Larian Studios Forums Divinity General Discussion Divinity - General Discussion

So, if you’ve been tuned into the Game Awards 2025, you might’ve just caught a lil Larian something or other. Like the reveal trailer for Divinity, the next RPG from Larian Studios, set in the world of Rivellon.

Watch the trailer in 4K here:

No, your eyes have not betrayed you. We’re hyperventilating too.

Join our crash-out and share your thoughts here (or create your own thread in this subforum!). If you want to stay in the know as development progresses, head on over to divinity.com and sign up for the Larian Gazette!

I love you guys!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!! More Divinity!!!!! Can't wait!! Thank you.

Neat. I do love the Divinity games.

Interesting that this if the next game you guys are making though, didn't Sven mention the next game wasn't Divinity? Either way, I'm not upset.

Can't wait to get some more details about it though. Especially gameplay related things.

I'll be interested to see where in Rivellon's timeline this game will take place. Also, looking forward to everything the team is going to put into this game, hope this stays in the oven a nice long time, so you can make another great classic.

I did not have a Bacchanalian festival including a woman having sex with a lizard while a nearby man self-flagellates while a small child claps and laughs at a bearded man being burned alive on my Game Awards Bingo Card.

Those were some very visceral images.
Well done!

Oh, my! So excited!

Taril, I think that they said that they weren't making DOS 3, not that they weren't making a Divinity game.

I recall them saying they were working on other titles and after those they'd be making a Divinity game.

But maybe I'm just misremembering and they were being more specific about not making an "Original Sin" Divinity game.

Though if that's the case, I really want to know if this is going to be an ARPG like the very old Divinity games and that is the reason for this specification (As well as comments like it being "Familiar, but different")

I'm very excited too! I think now would be a good time to play DOS1, I've had it in my library untouched for way too long.

I do look forward to reading the Gazette, I've missed it.^^

Yeah, me too! it's either Before all the other games or the Latest game. My bet - as of now - is that this is the latest in the timeline perhaps, because we destroyed the Seven Gods (Eternals). But maybe the God King left some embers of his essence behind in the Void or Hell or somewhere. Regardless, yess!! bring it! I'm ready for Early Access and everything.

After BG3 I will wait and see, both because of the release quality and to see if its a deep game or just a shallow romfantasy waifu game like BG3.

The trailer definitely was something.

I think it will split the fanbase probably and its a good thing for kindling a long lasting discussion. Divinity has always been a very brutal, gory and violent game (Kniles the Flenser from DOS immediately comes to mind for example), yet the series hasn't really received a high enough level of promotional material to depict this violence in, not a stylized, but a truly horrifying way.

I have trust in Larian and looking forward to more details.
I am very happy to see another entry in the series!

I couldn't care about the Rivellon timeline if someone was giving me money to pay more attention to it.

"More Rivellon" is already a half-disappointment in itself as far as I'm concerned, but it is what it is.
I'm more interested in how the game is going to look and play at this point.

I'll also say that I wasn't too thrilled about the trailer. Sorry for being the one Debbie Downer in the thread so far, but I honestly found it gross and in poor taste.

The forum header image still links to baldursgate3.game.

And they return! Bigger, nastier, sexier. Now bring on the narrative and magic. Love you Larian!

It would appear to be set prior to other games due to the presence of orcs.

Beyond that, it seems people are speculating links to Braccus Rex, with iconography on the shields and the whole crown thing on the burning dude.

Oh, this looks amazing! I can't wait to try it ^^

Rivellon and Divinity universe are much better playground for fresh ideas than BG3 which's been held back by DnD lore and systems. I mean, creating something flawless in not Larian's strong suit, but flawed and memorable - sure is. And considering this, what did you expect, to be now disappointed? Larian only lowkey worked with 2 IPs in the past, if we disregard non-important stuff.

I hoped for a new IP, indeed.

But as I said, it is what it is. I'm not going to begrudge the studio for continuing in an attempt to expand on it.
i'm more interested (and potentially worried) on how the game is going to play.


I hope they'll stick to turn-based combat, for a start, since that's the area where they tend to do best.
I also hope they won't go back to bullcrap like randomized loot/itemization and will stick with the handplaced one.

I mean, they quite literally did state they are working on a brand new IP.

Which they presumably still are (They mentioned that they've grown to a size where they're now doing multi-game development) working on a new IP alongside this Divinity title.

