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Just as the title says. I got an RPG itch. I've tried BG1 many, many times over the years, and just couldn't get into it. I'd get to the first town outside Candlekeep and just kinda quit. Which is a shame because I LOVE Forgotten Realms. It just never really sucked me in, and I didn't care for any of the characters.

I've owned 1 and 2 forever. Just never really played 2 because of my lack of investment with the first.
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You're going to get a lot of conflicting advice. Many people prefer 1 over 2 and many prefer the opposite; I prefer BG1. Now that's out of the way, your only clue to why you didn't like it was saying you didn't care for any of the characters. That's easily rectified: just start a multiplayer session and create a party entirely of your making.

If you didn't like it for more fundamental reasons (isometric, real-time with pause combat, or things that make BG what it is), then BG2 will make no difference. The most striking differences (in my opinion) of BG2 to BG1 is the slightly better graphics, faster walking speed, pause while in inventory, more linear game-play, better item stacking etc. It's not a massively different game, so like I said, if your reasons are fundamental you're not going to like BG2 any better, going on your meagre clues.
I'm getting used to the real-time with pause stuff. I loved Tyranny to bits, and I recently started Pillars of Eternity, but honestly it's a bit of a step down from Tyranny so far. I'd still prefer regular turn based or something, but I'm adjusting.

I love role playing, so just making a bunch of nameless PCs won't help me. I never got far in BG1. I don't think I got past that first mine while investigating the iron shortage.

2eAD&D being so obtuse as it is certainly doesn't make things easier either.

Honestly I just want a chance to experience what many consider the pinnacle of RPGs, but I'm thinking it may be a simple product of its time.
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Kyosai7: 2eAD&D being so obtuse as it is certainly doesn't make things easier either.
I think Hickory already covered everything I could say. However, if you are having problem getting used to AD&D rules, you may check my reply here.

2nd edition rules are indeed confusing and not user friendly.

I also prefer BG1 over BG2 although I am not much fan of the vanilla BG1 interface. I can't stand limitations :) So, if you have been trying it vanilla and want to give it an other try using an other version, you may try the BGT mode which combines BG1 and BG2 and lets you play BG1 with BG2 engine. You can find the guide as sticky in this forum.

As reference to interface graphics.. First one vanilla BG1. Second BG2.
http://oi46.tinypic.com/2v0y9s2.jpg
https://us.v-cdn.net/5019558/uploads/FileUpload/91/a2addfa6657762077b187e2fcb7718.png

Know that the play experience for BG1 in BGT will be slightly different than the vanilla version. Lots of things will change like Proficiencies and item management. However the core is still there.
I prefer the second game and its expansion. Improved graphics...improved mechanics...having access to powerful items with new and returning NPCs mean fighting against more powerful foes is what I liked about the game compared to the first. The expansion concludes the exciting epic of your character - a fitting end for a series until the release of Baldur's Gate 3.

I do suggest you should play the first game in order for you to appreciate the story and in order for you to get acquainted with the core gameplay of the series. As mentioned above, some of the NPCs you'll encounter in the first game will return on the second one.
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Kyosai7: it's a bit of a step down from Tyranny so far.
Baldur's Gate is EIGHTEEN years older! You need to stop comparing apples with kiwi fruit. This is the main problem new players have with games like Baldur's Gate, in that they compare them with more recent games. You need to take stock and play the games for what they are, not for what you want or expect.
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Kyosai7: it's a bit of a step down from Tyranny so far.
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Hickory: Baldur's Gate is EIGHTEEN years older! You need to stop comparing apples with kiwi fruit. This is the main problem new players have with games like Baldur's Gate, in that they compare them with more recent games. You need to take stock and play the games for what they are, not for what you want or expect.
I think he meant that Pillars of Eternity is a step down from Tyranny, if my understanding is correct.
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Hickory: Baldur's Gate is EIGHTEEN years older! You need to stop comparing apples with kiwi fruit. This is the main problem new players have with games like Baldur's Gate, in that they compare them with more recent games. You need to take stock and play the games for what they are, not for what you want or expect.
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makaikishi: I think he meant that Pillars of Eternity is a step down from Tyranny, if my understanding is correct.
Ah, I missed that. Even so, there is comparison at work.
The general (though not universal) consensus is that BG2 is the better game. I agree, though I still very much like BG1.

I agree with the things people have said above, and would add the following:

You mentioned that you "didn't care for any of the characters". You may find BG2 better in this regard - the potential party members are generally a bit more fleshed out and many of them have their own side-quests. Also there is the possibilit of romance with a few of them (depending on your character's race and gender).

