Updates? - Larian Studios forums

*sniffles* the main site has not been updated since may..any chance we can get update how things are coming along? mainly if the goal for release is still in sight or if its going to be a 2014/2015 release?

There should start to be some news after Dragon Commander is released.

ahh yay cannot wait!

2014/2015 release??

Why do people keep sprouting this BS?

Or are you just an eternal pessimist?

BS? did I say I knew for sure it was that time? no, I am asking a question...again going to remind a lot of you to chill out...these are forums. Questions are okay....take a breath, calm,chill, relax.

I asked because there has been no info given in months. With the original goal release only months away.

Months?

There has been news. Not a lot of news, but a fairly steady stream. Which is to be expected--Larian isn't a huge studio and they made a concerted effort to produce a LOT of media during the kickstarter. Now, they have to focus on, you know, their actual jobs. (I don't think they're partnered with any media/advertising company nor do I think they have anyone on staff whose sole job is communication/PR).

The last "official" update was one month ago.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts

And Sven Vincke occassionaly comments on it on his blog.
http://www.lar.net/

But right now the main focus is (naturally) on Dragon Commander. They're not going to really focus on Original Sin right now because that would dilute the message (which is: "BUY DRAGON COMMANDER!").

Like Raze said, we probably won't see anything until (a while) after Dragon Commander releases. So maybe we'll get a new slew of previews/information come early September. As for any potential delays... Larian hasn't said anything to indicate a delay, and have repeatedly said that they're on-track for their 2013 release window. Keep in mind that the game has been in development for a LONG TIME. The kickstarter came pretty late. They already had an alpha build of the game and were showing it off at E3 back in 2012.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it IS delayed as they met ALL of the stretch goals for Original Sin, and will probably still need to devote some time to Dragon Commander post-release to work on patches and support... so, honest, in spite of all the words to the contrary, expecting a Q1 or Q2 2014 release seems more likely to me.

that update was for dragon commander mostly, I missed the kickstarter..well I saw it! but I didn't have extra money til after it was over.I had no idea Original Sin was on hold while dragon commander was out >.< at any rate. Will just keep checking daily.

Work on Original Sin wasn't put on hold, just announcements for it.

Originally Posted by Raze

Work on Original Sin wasn't put on hold, just announcements for it.

Screenshot or it never happened

Raze functions as a pretty official source, so there you have it.

I trust Raze, He is Canadian~ they are always nice.

4verse
Do you need a way to date the screenshot, as well? A video of someone using the editor holding today's newspaper?

EinTroll / Ellary
On the other hand, since I am in Canada, I can not personally verify all the mentions of D:OS still being worked on (like in the last kickstarter update).

Originally Posted by Raze

4verse
Do you need a way to date the screenshot, as well? A video of someone using the editor holding today's newspaper?

As a moderator, I can't believe that you fell for such a blatant bait. The comment is inane and you gave credibility to it by acknowledging it. This is unbelievable, every time I visit this board, my respect for the staff is always taken down a notch. For some reason I always click on a thread that pisses me off.

If the game becomes a success and you have hordes of users making derogatory remarks, what're you gonna do? Give a retort to each of them and escalate it? The users have expressed support and trusted you which means you have enough credibility to let it slide. But that isn't enough is it?

So... apparently you thought I was serious?

EinTroll and Ellary addressed the accuracy of my post. I was attempting to point out how silly it was to ask for a screenshot as proof.

I didn't read the post as derogatory or a troll, merely 'prove it' (which is more likely 'I'd like to see some proof' or impatience with the lack of news than 'I don't believe you').

No, never thought of it as serious. Someone challenged your credibility and you responded with sarcasm. I didn't think it was necessary.

p.s. spent a lot of time on this reply taking out a lot of things I was tempted to include.

I really didn't see it as a challenge to my credibility, nor the reply as sarcasm.

Quoted after your edit

Originally Posted by Raze

I was attempting to point out how silly it was to ask for a screenshot as proof.

Yes, it was silly that some would've just ignored it. It was obviously silly to me. Anyway, whatever floats your boat on how you deal with them.

Originally Posted by Raze

EinTroll and Ellary addressed the accuracy of my post.

Originally Posted by Ellary

I trust Raze

Originally Posted by EinTroll

Raze functions as a pretty official source

You don't see it as an attack on your credibility/accuracy then good. As I posted above, users in the community deemed it necessary to back you up.

Again whatever floats your boat on how you deal with em. I decided to just express my opinion on the matter and not to cross the line on imposing what I thought you should've done.

if you are going to quite me, use the full quote..

"I trust Raze, He is Canadian~ they are always nice."

He was giving insight on what was posted, my understanding was work had stopped. He cleared it up that it had not.

please keep this on topic and not try and pick fights out of boredom..Perhaps others who didn't know of the kick starter page update can come here and find info..will be a bit bleh if they have to read a fight.

Someone is being a wee bit too serious here

back on topic: update update update we want an update! Btw updates are always good - almost as good as a blog entries. Now the question is if we can either have an update or a blog entry but not both which do we pick ? Maybe we can hope for both ?

Originally Posted by watser

Someone is being a wee bit too serious here

Just a bit? This dude goes off on a rant over an issue so innocuous as to barely be worth mentioning. Apparently it foreshadows horrible things to come...

Some people have a great knack for making mountains out of molehills. Never understood it. Get a life and worry about things worth worrying about.

