Game News BioWare Will develop Dragon Age III with Multiplayer

[Kashrlyyk]

Bad sale number

1mil+ in less than 2week. Very few games do that well.

And if we subtract the preorders from that 1 million sold units, how many did they sell then? Depending on how many preorders the game had, the 1 mil sold units in two weeks could be an incredible bad sale number.

And even if the VGchart numbers are not exactly accurate, they reveal a massive downwards trend.

 

[Jaesun]

Re: Bad sale number

1mil+ in less than 2week. Very few games do that well.

And if we subtract the preorders from that 1 million sold units, how many did they sell then? Depending on how many preorders the game had, the 1 mil sold units in two weeks could be an incredible bad sale number.

And even if the VGchart numbers are not exactly accurate, they reveal a massive downwards trend.

Magical fake numbers that show magical fake numbers that are declining is fact?

1mil+ in less than 2week. Very few games do that well.

Source?

I love how Volourn says people make shit up, then makes claims without any sources.

It's actually posted on here. Apparently reading IS TEH HARD.

 

[Notorious]

DA2 was better than DAO.... I know I'm going to be crucified for this, but I hated DAO just that much.

And I hated DA:O but what DA2 "improves" over it, its still a step back in too many other departments.

I just couldn't get over the combat in DAO, it was boring and tedious, pretty much like in DA2, but in DA2 the combat felt shorter, less tedious

Its shorter but less tedious?

No, DA2 managed to be even worst that DA:O since as they knew you would pressing the button of awesome and wipe the trash mob in 15 seconds they added waves, after a while its WORST that DA:O since as there is no challenge you are just being thrown wave after wave of weak enemies you can dispatch with ease.

Its filler combat at its worst.

The story and the characters were equally stupid, but DA2 just didn't hurt that much... I don't know, I never played beyond DAOs tutorial level (After the stupid battle scene), but I played through DA2, even though it felt bland, it didn't hurt

So you are saying that DA2 is better that a game you never gone beyond the prologue?

I never gone very far into DA:O but at least I did more that you did, I had a grasp of the system and you cannot say the characters are stupid as you never actually MEET several of those.

DA2 is to DA:O as ME2 is to NWN ... that is the real problem people had, its not DA2 is "better" (that it might be in some areas) but that we gone from a 2001 "old school" game design to a 2010 game design, its like playing Fallout 3 a year after Fallout.

I'm defending from a very weak position, not because I couldn't find enough arguments to defend DA2.... but because I don't care enough about it.

First I don't see the but... I don't like the encounters or combat situations in most RPGs (I liked the ones in BG2 even though people keep saying it's just mage battles and I also liked the Realms of Arcania series probably because of nostalgia) So, if the battles are less long, they become less tedious at least for me. (So an and situation)

For me playing DA2 was the same as playing ME2 or the AC series (Anno 1701, Civ 5 and so on), it was just a bland experience something to waste your time on. I'm never going to play them again but I didn't regret playing these games (unlike F3 or DAO)

And yes it's a massive decline in gaming in general because a retarted monkey could play these games... it's just, you know... DA2 was less painful than DAO...

 

[flushfire]

more challenging combat

Not really. Most reviews and user feedback say DA2 is overall easier (except maybe for nightmare). Personal experience, I finished both games on normal and nightmare and I also found DA2 easier, but a lot more tedious. IMO the combat in DA2 is worse because of broken mechanics: No top-down camera, No FF except in nightmare, enemy mages are LOL, enemies no longer use the same abilities as you do, stealth detection is useless, shitty boss mechanics etc

 

[Volourn]

"Not really. Most reviews and user feedback say DA2 is overall easier"

I don't give a fuck what most 'gamers' and most 'reviews spam. Since when does anyone one the Codex take that as gospel?

FFS, I read a post on the DA2 boards crying that casual was too hard.

Comapred to DA2, DA1 was a fukkin' breeze.
R00fles!

 

[flushfire]

Comapred to DA2, DA1 was a fukkin' breeze.

According to you, and when does anyone on the codex take your word as gospel, let alone seriously.

FFS, I read a post on the DA2 boards crying that casual was too hard.

We all know what kind of audience bio tried to attract with DA2.

 

[Drakron]

And yes it's a massive decline in gaming in general because a retarted monkey could play these games... it's just, you know... DA2 was less painful than DAO...

Problem was DA:O system was broken, really broken ... so much even some things in DA2 are a improvement (skill trees).

But DA2 instead of fixing it, it streamline it ... a good example is requirements, in DA:O there were soft requirements were you could use any weapon and armor as long you had the stat requirement, in DA2 you have hard requirements.

