Baldur's Gate Chat Log - December 8, 1998 6 pm PST 
Edited by Silverdawn@bgchronicles.com  from http://www.bgchronicles.com

Held at irc.worldirc.net #baldursgate
630 People were logged in at maximum

BenAtBio 	Ben Smedstad, Assistant Producer (Bioware)
Bioboy 	Ross Gardner, Design and Q&A (Bioware)
ChrisAtBIS 	Chris Parker, Producer (Black Isle Studios)
DanAtBio 	Daniel Walker, GUI Graphic Design (Bioware)
DonAtBio 	Don Yakielashek, Senior Programmer (Bioware)
JFinite 	Jonny Finite, Webmaster (Interplay)
JohnGBio 	John Gallagher, Visual Design Head (Bioware)
KevAtBio 	Kevin Craig, Lead Q&A (Bioware)
Krys 		Krys Card, Public Relations (Black Isle Studios)
LukeAtBio 	Luke Kristjanson, Lead Writer (Bioware)
Meghan 	Meghan Jenks, Public Relations (Interplay)
RayAtBio 	Ray Muzyka, Producer (Bioware) [also bio_ray or ray]
SteveB 	Steve Bokkes, Senior Q&A (Black Isle Studios)
Kazaam   	Rob Bartel and Kevin Mertens, Narrative Design (Bioware)
Xavic 	Greg Bauman, Marketing (Black Isle Studios)
Eyore 	Dave Chan, Assistant Systems Admin (Bioware)
Dean		Dean Andersen, Modeller and Terrain Artist (Bioware)

<Meghan>   Since we're picking people at random, keep your questions available in the clipboard.
<Meghan>   The time is now 6:30pm  
<Meghan>   Here's a plug for my mailing list:
<Meghan>   If you want to get on a mailing list for Interplay press releases and event info, drop me a line at mjenks@interplay.com and let me know whether you want to receive info on PC titles, Console titles, or both. I will not share your email address with anyone else!
<Meghan>   Again, please refrain from disruptive behaviour :)  It's bad enough with the quit spams.
<Meghan>   So let's begin -
<Meghan>   Could I have those who are working on Baldur's Gate introduce yourselves and their roles in creating the game? 
<Meghan>   The server is also lagging badly, so bear with us :)
<LukeAtBio>   Luke here. I'm the Lead Writer on BG. Game conceptual design, story/dialogue etc...
<KevAtBio>   this is kevin and dean.  dean is the head of terrain and kevin lead QA
<Meghan>   Ops: 12 Non-Ops: 626
<Meghan>   Anyone else? :)
<DanAtBio>   dan-graphic design for gui
<DonAtBio>   This is Don, and I am one of the programmers.  Resposible for all the editors and support tools the game uses. All the fun stuff behind the scenes.
<Krys>   Krys - I'm the PR Manager for Black Isle Studios
<Krys>   at Interplay
<Meghan>   Oh yeah - Meghan, I work for Interplay's PR and like to torture myself regularly by running these chats.
<JFinite>   Jonny - I'm one of the Interplay webmasters.
JFinite claps for Meghan
Krys nods to Meghan
BurntToastBGBetaTester raises his eyebrow at Meghan.
Krys likes to torture herself by scheduling these chats and trying to help Meghan run them
<Meghan>   Hehe.. Yoss, I'm flatted, but stop please :)
<JFinite>   oh, and BurntToast here is one of the lucky outside beta testers for BG
<Meghan>   Bioware, Black Isle - do you have any announcements or comments you want to make to this HUMONGOUS crowd before
  we start?
<JFinite>   do NOT flood him with questions
<Meghan>   Who is bioboy, the crowd asks?
<Bioboy>   its ross
<Bioboy>   design/qa
BurntToastBGBetaTester is one of the Orange County beta testers that was chosen a couple weeks back. Unfortunately, I'm not
  allowed to answer any questions because I'm under a NDA... so please don't. :)
<KevAtBio>   Ross from Bio QA
<Bioboy>   ci
<JFinite>   ChrisAtBIS: your turn
<Meghan>   ummm.. re all!
<ChrisAtBIS>   My turn for what?
<JFinite>   ChrisAtBIS: introduce yourself
<ChrisAtBIS>   I already did.  Probably got lost.....  Chris Parker, Producer, Black Isle Studios
<Meghan>   Okay - any announcements from Black Isle or Bioware, status on the game, gripes, before we start with questions?
