Game News Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear Released

[Trashos]

Jaheira was always a tough bitch, way tougher than Khalid as a personality. And there was also Edwina's case. I don't understand what that writer is talking about.

 

[Alienman]

Seems the current way of writing female characters there can't be no flaws, what so ever.

 

[ArchAngel]

You guys are acting like anyone plays BG games for story and characters.
I will play SoD on Insane (with extra damage turned off) so I can enjoy combat on core rules but with better AI and bigger and stronger enemy packs. That is all I care for my BG games.

 

[skyst]

You guys are acting like anyone plays BG games for story and characters.
I will play SoD on Insane (with extra damage turned off) so I can enjoy combat on core rules but with better AI and bigger and stronger enemy packs. That is all I care for my BG games.

On the topic of difficulties, what the hell is up with the Legacy of Bhaal difficulty? It it new in this update? I made an optimized half-orc berserker and got killed by the 4 rats in one of Candlekeep's storerooms.

 

[Nihiliste]

“If there was something for the original Baldur’s Gate that just doesn’t mesh for modern day gamers like the sexism, [we tried to address that],” said writer Amber Scott. “In the original there’s a lot of jokes at women’s expense. Or if not a lot, there’s a couple, like Safana was just a sex object in BG 1, and Jaheira was the nagging wife and that was played for comedy. We were able to say, ‘No, that’s not really the kind of story we want to make.’ In Siege of Dragonspear, Safana gets her own little storyline, she got a way better personality upgrade. If people don’t like that, then too bad.”

“I got to write a little tender, romance-y side quest for Khalid and Jaheira where you could learn a little bit about how their marriage works and how they really feel about each other.”

There’s also four new companions, one of whom is gay, one of whom is bisexual. There’s even a monster companion, a throwback to a Baldur’s Gate II easter egg. But it’s not just about representation for representation’s sake. Beamdog wanted to give players options.

probably old news, but wtf

Cool, not going to buy, not going to play.

Don't reboot a classic franchise only to insert your modern political shit into it.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Eh, it's not all one-sided like that. I'm still playing BG:EE and came across a dialogue with Neera where one of the replies was, "Go make me a sandwich." So, y'know.

Other than that, I really like most of the 2.0 UI stuff. The black outlines make it look a bit like Borderlands Gate, but I got used to it after a half hour and it grew on me. It actually helps make the characters "pop" out from the environment. That and things like the highlighting and health bars can help sort out what's going on without pausing and mousing over characters as well as ensuring you're targeting who you want to without waiting for the scroll nameplate to pop up. I think it looks better in play than it does when looking at pics and stuff, but ymmv. I was thinking that with the options and general upgrades of the interface, as well as the added character options, finally made the game seem like an Enhanced Edition instead of a: "Why did I pay for this, I have a BGT install" edition.

I'm surprised by some of the bug reports though, my own play experience has been more or less flawless so far. *knock on wood* The only thing that was weird is when my Bhaalspawn leveled up, Edwin and Neera gained a bunch of spells (mentioned some that they'd already learned from scrolls as well). So I'm not sure if that's intended or not. It's like the game was loading them out with stuff that they'd have if you didn't take them until a higher level. It wasn't doing this before 2.0, so far as I noticed. I'm still at level 5-6 in the Cloakwood area, so I'm not sure if it continues after level 6, when characters normally stop leveling up before you take them.

 

[Excidium II]

without waiting for the scroll nameplate to pop up

Which you don't have to since they got rid of it in favor of some bland tooltip.

 

[mediocrepoet]

without waiting for the scroll nameplate to pop up

Which you don't have to since they got rid of it in favor of some bland tooltip.

Yeah, the style of all that is changed. Personally stuff like that doesn't bug me, but I understand where others who hate it are coming from. I'm not really sure why they changed things like that unless some people found it hard to read or something.

 

[Vival]

That special snowflake name thing is some cringey shit. She probably should've gotten herself one of those niffty belts.

 

[Alienman]

Not even Minsc mind that murder.

 

[DeepOcean]

"When I was born, my parents thought me a boy and raised me as such. In time, we all came to understand I was truly a woman. I created my new name from syllabes of different lenguages. All have special meaning to me, it is the truest reflection of who I am."

Damn kickstarter NPCs!

 

[Space Insect]

Well now I know who to kill to lower my reputation.

 

[DeepOcean]

“If there was something for the original Baldur’s Gate that just doesn’t mesh for modern day gamers like the sexism, [we tried to address that],” said writer Amber Scott. “In the original there’s a lot of jokes at women’s expense. Or if not a lot, there’s a couple, like Safana was just a sex object in BG 1, and Jaheira was the nagging wife and that was played for comedy. We were able to say, ‘No, that’s not really the kind of story we want to make.’ In Siege of Dragonspear, Safana gets her own little storyline, she got a way better personality upgrade. If people don’t like that, then too bad.”

“I got to write a little tender, romance-y side quest for Khalid and Jaheira where you could learn a little bit about how their marriage works and how they really feel about each other.”

