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Elmofongo: Add DRMed on the cons list aswell
As noted by CamDawg, EE is now drm free.
Post edited September 17, 2013 by Arthandas
Will GOG ever get the Enhanced Edition?
I have and love both.

For BG:EE, here are the major pros and cons, IMO:

Pro -
Zooming is a nice feautre. Game changing? No, but its nice
Play at higher resolutions without everything becoming inpossible to see/read (particularly the GUI)
Load times are immensely faster
No need to add a dozen or so mods before playing (if you're time constrained like me, even that hour or so is too much to waste)
New characters/areas

Con -
Did have some new bugs, but I didn't encounter any myself that were an issue
Not all mods ported over to it
New characters/areas aren't as good as hoped.

If you have the original, there's not a pressing need for most people to buy it. If you are new to BG, its a much more seemless experience to get in and start enjoying it.
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ncarty97: If you are new to BG, its a much more seemless experience to get in and start enjoying it.
^ That was exactly the point I tried to make above. BG EE is just convenient for somebody who doesn't wanna bother with mods and all the complications that could bring.
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Hickory: No, on the contrary you are wrong. The baldursgate forum is a fan forum for... guess what? Baldur's Gate games, and the main hangout of all things BG:EE. Of course it is biased. It is absolutely biased. On the other hand, GOG is dedicated to all classic games, not just BG. This forum has it's share of those who hate and love the game. The difference is that you will only get praise for BG:EE if you go to that other forum and ask 'what is it like?' Here, you will get a far fairer view, like it or not.

And of course it is the top search for Google. Why do you think that is? I'll leave you to work it out.
You are clearly very set in your opinions and I will not be able to persuade you otherwise. I will however just defend the Baldur's Gate forum because your argument is very unfair. I wonder if you've even visited it and taken the time to actually find out what it's about.

It is a Baldur's Gate forum, not a BG EE forum. People talk about BG issues, not specifically BG EE issues. There's even threads about IWD, PnP D&D and other totally random topics... so no it's NOT a BG EE fan forum, and it IS the best BG community I have found anywhere, who welcomed me into their ranks when I approached them with questions about BG 1 Vanilla as a total noob to the game.

Sure GoG is dedicated to all sorts of classic games, but this thread is in the Baldur's Gate section... so I doubt anyone who hates or is indifferent to Baldur's Gate would bother check up on what's said here. I for one have only ever checked threads in this section and the IWD section.
Post edited September 17, 2013 by Heindrich88
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ncarty97: If you are new to BG, its a much more seemless experience to get in and start enjoying it.
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Heindrich88: ^ That was exactly the point I tried to make above. BG EE is just convenient for somebody who doesn't wanna bother with mods and all the complications that could bring.
Why are you both keep ignoring the fact that EE contains only 2 mods (fixpack and widescreen, instaling both of them on vanilla takes about 1-2 min) and doesn't really offer much convenience which seems your main argument? This was also confirmed by CamDawg (who is one of the modders working on EE) in the EE topic few topics down.

EE offers many improvements and has the potential to surpass the original game (if it ever becomes properly patched) but convenience IS NOT one of its pros because you're going to install the same mods (except those two mentioned) you would install on the original.
Post edited September 18, 2013 by Arthandas
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ncarty97: If you are new to BG, its a much more seemless experience to get in and start enjoying it.
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Heindrich88: ^ That was exactly the point I tried to make above. BG EE is just convenient for somebody who doesn't wanna bother with mods and all the complications that could bring.
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Hickory: No, on the contrary you are wrong. The baldursgate forum is a fan forum for... guess what? Baldur's Gate games, and the main hangout of all things BG:EE. Of course it is biased. It is absolutely biased. On the other hand, GOG is dedicated to all classic games, not just BG. This forum has it's share of those who hate and love the game. The difference is that you will only get praise for BG:EE if you go to that other forum and ask 'what is it like?' Here, you will get a far fairer view, like it or not.

And of course it is the top search for Google. Why do you think that is? I'll leave you to work it out.
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Heindrich88: You are clearly very set in your opinions and I will not be able to persuade you otherwise. I will however just defend the Baldur's Gate forum because your argument is very unfair. I wonder if you've even visited it and taken the time to actually find out what it's about.

It is a Baldur's Gate forum, not a BG EE forum. People talk about BG issues, not specifically BG EE issues. There's even threads about IWD, PnP D&D and other totally random topics... so no it's NOT a BG EE fan forum, and it IS the best BG community I have found anywhere, who welcomed me into their ranks when I approached them with questions about BG 1 Vanilla as a total noob to the game.
I don't think you even read my reply correctly. Where did I say it is a BG:EE forum? Nowhere. I said, and I quote: "The baldursgate forum is a fan forum for... guess what? Baldur's Gate games, and the main hangout of all things BG:EE".

I am not here to persuade you (or anybody else) of anything, and if you are trying to do that, then yes, you are wasting your time. My opinions are just that, my opinions. What you think of them is entirely up to you.

