Baldur's Gate 3 - Panel from Hell

Well, I'm not gonna curse out Larian (lol), but I will be skipping it too, until next year or maybe even the year after. It just is what I usually do with new games these days. It's very rare for me to buy a newly released game, unless I'm super excited and that is
very uncommon these days.

Plus, I like to play the new games after they have been fully patched up and polished and often times are much cheaper as well later on. It's a win-win all around.

In this case, although I am pretty excited for BG 3, one thing that is causing me to skip it at first for sure is they are requiring windows 10. Ugh. I am on windows 7, and I get most have migrated (and this is a non-issue for most) but I'm a stubborn bastard, and have been holding out as long as I can.

So, for example, I am investigating Linux and maybe even will "transition" to that system eventually, since more and more games are being able to be played on the operating system lately. I noticed many new games lately are getting a linux edition by the developers or it gets ported over to it by hard core gamers who know how to do that technical stuff.

It has actually become a hot area for those technical wizards out there, and seems to be a thriving area - here are a couple links about it, the first one talks about how many games are already immediately available for steam in linux, and the other one is an ongoing updated database for new games that are being ported over to it.

https://itsfoss.com/steam-play/

https://www.protondb.com/

So I will end up up either dual booting windows 10 alongside windows 7 eventually purely for the ability to play new games or do that with the windows 7/Linux combo instead.

Arkadia7 said:

So I will end up up either dual booting windows 10 alongside windows 7 eventually purely for the ability to play new games or do that with the windows 7/Linux combo instead.

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I think a Windows 7/10 dual-boot would be a waste of your time. Win 10 really isn't bad tbh, and I don't understand all the paranoia about it.

Windows 8 was the one to avoid.

Linux has been a "thriving" hot area for 27 years now without ever being actually a thriving hot area in reality at least for client and gaming.
There was a surge of interest when Steam believed it was big enough to war MS. They thought Windows 10 would make the Windows shop mandatory so they launched the Steam Machines built on Linux. Everyone was going Linux and Linux is so great, again.

And as usual, reality pissed on the parade, they sold 500K machines in about 1 year so it was just dead.

Also the Steam forums are 'full' of Linux users saying they want a Linux version and asking to +1 to reach generally a pitiful result. Linux population is well below 1% on Steam. It has picket at .9% some time ago.

There was a new surge lately for Linux from the editors but it was due to Stadia running on a Linux distro. But it's not a success..

I would advise you to do a survey on the games you love, and check if they have really have a Linux version. I would also suggest than you check on the versions of Linux supported by those.

And finally when you are done, install Windows 10 and use your PC normally.

With cloud gaming services the OS and hardware requirements become at least partly irrelevant. Instead of updating my computer every few years, I have tried Stadia lately. It works on some Linux distributions (Ubuntu at least). It requires a decent internet connection though, but the good side is that you can play it everywhere you have internet. No need to drag a heavy gaming rig with you.

Another downside is that you cannot mod games.

Also GeForce NOW should work on Linux in the future (conflicting information online) and with that you can play supported games from your Steam library. Uncertain whether EA of BG3 comes to GeForce Now, though.

I have switched from Windows to Linux a couple of years ago. From a workflow perspective I haven't missed Windows yet.

The number of games in my backlog on Steam that have a Linux version and the ones that do not, but have a high enough rating when using Proton is large enough to keep me occupied for quite some time. (ProtonDB claims it is possible to play 11K+ Steam games in Linux).

Then again I almost never play games upon release, so when I get around to those they are considered "last year's news", or something like that and very likely proton has been improved to be able to play them.
The Original Sin games both work in Linux and by the time I get around to BG3, it probably will as well.

I'm aware that I am not a typical gamer, but it works for me.

Wow!

That video made me smile from the minute I saw the first few minutes - red dragons and their Gith allies attacking a ship that was originally written about in a 1990's 2nd edition AD&D supplement called Spelljammer, where you could... jam around the worlds, of D&D. It was, I suppose, another type of "Planescape" but instead of portals to other worlds you flew magic ships there. The "Nautilus" was one of those ships, the kind used by the mind flayers.

The immediate connections back to being 13 or so when I couldn't read new AD&D material fast enough. I love the Forgotten Realms, I love Larian Studios, and this game is an instant-buy for me the moment it comes out. Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the original Baldur's Gate 1 and 2... heck, back to SSI "Gold Box" games like Pools of Radiance - those are the games I really probably loved more than any of the thousands of hours I have put into other games since then. (Looking at you, Rimworld.)

