Divinity Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

[Quillon]

how do I delete other people's posts

I'm p sure if that was possible, this would be an empty forum for the most part.

its possible, you don't know what you haven't seen man

 

[Brandon LaRocque]

its possible, you don't know what you haven't seen man

Now I'm gonna get stuck in some RPGCodex conspiracy theories.

Following that, I enjoyed this game until I got to the Blackpits, and then it just became tedious. Anyone else find that this happened?

 

[Incendax]

I enjoyed this game until I got to the Blackpits, and then it just became tedious. Anyone else find that this happened?

I enjoyed everything until Act 3. But I did find Necrofire to be tedious, and Blackpits was the pinnacle of Necrofire until Act 4. Mostly because the game had this really fun elemental interaction cycle, but the things that got rid of Necrofire were somewhat inconvenient. So the cycle usually just stops at Necrofire and everything ends up a giant burning mess.

 

[Infinitron]

Sarah Baylus was at a thing in Ireland last week: https://icids2018.scss.tcd.ie/

9:30 AM - 10:45 AM Keynote 2

A Tale of Two Dialogues: How Design Tools Shaped the Voice of Divinity: Original Sin 2
Sarah Baylus

How significantly does a creation tool impact the soul of a project? In 2014, Larian Studios published Divinity: Original Sin and began work on its sequel. The writers knew that the dialogues of this next game had to stand apart from - and outmatch - their predecessors, but the path forward wasn't immediately clear. Ultimately, the dialogue design tool itself - from user interface to functionality - was the key that unlocked the voice of the text of Divinity: Original Sin 2, from the types of characters possible to the writers' own perception of their relationship not only to characters, but to players themselves. In this keynote, Larian's lead writer Sarah Baylus reflects on the dialogue design tools of the studio's most recent titles and on their respective narrative power and focus.

It was heavily tweeted about. Two summary threads:

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[IDtenT]

I never really got far in the original, because I was always waiting for someone to play it with. Forever alone. So I'm curious, is this a better starting point or is playing the original a better idea (both as co-op and sp)?

 

[Ninefingers]

I never really got far in the original, because I was always waiting for someone to play it with. Forever alone. So I'm curious, is this a better starting point or is playing the original a better idea (both as co-op and sp)?

Pretty hard to recommend it to anyone who didn’t enjoy the first one. Story and tone is arguably more engaging than the first but the combat is worse in almost every way and the itemisation without mods is dogshit. On second thoughts it’s hard to recommend it to anyone at all.

Co-op may make it bearable so if you have somebody to play the second with but not the first then I guess that might be a good enough excuse? Otherwise just play the first imo.

 

[Murk]

First is a better game, IMO, especially as far as systems/mechanics are concerned. Second has a ton of UI/QoL improvements, and more spells to play with.

I'd go with the first one since it's still great and move onto the second when you want more.

I tend to start new games to try weird builds in the second game more often than I did in the first, for what it's worth.

 

[LESS T_T]

Swen going to talk at this year's GDC (March 18-22): https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/the-making-of-divinity-original-sin-2/865131

The Making of 'Divinity: Original Sin 2'
Swen Vincke (Director, Larian Studios)

Pass Type: All Access, GDC Conference + Summits, GDC Conference - Get your pass now!
Topic: Design, Production & Team Management
Format: Session

"The same but sexier, deeper and more engaging" Those were the marching orders for 'Divinity: Original Sin 2'. In this talk, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke takes a look at all the things that were planned to make 'Divinity: Original Sin 2' a better game than 'Divinity: Original Sin 1', and how they turned out. Vincke is a strong believer in the power of iteration, and D:OS 2 is a game where his team applied iteration at every level, with varying levels of success. The team learned a lot about how to design and organize for iteration, and the talk will focus on these lessons. This talk comes with plenty of examples of both success and failure.

Takeaway
Embracing iteration as part of your design methodology comes with its own risks and pitfalls but it is worth it. Work lost can be minimized by ensuring design and workflow are in sync with each other.

