Divinity Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition

[sser]

@PonyKing: Being good at making games and being good at selling games are two very different skill sets. There's a reason the publishing model exists. So far Larian has done well, but they've only published two games--one of which got only a lukewarm reception.

What a weird way to frame it, because one could just as easily say "one of which" received universal positive reception, accolades, and netted crazy sales to the point where Larian opened up a new shop in Canada...

 

[hiver]

He is only asking for support NOT to play the game now. He only wants to hear people telling him how right that is, not the opposite, so all that is just a product of such logic train. Fine, dont play the game. Wait for the update.
Can we move on or is this going to last for pages and pages?

 

[Arsene Lupin]

No, I wanted a discussion. But apparently I'm the only one.

 

[LESS T_T]

Swen will be talking at GDC 2015.

Divinity: Original Sin Postmortem- Success Stories and Lessons Learned
Swen Vincke | Creative Director, Larian Studios
Monday, March 2 | 1:45pm - 2:45pm

In this talk Swen will focus on Larian's experience of successfully turning into independent and self-publishing company after 15 years of working with different publishers. Structured into into 10 simple advises to both aspiring and experienced developers, this lecture will prove that setting up your own PR, marketing, localization and even distribution is well worth the effort.

Takeaway
The attendees will learn how we set up an effective self-publishing structure that allowed Larian Studios to mix player-driven development with "traditional" publishing techniques.

 

[Turok]

There wont be any balance patches.

balancing patch beta
There is now a beta branch for a balancing update (currently just Windows), to get suggestions and feedback. The basic goal is to speed up combat; see below for details.

This is a beta, so there may be changes in future beta updates that break save compatibility.Any progress made during the beta period will most likely be lost. You will, however, have a chance to influence the implementation of this set of balancing changes.

The beta will load saves from the current version of the game, but of course should you choose to revert back to 1.0.219 you would not be able to load beta saves.

Anyone interested in trying the beta update and providing feedback, please email me(raze@larian.com)or send me a friend request (BTW I periodically remove everyone from my friends list).


changelist
- bug fixes and minor changes to several combat encounters
- Rebalanced Constitution & Damage: from LUC to DAF, overall, creatures go down faster but deal more damage.
- Nerfed Armor: some Armor scores were too high, resulting in unnecessarily long fights.
- Rebalanced Initiative: some creatures had too high an Init, some others none at all. NPC Init scores will now be closer to players'.
- Rebalanced Willpower & Bodybuilding throughout the game.
- Rebalanced physical & magical resistances: some were high for no reason.
- Some creatures had really high Dex and were difficult to hit for no reason.
- Pure elementals (fire, water, air, earth) now have proper resistances & immunities.
- Magic weapons: before, e.g., a flaming sword would inflict pure fire damage; now, it inflicts physical (slashing) damage + a fire boost.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

There wont be any balance patches.

balancing patch beta
There is now a beta branch for a balancing update (currently just Windows), to get suggestions and feedback. The basic goal is to speed up combat; see below for details.

This is a beta, so there may be changes in future beta updates that break save compatibility.Any progress made during the beta period will most likely be lost. You will, however, have a chance to influence the implementation of this set of balancing changes.

The beta will load saves from the current version of the game, but of course should you choose to revert back to 1.0.219 you would not be able to load beta saves.

Anyone interested in trying the beta update and providing feedback, please email me(raze@larian.com)or send me a friend request (BTW I periodically remove everyone from my friends list).


changelist
- bug fixes and minor changes to several combat encounters
- Rebalanced Constitution & Damage: from LUC to DAF, overall, creatures go down faster but deal more damage.
- Nerfed Armor: some Armor scores were too high, resulting in unnecessarily long fights.
- Rebalanced Initiative: some creatures had too high an Init, some others none at all. NPC Init scores will now be closer to players'.
- Rebalanced Willpower & Bodybuilding throughout the game.
- Rebalanced physical & magical resistances: some were high for no reason.
- Some creatures had really high Dex and were difficult to hit for no reason.
- Pure elementals (fire, water, air, earth) now have proper resistances & immunities.
- Magic weapons: before, e.g., a flaming sword would inflict pure fire damage; now, it inflicts physical (slashing) damage + a fire boost.

