Official Baldur's Gate II chat at Voodoo Extreme August 7, 2000 at irc.voodooextreme.com, room #bg2 Edited log prepared by Silverdawn of Baldur's Gate Chronicles (http://www.bgchronicles.com) In attendance were: BioWare: GregAtBio - Greg Zeschuk (Joint CEO) RayAtBio - Ray Muzyka (Joint CEO) Brad_BioWare - Brad Grier (Communication Manager) KevinMatBio - Kevin Martens (Co-Lead Designer) Zarth_BioWare - Michael Geist (Designer/Scriptor) JamesAtBio - James Ohlen (Director of Writing and Design and Co-Lead Designer) Dean - Dean Andersen (Senior Artist) JohnGBio - John Gallagher (Director of Conceptual Art) DaveCatBio - Dave Chan (Sound Engineer) Chris and [VE]Eidolon were the moderators from Voodoo Extreme. Around 85 people came to the chat. [ka] Mode change "+m" by Chris All the BioWare guys ready? * PhaseBurn is ready ;-) [ka] Topic changed to "Welcome to the Baldur's Gate II chat with Bioware. Direct your question to [VE]Eidolon and Chris in a private msg (/msg)." by Chris <[VE]Eidolon> and no stupid questions <[VE]Eidolon> :) that's my job eidolon, you then me err me then you BioWare guys? You here, my little hookers? I'm here. Here Hey Ray, how's it going? Shall we start? nope, we're all on a tornado watch. Excellent! OK. let's get this thing under way Hello First of all, who are you and what do you do for BioWare? please signal once your done just say "GA" or "Done" <[VE]Eidolon> Ok why don't you Bioware blokes introduce yourself to the crowd I'm Ray, co-executive producer on BG2 at BioWare, and Joint CEO (with Greg) Michael Geist, Designer/Scriptor Kevin Martens, Co-Lead Designer I'm Brad, BioWare's Communication Manager. I have a question about the system requirements. Do you think BG2 will run on a Pent 2 233? What are the minimum requirements? The game should run on a P2 -233 as that is our minimum requirement (with 32 meg RAM). Our recommended system is a bit higher (still working on what that will be - should be in the range of a P400 with 64 meg RAM). The min system will run the well but you need a slightly higher one to see all the bells and whistles :) <[VE]Eidolon> Is the game fully running in the openGL API..or is it only using openGL for the spell effects etc. ? As a little add-on to that, what APIs will the game support? not a separate question, though The OpenGL is used for spell and background effect animation. It is not required to use 3D, but if you do the game will look and run a bit better in terms of the spells and background animations (translucencies etc.). But in 2D mode the graphics still look smashing. OpenGL is the only 3D API we support (not Direct3D), but it is optional, as I mentioned. I've seen two versions of BG2 interface. One on the official BG2 site and another (newer?) on zdnet (http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/filters/products/screens/0,11105,258273-11,00.html). Has it been finalised (along with the portraits) or is it going to be changed? <[VE]Eidolon> So it works similar to how Diablo II implemented D3D? (The 3D is similar to how Diablo II implemented 3D, yes, though I think we're using it for a few more things). The interface for BG2 is now finalized - and has been so for some time. It looks great. It's amazing looking back on the interface for BG1 and realizing how much better the one in BG2 is...it's hard to go back to play BG1 now! <[VE]Eidolon> I've seen two versions of BG2 interface. One on the official BG2 site and another (newer?) on zdnet. Has it been finalized (along with the portraits) or is it going to be changed? Add: the dropaway panels and 800x600 support really add to the GUI in BG2. The portraits are finalized now, and are just going in the latest build. ugh

Approximately, how many maps/areas (not including sub-areas) will there be? More or less than in BG1? The other portraits (from BG1) will still be available for selection, along with the approximately 19 new portraits (15 PC's and 4 generics) bioware guys, be sure to signal when you're ready for the next Q James types slow. ;) James appears to still be typing He might be drunk! hehe, ok. :) there you all are. :) There are about 30 master areas in BG2. A master area in BG2 has considerable more content that one in BG1. For example, a single master area in BG2 is a drow city. There are dozens of interiors that go along with that master area. i tell you, you game developers, slackers...this is more important than any puny little game! :) All in all there is MUCH more content in BG2 than in BG1...the areas are more compact though so there is less walking around