#baulders gate early access

[kingdomofthelandofthelost]

One of my favorite things about Baulders Gate 3 is that I bought it 3 years ago and it's like getting a free game today.

Hundreds of hours worth of content. No micro transactions. Some jank to love. Characters who you have to pry open to learn about. Real consequences for being a delinquent. And to top it off I bought it and forgot it and now I get to be on trend for once.

[faorism]

niche crossover of the day that im too lazy rn to clean up and post to ao3 but may in the future: alec hardison (leverage) plays bg3

hardison balances playtime with hacker hours well, which means he moves through hyperfixations but has learned through working with the crew how to prioritize when there's a friend's life on the line. (there will be no more repeats of his crew sitting on a bomb without him right next to them.) sometimes though his partners lose him for a week after a new release, but now that they live together at least parker can drag him to bed for cuddles (and to sleep) and eliot will kept him fed.

it should go without saying that hardison loves baulder's gate 3. he heard such good things about it during early access from his dnd buddies, but hardison refuses to play EA because he will end up encountering bugs and basically writing the code that the devs will end up doing anyway, so why waste his time.

he plays without any prior knowledge, doesn't even know the characters really except from glimpses at their promo pics. but he's excited. he downloads the game, kisses his partners """goodbye""" for the foreseeable future (as long as a job doesnt spring up, but even then it would be a quick one because eliot sprained his ankle and needed to rest it no matter how much he complained he was good).

he decides to play his chaotic good halfling wizard mendula from two campaigns back - fresh enough in his mind to remember the character, but not too recent so that he wont feel conflicted if the tav storyline doesnt allow for precise oc characterizations. hardison gets super into it, but he doesnt linger on side quests, not yet: he wants to get a feel of the game without mods and follow its arc. hardison doesnt usually romance on a first playthrough, but wyll!!!!! wyll was right there being perfect and beautiful and righteous and black and bi and yeah, hardison had to fan himself off during the dance sequence

his party is wizard tav, shadowheart, wyll, and lae'zel, and barely switches them out. when astarion drains him dry and kills him, hardison is so annoyed he kills astarion. he feels very proud of himself when he sniped wyll's devil karlach without much fuss. then he skips a lot of the companion sidequests because he just wants to rush to the end. he gets married to wyll, then starts right over and plays wyll origin, now able to take his time and understanding the mechanics of the game. he also downloads QOL mods that have already come out for EA, and he has notes about ones he will make if no one else does when he's ready for playthrough #3. he purposefully avoids any major ones (so no Polyam Mod for him, though he does eye it, but he wants to see how multiple romances play himself).

he plays will as accurately as possible, which means engaging heavily with the very companions hardison spent ignoring because wyll? wyll cares (and fuck, hardison loves him for that because yes yes, that's him too!). and......

ah. okay so. maybe hardison shouldn't have ignored the companions so much since they do add a lot to the game! and..... maybe, just maybe, hardison was too hasty killing astarion and karlach the first go around. maybe a lot. he thought they would be companions for evil tavs/origins only! he played kotor and [insert game references here, i dont play games like this usually...], so he thought he knew what was up.

anyway, he is drawn so much to these two out of the novelty of them that he puts them into his party (the fourth spot he switches around, thought once hardison gets him, halsin is a fun mainstay because BEAR. hardison gets up romancing both astarion and karlach (and a little halsin, HALSIN IS SO EASY TO FLIRT WITH, larian WANTS you to fuck him)

and....... okay. okay. maybe romancing them both at the same time was a mistake because. because he loves them both. so much. for very different reasons. hardison feels so deeply and then he's forced to make a decision, and hardison crumples a bit. considers downloading the polyam mod but opts out of it to suffer vanilla game logic to its very end.

when he breaks up with astarion, who plays it so damn cool, hardison had to walk away from the computer to mourn by burying himself in his nearest partner's arms (eliot, this time).

he finishes the game, makes wyll go to avernus with karlach (as he made them do during this tav playthrough) and... thinks about astarion.

hardison had carried over the breakup scene save this whole time, and he decides fuck it, and goes back and tries it the other way this time.

