If you've been playing CRPGs since the 80s, you should be used to jank, I'd think. I don't mean that as a slight, but this is a genre with quite a history of bugginess. I actually find this particular game to feel more polished than stuff that even some of the big names put out.
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Divinity: Original Sin |OT| Sandbox RPG. Co-Op friendly. Bread.
- Thread starter Casimir
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If you've been playing CRPGs since the 80s, you should be used to jank, I'd think. I don't mean that as a slight, but this is a genre with quite a history of bugginess. I actually find this particular game to feel more polished than stuff that even some of the big names put out.
One person's weird is another person's fun.
Rogues seem capable of exceptionally good spike damage. The caveat is that they need to be up-close to achieve it and they typically won't have the hit-points to survive concerted attention. You need to play the positioning game well, manage your AP and, critically, watch out for AOEs from both friend and foe. Just as a zombie exploding in a puddle of poison when your backstab gibs it is going to suck, so is a cast-happy, explode-em-all friendly mage.The most recent isometric CRPG I played was Icewind Dale earlier this year, and it's infinitely jankier
Honestly, this game might well have the lowest (jank/(scope+agency)) quotient at release of anything I ever played. And that includes almost every CRPG.
Yeah, I agree with a lot of what you said. I've been playing BG2 for the first time in the past week or so, so D:OS has had a lot to live up to. It's not as great as that game so far, but I'm still loving it and having a lot of fun. There are a lot of missing things though that I take for granted having played BG2. But it's not really fair to compare the two.
Yeah not really a fan of the sneak animation either.
What's weird is I have the opposite reaction.
I haven't played those old games that are classics in the series because every time I play the interface and the graphics are just too ass. I played Planescape Torment for about 3 hours last year and gave up. Same with NeverWinter Nights a few years ago. Then having not learned my lesson, I bought Baldur's Gate 2 in this steam sale but can't even bring myself to boot it up the interface and graphics look so gross and arcane. I understand the depth of the writing and systems are what people love about these games but i just can't get passed how ass they feel in 2014.
Meanwhile this game I'm in love with. It seems to have the same kind of systems as those old ones but with modern polish, way better graphics, and a much better UI than those old classics. This game I can not only play, I can love.
One quick question for people though: how do you get new magic spells? I've just been playing with the base ones and scrolls.
Wait there's no day/night cycle?
I've found zero jank so far. The animations and camera are all smooth and completely unobtrusive (especially good for the camera).
I was blown away when I summoned a giant spider for the first time. As far as comparing the "jank" level to older CRPGs, this one is very polished in comparison.
I was blown away when I summoned a giant spider for the first time. As far as comparing the "jank" level to older CRPGs, this one is very polished in comparison.
Same thing I experiened. Even the walk animations and the lively animated details of people around town are so much better than those old games of this type.
I love that the sheep do cartwheels.
Q
Queen of Hunting
Unconfirmed Member
how is the turn based comabt
There is a literal ton of stuff you can do in Divinity which you can't do in BG2 (or any IE game). Those have only extremely scripted world interactivity, if any at all. They are basically static.
Also, seriously, the IE game UI is just crap compared to OS.
I feel the need to point out again that my favourite game of all time is an IE game, just that I'm not misunderstood. But even if RPGs as a whole might have regressed since then, user interface design and polish has not, and few games show that to such great effect as Divinity:OS does. And it does that while also showing that complexity doesn't need to suffer just because you greatly improve usability.
Sentenza
Gold Member
Um... they said in their kickstarter update at the end of the fundraiser that with paypal they reached that final goal.
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
I just got 2 mercs, I'll gets the regular companions on my second play through to make it interesting. Didn't help that I made a fighter + water/witch to start.
SiegfriedFM
Member
So, some questions. Does equipment show up on the characters or do you choose a standard colour/item setup for the "sprite" like in the BG games?
Can you customize other characters than your two mains?
Does the story rely on having a man and a woman or can you make any combination?
I'm thinking of buying this but I want to think about what characters I could make.
Oh, and can you change your names?
Can you customize other characters than your two mains?
Does the story rely on having a man and a woman or can you make any combination?
I'm thinking of buying this but I want to think about what characters I could make.
Oh, and can you change your names?
But I haven't noticed any day-night cycle? Is it going to be implemented later?
Pretty sure your memories have gleamed over the "jankiness" in most cprg's ever made.