Sometimes I don't agree with the way the staff interacts with the community. I chose this trivial case cause no political/gender issue is in the way which made the exchange quick.

My last post to Raze was supposed to end it (he no longer replied which to me is okay). Who's causing a ruckus out of a settled issue now? TBH the whole community can come down on me and it's okay lol, it was meant for Raze and not the community.

FWIW I joined the Larian forum shortly after the original release of Divine Divinity in 2002, and the way I interact with the community has not changed due to Larian hiring me at the beginning of last year. I've never claimed to speak for Larian, and I have tried to be clear when I am stating my own opinion or speculation, etc.

Aren't you ignoring your own advice about ignoring a challenge to your post? If you didn't want others to get involved you could have PMed or emailed me.

Anyway, to be slightly on topic, since the Larian Vault will be updated on Monday to allow people with Dragon Commander in their tier, or as an add-on, to choose the distribution platform (Vault, GOG or Steam) there will presumably be a kickstarter update about that. In that case, and update about when we should start getting updates about D:OS would be in order.

message pm'ed instead

Hopefully now Dragon Commander has been launched, we should see some updates at some point in the not too distant future, I'm really excited to see how far they've got in the last couple of months

Originally Posted by Velerak

Hopefully now Dragon Commander has been launched, we should see some updates at some point in the not too distant future, I'm really excited to see how far they've got in the last couple of months

Me too: hopefully they will show us how the implementation of the stretch goals features is progressing. The "basic" game was already in a pretty decent state, judging from the various preview during the KS campaign (especially the Total Biscuit one).

UPDATE! UPDATE!

And finally did an update come. Each update almost always equals to distracting the devs from the actual development, so, I guess I'm happy with occasional updates. Anyway, good luck on your development.

next objective: comments 666666

w00t! Didn't expect an update so soon after the release of DC. Love the attention to the details

Having followed the Kickstarter from the start I've gone from not really knowing who Larian were to absolutely loving them. They seem to really care about their fans and have an awesome sense of humour that they convey in their updates and videos. Keep up the great work guys!

I really like the last update, the phantom lair sounds really really promising !!

... We got one ...

(on Kickstarter)

And ... Buy Dragon commander ^^

And we got an update

The whole "the Original Sin kickstarter has completed, now we focus completely on Dragon Commander" thing was weird, but it seems Dragon Commander is a success, so this should give them extra financial breathing room. That's a good thing for D:OS, no?

Quote

FWIW I joined the Larian forum shortly after the original release of Divine Divinity in 2002, and the way I interact with the community has not changed due to Larian hiring me at the beginning of last year. I've never claimed to speak for Larian, and I have tried to be clear when I am stating my own opinion or speculation, etc.

I don't visit this place nearly enough to know who you are, but being able to have an equal level discussion with the crew is one of the lovely perks of a small forum community. Keep it that way as long as possible

Quote

And ... Buy Dragon commander ^^

Tried the beta, and I'm torn between loving boardgames, wanting to kick ass with dragons and being absolutely worthless in realtime strategy.

As a mere user, I am embarrassed for you.

As a moderator you can conduct your business how you see fit, but to dress down someone else publicly in a thread is not only off-topic but unprofessional.

Even more so when you are obviously taking out your emotional frustrations on another person in a public thread.

I highly recommend that in the future if you feel the need to dress someone down, that you take do so privately.

I didn't dress down anyone. 4verse was not serious using the "Screenshot or it never happened" phrase, and I responded in the same tone. J747L interpreted both 4verse's post and my reply differently than I, and I tried to explain that difference, which was resolved via PM. J747L certainly had a point about being professional, but if that was carried to the point of only giving neutral, functionary responses, if at all, I probably wouldn't have stuck around Larian's old forum after I finished playing the original release of Divine Divinity.

Was that some kind of a test, or do you not see the conflict in publicly criticizing someone for a perceived public criticism, and advising it be done privately, which you didn't do yourself?

I want to confirm that the pm exchange between me and Raze was resolved. Moreover, it went smoothly and was over quickly. I have a rather thick hide which makes me a bit reckless where others would try to avoid the wrath of a beehive.

Originally Posted by Raworahi

As a mere user, I am embarrassed for you.

As a moderator you can conduct your business how you see fit, but to dress down someone else publicly in a thread is not only off-topic but unprofessional.

Even more so when you are obviously taking out your emotional frustrations on another person in a public thread.

I highly recommend that in the future if you feel the need to dress someone down, that you take do so privately.

Someone signs up just in order to post this one post. Yeah that's not suspicious.

Some serious trolling going on here.

As for the actual thread, I won't get DC, just because I've never had any interest in RTS. Warily looking forward to Original Sin. I still would rather they had continued in the vein of DKS with improvements of course. Hopefully in future they go back down that path.

Originally Posted by Raze

I didn't dress down anyone. 4verse was not serious using the "Screenshot or it never happened" phrase, and I responded in the same tone. J747L interpreted both 4verse's post and my reply differently than I, and I tried to explain that difference, which was resolved via PM. J747L certainly had a point about being professional, but if that was carried to the point of only giving neutral, functionary responses, if at all, I probably wouldn't have stuck around Larian's old forum after I finished playing the original release of Divine Divinity.

Was that some kind of a test, or do you not see the conflict in publicly criticizing someone for a perceived public criticism, and advising it be done privately, which you didn't do yourself?

