[Minsc]

What is it: Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog, has released an updated version to the first part of the epic RPG series Baldur's Gate developed by BioWare in 1998 combined with the expansion Tales of the Sword Coast, which is set in AD&D's popular Forgotten Realms world. The series is most famous for its sequel Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, released 2 years later, which is nearly unmatched in scope by any game to date. Hundreds of hours of gameplay with lots of quests that can change depending on the character you create and company you keep. A few new touches have been added (covered in more detail below), and the engine has been updated to the newer one used in Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhall, which also in itself brings some game play changes from the original. More modern widescreen resolution support is now standard and Mac & tablets are now supported for the first time as well.

Baldur's Gate was built with the Infinity Engine, which was continued to be used for a few other notable RPGs of the time (Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, and Baldur's Gate 2), which uses a 2D isometric view to explore the world and a real time with pause tactical combat system for the combat. You generally create one main character and then join up with up to 5 additional characters from a pool of over a dozen, all with different strengths and weaknesses to compliment you main character, and who also have unique personalities and occasionally banter amongst each other (which can even have some surprising outcomes).

Release Dates & Platforms:
PC: November 28th, 2012 (client-less install, one-time activation for DRM)
iPad: December 7th, 2012 (requires iOS 6, iOS 5.1 support coming in later updates)
Steam: January 16th, 2013
Mac: February 22nd, 2013 (pre-loading has begun for OSX)
Android: TBA, still in development
Linux: TBA, still in development

Bugs, Troubleshooting & Mods:
- Patch v1.0.2014 notes (earlier patch notes as well)

Baldur.ini editing (mentioned points)
- For PC users, we have a beta big screen mode: 'Graphics', 'Scale UI', '0',
- To edit framerate: 'Program Options', 'Maximum Frame Rate', 'DESIREDFRAMERATE' (30 is default, "normal" speed)

Screens & Videos:



More screens here.
Official trailer
Hope to add iPad media soon!

Reviews:

iPad
Digitally Downloaded: 5/5
Pocket Tactics: 5/5

PC
IGN: 8.1/10
Eurogamer: 8/10
Arstechnica: Verdict Buy
Game Banshee: Pass
Softpedia: 8/10
My Gaming: 8/10
Only SP: 8.5/10

What's New:

To answer many of the repeated question "Is there any reason to buy this over the GoG version?" in a little more detail: What's new? - Ported to the BG2:ToB Engine, incl Races and kits (available as a mod) - 3 new party members - Rasaad yn Bashir, Neera the Wild Mage, Dorn Il-Khan - 400+ bug fixes (many available via mods and fan patches) - New modernized Journal interface - Cross Platform multiplayer support w/ forthcoming matchmaker - Support for high resolutions and widescreen with ability to resize the window on the fly by dragging it (vanilla widescreen mod only allows a pre-determined size that requires a restart to alter) - Ability to zoom in and out with the mouse wheel (or pinch-zoom on tablets) examples: max zoom out / max zoom in - New Black Pits combat arena - Better, cleaned up modding support (in theory) - Ongoing support, patches, and updates including cross platform cloud saves in the future headed up by some of the original developers. - Some community mods being updated to work with this version. What does the GoG version have that this EE doesn't? - Downloads of wallpapers and other assets that were included with or used for promotion of the original release. - Half the price - Lots of great mods that work with it right now. - Downloadable Soundtrack Why did I buy this if most of it is available via mods for free? I don't have the time or will to deal with hunting down, installing, and applying mods in various combinations anymore. I just want to fire a game up and go. My time is valuable and this edition saves me time and hassle at the cost of a $20 bill. I'm ok with that. The fact that I'll soon be able to play on my iPad (which will be a separate purchase that I'll easily make) is the ultimate bonus. Everyone is not going to feel the same way, but I've been having a blast reliving my formative RPG gaming days with this edition. Plus Neera is adorable, and Rasaad is a badass.

Bonus links:
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Manuals
Volothamp's general guide - Excellent guide for beginners (helpful if you're unfamiliar with AD&D rules too) with no spoilers. Just remember BGEE uses the BG2 engine which runs on a newer ruleset than BG1, so where they outline the differences, even though you're playing BG1 you'll be following the BG2 rules.

