Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Feedback. The real problem with cinematic dialogues

That's a good topic to discuss, though I feel I lack understanding on how cinematics work in the game.

As far as I understand it: generally when cutscene starts "actors" are assigned to predetermined places. There also doesn't necessary need to be an actual "stage like" continuatiy between shots - meaning actors can be moved around to facilitate next shots, items can be spawed etc, new actors can be teleported over to join the conversation.

If anything I feel BG3 doesn't do enough for that. As far as I can tell in games like Witcher3 or Mass Effect all conversations happen in pre-determined places, allowing devs to make sure no distracting stuff happens (like shot being covered by a wall or something like that). Avoid problems like that will be easier in FPS like Elder Scrolls or Fallout as the conversation will be initiated from point of view the layer already choose. Halo, I think is a poor example as it's FPS game (so perspecitve doesn't change for the cinematic), cinematics are few and inbetween allowing for greater amount of polish, and actual actors (participants in the cutscene) are heavily controlled - this cutscene can be initiated in this place only, and you have to move into the position to initiate it. The background NPCs aren't part of the cinematic, so while it is cool that the simulation continues while cinematic plays one doesn't affect the other - the soldiers aren't part of the cutscene, while what you seem to be complaining about is that in BG3 the actors are in different places in cutscenes then they are in simulations, and actions in one (like death in the cutscene) aren't translated directly to simulation. In Halo we have two actors - Chief who needs to move into a very specific position to initiated the cutscene, and the Weapon who spawns for cutscene only.

The issue I see is, that for cutscenes in BG3 to play out normally for players unengaged in the cutscene and for continuaty you request, they would need to be fully animated from top down view, would require for "actors" to stay and naturally move from positions they initated the conversation, and then the camera would need to procedurally capture the "footage". That I think in unachievable - really no hand scripting would be possible, unless like in Halo example, players would need to move into a very specific positions to engage in a conversation, and all NPC would be completely static. Otherwise everything would need to be generated - actors movements would need to be generated to respond to the location of the actors, and camera would need to be generated to capture what is happening.

Cutscenes by the very nature take away control from the player - that creates a conflict between the scripted nature of cutscenes, and player driven interactivity of simulation will be forever in conflict - especially when Coop is at play when other players are allowed not to engage in the cutscene. I really can't see a good solution that wouldn't require heavy sacrifice from one side. Either cutscenese need to manipulate world for actors to be and do what cutscenes need them to do, or they need to limited to the point where they can accomodate any conversation, engaged from any point - so pretty much static D:OS2 conversations, but with zoomed in camera. Even that I don't know how well it would work. I am pretty sure that games like KOTOR or DA:O, which for the most part just used static, gesticulated dolls still teleported actors to pre-determined positions.