Hello @GM4Him.
I wasn't really sure whether to reply to this, as you seem to have misunderstood my post, but as you have replied to me, I shall see whether I can explain more clearly.
I, being a TT DM, totally disagree with you on many points. 5e is simpler and far more better suited for video games. There are many TT players out here playing BG3, and we want more 5e implemented because 5e is balanced and fun. It can easily be adapted for a video game but Larian is chucking a lot of it, at least presently even though it can and has, by Solasta, been implemented well. (Though even Solasta could have done it better.)
I have an app that can do almost everything for 5e for you, simplifying everything, so I know it can be done. The only thing the app is missing is graphic representation of characters on game maps. Then it would be an awesome video game. Larian could do this same thing, but they are refusing to because they don't want to. Simple as that. They want to make BG3 like DOS, not D&D. At least, that's what it seems.
I played and occasionally was DM for games using the original D&D rules and AD&D 1e and 2e, obviously many years ago. I am also a Software Engineer by background, and can absolutely confirm that even the first PC that I used ( Intel 8086, running Microsoft DOS circa 1985 ) was more than capable of doing the math in realtime for ANY version of D&D, past or present. D&D ( and other similar games ) rules are simply not a computationally challenging problem.
That fact, however, is beside the point. In 1985, input and output on PCs were mostly restricted to ASCII text, with some very primitive graphics, and early attempts at input devices like the "mouse" and "joystick" that were really quite lame, so videogame implementations were very limited by hardware inadequacy.
So, yes, if the D&D rules could easily be implemented back then, they can easily be implemented now, and I made no assertion that such was not possible. What I said ( or meant to be understood ) was that the 4e ruleset was designed to appeal to MMO and other videogame players, while 5e rules were designed to appeal to the traditional TT players.
As a result, implementing 5e in a videogame is a challenge if you also want to appeal to non-TT players, who make up the bulk of the modern audience. It may not be important to you that BG3 be financially successful, but it is to Larian, and it is to WotC; so they make changes that they consider to be appropriate, and you clearly don't like.
Classes are virtually stripped of their uniqueness in BG3, and everything is weird and extreme because they have mostly deviated from TT. It's a mess and the main issue I have with the game. Rogues aren't special because anyone can rogue, clerics aren't needed because anyone can heal, wizards aren't special because anyone can cast spells with scrolls and such, and fighters aren't needed because weapons give any characters special melee and ranged combat maneuvers. Monsters don't act like they should with teleporting phase spiders who have super spit poison surfaces, and anyone can shove anyone 30+ feet off a ledge and into lava. It's insane.
I would say that Larian simply exacerbate problems that are intrinsic to the 5e rules. The early D&D rules pretty much required Thief/Cleric/Wizard/Fighter ( which, therefore, became the "classic" 4-person party ), because those classes (and derived classes) had unique features or strengths that have either disappeared or become possible for all characters.
For the Thief, Locks, Traps, Hide in Shadows, Climbing are all specialty skills that everyone can now perform in 5e. Healing used to be restricted to Divine spells and magic items like potions and scrolls, but in 5e, everyone can apparently regain health by playing cards for an hour. Wizard and Cleric spells used to be their USP, now in 5e 10 of the 12 classes can be casters if you so choose. Magic items ( the actual topic of the thread ) used to be hugely important in defining and developing your character, but in 5e they seem almost meaningless.
Certainly BG3 Early Access doesn't stick to the 5e rules, because they do want to appeal to the primary videogame audience, who do not play TT. As the 5e rules are not particularly to my liking anyway, I have no particular problem with that, and I will simply ignore or work around anything that I don't like. However, it's worth repeating what I said in my original post, that I hope the released game DOES have a "strict" game mode for TT players like yourself that don't want the Larian Homebrew. Ideally there would be multiple settings and mode choices, but that might be left to interested modders.
I enjoy the game. Love it actually, but it would be SO much better with a bit more 5e and a bit less homebrew gimmick nonsense.
Good, I do too, even though I didn't like Original Sin enough to finish it or buy the sequel. Making a videogame that is able to appeal to a wide enough variety of opinions and tastes to be profitable is not easy, particularly if you spend as much as Larian are in making BG3. I feel it is mostly going in the right direction, but they still have a lot of challenges in making their story coherent and intelligible regardless of how you choose to play the game, and that is probably my major concern.