This announcement either means they're prioritizing one game with the majority of the resources and the other is just getting smaller development until this one is finished (Possibly using it as a way to avoid burnout, allowing developers to swap to something different for a while - Which might help address issues like the lackluster Act 3's in their games)... Or they're working on them both equally but as Divinity is an actually known IP they're using it to build hype.

And they also quite literally showed and announced a game in the same old one so far, so what I'm supposed to comment on?

They'll also grow to the size where they realize they were being once again a bit over-ambitious and will have to put the second project on hold to focus all available manpower on the main one?
We'll see.

This is now corrected!

Seemingly you haven't played any waifu games to honestly make that comment, think do I. However, there will always be someone unhappy with what they produce.

Really hoping for another turn based party cRPG here.

I really like the grittiness of the trailer. It is great to see Larian pull no punches in the storytelling. And I think if this is a hint for things to come, it's that the story will go to really dark places. Great!

Actually, their comment comes from a long held opinion of theirs in regards to BG3's overall weak writing and many plotholes, combined with updates heavy focus on adding romance features (To say nothing about the major marketing point of "Look, bear sex!" to which this trailer featuring a woman having sex with a lizard man is probably not inspiring confidence in them)

So while BG3 is a far cry from your average waifu gacha game... It has had considerable focus put on the romance aspect of the game.

That said, the Divinity titles weren't so into the romance aspect so if they continue making this game like they did Divinity games pre-BG3 it shouldn't be an issue. The crux is whether this is the case, or if they'll continue a BG3 style focus on romance given its massive popularity (Not only the game being popular but romances, especially Shadowheart and Astarion, being the biggest discussion point)

The initial BG3 trailer was also a lot more gritty than the final product where Larian suddenly decided to file off all edges

I also was hoping for a new IP. I can't stand the Rivellon world, so seems like this game is out for me from the get-go. But I'll still wait and see. If they represent the world rather differently from how it is represented in the D:OS games, then I may be persuaded to be open to it.

Not sure if you played BG3's Dark Urge update, but that might make you think differently.

No but I played the EA where you still had the fishermen encounter that got removed for no reason or when the tadpole posed en existential threat instead of being harmless powerups and there was a legitimate battle for your soul that you could actually lose inszead of it being a meaningless cosmetic change.

A bit of splatter does not make something gritty, especially when its exclusive to the "lol splatter" Origin where everyone expects it. A feeling of hopelessness and danger, being a plaything for bigger powers does that, but all of that got removed.

So... Withers note was correct, kinda.

As someone who is not yet familiar with the Divinity universe (I played Divine Divinity, but it was a long time ago - I remember that I liekd it, but not more), my thoughts as someone without knowledge aboute the world:

The trailer gave me Wicker Man/Midsommar/ generell folk horror vibes and I'm in for it. Folk horror is one of my favourite genres, so I was excited. I do think, Larian is good with darker storylines - act 2 in BG3 was my favourite, I also liked the creepiness of teh Auntie Ethel storyline and House of Hope.
I loved the music a lot, it does fit the setting as far as I can say.

The whole setting looks pretty interesting to me and teh trailer made me curious.

The Divinity universe is strange anyway as ever since Divinity 2 the new games move backwards in time, leaving the cliffhanger unsolved.

In general, the Divinity titles trend towards more darker things than BG3 does.

With prominent themes of slavery, brainwashing, torture and megolomaniac mages that turn people into piles of goo on a whim (But by doing so cause eldritch horrors to seep into the world)

Honestly, it's to a point where if a Divinity game was to be portrayed with a more realistic artstyle... I could see the game receiving an AO rating and being banned in certain countries. Due to how dark and bloody it gets.

Like, a man being burned alive from the trailer is nothing compared to stuff like Kniles the Flenser, Shriekers and Eternals whom have to literally rip people's faces off to use them as a disguise...

Just watched the trailer again frame by frame and noticed something peculiar at 1:30. It's already been picked up on reddit as well. Not every copy though.

You know NOT of which you speak lxal. At all. Ignorance, plain and simple.

Maybe Daisy was Ixal's waifu, and he's angry at the game since she disappeared.

I haven’t played the Divinity games, but hopefully the new game is as great as BG3! I am looking forward to more info!

I don't have the best computer anyway. I know I need to upgrade but before I buy anything...
My partner though has just ditched Windows (with all it's bloatware and spyware) for Fedora and his PC now runs like whippet shit!
So, will Divinity be Linux from the start, or is there any idea of base requirements yet?

