aries101

The specs for DA 2 is out. Chris Priestly mentions them in this thread: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/260/index/5473672/1 You can also see them here: And DA 2 will alsp support DX 11, it seems.

Games I'm getting are: Mass Effect 3 Witcher 2 And maybe these: Dragon Age 2 Dungeon Siege 3 Diablo 3 and adventure games Gray Matter

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/...itches-to-Steam In this, Jason Bergmann says that 'Senior Producer Jason Bergman revealed that the PC version of the upcoming RPG will require Steam activation.' It clearly means that this game needs activation over Steam. You can play it without being connected to Steam.... A quote For Fallout 3, the game used Games for Windows Live... a very intrusive system that didn't work; Steam is way more unobtrusive...

As for the english grammar in the linked post; yes, it is horrific and maybe a bit funny, too. However, people can have English as a second or third language, they can have a reading or writing disability e.g. being dyslexic. As for tips to kill a dragon, you can also have runes (flame resistant, tm) on your weapons. And on your shields and armour if you're lucky...

If you read what Mike Laidlaw is saying in the linked posts, I've linked to on the previous page, everyone seems very focused on the swish action combat in the first 10 minutes of the game. Mike Laidlaw (and David Gaider etc.) all then has said that Varric is indeed exageretting Hawke's ways of doing things, and Cassandra is the -ahem- 'truth police'. So, when she is asking about Varric if that's how it really happened, Varric tells the tale again. And the fighting is much harder this time around... And yes, I know that neither Bioware nor Obsidian did invent framed narratives (Boccacio's Decameron comes to mind) or a narrative with an unreliabe narrator; I just meant that Obsidian and Bioware know each other from way back and they probably exchange ideas...and such.... And to tell a story this way, it is a first to me...in a video game, at least... I also meant that I thought it maybe could get a little trivial for people to play the same game sequence over again....

To start from another place: There's two Danish indie games out right now, Max & the Magic Marker and Limbo. And especially Limbo has risen to great reviews. And it only is about 20 US dollars or so, via digital distribution. If it had come out packaged and retail, it would have had to be sold for maybe at least 80-100 US dollars. Not so today. People today can create very interesting games with only 5-6 or 8-10 people. And be profitable.... It is the same way with DLC....a small team of 6-12 people can create these dlcs and make sure that the company makes money...possibly even to keep the company from closing....

To get back to the topic at hand --- Here's a quote from Seb Hanlon Source: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/14...498367&lf=8 from this thread: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/4498367 And make sure to read Mike Laidlaw's very nerdy and humorous message at the end of the first linked thread :D I liked Seb's comments about the combat - on the hand I'm not that much of a fan of going through the same combat again system....Whoever thought of this should be ---- something...or have done something very nasty to him... I mean, what's the fun in going through the combat once again... It seems that (as I can tell) Bioware has visited Obsidian, maybe, and thought, that 'hey, we need to use the same framed narrative for Dragon Age 2'.... I don't know i this is the case, but it sure seems like it...

Sadly - I have to agree here. The combat feels like the one in Mass Effect 2 (and possibly ME1?) in which you go through tunnels and tunnels and yet more tunnels. Even in open land, the combat felt sort of tunneled - or tunnelwise - if that's even a word? On the other hand, playing as Dalish Elf, I've noticed some unique dialogues when returning to the Elven Camp for Zathrian's Quest and also in some other places, especially when humans learn that my character is a Dalish Elf. And Leliana and my Dalish Elf character had a very long talk about elfs and humans. I tried my best to remember that I was playing as this Dalish Elf, not the Human Noble, and chose my dialogues accordingly. As for the toolset, hasn't this 'the powertool problem' been a reality since the release of the toolset for NWN2 which also were a toolset only experienced modders could use? Contrary to this, the toolset for NWN1 was a toolset everyone could use (even me!). And Bioware released it because they felt that they wanted to give players the experience to create their own worlds, so they could have the same experience in computer D&D game as they had during the 1970's and 1980's D&D PnP games... I don't if they were succesfull or not...

