Baldur's Gate - Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition: More Trent Oster Interviews

Myrthos

Cave Canem
Administrator
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,223
Soon the first reviews of Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition will appear. Before that we will have to do with interviews with Trent Oster. One showed up at 1 More Castle:
Jason: With the impending release of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, what challenges did you face updating the game for modern systems? Specifically, was it difficult to port the game for Android and iOS?
Trent: It was very hard to remove all the windows specific coding in the engine. The code was started back when Windows 95 was just coming to market and it had a lot of assumptions on how windows works which are no longer true. We found the game was in some cases spending 70% of the time doing null operations as it was waiting for a thread (bits of code) to complete so other code could run. We tore down the whole threading model and started over. Once we had completed the core refactoring away from Windows, which took about six months, we moved on to a core re-write of most of the rendering systems, audio and input. After all that effort, we moved on to data wrangling. All told, we spent over a year getting BG:EE to run.
And an older one at PCGamesN:
PCGN: I’ve always considered Baldur’s Gate an evolutionary dead end for BioWare. Baldur’s Gate 2 was wonderful and sorted the structural blueprint for KOTOR and Dragon Age, but wasn’t nearly so open on a grand scale. In BG every blank square on the map represents a new, undiscovered area, and each of those areas holds at least one nasty surprise, self-contained story or easter egg within. Is that something you’ve looked to retain?
TO: We've kind of asked ourselves, ‘What if BioWare went left and focused more on open world areas instead of going right and betting it all on hand-crafted story?’ Our goal with Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is to capture everything that was great about the original BG and add in some BG2 depth and polish through the new characters and adventures. With our work on BG2, we'll probably to do same, try to inject a little BG1 magic into our new content.
I've been asked a few times, ‘Are you trying to build BioWare 2.0?’ The answer is no, I'm trying to build kind of a ‘Bioware 0.6 Mark 2’. A small team, oriented at the sweet spot of RPG development with a commitment to making great games as our first priority. Basically trying to recapture the awesome feeling of the early days of BioWare with the benefit of nearly 20 years in the industry to lend us direction. A company with a strong commitment to building empowering, efficient technology and a talented content creation team focused on making amazing games.
More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,223
Cross-platform multiplayer sounds pretty cool. I-pads playing with pc users and Macs.
Finally!

I am hoping zoom is in for sure. Very tiny characters there.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,397
Location
USA-Michigan
Agreed, it may seem silly but zoom is one of the features I'm looking forward to the most.
 
There is a split second glimpse of zoom in action in the trailer which looked pretty good! Fingers crossed...
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
1,901
Location
UK
Cross-platform multiplayer sounds pretty cool. I-pads playing with pc users and Macs.
Finally!

And know we know what the arena mode is for! Bring it Mac users!!!!!
 
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
4,353
Location
Austin, TX
I just dropped in here to check in on this...guys you cannot be serious, this a by the numbers money grab. Have you seen what Trent and his team have done? Tweaks, UI recoloring and widescreen resolution; all of this has already been done with mods. And the smug "yeah we can outbioware them" is so conceited. You can get this game at Gog and spend a few minutes a couple of modsthat do exactly what Trent and his team of foward thinkers moneygrabbers are doing.
I was going to buy the EE but now I see clearly what it really is...dont suport this, torrent it if you must but really read all of Trent´s interviews where he talks like if he where the second coming of Fargo, not a hack who gets his jollies over tweaking a 12 year old game and smugy thinks he can do it better
 
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
27
Torrent?? Did you just say to STEAL the product rather than support someone that's refreshed it for new systems and such? Sorry, I don't truck with mods and such, unless it's an official expansion I just don't mess with my games like that, and if someone is going to upgrade the game for a reasonable price, they're likely to find a buyer in me. And how dare anyone suggest to people that you should steal it instead, for shame.



-Carn
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
18,788
Location
Holly Hill, FL.
I just dropped in here to check in on this…guys you cannot be serious, this a by the numbers money grab. Have you seen what Trent and his team have done? Tweaks, UI recoloring and widescreen resolution; all of this has already been done with mods. And the smug "yeah we can outbioware them" is so conceited. You can get this game at Gog and spend a few minutes a couple of modsthat do exactly what Trent and his team of foward thinkers moneygrabbers are doing.
I was going to buy the EE but now I see clearly what it really is…dont suport this, torrent it if you must but really read all of Trent´s interviews where he talks like if he where the second coming of Fargo, not a hack who gets his jollies over tweaking a 12 year old game and smugy thinks he can do it better


blah blah blah blah blah blah

Seriously, get some new arguments. It's already been established why BG:EE is worth it:

1) Not having to deal with mods to get it to run on modern hardware
2) Not having to deal with mods to get the benefits of the BG2 engine upgrades
3) New content
4) Improvements to the code base to run better on modern OS
5) Multiplayer that works (ever try to get multiplayer to work in the last few years?)

They put a lot of work into bringing a refined and expanded version of BG to the masses, not just people that are comfortable with using mods (many fo which are subpar anyway).

I'm proud to support them. If you don't want to, fine, but spew your hate somewhere else.
 
