Yesterday a teaser site went live with the trademark grimacing skull, some music, and background art from the classic series. Eurogamer found some additional clues in the source code.
Shadowy Figure- Raise Dead : Infinity Engine.
For years, I clung to the memory of it. Then the memory of the memory.
And then... it returned. Better than it was before.
Pore over the tapestries and works of art hanging from our walls if you wish, Child of Bhaal... perhaps you will find a clue. But patience, ah... patience would reveal it all.
As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does life.
The studio behind the site has been confirmed to be Beamdog a company co-founded by an ex BioWare employee, Trent Oster. Beamdog has confirmed an official announcement is forthcoming, and that this teaser page doesn't have anything to do with the rumored Steam re-release of the original games. Adding to the credibility that it will be a brand new Baldur’s Gate game, Atari said in 2008 that they planned to revisit Baldur’s Gate, D&D, Neverwinter Nights, and Test Drive Unlimited. Stay tuned for further updates!
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I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
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I'm interested to see how it ends up. There's a lot of ways this could go wrong and it would be very, very close to impossible to produce a worthy successor to BG2, which is one of the best games of all time.
Still, it's literally impossible if you don't even try, and people do win the lottery occasionally.
Honestly I think Dragon Age 1 is as good a sequel as we will ever get. The Child of Bhaal storyline was concluded in such a way that it really shouldn’t be continued and if you’re not going to continue that storyline why bother using the name?
Lordnine wrote:Honestly I think Dragon Age 1 is as good a sequel as we will ever get. The Child of Bhaal storyline was concluded in such a way that it really shouldn’t be continued and if you’re not going to continue that storyline why bother using the name?
Because when you try to market a completely new name, vs. "BALDUR'S GATE: It's so damn good, we can subtitle it "Shitty Poopity Poop" and you will buy it", you will sell a LOT more units.
Also I disagree that DA is any kind of sequel to BG. (But then, I am also in that camp that says that Fallout 3 is not really a sequel to either 1 or 2 in anything but name) Hey, I'm a purist, kill me.
The Baldur's Gate name has already expanded beyond the original Child of Bhaal storyline. There have already been two other Baldur's Gate titles released (Dark Alliance 1 and 2.) They have little in common with the original games, but serve to make "Baldur's Gate" a brand name, not a series name.
Yeah, I'm in the "Stick a fork in Baldur's Gate 'cause it's done." camp. I don't need a sequel, or a deep exploration into the side stories of the various NPCs.
Although, I wouldn't mind seeing "Jan Jansen's Adventures in Turnip Growing and Distribution (abridged)", "Korgan: Skullchopper" or "Minsc: Greater Justice". I'll pass on "Aerie: More Whining" and "Valygar's Continuing Uselessness" though.
NickAragua wrote:Yeah, I'm in the "Stick a fork in Baldur's Gate 'cause it's done." camp. I don't need a sequel, or a deep exploration into the side stories of the various NPCs.
Although, I wouldn't mind seeing "Jan Jansen's Adventures in Turnip Growing and Distribution (abridged)", "Korgan: Skullchopper" or "Minsc: Greater Justice". I'll pass on "Aerie: More Whining" and "Valygar's Continuing Uselessness" though.
Trying to continue the Bhaalchild storyline and doing something other than an actual honest-to-God RPG are two of the many pitfalls (IMO) that I referenced earlier. I agree on both points: the Bhaalchild storyline is done and over with and all the loose ends tied up, so continuing it would be a truly lousy idea, and the action-RPGs really only had the Baldur's Gate logo for name recognition.
A big problem with this as an actual RPG is that it'd almost certainly use the 4th edition rules system -- and probably the 4th edition setting for Forgotten Realms, which is godawful. The rules would actually probably be pretty good for a cRPG, but the setting got seriously fucked over in the 3E->4E transition. They did a lot of needed housecleaning, but they wrecked the china, too.
I don't think that would be a problem. The nice thing about Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II was that the setting itself wasn't important, it was the adventures that filled the games. As such, newcomers to D&D would appreciate an experience where it isn't important to know the cosmology or exact trappings of the game.
"The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage."
Nothing says you can't be one of the other progeny in a whole new area of FR. Especially with this hidden at the bottom of the page:
But wasn't Throne of Bhaal basically 'the quickening' for the story? It's been awhile, but my recollection is that it's pretty much over.
I suppose there are a few different ways you could do it, especially depending upon which ending to BG2 + ToB you picked as 'canon.'
In any event, I'm perfectly happy to have them make a new game. If it sucks, we still have BG2, and if not, we have a great new game. I'd really like them to try to make this one in isometric style, though.
