Dragon's Dogma II - "They’re masterworks, all – you can’t go wrong"

[Shinji]

Famitsu recently posted an interview with DD2's devs regarding the September update.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202410/20868

I used Google Translate below, for your convenience.

Google Translate

With the major update on September 17, 2024, it has become much easier to play. Please tell us how you decided to make an update of this scale.

Development team:
As part of the ongoing updates that have been made since the game's release, this time we have mainly released adjustments that will make the game easier to play. We decide on adjustments within our team based on opinions from various users both domestically and internationally. Some of the opinions we receive include those that are technically difficult to implement or that require a lot of time to respond to. Although we haven't been able to respond to all of them, we are prioritizing and responding to them so that you can enjoy this game even more.

You mentioned “further improvements to the issue of excessive load on the CPU in certain situations,” but what specific adjustments were made?

Development team
In this work, CPU power is allocated to processing the thoughts of each NPC and the influence on the character's physics calculations. As a result, in sequences where many NPCs appeared at the same time, such as in a city, the load on the CPU was extremely high, which in some cases affected the frame rate. Since the CPU was the bottleneck, even reducing the load on the GPU side, such as lowering the resolution, had little effect on improving the frame rate.

In order to improve this problem, we have reviewed the processing of NPC thoughts and made small adjustments such as the order of execution of each processing in updates since release. As of the title update on September 17, 2024, as a result of reducing the CPU load, it is now possible to play the game at approximately 50 to 60 fps on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions by changing the graphic quality settings. I'm here. Similarly, in the Steam version, you can expect to improve the frame rate by selecting settings that reduce the processing load from the graphics options, so please set the options according to your environment.

In this update, adjustments were made to six jobs. Please tell us about the aim of each.

Development team
Regarding job adjustments, we have mainly made adjustments such as increasing the attack power of skills and improving usability so that each job's individuality stands out. In addition to making adjustments when playing as a master, we have also made adjustments to ensure that the pawns are fulfilling their job roles. There are various jobs that you play and that you like, as well as jobs that you can assign to your pawns. Basically, updates are made in the form of upward adjustments so as not to affect the quality or play feel of each job.

Casual mode is a drastic element. What type of players is this mode recommended for?

Development team
I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to casually enjoy the classic fantasy world. In casual mode, we have made adjustments to reduce the difficulty of the adventure, so I think it will be easier to play even for those who are new to the series. There are many people who enjoy adventures in normal mode, so by switching between modes, we have created a format that allows each person to choose an experience that suits their preferences.

However, due to system considerations, you can change from normal mode to casual mode at any time, but please note that you cannot change from casual mode to normal mode until the ending.

Please tell us more about the specifications of Dragonsplague in casual mode.

Development team
Dragonsplague has the advantage of making the pawn stronger when infected, but it also has the disadvantage of causing a ``great disaster'' if left unchecked. In previous updates, we have lowered the infection rate and added specifications that make it easier to visually see the infection status, but in casual mode, we have kept the benefits of strengthening pawns through infection while preventing the disadvantages from occurring.

Will there be any updates to this game in the future?

Development team
In the near future, we are planning an update to support PS5 Pro and fix some bugs.

Please give a message to game fans who haven't played this game yet, as well as players who played the game right after it was released but haven't returned for a while.

Development team
This work is an open world action game where you can enjoy free adventure in a classic fantasy world. The September 17, 2024 update includes adjustments such as the implementation of casual mode that will allow you to enjoy the world of this work more easily. This is for those who didn't have much time right after its release, as well as those who like action and fantasy, those who want to role-play as the main character, and those who want to experience the fun of adventure with someone else even when playing alone. We hope that you will take this opportunity to play this work.

 

[kites]

Shut the fuck up and give me a hard mode and some goddamn dungeons to get lost in. The core gameplay worked well but its overall execution was flawed and they completely fumbled the ball. The way they’re trying to make DD2 more enticing through incremental performances patches won’t move the needle. The game doesn’t need small tweaks - it needs a total shake-up to attract new people and players like me that eventually just dropped it due to its balancing and lack of dungeons/enemy variety. I left it when I arrived at the Volcanic Island, and while I had many positive feelings and sessions I’m just left with a middling sentiment towards it.

 

[purpleblob]

FFS announce the DLC already Capcom

 

[Zombra]

Shut the fuck up and give me a hard mode and some goddamn dungeons to get lost in. The core gameplay worked well but its overall execution was flawed and they completely fumbled the ball. The way they’re trying to make DD2 more enticing through incremental performances patches won’t move the needle. The game doesn’t need small tweaks - it needs a total shake-up to attract new people and players like me that eventually just dropped it due to its balancing and lack of dungeons/enemy variety. I left it when I arrived at the Volcanic Island, and while I had many positive feelings and sessions I’m just left with a middling sentiment towards it.

Just remember that Dark Arisen released a full year after the original game.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I don't understand what's Capcom's marketing strategy with this IP...
Considering they didn't announce anything at TGS, I think it's safe to assume that if plans for an Expansion exist, it will not release this year
But if it's indeed going to be released next year, then unless they plan for it to come out sometime after the end of Spring, I see no way expansion sales wouldn't end up being cannibalized by MonHun Wilds

 

[Shinji]

More patches.
From the looks of it they're now releasing updates every 14 days or so.

