The director of Baldur's Gate 3 and CEO of developers Larian has revealed that the studio experienced crunch in order to get the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons CRPG finished. While Swen Vincke admitted that “it would be a lie to say that we didn't [crunch]”, he insisted that it was less than on past Larian games such as Divinity, staff were paid for the overtime and it seemingly didn’t go as far as working late nights or weekends (for the most part, anyway).
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The director of Baldur's Gate 3 and CEO of developers Larian has revealed that the studio experienced crunch in order to get the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons CRPG finished. While Swen Vincke admitted that “it would be a lie to say that we didn't [crunch]”, he insisted that it was less than on past Larian games such as Divinity, staff were paid for the overtime and it seemingly didn’t go as far as working late nights or weekends (for the most part, anyway).
Videogames and especially role-playing games are chock-full of sheltered upbringings that go tits up. Innocent times and places like the prologue for Baldur's Gate, which unfolds in the vast, fortified monastery of Candlekeep (beware spoilers from this point on).
BioWare's first ever RPG opens with your unsuspecting Chosen One learning the ropes from the old sage Gorion. There are fetchquests that take you around the enormous citadel, bits of combat training to do, cosy formative chinwags to h
Videogames and especially role-playing games are chock-full of sheltered upbringings that go tits up. Innocent times and places like the prologue for Baldur's Gate, which unfolds in the vast, fortified monastery of Candlekeep (beware spoilers from this point on).
BioWare's first ever RPG opens with your unsuspecting Chosen One learning the ropes from the old sage Gorion. There are fetchquests that take you around the enormous citadel, bits of combat training to do, cosy formative chinwags to have with characters like your childhood friend Imoen. But it's not to last, of course: Gorion is murdered, and you must rove the Sword Coast in pursuit of his killer. When you return to Candlekeep later in the game, this once-proud bastion of learning has been filled with doppelgangers of Gorion and other acquaintances, a parade of chatbots waiting to stab you in the back.
Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin developers Larian today announced the opening of a new studio in Warsaw, Poland. This is RPG outfit Larian’s seventh studio worldwide, and the latest to contribute to their "24-hour development cycle" model. That’s even more hands on deck to a) keep Swen Vincke’s armour polished to a fine sheen and b) ensure smooth sailing for the two new games that Larian currently have in the works.
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Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin developers Larian today announced the opening of a new studio in Warsaw, Poland. This is RPG outfit Larian’s seventh studio worldwide, and the latest to contribute to their "24-hour development cycle" model. That’s even more hands on deck to a) keep Swen Vincke’s armour polished to a fine sheen and b) ensure smooth sailing for the two new games that Larian currently have in the works.
When it comes to video games, there are a lot of memorable characters. Outside of their design or role within a game, what makes these characters memorable is their voice, and every one of these comes as a result of actors spending hours in a recording booth.
There are a lot of voice actors out there, but some are more prolific or memorable than others. Their voices resonate in our heads as part of the characters we come to love while playing, but who’s behind these voices and where else ha
When it comes to video games, there are a lot of memorable characters. Outside of their design or role within a game, what makes these characters memorable is their voice, and every one of these comes as a result of actors spending hours in a recording booth.
There are a lot of voice actors out there, but some are more prolific or memorable than others. Their voices resonate in our heads as part of the characters we come to love while playing, but who’s behind these voices and where else have they appeared?
Joel Miller (The Last of Us) - Troy Baker
Troy Baker might be one of the most well-known voices in video games. He’s not only the voice of Joel in The Last of Us but also Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding, John Jones in Fortnite, The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, and the voice of Snow in multiple Final Fantasy titles, including Final Fantasy XIII.
Harley Quinn (Arkham City) - Tara Strong
Tara Strong is a voice that’s iconic for multiple generations. To me, she’s Timmy from Fairly Odd Parents. To my daughter, she’s Princess Twilight Sparkle from the My Little Pony franchise. In video games, Tara has played not only Harley Quinn in multiple titles, but you can also hear her voice in Rage, and she’s the voice of Rikku in Kingdom Hearts II.
Snake (Metal Gear Solid) - David Hayter
While David Hayter is perhaps most well known for his role as Snake in the Metal Gear Solid franchise and outside of it in other titles, he’s also appeared as the Winter Soldier in Marvel Heroes, a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and has multiple voice roles in the Ghost in the Shell game, released in 1997.
