Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General I'm concerned about the direction of D:OS 2

Greetings, Sourcerers and Source Hunters!

Please excuse my terrible english and listen to my critic about what we can already see from Divinity Original Sin 2. Watching the first videos of the PvP and taking a look at the given Information; D:OS 2 seems to change a lot of things from the original game. Changes are good and, since D:OS wasn't perfect, absolutely needed.

However, I don't like certain stylistic choices that are being taken. Like the new artstyle and the announced "more mature", mature as in grimderp, story. A lot of the charme of the original game came from its cozy fairy-tail graphic and feeling. D:OS felt comfy, humorous and still had the few serious moments that wonderfully changed the tone of the narrative when needed. Slowly exploring a small beautiful beach fighting some orks and visiting a sunny mediterranean city? That felt great! Fighting mechanical roosters with bombs on their backs? Fun!

You know what isn't fun? What's more depressing and absolutely not comfy? Mud colors, low saturation and blueish tint. Fighting muh dark and edgy characters and monsters. Divinity was a happy game with a positive overall feeling to it. Please don't change that.

Hopefully you guys will release some more information about the story soon. I really don't want to see the humour and happy things gone.

Make me a happy fan, Larian.

Already discussed: for one person that likes cartoon-ish and whatnot, more than double like the more mature style, together with the complete relinquishment of cartoon art style. Me being one of them, found the silliness and previous style major put-offs.

I need proof on that.

It's still easy to adress the mudcolors and desaturated picture: Add a Contrast/Brightness/Saturation Slider. Other game do that too. Also I wouldn't call it 'mature' just grim and dirty.

Check one of the Sticky threads.

Please provide a link.

Not that I'm a fan of the shift in tone that I'll have to see for myself when pre-release versions become available, but I have a feeling that it's past the point where they would change the art style without a massive community backlash.

Also, do provide the link to the topic you're referring to, Ansem. I remember there being some discussions on the subject, but I can't find where at this time.

Bottom line is that you can't please everybody, and it comes down to what audience they're addressing most. If they stayed safe, they'd probably be left with just their core audience, while if they try some new approaches, they may risk losing a bit of their core audience, but stand to gain a new audience. And that is about where I stop my thoughts, as my "expertise" runs out.


Edit: Liar, that's not a sticky topic :p

More edit: That topic doesn't really prove the point about how many are on one side of the spectrum versus how many are on the other...
Now, if we had some statistics to work with, we could make more compelling arguments.

Don't know what you want me to see there and how it proves your point.

See this:




That's why a Saturation Slider would be perfect. It's rather easy to implement, they don't have to fight the "mature"(tm) community and everyone can customize the color palette to his liking. Just turning up the colors to something more happy without relying on injectors and mods would be great.




But doing a complete 180° turn is wrong too and feels like a backstab to your fans. Look at other games who sold out for new "audiences". C&C, ME, X, Sacred... Some of them more sucessful, others losing everything their franchise was loved for.

Slight changes are okay but completely throwing out a big part of the original game would be a little bit too much. I really hope they found a middle-way between edgy grimderp and happy athmosphere. The Witcher is an enjoyable example for that kind of a "mature"(tm) setting.

I still have seen, also over the internet, plenty of complaints with the cartoon style.

You're right, it was not a sticky topic. It was for me however, because I had been at EGX and even had a word with Swen!

Pretty much subjective perception without hard numbers. I saw a lot of people who prefer the lighthearted style of D:OS, what now?

I think it won't have macabre setting like Planescape Torment but it could have some like Pillars of Eternity or BG2 minding the witty humor and legacy of D:OS.

@Lyrhe , I've posted several months before a request for more darker but lush environments. Using volumetrics effects and lighting you could set the fantasy tone and sense of unordinary mysterious world. I believe Rivelon is imagined that way.
I think it will have unique art style and design.

For example, I would like some ancient ruins and underground cities would have this feel:

What's your opinion about this?

D:OS 2 is not going for mud colours and low saturation, and a more mature story doesn't require eliminating humour.
There will be updates about the game this month or next.

What a relief to hear I was already worried because of the Screenshots from the Arena PvP.

Because:


Looks pretty low saturated compared to:

Phew, that's a relief: I could do without "DOS2: Skyrim" with muted colours and a land full of surly people who never smiled.

And Larian without its sense of humour... well it is its trademark, and anyone can do humourless!

Exactly. Mature style but bright colours. Indeed, not like skyrim which had a streak of grey and brown.
Besides, I'd like more Larian humour in the way that they did with "Maxos!", rather than an encompassing silliness.

I would not have disliked a setting like Planescape Torment in terms of "grimdark", but it would probably not fit with DOS universe.

Some people wouldn't mind if it were as close to Diablo 2's act I & III aesthetic as would be seemly.

I know it is crazy... But I still can't really see a difference between the two styles. Sure one screen has blooming grass but then again not all the locations in DOS had blooming grass.

I honestly just thought they improved the character sprites (Which is MUCH appreciated over the ugly armors of the previous game)

The difference is in the colours. I had to look a little closer when I first compared the two, but it is noticeable. The D:OS2 colouration is a touch greyer. It stands out in the green and the brown.

Honestly, the more I compare the two, the more I feel my eyes starting to start to hurt while looking at the D:OS2 picture. Might be because I'm not fully awake.

The look of DoS2 is more realistic that DoS1 for sure.

Thank the Seven for that.