Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Latest News World Reveal of Baldur’s Gate 3 Gameplay at PAX!

We are excited to announce that the World Reveal of Baldur’s Gate 3 Gameplay will be happening LIVE at PAX East on Thursday 27th February at 1500ET. Swen will be playing the game live on stage with a very special guest, revealing more about the story, mechanics, and the answers to much asked questions. Plus, we'll be streaming to YouTube so you can be involved no matter where you are in the world. Take a look at our announcement trailer for all the details about the gameplay reveal and to get a sneak peek at our new booth that we'll be unveiling at PAX East!

Wonderfully! I can not wait for the long-cherished reveal. I actually never imagined I will be able to see the day of Baldur's Gate 3 creation. I wish you all the best Larian!

big news!!! and dragons confirmed!!!!

Hype!

Also good that the TB vs RTwP or both question will finally be answered.

I am excited as well, trust me. Going to bury the hatchet now and let you do your thing in peace. Wish you luck with the reveal, hopefully everything goes as planned!

350 people are officially working on the game. That is rather deep in AAA territory.

In my opinion, a turn-based game is probably too niche for a budget like that. If you want the Diablo and WoW millions, then it would probably be safer to take the realtime, partybased, multiplayer route.

But we shall see.

seems like there are some mocaps and moves like the witcher actor. really curious.. as it doesn't seems fit for baldur's gate. 27th can't come closer. sadly i'll be traveling

Can't wait to see the gameplay. The moment at 0:23-0:24 on the video shows that environment will look almost like D:OS 2.

that isn't good if you ask me. if anything they shouldn't be DOS2 at all.. this is baldur's gate and i trust Larian should be professional enough to not repeat what Ubisoft doing.

edit
what i mean was the art, settings and presentation of how the game should look like.

We'll know for sure when the reveal begins. You can't make out much in the footage anyway.

Well, they make BG 3 on D:OS 2 modified engine. Yeah, it might be just a sample, who knows. We will be smarter on 27th.

as mentioned by BananowePole in the footage you can see a designer/programmer is working on environment which looks exactly like DOS2. this in my opinion isn't good as DOS and baldur's gate are very different settings. I do hope Larian artists are talented enough to not make game looks similar like DOS2.

on topic on the video.. i wonder what is meant by Chaki? as voiced by mocap lady.. "Chaki come closer.."

For sure BG 3 will use returning characters as well as new. Remember that Larian devs are clever and they show us what we're meant to see. It's all about hype train gets going, so people will wonder who is this, what is that, etc etc.

Sounds like (according to a flowery blurb in the Larian Gazette) BG3 will have a protag mechanic very reminiscent (if not outright similar) to the Spirit Eater mechanic of NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer.

"You are burdened with a great power devouring you from within.
How far down the path of darkness will you let it take you?
The fate of Faerûn is on your party’s shoulders.
Will you carry it to salvation, or descend with it to hell?"

At least at a descriptive level, sounds VERY similar to the Spirit Eater.

Look at the footage at the end with the Red Dragon being ridden by a Githyanki, that is NOT Cartoonish DOS2 style at all, it's hyper reastistic. More realistic then I've seen in actual movies.

Mind flayers are the big thing in this game so I am guessing you are 'infected' somehow by mind flayer semen and are trying not to 'succumb' to it.

"We are excited to announce the eagerly anticipated gameplay reveal of Baldur’s Gate 3. Our Creative Director Swen Vincke will be playing live on stage with Jesse Cox, revealing more about the story, mechanics, and the answers to much asked questions. With seating for 1000 people, don’t worry if you can’t make it to the live show, it’ll also be streamed on YouTube. For those at PAX, there will also be a short, live Q&A where your questions can be asked and answered. 

We will also be present in the expo hall of PAX East, with an all-new booth dedicated to Baldur’s Gate 3. At the booth, our team will be serving up live gameplay presentations for the entire weekend, starting after the live show concludes.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was announced back at E3 last year, and since then we’ve have been continuing to grow to 350 people (including outsourcers), and working on new technology and pipelines that allow the team to create a truly next-generation RPG, spanning 100+ hours of content, with all the depth you’d expect, and many surprises along the way that even fans of critically acclaimed Divinity Original Sin 2 won’t expect. 

