This is typically not my style, but... I can't resist.
Originally Posted by Lumign
Romance wise, this is worse than BG2, despite huge efforts from Larian, which is ironic...
Really? With the exception of Jaheira, maybe, I didn't care for the romances in BG2 *at all*. Listen to their problems, solved. Now put the child in the bag of holding. Or drop it in a container somewhere in Yaga Shura's Lair, never to be talked about again. Uhuh. Yeah, great. But you liked them better because of how they looked on a 210*330 bitmap? Yeah, you're easy to please. Keep your eyes out, there will be naked ladies mods *real* soon.
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For I am a straight male. so Astarion, Gale, Wyll, Hilsin are out.
Right.... But what's preventing you from playing as a female? It's not gay if you do; legions of straight dudes play as female characters, including me and mostly *because* I'm straight. I don;t like looking at male bums for hours at a time. Female bums are *nice* in 4K with proper anti-aliasing. Much better than a 210*330 bitmap, guaranteed.
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I also don't really fancy special stuff like old ladies, etc. Jaheira, Karlach, Laezal are out. So only remaining options would be Shadowheart and Minthara?! But aren't they both evil bitches? On the contrast, the original BG2 had Jaheira(not old then), Aerie, Viconia... they had diverse personalities too.
Well. Jaheira has a special place in my heart and I don't want her dating you, anyway. She's too good for you.
Shadowheart appears much more reserved and thoughtful than Viconia - by a *mile*, but I suspect she can get proper good *or* evil if nudged in that way. Viconia could get Neutral at most. Minthara seems comparable to Viconia. But if Vicci knew I said that, She would tear her and my head off.
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I bet that the vast majority of the players are like me.
I doubt it. This is the sort of game that mostly appeals to adults.
As someone who put thousands of hours into the original games over decades, I have to say that the romance options are definitely better in this game than the previous one. The simple fact that we have a minimum of eight romance options all open to any player character is a massive step forward. Sure I would like Jaheira to be a romance option because I romanced her in BG2, but if she's not it won't kill me as there are other options.
The only thing the earlier games have over the current one is the sheer number of companions. BG2:EE has something like 23 possible companions if you include Throne of Bhaal. Naturally, that's going to provide more options than the current game's 10 companions. At the same time, the companions in BG3 are much deeper and richer than those of the earlier games so that more than balances out. Plus, I already find a party of four is too small to take along all the companions I want at one time, so adding more companions would just make it worse.
I definitely agree with you about playing female characters, and yes one of the reasons I do it is that if I'm going to be looking at my character's butt, I would rather look at a female one. Then again, I usually have them romance other female characters just because as a straight male I'm not particularly into romancing male characters.
