What are you playing now

[Nepenthe]

Dragon Age: Awakening. My first playthrough, when it was originally released, was totally bug-free. Now that I'm trying to do a completionist run, it's suddenly become an exercise in hair pulling. Sometimes, I don't know if I've run into an actual bug, or if I've just failed to read the designers' minds correctly (Peasant Revolution, especially). Am currently again tipping in favor of ditching the Dragon Age franchise for good after the first game.

[Serrano]

The peasant revolution as far as I can tell can't be persauded to stand down. You can intimidate them though, and I thought that this may be a design choice as how often is an angry mob talked out of rioting with a few diplomatic words? Apparently it's also best to avoid starting the blighted orphans quest until after you've done all of the companions loyalty(?) quests, as it stop a few of the more irritating bugs to do with them triggering ect. And you want to get all of the keep quests done before you get your last companion as again, they stop triggering once the enemy are on the march.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Serrano

[WorstUsernameEver]

They still didn't fix all those bugs? Oh dear. Bioware taking cues from Obsidian about bugfixing? Now I've seen it all.

[Serrano]

Well they released a new Dragon Age patch not so long ago, I don't know if any Awakening fixes were included.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Serrano

[WorstUsernameEver]

Before someone jumps on me and starts slapping me, yeah, that was a joke.

 

But if those bugs weren't fixed in the patch it'd be honestly a bit baffling.

[Nepenthe]

AFAIK, there have been virtually 0 gameplay fixes so far. Most of them have been engine/crash related. There were supposed to be (very) few in the final, but it's at least as broken as it was before.

 

The peasant revolution as far as I can tell can't be persauded to stand down. You can intimidate them though, and I thought that this may be a design choice as how often is an angry mob talked out of rioting with a few diplomatic words? Apparently it's also best to avoid starting the blighted orphans quest until after you've done all of the companions loyalty(?) quests, as it stop a few of the more irritating bugs to do with them triggering ect. And you want to get all of the keep quests done before you get your last companion as again, they stop triggering once the enemy are on the march.

 

 

99 % sure I managed to persuade them the last time I was playing. Which was only a couple of weeks ago. So far the most credible reports are that somehow the order in which you do the main quests matters. Ie. when I did Blackmarsh and Kal'hirol it worked, but now that I did Kal'hirol -> Wending Wood, it didn't. Read some reports of patch 1.04 changing the equation, at any rate.

 

[Gfted1]

Still playing Torchlight and now that Ive gotten further I take back the stuff I said earlier, there is enough diversity in dungeon layout and critters. Thank god for the dog/pack mule. With the Monty Haul this game puts out Im sending him back to town at least once per level.

[Tale]

Finished my third ME2 run so I could play through all the DLC with a fresh game. I hit level cap before I even went for the IFF. And before I did Overlord or Lair of the Shadow Broker. Whatever DLC they do next really needs to up that cap.

 

The ME2 DLC leaves me flabbergasted as to how Dragon Age: Origins got such poor DLC. It was all very well made. Even the dreaded Hammerhead DLC wasn't too bad. Every single post-release DAO DLC was reused areas with some (albeit neat) gimmick. ME2 DLC got new areas and gimmicks. But at least DAO got an expansion. So I can't be upset.

 

 

My copy of Halo Reach should arrive tomorrow. So don't know what I'll do tonight. Maybe I'll do a little more of my latest DAO play.

[Nepenthe]

The ME2 DLC leaves me flabbergasted as to how Dragon Age: Origins got such poor DLC. It was all very well made. Even the dreaded Hammerhead DLC wasn't too bad. Every single post-release DAO DLC was reused areas with some (albeit neat) gimmick. ME2 DLC got new areas and gimmicks. But at least DAO got an expansion. So I can't be upset.

 

... until ME2 gets an expansion, too.

 

But I pretty much agree with everything you've said. The difference between the two games is fairly shocking. I can only imagine DAO having had astronomically high costs due to the long product cycle, which resulted in the console ports and a skeleton crew working on the DLC. Because the difference is STAGGERING.

[Hurlshort]

I really doubt we will see a full expansion for ME2. Isn't ME3 due out next year? They seem set on DLC only, which is fine because I'm pretty excited for ME3 and would rather them focus on that.

[Tale]

ME3 is due 2012 to my knowledge.

[Morgoth]

End of 2011/Early 2012 is what I heard.

