a solution.

My best guess is that since they've more or less hinted that the interquel will tie BG1:EE and BG2:EE in a similar fashion to BGT, experience gained during the interquel will carry over to BG2:EE.

 

[Infinitron]

This already happened with the BG1 expansion. If I'm not mistaken, a new character in BG2 started at the max level for BG1 vanilla, but with Tales of the Sword Coast, you could import a character who was higher than that.

 

[GarfunkeL]

I like the new content they created for the EE Versions

Wat.

I welcome these news. Beamdog is on their way to become an actual player on the market.

And while I do think the extended content in the EEs is supbar, I will not write off Beamdog as incapable of delivering a good unique campaign.

Wat.

Is it opposite day or something?

 

[Grunker]

Worst case: we ignore their shit.

Best case: they produce an enjoyable mod.

EE was such a monumental fuck-up because it split the modding base in half - all new mods were update for an essentially inferior version, and now, when you decide between versions, you can choose the best versions of mods but leave out other mods, or have all mods but miss functionality.

This is just a small game set in the IE. I fail to see how it can be a bad things no matter what comes out of it.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

This already happened with the BG1 expansion. If I'm not mistaken, a new character in BG2 started at the max level for BG1 vanilla, but with Tales of the Sword Coast, you could import a character who was higher than that.

Yes, the TotSC xp cap was 161000 and BG 89000. But this only translated into a level or two as far as I remember. If their new game lets you progress 5 or 6 levels it'll be interesting to see what they'll do as that would make early BG2 a joke if you continue with those characters.

 

[Turok]

hahahahaahahaha this guys still milking the poor BG serie?

 

[kain30]

there´s no need for an BG interquel.

 

[Decado]

I thought the EEs were buggy pieces of shit with underwhelming extra content and shitty new characters? Where are these people making their money?

 

[Melcar]

Uuuuuhm.... so how the fuck is this going to tie in into the series? Especailly considering levelups and new party members and shit like that?

Since you begin BG2 at the level you finished BG1 at... uhm. Yeah. What? How? How will they solve this? If this is to seamlessly tie in to the series, there should be exactly ZERO levelups during that interquel.

HOW THE FUCK IS THIS GOING TO WORK?!

Maybe when you get kidnapped before BG2 you got level drained by your vampire assailants?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Uuuuuhm.... so how the fuck is this going to tie in into the series? Especailly considering levelups and new party members and shit like that?

Since you begin BG2 at the level you finished BG1 at... uhm. Yeah. What? How? How will they solve this? If this is to seamlessly tie in to the series, there should be exactly ZERO levelups during that interquel.

HOW THE FUCK IS THIS GOING TO WORK?!

You go on an adventure, being awesome, killing monsters and bedding women (or is it killing women and bedding monsters?), then wake up in Irenicus' dungeon and realize it was all a dream.

 

[sser]

Approximately $10 of my money is going to help fund this project.

 

[Tigranes]

Worst case: we ignore their shit.

Best case: they produce an enjoyable mod.

EE was such a monumental fuck-up because it split the modding base in half - all new mods were update for an essentially inferior version, and now, when you decide between versions, you can choose the best versions of mods but leave out other mods, or have all mods but miss functionality.

This is just a small game set in the IE. I fail to see how it can be a bad things no matter what comes out of it.

In that case we might as well support everything in the world that doesn't cost our own money or destroy the earth.

It's not a disaster because it can be mostly ignored, just like EE, but I fail to see why it should receive this kind of artificial optimism squeezed out by the drop compared to, say, the BIG BAD WOLF announcement, or a hypothetical Kickstarter by DA2 veterans who have just licensed Arcanum 2. If it looks shit, it looks shit. If they persist again and again, well.

 

[Grunker]

Apparantly you missed how I said the EE had actual negative implications. How can Adventure y possibly worsen anything Tigranes?

 

[Infinitron]

Bad first impressions kill. BG:EE came out half-baked and now, over two years later, people on this forum still won't let it go.

Of course, that hasn't stopped Harebrained Schemes from miraculously becoming one of the Codex's most beloved developers (wait for the GOTY results...)

