Divinity: Original Sin

[Agiel]

At the moment I'm seriously miffed that you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an enemy that will either a.) Poison, burn, or electrocute you if you hit it with melee or b.) kills you because it explodes when it dies. Current combat seems massively favoured towards mages and ranged since they can have expendable summons that can tank the enemies while the damage output of melee characters are simply not worth the resurrect scrolls.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Agiel

[Infiltrator_SF]

This game went under the radar for me and I literally can't believe it. It seems like a wet dream come true for IE lovers.

 

Anyone else has a thing before getting a cRPG, you just absorb all the info regarding skills/abilities/attributes and basically have a worked out character before the game is even installed? 

[Sammael7]

The main thing I wish was in the game was more physical character customization.  I hate having my male characters look like bluto sized football jocks with jaw lines shaped like rocks.  

 

The biggest thing I hate about the witcher series is Geraults appearance, it's like walking around as a zombie almost.  I know, I'm shallow, but that kind of stuff takes me out of it.

[marelooke]

Only hotfixes so far for crashing issues (which I have yet to experience). There's a larger patch upcoming though with an unknown release date. Todays patch was 7.5mb, and the others were also around 25-50, so not sure where you got the 2GB from.

Probably referring to the huge day one patch which included all the voice-overs, don't think there have been any really big patches since.

 

Hope the large patch will include my KS pet, oh, and it'd be nice if they solved my crash issues, love the game, but crashing on level-up sort of makes it unplayable ( this only started happening after the one-but-last patch too )...

[Sarex]

It seems that alt+tabing will screw up textures in game, at which point you need to reset the game.

[LordCrash]

It seems that alt+tabing will screw up textures in game, at which point you need to reset the game.

 

You can just use the windows hotkey for the same purpose without screwing up anything in the game.

 

 

 

Only hotfixes so far for crashing issues (which I have yet to experience). There's a larger patch upcoming though with an unknown release date. Todays patch was 7.5mb, and the others were also around 25-50, so not sure where you got the 2GB from.

Probably referring to the huge day one patch which included all the voice-overs, don't think there have been any really big patches since.

 

Hope the large patch will include my KS pet, oh, and it'd be nice if they solved my crash issues, love the game, but crashing on level-up sort of makes it unplayable ( this only started happening after the one-but-last patch too )...

 

 

There will a big patch next week with new AI personalities and bugfixes.

 

There will be another big patch in August which brings new companions to the game.

 

 

Larian confirmed that in a recent interview with PC Gamer. Read the interview for more details: http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/07/09/divinity-original-sin-interview-how-larian-built-an-rpg-with-no-wrong-choices-and-details-on-its-next-update/

Edited July 11, 2014 by LordCrash

[sorophx]

I'm probably missing something very important, but looking at gameplay videos of the first 30 or so minutes of this game makes me want to tear my eyes out.

 

what's strange to me is people who are putting down ToEE are at the same time praising this turd. I am speechless

[Darji]

I'm probably missing something very important, but looking at gameplay videos of the first 30 or so minutes of this game makes me want to tear my eyes out.

 

what's strange to me is people who are putting down ToEE are at the same time praising this turd. I am speechless

It is an old school  D&D RPG in its purest form. Of course old school people will love this game. It is a game that actually needs you to think and not follow marker after marker. The Combat also is very challenging even on normal and you need to include all the tactical possibilities this game offers. 

 

As for the praise I can totally understand these people because it is for me right now Game of the Year.  And people actually criticizing Pillars of Eternity makes no sense at all since we have not seen any real gameplay material of this game in the first.  You can criticize Obsidian and their practices but not the game itself since we know almost nothing about this game at all.

[LordCrash]

I'm probably missing something very important, but looking at gameplay videos of the first 30 or so minutes of this game makes me want to tear my eyes out.

 

what's strange to me is people who are putting down ToEE are at the same time praising this turd. I am speechless

 

Any why do you want to tear your eyes out exactly?

 

How about giving some constructive critique instead of indirectly insulting both the game and the people who like it?

 

I am speechless as well.

[sorophx]

you're both from Germany so you're automatically disqualified 

 

I'm kidding! I'll make a post about what I disliked later, after I had some sleep

[Volourn]

"It is an old school  D&D RPG in its purest form. Of course old school people will love this game"
 

(Lack of) Quality aside, DlOS is NOT old skool. Anyone who has played old skool RPGs should know this.

