http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1135-disable-enhanced-edition-npcs/ The above link is to a mod by Argent77 which will disable the new companions. Baldur's gate is one of the best CRPGs ever made and the Enhanced edition adds excellent technical improvements. These updates add a range of options for tailoring your experience and, in most ways, improves the experience. The GOG release also includes the original version. If you are at all a fan of RPGs then do yourself the favour of getting this game. Unfortunately Beamdog, the programmers of the enhanced edition, saw fit to not only improve the technical aspects of the game but also add their own characters. These characters should have been offered in a separate content pack DLC, but instead Beamdog made them a permanent part of the game. The new characters are hard to miss and attempt to take a front seat. Gamers new to Baldur's Gate can be forgiven for thinking that these are the primary companions. It seems that Beamdog tried to piggy-back off Baldur's Gate's success by inserting their own creations, which is a fairly hubristic action. Luckily they have learned from their mistake and there are no such intrusive changes made to later Enhanced Edition games; Planescape Torment EE, Icewind Dale EE etc. Unfortunately Beamdog have not decided to remove the new Baldur's Gate characters and put them in a seperate content pack DLC. The above mod is for people who want to enjoy the excellent technical updates without the unwelcome Beamdog companions.
http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1135-disable-enhanced-edition-npcs/ The above link is to a mod by Argent77 which will disable the new companions. Baldur's Gate is one of the best CRPGs ever made and the Enhanced edition adds excellent technical improvements. These updates add a range of options for tailoring your experience and, in most ways, improves the experience. The GOG release also includes the original version. If you are at all a fan of RPGs then do yourself the favour of getting this game. Unfortunately Beamdog, the programmers of the enhanced edition, saw fit to not only improve the technical aspects of the game but also add their own characters. These characters should have been offered in a separate content pack DLC, but instead Beamdog made them a permanent part of the game. The new characters are hard to miss and attempt to take a front seat. Gamers new to Baldur's Gate can be forgiven for thinking that these are the primary companions. It seems that Beamdog tried to piggy-back off Baldur's Gate's success by inserting their own creations, which is a fairly hubristic action. Luckily they have learned from their mistake and there are no such intrusive changes made to later Enhanced Edition games; Planescape Torment EE, Icewind Dale EE etc. Unfortunately Beamdog have not decided to remove the new Baldur's Gate characters and put them in a seperate content pack DLC. The above mod is for people who want to enjoy the excellent technical updates without the unwelcome Beamdog companions.
If you are like me and have been trying in futility to get Neverwinter Nights to run at anyhing approaching a playable performance, then this 'enhanced edition' is for you. Firstly, the game runs without issue on modern hardware and opperating systems. Secondly, there are some slight graphical enhancements and proper UI scaling this time. The game is still the old Neverwinter Nights that we all know. One might argue that Beamdog simply got it running for everyone. There is thankfully little which has been revised, of course this also means dealing with the old, somewhat clunky, interface. The game is not truly party based as we have seen with other Dungeons & Dragons games. Instead you control only one character and can issue remote or standing orders to your henchmen. This means that you are always first through a door, which is something to take note of if you are playing a squishy wizard. The adherence to the D&D rules is close butt never true, presumably because it would be difficult to emulate in this sort of real time game. Thanks to your computer doing all the calculations you can fight numbers of enemies which would take days to emulate in pen and paper. The graphics are obviously not trying to be a high fidelity affair. Characters are blocky and so is the environment, which is obviously designed around the way the game applies the rules. All rooms and outdoor areas are built in square blocks and elevation changes happen in sudden steps. This may seem odd initially but as you play it develops its own charm. Spell effects are wonderful and impactful. The game also has a violence option above 'full' called 'special' which causes enemies to disappear into a mist of blood and bone fragments provided you hit them hard enough, which is an especially satisfying feedback when you have reached demigod-slaying level 40.