Tune in on February 27 at 1530ET to discover why we've been quiet over the past few months, and which direction the studio is heading."
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From the Larian Gazette.

Indeed. That may be a cutscene, but it still hints at the tone of the art direction. There's clearly a sense of epic storytelling involved (which I am happy to see from a studio I am not as familiar with). And with the inevitability that at some point the game will take us down to Hell, I am guessing we are in for quite a visual feast with images like this. Def exciting.


Yea, I have to agree. I mean, we all knew it was never going to look like a flat, 2D Infinity Engine game and they stated they would be using a modified/updated DOS2 engine (actually, I think it was the next version of the engine - which could mean drastically different). Hard not to think about games like Jedi Fallen Order when you see the amount of mocap going on here. It can't all be for cutscenes.

Looks like we could be in for a very modernized Baldur's Gate game.


Bingo. It's hard sometimes to step back from your own perspective on games, game systems, and accessibility issues and realize the bigger picture stuff like this. Even at this level of production, sales outweigh artistic integrity. WOTC has to make a profit here. So does Larian. To quote vometia in the 'ragin debate' thread from a couple weeks back, "I'll put up with TB if it's a series I'm already invested in or otherwise have a reason to be specifically interested, but if it's something that might've caught my attention and was 50/50 as to whether or not to buy it would push the consensus towards not interested."

So the big question is... did Larian make the right choice?

Were they smart?

Like you said. We'll see....

Oh yes, I can't wait for this. By the way, was that a red dragon at the end? I couldn't tell.

That scene is definitely CGI so we will get gameplay and another CGI trailer.

Can´t wait for an actual gameplay footage, even if it´s in alpha.

Loved the voice of the actress, she kinda remember me of Morrigan.

You mean that one from thumbnail? She was Sebille in D:OS 2, as well as the one who was reading grave descriptions in cemeteries in D:OS 1

honestly 27th cant come closer!.. all the months of raging debate and arguments can be put to an end. also it seem there are a massive resurgent of turn-based purist everywhere. any game that has isometric has been requested as turn-based. wrath of the righteous is really lucky to still have RTwP. if baldur's gate 3 fails me at least i still have pathfinder.

Yeah if the graphics are anything like D:OS2 then it will be crap. The Forgotten Realms as a setting is nothing like the D:OS setting and so I hope the game truly represents the FR setting and not FR shoehorned into the D:OS setting.

Maybe this whole discussion was pointless it will be an action RPG without TB or RTWP

Well Swen's attitude might be that he is the one who is going to make the first AAA TB RPG that will appeal to AAA RPG audiences, essentially a DA:I/Witcher 3/Skyrim-like game but with TB combat that still appeals to tens of millions of gamers.

I of course don't see any chance that a TB game will sell anything like DA:I/Witcher 3/Skyrim, but good luck to Swen if that's what he wants to try for.

Isn't this EXACTLY what I said many months ago?!

I really believe in Larian. I just hope that they know what they're doing, surely there was a brainstorm how BG 3 should be played and they picked the best possible option. Also WotC are helping them a lot and these people know what it takes to make good BG game.

I love Action RPG's, so even if BG 3 will be like that and will be ultra fun to play, i will accept that somehow.

To precise: I am not a big fan of BG. I played the games and i liked them, but i can't call a fan myself. The reason why i am waiting so urgent for BG 3 is the fact that Larian is making it, and Larian is probably my favourite game developer. Divine Divinity was part of my childhood, Divinity 2 took many sleepless nights from me, D:OS 1 made me fall in love with classic RPG's again and D:OS 2 was one of the best games i have played in my life, even if i dont like turn based combat much, i loved that in D:OS games.

The only one mediocre game from Larian was Beyond Divinity, but with actual very talented team, i think they wont repeat that disappointment.

wondering anyone remember divinite divinity? that was kinda awesome at that point of time.. and i'm not sure if anyone knows what's starforce?

