# Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Launches Today!



## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

Yep, the wait is over!  The new edition of the classic Baldur's Gate launches today on the PC!  It'll be followed shortly by the iPad version, and then the Mac version.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for Windows is available as a direct download from Beamdog, with no client install necessary. Pre-load the game now so you can access it immediately after release on November 28th! (That's today!)

Go here to get it - it's $19.99.  That's the pre-order, but presumably it will be available to you later today.

Since its initial release in 1998, Baldur's Gate has entertained millions of fans around the globe, and has received countless awards. This classic saga of mystery, intrigue, and adventure has set the standard for Dungeons & Dragons™ computer role-playing games ever since.

Running on an upgraded and improved version of the Infinity Engine, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition™ includes the entire Baldur's Gate adventure, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, and never before seen content including a new adventure, and three new party members: The Calishite Monk Rasaad yn Bashir, Neera the Wild Mage, and Dorn Il-Khan, the evil blackguard.

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


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## Dioltach (Nov 28, 2012)

Sweet! I'm waiting for the iPad release so I can play it in the living room. Also, I can tell my wife that I'm studying.


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## Szatany (Nov 28, 2012)

Just curious - has any of the D&D mechanics in this version changed? Any changes to task resolution, skills, abilities, spells, statistics etc?
What I found myself is this:
- the level cap for the game will be raised
- all improvements from Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and its expansion packs are being imported into the game,[9] this includes classes, subraces and class kits previously unavailable (including dual-wielding). _(don't know what those are)_
- previously unavailable classes such as the Blackguard will be available to the game via new adventures


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## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

I'm downloading it now.  I guess their servers might be a bit hammered right now, as I'm only getting a 50-70kbs download speed (it's got 1.8GB to go!)


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## Sonny (Nov 28, 2012)

Keep in mind the game unlocks at 12 pm PST. So anyone who has the game download will have to wait another hour before playing.

Edit: Because time zones apparently confuse me.


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## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

Sonny said:


> Keep in mind the game unlocks at 1pm PST. So anyone who has the game download will have to wait another hour before playing.




Oh, I'll be headed to bed by then, I expect.  Tomorrow morning for me!


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## Alzrius (Nov 28, 2012)

Okay, I'm not the most tech-savvy geek here by a longshot, so I want to make sure I'm getting this straight:

No client-side install? So we're essentially playing this off their server (e.g. in "the cloud")?

I ask because I prefer to _buy_ games, as opposed to _renting_ them, which is what this sounds like. Is that the case?


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## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

Alzrius said:


> Okay, I'm not the most tech-savvy geek here by a longshot, so I want to make sure I'm getting this straight:
> 
> No client-side install? So we're essentially playing this off their server (e.g. in "the cloud")?
> 
> I ask because I prefer to _buy_ games, as opposed to _renting_ them, which is what this sounds like. Is that the case?




I dunno.  I got an installer exe thingy which is downloading 1.8GB of stuff right now.


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## Sonny (Nov 28, 2012)

Morrus said:


> Oh, I'll be headed to bed by then, I expect.  Tomorrow morning for me!




Actually I was thinking of Mountain Time It should be ready in 2 minutes. Stay awhile and lis... wrong game.

TO be clear 12 pm PST. =/


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## Zaukrie (Nov 28, 2012)

I am 99 percent sure you can play locally. They have an faq in their badly laid out and managed forums...


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## Sonny (Nov 28, 2012)

Zaukrie said:


> I am 99 percent sure you can play locally. They have an faq in their badly laid out and managed forums...




It _should_ be unlocked now. Also the release was based on this event they made: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=BG:EE+Release&iso=20121128T13&p1=80

(Which I then messed up reading by an hour. Though It still isn't unlocking for me yet.


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## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

Well, the download's sped up massively, which is excellent news!


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## Blackwarder (Nov 28, 2012)

I've been waiting for an iPad version of BG for so long, having to wait another couple of days is killing me 

Warder


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## Morrus (Nov 28, 2012)

How will I know it's unlocked?  It says "Preload Complete".


