Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Larian, is feedback still sought ?

Hi Larian,

I would like to know whether feedback on the game is still sought.


On the one hand, it looks unlikely that you are is still seeking feedback.

During Panel From Hell 6 (for Patch 8), you announced that you were in the final stretch and the game was getting feature-complete. This led many players to wonder whether that means the feedback collection phase was over. However, it was later clarified, in an indirect fashion yet through a trusted source, that feedback was still activelty sought.

But during Panel From Hell 7 (for Patch 9), you announced that there would be no new Patch. Since you had had the time to get a new round feedback after the release of Patch 8, and since no new gameplay experience would arise without a new Patch, this kind of implied that feedback was no longer sought.

And with the release date set for early August now, it also seems highly unlikely that you are keen to gather any further feedback on BG3.


On the other hand, well, it might look as if feedback i still sought.

I mean, you haven't announced that feedback was longer sought. Which may (or may not) mean that feedback is still sought.

Also, a feedback request was made about doing a Community Update when the end of Early Access would be near and the time for feedback would be over. If that suggestion was taken on board, then, since there hasn't been any message in recent Community Updates about the end of feedback, it would mean that feedback is still sought.


So it would be nice if you could let me (/us players) know if feedback is still sought. And if so, what kind of feedback, about what, to what end, etc. (I can imagine that you will monitor the feedback post-release, as you continue to update and support the game for a while. And even in the event where no expansion will ever be released, there might still be a Definitive Edition. This will no longer be EA and EA feedback, but instead it would be a different kind of feedback, for a different end.)



For context, personally,, I'm debating whether I should try to finish all the feedback projects that stand unfinished on my computer, or perhaps just some of them, or perhaps in fact none of them.

In particular, there is some big feedback compilation that I was wroking on last year, at least from July to October. This was stopped by a long bout of low motivation, so I only went back to it a bit in May. I currently don't have access to my files, due to computer issues, but I have decent hope of being able to regain access to them soon. And when that occurs, I'm considering finishing at least this feedback project. I may still end up not finishing it, despite learning that feedback is still sought. Like I may end up finishing it, because I like finishing what I started, despite learning that feedback is no longer sought. Or anything in between. I just feel it would be good to know, so that I can make better-informed decisions.

I’m not sure whether you’ll get a reply here from Larian. I know the community team do read the forums, but generally if you want an answer to a specific question it’s best to contact Larian support.

Personally, if I were you though, I’d not bother completing any big feedback projects right now just because I can’t imagine Larian will be making any new changes as a result of feedback with only a month to go before release (less if we’re getting 72h early access!), and elements of that feedback might be made obsolete by changes already in version 1.0. You could always pick up those projects again post release if you have critiques of elements of the game. They might influence updates to the game or future Larian games, and at the very least I’m sure other players would be interested in your thoughts!

That’s just my view, of course, based on some hopefully reasonable guesswork, so feel free to ignore me!

I feel like Larian already got all the feedback and telemetry they wanted during those years of early access. Players seem to have settled on some topics and community feedback has gone stale. Now their focus is on internal playtesting, which is easier to work with and can cover test cases beyond what we have access in early access.

Personaly i feel like any feedback besides telemetry is no longer relevant for more than half (more like whole) year. :-/
With some rare exceptions, like models ... that never really was.

Feedback about a game is GENERALLY considered valuable even past the release date, since it can inform decisions about updates, fixes or future titles.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that ACTING on the feedback will necessarily follow.

In my experience thus far, Larian has cared about feedback only from people praising their game, and not from critics (minor criticisms not withstanding).

From my experience Larian listened to at least some critique from the community:

- Reaction revamp
- Companion changes to make them friendlier
- Cantrip nerf
- Sneak attack nerf
- High ground advantage nerf
- Camp supplies nerf
- Party lock removal
- Divine scrolls restriction
- Auto jump addition
- Items weight rework
- Barter rework
- UI skill panel rework
- Addition of the UI that shows roll bonuses
- Inspiration system addition
- Several requested redesigns - Minthara, Raphael

Those I can recall right now, yet there might be more.

Yes, but those aren't MY criticism so Larian is biased against TRUE critics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

I agree with neprostoman that there's plenty of evidence that Larian have listened to feedback from early access. I'm sure each of us will end up wishing that they'd listened to and incorporated our own personal preferences on a number of points, but of course they need to balance the preferences of lots of different players in addition to making a game that they actually want to make.

