Divinity: Original Sin Kickstarter

[mrmud]

Im pretty confused about those limited physical addons. Since you can't select the addons anywhere on the KS site, how would you be able to know when they are no longer avaliable?

[Keyrock]

Pledges seem to be spiking a bit today and this will be the best day since day 4, or even possibly day 3.  Clearly this is due to the reveal of in-game Weresheep.

[LordCrash]

Pledges seem to be spiking a bit today and this will be the best day since day 4, or even possibly day 3.  Clearly this is due to the reveal of in-game Weresheep.

 

Or perhaps also due to Obsidian's facebook shoutout...

 

https://www.facebook.com/obsidian

 

Thanks again for that, Obsidian. You're awesome.

[rjshae]

Hurray!!! Now I can finally use PayPal.

 

Urge to donate screeches to a halt: there's no Paypal option for the boxed copy. Not good.

[Keyrock]

 

Hurray!!! Now I can finally use PayPal.

 

Urge to donate screeches to a halt: there's no Paypal option for the boxed copy. Not good.

Sucks, maybe they just need to update the page... 

 

This doesn't affect me since I was going digital anyway, but sucks for others.  Anyway, write them an email and ask them what the deal is.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Keyrock

[Elerond]

I think they don't want to create separate address database for paypal backers.

[LordCrash]

 

 

Hurray!!! Now I can finally use PayPal.

 

Urge to donate screeches to a halt: there's no Paypal option for the boxed copy. Not good.

Sucks, maybe they just need to update the page... 

 

This doesn't affect me since I was going digital anyway, but sucks for others.  Anyway, write them an email and ask them what the deal is.

 

There are some problems with paypal atm anyway which will hopefully be dealt until tomorrow. And I also hope that Larian will offer box copies via paypal then....

[Keyrock]

They touched up the picture on the front of the pitch video to give Scarlett more coverage. 

[IndiraLightfoot]

Yay, D:OS is funded, and the pledging has picked up speed considerably! :D

 

@Blackfalcon: Welcome to the forums, you are the true weresheep chronicler!

 

And yes, thank you, Obsidian for the nice and very welcome shout-out! It certainly helped that counter tick a bit faster!

[HoonDing]

They touched up the picture on the front of the pitch video to give Scarlett more coverage. 

Pledge withdrawn.

[LordCrash]

 

They touched up the picture on the front of the pitch video to give Scarlett more coverage. 

Pledge withdrawn.

 

Haha, epic....

[LordCrash]

Stay tuned, mates, there is an update for the availability of the physical box editions via PayPal!

 

Creator Larian Studios LLC

On boxes: if we get European shipping figured out, we will add boxes to Paypal.

-David

And please like Larian Studios on facebook! We'll get one additional encounter with the mighty Bellegar for every 1000 likes! (Remember that you can unlike the like after the kickstarter campaign for D:OS is over so please help us.)

https://www.facebook.com/LarianStudios

Edited April 10, 2013 by LordCrash

[mrmud]

 

 

They touched up the picture on the front of the pitch video to give Scarlett more coverage. 

Pledge withdrawn.

 

Haha, epic....

If by epic you mean pretty dumb, then yes.

[LordCrash]

 

 

 

They touched up the picture on the front of the pitch video to give Scarlett more coverage. 

Pledge withdrawn.

 

 

Haha, epic....

 

If by epic you mean pretty dumb, then yes.

I thought it was a joke.....

[mrmud]

 

 

If by epic you mean pretty dumb, then yes.

I thought it was a joke.....

Im sure it was a joke but that doesn't mean its any less bad of a joke.

[Spider]

So how do I go about if I want fewer encounters with Bellegar? Start a slandering campaign against Larian?

 

I really find that character cringe worthy.

 

(kidding about the slander campaign)

[LordCrash]

Update 11: Kirill's Surprise, Character Stats, Sources of Inspiration, Dragon Commander footage, Fanday

 

Kirill’s Surprise

 

 

In this video, Swen has a short interview with Kirill Pokrovsky, our composer. At the end, he even has a surprise for everybody! Mark the date - thursday, april 18th!

 

Character Stats

People have been asking about character customization. We will post information about equipment and skills later on. This update will focus on character stats only. Before you read on, please realize that these things tend to change a lot during the process of building the game. We tweak the formulas and the balancing constantly, and the way we programmed and organized this, allows us to make big changes. (Data driven and relative values are the keywords here.) So what follows is the current implementation.

