Baldur's Gate 3 - Community Update #1

Larian is bringing us the first edition of their Baldur's Gate 3 Community Update as part of the Larian Gazette.

Welcome to the first edition of the Larian Gazette!

The Gazette prides itself on bringing you the latest and greatest breaking news about all things Larian, and the insider stories that go with it.

Yesterday's headline was the show-stopping, heart-pounding revelation that "LARIAN STUDIOS IS MAKING BALDUR'S GATE 3!" A teaser trailer of our new role-playing game was unveiled yesterday, and it was so spectacularly intense that the internet went into auto-censorship mode. The Gazette was more than a little intrigued by the mind flayer invasion of Baldur's Gate. Our best reporter pursued their slimy trail to discover how Larian convinced Wizards of the Coast to let them unleash their madness on the crown jewel of the Sword Coast.

The brave reporter went deep undercover and resurfaced with a harrowing tale involving no less than the brutal abduction of Wizards' own Mike Mearls! Interpol has been alerted of the situation, and you, dear reader, may rest assured that the Gazette is monitoring the situation closely! In the meantime, please enjoy our full video report:

More information.

Meh still not feeling the hype. Must be something wrong with me.

Anyway fingers crossed it's nothing like the Original Sin games.

I'm with you Couch. Not feeling it.

Well they maybe did not make the games you like but their games are high production, quality, never bland, they communicate well and often and they listen to the feedbacks. DOS 2 was way superior to DOS 1 because of this.
They loved Baldur's Gate games and there is no reason at the moment to think than they would somehow not do a real Forgotten Realm.

Nah I have no problem with the Original Sin games. I just feel another cartoon humor based environmental destruction sandbox simulator doesn't fit a Baldur's Gate game.

Y'all are just biased towards tentacles.

Well, I'm excited! At least, excited enough to follow along and see what develops…!

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Nah I have no problem with the Original Sin games. I just feel another cartoon humor based environmental destruction sandbox simulator doesn't fit a Baldur's Gate game.

There is less of this in D:OS 2 than in D:OS, but let's hope they tone down the humor further. That being said Baldur's Gate had more wacky characters, and more humor than Pillars of Eternity did. Its definitely not as grimdark as many modern rpgs are. It hits that narrow spot between light and dark, between cartoonesque and deep. Visually speaking, if you take away the crazy explosions and the elemental fluid which is lying around everywhere, and just look at the scenery and some of the less outrageous character models, D:OS 2 doesn't look far removed from BG2. The story minus the jokes is also an epic fantasy and decently written. I am most worried about the fluiditiy of the combat. The rules set determines character development, races, and combat abilities, so they can't mess that up, hopefully.

I’m super excited. To me, Larian and CDPR are the two best RPG makers out there.

@forgottenlor

Agree with ya but Larian's type of humor doesn't fit Baldur's Gate. Having said that yes the Baldur's Gate games have humor but it's not overdone, or central to the campaign.

Also yes if they dial down the elements and environment destruction I'll be more interested, but according to a few interviews yesterday they are adding more physics.

The new Swen videos are already worth it, even when BG III turns out to be a Battle Royal game.

But now I NEED to know if this will be isometric and turn-based/RTwP. Anything else will be a disappointment most likely.

I thought OS2 was significantly better, less tongue-in-cheek, than the first. SO I believe Larian can pull this off, and do it well.

While the story in the second game was stronger than the first, the combat mechanics were terrible, at least in my opinion. Personally, I hope they draw new inspiration for whatever engine they use for this newest offering.

Sven has a surprisingly good shouting at the head of a large table voice

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Nah I have no problem with the Original Sin games. I just feel another cartoon humor based environmental destruction sandbox simulator doesn't fit a Baldur's Gate game.

I think people living 20 years ago don't fit a Baldur's Gate game.

