Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 Pre-Release Thread [EARLY ACCESS RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Harry Easter]

Honestly I don't really understand the point of making "Baldur's Gate 3" at this point. That ship has sailed long ago and since they're using the new ruleset and it's set like 100 years after the originals and probably will have very little connection with them, why not just do a completely new D&D game? Or something else entirely. Larian has their Original Sins now and a lot of people like them so just make a new one.

Making a sequel to a 20 year old series that not that many people know about will leave most modern gamers indifferent (or rather, as excited as they would have been for any other new Larian game) while the fanboys of the original games will want to burn Larian at the stake for making even the slightest changes to the formula even if said changes are objectively good.

Personally, I'm interested in seeing what they come up with but I'm kinda expecting something on the level of Dragon Age that was also supposed to be the "new Baldur's Gate" n shiet but ended up pretty mediocre.

I think it's a mixture of "Developers can fullfill a dream of theirs" and Wizard of the Coast finally wanting another big Forgotten Realms game. Like, really big. When was the last time, we had one of those? I wouldn't count Sword Coast: Legends and I am not sure with Neverwinter, but I think the last big game in that regard was Neverwinter Nights 2+Addons. Using an old name and theme makes sense from a marketing standpoint, because new players can get curious about the continuation of an old classic and the magazines and old players won't shut about how great especially part 2 was. Win-win.

And to be honest, I always liked Baldurs Gate more than Atkatla. I can't tell you why that is (maybe it was because of the design of the Mercenaries of the Flaming Fists. I was twelve, stuff like that impressed me easily), but coming back to that city and rescuing it from certain doom, just tingles my adventurer senses. And if they keep the Mindflayers as the bad guys (throwing in a few bad gods, let's be honest), I think this could be a nice adventure yarn. And say what you want about Larian, but they don't halfass their game. Even if you don't like the gameplay, you won't hate it for being too casual.

 

[Harry Easter]

Yes, but "Abdel Adrian" is not the one from the novels (I've explained that in a previous post). It's just CHARNAME, given a canon name and class (fighter). However, this was established in the adventure module "Murder in Baldur's Gate". Some time later "Heroes of Baldur's Gate" was released, and CHARNAME is once again called Gorion's Ward, as if the creators were told to actively avoid Abdel as the canon CHARNAME. This, combined with the fact that Sven declined to state whether the new protagonist will be Bhaalspawn or not, leads me to believe that a retcon is at least being considered.

*Scratches Head*

Confusing... just let them be dead already. I have my canon and I don't think Faerun getting invaded by Mindflayers will be official canon for the P&Per, so let us just presume, that it is an alternate universe? Works best for me (but I was never a big fan of big metaplots anyway. Just take what you like and spin it in your own story).

 

[Doktor Best]

Fun Fact: Josh Sawyer said, that according to his data, Divinity: OS has never been a threat to Pillars of Eternity, beceause only small amount of players played both these games.
As PoE was supposed to be new Baldur's gate, it means that people who play Larian games are not the people who like Baldur's-like games. It makes this situation a bit scary, beceause they either make BE 3 with their Divinity games experience, thus making it unlikeable to original Baldur's fans, or they try to make an acutal Baldur's Gate 3, but this way they will lose their Divinity playerbase.
This drama is going to be glorious.

Thats why my bet is that they will try to do a hybrid system. Maybe a phase-based system in which you take turns simultaneously with enemy forces or rtwp and turn-based as options.

 

[vortex]

Fun Fact: Josh Sawyer said, that according to his data, Divinity: OS has never been a threat to Pillars of Eternity, beceause only small amount of players played both these games.
As PoE was supposed to be new Baldur's gate, it means that people who play Larian games are not the people who like Baldur's-like games. It makes this situation a bit scary, beceause they either make BE 3 with their Divinity games experience, thus making it unlikeable to original Baldur's fans, or they try to make an acutal Baldur's Gate 3, but this way they will lose their Divinity playerbase.
This drama is going to be glorious.

