Havent bothered re-downloading...pretty much hafl-way out the door for the game; peaking in from time to time .... but,
Do we still have UI toilet chain character selection? That new UI seems to be even worst.
Was Day night cycles / Time implemented?
How about world reactivity/atmosphere? Are stuff still static and waiting for you? Interesting random encounters?
Just one extra class?
New races?
New companions?
Still cringy cinematic dialogues for EVERYTHING?
Still cartoony PG13 look?
More D&D systems/stats implemented and less weird <Disney Larian> comedy/goofy stuff?
Toilet chain is still there, but I have not needed to use it ( that sounds not quite as I meant it to
). There are now group/ungroup buttons which are really all I need for my purposes. There is also a group sneak toggle which is equally helpful.
I also find the new main UI control bar works well. It's very helpful to be able to view what an actor can do by categories; even with only 4 levels, the old activity bar became cluttered. I particulrly like the small icons above the bar that allow you to filter the type of activity ( i.e. action, bonus action, class resource action ( e.g. rage ), spells available at particular slot ), and the fact that those icons dim/desaturate when that type of activity is no longer available this turn.
I'm less sure about the actor and party panels. They are well designed, and allow some things to be more efficient, but sometimes feel a little cramped, as well as having some performance problems ( not very snappy ) at the moment.
Day/Night/Time: No, I can't see this changing because of the non-blocking coop MP design. Not to mention that the whole lighting system would need a re-design.
World Reactivity: No, everything is simple state machines and scripting, just like almost every other game.
New Class: Yes, just one for players.
New Companions: No, but Karlach has a new model/lines/runs off after you help ( apparent instant recovery from her wounds
)
Cinematic Dialogs: Yes, most interactions are cinematic ( which is rather the USP of BG3 ), although some are still shown with the world camera.
Cartoony PG13 look: Technically, the graphics continue to improve, particularly the lighting; but for the models, Larian seem to follow 5e official visual representations, so if you don't like them, blame WotC.
5e Mechanics vs Goofy Larian: Remains a blend of both, and probably will continue that way during EA, as there are many supporters of both approaches.
So far I view every patch as an improvement ( although sometimes marginal ), including this one. My main concerns have little to do with the mechanics, more to do with the often disjointed nature of the story progress, where companions will talk about something that has not been experienced in the current playthrough, or will expouse their personal stories in repetative and sometimes contradictory ways.
From what I've tried, there are even small differences between the intimidation options: berserkers is more "raaagh" and gets advantage on these checks.
