Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[DalekFlay]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

 

[Jaesun]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

Well let's see.. DA: dumbed down console action game, DA II: dumbed down console action game. What are you expecting actually?

 

[eremita]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

Then I would call it an irony that at this moment it seems DA:I's combat might be actually more thought out, complex and polished compared to the Incline of 2014 - Wasteland2, Divinity and Dragonfall (The combat in Pillars of Eternity seems to be such a clusterfuck at this moment it seems to be out of question). You may be disgust by all the sparkly effects and ridiculous animations, but when it comes to combat design, I wouldn't call it a turd just yet...

 

[eremita]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

 

[Jools]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

how did you find the combat in DA2 better than the one in DAO (which was fairly shit, granted)? As far as I recall, it literally turned combat into a 2-button mashfest...

 

[Infinitron]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

how did you find the combat in DA2 better than the one in DAO (which was fairly shit, granted)? As far as I recall, it literally turned combat into a 2-button mashfest...

There are a few rather strange people out there who think that because DA2 did some streamlining to DA:O's systems, that somehow made DA2's combat "better" than DA:O's.

That is of course a faulty assumption, even if you accept that DA2's streamlining was actually a net positive, which many don't (lol Fighters who can't use bows)

 

[dryan]

DA:O combat = bad
DA2 combat = bad but faster = ends more quickly = better

It still sucked and I'd have preferred if Hamburger Helper chick got her way and implemented an option to skip it altogether. Let me just have dialogues and romances.

 

[Siveon]

So, you just want to read a book?

 

[RandomAccount]

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

no... really...

 

[Jools]

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

how did you find the combat in DA2 better than the one in DAO (which was fairly shit, granted)? As far as I recall, it literally turned combat into a 2-button mashfest...

There are a few rather strange people out there who think that because DA2 did some streamlining to DA:O's systems, that somehow made DA2's combat "better" than DA:O's.

That is of course a faulty assumption, even if you accept that DA2's streamlining was actually a net positive, which many don't (lol Fighters who can't use bows)

Combat in DAO retained a faint, fleeting aftertaste of the combat from IE/AE games, whereas it went full-out-arcade in DA2 (which is actually quite meh in an "RPG", because it shifts the "focus" from stats to buttonmashing -no, I'm not even gonna call it "player skill"-). Now, which of the two is preferable is entirely subjective, and I was genuinely curious as to the reasons why one might prefer DA2's combat over DAO's.

I remember encountering at least a couple of half-difficult fights in DAO (or at least, if not "difficult", fights that required vaguely more effort than "autopilot"), whereas I remember breezing through the combat of DA2 like a hot shark through butter.

 

[Infinitron]

I remember encountering at least a couple of half-difficult fights in DAO (or at least, if not "difficult", fights that required vaguely more effort than "autopilot"), whereas I remember breezing through the combat of DA2 like a hot shark through butter.

Well, some of the Act 3 fights in DA2 could get pretty tough. You had to utilize the game's "cross-class combo" mechanic to be able to beat them easily, and mages weren't as OP as in DA:O.

Of course, to get to those fights you had to survive the boredom of the first two acts - not an easy task.

I would say that there was some kind of strange hybrid arcade-action/tactical RTwP system hiding under the surface there, underneath all the trash mobs and spastic animations, but even if they'd polished it, it was nothing anybody had ever asked for.

 

[Angthoron]

Carefully attached metal spikes
Good make-up
Unusual eye colour
Open smile
Eye contact
Brain clearly removed
Plush toys suggest playful nature
No cleavage display

8/10, totally would.

 

[RandomAccount]

Well, some of the Act 3 fights in DA2 could get pretty tough. You had to utilize the game's "cross-class combo" mechanic to be able to beat them easily, and mages weren't as OP as in DA:O.

Of course, to get to those fights you had to survive the boredom of the first two acts - not an easy task.

