Game News Trent in Trouble: Beamdog forbidden from selling and patching BG:EE, BG2:EE on "indefinite hold"

[Space Satan]

Let the faggot fall. Damn, most WEIDU mods are 100 times better that shit they released. The companions added were the crappiest of them all.

 

[Alex]

Let the faggot fall. Damn, most WEIDU mods are 100 times better that shit they released. The companions added were the crappiest of them all.

Eh, it isn't like they went after people buying mods and forced them to buy their version. I didn't care about the enhanced edition, but neither did I harbor it any ill will.

 

[thesheeep]

Always sorry to hear of anyone daring to do getting fucked for any reason, and I do wish them the best. On the other hand...just played BGEE and BG2 GoG Edition through and didn't see how the EE improved on Tutu at all. I wanted so badly to believe in this project, too. =( I hope for their sake BG2EE makes the market and I'll pry pick it up regardless just to show solidarity. But the sad fact is these guys are trying to monetize what the BG fanbase has been doing better for free since BG2's release. ugh so depressing. If I were a tablet owner (and mods worked on iPads, gotta patch in my gayness), I guess I'd still be celebrating such an awesome mobile experience. But I ain't, for now. saaad

I fully agree with this.
I really don't agree with all the bashing BG:EE gets, but it really isn't nearly as good as they hyped it. And was of course totally bug ridden on release (not sure about the current state).
What fascinated me most - the promised better modding capabilities - seems to have been an illusion, after all.

 

[villain of the story]

You just listed the valid reasons to bash BG:EE after disagreeing with the bashing.

 

[Tigranes]

So.. BG:EE totally sucks but I don't understand the bashing?

 

[crawlkill]

You just listed the valid reasons to bash BG:EE after disagreeing with the bashing.

Moderate humans can appreciate even failed attempts? And it's not even "failed," really, just in no way necessary.

 

[Grunker]

neither did I harbor it any ill will.

You should have. They filled out the possibility space of doing something with the Baldur's Gate IP. That can only happen once. And they fucked it up so horribly no one is ever likely to invest in it just mildly again.

Even some of the most popamole, apologetic cunts on the Facebook fanpage detest BG:EE for how underwhelming it was, and what a waste of opportunity it exemplifies. The only ones willing to defend it nowadays are modders who poured a considerable amount of effort into the project, completely free of charge.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is one of the most crooked video game projects in recent history. It deserves complete and utter shaming from the rest of the community.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Herve wants more moneyz, so he kicks Trent in the balls?

 

[evdk]

Maybe now they can, I dunno, make a new IP and not have to deal with this bullshit like they shoulda done from the very start.

That requires more talent then grave robbing does and some invention too, none of which is within Trent's capabilities.

 

[The Great Deceiver]

 

[Brother None]

Well, they have Freespace! Freespace 2 is actually Interplay's best selling game on GOG after the Fallouts: http://af.gog.com/catalogue?search=Interplay&as=1649904300

Plenty of interesting IPs are still owned by Interplay, including one I think Brian was particularly proud of in Sacrifice. Then there's plenty of titles with at least some value; Earthworm Jim, Descent, MDK, Kingpin (one of the guys I got to meet in Cali was Maxx Kaufman, who was the art director on Kingpin (and Redneck Rampage)), Giants: Citizen Kabuto (another one of Interplay's more experimental titles), Redneck Rampage, maybe even Stonekeep.

There's not a ton of financial value there, but some interesting titles.

 

[Infinitron]

Well, they have Freespace! Freespace 2 is actually Interplay's best selling game on GOG after the Fallouts: http://af.gog.com/catalogue?search=Interplay&as=1649904300

Plenty of interesting IPs are still owned by Interplay, including one I think Brian was particularly proud of in Sacrifice. Then there's plenty of titles with at least some value; Earthworm Jim, Descent, MDK, Kingpin (one of the guys I got to meat in Cali was Maxx Kaufman, who was the art director on Kingpin (and Redneck Rampage)), Giants: Citizen Kabuto (another one of Interplay's more experimental titles), Redneck Rampage, maybe even Stonekeep.

There's not a ton of financial value there, but some interesting titles.

Titles that bring in steady cash on GOG which can be used to beef up Kickstarter projects.

 

[MicoSelva]

Plenty of interesting IPs are still owned by Interplay, including one I think Brian was particularly proud of in Sacrifice. Then there's plenty of titles with at least some value; Earthworm Jim, Descent, MDK, Kingpin (one of the guys I got to meet in Cali was Maxx Kaufman, who was the art director on Kingpin (and Redneck Rampage)), Giants: Citizen Kabuto (another one of Interplay's more experimental titles), Redneck Rampage, maybe even Stonekeep.

Man, this post only reminded me how many of may favourite games were released by Interplay. How could they go down having so many cool titles to sell?

Well, actually, I probably know why. I've pirated like 80% of my games back then. Couldn't afford to buy them (sorry, I guess?). I bet many other people did the same thing.

 

[Rake]

Well, they have Freespace! Freespace 2 is actually Interplay's best selling game on GOG after the Fallouts: http://af.gog.com/catalogue?search=Interplay&as=1649904300

Plenty of interesting IPs are still owned by Interplay, including one I think Brian was particularly proud of in Sacrifice. Then there's plenty of titles with at least some value; Earthworm Jim, Descent, MDK, Kingpin (one of the guys I got to meet in Cali was Maxx Kaufman, who was the art director on Kingpin (and Redneck Rampage)), Giants: Citizen Kabuto (another one of Interplay's more experimental titles), Redneck Rampage, maybe even Stonekeep.

