Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - General Suggestions: Fixes and Features! (join in!)

This one is doable now.

Suggest: Skillbook highlights;
What I'd really like to see involves skillbooks.

When I highlight a skillbook in a vendors inventory, it should highlight any thing that I can't do in red text to indicate that I won't be able to currently use that skill book.

For examples... If I am looking at a skill book at the vendor and it requires that I have the Hydrophysist skill but my character does not have that skill, then the word Hydrophysisist should be written in red to tell me that I won't be able to use that skill book at the present time. Basically do what you've already started to do with regards to how the level requirement is written in red if I'm not of a high enough level to use the skill book.

I'm actually quite surprised that you guys at Larian have not added the necessary skill to the skill book under the level requirement so that players know if they meet all the criteria to use the skill book or not.

Sure, there are many that know their characters inside and out but I'm getting old, my brain is farting dust at times so it's hard for me to keep track of these things and I don't really feel the desire to go and try to remember what skills my character has before making every purchase.

This really should go across the board on every item, anything that would prevent the character from using an item (bought, dropped or found) should be listed in red text on the items info sheet. Not terribly important on dropped and found items since their free anyway, but definitely important on items that we can buy.

^Right. To take it another step (has been asked in beta btw) is when you are buying from a vendor, whomever you have focus on character wise bartering, things that cannot be used by that person would be in Red. As you cycle through your players those items would be refreshed (red or not) for that player.

In addition to, anything that is the same, stack it.

Best Devs make best fix

I would love to see an interior "fog of war" like system, where if you are in a building, you can't see other rooms at all, except for the current room you are in.

Actually, they kind of do have that. For example, the room with the second pyramid. Unless you're moving past a window, you can't see everything inside. And you definitely lose track of the NPC inside.

I like the interactivity in the game, but let's examine a particular case: when you talk to the mortician he claims he suspects Evelyn because of reasons, but also that Theylon purchased a shack infested with the undead.

Yet you cannot ask the mortician about the shack (considering it was his, he should know, for instance, where it is). You also cannot ask Theylon about it, even though he apparently paid for it. It only comes up in that little bit of dialogue and for being an important lead that seems like a fairly gross oversight.

There are bits like this peppered through the game where it's either a false lead but you can't ask about it, or important but you have to find the answer in a very specific spot. I'm not sure if THIS is the type of suggestions you are looking for, but even if it isn't a bug it affects your ability to play the game. If the game believes I'm intelligent enough to follow clues, it should be intelligent to allow me to ask really obvious questions.

Be able to move and lock the camera in a more FPS/3PS type of view. I can see how impressive and good looking the game is zooming all the way into battle. To be able to really control the angle a bit more would be an awesome way to play-through the game again. I do assume that this will come from a mod at some point if not official.

The problem with importing characters into someone else's game is you can bring in items from later quests and it might have adverse effects on the main module's progression.

I personally would not be happy if someone came into my module with 3 bloodstone shards, and messed up my end of time progress, or they had a quest item that closed out a quest line that I hadn't even looked at yet.

Just noticed this thread, which is probably a better place for my mini-rant than the new thread I had just started. Anyway, here goes...

I posted a thread on this for the D:OS alpha (apparently that thread has now died of old age... boo), and another for the beta (http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=485218#Post485218), but since the UI remains the least polished element of D:OS (IMHO, and in the opinions of others I see on the forums), I'm back here yet again in the hope Larian includes some much-needed UI improvements with upcoming game patches. You can read the beta thread linked above for a lot more requests, but the select few UI issues that still annoy the heck out of me remain:


1) Items should be consistently arranged in the same item grid slot order in all NPC trading and current player inventory menus

2) Left-clicking (rather than left-clicking-and-holding/dragging) on an item within the inventory menu should allow you to pick it up

3) Activating a character via its portrait or the "F1"-"F4" keys should also switch to that character's inventory or skills menu, if open

4) Character portrait order (on the upper-left of the screen) and formations should be saved/retained upon loading
(this one was a new bug introduced late in the beta that was still in the earliest version of the final release, but hopefully it's being/been fixed)



The other improvements I personally would like to see in a truly polished D:OS UI are below. Feel free to comment/add/whatever!