required. <[VE]Eidolon> Has the line of sight been increased and the fog of war less dark so we could see more of the beautiful art work? You can play Bg2 in 800x600 which allows you to see ALOT at once Hey! You didn't say got it! as well the fog of war has been changed to a nice faded gradient :) :) * KevinMatBio shakes his finger at dead The line of sight varies according to the type of area you're in - interiors/dungeons generally have a shorter line of sight than outside areas, for example. City areas come full explored (like you've obtained a map, for example) so you can see all of the entire area. We've also thought through the way that areas are explored more as we designed the backgrounds in BG2 to make it easier to expose more art. As Dean mentioned, the 800x600 resolution (or hi * KevinMatBio uh... dean And it's damn beautiful art, I might add. have spells like 'protection from evil' and 'dispel magic' be altered so they more closely resemble AD&D rules? Is spell accuracy a greater priority in BG2? Spell accuracy is a very high priority. We've altered some of the spells from BG1 to more closely follow the rules. Dispel Magic is one of those spells; it now takes inot account the level difference between the caster and the target. Any hint what-so-ever as to who are going to be the romantic involvements? The name of just one of them? Something to throw to all the curious fans out there? With the higher level spells, we've been very faithful. In some ways the higher level spells were easier to do than some of the mid range ones. One of the returning characters is a potential romance. Actually, I'm testing her romance path right now. On the over head map when you are in an area will there be some sort of marker to show when you have found a door or exit? In IWD some of the doors where hard to find once you got pass the area and had to come back. Yes, we have map notes. Areas of interest or import will be prelabeled by us. You also have the ability to add your own notes to the map Map notes really help in finding your way around: never lose sight of a store, temple, tavern or exit again! The option can be turned off by those who prefer to play without it <[VE]Eidolon> Regarding inventory, will more small items be stackable in BG2 that were not in BG1 (books, rings, necklaces, etc.)? Also, in some of the preview screenshots there were upwards of 80 arrows in a stack, is that finalized? Everything that makes sense to be stackable is. If it isn't, there is a reason for it. In addition, you can now carry gem bags, scroll cases (that carry notes and other plot related literature as well) Perhaps even... another sort of bag :P Yes... if you can find that other sort it is VERY helpful :) What feature of AD&D did you wish was in BG2 that isn't for some technical or balance decision, etc? Hmm. I can't actually think of any. It's pretty faithful to the AD&D rules - much more so than BG1. E.g. weapon proficiencies, new spells (e.g. limited wish, Gate, spell contingencies, spell protections are all in). We even have some 3rd edition character classes (Sorceror, Barbarian, Monk) for extra fun and replayability. About 300 spells in total, dozens of character kits and subclasses, dozens of new monsters, tons of new items...BG2 is a rich RPG, that has over 200 hours of playtime. Come, what about the romance!!!! I'm waiting for it! <[VE]Eidolon> Some Elf lovin! scan billy's wife in There's romance in BG2 as well :) But I'm not sure what that has to do with AD&D. And elves (both dark and non-dark) are in the game as well. <[VE]Eidolon> How big will Bg2 be compared to Bg1 and how many gamehours does it take to finish the game for an avarage player?? BG2 is really, really big. People can attest to the fact that I've been walking around the office for the last couple days saying, "do you have any idea how big this game is?" Usually they do, since they're the designers. I've played for over 250 hours in my personal game - I'm trying to do absolutely everything in the game though. but I'm still not done. And, I might add, I'm enjoying every minute of it immensely. But - I've been playing at home for weeks, a few hours every night, and I'm still in Chapter 3!!!! And Bg2 is big, really big, as Greg says over and over :) I could likely have finished by now, since the main quest is about 60 hours, but I've been playing all the subquests. The fans will not be disappointed with the length or quality of the game. If you only buy one game this year, BG2 would be an excellent choice. Ray: You aren't biased or anything