Larian Studios
Good evening,
First of all I have to say that as an experienced gamer I have decided to post a message on official forum once - now.
Why? Because I've never seen such a wonderful and marvellous game since Oblivion has been released. But when I finished Oblivion about 3 times I actually started searching for a game that would be able to match it. For few years my quests didn't bear a fruit for me.
And recently while I was dying from boredom I decided to download a pretty-looking RPG called "Divinity II: Ego Draconis" just to kill time. I emphasize - I downloaded it. Well, downloading games without paying any money has been a habit of almost all russian gamers for long time. But don't judge me at this point, read further.
Should I say that finally my search was over after I had played this game for a while? This game really absorbed me for few days and then weeks. I don't have enough words now to write down all my positive thoughts about it - that's how I liked it. I adored it.
I wanted to say thanks to all developers of the game and whole Larien stuff. You really impressed me. I never expected such a masterpiece from a company I had never heard about before. You really have my gratitude. And I also have to say that I will buy this game just to support you (I have already finished it 2 times).
But, as in every single thing on Earth, the game also has its drawbacks. I really hope you will release some amazing patches to
make the world of rivellion wider, more beautiful and challenging. And there is one more thing. I appreciate that you, guys, have made a sad ending. It was a surprise for me. But it also disappointed me as a player. I was expecting to continue my journey after the end of the game.
Though my words probably mean to you the same as a fish means to the ocean, I would advise you to work on it.
Best Regards,
Borden.

P.S. I will be pleased if someone from Larian stuff honoures me with an answer. Thank you.
P.P.S. Have no idea really why you decided to support only German language at first. I had to use hack to switch the game to English. Thanks for adding it into the game, though.
Hello, welcome to the wonderful world of Larian.

You should seriously try the first game. Divine Divinity (they wanted to call it Divinity: Sword of Lies originally but were forced by CDV to change the name).

That game shows you exactly what Damian has destroyed.

The next patch will improve the graphics and add more graphics options, among other things.

Posts about the game content (plot, quests, etc) should either be enclosed in spoiler tags or go in the Help/Tips/Tricks forum. The majority of people following the main D2:ED forum have not played the game yet, and do not want to see any spoilers, especially about the end of the game (even if it is just in general terms).
In any case, presumably there will be a Divinity 3 to finish off (or continue) the story started in Divine Divinity, the Beyond Divinity novella and game and D2:ED (the BD novella and some other background info is included in the D2:ED fansite kit).

The German publisher signed on relatively early (a couple years ago), while the English / international publishers have not been announced yet (we expect / hope for an announcement during CamesCon, where DTP will be showing the game, so in the next 2-4 days we may know more).
The German version of BD was also released a month or so before the English version, IIRC, so the English release included updates from the first German patch.
LightningLockey, as I understood Divine Divinity has camera that is similar to Diablo 2. I was playing D2 for very long time and I'm kinda bored with 2D/3D-like-graphics. So in my dreams I hope to see some patch that will give this game a
chance to continue the game after the end and bigger world to explore.

Raze, thank you for notice, I will fix that issue.
Originally Posted by Borden
Though my words probably mean to you the same as a fish means to the ocean


No they don't. It is rare that people go through the pain to speak positively about a game on an official forum. Most of the time, only people with problems or remarks come here. So every chance we get to receive a small ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak and dark forum, we take it smile Therefore: thank you for your kind words.

To forum members: yes, there have been similar posts of praise, and yes, the forum is fun and not always dark and bleak, but lately I tend to only read the "bugs and tech problems" forums. About that: it's great to see the community helping out eachother. Thanks.

(Oh, and that doesn't mean we condone downloading games and downloading NOCD patches.)
Of course when a new game is out, *any* developers' Forum gets crowded with people having problems with it ... The "sheep", as I call them, are the mass of silent & satisfied gamers, imho.

It's a bit like ... The people reporting frustration and problems - in general - are about 20 % (just a very rough estimation, nothing more), with about 95 % of "sound-importance" (regarding their "loudness") on forums.

The other side would be about 80 % satisfied gamers, of which only let's say 5 % actually write on the forums.

So don't be confused.

A very few critics, by the way, can be be a real treat for enhancing games: They are very deep with their criticisms - and that in a positive way ! My personal example of this is the *real* Buad, a German forummember here. His criticism is actually very deep, but also very thoughtful, imho. I'm always impressed by his thoughts, and I believe that the Larians should rather listen to him more (which doesn't necessarily mean the devs should follow everything he writes), because he imho points out very thought-provoking things.