Intended Audience
Anyone who would like to hear about the creation of an acclaimed RPG from a design and production point of view.

 

[LESS T_T]

Seemingly content-focused (than system-foucsed) expansion mod is coming soon: https://www.reddit.com/r/DivinityOriginalSin/comments/akh4e6/unofficial_expansion_coming_to_dos2/

Unofficial Expansion coming to DOS2! :]

Chronicles of Divinity: Chapter One
For the last year and a half, I've been working on a large mod called Chronicles of Divinity. The scope of it is to function as an unofficial expansion upon the base game, adding new story as well as tweaking existing.

It introduces new quests, encounters, mechanics and a new Origin character, "Kara", and much, much more. Including content for future chapters, the mod encompasses 3.6GB of goods.

I'd like to introduce the first six minutes of gameplay, and for the first time since then actually mention my project here on the subreddit.

6 Minutes of Gameplay-footage from Chronicles of Divinity: Chapter One

Expected closed beta in around a month. It's hard to say when launch date would be. It depends on the amount of work during the beta.

I hope you may be a fraction as hyped about it as I am to finally get to share it with you pretty soon.


Features List:

• New Origin-character - "Kara". Fully fledged as starting Origin or recruitable later, with her own major questline.
  • Unique difference is that she'll be recurring as an NPC to interact with similarly to others such as Malady if never used as a player.
• New areas both in and outside of Fort Joy.
  • Fort Joy Isles - Sail on a boat and explore different isles and the stories & secrets they hold.
  • Hall of Echoes & The Veil - Can't describe a lot. Very story spoiler heavy.
  • Hidden locations throughout old and new areas.
  • The new first act is technically larger than Reaper's Coast, four times larger than Fort Joy. Albeit a majority of this is due to the new sailing mechanic, and the ocean space takes up a bit of distance to accomodate for boat travel speet and viewport.
• A lot of new quests and stories to explore.
  • This includes major new storyline quests arching over multiple acts if not until the end... And beyond?
  • Small side-quests and world flavor.
  • A new animal companion.
• Returning allies... And foes.
  • It's an advantage to have played Divinity: Original Sin 1.
• New Mechanics!
  • Sailing - Obtain and sail a boat. Kind of a necessity in order to explore Fort Joy Isles.
  • The Source Forge - Discover an old relic you can use to upgrade your items. This opens a whole new world of possibilities, as your old level 3 gloves can become useful again.
  • Random rare loot - Every chest you open, every body you loot may drop random rare items outside of the Larian loot tables.
  • And more...
• A new Source Power.
  • It's a common fact that Braccus Rex used Fort Joy as a playground for his schemes and experiments. However, did you know that some content was scrapped by Larian? Did you ever talk to the Historian up at Braccus' Tower and wonder what he referred to about an ancient Source Power that Braccus Rex coveted so much?
• Expanded storylines.
  • Chronicles of Divinity is named as it is due to its scope, to explore what happened between DOS1 and DOS2, during each and potentially what happens after.
  • Some loose threads are picked up on, such as Malady's favor, Gratiana's time as a concubine, etc.
• Upgraded visuals.
  • You may notice a lot of small things around the world seems different. That's because many of the lighting atmospheres, water and more is redone. Vegetation and terrain is partially repainted
• Level and content scaling system.
  • Most sane way of keeping combat difficulty up to par considering all the new content and extra work it'd require. You'd be way above expected vanilla level when reaching Reaper's Coast otherwise.
  • Offers flexibility to base content on story, an example being having a certain enemy type more difficult to fight unless you're learned something about them.
  • Divine Scaling, a scaling mod for DOS2 was a lightweight deriviation of this system. If you enjoyed that mod, note that this system is more powerful to work with.
• Probably more, but it's 3:41am at the time of writing.

