Pillars of eternity vs Divinity: Original sin, hint to developer for future cRPG?

[eissa]

so awhile ago i posted a thread of how worth pillars of eternity which made by our beloved obsidian (yay)

and after spend week of tampering and pondering...I LOVE IT

story is amazing though skill profession should be more..integrated and meaningful i think. but so far i could proper roleplay character (seriously, its the first that i play game that giving non-limiting pre designated backstory)

though i never playing divinity, i could say its awesome too consider how much cRPGers endorsed it. could you recommend it to me guys?

so aside, from what i've heard divinity seem more like how firaxis re-imagining xcom series. graphic were revolutionize from pre-rendered art style ? to thing that we see like in xcom 2 engine (i dont what its technical name). the gameplay were turn-based plus ap point like startegy-rpg. i cant say more since i never play it, but want to give it shot if could. cant say about the story and its consequence system either.

so what you guys prefer?



P.S its very late night in my place, maybe could do some editing to not make the thread a mess

 

[AskWazzup]

Have already put 30 hours in Divinity Original Sin and i think it's fantastic. I have much of the game ahead of me, but this could actually make my top 5 all time list if the rest of the game is as solid as the part i have played through now.

Firstly the combat is on point in this game, there are so many ways to fight your enemy with the elements having synergy with each other. Using skills feels good, they have different animations and hitting your enemy has a certain "umph" to it. There are many objects and traps that you can use to your advantage. One of my tactics is placing barrels of oil in a straight line near where the fighting will be, i then engage the enemy, use my warrior "battering-ram" skill to sprint through the barrels, thus breaking them and spilling the oil on the ground, and getting away from that area. The enemy tries to follow me, get's slowed down in the oil and then i set fire to the oil with my mage. I then summon a few mobs to block the passage and bombard the enemy with "boulder-dash" skill, which oils them more and keeps them burning even when the initial fire is out. Then i wait for the enemy to get close enough and crowded enough so that i could use the "battering-ram" skill to knock them out of their feet and then turn them on fire again with the "firefly" skill. And this is just one of the many possible combinations using just two skill trees! And thanks to the many different types of enemies, bosses and environments the combat never gets boring, plus it's really challenging even on normal level.

The other thing i like about it is that it does not take itself very seriously, i have never played an rpg this silly (in a really good way). Sneaking means you turn into a bush/rock with legs, your enemies always have something hilarious to say, you can meet a retired mage that is sunbathing in the beach and then fight him in his underwear and then calmly proceed to loot the chest, only to find out that the chest wants to fight you too! It just gives off this vibe of a fairy tale with plenty of adventures.

This game also has a very peculiar and interesting feature where your created characters (two of them) often talk and discuss with each other when they have to make some kind of a decision, where you can basically argue with yourself by picking an answer for each of the characters! Depending on what your characters agree on, you might choose different outcomes for the actions. I was very surprised when i first discovered this, but it helps with role playing your characters a lot.

Oh, the game also has a similar loot system to diablo games, which makes different playthrough's much more interesting, because you can get different loot.

There are many more points i could cover, but in general it has great combat, great loot, good, funny writing, interactivity with the world and puzzles. It might not absolutely excel in one area or another, but it's very rich and fleshed out overall, much more than the current competition. Where it might be lacking is in more dialogue choices and npc characters repeating the same lines over and over again. I'm really having a blast with this game and cannot believe that it gets so little recognition...

P.S. I will be very sad if they decide not to make a linux port for the second game...

 

[Mr Fish]

I found PoE way more fun and interesting than DOS.

Spoiler

DOS started out good as more of a detective angle in a fantasy setting but then it just had to be about "saving the world" and shit like that and it got so damn boring. It's also one of those kinds of cRPG's that are just designed to be cluttered with enemies to the point that none of it is making sense. Can't walk 10 meters without some enemy jumping down your throat and the combat became insufferable to me.

The story turned generic and the combat became overbearing. The crafting system felt just like all of them do, pointless and without structure. Loot 100 magic items and find that only 1 of them is kinda ok for a replacement for one of your characters. And the fucking arguing mechanic between the two protagonists can fuck right off.

Once I got to the land of the faeries and finished that part up I couldn't stand any more of it. The story had gotten so generic and boring, the arguing mechanic had gotten on my nerve to the point that I savescummed every time it happened, the looting had lost every bit of charm it could ever have, I didn't feel like I was progressing any more as I had learned all of the spells and shit I could so there was nothing new waiting for me around the corner and the combat had gotten on my nerves.

So I just quit. I felt so bored and frustrated with DOS that I just quit. I don't think I'll ever touch that game ever again.

So despite that I really can't stand PoE's infinite inventory system, despite that I have a disdain for real time with pause combat, despite that I found PoE overbalanced; It is IMO a far better game than DOS.

