Codex Interview: Larian Studios

[Zombra]

Bubbles: And the competitive questing…
Swen: That's multiplayer.
Bubbles: Ah, so you don't have that in single player anymore? Because you talked about getting that to work…
Swen: No, we removed that. What I said, and I was misquoted, I think – or I talked too fast, which I sometimes do –: QA has it. The guys who have to do the testing can just activate competitive questing at all angles. Maybe we'll release that as a mode.

Any progress on the possibility of "competitive single-player"? [/hobbyhorse]

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

1. What's up with the undead race? We haven't seen shit for it yet.
2. When's the office date? (Kickstarter thing)
3. How beefed up is the divinity engine editor? Does it have documentation now?
4. How's the new soundtrack coming along?
While I'm not personally interested in the following:
5. What's up with controller support and split screen multiplayer for computers and/or consoles?

 

[Mustawd]

1. You mention P&P is a big influence with D:OS2, but some of the competitive MP aspects seem a bit bizarre from someone who normally just plays single player rpgs. Is that how your own P&P sessioms go? It just seems to me like everyone is trying to screw each other over.

2. Is the turn based system in the D:OS series an exception in today's industry or do you think the notion that it's too slow for modern audiences a myth?

EDIT: 3. Not sure if asked but can you ask about how modding is turning out in DOS2? Supported, little of any, or none?

 

[Aenra]

Awesome! Give them hell Jarl!
I hope i'm not too late, copy-pasting from a different thread:
edit: added some more

- Anything they can tell us about the undisclosed games currently in development?
- What does Swen think about a third/first person RPG? And could he expand on it, lol
- Whom was it that got sick/ill/died and how much did it affect the lore/story aspect of the game? (reminding here that after this they had to look for a new writer)
- Are there any plans for a new Kickstarter?
- Would that be a more general stance, as in 'we plan to use KS period', or more of a game-to-game kind of decision?
- If the above, any comments about the future and Larian's relation with publishers?
- Has Swen's approach to game difficulty/work vs gain changed since D:OS 1? If so, how? If not, why, considering how easy it was?
- Any specific comment on locked quests, hand holding, question marks, linear approach, etc, as found in Dragon Knight Saga (basically the Divinity 2 EE) and D:OS 1 EE?
- Find a polite way to ask him if he's gonna stuff more elves and dragons and dwarves up our collective asses, or if he's willing to try other settings or themes, ie say science fiction. If considering it/already on to it, which would they be and why?
- There is a bit of confusion regarding map/entire campaigns creation. The word "toolkit" was mentioned in the latest KS update video; was that meant to imply that it's something new and fully integrated in the GM mode, or was it just another way of saying Divinity Engine, aka modding?
- If the former (integrated in the new GM), will we able to export/import land into single player campaigns?
- Will GM mode automatically 'switch' the game to multiplayer mode, or can it be used to alter the single player campaign on the fly as well?
- Considering what we've known, it appears they've gone beyond their initial planning, again in regard to the GM mode. Has that affected the modding potential/function? If so, in what ways?
- In the previous game (D:OS I), even the smallest of mods forced you out of the main campagin; you had to start a new custom one and then you had to re-re-start if you added another and so on.. any streamlining or QoL features we can expect in regard to that?

 

[Zombra]

1. You mention P&P is a big influence with D:OS2, but some of the competitive MP aspects seem a bit bizarre from someone who normally just play single player rpgs. Is that how your own P&P sessioms go? It just seems to me like everyone is trying to screw each other over.

Side note, if you've never P&Ped a party who all have their own agendas, you've never P&Ped!

 

[Outlander]

Why do they have boob armor

I will never understand why heterosexual males get upset at boob/bikini armor in games.

Did you just assume that user's gender and sexual orientation?? What a shitlord!!!

Spoiler

Questions:

• Any expansion planned for OS2?

• Will OS3 finally have NPC schedules and day-night cycle?

 

[HoboForEternity]

Is there a,plan,to license their wonderful engine other developers?

That engine is a work of art.
(The answer is probably no)

 

[Mustawd]

1. You mention P&P is a big influence with D:OS2, but some of the competitive MP aspects seem a bit bizarre from someone who normally just play single player rpgs. Is that how your own P&P sessioms go? It just seems to me like everyone is trying to screw each other over.

Side note, if you've never P&Ped a party who all have their own agendas, you've never P&Ped!

Fair enough. But I still think it's a good question to answer from the perspective of someone who doesn't P&P. And adapting the concept "each player has his own agenda" is fine, but so far what I've mainly seen is being able to screw over party members with poisoned potions.

For example, I would imagine mechanics for the party to decide to accept a quest or not or picking the next location (if open world) the party visits would be more in line with that idea.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Why do they have boob armor

I will never understand why heterosexual males get upset at boob/bikini armor in games.

Did you just assume that user's gender and sexual orientation?? What a shitlord!!!

Spoiler

It was more of a trolling question/statement but instead of taking the bait he replied with logical response to as why there would be a question about boob armor. So no trolling today.

 

[nikolokolus]

Will MP have database support, and will there be a dedicated server built for the game?

 

[Zombra]

For example, I would imagine mechanics for the party to decide to accept a quest or not or picking the next location (if open world) the party visits would be more in line with that idea.

That would be great, like what they had in DOS1 but perhaps more complex. Of course in P&P there's no such decision-making mechanism but the decision has to be made somehow ... I can't tell you how many hours my groups have spent arguing over little things like this

Sorry, don't want to get too far off topic.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Divinity has many faces.
What's the chance that dungeon crawler (preferably turn based) will be one of them?

 

[FreeKaner]

Why do they have boob armor

I will never understand why heterosexual males get upset at boob/bikini armor in games.

Waifus look better in full armour, whether plate or mail.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[JarlFrank]

ok thanks
printed out like 99% of the questions posted here, along with the name of the poster who asked them, including the silly questions about Swen's hairline

he'll know who asked this as I'm going to mention the names of the community memebers who asked the questions

 

[Aenra]

he'll know who asked this as I'm going to mention the names of the community memebers who asked the questions

I hope you have a great time Herr Frank. I envy you the opportunity.. only studio i'd actually WANT to go visit. Have a good one bro :D
(oh, and get Swen to give you "The Banana" for an exclusive close-up photo; he'll understand, lol)

 

[Wild Slop]

I doubt you'll get an answer to "When will it be released?" and you should take care in asking it outright as it will make the [subterfuge] and[seduction] tactics you'll need to utilize later all the harder. A foots a foot, am I right?

 

[HoboForEternity]

Thank you jarl, the interview will probably be an awesome christmas present if there are no grave delays

 

[Efe]

so where are the answers?

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[HoboForEternity]

Why the lizard have boobs?

I think in divine divinity the female ones dont have boobs like argonian

 

[Efe]

dragon commander ones had boobs

 

[JarlFrank]

Swen wanted to get the troll to join the party but he failed his diplomacy roll. "Why can't I get the troll to come along? This is a Codex game, come on!"

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Ask him to go on Matt Chat again :]

edit: awwww

 

[thesoup]

• What happened to cheese vendor in previous game? Why was he changed? From my understanding it was not asked/answered. Any chance we will see him back in DOS2?

This better get answered. Ruined EE for me.