 

[Infinitron]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/435150/announcements/detail/1745610746736546463

Now available on Mac devices!
31 JAN @ 8:14PM - JESS_LARIAN

Hi Everyone,

The wait for Mac gamers is over, as Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition is now available on Mac devices! It is the first title on macOS to support HDR (on selected hardware, 10.14+ only) and has new features especially for Mac such as full MacBook TouchBar support for quick access to in-game actions (such as the journal or map), as well as MacBook trackpad and selected gestures support.

In the spirit of adventure, players will be able to enjoy cross play between Windows and macOS, so long as both players have the same version.

Happy travels through Rivellon!

-Larian Crew

https://steamcommunity.com/games/435150/announcements/detail/1745610673861677748

Update 3.6.35.8270 - No more playing chicken with the Kraken
31 JAN @ 4:20PM - JESS_LARIAN

Hi Everyone,

The latest update for Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is now live!

We’ve a few changes: the placement of eggs in Wrecker’s Cave has been addressed, some issues with GM mode have been fixed, and pickpocketing someone in Fort Joy no longer means you can’t talk to NPCs. Also, there’s no more playing chicken with the Kraken as it’s now immune to Chicken Form.

Safe travels through Rivellon!

-Larian Crew


Full patch notes below:

Updates:

• The Kraken is now immune to Chicken Form to avoid breaking certain animations
  
• Cursor-Focused Movement is enabled by default when creating a profile
  
• The Resurrection Idol can be chosen only once, and henchmen can no longer do the related quest
  
• Teleporter Pyramids are no longer removed from the inventory after the Wellspring is destroyed
  
• Targh now has the Troll Blood status
  
• Crispin no longer joins combat with NPCs

Spoiler

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a crash when loading savegames that were made with preset mods enabled
  
• Fixed a rare crash related to using a Razer keyboard and trying to connect to host in multiplayer
  
• Fixed a crash when using Magic Mirror from Active Search as the second player in split screen
  
• Fixed a crash when loading a save or starting new campaign in Simplified or Traditional Chinese
  
• Fixed a crash happening when using a gamepad to close the level-up confirmation message
  
• Fixed an issue with lobbies timing out instead of closing when the host leaves
  
• Fixed status modifiers on weapons disappearing after saving and loading
  
• Fixed some corpses not showing up as Empty after getting looted
  
• Fixed summons occasionally spawning without the correct buff on stats
  
• Fixed incorrect party alignments when attacking Tarquin
  
• Fixed Dallis’ dragon transformation when leaving Fort Joy
  
• Fixed Dallis not having the correct weapons in later acts if defeated at Fort Joy
  
• Fixed the Vault of Braccus Rex quest not closing correctly after Act One
  
• Fixed the Burning Pigs quest not closing when all pigs are killed
  
• Fixed Mona’s reaction to her Diseased status being healed in certain conditions
  
• Fixed being able to avoid combat with Andras after leaving the Crypt
  
• Fixed the corpse in the elven encampment being moveable
  
• Fixed an issue with the placement of eggs in Wrecker’s Cave
  
• Fixed an issue with missing trap feedback on the Source Bridge
  
• Fixed the crafting menu not closing after combining a Broken Lever with a Silver Level Shaft
  
• Fixed another player being able to receive the reward for the Murderous Gheist quest while in a different party
  
• Fixed ghosts’ behaviour after the ritual is stopped in Ryker’s Mansion
  
• Fixed Sebille not leaving with Shadow Prince after Mother Tree is killed
  
• Fixed the reactions of kids and Ryker’s servants to being pickpocketed
  
• Fixed Barin not fleeing the scene after being teleported to the boat
  
• Fixed an issue with the Evasion Aura skill status icon appearing infinitely
  
• Fixed characters never ending their turn if provoked on a hazardous surface
  
• Fixed Sebille refusing to teach the scar song despite having a good relationship with the player
  
• Fixed the Mask of the Shapeshifter not working in the epilogue
  
• Fixed the possibility of getting stuck in an endless fight with Beast during the epilogue
  
