D&D 5E New Baldur's Gate 3 Video

[Paul Farquhar]

Will I get this game down the line? Probably, if it ever get a full release, just because I love this video game genre.

But I really don't get Larian. As we've seen in other games, 5e is a straightforward system with mechanics that can translate well to video game format. So with the BG franchise bagged, why on earth have they made it into DOS2 with a D&D skin? Just build from scratch on the simple 5e mechanics with lots and lots of char choices, and spend the resources on a really long and involved story that can carry the BG heritage.

If it ever get a full release. I still bet my money on that we get a half-ready game with lots of compromises, which will be completed by promised free expansions, that will come out bad, or too late, or not at all. But we'll see, maybe it will be ok in the end.

For the same reason Terry Pratchett didn't write a Games of Thrones novel. People do what they do well. If they try to imitate someone else's style they do it badly.

And Larian have a better track record for releasing on schedule with low bugs than Bioware ever did.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Just build from scratch on the simple 5e mechanics with lots and lots of char choices, and spend the resources on a really long and involved story that can carry the BG heritage.

Building software is a smidge more complicated than that. Similarly, translating a pen & paper RPG game system into a completely different medium is also somewhat more complicated than that. They would have used the existing, working, production-tested engine they already have because doing otherwise would cost a fortune (in time as well as money).

As well, retooling an existing engine frees up the time to create 'a long and involved story that can carry the BG heritage'.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Have you tried playing Larian's other games? Divinity: Original Sin 2, for example, is basically considered one of the best CRPGs that has come out over the past decade.

Heh heh... I've tried to play D:OS2 a couple times now because of all the raves, and I really just can't get into it. Dunno what the issue is... the controls, the characters/world, maybe I'm just done with isometric games (although I did finish the first Pillars of Eternity), I have no idea. But it makes me think I probably won't like BGIII either. Tried a little bit of it at Pax East last March, and even just that little taste something felt off for me. Kinda depressing.

 

[Aldarc]

Heh heh... I've tried to play D:OS2 a couple times now because of all the raves, and I really just can't get into it. Dunno what the issue is... the controls, the characters/world, maybe I'm just done with isometric games (although I did finish the first Pillars of Eternity), I have no idea. But it makes me think I probably won't like BGIII either. Tried a little bit of it at Pax East last March, and even just that little taste something felt off for me. Kinda depressing.

Conversely, Pillars of Eternity also receives raves, but I was unable to get into that, though partly due to the fact that I prefer turn-based CRPGs to RTWP.

 

[Andvari]

I know who that is...but I won't spoil it.

She’s the love interest for Boo’s romance plot. Wait until you see the 20 minute long sex scenes.

 

[Andvari]

I played several hours into the first DOS but didn’t really like it. The main plot seemed to expect you to take it seriously, but the abundance of lunatic clown NPCs undermined it completely. I also got quite sick of the inventory management due to the ridiculous amount of crafting materials.

If they had made normal NPCs and removed crafting, I suspect I would have loved it.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Martials were really fun in DOS2. BG3 martials will be a HUGE culture shock for people coming from DOS2 and not D&D.

I would be a non-positive amount of surprised if this didn't end up leading to changes to martials in "One D&D," depending on the timing of BG3's launch vis-a-vis the timing of the "warriors" playtest packet.

That's because martial abilities where implemented as spells. D&D has a lot of resistance to that approach.

But I suspect Larian's open hand monk (when added) might be rather more fun than monks usually are in D&D...

Only if you define "spells" as "anything that can't be spammed every round indefinitely"...

As we've seen in other games

What other games are these? I don't know of a single video game that uses actual 5e rules. The only major successful D&D video game of the past like decade uses a (rather heavily modified) version of 4e rules, and that's the Neverwinter MMO. DDO uses a heavily-modified version of 3.5e rules. The only video game application of 5e rules, as far as I was aware, was Sword Coast Legends...and that went defunct in 2018 after several years of mixed responses (with several rather poor reviews, in the 5.5-6.5 range for both critic and consumer reviews.)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

And Larian have a better track record for releasing on schedule with low bugs than Bioware ever did.

