[The new Sacred 2 CM patch - Now available for Ice & Blood]

I would say that Gog is without and Steam probably with Securom. But the game itself should be the same.

Link please, otherwise I highly doubt the validity of this. Steam itself is the DRM, anything with Securom is undoubtedly added by the publisher who decides to sell games via the Steam platform that already have Securom included in the installation files of every infected game in their catalog.

 

That said, I'm just recently returning to Sacred 2 from a long absence away but when I first fired up the game I was greeted by the friendly auto-updater for the CM patch which was able to download the latest patch and complete installation regardless of the number of errors it flagged along the way, so I assumed since it was able to complete, those files weren't really necessary otherwise the patch couldn't be installed, right? Yeah, not so much. I really do think that the auto updater for the CM patch is more of a hindrance than a help right now, especially if it just continues with installation even after errors are found.

 

I ultimately got around this issue by verifying integrity of the game files and then applied the patch manually. I have also deleted the auto-updater because as a returning fan of Sacred 2, it really didn't help me much at all.

[Constant Visual C++ Runtime Errors with High Elf Only]

Hey thanks for the replies, guys!

 

I started a new icy elf and so far, she hasn't had one runtime error yet but she's only level 3. I wish I knew what I did to corrupt my older icy elf game so I can avoid doing so in the future.

[Constant Visual C++ Runtime Errors with High Elf Only]

After beating Sacred, I went back to Sacred 2 and continued playing my old saved games but on a new computer that has Windows 8 instead of 7, like I did when I first started playing.

 

I don't recall ever being plagued by constant runtime errors when I played on my old computer and mainly as a pyro High Elf. I just remember the game running fairly smoothly except for initial first time issues that were easily remedied.

 

Since returning to Sacred 2 on my new computer, I've started a new Ice High Elf and she is constantly getting V C++ errors, it always seems to happen when she's been spamming glacial thorns. I've been scouring the net for anything that might help, I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game and PhysX, I recently updated my sound driver and there isn't a new one posted. I think I've tried everything and nothing really helps.

 

The interesting thing is my Seraphim character game sessions are completely error free for extended periods of time, not even a crash occurs.

 

Could for some reason my saved game be corrupted? I have the community patch installed, for what it's worth. I'm glad I can at least play one character without problems but I'd love to figure out why I'm having so much trouble with my icy elf because she was fun to play.

 

If anyone has any ideas of what I could try that might help, I'm all ears! Or, eyes, as it were.

[Survival Bonus Doubts]

Well I think I spent about a few hour more than an evenings worth of playtime and while I didn't get a full set, I sure did get a lot of upgrades that made a huge difference in my Wood Elf's one shot kill power, which is really nice. I spent almost as much time with my test group of bosses and didn't have nearly as much success.

 

And thanks for the link! This is the first I've seen it and from first glance it looks like a site with a lot of useful information. Thanks for the great tips, Augmint!

[UnBended - The Crystal Mage]

 

 

 

Well, it's too late now for that because I'd already read the Crystal Mages story and I immediately fell in love with the idea of a mage bridging the gap between magic and technology,

I like this idea as well...I kind of imagine the white queen from narnia, cruel and cool with techno prowess... this isn't at all what I "felt" when I saw the new image of the crystal mage... she looks decidedly like a forest elf...

 

 

gogo

I'm assuming you mean the rough sketch that's on the main page for the Crystal elf with the more cliche forest elf hood? If so, I agree. On the other hand, I totally dig the thumbnail picture that you have to click to get to that page. It's really small and except for the cliched wizard staff, she looks at least more in line with what I was thinking but yeah, still not quite enough techno for what I was hoping for.

[UnBended - The Crystal Mage]

Liking the idea of her being a Crysal Mage and crystals... Maybe she'll only be able to cast uber powerful stuff based on crystal reagents?

I remember in the early Ultima, having to use reagents for spells... was slightly annoying...but if MOST of the mages spells didn't need 'em, with only a FEW of them needing it, that could make for an interesting functionality.

