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Dragon Age impressions

relootz

Scholar
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
4,478
That dragon is hard but doable but those fireball traps. Arg.

Btw is every bossfight going to consist of me running around with the character the boss targets? I dont see any other way of defeating the bosses, they do zillions of damage if you stand next to them.

I have also noticed that mages appear to be overpowered in this game. Only that witch woman does any real damage to bosses, my main character is a fighter, i use the dog and alistair. I am beginning to think i am making it harder for myself not using another mage.
 

made

Arcane
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
5,130
Location
Germany
Kite, or use a healer, or C&C. Or a combination of those depending on our party setup. Most classes get some nifty abilities at some point. Mages seem to excel at aoe damage though.
 
Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
11,313
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SPAAAAAAAAAACE...
Project: Eternity
I did the Mage Circle quest yesterday.

The whole shapechanging thing in the Fade was pretty well done I thought. I had fun shapechanging between spirit/golem/fireman and using their various abilities to stun, AOE damage and melee. Nice quest overall.
 

Mangoose

Arcane
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I'm a Banana
Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity
Agreed, Freelance.

I just had the thought that Achievements are a good thing (TM). SUre, they appeal to the console crowd, but in DA it seems to encourage the developer to include multiple choices and branching storylines.

Kinda pissed at the ending for the Dwarf branch though. The option is between "Fine! Using the anvil how you will" and "Destroy it - It's EVIL." Why can't I be pragmatic AND ethical by making sure it's used for volunteers but not abused and forced upon people?
 

treave

Arcane
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Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Well, finished it with a mage character.

The way Bioware were wanking the epicness of the plot I was very much expecting that the slaying of the archdemon was just the halfway point of the game or at least the gateway to a final act.

Of course, with the archdemon being a dragon whose only interaction with the PC prior to the final battle consists solely of hissing and roaring in dreams, there wasn't a very satisfying feeling when you finally get to smack it down. I mean... it's trying to destroy everything, sure, I don't need to be given a reason for it to be mindless destruction, but it all feels a little banal.

I would've preferred it if they somehow managed to plunge Ferelden into an all-out civil war, creating a three-way war between Loghain, the Wardens and the Blight, complete with all the political intrigue and betrayals possible. Instead everything seemed to go a little too well for my liking. Not Bioware's worst tale told, but this setting really does have potential.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Hümmelgümpf said:
Vault Dweller said:
I said that it's an enjoyable game and outlined the good and the bad sides. Apparently, anything that doesn't say "banal, shit, boring" is moronic gushing. Good to know.
If a game has enough subpar content to kill my desire to finish it, it's shit. Simple as that.
Let me get this straight. If you don't like something, it's shit? How old are you, Humps?

Don't get me wrong, DA isn't a game that doesn't have any redeeming qualities whatsoever, but I'm not sure if they're worth sitting through hours upon hours of Bio's trademark party banter fully voiced by professional actors.
Hours upon hours?

First five companions. I've also met Canderous ...
You're so witty it hurts.

I think you're confusing me with someone. I never bashed the DA combat for being too easy.
Never said it was you. So, let me clarify. You think that DA combat is so hard that a party of two (you and the dog) on Normal has no chance at all?
 

Hümmelgümpf

Arbiter
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Messages
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St. Petersburg, Russia
Vault Dweller said:
Let me get this straight. If you don't like something, it's shit? How old are you, Humps?
You've never heard people use "It's shit." as a shorthand for "I don't like it."? Very well, if it's gonna make you feel better, DA is shit according to my personal taste in games and writing. Satisfied now?
Hours upon hours?
Haven't you heard Ausir? DA has more dialogue than Torment.
You're so witty it hurts.
It hurts because it's true.
Never said it was you. So, let me clarify. You think that DA combat is so hard that a party of two (you and the dog) on Normal has no chance at all?
For me, yes. I'm not a god of RTwP like some other people around here.
 
Joined
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SPAAAAAAAAAACE...
Project: Eternity
In fact,

I kinda wish they had given the ability to shapechange in the real world after the Circle quest, with those shapes. I loved how dynamic it felt to change to fire-guy first and fireball the dudes, then change to spirit and ice/imprison some guy, and finally go Golem on their asses or possibly just changing back to normal and use your usual abilities.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Emotional Vampire said:
Vault Dweller said:
Let me get this straight. If you don't like something, it's shit?

Amazing, just

Amazing
Shut the fuck up, will ya? You add nothing to this discussion (and probably to the forum), so I'd appreciate if you stop role-playing a stupid bitch for an hour or so, and let me have a conversation with more intelligent people. Kthxbye.

Hümmelgümpf said:
Vault Dweller said:
Let me get this straight. If you don't like something, it's shit? How old are you, Humps?
You've never heard people use "It's shit." as a shorthand for "I don't like it."?
Stupid people say a lot of shit. Hard to keep track of everything.

Very well, if it's gonna make you feel better, DA is shit according to my personal taste in games and writing. Satisfied now?
It would be too easy if I did, wouldn't it?