Anyway, instant buy, great looking game; I also enjoy the fact that Larian seems to support a pretty creative and open work environment. Cool video, too.

Welcome to RPGWatch FurtiveNyctophile! Always good to have more Gold Box fans around here - I'm gearing up to take my party through Secret of the Silver Blades soon, having beaten the first two earlier in the year.

Back on topic, I've gone from being cynical about this to very enthusiastic. I'm even in for the EA I think. I have some lingering concerns, but this is a new, big budget D&D game and that's something I've been asking for for ages - there's no way I'm not playing it! And I expect I'm going to enjoy it, hopefully a lot.

At this point I wonder if they will please the older fan-base, or if it's even worth bothering to. I mentioned the same thought about the new Gothic remake, and it didn't end well.

Reading the Codex posts is hilarious right now.:lol:

Pongo said:

I have some lingering concerns, but this is a new, big budget D&D game and that's something I've been asking for for ages - there's no way I'm not playing it! And I expect I'm going to enjoy it, hopefully a lot.

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I agree it's been 20+ years since the first two games. I'll probably skip EA though.

I can understand why some fans of the older games aren't sold on Larian's vision, particularly those that like RTwP isometric games or those that didn't like D:OS. I'm not sure Larian can do much about that now. Personally I'm looking at it as a new D&D game rather than as a new BG game.

Pongo said:

Personally I'm looking at it as a new D&D game rather than as a new BG game.

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This. It's not BG imo, but I'm still interested in seeing what they can pull off.

Pongo said:

Personally I'm looking at it as a new D&D game rather than as a new BG game.

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This is a useful open minded angle of approach, I think. I've struggled to connect what we've seen with anything really resembling BG thus far, so concentrating on the D&D and mechanics aspect is a good logical balancing idea.

Actually, some of the footage makes me think of Dragon Age: Origins much more than BG. The four character party, the perspective, the heavy cinematic stylings, the graphical tones. So what's that, Dragon Age D&D DOS Edition? Something like this.

Morrandir said:

If anyone is wondering: Owlbears aren't Owlcat's invention. They've been around in DnD for ages.

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On the inside page of Keep on the Borderlands.


Love the Halfling stepping on his tail.

Well this interview might interest some of you.

Baldur’s Gate III Interview on Evolving the Series - IGN

“We want it to be the best game we've ever made, but we also want it to be the best Baldur's Gate game possible,” says Larian’s Senior Writer Adam Smith in a recent interview with IGN, explaining that to do so, the team is focused on not only modernizing Baldur’s Gate for new audiences, but pushing the boundaries current of RPGs as well, rather than just making another Baldur’s Gate with fancier graphics. “Baldur's Gate wouldn't have been the success that it was – critically, commercially, or in terms of reviving what a CRPG could be,” Smith says, “if it hadn't been looking forward. And so Baldur’s Gate 3 has to do the same.”

That doesn’t mean that Larian is just scrapping all of the lore established by Baldur’s Gate I & II, though. The team is looking at everything that happens up until the end of Baldur’s Gate 2 as canonical history. ”No one's ever going to know if you picked the pocket of that one innkeeper,” Smith laughs. “But everything that happened, happened.”

The city's changed, Smith continues, and they’ve had fun looking at what would have happened, politically or socially, in the gap between games. “So we look at all of that, but [the gap between games] is enough time to give us a clean slate for new characters. Although some of them have long memories, as well,” he adds, wryly.

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Pongo said:

Welcome to RPGWatch FurtiveNyctophile! Always good to have more Gold Box fans around here - I'm gearing up to take my party through Secret of the Silver Blades soon, having beaten the first two earlier in the year.

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Thank you kindly! I play many types of games, but traditional D&D/AD&D roleplaying games will always have a special place in my heart.

Hastar said:

On the inside page of Keep on the Borderlands.


Love the Halfling stepping on his tail.

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I even more like his face. He really seems to enjoy backstabbing.

BG2 is one of my all-time favorite games, and I am pretty hyped for BG3. I might even grab it in EA, out of support.

One thing I'm a little sad about is that there'll be less possible companions than in the original games (though they haven't specified exactly how many there'll be).
I dig the Intellect Devourer follower though.