BALDUR'S GATE III

[Himu]

HOLY FUCK

[Himu]

If this doesn't come with a physical version with a 100 page manual...

[Svejk]

No gameplay? 

[Himu]

No gameplay? 

E3 is right around the corner. Why blow your load?

[Great Rumbler]

[Himu]

Apparently it's so early they don't even know if gameplay is going to be turn based, active, etc. so I wouldn't bet on it, Cindi.

How is this even a question?!

 

[Great Rumbler]

They're almost certainly going to do turn-based, since that's what their two previous RPGs have been and it's worked out pretty well for them.

[Himu]

They're almost certainly going to do turn-based, since that's what their two previous RPGs have been and it's worked out pretty well for them.

That's what I  figured too. It doesn't make a sense to make this innovative turn based combat and then flip the script, revive a famous turn based property, and pull a Bethesda.

The question though isn't whether or not it's turn-based but whether or not it will have D&D rulset.

Think it might D&D5 ruleset?

[Himu]

jrpgs are now down the toilet since they decided to chase that money the same way wrpgs did last gen but wrpgs have decided to bounce back their old depth

[Bebpo]

I promise I'll play through BG1 & 2 before this comes out. Been itching to start up BG1 since finishing up the Pillars of Eternity II DLC. I have the GoG versions of both but I'm getting so old I don't even remember how to track down and install mod patches. Maybe I should just get the Beamdog version on steam...

jrpgs are now down the toilet since they decided to chase that money the same way wrpgs did last gen but wrpgs have decided to bounce back their old depth

Hmmmmm.....you know I'd actually argue the biggest issue with jrpgs currently isn't the lack of mechanical depth but making them super easy to try to sell more copies. If the games were tuned harder a lot of jrpgs have good depth battle systems and character customization. A good example is Trails of Cold Steel. But difficulty is easy and certain stuff is OP broken.

[Himu]

Borys how can you have Thac0 and D&D ruleset in real time? Even in the case of "real time" systems like Morrowind, while having an action rpg system, it's still ultimately turn based.

Caring about it having a D&D ruleset but not caring if it's turn based or not...are these not contradictions? D&D is, after all, a turn based game.

[MMaRsu]

No Epic Exclusive 

[Himu]

Borys how can you have Thac0 and D&D ruleset in real time? Even in the case of "real time" systems like Morrowind, while having an action rpg system, it's still ultimately turn based.

Caring about it having a D&D ruleset but not caring if it's turn based or not...are these not contradictions? D&D is, after all, a turn based game.

Real-time with pause aka BG1, BG2.

If they remove pause (I'm ok with this) it's basically the same.

I always considered them turn based due to the pause i guess but you're right. I pause a lot during harder fights. It's more like a mix, like Final Fantasy's ATB I guess.

[Human Snorenado]

As long as there's a pause option that's fine. It's this ARPG bullshit I won't sign up for. I have plenty of games that do that. I don't need more.

[Great Rumbler]

There are some things on the chopping block, however. It's an interpretation of D&D, specifically 5th Edition, because porting the core rules, which Larian tried to do, doesn't work. Or it works, Vincke clarifies, but it's no fun at all. One of the culprits is missing when you're trying to hit an enemy, and while the combat system has yet to be revealed, you can at least look forward to being able to smack people more consistently.

"You miss a lot in D&D—if the dice are bad, you miss," he says. "That doesn't work well in a videogame. If I do that, you're going to review it and say it's shit. Our approach has been implementing it as pure as we can, and then just seeing what works and what doesn't. Stuff that doesn't work, we start adapting until it does." 

Mind flayers used to be able to travel between worlds using via the Astral Plane, piloting massive shells with protruding tentacles known as nautiloids. They made the mind flayers even more formidable, but the art of making new ones has been lost to them. Until now. "Those are big problems," says Vincke. "They want to restore their empire, so we see the mind flayers invading a city, with a nautaloid, so you can imagine what might happen—but it's not what you'll expect!"

[Great Rumbler]

As long as there's a pause option that's fine. It's this ARPG bullshit I won't sign up for. I have plenty of games that do that. I don't need more.

It's either going to be real-time with pause [like the previous Infinity Engine games] or totally turn-based [like Original Sin 1 and 2], no way would they do it like an ARPG, especially since they intend for you to control an entire party.

[Himu]

I’m interested in the ruleset and it better come with a massive manual.

[thisismyusername]

Apparently it's so early they don't even know if gameplay is going to be turn based, active, etc. so I wouldn't bet on it, Cindi.

They'd be shooting themselves in the kneecaps if they didn't make it like the first two.

[Great Rumbler]

[Great Rumbler]

Original Sin 1 and 2 both sold really well.