 

But so yeah, stats. That’s actually a long story. Just so you know, we don’t come up with "a stat system" overnight. At first, we started out with something very, very similar to Divine Divinity. Without implementing it, we realized it wouldn’t work well in a turn-based combat game. We considered the Beyond Divinity stat system, because Beyond Divinity started out as a turn-based game (the publisher decided against that back in the day). Breaking that down, we again had to let go of that idea because it had been changed too much to reflect the real-time combat system Beyond Divinity ended up with.

So this quickly became the tale of how a programmer, a designer, a producer and a CEO set out to each make their own stat proposal. Hearing them one by one, you could feel where each of them was coming from: the mathematical background, the creative approach, the realistic/empirical method...

One of us actually wrote a four-page study about how "realistic fighting" actually works. Part of it looked like this:

 

When I try to hit someone:

• the more skilful I am with my weapon, the more chance I have to hit
• the more skilful I am with my weapon, the more damage I will do
• strength can determine the damage of some weapons (e.g. a crossbow does not benefit from strength, but a having a bigger draw weight has an effect on a normal bow)
• strength can determine the range of some weapons (e.g. the stronger you are, the higher the draw weight of your bow can be, which means that your arrow can go a greater distance)
• strength can determine the chance of a normal bow hitting the target because the bowman can draw longer and hold steady longer for better aim
• the better my motor skills, the more chance I have to hit and the more damage I can inflict (e.g. having a good aim is having efficient motor skills)
• if I am wearing a shield, I am often less free to do with my weapon what I want (even a simple one handed sword benefits from the freedom of not carrying a shield and having a second free hand)
• ...

 

And it went on like that, and we started to wonder what this guy does during the weekend... But it became clear that being too realistic would make it a very complex system. Not only to balance it, but also towards the player. And this proposal also only took into account that you were going to fight, and that’s a very limited stat system for a game where a lot more is going on than just fighting.

 

On the other hand, this breakdown wasn’t that bad of a read because we all agreed that a stat and combat system have to make sense, and be logical.

 

Sitting together and talking about all of our ideas, we learned where everyone was coming from. So, still on paper, the first stat system we came up with was called SPAM, which was an acronym for Strength, Presence, Accuracy and Mind. After trying it out (still not in game, we were actually building characters on paper, and rolling dice when fighting monsters, persuading characters, picking locks...), we noticed everyone was putting a lot of points in the Presence stat, because that stat was really carrying too much weight. And back to the drawing board we went. A couple of times.

 

Through trial and error, and discussion, we ended up with the following character stats, and we implemented them in such a way that it is easy to change the values, the rules and the formulas. We have already changed it often, and even added stats, simply by reading our forum (and other forums) and by playing the game.

 

We know there are nuts here (on Kickstarter, on internet, and at Larian Studios) that love stat discussions, so don’t hold back! (The names of these stats are programmer names, and may still change. Well, anything is open for discussion and balancing, really.) 

 

Also take into account that skills play a big role as well. We’ll tell you more about those later. And hopefully we'll also make the 650K stretch goal, because then we'll be able to add talents and personal traits to the system, which will make it pretty cool.

 

The NPCs have the same stats and formulas as the player. One level makes a big difference: they have more hitpoints, do more damage, and are generally harder to hit. But it’s still doable if you know what you’re doing.

 

As the hero, you start the game with 5 points in every stat, and you get 5 statpoints for customizing your character. Per level-up, you currently get 1 statpoint. But 1 statpoint makes a difference.

 

Items that have an impact on stats, have their positive and negative effects, so there are trade-offs that help building a character. There are items that support different types of character builds. We'll talk about items in a future update.

 

Stats are also used for saving throws against different effects. For instance, a high dexterity lowers your chance of falling down when walking over ice, and strength gives you a saving throw against being caught in a wall of ice (you can break through).

 

 

It doesn't take a genius to see that this guy's speed stat will be low. And that his armor will absorb a lot of damage. And to wield such an axe, he must be very strong. Other than the lack of speed, what will his weak spots be?

