Preview Consequences and epic battles in Dragon Age

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Dragon Age

If you're after more info on Dragon Age, IGN have <a href="http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/890/890260p1.html">thrown up an article with what they know so far</a>:
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<blockquote>As an old school Baldur's Gate fan, I'll get the key parts of what I saw, first. Dragon Age can be played two ways. For most of the demonstration, it had a Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic style of camera, where you watch from third-person as your character runs around the level. Conversations happen in Mass Effect style, with cinematic angles and cuts. However, the game features what is called a pause-and-play feature for combat, which lets you pause the game at any time and give orders to your squad. You can also pull the camera back to top-down point of view similar to that of Baldur's Gate. Zeschuk told us that you could play the game entirely from that angle, as well.
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The game is set in a world where an elite society of warriors known as the Grey Wardens battle the Blight, an evil infestation that appears to be the side-effect of the presence of an arch demon. The level that was demonstrated had the player character accompany Duncan, a mentor and friend, to help him and his army battle the Blight. Duncan is young and eager for battle and glory. The conversation system looked similar to other BioWare games in that you have multiple options, so you can basically respond in friendly, neutral, or rude manner. BioWare showed off some of the possible actions that can change the story. For instance, in one town there's a prisoner in a cage. He explains he has a key to a magical chest that he will give you if you get him food. You can do so and he'll give you the key, or you can just knife him and take it from his body. Your decision will have consequences later.</blockquote>
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Read the rest to learn that the trailer you all saw was done using the in-game engine.

 

[NOVD]

. The conversation system looked similar to other BioWare games in that you have multiple options, so you can basically respond in friendly, neutral, or rude manner.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll typically only get a friendly, a neutral, and a rude option. Even if you're not going to have them do anything, you can at least pad up the dialogue a little so I can make believe my character is not just a rude guy, a neutral guy, or a nice guy.

Otherwise, it sounds like an updated, more mature Baldur's Gate with more combat options, which is pretty good.

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

I'm hoping to get to choose full dialog lines again. The wheel was too EXTREEM for me.

 

[Mister Arkham]

Sounds decent enough so far. I'm going to second the hope that we'll get a real dialogue window in this one. The wheel... well, it worked but the uncertainty of it annoyed me. I lost track of how many times I was trying to be polite and ended up threatening someone because there were two virtually identical options on the wheel and I picked the wrong one.

 

[Korgan]

I'm hoping to get to choose full dialog lines again. The wheel was too EXTREEM for me.

I highly suspect that "X-TREME" is going to have a comeback as "EPIC".

 

[Dgaider]

I'm hoping to get to choose full dialog lines again. The wheel was too EXTREEM for me.

You do. The options are written out in full (and not voiced).

As for the nice, neutral and rude options -- as I mentioned on the Bioware forums I think this is simply the assumption of this particular writer based on his knowledge of our previous games. I disagree with his assessment. Certainly some of the dialogues will have some rude-sounding options and so may seem that way at a glance, and I have no way of knowing which dialogues he was shown in the preview, but overall this is definitely not the template we used when writing the game.

 

[Trash]

My, that movie that I bashed was done in engine? And you do get to fight huge battles? Damn, that suddenly shows it in a whole new light. Neat.

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

As for the nice, neutral and rude options -- as I mentioned on the Bioware forums I think this is simply the assumption of this particular writer based on his knowledge of our previous games. I disagree with his assessment. Certainly some of the dialogues will have some rude-sounding options and so may seem that way at a glance, and I have no way of knowing which dialogues he was shown in the preview, but overall this is definitely not the template we used when writing the game.

good to hear Dave. The game is sounding a lot better than the press is giving it credit for. Someone in PR seems to have slipped up. . . If you could just tell us about combat difficulty, then I think we'll be happy.

 

[Chefe]

Not voiced? You mean we gets lots of non-collar grabbin' regulars dialogs and ppl don't be callin' us Sheephurd or Reevans anymores and we gets to chooses our own nameses?

I think this is simply the assumption of this particular writer based on his knowledge of our previous games

How dare he compare you to your previous games!

 

[Texas Red]

This sounds really good. Finally, after years we get a CRPG with isometric semi TB combat. Dream cum true.

 

[Ogg]

This sounds really good. Finally, after years we get a CRPG with isometric semi TB combat. Dream cum true.