Not a fan (read: really, really, really fucking hate) of releasing the game for a few months then changing the rules, did the majority of customers asked for this? Do they ever?

I know you're active on their site Raze, so how about proposing that the rebalance be optional. I'd rather no-one dicked around with my purchase at this late stage.

The basic goal is to speed up combat

I've never seen that that as a problem and certainly not one of the big ones.

 

[Norfleet]

To be fair, it's not like it's an MMO where character is now expensively fucked and you have no choice not to install the patch. You've long since finished the game. And I'm not seeing anything really awful, anyway. It is true that D:OS's combat has been poorly balanced and goes from either cripplingly hard and forcing you to rely on cheese to overcome overpowering AI advantages (always moves first), or being mindlessly easy. My experience with D:OS combat is that you either go for really cheesy builds and tactics, and everything is mindlessly easy, or you get crushed before you can even move.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

To be fair, it's not like it's an MMO where character is now expensively fucked and you have no choice not to install the patch. You've long since finished the game. And I'm not seeing anything really awful, anyway. It is true that D:OS's combat has been poorly balanced and goes from either cripplingly hard and forcing you to rely on cheese to overcome overpowering AI advantages (always moves first), or being mindlessly easy. My experience with D:OS combat is that you either go for really cheesy builds and tactics, and everything is mindlessly easy, or you get crushed before you can even move.

That's the exact reason why they shouldn't be dicking with it, this isn't an MMO, there's no competition here and it's up to us how we play the game, some builds for a harder game and other's for an easier one, if you want to put it that way. Problems with the combat only arise because of the relentless min/maxing that goes on. The first thing a lot of people do when starting an RPG or an MMO is look up optimal build which is stupid but not all of us do that, so the game shouldn't be forced to cater to those who do, which puts me (and any others who may feel the same, if there are any) in second place as to who's opinion matters most. I just built my char as I went along, built as needed and I didn't run into any difficulties with the system, it just all amounts to meaningless tinkering, with no advantage to anyone but those who are in RPG's simply for the combat. It's a hell of a shift of focus considering who it was supposed to be aimed at, and who says that given the game and having played it, that we now want combat to be shorter?.. Who said that on my behalf?... "yeah, we'll just shake things up, fuck you if you give a toss" The game has an editor, if some really don't like things the way they are then they are free to change it themselves, why put us all on the same bench regardless or not of whether we want to sit down?

If they want to make the game better then they should address the content, that's where the problems with the game are, the crap story and utterly unforgettable characters, do something about that instead of pissing around with the only vaguely satisfying part of the game.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Patching is completely optional don't be so dramatic. Turn off autopatching for the title if in steam and you are done. I would point out that for those who have played it already, addressing identified issues is the best way to both demonstrate that you support your product, listen to feedback and garner good will towards future projects. Balance and difficulty patches will also greatly effect replayability or 'second opinion' for many.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Patcging is optional don't be so dramatic.

Have you tried to turn off patching in Steam? I'll wait, go on......

You back? See? Not an option and never was with this game. Next time you accuse someone of drama, check the situation out first before attempting to walk the high road.

 

[hiver]

I really thought there wont be any balance patches until the new Hard mode.

changelist
- bug fixes and minor changes to several combat encounters
- Rebalanced Constitution & Damage: from LUC to DAF, overall, creatures go down faster but deal more damage.
- Nerfed Armor: some Armor scores were too high, resulting in unnecessarily long fights.
- Rebalanced Initiative: some creatures had too high an Init, some others none at all. NPC Init scores will now be closer to players'.
- Rebalanced Willpower & Bodybuilding throughout the game.
- Rebalanced physical & magical resistances: some were high for no reason.
- Some creatures had really high Dex and were difficult to hit for no reason.
- Pure elementals (fire, water, air, earth) now have proper resistances & immunities.
- Magic weapons: before, e.g., a flaming sword would inflict pure fire damage; now, it inflicts physical (slashing) damage + a fire boost.