<Krys>   Not from Me, Meg
<Krys>   Go go girlie
Bioboy has changed the mode in #baldursgate to +o Kazaam
<Meghan>   [21:28] -WorldIRC- Ladies and Gentlemen, may I please ask that a few of you type: /server 206.161.113.110 ...this will free
  up some space on our hub servers. This will also give you a faster connection speed to WorldIRC.net ! Thanks and Enjoy =]
<JFinite>   SteveB: introduce yourself please
<JFinite>   okay
<JFinite>   who's Kazaam
<Meghan>   Oh MY
<Kazaam>   Rob and Kevin M. here. Narrative design (writing etc)
<Meghan>   We may have to limit the channel.  This is too many :(
<ChrisAtBIS>   Limit the channel!
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Cripes... there's 650 people in the channel.
Meghan has changed the mode in #baldursgate to +l 350
<LukeAtBio>   Woohoo! hid the joins
<LukeAtBio>   I can see now:)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Exactly!
<DanAtBio>   ya really
<Meghan>   Okay - let's give it a minute to settle down.
<Meghan>   I am SO sorry for the delay, people.
<Krys>    Do not continue to change your nicks, or I will kick you with no remorse ;)
<Krys>   Yossarian, you've been warned
<Meghan>   Phew.. it's already better.
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   He's already been warned multiple times... just ban him.
<JFinite>   BurntToastBGBetaTester: touchy touchy
<Meghan>   Hey!  Only 45 minutes!
<JFinite>   but
<JFinite>   warranted
<bio_ray>   Finally I get this software to work...arggh
<Meghan>   Okay.
<Meghan>   I think we're in a little better shape.
<bio_ray>   Thanks Jonny
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Meghan-> You're doing the best you can... that's all we ask. :)
<Meghan>   Congrats to everyone who's still here :P
<JFinite>   bio_ray: no prob
<Krys>   Go, Jonny!
<Meghan>   Thanks :)
JFinite bows
<JFinite>   no
<Meghan>   Hopefully in the future we will have a bot to handle more of this.
<JFinite>   now even
<JFinite>   Meghan... are we set to go?
<JFinite>   Meghan: that's not a hopefully, that's a definite
<Meghan>   I think so - the spam seems to be better.
<Meghan>   Okay.
aa is now known as Malix
<JFinite>   kayo
<Meghan>   Bioware, Black Isle - please introduce yourselves again so the log isn't so bad. :)
Krys kicked Malix out of #baldursgate [Krys]
<Krys>   Krys - PR manager for Black Isle Studios, Interplay
<KevAtBio>   dean and kevin. c here.  dean is head of terrain and kevin lead QA
<JFinite>   Jonny - one of the Interplay webmasters.  Creator of this fine channel and designer of the BG web site.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Chris Parker, Producer, Black Isle Studios
<LukeAtBio>   Luke here. I'm the Lead Writer on BG. Game conceptual design, story/dialogue etc...
<Bioboy>   Ross - bioboy and design/QA
<bio_ray>   ray muzyka, bioware - producer BG, cfo/joint-ceo BioWare
<DanAtBio>   I am Dan, graphic designer for the gui
<Meghan>   Now, I know rumors have been flying about the release date of the game, so would you guys clear that up please?
<Krys>    We are confident that the game will ship before Christmas (yes 1998)
<bio_ray>   and that, as they say...is it, it appears.  JohnG is the Art Director here at BioWare, Steve B is one of the senior QA people down at BIS...think that's it
<Meghan>   As in, it hasn't gone gold :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Not yet I'm afraid.  It is extremely close.
<bio_ray>   I like that addition Krys (1998) - nice touch ;)
<bio_ray>   Yes, close is the word
<Krys>   Thanks, Ray - no confusion, you know? ;)
<bio_ray>   ;)
<Krys>   Thanks, Jonny
<JFinite>   just doin' my job, Krys. =)
<Meghan>   Any other announcements, comments, anything from Bioware or Black Isle? :)
<Krys>   No - Go MEG!
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   <for the log> Joseph, one of the 20 Orange County beta testers that Interplay chose a couple of weeks ago. :)  Can't answer any questions, obviously though. :)
<LukeAtBio>   You rabid fans KICK ASS!
<JFinite>   LukeAtBio: good call
<Meghan>   Yes - this is an unheard of number of people for a chat :)
<KevAtBio>   here, here JF
<Meghan>   Jason from BG Realms - I promised you a couple of days ago you'd have the floor for three questions from your users. :)
<Meghan>   What are the questions?
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   Regarding Theives, will a bonus for dex be used for the thieves abilities from the AD&D player
  handbook, and will critical hits work in conjunction with a thief backstabbing
<LukeAtBio>   Jason: yes and yes
<ChrisAtBIS>   Critical hits and thief backstabbing....Yes
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   With the end of Baldur's Gate near and the future plans for an expansion(s) and (I believe) MDK2
  and a couple of other games, will your forces (Bioware) be splitting up to handle all the new titles or is this known yet?
