Baldur's Gate 3 - the 2nd thread

[IndiraLightfoot]

Alright, here's my little report after a very slow playthrough 6h in:

-Using my Omen laptop, the very nicely done cutscenes managed to press my system to the max, and finally, one of the scenes caused the game to freeze (my first and only crash). Larian advised peeps like me to switch from Vulkan to DirectX11, and that did the trick for me.

-I could've sworn I named my Ranger Indira Lightfoot, but in game she's consistently been called Tav. Well, thank you for the surprise, I guess.

-The thing that's bugged me the most is that screen edge panning constantly resetting itself. Half of the time it doesn't work. Also, a pity that I can't adjust the font size. Otherwise, the tutorial aspects of it and the systems are pretty intuitive for any CRPG veteran.

-My party is level 2 going on level 3, and you spend quite some time in both these levels. So levelling doesn't feel too fast, which I'm happy with.

-The ability to interact with the environment, all the level differences, the use of ice, fire, brine, grease and acid, although over the top in effects, is really fun This is right up Larian's alley - I dare say that this makes combat more entertaining, but also slower, and not necessarily more complex.

-Combat takes time, moving around in the environment takes time, since you need to rotate your camera and actively search, and also often move objects, destroy others, place surfaces on hostile surfaces, and so forth. The first couple of hours, this annoyed me as being too sluggish. But perhaps I'm getting old, but the pace's growing on me. I guess you'll get tired of it later, and it will make the replayability suffer a bit. But this game is not a cold beer on a hot summer day, but rather a really nice wine to savour indoors some stormy autumn evening in a log cabin, preferrably at a sturdy Ron Swanson piece of a dining table, bedazzled by flickering candlelight and nostalgia.

-The biggest general praise I can give so far is that the game really feels like a PnP session. Most enemies and NPCs are quite fleshed out and so are the environments and the entire atmosphere. Very well done, Larian!

-Being one of the few people that actually enjoyed Sword Coast Legends, I'll use that D&D CRPG as my benchmark (I suspect that most of you will regard that standard as ridiciculously low and desperate for new D&D content). Perhaps, but to me, If this game can be at least that good, then definitely thumbs up, worth at least one playthrough. Everything else, anything surpassing that kind of achievement, is simply icing on the cake. So far, the characters and the story are indeed better than in Sword Coast Legends. Still, the characters aren't that mature and adult in theme, but rather more simple, Teenage Witch style/quality of vanilla NWN2 OC - which I don't mind at all. The graphics in BG3 is far superior than SCL, it's like Pillars of Eternity 2 and NWN2 had a baby (most likely, it's rather DOS3, but like I said, I haven't played that game, so I can't compare them). The Inon Zur music in Sword Coast Legends is slightly better than the tunes I've been presented with in BG3- but this is just the opening sections. I'd say this music is really good, like PoE2, but not yet as PoE1. The number of character build possibilities seems to be limited, I'd guess it's like Sword Coast Legends (no deal breaker for me), but for those of you that crave a D&D CRPG statistics bonanza, I still think NWN and NWN 2 are the pinnacles of that kind of guilty pleasure.  

Edited October 10, 2020 by IndiraLightfoot

[Wormerine]

39 minutes ago, IndiraLightfoot said:

-Using my Laptop, the very nicely done cutscenes managed to press my system to the max, and finally, one of the scenes caused the game to freeze (my first and only crash). Larian advised peeps like me to switch from Vulkan to DirectX11, and that did the trick for me.

What specs does your laptop have? 

[Wormerine]

5 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

I plan on going back to Phoenix Point one day! It contains the true spirit of Christmas, er, Xcom.

I must say with every update I dig it more and more. But I also regularly loose interest. I am yet to complete a playthrough. There is always an update right behind a corner for which I decide to wait for, and then I start another campaign, wait a bit, and then they announce new update... and so the cycle continues. 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Wormerine

[IndiraLightfoot]

12 minutes ago, Wormerine said:

What specs does your laptop have? 

