One of the pioneering map modders of Baldur's Gate 3 recreates the opening area from Baldur's Gate 2.

Lotrich, a member in the nascent Baldur's Gate 3 map modding community, who has been uploading YouTube videos of their work, has just given a sneak peek at their latest creation. It's an in-progress but still very recognizable version of Waukeen’s Promenade – one of the opening zones of Baldur’s Gate 2.

The promenade looks a little bare, but its unique archways and amphitheater layout are immediately striking. Waukeen's Promenade has always felt like someone converted a sports stadium into an open-air marketplace, fitting for Athkatla, the mercantile capital of the world. In the distance you can see the circus tent, where you can recruit Aerie, and Lotrich offers a special treat at the end of the video. It's a peek inside Ribald barterman's Adventurer Mart - one of the best shops of the game.

It seems like this is a natural outcome of any mod community. Once a game's mapping tools are released, the countdown begins until someone recreates a map from an older videogame with them. Our hobby is littered by well-intentioned attempts to recreate older RPGs using newer RPG engine. How many New Vegas-in Fallout 4 projects are there?

In fact, the mod team behind Baldur's Gate Reloaded has been working so long on recreating 'Gates from Neverwinter Nights 2 in 2006 that Neverwinter Nights 2 is now retro. The original is available in the Neverwinter Vault and Nexus. BGR2 (covering Baldur's Gate 2) appears to be close to entering beta testing, according to a March Facebook post by the mod team.

Lotrich's Waukeen's Promenade seems to be more of an attempt to learn the new mapmaking tools and adapt to them. Their YouTube channel also includes a few other prototype maps, rather than a commitment to remake Baldur's Gate 2 in its entirety. It's probably best that way. I like these small doses of "what if" experiments, seeing an iconic region brought to life with a different style and a new perspective. But overall, I agree with PC Gamer News writer Joshua Wolens, who says: Why remake a good game (and one that's easily playable) when it's already great? There are exceptions, of course: I am as excited about Skyblivion (and everyone else) as they are.

Lotrich, for their part, has switched from the original BG3 Toolkit Unlocked to the Moonglasses Extended Toolkit. Moonglasses appears to be a more deliberate, long-term solution compared to the more ad-hoc unlocker. Lotrich also has a Patreon page for those who want to support their specific projects.