<ChrisAtBIS>   And what he said.
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Hey guys... just remember, if you do something stupid and get kicked... realize that you probably won't be able to get in because of the 350 limit.
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   Sorry about going fast, i want to get these questions out so things move along
<bio_ray>   We have separate teams on all of the three games and several other projects we are developing
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   Third and Final Question:
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   With the sudden want for the Orange County Beta Testers will future plans include Beta testers again and if so, will you expand the limits beyone Orange County. Sorta like what Sierra does with Beta registration and random beta tester pickings?
<LukeAtBio>   There are divisions within bioware, but they overlap as well.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Black Isle mostly wanted to get some fresh eyes on the game.  We plan to continue to do this in the future, but we don't have any long range plans at this time.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Its likely for convenience that we will stay in OC for the time being.
<Jason[www_bgrealms_com]>   Thanks to all of you for an excellent job on absolutely everything.....Meghan....hope you feel better. Best Wishes on the remaining portion of the project and all future projects
<bio_ray>   Chris - that would be yours I believe
<Meghan>   Thanks Jason :)
<bio_ray>   Thanks Jason.
BurntToastBGBetaTester chuckles.
<bio_ray>   Lotta people here tonight.
<Meghan>   All right.  If you have a question, message me.
<Meghan>   Just message me, and get your question ready.
<Meghan>   One sec, holding on against a flood of spam.
<JFinite>   Meghan: dear gawd, what have you done
<bio_ray>   Multiplayer is pretty stable now...we're playing a lot every day and it is quite solid.
JFinite cowers as Meghan gets flooded
<LukeAtBio>   Oooh, you are just asking for it
<Meghan>   Go ahead, TDF
<TDF-LinuxRuleZ>   My question is, will Interplay/BioWare/Whomever follow suit to other gaming companies such as Origin/idSoftware/etc and produce ports to other platforms.
<bio_ray>   Very few new bugs are being found.
<bio_ray>   Mostly verifications these days
<Meghan>   Don't send me the questions, just a message so I have your name :)
<TDF-LinuxRuleZ>   that's it :) only question I got.
<bio_ray>   Ports...maybe.  We're in discussions about this now but can't say much in regards to BG at this time
<Meghan>   And Bioware/BIS, let me know when to go to the next person :)
<Meghan>   Thanks TDF :)
<bio_ray>   We are porting MDK2 to Sega as per the press release we released last month
<LukeAtBio>   BG is a bit of a monster for a port. possibly future titles, but that's better answered by the producers :)
<Krys>    Ray, type "ga" when you're done
<bio_ray>   Let's just say that a port is under consideration.
<bio_ray>   ga
<Meghan>   Sage, shoot :)
<Sage>   Dear Bio and Interplay Gods: :C)
<Sage>   Now that you are "really close" from closing this sucker, what kind of things are you focusing on that need touching up still?  Is it Multiplayer issues, or stuff that the Beta testers found?  What seems to be the biggest obstacle standing in front of you from getting this thing done?
<JFinite>   Sage: the lack of sleep...
<bio_ray>   We're trying to fix each and every bug that the lads in QA find.
<Krys>   Logistics, too, I would imagine...
<ChrisAtBIS>   Basically, its the size of the game that's overwhelming.
<bio_ray>   Lately the focus has been on MP, but we are still finding and fixing SP bugs.  Localization is also underway. (done)
<bio_ray>   The game IS bloody huge
<Meghan>   Thanks Sage :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Our QA testers (41 currently) need at least 72 hours, playing cooperatively, to get through *almost* everything in the game.
<bio_ray>   What were we thinking?  ;)
<bio_ray>   I took about 180 to do all of the subquests I know of
<ChrisAtBIS>   It sounded like a good idea at the time!
<bio_ray>   Ya
<Meghan>   Go for it, Sunny :)
<sunny>   Is multiplayer as complicated as it sounds. It sounds complicated by the way you guys talk about it
<sunny>   yes
<sunny>   i got to ask my question
<ChrisAtBIS>   There are a lot of options, a lot of different ways to play.
<bio_ray>   Well, it requires a lot of careful message coordination between machines
<bio_ray>   Multiply the complexity of the SP game by the number of machines playing and that about covers it
<sunny>   thanks
<Meghan>   I may not be able to give people warning when their turn is next, so:
<Meghan>   If you're waiting in line to ask a question, now is a good time to type it into a text editor like Notepad, highlight the text, hit
  ctrl-c to copy it, and when your turn comes up, hit ctrl-v to paste it in. Remember to keep questions short and sweet :)
<bio_ray>   Mainly we must ensure that every machine sees what everyone else sees...else it's hard to play cooperatively
<DanAtBio>   It is not complicated for the user to play though
<LukeAtBio>   It only seems complicated. It's fairly self-explanatory when it's in front of you.