I would say that there was some kind of strange hybrid arcade-action/tactical RTwP system hiding under the surface there, underneath all the trash mobs and spastic animations, but even if they'd polished it, it was nothing anybody had ever asked for.

Please reference your 'mediation' reply with the fact that the poster used the phrase 'vast'. I see no 'vast' in your middle-grounding assessment.

 

[RandomAccount]

And anyway, it doesn't matter what delicate or forthright language or images people use, the mere fact that DA2 employed parachuting enemies in a wave format, from which the waves came from completely impossible locations - like walls, ceilings and the sky, makes any suggestion of anything about the combat being in any way 'better' on any level whatsoever completely moot.

The game could have had Fallout or JA2 or whatever combat and the wave implementation would still have killed it stone dead in any debate about 'better combat'. There is no way, either rational, irrational, fanboy or married to the developer that anyone could argue DA2 had 'batter' combat than 'anything' other than something actually shitter. Da:O was not 'shitter' therefore it's an impossible proposition!

 

[Ulminati]

Well let's see.. DA: dumbed down console action game, DA II: dumbed down console action game. What are you expecting actually?

....Gay elf buttsecks?

 

[Seaking4]

And anyway, it doesn't matter what delicate or forthright language or images people use, the mere fact that DA2 employed parachuting enemies in a wave format, from which the waves came from completely impossible locations - like walls, ceilings and the sky, makes any suggestion of anything about the combat being in any way 'better' on any level whatsoever completely moot.

The game could have had Fallout or JA2 or whatever combat and the wave implementation would still have killed it stone dead in any debate about 'better combat'. There is no way, either rational, irrational, fanboy or married to the developer that anyone could argue DA2 had 'batter' combat than 'anything' other than something actually shitter. Da:O was not 'shitter' therefore it's an impossible proposition!

If the game had Fallout combat I guarantee you no one would be describing it as better than DA:O.

Didn't the developers admit that wave combat was a mistake? I could be completely off the mark though.

 

[eremita]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome buttons" and "clickfest" on me gathered on the interentz... Unfounded bullshit is not worhty of the codex

Spoiler

Or is it the essence of the codex? I'm still not sure...

Both games are shitty dumbed down console action games, how can one or the other be "Good".

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

how did you find the combat in DA2 better than the one in DAO (which was fairly shit, granted)? As far as I recall, it literally turned combat into a 2-button mashfest...

How can a party based combat consisting of auto-attack and dozens of selectable abilities be a 2-button mashfest? So no, it didn't... You do know that game is still based on rounds, right?

I remember encountering at least a couple of half-difficult fights in DAO (or at least, if not "difficult", fights that required vaguely more effort than "autopilot"), whereas I remember breezing through the combat of DA2 like a hot shark through butter.

Well, some of the Act 3 fights in DA2 could get pretty tough. You had to utilize the game's "cross-class combo" mechanic to be able to beat them easily, and mages weren't as OP as in DA:O.

Of course, to get to those fights you had to survive the boredom of the first two acts - not an easy task.

There's some true to that. Although there were some tougher fights before. Generally I would say that the amount of trash combat really hurt the game, but there were couple of very well designed hard fights. Unfortunately, the best fights were in DLCs. Also, in some of the "moderate" fights, the "wave system" turned out to be a pretty cool mechanic. It basically shrinked the whole concept of Dungeon Crawl to one long encounter (thus forcing you to rationally micromanage your resources and making some of the better abilities just "per fight" only; neglecting the fact that DA2 uses cooldown system). Yes, enemies falling from sky is fucking fail, but the idea with waves is not inherently bad. It worked, it just looked silly. This also aplies to hard/boss fights, so no, it wasn't only about the cross class combos...

What I really liked in Boss Fights was that they were divided into parts. You had to progress through all of them, often deal with different situations and almost always use your enviroments. That games was also about positioning in those moments. So let me fix this:

I would say that there was some kind of strange cool hybrid arcade-action/tactical RTwP system hiding under the surface there, underneath all the trash mobs and spastic animations, but even if they'd polished it, it was nothing anybody had ever asked for.

