Dragon Age for consoles

[Mareus]

"but if mages will be as week as in NWN2, where an orc can cut him down with 2 blows"

Your mage is a wuss.My mage is not.



"Also don't forget that 6 party members is just better for roleplaying."

Nonsenical.

With this logic, IWD is a better RPG than FO or BL.

You are apsolutely right and that is why I also added that that DA may work with 4 characters, if it is done right. Learn to read goddamit!

 

[Mareus]

You got to be pretty stupid a mage in NWN 2 to be cut down by an orc, especially knowing youre on the of the most powerful D&D classes that can kill hundreds in a single spell and has tons of magic protections to avoid being hit or detected.

When you are fighting with 15 orcs with only 4 characters on open territory and when you don't have good overview of the battle because of stupid 3D camera ofcourse it can happen that you get pawned by some orc.

You should know that every mage worth his salt would cast invisibility when he's surrounded by many orcs; then gain some distance and cast a disabling spell on them; or just let the fighter handle it.

You don't have to be weak and vulnerable with some basic tactics.

Yeah but sometimes you don't have invisibility spell ready, do you? Or sometimes you are just busy fighting with the clunky 3D camera so you don't notice some orc hitting your mage. And by the time you cast a spell it's already too late. In BG I didn't have those problems because I had top down isometric veiw, 6 party members, formation choice, better interface. Just a side note, I play RPGs like I don't know what enemies await me, so for example even if I have played some RPG before and I know I would get ambushed there, I don't precast spells in advance. I start casting spells when the fighting starts. I also don't rest until the mission is finished, so sometimes I don't have all the spells available. I just find resting when some enemies are 100 meters away cheesy. Any idiot can finish NWN2 using cheesy tactics like load, rest and precasting spells. I don't do that. I play it like I was really there. Ambush means an ambush and sometimes you are just not prepared. I finished BG trilogy like that with only 3 loads and the only times I had to load was when someone used the imprisonment spell for which there is no saving throw.

 

[Texas Red]

"I doubt the reduced party size has anything do with it being consolised,"

It wasn't 'reduced'. it was always 4-6 party members, and it was awhile back when it was confirmed to be 4 characters.

'Consolization' is a myth. Anything a PC can do for games cna be done for consoles. Period.

Have you by chance noticed the shitacular character control system of KotORs? It was designed for consoles and made the combat impossibly annoying and, because of that, no difficulty was added in order not to frustrate anyone.

 

[Raapys]

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article ... 226759.jpg

Me like.

More screens here: http://www.actiontrip.com/features/e320 ... gins.phtml

 

[Castanova]

Four characters is certainly better than NWN's "sidekick" embarrassment and ME's system which was a one-man-army accompanied by two idiot meatshields. But half the fun of BG2 was having a huge selection of NPCs, each with their own quests, that you could mix and match in Chapter 2.

Plus, just as importantly, it's about tactics. In BG2, in the tough battles you find yourself juggling your characters, each of them involved in their own little skirmishes. Frequently, you find your mage getting blitzed, your tank distracted somewhere else, and the whole thing was hectic and fun.

As you pare down the number of PCs and NPCs, battles become much less about tactics and unit positioning. They become more about watching your guys stand there and hit stuff while you set off their super powers occasionally.

 

[Mareus]

Four characters is certainly better than NWN's "sidekick" embarrassment and ME's system which was a one-man-army accompanied by two idiot meatshields. But half the fun of BG2 was having a huge selection of NPCs, each with their own quests, that you could mix and match in Chapter 2.

Plus, just as importantly, it's about tactics. In BG2, in the tough battles you find yourself juggling your characters, each of them involved in their own little skirmishes. Frequently, you find your mage getting blitzed, your tank distracted somewhere else, and the whole thing was hectic and fun.

As you pare down the number of PCs and NPCs, battles become much less about tactics and unit positioning. They become more about watching your guys stand there and hit stuff while you set off their super powers occasionally.

Exactly and that is why I am praying they will add a cheat function just like NWN2 where you will be allowed to increase the number of your party.

 

[AzraelCC]

Less number of characters means more positioning. Four is fine. Even in P&P RPGs, 4 is the ideal number. Besides, why would you let yourself be caught fighting in a large open space, knowing it increases the chances of being flanked?

 

[doctor_kaz]

Exactly and that is why I am praying they will add a cheat function just like NWN2 where you will be allowed to increase the number of your party.

If not a cheat, a mod shortly after release for sure.

