Dragon Age III / The Witcher 3 trailers. Impressions?

[Malcador]

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

You must be a masochist.

[Tale]

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

I'll agree and disagree. The changes they made to party and character control were clearly concessions to improve the console experience.

 

The changes to character creation and dialogue were about following the same philosophy that guides Mass Effect.

[HoonDing]

 

 

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

 

[Monte Carlo]

Obviously, the best way to ensure social justice, love, happiness and an end to tyranny is to rail about beweb armour on the BSN.

[Amentep]

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

I played DAO on the X-Box 360 and enjoyed it. There was no problems with playing it on a console in my opinion.

[Nepenthe]

I'm glad you liked it, it was still terrible in comparison to the PC version... Though I hear that the x360 version was at least playable, if ugly, unlike the ps3 version.

 

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

I'll agree and disagree. The changes they made to party and character control were clearly concessions to improve the console experience.The changes to character creation and dialogue were about following the same philosophy that guides Mass Effect.

Good points.

[Keyrock]

I think one of the reasons there is so much talk about Morrigan's looks is that they really didn't give us much (read: anything) else to talk about with that trailer.  No gameplay and a bunch of short snipets with epic music.  Which brings up the question, why don't they have more to show us at this point?  In theory they've had almost a year an a half to work on the game and a two month head start on The Witcher 3.  TW3 showed plenty of gameplay, both in the trailer and in the meaty hands-off demo.  DA3 showed...  not much of anything.  E3 is the biggest expo for video games, surely BioWare would showcase more of the game if they had more of the game to showcase, right?  So, why is there so little to show?

[Amentep]

I'm glad you liked it, it was still terrible in comparison to the PC version... Though I hear that the x360 version was at least playable, if ugly, unlike the ps3 version.

Guess I'm glad I didn't get the PS3 version then.

 

I can't imagine what was different between the PS3 and 360 versions though; both would have the same limitations of the controller for input. 

 

I think one of the reasons there is so much talk about Morrigan's looks is that they really didn't give us much (read: anything) else to talk about with that trailer.  No gameplay and a bunch of short snipets with epic music.  Which brings up the question, why don't they have more to show us at this point?  In theory they've had almost a year an a half to work on the game and a two month head start on The Witcher 3.  TW3 showed plenty of gameplay, both in the trailer and in the meaty hands-off demo.  DA3 showed...  not much of anything.  E3 is the biggest expo for video games, surely BioWare would showcase more of the game if they had more of the game to showcase, right?  So, why is there so little to show?

Was DA2's and ME3's first trailers the same sort of thing? My memory says "yes" but its a lying bastard sometimes.

[alanschu]

It's not the size of the doc that matters...

 

 

Maybe the ME team uses smaller font

 

If the Deus Ex one is in French, all bets are off!

[Zoraptor]

If Ion Storm were writing their design docs in french it might explain why DX and Anachronox were delayed, and go some way to explaining Daikatana.

 

Was DA2's and ME3's first trailers the same sort of thing? My memory says "yes" but its a lying bastard sometimes.

 

The only DA2 gameplay vids I remember had a very poor response- jaggy graphics, big 'anime' style change in combat animations and the like. Pretty sure there were a fair number of stills released first. Anything done in Frostbite should at least look a whole lot better.

[NOK222]

I have never played a game with that engine, anyone want to give me some insight?

[Keyrock]

I have never played a game with that engine, anyone want to give me some insight?

Battlefield 3 used Frostbite 2.

[anubite]

I think one of the reasons there is so much talk about Morrigan's looks is that they really didn't give us much (read: anything) else to talk about with that trailer.  No gameplay and a bunch of short snipets with epic music.  Which brings up the question, why don't they have more to show us at this point?  In theory they've had almost a year an a half to work on the game and a two month head start on The Witcher 3.  TW3 showed plenty of gameplay, both in the trailer and in the meaty hands-off demo.  DA3 showed...  not much of anything.  E3 is the biggest expo for video games, surely BioWare would showcase more of the game if they had more of the game to showcase, right?  So, why is there so little to show?

Good point. But realize that demos are very expensive to create. They consumea lot of dev time and are merely for marketing purposes. Since the game won't be going to market for a while... they saw no need to. And if the game isn't well received, that's just a lot of negative publicity. They'll keep it under wraps "until it's ready".

