For me, personally... it frankly starts with the intro/main menu. The logo is right, the music and background aren't.
Excellent point about the music, that absolutely has to be an intellectual property issue - maybe its ownership is split between disinterested entities at this point.
If that's not the case, then something funky is going on at Wizards, because they used to be obsessively retentive about the D&D license.
Last time I checked, a 5/4 measure and drums aren't possible to copyright. I made a quick draft a few days ago on what the current BG3 theme (which I actually love) could sound like in the main menu:
https://soundcloud.com/endolex/baldurs-gate-iii-alternate-main-menu-arrangementSure, I was sort of being facetious. My point was that Wizards was infamously controlling of the D&D license - the idea that, if it were at all within their power to control, they would let BG3 release without a variation of the iconic, instantly recognizable menu music is very odd to me. Seems like very poor brand management.
I like your arrangement by the way, thanks for putting that together.
I agree, this arrangement is SOOOO much better than Larian's. I honestly complained to my roommate that Larian's sounded more like a sound check than a real arrangement.
In terms of the tone of the game being "more like Baldur's Gate" I feel like, in addition to some better music, the selection of companions would go a long way. The original games had SO MANY companions to choose from, of every class and alignment. In the original game, I always had Minsc (and Boo) in my party. If Minsc died, I either got him resurrected, or I reloaded. He had to be in the party. But I also liked Branwen, Garrick, Kivan, Tiax, Viconia, and Xan. In the second game there were also Aerie, Jan Jensen, Nalia, Yoshimo, and Sarevok. In TOB, Sarevok and Minsc were in the party in every playthrough.
I played those games so many times I had favorite characters that HAD to be there, and others I would avoid at all costs. I would even play on "multiplayer" so I could make multiple characters to balance out the party that otherwise only had my favorite characters in it.
I also miss multi-classed characters. I played as almost every race and class, but I was partial to the Fighter/Mage/Thief. I even used Gatekeeper/Shadowkeeper to make that playable as a human.
For me, I suppose what would make it feel more like Baldur's Gate:
1) Having an EPIC soundtrack (seriously Larian, license that better title track)
2) Having 25+ companions of questionable sanity to choose from
3) Having 6 party members (my D&D game has 8 players, and for me the sweet spot is 6-12 players, and I won't game with less than 4 players)
