Baldur's Gate Give me the TLDR, how should one play Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 in 2021?

[FriendlyMerchant]

All you really need is to install the game with EE and enjoy. Played it several times with just base EE. Don't listen to these contrarian, autistic phaggots with their 10+ mod lists. The new companions suck, and they are half-assed implemented in BG2. I only recruit them for the unique loot in BG 1. I don't even give them a second look in BG2.

It's only one mod to remove the beamdog tumbler insert companions:

"Convenient NPCs"

https://argent77.github.io/A7-NoEENPCs/index.html

You can always ignore them of course.

 

[Mexi]

All you really need is to install the game with EE and enjoy. Played it several times with just base EE. Don't listen to these contrarian, autistic phaggots with their 10+ mod lists. The new companions suck, and they are half-assed implemented in BG2. I only recruit them for the unique loot in BG 1. I don't even give them a second look in BG2.

It's only one mod to remove the beamdog tumbler insert companions:

"Convenient NPCs"

https://argent77.github.io/A7-NoEENPCs/index.html

You can always ignore them of course.

I wouldn't for BG1. The unique items are pretty cool.

 

[Sykar]

Guys I'm not paying for EE when I already own the originals

You're missing out on literally hundreds (thousands?) of fixes and a lot of (optional) features not covered by the super outdated fixpack (and made by the same modders btw).
People who still shit on EEs because they don't like the new companions (which can be completely ignored and represent about 0.0001% of the game's content) have corrupted DNA and should be purged from the genepool.

Only one solution for heretical EE loving scum:


Followed by

To make 1000% sure that not even a molecule of the heretical scum is left.

 

[Nano]

I wouldn't for BG1. The unique items are pretty cool.

The mod doesn't remove the items. It gives you the added benefit of not having to do the companion quests to get them.

 

[Cryomancer]

If you wanna play EE, please. Remember to transform every Beamdog companion insto a squirrel and cast Imprisonment on then. Preferentially in the abyss when you do the mage stronghold quest.

 

[RNGsus]

How should I play Baldur's gate 1 and 2 in 2012?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

How should I play Baldur's gate 1 and 2 in 2012?

Wait 10000 years, play it in 12012

 

[perfectslumbers]

EE is fine if you know where all the added companions spawn so you can ignore them

 

[Taim]

Have played BG2 many times, but haven't touched BG 1 for around 15 years so just going back to it now.

3 hours in and it's steady enough, quite enjoying it, but I can't remember the world feeling that empty before. Is it like that for the rest of the game? I'm just wondering whether to bother with side quests, or push on through the main story as the side-quests so far have all been cookie-cutter, predictable trash.

For some reason i'm brimming with curiosity. How are you playing it? EE or Vanilla? Any mods? What class is your PC?

 

[Falksi]

Have played BG2 many times, but haven't touched BG 1 for around 15 years so just going back to it now.

3 hours in and it's steady enough, quite enjoying it, but I can't remember the world feeling that empty before. Is it like that for the rest of the game? I'm just wondering whether to bother with side quests, or push on through the main story as the side-quests so far have all been cookie-cutter, predictable trash.

For some reason i'm brimming with curiosity. How are you playing it? EE or Vanilla? Any mods? What class is your PC?

I'm trying the EE version out for the first time, no mods. Pathfinding seems a bit better so far, so that's a plus. PC is a Ranger/Cleric.

 

[AwesomeButton]

If you've played the originals in the past, the EE will feel different and probably worse. If you don't remember the experience of the originals, you'll likely not be put off by the EE. Yes, the companions are corny, and the EE companions especially so.

It's also much easier to play multiplayer with the EE than to set it up with the originals (whether BG, BG2, IWD, or Siege of Dragonspear). Nowadays when people often have a PC and at least one laptop at home, multiplayer is not an unlikely scenario.

 

[vota DC]

EE is fine if you know where all the added companions spawn so you can ignore them

Neera Is a stalker. Not in Sod but in bg1 in the middle of Beregost and very hard to avoid her starting dialogue. The others don't force talk you.

Anyway if you play Hitler and aren't a thief you are in trouble in bg2.....but a vampire isn't the answer. A good answer would have been to change xzar quest in bg2 allowing the player to kick Harpers's asses and save Montaron instead of scripting the player to act as a fool.

 

[DY050503]

Original is much better, but first of all, you need a small monitor screen like a laptop......

