Cool January App Sales!

It's time to beat those January blahs!

To help you through those cold winter months (or hot summer months for our friends down south) all our Enhanced Edition titles on Google Play and the App Store are on sale for the rest of January!

So grab your phone or tablet to get a deal on your favorite adventure and curl up under a blanket (or hit the beach) and escape to the exciting world of Dungeons & Dragons!

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition ~ 50% off!

iTunes            Google Play

Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition ~ 50% off!

iTunes            Google Play

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition ~ 50% off!

iTunes            Google Play

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition ~ 50% off!

iTunes            Google Play

2017 Infinity Engine Fan-art Contest: Enhanced Edition

Participate in the biggest official Infinity Engine Fan-art Contest of the last decade!

November 28, 2017, marks the 5-year anniversary of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, and we’re holding an art contest to celebrate! It’s time to summon your skills and try your luck in the 2017 Infinity Engine Fan-art Contest: Enhanced Edition.

Contest Rules
The theme of this contest is Enhanced Editions:

• Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (including Siege of Dragonspear)
• Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition
• Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
• Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition

To enter, all you have to do is draw, sculpt, model, compose, bake, or otherwise create something related to these games and post a picture/photo of it on the Beamdog forum in this thread. From your favorite characters to landscapes, if it appears in an Enhanced Edition, it’s fair game for the contest.

It must be original work (as in, YOU created it, not someone else) and previously never published anywhere. Enter as many times as you’d like, but you’ll only be able to win a single prize. Other community members will vote for your works by giving reactions to your posts.

Submissions must be made between October 25, 2017, 10:00 AM PST, and November 20, 2017, 23:59 PM PST.

The Grand Prize Winner and 3 Runners-Up will be decided by the amount of reactions their posts get from forum users. The pictures/photos which get more “likes”, “agrees”, “insightfuls”, “promotes” in total, will win. The period of getting reactions will exceed the submission period by 6 days.

Reactions will be counted between October 25, 2017, 10:00 AM PST, and November 26, 2017, 23:59 PM PST.

Our team will also pick their own favorite to decide on the Beamdog’s Choice Prize Winner.

Contest Prizes

We are offering several fabulous prizes:

1 Grand Prize Package

The winner of the Grand Prize will receive Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear Collector’s Edition signed by the team.

1 Beamdog’s Choice Package

Our team will chose their own favorite who will receive a special MYSTERY swag pack including a digital copy of Beamdog’s next game when it’s released!

3 Runners-Up Prize Packages

Each Runner-Up will receive their choice of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition / Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition / Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition physical copies, OR a digital version of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, OR  a digital version of Siege of Dragonspear, OR their choice of an Enhanced Edition on mobile with all the DLCs.

All winning pictures/photos and the Runners-up will be published on the Beamblog in an article dedicated to the the 5-year anniversary of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition.

Excited? Get out there, create, post, and vote!

Good luck, everyone!

Change Your Game With Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition Mods!

Expand your planar adventures with mods.

The long lifespan of the Infinity Engine games can be attributed not only to the customization characters, amazing stories, and sheer amount of content, but also to the massive modding community that has grown alongside Baldur’s Gate and the other games using this engine. 

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition is built on a modified version of the v2.3 Enhanced Edition Infinity Engine code developed to handle the unique challenge of Planescape: Torment. This updated code base means modding the game has become easier than ever!

Not all popular mods for the original Planescape: Torment have received updates for PST:EE yet, like Unfinished Business, which is reportedly being reworked for PST:EE, but there are still plenty of mods available. Read on and discover a few community favorites.

And even more in-game settings options!

1. Reveal Hidden Gameplay Options

by argent77

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition provides many settings, allowing players to choose how they want to experience PST:EE, but in certain cases, such as activating the debug console or using 3E Sneak Attacks, they’re not directly accessible in the in-game options menu, and have to be manually enabled in the game’s configuration file (baldur.lua file).

If you find editing files to be a hassle, then the Reveal Hidden Gameplay Options mod is for you. This mods adds a number of useful graphics and gameplay options directly to the game’s menu: enabling cheat keys and the debug console, allowing to use the spacebar to continue in dialogues, to pause game on map screen, and more.

The Nameless One’s magic can come from belief.

2. Power of Belief

by Aquadrizzt

The original team behind Planescape: Torment decided not to include the priest class for the Nameless One, after all, what god would answer his prayer? With the Power of Belief mod the Nameless One can become a priest, and this way Fall-from-Grace will no longer be your only cleric in the party.

The mod offers new dialogue that allows the Nameless One to become a Priest, as well as specialization bonuses for reaching 7th or 12th level as that class, tweaks to maces and war hammers, and new tattoos. Upon switching to the Priest, the Nameless One maintains his Fighter, Mage and Thief levels, and can always switch back to any of his previous classes.

Never miss a line of party conversation with this mod!

