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Kickstarter: Divinity: Original Sin 2 [Over, $2 million funded]

Democracy be damned, let this game fund so magnificently that they can ultimately add all the skill trees!

But if justice doesn't prevail---Unarmed and Polymorph are the least gear/inventory fiddling driven, so definitely those combined with the new Physics possibilities. Part fantasy Fist of the North Star, part Apocalypse Zero---what's not to love?

Or a rare chance to roleplay Zoidberg at his best...
 
Those stretch goals are great. Polymorpher, Racial Skills, and Undead Origin need to happen. Though I'd also settle for all of them.
Face it, the humor could have been done better. Even Diablo 3, with its horrible story, has way more memorable and self-aware characters like Covetous Shen and Zoltan Kulle.

I appreciate what they're trying with characters like Arhu in DO:S, but the comedic timing and delivery are just off. When the "halibut, sheep's cheese" lady is more memorable than a major NPC, something's wrong with the writing.

Diablo 3's writing is atrocious, dude. Blizzard's style of storytelling and writing has gone into the gutter post-WOW and they've lost all ability to make anything more than sophmoric fanfiction out of their games.

Divinity, on the other hand, has Bellegar.
 
This was posted in the RPG Codex thread, but a source wasn't listed.

we're not planning on having Night/Day cycles yet. It would be an awesome feature, but given the number of other awesome features that we want, it's very difficult. Right now we're focusing on things like improving combat, 4 player co-op, and a systemic, reactive world that we hope will blow your chainmail socks off!

Day/Night cycles and NPC Schedules aren't being looked at right now. We've looked at them in the past, and they're much more work than we'd envisioned, so right now we're trying to focus on other features. We're not in the business of saying "Never", but they're not in the base game or current stretch goals.

That's disappointing. Ultima VII continues to impress us with its simulation in 2015... The ambitious origin system, among other things, will likely make up for it.
 
An Undead origin is quite interesting- Ophelia and Yorrick were pretty great in DC. Swen's vivacious demonstration of the Polymorpher skill tree sold me on it :)

With regards to the writing, I didn't think D:OS had any problems on a technical level, it was just really the tone of whimsy that pervaded throughout the game. Their previous games had that too, but it felt more pronounced here, I recall it often being hidden behind the mind reading mechanic in Divinity 2, for example. Following on the heels of Dragon Commander which melded Larian's signature blend of humour with the larger plot quite aptly, I often felt the tone of D:OS was somewhat at odds with the core narrative.

Watching Swen's session with Angry Joe linked earlier in the thread definitely got me thinking on the possibilities of how far you could push this kind of approach in the genre, both in single and multiplayer, there's a hell of a lot of promise in some of the directions Larian are broaching.

So no day/night cycles and NPC schedules?
:(
Given they had to ditch them last time, I think I'd rather their efforts went into getting other things right as opposed to a blanket system that has knock on effects for most NPCs in the game. It's be nice to have but I'd much rather see everything else get to a polished state tbh.
 
This was posted in the RPG Codex thread, but a source wasn't listed.





That's disappointing. Ultima VII continues to impress us with its simulation in 2015... The ambitious origin system, among other things, will likely make up for it.

I think it's from the kickstarter comment section
 
Face it, the humor could have been done better. Even Diablo 3, with its horrible story, has way more memorable and self-aware characters like Covetous Shen and Zoltan Kulle.

I appreciate what they're trying with characters like Arhu in DO:S, but the comedic timing and delivery are just off. When the "halibut, sheep's cheese" lady is more memorable than a major NPC, something's wrong with the writing.

I agree that the humour delivery and writing should have been better. For a good example they don't need to look far to be honest. Divinity II had great humour and writing, one of the most underrated hack&slash RPG's imo.
 
To be very clear, I don't need writing to be grimdark or "weighty" or "mature," I just need it to be good. For a lot of reasons, and in a lot of ways, the writing in D:OS was not good.
 
To be very clear, I don't need writing to be grimdark or "weighty" or "mature," I just need it to be good. For a lot of reasons, and in a lot of ways, the writing in D:OS was not good.

Yup though you can have drama in your comedic game. They dont need to go full wacky. I just have to care about the characters I'm interacting with.
 
Just upped my pledge from the collector's edition to the new $200 tier just for the signed art. First time I backed a Kickstarter project, and one from my country no less :D.

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I agree that the humour delivery and writing should have been better. For a good example they don't need to look far to be honest. Divinity II had great humour and writing, one of the most underrated hack&slash RPG's imo.
Actually, Dragon Commander was even closer, and plenty of characters (pretty much all the advisers and princesses) in that were great NPCs.

They are much better at RPG's than strategy games, I'd rather they didn't.
I don't think that has been demonstrated. I mean, it could obviously well be true, but they sacrificed Dragon Commander (which is the only point of reference) on the altar of OS, so comparing those two games doesn't say all that much about their affinity to the respective genres.

That said, I'd rather have them make RPGs in any case, since my affinity to that genre is higher ;)
 
Actually, Dragon Commander was even closer, and plenty of characters (pretty much all the advisers and princesses) in that were great NPCs.

I don't think that has been demonstrated. I mean, it could obviously well be true, but they sacrificed Dragon Commander (which is the only point of reference) on the altar of OS, so comparing those two games doesn't say all that much about their affinity to the respective genres.

