Preview Bearing False Witness in Dragon Age

[Darth Roxor]

Bioware can take risks.

 

[serch]

NWN's toolset was a risk.

 

[Darth Roxor]

How? It was as much of a risk as having a mapeditor in Warcraft.

 

[serch]

 

[Azrael the cat]

Honestly, lately I've been having a hard time deciding which is worse: Bioware or Bethesda.

Racofer, you don't really mean that. No-one ever does. We post these 'Bioware is worse than / as bad as Bethesda', but we don't really think through the enormity of that. It's like in FPS multiplayer games when every now and then someone pops up and says 'this is more BS than counterstrike:source!'. And we all nod. Because we know it's just another way of saying 'wow! this is really amazingly BS', just like your comment was just another way of saying 'wow! this Bioware game looks really amazingly shit!'. But no-one NO-ONE, really thinks that it is literally true. Being really amazingly shit is one thing. But being worse than Bethesda is just silly.

 

[Darth Roxor]

roll eyes all you want, it still doesn't explain anything.

 

[made]

Well, I guess NWN being what it is, namely a toolset for user-generated content with a shitty SP campaign that only served as an example module, it was probably a more risky endeavour than just making a bigger, better BG3 or whatever.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

Origin Stories: Neat. Though as in true Bioware fashion it will ultimately mean nothing. Maybe some certain lulzy dialogue.

This is pretty much how everyone here feels about DA. "Oh this origins stories thing is cool! The spell combo system is cool! Oh wait Bioware is developing this so certainly none of it has any chance of happening. Oh if only black isle still made games!."

You guys dismiss anything they say because its Bioware. Sure they dropped the ball on the last few games but its still possible they make a good one again and all indicates they will.

 

[Shannow]

Oh this origins stories thing is cool! The spell combo system is cool!

Troika did it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZy4ZFgS8o

And ToEE was still mediocre.

Bioware will not change their basic formular to accomodate stuff that the codex bitches about. So it's a pretty safe bet for codexers to bitch about DA and be "proven right" after release.

For the record, I don't think that the Origin stories are anything special.

 

[Volourn]

"Troika did it!"

No, they didn't. They did something similar but not the same and most certainly not the first. Besdies, Troika's 'version' was absolutely shitty. And, I called it before the game was released and was called a liar. R00fles!

 

[Pseudofool]

I dislike ME/JE as much as the next cynic, but this game just looks promising.

 

[Rhalle]

I don't think that EA's adquisition paints a good future for them, though, this may be their last good game.

The potential killer was Bioware's hiatus to make console titles followed by EA's acquisition about 2/3 of the way through DA's development. In my opinion, without those we probably would have seen someting on the order of NWN with a more BG flavor and a clear Lord of the Rings influence; with it, it's reasonable to assume that we will see more consolization all around, streamlined mechanics, and the post-release content stuff (much of which probably would have been in the box to begin with, and probably done at EA's behest). Mass Effect's cinematics being developed across the hall likely also will have had quite an influence on how DA turns out.

I'm looking forward to it as well (honestly, I've been off and on the DA forums since the time when Devs were asking forumites what features they wanted in the game, in 2003).

I suspect it might have some surprisingly good moments in it story-wise (right alongside with gobs of predictably Biowarian stuff)-- and much of it will smack of The Witcher, but since it is made by Bioware, it will be more conventional and a little bit more cartoony.

And I won't be a bit surprised if combat is less reminicent of BG and more like NWN with a World of Warcraft-styled skill bar, and probably not unusually difficult.

But I do hope it's good; and I do hope it's good enough to not be savaged for looking dated, or savaged for being a DLC-fest. That wouldn't be good for the genre.

 

[Andhaira]

"And I won't be a bit surprised if combat is less reminicent of BG and more like NWN "

Wait, the combat in BG2 and NWNW were powered by D&D2e ruleset and D&D3e ruleset. ANy differences must be attributed to D&D, NOT Bioware.

However the biggest and most supidest thing they did with NW which is what really killed the single player campaign was that you could not have a party: Only one pc and one npc. That was beyond stupid. I stil don't understand how they could make such a moronic decision, given how the Baldurs Gate series was widely hailed due to its follower mechanic and interparty relations/dislogue.

 

[Rhalle]

Honestly, I think DA combat will be exactly like NWN with a party, but with a skill bar that looks and behaves like WoW's and skill interaction that has a very WoW flavor to it. (That might not be all bad, actually-- but I'm not sure it will resemble BG all that much.) That the Gamebanshee guy mentioned WoW when talking about the party combat encourages me to think that my guesses might be on the right track.

