Guerrilla Collective is a “coalition” between game developers and publishers.
A new online gaming convention will include some of the most-acclaimed independent studios in the world.
And speaking of independent, Larian is one of them. Just as Beamdog, Larian doesn't have a publisher, they're self-publishing their games. Even BG3 will be self-published, WotC only provided a license.
A worldwide coalition of leading independent game companies and partners have announced the Guerrilla Collective, a group of publishers and developers dedicated to bringing the experience of exciting news and reveals home to viewers globally.
Kinda makes you wonder if they're "at" Guerilla just to make sure they're not overshadowed by massive AAA-titles...
No. The premiere Guerrilla Collective, The PC Gaming Show and the Future Games Show, all mentioned in the press-release, are this year's unofficial "E3", THE biggest convention of this summer. The Guerrilla Collective is part of IGNs ‘Summer of Gaming’ and GameSpot’s ‘Play For All’. Other companies - the "massive AAA" companies as you call them - will have their own conventions, eg. Ubisoft. Larian are there not because they're afraid to be overshadowed, they're there because it's the most fitting place, or, even, the only place this summer.
It is not for me to say how people should make the distinction, but indie seems to be the main premise of the event.
I just thought that Larian is way past being considered as indie developer, especially after DOS and DOS2 successes. I'm just surprised they plan to present their game during the event for indie developers, that's all.
They are still an independent company. It's really difficult to stay as an independent company in gaming these days, and it's something to be proud of, not to be ashamed of. Working with the WotC license doesn't make you a non-independent company.
The guerilla corrective website says the 13th. Apparently it is a digital version of E3 but mostly for indie game developers. It was indeed supposed to be a 3 day event, from June 6-8 but they shifted to June 13-15 to make room for the black lives matter phenomenon.
I guess they do it because indie is more open format for these things than large companies or something?
They do that because they are trying to create something new. An alternative to heavy-weights E3 or Sony conventions. They do that because even while working on a 300+ people title they continue to stay themselves - an independent company building everything on their own and working with smaller companies.
For me, I usually define games as AAA according to their budget and scope, where for studios it's the size of their staff as well as the scale of the games they make.
I find the use of AAA to be rather meaningless since we never talk about AA or A companies/titles. Having AAA and "the rest" isn't a particularly practical scale. Where in this grand scale do we tip over from "the rest" into AAA? Is there a fixed point like budget, scale, number of people working in the project? If not, it get very subjective and hard to agree.
Is anyone or anything ever categorized into AA, A or even B, C etc? I've at least never seen it. If those were used discussions regarding if FO NV was AAA or maybe AA would have been more meaningful.
Perhaps sounds a bit ranty, but I'm genuinely curious. I guess I could google, but it's more interesting to hear your thoughts.
I went ahead and googled anyways. Patience is not one of my virtues. Reddit is as always a fountain of information, some good, most not. Fun nonetheless to see I was far from the first to be confused by this arbitrary scale. Link to that thread in spoilers
the term AA died after the 5th generation of consoles as during the ps3/360 era it became to expensive to make games due to hd. the term got replaced with indie.
I find the use of AAA to be rather meaningless since we never talk about AA or A companies/titles. Having AAA and "the rest" isn't a particularly practical scale. Where in this grand scale do we tip over from "the rest" into AAA? Is there a fixed point like budget, scale, number of people working in the project? If not, it get very subjective and hard to agree.
Is anyone or anything ever categorized into AA, A or even B, C etc? I've at least never seen it. If those were used discussions regarding if FO NV was AAA or maybe AA would have been more meaningful.
Perhaps sounds a bit ranty, but I'm genuinely curious. I guess I could google, but it's more interesting to hear your thoughts.
I went ahead and googled anyways. Patience is not one of my virtues. Reddit is as always a fountain of information, some good, most not. Fun nonetheless to see I was far from the first to be confused by this arbitrary scale. Link to that thread in spoilers
It's interesting you ask this question, because just recently I saw an interview somewhere where an Obsidian person labeled TOW as a AA game and even the journalist used the AA description for the game. Furthermore, I have seen other gaming news stories recently where the term AA was used (for other games from other studios).