That said, I'd rather have them make RPGs in any case, since my affinity to that genre is higher ;)

LED Wars wasn't great either.
 
I like Larian's writing, but for D:OS you have to remember they originally planned to have a Keyword dialogue system like Ultima VII, so your dialogue options were going to be "Name", "Rumor", "Job" and stuff like that and they changed the system mid-production, so maybe that's why a lot of the dialogue is dull.
 
I'm confused on the skill trees: so potentially we can only select between two? Then I am assuming others skills will be through books like the first game?
 
Speaking of skill trees, I'm curious how they'll handle the (potential) for a myriad of active skills. Multiple tabs of skill bars is never fun to have, but at the same time, for a game as complex as Original Sin, it could be put to good use.
 
One other thing, I'm really glad that the first stretch goal is an 'Expert' mode. It really shows where Larian's priorities are, and gives me great faith for the final result. Strategist Mode itself sounds like a dream come true.

At this point I've just gotta decide on my backing tier.
 
One other thing, I'm really glad that the first stretch goal is an 'Expert' mode. It really shows where Larian's priorities are, and gives me great faith for the final result. Strategist Mode itself sounds like a dream come true.

At this point I've just gotta decide on my backing tier.

Can they add a stretch goal to ignore the adult mode and romance suggestions?
 
Definately gonna back this soon. Loved the first game.
 
Ah so like a new thing like the air or fire spells?

Divinity: Original Sin is rife with spectacular skills, and besides the many new ones we've already planned for Original Sin 2, we want to add even more unique skills to the repertoire. We have quite a list and will let our the backers pick a brand new skill tree, featuring at least 16 skills each, from among a host of new proposals when the campaign ends. New proposals, you say! Such as?

Well, here are a few to tickle your imagination:

Polymorpher - As a polymorpher, your body is your oyster. Grow sharp-as-swords horns, poisonous tentacles (with the bonus of further reach) or even wings that allow you to dash and dive across the battlefield. You can even change completely into - what? Something monstrous, that's for sure...

Trap Master - Craft mines, place them in strategic positions and lure the unwitting enemy (or "ally") into your traps! At higher levels you'll be able to toss your deathtraps into groups of foes; taunt them so that they run blindly into your snares, and even craft bombs that you can sneak into an enemy's pocket. Tick. Tock. BOOM!

Bard - Inspire your allies to perform even greater feats of magic and carnage, then pacify, confuse or lull to sleep your enemies with songs and music. Of course, you don't have to be the party's unwavering champion. You can also weave lies into your tales, which can influence the attitude of NPCs in various ways. Sing your own praises and see them cheers you; paint your friends as cowards and see them be hailed with contempt!

Unarmed Combatant - This is for the hands-on fighters that don't want to dance around their targets, but get down and dirty by going for chokeholds and body throws. Wrestle your foes with bare fists, or go for some extra piercing power with vicious knuckles and claws.

Summoning Master - To be able to summon allies is a very powerful skill, but as a master you'll be able to summon more than one extra ally. Other skills will include redirecting incoming damage to your summons; sacrificing them to heal you, or blowing them up to wreak havoc among massed enemies.

Juggernaut - If you want to role play a bloodthirsty maniac that thrives on gore and pain, this is the one to get. Get stronger as your health drops; swing mighty great-swords or dual-wield axes; drown your enemies in spilled blood. You can even sacrifice your own hitpoints in return for massive, area-shattering blows. Beware of friendly fire though - if you even care, that is.

Guardian - A born protector, this sword 'n' board wielding warrior prioritizes a strong defense over offense. Your shield will become a wall behind which you -and your allies- can close in on the enemy unharmed. Your provocations will also turn your foes' attention toward you, but that's ok because other skills include becoming nigh invulnerable for brief amounts of time.

Alchemist - The powers of alchemy become as weapons in your hands! Throw potions like grenades; coat your weapons with poisons and curses; control clouds of steam, lightning, miasma and more; bask in the vastly superior effects of every potion you can get your hands on!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin-2/posts/1335715
 
Yo, those skill trees look wild. I wish all of them could make it in. Polymorpher and Bard sound the best to me. With Summoning Master following in close third.
 
If I understand the KS right, this time around you can't really play co-op from the very start, can you? Since the co-op player would take over a companion.
 
If I understand the KS right, this time around you can't really play co-op from the very start, can you? Since the co-op player would take over a companion.

From the sounds of it you get all 4 party members right away, you all start locked up in prison.
 
From the sounds of it you get all 4 party members right away, you all start locked up in prison.
Ah, right, I think I read that somewhere. But it opens up at least as many questions as it answers. Will you be able to select the backgrounds of all these prisoners? Are there more NPCs to recruit/exchange after those initial 4?
 
Ah, right, I think I read that somewhere. But it opens up at least as many questions as it answers. Will you be able to select the backgrounds of all these prisoners? Are there more NPCs to recruit/exchange after those initial 4?

Yea I'm not sure how that's going to be handled in multiplayer. Hopefully all the real players will get to generate their own characters.

For AI controlled party members, perhaps there are more then 4 prisoners and you choose who to break out? Dunno.
 
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