Baldurs gate 3?

[slizer40000]

Are there puns in the game on the level of D:OS 1 like the cheese vendor? That's always been the best part of Divinity games.

[Grey Cloud]

2 hours ago, slizer40000 said:

Are there puns in the game on the level of D:OS 1 like the cheese vendor? That's always been the best part of Divinity games.

No idea, never played DOS1. There is Larian's abysmal schoolboy humour if that counts.

[slizer40000]

1 hour ago, Grey Cloud said:

No idea, never played DOS1. There is Larian's abysmal schoolboy humour if that counts.

 

I was expecting Larian to choose a more subtle approach for D&D content. Now it feels even more like a D:OS reskinned clone.

I guess I'll wait a bit for reviews to pop up.

[KoolHndLuke]

Game really needed a lot of polish from what I've seen so far. My first impressions are mixed. Nothing about this game really jumped out at me as exciting or interesting so far. But so many games that I now love didn't impress me much at first either. I'm sure there are hidden gems in this one, just got to give it more time I suppose. 

 

 

[OmegaBlaster]

2 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Game really needed a lot of polish from what I've seen so far. My first impressions are mixed. Nothing about this game really jumped out at me as exciting or interesting so far. But so many games that I now love didn't impress me much at first either. I'm sure there are hidden gems in this one, just got to give it more time I suppose. 

 

 

 

Act 3 definitely. So many quests bugging out for me, and the performance goes down the toilet fast.

 

And don't get me started on them not including the Upper City. 

 

On 8/20/2023 at 8:09 AM, bjornk said:

Shame that there's no travelling in the game, which completely prevents random encounters, which is why you no longer hear signature BG stuff, such as "You must gather your party before venturing forth!" or "You have been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself!" and so on in the game.

 

There's also not a day and night cycle for some reason.

[boymcfacto]

Good game

[Grey Cloud]

10 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Game really needed a lot of polish from what I've seen so far. My first impressions are mixed. Nothing about this game really jumped out at me as exciting or interesting so far. But so many games that I now love didn't impress me much at first either. I'm sure there are hidden gems in this one, just got to give it more time I suppose. 

 

 

I'm just into Act 2 and my take is that this isn't a bad game but it is nowhere near as good as touted.

I'm running 13 mods which are mostly about  QoL and making things more 5e and less Larian homebrew. Using a reshade to sharpen up the graphics (and tank my FPS ?).

 

Much of what I've read and heard about Act 3 agrees with @OmegaBlaster

 

Funny how the one post praising the game consists of a two word sentence that doesn't make it to the full stop.

[Slorm]

I've just made it to Act 3 and I'm beginning to find it much less enjoyable from when I started. Unfortunately it's rather difficult to describe "why" without giving spoilers, but I think the issue is one of game balance. It seems to be trying to go from a high to high without enough everyday low level stuff to do (like in Witcher 3 for example).

 

Perhaps it's also nostalgia on my part, hoping for a Planescape Torment, NVM or those great SSI (Pools of Radiance type games). I don't "feel" invested in the BG3 world, rather more that I am just an observer.

 

On a more practical note, I'm tempted to hold off at this point due to the reported bugs and wait for the patch before finishing.

 

EDIT:

 

Just noticed that patch 1 is now out on Steam. It's around 2.2Gb and looking at the notes seems quite substantial.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Slorm

[Grey Cloud]

2 hours ago, Slorm said:

Just noticed that patch 1 is now out on Steam. It's around 2.2Gb and looking at the notes seems quite substantial.

1,000+ bug fixes apparently. Let's see how many more bugs it breeds. Personally, I will hold off until I get the "all clear" from the guinea pigs. I'm the GOG version and I've not yet checked about the Patch.

 

2 hours ago, Slorm said:

I don't "feel" invested in the BG3 world

I fell foul of the Isobel/Marcus thing in the inn so I rolled back and did some other stuff in the area before doing the fight again. That was three days ago and I'm still trying to work up the desire to do it.

 

Just discovered today that Lizzie got a permanent -1 Int debuff in the creche. Not happy about that but luckily - mods (Choose Your Own Stats).

 

2 hours ago, Slorm said:

but I think the issue is one of game balance. It seems to be trying to go from a high to high without enough everyday low level stuff to do

I know what you mean. I see it as just series of episodes interspersed with box-ticking encounters with monsters who are there for the sake of being there. The Underdark was a good example of this: minotaurs - tick; bulette - tick; hook horrors - tick. These are are not even map encounters in the traditional sense as they don't respawn. Slimes and mimics in Grymforge are another tick-box exercise. None of the creatures mentioned have any relevance to the story or any relationship with the place you encounter them.

[Slorm]

Well, I've had a bit over 84 hours playtime and I'm around halfway through Act 3. So far with the latest patch I've not had any bugs that I'm aware of.

