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#787877 19/08/21 10:51 AM
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I know that it's likely an engine limitation, but we really need a hard pause option that can be forced at any time during the single-player experience. Turn based mode doesn't fully pause the entire world. Hitting escape doesn't fully pause the world. As someone who needs to take frequent and urgent breaks, I need a simple hard pause that will immediately pause the entire game. You know, like every other gaming developer has featured in their single player experiences? Yes, I can completely quit out of the game to truly pause the entire game, but this is pretty cumbersome and needlessly so. Just allow a hard pause that completely and instantly stops the entire game. Allow it for dialogue and cutscenes, too, please. If it's something that Larian absolutely refuses to have available for any of their single player elements, at least, let modders do the work for you, please.

Agrippa #787882 19/08/21 11:02 AM
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Never heared about any game that allows you to "pause" during cutscene ... cancel it? yes, sure ... but pause? O_o

Also ... i dont say that i would mind pause being implemented ...
But out of curiocity i just have to ask why? O_o

I mean ... this world is not rushing you anywhere ...
You say allow pause for dialogue ... if you need to urgently leave computer in middle of dialogue, game will patiently wait for you infinite amount of time until you choose your next response ... and if you want to know what was told during your apsence, there is history button in bottom left corner. O_o
In combat, once its your turn ... game once again waits for your responce for infinity ... and once its not your turn, there is nothing you could do anyway. laugh
Out of combat, story is the same ... whole world is waiting for you to arive, there is no conversation that will happened without you (as far as i know), there is no danger that will kill your party (unless you get expecialy unlucky with especialy tough enemies ... but then you would be massacred just the same even if you were present laugh )
You say that world is not "fully paused" during turn based mode ... nobody can interact with anything, and your party is awaiting your comands ... i mean, what else do you want from that pause? laugh

Again i repeat, i dont mind implementing "pause" at all ... i just cant quite understand why. laugh


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Agrippa #787889 19/08/21 11:27 AM
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Admittedly, this is a game stopper for me and the only real reason that I stopped playing the DOS games, too. Before spending any more time with it, I'm hoping that a true pause can be installed, though, by Larian or modders. Area-effect damage isn't a thing that can effect any of the world at all when I hit escape? Party NPCs aren't doing their own thing, that can get them killed or trigger combat early? You're saying that the *entire* game world is *fully* paused, when it's my turn, when dialogue or cutscenes are happening, or any time that I press escape? It's been my experience that this *isn't* happening, but maybe I'm not understanding how Larian pausing works at all. Nothing at all can actually go wrong when any of the above scenarios occur? If things have changed enough in the last year that render the entire point of this thread obsolete, please, disregard.

Agrippa #787920 19/08/21 12:56 PM
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Turns are still turning while "nothing" is happening. In turn-based mode this stops of course. But I agree, sometimes a proper pause would be nice. Like you prepped your party with spells, turns are moving and all of a sudden you get a phonecall. Going between turn based and realtime still takes a turn.

Agrippa #787926 19/08/21 01:18 PM
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Again, I really haven't made it very far in, but I've limited my gameplay to turn-based mode and it appeared that it only paused the very immediate area. There were still a lot of things happening in the background, I mean, and I could find no efficient way to pause all of it. Pressing escape also didn't fully pause most of the world, so I'm wondering if this might have changed, too. All that I'm asking for here is a simple pause that immediately stops the full game. If I understand what @EvilVik is saying correctly, turn-based mode does actually pause the entire game? As long as I remain in turn-based mode, I'd be completely safe walking away at any point? No real-time elements at all occurring?

Agrippa #787927 19/08/21 01:22 PM
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Chances are there's no real "engine limitation". The only reason we don't get an actual complete pause is just another byproduct of the game being designed to be multiplayer-friendly.
Even in turn- based mode the time keep going outside of the battle area.
Not that it matters much, since the game doesn't really have the notion of passing time, a day/night cycle or a "clock" of any sort.

