Baldur's Gate 3

[syz]

Some developers are upset at this game for pushing new boundaries and possibly setting new expectations as industry standards. Elden Ring also received the same type of criticism.

Not feeling sorry that gamers want something more than the same open world Assassin's Creed formula copy and pasted from game to game.

This isn't actually happening. One indie developer tweeted that most studios can't afford to have 7 years of development time and 3 years of early access like BG3 did, which is correct.

Similar to the Elden Ring stuff last year it's just a bunch of sensationalist clickbait from the usual suspects.

 

[PeteWorrell]

This isn't actually happening. One indie developer tweeted that most studios can't afford to have 7 years of development time and 3 years of early access like BG3 did, which is correct.

Similar to the Elden Ring stuff last year it's just a bunch of sensationalist clickbait from the usual suspects.

Would be interesting if you could elaborate what you mean by the usual suspects?

There is plenty of evidence of it happening unless you are implying that the quotes and social media accounts from employees of big studios are fabricated.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

This isn't actually happening. One indie developer tweeted that most studios can't afford to have 7 years of development time and 3 years of early access like BG3 did, which is correct.

Similar to the Elden Ring stuff last year it's just a bunch of sensationalist clickbait from the usual suspects.

Nah, there's definitely AAA devs complaining. I watched this video the other day:



He specifically reads tweets from James Berg who is the Senior Games Researcher at EA and Ryan McCabe who is the Design Manager at Insomniac Games. I'm not sure who Xalavier Nelson Jr is, just says he's working on Stranger Things VR which I'm sure is not a AAA title but still an indie dev. And none of the devs mentioned in this video seems to talk about what you mentioned, at least not in these particular tweets.

 

[PeteWorrell]

Nah, there's definitely AAA devs complaining. I watched this video the other day:



He specifically reads tweets from James Berg who is the Senior Games Researcher at EA and Ryan McCabe who is the Design Manager at Insomniac Games. I'm not sure who Xalavier Nelson Jr is, just says he's working on Stranger Things VR which I'm sure is not a AAA title but still an indie dev. And none of the devs mentioned in this video seems to talk about what you mentioned, at least not in these particular tweets.

Other developers approved what Xalavier Nelson Jr wrote. So even if he is not a big name himself; some people from big studios agreed with him.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I wouldn't be surprised, that's just me pointing out some devs after approximately 1 minute of research lol

 

[syz]

Nah, there's definitely AAA devs complaining. I watched this video the other day:



He specifically reads tweets from James Berg who is the Senior Games Researcher at EA and Ryan McCabe who is the Design Manager at Insomniac Games. I'm not sure who Xalavier Nelson Jr is, just says he's working on Stranger Things VR which I'm sure is not a AAA title but still an indie dev. And none of the devs mentioned in this video seems to talk about what you mentioned, at least not in these particular tweets.

This is one of the laziest pieces IGN has ever run. The fact that people are buying it is just flat out media illiteracy. 10 minute click bait video complaining about "unfinished" games even though BG3 launched unfinished in early access for full price 3 years ago.

Apologies in advance for doing The Discourse Dance

It seems like a lot of the "Baldur's Gate 3 is causing developers who hate their audiences and want to make dogshit titles to panic because now they can't be lazy!" stuff is coming from one specific op-ed piece at IGN by one Destin Legarie. I've put a few of his YouTube thumbnails above to give...

cohost.org

That IGN video - insert credit

The insert credit forums are a place to talk about video games for anyone who has thought, "but really, who will care about this specific thing I like?"

forums.insertcredit.com

The Elden Ring stuff was similar. One dude at a AAA dev tweets about not liking the UI and all of a sudden there's 200 "Western devs HATE Elden Ring" videos.

 

[Gardner McKay]

This is one of the laziest pieces IGN has ever run. The fact that people are buying it is just flat out media illiteracy. 10 minute click bait video complaining about "unfinished" games even though BG3 launched unfinished in early access for full price 3 years ago.

Apologies in advance for doing The Discourse Dance

It seems like a lot of the "Baldur's Gate 3 is causing developers who hate their audiences and want to make dogshit titles to panic because now they can't be lazy!" stuff is coming from one specific op-ed piece at IGN by one Destin Legarie. I've put a few of his YouTube thumbnails above to give...

cohost.org

That IGN video - insert credit

The insert credit forums are a place to talk about video games for anyone who has thought, "but really, who will care about this specific thing I like?"

forums.insertcredit.com

The Elden Ring stuff was similar. One dude at a AAA dev tweets about not liking the UI and all of a sudden there's 200 "Western devs HATE Elden Ring" videos.