Some day, I would really like to hear what Tony Evans thinks about this combat he helped create... The game as a whole didn't turn out according to devs intentions probably mostly due to time constrains, but I just can't ignore some really cool ideas/mechanics here and there...

 

[Jools]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome but

I honestly only played the game on normal, and only once. I clearly remember not really having to bother much with "tactical" skill usage, and if it's true that the skills are definitively more than the proverbial two, it is also true that, on normal, two random skills out of the many available will just do at any times.

 

[eremita]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome but

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O[/QUOTE]

I honestly only played the game on normal, and only once. I clearly remember not really having to bother much with "tactical" skill usage, and if it's true that the skills are definitively more than the proverbial two, it is also true that, on normal, two random skills out of the many available will just do at any times.[/QUOTE]


Well, then let me assure you that this changes on hard and even more on nightmare (there's friendly fire on nightmare, which could be very challenging cause this game is basically AoE oriented).

 

[Jools]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome but

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

I honestly only played the game on normal, and only once. I clearly remember not really having to bother much with "tactical" skill usage, and if it's true that the skills are definitively more than the proverbial two, it is also true that, on normal, two random skills out of the many available will just do at any times.

Well, then let me assure you that this changes on hard and even more on nightmare (there's friendly fire on nightmare, which could be very challenging cause this game is basically AoE oriented).

Too bad the "episodic" story and the game design in general did not impress me in the slightest, or I'd be willing to give it another chance. For whatever reason, I preferred DA:O under most aspects (and even so, not enough to replay that one either).

 

[Rake]

So, you just want to read a book?

When the alerantive is engaging in such good gameplay as DA2, Witcher 2, Alpha Protocol or New Vegas had?
Yes.

 

[eremita]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome but

There's room in the world for some simple games that excel in other areas. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it excelled at nothing. Who knows about this one.

True, but combat was a vast improvement compared to DA:O

I honestly only played the game on normal, and only once. I clearly remember not really having to bother much with "tactical" skill usage, and if it's true that the skills are definitively more than the proverbial two, it is also true that, on normal, two random skills out of the many available will just do at any times.

Well, then let me assure you that this changes on hard and even more on nightmare (there's friendly fire on nightmare, which could be very challenging cause this game is basically AoE oriented).[/QUOTE]


Too bad the "episodic" story and the game design in general did not impress me in the slightest, or I'd be willing to give it another chance. For whatever reason, I preferred DA:O under most aspects (and even so, not enough to replay that one either).[/QUOTE]


I actually never replayed that one either. There's just too much "filler" between the great parts. For me, it was an overall good experience, but once is enough. I agree with Infinitron in that the game needed more polish. As I said, there are imho really cool ideas/mechanics and bits - that is all. I'm not saying the game is fucking masterpiece. But calling it an unredeemable turd shows either a lack of interest or lack of reflection...

BTW, man after 5 years on the codex, you should know how to use quote feature.

 

[Jools]

BTW, man after 5 years on the codex, you should know how to use quote feature.

I do on most occasions. XD

 

[BlackAdderBG]

How many of you actually played that game through on hard/nightmare difficulty? Cause I'm really not interested in discussion with someone who's gonna throw all the "awesome buttons" and "clickfest" on me gathered on the interentz...

I tortured myself with the hard difficulty only for friendly fire,which was bizarrely tied with it.Half FF on hard and full on hardest if I remember it right.Then I realized it just make the game like MMO dps and gear check + more waves .As for combat mechanics been improved we need only to look at them described by their own wikis to see this is not even up for debate

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Combat_mechanics_(Dragon_Age_II)

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Combat_mechanics_(Origins)

 

[Space Satan]

Oh boy, here we go again:

NSFW