Interview Swen Vincke Game Informer Interview, New Baldur's Gate 3 Concept Art, Larian Expands to Malaysia

[Jimmious]

God damn it Swen, give us something

 

[Valky]

God damn it Swen, give us something

What was that, you wanted controller support?

 

[Glop_dweller]

I'm very sorry for you if you attach a sense of identity to the series based on the requirement that it's combat MUST be shit, or it loses what made it special. It always would have been more appropriate for these games to be entirely turn based from the start.

I don't disagree with that, but that is how it happened. The combat doesn't have to be bad because it's not turn based; it's not inherently bad for not being turn based. If it is turn based—it's not Baldur's Gate; for the same reason a Streetfighter, or MK sequel —wouldn't be— if it were turn based combat.... and the same reason that ToEE wouldn't be if it were Real Time with pause. It is because it would not be offering the core gameplay, but rather utterly alien gameplay for the given series.

If Diablo 4 were made to be turn based, it would lose the founding principle of the game. The same thing did actually happen with FO3—for more than just combat.

 

[Valky]

No, if it is turn based, it's just not a shit version of Baldur's Gate.

 

[Glop_dweller]

No, if it is turn based, it's just not a shit version of Baldur's Gate.

No, it's not a version of Baldur's Gate... It's a version of something else; same as imitation honey is not real honey; because it's missing a core ingredient that justifies the name.

A turn based Baldur's Gate is a Pool of Radiance 2 clone. Do you believe that the engine is moot, and all things suffice if it's just got the same general setting and plot aspects?

*Well apply that to Warhammer40k. Would Spacemarine have made a decent (or even improved) Dawn of War sequel?
(What about the reverse?) Or how about closer to home: Would Dawn of War 3 have made a suitable sequel to Space-Hulk?

Would Halo Wars 2 (3, or 4) passed for an official Halo6?

Yet you think that a game similar to (a hypothetically modernized) Temple of Elemental Evil would be a suitable sequel to Baldur's Gate just because they are both D&D, and you prefer TB over RTw/P?

I'd certainly be interested in that game, but begrudge it the unfounded use of the series name; same as I do of FO3 & 4 for its similar (but worse) abasement.

 

[Valky]

The Icewind Dale mod being remade in ToEE is absolutely more of a proper Icewind Dale game than the original. More like the RTWP versions would be a bastardization like FO3/4 even if they came first. You seem very keen on BG3 being decline, so I'm sure glad you aren't in charge of developing the game.

 

[Glop_dweller]

What's a proper Icewind Dale game? (...and how can it be more proper than the original?)

As I understood it, Icewind Dale is a deliberate BG spin-off that focuses MORE on the RTw/P combat.

Other games could be set in the Icewind Dale... but the Icewind Dale series, has its own gameplay. To improve it by making it something else—is making it something else.

_________

Just because someone likes Nutella more than Vegemite, doesn't make Nutella an improved Vegemite; (even if the whole world agreed with them).

 

[Valky]

Since you appear to love pilpuling and arguing semantics, I will just refer you to my first two posts, which you can feel free to reread at your leisure as the response to the next 10 replies you are prepared to make. Good day.

 

[hpstg]

Good day.

What if it's a bad day?

 

[Valky]

Good day.

What if it's a bad day?

Then we know the release date of BG3 console port.

 

[Jimmious]

Who on earth compares glorious Nutella with Vegemite?

God damn it Swen, give us something

What was that, you wanted controller support?

Controller support was pretty gud in D:OS 1&2

 

[HoboForEternity]

Some pretty good artists in Asia that do not require Western level wages. Good thinking setting up a studio there.

Other SEA countries, sure. You aren't getting good female designs out of a country that bans porn.

we still watches tons of porn because internet bans never works and 200M government project to blocks internet can be bypassed simply by editing hostfiles and DNS. at the most inconvenience you just download a VPN.

 

[Galdred]

They are opening yet another studio? Dat imperial overstretch is going to backfire once one of their games flop. I also heavily doubt all that remote coordination with different parts of the world is particularly practical.

Apparently they're good at it. In his D:OS 2 retrospective at GDC earlier this year, Swen said that the secret of its development was that instead of trying to divide the game into parts and letting each studio handle a different one, they had all the studios work on the same content on a rolling 24 hour schedule.

That really sounds weird to me.
Even among a single development team, tasks are usually assigned to one person.
Having to read code written by someone else over your own code every day doesn't seem like an advancement to me.
I can't really imagine it being better in the art department.

 

[Jimmious]

Yeah I'm hoping he means that they are working on different parts in the same area otherwise it really is counter intuitive.
The amount of time you'd need to solve conflicts and refactor code and whatever would eliminate the benefits of constant work

 

[Sacibengala]

Some pretty good artists in Asia that do not require Western level wages. Good thinking setting up a studio there.

And more waifus.

 

[Ol'man]

Imagine playing an abjuration wizard or lore bard in rtwp. Or half the sub-classes.
I'd rather they just not make the game if that's the case because there is no way it wouldn't be fucking terrible.

 

[Darkforge]

No D&D game should have ever been Real time... You want real time, go LARP somewhere with your gay friends.

 

[Valky]

Swen is getting an LD50 of decline. All I see from him is news about new and exciting ways Divinity Original Sin 1/2 are being ported to different consoles. Oh boy now I can play it on the Switch! I'm sure that's a great indication that your next game will be incline.

 

[J_C]

Swen is getting an LD50 of decline. All I see from him is news about new and exciting ways Divinity Original Sin 1/2 are being ported to different consoles. Oh boy now I can play it on the Switch! I'm sure that's a great indication that your next game will be incline.

Give me a break. The games are finished, and since they are running a business, it's perfectly understandable that they are making ports for them. Screaming decline all the time is stupid, when there is actually none there. They did console ports for Divinity OS, and that didn't stop them to follow up with Divinity OS2, which was just as good of a game than the first.

 

[hpstg]

Swen is getting an LD50 of decline. All I see from him is news about new and exciting ways Divinity Original Sin 1/2 are being ported to different consoles. Oh boy now I can play it on the Switch! I'm sure that's a great indication that your next game will be incline.

The mental gymnastics here are great. You might like, or not like, or meh the D:OS games but whatever they were, wasn't affected by a controller UI.
They should add save game synchronization with other platforms, if anything. Since the games are playable on the PC with a controller already, it would be the pinnacle of retardation not to port them.

 

[Valky]

I seem to very distinctly remember decline edition was a way Swen's consolization negatively affected the game.

 

[Dawkinsfan69]

i gargle larian cum

 

[Glop_dweller]

No D&D game should have ever been Real time... You want real time, go LARP somewhere with your gay friends.

The very first D&D licensed RTS was [of course] featuring realtime combat.

(And it would have been laughable to have been as turn based RTS.)

 

[Zeriel]

The mental gymnastics here are great. You might like, or not like, or meh the D:OS games but whatever they were, wasn't affected by a controller UI.
They should add save game synchronization with other platforms, if anything. Since the games are playable on the PC with a controller already, it would be the pinnacle of retardation not to port them.

D:OS 2's UI was definitely... affected by something. Could have been consoles. Either way I thought it was worse. Along with other things.

 

[Crispy]

You might like, or not like, or meh the D:OS games but whatever they were, wasn't affected by a controller UI.

AKSHUALLY there is an inability to select multiple objects at once in inventory using mouse + keyboard in the PC version of D:OS2 Definitive Edition to this day, UNLESS you use a gamepad/controller.

Please don't ask me how I know this.