[bonarbill]

"It is an old school  D&D RPG in its purest form. Of course old school people will love this game"

 

(Lack of) Quality aside, DlOS is NOT old skool. Anyone who has played old skool RPGs should know this.

 

I think it's old school. You wanna fight about it?

Edited July 11, 2014 by bonarbill

[Darji]

"It is an old school  D&D RPG in its purest form. Of course old school people will love this game"

 

(Lack of) Quality aside, DlOS is NOT old skool. Anyone who has played old skool RPGs should know this.

Yes the game mechanics and design is not old school but the philosophy behind the game. Old school does not mean bad UI and mechanics. 

[Volourn]

"I think it's old school. You wanna fight about it?"

 

Old skool is about rock-paper-scissors battles to 'win' dialogues? What happened to old fashion 'skill checks'? Old skool my butt.

[sorophx]

ok, what I don't like about this game and why I'll never buy it.

 

1. visuals - it's the first thing you notice, and it's terrible. character design, character models are awful, it's painful to look at. while the quality of the models is acceptable, their design is unbearable. the cartoon-ish looks don't work in an RPG (at least for me), I am instantly reminded of WoW. it seems like the developers were trying to find a style that would appeal to as many people as possible. I hate this kind of approach to visual design.

 

2. the way the dialogues are presented was the second thing that popped out, floating white text on a transparent background above moving characters - who in his right mind would do something like that? it's unreadable (and if it's all voiced I don't care because I always play games with the sound turned off, so they obviously didn't think about people like me, why have the text in the first place then?). even the fact that it gets duplicated somewhere to the side is of little consolation. since it's just as hard to read. but maybe there's a setting for that (changing the background color, for example)? 

 

3. that is part of a bigger problem, actually: UI. it's straight from WoW - minimap, abilities bar, chat window. I dig minimalistic UIs, but come on, that assumes Uis higher functionality. and what Original SIn has is as far from old school as WoW. even Diablo 2 had better interface (what am I saying? Diablo 2's interface was pure genius). and then there's picking up

loot and its interface... that's simply anachronistic design

 

4. won't comment on area design, since I'd have to see the whole game for that, the first area is rather linear, although that's to be expected from a game with such lazy design: make it easily navigated through so new players don't get lost instead of making it intuitive. I do like the quality of their assets the environment is made up of. at least it looks pretty

 

anyway: old fashioned to the point of ridiculousness (you can break doors down by shooting arrows at them, seriously?) - this isn't what makes a game "old school".

 

I don't care about the story in an RPG, to give you an idea: if Diablo 2 was a party based game with a proper combat system it would be my favorite game, probably. and that should give you an idea of what I like in RPGs: good design of locations, characters, UI, underlying systems (abilities, equipment etc.), good pacing. how does OS fare in all of these categories? can't comment on the latter two, but I assume - poorly. 

 

or is it turn-based combat ONLY that makes people claim this game is old school? well, that's not even an argument 

[Sammael7]

One of the things that hearkens back to days of old is how magic is more powerful than melee.  As it SHOULD BE !!!!!!!!

 

In dragon age origins, magic was still the most powerful force in the game, by far.  Fast forward to the train wreck that was dragon age 2... Did you ever try casting a fire ball?  I've blocked out most of my memories of that game, but the damage was so low, I almost think it HEALED my enemies.

 

In BG2, a fireball would disintegrate scores of weaker enemies upon contact, it was a force to be feared.  When I first used a fireball spell in D:OS, it was a return to old form, it was extremely powerful.  As it should be.  Same thing happened with NW2 mask of the betrayer, my wizard was a god made flesh.

 

This is not some mmo where all abilities and classes need to be perfectly balanced in terms of general damage output and utility.  It is both RIGHT and proper for a mage to wield orders of magnitude more power than the bloated jock who swings around a metal stick.

 

I LOVE that we are seeing that power unshackled more and more in newer games on the market.  Magicka took off all the shackles, it was pure power to unload at your fingertips.  Lichdom looks promising (worried about story and monotony, but we'll see).  REALLY excited for pillars of eternity and DA:I (looks like they took a lot of the critiques to heart).

[Shadeling]

I don't care about the story in an RPG, to give you an idea: if Diablo 2 was a party based game with a proper combat system it would be my favorite game, probably. and that should give you an idea of what I like in RPGs: good design of locations, characters, UI, underlying systems (abilities, equipment etc.), good pacing. how does OS fare in all of these categories? can't comment on the latter two, but I assume - poorly. 