• Fixed the map marker not being highlighted when the player clicks ‘On Map’ in the journal
  
• Fixed the assault on the Lady Vengeance quest occasionally being completed even if all playable characters are dead
  
• Fixed an issue where cancelling lockpicking with the controller caused players to leave stealth
  
• Fixed an issue with the display map showing up as black when a second player joined an ongoing session in split screen
  
• Fixed issues caused in the final fight if an ally is encumbered
  
• Fixed an issue with skill casting not cancelling when dismissing a tutorial popup
  
• Fixed Time Warp giving two extra turns instead of one when used during a delayed turn
  
• Fixed an issue with crafting poisoned food and drinks using objects that are already poisoned
  
• Fixed a rare issue with being unable to join the fight for Divinity when loading savegames
  
• Fixed shapeshifted Fane being unable to solve the puzzle in Lucian’s Tomb
  
• Fixed Beast being unable to fight in ambushes if the player doesn’t speak to him at the start of Act Two
  
• Fixed Source Puppets getting stuck in an incorrect state after being summoned
  
• Fixed a feedback issue when trying to identify objects with insufficient AP
  
• Fixed the journal entry for A Lizard Nightmare quest
  
• Fixed an issue with two Ascending companions not entering combat if the player chooses to not become a new Divine
  
• Fixed Wind-up Toys spawning twice after the wedding cake is attacked
  
• Fixed a rare issue with Waypoints becoming unusable in Honour Mode
  
• Fixed an issue with player characters sometimes getting stuck in dialogue mode
  
• Fixed Gareth not appearing on the Lady Vengeance if all the Seekers are killed in Fort Joy
  
• Fixed the content menus in crafting not appearing if the player interacts with an object or NPC while it’s open
  
• Fixed the player character losing the ability to speak to NPCs after pickpocketing someone in Fort Joy
  
• Fixed Alexandar sometimes getting stuck at Fort Joy’s gates and not appearing at the end of Act One
  
• GM: Fixed a crash related to changing atmosphere when four clients are connected
  
• GM: Updated books containing placeholder text at the start of The Dark Eye campaign
  
• GM: Fixed stats for the Source Titan
  
• GM: Fixed several minor gameplay issues in The Dark Eye campaign
  
• GM: Fixed camera bounds on the Demon Ark in The Dark Eye campaign
  
• GM: Fixed containers not opening and closing correctly in certain situations
  
• GM: Fixed issues with the GM’s ability to add and move items in character inventories
  
• GM: Fixed hotkeys for Skill Panel, World Map, and journal when possessing a creature
  
• GM: Fixed the display of skills in the Spellbook after selecting monster skills
  
• GM: Fixed an issue with the level loading incorrectly for the first player if they confirm in Character Creation but the second player leaves the game
  
• GM: Fixed an issue with opening the Custom Stats tab with a gamepad
  
• Fixed an issue with text overlapping and getting cut-off in German and Russian
  
• Fixed minor issues in dialogue and text
  
• Fixed several incorrect or missing icons for objects and talents
  
• Fixed minor issues with skill casting effects and animations
  
• Fixed missing or incorrect portraits for several NPCs
  
• Fixed many interface readability, usability, and control issues
  
• Fixed minor texture and item placement issues
  
• Fixed certain animation and pathfinding issues
  
• Fixed several minor sound issues

 

[Bohr]

On the writing:

 

[user]

Only played dos 2 a little while after it had come out and thinking of starting a new playthrough. I want to play a solo wizard. Been reading something about lone wolf not worth it anymore and some other weird stuff. What has changed in definitive edition? Should I be aware of something? Did they improve a4?

 

[ScrotumBroth]

Depends what you mean by worth it. I've played Lone Wolf in Definitive edition and it was fun, although maybe too easy, since it was my second playthrough.

 

[Incendax]

Lone Wolf is “worth it” if you dislike managing inventory for four characters and don’t mind missing out on story content for the characters you do not take along. Which is to say, a personal preference that is probably more worthwhile in your second playthrough for most people. Lone Wolf is not as powerful as it used to be (which was hilariously broken), but it can still absolutely rock most enemies in the game.

