OS Neutral how do you expect Baldur's gate (enhanced version for iPad) to be?

[nbnbxdnb]

I have some high hopes for the enhanced Baldur's Gate. I don't consider myself a fan though, because I never played it. I really wanted to, but I just didn't have time for it when the original release was popular. So I hope I could experience the wonderful stories and gameplay with the update-to-date graphic. I was checking the development progress on their website one moment ago. To be honest, the pictures don't impress me very much. Considering the development cycle which has been a few months, I think, I was expecting rich elements and sharp graphic... Maybe the developers were trying to give audience some nostalgia. I don't know. I just hope it comes to be a great revamp. How do you guys think?

 

[Paulyboy]

I have some high hopes for the enhanced Baldur's Gate. I don't consider myself a fan though, because I never played it. I really wanted to, but I just didn't have time for it when the original release was popular. So I hope I could experience the wonderful stories and gameplay with the update-to-date graphic. I was checking the development progress on their website one moment ago. To be honest, the pictures don't impress me very much. Considering the development cycle which has been a few months, I think, I was expecting rich elements and sharp graphic... Maybe the developers were trying to give audience some nostalgia. I don't know. I just hope it comes to be a great revamp. How do you guys think?

The original art assets were lost or destroyed (I can't remember which) before these guys were able to get their hands on the rights to do this so they had to instead basically just enhance what was already there. This is a very poor explanation as I'm not really knowledgeable about this stuff but that's the general idea. Bottom line is they're doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

That said this still should immediately be the best role-playing game available on the iPad, which isn't saying much I know but it's something. It should also be one of the best choices available on the Mac as well just as it was 14 years ago.

If you don't like the old-school approach you may not like it as much but there's a whole lot of people that do miss the rich storylines and character development that few modern role-playing games even begin to approach anymore. As for the visual style I actually prefer role-playing games this way for the most part. Combat is so much more interesting when playing games that use the birds-eye perspective and you don't have to worry about messing around with camera controls.

This is actually somewhat of a beginning of a comeback for these types of games. They also committed to making Baldur's Gate 2 and will do more of the Infinity Engine games if these are successful. There's also the forthcoming Divine Divinity game as well as Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and Project Eternity all coming in the next 18 months. All of these games are using the old-school birds-eye perspective with a strong emphasis on story and character development. This is further evidence that there's a pretty strong demand for these types of games and this demand doesn't just extend to consumers but also developers as well who are finally getting to do the types of games they love again.

I'm looking forward to all of these!

-PN

 

[antonis]

I couldn't explain it better. That covers my expectations too, as I never managed to play the original Baldur's Gate but I've played and finished the BG2.

I'm a big fan of those RPGs (I missed only few of them back then) since they have a story to tell, and the only requirement for the player is to relax and listen to this story. You will have to take lots and lots of choices through the game - the real difference with modern games is that although some of these choices will be strategical, some others will be ethically-based. You need to consider the characters, their alignment and the environment around, before actually decide how to act. This is an experience way beyond stunning graphics and fast-paced actions.

For the newcomers that never played these turn-based RPGs, it might seem a bit odd at first, but give it a time. After awhile, you'll find yourself caring and troubling for your group and their progress, way more than you would in a modern game.

In my opinion, the only matter that might still be in danger of failure will be the touch interface. They need to cover all the functions a player can do, without players struggle too much for it. For a game like that, replacing mouse and keyboard with the touch screen while trying to achieve the same experience, is a real challenge.

I keep my hopes up.

 

[cluthz]

According to what I've heard is the graphics mostly untouched.
Videos are redone and UI is redone. Quests are also modified.

 

[nbnbxdnb]

I actually quite like the old fashion RPGs. Thanks for the knowledge on the upcoming titles. I played some turn-by-turns mainly developed by Jap studios, including FF, of course. The modern big rpgs mostly adopt open-world structure, which is good. But the problem is that some of them go too far, maybe just for me. For example, I think the quests in skyrim could have been way more dramatic, if the developers shrank the 1000 quests to 500 and spent twice of the time to develop each quest instead. I understand lots of people like collecting the amazing crafts to feel special. I was drawn into that as well in some games like D3. But once I stopped playing, I felt really tired and there was hardly any emotional moments I could recall from playing it. The best gaming experience I had is nothing like that.

The original art assets were lost or destroyed (I can't remember which) before these guys were able to get their hands on the rights to do this so they had to instead basically just enhance what was already there. This is a very poor explanation as I'm not really knowledgeable about this stuff but that's the general idea. Bottom line is they're doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

That said this still should immediately be the best role-playing game available on the iPad, which isn't saying much I know but it's something. It should also be one of the best choices available on the Mac as well just as it was 14 years ago.

If you don't like the old-school approach you may not like it as much but there's a whole lot of people that do miss the rich storylines and character development that few modern role-playing games even begin to approach anymore. As for the visual style I actually prefer role-playing games this way for the most part. Combat is so much more interesting when playing games that use the birds-eye perspective and you don't have to worry about messing around with camera controls.

This is actually somewhat of a beginning of a comeback for these types of games. They also committed to making Baldur's Gate 2 and will do more of the Infinity Engine games if these are successful. There's also the forthcoming Divine Divinity game as well as Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and Project Eternity all coming in the next 18 months. All of these games are using the old-school birds-eye perspective with a strong emphasis on story and character development. This is further evidence that there's a pretty strong demand for these types of games and this demand doesn't just extend to consumers but also developers as well who are finally getting to do the types of games they love again.

I'm looking forward to all of these!

-PN

 

[nbnbxdnb]

Ya, I miss turn-based rpgs too, like I said in my last reply. I think rpgs go into several directions today, and they are not quite like each other to stay under the same genre. Like D3 is a farming rpgs. Skyrim has more drama than d3, but lots of side quests are just plain as well. The turn-based rpgs like FF emphasize on telling stories, while gems, upgrades are in the second place. I can't say this very well, since I don't play lots of rpgs. I look forward to reading reviews on Baldur's gate enhanced when it comes out.

I couldn't explain it better. That covers my expectations too, as I never managed to play the original Baldur's Gate but I've played and finished the BG2.

I'm a big fan of those RPGs (I missed only few of them back then) since they have a story to tell, and the only requirement for the player is to relax and listen to this story. You will have to take lots and lots of choices through the game - the real difference with modern games is that although some of these choices will be strategical, some others will be ethically-based. You need to consider the characters, their alignment and the environment around, before actually decide how to act. This is an experience way beyond stunning graphics and fast-paced actions.

For the newcomers that never played these turn-based RPGs, it might seem a bit odd at first, but give it a time. After awhile, you'll find yourself caring and troubling for your group and their progress, way more than you would in a modern game.

In my opinion, the only matter that might still be in danger of failure will be the touch interface. They need to cover all the functions a player can do, without players struggle too much for it. For a game like that, replacing mouse and keyboard with the touch screen while trying to achieve the same experience, is a real challenge.

I keep my hopes up.

----------

According to what I've heard is the graphics mostly untouched.
Videos are redone and UI is redone. Quests are also modified.

I don't know anything about that, but that sounds about right from what the screenshots look like. So is it like the first guy said the original art was destroyed? Was there a copyright dispute or a fire????