 

 

How can someone who enjoys roleplaying games not care about the story of the game they are playing?  You don't care about how your character fits into the world or why your character fits into the world?  That's like saying you don't like shooting guns in an FPS, it's one of the integral parts of an rpg - you're playing a character IN a story! 

[licketysplit]

You don't get an 87 on Metacritic by making a crappy game. Original Sin is one of the best crpgs of the last 5 years.

[Zoraptor]

Sure you do. Plenty of crappy games with >87 on metacritic. Subjectively crappy, but then if someone says why they (dis)like something you are going to get subjectivity, key is to accept that people may quite genuinely dislike stuff that others like. He gave the reasons for disliking it, that's all that can be asked even if you disagree.

 

I thought Halflife was pretty rubbish, and it got more than 87, for example. Can't convince me it was actually great by citing what its metacritic score, either critic or popular, was or even by saying what you liked about it, any more than you could do so for CoD: Iteration or Bioshock 2.

 

(Have no opinion on DivOS, have to wait for the patching to slow as I'll have to borrow some bandwidth from friendly urban type peoples to get it)

Edited July 12, 2014 by Zoraptor

[LordCrash]

You don't get an 87 on Metacritic by making a crappy game. Original Sin is one of the best crpgs of the last 5 years.

 

Make it 14. BG2 was released in 2000. 

 

 

 

How can someone who enjoys roleplaying games not care about the story of the game they are playing?  You don't care about how your character fits into the world or why your character fits into the world?  That's like saying you don't like shooting guns in an FPS, it's one of the integral parts of an rpg - you're playing a character IN a story!  

 

 

The problem is that many people don't play RPGs or FPS, they just play games. I play all kinds of different games which different design approaches and different strengths. The olny purpose they have is to be fun and entertaining.

 

So I don't care if Divinity: Originial Sin is an RPG by the books or not. That's totally unimportant to me. Important is whether the game "works" as a package and whether it's fun to play. And by the way, game design philosophy is much more complex than making a game in genre X or Y. Whole books have been written on the topic. Having a deep immersive story is only one element in a much bigger puzzle and it's quite common sense in design philosophy that good games focus on certain strengths instead of trying to cater to everyone and trying to include everything. The main story is just not the biggest focus of Divinity: Original Sin and that's ok because it has other strengths like engaging combat, good exloration and a high degree of systemic freedom. If that makes the game less RPG then it shall be so.

Edited July 12, 2014 by LordCrash

[LordCrash]

 

 

ok, what I don't like about this game and why I'll never buy it.

 

1. visuals - it's the first thing you notice, and it's terrible. character design, character models are awful, it's painful to look at. while the quality of the models is acceptable, their design is unbearable. the cartoon-ish looks don't work in an RPG (at least for me), I am instantly reminded of WoW. it seems like the developers were trying to find a style that would appeal to as many people as possible. I hate this kind of approach to visual design.

 

2. the way the dialogues are presented was the second thing that popped out, floating white text on a transparent background above moving characters - who in his right mind would do something like that? it's unreadable (and if it's all voiced I don't care because I always play games with the sound turned off, so they obviously didn't think about people like me, why have the text in the first place then?). even the fact that it gets duplicated somewhere to the side is of little consolation. since it's just as hard to read. but maybe there's a setting for that (changing the background color, for example)? 

 

3. that is part of a bigger problem, actually: UI. it's straight from WoW - minimap, abilities bar, chat window. I dig minimalistic UIs, but come on, that assumes Uis higher functionality. and what Original SIn has is as far from old school as WoW. even Diablo 2 had better interface (what am I saying? Diablo 2's interface was pure genius). and then there's picking up

loot and its interface... that's simply anachronistic design

 

4. won't comment on area design, since I'd have to see the whole game for that, the first area is rather linear, although that's to be expected from a game with such lazy design: make it easily navigated through so new players don't get lost instead of making it intuitive. I do like the quality of their assets the environment is made up of. at least it looks pretty

 

anyway: old fashioned to the point of ridiculousness (you can break doors down by shooting arrows at them, seriously?) - this isn't what makes a game "old school".

 

I don't care about the story in an RPG, to give you an idea: if Diablo 2 was a party based game with a proper combat system it would be my favorite game, probably. and that should give you an idea of what I like in RPGs: good design of locations, characters, UI, underlying systems (abilities, equipment etc.), good pacing. how does OS fare in all of these categories? can't comment on the latter two, but I assume - poorly. 