Ignore the trolls Raze, that account was created just to post that message. If they keep baiting you just play this song in your head instead of the shhhere untruths that they spout? hehe

Trololol guy

Originally Posted by Velerak

Ignore the trolls Raze

I guess I'm just an optimist. I've seen enough misunderstandings online I don't want to completely dismiss suspect posts, for the small fraction that aren't actually trolling.

Ok fellas, we're seriously due for an update now. Much as I think most other KS' update too much - quit bugging me and just focus on the game - Larian isn't doing it enough. Make it so, numbah one!

Yeah, its awfully quiet. Not only on updates for D:OS, but also in facebook/twitter and even here @ the forum.

I'd give it a month or so till they are gearing up for release and have lots to show. Also remember that they have a crap load of work to do thanks to all the stuff from the Kickstarter on this game so there is probably not much to show till they get all the systems in and polished up a bit.

I think they bit off more than they can chew on this one, not that I think that they can't do it mind you, just not realistically in the time frame they proposed to do it in, but we shall see.

Think they can get it done in a little over three months if the plan is December?

I think they spend a lot of time for supporting Dragon Commander at the moment. So probably there will be no updates for the next 6-8 weeks. And I really doubt that we will play D:OS this year. I think march next year is more realistic.

I already figured that with all the kickstarter additions that it would be a next year release. I'm just hoping it won't be later then Q1. I'd love to hear a update on the game though. I enjoy listening to what they are doing and how things are coming along.

I hope the game will be released before the New Year.
I apologize in advance for a crude lunge, but Dragon Commander - is wasted time that could be devoted entirely to the completion of the much more interesting and expected - Divinity Original Sin.

I actually find Dragon Commander pretty amusing so far. It's a totally different game-type, so I do understand that "die hard" RPG gamers find Dragon Commander a bit disappointing. But for pure fun its plenty of fun. Besides that, Dragon Commander has very, very good voice acting and I really hope Divinity: Original Sin will keep the same standard.

Personally, and I know some will not like me for this, but I'd rather they delay the release of the game to ensure everything has been added and is working, and that the majority of bugs have been squished. I've gone through too many rushed games that get released buggy as hell and are a nightmare to deal with till they get patched (if they get patched) - not to mention they get absolutely slammed and trashed by reviews, critics, players.... and end up not selling well and being a big failure.

I'd much rather Larian release a complete game that has been well QA tested that will get reviewed by critics, reviewers & players for the game it is (whether it actually ends up good or bad (obviously I'm hoping for good! lol)), rather than rushing to meet a deadline and getting trashed for it. Because it doesn't matter if they are able to fix issues after launch - the review's and reputation will already be out there regarding the game.

Regarding Dragon commander - I find it a refreshing change from the usual type of games I play. It's different, unique and I find it mostly fun - the rts is weak, but that's fine as I suck at rts' anyways. I'm a 'die-hard' RPG gamer/fan... but I didn't expect a heavy or deep rpg in D:DC, thus enjoyed what I got in it. I call myself 'die-hard' seeing as I've put 1,000+ hours into BG 1 & 2, 400+ hours into Fallout 1 & 2, ~400 hours into Fallout: New Vegas, 800+ hours into PlaneScape: Torment, etc.

How the hell did you get 400 hours out of NV?

400+ hours into New Vegas isn't as much as it sounds, especially if you take your time and manage your inventory and skills properly and don't cheat at all. My dad spent six months on Baldur's Gate 1 alone. 800 hours into Planescape, though, bewilders me a bit.

I fully expect to place 100+ hours into Original Sin. I sure put my fair share of hours into Divine Divinity 1.

Well 600 hours, that would be about the maximum hours a year for me. I think I won't even get near 500 though.

Yep, 400 hours in F:NV is nothing really when you consider that there are four different endings, and to get the endings does require at least a chunk of the game being played differently. Oh, and don't forget all the mods that can be installed and used - there are some pretty good quest mods to get.

800 hours in PS:T is easy (for me) - I loved the game so much I replayed it multiple times. Oh, and there were differences if you played it by talking to everyone vs fighting everyone (less xp going combat route, but quests ended differently in some cases, and gave access to different rewards). You could also get access to different factions depending on how you played the game. You could also get endings where TNO would find out his real name (which you never find out). There were also mods that could be installed. Not to mention doing different playthroughs for the different love interest's... and that you can play the game differently whether your a thief, warrior or mage.

Edit - oh, and every time I played through I did EVERY quest I could. Even though I'd already done them, I just can't rush through a game I like & enjoy.

Not sure what I expect to get our of Original Sin, but I really hope that there is easily 100+ hours from it. I did put a lot of time into the previous Divinity games, and from the updates and everything I've seen it should hopefully be possible to get a lot of hours into the game and it should hopefully have good replayability. But we'll see.

Originally Posted by Pointman

[...] Dragon Commander - is wasted time that could be devoted entirely to the completion of the much more interesting and expected - Divinity Original Sin.

This.

Come on folks be nice. While I too prefer DO:S concept over DC; this is to be expected of most folks on DOS forum but that doesn't make it a universal truth and it is a bit of a harsh way to phrase things.

Originally Posted by Kamatsu

Personally, and I know some will not like me for this, but I'd rather they delay the release of the game to ensure everything has been added and is working, and that the majority of bugs have been squished. I've gone through too many rushed games that get released buggy as hell and are a nightmare to deal with till they get patched (if they get patched) - not to mention they get absolutely slammed and trashed by reviews, critics, players.... and end up not selling well and being a big failure.