though, right? :) Actually, no - I've played a lot of RPG's over the years and I can honestly say that BG2 is the best one I've ever played! good stuff. :) 00 hours of playtime. I'm a huge RPG fan :) I've read that you will, if importing your main character from BG, be given a chance to change him/her a little bit, due to some of the new choices available. How far will this customization go? Will you be able to give the character a kit or one of the new classes? done, oops. ok I'm pretty sure you can choose your kit, as well as new proficiencies (since they are more detailed this time around). On the import you can backup a bit in the character creation process to assign a kit. done <[VE]Eidolon> I was kinda bummed when i played Ice Windale for the first time, same weapons, same player models etc. Is BG2 gonna bring more new stuff to the game, are we still gonna see lots of the same ol' BG1 ? ok All characters are completely rerendered. The paper dolls on the inventory page are also largely new or touched up in most cases. Some familiar icons are the same, but where they were less than perfect we've updated a lot of the art in the game. Some old monsters are the same, and there is some crossover with monsters from Ice Wind Dale, but there are also a LOT of new monster animations. The background art is also all new - it looks great, as do the n are there different strongholds(like towers, temples etc.) or a single one? Add: We had to rerender animations to allow for dual wielding :) There are 8 different strongholds. One for each of the standard classes. Additional classes default to the most appropriate stronghold. More... Also, the cleric strongholds are 3 unique churches - one for each of the specialty priest kits. So, actually, I suppose there are 11 strongholds. Make that 10 :) <[VE]Eidolon> WHy less dead areas? i for one didn't complained about BG1 having a lot of dead areas. I think that they make the game more immersive and less-linear, which is a good thing. In IWD, where there's no dead areas, i felt like the designers wanted me to go here and there. So will there be a lot less dead areas in BG2 compared to BG1 ? Got me with the evil math, Ray. There are still some areas with good-old-wilderness exploration in them, but they are fewer than in BG1. In general, what we've tried to do is reduce the amount of zigzagging back and forth to expose the one or two encounters on an area syndrome that seemed to happen a bit too much in BG1. The game is still very non-linear - no worries there. In fact, in chapter 2 I spent about 200 hours doing subquests and exploring the game, knowing the entire time wh How versatile will the magic system be? IE: differant elements, or just one base magic system for spell casting characters? Will there be any nudity in Baldur's Gate II? If so, can I pose? Hey I'm here! I can help answer this one. Not the nudity question, the spell question. We've actually already got nude pictures of you in BG2 Chris. They're most visible during the romance segments. You can create mage specialists in BG2 and the focus on different mage schools e.g. invoker, necromancer, conjurer, illusionist etc. They get extra spells in their school to memorize but fewer spells in their opposition schools (defined in the manual) Similarly, you can create one of three specialist priests or a druid - druids and clerics get slightly different spells (with some overlap) to cast. Druids are considerable fun to play in Bg2 - their new spells add a lot. I think we can safely say that the magic system in BG2 is one of the most comprehensive ever seen in a CRPG. Sorcerors are also fun - with their point-based magic system you don't need to memorize spells (they are a 3rd edition class). how long do we want to go, guys? 10 more mins? Just heard that some of my responses are being truncated - sorry about that, will try to write in smaller posts :) <[VE]Eidolon> Other than the obvious engine differences, how much more can we expect from BG2 than the recent IWD? Have the AD&D 3rd Ed. really made that much of a difference? Actually, BG2 is 2nd edition - the only 3rd edition rules are the additional classes - sorceror, barbarian, monk. Uhh, is that nudity going to impact our ERSB rating:-) There are a TON of new things in the engine - e.g. 800x600 res, drop off panels, optional 3D support, etc. New GUI changes. In terms of background art - the backgrounds look great, and uniformly so. Brad: BG2 is already mature! :) Scripting and storyline are the best parts of the game though I think - we've improved those a lot from