Baldur's Gate So... Which Studio Should Replace Larian As The Developer of Baldur's Gate 4?

[Dorateen]

Heroic Fantasy Games, unironically.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Also there are 10 thousand cities in forgotten realms why keep going back to baldurs gate. BG2 doesn't even take place there. It's 2024 and there's still never been a proper waterdeep/undermountain game, you could easily do any of the moonsea/shadowdale area, etc.

Remarkable lack of creativity from one of the most expansive campaign setting ever.

 

[mediocrepoet]

And now... for something completely different!

Heroic Fantasy Games, unironically.

Yeah, that would be interesting. I don't want Pierre to die though. Such a project would lead to himself working himself to death or never releasing it.

 

[Skinwalker]

BG2 doesn't even take place there.

That's a major flaw, actually.

 

[Abu Antar]

NeocoreGames

 

[GoblinMerchant]

I want bethesda to do it, it would be hilarious to see how fucked it would come out.

More seriously, either Owlcat or Inxile.

 

[ind33d]

Harebrained Schemes could do it for $20

 

[Kev Inkline]

It'll be Cyanide or some other French team, and you will like it!

 

[Morality Games]

Codex, Owlcat is not that big of a studio. A BG4 from them is going to look like indie shit in comparison to BG3. Obsidian making this game won't be any better cause they are struggling now even to make a medieval The Outer Worlds. And this really is why WOTC is fucked.

If I am a WOTC executive in charge I won't even consider making a BG4. I would push to make a smaller game like a Curse of Strahd game.

Eh. Owlcat can probably improve on its engine and assets deficiencies given adequate time and resources and it's something they have a robust interest in improving on anyway. The key thing here is that their games incorporate a heightened degree of reactivity in a long, complex narrative, and that's the thing other candidates would struggle with the most.

Certainly does feel like skipping one or two steps, however.

 

[Shin]

Kojima Productions obviously. "God son man" grows up thinking he's a Bhaalspawn, but find out his father is actually himself from the past, possessed by a rogue machine created by the spiritual remnant of Bhaal which manifests as a '64 Corvette driven by a Goblin who's gagged with a pack of mechanical 20-sided dice to prevent him from breathing acidic nano-machines. Written by Hideo Kojima, produced by Hideo Kojima, directed by Hideo Kojima, featuring Hideo Kojima and about half a dozen Hollywood actors who have no idea wtf is going on.

 

[Jack Slash]

I wish Beamdog could get a shot at a proper BG sequel.

Back in the early days of the first Enhanced Edition, when it was still in the works and actively updated, someone from their team shared on the forums that working on a new BG game would be a dream come true for their studio. The effort they put into EEs of Infinity Engine games, NWN and their own Siege of Dragonspear expansion shows that they understand what made these games so brilliant, and Beamdog's own added content was top-notch.

At the very least, I like to think that they would not opt for the 5th edition, or remove the option for real-time combat, or limit the level cap so much.

Too bad the studio got gutted by Embracer. They deserved better than that.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Larian had Google Stadia money behind BG3. They were spending big to make their platform happen. No BG game is going to see that kind of patient financing unless Larian goes all in themselves. We already know won't happen.

They had a Goldilocks situation that will never come about again. At best you're going to get Dark Alliance with porn minigames.

 

[Beans00]

I wish Beamdog could get a shot at a proper BG sequel.

Back in the early days of the first Enhanced Edition, when it was still in the works and actively updated, someone from their team shared on the forums that working on a new BG game would be a dream come true for their studio. The effort they put into EEs of Infinity Engine games, NWN and their own Siege of Dragonspear expansion shows that they understand what made these games so brilliant, and Beamdog's own added content was top-notch.

What are you talking about? All the content they added into bg1/2 is absolutely garbage. Then they borked the balance in IWD ee compared to the original. NWN ee and PST ee are fine only because the original games are mostly in tact.

Siege of dragonspear was also objectively terrible, which is why it sold terribly and no one liked it. Also why no publisher gave them a real shot at anything with their complete lack of talent being on full display for everyone.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Beans00 Imma let you finish Beans, but Beamdog made some great areas, dungeons, and encounter design. Their story and NPCs were shit fanfiction, but as a combat game--SoD was quite fun.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

NWN ee and PST ee are fine only because the original games are mostly in tact.

Play the Switch version of NWN:EE and tell me again that Beamdog gives a shit about what they do. In terms of adding controller support, we're talking the most low effort attempt at doing it that I've seen. There was no attempt to even alter anything about the NWN interface in order to assist controller support. It's the standard, unchanged NWN interface with the bare minimum functionality to allow the player to do something.



The above is a 15 minute video of some guy who really, REALLY wants to like it, playing it for the first time, but the controls keep getting in the way of him enjoying it.

 

[Beans00]

Beans00 Imma let you finish Beans, but Beamdog made some great areas, dungeons, and encounter design. Their story and NPCs were shit fanfiction, but as a combat game--SoD was quite fun.

