Is there an official FAQ yet? do we know time period, D&D edition, campaign setting, isometric etc.?
Lemernis
Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
From some of the promotional videos I've seen thus far it looks like the location will include the city of Baldur's Gate, and I got the impression that the game will use the 5th Edition rule set. Obviously it features a mindflayer invasion as a central plot device.
But in 4th Edition the campaign setting is pretty damn different than our beloved BG1 and BG2. I've been away from this hobby entirely over the last 5-6 years and had forgotten all about the Sundering and Spellplague and what not. I really wasn't keen on the direction I was seeing when I left it...
I found this
https://youtu.be/BDyqSsJPIs4
to try to get caught up a bit on FR setting lore. I'm also reading here and there on forums that it looks like since the 4th edition campaign setting was released and the Sundering, etc., WotC kind of swept the whole Spellplague event under the rug, more or less pretending that it never happened.
Trying also to get up to speed on 5th Edition: https://5thsrd.org/
Anyway, I guess that as long the game is set in Faerun, allows me to use the basic classes, cast D&D spells, use cool magic items, assemble an adventuring party, openly explore a richly detailed world, and have great combat and adventure... I should be pretty happy. (That said, back when I tried the Neverwinter Nights games, sadly they just didn't do it for me. I mean, they were okay, guess. But they didn't come close to the way that the BG games struck such a deep chord with me. And yet I recognize that it behooves me to remain open to changes with the setting and the ruleset in more recent times.)
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. What is known about the basics of this game? Do we know if it will it be 3D? or a 3/4 isometic perspective type game?
What facts have you been able to assemble about this game thus far?
But in 4th Edition the campaign setting is pretty damn different than our beloved BG1 and BG2. I've been away from this hobby entirely over the last 5-6 years and had forgotten all about the Sundering and Spellplague and what not. I really wasn't keen on the direction I was seeing when I left it...
I found this
https://youtu.be/BDyqSsJPIs4to try to get caught up a bit on FR setting lore. I'm also reading here and there on forums that it looks like since the 4th edition campaign setting was released and the Sundering, etc., WotC kind of swept the whole Spellplague event under the rug, more or less pretending that it never happened.
Trying also to get up to speed on 5th Edition: https://5thsrd.org/
Anyway, I guess that as long the game is set in Faerun, allows me to use the basic classes, cast D&D spells, use cool magic items, assemble an adventuring party, openly explore a richly detailed world, and have great combat and adventure... I should be pretty happy. (That said, back when I tried the Neverwinter Nights games, sadly they just didn't do it for me. I mean, they were okay, guess. But they didn't come close to the way that the BG games struck such a deep chord with me. And yet I recognize that it behooves me to remain open to changes with the setting and the ruleset in more recent times.)
Anyway, sorry for the ramble. What is known about the basics of this game? Do we know if it will it be 3D? or a 3/4 isometic perspective type game?
What facts have you been able to assemble about this game thus far?
Post edited by Lemernis on
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Other than that we do know that Larian will be planting various elements of the Spelljammer campaign setting. For one we already saw the Illithid's spelljamming helm in the announcement trailer.
Other than that we know very little about its gameplay mechanics. The numerous interviews mentioned for instance that there will be no "miss chance". So any and all attacks will find their target no matter the stats.
The page over at GOG also had "Real-Time" as a tag... well, at one point anyway. Soon after they had replaced the "Real-Time" tag with "Strategy". Now? we don't have a clue about its combat style.
Not yes, but no, what you said was incorrect.
The D:OS2 engine uses 3D rendering, so that is very likely. Isometric perspective, on the other hand, is unlikely because AAA games generally don't do isometric.
The PC system requirements will be very intensive. Vincke specifically said they opted for bringing the game to Stadia at launch because that way if people's PCs cannot handle the graphics and memory requirements of the game they can still enjoy the game via Stadia.
The 'Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus' pnp module will be a direct prequel to this game.
D&D 5e rules are the starting point for the game, but rules can and will be changed if Larian feels a rule isn't fun in a video game. The first such rule they mentioned was the 'to hit' mechanism, which will be dumbed down. Other rules they're looking at for modification include: the pace of leveling up; and, replacing the 'spell slots' mechanic with something else.
As far as I'm aware it will be a prequel to BG3. But that doesn't mean it will be a sequel to BG2. Adventure wise Murder in Baldur's Gate is the sequel to BG2 at this point.
If folks want some sort of new Bhaalspawn saga related tale, maybe Beamdog can use the Infinity engine to try to do that. That is, to use the same EE engine to build a prequel story or something? Or a story related to the aftermath of the Bhaalspawn, etc. To build a new game from scratch using the materials available within the EE, essentially.
But anyway, BG III is basically a brand new story set in the Forgotten Realms, starting in the location of Baldur's Gate. Or I see no reason to believe otherwise, at any rate.
How are people so stuck on one particular story? I'm glad BG1 and 2 are considered history. They are great stories that are finished and now it's time to move on. Forcefully continuing finished storylines can ruin the whole thing. Who wants BG3 to turn into Highlander 2, 3, 4...
There are limitless stories waiting to be told. And the best stories start at level 1.
