So... is anyone playing?

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Yeah I guess so, don’t have that one yet. I have read good things about it though so yeah, when we are done with Dos:2 I might try 1 as well

 

I kind of like it.

 

Larian does make nice games. But we will never have a game that has the same feel to it as BG1/2. We have matured so our perspective is different.

I remember when I bought a game magazine with the Baldurs gate 2 demo. Paid 60 Euro the next day. The first hours in the Irenicus dungeon.....

But we really must not expect BG3 to be like the first two. Those days are gone. It is just an other fairly good Larian game that I will buy in a Steam sale.

 

True, that will never return, not even if they would make a game that has the same feel to it as BG1 and 2. Those days are gone and even if the games haven't changed, we have. Still, I liked playing Baldur's Gate 3 a lot. Compared to the older BG-games, it's not the same feel, when we discovered a bit of the full potential of playing die-hard roleplaying games on a computer but you there is more to compare. The storyline is great, both in text and in visuals, the voice-actors are great, graphics have improved so much, compared to the old Baldur's Gate games. And like I said before, the turn based system makes it feel more like Dungeons and Dragons than the old games ever did. Especially when you play multiplayer with friends, this game gave me more the feeling of playing Dungeons and Dragons in a living room than any other game ever did. So I would still recommend: Try to find some friends who will like it as well, convince them to buy the game and go play multiplayer :-)

Apart from that, it's in my humble opinion, not "just a good Larian-game". Compared to DOS:2, I think it's a big step forward. Maybe I also feel that way because I like this type of fantasy more than DOS:2's cartoon-style with all the lizards and undead-options and I'm more familiar with D&D-rules and The Forgotten Realms... anyhow, storyline graphics, characters, gameplay. I know Larian made great game and still I feel like BG3 is by far the best they have ever made.

 

I am patient. It will go on a Steam sale sooner or later.

 

The general problem with early access is that if you only have time for one good run, being to having a life outside the zombie-box, you do not want to miss out content or have a unusable save game at 80% completion.

 

A bit late, but in Steam, you can can keep playing a specific version after an update is announced. Played it for the second time a couple of weeks ago during a game weekend with friends and shortly after, the latest patch was released. So you will not be able to continue your campaign when the full game is released but at least you can take as long as you want to finish act 1. And it will take at least a year for the full game to be released so it's not so bad to start all over again then. I enjoyed replaying act 1 a lot. So if you are planning to buy it sooner or later, better buy it soon :-)

 

I bought this when it first came out naively thinking it would be about a year before the full release. Lol.

 

I keep seeing that the game is still "in development" yet they are charging $60 for a beta version?
I refuse to buy it on general principal that if you are going to charge that kind of money, the game should be finished and bug free. The fact that it's been in beta release for years is further off-putting.

 

Well you should see it more as kickstarting (pay for something that still has to be developed). Mostly done by die hard fans. Those are also the ones with valuable input / feedback on what you have made and how you can improve it.

So they did Early Access and made one act and afterwards, they looked a lot at all the feedback from the early adopters and improved the act, and the others acts that will follow as well.

Yes, I think Larian overestimated the project a bit and it does taken longer then they expected but you could also say: it takes longer because they take the opinion of the players serious and they want to deliver quality.

If you are not a die hard fan, you should forget about early access, the game is still in development. Just wait for the full release date, check the reviews and decide if it’s to your liking. Kickstarting, early access and stuff is not for doubters :-)

 

Vincke said that they underestimated the amount of work and people that they would need for the game by a lot. Since the announcement, the company has almost doubled in size, and the scope of the game has also widened. COVID didn't really do them any favors either. I think projections for the actual release are early 2023.

 

So, almost two years of silence, the full game is realeased over half a year ago. So I'm gonna repeat the question: Is anyone playing?