Mario (Multiple) - Charles Martinet
I can’t in all good conscience write this list without including Charles Martinet. His voice simply is Mario to anyone who has ever played a single game of the franchise. However, Mario isn’t Charles’ only voice role in the world of video games. He’s appeared as Orvus in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Vigoro in Skies of Arcadia, and, perhaps surprisingly, The Cat in the Hat in a few titles aimed at kids, such as Dr. Seuss Toddler.
Asterion (Baldur’s Gate III) - Neil Newbon
If TikTok is to be believed, Neil Newbon is the voice of everybody’s favorite Dom. However, before he was the voice of Asterion, Neil appeared in the Resident Evil games as Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village and Nicholai in Resident Evil Resistance. He also played two roles in Detroit: Become Human, Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed.
Ezio Auditore (Assassin's Creed II Trilogy) - Roger Craig Smith
Roger Crag Smith, I’m not ashamed to say, played a pivotal role in the formation of my love for gaming. I was, and remain to this day, obsessed with Assassin’s Creed II and will always consider it the best of the Assassin’s Creed titles. However, Roger Craig Smith has appeared in many more video games. He’s played Kale Vandelay and SEB-AAA in Hi-Fi RUSH, Sonic the Hedgehog in multiple titles and Mirage in Apex Legends. Most recently, you might recognize his voice as Mission Control in Helldivers 2.
Tiny Tina (Borderlands) - Ashly Burch
Although most recognizable for her voice as Tiny Tina in the Borderlands games, Ashley Burch has played a lot of memorable characters in other titles. She’s the voice of Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn, Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Mel in The Last of Us Part II, and also provided the voice of Chloe Price in both Life is Strange games.
Urianger (Final Fantasy XIV) - Timothy Watson
Aside from gracing the world with the purely Shakespearean presence that is Urianger Augurelt in Final Fantasy XIV, Timothy Watson has also appeared in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as King Burgred, has multiple voice roles in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, and played Mumkhar in Xenoblade Chronicles.
GLaDOS (Portal) - Ellen McClain
The voice of everybody’s favorite psychopathic robot from the Portal games was provided by Ellen McClain, but it wasn’t the first time she provided an iconic robotic female voice in the world of video games. Ellen is also the voice behind the Combine Overwatch AI in Half-Life 2. She also appears in Cyberpunk 2077 as one of Delamain’s split personalities, though this one was modeled after GlaDOS.
Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) - Doug Cockle
Doug Cockle is the voice of Geralt in The Witcher game series as well as when Geralt appears in other titles like Soul Caliber VI. He’s also appeared as Bhaal in Baldur’s Gate III, Robert Nightingale in Alan Wake II, and provides multiple additional voices in Horizon Zero Dawn. Outside of gaming, Doug also played the role of Father John Maloney in 2001's Band of Brothers.
While they ponder which developers should face the difficult task of following up one of the most acclaimed games in a long time by making a sequel by Baldur's Gate 3, the makers of Dungeons & Dragons are also putting their own money into making video games themselves. Over a billion dollars of their own money, in fact.
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While they ponder which developers should face the difficult task of following up one of the most acclaimed games in a long time by making a sequel by Baldur's Gate 3, the makers of Dungeons & Dragons are also putting their own money into making video games themselves. Over a billion dollars of their own money, in fact.
A team of enterprising modders are looking to unite two of the internet’s favourite dating games - Baldur's Gate 3 and Stardew Valley - in one beautiful thirst trap. The mod set to launch a thousands AO3 ships is Baldur’s Village, which transports your favourite adventuring companions to the pastoral climes of Stardew’s farming towns.
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A team of enterprising modders are looking to unite two of the internet’s favourite dating games - Baldur's Gate 3 and Stardew Valley - in one beautiful thirst trap. The mod set to launch a thousands AO3 ships is Baldur’s Village, which transports your favourite adventuring companions to the pastoral climes of Stardew’s farming towns.
Back in November 2023, Larian announced Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition physical copies and offered a May 2024 release window. On May 2, 2024, it offered an update on social media noting that while the PC orders shipped in March 2024, there will be a bit of a delay for PS5 and Xbox Series X ones.
How swiftly they will head out seems to depend on the region, based on the update. Larian noted that someone in Australia or Europe could end up seeing their PS5 Deluxe Edition of the game ship by Ma
Back in November 2023, Larian announced Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition physical copies and offered a May 2024 release window. On May 2, 2024, it offered an update on social media noting that while the PC orders shipped in March 2024, there will be a bit of a delay for PS5 and Xbox Series X ones.