I'd much rather Larian release a complete game that has been well QA tested that will get reviewed by critics, reviewers & players for the game it is (whether it actually ends up good or bad (obviously I'm hoping for good! lol)), rather than rushing to meet a deadline and getting trashed for it. Because it doesn't matter if they are able to fix issues after launch - the review's and reputation will already be out there regarding the game.

Regarding Dragon commander - I find it a refreshing change from the usual type of games I play. It's different, unique and I find it mostly fun - the rts is weak, but that's fine as I suck at rts' anyways. I'm a 'die-hard' RPG gamer/fan... but I didn't expect a heavy or deep rpg in D:DC, thus enjoyed what I got in it. I call myself 'die-hard' seeing as I've put 1,000+ hours into BG 1 & 2, 400+ hours into Fallout 1 & 2, ~400 hours into Fallout: New Vegas, 800+ hours into PlaneScape: Torment, etc.

True, but beta (for those who pledged for it) was supposed to start in august, while it was already pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen it'd be nice to know when we can expect it especially since the game has been in a pretty playable state for quite a while now (judging by the KS...) even though a lot of the stuff that's currently in might still be in flux.

From The fan day...

Originally Posted by Runeweaver: WoOS

- Swen mentioned something about the Alpha release � that will probably be somewhere in September

beta was never meant for august..alpha was

Originally Posted by Raze

From The fan day...

Originally Posted by Runeweaver: WoOS

- Swen mentioned something about the Alpha release � that will probably be somewhere in September

Ah, thank you Raze, I must have missed that post!

Originally Posted by dwelfusius

beta was never meant for august..alpha was

Mea culpa. Of course, alpha

So, it has now been more than a month since the release of DC (and since the last update on D:OS)... Do you reckon, there is a chance of getting a new update on D:OS soon?

What if the update is postponed 12 hours for ereytime we mention it. :p

wait and see, if they do not make an update it is because they are hardly working on the game (or they celebrate the release of DC partying 'til sunrise and getting pissed drunk...)
but I must admit I would really like to know more about the upgrade of the vault including kickstarter features such as the beta access or the weresheep Tshirt, are they going to make it or not? That is THE question^^

Originally Posted by Dexyd

What if the update is postponed 12 hours for ereytime we mention it. :p

c'mon if it was the case, we will never get an update before the release of the game hahahahaha

Hi All, is there any news about alpha access? It should be quite actual soon. ;-)

Ok, I know they work hard on the game, so we also have to work on our patience. Just asking to have an idea....

My guess is that they've gone silent because they're feverishly trying to get Alpha Access ready before summer is technically over.

Or too much people are taking up their vacation days. Guess with the release of DC that not many peeps could take theirs.

Please, Larian, give us a sign of life. We don't expect a meaty, well done update, we just want to know whether everything is ok and you're in the middle of development or whether there are problems you have to deal with.....

Perhaps you won't be ready in time. We - the fans - don't care. Take your time. We rather play a good game than an early game. But I understand that every additional month costs you a lot of money, I'm just talking from a fan perspective here....:)

One month of silence....PLEASE, just talk to us....

There will definitely be an update soon.

By 'soon' I mean within the next month... or 2. Possibly 3, but certainly not more than 4.

... or at least just 4, not exactly 5, well if something really bad happenned may be 6...

Well, realistically, if the alpha is going to be starting this month there will be an update for that, and if it isn't, there should at least be an updated ETA.

A short sign of life would be enough.....it's just too long that I've heard Kirill's update song...

"na na, there is an update, on Kickstarter" ... Yeah, I miss it too ...

And hope we will be able to get some news soon .

haha LC i so agree, we basically just want an update to hear the song again with the thrill pairezd with a new update

We're update song junkies ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBzvF7duw9s
^^

h� let's make a contest, let's make fake larian update explaining why we do not have an update

I'm also anxious to hear how Larian is doing, how well DC did, and what does the future hold... the biggest fear I have is that maybe DC didn't do so great and they had to downsize / cut back on some things as a result.

As far as the initial sales for DC, ForkTong posted in an RPG Codex topic:

Originally Posted by ForkTong

Game dropping off sales charts was due to a glitch in Steam with changing from default Imperial Edition preorder app to standard game app. Despite what ppl think (or seem to hope for), sales are going fine. Bit better even than expected.

Why so serious ? I believe that this silence before the great storm(update) Personally I think there neeв for 2 years more to make ideal Original Sin))

I'm traumatized by the last time a dev I've been following suddenly went silent - Coreplay / Chaos Chronicles.

edit: Ooh, a blog update from Sven. Now I can relax.

https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian/status/380301711262633984

hahahaha that could be funny not to have an update by friday^^

http://www.lar.net/2013/09/18/an-important-lesson/

As I said - it will be 2014 and we most likely we won't hear anything about released date until it is actually ready.

At least we know Swen is alive))HoooraY!

Yep, they seem to be alive, and this is great ... Only one week to wait until either an update or Larian tweeter death ...

Great ^^

Interesting that he didn't even mention the alpha in his update. I wonder if even the alpha will be a 2014 occurence now.

I'm a $500+ backer from RPGWatch and I won one of the alpha/beta invites for the site. I can wait; I'm replaying the non-dragon parts of Div 2. I just can't relate to playing a game as a beast, so I generally pretend winning the Battle Tower is the endgame.

Just plow through that part. If you got the DKS version of Div2, there is another wonderful town with dozens of good and fun quests.

