Divinity: Original Sin Pre-Release Thread

[l3loodAngel]

Just saw their stretch goals. They are second only to Shroud of Avatar in their uselessness. It's good that they are not more party members, but ask 1 million for the weather. Definitely not a naked cash grab...

 

[MicoSelva]

Trying too hard, or did not read Larian's explanation quoted by Jaesun?

 

[l3loodAngel]

Link please.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Link please.

Here

 

[l3loodAngel]

Trying too hard, or did not read Larian's explanation quoted by Jaesun?

This just actually shows that their audience is retarded. Schedules are good when you have plenty of other stuff. Now it's a larping simulator second only LB SoA:FV.

 

[MicoSelva]

Trying too hard, or did not read Larian's explanation quoted by Jaesun?

This just actually shows that their audience is retarded. Schedules are good when you have plenty of other stuff. Now it's a larping simulator second only LB SoA:FV.

I think it mostly shows You don't really know anything about this game and are just trying to be edgy.

 

[l3loodAngel]

Nope. NPC schedules are for larpers mostly.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Yes I prefare to not waste my time looking for shop keepers and quest givers under the map too... besides Game doesn't even have day and night cycle implemented.

 

[Western]

Yes I prefare to not waste my time looking for shop keepers and quest givers under the map too... besides Game doesn't even have day and night cycle implemented.

I thnk the NPC schedules are happenning with the day night cycles, they won't do one without the other.

 

[MicoSelva]

Yes I prefare to not waste my time looking for shop keepers and quest givers under the map too...

Well, this may not be the game for you then. No overhead exclamation marks for quest givers (or gold purses for shopkeepers) are planned, as far as I know. Heck, I'm not even sure if there'll be modern-style "quest givers" here, or if You just learn about quests from coversations and/or interactions with environment.

besides Game doesn't even have day and night cycle implemented.

Day/night cycle is part of the $1M stretch goal.

 

[Western]

MicoSelva From memory they were saying a lot of quests come from item interactions and studying lore/books and asking questions about your findings, etc.

 

[Gord]

I understand that a day/night cycle with npc schedules is supposed to be integrated into quests as well, e.g. rob some house when NPCs are sleeping or away, or something like Pattersons affair the player could discover in Ultima 7.

 

[Western]

I understand that a day/night cycle with npc schedules is supposed to be integrated into quests as well, e.g. rob some house when NPCs are sleeping or away, or something like Pattersons affair the player could discover in Ultima 7.

Reminds me of Gothic 2 as well.

 

[l3loodAngel]

I understand that a day/night cycle with npc schedules is supposed to be integrated into quests as well, e.g. rob some house when NPCs are sleeping or away, or something like Pattersons affair the player could discover in Ultima 7.

Reminds me of Gothic 2 as well.

Reminds me of Oblivion. Didn't make a good game either...

 

[MicoSelva]

MicoSelva From memory they were saying a lot of quests come from item interactions and studying lore/books and asking questions about your findings, etc.

Ok, I know. I'm just not sure if all quests are learned "naturally" like this or just some of them.

 

[Western]

I understand that a day/night cycle with npc schedules is supposed to be integrated into quests as well, e.g. rob some house when NPCs are sleeping or away, or something like Pattersons affair the player could discover in Ultima 7.

Reminds me of Gothic 2 as well.

Reminds me of Oblivion. Didn't make a good game either...

I couldn't play Oblivion for more than a few hours, it was just generic trash and the demonic invasion was just complete derp, Gothic 2 was actually good, well better than anything Bethesdas done since arguably Morrowind anyway (personally i'd rather replay Gothic 2 than Morrowind).

 

[Darth Roxor]

I understand that a day/night cycle with npc schedules is supposed to be integrated into quests as well, e.g. rob some house when NPCs are sleeping or away, or something like Pattersons affair the player could discover in Ultima 7.

Reminds me of Gothic 2 as well.

Reminds me of Oblivion. Didn't make a good game either...

 

[Western]

MicoSelva From memory they were saying a lot of quests come from item interactions and studying lore/books and asking questions about your findings, etc.

Ok, I know. I'm just not sure if all quests are learned "naturally" like this or just some of them.

