Baldurs Gate 3

[Nerovar]

Keep in mind what was shown was a very early version of the game. It's not even in alpha yet. Voice acting is typically one of the last things that gets implemented in a game, because you don't want to redo all the voice acting if you make changes to the story or dialogue.

Voice acting looked pretty finalized to me.

[Makabreska]

I mean, maybe our protagonist is the story narrator? Then it would all make sense.

[ONCHEhap]

what about obsidian?

Josh Sawyer is probably one of the best in the business when it comes to these things and understanding all the d&d rules and stuff that man knows it all. Think he and Obsidian would do just fine if they got the license too.

Don't get me wrong,I love Obsidian and I always did
But their writing team took a couple big hits with some of their best writers leaving these past few years.They're also doing their own thing for now,with The Outer Worlds being a clear attempt at building new tech for them to make new games.I still think they're great,but right now they're not what Baldur's Gate needs

[Nerovar]

I mean, maybe out protagonist is the story narrator? Then it would all make sense.

That seems to be the case. The dialogue options are written in first person simple past which makes it sound like a retelling of events from the characters point of view. I think the voiced parts we've heard from the player character (monologue in camp, inner monologue etc.) are all due to him being one of the preset characters with a more fleshed out story than the blank slate characters. I'm pretty neutral about this though it seems weird to have voiced dialogue in some places but not in others. Then again, it's understandable. Recording every dialogue option for every preset character and at least two (male & female) generic characters seems like a shitton of voiced dialogue.

[Biomega]

Yeah this is looking more and more like a pass for me.

I'm a big Baldur's Gate fan, and I'm still regularly playing BG2. But this just very much looks like it's a Forgotten Realms themed reskin of Divinity: Original Sin rather than an actual Baldur's Gate game.

Not a fan of turn-based combat like this either. BG's pause system was what made the game so enjoyable to me, perfect mix between flow and control. This tactics RPG stuff doesn't do it for me. I'd much rather play Dragon Age than this.

Wasn't there someone making a BG2 conversion mod in the DA:O engine some years back? Probably too ambitious a project and just trickled away into oblivion. Shame. I'd play that over this any day.

[IshouldWork]

I enjoyed D:OS 1 and 2. I enjoyed Pathfinder:Kingsmaker BUT never finished it, I had 95 hours in it and was for me too long, ffs. And I will play both BG3 and WotR, to be honest. I prefer TB game than real time, it was a really pain in the ass in Pathfinder, having to pause the game all the time.

There is a mod on Nexus wich turns Pathfinder into a turn based game. I enjoy the game much more with it, so maybe you try it out?
BTT: Was surprised that quite a few people seem to enjoy the pause system of the original BG's more than the real turn based.

[Morae]

I truly hope BG3 is going to be more like Original Sin 2 rather than Original Sin 1. I mean, I played DOS2 first. I got several hundred hours played on that. Then I decided "hey! since dos2 was so good, why not try dos1!"

Well... I lost interest in dos1 rather quickly. I tried playing it trough slowly, but I couldnt muster the interest to play it more than 20-30mins a day. I always felt like something was missing in it. I have yet to play more than the first area trough and probably never will.

DOS2 is just far better.

[Nerovar]

I truly hope BG3 is going to be more like Original Sin 2 rather than Original Sin 1. I mean, I played DOS2 first. I got several hundred hours played on that. Then I decided "hey! since dos2 was so good, why not try dos1!"

Well... I lost interest in dos1 rather quickly. I tried playing it trough slowly, but I couldnt muster the interest to play it more than 20-30mins a day. I always felt like something was missing in it. I have yet to play more than the first area trough and probably never will.

DOS2 is just far better.

I mean, DOS2 is the successor and was just a better game so I'm pretty sure they'll take more inspirations from that.

[Acidbaron]

Voice acting looked pretty finalized to me.

The animations were off and it was stated several times that it was a work in progress. I mean it is coming out on early access, claiming things are "done" is just being dishonest or bitter, imo.

Larian from past experiences is also rather open to feedback.


As i read elsewhere i think the financial reality is that it was either Turnbased or nothing at all what means the Baldurs Gate series would see no new life, now i can understand some rather see it "die" than turn into something else, but don't you also play RPG's for the characters, the world, the story around it all?

Are you telling me you rather have NOTHING as opposed to a well made game because it is Turnbased?

[Nerovar]

The animations were off and it was stated several times that it was a work in progress. I mean it is coming out on early access, claiming things are "done" is just being dishonest or bitter, imo.

Larian from past experiences is also rather open to feedback.


As i read elsewhere i think the financial reality is that it was either Turnbased or nothing at all what means the Baldurs Gate series would see no new life, now i can understand some rather see it "die" than turn into something else, but don't you also play RPG's for the characters, the world, the story around it all?

Are you telling me you rather have NOTHING as opposed to a well made game because it is Turnbased?

Yeah, sure it wasn't 100% polished. But why would they withhold something essential like voiced protagonist on their gameplay showcase when everything else is already fully voiced? Seems pretty unlikely to me.