I'm wondering if they did not forget the update for today, otherwise RPGCodex are going to have a great time with their twitter account.

He said that there would be a kickstarter update by Friday NEXT WEEK, not today.

Swen's blog seems to say that he's going to prioritize making the game the best it can be over committing to an unmovable deadline. I don't mind if there's a little delay if it makes the final product better.

Originally Posted by Stabbey

He said that there would be a kickstarter update by Friday NEXT WEEK, not today.

Swen's blog seems to say that he's going to prioritize making the game the best it can be over committing to an unmovable deadline. I don't mind if there's a little delay if it makes the final product better.

This.

Aha oops, I read next Friday (or wanted to read). Dont mind when it comes out, as long as its good.

Originally Posted by Merendrious

I'm wondering if they did not forget the update for today,

Next week, not today.

I kind of hope they make beta-2 available to all kick start backers in late november if the game is delayed significantly (and I fully expect it to be delayed into Q1 or Q2 of 2014).

beta-2 ? what do you mean with beta-2.. making beta available for everyone doesn't seem quite fair since it was not only part of the tier rewards, but also an add-on..

Well that's why I said beta-2. Beta-1 can be made available for those who paid for it and then a month later they could open it up as beta-2 to everyone on kickstart. Would this not please those who paid for beta (getting access to the the game a month early) but then allow for even further feedback (via beta-2) before the final release ?

update, update update : http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ef=email&show_token=2852e06fdd112de8

too bad for the Larian's Twitter pass ^^
I really like this song !!!

Wow a day early ; for a minute I thought he was going to wait for the very very last minute.

http://www.lar.net/2013/09/26/why-did-we-stretch/

As I said:

Originally Posted by Kein

http://www.lar.net/2013/09/18/an-important-lesson/

As I said - it will be 2014 and we most likely we won't hear anything about released date until it is actually ready.

2014.

Can I have a cookie?

Quote

I don�t know what the reactions to the release date news will be at the time of writing this, but my guess is that there�ll be some disappointment [...]

I dunno, I have no issues with the delay, it is something I expected once the original release date was mentioned.

A bit disappointed about alpha delay, though.

Good for you guys! Thanks for taking the time to make the game even better. We appreciate the honesty. Sure, I think we're a little disappointed we won't be able to play alpha now but November isn't far away and February is just around the corner.

Originally Posted by Kein

Can I have a cookie?

nop but maybe a belgium beer hahahahaha

https://twitter.com/larianstudios

Alpha will be in November, Beta in January.

Originally Posted by Chaotica

Originally Posted by Kein

Can I have a cookie?

nop but maybe a belgium beer hahahahaha

Honestly, wouldn't mind. Never tried real Belgium beer before.

Originally Posted by crpgnut

Interesting that he didn't even mention the alpha in his update. I wonder if even the alpha will be a 2014 occurence now.

I'm a $500+ backer from RPGWatch and I won one of the alpha/beta invites for the site. I can wait; I'm replaying the non-dragon parts of Div 2. I just can't relate to playing a game as a beast, so I generally pretend winning the Battle Tower is the endgame.

Quote

Project Update #45: Divinity:Original Sin Release Date Is Set
Posted by Larian Studios LLCLike
Welcome Back

It has now been exactly five months since we closed our Kickstarter campaign. Looking back, it was quite a ride, and one of the best parts was that all stretch goals were met!

As we were integrating the stretch goals in the game in the last couple of months, we realised they affected a lot of the game systems and this would be more work than we thought.

Deeper character creation (traits and talents) made us rethink the stats system, the inclusion of companions meant we had to have more party support, and the day and night schedules affected all the behaviours of NPCs. And even the world they live in! Because where else would these people live and sleep?

The following video has Swen & Axel explain what including the stretch goals meant for the development of the game, and features an example of how schedules for instance influenced the game world. Here's a spoiler:

"I wonder what that fire is on the first floor... And how do I get to the second floor?" - (fullscreen image)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3VQMTkIxcw
Original Sin Set For February 2014

We are very determined to implement all the extra features gained through stretch goals the way they should be implemented, which essentially means that we want to incorporate them in the story, the world and the gameplay mechanics. This is taking us more time than we originally thought, and so we decided to move the release of Divinity: Original Sin from this fall (as originally announced) to this winter, specifically to February 28th 2014.

For backers that have Alpha access, expect to have the rough and rugged version of Original Sin by November. Beta should be your New Year's present in January!

What are they thinking ?

For those interested in the details of the how and why, check out Swen's brand new blog entry, in which he explains his thoughts on postponing the release of Divinity: Original Sin.

Live QA on friday September 27h at 17:00 CET

We'll be doing a live QA session via the Larian Studios channel on Twitch TV tomorrow, september 27th, 17:00 CET. Join in, and you'll be able to ask David or Swen pretty much anything you want about Divinity: Original Sin via the chat channel. They'll try to answer as many questions as they can, and perhaps even show a bit of the game.

In closing: Fan day report

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! On August 9th, a wild horde of screaming fans descended upon the Larian Studios' offices, and hijacked what was to be the Dragon Commander release party. We made a video to mark the occasion, but we forgot to post it! So without further ado, here's the video report on Larian Studios' first ever fan day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS7h9BaOubI

Will be someone kind enough to to make script with all the answers? My english is not good enough.

Working on one now.

nice going stabbey. I don't need it, but love the effort you put in to all this.

