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Game News Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear featured in Dragon Magazine, coming early 2016

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Tags: Amber Scott; Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear; Beamdog; Trent Oster

We haven't heard much about Beamdog's Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear interquel since it was first officially announced back in July. Now, as the year comes to a close, the marketing machine may be springing to life again. The latest issue of Wizards of the Coast's Dragon Magazine has an article about Dragonspear, which tells the story of how what was originally intended to be a $2 DLC ended up being a full-sized 25-30 hour game - although it will still require the original Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition to play. Here's an excerpt:

"I think that’s just a Baldur’s Gate thing,” says Beamdog president and creative director Trent Oster. “It can never be small. It always has to get bigger and bigger.” He’s talking about Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, which started life in 2011, in Trent’s words, as a little piece of DLC that would cost around $2. With a storyline that fits between the new enhanced editions of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II, it was supposed to ship as a bridge to those two titles before the second one was released.

“It grew in scope and we realized we were tight on time and needed to put more effort into Baldur’s Gate II ahead of its launch, so Dragonspear went on the backburner. When we came back and re-examined it had become a fifteen-hour expansion. At that stage it was still going to be DLC, although for a little more money,” Oster says.

“This was around fall 2014,” says writer Amber Scott as she picks up the story. “At that point it was just too crowded. We’d designed so much great stuff that when we started doing the test playthroughs you’d walk five feet and a quest would trigger, then in another five feet more NPCs would run up to you to offer other quests. So rather than cut content, we added extra areas so we could spread it out a bit and make it more fun and relaxing to play.”

Working alongside Cowboys & Aliens comic-book scribe Andrew Foley, Scott pitched additional dungeons and other areas to lead designer Phil Daigle, to house the glut of monsters and side quests. Other Beamdog staff also suggested more wilderness areas for open-world exploration, to expand the map even further. As the $2 piece of DLC continued to grow, the art team working on it reached around 35 people. Oster says Siege of Dragonspear now offers around twenty-five to thirty hours of gameplay. “That’s if you play the critical path and don’t do much besides, so it’s fitting for the legacy of Baldur’s Gate,” he adds proudly.

All of which begs the question, did anything get left out? “There were a few quests we did have to cut, as they didn’t work as well as we thought in the new expanded format,” Scott, a former Dragon magazine writer, says. “We also underwent some story revisions that made a couple of quests outdated, so we put them to one side and maybe we’ll reuse those in a different game or add them in a later patch.”​

The article also reveals for the first time that Siege of Dragonspear is scheduled to be released early next year. I imagine they won't want to go head-to-head with White March Part 2, so probably after January?
 

CRD

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Divinity: Original Sin 2
I don't have much faith in it, but I will play for sure.

"I don't have much faith in it, but I will play for sure" - RPG Codex

Yeah, why not?

I doubt will be a great game, but it is a Baldur's gate expansion and I want to try it for myself and not rely on reviews, so even if I don't have faith in the game, I still want to confirm it by myself while I read the new lore and maybe get a pleasant surprise.
 

Tigranes

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Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Have we seen anything that helps us gauge the quality of this upcoming title? Thought not.

This is just as pointless as SCL until we see something that shows these guys can make a good game, level, encounter, anything.

Pleasant surprises are nice, I guess...
 

Shammy

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Have we seen anything that helps us gauge the quality of this upcoming title? Thought not.

This is just as pointless as SCL until we see something that shows these guys can make a good game, level, encounter, anything.

Pleasant surprises are nice, I guess...
As pointless as SCL sure, but the fact it's on the IE already means it'll play better. ;)

Still wish they used an updated engine, or showed off anything to make me feel like it'll be a worthy purchase, but considering their tiny budget I doubt it.
 

Roobenator

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How is this expansion going to interfere with bg 1 -> bg 2 level progression. The appeal with the enhanced editions was added content and improved interface, but also allowed me to play a huge continual gaming experience with the same character. There is little value added to this experience, if my char doesn't level up. Also, how are they going to handle siege of dragonspear loot when imported to bg 2?
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
How is this expansion going to interfere with bg 1 -> bg 2 level progression. The appeal with the enhanced editions was added content and improved interface, but also allowed me to play a huge continual gaming experience with the same character. There is little value added to this experience, if my char doesn't level up. Also, how are they going to handle siege of dragonspear loot when imported to bg 2?

They've already talked about that. BG2:EE will be updated to let you import your character. See this interview: http://www.rpgcodex.net/article.php?id=9988
 

ArchAngel

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I think it will be pretty cool. But I am a huge BG1 fanboy so I am less critical about this than I should be.
 

Roobenator

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How is this expansion going to interfere with bg 1 -> bg 2 level progression. The appeal with the enhanced editions was added content and improved interface, but also allowed me to play a huge continual gaming experience with the same character. There is little value added to this experience, if my char doesn't level up. Also, how are they going to handle siege of dragonspear loot when imported to bg 2?

They've already talked about that. BG2:EE will be updated to let you import your character. See this interview: http://www.rpgcodex.net/article.php?id=9988

Yeah, about three levels and added challenge in bg2, gud:
While the focus of Beamdog’s reveal was the news of Siege of Dragonspear, perhaps almost as remarkable are their plans to also introduce substantial, sweeping changes to all of their games. A great deal is being tinkered with, updated or rebalanced. For a start, the levelling across the Baldur’s Gate series now has to be adjusted to account for the new addition. “You’ll come out [of Siege of Dragonspear] about three levels higher,” is Oster’s estimate. “So we’re going to go in and tweak some stuff in Baldur’s Gate II. Though [the original version of the game] already power-levels you pretty quick after the initial Irenicus dungeon, just so you won’t get murdered as you start to wander around Athkatla.”

