Development Info Divinity: Original Sin Ditches "Ultra-hardcore" Role-playing System, Goes for Accessibility

[Crooked Bee]

Tags: Divinity: Original Sin; Larian Studios

As expected, info continues to appear on Larian Studios' new turn-based RPG Divinity: Original Sin. In particular, Swen Vincke shares that the game is going to be "accessible" and not "ultra-hardcore":

Active-pause was considered for some time (and we actually started out like this), but in my heart I really wanted to make one of those games that has epic tactical battles, where you really have to think how you’re going to defeat the enemy. And because I’m occasionally very impulsive, one morning I stormed into the office and told the team that we were going to ditch all the hack & slash stuff and go for turn-based. I was ready to go all despot on them should I encounter any resistance, but to my surprise, they were actually quite supportive of that idea. Then I discovered they were a little bit too supportive, because before I knew it I had an ultra-hardcore system on my plate. Eventually we settled on something that I think is quite accessible, but still offers plenty of opportunity for tactical depth.​

Turn-based Facebook game confirmed?

 

[General Maxson]

Yeah, that could be expected. Will still wait to see more before (if?) getting excited...

 

[Sacculina]

So much for optimism. I'm interested in seeing how SV tries to justify this during the Codex interview.

Edit: Saw the video, looks quite promising.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

It really depends on what exactly "accessibility" means. I'm no fan of ultramicromanagement myself, but I like at least some degree of options even with "basic" units in TB games.

DAMN YOU, SVEN! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH "ACCESSIBILITY"???

 

[catfood]

This is why there needs to be Kodex interview with Larian ASAP. I wanna know if I should get hyped on this damnit!

 

[catfood]

Gameplay video here: http://www.divinityoriginalsin.com/movies.php

It shows the combat system. It looks pretty basic, but it looks like you can make interesting combos with spells.

 

[Angthoron]

Day keeps getting shittier.

Edit: The video didn't seem so bad.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

It's not like Ultima had anything but basic combat systems. So long as the world and characters are interesting, I don't see this as a problem at all, this isn't supposed to be Knights of the Chalice.

 

[bonescraper]

I'm not surprised.

 

[Achilles]

Not a problem for me, I'm sure it will tactical enough for my tastes.

 

[Untermensch]

Well....... It's not like Divine Divinity was hardcore.

Dammit! Doesn't Sven know that describing your RPG as "accessible" is one of the worst things you can do

 

[Azalin]

Well they said this is being inspired by Ultima 7 so....

 

[felipepepe]

Seeing the video gave me hopes again, looks very solid and the "accessible combat" has a Fallout vibe....

 

[Ogg]

In other interviews, he describes this game roughly as an ultima like with fallout combat. I'm OK with that. Turn based combat isn't only good because it's deep. It's simply fun because it's fun. I enjoyed fallout combat despite its being easy, for it wasn't the main focus of the game. Not every turn based RPG have to be like KotC.

Gosh, the Codex can never be satisfied.

 

[Whisper]

Accessible in what meaning?


Easy to learn/hard to master OR designed for casuals?

 

[Excidium]

Larian makes lite RPGs, so have some realistic expectations.

 

[Zed]

A little too cutesy for my taste.
Not a big fan of developing for co-op either.

The editor shown at the end of the video looks nice.

 

[Jashiin]

It will be great. I have faith in Swen and Larian, let's hope Kirill Pokrovsky will do the soundtrack for this.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

Wow. The ice and water thingy at the end opens up good combat possibilities. The TB combat in this doesn't look any worse than Arcanum - and I'm still apeshit about that game.

Here's being (moderately) expectant for the future.

 

[dr. one]

If they´ll deliver varied and creative encounter design I really don´t see a problem with the system not being "ultra-hardcore", I´m actually inclined to consider it a plus - I´m quite sure the gameplay is supposed to be blend of exploration, questing and combat, not combat first and everything else second.
Besides, judging by the video, accessible in this case seems to mean easy to get into/intuitive, not necessarily shallow - from the little that has been shown I´ve noticed that enemies have weaknesses (and likely resistances), spells can interact with each other, weapon properties can be changed temporarily via items, there´s a sword with a display of attack type, accuracy, speed, initiative, durability and degrade quality properties, enemies have chance to hit/be hit (likely modified by distance).

 

[Excidium]

The TB combat in this doesn't look any worse than Arcanum

I'm yet to see one that does...

 

[Falkner]

When will this art style finally die?

 

[Alex_Steel]

Seems interesting for co-op. Other than that, I don't know, I will have to try it. The overdone fantasy genre is certainly not making me happy but hey, it is turn-based.

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

The TB combat in this doesn't look any worse than Arcanum

I'm yet to see one that does...

Oh, you!

 

[A user named cat]

Shouldn't it have a darker and less saturated look if they're returning to the roots of DD? Maybe something like this or a bit less extreme.