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General discussionUpdate: 60% / 85% off Enhanced Editions: Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale
Original & Enhanced to become the Definitive Edition Bundle (822 posts)(822 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 28, 2016
UPDATE: Heads up! There are 24h left, so now is the time to take advantage of the amazing deals and upgrade your collections. Eyes on the price, Boo, eyes on the price!



Years ago, the Baldur's Gate series changed the way we look at gaming and the scope of what was considered possible. Even now, the legacy continues through the Enhanced Editions – thanks to the hard work and years of updates to keep the inimitable Infinity Engine living on.



It's the work on the Enhanced Editions that made <span class="bold">Siege of Dragonspear</span> possible – the just-released, massive expansion to the timeless classic, available only for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.

"The team at Beamdog was able to breathe a new life into the Infinity Engine classics." says Greg Tito, Communications Director for Dungeons & Dragons "We're proud to recognize their excellent work in offering the best possible experience and support for these legendary titles. We want these to become the definitive editions – featuring both the enhanced and classic versions of the games."

On April 29, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition will be expanded to include the classic versions – each becoming the Definitive Edition Bundle and not available for purchase separately. If you already own the classics on GOG.com, the games currently on your shelf won't be affected.

"We're excited to take our commitment and support to Baldur's Gate and GOG fans to the next level and humbled to work with such great partners. The Definitive Edition Bundle will give every Baldur's Gate fan what they're looking for" – concludes Cameron Tofer, Beamdog COO.



In the near future, we're also looking forward to full GOG Galaxy support for achievements in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition – as well as in the Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear expansion.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will be 75% off until April 4 11:59 PM PDT / April 5 2:59 AM EDT/ 7:59 BST and 60% off until April 29 10:59 AM PDT / 1:59 PM EDT / 18:59 BST. The 60% discount for Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition until April 29 10:59 AM PDT / 1:59 PM EDT / 18:59 BST. The 85% discount for owners of the original saga will last until April 29 10:59 AM PDT / 1:59 PM EDT / 18:59 BST.
Post edited April 02, 2016 by maladr0Id
Posted May 04, 2016
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AccurateArt: This is quite a disturbing thing to hear about. The enhanced editions must be quite awful if they have to stoop to that level. It also says something about the developer when they try and censor these negative opinions instead of utilizing them to improve the game or future games.
It's not quite that cut and dried. There were lots of negative reviews left by people with less than an hour of game time. One review I read was scathing review about how terrible the writing was, how awful the gameplay was, how forced the transgendered character was, and how out of character Minsc's quote was. Ther person leaving the review had played for 9 minutes. I can't even create a character in BG in 9 minutes. Is that a valid review? There's no way the player even encountered the transgendered character in 9 minutes of play.

I'm not sure what the right answer is in a situation like this. I'm against censorship as much as next person is, but at the same time, I also don't support a bunch of people stuffing the box with useless garbage reviews.
Posted May 04, 2016
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AccurateArt: This is quite a disturbing thing to hear about. The enhanced editions must be quite awful if they have to stoop to that level. It also says something about the developer when they try and censor these negative opinions instead of utilizing them to improve the game or future games.
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hummer010: It's not quite that cut and dried. There were lots of negative reviews left by people with less than an hour of game time. One review I read was scathing review about how terrible the writing was, how awful the gameplay was, how forced the transgendered character was, and how out of character Minsc's quote was. Ther person leaving the review had played for 9 minutes. I can't even create a character in BG in 9 minutes. Is that a valid review? There's no way the player even encountered the transgendered character in 9 minutes of play.

I'm not sure what the right answer is in a situation like this. I'm against censorship as much as next person is, but at the same time, I also don't support a bunch of people stuffing the box with useless garbage reviews.
I understand what you mean friend. At the same time though, you were able to view their game time and come to the conclusion that this person had an axe to grind, which seems like a better option than censoring certain posts that may prove to be helpful to the consumer but which criticize the publisher and/or developer. I guess my hesitation is when censorship of reviews begins, it'd be pretty hard to make sure it is enforced fairly - especially if you give it over to the developer to handle (look at the Steam forums for examples of this).
Posted May 04, 2016
To be fair, what "hummer010" mentioned above is true in certain reviews, but there is the exact opposite case in effect, too. Reviewers with less than 10 minutes play time, praising the game and licking those developers' balls. One wrong doesn't set another wrong straight, though... But truth be said, beamdog doesn't compare with any other company i have ever seen throughout years and years of gaming. Even that one public BEGGING for positive reviews, which was screenshotted and spread throughout various forums, really hits rock bottom, at least in my experience as a gamer for 2 decades straight. And don't forget the scam aimed at people who want to get ONLY the originals; they have to load in their cart the enhanced garbage, too. Let alone the price will be TRIPLE than having to buy merely the originals, as they once had been. First they beg, then they SCAM their way through the market. People, judge for yourselves...