This would be a good question for ForkTong who may be lurking around atm, but I would imagine both.

 

[ForkTong]

Hm, lemme think. In the first couple of hours of the game or so, depending on how fast you go, one main-quest guy gives you a mission that you could call a quest. And you could find out about 3 or 4 sidequests that are introduced in a more "questy" way, if you talk to people, but that are rather vague. During that time, you have also passed 6 or 7 "boosters" that are merely mentioned by NPCs, or that you find out by talking to people and exploring.

If you've played Divine Divinity: remember the plague in the village? People kind of mentioned "oh I wish we could find a cure" and that was that. You can ignore it, you can try to look for a cure, and along the way you may even find out that someone was responsible for it. It's along those lines. If you wanna make a "free and open" world, you can't have too many quests that tell you what to do.

I like that type of quest, but these days, players seem to expect quests that go "You have to solve this plague! We suspect the doctor. Go to his house. It's over there. Here, I'll mark it on your map. You should really investigate his cellar. Especially those barrels. Open 3 barrels and then come talk to me." So it's not that.

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

Nope. NPC schedules are for larpers mostly.

The way the term "larping" is used when it comes to cRPGs likely varies quite a bit, but I dare say it's mostly in reference to people doing things that the game does not acknowledge in any way (or at least in any meaningful way, but that is probably already a point of contention). Thus never killing a chicken in Divinity 2 because you are "roleplaying" a chicken-friendly character will be seen as larping by almost everybody; not using fast travel in a modern era Elder Scrolls game will be seen as larping if you do it to "roleplay" a hiker but the label becomes questionable if you do it because you simply enjoy looking at the scenery.

NPC schedules usually do have some sort of bearing on gameplay systems: the time it takes to wait for nigthfall so that a guild opens in Isles of Terra, or sunrise so that you can buy things at Hauptmarkt in Darklands has its small effect: your characters age. In the first Divinity and the Gothic games, schedules often give you better chance to succeed at certain actions (breaking into a house, lockpicking a chest, ambushing someone) simply because the NPCs move to different places at different times. There are quests that actually count on your taking advantage of this.

The above is almost certainly the implementation Larian have in mind for D:OS, but even if schedules were there purely for atmosphere's sake, I'd say it would be problematic to refer to them as being there "for larpers". A "larper" to me is someone who will not buy from an in-game store at night, because he's pretending the digital shopkeeper is sleeping in his bed; if schedules are in place, this is actually the case. (On a side note, I'd say atmosphere is not a bad thing to have in an RPG. It should never come at expense of meaningful gameplay elements, but consider how odd VD's teleporting system and lack of small-time exploration felt to most people who tried the first version of the AoD demo; yet his audience was hardly filled with larpers.) Incidentally, the reason why schedules sit at the top of the stretch goal chart is precisely because they are going to be implemented only once the more meaningful gameplay elements are already in place, and because they are tied in to a day/night cycle that is intended to have actual effect on gameplay.

All in all, upped my pledge by another dollar.

 

[Zeriel]

Nope. NPC schedules are for larpers mostly.

All in all, upped my pledge by another dollar.

Remembering your methodology for upping pledge by one dollar, I'm assuming that's the tactful way of saying: "You're a goddamn fucking retard!"

 

[ForkTong]

Now to be honest: that first area is the way we want the entire game to be. As you can imagine, a typical quest is easy and fast to implement. Do this, do that, talk to that guy, go there, kill that: very straightforward. So that's why we started the Kickstarter: to make sure we could keep the, um, pace / density / dare I say, quality in the next areas. We implement the story, and then we want to go over and over the areas, and over again, filling it up with stuff to do and find.

 

[ForkTong]

What is the maximum number of AI handled chars will be there is in a battle?

I wanted to reply "lolwut", but I'm in character here, so let's see. You mean enemies? Or friendlies that help you that you don't control? Or both? I don't think there is a max at this point. I've seen programmers testing out combat and factions with dozens of guys in one big fight.

 

[Jashiin]

That's quite the sentence Shrek.

 

[ForkTong]

My "lolwut" was hinting towards strange grammar in your question

AI cannot handle your moves for you.