Divinity: Original Sin Pre-Release Thread

[ForkTong]

It's an RPG Just saying that the engine supports bigger parties for modders, should they want to recreate, oh, I don't know, a Krynn game or so.

 

[evdk]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

 

[Zeriel]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

The dark side of nostalgia? Although I like to think that old-school nostalgia really isn't about recreating the exact things of yesteryear, but bringing back the sorts of mechanics and style of game we used to see.

 

[Arkeus]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It really, really is. That's why it's easier to root for re-creations than flat out creations. Though of course, the NWN/NWN2 mod communities definitely had some really nice original and campaign-long modes.

 

[Angthoron]

Another reason to appreciate Larian then - there's not that many games in which you have a global tbs with RTS encounters, romanceable skeleton brides with lovely, lovely apples all the while being a dragon with a jetpack, and probably eventual and inevitable magic laser cannons.

And then there's Original Sin, which's awesome just for finally creating a meaningful social co-op precedent in RPGs.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

 

[Arkeus]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

Yeah, you pretty much need to have a team if you want to do really good mods. Hopefully, with this current editor, a community where such can thrive will exist.

 

[Angthoron]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

Yeah, you pretty much need to have a team if you want to do really good mods. Hopefully, with this current editor, a community where such can thrive will exist.

Yeah. Fortunately, with the rise of virtual teams, I think group efforts should eventually become much easier, though of course it'll require a whole new level of coordination skills.

 

[evdk]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

It's not like recreating BG will help you with any of that. Well, it would come with built in audience.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

It's not like recreating BG will help you with any of that. Well, it would come with built in audience.

Well, it wouldn't require you to write anything new nor design new levels, quests and puzzles. Which leaves us with scripting (to recreate everything) and combat -- still very hard but more feasible.

 

[Zeriel]

Eh, recreating 2D levels in a 3D engine (or even just 2D levels in another 2D engine with different assets) takes a lot of level design skill. Sure, you don't need to design encounters and general layout, but you do need to make it look good in another engine or with different art. Remaking the city of Baldur's Gate in, say, the NWN engine in a purely geographical sense is not simply a matter of plopping down the buildings and calling it a day. Texturing alone is a massive time investment.

Probably the best element of recreating something is you have a concrete goal and a plan of sorts to work off of--when you're creating an entire world from scratch, it's somewhat like writing a brand-new novel, which is a daunting process for anyone who has ever tried. Such is the stuff that breaks the minds of lesser men, if only out of the sheer "OH DEAR GOD WHERE AND HOW DO I START" of it all.

 

[Roguey]

ForkTong Please don't funnel the endgame into an "exciting" combat-filled (edit: combat-only) madness. For example in games like DivDiv, Div2 vanilla (expansion was good), VTMB, Gothic, Risen, etc., etc.

This please, something like Flames of Vengeance.

You're both forgetting about that pointless 10 minute zeppelin escort quest.

 

[evdk]

ForkTong Please don't funnel the endgame into an "exciting" combat-filled (edit: combat-only) madness. For example in games like DivDiv, Div2 vanilla (expansion was good), VTMB, Gothic, Risen, etc., etc.

This please, something like Flames of Vengeance.

You're both forgetting about that pointless 10 minute zeppelin escort quest.

Which is peanuts when compared to say last three acts of Risen or VtMB endgame.

 

[MicoSelva]

Risen had a decent endgame, at least compared to Gothic 1.
I have not finished the other mentioned games, though.

 

[Stabbey]

I liked the zeppelin escort mission because it was actually using the Dragon to accomplish an objective, not just for transport. They also did a good job of ramping up the challenge so while it was easy to take out individual towers, at the end there were just so many that it was impossible to stop them all.

Technically it was an escort mission, but it played like a snowplow mission, you were there to clear the way of towers, not to stay close to the zeppelin.

 

[Angthoron]

It had a cool Tassadar Dies payoff, too.

 

[DeepOcean]

I liked the zeppelin escort mission because it was actually using the Dragon to accomplish an objective, not just for transport. They also did a good job of ramping up the challenge so while it was easy to take out individual towers, at the end there were just so many that it was impossible to stop them all.

