Dragon Age impressions

[Grunker]

Yes obviously since no one would use it as an excuse to get rid of the king and grey wardens. To even add more fuel to the fire. Oh wait...

Okay, now you're totally losing me. You're saying, that if Duncan said the blight was true, someone would be able to use THAT as an excuse to depose the king and the wardens? Jesus christ.

Not only that, but that's a fucking classic case of defending the writing with your own logic, instead of the writing itself, if I ever saw one.

 

[Monocause]

kay... Yeah he should just explain everything so others can gripe against the order and denounce them. I mean others are totally against using such leverage to gain power. Everyone thinks highly of the grey wardens yet how many still will when what happens is revealed? Jesus the game even states this shit right in the damn beginning...

We are only discussing one thing here: Why he does not reveal to the king that he knows they're dealing with a true blight.

You still fail to provide me with a reason why he shouldn't.

Jesus, if the ritual is a secret, its effects are also secret. Duncan knows it's a true blight because of the ritual's effects - which are secret - therefore he keeps his knowledge secret and tries to present his point as 'gut feeling'. What's there to not understand? What's inconsistent?

Had he told that he knew it's a blight, they'd ask him how does he know that.

 

[Silellak]

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

I'm honestly curious, because all I know about the Elves in the Witcher universe is based off the game, and from that it's doesn't appear to be a rip-off beyond the most superficial comparisons.

Thus, BioWare seems to have utterly defeated what makes sandbox RPGs so much fun.

Good thing DA isn't a sandbox RPG, then.

Sandbox as in non-linear, as in "I try to tackle quests in whatever order I can", sandbox as in "I'm level 5 and there are two level 5 areas, I'll do one first and then the other will be much easier and I'll feel rewarded for my progression".

You know, what DA:O attempts to achieve but as dutifully noted fails miserably at.

I agree, actually. I do wish level-scaling were less obvious and that, once you reached, say, the 4th area you go to for aid, the enemies had become significantly weaker than your party. I understand why they did it - story reasons demand that areas like the Deep Roads not be a complete push-over even if you go there with a level 15+ party - but I still wish the level scaling was toned-down a bit.

I just don't consider it to be a game-ruiner like Oblivion, where you can "go everywhere and do anything" but every enemy you face, and every item you find, is tailored to your exact level.

 

[DreadMessiah]

kay... Yeah he should just explain everything so others can gripe against the order and denounce them. I mean others are totally against using such leverage to gain power. Everyone thinks highly of the grey wardens yet how many still will when what happens is revealed? Jesus the game even states this shit right in the damn beginning...

We are only discussing one thing here: Why he does not reveal to the king that he knows they're dealing with a true blight.

You still fail to provide me with a reason why he shouldn't.

Jesus, if the ritual is a secret, its effects are also secret. Duncan knows it's a true blight because of the ritual's effects - which are secret - therefore he keeps his knowledge secret and tries to present his point as 'gut feeling'. What's there to not understand? What's inconsistent?

Had he told that he knew it's a blight, they'd ask him how does he know that.

I already tried this approach. I fail to see what is so hard to grasp though.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Hope you were tempted to uninstall BG2, FO2, ARC, and every RPG ever created as they are full of these 'exploits'.

Shame on YOU.

Volourn, you absurd

. FO2 enemies for starters didn't resort to 500 HP enemies crap, didn't have INSTAWTFPWN abilities, nor did you, you couldn't instantly heal yourself unless you spent 4 APs to access your inventory, your companions couldn't use this exploit (which is more of an afterthought) - and guess what: once dead, they stayed dead and you couldn't revive them. Hardcore, I know. For all of its simplicity, FO had good, fun combat.

I like how you avoided the "these other loved games also have these exploits of waiting until the bad guys get to you" thing and came up with "FO2 has good combat" and some info about companions.

Btw, "aim for the eyes = instawin" isn't good combat, but ok.

For all of its simplicity, FO had good, fun combat.

"It's good for what it is."