This is the thread from which the above info comes. Original info from the New 360 OXM Magazine. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/4418934/1 As for the info revealed, I like the part about the story and about the pivotal events. I'm not that keen on the cinematic experience being 'more and 'more'. Sometimes, I get the feeling that the writers for video gamers? maybe are failed writers for movie scripts? I also maybe get the feeling that the writers and devs. think that since video games are a visual medium, they'll want to make them more and more visually e.g. making them cinematic. As far what I like, I also like the fact that there will ne civil war going on in DA2 and that the story is told via the framed narrative.

The source to the above picture is here: http://blog.bioware.com/2010/08/05/bioware...r-matt-goldman/ And here's the thread from the Bioware forums: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/3354749/1

I'm still cautiously optimistic about this game, DA2. There will still be three classes, it seems. Rogues seem to be more ninja-like this time around. Warriors will be be more warrior-like and mage's will be more mage-like. Great idea, I find. I also like that the races will be more distinctive from one another. I'm very fond of the unreliable storytellers that tell the game...but that's maybe because I'm a teacher? As for the combat, I'd wait for the trailer to be released...that combat trailer that is. As for the top down view, I find it to be horribly broken, especially since one of the design guys had the great idea to make a big 'pause' sign right in the middle of the screen. As for top down view for CRPGs, both Morrowind, Mass Effect and Oblivion as well as some other games did away with the top down view. It didn't hurt them much. The Witcher did it, too, I think? I had a lot of worries about the first Dragon Age game with its ancient evil, its secret organization, its gather an army setup. And then it turned out to be about the story of not only you (as the warden) but also of how other people react to you, and how they're reacting faced with danger. In this game, there won't be any ancient evil, no secret organization, and such things. The game will be about how Hawke risis to power.... e.g. a common man who will be the Champion of Kirkwall....to whom, though?

A little anecdote to start with: If you go Wade's Emporium in Denerim in DA:Origins, you'll meet Wade and Herren. At one time, Wade complains that he wishes he'd still have the time to make quality products - like he used to. (I know, the comment is meant to be for armors, but still). Herren then replies with something like: 'the customers needs to get his armour in time, not years after, like....'. I also find this one rather telling; Herren says to Wade: 'and you'll still be eating gruel' or something like that. I've taken this as a comment on the whole quality vs. quantity debate, or maybe even a comment on EA and Bioware's relations-ship? Although that might be stretching it a bit.... And yes, we can all wish us back to years ago; however, you have to move on, always learning, always expanding, both as a company and as person, I think. On another note, be thankfull that Bioware is trying something different with their games each time, the old EA was infamous for spouting out sequels that were thinly disguised as the same game - year after year after year. As for Dragon Age: Origins, certain events only trigger after a while, I think. I've learned that Wynne has a spirit tied to her, and at one point, Wynne asked if my dog (Baldur) didn't need a bath. And I think this was a one time only conversation? Sometimes, when I go to camp, and talk to my comrades (npcs), I'll get a cutscene or there will be a cutscene immediately upon arriving at camp. I guess? that it is this technology that they have evolved further. However, I do think that it maybe would be more like the cut-scenes in The Witcher, where you'll learn after a while or right-away what consequences siding with the elves had, for instance.

Does it really surprise you that Bioware does romances again in DA2 (or Hawke: The Champion of Kirkwall)? It doesn't to me, since romances are Bioware's trademark. And many girls and women play Bioware games, since they have romances in them. As for GZ's comments, I don't believe in what he says, espicially about the 'not listening' to their internet forums. Many people on the Bioware forums expressed the hope that in DA2 they'd like to hear what the main character says, and so it'll be in DA2. And yes, the Marilyn Manson PR for DA: Origins were indeed what put Dragon Age: Origins on the map, and helped launched it into the market. We can bemoan the world in which sex and violence still gets out attention span or factor going, but such is the reality still.

