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Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

Haba

Harbinger of Decline
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Codex 2012 MCA Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2
Knowing Larian, even if they included characters from BG1 and 2 they will be nothing like their former selves.

They will probably make them say some shitty pop culture references, and a joke or two from the original series.

It's nothing more than desperate fanservice, like the game's title.

Can't get worse than Siege of Dragonspear.

It can ALWAYS get worse.

Always.
 

Jenkem

その目、だれの目?
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Make the Codex Great Again! Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I helped put crap in Monomyth
In addition to removing anything whiter than warm tone 11, Larian also needs to look at removing any options to play as a cis male. This game is a POWER FANTASY, it is meant for those who are POWERLESS. This game needs to embrace LGBTQIAP+ / BIPOC intersectionality if it wants to succeed with the D&D crowd.
 

Riddler

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Bubbles In Memoria
In addition to removing anything whiter than warm tone 11, Larian also needs to look at removing any options to play as a cis male. This game is a POWER FANTASY, it is meant for those who are POWERLESS. This game needs to embrace LGBTQIAP+ / BIPOC intersectionality if it wants to succeed with the D&D crowd.

Or more accurately the POWERLESS rise to power. Since WHITE MALES by default have the INSTITUTIONAL POWER, their inclusion as a playable option removes the raison d'être of the entire genre. REMOVE ALL WHITE MALES and save CRPGs!
 

AwesomeButton

Proud owner of BG 3: Day of Swen's Tentacle
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Knowing Larian, even if they included characters from BG1 and 2 they will be nothing like their former selves.

They will probably make them say some shitty pop culture references, and a joke or two from the original series.

It's nothing more than desperate fanservice, like the game's title.

When talking about author's decisions, there are actions which build the setting and actions which degrade it. A world grows bigger the more mystery there is to it. The more half-told threads and stories that begin, the deeper and more organic it feels to the reader. Take tieflings for example. You knew they existed but they were a rarity from another plane. Or illithids, they were exotic, enigmatic, dangerous, otherworldy. Information on them was scattered in bits and pieces.

A world is degraded and begins shrinking the further it becomes de-mistified, the more that the knowledge of it becomes structured and systematized as opposed to scattered.

The author who builds up the world by adding mystery, adding unexplored places and unknown things, is putting money in the bank. The author who comes afterwards and starts dropping hype-bombs by de-mistifying the world, uncovering "the secret of this or that character", revealing the intricacies of the world's mysterious entities - whether gods, peoples, power groups, natural events, etc. - is withdrawing money from the bank and living off the sense of wonder accumulated by the previous writer.

Cases in point - Game of Thrones, Star Wars. Early authors were building up mystery, later ones were feeding off of what the earlier ones had built.

The real author is the one who builds. The one who degrades and de-mistifies, is a fanfic writer, whom someone gave the license to write "canon" stories. But he isn't building the setting, he is destroying it, explaining it, deconstructing it. In most cases it's because a fanfic writer doesn't know any better and can't do any better.
 
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Riddler

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Knowing Larian, even
If they included characters from BG1 and 2 they will be nothing like their former selves.

They will probably make them say some shitty pop culture references, and a joke or two from the original series.



It's nothing more than desperate fanservice, like the game's title.

When talking about author's decisions, there are actions which build the setting and actions which degrade it. A world grows bigger the more mystery there is to it. The more half-told threads and stories that begin, the deeper and more organic it feels to the reader. Take tieflings for example. You knew they existed but they were a rarity from another plane. Or illithids, they were exotic, enigmatic, dangerous, otherworldy. Information on them was scattered in bits and pieces.

A world is degraded and begins shrinking the further it becomes de-mistified, the more that the knowledge of it becomes structured and systematized as opposed to scattered.

The author who builds up the world by adding mystery, adds unexplored places and unknown things is putting money in the bank. The author who comes afterwards and starts dropping hype-bombs by de-mistifying the world, uncovering "the secret of this or that character", revealing the intricacies of the world's mysterious entities - whether gods, peoples, power groups, natural events, etc. - is withdrawing money from the bank and living off the sense of wonder accumulated by the previous writer.

Cases in point - Game of Thrones, Star Wars. Early authors were building up mystery, later ones were feeding off what the earlier ones had built.

The real author is the one who builds. The one who degrades and de-mistifies, is a fanfic writer, whom someone gave the license to write "canon" stories. But he isn't building the setting, he is destroying it, explaining it, deconstructing it. In most cases it's because a fanfic writer doesn't know any better and can't do any better.


There are limits to this though, exemplified by JJ "mystery box" Abrams.

There needs to be answers as well and stories need to be told to their conclusion without the end always being more mysteries.

There needs to be balance between mystery and revelation, creation and destruction, beginnings and ends.

A balance in the force.
:mlady:
 

AwesomeButton

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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
There needs to be answers as well and stories need to be told to their conclusion without the end always being more mysteries.
Answers are what will move the plot forward, but here is the catch. An author with a good taste knows when to finish the story, and leave the world and its mysteries locked. Like how Tolkien did. Unfortunately this good taste is not compatible with the "entertainment industry". I think that's called a postive feedback loop - the more mysteries there are to uncover, the stronger the audience's curiosity, which translates into more demand for fanfic degradation of the world with subsequent media treating that curiosity. Everything good must be turned to shit, until curiosity is satisfied, and market research "surprisingly" shows that the audience is "fatigued". Then the locusts will move on to something else.
 