Some people even quit gog at news of this games' merging, too.
Post edited May 04, 2016 by KiNgBrAdLeY7
Posted May 04, 2016
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KiNgBrAdLeY7: Some people even quit gog at news of this games' merging, too.
Pretty dumb if true, considering GoG has zero say in what the developer does with their own product. The choice is to carry the merged titles or don't carry them at all.
Posted May 04, 2016
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AccurateArt: I understand what you mean friend. At the same time though, you were able to view their game time and come to the conclusion that this person had an axe to grind, which seems like a better option than censoring certain posts that may prove to be helpful to the consumer but which criticize the publisher and/or developer. I guess my hesitation is when censorship of reviews begins, it'd be pretty hard to make sure it is enforced fairly - especially if you give it over to the developer to handle (look at the Steam forums for examples of this).
Agreed, but the problem is, not everyone is going to page through the reviews and look at playing time. Lots of people will say "this game has lots of negative reviews, it must be bad".

I'm not sure what the solution is. You can't really apply a minimum play time rule - some games are shorter, some are longer, and that makes it so people who can't get the game to run can't review it.

Steam has a "rule" that says you should not artificially manipulate the user review system. Arguably, giving a negative review on the gameplay with only 9minutes of game time is artifically manipulating the user review system, and by that rather subjective rule, the review can be deleted.

I'm not trying to say that Beamdog is innocent, or that they should or shouldn't have deleted reviews, or asked for positive reviews. Personally, I think Beamdog handled the situation spectactularly badly, but at the same time, bullshit reviews are bullshit.
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KiNgBrAdLeY7: To be fair, what "hummer010" mentioned above is true in certain reviews, but there is the exact opposite case in effect, too. Reviewers with less than 10 minutes play time, praising the game and licking those developers' balls. One wrong doesn't set another wrong straight, though...
Absolutely. Bullshit reviews are still bullshit. It just shows the flaw in have a user review system.

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KiNgBrAdLeY7: But truth be said, beamdog doesn't compare with any other company i have ever seen throughout years and years of gaming. Even that one public BEGGING for positive reviews, which was screenshotted and spread throughout various forums, really hits rock bottom, at least in my experience as a gamer for 2 decades straight. And don't forget the scam aimed at people who want to get ONLY the originals; they have to load in their cart the enhanced garbage, too.
Really? I rank sony's rootkits lower than asking for positive reviews. Beamdog is far, far from a perfect company, but they aren't alone at the bottom.

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KiNgBrAdLeY7: Let alone the price will be TRIPLE than having to buy merely the originals, as they once had been.
Price is double. Originals were $9.99, EE's are $19.99.

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KiNgBrAdLeY7: Some people even quit gog at news of this games' merging, too.
Some people are stupid then.
Post edited May 04, 2016 by hummer010
Posted May 05, 2016
Nevermind - posting problem...
Post edited May 05, 2016 by plan99
Posted May 05, 2016
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hummer010: Agreed, but the problem is, not everyone is going to page through the reviews and look at playing time. Lots of people will say "this game has lots of negative reviews, it must be bad".

I'm not sure what the solution is. You can't really apply a minimum play time rule - some games are shorter, some are longer, and that makes it so people who can't get the game to run can't review it.

Steam has a "rule" that says you should not artificially manipulate the user review system. Arguably, giving a negative review on the gameplay with only 9minutes of game time is artifically manipulating the user review system, and by that rather subjective rule, the review can be deleted.
You do know people people play offline and the play time isn't counted? I can't count the number of times I've seen people make fun of a review because of the low play time and have the author of said review explain this to them. Play time doesn't tell you much, so there's really little need to look at that unless you plan to ask every one of them how long they really played. I'd sure like to turn off my play time, achievements, etc without making my profile private - I like my privacy.

