So already know the option of wotr players, bg3 players on bg3.
I always wondered how bg3 is viewed from perspective of long time dnd players like nwn gamers.
I wouldn’t consider myself a nwn gamer since the past 20 years i haven’t played nwn that much.
So i would like to hear your opinion on bg3.
Do you think that bg3 is worse/better/something else than nwn1/nwn2?
Thank for your input.
Cheers and have a nice day,
Heh. @Lance_Botelle opened that can of wyrms back in Sep '23! 
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I loved BG3 combat, loved the gameplay mechanics and loved the combat. I have only played through it once, but I will do it again at some point. I think that kind of turn based combat was fun. I enjoyed it in the way I enjoyed the original X-com’s combat, the fights being tactical rather than dexterity-based.
My only problem with the game was likely related to my age. If my PC were me, personally, I wouldn’t have lasted in a group for 2 minutes with any of those children they called NPCs. It made me dread camp, especially when I couldn’t continue sleep/rest until I’d “spoken” with whatever NPC needed it.
Imagine playing a Lord of the Rings RPG and you’re Aragorn. Every time you camp, there’s Gandalf trying to get in your pants, Frodo trying to seduce you, Sam wanting to cuddle or Legolas stopping you ever 2 minutes to ask personal questions. At least with Pippin and Merry they just wanted to eat all the time.
Combat-wise, gods yes, BG3 is far more my type of game than NWN1 or 2’s horrible combat systems.
But NWN 1 & 2 have my heart primarily due to the toolset, and partially from playing other people’s games. I have enjoyed the NWN toolset ever since they came out. I’m constantly making notes and thinking of fun things to create or try in the toolset.
BG3, sure it was fun but I played it once and moved on to Pathfinder or Solasta or whatever was next.
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That’s an interesting premise. “from perspective of long time dnd players like nwn gamers.” Not all NWN gamers are long time dnd players, and I think that’s the appeal. I don’t like anything Bioware made prior to NWN, and I don’t like so-called CRPGs. The same goes for the friends who introduced me to NWN. None of them even like dnd. As for BG3, I don’t personally know anyone who likes it or any Larian game to begin with. It’s amazing I read online about so many loving it and even making it game of the year, when it bored me to tears with its slow pace and dated mechanics. NWN made dnd accessible, fun and engaging, it was the natural evolution of board games into videogames. CRPGs on the other hand (BG3 included) seem intent on turning videogames back into board games.
I personally hate turn-based combat. It always felt too boring for my tastes. That is why i still cannot decide if i should pick it up.
Bg3 has overwhelmingly positive reviews on steam, awesome companions, etc.
I played larian previous game divinity origin sin, divinity dragon commander, divinity 2 dragon knight saga, divinity origin sin 2. I liked dragon commander because it was a mix games genres.
Got bored in D:OS2 second act mostly because of combat, it felt that we had encounter every 5 meters and it felt it tooks ages because combat was turn-based.
So since i had negative experience with combat in previous larian games, i am really not sure if i should pick it up.
I have been playing bioware games since baldurs gate 1 and nwn is the least favorite of them.
I think it is about the whole module thing. Really not a fan of self-contained story like most modules are.
I would prefer something that upgrades the original story rather than dozens of not related stories plus i do not like the idea of nwn, that you control one your PC. That is why i always liked nwn 2 more because you could control all your party.
I started playing nwn ee now because i started to create my own custom portraits instead of using portraits uploaded by other people.
I was not really a big fan turn based RPG games so i am still undecided if i should pick it up.
I loved bg 1/2 and icewindale 1/2 because of localization of those games.
Nearly all of the modules are in English which really turns me away since i would prefer to play this game my native language.
Never was a fan of nwn/2 combat system, preferred old isometric dnd games combat far more.
For me gameplay is as much important as the story itself.
When i install prc for nwn1, it does nothing. You need to manually add it to given module or find prc modified module.
When i install a class kit for bg1/2, i do not have go extra steps to make it work, it just does.
It seems everyone likes something different despite we are playing the same game.
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Since it ended in September 2023, i didn’t wanted to do necro on that thread.
So did you enjoy bg3 or never played it.
I do not know if i will since it only has turn-based combat.
The last line of your previous message sums it up for me:
It seems everyone likes something different despite we are playing the same game.
I agree and that’s how it should be.
For the sake of explication, I’ll make an admittedly simplistic distinction between modders and builders, since the two overlap. Modders modify an existing game, but it’s still basically the same game, same story. Builders create whole new settings, game mechanics, and stories.
The design of the NWNs is closer to traditional tabletop RPGs in that it enables builder creative efforts. BG3 lacks that, at least so far. There is an active modder community, but whether that eventually produces new settings, mechanics, stories, etc., is not something I can discern.
I do like the stand-alone modules. I don’t want every game to be an epic campaign that is a months-long commitment. With analogy to literature, sometimes I want to read a short story, not start a trilogy of novels.
