Last year GraphSim Entertainment published the long-awaited Macintosh version of Baldur’s Gate, a role-playing game licensed from Interplay. Now the company has given Baldur’s Gate fans something new to play — an add-on pack called Tales of the Sword Coast.
Baldur’s Gate itself provides Mac users with an authentic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game experience. The game was originally licensed from AD&D publisher TSR and is set in TSR’s own Forgotten Realms environment. Bioware, the game’s original developer, made sure that Baldur’s Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast both adhere to TSR’s rules governing combat and gameplay.
Tales of the Sword Coast adds to the original game new areas to explore, items to collect, non-player characters, monsters, spells, and quests. Baldur’s Gate players are able to use the same characters they’ve already created. The expansion pack simply expands the scope and depth of the current Baldur’s Gate world. You needn’t have already completed Baldur’s Gate to use Tales of the Sword Coast, although it’s okay if you have — the expansion set integrates into the existing environment, opening up new venues for you and your party to discover.
Several new areas are added on as part of Tales of the Sword Coast, including the town of Ulgoth’s Beard, an island and Durlag’s Tower. Exploring the new land, building interiors, and subterranean lairs, players can expect to gain another 20 or 30 hours of gameplay, according to GraphSim’s estimates.
Tales of the Sword Coast doesn’t change the rules of Baldur’s Gate, but some game mechanics have been changed or improved to help achieve better balance — projectile speed has been doubled, for example, and most character toolbars have been modified to accommodate two quick weapon slots. The experience point cap has been raised to allow characters to reach new levels, too — the new cap is set at 161,000 points.
GraphSim Entertainment advises that users who placed pre-orders before May 28 can expect to receive their orders shortly — they shipped yesterday and are shipping today as well.
There’s a lot more detail about Tales of the Sword Coast available from GraphSim Entertainment’s Web site. Please visit the site for a Q&A FAQ, more screenshots, and loads more info.
Tales of the Sword Coast requires Mac users to have the original Baldur’s Gate installed in order to play. The expansion pack costs US$29.95. It can be ordered directly from the GraphSim Online Store.
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