Featured Image Credit: Deathbringer's Reign Modding Group
Topics: Baldur's Gate 3, PC, Mods
Larian Studios has stepped away from its work on the Baldur’s Gate franchise, instead choosing to return to its earlier IP Divinity.
Revealed at last year’s The Game Awards, Divinity is the title of the series’ next instalment perhaps signalling somewhat of a soft reboot.
Developers have said they’ll incorporate plenty of learnings from their time with Baldur’s Gate 3 so the experience should feel somewhat familiar.
For those who simply want more of that world though, you may be pleased to discover that a group of fans are working on a remake of the original Baldur’s Gate developed by BioWare and launched in 1998.
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As reported by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the remake is being created using Baldur’s Gate 3’s engine.
It was project lead 786r786 who first stumbled across an unlocked version of Baldur’s Gate 3’s modding tools on NexusMods.
Wondering whether the tools were capable of recreating Baldur’s Gate, 786r786 set about running a test, creating that OG’s game starting location, Candlekeep.
The test went well and the rest, as you might say, is history.
786r786 upscaled, recruited additional modders, and is now in the midst of recreating the full game under the modding group name of Deathbringer’s Reign.
The full remake is going to take a while to develop, but you can sample a small slither courtesy of a free demo which grants access to the previously mentioned Candlekeep.
There’s a second demo in the works too, with Deathbringer’s Reign working on bringing High Hedge, Geregost, the Friendly Arm Inn, and Shipwreck’s Coast to life.
That second demo is due to feature several familiar companions too, including the likes of Joheira, Imoen, and Garrick.
“I received a lot of requests from fans of the original games to turn it into a full campaign, along with offers from some incredibly talented modders who volunteered to help," 786r786 said of the response to the original test.
"Making an isolated custom campaign is actually a bit easier than making an extension to the base game; you don't have to account for the incredibly vast amount of scenarios present in vanilla BG3, and you have full control over the player's environment."
The remake is based upon the Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition although it won’t feature the Siege of Dragonspear expansion, but the team hasn’t ruled out bringing it in as a post-launch update.
“Without a doubt, the most significant challenge will be translating the city of Baldur's Gate itself into a fully 3D environment," 786r786 told Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
"The sheer scale is daunting; the original game has over 100 interiors within the city, whereas BG3 features about 40 buildings in the Lower City.
“We have to figure out how to capture that content density while adjusting the layout to suit BG3's modern gameplay and presentation.”
You can actually join in the modding efforts by heading over to the project’s Discord group. You will need some familarity with Baldur’s Gate 3’s modding toolkit.
The other option is to sit back, relax, and await that second demo.