Divinity: Original Sin Pre-Release Thread

[Jaesun]

I'm psyched to hear what Kirill does with a symphony. <3

 

[Zed]

I like the item combining thingies. People who want to do adventure games in the editor will probably be able to do some pretty nice stuff.

 

[Delterius]

People who are keeping up with this gem, I read/heard somewhere the players are independent from each other when exploring the gameworld. Is it true and, if so, was anything else said about it? To me, that's what kicks multiplayer from a nice bonus into a vital feature.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

People who are keeping up with this gem, I read/heard somewhere the players are independent from each other when exploring the gameworld. Is it true and, if so, was anything else said about it? To me, that's what kicks multiplayer from a nice bonus into a vital feature.

There are 5 (4 and half. not sure whether the decided to integrate the last half or make it a separate zone) Huge Game Zones.
In each zone, the two players are free to do whatever. Only during zone transitions do the two players have to be nearby. One player can do combat, while the other goes around stealing stuff (or rotting in jail).

 

[Jaesun]

I read/heard somewhere the players are independent from each other when exploring the gameworld. Is it true

Yes.

if so, was anything else said about it? To me, that's what kicks multiplayer from a nice bonus into a vital feature.

It was mentioned many time in several videos.

 

[Delterius]

Thanks, both of you.

Larian

 

[Kattze]

Items that are strict upgrades to existing equipment = boring for the most part

Items that are functionally very different and thus face you with a question of which to equip = interesting

Baldur's Gate II did this extremely, extremely well. A progression in items so that you'd sometimes be exited about a strict upgrade, but many items with hugely varied effects that left you wondering which was best.

This. I almost never sold any equipment that I've come across in BG2.

 

[felipepepe]

Items that are strict upgrades to existing equipment = boring for the most part

Exactly, strict upgrades leads you to WoW-like number crunch, where all you got from a huge boss on a epic dungeon was a sword that gives you 1% more DPS than the previous one... meh.

 

[Maiandros]

I am more and more into simplicity myself..no stats, set bonuses, special abilities, sparklies and ubers..cannot i just have base mats, and craft armors providing an extra bonus of AC every say 3/5/10 levels? Or should the loot table -not- be an RNG borefest, perhaps an enhancement system (again for solely an AC-like stat) that would justify my looking forward to some "good" loot (enh. raw materials)?
That said,

I like the item combining thingies. People who want to do adventure games in the editor will probably be able to do some pretty nice stuff.

yeah For my tastes at least, a small but definite step towards the right direction.

 

[MicoSelva]

Items that are strict upgrades to existing equipment = boring for the most part

Items that are functionally very different and thus face you with a question of which to equip = interesting

Baldur's Gate II did this extremely, extremely well. A progression in items so that you'd sometimes be exited about a strict upgrade, but many items with hugely varied effects that left you wondering which was best.

This, however, BG2 had weapon proficiencies and armor restrictions, meaning not every item found was useful to everyone, therefore there needed to be similarly powered items in every cathegory, with some cathegories getting more powerful items than others (like two-handed swords).

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

IIRC, higher tier weapons and armor in D:OS will have stat requirements (moderate-high strength for a unique 2H axe for example), so if functionally different items (rather than just damage/HO bloat) are implemented,

 

[Grunker]

Items that are strict upgrades to existing equipment = boring for the most part

Exactly, strict upgrades leads you to WoW-like number crunch, where all you got from a huge boss on a epic dungeon was a sword that gives you 1% more DPS than the previous one... meh.

Unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's how this game will function.

