Beamdog - Icewind Dale II Enhanced Edition?

[Couchpotato]

Beamdog has a new blog post about Icewind Dale II, and it's lost source code.

Link - http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/07/real-talk-icewind-dale-ii-enhanced.html

At this time, the source code for Icewind Dale II can not be found. We’ve reached out to former developers and publishers with no luck. No one seems to know where it’s got to. Consider this our open call to fans for the code, patched or otherwise.

We’d love to complete the Infinity Engine series and bring you all the game you’ve been asking for, but to make Icewind Dale II: Enhanced Edition a possibility, having that source code, preferably patched, is needed before we can even start assessing whether the project is doable.

UPDATE: If you personally have a copy of the code, we'd love to get in touch. Please do not contact former developers and other IWD2 team members on our behalf.

 

[Deleted User]

Nice. A co-op run through the game will be epic!

 

[Couchpotato]

Nice. A co-op run through the game will be epic!

Yep you could play it with your father Fluent.

I await the cash grab comments, and how the Enhanced Edition ruins the game.

 

[Deleted User]

Yep you could play it with your father Fluent.

I await the cash grab comments, and how the Enhanced Edition ruins the game.

No doubt. Hey, the EE's are great for my dad and I. Countless hours of co-op Infinity Engine RPGs, what's better than that?

 

[JDR13]

How does a developer and their publisher lose the source code for a major AAA title?

 

[Couchpotato]

How does a developer and their publisher lose the source code for a major AAA title?

Well it was Interplay.:lol:

Though I'm surprised BioWare didn't keep the source code. Anyway it's not the first time this has happened as I read about ex-developers finding this stuff all the time.

No doubt. Hey, the EE's are great for my dad and I. Countless hours of co-op Infinity Engine RPGs, what's better than that?

Did you both ever finish Sacred 1&2 with all the quests & repeated game content?

 

[Deleted User]

Did you both ever finish Sacred 1&2 with all the quests & repeated game content?

Nah, but we played a TON of Sacred 2! One of our favorite co-op RPGs yet.

 

[Couchpotato]

Nah, but we played a TON of Sacred 2! One of our favorite co-op RPGs yet.

Don't feel bad as I never finished Sacred 2 either.

I'm still waiting for more updates on a new A-RPG called Unbended.

Link - http://unbended.zone/?lang=en

UNBENDED is going to be a classic Action RPG, that drops the character of your choice into a world of constant changes. Each character experiences the story from his/her very individual point of view. And as the world is changing, so are the skills and possibilities of the characters.

A few ex-Ascaron developers who made Sacred are on the team.

 

[Deleted User]

I heard that project is all but dead in the water. I'd love for that to be wrong, though!

 

[Couchpotato]

I heard that project is all but dead in the water. I'd love for that to be wrong, though!

That's my worry also as it was supposed to seek crowd-funding, but the developer found investors instead. Though lack of any substantial updates this year cast doubt.

 

[Deleted User]

That's my worry also as it was supposed to seek crowd-funding, but the developer found investors instead. Though lack of any substantial updates this year cast doubt.

Well we can hope. A "true" Sacred 3 would be amazing!

 

[Moriendor]

Well it was Interplay.:lol:

Yeah, hopefully Beamdog have just really sucked at contacting the right people up to now because worst case scenario is that Herve Caen and his lawyer have the only remaining copy left in the world in their office safe. He would most likely ask for millions of bucks before letting anyone have it .

 

[Lucky Day]

How does a developer and their publisher lose the source code for a major AAA title?

Well it was Interplay.:lol:

Though I'm surprised BioWare didn't keep the source code. Anyway it's not the first time this has happened as I read about ex-developers finding this stuff all the time.

Bioware wasn't talking to Interplay at the time (2002).

Interplay was not only hording the royalties for BG2, they hung on to a lot of assets for Neverwinter Nights including a decent OC and even some tilesets.

After Interplay finally folded after giving up on Fallout 3 and BG3 and somehow releasing Lionheart, they had a fire sale and a lot of assets got picked up. I think Obsidian picked up the rights to IWD3 or assets from the IWD's.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

These guys haven't had enough of remasters? ( I'd bet lackblogger holds the code, guarding it jealously from others. )

Ciriously, they need to up their game. Recent Arcanum "Remaster" done by a couple of drunk Russians is more impressive than any of their work.

 

[Deleted User]

The drunk Russians should put together a company and do it for real then. Secure the rights, the original code, promote it, support it and so on.

Beamdog is worth it alone for adding cross-platform/online co-op to the games. Beats having to haul your PC for a LAN party.

 

[joxer]

Beamdog has a new blog post about Icewind Dale II, and it's lost source code.

I never thought I'll be happy over lost code.
Enough of that milkin'!

 

[Deleted User]

Enough of that milkin'!

So if I wanted to co-op IWD (which we did) /BG/SoD/BGII (which we're going to) and now IWD2, with my dad who doesn't/can't game on a computer, what do you suggest for us?

 

[roguefrog]

The one nice thing about IWD II, wasn't it 3.0/3.5 instead of the rest of the IE games which were stuck in some weird AD&D 2.0 limbo with THAC0 and negative armor class values?

 

[JDR13]

The one nice thing about IWD II, wasn't it 3.0/3.5 instead of the rest of the IE games which were stuck in some weird AD&D 2.0 limbo with THAC0 and negative armor class values?

Yeah, IWD II used the Third Edition ruleset with some modifications.

 

[Couchpotato]

An update with a new article style interview on kotaku with Trent Oster.

Link - http://kotaku.com/nobody-can-find-the-source-code-for-icewind-dale-ii-1796724450

“We’ve searched all the archives we have access to, including all the data handed over to Wizards of the Coast from Atari and there is no source code for Icewind Dale II,” Oster told me in an e-mail. “We’ve reached out to our friends at Obsidian, as many of them were the development staff behind Icewind Dale II, and they do not have any source code. We’re stalled on the project without source and the project won’t move forward until we can find it. We’ve naturally moved on to other things until there is a change in the situation.”