RPGWatch Feature - Divinity: Original Sin Preview

Originally Posted by Maylander
Someone wake me up when the TB frenzy has ended and we get some more oldschool, party based RTwP games.

Try Drakensang 2 if you haven't already. (Says a biased fanboy .)

This is the best gaming news I've heard this year, thanks Myrthos!
I love the isometric style of DivDiv and love turn based combat so what a surprise to see both featured plus so much more.

Larian Studios have now become what BioWare used to be for me when getting excited about their new projects.

What does
"Multiplayer is enabled through Steamworks integration when playing online - when you play in multiplayer mode locally Steamworks integrations is not required."

mean? Specifically 'multiplayer mode locally'? Is this split screen? Two controls at one screen? Or is this LAN?

If LAN, are you saying we only need one copy of the game due to lack of steamworks? Will the game be licensed for more than one computer?

I see huge potential if the story is designed for two-player co-op

Great preview, thanks!
I´m sooo looking forward to this.
Pretty much everything about this sounds really promising.

In this cooperative multiplayer mode, a maximum of 4 players can play, but there are only two lead characters - two more players can play using mercenaries that are be hired in the game. However, the game can also be played single-player, where the player controls the whole party.

Enemies are not automatically leveled to your level, but combat will be scaled depending on how many players are participating in the game as fights would otherwise become too easy or too hard.

Considering the first quote, I wonder how exactly the co-op translates into SP in the case of the second one.
Assuming that hiring and controlling mercenaries is possible in SP as well, is the combat difficulty scaled per party size there too? Scaling the combat in co-op makes sense since this way the combat should provide the same level of involvement regardless of number of participants, but doing so in SP seems weird.
For SP, I´d prefer the difficulty to be always the same and balancing measures to be implemented on the mercenaries´ side (they make combat easier, but leech resources, don´t follow the two main protagonists everywhere, and so on).

One other question which comes to mind in regards to co-op - SP translation is how the dialogues work. Since there seem to be some dialogue stat checks involved (or quest solutions where one character does the talking while the other one sneaks around), one possible system might be letting player pick a main protagonist in the beginning for the sake of controlling responses in party banters, but leaving player control possible over both in the case of pc - npc interactions (like letting players pick the one who´ll do the talking in the beginning of conversations). Or does player always control the one picked in the beginning, while the other one is always computer controlled (or silent in pc-npc interactions)? Or?

Originally Posted by TheMadGamer
Gothics 1 & 2 are a little more subtle.

I´m quite sure that character daily routines and jobs were inspired by Ultima and these elements definitely haven´t come off as subtle to me .
Also, smithing.

Blog entry : http://www.lar.net/2012/05/29/divini…-sin-revealed/

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Blog entry : http://www.lar.net/2012/05/29/divini…-sin-revealed/

There's an official website for the game with a video!

Also, RPGWatch made the top of the list.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Blog entry : http://www.lar.net/2012/05/29/divini…-sin-revealed/

Thank you, really enjoyed the video.

Originally Posted by DeepO
I´m quite sure that character daily routines and jobs were inspired by Ultima and these elements definitely haven´t come off as subtle to me .
Also, smithing.

Yes I agree! I lack an omnipresent mind that can recall all details and facts at any moment in time. But you are right!

Originally Posted by Pessimeister
In my opinion, the simulated virtual world interactivity in U7 has never really been bettered in a modern cRPG. Whilst arguably for me, Divine Divinity showed much more of a Diablo 2 influence, (particularly in the combat mechanics) the game world and item interactivity, humour and such showed that there was much more to the game than the combat.

I agree with that. Back in 2004 I wrote a small player review of DD at GameSpot that compared the game to U7, Diablo 2, and Baldur's Gate.

I really like Larian and I love TB combat so I am liking this announcement. But, I am not quite as excited as many here.

I do not like the art style much at all. Way too cartoony and does not give me the right vibe. For some games (like King's Bounty) cartoony works, but I wish they had went a different direction art wise here.

Second, I am only interested in the single player. I'll have to wait and see how much the focus on multi-player and co-op affects the gameplay in the single player mode.

Color me cautiously optimistic.

I think the visuals and animations look great. The monster design is a bit strange though imo, at least what I've seen so far. It's definitely not a high-fantasy style like Divine Divinity. Not sure how I feel about that…

That video was great, the seamless transfer into turn-based combat looked great, as well as the team mechanics they are building. Super excited now, and might buy Dragon Commander to help finance this.

This game looks absolutely beautiful from all possible standpoints, I love the setup, and their video on divinity site is incredibly charming. I like these belgian chaps.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Blog entry : http://www.lar.net/2012/05/29/divini…-sin-revealed/

Thanks for the link! That Youtube video of the game was amazing!

WOOOOT!

Awesome, awesome news! While I'm no big fan of Larian's previous output, the addition of turn-based combat is truly a game changer in this regard. Can't wait!

Well, I HOPE the combat and inventory management is not dreadful like U7.

The only thing I need now is a girlfriend to play this game with.

Wow. Jazzed about this. Divinity was a great game compared to most RPGs these days.

When I saw the headline stating a new Divinity game was coming out, I thought to myself "nice!"

Then I saw turn-based with control of a party, now I'm extremely excited. I love a good turn-based RPG, there are so few of them these days. The hardest part will be waiting a whole year. I'll have to make sure to buy right away when released (instead of waiting for price drops like I normally do) to offset the turn based nay-sayers and show that there is an audience for this type of game.

Wow, if they can pull it off this will be a great multiplayer game!