[...] I'm not talking EA. [...] They're talking about how when the game is done they think level caps per Act are good. My opinion is HECK NO.
I totally get for testing. 100%. Cap for testing. Just don't cap me at like level 4-5 for final release so most of Act 1 I'm sitting at some dumb level cap for more than half the act because some people might not want to be under leveled if they speed run.
a) Well, I wasn't 100% sure what you meant. Sure, I can see that the thread is discussing Level Cap Per Act. But it sounded to me as if you were saying "look, BG3 EA has a Level Cap ...". Which involves EA.
If the point you were making with this example is "... and thus I know from first-hand experience that I hate reaching Max XP before the end of the game (i.e. being Level Capped)", then fine.
If the point you were making with this example is "... and this is evidence that Level Cap is bad design", then I'm more on the disagreeing side of things. Because, in its present state, the Playtime-To-Level progression of BG3 EA is not indicative of much, in my opinion. As I detailed, this is partly because the current Cap might be more a matter of what's ready than a matter of choice, and partly because Playtime-To-Level progression is an aspect of the gaming experience that has not been tuned yet. Hence why I think that comparing the EA Level Cap and the concept of Level Cap Per Act is not fair and not convincing.
b) As for the fact that you are "sitting at some dumb level cap for more than half the act", what I was saying with my second and third point earlier is that
the current progression speed is not indicative of much.
Even if Larian were to implement hard Level Caps Per Act (I hope not), and even if Act 1 was to have Level Cap of 4, there is no indication that we would reach Level 4 as fast as now. In fact, you might well have to 100%-complete Act 1 (including killing everyone and finding every secret) to reach Level 4 and start making noticeable XP progress beyond that level.
Adjusting the progression rate is quickly done by adjusting a handful of variables, and Larian will probably not do this before a while, but will almost certainly/hopefully get round to it before release. In my view,
the progression rate we have now should be thought of as having "Placeholder Status", not "Preview Status".
(Two quick points before leaving.
- What I'm talking about here is the progression rate and only the progression rate. There are many other development areas (like the control scheme, the UI or the action economy) where improving things will take a lot more than simply adjusting a handful of variable in one relaxed afternoon. For these things, and especially given how long the game has been in development (even before EA) and how long is left before release, I don't think we can consider what we currently have to have merely Placeholder Status and not Preview Status.
- My opinion assumes that the Larian devs are worth their salt, as I said above. I'm clearly far from being first among the faithfuls here, as I have seen numerous reasons to doubt their skills. I'm also aware that Larian screwed the progression rate in D:OS2. So ... keep that in mind.)