As for the player statistics, 40% af all video game players are now girls/women, while the average age for a player now is 35. It is time the PR-departments of say EA and Bioware stop catering to teenage adolescent boys who like blood, gore and explosions. As for the first Dragon Age: Origins, I didn't understand why it did get an 18+ rating from PEGI, untill I entered The Lost in Dreams sidequest. Then, finally, I understood. (I still maintain, though, that is should DA:O should only have gotten a 16+ PEGI rating). As for Dragon Age, I really like the whole set-up with the unreliabe story-teller (narrator) and I can't wait to see how they narrate both the male and femaleHawke's tale...

I don't know if this is the appropriate place to put this info, but there's a new patch out for the original game, Dragon Age: Origins (and Awakenings), patch 1.04. It fixes a great many bugs, both in Origins and Awakenings: Link to the patch for the PC: http://social.bioware.com/page/da-patches Patch 1.04 fixes very many bugs in the game, including that you now longer appear without equipment if you imported a character into Awakenings from Origins. The patch for Xbox 360 will be out later today, e.g. about the time it'll be morning in North America. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/94/index/3185557 Also, on the Bioblog, there's a podcast where one of Bioware's developers talk with Mark Laidlaw, the Lead Designer for the Dragon Age 2. The thread from the Bioware Social Network http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/3182271 No word on the release date for the patch for the PS3 patch, though.

It amazed me really that Blizzard didn't foresee this to happen when they first talked about using RealID at their forums. Disclosure of real names in internet forums, especially game forums are a bad idea, mmkay... The thing that happened to the community manager could (and will) happen to anyone... when and of they disclose their real name on an internet website - for games...

-eh- I meant the ME2 demo, sorry That'll teach my not to post when I'm tired...

Coming from adventure games (remember those, all the Lucas Arts games like The Monkey Series, the Syberias and the bewer ones like the Sherlock Holmes games), I don't quite understand the reason behind (or the opposition) to having a voiced main character. Nearly every adventure game (the modern ones at least) have a voiced main character; granted adventure games are also a bit shorter as rpgs traditionally is (were). In Blackwell Legacy Games, you choose the dialogue much like in the Mass Effect games, it works rather well in those games, I find. The only problem with this is when you get a line that seems to imply you're saying something and then you're something completey different as what you were expexcting.... say the line say's 'hallo' and then the mian character are saying 'goodbye'. Really weird this is then... As for playing a fixed character, The Witcher did it, The Gothic games do it, Risen does it - and a bunch of other games do it. The problem with this is of course that a lot of other games do it, Dragon Age: Origins is a true gem, a unique game - much like The Witcher is. And this is really how to make a game stand out in the crowd - make it unique. Interesting as this is, The Witcher seems to be moving into Bioware's direction with party rpgs and tactical combat while Bioware is moving into The Witcher's direction. Although DA:Origins probably outsold Mass Effect 2, the production costs must have been enormous. Mass Effect 2 probably cost around half as much? as DA:O to develop. Therefore the cost/profit ratio is higher for games like ME2 than DA:O - and that is onky one of the things that we need to take into the equation of why Bioware (and EA) decided to make DA2 more like Mass Effect 1 and 2 (if indeed this it what they're doing). I myself am worried for the combat, though. I like my real time with pause, although having played the DA2 demo, I didn't mind it one bit that the realtime with combat was gone. However, for a tactical combat game like the DA series (?), I just hope that they keep the tactical combat i.e. the real timw with pause.

In the old adventure games, King's Quest games (yes, I'm that old ) from 1984-1998 (or so) you basically have a Royal family running around getting into trouble. King Graham marries his Queen. Then Princess Rosella and Princess Alexander each have their own game, and maybe one game together? And in Black Mirror 2 (the sequel to Black Mirror, another adventure game) you play as the descendant of the main character in Black Mirror 1.And, as others have said, if you romance Aerie in BG2, and let enough time go by, eventually by the end of the game, you will have a baby. It'll just stay as inventory item, though. However, it could be sort of fun or maybe distressing if the main character like Shepard or Thornton would be presented with a woman in bar saying 'hey. you're a daddy now'. However, I don't think it would work to have her say more than this line, both from a roleplaying as well as a gameplay perspective.