 

[Lesifoere]

Anyone experiencing memory leaks that get worse and worse? Jesus buggering fuck, it's gotten really bad now and I can only imagine how horrid it'll get yet by the time I'm done with the landsmeet. (Apparently unlooted corpses may contribute to it, as they stay around for all eternity and never rot, and I left a lot of shit unlooted in the werewolf ruins.)

 

[Grunker]

I... might be able to buy that, however it is extremely convenient and leaves alot of things unexplained. Why he would risk what he so obviously genuinely wants to defend for the sake of not telling the king: "Well, I know it because of a secret rite." or somesuch other lie.

It doesn't explain his reluctance towards using bait either.

All in all, it's an excuse made up to tie the plot together - something a plot shouldn't need at all.

I am, however, slightly convinced, but it in no way makes up for the lack of quality in the rest of the writing.

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

There are to kinds of elves in the Witcher: City elves, which remain in human cities and generally do not riot or have affiliation with Scoia'tael, and wild elves, who live in remote mountain and forest areas, trying to bring back the glorious lore of the ye olde elves. On top of that, both elven kingdoms were torn down by humans, and the humans build their empire on top of it. First, making slaves of the nonhumans, later giving them free to poverty.

Now tell me how that is not EXACTLY the same as in DA:O?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

^I read that restarting the game every 4 hours or so helps with memory leaks. Maybe it cleans up the unlooted corpses

 

[DreadMessiah]

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

I'm honestly curious, because all I know about the Elves in the Witcher universe is based off the game, and from that it's doesn't appear to be a rip-off beyond the most superficial comparisons.

Both games: Those that live in cities are poor, looked down upon, etc while those that live in the wilds are rebels and both had thier ancient civiliztions destroyed by humans and were enslaved to certain degrees.

 

[Vault Dweller]

None of that explains why he attributes it to a feeling. None. And I've commented on the blood magic earlier.

Hiding the dangers of the ritual makes perfect sense. But if the king would listen to him if only it wasn't a feeling - and it then isn't - makes no sense at all.

It's actually very simple. As explained by others, he can't reveal the GW's secret. The reasons are explained many times in the game. So, he is in a realistic situation where he can't tell what he knows because he can't reveal how he knows it. In that scene it was pretty clear that he knows more than he's telling, and for the record the "knows more than he's able to tell" is hardly a unique situation that needs to be explained.

Yes, the young king trusts the Wardens, but he trusts them because he thinks that they are noble protectors. If he were to learn that they are half abominations connected to the darkspawn telepathically, his respect and trust would have dropped instantly.

And again, it's not like saying "How I know? Well, after drinking tainted blood I started seeing visions..." would have been taken as the gospel's truth.

You don't have an argument here, Grunk.

 

[Lesifoere]

^I read that restarting the game every 4 hours or so helps with memory leaks. Maybe it cleans up the unlooted corpses

I do that. But it used to be that the leak started affecting game performing after, yes, two-three hours. Now I play for an hour and then it starts slowing down. Very irritating. Installing .Net Framework right now, supposed to fix the issue for some people.

 

[Grunker]

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

I'm honestly curious, because all I know about the Elves in the Witcher universe is based off the game, and from that it's doesn't appear to be a rip-off beyond the most superficial comparisons.

Both games: Those that live in cities are poor, looked down upon, etc while those that live in the wilds are rebels and both had thier ancient civiliztions destroyed by humans and were enslaved to certain degrees.

The similarities are much greater than that, look at my edited post.

And again, it's not like saying "How I know? Well, after drinking tainted blood I started seeing visions..." would have been taken as the gospel's truth.

Haven't we already established he's not above lying? What prevents him from doing that in this case?

 

[DreadMessiah]

Anyone experiencing memory leaks that get worse and worse? Jesus buggering fuck, it's gotten really bad now and I can only imagine how horrid it'll get yet by the time I'm done with the landsmeet. (Apparently unlooted corpses may contribute to it, as they stay around for all eternity and never rot, and I left a lot of shit unlooted in the werewolf ruins.)

Yes and setting affinity in task manager for dragonage.exe under processes (vista) for my i7 920 to the 4,5,6,7 cores got rid of the problem. It works for some while others still report having the problem. Something to do with hyper threading possibly?

