For me part of BG, after a major plot point or combat encounter, was just standing and admiring the party for 20 minutes... equipping the looted equipment, making sure everyone's colors were working well, or preparing spells... And then it would suddenly change to dusk!
And the ambient sounds would change to crickets. Or a wind kicks up and it starts raining. Or maybe it's deep night but then suddenly changes to first light dawn. The game constantly had those nice little breaks and mood setting elements that seem absent here. Here everything feels like a set scene frozen in time, instead of a subtle hourglass in the background that's constantly turning over. I don't know that the game needs strictly to keep time, like the party has been venturing for "3 weeks 4 days and 22 hours" or the like. Maybe the brain worm fucks with our ability to reckon time accurately? lol but I'd still like for there to be a sundial, you know. Something for shadows that give the impression that the sun or moon and stars in the heavens are actually moving across the sky, so the world feels like its changing and alive.
I think the D/N cycle and a full party was the main thing that distinguished Baldur's Gate from Diablo, where in principle and playstyle the games were very similar. BG clearly copied a lot of ideas from the first Diablo. But Diablo was a crawler, and practically the whole thing took place underground. So really less need for the outside elements there. Baldur's Gate had plenty of underground crawler stuff too, but the main sweep in BG was wandering the open road and wilderness outdoors. It's something BG did really well, that set it apart from other games. I think Might and Magic 3 Isles of Terra kinda had a similar vibe before that but it was static, MM 4/5 the Xeen games did something kinda like Day and Night, but more Zelda link to the past style, with a perpetually Light and Dark world. A less developed kind of day and night. Baldur's Gate was one of the first games I can remember where the day and night cycle really stood out as a thing that was possible in games, and it was done so well I think its hard not to expect it here, as party of the legacy of the game.
Last edited by Black_Elk; 01/09/21 08:27 PM.
