It is definitely my type of game. Crpgs are my jam, this doesnt mean ill blindly praise it as the best rpg ever and it doesnt mean i wont criticize it. The interface really sucks. The tooltips and info on skills and classes are lacking. The decision to move away from real time with pause and small party size changes the identity of a bg game. It is better than many games and i agree it is better than pillars but it is far from the best rpg ever made is all i am saying.
I can’t really comment on your other points because I haven’t played any of those other games you mentioned, but this point stuck out to me:
The tooltips and info on skills and classes are lacking.
I’m honestly baffled by this. All of the tooltips and in-game documentation have been immensely helpful to me, as someone who’s pretty new to DnD and has never really played this type of game before. Being able to drill down into the tooltips is incredible, since everything is always a few hovers away, even the most basic beginner concepts. I don’t have to go digging through some in game manual to find stuff that was introduced at the beginning of the game, I just have to hover over a couple things and it’s right there.
I replied to soemone above with some criticisms of the tooltips. I am jist copying and pasting caise i am lazy and typing on a phone sucks. I think a lot of the information is vague. Take fear for instance, fear says it makes people fearful and that they will be easier to hit. How much easier to hit? Advantage? +1? If you check the linked description of fearful, it doesnt mention anything about being easier to hit. Other issues, spell descriptions dont provide aoe info, some dont even say whether or not they are aoe like acid splash. Other examples, chromatic orb doesnt tell you how much damage other types will deal, and If spells have surface effects, the effects are not linked or explained. Haste doesnt tell you how long the lethargic debuff will last. Cc spells dont say if enemies get a save each turn or not. Like this isnt just a few spells this is numerous spells and skills from many different classes. I jist think in a tactical turn based rpg, the info should always be clear.
I just think it is ridiculous that i cant make valid criticisms of a game i really like without getting downvoted. Like am i nitpicking? In some areas yes, but thats how you separate great games from masterpieces.
I agree with you on some of your points.
The interface (with a controller) is only ever annoying as all hell when I’m trying to look for an item that a puzzle needs. I have a strong character with buffs to carry more weight and after awhile the plethora of items in my inventory are just overwhelming. That’s my fault for being a hoarder, not the game per se. lol
The same happened in the Witcher, and can happen in games like Oblivion/Skyrim.
I guess what constitutes an amazing RPG game to me is that it respects my choices whether good or bad, makes me face the consequences good or bad, let’s me play the way I want to unless absolutely necessary to keep me in line with what needs to be done to progress, and to let my imagination run wild while letting me experiment with different ideas or plans. I guess with all that said, I take RPG games pretty seriously as in I will legitimately place myself into the game both visually (if I can with the tools provided) and especially morally. “What would I really do in this situation?” Type of player.
The decision to move away from real time with pause and small party size changes the identity of a bg game
You could’ve just led with that so we know which vocal minority you’re coming from. I’m sure if it was RTWP with the exact same interface and tooltips, you’d be praising the game.
The interface needs a lot of quality of life improvements. Some issues include no toggle to disable the annoying dice roll mechanic, the autotalk on click when clicking on companions, and the game just seems to eat inputs all the time. The lack of options to change the ui size sucks too. One of my biggest issues is the limited inventory management, like inaccessible inventory of all companions at once (including non party companions), no quick stack, and when you sort inventory it wont stack the items of the same type either. I just feel with the amount of testing done, these are things that should have been apparent. Imean there are some things the interface does well, like how easy it is to customize and access skills and spells. Again i like this game. I still give it an A, but its not the best rpg ever.
Also, i think dismissing me completely because i like rtwp and larger parties is pretty lame. Baldurs gate invented the real time with pause system afaik and it was core to its identity and the way the game played out tactically. It really brought something to the tabletop genre by allowing all turns to play out at the same time which made it more immersive imo. Also, i feel like they spent so much time writing and voicing these characters that it is an error how they limit your interaction with them with small parties, and honestly few companion choices overall. This game just feels like dragonage/divinity which is fine, i liked both of those games, but it doesnt feel as much like bg as i would like.
Edit: forgot a line aboutui size and to add a bit about tooltips and info. I think a lot of the information is vague. Take fear for instance, fear says it makes people fearful and that they will be easier to hit. How much easier to hit? Advantage? +1? The description of fearful doesnt mention anything about being easier to hit. Other issues, spell descriptions dont provide aoe info, some dont even say whether or not they are aoe like acid splash. Other examples, chromatic orb doesnt tell you how much damage other types will deal, and If spells have surface effects, the effects are not linked or explained. Haste doesnt tell you how long the lethargic debuff will last. Cc spells dont say if enemies get a save each turn or not. Like this isnt just a few spells this is numerous spells and skills from many different classes. I jist think in a tactical turn based rpg, the info should always be clear.