 

[DreadMessiah]

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

I'm honestly curious, because all I know about the Elves in the Witcher universe is based off the game, and from that it's doesn't appear to be a rip-off beyond the most superficial comparisons.

Both games: Those that live in cities are poor, looked down upon, etc while those that live in the wilds are rebels and both had thier ancient civiliztions destroyed by humans and were enslaved to certain degrees.

The similarities are much greater than that, look at my edited post.

True was just doing a general summary. Which I guess is not that helpful compaired to an extended in depth telling. :D

 

[Vault Dweller]

Also, Grunker made some good points while defending himself from VD. Truly, the writing in this game is subpar, it shows, and it's difficult how someone would find ways to defend it.

Defending himself? I thought we were having a pleasant conversation.

Again, I posted dialogue screenshots. I invite everyone to explain me what's so awful about the dialogue lines there. Inquiring mind and all that.

 

[1eyedking]

Loot is level-scaled as well.

 

[Silellak]

Out of curiosity, how are the Elves in DA a rip-off of Elves in the Witcher universe?

I'm honestly curious, because all I know about the Elves in the Witcher universe is based off the game, and from that it's doesn't appear to be a rip-off beyond the most superficial comparisons.

Both games: Those that live in cities are poor, looked down upon, etc while those that live in the wilds are rebels and both had thier ancient civiliztions destroyed by humans and were enslaved to certain degrees.

And now I correct you:

Gonna put in spoiler tags, in case anyone cares.

Spoiler

In Dragon Age, the Dalish are not "rebels", they're just nomadic tribes who often keep to themselves. They even stop by smaller human settlements for trade, and there is very little history of violence between the Dalish and Humanity. They both sort of keep to themselves.

And the Dalish have a very good motivation for avoiding humanity - as far as they can tell, being around Humans is what caused them to lose their immortality. While they haven't re-gained their immortality, the Dalish already live longer than the Elves who remain in Human cities. They're also attempting to revive their old ways and eventually re-found a third homeland.

The Elves actually have a pretty tragic history - giant empire, wiped out by humans then enslaved. Eventually they became free and found a NEW homeland. Most Elves, scattered across the world, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to this new homeland (many dying on the way), only to have that homeland wiped out by humans again because those humans found Jeebus - Jeebus in this case actually being the very same human who had helped free them from slavery in the first place.

The fact I can tolerate the presence of Elves and Dwarves at all says a lot about how DA's lore puts some new spin on the old stories.

 

[Vault Dweller]

And again, it's not like saying "How I know? Well, after drinking tainted blood I started seeing visions..." would have been taken as the gospel's truth.

Haven't we already established he's not above lying? What prevents him from doing that in this case?

And telling what exactly? How do you prove that the darkspawn are a threat again, after they've been dormant for 400 years?

 

[Silellak]

Loot is level-scaled as well.

Pretty sure the unique items/quest rewards you get aren't, just the random shit you find in chests and off corpses.

 

[Vault Dweller]

The fact I can tolerate the presence of Elves and Dwarves at all says a lot about how DA's lore puts some new spin on the old stories.

^ This.

 

[Grunker]

Also, Grunker made some good points while defending himself from VD. Truly, the writing in this game is subpar, it shows, and it's difficult how someone would find ways to defend it.

Defending himself? I thought we were having a pleasant conversation.

Again, I posted dialogue screenshots. I invite everyone to explain me what's so awful about the dialogue lines there. Inquiring mind and all that.

Yeah, I'm not defending myself. And I'm actually on the verge of losing right now, so...

Though, that is just one instance in the writing, and you must admit you picked the one argument you saw was easy to make faulter

I've got more faith in my points about the companions. On my second playthrough, I'm pressing escape far more in companion-conversation than in all the other dialogue.

But, it must be said, if you can make me faulter in the case of the companions the same way you did with Duncan, my case probably isn't that good.

Spoiler

In Dragon Age, the Dalish are not "rebels", they're just nomadic tribes who often keep to themselves. They even stop by smaller human settlements for trade, and there is very little history of violence between the Dalish and Humanity. They both sort of keep to themselves.