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KiNgBrAdLeY7: Some people even quit gog at news of this games' merging, too.
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hummer010: Some people are stupid then.
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synfresh: Pretty dumb if true, considering GoG has zero say in what the developer does with their own product.
That's tellin' 'em - they're sure to love GOG all the more for kind statements like that from this community! At least one person in this very thread, less than a week ago, explained his reasoning and I sympathize with him. He joined GOG purely for Baldur's Gate CLASSIC some years back and is leaving not *just* because of the merging, but because he saw it as the last straw - he didn't like the direction GOG has been heading. I can think of plenty of things he would mean by that.

I don't know what all GOG has done, but I believe they do have more choices than that. I don't think Hasbro understands that the gamers on GOG are a different breed to most others (meaning *classics* are still a big selling point). At best, I can't see Hasbro benefiting from this merging (maybe not losing anything, either); at worst, they're losing sales. The only one I can see benefiting from this is Beamdog - getting artificial ratings, a boost in the bestseller list and no more competition from people buying *only* for the classics. It may not happen/be happening, but don't tell me they didn't hope for that.

Anyway, my point and third option is that I hope GOG was and will continue to try to convince Hasbro that this would/has angered a *lot* of customers.
Post edited May 05, 2016 by plan99
Posted May 05, 2016
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hummer010: Agreed, but the problem is, not everyone is going to page through the reviews and look at playing time".
That's because as plan99 explained, game-time tracking is massively incorrect for those who play offline. I've seen reviews with "1 min" gameplay before (where they basically started the game online purely to authenticate it to be able to play offline then quit to restart it in offline mode) and the person in question has clearly completed the game with in-depth knowledge of it in discussions. Steam's "community detectives" who run round judging every negative review purely on "online only" play-time statistics regularly forget about offline mode and can be quite "trigger happy" with false accusations.
Post edited May 05, 2016 by AB2012
Posted May 05, 2016
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plan99: Anyway, my point and third option is that I hope GOG was and will continue to try to convince Hasbro that this would/has angered a *lot* of customers.
This only works if nobody is buying the EE editions and I don't think that is the case here. They are obviously selling here considering they are on page 3 and 4 of the bestselling games list and steamspy has BG1 EE at 500k+ sold.
Posted May 06, 2016
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plan99: Anyway, my point and third option is that I hope GOG was and will continue to try to convince Hasbro that this would/has angered a *lot* of customers.
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synfresh: This only works if nobody is buying the EE editions and I don't think that is the case here. They are obviously selling here considering they are on page 3 and 4 of the bestselling games list and steamspy has BG1 EE at 500k+ sold.
Not sure what your point is - I never said they weren't selling. The classics were on the first page in the top 13 (BG2 classic was at #2) https://web.archive.org/web/20160416185118/https://www.gog.com/games?sort=bestselling&amp;page=1 and a lot of people here on GOG *are* angry about having to pay more, buy a game they don't want and support a dev they don't like just to get the, previously cheaper, games they want and/or be able to rate and review said games separately. I gave the EEs 1 star and a review with the subject line "Classic gets ***** 5/5" - that's my only option, now, since there's no store page, otherwise I would've ignored the EEs. I think this is backfiring on Beamdog.
Posted May 06, 2016
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synfresh: This only works if nobody is buying the EE editions and I don't think that is the case here. They are obviously selling here considering they are on page 3 and 4 of the bestselling games list and steamspy has BG1 EE at 500k+ sold.
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plan99: Not sure what your point is - I never said they weren't selling. The classics were on the first page in the top 13 (BG2 classic was at #2) https://web.archive.org/web/20160416185118/https://www.gog.com/games?sort=bestselling&amp;page=1 and a lot of people here on GOG *are* angry about having to pay more, buy a game they don't want and support a dev they don't like just to get the, previously cheaper, games they want and/or be able to rate and review said games separately. I gave the EEs 1 star and a review with the subject line "Classic gets ***** 5/5" - that's my only option, now, since there's no store page, otherwise I would've ignored the EEs. I think this is backfiring on Beamdog.
There is no way to know that. Has EE sales reduced for Beamdog since they done this compared to before? Remember none of this probably happens without Hasbro's seal of approval and perhaps the difference in sales going forward is negligible. Yes both the classic BG's have been on page one of the best selling list but that's not fair to compare considering those games have been on GoG for 6 or 7 years(?) and through numerous sales over that time. The EE editions have been on GoG a fraction of that time and already are on page 3? It sort of makes the case for Beamdog.
Posted May 07, 2016
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synfresh: There is no way to know that. Has EE sales reduced for Beamdog since they done this compared to before? Remember none of this probably happens without Hasbro's seal of approval and perhaps the difference in sales going forward is negligible.
I assume you're referring to my last sentence? That was an *opinion*, an educated guess, based on the *definite* anger, etc here and the *fact* that angry gamers (I'm repeating myself, now) may rate and review as I did and they have (see below).