DA2 could even skip stats because of those requirements, you pretty end up just leveling your chosen class 2 stats as there is really no point of raising any other stat, skills certainly do not ask for then as equipment requirements are based on those 2 stats.

Being less painful does not mean its a step in the wrong direction, you are still fighting trash mobs, you are getting respawn waves (that is a cheap and crappy trick) and the system is only "better" because they just made it into "the button of awesome".

In DA:O you might get frustrated with combat but in DA2 you get BORED with combat.

 

[waywardOne]

both games are shit. if we are true bros, this should be the only DA3 thread ever here.

 

[Pegultagol]

Multiplayer could be a good excuse for EA to finalize the synergy between its social blog / network sites, its fledging online retail distribution and of course the online activation DRM system. It could also be a good distribution model for DLC map packs and items, and a stronger deterrent against used game economy. It would be interesting how a typical online session catering to prototypical Dragon Age audience would play out. It would be more like a Bioware board transplanted onto a games space.

 

[SCO]

Forgot about NWN.
I never realized BG series had LAN options.

Best way to powergame your party, even if you play it as single player.

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

I hated DAO just that much. I just couldn't get over the combat in DAO, it was boring and tedious

I don't want to derail this into DAO combat thread, so just a few obesrvations about 99% of people who make this kind of remark:

1) They are playing DAO on a console (which was a Laidlaw-Derrah lovechild, Knowles had gone by then)
2) They are playing it on the PC, but on normal or casual (the thought behind the each encounter is totally lost on a lower difficulty and is just a grind through critters that aren't supposed to kill you)
3) They have really specific needs for combat - like expect it to be as tactical as Shogun Total War, or turn-based like King's Bounty -"else it's shit"
4) They are pure storyfags who, like that inane Mary woman from BioWare, secretly want a "fast forward" through combat in general so that they can get on with the important part, ie plot (or in the case of Mary, gay sex).
5) They don't get that DAO combat is basically - ridiculous enemy numbers and powers versus completely overpowered team-Warden strength (if you build right), so they start threads on the BioBoards that DAO combat is crap because even on normal it is waaaay too hard, and needs urgent nerfing. Laidlaw agrees and nerfs normal DAO enemies in patch 1.02. Promises that party wipeouts on normal will not happen in DA2, even if you're a retard.
6) They are unbelievably picky eg "cone of cold' works too well" or "there are 4 fights out of the 100,000 in the game where I have to watch a cutscene before battle, so I can't plan my attack, therefore combat in the whole game is shit".
7) They think their e-penis will enlarge if they say how ridiculously easy Marjolaine was, with a solo barehanded rogue, on the nightmare plus mod.

I played DAO 3 times for the combat alone. On the PC on hard or +. If you plan, most battles can be won without ever neaeding heal or poultice. IMHO nothing comes close to this combat in the last 5 years, and before that, only NWN and BG, and I look forward to my next playthrough in a year or so (3x rogue plus Shale). Flame away, cocksuckers.

 

[Achilles]

Assuming that they are talking about co-op, multiplayer could be a decent addition. I can't see any way they could add competitive multiplayer in this type of game.

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

EDIT I forgot the main one! My personal favorite, at that!

8) Combat is shit because the game is too long. I DEMAND to get far fewer hours of game in exchange for $50. After 70 hours with the same engine and combat mechanics, I started to see a pattern emerging, Therefore combat is repetitive and shit (and BioWare should have just given us 25 hours for the same $, then the novelty may not have had time to wear off).

 

[villain of the story]

I wonder if this has anything to do with Dungeon Siege 3 having co-op.

Assuming that they are talking about co-op, multiplayer could be a decent addition. I can't see any way they could add competitive multiplayer in this type of game.

You aren't very imaginative, are you?

 

[Achilles]

Well how would they do it then? Add a couple of arenas so that you can hack&slash your friends to your heart's content? Sure, I guess they could do that, but adding co-op play would be a better fit for the game, not to mention easier to produce since you don't have to add any extra content. Making every character in your party playable by another person seems pretty easy to implement.

 

[misha]

The best evidence how BW is proud of it's latest child is that they give free ME2 to each copy of DA2 you buy :], LAN in BG2 was sth nice; though in BG or even DA:O there was sth like planning the combat when enemy was strong... planning in situation of two waves of darkspawn for each battle is waste of time.

 

[Jools]

Eh, no surprise really. It's hard to say whether EA is pulling Bio's strings on this one or not. Has Bio ever really done a good multiplayer game before?
I don't know bio games so I'm not sure.