INVENTORY/CHARACTER AND TRADING MENUS/CONTROLS

1) All items of an identical type (except equipment) should stack with each other in the inventory and trading menus
(this may be largely fixed in the latest release version)
Items that should stack, but don't: all "junk" (i.e. (large) bottles, broken bottles, (flower) pots, globes, lab junk, plates, tubes, vials, vial racks), arrow shafts, arrows/arrowheads (identical types), books (including all identical recipe and blank skillbooks), bonedust, empty bottles, folded shirts, golden cups, golden spoons, nine inch nails, parchment, pillows, pixie dust, rope, soap, starfish, wooden figurines, apples/bottles of beer/cups of water/drudenae/hams/herrings/logs/minor healing potions/roasted pork dishes/skulls (only some items of these types currently stack with each other), "Cyseal Pie" and "Cyseal Fish Pie" (duplicates?), etc.

2) A "Sort By Type" inventory sorting option should be added

3) A key ring (functioning as an "openable" container) to automatically store all acquired keys should be added

4) An option to tag/mark items as "junk" for later quick/one-click sale should be added

5) An option to manually type the number of items to move/trade from within a stack should be added

6) Each NPC's Identify/Repair ability levels should be displayed in the NPC's trading menu

7) The effects of both the player's Barter ability and the NPC's attitude on price should be shown in each item's trading tooltip

8) The value of every stat/ability modified from its base value should be displayed in a different color in the inventory menu
Stat/ability values still aren't color-coded in blue/purple when altered from their base values by traits - e.g. Reputation by the Altruistic trait, Crafting by the Pragmatic trait, etc.

9) Ability tooltips that still need to describe exact percentage/numerical effects
Body Building, Willpower, Charisma, Lucky Charm, Offense Rating (doesn't include +3/level effect of Lucky Charm)

10) After drinking from a container (bottle/cup/mug/flask/etc.), an empty container should generate in the player's inventory


CRAFTING/IDENTIFICATION/REPAIR MENUS/CONTROLS

1) Crafting overhaul
(this may be largely fixed in the latest release version)
A new dedicated crafting window in which items can be combined should be added; recipe information for at least those recipes the player has successfully crafted should be explicitly listed in the format "A = B + C" in the journal; for sample mockups, see: http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=34882&Number=494715#Post494715

2) Loremaster/Identify overhaul (current click-intensive system is extremely tedious, and adds no challenge)
If a player has an identifying glass and sufficient Loremaster ability, all items (items that are picked up, as well as items displayed in all trading menus) should be identified automatically (except those beyond the player's ability)

3) Blacksmithing/Repair overhaul (current click-intensive system is extremely tedious, and adds no challenge)
If a player has a repair hammer and sufficient Blacksmithing ability, a new "Repair All" icon/button usable only outside combat should repair all items equipped by the party with one click (except those too damaged for the player's ability)


COMBAT MENUS/CONTROLS

1) The ability to attack enemies with "regular" (non-skill) attacks by clicking their icon at the top of the screen should be added
I.e. similar to how attacking with skills works currently

2) A "facing" indicator should be added to the circle under each enemy's feet to aid with backstab positioning


DIALOGUE AND NPC INTERACTION MENUS/CONTROLS

1) The effects of a dialogue choice on a Trait should be displayed next to the choice

2) NPC dialogue options previously chosen by the player should be "dimmed"/"grayed"

3) A more convenient method of ending an NPC dialogue at any time is needed
E.g. by hitting "ESC" to exit the dialogue screen, and/or moving the "end dialogue" speech option to the top or side of the list from its current usual position at the bottom in situations where dialogue can't be skipped for quest reasons, the "end dialogue" option may then be disabled

4) The player should be able to attempt to pickpocket each NPC repeatedly
But there should be a higher chance of discovery on subsequent attempts, due to the NPC being aware he/she lost something earlier