I'd like to know as well, my rogue is currently lvl 5 and so far it's not great but not bad either. lock picks are a pain to get and they are pretty expensive can you craft them ?
They had to scrap that due to time constraints.
Ah, okay. Thanks for the information.
yeah.... I can't agree with this at all. I'm 39 and grew up on Ultima III+, Bard's Tale 1 and 2 on an Apple IIe, the D&D Gold Box games, etc. So far the only thing you've stated is the day/night (btw weather is there) and we already knew why Larian omitted it despite them including it in the engine. i.e. they didn't want it to be just cosmetic and going back and readjusting all NPCs to both cycles would have extended development dramatically.
As others have stated, arguably one of the more defining aspects of this genre is the fact that it IS buggy. And I mean let's face it.. the more you try to include in these games (another defining trait) the wider area there is to net bugs with.
I'm less than 10 hours in so far... but I have a really hard time finding any real deficiencies compared to Baldur's Gate, Ultima VII, or any of the 80s classics. I guess you could sake lack of a party, but really that was more BG than anything simply because of how deep the PC's were. Obviously Larian went with the two characters to keep that depth and then fill out the rest with companions and retainers (and we are getting more companions, right?)
1. it shows up.
2. gear shows up but I don't believe you can adjust stats. I may be wrong.
3. I believe you can make same sex party but again I could be wrong.
4. of course.
I need to play a lot more to make a final judgement, but it might just be the best TB combat in any RPG ever.
(That includes ToEE)
Equipment shows up.
You can make any combination, I have been playing with 2 women.
Yes.
Nope. The feature was cut as Larian didn't want to spend the development resources on something which was only cosmetic in implementation, and they soon realised that they simply didn't have the development resources in the first place to include day/night cycles meaningfully with regards to gameplay. A similar story with the NPC scheduling that was initially suggested -- the grim realisation of how mammoth a task it was only reared up after they'd started the initial work on it.
Maybe D:OS will be the money-making monster that Swen needs to bankroll development of his Secret Dream Game, which is supposedly exceptional in its ambitiousness. Let's hope!
They had to give up on the night/day cycle as they wanted to do it properly (E.G, have everyone have their own house at night that they go to, etc).
What we get instead if many different areas in different part of the day.
I do agree with everything you've said. Maybe I just haven't gotten far enough into OS yet. It just hasn't clicked for me yet, despite the increased levels of interactivity and the clear superiority in UI.
I am really enjoying it though, and I suspect once I get out of this town and into the nitty gritty I will appreciate it more.
Snapshot King
Member
I'm having a lot of starting out and deciding what classes I want my characters to be. Any advice guys?
One of their updates they outlined some things they had to pull because the scope turned out to be WAY bigger than they originally thought and they would rather have a more polished core experience than a greatly delayed, feature creep version.
Day/night cycle was one, NPC dynamic schedules was another. I think that may have been it?
Minsc
Gold Member
I really hope this game (especially the editor) sees a ton of support before they scrap it and move on to some next-gen life-like looking DKS action RPG or a 'revolutionary' MMORPG or something equally different from Original Sin.
You need to not think of it as a game like Baldur's Gate, which is almost all combat. You need to think of it as a game like Ultima. It's about world interaction.
LurkerPrime
Member
The oil slick spell and a rapid-fire fire staff, when combined, are gamechangers. Enemies that demolished me endlessly are now mere nuisances!
I suppose being two levels higher and having better equipment helped, too, though.
The advent of 3D graphics changed a lot of things.
And really, RPGs nowadays have changed; they are now lead by Bioware. Things like scope and freedom were sacrificed in exchange for three dialog choices that say the same thing, voiced companions, romances options, black and white morality, and A for Awesome; basically, a tighter, more linear, scripted experience.
To expect a similar level of polish from a game that champions a player's agency and freedom is, frankly, absurd. Scripting an immersive, living, and large world that reacts and seamlessly adapts to your choices is something not even Skyrim can achieve, in spite of its mechanics and interaction being as shallow as they are (not to mention dat budget).
A game like DOS embraces freedom and choice. It has interactivity, and the depth of its mechanics are something that will probably be unparalleled for some time to come, and all it cost is a little scripted immersion - a small price to pay. The big thing that sets DOS apart from its peers is that it gives players the freedom to fail which is a very unpopular design choice nowadays, and a very bold decision by Larian. Because of this, I think it's only fair to cut them some slack for what they have achieved in developing Divinity: Original Sin.