Well, although I agree with those sentiments overall, to play devil's advocate there could be a new story that is set into motion in some way by the events of the Bhaalspawn saga. Some sort of legacy that is left by it.
But I think that anything like that is actually best left to Beamdog. They would basically be building a ginormous mod that amonts to a brand new game. It could either be a prequel or a brand new tale with a L1 protagonist who is the offspring of CHARNAME in which some aspect of the Bhaalspawn saga poses a potentially catastrophic outcome that the hero must prevent. I'd almost rather see that anyway versus Larian doing it via 5E and the current campaign setting. With Beamdog making it with the EE engine we're sure to get the gameplay that we know and love.
I don't think it was quite worded like that. It sounded like he was saying the benefit of Google Stadia was all players could play the game at max settings, not that the game itself will be super intesive at all settings. Honestly sounds like Stadia PR speak and I guess it's an honest statement if your network can handle it. I mean I'm on 65mbs connection but when I use Steam Remote Play or PS Remote Play and my parter starts streaming a HD youtube video I have to put the controller down for a minute so I'm not convinced it will work except under perfect circumstances.
So yea I think they are just alluding to the various graphics settings. I'm sure you can play it if you can handle Divinity OS. I'm fully expecting a very similar engine.
I'm down with this. Give us new stories in 5E, that's awesome. BUT DONT CALL AN UNRELATED STORY BG3. It jsut disrespectful you know?
I think of Baldur's Gate more as a concept than one particular storyline. Like Dragon Age or Neverwinter Nights. NWN2 had nothing to do with the story of NWN1+expansions but everything to do with the concept of a toolset and a DM client.
If BG3 takes place in the same world on the same timeline a little bit later and has a great story for SP or co-op MP and is an accurate representation of D&D with real time combat, I think it's all good.
And if it turns out to be a great 5e CRPG.. who cares what it's called really.
@ThacoBell You keep mentioning it, but please consider that even Baldur's Gate 3: The Black Hound (developed not by Larian, but by people related to the classic games) wasn't supposed to be about the same character, yet it had this "3" in the title. It's completely normal.
To what exactly is it disrespectful? The legacy of the game? No, the classic games live on their own, and their legacy can't be harmed at all, because this is not Star Wars when the recent movies change characters of original movies. Lore? No, because the lore specialists (WotC) are not against it.
Yes you can always drop down your graphics settings. That is not contradictory with what I said.
You just said you 100% won't play the game because Subtledoctor said the game might be intensive. Not sure I was trying to contradict you more put your mind at ease that you probably will be able to run the game but if you are wanting to run max settings 4K on your toaster and refusing to play otherwise then there are a lot of good games out there you are missing.
Actually Stadia seems perfect for you
Um, no, you got us mixed up. I said the original thing, then Subtledoctor reacted saying the "won't play" part.
Lol whoops I messed up the quote editing. No worries I feel stupid now. I was talking about how they specifically worded it didn't sound like 'the game will be graphics intensive' but 'Everyone can play at max settings' which sounds more like something Google would push them to say as they are providing a platform for an announcement. We'll see how it shapes up but I don't imagine the requirements will be crazy.
BG3 "The Black Hound" never happened. Its just an argument in hypotheticals. If you want to go down this route though, here's my take: "The Black Hound" would also have not been BG3. It was really closer to IWD, if I recall the few details rightly. I'd imagine a lot of people would still be upset about it. Considering that it would have come from the same developer though, it wpuld certainly have not be nearly as controversial.
The pattern would have been there if there was another cRPG released between 2000 and 2019 which continued the story of BGII. But there was no such game.
How other series are different, if IWD and NWN had only 2 games, exactly like BG? If authors of IWD or NWN decided to continue the story of IWD and NWN they would have still named them IWD 2 and NWN 2.
I just don't think it's that big of a deal.
If its a good game it doesn't really matter if it has a "suboptimal" name.
@ThacoBell Abdel Adrian via WOTC is the Canon PC of BG1 BG2. He was born in 1343 DR, which would make him 25 years old at the beginning of the games.
He grew to become over a century old and became one of the Grand Dukes of Baldur's Gate in his later years. He died at the age of 136. Which means he Probably will be in the game in some way. Since it takes place only 100 years after TOB. Which in all your complaining about how it should not be called BG3 because it "Does not follow the story
And this is directly in response to the interviewer's question "What makes 'Baldur's Gate' 'Baldur's Gate'?... If I haven't played Baldur's Gate I or II, what can I expect (from Baldur's Gate III?)"
So the nay-sayers are right, they shouldn't call it Baldur's Gate 3...
... They should call it Baldur's Gate 5!
This part is what worries me the most, that is, the fact that the game has to be designed from the ground up to be playable by controller. That always means simplified menus that often can't be accessed via mouse click, and sometimes it means you can't move with the mouse, either. Designing a game for controllers just about always comes at the expense of a good mouse interface, in my experience.
That will be a big problem for me if it comes to pass, because of various medical issues with my hands requiring me to need a very specific setup to play games using a trackball mouse and minimal keyboard use. As I've mentioned before, I could not play Skyrim because they went this way with the controls.