 

gogo

I haven't read much about Unbended yet, partly because much of what they have written still seems up in the air so I don't want to become enamored with one aspect only to find it changed down the line.

 

Well, it's too late now for that because I'd already read the Crystal Mages story and I immediately fell in love with the idea of a mage bridging the gap between magic and technology, although I think I may be imagining it further than the devs probably intend to take it because I'm as much a sci-fi fan as I am traditional medieval fantasy which is probably why the Steampunk vibe is so pleasing to me. But I love the idea they have for her, nonetheless. I just hope they do take it into a techno aspect as well as a magical one. Omgash, that'd be really cool.

 

That's not asking too much... is it?

[Keen game dev for Sacred 3 apologizes and offers his game key]

 

And this scares me

I mean...what if they try to make a Sacred 4?

 

 

gogo

 

Somehow, I seriously doubt they will.

 

1.) Sacred 3 sucked.

2.) Sacred 3 didn't make them any money.

 

Ergo, there's NO justification for them to make a Sacred 4

Supposedly, the working title of Sacred 3 had been Sacred: Citadel 2 during development but the marketing department decided to change it to Sacred 3. The junior developer also made it sound like Keen had no say in how the game would be developed and could only change superficial things within the given framework without having it to be approved.

 

So what does this say? That DS realized mid development that the game their marketing execs designed actually sucked and the only way they could sell enough units to make a profit was to dupe as many fans as they could into buying it? Or....or....

 

...I'm trying really, really hard to think of a counter argument but I just keep drawing a blank. So much for my attempts at being objective.

 

The saddest part about this though is that if my own experience in the corporate environment means anything, the person who actually made the most pertinent decisions in regards to the development of Sacred 3 that caused it to fail will not be held accountable, it'll be some other low ranking employee down the chain who had been just following orders that will be fired as the scapegoat.

 

Before this all happened with Sacred 3, I had been so sure the douche Bernd was at fault for the debacle of X-Rebirth and what a huge middle finger that had been to all their long time fans, especially with his backhanded apologies after the fact. Now, I'm not so sure. Well, I still think he's a douche but the release of X-Rebirth has some eerie similarities to Sacred 3, so now I think DS very likely played a major role there too.

 

Edit: I do gramr gud!

[Survival Bonus Doubts]

Hey, thanks for the tip about Rim Valley, Augmint!

 

I made a beeline to that area thanks to that link. The drops from the Shaddar riders has been much different from the norm for me, at least for the last ten levels or so. I've already done a number of runs through that area via the portal respawn and immediately I could see there was a big difference between those mobs and the boss fight I mentioned in my OP that had multiple bosses/champions that gave me hardly anything and I reloaded it many times in order to test. It seems like the main factor is the type of mob and all the other modifiers (SB, kill rate, etc) just make magical drops a bit more likely?

 

At least now I think I can relax about SB and just go with it like I did before I started perceiving a magic drop slow down. Whether it was accurate or not, it was messing with my head and driving me nuts.

[Hello fellow Sacred fans!]

I'd love it soon, but I have so much anticipation for this game I'm actually ready to say... As long as it takes!

(suppressed groan)

 

 

Gogo

Don't worry, time goes by amazingly fast (too fast when you get older like me, hehe). It seems like only yesterday I backed Pillars of Eternity and now it's *whooosh* two years later with the backer beta that has some of the more vocal backers demanding they take more time, etc.

 

For me, I want time to slow down so I can save up for that sweet little perk of being a mayor of your own town (edit: in Unbended). It's times like this when I truly miss the carefree days of my youth when I'd just throw caution to the wind and buy whatever caught my fancy and damn the consequences. *sigh* Those were great times.

[Survival Bonus Doubts]

I think I was playing Sacred Gold for at least a few weeks before this site clued me into the hidden stat called 'Survival Bonus', so I've become kind of obsessed with it since.

 

I think I've read most of the posts regarding this topic here and right now, my highest level character is my Wood Elf at 40 on Silver difficulty with 85% survival bonus and I swear that the higher it gets, the less magical items I seem to get as drops. When it was around 50ish%, it seemed like I was frequently showered with great drops, but now, I truly don't think I'd notice much of a difference if my character died and started at 0 again.