BG1. BG2 is stylistically quite different from IWD - it's more broad in that it's more of a campaign build of a ton of cool modules. No, BG2 is Teen, isn't it? <[VE]Eidolon> We want it to be XXX! yeah, Adult! The storyline is much more immersive this go around - many people playing the game have expressed that they can't wait to go back to play a bit more. Encounters with enemies are more sophisticated (there's nothing quite like a big high level battle with a lich :) Teen hehe hey guys, what time you want to go 'till? What type of things have you guys implemented to make the storyline less linear if any? More options, earlier in the game is the first answer that springs to mind more... We can probably go for a while more... I'm playing BG2 in the background... I can continue indefinitely..:) B*stard...getting your BG2 fix early tonight, eh? ;) Most NPCs and about 65% of the subquests are available early in the game. The critical path is there to begin when you wish. I've been visiting Cromwell's. You can play at your own pace and do as much away from the critical path as on it at almost every point in the game. Cromwell is a good fellow - makes all kinds of amazing legendary items for you. [ka] Mode change "+o DaveCatBio" by Zarth_BioWare :) Also, which NPCs you have can change what happens to you. This adds both surprise and replayability to the game Better late than never :) [ka] sticker is now known as stickerboy And so forth ... Dave C's our sound engineer at BioWare. <[VE]Eidolon> will there be a special smurf version in-house? Dave-Cat-Bio is responsible for audio.... if you have any questions he's your man! :) No, no smurf edition this time. Dave: Who's doing the sounds for my sex scene? I know you guys want to get this out as right as possible. But, how "crunch" is "crunch mode", and will you be makeing 9/15/00 or are you still sticking with the "fall 2000" release :) James doesn't let us go home. We have to sneak out. ;) Sex scene? Hey that's not in my contract ! No, no...all yours sir! :O Dave: It's a new change. Greg just made it. :) I don't know anything about that. Crunch time right now means 9 to 9 every day except Sunday. Often many of us stay until 11 pm. Crunch mode, I thought we *all* were logging in from home :-) <[VE]Eidolon> haha james, dean, mike and I are here - quite a few people working on a stat holiday today, actually :) here = bioware :) We WILL make our target release, or die trying. I was there.. came home to finish laundry. :P Okay, we won't die trying, since you'd never get the game then. James: Can the attendants of this chat kill you if you don't? :) I'm scared...I don't wanna die. <[VE]Eidolon> laundry? you mean you don't work naked? Sounds like something from a WWII war flick James - that's the spirit! :) By die, James means that if we miss it, he will be offered as a sacrifice In other words, if the game doesn't make it, it's the end of James! he he * Chris whips out his baseball bat Can I have his car? :) We just work pantless.... on weekends. Kevin gets my car. Thanks! <[VE]Eidolon> Dave: Will you be supporting EAX, Aureal either - or? Seriously: we're really close. The game is content complete except from audio and a few movies that are getting added in. We're QA'ing the game and fixing anything that even remotely LOOKs bug-like. We're really trying to make the game as good as possible, so that is our first priority, but the target release date looks feasible right now. We support EAX, it's an important part of the experience. So grab yourself an EAX card, it's worth it <[VE]Eidolon> No A3d? sniff... * Chris goes into withdrawl need...my...age of empires ii fix. :) They are both good APIs, there is just a few more EAX than A3D as far as I know err nevermind that. :) i'm smoking Where'a that slacker Wicked? Dave: he's with his wife <[VE]Eidolon> he's picking up Dave at the airport and if you've seen his wife you'll understand Eidolon: Dave's already there. :) Hehehhehe <[VE]Eidolon> he is also pantless... <[VE]Eidolon> :P I have nothing to say about me and Billy's wife <[VE]Eidolon> Dave: neither do the rest of us Dave: you ever thinking about posing it playboy? game developers can do it! killcreek proved that! :) Eidolon: can you see what i'm saying yet? follow you around relentlessly, regardless to if they were magic or simple arrows. Does BG2 have this feature or will be finally be able to dodge them? In Baldur's gate 1, an annoying feature was the fact that projectiles would follow you around relentlessly, regardless to if they were magic or simple