<bio_ray>   There are a lot of messages to send back and forth...many more than in say a FPS like Quake etc
<Meghan>   Golink?
<[SR]Golink>   We all know that Evil has its consequences.....how much more difficult does evil acts make it to complete the game??
<Meghan>   Phew.
<ChrisAtBIS>   If you like getting your head caved in by flaming fist guards...then its not too bad.
<ChrisAtBIS>   :)
<JFinite>   welcome Xavic!
<Meghan>   Hi Xavic!
<JFinite>   Xavic: introduce yourself please
<LukeAtBio>   you can play evil, but it's not the easiest :) not meant to be, either :)
<Krys>   Of course he calls me when he needs the favor...
<ChrisAtBIS>   If you're smart about being evil, it can be quite fun.  But it is a lot more challenging.  People just don't like you when you're evil.
<Krys>   Right, GB?
<Xavic>   I am one of those **evil** guys.  I'm in ----marketing----
<bio_ray>   If you are really really evil then eventually your rep falls...shopkeepers won't sell to you, guards attack on sight, bounty hunters will pursue you.
<bio_ray>   <gasp> Marketing!
<LukeAtBio>   You can survive, but you get beat on a lot.
<bio_ray>   <scream> AIGEHEHEGH!
<Brother_Amos>   Sorry for the lag....
<bio_ray>   <kidding>
<Brother_Amos>   and excuse the silly question...
<Meghan>   Understandable, Brother :)
JFinite grins at ray
<ChrisAtBIS>   Noooooo!!! I thought this channel was being moderated to keep out those types!
<JFinite>   ChrisAtBIS: we slipped up... sorry
<Brother_Amos>   for Ray...seeing over 600 people here for your chat...what are your personal feelings for the fans and fan sites regarding this product?
<Xavic>   Hehehehe --- I've been camped out in Black Isle too long, I infiltrated despite development's traps and spells on the IRC...
<Meghan>   It must be a warm fuzzy thing :)
<bio_ray>   Gratitude for their patience...I hope we give them something that they'll enjoy and feel like they got good value for their money.
Krys would like to take this opportunity to distance herself from marketing
<Brother_Amos>   Thank you ( and keep up the awesome work )   thank you
<Meghan>   Thanks Brother Amos!
<SuperSecretBLur>   How Far Are The Beta Testers, Did They Finish, What Were Their Impressions, I'm Going To Find And Kill You Sunny For Asking A Stupid Question.
<Meghan>   Hahaha
<bio_ray>   Yes, I'm eager to hear more from them as well.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Meghan, can you give burnt toast ops to answer that question.  He's one of the beta testers
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Hrmn.
<JFinite>   he's voiced
<JFinite>   he can answer
<Meghan>   He's voiced already :)
<LukeAtBio>   too busy playing :)
<JFinite>   BurntToastBGBetaTester: don't hurt the brain too much now
JFinite winks
<ChrisAtBIS>   I know we sent them a build that had some critical bugs in it....oops!
<ChrisAtBIS>   Draw bridge to BG wouldn't open.
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   <contimplating how far I can answer this question>  Well, I've logged pretty much a lot of hours myself...My impression is great (Greg actually posted it on his second post).  I had high expectations and the game easily overpassed them.
<JFinite>   ChrisAtBIS: they aren't bugs, they're "undocumented features" ... sheesh
<JFinite>   BurntToastBGBetaTester: just say it, the game kicks bloody arse
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   I've only found a lot of little things, save a couple... but nothing really major (except that draw bridge). :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   No, that one was a bug.  Long since fixed, but ugly none the less.
<bio_ray>   <whew>  Guess we paid him enough, eh Chris?
<ChrisAtBIS>   Yeah....  :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Yeah....  :)
<Meghan>   Make sure to send him a bonus.
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   But yeah... the game does kick "bloody arse". :)
<JFinite>   BurntToastBGBetaTester: alrighty then. =P
<Meghan>   Okay, I'm getting asked this by a bunch of people, so - please keep it down to ONE question, thanks :)
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   And I'll say this much, I haven't been getting much sleep lately. :)
<Keylaeris>   What kind are the bugs you guys are finding? are you fixing gameplay or real bugs right now? any game crashing ones
  right now?
<bio_ray>   Strange, neither have we...hmm.
<steveB>   Sleep?  What's that?
<ChrisAtBIS>   You haven't been getting much sleep?
JFinite ships a crate of Jolt to BioWare
<Keylaeris>   as in logistical things
<bio_ray>   I like jolt.