Explain why it's shit. So far you've said that everything is shit (although you admitted that some things weren't bad), without ever explaining why. Now is your chance to demonstrate that you aren't just an angsty, angry boy trying to fit in, but an intelligent guy with a point.

Hours upon hours?
Haven't you heard Ausir? DA has more dialogue than Torment.
You were talking about the party banter, remember?
 

relootz

Scholar
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
4,478
Vault Dweller said:
Emotional Vampire said:
Vault Dweller said:
Let me get this straight. If you don't like something, it's shit?

Amazing, just

Amazing
Shut the fuck up, will ya? You add nothing to this discussion (and probably to the forum), so I'd appreciate if you stop role-playing a stupid bitch for an hour or so, and let me have a conversation with more intelligent people. Kthxbye.

I fixed that for you. No problem.
 

circ

Arcane
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
11,470
Location
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Vault Dweller said:
Explain why it's shit. So far you've said that everything is shit (although you admitted that some things weren't bad), without ever explaining why. Now is your chance to demonstrate that you aren't just an angsty, angry boy trying to fit in, but an intelligent guy with a point.
Fucks sake VD, he already explained why he thought it was shit.
 

Hümmelgümpf

Arbiter
Joined
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Messages
2,949
Location
St. Petersburg, Russia
Vault Dweller said:
Explain why it's shit. So far you've said that everything is shit (although you admitted that some things weren't bad), without ever explaining why. Now is your chance to demonstrate that you aren't just an angsty, angry boy trying to fit in, but an intelligent guy with a point.
1. Plot.
I don't like the concept of the Blight. The darkspawn are scary black creatures who want to conquer everything... Why exactly? Because they are scary black creatures, and that's the sort of thing they do? The only explanation the game offered is that they are butthurt about getting their asses kicked by God, which doesn't make much sense. There seems to be a bit of political intrigue along the way, which does sound promising, but everything I'm doing is still for the sake of stopping the most cliched barbarian horde imaginable. That's what The Witcher did right: there were plenty of monsters to slay crawling around at night, but side quests and the main story were about humans, characters I gave a damn about.

2. Companions.
I simply don't find them interesting. Alister is a Carth, Morrigan is a stereotypical girl who finds out that the world is larger than it seems, Leliana is a former assassin on a mission from God, Sten is a member of a proud warrior race with a confusing code of honor. I've seen all these archetypes before, and the dialogue just isn't good enough to make them look fresh. "Humor" deserves a special mention, as it's plain unfunny.

3. Quest design.
Not promising so far. "Bring me X potions/Kill Y bandits/whatever". The prisoner quest in Ostagar was just stupid: you can either give a prisoner some food and get a key to a treasure chest, or kill the prisoner... and get the very same key. Choices! The merchant situation is the only interesting quest I can recall. 1 interesting quest in 8 hours? Not exactly what I'd call good.

Overall, Dragon Age isn't as offensively bad as Daikatana or Big Rigs, but it's not good either. I'd put it in the same category as Fable games: it works, there's nothing explicitly broken about its mechanics (except the stupidly arbitrary skill that you have to put points in to access warrior and rogue talents), but writing doesn't give me any motivation to keep going. I simply don't care about the world.
You were talking about the party banter, remember?
I do. Unless the rest of the game has significantly less banter than the first town (there it triggered every time you ran across a bridge, which you had to do often), hours upon hours sounds about right.
 

vrok

Liturgist
Joined
Jul 23, 2005
Messages
738
relootz said:
Btw is every bossfight going to consist of me running around with the character the boss targets? I dont see any other way of defeating the bosses, they do zillions of damage if you stand next to them.
If you have sufficient healing (2 mages with healing spell) and a good enough tank, most bossfights will be pure tank n spank.

relootz said:
I have also noticed that mages appear to be overpowered in this game. Only that witch woman does any real damage to bosses, my main character is a fighter, i use the dog and alistair.
That's because the staff attack can't miss and checks against resistance instead of armor. Duh.

relootz said:
I am beginning to think i am making it harder for myself not using another mage.
You are.
 

Stalin

Scholar
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
497
Location
Sweden baby!
I Think DA is a pretty cool guy eh is not afraid of blood splashes or anything...
Seriously best storytelling eva (ok so the story is shit but so what) fantastic voice acting i mean fantastic. if you turn the frame buffert effects the colors are really nice.
I went and replayed Fallout 2 just before starting DA and it's a pile of shit : starts slowly and by 10 hours in i lose interest due to lack of focus as i do every fucking time. So games were not better before they were just designed for the crowd that could let the game happen in their heads no graphics needed. now they designed for the IQ65+ crowd and its not about to change. CRPG died when SirTech died.
my 2c
PS: i wouldn't pay to play DA but Pirate Bay has a discount on it
 

Imbecile

Arbiter
Joined
Oct 15, 2005
Messages
1,267
Location
Bristol, England
A review site that I (for the most part) trust has said that in summary:

The best and worst of BioWare's excesses combine in this competent but unprogressive RPG.

