Game News Divinity: Original Sin Kickstarter Campaign Begins + Hands-on Preview at RPGWatch

[Wizfall]

Bad timing.
Bad pre-campaign.
But looks like a great game.

 

[Jaesun]

You know, this just reminds me of what I had wished NWN2 would have been. Basically a big cRPG game with editor and proper turn based combat. <3

I really hope the script editor is as powerful as the one in NWN/NWN2 because the things people did with that was astounding.

 

[felipepepe]

Swen, you massive bro!

I now own two copies of Divinity:Original Sin (for my brother) and one of Dragon Comander.

 

[Jaedar]

Kinda tempted to go 65 dollars for original sin and dragon kommander. But I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just go 25 for original sin and then buy dragon commander seperate.

 

[likaq]

I'm in for $65.
DC looks cool and editor from DOS looks very sexy.
AND TB . SUCK ON THAT OBSIDIAN.

 

[HobGoblin42]

That's an interesting campaign, because it's from a professional game development studio that actually uses Kickstarter to 'kickfinish' a project. The game already looks great and nearly completed, I am very curious if they can attract the KS crowd with that concept.

 

[felipepepe]

Wait, what is this:

Should we exceed our target budget we can start thinking on implementing systems that affect the entire game and not just the game world. Features such as perks, more character customisation, more party members with extensive backgrounds,more playable races,more game editor features, more levels of interactivity, more skill classes etc.

More playable races? Da fuck?

That's an interesting campaign, because it's from a professional game development studio that actually uses Kickstarter to 'kickfinish' a project. The game already looks great and nearly completed, I am very curious if they can attract the KS crowd with that concept.

Thinking on something similar, are we?

 

[undecaf]

In for 25. Will upgrade if finances allow during the end of this campaign.

 

[Black]

Wait, what is this:

Should we exceed our target budget we can start thinking on implementing systems that affect the entire game and not just the game world. Features such as perks, more character customisation, more party members with extensive backgrounds,more playable races,more game editor features, more levels of interactivity, more skill classes etc.

More playable races? Da fuck?

Humans or humans with spiky ears.

 

[Alex_Steel]

In before blogdex thread of how some munchkin broke up with his girlfriend because he won every argument in this game.

 

[Haba]

Oh fuck you Sven. I am already spending more money in Kickstarter than I do in food.

Now it is looking like I'll have to spend more than I spend in food and booze.

...

Man, that co-op gameplay actually looks good. And unique.

 

[Jaesun]

Jaesun - The Serpent of Torment 18 minutes ago
Will mod makers have accesses to a scripting system similar to how powerful NWN/NWN2 was?

Creator Larian Studios LLC 11 minutes ago
Jaesun: Yes - the main scripting language is quite powerful. We made all the Divinities with it and to this date haven't encountered a single story situation that we couldn't represent with it.

Creator Larian Studios LLC 1 minute ago
@Indira: I'm going to try to get you some script code here so you can see what it looks like - it's easier to learn than c++ and it's specifically tailored to the task of writing interactive stories. We'll definitely do an update that shows how scripting works in the coming updates.

 

[Kashrlyyk]

Kinda tempted to go 65 dollars for original sin and dragon kommander. But I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just go 25 for original sin and then buy dragon commander seperate.

Remember. You also get the soundtrack!

What I like is that it's not about funding the game but about making it bigger. So there is not really any risk at all.

 

[Haba]

This is actually a game that maybe deserves Codex fundraiser more than Torment does.

I am... Torn

 

[likaq]

No.
Torment 2 > Divinity: Original Sin
Period.

 

[Jaesun]

To be honest I am more looking forward to this. I have been fucking waiting for a good turn based engine with extensive modding abilities (like script access).

The lack of script access is the one BAD thing with Shadowrun Returns. :/ But I have yet to so how powerful the editor is though.....

 

[Jashiin]

What does one fundraiser matter ?

 

[Jaesun]

NPC schedules confirmed:

gandalf.nho - Tormented Huntress of OOoE 8 minutes ago
@Larian the script language is LUA perhaps? I know many games uses it

Creator Larian Studios LLC 1 minute ago
@gandalf.nho: No, it's custom made for making RPG stories. It's based on prolog and allows all kinds of logic manipulations which works well for storytelling (which is heavily event driven). There's also a scripting component for the more procedural things (like npc schedules). The coolest part (imho) is that it all works in multiplayer too.

 

[catfood]

This is actually a game that maybe deserves Codex fundraiser more than Torment does.

I am... Torn

If there is one RPG kickstarter that deserves to hit it big it's this one. Because unlike all the others which sold nothing but dreams, this one actually has something tangible to show. I really hope that this reaches 1 mil eventually.

 

[felipepepe]

Not to mention that Larian are bros that have been fighting the good fight since forever.

But I'm a bit worried that the KS is going up very slowly... I really wish they made tons of money from this.

 

[FeelTheRads]

They should market it as the ultimate romance simulator (fancy romancing some fat dude in his underwear on the internet? this is the game for you) and watch the cash flow.

 

[MicoSelva]

There are some neat screenshots at the refreshed D:OS website, check them out, bros.

 

[Jaesun]

Creator Larian Studios LLC 2 minutes ago
@Indira: We'll try to release the toolset before the game ships (it'll definitely be available in the beta if not already in the alpha) but the level of support we're going to be able to give at that time is going to depend on how well this Kickstarter goes.