But I'm not necessarily saying that these are objective bad things and that the game is objectively bad. I simply don't think that this kind of game appeals to me anymore. I'm just so sick and tired of having to re-learn new fantasy lore every time a new IP comes out. Having to memorize all of these new terms and historical events and names that sound like someone just pressed keys on the keyboard wildly. I'm so sick and tired of "saving the world" stories, I mean, if it doesn't start out that way and doesn't reveal itself as that until the very end then I'm fine with it (like Wasteland 2 and the whole synth invasion stuff) but about an hour or so into the game already you're tasked with weaving together time and finding our you're supposed to fight some void-dragon that is consuming all of reality.

And you know what? I love turn-based combat, when the developers understand the fucking meaning of god damn moderation. The amount of fucking developers out there that just sprinkle combat all over the place is astonishing to me. Don't they realize how fucking repetitive that gets? It doesn't matter how well-developed and broad your combat system is cause eventually it'll have nothing new to show us and we'll be stuck there doing the same thing over and over again. And throw in turn-based combat into that? So you have to wait forever for a repetitive encounter to be over? Jesus christ lend me a bullet so I can pain my wall red already!

Again, the game isn't objectively bad. But this kind of stuff? I can't stand it any more. I can't stand save the world stories any more. I can't stand turn-based combat when there's too much of it. I can't stand having to re-learn a glossary of made-up names for new magic and shit. I can't stand the diablo design of looting where you have to stop every hour or so to filter through your inventory and min/max your items.



Aaaanyway, some other things I want to bitch about:
The quest system in DOS is... Weird. I don't remember exactly what it was since it has been a while since I played the game but I remember that it took lessons from the school of "don't handhold the player" so I ended up having quests that didn't tell me what the fuck I'm supposed to do and I have no idea what to do to progress them or how to end them so I basically had to just keep playing and out of nowhere it goes "oh hey, remember that quest you got about the backstory of your protagonists? No... Not that quest... Or that one... Yeah, that one, the third one! Well we got a new entry in it now!" Like, WHAT!?

The chain system of solo or party grouping? I hate it. I absolutely cannot fucking stand that god damn chaining-portrait system they have.

The way healing worked? Annoying and tedious. I read a user review bitching about it before I played it and I just thought to myself that he was exaggerating but nope. Healing is god awful. I played on the lowest difficulty cause the game was so fucky with its balancing and my characters still managed to get themselves nearly killed tons of times and once the battle was over, could I heal myself with my spells easily? Nope. I have to wait for the regular cooldown to heal with the same spell. Only quick solution is to spam heal with items and once those run out... Joy...

And it wouldn't be so bad.... If I didn't have to wait for one spell to be finished before I could use another... For example, I decide I want to use my AOE healing spell with one character and I want to switch over to another character to heal a third character. I know what I want to do, I know what buttons to use, I have it all memorized in my head so I should be able to just click-click-click-done, right? Wrong. When you click something like healing there is a delay before you can click another character and even more of a delay before you can even select what skill you want to use. So click healing (wait a second before the game acknowledges you changing your character) (wait again for the spell to finish) click healing and click the character you wanted to heal. Oh wait... The first characters healing spell wasnt over yet, so now you've simply changed character to the second character you meant to heal.

I don't know why there is a delay with all of this, is it cause of the co-op feature? Cause if so, it can kindly fuck right off. I am not playing co-op, I am playing solo and I do not want some fucking delay between my actions when I'm playing solo.

PoE isn't perfect but I didn't have as many frustrating and tedious issues with PoE as I did with DOS.

I simply think I'm over fantasy games.
At least those who depend on their writing. I'm playing Dragons Dogma right now and I play it for its gameplay, not its lore.

 

[AskWazzup]

And you know what? I love turn-based combat, when the developers understand the fucking meaning of god damn moderation. The amount of fucking developers out there that just sprinkle combat all over the place is astonishing to me. Don't they realize how fucking repetitive that gets?

I hope they do not understand moderation, because i can't get enough of combat in this game. The amount of different ways i have engaged various enemies was very satisfying to me. I can't remember a fight that i didn't really like.

Also, have you played the infinity engine games? I'd think that those would be absolute hell for you if this game (which i find very well streamlined compared to say IceWind Dale) is such a hassle.

 

[aenemic]

I hope they do not understand moderation, because i can't get enough of combat in this game. The amount of different ways i have engaged various enemies was very satisfying to me. I can't remember a fight that i didn't really like.

I wholeheartedly agree. I love Original Sin for its combat and its goofy humorous tone (and wonderful music). The writing is alright and does its job, and the character building is decent. But the puzzle-like fights are what really make the game.

 

[Mr Fish]

To each their own.

 

[aenemic]

To each their own.

Absolutely. Not saying anyone is right or wrong.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the turn-based combat in the original Fallouts. It's very restricted, unbalanced and easily gets tedious. Best part is the aiming locations and the text descriptions. It's sufficient for what it is, but I love those games more for other reasons.

 

[Gizmojunk]

It's sufficient for what it is, but I love those games more for other reasons.

I'm sure we all do... But IMO, dropping the turn based combat from Fallout is like dropping platformer from Super Mario; or changing D00M to a Dune clone.

 

[AskWazzup]

To each their own.