Not the prettiest thread, but I wanted to at least get a place for people to discuss any bugs/issues/etc if anyone's playing the PC release now, and have an easy to find source for information on the iPad version which hopefully releases soon.

[Dakota47]

I'll be all over this as soon as I have the time for it.

[nickcv]

i'll probably get the mac version during the holidays... can't wait!

[Chacranajxy]

Curious what the DRM on it is.

[_Keiichi_]

http://forum.baldursgate.com/categories/windows-pc

I think... i'll wait a little to play this.

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I have the entire BG Saga on my shelf and I'm still thinking about picking up this version.

Oh well.

[Tunesmith]

iPad version (v1.0) released in NZ

May or may not be pulled for the critical bug fix update (which supposedly only affects iPad 1)

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/bald...on/id515114051

[nickcv]

http://forum.baldursgate.com/categories/windows-pc I think... i'll wait a little to play this.

oh my...
maybe i'll wait until late january

edit:
here's the screenshot

[Castor Krieg]

iPad version (v1.0) released in NZ May or may not be pulled for the critical bug fix update (which supposedly only affects iPad 1) iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/bald...on/id515114051

It seems the UI is not changed for iPad - clusterfuck incoming. I will buy it for my dad for Christmas.

[Ledsen]

Love the OP. To the point and containing only relevant information. Just how it should be!

On topic, I should probably finish my playthrough of SoA :P

[TRios Zen]

So appropriate for Minsc to do the OT, perfect.

I have zero time currently for this, but will be getting it soon. The Baldur's Gate series and Icewind Dale series will probably always be my favorite rpgs. Hopefully they have any challenges worked out by then.

[injurai]

Where do you buy this for PC?

[Forkball]

The rise of Beamdog starts now.

I don't know anything about D&D or how it works. Would I enjoy this game?

[Ifrit]

Still waiting for a final verdict on which is the best version, EE or Original+mods? EE probably needs some patches before making any judgments

[Tunesmith]

It seems the UI is not changed for iPad - clusterfuck incoming. I will buy it for my dad for Christmas.

Played through the PC version of BG2 via emu on my iPad last christmas, worked great. This version has minor tweaks and should be fine.

[r3n4ud]

Where do you buy this for PC?

On Beamdog's site?

[Midou]

The cleanliness of the menu and font is better than anything I got with mods. I'm on Intel and Nvidia hardware, and have not had any issues, played a couple of hours. Have an i5 3570K and 670.

I always sucked at fighting, so I put it to Novice. Full HP on level up and no-perma death are handicaps I admire. I mean I typically put most games to hard, but I will accept my pussyness and do this to enjoy the game more.

[NemesisPrime]

The rise of Beamdog starts now. I don't know anything about D&D or how it works. Would I enjoy this game?

Probably not.

[sTeLioSco]

http://forum.baldursgate.com/categories/windows-pc I think... i'll wait a little to play this.

i got the "constant flickering on fullscreen"...

ill just wait for a patch to play

edit:ill try some nvidia control panel fixes from that forum


edit2: disabling vsync,triblebuffering from nvidia control panel for the game fixes flickering

[Midou]

Probably not.

Tutorial does a pretty good job at explaining the purpose of each class and such. It makes you do plenty of special actions and whatnot. The explanations for each stat, proficiency, etc, I can't tell if they are more thorough now, but they explain everything you need to know. It isn't like you need to keep track of everything on a piece of paper or anything. Picking a lower difficulty would allow someone to enjoy the core gameplay and still enjoy the exploration, characters, etc.

[Ledsen]

The rise of Beamdog starts now. I don't know anything about D&D or how it works. Would I enjoy this game?

No reason why not. Many people played this game without knowing D&D first. You just need to learn some basic stuff.

[Rickenslacker]

The rise of Beamdog starts now. I don't know anything about D&D or how it works. Would I enjoy this game?

It was my first D&D-related experience back when I first played it and I loved it, so if you're willing to learn its quirks then I imagine yes.

[Minsc]

Curious what the DRM on it is.

One-time online activation, and has an auto-updater, beamdog client not required.

http://forum.baldursgate.com/categories/windows-pc I think... i'll wait a little to play this.

