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

[Cat Headed Eagle]

even if it makes no sense at all to have them alive in the time frame of the third game.

Blame 5E. Given a choice between carrying on with 4E canon or doing the right thing and retconning it out of existence, WotC picked the worst of both worlds and gave it the soft reboot treatment, wherein a second magical bullshit calamity means that most of your favourite 3E characters may or may not have been resurrected in the continued timeline, depending on whatever the authors need at any given moment.

This reboot also removed the BG novelizations from canon, so you win some, you lose some.

 

[The_Mask]

I wonder if Larian will remove Jaheira now that wotc declared half-elves to be double plus ungood.

The D&D movie makes the Harpers look like law enforcement, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Jaheira finally killed.

 

[Reinhardt]

RPG's before :

Skyrim

 

[ItsChon]

I don't disqualify it. I merely think other RPGs are better at being... RPGs. While Baldur's Gate is a great example of tabletop RPG turned into a computer game (which alone suffices for it to be considered an RPG), it plays more like a tactical game with fairly minimal RPG elements outside of that, rather than the actual RPG. And this gets even worse when you compare Baldur's Gate to Icewind Dale. Or Planescape: Torment.

Just because an RPG might have more RPG elements doesn't mean it's better at being a RPG. I might argue that the few RPG elements Baldur's Gate has are executed so well that they surpass Fallout with its many different RPG elements which are all done at a mediocre or even subpar level.

It does some things better, certainly, but which things it does better can be considered questionable.

Eh, questioned by you maybe. Fallout does barely anything well. Outside of the music and atmosphere, I can't really think of anything it does really well.

1) Shit combat is shit, there is no doubt about it.

2) That said, isn't the situation you described exactly the case with Planescape: Torment (with writing elevating the game as a whole)? And that's not just my opinion - there are a plenty of people on the Codex who share my opinion that Planescape: Torment is great RPG, except the combat part.

Those Codexer's are wrong. Planescape: Torment's combat is not shit, it's just not engaging or interesting. Thankfully, the combat is super easy and can be done without any difficulty at all, and sometimes it's even kinda fun to steamroll through creeps with big spells. It's not intrusive to your gameplay experience. Compare that to FO on the other hand? Due to the fact that it's turn based, everything is so painfully slow. It takes forever to go through fights and there are a lot of them.

Certainly. I will point out I don't have problem with Baldur's Gate's RPG elements. More with how they were handled, compared to RPGs made by Black Isle Studios or Troika. That's literally it.

What is your issue with how they were handled?

...?

I played the game pretty much exclusively in first-person perspective. Unless you mean using melee, but it doesn't make it "third person shit", considering out-of-combat exploration can take place in FPP.

Besides, my point isn't even that Bloodlines is [this] good, just that you can have initially buggy or unfinished games ending up as classics of the genre.

Third person and first person are both shit is my point. And I agree that a game can be initally buggy but end be patched up and turn out good. I tried to play Arcanum in 2019 though, and I still couldn't get it to work on my computer. Where is this unbroken version of Arcanum so I may finally play it longer than a few hours and judge its merits with my own eyes?

It should absolutely qualify to be in the debate. That's not in question. The point of content is rather: should it win?

Your whole reasoning for why it shouldn't win is that it doesn't have enough RPG elements so it can't out RPG Fallout...What I'm saying is that's a shit argument, and it has enough RPG elements and it can out RPG Fallout.

 

[Harthwain]

Just because an RPG might have more RPG elements doesn't mean it's better at being a RPG. I might argue that the few RPG elements Baldur's Gate has are executed so well that they surpass Fallout with its many different RPG elements which are all done at a mediocre or even subpar level.

Again - it doesn't just have more RPG elements. They are also better at making it an RPG as a result.

Eh, questioned by you maybe.

The pot calling the kettle black.

Those Codexer's are wrong.

Look outside the Codex then: you will find topics made by people who all agree on that score.

Planescape: Torment's combat is not shit, it's just not engaging or interesting. Thankfully, the combat is super easy and can be done without any difficulty at all, and sometimes it's even kinda fun to steamroll through creeps with big spells. It's not intrusive to your gameplay experience.

ItsChon is wrong.

Compare that to FO on the other hand? Due to the fact that it's turn based, everything is so painfully slow. It takes forever to go through fights and there are a lot of them.

What can I say? I never had problem with that.

What is your issue with how they were handled?

That they are completely irrelevant outside of combat, which is decline even when compared to some other Infinity Engine games.

Third person and first person are both shit is my point.

You're obviously free to have your own opinion, but that's too sweeping a statement for me to agree.

And I agree that a game can be initally buggy but end be patched up and turn out good. I tried to play Arcanum in 2019 though, and I still couldn't get it to work on my computer. Where is this unbroken version of Arcanum so I may finally play it longer than a few hours and judge its merits with my own eyes?

As I said before - I can't help you there, I am no tech-mage. Sounds to me like you have a system-related issue, since everything is fine on my end. But even if you managed to solve technical issue, you'd still find Arcanum to be shit, because its combat is too close to Fallout, and you hate Fallout.

What I'm saying is that's a shit argument, and it has enough RPG elements and it can out RPG Fallout.

I will repeat myself here - you're obviously free to have your own opinion. That said, I consider your argument not only to be shit, but also completely retarded as it loses in this field not only to Fallout, but when compared to other Infinity Engine games as well.