How swiftly they will head out seems to depend on the region, based on the update. Larian noted that someone in Australia or Europe could end up seeing their PS5 Deluxe Edition of the game ship by May 4, 2024. The Xbox Series X version wasn’t mentioned for those regions.
However, there are no set dates for North America yet. The update mentioned production issues and a delayed shipping date.
Here’s the full update on the Baldur’s Gate 3 editions:
As a reminder, this version comes with a CD soundtrack, map, patches, poster, and sticker.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the console physical Deluxe Edition copies should ship out in May 2024. People can expect mod tools and improved evil endings when Patch 7 for the game releases. That update is currently in development.
Nezávislé studio Larian jde proti proudu. Po úspěchu Baldur's Gate 3 by snad každá jiná firma vytvořila placený dodatečný obsah a začala okamžitě pracovat na dalším dílem. V Belgii si však řekli ne a opouštějí svět Dungeons & Dragons, aby vytvořili něco jiného.Tento názor nesdílejí ve společnostech Hasbro a Wizards of the Coast, které vlastní značku Dungeons & Dragons. Jejich viceprezident pro digitální strategii a licencování by rád s Baldur’s Gate pokračoval. Za tímto účelem jedná se s
Nezávislé studio Larian jde proti proudu. Po úspěchu Baldur's Gate 3 by snad každá jiná firma vytvořila placený dodatečný obsah a začala okamžitě pracovat na dalším dílem. V Belgii si však řekli ne a opouštějí svět Dungeons & Dragons, aby vytvořili něco jiného.
Tento názor nesdílejí ve společnostech Hasbro a Wizards of the Coast, které vlastní značku Dungeons & Dragons. Jejich viceprezident pro digitální strategii a licencování by rád s Baldur’s Gate pokračoval. Za tímto účelem jedná se spoustou partnerů a další ho oslovují, aby se zhostili této výzvy a zajistili budoucnost franšízy.
„Rozhodně doufáme, že to nebude dalších 25 let, jako tomu bylo od Baldur's Gate 2 do 3. Ale dáme si na čas a najdeme správného partnera, správný přístup a správný produkt, který bude představovat budoucnost Baldur's Gate,“ uvedl Eugene Evans v rozhovoru pro PC Gamer.
„Bereme to velmi, velmi vážně, stejně jako všechna naše rozhodnutí týkající se našeho portfolia. Nespěcháme s rozhodováním, s kým budeme spolupracovat na produktech nebo jaké produkty bychom měli zvažovat,“ poznamenal Evans a přidal, že laťka byla hrou Baldur's Gate 3 nastavena velmi vysoko a cílem je ji překonat. Z mého pohledu to nebude nic jednoduché. Vývojáře, kteří se tohoto úkolu zhostí, čeká extrémní výzva. Fanoušci se teď právem obávají.
Připomeňme si slova Swena Vickeho, generálního ředitele Larian Studios, když oznámil opuštění Baldur's Gate a světa Dungeons & Dragons: „Jsme společnost s velkými nápady. Nejsme společnost postavená kolem vývoje DLC a rozšíření. Život je příliš krátký a naše ambice jsou velmi velké,“ uvedl Vincke pro IGN. Co nového chystají? Může to být návrat k vlajkové sérii Divinity, případně překvapí a pochlubí se něčím úplně jiným, co od nich teď nikdo nečeká.
„Baldur's Gate bude mít vždy místo v našich srdcích. Vždy budeme na sérii hrdí, ale nebudeme v ní pokračovat,“ dodal s tím, že je na Wizards of the Coast, aby našli někoho, kdo převezme pochodeň. Ta se už stihla domluvit s Gameloftem na vývojidobrodružné survival hry ze světa Dungeons & Dragons. Kooperativní akci z tohoto fantasy světa chystají zase ve Starbreeze, kde vzniklo Payday.
Baldur's Gate 3 vyšlo 3. 8. 2023 na PC a později na PlayStation 5 a Xbox Series X/S. RPG získalo mnoho cen za nejlepší hru roku a u nás v recenzi hodnocení 10/10.
Larian aren’t just not making Baldur’s Gate 4 – they’re treating Baldur’s Gate 3’s success as an opportunity to develop their own intellectual properties, with two new games in the works. These games will build on the “sensibilities” of Baldur’s Gate 3 in being “immersive experiences shaped by your choices”, but by the sounds of things, they won’t be adaptations of anybody else's narrative or setting. Divinity: Original Sin 3? It’s the obvious call, but come now, free your mind. How about a k
Larian aren’t just not making Baldur’s Gate 4 – they’re treating Baldur’s Gate 3’s success as an opportunity to develop their own intellectual properties, with two new games in the works. These games will build on the “sensibilities” of Baldur’s Gate 3 in being “immersive experiences shaped by your choices”, but by the sounds of things, they won’t be adaptations of anybody else's narrative or setting. Divinity: Original Sin 3? It’s the obvious call, but come now, free your mind. How about a kart racing game, Larian, or a banging old school mascot platformer? When are you going to make a platform game, Larian?