I have a quick question regarding Italian localization.

In some previous releases, Italian was not officially supported and only became available through fan-made translations. While the community effort was appreciated, it would be great to know whether this time Italian will be included as an official language.

Italy has a strong and engaged player base, and official localization would allow many players to fully enjoy your work as intended.

Thank you for your time and clarification.

I didn't play the divinity games, but what you wrote there resonates with the caption on this board : "In the silence of a godless age, the faithful are cleansing the world in the hopes of reclaiming divine favour. But from the embers something unseen begins to awaken."

So do you think they picked the wrong guy to sacrifice or that their ritual was noticed by a different being than they hoped for? Or maybe that they didn't really know whom they were sacrificing to? Or maybe it had something to do with the central dwarven character who becomes the centerpiece of the ... thing?

Well... Given the way the gods work in Divinity, is that they are Eternals who feasted upon the Source in the Veil - Which is the space between Rivellon and the Void.

Which is when they overthrew the God King and banished him to the Void.

If the age is godless... Then it presumably takes place post OS2 (Where the gods were destroyed both by Lucian actively draining their Source and also a big fight with the Godwoken) - Though the existence of orcs doesn't track with that as they weren't a thing by the time OS2 happened.

Well, whatever the time is... If they wanted to "Reclaim Divine Favour" then they'd be looking at tapping into the Source. Likely by sacrificing Sourcerers, which is not a particularly new revelation.

However, messing with the Veil by manipulating Source (I.e. Their whole "Murderize the sourcerers" thing) messes with its integrity... Meaning as they get closer to the Veil to try and reignite a Source powered God... Then the closer they get to the Void, where the God King is eager to return to the realm. This has been a continual theme throughout Divinity games, Sourcerers using Source magic will attract Voidwoken whom are thus able to cross over from the void.

So Bernie here is most likely a Sourcerer. Whom is being ritualized in an attempt to have his Source be able to fuel one of the Gods. Only, by unleashing his Source power, what they've done is given an avenue for the God King to break through into Rivellon (Again).

Now, why this seems to catch them off guard, is either because Bernie happened to be an extra powerful Sourcerer, so he had more power within him to weaken the Veil and allow the Voidwoken to breach into the world, the collective power of Sourcerers overall happened to build up to a point where a breach was possible, or simply it took time for the God King to notice/find the cracks being made by the sacrifcing of Sourcerers and this happened to be the first one he capitalized on.

Divinity as a franchise is a total scattershot.


The first game came about when The Lady, The Mage And The Knight (based on Das Schwarze Auge pen&paper) was killed with its publisher sinking, and Larian were desperate to get the funding to make a game out of the remains. "Gotta make that more like Diablo, or you get no money from us." Even the game's funny name was forced to fit the publisher's roster.

The second game Swen voiced displeasure about in his very own blog, similar a game of pleading and compromise. https://rpgwatch.com/news/larian-studios--the-inspiration-behind-project-e-19696.html

Original Sin then saw a scaled down Larian on the verge of bankruptcy attempting their last ever shot.



So it makes sense that this game is simply called Divinity. It may not be a re-boot. But the message is clear... Divinity-- but this time how we've always imagined it. Well, the money at least is there now. As is the decision making process now in their own hands. Hope it's not gonna get even BIGGER as BG3, as threatened. BG3 was BIG enough. For once I wanna see the gazillions of Dollars spend on the depth. RPGs with the breadth of every paperback edition of LOTR combined are so dime a dozen -- and they're even being developed by studios that clearly don't have the funds to stretch their games beyond the scope of an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess... Not calling names now, you likely know who they are anyway.

Okay, I saw the trailer at the Game Awards and I can't wait for another Divinity title. I really felt sorry for the man who burned.

I saw the trailer and have couple of thoughts :

1. It's obviosly not a Divinity: Fallen Heroes, which by Larian's reports, has been almost finished and still has it's trailer on company official youtube channel. So why not to updated and realease Fallen Heroes, instead of developing a new game? Isn't that would be cheaper and faster to satisfy fans and make some quick cash?

2. New game is likely in pre-production or early production, so finished product will likely be much more different from what will came out.

3. Trailer features orc characters and their appearance once again changed to more streamline type like in D&D or LoTR. Also, it also means that orc haven't migrated to Nemesis, which was mentioned in Divinity : Original Sin 2 ending.