You're right. Then let Larian make it TB like D:OS so that more people will play it. Than BG4 is guaranteed.
If will stagger in sales like Deadfire, BG4 could get forgotten for another 20yrs.

 

[m_s0]

Or they'll keep BG3 IE-like, grab an audience that wasn't there for Divinity, and keep working on multiple other projects to be announced soon, one of them being DOS3. With 4 studios running it's a given Larian has another sequel in active production right now. And on top of that they seem to be going about outsourcing in a smart way with Logic Artists developing a reasonable stopgap Divinity to tide people over. It seemed crazy when they announced expansion, but it looks like this is really going to work. And if LA does a good job, I'm thinking we'll hear about a fifth Larian studio 'opening'.

tl;dr: there won't be drama, just Swen lighting cigars with high denomination banknotes in a different office of his every day of the week.

 

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

The art in those pictures is bland as fuck. I didn't even notice there were a lot of women.

Maybe they are modern "women"

 

[Harry Easter]

And on top of that they seem to be going about outsourcing in a smart way with Logic Artists developing a reasonable stopgap Divinity to tide people over. It seemed crazy when they announced expansion, but it looks like this is really going to work. And if LA does a good job, I'm thinking we'll hear about a fifth Larian studio 'opening'.

Agreed. I also think that Fallen Heroes will be the inbetween game to introduce people to Damian as a bad guy and after its release, Larian will soon announce D:OS3. That's the game I really want, to be honest, the final chapter of the whole Damian and Lucian-story. They didn't always tell it as good as they wanted, but now they have build it up really good and I want to know how it ends.

 

[m_s0]

Story is a secondary consideration here. We're approaching 2 years since DOS2 was released with no direct follow-up announced yet. So whatever the story is, there needs to be something Divinity to tide people over another year or so just to maintain momentum they've worked so hard to build up to over the years - which probably is quite a major concern with how they've been ramping up. After all, this is a gamble. A Dungeon Rats developed by the right people is a perfect fit.

 

[Shrimp]

Fun Fact: Josh Sawyer said, that according to his data, Divinity: OS has never been a threat to Pillars of Eternity, beceause only small amount of players played both these games.
As PoE was supposed to be new Baldur's gate, it means that people who play Larian games are not the people who like Baldur's-like games. It makes this situation a bit scary, beceause they either make BE 3 with their Divinity games experience, thus making it unlikeable to original Baldur's fans, or they try to make an acutal Baldur's Gate 3, but this way they will lose their Divinity playerbase.
This drama is going to be glorious.

Keep in mind that Sawyer was referring to an overlap of players between the D:OS and POE games, not necessarily an overlap with BG players. Someone who likes BG1 and 2 might not necessarily like POE more than OS simply due to the games being more similar at first glance. Similarly there are likely plenty of people who have been introduced to CRPGs in the current 'revival era' who since then have gone back to trying out 'the classics' like BG, NWN, Arcanum etc.
Liking one game does not exclude liking others and I'd be surprised if there weren't people who'd buy BG3 solely due to the fact that it's in the BG series or because it's being developed by a company they like. Keep in mind that even if someone who has bought the game ends up dropping it after a handful of hours or perhaps never even launches it it will still count as a sale.

 

[Quillon]

So how you think they are gonna handle resting? Take a page out of Kingmaker's book or "click on a bedroll and party is rested"? :D

 

[turkishronin]

The most important thing is to have good background art

 

[Chippy]

The amount of hype already generated, game media articles, clicks, forums posts and all this shit - is the reason why its used and why that name has weight.
Even after several games already leached on its fame. But it survived because those couldnt get the name and the setting.

Last of the nostalgia projects to ruin.

Judging from those pics from the 5E handbook; it might even be the Last Baldur's Gate Train:

 

[ScrotumBroth]

I just want to know who is lead writer and lead designer/director. But this will be a slow drip feed of actual information, best forgotten for the next year or so.

