Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Verticality?

Verticality is not there yet.

First, it is not always practical to engage with verticality, because of the camera.

Second and more importantly, many aspects of the game feel programmed for a 2-dimensional world whereas, in my understanding, verticality implies a game world that not only looks 3-dimensional but also plays in 3 dimensions. You have advertised verticality a lot, so performing poorly on this is a lot more noticeable, embarrassing, and gives the feeling that what we bought isn't what was advertised.


2D programming : conversation cutscenes happen regardless of height.

It seems that the triggers for some conversations are thought of in 2D.

Example : in the room with the caged priest of Maglubiyet. My PC was 5m above, on an elevated platform, and not in line of sight. Upon entering the room area at that altitude, a cutscene triggers. Suddenly, my PC is at the level of the cage, talking to the priest. But after the conversation, I'm back to the elevated platform ! Really not great for credibility and immersion.


2D programming : enemy line of sight covers all altitudes.

It feels as if you have programmed a 2D vision cone, which ignores height. This leads to being detected at vertical distances longer than the horizontal distances at which we could be seen.

Striking examples : the beams in the goblin fortress, or the underground tunnel under the Druid Grove when entering from the forest.


2D programming : the foundation block near the chapel can be cut with a sword.

That is another game system that thinks in 2D. Using Cleave or Thunderwave makes the block that is hanging high above ground fall. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other very 2D ways to do that, I haven't tried everything.


Flying creatures don't fly : melee attacks.

Flying creatures hover. They can pass over a surface, like ice or grease, with no problem. So far, so good. But they hover at normal altitude, and can be attacked by anyone with a sword, which is quite lame for a supposedly flying creature.


Flying creatures don't fly : Fly is just a Jump.

When asking an Imp to go down a high position, they'll automatically take the path that walking creatures take. Not a great start.

But when we ask them to use their Fly ability, we realise that it's just a (long distance) Jump. And because Jump uses projectile trajectories, if our Imp is behind allies, it will first move back so that it can Jump. It looks a bit ridicule, but the net result is that it consumes some movement resource that it just shouldn't have. I don't remember how much BG3 was advertised as a tactical RPG, but losing resources randomly because of the controls/pathing doesn't fit that well with my idea of tactical combat.


The Jump spell does not allow me to play with verticality.

It triples the jumping distance, but only horizontally. If the spell makes characters magically-better at jumping, then all jumping directions should be affected. And I believe that Spiders and "flying" creatures have a more vertical Jump, so it's not as if it's not possible with the engine or game's code.

It becomes ridicule when we are in Priestess Gut's room and want to rob Roah Moonglove's shipment. Ok, we can pile up crates to jump on the platform. Did we think about the Jump spell ? Solution not accepted. Think again. (Of course, this scene shouldn't even be a puzzle to begin with, and characters should just use their arms to climb, but I've said this elsewhere and I'll avoid digressing too much.)

Since you want to make verticality a big thing, this is an opportunity not to miss. Yes, Feather Fall is cool. But Jump needs to be a source of verticality-related fun as well !


Climbing ladders costs no movement.

You can cross more distance (actual, 3D distance) with one ladder than with a horizontal move. A tiny puddle of mud slows you down (or consumes a Bonus Action if you want to jump above it), but a ladder is not difficult terrain, and costs no movement at all !


Throwing items seems to ignore verticality.

I would have no problems with arrows or bolts : ranged weapons are all about giving projectiles more momentum than you could with your arms. But I am a bit more dubious of the throwing of grenades.

Examples :
- In the goblin fortress, enemies on the ground can throw fire potions in the beams.
- In the blighted village, enemies on the lowest ground (south gate) can throw potions on the roof.

This is perhaps the intent, but I found it quite surprising.


It is often difficulty to target enemies that are much higher.

It can be quite difficult to select as target very high enemies for a ranged attack when all your team is below, because of the camera. UPDATE : this has improved a bit with Patch 4, since we can now target portraits.


Spells having problems with 3-dimensionality.

One part of the problem is that it is difficult to choose a target, which can be a creature or a centre point for an AOE, especially when this target is higher. The problem here is not the camera controls and the selection of the target, it's the mechanism. Some spells tell us our target is "too high", when an arrow or another spell can perfectly reach. It seems as if the caster of these spells assumes that the creature or centre point of the AOE must be on the same level as them. UPDATE : this has (stealthily) improved.

The other part of the problem is that not all AOE seem to be 3D-compatible. Silence looks like it works properly (on AOE only, of course Silence doesn't work), but that's about the only one. UPDATE : this has (stealthily) improved. In the Blighted Village, I was able to put to Sleep 2 goblins at different altitudes. The AOE visualiser is still very 2D though.