A few tidbits about Baldur's Gate 3.

[Dark Jezter]

Hey! What's wrong with Aerie? Jaheira's the one who got on my nerves in a big way.

But still, nothin' better than gettin' jiggy with a trash-talkin' drow.

You mean besides the fact that Aerie has an annoying voice and all she ever does is whine? She's also a fairly weak character who dosen't excel in any area.

I do agree with you, though, that Viconia is the best of the romancable female NPCs in BG2. Not only is she the best cleric in the game, but she's got a fairly interesting backstory, and she's great at flinging hilarious insults at the other party members.

 

[Welverin]

Are you kidding? They're central to BG as Skywalkers are to Star Wars.

Not even close, they a significant role in BG2, but were hardly essential. They weren't even in the first game.

 

[KenM]

I'm not a big fan of the turn-based system. The battles are too drawn out and boring. I like the way it's done in BG and NWN. Battles are quicker and more entertaining to watch.

IMO if the BG and IWD games did'nt have the auto pause feature to make it turn based, they would have been unplayable. Real time combat is fine when you only control a single character, but in BG and IWD, you had a whole party of 6 characters to control. By the time you get done telling the computer what yo want someone to do, half the party is down in real time.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

IMO if the BG and IWD games did'nt have the auto pause feature to make it turn based, they would have been unplayable. Real time combat is fine when you only control a single character, but in BG and IWD, you had a whole party of 6 characters to control. By the time you get done telling the computer what yo want someone to do, half the party is down in real time.

Exactly. I used the auto-pause so much that it FELT like a turn based game. Didn't make it any more drawn out, and it made it more fun because the characters stayed alive.

 

[mmu1]

I found I liked the turn-based engine in ToEE a lot less than I thought I would.

Perhaps the fact the game wasn't very good to begin with (unfished, buggy, based on an old-school module that felt dull and simplistic after we've been spoiled by games like Plansecape and Balgur's Gate II) had something to do with it, or maybe it's just indicative of a basic problem with translating PnP to the computer - the dynamics are completely different.

The one constant in CRPGs is that they feature vastly more combat than pen and paper game... This is partly to inflate the "hours of gameplay" you can claim the title provides, but partly because once you have the computer handling all the mechanics, things don't take nearly as long as they do around a game table, and in order to have the game feel as action-packed you have to have more combat, period.

Playing through all that combat in turn-based mode can get dull very quickly, unless the designers really do their job just right and include the right amount of character and plot development and action, and don't make you go through a lot of the meaningless "rat-killing" that pops up in way too many games.

What I'd really like to see personally is a game utilizing a design similar to good old "Betrayal at Krondor", taking full advantage of current technology. Imagine combining the overland travel of Morrowind with the story and NPC interaction of Planescape and detailed tactical combat incorporating the best aspects of ToEE (perhaps a bit streamlined, and focused on the more important combats). *drool*

 

[gravyboat]

My thoughts...
The full turn-based system in Temple of Elemental Evil was not as enjoyable as the combat system used in the Baldur's Gate system.

I prefer intelligent scripts being applied to each character which determine how they will typically act. But of course the combat pause feature was essential in Baldur's Gate to redirect character actions, and to get off the necessary spell.

I definitely support, nomatter the system chosen, a close application of the 3.5 D&D rules.

So I am hoping for a original Baldur's Gate like combat system with a faithful implementation of the P&P rules going on behind the seen.

 

[Angcuru]

Just as long as the romancable NPCs aren't anything like Aerie or Aribeth. *gags*

Hey, I liked Aerie! Aribeth on the other hand, was a self-righteous nut. So I guess I'll go 1/2 disagree + 1/2 agree = ignore post.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Earlier today, I saw a comment regarding the BG2 romance options that I found to be right on the money: "Aerie needs a psychologist, not a lover."

 

[Angcuru]

Earlier today, I saw a comment regarding the BG2 romance options that I found to be right on the money: "Aerie needs a psychologist, not a lover."

What about a psychologist lover? Oh wait, that's illegal in most countries/

 

[Ferret]

Why does everything have to go 3d? What was wrong with the Infinity Engine?