Aristes
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Posts posted by Aristes
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If I am, I don't know it. Well, I'll have to find out later. No time now.
This game has become quite addictive of late. -
Okay, finished everything obvious to me in the Mage's Tower, which amounted to three obvious quests. There's also one that requires me to find some poor bastard, but I haven't seen him yet.
Afterwards, I went back to camp. ALT tabbed out from camp to post this, in fact. I have to say that I was surprised. In camp, during a discussion, Leliana started singing. I was set to cringe. In fact, I turned to look out the window at the rain, but I decided not to hit ESC just in case there was some important detail I needed to see. I have to admit I'm getting even more emo as I get older. That, or I'm turning into a Nancyboy. At any rate, I found the song extremely well done and even touching. It seemed to me that the team managed to include some view of every person in the camp at the time. I'm not sure about Zhevron or Wynne, but Alistair, Sten, Morrigan, and Jack (the dog) all had some sort of response to the singing. The song is nothing special, but the scene itself was well worth watching. I have a save some time before that and I might actually watch it again. I know. I know. I'm not longer a member of the he-man woman haters' club.
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I've seen the Martians, and the Martians are us!
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"...da is not bioware's best game."
That might be true, but it doesn't take much to outdo the ending in Fallout 3. I've avoided reading about the ending, but I have noticed the complaints about it from a lot of folks. You, ~Di, and others.
On a different note, and I'll probably go Monte's tactics thread for more on this, but I've been avoiding reading much of the tactical discussion. I've seen a couple of things at a glance, like Enoch's views on sleep and the like. A few of you swear by crushing prison, which I agree is damned good, but I notice that bosses will drop aggro on the tank and go after the person who casts the damned thing. It's funny. It's like instant aggro. The other thing I notice is that fireball tends to be most effective at the start of battle, especially since the baddies haven't scattered yet. The unfortunate thing is that my caster gets aggro and doesn't let it go. That's where the force field thing comes in handy. Either that or I run around madly casting crowd control on folks who won't drop aggro on me. Overall, the battles are fun. Some are hard, but most are just fun, which is all I ask. I imagine that Nightmare level will probably be pretty damned tough. Of course, I haven't put in any mods. If I switched some of the skills, I think it could actually be much easier.
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I have to admit that Hard has been pretty hard. Not beating my head against the wall hard, but it's not been a cakewalk. Certain battles are tougher than others. Now that I'm level... 12? I think, I'm going to go back to the Brecilian forest and try to do those
tombstone
battles. First, though, I'm going to finish off the non-crit things in the mage tower. Of course, that can only happen when I get a chance to play the game again, which won't be for a while.
It's now as addicting to me as Fallout 3, only the odds and ends in the story and the NPC interaction are far superior in Dragon Age, which means that I'm set to enjoy it more than Fallout 3 when all is said and done. At this point in Fallout 3, my interest was starting to cool, so it looks like Dragon Age is a much better finisher. -
Okay, someone spoilerize me.
I made it to the Mages Tower last night. Doesn't quite look the same as it did.
I'm in the fade and there are tons of these things that bump stats. I've been saving my stat bumps for folks who can use them better than I can. Strength, for example. Now, will my party be able to come back to use these? I thought maybe, but after I saved Morrigan, she up and disappears. That seems to verify that these stat bumps need to be used while I'm in the fade or they're lost. Now, str might not mean much to my mage, but the rest have at least a nominal use. For example, why save con for my tank only to have it lost completely to everyone? My gut tells me that the rest of the party won't be wandering these hallways with me ever.
Having played through the scenario that irked Dega, I have to say I agree with him. It's not that you can't make a case for the goodness of sparing the murderous wretch. That's fine. However, she's a dangerous person who has admitted using blood magic and murdering her fellows. There is no way in hell I'm going to let her run off the same direction as the children. I would like to be able to put her in the custody of the Templars outside. I'd be willing to hand her off to a neutral third party to hear her case. Hell, I'd even be willing, maybe, to let her go in an area where she can go her way while I go mine. What I'm not willing to do is set her loose when the only way out of the area that I know is through children I've promised to safeguard.
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I liked the latest episode. Just watched it right now and I have to say that Agent Hangdog Benford isn't nearly so bad any more. I really liked seeing him throw down. He took that statement about doing whatever it takes to heart. That and the bastard was right! Good show.
Yes, the **** thing was funny.
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I actually like Flash Forward quite a bit. It's just that it seems so uneven, just like KQD said. Still, the mystery aspect appeals to me quite a bit. The part with Al, which served to show that things were not set in stone, was well done also. The part in DC was pretty good also. The drama parts seem fairly weak. I have to admit that a lot of drama in a television show usually puts me off, so that might just be me.
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Well, I'm glad you're getting into it because that means some LOSTesque conversation. I actually feel very much the same way about LOST. Some of it is great and some of it drives me bat****.