<Keylaeris>   for gameplay
<LukeAtBio>   The game crashers are pretty much well and truly squashed
<bio_ray>   Mostly subtle bugs...
<Krys>   ChrisAtBIS admits to forgetting to shower...
<ChrisAtBIS>   The bugs are getting few and far between.
<LukeAtBio>   I have not found one for some time
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Ray-> Now I really feel like I'm part of the team... seeing that none of us are getting much sleep. :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Usually anything we find now is something we broke.
<bio_ray>   :)
<JFinite>   Krys: that's called "More information than needed"
BurntToastBGBetaTester gets up and moves away from Chris and sits next to Krys. :)
<LukeAtBio>   what do you mean WE, kemosabe?
Krys blushes - she was trying to contribute
<LukeAtBio>   :P
<bio_ray>   No personal hygiene references please!
<ChrisAtBIS>   Thanks Krys.  I'm gonna hang out in your office more....
<Meghan>   Okay okay.. next question? :)
Nightstorm thinks krys does just fine:)
<Krys>   Sorry, Chris
<JFinite>   okay okay, back to the chat please
<Krys>   lol
<[SR]ArchMage_Kronos>   What if Any, and besides "GameSpy", Gaming services will support BG?  <Sends a PEZ flying to JF>
<bio_ray>   Heat
<bio_ray>   Ministry of Sound in the UK
<ChrisAtBIS>   next
<Palin>   One question
<Palin>   What is the actual install size 3 or 4 gigs?
<Krys>   ...full install
<ChrisAtBIS>   A full install of the game is 2.7 gig.
<ChrisAtBIS>   I think.  Give or take a 100 meg.
<bio_ray>   (done)
<JFinite>   ChrisAtBIS: for all CDs?
<Krys>   JF - yep
JFinite ponders
<ShAd0\\>   Thanks Meghan, Ok in Baldur's Gate you are allowing for specialist mages, do you have plans to allow for other specializations of different classes in any of the Expansion packs/Sequels to Baldur's Gate???
<JFinite>   I thought we had the option to install all of the data off of all 5 CDs...
<ChrisAtBIS>   That's everything copied to your HD.  Some data is on all CDs, duplicated so you don't have to switch them so often. We actually fill 3+gig of CD space...but full install is only 2.7.
<bio_ray>   You do
<JFinite>   ooooooh
<JFinite>   okay
<LukeAtBio>   It's a possibility, but we really want to concentrate on fleshing out the basics as a priority. Lot's of changes to AD&D characters around 10th level and up
<bio_ray>   Exactly....I think the full install might be a little less than that though.  The install program tells you how much space your choices will total.
<ChrisAtBIS>   And lots of spells with wacky effects!
<Meghan>   Next?
<Wuga>   Will there be any trailers/demos packaged in the CDs? Does Bio get any say what BIS/Interplay previews through their packaging?
<Meghan>   You guys gotta give me the ga.. :)
<Krys>   No say.
<Krys>   JK
<Meghan>   If you've messaged me once, PLEASE don't do it again, I have you already :)
<Krys>   Greg, you wanna answer that?
<Krys>   Xavic, I mean
<ChrisAtBIS>   Currently only the Descent 3 demo (avi) will be included on the game CDs.  Don't know about other in box stuff.
<Krys>   ga, our marketing department is asleep :)
<JFinite>   apparently
<Meghan>   Go to the next question?
<Xavic>   Hey there
JFinite gasps
<JFinite>   HE'S ALIVE!
<Meghan>   He lives!
<Xavic>   just chatting with people...sorry, us marketing geeks talk a lot
<JFinite>   now, would be so kind to answer the question?
<bio_ray>   Yes
<ChrisAtBIS>   you ain't kidding
<Xavic>   Stuff in box is the question, right?
<Xavic>   All sorts of stuff.
<Krys>   Xavic - Ain't that the truth
JFinite nods to Xavic
<Xavic>   We have......a map......
<ChrisAtBIS>   two maps actually.
<bio_ray>   Nice manual too.
<Krys>   ooohs and ahhhs from the crowd
<Xavic>   An offer from HeatNet is happening as we speak
<Xavic>   Very cool manual
<bio_ray>   Dual sided map
<ChrisAtBIS>   one piece of paper, map on both sides I should say
<LukeAtBio>   flat as well
<LukeAtBio>   :P
Krys listens to the crowd cheer
<Xavic>   A little (yes, marketing) tease of the expansion pack....and Torment to boot
<bio_ray>   5 (FIVE!) fun CD's.  Use them as frisbees if you do a full install!  Amaze your friends!
JFinite laughs
<bio_ray>   Coasters even
JFinite high-fives Ray
<JFinite>   melt them into neat sculptures
Krys thinks they make groovy earrings too
<Meghan>   Uh, just tell me when to ga :)
<bio_ray>   Big earrings I suppose.