These old RPGs were never really without bugs, and at a first glance last night, the game seemed solid enough. :) Like Midou, I didn't have any crashes in the brief time I played, everything looked fine, but I didn't do any multi either. It's got some rough edges to clean up as the forums show, definitely, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel I think.

[ParityBit]

So is it on the iTunes store like it has been rumored? I hop it's there when I get home tonight!

[Anoregon]

I'm really glad this exists and think it's a great idea, but I played through BG1 recently enough that I'm not in a rush to pick this up. I am my own debbie downer.

[Gilgamesh]

The problem I had with BG2 is that I couldn't tell what any of the icons did. Have any mouse hover explanations been added or anything?

[Tobor]

I've started BG1 several times over the years, and never finished it. I'm going to finish the game this time!

iPad version +1

[stuminus3]

Intel intergrated chips currently not supported? That... strikes me as being massively stupid. Baldur's Gate is the perfect game for throwing on a cheap laptop.

[Starsunder]

iPad version get!

Really excited to play this again, and even more excited for the future (BG2, possible IWD, PS:T, etc.).

[fanboi]

I think its great that Minsc is the one that created this OT.

Good job.

[Midou]

The problem I had with BG2 is that I couldn't tell what any of the icons did. Have any mouse hover explanations been added or anything?

Yeah, though it takes a couple of seconds for them to pop up. Think the original had something similar but it was a bit wonky.

[Ledsen]

The problem I had with BG2 is that I couldn't tell what any of the icons did. Have any mouse hover explanations been added or anything?

Those were in the original game.

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

The problem I had with BG2 is that I couldn't tell what any of the icons did. Have any mouse hover explanations been added or anything?

They've always been in.

edit: By default you had to keep the mouse over the icon for a bit longer than felt natural, at least to me. This could be made faster though.

[Gilgamesh]

Those were in the original game.

Really? Like on actions in the bottom taskbar? I feel like I put my mouse on them for a long time and nothing happened. Maybe some mod or my computer was wigging out...

[Terra_Ex]

Hmm, liking the look & colour scheme of the new UI, but not to triple dip at this time. Will consider buying it when its on Steam. I assume all the old WeiDU based mods will be compatible with this new version?

[Jokab]

Really? Like on actions in the bottom taskbar? I feel like I put my mouse on them for a long time and nothing happened. Maybe some mod or my computer was wigging out...

You could hold TAB to see any button/item/NPC name immediately.

[Minsc]

Hmm, liking the look & colour scheme of the new UI, but not to triple dip at this time. Will consider buying it when its on Steam. I assume all the old WeiDU based mods will be compatible with this new version?

The hope is eventually they will be updated to work where applicable, as BGEE is supposed to be even more accessible to modders than the original games. I read some of the modders worked with Overhaul Games to incorporate features so they'd be built-in right to the core game, though I'm not sure to the specifics. Stuff like the widescreen mod is obviously no longer needed, as how it exists in BGEE is superior to the original BG with mods.

[Ledsen]

Really? Like on actions in the bottom taskbar? I feel like I put my mouse on them for a long time and nothing happened. Maybe some mod or my computer was wigging out...

You could set the time it took for them to appear.

[cackhyena]

I need iPad impressions/video of how this works. Do want.

[krYlon]

I'm hoping this works well, and isn't too fiddly, on the ipad mini screen.

[Bassmastergeneral]

Wow I completely missed this, I'll definitely check it out soon though I might wait a bit and try on ipad if there are few issues. Any other recommendations from beamdog?

[Dinzy]

The rise of Beamdog starts now. I don't know anything about D&D or how it works. Would I enjoy this game?

It doesn't matter at all that it is D&D based. That just provides the classes and math that goes into battle. Do you like wRPGs? Do you think you would enjoy playing an old school isometric RPG that requires a ton of time to get through? If so then it might be up your alley.

[Horseticuffs]

I've never played this but of course I've heard how important it is. I'll pick it up when the Android version gets released, it seems like a hell of a deal.

