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A recent Cohh Carnage stream introduced me to Solasta:
www.solasta-game.comhttps://www.solasta-game.com
It is a turn based RPG using 5e rules, though the game is not set in Faerun.
I'd say that the combat implementation is more advanced than BG3 at this point, as they have implemented features that players have been complaining about (the lack thereof) in BG3.
For example, in Solasta you can delay your actions and choose when to use reactions, it is pretty well done.
I think it deserves a look, as it can help you with future implementation.

Last edited by Danielbda; 23/10/20 03:56 PM.
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I had a look at some of the lets plays, another great thing is in conversations you can pick which character to answer and roll social skills with.

Its on my wishlist for now.

Last edited by DumbleDorf; 23/10/20 03:58 PM.
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We're gonna have a lot of these posts I guess. Super.


I don't want to fall to bits 'cos of excess existential thought.

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Originally Posted by DumbleDorf
I had a look at some of the lets plays, another great thing is in conversations you can pick which character to answer and roll social skills with.

Its on my wishlist for now.

Same here.
You can also roll stats, get cover (half, full), see attack rolls and modifiers in combat.
It might be the answer for some features Larian is not certain about implementing. Just check Solasta and see if it works.

Last edited by Danielbda; 23/10/20 04:08 PM.
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It's a matter of individual taste. Do you also post in Solasta's Dev forum and ask them to make their game look more like BG3 because Solasta is ugly?
It's like telling an artist "Why don't you make your music more like THAT guy? I like his better than yours!"
First of all that's very impolite and entitled. And second, you always have the choice to play what you like.

Last edited by Syrek; 23/10/20 04:46 PM.
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At this stage of proceedings, I imagine that Larian have a pretty good idea of the fundamental mechanics behind their game. Pointing to another game saying that you like it is very unlikely to make them decide to throw out most of the development work to date and try to replicate a different one.

I like GURPS better than D&D. Hey, Larian, can you change the game for me please?

Last edited by Sadurian; 23/10/20 04:50 PM.
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Originally Posted by Syrek
It's a matter of individual taste. Do you also post in Solasta's Dev forum and ask them to make their game look more like BG3 because Solasta is ugly?
It's like telling an artist "Why don't you make your music more like THAT guy? I like his better than yours!"
First of all that's very impolite and entitled. And second, you always have the choice to play what you like.

Solasta is definitely ugly and you can see the small budget in the graphics and voice acting.
Still, implementation of 5e mechanics is closer to the source than BG3, including features that players are asking through feedback.
Looking another games for a game dev is research, there is nothing "impolite" about the suggestion.

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Originally Posted by Syrek
It's a matter of individual taste. Do you also post in Solasta's Dev forum and ask them to make their game look more like BG3 because Solasta is ugly?
It's like telling an artist "Why don't you make your music more like THAT guy? I like his better than yours!"
First of all that's very impolite and entitled. And second, you always have the choice to play what you like.


You should look into it yourself. They have a specific post in the Solasta's forums about this very thing. They think BG3 is gorgeous, and give ways to give good feedback. So they kinda of encourage it.

It isn't rude nor entitled in the least bit. Entitled, that word gets A LOT of misuse and overuse these days.

Just because someone has a different opinion than yours doesn't make them rude or entitled. It could have been worded better, but both games could stand to learn something from one another. We all make posts in haste, and could stand to stop and read over them most times. All of us.

The perfect dnd game would be the love child of these two games.

Last edited by jrf773; 23/10/20 05:19 PM.

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Originally Posted by Danielbda

Solasta is definitely ugly and you can see the small budget in the graphics and voice acting.
Still, implementation of 5e mechanics is closer to the source than BG3, including features that players are asking through feedback.
Looking another games for a game dev is research, there is nothing "impolite" about the suggestion.

While your last sentence is true, there's a point in development where you have to stop looking left and right and just go forward. Usually that point is right after the concept stage when only basic engine programming has been done.
There's sunk cost, deadlines and revenue to bring in, and there are also players snapping at your heels to finish up the rest of this massive undertaking.
You can of course make tweaks, turn certain things up and others down in a measured way and I'm quite sure they will do that.
But suggesting to majorly revamp a majority of the combat system, this far in development, because you like a different game better is preposterous and I can't believe this doesn't occur to you.

