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[Sir Garbageman]

So, how viable is it to play this without ever actually doing the RTS part and still have a challenge? I mean, specifically, does the simulating with different commanders seem to be effective for that part of the game?

Cause I realize that looking at media for the game that I really want a Medieval Fantasy Political Policy Simulator with a little bit of grand strategy, but adding in the more active RTS elements is something I'm not really up for right now.

It's definitely possible but the game would be much harder imo. Once you get a feel for the gameplay, you can easily win battles that you are given a sub 20% chance of winning if you control the RTS portion yourself.

Just finished it. GOTY candidate to be sure... but

Spoiler

The third act was the weakest IMO. It felt tacked on and didn't add anything new to the gameplay - it was just "the demon controlling everything makes them overpowered" so you have to mass more troops and your dragon dies quicker. I made my way through the map rather slowly because I needed a million troops for the major battles. I didn't hate it... as the act of playing the game is fun... but it was a bit of a letdown.


Also the lack of ending was disappointing. I knew all of the social decisions I made were for research points vs luck vs population vs race happiness vs etc.... but I hoped that it would have some affect on the ending. Like even just a generic "your new liberal empire that doesn't discriminate and has national health care prospers into blah blah blah." But nary a mention of anything political. Quite odd considering how many endings they gave to each queen storyline.

Minor complaints aside it was

Spoiler

23

hours of awesomeness and I'm going to start a custom campaign tomorrow.

Agree on all counts. I really wish that the ending

Spoiler

had a fallout 3 style ending giving you a snapshot of all the decisions you made and how it effected the kingdom.

 

[mcfishstick]

The dialogue and voice acting in this game is definitely some of the best ever found in videogaming. I think the four generals and the five politicians are all brilliant. Edmund is the standout for me, but the others are not far behind him.

I love the way each character's personality comes through their dialogue, especially the subtle changes that happen to them throughout a campaign.

The amount of work put into the each queen is also pretty amazing.

I wonder how much Larian took inspiration from the Blackadder series. Edmund's superiority complex and snide comments do seem inspired by Edmund Blackadder. Some of the other characters also seem inspired by Blackadder characters. I think it's great to see a game inspired by something other than Hollywood blockbuster explosions for once.

 

[Durante]

The amount of work put into the each queen is also pretty amazing.

Yeah, as soon as I'm done with the main campaign I'll start another one with a different queen. I really want to see how they all play out.

 

[Casimir]

So, how viable is it to play this without ever actually doing the RTS part and still have a challenge? I mean, specifically, does the simulating with different commanders seem to be effective for that part of the game?

Cause I realize that looking at media for the game that I really want a Medieval Fantasy Political Policy Simulator with a little bit of grand strategy, but adding in the more active RTS elements is something I'm not really up for right now.

It's viable on Normal and the easier difficulties at least. There are 2-3 introductory battles in Act I that you may have to do, but afterwards the RTS portion becomes superfluous. I finished the game recently, which I'll post about more later after a few hours of sleep, but I stopped needing to engage in the RTS portions during Act 2 and never had an issue afterwards.

You might have to be a bit more cautious when conquering the map, during the early phases of the game compared to a normal run. But If you plan out your buildings and moves, you will be fine.

 

[famousmortimer]

The fact that no one is playing this online is a bummer. I can't even find a game to see if it's shit or not. There were 4 people online last night at midnight eastern.

 

[FACE]

The fact that no one is playing this online is a bummer. I can't even find a game to see if it's shit or not. There were 4 people online last night at midnight eastern.

Yikes! I hope it didn't bomb.

Edit: Well, according to a tweet by Swen it was "beating expectations so far".

 

[famousmortimer]

Yeah I think it's doing fine. It stayed in the top 20 for almost two weeks, has nestled into around 35-ish since then. Not a raging success but it's probably alright. And like most games on Steam it will end up making 4x as much money during its first sale and then every seasonal sale after that.

 

[Perkel]

The fact that no one is playing this online is a bummer. I can't even find a game to see if it's shit or not. There were 4 people online last night at midnight eastern.

Frankly i have 0 reasons to go online. DC is simply not game that i would play online. Same as EU4.

 

[Durante]

I just finished the main campaign, took me around 18 hours. Extremely entertaining 18 hours at that, though I have to agree with others that the third act is the weakest. Also, the dragon form with a full loadout of tier 4 skills is incredibly overpowered -- in a good and very satisfying way though.