 

or is it turn-based combat ONLY that makes people claim this game is old school? well, that's not even an argument 

 

 

 

1) Simply put: you don't like that art style and so you try to find reasons to make up any reasonable explanation why everybody else shouldn't like it neither. Good try, but failed. I guess you have some WoW neurosis that causes you to think that everything that even slightly looks like WoW is bad by design or lazy or mainstream or whatever you call it. I guess in your own universe old-school RPGs are only allowed to be dark, grim and realisitc. Sorry, you're wrong.

 

2) You don't even know what you're talking about. Text appearing above the head of characters is just ambient chatter. The "real" dialgoues have a "normal" window like in every other classic RPG and they are NOT voiced. Get your facts straigth before you make some weird accusations. Sometimes watching a three minutes youtube video isn't enough to assess a game properly...

 

3) How much have you even seen from the GUI? Hotbar and minimap are pretty standard for a reason: because they work. Not everything implemented in WoW is bad just because you don't like WoW (I don't like it neither but who cares?) The interface of Diablo 2 was better? No, absolutely not. Maybe you should have a look at the complete GUI because it works pretty well in D:OS.

 

4) And again you're totally wrong. The game doesn't make it ANY easy for the player. And there is nothing linear in the game apart from enemies because they don't scale with the player level. Everything else is completely unlinear without any hints whatsoever what to do next.

 

 

Your "critique" is nothing more than laughable to the point of being pathetic, a sloppy rushed assessment of someone who has seen a three minute video of the game on youtube. Most of what you said is just your uninformed opinion which you tried to hide behind weird generalizations and accusations or just plain wrong points based on completely lack of information.

 

Sorry, dude, but try it with more reason and at least more information next time. Being offensive and smart-alecky doesn't make your statments any more valid.

Edited July 12, 2014 by LordCrash

[sorophx]

How can someone who enjoys roleplaying games not care about the story of the game they are playing?  You don't care about how your character fits into the world or why your character fits into the world?  That's like saying you don't like shooting guns in an FPS, it's one of the integral parts of an rpg - you're playing a character IN a story! 

 

I never understood people that played games for their story, to be honest. If I want a good story I read a book. I play games for their gameplay. that's all there is to it. I skip dialogue in all RPGs

 

as for the post directly above mine, not going to argue with you. no point, you're apologetic of and I'm heavily opposed to this game. we'll not see eye to eye. I find your arguments laughable, so what? you like it, fine, I'm glad for you. it's just bizarre, from my standpoint. 

Edited July 12, 2014 by sorophx

[LordCrash]

 

as for the post directly above mine, not going to argue with you. no point, you're apologetic of and I'm heavily opposed to this game. we'll not see eye to eye. I find your arguments laughable, so what? you like it, fine, I'm glad for you. it's just bizarre, from my standpoint. 

 

 

Sorry, but you're just ignorant and arrogant. You're heavily opposed to something you don't even know and you're even proud of your ignorance. But I don't care, continue to live in your own micro-cosmos of prejudices and self-limitations if it pleases you. Just spare sane people with your weird accusations and don't try to make something up without having any solid argument (or by stating just plain wrong things).

 

Someone who delivers real arguments isn't apologetic, you know? That's the accusation of someone who doesn't have any real arguments himself.  

Edited July 12, 2014 by LordCrash

[AGX-17]

That ****ing teleportation pyramid. Seriously, now I've got a swarm of town guards on my ass because I couldn't unlock the door and they never clarified I should drop the first pyramid before using it. Teleporting back to the first one is useless when you're carrying the first one in your pocket. Which is currently adorning you in the same room as the destination pyramid. With an angry naked woman calling for town guards when you try to escape through the supposedly always-passable door. Despite passing the speech/reason/charisma/whatever check. YEAH THANKS LARIAN.

 

Someone replace that suction-cup dart with a god**** armor piercing bullet.

Edited July 12, 2014 by AGX-17

[LordCrash]

That ****ing teleportation pyramid. Seriously, now I've got a swarm of town guards on my ass because I couldn't unlock the door and they never clarified I should drop the first pyramid before using it. Teleporting back to the first one is useless when you're carrying the first one in your pocket. Which is currently adorning you in the same room as the destination pyramid. With an angry naked woman calling for town guards when you try to escape through the supposedly always-passable door. Despite passing the speech/reason/charisma/whatever check. YEAH THANKS LARIAN.

 

Someone replace that suction-cup dart with a god**** armor piercing bullet.

 

Haha, sounds like the game gives you a hard time.