RogueSix wrote on Sep 11, 2023, 23:04:
I linked official sources. It does not get more official than Swen Vincke.

Wow you are ridiculous; the whole video is an hour of mainly Swen and David plus a couple of other Larian's telling the story; It is what you want but since you are just incapable of starting a video.

If you are - and now I'm not avoiding this any more - simply too stupid to listen to the people you constantly demand to listen to; but then refuse to listen to them because "because I'm not gonna watch all that crap that doesn't even contain what you claim" (because you know what it contains as you did not watch it? sure...), then yes, it's "case closed". And I already told you when the relevant bits started. But don't bother, I have no energy to argue with stupid. Feels already like a Trump rally...

RogueSix wrote on Sep 11, 2023, 20:34:
Please. Of course, it's a marketing video even if it is not labeled as such. Any video a company puts on their public YouTube video channel (freely accessible by billions of people) is marketing. In fact, that very video was a KS reward (starting at the $50 level and above) and if you believe it was not edited to a) make the company look as good as possible and b) make the backers feel good about themselves, maybe even by exaggerating their role as the "saviors of the company" or something like that, then I have some bridges to sell you on Mars.

I have no clue what video you are talking about, but clearly not the one I had linked, as this is made by someone else, not Larian (a documentation channel) and from a different crowdfunding project - and this is not even Larians channel, as you claim... so yeah, no idea (now I tried to download the video from the KS to verify it but it's not in the Larian Vault anymore; Map, OST, Artbook, Design docs... but not the video O.o, but it's certainly not the same as it is in no way what the description* says; so yeah if you can't even click on a damn link but just assume things...

*("Divinity: Original Sin - Digital Documentary
Delivered (VAULT)
A digital version of all the behind the scenes materials such as concept art, design documents, in-house videos, presentations etc... This will give you a unique insight in how the game came to be.")

ok it becomes... something; watch the video, listen to what THEY say...

and calling it "an official marketing video" is a) laughable and b) you didn't even start the damn thing, as it is certainly nowhere close to something-marketing

And you contradict yourself: "You have to juggle your finances, talk to your creditors and when the funds are depleted, you MUST release. The KS helped them extend development but it did not save their bacon as a company."

What, pray tell, would have happened if they released the game in that unfinished state? Made with the last money they had. And then it'd have (probably) failed because no one likes overly broken games, which means it'd probably would not have generated money (at least not enough to pay the loans back and keep on doing things). "either make it or break it" as you call it yourself. I'd call that the end of the company (the "break" part). But again, I just rely on the things they said, in their own words. And that's all.

RogueSix wrote on Sep 11, 2023, 12:32:
Except this is not even true at all. The game was almost done when they went to Kickstarter. They were not on the brink of bankruptcy. They went to Kickstarter because it was the hip thing to do for marketing reasons and to expand their budget a bit more for the final stretch of development.
Straight from the Original Sin Kickstarter page:...

Except it is - and was always true for the time before they had the success with OS. The game was finished in the way of "somewhat able to be released, but not finished and buggy..."-again (like all their games before). Kickstarter was just the right solution at the right time because they were very burned by several Publishers before and didn't want anything have to do with them anymore.
You're quoting an official PR text. What else should they have written there "need money because we're running out of it"? That certainly instills trust in finishing a project. You don't spill the state of your company to everyone just like that. Or do you?

But - since I am just not capable of making things up and like more facts as told by the people self - here the Larian story, enjoy (and learn): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZF_cP_oLH4 (Orignal Sin bit starts around 47 mins if you want to skip, but it's all very interesting and important for the context, as it explains it all)

Interesting double standards and hypocrisy once again. Usually posts that use the "r" word get removed around here but when someone is fanboying for Larian then it is apparently OK .
Which is par for the course. Larian gets away with everything that other developers get lambasted for.

Honestly I'm not a fanboy of anything, but yes, I am indeed unashamed to say that Larian comes close to it, well me being it that is. Because I have followed them since the OS Kickstarter (easy, as they had sent the updates to "us"), and I am certain that they are a) as honest as it can get and that they have "their hearts at the right place". Sometimes they have of course business decisions that might be unpopular and not "cool" for me as a player, but they do not deceive or lie to you; quite the opposite, they are more open than any other (big/bigger) company out there. Bethesda just gave a fine example. But well just watch the video, it's 1 hour "behind the scenes" in all it's European honesty... (after credits is funny, after the sad part).

And one anecdote from the OS1 KS: they actually apologized for the somewhat lackluster (physical) Collectors Edition because they couldn't just financially make it as cool as they wanted to; I had several KS-CEs and no one ever did something like that. The "Underworld Ascendant" so-called-CE was actually an absolute insolence and those f-ers never said a single word about that (even worse than the game itself).
And with OS2 they then went over the top and delivered much more than they promised (still talking about the CE ;)). All that built a lot of trust and good will, no question about that.