 

Level

• is a multiplier for your hitpoint bonus from constitution
• is a multiplier for your mana bonus from intelligence

Primary stats

 

Strength

• gives damage bonuses to attacks with melee weapons
• defines how much weight you can carry
• defines what items you can lift
• defines how far you can throw items, depending on their weight
• gives you a bonus to intimidation

Dexterity

• gives damage bonuses to attacks with ranged weapons
• gives you a higher chance of successfully picking locks and picking pockets
• affects the "ideal range" of ranged weapons
• lower chance of triggering traps, higher chance of disarming traps
• better at repairing

Intelligence

• determines your amount of mana
• gives bonuses to magic (depending on the spell: damage, range, width of a cone, duration, how easy or hard the saving throw is...)
• gives you a bonus to reasoning
• helps you figure out NPC stats and resistances
• helps you to identify unknown items
• gives bonuses to mind resistance

Constitution

• determines your amount of hitpoints
• gives you higher resistance against poison
• gives you a bonus to charming

Speed

• determines the distance you can walk with one action point
• defines how good you are at dodging or evading attacks (defense rating)
• gives bonuses to initiative
• spend less action points when changing equipment or using items in combat

Perception

• determines how much chance you have of successfully hitting an enemy (offense rating)
• defines your sight and hearing which helps your enemy awareness (e.g. on the mini map)
• helps with discovering traps and finding treasures and secrets
•  

 

This fire demon is a formidable foe. He has a very high resistance to fire. So high even, that fire damage actually heals him. He can create lava surfaces from a distance. Even though his speed stat is pretty low, he is known to sometimes fly over the battlefield. When he runs out of mana, he has to come close to drive his claws through his enemies, dealing piercing damage, or uses his tail to sweep multiple enemies in one attack, dealing crushing damage with a chance of knockdown.

 

Secondary stats

 

Offense and defense
These are determined by your primary stat perception and speed. They can be boosted by magical equipment. When you attack someone, your offense rating is compared to your enemy’s defense rating. This determines how much chance you have of actually hitting him.

 

Damage
This stat is determined by your weapon or your spell, and gets a bonus from one of your primary stats. This can be boosted by well-made or magical equipment.

 

Critical chance and critical damage
These stats are determined by your weapon. They can be boosted by well-made or magical equipment.

 

Armor
When a hit is successful, armor absorbs part of the damage that was dealt. For instance, if you’re hit with 8 damage and you have armor 3, you only take 5 damage. If your armor rating is very high, it is possible to completely absorb all the damage that is dealt by a weak enemy. This stat is determined by your equipment and can be boosted with well-made or magical items.

 

Blocking chance

This is determined by the shield you are wearing, if you are wearing a shield. When a hit is successful, the shield gives you a chance of actually fully blocking the attack. Different shields obviously have different blocking chances.

 

Hitpoints
This stat is determined by your constitution stat, and can be boosted with magical items. Hitpoints do not regenerate automatically, and can only be regained by healing, eating or resting.

 

Mana
This stat is determined by your intelligence stat, and can be boosted with magical items. Magic spells cost mana. Mana does not automatically regenerate and can only be regained by drinking potions, eating certain types of food, or resting.

 

Sight and hearing
These secondary stats are determined by your perception stat. They can be boosted by special or magical equipment. They define how far you can see (we have a shroud, and fog of war system), and how well your hearing is (so you can hear and even identify an NPC without being able to see him).

 

Initiative
This stat is determined by your speed stat, and can be boosted with special or magical items. It gives you bonuses when combat starts and initiative is rolled.

 

Persuasion
This is determined by equipment bonuses only. Persuasion gives you bonuses when trying to intimidate, charm or reason with your party members or NPCs.

 

Walk speed
This stat is determined by your speed stat, and can be boosted with special or magical items. It determines how far you can walk with one action point in turn-based combat.

 

Luck
This stat can only be boosted with magical items. It’s the X factor of the game...

 

Poison resistance
Determined by your constitution stat. Poison resistance will absorb the damage poison would do every turn.

 

Fire, Water, Earth and Air resistances
Determined by magical items you are wearing. These absorb elemental damage.

 

Mind resistance
Determined by your intelligence stat, and magical items you are wearing. This helps against mind attacks (for instance fear).

 

Piercing, Slashing, Crushing resistances
Determined by the equipment you are wearing. These resistances absorb damage from physical attacks.