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
4,353
Location
Austin, TX
I just dropped in here to check in on this…guys you cannot be serious, this a by the numbers money grab. Have you seen what Trent and his team have done? Tweaks, UI recoloring and widescreen resolution; all of this has already been done with mods. And the smug "yeah we can outbioware them" is so conceited. You can get this game at Gog and spend a few minutes a couple of modsthat do exactly what Trent and his team of foward thinkers moneygrabbers are doing.

I was going to buy the EE but now I see clearly what it really is…dont suport this, torrent it if you must but really read all of Trent´s interviews where he talks like if he where the second coming of Fargo, not a hack who gets his jollies over tweaking a 12 year old game and smugy thinks he can do it better

Meh. An obvious troll.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
5,521
Location
Seattle
Not my cousin, but he does seem to have the family trait of making good points ;)

Then again, most people seem to suffer from the "We love BG - and we can get it in some new version we don't really know much about - so let's not use our brains to actually think about a fair price - that would only get in the way of spending money on BG again" crowd hypnosis - so you must be one big happy family ;)
 
blah blah blah blah blah blah

Seriously, get some new arguments. It's already been established why BG:EE is worth it:

1) Not having to deal with mods to get it to run on modern hardware
2) Not having to deal with mods to get the benefits of the BG2 engine upgrades
3) New content
4) Improvements to the code base to run better on modern OS
5) Multiplayer that works (ever try to get multiplayer to work in the last few years?)

They put a lot of work into bringing a refined and expanded version of BG to the masses, not just people that are comfortable with using mods (many fo which are subpar anyway).

I'm proud to support them. If you don't want to, fine, but spew your hate somewhere else.

You forgot:
6) Upgraded the journal to made it usable and not have to use a piece of paper to remember quests you found and what to do.
7) Upgraded the paperdoll to display more information about armor and bonuses.
 
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
7,313
Uh kiddies you should see me trolling over at Codex…;)
I dont care what you guys do with your money (I am guessing more your mommies dought; hope you gave some for Wasteland 2 and PE) but giving money to that guy for saving you the hassle of installing 20 minutes of mods to get the same result (minus retarded Ui recoloring and "optimizations")…please if you are so dense why are you into PC gaming at all…unless you wanted it for your tablet :D
I was going to buy EE and half the Codex was laughing at me; it looked like a pretty good idea on paper and much of what you guys say it is true but inderstand this; you are supporting a guy who talks like he is redoing the Mona Lisa, with all thse grandstanding and "we making it better babay" poses.
The defintiion of upgarding something is making it better, not making it different; a battery that lasts 20 minutues more tha the other bateries is an upgarde; relocloring the UI is not.
I dont think the tablet gaming will work with this game, the AI of the battle system is simply not good enough and need a lot of input, but lets wait and see.
The game is a damn great game as it is and all his optmizations make it seem like he was working on a shitty game is is heroicly trying to bring back to life; he is ridding the success of a 12 year old game and has the balls to make it sound like he is saving it from itself….
Oh and the torrent coment always gets nice reactions; you must be one of them proud americans wo think they are righteous and goody, while your country rapes third world countries, produces 1/3 of all the polution in the world and you try to talk ethics? Please :D
Most of the Codex think this place is for fawning fanbois while over there is for haters…and actualy from what I have seen so far I prefer hate over fawning over Trent any day of the week
Oh and brofist to D´Artagnan
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
27
It was good to see the reply of adding some of BG 1's magic into BG 2: EE for their next release. I always considered the first one a better game experience, even though I thought they were both great. I hope the game is a big success so there will be DLC and expansions added later. $20 is nothing now a days, and to me it is an automatic buy for the higher resolutions and new characters. Of course, I will wait a while for the first patches to come out before buying, that is standard procedure for me. This is a real rpg renaissance right now. Divinity: Original Sin, Baldur's Gate, Chaos Chronicles, the Obsidian old school kick starter game, all very exciting stuff.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
2,244
Location
Pacific NorthWest, USA!
And know we know what the arena mode is for! Bring it Mac users!!!!!

Come on Dart. You know you want to rip Joxers head off. now you can do so on your I-pad.

Codex dude give us a break. We all know your country has rushed to help America after the hurricane. You know, like we do for everybody. Oh, wait. I'm dreaming again.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,397
Location
USA-Michigan
Nah my country is your self appointed backyard (do a little memory check of your high school years to remeber who said that...if you are out of highschool BTW) so we are in the shits because EU deemed it profitable to keep us that way...which is fine by me because I profit from the ignorance of my countrymen as well.
But now it is clear now...alll you guys are lookng foward to getting to play along with your buddies it seems...lemme meka a brand new thread then
 
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
27
1) Not having to deal with mods to get it to run on modern hardware
2) Not having to deal with mods to get the benefits of the BG2 engine upgrades

That's enough reason for me to be excited. I've installed lots of mods and community patches for other games, even designed my own mods for some games. However, I spent two weekends in a row, working on this all day and never managed to get all those Tutu's and WeiDu's and Big World Baldur's gate mods installed properly. It was a huge PITA, so I just gave up on trying to install the game and decided to wait for the BGEE instead.
 
Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Messages
1,477
Location
Chocovania
Back
Top Bottom