<JFinite>   Krys: a bit heavy though
<Krys>   it's the style, guys - big and heavy
<Xavic>   Hey - forgot to say, the artwork throughout the packaging is AWESOME.
BurntToastBGBetaTester raises his eyebrow at the Ops.
<bio_ray>   They're shiny...mirror like. Admire your reflections!  (are we on to another question now?)
<JFinite>   Krys: I thought taht was for something else... um...nevermind
<Krys>   and so reflective!
<JFinite>   NEXT!
<Xavic>   Hats off to BioWare for doing all that stuff too.  :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Is it time for the next question...?
<Meghan>   I'm just waiting for the ga.
<JFinite>   ga
<bio_ray>   I think so Chris
<StarKnite>   Thanx Meghan. Hiya everyone :-)
<bio_ray>   ga ga ga
<StarKnite>   In the AD&D rules, there are class level caps depending upon the race you choose. I know that at the EXP limit in BG that won't be a problem, however, will there be a "reminder" in BG as to what the max level of that race/class combo in case you guys decide to instate the limits in an expansion? Perhaps when you pick race/class there's a stat that says "max level" or something?
<Meghan>   Oh, and did I mention lagging?
<Krys>   dress 'em up, dress 'em down - goes with jeans or a suit! Heels or sneakers! It's a must-have for any working woman's wardrobe
Krys is rambling
<Meghan>   Thanks SK :)
<bio_ray>   Luke...wanna answer that one?
<LukeAtBio>   not currently as we haven't finalized how we are going to impliment the cap. Likely the optional rules of extra experience cost to surpass them.
JFinite waves
JFinite slides a Guinness over to Krys
JFinite tosses PEZ to the rest of the crowd
<JFinite>   I gotta head out
<LukeAtBio>   So it's a soft-cap of sorts. We should note it in the read-me
<JFinite>   take care of yourselves
<ChrisAtBIS>   Later J
Krys gets beaned with PEZ and smacks Jonny
JFinite laughs at Krys
<Krys>   bye, Jonny
<JFinite>   silly
<JFinite>   alright
<JFinite>   I'm gone
<BurntToastBGBetaTester>   Take care, Jonny.
JFinite (~jfinite@ip-proxy-01.interplay.com) left IRC at 10:29:59 PM.
JohnGBio (johng@cs401704-a.edbd1.ab.wave.home.com) left IRC at 10:31:00 PM
<Krys>   sorry, Meg
<Official_logger>   This sucks!!
<bio_ray>   Why?
<ChrisAtBIS>   Where's the next question?
<LukeAtBio>   not much of a question. More of a statement, though the message is unclear :)
<cyacen>   Do Paladins need to tithe (sp?) and be "forced" to visit shrines and such?  Shoutout to Dentman!
<Meghan>   Geez.
<LukeAtBio>   no, there is not forced tithe, though donating gold to temples will raise your reputation to paladin-appropriate levels quite nicely in time
<Meghan>   Go to next?  (Help me out here, people) :)
<LukeAtBio>   next
<LoP-Muiy>   I have two questions. 1) If I were to take this game out of the box, hop online, and play the game straight thru multiplayer will friends, how much of the game would I miss compared to the SP experience? (in terms of npc party member relationships, etc.)
<DanAtBio>   next
<LoP-Muiy>   should i ask the other now? (shout out to dentman!)
<Meghan>   Sorry Lop, one per person :(  Too many people for multiples.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Depends on how many friends you play with and whether you all make guys or whether you pick up NPCs in the game.
<LukeAtBio>   well, if you had no NPC's in your party you would miss ALL of the NPC relationships, though you would have traded them nicely for PC inteerpersonal conflict, which more than makes up I think
<ChrisAtBIS>   But if only two people played, they could each make one character, pick up 4 NPCs, and get a bit of both.
<Krys>   Ah! Where
<Krys>   s Ray?
<Meghan>   No clue.. ga?
<LukeAtBio>   next
<Krys>    Meghan - need help locating Ray
<steveB>   Don't forget players can also be assigned control over joining NPC's.
<yetty>   will any expansions move the focus of the game away from the baldurs gate area (other planes for instance)?  Essencially, do you have the continuing story written already?
<LukeAtBio>   the expansions will not be games unto themselves. They will expand on the existing area. not really enough to deal with the logisitcs of an entire plane.
<LukeAtBio>   new areas within the Sword Coast region for the most part
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<bodyslam>   had a question about bards but decided it was silly sooo.. will hats be in the game?
RayAtBio (ray@ARTEMIS1.bioware.com) left IRC at 10:42:00 PM.
<Meghan>   Hats?
