Posted October 28, 2020
high rated
70 hours and still exploring, testing, trying, reloading, raging against the bug...
The game has a great potential but at this step many things are missing or have to be reworked to make it epic.
Here's are the irritating / frustrating points that I consider should be improved. Do not hesitate to complete / amend / give your opinion:
Containers and scrap items:
Why so many containers full of nothing (or almost nothing) and so many useless scrap items (usable for craft at a point?). I would gladly say it add depth to the game but in fact it's just useless and time consuming if you want to check everything. So why? This situation reminds me a copy / paste of Divinity Original Sin.
For scrap items a solution could be what has be done in Wasteland 3, scrap items are tagged as such. You're free to take them or not and when you trade you have an option to sell all of them with 1 click. It's smart.
The same thing goes for items used in craft. They could be tagged as such so we can keep them for further crafting tests. And so we are not always wondering should I keep this one? Can I create a potion with it? Can I craft something like in Divinity Original Sin series? Or is it just a useless scrap?
Items management:
Moving objects from character to another is very boring (even with contextual menu...). And when you move / place an item you have to be in the square. If you're in a line of the inventory, the move is not done. To be improved.
The moving operations become really frustrating when you want to transfer all the stuff to the more charismatic character (Will or another character with a high charisma) so you have better sell prices (and buy prices). If a character with a high charisma is in the group, it should be enough to activate the charisma bonus during buy / sell, whoever is speaking to the trader.
In addition when items are in a container in your inventory, if the first squares are full, each time you had a new item, you go up first line and you have to scroll down. And always again and again for each new item you want to add. It's has to be solved.
Spells:
Spells level 1 are automatically improved by 1 level when learned (no metamagic skill). Mage can cast a heal spell. I like flexibility but something seems wrong. To cast a heal spell, if you have no cleric, only 2 solutions: items or scrolls. Or use potions.
In addition a better description of the spells and its effects (with values) would be appreciated.
Spells management:
Spells are added everywhere in the menu bar and with the potions and other stuffs; it becomes messy in 2 mins. Can't we have a dedicated menu for spells? Like we have for special actions and basic attacks?
It would also be good to have a clearer indicator / counter of how many spells per level I can still cast.
Character sheet:
The character sheet is disappointing for an AD&D RPG. Sure we find all the basic information (in many screen in fact, why this redundancy?) but I really think it could be greatly improved. Have a look to the character sheets of the BG series or, from our time, Kingmaker Pathfinder and Pillars of Eternity.
Equipment / bonus:
Right now it's early access act 1 so our equipment is quite poor with few bonus but when we will go further in the game, I suppose we will have tons of Big Bill equipment full of bonus. So to optimize my group I want to identify quickly which bonus is on which character and if the bonuses add up, or not, so I can move the equipment to another character. Equipment stats and active bonus could be detailed in the character sheet.
Portraits:
Portraits in game (lower left) and in the character sheet are just a display of the 3D models. It's descent but not very appealing. Could we have artistic drawing with the possibility to customize the portraits? As it is implemented in most of the RPG in fact.
Combats:
It's interesting to have the percentage hit but it doesn't help to know how to improve it. So during combat, we test, we try, we reload, to finally find a logic to this percentage and how to improve it. In recent game like Kingmaker Pathfinder or Pillars of Eternity, when we miss, we know why (bad roll, enemy heavy AC, magic resistance…).
Main character without voice:
A major game like BG3 in 2020 and our main character is muted. Even our teammates have a voice and use it during cutscenes. As a consequence, cutscenes have no emotion, no intensity, no charisma, nothing. Just a main character moving his head, his arms and... that's all. We have some facial expression but without voice... In the end, even an oyster is more charismatic than my Drow mage :-) Have the look to the Witcher to see how charismatic can be a main character with a great voice (OK in this case there is just 1 main character, Geralt de Riv... but still a good example to understand the idea. Imagine a muted Geralt in all the cutscenes...).
Races:
In AD&D, all races are not available, at least when you start a game / campaign. Here everything is accessible ok, BUT all specificities should be included as well. In example Drow have magic resistance and of course they are uncommon in Faerune and feared / hunted. Few humans will speak to a Drow. In BG3, everybody is talking to my Drow mage as if my MC was a human. Remember Viconia in BG series? In BG1, a Flaming Fist officer was about to kill her. And in BG2 she was going to be burned in Athkatla just because she was a Drow.
