Hey everyone - thanks for looking. Wondering what your thoughts are on the differences between the two versions (I'm trying to figure out which one I would rather have. I've also heard the EE has some performance issues). Thanks!

I´m sure there´s already several threads on that topic, filled with venomous hate and ignorance.


I liked the zoom in BG:EE but then, I never used it in game.

Depends.

Original:
- the original experience
- cheaper
- since it's an old game it runs on every PC, even the 10+yr old ones
- heavily moddable, you can enhance it with mods for free
- BUT mods can be a pain in the butt >_<

Enahnced:
- more expensive
- limited modding (not every mod that works with the original works with the EE)
- about performance: the original BG (GOG) runs on my ancient laptop with no issues, the EE doesn't even start (on the other hand GOG's Icewind Dale also doesn't start on my laptop, so it can be my laptop's fault O_o)
- since the devs were not allowed to change anything in the game, some graphics (drawings) look extremely ugly >_<
- BUT it already have many useful "mods" packed in it, so you can easily start playing without messing around with mods
- unlike the original BG it pauses on the inventory screen
- you can higlight "usable" items, etc.

http://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/baldurs_gate_original_vs_enhanced/ is a previous discussion, including much uncertainty about the EE's DRM status. So I've heard, yet according to http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Area_North_of_Gnoll_Stronghold and http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Jared_and_the_Bear#Jared_and_the_Bear they changed some aspects of existing quests and enemy placement.

I ran into this same conundrum last week, I already had the standard version from a sale on GOG some years ago - but ended up buying the EE on android so I can play it on the road.

Thank you, everyone for your feed back; and thank you VanishedOne, for the link!

One thing I will add that, whether intentional or not, the EE version works much better on touchscreen than the original. I'm playing EE on my Surface Pro and while it is not a perfect experience by any means, its pretty good. I switched to using the include stylus and its nearly a perfect experience now (the highlight all items function still isn't usable since there is no way to use it outside of the tab key).

Obviously its a pretty small minority playing it on a touchscreen, but its made my subway commute much more enjoyable each day!

I wanted to try it on release, but it simply doesn't work with most Integrated Intel graphics chips, and there were millions of bugs with other systems as well.

The rest of the stuff you mention (like pausing in the inventory screen or highlighting items) are available through mods like BGT or Tutu, which are free and somewhat easy to use (you only have to download and install certain files).

The "new" features in BG:EE aren't really worth it in my opinion. There are new companions which don't really fit in with the original characters. And if you want romances and that kind of stuff there's BG2, which is bigger and better in every aspect. Or Dragon Age: Origins, which is (like it or not) the closest thing to BG3 we'll ever get.

Got Intel chips as well :( + my laptop is absolutely not for gaming....

I was never able to install those mods properly. Yes, I'm noob :D
I actually liked the easy plug-and-play, no need to mess around with mods feature of the EE, but yea, people who are good with mods have all the right to hate it =/

I know that Dragon Age is called "the spiritual successor of BG" but frankly, I never thought of it this way O_o It was too different for me to even think of BG while playing it. BTW I heared of this "spritual successor" thing wayyyyy after I finished DA several times already, and my reaction was: "LOLWUT? O_o??"

It's because it has a certain "air" which seems to be quite similar to the BG experience.
I mean, Leliana is Imoen and Morrigan is Viconia.
The Real Time with Pause combat, the way you navigate through the world, the way quests work and even certain Bioware cliches are easily recognizable. Also, the "it's almost like a new BG!" thing was a huge marketing hook for Dragon Age.

I missed all the marketing (I don't really listen to gaming news...), and found the game while randomly browsing in a store. (I'm living under a rock :3 )
I had no idea what kind of game it was, I just wanted a new RPG to play with.
Since I had no idea it was called " BG successor", I wasn't even looking for BG in it at all.

After I heared about the BG successor thing, I started seeing the similarities, but before that, I didn't have BG in my mind at all.

Also: Since I only played BG2 for the first time this year, some similarities, like Imoen=Leliana, was not that obvious for me :)

I'm a massive fan of both games, and I never, ever saw them as being similar in any way except for RTWP. Regarding Imoen and Leliana, the *only* similarity is the colour of their hair -- Imoen was never meant to be in it, and her voice (BG1) comes from a cut guard character called Pique -- and Morrigan/Viconia have nothing in common except for a massive sense of self preservation. As for your 'huge marketing hook', that's a misconception. It stems from an interview David Gaider did with Gamasutra, where he stated, "we're looking at our Baldur's Gate roots for inspiration..."

Back when Dragon Age origins was in development, the "spiritual successor to BG2" was touted a lot on the official forums.

I don't know if it played a big role in marketing towards the mainstream press, but it was definitely used to appeal to existing Bioware fans. (A demographic more likely to be swayed by that argument, of course.)

Massively flawed geek opinions don't equate to marketing hooks, thankfully.