At a +100 hours no way is BG3 a ARPG, plus that would step on Dark Alliances toes.

If its sells as well as DOS2 +50% I suspect they will make a profit. Also note they have studios in nations where the exchange rate makes larger work forces cheaper.

Well, i have bought DD twice basically xD About a year ago I've purchased it on steam, because my CD's that i bought many years ago are lost. The game is so good, timeless, still playing it sometimes and still having a lot of fun.

That's perfectly fine. Everybody has their favorites. But from Larian's pov, if they are aiming only to please just the existing Larian fanbase and nobody else, the game - as a AAA game - will be a flop. They need to be able to appeal to people like me, people who don't care for any game Larian has previously made.


Why? Skyrim, DA:I, and Witcher 3 are all in the 100+ hrs range and are all very clearly in the AAA ARPG genre.


Not if it's a AAA game. Not even close. They'll need minimum 10 million in sales, which is WAY beyond what D:OS2 sold.

Nope, 10mio is too much most AAA titles sell around 5-8 Mio copies everything beyond that is fairly rare.
For AAA standard Larian is fairly small, teams with 500->1000 have become pretty common these days. Since the game is pc only there is really no way that hey will sell more than a couple of millions of copies around the release.

Of course, i know that many people didn't play a single Larian game before and they're here just because of BG 3. That's also fine, we all have different tastes and goals. It will be impossible to please every player on the planet. I think that people will be divided into two groups after BG 3 is released - one group will praise BG 3 and consider it as the best RPG ever made, another will hate the game and consider it as a desecration to BG legend. Just my personal thought.

Btw if you haven't played D:OS 2 then i highly recommended you to try, it's a must-play for every RPG fan.

DOS 2 had 200 people working on it as I understand it, BG3 have 350+ folks working on it and WotC input, so I recognize that it's going to be more expensive, but DOS made plenty of money, DOS2 made even more money and is still making money.

I still firmly believe BG3 will be turn based, with a slim chance of RTwP and zero chance of being ARPG.

BG3 can appeal to Larian Studios fans, D&D players, and D&D stream watchers (which us why I'm expect critical role camoes, and maybe Aquisitions Inc), and new fans in awe of the CGI.

Larian Studios has proven those who say that the only CRPG that sells well are ARPGs are wrong.

Sorry but no. I did play D:OS1, hated every minute of it and wish I could get back the valuable minutes of my life wasted on it. There is no chance at this time of me ever trying D:OS2. The only way I would even be slightly tempted to ever try it is if someone makes a good RTwP mod for it.

D:OS 2 is on a different level. Many people who didnt like D:OS 1 have fallen in love with D:OS 2, but i respect your choice.

No, they didn't even have 80 at the release of DOS 2 in Sep 2017. https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/divinity-original-sin-ii/credits I haven't seen a studio grow from indie to AAA this quickly in a long time they now have about 200 people + over a 150 working externally on the game.

Larians time at Pax has been extended by an extra half hour so it's starting at 3:00pm est now, not 3:30pm est as previously announced, because BG3 is such a big game. Spread the word so no one misses the first half hour.

Well they made alot of money on DOS2, heck its STILL making money!

If Larian Studios pulls this off it will be a game changer for them, D&D, and the entire game industry.

LOL. Whatever.

i have played it. it's a great game but i think it's a little overrated. but this is just my opinion. it's more rewarding playing with 1 or 2 characters with lone wolf instead of 4. most encounters are hand crafted but there are trash fights. encounters were also making elevation conveniently available. the random loot really suxs as there are no grinds. the number of encounters are fixed. the story, the characters, the quests, the arts the world were all beautiful and well done.

i do not want to play DOS2 again with a BG3 skin. i have some ideas on Turn-Based Real-Time where both modes combined as one. It will be really interesting if Larian go this direction. Otherwise it's really just DOS2 clone with D&D rules.

Everyone has its own opinion and it's fine. For me, a perfect example of overrated game is Witcher 3. It was a good game, but not as good as people see it. Surely not the best RPG ever made.