From my side, I enjoy my first crawl through the game, play once a week for about 2 hours with friends. Playing time is somehat reduced since I started posting on this boards over 20 years ago.... :-D But even though the style is different from the classic D&D-games, it's still very enjoyable. And we are halfway in act 2 I guess (just visited Moonrise Towers for the first time) and I still have to visit Baldur's Gate again. It has been too long since I shopped in Sourcerous Sundries, marvelled at en exposition in the Hall of Wonders en finished the day with a well-deserved cold ale in the Elfsong Tavern :-)

 

Yep.

 

At some point I'll get back to it. I played it when it released rather than keep having to update, then hit too many serious bugs in Act 3 that should have been spotted by competent QA before release - as in they are in the main quest path, and affect everyone.

To be fair it is fairly low in my list - just recompleted the significantly better BG trilogy, and probably more likely to go back and replay it with an evil party than play BG3.

 

I'll keep you posted, we (I play with friends, 2 hours per week) finished act 2 last sunday so soon I can tell you how buggy Act 3 still is. From what I've heard, most of the greater bugs are fixed so I guess it will be quite fine. About the old games and this one, it's hard to compare them. The old games are classic, nostalgic, great storylines and quests for sure, I enjoyed those game a lot, played them again recently. But even in the enhanced edition, graphics are really outdated and I don't get the same magical experience the games gave me when I played them about 25-20 years ago. Apart from that, I don't have lot's of time to play nowadays, and when I play, I play multiplayer most often. And the old Baldur's Gate-games are not build for multiplayer and you'll notice that in lots of things when try to mulitplay them. On that part, Larian did a great job with the turn based mode in battles as implemented in Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 and now also in BG3. Apart from Dragon Age: Origins, that was the first time I had so much fun with playing RPG's since Baldurs Gate 1 and 2. Yes, they have a different style, a different type of stories, more extreme characters and absurd opponents so the games cannot really be compared. But still, imho Baldur's Gate 3 is a lot of fun to play, with a great story, great graphics, lot's of chances to roleplay properly, especially when you play together. Maybe it will help if you can stop looking at BG3 as the successor of BG1 and BG2. Playing DOS / DOS:2 before BG3 helped me a bit with that I suppose.

Tip: If you do start a new session in BG1&2, , consider a thief-only party. I played with a figher/thief, pure thief, cleric/thief and mage/thief and that was so much fun. And you can go in stealthmode to skip a lot of gibberlings, kobolds etc, suprise and backstab groups, work with set traps because you have a lot of thief-points to spend.

And, how is it going, what is your opinion on the game?

 

Honestly, as low as my expectations were for the game, I absolutely love it. I personally haven't encountered any major bugs that I would care about, but I did wait for a few major patches before I started playing. Yeah, chapter 3 is noticeably less polished than the first two as it didn't have nearly as much playtesting done, but it's more like the difference between SoA and ToB. Plus, Larian is still continuing their streak of patches that are making the experience even more enjoyable. Also, as much as I love the original Bhaalspawn saga, I don't agree with Tarrasque that the games are "significantly better".

 

I enjoyed it but somehow got into a lull in the middle of Chapter 2. I will return to it at some point soon.

Doesn't have quite the atmosphere of BG and BG2, but that doesn't at all take away from the good DnD adventure that it is.

 

Me neither, but I do get the point. It's a bit of a nostalgic view maybe. But also a different approach. When you consider classic D&D rollplaying, are a bit more the classic approach, a bit more serious, a bit more in high fatasy style. If you keep looking for that, BG3 might not be the best game to play. Games like Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 are more likely the way to go. That's what I said with: BG3 and the other Larian Games are great Fantasy Games but you shouldn't be looking too mucht at it as the successor of the classic Baldurs's Gate (and Icewind Dale) games and they are a lot of fun to play indeed. Both games are great but they are different, if people will accept that, both game styles can be enjoyed.

I agree, the atmosphere is different but there are also a lot of pros, graphics are a lot better, character control also and there are also some benefits from the newer D&D-version that is used. And I can imagine being stuck in Act 2, it's quite a big act in the middle of the storyline. But the end of act 2 is great and you want to get into the big city won't you? We just finihed act 2 last week so I know where I'm talking about :-)

 

I want to play it but the computer says no...