Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Games

Burns · Mar 3, 2023

Tuco said:
If it all works cleanly, that's great. Personally I view the distinction between BG1, BG2 and ToB so significant that the first goal of uniting them seems counter to the game. Trying to make BG1 areas accessible from ToB seems like it'd risk breaking a game. But if it works, that's really cool.

My modus operandi the handful of times I've played through BG is to stuff as many dumbass mods into the game as I could and then try to limp through somehow. Dealing with all the broken content was enough to keep the game fresh.

I have played BG1 and BG2 vanilla once each, then both in BG2 engine through BG:TUTU (before the EE were made), then BG:EET, a few years ago. BG:EET was really simple, and if you wanted to add more mods, it looked easy enough, but I don't recall adding anything else.

The BG:EET mod says you can go to all the locations, but it's mostly that you can go back to old locations, once you get to BG2, if you want. From what I remember, there were still small transition points when moving from BG1 to Siege of Dragonspear to BG2 in terms of how it handles items (this might be customizable and I chose to stick with vanilla balance). You still get caught by Irenicus, and lose your party when you start BG2.

Burns · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
Thanks for all the input. The ones I listed are the ones I have, so I'm not that keen on getting a bunch of others. If I get through the ones I listed that alone would be a massive and unlikely achievement.

So BG1 to start? Cause normally in some situations like this it makes more sense to work backwards and start with like, Divinity. When it comes to computer games though I like to start with the earliest one to see the evolution, and also so that I don't get pushed away by QOL losses.

If what you listed is what you have, then yea:

BG1 (if you have the GoG originals, you can bring it into BG2 engine for quality of life improvements using a different mod, made for the original)
BG2
Planescape: Torment
Icewind Dale

Evaluate where you are, time wise. If you feel you are running low on time and want to get the most relevant stuff done before BG3:

Divinity: OS 1
Divinity: OS 2

Otherwise:

Neverwinter Nights (if you really like it, look at the xpacs)
Pillars 1 (if you have to pick between this and 2, pick 2)
Pillars 2
D:OS 1
D:OS 2

Aaron · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
Would this be a good order for the CRPGs if I ever get to them:

-BG1
-BG2
-Pillars 1
-Pillars 2

-Planescape Torment
-Tides of Numenera

-Icewind Dale
-Neverwinter Nights

-Divinity 1
-Divinity 2
-BG3

?

Cause I might make them into a summer mission or something.

Lot of good answers here, I'll just add my two cents.

Get the Enhanced Edition of BG1 and 2, but don't bother with the new 1.5 story, Siege of Dragonspire. It's shite.

Pillars 1 is difficult to play, but worth it for the entire story line. But if you find yourself either short on time, then skip it, or if you do play it but feel dogged down, don't be afraid to just leave it and go straight for 2. Pillars 2 is one of the best games out there. Also, I love turn based RPGs, but don't play Pillars 2 turn based, it's poorly implemented and halfway through I ragequit and restarted.

I've heard mixed comments on Tides of Numenera. It's not bad, but a far cry from Planescape Torment. Better to look at it as a standalone game.

TheBeagle · Mar 3, 2023

Temple of Elemental Evil is the only CRPG I ever made it all the way through.

Pemulis · Mar 3, 2023

D:OS2 is the only one I played for more than a few hours, and I liked it enough to do multiple playthroughs.
The pacing on some of the others just wasn't for me.

Tuco · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
So BG1 to start? Cause normally in some situations like this it makes more sense to work backwards and start with like, Divinity. When it comes to computer games though I like to start with the earliest one to see the evolution, and also so that I don't get pushed away by QOL losses.

Yeah, BG1 to start is recommended for CRPGs. BG1 follows 20 years of CRPG development ( History of Western role-playing video games - Wikipedia ) but is a good insertion point and is still used as a barometer to compare CRPGs against before or after it. The QOL improvements from the enhanced edition make it an enjoyable experience for experienced gamers in 2023. Once you go through BG1/BG2 you could comfortably jump to older or newer games and have a frame of reference to compare them against. For example, I still think Ultima VII does things better than literally any other game despite being older than BG1 and playing it after BG1 wouldn't make you miss too much QOL except for graphics.

In terms of how it holds up in 2023, BG1 benefits from being published right as 3d graphics were becoming more mainstream and 2d graphics were approaching their peak. This is especially true because the viewable space of BG1 was claustrophobically small, like, 30 feet around you, so when higher screen resolutions became available that number could grow to ~80 feet instead of stretching those pixels out.

Rajaah · Mar 3, 2023

Burns said:
If what you listed is what you have, then yea:

BG1 (if you have the GoG originals, you can bring it into BG2 engine for quality of life improvements using a different mod, made for the original)

BG2

Planescape: Torment

Icewind Dale

Evaluate where you are, time wise. If you feel you are running low on time and want to get the most relevant stuff done before BG3:

Divinity: OS 1

Divinity: OS 2

Otherwise:

Neverwinter Nights (if you really like it, look at the xpacs)

Pillars 1 (if you have to pick between this and 2, pick 2)

Pillars 2

D:OS 1

D:OS 2

I'll go with this order. No Tides? Since that one gets such mixed reactions I could leave it for last and do it if I really feel the need for more after I'm done with the list. In that situation I might also add NWN2, Pathfinder, and this Temple of Elemental Evil thing I keep hearing about. Lemme see if I can just get through the initial list though, which like I said is gonna be an achievement and a half already.

BG1 / 2 and Planescape are the ones I'm most interested in so them being the first 3 actually works really well. I mean I'm also interested in D:OS, but I'm really enthused by those old ones that I wanted to play as a kid. I watched friends play both BG games back then and really liked them.