All these seem perfect fixes. I wasnt aware that some of these were actually going on numerically, but one could certainly feel it in the gameplay.

Willpower and Bodybuilding especially didnt seem to have much effect.
Elementals seemed totally wonky too, especially my own ones.
And magic weapons, come to think of it.

The only ones im not sure about at first look are these:
- Rebalanced Constitution & Damage: from LUC to DAF, overall, creatures go down faster but deal more damage. -
- Nerfed Armor: some Armor scores were too high, resulting in unnecessarily long fights.

but i guess thats what the beta is for.

The rest is stuff that must be dealt with. Should have been already, etc.
Good stuff.

Problems with the combat only arise because of the relentless min/maxing that goes on.

No. The need to minmax and especially to cheese too much is caused by some underlying features of combat.

This patch seems to be on the right track to correct that.

that we now want combat to be shorter?.. Who said that on my behalf?...

When the combat is prolonged for the wrong reasons it isnt good for anyone.

the crap story and utterly unforgettable characters,

That would require much more then mechanics changes. It would require making another game, practically.

Some of that stuff just goes with the territory of Epic High Fantasy.

And i would rather they dont change unforgettable characters

Any progress made during the beta period will most likely be lost.

Into the breach again...

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

When the combat is prolonged for the wrong reasons it isnt good for anyone.

Who decided it was, and why are their opinions the important ones?

 

[Haba]

Here is a solution for you: CTRL+C, CTRL+P. And huzzah, you have a copy of the game that won't be updated against your will.

There, that'll be $200.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Patcging is optional don't be so dramatic.

Have you tried to turn off patching in Steam? I'll wait, go on......

You back? See? Not an option and never was with this game. Next time you accuse someone of drama, check the situation out first before attempting to walk the high road.

Scolding! I'll help you anyways.

- Set to "Only update this game when I launch it"
- launch it in windowed mode
- next update, pause the download
- enjoy no auto patches forever

You're welcome dad.

 

[hiver]

It is not anyone's "decision". The combat does have some unforeseen negative consequences where things do not really happen as one would expect and often contrary to the game logic and what one would expect from mechanics.

Larian is constantly getting critiques over some things that are uniformly disliked by a lot of players, including me.

Id rather see them fixing stuff.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Patcging is optional don't be so dramatic.

Have you tried to turn off patching in Steam? I'll wait, go on......

You back? See? Not an option and never was with this game. Next time you accuse someone of drama, check the situation out first before attempting to walk the high road.

Scolding! I'll help you anyways.

- Set to "Only update this game when I launch it"
- launch it in windowed mode
- next update, pause the download
- enjoy no auto patches forever

You're welcome dad.

Help?.. by using your first sentence as an accusation of drama when you had no idea of the veracity of your own statement.

Then you have the gall to get on your high horse about the tone of my reply?.. Tell you what mate, go 'help' someone else.

It is not anyone's "decision". The combat does have some unforeseen negative consequences where things do not really happen as one would expect and often contrary to the game logic and what one would expect from mechanics.

Larian is constantly getting critiques over some things that are uniformly disliked by a lot of players, including me.

Id rather see them fixing stuff.

Fixing stuff that some people think is broken. (with absolutely no indicator of the ratio for and against, and not giving a shit by the looks of it.)

No, it's uniformally disliked by those who have voiced up.

The satisfied have (sorry, 'had'', they sure do now) no reason to get in to that arguement.

 

[hiver]

Very bad form there Undertones, very bad.

