Baldurs Gate 3?

Kiith

Oh. My. God! :eek:

So, there's something stirring at baldursgate.com. Bioware have confirmed that they are hoping to announcing something soon. Hopefully it will be a full blown sequel, similar to Dragon Age, but way better. I'd absolutely love to see a return to an Infinity style engine (best rpg engine ever!). Something similar to Diablo 3's engine maybe?

BioWare designer Trent Oster wrote:

We're not related to the Steam complete edition, I can tell you that much. Other than that, we're hoping to announce something soon.

Source Code for Baldurs Gate page wrote:

Shadowy Figure- Raise Dead : Infinity Engine

For years, I clung to the memory of it. Then the memory of the memory.

And then... it returned. Better than it was before.

Pore over the tapestries and works of art hanging from our walls if you wish, Child of Bhaal... perhaps you will find a clue. But patience, ah... patience would reveal it all.

As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does life.

Grated, it probably won't be anywhere near as good as the originals, but i'd absolutely love a return to the world. And while Bioware haven't exactly kept their standards as high as they were, it would be fantastic to see them do it right. Baldurs Gate 2 is still in my all time top 5 games. Absolutely fantastic series.

Also, Baldurs Gate: Complete is being released on Steam soon. Buy it when it does. Do it!!

gizmo

While I still love Bioware titles, given their latest releases my favourite piece of news about this is...

GameBanshee reports the developer is Beamdog, a company co-founded by BioWare veteran Trent Oster. Oster worked on Baldur's Gate, lead the development of Neverwinter Nights and its expansions, and worked for two years as the Director of Technology and lead the development on BioWare's Eclipse Engine, which powers Dragon Age. He left BioWare in June 2009.

Kiith wrote: »

Also, Baldurs Gate: Complete is being released on Steam soon. Buy it when it does. Do it!!

Actually I'd suggest buying them on GoG instead. There have been reports of third party mods not playing nice with Steam purchased games, some of which would be vital for the older Infinity Engine games.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

also because gog is ****ing awesome and people should spend money there not because they need games, but because gog is ****ing awesome.

Venom

Personally I'd rather they leave well enough alone and focus on a new franchise. The Bioware of old died once EA got involved in the mix as can be seen from the lackluster quality of both DA2 and SWTOR.

Dcully

$9.99 for complete pack on GOG.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/baldurs_gate_2_complete

Ive never actually played BG in any form, im sooo tempted to pick this up and play before Diablo 3 and GW2 are released, which reminds me ive never played diablo 2.

Bioware have gone well down in my estimation after their latest offering swhich are nothing short of rubbish imo.

Kiith

I'd love them to do an official release of the entire series, in the BG2 engine. It's easy to do with mods (BG Tutu), and it would be great to see it in an official format.

Dcully wrote: »

Ive never actually played BG in any form, im sooo tempted to pick this up and play before Diablo 3 and GW2 are released, which reminds me ive never played diablo 2.

You're dead to me :pac:

Seriously though, they are both fantastic games, that are definitely worth playing. Baldurs Gate especially so. You won't be able to complete them anytime soon though, as they are both massive. BG alone has well over 100 hours of content.

Venom wrote: »

Personally I'd rather they leave well enough alone and focus on a new franchise. The Bioware of old died once EA got involved in the mix as can be seen from the lackluster quality of both DA2 and SWTOR.

While i agree that Bioware doesn't have the same 'holy crap' factor they had a few years back, i'm still hopeful that they can do this justice. It's one of the original developers of BG and NW:N, so we can hope. I certainly won't write them off till we get some more info.

spankmaster2000

One of my greatest gaming shames is not playing the Baldur's Gate series.
I had a demo of the first one years ago and played it half a dozen times.

I just didn't / don't have 200 hours to spare!

The Steam version is hardly a HD remake, is it?

