Im one of those old school players who rank BG1+2 as my top games of all time and I was pretty hyped when the news of a sequel hit. I mean, I cant remember the last time I felt genuine excitement over a game, it just doesnt hit the spot like it used to, you know. Since then my excitement has faded and I'm currently luke warm. I'll probably buy it because I have to check it out but there are a couple of key things that I struggle to get over:
a) Flashy effects on mundande things. Why is shooting a regular arrow from a regular bow sparkle? Its needless visual noise. b) Visual noise. This was a problem with DOS2 too, all the lightning and shadow effects (like trees/bushes moving, not only creating noise in themselves but also in the shadow), every asset looking like its wrapped in saran wrap, its exhausting to look at. I want my screen to be calm if I'm to enjoy a nice little turn-based RPG. I'm pretty sure that the characters in DOS2 has an inherent glow to them but I dont know much about game development so I might be talking out of my ass here. c) Max party size of 4. Speaking of keeping the "soul of the original games present in the sequel" this is one of those things I dont understand. I like bigger parties, I like to have lots of companions to chose from (thats another thing, I cannot know this obviously but my guess is that there will be very few options when it comes to party composition, an issue with Pathfinder: Kingmaker aswell). d)Railroad narrative. I think its been confirmed that there wont be an open world to explore? Like, when you enter a new chapter you cant go back to previous areas or enter areas that would be deadly to a low level party. I might be wrong on this one though.
I'm also happy that its turn-based. This news had some people frothing at the mouth with fury (understandable) but I've played alot PnP in my days and turn-based is a natural fit to Baldurs Gate.
