Xbox Game Studios |OT11| The One with Starfield and Activision Blizzard King

[Staffy]

I bet I would love BG3, so much sounds right up my alley but that combat just is not for me. Ah well, can’t have it all.

[Cpt_Haddock (Peeeter)]

@KakkaKarrotKake

I wasn’t really referring to you, more the guy above trying to pretend Skyrim launched worse when it absolutely didn’t

The general consensus of BG3 was it was a very buggy game otherwise it wouldn’t be needing 1000s of bug fixes in its first patch alone

One of the major discussions surrounding the game when it launched was why so many reviewers were seemingly ignoring the bugs when giving it nonstop 10s, maybe that’s because they didn’t encounter them, maybe its because it wasn’t enough to ruin the experience but it was being brought up for a reason, because the game was full of bugs for others

It’s not trying to pretend, both Skyrim and Oblivion released in a worse state performance and bug wise.

I can understand an user having more problems on BG3 than on Skyrim for example, specially because Larian’s game was quite bugged too and i suffered a good amount of these.

But both games had over 10M players, and the general consensus will always be that Bethesda’s games released in a worse state, just like Cyberpunk, these 3 games will be named as some of the most bugged games in the AAA history, BG3 not so much.

[Mort]

@Staffy

I bet I would love BG3, so much sounds right up my alley but that combat just is not for me. Ah well, can’t have it all.

Yeah, the combat is a major part of it and takes a lot of time. I had fights lasting hours… Loved it though.

[Failwood]

@Mort

Maybe it helped that I played the Xbox version? I’m a console gamer for a reason.

As for the reviewers, I doubt many put the hundreds of hours in needed to experience the game properly so that probably played a part… Considering some of their track records I doubt much was played, understood or completed.

I would give it a very high score though, so they are not wrong about that.

Loved BG3, played it on PC around release and boy was Act 3 rough back then. It definitely sounds like you benefitted waiting for the later Xbox port.

My only BG3 regrets are the fact they didn’t implement a RTwP mode like it’s anointed forefathers and that the game will probably remain incomplete since they won’t work on a DLC due to WotC being dicks about the IP.

[CallMeCraig]

@Cpt_Haddock

Special wasn’t the best word choice, by special i mean something not seen yet, or taken to a new level or a higher step, i don’t mean that these games aren’t great outside of their technical side, but that’s very important too and a part of what makes these games great.

I’ve always been a fan of shooters, but i find the genre hasn’t evolved that much last 15 years, Halo 1 or 3 were masterpieces that actually did something special for example, the scenarios, vehicles, gameplay, AI was a step up versus what we were used to back in the 2000s. Lately i’m not finding shooters that have evolved that much in these sections, guess the focus nowadays is on the animations and graphics.

Shooters have not evolved in the last 15 years?! Come on. How did they get so large and dominant without the new battle royal game mode?

If shooters have not evolved in the last 15 years all other genres have gone backwards.

[Matthew]

Tried jumping into Halo Infinite ranked. Couldnt find a single game on Arena or Slayer. For a supposed flagship Xbox franchise the lack of people playing this game is alarming to say the least.

[pg2g]

@Matthew

Tried jumping into Halo Infinite ranked. Couldnt find a single game on Arena or Slayer. For a supposed flagship Xbox franchise the lack of people playing this game is alarming to say the least.

We already know that the game isn’t especially successful, so I don’t know that I’d call it alarming.

[Cpt_Haddock (Peeeter)]

@CallMeCraig

Shooters have not evolved in the last 15 years?! Come on. How did they get so large and dominant without the new battle royal game mode?

If shooters have not evolved in the last 15 years all other genres have gone backwards.

I said “not that much”, and 15 years is 2009, shooters were the most succesful genre by then, outside of maybe GTA, i don’t remember anything like Halo 3 back in the days hype and sales wise, same goes for CoD:MW2 , another massive hit.

Gameplay wise i haven’t noticed any big difference in the latest shooters i’ve played versus the ones from 2005-2009, sad that the AI hasn’t improved at all, in fact i’d say STALKER remains untouched in that aspect, games aren’t using environments, destruction or physics more than in the X360 generation sadly either.

[TimPhoeniX]

@Mort

As for the reviewers, I doubt many put the hundreds of hours in needed to experience the game properly so that probably played a part… Considering some of their track records I doubt much was played, understood or completed.

Review codes went around a week before release, supposedly even only 4 days before. Embargo until launch. Many launch reviews were fawning over “reactivity” so they probably tried to play through parts of Act 1 multiple times, and then they needed time to put together a review for the embargo.