[PlayStation®5 Pro]

Modifications for the PlayStation®5 Pro

• Adding PlayStation® Spectral Super Resolution to the Graphics section of the Options menu.
• Adding "Balanced" as a selection under Graphics Quality in the Graphics section of the Options menu.

[PlayStation®5 / Xbox Series X|S / Steam]

Modifications and Fixes

• Fixing issue during "Nesting Troubles" where throwing the jar of poison into the saurian nest would not progress the quest.
• Fixing issue where Pawns of the Calm or Straightforward inclination would cease all activity after failing to use "Levitate".
• Fixing issue where the minimap would repeatedly zoom in and out while passing through the Hermit's Retreat.
• Fixing issue where the power of the spell "Maelstrom" was drastically increased when Myrddin was fighting with the player's party.

[PlayStation®5 / Xbox Series X|S]

Modifications and Fixes

• Fixing issue where no sound effect would play when switching categories in the Character Creator.

 

[deuxhero]

Capcom quarterly report is out. Dragon's Dogma 2 is listed as 3,318,000 sales as of September 30th. Sales were flat 3 million as of June 30th. 100,000 a month is still way too much for this malware infested, censored dogshit.

 

[Cyberarmy]

This is now %43 off at Steam, can't decide if I want to pick it up...

 

[Yosharian]

This is now %43 off at Steam, can't decide if I want to pick it up...

It's not a bad little game if you mod it up to fix the difficulty

 

[Zombra]

This is now %43 off at Steam, can't decide if I want to pick it up...

If your fingers are itching to try it, try it for a couple hours and decide whether to refund. Don't buy it and let it sit in your backlog for a month. This won't be the last time it goes on sale.

 

[d1r]

I still can't get over the fact that they added a Casual mode (while the game is still missing a Hardcore mode!).

Did their analysts think that DD2's "failure" was due to the game being too anarchic? Too hard? People actually got so mad about the Dragon Plague that they stopped playing the game? What am I even witnessing here?

 

[Cyberarmy]

This is now %43 off at Steam, can't decide if I want to pick it up...

If your fingers are itching to try it, try it for a couple hours and decide whether to refund. Don't buy it and let it sit in your backlog for a month. This won't be the last time it goes on sale.

Already tried and refunded it after at release...

 

[Suicidal]

People actually got so mad about the Dragon Plague that they stopped playing the game?

I actually saw more than a few examples of this.

 

[Zombra]

Already tried and refunded it after at release...

There you go. The answer was in your heart all along. /thread unsubscribe

 

[deuxhero]

I still can't get over the fact that they added a Casual mode (while the game is still missing a Hardcore mode!).

Did their analysts think that DD2's "failure" was due to the game being too anarchic? Too hard? People actually got so mad about the Dragon Plague that they stopped playing the game? What am I even witnessing here?

A mechanic that does essentially nothing if you know what it does but is crippling if you don't is disliked for being a bad mechanic?

 

[mediocrepoet]

I still can't get over the fact that they added a Casual mode (while the game is still missing a Hardcore mode!).

Did their analysts think that DD2's "failure" was due to the game being too anarchic? Too hard? People actually got so mad about the Dragon Plague that they stopped playing the game? What am I even witnessing here?

A mechanic that does essentially nothing if you know what it does but is crippling if you don't is disliked for being a bad mechanic?

Yeah, how could you see it coming on initial release? It was only mentioned in various NPC dialogues and every other loading screen. I can see how some people got completely blindsided by it. By being massively retarded.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

The Dragonsplague is still a pointless mechanic, which serves only the purpose of occasionally requiring the player to dump their pawns in the Brine and then respawn them from a Riftstone (or hire different ones for the support pawns).

And it's fully understandable how someone not keeping back-up save games would react negatively to a plague-ridden pawn murdering the populace of one of the few settlements in the game, especially if it happens to be Vernworth or Bakbattahl.

 

[mediocrepoet]

The Dragonsplague is still a pointless mechanic, which serves only the purpose of occasionally requiring the player to dump their pawns in the Brine and then respawn them from a Riftstone (or hire different ones for the support pawns).

And it's fully understandable how someone not keeping back-up save games would react negatively to a plague-ridden pawn murdering the populace of one of the few settlements in the game, especially if it happens to be Vernworth or Bakbattahl.

Use the eternal wakestone, bro. It's even got a cheevo!

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

DD2 is gonna win GOTY on Codex, get ready MFers!

 

[DJOGamer PT]

It's not like this year we've had any other notable rpg competition...

 

[Raghar]

DD2 is gonna win GOTY on Codex, get ready MFers!

If pirates can't run it it will not get pirate's votes.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

The Dragonsplague is still a pointless mechanic, which serves only the purpose of occasionally requiring the player to dump their pawns in the Brine

The idea is solid, but the cure should've been a quest or at least a very rare cure (perhaps both, like a multi-item ritual that forces the player to the most dangerous spots on the map)
Also, Brining your main pawn diminishes their affinity

 

[d1r]

It's not like this year we've any other notable rpg competition...

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI V: VENGEANCE

 

[DJOGamer PT]

that's a port man, not a new game...

 

[Raghar]

It's not like this year we've had any other notable rpg competition...

...
...
Bug fixed Warhammer Rogue Trader?

Bug fixed... Combat system repaired... that was just a weird idea. They are too busy with their new train wreck.