Larian Studios Announces Divinity: Original Sin
I’d normally reserve updates from Larian Studios for Wednesdays (since I’m going to move the Larian Studios summary article to fill the gap left by the demise of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games), but this is a special exception. The Belgian game developers announced the next entry in their Divinity series today: the Ultima 7-inspired Divinity: Original Sin.
Now, the preview article is in French, but Sergorn Dragon was happy to provide a translation of some key points:
Almost everything can be picked up, assembed, worn, dropped… You can put a bucket on your head to use as a helmet, take a broomstick to hit your ennemies, and so on. If you pick a poisonous mushroom you can combine it with your sword to poison the blade. Alchemy, cooking… The system is rich et leave a lot of room for experimenting. Such combining plays a great role in magic as well, based on the elements. Make it rain on enemies then cast a cold spell and they are frozen! A lighting well placed in a puddle of water with electrocute all the ennemie in contact with the water.
…
The quest presented offered multiple branching with at least five or six solutions, far from the black & white resolution of many RPGs. In addition choices made by the players have real consequences, even if their result is far more immediately apparent than in The Witcher. Good or bad choices will affect your reputation which also influence how NPCs reacts to you. For insance a merchant could offer you better deals, if your notoriety has reached his ears.
…
After the prologue, you can explore the world as you wish. There is no level scaling for the ennemis, so you’ll have to be careful about how you go…
…
[The Editor] allows to create environments using the assets from the game or important your own creations. More improtantly, it allows you to conceive quests through a simple scripting language which is both powerful and intuitive. Developped internally since the frst episode of the series, this language offers a “humane” syntax making it very easy to use in spite of its numerous possibilities. Enough to create completly new stores, that you’ll be able to give or sell to other plaeyrs thanks the Steamworks integration.
Sergorn also couldn’t resist firing off a tweet to Swen Vincke, the founder of Larian Studios. Amusingly, he got a reply back!
@UltimaReturn That’s definitely the intention
— Swen Vincke (@LarAtLarian) May 28, 2012
So let’s review: a heavily interactive world in which nearly everything that isn’t tied down can be used in some way? Branching storyline? Open world and unrestricted exploration after a short prologue? And an advanced game editor that you’ll be able to both sell and offer for free via Steamworks? And this all “inspired by Ultima 7“?
This is one to watch, Dragons and Dragonettes.
Definitely looks promising. Here’s hoping they can deliver!
The game editor sounds like it’s going to be a basic free edition and with the more advanced features only available for money. Hmmm. Don’t like that idea.
Do you have a source for this ?
There is no mention either at JV.com or RPGWatch’s previews about the editor needing one to pay for more features.
That’s just crazy.
Divinity 2 was a big 3rd PC action RPG, which was actually well received on all platforms and sold very well.
So you’d expect them to do an actual sequel following and improving upon the same formula.
Except they don’t and are a doing a big old school isometric RPG and with turn based combat.
I mean what the eck?
This si cool news, I just expect they manage to deliver on the UVII-vibe and that it also comes with NCP Schedules and Day/Night cycles and all.
Perhaps it’s time I finally get to play these Divinity games.
They’re self publishing now. Lower budgets. There will be a big AAA 3rd person game at some point, no doubt.
Hmm… I guess it will probably do well. It sounds cool, but the features they’re mentioning tend to lean towards a more generic game (eg, Skyrim), rather than one with unique NPCs and such (eg, Ultima VII). That might just be me being pessimistic though.
“The quest presented offered multiple branching with at least five or six solutions, far from the black & white resolution of many RPGs.”
That always scares me. Ultima was able to be Ultima because you were the good guy. This quote mightn’t mean you can be good/bad/apathetic (maybe you can just be good in 6 different ways), but it seems that way. It’s always harder to make really good relationships and story when the player can do anything. In GTA you have to murder people. In Quest for Glory, even if you were a thief, you used your skills to help people. Even in Mass Effect, Renegade or Paragon you’re still doing it to fight the Reapers. Am I the only one that still wants to play games where you have to follow an overall path (even if you take slightly different routes to get there).
I know what you mean. Like in Neverwinter Nights; you could help people or demand their money. They might as well have not even had faces the characters were only there to populate the town. Or so it felt.
I agree though, the Ultima series was amazing for making each NPC distinct. Who cares if you blow up a collected group of npcs at the Blue Boar, unless you know what the characters mean to the town and to your overall quest/storyline. I think it had to do with the portraits that gave them their persona. Something that the best 3d artists can’t seem to duplicate for me. Such as in Ultima 6, you had the teenage bartender. She had a plater over her head with water in the process of spilling over on top of that. Text could describe that in a scene, text could say, “You see a rushed waitress frantically handing out orders.” 3d could turn that into a cutscene. Or even show it visually with a waitress running around.
I don’t think any of those techniques are as powerful as that still frame portrait. It was just an easily identifiable symbol, on a very nonessential npc, that created an atmosphere and a feeling for the character and establishment, that wasn’t overtly stated.
Also there’s that cure theory. If you get a robot, or videogame character too close to human, but not exact, the audience is repulsed by it. Perhaps there’s still something to be said for cartoony charicatures.
Like you say, some games get it right others don’t. I guess choice is a big deal in today’s rpgs. I don’t know why, I don’t think I ever stopped playing an rpg because I felt too stuck in a well done storyline. Although I’ve stopped playing many because I felt like I had too many options(NVN for one, Elder Scrolls for two). I think Fallout New Vegas used multiple endings masterfully. Dozens of different combinations of endings for each town, faction, group member, and major characters. The hippy doctor had about 10 endings alone.
Oh good, I’ve missed running around towns with a rolling pin.
This game looks straight up amazing. I thought it was a dream when I heard about the Wasteland 2 game. Now an Ultima 7 inspired RPG with an amazing combat system.
They say want to use a hexagonal Fallout 1-2 style turnbase combat system. Ultima 7 style world+Old Fallout combat+Top Down Iso perspective? Is this for real? This is going very high on the list of games to play… I might even break out that old Divinity game from the box that I never played.
With all that being said. I shouldn’t say old Fallout combat. Only time will tell if there’s area sensitive damage. I’m still a firm believer that the core gameeplay mechanic that made the hexagonal turnbased style so appealing was the groin shot. I don’t think the article was being fair when it says it’s a Fallout style combat system when it doesn’t specify the choices for your area sensitive damage. Quite frankly I’m surprised there hasn’t been more emphasis on groin-centric combat since Fallout Tactics.
Could you imagine, a game where you had a near endless choice of weapons to wield. With them, they would come to know you as the valiant warrior The Groin Destroyer.
I like the fact that, at least based on the screenshot, it would appear that the game will feature interiors and exteriors on one continuous map.
I like that.
They’re effectively selling the game technology here, not just the game itself. How that’s going to work is going to be interesting to find out.
I’m open to being sold to.
Same here. I do have to wonder how the selling your own stuff bit is going to work though. Could be a legal nightmare.