PROS: Huge depth in terms of both combat and customisation. Wide range of abilities and lengthy adventure.

CONS: The fantasy world is sadly generic with an often risible script. Weak graphics and lots of minor bugs.

SCORE: 7/10

Fair?
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Imbecile said:
A review site that I (for the most part) trust has said that in summary:

The best and worst of BioWare's excesses combine in this competent but unprogressive RPG.

PROS: Huge depth in terms of both combat and customisation. Wide range of abilities and lengthy adventure.

CONS: The fantasy world is sadly generic with an often risible script. Weak graphics and lots of minor bugs.

SCORE: 7/10

Fair?
No. The world is crafted from the familiar bits and pieces but there is nothing generic about it. The outdoor graphics are mediocre, the interior graphics are superb.
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
24,924
I wouldn't say the graphis are 'weak'; but they definitely aren't great. It says a lot when a gam,e like JE - released 4 years ago on the original xbox has better graphics than DA yet both are devloped by the same company.


I don't see many (if any bujgs) than again I'm on console and consoles tend to avoid bugs.

What does 'risible' mean?

I'd say the fantasy world is your basic fantasy world, but generic is probably a really harsh, unflattering, and not super accurate way of putting it. It's definitely familiar, and there's nothing 'unique' about the fantasy it uses but 'generic' is too much of a generic word to really mean anything.
 

Imbecile

Arbiter
Joined
Oct 15, 2005
Messages
1,267
Location
Bristol, England
Vault Dweller said:
No. The world is crafted from the familiar bits and pieces but there is nothing generic about it. The outdoor graphics are mediocre, the interior graphics are superb.

Good to know.

Edit: Risible means funny, but not in a good way :P
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Hümmelgümpf said:
I don't like the concept of the Blight. The darkspawn are scary black creatures who want to conquer everything... Why exactly?
Didn't you claim that you uninstalled the game when you reached the first location on the world map?

That's what The Witcher did right: there were plenty of monsters to slay crawling around at night, but side quests and the main story were about humans, characters I gave a damn about.
I think the Witcher was boring as fuck, way too heavy on the railroading side, held my hand so tight I had bruises, and I had to force myself to play it, but you don't see me calling it shit, do you?

Companions. I simply don't find them interesting. Alister is a Carth, Morrigan is a stereotypical girl who finds out that the world is larger than it seems, Leliana is a former assassin on a mission from God, Sten is a member of a proud warrior race with a confusing code of honor. I've seen all these archetypes before, and the dialogue just isn't good enough to make them look fresh. "Humor" deserves a special mention, as it's plain unfunny.
Sounds too me that you tried too hard not to find them interesting. To what high standards do you compare the party members? PST? What else? Fallout? Wizardry? For fuck's sakes... The party members help you fight/explore. If you don't want to talk to them, don't talk to them. You have plenty of different NPCs, I'm pretty fucking sure you can find 2 you can actually like (if you stop role-playing someone you never were before). Some party members I like a lot (like Sten), some I don't like, which is how it should be.

3. Quest design.
Not promising so far. "Bring me X potions/Kill Y bandits/whatever". The prisoner quest in Ostagar was just stupid: you can either give a prisoner some food and get a key to a treasure chest, or kill the prisoner... and get the very same key. Choices! The merchant situation is the only interesting quest I can recall. 1 interesting quest in 8 hours? Not exactly what I'd call good.
It took you 8 hours to play through the origin, the tower battle, and the small village? Really? The game has a slow start, that's true, but it doesn't take 8 hours to reach the world map and at this point every retard should know that the quality goes way, way up after the slow part is done.

http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/in ... l#msg37241

"Anyway, the elves tell you that they can't stick with the treaty because they have a problem with werewolves and as a result most warriors are wounded and would most likely die or turn into beasts. So, if you really want their help, I need to help them (as expected). Being somewhat disappointed by the "kill werewolves" quest, I went to the forest, killed some beasts and soon ran into a welcome party. A werewolf named Swiftrunner and his two buddies told me to turn back, pointed out that I know shit, possibly less, and that I am being manipulated. It looks like Swiftrunner has a big issue with the Dalish elves and it goes a lot deeper than some recent attacks. Well, that's a relief.
...
When you finally reach the lair, you're told that the curse was originally created by Zathrian, the elven leader who sent you to end it. The Lady (the 'wolves leader) wants to talk to Zathrian to convince him to lift the curse. Your options are:

- stick with the original deal, kill the Lady (very tough fight) and all werewolves, bring her heart to Zathrian
- try to help the Lady, bring her to Zathrian, who refuses to lift up the curse and starts a fight. After a battle when he's dying, talk to him and he'll lift the curse, which kills both him and the Lady. The elves pick a new keeper (leader).
- if you have high Persuasion, convince the Lady to attack the elves and assist her. The elves ended up dead, but the Lady promises you her werewolves to aid you in the final battle."

Bad options? Bad design?

I simply don't care about the world.
Cool Kid Achievement unlocked! Congrats.
 

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