XboxEra Community Hangout |OT10| Insert Catchy Quip Here

[Freed]

@KakkaKarrotKake

…The whole narratives going around for BG3 is so weird, were they panicked when GTAV released? RDR2? Skyrim? It’s utter nonsense Not to mention people talking like BG3 is a flawless launch compared to other big games, conveniently ignoring that

It’s been in dev for like 6 years or something, beyond what many games get the chance to do

It’s been in Early Access for years, something most games don’t get afforded the chance to

and even after all that it’s still an absolute buggy mess for some people with some losing countless hours of progress

Don’t get me wrong, the more complex a game is, the more understandable issues like bugs will pop up but people pretending it hasn’t got issues or is perfectly polished are smoking some good stuff

Plus the real questions that arise from BG3 are not to be directed at developers at all, but at publishers.

The two main advantages of the game and Larian as a studio is how they’re setup to have ample resources and time to achieve their vision, being largely uncompromised by publisher demands, as well as a clean economic model: a complete package coming at launch, $60, no in-game store, no day-1 DLCs, no multiple confusing editions.

[peter42O]

@strawman

Bethesda is very entrenched on Xbox, but it’s also very entrenched on PC (Steam) and the window of relevance overlaps more directly there, though Larian did move the release forward to give their game more of a chance, even though it meant less polish. The most likely scenario is that Larian really needed to release the game to finally get the cash flow in and is releasing each version as soon as they can.

I absolutely hate the discourse around BG3 in the places I visit online. For context, my favorite games of 2017 were:

1. Divinity Original Sin 2
2. Prey (very close second)
3. Nier Automata (distant third)
4. Dishonored Death of the Outsider
5. Legend of Zelda BOTW

DOS2 had 4 acts, acts 3&4 were lackluster, but the first two were so incredibly good that the game was still my GOTY. The combat was unbelieveably fun and open and the maps in the first two acts were super dense.

I hated how the press and a part of the community was shoving down my throat how Zelda was so much better than anything else that year when there were games that were attempting different things and doing them just as incredibly well.

Now enter 2023. Gaming community got their games on BG3 before the press got the time to review it and the community embraced the game very warmly, which is great as the game is super good. But it’s not a flawless game:

• dialogue system appears to be inspired by Disco Elysium, the problem is that failing dice rolls does not lead to interesting outcomes most of the time, which encourages save scumming until you get the successful dice roll
• combat is not as good as DOS2, probably because Larian had to shoehorn the DnD on their engine
• some quests have abrupt and perplexing outcomes

Still, the game overall is magnificent, the map design is fantastic, the story is intriguing thus far (I’m midway through Act 2), and as far as I understand, the eponymous city is where it really shines. In many ways, BG3 is almost a final evolution point of titles like Neverwinter Nights 2 or Dragon Age Origins, successfully and finally combining the complexity of Baldur’s Gate 2 with cinematic presentation of AAA games.

What I really don’t like is:

• how the game is being used to bash Microsoft and Xbox. Really, the platform and its community will survive 6 months waiting for this game, or whenever it’s brought to the platform
• how it’s suddenly used as a benchmark for Starfield, even though the games have completely different design philosophies and attempt different things. I was always more hyped for BG3 than for Starfield as I traditionally enjoy that subgenre more than the Bethesda games, but they’re really unrelated
• how the hivemind decided the game is so much better than everything else, resulting in a bloated opencritic score. Quiet frankly, I’m weary whenever a game hits 95+ as it suggests to me reviewers decided to turn a blind eye to the game’s flaws for whatever reason. Like how Rockstar games’ horrendous controls and dogshit mission design are never mentioned, because the fidelity of the open world is the only thing that matters apparently.

No interest in Baldur’s Gate 3 but your post nails everything that’s currently going on surrounding the game. Also, I love how people are hyping it up as the greatest game of all time and beat TOTK even though it only has 39 reviews as of me typing this on Open Critic with a 97 overall rating. TOTK is 96 with 144 reviews. Need to see what BG 3 is if/when it reaches 144 reviews which I don’t see it hitting and if it does, im expecting it to drop to low 90’s. But we’ll see.

@Freed

“Xbox players don’t buy games, just wait for Game Pass!”

Yeah, this is always funny to read. PlayStation players don’t buy games either. 40m+ user install base for PS5 and less than 3m bought FF XVI. LMAO.

[daifuco (Jose Pagan)]

I think you are overthinking with bg3 and starfield.

Idiots are going to say idiocies. Some of them are random people on “Xwitter” some of them write for ign or Eurogamer or whatever .

Loving quake, quake 2 and a short hike.

[Sparda3g]

https://twitter.com/XboxBR/status/1690709850487934976?s=20

Could be a mistake, but if not…

Whoops.

[Freed]

@Sparda3g

https://twitter.com/XboxBR/status/1690709850487934976?s=20

Could be a mistake, but if not…

Whoops.

What’s that supposed to mean?

[Sparda3g]

@Freed

What’s that supposed to mean?

It’s Father’s Day over Brazil. The middle picture is the only one that isn’t on Xbox.

[Freed]

@Sparda3g

It’s Father’s Day over Brazil. The middle picture is the only one that isn’t in Xbox.

That’s sus, it’s even the only one in green

[Doncabesa (Jesse Norris)]

regional accounts never leak/tease anything, it’s just using popular father/child relationships i.m.o.

[Shadowgasm]

I want to go back to a simpler time when everything wasn’t considered a tease or part of a conspiracy.

[Freed]

@Doncabesa

regional accounts never leak/tease anything, it’s just using popular father/child relationships i.m.o.

I can see your reverse jinx

[Sparda3g]

@Freed

That’s sus, it’s even the only one in green

It could be a mass line of coincidence, but we’ll see.

@Doncabesa

regional accounts never leak/tease anything, it’s just using popular father/child relationships i.m.o.

True, but they could make a mistake. Isn’t that right, Xbox Germany with Monster Hunter Rise on Game Pass let alone an announcement for the game itself.

[Staffy]

What game is that? Can’t figure it out.

[Boosted_Gear]

@Staffy

What game is that? Can’t figure it out.

FF VIIR

[Staffy]

@Boosted_Gear

FF VIIR

Oh, I see.

It would be awesome if we do get it, but, zero expectations!

[Boosted_Gear]

@Staffy

Oh, I see.

It would be awesome if we do get it, but, zero expectations!

Best way to go about it.

[pg2g]

Watching the DF video on Baldur’s Gate. Kinda surprised that it runs on DX11, is that normal for PC games still?

Would have figured if you were doing an Xbox version anyway you might as well do DX12 from the get go. Wonder how that plays into their prioritization.

[Staffy]

Oh Kojima, why you do this to those poor souls?

[Joe_Sinister1 (Joe_Sinister)]

https://twitter.com/bogorad222/status/1690689304366821376?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1690689304366821376|twgr^|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=

[BRiT]

@pg2g

Watching the DF video on Baldur’s Gate. Kinda surprised that it runs on DX11, is that normal for PC games still?

Would have figured if you were doing an Xbox version anyway you might as well do DX12 from the get go. Wonder how that plays into their prioritization.

No.

Even though DX12 was released in July 2015, most devs did not switch over until 2020. Some games offered a choice of runnung under DX11 or 12. If any game wants to use DXR/RayTracing they need to use DX12. Its surprising to see any new games using DX11 exclusively.

They should switch over before their Xbox console release.

[Sparda3g]

https://x.com/hazzadorgamin/status/1690799268175716352?s=46&t=O_AGT9SEnlptKOF_2SxtqQ