Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - General Wishlist

Uh.. Hi there.

Just writing down what would be cool, just in case. Starting with a classic wish of mine, which so far I have only seen done this way in one game.


Different fonts for special occasions

Case in point: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

They did a lot with different and color-coded fonts to highlight special dialog choices that were outside the usual path, like intimidation or seduction. I found it to be a very nice touch to have fonts convey a mood like that.

Examples for the skills Intimidation, Seduction and Persuation:

1. You will do as I say.
2. Pretty please, with sugar on top ...
3. Help me help you.
4. Would you do this for me?

These were skill based dialog choices, i.e. if your skill was too low you wouldn't even see the choice, and you could still fail. There were also sure-fire talents (read: spells) like Dementation or Domination, which would, when used during a conversation against you, turn all dialog options to a certain font/color/text.

(Dominate)
1. Yes, master.
2. Yes, master.
3. Yes, master.

I've only seen this once in Bloodlines, but it felt very natural. The game also featured different fonts associated with the various clans, but I guess that's irrelevant to Div:OS...

Anyway, there are many ways to play with typography in dialogues that might enhance the overall experience and make conversations more natural or simply more fun, which in view of Original Sin's theme -- co-op dialogues, finally! -- could be quite endearing, don't you think?

Other day I'd suggest/ask for a two versions of a battle system, tactical and real-time one (like in DA2), but in case with Divinity it wouldn't be a good idea, kind of ruins the consistency of the gameplay. Oh well.

We're still thinking about the decision making in dialogs and we're going to try different approaches, but this is indeed something we had in mind. Using the different primary stats to act as a bonus on the decision roll, and you choose which stat bonus by choosing the corresponding option (as you said, e.g. get a bonus from STR if you choose an intimidating option).

Hello Arhu,

I'm happy to see you take interest in one of our games again One day you'll need to tell me all that happened after last I saw you @ Larian !

Looks like I'm back aswell

Seriously, I didn't believe it the first time I read about it. After watching the teaser trailer, well, I still can't believe it :p

Glad to see Larian is back on route again!

Really liking what I've seen so far: interactivity, environment interactions, spell+reactions, turn base combat and of course the level editor / community modding support. Oh, and it's not called Divine Divinity... just

Hello. I'm very excited about Divinity:OS. I'm an old-timer who grew up with Ultima and Wizardry. Got my first IBM PC 8088 back in the prehistoric era. I've been following the Divinity:OS news and very happy to hear that U7 is being used as 'spiritual guidance' as U7 happens to be my favorite game of all time. With that said, here's my 'wish list' for Divinity:OS:

Object Interaction:
Ever since U7 I've been waiting for a RPG to include this as one of the main features although I did get a brief taste of it again with 2002's realease of Arx Fatalis as well as brief glimpses of object interaction found in Gothic's 1 & 2. And of course there was some object interaction to be found in Divine Divinity as well.

This time around I'm hoping that object interaction can be taken to 'the next level.' I'm hoping for very creative ways to combine objects that not only create different objects but perhaps impact the game world itself - perhaps by revealing secrets of one kind or another, removing barriers, or creating some other kind of special and unique event.

World Simulation:
Given the technology of the time, U7 really was a 'world simulator' in a class of its own and truly met the standard of Origin System's - then motto of 'We Create Worlds.' Some features of U7's world simulation included:

Day/Night Cycle with Sun and Moon Rise/Set
Different Phases of the moon
Sunshine, Rain, Lightning, & Thunder
Animals and other non-aggressive beasts
NPC Schedules
Roaming NPCs
*Moveable Objects
Doors & Windows that can open and close
Light sources that can be turned on and off
Reagents that could be harvested (these days its called alchemy ingredients).
Secret and hard-to-get-to geographic areas

*Of particular note is Moveable Objects. I loved how in Divine Divinity you could move some barrels and crates and find a trap door. Or move some debris and find a key. That kind of thing is very FUN and I hope there will be some experiences like this in Divinity:OS. But what else can be done to take this idea to the next level? What other reasons could there be for a player to move an object? I think with a bit of brainstorming there could be quite a few creative reasons to move things around without a reward of finding a secret location or item. Perhaps to trigger some kind of world event, quest, or just something else that is different or otherwise useful to the player.

