Divinity: Original Sin - Patch 1.0.72 Released

[Couchpotato]

Larian Studios has released a massive patch on Steam for Divinity: Original Sin. The biggest addition is the new AI Personalities they promised to add later.

Patch V1.0.72 - Introducing AI Personalities


Hello everybody!

We just released the first official patch for Divinity:Original Sin which introduces the concept of AI personalities.

During character creation, you can now select a specific personality for your characters. When a personality is active the AI will automatically make dialogue choices (based on its personality) for the avatar that isn't selected.

In addition to this, we've made a lot of improvements as well as bug fixes and balancing changes. You do not need to start a completely new game for these changes to work. Of course, your savegames will keep on working.

You'll also notice that you can now publish to Steam Workshop using the Divinity Engine Toolkit.

The full change list is too large to post as an announcement, but you can check it out on our forums.

Please make sure that you verify the integrity of your game cache after patching. To do so, right click on Divinity:Original Sin in your game library, select properties, then select local files and finally click on "verify integrity of game cache"

Have fun!

More information.

 

[Theartofvincent]

So much quality support so quickly, I know some people were waiting for these A.I. personalities. Nice to see the most entertaining RPG I've played in years being so well maintained, can't speak enough about it. Read this morning IGN gave it a 9.0

 

[DarNoor]

I'm so glad this game is doing so well both critically and financially. I hope it inspires them to make other games like this.

 

[Ovenall]

I hope this helps to steer RPG makers away from gritty "realism" and boring, ponderous writing.

 

[zahratustra]

Well, I like gritty "realism" so why would you want to deny me my pleasures?

 

[coboney]

I think its less to do with the 'gritty realism' and the fact that mot games seem to feel the need to go that way with an action heavy, twitching live combat approach. I'm hopeful divinity's more open, fun world with interactivity and systems based without corridor shooters and action based combat.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Well, I like gritty "realism" so why would you want to deny me my pleasures?

Because there's 300 % of that right now in the market trying to please gamers with your taste.

 

[Sacred_Path]

Well, I like gritty "realism" so why would you want to deny me my pleasures?

because fantasy.

 

[Ovenall]

I put realism in quotes because none of this stuff is even remotely realistic. One average sword wound would kill any human being without immediate, modern medical help. It's just so ridiculous that these games want to pretend to be real.

 

[zahratustra]

because fantasy.

And fantasy and gritty are mutually exclusive? Look at Witcher games! That's what I call "gritty".
Just what exactly you guys are hankering for? Are you talking about the story, the writing, the graphics or all of them?

I put realism in quotes because none of this stuff is even remotely realistic. One average sword wound would kill any human being without immediate, modern medical help. It's just so ridiculous that these games want to pretend to be real.

Not real, just closer to the reality. You prefer your heroes to be handsome and pure? Choices reduced again to good or evil only? Clean and contented peasants?

 

[HiddenX]

New reviews:

I can't understand Norwegian, but 6/6
http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/spill/Moderne-rollespillklassiker-7637052.html

IGN 9/10

 

[HiddenX]

Game of the year?

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/5402/G.../2014/07/16/Is-dit-de-game-van-het-jaar.dhtml

Google translation:
- Sold more than a quarter of a million (250000) units.
- Sales curve is still rising because of word of mouth
- Production budget was 3 million euros -> a third of which was made up by crowdsourcing
- They broke even
- Industry has noticed the game's success
- Swen has had offers for Larian
- They don't know yet what they are going to do yet for their next project, holiday comes first

 

[Ovenall]

Not real, just closer to the reality. You prefer your heroes to be handsome and pure? Choices reduced again to good or evil only? Clean and contented peasants?

No not necessarily. I guess I'm sick of the racism trope, rape, and gritty violence that's dominated the fantasy world for the last decade or so. George R R Martin was onto something fresh with ASoIaF, but that was twenty years ago. Seems like everyone's been trying to copy that style.

It's a matter of taste, but as a 43 year old man I have a hard time thinking about RPGs as real, and would rather return to the high fantasy of D&D Gary Gygax style.

 

[azarhal]

Game of the year?

