Latest Baldur's Gate 3 update adds colour-blind settings, hireling customisation and best of all, sponge baths

Larian have released a new Baldur's Gate 3 update, Patch 4, which applies 1000 fixes and changes to the indecently expansive fantasy RPG - far too many to list on Steam. The most significant additions are accessibility settings for colour-blind people, the ability to visually customise hirelings upon recruitment, and the ability to clean up party members using sponges and soap, rather than lobbing bottles of water at them. No more rocking up to cutscenes looking like Sweeney Todd on his lunchbreak! Well, unless that's your vibe.

The new colour-blind options allow you to choose between protanopia, deuteranopia, or tritanopia colour schemes, and apply to character outlines and circles, map markers, party portraits and frame portraits on the combat turn bar.

It's hard to dig into the detail of the full patch notes without posting spoilers - and spoiling things for myself! Some of us are still muddling through act 1, you know - but here are the developer's highlights, plus a few bits and pieces I've picked out through slightly parted fingers.

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 4 changelog: Edwin Director's Cut

- Rage can no longer be used while under the effects of Calm Emotions.

- Fixed some NPCs being able to shoot through floors and ceilings. They've said they'll play fair.

- Scratch's ball will now be harder to lose. If you lost his ball, go see him at camp and he might give it back. (Ball warranty voided for chasm-related accidents.)

- Fixed a bug where NPCs who were supposed to change their attitude towards the whole party would only change it towards one random party member

- Updated the mechanics of Speak with Dead so that you can cast it again if you didn't ask any questions the first time. (For example, if you're told the corpse doesn't want to speak to its killer, and then you cast the spell again in Wild Shape.)

- Combat rounds are now displayed under separate headings in the Combat Log so it's easier to distinguish when things happened.

- Added better multiplayer support for the post-celebration night in Act I. Now all avatars can choose which companion they want to get jiggy with.

- Lae'zel was having trouble getting over Act I and Act II. She'll no longer make certain comments in Act III as though you're still in the earlier stages of your adventure.

- The Mask of the Shapeshifter should no longer make you act as if you are really a member of the target fantasy race - you're only pretending, after all.

- Added map markers for when characters want to talk to you.

- Getting Wet will remove the pixie's curse.

Back in September, Larian's CEO Sven Vincke claimed that Baldur's Gate 3 had created "a new audience" for RPGs, thanks to what he called its intuitive presentation of some complex rules and mechanics. Patch notes like the above are a reminder that there's always room for improvement.

Disclosure: Former RPS deputy editor Adam Smith (RPS in peace) now works at Larian and is the lead writer for Baldur's Gate 3. Former contributor Emily Gera also works on it.