I also like to be able to import existing characters and to start a character at higher than 1st level, depending on the particular module or campaign. BG3 binds your characters to the saved game, as far as I can tell. So it lacks this aspect as well. Perhaps it’s something that will develop from the modder community. We shall see.
Turn-based versus real-time engine? That depends, basically. For high complexity, such as games where I have many characters and their critters to direct, or high-level characters with lots of abilities to sort through, I prefer turn-based. Real-time with pause is fine for less complicated situations, such as a barbarian fighting off a horde of goblins.
There are other factors as well, and for BG3, as well as the other BGs that preceded it, what it comes down to is: I hate soap operas. BG3, like its predecessors, involves altogether too much of the “work place counselor” type effort in dealing with your companions.
I like exploration, puzzle solving, and novel characters, settings and ideas. Helping you cope with your relationship with your deity, demon, existential angst, another party member, the player’s PC, etc., etc… annoying, boring, and just plain no fun. That’s not “play,” that’s dealing with work and family!
I also realize that since I participated in the early beta of BG3, I got bored with the first part of it before it was finished. Multiplayer made up for that except that my fellow players at that point were very into the companions and interacting with them. During significant portions of those sessions, I would open up a browser and go find something to read, like the 'vault forums, while I waited for folks to explore trans-species romantic possibilities.
So, as you pointed out, we all like different things in different combinations. It’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. The NWNs enable that better than BG3 does.
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You can’t unf a bear/10
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What timing - have my speculations been validated?
GOG sale item is the BG3 toolkit: Baldur's Gate 3 Toolkit auf GOG.COM
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I quickly get bored of nwn1, simply because you can control only one character, game is from early 2000 which makes combat boring by today standards. Dialogue windows sucks. It is small windows with ton of text. In nwn 2 at least you had dialogue window like kotor 1/2 which is so much better. I love creating portraits for this game. Writing biography for my characters but combat feels worse than in bg 1/2. At least that is my take on nwn1.
I on the other hand much prefer enhancement to the original game then new modules especially if they are not set in dnd universe. It me a lot of time to get into a module/setting. I must feel the story before i start a game. This countless number of modules which are not related is not my thing.
I on the other hand, hate all the things you mention you liked. I hate puzzles, and exploration.
I love spending time talking with party members, creating relationships with npc like in dragon age origins. Combat is the last favorite aspect of the game because mostly it is boring.
That is why i cannot decide if i should buy bg3; one hand it has tons of dialogue which i love, on the other hand it has turn base combat which most boring of all combat systems.
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I’ve only played BG3 through once. Even though the game is extremely ambitious I was not that fond of the companions or the NPCs. They were quite well written and the dialogue was mostly good, but a few of the NPCs were really annoying. I’m not that fond of combat either generally. It’s ok, I guess, but when it comes to replaying a game (which I seldom do) I dread going through all the tedious long combat scenes. And since BG3 is truly turn based it takes even longer in that game.
There were other aspects of BG3 I really didn’t like (the camera system and the endless empty chests or chests with only rotten fruit), but I know I’m in the minority with my opinions. Another aspect, that I think another player here pointed out, is that sometimes it seems you can’t just be friends with some of the companions because then they interpret it as an advance for romance. So sometimes I had to be rude to other companions because my character was determined to romance Shadowheart only. But maybe that’s nitpicking…
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I suspect that we’re from different generations. My background goes all the way back to war games (military sims) prior to RPGs. I encountered D&D in one of its early incarnations at age 19 when I was already at university. So the tactical/strategic/logistical stuff is what I liked and still do.
I’m going with what @andgalf said next though in that BG3, as much as it delivers on a lot of stuff that does not interest me, does it very well. Given your stated preferences, I think you would enjoy BG3 if you’re willing to put up with the parts you don’t like (such as the turn-based combat) to enjoy what you do, .
There are also lots of campaign-length contributions on the site that are specific to NWN2 which may appeal to you more. A lot of the NWN1 stuff is earlier, cruder, and often quite experimental. It persists because its maturity and popularity with the early builders has led to a lot of really good persistent worlds. So that might be another avenue that you want to check out. The persistent worlds I’ve checked out were often quite sociable and fun, interacting with other folks who were playing in them.
Happy gaming!
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Ya’ll young, I remember dialing into BBS’s with a commodore 64.
shakes cane
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Same, I do not missing battling over spots for players and waiting hours to not get a busy signal.
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I have fond memories playing Penguin’s Adventure on my brother’s MSX Spectravideo 728. Everyone else had a Commodore 64, but he wanted to learn programming so he bought the MSX instead. So, yeah, pretty old too.
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I probably owe learning to program at all to the fact that getting anything going on the PET or 64, 128, etc was working with a BASIC interpeter.
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Popping in to say, I remember this and programming in the treasure tables for AD&D only to run out of space on the 16k ram PET computer. Luckily I was able to save it to cassette and port it over to the 64 
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I got my first PC when i was windows 98 SE, hit the shelves.
Also being born in the former soviet block didn’t help much when you think of gaming accessibility xD
BG3 is shit for me.
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