Solasta - Preview @ Fextralife

I wonder how the makers of Solasta feel about it. I think it was the wrong approach and found it annoying. I would much rather they just focus on the game. The "If you want more 5E game content after BG3 early access then try Solasta" and then focus on the game on its own merits versus its merits in comparison to another game.
 
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I agree Wolf,

I am going to get early access on this one to support it!
It looks great! There are some things that I like in this game over BG3, such as the tabletop feel.

I always hope with this game (and with BG3), that there will be modding tools or DLC / extensions to the game for more stories / playthroughs.

I am still holding off on BG3 at the moment though - they don't need the money, and I am trying to finish greedfall lol. I am also waiting for more patches to come out.
 
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The KS keys are already out. You should have received up to 5 emails of which 3 did not include a link. Apparently there was some technical trouble.

I think I will give it a try today to see how it improved over the demo (which already was pretty good and made me kickstart).
 
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Don't expect anything similar to BG III this game is being made with a fraction of it's development budget. Also it's a combat focused dungeon delving game.

I'll hold off playing till it's completed and read few watchers opinion of the game.
 
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Yeah, I agree. BG3 has enough play-testers already and Larian does not need as much support as these devs do. I would get to this EA rather than BG3 which you can play when it is ready (or after this one if you want). This is a very promising game. I will give it a try when I'll find the time.
 
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I think it's hard to avoid the comparison with BG3's EA release which is very recent and has been a real hype. The fact that such a small team is compared to a huge and established "game-of-the-year" team as Larian, and does actually quite a good job in comparison, could also be seen as a compliment, we don't necessarily have to see that as TA being only in the shadow of Larian. For now they're in another league.

I was impressed by their demo and really loved it! It was already much closer to the D&D 5E ruleset than BG3 currently is (they are completely wrong on some points like combat actions, on purpose or not), and the overall feeling was awesome. Even if they haven't licensed the full D&D, they developed a whole new setting for the game, so there's a good chance they're as much or even more story-oriented than Larian.
 
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I wonder how much "licensing full D&D" cost compared to partial licensing they have done and what is the difference?
 
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I wonder how much "licensing full D&D" cost compared to partial licensing they have done and what is the difference?

You can't use all the unique monsters like Githyanki and Mind Flayers if you don't have the full license.
 
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Yeah, without a license, you can use the basic rules, and a limited selection of spells and such, but you can't have anything to do with any of their lore and campaign settings.

I don't think they have a limited license as such. The open license is a bit murky about your obligations, particularly with regard to use in a computer game. I think they just got WotC's blessing to use the open system, to avoid any potential legal hassle.
 
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I wonder how much "licensing full D&D" cost compared to partial licensing they have done and what is the difference?

To add to the other replies, here is the link to the official site with some explanations on the limitations. And the document with the rules, which is actually quite complete, for those who don't own the Player's Handbook (or if its pages have fallen apart…)

I don't think they have a limited license as such. The open license is a bit murky about your obligations, particularly with regard to use in a computer game. I think they just got WotC's blessing to use the open system, to avoid any potential legal hassle.

Yeah, that's how I understood it. Here's how they answered such a question in their forums:
I thought the Open Gaming License was already available for free to the public. Why did you need to get additional permission from Wizards of the Coast?
Tactical Myzzrym said:
Video Games and Rulebooks are not exactly the same, so in order to avoid potential legal issues in the future we preferred to make a deal with WotC now^^ This should alleviate some worries we've seen around, as well as potentially open up new collaborations in the future.
 
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Looking forward to hear Watch impression :)
Me to also non D&D players. It's important to get a vast sample of reviews not just positive glowing ones. Anyway I'm hyped for other games right now as well.:)

  1. Cyberpunk 2077
  2. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
  3. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
  4. Outsiders
  5. Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness
  6. Encased
  7. Broken Roads
  8. Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms
 
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So after an hour and 1/2 of creating 4 characters I only was able to play for about 45 min.

If we are going to compare it to BG3 then after character creation and 45 min of gameplay Solasta wins hands down. Also, keep in mind I really enjoyed BG3 EA.

Character creation in BG3 took me less than 5 minutes. Solasta’s took 15-20/ character. There’s a lot more options and you can select to roll your character or do point buy. Also Solasta allows you to go below 8 on your attributes so you can min/max if that’s your thing. BG3 has way more cosmetic options but I care more about my character build than how they look.

In my limited time with combat Solasta again had more options and some QOL features BG3 didn’t have. Solasta has delay turn and ready an action which I missed in BG3. Also has a select all characters button, the ability to lasso characters and characters will jump on their own which probably doesn’t sound like a big deal but after having to keep switching between my characters and making each on jump every time it was required in BG3 got old fast.

I though Solasta’s tutorial area was pretty creative. All your characters gather in a bar too meet someone and while they wait they exchange different stories and you play through the stories to learn game mechanics. The banter between them here is pretty good. Even a couple laughs. The one liner type which I like. I also remember party banter being pretty good in the earlier demo so I’m not really too worried about that.

I definitely get the feeling that Larian is making a D&D game to appeal to the masses and tactical adventures is unapologetically making a D&D game.

I like the more hardcore approach tactical adventures is taking but I also greatly enjoyed my time with BG3 so for me it’s a win win as I will play both multiple times.

I’ll post more when I get a chance to really dig in to it.
 
I purchased both BG3 and Solasta the instant they were available on early access. They both are isometric turn based games utilizing a (mostly) 5E D&D ruleset. That's... where the comparison ends, in my opinion.

Both games are extremely enjoyable. I finished BG3 once already and am waiting for a few more patches/updates before I jump into it again. Character generation is enjoyable and varied and the writing/story is, in my opinion, excellent so far.

Solasta is something special to me, though. I haven't played a game that made me feel anything like this since Pathfinder: Kingmaker, just in sheer "zany high fantasy adventure" without too many excursions from the tropes that made my early days of D&D so fun - you can pick any personality or alignment and your characters will act out those personalities in conversations and banter; it's been fun so far. It's very, very trope-y - you literally start as an adventuring band in a tavern and then are sent out to explore some ancient ruins. It doesn't get any more basic D&D plotline than that, but it's done very well. (A good steak is pretty basic, but it can be cooked decently or destroyed by a bad cook; this game has what I'd call "good cooks" ... - they take basic elements and make them very enjoyable.)

Right now I have more hours put into BG3 mainly because it came out first. I honestly don't know which game I'm finding more enjoyable, but I *will* say that the raw combat and implementation of D&D rules is much more well done, to my tastes, in Solasta. BG3 probably has better writers and a lot more content in the game thus far. But man... 12.8 hours of playtime in Solasta, 65 in BG3 according to Steam; and I picked up Solasta this morning so you can guess what I've been doing all day. I put it away for the night and I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow.

Since really meaty in-depth turn based combat is my jam, I am liking Solasta a little better, maybe. They're both excellent EA games that have provided many times over their cost in terms of entertainment value. I can see myself spending more time in Solasta, though, especially when they come out with more content/campaigns. It just scratches a D&D itch that Larian's "Every tactical combat field must be filled with exploding elements, pools of ice, fire, acid, or otherwise environmental hazard..." - that just reminds me of Original Sin 1 and 2, and I wasn't terribly fond of that mechanic in those games, either. We get it, Larian. You like environmental effects.

I like pizza, but not for every meal.

But that's kinda a nitpick. Both games are great. Both are very different ways of doing a turn based 5E game. One has a huge studio behind it, one - not so much.
 
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