There’s also four new companions, one of whom is gay, one of whom is bisexual. There’s even a monster companion, a throwback to a Baldur’s Gate II easter egg. But it’s not just about representation for representation’s sake. Beamdog wanted to give players options.

probably old news, but wtf

Relationship between Khalid and Jeheira? Jesus Christ, people complained about the lack of banter on original BG 1, all of sudden, I'm finding that a big quality.

 

[Excidium II]

That special snowflake name thing is some cringey shit. She probably should've gotten herself one of those niffty belts.

lol they don't even give you one of those snarky responses for evil characters. Even murderous psychopaths understand and respect the transtruggle.

 

[Naveen]

lol they don't even give you one of those snarky responses for evil characters. Even murderous psychopaths understand and respect the transtruggle.

In the beamdog forums I once got into an argument about this. They were talking about gay/trans characters, and I said that if (1) the writers are good, fine, but it's a difficult thing to tackle (Technobabylon did it well, for example) and (2) what about the negative responses, like people mocking Edwina and so on? I said that Jan Jansen would surely crack a few jokes and Viconia would despise a male trying to become a woman. That triggered them a lot and they (including one moderator if I remember correctly) went full psycho on me.

 

[Space Insect]

lol they don't even give you one of those snarky responses for evil characters. Even murderous psychopaths understand and respect the transtruggle.

In the beamdog forums I once got into an argument about this. They were talking about gay/trans characters, and I said that if (1) the writers are good, fine, but it's a difficult thing to tackle (Technobabylon did it well, for example) and (2) what about the negative responses, like people mocking Edwina and so on? I said that Jan Jansen would surely crack a few jokes and Viconia would despise a male trying to become a woman. That triggered them a lot and they (including one moderator if I remember correctly) went full psycho on me.

Link for the lazy?

 

[Azarkon]

Given how triggered Edwin was from becoming a woman, I'm pretty sure he's the very example of a sexist patriarch. But this is surely one of the "jokes made at the expense of women" that they wanted to remove.

 

[Thonius]

Ugh whatever. Just kill him/her and be done or alternatively - romance .

 

[Naveen]

Link for the lazy?

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/42770/debate-something-for-the-gaymers

Perhaps it was different or less harsh from how I remember it now (it was a year ago,) but it happened there.

 

[crawlkill]

this is a remarkably positive response from the Codex, particularly after all the vitriol pointed at the original EEs. I picked it up and even dropped the extra $5 to get it on Steam instead of Beamdog. has it been breaking mods at all?

 

[Namutree]

Jesus Christ, can these people leave their politics and their dongs out of their working space for just a moment?


Jaheira: "Also, do you know I'm a vegan?"

Did she seriously fucking say that?

 

[Excidium II]

That'd be a nice joke at least.

 

[ArchAngel]

That special snowflake name thing is some cringey shit. She probably should've gotten herself one of those niffty belts.

2000xp for that kill and some nice magical items. Also no reputation loss. Seems we found a good person to kill on every play through :D

With no reputation loss either it is a evil tranny or nobody likes trannies in that world and they don't care if you murder them. Not so SJW now, are they?

 

[AwesomeButton]

Jesus Christ, can these people leave their politics and their dongs out of their working space for just a moment?


Jaheira: "Also, do you know I'm a vegan?"

Did she seriously fucking say that?

No, I wanted to parody the SJW attitude, and Jaheira came to mind as a good option for being a vegan. I agree it would have been a nice joke.

What's really disturbing is this bit:

“If there was something for the original Baldur’s Gate that just doesn’t mesh for modern day gamers like the sexism, [we tried to address that],” said writer Amber Scott. “In the original there’s a lot of jokes at women’s expense. Or if not a lot, there’s a couple, like Safana was just a sex object in BG 1, and Jaheira was the nagging wife and that was played for comedy. We were able to say, ‘No, that’s not really the kind of story we want to make.’ In Siege of Dragonspear, Safana gets her own little storyline, she got a way better personality upgrade. If people don’t like that, then too bad.”

If you divide your audience into those who agree with you on your issues, and those who do not, this is just as bad as hanging a sign "We don't serve injuns/blacks/gays/etc." on the front door. It's amazing that this comes from a person bearing the title "Publishing and Marketing Coordinator". Apparently she takes her mission seriously, just not clear what does she see as her mission - educating the world in the need for social justice, or marketing a game.

Like I wrote in the other thread:
"Mizhena is literally a possessive pronoun ("my"/"mine") agglutinated to the noun for "woman" in a number of Slavic languages."

I created my name from syllables of different languages.

- must be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen put to writing, so, congratulations there. Anyway, nice to see a fantasy warrior use the word 'syllable'. Must be a first.

A syllable doesn't vary between languages, because it has no meaning on its own. Languages vary in their phonetic, lexical, grammar systems, but a syllable is just a sequence of sounds. There is no such thing as "syllables of different languages" more than there are farts in different languages. You can put a brainfart in different languages, but a fart is just a sound.

 

[oldmanpaco]

That special snowflake name thing is some cringey shit. She probably should've gotten herself one of those niffty belts.

lol they don't even give you one of those snarky responses for evil characters. Even murderous psychopaths understand and respect the transtruggle.

From the comments:

Mobius Strip11 hours ago
Does she light up when you detect traps?

I chuckled.