According to my colleague, there's been research about that. If people like a product, they tell 7 or 8 of their friends. If they don't like it, they tell 35 people smile
Interesting. wink I'm not surprised about that. wink
Thanks for your praise, Borden! kitty I'll keep you to your promise to buy the game! smile

DD is a 2D game with an isometric camera view, like D2, and also has similar movement and combat controls. However, the story, quests, dialogs, humour, etc give it a much different atmosphere, IMNSHO.
FWIW, I started playing D2, got bored, started again with the expansion, got bored again and never finished it; DD I've finished and played a fair bit on top of that (though graphics are not terribly important for me).
I haven't enjoyed a game as much as Divinity in a very long time (last one was Morrowind) - I was especially impressed with the music in the game: I can honestly say it's the best I've heard in any game. I ordered the game in German (which is abroad for me), but if there is ever a English collector's edition coming out (with seperate soundtrack :)) I'll definitely buy it just to support Larian - the saga must continue! smile
Originally Posted by virumor
the saga must continue! smile

Amen! wink
I sure hope larian considers to deliver a tool for fans to deliver aditional content / mods like a previous "cult game" that is still alive today thanks to that (most ppl will know what i'm talking about here i think).

In fact, i already saw a major mod to D2 on the texture department, wich realy surprised me as the game is so recent.


If larian manages to capture this community feeling on modding and makes it easy to mod on its 3d engine, with delivery of new content by fans (wich is free for larian), i'm sure this will create a very good groundbase for a future release of divinity3, as a lot of players are still playing mods for D2.

But anyways, i'm already going ahead of time! first the english version. Me wants... any of larian would be so kind as to say when it'll be available ? smile
Quote
Though my words probably mean to you the same as a fish means to the ocean


Believe me, I drink your words with pure delight laugh
I mean, I know the game isn't perfect and has many faults, but again, we spent so many time and efforts for so many years, you have no idea how I feel when I read happy players posts wink

(Now, let's go back reading grumpy posts again...)
Hey Boron,

I understand how you can be tired of the 2D games. And from what I've read on the forums, fans of Ultima raved about Divinity: Sword of Lies (a.k.a. Divine Divinity).

If I were you, I'd get Divine Divinity and save it for when your bored and starving for a good rpg to play and pop the CD in. There is a demo of Divine Divinity you can play as well.

Also, make sure you hold down the CTRL key to target nearest monster and ALT key to show where items are. The game is old and has its limitations, but the npc interaction was something I didn't think was possible. You'll be wondering which game is better, the Divinity 1 or Ego Draconis. Right now there is a constant debate on which is the better game.
Originally Posted by LightningLockey
Hey Boron,

I understand how you can be tired of the 2D games. And from what I've read on the forums, fans of Ultima raved about Divinity: Sword of Lies (a.k.a. Divine Divinity).

If I were you, I'd get Divine Divinity and save it for when your bored and starving for a good rpg to play and pop the CD in. There is a demo of Divine Divinity you can play as well.

Also, make sure you hold down the CTRL key to target nearest monster and ALT key to show where items are. The game is old and has its limitations, but the npc interaction was something I didn't think was possible. You'll be wondering which game is better, the Divinity 1 or Ego Draconis. Right now there is a constant debate on which is the better game.

I always check out local game stores, and sadly, I haven't seen Divine Divinity in any for years. Personally, I bought it at the supermarket (Colruyt). It's sad, cause I had it, and I've been pining to play it again, but I lost the game cd in Canada. Still have both the other cd's, and the box and the manual... just not the friggin' game cd. It irks me to no end. When I was at Larian, I saw it sitting there behind the front desk thingy, and I was like... mmmmmm... /need that game cd.

Before you go checking that case, I didn't steal anything... but not grabbing it and running was quite hard :p

and about which is better - us nerds tend to romanticize the past, for nostalgia's sake... but really, they're both great games. And they can't be compared. They're obviously related, but they are different era games, with different mechanics, different graphical standards, etc. The 3d element alone pretty much renders any comparison null and void.

I know what you mean man, I have the same with Arcanum. I have the box, the (best ever) manual, but the CD's have vanished. Maybe I should move again, that's when all this stuff pops up out of the blue smile
This is exactly the problem I'm ranting about for one or two years now: Publishers just don't produce replacement disks anymore ... Yet still they instist on copy protections, hinting at the secondary market ... To me, this is just nonsense, after so many years ...