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## Sonny (Nov 28, 2012)

Should be a play button or something. Since it isn't unlocking for anyone like it should, I'm not sure. 

No answer on their forums yet. Though some people over there are already getting irritated.


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## Shayuri (Nov 28, 2012)

Szatany said:


> Just curious - has any of the D&D mechanics in this version changed? Any changes to task resolution, skills, abilities, spells, statistics etc?
> What I found myself is this:
> - the level cap for the game will be raised
> - all improvements from Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and its expansion packs are being imported into the game,[9] this includes classes, subraces and class kits previously unavailable (including dual-wielding). _(don't know what those are)_
> - previously unavailable classes such as the Blackguard will be available to the game via new adventures




The mechanics are largely 2nd Edition, with some modifications to accomodate the computer (mostly in terms of how certain abilities and spells work). Baldur's Gate 2 added a few late additions to the 2nd Ed ruleset like class kits and subraces, and an adaptation of the Sorceror class. Those additions have been incorporated into the Enhanced Edition of Baldur's Gate 1 now.

I don't remember the full list, but things like the Kensai, a variant fighter who doesn't use armor but has expanded proficiency bonuses with a narrow spectrum of weapons, and subraces like tieflings, aasimar, wood elves and sun/moon elves and so on.

The sorceror class is based on the 3rd Edition sorceror. It has similar statistics as a wizard, but uses a spontaneous spellcasting mechanism.


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## fba827 (Nov 28, 2012)

hmmm.. i wonder if anyone buying the game now would get the L



Spoiler



arry Darryl and Darry


l brother's reference/easter egg?


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## Sonny (Nov 28, 2012)

fba827 said:


> hmmm.. i wonder if anyone buying the game now would get the L
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Oddly enough, Lord Forshadow's text can still be considered relevant.


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## Jiggawatts (Nov 28, 2012)

Been waiting on this for months.

Go for the eyes Boo, go for the eyes!


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## Oryan77 (Nov 28, 2012)

Tieflings are in this version? I didn't know that.

Now when I use my Photoshopped Tiefling portrait that I made back in the day, my PC really will be a Tiefling rather than a Half-Elf that I just called a Tiefling.


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## jrowland (Nov 29, 2012)

As long as Boo the Hamster is still in it, I'm game for a game.


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## dd.stevenson (Nov 29, 2012)

This is the coolest thing that's happened since WotC announced the reprints.


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## Sonny (Nov 29, 2012)

So far it's nice. I can't help but wondering when the new content comes into play during the game. All three of the new companions sound pretty cool.


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## Dire Bare (Nov 29, 2012)

Does anyone know if the original "bonus" content is included.  Heck, I don't even remember what the bonus content was, but you got it if you either preordered or perhaps bought a collector's edition, don't remember . . .


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## Orius (Nov 29, 2012)

I have the box that had BG + TotSC and it came with a soundtrack disc and a card with a picture of Sarevok on it.


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## Starbuck_II (Nov 29, 2012)

The new adventure called the Black Pit is there as well.
You take 6 characters (pregens or you make them) through 13 levels of a arena style combat.

You get money/exp after each battle to buy gear: note the Iron shortage from BG 1 is still active (as you haven't finished them Nesknell, however spelled, Mine so you weapons can break).


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## gideonpepys (Nov 29, 2012)

Downloaded it only to find that Intel integrated graphics chips are NOT supported.

(It states this quite clearly and loudly on the website, but in my haste an excitement I didn't read any of that.)

Anyone know why they would not support Intel graphics chips, or if they intend to change this at some time int he future.  I was dying to play this, but can't afford a new laptop, or an upgrade!


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## Ramaster (Nov 29, 2012)

Actually, there are no sub-races implemented in the game (nor where they available on BG2).

You get all the class kits that were on BG2; the 3 new NPC, the wild mage, the blackguard and the monk; the additional adventure (The Black Pits), tons of bug fixes (they claim 400+, although the game still has some bugs).

They also have some additional encounters, treasure, quests, etc.