 

[MicoSelva]

This was great. :D

 

[Maiandros]

I will reiterate, since many of you are a lot more knowledgeable, perhaps i can learn something out of this and/or see why it's a wrong idea at its core:

Instead of the stereotypical choices between fixed/obvious upgrades from loot, difficult to choose from upgrades (with or without disadvantages along with the bonuses), random or fixed loot and any other :used.to.death.by.now.so.help.me: conventions, why not:

a)
-have armour be armour..leather gives 1AC, chain gives 3AC, scales according to skill..you get dragon scales to upgrade it, it can give say AC+(dragon scale AC modifier). Again scalable, according to your relative skill.
-weapons be weapons..a twohanded sword does xd(x+skill modifier), a one handed mace does yd(y+skill modifier)..you get "insert generic name" ore to craft one/upgrade older one, it can give xd+1(x+skill modifier). Again scalable, according to your relative skill.
-no stats, no sparklie shit, set bonus, just..logical stuff. Simple and barebones.
-casters do NOT need to hold staves. Nothing at all. Seriously :enter beaten horse Codex emoticon:

b)
-A looting system is included, non-random so as to exclude the saves cheesing, where you get drops such as for example the 2 described above that you can then use to upgrade/make your armour or weapon. If developing budget and skill does -not- allow for a proper depth, NPCs doing it for you when given the items may be added. We keep simplicity and logic, we lose the "player centering the game over X, Y, and Z legendary item"

->optional <- (trash/grey items drop from mobs, and they have a low to average value; According to your inventory management, you pick when and whether to keep any for vendoring. 'x' number of greys are of import (for upgrades), if a combination of a lore level + actual skill level is high/sufficient enough for you to discern it)

c)
-We include a rune system for casters, so they have to find, gather, carve and improve on them to cast better and newer spells. This replaces the "find +3 dick penetration in fireball yo" bonus we spent 3 afternoons looking for on a chest, cause our legs, feet, gloves and cloak already have a cool ench, so we cannot replace them. Or spent 3 weeks looking, but never found. Said components for rune system incorporated in the loot system.
-We include a training system for melee classes, wherein moves need to be practiced, fees to a master be payed, items to be found, etc etc. Clues, script unlocking items, books teaching the skills, in pages or whole, incorporated in the loot system.
-We include items that complement certain melee classes (example being rogues), without which certain 'moves' / 'abilities' cannot be performed, ie come level three, our rogue has found a rope and a piece of (don't know the english word for it, the metal tip of a grappling hook?). He can now climb. Amazing ambushes/diversions are now possible. Come the next 2, 3 levels, he will be able to blind (poison components). Said items incorporated in the loot system.

You still have loot, it is still meaningful, it still motivates you into doing as much and for as long as you can. And it is simpler. At least internally, for balancing purposes, or so my ignorant mind makes it seem.
But seriously, enough with a piece of cloth somehow giving me +5 strength, +1 saves and -2 sex appeal.. Just...please no more..

 

[Monty]

I will reiterate, since many of you are a lot more knowledgeable, perhaps i can learn something out of this and/or see why it's a wrong idea at its core:

Instead of the stereotypical choices between fixed/obvious upgrades from loot, difficult to choose from upgrades (with or without disadvantages along with the bonuses), random or fixed loot and any other :used.to.death.by.now.so.help.me: conventions, why not:

a)
-have armour be armour..leather gives 1AC, chain gives 3AC, scales according to skill..you get dragon scales to upgrade it, it can give say AC+(dragon scale AC modifier). Again scalable, according to your relative skill.
-weapons be weapons..a twohanded sword does xd(x+skill modifier), a one handed mace does yd(y+skill modifier)..you get "insert generic name" ore to craft one/upgrade older one, it can give xd+1(x+skill modifier). Again scalable, according to your relative skill.
-no stats, no sparklie shit, set bonus, just..logical stuff. Simple and barebones.
-casters do NOT need to hold staves. Nothing at all. Seriously :enter beaten horse Codex emoticon:

b)
-A looting system is included, non-random so as to exclude the saves cheesing, where you get drops such as for example the 2 described above that you can then use to upgrade/make your armour or weapon. If developing budget and skill does -not- allow for a proper depth, NPCs doing it for you when given the items may be added. We keep simplicity and logic, we lose the "player centering the game over X, Y, and Z legendary item"