 

As a test, I made sure to quick save right before a certain fight that included multiple bosses so I could reload the fight to compare the rate of drops and for the most part, they are pretty sub par. Normally they are all white with maybe one blue and only rarely a green.

 

Am I expecting too much of SB?

[Indy's anime thread]

Heya,

 

Newcomer here. Hi!

 

I really enjoyed reading over this thread but I have to say I was a bit shocked to not see one of my all time favorite animes mentioned already which is Serial Experiments Lain.

 

It's awesome, especially because it deals with the idea of a weirdly ambiguous connection between the real world and the internet ('the Wired').

 

It's a head trip though so it might not be everyone's cup of tea but that's probably what I love most about it. It's very surreal , leaving a lot up for interpretation but it would always stick in my head for days after I'd watch it and I'd ultimately end up arriving to a new epiphany about it and I'd have to talk about it some more with the friends I watched it with.

 

IMO, it's a very different yet special anime.

[Hello fellow Sacred fans!]

Yep yep, just having another alternative is HUGE for me. Before crowdfunding, the publishers had a death grip on game development and they were the big champions of the console market (no pirates) so the dumbing down of established franchise like the Elder Scrolls became the norm and it was really bleak for a long time.

 

Then crowdfunding suddenly appeared and I was suddenly hopeful again. I can't express how awesome it felt. And I was so consciously aware of a post I wrote recently on the Divinity: OS Steam forums in response to a thread crying for hand holding and I was so aware of the fact that ten years prior I would never have predicted a day in the future when I would reply to such a thread, "You're not being lead around by the nose? Suck it up! It's our turn now!" I can't tell you how good it felt to write that because back when Oblivion was first released, I was so certain I was witnessing the death of quality roleplaying games.

 

Times have changed and it feels so frackin good!!!

[Keen game dev for Sacred 3 apologizes and offers his game key]

Oh I know, that's what I meant by 'near criminal' because what they did had nothing to do with whether or not their CUSTOMERS had a good experience but with how best they could dupe them into spending money on something that had nothing to do with the franchise but was using the Sacred name alone to sell games.

 

Definitely near criminal, nothing impressive about it. They don't care about giving their paying customers a good experience, they only care about getting the sales for their shareholders and their quarterly statement. It's the fundamental flaw in how publishers should be playing no role at all in game development because their ultimate goal has nothing to do with the quality of their fans experience.

[Hello fellow Sacred fans!]

Yeah, it was weird how the juxtaposition of two things can suddenly enlighten you into the fact that both just might be worthwhile. I'm just glad I got over it and took the plunge, otherwise I would be missing out on a lot of the fun I'm having right now.

 

I used to play Diablo II to a lot, back in the day but I have yet to even demo Diablo III, because unfortunately for Blizzard, in the decade they took to finish their crappy game I became enlightened to how developers who are run by huge corporations ultimately end up screwing you over and deeply disappointing you. So I waited to hear the initial reactions to the game and I am so glad I did!

 

I know that the expansion rectifies most of the original's horrific faults but on principle alone I'm waiting until both games hit bargain basement prices before I finally buy them. I have zero patience for publisher game development now adays and that's totally possible thanks to crowdfunding. Hallelujah the skies are the limit once again for the creativity of gaming and I couldn't be happier! I intend to support Unbended as well as soon as my budget allows. That's how I can invest in crowdfunded games worry free because I plan for them, and if they don't pan out, oh well but that risk is so worth it to me just so I can keep the Deep Silvers and Electronic Arts as far away from my gaming as possible.

[Keen game dev for Sacred 3 apologizes and offers his game key]

in all fairness, I think their marketing was top notch from their point of view. They managed to get plenty preorders without ever releasing any gameplay footage. I think they wont run in the red with this game. mainly because of the preorders and the sales from those who are into this type of game.

 

they will loose a lot of their fanbase tho so here's hoping it will bite em in the ass later

 

not that I agree with what they did to the franchise. its an abomination that should not have been called sacred. but that discussion has been done

 

as for the post from the dev.