[toku]

They made a critically acclaimed, complex modern rpg that wasn't super obsessed with the past with Original Sin 2? Also it's an EU studio so they probably operate cheaper.

[Great Rumbler]

They went to Wizards and asked to do Baldur's Gate 3 after Original Sin 1 came out, but got turned down. After Original Sin 2 came out, Wizards came to them and asked if they still wanted to do it.

[Bebpo]

Wasted several hours on the nightmare that is BG1 EE mods. The problem is that BG1 EE kept getting patches from Beamdog and most of the mod people didn't keep up and a lot don't work and the main big world setup is outdated and glitchy af. Pretty frustrating.

Just gonna play EE BG1 vanilla I guess and hope it's good enough. Maybe I'll try to get the NPC project mod working since apparently the pre-made NPC characters have no banter/dialogue in the original and the patch makes them more like party member companions.

[headwalk]

the combat in divnity II is miles better than any other CRPG. RTWP was always jank and even obsidian have come around to that, having patched turn based combat into PoE2 after seeing how absolutely glorious DoSII did it. the story and characters were completely forgettable, which is where the BG license comes in.

match made in the outer planes. hope it's co-op again.

[pilonv1]

Larian

[pilonv1]

the combat in divnity II is miles better than any other CRPG.

All the environmental stuff is just wonderful, made battles fun and not a chore

the story and characters were completely forgettable, which is where the BG license comes in.

m8

[Rufus]

The name would have no connection otherwise, no? The narrative doesn't sound like it will be connected to the previous games.

[Great Rumbler]

Gameplay reveal coming on the 27th.

[Himu]

Forgot about this

[Svejk]

Gameplay Reveal is suppose to drop at 3PM E....

In the mean time, some leaked screen shots...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[TVC15]

Daddy like. Divinity OS2 was one of my faves of the decade, I feel safe saying that now. Balance was a little wobbly and I fiddled with the difficulty slider and my pride at a few parts, but it was never anything but a blast, even when I was getting my ass kicked. The combat was so brisk that I didn’t feel like I was wasting time to reload. This could have unchanged combat and my bitching would only be minor.

[Great Rumbler]

Live reveal going on right now:

[Great Rumbler]

The chat is filled with two groups of people:

1. People mad that it isn't exactly the same as BG1/2

2. People laughing at the people who are mad

[Svejk]

I liked what I saw so far.  Makes me think of what DA:I should've been. 

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, looks a bit DOS [for obvious reasons] mixed with a little bit of Dragon Age.

[Coffee Dog]

I've never played a game that offers real time w/pause and turn based that didn't have one obviously superior to the other. Converting real time passage and cooldowns to "rounds" or "turns" is too broad a gap for many titles. The turn based mode looks fine for what the game is, but I'm interested in seeing how it impacts the flow of the combat when all this stuff is going on simultaneously.

Edit: i could have sworn this got announced with a toggle, but i guess turn based it is. It sucks when genres homogenize, but mass audiences fucking hate how hectic real time w/pause combat is and have for years, so it's not a surprise its gone entirely. Ah well.

[toku]

Yeah, looks a bit DOS [for obvious reasons] mixed with a little bit of Dragon Age.

Sold

[bluemax]

So both Beamdog and Obsidian were working their assess off on bringing 2D, isometric CRPGs back to the market only for the licence for BG3 to go to... Larian.

LMAO.

I am kinda sorry for them at the moment. BG3 will sell 2M based on the name alone.

Wonder what triggered WOTC to give the licence to the hottest 2d, iso CRPG to Larian??? Like there has to be something more behind the scenes other that Divinity being good.

Maybe Obsidian wasn't available after the MS acquisition?

[Great Rumbler]

[TVC15]

I want this now

[Borealis]

It's a WIP, but I'm just not a fan of how much the UI resembles DOS2.

[Himu]

I'm not fond of the character designs at all but gameplay looks slick

[tiesto]

BTW, anyone know how the console ports of the infinity engine games turned out? I wouldn't mind finally trying the Baldur's Gate series and maybe giving Planescape another play through... don't particularly care for the interface of the original PC versions though.

[Great Rumbler]

Planescape port is pretty good [on Switch], they reworked the controls and UI to work with TV and controller. Haven't tried it with a more combat heavy games like BG or Icewind Dale, though.

[Borealis]

Are the Enhanced Editions worth a first-time playthrough over the originals?

[Great Rumbler]

Most of the changes are QoL tweaks [higher resolutions, widescreen, reworked UI, and so on], so go ahead and play the EEs.

[thisismyusername]

Most of the changes are QoL tweaks [higher resolutions, widescreen, reworked UI, and so on], so go ahead and play the EEs.

*Beamdog copy-pasta on /v/ here*

Ah, found it.

