Divinity: Original Sin Pre-Release Thread

[SCO]

finally something that wasn't explained so we can fantasize to the hilt.

 

[evdk]

finally something that wasn't explained so we can fantasize to the hilt.

Judging from other Kickstarters what should now follow is a spike in pledges as various people project their best expectations on the project and then few months down the line an angry thread about those thieves and con artists at Larian when those expectations inevitably hit the reality wall at 100 mph.

 

[Roguey]

Sigged

Okay Mr. Nine-Skeletons-a-Minute. Let's see how other LPers fared
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL05699C8D32D8BCE0 - unfinished, spent 2 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL84DFC45F9F49B2B6 - finished, about 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6518F0AEC2F2D70E - unfinished, spent nearly 3 hours,
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL21D5AC70D5DDECE0 - finished, took about 3:20
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7214C95255584B57 - finished, about 3 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL17BD16912C47F0AC - finished, 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL510AE61A0D302807 - finished, 4 hours

Sounds like you're trying to overcompensate for something.

I don't see why the devs should even consider your opinion. It's like asking for Halo fans how to make the best RPG.

Larian should listen to me if they want to make a good RPG instead of a SPG (shit playing game).

They should also listen to winterfox/Lesi, one of their oldest... well let's say "players" not "fans"

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/im-very-upset-about-div-2s-combat.52466/ (origin of the oh-so-hilarious "Shitcock I'm close to rage-quitting again" quote).

 

[abnaxus]

Those players must have sucked really bad, then.

You only need 1 point in Meteorstrike to easily clear first dungeon (and if you start as mage you get that point for free). Then, to easily clear the Orcs (even Orc drummers) around Aleroth, you need 1 point in Freeze (Orcs have spiritual resistance in the negatives).

 

[Mangoose]

Okay Mr. Nine-Skeletons-a-Minute. Let's see how other LPers fared
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL05699C8D32D8BCE0 - unfinished, spent 2 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL84DFC45F9F49B2B6 - finished, about 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6518F0AEC2F2D70E - unfinished, spent nearly 3 hours,
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL21D5AC70D5DDECE0 - finished, took about 3:20
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7214C95255584B57 - finished, about 3 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL17BD16912C47F0AC - finished, 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL510AE61A0D302807 - finished, 4 hours

A sample size of 7 that doesn't even intend to represent the RPG gamer population.

Try again.

Other LPers

I'm a LPer? You're a LPer? What are you trying to say?

Larian should listen to me if they want to make a shit playing game.

Honestly, the first dungeon was so easy I don't even remember it, lol

 

[Roguey]

Those players must have sucked really bad, then.

You only need 1 point in Meteorstrike to easily clear first dungeon (and if you start as mage you get that point for free). Then, to easily clear the Orcs (even Orc drummers) around Aleroth, you need 1 point in Freeze (Orcs have spiritual resistance in the negatives).

Metagaming every-obstacle-becomes-a-nail-with-a-large-enough-hammer shit. Plus it sounds like you'd have to do a lot of degenerate teleport resting to get your mana back.

A sample size of 7 that doesn't even intend to represent the RPG gamer population.

Try again.

Smart game designers like Josh Sawyer trust what they see over what players tell them, as they should. These are enthusiasists who are literally recording hours of their activity.

Honestly, the first dungeon was so easy I don't even remember it, lol

I never said it was hard. It's tedious. Fight the same skeletonx500.

 

[evdk]

And Roguey shits up another thread with inane bullshit.

 

[Western]

Aren't LPers usually chatting away to their imagined audience and stuffing about with their equipment while playing?

 

[Stabbey]

It really does take several couple hours to clear the Aleroth catacombs. Even if you did the Zombie Jake trick to get up to level 4 at the start of the game, even if you get the Restoration skill to maximize the time you can spend before returning to rest, even if you get Alchemy 1 at level 3 and make 50% Max HP/Mana restoration potions instead of the 40 point HP/20 point mana potions. Even if you use the bookshelf trick to acquire a couple of overpowered spells to nuke the mini-bosses):

It still takes hours to do that dungeon.

Now that doesn't excuse Roguey. If your complaint is "I spent way too much time doing repetitive fighting", (but still went after every single enemy), it's dumb as hell to quit when you reach the area with very little fighting because "the farm was boring".

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Have to say this is not inspiring me to finally play DD

 

[Stabbey]

It gets a LOT better once you reach the farmlands, Admiral. The first dungeon isn't indicative of most of the game, it's actually one of the longer dungeons in the game. Most of the rest is happy open-world questing, with a ton of things to do.