We have already discussed this in another thread if i remember correctly, but to add to that, maybe you should try to give gaming a break for a while. Maybe you just have too much game fatigue, can that be possible? I think this could be an interesting thread in itself, as probably many people have similar feelings once they get out of their teenage years, many games can become unbearable, but i think once you try to approach them from a different perspective, this can be cured.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the turn-based combat in the original Fallouts. It's very restricted, unbalanced and easily gets tedious. Best part is the aiming locations and the text descriptions. It's sufficient for what it is, but I love those games more for other reasons.

And can become very chaotic with your pals spraying fire on your ass, but that can create some fun situations too, i think.

Also, what is that creature in your avatar?

 

[Mr Fish]

We have already discussed this in another thread if i remember correctly, but to add to that, maybe you should try to give gaming a break for a while. Maybe you just have too much game fatigue, can that be possible? I think this could be an interesting thread in itself, as probably many people have similar feelings once they get out of their teenage years, many games can become unbearable, but i think once you try to approach them from a different perspective, this can be cured.

I don't really play games every day. It's been 6 days since the last time I even played anything. And I mix genre's up so that I don't get too much of one thing. So in a way I am taking a break, from cRPG's. Playing Dragon's Dogma which is a hack and slasher and gonna do the tutorial so I can get into Endless Space which is like Civilization in space. Taking a break from DOS isn't going to do anything for me. I know what I like and what I don't like and DOS has too much of the latter for me to ever overlook or even tolerate. I am just as critical about comics, books, tv-shows, films and even porn. That's just the kind of person I am. Once something becomes irritating to me it is just a matter of time before it builds up to a big ball of irritation and grows into frustration and eventually that will grow into flat out anger.

Like the looting system of DOS? It's not for me. I don't like stopping to micro manage my inventory every other hour or so so that I can throw away 90/100 items I've looted cause they weren't worth a damn and I don't like having to halt the pacing to a complete stop every time some looting comes up so that I can check its stats out with the rest of my inventory. If I have to do that I'd rather stop the pacing just once and deal with it. It is something I simply can't enjoy. No matter the time I spend away from it and no matter what game it is and how is is trying to do its own things with it.

I've played enough games where I have to stop every so often and just sit there in boredom and check stats of each individual equipment for 10-30 minutes just so I can make sure I'm carrying the best of the best.

I realize I don't like and never will. I can give it a try but chances are that it is that little irritation that just will build up more and more like it has been every other time I have encountered it.

Can't be fixed.

Can't be looked at from a different perspective.

I know what I like and what I don't like. And that looting system in DOS? Ain't for me. No amount of time spent away from it will ever change things for me. And that's just one aspect of DOS that have a problem with. One aspect out of many that I just simply can't stand any longer. And staying away from gaming all together? That ain't gonna happen. I still enjoy gaming. It just has to be the right game. DOS simply isn't it.

I've learned from it and won't buy DOS 2 or Tyranny for that matter.

 

[AskWazzup]

Can't be fixed.

Can't be looked at from a different perspective.

I'm not encouraging you to retry a particular game, but if some games can cause you so much distress, i am pretty certain that this will also become a problem with other types of games in the future which you currently like. Stating that this can't and won't be fixed is a bit like giving up on having more enjoyable things in your life. And by "looking at it from a different perspective" i mean changing your whole thinking patterns, rather than just putting a band aid on your current thinking patterns. But i guess i'm starting to derail this thread, so maybe we will discuss this in another thread.

 

[aenemic]

Also, what is that creature in your avatar?

It's only the Laura Hughes, man.

I'm sure we all do... But IMO, dropping the turn based combat from Fallout is like dropping platformer from Super Mario; or changing D00M to a Dune clone.

Well, yeah I still find it to be an integral part of the overall experience. And it's one of the games that really got me into turn-based systems. But it hasn't exactly held up well. It's a completely different debate, but these days I don't feel like turn-based combat is an absolute must for a Fallout game. I would be overjoyed with a new Fallout game with good tactical turn-based combat, though.

Like the looting system of DOS? It's not for me. I don't like stopping to micro manage my inventory every other hour or so so that I can throw away 90/100 items I've looted cause they weren't worth a damn and I don't like having to halt the pacing to a complete stop every time some looting comes up so that I can check its stats out with the rest of my inventory. If I have to do that I'd rather stop the pacing just once and deal with it. It is something I simply can't enjoy. No matter the time I spend away from it and no matter what game it is and how is is trying to do its own things with it.

I've played enough games where I have to stop every so often and just sit there in boredom and check stats of each individual equipment for 10-30 minutes just so I can make sure I'm carrying the best of the best.

Yup, I'm with you there. My biggest complaint with D:OS is the tedious inventory and loot system. The crafting is a big part of that as well, since the vast majority of loot you pick up are crafting components that you need to sort and decide whether to keep or not. It looks good on paper, and my first time playing the game it was fun to experiment with everything you picked up and discovering new recipes. But it quickly becomes a chore. On top of that, there is so much micro-management with stats on gear.