And the Dalish have a very good motivation for avoiding humanity - as far as they can tell, being around Humans is what caused them to lose their immortality. While they haven't re-gained their immortality, the Dalish already live longer than the Elves who remain in Human cities. They're also attempting to revive their old ways and eventually re-found a third homeland.

The Elves actually have a pretty tragic history - giant empire, wiped out by humans then enslaved. Eventually they became free and found a NEW homeland. Most Elves, scattered across the world, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to this new homeland (many dying on the way), only to have that homeland wiped out by humans again because those humans found Jeebus - Jeebus in this case actually being the very same human who had helped free them from slavery in the first place.

I'm sorry, but all of that is ripped off from the witcher as well :/

The wild elves are not synonymous with the Scoia'tael. The wild elves are exactly like the dalish: Avoiding the humans at all costs, reseaching lost lore. It even has a case of an established elven city, much like the one at the end of DA:O, allowed by the nilfgaardian empire, which attempts to be true to old virtues.

Spoiler

The Elves actually have a pretty tragic history - giant empire, wiped out by humans then enslaved. Eventually they became free and found a NEW homeland. Most Elves, scattered across the world, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to this new homeland (many dying on the way), only to have that homeland wiped out by humans again because those humans found Jeebus - Jeebus in this case actually being the very same human who had helped free them from slavery in the first place.

This is an exact ripoff of the witcher, but admittedly also of a lot of other fantasy works.

 

[Monocause]

And again, it's not like saying "How I know? Well, after drinking tainted blood I started seeing visions..." would have been taken as the gospel's truth.

Haven't we already established he's not above lying? What prevents him from doing that in this case?[/quote]

And how, exactly, would he lie? That he had seen the archdemon with his own eyes? He would have to venture far into the Korcari Wilds or the Deep roads to do that; and why wouldn't he tell about it earlier?
I can't think of a lie that would be believable without arousing too many questions. Besides, all things aside, do you think that NPCs can't make wrong decisions or pick the wrong answers or they're 'inconsistent'?

Face it, the notion that Duncan was inconsistent in this particular case is a fucking joke.

 

[Grunker]

Hmm, I don't know. Oh yeah, maybe they used old rite's? Maybe they used sacred items? Maybe the maker helped them? Loads of excuses. But I do realize my case is weak, since I'm beginning to do exactly what I warned you about; defending with my own logic...

So yeah. I give you this one.

 

[Silellak]

The Elves actually have a pretty tragic history - giant empire, wiped out by humans then enslaved. Eventually they became free and found a NEW homeland. Most Elves, scattered across the world, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to this new homeland (many dying on the way), only to have that homeland wiped out by humans again because those humans found Jeebus - Jeebus in this case actually being the very same human who had helped free them from slavery in the first place.

This is an exact ripoff of the witcher, but admittedly also of a lot of other fantasy works.

In the Witcher, the Elves were rescued from human slavery by a human religious figure? Who then helped rise to power by joining her rebellion against the Big Human Empire? And then, after finally settling in a newly restored homeland, were wiped out again by humans in the name of that same religious figure?

Also, everyone knows Elves in both the Witcher and DA:O are both rip-offs of the Jews.

 

[DreadMessiah]

The Elves actually have a pretty tragic history - giant empire, wiped out by humans then enslaved. Eventually they became free and found a NEW homeland. Most Elves, scattered across the world, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to this new homeland (many dying on the way), only to have that homeland wiped out by humans again because those humans found Jeebus - Jeebus in this case actually being the very same human who had helped free them from slavery in the first place.

This is an exact ripoff of the witcher, but admittedly also of a lot of other fantasy works.

In the Witcher, the Elves were rescued from human slavery by a human religious figure? Who then helped rise to power by joining her rebellion against the Big Human Empire? And then, after finally settling in a newly restored homeland, were wiped out again by humans in the name of that same religious figure?

Also, everyone knows Elves in both the Witcher and DA:O are both rip-offs of the Jews.

One difference with many many similarities. Yeah man you got us...