Looks good (horrifying). I wanted to get into DS2 but it didn't quite grab me. Lots of little things with how the armor was on everyone, the fact every fight very easily devolved into "oh god...
Looks good (horrifying). I wanted to get into DS2 but it didn't quite grab me. Lots of little things with how the armor was on everyone, the fact every fight very easily devolved into "oh god we're all on fire" and other small things.
BG3 was fantastic and being tied to the DnD rules I think helped them iron out their issues from DS2, so i'm excited to see them head back to their original IP and really knock it out of the park.
Yeah. The d20 system was mechanically complex and compelling, and the grounded nature of wotc probably prevented them from doing a lot of goofy things that they wanted to (wotc can be very...
Yeah. The d20 system was mechanically complex and compelling, and the grounded nature of wotc probably prevented them from doing a lot of goofy things that they wanted to (wotc can be very discerning and definitely flexes their creative control rights). the OS1 & 2 weren't as mechanically deep, were flashier and definitely goofier worlds.
I'm not saying that a bit of goofy is wrong. Raphael is easily the top 10 villains ever solely due to his boss fight. But the original sin worlds were just a bit too goofy, or didn't let take themselves seriously enough for me.
The presentation is goofy for sure, especially in D:OS1. I found the worlds themselves (the writing more-so than the visuals) to get pretty grim towards the end of both games and the moments of...
But the original sin worlds were just a bit too goofy, or didn't let take themselves seriously enough for me.
The presentation is goofy for sure, especially in D:OS1. I found the worlds themselves (the writing more-so than the visuals) to get pretty grim towards the end of both games and the moments of levity to be a welcome break from that. Obviously this is a matter of taste, but D:OS2 in particular worked quite well for me.
It's the same for me. I find D:OS2 a lot more gut-wrenching than BG3 (almost verging on being a psychological horror game), and I really appreciated that they intermixed it with humor to...
It's the same for me. I find D:OS2 a lot more gut-wrenching than BG3 (almost verging on being a psychological horror game), and I really appreciated that they intermixed it with humor to counterbalance the writing. It might have been too heavy-going for me otherwise — and I say that as a huge horror fan.
BG3's lore and writing are much lighter and optimistic (at least from what I saw in my playthrough), and BG3 didn't really need the comic relief.
Epic Encounters 2, an overhaul mod for dos2, is quite good. It adds a lot of interesting features, items, and systems for building characters, as well as overhauling status effects to make it so...
Epic Encounters 2, an overhaul mod for dos2, is quite good. It adds a lot of interesting features, items, and systems for building characters, as well as overhauling status effects to make it so every fight isn't just stun locking the opponent by knocking them down every turn.
It's a little opaque and requires some reading through discord posts to figure out some of the changes but I think it's a fun mod.
I will say that although I enjoyed a lot of what Epic Encounters 2 was adding, the end result was enough extra complexity that the analysis paralysis ground my playthrough to a halt. I think it...
I will say that although I enjoyed a lot of what Epic Encounters 2 was adding, the end result was enough extra complexity that the analysis paralysis ground my playthrough to a halt.
I think it does a good job of amping up the tactical depth for those looking to freshen up the game, but I'd be reluctant to suggest it to a new player unless they were the sort of person that had already fallen off the vanilla experience for being too easy to min-max.
Definitely a fair point. I really enjoyed diving deep into the skill tree system but it's definitely a level of complexity that isn't for everyone. I was mostly just suggesting it because they...
Definitely a fair point. I really enjoyed diving deep into the skill tree system but it's definitely a level of complexity that isn't for everyone. I was mostly just suggesting it because they mentioned the fact that dos2 vanilla had issues with the balance of status effects in combat, which EE2 does a better job with.
Over the past decades I have grown rather cynical about most of the AAA gaming industry, but I feel genuinely happy for Sven Vincke and the Larian crowd that they are able to make their games and...
Over the past decades I have grown rather cynical about most of the AAA gaming industry, but I feel genuinely happy for Sven Vincke and the Larian crowd that they are able to make their games and get better at their craft with each release.
I think due to their early access events ('Panels from Hell') and all the interviews over the years Larian/Sven have managed to make their company feel like a bunch of humans and not a faceless corporate entity like all the others (at least for me). I guess it helps a lot that they are a privately held company, so they don't suffer from the typical 'shareholder oriented' practices.
Of course Larian consists of hundreds of people, so it's probably a bit naive to think that way, but I want to believe that they actually try to be different and stand for the ideals that Sven talked about last year.
Sven has been very outspoken against triple A overreach and is firmly on the side of fun first, monetization second. That, combined with their approach to and clout from DOS and BG3, makes the...
Sven has been very outspoken against triple A overreach and is firmly on the side of fun first, monetization second. That, combined with their approach to and clout from DOS and BG3, makes the direction of the company worthwhile to follow. You can safely assume they will create a game that doesn't squeeze you with cash shops and battle passes.
The danger, if you can call it that, is blindly believing this will result in a good game. They haven't really missed so far (though I have some areas of improvement I could talk about) but there's no guarantee either. And that's where I think you are correct, with such a large pool of employees you can't guarantee they'll perform as well as they have.
That said, they have earned enough goodwill a flop will not likely mean major reputational damage.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of my all time favourites. It was just the right game at the right time for me. I'm not big into body horror (or other horrors for that matter), but I'm more than...