3. Banter Accelerator

by argent77

A much loved part of Qwinn's Planescape: Torment Tweak Pack was a banter accelerator that let players experience all 78 voiced banter lines in the game, many of which could be missed due to the amount of time needed for banters to show.

For Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition a new Banter Accelerator mod allows you to define how often party members will banter with each other. You can choose from a list of presets, or specify the desired values yourself.

Sleep well, everywhere.

4. Tweaks Anthology

by CamDawg

Quite recently, the Tweaks Anthology mod hit its milestone v1 release. Many of this mod’s components can work in Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition.

The Tweaks Anthology is a successor to BG2 Tweaks and several other tweak packs, and offers a compilation of fixes, cosmetic changes, and tweaks. They will run on every Infinity Engine game, from the original Planescape: Torment, through the Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate series, and the new Enhanced Editions of the games. Each component can be installed separately so you can pick and choose only which ones you want to install.

With this mod you can rest anywhere, choose how you gain hit points when leveling up, identify items, or allow arcane spellcasting in armor.

Get a closer look at the creatures you meet when travelling the planes.

5. Journal Portrait Conversations

by smeagolheart

The Journal Portrait Conversations mod became possible thanks to the Enhanced Edition code. This mod adds the appropriate bestiary entry to the left of the dialogue box when you initiate a conversation with Planescape NPCs and creatures.

It even works flawlessly with Easter Egg Morte and Leprechaun Annah (downloadable on planescape.com)

These are only a few of the Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition mods out there. The dedication, resourcefulness and talent of modders for our Enhanced Editions is incredible. We can’t wait to see what new mods the community will dream up!

Do you like playing Enhanced Editions with mods? Let us know which mods are your favorites on Facebook, Twitter, and in our forums.

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition Fan Art

“Don’t be afraid” by TariToons… Do not fear to share your art.

Planescape: Torment players around the world have been creating and sharing stunning fan art of the Planescape universe and memorable characters since the original’s release in 1999.

Inspired by Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, fans from different countries have been creating unique interpretations of the Nameless One and his companions.We're excited to share with the world what our fans have sent to us.

Read the story of your soul.

We’ll start with this amazing poster for Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition by hiphopmummy.

The poster was one of the first pieces of PST:EE fan art sent to us shortly after our announcement of that game. It looks gorgeous and we love the Mike Mignola vibe!

Devils, demons... The Nameless One is ready for anything.

Alexander Biryukov, a 3D character artist from Saint Petersburg, says the protagonist of Planescape: Torment is probably one of the most interesting characters in the history of gaming and we agree! He does an amazing job to show the Nameless One going through the Lower Planes to seek redemption alongside his loyal companion, Morte.

Hey, chief. You okay?

The story of the Nameless One and Morte is definitely touching, and one of our favorite community cartoonists, TariToons, created this comic to express her feelings about Morte's backstory. Even the most treacherous misdeeds can be forgiven, no question.

“Awesome!” ~Chris Avellone

S0ulafein's has put pencil to paper to capture his take on one of his favorite Planescape: Torment characters, Dak’kon. The original githzerai concept is heavily based on eastern warriors, and this image greatly reflects on that heritage.

“Here's your high tech armor, Morte.” ~Nordom

We're pretty sure that Beamdog forum member Brus has visited the plane of Mechanus. How else could he have designed this battlesuit for Morte?

This is only a small part of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition fan art out there. We love seeing all the amazing work our fans have made. If you’ve created fan art for one of our games, be sure to share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, and in our forums. We can't wait to see what else you all have to show!

Planescape Scramble: The Hidden Easter Eggs of Sigil

PST:EE references the works of Franz Kafka, William Shakespeare, Li Shangyin, and more.

Planescape: Torment is a special game that goes deeper than meets the eye. One should not only look for doors to other planes, hidden dialogue lines, and secret spells that can only be taught by NPCs, but also references to the real world. Let’s have a look at a few of the easy-to-miss Easter eggs players can stumble across as the Nameless One.

Warning, Planes dwellers! These barrels are radioactive!

During your travels in Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition you may discover barrels with radioactive warning stickers on them. The images above show a couple of those barrels in the Wrecked Home and the Tenement of Thugs. These are a nod to Fallout, a game many of the original Planescape: Torment team members worked on.

There’s another Fallout Easter egg in PST:EE that wasteland wandering fans may notice - picking up or dropping the Pet Lim-Lim in the inventory screen is the same sound as in Fallout's inventory screen.

The Lord of Murder shall perish…

This one should stand out to all Baldur’s Gate players. A symbol of Bhaal marks one of the gravestones from the Coffin Maker’s Shop in the Lower Ward of Sigil.

Zombie #1041 in the Mortuary recites a poem by Li Shangyin.

Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet of the late Tang Dynasty, "rediscovered" in the 20th century and famous for his tantalizing "no title" poems. If the Nameless One talks to Zombie #1041 on the ground floor of the Mortuary and uses the Stories-Bones-Tell skill, we’re treated to part of a Li Shangyin’s poem which can be translated as:

It is difficult to meet as it is difficult to part,

The north wind has weakened; hundreds of flowers fade way,

When the Spring worms die, the silk shall never come again,

When the candle wax becomes ash, tears shall stop.