Swen Vincke ‏@LarAtLarian1m
There's also a new website that goes with the Divinity:Original Sin Kickstarter campaign - http://www.divinityoriginalsin.com


Creator Larian Studios LLC 3 minutes ago
@JM: Yes, we are on track for a release before Christmas even if we still have loads of work, but we do it with a smile

About Linux support:

Creator Larian Studios LLC 3 minutes ago
Daz23: We originally wanted to release PC/Mac simultanously. From there a Linux port wasn't that complicated anymore. (This is not Unity - it's our new engine). At some point however we decided to postpone the Mac version (and thus also Linux) because we wanted to focus on the gameplay content first. Our engine will be ported eventually (and with any luck, faster than expected because of this campaign) and at that moment we'll make it available for free to anybody who has a Windows version.

Creator Larian Studios LLC just now
@BBkick4 : we had to create an American company to be able to do this on the US Kickstarter.

Single Player AI:

Creator Larian Studios LLC 33 minutes ago
undecaf: In single player, you have several options. You can roleplay the other character (more fun than you'd expect), you can let the AI decide (in which case you have to set his personality, but it's more fun if you let this be random because the consequences can be so interesting), or you can have the party leader be the one that decides, without there being any discussion. It's really up to you.

Another preview here: http://pcgmedia.com/divinity-original-sin-preview/

Another preview: http://www.co-optimus.com/article/9952/divinity-original-sin-preview.html

Creator Larian Studios LLC 7 minutes ago
@A foot soldier of the damned: We're noobs in the reward department tbh, and I think you are right. We're going to check into adding some more rewards for people who don't want to design and perhaps also some add-ons

EDIT: Will keep updating as I STALK read the comment section.

Creator Larian Studios LLC 4 minutes ago
@gandalf.nho: Look at the attack of opportunity screenshot (https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/455/038/9412a353b42a88c3e8e03ebd4bf6c9e1_large.jpg…) - look at the left side of the main UI bar (work in progress) - click the flee button, you end up in the closest tavern with loss of bragging rights

Creator Larian Studios LLC 8 minutes ago
@gandalf.nho: And sneaking is going to be possible - enemies have sight(a cone) & hearing, and they talk to each other (so if they see you, it propagates). ,

Swen Vincke ‏@LarAtLarian1m
The story of why we had to improvise our Kickstarter launch for Divinity: Original Sin - http://www.lar.net/2013/03/27/larian-on-kickstarter …–an-improvised-start/

JM
@Larian
The PCGMedia article says " I think Larian have left the story deliberately open with a view to allowing players to create their own story experiences."
Is the story 'open'.. meaning not much of one, or is there a strong story to get involved with.


Creator Larian Studios LLC 20 minutes ago
@JM: I'd say there's really a lot of story but it's possible to play the game without involving yourself too much in it by using the systemics of the game (which is what the writer witnessed). I.e. I think he saw everybody in a village being killed by orcs that had been lead there by the party and was surprised to hear that that didn't mean you couldn't finish the game anymore. In fact, we designed the game to deal with situations like this. But in doing so,that particular party in this particular session did miss out on plenty of storylines. They still had fun though.

Creator Larian Studios LLC 3 minutes ago
@Robert: I wouldn't dare. You have to imagine our situation - back in 2010 (well ok, the end of 2010) we decided to go full monty on making a turn-based RPG with a game editor which features real RPG multiplayer, investing pretty much most of the money we made in the past. At that time, nobody was talking about the turn-based RPG revival, nobody was talking about Kickstarter etc... and everybody declares us crazy. Then, we discover that we actually made something cool (seriously, we did), but we're not going to have enough money to do exactly what we feel we need to do. So we come out of our cage and we look at Kickstarter, where apparently, everybody decided to make a turn-based RPG. We even get remarks of the type - what are you thinking, are you crazy ? All turn-based RPGs are already funded, we're getting tired of them If we delay more, next thing we'll discover is that somebody is actually making a RPG with cooperative dialogs, turn-based combat like we do it and a game editor, got it funded on Kickstarter and already released it

Jaesun - The Serpent of Torment 18 minutes ago
Will mod makers have accesses to a scripting system similar to how powerful NWN/NWN2 was?

Creator Larian Studios LLC 11 minutes ago
Jaesun: Yes - the main scripting language is quite powerful. We made all the Divinities with it and to this date haven't encountered a single story situation that we couldn't represent with it.

Creator Larian Studios LLC 1 minute ago
@Indira: I'm going to try to get you some script code here so you can see what it looks like - it's easier to learn than c++ and it's specifically tailored to the task of writing interactive stories. We'll definitely do an update that shows how scripting works in the coming updates.

@Larian Do NPC's have a schedule system, similar to say Ultima VII?

Creator Larian Studios LLC 8 minutes ago
Jaesun: No, we couldnt get day/night in there like we wanted to. The focus has been on reactivity rather than simulation. It'll be a stretch goal though if ever we get there.

 

[Mortmal]

I was going to get both anyway but 65$ is a bit steep, as its likely i will find dragon commander on intkeys on greenman gaming for cheaper than 40$ . Odd to see them in kickstarter, will they really add content with the 400k$ or its a just a way to get preorders...

 

[MicoSelva]

I'm going for Collector's Edition of Dragon Commander anyway (a board game included, supposedly), so no point in getting it here too, at least for me.