Of course, technically it should still be possible to add a pause that works at least when someone is playing solo, but I guess Larian couldn't be bothered with it since it's not a core feature for the way they intend for the game to be played.
Never mind that DOS 2 stats suggested that a good 90% of the players rarely used MP at all.


Party control in Baldur's Gate 3 is a complete mess that begs to be addressed. SAY NO TO THE TOILET CHAIN
Agrippa #787931 19/08/21 01:35 PM
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I can certainly understand wanting to limit how pause works in multiplayer. Neverwinter Nights and the original Baldur's Gate trilogy also had limits to how pause works ... for multiplayer. Am I mistaken or is completely quitting out of the game really the only way to safely break from it? Seems rather cumbersome for what should be such a simple feature. Upon full release with expansions, I'll try to stomach the lack of any true pause, but this really kills any replayability for me.

Agrippa #787951 19/08/21 02:25 PM
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I'm also in favor of a real pause. For the times when you have to leave the PC urgently but know you'll be back shortyl. I'm not sure switching to turn based is ultimately safe. For instance traps will keep firing.

Agrippa #787954 19/08/21 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Agrippa
Area-effect damage isn't a thing that can effect any of the world at all when I hit escape?
Of course not ... since escape dont pause your game at all, and everything is running there just as if you didnt hit it at all ... it logicaly dont have any effect, that including it do not stop Area-effect damage ...
What puzzles me is question why would anyone mess with their settings (since that is the only reason to even hit escape right now) while his party stands in fire ...

I mean, it my seem like good fabricated situation ... but how often does this happen?
Also, i know its not my business, so this is purely rethorial question, but what exactly do you do that you need to leave computed "right now and imediatly" and dont have litteraly two seconds to click next to that fire (wich btw takes as much time as hiting that escape), so your characters dont die while you are away? O_o
Also ... if your apsence is so critical, do you really feel that is good time to play a game? laugh

And finaly ... note that if you start turn-based mode your characters stop getting Area-effect damage, since time is stopped in that moment, until you start moving or doing something. wink
> In my opinion ... solved.

Originally Posted by Agrippa
Party NPCs aren't doing their own thing, that can get them killed or trigger combat early?
You mean patrols?
Sure ... they do keep their routine and if you indeed just went off your coputer somewhere where they can spot you ... you can engage combat.
When combat is engaged, initiative is rolled ... nothing you can do with that ... and every enemy who had more initiative than you, will attack you ... again, nothing you can do with that, no matter if you are present or not.

I believe the only encounter where you can get your party MEMBER killed before your turn starts (and game practicaly pause itself until you decide to end that turn) is Githyanki patrol.
But as abowe, there is nothing your presence can do with that ... also they dont have patrol, you need to engage them manualy. wink

Honestly the only patrol i can think off is inside the Crypt ... maybe that guarding goblin if you decide to sneak around instead of confront guards by the gate ... phase spiders ... Hook Horrors ... and Minotaurs. But that would be all, as far as i know (maybe i forgot some tho).

Unless you start turn-based mode, before you leave, same reasons as abowe.
> In my opinion ... solved.

Originally Posted by Agrippa
You're saying that the *entire* game world is *fully* paused, when it's my turn, when dialogue or cutscenes are happening, or any time that I press escape?
Turns > yes, in single player ... even more than just that, i claim that *entire* game world is *fully* paused whole time of its existence ... except surrounding your curently controlled characters ... everyone else, every encounter, every interaction, every object, every conversation, everything ... is just standing there waiting for you to come and enjoy it, and unless you do, it simply stands there and wait.

Escape > no and never said that.

