Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Early access for over a year?

I read somewhere that Larian planned to have the game in early access for at least a year. Is that true? It sounds to me like the early access shouldn't have been released yet then, and we are doing a big part of the testing and paying for it, saving tons of money for the development. If that is the case I hope Larian rewards us early access players GREATLY because even though the game looks promising and fun, the experience is way more unpolished than it should have been and than other early access games.

I mean. They were upfront with the fact that the EA was going to last for at least a year and that the EA build was very unpolished. After that it's up to you as a consumer to decide if it's worth paying for or not.

I'm note sure what people expect from an EA, but at least I does not expect a complete game. Not even a stable game.

are you kidding me? The game already has a huge amount of content and replayability, and aside from a few cinemetic glitches, very rarely crashes and bugs, the game is already very polished for an EA game that launched 3 weeks ago. Also, they are constantly working on these glithces and bugs, and just released a patch that resolves some of these. Cut 'em some slack.

You think they released EA to save money for development?
What's your excuse for smaller indie games releasing in Early Access with less content than this then?

Early Access with Larian specifically, is so they can get the community involved to help build the game and make it the best it possibly can be.

Can you imagine if they released Early Access with only a few months left to go, with Fire Bolt doing the 20 damage it currently does in one turn?
Or how badly the AoE ground effects would have scaled into higher spells like Fireball?

Consider us lucky that we're able to complain about those things now, before they get too big and too permanent to change.

Yes, EA us supposed to be for a year or so. I just hope they use the time to take into account the feedback from the players and re-evaluate some design decisions. Exactly which 'design decisions' and how to fix them, I will leave to the subjects of other threads.

A year of EA isn't that much. Making significant changes based on feedback takes a lot of time for a game of this scale. For EA players to have an actual impact on how the game plays, less than a year would feel little.

Another perspective: most EA games I know of have been in EA for at least a year, some multiple years

Sometimes I wonder if people actuslly read the bloody EA disclsimer before they finalize their purchase of the game...

+1 to what most people here said.

To add to that: I initially estimated the EA to last about 1.5 year (before we knew it's "at least a year"). Now I think it should be closer to two years. There's a lot of work to be done if this game is to reach its potential. I'd rather wait and let Larian take their time and do this right.

Ive been in EA for Star Citizen since 2012 dog. I paid 2 grand and all it means is I get insurance on my ships. Thug Life EA crews 4 lyf, its just hard knocks

fixed it

I am honestly expecting it to take longer, but I am fine with it.
The reason why I am fine with it tho is because the trust I have in Larian, I'd be way more skeptical about it with most other devs.


Edit: With that said tho, I'd really like to see them implement classes when ready into the early access too.
Give us more to keep us busy.

Monk is what I am looking forward to the most.

I just assumed it might be six months. A year is a long time. Here's hoping they use the time well ; for instance to develop more 'good' characters to provide more choice. So far the game looks good. I'm wondering if they'll release Chapter 2 while in EA some time in the future as well.

Well, in my book, it looks like Larian took the better option compared to CDPR. EA is more accepted by the community of gamers than constant delays.

DOS2 EA was ~ 1 year. This is bigger and has more character options/ complexity. So even with more staff.. plus in the middle of a pandemic.. optimistically ill say about 12 months...realistically 18 + months. And we'll see bugs getting squashed.. and the best bit ...new spells.. classes.. subclasses.. races over this time to keep (atleast me) engaged.

This is a 2022 game. Most of the game is currently in alpha and there a tons of things to do.

Yes, if Larian wants to make a great game, I can see a two year EA but doubt they will. I expect it will be out in a year, warts and all and then they do the EE version for BG3 like then been doing for their other games.

honestly either play it or don't no one is forcing anyone to play test it.

Personally, I see this as a pre-order where we get to play a very expansive demo. I've already gotten my money's worth (80+ hours of playtime, to me, justifies $60 paid). There's been such a drought for RPGs of this caliber that I'm happy to get to play it in EA while waiting for its full release 1-2 years down the line. Makes the waiting far less painful. (Although there is still pain.) And hopefully the community feedback will have a positive impact on the final game.

That said, it would be really cool if, in the full release, they had a special 'thank you' item for early access players. This would be a nice gesture, but certainly not necessary.

While it is a nice thought, I don't like any exclusives that affect gameplay. It's like you're not supposed to have that. Feels like cheating. Rather just throw it away than use it. And on the other hand there will be some people wanting to have that exclusive item but can't.

Something that doesn't affect gameplay would be fine. Like exclusive hair, perhaps.