So... is anyone playing?

Remove all ads!

No topics by people playing this game yet. Is anyone playing BG3? Or do we fear it's too different from BG1 and 2 to be any good? I would like to share some experiences and well, maybe lure some people to start playing it :-)

 

There was a thread somewhere. Though the general consensus appeared to be to wait it out until the game is actually released. I mean, it seems pretty unusual to ask people to pay full price (and console prices, at that, €60 for a PC game is more like a price for a special edition) and then do the developers work for them by beta-testing the game... I think I'd prefer to get Divinity: OS2 on sale first, it seems to be pretty much the same game anyway?

 

I don't know if BG3 is like D:OS2, but most reactions from people that did play it that I've seen so far, seem to indicate that BG3 feels a lot more like D:OS3 than BG3.

I don't know, I don't have any first hand experience myself, and I won't for probably several years.

 

Good is an understatement. They were fantastic. And when you created your account here, I guess you had to acknowledge that (I read the terms of agreement and confess the Baldur's Gate games are awesome) :-)

I had a mini-lan-party this weekend (with the maximum allowed 3 people in a house) and we finished BG3-early access. On sunday we started with some D:OS2. In some ways, BG3 is indeed more like D:OS2. Engine, turn based mode. It also has some real Baldur's Gate-things. Ruleset (ok, 5th edition now but it totally feels like D&D), the world / creatures are definitely Fearun and totally different from the world of DoS. So it is a mix of both world, the good parts of both worlds of you would ask me.

Apart from that, the game was amazing to play. The storyline, the acting etc is great and also funny now and then. Graphics are amazing, which make the places you visit very atmospheric. And playing the turn based game coop came close to good old days when we used to play Dungeons and Dragons at someones place, more than with any other game.

Yes, we paid a lot of money and have to wait for the rest of the game... but in my opinion, it's worth the money, no matter if you wait for the full version or decide to buy it now. DoS:2 is amazing as well so it might be a good idea to play that first and start with BG3 afterwards.

And for all the (former) D&D-players out there, if you have friends who are also interested, buy the game and go play it in coop-mode. It adds a lot to the game, makes it even better.

 

Nah, it's more than nostalgia.... When the first two Baldur's Gate games were released, there was a totally different standard for games. And for that time, when you love rpg's and a good story, those games where top of the bill. Not many games better games compared to that. Ok FF7, and Planescape: Torment (same engine) was released between BG1 and 2. But the games where great for those times and the reviews were very positive.

So you can't tell me calling the games fantastic is merely nostalgia. Of course, the world of computer games had changed, the standards have been changed and more than just graphics have improved. For that time, these games were outstanding though. And then I agree with you that Baldur's Gate 3 blows away version 1 and 2 and is in lots of ways a step up from DOS:2 which is very good already, to something even better. And how they implemented turn based gaming in it makes it feel way more like playing Dungeons & Dragons than BG1 and 2 ever did. But oh boy, I had such great time playing those as well. :-) At least I ended with some nostalgia, though nostalgia also isn't what it used to be anymore.... :-)

 

Hi guys!
OK, I guess I'm gonna break the first rule of entering a room full of strangers by telling the boss he's wrong.
Yeah, life's like that... but I did say "Hi Guys" first

You see a game is a subjective thing and even though better graphics are available now and the writers may have a wider appeal, and the engine is better, and the combat sucks on the old games, it doesn't matter, Baldur's gate isn't about the battle and the combat (lord knows there's enough game out there for you to beat) you see, to me it's not about beating the game, it's how you feel when you play that matters, so someone playing BG3 might frown on us old fogies for liking BG and BG2 more but will he/she still want to play BG3 in a dozen years, I still roll out both of those (though I prefer BG) and enjoy them immensely, I fire up different combo's of parties and new mods and hit em for scores of hours more each time, it's the same with Might and Magic (6,7and 8) and the mods along with those, now, while those old graphics may be sad now, the games have for me the longevity and replayability that good AAA games should have but many today don't.

So if someone says it's brilliant and has the same buttons pushed ten years later then the game stands the test of time, there ain't many games that stand up well a decade later but those that do usually have a healthy modding community behind them or a fan base that has a few very tallented and creative people within.

Games now are or seem to be developed around the minimum playability and highest graphics settings, and a few dynamic features, almost forcing the buyers to play for a week or two and shelve it in favour of the next pretty thing.

So yeah, Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II are Brilliant for those they appeal to, and, it remains to be seen whether BG3 will generate the same hours play per sale as the first two have and still do.

Yeah! you guessed it, I joined to crow... but, I've been visiting for a while so it's about time I signed up!

 

He described what a good game is like. And as I said, back in those days, the games where top of the bill. True, if people don't like roleplaying or a lot of reading, they will never like the old Baldur's Gate-games. Playing BG1 or 2 is a bit like reading a book. If you don't like reading books, it will not please you, not even when it's a great book... Baldur's 3 is a bit more like a good movie. Still, I doubt if people who don't like BG1 and BG2 will like BG3. It's slow (in the BG3 turn-based style, the larger battles can take half an hour) and you still need to do a lot of reading. If you're okay with that, the game is amazing. But so where the old games 20 years ago.

