There's my daily dose of karma

I won't be able to resist

My first 10 hours with it will just be constantly restarting anyway, not being able to decide on what kind of character to play as lol

AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Anyone going to go for early access?

How does one get in on this action?  Pre-order or will it just be available?

I'm all up for that.  It'll be my final game in the year where I only buy 3 games.

It does look very impressive. And I'm sure it will be an incredible RPG.

However...

I can understand a little bit of disgruntlement. It looks very, very similar to Divinity on the surface, has turn-based combat, and, given how many games have come out in recent years that are fundamentally updates of the Infinity Engine titles, it is quite the step away from the previous titles. I get it. 

I think it looks brilliant and I bloody love Illithids, which helps. I wonder how much the different gith factions may play a role? One of my favourite pieces of DnD art is this Githyanki...

My biggest worry is it looks a bit "Larian does DnD" rather than Baldur's Gate.

I haven't watched the vids properly yet.

tigersgogrrr wrote:

It does look very impressive. And I'm sure it will be an incredible RPG. However... I can understand a little bit of disgruntlement. It looks very, very similar to Divinity on the surface, has turn-based combat, and, given how many games have come out in recent years that are fundamentally updates of the Infinity Engine titles, it is quite the step away from the previous titles. I get it.  I think it looks brilliant and I bloody love Illithids, which helps. I wonder how much the different gith factions may play a role? One of my favourite pieces of DnD art is this Githyanki...

Yeah I get that.

For me, I think there's a central conflict here. Not between Larian (Original Sin era) and Baldur's Gate, but between Baldur's Gate and D&D.

A lot of the stuff that D&D does, especially in 5th edition, isn't represented well in Baldur's Gate. The maps in that game are flat, spells only have one use, there's not a huge amount of wider-world player agency etc. 

Baldur's Gate, like most IE games, didn't bother with stuff like cantrips and utility spells. It was a CRPG and represented a particular style and time.

Larian have very clearly based their games on D&D, encouraging improvisation and player choice. So, when the new Baldur's Gate looks like Original Sin 2, what is actually happening is that Baldur's Gate 3 looks like D&D 5E. 

The shifts in combat are subtle but significant:

1. All players share the same round and you can switch between them.
2. More emphasis on surroundings and slightly less on elements.
3. Action points and Bonus Actions - not a set number of points per turn.

It's subtle, but it will make combat more like D&D and less like original sin. Real-time with Pause wouldn't work with 5E - every 6-second round is too important. They could change the game to accommodate, sure, but it'd actually make it less like D&D RAW. 

That's not to dismiss criticism - I get that for many people they're less interested in a 5E update, and want more classic Baldur's Gate feels - what I mean to say is that Original Sin is not being ripped off here. Original Sin was unofficial D&D, and now BG is being brought into that. 

I think multiplayer in this game will be incredible. I'd love to get 3 others and do a campaign. 

It seems they've basically copied classes and races word-for-word from the players handbook, and there will almost certainly be a Dungeon Master mode like in Divinity: OS2, which could make this the definitive D&D game around. 

The turn-based out of combat movement seems fantastic too, letting you weave your way through guards like at a tabletop session. 

So yeah, I get the worries. It's definitely different. What I don't believe is that the problem lies in BG being made to be more like OS. I think it's that BG 1&2 were great CRPGs, but not good 5E D&D games.

Isometric though is such an enforced nostalgic viewpoint. Couldn't they make it with an over-the-shoulder cam like Gears or something?

Keep watching previews of BG3 - cant remember the last time I was this hyped for a game

I couldn't get on with PoE, bigtown crisis stopped me early doors but agree re the combat - Dvinity 2 is the pinnacle of RPG combat imo

Blocks100 wrote:

Isometric though is such an enforced nostalgic viewpoint. Couldn't they make it with an over-the-shoulder cam like Gears or something?

Um, they did. Unless I misunderstood what I watched in that gameplay demo.

Yeah, that's an interesting option.

I'm hoping the preview is available on Stadia because I'm quite looking forward to dragging the missus kicking and screaming into this epic tale.

Plus I can then play it at work on my lunch break on their laptop because it's streaming baby! Take that security procedures!

Yes

As I recall, it's really 12 before there's a proper revamp/move from pretty standard jrpg stuff.

I can't recall. Thing about 13 or 14 or spin off's, but 7 8 and 9 are all variations on the same steez.

X was the one with the basketball shite, still vaguely 7-9esque

Is that what you call wiping with your ass down?