They just treat games like bulk wares through this, not like games, as it should be.

Games which cannot be played aren't games anymore ... They're wares ...

Originally Posted by ForkTong
I know what you mean man, I have the same with Arcanum. I have the box, the (best ever) manual, but the CD's have vanished. Maybe I should move again, that's when all this stuff pops up out of the blue smile


Speaking of awesome manuals. Any word on English version of CE of Divinity 2? At least give us a hefty English Manual please. I like to read smile

While we are on the subject of future game improvements, few more things came to mind:

1. Please eventually give us a way (maybe letting us mod the wonderful game) to not show the helmet graphics. As much I love the art design of the armors, the helmets can make your char look like a fool, or like a evil bastard, not the cool hero. (Just look at the Divinity II banner on the top of this page, imagine putting one of those executioner-mask-look-like helmet on that dragon slayer's head. silly)

2. I don't know if this actually happens in game,

but please in the future give us an addon that let us restore the destroyed lands and continue beyond the end game.


Reason that I am asking for this is that, right now, I am so upset, over the fact that the "old world" was trashed by Damian, that I am not enjoying the dragon form fighting as much as I should (manual targetting mechanism would help kitty ), and I am actually "reluctant" to continue playing. Because all I could think about is to smash Damian's face, but at the same time I fear that once I do that, the game will end, and I will never have a chance to fly over lively mountains and forests; and I'll never have a chance to enjoy looking over the beautiful world from the dragon tower :hihi: )
Originally Posted by ForkTong
According to my colleague, there's been research about that. If people like a product, they tell 7 or 8 of their friends. If they don't like it, they tell 35 people smile


I can completely believe that, I have to say!

Annoyance seems to be a far greater motivator than contentment when it comes to games. Doesn't really seem fair, somehow...
Originally Posted by swordscythe
I always check out local game stores, and sadly, I haven't seen Divine Divinity in any for years.

It is still available online (eBay, Amazon, etc). Maybe after D2:ED is out and Larian isn't so busy, they can make a deal with a download distribution service, like they did with BD.
1st, if I lost the CD of the game but made a legalized purchase. Nothing would stop me from obtaining a copy of the game again or using a hack to run it. Though the art on the cd did look nice.

2nd, Copy protection debates go on for eternity so I won't get into it, I am 100% against copy protection.
Bottom line is this, if you want to see Divinity 3, buy Divinity 2!. So when I can, I'll be pre-ordering Ego Draconis at my video game store (they don't stock up on games like this very well, might get 5 copies when released, it's pathetic where I live.)

3rd, Yeh, it is easier to get worked up and mad to complain. You got more in it for you to either ruin someones reputation or get your money back. However to help someone, you need to go out of your way.
I read whole thread that I'd started and some useful thoughts visited my head.

I. Concerning reviews.

I can't help agreeing that people who are pleased with the game (and not just game, it includes every single thing - would it be a TV or a trip to another country) take it as normal. If they are displeased, they think they MUST tell everyone how shitty the thing/game is, they MUST warn every single person not to repeat their mistake.
Imagine that you have perfomed a trip to some amazing country (Maldives or Turkey or Hawaii - not important) and you are standing in a crowd with your friend. Whom will you tell about your adventures? For sure, you will tell a friend and advise him to visit that country, too. I even have a thought that people determine to "hide" pretty good things they've met during their lifetime and to tell only friends about them.
Now imagine that it has been the worst trip you ever took. For sure, you will try to warn everyone around you NOT TO GO THERE, NOT TO see the same shit as you have seen there.
There were 2 things that made me write my positive review:
1. I've understood that you, probably tired of that shithole called "bug reporting thread" really need some support from pleased customers, from amazed gamers. And after I looked through threads here and found almost nothing positive I decided that it's my duty to do this and I can't hide from it because I'm too thankful for the game you've brought.
2. I was too amazed by the game by contrast with all that crap I was playing for few years. I simply couldn't hold my words inside of me.

II. Some suggestions.

-I agree with the guy above that you should make option like "helm visibility on/off" because when I had put on one of the helmets I became looking like Black Ring captain and that fact made me destroy the helm.
-Modding, MODDING and modding again! I will provide any possible help just to see some new mods especially concerning
the ending of the game and further adventures.

