I agree with the original poster. There are numerous things I did not like about BD and I feel that it was not a very good RPG (my opinion).
1: People do not get mad if you steal things from their houses.
2: The reputation system did not seem to exist, maybe it was just me.
3: For me, all the side quest were very linear. They seemed to be all "I need something/I lost something" and the response your character would have, "Ill try and get it". In Divine Divinity I loved the side quests. They gave more background and were more complex. Hell, the side quest to expose Dr Elerath and cure the illness was better than the main quest in BD to cure the illness in the imp village (my opinion).
4: I know everyone has already mentioned it but I need to add it. Clicking on neutral animals.
5: Like the above poster said, once you complete an act you are done. You can not go back.
6: I did not like BDs atmosphere. I guess when I imagine hell I dont imagine a level one character being able to survive there. In DD everyone had something interesting to say, not so in BD. 90% of the imps in act 2 say the same thing and do not even have portraits. I must admit though that act 3 was alot better at making a town come alive.
7: Lack of responses for main character. It seems the only response my main character could say was "I agree" or "I dont have time" when accepting a quest.
8: ALOT of bugs, but DD had a ton of bugs also so I wont hold that against it.
In conclusion I felt that I had to drag my feet throughout the game. The only thing that kept my going was "I wonder what happens to the death knight". It was like having to eat chips of crap to get to a pizza. I do thank Larian for listening to their costumers and I also think Larian will fill the shoes of making great CRPGS. I believe larian will make alot of great games in the future.
I so totally agree.
1) I was gonna mention this even. But the fact that in DD you stole something, people would shout for the guards and you would get arrested... That added a nice touch. And if you weren't in a town, people would just get mad at you, and maybe not trade with anymore.
2) True... In DD when you traded alot with the same person, his feeling towards you would improve, and he would give you better prices. This made the game feel personal, and added to the atmosphere. In BD, I do most of my trading in the battlefields, and that couldn't be more unpersonal. Also, I have yet to find someone with something other than a (0) after their name.
3) Very true. Not all the time though, there are some good quests in BD too, but there were alot more in DD. The historical background to a quest can be important too, for the feel of the game. You remember how a farmer and his wife would give you a 15 minute history lesson just to tell you their crops are glowing green? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
4) People find this annoying, but I don't. I don't really care. If frogs want to kill me because I killed one of their brethren, so be it.
5) Although I would also love to have an RPG that is just one giant world (or several giant worlds which you can travel in between), you also have to think of the problems this carries. It makes things harder for the developer, and that... leads to bugs...
6) This is a personal opinion that everyone must decide on their own. As for me, I hate imps. I hate how they can't formulate a proper sentance and have high-pitched voices, and I swear to god I will kill every last one of them before I leave Act2. I need human villages! (or possibly elves... or orcs... orcs simply because they are cool... The Ranaar seem quite ok too, though I've only read about them in the novella.)
As for the setting: I don't want hell. I want an earth-like landscape, because I can relate to that. Am I the only one who prefers the grassy fields of Rivellon over the hellish landscape of Nemesis?
7) Yeah, most of the replies weren't all that great. Just a silly little thing: in the Citadel in Act1, the DK would give you directions. You had options to ask him the location of everything, and then you could finish the conversation by saying "bye!"... "Bye!"?!?! Um... You're soulforged! Where do you think you're going? It's very silly, but the conversation should be ended by saying something like "Thanks", not "Bye!"...
My conclusion is that BD is alot less personal than DD was. It's the silly little things that give DD that give the game atmosphere I find lacking in BD. Sure, Larian tried hard to meet up to the demands of everyone, but it seems that along the road they forgot a few things that were already good.
Like character traits... Now why would you wanna get rid of something like that?
Still... I find both BD and DD to be great games. However, it just so happens to be that I like DD better.
Tovi 