In example, sometimes it could be impossible to discuss with some NPC, the tree branch of the discussions with NPC could be modified (and not just 1 or 2 possible sentences choice with [DROW]) and in some cases, the combat would start when you initiate the dialogue or if you insist. In a city like Baldur's Gate with the Flaming Fist, it could be fun and you could end up arrested with evasion, etc. Well, more interesting possibilities to explore and side quests. And in some case it could modify he path taken to advance in the main story. So each new game would be slightly different taking into account the race you choose for your MC.
Copy / paste Divinity Original Sin:
For BG3, the engine is the same one than in Divinity Original Sin. It's not a bad thing on the contrary as the graphics are more BG like. It could still be improved further (BG lineage). But regarding the interface and menu, BG3 has to find its own identity. Each time I’m in the menu, especially contextual menu, I feel like I'm playing Divinity Original Sin. I spent 60€ to play BG3, not Divinity Original Sin (and I own both the 1 and 2).
Party number:
To be linked with the spells, races and combats. Why limit the size of the party to 4? Once again, it's like in Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. In most of the RPG we are at 6 which is a good number to create a versatile team (BG series, Kingmaker Pathfinder or Pillars of Eternity): 2 fighters, 1 mage, 1 thief, 1 cleric and 1 in accordance with the preference of the player. The size seems to be limited to 4 but not for a good reason.
Party romance:
One big party and I can romance whoever I want whatever I said previously to my party? I hope this is just for test purpose in the early access phase and when the game is finished, we will have a more truthful and realistic romance.
Final word:
I miss other points and I will add them later, or other players will highlight them. At this step the game is still buggy and it's normal, it's an early access. Nevertheless the desire to play is there. But I can't stand to think that BG3 is too much a copy / paste of Divinity Original Sin on some points and it has not found yet its true identity regarding its BG lineage. I understand the costs rationalization, but I have spent 60€ to play BG3, not Divinity Original Sin 3. In addition many improvements remains to be made in particular the charisma of our muted main character "Bernardo" (#avoiceformyMC).
Thus the nice game may become epic.
The game has a great potential but at this step many things are missing or have to be reworked to make it epic.
Here's are the irritating / frustrating points that I consider should be improved. Do not hesitate to complete / amend / give your opinion:
Containers and scrap items:
Why so many containers full of nothing (or almost nothing) and so many useless scrap items (usable for craft at a point?). I would gladly say it add depth to the game but in fact it's just useless and time consuming if you want to check everything. So why? This situation reminds me a copy / paste of Divinity Original Sin.
For scrap items a solution could be what has be done in Wasteland 3, scrap items are tagged as such. You're free to take them or not and when you trade you have an option to sell all of them with 1 click. It's smart.
The same thing goes for items used in craft. They could be tagged as such so we can keep them for further crafting tests. And so we are not always wondering should I keep this one? Can I create a potion with it? Can I craft something like in Divinity Original Sin series? Or is it just a useless scrap?
Items management:
Moving objects from character to another is very boring (even with contextual menu...). And when you move / place an item you have to be in the square. If you're in a line of the inventory, the move is not done. To be improved.
The moving operations become really frustrating when you want to transfer all the stuff to the more charismatic character (Will or another character with a high charisma) so you have better sell prices (and buy prices). If a character with a high charisma is in the group, it should be enough to activate the charisma bonus during buy / sell, whoever is speaking to the trader.
In addition when items are in a container in your inventory, if the first squares are full, each time you had a new item, you go up first line and you have to scroll down. And always again and again for each new item you want to add. It's has to be solved.
Spells:
Spells level 1 are automatically improved by 1 level when learned (no metamagic skill). Mage can cast a heal spell. I like flexibility but something seems wrong. To cast a heal spell, if you have no cleric, only 2 solutions: items or scrolls. Or use potions.
In addition a better description of the spells and its effects (with values) would be appreciated.
Spells management:
Spells are added everywhere in the menu bar and with the potions and other stuffs; it becomes messy in 2 mins. Can't we have a dedicated menu for spells? Like we have for special actions and basic attacks?
It would also be good to have a clearer indicator / counter of how many spells per level I can still cast.
