Update #99: Announcing the Expansion and Update 2.0

[Tomice]

This is all happening surprisingly fast. I didn't think the expansion would be out before fall. Great news!

[rheingold]

Awesome that would be great...

[AndreaColombo]

Those of us playing with the IE Mod will likely have to wait until early September, I guess; unless they wanted to—I shiver at the very suggestion—play without it...

[Abouni]

How will be the distribution models? How will they handle the extension distribution for the exclusive backer boxed versions?

[LuccA]

Is there any information if the expansion will be available somehow for the disc game? Maybe as a downloadable uptade in the site or even another disc? I know it is not necessary, since everyone has at least one digital copy of the game, but I was just wondering if the physical goods will cover only the base game.

Edited August 5, 2015 by LuccA

[Guest FlorianGh]

any info about how big the patch is going to be?

[sku]

any info about how big the patch is going to be?

 

2.1 Gb downloading on Steam

[Guest FlorianGh]

Patch released : 2.1 GB.

[AndreaColombo]

Question for Brandon: Does the expansion add new portraits for player characters? If yes, do you know roughly how many?

[aratuk]

Is there any information if the expansion will be available somehow for the disc game? Maybe as a downloadable uptade in the site or even another disc? I know it is not necessary, since everyone has at least one digital copy of the game, but I was just wondering if the physical goods will cover only the base game.

 

Exactly what would be the point, aside from consuming potential development resources for something that is "not necessary," and maintaining the fantasy that it's 1998?

 

Also, can you burn me the latest patch to CD-RW and slide it through the grate on my locker?

Edited August 6, 2015 by aratuk

[AndreaColombo]

Maintaining the fantasy that it's 1998 is a noble goal in itself

[Varana]

No. 1998 was sh**te. :D [/spam]

[gkathellar]

 

Is there any information if the expansion will be available somehow for the disc game? Maybe as a downloadable uptade in the site or even another disc? I know it is not necessary, since everyone has at least one digital copy of the game, but I was just wondering if the physical goods will cover only the base game.

 

Exactly what would be the point, aside from consuming potential development resources for something that is "not necessary," and maintaining the fantasy that it's 1998?

 

Also, can you burn me the latest patch to CD-RW and slide it through the grate on my locker?

 

Some of us like our physical artifacts, if only because they are aesthetically pleasing. Others only have internet access through libraries or other public facilities, and so rely on physical artifacts.

 

My view is that Obsidian can put a flash drive in an envelope and send it that way, just so long as the expansion is eventually available for Backers who need physical access.

[aratuk]

 

Some of us like our physical artifacts, if only because they are aesthetically pleasing. Others only have internet access through libraries or other public facilities, and so rely on physical artifacts.

 

My view is that Obsidian can put a flash drive in an envelope and send it that way, just so long as the expansion is eventually available for Backers who need physical access.

 

 

 

The administrative cost of preparing and mailing out physical copies would far outweigh the inconvenience to the minuscule number of backers who are hypothetically without internet access. It would be cheaper to buy that one guy in Phnom Penh a gift card to his local internet café. The argument doesn't hold water.

 

As for "we like it" – again I'd counter that it costs too much to be worthwhile. Obsidian should spend its time/money making games, not turning out bric-a-brac.

[AndreaColombo]

Here's part of the San Diego Comic Con panel where area design is described and people got to vote features for an area that will appear in The White March pt. 2: link

[BillyCorgan]

I certainly miss something but... is there a "boxed" version ? Any idea of the Price ? [ I've read above but i 'm looking for "official announcement" ^^ ]

I think that communication on this add-on is a bit "confused" for a guy who don't follow all the twitter/conference/forums... 

Edited August 7, 2015 by BillyCorgan

[Marky]

Well, I think something like 12000 people have a physical box of the main game. It would be really nice for us to have one for the expansion.

[pitttbulll]

Hello.

I've activated the update 2.0 beta for my game but I'm having a few problems, don't know if anyone could give any input.

The hit percents don't work for my melee characters, only the magic use.

It only shows a ?% above any enemy I target with melee or missiles.

Also, the AI doesn't seem to be working.

I setup preferences for all of my characters except for the mage who is my main character and control.

The other characters don't seem to do anything as before, not using any of their abilities or spells.

It mentions that AI can be activated or deactivated, do I need to turn it on for them or am I just doing something wrong?

Thanks for any help.