These are just some of the things I can remember off the top of my head. I hope that Divinity:OS will expand even further on the whole concept of 'world simulation' as it is sorely lacking in modern day RPGs and nobody has knocked U7 off its pedestal in terms of its world simulation featureset since it was released back in 1992.

Equipment:
I really enjoyed Divine Divinity. It had a 'U7' vibe to it with a dash of Diablo 2 and good smatterings of Baldur's Gate-quality storytelling. In the area of equipment, while I enjoyed the variety of equipment that could be found or bought, with Divinity:OS I'm hoping there will be an even greater variety. In addition, I'm hoping for hand-placed equipment that can be found by the player who carefully searches out remote and otherwise hard to find places.

The World Is An NPC:
Another aspect of U7 and Ultima lore in general that made it such a great game is the lore ascribed to different geographic locations. For example, each dungeon in the Ultima universe had its own, unique name as well as its own characteristics and 'personality.' While dungeon crawling in Divinity:DKS was satisfying, I felt the lore for the dungeons was weak and dungeons really didn't even have names let alone a personality you could learn about before even finding the dungeon in-game. I remember the dread of actually finding the dungeon Hythloth - dread because of how the dungeon had been been built up in my mind from all the lore that came before discovering the dungeon. I'm hoping that geographic locations in Divinity:OS will be named and given character and that lore will be available to the player to learn a bit about these locations before they ever reach them.[/b]

Books:
I really like books in RPGs. They can add quite a lot to the game in terms of lore. I also enjoy it when books provide perks to your character (an attribute or skill increase for example) or even initiate quests. That kind of thing really creates a strong incentive for players to treat the entire game as a treasure hunt in order to find as many books as possible. However, refrain from including information in books that do not coincide with the game. For example, books in Divinity:DKS sometimes referenced night time when there was no actual night time in that game. They also sometimes mentioned how people fell to their deaths when there is was no fall damage in that game - stuff like that.

Music:
Music in RPGs can really alter one's perception of the game for better or worse. Divine Divinity had some of the best RPG music since U7. I absolutely loved the tavern music in that game. I hope Divinity:OS will include music that will add magic to the game.

Well, that is quite a bit so I'll take a breath for a moment.

That will really add to the Fallout similarities. That's a great idea, to give multiple possible responses which would get benefits from different stats, instead of basing everything on Charisma.



DebateMe - Divinity 2 didn't say this outright, but I assumed that Dragon Slayers learned some innate magic that prevented them from falling to their deaths - a really practical thing for fighting a flying enemy, I imagine.

I'm a little confused by the equipment screen in one of the screenshots, it looks like there are two chest pieces, but no pants piece. Is one of those chest pieces actually shoulder pauldrons?

Here's a wish: Let us read books without having to add them to our inventory, that was a bit annoying in Divinity 2.

Also, please tell me that the player can use the FLAMETHROWER that one of the skeletons is using in the concept art.

I went through all he screenshots - can't find it.

Actually, you are correct. It's been a while since I played Divinity 2:DKS and my memory is not as clear as I thought. There were no books that stated or implied falling damage or death due to falling.

Where I became confused on this is that in at least one dungeon (I believe more than one dungon, but at least one) in DKS, there is an area where you must make a verticle ascent using platforms and teleporters.

If you make an error, you end up on the ground floor and have to start over. But in these locations you see the bodies of dead people who, I guess, previously tried to make the ascent, but fell to their deaths.

This is a similar inconsistency to mentioning night time in books.

But I guess if Dragon Knights have powers to not fall from death, that perhaps doesn't extend to just any NPC which might explain why there were dead people in those areas.

