Larian Studios still aren't yet finished with Baldur's Gate 3 seeing a huge new update out now, with a few more patches still to come. The developer said that more patches to come will add "both crossplay and photo mode, alongside other fixes and updates" which sounds exciting to bring platforms together.
This massive update to the game though adds in plenty for evil players with 13 new cinematics that offer varying conclusions to your most evil playthroughs. The biggest addition is their in-game Mod Manager and a new modding toolkit to download on Steam. So it has official modding support now, making it a whole lot easier.
Larian said that mods made via their own toolkit can be uploaded to the game, so people can browse and install them directly in the game itself. On top of that the game now officially supports " some scripted mods using Osiris, our in-house scripting language". So mod creators can reload their own scripts, handle build errors, and also carry out basic debugging.
Pictured - the in-game Mod Manager
They also revamped split-screen to have both sides dynamically merge together when characters are close, and split dynamically when you move apart along with various other improvements to split-screen.
Lots more has changed, including thankfully some performance improvements. The developer said there's been plenty of "performance and stability optimisations across the game" and in particular optimised performance for areas with lots of NPCs like Lower City.
And of course lots and lots more in the patch notes.
Seems like it might finally be time for me to actually go and complete it properly. Or maybe start again, because I've completely forgotten what I was doing. There's too many good games to play.
Baldur's Gate 3 is rated Steam Deck Verified and Gold on ProtonDB.
At first I was having an absolutely wonderful time in bg3 but then the ending happened ...
Spoiler, click me
Last edited by Jarmer on 5 September 2024 at 6:17 pm UTC
At first I was having an absolutely wonderful time in bg3 but then the ending happened ...I haven't played this game myself, but I think there are more than a hundred possible endings, plus minor ones... Was it just yours, or would it end in a similar way had you made different choices? (I've read your spoiler tag).
At first I was having an absolutely wonderful time in bg3 but then the ending happened ...I haven't played this game myself, but I think there are more than a hundred possible endings, plus minor ones... Was it just yours, or would it end in a similar way had you made different choices? (I've read your spoiler tag).
There were thousands (tens of / hundreds of?) of posts across the larian and steam message boards with people saying the exact same things I was. There were so many furious fans, Swen (head of larian studios) actually even came out and addressed some updates.
For my specific case, it was a combination of
1) no writing / completely unfinished sections of the game
2) not accounting for the player choosing certain combinations of main character and love interest
Both of those are unforgivable for a released game they charge a premium full price for, and then trick the player into thinking anything they do will actually make any difference at all.
They have done lots of updates since I played it, so I have no idea if these were addressed or not. I will never open the game again. Most likely won't ever play anything by Larian ever again.
One day I'll sit down and play it!
Last edited by sonic2kk on 5 September 2024 at 8:59 pm UTC
They have done lots of updates since I played it, so I have no idea if these were addressed or not. I will never open the game again. Most likely won't ever play anything by Larian ever again.
They've added endings to every party member as well as a reunion epilogue scene at the forest camp site so you can get some closure on how everyone turned out. If you have the time, it's worth trying it again. I'll be waiting a couple more months to make sure this patch is stable and then starting an evil run.
Regarding endings, when I finished it, there was already the reunion and the closure for my characters, so I can't comment on that.
At first I was having an absolutely wonderful time in bg3 but then the ending happened ...I haven't played this game myself, but I think there are more than a hundred possible endings, plus minor ones... Was it just yours, or would it end in a similar way had you made different choices? (I've read your spoiler tag).
There were thousands (tens of / hundreds of?) of posts across the larian and steam message boards with people saying the exact same things I was. There were so many furious fans, Swen (head of larian studios) actually even came out and addressed some updates.
For my specific case, it was a combination of
1) no writing / completely unfinished sections of the game
2) not accounting for the player choosing certain combinations of main character and love interest
Both of those are unforgivable for a released game they charge a premium full price for, and then trick the player into thinking anything they do will actually make any difference at all.
They have done lots of updates since I played it, so I have no idea if these were addressed or not. I will never open the game again. Most likely won't ever play anything by Larian ever again.
I think i liked the Karlach and Astarion ending the best. It's fair to say that not every companion was equally well or interestingly written. Karlach seems kind of a 1 bit companion, not much to her beside the ending, with a twist.
Astarion and Shadowheart had a lot more stuff written in the game about them (or at least i remember more, oddly Shadowheart is not mentioned in the ending for me). Lae'zel is meh for me although i understand why they went with the theme they've chosen for her.
