Game News Dragon Age II Shorter And More Cinematic

[Volourn]

"Well, AI using inventory items is pretty much the norm in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Derp Scrolls: Oblivious.
Yes, fucking oblivious of all games. "

If so, goof them but since I tend to quit out of ES games ASAP, I proabbly didn't notice. L0L


"They use them on themselves quite a bit actually. STOP THE LIES!"

nO.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

This would be a great criticism and one I agree with except.. this is pretty much true for all RPGs except in the rare scripted encounter. How many times do you see FO enemies use stimpaks? How many times did you see any previous D&D game have enemies use actual items? In the very rare scripted encounter not typical.

I would lvoe to see a game - espciailly a D&D game - where the player had to be wary that the enmy would be keen on using potions,s crolls,a nd the like ona regualr basis.

You have a point in that it's not very common in CRPGs and DAO is certainly not unique in that matter.
But there are examples. NWN2: enemy mages actually using the wands you can later loot off their corpses? Check. ToEE: bugbears using the healing potions they carry? Check. Bugbears buffing themselves with bulls strength potions? Check. YOu only get to loot this stuff if you kill them before they used their shit. BG2: enemy mages carrying some oracle scrolls and using them if you go invisible? Check. Rogues using an invis potion and then buffing themselves with strength, haste potions etc before trying to backstab you? Check. Don't remember how it was in NWN. But former DnD CRPGs did it all the time especially IE games.

And I think you will remember that the AI in BG2 for instance never refrained from using the most powerful spells on you either?

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

OK, you may not be shitting on it, but everyone else here is.

Gross generalizations don't usually make valid points. If you bothered reading past threads, you'd see that many of the design elements of DAO have already been discussed and analyzed with improvements suggested. Many of us are just sick of this fucking topic and have taken to posting one-liners.

Well, I'm a newfag here and I see loads of DAO threads from some time before the napoleonic wars, one over 80 pages long. Whenever I post anything positive about DA:O combat someone generally tries to rip me a new asshole, and no-one seems keen to counter - hence the generalization. I'm just working now with the DAO toolkit, and reckon that has a lot of potential too. Trumpted only by NWN, ie another work of Brent Knowles.

But if there are guys here who appreciate that DA:O encounters had their merits, and could easily be improved, I'm cool with that.

Its just that I played Sacred 2 last month... so my definition of "shitty filler combat against trash mobs" has a *whole* new dimension. Just clumps of random wondering Ghouls who even level-scale in mid combat with you... So I tried getting into the plot of Sacred 2, but came to the conclusion that it must have been patched out by mistake, when fixing the beta I was sold.

 

[Volourn]

" But former DnD CRPGs did it all the time especially IE games. "

Not all the time. It was a rare scripted occurance.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

OK, but I'm not yet sure what to make of your judgment. I am willing to agree that DA:O combat had a bit to go, some repetition here and there, but heck, was it on the right track. If for you it was shit because you found a good way to beat it, then we have a slightly differing definition of "shit".

I never said it was shit. What I mean to say is it lacks options and most importantly: challenge. It's too repetitive, too easy and just not very interesting and coincidentally there's never any sense of reward. Never something like, wow those fuckers kept killing my party for hours but finally I prevailed! It's just something you wade through with your eyes closed because you have to.

OK, you may not be shitting on it, but everyone else here is. I actually agreed with your improvement points. As to BioWare. We CAN make a difference. Look, they backed out of 'always online' DRM because even their fanbois would have seen that as a step too far. Already ME3 interviews are all about increasing the RPG elements- it won't be another DA1--->DA2 fiasco, and that's almost their own words (sorry lost the link).

You're quite the optimist.

Laidlaw lurks here, and uses the comments as an excuse to ditch the harcore.

I'm pretty sure Laidlaw will find excuses to follow his inane *if you press a button something awesome happens* design philosophy regardless of what we say.

But if they are one of the two main devs making stuff remotely in our league, and we then unanimously say "codex hive says shit" then it validates EA and discredits Dan and Brent and the others fighting the good fight. It's not about a 100% victory or a 100% defeat. It's can we steer DA3 to be Origins +10% rather than Origins -40% which is where EA see it.

Wishful thinking. EA Edmonton has a goal. And it has nothing to do with pushing the RPG genre forward or even just creating proper oldschool RPGs.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Not all the time. It was a rare scripted occurance.

Except it wasn't that rare and most importantly it wasn't scripted. Using equipment was part of the AI.

 

[Volourn]

No.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Yes.

 

[DraQ]

r00fles!

 

[waywardOne]

retarded people think algebra is challenging.

 

[Bigot_]

Are there 'template' solutions to many encounters? Yes. But my templates are different to yours. Does that mean we call it shit? I would call it - epic, if you built on the great potential.

I really don't see how you "can't call it shit."

If a game has a template that you can use to just aaa through most encounters, then the combat is too easy, too boring, too repetitive, or a combination of the three.

If a game has five templates, all of which you can use to just aaa through most encounters, that isn't better than the above option.

And yes I did play on the hardest difficulty. In most games right now, DA:O included, easy means "waste of time", normal means "easy", hard means "normal" and "insert eXtreme difficulty here" means occasionally challenging. When you post here just assume literally everyone you talk to played whatever on the highest difficulty, you won't be far off.

Examples? A bit pointless - in my view 90% of encounters had something new, interesting, challenging.

Yes, no doubt. Are there 'template' solutions to many encounters? Yes. But my templates are different to yours. Does that mean we call it shit? I would call it - epic

Ok, I don't mean to be an ass (or maybe I do, I'm posting on codex), but you need to stop spouting this shit. Your view doesn't mean jack squat until you back it up with something. It doesn't have to be an essay or a film documentary, but if all you have is literally "i think its good" + some nice sounding adjectives taped to the end, it's really fucking hard to take you seriously.

The fact that you, personally, found DA:O difficult and complex while a ton of people playing on the same difficulty here found it boring and repetitive should point to the conclusion that you have lower standards in terms of difficulty, not that everyone is blind to the radiance that is dragon age.

DA:O isn't completely unbearable for some people, but for a lot of people here it's boring, sometimes to the point where it's more of a chore than anything, and mediocre as shit considering what most people here want out of a game (if you fucking ask me what people here want out of a game I'm going to slap you).

 

[GarfunkeL]

How can you find 90% of encounters to have something new, interesting and challenging? Are you braindead? Or haven't you actually played any decent RPGs? Pool of Radiance from 1988 trumps DAO's combat.

 

[Bigot_]

How can you find 90% of encounters to have something new, interesting and challenging? Are you braindead? Or haven't you actually played any decent RPGs? Pool of Radiance from 1988 trumps DAO's combat.

"new, interesting and challenging" now means "reskinned, renamed, and slightly buffed", get with the times

 

[Barrow_Bug]

Hey Guys, I'm looking for Dragon Age 2 threads. Have you seen any?

 

[circ]

According to the game telemetry that BioWare was gathering from players, 95% of them died on normal at least once when facing the arcane horror in the brecilian ruins. 98% died on normal at least once when fighting last set of cultists before the high dragon.

Hahaha WHAT? How? That's like dying to a 1hp kobold with a full party in some newbie dungeon in some random RPG.

 

[Barrow_Bug]

Stop fucking around, the search option is being buggy and I really want to see how the Codex feel about DA2.

Jesus, I'm asking for a little help here and all you guys do it fuck around.

 

[Xor]

Game sucks. Best RPG of the year.

 

[hoverdog]

Hey Guys, I'm looking for Dragon Age 2 threads. Have you seen any?

Horrible creatures. I avoid them whenever I can.