4. Trailer also shows some kind of new antagonists for the plot : not demons or voidwokens. Maybe, recycled bloodless from canceled Fallen Heroes? They look like a some sort of undead.

5.  Lucian or Damian haven’t been mentioned. So possibly, game takes place in a timeline somewhere between Dragon Commander and Divinity : Sword of Lies.

They weren't even the ones making Fallen Heroes to begin with. It was an external studio (the creators of the "Expedition" series, I think).
Incidentally, I heard that they aren't into game development anymore after releasing Expedition Rome.

Hi Overlich! I edited your post to link to its original version. Please avoid posting duplicate messages in future.

This would be a great addition!

As you offer no argument of your own and just resort to personal attacks the only ignorant here is you.

Yup. This was one of the worst decisions made with BG3.

This is exactly what I would want, though. The thing I specifically hated about how Rivellon was portrayed in D:OS1 was that it was so very cartoonish, garrish, silly, and trite. And this was not just artstyle/graphics, but also in the substance of the world. However, their portrayal of the Realms in BG3 managed to (eventually) avoid this, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the portrayal of Rivellon in this new game won't be anything like how it is portrayed in the D:OS games.

So we heard. At first, there were news about how they want to concentrate on BG3 development, so D:FH was delayed and some time later it's got a cancellation/indefinite hiatus/Winds of Winter etc. stuff. Still, someone would think, considering that Larian paid for outsourcing, so the least they would wanted, is to finished the product and recuperate the losses. But, oh well, it's old news now.

I'm looking forward to play this new Divinity game. Hoping, that Larian will drop more news soon and it will not have Cyberpunk 2077's 9 year development cycle.

I thought they were going to move to a new direction, I must have misunderstood the whole its not going to be Divinity/ Dungeones & Dragons related, I was positively surprised that it was coming from Larian themselves about the reveal in game awards, I do like what I saw on the screen too but I know next to nothing about DIvinity in general so I had no clue what happened apart from the obvious.

I’m kind of done supporting grim edgelord fantasy so have fun, I’m not interested.

Hopefully we get something similar to this in Divinity because it would make multiplayer so, so much better.

Ooooooooh! I like the way you think!! And thank you for taking the time to write all that.

Also, "Bernie"? LOL Genius.

This, most likely, and I bet the timing has something to do with the eclipse happening.

Well, The one thing I kept thinking about was that the old guy was a proto-woodeca of some sort... until all the eldritch...polyps happened. I wonder if the end statue was some sort of proto-wael representation?

Perhaps the trailer tells story of DOS 1 and 2. Soooooo... to recap the plot, you have to play all the games...? Or just DOS 1&2? What do you think?

coming home to Divine Divinity? pretty plz!
dont get me wrong, tactical turn based combat is super cool. but i really would love to see another arpg of larian. and DD is and was the pinnacle of ARPG: story like BG, action like Diablo, freedom like Ultima VII. the best of all worlds.

Excited for this, can't wait for the early access.

Hopefully it's not just run of the mill "Action RPG" or god forbid, "Souls-like".

I hope there will be a DOS2 version for Switch 2 and DOS1 with mouse control (whisper it... Baldur's Gate 3 too). Larian PLS. <3 TAKE MY MONEY!

It would be nice to play a new game in the Divinity series. But the trailer is too brutal for me. I could never play it like that. I want do play and don't want to have nightmares!

I've played all the Divinity games. (Partly because of their similarity to Ultima 7.)
I especially love Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2

A game from the Divinity universe with BG3 graphics sounds exciting, but why do monsters always have to be so repulsive?

Combat and injuries in the game don't need to be overly realistic. There's already enough of that in the daily news.

I really cannot wait for this game, also i can't wait to see what kind of whacky and funny bugs people find in early testing-- (presuming we get early testing builds to mess around with.) xD

Same here. I won't play this game. I already face enough brutality in my life. I want to escape it, not keep encountering it in games.

I'm on the fence until we see gameplay. But keeping an eye out. Personally I hope they skip Early Access, it takes so much longer to get a complete game it feels like. I always get bored hearing about it before it's out.

I hope so. EA was the reason for some very bad decisions in BG3.
The concentration on Act 1 to the detriment of Act 2 and 3, Halsin as 1 dimensional companion because EA players thirsted for him, horny companions to give EA players some action.