I'm not reading your long ass post because virtually everyone disagrees with you on that topic anyways(going by ratings).

SoD sucked ass, thankfully it was piss easy so I ran through it in like 8-9 hours or something.

NWN ee and PST ee are fine only because the original games are mostly in tact.

Play the Switch version of NWN:EE and tell me again that Beamdog gives a shit about what they do. In terms of adding controller support, we're talking the most low effort attempt at doing it that I've seen. There was no attempt to even alter anything about the NWN interface in order to assist controller support. It's the standard, unchanged NWN interface with the bare minimum functionality to allow the player to do something.

I played it on PC, so I'm talking purely from that perspective. Not that I particularly like nwn anyways but there isn't much difference between the EE and original.

 

[jungl]

No one wants to make rtwp 2nd edition. I do not want to see bg in 3.5 roll for initiative to win DnD or 5th edition so fuck it make it into a race track racing game using locations from the games.

 

[roguefrog]

I can see them going one of two ways with BG4:

1. Brand new story, characters, everything.
2. A continuation of sorts, re-using Larian's horny companions because they are popular now. Possibly using the same PC and starting at a higher level.

Option 2 is more prone to be shit, especially with a new developer. Option 1 is better. But the best option is to not even do it, and do something totally new instead.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I played it on PC, so I'm talking purely from that perspective.

I got NWN:EE used at the GameStop when they were having their 50% off used games deal about a year ago. I figured it would be fine for a lark... And it's not. It's absolute ass. Even for $5, I felt cheated. But to pile on to how little Beamdog gives a shit about things, they ported NWN:EE to various consoles right? So, they have the code for the controller scheme, right? It's complete dogshit, but they have it. You know what doesn't have controller support? The Android version, despite the fact that Android TV devices and Android handhelds have been a thing for years now. NWN:EE is just pump and dump. Even the Android versions of KotOR have controller support, and KotOR came out years before NWN.

 

[Skinwalker]

2. A continuation of sorts, re-using Larian's horny companions because they are popular now. Possibly using the same PC and starting at a higher level.

That's usually material for an expansion campaign, not a full sequel.

 

[Gargaune]

I got NWN:EE used at the GameStop when they were having their 50% off used games deal about a year ago. I figured it would be fine for a lark... And it's not. It's absolute ass. Even for $5, I felt cheated. But to pile on to how little Beamdog gives a shit about things, they ported NWN:EE to various consoles right? So, they have the code for the controller scheme, right? It's complete dogshit, but they have it. You know what doesn't have controller support? The Android version, despite the fact that Android TV devices and Android handhelds have been a thing for years now. NWN:EE is just pump and dump. Even the Android versions of KotOR have controller support, and KotOR came out years before NWN.

a) I strongly disagree - NWN EE started out poorly, with little added value at release, but kept getting support and improvements for a long time to the point it's now the most "enhanced" of the EEs. New renderer, optional party controls, integrated content browser, UI mod support, tons of new Toolset features etc., this wasn't a "pump and dump" affair.

b) I fully approve of NWN having no or dogshit controller support.

 

[Roguey]

I can't imagine anyone even wanting to. Even if they're given Larian's engine, I've only ever seen people say it's an utter pain to work with. Divinity: Fallen Heroes never happened after all and that was a tactical rpg with a reduced scope. Starting from scratch, might as well put a gun to your head.

 

[Harthwain]

Larian can't really be replaced, because Larian's philosophy to making games is vastly different from the majority of the industry. By that I mean bigger focus on systems and interactivity, whereas everyone mentioned in the poll is focused on making narratively-driven games, where only combat is interactive and dialogues offer very limited difference in terms of choices and consequences. They need another Troika at the very least to even stand the chance.

 

[Late Bloomer]

I say let the Japs have it. Sort of like how they took over Dungeon Crawlers / Blobbers. They can have CRPG's now too, starting with BG4. If that's off the table, I say Hasbro should be swallowed up by Microthesdian, with Todd at the helm, Id taking care of the newly introduced guns (1d10) gameplay, the Redfall team on character design, Feargus on HR duty (since he is such a people person), and getting Tim Cain back on board, this time to do the DEI LGBTQ+ consulting.

 

[Morality Games]

Obsidian - struggles to manage projects at any scale unless Sawyer is in charge.

Bioware - a dead meme

inXile - they seem to be a broadly more competent version of what Obsidian has become. They also seem to be the most willing to imitate Larian and have an edge in production values over everyone except maybe Bioware.

Owlcat - they make the budget versions of Baldur's Gate 3 and have mapped out some fairly complex interactivity relations

Owlcat would be the long term investor's pick and is probably smart choice, but inXile isn't bad.

Since inXile involves a partnership with Microsoft, it really depends on whether Hasbro is trying to get a more guaranteed result in exchange for sharing the profits or is willing to pony up more of their own cash and resources in exchange for a bigger share of the take.