-Some class rebalancing. As I said I've finished the game two times: with ranger and dual-wielding warrior.
Should I say that my warrior devastated everyone on his way with 2-3 strikes max. and concerning bosses - I had just to hit them until they had 50% hp and then I had to use fatality - quite an easy encounter, but still a lot of fun. On the other hand, my ranger was quite a weakling and couldn't stand close fights in tiny rooms like last encounter in the game - almost impossible while it was not harder that to cut a pie for my warrior.

-I couldn't help noticing that other people on russian forums were speaking about "item load abuse" when you just have to save before a chest and then load until you get necessary item. I think it would be much better if you gave player a choice - e.g., if there is a helm inside looting bag an option will arrive to pick one designed for mage/warrior/ranger etc. It's very important issue especially concerning set items.

Please don't take my suggestions as an offence - all I can say is that I really enjoyed the game like never before and it keeps absorbing me. I'm waiting with patience for some mods, addons and patches to improve the gameplay. I hope I've made some things clearer for you and made my contribution to the game's improvement.

Best Regards,
Borden.

P.S. Sorry for some abusive language, it was used just to emphasize certain aspects of my post.
P.P.S. Sorry for the size of my post smile I'm looking forward to hearing an answer from Larian stuff as your comments are the most important for me and they make me think that all my posts here matter. Thank you.
I do not think there will be a add-on that
changes the ending... the story was intended to end this way as the second part of a trilogy. I compare the ending to 'The empire strikes back' where Han Solo was trapped in ice smile Anyway, the ending is negative but for me that was actually refreshing - the only other RPG with an ending similar to this is Dungeon Siege 2. I am certain that the next game will give the player the opportunity to 'set things straight'. smile
Virumor, can't wait so long, mate laugh I've thought about that.

And, by the way, Larian guys, I have some news from Russia that may please you: most of people here estimate Divinity II at 85-90% (it's a VERY high mark) smile
Unless the Divinity 2 gets a side to side comparison with Divinity 1, the scoring will be super high like this. Right now the largest forum problem is Divinity 1 vs. Divinity 2.

Right now people are focused on:
Stuff that was in Divine Divinity that is not in Divinity 2

What we need more of is:
Stuff that was not in Divine Divinity that is now in Divinity 2.

Regardless, all can agree more thought went into the first 12 levels worth of content in both games then goes in full games other companies throw out there.

As for those reviews, any chance you can give Larian the URL's? Put them in your next post, they read all forum posts.
Lockey, didn't get that in mind, do you mean russian ones? And about what exactly?
Originally Posted by Borden
And, by the way, Larian guys, I have some news from Russia that may please you: most of people here estimate Divinity II at 85-90% (it's a VERY high mark) smile

Who's "most people?" smile
And how do they know the game?
Lynn,
There is a russian site ag.ru - the largest game-devoted site ever in Russia.
It has its own forum where people discuss games and their solutions etc.
When I was looking for solution for one quest I went there and found out that "Divinity II" thread already had 30 pages of posts. Most of them contained not only questions or solutions but also some words about how people liked the game and their own game rating (not less than 80%, usually 85-90%).
What do you mean "how do they know the game?". Here in Russia we are not white bears in strange hats carrying vodka everywhere we go. Our people make game announcements usually even faster than people in Europe. So when someone made an announcement about Divinity II some bought the game in internet shops (and were playing in on german without the knowledge of this language) and some downloaded the game and hacked the language to switch it to English.
Is it clear to you now?:)
Yes, it's clear now wink

Originally Posted by Borden
Here in Russia we are not white bears in strange hats carrying vodka everywhere we go.

LOL grin

I was just wondering because I know the game isn't released in Russia.


Originally Posted by Borden
and some downloaded the game and hacked the language to switch it to English.

Mixed feelings when I read this well
Lynn,
Well, I understand you quite well - as a developer (or at least member of Larien staff, sorry I don't know you) you can't stand people hacking your own products and using them for free. But I would advise you to think of this in another way: "They want our game so much that they are even ready to HACK it!"
Have you heard about Razor1911, Vengeance, Reloaded? These guys are the most famous game hackers all over the world. BUT - they are not wasting time on shitty games, they hack only elite ones. And I think you should be kinda proud that well-known hackers spent their time on YOUR game, because it shows the quality, the desire of people to play your game etc. This is my (gamer's, philosopher's, psychologist's) vision of the situation. No offence.
I don't think Lynn's bothered about them hacking it.
I think she's more bothered about them downloading it.
Rather than paying for the game, most who downloaded it will not buy the game even when its released officially in other territories.
Larian are loosing money when people are downloading the game.
Originally Posted by DivineGamer
I don't think Lynn's bothered about them hacking it.
I think she's more bothered about them downloading it.
Rather than paying for the game, most who downloaded it will not buy the game even when its released officially in other territories.
Larian are loosing money when people are downloading the game.