With Larian having now officially handed the reins of the Baldur’s Gate series back to Dungeons & Dragons owners Wizards of the Coast (and their Monopoly-making parents at Hasbro) - with the developers saying they have no plans to make any DLC or a sequel - the ball for a Baldur’s Gate 4 now sits in Wizards’ court. The good news is that, yes, they also want to make a follow-up to one of the most acclaimed and successful video games of the last few years. Just don’t expect that to necessaril
With Larian having now officially handed the reins of the Baldur’s Gate series back to Dungeons & Dragons owners Wizards of the Coast (and their Monopoly-making parents at Hasbro) - with the developers saying they have no plans to make any DLC or a sequel - the ball for a Baldur’s Gate 4 now sits in Wizards’ court. The good news is that, yes, they also want to make a follow-up to one of the most acclaimed and successful video games of the last few years. Just don’t expect that to necessarily be anytime soon.
As if you needed more proof that Baldur's Gate 3 is, in fact, a pretty damn fine video game, Larian’s D&D RPG swept through the video game BAFTA awards yesterday, picking up five of the British entertainment org’s top trophies. Even more impressively - after all, Baldur’s Gate 3 winning a shedload of awards is old hat by now - its latest Best Game triumph means that the sprawling RPG-slash-fanfic machine is now the first video game to win all five of the industry’s major Game of the Year aw
As if you needed more proof that Baldur's Gate 3 is, in fact, a pretty damn fine video game, Larian’s D&D RPG swept through the video game BAFTA awards yesterday, picking up five of the British entertainment org’s top trophies. Even more impressively - after all, Baldur’s Gate 3 winning a shedload of awards is old hat by now - its latest Best Game triumph means that the sprawling RPG-slash-fanfic machine is now the first video game to win all five of the industry’s major Game of the Year awards.
Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 leads the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards with 10 nominations, including Best Game, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
BAFTA today released the shortlist of nominees for this year's awards, with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 receiving nine nominations, Alan Wake 2 receiving eight nominations, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor both receiving six.
The coveted Best Game will be awarded to either Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Dave
Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 leads the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards with 10 nominations, including Best Game, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
BAFTA today released the shortlist of nominees for this year's awards, with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 receiving nine nominations, Alan Wake 2 receiving eight nominations, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor both receiving six.
The coveted Best Game will be awarded to either Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Dave the Diver, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, or Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Developer Larian has issued another hotfix (number 21) for Baldur's Gate 3 across PC, PlayStation 5 and Mac. However, those on Xbox will have to wait a little longer for this and the game's previous hotfix to arrive, as they are still going through testing.Sharing details of its most recent fix, Larian stated it had found a crash bug that was only affecting Xbox. "We're taking the time to investigate and solve that issue, so your future adventures go a little smoother," Larian said.A knock on e
Developer Larian has issued another hotfix (number 21) for Baldur's Gate 3 across PC, PlayStation 5 and Mac. However, those on Xbox will have to wait a little longer for this and the game's previous hotfix to arrive, as they are still going through testing.
Sharing details of its most recent fix, Larian stated it had found a crash bug that was only affecting Xbox. "We're taking the time to investigate and solve that issue, so your future adventures go a little smoother," Larian said.
A knock on effect of this delay means cross-saves are currently not loadable on Xbox consoles, if they come from other platforms which have been updated with to include hotfixes 20 or 21. The developer apologised for this, and said it is working to sort these Xbox fixes "as soon as possible".
The Xbox physical version of Baldur's Gate 3 will be released across four discs, making it the first Series X game to do so.Earlier this month, Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse suggested the Xbox physical version of the hit RPG may release on four discs, rather than the original plan of three, calling it a "very dynamic situation".However, he has now confirmed that that extra fourth disc is indeed needed. As previously announced, the PlayStation 5 version will ship on two discs, wh
The Xbox physical version of Baldur's Gate 3 will be released across four discs, making it the first Series X game to do so.
Earlier this month, Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse suggested the Xbox physical version of the hit RPG may release on four discs, rather than the original plan of three, calling it a "very dynamic situation".
