Baldur's Gate 3: Quicksave is my favourite spell

[IlyaP]

3 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Yeah there’s all kind of cool stuff like Minthara having unique scenes when you romance her as an origin Karlach (crazy multiverse result!) but the general consensus is that she’s still waay too buggy, often talking about things that haven’t happened, reacting to wrong branching decisions, not triggering any character development scenes  or just randomly breaking up with you, etc. 

Hell, I'm seeing scripting problems even now with "finished" characters - like Astarion saying stuff but the text says Karlach is saying it, or people talking and the audio cutting out and then popping, etc. Like, nothing we're not all well-trained to expect from huge games where one "fix" can have cascading effects that ripple across the systems and create new problems. 

3 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

I think they honestly should’ve just kept her as a normal recruitable companion to avoid all this complexity in coding her right….its a shame cause even I haven’t recruited her but looking at her meme videos she seems like she’s quite hilarious (similar to drax from gotg) and a fun,morally grey companion to have.(has a whole redemption arc you can trigger also)

A normal recruitable companion? As opposed to...? Not sure what you mean. What do you mean by a recruitable companion that makes it different from anyone else you can recruit? 

3 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

In any other news, looking at that interview it seems Larians pretty focused on their next game already and I doubt we’ll get a definitive edition of this game. Bear in mind, their first two games were much rougher so a definitive edition made sense. Kinda similar to Witcher 1-2 having definitive editions also and TW3 having none cause it’s a much more polished, AAA game already. As Swen mentioned in the interview,  we’ll see official mod support and a few more technical patches (hopefully fixing Minthara) coming in but no further content patches. 

Oh, we will get one. Look at the launcher imagery when you load the game if you're playing it via Steam - it mentions a Deluxe or Definitive Edition (I forget the exact wording, as I've uninstalled it due to having finished it). And the previous two Larian games had Definitive Edition releases a year after each game launched. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

30 minutes ago, IlyaP said:

Hell, I'm seeing scripting problems even now with "finished" characters - like Astarion saying stuff but the text says Karlach is saying it, or people talking and the audio cutting out and then popping, etc. Like, nothing we're not all well-trained to expect from huge games where one "fix" can have cascading effects that ripple across the systems and create new problems. 

A normal recruitable companion? As opposed to...? Not sure what you mean. What do you mean by a recruitable companion that makes it different from anyone else you can recruit? 

Oh, we will get one. Look at the launcher imagery when you load the game if you're playing it via Steam - it mentions a Deluxe or Definitive Edition (I forget the exact wording, as I've uninstalled it due to having finished it). And the previous two Larian games had Definitive Edition releases a year after each game launched. 

As in a character like the other 6 major companions in the game - who are not dependable on you choosing a major story decision to be recruitable (atleast not initially). 
 

Hoping we do get a definitive edition but more than anything else if we can have an official mod editor which allows modders to create their own story modules for the game, the potential would be crazy and bg3 could easily remain playable for years till Larian releases their next rpg.

[IlyaP]

4 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Hoping we do get a definitive edition but more than anything else if we can have an official mod editor which allows modders to create their own story modules for the game, the potential would be crazy and bg3 could easily remain playable for years till Larian releases their next rpg.

There is one for DOS2, but folks at Larian have warned people it's not easy to use, and I'm not sure yet if we'll have that kind of customisability in BG3. Even now, there are very, very few level/region expansion mods for the game because of how finicky it is. (Where modern cRPG modding is concerned, Solasta's still probably going to be the best option available to modders.)

[Ser Lany]

11 hours ago, IlyaP said:

They were absolutely ok with this when they confronted me after I stomped all over Cazador's corpse.

The story pretty much sets her up to head in that direction anyway, as she becomes disillusioned with Vlaakith and slowly sides with Voss.

There's a journal list with all the side quests? And I complete them one by one like a manic little completionist?