Beamdog is a guilty of a number of different crimes. Here are the major ones.

1. The Enhanced Editions are essentially a collection of free mods that had existed for nearly twenty years. Beamdog gathered them all up, slapped "Enhanced Edition" on it and resold it as a new product. There's very very little in the Enhanced Editions that wasn't already out there, and most of it is stuff you don't want (like obnoxious character outlines).

2. The games didn't sell so well and the originals were still far outselling them, even twenty years after their release, so Beamdog had EVERY digital distributor stop selling the originals and ONLY sell the Enhanced Edition. If you want to buy a digital copy of the originals now, they're "bundled" into the Enhanced Edition. Now these scumbags can claim sales from people just wanting to buy the originals as their own.

3. The infamous 600+ bugs on launch. The game is still riddled with bugs (as even a perfunctory glance over their forums show) but the fact that it took nearly two years for them to get a game that had been working fine for 20 years to reach playability after launch is telling of their wild incompetence.

4. This is where we get to the ones that really piss people off. Beamdog couldn't just remaster the game, they had to fuck with the content too. New dialogue for existing NPCs like Jaheira, Viconia, Safana, Kivan, et cetera was written in to make the characters more progressive and leftist friendly. Beamdog shills will argue that "adding content isn't changing content XDDD" but it is when the new content changes the core personalities of the existing characters. This is in addition to adding a slew of their own LGBT (hitherto there were none in Baldur's Gate) NPCs, all flooded with OP attributes and magic items to encourage people to play them despite their cancer.

5. Siege of motherfucking Dragonspear.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Enhanced Editions are fine. Though them pulling the originals off GoG to only have the EE's on online store-fronts truly is a headscratcher.

[close]

[Great Rumbler]

This is where we get to the ones that really piss people off. Beamdog couldn't just remaster the game, they had to fuck with the content too. New dialogue for existing NPCs like Jaheira, Viconia, Safana, Kivan, et cetera was written in to make the characters more progressive and leftist friendly. Beamdog shills will argue that "adding content isn't changing content XDDD" but it is when the new content changes the core personalities of the existing characters. This is in addition to adding a slew of their own LGBT (hitherto there were none in Baldur's Gate) NPCs, all flooded with OP attributes and magic items to encourage people to play them despite their cancer.

[Himu]

Real talk I am not liking the character designs for BG3 AT ALL. When I think BG character designs I think those rad character portraits for 1 and 2. Baldurs Gate has to look cool as fuck. Instead you got these bad designs. Massive mistake.

[toku]

can't believe ppl are mad that this looks like dos2 lol

[Himu]

Kind of what I expect from BG character design

[Coffee Dog]

The more you expect this to be a sequel to Baldur's in terms of aesthetic and not just a new D&D set Divinity spinoff, the more disappointed you're gonna be. The Baldur's Gate name is just for brand recognition so you know it's a serious high budget WRPG and not one of the thousand other D&D branded games.

[Himu]

The more you expect this to be a sequel to Baldur's in terms of aesthetic and not just a new D&D set Divinity spinoff, the more disappointed you're gonna be. The Baldur's Gate name is just for brand recognition so you know it's a serious high budget WRPG and not one of the thousand other D&D branded games.

Shame but you're probably right. Everything else looks good. Shame it's ugly to look at.

[toku]

what are you smoking

[Himu]

The stuff that dislikes anime looking characters in baldurs gate?

[thetylerrob]

Care to post some examples? I haven’t looked at the game much but I didn’t see anything too out of place in the footage I saw.

[Himu]

I'm on mobile now and the premiere gameplay footage is too long to go through on a non computer so I'll post the timestamp later. All I remember was it was a white haired anime character looking character.

Cutscenes look atrocious. Thankfully gameplay looks good.

[Great Rumbler]

The white-haired guy is a high-elf vampire-spawn noble, that's kinda how I'd expect one of those to look.

[Himu]

Hmm, I watched the video again and it does look better once you get used to the look. Definitely not as badass as classic BG art. But not as bad as first impression either. I can get used to it.

Thank God for no voiced main character. I thought they'd go that incompetent route to get more sales.

[EVOL]

Somehow I completely forgot this exists. Usually I’d think any of these revivals as a cynical cash grab but I guess if there’s any developer that I’d be happy with developing a new BG it’s be Larian.

I don’t have the patience nor time for these kinds of games anymore but I’d prob buy it and play a few hours just for nostalgia’s sake 

Real talk I am not liking the character designs for BG3 AT ALL. When I think BG character designs I think those rad character portraits for 1 and 2. Baldurs Gate has to look cool as fuck. Instead you got these bad designs. Massive mistake.

Could always get custom portraits if it’s anything like the originals, tho most of it’ll prob be some hardcore weeb shit