Seifer

I have mixed feelings about this. While I'd love if they made a Baldur's Gate 3 and it was made by the people who made the first two games and is of the same quality they won't. It'll be some dumbed down console trash á la Dragon Age. And I'll still end up buying it just to be sure

Andy!!

I wonder how my f'ing retarded elf on dwarf gay sex it'll feature! :rolleyes:

Sigh, I miss games from 10 years ago.

ChunkyLover_53

Butt Kicking for Justice!!!

Minsc & Boo better be in it or I ain't interested.

If there is even a hint of that She-Demon chick with the woeful dialog from NWN2 I ain't touching it

danthefan

Also never played BG. Call me a graphics whore but I just don't know if I could go and play a game that looks like that anymore.

Screw it, got paid today (:D) so bought BG2 there. Will give it a go.

So many games to play though.

Icyseanfitz

BG3 Great is great news....so long as it isnt made by bioware give it to obsidian or someone half decent that wont cut content for the sake of milking money out of people

Morag

danthefan wrote: »

Also never played BG. Call me a graphics whore but I just don't know if I could go and play a game that looks like that anymore.

Screw it, got paid today (:D) so bought BG2 there. Will give it a go.

So many games to play though.

There are HD mods for it.

danthefan

Sharrow wrote: »

There are HD mods for it.

Interesting.

Any chance of a link to a decent one? I knew there were mods but as a BG newbie I reckon I'll play through it with unmodded gameplay once anyway.

Venom

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

BG3 Great is great news....so long as it isnt made by bioware give it to obsidian or someone half decent that wont cut content for the sake of milking money out of people

After the mess Odsidian made of Kotor 2 there the last company I would want making BG3.

Kiith

danthefan wrote: »

Interesting.

Any chance of a link to a decent one? I knew there were mods but as a BG newbie I reckon I'll play through it with unmodded gameplay once anyway.

It's not so much a hd mod, as a widescreen mod. It supports originally unsupported resolutions, and makes the game look quite good considering how old it is. Also works for all the games using the Infinity Engine (Planescape, Icewind Dale etc...)

Infinity Engine Widescreen Mod

Krusader

Dcully wrote: »

$9.99 for complete pack on GOG.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/baldurs_gate_2_complete

Ive never actually played BG in any form, im sooo tempted to pick this up and play before Diablo 3 and GW2 are released, which reminds me ive never played diablo 2.

Bioware have gone well down in my estimation after their latest offering swhich are nothing short of rubbish imo.

http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-DBAMC/dungeons-and-dragons-anthology-the-master-collection?caff=530501

Pick it up here €6.78

Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2 + Expansions
Icewind Dale 1 & 2
Planescape: Torment
The Temple of Elemental Evil

danthefan

Stupid question, the expansion for BG2 is just that, an expansion, right?

When I load up the game it asks me which I want to play, I should go for Throne of Bhaal, or will I miss anything?

Sarky

Ah, Baldur's Gate, it was my very first RPG really. Well, the first that made sense from the start.

The intro just blew me away at the time. The story was pretty sweet, the bad guy was clever AND badass, the music was loveliness incarnate. And Minsc and Boo? Well, Minsc and Boo are Minsc and Boo!

I don't think I'd trust anyone but the old Black Isle team to handle a Baldur's Gate 3.

GHOST MGG2

planescape:torment..one of the 5 top games ever made imo;)

Gandalph

GO FOR THE EYES BOO!

The mere mention of BG3 makes me weak at the knees, please say no more!

Dcully

Crosáidí wrote: »

http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-DBAMC/dungeons-and-dragons-anthology-the-master-collection?caff=530501

Pick it up here €6.78

Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2 + Expansions
Icewind Dale 1 & 2
Planescape: Torment
The Temple of Elemental Evil

Jaysus thats some bargain.
Havent played any of them but BG,ID and PT have legendary status so ill be grabbing them, cheers for linking us.

Purchase made, total of 10.2 GB dload if anyones interested.

What should i play first ?

Blowfish

danthefan wrote: »

Stupid question, the expansion for BG2 is just that, an expansion, right?