If it weren't for the fact that the series is apparently over (I won't look it up on wiki until I've seen the last episode), I would start a Carnivale thread. The wife and I are both totally addicted. We just got done with the third disk of season one. Awesome. Both episodes centered on Babylon and it's classic.
To get back to Flash Forward, I think they've given themselves enough leeway to keep us guessing. I'll be happy if the loopholes aren't big enough to drive a truck through.
Oh, and the wife says she loves Carnivale, but next time she wants less bodies. haha What a whiner! Don't tell her I said that.
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I haven't seen it yet, but I've been somewhat disappointed with the last couple of episodes. I have my hopes, though. I'll probably watch tonight's episode tomorrow. hehe We got the next disk for Carnivale tonight and the wife was jonsin' to watch it asap. So was I.
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I wouldn't count on getting real moral ambiguity from the mage origin. It's a fairly tough decision for a CRPG, though. I think the fade was really interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing the other origins. Probably human rogue next.
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Both Dega and Jags make good arguments, but the point is that they make good arguments for their perspectives. I don't think Bioware should make the moral decision for us. In a game where you are not only expected to kill off tons of folks but actually required to do so in order to further the game, it should not be a clear cut question with easy answers on the part of the design team. If Dega kills off the wretches, then the design team should not overtly put it in terms of being evil. In his mind, this isn't evil. It's justice. If Dega spares the wretches, then the design team should not put it in terms of being good. In his mind, it might not good. It might be indifference. My point is that the design team feels compelled to dictate the moral basis for the decision overtly whereas the player should not be forced to view the act confined by Bioware. Of course, a game that allowed that kind of leeway is going to far more ambitious than any of the games I've seen in recent years.
In prinicple, I agree with Dega about how Bioware depicts the decision. In practice, however, I'm going to forgive Bioware for taking the expedient route.
This game has been quite entertaining. I find the battles sufficiently difficult to be fun without being a chore, which is to say that I hardly ever have to restore from a save because of wipes, but I do have to spend a little time micromanaging. Yeah, the AI can be irritating, for example, the idiots should really avoid running into my inferno effect, but what the hell? You can't have everything. I've had the game for a while, but I was gone for a couple of weeks so I've only now gotten into it. It's not as addictive as Fallout 3 so far, but I think the character creation and advancement is more entertaining so I think I'll end up with more replays.
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I just ran into a talkative assassin who tried to ambush me. Didn't work well for him. What a bunch of chumps. Anyhow, I took him into my party and now he's hitting on Leliana. Still, my favorite dialogue is probably between the dog and either Alistar or Morigan.
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Holy Cow. Thanks Gromnir. How the hell could I miss that those large fireballs were trap effects? I went and lured it into the hallway and didn't even get anyone knocked out of the fight. I don't think it was your level so much as those fire trap effects, Monte. Damn. I could kick myself.
Oh, and I decided to take Alistair with me. Sten isn't geared as well and Alistair has the durability advantage, so I basically switched between CC and healing the tank. I took a few levels of healing on my pc since Morrigan doesn't seem to do healing at this point.
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I don't take offense, Tigranes. Frankly, though, I didn't even know there were traps in the lair until Gromnir mentioned it. I don't think I'm under leveled. My main character is level 8 and my other characters are at least level 7. I think. I haven't paid that much attention. All's I know is that one shot tends to kill my party members. Literally, I walked into the room and one fire shot knocked out three of my party members immediately. That could be a trap, though, now that I think about it.
My mage is invested in frost and fire at this point, but not high enough level to get the 4th teir. I tried the battle I believe four times yesterday. Hell, except for a couple of times against the
revenant and friends
this particular battle is the first one to require a reload. Of course, this is my first place I visited after I left that little burg being over-run by darkspawn. My party right now consists of the rogue, the shapechanger, Sten, the dog, and Allistar. I like having the rogue and Allistar in my party because I enjoy their voice overs the most and I like having the dog with me because he luuuurves me so much. ...But one must make changes to win the battle.
So, between my pc and the mage, we have at least plenty of chances to slap down some control on the beastie. Sadly, it resists about half of my spells at this point, but the extra chances should help. I got it down to about 1/4 health yesterday and I'll try the new party mix when I get the chance later. Thanks for the tips. I'll try it with the mage (PC), Morrigan, the pup, and Sten next. I do have to say, however, that Allistar is the only one so far who's stayed on his feet at all. On the other hand, if I can keep big, dark, and ugly controlled better, the extra damage might be better in order to end the battle faster.
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So, I'm actually finding a couple of tough battles on hard. All of them are in the Dalish area. The one with the
hermit
looked tough, but I wanted to handle it peaceably anyhow, so no biggie. The one with the
headstones that causes a bunch of undead to pop up and attack
is ugly as hell, but it wasn't necessary so I just decided to ignore it. However, the one that's toughest and doesn't seem avoidable is the one with the
dragon in the werewolf lair.