And relatedly, an interview from this past February with a Larian person has that person officially labeling BG3 as a AAA game.
I agree that it is budget (and as such relatedly the size and scope of the game and the number of devs working on it) that determines AAA status.
June 13th, 12pm est for Baldur's Gate 3 during the Guerilla Collective Event according to the article.
In the Guerrilla collective also features Haven, Boyfriend Dungeon and the fantastic "Disco Elysium"
Boyfriend Dungeon, huh? Seems Bioware finally realised their true calling
So tomorrow is the day. How certain are we that the EA begins too? Has there been anything beyond the line in the trailer?
I think I've decided I'm going to pay for the EA. Yes, I know, you could probably tell I was going to from my previous posts. But I think I've decided to let myself to it this time. I'm not a huge fan of Early Access as a thing, but Traian and this title feels like a non-risk. I'll be hanging out with my niece and nephew all weekend though so I'll have to rely on you guys for first impressions and news
The Guerrilla presentation was a little different, but showed too that we´re travelling to the underdark. Good news. Also myconids and other interesting stuff.
And they changed the third-person narrator due to negative feedback, it seems.
Oh man, this! It was literally almost dealbreaker for me. Couldn't stand this sort of dialogue.
I must agree here... the third-person dialogue really breaks immersion for me. One of the reasons that in two months I still have not left the prison in Divinity Original Sin 2.
I didnt mind the original narrative past tense presentation, but I also dont mind a more standard version if they decide to go that way.
They apparently changed the initiative system somehow too. Not really sure what that means, but hopefully it's not team initiative and will be character dependent.
Still looks pretty fantastic each time they show anything.
I didnt mind the original narrative past tense presentation, but I also dont mind a more standard version if they decide to go that way.
They apparently changed the initiative system somehow too. Not really sure what that means, but hopefully it's not team initiative and will be character dependent.
Still looks pretty fantastic each time they show anything.
Yeah, team initiative, and an XCOM-style turn-taking would have been a huge mistake imo, as Ammar has stated eloquently in this subforum.
Definitely a wee bit concerned how they're going to make all this work -- a level 10 adventure and the Underdark seem pretty strongly at odds. I could see it working with your party perhaps only getting a taste of it, a brief excursion perhaps. Does seem like they're setting themselves up to have lots of callbacks to the original series, or perhaps the main story being tightly wound to it as well.
Also didn't quite put both these things together until I watched that video. But Belgium (home of Larian) has the highest per capita COVID death toll in the world. So sad for many of their Belgian workers I'm sure, and a tough time to be working on a project this ambitious.
Yeah, It´s a little weird that you could fight Underdark enemies at a low level, but to be honest, I prefer fighting Myconids, intellect devourers, demons and some than +100 kobolds and goblins. Good stuff.
5e is not as equipment-dependent, low-level characters are somewhat competent and the gap between levels is not that huge in terms of stats, armour, BAB, saves, etc as in previous editions ( I.E. In 5e your saves, base attack and skills improve with your proficiency after a set number of levels, in previous editions your saves, BAB, skills,... usually improves every level-up) so it could be done, I think.
They don't look even in the slightest to be different from D:OS characters.
I dunno, they don't really look identical to me.
If somebody showed me this and said that it was the same character in two different games in a series, I'd totally believe it.
Not once and not twice it has been mentioned that everything you see is still WIP and that had been a pre-alpha footage. Here, even 2 months before the start of the Early Access (and D:OS 2 was in Early Access for 1 year), how the characters look has already changed substantially. And it will continue to evolve, just as everything else, from the UI to the combat system.
Okay so Past Tense dialogue and Party Turns where definitely some of my main objections to what we saw in the spring-time reveal. If the change to initiative means individual character initiative then I'm definitely happy about that.
The past tense dialogue was a weird choice. It was something that I could see just being a matter of getting used to, a "get into the game and you stop noticing it" thing. But it definitely felt awkward in the reveal footage.