I know, a lot of alleged "Betas" of other games (which are actually glorified marketing demos) have convinced you that you can still have major input on a games' design when it's already far enough along that you can play it without crashing every 2 minutes and every model has textures and animations. But that's not how development works in real life.

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However, Solasta really looks nice (combat, talk-options, etc).
Alone the automatic jumping <3
The graphics are of course sub-par

Last edited by Grantig; 23/10/20 05:28 PM.
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For a game made with only 17 developers, I think it is an AWESOME product. It had a small budget, does some things very very right and on the whole is a very good game.

That said, It does not hold my interest like BG3 does. The game suffers from the lack of budget and developer pool. BG3 is much prettier, better graphics all around. Better Voice acting. Character creation/ customization is better, etc. The story also grabs me more with BG3 than It has so far with Solasta. That is not to say I regret buying it or will not play it more.

I view the two games as two separate dishes. Solasta is like home made ground beef tacos, it does the job, is tasty and filling.
BG3 is like Tacos from Old Town In San Diego that I used to love so much (when I lived there), fresh corn tortillas, wonderful fillings, fresh tasty guacamole and salsa - totally awesome and should be a food group unto themselves.

The two are different and similar. I need them both in my life.

Heck the multiplayer game should have a form of dice roll like SWTOR for who gets to talk in a conversation. There are things to learn from in a lot of games.

That said a message to Larian . . . AFTER this is done . . . SPELLJAMMER or PLANESCAPE.

Just saying. smile


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They know, Sven recommended it on his twitter lol.

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I actually bought it, the UI/Controls/Graphics/Voice Acting/Script/Story are all pretty bad (excusable though as the reason people like it is the combat)

It felt more like a linear dungeon crawl than a big world you explore.

Open world map travel reminds me of the old gold box games from the 80s/90s where you see a map, select where you want to go, and possibly run into random encounters which brings you into combat. Random events like hunting and finding food happen, reminds me of organ trail in some regards. Overall those interfaces feel dated to me now.

As far as combat, it stayed very true to 5e, and yet, it felt lifeless to me. Feedback/information mechanism are sparse in combat, so knowing if I had advantage via flank/back attack was uncertain. I could look in the combat log but it didn't have the dice roll formulas in there to explain the hit/miss/dmg roll.

Camera controls are REALLY bad. I thought I had issues here, but I was dying on the inside trying to look around and make sure I clicked on the enemy that was hovering over my head and not a movement tile behind it that would cause an attack of opportunity.

A lot of people were really enthused by having d20s rolling over all the characters throughout combat, they even have an option to customize your d20s in game, but that is ancillary and just cosmetic to me so it has zero allure.

It does showcase how BG3 allows for a lot more actions per a turn versus the 5e rules.

There are arguments for and against pure 5e rules on a computer based game though. Because you could only do 1 or 2 things per a turn it was very bland (to me) but for others they feel this allows for a more chess like play where there is opportunity to counter each move the enemy makes and you can't snowball them with your own actions.

There is still the ability to push enemies off ledges and do drastic damage, there is still the ability to constantly run behind your target to maximize advantage rolls, there are some battles that permit environmental effects (you can push a block down on targets or probably other traps later on).

It really is subjective and while I kind am disappointed after purchasing it because I thought I would be introduced to a more hardcore and clean combat system, it just felt lifeless and boring in effect. Made me really appreciate BG3.

I refuse to return Solasta though, I want to go back and play it more and give it a second chance. Maybe I "just don't get it" yet.

Last edited by CMF; 23/10/20 05:44 PM.
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I admit that I haven't played very far into Solasta yet, I'd rather play through BG3 for a 4th time and that's what I'm doing, and I feel that's saying something
These games have a common core audience but each target specific parts of that audience, with BG3 aiming for broader mass appeal by trying their best to make it a fun and appealing video game experience.