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of my all time favourites. It was just the right game at the right time for me. I'm not big into body horror (or other horrors for that matter), but I'm more than willing to give it a chance because it's Divinity and Larian. If they're willing to make this their big announcement trailer in the largest game event of the year, then I think they'll be willing to just let the writers, designers, and artists loose which I can appreciate.
They're said it's still in Rivellon, and that the gods are "silent", which feels like they're setting this after D:OS2 (after which the gods will be silent for... quite some time). Though since this isn't an Original Sin game perhaps it's in a different timeline? I suppose we won't know until it comes out.
This looks disgustingly great. Loved BG3, I have many hours into it. Hope this is somewhere in the realm of how BG3 worked mechanically, but very much looking forward to it.
This looks disgustingly great. Loved BG3, I have many hours into it. Hope this is somewhere in the realm of how BG3 worked mechanically, but very much looking forward to it.
Looks good (horrifying). I wanted to get into DS2 but it didn't quite grab me. Lots of little things with how the armor was on everyone, the fact every fight very easily devolved into "oh god we're all on fire" and other small things.
BG3 was fantastic and being tied to the DnD rules I think helped them iron out their issues from DS2, so i'm excited to see them head back to their original IP and really knock it out of the park.
Yeah. The d20 system was mechanically complex and compelling, and the grounded nature of wotc probably prevented them from doing a lot of goofy things that they wanted to (wotc can be very discerning and definitely flexes their creative control rights). the OS1 & 2 weren't as mechanically deep, were flashier and definitely goofier worlds.
I'm not saying that a bit of goofy is wrong. Raphael is easily the top 10 villains ever solely due to his boss fight. But the original sin worlds were just a bit too goofy, or didn't let take themselves seriously enough for me.
The presentation is goofy for sure, especially in D:OS1. I found the worlds themselves (the writing more-so than the visuals) to get pretty grim towards the end of both games and the moments of levity to be a welcome break from that. Obviously this is a matter of taste, but D:OS2 in particular worked quite well for me.
It's the same for me. I find D:OS2 a lot more gut-wrenching than BG3 (almost verging on being a psychological horror game), and I really appreciated that they intermixed it with humor to counterbalance the writing. It might have been too heavy-going for me otherwise — and I say that as a huge horror fan.
BG3's lore and writing are much lighter and optimistic (at least from what I saw in my playthrough), and BG3 didn't really need the comic relief.
Epic Encounters 2, an overhaul mod for dos2, is quite good. It adds a lot of interesting features, items, and systems for building characters, as well as overhauling status effects to make it so every fight isn't just stun locking the opponent by knocking them down every turn.
It's a little opaque and requires some reading through discord posts to figure out some of the changes but I think it's a fun mod.
I will say that although I enjoyed a lot of what Epic Encounters 2 was adding, the end result was enough extra complexity that the analysis paralysis ground my playthrough to a halt.
I think it does a good job of amping up the tactical depth for those looking to freshen up the game, but I'd be reluctant to suggest it to a new player unless they were the sort of person that had already fallen off the vanilla experience for being too easy to min-max.
Definitely a fair point. I really enjoyed diving deep into the skill tree system but it's definitely a level of complexity that isn't for everyone. I was mostly just suggesting it because they mentioned the fact that dos2 vanilla had issues with the balance of status effects in combat, which EE2 does a better job with.
Over the past decades I have grown rather cynical about most of the AAA gaming industry, but I feel genuinely happy for Sven Vincke and the Larian crowd that they are able to make their games and get better at their craft with each release.
I think due to their early access events ('Panels from Hell') and all the interviews over the years Larian/Sven have managed to make their company feel like a bunch of humans and not a faceless corporate entity like all the others (at least for me). I guess it helps a lot that they are a privately held company, so they don't suffer from the typical 'shareholder oriented' practices.
Of course Larian consists of hundreds of people, so it's probably a bit naive to think that way, but I want to believe that they actually try to be different and stand for the ideals that Sven talked about last year.
Hopefully it all works out for them.
Sven has been very outspoken against triple A overreach and is firmly on the side of fun first, monetization second. That, combined with their approach to and clout from DOS and BG3, makes the direction of the company worthwhile to follow. You can safely assume they will create a game that doesn't squeeze you with cash shops and battle passes.
The danger, if you can call it that, is blindly believing this will result in a good game. They haven't really missed so far (though I have some areas of improvement I could talk about) but there's no guarantee either. And that's where I think you are correct, with such a large pool of employees you can't guarantee they'll perform as well as they have.
That said, they have earned enough goodwill a flop will not likely mean major reputational damage.
We have a lot of BG3 fans so I'm sure this will be really exciting! I loved BG3 and Divinity OS2 was great too!
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of my all time favourites. It was just the right game at the right time for me. I'm not big into body horror (or other horrors for that matter), but I'm more than willing to give it a chance because it's Divinity and Larian. If they're willing to make this their big announcement trailer in the largest game event of the year, then I think they'll be willing to just let the writers, designers, and artists loose which I can appreciate.
They're said it's still in Rivellon, and that the gods are "silent", which feels like they're setting this after D:OS2 (after which the gods will be silent for... quite some time). Though since this isn't an Original Sin game perhaps it's in a different timeline? I suppose we won't know until it comes out.
This looks disgustingly great. Loved BG3, I have many hours into it. Hope this is somewhere in the realm of how BG3 worked mechanically, but very much looking forward to it.
Woah I wasn't prepared for how gory the trailer would be.