I agree that the move to singleplayer by NWN is pretty important.

To me it represents the shift to the current RPG design heuristic of stroking the player's ego and narcissism, with the PC's 'special' story being the center of everything; where the implicit focus of everything becomes the player instead of the gameworld.

If I remember right (and I may not, but I think I do), the original 2002 NWN box says on the back of it something like, "YOU are the hero; it's YOUR world; it's YOUR story" -- like that, with YOU all in caps and bolded; I don't remember seeing that notion expressed explicitly as that, before that.

 

[Shannow]

"Troika did it!"
They did <s>something similar</s> it (= a short introductory story that was different for different chars/parties as well as spells that worked in combination, eg. spiderweb + fireball) but not the same and most certainly not the first, but you didn't claim that so I humbly appologize for my rash, impolite response. Besdies, Troika's 'version' was absolutely shitty, but again you didn't say anything about quality so I must again humbly appologize for trying to build strawmen. And, I called it before the game was released and was called a liar. R00fles!

Appology accepted. There is greatness in admitting mistakes

 

[bezimek]

"Troika did it!"
They did <s>something similar</s> it (= a short introductory story that was different for different chars/parties as well as spells that worked in combination, eg. spiderweb + fireball) but not the same and most certainly not the first, but you didn't claim that so I humbly appologize for my rash, impolite response. Besdies, Troika's 'version' was absolutely shitty, but again you didn't say anything about quality so I must again humbly appologize for trying to build strawmen. And, I called it before the game was released and was called a liar. R00fles!

Appology accepted. There is greatness in admitting mistakes

 

[MetalCraze]

Well now if you remember how Shepard had three "origin" stories when you create a character from a poor selection of options. And everything that they affected was "OMG Shepard you are a veteran of that battle/survivor of that ship - so now do this quest that every other Shepard gets"

 

[Claw]

You guys dismiss anything they say because its Bioware. Sure they dropped the ball on the last few games

I wasn't aware Bio ever had it.

Seriously though, the real problem is that Bio doesn't believe they dropped the ball. They are unlikely to turn around when they believe they're on the right track.

 

[Morbus]

Amidst all the chaos provoked by all the whining here, I will say one thing that is very truth and everyone agrees with and says I rox their sox:

It's better to expect a game to suck and then be surprised because it doesn't suck as much as we thought it would, than to expect a game to rock and then be disappointed because it doesn't rock as much as we thought it would.

So, Bioware and all their games are crap until proof of the contrary. Same goes for Bethesda.

 

[BethesdaLove]

Same goes for Bethesda.

Wrong!

 

[Vibalist]

Well now if you remember how Shepard had three "origin" stories when you create a character from a poor selection of options. And everything that they affected was "OMG Shepard you are a veteran of that battle/survivor of that ship - so now do this quest that every other Shepard gets"

The first chapter of the game will be completely different depending on your origin. David Gaider says so, so take it how you want.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

The cunts at EA just delayed the game so it can be released on all platforms at the same time.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well now if you remember how Shepard had three "origin" stories when you create a character from a poor selection of options. And everything that they affected was "OMG Shepard you are a veteran of that battle/survivor of that ship - so now do this quest that every other Shepard gets"

The first chapter of the game will be completely different depending on your origin. David Gaider says so, so take it how you want.

Doesn't say anything about the length of the first chapter.

My guess:

Chapter 1: Learning the ropes

It's just gonna be a fucking tutorial.

 

[zenslinger]

The article kind of blows. 8 pages -- and perhaps half the text narrates what happens with the Dwarven Noble origin story, which, if you're looking to keep away from spoilers, you don't really want to read. Then there are mentions of these MMO-influenced combat features. Apart from that, a lot of saturated-color screenshots, which mean exactly nothing.

I came away from it less psyched for the game than before. Not to say it's going to be bad, but the article didn't do much for the cause.

 

[MetalCraze]

Well now if you remember how Shepard had three "origin" stories when you create a character from a poor selection of options. And everything that they affected was "OMG Shepard you are a veteran of that battle/survivor of that ship - so now do this quest that every other Shepard gets"

The first chapter of the game will be completely different depending on your origin. David Gaider says so, so take it how you want.

And as we know David Gaider is a talented guy.
The first chapter most likely will be just a small bunch of tutorial quests that will take you a hour to complete - obviously you will become a Spectre/Jedi/Warden after that and it will be all the same rails. I've yet to see Gaider doing a real non-linearity and considering his previous games he can't.


Also stop blaming EA for making the shallow Bioware game a multi-platform shit. It's not like Bioware didn't know what is EA - no they just jumped where big money is and any shit game will get published.