I've gotten him down to a quarter health a couple of times, so I'll try it again with a different party. I used Leilani (or however the hell you spell her name, the dog, and Allistair. That's a mage, rogue, dog, and tank. What I'll do next instead is to bring Morigan instead of the rogue. I think every chance we get for a freeze effect is best. I'll try that, and if it's closer, I'll switch out the mutt for Sten. I mean, I think Sten is an idiotic bastard, but maybe he can swing a sword at least. I'll probably just hold tight on the other orange name battles until later, but I want to wrap up the crit path stuff before I leave the area. Right now, it's fun, but if it gets to be boring, I'll just throw in the towel and lower it to normal difficulty. Of course, what I'll do now is endure tons of folks bragging about how they won all these battles solo with their 3rd level rogue, etc etc.
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Well, I know you guys will have a lot of fun when I start my Merry Xmas thread. hehe Seriously, though, long debates or not, it's a way to share holidays around this joint. ...And I don't mind a bit of heat in these threads. It helps cook the feast. I just don't want them to become a source of real animosity in our little slice of online heaven.
As for wiki? I think it's just the most convenient thing to use. I mean, we could actually cite some of the online refereed journals and whatnot, but that would be a pain and would require an account to read most of the ones with which I'm familiar. So, since wiki tends to be pretty good about sources and the like, it seems perfectly legit.
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I'm sick and tired of the shows I enjoy getting the axe. It used to be that I never watched tv because I didn't want to tailor my schedule to show times, but now that I can watch shows from the DVR/DVD, I watch a lot more tv and listen to music a little less.
Anyhow, now I'll have to look into Entourage. I just really enjoy the way the story is unfolding in Carnivale right now. A lot of shows try to be dark and gritty with a lot less to show for it, and the violence isn't even very graphic at all. Hell, it's disturbing without really any violence to speak of. It kind of reminds me of Twin Peaks except I can follow what the hell is going on in it. I tip my hat to you, sir. An excellent eye on your part, I say!
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Recently we've seen Peter's Friends, the new Star Trek film, and Wonder Woman. One of you glorious bastards suggested Wonder Woman and I have to say it was a nice little diversion, but not really my cuppa tea.
The same person suggested Carnivale, which is totally awesome and tubular and the wife and I watched disks 1 and 2 straight and are fervently waiting for the other disks. I'm going to be rightly pissed if the series ends after the first couple of seasons. My damned luck. Great so far, though. There are a couple of scenes that really struck me. The scene where the woman vomits money is disturbing but extremely well done. The first scene of the second episode in the cafe is awesome.
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Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down --- Kris Kristofferson
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Hey, at least you can find someone to casually converse with you in English. lol Seriously, though, I don't tend to get excited by the term "X-mas" or "Xtian" or the like. I mean, I can take it two ways and I try to take it in the most positive light. Too many Christians have been unwilling or unable to turn the other cheek. That includes me, by the way. ...But that doesn't mean I have to take offense at every slight, even if offense might be intended.
As far as the language thing, though, I constantly remind myself how truly excellent some of our fellows are on this board. I mean, you, Gorth, are a good example. So's Gorgon and Kaftan and some of the others who converse fluently in English even though it's not your native tongue. I'm not talking simple stuff, either. You guys have complex and often nuanced conversations with us English speakers. You even manage to use a lot of humor, which is not exactly always easy in a foreign language. To be fair, however, it's easier to find folks with whom to have an English discussion than Attic Greek. Since I don't translate a lot of classical works these days, my Greek and Latin is just getting horrible. Wellllll, my Latin always was, but it's getting worse!
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Actually I may owe the assembly an apology. Xian, according to my family is an older way of writing it.
Not Chinese or pirate (what a bunch of doofi) but it's definitely older and, like xmas, has roots in the past. I'd go into boring classical references, but I'm one of those boring old classicists that understand the historical underpinnings of Christianity while still believing in Christ.
Here's wikipedia's boring old reference:
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You Get What You Give -- New Radicals
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...also, in socialist Sweden, TV watches YOU. (and they send you letters like "kaftan, we know you're watching please pay us." all the time.)
Oh my goodness, I laughed out loud at this. You nut.
This game has become quite addictive of late.
Dragon age discussion
in Computer and Console
Posted · Edited by Aristes
No offense, Tigranes, but you seem a bit judgmental in this department for my tastes. You're a tiny bit dismissive in the best of circumstances. Just a smidge. Fair enough, and I'm not off-put by your attitude, but it does take the surprise out of reading such posts.
I think you're wrong on two counts, though.
First of all, any attempt to broaden the medium into something other than video game nerd status generates the same sort of response from folks. Give me an example of something you don't dismiss in a game and I'll give you plenty of examples of folks who deride it as reaching or grasping.