Absolutely not.

Bioware have a better track record for both. No Bioware game has ever released anywhere near as buggy as either DOS1 or DOS2. Not even close. If you disagree, name the game. Not even Anthem or Andromeda, both of which were absolute aberrations for Bioware. No matter how much you disliked Andromeda, it was nowhere near on the scale of car crash that either DOS game was on release. I mean, there's a reason even DOS2's "Enhanced Edition", re-wrote and significantly expanded large portions of the game, as well re-voicing the game. That game was wall-to-wall bugs, and the quality drop from act 1 to 2 was huge, and from 2 to 3/4 was insane. But they did largely fix it (well, as much as it could be fixed).

(Now, as to "fun", that's a different question - I think a case can be made that, despite the issues, DOS2 was, initially at least, more fun than Andromeda, for a lot of people anyway. But it's "despite the issues".)

And what Bioware game are you claiming was scheduled for release and then didn't make it? Bioware, historically, have had the exact opposite problem! They've brought out games incredibly fast to meet schedules, with massive crunch and lacking content because of that. Prime examples would be DA2, which was an awesome RPG almost destroyed by having like 5 maps and a bunch of other issues created by being made in 18 months, and ME3, which had a lot of dubious plot elements and virtually no ending because of being pushed out in 24 months. Oh and Andromeda, as well, because that essentially developed over 18 months, and almost all the major issues it had were the result of that.

There's plenty to insult Bioware about, but this is just inaccurate stuff Paul! That's like zinging me for not being verbose enough or something, or monosyllabic, or something!

Are you thinking of Bethesda, the other big B in RPGs? They've released games even buggier than DOS1/2 on release, and they've had games which should have taken 4-5 years take more like 8-9.

 

[Burnside]

I loved:
BG 1 & 2, Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Fallouts 1-4, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights 2 (BioWare), Solasta: Crown of the Magister (base game), Shadowrun trilogy, all three Dragon Age games.

Could not get into:
DIvinity: Original Sin 1 & 2, either of Owlbear’s Pathfinder games, Star Wars: KOTR

Having said all that, I LOVE Baldur’s Gate 3 after playing like 80 hours of early access. I think it’s well on track to being the best D&D crpg ever, and among the best crpgs of all time, period. It is a superior adaptation of 5E and captures 5E’s spirit really well. The in-game writing is generally stronger than the writing of the official 5E hardcover adventures.

 

[Seramus]

What other games are these? I don't know of a single video game that uses actual 5e rules.

Solasta. While the story is pretty lackluster, the 5E mechanics are smooth as butter in Solasta. Honestly, there are some things BG3 could learn from Solasta with how it handles one-click resolution for things like jumping around, crawling under or over things, picking locks, etc.

Bioware have a better track record for both. No Bioware game has ever released anywhere near as buggy as either DOS1 or DOS2. Not even close. If you disagree, name the game. Not even Anthem or Andromeda, both of which were absolute aberrations for Bioware. No matter how much you disliked Andromeda, it was nowhere near on the scale of car crash that either DOS game was on release. I mean, there's a reason even DOS2's "Enhanced Edition", re-wrote and significantly expanded large portions of the game, as well re-voicing the game. That game was wall-to-wall bugs, and the quality drop from act 1 to 2 was huge, and from 2 to 3/4 was insane. But they did largely fix it (well, as much as it could be fixed).

Partially disagree. DOS Act 1 released with very few bugs and was a solid experience, but you are absolutely right that Act 2+ was a mess. DOS2 Act 1-2 was extremely smooth and almost bug free at launch, but Acts 3-4 were a mess. So it's probably better to say that Larian's track record with DOS games is... good launch, but major issues with later acts.

Andromeda was pretty weird. I didn't experience anything gamebreaking, but I saw lots of warped faces and strange physics. Kind of like Skyrim when it just released (bodies clipping through things, rolling away forever, snapping around, etc).