I think BG3 EA was necessary to finance the ongoing game development. I think that factor is no longer necessary, as it seems that the success of the game has provided sufficient funds for 2 new games. On the other hand, maybe Larian has taken a liking to the EA concept and will continue to do so, to stay in the spotlight and build a community. My gut feeling is that they will continue to release an EA of their upcoming games.

I actually liked participating in EA, there were a lot of nice discussions in this forum. I know, that not all were happy with the results, but the way to the finished game was a good one.

On the other hand: without EA Larian might just be able to release their game as they envisioned it without interference from fans. Just becvause we want something doesn't mean, that it makes the game better.
Or make only a technical EA to test mechanics and builds, don't know, if that is possible.

They stated pretty clearly more than once that they aren't doing EA out of necessity anymore (at least since DOS 2), but because they enjoy the feedback loop that comes from it.

I'm fully expecting this one to enter EA by the end of 2026 (or mid 2027 at most). And then who knows when the final release wil be.

I am kind of in the middle on the reveal trailer. It was in a safe zone pretty much in the middle of the Larian body horror and nudity venn diagram, predictable and tailored to the expectations of the main fanbase.

It has potential, but I'll wait for reveals about gameplay and writing before I soak my knickers.

I don't know why some people (here and elsewhere) are arguing as if the problem with the trailer was the "themes" it touched.
It wasn't. And it sounds more than a bit disingenuous to try to frame it that way.

It was the frankly self-indulgent and self-complacent way it lingered on purpose over the gross details that made it feel a bit gratuitous.

You know, the close up on the vomit, the pigs eating the vomit (TWICE), the living flesh tearing apart in great detail, the close up on teeth chewing meat, etc.

I'm not exactly what you'd call a sensitive bleeding heart, but I can't say I found the whole thing particularly tasteful.
And I'm fairly sure that there wasn't a single "adult thematic" that needed to be sacrificed to spare these details to the viewer, buy what do I know.

From my point of view, the trailer went hard, but let's not forget that some games like Diablo or Path of Exile had more graphic trailers (especially Diablo 4).

The push back from some may just be a start of constraining movement of art/story by "those weak of heart" who will never buy the game anyway.
And of course Larian may go too far, but if we will have Early Access like with BG 3 I think that We All can shape the story in a way where brutality isn't there just for shock value, but brings depth and/or have logical explanation for such.

I think that I speak for all when I say that We as Players want immersive and meaningful experience in RPG game.

I've watched the trailer several times now. The first time, I was somewhat disgusted, not shocked, but the vomit-eating pigs are revolting, even if they're just doing what pigs would do. But then I was able to focus on the less obvious details. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? A cult? Why is the person being burned? Are they being sacrificed to gods to ward off evil, or is the person (supposedly) evil? The ritual creates a festive atmosphere among the local population, and the sight doesn't shock them. This time, everything seems to go wrong.

I felt like I'd stepped into a story from Clive Barker's Books of Blood. (I could reread them sometime. :)) I'm very curious to see what happens next.

Wasn't there a piece of lore in Dos 2 that there is a festival where people burned representations of Braccus Rex?

I don't mind Early Access. I enjoyed it with BG3. Can't say I'm excited that it's Divinity though, as the only thing I enjoyed about DOS2 was the combat (which, to be fair, was very engaging.)

I also find it quite disappointing to hear Vincke say they're internally using AI, amongst other things, to produce concept art for this game (the other mentioned uses are more tolerable - though using it for placeholder text seems like a waste of time. Just write "Placeholder"!). Reading between the lines it seems the team isn't a fan of it either. Artists rarely are.

Larian has "used AI" to assist their development for years. For testing, bug hunting and so on.

it's nothing new and they already stated that nothing "Ai generated" will end up in the actual game.

No need to make a scene about it on the basis of some public hysteria around the topic.

No scene caused. Gen AI was too early in its development back when BG3 was still having concept art made for it, so doubt it was used for that purpose. I should've used the more specific term here as not all AI is Gen AI, but I assumed it was easy to surmise.

As for their statement that no AI generated content will end up in the actual game - the issue with using Gen AI for concept art is that, unless it is discarded for just not being useful, it will instruct how assets, atmospheres and such are constructed in-game. So, yes, it is indirectly AI influenced. Even ignoring the plagiarism issue surrounding learning models, it's just going to make the general visual direction much blander. AI is not good at having a vision, it "generalizes" into the prettiest thing possible. It's watered down.

