The Gaming Den

Koumei wrote:

Mechalich wrote:Baldur's Gate III will be the first big D&D 5e RPG, and it's not even banking on the edition, but on the strength of Baldur's Gate as an IP seperate from D&D.

It's by Lairan and aside from the ruleset presumably being 5E, the underlying mechanics of the game (as in the physics engine and stuff) are basically going to be "modified D:OS2". They even showed off "lifting and throwing objects" (killing an enemy with a thrown boot), so I fully expect the path to true power will be finding ways to get really good lifting ability and dropping heavy objects on everything.

There's been an amazing run of D&D-like isometric RPGs

Realms Beyond have released their playable "engine beta" (combat, dialogue, "how quest progression works" and some stuff like that, IIRC, not a beta of the actual campaign) to the higher tiers of their backers, and it's looking to be on track for completion. It uses the 3.X ruleset, with its own "prestige class choices internal to the class" zero-multiclassing system, which sounds pretty much ideal. And a toolkit so you can make your own modules/campaigns/whatever. (Edit: and is turn-based, ie the correct choice)

Are there any entertaining videos or articles that highlight how wacky/fun DO2 'physics' interactions can get? I've seen "Set fire to explosive thing, explosion" "here's a puddle of blood, curse/electrify", but do things slide and bounce and fall in interactive ways?

OgreBattle wrote: Are there any entertaining videos or articles that highlight how wacky/fun DO2 'physics' interactions can get? I've seen "Set fire to explosive thing, explosion" "here's a puddle of blood, curse/electrify", but do things slide and bounce and fall in interactive ways?

Here's one:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/0 ... s-updates/

I committed my whole party in a hand-to-mouth fight against a shark until I realised that the shark’s natural enemy wasn’t the sword, the fireball, or the crossbow — it was land. Teleporting the shark to the beach cut the battle short and left my squad both bloody and sheepish. Teleportation also solved a problem in the forest north of Driftwood. My party had been spotted by the floating form of a crucified witch, three levels above us and capable of wiping everyone with a single spell. We couldn’t beat her, but we didn’t need to — just down the road was a demonologist with a monster in a cage and a hotbar full of spells. Teleporting the witch in range meant I could hide behind his coattails as he made short work of the witch and bagged me some experience points in the process.

Fire spells leave burning surfaces, rain deposits water that can be electrified, vaporised, or poisoned, oil can be laid down and then set alight. These effects linger on a battlefield, creating no-go areas where characters take continuous damage, get knocked down, become cursed, and so on.

OgreBattle wrote:I've seen "Set fire to explosive thing, explosion" "here's a puddle of blood, curse/electrify" [..]

Then you've seen 90% of the "A + B = C"-type interactions in Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2. It's not really that deep.

Koumei wrote:It's by Lairan and aside from the ruleset presumably being 5E, the underlying mechanics of the game (as in the physics engine and stuff) are basically going to be "modified D:OS2".

I was initially pretty annoyed that Larian would be making Baldur's Gate 3, not because I thought they'd do a bad job, but because we'd end up with Larian making a game using the 5e system instead of something that might actually be good. Fortunately watching their gameplay reveal, they seem to be taking the basic d20 resolution and classes, but only actually taking abilities and spells themselves as inspiration and suggestion and mostly doing whatever they want.

Stubbazubba wrote:And when they try, it looks like this.

The idea of a drow ranger popping a GoPro on the end of his scimitar and choosing the right metal track to play for his hype vid is LARPer as fuck and so goddamned weird - I am not going to lie: I fucking love that trailer.

Apropos of nothing, here's some Red Fang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VufilzHKTqk

I'm sorry you guys weren't aware of that trailer before, but I am as equally enraged by it as when I first saw it back in December. As a fan of the Dark Alliance/Snowblind Engine games, I was hoping for a true sequel, rather than "here's us doing a story based on Drizzt Books that are still being churned out". Though what I'd want even more is a Champions of Norrath 3, but good luck with the company that went on life support, and is pretty much sitting on the EQ IP. Not those games used it other than concepts, they pretty much elevated the base material, to me making the most superior EverQuest Experience to date.

Anyway, for a 6th edition, I'd want them to start from scratch, bring in some Magic Team kats who will actually listen to their people with PHD's in Math, and make a stupid good RPG. Ideally I'd want some top-level Denners, because they're hyper aware of the various RPG designs over the years that needs to be in a Fantasy RPG, but I'd imagine Magic-Team would make something robust. I would also be okay with them making it out to level 10th, with the promise of High Level content after a year of testing, so they can expand the meta properly.

The new project manager (Ray Winniger) who replaced Mike Mearls has to be aware that 5E D&D is very poorly designed as a shovelware engine.

[*] Magic items are impossible to obtain on a player's volition.
[*] Feats compete with ability score increases, making it so that many players never get one.
[*] Spells known are very limited among the classes.
[*] There's no paragon paths/prestige classes/epic destinies to further kit out classes.

Even if 5E D&D is doing okay, anyone with a minimal amount of sense (which I assume Ray has, considering he worked at Microsoft for some time) knows that it's not the most profitable gaming engine. There's a reason why there have been so few 5E D&D books.