When it comes to responding more to people who have some positive things to say about the game already, to be honest I think that beyond a certain point that just makes sense. Folk who have huge problems with lots of fundamental aspects of Larian's vision for the game are probably not going to buy or enjoy the game no matter what they do, whereas listening to folk who like some things but want changes to others has more chance of increasing the enjoyment of people who are actually going to play it. In an ideal world, they'd be able to make the game better for folk who already find positives at the same time as addressing some of the factors that are putting off others. But as they'd need to do the latter without wrecking what other folk like about the game, it doesn't sound straightforward to me. Plus, however much some of us might not buy into Larian's game design approach, I'd hope we can accept that it would be unreasonable to expect any studio to abandon their own vision to make a game designed by committee.

I'm still pretty confident Larian will have at least tried to expand the market for the game by making changes in response to deeper criticisms where they can without compromising other stuff. But whether that is or could be enough to convert the true sceptics I doubt!

I wouldn't want for any studio to abandon their own vision of a game, either. It is their project, their vision, after all, and I would never expect from a studio to completely change their approach to a game just because I don't happen to like it (As everyone might have noticed in the past years, I do like Baldur's Gate 3,
very much 😉).

Please notice that I am talking about "completely changing" a game, not about changing some individual things.

I think trying to create a game that everyone likes leads to a game that leaves everyone indifferent, I think it is important to stay true to one's own style. Some will like it, some will not, and that's ok. There are so many games out there that I am sure everyone can find something that they really like.

I also think Larian has listened to our feedback, a lot of things have changed during early access. One major aspect that had been changed due to feedback, for example, is that our party won't be locked after Act 1 (and I am very glad about that).

I don't say that everything is perfect for me, either. I hope Mage Hand will be more useful, and functioning the way it does in TTRPGs on full release, for example.

All of this, for sure. Also, it's worth considering that what feedback can be useful for in EA is very different from what it can be useful for post-release.

In EA, it's reasonable to make major changes to UI, systems, etc., but once the game is released, those things are going to be more or less etched in stone. Some minor tweaks might be forthcoming if there are major issues that need correcting, but I think post-release, the most likely changes, and what's worth giving feedback about, are going to be quality of life issues, small UI tweaks, etc. Harping on about (eg) shove as a bonus action post-release is just wasting your breath.

Exactly who are you all talking about as someone who wants the whole game to be changed from Larian's vision? I see a giant strawman here.

It's a continuum, isn't it, from people who love everything about the game to those who are never going to like it? I certainly didn't have anyone specific in mind as being at either end of that, and in fact there might not be anyone right at either extreme. But my suggestion was that beyond a certain point on the bell curve, what some people want from the game might be so different from the game Larian want to create that there's no way of satisfying them without compromising their vision or changing their design or plan beyond what they would feel acceptable.

So, from that perspective, I wouldn't be surprised if Larian decided that trying to convert people who have no praise for the game might well be a lost cause and focused on making changes that people who liked other aspects of it wanted to see.

I assumed when you said "In my experience thus far, Larian has cared about feedback only from people praising their game, and not from critics," you meant they only made changes requested by people who had mainly positive impressions but some negative feedback, given people who only have positive feedback aren't requesting changes. Which would leave the only people left who they are not making (enough) change for as those who seem to have mainly negative impressions. My apologies if I misinterpreted your point.

I had been thinking about posts I've read on various forums and social media platforms (like Reddit, Steam, or here), where players for example criticized that BG3's combat system is now turn-based and not RTWP, or that the dialogues have cinematics - basically, that it's different from the earlier titles. And some were even stating that BG3 is not a Baldur's Gate game, because it's different from BG1 & 2.

Of course it's different, it's made by a different studio, with their own ideas and style. And quite a lot of time has passed since the previous title.

The combat system and use (or non-use) of cinematics are very important parts of an RPG - if I don't like how this is done in a game at all, I would simply play a different game. I would not expect that something so fundamental is changed.

But with vision I also meant something like (art) style or sense of humour etc. I think these are artistic choices a game studio makes, and personally, I wouldn't interfere in a creator's artistic choices and expect that they change their style.

I think it would be like telling an author to change their writing style, because I prefer the style of a different author. I would then simply read a different book.

EDIT: I didn't have anyone specific in mind here either - these are impressions I got from some player's posts on various platforms.

Larian has done those major changes post release in the past though - so I think it will be a good idea to provide thorough feedback once the game is out. Larian might not plan to do much post release - but perhaps they might.

What an absolute unit, managed to make a strawman by calling a completely neutral statement a strawman.

I'm glad I wasn't taking a sip of anything when I read that, because I'd probably have needed a new keyboard!

Exactly, right now none of us have actually played the real game, we have only played the EA, so we don't 100% know what the actual game is like. We know the EA framework is completely different and has a mix of old and new code all slapped together.

So best thing to do is hold on and evaluate once the actual game is released.

Maybe I am much too tired, or my English is too bad, but have I been the one accidentally missunderstanding someone/ missinterpreting a post? I didn't mean to step on someone's toes.

No, that was definitely not a reference to your posts