Dragon Age III / The Witcher 3 trailers. Impressions?

[BruceVC]

and we all know that EA will take them for a walk in the woods with a .45 and a shovel soon.

 

I find that hard to believe, in fact I would say thats highly unlikely. Bioware isn't going anywhere. They still have several million committed fans, like me , who believe in there products  and enjoy the gaming experience they provide. These fans provide Bioware with a healthy revenue stream, so why would EA try to effect this in anyway?

[Cultist]

Bioware Montreal director today posted a photo of the Design Document (not the contents, just the binder) for ME4 and said it will use the same engine and "core features" as DAIII. An open-world Mass Effect RPG? Yes, thank you, I'll take two, one for my PC, one for my PS4. 

and here's Deus Ex design doc by comparison:

 

 

 

 

[BruceVC]

 

Bioware Montreal director today posted a photo of the Design Document (not the contents, just the binder) for ME4 and said it will use the same engine and "core features" as DAIII. An open-world Mass Effect RPG? Yes, thank you, I'll take two, one for my PC, one for my PS4. 

and here's Deus Ex design doc by comparison:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It never ceases to amaze me  the information you guys are able to find on the Internet about the gaming industry

[TrashMan]

Seriously...

 

People, it's a new engine. And Morrigan is supposed to be 10 years (at least) older. To expect her look exactly the same would be redicolous.

 

I like to bash on Bioware too because I hate the direction they are going lately, but c'mon...your bashing has to have SOME grounding in common sense.

[Nepenthe]

I wouldn't read too much into ME4 and DA3 using the same engine, as it's Frostbite which every EA game that possibly can use, will use (to cut costs, both in licensing and the obvious ones of being able to share stuff by using a single engine).

[Monte Carlo]

 

and here's Deus Ex design doc by comparison:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow look at all that 1990's office tech in the background! And *gasps* a tape cassette!!!

[Bos_hybrid]

Will BioWare realize a huge open world doesn't equate to a deep or engaging RPG experience?

 

Really, I would say New Vegas was a deeper and more engaging experience than most RPGs.

 

If bioware can't write a deep and engaging open world RPG experience, it has less to do with open world and more to do with the bioware dev team.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Bos_hybrid

[Nonek]

It's the speed with which Obsidian created New Vegas that surprised me, I knew the developers were skilled at developing under a tight schedule but the sheer size and reactivity of the Mojave was amazing considering the alloted time. To my mind it stands out as one of the few modern classics of the genre, whether Metacritic agrees or not.

 

If Bioware produces something as audacious and innovative, then i've no doubt ME3 and DA2 will be forgiven and forgotten, just like KOTOR redeemed NWN in the eyes of many. They have a larger team, a larger budget and more time on their hands so there's really no excuse.

[Monte Carlo]

Metacritic. LOL. NV is an excellent game, I really think they should make another and give it time to grow.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

Bioware Montreal director today posted a photo of the Design Document (not the contents, just the binder) for ME4 and said it will use the same engine and "core features" as DAIII. An open-world Mass Effect RPG? Yes, thank you, I'll take two, one for my PC, one for my PS4.

 

and here's Deus Ex design doc by comparison:

 

 

 

I assume that the ME document is full of love confession scenes and that they figure the rest of the game will somehow turn out all right.

 

Metacritic. LOL. NV is an excellent game, I really think they should make another and give it time to grow.

Honestly, I'd prefer Fallout to explore other areas than what has already done. Maybe the next one should be in Mexico...

 

Still, if Obsidian is behind it, it will be damn good.

Edited June 20, 2013 by KaineParker

[Humanoid]

I found the DA2 design document.

 

 

 

[Humanoid]

 

and we all know that EA will take them for a walk in the woods with a .45 and a shovel soon.

 

I find that hard to believe, in fact I would say thats highly unlikely. Bioware isn't going anywhere. They still have several million committed fans, like me , who believe in there products  and enjoy the gaming experience they provide. These fans provide Bioware with a healthy revenue stream, so why would EA try to effect this in anyway?

 

Origin had several million committed fans too...

 

 

Note I'm not saying that I believe they'll suffer the same fate in the short-to-medium term, just that the quantity of fans probably aren't the metric the suits use to determine when to put the kybosh on a studio.

[Nordicus]

and here's Deus Ex design doc by comparison:

 

 

 

 

It's not the size of the doc that matters... Edited June 20, 2013 by Nordicus

[Amentep]

Seriously...

 

People, it's a new engine. And Morrigan is supposed to be 10 years (at least) older. To expect her look exactly the same would be redicolous.

 

I like to bash on Bioware too because I hate the direction they are going lately, but c'mon...your bashing has to have SOME grounding in common sense.

 

 

she could also be Morrigan possessed by Flemeth too, for all we know.

 

 

But anyhow this to me is complaining that you can tell that Elrond Half-Elven looks older in the Hobbit than in LoTR even though the Hobbit is chronologically first or that Brandon Routh doesn't look like Christopher Reeve despite their Supermans both supposedling being the same character in the same universe.

[Keyrock]

 

I do think Bioware made a strategic bungle after the rapturous reception and sales Origins achieved. They had a new world that had just been introduced to the players, with lots of potentially interesting situations such as the Qunari bringing a much better way of life to the feudal slavery of Thedas, the dwarves teetering on the edge of extinction, the byzantine power plays of the fading Tevinter imperium etcetera. These were nice human situations, where there was no clear good guy and no easy answers, unlike the Mage/Templar conflict which is just illogical. So why not explore for another game one of these interesting situations, rather than change everything and usher in world changing events.

