Baldur's Gate III News

[Antimatter]

Another round of awards received coming?

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been long-listed in 11 categories for the BAFTA Game Awards

- Animation
- Artistic Achievement
- Audio Achievement
- Best Game
- Game Design
- Multiplayer
- Music
- Narrative
- Technical Achievement
- Performer in a Leading Role (Amelia Tyler as Narrator, Neil Newbon as Astarion, Samantha Béart as Karlach)
- Performer in a Supporting Role (Andrew Wincott as Raphael, Dave Jones as Halsin, Tracey Wiles as Jaheira)

The 60 Best Video Games of 2023

BAFTA’s list of the best games of the year celebrates an astonishing breadth and depth of creativity from games-makers around the world.

www.bafta.org

 

[Antimatter]

A very detailed (and spoiler-heavy) interview with Swen Vincke and Adam Smith on BG3, they go through each character and their stories:

Baldur's Gate 3 Developers Explain Its Controversial Endings, Beloved Characters, and Making the Best RPG of 2023 - IGN

Larian breaks down the creation of Baldur's Gate 3, from memorable characters like Astarion and The Emperor to its various endings.

www.ign.com

One snippet that is not a spoiler:

Looking ahead to 2024, can we expect more support and content or are you taking a break?

SV: No, well, obviously we're working on other things, but we are going to continue to support BG3. The community has been patient with us, this is a very large game with a number of permutations. We had this hook in Patch 4, which nobody saw coming, which was the crime system. So depending on how big of a thief you were, you got this problem at the end of the game. And when QA does runs, they often just don't do that, so it's logical that you will not see it.

So there will always be these things, and there's such small things sometimes, and they have such cascading effects in the long run of the game. So we're getting those under control. I'm not going to claim that they're all gone, so we know that, but we are going to keep on working on fixing those. The downside of these very large, complicated games is that this is something you have to deal with.

 

[Antimatter]

Patch 6 is now out.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1758445994948112432

Also, here is the acceptance speech at the DICE awards (where they won GOTY):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1758398118012297480

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1758400710738055454

 

[Antimatter]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1765787576848261572

In other news, https://www.gamefile.news/p/hasbro-wizards-of-the-coast-gaming-interview

"Baldur’s Gate III, made by external partner Larian Studios, was one of the best-reviewed and biggest PC/console hits of the year (“I was hanging out with them last night,” Evans said of Larian. Does he want to make more games with them? “I hope that we will be able to continue to work with them.”)"

 

[Zaxares]

Hmm, that last comment suggests that Larian's next project will probably not be a D&D one then. If it were, I'm sure they would have already reached out to WotC regarding their ideas, since Sven said that he was already in the plot planning stages.

 

[Cahir]

Hmm, that last comment suggests that Larian's next project will probably not be a D&D one then. If it were, I'm sure they would have already reached out to WotC regarding their ideas, since Sven said that he was already in the plot planning stages.

If it's going to be, let's say, a game in set Warhammer Fantasy Role Play world, I really don't mind

 

[Black Elk]

I would love to see Jaheira win Best Performer in Supporting Role! It would also be hilarious if she quoted Wayne's World in her acceptance speech, if only to stick it to youtube for giving her grief! heheh

I would love to see Larian keep with D&D too - I mean now that everyone has had a taste of rolling the D20, seems kinda obvious to me - but then I don't trust my crystal ball at all to guess how these decisions are made. Like I'd never in a thousand years have imagined BG would still be top of the pops again, so it's all pretty wild for sure.

If it's Warhammer, then I just want Minthara to read everything and I'd be very very happy! lol

Spoiler

Like her and say another performer I can think of, who would probably be pretty game to don the mocap suit hehe. Like just bring the magical big guns, and the peeps who truly care. I mean right? Maybe not making a fantasy show, but making a kickass game? I mean that makes sense. Just pipe dreaming over here heheh

Spoiler

 

[Antimatter]

What a short end of the road for BG3. I didn't see it coming tbh (if I were asked even a week ago). So there will be no "Definitive" edition of the game, no Avernus story for Karlach, no proper Upper City etc.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1771044613911892327

 

[shmity72]

I would love to see Jaheira win Best Performer in Supporting Role! It would also be hilarious if she quoted Wayne's World in her acceptance speech, if only to stick it to youtube for giving her grief! heheh

I would love to see Larian keep with D&D too - I mean now that everyone has had a taste of rolling the D20, seems kinda obvious to me - but then I don't trust my crystal ball at all to guess how these decisions are made. Like I'd never in a thousand years have imagined BG would still be top of the pops again, so it's all pretty wild for sure.