 

[DemonKing]

And there aren't half-species, these will be phased out.

Surely half-breeds should be bread and butter for SJWs to celebrate and make welcome? Hell, you should even be allowed to identify as a half-orc IRL if you want.

 

[The_Iconoclast]

And there aren't half-species, these will be phased out.

Surely half-breeds should be bread and butter for SJWs to celebrate and make welcome? Hell, you should even be allowed to identify as a half-orc IRL if you want.

Yhea, but they're probably afraid of marginalized Drow weemenz being colonized by evil blonde surface men. After all, that would be evil internalized racism or something like that...

 

[Hammer Of The Heretics]

SJWs are anti-white racists. Like anti-black racists, they're opposed to miscegenation.

 

[Dadd]

SJW stands for based and redpilled chads

 

[Incendax]

even if it makes no sense at all to have them alive in the time frame of the third game.

Minsc should just be an animated statue that thinks he's Minsc. Comes to terms with the fact the real Minsc is dead, but any Minsc that kicks the butt of evil is a true Minsc.

Boom. Now you have an immortal Minsc that can cameo in any game, and even be broken and re-assembled for laughs until the the universe grows cold and dark.

 

[Swen]

Fuark, I'm already dreaming of getting the GOTY award from my dear friend the dorito pope.

The codex will be humbled yet again.

 

[Reinhardt]

Fuark, I'm already dreaming of getting the GOTY award from my dear friend the dorito pope.

The codex will be humbled yet again.

so no 2023 release?

 

[Rhobar121]

even if it makes no sense at all to have them alive in the time frame of the third game.

Mimic should just be an animated statue that thinks he's Minsc. Comes to terms with the fact the real Minsc is dead, but any Minsc that kicks the butt of evil is a true Minsc.

Boom. Now you have an immortal Minsc that can cameo in any game, and even be broken and re-assembled for laughs until the the universe grows cold and dark.

Everyone knows it's just fan service by WotC.
For some reason, Minsc became popular.

 

[NecroLord]

For some reason, Minsc became popular.

His retard and hamster loving shtick tends to get old after a while.

 

[The_Mask]

hamster loving shtick

Listen, bro... it was hamsters powering up my 486 back in the day, so have a bit more respect, okay?

 

[Cryomancer]

GOTY

Except Elden Ring, there is any good modern RPG who won goty?

Skyrim

In 2023 any game that identifies itself as an RPG is an RPG. hu3hu3

 

[anvi]

What's this game like to play?

 

[catfood]

It plays like the Original Sin games, what else?

 

[Swen]

It plays like the Original Sin games, what else?

And that's a good thing.

 

[Aarwolf]

For some reason, Minsc became popular.

His retard and hamster loving shtick tends to get old after a while.

Hated it from day one, back in 1998.

 

[NecroLord]

For some reason, Minsc became popular.

His retard and hamster loving shtick tends to get old after a while.

Hated it from day one, back in 1998.

Funny, I believe that even a simple Restoration spell could cure his condition (as per PnP), but it doesn't work.

 

[Harthwain]

Except Elden Ring, there is any good modern RPG who won goty?

To answer that question one must define "good" and "RPG" first.

 

[Cryomancer]

And that's a good thing.

BG3 improved a lot over DOS2. Only by not having the worst armor system ever invented... BTW, UnderRail has the best armor system in a TB RPG. Instead of a secondary hp bar which forces all CC specialized characters to be DPS, armor has a flat amount and a percentage amount and deflector shields have a energy capacity which is consumed per turn and consumed to deflect damage and deflect in a flat amount based on projectile speed, so, they are far more effective at deflecting an laser gun than a sledgehammer. And even with a amazing armor like Insulated Tungsten Steel Armor and a decent shield, a plasma cannon can still OHK you.

t define "good" and "RPG" first.

Simple.
Good = Anything that is not a souless unimmersive gear farming, low lethality cooldown managing repetitive game that fells more like a chore
RPG = Any shit that identifies itself as an RPG.

 

[Gromoer]

Now when I’m in my late 30s it’s pretty easy to give Minsc‘ character slaps. But back then when I was young and fresh he was fun companion. As I am sure for many of those who‘s eager to criticize him now. Commercializing everything that became popular is a whole another thing though, and Larian absolutely couldn’t resist the temptation. Well, at least it’s not as rapey as with the Vault Boy thing.

 

[Mangoose]

Now when I’m in my late 30s it’s pretty easy to give Minsc‘ character slaps. But back then when I was young and fresh he was fun companion. As I am sure for many of those who‘s eager to criticize him now. Commercializing everything that became popular is a whole another thing though, and Larian absolutely couldn’t resist the temptation. Well, at least it’s not as rapey as with the Vault Boy thing.

They've been parading Minsc in Neverwinter Online for many years already, alongside Drizzt, while both have new books written about them... It's WotC cross-promoting*. Larian may own, publish, and profit from the game... But they do not own the IP, and both the IP and its owner are a monolith (esp in court).


*Cross-promoting is something I've been seeing lately in general. Essentially make a TV show, a comic, and a game about the same thing and advertise amongst them as well, or provide free game rewards if you buy X comics... At the same time half-ass all of that because consoomers will slurp that up thinking they're getting deals.