 

[felipepepe]

Is actually quite amusing when you think, starts game like a Diablo-clone, delve into long dungeons.... when you finish the game says "enough Diablo for you boy? Now let me show you a real RPG" and open the world for you.

 

[Mangoose]

ForkTong, why isn't there a "5-foot-step" or similar mechanic that allows you to sacrifice movement speed (or something else) to get out of attack of opportunity zones? I did notice you said there will be a skill, though you didn't say how that works.

 

[Gozma]

Same when I tried DD. "Looks like Diablo, fuck you and kill yourself."

This antipathy has extended all the way to this Kickstarter in fact (now moderated down to mere apathy).

 

[Mangoose]

Have to say this is not inspiring me to finally play DD

Okay here are some few days old posts for you :p

Unlike DivDiv, Diablo's actually fun. Europeans seem to have a cargo cult approach to RPGs, like the Japanese, only they zig where they zag.

In the beginning it is a bit like that, but what separates Divine Divinity from Diablo is that it continues to expand with its quests, secrets, and complexity of objects and interaction while Diablo stays the same throughout. Both are wack a mole style games, but Diablo is pretty much that all the way through and its item interaction develops no complexity, its just "rinse and repeat" for more loot and the next boss on the next level. Did you play Divine Divinity all the way through or just the first portion.

While playing DD it never occurred to me to think of it as a Diablo clone. Sure, you click on stuff to kill it, but that's where the similarities end. It has much more in common with other RPGs than it does with Diablo.

Sure you might think the farm is bland... it kinda is, thought there are nice touches like the knight hiding out from a assassin (bit clumsy foreshadow thing) and the farmer dead by a field on a hole with snakes (pity you can't WARN anyone about that fucking corpse on the field but oh well). Also there is a quest there about the poisoning of some fields that gives out a key that is useful... somewhere i forget.

If you just check a walkthrough (as you, you know, aren't going to play the game) you'll see that there is a surprising amount of quests and secrets on the game. Sure most of them are of the 'find item/person/door_for_key on enormous combat zone' type but they're there which is more than what i can say about Diablo, and the game has a surprising amount of environmental interaction. If i had to choose a studio to do a ultima7 successor, i'd go with Larian.
Personally, i'd take 1 game like this over 10 diablo clones.

BTW, DD1 is ten times more playable if you learn some interface commands. CAPSLOCK unlocks the camera into free movement (though i guess you can use the automap for the same feature of clicking somewhere to go), R toggles always run. And CTRL + click anywhere attacks the nearest enemies (so you don't have to click and miss 50% of the time). It just needed configurable hotkeys for abilities instead of only RMB.

The ending zone is completely crap though (about 5 or 6 gigantic mazes with hundreds of enemies).

While playing DD it never occurred to me to think of it as a Diablo clone.

This. I've mostly avoided DD for a long time because I've been informed many times over that it's a "Diablo clone", and Diablo clones very much stopped amusing me like 5 years ago or something. But when playing it now, I've quickly realised that it's really nothing of the sort.

 

[Raapys]

If you're gonna use tricks, I suspect the item duping exploit used on potions could cut the dungeon time down to like one hour.

 

[Jack Dandy]

Just finished watching the GamersDissent video...

I lost it at "Owww! Ach nein, mein leben!" :D

 

[Admiral jimbob]

It gets a LOT better once you reach the farmlands, Admiral. The first dungeon isn't indicative of most of the game, it's actually one of the longer dungeons in the game. Most of the rest is happy open-world questing, with a ton of things to do.

Oh, I know, I've actually skimmed your LP and it does look great otherwise. Maybe I'm just getting attention deficit in my old age - and I know RPGs aren't exactly the genre I should love if I hate wasting an hour or two on filler - but it's a game I've had on the "should-play" list for a long time, and as my free time diminishes more and more, the prospect of an opening 3-4 hours of tedium stops DD from moving up the list. I think I'll pledge for the HD version and that'll make me bite the bullet.

 

[Roguey]

Now that doesn't excuse Roguey. If your complaint is "I spent way too much time doing repetitive fighting", (but still went after every single enemy), it's dumb as hell to quit when you reach the area with very little fighting because "the farm was boring".

"For a lot of RPG players, game mechanics really don't matter. They will gladly march through a game that they hate if they enjoy the writing and story."--Josh Sawyer

So true. I hated the gameplay and I hated the writing and story. There was no reason for me to continue playing DD.

