Baldur's Gate 3

[RandV]

Wow where the hell did this come from?



Just a cinematic trailer for now, but being made by Larian Studios, the Divinity devs.

Extra IGN link

Baldur’s Gate 3 is real. Almost twenty years after the story of the original games concluded in the Throne of Bhaal expansion, we’re finally revisiting one of the most important cities in the history of RPGs. And, as if that weren't exciting enough, Baldur’s Gate 3 is being developed for Google Stadia and PC by Larian Studios; the Belgian team responsible for the wildly ambitious Divinity: Original Sin 2.

...

While the game has been in production for some time now, Larian is not yet in a position to share very much, and what it can say is being kept vague. “It's our biggest game ever,” the studio’s CEO, Swen Vincke, tells IGN. “It's not what you expect it to be. It's going to be spectacular and grand. It's going to feature lots of tough decisions and memorable companions. It's going to be challenging, it's going to have a lot of systems. There will be a lot of stuff for you to explore and exploit. And you will be able to play in single and multiplayer.”

Click to read more...

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Honestly, I kind of can't wait to play this. I really wish BG2 didn't use AD&D and then I would probably love it more.

 

[RandV]

Honestly, I kind of can't wait to play this. I really wish BG2 didn't use AD&D and then I would probably love it more.

Looks like it's going to use D&D 5th edition rules (I don't know anything about that ), though Larian will be improving on and adding their own 'interactivity' system there Divinity Original Sin games are known for.

 

[Commander Clueless]

The rumours were true!

Man, Baldur's Gate was a game I had heard about a long time back but never got around to playing.


Colour me interested, despite having a wishlist of CRPGs I still want to buy and play at some point (Original Sin 2, PoE 2, Kingmaker....)

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Divinity II just went 40% off

Will not be launching on the EGS

 

[Oogie Boogie]

Divinity II just went 40% off

Just saw this as well. Still need to finish I, but I might go ahead and snag II now

 

[Osprey]

It's hard to believe that it's been 19 years since the last one. It's probably been nearly that long since I really played through the first two games. I've been meaning to play the Enhanced Editions, but still haven't gotten around to them. I suppose that I should bump them up near the top of my backlog so that I finish them before III releases.

 

[RandV]

Divinity II just went 40% off

Will not be launching on the EGS

Does Divinity II have any connection to the 1st one, like say Pillars of Eternity or Balders Gate? I own Divinity I, and it should be right up my ally could never really get into it for some reason. I'll go back and try again at some point but wondering if I wouldn't be better just jumping straight to II.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Does Divinity II have any connection to the 1st one, like say Pillars of Eternity or Balders Gate? I own Divinity I, and it should be right up my ally could never really get into it for some reason. I'll go back and try again at some point but wondering if I wouldn't be better just jumping straight to II.

II takes place hundreds of years after I: same world (Rivellon) and same theme of divine ascension but that's it. The first game had one writer, the second had eight: I was more of a proof of concept from what I understand. Both games are part of a larger series "Divinity" that I believe started in 1997, been around for a while.

I'll be jumping into 2 without having played 1.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

I was excited for this but then realized the one I played when I was younger was the coop Baldurs Gate - Dark Alliance, with my brothers.

 

[SeidoN]

I'll be jumping into 2 without having played 1.

yeah 2 is playable without 1, and is significantly better visually and mechanically

 

[SniperHF]

Predictions:
1. Party size will not be 6, probably 4 which is unfortunate.
2. Larian will try to Diabloize D&D style items and it may or may not work. Leaning toward not.
3. Exploration will be both better (more interactivity, more and better puzzles, fewer copy/pasted rooms/designs) and worse (less open in maps, more corridors.
4. Party banter and such storylines will be dialed up beyond what BG2 had, beyond what Divinity OS 2 had, to completely new levels maybe not ever seen before.
5. Instead of environmental effects like D:OS has they'll try to spice up combat with some type of destructible environments or something. Something interactive but isn't a copy/paste of D:OS's system.

I have absolutely no idea if this game will feel anything like a Baldur's Gate game, again leaning toward not, but it should be a good game nonetheless Larian doesn't disappoint these days.

yeah 2 is playable without 1, and is significantly better visually

Yes

and mechanically

No.

 

[Dubi Doo]

I was excited for this but then realized the one I played when I was younger was the coop Baldurs Gate - Dark Alliance, with my brothers.

Best PS2 game ever!

 

[Cush]

Gameplay

 

[Suxnet]

Looks too much like Divinity. Mehhh...

 

[Mikeaveli]

Divinity: Original Sin 3



Should still be a good game but wow it really just looks like Divinity lol.