I really disliked Gael and Wyll, I don't think Gael was particularly well written, much of the Gael stuff seems more of a tack-on than the other companions.
The secondary (and evil) companions are a miss i think. On my last playthrough i subbed Minthara in for Karlach. I wish there was more content to her.
All in all i feel like BG3 is their best game, but for me mainly because the gameplay is leagues better than in the DOS series. I wish there were more difficulty options though, like in the pathfinder games.
I think i liked the Karlach and Astarion ending the best. It's fair to say that not every companion was equally well or interestingly written. Karlach seems kind of a 1 bit companion, not much to her beside the ending, with a twist.
Spoiler, click me
1- Astarion instantly abandoned everyone, but especially the love of his life who he JUST said he would do anything for, to live in a cave ... wtf????????????
2- Karlach said "I'm getting hot" and fell down on the ground and exploded and died ... wtf?????????
3- Wyll said "let's go have a beer at the tavern" and that was it, absolutely totally destroying any semblance of immersion by ignoring his companion exploding and dying or the other companion sprinting away to live in a cave ... wtf????????
4- Gale whined like a little bitch about not being a god. This was not "wtf" but just cringy.
5- Shadowheart was totally 100% missing ... wtf?????
6- Laezel - rides off on a dragon to kill the lich queen. This was the only thing that made any sense.
And then for the remainder of my camp:
Duke Ravengard - nothing whatsoever.
Minsc - nothing whatsoever.
Jaheira - nothing whatsoever.
Halsin - nothing whatsoever.
Aylin & Isobel - nothing whatsoever.
Arabella - nothing whatsoever.
Mizora - nothing whatsoever.
In addition, no choices in the entire game mattered at all. Save various camp members, or don't, it makes no difference at all since they are all totally absent from the ending. Side with certain factions or don't, makes no difference at all.
I think i liked the Karlach and Astarion ending the best. It's fair to say that not every companion was equally well or interestingly written. Karlach seems kind of a 1 bit companion, not much to her beside the ending, with a twist.
Spoiler, click me
You must've played it after I did I'm guessing? After a bunch of patches maybe? I mained Astarion and romanced Karlach, and I did every single thing possible to get her to go to the hells with Wyll (specifically doing all his and her side quest stuff to make sure of that) and fully fleshed out the romance between Astarion and Karlach .... and then at the end I was presented with zero choices or options or dialog or anything at all.
1- Astarion instantly abandoned everyone, but especially the love of his life who he JUST said he would do anything for, to live in a cave ... wtf????????????
2- Karlach said "I'm getting hot" and fell down on the ground and exploded and died ... wtf?????????
3- Wyll said "let's go have a beer at the tavern" and that was it, absolutely totally destroying any semblance of immersion by ignoring his companion exploding and dying or the other companion sprinting away to live in a cave ... wtf????????
4- Gale whined like a little bitch about not being a god. This was not "wtf" but just cringy.
5- Shadowheart was totally 100% missing ... wtf?????
6- Laezel - rides off on a dragon to kill the lich queen. This was the only thing that made any sense.
And then for the remainder of my camp:
Duke Ravengard - nothing whatsoever.
Minsc - nothing whatsoever.
Jaheira - nothing whatsoever.
Halsin - nothing whatsoever.
Aylin & Isobel - nothing whatsoever.
Arabella - nothing whatsoever.
Mizora - nothing whatsoever.
In addition, no choices in the entire game mattered at all. Save various camp members, or don't, it makes no difference at all since they are all totally absent from the ending. Side with certain factions or don't, makes no difference at all.
Yes Shadowheart was missing for me too. Still is, except in the meh add-on camp thing. Yeah Wyll and and Gale even managed to be annoying 'till the end. I think if their goal was to make an annoying companion they hit the nail on the head.
I haven't played as a companion, only as a generic character (and as the Bhaalspawn after the patches, which is kind of fun even going good at the end).
The first time i watched the ending it really felt disjointed to me. Astarion and Karlach kind of made sense in my playthrough since he kind of comes to term with the fact that he couldn't complete the ritual and become just like his master. Karlach i didn't press to go to hell, i was fine with her choice.
What kind of bothered me with Astarion is that if you go the other way he just becomes obviously evil and cruel in an instant, with all his charms gone.
I wish they expanded it with more content, it's a fun game (even if i still prefer owlcat games). If i play it next time i let Gale rot in his teleportation spell...
Last edited by dvd on 30 September 2024 at 7:31 pm UTC
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