 

[Murk]

Sigged

Okay Mr. Nine-Skeletons-a-Minute. Let's see how other LPers fared
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL05699C8D32D8BCE0 - unfinished, spent 2 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL84DFC45F9F49B2B6 - finished, about 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6518F0AEC2F2D70E - unfinished, spent nearly 3 hours,
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL21D5AC70D5DDECE0 - finished, took about 3:20
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7214C95255584B57 - finished, about 3 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL17BD16912C47F0AC - finished, 6 hours
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL510AE61A0D302807 - finished, 4 hours

Sounds like you're trying to overcompensate for something.

Average time there is 3.88, you said you played for a week (5-7 days) and between 1-2 hours a day.

I'm assuming 6 days at 1.5 hours per day, nice average of both amounts meaning that you played for 9 hours.

You're going to tell me that a grab-bag random mix of people who are LPing the game (which involves taking more time to explain and dick around on camera) and are not even specific RPG enthusiasts who averaged under 4 hours are somehow in line with you taking 9 hours? If we were to plot a regression over this you'd be the retarded outlier that people want to delete from their data set.

Overcompensating huh? Coming from a person who goes from thread to thread spamming not even their own opinion but other people's opinions? Look dude, your schtick is dumb.

 

[Roguey]

Average time there is 3.88, you said you played for a week (5-7 days) and between 1-2 hours a day.

Where are you getting 3.88? Are you counting the abandoned LPs? Only use the finished versions. It's 4.46

You're going to tell me that a grab-bag random mix of people who are LPing the game (which involves taking more time to explain and dick around on camera) and are not even specific RPG enthusiasts who averaged under 4 hours are somehow in line with you taking 9 hours? If we were to plot a regression over this you'd be the retarded outlier that people want to delete from their data set.

No, because in addition to the catacombs a) I completed all the quests in the first town b) I killed all the orcs in the first area and c) I spent some time down on the farm.

 

[Monty]

Is this thread still about DOS?

 

[Murk]

Roguey,

Hey man, you're the one who gave me the data set -- that's still only 4 and a half hours for people who are dicking around and explaining things as they play -- which takes much, much longer. The areas around Aleroth are not that big and have 4 events in them -- and hell if I know what you did around the farm if you think it was dull, cuz there's definitely stuff to do -- one's that connect to quests elsewhere and further down.

4 hours is not too long for that dungeon and there's enough stuff to do and break up the tedium that you're not just slogging endlessly through it. Better than Orc Caves in NWN 2, that's for damn sure.

Things to do in the catacombs in DD1: Slasher/axes, Gregor the body guard, Pyramid teleporters, reading the journal entries of Thelyron, helping the skeletons summon Thelyron and Mardaneus coming in to rescue you, existentialist skeletons... I think that's all.

Biggest problem with the dungeon is floor 3 where you have to unlock the three sarcophagi to get into the next level. That floor is just killing monsters and like 1 flavor text.

Monty

Yes, because I'm listening to Kiril's performance and it's fuggin' beautiful.

 

[Roguey]

Hey man, you're the one who gave me the data set -- that's still only 4 and a half hours for people who are dicking around and explaining things as they play -- which takes much, much longer.

Doubt it. It's a fucking dungeon where you kill skeletons. Not much to explain.

I'd say you can easily detract 20% if not more from LPers to translate to normal play, and even more if you're an RPGer instead of just a typical gamer but that's speculation -- the point comes to this, 4 hours is not too long for that dungeon and there's enough stuff to do and break up the tedium that you're not just slogging endlessly through it. Better than Orc Caves in NWN 2, that's for damn sure.

What makes you think they're not RPGers? I mean they're playing RPGs. Look like RPGers to me. "No no, RPGers play games like this and typical gamers play games like this." I guess RPGers like to rush through games as fast as possible, stopping for nothing lest they pause and reflect on the banality of their miserable lives.

Things to do in the catacombs in DD1: Slasher/axes, Gregor the body guard, Pyramid teleporters, reading the journal entries of Thelyron, helping the skeletons summon Thelyron and Mardaneus coming in to rescue you, existentialist skeletons... I think that's all.

Pointless fetch quest, pointless dialogue, pointless item to fetch, pointless background text, pointless talking, pointless "humor."

Obvious comeback "Your posts are pointless."

 

[Jashiin]

Don't feed the troll next time sven.