We will loose money when many people play a pirated game. And when that’s a lot, then there won’t be a next Larian-game.


Originally Posted by Borden
But I would advise you to think of this in another way: "They want our game so much that they are even ready to HACK it!"

That’s the one thing I can be positive about then wink And that’s why I wrote “mixed feelings”.

I am speaking for myself, not for Larian Studios, but I am convinced (and hope) that most of my colleagues think this way.

Ups… I did screw up the topic shame offtopic
Yep.
Thats why people should be buying games.
There loosing money, Swen even said If Divinity 2 didn't do well, they won't be able to do similar projects.
Support the Game!
That is all wink

Back on Topic.

Nice set of impressions.
Glad to see some very positive.
September here I come.
Can't help disagreeing with both of you. But every famous game-developing company loses money.
Our talks remind me of the time when GTA IV was released. Rockstar officially stated that they had protected the game so well that it would be a pain in the ass for every hacker and they would gather the largest amount of money (from release) for at least 5 days (that was the minimum time top hackers needed to hack the game).
Well the hackers who did Div2 aren't doing a very good job cause people are reporting "bugs" that aren't even bugs but copy protection checks. If those checks fail, the game does funny stuff. It's a hacker's job to get those out as well. I've seen three or four of those fail checks on the forum already. And there's more where those came from.

But let's change the subject. We've been on and off on hacking and protecting for the last five years already. It's getting old.
Originally Posted by Borden
Virumor, can't wait so long, mate laugh I've thought about that.

I thought about it some more too, and realized that
the entire story of Div 2: ED is a brilliantly executed so-called Xanatos Gambit
So it seems that it might be worth it for Larian to make a Russian release of their products? Or do the majority of people in Russia speak English? Do people in Russia buy legalized games or does everyone assume to pirate over there?

From what I can guess at, most Americans buy their games. There is a computer video game stores in just about every shopping center. I have two in my area, GameStop and GameCrazy. Gamestop has very poor customer relations, I got to GameCrazy. Once Larian gives a release date I'll be able to pre-order this game. If most Americans pirated their games, I doubt these stores would be able to keep open.

It be awesome if Larian can sell their product in another large country like Russia.
I think a Russian release is planned, but I only heard it through the grapevine, so don't quote me on that. It's nothing official or certain. And I have no idea when that might happen if it would wink
I think hacking would be good if people who liked the game would actually buy it. And many times, that is the case, but sometimes, that is not the case. The question is, these people who download these games and don't buy it... would they buy the game if they couldn't download it? I remember the whole Napster music downloading thing, which, in spite of all the negative press, was the best thing to happen to the music industry in recent history. This is all speculation, but it seems that the game industry really hasn't suffered from hacking, but rather gotten wealthier. The only danger in it exists for small companies, who market under the radar to a niche audience and suffer from bad publishers. It appears that games sell quite a bit more now than they did, say, 15 years ago.

Anywho, the most important thing for me is to support the smaller companies who make the games we like, by buying those games. The problem is, as with music, that you don't know who's making money off of your purchase. I know artists who don't bother anymore with cd's, because they don't get any money from it. Their money is in the gigs, and their big-name record company takes pretty much all the cd profits. I don't know exactly how it is in the game industry, but I doubt that the publishers go for peanuts.
Originally Posted by LightningLockey
So it seems that it might be worth it for Larian to make a Russian release of their products? Or do the majority of people in Russia speak English? Do people in Russia buy legalized games or does everyone assume to pirate over there?

From what I can guess at, most Americans buy their games. There is a computer video game stores in just about every shopping center. I have two in my area, GameStop and GameCrazy. Gamestop has very poor customer relations, I got to GameCrazy. Once Larian gives a release date I'll be able to pre-order this game. If most Americans pirated their games, I doubt these stores would be able to keep open.

It be awesome if Larian can sell their product in another large country like Russia.