GENERAL MENUS/CONTROLS

1) "ALT" should consistently highlight all items/containers within the player's sight range
(this may be largely fixed in the latest release version)
Currently, most items as well as chests (but no other containers, like barrels/baskets/crates/vases) are highlighted; however, some useful items are never highlighted (e.g. pillows, soap, whetstones), and neither are any "junk" items ((large) bottles, broken bottles, (flower) pots, globes, lab junk, plates, tubes, vials, vial racks although the non-highlighting of junk may be intentional); also, probably due to errors in calculating the player's sight range, many items placed on certain wall shelving or bookshelves, tables, sloped ground, etc. aren't highlighted (e.g. the fishing rod in the tutorial dungeon, items on the table in front of Esmerelda's shop, items on shelving/bookshelves inside Esmerelda's shop/Aureus's office/the cook's house/at the back of Bellegar's cave, items around the forge/anvil area above Cyseal west gate, the plants in the End of Time living quarters garden, items on the sloped paths just outside the lighthouse/just west of the cultist church, etc.); finally, although this should be an optional toggle in the main menu to satisfy both those who enjoy and those who hate pixel-hunting, there should be an option to make item/container highlighting always automatically active

2) All keyboard controls should be fully reassignable in the "Controls" menu
E.g. ALT is currently locked for item highlighting, etc.

3) The camera "zoom out" height/range should be increased

4) A "pause" function should be added
The game should have the option to auto-pause when a popup appears, or when the game menu is opened

5) All custom map markers should be fully editable
(this may be largely fixed in the latest release version)
Currently, you can add a marker by left-clicking on the map (sometimes it's glitchy), and can delete a marker by right-clicking it, but there should be an easy way to select and edit the description for each existing marker as well

6) Pathfinding enhancements
(this may be largely fixed in the latest release version)
Party members should always automatically avoid damage floors/environments (not only traps); where a damage area can't be avoided (e.g. a tight corridor), the player should be required to manually control any party member who must walk through the damage area; a new formation "Follow the exact steps of the controlled character" could also help

7) Hotbar/skill menu enhancements
Add a tooltip to each skill stating the skill category to which it belongs (e.g. "Fire Magic"); add new assignable keyboard shortcuts to switch between hotbars and/or increase the size of the hotbar switching icons; add the ability to assign an entire skill category to one hotbar slot, such that right-clicking the "Fire Magic" slot (for example) would open the player's Fire Magic skillbook menu; for sample mockup, see http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=34882&Number=494624#Post494624

8) Character creation enhancements
Add a true "classless" option (with no pre-assigned attributes/abilities/talents/skills, and with the option to name the class); allow editing of starting equipment

+1 to "camera zoom out height increase
also I am really bothered by the automatic movement/jumps of the camera while in combat.

Many good suggestions in here. Lets keep it up. That way Larian has one big address to look at
Maybe someone could start to collect/summarize all the (valid) suggestions

I faced an annoying problem recently and I was wondering if something could be done about it.
I was walking around a town, selling my stuff, talking to people, etc.
And then I missclick on an item in front of me and it gives me the status of "stealer" and the guys around me started to attack me. I didn't want to start a fight with the whole town and it screwed the way I played for 15 hours of game time just because I clicked 3 pixels on the left - instead of moving. Reloading was not an option as I "forgot" to quick save for 30 min...

Perhaps:

1- Force to press CTRL on keyboard when you are about to take an item that is red. Similar to doors where you Attack them instead of trying to Open them. I really like this option.
2- or add an option that we can turn on/off where a popup would appear asking you: "Are you sure to steal etc."
3- Don't do anything when you are Sneaking, because when you sneak well... that is the whole purpose and you must face the consequences of your choices.


I know that recently Larian studios have been doing fix patch which is totally normal, but I can't wait to see how they will support improvment to their games!!

We all agree the have to fix the UI that is awfull (toolbar, inventory etc...)

I would'nt say better but the user interface could, indeed, be largely improved.

Reading the dialogues in the combat log is impossible (texts too tiny and too much info), the arrows in the hobar are too tiny and some items are represented by a strange icon in the inventory (a belt for an armor ?).

And I think we are all waiting for more portraits. :p

Firstly just a copy-paste from another thread...

When I select a skill to use and have to select the target, let me use F1-F4 to target my party members. That's the first thing I tried, intuitively, but the only result is changing the active character.