 

However, I feel like I'm playing this game just to complete it (I hate leaving things half done). I don't much care about the NPC's and it seems to have got into a cycle of a cut scene, go somewhere, boss battle, then repeat. I've usually enjoyed D&D (the roleplay in particular) but I don't know, this game (IMV) seems to fall into the trap of too much "high drama" having too many boss battles gets as boring as not having enough.

 

It's a matter of taste, I like to get immersed in a world and that includes the smaller lesser things, day to day stuff and minor encounters. For all their other faults Bethesda do this quite well as do CDPR, though to be fair BG3 isn't open world as such but linear sections reminiscent of Deus Ex and DXHR/DXMD.

 

On consideration I'm minded to abandon this as I'm playing it for the sake of completion, not enjoyment. I've had 84 hours of entertainment out of it, so I don't feel hard done by, at a cost of less than £1 an hour it's good value.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Slorm

[belegost]

On 8/22/2023 at 11:00 PM, slizer40000 said:

I guess I'll wait a bit for reviews to pop up.

 

That excuse has more holes than a slice of this fine Gorgombert!

Edited August 28, 2023 by belegost

[KoolHndLuke]

I'm really enjoying it! I haven't yet played the previous BG games, so don't have those to compare to. But haven't "binged" on a game like this in a very long time. And yes, it does remind me of Bioware (old) style with DA:O. Maybe a little from Lionhead as well with their Fable series. Can't wait to see what DLC they add... and if they make good on their mod support down the road (not five fucking yrs from now though).

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by KoolHndLuke

[belegost]

38 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

I haven't yet played the previous BG games, so don't have those to compare to.

 

BG 1 and 2 are totally different games, made by totally different studio in totally different times. Different mechanics, different UI, different approach, different style. You can't compare them, except for the setting and even that only broadly. Even Faerun has changed over the course of those 2 decades.

Edited August 28, 2023 by belegost

[Grey Cloud]

3 hours ago, Slorm said:

Well, I've had a bit over 84 hours playtime and I'm around halfway through Act 3. So far with the latest patch I've not had any bugs that I'm aware of.

 

However, I feel like I'm playing this game just to complete it (I hate leaving things half done). I don't much care about the NPC's and it seems to have got into a cycle of a cut scene, go somewhere, boss battle, then repeat. I've usually enjoyed D&D (the roleplay in particular) but I don't know, this game (IMV) seems to fall into the trap of too much "high drama" having too many boss battles gets as boring as not having enough.

 

It's a matter of taste, I like to get immersed in a world and that includes the smaller lesser things, day to day stuff and minor encounters. For all their other faults Bethesda do this quite well as do CDPR, though to be fair BG3 isn't open world as such but linear sections reminiscent of Deus Ex and DXHR/DXMD.

 

On consideration I'm minded to abandon this as I'm playing it for the sake of completion, not enjoyment. I've had 84 hours of entertainment out of it, so I don't feel hard done by, at a cost of less than £1 an hour it's good value.

After four days I managed to muster enough interest to re-do the Marcus fight at the inn. Last night I left the game around the Mason's Guild and today I've been trying to muster enough interest to fire up the game.

 

I'm thinking of binning the game until the 2nd patch comes out.

 

==============

 

The Larian BG3 forum is hard work. Apart from being the worst forum I can recall in terms of software and accessibility, the folks over there are hard work. One group are Larian cultists who can see no wrong with BG3. 1000+ bugs? - Thank you for releasing a patch. The other main group is the BG1 and BG2 cultists who are torn between Larian messing with their security blanket and cooing about all the references and nods to the original games. Then there are the D&D TT anoraks.

 

 

1 hour ago, KoolHndLuke said:

Can't wait to see what DLC they add

Probably none. Larian don't do DLC apparently.

Where you up to so far?

 

[belegost]

1 minute ago, Grey Cloud said:

anoraks

What's that?

[Grey Cloud]

1 minute ago, belegost said:

What's that?

Nerds.

British term applied to any sort of obsessive/dedicated hobbyist. I think it originated with train-spotters and the type of coat they wore while sitting watching trains.

[KoolHndLuke]

8 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

Probably none. Larian don't do DLC apparently.

Where you up to so far?

They've also never made a game that sold really well- at least not as well as this one will. There will be dlc.

 

Got started later than most, so I'm still in the first act. Taking it slow because this one really emphasizes exploring the map to find goodies. Apparently no fishing, though- which sucks. I once played a game that had a neat little fishing mini-game in it that was honestly the best thing about it. Wish that had caught on more.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by KoolHndLuke

[OmegaBlaster]

Spoiler

Emperor

Is such a downgrade from Daisy.

 

#bringbackthedaisycut

 

Also, got the Durge evil ending but from what I've seen there is no way there are 17000 ending variations even if you go with the most generous interpretation.