 

Which games influenced Divinity:Original Sin?

 

Our Russian friends at Gamebox.ru suggested that we post this video in one of our updates, because it clearly shows where we're getting some of our inspiration from. They asked Swen to give a rundown of his five most favourite games ever. There’s a couple of surprises in there. What's also surprising is how awake he looks in the video!

 

 

Dragon Commander livestream!

 

Today we did our first twitch.tv livestream ever together with the good folk at GOG.com and  while we initially had some issues (you should skip the first 10 mins or so), it was a pretty cool experience because we could interact directly with the audience. If you pledged for the 65$ tier, you might want to check this out. If you didn't and are just thinking about it, definitely check it out, because Dragon Commander is the type of game that will take everybody by surprise.

http://www.twitch.tv/larianstudios/b/389054545

 

Before you bombard us with messages, yes, we're going to be adding a Dragon Commander add-on option here. We wanted to do it today even but that didn't happen. Most likely it'll be the case tomorrow. 

 

Fan day dated

 

In yesterday's update, we announced a new add-on which allows you to get a fan day ticket. We neglected to mention the date though So the Fan day will be on August 9th 2013 in Gent, Belgium, and start at 10:00 am in the morning, lasting the entire day and evening for those who want.

 

In Closing

 

If anybody wants to contribute to the stats, talents or personal traits discussion - go to our forums and drop us a message there. You are free to drop a note in the Kickstarter comments section, but there's a lot of traffic there and your suggestions might be lost.

You are btw only 300 likes away from having an extra Bellegar encounter in the game. See our previous update for more details, but for every 1000 likes above 1061 likes, we will add an extra Bellegar encounter to the game. We'll start preparing some rhymes

Edited April 10, 2013 by LordCrash

[marelooke]

Noticed the guy was wearing a Queen cap <3

Also

! (I really hope they manage to keep the name )

[LadyCrimson]

Dear Swen: I'm wearing headphones right now, and your fave games video intro music nearly blew out my eardrums. YouTube shouldn't autoplay at top volume, I think....

 

Minesweeper is much more fun than Tetris, btw. Because I say so.

[duskwind]

Minesweeper is much more fun than Tetris, btw. Because I say so.

Especially this version of Tetris. Though

is pretty cool.

[LordCrash]

Update 12: Is that a stretch goal I see?

 

We're only halfway through our campaign, and already you have us talking about the first stretch goal. Well done! And thank you! All 10000 of you!

Without any further delay, here is today's update:

• Dragon Commander available as add-on
• More reward tiers now available with Paypal
• Free shipping in US and EU
• Cleaning up the rewards table
• How Divinity: Original Sin fits in the Divinity universe (video)
• Your Homestead at the Shelter Plane at the End of Time unveiled

 

Dragon Commander available as add-on

 

By (very) popular demand, we added a digital version of Dragon Commander as an add-on, available at $40. To include it in your pledge, click the "Manage Pledge" button and add 40$ to your pledge (just like with other pledges). Keep your selected reward tier. Once this Kickstarter is over, we will contact you so that you can specify what add-on(s) you wish to receive for the extra you have pledged. 

 

The minimum pledge amount for this add-on is 25$. For more add-ons, visit the home page of our project (bottom of the page).

Find more information on the Dragon Commander website. Alternatively, you can have a look at this official trailer.

 

 

More reward tiers now available with Paypal

 

There was a bit of a delay, but we increased the range of reward tiers available via Paypal. In case you're wondering, we'll be monitoring the ones that are limited and close donations should the threshold be reached.   

 

Free shipping in EU and US

 

We finally got our act together regarding shipping in the EU. We'll spare you the details, but if you live in the EU, you don't need to pay extra for shipping physical goods anymore. If you have already pledged extra for shipping and you live in the European Union, you can click on "Manage your pledge" and adjust your pledge downwards with the amount you added for shipping. So if you pledged 65$+18$ and you live in France, you can now adjust your pledge to 65$ again.   

 

Cleaning up the rewards table

 

Because Kickstarter doesn't allow us to change the reward descriptions, we included correct descriptions in another dimension. Don't worry - nothing is removed - but a whole lot of things were added and clarified. 

 

World premiere: Jan spoils the storyline!