I'm the one who posted my email to Hasbro (along with their response) a few days ago https://www.gog.com/forum/general/definitive_edition_bundle_baldurs_gate_i_ii_icewind_dale_cabe2/post777 to help encourage others to do the same, so no, I don't need reminding about Hasbro.

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synfresh: Yes both the classic BG's have been on page one of the best selling list but that's not fair to compare considering those games have been on GoG for 6 or 7 years(?) and through numerous sales over that time. The EE editions have been on GoG a fraction of that time and already are on page 3? It sort of makes the case for Beamdog.
I disagree - it *is* fair, imo. They've had enough time to get the position they deserved (some games newer to GOG have a better position than the EEs and they haven't had as much time to achieve that). As of this post:
BG:EE is on page 3, in 144th place with 3.5 stars and 337 votes
BG2:EE is on page 4, in 154th place with 3.5 stars and 284 votes
Icewind Dale:EE is on page 4, in 166th place with 4 stars and 225 votes

If you had checked the Archive.org link in my previous post, you wouldn't have found the old position, but could've checked the ratings, reviews, etc from about a month ago, not long after the announcement and sale started - April 6, 2016 (this is the "see below" part):
BG:EE - 4 stars with 270 votes
https://web.archive.org/web/20160406050132/https://www.gog.com/game/baldurs_gate_enhanced_edition
BG2:EE - 4 stars with 234 votes
https://web.archive.org/web/20160406050054/https://www.gog.com/game/baldurs_gate_2_enhanced_edition
Icewind Dale:EE - 4 stars with 201 votes
https://web.archive.org/web/20160406050058/https://www.gog.com/game/icewind_dale_enhanced_edition

As you can see, in about a month's time, BG 1&2:EE dropped half a star and Icewind Dale:EE stayed the same with relatively few new votes. Again, most of this happened during a *sale* of the EEs - not a good sign, *imo*.
Post edited May 07, 2016 by plan99
Posted May 15, 2016
If there's anyone still watching this thread, here's a thread I made pulling together all the info I know of that might help get the classics unbundled: https://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/info_on_possibly_getting_the_classics_unbundled
Posted May 16, 2016
low rated
YOU CAN GET THE ORIGINALS STANDALONE, ONCE AGAIN! But be quick, before they change that...

1) Buy your EE package, which is the only option available.
2) Use the original game, which is now an "extra", instead of main game; keep/redeem/backup.
3) Ask for a refund.
4) As long as you don't download the main game itself (EE), you can even have a cash refund, instead of store credit.
5) D*ck move, but Beambitch drowned us all among a sea of d*cks, anyway.
6) Confirmed by a blue to work, even though kindly requested not to.
7) You end up with a free original game. Eff the EE, Eff Beamdog. Win!

P.S. I love and i respect GOG and Good Old Games. I hate aggressive gaffots (with peaceful ones i have no problem), talentless idiots who ruin classic games and blackmailers, who tie together crap with masterpiece double price too, so they can get away with their faq-up of a classic series and strike it rich effortlessly. Peace.
Post edited May 16, 2016 by KiNgBrAdLeY7
Posted May 16, 2016
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KiNgBrAdLeY7: 5) D*ck move, but Beambitch drowned us all among a sea of d*cks, anyway.
6) Confirmed by a blue to work, even though kindly requested not to.
7) You end up with a free original game. Eff the EE, Eff Beamdog. Win!

P.S. I love and i respect GOG and Good Old Games. I hate aggressive gaffots (with peaceful ones i have no problem), talentless idiots who ruin classic games and blackmailers, who tie together crap with masterpiece double price too, so they can get away with their faq-up of a classic series and strike it rich effortlessly. Peace.
Yeah, stick it to the man, right? Nevermind that you're fucking over GOG if you do this, right? Nevermind that the blues ask that you DON'T do this, right?

D*ck move, indeed.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionUpdate: 60% / 85% off Enhanced Editions: Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale
Original & Enhanced to become the Definitive Edition Bundle (822 posts)(822 posts)
(822 posts)