Technically it was an escort mission, but it played like a snowplow mission, you were there to clear the way of towers, not to stay close to the zeppelin.

After failing 3 times, is that I noticed that staying nearby the Zeppelin was a bad idea. Did you accepted Bellegar offer or released the evil mage? If you released the mage, there is any difference in the final sequence? Bellegar was just too awesome to be rejected.

 

[Gord]

I think if you release him, you receive the Eye of the Patriarch nuke instead of Belegars nuke and get to fight him (the lich, not Belegar) alongside Ygerna in the final fight.
Ramps up the difficulty a bit. The eye of the patriarch is supposed to be stronger, but I don't think it will change anything in the escort mission.

The escort mission itself was absolutely ok, I think. You got a final dragon-form sequence again where you could wreak havoc, with a good build-up in difficulty.
Just before it got too difficult, the mission ended.

 

[Mangoose]

ForkTong Please don't funnel the endgame into an "exciting" combat-filled (edit: combat-only) madness. For example in games like DivDiv, Div2 vanilla (expansion was good), VTMB, Gothic, Risen, etc., etc.

This please, something like Flames of Vengeance.

You're both forgetting about that pointless 10 minute zeppelin escort quest.

I indeed forgot it, even though I just played it a week ago, because it was 10 minutes, meaningless, and didn't bother me. But honestly, it doesn't matter, if you consider the original intent of the statement. God forbid one of the examples is wrong or right, I must nitpick and derail. You're right, I'm wrong, oh ho ho go stroke your ego.

 

[Stabbey]

I liked the zeppelin escort mission because it was actually using the Dragon to accomplish an objective, not just for transport. They also did a good job of ramping up the challenge so while it was easy to take out individual towers, at the end there were just so many that it was impossible to stop them all.

Technically it was an escort mission, but it played like a snowplow mission, you were there to clear the way of towers, not to stay close to the zeppelin.

After failing 3 times, is that I noticed that staying nearby the Zeppelin was a bad idea. Did you accepted Bellegar offer or released the evil mage? If you released the mage, there is any difference in the final sequence? Bellegar was just too awesome to be rejected.

No real difference except for a couple lines from Zandalor, and

Spoiler

In the final boss fight, you have to take on both Ygerna and Behrlihn at the same time.

Yes, staying near the zeppelin is the wrong way to play that mission. It can handle any flying enemies that try to harass it without your assistance, as long as you wipe out every single tower. If you start doing really well against the towers, the Zeppelin will complain that you're getting too far away, but that's a good thing. You won't get penalized for going too far away.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

I honestly liked the zeppelin sequence. Gameplay-wise it was pretty bland, I guess, but it was cathartic and did a good job of making the player feel like they were a real force of nature, unleashing its fury in the pursuit of vengeance blah blah. What with Zandalor's pep talk and the music and finally taking down those fortresses that have been floating over your head for the whole expansion. Maybe these things impress me too easily

Also it was really easy.

 

[Coboney]

@Forktongue - will the assets for Dragon Commander be released and will it be possible for us to mod Dragon Commander once the mod set comes out with Original Sin?

 

[Ulminati]

Come to think of it, this thread is full of creative bankruptcy. Recreate this, recreate that. New content is teh hard.

It's just that, in order to be able to create a new great RPG module, you have to be

1) a decent to good writer (and you don't just have to have a decent grasp of style and grammar -- you also have to think up a story to tell, write believable dialogue, etc.)
2) a good level and puzzle designer
3) a good combat designer
4) a good scripter

Unpossible.

Yeah, you pretty much need to have a team if you want to do really good mods. Hopefully, with this current editor, a community where such can thrive will exist.

Most of the good NWN1 modules (going by # of downloads, user ratings and reviews) were 1-man affairs.

 

[Jaesun]

And NWN2.

 

[ForkTong]

@Forktongue - will the assets for Dragon Commander be released and will it be possible for us to mod Dragon Commander once the mod set comes out with Original Sin?

The engine is the same, but the tools that are used to build DC are totally different.