If it's Warhammer, then I just want Minthara to read everything and I'd be very very happy! lol

Spoiler

View attachment 7533

Like her and say another performer I can think of, who would probably be pretty game to don the mocap suit hehe. Like just bring the magical big guns, and the peeps who truly care. I mean right? Maybe not making a fantasy show, but making a kickass game? I mean that makes sense. Just pipe dreaming over here heheh

Spoiler

Off subject: Black Elk you are aware we both have the same star wars poster though my memorabilia is autographed by boba Fett wicket and c3po...when i see that dungeon tsr thing in the back ground i grown because when I was once beyond poor I had to sell off all my original good condition modules and dnd books for 300 dollars probably worth 5k today lol. I bought the Movie poster signed in the 80s on ebay for 12 bucks just before episode 1 came out lol.

 

[Black Elk]

I can't stop thinking about what Cahir suggested a couple weeks ago, and then that quote about how their next game is going to "dwarf" BG3 lol. It's kinda hard to imagine what that would entail, unless the dwarf he's talking about is of a war-like hammer weilding variety hehe

Then I think of HeroQuest, and crossovers like this dude... lol

Somehow in that context, a "fishing" game suddenly seems like a pretty next level cypher to decode.

I mean clearly it could go Sci Fi, out into the far reaches too. Who even knows how many thousands of years!?

Well anyway, still fun to pipe dream right! Lol

ps. oh my! I wish I could time warp it and watch TESB on the big ass screen without knowing what was what, and swoop all those books off your hands hehe. SW in cinema remains the perfect analog for BG in games. Just a very similar vibe across all aspects, although whereas Kenner came correct for me (even after missing early bird specials, cause I wasn't born yet, at least there was Comic Con! lol) Hasbro it would seem completely dropped ball with their first wave opportunity. For a toy company with options, you'd think they'd have found an excuse for some rated M for battle maneuvers toys! Like I'd have totally swooped a Lae'zel with 6 swords and an outfit change for probably the same price I paid for the whole game lol, but their timing was so off. They didn't know what they had on their hands. Probably they'd do it now, but then it wouldn't be the same hehe.

Nice poster!!!

 

[Cahir]

Hmm, now that you mentioned it, this word "dwarf" looked a bit odd for me to use in this context Since I'm not a native English speaker, when I read it for the first time, I understood it backwards, that their next game will be smaller in scale than BG3. Only later, from reading other people tweets I realised, they were talking about opposite. I'd see using a word "overshadow" much more intuitive than "dwarf". I really don't want to read too much into it, but maybe it's indeed a subtle hint about their next game.

 

[mlnevese]

They're obviously working on a Red Dwarf based game

 

[Zaxares]

What a short end of the road for BG3. I didn't see it coming tbh (if I were asked even a week ago). So there will be no "Definitive" edition of the game, no Avernus story for Karlach, no proper Upper City etc.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1771044613911892327

Very sad news. Although not entirely unexpected. I was expecting there to be no expansions for BG3 (since Larian had pretty much written themselves into a corner with some of the endings. Any expansion involving God Gale, for example, would be extremely difficult to do short of pulling a "yeah, Gale's not a god anymore" rug pull), but the no DLC announcement surprised me. What really took me by surprise though was the announcement that Larian would not be doing BG4, and that they were pulling out of the D&D license altogether. Based on past things Larian have said about BG3 and their plans going forward, they sound like they actually DID have plans to take BG3 further OR start on another D&D project (like BG4, or possibly Neverwinter Nights 3). However, something's obviously gone sour between Larian and WotC/Hasbro, and judging by the recent wave of layoffs at the latter, I think WotC/Hasbro did something or asked something of Larian that they were not willing to compromise on because it would mean they would have had to back down from their principles or their standards. (A friend of mine suspects they were leaning on Larian to put in microtransactions for BG3, which I think would have been an absolute dealbreaker for both them and us.)

I think the saddest part about all of this for me is that we already have to say goodbye to our new friends and companions that, in all respects, we've known for too short a time. At least BG3 is big and complex enough that I can see myself playing it for years to come, and if Larian makes good on its promise to provide official mod support/platform, then who knows what BG3 might yet grow into for the future?

And you never know, WotC/Hasbro might realize they just chased off the golden goose and come crawling back.

 

[Cahir]

Some interesting takes from recent interviews with Swen Vincke:

About new endings

About modding tools

I think the saddest part about all of this for me is that we already have to say goodbye to our new friends and companions that, in all respects, we've known for too short a time. At least BG3 is big and complex enough that I can see myself playing it for years to come, and if Larian makes good on its promise to provide official mod support/platform, then who knows what BG3 might yet grow into for the future?

So, it seems that the mod support might not be as comprehensive as anyone hopes.

 

[JustKneller]

View attachment 8017

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.

 

[shmity72]

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.

I have fond memories of the episode of when they went to the 'reverse' dimension and dude had to take a dump.

 

[JustKneller]

I have fond memories of the episode of when they went to the 'reverse' dimension and dude had to take a dump.

That was actually the first episode I ever saw when I discovered the show was playing on PBS. I watched it for a little bit, then I bought all the DVDs (which I still have) so I could start it from the beginning.

 

[Antimatter]

That's quite an achievement.

