re: Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)

ah.

game does take FOREVER to load up initially in early access, and thats with an SSD. Once loaded in though everything ran pretty nice.

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game does take FOREVER to load up initially in early access, and thats with an SSD. Once loaded in though everything ran pretty nice.

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I have a beefy gaming laptop (13th gen i9, 32G DDR5, M.2 drive, GTX GeForce 4080 w/12G VRAM) sitting on a decent cooling plate pad and it took so long for it to begin loading (even showing up in Task Manager) that I thought they had simply shut down access before launch.

During the intro cinematic I would have a stutter every few seconds (as I was typing this I realized I was letting Windows decide which GPU to run it through, manually set it to the NVidia so we'll see how it goes now).

I have never played a tabletop game, but I was able to intuit a fair amount of info back in the day when I was an overeager teenager with frick all else to do playing old school bioware/black isle isometric DND based rpgs.

I hope I don't get completely turned off as a grizzled cynical old man when I have to digest all this info all over again.

If you ever played any of the old Gold Box DnD computer games (like Pools of Radiance, for example), this is more like a 3D version of that on steroids (which are also on steroids).

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Just know they advise you to delete your save games and then delete EA before tomorrow to make sure you don’t have any hiccups on installing and running the release version

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I may bring my laptop to work tomorrow to re-download all that data.

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dark urge murder hobo

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Great name for a death metal band.

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All I know is the Druid grove and teiflings aren’t long for this world

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I usually play a character that's an extension of my personality (so going dark and evil never really lasts for me). That said, I'm ready to choke that bitch with her own snake.

stolen from reddit, but i feel its worth a repost. some nice tips

New to this game? Unlearn what video games have taught you

Games have taught you that loot lives in containers - may it be corpses or chests. 75% correct in Baldur's Gate, but loot also often lies on the ground, on top of shelves and tables - and comes in shapes and forms you didn't expect. You can right click and select 'pick up' on a surprisingly big amount of things. Entire containers included.

Games have taught you not to interact with props much - some destructible environment aside, there is no point in lighting candles or sitting in chairs. This is not the case in BG3. You can light candles to get more light (light is quite the important mechanic), and to dip your arrows in fire so they burn. Sitting in chairs is cute and in some places might open doors for you. You can stack crates to reach places, and generally drag & drop props with your mouse to place them. Or use your throw action to throw them.

Games have taught you that you can fail quests. This is not the case in BG3. You can only progress and finish quests, and in many ways. There is no failing, just another outcome.

Games have taught you to ignore parts of the environment. Critters, scenically placed corpses, idle-chatting NPCs. There is no such thing in BG3. You can talk to animals with the right skills, and talk to corpses with another. NPCs are all named and have something to say or to do. You can trade with all of them, but be aware that most of them are dirt poor and don't have powerful magic items. But if you need an apple or two, you might just find what you seek.

Games have taught you "This does not work". But in BG3 it does! Buy an expensive item, then pickpocket your money back. Can't fit through that hole? Find a way to become smaller. Can't reach that place? Jump, fly, teleport. Can't reach that hanging brazier? Shoot it with an arrow dipped in fire. No light? Throw a torch. No crowd control? Freeze the blood that splattered on the ground. NPC doesn't want to talk to you because you are a Drow? Find a way to use 'disguise self'. There is a trap emitting a poisonous cloud? Disarm it with Mage Hand, or throw a sufficiently heavy item on it to cover it up.
Right click things and creatures. Try things even if your gaming mindset tells you 'nah, this isn't a thing'. Use your throw action to throw more than just bombs. Shove someone who fell asleep mid combat. Unlearn what games have taught you and have an even better experience in BG3.

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Games have taught you "This does not work". But in BG3 it does! Buy an expensive item, then pickpocket your money back. Can't fit through that hole? Find a way to become smaller. Can't reach that place? Jump, fly, teleport. Can't reach that hanging brazier? Shoot it with an arrow dipped in fire. No light? Throw a torch. No crowd control? Freeze the blood that splattered on the ground. NPC doesn't want to talk to you because you are a Drow? Find a way to use 'disguise self'. There is a trap emitting a poisonous cloud? Disarm it with Mage Hand, or throw a sufficiently heavy item on it to cover it up.

Right click things and creatures. Try things even if your gaming mindset tells you 'nah, this isn't a thing'. Use your throw action to throw more than just bombs. Shove someone who fell asleep mid combat. Unlearn what games have taught you and have an even better experience in BG3.

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This is such a huge bonus. World physics which are deep and make sense!

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I turned into a badger to follow the little thieving tieflings after they ran into some tiny crack in the wall in the Druid camp and killed them for my stuff back.

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I ended up saving a tiefling child from harpies behind the druid grove. That gave me a passphrase to tell the grunting tiefling child who is apparently the gatekeeper of the secret passage for normal-sized folks (which goes to show that anything we might consider a "throwaway" encounter with an NPC can lead to something else). I talked to Mol, she was pleased that I saved one of her gang that she taught me a signal to communicate with the gang members, gave me my stuff back and told me to look her up if I'm ever in Baldur's Gate and need a favor (because she's going to create a thieves' guild when they eventually get there).

That there is more than one way to accomplish something (like getting your money back from a group of thieves) intrigues me greatly.

I have a feeling there will be lots of wild stuff in the game. Lots of harpie titties last night and it was my first night to really play. I also got into an alpha stare-down with a squirrel.