I'm probably gonna stick to main campaign and avoid optional stuff in most of these games which will hopefully bring down the time cost a bit and let me get through more of them. Think this is gonna be my summer game project, unless I get really absorbed by the next EQ TLP which does tend to happen but who knows.

Burns · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
I'll go with this order. No Tides? Since that one gets such mixed reactions I could leave it for last and do it if I really feel the need for more after I'm done with the list. In that situation I might also add NWN2, Pathfinder, and this Temple of Elemental Evil thing I keep hearing about. Lemme see if I can just get through the initial list though, which like I said is gonna be an achievement and a half already.

BG1 / 2 and Planescape are the ones I'm most interested in so them being the first 3 actually works really well. I mean I'm also interested in D:OS, but I'm really enthused by those old ones that I wanted to play as a kid. I watched friends play both BG games back then and really liked them.

I'm probably gonna stick to main campaign and avoid optional stuff in most of these games which will hopefully bring down the time cost a bit and let me get through more of them. Think this is gonna be my summer game project, unless I get really absorbed by the next EQ TLP which does tend to happen but who knows.

I wouldn't recommend Tides to anyone. All the other games on your list I found enjoyable, but Tides was a boring mess and waste of time. If you play all of the other games, and still have time to fill, I would recommend one of the Pathfinder games, over Tides, even if you have already paid for it.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is even on sale right now for $6.00 (I think it's a better game than NWN1 or either Pillars game too)(also, it goes on sale fairly often):

Rajaah · Mar 3, 2023

Burns said:
I wouldn't recommend Tides to anyone. All the other games on your list I found enjoyable, but Tides was a boring mess and waste of time. If you play all of the other games, and still have time to fill, I would recommend one of the Pathfinder games, over Tides, even if you have already paid for it.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is even on sale right now for $6.00 (I think it's a better game than NWN1 or either Pillars game too)(also, it goes on sale fairly often):

I remember Tides getting some hype when it was on the way. I was working at the Gamestop and all the co workers there were stoked about it. Then it came out and it was just like...nothing, everyone seemed not crazy about it and it fell out of discussion within a day or two.

Burns · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
I remember Tides getting some hype when it was on the way. I was working at the Gamestop and all the co workers there were stoked about it. Then it came out and it was just like...nothing, everyone seemed not crazy about it and it fell out of discussion within a day or two.

Expectations were defiantly a part of it. They marketed it as a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment, and tried to ride the nostalgia train of one of the most lauded RPGs of all time. Then that shit backfired on them in a huge way and it was their fault for trying to hype their game in such a way.

Rajaah · Mar 3, 2023

Screenshot_20230303_211240_Samsung Internet.jpg

Thinking about maybe grabbing this set of guides. Might be cool to go Full 1999 and glhave guides on-hand for all the CRPGs.

The Baldur's Gate II guide is fine for the regular game right? It has an expansion? name on it so I'm not sure.

Burns · Mar 3, 2023

Rajaah said:
View attachment 461542
Thinking about maybe grabbing this set of guides. Might be cool to go Full 1999 and glhave guides on-hand for all the CRPGs.

The Baldur's Gate II guide is fine for the regular game right? It has an expansion? name on it so I'm not sure.

These are manuals, not guides. The digital copies you have should have them in pdf format. If not, you should be able to find scans of them around the internets.

Edit: for example, here is that Throne of Bhaal manual:

https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur2-bhaal-manual.pdf

Rajaah · Mar 3, 2023

Burns said:
These are manuals, not guides. The digital copies you have should have them in pdf format. If not, you should be able to find scans of them around the internets.

Edit: for example, here is that Throne of Bhaal manual:

https://www.mocagh.org/bioware/baldur2-bhaal-manual.pdf

Oh, whew, thanks. Yeah, don't need those then. I might look for some actual guidebooks for some of these though, that could be fun.

Ridas · Mar 4, 2023

Bg1 and 2 are one of my favorite games. I replay them regularly. BG1 will get you used to the story and combat. Combat is a bit barebone at the start, but once you hit higher levels it opens up more and more options. I envy you a lot.
Go with a fighter class for your first playthrough. Once you get the hang of it, you can play the more complex classes. There are a lot of spells, buffs etc. which are very powerful, but early levels is less magic and more meele/ranged Combat.

Rajaah · Mar 4, 2023

Got some guides for the first few to help me get into 'em, gonna party like it's 1999.

Ridas · Mar 4, 2023

A lot of smaller quests are not obvious to find in both BG games. Many are in unmarked houses. After replaying BG2 just recently I found an area for the first time. It was a hidden lair of some nasty monsters on a different plane. Just a random house in the dock district. Many gems like that hidden in unmarked locations.

Bubbles · Mar 4, 2023

Kajiimagi · Mar 4, 2023

Bubbles said:

Well I guess that removes my last excuse not to EA it. I really want to stay away from this until it's 'finished' though.

Fight · Mar 5, 2023

Rajaah said:
Would this be a good order for the CRPGs if I ever get to them:

-BG1
-BG2
-Pillars 1
-Pillars 2

-Planescape Torment
-Tides of Numenera

-Icewind Dale
-Neverwinter Nights

-Divinity 1
-Divinity 2
-BG3

?

Cause I might make them into a summer mission or something.

Guess we will see you in 3 years. Good luck!

Ukerric · Mar 5, 2023

Kajiimagi said:
Well I guess that removes my last excuse not to EA it. I really want to stay away from this until it's 'finished' though.

Same. I will "early acess" and won't click "install" until launch day.

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