Your diffuculty with the AD&D 2e rules is understandable; while some bits of the system are great, the thing as a whole is a bit of a mess, and the somewhat haphazard way it was implemented in these games (especially BG2 with the addition of kits and other expansion book material), while inevitable in bringing such a system to a computer game, doesn't help matters. If you've been playing the vanilla original BG1 (as opposed to either the Enhanced Edition or the original game modded with Tutu or BGT) then you'll find a lot more character creation options in the form of new classes and kits (i.e. class variants) in BG2; I don't know whether this will make it more appealing or more confusing.

One problem for new players of BG1, especially those not familiar with AD&D, is the limited abilities of characters at low levels and, relatedly, the difficulty at low levels; both are especially apparent for wizards. In BG2 you start at a higher level; this doesn't make the game as a whole easier as of course the enemies are tougher, but it does mitigate the said issue with the first game.

One thing that was a big part of BG1 that's pretty much absent from BG2 is wilderness exploration. There's none of that wandering around numerous outdoor areas, unnamed on your map, that you get in BG1. You start in a city and spend much the game there, when you travel elsewhere you generally head straight to a defined location, and any wilderness areas are in the vicinity of such places and are much more limited. Whether that's good or bad is a matter of opinion; for my part it's the one respect in which I consider BG1 better (though I consider BG2 better overall), but you may disagree or not mind either way, and there are still lots of places to see and things to do in BG2.

If you already have BG2 then I really can't do anything other than encourage you to give it a try even though you didn't like BG1 - you may find BG2 much better, and if not then you can always stop. (Just be warned, the intro to BG2 spoils the big plot reveal of BG1, but from your post I expect that's not likely to bother you.)
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ydobemos: One thing that was a big part of BG1 that's pretty much absent from BG2 is wilderness exploration. There's none of that wandering around numerous outdoor areas, unnamed on your map, that you get in BG1. You start in a city and spend much the game there, when you travel elsewhere you generally head straight to a defined location, and any wilderness areas are in the vicinity of such places and are much more limited. Whether that's good or bad is a matter of opinion; for my part it's the one respect in which I consider BG1 better (though I consider BG2 better overall), but you may disagree or not mind either way, and there are still lots of places to see and things to do in BG2.
The above and the difference in character levels are the two biggest differences between the two games.

In BG1 there is so much more wandering around the wilds. If you aren't familiar with the game, then checking all 4 sides of every (outdoor) map to find the adjacent areas is generally necessary. BG2 has less of these areas with large, empty (YMMV) spaces. In BG1, you're running around exploring the world, while in BG2 you're running around doing things for people (or possibly looking for more people to do things for).

BG2 NPCs have significantly more dialogue while in your party, and they'll chat with each other as well. This is mostly absent from BG1.

Higher levels mean stronger abilities, both used by and against you.

Edit: I enjoyed BG2 more. Part of that might be that I just have less time, but I think it is also because I didn't enjoy the wandering-around-exploring-everything-just-because-I-can aspect as much.

Edit 2: I played BG2 years before BG1. There are throw backs, but it is perfectly playable without playing the first one.
Post edited August 31, 2017 by Bookwyrm627
Retry BG1 before giving up on it.

Combine the two, put the BG1 data into the BG2 engine via BGT. Install a few appropriate mods to expand BG1 too, soup it up.

If you want a turn-based 3.5 edition AD&D combat game have you tried Temple of Elemental Evil with the two mod packs Co8 and Temple Plus installed?


PS, you calling 2nd Edition AD&D "obtuse" both breaks my heart & makes me feel old. :-D
BG1 is pretty short, and it'll give you a good idea of who the characters are before getting into BG2.
Just curious but if you already own BG2 and the only reason you haven't tried it is because you couldn't get into the first, why don't you fire the second game up and find out yourself if the game is worth your time? People on a forum really have no idea if you'll like the game or not, only you can answer that.
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Darth__KEK: PS, you calling 2nd Edition AD&D "obtuse" both breaks my heart & makes me feel old. :-D
Eh. Right there with you on that one, Darth.

Also heartbreaking to hear BG described as a simple product of its time. *sad face*

Kyosai7, as you seem to indicate characters as important in sucking you in, perhaps you could try Planescape: Torment. It uses the same (modified) engine as BG, but it'll ease you in to AD&D 2nd Edition combat, as combat is not the focus of PST. And the characters therein are second to none.
Post edited September 12, 2017 by CFM
If you didn't like bg1 then you are dumb and I hate you.

Also, you probably won't like bg2 either. It does have a lot more character banter and dialog compared to bg1.

Also, you could always give it a try. Sometimes games are fun to play with even if you don't finish them. I am guilty of still not finishing bg2, but ive played it dozens of times. With this new cloud saving thing, I'm hoping to beat it in the next few years.

Also, are you planning on playing the original or the enhanced edition?

Also, do you have anyone to play with? It might make it more or less fun.

Also, I don't really hate you and you're not dumb.
Post edited September 12, 2017 by Tallima