lpq's Journal: Frag of Divinity-II (drg fly); DRM, availability, rating+origins of, +sidenotes

The below was written response to someone who suggest 'goodoldgames' (gog.com) as a d/l site for many win7 compat games... I responded to them, as well as many side subjects that were on the top of my head as I described problems with the Divinity-II game, getting it and its' rating.... In order to provide any formatting, I had to quote 'side' topics or issues, as slashdot allows no formatting in their 'blog/journal' section -- a really poor feature for a journal, but we geeks are use to making due with poor software interfaces! Thus I replied:

Thanx for the heads-up on G'o'G, -- already clicked and bookmarked -- will check them out -- but either gonna make Divinity work w/copy I got or return it first since I don't wanna keep throwing good money after bad for a game that has so many flaws apart from the bugs -- it's not like it's Oblivion or such (Divinity is so much more limited, the flight system is *lame*...like driving a bus from the rear seat -- and lots of 'magic' arbitrary restrictions that make no sense other than to limit player game play.

_Some_ Divinity-II limitations (mostly dragon-form limitations):

Even though you are able to turn into a dragon as a special power, the flight control system is the same as human running (always running unless you turn on caps lock, then it's a slow walk) walking+running. Right+left are for moving right & left (x-axis movement), not turning; as a dragon, it tilts you right or left, but doesn't actually 'bank' as though you were in a turn.

Turning is with the mouse only -- but it's not a turn like with a steering wheel, it's "rotation" on the Z axis -- there is no banking or gradual turn to the right or left, it's like turning a bumper-car. But the visual feedback is BAD -- you have about a 120Â FOV, but it's completely flat/uniform no shrink at the side, so it looks like panning of a 30-60Â. There is no tilt (rotation on Y (forward-backward axis).

Even though you are above mountains @ distance, as you approach them, you are forced DOWN, so that even when you get to a pass, you can't fly through a pass, but instead have to go around, just as if you were walking -- the height away from mountains is such that you should be able to fly over all of the mountains in the central playing area (not at the edges where the mountains are higher), but as you approach any barrier, you are artificially forced down, so that you can't fly over any barrier, but must take the same path as though you were walking -- many places are like that, where you should be able to fly over things, but are artificially forced down -- would make sense if it was at the edge of a map where there was 'nothing' beyond, but it's done over all surface area except minor height objects like fences and low buildings.

To turn into a dragon, you must have a clear space above you and a space around you the size of a baseball field, even though as soon as you transform, you are placed 10 feet above the ground (you can't land or touch water in dragon form, though if you are in a clear area in water, you can turn into a dragon). But the restrictions mean that turning into human form is often a one-way transformation -- there are lots of areas where you can exist (fly into) as a dragon, but when you want to CHANGE into a dragon, you are told there isn't enough room for a dragon.

The space limitation causes a nasty game bug in one cave, fighting a demon, where the game forces you into dragon form to fight the demon, but if you change into human form to kill it (it's easier to kill as a human), you can't change back into a dragon, -- it says there is no room to take you dragon form, even though you just did it, when the game forced you to. It's completely clear overhead where you end up when you morph, but there's no baseball field of *level* space around you, so you can't change. Unfortunately, that leaves you trapped, since the entrance you come into the cave in is closed by a rock slide as soon as the demon dies. The only exit is by flying up to the top of the cavern, and approaching a path -- where you are then forced into human form and can walk out.

Note -- that in other areas, where the game isn't putting artificial restrictions on you, you can fly into rather tight spaces, but again, if you morph to human, you can morph back. In several areas, the game artificially restricts your movement like on the mountain approach -- it forces you away from the area you approached. You can't land as a dragon either.

To reiterate -- there is no up/down except by turning the direction you are looking (as a human mouse forward = look down, mouse back = look up), same w/dragon -- then you can move forward/backward to actually move in direction you are looking.