he didnt know karlach will just... die on the pier. wtf. wtf. or wyll will go and there wont be any interaction with astarion?? hardison is Distraught. he downloads the polyam mod and while it doesnt force the issue, he can just feel at the edges that nope, this isnt authentic

finds partner's arms again. parker this time. she asks whats wrong with his make believe people, and he pauses for so long that parker thinks he fell asleep or didnt hear her, and then he quietly says that wyll has a heart big enough for two, a romance can be fairytale when made for three, dont they know there's nothing more beautiful than being held between by both the people you love?

parker kisses his temple as tears legit well in his eyes (and he feels embarrassed) and she yells for eliot for emergency group hugs.

eliot, with hardison squished between his two partners, usually doesnt get involved with hardison's gaming but this time he's just like, okay what is it about these characters that's getting to you like this? and why them together? who are they?

and hardison had already talked about wyll a little because disney prince. so he reiterates some of that with a major case of projection. and then when he turns to talk about the companions, hardison stops. and just.

oh.

a black man who was forced to make impossible desperate choices when he was still a teen, which got him into trouble as a consequence, and then being alone and wandering for years until he ran into a pack of different people come together for a common purpose. trying to be good, the best he could be, and hiding behind a flashy name to hide some of the more raw parts underneath. ravenguard and nana have strikingly similar cheekbones.

then theres a rogue with a deeply traumatic past who can be selfish and kinda insensitive and likes shiny things. a pale thief who likes a little bit of chaos even when running good alignment, and who can't help sticky fingers reaching for unsuspecting belts and also... well, also is a top, through and through. a top who likes to bite. vicious when upset. also... also touch adverse and who at first laughs at sincerity and then basks in it but only once your commitment is fully and well established. the only bit of code hardison wrote as he played his wyll origin was to remove astarion saying dont touch me when you switch to him; hardison flinched every time, hearing the cadence of parker's voice scratching at him when she's triggered.

then, a barbarian who handed from one handler (who ended up being a totalitarian dick) down the road until being owned by the literal devil. body put through hell, scars littering a body that spells strength at a distance. once escaped from the nightmare, only wanted their own perseverance. their own life. wanting so desperately for a touch, to be loved, to be held in a way that didn't spell murder. "heartless" after years of working for, again, literal devils, but so full of life and kindness and (also eliot is more coy about it) a deep sense of joy for the world. kind to children. protective of children. wary of deals too good to be true. willing to die than return to a life they once lived. death feels imminent, despite the protestations of everyone around them. really good bedroom eyes.

so.

yeah.

maybe... maybe

hardison couldnt get the words out to say all of that. all he says is, they're a lot like us. (like with astarion, if hardison spelled out the exact overlaps of the characters.)

the games dumb then, parker says. or at least broken. if the game isnt right, just go fix it?

and hardison has protests about the limits of what is possible within someone else's game and...

parker is like, you made a guy hold up a bank in like, 10 min? on a laptop with spotty internet and without a mouse or any preparation?

and this takes some time between other projects he really has to get to, but.... he does it. codes like a motherfucker and bribes eliot & parker into mocap and also genuinely pays the VAs to voice lines for him. shit hardison does for the love of his ot3:

script out unique banter for karlach and astarion in your party that hints of their attraction to one another

code in an extra option when astarion or karlach confront you for to prompt them to consider their own feelings for the other (different from the current but i want to be with you both! line)

a short nighttime cutscene that with dialogue that implies the three have just finished talking and have agreed to be together. they are all holding hands

include astarion and karlach in each other's act iii scenes (they arent the most chatty, admittedly, but they are there and integrated)

outside of camp, if you three are standing near each other, you can cast a spell that cuts to astarion and karlach kissing either of wyll's checks (this is admittedly somewhat buggy but!

edits out astarion cowering on the pier from the sun, just rushes the three to avernus which hardison doesnt have to edit; just uses astarion origin version for wyll.

nexusmods community begs desperately for him to do this for some other ot3s and he is willing to hear them out for shadowheart/lae'zel/tav, he absolutely refuses to break up karwyllstarion and only offers wyll pov. will not even allow for edits being made for a tav/karlach/astarion mod. he deeply pisses off some people, but overall this mod is downloaded a fuckton as the only truly viable polyam romance option in the game. people start writing fanfic specifically for this one mod and eventually it is just integrated into canon lore that karwyllstarion exists as an option

[essythewolf]

I know virtually nothing about Baulder's Gate 3 beside it being DnD: the video game and the Astarion thirst....

