Divinity Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

[J_C]

So, we're all amazed by D:OS 2's player count, but how many Codexers own it?

Right now, of my 415 Steam friends, almost all of whom are Codexers, 118 own D:OS 2. A decently high number for a new game.

For comparison, 241 own the first game.

Don't forget that many people (myself included) own it on GOG. So that number is even higher than that.

 

[Luckmann]

I'm not surprised at how many people can't even play a simple game directed at adolescents, but I'm surprised at how many refuse to read the text or even look at the screen.

And this is supposed to be (have been?) an anti-popamole forum? Which year was that? People can't find an NPC in the center of the town, others are bitching for a "highlight all button" (btw the console controller interface - what a coincidence, huh - has just the thing for you, you press and hold A and it highlights all containers), and yet others need a quest compass to finish their quests and whine when quests are marked as failed.

Revelation for you: quests are not the self-contained fedex shit you are used to doing from your favorite game Skyrim. Get with the game's style already, ffs.

For example, I healed a sick guy, he gave me a playing card, then I went to a few guys playing cards and had the option to play that card, which had me win a big amount of gold from them. Nothing of this was ever hinted in quest log or anywhere. No quest compass either. Explore, improvise, experiment.

I have not had a single bugged quest since the beginning of the game, and we are currently just out of the fort joy and in the wood to the west. I have never opened my quest log for more than to read the text. I have never been confused at what's expected of the party to do.

Also, I really like the music. "Bobby is not a real composer" -- don't make me laugh. Probably that's why he writes music for more and more popular games while you get to be a "critic" on the Codex.

Agreed.
Interestingly, ITT some Codexers voice concerns, disagreements and frustration, but there is almost no drama. Which makes me wonder, could it be that we have a new classic in our hands (well, your hands, since I won't get my hands on it for a while)? What do you think?

Hopefully, Larian didn't fuck up anything too much so that it can't be fixed later.

The game has some real issue. Some major issues. Some of these would be relatively easily fixed (armor, ability/skill issues, etc) while others are deeply ingrained and unlikely to be fixable without it costing more than it's possibly worth. A lot of the complexity of D:OS1 has been cut, which is a huge malus. It's simply mechanically inferior in many ways. Some things appears to have been cut almost arbitrarily.

But, even with those issues in mind, is the game good?

Yes.

 

[Grunker]

Also Lacrymas the story is better than last time and some of the companions are actually OK (avoid Fane like the plague though). It's still pretty shit, but it scores higher on the craftsmapship of writing: coherence, structure, clarity etc.

 

[Vibalist]

How do you guys feel about the inventory system? Because I fucking hate it.

 

[Grunker]

How do you guys feel about the inventory system? Because I fucking hate it.

Objetively it sucks huge monkeyballs. It's unnecessarily complex, has terrible auto-sorting and is painfully slow. I really like it, because I'm an autist and actually find pleasure in the massive amount of inventory tetris you have to do. I have like 7 bags categorized for different shit and then general use-items sorted in the main inventory.

I have a feeling I might be the only one in the universe taking pleasure in that though, because the amount of unnecessary bullshit you have to manage is ridicoulous, and the "Wares"-system for auto-selling is a joke.

 

[Metatron]

I'm honestly surprised by a lot of you. I haven't been on the Codex for very long, and this way of acting baffles me. It's as if some of you people actually WANT the game to be bad for some reason... if you actually relaxed for a mere moment, instead of trying to look for bad things in every nook and corner, you probably enjoy yourselves a lot more. Does this game have its flaws? It certainly does, as with everything else, but it's also an incredibly fun piece with a vibrant soul. It's quite clear how Larian poured their hearts out to make it.

Most established Codex classics (including several ones in the Codex all time top 10) wouldn't survive a 2017 release. Imagine one of the great-in-some-ways-but-deeply-flawed-in-many-others Troika games coming out today, the usual whining parrots would be working overtime.

 

[Darth Roxor]

oh no muh troika games

spoiler, they were terrible apart from bloodlines

 

[Trashos]

Interestingly, ITT some Codexers voice concerns, disagreements and frustration, but there is almost no drama. Which makes me wonder, could it be that we have a new classic in our hands (well, your hands, since I won't get my hands on it for a while)? What do you think?

Hopefully, Larian didn't fuck up anything too much so that it can't be fixed later.

I think for drama we need to have a devoted following coming from D:OS, which seems to be absent.

Nothing like a good RPG to expose the inept players and poseurs.

I am waiting for your opinion on the total single player experience after you finish it. Also see below.

But, even with those issues in mind, is the game good?

Yes.

