I second a quest to restore Aeries wings, this is a world with regeneration and healing everywhere, its really odd that its permanent.

Some other BG1 suggestions:

Remove cosmetic swings, these are just annoying and confuse things, making timings and tactical thinking harder.

Some form of meter that shows where a character is in their turn and what they will do next, also it seems that when I tell someone to use a special ability or spell they stop attacking and just wait till their turn recycles and they can cast, this is bad, instead have it que.

An information screen for special abilities: when it comes to a characters special abilities there don't seem to be a way to get information on them in-game, also include passive abilities here.

Remove dual classing for starting recruitable NPCs. Have them start in a single class (not counting the multiclass ones here) and let it be the players choice if he then wants to dual class them.

Add a way to respec player and recruitable NPCs. That is to get to redo proficiencies and thief skills , high level abilities and such.

There is a bug when you level many high levels at once (which admittedly you likely only will with cheating, but some wants to use that) and the ability picks as you only get to the pick screen once, and so can only pick each ability once.

When I import a savegame from BG 1 into BG 2 let more then the mainc characters status be imported, also have the status of NPCs that will also be in 2 be so as well as your equipment. Although have the equipment spawn somewhere where it is accessible from the main map so you can return later for it with more people and such.

I also second a zoom ability, that would be really nice (both out to the entire map area you are on and in to see details).

A button to light up things on the map you can interact with (doors, containers, piles on floor and so on).

Fix the problem that occurs when you kill something and their pile of things end up behind something you can interact with (like a bookcase)

Oh, something else that would be nice would be if on the tooltip for items would be added the price value of them, as well as price/weight. for determining easier what to haul around for selling :D.

I believe that only light, recent wounds can be healed. Past a certain point, it is impossible to recover through magic.

Think about *BG2 spoilers*

Khalid's death. You can ask Jaheira if the party can't revive him and she says that the mutilations and torture he endured make it impossible to recover.
Not only that, having a party member who's able to fly would cause many plot problems. Need to get on top of that castle? Well Aerie, why don't you just fly up there?

What I would quite like to see is a few more sprite options, and the ability to pick and choose which sprite my character uses.

Some more ideas, something that would be useful for monks would be if when you have an empty weapon slot and right click the empty slot on the equipment screen it gives info on your fists as weapon. Also, shouldn't there be a fists profiency for monks to take? I also dont think there is info on profiency bonuses in game. Perhaps when you right click on a weapon in a characters inventory screen you are also given the bonuses to hit and damage and such from your profiencies and attributes.

"The rest of us can get new content. Everyone's happy."
That's what i was suggesting - make it optional.

Well as a dedicated BG fan what I want from this remake is:

1. A brilliant UI. Over 12 years has passed since the BG games. A neat, beautiful and user-friendly interface optimized for HD widescreen display is definitely needed fot these games. I really want to see cleverly rendered text and reader-friendly fonts because we are supposed to read all dialogues since voice acting will be scarce. Skill buttons, character portraits, tooltips, everything should be modernized. I expect something like DA:Origins interface with minimal panel borders and such in order to make the player concentrate more on the game world. (A 2e Forgotten Realms marble theme for the ui can be excellent)

2. Game world should be highly detailed with quality rendering. Since it will be 2D, it won't be much of a deal. The game should compete with today's 3Dmania with its high resolution art.

3. Original story is already a very good one. With moderate additions, it can be even richer and more colorful. What is needed here is more character interactions, more background story for side characters and especially more companion characters to make it possible for different party and playing types.

4. Easy-to-use inventory system. Bags, scroll cases, pouches. Personal chests and rooms (maybe banks?) can be fine to keep belongings in different locations. More detailed automap showing not only the icons and names of places but the actual features (rivers, mountains, forests etc.) of the forgotten realms world around Baldur's Gate.

5. Clarification and simplified presentation of 2e rules on screen. Informative tooltips for weapons, spells, items etc.

These come first to mind.