Yeah, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the "changes to initiative" means a switch to individual initiative rather than party initiative. As for the narrator, apparently they are keeping the narrator-style dialogue, but what they're dumping is the past tense speech. I didn't particular mind the narrator-style dialogue because I did enjoy the way they wove actions into the responses as well; I just hope that the dialogue choices will reveal EVERYTHING our character is going to say, not just a summary (a la dialogue wheel).
Yeah, It´s a little weird that you could fight Underdark enemies at a low level, but to be honest, I prefer fighting Myconids, intellect devourers, demons and some than +100 kobolds and goblins. Good stuff.
5e is not as equipment-dependent, low-level characters are somewhat competent and the gap between levels is not that huge in terms of stats, armour, BAB, saves, etc as in previous editions ( I.E. In 5e your saves, base attack and skills improve with your proficiency after a set number of levels, in previous editions your saves, BAB, skills,... usually improves every level-up) so it could be done, I think.
Thanks for this insight. I've never played 5e, so obviously stuck somewhat with an understanding of the rules/power levels from 2 and 3 editions
@DinoDin I also have very little experience with 5E D&D. I played Sword Coast Legends on console (or should I say tried to play) but the game was so poorly made. It didn’t run properly and the loading times were a joke so I gave up after a few hours. Was that based on 5E? I heard that the ruleset it was based on, it did a poor job of replicating but I can’t remember.
@DinoDin I also have very little experience with 5E D&D. I played Sword Coast Legends on console (or should I say tried to play) but the game was so poorly made. It didn’t run properly and the loading times were a joke so I gave up after a few hours. Was that based on 5E? I heard that the ruleset it was based on, it did a poor job of replicating but I can’t remember.
Based on 5e?... For the sacred udders of the holiest cow... GODS NO!
Let's just say that if we´re talking ruleset Sword Coast Legends has the same in common with D&D5e as Candy crush.
It has the Forgotten realms setting and locations but the ruleset has zero in common with 5e. Sorry, not zero, minus 200. I mean, you cannot change your spells after resting because those are like WOW skills you gain on level-up with a cooldown in SCL. And that´s only one of the gazillion differences.
It was hugely criticised because of that. Basically shredded any semblance the game could have with the tabletop and the result was a system that is subpar (Not only because it does not follow the D&D ruleset, but because the game mechanics were poorly made).
The only game I know It has the 5e implemented (until the upcoming of BG3 of course) is "Solasta, crown of the magister" You can download the kickstarter game demo in Steam (if it is still available) and take a peek.
Or if you´re curious there are some (incredible) people making streamings of their games of D&D5e, like Adventure Zone, Acquisitions incorporated, CR, etc.
Yeah, It´s a little weird that you could fight Underdark enemies at a low level, but to be honest, I prefer fighting Myconids, intellect devourers, demons and some than +100 kobolds and goblins. Good stuff.
5e is not as equipment-dependent, low-level characters are somewhat competent and the gap between levels is not that huge in terms of stats, armour, BAB, saves, etc as in previous editions ( I.E. In 5e your saves, base attack and skills improve with your proficiency after a set number of levels, in previous editions your saves, BAB, skills,... usually improves every level-up) so it could be done, I think.
Thanks for this insight. I've never played 5e, so obviously stuck somewhat with an understanding of the rules/power levels from 2 and 3 editions
I´ll not be too worried about it.
In the previous gameplay footage, two level-1 characters beat an encounter with three intellect devourers so I think the tadpole in your head gives you an advantage or the enemies are toned down to be an equal to your low-level characters.
The intellect devourers are CR7 creatures, and widely known as party-killers. It was strange when I found out they can be killed with a boot. Gotta try that next time.
Now seriously, in the gameplay the Intellect devourers did not use some of their signature moves, they just attack so I think we´ll find enemies modified and balanced to match our low-level party.
In the tabletop the Intellect devourers do this to your party:
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics): The intellect devourer’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: confusion (single target only), detect magic, detect thoughts, enlarge/reduce (self only), inflict wounds (5d10), invisibility
3/day each: cure wounds (2d8 + 4), globe of invulnerability
Magic Resistance: The intellect devourer has advantage on saving throws against spells.
