Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition iOS Patch 2.4

Patch 2.4 for BG:EE on iOS is here!

The Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition iOS 64 bit patch has been released!

Good news for our Italian fans, patch 2.4 on iOS brings the Italian localization available on the desktop version of BG:EE to phones and tablets!

In addition to bringing most desktop 2.3 features and fixes to phones and tablets, the iOS version of BG:EE now includes the following:

Platform fixes

Added 64 bit support in preparation for iOS 11

Added ipv6 support

Features

New character class: Shaman!

Italian localization!

Quest and conversation fixes!

The Priest of Tyr kit from IWD:EE

Legacy of Bhaal difficulty setting for experienced players

An easy one-click switch between using two-handed (ranged) weapons and dual-wielding in a quick weapon slot

Advanced AI scripts available for party members

An option to create party at the character creation in Single player

Graphical enhancements: toggles for greyscale on pause, sprite outlines, & infravision

Expanded color selection for hair, skin, and clothing

Candlekeep tutors now have additional dialogue that better helps new players understand the gameplay mechanics

And more!

Multiplayer fixes

Fixed a crash bug that happens when in the inventory and an area transition occurs

All devices should be able to connect to the multiplayer lobby on IPv6

Players should no longer see a Password Required box in the main game screen

The on-screen keyboard doesn’t obscure the multiplayer password box any more

The quickbar no longer appears on the UI when user is in a menu and another player opens a conversation
And more!

Gameplay & bug fixes

Fixed a crashing issue that sometimes occurred when importing characters from a save

Fixed a bug allowing for unlimited zoom out

Chapter text scroll no longer extends onto the background art

Long tapping then dragging party member portraits on the right sidebar now reorders the party

Double tapping an item in a store now brings up the "Choose Amount" pop up

Double tapping a save now loads that save

Double tapping a world map destination now invokes travel to the selected area

You can now rest while in the help section.
And more!

Get the full list of patch notes here!

See You At Edmonton Expo Beamdog Fans!

Fall approaches and with it comes our favorite Canadian convention, the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo! Beamdog will be there all weekend to meet local fans. Come visit us in Booth 812/813 near the tabletop gaming area in Hall G!

Throughout the event, the Beamdog booth will be staffed by developers, artists, and team members from other disciplines, so make sure to drop by and say hi! We’ll have Steam key postcards for all our titles and Siege of Dragonspear Collector’s Editions available for sale, and a special survey with a chance to win a collector’s edition! No matter why you stop by, we’re always excited to meet fans!

On Friday at 4pm, head on over to room 102/103 to catch four Beamdog team members new to the video game industry talk about getting into gaming and their first year on the job in My First Year - Experiences in Breaking into the Games Industry. We plan to film the talk, so if you can’t make it, watch for it on our YouTube channel! 

If you’re feeling charitable, head on over to the Edmonton Extra Life booth (after visiting us of course). They’ll be showing off all fantastic items in their online silent auction for the Stollery Children's Hospital, including a Siege of Dragonspear Collector’s Edition. We're told that the bidding starts at 3pm on Friday, September 22nd and ends at 4pm on Sunday, September 24th, so bid wisely! Find out more on the YEG Extra Life Facebook event page. The Beamdog team will be getting our bids in. See you there!

Are you thinking about making a game, but don't know how to begin? Beamdog game designer Alexei Pepers will be sharing some of the tips & tricks she picked up during her days in indie development during her panel, How to Start Making Video Games Right Now - No Experience Required! Drop into room 102/103 on Sunday at 11am to get started!

It's going to be a fun weekend! Hope to see lots of Beamdog fans throughout!

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition iOS Patch 2.4

Patch 2.4 for Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition on iOS is here!

This update brings many of the features and fixes seen in the patch released for Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition to Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition! The 2.4 patch for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is coming soon!

In order to bring Icewind Dale to 64-bit, we had to bring it all the way from our 1.4 codebase to 2.4, a major jump to take with the ticking clock of iOS 11 looming over the team. As a bonus, the team was able to make all the engine & UI improvements without significantly changing the look and feel of the game. Our hats are off to the developers and designers who put in the extra effort to bring IWD:EE this far!

Before jumping into the patch notes, we’ve got exciting news to share!

We’ve hinted at what’s next for the Enhanced Editions in previous posts, now it’s time to share more! To start, we’ve already begun work on another patch for Icewind Dale, this time bringing all the 2.4 fixes, features, and more to Google Play, Mac Store, Steam, and other platforms the Enhanced Editions are available on. More you say? Absolutely! We’ve got a laundry list of fan feature requests and bug fixes to include alongside Steam achievements, and… insert drum roll here… bringing the Shaman class to IWD:EE!

After IWD:EE, we’ll be returning to BG:EE and BGII:EE to update each on Steam, GOG, Beamdog, Google Play, iOS, and Mac with the latest features and fixes.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! The team is hard at work on several projects that we can’t wait to share news about throughout the remainder of 2017 and over the course of 2018!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and the Beamdog forums for the latest Enhanced Edition news!