I suppose being two levels higher and having better equipment helped, too, though.
The advent of 3D graphics changed a lot of things.
And really, RPGs nowadays have changed; they are now lead by Bioware. Things like scope and freedom were sacrificed in exchange for three dialog choices that say the same thing, voiced companions, romances options, black and white morality, and A for Awesome; basically, a tighter, more linear, scripted experience.
To expect a similar level of polish from a game that champions a player's agency and freedom is, frankly, absurd. Scripting an immersive, living, and large world that reacts and seamlessly adapts to your choices is something not even Skyrim can achieve, in spite of its mechanics and interaction being as shallow as they are (not to mention dat budget).
A game like DOS embraces freedom and choice. It has interactivity, and the depth of its mechanics are something that will probably be unparalleled for some time to come, and all it cost is a little scripted immersion - a small price to pay. The big thing that sets DOS apart from its peers is that it gives players the freedom to fail which is a very unpopular design choice nowadays, and a very bold decision by Larian. Because of this, I think it's only fair to cut them some slack for what they have achieved in developing Divinity: Original Sin.
They cut it out because it was too difficult to make the NPC react to it.
They announced it it a news.
You really should read some of Swen's blog posts or something if you are concerned about that. The reason Divinity 1 was an ARPG was publisher pressure. The reason Divnity 2 was a console ARPG was publisher pressure. If OS is successful enough for them to keep working independently on what they want to work on, it will be great.
My two main PC are a fighter and a fire/earth wizard, but I'm a boring player that always do boring safe builds.
You get two companions in the first town,
an air/water wizard and a warrior
Hybrids can work, but it looks like they're not ideal because you don't get a lot of stats, so their skills will be a little gimped, but try to make your party balanced.
beautifully stated. sadly bioware games used to allow this, but nowadays are SO SO SO heavily scripted that they would practically fall apart if the player failed at significant events (something you can do in DOS). And I'm not bitching about or deriding BW games in the slightest. They've simply gone in a different direction with the cRPG and Dragon Age (and obviously way different with ME2 and ME3).
Comparing DOS to most modern cRPGs is apple to oranges. They are different games. DOS is a type of cRPG that really hasn't existed for 15 years. Sadly given the size and scope of the development of such a game it's also not likely a sub-genre that will be revived any time soon. Still, we have a game in it now, so best to just shut up and enjoy it
beautifully stated. sadly bioware games used to allow this, but nowadays are SO SO SO heavily scripted that they would practically fall apart if the player failed at significant events (something you can do in DOS). And I'm not bitching about or deriding BW games in the slightest. They've simply gone in a different direction with the cRPG and Dragon Age (and obviously way different with ME2 and ME3).
Comparing DOS to most modern cRPGs is apple to oranges. They are different games. DOS is a type of cRPG that really hasn't existed for 15 years. Sadly given the size and scope of the development of such a game it's also not likely a sub-genre that will be revived any time soon. Still, we have a game in it now, so best to just shut up and enjoy it
Right on point. I'm happy for both styles to co-exist, as long as *both* exist!
Interesting. What're your thoughts on Divinity 2? I'm personally having a blast going through it right now slowly on the side.
Borghe, meet Might & Magic X. Might & Magic X, meet borghe. I think you two will get along famously.Comparing DOS to most modern cRPGs is apple to oranges. They are different games. DOS is a type of cRPG that really hasn't existed for 15 years. Sadly given the size and scope of the development of such a game it's also not likely a sub-genre that will be revived any time soon. Still, we have a game in it now, so best to just shut up and enjoy it
I absolutely loved Divinity 2, but it's a way, way more flawed game than OS is.
Edit: Anyone interested in some Larian / Divinity 2 background information (and entertainment) should watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Nq9_X68os
Messofanego
Banned
Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but it's the top seller on Steam so that might be a good thing.
The fights with the named enemies have been really satisfying to finally beat. I'm not typically into turn-based games, but this has been winning me over since beta, and especially now in the release version. Enemies don't feel like they hold back, even on normal difficulty.
It was there during the last day of the sale too, I think. I hope people are enjoying it, and that Larian is making a load of money off of it.
I still have to say I can't believe they would not put in the option for a "click twice to do action" option. One simple misclick and you run into the wrong direction in combat. One little misclick and you steal an item in front of an NPC. It's really quite harsh and not fun at all.
It does? I haven't heard anyone saying that, and neither me nor my coop partner had a single crash so far.