Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

Yes ....thats true...dont remind me

While that might suck for her fans, I prefer it this way. She has more character than some 'butt-end' of a joke that they keep resurrecting. Stories that have a beginning and ending are superior.

At least she went out swinging, no?

In my one BG2 ending I married her and she died during childbirth and then other ending is she disappears into the Underdark if you dont Romance her ...as far as I remember. I only played BG2 twice and I messed up the Romance with Viconia the second time because I loaded a NPC mod with another hot elf called Vienxay and I tried to Romance her and Viconia and that ruined the Viconia Romance, I got to 70%. I didnt end up saving her from the Lolth summons and I didnt restore back because I had progressed too far in the game and the Romance is not as important as the progress I had made

The focus on narrative and NPC relationships in cRPGs is a huge part of what attracted the current crowd of mouth breathing idiots that numerically dominate the customer demographics. This trend, the swelling of the customer base by the pathetic and feeble-minded, almost led to the total destruction of the genre after the early 00s. Relationships in RPGs are 99.9% cancerous, fanservice peddling, deep-as-a-puddle forever alone bullshit and those that celebrate them should be driven out of polite (cRPG) society.

You want to know why AAA+ sports manager games like Fútbol Manager 2024 are mechanically more rich and nuanced than Baldur's Gate 3? The fans. The customers. Those who do the buying, set the standards.

Fans chasing paper thin human contact through relationships in cRPGs are a large part of what gave you the cRPGs from 2005 to today.

This shit and those that celebrate it should be nuked from orbit.

More like only reason why RPGs as a genre still exist at all. 20 codexers buying grimoire doesn't pay for development of even small scale game much less AAA scale studio.

 

[Ivan]

BG2 question: I recall playing it and enjoying a good deal but for some reason my playthrough ended once I got to the map with the talking humanoid sharks. How much game is there left after that point?

Also, what's the best way to replay BG2 these days. EE?

 

[Butter]

BG2 question: I recall playing it and enjoying a good deal but for some reason my playthrough ended once I got to the map with the talking humanoid sharks. How much game is there left after that point?

Also, what's the best way to replay BG2 these days. EE?

You're about halfway through the main quest, but the game becomes more linear from this point. You likely did most of the side content already. If you're not interested in modding the game, EE is perfectly fine.

 

[Ivan]

I hear the city (which I did play through thoroughly) is the highlight of the campaign, is that correct? I recall having a great time turning in all of the quests before continuing the story that leads you to the shark town.

 

[Butter]

Yes, the couple chapters in Athkatla before going to Spellhold are the best part of the game.

 

[Storyfag]

Yes, the couple chapters in Athkatla before going to Spellhold are the best part of the game.

Well, the Underdark section isn't half bad either.

 

[Average Manatee]

The Underdark is pretty good too, its a menagerie of weird overpowered enemy types without too much bullshit

 

[Jvegi]

I was pretty stunned on my last playtrough with how linear and disconnected from the main experience the later chapters are. It wasn't as apparent when I actually did care about the story. It feels rushed, but since it was not my impression, or anybody else's in early 00's, I think the designers have done well, despite my bitching.

I'm thinking about doing BG1 wih SCS, on hard with damage scaling at least. BG2 SCS was amazing, made me appreciate the game so much more. Those 10+ playthroughs in my teens really were noobish. I wonder how well bg1 does, especially with higher damage that forces strict optimization.

 

[octavius]

IMO BG1 benefits more from SCS than BG2 does. It makes BG2 more interesting, but it elevates BG1 from a rather mediocre game to a great one.

 

[Delterius]

am i insane or was there an npc in the friendly army inn that talks about a crazy gnome who was talking about his magic ring? for some reason i always thought that was a thing and the reason for the pixel hunt for that ring of wizardry.

 

[Taim]

am i insane or was there an npc in the friendly army inn that talks about a crazy gnome who was talking about his magic ring? for some reason i always thought that was a thing and the reason for the pixel hunt for that ring of wizardry.

You are not crazy.

There was an unofficial patch that added that line. Dudleyfix or Balderdash IIRC.

I actually thought it was brilliant and was bummed out when I realized it wasn't in the original game.

 

[Storyfag]

am i insane or was there an npc in the friendly army inn that talks about a crazy gnome who was talking about his magic ring? for some reason i always thought that was a thing and the reason for the pixel hunt for that ring of wizardry.

You are not crazy.

There was an unofficial patch that added that line. Dudleyfix or Balderdash IIRC.

I actually thought it was brilliant and was bummed out when I realized it wasn't in the original game.

That's from an unofficial patch? Impossibiru!