"This isn't happening."

*Evidence is posted*

"I don't like this evidence."

AAA Dev's don't want to be held to a higher standard.

 

[syz]

"This isn't happening."

*Evidence is posted*

"I don't like this evidence."

AAA Dev's don't want to be held to a higher standard.

Zero evidence was posted. That's the point. It's an op-ed opinion piece by somebody who admits at several points therein that he knows nothing about game development but complains about it anyway.

All people are pointing out is that there are hundreds of factors beyond the developers themselves that contribute to the quality of a final product. BG3 is similar to Elden Ring; it's the culmination several games' worth of iterative design by a large team who was afforded a 7 year development cycle (and, again, 3 years of consumers helping fund development through early access, which is being conveniently ignored). Another developer saying "don't expect most games to turn out this way because most games don't have that luxury" isn't panic or an excuse, it's just a true statement.

We also need to stop pretending BG3 is masterfully bug free or whatever. Definitely seen people complaining about performances issues and saves being eaten, etc. Shit happens, even after 3 years of early access.

 

[Mikeaveli]

The idea of AAA developers being in a panic over this game is funny to me and I am a big fan of Larian. I'm pretty sure the EAs, Activisions, and Take-Twos of the industry will continue to do well in the aftermath of this game. Nobody is going to stop buying Ultimate Team packs because Baldur's Gate 3 was a good game.

 

[Gardner McKay]

The idea of AAA developers being in a panic over this game is funny to me and I am a big fan of Larian. I'm pretty sure the EAs, Activisions, and Take-Twos of the industry will continue to do well in the aftermath of this game. Nobody is going to stop buying Ultimate Team packs because Baldur's Gate 3 was a good game.

I don't disagree, but I think there is general fatigue for the current model of many AAA games, hence the success of games like Elden Ring and the anticipation for BG3.

 

[Three On Zero]

Picked this game up for some Nostalgia of BG1, not at all disappointed.

Devs should be upset, BG3 is pushing boundaries and breaking the normal expectations of launching half cooked games. Take note and do better with your releases

 

[syz]

The idea of AAA developers being in a panic over this game is funny to me and I am a big fan of Larian. I'm pretty sure the EAs, Activisions, and Take-Twos of the industry will continue to do well in the aftermath of this game. Nobody is going to stop buying Ultimate Team packs because Baldur's Gate 3 was a good game.

The important distinction to make is that EA, Activision, et al. aren't developers--they're publishers.

Developers love BG3 because it's proof of what a game can be when it gets enough time and resources. Publishers probably hate BG3 because Bobby Kotick has another yacht to buy (or more realistically is beholden to public investors demanding a return on investment within X days while a privately owned studio like Larian is not) and he doesn't want to wait 7 years when instead he could give a studio 3 years and make them put loot boxes in the game and very likely see higher profits anyways, even if the game is worse.

 

[Mikeaveli]

I don't disagree, but I think there is general fatigue for the current model of many AAA games, hence the success of games like Elden Ring and the anticipation for BG3.

That is true for more "hardcore" gamers you see in online discussions but its still basically guaranteed that at the end of the year we will see two Call of Duty games, Madden, FIFA, and Diablo IV in the top 10 best selling games of the year.

The important distinction to make is that EA, Activision, et al. aren't developers--they're publishers.

Developers love BG3 because it's proof of what a game can be when it gets enough time and resources. Publishers probably hate BG3 because Bobby Kotick has another yacht to buy (or more realistically is beholden to public investors demanding a return on investment within X days while a privately owned studio like Larian is not) and he doesn't want to wait 7 years when instead he could give a studio 3 years and make them put loot boxes in the game and very likely see higher profits anyways, even if the game is worse.

My point is that the developers working under those AAA publishers who are supposedly panicing have no need to worry about BG3. If their jobs are in jeopardy it won't be because of the release of a single RPG.

 

[Static]

"This isn't happening."

*Evidence is posted*

"I don't like this evidence."