However, he has now confirmed that that extra fourth disc is indeed needed. As previously announced, the PlayStation 5 version will ship on two discs, while the PC version just has the one.
Larian has released another Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix across PC, PS5 and Mac. It is expected to arrive on Xbox at a later date.
This hotfix takes aim at several bugs and quirks still lingering in Baldur's Gate 3. This includes a fix for banding and shader issues in cinematics and those times characters claimed to be too busy to talk to you. "They were lying," Larian explained.Meanwhile, Minthara should no longer refuse to follow along with the party in Acts 2 and 3. In the developer's own words
Larian has released another Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix across PC, PS5 and Mac. It is expected to arrive on Xbox at a later date.
This hotfix takes aim at several bugs and quirks still lingering in Baldur's Gate 3. This includes a fix for banding and shader issues in cinematics and those times characters claimed to be too busy to talk to you. "They were lying," Larian explained.
Meanwhile, Minthara should no longer refuse to follow along with the party in Acts 2 and 3. In the developer's own words: "You should find her more willing to fall in line now - at least in terms of keeping up. She's still something of a free spirit."
Shortly after David Gaider was born, his parents bought a set of 1971 encyclopaedias to freeze-frame the world as it was when he entered it. He still remembers the maps they contained: his first atlas. But there are two moments in Gaider's life when a gift of maps leads to adventure. In the second, he's older, and already working at the job we know him best for. He was a lead writer at BioWare.At the time, BioWare was embarking on a new adventure, creating two brand new games and the universes
Shortly after David Gaider was born, his parents bought a set of 1971 encyclopaedias to freeze-frame the world as it was when he entered it. He still remembers the maps they contained: his first atlas. But there are two moments in Gaider's life when a gift of maps leads to adventure. In the second, he's older, and already working at the job we know him best for. He was a lead writer at BioWare.
At the time, BioWare was embarking on a new adventure, creating two brand new games and the universes around them. One was to be science fiction and would become Mass Effect. One was fantasy and would become Dragon Age. That's the game Gaider was working on - or rather, it was the world he would dream up.
Ideas had been swirling about what Dragon Age would be for a few months. The team knew it would be like D&D but would not be actual D&D, because BioWare was sick of licensed games at the time. They knew they were going for Tolkien rather than Conan or Diablo. "We definitely had at least some idea of the kind of RPG this was going to be," Gaider tells me when in a video call. But BioWare didn't have a world, and that's where the second collection of maps comes in. One day, Gaider was handed a historical atlas of Europe and tasked with going away and coming up with a fantasy world for players to explore.
Larian Studios has asked fans to refrain from sending threats as the developer continues to work on mod support for Baldur's Gate 3.The developer's director of publishing Michael Douse described plans for official mod support on social media platform X last week, calling the developer's plans "robust".Douse took to the platform again yesterday to issue a warning to those making "threats and toxicity against our devs and community teams", asking them to "please stop that". Read more
Larian Studios has asked fans to refrain from sending threats as the developer continues to work on mod support for Baldur's Gate 3.
The developer's director of publishing Michael Douse described plans for official mod support on social media platform X last week, calling the developer's plans "robust".
Douse took to the platform again yesterday to issue a warning to those making "threats and toxicity against our devs and community teams", asking them to "please stop that".
After putting everyone in the mood for a smooch on Valentine’s Day with its hefty Patch 6, Baldur's Gate 3 is continuing the friendly atmosphere in its latest hotfix, which makes your party members want to hang out with you and everyone less likely to tell you to piss off (without good reason, anyway).
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After putting everyone in the mood for a smooch on Valentine’s Day with its hefty Patch 6, Baldur's Gate 3 is continuing the friendly atmosphere in its latest hotfix, which makes your party members want to hang out with you and everyone less likely to tell you to piss off (without good reason, anyway).
Baldur's Gate 3 won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards last week, and unlike at The Game Awards, the developers were actually allowed to take some time with their acceptance speech. And let it be known, Larian used that time wisely, addressing both the current state of the industry and the importance of player experience.
When Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse took to the stage, he acknowledged that while this is a "really human industry" it can also be very "bad sometimes at sh
Baldur's Gate 3 won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards last week, and unlike at The Game Awards, the developers were actually allowed to take some time with their acceptance speech. And let it be known, Larian used that time wisely, addressing both the current state of the industry and the importance of player experience.
When Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse took to the stage, he acknowledged that while this is a "really human industry" it can also be very "bad sometimes at showing developers what they're worth". He then discussed the wave of layoffs that have affected so many people and game development studios over the past year.
"I want you all to know that you are talented and that you matter, and that you are the future of this industry. Don't let that flame be extinguished by our collective mistakes," Douse said. "I know everyone here is scared because shit's really fucked up."
The latest, and very timely, update for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.Patch 6 has been teased by Larian Studios since last week, when we learned it would include more kissing animations and easier party management, but we didn't know when it would be rolling out - or everything else it would contain.Well, the update is now live, and with it comes the usual delight of patch notes a la Larian, which are too lengthy to be contained in Steam's character l
The latest, and very timely, update for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Patch 6 has been teased by Larian Studios since last week, when we learned it would include more kissing animations and easier party management, but we didn't know when it would be rolling out - or everything else it would contain.
Well, the update is now live, and with it comes the usual delight of patch notes a la Larian, which are too lengthy to be contained in Steam's character limit (of course).
Baldur's Gate 3 won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards last week, and unlike at The Game Awards, the developers were actually allowed to take some time with their acceptance speech. And let it be known, Larian used that time wisely, addressing both the current state of the industry and the importance of player experience.
When Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse took to the stage, he acknowledged that while this is a "really human industry" it can also be very "bad sometimes at sh
Baldur's Gate 3 won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards last week, and unlike at The Game Awards, the developers were actually allowed to take some time with their acceptance speech. And let it be known, Larian used that time wisely, addressing both the current state of the industry and the importance of player experience.
When Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse took to the stage, he acknowledged that while this is a "really human industry" it can also be very "bad sometimes at showing developers what they're worth". He then discussed the wave of layoffs that have affected so many people and game development studios over the past year.
"I want you all to know that you are talented and that you matter, and that you are the future of this industry. Don't let that flame be extinguished by our collective mistakes," Douse said. "I know everyone here is scared because shit's really fucked up."
The latest, and very timely, update for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.Patch 6 has been teased by Larian Studios since last week, when we learned it would include more kissing animations and easier party management, but we didn't know when it would be rolling out - or everything else it would contain.Well, the update is now live, and with it comes the usual delight of patch notes a la Larian, which are too lengthy to be contained in Steam's character l
The latest, and very timely, update for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Patch 6 has been teased by Larian Studios since last week, when we learned it would include more kissing animations and easier party management, but we didn't know when it would be rolling out - or everything else it would contain.
Well, the update is now live, and with it comes the usual delight of patch notes a la Larian, which are too lengthy to be contained in Steam's character limit (of course).
Larian Studios has announced more fixes coming to Baldur's Gate 3 with Patch 6, as well as its beefy install size.Due some point this week, Larian already let us know the patch will add new idle animations for party members in camp and improve smooches (just in time for Valentine's Day).In a new thread on X, Larian revealed Patch 6 has "more than just romance" and will add bug fixes and some gameplay improvements which should help make party management much easier. Read more
Larian Studios has announced more fixes coming to Baldur's Gate 3 with Patch 6, as well as its beefy install size.
Due some point this week, Larian already let us know the patch will add new idle animations for party members in camp and improve smooches (just in time for Valentine's Day).
In a new thread on X, Larian revealed Patch 6 has "more than just romance" and will add bug fixes and some gameplay improvements which should help make party management much easier.
Larian Studios released the Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 6 notes and, as someone might expect, they are huge. The biggest new additions involve some additional animations that add ambiance to the world when romancing characters or hanging around camp, but there are also new fixes to improve the overall experience.
The actual notes went into more detail about how these animations will look when you are at camp and around your companions. With the kisses, it is random which one you will see or get w
Larian Studios released the Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 6 notes and, as someone might expect, they are huge. The biggest new additions involve some additional animations that add ambiance to the world when romancing characters or hanging around camp, but there are also new fixes to improve the overall experience.
The actual notes went into more detail about how these animations will look when you are at camp and around your companions. With the kisses, it is random which one you will see or get when you kiss a character you are in a relationship with. However, there are different ones and character heights will be taken into account. As for the new idle animations, there are six total. Halsin, Jaheira, Lae’zel, Minsc, Minthara, and Shadowheart will all do different things than before when they’re relaxing.
Here are the full Baldur’s Gate 3 patch notes, as taken from Steam. Note that they do contain spoilers if you haven't beaten the game.
HIGHLIGHTS
You can now dismiss a recruited companion from your party while speaking to the companion you want to replace them with.
When a dialogue triggers automatically, the game will now try to prioritise your avatar character as the main speaker.