It looks like I need to schedule some days off in February, though I'll wait a bit and see if this becomes more concrete. Of course, I will have alpha and beta'd it to death by Feb and may be sick of it

Here is the transcript thingee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUksMDzHJ8

Character creation options! I have been trying to catch all the updates. Did I miss one on character creation options? am really curious about the hair styles....*fingers crossed there will be some long hair styles!*

There have been no updates on character creation or hair styles.

*nudges Larian* Maybe there should be one, just throwing that out there =p

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts/643240?ref=activity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ-mZYjylq8

http://www.lar.net/2013/10/28/fume/

I think the most interesting thing in this update was that swen said that the magic you can use is some kind of dark magic that people might not like.
It would be funny if you use magic in the village and people start attack you for just healing someone.

ooo, witchhunt

Something like saying "but it's not out yet" on Star Citizen forum

I like (even if it was a bit obvious) the amount of solutions and the impact they have on the game, it makes the replayability soooooo much cooler furthermore if we take into account the community upcomming works (modding and extended quests) !!

When will we have an update about a vault upgrade to buy Tshirt and alpha and beta test? :p

A non-mountable mount and ever popular NPC escort quest� :P Nice Choices 'n Consequences, though.

Originally Posted by X-tasy

It would be funny if you use magic in the village and people start attack you for just healing someone.

In Shadow of Amn, the party would be attacked if they used magic-even harmless ones-in the city. I was tired of being warned and finally decided to fight them off. At that stage, my party was relatively strong and beat every law enforcement squad till they finally gave up, which was oddly satisfying.

Originally Posted by Dasyure

A non-mountable mount and ever popular NPC escort quest� :P Nice Choices 'n Consequences, though.

Originally Posted by X-tasy

It would be funny if you use magic in the village and people start attack you for just healing someone.

In Shadow of Amn, the party would be attacked if they used magic-even harmless ones-in the city. I was tired of being warned and finally decided to fight them off. At that stage, my party was relatively strong and beat every law enforcement squad till they finally gave up, which was oddly satisfying.

Unless my memory is failing me it was possible to just buy a license to use magic from the Cowled Wizards, which shouldn't have been out of reach by the time you are strong enough to actually fight them. Unless, of course, you just enjoyed kicking those guys to the curb (for which I couldn't really blame you

)

Though for me personally the magic ban in Athkatla was never much of an issue as there's not that many battles that happen in the streets that are really problematic without magic (and I had 4 magic users in my party...), the Gith (if you get to meet them) and the vampires being notable exceptions (but that, again, is pretty late in the main storyline)

@theBlackDragon
You are right but I didn't see the legitimacy for the absurd law and Cowled Wiz are not so good guys. So, I chose to ignore their law rather than following their bureaucratic procedure. Nice that the devs prepared the consequence for my choice.

Soon Swen will be showing Original Sin to Jesse Cox and Dodger. I'm sure he'll announce it once the videos are up, probably within a week.

How did you know Stabbey?

He follow Swen on twitter. Swen announced it here.

Oh yeah I saw this exactly now)) I didn`t look in at private Swen`s twitter....

Private twitter is an oxymoron. :p

Originally Posted by James 540

Oh yeah I saw this exactly now)) I didn`t look in at private Swen`s twitter....

I think you meant "personal"

Originally Posted by Stabbey

Private twitter is an oxymoron. :p

It was not purposely)

Yeah personal twitter-Kein!

Swen blog/Twitter/facebook/forum... so many ways to get informations^^

https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian/status/405736234435502080 Finally! Swen says there will be an update tomorrow or friday.

Hopefully the news will be good, I wonder how things are going with the game itself and tools for developing mods.

It's friday, so we may expect a update any minute now :p (but there are a lot of minutes in a day)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts/678463?ref=activity

Alpha/Beta for all.

Please do not withdraw your pledge.

Hurray. Though I have very little time to spend on games this winter.

Originally Posted by Kein

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts/678463?ref=activity

Alpha/Beta for all.

Please do not withdraw your pledge.

I'll just copy/paste www.kickstarter.com/projects/larian...ts/678463?cursor=5299281#comment-5299280 :

Can't say I'm too surprised that Larian's perfectionism got the upper hand so we'll get our hands on a beta and not on the alpha. Can't really blame them seeing the backlash against many an alpha or "early access" game but the hacker (in the real meaning of the word) in me can't help but be slightly dissapointed.

One thing I'm worried about is that exposure to more people might mean the voice of the "hard core" is drowned out, I thought that was actually the purpose of the alpha. I sure hope that this time no compromises are being made to people that didn't follow the KS campaign and don't really know what was promised (but still want to change what was promised to suit *their* vision).

PS: looks like the forum doesn't like links to KS comments.

Edit: note that this wasn't meant negatively in any way, I'm still super excited to finally get my hands on the game.

Don't steal my tweets....

Can't wait!!

OoO I can understand that the ones who pledge for the Alpha and Beta access are a bit disapointed :s
but it is awesome !! I trully regretted not to pledge for the Beta and the Weresheep Tshirt, now i only regret for the Tshirt lol (Larian, as you're gonna update the vault, can you allow us to increase our pledge and get access to the other goodies? :3 )

Sincerely, I think this is a good idea but there might be a problem : more people means more requests/feedback, means time to deal all of that and possible changes...