Kind of. ToB is an expansion in that it requires BG2 to play. Storywise however, Baldur's Gate was written as a trilogy. BG1 and Tales of the Sword Coast is the first part, BG2 is the second and ToB is the third.

Due to that, I'd highly recommend starting with BG1. The instructions here show how to put BG1 in the BG2 engine to both improve it graphically and gameplay wise as you can choose more classes etc.

Kiith

danthefan wrote: »

Stupid question, the expansion for BG2 is just that, an expansion, right?

When I load up the game it asks me which I want to play, I should go for Throne of Bhaal, or will I miss anything?

Play BG2 first. Throne of Bhaal is a direct continuation, and pretty much starts up immediately after.

sillo

This thing hasn't even been announced and it's already got zero chance of living up to the sequel I've been imagining for the last ten (or more?) years.

Gandalph

Does anyone ever read any of the books based around this? I have a couple but never got around to reading them, looks like some are based on that Elf Dritz O' Duarden or something like that. I remember encountering him ingame

nyarlothothep

Well I'm not going to shoot it down before I've even played it but as long as it uses the same gameplay principles as BG1 & 2 and Dragonage 1, and as long as the characters are good and its not like Skyrim or Dragonage 2 then I'm happy, ecstatic even.

Daith

Gandalph wrote: »

Does anyone ever read any of the books based around this? I have a couple but never got around to reading them, looks like some are based on that Elf Dritz O' Duarden or something like that. I remember encountering him ingame

There's tonnes of books based in the Forgotten Realms setting. There's a few Baldur's Gate books but they all suck.

If you want to pick up a book, I'd suggest the Icewind Dale series.

ride-the-spiral

Gandalph wrote: »

Does anyone ever read any of the books based around this? I have a couple but never got around to reading them, looks like some are based on that Elf Dritz O' Duarden or something like that. I remember encountering him ingame

I read some of the Drizzt (Drizzt Do'Urden) books, "The Dark Elf Trilogy." The first book "Homeland" is brilliant, its based in the matriarchal dark elf city and I found it incredibly interesting to read about.

PerrinV2

Gandalph wrote: »

GO FOR THE EYES BOO!

B'ah beaten to it

Seifer

Joystiq are leaning towards it being a HD remake as opposed to a sequel...

gizmo

Hah, code has now changed to...

"Shadowy Figure- Raise Dead : Infinity Engine

Take heart fellow adventurers, for you have curried the favor of Boo, the only miniature giant space hamster in the Realm!"

I wouldn't mind a HD remake actually. The first game in the series could probably do with one given the lack of hardware accelerated effects found in the sequel. Outside of that a general UI polish with proper widescreen wouldn't go astray either. The references to the Infinity Engine are nice though, at least it means we won't be seeing another Dark Alliance instead of the more traditional BG game.

Seifer

And Tom's Hardware put forward the possibility it could be a port to tablets... That would suck so much it would actually hurt.

dibkins

You must gather your hardware before venturing forth.

abelard

A little bit excited at the thoughts of a sequel that would live up to BG2.

I won't get my hopes up too much though - not even sure if it's a sequel yet, and don't want to be let down if it's not up to standard.

"YOU POINT. I PUNCH."

Icyseanfitz

a hd remake would be as legendary as sequel tbh

Magill

Specially for someone like me who's never really played the orginal 2 games. ^

Dcully

Magill wrote: »

Specially for someone like me who's never really played the orginal 2 games. ^

Started playing them , can already see why everyone says they are so epic.

PerrinV2

Magill wrote: »

Specially for someone like me who's never really played the orginal 2 games. ^

You missed out

quarryman

What exactly is a HD release going to do better than the already-available widescreen mod? I already play it in 1920x1080.

Magill

Dcully wrote: »

Started playing them , can already see why everyone says they are so epic.

They do seem like i'd really enjoy them tbh, i just never got round to it... hopefully they do a HD remake of both games + expansions.

