If the whole point of this chain control scheme is to allow us to break the party in two, and if the full party only has 4 members to begin with, then why even bother? I mean what does a split party with the chain actually do for us? 2 leaders with 1 follower each in Co-Op? Or 3 leaders where one person has to manage a tag along in a Tri-Op?
If that was the goal they could have just made it like NWN with henchmen, or like every Bioware RPG since Jade Empire.
I think Larian simply find this a convenient mechanism to link arbitrary numbers of players/NPCs to move together, and obviously don't care so much about party formation. I would be fine with that if each chained-group had a formation button that worked the same way as the IE games.
It would also still be helpful to have mouse selection/actions in the main scene window, not just the UI layer, in order to give individual orders without having to break up the chain-groups.
Something like this may yet emerge through EA, or it may be possible to mod changes in if Larian expose enough internal function.
Originally Posted by Black_Elk
All I've wanted since 2002 is for another game to come out with full party control for a large party with diverse and compelling companions, using D&D rules, and set in the Forgotten Realms... And every developer since just keeps dropping the ball on it.
Icewind Dale 2 was fun and set in FR, but there were no companions to speak of. ToEE was alright, even if it was buggier than an insect plague at launch, but the Greyhawk setting reminds me too much of 70s Chainmail and airbrushed vans, not the deep nostalgia I feel for late 80s early 90s FR gold box computer games. Pillars was cool with the 5 man for a renaissance attempt, but I just don't care about Eora and blunderbusses. Same deal with Pathfinder, which does most things right, but still can't quite bridge the fact that Golarion isn't Faerun.
Although FR is not perfect, it is well defined and relatively deep. I think it benefits from being conceived originally as a setting for story-telling rather than games, and, of course, for how long it has been evolving. A FR game/story is certainly the main reason BG3 interests me, far more than the rules used or mechanics, most of which don't entirely match my preferences.
Originally Posted by Black_Elk
Why can't they just remake the thing in 3D with modern graphics? I honestly now think they should have made a Reboot rather than a Sequel. Because if the game engine could handle that, at least we'd know it would work for the next thing.
There are probably various rights issues with making a reboot, as well as the fact that it no longer matches the WotC timeline. Beyond that, I would say with reasonable certainty that Larian could make 3D versions BG1/2 with their engine, but I doubt they would want to make the changes necessary ( for commercial/reputational reasons ).
Originally Posted by Black_Elk
Ps. I wonder if NWN2 had launched with a BG1 reboot (as an actual developer created module, instead of a fan made module coming out 10 years later) if that game might have been more successful? One thing it did prove was that the NWN2's base game was pretty ill adapted to a fan tribute/reboot of BG1, and required a shit ton of tinkering and years on the grind to even get close to the same feel. Not so much because of the change from 2nd edition to 3rd, or the change from 2d environments to 3d, but because of the core UI defaults for character selection and party movement.
Well, NWN2 was successful enough to have two expansions, and released soon enough after BG1/2 that a respin would probably not have had that much appeal.
NWN2 is actually very well suited to designing fan modules, but in a 3D environment it is non-trivial to create all the assets required to emulate a professionally created game. In the case of "Baldur's Gate Reloaded", most of the work was carried out by just 2 people in their spare time, who were learning as they went; it's not really a surprise it took them seven years. I think they hope to release "Shadows of Amn Reloaded" in 2021 after another 7 year development.
Originally Posted by Black_Elk
Still its an interesting thought experiment. Like could BG3's engine support a remake of BG1 that was in any way faithful to the feel of the original ? Right now I don't think it could, even with some serious liberties taken. Not in a satisfying way at any rate. And that's not because of 5e or TB or because the story wouldn't catch, but mainly because of the basic UI and control scheme they've adopted.
As I said above, I have no doubt they would be capable of making a fairly faithful respin, but I am fairly certain they would not want to change their style.
Whether anyone in the modding community cares enough about BG1/2 to try their hand using the BG3 engine will probably depend on its versatility and the extent of the usable assets.