Final indignity on dragon (that I can think of off hand), is that while you have a mini-map/circular-radar, of your immediate area as a human, that's all you have as a dragon -- a horizontal radar -- but no indication of height -- opponents can be above or below you with no indicator. Needless to say -- this makes flight and fighting as a dragon very difficult. They don't recognize multiple mouse buttons - right/left click and 'other' (middle), so even my 4 button mouse has one mouse button duped to same action as left-click, no config -- even with external mouse-reconfig utils that work in other games & progs.

That's just my beefs with the dragon flying -- the 'big' feature. The game *says* it uses the Nvidia physX on the box & on the in-game credit, but it lies -- disabling 'physX' makes no change in game effects or playability or frame rate, so false advertising is present in addtion to the in-game, DRM-caused bugs that are suppoed to only activate for lack-of-CDROM, but activate even in download-only versions!

The In-game, frame-rate is limited to 30FPS (FRAPS) except on the entry-cut scene where you get 300-400+. Note: there is no option to skip 'cut scenes' -- including the annoying multi-author-publisher cut scenes at the beginning of the game, so no quick ability to exit or re-enter, since re-entering requires playing of all the start-advertising cutscenes each time (I've seen worse& longer, but all were able to to be cut-short by pressing Escape/space or clicking through).

I won't bother with all the OTHER problems and game bugs...those were only some of the most irritating.

So, do I want to try again w/another distributor? Not really worth it unless many things get fixed. While developers are still active in forums, I don't see much in the way of responses to stated problems, so there is less than zero commitment to fixing any problems -- since there isn't even acknowledgment that they exist -- let alone responses to detailed problem descriptions (with 1 exception where they said to send in my save-file for dissection -- something I haven't had a chance to do yet, but plan to do so)....

A final frustration -- more than one extension/addon/complete new game that can use your old character, is available, but only in Europe. Not for sale in the US -- perhaps because while the game is rated 12+ in Europe, it has a 'M' (17+) in the US.

Bogus ratings sidenote - origins

This is NOT a divinity-only problem, but is a problem with the US game industry. I've seen a few games like that -- Europe has higher ratings than 12+, like 14+ and 16+, I think an 18+ as well for adult titles, but many things in Europe that are rated 12+, get rated M here, due to the policies of the game censorship board being controlled by Catholic backers who want to keep keep occult and non-christianist elements away from impressionable children. Another REAL annoying element, is that sexually suggestive items like even a *string* bikini you can see on any beach in Florida/So.Cal, are automatically given a 'M' rating -- just like Sci-Fi and Fox regularly censor out any rear-view's of thong-style bikinis.

In Europe, breasts are considered a normal part of the human anatomy (like chests with extra fat...have you ever seen a fat-guys chest? Some look awfully reminiscent...not to mention ex-athletes who used steroids had have breast development (called 'bitch teats in some athlete circles).

But, in the US, (I wonder how a guy would be dealt with if he got breast implants? No hormones -- just breast implant -- would they still be a chest, most laws (except in progressive areas) say women can be topless (though in more 'progressive outdoor areas, they *SAY* tops required, but it's often very unequal in enforcement).

Anyway, in the US breasts as female thong bikinis/underwear of off limits in most media these days for benefit of Christianist-censors, AND for purposes of marketing. The pseudo repression of sexuality in US media is a powerful way to keep males titillated and offers a stronger and more compelling manipulation of the largest and most financially influential demographic: males, ages teen -> ~45 (works on older males, they just aren't in the same demographic).

It has the side effect of sexualizing and marginalizing females, which has its own benefits, and that may be part of the reason it is done, but I think that's a secondary reason -- with the main reason being to keep males 'aroused' and 'wanting' -- often feeling like they are not getting 'enough', even though they get as much or more than many modern western countries.

