Beamdog confirms new Baldur's Gate title in works

[Bateluer]

http://www.pcgamer.com/beamdog-confirms-that-a-new-baldurs-gate-game-is-in-the-works/

Beamdog has confirmed that the mysterious "Adventure Y" is in fact a new Baldur's Gate game. It won't be a sequel, however, but will instead take place in the gap between the Enhanced Editions of the original game and Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn.

"This year, the eagerly anticipated Adventure Y will finally navigate the dark underground caverns of development and venture out into the Sword Coast," the studio wrote on its Beamblog. "We’ve mentioned before that Adventure Y will be an addition to the Baldur’s Gate line using the Infinity engine, bridging the gap between Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition."

That prior mention was presumably the one made way back in mid-2012, when Beamdog boss Trent Oster tweeted, "Keep your ears peeled for Adventure Y, which is intimately linked to the Bhallspawn [sic] storyline." In a separate tweet, he described it as "an optional storyline piece in the Bhaalspawn [sic] series."

Beamdog said the official announcement of the game—title, release date, that sort of thing—won't be coming until late spring, and that the release will be "something bigger than we've ever done before." As for a potential Baldur's Gate 3, that's not happening—at least, not yet. "We’d be lying if we said we never think about doing a Baldur’s Gate III game, so we won’t say that," the studio wrote. "But we will say there’s nothing in the works yet regarding BGIII or a 5th edition game."

Interesting.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I thought BG3 was called Pillars of Eternity and was out this spring. Hmmmm... -_-

 

[Bateluer]

I thought BG3 was called Pillars of Eternity and was out this spring. Hmmmm... -_-

Pillars is not related to BG3.

 

[rivethead]

This is awesome. But I hope they also continue their efforts to enhance other classics. I mean a Planscape: Torment Enhanced Edition would sell!

 

[SMOGZINN]

This is awesome. But I hope they also continue their efforts to enhance other classics. I mean a Planscape: Torment Enhanced Edition would sell!

The IP for Planescape: Torment is all muddled, and it would probably require a lawsuit to settle who owns the IP. It is unlikely we will ever get such a thing.

 

[Bateluer]

The IP for Planescape: Torment is all muddled, and it would probably require a lawsuit to settle who owns the IP. It is unlikely we will ever get such a thing.

It was on their pipeline a while back, for what thats worth. I'd rather have PST:EE than IWD:EE.

 

[bystander36]

Does anyone know anything about the engine he mentioned? Is this going to be using the same engine the original games were made on, or the enhanced versions, or maybe a modern engine with good graphics?

 

[cbrunny]

Hmm. maybe its about time I play BG1 and BG2. Has anyone tried them on Android? I can't imagine I'd play this on PC with all the other games I have on the go. But maybe Android.... Are these ports any good?

 

[Midwayman]

Hmm. maybe its about time I play BG1 and BG2. Has anyone tried them on Android? I can't imagine I'd play this on PC with all the other games I have on the go. But maybe Android.... Are these ports any good?

I've read they're worthwhile, but touch is a little more difficult that managing with a mouse in combat.

 

[shortylickens]

the android versions are clunky even on a huge screen. Get the EE versions on Steam.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Any idea what D&D rules set they are going to use (or is it something completely custom, and hopefully not a bastardized version in which I will need to have Boo go for it's eyes...)?

 

[cbrunny]

the android versions are clunky even on a huge screen. Get the EE versions on Steam.

clunky how so? video demos make it look not so bad. the EE versions are the Android as well.

 

[rivethead]

clunky how so? video demos make it look not so bad. the EE versions are the Android as well.

I can't speak from Android experience, but I watched my son play BG:EE on his iPad for a few hours last month (overseas flight) and he had no issues. Interface was pretty smooth.

 

[Puppies04]

Any idea what D&D rules set they are going to use (or is it something completely custom, and hopefully not a bastardized version in which I will need to have Boo go for it's eyes...)?

I am sure miniature giant space hamster has far more lethal attacks.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Pillars is not related to BG3.

Was being sarcastic. Partly implying that a an Obsidian PoE might feel more like BG3 than a BeamDog BG3.

 

[alcoholbob]

I thought BG3 was called Pillars of Eternity and was out this spring. Hmmmm... -_-

Baldur's Gate was originally made by a co-op team by Black Isle Studios and Bioware. Bioware made their "spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" with Dragon Age: Origins. You could think of Pillars of Eternity to be the "spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" by the Black Isle Studios side of the team.

 

[Shargrath]

Incredible news, but disappointing that it's not a full featured epic Baldur's Gate III. BG I and II are some of my favorite role playing games of all time, I've replayed them several times. This is probably the most exciting gaming news I've heard in a long time. Hopefully they don't mess it up.

 

[shortylickens]

It would be hard to make a real Baldurs Gate 3 because the story was completed at the end of Baldurs Gate 2.

What we needed was a whole new tale set on the Sword Coast with the same engine and AD&D 2nd rules.

Instead we got Neverwinter Nights which was a slap in the face to hard core fans and probably designed to draw in casual gamers.

 

[Bateluer]

It would be hard to make a real Baldurs Gate 3 because the story was completed at the end of Baldurs Gate 2.

What we needed was a whole new tale set on the Sword Coast with the same engine and AD&D 2nd rules.