Concept art is also one of the biggest sources of commissions outsourced to actual artists. If AI is used for creating concept art, that is a huge amount of job opportunities lost for human artists.

I'm sure not all of their Concept Art will be Gen AI (most of it will likely be 100% human-made, or the well-known and well-disliked "Draw over the AI art and fix its mistakes". There is a reason even Vincke says it hasn't improved efficiency), but indeed.

It's incredibly rare that concept art simply becomes the finished product.

Most often concept art looks nothing like the final product.

If generative AI is used for concept art, it would most likely be for what generative AI is actually good for. Which is quickly turning a vague idea into something tangible that people can look at. Not for creating actual art designs.

I.e. If someone was like "What would it look like for a T-rex to be riding a mecha-shark that's shooting a laser mini-gun at Adolf Hitler?" instead of having to spend time sketching and drawing this, they just plug it into Gen AI and get a few mocked up scenes which can be used as a prompt for an actual artist if they decide that's a concept they want to include.

This being what Gen AI supposed to be, a tool to help artists. Rather than a replacement for them.

This is also what the purpose of concept art is about. You visualize concepts that will help inspire your final product, maybe you reuse certain details you liked from some of the concepts, but the main thing is just getting the ideas down to see what they look like before you make up your mind and start to create and refine the final product.

@Taril Concept art does indeed eventually turn (or mostly turn) into the finished product. Just because it is iterative does not mean it does not end up picking a direction. The BG3 artbook has many examples of this. It is not always 1:1 as technical limitations pop up, but, like I said: If the root of your visual direction has the centrist approach AI takes, that's not good at all for the final product's artistic vision.


As for the artists, if I am allowed an argument from authority fallacy: as an artist myself, and knowing the general stance of other artists (and former concept artists that worked at Larian that have popped up after this reveal), this is not helping them. They generally don't like working with it.

@Jinetemoranco would you have a link to this by any chance, I am curious.

As an owner of many artbooks and a watcher of many artists...

I stand by my comment that most concept art does not turn into a final product.

If BG3's artbook has many examples of concept art being directly turned into finished products, then that is an exception (Or it features more early iterations of final art than actual concept stage ideas)

From my experience with the many iterations of concept art, rarely does it directly become a final product and even when it does, it's never an amalgamation of ALL concepts


That may be the case. But it doesn't mean that AI generated art is being used as a final product, nor does it mean that the ethical use of Gen AI isn't focused on supporting artists by means of allowing them to generate concept art more quickly.

The problem with the AI topic is that there are so many negatives associated with it. From how the many different engines have been developed, to then how everyone in society has decided to use it.

Currently, it is telling me that my sentence structure is terrible, maybe it is but I'm choosing to ignore it for the moment.

Then there is its use to write articles, make videos, create pictures, help develop ideas, be voices you talk with in everyday life or even in computer games, write code along with some other stuff. Is it all bad?

Everyone has their own opinion and there is nothing wrong with that. But that said what is the correct approach, if using AI to help speed up the initial development process shaves 6 months off the time it takes to get the game completed and released to the public isn't a good thing? Should it be used at all? (just a guess by me, I honestly have no idea how much help it actually would be)

I lean towards the idea that it shouldn't be in the finished product, there is something intangible to the art, writing, and design that AI can't replicate but that's just my thought.

Break free from the AI dictatorship! Break the chains! dshfskdfhs

But seriously, I think jinetemoranco said it perfectly


The product loses personality. I would rather they employ a real and talented consept artist of the old school.

It is not true that artists needs months and months to make a consept sketch. Good artists can whip one up in a matter of minutes.

I peeked at *hitterhole (X) and see what's the fuss is about.... Holy God.

- One side clutching pearl about any AI use that even remotely related to final product is unethical. Because there is actually an ethical consumption under Capitalism, obviously.
- #Them (code name: Rat King/Cockroach Leader) obviously dipping their toes to it and support AI usage.
- "Larian Content Creator" like WolfheartFPS scrambling for "Centrist" conclusion.
- The "I hate AI no matter what but I love E33 and now that somebody reminded me that the Dev mentioned they used AI, I moved the goal post to "I love the game but condemn the use of AI"".

meanwhile:

Cromwelp says: X
GameRadar/PCGamer/Kotako: "LARIAN DEV SAYS X".