Well I think it is best for the game; I guess they could have done the 'early' alpha/beta late beta to please the kickstart people who paid for such (not really sure how mcuh $$$ they have to refund) but I suspect the primary issue is time. The game is large and complex - if it meets my expectation it will be much larger and more complex than divine divinity so the polish really will be necessary. Hum. very high expectation (I hope not too high).

I guess we all have our (own) high expectation and some of them will not be fulfilled, but I really trust Larian to make an awesome game which will surprise us

It's statements like these (from the kickstarter page)...

"If you are interested in isometric, 'old school' cRPGs, this is the game for you."

"We believe this game truly is something else, and it deserves everything we as a company can throw at it."

... that start getting your hopes up.

We threw an extra million dollars at it

And great move Larian to extend the alpha/beta to everyone. I pledged pretty high and am only happy that all backers get access if they want it. Not only is it more inclusive but as you say it will enhance the pool of useful feedback to adjust and polish the game for everyone.

To offer refunds for those that pledged specifically for alpha/beta is only fair, but I hope people don't take them up on this. After all, the whole point of the kickstarter was to make Original Sin a better game. I have great respect for how Larian have followed their dream in self-publishing and creating a classic-style cRPG, before the kickstarter phenomenon had made such games relatively popular again. They truly care about such games, enough to put it all on the line for one...

For the good of the game.

Originally Posted by Chaotica

OoO I can understand that the ones who pledge for the Alpha and Beta access are a bit disapointed :s

Why? They can have their money back.

Originally Posted by Robcat

It's statements like these (from the kickstarter page)...
"If you are interested in isometric, 'old school' cRPGs, this is the game for you."
"We believe this game truly is something else, and it deserves everything we as a company can throw at it."
... that start getting your hopes up.
We threw an extra million dollars at it

Originally Posted by Chaotica

I guess we all have our (own) high expectation and some of them will not be fulfilled, but I really trust Larian to make an awesome game which will surprise us

You can't please everyone. Nor Larian nor anyone else able to do it.

In case I wasn't clear, my dissapointment (though I honestly think this word is much too strong for how I feel about this) is that there won't be a real alpha.

To understand where I come from one has to understand what an alpha is (at least in my mind): alpha software is where only the core is in place, major mechanics still need to be added or revised, bugs usually run rampant and most of the actual content is not in place yet.
Beta is where core mechanics have been ironed out, bugs reduced to a reasonable level and development kinda boils down to fine tuning, bugfixing and adding/testing content to reach a releasable state. By all accounts the state D:OS is in is already what I personally consider a beta, not an alpha.

Now, you usually don't want to show alpha software to the press or general public because it generally doesn't tend to get received very well, this is what quite a few Kickstarter/Early access games found out the hard way. So as a marketing move not giving access to actual alpha quality builds makes much sense. On the other hand this is where the game gets shaped and sweeping changes are still possible, as such input given and considered during alpha can have a much bigger impact on development direction than during a later stage.

So in effect I think it's a bit of a shame that we won't be able to comment as much on mechanics and possibly shape how they evolve.

Do note that I have all faith in Larian to deliver a solid product, so I won't be going around raging, threatening or demanding my money back or any other such nonsense (well, unless they try to turn this into Skyrim or some such nonsense*), I just thought the above would be a "feeling" that would apply to more of the more "dedicated" backers.

*please don't kill me for even bringing this up Swen...

I can think of only three reasons there is not a 'real alpha':
a) They did extensive internal or private testing and realize that alpha wasn't needed
b) They have confident that the game is in better shape than expected and don't need an alpha
(a or b might be quite feasible as they have had 'crude' alpha for over a year now)
c) they are way behind schedule and are trying to compress the time line to meet a specific date of delivery (the only real risk I see with (c) is that the game is in such poor state that testers can't give reasonable feedback).
-
I suppose there are other options that did not occur to me at the time I wrote this post (though they might occur to me the minute I hit submit) but i strongly suspect it is a combination of all three.

I can certainly appreciate that BlackDragon and I'm glad you expressed it.

I think in that sense it is disappointing though as you say understandable and not a dramatic concern in this case. I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbled this time, I don't think Larian planned it this way. It seems to me more a result of the timing (and success) of the kicktstarter, coupled with Larian's highly iterative style of development and the importance of Original Sin's success to them as a company. They've put a lot of love into this baby.

Originally Posted by Kein

You can't please everyone. Nor Larian nor anyone else able to do it.

You can't even totally please anyone

@J747L and @Raze : cant believe you felt trolled by my obviously dorky post AND even had a discussion about it

to be honest, i find this very funny; sorry

i never meant to be serious in any shape or form. i also did not want to troll or bait someone.
it was just a dorky/ironic post i found funny (you know, tastes and humor differ). and i found it to be ironic, b/c it is obviously obvious that you cannot deliver a picture of a state of "... [not] put on hold, just announcements for it."

well, never mind it

Bit late and offtopic to say that.

But what do you expect? The internet only conveys words, not tone, body language, whatnot.

Also, someone had a bone to pick, and they couldn't put it off no more and Raze is a moderator, pretty much obligated to keep the peace and not be prejudiced.

@eintroll: i agree. i did not mean to criticise, and i am sorry if my post reads like that.

my point was/is:
1) i did not mean to troll at all
2) i just found it a funny statement
3) i find it funny that my durky post actually "spawned" a discussion, b/c my post was in no way worth even mentioning
5) i do apologize if i caused any trouble

and you are again right - my "answer" was in fact a bit late, but i saw the reactions only a few hours ago.