[_Keiichi_]

One-time online activation, and has an auto-updater, beamdog client not required. These old RPGs were never really without bugs, and at a first glance last night, the game seemed solid enough. :)

Supposedly, all the old rpg bugs have been solved in the 13 years the game has been out. :P Really, the issues people are experiencing are just inexcusable.

My favorite part thus far is that their new non-hardcoded interface, arguably the best idea they had code-wise, is all manner of jacked up right now. The interface itself seems fine, but they basically have made every possible strings/index error across the interface. In a decently large number of cases the interfaces reports on THAC0, AC, Damage, whatever are totally unreliable because it's sourcing the wrong numbers to calculate them. The correct values are being used IN-GAME for actual combat but the interface is just lying to you. One example: 19 Str characters have their THAC0 calculated incorrectly: it reports a +7 to-hit and +7 damage bonus from strength, the damage value is correct but it should only be +3 to-hit: sooo the new age interface sources the erroneous 7 value and reports THAC0 4 better than actuality in every possible area. Similarly hilarious: rather than expecting us to use our head knowledge of AD&D common sense, they've taken to every item description containing a 100% EXHAUSTIVE, NO STONE UNTURNED list of EVERY possible thing you can be that can't use that item. It even lists redundant kits and multi-class combinations(or both, in the case of all the Gnome Illusionist/X combos, which get their own listing!). For generic items about 50-80% of the description length is the list of stuff that can't use it. Here's the kicker though: they botched the strings somehow with the aforementioned Illusionist stuff, every Illusionist or Gnome Illusionist multi-class is instead listed as Transmuter. So this longsword can't be used by Cleric/Transmuters, Fighter/Transmuters, Thief/Transmuters, Transmuters, Mages, Fighter/Mages, etc.etc. YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY MULTICLASS AS A TRANSMUTER ONLY A HUMAN COULD DUAL CLASS THAT AND IT'D BE BRAINDEAD TO DO SO. Every item I've found so far has that error in it's description, so there's a table of string values screwed up somewhere, and apparently nobody and Beamdog reads those giant list of can't-uses they put on EVERY ITEM.

[Castor Krieg]

Can someone post big link how to get vanilla BG1+2 combined together, apply mods, etc.? Let's do that instead.

[Emitan]

I am ready for an adventure! Maybe? Never played a D&D based game before.

[Minsc]

Can someone post big link how to get vanilla BG1+2 combined together, apply mods, etc.? Let's do that instead.

There's a large collection of the more popular guides and mods I've come across here.

Supposedly, all the old rpg bugs have been solved in the 13 years the game has been out. :P Really, the issues people are experiencing are just inexcusable.

Yeah, those sound pretty poor. I think undertaking a project like this brings inherent problems no matter who you are, it's going to be a mess any way you look at it. They definitely sound like they were short man-power and play-testing hours, and there's a few things that really should have been done properly (the UI background should not appear scaled, they should have re-drawn it at 1080p from scratch). It's in their best interest to provide good post-support since they plan on releasing BG2:EE next year, and that won't go to well if there's still all these issues from this one.

[ParityBit]

Has anyone tried this on the iPad yet from the iTunes store?

I just checked on touch arcade and there was this tweet ...

https://twitter.com/TrentOster/statu...22774115287040


Boooo

[Castor Krieg]

There's a large collection of the more popular guides and mods I've come across here.

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

[Giolon]

Some people were asking for impressions in the other thread so here are mine:

Game runs flawlessly on my machine (though there have been compatibility issues mentioned w/ crashes on launch, problems with the OpenGL support or lack thereof w/ Intel integrated graphics chips, and so forth).

Runs full screen or windowed, supports widescreen.

There's a new pretty good (optional) tutorial that will run you through game mechanics, concepts, and ideas.

I am really excited by the new NPCs that feel slotted in very naturally.

Black Pits is a completely standalone "adventure" that you launch from a separate menu on the title screen.

I know there have been complaints that many of the improvements found in this release can be accomplished w/ mods and fan compilations, but you know what? I don't want to fuck with any of that.

This, I installed, it worked, and it looked good "out of the box". Furthermore, it's supported by a development team that is still working on ironing out any bugs or issues that pop up.

If you've never played Baldur's Gate before, and don't want to deal with fiddling with mods, I easily recommend this version over just the GOG releases.