According to David Maldonado, a member of the original Planescape: Torment team, this “translation was a little soddy”. This is what David said once: “Apologies; the game deserved better. Still, it's not as bad as our "Slating" flub. Whoops! I still can't explain/understand that how that managed to happen - much like the Nameless One's true name, it's a Big Fancy Mystery".

This item in Planescape: Torment removes the basic human need for food and drink.

A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham Maslow was released in 1943. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with physiological needs as the largest, most fundamental needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization and self-transcendence at the top.

A “conqueror on a distant prime material world” is Alexander the Great. Earth is D&D. It’s Planescape canon!

The Gordian Knot, a legend associated with Alexander the Great, is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem solved easily by "thinking outside the box".

The Sensory Stone reflects upon the experience of a insect which has awoken as a human once.

The story told by the Sensory Stone is a reversal of the plot in Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis". This novella, often called one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century, centers on a story of a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature.

Inspiration for Annah-of-the-Shadows and Fall-From-Grace?

The original team on Planescape: Torment liked many books, comics, and games. According to Chris Avellone, Annah and Fall-From-Grace were inspired by Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge from Archie comics. In the comics Veronica enjoys a very posh lifestyle but chooses to hang out with her less affluent friends. Her best friend (and sometimes arch-rival) is Betty Cooper, and the two enjoy countless activities and interests. However, they are also at constant competition for the love interest.

It’s also interesting that Annah is derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, which in turn means "Grace." Since the Nameless One can meet Fall-From-Grace during his travels, the party can include two female members literally named "Grace" and "Fall-From-Grace”.

There is no sadder story on the Planes… than that of Montague and Juliette.

There are at least two references to works by William Shakespeare in Planescape: Torment. If Dak'kon dies, Morte will utter the words: "Alas, poor Dak'kon, I knew him well”. It’s a nod to the Act V of "Hamlet" (and funnily enough, the same statement could apply to Morte himself, considering Hamlet speaks his famous words looking at the the jester Yorick's skull).

The second reference is an alternative version of Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". Juliette is one of the many students of Fall-from-Grace working in the Brothel for Slaking Intellectual Lusts and the Nameless One can help in her relationship with Montague.

There are many more secrets and Easter eggs in Planescape: Torment. Which have you found? Let us know in the comments!

New to the planes? Find out more about Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition at planescape.com.

Developing Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition - Found Artifacts and Oddities

The original Planescape: Torment is filled with hidden gems.

During the development of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition the Beamdog team dug deeply into the code of original Planescape: Torment and uncovered a treasure trove of secrets hidden within. Here are a few of the oddities we stumbled across while working with the original Planescape: Torment source code.

Not your ordinary test NPC.

Meet the infamous test character, Testocles. Like many cRPGs of its time Planescape: Torment was filled with text, however the conversation  mechanics of PST take speech option outcomes to the next level. In Planescape: Torment, the Nameless One can not only gain XP during conversation, but also be granted extra stat points, new abilities, or have his class change between fighter, thief, and mage.

Updated journal to “check shops with Robert Holloway."

Testocles’ dialog text tree is full of choices ranging from the aforementioned ability to make the Nameless One change class to a simple demand that the test character fidget. Here, Testocles fields a demand to view merchant stores for Robert Holloway, a programmer on the original game.

All hail Holloway! Merchant king!

These stakes are real! A successful test cancels plans for world destruction.

A secret message uncovered 18 years later.

As you can see in the above image, Technical Designer and Voice-over Coordinator on the original Planescape: Torment, David Hendee, left his mark on Curst’s Automap Screen. In the original Planescape: Torment this message was hidden and we found it only by adding the zoomed out map and uncovering the walkable path for the area. Learn about this discovery in the Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition launch livestream.

Run away from me, if you can. Like you’re scared. “RunAwayFrom ((PC), 2000)"

If we didn’t eat cheesy poofs, we’d be lame!

A sign of the times. The C language programmers on Planescape: Torment encrypted the data type void as a reference to the brand new hit show, South Park.

Japanese popular culture not only influenced Planescape: Torment, but also some of the test dialog.

Here, we’re introduced to Dak’kon in a test dialogue with some Hive thugs. According to the original team (watch our livestream with Chris Avellone!), the Planescape: Torment developers played a lot of Final Fantasy VII which may have influenced many of the higher level spells and the preference of each of the Nameless One’s companions to favor a single type of weapon based on their personality.

The original team had some fun with test text.

During our journey back in time, we found this bit of early UI and discovered the two most popular spells in development.

Creating Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition has been an unforgettable experience for the whole Beamdog team. Watch out for more on the making of PST:EE in the weeks ahead!

New to the planes? Find out more about Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition at planescape.com.