I suppose it depends exactly what game Larian are making, and who they want/expect to buy it?
Obviously D:OS2 players who are also TT DnD players are very positive in the forums. What we have seen so far would provide a good experience for them, and they are busy in other threads discussing detailed character builds for optimum tactics, drawing on what is probably ~1000 pages (?) of 5e information.
But what about someone that likes playing single-player RPG video games, but that is not a "DnD nerd". Is everyone expected to go and read and understand hundreds of pages of 5e, just to be able to get through the combat, which may not be why they want to play the game?.
AD&D or 3.5 was far more complicated than 5e and many people played NWN games or IWD-BG games without ever open a PNP manual. Rarely they made a game without some tutorial or explanations ingame of lots of the mechanics, and you usually do not have to understand the math involved in the combat to fully enjoy games like POE, BG, ToEE, POE, Shadowrun, etc...
It´s dissapointing the amount of people that consistently refer to others as "nerds" just because they are not scared of manuals of more than two pages and without lots of pictures when confronted with something the´re passioned with. (nothing wrong with seeking games to have fun and for evasion, so they do not want some complicated things, that´s understandable. But it would be nice if they tone down the disdain for people that do not see that as an option, if only a little).
I will make a suggestion for Larian. They should make a "Collector´s edition" with a manual in paper and some goodies; but also they could make the "Contempt edition", with a colouring book with lots of pictures, less than 30 words and maybe a backer code that unlocks a customized UI that hides the MP option and some other options in the final game so some people could have the illusion that the game is customized to them and only to them.
So they would only see the options they like in the game and not the ones that other people like (even tho the existence of those options would not impede 90% of the options they like) and they would have a more enjoyable experience.
After reading some of the posts, I think they have a huge virgin market to exploit in there.
Sorry _Vic_ if the "DnD nerd" term triggered you in some way. For anything I am personally interested in, I consider myself something of a super-nerd or super-geek, have often been called such, but have never considered it to be negative or insulting ( more a badge of honour ). Your experience may be different, of course.
Just for the record, from about 1970 until about 1995 I was playing TT wargames with little metal figures ( napoleonic , ancient, ww2 and Tolkein ), map-and-counter wargames ( including the ultra-nerdy and still incomplete Europa Series WW2 games ), and fantasy/sci-fi RP games, such as Runequest, Traveller, Space Opera, and of course D&D. I've still got hundreds of games, source books and loads of miniatures, but I have not really cared to use them since computers became capable of interesting games, which is now my preference.
Yes, there are more complex game systems than 5e, and approached the right way, they can be successfully translated into video games that can reasonably be learned by people unfamiliar with the game system. So, my concern is about whether this is true of BG3.
There is a lot of forum chatter stressing the importance of "tactical combat", having the right build, and the need for effective party combinations in combat. That may be what you are looking for, but I'm more interested in the story, the world and non-combat activities. So, my question is a simple one; is BG3 also for a wider RP audience or solely for combat fans.
I don't have any wish to take anything away from the game as shown that many people like. But, just as I don't want to have to have super reflexes to play and enjoy a "twitch" game, I also don't wish to need to become super-competent at everything 5e to avoid constantly dying in BG3. If anything, it is you who seem to be objecting to me wanting to enjoy the game, not the other way around.