[Acidbaron]

Yeah, sure it wasn't 100% polished. But why would they withhold something essential like voiced protagonist on their gameplay showcase when everything else is already fully voiced? Seems pretty unlikely to me.

I think i might be misunderstanding or not getting what you are actually referring to? Do you mean the dialogue or missing voice over parts?

As i was talking about the animations during, did not have time yet to watch the entire stream.

[Nerovar]

I think i might be misunderstanding or not getting what you are actually referring to? Do you mean the dialogue or missing voice over parts?

As i was talking about the animations during, did not have time yet to watch the entire stream.

Read my previous posts. I pointed out that it feels weird to have everything voice acted and occasional voice acted monologues from the protagonist when the player character is otherwise completely silent. Someone else responded that it's too early to tell, implying that they might still add voiced lines for the player character to which I responded that I find the idea highly unlikely since the dialogue itself seems pretty finalized already.

[Guyviroth]

I suppose my main problem with BG3 so far is that it's too much like Divinity and not enough like Baldur's Gate. The gameplay, the UI, the camera work etc just feels so out of place.

I understand that it's catering to three different playerbases: the people who grew up with Baldur's Gate, the fans of Divinity, and the people who like D&D 5E. Personally I would have loved a classic BG/IwD/PoE game than a redo of Divinity.

I guess another concern I have that I saw someone else note a few pages back is the story. Baldur's Gate was a great series because of its story and, more importantly, the main antagonists. Sarevok was a great character that you really thought of as the BBEG who wanted the fuck everyone over. Irenicus was a powerful and charismatic villain and David Warner made him perfect with the voice he gave. Both of those characters had one very big and very important in common: they were prevalent. Sarevok was at the start of BG1 to kill your foster father. Irenicus was there to torture you and your party members, and even kill a couple. You were given a personal reason to go out and merc these two. With BG3 it just seems like... I dunno, generic illithid guy put something in your brain, go sort it out. After that? No idea. We'll have to see how the story unfolds.

Now, will I still get the game? Of course. I can't judge a game unless I play it for myself, unless it's a real boring buggy piece of ass like, I dunno, Ride to Hell Retribution.

[Shrouded]

I guess another concern I have that I saw someone else note a few pages back is the story. Baldur's Gate was a great series because of its story and, more importantly, the main antagonists. Sarevok was a great character that you really thought of as the BBEG who wanted the fuck everyone over. Irenicus was a powerful and charismatic villain and David Warner made him perfect with the voice he gave. Both of those characters had one very big and very important in common: they were prevalent. Sarevok was at the start of BG1 to kill your foster father. Irenicus was there to torture you and your party members, and even kill a couple. You were given a personal reason to go out and merc these two. With BG3 it just seems like... I dunno, generic illithid guy put something in your brain, go sort it out. After that? No idea. We'll have to see how the story unfolds.

I think this particular concern is a little premature. Pretty sure that the Ulitharid in the intro cinematic is, as you said, just a generic mind flayer (even if it's an ulitharid) and by the time you've finished the tutorial it's probably dead. But remember in the first trailer, the illithids have launched a full on invasion of Baldur's Gate, and there's a lot of ground to cover from here to there. I agree that Sarevok's and Irenicus' shoes are hard to fill, but Throne of Bhaal didn't have any antagonist nearly as charismatic as either of them, and it was still a fantastic addition to the Bhaalspawn saga.

[Guyviroth]

I think this particular concern is a little premature. Pretty sure that the Ulitharid in the intro cinematic is, as you said, just a generic mind flayer (even if it's an ulitharid) and by the time you've finished the tutorial it's probably dead. But remember in the first trailer, the illithids have launched a full on invasion of Baldur's Gate, and there's a lot of ground to cover from here to there. I agree that Sarevok's and Irenicus' shoes are hard to fill, but Throne of Bhaal didn't have any antagonist nearly as charismatic as either of them, and it was still a fantastic addition to the Bhaalspawn saga.

Indeed, which is why I said we'd have to wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds. The concern stems from this: is the entire story based around curing ceremorphosis? If so then it's a big stretch considering ceremoprhosis occurs over a period of just one week. So, do you flat out get game over after one in-game week? Will they stretch the lore so you have infinite time to find a way to get rid of it? Or do you get rid of it early and progress the story in a different manner?

If the last is true, then what other story hooks can replace the cure of ceremorphosis? Hopefully, at some point, we'll be introduced to the actual long-standing threat as BG1 did Sarevok, BG2 did with Irenicus, and ToB did with the Bhaalspawn. Hell, even SoD gave us the Aasimar lady right from the start (I forget her name, only clocked SoD the one time).

[Shrouded]

Indeed, which is why I said we'd have to wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds. The concern stems from this: is the entire story based around curing ceremorphosis? If so then it's a big stretch considering ceremoprhosis occurs over a period of just one week. So, do you flat out get game over after one in-game week? Will they stretch the lore so you have infinite time to find a way to get rid of it? Or do you get rid of it early and progress the story in a different manner?

