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Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 Pre-Release Thread [EARLY ACCESS RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

Nortar

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
1,407
Pathfinder: Wrath
The first thing I noticed in BG2 was the fact that portraits were way more lamer than the ones in BG1.
It was like they used a filter of gayness when creating them.

]
000.png

If it keep going like that, this is what we're going to get in BG3...

gbd3.jpg
 

Murk

Arcane
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
13,459
we can always agree that IWD1 is prettiest at everything.

I agree, and I was always curious why it was the case other than just... well "taste", but Josh "He-Who-Broke-The-Scales" Sawyer answered this in one of his talks where he was still selling PoE as a better system -- apparently bioware rarely if ever painted over their 3d renders for gameworld areas where-as black isle (and later Obsidian) would nearly always paint over the 3d render to give it a lot more detail and intricacy.

It definitely worked, cuz IWD 1's maps (and 2's) look way better than either of the BGs.
 

Elex

Arbiter
Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Messages
2,043
Yeah a mistake, they are not in a tour for show the game to press right now.

they just love trains and sleep in hotels.
 

curry

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
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Location
Cooking in the lab
I amazed to find out someone thinks BG2 aesthetics are better than BG1. Apart from the more detailed maps and effects, it's pretty much universally accepted in the community that BG1 fundamentals are vastly superior.

But even if you don't agree, there's just no way you can argue with regards to paperdolls and avatars. Here BG1 wins with such a huge margin it should be obvious to everyone.
Music and voice acting was also better in BG.
 

Chippy

Arcane
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Joined
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Messages
6,037
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I amazed to find out someone thinks BG2 aesthetics are better than BG1. Apart from the more detailed maps and effects, it's pretty much universally accepted in the community that BG1 fundamentals are vastly superior.

But even if you don't agree, there's just no way you can argue with regards to paperdolls and avatars. Here BG1 wins with such a huge margin it should be obvious to everyone.
Music and voice acting was also better in BG.

The original spell voice overs have been lost to time (I think there was a mod to restore them) but they were much more impressive. "Potentis pah" kind of grated after a while.
 

Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
Can they make the game with the same art style as BG2? I mean literally the same art style, the same character models, the same animations and stuff only in modern 3d, wouldn't it be glorious?

Stop trying to act like you have good aesthetic taste; you don't. The UI, anims, paperdolls, icons and character models are objectively superior in BG (that's BG, not BG2).

Here, let me give you a few examples:

BG vs. BG2:

paperdolls.jpg


BG:

12.jpg


BG2:

archer.jpg


BG:

bg1.jpg


BG2:

bg2.jpg


BG:

Durlags%2Btower.jpg


BG2:

watchers%2Bkeep.jpg

In respect to backdrops, BG lacks the fidelity and color depth of BG2, but that's just a technical limitation of the time. In all respects, its aesthetics exhibit superior taste.

Also, BG laid down all groundwork whereas BG2 leeched off BG + IWD.

So the fact you cite BG2 over BG just shows what an idiot you are.

Everything you mentioned is subjective, retard, but i happen to agree some things are better in BG compared to BG2

No, she is actually right and you are fucking moron if you can't see it.

One of the first things i do in all games that use that God awful BG2 shit is replace everything with the BG originals.
you must love BG2EE then, since it does it automatically for you.
 

DalekFlay

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
14,118
Location
New Vegas
I agree, and I was always curious why it was the case other than just... well "taste", but Josh "He-Who-Broke-The-Scales" Sawyer answered this in one of his talks where he was still selling PoE as a better system -- apparently bioware rarely if ever painted over their 3d renders for gameworld areas where-as black isle (and later Obsidian) would nearly always paint over the 3d render to give it a lot more detail and intricacy.

It definitely worked, cuz IWD 1's maps (and 2's) look way better than either of the BGs.

I always wondered why they looked better. Good info.
 

Harthwain

Magister
Joined
Dec 13, 2019
Messages
4,688
The first thing I noticed in BG2 was the fact that portraits were way more lamer than the ones in BG1.
It was like they used a filter of gayness when creating them.

000.png

I could never get over what they did to Jaheira

JAHEIRAL.png
NJAHEIRL.png
In 1 she looks barely like a woman and you could easily mistake her for a human. In 2 she may not look amazing or anything, but at least you can tell what you're looking at.

Other than that I like potraits from BG2 more than their BG1 counterparts, with the exception of Edwin, but even Edwin's BG2 portait isn't bad.
 
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InD_ImaginE

Arcane
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Joined
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Messages
5,365
Pathfinder: Wrath
But even if you don't agree, there's just no way you can argue with regards to paperdolls and avatars. Here BG1 wins with such a huge margin it should be obvious to everyone.