The game really profited from unpaid testers going over Act 1, as it provided strong first impressions, excusing any mess ups that could come up later. I weren’t going to bother with Steam version and waited for Xbox release, but after 2-3 weeks the constant praise for BG3 got weird so I finally checked steam forums and some people that were running into all the bugs were pretty angry there.

[Julia]

@Matthew

Tried jumping into Halo Infinite ranked. Couldnt find a single game on Arena or Slayer. For a supposed flagship Xbox franchise the lack of people playing this game is alarming to say the least.

Its also like 2 days before the next monthly content drop. People are probably waiting

[Julia]

I also sometimes wonder if other people played a different game. Like I played 20 hours of BG3 and most of Disco Elysium (bugged to heck) and despite everyone praising the reactivity and how much things can go differently…IDK, I didnt find that mych even if I savescummed a roll. It would just be a slightly different dialogue line with a tweaked intonation or line.

Hardly seemed revolutionary to me. (Tho I also find Larian a very mixed bag at best)

[Staffy]

@Julia

I also sometimes wonder if other people played a different game. Like I played 20 hours of BG3 and most of Disco Elysium (bugged to heck) and despite everyone praising the reactivity and how much things can go differently…IDK, I didnt find that mych even if I savescummed a roll. It would just be a slightly different dialogue line with a tweaked intonation or line.

Hardly seemed revolutionary to me. (Tho I also find Larian a very mixed bag at best)

I’m quite enjoying Disco Elysium myself, even though some of the politics just go beyond me, which is unfortunate but I don’t concern myself with politics much in my daily life so yeah, ah well. But apart from that I dig it a lot. Revolutionary though? I haven’t finished it yet, but I think I’ll agree with you on that. But it was bugged for you?

[Julia]

@Staffy

I’m quite enjoying Disco Elysium myself, even though some of the politics just go beyond me, which is unfortunate but I don’t concern myself with politics much in my daily life so yeah, ah well. But apart from that I dig it a lot. Revolutionary though? I haven’t finished it yet, but I think I’ll agree with you on that. But it was bugged for you?

Yeah, kept crashing on Xbox or youd pick a dialogue choice that led to an instant fail death and then you’d have to replay potentially an hour or more (which is how I realized how many dialog choices didn’t matter).

I had also read a fair amount of Palahuniak and Mievelle, so…yeah, not a lot that surprised me.

[Matthew]

@pg2g

We already know that the game isn’t especially successful, so I don’t know that I’d call it alarming.

That in itself is alarming. Its supposed to be a flagship IP and you cant even find a ranked game in less than 5 mins sometimes. Social playlists with all 47 modes selected still struggles.

[Staffy]

@Julia

Yeah, kept crashing on Xbox or youd pick a dialogue choice that led to an instant fail death and then you’d have to replay potentially an hour or more (which is how I realized how many dialog choices didn’t matter).

I had also read a fair amount of Palahuniak and Mievelle, so…yeah, not a lot that surprised me.

Damn that sucks. Hoping it won’t happen later in the game. No idea how far I am, so far so good.

[Mort]

@TimPhoeniX

Review codes went around a week before release, supposedly even only 4 days before. Embargo until launch. Many launch reviews were fawning over “reactivity” so they probably tried to play through parts of Act 1 multiple times, and then they needed time to put together a review for the embargo.

The game really profited from unpaid testers going over Act 1, as it provided strong first impressions, excusing any mess ups that could come up later. I weren’t going to bother with Steam version and waited for Xbox release, but after 2-3 weeks the constant praise for BG3 got weird so I finally checked steam forums and some people that were running into all the bugs were pretty angry there.

Well, I can only base it on my own experience which was great. I guess I got a special build or something. I must be super lucky!

[Julia]

@Staffy

Damn that sucks. Hoping it won’t happen later in the game. No idea how far I am, so far so good.

Basically if youre headed to any big confrontations, make a save.

Theres other surprise gotcha ones, but those were the ones that broke me iirc.

[Shadowgasm]

Big, complex games will have bugs and unless the bugs are easily repeatable for everyone it’s hard to quantify it and it’s overall impact on the game. It’s why arguments about which game was more buggy seem pointless to me since the “evidence” seems to be mostly anecdotal or based on how a person feels about one game over another.

[Staffy]

Vertigo finished! Time to check out Doki Doki.

Well, they sure do make sure to warn you about how disturbing this shit’s gonna be. Sheesh man! But, you got my attention, game!

[Mort]

@Shadowgasm

Big, complex games will have bugs and unless the bugs are easily repeatable for everyone it’s hard to quantify it and it’s overall impact on the game. It’s why arguments about which game was more buggy seem pointless to me since the “evidence” seems to be mostly anecdotal or based on how a person feels about one game over another.

No, no. PC gamers whining on Steam forums is the best source.