If the last is true, then what other story hooks can replace the cure of ceremorphosis? Hopefully, at some point, we'll be introduced to the actual long-standing threat as BG1 did Sarevok, BG2 did with Irenicus, and ToB did with the Bhaalspawn. Hell, even SoD gave us the Aasimar lady right from the start (I forget her name, only clocked SoD the one time).

My guess is that it's not necessarily about curing ceremorphosis - they've hinted that since you don't seem to be suffering from the ill effects of ceremorphosis, something has gone sideways with the process. I'm thinking that the intro cinematic and having the Illithid tadpole is this game's reason for why you, along with your companions, are the best people capable with dealing with the Illithid threat since Swen said that the tadpoles are giving your characters extra powers (like the big jumps). It's this game's equivalent of being Bhaalspawn, only this time it happens as the game starts rather than when your character was born.

[Majerin]

Indeed, which is why I said we'd have to wait to see how the rest of the story unfolds. The concern stems from this: is the entire story based around curing ceremorphosis? If so then it's a big stretch considering ceremoprhosis occurs over a period of just one week. So, do you flat out get game over after one in-game week? Will they stretch the lore so you have infinite time to find a way to get rid of it? Or do you get rid of it early and progress the story in a different manner?

If the last is true, then what other story hooks can replace the cure of ceremorphosis? Hopefully, at some point, we'll be introduced to the actual long-standing threat as BG1 did Sarevok, BG2 did with Irenicus, and ToB did with the Bhaalspawn. Hell, even SoD gave us the Aasimar lady right from the start (I forget her name, only clocked SoD the one time).

Given Larian's track record, I think it's quite safe to say that ceremorphosis is just the initial plothook to get the proverbial ball rolling. After all, just take DOS2. Without going into things spoilery for those who have not played, you start off as "simple" captives whose only goal is to escape captivity and it quickly balloons into something much much larger.

As for the general concern and naysaying, I admit I am quite surprised by the negative reaction. The ability to interact with the terrain and environment to the scope witnessed in DOS2 is far beyond anything I've experienced in an RPG and is something that anyone could admit the traditional BG games lack in comparison to true d&d.

[Guyviroth]

My guess is that it's not necessarily about curing ceremorphosis - they've hinted that since you don't seem to be suffering from the ill effects of ceremorphosis, something has gone sideways with the process. I'm thinking that the intro cinematic and having the Illithid tadpole is this game's reason for why you, along with your companions, are the best people capable with dealing with the Illithid threat since Swen said that the tadpoles are giving your characters extra powers (like the big jumps). It's this game's equivalent of being Bhaalspawn, only this time it happens as the game starts rather than when your character was born.

I suppose that's one way to look at it. I guess if Mike Mearls is okay with adding some sort of compromise to the ordeal then I can't really argue with it.

Given Larian's track record, I think it's quite safe to say that ceremorphosis is just the initial plothook to get the proverbial ball rolling. After all, just take DOS2. Without going into things spoilery for those who have not played, you start off as "simple" captives whose only goal is to escape captivity and it quickly balloons into something much much larger.

As for the general concern and naysaying, I admit I am quite surprised by the negative reaction. The ability to interact with the terrain and environment to the scope witnessed in DOS2 is far beyond anything I've experienced in an RPG and is something that anyone could admit the traditional BG games lack in comparison to true d&d.

Ah, I never played an awful lot of Divinity. Reminded me too much of D&D 4e. Which I hated. A lot.

But I am looking forward to how the environment affects gameplay, like moving boxes to make cover, igniting oil with fire spells, creating mist by firebolting a puddle of water, etc. I always like improvised combat in D&D sessions like this, so I'm glad to see it coming to BG3. Hopefully I can drop a chandelier on someone.

[Shrouded]

I suppose that's one way to look at it. I guess if Mike Mearls is okay with adding some sort of compromise to the ordeal then I can't really argue with it.

Well, there are examples of ceremorphosis not completing fully in established lore. Partialism where the illithid retains part of its former personality is one thing that can happen, and there's other stuff too. I'm super speculating now, but since we've seen stuff that's been "off" about the survivors of the nautiloid crash, like the psionic jumps and the mind melds, I'm guessing that whatever happens between the end of the cinematic and when the character wakes up after the nautiloid crash might've affected the process in some way.

[Seiklis]

Tieflings don't live that long. Gnomes live almost as long as elves so Jan would probably be alive. Dwarves live fairly long too; younger dwarves would be alive even two centuries later (Korgan could be alive for instance, not as likely for Yeslick or Kagain).

I mean an old Korgan could be holding out in the Underdark, that could fit...

Jan's prolly fine Jaheira's prolly alive if it's 135ish years. Haer'Dalis is a case on depending on which realm he's been in, time might have been moving a bit different. Still he's probably dead

I'm hoping anyway we get:
Minsc (Probably certain)
Edwin (Probably very likely just to conflict with Minsc, though doubt it'll be a companion. Hell maybe he's the Vampire Master in the origin we saw)
Sarevok (One of the most memorable characters in BG but he still might be hiding out in Kara-Tur
Jan (I need some Turnips of questionable origin)
Jaheira (If the Harper's are in, Jaheira being there makes sense

Yeslick (don't care, favorite tank in the series, I'm biased as hell on him)