It is definitely my type of game. Crpgs are my jam, this doesnt mean ill blindly praise it as the best rpg ever and it doesnt mean i wont criticize it. The interface really sucks. The tooltips and info on skills and classes are lacking. The decision to move away from real time with pause and small party size changes the identity of a bg game. It is better than many games and i agree it is better than pillars but it is far from the best rpg ever made is all i am saying.
I can’t really comment on your other points because I haven’t played any of those other games you mentioned, but this point stuck out to me:
I’m honestly baffled by this. All of the tooltips and in-game documentation have been immensely helpful to me, as someone who’s pretty new to DnD and has never really played this type of game before. Being able to drill down into the tooltips is incredible, since everything is always a few hovers away, even the most basic beginner concepts. I don’t have to go digging through some in game manual to find stuff that was introduced at the beginning of the game, I just have to hover over a couple things and it’s right there.
I replied to soemone above with some criticisms of the tooltips. I am jist copying and pasting caise i am lazy and typing on a phone sucks. I think a lot of the information is vague. Take fear for instance, fear says it makes people fearful and that they will be easier to hit. How much easier to hit? Advantage? +1? If you check the linked description of fearful, it doesnt mention anything about being easier to hit. Other issues, spell descriptions dont provide aoe info, some dont even say whether or not they are aoe like acid splash. Other examples, chromatic orb doesnt tell you how much damage other types will deal, and If spells have surface effects, the effects are not linked or explained. Haste doesnt tell you how long the lethargic debuff will last. Cc spells dont say if enemies get a save each turn or not. Like this isnt just a few spells this is numerous spells and skills from many different classes. I jist think in a tactical turn based rpg, the info should always be clear.
I just think it is ridiculous that i cant make valid criticisms of a game i really like without getting downvoted. Like am i nitpicking? In some areas yes, but thats how you separate great games from masterpieces.
I agree with you on some of your points. The interface (with a controller) is only ever annoying as all hell when I’m trying to look for an item that a puzzle needs. I have a strong character with buffs to carry more weight and after awhile the plethora of items in my inventory are just overwhelming. That’s my fault for being a hoarder, not the game per se. lol The same happened in the Witcher, and can happen in games like Oblivion/Skyrim. I guess what constitutes an amazing RPG game to me is that it respects my choices whether good or bad, makes me face the consequences good or bad, let’s me play the way I want to unless absolutely necessary to keep me in line with what needs to be done to progress, and to let my imagination run wild while letting me experiment with different ideas or plans. I guess with all that said, I take RPG games pretty seriously as in I will legitimately place myself into the game both visually (if I can with the tools provided) and especially morally. “What would I really do in this situation?” Type of player.
You could’ve just led with that so we know which vocal minority you’re coming from. I’m sure if it was RTWP with the exact same interface and tooltips, you’d be praising the game.
The interface needs a lot of quality of life improvements. Some issues include no toggle to disable the annoying dice roll mechanic, the autotalk on click when clicking on companions, and the game just seems to eat inputs all the time. The lack of options to change the ui size sucks too. One of my biggest issues is the limited inventory management, like inaccessible inventory of all companions at once (including non party companions), no quick stack, and when you sort inventory it wont stack the items of the same type either. I just feel with the amount of testing done, these are things that should have been apparent. Imean there are some things the interface does well, like how easy it is to customize and access skills and spells. Again i like this game. I still give it an A, but its not the best rpg ever.
Also, i think dismissing me completely because i like rtwp and larger parties is pretty lame. Baldurs gate invented the real time with pause system afaik and it was core to its identity and the way the game played out tactically. It really brought something to the tabletop genre by allowing all turns to play out at the same time which made it more immersive imo. Also, i feel like they spent so much time writing and voicing these characters that it is an error how they limit your interaction with them with small parties, and honestly few companion choices overall. This game just feels like dragonage/divinity which is fine, i liked both of those games, but it doesnt feel as much like bg as i would like.
Edit: forgot a line aboutui size and to add a bit about tooltips and info. I think a lot of the information is vague. Take fear for instance, fear says it makes people fearful and that they will be easier to hit. How much easier to hit? Advantage? +1? The description of fearful doesnt mention anything about being easier to hit. Other issues, spell descriptions dont provide aoe info, some dont even say whether or not they are aoe like acid splash. Other examples, chromatic orb doesnt tell you how much damage other types will deal, and If spells have surface effects, the effects are not linked or explained. Haste doesnt tell you how long the lethargic debuff will last. Cc spells dont say if enemies get a save each turn or not. Like this isnt just a few spells this is numerous spells and skills from many different classes. I jist think in a tactical turn based rpg, the info should always be clear.