560 replies to this topic

[Gorth]

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End of old thread

What's the plan for Dragon Age 3 btw?

$5 Steam sale.

Latest data mining shows people didn't replay it as much as Dragon Age 1. Conclusion, combat was probably too hard and needs streamlining, so it doesn't detract from the story telling.

[Nepenthe]

Start of old thread
End of old thread

What's the plan for Dragon Age 3 btw?

$5 Steam sale.

Latest data mining shows people didn't replay it as much as Dragon Age 1. Conclusion, combat was probably too hard and needs streamlining, so it doesn't detract from the story telling.

If the next game has save imports, I'm gonna have to replay them both.

I still prefer DA2, the only thing DAO has going for it is that it looks old-school if I squint really hard. DA2 is at least trying, even if it fails (miserably, ymmv).

[Humanoid]

I thought the prevailing opinion was that DA2 would have been better off without its contrived respawning set-piece combat (and the singular tunnel it was set in) anyway.

I probably would really play it with combat totally removed actually, the writing couldn't have been any more offensive to me than DAO's was.

[Gorth]

Start of old thread
End of old thread

What's the plan for Dragon Age 3 btw?

$5 Steam sale.

Latest data mining shows people didn't replay it as much as Dragon Age 1. Conclusion, combat was probably too hard and needs streamlining, so it doesn't detract from the story telling.

If the next game has save imports, I'm gonna have to replay them both.

I still prefer DA2, the only thing DAO has going for it is that it looks old-school if I squint really hard. DA2 is at least trying, even if it fails (miserably, ymmv).

Hey, I was joking. I've never played DA2, so I wouldn't know it's replayability value. Just poking fun at the trend

I'm having a hard time too motivating myself for continuing The Witcher 2 with all it's hacky slashy combat. Feels no better than the combat in the DA2 demo.

[Drudanae]

I actually got more enjoyment out of DA2 than Twitcher 2 in the end. I'll never buy another CD Projekt product on release.

[Nepenthe]

I know, but I thought I'd post my honest opinion, in spite of the inevitable trolling it will lead to (mostly from people who've only played the demo, or not even that).

I thought the prevailing opinion was that DA2 would have been better off without its contrived respawning set-piece combat (and the singular tunnel it was set in) anyway.

Yep, just like DAO would've been better if half to 2/3 of its filler combat had been cut... Which kind of describes DA2. Also, as a (more) casual gamer with generally an hour per day for gaming (I realise that this is already quite a lot, in comparison), the pacing and the rhythm of the game are things that I've really started to value. This is something that Bioware's really improved from ME2 onwards.

Again, this is with the caveat that I played DAO (mostly) on PS3 while bedridden after some surgery and DA2 on the PC. Needless to say that the odds of this making my DA2 experience seem more favorable (better controls and framerate, not missing the camera etc. stuff that was removed from DAO PC because I never had them on the PS3 in the first place) are high.

Just read something that's also relevant to practically every discussion that happens here: "Tradition is about passing on the flame, and not the worshipping of ashes"

Edited by Nepenthe, 10 August 2012 - 02:10 AM.

[sorophx]

didn't play DA2 at home, only tried it at a friends (some mid-game content, mostly revolving around that elven tribal girl). and all I can say: encounter/mission design in DA2 was utter ****e. nowhere near as good as DAO. man, the one area I really hated in DAO was that dwarven underground fortress, and whole of DA2 plays exactly like that one area... at least DAO had mildly interesting side-quests and unique encounters.

[Morgoth]

Greg Zeschuk back in Canada; BioWare Austin will be possibly renamed into EA Austin

Haha, oh wow.

[Nepenthe]

Greg Zeschuk back in Canada; BioWare Austin will be possibly renamed into EA Austin

Haha, oh wow.

First part is a debunked rumour, final part is of the level I hear every day at the water cooler at my own place of employment. The only new info is the EA response to what Greg is doing, ie. enjoying a nice holiday with his family after a sizeable part of his former team has been sacked.

[Bos_hybrid]

Start of old thread
End of old thread

What's the plan for Dragon Age 3 btw?

$5 Steam sale.

Latest data mining shows people didn't replay it as much as Dragon Age 1. Conclusion, combat was probably too hard and needs streamlining, so it doesn't detract from the story telling.

Honestly I don't think I care what happens with DA3. I don't think bioware is making games the match my interests anymore.