But now I'm playing it (never did early access) and yeah...

I think I understand now.

[somecommonbitch]

really loving the full release of baulder’s gate 3 but i’m still having the same bug as early access (i play for 20 hours and then bail and make a new character)

[exhausted-archivist]

Honestly, as excited as I am for Baulders Gate 3, it is kinda off putting to see so many people comparing Larian studio's early access and transparency to BioWare. I feel like they aren't comparable, not only are they not the same type of game, BioWare isn't providing early access.

If Larian studio wasn't transparent while having early access for two years that would be a problem. People would be upset because they weren't hearing anything after giving them money, there is a built in expectation for a certain level of communication for early access. Like yes, early access is cool and fun, it helps builds excitement and gives a nice cash flow injection as well as helpful for finding bugs and getting feedback. But it is infinitely more pressure to devs, opens you up to scrutiny and honestly is a very double edge sword. Which is reason enough for many studios to not do it.

BioWare being that transparent about a game that isn't open to the public makes little sense, and by not being transparent isn't a proof of bad practice. Their silence isn't damning or wrong because Larian is being open and communicative. It's not comparable, since they aren't early access; we don't even know if know if da4 is in beta yet. Last we heard as far as I'm aware is that they're entered alpha in November 2022, they're playing it and working out kinks. But that doesn't mean its anywhere ready for non-devs or QA testers.

I get people being excited for da4 and really want news, or if you're frustrated by the lack of news. You can be excited and happy with Larian/Baulders Gate 3 transparency due to them opening bg3 to early access without taking shots at a completely different studio and project that isn't even being ran the same way.

I'm eager for more da4 news too but I also don't want what they did with dai where they talked about it too early and had massive changes to really cool mechanics like the raids on your keeps, ect. All because there was external pressure due to a leak and being forced to talk about things. Something I'm glad they didn't do when there was that small leak for da4 of questionable validity. I want BioWare to tell us things when they're ready, not cause they're pressured into it (more than what ea and marketing itself might do).

Be excited for all the things Larian studio and Baulders Gate 3 is doing all you like, I know I am. But making assumptions about da4 content when we know nothing, and criticizing BioWare for not using a model they've never used is just kinda exhausting to see everywhere.

[lliviaoftheshire]

Elianei in Baulders gate 3.

[callmearcturus]

Here's one for you- I love the bioware rpgs and ffxiv, and am eyeing the turn based rpg sector, but have no idea where to start for that deep team as family vibe that me2 and the scions deliver on. I've heard good things about the tails/trails series, but, like, they look super anime and i Cannot Handle the casual incest in a lot of anime shit has, and the one i tried (cold steel) had that straight out the gate. Recs? Or do i have to go bite the bullet and actually play pillars or baulder's gate?

I cannot help you on the "casual incest" angle because 1. don't care, 2. Japanese culture literally has an entire trope about the idea of a romance with the person you've known since before your memory really began ("osananajimi" etc etc) and I think imposing my Western ideas over that would be a bad decision.

Anyway. This is weird but have you looked at Assassin's Creed Vahalla? Specifically Valhalla. Ubisoft is attempting to eat Bioware's abandoned lunch when it comes this this aspect of their games, and it got mixed results in Odyssey, but a lot of people really enjoyed Valhalla.

I would actually say the Tales games are a great bet for the Hanging With My Team vibes you want. I've played Symphonia and fucking loved it so much I kept my Gamecube for an extra year just for that game. But my Tales-inclined friends say Vesperia is one of the best, and its on Game Pass right now.

I also would look into Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. I have it on good authority that once you accumulate your crew, the Hang Out-itude is truly off the charts. Also it starts out like-- the way Tim Rogers puts it is that anyone can see nine out of ten plot twists in DQXI coming a mile away, but the tenth is completely wild, and I've heard that echoed elsewhere.