Well, at first Divinity II has not been released yet in russian shops. But of course, every product released on russian language has more chances to be bought than one released on english (other languages in games are almost dead here). A lot of people here SPEAK English, but very few of them speak English WELL. Russia is corrupted with pirates, they are everywhere, every single computer software is cracked, almost every single game and VHS/DVD is pirated. There are even some events here like "Bring pirated product and gain money or legal version of it!" where pirated products are simply BURNT. I've seen huge bonfires with pirated VHS burning in them. I would say that there are 3 types of people in Russia who buy legal goods:
1) People who have no idea about pirated products.
2) People who already have a pirated product but want to support a company.
3) People who are extremely rich or sick.
Quite a sad picture, isn't it...

I also forgot to say that a man can buy a pirated product in a SHOP (e.g. a CD shop in almost every supermarket).
I can safely say i will buy the colectors edition if i find it in my market (portugal) simply because companies like larian truly deserve all we can give. In a world dominated by large comporations and large PR stunts involving astronomical amounts of money, a company like larian is a gem that must be preserved for its efforts.


I cant even imagine how hard it was for a small company like larian to develop a game this large for years. Me, as a fan, the least i can do is to buy the game in order for the company to continue to give me good times with another game or aditional content for D2.


I can only hope more people do it because companies like larian are so rare and admirable.



Adomingues, I can sign every single word in your post. Well said.

offtopic inc:

Lol, Adomingues, I read your post just as I was debating on getting a German CE copy of the game, in addition to the normal copy that I bought earlier... Stop reading and manipulating my mind!!! :P

Really though, I should've bought the CE edition the first time around, but the shipping made me cry... And at the time, I had higher hopes of an English CE edition, but experience tells me that US publishers tend to be very stingy when it comes to CE versions of PC games.... disagree

Sorry to be so off topic, but anyone here had the foresight of actually getting the CE version of the game? From what I can gather, most of the things in it should be non-German speaker friendly right? The only thing that requires knowledge of German to enjoy would be the game manual right?

@folks at Larian, how's the English CE version of the game looking? Possible? Regardless of that, what contents are in the German CE version of the game?

thanks
Originally Posted by lethial

@folks at Larian, how's the English CE version of the game looking? Possible? Regardless of that, what contents are in the German CE version of the game?
thanks

I'd also like information about an English CE version... if it comes with a soundtrack on different disc, that would be great! smile
Originally Posted by lethial

@folks at Larian, how's the English CE version of the game looking?


That's up to the publisher, really... We can tell them that the CE in Germany was a success, and we can advise them that people liked the figurine and the audio CD, but it's still somewhat more their decision than ours.
ForkTong,
Tell them that a man with a gun aimed at his head has no choice for sure and they would better agree to do that. laugh
Originally Posted by ForkTong
Originally Posted by lethial

@folks at Larian, how's the English CE version of the game looking?


That's up to the publisher, really... We can tell them that the CE in Germany was a success, and we can advise them that people liked the figurine and the audio CD, but it's still somewhat more their decision than ours.


That settles it then, my wallet will just have take the extra 8D10+4 dmg so that I can get the German CE, hopefully more will do the same to boost the sales even more. Then we will get a English CE, and then... I'll... /wrist... ouch

Anyway, thanks for the response. Now I will just have to pray that nothing will go wrong with the order b/c I don't think I could complain to the CSR in Enghlish :P
Actually a lot of people in Germany speak English.
It's kind of standard in education there. It is taught in schools, next to French, which is usually the second most-well-known language there. Place 3 would be the Russian language ... - rather in the eastern federal states of Germany.

What i actually don't quite like is the adaption to the English language which goes so far that even technical terms and whart not are NOT translated into the German language ! Speaking English is "cool" nowadays here, and that especially in terms of marketing. You probably won't even fiond a single advertisement poster without an English word on it ! Rather extremely put.

To me, this is no more adaption, but imho rather the beginning of ... subservience.

To me, this is like Germany losing its identity. In terms of language.

In my case, it is so that i love the English language, but the more I like it, the more proud I do become it of the German language as well. That's why I'd like to have fewer technical and otherwise terms to remain in English when they can be very much translated into the German language as well, especially when it can be done with no [too great] loss of meaning.


Good to hear, so at least I can talk to someone if things go wrong.

Alrik, I don't think Germany is losing its identity, it is just that English is taking over the world. :P
I am Chinese myself, and when I first came to the US, I foolishly expected to be learning Chinese here silly (I was 13 and foolish). Nowadays, everyone in China seem to also be learning English.

