I forgot about the older NPC's getting new dialogue. Now I'm even more excited.

They (as in Beamdog) have only announced "CONTENT COMPLETE" so to release it early would be a major error for them that I doubt they could survive it… after the last lot they simply MUST get at least most the bugs out this time and without Bioware pushing for what has become their standard "release it before its finished" pottering Beamdog has a chance to make something worth remembering.

I don't disagree with you about when they should release it. And by "early" 2016, I just assumed they meant it will probably be released in the first half of the year.

Release Date: March 22?

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/26673/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-baldurs-gate-siege-of-dragonspear-adventure-y-previously/p144

Edit: Looks like I was wrong. I still can't wait for it though, but I understand they needs to get the bugs out first.

June/ july would be my bet and thats pushing things out but they have experence with the engine now.

I'd rather this be a whole new game instead of an expansion, that way I can judge it on it's own merits. I say this because like them or not, the new quests/NPCs do not match up with the original games' style quite so much. I feel like an expansion to EE would feel wildly different from the original content.

The live stream is due soon... ref; http://blog.beamdog.com/2016/01/dragonspear-live-stream.html

Have a look for yourself.

I think that's their ultimate goal. But I'm glad they're taking it a step at a time. After BG:EE came out, I think it was clear that they were good at what they did, but not really, really good. And before they make a BG3, I want them as practiced at their craft as they can be.

Siege of Dragonspear looks like it will merge the stories together of Baldur's Gate I and Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance. So that's pretty neat. I'll enjoy seeing what happens.

Here's a link to the live-stream on twitch or whatever: http://www.twitch.tv/beamdog/v/40803256?t=12m29s

Its about an hour long, and they purposely deactivated elements from the game that are related to the main plot. One of the new NPCs, Glint, was a member of the party. No release date yet. They showed some interesting new enemies and areas off in the stream. I'm not sure the new interface looks as good as the old one. But there's enough in the live-stream to get me excited. And if you thought Jan or Quayle or Neera were annoying, I think Glint may beat them all in that department.

Phil Daigle (lead designer): "We're really big on ruining canon here."

Well, Beamdog has David Gaider now. The hype is through the roof!

Yes! I am now more excited than worried.

FYI the next stream is February 19th @ 10am PST ... (5am Sat Sydney)

Well, like it or not, with an expansion like this isn't it impossible not to ruin canon? That's what happens when you write fiction. For example, if all we had was the ending to Amn for 20 years then ToB would come around and "ruin canon."

I agree. But my point was the admission that they are "really big" on it.