BG1 and 2 had a dynamic weather system with a day/night cycle that gave those games an amazing atmosphere. Gorion is killed on a stormy night by Sarevok! Go to the cemetery at night looking for Bodhi taking care of the vampires.
BG1 and 2 had a dynamic weather system with a day/night cycle that gave those games an amazing atmosphere. Gorion is killed on a stormy night by Sarevok! Go to the cemetery at night looking for Bodhi taking care of the vampires.
Will we have any of this in the game?
I would love that. But as it is designed right now I don't hink so.
I think they're adamant about this due to problems with time passage and turn-based/multiplayer, but... I would so, so love this. Day/night cycles and weather have such a huge impact on a game's atmosphere. It was true even in older games like BG1/2 and Morrowind, but modern(ish) games just showed how amazing these elements can be. All those Witcher sunsets and Skyrim's bleak (or sunny!) weather. Makes the world much more believable, alive and immersive. There's so much lost potential here with BG3's impressive graphics. (Fog of war would diminish it a bit, though.)
And it's impactful in terms of gameplay, too. Wait until nightfall to infiltrate a camp of diurnal creatures or creep through a city unnoticed. Wait for daytime to explore a graveyard with a low-level party. One place can be wildly different during the day and during the night. Breath of the Wild had a great weather system, though of course it's a very different type of game.
Can't weather change be only cosmetic without actual time passage? For example even an option in the settings in which you could choose to enable and even set a time for irl time passed for the cycle. For example I'd like a 2 irl hours playing the game to be a full cycle only to get from dawn till dusk, and some weather like rain or snow in a random amount of time.
Can't weather change be only cosmetic without actual time passage? For example even an option in the settings in which you could choose to enable and even set a time for irl time passed for the cycle. For example I'd like a 2 irl hours playing the game to be a full cycle only to get from dawn till dusk, and some weather like rain or snow in a random amount of time.
I guess that's exactly what didn't work with the how the engine tracks time in contrast to how system time advances.
The game does have a dynamic weather system. When I entered the Owlbear cave with my warlock it was sunny, but when I left it after dealing with what was inside the cave, it started raining.
There is no night/days because the long rest is always at night between the adventuring days.
The game does have a dynamic weather system. When I entered the Owlbear cave with my warlock it was sunny, but when I left it after dealing with what was inside the cave, it started raining.
There is no night/days because the long rest is always at night between the adventuring days.
Well this looks like the motto we have to pull a all nighter: "It ain't never tomorrow if I haven't slept yet"
I THINK the time passage issue could be solved in a couple of different ways, but I have no confidence in my ability to estimate how viable this is.
One way (perhaps a crude one) would be to measure time passage by "not in TB party member(s) time flow". If it makes sense. Or the opposite, stop/slow time passage (in terms of time of the day) to match characters currently in TB. TB, FTB and mixed-mode party make the game world function in a weird temporal shift anyway, so I don't think it would make it worse. This would be sooort of similar to your suggested real world time passage, in that it would unify all party members' time.
I do realise that fully implementing day/night cycle and weather would be a massive amount of work, but imo it would do wonders for the game. So much more reactivity. Rain douses flames. Wind dispels clouds quicker. And let's not forget: Larian have underlined the significance of light/shadow in the game, and those systems would add so much depth to it.
To add to that, it would give a strategic layer to rests - perhaps limiting long rests to 1/day on higher/"survival" difficulties.
There is no night/days because the long rest is always at night between the adventuring days.
True... ok, then they could at least give us the option to say, rest during the day, though. Then the cycle wouldn't be dynamic, of course, but we at least could enjoy the benefits of night time gameplay.
I THINK the time passage issue could be solved in a couple of different ways, but I have no confidence in my ability to estimate how viable this is.
One way (perhaps a crude one) would be to measure time passage by "not in TB party member(s) time flow". If it makes sense. Or the opposite, stop/slow time passage (in terms of time of the day) to match characters currently in TB. TB, FTB and mixed-mode party make the game world function in a weird temporal shift anyway, so I don't think it would make it worse. This would be sooort of similar to your suggested real world time passage, in that it would unify all party members' time.
I do realise that fully implementing day/night cycle and weather would be a massive amount of work, but imo it would do wonders for the game. So much more reactivity. Rain douses flames. Wind dispels clouds quicker. And let's not forget: Larian have underlined the significance of light/shadow in the game, and those systems would add so much depth to it.
To add to that, it would give a strategic layer to rests - perhaps limiting long rests to 1/day on higher/"survival" difficulties.
Great points I'd also add that, if you've chosen to play as a Astarion or a Drow, how are we gonna walk around in the sunlight when the tadpole is removed? Or is it never going to be removed at all?
I THINK the time passage issue could be solved in a couple of different ways, but I have no confidence in my ability to estimate how viable this is.
One way (perhaps a crude one) would be to measure time passage by "not in TB party member(s) time flow". If it makes sense. Or the opposite, stop/slow time passage (in terms of time of the day) to match characters currently in TB. TB, FTB and mixed-mode party make the game world function in a weird temporal shift anyway, so I don't think it would make it worse. This would be sooort of similar to your suggested real world time passage, in that it would unify all party members' time.
I do realise that fully implementing day/night cycle and weather would be a massive amount of work, but imo it would do wonders for the game. So much more reactivity. Rain douses flames. Wind dispels clouds quicker. And let's not forget: Larian have underlined the significance of light/shadow in the game, and those systems would add so much depth to it.
To add to that, it would give a strategic layer to rests - perhaps limiting long rests to 1/day on higher/"survival" difficulties.
Great points I'd also add that, if you've chosen to play as a Astarion or a Drow, how are we gonna walk around in the sunlight when the tadpole is removed? Or is it never going to be removed at all?
Probably not... it's kinda like being a Baal spawn. A gimmick to drive the story and explain special, homebrew powers. The final decision our character will probably make will be to either a) remove the tadpole or b) become an illithid elder brain, or something, but no matter the outcome, the story will most likely be over right after that.
I'd also add that, if you've chosen to play as a Astarion or a Drow, how are we gonna walk around in the sunlight when the tadpole is removed? Or is it never going to be removed at all?
This is just my speculation, but I think the tadpole might make some permanent changes. So removing it might take away psychic powers, but not some "passive" abilities, like sunlight sensitivity resistance.
And it's impactful in terms of gameplay, too. Wait until nightfall to infiltrate a camp of diurnal creatures or creep through a city unnoticed. Wait for daytime to explore a graveyard with a low-level party. One place can be wildly different during the day and during the night. Breath of the Wild had a great weather system, though of course it's a very different type of game.
This is something they need to schedule time into their engine development team. If not for this game, for some iteration of their system in the future.
It was not in DOS2, why would they put it in Baldur Gate 3. x) Maybe BG4, it is probably way too late, the game is on the market after all. My idea for this was, that they could have had a "cosmetic" visual weather day night cycle for separate areas, without a global clock...