 

This is the point where I'm supposed to say I'll let the little vamplings go free this time, but, as we've learned above, I can't because I'm a paladin (devotion oath) plus I'm doing all the things I normally do. But when I pick up with the druid/ranger play through I will try this. I've made it to the party with the Teiflings so far without breaking my oath. My kids make fun of me for playing such "good" characters all the time.  I just can't help it, that's me.  

Two things I normally do that I thought would break the oath but didn't were letting Astarian feed off me and getting the Loviatar blessing. That second one really surprised me. I was sure seeking a blessing of the evil goddess of pain would count against you. (I was told by my evilest offspring that getting this blessing was key to romancing Astarian. Now I do it for amusement)

I know I need to check the journal more, but if you don't encounter someone I don't think they appear in it. BTW, this is my FIRST real video game, other than Pokemon,  and I am totally obsessed.

I had no idea what I was doing when I started, barely do now, but am still loving it. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

I’m unmarried and i still found it hard to get the time to finish this game , how the hell did you get away from ur family long enough to finish this game !

1 hour ago, IlyaP said:

There is one for DOS2, but folks at Larian have warned people it's not easy to use, and I'm not sure yet if we'll have that kind of customisability in BG3. Even now, there are very, very few level/region expansion mods for the game because of how finicky it is. (Where modern cRPG modding is concerned, Solasta's still probably going to be the best option available to modders.)

If you consider Skyrim to be a CRPG than that definitely still remains the best option. Witcher 3 will also soon have a mod editor, but I’m guessing that is also not considered a CRPG?
 

Whats the definition of a CRPG as opposed to a regular RPG ? Having an isometric camera angle with a party based system and turn based/RTWP combat ? 

Edited March 26 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Kalbear]

6 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

As in a character like the other 6 major companions in the game - who are not dependable on you choosing a major story decision to be recruitable (atleast not initially). 

Minthara is recruitable regardless of the decisions you make as long as you don't kill her. You can have her and Halsin.

 

[Ser Lany]

1 hour ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

I’m unmarried and i still found it hard to get the time to finish this game , how the hell did you get away from ur family long enough to finish this game !

 

I'm single, my children are all grown and only the 21 yr old lives with me and he ignores me. I only have one thing outside of work, and that is a 2-3 times monthly D&D game.  I started during early access, tend to play hundreds of hours before leaving it for a few months and them coming back to it. (I am at over 1000 hours now)

Since I work from home, there is no commute time, and if work is slow, I might occasionally play during work hours.  Basically, I have no life   I think I actually have about 8-10 hours a day I can play, more on weekends without grandkids or D&D

Edited March 26 by Ser Lany

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

It’s cool even i prefer playing bg3 over attending a concert  

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

1 hour ago, Kalbear said:

Minthara is recruitable regardless of the decisions you make as long as you don't kill her. You can have her and Halsin.

 

Read above - it’s still very glitchy to use her is my main issue. I know she can be knocked out and recruited but the game never acknowledges it. She and Halsin just ignore each other.  If she was recruited without the exploit like the core 6 she likely wouldn’t have been as glitchy.

Edited March 26 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Kalbear]

58 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Read above - it’s still very glitchy to use her is my main issue. I know she can be knocked out and recruited but the game never acknowledges it. She and Halsin just ignore each other.  If she was recruited without the exploit like the core 6 she likely wouldn’t have been as glitchy.

Eh, unlikely. All sorts of late game companion stuff is glitchy. Wyll and his dad is super messed up still, jaheira and her kids and Minsc have oddness, shadowheart has issues with her parents and a bunch of the npcs. Gale, for a while, would show up and ask about the crown of Karsus after blowing himself and the crown up. For a while you could have a headless karlach in your party.

The late game just doesn't have the polish, period. 

Also, on having the time to play being married - my wife actively encourages me to play and finish the game. #winning

[Kalbear]

3 hours ago, Ser Lany said:

Two things I normally do that I thought would break the oath but didn't were letting Astarian feed off me and getting the Loviatar blessing. That second one really surprised me. I was sure seeking a blessing of the evil goddess of pain would count against you. (I was told by my evilest offspring that getting this blessing was key to romancing Astarian. Now I do it for amusement)

 

Note also that if you decide for no good reason to take off your clothes during the Loviatar part both Shadowheart and Astarion have special dialogue, because OF COURSE they do.

