Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Dank Crypt(Overgrown Ruins) vs. Fort Joy Prison

Ok, this is not another DOS2 = BG3 thread in premise. However, I was recently looking at some DOS2 footage that came across my recommended and noticed the similarities between the two.

Once I saw it, I could not un-see it. Does anyone else notice it? It looks like a very similar layout.

Can't deny Larian has its mark. Waking up on a beach as the start of act 1 is a cliché at this point so it wouldn't surprise me those games share more similarities.

Unless I'm misremembering the start of DOS1, they've only done that opening one other time. Sure, using it back to back might be considered less than creative (I have no issue with it personally) but calling it a cliche is going a bit far.

They used the beach in Dos1 too. So three times in a row, not just back to back. But to be fair, at least your boat didn't sink or crash then.

I guess I should have said I'm talking about the map tiles and layout. It looks so similar.

There are a lot of similarities between the titles.

The tadpole in your head theme is basically the exact same thing as the collars in D:OS2 as well.

Grove is very similar to the Sanctuary of Amadia .......we could go on and on. Expect more of the same in the other chapters. Using the divinity engine wasn't their only shortcut.

Serious question:
Cant that be caused by the fact that same group of artists were working on both?
I mean ... im no artist myself, i cant really draw anything more complex than a stickman ... but seems logical to me that if someone have his style and it fits him, he will be using it ... and therefore there will be similarities in his work.

In other words ... is there really some huge graphical difference between The Simpsons, Futurama, or Disenchantment? Bcs they look quite simmilar to me.

It thought this as well, but then realized it's actually the opposite, isn't it?

The tadpole gives you powers that are above and beyond your natural ability. You have to venture forth to find a way to get rid of it before it kills you.

The collars suppress your natural abilities. You have to get rid of the collars before you can escape the island and venture forth on your journey.

So, yes and no...

Tadpole = source.

BG3 is build using D:OS2 framework, that much should be clear by now. I am curious how far it will go.

End of act one = revealing the true nature of source/tadpole and killing of spare companions.

act 2 = semi open enviroment with/in a big city as we pursue Macguffins in order to fulfill our tadpole/source related destiny.

act 2 ending = fake finale, with a showdown against killed off companions and an unexpected low point of our characters journey

act 3 - real finale wrapping up companions story archs and facing their personal antagonists, and final dungeon of the game, with possible plot twist antagonist from previous titles (it's been resurected Bhaal all along!).

Oh no, you are right. Especially about Bhaal. It's going to be so cringeworthy when when we defeat the lord of murder with a level 10-13 party with the help of our Source
uhm tadpole-magic. Gosh darnit, i'm getting less and less excited to play the full game.

Genuine question. As both games share the same engine. Could it be possible to make mods to play the D:OE and D:OE2 using BG3 classes and monsters?

Nope. Dos1 isn't compatible with Dos2 either, and they are far closer in terms of differences in engine (It's not technically the same engine, as it's just an in-house engine that tools developers iterate on and chance as the project requires. It's not a 1:1 "same engine", sadly. The model meshes and textures from Dos2 would look terrible in BG3 too.

There are more technical reasons why it doesn't work like that, but no real good way of simplifying it in a concise fashion. Basically not a chance, not in a long shot.

Really hope they don't go down the deicide route with BG III like DOS2 did. All the gods getting involved with Origins characters/the main plot I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility.

We begin having been taken onto a ship against our will,
We break out amidst unexpected confusion, and get our bearings.
Oh no, the ship is under attack!
We play witness to several entities far more powerful than us flexing their powers as we try to escape.
During the escape we are thrown clear of the foundering ship.
We are saved from certain death by some other powerful force deus-ex-machina preserving us.
We wake up on a beach and, one by one have the option of re-introducing to our companions, who were also on the ship and who also miraculously survived.
Of note, the rogue with a tortured past of slavery greets us by putting a knife to our throat... classy.
There's also a trained soldier who swears loyalty to their queen first and foremost, and won't her a bad thing about her,
And a mage with a dry and snarky wit but a somewhat superior way of talking,
And a woman who keeps her secrets, but has a mysterious connection to some other power, not like the one we all share,
And one who speaks incredibly highly of himself and puts on airs about his greatness - his current situation is largely a result of consorting with fiends.
Our companions and us all have the same 'othering' special power source in common, and will be reviled and hunted for it.
We soon discover that, indeed, there is a powerful organisation hunting us - and us specifically, it seems.
Meanwhile, other powerful entities speak to us in our dreams offering us power and/or solutions, if we do as they want.

.... Aaaand that's the intro to D:0S2. Want to hear the salient intro beats to BG3?

Wow very sobering when I read through the comments like this. So the accusation BG 3 is just a DOS 2 clone hardens. I never played the DOS series (never was a fan of it) and I don't even need to now, because if I ever played BG 3, I played DOS 2 anyway.

However, I do wonder, if BG 3 copies so much of DOS 2, why they take so long to finally finish....

(Quote snipped for brevity.)

I’m actually quite taken aback reading this list. I guess Larian really does have a type 😂

Clone is definitely not a word I would use - there are too many diferences on design, technical, and tone level to make them seperate IP, but yeah, I think it is closer to D:OS2 then BG1&2, and that's where I think a lot of disappointment comes from.

Even if Larian bases a lot of BG3 on D:OS2 it is not a copy-paste job. Perhaps they saved some time on finding new voice and fun, but they are still building a game with more of everything, so the dev time is understandably longer. Also D:OS2 felt rather unfinished in its later staged, so lets keep fingers crossed that BG3 will avoid that fate.

To be fair, if I was Larian I would converge more to the critically acclaimed modern CRPG I developed some years ago rather than to a 22 y/o game with a game play I haven't attempted yet. Blame WotC for giving the rights to them rather than anyone else I guess.

I do. They were not the correct people for this job.