 

[Reinhardt]

kb+mouse

 

[AwesomeButton]

Original is much better, but first of all, you need a small monitor screen like a laptop......

Man, I beg to differ.

IWD 2 at 1920x1200 with the widescreen mod, on a 48-inch LG OLED. The UI resize mod is breaking for some reason, but that's something I caused.

 

[Chippy]

If you wanna play EE, please. Remember to transform every Beamdog companion insto a squirrel and cast Imprisonment on then. Preferentially in the abyss when you do the mage stronghold quest.

I mentioned this before, but you can just ctrl-y all of them except the vampire diversity hire in BG2. She just kept coming back. The only thing that worked was uninstall.

 

[Cryomancer]

If you wanna play EE, please. Remember to transform every Beamdog companion insto a squirrel and cast Imprisonment on then. Preferentially in the abyss when you do the mage stronghold quest.

I mentioned this before, but you can just ctrl-y all of them except the vampire diversity hire in BG2. She just kept coming back. The only thing that worked was uninstall.

Only Beamdog managed to make such interesting concept as a vampire companion being turned into a awful diversity hire. Could be a interesting necromancer who got tricked by Bohdi and now wanna her dead for eg and the player can accept being turned by him and have the graveyard as a second stronghold for eg. That sounds way more interesting.

 

[Sykar]

If you wanna play EE, please. Remember to transform every Beamdog companion insto a squirrel and cast Imprisonment on then. Preferentially in the abyss when you do the mage stronghold quest.

I mentioned this before, but you can just ctrl-y all of them except the vampire diversity hire in BG2. She just kept coming back. The only thing that worked was uninstall.

Only Beamdog managed to make such interesting concept as a vampire companion being turned into a awful diversity hire. Could be a interesting necromancer who got tricked by Bohdi and now wanna her dead for eg and the player can accept being turned by him and have the graveyard as a second stronghold for eg. That sounds way more interesting.

Just open up your inner and embrace the BBC (Big Blackguard Cock) that Beamturd is offering to you.

 

[Nano]

Could be a interesting necromancer

Her being the Evil Thief is the entire reason she was created.

What's really baffling is why they didn't give her a thief kit.

 

[Falksi]

If you've played the originals in the past, the EE will feel different and probably worse. If you don't remember the experience of the originals, you'll likely not be put off by the EE. Yes, the companions are corny, and the EE companions especially so.

It's also much easier to play multiplayer with the EE than to set it up with the originals (whether BG, BG2, IWD, or Siege of Dragonspear). Nowadays when people often have a PC and at least one laptop at home, multiplayer is not an unlikely scenario.

It's been 15 or so years since I played BG1 so I remember the key bits of it, but the whole experience feels pretty fresh. BG2 on the other hand I replayed around 3 years ago and have played far more regularly too over the years, so when I move on to that I dare say it'll tell.

The new EE companions are coming across as corny for sure anyway, but I'm not playing as a completionist so if they do my head in I just swat them off anyway. I am surprised just how much the pathfinding has improved so far, and think that's worthy of some kudos tbh. It's always been my biggest gripe with the games.

 

[Old Hans]

you play it on a 14" CRT monitor on a DELL Pentium 2

 

[Chippy]

I never played the EE games to completion, but from what I read on the wiki each companion is more orientated to their feelings and circumstances than actually having a backstory. Or a quest with things to do. That's the impression I got anyway. I didn't play it myself because I didn't want to poison the game. Didn't the black vampire diversity hire in BG2 have a lesbian lover or someting crap like that?.

Like Han Solo went from being a rogue with a bounty on his head in episode 4-6, to being a loser father in epsode 7. I suppose that's all these people have got as writers because they have so little life experience and that's all they can write about.

 

[Nikanuur]

Original is much better, but first of all, you need a small monitor screen like a laptop......

Wide Screen mod is working pretty alright.

 

[Nikanuur]

As for the Tl;Dr the OP requested:

BWP is the way
http://www.shsforums.net/topic/44661-big-world-project-bwp-v90/

PS: The thing about the resolution is not necessarily true. I've been playing 1280×720 just fine untill almost the end of the BGII (nothing wrong has happened, I've just not finished yet).

 

[Falksi]

Thinking ahead to BG2, and what do folk reckon to the Stalker kit as far as having fun goes?

I've never played as one (mainly because you get so many thief type companies) and I'm not importing this current character, so might give it a blast.