Here's mine (which I bought like 3 years ago)

https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Omen-15-7700HQ-GTX-1060-Max-Q-Full-HD-Laptop-Review.236264.0.html

[kanisatha]

On 10/9/2020 at 6:35 PM, Sarex said:

All this talk has reminded me to give Pathfinder Kingmaker another go. I would think they patched all the issues by now.

I've played the game very recently and there are no major bugs. Personally I didn't have any bugs at all, though It's possible I just missed noticing them.

[uuuhhii]

60gb for early access version

why are games so ridiculously massive these days

[Tale]

I think I finished what's available. It's hard to tell if bugs are stopping my progress in some quests or if they're still WIP.

I'm not thrilled by it. It scratched the itch of party based RPGs, but that's pretty much it. There's some curiosity about where the plot is going. Like the hints of Bhaalspawn involvement. But the characters don't generate any interest. They feel like weaker OS2 companions, just an archetype attached to a quest you'll probably stumble upon completing as you do the main story.

The encounters also bother me a bit, too. I like the interactivity with environs and how they handle stealth rules, but when your max level is 4 and they send a swarm of dudes you keep missing who are also level 4 (as a non-optional quest encounter), then all the shine wears off real quick. Only way I made it through what I'd call the final boss of EA was because I hung out in the rafters shooting people where half the enemies don't even know how to deal with it and the rest can be shoved off. I'm a fan of cheese as food, but not as gameplay.

The hag encounter required its own cheese, too. Her minions were so hard, her environment was so painfully ridiculous with poison (or fire), that I got lucky and was able to repeatedly backstab her without being attacked back.

 

As a minor quibble, I do hope they get rid of all the junk items as loot. No reason for forks, cups, and plates to be more than an item you can toss at baddies if they're only 1 weight, 1 gold.

[IndiraLightfoot]

After like 3 hours more I decided to put it down. I really enjoy it, and unlike my extensive beta testing sessions for PoE1 and PoE2, I'll not make that "mistake" again. This is fun enough to have unspoiled. I just want the game to happen to me like in the good old days. Unfortunately, I took a glance at Tale's post, Wish I hadn't. I'll avoid spoilers from now on. My final feedback is that I really liked the updated old school inventory system, but updated with some of PoE2 innovative stuff (from my invo, I get to send cumbersome "to camp" - and speaking of camp, I love how resting, camps and death works in this game, as well as the slow d20 rolls for skill checks), and when you find scrolls, my wizard can learn them as spells for a fee. So, I'll be stalwart and uninstall it and wait for at least a year for the finished product. Wish me luck!

[BruceVC]

47 minutes ago, IndiraLightfoot said:

After like 3 hours more I decided to put it down. I really enjoy it, and unlike my extensive beta testing sessions for PoE1 and PoE2, I'll not make that "mistake" again. This is fun enough to have unspoiled. I just want the game to happen to me like in the good old days. Unfortunately, I took a glance at Tale's post, Wish I hadn't. I'll avoid spoilers from now on. My final feedback is that I really liked the updated old school inventory system, but updated with some of PoE2 innovative stuff (from my invo, I get to send cumbersome "to camp" - and speaking of camp, I love how resting, camps and death works in this game, as well as the slow d20 rolls for skill checks), and when you find scrolls, my wizard can learn them as spells for a fee. So, I'll be stalwart and uninstall it and wait for at least a year for the finished product. Wish me luck!

I think you making the right decision, absolutely. Sometimes spending too much  time on beta testing  and early release feedback can  start unintentionally eroding your enjoyment and excitement factor ....and we forget why we game in the first place..." to have fun and be entertained " 

So bugs or certain game designs in beta  that will get fixed or addressed  you may become fixated on thinking that defines the final product yet there is always much more to most games than our initial impressions around beta testing

I have never beta tested before which IMO  is one of the reasons I have very few real gaming regrets, < 5%,  because I always try to go into every RPG with expectations but no negative views ...no " subconscious bias " as my lady friends tell me about certain SJ issues and debates we have 

 

[Chilloutman]

9 hours ago, Tale said:

As a minor quibble, I do hope they get rid of all the junk items as loot. No reason for forks, cups, and plates to be more than an item you can toss at baddies if they're only 1 weight, 1 gold.