<bodyslam>   clothing ones
<bodyslam>   like an accesory
<LukeAtBio>   heh... no, but helms are. There are no normal clothing items aside from the different armors.
<Bioboy>   santa has a hat
<bodyslam>   thanks
<Krys>    ah! Lost Ray again
<LukeAtBio>   your character comes in his basic clothes which are class dependant. you choose the armors above and beyond that during the game
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<Krys>   Sorry, Ray!
Official_logger has changed the mode in #baldursgate to +v JohnR
<Beo-Beta>   Just wanted to say Hello to you all....I'm currnetly in the middle of the beta and I can tell you all its worth the wait
<JohnR>   Thanks for giving us the opportunity to ask questions.  Nice, quick, Yes/No questions. ;)  Will armor become damaged and break from hits in combat?  And do Paladin auras of protection cumulatively penalize evil characters in BG (ie 3 Paladins, -3 penalty) if multiple Paladins surround an evil person?
<LukeAtBio>   armor=no and no
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<Tinman_W>   Hi Everyone. Is height going to be implimented in an expansion/sequel (Rope Trick, Climb walls Etc)? Are arrangements being made to work out the problem of Australians not being able to preorder from Interplay?
<ChrisAtBIS>   I don't think anybody here could explain what the problem is with Australians not be able to preorder from Interplay...
<Krys>   Mystery of the Universe
<ChrisAtBIS>   That might be something with our Australian distribution... I have no idea...
<LukeAtBio>   on height, not likely for an expansion, though for a potential sequel it might be considered.
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<ray>   No height in mission packs.  Probably not in sequel either.
<Raistlin>   first will elves be reserectable and second can cleric/mages pray and memorize spells in the same night
<LukeAtBio>   ah well, there you go :)
<Raistlin>   thanks and if a marketing job opens up over there send it my way keep up the good work
<ChrisAtBIS>   yes and yes
<Krys>   GB, you takin' notes
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<Meghan>   Thanks :)
<LukeAtBio>   yes for elves and yes for spells
<DoomsDay>   Will BG run over a proxy server such as wingate (not a firewall) and how hard will it be to configure? if it doesn't support a proxy, i would like to know why?
<ChrisAtBIS>   Ray, what's the word on Proxy's these days...
ray is now known as RayAtBio
<ChrisAtBIS>   ?
<Eyore>   Correct me if I'm wrong but, ir uns over Winsock 1.X clients, but not Winsock 2, that's a Microsoft problem with their proxy server
<RayAtBio>   Winsock2 does not work with Proxy servers.  Turning off Winsock 2 support allows proxy servers to function normally
<RayAtBio>   Correct Eyore
<Meghan>   GA?
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<Nichollas>   How do you keep good relations with your vendors when you are giving a better deal out with the direct Pre-order. ie.The Volo's Guide
<ChrisAtBIS>   Xavic?
<Nichollas>   Did I hit it to fast?
<Meghan>   No, we saw it :)
<Xavic>   hey
<Nichollas>   ok
<Xavic>   sorry, got dropped
<Xavic>   How do we keep good relations...
Meghan nudges Xavic.
<Xavic>   Well, we try to be equitable with the various deals we make.
<Meghan>   C'mon, marketing weenie!
<Xavic>   For instance, there is actually something VERY cool going north of the border to Canada
<Xavic>   You'll see it down here (and it will be available too) but there is a special deal for Canada this time around.
<Xavic>   I don't want to give it away, but it will be ALL OVER Canada really soon
<ChrisAtBIS>   OK, I'll answer.
<dean>   Is it the plague?
<Meghan>   Hahaha
<Krys>   Yes, Dean, the plague
<RayAtBio>   I hope not
<ChrisAtBIS>   How'd you find out?
<Krys>   Marketing is unleashing it
<Meghan>   GA?
<ChrisAtBIS>   snow?
<steveB>   They found a way to market snow?
<LukeAtBio>   tsk
<Meghan>   Krys wins!
<Meghan>   GA?
<LukeAtBio>   I hope his mama wasn't watchin'.
<Xavic>   We *could* market snow, but the repeat business is lousy.  California hasn't ordered any in years.
<LukeAtBio>   heartbreakin when a bot goes bad
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<Eyore>   Snow is overrated I know, I live in it :)
<KungFu>   A question about scripting. Will Bioware be packing some sort of third-party GUI tool for scripting, or are we limited to a text editor as an 'official' product. Secondly, will we have the capability to order scripts turned on and off at any time, so that we might control the flow of a battle or scene better? Last, will Bioware/BIS/Interplay be releasing more than just the basic scripts for the NPCs they've created for the game? <done?>
<ChrisAtBIS>   There is no officially supported scripting utility of any sort.
