Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Some People Don't Seem To Want A BG3

You are over-exaggerating what people are upset at, as my observations (as well as being one of the people you are talking about) do not actually seem to want what you claim to think they do...I can't speak for everyone, so I will speak for myself.


I do not want "the same combat," in terms of a 1:1 translation over from the old games. They can update aspects of the combat, they can implement the changes that 5e brings, but keep the core of how it plays out, which is rtwp.


Isn't this typically how graphics are handled in a sequel? Keep the same overall look/feel and just update them? Add more polygons, more details, go from 2d to 3d, etc. The key here is "keep the same overall look/feel," which was not the case in that reveal. I honestly don't think most people were expecting a sprite-based, 2D game, so the move to 3D was expected. At worst, I saw some people expecting it to be like Pillars of Eternity, with 2D backgrounds and 3D characters. It's not the change in graphics that is the disappointment, it's the change in aesthetics.


I have seen nobody say they wanted this. I've seen people say they want a continuation or have the story somehow tie into the story of original games, and that is completely reasonable, as this is supposed to be sequel. If you want a completely new, original story, then make a completely new, original game or at least call it "Baldur's Gate: such and such" and not "Baldur's Gate 3."


I don't want it to be the same game I played 20 years ago. I want a game that when I turn it on I can say, "Yes. That is baldur's gate," regardless if it's full 3D, virtual reality or on the holodeck of the Enterprise. The reveal didn't look like BG, didn't give the feeling of BG and didn't play like BG. The dialogue was cringey and even the UI was completely different. Sure, they are only in pre-alpha and are using placeholder graphics, but they decided to show the game as it is in it's current state. People can't go off of what it might look like 6 months or a year from now - they go off of what is shown, so what they showed is what gets the criticism.



Not only is rtwp combat a defining feature of the series, it is the way combat was handled in all of the Infinity Engine games, and also both NWN games. So even outside of BG, growing up over the last 20 years involved playing DnD-based crpg's games with rtwp combat. The way I see it, since BG is rtwp and DnD is turn-based, just have the option to choose how you want to play, because this issue is one that will and is dividing the community and playerbase.

Basically just keep the overall aesthetic and core features of the originals. Add in the 5e ruleset and update the graphics to present day. Yes, much of it should remain the same or at least same-y, as it is a sequel, not a spinoff. It being 20 years later isn't an excuse to entirely detract from it's roots. The people you seem to be referencing are diehard purists, which is not an accurate representation of what most of the people with criticisms (at least that I have seen) actually want.