Making a BG3 would be silly because, as you said, they concluded the story and fully epilogued it. There's little else they can take it. BG3 would be nothing more than an RPG that takes place on the Sword Coast.

As much flak as you can give the 4th and 5th edition rules, the 2e rules aren't ideal either. 3.0 or 3.5 would work better while keeping the depth you want.


Instead we got Neverwinter Nights which was a slap in the face to hard core fans and probably designed to draw in casual gamers.[/QUOTE]

NWN1 and NWN2 were neither of those and both great games in their own right.

 

[Kalmah]

I'm hoping for 3.0 rules.

I'd much rather a new engine though. Come on, why not a 3d engine with a top-down view that has a VERY limited tilt. I really really dislike the full 3d in modern rpgs. Camera running into walls, getting stuck behind scenery, and constantly having to adjust the view gets really annoying.

I'm probably one of BG's biggest fans, but after replaying Infinity engine games a hundred times I think I'm about done watching sprites run about the screen. I want BG quality character/story/music with hi-fidelity visuals and no camera annoyances. Oh, and and please leave out the micro transactions, DLC, and online accounts in order to play.

Besides the camera, NWN1 and 2 were great. Mostly because of the toolset and the 3.0 and 3.5 rules.

 

[BSim500]

Instead we got Neverwinter Nights which was a slap in the face to hard core fans and probably designed to draw in casual gamers.

NWN for "casual" gamers? You're joking right? Most real "casual" gamers complained how complicated the D&D rules were just as much as they did with Baldur's Gate. "I'm attacking someone and want to change attacks, but instead of working like Diablo, it's forming an action queue", "What's the difference between spell resistance and Wisdom-based Will-saving-throws vs spells? This is all too hard for me to understand". It's a far cry from the button mashing, designed for consoles & controllers "Gauntlet with a big plot" direction Dragon Age is heading in. As Bateluer said, NWN was well received, +90% Metacritic scores, super moddable, etc. If you didn't like the rules, you could change them. Change the classes (all 23 of them), skills, feats, spells and spell schools. Create mods with same full blown toolset that developers used for the main campaigns. Disk-check DRM was removed in a patch (like The Witcher). Fully PC keyb + mouse optimised HUD (36 quickslots, etc). Better GFX added later on (CEP), etc. Hardly a "slap in the face". It also wasn't supposed to be a BG clone, hence why NWN games were released under their own franchise, and not called BG3 & BG4.

Come on, why not a 3d engine with a top-down view that has a VERY limited tilt. Besides the camera, NWN1 and 2 were great. Mostly because of the toolset and the 3.0 and 3.5 rules.

Isn't that exactly what NWN had? Full 3D rotational isometric with variable top-down tilt from 0-90 degrees (hold middle mouse button down, move mouse up/down to required tilt, then release middle button and it'll "lock in" that tilt (or simply Page Up/Down))? Between the 3 camera modes (Chase, Driving, Top Down), I always found one that worked (usually top-down). The only thing that needed adjusting for me were screen-edge rotation speed and disabling "dialogue zoom" and there were in-game options for both of those.

 

[Kalmah]

Isn't that exactly what NWN had? Full 3D rotational isometric with variable top-down tilt from 0-90 degrees (hold middle mouse button down, move mouse up/down to required tilt, then release middle button and it'll "lock in" that tilt (or simply Page Up/Down))? Between the 3 camera modes (Chase, Driving, Top Down), I always found one that worked (usually top-down). The only thing that needed adjusting for me were screen-edge rotation speed and disabling "dialogue zoom" and there were in-game options for both of those.

I think it was only nwn2 that game me any trouble. nwn1 was near perfect... now that I think about it.

 

[bystander36]

The only reason you can complain about NWN 1&2 as far as going "casual", is simply that you didn't like them using newer rules. NWN 1&2 used AD&D rules of their time. I don't recall which version, but they had tons more options available than BG did. What ever rule set they used in NWN 1&2 made it more hardcore than BG, from the standpoint of someone who wasn't into table top AD&D. The options were endless.

The only other thing that could have caused such a complaint might be the expansions which let you go past level 20.

NWN 1 & 2, with all their options, did make for some great replay value. Though I liked Dragon Age: Origins a lot as well. While they didn't follow AD&D rules, they created a system that was close enough, and easy for the uninitiated to join in.

DA:I is going in the wrong direction. I'd rather see something between DA: Origins and DA2 as far as the skill tree goes. DA:I just goes too far.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Was being sarcastic. Partly implying that a an Obsidian PoE might feel more like BG3 than a BeamDog BG3.

I wasn't too surprised that someone didn't pick up on this.

Studios doing modern remakes of classics are starting to turn out quite pathetic these days, dumbing them down for casuals. Look at the Thief reboot, that was diabolical, in pretty much every way Dishonored was a better thief game than Thief was.

However there's quite a lot of indie games which make spiritual successors to fill the market for these old titles which are often much loved by the community, they just don't have access to the same intellectual property. I helped kickstart PoE because of Baldur's Gate

 

[Midwayman]

If there was anything to complain about with NWN, it was that they went 3d too early and the beastiary was pathetic compared to the infinity engine stuff and it looked like ass in comparison. It wasn't 'casual' in any way though.