I'm not terribly worried about the four-member part yet since the D&D rules set (especially 3E) is what necessitates the tanks to protect the spellcasters and rogues so much. Specifically, the attacks of opportunity are ridiculous. What's more important is whether they shittify the inteface so that it can be played with a console controller like they have with their other games since Kotor.

 

[Volourn]

People are also forgetting that spellcasters in DA can wear armour if they so choose. Only thing really stopping them is strength requirements.

DA mages ar enot D&D mages (of course with the advent of 3E).

DA is not D&D despite similarities that most fantasy games have with D&D.

 

[MetalCraze]

What's with this bitching about "more party members!"?
Knowing how dumb their AI in Bioware games is I can only wish that I won't micromanage a big bunch of fools desperately trying to get themselves killed.

 

[Volourn]

BIO games' AI is superior than 99% of game sout there so *yawn*.

And, DA like other party based games, don't need the best AI for party members because you shouldn't be using the AI anyways since you'll likely be controlling them anyways as the 4 headed monster.

Dumbass.

 

[MetalCraze]

What? No AI for party at all?
That's even more damn micromanagement.

4 headed monster

in before codex meme

 

[doctor_kaz]

What? No AI for party at all?
That's even more damn micromanagement.

4 headed monster

in before codex meme

Don't complain. If they are actually asking you to control your party members it makes it less likely that they are dumbing the game down for consoles.

 

[Volourn]

I never said there'd be no AI at all. I'm suyre there were will be AI scripts; but why with a game like DA (or BG, or NWN2, or TOEE, or the GB games) woudl you bother using them? It's illogical.

 

[MetalCraze]

You also named turn-based games. I like good micromanagement in a turn-based game. However in a real-time game where you obviously need to very quickly do things micromanaging a party with more than 4 member is not good. In NWN2 even micromanaging 4 fools was bothersome and boring, so most of the time I was just spamming spells with my sorc not caring about other party members. It was an easy game anyway.
In BG it was ok mainly due to long periods between moves compared to the later Aurora engine games.
Bio puts DA as a real real-time game however.

 

[Castanova]

Less number of characters means more positioning. Four is fine. Even in P&P RPGs, 4 is the ideal number. Besides, why would you let yourself be caught fighting in a large open space, knowing it increases the chances of being flanked?

That's patently untrue. The fewer people you have, the more likely you will stand in a doorway waiting for enemies to come to you. If you only have a core squad, their numbers are so few they can't afford to spread out. It becomes optimal to find a choke point, to stand close together and to stand still.

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/888/888796/dragon-age-origins-20080714005226759.jpg

Me like.

More screens here: http://www.actiontrip.com/features/e320 ... gins.phtml

It looks....runnable. Nice one Bioware. This looks halfway decent.

 

[Volourn]

"In BG it was ok mainly due to long periods between moves compared to the later Aurora engine games."

WTF? NWN + NWN2 both use the 6 second rule just like the IE does. As does KOTOR. *yawn*

 

[Shoelip]

Skyway. Pause Button.

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/888/888796/dragon-age-origins-20080714005226759.jpg

Me like.

More screens here: http://www.actiontrip.com/features/e320 ... gins.phtml

It looks....runnable. Nice one Bioware. This looks halfway decent.

It looks worlds better than anything they've done in years. Here's hoping the combat is actually at least somewhat challenging.

 

[Norfleet]

You should know that every mage worth his salt would cast invisibility when he's surrounded by many orcs; then gain some distance and cast a disabling spell on them; or just let the fighter handle it.

You don't have to be weak and vulnerable with some basic tactics.

The problem with applying basic tactics is that if you TRY to, say, with an advance scout and cloaking abilities, the game will just arbitrarily decide to decloak you and tractor you straight into the middle of an ambush of people 10 feet away. NWN2 is a major, major offender for repeatedly doing this to force you into a pointless dialog with an enemy who merely intends to utter his pointless one-liner and then force you to kill him.

 

[Chefe]

The meatshields better have some personality, unlike the ones in ME.

 

[MetalCraze]

Skyway. Pause Button.

Pause buttons are for pussies.

 

[Shoelip]

Skyway. Pause Button.

Pause buttons are for pussies.

... So what are people who ignore the pause button even though that's how the game is meant to be played and then complain about it?

 

[MetalCraze]

I wasn't complaining about BG or any other game or to pause/to not pause
I was complaining about a possibility of getting too much actual micromanagement with the party of 6 in a Bioware game, with their games since the very NWN OC providing problems with normally controlling even 3.