Weirdly I have found myself not wanting to play because I'm at the very end and it was kind of a mental slog to do all the fights. The fights are basically trivial at this point, mind you, they're just not very fun or enriching. I did finish up the Steel Foundry, then did House of Hope and finally did Gortash. Holy crap is House of Hope's song amazing. The Raphael fight was kind of disappointingly easy; I ended up stunning him every turn with Astarion as a monk and he never even changed form. 

Anyway, I think I'm now done other than the end battle. Despite thinking sacrificing Gale is the better choice I think I'll end up making Orpheus a squid so I can do the final fight. 

[Ser Lany]

35 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Note also that if you decide for no good reason to take off your clothes during the Loviatar part both Shadowheart and Astarion have special dialogue, because OF COURSE they do.

Weirdly I have found myself not wanting to play because I'm at the very end and it was kind of a mental slog to do all the fights. The fights are basically trivial at this point, mind you, they're just not very fun or enriching. I did finish up the Steel Foundry, then did House of Hope and finally did Gortash. Holy crap is House of Hope's song amazing. The Raphael fight was kind of disappointingly easy; I ended up stunning him every turn with Astarion as a monk and he never even changed form. 

Anyway, I think I'm now done other than the end battle. Despite thinking sacrificing Gale is the better choice I think I'll end up making Orpheus a squid so I can do the final fight. 

You know I am going to have to try the Loviatar thing naked now. They already make comments about it, Shadowheart asking if was what Astarian was expecting when he joined us, him saying he had hopes.

Yeah, I abandoned a few games when I just got tired of all the really tough fights in act III. I like the other aspects of the game. Takes 2 or more weeks to get through everything, then I have been taking a month or so off.  I hear about something I missed or that could be very different or that the romance scenes got updated   and I start a new game.

I've tried playing other games, but nothing has captured the attention of my aged brain the way this one has.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

You guys don’t know tough fights till you try Divinity original sin 2 :/ makes BG3 look like a piece of cake. Considering abandoning it in Act 2 as Im literally getting pounded left right and center all over the map. 
 

The final city fight in BG3 is a terrible slog mainly cause they throw tons of enemies scattered all over the area at you and it takes forever for them to make a move, probably the most glitchy fight as well with the summon your ally feature. 

Edited March 26 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

1 hour ago, Ser Lany said:

You know I am going to have to try the Loviatar thing naked now. They already make comments about it, Shadowheart asking if was what Astarian was expecting when he joined us, him saying he had hopes.

Yeah, I abandoned a few games when I just got tired of all the really tough fights in act III. I like the other aspects of the game. Takes 2 or more weeks to get through everything, then I have been taking a month or so off.  I hear about something I missed or that could be very different or that the romance scenes got updated   and I start a new game.

I've tried playing other games, but nothing has captured the attention of my aged brain the way this one has.

Play DOS2 after this , it’s basically BG3 but much harder and without the cinematics. The engine otherwise is the same and similar combat system.

Edited March 26 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Kalbear]

50 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Play DOS2 after this , it’s basically BG3 but much harder and without the cinematics. The engine otherwise is the same and similar combat system.

Yeah, I think that kind of massively misses out what made it such a winner for @Ser Lany. The combat is the least special part of BG3, though it is fun in some horribly abusive ways. The relationships and the consequences are a big draw. 

[Ser Lany]

54 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Play DOS2 after this , it’s basically BG3 but much harder and without the cinematics. The engine otherwise is the same and similar combat system.

All 3 offspring and the SiL have said to play DOS2, and they even gave me their copy. I stole my son's PS4 and gave it a try.  IT WAS HARD to even figure out what I was supposed to be doing and the brat has no patience to help me out with it.

