Baldur's Gate 3

[LaughingCrow]

Been playing this a while now every other patch update. Early Access recently updated with patch 8.
Game is still capped at level 4 which makes a couple of the level 5 group fights quite tough. Like previous Larian Studio games, combat is turn based. Following D&D 5e - never played D&D but I've played most of the BioWare games, BG1, BG2, Neverwinter, Icewind, Dragon Age, along with Larian's Divinity Original Sin.
I used multiplayer - 2 instances of the game to create 2 main characters for this playthrough. A Half Elf Bard & Drow Sorcerer. Once the creation stage is completed, saved the game in the 1st instance and exited the 2nd instance. Works fine. There's a lot of mods already at NexusMods.

 

[lowfat]

I'll be waiting until release. But absolutely will buy at launch.

 

[FreeKnight]

I got this for a pretty decent reduced price a while back and never did install it (was waiting for release). I normally don't pre-order at all but the price was pretty cheap.

Looooved BGII, but more for story and narrative than gameplay. How's the plot and story been for 3?

Edit: I really hope they have a class specific 'sub-story' or questline like they did in BGII where you'd get a stronghold if you were a fighter/paladin or join the magic police (or whatever they were called) if you were a wizard, etc.

 

[LaughingCrow]

Quite complex actually. Gameplay depends on the companions you choose (or don't) or various dialogue choices. Dialog options will change based on your race and class. A Drow (dark elf) will get quite different response than a High Elf or human - some leading to combat for the Drow, while the elf gets welcomed. Simply, you can't play the same game twice. In part, the D&D rules for combat means it will be different everytime you play it. In a battle, your character could be anywhere in the battle que and that would change randomly based on the Initiative Dice roll. You could be 1st in combat or last or anywhere in between.
In short, a lot of game play/conversation/options depend on your choice of race, class as well as dialogue options. All of the companions you meet have a story line but these are not playable yet. There are many situations, encounters, dialogue that will be decided by a roll of the 20 sided die. A 1 means automatic failure. A 20 is automatic success. With a range of 2 to 19 as other possible outcomes, that can be modified by your character choice as well as companions. A couple of examples below. 1st pic below is an Intelligence Check trying to decypher the contents of a book - you have to roll a 5 or better. A 1 is failure. 20 is success. In this instance, the character has a +1 intelligence boost as a Sorcerer; +1 luck stone; +1 environment; plus a boost from a character trait Dungion Delver I selected at level 4. Plus it's a double dice roll because this one is a situational roll.
2nd pic below - Charisma check. Have to get a 10 - rolling a 1 or less than 9 in this instance means a battle with 3 very large Ogres in a confined space. Rolling a 10 or better means they accepted my lie. If I tried doing this with a character with a low Charisma level, I'd be more likely to fail. Plus, difference races/classes might get a different number to achieve in the Difficulty Class. Better example would be a wizard trying to disarm a trap would have a much higher Difficulty rating to achieve vs a character like a Rogue or Ranger with a high Dexterity level.

 

[Zelzubub]

ooOoO, definitely keeping an eye on this one. BG1 and BG2 were some of my favorite games of
times past, spent countless hours playing, and countless more just making custom parties in multiplayer and playing those.

is there a release timeline?

 

[LaughingCrow]

No definite release date. Larian says "when it's ready." But 2023 is probable - based on the frequency and size of each update. I expect there will be another major update this year. There's a lot we haven't seen. There's obviously going to be more crafting. Currently, there's some limited weapon crafting. One of the level 5 areas (added patch 7) is the Adamantine Forge in the Underdark where you have to fight off the dark dwarves - Duergar and a Drow Wizard. I've only made it partway into that area and I'm still looking.

Larian have studios in USA, Canada, UK, Germany and their head office in Belgium.

Here's the 3 Ogres. There's a possible conversation thread with the ogres where it's possible to hire them and call them to help out in a fight. Also an example of a failed Intelligence Check. One of the simple forges.

 

[LaughingCrow]

Some of the character creation screens. You could easily spend a few hours in character creation. Figuring out Origin & Backstory; Race & Sub-races; Class & Sub-classes; cantrips & spells. I don't know if there will be story-lines with any of these. However, the main story lines fluctuate quite a bit with your character choices, race, class, etc along with your dialog choices. You may inadvertently do something that alters a choice later on. You alienate or kill someone (intentionally or accidentally) that has useful information. You do something that one companion likes and another dislikes. However, there's a lot of alternate paths. The game is full of many subtleties - I keep finding out new things, new conversations and Larian is always tweaking these. Most, if not all of these can be found in the D&D Players Handbook or online.
Someone has already created an online version of the character creation options, so you can check it out without having to buy/install the game.

BG3 Online character creator

 

[LaughingCrow]

Patch 9 Coming in December AND Larian Studios says they are on track for release in 2023 - plus some Behind the Scenes: Motion Capture pics

"Like a team of infernal reindeer, the next major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming in for a smooth yuletide landing — yes, new features will be live before the year is out, accompanied by a festive Panel From Hell that will give you a peek at what’s to come in 2023!"

We’ll see you in December – the dress code is “Christmas from Hell”.

 

[LaughingCrow]

Patch 9 Coming in December AND Larian Studios says they are on track for release in 2023 - plus some Behind the Scenes: Motion Capture pics

"Like a team of infernal reindeer, the next major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming in for a smooth yuletide landing — yes, new features will be live before the year is out, accompanied by a festive Panel From Hell that will give you a peek at what’s to come in 2023!"

We’ll see you in December – the dress code is “Christmas from Hell”.

Here's Wolfheart discussing and noting that ACT 1 will be a completely new experience in the final release version (ACT 1 is all you can play in the Early Access with a max level of 4)

Baldur's Gate 3 - Huge News! (Patch 9, Act 1 Replayability, Release Year..)

 

[LaughingCrow]

Amazing. I think the gaming world has bent the Christmas calendar and Christmas will be on the 14th of this year from downloads coming. Like The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 has something, and...

Patch 9 for Baldur's Gate 3 with it's Holy Knight addition - a.k.a. Paladin class.