Actions
Multiattack: The intellect devourer makes two Intelligence Drain attacks.
Intelligence Drain: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage, and the target’s Intelligence score is reduced by 1d4. The target is stunned if this reduces its Intelligence to 0. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest.
Body Thief: The intellect devourer targets a creature within 5 feet of it that is incapacitated, or that has died within the last minute. An incapacitated creature must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 54 (12d8) psychic damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target heals 1 hit point and is possessed by the intellect devourer. If the target was dead, it returns to life with 1 hit point and is possessed by the intellect devourer.
The intellect devourer psionically consumes the brain of a creature it posseses, and replaces it. The intellect devourer can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except protection from good and evil, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s statistics, gaining access to the target’s knowledge, class features, and proficiencies.
The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the intellect devourer ends it as a bonus action, or the intellect devourer is forced out by an effect like protection from good and evil. When the possession ends, the intellect devourer reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body. The body then dies, unless its brain is restored within 1 round.
@PsicoVic ha ha cheers for the insight. As I said I really only played a little bit of it and was far to put off by the games technical shortcomings to really absorb anything else from it. It really was released in such a bad state.
I’ve not heard of Solasta but I might take a look
Edit: ‘For the sacred udders of the holiest cow’ lol that genuinely made me chuckle ?
To me it looks like the team initiative is still there, so I am happy about that at least. If that gets removed, then that will be the final straw for me. Team initiative is the only saving grace of an otherwise sucky combat system. The ridiculous decision to change party size to four is still there, clearly a sop to MP, but on that issue I am hopeful a mod will get made to fix that horrible mistake.
Having said all that, overall, as a harsh critic of the game right from the beginning, I am willing to admit the game does indeed look a whole lot better now. In particular the artstyle and art assets of the game are hugely improved, and no longer look like the ridiculous cartoonish D:OS artstyle. The atmosphere and the tone of the game also are now much more the Forgotten Realms and not D:OS. I still can't stand any of the pre-made characters, and at least some of them will get slaughtered the moment I meet them so that they can't annoy me any further.
So, overall, I am now more cautiously hopeful about the game. But it all rests on whether team initiative remains in the game.
After seeing the reaction Torchlight III is getting in Early Access (which is nothing more than paying for the game early to be involved in a beta-test) I'm expecting nothing less than a total shit-storm of complaints large, small and imaginary for the entire process. On the one hand you will have the people who don't understand what Early Access is, and on the other will be armchair game developers trying to redesign the entire thing from their apartments.
After seeing the reaction Torchlight III is getting in Early Access (which is nothing more than paying for the game early to be involved in a beta-test) I'm expecting nothing less than a total shit-storm of complaints large, small and imaginary for the entire process. On the one hand you will have the people who don't understand what Early Access is, and on the other will be armchair game developers trying to redesign the entire thing from their apartments.
Counter argument: GTFO is also in early access on Steam right now, and is getting pretty good reviews. I think D:OS2 was in early access and got glowing reviews through out that process.
I do think there will be some backlash at BG3 just for the name, but if the game is genuinely good and released in early access in a stable state, it'll still be decently received.
Comments
A new online gaming convention will include some of the most-acclaimed independent studios in the world.
And speaking of independent, Larian is one of them. Just as Beamdog, Larian doesn't have a publisher, they're self-publishing their games. Even BG3 will be self-published, WotC only provided a license.
According to their official press-release, they focus on independent, not "small". https://www.mediaindieexchange.com/announcing-guerrilla-collective/
A worldwide coalition of leading independent game companies and partners have announced the Guerrilla Collective, a group of publishers and developers dedicated to bringing the experience of exciting news and reveals home to viewers globally.
No. The premiere Guerrilla Collective, The PC Gaming Show and the Future Games Show, all mentioned in the press-release, are this year's unofficial "E3", THE biggest convention of this summer. The Guerrilla Collective is part of IGNs ‘Summer of Gaming’ and GameSpot’s ‘Play For All’. Other companies - the "massive AAA" companies as you call them - will have their own conventions, eg. Ubisoft. Larian are there not because they're afraid to be overshadowed, they're there because it's the most fitting place, or, even, the only place this summer.