I would point out the the vast majority of requested changes here are available via mods that have been released over the last decade (a full list with download locations can be found in this Kerzenburg thread) such as:

• Shut-up "You must gather your party" - option in BG2Tweaks (after having used either BGTWeidu or Tutu to import BG1 data into BG2).
• Tougher, smarter opponents with the ability to follow you across area transitions - Sword Coast Stratagems (and SCS II for BG2).
• Various plot holes - BG1 Unfinished Business and (BG2) Unfinished Business
• More challenging economics - Hard Times.
• Increased HP on level up - another option in BG2Tweaks.
• Higher resolution graphics - Widescreen Mod.
• More variation on game replay - Item Randomiser and BGSpawn.
• Relaxation of class restrictions, ability to list more kits on character creation, ability to list more spells per level - options contained in TobEx.

Instead I would argue for features that can't be handled by mods such as:

• Increasing the maximum party size - 6 is woefully inadequate given the number of NPCs available, even without mods. Tying the limit to the protagonist's Charisma would be the most "official" option (though that means a possible 50 followers with 25 charisma).
• Adapt the UI to make better use of widescreen displays (probably doable via mod but none exists yet) by relocating the bottom row of buttons to a column to the left of the dialogue window - the dialogue window can then be expanded vertically allowing it to display more lines. Variable sized fonts would be nice too.
• Fix the pathfinding AI - when a group of characters is selected and told to move elsewhere, they should not be split up simply because of a narrow opening or temporary obstruction.
• Plot loose ends - explaining where the hordes of dopplegangers came from and how a certain NPC was able to use them would be interesting.

When can I pre-order? I want to give you guys money.

Some form of meter that shows where a character is in their turn and what they will do next, also it seems that when I tell someone to use a special ability or spell they stop attacking and just wait till their turn recycles and they can cast, this is bad, instead have it que.

You've given me a thought: make it possible to stack multiple actions in a queue. :)

A button to light up things on the map you can interact with (doors, containers, piles on floor and so on).

That was in BG2; hit the tab key.

Oh, something else that would be nice would be if on the tooltip for items would be added the price value of them, as well as price/weight. for determining easier what to haul around for selling :D.

I think that would break immersion since in RL the shopkeeper has to inform you of the price. Definitely something that should be option. I like the fun and realism of a) having to guess b) making several trips c) having to economise and ruthlessly drop things.

Higher resolution graphics - Widescreen Mod.

I'll say it again, this does not give you higher resolution graphics. It gives you the same low-res graphics in a higher resolution display. There's more real-estate, but no extra detail.

The issue I have with mods is that they weren't made by the original developers. It's like reading Return of the King written as fan-fic because Tolkien never finished it. Regardless of how well done it is, it isn't sprung forth from the same mind and what it intended. Then again, we don't know how many original devs are on the team for this EE... but at least they'll be able to (hopefully) muster a level of professionalism that mods cannot achieve.

I'll say it again, this does not give you higher resolution graphics. It gives you the same low-res graphics in a higher resolution display. There's more real-estate, but no extra detail.

Which is very likely to be the case with EE release too - redoing every BG area to a higher resolution would be an enormous undertaking for arguably little benefit.

The issue I have with mods is that they weren't made by the original developers...but at least they'll be able to (hopefully) muster a level of professionalism that mods cannot achieve.

How many mods have you tried? Conversely how professional could you consider the original given that it has received no fewer than 3 sets of unofficial fixes post release? (Baldurdash, Dudleyville and the BG2 Fixpack). For that matter, look at the list of errors tackled by the Oversight mod - over 700 creature files with inappropriate alignments assigned.

Mods can be of variable quality but "non-professional" mod makers don't have marketing-set deadlines, allowing them to spend more time getting things right.

Which is very likely to be the case with EE release too - redoing every BG area to a higher resolution would be an enormous undertaking for arguably little benefit.

I thought it would be a simple matter of re-rendering the models at a higher resolution in whatever 3d-render app that was used originally.

Trent Oster said on twitter the gfx would be better than what is in the widescreen mod. I hope that means what it sounds like...

Didnt they say we will have more information this week, perhaps some screenshootS??