You have a very cool zoom function, multi-platform multiplayer, near 0 seconds loading and saving times and probably some more things I might be missing.

All in all, a pretty good deal if you didn't own the original game. IF you had the original, then the 20$ price tag might not be worth it.


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## jsaving (Nov 29, 2012)

BGEE contains all content from the original Baldur's Gate plus its expansion Tales of the Sword Coast (with the exception of a few cut-scenes they deemed to be of marginal value) along with some new content written by the BGEE team.  It's in a modified version of the Thone of Bhaal engine, so all of the improvements made by BioWare over the lifetime of the BG series -- from class kits to a button that highlights items on the ground -- are there.  

On the other hand, BGEE contains no new voice content from any original BG characters, like Minsc or Imoen.  My understanding is that legal issues prevented this (and will also prevent it in the forthcoming BG2EE), but the BGEE team has said they'll definitely consider bringing back the old voice actors if they were to eventually produce a BG3.  

Whether _that_ happens, only time (and money) will tell.  They've said they would like to make BG3 and are releasing BGEE/BG2EE in part to rebut the widespread perception that anything more complicated than Diablo 3 won't sell in today's short-attention-span marketplace.  A lot of people hope they're right, but we'll just have to see if that turns out to be true.


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## Zaukrie (Nov 29, 2012)

Given what I am reading online, I will be waiting a long time before spending money on this. Sounds like my Gog version with mods is better by far. Too bad, was considering an iPad, and this was one reason.


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## GX.Sigma (Nov 29, 2012)

Has anyone played it yet?

Is the interface functional?

Does it have DRM?

Can you install it on multiple machines? If so, can you run local offline multiplayer with one license (similar to the Steam offline mode trick)?


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## Zaukrie (Nov 29, 2012)

Did you just ask how to buy one copy, but let multiple people use it? If so, sigh.


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## Zaukrie (Nov 29, 2012)

Or were you asking about running multi player with only 1 human, so you can play the game differently? That was discussed on the EE boards, but I do not recall the answer.


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## avin (Nov 29, 2012)

Still wondering if I get PC or iPad version.


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## Libramarian (Nov 29, 2012)

Love these games. Last time I played BGII I had the "Tactics" mod loaded which is crazy difficult. It showed the potential that AD&D has for complex, setpiece battles though.


Zaukrie said:


> Did you just ask how to buy one copy, but let multiple people use it? If so, sigh.



What is unreasonable about this question? Console games have free local multiplayer, why shouldn't PC games?

The GOG version of BG does not have DRM, and I'm almost certain you can  play it multiplayer locally (I did with the original release back in  the day).


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## Maul (Nov 30, 2012)

Do cheats work with this version?


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## Warunsun (Dec 1, 2012)

I went to their forum and seen page after page of complaints about this game. I know folks that are having problems are louder. My question is did any of you that bought this game have a good experience getting it running under Windows 7 (64 bit)? Thanks.


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## Dire Bare (Dec 1, 2012)

Warunsun said:


> I went to their forum and seen page after page of complaints about this game. I know folks that are having problems are louder. My question is did any of you that bought this game have a good experience getting it running under Windows 7 (64 bit)? Thanks.




Just about any forum, for any game, I've visited is filled with complaints.  But I'm waiting for the PC Gamer review before buying.  It's not all that expensive in money, but priceless in nostalgia.


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## dd.stevenson (Dec 1, 2012)

Warunsun said:


> I went to their forum and seen page after page of complaints about this game. I know folks that are having problems are louder. My question is did any of you that bought this game have a good experience getting it running under Windows 7 (64 bit)? Thanks.




Yep, sure did.  Works all right.  Not wonderfully stable--I've had about two crashes in six hours' play time--but it's good enough for getting on with.  The new characters seem pretty legit.

Not supporting the intel integrated chip was a bad move.  I'm afraid it's really going to hold the project back.


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## gideonpepys (Dec 1, 2012)

dd.stevenson said:


> Not supporting the intel integrated chip was a bad move.  I'm afraid it's really going to hold the project back.