<ChrisAtBIS>   We are only supplying the commands.  What you do with them is up to you.
<RayAtBio>   There are two unofficial script editors already completed.
<LukeAtBio>   The scripts only take over when you are not directly controlling chraracters. You can turn off all AI, but if you are directing the battle you don't need too.
<ChrisAtBIS>   There are 16 different scripts, 4 mage/fighter/cleric/thief
<ChrisAtBIS>   each class has an aggressive, defensive, ranged....
<ChrisAtBIS>   errrr....
<LukeAtBio>   de-ranged
<Meghan>   Hahaha
<ChrisAtBIS>   right!
<Meghan>   deranged?
<Meghan>   This is a moderated chat. You won't be able to talk until it's your turn. Please DO NOT change your nick to make a comment or ask a question. Repeated nick changes will get you banned from the chat.
<Meghan>   GA?
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
Minithinel does a backflip and notes the insanity of the Bioware crew
<Minithinel>   Well, there aren't many questions a haven't asked with my share of ignorance, but here's one: Will there be any marshland in BG? In Thaladar's map, I saw a little tip of a swamp in it....Thank you guys and gals soo much for this awesome game!
<ChrisAtBIS>   There is some swampy land.  There is actually quite a variety of terrains.
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<dean>   there is a wee bit in the game
<Bioboy>   aye laddy
<RayAtBio>   Plains, forests, mountains, swamp, desert, ocean, city...etc.
<DanAtBio>   where's Dean (terrains)?
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<Bioboy>   goin to smoke, same as me
<Merek[GG]>   How many NPCs are avaible to "hire" in the game?
<RayAtBio>   25
<Meghan>   We're going to wrap up in a acouple of minutes.
<ChrisAtBIS>   You don't actually hire all of them though... many of them join for their own reasons....
<dean>   bye all!! Thanks
<Meghan>   GA?
<ChrisAtBIS>   ga
<RayAtBio>   Depending on who's in your party the game will be quite different...5 at a time, any five
<LukeAtBio>   ga
<RayAtBio>   ga
<|ongshot>   1.Is there a limited number of guards for the smaller cities, so if you are evil, and kill all of the guards, you have some time before there is another set of guards that come to town like 2 days or so???2.How do you all feel about the fact that the game prolly is gonna be cracked and spread on the net by couriergroups? (iso)
<|ongshot>   sorry for the 2 questions
<|ongshot>   just had to =)
<RayAtBio>   1.  No.  2.  Bad
<ChrisAtBIS>   What are you going to do....every game gets hacked...at least we make you download 3 gig.  Have fun I say....
<ChrisAtBIS>   ;)
<KevAtBio>   A crack of the game still requires room for the biggest part of the game...Art peices....
<Meghan>   Hahahahahahaha
<Krys>   about 25 hours, Chris?
<KevAtBio>   Pretty time consuming to download....
<Meghan>   GA? :)
<DanAtBio>   hackers cant hack art
<Krys>   ga
<Krys>   ga
<deathwalker>   Are the treasures in the game fixed or random concerning location and or content also what kind of control is their concerning character creation? Thanks i hope i like playing it as good as u liked making it!
<Meghan>   Thanks dw!
<LukeAtBio>   character creation is almost exactly as in P&P AD&D
<LukeAtBio>   you have complete control over what type of character you develop
<LukeAtBio>   as for treasures, many monsters will carry random loot, but really valuable things will be placed.
<Meghan>   Maybe we can do a (SMALLER!) chat for Europe at some point.
<ChrisAtBIS>   I hate to leave early, but I really got to get going.
<Meghan>   GA?
<DanAtBio>   ga
Meghan has changed the mode in #baldursgate to +v Kindryck
<Kindryck>   Hi all! Nice to see a company so dedicated to their customers. Since I had a chance to review the instructions for AI Script Compiler, and I am more experienced with RPGing than programming (reminds me of the FORTRAN(SH) I took years ago), could we please get a more detailed version with alot more examples (including what you guys are currently using in the game) and what they would accomplish in the game? BTW, GREAT WORK GUYS AND GALS! "Ha
<RayAtBio>   So do I...work to do
<RayAtBio>   The new script doc is complete and includes some basic examples.
<Meghan>   Thanks Kindryck :)
<RayAtBio>   Will be on CD
<ChrisAtBIS>   Look in the readme for where it is located etc.
<RayAtBio>   Bye bye...back to the grindstone.
<Meghan>   I'm sorry this went to awkwardly folks.. thanks for sticking with us, I mean it.
<ChrisAtBIS>   Yup.  Got lots of work to do.
<Meghan>   We didn't expect quite so many of you :)
<ChrisAtBIS>   Thanks all.  You're the best.  Later

