Baldur's Gate III

[Sarafan]

I'm not so sure it's possible to "decidedly" distinguish between the two - especially now that we know BG3 is turn based.

I think that people will always compare BG3 with D:OS2. Games are so close in style that the mentioned distinction won't be big enough for BG3 to stand independently. Fans of D:OS2 will be very happy about it, fans of BG series not necessarily.

• D:OS had good co-op options that people really used. BG had co-op of some sort but I don't know if anybody really used it much.

It may be a wonderful experience if the co-op function will be at least as good as the one in the D:OS series.

• BG had way more spells than D:OS.

That's the advantage of D&D. I'm not worried about this aspect of BG3. From what I've seen in the gameplay, Larian wants to implement D&D ruleset quite faithfully. That's why I think the game may be the best implementation of D&D in history of video games.

• BG had Minsc, the best companion NPC ever (IMHO). The rest of the NPCs were pretty average, though.

I think that there are a few more fantastic companions in BG series. My personal best from BG2 apart from Minsc are Viconia and Jan Jansen.

• D:OS has better music.

It's really a matter of taste. Both are great IMHO.

So, if they take their spells from whatever the latest D&D is and channel their silliness into one great NPC, then I think they are set. Being turn based and having better co-op actually matches D&D better. I certainly don't want them to make average music and the ability to pick your companions' classes really is a wonderful thing.

As of know we don't know whether the player will have an option to choose a class for the companions. I still believe that BG3 will be a good game, but the question is whether it'll be a good BG game. For now I see more BG in NWN2 than in BG3. Larian still has a lot of work to do.

P.S. Oh jeez, I forgot a big one. Resting! In BG you go into a dungeon, fight through a few rooms, and take a nap for a few hours right there in the hallways so you could re-memorize your spells, heal up, and so on. I don't care if the solution is the Divinity teleport pyramids, shorter dungeons, or something else - just don't make me endure the silliness of pitching a tent in the middle of hostile territory!

I agree that this was annoying. The system favored save scumming. If the rest was unsuccessful most people automatically loaded the game to try again. Not much logic in the Infinity Engine games rest system.

 

[Sarafan]

So we have a new trailer of BG3:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtEDCuc4s4&feature=emb_title
. I'm more optimistic about the game than after the first gameplay. Finally I'm starting to see BG in this game. Maybe it's the music or the fact that it looks better, hard to tell. It definitely sounds Baldur's Gatish to me and that's great news!

 

[Frindis]

Thank you for sharing @Sarafan

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Just watched a little of the gameplay stream from a few days ago. Games feeling more BG now somehow for me. Still think they needn't have called it Baldurs Gate, there are still those who are very down on it for not being real time.

I'm excited for the game now as a new thing, if I dissasociate it from the originals altogether. Looks like an awesome new game.

 

[Sarafan]

Just watched a little of the gameplay stream from a few days ago. Games feeling more BG now somehow for me. Still think they needn't have called it Baldurs Gate, there are still those who are very down on it for not being real time.

These are my feelings as well. The game looks clearly more Baldur's Gatish than during the previous gameplay. Especially the darker locations give a good impression. In full sunlight it still resembles strongly D:OS2. But we shouldn't expect miracles. It's still the same engine, so it has rights to look similar. Also they've changed the dialogue system. No more past sentences. Now there are normal dialogues. The dialogues didn't disturb me in D:OS2, but now they resemble these from original BG.

I'm excited for the game now as a new thing, if I dissasociate it from the originals altogether. Looks like an awesome new game.

I'm also excited for the game. I believe that Larian will provide a great experience. I just hope they won't overdue with the difficulty level.

 

[Daggerknight]

As one of the few people in the world who did not like Original Sin 2 very much (but appreciated some of its ideas), I'm feeling VERY cautiously optimistic.

Things I like;

- If the turn-based system is implemented right, it could be good.
- I like the relatively open nature of what options are at your disposal.
- Turn based structure may force more team dynamics, and less "one amazing character", which is crucial to a DnD game IMO.
- Loving the verticality they seem to have going in their levels.

- Spelljammers! Please, please let the player get their own spelljammers!

Things I really, really dislike:

- Every single mundane action being a Final Fantasy/ anime' esque POWER spectacle. Why is jumping such a screen shaking and particle inducing act? Why does pushing someone over have such a super powered charge to it? I want at least some stuff to be mundane, and let the actual -magic- be the flashy things. This was incidentally a similar problem I had with D:OS 2, where every damn fight from the start involved Last AIrbender style power slinging, rather than a more grounded melee.

- D;OS 2 had an amazingly clunky interface. BG 3 looks like it will be cleaner, but I still hope for more, as it remains a little confusing to look at on a glance. I grant that this is because we're only watching videos and not playing it, but again; OS 2 had this problem, so it's possible that the issue will carry over. Here's hoping for the best....

- I wasn't a huge fan of OS2's art execution, where everything just looked beefy. It was impossible to make a lithe swashbuckler, for example. What we've seen of BG 3 is going back and forth on that, with some characters looking less ultra-beefy than others, which is good. I just hope they stick to that and don't make everything super bulky.