->optional <- (trash/grey items drop from mobs, and they have a low to average value; According to your inventory management, you pick when and whether to keep any for vendoring. 'x' number of greys are of import (for upgrades), if a combination of a lore level + actual skill level is high/sufficient enough for you to discern it)

c)
-We include a rune system for casters, so they have to find, gather, carve and improve on them to cast better and newer spells. This replaces the "find +3 dick penetration in fireball yo" bonus we spent 3 afternoons looking for on a chest, cause our legs, feet, gloves and cloak already have a cool ench, so we cannot replace them. Or spent 3 weeks looking, but never found. Said components for rune system incorporated in the loot system.
-We include a training system for melee classes, wherein moves need to be practiced, fees to a master be payed, items to be found, etc etc. Clues, script unlocking items, books teaching the skills, in pages or whole, incorporated in the loot system.
-We include items that complement certain melee classes (example being rogues), without which certain 'moves' / 'abilities' cannot be performed, ie come level three, our rogue has found a rope and a piece of (don't know the english word for it, the metal tip of a grappling hook?). He can now climb. Amazing ambushes/diversions are now possible. Come the next 2, 3 levels, he will be able to blind (poison components). Said items incorporated in the loot system.

You still have loot, it is still meaningful, it still motivates you into doing as much and for as long as you can. And it is simpler. At least internally, for balancing purposes, or so my ignorant mind makes it seem.
But seriously, enough with a piece of cloth somehow giving me +5 strength, +1 saves and -2 sex appeal.. Just...please no more..

It depends what sort of game you want to play. Playing too much of any sort of system can make you a bit bored, after a couple of games using your system someone could easily write "enough with the compulsory dragon scale quest to improve my armour, just... please no more"

People have different preferences but I prefer some exceptional magical items, as long as they are difficult to obtain and not too plentiful. I don't mean trash mobs dropping +1 swords that you sell to vendors. I'm also not a big fan of endless small increments in item attributes.

But well selected items can motivate you to go on side quests to obtain them, and unique items with interesting histories can add depth to the game. I thought Baldur's Gate II did this quite well with the artifacts where you collect the pieces and take them to the smith to be reforged. This was quite satisfying when one finally got to use them and I liked the histories behind some of the items.

So I wouldn't mind playing a game using your approach, but I wouldn't want all games to go down that route. Sometimes you want to play a medieval game with realistic weapons. Sometimes you want to play a Tolkienesque fantasy game with magical swords and rings. The system should obviously just suit the game.

 

[Maiandros]

Monty yeah,good point. Patricularly the tying in with the history part, that would be a shame to leave out, granted

 

[CyberWhale]

lar_q Happy B-day man.

I'm also really positively surprised that you are still making those development updates not only for Original Sin but for Dragon Commander as well.
Hope you keep up with that practice in future (not only with the two already mentioned games but the new upcoming titles too).

 

[ERYFKRAD]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY lar_q !!

 

[DraQ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY lar_q !!

Yeah, happy belated one.

 

[Jack Dandy]

Happy Bday Swen.
Man I always get a kick of all his little jabs at game "journalists" he does at his blogposts.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Happy Bday Swen.
Man I always get a kick of all his little jabs at game "journalists" he does at his blogposts.

IMO, the best one yet was where he praises Gragt (being Selective) was a good potshot at game "journalism"

Edit: And yeah happy belated B'day to Swen. Who risked a lot (financially and professionally) for creating D:OS long before any of the KS hype. Also, http://www.lar.net/category/publisherrants/ always reminds me whom to rage at for the decades long decline.

 

[Roguey]

Personally, I’m no big fan of things like difficulty and gamespeed sliders and I certainly don’t want to have to put a slider on easy when playing myself. If I have to do that, I consider it bad balancing on part of the developer. It’s up to the developer to ensure that my play experience is a perfect fit.