Act 4 has been improved. It’s not bad now. Still less polished than Act 1-2, but enjoyable.

Act 3 is the weakest part of the game to me.

 

[Infinitron]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/435150/announcements/detail/1747863741422146759

Update 3.6.36.3440 - Italian Localisation Now Available!
15 FEB @ 6:02PM - JESS_LARIAN

Hi Everyone,

We have some good news for our Italian players - from now on you can all play in your first language!

First of all, we’d like to thank you for your patience. We've been working hard with our friends from TIGER - Gruppo Traduzioni Amatoriali to deliver this localisation. You can be sure that lots of heart and love was put into this project, as TIGER are big fans of Divinity: Original Sin 2, so it was very personal to them.

Along with adding Italian, we have also addressed some issues with the AI not starting combat in certain instances and you can now close empty containers by using the space bar.

Happy adventures through Rivellon!

-Larian Team

Full patch notes below:

Updates:

• Italian added as a language

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed empty containers not closing with space bar
  
• Fixed certain NPCs not entering combat when attacked from a distance

Mac Specific Bug Fixes:

• Fixed visual issue with journal pages
  
• Fixed scrolling issue when using a mouse wheel

 

[Infinitron]

Oh my:

Players of Divinity: Original Sin 2 to enjoy free content updates over the coming year
A year of ‘Gift Bags’ with various contents to be automatically patched into the game. Today, character creation content is patched in free on every platform.

Larian Studios is excited to announce a series of varied content updates to be patched into the game on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One over the course of the coming year. This content is being created in conjunction with talented European developers, Fools Theory and Anshar Studios.

Not to be mistaken for Loot Boxes (which are hard, ostensibly containing loot), Gift Bags are soft, and contain gifts. Each Gift Bag costs exactly no amount of money to players, and will be patched in periodically to each platform.

Gift Bag #1 releases today, and contains plenty of new faces, hairstyles and facial features for Character Creation, so that your next re-roll in Rivellon will feel fresh and exciting. Gift Bag #2 will contain a selection of features and content inspired by our modding community. The contents of the other Gift Bags will remain under wraps for now.

We can’t wait to see the new Divinity-you, so please send Larian screenshots and continue flooding us with stories of your adventures in Rivellon.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 enjoyed many months of community support and enthusiasm prior to its September 14 2017 launch into critical acclaim. After generating $2m on Kickstarter and working through player feedback on Steam’s Early Access program, Divinity: Original Sin 2 finally made its way to consoles along with a gigantic update under the Definitive Edition in August of last year.

 

[Infinitron]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/435150/announcements/detail/1804160640686210334

Update 3.6.37.7694 - Gift Bag #1
8 MAR @ 12:14PM - JESS_LARIAN

Fellow Godwoken,

We're pleased to tell you that our latest update is now live, and it features our first Gift Bag of free content for Divinity: Original Sin 2! Working in cooperation with Fool's Theory and Anshar Studios, we have created new visual options for your characters. There are new faces for each race, more hairstyles, and additional facial features for you to use when creating a new character. You can also respec your existing characters using these new options by using the Magic Mirror aboard the Lady Vengeance.

We have more Gift Bags planned for this year, and the treats inside will continue to enrich your adventures in Rivellon. We will have more information about future Gift Bags for you soon, and we can’t wait to see what you do with them.

In addition to today’s Gift Bag, in this update we have also addressed issues with fast-traveling to the Lady Vengeance, Sir Lora incorrectly absorbing Source, and some minor audio and visual issues.

