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Pillars of Eternity SeriesNew player. No BG background. Some questions about BG, expansion and such.(9 posts)solved(9 posts)solved
(9 posts)solved
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Posted January 29, 2016
Hello!
Bought Pillars just now. Because ofcourse I did. But I have a couple of questions.

I haven't played neither Baldur's Gate nor Icewind Dale. I've played Fallout 1,2 and Torment. Loved them. So, let's get this out of the way first. Should I cram myself into a time machine to experience a beauty that was BG first. I mean before I play Pillars? It's not very likely that I would do that unless it's strongly recommended by other players and fans.

And should I wait before White March release or buy the first part of expansion at least before I start my first playthrough? It adds bits and pieces throughout the game as far as I know and doesnt add some new scenario or campaign. You see, I'm not sure that I will replay the game. Haven't even finished Wasteland 2 to be honest. Not that I have a problem with it, its a very beautiful game and I adore it. It quenched my thirst for the games of the past pretty good. It's just the way things happen, you know. So should I buy the expansion and play or should I play now and not bother with anything? Very interested in your opninons and experiences.

Thanks in advance.
This question / problem has been solved by Skladzienimage
Posted January 29, 2016
Of course You should play BG and BG2 (You can buy them both on gog). You could probably try IWD and maybe even IWD2 (worst imho) and of course delve into Planescape Torment (most of this game would require some patches,widescreen mods and high res mods but it is easy to find and download).

But (because there always is some)

Those would have no impact on Pillars of Eternity. PoE are set in completely new setting - they are only a spiritual successor of above mentioned titles. They share no common world, no history, not even skill system. So again if You like isometric cRPGs You definitely should play all "Classic Infinity Engine" titles, but it is not needed neither required to play (and understand) PoE.

What about White March - it is up to You, probably You would play PoE more than once so that You can check at least two or three character builds so You can easily start now and start again when WM part 2 will be added.
Post edited January 29, 2016 by Skladzien
Posted January 29, 2016
Yes, you absolutely should play BG before PoE. Given your post, I suspect strongly that you would never get BG under your belt once you've played PoE, which is a much newer game, and you may have trouble going back in time, so to speak.

You don't have to wait for White March to fully enjoy PoE. If you're worried about never finishing the game, then to be honest I would wait until part two is released, so you may get the benefit of all that the game offers.
Posted January 29, 2016
OP here. Thanks for your response!
I'm afraid that some games are not aged well if you know what I mean. I tried the first witcher the other day (I understand that it's a completely different game) because everyone around me kept saying that it's a great game. When I tried it I couldn't stand it. It's controls, it's slog throughout the map and story. Ugh, hate it. I understand that it has a great story, but I would prefer to digest it the other way (by reading or watching a playthrough or something).

I loved Star Control 2 when I was a kid. I'm not sure I want to play it today though. I tried arcanum couple of years ago and was turned off by its graphics, ui and controls. Something about it was a bit off. First Fallout is much better and let's say "tight" with its art and all. I want to give it another try all those years but you know...

Thing is I can overcome some obstacles, taking years passed into account, but some design choices, game mechanics and such can get old and will never blossom again. I want to be sure that I can "go back in time" with this one.
Posted January 29, 2016
Widescreen mods + High res mods for games on Infinity engine (BG 1+2, IWD, and P:T) allow You to fully enjoy these titles in high resolution possible (up to 1920x1200) and in improved HD graphics.

Oh and about "Game mechanics" the thing is that there is very few (if any noticeable) changes between old IE games and PoE (IE games imho were really good in terms of mechaninc).
Post edited January 29, 2016 by Skladzien
Posted January 29, 2016
avatar
voxceleste: Hello!
Bought Pillars just now. Because ofcourse I did. But I have a couple of questions.

I haven't played neither Baldur's Gate nor Icewind Dale. I've played Fallout 1,2 and Torment. Loved them. So, let's get this out of the way first. Should I cram myself into a time machine to experience a beauty that was BG first. I mean before I play Pillars? It's not very likely that I would do that unless it's strongly recommended by other players and fans.

And should I wait before White March release or buy the first part of expansion at least before I start my first playthrough? It adds bits and pieces throughout the game as far as I know and doesnt add some new scenario or campaign. You see, I'm not sure that I will replay the game. Haven't even finished Wasteland 2 to be honest. Not that I have a problem with it, its a very beautiful game and I adore it. It quenched my thirst for the games of the past pretty good. It's just the way things happen, you know. So should I buy the expansion and play or should I play now and not bother with anything? Very interested in your opninons and experiences.

Thanks in advance.
About the campaign, the second part of White March will be delivered in February. The first part give new scenarios and quests, plus two new characters. The second part will close said quests, plus new content for the stronghold.

I can say the quality of the first part of the expansion is very good.
Posted January 29, 2016
avatar
Skladzien: Widescreen mods + High res mods for games on Infinity engine (BG 1+2, IWD, and P:T) allow You to fully enjoy these titles in high resolution
Better get the Enhanced Editions (EE) of those games instead.

If you play the original games with the widescreen mod, everything will look really tiny - both the game world and the UI (text, icons, portraits, etc).
The EE's have proper support for modern screen sizes, with a UI that actually scales to them and doesn't require you to squint.

As for the game world itself, the EE provides zoom support, but when you zoom in it looks pixelated because the background art and character sprites are still the same as the original games.
So people who are sensitive to graphics quality should probably skip BG1, because its graphics haven't aged that well. The BG2 and IWD1 graphics have aged much better though, and even current-generation gamers will likely find their Enhanced Editions tolerable.
Posted January 30, 2016
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Skladzien: Widescreen mods + High res mods for games on Infinity engine (BG 1+2, IWD, and P:T) allow You to fully enjoy these titles in high resolution
avatar
archy2: Better get the Enhanced Editions (EE) of those games instead.

If you play the original games with the widescreen mod, everything will look really tiny - both the game world and the UI (text, icons, portraits, etc).
The EE's have proper support for modern screen sizes, with a UI that actually scales to them and doesn't require you to squint.

As for the game world itself, the EE provides zoom support, but when you zoom in it looks pixelated because the background art and character sprites are still the same as the original games.
So people who are sensitive to graphics quality should probably skip BG1, because its graphics haven't aged that well. The BG2 and IWD1 graphics have aged much better though, and even current-generation gamers will likely find their Enhanced Editions tolerable.
I could never made myself to like EE. And frankly i never will. I am well with mods and "everything so tiny" ;-)
Posted February 01, 2016
EE will be perfectly fine for someone who haven't play BG before.
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Pillars of Eternity SeriesNew player. No BG background. Some questions about BG, expansion and such.(9 posts)solved(9 posts)solved
(9 posts)solved