Baldur's Gate 3 passes Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild to become first game to win all five major GOTY awards

Larian Studios makes history with a spotless winning streak

www.gamesradar.com

Baldur's Gate 3 has now won the Game of the Year trophy - or equivalent - at the Golden Joysticks, BAFTAs, Game Developers Choice, DICE, and The Game Awards - the first game to sweep the biggest award at all five shows since the TGA's inception a decade ago.

Other heavy hitters have gotten close to a spotless streak in previous years. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would have held that record in 2017 if the BAFTAs hadn't gone with the excellent family tragedy What Remains of Edith Finch. God of War similarly won four major GOTYs before the Golden Joysticks chose to honor (the admittedly more impactful) Fortnite in 2018. And Elden Ring almost claimed the record in 2022, but the BAFTAs instead gave the award to deserving indie roguelike Vampire Survivors.

 

[Black Elk]

Most Impressive!

I think a contrarian vote for something other than BG3 at the BAFTAs would have been kinda hard to explain. Especially given how totally British the game felt to me hehe. I mean BG1 & 2 were pretty North American to my ears, like I know where the Strange got Brewed on that first out, but then BG3 definitely felt like it had the Croydon in it's DNA. I mean other than Ketheric bringing some Midwest to the table in Act II, BG3 was sorta like the Masterpiece Theater take on a BG game, with the mirror reflecting back across the Atlantic. So gotta take that win on that one! hehe. Much as I have an abiding love for Jaheira, I was also happy to see the Devil get his due, and for the score to Score!

It does frustrate me a bit though, that there's no sequel in the offing. I had rather hoped someone would pull off what Bioware failed to achieve with BG2, or what Obsidian failed to achieve with NWN2 - Namely a sequel where the choices the Player Character made in the first game actually mattered to the sequel.

Basically that whole idea of import character, or import savegame, which BG1 teased for BG2, or BG2 teased for NWN. Or just that idea of a backwards compatible D&D game engine or campaign series. Somehow that idea keeps getting missed, and for the spiritual successors same deal. That was a big part of the initial appeal of the original Baldur's Gate game for me, that Charname wouldn't be just a one off, but we all know that's not really how BG2 came together. I really wanted BG4, not just for my oddball sense of symmetry with BG1 and BG2, but that maybe a BG4 could finally pull that off too. So not just that the choices made in Act I might matter in Act III, but also for Act I of the sequel.

It's possible that BG4 might yet happen with another developer at the Helm, but it will probably feel like a Kotor 2 or NWN 2 type situation, where the momentum picked up by the previous entry doesn't quite translate, and the iron has to be re-heated again before striking. Not quite the same, as the same studio that just pulled off reforging whatever Quintuple crown. I don't know, just one of those things I suppose. After seeing so many golden statues I can't help but ask... how much longer before they fix the hair clipping through all the Elf ears? Or giving us even a single gravel-y voice for the Dwarves? Also where's my party of 6 with Alfira in tow? Free the cameras, put some pitch on it? Much has been made of Early Access, but all those were requested within the first weeks of 2020. Now that there is no BG4, there's nowhere left to kick those cans!

On the upside this finally came in the mail!



Oh Circle of Love! Round and round we go!

again lol

 

[Antimatter]

Baldur's Gate 3's next patch is going to start rolling out its official mod tools so you can 'overhaul Baldur's Gate 3 into the weird nightmare realm of your dreams'

Goku Approves.

www.pcgamer.com

Baldur's Gate 3 - Community Update #26 Evil Endings, New Beginnings - Steam News

Hey gang, It’s been a whirlwind few months here at the Larian castle, attending some of the biggest awards ceremonies in our industry, and we are absolutely humbled by the recognition we’ve received from our players and our peers. As you might have seen, last week we attended the BAFTA Games...

store.steampowered.com

Being given the chance to develop a game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe has been a dream come true for all of us. But as Swen recently confirmed, we won't be introducing any major new narrative content to the story of Baldur's Gate 3 or its origin characters and companions, nor will we be making expansions or Baldur’s Gate 4.

As an independent studio since 1996, we value the freedom to follow our creativity wherever it leads. In this case, after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs. We’re currently working on two new projects and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store.

It’s still early days - we’ll tell you more about those later down the line. But know that even as our focus turns to these new games, the sensibilities that brought you Baldur’s Gate 3 are alive and well here at the Larian castle. We’re fueled by the very same fire in our bellies, one that drives us to create immersive experiences shaped by your choices, and we can’t wait for you to join us on this next adventure.

If you have any worries about our change in direction, then perhaps this’ll help:

“I don’t know if we’re going to pull it off, but looking at our narrative, visual and gameplay plans, I think what we’re working on now will be our best work ever. I get excited like a kid watching the key imagery, want to show it to everyone now and grumble in frustration at having to wait until it’s actually all working. Yes, it’s hype but it’s hype because it really looks and feels good.” - Excited Swen, April 17th 2024.