I think he's genuine, he's probably a gamer like most devs and really somewhat shocked by all the negativity..

 

but ive been fooled before.

Top notch? Uh no.

 

I've been keeping an eye on the Steam Sacred 3 forums a couple months before it even launched, a launch btw, that happened before its official launch date in order to screw over as many pre-ordered gamers as possible so they have no recourse for a refund and get those sales before the ending of the review embargo would clue gamers into the fact the game truly sucked.

 

Even the first day I checked out the Steam forums it was lit up with posts about how Sacred 3 was NOT Sacred. I actually felt bad for Keen at that moment because the deserved vitriol was relentless. These weren't dumb gamer sheep Deep Silver were counting on to mindlessly pre-order their terrible game. The voice of the righteous outrage definitely drowned out anything else on that forum. And perhaps that's what inspired DS to launch the game early, wouldn't put it past them.

 

It wasn't with a small amount of satisfaction that I watch Sacred 3 quickly sink on the top sellers list, even with full on Steam advertising support on the front page. And that junior developer post helped so much in shedding light on the problem. Normally I would immediately dismiss that kind of post on Steam but it came off as legit to me, as I said in that thread, and I guess it was cleared by Gamespot who made it a news piece on their site.

 

That alone should tell you that their marketing strategy was not 'Top Notch'. If front page Steam advertising can't help you, well, 'nuff said. It wasn't even a week when Sacred 3 was completely off of Top Sellers list and at the same time Divinity: Original Sin which was released a full month before was still sitting happily on the first page, often jockeying for positionfor #1 at the same time.

 

So yeah, one would hope that heads were rolling at Deep Silver for allowing their marketing execs to moonlight as game developers (because, ya know, it's so easy anyone can make a stupid game) and besmirching its name because now the common impression about DS is that's its the new EA.

 

That's not Top Notch marketing in my opinion. That's near criminal business practices that got its just desserts.

 

Edit: I haz gramr and I spel gud.

[Hello fellow Sacred fans!]

Wow, thank you so much for the warm welcome!

It sure was nice logging in to find such a friendly reception to my intro post. *warm fuzzies*

 

Now looking back, it's interesting to me how off-handed impressions can do such injustice for certain games and all of these past years I would get negative impressions from comments here and there on the internet that Sacred wasn't worth bothering with. It wasn't until I finally took the initiative to check out the Steam forums for Sacred 2 during a sale (yes Steam forums, imagine that ) that I got better insight into what the game was like and after sifting through the chaff, I started thinking that perhaps my initial impression was incorrect and that this sounded like something I could have been enjoying all along. So I took the plunge and unsurprisingly, I loved it. Anyway, lesson learned. Even now I still see so many negative comments about Sacred 1 and 2 that are so undeserved but I guess being in the shadow of Diablo has many gamers dismissing it without really experiencing it.

 

Whoa. *burrrr* Anyway, deep thoughts moment is over. Really glad to be here.

 

Edit: Have to get used to the fact that you need to have double carriage returns for paragraphs. My inner perfectionist can't suffer a wall-o-text.

[Hello fellow Sacred fans!]

Greetings alll!

 

I bought the Sacred bundle on Steam and right away got off to a great start with Sacred 2, have yet to beat the game but I plan to with at least one character, eventually.

 

Sacred Gold sat unplayed for months and ironically, it wasn't until the release of the horrifically tragic Sacred 3 that I felt inspired to play all of the original Sacred franchise so Sacred 2 was put on hold and now I find myself addicted to the first Sacred, already with over 100 hours logged and about four different characters all off to a good start but my wood elf is taking the lead for highest level which is currently about 30 on silver. And most of this is due to the wonderful build guides I've found on this site. I truly don't think I would be getting nearly as much enjoyment out of my games without this site.

 

So with that in mind I thought it was high time for me to actually register here and become more active, even though I truly am more of a lurker at heart but I speak up when prudent now and then.

 

So anyway, just wanted to say hi!

 

Shadeling