This comment was edited on Sep 11, 2023, 16:48.

RogueSix wrote on Sep 11, 2023, 01:17:
Never say never. They have totally reworked the story of Divinity Original Sin for the Enhanced Edition of that game and D:OS was a lot less commercially successful (though it's certainly not like BG3 needs a "total rework"). Also, Larian have already promised to deliver more content in the shape of more fleshed out endings (epilogues).

Except that the reason for the D:OS Enhanced Editions were the much different situations - at the time for OS1 Larian was at the brink of going bankrupt and the Kickstarter money (944k) was the saving point; with that money they had to finish and release it, not much room for extras (like voice overs) and additional changes, that they apparently had in hindsight in mind (and sales were good enough to finance them); and similar with OS2, although on a somewhat bigger scale (bigger game, but also more crowdfunding money and income from OS1), but still a very, very tight budget (2m, so just twice as much as OS1).

All this crap of "lied because cut content" is seriously retarded; all games have "content cut", for some reason or the other; but it gives those idiots in the Steam forums a new reason for BS-outrage; "cut content" has just replaced "woke" as a reason to get artificially mad about something. And not asking for reasons - in this case it might simply not have worked on a technical level, as Act3 seems to be very heavy on the system anyway.
Interesting in that regard: Tim Cain talking about South Park: Stick of Truth, incl. "cut content"... (just because of his timing, video released yesterday)

They will certainly keep working on the game, improving and even add things for a long time (remember the free mini DLC stuff for OS2 for 12 months? nothing crazy of course, but still free stuff/support). And who knows maybe they even do a DLC despite Swens refusal, with the game's success and demand for "more" it would be almost stupid not to do something (although that gives a new reason for more BS-outrage, like "But Larian has said...blablabla".)

So of course, if someone wants the "...most bestest..." version they should wait until they declare the "last update". But that is nothing new and in no way exclusive to Larian; it has rather become the norm to game development. I wanted to wait til that point as I nowadays use to do - but ...as an exception to my rule... just couldn't. O well, that gives then a reason for another playthrough

On an related-unrelated note - anyone else asking himself how many DLCs Bethesda has already planned for SF? Will it be the average 4 or this time more?

Of course it's bad for them; but they also made sure it ends like this. Every time I read something about this I was like "why?" and "what?".

The hardware requirements are just plain stupid, the game needs a pretty powerful PC to run at low settings and doesn't run well with even the best stuff. And they were proud of it because "it makes no compromises". But at the same time it just doesn't look justified. It's not a new Crysis, IMHO it doesn't even look good, from an artistic PoV. It just looks boring and bland (from what I've seen so far... but then again, if you have cool stuff to show then you'd better show it and I haven't seen any). Some of the levels looked good, but nothing special. And then again this blandness. Also, gameplay wise it looks like Halo with a fantasy mod slapped on it - shooting waves of boring enemies, just with colors out of your hand instead of guns. The magic is also a good representation of that blandness: you have green, red and blue magic... and they actually call it "green", "red" and "blue" magic; that was all they could come up with. Add the bland story of a total-not-jedi with the total-not-force fighting against the total-not-empire. But then again that'd be ok, it could still be fun I don't know - but then they made it intentionally kinda unplayable for 95% of all people with that performance.

On consoles it runs at least with more or less 60 fps (dips at times, of course) - but only because they render it with 720p and then blow it up with FSR. And on Xbox S it's only some 436p plus removed details to make it run, and it looks very blurry.

It's like a showcase for "what were they thinking". That whole thing just baffles me...

MeanJim wrote on Aug 17, 2023, 05:50:
Save scumm all you want, but you're missing out on the fun.

On the contrary - it's a perfect way (for me) to see as much as possible, since I very rarely want to play games twice/several times. I try the (maybe) stupid things that I don't really want to do (because it'd be different from the way I want to play it) but still want to see/know if it's possible - like: pickpocket that goblin? - he has a book, I'll take that - wait, I haven't spoken with him - goblin is very sad because he'd like his book back (and tells me "I think one of your companions took it")... but maybe I want to leave him in peace with his book? (yes, from BG3)... or what happens when I shoot that NPC? etc. ...although I guess I'll play BG3 more than once, it just has too many things that affect other things and therefore different outcomes. But it's an exception I will very gladly make, in this case.

Everyone as he/she/they/it likes! ...some people just have this superiority complex, thinking they are better and only their way is right... but that's not just in games.

Sepharo wrote on Aug 7, 2023, 15:49:
Kind of funny that you accused the journalist of not reading the options... when you didn't read their article that mentions that they did find this and use this option.

Oh, you are right - I started reading it, became quickly annoyed with this nonsense and stopped (because annoyed). I apologize for that (to him, I guess). But apart from that... well

Acleacius wrote on Aug 7, 2023, 14:52:
Is it just me or does this game seem to patch each day?