Give me the option to pay for items with gold or items from SEVERAL CHARACTERS. Right now when I try to do this, the game mockingly asks me if I want to really change the characters and reset the trade. No I don't! I want to add stuff to the trade from the other characters to make the experience more pleasant for myself.

And why the love for having to hold down the mouse button while doing anything? Click-and-hold to move stuff to my bag, click-and-hold to move, click-and-hold to craft. I mean, left-clicking items in the inventory DOES NOTHING, so there's no reason not to initiate dragging by left-clicking, and initiate dropping by left-clicking. You could even have both. (As has been requested before.)

There's a context menu to move items to other characters. Add an option to this context menu to move stuff to my open bags. Then highlight the open bag while I hover over the option so I know where it's going.

Then give the ability to select multiple items, so I can just send all those 20 items to the bag in one go instead of having to do the whole thing 20 times.

And about the map as well... While in main game screen, WASD moves the camera around. While the map is open, WASD does nothing. How about making WASD move the map around? Instead of having to click-and-hold here as well. And when I click on the map, I want my characters to move to that spot.



Esc should not close the inventory before closing the windows opened from within the inventory. If I open a book from the inventory and hit Esc, my inventory is closed but the book stays open.

Using bags is just a total drag. I open a bag. It opens on top of my inventory. I start to drag an item to the bag, the inventory becomes the active window and blocks my bag. I have to move either the bag or the inventory out of the way to get something into the bag. And the next time I open the bag, the same deal. If you're really gonna make me do this, at least open the bag somewhere else. Same with other characters' inventories; if there's room on the screen, open them somewhere else so I don't always have to manually move them around. I cannot open my bag in the trade window. So I organise nice and tidy, and when it comes the time to sell, I have to do the whole reverse drag business to get it sold. When I use bags, I don't think "awesome, now my scrolls and stuff aren't littering the inventory", I only think "is this really worth all the trouble I'm gonna have..."

joining this thread

1- Hitting F1,2,3,4, or clicking on a portrait, should switch to that person's inventory, NOT bring up a new one

2- More sorting options. It's great that I can select between weapons and armor but why stop there. Why not have a "resource tab" that includes skillbooks, scrolls, and arrows; furthermore, why not have a "quest" tab for quest related items, notes, books.
This will make sorting items into the backpack much less tedious

3- A truenpause button would be great, especially if you have pet pal and can't target a creature or if you want to plan out your tactics before battle

4- Some journal entries need more clarification, especially when the quest has been more or less "done" and you just need to find where the thankful npcs are (e.g. the arhu robot quest)

5-a faster running speed while in safe zones would be nice. getting around town can be a chore

6-it would be cool if when a party member detects a trap the whole party stops moving. it makes sense for them to do so and would make you appreciate the skill much more

7- there needs to be a way to make the whole party go in stealth mode

As you can see, my biggest concern is the inventory, the rest are little tweaks that would make the game much more enjoyable

Yeah, we need to keep hope alive that Larian will incorporate at least some of these UI requests in future patches. I've seen nothing from them on this officially, but I know I'm far from the only player who's been spamming these forums with many of these same requests for the past few months. Please?

Of what I understand they do not plan to add features and improvment. They will fix some bugs and then work on something else to add content on the game if selling continue to go well. In the PCGamer interview nowhere they mentionnend interface improvment. Some stuff could be done to make this game a perfect gem but oh well., the game works.

Biggest problem with this game right night IMO: skills are not shared across the party.

Skills like loremaster, crafting, bartering etc. should always be based on the best in the party.

The way things are now, it's often frustrating.. IE, I want to repair something, I have to transfer items from the character with the damaged goods to the repair person, then back and re-equip. Why not just recognize that this would be possible and let it happen without transferring items?

One frustrating case of this is in combat. If someone has loremaster, I only get to see the stats on the enemy when it's their turn. Why not just let everyone see the stats, ie, base that skill check on the best in the group.

You don't want to do this everywhere, but in places where you could effect the same thing by transferring items to the right character then back, you're really just optimizing the UI, and it would be a huge help!

For repair, just use the repair tool from their inventory, and it uses their stats even if you repair an item of anothr person.