PerrinV2 wrote: »

You missed out

It would appear so mr.perrin... i guess i was more a diablo guy.

Raphael

quarryman wrote: »

What exactly is a HD release going to do better than the already-available widescreen mod? I already play it in 1920x1080.

Improved textures and animations, I imagine.

Bought the set from gamersgate and started replaying, had forgotten how much I loved this game.

Daith

Bought all from GOG. A HD remake might be good but I always thought it was a pretty timeless game (mainly BG2) too though.

Anybody else recreate their crew from the D&D cartoon?

ChubbyHubby

nevermind

Temptamperu

Anyone excited about Baldurs Gate 3 must be off their rocker. EA owns Bioware and Bioware have very much lost all the respect they once had.

gizmo

Temptamperu wrote: »

Anyone excited about Baldurs Gate 3 must be off their rocker. EA owns Bioware and Bioware have very much lost all the respect they once had.

And Bioware aren't making Baldur's Gate 3...

Magill

http://baldursgate.com/

So.... some news tomorrow at 7pm ?

Reekwind

gizmo wrote: »

I wouldn't mind a HD remake actually. The first game in the series could probably do with one given the lack of hardware accelerated effects found in the sequel

You can use the EasyTutu mod to play BG1 in the BG2 engine. So personally I don't see the point in a HD remake

Or indeed a remake at all. If someone wants to create a new BG game, even if it has little relation to the originals, then fine. I can respect that even if it's Interplay. Much better than someone simply picking over the series's corpse to update the graphics and the like

gizmo

Reekwind wrote: »

You can use the EasyTutu mod to play BG1 in the BG2 engine. So personally I don't see the point in a HD remake

Or indeed a remake at all. If someone wants to create a new BG game, even if it has little relation to the originals, then fine. I can respect that even if it's Interplay. Much better than someone simply picking over the series's corpse to update the graphics and the like

I don't really consider mods a viable option for newcomers to the series which is why I'd be happy to see a decent remastering being done to it. Not only that but positive sales from a possible re-release could lead to a new entry in the series that is more BG1 & 2 and less Dark Alliance.

Reekwind

But why would you want another game? The BG story is over, it has been told over two games and two expansions. Even the aborted Josh Sawyer BG project a few years back would have essentially been a completely new tale using a familiar brand. The original team has moved on and what they produced doesn't need any bells and whistles

Fans have to accept that series do end. A HD remake will add nothing to to BG - because it's already possible to that for free* - and would just represent Interplay trying to squeeze a few more cents from one of its few remaining assets. They should let it go and produce some original content (ie, the next BG) instead. But then that's something that publishers are ever more reluctant to do

*Although anyone who doesn't want to spend 15min installing a mod is perfectly free to cough up €30+ for what is essentially the same thing. A fool and his money...

gizmo

Reekwind wrote: »

But why would you want another game? The BG story is over, it has been told over two games and two expansions. Even the aborted Josh Sawyer BG project a few years back would have essentially been a completely new tale using a familiar brand. The original team has moved on and what they produced doesn't need any bells and whistles

Fans have to accept that series do end. A HD remake will add nothing to to BG - because it's already possible to that for free* - and would just represent Interplay trying to squeeze a few more cents from one of its few remaining assets. They should let it go and produce some original content (ie, the next BG) instead. But then that's something that publishers are ever more reluctant to do

*Although anyone who doesn't want to spend 15min installing a mod is perfectly free to cough up €30+ for what is essentially the same thing. A fool and his money...

Oh I wouldn't really want an attempt at the continuation of the story, more along the lines of The Black Hound where they were leveraging the name but creating an entirely new story set in the same universe using the same or updated ruleset. As I said earlier in the thread, the involvement of Trent Oster is what really had me excited, if it was an entirely new development team with none of the original staff then my excitement would be minimal.

And again, I simply don't agree that calling someone who doesn't have the technical knowledge to know about, track down and install a mod to a 1998/2000 game is a fool.