Indeed.  I just got a refund on realising my laptop couldn't run the game, but having said that, at least the refund was quick!


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## wicked.fable (Dec 29, 2012)

This looks interesting. Wish this was on Steam or GoG, though - those are the main places I get my games. Are there any plans for this to happen? I don't really like getting my games in too many different places - bought Grand Theft Auto IV on the cheap from some site a long time ago, installed, then uninstalled, then tried to look for the install again and it took a few days before I found the proper invoice in my email, haha.


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## Gilladian (Dec 30, 2012)

I purchased the iPad version, played half the tutorial, and was so frustrated I dumped it and will NOT try it again. I could NOT move around easily, the trap-finding skill was outrageously hard to use, and I found the controls extremely unintuitive. I'm debating whether I'll buy the mac version; I'm not sure I want to spend even MORE money on it and come to regret it.

I LOVED the original game, by the way, and played it through at least twice.


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## billd91 (Dec 30, 2012)

Gilladian said:


> I purchased the iPad version, played half the tutorial, and was so frustrated I dumped it and will NOT try it again. I could NOT move around easily, the trap-finding skill was outrageously hard to use, and I found the controls extremely unintuitive. I'm debating whether I'll buy the mac version; I'm not sure I want to spend even MORE money on it and come to regret it.
> 
> I LOVED the original game, by the way, and played it through at least twice.




I think there are problems with the iPad version. I'm having a very hard time selecting enemies to fight. The selection interface with my fingers (not fat sausage ones either, thank you) doesn't seem to be fine enough.
But I'm having a hard time squaring your experience playing it before and the controls being non-intuitive. They seem pretty direct translations into the iPad interface to me. What's so different about them that you're having so much trouble that you apparently didn't have in the original?


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## Gilladian (Jan 1, 2013)

Not sure.I don't remember the original well enough to really say, truthfully. It may just be that I was so frustrated that I didn't give it a fair shake. I'm sure I will pick up the Mac version, and I'll come back and give my reaction to it.


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## glenrm (Jan 6, 2013)

It is moving up the iPad role-playing charts, so maybe they have the problems worked out, I still haven't taken the plunge yet.


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## Fast Learner (Jan 7, 2013)

I've partially-completed the tutorial 3 times now on the iPad, and each time you have to start it from scratch if you don't complete it. Maybe I just don't have the time for "real" videogames any longer.


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## Dioltach (Feb 15, 2013)

I've just finished playing BGEE on my iPad, and I must say I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first time round.

So, does anybody know when BGII will be released for iPad? (Wishful thinking ...)


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## Zaukrie (Feb 15, 2013)

Just bought my iPad.....trying to decide on this. So many bugs and issues with pointing and selecting, I have not decided yet.


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## Blackwarder (Feb 16, 2013)

Zaukrie said:


> Just bought my iPad.....trying to decide on this. So many bugs and issues with pointing and selecting, I have not decided yet.




Congrats on the new iPad!
what bugs and issues with pointing and selecting? I don't feel that I have any bugs on my game.

Warder


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## Kristopher (Jun 23, 2013)

Baldur's gate is a game I have very good memories


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## JRRNeiklot (Jun 24, 2013)

I'm playing through this now, and I gotta say, they managed to make a game worse than what is available for free.  The original game with mods does the same thing they've done and there is much more content available.  The Black Pits plays like some kind of free demo, nothing but fight after fight after fight.  As much as I love the BG series, BGEE is not worth the time or money imo.


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## Zireael (Sep 25, 2013)

Are you excited for BG2EE?


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## JRRNeiklot (Sep 25, 2013)

Not in the slightest.  For the average gamer, it's probably great, but for someone who's used to installing mods - and there are a ton of them available for BG2, including a high res widescreen mod - I don't think it has much to offer.  A few new npcs, and I found the ones in BGEE about as boring as those offered in 3rd party mods, and a sequel to that horrible Black Pits they did for BGEE, ug.  I'll stick with my original edition modded to taste.

I AM, however, interested in seeing any new games they might do using the infinity engine.


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