Not sure what to think about this. I accept Swen explanation, but feels bad that this inevitably will start hearsay like "Larian use AI for their game" for years to come.


Edit.

Additionally, this will be a bad casus belli and inevitably will push Larian Studio into the Culture War on the internet.

Push for AI, one side will despise you.
Push for Anti-AI, the other side will despise you.
Staying in the center, risk both side despising you.

One side already making an argument if Larian pulling back from AI, that's the signal that "Larian has gone "woke"", and it will be used to discredit the game when it released.

Larian gone 'woke':

That ship has sailed. The right wings already condemned Larian, when they had strong women, women that are not dressed like porno stars, a black companion, pronouns, body types instead of gender, same sex romance ... I'm sure, I missed something

As for the AI use: I keep out of it for now and accept Swens explanation, because a lot of tools have AI implemented. I believe him, when says that they use artists for the concept art and only use Ai for trying out placements and such.
I condemn AI in the art sector, but I know it is very helpful in the tech sector. And if a person draws something and you use AI to just try some placements and variables, then that is different from using AI to make art in my opinion.
I'm pretty sure that this a normal practice and Larian was just honest. If not, we still can get mad, but for now, this is not something, I get riled up over.

About that.

According to my personal observations:

Yes, many gamers on the right side of the aisle already deem BG3 'woke.' This is why the "No Alphabet Mod" exists; you can see how many people have downloaded it.

A portion of that same demographic deems it 'woke,' but not as extreme as frequently criticized games like Concord or Veilguard; so they begrudgingly admit that the game is right and avoid the topic of 'woke' entirely.

A large portion of people on the center-right didn't notice that BG3 is 'woke,' mostly because almost all the women are depicted as traditionally attractive. There are no (as far as I know) plus-sized characters or any depiction of women which would be categorized not traditionally attractive who would be deemed 'undesirable.'

Conversely, a portion of the population that the right would categorize as the 'woke left' (mostly AO3 authors) condemned BG3 as offensive due to a lack of content for Wyll. they believe Larian marginalized people of color by prioritizing traditionally attractive companions like Astarion and Shadowheart.

So far, Larian seems to remain firmly in the center, not leaning too far toward either side. However, these conflicting pressures might cause some instability; we’ll see how they handle the damage control. Of course, if a game is good enough to create a super-majority of fans from both sides of the aisle, dissent can be easily mitigated or stamped out.

Regardless, I personally rooting out for Larian, they made the greatest cRPG of all time, I'll be playing BG3 for decades like I did Fallout and BG2. They understand what RPG is, unlike most of the studio that claiming they're making rpg.

Using AI (or ML) for production efficiency is already something of technological space race which every business has to at least at some level keep up with. It's all a matter of finding the areas where that productivity does not cost you in terms of quality.

With Larian upscaling the number of employees to over 500, every extra year the game is in production is a massive increase in cost. Streamlining the productivity is just something they have to consider, but you can streamline a lot of other areas than the creative ones, which is what Swen seems to be trying to say.

I was making a joke, because I remembered the people coming in here during EA of BG3 and absolutely went ballistic over the points, I made

As for Wyll - that was unfortunate, but I don't think, it's because of racism. They should have taken a bit more time to round out his and Karlachs story, because both are suffering from lack of content.

That was my understanding too of Swens statement.

You won't be able to completely ignore AI nowadays and it has it's uses, outside of art and creative spaces.

I really hate this. Who asked for this? Who ever uses Body Type A/B in normal life?
Do it like sims with separated selections for sex and gender (if gender is even evaluated in the game) but at least use real words.

I personally find this whole situation hilarious. I've always held an opinion that ones complaining about AI ruining something for them are the lasiest people there is. The whole human history was about either adapting or becoming irrelevant.. The final product will speak for itself.

I couldn't care less about it honestly. It's a non issue.

Nei Newbon has something to say about AI use. His line of job could be directly threatened, but he considers it a useful tool nevertheless. Not a one shot generator, but definitely something that is helpful.

I think AI is a tool. It depends on how it's used: as support for the artist, or does it replace the artist?

People probably thought similarly about photography back then.