1. A brilliant UI. Over 12 years has passed since the BG games. A neat, beautiful and user-friendly interface optimized for HD widescreen display is definitely needed fot these games. I really want to see cleverly rendered text and reader-friendly fonts because we are supposed to read all dialogues since voice acting will be scarce. Skill buttons, character portraits, tooltips, everything should be modernized. I expect something like DA:Origins interface with minimal panel borders and such in order to make the player concentrate more on the game world. (A 2e Forgotten Realms marble theme for the ui can be excellent)

I second a UI overhaul BUT keep the same style, DA's interface was cool but nowhere near as good as BG's.
And I'm not sure what you mean by modernizing, if you mean giving it a modern look, I do not think it fits since it is a medieval fantasy game, and if you mean making it like new games... no.
The Forgotten Realms marble theme is a great idea though, maybe making some optional themes including the original.

P.S.: If you want to concentrate on the world you could always press H.

Edit: By the way check out what Trent tweeted.

It seems like they'll integrate some of the mods officially.

Some of my rules/gameplay changes ideas:

- redo pick pocket: don't turn everyone hostile (as thats nonsense - load a save), but call guards and give -1 rep or something... If you have a Paladin or other similar character then the reputation could fall even if PP succeeds (or Virtue introduced by Virtue mod). Paladin could even attack team-thief if he is close and see what had happened :D

- add minor magical items for currently underrepresented categories (like clubs, bard spellcasting armors in BG1 etc.)

- maybe alter AD&D a bit and give +1/2 attack per round (two times) to clericks and druids at a slower rate than for warrior-type classes, and even slower +1/2 for bards, thieves. (Description do say clericks are good fighters while 1 attack per round doesn't reflect that in AD&D)

- improve weak subclasses, balance or make more interesting few others (beastmaster, totemic druid, wizard slayer...)

- redo druid shape change to make it usable (scales with levels, better shape change forms). So at let say lv 1 druid can change into a plain wolf. At higer levels he goes to dire wolf, and up to snow wolf. At even higher levels the wolf stats do increase too. And also at bit higher levels he get bear line... and make animal weapons immune to dispel magic bug.

- both BG versions could have more less powerfull magical items - like +1 or +2 but with a extra bonus like poison dagger in BG1. It's doesn't do much damage, in BG2 it wouldn't hit some enemies (like a mummy even) but it has the interesting bonus. Everything more magical should be harder to get and not to early. In BG2 there is a nice set of such items but they are usually useless as characters have better already ;)

- Thieves and Bards should not have "Use Any Item" but instead reflecting gameplay better - use scrools and other gadgets, wands starting at lower levels if they have enough inteligence and wisdom. So for thieves let say 12 int for 1lv scrools, 14 for 2 lvl, 16 for 3-4, 18 lv for 5-6 lv max. (and it would be ubber cool if scrool containers would show spells in the spell menu for such characters - instead spellbook you see a list of spells=scrools you can use-cast). In BG2 you can notice that even low level thieves carry low level scrools often. Bards could be better at scribing scrools (they are bards after all) including clerical if wisdom is high.

- Idea for interesting Heart of Fury mode - instead of 1000 HP goblin just change mass enemies with much stronger enemies (designed to play with the same starting levels). Like a goblin may become a nasty wolf (snow one) or a skeleton warror. Orcs, hobgoblins,orogs... may became umber hulks, vampires, or even mind flyers side by side with elder orbs or gaunths. :D I did made a mod some time ago with that... turned out to be very evil:

- Optional Item randomisation: in one game you get Holy Avenger, in another holy armor and in yet another Holy Bow. (evil isn't it? :D) In such case your strategy may not be based on one specific item.

@5eba, you don't need to suggest it, like I said in my previous post it is already happening.

This from Trent Oster's twitter:

You will be able to play only the old content if you wish. The new content can be ignored #butwhywhywhy?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a few volunteers to help me set up the community site. This is where we can suggest, vote, and discuss fixes and updates that will go into Enhanced. If you have some time to spare and some ideas please contact me at baldursgate@beamdog.com .

You will be able to play only the old content if you wish.

I take it that means nothing new will be integral to the plot?

I thought it would be a simple matter of re-rendering the models at a higher resolution in whatever 3d-render app that was used originally.