The bodies in that room in Maxos temple were Black Ring members and dragon slayers (as well as one priest). The dragon slayers presumably should have been able to handle the fall, but the Black Ring may better explain their deaths. Besides, even if they tried the platforms, I'm not sure they could make it very high with the lesser jump you have before you meet Talana (and essentially become a dragon knight initiate).

I've read that the game will have support for modding and was very happy to see that.
However the explanation continued with: "it will be very easy and no programming is required".
Will there be also support for programmers to change more fundamental things on the game?
(as featured in Warband - Mount & Blade for example).

That means, being able to create quests, spawn random monsters, make levels (or even generate random levels), change/add 3D models. Since it seems the more freedom you give the users in modding, the longer the game stays active.

Here is something I always wanted with a modern turn based game and to make it feel fresh.

You play turn but record the entire game. In full and last combat sequence. Works better if the game is a 3d world. So play the game out in turn based. After a battle have an option to watch it as a movie in real-time, if 3d make it cinematic with various camera angles. At the end of the game you can then playback the entire game, cutting out the unneeded stuff, axe the dialog decision making, just show what the player(s) choose. Any type of inventory management is cut. Cut out all the fat. Just sit back and watch it as a movie, each play-through would be different, perhaps even an option to burn it to the DVD format so you can watch it on your TV.

I don't know about random level generation or opponent spawning, but you should certainly be able to create quests and levels. There aren't any details yet on how fundamental you can get with mods, but it seems the intent is to allow fairly elaborate construction.

From the RPGWatch article (from immediately before the part you quoted)

In the video on the D:OS site, Swen said

In the blog post Divinity – Original Sin revealed ! and one of its comments


Welcome to the forum.

Of course there is night time in Divinity 2. What a silly idea that there isn't.

There just isn't a day-night cycle, so it all seems to take place on one day. But you can see night time at least twice: After you meet Talana, you pass out and Damian wakes you up at night, and later on, it's night in Broken Valley when Damian is razing it to the ground.




This one.

http://www.jeuxvideo.com/screenshots/images/00045/00045054_000.htm

There are a LOT of screenshots on that site, including some really neat concept art, and shots of the editor in action.

I'm sorry, but I still not seeing an inventor/equipment window on the screenshot you linked.

Here is the direct link: http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/pc/n/o/nouveau-divinity-pc-1338210648-001.jpg

Sorry. That was the base page. Here it is.

http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/pc/n/o/nouveau-divinity-pc-1338210648-004.jpg

I see now. Hm, I think I know what it is, but I lack the lexicon to explain it. The first slot is basic armor place, the second is, ugh, that thing, the addition to plate. Like roman's full armor set - plate, armor skilt/kilt and the leggings. No actual trousers (but it has a cloak).

Great to hear it! I guessed as much from the video. Some Infinity-Engine games had that as well, like Planescape: Torment. But they only put a keyword like (intimidate) or (persuade) in front of the player's extra dialog options, which was slightly boring to look at. And that's why it's actually the different fonts and colors that intrigued me so in Bloodlines.

Some JRPGs or Anime fansubs go even further with typography: instead of simple white subtitles you'd get differently colored ones associated with different main speakers (protagonists), or subtitles from off-screen speakers would have another color or a different position. Typesetting can be an art in itself, if used wisely.


Heh, sure. Guess I simply have been out of the loop for a long while.


That does sound sort of cool. An instant replay feature. You could script scenes with the editor and later record in-game movies. *ponders*

1) Darker & more realistic graphics and grimmier atmosphere

From comments in the blog post Divinity – Original Sin revealed !



2) Being able to switch between real time and turn based combat

Those are fundamentally different designs...


3) At least 4 class trees to chose from [first Divinity lacked a bit in this department]:

Four of the six skill trees are magic (Earth, Wind, Fire and Water). Both characters can be developed as you wish (thieving skills have not been mentioned, but I'd guess will be available; warrior/paladin skills are pretty much guaranteed).


4) Kiril Pokrovsky's score

Of course.


5) Randomized loot system

Also a given.