Your partner now has a few different kisses! They're brand new, unique, and randomised - and we’ve also made improvements to how kisses look across the board, particularly for taller and shorter body types.
Improved the cinematic scenes in the Elfsong Tavern to feel more intimate when you and your romance partner decide your future together after defeating the Netherbrain.
Reworked the reflection scenes that take place after wrapping up the defeat of the Netherbrain for characters without romantic partners to better match the scenes for those who do have romantic partners, and to bridge the gap into the epilogue.
Added a new cinematic scene to support the combat encounter that occurs after you choose whether to side with Nightsong at Sorcerous Sundries or not.
If you sit on the stool in Shadowheart's camp corner, she will now react to you with a line based on your relation with her.
Added new idle animations for some companions at camp, including:
Lae'zel: Studying a githyanki disc.
Minthara: Contemplating a skull, tending to mushrooms, expressing violence, adjusting her armour, plotting her future, and being bothered by the sun.
Jaheira: Sitting, kneeling and whispering to a rat messenger, and whittling.
Minsc: Cooking and shaving his head. (These are two separate animations. Although we wouldn't put it past him, he's not, in fact, cooking his head.)
Shadowheart: Polishing the Spear of Night.
Halsin: Whittling.
If you started your game on a set difficulty, you can now switch to Custom Mode (except when already playing Honour Mode).
Fixed an issue that would prevent travel between acts.
Fixed an issue causing quicksaves to fail to upload to cross-saves.
Characters in the epilogue camp party will now have fitting titles below their names.
Fixed the Shield Bash and Rebuke of the Mighty passives not triggering Saving Throws.
Added light bar colours for the DualSense controller on PC.
If you romanced Lae'zel, grab a red dragon and saddle up - you can now join her in the rebellion against Vlaakith, even if you are not gith yourself.
Fixed graphic settings not being applied for some 4k monitors.
Fixed a crash on Xbox that would sometimes occur when starting or ending a game.
Gameplay
You can now toggle off Repelling Blast as expected.
If you Long Rest with only alcohol as camp supplies, you will now get the new Hungover condition for 10 turns.
Auto-selecting your camp supplies before a Long Rest will use resources more optimally - sometimes you just don't feel like cooking.
The Long Rest camp supply menu is now better at pulling supplies from inside containers in companion inventories. Stop hoarding the cheese, Wyll.
Group Hide now works on all party members controlled by the player, including followers and summons.
Made it possible to dismiss party members during camp nights. Also made it possible to recruit hirelings to a full party - they'll hang around at camp until you need them.
You can now talk to the circus bard Medrash and get a short but enthusiastic response from him.
The owlbear cub will no longer gobble up Auntie Ethel's Hair before you can take advantage of the bonus it grants.
The Elixir of Hill Giant Strength now applies its effects when thrown.
Creating harmful surfaces beneath NPCs will now trigger a crime reaction.
Scratch can no longer equip certain weapons. Like the Everburn Blade.
Added the option to scale the density of crowds on Xbox.
As a quality-of-life improvement, the Pact Weapon condition now remains after a Long Rest.
Combat
The Shambling Mound is now a fully-fledged Honour Mode boss, with brand new bespoke Legendary Actions and tuned-up abilities. Good luck.
The drider and Dror Ragzlin have new Legendary Actions in Honour Mode!
In Tactician Mode, the drider has a special Sanctuary, called Spindleweb Sanctuary, that erupts in a psychic explosion when the status condition ends. In addition, his Spindleweb Fanaticism aura will now debuff his enemies.
In Tactician Mode, Dror Ragzlin's Leadership Aura will now also debuff his enemies.
Jaheira could be in bad shape by the time she arrived at Moonrise Towers since she already had to fight. Now she's smart enough to heal up before she goes there, which we're hoping lets her last at least an additional second in combat.
The Frightened condition applied by Ketheric's Dreadful Aspect will now correctly end if the combat with Ketheric ends before the condition does. (This will also fix other similar cases.)
Improved combat AI pathfinding through dangerous surfaces and through steep terrain.
Flow and Scripting
Increased the number of valid methods of knocking Minthara out to recruit her.
Halsin no longer blames the goblins for his death in his Speak with Dead dialogue if he managed to get killed much later on.
Fixed a case where the lanceboard scene between Raphael and Mol would never trigger because of the script being too defensive when checking Raphael's current in-game state.
