Baldur's Gate (city) is the best/worst part of the game

[Swimfan]

I'm not joking, the third Act is driving me nuts (in a good/bad way) :-P

The atmosphere is fantastic and I love how grand it feels. Rarely (actually never) have I ever seen a city that felt this "alive" in any videogame. More or less every bigger structure has something to find, you can talk to sooooo maaaany people and I feel like this could easily the most time-consuming act of the game because of it's splendor. Well done in that regard Larian! The city in DOS2 easily pales in comparisson.

BUUUT ...

the pacing also comes to a screeching hold. While the game until this point had some rather ... "fake" urgency, it's even worse in the city. The "doom" that is on the horizon is forgotten as soon as you cross the city's borders because you know exactly that there is no real time limit and the game doesn't even want you to rush which totally clashes with the main plot at this point.
Also: My PC (RX 7900 XT) can handle the city with some veeeeery minor framedrops and pop-ins BUT from what I've heard this "seemless city project" has some very bad downside on older systems that could run the two acts before it well. The trade-off just isn't worth it in my opinion.

[IRON FIST SOUND DOLPHIN]

Worst part for me is it's lower city only. By the time I think I'm going to the actual city, I could tell these were the last fights, no city for me. It was a huge let down.

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by Big Baby Jesus:

Worst part for me is it's lower city only. By the time I think I'm going to the actual city, I could tell these were the last fights, no city for me.

I didn't even know that - luckily for me I have no real idea how big the actual Baldur's Gate is so I'm already more than good with what's on offer.

The problem is that I can already tell that as amazing the city is on my first playthrough, it'll be the part I most dread in every playthrough after that. There are battles and the talking is fine but the navigation (walking/missclickling a.s.o.) can be downright ... cumbersome. I applaude them for this amazing virtual city but I wish they wouldn't have done it. There, I said it :-P

[Lord Adorable]

For me the best part of the game is JUST before entering the city proper.

And that part is AKABI. SSSSPIN, PUNY MORTAL!

[igor140]

It was a similar thing with D:OS2. Constant moving moving moving in the first three parts... to then slow down in the big city.

I actually like that, though. It makes the city feel bigger than it is, because you're taking time to explore it.

That said... I'm 90 hours in, and haven't gotten TO Baldur's Gate yet. I actually came here to ask if the city proper was even in the game... but I guess it is : )

About the performance... I'm a bit worried about that.

My 2080ti has served me very well over the years. I can't quite afford to upgrade just yet, but it's high on the priority list... still, it's not THAT old a card, and already stutters a fair amount with some more recent games (most notably, this and Diablo 4).

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by igor140:

It was a similar thing with D:OS2. Constant moving moving moving in the first three parts... to then slow down in the big city.

I actually like that, though. It makes the city feel bigger than it is, because you're taking time to explore it.

That said... I'm 90 hours in, and haven't gotten TO Baldur's Gate yet. I actually came here to ask if the city proper was even in the game... but I guess it is : )

About the performance... I'm a bit worried about that.

My 2080ti has served me very well over the years. I can't quite afford to upgrade just yet, but it's high on the priority list... still, it's not THAT old a card, and already stutters a fair amount with some more recent games (most notably, this and Diablo 4).

Yeah, that is the real strange part: What's there in the city (content) is dazzling and amazing. Never seen anything like it ... I just would have wished for more classical dungeons :-P That's most likely just how I roll.

I really hope your Ti can keep up - it's really demanding.

[Ellysmere Haven]

Yeah, the city... is kinda like a break. But honestly I felt kinda overwhelmed at first on how crowded it is, which encapsulates the real feeling of real life cities for me really well. The quakes sometimes try to give you a sense that danger is coming but it's... ah, well. Not enough. I think it's hard to put urgency in something that needs a lot of game time. Stuff like a timer can't work really I think.

I got an GeForce 1080 . which is way below your Card (it doesnt even show on benchmarks anymore as I can see). Very old Graphics Card. On Maximum Settings. Set to 30 FrameLimit. Totally fine. No major drops, no artifacts. I'm kinda stunned it runs so well while in the city after i heard the problems from others. But no, I never imagined my PC could handle that game so nice.

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by Ellysmere Haven:

Yeah, the city... is kinda like a break. But honestly I felt kinda overwhelmed at first on how crowded it is, which encapsulates the real feeling of real life cities for me really well. The quakes sometimes try to give you a sense that danger is coming but it's... ah, well. Not enough. I think it's hard to put urgency in something that needs a lot of game time. Stuff like a timer can't work really I think.

I'm so glad they didn't add some sort of timer or the city would actually be the turning point in my love for this game.

The atmosphere just feels as if it would have felt better in an earlier Act. It's kind of weird as I said above ... it's not bad by any means and I'm enjoying myself nontheless.

[Zaris]

The pacing throughout the whole game is horrible for main story. In a hindsight the only MAIN story must-haves are getting the 3 boss stones and literally everything else is side quest. In theory you could just run through the first map to the canyon exit then through shadow lands, enter crypt kill/free Nightsong - kill boss 1 and then run through Wyrms Crossing and deal with the other 2 bosses. The only thing which stops you is the level requirement to survive these encounter.

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by Zaris:

The pacing throughout the whole game is horrible for main story. In a hindsight the only MAIN story must-haves are getting the 3 boss stones and literally everything else is side quest. In theory you could just run through the first map to the canyon exit then through shadow lands, enter crypt kill/free Nightsong - kill boss 1 and then run through Wyrms Crossing and deal with the other 2 bosses. The only thing which stops you is the level requirement to survive these encounter.

I agree that the pacing doesn't fit with the game's atmosphere. I'm still wondering why Larian chose this fake urgency plotline. I love the writing and I enjoy the story ... it just feels a little too artificially paced is all.

BUT the fact that the real story's goal the three stones is intentional and in my opinion a very good decision. In doing so they actually allowed for the kind of freedom that let's you tackle this from different angles (in terms of choices made).

[⇧⇨⇩⇩⇩]

For people whos computer cant handle rendering the city that problem goes away if you throw enough fireballs at it. :3

[Swimfan]

Originally posted by morrganstain:

For people whos computer cant handle rendering the city that problem goes away if you throw enough fireballs at it. :3

At the computer or at the city is the question :-P

[Zyco]

With over 3 years of development we knew Act 1 would be superior

[⇧⇨⇩⇩⇩]

Originally posted by Swimfan:

Originally posted by morrganstain:

For people whos computer cant handle rendering the city that problem goes away if you throw enough fireballs at it. :3

At the computer or at the city is the question :-P

I was thinking at the city. Might get low frames at first, but they should improve a bit when a lot of NPCs stop moving right?

[IRON FIST SOUND DOLPHIN]

Originally posted by Zyco:

With over 3 years of development we knew Act 1 would be superior

Act 1 seemed pretty much done when EA started, so I assumed all that time was spent making the rest of the game.

[高天原]

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

For me the best part of the game is JUST before entering the city proper.

And that part is AKABI. SSSSPIN, PUNY MORTAL!

I just found what you were talking about. The voice-acting on that guy kills me.