 

[Sentinel]

Fun Fact: Josh Sawyer said, that according to his data, Divinity: OS has never been a threat to Pillars of Eternity, beceause only small amount of players played both these games.
As PoE was supposed to be new Baldur's gate, it means that people who play Larian games are not the people who like Baldur's-like games. It makes this situation a bit scary, beceause they either make BE 3 with their Divinity games experience, thus making it unlikeable to original Baldur's fans, or they try to make an acutal Baldur's Gate 3, but this way they will lose their Divinity playerbase.
This drama is going to be glorious.

It wasn't according to his data, it was Swen who told him the audiences didn't really overlap.

 

[Harry Easter]

I just want to know who is lead writer and lead designer/director. But this will be a slow drip feed of actual information, best forgotten for the next year or so.

Lead Writer: Sarah Baylus, I guess. She was the boss at D:OS2 and so it would be stupid to just swap her with another writer.

Designer: I guess still, Farhang (this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA9QggTdsdg ). A bit eccentric, but he's good at his job. I think it is in good hands.

 

[turkishronin]

Designer: I guess still, Farhang (this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA9QggTdsdg ). A bit eccentric, but he's good at his job. I think it is in good hands

Whoa he's Iranian

 

[Infinitron]

Lead Writer: Sarah Baylus, I guess. She was the boss at D:OS2 and so it would be stupid to just swap her with another writer.

Isn't it Jan Van Dosselaer? He was the one who appeared in the community update video with Swen after all.

 

[Life of the Party]

Last of the nostalgia projects to ruin.

 

[Harry Easter]

Isn't it Jan Van Dosselaer? He was the one who appeared in the community update video with Swen after all.

He was, but I think he stepped back and became more the master of the lore, I think. Sarah is the one that organises everything and he's the guy you asked for the obscure facts. He's still one of the leads, but Sarah is the boss.

 

[Roguey]

Jeez. There are so many women in D&D art because there are no women actually playing it. Balance needs to be restored somehow.

I would have guessed it's because men like looking at women. Don't attribute to politics what can be explained by self-indulgence (see also the ratio of lesbians to gays in any given work where gay male creators aren't involved).

I just want to know who is lead writer and lead designer/director. But this will be a slow drip feed of actual information, best forgotten for the next year or so.

Not sure this matters. Swen seems to be driving creative force behind all Larian games regardless of the team members involved.

 

[getter77]

Looking forward to the game. Don't see any need to fear how they are handling "missing" per se---all they have to do is go for grazes/glancing blows/lesser effects or hit die for spells/etc and that should largely sort things out while providing ample potential for interactions with feat pools and the like.

 

[Makabb]

BEAMDOG PROUDLY PRESENTS:

Arcanum 2: Of Enchantments

 

[Lacrymas]

Rogues, that was a joke. The reason is what you said: men to ogle at women.

Both the women and men are at peak physical appearance. You can trust me that everyone has something to ogle. The whole issue with the sexualization of women vs men stems from the fact women and men's bodies are appreciated differently. Shocker! Perhaps only bisexuals are privy to this super secret knowledge, but it seems to me like the people who complain about sexualized women don't know this/don't get this. Men are sexualized just as much as women, just in a different way.

 

[smaug]

Rogues, that was a joke. The reason is what you said: men to ogle at women.

Both the women and men are at peak physical appearance. You can trust me that everyone has something to ogle. The whole issue with the sexualization of women vs men stems from the fact women and men's bodies are appreciated differently. Shocker! Perhaps only bisexuals are privy to this super secret knowledge, but it seems to me like the people who complain about sexualized women don't know this/don't get this. Men are sexualized just as much as women, just in a different way because men's bodies and women's bodies are different and should be/are appreciated in a different way.

Aren’t you bisexual?

 

[Lacrymas]

Aren’t you bisexual?

Yes, and that's why I know this, lol. I don't like both men and women despite the differences, but because of them. I see a lot of bisexuals proclaiming "oh, it's the same thing", no, it isn't, it's perhaps just easier to explain it this way to other people. If it was the same thing, everyone would've been bisexual because it wouldn't have mattered. Perhaps the physiological and psychological reaction is the same towards both sexes, but they come from a different perspective/angle.