 

[Tchort]

I remember this phrase in original game withnout any of unofficial patches installed. Gossip about a mage who looking for something.
So, i trying search around Friendly Arm but of cource found nothing

 

[Chippy]

Just to change the subject a bit: will AI be able to redo the graphics of the IE games?. I remember some kind of attempt years ago to upscale everything with AI. Now that we seem to be in a new age of AI, I was just wondering.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Just to change the subject a bit: will AI be able to redo the graphics of the IE games?. I remember some kind of attempt years ago to upscale everything with AI. Now that we seem to be in a new age of AI, I was just wondering.

In theory, you could, but in practice, it'd probably be lazily and poorly done, just like most other AI upscale attempts of textures and the like have been.

 

[ArchAngel]

Just to change the subject a bit: will AI be able to redo the graphics of the IE games?. I remember some kind of attempt years ago to upscale everything with AI. Now that we seem to be in a new age of AI, I was just wondering.

At some point for sure.

 

[Lagole Gon]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hoenig

It's kind of crazy that the guy was doing mostly synthesizer music for shitty TV shows. I would love to hear more fantasy music composed by him.
You can reallt feel the dirty streets of Athkatla through the soundtrack.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

He was part of the krautrock scene so you could either have him as a guy interested in fantasy and sci fi from the hippie "spiritual" perspective or have him as a turboleftist and anarchist. Probably both.

 

[La vie sexuelle]

He was part of the krautrock scene so you could either have him as a guy interested in fantasy and sci fi from the hippie "spiritual" perspective or have him as a turboleftist and anarchist. Probably both.

Artists from 60s-80s were classical Marxist or rebellious anarchomarxists. Artists form 90s-00s were liberals (in European sense). From 10s they all cultural Marxists and this is why everything taste, look and sound like shit now.

 

[Serious_Business]

A rather curious turn of event : I replayed the old BG series after maybe 10 years or more, and I am struck with how fast-paced it really is. It really has this deep connection with RTS gameplay, with all the running around, the kitting, vomiting incomprehensible effects on the screen and so on. I actually like it a lot. Secretly I am veteran of these games (I play with the SCS mod and all the nonsense), something I wouldn't admit because of how low brow it is. I mocked this stupid series for years, because of course, I played through it seven times and, like Viconia scorns you in the romance, I have to show hate to what I'm attached to. So yes, I like this stupid frantic RtwP gameplay. Now that TB is becoming more and more popular, I'm starting to regret it. Whatever becomes common loses value, as the big moustache said. At any rate, the idea that TB was somehow more sophisticated always had the fact that developing real time systems is much harder. Fixed states in a TB system are easy enough to determine at any given point. The readability argument is rather weak ; most distaste the Codex expressed for RtwP was really mostly just a skill issue, when you think about it.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

most distaste the Codex expressed for RtwP was really mostly just a skill issue, when you think about it.

It's the Arthritis Legion hating it

 

[KainenMorden]

A rather curious turn of event : I replayed the old BG series after maybe 10 years or more, and I am struck with how fast-paced it really is. It really has this deep connection with RTS gameplay, with all the running around, the kitting, vomiting incomprehensible effects on the screen and so on. I actually like it a lot. Secretly I am veteran of these games (I play with the SCS mod and all the nonsense), something I wouldn't admit because of how low brow it is. I mocked this stupid series for years, because of course, I played through it seven times and, like Viconia scorns you in the romance, I have to show hate to what I'm attached to. So yes, I like this stupid frantic RtwP gameplay. Now that TB is becoming more and more popular, I'm starting to regret it. Whatever becomes common loses value, as the big moustache said. At any rate, the idea that TB was somehow more sophisticated always had the fact that developing real time systems is much harder. Fixed states in a TB system are easy enough to determine at any given point. The readability argument is rather weak ; most distaste the Codex expressed for RtwP was really mostly just a skill issue, when you think about it.

I also play SCS insane double damage, everything turned up, etc not sure if dislike for rtwp is always a skill issue, I think some just prefer the structure of tb.

For some players though, it's for sure a skill issue.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

How sure are we that Sven isn’t a descended mind flayer?

 

[Sensuki]

most distaste the Codex expressed for RtwP was really mostly just a skill issue, when you think about it.

Yes, that's how I generally took a dislike of RTwP. Pause eliminates most of the need to have APM though.

I also really enjoyed the RTS feel of the engine (given that it was originally an RTS engine/game before turning into an RPG) since when I picked up the game in Y2K I had been coming from Age of Empires 2.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Uh….. yeah. Glad I didn’t buy this.