Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?

I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
that come with the game on optical media and with printed manual are -
if not common - then not so unusual as to really warrant much mention.
Still, there's something about this one that appeals to me. Maybe that
it actually DOES come with optical media installation disks (and,
given the game is available on GOG, quite possibly without DRM,
although it's unclear from the webpage), or that it has a proper cloth
map. Or maybe that the deluxe version is going for a fairly modest
$80USD price, when its competitors easily sell for $100 or more. But
it seems quite an appealing bundle.

I'm not buying it, of course (I can't even make myself pay $60USD for
the digital version!) but I won't deny that I feel /some/ temptation.

Of course, I've little real desire to return to the olden-days of
physical purchases. As much as I love the look and feel of the boxes
and the manuals, and as concerned as I am about how much control I
give up buying from places like Steam, the ease of installation trumps
all of that. No more struggling to find the disk (and, these days, an
optical drive to read it!), no more swapping disks, no more disk in
the drive to play, no wondering where I'm going to put the box... now
all it takes is a few mouse clicks and I'm good to go.

Besides, most games offer their manuals as PDFs, so I just dump them
onto a tablet and it's almost as good as having it in hardcopy.

But maybe I would have laid down the cash had "Baldur's Gate III"
included some 25mm metal miniatures. Or selection of polyhedral dice
in swank velvet dice bag. It's really hard for me to resist tchotchkes
like that!

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>
>Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
>https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
>
>I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
>that come with the game on optical media

What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?

Because that's a damned lot of DVDs -- around 14.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

* Which would get us down to a sane 1-3 discs, depending on the number of
layers and whether or not it's double-sided++. I still treasure my BG1
DVD single disk edition. I don't know anyone with a Blu-ray in their rig.

++ Double layer Blu-ray at 50GB per side^^.

^^ Footnotes on footnotes is fun!

On 11/18/2023 6:58 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>>
>> Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
>> https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
>>
>> I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
>> that come with the game on optical media
>
> What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
> actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
>
I have two Blu-Ray optical drives in my PC. Its what I use to watch my
DVDs and BR discs.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:29:01 -0800, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Dimensional Traveler wrote:

>On 11/18/2023 6:58 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
>> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
>>> https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
>>>
>>> I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
>>> that come with the game on optical media
>>
>> What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
>> actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
>>
>I have two Blu-Ray optical drives in my PC. Its what I use to watch my
>DVDs and BR discs.

Now I know one person.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On 11/18/2023 8:44 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:29:01 -0800, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>
>> On 11/18/2023 6:58 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
>>> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
>>> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
>>>> https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
>>>>
>>>> I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
>>>> that come with the game on optical media
>>>
>>> What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
>>> actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
>>>
>> I have two Blu-Ray optical drives in my PC. Its what I use to watch my
>> DVDs and BR discs.
>
> Now I know one person.
>
It probably helps that I don't buy "off the shelf" PCs. There is a good
local shop that does PC repairs and builds PCs that I've been using for,
ummm, a lot of years. So I always specify 2 optical disc drives in my
builds.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
>What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
>actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?

I also have a Blu-Ray drive, but I don't think the PC version of the
Deluxe Edition actually comes with the game itself on disc. In the
"Physical Goodies" section of the store page, it lists the "Game Disc"
of the PC verion as being:

CD key and installer.

While for the PlayStation 5 version it says:

A retail copy of Baldur's Gate 3 across 2 discs. Playable from
the disc

And the Xbox version says:

A retail copy of Baldur's Gate 3 across 3 discs. Playable from
the disc

So it sounds like the PC version comes with a single CD-ROM "game disc"
that only has the Steam installer on it and not the game itself.

--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
db //

Am 18.11.23 um 15:58 schrieb Zaghadka:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>>
>> Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
>> https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
>>
>> I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
>> that come with the game on optical media
>
> What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
> actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
>
> Because that's a damned lot of DVDs -- around 14.
>
Double layered Blu Ray?

On Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 11:52:06 PM UTC-8, Ross Ridge wrote:
> Zaghadka <zagh...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
> >actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
> I also have a Blu-Ray drive, but I don't think the PC version of the
> Deluxe Edition actually comes with the game itself on disc. In the
> "Physical Goodies" section of the store page, it lists the "Game Disc"
> of the PC verion as being:
>
> CD key and installer.
>
> While for the PlayStation 5 version it says:
>
> A retail copy of Baldur's Gate 3 across 2 discs. Playable from
> the disc
>
> And the Xbox version says:
>
> A retail copy of Baldur's Gate 3 across 3 discs. Playable from
> the disc
>
> So it sounds like the PC version comes with a single CD-ROM "game disc"
> that only has the Steam installer on it and not the game itself.

Bah, that's not a physical copy.

- Justisaur

On Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 6:58:20 AM UTC-8, Zaghadka wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:54:44 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> >
> >Larian has decided to release a physical version of "Baldur's Gate 3".
> >https://us.merch.larian.com/en/products/baldur-s-gate-3-deluxe-edition?
> >
> >I know, this isn't really that unusual these days; deluxe versions
> >that come with the game on optical media
> What the hell optical media are they using for 120+ GB?! Does anyone
> actually have a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray optical drive in their PCs*?
>
> Because that's a damned lot of DVDs -- around 14.
>

> --
> Zag
>
> No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
> spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten
>
>
> * Which would get us down to a sane 1-3 discs, depending on the number of
> layers and whether or not it's double-sided++. I still treasure my BG1
> DVD single disk edition. I don't know anyone with a Blu-ray in their rig.
>
>
> ++ Double layer Blu-ray at 50GB per side^^.

They could put it on a thumb drive. I had heard of some company doing that..

>
>
> ^^ Footnotes on footnotes is fun!

I prefer parens etc.

- Justisaur