PC Gamer has some information on BG 3

[rebel3_6_1]

I am in favor of epic battles, as I've said before. I don't think you should be able to control 40 or 50 allies, but they should fight beside you against common enemies. I think that's what LastManStanding meant too.

[Skuld]

The level cap in the original BG games wasn't to most people's liking because if you played with any less than a party of 6 you'd hit the cap before the end of the game. If a game is able to be able to be played solo or with a party the experience cap should reflect that. I think that's all people want is a reasonable experience cap, so that if you choose to play with less than the suggest amount of party members you're not left at a disadvantage when you can't level up anymore.

[Xandax]

Originally Posted by LastManStanding

I would like to see it stay true to the origonal bg games maybe slightly improved graghics but keep it overhead. I not impressed with 3rd and first person rpgs like marrow wind and Kotor I liked kotor but i wouldn't want to see bg in that format.<snip>

I agree. I don't really think First Person View is any good for a cRPG, especially if you have a party or a henchmen system. It will become to complex to work with.

Besides - I don't walk around with blinders on in real life (love this saying), so I hate having my view cut off like FPV does in games.

Originally Posted by LastManStanding

Also I didn't like the XP cap in the original bg games I would rather have a more authintic d&d experience

Well - level caps are nesecary for a few reasons in my opinnion.
Firstly - it helps the developers to balance the game, when they have a good indactor that the player will be around level X at the time they reach point Y in the game.
Allowing for an insane level, will mess up game balance (BG2:ToB, NwN:HotU).

Secondly - it forces the player to make choices where there are both advantages and disadvantages. If there is no level cap, basically every character can become quite adapt at many things(in 3ed, not in 2ed)
Imposing a level cap, makes it so when the player have to make a choice at level up, he has to concider pros and cons. This was one thing I disliked about Morrowind, that every character basically can do everything. No choices, no conflicts.

[Romco]

Every big new game today simply has to be 3D. There is simply no way around it, or else the game would be left behind by competition and only a few hardcore fans like us would play it. I liked the 2D graphics of BG II, but I do not think 3D graphics would spoil the game - in fact, it would probably do just fine with 3D graphics. What WOULD spoil the game, however, is if it had a 'cinematic over-the-shoulder' perspective or a 'first person' perspective. I really, really think they need to keep the viewpoint essentially isometric from the top down, just as it was in Baldur's Gate II.

As to the discussion about how to implement parties, again I have to vote for the incumbent system as was used in BG II. All other systems that merely give you henchmen over whom you have no full control (for example, cannot switch weapons and change gear) simply do not approach the excellence of the BG II system with full party control.

[Opalescence]

Basically then what you're saying is PLEASE don't turn BGIII into NWN. C'mon you can admit it, that's what you're saying. And I agree with you. I personally love Morrowind so I really can't see how being in 3d would kill BGIII, plus the fact that developers these days are seriously biased toward graphics, their mentality being that kids like eye-candy better than they like storyline (you know it's true). However, I've discovered there's like a "total dimension" thing. In other words, have you noticed that, in general, the worse the graphics, neccessarily the better the game? The developers just didn't have the resources to get better graphics so instead they focused on the game itself. And when the game loses an entire DIMENSION, like the 3rd one, then the developers can go ahead and develop some pretty cool stuff! But, consequently, I've discovered that the BETTER the graphics, the WORSE the game. Because the developers are so infatuated with making everything on the screen pretty, they spend less and less time actually making the game fun to play. Take my favorite gripester game, Spellforce. It's gosh-darned pretty, but it sucks monkey turds. Of course, there ARE exceptions to the rule, like Morrowind. But for the most part, As soon as they add a third dimension it's all over. And the third dimension doesn't even neccessarily have to be complete, such as Neverwinter Nights, which was a bone fide failure at being BGIII in 3d, even though you STILL really only had an isometric view, just that the view was slightly better-looking.

I am an all-or-nothing guy. I do NOT want another NWN, so if they go 3d I want them to go 3d, Morrowind style. Else, I'd want them to keep the old BGI/BGII style isometric top-down view. Like I said, all or nothing. I am seriously disappointed with the NWN pseudo-3d view, if you ask me it's like medium armor in Morrowind - a bit of the better parts of light armor (isometric) and heavy armor (full 3d), but still can't compare to either one.

[Nightmare]

I think 3D will be fine, as long as the camera isn't attached to the character, like it was in NWN (and Diablo).

[Fred83]

I REALLY hope they dont make it turn based.
I HATE turnbased games. So many games, that i really wanted to play until i found out they wre turnbased, that i haven't botherd getting in any way.
Second 3D is really a bad move. Usually what games get in 3d they lack in world detail.

[Fred83]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

I think 3D will be fine, as long as the camera isn't attached to the character, like it was in NWN (and Diablo).

Diablo isnt more 3d than bg2 ?

[fable]

Originally Posted by Fred83

I REALLY hope they dont make it turn based.
I HATE turnbased games.

Who's saying they will? I don't recall a turn-based RPG in years. Either it will be in realtime, with one character, or use that horrible AI with multiple characters that KotoR had, or go for a multiple characters in a pause/time style like the BG series. -Assuming, of course, anything gets made.

[Aubrey]

Originally Posted by UncleScratchy

I'm in me0w's camp on this one. I have a strong feeling that a 3D engine will make BG3 another NWN disaster. 3D probably means you won't be able to make a 6 person party - so I predict its going to be more of a MW type solo action game. My other fear is that it will end up becoming another massive multiplayer on-line type game. The isometric view allows for party building and game play that doesn't require obscene hi-end system requirements. I don't see that happening with 3D. I don't have a good feeling about this endeavor, it sounds like it might be screwed up from the get go. I'd rather forgo the 3D and have a game that has a good story line, interesting characters, sensible equipment, relatively simple game controls and reasonable system requirements (I can't even run the PC Gamer demo disk games on my 2 yr old Pentium 4 system because of the rediculous minimum system requirements the game makers are using).

I am joining your camp. If they have another NWN kind of version in mind, disappointed is guaranteed. I can't understand the logic of giving priority to game engines over the story, the plot, the characters; in short, everything that makes a good RPG.

[Adahn]

Originally Posted by sparky_kat

i kinda agree with me0w, i really dont want to see baldurs gate go 3D, i honestly think it would take away from the game, we LOVE and are used to the way it is now, dont ruin something good, like the old saying goes... *clears throat*
"IF IT AINT BROKE....... DONT FIX IT!!!!!!!"

Yeah! I totaly agreed. This isn't fair I mean Baldur's Gate I & II are great the way they are. Updating the graphics a bit is ok. But changing the whole view and making it 3D sucks some major a**. So many things can be made better with graphics and this new technology ****, but I think Baldur's gate II just like Icewind Dale II was perfect just the way it was, without any exagerated graphics.