There's not a ton of financial value there, but some interesting titles.

MAKE IT HAPPEN
Easily one of my favorite games of all time...

 

[villain of the story]

Plenty of interesting IPs are still owned by Interplay, including one I think Brian was particularly proud of in Sacrifice. Then there's plenty of titles with at least some value; Earthworm Jim, Descent, MDK, Kingpin (one of the guys I got to meet in Cali was Maxx Kaufman, who was the art director on Kingpin (and Redneck Rampage)), Giants: Citizen Kabuto (another one of Interplay's more experimental titles), Redneck Rampage, maybe even Stonekeep.

Man, this post only reminded me how many of may favourite games were released by Interplay. How could they go down having so many cool titles to sell?

Well, actually, I probably know why. I've pirated like 80% of my games back then. Couldn't afford to buy them (sorry, I guess?). I bet many other people did the same thing.

Don't blame yourself, mang. It would take extraordinary skill to drive Interplay into the ground and they just happened to have the right people in management to do that.

 

[thesheeep]

You just listed the valid reasons to bash BG:EE after disagreeing with the bashing.

Not at all, I see no reason to bash it. Because it failed to achieve what it tried to do?
Huh, I wonder how much bashing all the Troika games should get here.

No, I really think the whole affair is more sad than anything, and that is why I don't get the hatred.
It's not like they were trying to rip off people like so many others do. You don't take some ancient code like the one of BG and port it to OpenGL (pretty sure since it runs on a Tablet) if you're out for an easy way to get cash.
Look at what JoWood did when releasing the old DSA/ROA trilogy on one CD. The game versions were not even savegame compatible That is knowingly ripping off people and deserves hatred.

In this case, I just see a mixture of a worthy goal, incompetence and a wrong estimation of their own product.
I really do think that they tried and failed. And now I'm not entirely sure if I want them to try again or not.

Well, okay, the additional art stuff can be bashed, because... well, look at it. The new content fits with the other new content, but not with the original game, that really is bullshit.

 

[tuluse]

Not at all, I see no reason to bash it. Because it failed to achieve what it tried to do?

When what your trying to achieve is to recreate a game that already exists, and your version is worse, and you are charging money for it, that is the time to bash something.

 

[crawlkill]

...and you're basically just taking work dozens of people already did (and better) as a labor of love for nothing as your template. =( I dunno. It's just sad.

 

[Zeriel]

Incompetence is just about the most worthwhile thing to bash a developer for, right? We can agree on that, right? PLEASE? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP BEING EDGY DOUCHES WHO WILL DEFEND TRENT OSTER.

Grunker nailed the real tragedy of this thing, though, and why they deserve all the loathing: these guys took the one opportunity we had for a continuation of the Baldur's Gate brand (not that that's such a big deal with things like Project Eternity now) and flushed it down the toilet. It's insane these guys thought they had any hope of making a real, legitimate Baldur's Gate 3, when they can't even mod the original. I really wonder what was going through their heads. Did they never even plan to release a good product? Were they just happy with the idea of making some quick, easy money? Could they actually have their heads stuck so far up their own asses that they overestimated their own capabilities tenfold?

I mean, I can understand professional grifting. But Beamdog just seems more like amateur hour than anything else--I think I'd feel better if they were really, really good at cheating people out of money. At least then they'd be good at something.

 

[crawlkill]

It's just an unwarranted level of rage. Baldur's Gate 3 was never necessary (or likely). We just wanted more games like BG2 and Torment, and lo, new and promising IPs spring up to fill the gap. I know the internet is a hate machine, but do you really feel the need to bash a foolish ape for years on end for being foolish? It's enough to register disapproval and move on. Don't be a YouTube comment. C'mon.

 

[Zeriel]

Baldur's Gate came out when I was 13, man. These guys are molesting my childhood. I feel the same way about BG:EE that I felt about Fallout 3: it's totally fine with me if they want to make a terrible game, I just wish they'd not drag the name of something I like through the dirt to do that.

 

[Gord]

Indeed, I don't see much reason for all the bile.
The project was unnecessary, that I can agree on.
The moment they learned that BioWare had lost the original assets, without which a true HD version would not be possible without exponentially more work, they should have let it be.
All they did was basically already available via mods (Maybe aside from an iOS port, if you like that kind of stuff).
That's about the only thing I can really blame them for, that they did something that was not necessary.

As for a continuation of th BG brand - what continuation could we reasonably expect? As Grunker had pointed out, BG was mostly about the story of the Bhaalspawn, which was finished with ToB. While I could imagine games dealing with the aftermath, or maybe a prequel-like game, even that could be done without calling it Baldurs Gate (of course you could justifiably still call it BG then).
And calling an unrelated Forgotten Realms game "Baldurs Gate" doesn't make much sense either, or rather it would anyway have nothing to do with the old games.
So, what about the brand?

 

[Grunker]

It's just an unwarranted level of rage.

Why? I can't think of much worse hackjobs in the entire industry. The Codex rages over much less than someone who takes a glorious opportunity and turns it into one of the biggest cash-grab and worthless releases of the year, splitting the modding community during it all.

 

[Monty]

Whiteknighting for BG:EE. Now I've seen it all.

 

[Gord]

Nah, I'm not whiteknighting, I just don't care much and don't understand why anyone would be able to muster that amount of "care" for this project to be all butthurt about it.