Site News - TONS of New Additions

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(Originally posted by Sorcerer)

Changes, Updates, Additions... Tons of Each

Talk about productiveness!
While most people were lazing around enjoying the carelessness that comes with each holiday season I actually managed to put a lot of work into Sorcerer's Place and the results are before you.
A bunch of additions, some changes in the major sections of the site and many more tweaks here and there. This time the update report has been broken into separate (sub)sections for easier reference.

Community Section

The whole Community section has been re-created to include some of the recent changes regarding the opening of our Friendly Arm Inn chatroom. In the Chatrooms subsection you will now also find additional info that everyone keeps requesting of me.

Another update here was made to the Related links subsection. I've removed two dead links and added a couple of new ones.

Fantasy Books Section

A renewed interest in J.R.R. Tolkien's literature has been demonstrated on our message boards which reminded me of the fact that still many of his excellent writings haven't been added to our Tolkien books subsection.
With this update I added 5 new ones, almost all of them ranking 5 stars at Amazon customers' book reviews. If you consider yourself a fan of Tolkien, then those books are a must.

Not to leave out the other popular parts of the Fantasy Books section, I've also added 3 new books to the Forgotten Realms subsection, namely The Avatar Trilogy, another must for all FR lovers.

Lastly, a novelization of the Dungeons & Dragons movie has been added to the Other recommended books subsection. In spite the fact that the movie was mostly accepted as a so-so production, the book got many more positive reviews.

Fantasy Worlds Section

I've added the requested Pantheon of the Realms & Human Gods of the Realms tables to the Forgotten Realms subsection. This time they're zipped and in the original and unmodified form for anyone who wants them.
Note however, that they contain exactly the same information as their online counterparts. A History of Myth Drannor has also been added in the same subsection.

Games - Baldur's Gate Subsection

No, I'm not kidding. I've actually found something to add there still. After all these years (hm, almost) I noticed that the original Baldur's Gate subsection is the only one that doesn't have the official FAQs in it.
And since it wouldn't be like me to leave something unfinished, I promptly added those FAQ for the original Baldur's Gate AND Tales of the Sword Coast. (The official expansion).

They've proven to be quite a trip down the memory lane to read. At first I was thinking about correcting them as I read, but when I noticed that they're inaccurate almost every other sentence I left them be.
They still provide a ton of info (if somewhat inaccurate) to anyone who hasn't played the games yet.
Any veterans of the original game and Shadows of Amn as well should check them too, if only to see how much the final products differenciate from the ones described in the FAQs.
NOTE: The original Baldur's Gate FAQ is very large and has obviously never been updated with the changes that were implemented later in the development stage. Same goes for the TOSC one, which explains the amount of inconsistencies you'll find if you read carefully.

Games - Icewind Dale Subsection

Icewind Dale won't get cold anytime soon, especially with a hot expansion like Heart of Winter coming up. (Gee, 3 antonyms in one sentence. I'm getting good at this).

I've added 2 new FAQs/Walkthroughs to the main Icewind Dale subsection, and updated another one.
The official FAQ for Heart of Winter has been added to the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection, along with another downloadable items list.

Games - Baldur's Gate II Subsection

Finally the one you've all been waiting for, eh?
Well there's a bunch of new stuff here as well. An addition has made it's way to the main BG II subsection.
Next are the changes to our own Baldur's Gate II Online Solution. I have fixed the NPC tables which are part of the NPC Guide so that they now reflect the fixed stats in it. Quite an undertaking if I say so myself.

In the Tips, Tricks & Hints subsection, there are 3 new additions. First is the inclusion of the spell casting advancement tables for all magic users. Second are the experience point tables for all classes. Third, and last, is a full list of familiars with all their stats & bonuses.

The Jumbo List of BG II Cheat Codes has grown even larger with this update. I've fixed some of the item code errors and added a couple new ones, bettering the already immersive cheater's paradise.
Most notable additions are the item codes for all of the special items from the Bonus and Collector's edition CDs.
NOTE: There's also a patch to spawn the two special merchants with these items in the Editors, Hacks & Cap Removers subsection.

Final new addition for today is the log from the post-production chat Bioware had at The Ultimate SpeedZone. Read it in the Miscellanea subsection.

And this concludes one of the largest updates to date, I believe. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more goodness in the new millennium!

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