[AndreaColombo]

^ For hit percentages, chances are you are trying it on a target whose defenses are unknown to you. Try it against an enemy you've already defeated a few times (in other words, an enemy whose bestiary entry you've completed or nearly completed) and I guess it should work (cannot test it myself as I'm on GoG, so no beta.)

 

For AI, you need to toggle it on. Select a single character and you'll see an icon among its abilities that looks like a head with cogs in it. Click it to toggle AI on and off.

Edited August 7, 2015 by AndreaColombo

[sims796]

So beta users, did they ever fix the Spiritshifting scaling thing? I don't see it in the patch notes.

[AndreaColombo]

http://jesawyer.tumblr.com/post/126376740846/hi-josh-with-the-white-march-raising-the-level

 

There are a few things that I think will ameliorate those problems.

 

The first doesn’t do anything for people who have already blasted through the whole game, but a few patches ago, we did tune a lot of the mid-game side content XP tables so the player wasn’t overleveling so quickly.  The progression feels a lot more appropriate now IMO.

 

Second, the work we’ve done on party AI does help a lot of main campaign enemy AI, especially if that AI relies on using a lot of class abilities.  We tuned some of the instruction sets, with a focus on the mid- to late-game, so those enemies should provide more of a challenge overall.

 

Finally, we did do some light tuning on the endgame fight so it should be more challenging.  If you’re really high level, the endgame area will also prompt you and ask if you’d like to scale the difficulty.  It doesn’t provide any additional reward; it’s just for players who want a more challenging fight.

[kornel777]

Hello from Poland!

I have question: Are ther will be Box version in physical Shop witch Code Key to download the: Expansion??? ... in Poland on 25 August 2015?

[AndreaColombo]

Very interesting information in this PC Gamer article.

 

 

As well as the main story, The White March, Part I will feature a series of sidequests designed specifically for the highest level players. Crägholdt Bluffs is a new stronghold, owned by a someone who—like you—took control of their new home without authorisation. "Fans of some of the tougher battles in Baldur's Gate 2 will like the content that they see inside Crägholdt Bluffs' dungeon," says Sawyer. "Without spoiling what's in there, it's a very powerful individual."

 

Sawyer also reveals that there's a dragon located somewhere in The White March. It's a difficult fight, specifically designed for levels 12 and above. Sawyer claims that it's, so far, proved more challenging than either the Sky Dragon or the Adra Dragon from the main game. "Maybe too challenging, but we're still working on it," he says. "It's a pretty fun fight." 

 

Finally, bounties will return. "They're optional, but people really liked them," Sawyer says of the main game's bounty system. Again, the expansion's bounties are designed specifically for high-level parties.

 

 

Also, Part I is auto-conclusive and Part II will deal with the consequences of what happens in Part I.

[Sannom]

Also, Part I is auto-conclusive and Part II will deal with the consequences of what happens in Part I.

Maybe it has something to do with the visions the Ogre Matron had?

[Doppelschwert]

Very interesting information in this PC Gamer article.

 

As well as the main story, The White March, Part I will feature a series of sidequests designed specifically for the highest level players. Crägholdt Bluffs is a new stronghold, owned by a someone who—like you—took control of their new home without authorisation. "Fans of some of the tougher battles in Baldur's Gate 2 will like the content that they see inside Crägholdt Bluffs' dungeon," says Sawyer. "Without spoiling what's in there, it's a very powerful individual."

 

Sawyer also reveals that there's a dragon located somewhere in The White March. It's a difficult fight, specifically designed for levels 12 and above. Sawyer claims that it's, so far, proved more challenging than either the Sky Dragon or the Adra Dragon from the main game. "Maybe too challenging, but we're still working on it," he says. "It's a pretty fun fight." 

 

Finally, bounties will return. "They're optional, but people really liked them," Sawyer says of the main game's bounty system. Again, the expansion's bounties are designed specifically for high-level parties.

 

 

Also, Part I is auto-conclusive and Part II will deal with the consequences of what happens in Part I.

 

 

Nice, but I think this quote is also interesting:

 

"Let's say someone just wants to buy part one. That's fine. You can play all the quests and there are not going to be any cliffhangers, or **** where you get half of what you expect and have to get the second part if you want to finish it. Of course, you will finish the overall storyline if you get Part II, but it's not necessarily. It stands alone as a single expansion."

In particular, looks like they will be sold separately, which kind of makes sense but will fuel the DLC/expansion debate I guess.