Trent Oster said on twitter the gfx would be better than what is in the widescreen mod. I hope that means what it sounds like...

Models could be re-rendered but the results wouldn't be (very) noticeable unless the models were scaled up. Scaled up models then require scaled up area graphics - and break compatibility with every mod using custom models (and the Infinity Animations project which increases the number of possible models as well as providing a large number of new ones).

Depending on how the areas were created and what data they still have, it may indeed be possible to re-render some of them quite quickly (better tree and water/river graphics for the wilderness areas being one example) but redrawing of every area in the game seems somewhat implausible to me.

@Caruga: not necessarily. If the developers focus on enhancing the graphics, interface and other features first, they could stop there and make the game playable from that point (i.e. 'without the new content'). Then they could add all of the new content and quests they have planned to make the complete BG:EE. I'm probably wrong but it doesn't make sense to start decorating a house before you've built it.

@AstralWanderer: I know the modding community has produced some great work, BGT and EasyTutu in particular being outstanding projects, but I really don't think Overhaul should hold back on improving the game just to avoid breaking mod-compatability. With mods BG was a kind of unofficial BG:EE. This is the official BG:EE, it shouldn't need existing mods to enhanced the experience or to fill gaps. If it does then the developers have not done everything they reasonably and properly can with this project. That said we don't know enough about the graphics improvements to go down this area of discussion yet.

@AstralWanderer: I know the modding community has produced some great work, BGT and EasyTutu in particular being outstanding projects, but I really don't think Overhaul should hold back on improving the game just to avoid breaking mod-compatability. With mods BG was a kind of unofficial BG:EE. This is the official BG:EE, it shouldn't need existing mods to enhanced the experience or to fill gaps. If it does then the developers have not done everything they reasonably and properly can with this project. That said we don't know enough about the graphics improvements to go down this area of discussion yet.

This.

It's a new game, and although the engine is based on Infinity, and could even be called a "re-forging" of the same engine, it's unrealistic to expect the new engine to be completely compatible with every user-created mod that was created for the old engine. I would much rather the community start from scratch and learn to mod the new engine, rather than try to accommodate the mods that were written for fifteen-year-old technology.

It would be kind of like taking a BG2 mod, and trying to install it on Planescape: Torment. That's just not the way it was designed, and not everything is going to work exactly the way you want it to, meaning there will necessarily be a learning curve to work with the new engine.

Something minor, but i would like bg2 to have less emphasis on taking imoen back as soon as you save her.

I'm surprised by all the "increase the dfficulty!" comments. Especially when I see someone mention how SCS (or parts of it) shoult be added to the game. Really?

Don't get me wrong. I, and most likely many of us here, can sleepwalk through an unmodded BG. But that happens when you've played a game 20+ times (I know I've played SoA at least that often).

Still, the whole BG-"Trilogy" is miles above most games of the last years in terms of both difficulty and complexity.
Any change to the difficulty should be considered EXTREMELY careful, especially anything that makes the game harder. Someone who dies repeatedly to the first wolf in BG1 won't ever buy BG2EE. And every buyer less is one step less takes towards BG3.

For us veterans, I like the idea of the adjustable difficulty but someone new to roleplaying games will hardly have an idea what all those options mean. The AD&D ruleset used in BG is not exactly intuitive, either. Even many Pen and Paper roleplayer these days won't have an idea what a THAC0 is.

I could totally see many new players givng up on the game before reaching Nashkell even on the lowest settings. I know I quit shortly after leaving Candlekeep on my first try through the game. Not everyone has the patience or (in my case) stubbornness to see such a game through.

_WE_ know it's all worth it in the end. But someone who might buy the game on a whim doesn't and might never know that.

I don't know who suggested increasing the difficulty, but it wasn't me (except where things are optional). I just think the abuseable/cheap stuff should be taken out. A lot of it was accidental and never a part of the developer's intention anyway.

For us veterans, I like the idea of the adjustable difficulty but someone new to roleplaying games will hardly have an idea what all those options mean.

That's why I suggested hiding it in an _advanced_ difficulty options menu. Otherwise you can just use a simple difficulty slider to choose presets.