NWN1's multiplayer was awesome. Both player-run campaigns and persistent world provided me with, literally, years of free online fun. And that probably is due to the fact that bioware had no say in it at all, they just provided the "platform".

 

[villain of the story]

Well how would they do it then? Add a couple of arenas so that you can hack&slash your friends to your heart's content? Sure, I guess they could do that, but adding co-op play would be a better fit for the game, not to mention easier to produce since you don't have to add any extra content. Making every character in your party playable by another person seems pretty easy to implement.

Umm, how about the NWN way, the already tried and proven way? Basically, you could even create just arenas to h&s your friends to your heart's content.

Still, many RPGs could use a team-based objective-driven MP modes just for fun (ignoring time and budget limits). Especially turn-based games are the perfect platform for arena type matches without objectives, I think.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Re: Bad sale number

It's actually posted on here. Apparently reading IS TEH HARD.

Apparently as I guess I missed it.

 

[felipepepe]

Is DA1 worth playing? I suppose just once to see what all the negativity is about.

I think it is worth playing. Give it a go and make up your own mind. DA2...should be avoided like the plague.

I played both, 2 times DA:O, DA2 around 6 hours and quited.

DA:O is a really good game. I truly believe it's as close to BG2 as it's possible for a company to release in the "console era". Has great NPCs and some impressive fights (although none at Kanghaxx's level). Sadly Awakening and the DLCs are shit, except for Shale (that clearly was removed from the game to become DLC)

DA2, in the other hand, is a horrible sequel. Combat is made of waiting "awesome button" cooldown and unlimited waves of dumb dudes. They had great potential in the story, even to be better than DA:O, but is so badly done that it feels like you're just fighting filler combats to unlock cut scenes of a bad movie.

DA:O is all that's right in modern CRPGs, DA 2 is all that's wrong.

 

[Xor]

I hated DAO just that much. I just couldn't get over the combat in DAO, it was boring and tedious

I don't want to derail this into DAO combat thread, so just a few obesrvations about 99% of people who make this kind of remark:

1) They are playing DAO on a console (which was a Laidlaw-Derrah lovechild, Knowles had gone by then)

Nope, I played it on a PC.

2) They are playing it on the PC, but on normal or casual (the thought behind the each encounter is totally lost on a lower difficulty and is just a grind through critters that aren't supposed to kill you)

Nope, I played it on hard/nightmare interchangeably.

3) They have really specific needs for combat - like expect it to be as tactical as Shogun Total War, or turn-based like King's Bounty -"else it's shit"

I wouldn't say "expecting it to not suck" is a specific need.

4) They are pure storyfags who, like that inane Mary woman from BioWare, secretly want a "fast forward" through combat in general so that they can get on with the important part, ie plot (or in the case of Mary, gay sex).

The story in DAO is shit, so that's not really what kept me playing. And I resent the implication that storyfags don't care about gameplay, because we do.

5) They don't get that DAO combat is basically - ridiculous enemy numbers and powers versus completely overpowered team-Warden strength (if you build right), so they start threads on the BioBoards that DAO combat is crap because even on normal it is waaaay too hard, and needs urgent nerfing. Laidlaw agrees and nerfs normal DAO enemies in patch 1.02. Promises that party wipeouts on normal will not happen in DA2, even if you're a retard.

I was playing on nightmare most of the time and I didn't find the game to be very difficult. I'd say I "got" the combat.

6) They are unbelievably picky eg "cone of cold' works too well" or "there are 4 fights out of the 100,000 in the game where I have to watch a cutscene before battle, so I can't plan my attack, therefore combat in the whole game is shit".

Would you say "90% of the encounters in the game are exactly the same because of the limited nature of the skill system" is being unbelievably picky? I have a shitload of other complaints, but that one sums up almost everything wrong with the combat in DAO.

7) They think their e-penis will enlarge if they say how ridiculously easy Marjolaine was, with a solo barehanded rogue, on the nightmare plus mod.

What?

I played DAO 3 times for the combat alone. On the PC on hard or +. If you plan, most battles can be won without ever neaeding heal or poultice. IMHO nothing comes close to this combat in the last 5 years, and before that, only NWN and BG, and I look forward to my next playthrough in a year or so (3x rogue plus Shale). Flame away, cocksuckers.

If you really enjoy DAO, then more power to you. Just realize that you won't get a free pass for it on the Codex.

 

[GarfunkeL]

I played DAO 3 times for the combat alone. On the PC on hard or +. If you plan, most battles can be won without ever neaeding heal or poultice. IMHO nothing comes close to this combat in the last 5 years, and before that, only NWN and BG, and I look forward to my next playthrough in a year or so (3x rogue plus Shale). Flame away, cocksuckers.

