Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition Pricing and Release Dates

Dhruin

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The countdown on the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition site has finished and Beamdog/Overhaul has revealed pricing and availability, as well as PC preorders. The game will be released on PC, iPad and Mac on September 18th (Android TBA). Pricing varies - which will annoy some fans - $19.99 fo PC (10% discount for preorders) and $9.99 on iPad, for example. New player voices and portraits are available on iPad via in-app purchases and they appear to be included on PC, which might explain the pricing.
New content has also been revealed and 400 miscellaneous improvements are claimed, though we still don't have real screenshots (some widescreen shots are on the site but with no UI). From the PC section:
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for Windows contains the following enhancements:
  • New Adventure: The Black Pits
  • New Character: Dorn Il-Khan
  • New Character: Neera the Wild Mage
  • New Character: Rasaad yn Bashir
  • A new collection of player character voice sets
  • Native support for high resolution widescreen displays
  • Over 400 improvements to the original game
  • Improved multiplayer support, with connectivity between all platforms
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for Windows will be available as a direct download from Beamdog, with no client install necessary. Pre-purchasing will allow you to preload the game, so you can access it immediately after release.
More information.
 
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What happened to "summer"? A week before Mists of Pandaria is terrible timing, for me at least. I was hoping to play through both BG1 EE and regular BG2 + ToB before Mists, but now it seems I'll have to settle for regular BG1+2 and just push back BG1 EE until the next time I get tempted to play BG. A shame.

Edit: Those new characters and the additional content seems rather interesting though. I honestly wasn't expecting anything beyond a beefed up interface, so this is a nice surprise.
 
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The Black Pits is one of the enhancements that make up Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition that allows you to create a full party and battle through fifteen hellish battles in a desperate bid to escape. Difficult challenges, unique battles, and a bizarre cast of characters await you within the Underdark!
A new battle arena. I'm not overly impressed. Battles haven't been the feature I felt being underrepresented in the original.
All of the Baldur's Gate cinematics have been replaced with beautifully hand painted animated cinematics, directed by Nat Jones.
Dont know if I like this. I'll have to wait and see.
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will continue to receive improvements after release, along with continued support for the vibrant mod community that has helped it remain so popular for so long.
Guess I can wait until it's complete.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea behind that concept, but I'm not blown away by the result. For me, they took the easy road. Here a small new area there some battles and dialogs. I would have hoped for something more… meaningful?
 
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Really? I was expecting practically nothing except changes to the interface.
 
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Casting wild magic is like playing a flute by ear. In magical terms, I can play a pretty mean tune, but when I miss a note the flute shoots fire at everyone."
God, I hope this is not example of new dialogs.
 
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Really? I was expecting practically nothing except changes to the interface.
For twice the money as the original on GOG? Uhm, yes. Especially I don't see the benefit in three new NPC characters. Did they upgraded party conversation of the existing party members, too? And battle arenas is always the stuff they throw after you if they feel they have to implement something new. Durlag's Tower, Trials of the Luremaster, …
 
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I find it sad that it will be available only though that website. I wonder if it's going to affect sales. I personally will patiently wait till it appears on Steam or at least on Origin.
 
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For twice the money as the original on GOG? Uhm, yes. Especially I don't see the benefit in three new NPC characters. Did they upgraded party conversation of the existing party members, too? And battle arenas is always the stuff they throw after you if they feel they have to implement something new. Durlag's Tower, Trials of the Luremaster, …

Heh, "twice the money" makes it sound like such a drastic increase in price. Ten bucks is about the price of a DLC these days, you don't get a lot of stuff for that kind of money. It seems like roughly the price and size of a good DLC, in addition to whatever adjustments they've made to the interface. It's not a bargain, but it's certainly a fair price.
 
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Indeed imo most DLCs are too expensive. I remember the time I got a Throne of Bhaal expansion for the same money as three or for DLCs today and had more fun than the level recycling of a DAO Witch Hunt DLC. And compared to most of the Fallout / New Vegas (except Operation Anchorage) DLCs that also costed 10$/€ it's not very spectacular.

I don't expect more in terms of gameplay hours, but in terms of story design. And when I read they can't add banter for existing characters I'd speculate the new characters will either be that much different that it breaks immersion or they won't have any background besides their new sidequest you have to fulfill in order to recruit them.
 
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Meh, $20 bucks seems like a steal to me. While the "black pits" sounds like some kind of lame all combat Diablo-like boring play mode, the new characters and the new areas that go along with those characters has me stoked. Now when I play it, there will be new stuff to see and do which will make the play through more interesting. I will have all of the new characters in the party at the same time so as to see all the new content.
 
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I find it sad that it will be available only though that website. I wonder if it's going to affect sales. I personally will patiently wait till it appears on Steam or at least on Origin.

Entering an email address is indeed a terrible burden.
 
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... I remember a project which was trying to remade BG with DA:O engine. There was a sense. Enhancing UI, tactical options or so. Here we got the same graphics with improved resolution, few new npc and some quests.

Don't missunderstand me. I love infinity engine games. The immersion was in story, text... but I feel that we are waiting for "awesome" iPad/Android conversion. (Always asking myself why such studios as Obsidian or Biowa.. erghhh.. others do not return to such cool systems)
 
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I like the pricing breakdown, as it puts it at reasonable levels on all platforms. Charging for each added character adventure pack on iPad is a great way to level the playing field without killing interest in the iOS version.
 
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Entering an email address is indeed a terrible burden.
It is another account you have to choose and remember a password, secure against hacking attacks, and so on. In addition to Steam, GOG, Origin, Facebook, Email, RPGWatch, ...
 
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400 miscellaneous improvements - itemize them and i'll be interested.
 
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I went from excited to 'who gives a shit' pretty fast here.

The screenshots indicate they didn't even fix the fact that everything is tiny at high resolutions. These guys are hacks and this is worthless.
 
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I went from excited to 'who gives a shit' pretty fast here.

The screenshots indicate they didn't even fix the fact that everything is tiny at high resolutions. These guys are hacks and this is worthless.
The game's art is all in 2D and they can't just completely redo it all. It's an enhanced edition, not a new game. Your expectations are ludicrous.
 
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No, they aren't.

They said they were trying to find a scaling set up and they obviously didn't yet they are still charging $20 for this garbage. There's nothing enhanced here. They re-build the UI for tablets and added some worthless characters nobody wants and a side-story that doesn't mesh with the game at all. Ridiculous and pointless!

Fuck this cash grab.
 
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If scaling is what you want, then your monitor can already do that for you.
 
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Will I still be able to play multiplayer by myself so I can create a whole party? The black pits doesn't do anything for me I hope that's not the only new content. I will have to here more before I can judge.

Don't like the in app purchase crap for iPad. I would rather a full and lite edition.
 
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