Zurai wrote:Trying to continue the Bhaalchild storyline and doing something other than an actual honest-to-God RPG are two of the many pitfalls (IMO) that I referenced earlier. I agree on both points: the Bhaalchild storyline is done and over with and all the loose ends tied up, so continuing it would be a truly lousy idea, and the action-RPGs really only had the Baldur's Gate logo for name recognition.
A big problem with this as an actual RPG is that it'd almost certainly use the 4th edition rules system -- and probably the 4th edition setting for Forgotten Realms, which is godawful. The rules would actually probably be pretty good for a cRPG, but the setting got seriously fucked over in the 3E->4E transition. They did a lot of needed housecleaning, but they wrecked the china, too.
I wouldn't count on that. Wizards already announce they will be doing public beta testing of 5th edition this summer. So it is possible this new game could use that rules set as a basis.
After reading the quotes from ericb I've got the distinct feeling it could be a MMO. Apparently the Lord of Murder was a cross between Zues and Wilt Chamberlain.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."--George Orwell
"The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage."
Nothing says you can't be one of the other progeny in a whole new area of FR. Especially with this hidden at the bottom of the page:
But wasn't Throne of Bhaal basically 'the quickening' for the story? It's been awhile, but my recollection is that it's pretty much over.
Yep. Throne of Bhaal featured the last of the God Spawn fighting until only one remained and ascended the throne.
I actually thought the “villain” in the expansion pack was interesting. His plan was to
Spoiler:
Become powerful enough to kill all of his siblings and then when he was sure they were all dead commit suicide himself, thus ending the progeny of the Bhaal and prevent any future God of Murder from arising.
Arcanis wrote:I wouldn't count on that. Wizards already announce they will be doing public beta testing of 5th edition this summer. So it is possible this new game could use that rules set as a basis.
Whatever this new Baldur's Gate game is, it's already been in development for at least a year. Projects just don't get announced right at the start these days (at least from the major studios). It's pretty hard to design an RPG around a pen and paper ruleset that is changing every week and isn't even public knowledge.
Blackhawk wrote:There are rumors (just rumors) going around that this may be nothing more than a port of the original to iOS. That idea makes Blackhawk sad.
That idea makes me excited. Although I'd miss the mods.
Arcanis wrote:I wouldn't count on that. Wizards already announce they will be doing public beta testing of 5th edition this summer. So it is possible this new game could use that rules set as a basis.
Whatever this new Baldur's Gate game is, it's already been in development for at least a year. Projects just don't get announced right at the start these days (at least from the major studios). It's pretty hard to design an RPG around a pen and paper ruleset that is changing every week and isn't even public knowledge.
Going to be hard to do any PC game on 5E from the sounds of it as it seems like many of the rules are planned to be optional The class they are struggling with right now is the fighter, because they want it to be a fun class for those playing more or less 1E in 5E, and still balanced against those playing a 3E type fighter (feat based) and those playing 4E like (powers and feats).
I do not see why it matters how BG2 ended or that they won't be somehow continuing that Bhaalspawn storyline. If they make a good RPG then (almost)everyone will love it and praise them for rescuing the franchise. If not...if they make a twitchy, first-person 'RPG-lite' type game then they will have astronomically better sales, the console kids will play it until they see something shinier, and to any who matter(CRPG gamers) this will be just the latest butchery of a name brand.
I would personally prefer they do a 'XXX years ago (the events of BG2+ToB) happened but now...' type thing and not waste any time or resources paying David 'Gaydar' to wipe his ass on a notepad.
Last edited by Skeptic on Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I am in a very peculiar business...I travel all over the world telling people what they should already know." - James "The Amazing" Randi
Skeptic wrote:I do not see why it matters how BG2 ended or that they won't be somehow continuing that Bhaalspawn storyline. If they make a good RPG then (almost)everyone will love it and praise them for rescuing the franchise. If not...if they make a twitchy, first-person 'RPG-lite' type game then they will have astronomically better sales, the console kids will play it until they something shinier, and to any who matter(CRPG gamers) this will be just the latest butchery of a name brand.
I'm predicting an iOS game, sold by chapter with each chapter going for $9.99. However, it will require the iPad 2 or greater requiring me to convince my wife that we need new iPads. That will make this the most expensive game in my long gaming history. Or I could play the GoG version I bought, but never downloaded. Or the CD version I'm certain is still around here some where...I am an idiot.
Fitzy wrote:I'm predicting an iOS game, sold by chapter with each chapter going for $9.99. However, it will require the iPad 2 or greater requiring me to convince my wife that we need new iPads. That will make this the most expensive game in my long gaming history. Or I could play the GoG version I bought, but never downloaded. Or the CD version I'm certain is still around here some where...I am an idiot.
Hobbyist! This is a hobby!!! and sometimes an addiction
Last edited by Daehawk on Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
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Last edited by Daehawk on Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
Last edited by Daehawk on Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