 

Edit:

Also, was there any consequence for upgrading the tadpole? You get some veins and stuff, but I don't think it has any long term effect?

 

Spoiler

Unless I missed something, the mindflayer transformation is just a yes/no choice at the end from the Emperor?

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by OmegaBlaster

[spoonsinger]

14 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

Probably none. Larian don't do DLC apparently.

 

 

Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance was DLC for Divinity II - Ego Draconis. So they haven't been against the idea in the past. (It also finished the story for the shit ending of Ego Draconis)

 

 

[belegost]

14 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

it originated with train-spotters and the type of coat they wore while sitting watching trains.

Wait, what? People do that?

[Grey Cloud]

1 hour ago, belegost said:

Wait, what? People do that?

Yes and not just in this country.

[Grey Cloud]

1 hour ago, spoonsinger said:

 

Divinity II - Flames of Vengeance was DLC for Divinity II - Ego Draconis. So they haven't been against the idea in the past. (It also finished the story for the shit ending of Ego Draconis)

 

 

I'm just going off what people on the Larian forum say.

 

7 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

They've also never made a game that sold really well- at least not as well as this one will. There will be dlc.

That's also my line of thinking.

 

5 hours ago, OmegaBlaster said:

from what I've seen there is no way there are 17000 ending variations

I think they missed out the decimal point.

 

==================

 

Meanwhile in other news, Bioware have laid off 50 staff (out of approximately 250) so questions are now being asked about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

[FauxFurry]

8 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

They've also never made a game that sold really well- at least not as well as this one will. There will be dlc.

 

Got started later than most, so I'm still in the first act. Taking it slow because this one really emphasizes exploring the map to find goodies. Apparently no fishing, though- which sucks. I once played a game that had a neat little fishing mini-game in it that was honestly the best thing about it. Wish that had caught on more.

 

Was it part of the Breath of Fire series? That series may have originated the fishing mini-game in RPGs.

[KoolHndLuke]

5 hours ago, FauxFurry said:

Was it part of the Breath of Fire series? That series may have originated the fishing mini-game in RPGs.

Makes sense that a Jrpg would have introduced it in gaming. It may have indeed been BoF. 

[rbutler3]

I fell into the hype when it was still in EA, mostly from my friends who were extremely excited about it. I have beaten the game twice already, and have unlocked all of the steam achievements. I have not played the other Baldurs Gate games, and am only mid progress on Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. So I'll try to keep my review as unbiased as possible and as comparison free as possible.

 

The game is fun, looks good, and I like quite a bit of the interactions with the banter of the companions that you have while running around. That's really all I have to really hype the game up, its definitely a more casual gaming style game, being a lot more simplified than DOS but then again so is 5e in base DnD. I would say the possible playtime is worth the price but don't buy it until its really mellowed out with its bugs, or at least until modders fix it up, like with Cyberpunk.

 

The game is super buggy and I had to repeat the same process over and over and over again to get certain achievements, namely the using an enemy as a improvised weapon and petting both Scratch and the Owlbear at the same time. The camera has a hitbox so it gets stuck on everything. Act 3 the bugs get worse and so does the overall performance of the game. Never having my fps dip below 60 for all of Act 1 and 2, Act 3 really tried its best to stutter as much as it could. Furthermore, going through quests, gathering items, and with certain conversation, it seems there is a whole lot of cut content, particularly revolving around Minthara and possibly Karlach.

 

Besides the companions, and sometimes even then, the development of NPCs is kinda boring and as the games goes on, it falls more into the "hey remember me", nostalgia style NPC introduction, shock value type stuff. As for the endings, besides the 10 second conversations with each possible companion (if they choose to talk to you), you can count the amount of actual endings, aka world deciding/party deciding endings on one hand. Even then, the choices you have made up until the final decision don't even matter, you can go the good route for the entire game and then choose the "evil" ending at the very last second. Certain companions, based on how far you are into their questline you got and the choices you made, will have 2 separate choices in which you can influence their post-game life, though you don't ever actually get to see it, as there is no "where are they now" scenes. I was very disappointed in the endings.

 

Even though I have beaten the game a couple times over, I can't really give the game much points in its replayability besides one playthrough for the good choices, and then 1 for the evil choices, and then if you're gonna go evil, might as well go Dark Urge because there is really no reason for you not to. I managed to 100% both Act 1 and Act 2 in less than 80 hours, so if you really stretch it out, you could probably get to the 200+ hours of playtime that Larian said the game has but with 2 complete playthroughs and 1 in the halfway point, as well as many hours put into EA, I am literally 1 hour above 200 in total playtime.

 

I would give the game a 7/10 for the time being. Though if they manage to fix all or most of the bugs, maybe restore some of the obviously cut content, I'd be willing to bump it up to a 8/10.