Then again, if Larian would fully pull their design through (and spend all the x-tra cash on it as opposed to cinematics), Infinity-Engine-Likes wouldn't stand much of a chance (and the likes of Witcher are already firmly outclassed anyways by both Pathfinders and BG3s, but they're more like semi-interactive movies anyway, which is fine, as that was the designers' goal). In a lot of ways, Larian are aiming at what Warren Spector was talking about here all along.
He'd also written pieces about combat being ONE option, but not the only one, as far back as in the 1990s, whereas in Owlcats Pathfinders, combat is the main dish wherever you go (just like BG2 et all, in particular the middle sections). And engaging or not engaging in it is very very very rarely a choice. The game makes that choice for you, just like say DOS1 had done, as enemies were likewise gatekeeping every path across the game's maps (and combat is a super important source of getting XP, without which you're screwed eventually). At least in comparison to similar games, combat in BG3 is more of a choice already and your experience may even differ here depending on the character you pick, as NPCs may treat you more or less hostile depending on that. It's not original Fallout in any way (Pascifist runs, anyone), but yeah.
As much as I still like Infinity Engine games and their direct offspring, even in 1998, they were pretty static even compared to older Ultima games already. As a consequence, when things really *click" in BG3, even the simple task of say, freeing somebody out of prison has my brain firing on all cylinders. And whilst the actual outcome may be the same, you never know what's gonna happen up to that point. Kinda like:
Like: Ok, let's try to lockpick the prison door. Failed. Ok, let's try brute force. Dang, can't do enough damage. Ok, let's try whether we can find the key (some guard is carrying that around for sure -- as the game world is "consistent" enough to keep in mind that locked doors have keys somebody eventually has to use). Ok, now I have found the key, it's in the main guard's pockets. Let's try to pickpocket him. Check failed. Oh shit, now I'm being caught, have no money to bribe the guy and go to prison and have to get out of that myself now ... might have better tried a couple spells or perhaps even explosive stuff on the lock/door first even though that means risking injuring or even killing the prisoner. But even then, the quest wouldn't be complete, as I have to get that guy somehow out of the prison unnoticed... [more branching stuff and moment to moment decision making to follow] It's no wonder that people of Arkane Studios (current and former) more recent were gushing all over the Twittersphere over BG3.
That said, I wouldn't ever want IE-likes to go away or replaced by anything else entirelly, bring on PoE3 plz. Just as back then with Ultima vs Baldur's Gate: Variety is the spice of life. And: By concentrating on more static environments and scripts as opposed to systems, IE-likes allow designers to craft a more guided experience, where every path and action you take has a fully fleshed-out outcome (well, ideally) handcrafted for you. If Larian would eventually go *all the way* with what they are trying to do, when everything truly clicks, it's magic and can be pretty close to the improvisation found at the tabletop. However, completely silly, undpredictable and even broken things are bound to happen here and there as chaos is the name of systems allowed to interact with one another's game.