The AD&D ruleset used in BG is not exactly intuitive, either. Even many Pen and Paper roleplayer these days won't have an idea what a THAC0 is.

I could totally see many new players givng up on the game before reaching Nashkell even on the lowest settings. I know I quit shortly after leaving Candlekeep on my first try through the game. Not everyone has the patience or (in my case) stubbornness to see such a game through.

_WE_ know it's all worth it in the end. But someone who might buy the game on a whim doesn't and might never know that.

I think sometimes you have to decide who your primary audience is and stick with it. Your line of thinking is what puts fear and doubt into developers and makes them start making games too soft for the 'modern generation'. I don't know what makes publishers and production companies think that the 25+ yr old gamer isn't also a market, and one that is _starving_ for lack of "old school"-style titles. I'd wager anything to sate their appetite is going to sell to a degree that would stick it to all those theoreticians who think that dumbed-down gameplay is what the public wants.

If BG:EE does stick to its roots, then I guess the proof will be in the pudding as to whether i'm right on this.

I don't want the game to be any easier than the original version. But at the same time I don't think making it harder would be a good idea.

I agree with you Blave, you raise a good point. BG is difficult in that if you're not familiar with the system it does take a while to get to grips with, and new players are going to have a tough time. That said Caruga is also correct in that requests for a harder difficulty come in the form of an option. If someone new to the game comes in and whacks the difficulty up to max -what are they really expecting to happen!? Surely it's true of any game that if you whack the difficulty up to max you're going to get your ass handed to you unless you know what your doing.

Ultimately therefore if someone is too stupid to realise that max difficulty (or a special hidden extra hard difficulty checkbox) is beyond them after getting slaughtered by a gibberling, and then is not sensible enough to turn the difficulty down afterwards, is not someone who is really going to enjoy Baldur's Gate full-stop.

I think some things were cut from the original game for good reason; Aerie turning into bird was just... completely stupid. :) I like her development more or less as at is; it's about her finding her own identity for herself independent of her wings. I've always felt that deep down, she knows she will never rejoin her isolationist people even if she could fly again, since she knows there's a world out there to explore and where she can help others. What she really wants is just to say a proper farewell to her family/parents, so that she knows that they're safe and they know she's okay and doing what she really wants.

Having said that, I'm all for expanding the other romances at least so they have the same depth and rewards as Jaheira's, as well as at least equalising the number of options a female PC has. In Aerie's case, some more dialogs before the 'my wings have been clipped', so that we see her growing to trust the PC and making it less sudden. Maybe some quest that involves her getting revenge on slavers and/or some of the people who mistreated her, or running into the boy she rescued now he's all grown up.

It's possible that some BG2 npc's could appear or at least have cameos in BG1; the circus goes to Nashkell, Anomen and Keldorn travel all over etc. Aerie joining you there could lead to some more amusing dialogue when you find absent-minded Quayle on the bridge. :)

The increase difficulty in part comes due to how ToB was balanced. As you could start it with a single rather underequiped lvl 19 character (and then after 1 fight getting the ability to summon similar party members). As such they set the difficulty of all of ToB after the assumption that you did this, rather then having played through BG2 properly with a party. This as such made ToB much too easy. Look at the mods by bioware employee David Gaider and the ascension mod, that tries to restore the difficulty of various encounters to what it was before the "play ToB with new character" option was put in. Now having the options to play only it isn't bad as such, but then make the character spawned of proper power and equipment, and with party members from the start, don't reballance the game to make it easier over it.
Another concern is what the exp cap of BG1 now will be, if it will be higher some reballancing in BG2 may be needed (especially if you could import Minsc/Imoen/Jaheira/Viconia/Edwin and equipment from BG1).

Now some more suggestions form me :D. Some form of in game encyclopedia containing the information in the manual would be nice. spells, the various tables and so on.

Also it would be good if you could recruit Sarevok sooner, hes a great NPC but very late in the game. Also do a bit more with what that "giving up a part of my soul to have him incarnate" means and consequences for it.

Also Coutelier Aerie eventually DOES rejoin her people, you marry her among them and live there happily ever after.