It can also be played in OTS view. And as far as the "semi TB combat" is concerned, we still don't know much.

I were you, I would wait a little before showing such enthusiasm. Besides enthusiasm is not really Codex-like.

 

[Starwars]

Just watched it being shown from E3. It looks pretty nice. Hard to get an overview going from the combat (since low res, and you can't really see to clearly) but it looked pretty nice. Graphics look solid, but not over-the-top which is hopefully good news for aging computers.

I'll most likely stay in the top-downish perspective, but the camera switch closer into the action looked pretty smooth. Not sure how playable it'll be like that, but the top-down looks pretty good.

Want to hear some more in-depth info on this for sure.

 

[Texas Red]

Besides enthusiasm is not really Codex-like.

Decline of the Codex?

I'm enthusiastic because the combat can possibly be good. BG 2 had minimum dialogs, no real choices, poor story and so on, yet it just added flavor to the great combat system. And we already know that DA will have companions and real dialogs and such.

 

[Suicidal]

Will there by any form of DRM?

The game is beginning to sound interesting to me. I might end up buying it so I hope there will be no shit that will make me look for cracks and fixes before I can actually run the game.

 

[J1M]

However, the game features what is called a pause-and-play feature for combat, which lets you pause the game at any time and give orders to your squad.

Real-time with pause. Call a spade a spade.

 

[Chefe]

Will there by any form of DRM?

The game is beginning to sound interesting to me. I might end up buying it so I hope there will be no shit that will make me look for cracks and fixes before I can actually run the game.

I'd like to know this too, so I can just avoid it from now on if it has the dreaded disease.

 

[Jeff Graw]

The game is set in a world where an elite society of warriors known as the Grey Wardens battle the Blight, an evil infestation that appears to be the side-effect of the presence of an arch demon.

Wow, that's not unoriginal and generic as hell

 

[Mareus]

This does sound like good news finally after years of waiting. Good news for the whole gaming, because it looks like Bioware is returning to it's roots. In this trailer the music actually sounded a bit better than in the first trailers I saw, but still not nearly good as BG. Anyway I am interested in one thing that keeps bugging me. If mr Dgaider would be so kind to explain. What kind of plan is the blondey prince talking about? I mean if the plan is to open the gates and charge at the enemy, it is a pretty stupid plan, I am sure you will agree. They are behind walls... shouldn't they barricade themselves inside the walls and use boiling oil, archers etc. instead of opening the gates and charging?

 

[aries202]

If you look at how David Gaider has wirtten stories before, you only have to look at the Athkatla seqeunce in BG2: TOB. Very well written -- with really really difficult and interestiing choices. Sure, you could day that some might ne good, some might be neutral while some might be bad (or evil). However, judged from my experience with this, I'm hopiing that David G. actually carried this interesting way of wrting both a scene and characters over to the writing in DA: Origins.

The best of the IGN preview is that how you choose to get X from someone has consequence in the long run...

 

[pkt-zer0]

Well, the game does look like it has the potential to be good, which is more than I can say for the other recent BioWare offerings.

 

[Solohk]

I'm hoping to get to choose full dialog lines again. The wheel was too EXTREEM for me.

You do. The options are written out in full (and not voiced).

Does this mean that only the PC isn't voiced? Or does it mean that only key exchanges and intros are voiced? Or none but cutscenes?

 

[Volourn]

"I lost track of how many times I was trying to be polite and ended up threatening someone because there were two virtually identical options on the wheel and I picked the wrong one."

that's because you are dumb. The different option choices were always in the same place of the wheel. They weren't placed randomly for the most part.

 

[Dgaider]

Does this mean that only the PC isn't voiced? Or does it mean that only key exchanges and intros are voiced? Or none but cutscenes?

Only the PC isn't voiced.

 

[Castanova]

Are there different difficulty levels like in BG?

Are there varying levels of difficulty within the same difficulty setting (like a tough battle while doing a non-required sidequest)?

When a character dies, does he wake up as soon as the battle is over? Is there incentive to keep your characters alive?

Thanks.

 

[Solohk]

Does this mean that only the PC isn't voiced? Or does it mean that only key exchanges and intros are voiced? Or none but cutscenes?

Only the PC isn't voiced.

Thanks, that's good to hear. Mass Effect's system makes sense for consoles, but I'd much rather read full dialog lines on the PC.