Oh and The Outer Worlds. You would like the Outer Worlds a lot, I think.

I would not seek this vibe from Baldur's Gate tbh, but you might like specifically Baldur's Gate 3, though its still Early Access right now. If you're looking for the Bioware Experience, you want something with a more authored experience than the Baldur's Gates of the world.

[questionablespecies]

When will baulder's gate 3 be ready I don't want to pay for an early access game, just finish it 😫😫😫

[i-amarobot]

Ah man I keep seeing all this really cool looking Baulders gate 3 stuff and I want to play it so bad. But I want to play the finished game not an early access version

[kingdomofthelandofthelost]

I went to eccc this weekend and one of the main reasons was to get some of my magic the gathering cards signed by the members of Baulder's gate three cast.

And don't get me wrong, i Iove the game and am a huge fan. I bought it day one in early access. Have 100% it on steam. And to their credit I think Neil Newbon, Devora Wilde, and Jennifer English all did an amazing job at bringing not just their characters to life but the game also.

But I just gotta say they all really wanted to know my name like we were actually meeting??? Like I'm just getting signatures. This is a business transaction. There's a huge line behind me. I waited in a huge line. Maybe it's because I don't form parasocial relationships with people, or maybe it's because I have an uncanny ability to logistically understand my current situation from the outside in but we're not friends lol. You're never going to see me again.

Maybe there is a certain aspect to meeting fans that I don't understand from their perspective but these people are seeing 200+ people a day. Absolutely no way you're going to remember my name, and I was wearing a 😷 so you're not going to remember my face.

I loved their characters, their acting, their kindness and all of them were so kind, but yeah we aren't on a need to know names basis lol.

[pumpkaboots]

Was initially going to buy Baulder's Gate 3 early access for my twin's bf as a late bday present, but it's 60 FUCKING DOLLARS.... for early access????????? wtf

[requiem-angel]

Just a comment on the Baulder’s Gate 3, but if I understand and remember correctly, the early access is a buggy incomplete mess because it’s just the developer copy of the game that will eventually become the actual game and they said it was mainly pointed at the people who would submit big reports and give feedback.

Oh no just because I obviously despise Naughty Dog with what I consider a shit game I should despise Cyberpunk right? Because the issues are totally 100 percent the devs fault. No actually, they've been delaying this game so much to give us what we want overworking, dealing with Covid 19, and going through crunches. I'll admit the first launch they should of put the epilepsy warning instead of in an update I'll hold blame to them for over looking that.

Other than that it's mainly the "fans" that have pushed them to release the game, and apparently recently I heard they sent death threats to the devs and will continue if another delay happened. So I'm assuming out of fear for their lives they released too soon, still to me it looks like it's running better than Baldur's Gate 3, Larian needs to work on making better Early Access and knocking the price down in them, sure will the bugs be annoying? Yes. But remember we had for the past decades had to deal with Bethesda's buggy creations like every Fallout and Elder Scrolls game out there.

Do I excuse certain business practices CD Projekt make and are currently making? No, they need to do better next time and not cause a shitstorm with Sony. I'm literally the same with every game company, I hold them on a moderate pedestal and it either becomes higher or lower or stays the same depending on their games and business practices. So far indie devs are higher than AAA companies but it's still moderate because certain indie devs can be as bad as AAA companies along with the fact that there are good AAA companies sad to see most of them sink low or just go through rough patches.

Do I favor certain companies more than others? Yeah, everyone has their preferences so I don't judge unless it's real common knowledge that certain companies are just fucking assholes and the fans of them ride that highway to hell and back insulting anyone giving fair criticisms.

The point is you can have your judgements yet still enjoy the product you like if it wasn't like falsely advertised and falsely reviewed and the people in charge aren't shit/trolly to people. If you like Cyberpunk it's perfectly fine, I'm planning on playing it too because it seems more fun than Outer Worlds and I do enjoy Outer Worlds. CD Projekt so far hasn't done anything like trolling to compete with Neil's trolling that borderline reminds me of a certain president that we have dealt with these past 4 years. And so far hasn't slashed reviews from what I've seen so good for them for letting people be honest.