I love the first few minutes of BG3 as they work as a basic tutorial with Lae'zel guiding you. It's just enough to clue you in on what is expected in the game.  And the cinematics are one of my favorite parts. Harder fights are not a selling point for me

But I have promised to try again...when I can get the PS4 back.

 

Edited March 26 by Ser Lany

[Ser Lany]

1 minute ago, Kalbear said:

Yeah, I think that kind of massively misses out what made it such a winner for @Ser Lany. The combat is the least special part of BG3, though it is fun in some horribly abusive ways. The relationships and the consequences are a big draw. 

Exactly. 

The relationships are amusing and fun to me. I like seeing what it takes to make them work.  Still haven't managed to get Astarian  or Shadowheart into Act III. Astarian was rude (of course) and things with Shadowheart just fizzled out. Not sure why.

I've been thinking about the writers lately and the characters who are really "good" aligned and their views on relationships.  *sigh*  (I never did get the relationship mod to work properly. I thought I did, until Gale was positively destroyed by my moving on.)  FTR, you can be a truly good person and still think sex for fun is an ok thing  

But I do like when you can make funny things happen in combat, like the sleet storm while holding Halsin's portal, and all the bad guys keep trying to dash across it and fall on their asses. I laugh every time it happens.

I'll be a video game noob for a long time

 

[Kalbear]

15 minutes ago, Ser Lany said:

Exactly. 

The relationships are amusing and fun to me. I like seeing what it takes to make them work.  Still haven't managed to get Astarian  or Shadowheart into Act III. Astarian was rude (of course) and things with Shadowheart just fizzled out. Not sure why.

So I"m not sure about them specifically, but there is an incredibly annoying thing where you basically have to both do a long rest and talk to those people in one specific place - after you've left Act 2, but before you get invaded by the Gith. Where you're overlooking Baldur's Gate at night. If you don't do a long rest there and talk with some of the companions there you'll be forever locked out of any future relationship stuff with some of them. I know that's true for Karlach, for instance. Might be true for them, too. 

 

15 minutes ago, Ser Lany said:

I've been thinking about the writers lately and the characters who are really "good" aligned and their views on relationships.  *sigh*  (I never did get the relationship mod to work properly. I thought I did, until Gale was positively destroyed by my moving on.)  FTR, you can be a truly good person and still think sex for fun is an ok thing  

WOO HALSIN YAY

 

[Ser Lany]

21 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

 

 

WOO HALSIN YAY

 

LOL.  At one point I had a goal to rate all the "romances". Halsin, in non-bear form, comes in at #2. But yes, that's the point of view I meant. (Mostly, I find the bear form comical and the visit with the Drows absolutely hysterical-still do it every time though) 

Still working on that goal. Current standings have Gale's scene top of the list, but then I am a pervert.

 

[IlyaP]

8 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

I’m unmarried and i still found it hard to get the time to finish this game , how the hell did you get away from ur family long enough to finish this game !

Bwahahahaha! Remember when you were asking about your family and dates you went on with people who didn't Get You? Well, I married a gamer. So she really *gets it*. So I get to have an hour or two a day between stuff, where she goes and does her own hobbies and I try to make a dent in my videogame library. And weekends? Sunday morning to Sunday afternoon is my dedicated gaming time. 

8 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

If you consider Skyrim to be a CRPG than that definitely still remains the best option. Witcher 3 will also soon have a mod editor, but I’m guessing that is also not considered a CRPG?

Nah, Witcher's an cRPG - you get to make choices and decisions that have an impact and outcome on how the story develops. It absolutely is a cRPG. All the mechanics, choices, etc., are there. It simply comes with a more predefined main character - but that's nothing new to cRPGs. Plenty have done that in the past. 

8 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Whats the definition of a CRPG as opposed to a regular RPG ? Having an isometric camera angle with a party based system and turn based/RTWP combat ? 

No difference. I simply add the c to cRPG to differentiate it from the broader, macro "concept" of an RPG, which is different again from TTRPG. Essentially, I use different nomenclatures to ensure clarity and understanding.

Edited March 26 by IlyaP