I agree with you about Lone Wolf part, but loot is not random only, it contains many fixed items as the rewards that are often better than randomly generated loot. Yeah, i've fallen in love with the story, characters, quests, visuals, world and gameplay. I rated the game 9.5/10 on the polish largest gaming site (something like metacritic) and for me it's a fair score. I just had enormous amount of fun while playing it and loved every minute of the time spent in this game.

Anyway, i am sorry for offtopic, it's a thread about BG 3 so lets focus on BG 3 now

Great News!!! Doomy is no longer feeling gloomy woot

First time poster here. Been a lurker from afar since the initial BGIII announcement.

The Witcher 3 stands firm on my top 5 list, easily. Apart from the repetitiveness of all those fetch quests it is pure quality in many areas, and they simply nailed the atmosphere most of the time. That hut where you are looking for a witch, wow. I was tense all the way. And on your way to that courtyard when you hear someone digging a grave, getting closer and closer. Just a few examples.

ANYWAY, back to BGIII. I'm looking forward to PAX for sure. I've mostly been a traditionalist regarding which directions I think they should take but now I just hope it's good and gives me that good old BG feeling (I doubt it actually). I played D:OS when it came out, and what I liked the most was the music. The graphics were nice, but too cartoonish for my taste. They obviously need to have a more realistic depiction when dealing with BGIII. That's my humble opinion at least.

Looking forward to world reveal

3-4 days soon.

kind of concerned about the background stuff.
it did look very much like OS2
I like OS2s level of graphics, but for BG3 with all the hype and the huge team behind it, i kind of expected a larger step up in terms of graphical fidelity.
Specifically not repeating OS2s plastic look.

We haven't seen enough to jump to conclusions about the appearance aside from CGI clips, which look AMAZING.

CGI means nothing tho, they probably arent even done inhouse.
Look at elderscrolls online for that.
The CGI was great, but the game doesnt even have the same artstyle

My point that we haven't seen enough to judge still stands.

It is the freaking B day, I am eager to see what they have to offer. Long time since I was so excited about a gameplay since Kingmaker.

I do not care much about the technical stuff, to be honest, but about the setting and the gameplay mechanics. That would be fun.

4 party members rather than 6. I'm a bit miffed. But also hyped.

The game looks fucking amazing. watching the reveal. very strong divinity original sins game influence in the combat style but using 5th ed stuff rather than what larian made for divinity games.Lots of skills and features from 5E, party combat, mindflayers, a lot of creativity using the environment against the enemies the cutscene at the start looked spectacular. 3 dragons attacking mind flayer flying ship
That was all I wanted and more.

I think you've displayed more enthusiasm in this paragraph than in your entire post history.

Maybe because now I actually watched what the game looks and feels like?

If anyone missed or would like to watch the Gameplay revel again. You can watch it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=7bRyG5WpIMY&feature=emb_logo

Since I always play rogues some things bothered me. Maybe it is my impression, but Vincke says at some point that you need to be in melee range to sneak attack, and also when he was sneaking there seemed to be no advantage bonus to attack rolls. I hope I either missed something or this will be corrected in the future.

If they use the D&D 5e rules, you can sneak with ranged weapons, but only in certain conditions.

I found more refreshing the fact that you need to be in the shadows to sneak, that would be an improvement.

Did you notice the lack of ranged sneak attack or it's just me? Also, where's advantage?

Mmm, now that you mention it, I do not remember the ranged shots of the MC in the gameplay to cause huge amounts of damage, but I remember that one of the enemy halfling archers one-shotted the cleric, so maybe there is? I will take a look at the gameplay again.

You can see it here again If you wish to be certain https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=7bRyG5WpIMY&feature=emb_logo

I think all the combat rolls are made automatically (they even show you the possible outcome using a %) so maybe they have advantage but we do not get to see it?

I thought of that possibility. In the catacombs when he is sneaking his hit chance is 65% though. It seems too low to have advantage applied. Also, at any point he mentioned the mechanic.

and you didn't need a barrel.

Called it!