I preorder BG2EE and I've been playing BGEE. The few bugs I've encountered weren't game-stopping, unlike the many I've found when modding the older to get a lesser enhanced version. $25 bucks is well worth the convenience to me. Some of the added content (npcs, items, areas, etc.) could have been added with mods, true enough, but a working widescreen, ability to scroll, and support for a series I've loved over a decade is priceless. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they're added to the GoG catalogue.

It's convenience rather than anything extra. I've got BG1 just where I want it with mods and add ons but it did take a while so I'm tempted by GB2EE if only because I'm short of time to mod it to the same status.

Having said that though $25 seems a bit steep so maybe i'll wait...

i dunno about this "too much" attitude. I think like someone wrote that it's good to understand that it depends how the money from games is spent. Or at least how they/the team has spent the money before. If it is Tim from Fallout and Wasteland making Wasteland 2, it could be he could use the money?
Anyhow... Just thought to mention, dev'ers have feelings too :) not all of them are there to get your money. Don't ask me which is which and whose which where's the what.

All they did was taking original BG and bitch slapping it with mods, new bugs and double price tag. Now they're doing exactly the same with the second game. Wake up people! Also, if you're saying it's all about convenience then you probably didn't bother to ever install any mods by yourself because there's nothing complicated about it. All the popular mods come in a form of handy installers and all you have to do is just select the component you want to install, it won't take more than 10 minutes.

The funniest thing is you'll still need to mod your EE because it doesn't have all the fixes/tweaks from the unofficial packs...

If it really was about anything more than just a cheap grab for your money, they would release it in form of an addon so you wouldn't have to buy the game for the second time.

Judging by their current practice, BG3 made by Beamdog is the worst thing it could happen to this saga. But it's all just my opinion... based on facts :) All in all, EE buyers are spending their money, not mine so yeah, whatever suits you.

And then EE will promptly delete every single mod, tweak, unofficial fix etc. every time it gets updated, with no exceptions. This... 'thing' is absolutely ludicrous!

LOL I will probably steal that phrase, especially if you add a smug smile at the end it's a great trolling punch line :)

About BG2EE I find it both frustrating and funny when people bring up the "support" argument. "Let's support them and they might make BG3!"
Wait, what? Is that a good thing? First of all naming anything "Baldur's Gate" is cheap marketing (neither the city nor the Bhaal-spawn will be in the new game) and second... Overhaul Games? Judging from the "new" content of BGEE and the endless new bugs, they have not the artistic talent or the technical knowledge to pull anything like that through.

Go ahead, it's drm free...



...unlike some 'enhanced' Baldur's Gate editions.

There are many legit reasons not to be interested in BGEE/BG2EE (or outright hate it) so it always amazes why the debunked ones keep getting trotted out.

This is false--BGEE and BG2EE have BG2 Fixpack incorporated from the get-go, and thanks to source access EE also fixes many things that can't be fixed in BG2. The QA team has also spotted and fixed several bugs heretofore undetected, and these fixes will be coming to BG2 via BG2 Fixpack in future releases.

The upshot of all this is that the mere existence of BGEE and BG2EE will improve your BG2 experience, even if you never support it.

DRM was removed from BGEE several months ago. You log in, download, and then have a fully portable install that never phones home. It's not as convenient as GOG (GOG gives you the install programs, EE gives you an installed game) but the DRM was silently removed in one of the early patches.

Like I said, there are many reasons to prefer the original or GOG versions of BG/BG2, many of which I agree with, without having to resort to ones which aren't true.

If this is true, then maybe you would like to explain why I just fired up BG:EE and it immediately 'phoned home' to BeamDog? The evidence is in this link.

I didn't had only BG2 Fixpack in mind, there's also UB, tweak pack, 1PP, SCS (which also fixes many bugs and inconsistencies apart from other things) and all other npc/quest mods people install. Unless EE incorporates all these packs, you will still need to mod your EE, ergo my point is still valid - unless you don't care about those additions which I find crazy.
Well, that's good... But unless you bought it, you won't know it was removed in some patch because they're not really advertising it as drm free.

Also, pointing the fact that they're incorporating community packs in their commercial product is not really helping their image (especially when EE doesn't have much to offer other than merged mods).

The launcher is supposed to check for patches; that's kind of the whole point of its existence. The baldur.exe, in the game folder, should not.
Right, no one is saying you're not going to want to mod EE. In fact, there's no way you could ever get users to agree on a standard mod loadout beyond Fixpack--perhaps UB, maybe Ascension--so I guess I'm not sure why you're taking issue with something I haven't said. I'd go farther and say that including all of those by default would be a net detriment to players, since you'd be taking away choice.

I was simply pointing out that EE does include community fixes. None of the other mods you list includes fixes beyond what BG2 Fixpack provides--everything listed there was authored by people who are also Fixpack contributors, so any fixes from those mods are already included in BG2FP and, by extension, EE. If David had something in SCS that he thought was a fix, it also got put into BG2FP.
It's not being advertised because, outside of GOG, most people don't care. The most popular thread on the forum (until it got released there) was about how it wasn't on Steam. I really wish players would understand and eschew DRM, but the unfortunate reality is something different.
As far as incorporating community fixes, they were freely given by the Fixpack team. Wasting development time to find and fix issues that are already known and fixed is nonsensical from any point of view--we didn't start Fixpack development by ignoring Baldurdash, for example. In many cases we were able to employ better fixes instead of some of the hacky workarounds that Fixpack is forced to use. Everything had to be reviewed and approved; it's not like we simply ran the installer and shipped the result. Like I mentioned above, the testers also found many more issues that will eventually complete the circle and make it back to Fixpack for BG2.

Most modders spend their time and energy modding the game because they love it to the point where they invest hundreds of unpaid hours for essentially no benefit. That so many of them have signed on and are actively working with the EE devs should tell you something.

There are many legitimate gripes to be had with EE. The price point is high for many; the fact that many mods haven't been ported to run on it is another; the fact that (even after they're ported) BG/BG2 + mods is already sufficient; BGEE is currently too buggy--these are all reasonable and legitimate criticisms, and there are even more arguments you can put forward why EE isn't worth it. I have no beef for anyone who prefers BG/BG2, and we should all support the mission of places like GOG, which really do make the gaming ecosystem better for everyone. I just wanted to point out that the most oft-cited criticisms (DRM! It's just a community ripoff!) are not really accurate.

Actually, the main argument of EE supporters is that it's worth its price because of convenience of being already 'modded". I was simply stating that it's not true because you're going to install more or less the same mods you would install on original version (practically you're skipping only the fixpack and widescreen mod). That's all I wanted to say.

As for the rest of your post, I agree with everything you wrote though I can't understand how it's ok for you to just let them use your packs and use that TRIPLED price tag. The price tag is what they apparently put the most effort in enhancing.

So it phones home then. To say it doesn't is utterly misleading.

If that's the argument you've seen, then it's some uninformed EE supporters since Fixpack is the only one integrated, though SCS will be integrated (to some degree) for future releases.

Apparently I need to also take to task some EE folks about common misunderstandings for the EE games, too.

If you use the launcher, yes, but you don't need it at all. You can play the game directly with baldur.exe and ignore the launcher altogether since it's not needed (e.g. I no longer even have my launcher). Once you've downloaded the game there are no checks or authorizations and it's fully portable.

That's fair enough, and I have no issue with it checking for updates. But that is not what you said, or implied. Your implication was that EE does not phone home, period -- at least the way it was worded. Nothing was mentioned about only if you create a separate shortcut. The launcher is what is created at installation.