 

Not really, but the man who prefers to write instead of talk a.k.a. Jan Van Dosselaer, our brilliant lead writer, opened up considerably now that we told him he can get all those extra dialogue lines he wanted in. Good stuff! Definitely worth watching if you want to know how the story of Divinity: Original Sin links in to the tale of the Divine and the Damned. Well, you'll think you'll know, but obviously...

 

 

The Shelter Plane at the End of Time

 

Created by imp historian Zixzax the Almost Wise; located on the Precipice of Ages - where time itself ends in endless black - you will find your homestead. It is a barren place; arid and forlorn, but beggars can't be choosers, and neither can a couple of Source Hunters down on their luck. In time, though, perhaps your Shelter Plane might turn into quite a cosy abode really: a place to put up your feet and relax by the fire, staring out unto the very edge of oblivion.

What are some of the nifty things you can expect to find in your Shelter Plane?

 

The Transcript of Unravelled Destinies

As you play through Original Sin, you will encounter a great many characters, and like any respectable RPG hero worth their salt, you will be able to alter these characters' lives through your actions and decisions. For some, the consequences will be tangible and immediate; for others, they might seem imperceptible at first, but become more apparent as time passes.

 

Each time you visit your Shelter Plane, you can consult the Transcript of Unravelled Destinies and learn about the consequences of your actions, for it is a magical tome which registers the fate of every single being in Rivellon. By flicking through its pages, you will learn about what happened to all those people whose lives you affected. Did the young couple you reunited live happily ever after? Did that swindler you dragged to court really learn the error of his ways?

Did you impact past or present and did you thereby influence the future? Can you jump back to reality and still make changes?

 

Interior Decider-Decorator

Yes, the Shelter Plane at the End of Time is a lonesome and empty place at first, but never you worry! Its appearance will change, though not as the result of a wholesale shopping spree. Instead, decisions you make during specific quests will change its initial shape and give your Shelter Plane a distinctly different atmosphere...

 

 

Henchmen, the Gathering

As you recruit henchmen throughout your journey, there will come a time when you'll want to leave one of them behind (because you just cannot resist hiring that bull-sized battle mage you just met!). Yet fear not, for they will not hold a grudge against you! Instead, they will patiently wait for you until you require their services once more, safe in the comfort of your Shelter Plane.

 

The Coffers That Have No Bottoms

Each player gets his or her individual storage chest, where they may safely store their loot without fearing their loyal partner (or Zixzax...) might 'borrow' any of their belongings. Even the best of couples need their privacy.

 

Shelter from the Storm

If things get a bit much for you on the battlefield and you see no other option than to flee, you can quickly retreat to your Shelter Plane and catch your breath. After all, there's no shame in surviving, and when you feel ready to head out again, you can simply pick your waypoint of choice.

 

Secrets Galore

There is more to The Shelter Plane at the End of Time than meets the eye; much more! Seek and you shall find. Great wonders await inquisitive souls...

 

In Closing

 

Don't forget... 163 likes to go...

 

Edited April 11, 2013 by LordCrash

[Archmage Silver]

Dear Swen: I'm wearing headphones right now, and your fave games video intro music nearly blew out my eardrums. YouTube shouldn't autoplay at top volume, I think....

 

Minesweeper is much more fun than Tetris, btw. Because I say so.

+1, the default volume on YouTube is way too high. Combine that with autoplay and you're toast unless you hit mute quickly...

[marelooke]

Free shipping in EU and US

 

We finally got our act together regarding shipping in the EU. We'll spare you the details, but if you live in the EU, you don't need to pay extra for shipping physical goods anymore. If you have already pledged extra for shipping and you live in the European Union, you can click on "Manage your pledge" and adjust your pledge downwards with the amount you added for shipping. So if you pledged 65$+18$ and you live in France, you can now adjust your pledge to 65$ again.

 

Lol no, I'll just be expecting an $18 more awesome game

[LordCrash]

Paypal-Shop is now fully working for digital and physical tiers!  (very high tiers are missing because of limitations on kickstarter)

 

http://www.divinityoriginalsin.com/kickstart.php?&cntr=US

[rjshae]

 

Hurray!!! Now I can finally use PayPal.

 

Urge to donate screeches to a halt: there's no Paypal option for the boxed copy. Not good.

 

Hurray they fixed it!