You can finally tell Halsin that you found that letter that was sent to Kagha
Wyll will react accordingly if you fail to save Ravengard from the Iron Throne when the pact with Mizora is broken.
Fixed an issue preventing you from talking to Mayrina after the fight with the hag.
Fixed an issue that could lead to the game being stuck on Flind's turn if another player entered combat with her while her dialogue was ongoing
UI
The trade interface got a graphic overhaul, clarifying which character is bartering for the party, what their Persuasion score is, and how much of a discount they're getting for the trade. The feedback when bartering has also been improved to indicate the status of the offer.
The whole party's inventory is now present in the trade interface, which doesn't require you to switch characters to sell their items from their inventories anymore.
You can now change the size of text in books and other legible items in the Interface Options.
Updated the interface visuals for the Options and Difficulty menus.
Renamed the 'Class Passives' panel for sorcerers on level up to 'Metamagic' and added a description for it. This was to make the naming more precise, given that all the class passives for sorcerers are Metamagic and the main level up window already tells you that they're passives.
Renamed the 'Camp Companions' button to 'Camp Inventories' to more clearly indicate what it does.
Added the Custom Mode settings to the Lobby UI, giving you time to create your personalised experience while waiting for your friends. (And also giving you time to argue amongst yourselves while coming to a compromise.)
Camp chests are now integrated into the Camp Inventories UI.
Fixed incorrect button prompts and mappings showing for Switch Pro Controller on PC.
Reverse-pickpocketing (planting things into others' inventories) should now work correctly on controller.
Improved how the combat log indicates XP gain. Now, if everyone in the party gains XP from several different sources at the same time - like when you Fireball a bunch of rats - you'll get one entry in the combat log with the calculated total XP gained, rather than separate entries for each XP, clogging up the whole log.
Added sub-sorting to throwable items on the Hotbar so the most recently picked-up items will appear first.
Writing
When faced with certain choices after the Netherbrain is defeated, you can now tell Lae'zel to make her own decision.
Added additional Avatar Karlach and Avatar Astarion reactivity within God Gale's dialogues in the epilogue, allowing them to request a cure for their conditions.
Added some new lines to Minthara's epilogue dialogue to account for different paths where the player character has partnered up with her.
Added some extra Narrator lines for the Dark Urge when interacting with Gortash in his office.
Added new dialogues and reactivity for Lae'zel regarding the githyanki egg from Crèche Y'llek.
If Gale is a mind flayer in the endgame when returning to Elysium with Mystra, she will now transform him back into a human.
Rephrased some journal entries to account for NPCs being knocked out instead of killed.
If you're romancing Shadowheart in Act II, she'll have more banter as you're walking around.
Cinematics
You can now give Shadowheart a hug when she's crying after losing or saving her parents.
Gale can now kiss your hand if you agree to marry him. This scene was also improved with a new intro and outro.
Added a new version of the kissing scene with Astarion after he Ascends. This scene was also improved with a new intro and outro.
Sound
Fixed Gortash's Speak with Dead dialogue missing its VO.
Fixed the Main Menu audio not starting for several seconds on Xbox, and sometimes playing in the game.
Fixed the Character Creation music not triggering until the tutorial.
Fixed dice roll sounds playing if you have the 'Hide Failed Perception Rolls' setting enabled while exploring. We asked the narrator to quieten down when rolling the dice for your immersion.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and Patch 6 is live now.
Baldur's Gate 3's latest update has, as per most of their updates, a colossal number of improvements. Notably, there are new animations for folks who hunker down in your camp and a speedier way to dismiss unwanted companions. But most importantly of all, the smooching has been improved tenfold for fans of romance, or voyeurs who relish virtual characters trading saliva.
Read more
Baldur's Gate 3's latest update has, as per most of their updates, a colossal number of improvements. Notably, there are new animations for folks who hunker down in your camp and a speedier way to dismiss unwanted companions. But most importantly of all, the smooching has been improved tenfold for fans of romance, or voyeurs who relish virtual characters trading saliva.
Romance sim masquerading as fantasy RPG Baldur's Gate 3 is putting vaseline on its lips, wiggling a little bit of tongue out and practising in the mirror for its next big update. That’s right, just in time for Valentine’s Day (or maybe just after), Larian are dropping the “Improved Smooches” patch.
Read more
Romance sim masquerading as fantasy RPGBaldur's Gate 3 is putting vaseline on its lips, wiggling a little bit of tongue out and practising in the mirror for its next big update. That’s right, just in time for Valentine’s Day (or maybe just after), Larian are dropping the “Improved Smooches” patch.