arrows. Does BG2 have this feature or will be finally be able to dodge them? err, think I missed my window. :) Ummmm, well I think I speak for everyone at BioWare when I say ... FOR GOD'S SAKE NO!!! Our missile animations move faster, so that won't happen anymore. However, in AD&D you can't dodge missiles. Once a hit roll has been calculated, there is nothing you can do to avoid it. <[VE]Eidolon> How many CDs will the game take, and will there be a DVD version? somebody give Ray a cookie Should be 4 CD's, and re: a DVD we'd have to discuss this with our publishing partner, BlackIsle/Interplay before we can guarantee it, but quite likely. he answers everything good! :) Cookies good! Have to go....Has anybody seen my pants?? Add: How many cutscenes will there be in BG II and how long will the last (approximately) The reason why the game would be on 4CD's not 5 as in the original BG1 is because we are using some compression of background images in BG2 that allows for more data per CD. We're doing a lot more ingame (scripted) cutscenes this go around. There are four major flythroughs when you enter new areas, plus a bunch of rest movies, plus the intro and the end movie (which we've put a lot of effort into). <[VE]Eidolon> About the largest monster in BG2. I know it can't fit into one screen. So my question is: on how many screens can you entirely see the monster? <[VE]Eidolon> and that has gotta be ONE big monster Eidolon: its modeled after your mom :) hehe, he can't read what i'm saying. :) Don't forget about the increase in spoken dialog as well Ray Depends on what resolution you're playing in. :) Yes - there is considerably more VO in BG2 than in BG1 :) thanks Dave. At 800by600, no single monster is larger that a screen. At 640by480, three monsters are slightly larger than one screen. You've said how there's different stronghold paths for clerics, but will there be any difference with specialized mages and their strongholds? As in, if I'm a necromancer and my friend's a conjurer, will there be a change? Maybe different apprentices? Wizards get the same stronghold but it has many different paths through it (both getting it and running it). What you do with it is up to you. A little teaser - there are apprentices <[VE]Eidolon> How many sounds are being re-used from BG1? I blew up my apprentices... <[VE]Eidolon> it's ok Ray Asked them to make something that was beyond their abilities... <[VE]Eidolon> we are here for you * [VE]Eidolon pats Ray on the back All sounds are being re-mastered and the new creatures have new sounds. Other than that we are making new sounds where we didn't like the old ones Oh yes and cool new spell sounds as well Done I noticed there are the new 3rd edition D&D classes, but the game is still using the 2nd edition rules. Was the development started to early to use the 3rd edition, or would this of caused more programming to be necessary? There are a couple of factors in play here...the license with WOTC (through Black Isle/Interplay) is for 2nd edition for BG2, and also the programming effort would have had to be much greater for 3rd edition. In addition, the 3rd edition rules are still not quite final, which would make releasing BG2 with those rules problematic. We're incorporating 3rd edition into Neverwinter Nights - due out mid next year - so we are familiar with them and they look t <[VE]Eidolon> what do we get more for the Collector's Edition? The Collector's edition is still being fleshed out, but thus far we (Black Isle/Interplay, our publisher, and BioWare) have discussed new items, BG2 audio CD, artwork on CD, and other things. It has to be special to make it a Collector's edition, and we are considering a range of options. I want to ask this question - my biggest complaint about biowares games is the constant saving of the game. saving games is an integral part of the game esp before identifying spells...have you thought of implementing saving points at only very strategic points in the game to stop players from saving the game so much? I actually have to head out now...and think that some others have gone as well....have to go over to my girlfriend's for dinner :) Later! Cya Ray! Thanks! ok, guys, this is the last question then we'll unmoderate and you can ask questions freely Oh oh <[VE]Eidolon> oh man this can't be safe :) I have to leave. Thanks everyone and I'll see you on the boards! I have a question... Why does Palm keep skipping number in their model sequence? Does this bug anyone else? ;) We hae a few points where it autosaves.... [ka] Mode change "-m" by Chris