They are still an independent company. It's really difficult to stay as an independent company in gaming these days, and it's something to be proud of, not to be ashamed of. Working with the WotC license doesn't make you a non-independent company.
Correct! It was so 'til Microsoft acquired them.
They do that because they are trying to create something new. An alternative to heavy-weights E3 or Sony conventions. They do that because even while working on a 300+ people title they continue to stay themselves - an independent company building everything on their own and working with smaller companies.
the term AA died after the 5th generation of consoles as during the ps3/360 era it became to expensive to make games due to hd. the term got replaced with indie.
It's interesting you ask this question, because just recently I saw an interview somewhere where an Obsidian person labeled TOW as a AA game and even the journalist used the AA description for the game. Furthermore, I have seen other gaming news stories recently where the term AA was used (for other games from other studios).
And relatedly, an interview from this past February with a Larian person has that person officially labeling BG3 as a AAA game.
I agree that it is budget (and as such relatedly the size and scope of the game and the number of devs working on it) that determines AAA status.
June 13th, 12pm est for Baldur's Gate 3 during the Guerilla Collective Event according to the article.
In the Guerrilla collective also features Haven, Boyfriend Dungeon and the fantastic "Disco Elysium"
https://screenrant.com/e3-2020-game-event-schedule-replacement-summer-conference/
So tomorrow is the day. How certain are we that the EA begins too? Has there been anything beyond the line in the trailer?
I think I've decided I'm going to pay for the EA. Yes, I know, you could probably tell I was going to from my previous posts. But I think I've decided to let myself to it this time. I'm not a huge fan of Early Access as a thing, but Traian and this title feels like a non-risk. I'll be hanging out with my niece and nephew all weekend though so I'll have to rely on you guys for first impressions and news
Sigh.
Edit: Lol maybe that’s just her without the Helmet on ?
The Guerrilla presentation was a little different, but showed too that we´re travelling to the underdark. Good news. Also myconids and other interesting stuff.
And they changed the third-person narrator due to negative feedback, it seems.
The good news is that Sven said they are on schedule and we`ll have a new gameplay footage soon.
Oh man, this! It was literally almost dealbreaker for me. Couldn't stand this sort of dialogue.
I must agree here... the third-person dialogue really breaks immersion for me. One of the reasons that in two months I still have not left the prison in Divinity Original Sin 2.
They apparently changed the initiative system somehow too. Not really sure what that means, but hopefully it's not team initiative and will be character dependent.
Still looks pretty fantastic each time they show anything.
Yeah, team initiative, and an XCOM-style turn-taking would have been a huge mistake imo, as Ammar has stated eloquently in this subforum.
Also didn't quite put both these things together until I watched that video. But Belgium (home of Larian) has the highest per capita COVID death toll in the world. So sad for many of their Belgian workers I'm sure, and a tough time to be working on a project this ambitious.
5e is not as equipment-dependent, low-level characters are somewhat competent and the gap between levels is not that huge in terms of stats, armour, BAB, saves, etc as in previous editions ( I.E. In 5e your saves, base attack and skills improve with your proficiency after a set number of levels, in previous editions your saves, BAB, skills,... usually improves every level-up) so it could be done, I think.
Not once and not twice it has been mentioned that everything you see is still WIP and that had been a pre-alpha footage. Here, even 2 months before the start of the Early Access (and D:OS 2 was in Early Access for 1 year), how the characters look has already changed substantially. And it will continue to evolve, just as everything else, from the UI to the combat system.
The past tense dialogue was a weird choice. It was something that I could see just being a matter of getting used to, a "get into the game and you stop noticing it" thing. But it definitely felt awkward in the reveal footage.
Thanks for this insight. I've never played 5e, so obviously stuck somewhat with an understanding of the rules/power levels from 2 and 3 editions
Based on 5e?... For the sacred udders of the holiest cow... GODS NO!