And yes, I have visited the forum, many times. I have not participated because I have never had the need to. Simple.
BG:EE pros:
- BG2 engine, supposedly improved with new scripting commands to be useful in expansions/mods
- BG2 kits + some new kits which adds to replayability
- high resolution + zoom in

BG:EE cons:
- currently still have more bugs than the original patched BG1 (including some engine bugs)
- ugly GUI compared to original (use the archaic mod if possible)
- the zoom in feature leads to blurry landscape and no possibility to change resolution in game options
- added content (useless Black Pits module, added NPCs and locations are substandard)

In conclusion, my advice is to play the original BG, and wait until more patches and mods are created for BG:EE.
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Arthandas: Why are you both keep ignoring the fact that EE contains only 2 mods (fixpack and widescreen, instaling both of them on vanilla takes about 1-2 min) and doesn't really offer much convenience which seems your main argument? This was also confirmed by CamDawg (who is one of the modders working on EE) in the EE topic few topics down.

EE offers many improvements and has the potential to surpass the original game (if it ever becomes properly patched) but convenience IS NOT one of its pros because you're going to install the same mods (except those two mentioned) you would install on the original.
Because not everyone heavily mods their games, particularly on the first play through. Sure it takes only 1-2min for each of those mods IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Finding them, reading how to install them and then doing it takes significantly longer for a first time player.

I've enjoyed many of the mods I've played for both BG and BG2, but my last playthrough of them, I didn't do mych more than those two mods.

If you are a new player, particularly one that doesn't replay games, BGEE offers an much easier experience.

And as I said, the near elimination of load times makes EE more than worth it to me.
I played both with my brother. I won't repeat what was said over and over, just stress some points :

Pros :
- The multiplayer aspect is way more reliable on BG:EE : it crashes less and works immediately (no countless failed attempts).
- More content (the extra characters ....). Then the quality of added material is another discussion.
- BG2 mechanics add more variety to the characer creation.
- I had a lot of crash on BG and absolutely none on BG:EE (multiplayer related I think but I can't be sure)

Cons :
- The 'defend' stance
- Some weird bugs remain in the most updated version (which I didn't have in BG !!!), nothing game breaking however.

General opinion :
Because of the far easier access, if you're not on a tight budget and don't want to tweak your game to death BG:EE does the trick I think. Besides, if you intend playing multiplayer you SHOULD get the EE, there is absolutely no reason to hesitate.
Post edited September 25, 2013 by Potzato
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ncarty97: Because not everyone heavily mods their games, particularly on the first play through. Sure it takes only 1-2min for each of those mods IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Finding them, reading how to install them and then doing it takes significantly longer for a first time player.
Well, there are 3 stickied threads on this forum to make installing useful mods relatively painless. It does still take some time, but then that's mostly because you have so many options and decisions to make regarding which features you want to install, so it could be considered a plus.

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Potzato: Besides, if you intend playing multiplayer you SHOULD get the EE, there is absolutely no reason to hesitate.
Unless, I assume, the person you're playing with has the original version?
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Potzato: Besides, if you intend playing multiplayer you SHOULD get the EE, there is absolutely no reason to hesitate.
The reason is, according to EE forum, multiplayer is not working for many people... year after the release!
Post edited September 25, 2013 by Arthandas
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Potzato: Besides, if you intend playing multiplayer you SHOULD get the EE, there is absolutely no reason to hesitate.
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pi4t: Unless, I assume, the person you're playing with has the original version?
Fair point.
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Potzato: Besides, if you intend playing multiplayer you SHOULD get the EE, there is absolutely no reason to hesitate.
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Arthandas: The reason is, according to EE forum, multiplayer is not working for many people... year after the release!
I didn't know that. In my experience, having tried 3 "different" version of BG with my brother and the EE, the later is the only one which worked for us in a smooth fashion without having to perform much tweaks.
Post edited September 25, 2013 by Potzato
Check the two links below and you will see that the Fixpack is not the only mod with bug fixes that has been implemented in BGEE.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/5239/fixed-forum-compiled-list-pt-1/p1
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/3625/fixed-forum-compiled-list-pt-2/p1

Nor is the Widescreen mod the only other mod implemented in BGEE.
For example, One Pixel Productions and ToB Extended (and Enhanced)

Also, there are additions to the engine of features which had previously been non-existent or broken and unfixable.
http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=25516

Externalizations of previously hard-coded features have been and continue to be done -- expanding modding possibilities.

In any case, different players like to play different mods, so incorporating a lot of existing mod content into the game without giving people a choice is not something that Beamdog is likely to do. There has been a long debate on the BGEE forums about whether to include Ascension in BG2EE or not. It seems that it will be included in some form. The mod, Sword Coast Strategems, has already been made compatible with BGEE. Several long-term modders (Cuv, Camdawg, etc.) are on the development team or closely associated with it. So new possibilities are being opened up for modding the trilogy.

This has all taken more time than anyone wished, due partly to Beamdog being overly optimistic about the time it would take to do and the difficulty involved in doing what they set out to accomplish and partly to Murphy's Law plaguing them regularly.

Right now, if you like a heavily modded game, the clear choice is Tutu or BigWorld or whatever. If not, BGEE is an excellent choice with a lot of potential.
Post edited September 27, 2013 by Curmudgeon60
Here's an interesting BG EE analization I stumbled across:
http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/download/PRYG3-00038-01.pdf
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Arthandas: Here's an interesting BG EE analization I stumbled across:
http://www.reclaimyourgame.com/download/PRYG3-00038-01.pdf
Wow, mods may not be made! (EULA/TOS). Considering BG:EE is nothing more than a mod of the original game, I find the arrogance in this astounding.