Happy adventures through Rivellon,

Larian Crew


Full patch notes below:

Updates:

• Added new Character Creation assets
  
• Mac Pro 2013 now supported
  
• MacOS 10.14.4 introduces a fix for Apple Gamecenter lobbies

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a rare crash when joining multiplayer games with certain mods
  
• Fixed save file compatibility issue
  
• Fixed an issue with using the Swornbreaker in multiplayer games
  
• Fixed issue with player fast-traveling to Lady Vengeance
  
• Fixed Dashing June not taking gold from player inventory
  
• Fixed Sir Lora incorrectly absorbing Source
  
• Fixed the Frozen Family incorrectly initiating combat if defrosted in a certain way
  
• Fixed issue with Malady not appearing on the lower deck in some situations
  
• Fixed issues with players not receiving Seascape and Liberator achievements
  
• Fixed issues with The Gargoyle's Maze quest not appearing in the Journal under certain circumstances
  
• GM: Fixed issues with certain children missing faces and limbs when switching torsos
  
• Fixed minor visual and audio issues
  
• Fixed some dialogue issues
  
• Fixed UI cutoff in Spanish

 

[LESS T_T]

This content is being created in conjunction with talented European developers, Fools Theory and Anshar Studios.

Coincidentally, both studios are located at Poland and looking for developers to make RPG with UE4.

https://www.skillshot.pl/jobs/12541-quest-designer-at-anshar-studios

Spoiler

Anshar Studios is looking for talented Quest Designer to join our team on site in Katowice, Poland.

Responsibilities:

• Design quest content that tells engaging stories
• Actively contribute to design discussions about current and future features
• Close cooperation with rest of our design team
• Writing clear and concise quest design documents

Requirements:

• At least of 2 years of experience as Quest Designer
• Credited as a designer in at least 1 commercial video game
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Experience working with storytelling toolsets like Articy Draft, Twine, ChoiceScript etc.
• Experience creating and running pen and paper RPG campaigns
• Passion for video, table-top and pen and paper games
• Intermediate English (B1/B2 level)

Pluses:

• Experience in Unreal Engine 4
• Experience with scripting languages
• Experience with world building and writing for role-playing games
• Fluent English (C1/C2 level)

https://www.skillshot.pl/jobs/11390-specjalista-senior-quest-designer-at-fools-theory

Google translation

After the debut of 'Seven: The Days Long Gone' debut, Fool's Theory begins working on new AA and AAA titles for PCs and consoles. Therefore, he is looking for people who want to feed a growing team of developers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• constructing the plot of the game from the theoretical level through implementation in Unreal Engine 4,
• iteration of implemented quests in terms of functionality and consistency,
• supervision over the logic and course of the narrative,
• independent reporting of the asset demand for quests,
• constructing the debug content of dialogues in English and implementing their logic.

REQUIREMENTS:

• the ability to create cause-and-effect fruit maps of your imagination,
• ability to describe events as clear, interesting and simple logical diagrams,
• knowledge of the Blueprint system in Unreal Engine 4,

 

[Ismaul]

So they're taking a page from CDPR to build goodwill.

 

[Ismaul]

sullynathan

https://af.gog.com/game/the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_free_dlc_program?as=1649904300

 

[Lacrymas]

I don't think there's anyone else besides CDPR with so much built-up goodwill in the mainstream. I guess free goodies is cool and I haven't yet played this game.

 

[FreshCorpse]

I don't think there's anyone else besides CDPR with so much built-up goodwill in the mainstream. I guess free goodies is cool and I haven't yet played this game.

CDPR clearly do spend a lot of time and money cultivating goodwill, fine, not everyone has the budget or inclination for that. What I don't understand is why other developers seem to do almost nothing. It's not hard to generate goodwill - plenty of the "free dlc" for witcher 3 was clearly just various bits and pieces that presumably couldn't be finished in time for release. When you think about the fact that many games spend more on marketing than development (sometimes twice as much or more) it seems intuitive that you might do a bit of development for the sake of marketing, especially whan various artists or writers or whatever are idle as you work towards release. Yet almost no one does.

 

[Ismaul]

But if devs did the marketing what would the marketeers do?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

But if devs did the marketing what would the marketeers do?

Nothing, as usual.