Rinslin Merwind

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So, I blocked the vents in the crypt, but then I get killed by fireballs once I retrieve the sword. What am I doing wrong?

Also did a perception check and saw the gargoyle heads beforehand, but pressing that button on the wall did nothing.
There a button on left middle column (I think it's middle) if you succeed Wisdom (perception) check, you will able to see it. This button disables fireball trap. Press it after trap activation, otherwise it won't work.
 

vortex

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Again, Minsc and Volo being alive is from WotC, not Larian.

The question isn't why they would include them, it's why wouldn't they?

Minsc was well written and interesting. Characters in BG2 are interesting because they feel real and genuine in endangered situations sometimes on the funny side while in BG3 they're edgy, cringe and forcing to be funny. What Larian should have done is create genuine new characters for their story.
 

Pizzashoes

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Oct 31, 2017
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Drow are impure filth. Ever thinking one of them would be faithful to anything besides the lust for power is simply naive. Stick to the wholesome truths of fidelity, honor, and purity practiced by the real elves
 

Swen

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Well well well...

Scl6YBz.png


Looks like the hating neckbeards on the codex have been owned once again. Everyone likes my game phaggots.
 

Narax

Educated
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Messages
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Answers are what will move the plot forward, but here is the catch. An author with a good taste knows when to finish the story, and leave the world and its mysteries locked. Like how Tolkien did. Unfortunately this good taste is not compatible with the "entertainment industry". I think that's called a postive feedback loop - the more mysteries there are to uncover, the stronger the audience's curiosity, which translates into more demand for fanfic degradation of the world with subsequent media treating that curiosity. Everything good must be turned to shit, until curiosity is satisfied, and market research "surprisingly" shows that the audience is "fatigued". Then the locusts will move on to something else.

"Uncovering mysteries" seems to be the main driving force for a lot of game series for some reason, especially Bioware's games, where almost every single mystery has to be uncovered and explained to the player as if we're 12 year old autists. This is how the Mass Effect series was ruined, there was a ZERO sense of mystery by the third game, and it seems that Dragon Age is heading to a similar direction with their lore. It's all just lazy writing and cheap way to world-build.

Larian isn't doing any better either, they left no stone unturned with their DOS2 lore, pretty much everything was revealed by the end of the game.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
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Sep 23, 2015
Messages
18,019
Pathfinder: Wrath
Larian isn't doing any better either, they left no stone unturned with their DOS2 lore, pretty much everything was revealed by the end of the game.
Divinity games have no world building or lore to speak of anyway. I haven't played D:OS2 yet, but I doubt it's massively different.
 

Daedalos

Arcane
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5,571
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Denmark
Knowing Larian, even if they included characters from BG1 and 2 they will be nothing like their former selves.

They will probably make them say some shitty pop culture references, and a joke or two from the original series.

It's nothing more than desperate fanservice, like the game's title.

When talking about author's decisions, there are actions which build the setting and actions which degrade it. A world grows bigger the more mystery there is to it. The more half-told threads and stories that begin, the deeper and more organic it feels to the reader. Take tieflings for example. You knew they existed but they were a rarity from another plane. Or illithids, they were exotic, enigmatic, dangerous, otherworldy. Information on them was scattered in bits and pieces.

A world is degraded and begins shrinking the further it becomes de-mistified, the more that the knowledge of it becomes structured and systematized as opposed to scattered.

The author who builds up the world by adding mystery, adds unexplored places and unknown things is putting money in the bank. The author who comes afterwards and starts dropping hype-bombs by de-mistifying the world, uncovering "the secret of this or that character", revealing the intricacies of the world's mysterious entities - whether gods, peoples, power groups, natural events, etc. - is withdrawing money from the bank and living off the sense of wonder accumulated by the previous writer.

Cases in point - Game of Thrones, Star Wars. Early authors were building up mystery, later ones were feeding off what the earlier ones had built.

The real author is the one who builds. The one who degrades and de-mistifies, is a fanfic writer, whom someone gave the license to write "canon" stories. But he isn't building the setting, he is destroying it, explaining it, deconstructing it. In most cases it's because a fanfic writer doesn't know any better and can't do any better.

Painting broad strokes of a setting, story and plot isn't exactly art, either.

Explaining and showing just enough about the mystery, world and setting to keep people happy, but still left wondering to some things is the true art of entertainment.

I mean is Chrisopher Nolan an artistical genius because he makes movies that not really makes alot of fucking sense, or tries to put alot of mystery in and explain some of it? Maybe.

Being mystical and complex doesnt neccesarily mean good, either.

Humans generally want to uncover everything. That's why scientists and historians exist, and people love science and history because it explains shit, that was otherwise hard to fathom. Obviously it's the HOW it's done that matters.

I don't want to play a 80 hour RPG, and then wonder at the end, well wtf happend? Why did it happen? what is this? what even happend? this doesnt make any sense... it's ok that SOME parts of the world are still left to the imagination, for sure.
 

fantadomat

Arcane
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I am impressed by the swindling skillz of the belgian crook. :obviously: You should try your luck for a bulgar citizenship before you lose your wifu to barbary pirates migrating in the house next door :).
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
18,019
Pathfinder: Wrath
How are they swindling? They didn't invent Early Access and they aren't trying to pass it off as not-EA. If you don't want to play or buy an unfinished game ...don't play/buy it yet?
 

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