 

There is nothing nostalgic about the continued playing of a game that one enjoys, I don't just peel the game off the shelf to indulge myself in the 'good old days' every few years, many of the games and sims I play are a decade old because I continue to enjoy them, nothing about harking back and rose tinted glasses here I'm afraid,
Having tried many newer games I feel that they have a 'disposable' feel to them, they weigh too heavily on Graphics and 'special' features, and very little repeated full game 'start to finish' testing is done, Skyrim is a prime example of that where the same people say the same thing over and over, perhaps the game was intended as a run through it once and begone... I don't know, but it's taken modders years to iron out the game and many of it's faults to take it from a desolate grey grind of a game with sprinkels of features to a thouroghly enjoyable romp that can provide hundreds of hours of gameplay without even touching the main storyline.


Baldur's gate on it's own once played through could I suppose be viewed in a similar way if it weren't for the mods, the first I got was Dark side (on the cover of a magazine) then all hell/heaven broke lose for me with enough mods to keep me busy for years,
So while BG as a stand alone game might fit your view of a Nostalgic time game, the game once all modded up can provide those that like that genre hundreds perhaps thousands* of hours further gameplay, that takes it far beyond that offered by many publishers today with their released but clearly unfinished game sold at full price with promises of updates and patches.

So, will BG3 have the same following and a community behind it, I don't know and I'd not want to guess, it will almost certaily generate more sales and a pile of wedge for the publisher, and if the mods come out then it might very well have the faithful and the true enthusiast enjoy it for a decade or two, I kind hope so because I like replayability.


*I am known to be a habitual restarter, a no reloader and because I don't min/max I never really know how it's going to end.

 

I hope there will be a DM-mode in de game. Since it's from Larian and the engine has a lot in common with DOS:2 which had this DM-mode and lots of mods, I expect something like that will be implemented, once they finished the game. Even though in my opinion, a good game doens't need mods to be worth buying it. (actually I never played BG-mods, just the games and the expansions) You could as well buy the full BG3-game, play it twice of thrice in your live and think it was well worth the money. Took us 38 hours to finish act 1 so let's say we'll finish all three acts in 110 hours. I play the game thrice because it's good, there are plenty of different characters to play.... That's 60 euro's for 330 hours of fun. 1 euro per 5.5 hours of fun. I can think of more expensive hobbies. Still, I fully understand why people choose to wait for the full release or maybe even for the first discount offer. I just wanted to convince you that it's a great game to play.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying it Headbanger.
Perhaps you could furnish us with a few screenies if possible, and the occasional glimpse of what you're up to in the world (without spoilers) I always like to see how other folks are doing

 

I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. I played it with two friends, we do a game-weekend like twice a year and started to play online once, sometimes wice a week due to corona-boredom. We needed a new game to play and decide to go for BG3 in early access mode. So I've only played it once in multiplayer-mode. We finished it this weekend, I was not the host so I can't even go back in the game we played. I can start a new game but I will not do that for now, I don't want to play the games several times in early acces and be done with it once the full version finally arrives :-) So we just wait for act 2 to arrive and will continue then. Of course I'll provide screenshots :-) Until then, we will be playing DOS:2. Graphic-wise it feels like a step back into time but I have high expectations nevertheless.

Solo, I play Pillars of Eternity now. Lovely.

Still, I want to share some of my Baldurs Gate 3 experience. I played a ranged cleric (wood elf) to support my teammates (fighter and rogue). It was a bit dull for two reasons I suppose:
1. Playing ranged / dexterity based is a bit more boring compared to playing melee. When you use a bow, you probably want to find high ground and stay there. When you play melee, you can make more use of the bonus actions. Shove is especially strong in the game.
2. Spell casters are also a bit dull to start with. While playing, I remembered playing clerics / wizards in BG1 gave the same feeling. With simple weapons, you deal less damage and you're quickly out of spells. The low level spells are not very strong. Of course it gets better once you reach a higher level but in Act 1, you will not get above level 4. Multiclass will be added later.

So my advice: Don't play a cleric, if you do, play a strength-based one. Rogue and fighter are fun. Warlock / melee ranger might be fun as well.

 

I like the idea of BG3 though the story should be different somehow. It annoyed me that BG2's story was reduced to being pointless. From what I've seen of the trailer the Mind Flayers could be a major enemy-which is fine by me (they popped up in BG2 but always in a more minor role. I think Myconids may actually get corrected in BG3. In D&D they were much less hostile then portrayed in the earlier games.

One thing I am cautious about is the new method of doing combat. I got used to having near realtime combat.

 

Mind Flayers: well, the story happens about 100 years after the Baldur's Gate 2-events and shortly after the Descent to Avernus tabletop game. A lot can happen in 100 years, compare 1920 with nowadays ;-) I'm not into the Forgotten Realms-books but for what I understand, it's, for fantasy-standards, not an unimaginable scenario when you look at what happens in the Faerun. It's a bit more spectacular then we were used to though. I felt the same about the main characters in the game. They are a bit over the top....
Myconids: True, they are less evil than in BG2.

I've also played a lot of realtime combat games en after getting used for 15 minutes, the turn based combat didn't feel annoying at all. Maybe because I played multiplayer... with friends a played real D&D with in the past. It was fun, refreshing even after the realtime combat games where you sometimes have no idea what you are doing exactly and even less what you're friends are doing. At least the turn based mode totally fits for a D&D-based game, it makes the fights more tactical.

If you want to wait for the full version and if you are in doubt, you might try Divinity: Original Sin 2 first. Often for sale on steam. Good game and great to find out if you can get used to the turn based fight. If you can, BG3 will be a great next step. If you cannot get used to it, BG3 will not by to your liking as well.