No point in flaming a retarded idiot. Not good sportsmanship.

 

[mangsy]

Is DA1 worth playing? I suppose just once to see what all the negativity is about.

Not really. It's just not a very engaging game. The plot is extremely derivative: it's blatant where they got every single idea story- and character-wise (and don't think they are just paying homage to different sources--it goes beyond that and into sheer laziness and theft). The combat was okay... I guess I don't take an extreme side here: it wasn't boring IMO, and I found it somewhat challenging at parts, but overall combat was more than manageable and not particularly special, certainly not enough to redeem the agonizingly tedious plot. The item/loot system seemed subpar to boot. In the end, it was a game with amazing production, very little depth, and no originality whatsoever. Playing it wouldn't be a horrible mistake, but neither is it something I would recommend to anyone familiar with the genre.

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

They are pure storyfags who, like that inane Mary woman from BioWare, secretly want a "fast forward" through combat in general so that they can get on with the important part, ie plot (or in the case of Mary, gay sex).

The story in DAO is shit, so that's not really what kept me playing. And I resent the implication that storyfags don't care about gameplay, because we do.

That's not what I said. I simply said that for some people combat isn't their thing. Nothing to be resentful about.

They are unbelievably picky eg "cone of cold' works too well" or "there are 4 fights out of the 100,000 in the game where I have to watch a cutscene before battle, so I can't plan my attack, therefore combat in the whole game is shit".

Would you say "90% of the encounters in the game are exactly the same because of the limited nature of the skill system" is being unbelievably picky? I have a shitload of other complaints, but that one sums up almost everything wrong with the combat in DAO.

Right - so you do fit in my list of 8. Glad we have a starting point. I also agree that spamming cone of cold was an issue, and indeed that the skills and spells were a bit limiited. I don't agree that 90% is a close figure, though. There were templates for enclosed areas, templates for 3 bosses and nothing else, templates for 1 boss with 10 mob, templates for assassins, templates for fields, templates for mages, etc. Does that go far enough? Dunno. What I don't agree with, is saying that because of the fact that there is a boilerplate tactics set, we can dismiss the entire combat system and encounter design as "shit". The mechanics need tweaking, the skills and spells could have done with being more varied, and the class balancing was off. But a good start overall, imo.

They think their e-penis will enlarge if they say how ridiculously easy Marjolaine was, with a solo barehanded rogue, on the nightmare plus mod.

What?

I meant - some people say DAO combat "is shit" because they're REALLY trying to say "look how fucking awesome I am - I can solo Flemeth on nightmare". This kind of person is (imo) trashing a flawed gem just to stroke their ego. I'll admit that I nearly abandoned this game after the Kocari Wilds (v1.01) because on normal, I was just getting my ass handed to me too often. This game is hard if you are new to RPGs, and/or don't want to really put much thinking into your gaming. But if you can be bothered to invest (rather than copping out and going on casual), you can master it in a way few people can. That for me - is the definition of "satisfying" combat. Crusising through the Alienage battle on nightmare without calling on an army or using a single heal spell is the definition of "fun". Especially when in my first playthrough on normal I needed to reload about a dozen times and again nearly abandoned the game.

I played DAO 3 times for the combat alone.

If you really enjoy DAO, then more power to you. Just realize that you won't get a free pass for it on the Codex.

No, my post was about combat not being shitty. I'm not looking for a 'free pass'. I'm just trying to point out that bashing this combat system is basically like taking a wrecking ball to your only car, simply because the wiper settings are either too intermitttent or too fast for your liking. And yes, it is your only car, figuratively speaking, unless you plan to spend your entire life with dosbox and XP emulators. Trashing a complex, semi turn based combat system like DAO means that your voice - to all future developers - sounds like the voices of the console kiddes. You are sending the same message as they are, so everyone is now in perfect harmony that DAO combat was "shit".
So prepare for popamole, QTE in boss fights, click when the cursor glows combat. Prepare for chess without turns. Because when Knowles loses his job trying to make the only mainstream RPG in the last 5 years to go AGAINST this trend, even hardcore RPGers like you who actually had the intellect to understand how to work the DAO combat system, stab him. Well done. Knowles is gone, and Laidlaw is in. DA2/Skyrim/Dungeon Siege 3 is what happens when you can't even acknowledge a step in the right direction, just to get Kool Kodex Kredits.

 

[felipepepe]

Just realize that you won't get a free pass for it on the Codex.

Indeed, the free pass is only available to those who spend most of their time shouting "graphic whore" and "codex-raging" instead of actually playing an RPG.