[WorstUsernameEver]

You guys know that Mass Effect 3 still hasn't been announced.. right?

[Morgoth]

You guys know that Mass Effect 3 still hasn't been announced.. right?

Doesn't matter. It's 100% coming.

[WorstUsernameEver]

You guys know that Mass Effect 3 still hasn't been announced.. right?

Doesn't matter. It's 100% coming.

 

I know Morgoth, but we don't know when.

[Tale]

I know when. The exact date, in fact.

[Nepenthe]

I think there was a preliminary timetable on a press release for the ME movie. Can't find it now, of course, so... But IIRC it was more on the 2012 side of things than 2011. I've been quite happy with the "shorter but gooder' approach they've adopted with the me2 dlc... but I'd be very surprised if there isn't a larger expansion early next year. Such an expansion was, if not on the cards, then certainly seen as an alternative prior to the release. And Lair is already pushing the limit for what xbox live allows as DLC...

[entrerix]

if lair is really that good then maybe instead of a big expansion they will just make 3 expansions like it and then package them together as an "expansion" for those people who dont do dlc?

 

that said, i'd love a bigger expansion for ME2.

 

 

also: i tried replaying dragon age recently and stopped once i got past lothering because i remembered all the fighting in tunnels i was going to have to suffer through in order to finish the game... has anyone else had this experience? Planescape Torment had bad combat too, but they didnt put nearly as many long dungeon crawls in the game to rub it in.

[Tale]

I love DA combat. Having to quick react with a force field to counter a crushing prison or save someone from a curse of mortality. Having to go for a paralysis, knockdown, or stun to counter an Ogre grab.

 

In general, any game system that has counter tactics is lots of fun for me.

[entrerix]

there were a few fun fights to be sure, but sooooo many boring slogfests also which just wreck the pacing of the game for me.

[Monte Carlo]

DA's combat is good, but some attacks were designed for spamming and the phasing / synching of attacks baffles me a bit. The 2-H weapon style guy needs a lot of micro-ing in combat whereas your slice-em-and-dice em dual wielder doesn't.

 

But there were lots of tunnels to fight in which was generally awesome.

[Tale]

Mage really clicks for me just for tactical options. But Mana Clash, damn. If ever a power needed nerfing in a single player game, that's the one.

 

My first three times through I could point out a few mage fights that were tough as heck for me. Mana clash and they're a joke.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Tale

[HoonDing]

I love it when you spread out your party to avoid damage when an Ogre is about to hurl a rock or to avoid an incoming charge... and then your party still takes damage even if they're two miles away from the Ogre's line of sight.

 

Or when I nicely line up a Cone of cold when the game's paused, then I unpause the game, enemies move and I not only freeze the baddies, but also the rest of my party. R00fles!

[Nepenthe]

if lair is really that good then maybe instead of a big expansion they will just make 3 expansions like it and then package them together as an "expansion" for those people who dont do dlc?

 

that said, i'd love a bigger expansion for ME2.

 

I'm sure they'll do such a package eventually. You have to bear in mind that, as good as Shadow Broker is, it's still only a couple of hours (well, threeish). And while that might represent 50 % of the single player campaign of a Call of Duty game, it's still relatively bite-sized for an RPG.

 

It essentially boils down to what is the setup they want to do for ME3. Is it going to be (re)introducing some characters who are going to be important in ME3, or are they actually going to start following up on some of the themes suggested in ME2 and especially Shadow Broker. When it comes to ME2, I actually believe that they have a fairly in-depth plan for the 'major' DLC - certainly it seems a lot better integrated than the disjointed DAO effort...

 

also: i tried replaying dragon age recently and stopped once i got past lothering because i remembered all the fighting in tunnels i was going to have to suffer through in order to finish the game... has anyone else had this experience? Planescape Torment had bad combat too, but they didnt put nearly as many long dungeon crawls in the game to rub it in.

 

You're not alone.

 

It's been a while since I've played the main game, though, and the DLC seems a lot better in this way. Well, not Darkspawn Chronicles, but still... Or Return to Ostagar... OR (argh).

 

Ok, Leliana's Song (or whachamacallit) is a fun little independent adventure, and the buggy mess of Awakening is a lot better in theory, but in practice calls for a lot of 'guess the developer's intent'...

[entrerix]

im gonna get awakening eventually, but probably not until i can get it for $15 or so since i've heard mixed things primarily.