Vincke continues to be wrongheaded about things. A single one-size-fits all difficulty setting is needlessly narrow and sometimes you're too much of a scrub to be in the target range.

I’m pragmatic enough to realise that we’ll never be able to please everybody, so in all cases a certain amount of customisation needs to be present on the gameplay front.

At least he's not completely dumb.

With Divine Divinity, the average ratings on release in Germany were around 70% whereas in the rest of the world they were above 80%. The German version was released prematurely and thus included bugs which the English version didn’t have, but the biggest change was the rate and composition of loot drops. From reading the German reviews and forum posts I’d noticed people weren’t happy about their character development, and by just changing those few values, suddenly the experience was completely different and the ratings increased with on average 10%.

Probably could have increased 20% if the loot drops were actually good instead of slightly-less-terrible-than-they-were-before.

 

[Arkeus]

Development is moving forward at Larian, and we're making steady progress on Divinity: Original Sin. As Dragon Commander is now almost finished, the team working on Original Sin is getting bigger and bigger and pretty soon almost all of Larian will be working on DOS exclusively. We'll reserve the big DOS content updates for later, but it sure is becoming an interesting RPG and thanks to the Kickstarter campaign, we're seeing a vast improvement in the quality of the world design. Thank you once again for making this possible!
Here are a few items that might be of interest to you:
Pledge management dated

We threatened him, we blackmailed him, we used every single trick in the great book of the Shrike, all to no avail. Then somebody had the bright idea of asking him in a polite manner, and lo and behold, he gave us a date.

We are talking of course about David and the pledge management system he's developing. Said pledge management system will allow you to indicate to us which add-ons you want, where you want your physical goods to be delivered, on what platform you want your digital rewards, what messages you want to put in the game etc... It's pretty much a must-have if ever we want to figure out who gets what and it is therefore with great joy (and some relief) that we bring to you today the news that the system will go online on monday June 24th 2013.

That's almost like tomorrow!
Role Playing Convention Award

Last week the Role Playing Convention took place in Cologne and there Divinity: Original Sin received the award for most promising game of 2013. We keep on being amazed at how people discover new ways of putting more pressure on our shoulders

To mark the occasion, we made a little video, in which Jan & David have a small discussion on the statue we received.


Lost Movie

We should've posted this one a month ago, but somehow it got list in the mix. PC Games Germany posted a highlights video of the live session we had with them with German subtitles. Sorry!
As behind the scenes as it gets

If you didn't see this and have any interest in what goes on at a developer when they're finishing up a game, you might want to watch the following video. It's a tour of the office in which Swen checks on the Dragon Commander team and asks them what they are doing. Don't worry, it's not he typical developer diary where people blabber on about vision and all that. Instead it's a very close look at what tasks developers deal with at this stage of a project.


Swen also wrote a blog entry that goes with the video, in which he discusses how self-publishing allows us to make changes to a game really late in the process. Specifically, he details the decisions we have to take about pacing, difficulty levels and balancing in Dragon Commander.
Shout out

Here's a game that caught our attention not only because of its setting, but also because of the idealism of the developers and the ideas they want to put in. Check out Unrest, an unconventional RPG set in ancient India!
Need a fiddler

We are looking for a female violin player. You'll play one of the latest compositions of Kirill Pokrovsky and will also be appearing in one of the movies presenting our upcoming title, Divinity Dragon Commander. Larian Studios is a video game developer located in Gent. The casting will happen in our office and the recording will take place in Gent during the week of June 17th (to be defined with the person selected). To setup an appointment for the casting (10, 11 and 12 June), please email info@larian.com.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Need a new girlfriend(s) fiddler(s).
-Swen

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Need a new girlfriend(s) fiddler(s).
-Swen

Swen doesn't need advertisements for womyn. He is a true bro. Womyn flock to him. That too cRPG playing womyn