Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Suggestions and Feedback The Prison Economy / Fort Joy needs another floor

I've explored all of Fort Joy. It's got a shabby Ghetto for the prisoners, it's got a prisoner kitchen for the prisoners. It's got jail cells for troublesome prisoners, it's got a Kangaroo courtroom to sentence prisoners to cartoonishly evil punishments. It's got luxurious quarters for the upper Magisters, it's got a gigantic, cartoonishly evil torture room. It's got a dock and workshops at the dock.

Do you know what's missing?

Barracks for those generic soldiers. A kitchen and mess hall for those generic soldiers. A supply and food storage room for the soldiers. An armory for where they keep their generic weapons.

That's all missing, and it shouldn't be.

This can even tie into improving the economy of the first island.

What do the prisoners (and the Seekers) need? Food, water, medicine, alcohol, narcotics, clothing, weapons, armor, and small valuable items for bartering. Those are the things which matter to them. Maybe even books, and decks of cards for entertainment or distraction.

What do the prisoners NOT need? 8-foot tall 200 pound paintings of Alexandr. So why are they so valuable? Those should sell for pretty much nothing because no prisoner or Seeker needs a painting. A juicy pear swiped from the guards quarters should be worth a lot. Cyseal was under siege, but inside the town life was fairly normal. Fort Joy is not the usual town and should not follow the same economy rules as Cyseal.

The first island should have its own set of items identical to items found later in the game, but on the first island, they sell for different prices. Or better yet, they're the same items, but there's code to alter the prices after you leave, so that 15 gold pear you filched becomes only worth 3 gold on the next town after escaping the island.


So, how does different items tie into the need for an additional floor? It's simple. That upper floor could have supplies which are valuable in the prison economy. Instead of a couple paintings worth hundreds of gold, you could find high-quality rations intended for guards which sell for 30 gold each or something.

You could even add in quests from prisoners to get medicine/medical supplies and decent food. There's quite some potential for what could be done here.

I was just thinking about the lack of barracks myself, though it seems that the magisters are quartered in various tents and marquees and even just out in the open around the castle grounds. Which may or may not be realistic, but I guess for a long-term "processing facility" some more permanent accommodation might be in order. But to play devil's advocate (something I tend to do fairly badly, so whatevs) it does draw attention to the extravagant corruption of the more senior figures.

Nobody else has any opinions on this at all?

To be honest, on the part of how valuable food should be compared to a painting, I agree, it seems that in some way I get the feeling that the devs want to give you a "hardcore" start, its most likely that they havent tweaked it yet, but I can barely get anything, and it feels intentional

Agreed.
But that price adjustment could be tricky and hard to implement.

It does seem strange that there are no permanent quarters for the guards or a dedicated mess hall for them.

But personally, I think it's a trivial concern compared to some of the other things that I am sure the developers are working on, like fixing the attribute system, balancing combat, and making the rest of the campaign look and play as beautifully as Fort Joy. Tinkering with the prices of fruit and paintings while in the first Act is pretty low on the list for me.

Also, I found the economy in Fort Joy brutal, as I think many did. And I liked it. I liked that you couldn't just steal everything and make tons of money and buy all the skills. When I finally did save enough money for one of the expensive skills, I cherished it even more. Just my two cents!

agree with OP

fort joy needs to be fleshed out a bit more, taking into consideration what real life concerns and provisions there would be. adds to the immersion!

There's a Dwarf doctor on one of the beaches. What does she need? Medical Supplies. So she could give you a quest to bring her some. There could be a couple ways to complete that quest. The difficult way would be to infiltrate Fort Joy and visit the BRAND NEW TOP FLOOR which houses the barracks, mess hall, kitchen, infirmary, and storage areas... but is also patrolled and has level 3-5 soldiers.

The medical supplies from there would solve the quest. There's also a way to craft supplies:

Cloth Scraps = Prison Clothing + Knife
Bandages = Alcohol + Cloth Scraps
Needle and Thread = Needle + Thread
Partial Surgical Kit = Needle and Thread + Bandages
Surgical Kit = Partial Surgical Kit + Anesthetic (AKA "Hammer")

Splint Kit = Small Branches + Rope

The kits would have no use for the players. (Well maybe it could be that a Surgical Kit cures Bleeding, Splint Kit cures Crippled.) The prisoners (especially the Doctor) and the Seekers would pay decently for them.

Even if the extra floor doesn't get added, medical supply kits could be added elsewhere around the fort.

I love the idea of expanding areas to flesh out a living town/town economy and increase immersion.
I don't really love the idea of changing the prices of things.

I think if any tinkering were to be done it would be either only -
Decreasing the value of paintings. You're right, what use do they have for a painting?
Decreasing the amount of gold each vendor has. It makes sense that prisoners would only trade in goods anyways.

But increasing the value of food or medicine etc. is, in my opinion, not worth it and doesn't really add anything great to the game.

Maybe the extra floor could be placed between the prison and surface floors, so taking the stairs up from the prison puts you in the barracks, and taking the stairs down, or the door in from the surface level puts you in the barracks. The prison could be farther beneath.

EDIT: And this thread should be moved to "Suggestions".

I like this. As it stands, Fort Joy is a hollow place: seems fine on the outside, Magisters patrolling here and there, prisoners in their separate areas of the ghetto, but in actuality there's almost nothing to do. You move around and initiate a conversation or two - and that's about it.

Stabbey's suggestion to add supply quests and an area for storage / barracks is a great one. Maybe even there's a way to get them in a more legitimate manner by helping out a sympathetic Magister, who in turn passes on some supplies. Maybe even a quest chain to usurp the command of Griff's gang - what better way to ensure everyone's survival than to oversee it personally?

Overall, there needs to be more life in Fort Joy. More magisters, a separate floor for barracks and storage, and so on. Maybe even a way to impersonate a Magister - I mean, there are several Magister leather vests lying around so if you manage to filch a full set (and, of course, remove your collar) then what's to stop someone skilled enough from impersonating a redcoat? I found myself thinking to myself several times, silently wishing for that mechanism to exist.

There's nothing to do in Fort Joy except the dozens of quests, characters, underground arena, a couple of companions, a whole guarded fortress to explore with multiple choice outcomes, yeah... nothing to do.

Hyperbole is hyperbole. Do you have any thoughts / ideas regarding the OP?