[Morgoth]

New XCOM preview @Kotaku

Seems like they're liking it a lot.

[Malcador]

Rare to see otherwise in a preview.

[Monte Carlo]

Greg Zeschuk back in Canada; BioWare Austin will be possibly renamed into EA Austin

Haha, oh wow.

First part is a debunked rumour, final part is of the level I hear every day at the water cooler at my own place of employment. The only new info is the EA response to what Greg is doing, ie. enjoying a nice holiday with his family after a sizeable part of his former team has been sacked.

I think some dude from the EA deniable ops unit is en route to Greg's place now.

And the reason we all hated DA2 was:

1. Narcissism/ Hubris. Bio had such a hard-on for themselves, they sucked up their own hype. Gaider isn't George RR Martin, he needs to get over it.
2. Nor is Gaider Joss Wheedon. Don;t get me wrong, I don't like his stuff either.
3. DA:O was actually quite good. Then they went and designed the sequel using data aggregation instead of, y'know, interacting with humans.

[Volourn]

DA2 is just as good as DA1. Anyone who thinks there is a significant difference in quality between the two is fooling themselves.

[Tale]

And the reason we all hated DA2 was:

1. Narcissism/ Hubris. Bio had such a hard-on for themselves, they sucked up their own hype. Gaider isn't George RR Martin, he needs to get over it.
2. Nor is Gaider Joss Wheedon. Don;t get me wrong, I don't like his stuff either.
3. DA:O was actually quite good. Then they went and designed the sequel using data aggregation instead of, y'know, interacting with humans.

It was rushed. As I recall, it's the first time that team's ever had to deal with a deadline of only 11 months.

It's hard to really point at anything else with that standing in the way. Hubris? Maybe, with more time, the plot problems would have been identified. Maybe the choices could have played into the endings better, instead of rushing you down 1 path. Maybe they could have finished more dungeon assets.

Or maybe they would have wasted any extra time without a deadline looming so closely.

I think the stuff they did well, we could have lived with if they hadn't buggered the rest. If the 11th hour wasn't a railroad of NPCs going insane and evil to force the plot in one direction. They could have reused dungeons, but been smarter about it instead of obviously pasted on covers on doorways that stick out. If the encounters had had a little more variety or interest beyond the spawn-in.

Other niggles could have survived and been ignored. Like the plot actually being three mostly unrelated plots that the player is, for the most part, only witnessing instead of engaging with and shaping. Or the characters not being quite as interesting, though Varric was solid.

[Nepenthe]

And the reason we all hated DA2 was:

1. Narcissism/ Hubris. Bio had such a hard-on for themselves, they sucked up their own hype. Gaider isn't George RR Martin, he needs to get over it.
2. Nor is Gaider Joss Wheedon. Don;t get me wrong, I don't like his stuff either.
3. DA:O was actually quite good. Then they went and designed the sequel using data aggregation instead of, y'know, interacting with humans.

You've actually played the game since the last time this play was enacted in the obsidian board theatre?

[Cantousent]

What I find odd is that I was going to purchase DA2 on STEAM after someone assured me it wasn't bad as all the negative commentary I'd seen, but STEAM doesn't seem to carry it. I mean, I can understand some games not using STEAM, like Diablo 3 and such, but DAO is available. Why not DA2? ...And are they planning to expand the DA franchise or is it dead or is EA going to disolve Bio or what?

[Nonek]

Did the Templar chick with the McGuffin sword ever come down after she blasted off into space, I quit at that point and uninstalled, so I occasionally wonder if she achieved escape velocity.

[Drudanae]

Sarcastic (female) Hawke is one of the best protagonists in recent RPGs. She really made a lot of the stupid railroading palpable with her comments. A far cry from boring blocks of wood like Shepard and Geralt of Melniboné.

Also despite them looking like they stepped out of a B-rate jRPG, the party members are also much less annoying than the ones from DA:O.

[Volourn]

"Why not DA2? ...And are they planning to expand the DA franchise or is it dead"

DA3 has all but been officially announced.


"or is EA going to disolve Bio or what? "

Only an idiot would actually believe such stupidity.

But, yeah, EA has gone around making dozens of BIO x divisions but will randomly close down a studio whose games sell 2-3mil+. L0LZ

Internet spammers = ALWAYS WORTHY OF LAUGHING AT