Instead of helping you they could have trolled you and ridiculed you. Mind your C&C please.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Delicate flower, do you receive my sarcastic undertones? Just where in the fuck do you think you are anyways? If you are sensitive this is not a place for you.

FYI, you don't ever need Steam to launch this game unless you want to patch it through steam. Launch the game directly and never worry about patching again if autopatching is turned off or as Haba suggests, make a copy of the game and use that location instead.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Very bad form there Undertones, very bad.

Instead of helping you they could have trolled you and ridiculed you. Mind your C&C please.

Oh you're another one who thinks an opening insult is help?.. and out of curiosity, why the fuck would I want 'help' from some snarky bastard who's only in it to have a go?

Yeah I really see that Samaritan's big heart.

Delicate flower, do you receive my sarcastic undertones? Just where in the fuck do you think you are anyways? If you are sensitive this is not a place for you.

FYI, you don't ever need Steam to launch this game unless you want to patch it through steam. Launch the game directly and never worry about patching again if autopatching is turned off or as Haba suggests, make a copy of the game and use that location instead.

Dude, seriously, you're still posting at me?

Was I too subtle for you?

 

[undecaf]

If they want to make the game better then they should address the content, that's where the problems with the game are, the crap story and utterly unforgettable characters, do something about that instead of pissing around with the only vaguely satisfying part of the game.

I think they've said they'll tinker with the narrative side of things a bit too (delivery, companions, etc), but combat being the lions share of the content, it's only logical that they address some of the problems with the flow and playability of it that people have pointed out to them.

I do hope they beef up the out of combat gameplay and mechanics a bit too, though. There're a lot of little activities and interactions that nigh all feel pushed somewhat aside, away from the general combat focus of the game.

 

[GarfunkeL]

"Oh no, the company is supporting a game six months after release, the HORROR!"

"Who are they, the people who made the game in the first place, thinking that they can alter the game that they made!?"

 

[Tolias]

Hey there, I got this months ago but haven't had much time to play it. I'm thinking of firing it up again.

I remember when I first tried it I liked it a lot, but for one thing: the interactions of my two characters. Am I the only one that thinks it's a bit schizophrenic, being both sides of a dialogue? Is there a way to disable that for single campaign play?

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

SarcasticUndertones.

Despite ignorant complaint, through misplaced indignation and ignoring self-centered outlook, you have received three solutions here, one or more of which will no doubt be employed. In Haba you have both avoided injury in discourse and enjoy remedy; he deserves your thanks. My solutions you can shove up your arse.

 

[hiver]

Hey there, I got this months ago but haven't had much time to play it. I'm thinking of firing it up again.
I remember when I first tried it I liked it a lot, but for one thing: the interactions of my two characters. Am I the only one that thinks it's a bit schizophrenic, being both sides of a dialogue? Is there a way to disable that for single campaign play?

The game is made for co-op. Even if you play alone those arguments can bring some unexpected results which can be a good thing.

if you want to disable that you can choose "always agrees" Ai personality for each character in char gen.

 

[Abu Antar]

Swen will be talking at GDC 2015.

Divinity: Original Sin Postmortem- Success Stories and Lessons Learned
Swen Vincke | Creative Director, Larian Studios
Monday, March 2 | 1:45pm - 2:45pm

In this talk Swen will focus on Larian's experience of successfully turning into independent and self-publishing company after 15 years of working with different publishers. Structured into into 10 simple advises to both aspiring and experienced developers, this lecture will prove that setting up your own PR, marketing, localization and even distribution is well worth the effort.

Takeaway
The attendees will learn how we set up an effective self-publishing structure that allowed Larian Studios to mix player-driven development with "traditional" publishing techniques.

I also hope he talks about how they could improve for their upcoming game. While D:OS was my GOTY last year, it still had issues that can be improved. Writing, for one. They should also take a look at their randomized loot. They can have it in their game if they wat, but add some unique items. I was getting level 5 items in the last dungeon and I thought it was a joke.