Baldur's Gate was groundbreaking when it was released 20 years ago, and it needs to be ground breaking now. Sticking to the same rules that every isometric CRPG has brought us the last two decades will just make it mediocre, and all it can aspire to have is a relatively compelling story, just to end up as the unremarkable overly verbose garbage that Torment: Tides of Numenera was. Fun for a while? Sure! Worth remembering as a memorable RPG? Not by far.

Also, honestly, this "humour" point gets brought up a lot, and I suppose it's matter of preference, but the humour in BG 1 and 2 (which was present widely all through the games) was pretty… funky, to put it in some way. I mean, there was a stereotypical dumb barbarian talking to a space hamster, and that was considered cool. People who bring the "humour-fearing" point up should either drop that argument, or just admit that they've aged and lost their sense for juvenile humour at some point, which to be fair, it's a natural part of aging.

In any case, Bladur's Gate is a different IP, there's no reason it needs to contain the same humour as DOS games do. I for one played Divinity games (the games Larian released before DOS boom) and they have a completely different and more serious narrative. I'm sure they'll adapt in any way they think suitable to the story and the setting.

Some of the naysayers need ask themselves this question. Is Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 not good enough for you, or could it be that you are not good enough for Baldur's Gate 3?

Haha yeah I don't remember anything from D:OS2 that was anywhere nearly as goofy as one of the main characters constantly talking to a miniature giant space hamster. I'd actually say BG was by far the goofier game. If your talking about some of their older Larian games it might be different.

Anyway I'd agree that the D:OS engine is not a good fit for BG, but there is no reason to think that's what they will use. If they are making a D&D game I'm assuming they will use something at least resembling D&D rules. And it's not like Larian hasn't shown plenty of versatility in making different types of games and engines in the past.

Originally Posted by Nereida
Also, honestly, this "humour" point gets brought up a lot, and I suppose it's matter of preference, but the humour in BG 1 and 2 (which was present widely all through the games) was pretty… funky, to put it in some way. I mean, there was a stereotypical dumb barbarian talking to a space hamster, and that was considered cool. People who bring the "humour-fearing" point up should either drop that argument, or just admit that they've aged and lost their sense for juvenile humour at some point, which to be fair, it's a natural part of aging.

Yes, everyone should immediately drop an argument that you don't agree with.

The humor in Baldur's Gate being "funky" has nothing to do with the fact that Larian's style of humor is very different. I'm pretty sure that's what he meant, and it's a valid concern for many whether you choose to believe it is or not.

Originally Posted by Nereida
I for one played Divinity games (the games Larian released before DOS boom) and they have a completely different and more serious narrative.

Not by much. Divinity II had a darker atmosphere, but the pop culture references were quite glaring. I still enjoyed it a great deal though. In fact, Dragon Knight Saga is still my favorite game from Larian.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yes, everyone should immediately drop an argument that you don't agree with.

The humor in Baldur's Gate being "funky" has nothing to do with the fact that Larian's style of humor is very different. I'm pretty sure that's what he meant, and it's a valid concern for many whether you choose to believe it is or not.

I believe it's still an irrelevant argument that because Warner Bros produces Lego movies, they can't be trusted with making horror, war or sci-fi movies (like Anabelle, The Nun, The Sniper, 300, The Matrix..) as they'll be plagued with juvenile humour.

Because, you know, the olden times were so much better.

Originally Posted by fadedc
Haha yeah I don't remember anything from D:OS2 that was anywhere nearly as goofy as one of the main characters constantly talking to a miniature giant space hamster. I'd actually say BG was by far the goofier game. If your talking about some of their older Larian games it might be different.

I don't think many people would agree with that, but to each his own. Minsc was obviously meant to be insane, and even though a lot of what he said was comic relief, I don't think it compares to your character transforming into a barrel or a giant rock while in stealth mode.

Originally Posted by Nereida
I believe it's still an irrelevant argument that because Warner Bros produces Lego movies, they can't be trusted with making horror, war or sci-fi movies (like Anabelle, The Nun, The Sniper, 300, The Matrix..) as they'll be plagued with juvenile humour.

Because, you know, the olden times were so much better.

Sure…because, you know, the more recent games have been so much better.