I think that it is for the best of the human race to have a common language (less chance of mis-communication hence less conflicts, I hope think )

We just have to never forget or de-value our own respective culture and heritage. As long as we do that, nothing would be lost. IMHO ofc.

Sorry for the massive offtopic, to go back to the topic.

I finally decided to continue on my game. The more I play, the more I wish there would be more smile.
Right now, the weakest link of the game seem to be the
Dragon game play.
- Targetting issue of the game is further aggravated in Dragon form, since things move so fast.
- The gameplay in Dragon form seems very limited. It feels like a separate arcade-ish shooter minigame. I wish it was tied into the game more:
1) More quests in dragon form
2) Ability to interact with NPCs in dragon form, or at very least don't make NPCs and monsters disappear when you take dragon form (More on this later).
- The dragon flight animation could be improved more. Right now, the dragon doesn't seem like his flying with his wings. The stiff animation make it seem more like the dragon is held up by a invisible string (esp, when you move side to side, the dragon form is completely stiff frown )

- Please don't make NPC/monsters disappear when you take dragon form. I could see why the decision was made to make them disappear, but I think by doing so, the game lost a huge opportunity to WOW the players.
1) Reducing and/or Removing XP gain while killing grounded monsters would prevent people from taking the "easy route" and use the dragon to kill everything.
2) Having NPCs disappear is fine. But don't make them all just disappear at once. Let them disappear based on proximity to the player in dragon form. A short run-away animation could be played for the NPCs as the player gets closer to them from afar (as soon as NPCs comes into the view of a player, they begin to run and disappear) and they would just disappear after couple seconds.
3) Let some NPCs persist and not disappear in Dragon form. After all, I am sure some people are not afraid of dragons, and would actually like to talk to Dragons.


Really, it is a shame that the game play in Dragon form is so limited. It would make the game that much more unique.
Hi Developers,

I really like the game you made, it's just... awesome. I like the amount of work that went into "pointless" details that make the game - different. The story is very good and I like it you found the courage to actually go through with it as you did.
I like the graphics, the side-quests, Bellegar is pure fun, the characters (all of them), it's awesome you can read the thoughts of everyone and that everyone has a name and is unique (apart from characters that are only xp; no "townsman" anywhere), I like the ability to transform into a dragon (yeah! I love you for that!), I like the many small things you can discover, I like the high quality of the (german) voicing and the sound and music usually is very good, the "video preview" for the skills is just a great idea (give a bonus to the guy who came up with that!), it's cool you have ingrediant-collectors that you can upgrade (and that they are actually characters who are happy if you are nice to them!), I like the "believeable" cities and cool places you build (the outside of the Maxos-temple!, lovis tower, so many other cool places!)... I could go on and on, but I already wrote a positive amazon-review, so I'm not going to repeat all this here.

I found just a few (small!) things that are a bit annoying, I'd like to give those points as "constructive critism", but that it's only nitpicking with details should tell you how much I like that game:

* armour sets "forcing" a certain type of weapon is bad.

* the enchantment could be clearer what recepies you already have and why you cannot enchant something (your enchanter is not good enough? You need a higher upgrade of his enchantment-station? You do not have the recepie?); in the same way, your alchemist should take all supplies from you and move them into HIS inventory (you still can see what you have)

* if you destroy a tower as dragon, it is a bit sucky the towers dissolve to "nothing". How about modelling ruins "below" the tower, so if the tower breaks apart and dissolves into "nothing" you still see the "ruins" later (it's a bit boring to run over empty and bleak flying fortresses when there should be debris anywhere).

* Cut-scenes cannot be cancelled. Don't get me wrong, the game rocks and the cutscenes are very, very good and nicely made. But when starting the game for the third time (or haveing saved BEFORE the scene and then died) it should be possible to just skip it.

* And one thing I *REALLY* hated: The stupid achievement-popups. The worst one was
When I found the dragon patriarch: Awesome, emotional, stylistic perfect scene where the camerca moves around *and I do not yet see what I found in that mystery cave* but then, blink, popup, "found the dragon". Pretend you just got hit 5 times with a whip, you really deserved that for creating such an awesome scene - and then totally ruining it with such utter crap!


Well, that's basically it. Cool work. Thanks for this game. If you make a sequel (please, again with transforming into a dragon!) I'll buy it gladly!
I expected "some decent game that kills the time until Risen or Dragon Age comes out" and found a real masterpiece that outshines most stuff I have played so far.
I expected "some decent game that kills the time until Risen or Dragon Age comes out" and found a real masterpiece that outshines most stuff I have played so far.