No mention about items crossing over though. I don't know, but I tend to get tired while playing expansions. Throne of Bhaal, never finished that one. Maybe it seemed like the content was too concentrated, too much dialogue etc. Playing through BG1 -> BG2 is great but you can feel exhausted after the ordeal. My vague point here is that I'm afraid I'll lack interest in Dragonspear content.
 

SionIV

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They have been talking about increasing the difficulty at the start of BG2.

The highest level that you will be able to reach in SoD is 12 (Rogue, Bard, Druid). So the experience cap is less than 660 000.

They might introduce some items into Irenicus dungeon from SoD, like they did with the original game, but you won't be keeping items on your character when you start the game.
 

getter77

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The new class will probably be a significant draw for folks, doubly so in the implications what it will mean for at least BG II after the fact as far as high level powers, surely some new equipment, etc. They've taken the long and winding road for this, though I suppose there's always a chance that this isn't the last we'll see of "new" BG-based content.
 

imweasel

Guest
I finished BG:EE so my body + savegame are ready.

:smug:

Throne of Bhaal, never finished that one. Maybe it seemed like the content was too concentrated, too much dialogue etc. Playing through BG1 -> BG2 is great but you can feel exhausted after the ordeal.
Throne of Bhaal is more like a standalone game, with a lot of story, than a simple expansion like "Tales of the Swordcoast", so I am surprised that you didn't finish it. There is a reason why people consider BG + BG2 + ToB to be the "Baldur's Gate Trilogy".

If I was Beamdog I would have sold Throne of Bhaal separately as ToB:EE, because there is more than enough (very) good content in ToB to get away with that. Even BioWare/Interplay regretted selling ToB as an expansion instead of a sequel back in the day.
 

Roobenator

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I finished BG:EE so my body + savegame are ready.

:smug:

Throne of Bhaal, never finished that one. Maybe it seemed like the content was too concentrated, too much dialogue etc. Playing through BG1 -> BG2 is great but you can feel exhausted after the ordeal.
Throne of Bhaal is more like a standalone game, with a lot of story, than a simple expansion like "Tales of the Swordcoast", so I am surprised that you didn't finish it. There is a reason why people consider BG + BG2 + ToB to be the "Baldur's Gate Trilogy".

If I was Beamdog I would have sold Throne of Bhaal separately as ToB:EE, because there is more than enough (very) good content in ToB to get away with that. Even BioWare/Interplay regretted selling ToB as an expansion instead of a sequel back in the day.
Im planning a full replay with a no reroll, no stat redistribution char. Only thing is that ill play human, as i want to dual class. If stats allow that. What do you think? Ill finish tob this time, promise
 

Namutree

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Im planning a full replay with a no reroll, no stat redistribution char. Only thing is that ill play human, as i want to dual class. If stats allow that. What do you think? Ill finish tob this time, promise

I think if you give yourself limited lives it'll be a lot more rewarding. Try to give yourself only 3 lives for each game.
 

Septaryeth

Augur
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Jun 24, 2013
Messages
298
I finished BG:EE so my body + savegame are ready.

:smug:

Throne of Bhaal, never finished that one. Maybe it seemed like the content was too concentrated, too much dialogue etc. Playing through BG1 -> BG2 is great but you can feel exhausted after the ordeal.
Throne of Bhaal is more like a standalone game, with a lot of story, than a simple expansion like "Tales of the Swordcoast", so I am surprised that you didn't finish it. There is a reason why people consider BG + BG2 + ToB to be the "Baldur's Gate Trilogy".

If I was Beamdog I would have sold Throne of Bhaal separately as ToB:EE, because there is more than enough (very) good content in ToB to get away with that. Even BioWare/Interplay regretted selling ToB as an expansion instead of a sequel back in the day.

I never really thought the transition to Baldur's Gate II was broken and that they need an expansion to fix it.
It's abrupt, sure, but it's not rushed, unexplained or anything.
A redo of Throne of Bhaal, especially the starting part that was glanced over with monologue(which is probably enough story for half of a complete game), would definitely be better.
 

DarkArcher

Educated
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Mar 3, 2015
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I'm a bit skeptical. Have to wait and see what folks say about it before I pick this up.
 

Johannes

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I never really thought the transition to Baldur's Gate II was broken and that they need an expansion to fix it.
It's abrupt, sure, but it's not rushed, unexplained or anything.
A redo of Throne of Bhaal, especially the starting part that was glanced over with monologue(which is probably enough story for half of a complete game), would definitely be better.
What starting part was glanced over? You end BG2 in the elven city, then you start ToB there, or near it, where the talkan heads are. I don't recall much anything notable that the PC did being glossed over.
 

Septaryeth

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Jun 24, 2013
Messages
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I never really thought the transition to Baldur's Gate II was broken and that they need an expansion to fix it.
It's abrupt, sure, but it's not rushed, unexplained or anything.
A redo of Throne of Bhaal, especially the starting part that was glanced over with monologue(which is probably enough story for half of a complete game), would definitely be better.
What starting part was glanced over? You end BG2 in the elven city, then you start ToB there, or near it, where the talkan heads are. I don't recall much anything notable that the PC did being glossed over.

The war waged by other Bhaalspawns could surely be expanded upon.
I mean PC doesn't have to be in the center of every conspiracies but to have all that "world is going crazy" just dump on you is a bit disappointing.
Sarevok was pretty cool and it could be interesting to see how other Bhaalspawn like him rose up and unfold the chaos.
 

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