A lot of questions about Divine Divinity

[samtam90]

How much advanced is interaction with NPCs? Are there branching dialogues? Do they react according to your appearence/reputation/fame or past actions and dealings with them? Do they recognize changes in the world? How much dynamic is the world? How much can you influence the game world? Can you buy a house? Can you steal? Can you join guilds? Are there mini-games? Or is there something like gambling or other?

How much nonlinear is the game? How big is the gameworld? Can you go wherever you want whenever you want and do whatever you want? How much nonlinear are quests? Can you complete them in multiple ways? Can you influence NPCs reactions if you complete quests for them?

How much interactive is the world? can you pick up and/or carry everything? Is there something like crafting, create your own potions, etc.? How many quests are there in the game? How long is the game?

How much replay value is there? In how many ways can you play the game?

[fable]

Originally Posted by samtam90

How much advanced is interaction with NPCs? Are there branching dialogues? Do they react according to your appearence/reputation/fame or past actions and dealings with them? Do they recognize changes in the world? How much dynamic is the world?

Show me a truly interactive game, in which NPCs actually react according to changes in the world about them and act to create these changes, and I'll show you promises never fulfilled by any game, at all.

However, DD has NPCs that "follow" daily work/sleep schedules, running their shops, etc, and remembering the quests you've done for them. Some may know one another, and suggest you speak to their friends. Interactivity, in DD, is as in the Ultima series' best games, defined by the amount of interaction you can have with objects, not people. You can harvest food with many different effects, create honey, use household implements as weapons, etc. Weapons also wear down, needing repair.

How much can you influence the game world? Can you buy a house? Can you steal? Can you join guilds? Are there mini-games? Or is there something like gambling or other?

You influence the world by your actions, same as any other RPG hero: you're the only one who in fact for some reason cares to act. You cannot buy a house, but you can steal, though you have to be careful not to do it in view of the owners. There's a guild to be joined, but only one of use. No mini-games.

How much nonlinear is the game? How big is the gameworld? Can you go wherever you want whenever you want and do whatever you want? How much nonlinear are quests? Can you complete them in multiple ways? Can you influence NPCs reactions if you complete quests for them?

A very nonlinear appearance. You can accumulate more than a dozen quests easily, and they are well-notated for you. The gameworld feels relatively large, at least until the final section of the game, which the developers admit was rushed. Then the size of the world is still large but relatively empty--and that makes it feel smaller.

Most quests are hack-n-slash, but a few can be completed in different ways.

How much interactive is the world? can you pick up and/or carry everything? Is there something like crafting, create your own potions, etc.? How many quests are there in the game? How long is the game?

No crafting, but you harvest herbs to insta-create potions. (It's a skill you spend points increasing.) I suggest checking the DD FAQ over at GameFAQs to get a sense of how many quests are available. It took me close to 100 hours to finish, but I'm notororiously slow and finnicky when playing.

How much replay value is there? In how many ways can you play the game?

That depends on how much you enjoy object-oriented RPGs. I prefer those with much more human interaction, and the closest I've seen to that (and it really isn't close) is in PS:T and BG2.

[DaveO]

Actually, Fable is wrong. You CAN buy a house, but it won't be right away. There's not much benefit to the house in my opinion, but it's there as an option. As far as the maps go, I'd say that the start map and starter dungeon will keep you busy for a little while. I think there's quite a bit of replayability to the game due to the randomness of items. The story won't change, but it's an ok story and you're not at all forced to go along with it with some minor exceptions. I'd suggest playing on the hardest difficulty since I believe the normal difficulty is a little too easy.

[fable]

Originally Posted by DaveO

Actually, Fable is wrong. You CAN buy a house, but it won't be right away. There's not much benefit to the house in my opinion, but it's there as an option.

What house are you referring to? I don't recall ever seeing that option.

As far as the maps go, I'd say that the start map and starter dungeon will keep you busy for a little while. I think there's quite a bit of replayability to the game due to the randomness of items.

But the inquirer specified an interest in branching dialog. In other words, they weren't looking for just replacing one small set of objects with another and calling it "replayable." They wanted genuine change, reflected by a new set of character conditions in relation to NPCs--and there's none of that in DD.

[DaveO]

You can buy a house in Verdistis, but you have to find Maria and restore her reputation in order to do so. Maria is just above the quarantined area, and there are a few stages to getting her reputation fully restored.

I do agree that there is no uniqueness to Divine Divinity in terms of characters and dialogue. I do know for sure that Icewind Dale has this option, but that's a completely different game.