I laughed smile even though its mostly true for a lot of people, especialy the ones who never played divinity 1, the good quality of D2 seems a shock for most smile


Yeah, I thought "If it's as nice as Drakensang was, it's money well-spent". Well... I got more than I asked for. wink

Btw, I checked out the graphics of the old games and thought "Maybe nice, but probably too old to play these days".
Originally Posted by Silverdragon
Btw, I checked out the graphics of the old games and thought "Maybe nice, but probably too old to play these days".


Some games are timeless.
Originally Posted by Silverdragon


Btw, I checked out the graphics of the old games and thought "Maybe nice, but probably too old to play these days".


You don't play the 1st one for the graphics, but for the story that will keep you interested in the game and up all night. As far as 2D graphics go, that game outshines other 2D games I've played. Since Divinity 1, it has become hard for me to get into another PC game. They are mostly hack and slash and no real story or interesting NPCs.

EDIT:

And btw, the Achievments were because of the X-box version. A bunch of people are hoping Larian releases a patch to remove them from the PC version.
Well, the thing is... some old games are only playable if you already have played them "back then", others are "just ugly", no matter the story and how awesome they are and were. For example, I think could replay Giana Sisters anytime, but I doubt I could do that when I had the memories I do have.

What's the difference between Divinity I and Beyond Divinity? I always thought the second was some re-release, as Gold Edition or whatever. That's wrong, no?
Beyond Divinity takes place a couple of years after Divine Divinity. You have been soulforged to a death knight and must try to find a way to undo the connection.

I haven't played Beyond Divinity myself, but you should definitly try Divine Divinity, it's an awesome game.
Originally Posted by Silverdragon
Well, the thing is... some old games are only playable if you already have played them "back then", others are "just ugly", no matter the story and how awesome they are and were. For example, I think could replay Giana Sisters anytime, but I doubt I could do that when I had the memories I do have.


Personally, I start Commander Keen 4 or 5 every now and then, and Monkey Island is just a feast to me. smile
Same goes for Indy 4. smile

I wrote up a detailed comparison some time ago, but can not seem to find it now...
Hey all! So how does BD compare to DD?


I have no problem playing 'ugly' games. An issue I can have with older games is their controls, though. Awhile ago I downloaded a freeware re-release of an old adventure game (one of the earlier Quest For Glory games, or something like that). Unfortunately the DOS era controls had not been updated to the context sensitive UI like the later games in the series, so you had to manually switch the cursor between move / look / talk / use / etc (using a toolbar or right clicking to cycle through the options), which I found too tedious to continue with.
I looked up that Gina Sisters game silver, looks like the original super Mario game engine but made harder. I'm sure the game would be a lot of fun to play over a weekend.

I doubt the original DD will ever become that outdated graphic wise, and there is always the hunger for games like DD and Gina Sisters. For a pure 2D game, DD looked really sweet when it came out, we are used to 3D games on the PC and only 2D types on hand helds.

As long as Larian is alive and releasing great products in the Divinity Series, anyone that really enjoys the series will want to look up the previous games.
Giana Sisters were recently re-made for the Nintendo DS.

Not for the PC, sadly.
Nintendo probably owns the rights to them, it looks like the game engine was created by Nintendo and another company put a new front end on it to make it look different.

Imagine if Larian did remake DD into 3D like 20 years down the road. 3D graphically but mechanically a 2D game. By then we might have hologram based RPGs. Not to be confused with a holodeck on Star Trek, though imagine DD like that...

I honestly believe that DD will be viewed like this in 20 years time. A legendary RPG "back in the day".
Originally Posted by LightningLockey

I honestly believe that DD will be viewed like this in 20 years time. A legendary RPG "back in the day".


Hell, I view it like that now! biggrin
Originally Posted by LightningLockey
Nintendo probably owns the rights to them, it looks like the game engine was created by Nintendo and another company put a new front end on it to make it look different.


As far as I know the Giana Sisters are still owned by the developers there.

Quote
In 2008, publisher DTP Entertainment and developer Spellbound Interactive, owner of the game IP have announced that a new Giana Sisters game with an extensive graphical update is in development for Nintendo DS and was released in April 2009 in Europe by the developer. [2] There is yet to be an Australian Release Date for the game as well. The game features all-new levels and more gameplay elements, and a recreation of the original game's levels can be unlocked.


From Wikipedia.
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