Character sheet:
The character sheet is disappointing for an AD&D RPG. Sure we find all the basic information (in many screen in fact, why this redundancy?) but I really think it could be greatly improved. Have a look to the character sheets of the BG series or, from our time, Kingmaker Pathfinder and Pillars of Eternity.
Equipment / bonus:
Right now it's early access act 1 so our equipment is quite poor with few bonus but when we will go further in the game, I suppose we will have tons of Big Bill equipment full of bonus. So to optimize my group I want to identify quickly which bonus is on which character and if the bonuses add up, or not, so I can move the equipment to another character. Equipment stats and active bonus could be detailed in the character sheet.
Portraits:
Portraits in game (lower left) and in the character sheet are just a display of the 3D models. It's descent but not very appealing. Could we have artistic drawing with the possibility to customize the portraits? As it is implemented in most of the RPG in fact.
Combats:
It's interesting to have the percentage hit but it doesn't help to know how to improve it. So during combat, we test, we try, we reload, to finally find a logic to this percentage and how to improve it. In recent game like Kingmaker Pathfinder or Pillars of Eternity, when we miss, we know why (bad roll, enemy heavy AC, magic resistance…).
Main character without voice:
A major game like BG3 in 2020 and our main character is muted. Even our teammates have a voice and use it during cutscenes. As a consequence, cutscenes have no emotion, no intensity, no charisma, nothing. Just a main character moving his head, his arms and... that's all. We have some facial expression but without voice... In the end, even an oyster is more charismatic than my Drow mage :-) Have the look to the Witcher to see how charismatic can be a main character with a great voice (OK in this case there is just 1 main character, Geralt de Riv... but still a good example to understand the idea. Imagine a muted Geralt in all the cutscenes...).
Races:
In AD&D, all races are not available, at least when you start a game / campaign. Here everything is accessible ok, BUT all specificities should be included as well. In example Drow have magic resistance and of course they are uncommon in Faerune and feared / hunted. Few humans will speak to a Drow. In BG3, everybody is talking to my Drow mage as if my MC was a human. Remember Viconia in BG series? In BG1, a Flaming Fist officer was about to kill her. And in BG2 she was going to be burned in Athkatla just because she was a Drow.
In example, sometimes it could be impossible to discuss with some NPC, the tree branch of the discussions with NPC could be modified (and not just 1 or 2 possible sentences choice with [DROW]) and in some cases, the combat would start when you initiate the dialogue or if you insist. In a city like Baldur's Gate with the Flaming Fist, it could be fun and you could end up arrested with evasion, etc. Well, more interesting possibilities to explore and side quests. And in some case it could modify he path taken to advance in the main story. So each new game would be slightly different taking into account the race you choose for your MC.
Copy / paste Divinity Original Sin:
For BG3, the engine is the same one than in Divinity Original Sin. It's not a bad thing on the contrary as the graphics are more BG like. It could still be improved further (BG lineage). But regarding the interface and menu, BG3 has to find its own identity. Each time I’m in the menu, especially contextual menu, I feel like I'm playing Divinity Original Sin. I spent 60€ to play BG3, not Divinity Original Sin (and I own both the 1 and 2).
Party number:
To be linked with the spells, races and combats. Why limit the size of the party to 4? Once again, it's like in Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. In most of the RPG we are at 6 which is a good number to create a versatile team (BG series, Kingmaker Pathfinder or Pillars of Eternity): 2 fighters, 1 mage, 1 thief, 1 cleric and 1 in accordance with the preference of the player. The size seems to be limited to 4 but not for a good reason.
Party romance:
One big party and I can romance whoever I want whatever I said previously to my party? I hope this is just for test purpose in the early access phase and when the game is finished, we will have a more truthful and realistic romance.
Final word:
I miss other points and I will add them later, or other players will highlight them. At this step the game is still buggy and it's normal, it's an early access. Nevertheless the desire to play is there. But I can't stand to think that BG3 is too much a copy / paste of Divinity Original Sin on some points and it has not found yet its true identity regarding its BG lineage. I understand the costs rationalization, but I have spent 60€ to play BG3, not Divinity Original Sin 3. In addition many improvements remains to be made in particular the charisma of our muted main character "Bernardo" (#avoiceformyMC).
Thus the nice game may become epic.
Post edited November 02, 2020 by Killdren