?? Game was released on Aug 3. and had one patch ("Hotfix #1") on Aug 4. I had no other patches... did you?

Also:

Don’t Rely On Quick Saves In Baldur’s Gate 3.

is a fine example of how terribly stupid today's people have become; for one, quick saves were never intended to be "real" saves AND there is a slider in the options where you can adjust the number of quick saves (also one for auto saves), which tells me that this "journalist" had never even checked the options in the first place... but of course complains, sorry "warns" about it; what an idiot.

An "X" is half a swastika anyway (just add a tiny line at each end), so it's only fitting...

Tim has quickly become my "seemingly nice person tells tales from his interesting past for the evening" the last couple of weeks

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Acleacius wrote on May 27, 2023, 22:45:
Sure, when I get a chance and a link. But honestly it's about whether Tim was telling the truth and it seems honest.
Under no circumstances should brian have said or done it, no exceptions to this rule, afaik.
Now if you have some justification for brain saying and doing, please do tell.
Never shit on your peeps, it's a hard fast rule.

I find you extremely judgemental; the first thing after I'd seen this video was to ask me "why might Brian have reacted that was", especially as I have a rather positive impression of him (i.e. via their Kickstarter videos)

Maybe facts that played into it - again: these are just my assumptions; of course Brian would need to tell his side of the story at best:

• Interplay was bankrupt in 1998 - since that doesn't happen overnight it's safe to assume that the financial situation was already dire in 1997
• Brian loved games and he founded Interplay because of his love - means he certainly had poured his heart and soul into the company; a company with hundreds or thousands of employees - which would lose their jobs if the company goes out of business; something "good" CEOs would not want
• these circumstances would put enormous pressure on him; at the same time he sees a great game that might potentially ease the financial situation (some sort of savior; at least for a moment - would also explain why he pushed so hard for F2) - but that gets delayed thanks to some bug, and he didn't know who was responsible

Now; it was not good how he reacted but with the probably extreme pressure of a looming bankruptcy - where every month or even week counts - it's certainly not the easiest thing to make only the best decisions... and if he can't even have a chat with the person responsible for the delay that endangers his company; well I even understand that he'd have been rather mad. But it's always easier to judge in hindsight, isn't it?
(also keep in mind that Tim was just a "normal" employee, one of many, so no one that you discuss money or the state of the company with, so if he says "I'm not telling you, just say I'm responsible" than he's at the receiving end of that pressure/anger). Well, again, all speculation until Brian chimes in; maybe he will join Tim with his side of stories, as the channel keeps getting more and more attention... I even hope a bit that it happens

Oh and "if you get a link"? You have Tim's channel-link in the videos, it's the latest one...

sooo... another fine opportunity for a wonderful port from Iron Galaxy?

Argonius the 3rd wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 07:35:
Even PC Gamer is on radio silence regarding this port...

How so? ...the five latest "News" for the game are about the problems of that port

eRe4s3r wrote on Mar 22, 2023, 18:36:
Actually it jumps straight into the worst uncanny valley I have ever experienced. She doesn't blink! The eye twitch is there, but not blinking. Kinda weird too since it clearly supports this. Did the actress have a supreme death-stare ability or what?

Right at the beginning she blinks a couple of times and she has her eyes closed for a full 15 seconds before she starts her 30 seconds "intense speech" bit (with the texture change); can't say that I find anything weird with that (also not different from any staring contest). ...or did you not notice that it's the in-game model from the start (you can see Melina, the actress, and her setup for full 4 seconds at the very end).

Besides I found it already pretty convincing in the first Hellblade game, though not perfect, so it can only get better with the newer tech

Why the moon when you can have a secure place in one of our Vaults!

This looks 100% like a Fallout prequel, just with less radiation

at least a game that lives up to its name

and again a Snag Redux...

glad it's that, the first of the freebies I'm actually interested in (and not a repeat)

so what's tomorrows offer – a fat M and a train → so Metro (Exodus)?

PS: GOG has also a new one to grab (Greak: Memories of Azur)

RedEye9 wrote on Dec 22, 2022, 12:27:
Epic free games leak - 23rd December game is likely Encased
https://gg.deals/freebie/epic-free-games-leak-23rd-december-game-is-likely-encased/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/921800/Encased_A_SciFi_PostApocalyptic_RPG/

hm weird, the picture reminded more the Vault Boy strength pose (this one: https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Strength), so I would've tipped on more Fallout games (especially since I think the 3 oldest games are a weird choice because of, well, their age - but a nice "beginning of the freebie-series of the Fallout collection"); but I haven't played Encased or known about that icon

Hmm, the first time I will skip one of those freebies. I don't care about TD games at all and the (mobile) graphics do the rest

Weird, never skipped one before, but I guess there's really a first for everything