I've just started playing Stalker - Shadow of Chernobyl. And I just have to say - wauw -. This game is really, really great. The quests are interesting and varied, the combat are varied as well. And you can perform quests or missions in any order. I've also started playing Assasin's Creed (the first one). The set-up for this game is really something else. The whole idea of is very original indeed. And the medieval world of 1191 really feeels alive. Normally, I wouldn't even have looked at these games. However, thansk to to the mentions they got here and on other websites I picked them up and I haven't regretted it one bit.

As fas the Witcher is concerned there is a Platinum Edition of The Witcher out in Europe now. It basically is the Enhanced Edition with 1.5 patch in it, no censored content and the fanmade adventures included. As for the first Drakensang, you can try amazon perhaps or any other online vendor that sells retal boxed copies of games. I have to say that Im working my way more and more to accept one time onlin activation if it means that I can get to play without the disc in the drive. And if that online activation goes away 12-18 months after the game's initial release. Many people than don't have an internet connetion at home or a very unstable one, can probably go to another place to get the game activated. However, I don't like the idea that have to be always on to play a single player game. Simply because many people stll don't have fast internet broadband connections - even in the western countries, especially in the rural areas. As for DRM, let us not forget that the musc and film industry in the 1970's tried to outlaw and ban video machines as well as cassette tapes. They did not see potential for making money this way. The computer-industry sees this potential when it comes to gaming. Many games no also can be bought from Steam, Direct 2 Drive, Gamer's Gate or ther places. And one benefit of all this is that this might actually help a niche game genre such as the adventure game genre to survive.

They aren't? Opps, I guess I was mistaken about that point. No, the old Bioware forums are not closed They're here http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/ As for 9th level spells, you'll need to be level 20 (or over I, think?) to be able to cast level 9 spells. At level 18, I think?, you can cast 9th level spells from scrolls, but not write them to your spellbook. Edit: If I remember correctly, if you have a speciality mage, e.g. a mage that specializes in say evocation, I think? there are spells you simply can't cast.

Although I too wouldn't mind seeing another high-quality, story-oriented NWN 2 expansion, I think it is unrealistic to expect it for several reasons: 1) NWN 2 has been out for a while now and game is ageing while the fanbase is probably shrinking. 2) Atari is, I believe, in a legal dispute over the D&D electronic license, so it might not want to risk new games or expansions based on D&D - notice how there haven't been any new D&D games even announced since then. 3) WotC would be unhappy to see another non-4E D&D game (though I would be happy to see another 3.5E game) 4) There were supposed to be major changes to the ruleset, so even if WotC and Atari were willing to allow another 3.5E expansion, they might not approve of the non-canonical rule changes in an official product. 5) There were supposed to be more mature elements in the game, if I remember correctly, which would raise its rating and decrease the audience and likely lead to non-approval by WotC and/or Atari. As for the mature content, WoTC/Atari seems to be forgetting that games are not just for children anymore. There's a huge crowd of gamers that are over 40+ or even 30+ that would like mature games with good stories to play. The success of DA: Origins, MW2, and other Mature rated games prove this by far, I find.

I thought Zampella and West (the two guys from IW) did not want to make a COD/MW game every year as Activision wanted them to do? But only every other year? As for who is right and who is wrong, I can't reallt tellm based on the information given here. Maybe these people need to see a marriage - ehm- game company counsellor - to talk about things. I sense people being hurt here - both West & Zampella and people from Activision as well.

This story is also big now in Denmark as several major newspapers have reported this; CNN also being their source. Interestingly enough, this news is at least a year, if not 1