Let's just say that if we´re talking ruleset Sword Coast Legends has the same in common with D&D5e as Candy crush.
It has the Forgotten realms setting and locations but the ruleset has zero in common with 5e. Sorry, not zero, minus 200. I mean, you cannot change your spells after resting because those are like WOW skills you gain on level-up with a cooldown in SCL. And that´s only one of the gazillion differences.
It was hugely criticised because of that. Basically shredded any semblance the game could have with the tabletop and the result was a system that is subpar (Not only because it does not follow the D&D ruleset, but because the game mechanics were poorly made).
The only game I know It has the 5e implemented (until the upcoming of BG3 of course) is "Solasta, crown of the magister" You can download the kickstarter game demo in Steam (if it is still available) and take a peek.
Or if you´re curious there are some (incredible) people making streamings of their games of D&D5e, like Adventure Zone, Acquisitions incorporated, CR, etc.
I´ll not be too worried about it.
In the previous gameplay footage, two level-1 characters beat an encounter with three intellect devourers so I think the tadpole in your head gives you an advantage or the enemies are toned down to be an equal to your low-level characters.
The intellect devourers are CR7 creatures, and widely known as party-killers. It was strange when I found out they can be killed with a boot. Gotta try that next time.
Now seriously, in the gameplay the Intellect devourers did not use some of their signature moves, they just attack so I think we´ll find enemies modified and balanced to match our low-level party.
In the tabletop the Intellect devourers do this to your party:
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics): The intellect devourer’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: confusion (single target only), detect magic, detect thoughts, enlarge/reduce (self only), inflict wounds (5d10), invisibility
3/day each: cure wounds (2d8 + 4), globe of invulnerability
Magic Resistance: The intellect devourer has advantage on saving throws against spells.
Actions
Multiattack: The intellect devourer makes two Intelligence Drain attacks.
Intelligence Drain: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage, and the target’s Intelligence score is reduced by 1d4. The target is stunned if this reduces its Intelligence to 0. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest.
Body Thief: The intellect devourer targets a creature within 5 feet of it that is incapacitated, or that has died within the last minute. An incapacitated creature must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 54 (12d8) psychic damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target heals 1 hit point and is possessed by the intellect devourer. If the target was dead, it returns to life with 1 hit point and is possessed by the intellect devourer.
The intellect devourer psionically consumes the brain of a creature it posseses, and replaces it. The intellect devourer can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except protection from good and evil, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. It otherwise uses the possessed target’s statistics, gaining access to the target’s knowledge, class features, and proficiencies.
The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the intellect devourer ends it as a bonus action, or the intellect devourer is forced out by an effect like protection from good and evil. When the possession ends, the intellect devourer reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body. The body then dies, unless its brain is restored within 1 round.
https://www.5esrd.com/gamemastering/monsters-foes/monsters-by-type/aberrations/intellect-devourer-3pp/
I’ve not heard of Solasta but I might take a look
Edit: ‘For the sacred udders of the holiest cow’ lol that genuinely made me chuckle ?
Having said all that, overall, as a harsh critic of the game right from the beginning, I am willing to admit the game does indeed look a whole lot better now. In particular the artstyle and art assets of the game are hugely improved, and no longer look like the ridiculous cartoonish D:OS artstyle. The atmosphere and the tone of the game also are now much more the Forgotten Realms and not D:OS. I still can't stand any of the pre-made characters, and at least some of them will get slaughtered the moment I meet them so that they can't annoy me any further.
So, overall, I am now more cautiously hopeful about the game. But it all rests on whether team initiative remains in the game.
Counter argument: GTFO is also in early access on Steam right now, and is getting pretty good reviews. I think D:OS2 was in early access and got glowing reviews through out that process.
I do think there will be some backlash at BG3 just for the name, but if the game is genuinely good and released in early access in a stable state, it'll still be decently received.
No need to be rude
im pretty sure that is a new game actually, i saw it today for sale on steam
unless this is supposed to be a joke and im just not getting it, wooosh
Joke...yes.