I can respect Tigranes for being consistent here, though - he seems to dislike HBS too.

 

[pippin]

I don't know if Trent is realizing the heavily implied fact that most of the things which happened between killing Sarevok and waking up at Irenicus' was the latter raping Imoen several times

 

[Melcar]

So it will be a rape simulator?

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Bad first impressions kill. BG:EE came out half-baked and now, two and a half years later, people on this forum still won't let it go.

Of course, that hasn't stopped Harebrained Schemes from miraculously becoming one of the Codex's most beloved developers (wait for the GOTY results...)

It wasn't just the buggy first impressions though was it? Harebrained Schemes produced something new, while some on the Codex viewed BG:EE as a cashgrab / fucking over modders / wasting an opportunity / etc.

I wouldn't say they are directly comparable or that criticising one and supporting another is hypocritical.

 

[pippin]

So it will be a rape simulator?

Beholders and Illithids will be gaining new abilities then...

It wasn't just the buggy first impressions though was it? Harebrained Schemes produced something new, while some on the Codex viewed BG:EE as a cashgrab / fucking over modders / wasting an opportunity / etc.

I wouldn't say they are directly comparable or that criticising one and supporting another is hypocritical.

I do believe bugs really had something to do with BG:EE's earliest impressions. According to your configuration, it could have been possible that your game coudln't even run. It seems most problems with 1 and some of 2 have been worked out by now, but there's few reasons to buy those instead of the originals (which are cheaper).
SRR, at the beginning, was just bland, and people complained mostly about the save system, at least in the technical area.

 

[Infinitron]

I wouldn't say they are directly comparable or that criticising one and supporting another is hypocritical.

Neither would I. Still, it's interesting to point out.

I guess HBS' rehabilitation is good news for Beamdog, though. If they can make a game like Dragonfall (ie, well-designed, but it doesn't have to be boundary-breaking or have an epic scope) then maybe people will give them a break.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

I do believe bugs really had something to do with BG:EE's earliest impressions. According to your configuration, it could have been possible that your game coudln't even run. It seems most problems with 1 and some of 2 have been worked out by now, but there's few reasons to buy those instead of the originals (which are cheaper).
SRR, at the beginning, was just bland, and people complained mostly about the save system, at least in the technical area.

Agreed, bugs certainly didn't help BG:EE, it was definitely a factor. But I wouldn't say that was the only factor or that it was hypocritical of some here to criticise Beamdog and support Harebrained.

 

[naossano]

Are they aware of the concept of credibility/legitimacy/common sense ?

 

[m_s0]

Uuuuuhm.... so how the fuck is this going to tie in into the series? Especailly considering levelups and new party members and shit like that?

Since you begin BG2 at the level you finished BG1 at... uhm. Yeah. What? How? How will they solve this? If this is to seamlessly tie in to the series, there should be exactly ZERO levelups during that interquel.

HOW THE FUCK IS THIS GOING TO WORK?!

They'll write a few pages of inconsequential fan fiction, add a couple of pointless side quests, maybe turn the kidnapping into an in-game cutscene and charge $25 for it. It's not that difficult to imagine, frankly, you just need to let go of the bizzare notion that this has to be any good at all in order to sell. It's probably not that expensive to make, anyway, so it won't have to be a smash hit. You just need to find some crazy people willing to work with the Infinity engine.

At least this keeps them busy and thus potentially prevents them from, uh, improving Planescape: Torment in the near future. That's as far as my excitement for this bit of news goes.

 

[lurker3000]

I actually bought BG:EE. One night I got drunk and bought a bunch of crap at one time during the steam summer sale. Didn't even realize I had it until a week later.

Now it just sits in my library judging me.

 

[Melcar]

Maybe you get to play as some other characters and not precisely have anything to do with the original game. Maybe some mercs. charged with the task of cleaning up the mess Sarevok left behind. Or maybe play someone on the employ of the Iron Throne, as they try to rebuild their power base in the Sword Coast.

 

[Jaesun]

Yeah, the thing I am wondering is, BioWare/EA own all the rights to the characters of Baldur's Gate (If I understand that correctly). So if you are playing some other characters that might be what they are going to do?