Congrats, Larian Studios, for Baldur’s Gate III’s huge success! If you haven’t heard of it, Baldur’s Gate III is a modern CRPG (computer role playing game) with a looong history. It is based on the Dungeons&Dragons rule set and the PC release was on Aug, 3rd, 2023, on track to becoming the biggest PC game release this year.
But for all the great work the team did, they omitted a crucial feature: pausing the game. And inevitably, just when you roll a critical 20 and your petite 2 foot halfling kicks in the door – or right in the middle of the hot, steamy romance scene with Mintara or Halsin – that’s when your cat brings you a mouse from the outside, your little one suddenly gets very hungry or your boss wanders by. You jump up and you miss the great (voice) acting and that critical bit of information.
Fortunately it is relatively easy to create a pause button yourself, thanks to a little help from windows tools (Sorry, this is for MS-Windows only). Here is how:
Recipe for a “Pause/Resume” Key
Quick summary:
- Download PsSuspend from Microsoft (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/pssuspend) and extract it to a folder.
- Create a file “
bg_pause.bat” in this folder with this text: “pssuspend64.exe bg3_dx11.exe“ - Create a file “
bg_resume.bat” with this text: “pssuspend64.exe -r bg3_dx11.exe“ - Assign a hotkey to the “
bg_pause.bat” file.
Assigning a hotkey is actually the hardest part. Windows let’s you assign hotkeys to any shortcut in the properties page. But that functionality is kind of broken (good explanation here). So it’s best to use a third-party tool, such as Clavier+, X-Mouse Button Control or even “Logi Options+” if you have a Logitech keyboard.
How it works
When you hit the hotkey, windows will run “bg_pause.bat” and pssuspend will freeze the game engine, even in the midst of a cut scene. While suspended, the game will appear hung. It won’t react to any key click or mouse input.
But you can still use Alt+Tab, Win+Tab or the virtual desktop functionality (Win+ Left-Arrow/Right-Arrow) to get to the usual windows desktop. From there you can run “bg_resume” to continue the game. Or you could assign a different hotkey to “bg_resume”.
BTW, the virtual desktop feature is also a great way to avoid game load times. If you run Baldur’s Gate on virtual desktop #2, you can always pause it, switch back to desktop #1 and work normally. The game stays loaded, but won’t use any CPU or GPU resources. When you are ready to gather your party again, just head over to virtual desktop #2 and resume the game.
Disclaimer: I have tested PsSuspend with the GOG version of the game in the “borderless window” display mode, which is the default. This method may not work with the Steam version or in another display mode.
Detailed step-by-step guide
If you are unfamiliar with running tools or creating batch files, then here is a more detailed walk-through.
- Download PsSuspend from the Microsoft website. PsSuspend is a Microsoft Tool that will pause and resume anything running on your PC. Download and unzip it to a folder. The link will actually download the entire Sysinternals suite, you only need pssuspend64.exe. And you don’t have to worry about it being malware, if you use the link above. It points you directly to a “microsoft.com” webpage.
- The command to pause the game is “
pssuspend64.exe bg3_dx11.exe“. This is the text you’d need to enter on a command line to freeze the game. But entering text is not the same as a “Pause BUTTON”. That’s why you need batch files, which are essentially mini programs to run instead of entering text. - To unfreeze the game, you create the second batch file, this time with the resume command switch: “
pssuspend64.exe -r bg3_dx11.exe“ - To access the functionality from within the game, you need to assign it to a hotkey (or a mouse button combo). Since the builtin windows option is too slow, I suggest you download Clavier+ and follow the instructions there. NOTE: Make sure to use a key combo you do not use otherwise.
- “X-Mouse Button Control” or “Logi Option+” are alternative ways to assign hotkeys to the pause/resume batch files.
Fortunately, the Larian team did not use any special tricks (or DRM or something) that prevents this kind of tinkering. At least not with the GOG version (does the Steam version cause problems?)
Enjoy…
(P.S. This post is dedicated to Myandra, Dimitrion, Arahir and the gang, whereever they are. Those where the best days of my youth 🙂
Hajo Kirchhoff, IT-Consultant 