 

By extending the development by a year, BioWare can avoid the whole issue of it being shamed by the The Witcher 3. They can be more reactive to how it's perceived and make some last minute changes do their game. I think the extension proves the reliability of that leak on reddit, where a BioWare employee (or was it an alpha tester?) confided that DA3 is nowhere near ready and an assured train wreck if it were to be launched this fall.

Edited June 21, 2013 by anubite

[NOK222]

 

I have never played a game with that engine, anyone want to give me some insight?

Battlefield 3 used Frostbite 2.

 

Never played it

[Serrano]

Edited June 21, 2013 by Serrano

[licketysplit]

 

 

I have never played a game with that engine, anyone want to give me some insight?

Battlefield 3 used Frostbite 2.

 

Never played it

 

 

Youtube is your friend. And easy to use.

[BruceVC]

 

I think one of the reasons there is so much talk about Morrigan's looks is that they really didn't give us much (read: anything) else to talk about with that trailer.  No gameplay and a bunch of short snipets with epic music.  Which brings up the question, why don't they have more to show us at this point?  In theory they've had almost a year an a half to work on the game and a two month head start on The Witcher 3.  TW3 showed plenty of gameplay, both in the trailer and in the meaty hands-off demo.  DA3 showed...  not much of anything.  E3 is the biggest expo for video games, surely BioWare would showcase more of the game if they had more of the game to showcase, right?  So, why is there so little to show?

Good point. But realize that demos are very expensive to create. They consumea lot of dev time and are merely for marketing purposes. Since the game won't be going to market for a while... they saw no need to. And if the game isn't well received, that's just a lot of negative publicity. They'll keep it under wraps "until it's ready".

 

By extending the development by a year, BioWare can avoid the whole issue of it being shamed by the The Witcher 3. They can be more reactive to how it's perceived and make some last minute changes do their game. I think the extension proves the reliability of that leak on reddit, where a BioWare employee (or was it an alpha tester?) confided that DA3 is nowhere near ready and an assured train wreck if it were to be launched this fall.

 

 

Anubite despite your supportive posts I'm starting to really believe you don't think Bioware is a good development  company or that they have a future. Maybe you should just be honest as this sycophantic view of them is a little unbelievable?

[anubite]

Oh, I think anyone who's read a few of my posts or watched my inane rant in my signature that I don't believe BioWare has a chance in hell of coming back from where they're at, but there are a lot of people who are sympathetic to BioWare, so I don't see the point in being cruel. Nor do I feel the need to lie or misrepresent the truth.

 

The truth is that demos are prohibitively expensive to make. The fact CG trailers and demos get made for events like E3 is a travesty (I'd rather they go to furthering the game's complexity or development). Of course, a good demo can be used to market a game later, but not so early in development.... 

 

I'm speculating anyway. We don't know the facts. I can't be too judgmental without having them.

 

All I know, is I don't like Gaider's tone. I can understand he and other BioWare developers are stressed and maybe frustrated with the community, but they're just handling everything wrong.

 

There are lots of gaming companies that figure out how to communicate with their customer base. A recent one would be GrindingGearGames. It can be a challenge sometimes, but I would say good communication trumps a fancy ad campaign, CG trailers and special event demos.

Edited June 21, 2013 by anubite

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Obviously, the best way to ensure social justice, love, happiness and an end to tyranny is to rail about beweb armour on the BSN.

Good idea. Instead of dealing with **** like women being forced to marry their rapists, we can complain on the internet and declare mission accomplished when Bioware covers up dem tittays.

[alanschu]

People always say that like we can only do one or the other. :\

[Nepenthe]

People always say that like we can only do one or the other. :\

 

 

I'd just do one of the two, and it doesn't involve Bioware.

[HoonDing]

CD Projekt bagged some new voice actors..

 

Edited June 21, 2013 by Drudanae

[AGX-17]

CD Projekt bagged some new voice actors..

Having Liam Neeson in Fallout 3 didn't make it Schindler's List.

[BruceVC]

 

CD Projekt bagged some new voice actors..

Having Liam Neeson in Fallout 3 didn't make it Schindler's List.

 

 

Why was that comparison made around Fallout 3?

 

I think the point is having  recognized actors can only add value to the overall gaming experience but you right, Witcher 3 won't win an Oscar.

Edited June 21, 2013 by BruceVC

[Keyrock]

The level of voice acting definitely went up leaps and bounds between TW1 and TW2, so it looks like they are trying to continue that trend.  The game is cinematic enough (if it's anything like its predecessor) that it's definitely a welcome upgrade.