- Weapon designs. Some looked okay, some look....what.....

- The take on ceremorphisis is...odd. I don't think I've ever read anything that suggested the process gave victims super-powers, but maybe I missed something? The whole attempt to make it a "dark power that comes at a cost" just seems like a huge stretch to me.

 

[Zloth]

- Spelljammers! Please, please let the player get their own spelljammers!

Interplanetary fantasy for the win!

 

[drunkpunk]

- The take on ceremorphisis is...odd. I don't think I've ever read anything that suggested the process gave victims super-powers, but maybe I missed something? The whole attempt to make it a "dark power that comes at a cost" just seems like a huge stretch to me.

There is a lot of evidence pointing towards this not being your typical ceremorphosis process and I've seen some pretty interesting theories towards that, such as it being related to the adversary. i suspect there's a lot we simply don't know about the story yet and that we probably won't even get the full picture in early access.

 

[Dakkon]

Huge fan of imho golden age of CRPGs and ofc played both Baldur's Gate games, Shadows of Ahm being my fav. The Children of Bhaal storyline wrapped up nicely with Throne of Bhaal and everything was good.
How is this exactly anything but spiritual successor?
Seeing the gameplay it's done it Larian's Divinity manner which is not a bad thing but it's draws more parallels with that title than Baldur's Gate.
I'll keep my eyes on the game and who knows maybe they'll convince me along the way.

 

[Zloth]

The Divinity games aren't D&D based at all. They make up their own critters, lore, and rules. You aren't going to find mind flayers fighting githyanki in Rivalon. You won't find Belegar in Baldur's Gate. (Unfortunately. Belegar and Minsc both in one game would be awesome.)

 

[drunkpunk]

No August release date, but we'll get the release date on the 18th. I'm sad, but I'll take it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1290679248102072326

View: https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1290679248102072326

 

[Dan]

I'm playing through Baldur's Gate 1 (and then 2), I remember playing them when I was younger, but don't remember anything about them anymore. I must have forgotten how difficult it was, as I am getting my ass kicked.

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

I'm playing through Baldur's Gate 1 (and then 2), I remember playing them when I was younger, but don't remember anything about them anymore. I must have forgotten how difficult it was, as I am getting my ass kicked.

I wish I could delete my memories of BG so I could experience it all anew. But I keep replaying the saga every year or two so I know dialogues, quests etc. by heart. Still I enjoy coming back.

I am not jumping on the BG3 EA version, but I will probably take a look at somebody's playing it on stream.

 

[Sarafan]

I'm playing through Baldur's Gate 1 (and then 2), I remember playing them when I was younger, but don't remember anything about them anymore. I must have forgotten how difficult it was, as I am getting my ass kicked.

What's your party composition? I finished BG1 EE last year on very hard difficulty level. It wasn't so hard. BG2 EE is a lot harder, so prepare yourself.

 

[Dan]

What's your party composition? I finished BG1 EE last year on very hard difficulty level. It wasn't so hard. BG2 EE is a lot harder, so prepare yourself.

That was probably my issue, I was taking no notice of my stats or my party. I have started a new game, just so I can go from the beginning again and am using Paladin Cavalier (which I hear is good for a beginner). I did not create my own party, and only using NPCs (which may be the wrong thing to do, but I've heard is the optimal experience). I'll track down some decent NPCs for my party

 

[Sarafan]

I did not create my own party, and only using NPCs (which may be the wrong thing to do, but I've heard is the optimal experience). I'll track down some decent NPCs for my party

It's a good decision. You would miss lots of fun by creating a custom party. In fact the original Baldur's Gate series allowed for full party customization only in the multiplayer mode. Enhanced Editions added that to single player as well.

 

[Zloth]

You can't play Baldur's Gate without Minsc & Boo!

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

You can't play Baldur's Gate without Minsc & Boo!

Me, who played whole saga in almost every possible combination including solo-ing:

Spoiler

 

[Zloth]

Solo? You mean, you found a way to play as Minsc??

 

[drunkpunk]

Another delay... but this one is just a week. I can handle that. I also appreciate their humor with the Twitter handle change

https://twitter.com/x/status/1308781954012246018

View: https://twitter.com/larianstudios/status/1308781954012246018

 

[Zloth]

Wake me when the "definitive edition" shows up.

 

[Dakkon]

A week long delay isn't that bad, gives Larian more time to polish things into Early Access.
I like their transparency and it seems they really love working on BG3.
Will watch it closely during EA and see if I'm gonna jump in when 1.0 version hits.

 

[Yggdrasill]

I am definitely looking forward to this!

 

[drunkpunk]

The latest community update: https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/1086940/view/2868188053546850136

My hype is starting to rise. We're in the home stretch until early access!

 

[Ryzengang]

As someone who can't get into the older BG games because of how dated they are, I'm definitely keeping an eye on this release. Looks really cool from what I've seen.