 

They seemed to be in a hurry and too eager to produce something epic, rather than something deep, and they certainly chose the wrong subject matter. The mages want equality with the common people of Thedas, who are slaves to feudal monarchies, so their rebellions aim is to decrease their living conditions. Nonsensical to say the least.

 

Then again the franchise is theirs to do with as they wish.

I think that they believed that Mass Effect was the way to go, and DA2 was an attempt to refocus the franchise around "fantasy Shepard".

 

I think Zor and Gorth make good points about DA2's changes for the worse, they had a combat system that needed a fair bit of tweaking, but didn't need to be thrown out in favor of a terrible action/party-based system that doesn't work well as either. I do think that dramatic changes to the art style harm a series as a whole.

 

I blame Morrigan's terrible look on the engine more than art style or artist ability, but IMO that doesn't really excuse it if they can do better. Gaider trying to blame complaints about how she looks on misogyny is intellectually dishonest at best and classless demonizing at worst. This isn't any different from people complaining about a badly drawn picture.

 

On the whole I'm not very optimistic for DA, which I did enjoy the first title(even if it was more "fantasy KOTOR" than "BG spiritual successor" IMO), because instead of sticking to the original concept of the series, the devs seem keen on reinventing it with almost every title.

 

I agree that it seems they tried to do a fantasy Mass Effect rather than trying to continue along the path that DA:O set, which was a perfectly fine path, by the way.  The problem is that if you're going to make the move from tactical RPG to action RPG you really should go all the way.  I can only speculate about their thought process, but it seems to me like they tried to straddle the fence and create both an action RPG and a tactical RPG, since going full action RPG would likely alientate their core audience (a logical assumption).  I'm not saying it's impossible to make an RPG that's both a tactical RPG and an action RPG, but that's a really tall order and something that would take a great deal of time of careful planning, tweaking, retweaking, reretweaking, rereretweaking, rerereretweaking, and so on.  Obviously they didn't have that kind of time.  It would have been much wiser to either stick with the tried and true formula of DA:O or go full Shepard, they tried to do both and mostly failed on both accounts (not to mention how insanely lather rinse repeat every single and I do mean EVERY SINGLE battle, in the entire game is).  It's too bad because there are some really good elements in there like the cool cross skill/class system of feeding off each others' status effects which was present in DA:O and expanded upon in DA2.

[NOK222]

Sighs...there are a lot of "social justice" warriors now on BSN talking about Da Patriarchy and how it sucks to be a non-white woman in a western society. Jesus...

[Keyrock]

 

Seriously...

 

People, it's a new engine. And Morrigan is supposed to be 10 years (at least) older. To expect her look exactly the same would be redicolous.

 

I like to bash on Bioware too because I hate the direction they are going lately, but c'mon...your bashing has to have SOME grounding in common sense.

 

 

she could also be Morrigan possessed by Flemeth too, for all we know.

 

 

But anyhow this to me is complaining that you can tell that Elrond Half-Elven looks older in the Hobbit than in LoTR even though the Hobbit is chronologically first or that Brandon Routh doesn't look like Christopher Reeve despite their Supermans both supposedling being the same character in the same universe.

 

That's what I think too.  I think

 

 

she's been Flemeth'd.

 

[Malcador]

Sighs...there are a lot of "social justice" warriors now on BSN talking about Da Patriarchy and how it sucks to be a non-white woman in a western society. Jesus...

This is new ?

[NOK222]

I didn't realize it had gotten that bad. Like wow, it's like **** Reddit Says and Tumblr took over

[Nonek]

There are dark places on the internet, where many tread. Ancient centres of ignorance, of indoctrination... But I would not walk there. To be united by self righteous indignation is a... fragile alliance at best.

[Nordicus]

There are dark places on the internet, where many tread. Ancient centres of ignorance, of indoctrination... But I would not walk there. To be united by self righteous indignation is a... fragile alliance at best.

You were all so elated at the victory, if only briefly. Without a common foe, the coalition began to... disintegrate. Aah, times have changed. Where is the old alliance, what have you done with your victory?

[BruceVC]

Sighs...there are a lot of "social justice" warriors now on BSN talking about Da Patriarchy and how it sucks to be a non-white woman in a western society. Jesus...

 

 

 

Sighs...there are a lot of "social justice" warriors now on BSN talking about Da Patriarchy and how it sucks to be a non-white woman in a western society. Jesus...

This is new ?

 

 

This is exactly the type of debate I feel like now. I'll be heading to BSN now, thx NKKKK

[Nepenthe]

I think it was less of an attempt to make ME in fantasy than to make a version of DAO that would work on consoles (I played DAO first on PS3, and it was terrible). Of course that didn't work too well due to the forgotten auto-attack, but still.

 

Re self-righteous indignation... Are we talking about here or there? :D

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I think it was less of an attempt to make ME in fantasy than to make a version of DAO that would work on consoles (I played DAO first on PS3, and it was terrible). Of course that didn't work too well due to the forgotten auto-attack, but still.

Re self-righteous indignation... Are we talking about here or there? :D

Dude we're on the internet, which is practically a sea of self-righteousness.

[Nonek]

Such an enjoyable thing it is to quote Kreia, but far more terrible is to admit it.