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Tags: Baldur's Gate 3; Larian Studios; Swen Vincke
We finally got a release date for the Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access at the conclusion of today's rather eclectic announcement stream. It turns out the reason they called it the Panel From Hell is that at the end of the intro cinematic, the illithid vessel carrying the player teleports straight onto a Blood War battlefield in Avernus, which is the site of the game's tutorial chapter. Instead of the extended gameplay footage of previous streams, the panel gave us a glimpse at various interesting scenarios which seem aimed at explaining why it's taken Larian so long to release the game. The lobotomy mentioned by Swen turns out to be an encounter with a trapped intellect devourer who can be recruited as a follower, which the development team implemented just two weeks ago. You can fully explore any zone with your familiar without moving an inch, use the animal handling skill to interact with any animal (including adorable owlbear cubs) and cast a Speak With Dead spell to converse with any corpse. Throughout the stream, the panel also asked viewers to vote on how to resolve the encounter with Crusher, the thuggish goblin previously seen in June's D&D Live stream, but unfortunately this ended in humiliating failure.
So at the end we learned that the Early Access release date is September 30th, probably. The game's Steam page now has an Early Access FAQ with some important details:
We finally got a release date for the Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access at the conclusion of today's rather eclectic announcement stream. It turns out the reason they called it the Panel From Hell is that at the end of the intro cinematic, the illithid vessel carrying the player teleports straight onto a Blood War battlefield in Avernus, which is the site of the game's tutorial chapter. Instead of the extended gameplay footage of previous streams, the panel gave us a glimpse at various interesting scenarios which seem aimed at explaining why it's taken Larian so long to release the game. The lobotomy mentioned by Swen turns out to be an encounter with a trapped intellect devourer who can be recruited as a follower, which the development team implemented just two weeks ago. You can fully explore any zone with your familiar without moving an inch, use the animal handling skill to interact with any animal (including adorable owlbear cubs) and cast a Speak With Dead spell to converse with any corpse. Throughout the stream, the panel also asked viewers to vote on how to resolve the encounter with Crusher, the thuggish goblin previously seen in June's D&D Live stream, but unfortunately this ended in humiliating failure.
So at the end we learned that the Early Access release date is September 30th, probably. The game's Steam page now has an Early Access FAQ with some important details:
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
Though Act 1 (the content for Early Access) is defined, Act’s 2 and 3 are work in progress. It’s therefore difficult to predict when 1.0 will launch. We anticipate Baldur’s Gate 3 being in Early Access for at least one year but we’ll have to see how it goes. It’ll be ready when it’s ready.
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
Leading up to release you can expect a plethora of incremental improvements and new features to be added to the game, as well as the inclusion of new classes and races. The 1.0 release will include the full game including Acts 2 and 3.
What is the current state of the Early Access version?
The Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3 includes Act 1 of the game which, in one playthrough, is approximately 25 hours of self-contained content. 6 player classes are supported and XXX races/subraces with more to be added later. There are 5 origin characters which you can recruit (but not play as for now). Most of Baldur’s Gate 3’s advertised features are included though some are still work in progress. Not every language is currently supported, as our writers are still developing the game which makes translation difficult.
We’ve worked hard to release an Early Access version that feels complete, fun to play, and has as little stub (unfinished) content as possible. There are bugs and there will be changes to content (often based on player feedback), but our goal is to already now give you something that’s genuinely fun to play.
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
We are creating our most ambitious RPG yet, and pricing won’t change during development of the game, into release. We hope that by purchasing the game early, you’re on board for the Early Access journey, and we thrive from your feedback, letters, and discussion around our games. Our community is incredibly important to us, and we value each and every one of you who opt into the Early Access journey.
Another thing mentioned during the panel is that the Early Access build has a level cap of four. It's going to be much bigger than Divinity: Original Sin 2's Early Access was, though of course you won't be able to see all of its content in a single playthrough. However, unlike Divinity: Original Sin 2, character backgrounds in Baldur's Gate 3 will not be checked in dialogue. I guess they had to draw the line somewhere.Though Act 1 (the content for Early Access) is defined, Act’s 2 and 3 are work in progress. It’s therefore difficult to predict when 1.0 will launch. We anticipate Baldur’s Gate 3 being in Early Access for at least one year but we’ll have to see how it goes. It’ll be ready when it’s ready.
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
Leading up to release you can expect a plethora of incremental improvements and new features to be added to the game, as well as the inclusion of new classes and races. The 1.0 release will include the full game including Acts 2 and 3.
What is the current state of the Early Access version?
The Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3 includes Act 1 of the game which, in one playthrough, is approximately 25 hours of self-contained content. 6 player classes are supported and XXX races/subraces with more to be added later. There are 5 origin characters which you can recruit (but not play as for now). Most of Baldur’s Gate 3’s advertised features are included though some are still work in progress. Not every language is currently supported, as our writers are still developing the game which makes translation difficult.
We’ve worked hard to release an Early Access version that feels complete, fun to play, and has as little stub (unfinished) content as possible. There are bugs and there will be changes to content (often based on player feedback), but our goal is to already now give you something that’s genuinely fun to play.
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
We are creating our most ambitious RPG yet, and pricing won’t change during development of the game, into release. We hope that by purchasing the game early, you’re on board for the Early Access journey, and we thrive from your feedback, letters, and discussion around our games. Our community is incredibly important to us, and we value each and every one of you who opt into the Early Access journey.