While I haven't given Solasta a real chance yet, I've played through Pathfinder: Kingmaker several times.
I love that game and it's an amazing tabletop simulator, but at the same time it's not a very good video game. Because let's be honest, a lot of the time it feels like you're playing an excel spreadsheet.
Larian knows how to make fun and enticing video games, but their games are probably never going to be tabletop simulators.

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As someone who likes both Solasta and BG 3 to varying degrees:

I really think BG 3 could take a few pointers from Solasta, like the autojump during traveling and a more detailed character background generation (personality tags, influence of background on starting equipment, etc.) and of course the closer implementation of 5e rules. On the other hand Solasta could learn a lot from BG 3, like better dialog and story writing, good UI design and open exploration.

I genuinely think the combat in Solasta is better and more fun than in BG 3, since it doesn't feel as reliant on gimmicks (they exist in Solasta as well, but are used in moderation generally).

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Originally Posted by Kendaric
As someone who likes both Solasta and BG 3 to varying degrees:

I really think BG 3 could take a few pointers from Solasta, like the autojump during traveling and a more detailed character background generation (personality tags, influence of background on starting equipment, etc.) and of course the closer implementation of 5e rules. On the other hand Solasta could learn a lot from BG 3, like better dialog and story writing, good UI design and open exploration.

I genuinely think the combat in Solasta is better and more fun than in BG 3, since it doesn't feel as reliant on gimmicks (they exist in Solasta as well, but are used in moderation generally).

Yeah, the whole point is that this tiny developer with almost non existent budget was able to make an almost literal implementation of the tabletop, and the most common feedback for BG3 regards things that are not implemented as in the book. That's what the devs should look.

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Originally Posted by Sadurian
At this stage of proceedings, I imagine that Larian have a pretty good idea of the fundamental mechanics behind their game. Pointing to another game saying that you like it is very unlikely to make them decide to throw out most of the development work to date and try to replicate a different one.

I like GURPS better than D&D. Hey, Larian, can you change the game for me please?


Personally I feel the mechanics are the things they could change up the most being more convenient to do so. That said, I can't say how much they are locked into any feature.

I feel it is nice that there is this somewhat parallel game we are able to play as well, them to. Some UI things may be worth looking at, tutorial, dice rolls etc. It is a reference for them to see if there is something more elegant there that they may want to look at for themselves. The gamers goal is for both games to be excellent.

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Originally Posted by Kendaric
As someone who likes both Solasta and BG 3 to varying degrees:

I really think BG 3 could take a few pointers from Solasta, like the autojump during traveling and a more detailed character background generation (personality tags, influence of background on starting equipment, etc.) and of course the closer implementation of 5e rules. On the other hand Solasta could learn a lot from BG 3, like better dialog and story writing, good UI design and open exploration.

I genuinely think the combat in Solasta is better and more fun than in BG 3, since it doesn't feel as reliant on gimmicks (they exist in Solasta as well, but are used in moderation generally).


Early on for me to fully compare. But I feel there are more pointers for Larian to take vs the other way and not negatively meant that Solasta is the better game. It is just the production values Larian is putting into the game take a lot of people, lot of talent and time, this is peak Bioware levels. As someone said you can't just tell your artists you have to do better and they just can and produce 5x more. The pointers Larian would take from Solasta are not one's that require massive manpower and artistic talent, just more like idea planting and implementing.

Last edited by Horrorscope; 23/10/20 07:37 PM.
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Originally Posted by Kendaric
On the other hand Solasta could learn a lot from BG 3, like good UI design and open exploration.


This is really an opinion because I think BG3's UI is pretty random and absolutely not beautifull... It has a very MMORPG taste...
Solasta's UI is strange because it looks like an alien space game UI, but the general design/the idea is way better and more consistent.
This is also an opinion.

Last edited by Maximuuus; 23/10/20 07:40 PM.

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My issue (if you can even call it that) with Solesta is that it's too niche of a game. Most people won't even hear about it, but I'm sure it will get it's following


Larian's Biggest Oversight, what to do about it, and My personal review of BG3 EA
"74.85% of you stood with the Tieflings, and 25.15% of you sided with Minthara. Good outweighs evil, it seems."
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