Patch Highlights

• 64 bit support
• IPV6 support
• Engine improvements!
• Added HD UI/icons

Area Map Background

On the local area map screen, players can now toggle an option to display a turquoise overlay showing the walkable parts of the current area, which can help when navigating dark dungeon corridors. By default this option is disabled; if you find that you want it enabled by default when you open the map screen, you can change this setting from Options > Graphics.

Health Bars

When in combat, creatures now display an approximation of their current health visually with a colorized bar above their heads: green for allies and red for enemies. You can disable this feature from Options > Graphics.

Expanded Color Selection

The available color options for Hair, Skin, and Clothing have been greatly expanded to give every player as many realistic options as possible for their character’s appearance.

Mage Specialists

Specialist mages have always received a +2 bonus (NEW: now shown in the description as a -2 penalty on enemy creatures) on saving throws to resist spells of their chosen school. Additionally, specialist mages have always received a +15% chance to learn spells from their chosen school, and a -15% chance to learn spells from all other schools. These features are now correctly reported in the description for each kit.

Greyscale on Pause

When the game is paused, the area is now set to display in greyscale, giving the player greater contrast when examining the battlefield. By default this feature is enabled. You can disable it at any time from Options > Graphics.

Sprite Outlines

Sprites now display a dark outline to make them stand out from the area’s background more clearly. By default this feature is enabled. You can disable the highlighting and sprite outlines from Options > Graphics

Dialogue box

The dialogue box can be resized vertically.

UPDATE: A full list of patch notes is available here!

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition iOS Patch 2.4

Patch 2.4 for BGII:EE on iOS is here!

Patch 2.4 for Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition on iOS is now available! With this update, BGII:EE joins the ranks of 64 bit supported apps on the App Store. If you don't see this update immediately, please be patient as it makes its way to each regional App Store.

The iOS patch for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will be coming very soon! Now it’s time to move onto Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition! After IWD:EE, we’ll be turning our attention to patches for Enhanced Edition products on Steam, Mac App store, Google Play, and elsewhere. Watch for more news on future updates here on the Beamblog and on our Facebook & Twitter channels.

UPDATE: Find the full list of patch notes here!

Platform fixes

Added 64 bit support in preparation for iOS 11

Added ipv6 support

Features
New character class: Shaman!
Italian localization!
Quest and conversation fixes!
And more!

Gameplay & bug fixes

Tapping for tooltip display is more consistent

New graphic options introduced
Party members should not automatically attack each other Items such as containers should not be shown on the map screen
Archer kit description lists the correct armor restriction Amulet of Seldarine description states correct weight Delver's Plate +2 description includes the saving throw bonus vs. Spell Wand of Cloudkill description states the correct saving throw type and penalty The Firecam armour has a proper description
And more!

Multiplayer
Fixed iPad Mini crashes occurring after lengthy game sessions
Off-hand THAC0 now displays proper values when using a ranged weapon Game now scales properly to the screen on iPhone devices
Tapping on the multiplayer chat no longer creates a waypoint for the controlled character
And more!

August Roundup - Patches, New Hire, & More!

August was vacation month for many folks at Beamdog. Now we’re back at it in full force, rested and ready to take on the challenges ahead.

Patches for iOS versions of BG:EE and BGII:EE are incredibly close to being ready to release. Because of the shared code base between these two games, we’ve had several cases while testing BGII:EE where we’ve found a serious issue and had to check BG:EE to ensure it didn’t exist there as well. Work on IWD:EE continues. iOS 11 may be just around the corner, but we’re confident we’ll have a 64-bit update available before then.

The Faces of Good and Evil portrait pack launched on Steam mid-month as a surprise. Since then, we’ve heard a lot of feedback from the community about portrait packs and other additional content which we’ll be keeping in mind for future releases. Thank you to everyone in the Beamdog forums, Steam community, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere who took the time to share your thoughts.

A few team members headed down to Seattle to meet with our friends at Wizards of the Coast about the future of Dungeons & Dragons. It was fantastic meeting so many of the other companies creating Dungeons & Dragons products and learning what's in store. We can’t say much, but the future is bright for D&D fans of all kinds!

A new face has joined the team! Alex previously worked at an Edmonton-based virtual reality company, and spent most of her time there creating and integrating web services into different platforms. In her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her corgi, drawing, and making games. She is super excited to be working for the Beamdog team and can’t wait to help the web side of Beamdog grow. Welcome to the team Alex!

September is shaping up to be a busy month! Once the iOS patches are out the door, we can start making serious progress on the next cross platform patch series.

We’re excited to see local fans at Edmonton Expo, September 22 - 24. Watch for a future blog with our booth location, panels, and possibly even a contest later this month!