Someone with free time at Thursday should look at this : https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian Swen invites 6 "weresheeps" for a testplay at thursday.

Death to the weresheeps; the most despicable sheep ever to walk the face of the land.

On a more serious note I really dislike this behavior and think i should move on.

Have to say it again: focus on some individuals is the wrong strategy for a kickstarter.

I think every fan is allowed at thursday

Dosn`t look like it. When i read Swen`s twitter feed I sometimes feel like the game will only get released when every single person that he had shown the game tells him it is perfect...

Not holding my breath anymore and just when I had calmed down I had to read his twitter again...

@ Nemisis_Dragon

My thought excatly...

Originally Posted by X-tasy

Someone with free time at Thursday should look at this : https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian Swen invites 6 "weresheeps" for a testplay at thursday.

Alas, gotta work, as do most working people I assume. Bit too short notice to change my holiday planning.

Just throw it out there I'd say, it's supposed to be an alpha if it's gotta be "perfect" you're doing alpha (and beta) wrong... (but I can sympathize, I'm terrible at releasing software I personally don't feel is either really useful or near perfect. Of course, this means I don't release software often...well, as an individual anyway.)

From the comment section on Kickstarter:

Quote

Hi all, we're aiming for either this week or latest next week to release the alpha. No promises on the exact date, but the list of things we want to fix before giving it to you is finite & is getting smaller real fast. The reason we keep on postponing is really simple - we want want your first contact with DOS to be an enjoyable one instead of a frustrating one, and that requires there to be a certain level of polish in place. There's about 7 to 10 hours of gameplay we're thinking of releasing with the first version of the alpha and that means that just testing one build already takes an entire day, meaning that progress isn't as fast as we'd necessarily want it to be. Believe me, we're very anxious to hear what you'll think about the work we did. Also, I think it's likely we'll release single player before multiplayer because we still need to get some lobby systems in place. /swen

Yeah, I think he was just using weresheep as a synonym for fans. He did say that wooses were welcome as well as woosers ;-)

Originally Posted by X-tasy

Someone with free time at Thursday should look at this : https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian Swen invites 6 "weresheeps" for a testplay at thursday.

Let me just grab my ticket to Belgium :3

But I'm a troll. I can't not be a troll, physiology doesn't work that way. This makes me feel excluded

I guess I can arise from the dead and show my face on the forums once again. Looking forward to next week.

guys, few days before finally experiencing the "old Rivellon" !!! I can't wait, I can't wait !!!

The character models look disgusting. I hope to release this will be fixed.

Originally Posted by Pointman

The character models look disgusting. I hope to release this will be fixed.

I was more shocked by the ads on that page the picture is hosted on.

well.. i cant freaking wait for sure

I was assuming they were placeholder just coz they're so bad

The rest of the game is looking really pretty now so they stick out even more.

Originally Posted by meme

I can think of only three reasons there is not a 'real alpha':
a) They did extensive internal or private testing and realize that alpha wasn't needed
b) They have confident that the game is in better shape than expected and don't need an alpha
(a or b might be quite feasible as they have had 'crude' alpha for over a year now)
c) they are way behind schedule and are trying to compress the time line to meet a specific date of delivery (the only real risk I see with (c) is that the game is in such poor state that testers can't give reasonable feedback).
-
I suppose there are other options that did not occur to me at the time I wrote this post (though they might occur to me the minute I hit submit) but i strongly suspect it is a combination of all three.

4

Now that there is an update, I believe it is D: They have no idea what is going to be wrong to their product so they need independent eyes to look at it.

If you watched the latest update, you'll see swen commenting on non-breaking game details but ruins immersion/balance (such as teleporting pyramids jail breaks, and cost of a cheap bow equals 4 spells). I think this is the purpose of doing the alpha access for everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxEEVm4vDM

the music is awesome, Kirill did a wonderful job (as usual), even if it is a "step 2 music"
I need a collector version with the ST !! ^^

i still can't access the Alpha (i'm a backer)

help.

How did you back, through kickstarter, paypal or RPGCodex/RPGWatch?

Do you have a Larian Vault account linked to your kickstarter / paypal email? See update #51.

Originally Posted by Raze

How did you back, through kickstarter, paypal or RPGCodex/RPGWatch?

Do you have a Larian Vault account linked to your kickstarter / paypal email? See update #51.

Kickstarter, and no it's not, i have no idea how.

There are instructions in the 'Getting Alpha Access' section of update #51.

Originally Posted by Raze

There are instructions in the 'Getting Alpha Access' section of update #51.

i wasn't aware of that, after some reading and patience, i now have the Alpha installing.

Much Obliged Raze.

"update, we've got an update, for co-op player ohoh yeah-eah-eah-eah, update we've got an update for co-op player, so hold your breath, hold your breath, let's hold your breath, let's hold your breath, update, we've got an update for co-op player oh yeah, update, we've got an update for co-op player from Larian team, from Larian team, from Larian team, from Larian team"

(Remake of Kirill's update song during the live concert)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin/posts/722525?at=BAh7CDoMcG9zdF9pZGkDXQYLSSIIdWlkBjoGRVRpA9iUT0kiC2V4cGlyeQY7BlRJIhgyMDE0LTAyLTE3IDE4OjMzOjE1BjsGVA%3D%3D--dea0a7143c1b6675af5a0d1d8283e0f88859b4e9&ref=backer_project_update

I'll never tire of that song.