It was hilarious - I picked up chest in tutorial area because i was unable to lock pick it - in description it was elaborate chest decored with gold - price 1 gold xD

[MrBrown]

11 hours ago, Tale said:

As a minor quibble, I do hope they get rid of all the junk items as loot. No reason for forks, cups, and plates to be more than an item you can toss at baddies if they're only 1 weight, 1 gold.

Hopefully there'll be a "sell junk" -button, or a junk inventory tab, or something...

[Wormerine]

5 hours ago, IndiraLightfoot said:

After like 3 hours more I decided to put it down.

Yeah, I watched a bit of Cohh stream and I think I am good with patiently waiting for 1.0. It looks great, but it’s rough. I feel no need to spoil anything further. And unlike PoE I am not that invested in this IP to be a beta tester.

[bringingyouthefuture]

I'm amazed it has 12,000 reviews already on Steam, I read that Larian is shocked for how well it sold ... I am not surprised at all though.  Also Lakers just won their 17th Championship ... all in all a great week

[the_dog_days]

20 hours ago, bringingyouthefuture said:

Also Lakers just won their 17th Championship

And no body watched.

[Humanoid]

Finally made some time to get started after buying it on GOG via VPN for the equivalent of about $50AUD (~$37USD). Bit naughty I know but I've never paid the full $90AUD RRP for the regular edition of a game and I'm not about to start now. Besides, it'd be silly if I paid full price now and then also bought the CE on actual launch, which I'd be inclined to do if the game turns out good.

Strong "if" though. I probably don't have anything particularly new to say that hasn't already been said in this thread. Performance on my 290X is spotty (and using Vulkan absolutely tanks the framerate), especially outdoors. Playing co-op only and there's a really annoying bug where the game constantly thinks the other player is engaged in dialogue, which is resolved by actually starting and ending another dialogue. All this is perfectly forgivable for an Early Access game of course, but are the biggest obstacles to enjoying the game as-is.

I came into the game not knowing anything about 5E (or indeed 4E) but it doesn't seem all that complicated, but then as a rogue there's probably not much complexity to be had. Took a moment to figure out the spell memorisation later when I got control of the spellcasting NPCs. I'm also failing checks harder than XCOM, and I think in the final game I might look for a mod to just make all the checks static ones as per the Obsidian philosophy.

Another thing carried from D:OS, particularly the first one, is that it's not particularly clear at all in which sequence you should tackle the content. It's very easy to just get funneled into the dungeon full of level 2 enemies while there's still a lot of level 1 content outside. Indeed it's fully possible to stumble into it without a full party if playing single-player, because while all the companions in this version are technically accessible almost immediately, you need a bit of luck or foreknowledge to get the right ones for your party balance before blundering into a challenging encounter. If you know where they are, only one is non-trivial (by being behind a big fight).

 

In the end, my biggest concern for the game remains unchanged from what it was before I played this version. That the DnD licence would be a straitjacket on gameplay. The D:OS games may be somewhat divisive for pure roleplayers, but as co-op games they were unmatched, and I think the restrictions of DnD mechanics makes the emergent gameplay lose some of that magic.

 

P.S. Get rid of the stupid lootable vases already, ugh.

[Tale]

I found out there was more, the Underdark. No quest pointers pointed how to get there, no hints in the journal, it's just a locked door I overlooked in an area I'd been to a bunch of times. And now I'm finally done. This time the game told me so.