AAA Dev's don't want to be held to a higher standard.

That isn't what it is. AAA games for the most part can't be subsidized the way Baldur's gate was. Three years of early access meant constant funding to actually build the game they wanted to make. If gamers were cool with paying for a game three years before it was actually finished then all developers could do that.

The real problem is the current way of making games is not sustainable, and that's what AAA game developers are upset about, not some "higher standard".

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I’m not huge into CRPGs but BG3 is easily the most fun I’ve had with a game since Elden Ring early last year.

 

[Seedtype]

This game has a crazy amount of variety and I know I'm just scratching the surface. Seriously this game might suck me in for a while. I wish I was a kid again and had free time to play this(of course my parents definitely wouldn't let me play this game, heh)

If I have only one real complaint is that the party limit of 4 is silly. But I know that's because it's a game so there has to be a party limit. And I suppose you can always go back to camp and swap people out real quick if you want.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Act 3 appears to be a lot heavier on the CPU than the rest of the game. Hopefully there is an update including DLSS 3 before I begin playing. Larian claims this game will be 60 FPS on PS5 but I don't see how that is going to be possible. A Ryzen 5 3600 can drop below 30 FPS in Act 3.

 

[Bocephus86]

I gotta say I am very impressed with this game. I am not a turn-based, team-based RPG guy (for the most part, I did enjoy the two recent Xcoms & Wasteland 3) so I was apprehensive. It took me until maybe 6-8 hours to truly understand the combat, which I basically thought was just move + melee/arrow/spell, and I struggled a TON in battles because of this. Understanding the environmental options, throwing items, and (accidentally) stumbling onto how stealth can/does work has made the combat really satisfying. Still a challenge (I play on the medium setting), but feels incredibly fair.

I also wanted to say that I am still in Act I and have 27 hours recorded in the game. Some of that is me being a completionist, some of it is that I struggled in a few areas and replayed them a ton, and a lot of it is that I got (I think) near the end of one of the two branching paths than turned around and just started the other. I thought I was ready to transition of of Act I with about 12-14 hours in the game, then learned that those travel areas are actually full blown areas with a ton to do, not just a quick travel transition.

What a ride. Anyone that has considered this game but was concerned with the turn-based combat, take a chance at it. I created a human fighter as my character and its a straight-forward role to help learn the ropes. I wouldnt' suggest starting with a pre-created character until a second play through.
Last note: every NPC having a unique name & some dialogue wasn't something I thought I would care about when I started, but damn if it doesn't increase immersion a ton. Even the little 'filler' NPCs are named & can make comments on things you might have done that impacted them/their area/their group.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Looks like it will hit Xbox this year.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Parity clause is dead. As it should be, honestly. Glad people on Xbox are going to be able to play this game.

 

[Andrei79]

30 hours in and the game is still exceptional. I heard that there are quite a few bugs in ACT 3. My guess is they'll do like D:OS2 and publish a definitive edition eventually. I'm hoping most of the stuff is patched up until I get there though.

EDIT: I'm going through the underdark and grymforge and the size of these places are just ridiculous. There's so much content it really shames other developpers. This is the slam dunk GOTY.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Yeah, this is very easily the GOTY for me in a year with a lot of top flight games. I am 80 hours in and still captivated by this game.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Looks like console performance is even worse than I thought it would be. Luckily this is the type of game where 30 FPS is probably adequate.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I’m on PS5 and have played for about 4 hours or so and I’ve had zero issues personally. This game is fun as hell but also a bit overwhelming. I haven’t played a turn based rpg in a long long time.

Had a couple of questions. Is looting a ton necessary? So far I’m picking up almost everything but wasn’t sure if needed. I haven’t even gotten to an area to sell stuff yet. Do you end up crafting things or no?

I’m also wasting a lot of bonus actions because all I have really is like push or put your sword into something. Rarely have I gotten the chance to do either.

Any idea what that undead spell does? The explanation completely confuses me so I haven’t used it as an action yet

 

[Jussi]

Baldur’s Gate 3 Devs Give Update On Xbox Release Date

Baldur's Gate 3 has been the talk of the town this month and while it is already available on PC with a PS5 release due next week Xbox fans are still stuck playing the waiting game. While developer Larian Studios had assured in the past that the

www.thetechgame.com

Maybe October for the Xbox release?