 

[Osprey]

I was reading last night that the engine is a little more advanced than in D:OS2 and is now fully 3D, whereas characters were still on an invisible 2D plane in D:OS2. Apparently, it opens up some possibilities for placing party members at varying elevations. I didn't read the article that carefully, since I've still yet to play D:OS2. Anyways, it was a PC Gamer article and it goes into more ways that BG3 is different than D:OS2... which is probably a sign that it really is similar; hah.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Divinity: Original Sin 3

Yep, watched the first ten minutes of the livestream and it was D:OS3, with nothing that I saw to link it to Baldurs Gate stylistically, gameplay, or storywise. I was super hyped for this, now its just a big fat meh.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I never played the Baldur's Gate games but a big reason why is I'm not a fan of RTwP at all. I understand why people would be upset about this going to turn based but I like it. I'm almost done with D:OS, which I'm having a blast with. I'll get the 2nd during the summer sale since I have so many games I still want to play between now and then anyway.

 

[RandV]

I never played the Baldur's Gate games but a big reason why is I'm not a fan of RTwP at all. I understand why people would be upset about this going to turn based but I like it. I'm almost done with D:OS, which I'm having a blast with. I'll get the 2nd during the summer sale since I have so many games I still want to play between now and then anyway.

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt but it's not like the old Balder's Gate model is ancient history, as right alongside Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2 you have Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, which was a direct spiritual successor to BG. As they are contracting out the work I wonder if they considered or even attempted to get the PoF guys to do it rather than Larian.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I played Pillars of Eternity 1. While I liked it, I just couldn't seem to get good at the combat. I was playing at the easiest difficulty and was still having some major trouble later in the game. I looked up a guide and still couldn't beat it legit but saw I was close to the end so I just used invincibility cheats to finish the story. I have no desire to play any other RTwP games at this point because I was so bad at it.

 

[RandV]

I played Pillars of Eternity 1. While I liked it, I just couldn't seem to get good at the combat. I was playing at the easiest difficulty and was still having some major trouble later in the game. I looked up a guide and still couldn't beat it legit but saw I was close to the end so I just used invincibility cheats to finish the story. I have no desire to play any other RTwP games at this point because I was so bad at it.

It's not a matter of personal preference here. The point is this is Balders Gate 3, a continuation of Balders Gate 1 and 2 which I'm pretty sure created the RTwP system we're looking at here, as their attempt to put the D&D ruleset into a PC game. And it's not just the gameplay system, but the whole aesthetics as well. So to put it simple Obsidian (who I feel like were involved in the original BG games in some way) and Pillars of Eternity equals Balders Gate 1 and 2. Larian Studios and their Divinity series is their own brand of game with very little relation, other than being fantasy CRPG. So I'm finding it odd that to make Balders Gate 3 they chose the latter studio.

...I say that but doing a little more digging I see the reason why.

(Estimated owernship from steamspy.com)

Pillars of Eternity: 1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Divinity Original Sin 1,000,000 - 2,000,000

Okay that's pretty even...

Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire: 500,000 - 1,000,000
Divinity Original Sin II: 2,000,000 - 5,000,000

I didn't realize Deadfire tanked so hard, that's a damn shame. So if anyone's wondering why Balders Gate 3 is basically Divinity Original Sin III instead of "Balders Gate 3" well there's the answer.

 

[SniperHF]

I played Pillars of Eternity 1

Pillars combat sucks. It's worse than BG1&2 and Icewind Dale. It's not the greatest example of RTwP combat (which does kinda suck but can be done better than Pillars)

I think people are overreacting to the look of the game in how much it will play like Divinity. D:OS 1&2 have basically shit for character systems. Like almost total garbage. If Larian has a solid implementation of D&D it will not feel like D:OS 1 and 2 as much as it might look like it.

Obviously it will be turn based, D&D itself is turn based. The BG implementation of real time combat was always a bastardization. One a lot of people like but a bastardization nonetheless. Both BG1 and 2 would have been better turn based. If you play a game like Temple of Elemental Evil you can see the potential in turn based combat based on D&D.

I doubt very much Larian's implementation will be on that level though.

The core gameplay loop of BG, particularly 2, isn't real time with pause combat. It's exploring decent sized maps and have a metric ton of quests to do, with a large central hub that dominates most of the questing. You nail that, the lore, and have the aforementioned implementation of D&D on a reasonable level and I think it's worthy of the name as anything you'd get. It's not like they turned BG into a first person shooter.....

BG3 was never going to be 2D handpainted style, that's out the window for high profile titles and has been since Bioware's own NWN when they dropped it themselves. I do think they could make a more oldschool UI, the one in the demo looks placeholder. I doubt they go full viewport style though.

I'm more annoyed Larian is keeping that stupid indirect dialog from D:OS 2, it's traaaaaash.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

Anyone buying early access? I'm tempted, but I just typically don't like EA....

 

[Prairie Habs]

Anyone buying early access? I'm tempted, but I just typically don't like EA....

I normally wouldn't, especially for a story driven game, but it sounds like it will be in early access for at least a year and I don't think I'll be able to (or want to) hold off.