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/5402/G.../2014/07/16/Is-dit-de-game-van-het-jaar.dhtml

Google translation:
- Sold more than a quarter of a million (250000) units.
- Sales curve is still rising because of word of mouth
- Production budget was 3 million euros -> a third of which was made up by crowdsourcing
- They broke even
- Industry has noticed the game's success
- Swen has had offers for Larian
- They don't know yet what they are going to do yet for their next project, holiday comes first

The bold parts are the most important I think. Go get some vacations!

Also, the industry noticing could be very good or really really bad. Depending how it goes.

 

[joxer]

- Swen has had offers for Larian

Sell to anyone just not to EA please. Pretty please.

 

[TomRon]

Sell to anyone just not to EA please. Pretty please.

I'd rather see they don't sell at all actually...

 

[Arhu]

- They don't know yet what they are going to do yet for their next project, holiday comes first

Hoping for an expansion that includes day/night cycle and a time system.

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but German games mag Gamestar gave the game a 87 and a gold award. "Huge, old-school, fantastic".

 

[Morrandir]

1.0.74 is now available on GOG.

 

[Bundyo]

I have 1.0.78

 

[HiddenX]

A Long Overdue Feather in the Cap for Larian

I like my coffee. And having a steaming cuppa with a big dosa for breakfast used to be a Sunday staple. However, ever since the fancy coffee franchises took over, it’s been a brave new world for me as far as caffeine intake is concerned. The simple bean of my past has been pushed to the sidelines and now, I’m mostly relegated to making my brew at home.

That must be a bit like how role playing game(RPG) players feel in modern times. To justify that comparison, I have to mention that RPGs have a strong lineage in gaming, going back to the 70s with pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons games played with other folk around a table. Tabletop games eventually arrived on the PC as well – Ultima, Wizardry and Rogue were some of the early CRPGs, and their contributions to the field are still acknowledged.

After those early classics, the mid 90s was a golden era for the genre when Interplay, Black Isle, and Bioware were knocking it out of the park with crackers like Baldur’s Gate, Fallout, Planescape: Torment and other memorable isometric RPGs. However, as technology progressed and the move to 3D became a popular move for most games and developers, the RPG lost its way a little. 3D RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic, despite featuring some impressive narrative chops, never felt tight from a gameplay point of view. Fast forward to present times and the RPG genre is close to being meaningless in definition, effectively covering shooters like Mass Effect, and action hack and slashers like Diablo.

Not everyone is happy about this all-inclusiveness, obviously. Some people just want their old RPGs back, just the way their mamas used to make them. And it turns out that the market is large enough for some mid-level developers to provide catering. Alongside the bigwig publishers plying their trade during the turn of the millenium, a small Belgian outfit called Larian Studios was coming out with some well regarded titles as well, most notably Divine Divinity and its sequel, Beyond Divinity. While they may not have the polish or production of a regular Infinity engine game, they were seen as solid RPG games with a wicked streak of humour.

Larian also shifted to 3D games to try keep up with the curve, but in this age of indies, they’ve thankfully decided to go back to what they do best. Divinity: Original Sin is their latest offering, a turn-based RPG where choice is the king. After making a playable version of the game, Larian pitched the project on Kickstarter in early 2013, saying that funds collected would be used to expand the scope of the game world, as well as the systems within. Evidently, backers liked what they saw and heard, as the $1 million they collected will testify. And now, after a few delays, the latest Divinity adventure is upon us.

To their credit, they’ve delivered on their promises. Original Sin plays out like an old school adventure game, rarely funnelling you into a linear path and always giving many options to accomplish your goals. Several avenues are dependent on your skills and traits, to the point where if you don’t have the relevant skill, you may not know that the option exists. Often, success comes down to taking a lucky guess at a tactic and finding that it works, which is an infinitely more rewarding experience than choosing between two or three preset options.

The turn-based combat is also a treat, allowing you to combine spells and attacks with the environment to devastating effect. Freezing the spilt blood of an enemy and causing them to slip and fall on their backsides lends new meaning to the term ‘sangfroid’.

While the two member protagonist team may not be the largest around, their dynamic is another interesting mechanic in the game, the various choices and conversations affecting the relationship of the pair. Ultimately, it’s a long overdue feather in the cap for the classic RPG, and Larian has made a sinner out of me this time.