Dialogue & Cutscenes > certainly not ... there was countless paiges of feedback written about how frustrating it is, when conversation starts while your character is standing in AoE Damage (especialy easy with Astarion, that is damaged even by standing in water) ... but that is something, that was kinda solved by the fact that uncontrolled followers actively try to avoid dangerous surfaces.
It still can backfire tho, since all you need for disaster is Gale that have some DoT active on him (like Burning for example) ... that kills him ... not that you cant do anything by that while being in conversation (unless its one of conversations where you can switch to any other companion you have and heal him ofc.) but he also starts spreading his Necrotic damage aoe once he dies. -_-
But if you ask me ... your companion didnt die bcs you cannot pause your game while you conversating ... he dies bcs you decide to conversate instead of helping him (even tho its fast stuff ... 3 death rolls take 18seconds if im not mistaken). laugh


//Edit:
To be honest, most of this "pro-pause" topics seems to me like people demand something they are simply used to have.
They often dont even realize what for they want it, and if there isnt different way to get the same result ... they are used to *THIS* therefore that is what they demand. And i can respect that, i feel the same in many situations ...
But question here is: Is that really necesary?

Last edited by RagnarokCzD; 19/08/21 02:30 PM.

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Agrippa #787964 19/08/21 03:03 PM
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I have a wife and dog with special needs where I'll need to pause immediately. I've basically had to stop playing all MMORPGs and most online gaming because of this and the lack of any real pause in almost all of these kinds of games. I haven't played Dark Souls yet, but I understand that it is another series with the only real way to pause being to exit their games. I now avoid multiplayer games mostly for these reasons, but it's been very rare, exclusive to Larian that I can recall, where I've had entire single player campaigns that have no real pause available.

Aside from needing to step away from the computer, though, having a real pause available for any game with real time elements is very nice for the ability of better controlling actions. Area effect damage is one of the main Larian features in any games made with this engine. Having a full pause available, where I can, possibly, queue actions, is critical for any game with real time elements. For me, at least. Playing the "mini-game" of targeting a rat or chicken in DOS wasn't fun for me at all. Likewise, constantly struggling to manage NPCs that do stupid things...in real time, with no pause...will be no fun for me. I guess that it has a certain appeal for a lot of people, though, seeing how popular the DOS games were. Just not my thing and I hope that modders, at least, will be able to add a workable pause.

Agrippa #788001 19/08/21 05:36 PM
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I can relate to that ... targeting in real time is indeed pain.
But that is why we get forced turn based mod. smile


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Agrippa #788009 19/08/21 06:17 PM
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As for pausing cutscenes I know Death Stranding allows you to pause them. There are probably others too

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@RagnarokCzD
It's mainly a quality of life feature. Phone rings, kids scream, someone knocks at the door etc. You just want a quick "freeze everything I'll be back in a second"-button, not a "I'll go turn-based and might miss round one of battle"-button or a "I have to swap turn-based to real-time"-button which tbh takes time and is rather clunky.

From a "Will this ruin my game?" point of view, turn-based sure solves the issue, but it's not a quality of life solution.

Agrippa #788081 20/08/21 10:01 AM
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Yes i have read that several times ...
I just dont feel like its needed, since game dont do anything without your interaction ... and since when it does (enemy turn) you cant prevent that anyway. laugh


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Well, nothing is "needed". But just hitting a button to pause everything is very convenient. I would like it added, just like all those other not-needed things.

If you just happen to be under the druid grove where the guardian statues are, and they start firing when someone rings at the door. then I don't think switching to turn based will prevent dead partymembers. Or will it ?

ldo58 #788121 20/08/21 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by ldo58
Well, nothing is "needed". But just hitting a button to pause everything is very convenient. I would like it added, just like all those other not-needed things.
This i can understand. smile

Originally Posted by ldo58
If you just happen to be under the druid grove where the guardian statues are, and they start firing when someone rings at the door. then I don't think switching to turn based will prevent dead partymembers. Or will it ?
Not sure if it will ... since it was buged last time i tryed ...
But it certainly should!

Those statues are suppose to fire once per 6 seconds, aka once per turn. wink
Therefore you should get single fire ... and that is it, until you end your turn. smile


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