The more I think, the more concerns I have. The companions are still "boring," but it feels like a quick fix. There's a common tip I hear in writing groups, cut your first few chapters. These characters need that. They all have hooks, but those hooks are all dragged out and locked away behind quests. So in EA all we get are the boring versions. We're getting Minsc playing coy about what's in his pocket. And that's being generous, because I doubt any will be Minsc once they break out of their shell. This is my biggest issue with the EA by far. And I will harp on it until it's clearly too late to fix, because it's fixable right up until they stop recording new dialogue. And even if these are set on it, maybe the companions not yet revealed aren't.

[HoonDing]

Saw one of those "sex scenes".

Makes BioWare dry humping look like Stanley Kubrick.

[bugarup]

16 hours ago, Tale said:

The more I think, the more concerns I have. The companions are still "boring," but it feels like a quick fix. There's a common tip I hear in writing groups, cut your first few chapters. These characters need that. They all have hooks, but those hooks are all dragged out and locked away behind quests. So in EA all we get are the boring versions. We're getting Minsc playing coy about what's in his pocket. And that's being generous, because I doubt any will be Minsc once they break out of their shell. This is my biggest issue with the EA by far. And I will harp on it until it's clearly too late to fix, because it's fixable right up until they stop recording new dialogue. And even if these are set on it, maybe the companions not yet revealed aren't.

Doubt it's fixable -- for that they'd have to let the janitor back to his job and hire a writer. 

[Wormerine]

1 hour ago, HoonDing said:

Saw one of those "sex scenes".

Makes BioWare dry humping look like Stanley Kubrick.

I believe only some scenes are implimented, and some are placeholder. At least according to Larian forums they seem to vary greatly in quality. 

[BruceVC]

11 hours ago, HoonDing said:

Saw one of those "sex scenes".

Makes BioWare dry humping look like Stanley Kubrick.

Why would you be interested in RPG soft-porn Hoonding? I am very disappointed in you and always assumed you were above such profoundly iniquitous, immoral and  lascivious  behavior....I hope your sister doesn't find out, imagine how disappointed she would be  

[Humanoid]

So there's been an unfortunate snafu with the first major patch being issued, withdrawn, and then reissued, causing a fair few installation problems for some people - myself included. In the end Galaxy's handling of it was rather suboptimal to say the least: it ended up downloading more data to finally fix the installation than it would have just reinstalling the game from scratch. Something in the order of 100GB. Normally that wouldn't be an issue for me, but this month it ended up blowing up my download limit and I've been reliant on phone tethering all weekend as a result. Ugh.

On the plus side, it was the final push I needed to switch my ISP this month. I was going to do so next month anyway as my current one is going to push through an extortionate $25/mo price hike for the same service after my next billing cycle, so I've just shifted the move up one month.

[Gromnir]

does bg3 include raygun wielding gnome ceremorphs?  am gonna hold off on a purchase until game is released and reviewed full by folks we trust, unless it includes gnome ceremorphs. insta purchase if includes

d&d version o' marvin the martian? can't lose.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Wormerine]

On 10/11/2020 at 4:01 PM, Wormerine said:

Yeah, I watched a bit of Cohh stream and I think I am good with patiently waiting for 1.0.

Aaaaaaand, of course, I failed a will check as soon as I got access to a PC that could run the bloody thing. Played for some 10+ hours as of time of speaking.

That said I am glad I did! I am enjoying the game far more, then I thought I will, and am looking forward to the full game. My biggest worry comes from some clunky UI, mainly because that is what they used for Divinities. But while I found Div2 frustrating and tedious, I find BG3 really fun, even in its rough state. I also thing they give out disadvantage and advantage a bit too easily, and hide real mechanics a bit too well. 

[Theonlygarby]

Is the file size still huge?  It takes up pretty much all my SSD space...  I need to upgrade

[Wormerine]

On 1/26/2021 at 10:33 PM, Theonlygarby said:

Is the file size still huge?  It takes up pretty much all my SSD space...  I need to upgrade

88GB. Pretty chunky early access.