In the contrary direction, violence is given the "OK", with many violent and explicit scenes getting a Teen or 'PG/PG-13' rating here, that in some European countries get, at least an 'R', and often an NC-17, equivalent. But those are acceptable in the US, as it trains and prepares, what has usually been a mostly male audience, to be hardened 'warriors', and to be ready to be called out to war. I'm not sure when that mission in Hollywood started -- maybe the 70's during or after Vietnam, when too many men were perceived as getting weak and soft -- there's been a major push in male culture to get them to buy into the propaganda to 'man up', 'be tough', 'suck-it-up', "don't be a wussy". That's been a message for a LONG time, but it's been emphasized more and has overridden the Christianist messages of turn-the other cheek, and though-shalt-not-murder, and love-thy-neighbor.

Amusingly, those 'Xtian' messages were considered to be 'in the way' -- an obstacle to the objectives of their 'bedfellows' who they joined with in the late 70's to gain power to fight the democratic majority with Carter hosting the last balanced budget until the 2-year period after Clinton's first 6 years in office.

Budget side note:

The Clinton balanced budget was brought to an end, as we remember, with extreme prejudice, by Bush-II, as he ushered in tax breaks primarily benefiting those making more than $200K/year: 50% of the breaks benefited the top 5% (those making>200K), adding over 2.6Trillion to the deficit (about a 50% increase over the 5.6T debt when Bush-II took office).

Under discussion now is ending those tax breaks. Obama want to let the middle class keep their share of the cuts (people making under $250K). While the GOP is refusing to compromise--saying kill all -- they are trying to protect those making over $500K/year, with the inflated dollar, the GOP plan will add an additional 680 BILLION/year to the deficit -- or 6.8Trillion over the same 10 year period as the original Bush-II plan. Compare his to the *OUTRAGE* of the 26Billion in emergency financial stimulus aid that was given to state and local governments, that the GOP claimed would bankrupt our economy! Their plan costs 2600% more in the 1st year -- but then repeats every year after that -- forever!

Anyway -- it in the late 70's that the Xtian right jumped in bed with the GOP. Since then, with the 80's (heralding the "me" generation spirited in by Reagan and his borrowing of ~1.8Trillion from the 'future' (a 280% increase of the federal deficit) a bit more slowly in the 90's (Bush-I, only 48% increase over 4 years, and Clinton with a 4.2% annual (39% over 8 years), and the 2000's under, w/Bush-II increasing it from 5.6->10T (211% inc/8yr) ), Christianist messages have been turned on their head.

More on Christianist 'co-option' ratings effects

Christianist messages of altruism, charity and it being harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle -- (this coincided (though not clear about cause/effect or chicken/egg) with the Christianist movements joining with the GOP and Republicans at the end of the 70's that produced the Reagan presidency as well as the 2 Bush presidencies. Now you have Christianist churches preaching violence as an acceptable means to fight against those with 'wrong political views', and to a lesser extent against those with wrong religious views (atheists, Jews, Muslims). And most fabulously, instead of paying attention to Christ's anger with the money changers and the rich, many extreme-wealth churches now preach that being rich is a reward from God in this life time and that being poor is a sin! (Try finding that in a bible!)...but major mega-churches preach this as gospel, as they also get their members to title 10-15% (that's donate 10-15% of their (usually) pre-tax) income!). So it's interesting how the mainstream Xtian churches have been co-opted by the GOP and government to spread the necessary messages of violence and 'money/greed is good'...

But it's this 'inside-takeover' (co-option) that has been largely responsible for the bazaar movie and game restriction codes that are in place -- where "legal" sex and related actions are given 'X' ratings, while illegal 'murder' and violent actions are given the PG/PG-13 ratings.

Is it a wonder why the crime rate has gone up and the imprisonment rate has gone up so much since the beginning of the Reagan term (other factors are involved as well, but this is one of them). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline.gif http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/00-05_REP_PunishingDecade_AC.pdf

Needless to say, all of this DRM crap really adds salt to a long history of wounds... (Sorry for this all over the place...one of those days where so many things have such strong connections, I can't help but comment)....