In another recent interview, Swen makes it a point to say that in this game they're putting in a lot of work to build out the setting/universe, because they learned from making BG3 how important it is to have a strong, well-developed and detailed universe where everything fits together and makes sense, which he admits has never been the case with their setting in past Divinity games. This matters hugely for me, because the #1 criticism I've had of the D:OS games, by far, is how utterly pathetic and trite the setting is in those games. Swen even specifically says that "world building" was never Larian's thing in the past, and that is a courageous and welcome Larian mea culpa. For me, world building is the foundation for a good RPG. So, if this indeed happens with Divinity, and I have no reason to believe it won't happen, then that goes a very long way to making me excited for this game. TB combat systems always suck, but I can hold my nose and live with that. It's these other essentials for a good RPG that matter most to me.

https://www.ign.com/articles/if-you...rview-since-the-game-awards-announcement

It is a interesting comparison. Photography used as basis for art has some of the same issue as AI used as base.

In photography you have the perspective and object all picked out. Often the colors are wrong. Artist using these as a source to paint from all have a similar look.
In AI you use a limited amount of data scraped from the internet (with or without permission) to generate scenarios. That ultimately will be kinda similar.

The human can go out and look at the world and make a unique conclusion based on emotion and personal desires. For example a monster based on a monkey. They could go the zoo and draw. Maybe get inspiration from something they saw on the way there. Looking at the monkeys in motion, how they interact gives them ideas.

I just think the human make more interesting stories when they get to use original input.

It's also about the technological progress that accompanies this and how we can use it for ourselves. Photography certainly caused an outcry among artists back then. Nowadays, photography is a recognized form of art. Similarly, when the first drawing programs for PCs came onto the market, they were also condemned, as if the images they produced were not art.. Today, these programs are indispensable, and many of them also use AI.

But I understand, of course, that AI also carries risks. For me, it depends on how it's used. It's our responsibility to use these things for ourselves. At least we can't bury AI somewhere in the Mojave Desert anymore.

E: Meaning added

Non-binaries.

They dislike being associated with a "Gender" so we get "Body Type A and Body Type B"

It's one of the things that companies do to facilitate minorities. Alongside stuff like being able to use male voices on a female character or a female voice on a male character, as well as the option for either genital on either body type - Things for the trans players who want representation (Though I still find it curious, as I was under the impression that trans people simply identified as the other gender and want to be seen as their "True" gender, rather than identifying as a mix of both genders that is the reality of the imperfections of sex change procedures... But apparently that's not the case for everyone)

Indeed, this forum was really nice during EA (even when just lurking around.) Still I'm gonna pass on EA this time.

And I remember the EA feedback loop a bit differently: e.g. it wasn't the community who demanded changes around the dream visitor, it was telemetry data from the EA players that showed, tadpole powers were much less used than anticipated. So they made last minute, story breaking changes, that nobody asked for, in order to make players use the illithid mechanics more.

On the other hand, for game aspects on which the forum has been very vocal, more often than not, people have been talking to a void. The "toilet chain" discussion is just one of many examples: When I was using it for the first time, it seemed like a broken relic from D:OS2, not even worth mentioning, because it was even more clunky now and surely it would be fixed. Instead it ignited a whole "mega thread" debate where Tuco and others laid out, with admirable dedication, detail and patience, the many dimensions in which the party control system was broken. Almost nothing came out of it.

Also, God forbid, a commuity manager takes an active role in discussions and manages expectations.

Even BG3 as a whole felt to me like a let down. With act 3 indisputably unfinished (e.g. no upper city, no Orpheus story arc, ...) and an abrupt unsatisfactory ending (that didn't even made sense for my playthrough - not to mention my second, well thought-out, completionist run that I couldn't even finish, because of stability issues starting late act 2.)

The PC Gamer interview with Swen and the writers from the other day painfully reminded me again of two things: 1) they didn't have automated regression tests in place for a game of this scope (!) (causing 2 new bugs to appear for every bug they fixed) and 2) they, well, just lost love for the project at the end (!!). In other words, for BG3 we got the exact opposite of what you would expect from a relatively large studio with indie appeal: the brittle technical foundation of an indie combined with, ultimately, the lack of dedication of a huge studio. (In contrast, compare this to the love and dedication Owlcat put into PF:WotR even years after its release.)

Really hope, Larian gets their act together with Divinity, but I'll wait for some of the more critical voices here on the forum to give their thumbs up on story, gameplay and stability, before playing it. Not feeling the hype this time. Right now I'm more looking forward to Solasta 2, Osiris Reborn and Witcher 4.