Really, as someone who never grew up on BG1 avatar "art" most of them feels like heavily edited cosplayer photos. With the cosplayers being nerds that tried too hard to "look cool in fantasy settings."

I guess this is just Codex's older is better mentality.
 

Morroweird

Educated
Joined
Aug 2, 2017
Messages
54
Really, as someone who never grew up on BG1 avatar "art" most of them feels like heavily edited cosplayer photos. With the cosplayers being nerds that tried too hard to "look cool in fantasy settings."

The fairly realistic style is a big part of their charm and the somewhat quirky look of some of these individuals just adds to that. And for players who don't fancy that there is also a selection of standard square-jawed hero-types. The 'glamorous' airbrushed style of BGII, along with the somewhat pouty poses was IMO a step down.
Harthwain said:
In 1 she looks barely like a woman

:what:

Harthwain said:
and you could easily mistake her for a human

which is quite common for a half-elf, isn't it?
 

Harthwain

Magister
Joined
Dec 13, 2019
Messages
4,688
Harthwain said:
In 1 she looks barely like a woman

:what:
OK. That might have been a bit too far. *Ekhm* She looks like an ugly woman.

Harthwain said:
and you could easily mistake her for a human

which is quite common for a half-elf, isn't it?
I wouldn't know. Is it? Or should it be so in this case? It's not like there is a reason to keep this particular character's identity a secret from the player.
 

Morroweird

Educated
Joined
Aug 2, 2017
Messages
54
I wouldn't know. Is it? Or should it be so in this case? It's not like there is a reason to keep this particular character's identity a secret from the player.

I think there's a fairly common trope in which the human genes are stronger in mixed-breed types, the rapid breeders that we are, and the ancestry can only be seen in small traces

Nifft Batuff said:
The left one is blatantly a photo.

Lacrymas said:
Isn't it a photo taken of one of the devs' wife/girlfriend?

I always thought the BG I portraits were well executed illustrations in the photorealist style. But it's possible they are based on photos. Maybe there was a mention of it in some post-mortem interviews? Not easy to find.
 

hell bovine

Arcane
Joined
Sep 9, 2013
Messages
2,711
Location
Secret Level
In 2 she may not look amazing or anything, but at least you can tell what you're looking at.
Yes, a photoshop victim. That's why her head is tilted, to give an illusion her face isn't basically badly done copy paste.

BG1 portrait is a paintover of a human photo.

Isn't it a photo taken of one of the devs' wife/girlfriend?
Some of them might be. I *think* I've seen the original photo in one of the old portrait packs for BG1, but it has been over a decade, so it's likely wrong. But I seem to remember going "Jaheira is a lingerie model?!" because she had much less armor on (that, or it was a porn actress I guess).
 
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Grotesque

±¼ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Vatnik
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Divinity: Original Sin Divinity: Original Sin 2
I would love to see the real dev faces the BG1 portraits were based on.

When I first played BG1 back in the day, I was blown away by the quality and the plausibility, the candid realism in those portraits. They were on a level not seen by me until that date. They didn't look "gamey" at all but retained a certain level of whimsical aura to them.

So when I heard years later that the portraits were based on real life faces, I was pleasantly surprised.

But what happened since the 90's?
Because nowadays, when a play a game with backer based portraits as a kickstarter pledge level reward, I can see it from a mile away that the physiognomy of the NPC is based on a puffed up burger loving "virginal" dude.
And that makes the BG1 portraits more valuable and cherished.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,948
Pathfinder: Wrath
I always thought the BG I portraits were well executed illustrations in the photorealist style. But it's possible they are based on photos. Maybe there was a mention of it in some post-mortem interviews? Not easy to find.
Some (most?) of them are retouched photos. I'm 99% sure Ajantis and Jaheira are. Ajantis is Muzyka actually and I think Jaheira is his wife.

EDIT: No, Imoen's portrait is the wife of one of the artists.
 

InD_ImaginE

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
5,365
Pathfinder: Wrath
When I first played BG1 back in the day, I was blown away by the quality and the plausibility,

Man the first time I played BG 1 my impression was "Jesus Christ these are ugly."

Its even how I learn to mod in the first place. Finding replacement for BG portraits.

I guess its the difference with people who played game since early 90s with me who first played BG in 2005 and had exposure to other media first (I had my first PC back then and it can only run old games).
 

Roguey

Codex Staff
Staff Member
Sawyerite
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
35,653
The BG2 portrait artist was a coomer who traced porn, yes.

comment_qmIiHjsYuqTC7njwcQxDf6FjfqL7Bid3.jpg


Gaider remarked that one of the artists watched porn at work and nobody cared. :M
 

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