I have no doubt that it is good (potential bugs aside). I am wondering whether it is going to be one of the greats (say, RPGCodex Top 10). The reception itt is not very far from how I 'd imagine a top10 game to be received here when first released. But maybe I am just too optimistic.

That said I like this - even better than the first.
...
Game won't break into my top10, not even close, but it's cool

Why won't it break in your top 10, Grunker? What is it missing?

 

[Grunker]

Why won't it break in your top 10, Grunker? What is it missing?

Story is throw-away, pacing is awful, character system is absolute crap, cooldowns suck (only 1 game with cooldowns on my top list), a lot of features are cool but superficial and I personally don't give a shit about Ultima-style simulationism (basically the only way to talk me into simulationist games is with hardcore survival mechanics), too unfocused, the annoying illusion of non-linearity (basically you go from locale to locale and paint the background in more or less the order that your level allows you too - it's like Baldur's Gate but with significantly less choice between which areas to explore when), pixel-hunting and so-so itemization.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Nigga what did you just say about Arcanum?

that it's shit

fight me

 

[Iznaliu]

Game won't break into my top10, not even close, but it's cool

What are your top 10 RPGs?

 

[Grunker]

arcanum is like the ultimate Codex game in that it's shit in every way but has infinite potential i.e. the ultimate flawed gem

 

[AwesomeButton]

The inventory system on the PC interface is like what it was inD:OS:EE, isn't it? I found it unintuitive, but it's still miles better than the console controller version. That on is like playing on a cellphone.

Also, Arcanum is an ethernal classic, with its flaws and all. If you don't agree, go look for your son after 200 years and don't bother me with your stupidity.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Nigga what did you just say about Arcanum?

that it's shit

fight me

it's on

where do you live

djibouti

i'll be waiting

 

[Vibalist]

How do you guys feel about the inventory system? Because I fucking hate it.

Objetively it sucks huge monkeyballs. It's unnecessarily complex, has terrible auto-sorting and is painfully slow. I really like it, because I'm an autist and actually find pleasure in the massive amount of inventory tetris you have to do. I have like 7 bags categorized for different shit and then general use-items sorted in the main inventory.

I have a feeling I might be the only one in the universe taking pleasure in that though, because the amount of unnecessary bullshit you have to manage is ridicoulous, and the "Wares"-system for auto-selling is a joke.

Good. I thought I was going crazy, because no one talks about it.

I absolutely despise how you can't send items from one character to another when you're shopping. If you're trying to buy some items but you're a few gold pieces short, you need to exit the fucking buy screen, transfer the cash from character A to character B, then open it up again. Also, there's no button that lets you balance the value of what you're selling versus what you're buying, so you have to manually add or subtract gold pieces to each transfer, using a slider with sensitivity set to fucking max.

ALSO, the vendors are usually people with tons of dialogue, so whenever you address them with a new character, their whole introduction speech starts over and sometimes there's no way to just say 'goodbye' to them, you have to suffer through it again.

How did they not think of these issues? They make this painstakingly detailed game with tons of items that you need to sell all the time, but they don't make it fast and intuitive to actually do so. You sort of don't give a shit in the beginning, but after a while, with all the junk you pick up, all the weapons and armor you're constantly replacing, all the skill books you need, something as simple as buying and selling stuff becomes a reason to quit the game.

 

[Hines]

Eurogamer: Original Sin 2 roars out of the gates to nearly 500K sold

It's been a bombastic start for independent computer role-playing game Divinity: Original Sin 2, which has raced to nearly 500,000 sales on PC in only four days.

"It is fantastic," Swen Vincke, owner of developer and publisher Larian Studios, told me this morning, "but it is also way beyond what we expected. We're close to hitting 500K units sold which is a number I believe took us two or three months with Divinity: Original Sin 1."

 

[Grunker]

How do you guys feel about the inventory system? Because I fucking hate it.

Objetively it sucks huge monkeyballs. It's unnecessarily complex, has terrible auto-sorting and is painfully slow. I really like it, because I'm an autist and actually find pleasure in the massive amount of inventory tetris you have to do. I have like 7 bags categorized for different shit and then general use-items sorted in the main inventory.

I have a feeling I might be the only one in the universe taking pleasure in that though, because the amount of unnecessary bullshit you have to manage is ridicoulous, and the "Wares"-system for auto-selling is a joke.

Good. I thought I was going crazy, because no one talks about it.

I absolutely despise how you can't send items from one character to another when you're shopping. If you're trying to buy some items but you're a few gold pieces short, you need to exit the fucking buy screen, transfer the cash from character A to character B, then open it up again. Also, there's no button that lets you balance the value of what you're selling versus what you're buying, so you have to manually add or subtract gold pieces to each transfer, using a slider with sensitivity set to fucking max.