I'll try a custom campaign with a different princess next.

Frankly i have 0 reasons to go online. DC is simply not game that i would play online. Same as EU4.

Yeah, same here.

 

[crazyjah2003]

How do you guys think this game compares to Divinity 2? 2 has better reviews, but this thread suggests DC would be an improvement on 2.

 

[Serra]

How do you guys think this game compares to Divinity 2? 2 has better reviews, but this thread suggests DC would be an improvement on 2.

This is like asking someone to compare Halo Wars to Halo 4.
Or Warcraft 2 to World of Warcraft.

Same universe but different genres and totally different mechanics.

 

[crazyjah2003]

This is like asking someone to compare Halo Wars to Halo 4.
Or Warcraft 2 to World of Warcraft.

Same universe but different genres and totally different mechanics.

Nice, I was hesitant to jump on the D2 sale because I already had DC sitting in my backlog.

 

[Serra]

Nice, I was hesitant to jump on the D2 sale because I already had DC sitting in my backlog.

I recommend you jump on that sale, D2 is a good game.

 

[Althane]

So it's on 50% sale, just have to ask before I buy: Is the Imperial Edition worth the extra 4 bucks?

 

[Ferrio]

Wish list alerted me to it being on sale... bought!

 

[Llyranor]

Is this full campaign co-op?

Can one player play as the RTS dude, while the other controls the dragon? And then they swap roles for the next mission?

 

[Hrothgar]

Haha, did you guys see this? Larian made a video showing how the players voted for the political decisions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdeOvdAgko8

Obama redeemed, the people want government healthcare!

 

[Serandur]

Trying to decide if I should get this... I really want to, but $20 (well, $22.49 for the Imperial Edition) would make this the single most expensive Steam game I've ever purchased and I have a lot... hmm...

 

[Durante]

Haha, did you guys see this? Larian made a video showing how the players voted for the political decisions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdeOvdAgko8

Obama redeemed, the people want government healthcare!

Yeah, I just saw this today. It's funny, but what really stood out to me is how many of these choices I didn't even encounter in my games. There's a lot of variety there.

Trying to decide if I should get this... I really want to, but $20 (well, $22.49 for the Imperial Edition) would make this the single most expensive Steam game I've ever purchased and I have a lot... hmm...

You should.

 

[Serandur]

Yeah, I just saw this today. It's funny, but what really stood out to me is how many of these choices I didn't even encounter in my games. There's a lot of variety there.

You should.

Well, if Durante says I should... bought.

How did the game do commercially, by the way?

 

[Durante]

Well, if Durante says I should... bought.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

How did the game do commercially, by the way?

It seems like it did OK. Not bad enough to bankrupt them, but not good enough to live off for long either.

I think it's a hard sell, simply because it does so many things. This makes it hard to describe quickly (e.g. you can't just name a single genre or say "It's like game X") and may turn off people who dislike any of them (e.g. if someone doesn't like RTS they may steer clear, or if someone else hates RPG elements in their strategy games they might do the same thing).

 

[Serandur]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I'm sure I will. Anything Larian Studios do has my respect and attention. I just found about Original Sin earlier today too, I'm excited.

It seems like it did OK. Not bad enough to bankrupt them, but not good enough to live off for long either.

I think it's a hard sell, simply because it does so many things. This makes it hard to describe quickly (e.g. you can't just name a single genre or say "It's like game X") and may turn off people who dislike any of them (e.g. if someone doesn't like RTS they may steer clear, or if someone else hates RPG elements in their strategy games they might do the same thing).

Oddly enough, I think that's why it's also so appealing to those who like it. It looks unique and fortunately for me, I love RPG and strategy games both. They always seemed like a natural fit I love to see blended together.

 

[Serandur]

So, I've been playing a bit and I'm really enjoying it. The characters are extremely well-written (very commendable) and the soundtrack is stunning. The strategy side isn't too bad either.

 

[Conezays]

Just grabbed this in the Steam sale. Also grabbed Divinity 2 earlier in the week on GOG for a few bucks and loving it. Original Sin in a few days.

Hype train.

 

[XtremeRampage]

I know some people here like Steam, however if I buy and have the retail version (the physical DVD) of this game do I still have to install and activate it online via Steam?