ALSO, the vendors are usually people with tons of dialogue, so whenever you address them with a new character, their whole introduction speech starts over and sometimes there's no way to just say 'goodbye' to them, you have to suffer through it again.

How did they not think of these issues? They make this painstakingly detailed game with tons of items that you need to sell all the time, but they don't make it fast and intuitive to actually do so. You sort of don't give a shit in the beginning, but after a while, with all the junk you pick up, all the weapons and armor you're constantly replacing, all the skill books you need, something as simple as buying and selling stuff becomes a reason to quit the game.

Just something as basic as using your highest bartering skill no matter who is selling or buying would work wonders. I do this huge inventory passes where I have to give all sellables to Lohse (my barterer) and it takes like 1 hour per go. The only decent thing is the "auto-balance" button which it sounds like you haven't used - you should

 

[anvi]

Is the combat good?

 

[Grunker]

yes but it's not great and if you're hoping for the zany chaos of the original you'll be disappointed

 

[Vibalist]

If you're trying to buy some items but you're a few gold pieces short, you need to exit the fucking buy screen, transfer the cash from character A to character B, then open it up again. Also, there's no button that lets you balance the value of what you're selling versus what you're buying, so you have to manually add or subtract gold pieces to each transfer, using a slider with sensitivity set to fucking max.

What?

Click the little balance button on the top of the trading screen and magic happens. Money gets transfered automatically and it fills the difference with gold.

I must be a blind idiot, because I didn't see that. Still, they need to redesign this whole thing from scratch, because it's still awful.

Just something as basic as using your highest bartering skill no matter who is selling or buying would work wonders. I do this huge inventory passes where I have to give all sellables to Lohse (my barterer) and it takes like 1 hour per go. The only decent thing is the "auto-balance" button which it sounds like you haven't used - you should

+1

The way itemization and bartering works, you basically need one character who carries everything around, ideally the one with lucky charm and bartering.

 

[Grunker]

Game won't break into my top10, not even close, but it's cool

What are your top 10 RPGs?

Too hard to choose 10 on the spot so I'll give you 14 in no particular order:

Knights of the Chalice
King of Dragon Pass
Magic the Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers (Shandalar mode - basically a classic RPG where the combat is handled by playing Magic)
The IE-games (PS:T, BGs, IWDs)
Pillars of Eternity
Might & Magic VII - For Blood and Honor
Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines
Deus Ex
Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Dragon Age: Origins
Fallout - New Vegas
Wizardry 8
Lands of Lore
Blackguards (best RPG of the last decade)

 

[Luckmann]

I have no doubt that it is good (potential bugs aside). I am wondering whether it is going to be one of the greats (say, RPGCodex Top 10). The reception itt is not very far from how I 'd imagine a top10 game to be received here when first released. But maybe I am just too optimistic.

Top 10? Nah, I doubt that. There's much too many good RPG:s throughout history to scratch that. It's a really great game, it could very easily become one of the great classics, I believe, and it will likely be remembered fondly for a very long time, but Top 10? No way, José.

Top 20.. maybe. Maybe. Top 50 for sure.

 

[Lacrymas]

Grunker, if you like Magic the Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers you might like Etherlords 2, 1 is a bit annoying. I have some issues with the variety of the decks, but it's fun.

AwesomeButton, I have never said Bobby isn't a "real" composer, I said he isn't a composer in the same way Kirill was. If you stopped and listened to the examples I gave, instead of misguidedly white-knighting, you'd notice the difference between academically educated composers and Bobby immediately, whatever your feelings on the matter is they aren't the same. That isn't to say he isn't a "real" composer, what does that even mean?

Re: 500k copies - that's great, it means the first wave of Kickstarter RPGs weren't just a nostalgia trip everyone is already sick of, but a viable commercial path.

 

[Kirkpatrick]

Eurogamer: Original Sin 2 roars out of the gates to nearly 500K sold

It's been a bombastic start for independent computer role-playing game Divinity: Original Sin 2, which has raced to nearly 500,000 sales on PC in only four days.

"It is fantastic," Swen Vincke, owner of developer and publisher Larian Studios, told me this morning, "but it is also way beyond what we expected. We're close to hitting 500K units sold which is a number I believe took us two or three months with Divinity: Original Sin 1."

There was some 70,000 number being thrown out previously in thread, for sales in two days, and it seemed great.

 

[Sjukob]

Spoiler alert

Spoiler

You can chicken that giant worm :D

Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Dragon Age: Origins
Pillars of Eternity

If DOS2 doesn't drop the ball like the first one it will be one of the best RPGs ever released , it doesn't have a defining weak point like most others do , the only other RPG I played that is like that is Gothic . Also no Gothic on the list ... What ?!

Thumbs up for not listing Morrowind though