Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[Psquit]

Who is really going to buy this shit? like really?

If you are going to shill like todd howard with the whole 300 "choices" (over 100 endings fallout 3) at least do it with the witcher 3.

 

[Blaine]

If there are 300 choices/options in Inquisition (doesn't matter whether we're talking choices or options for my purposes), almost none of them will matter at all. The reason is simple exponentiality. If each choice is a choice between two options, and every option leads to almost entirely unique outcomes or permutations, then this is what you'd end up with:

2^8 = 256

2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 = 256

Even after eight two-option choices, the number of permutations has already become unmanageable. Imagine the exponentiality of 150 or 300 choices... now imagine BioWare, pioneers of the nuanced "Yes ma'am/I don't care/Go fuck yourself" morality system and the red/green/blue Mass Effect grand finale, being able to handle such a complicated data set.

Yeah, it's utter bullshit. The vast majority of those "choices" will produce only fleeting and entirely cosmetic permutations that don't make ripples throughout the game in any meaningful way.

 

[Mangoose]

You know what? Fuck C&C.

One choice, a bazillion consequences.

Welcome to the real world, bitches!

 

[racofer]

You press a button, and some awesome consequence happens.

 

[Mangoose]

You press a button, and some awesome consequence happens.

After all how many people holding a real life job has more than one button to press?

Well I guess you got

1) The button you press at work
2) The button you press that sends your wife bananas.
3) The button you press to turn on your computer to watch teen porn.

 

[Blaine]

The thing about C&C is that when it's done right, behind the scenes it's really only a couple of handfuls of genuinely meaningful choices with a variety of interwoven possibilities/ramifications that propagate throughout the game in progress. Most won't be completely unique, but will get halfway there. (Ending slides can be more flexible, since they're essentially one-offs.) Outside of the C&C "core," choices will be resolved immediately or have little or no consequences, which is fine as they round everything out.

When a developer is touting a huge number of choices, particularly when that developer is BioWare, you can automatically be certain there's some bullshit afoot.

 

[Jaesun]

BioWare will never ever make any meaningful C&C because that would "inconvenience" their target audience.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

I don't think every choice needs to be "meaningful" in a world changing way and that would indeed be impossible to manage for BW, but what is so wrong with it only being small "cosmetic" changes? If it adds more cohesion between this and my playthroughs through the older games, it adds immersion and thus makes the experience better, right?

 

[Mystary!]

Well, it certainly is satisfying seeing Alistair being a miserable drunk in DA2 because of you...

 

[Carrion]

If there are 300 choices/options in Inquisition (doesn't matter whether we're talking choices or options for my purposes), almost none of them will matter at all. The reason is simple exponentiality. If each choice is a choice between two options, and every option leads to almost entirely unique outcomes or permutations, then this is what you'd end up with:

Because we're talking about BioWare, choices not mattering is pretty much a given. Still, not every choice necessarily needs to lead to a unique outcome. In theory you could have a game with over 300 choices that eventually lead to a handful of completely different and meaningful outcomes by the end of the game (such as a "good" and "bad" ending based on your alignment), and maybe also some minor cosmetic changes on the way. You could have later choices that cancel out some previous choices, different paths to same outcomes that go through several choices, choices whose consequences are handled entirely through appropriate game mechanics (reputation, alignment, a character's stats, quest rewards, certain character, location or faction becoming hostile etc.) rather than creating a unique story thread for every choice, and so on. You could argue that New Vegas already did this successfully.

But because it is BioWare, we all know it's just marketing bullshit.

 

[Zeriel]

so early impressions from people playing the review copy

Spoiler

"World's so fucking big"

"Filled with puzzles"

"load of sidequests"

"Story seems more interesting. Hard to tell at this point ofc, but intro felt better than previous games"

Image quality is crisp on PS4, no screen tearing. Framerate holds up well but very slight dips during a ton of onscreen action.

Reiterating the world is massive, tons to see and do.

So the review embargo's up well before release.

source : lair of SONNYNIGGERS
last comment means that EAware is either confident as fuck in their game or they paid the reviewers really well this time

Expectations are low after DA2, they could probably deliver a mediocre game that doesn't rape every fibre of your being and that would guarantee I R8 8/8 GR8 B8 M8

 

[eremita]

Well, I think if nothing less, Bioware is consistent with their intentions. Aside from a lot of gameplay videos on twitch/answering questions about the game, they're basically saying the same thing three years straight. Here's an interview with Laidlaw done after DA2 debacle: www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-dragon-age-inquisition-thread-now-with-backflipping-dwarves.75304/page-314

Laidlaw:

"If I'm going to piss you guys off, it's going to be because I still firmly believe that RPGs do need to be more accessible to new players. Not dumbed down, not "consolized" (whatever that means. There are insanely complex games on the console), not diminished, but made less imposing and less terrifying to new players. In part because I want more people to play Dragon Age, and in part because there have been a lot of improvements in gameplay and UI design in the past 15 years, and we can learn from them.

So on that point, I'm sure we can all agree to disagree, so long as the end product is more choice-driven, offers more "twiddle" to the player's experience in terms of equipment, offers satisfying, constructed encounters and a deep story. DAII clearly didn't deliver on all fronts for you guys. For some it did, but I'm truly, deeply cognizant of the parts that are weak, and while we're not going to agree on everything, there's a game out there that's better than both Origins and DAII, and I'll be damned if the talented folks of the DA team can't find it."

 

[Blaine]

Still, not every choice necessarily needs to lead to a unique outcome.

I know. That's not realistic for any game. The purely exponential growth of unique outcomes in my example is done for simplicity's sake and is an extreme, but it's sufficient to show that "150 choices" will clearly involve a whole lot of sameness.

 

[norolim]

Who is really going to buy this shit? like really?

 

[Zeriel]

Who is really going to buy torrent this shit? like really?

Fixed for Codexia.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Bioware should just go back to making Isometric RPGs with AD&D 2nd Edition ruleset but instead with a good turn based combat system.

 

[pippin]

Trent already thought of that
Besides, how will you be able to play dress up when your character is barely the size of a thumb?

 

[Psquit]

Bioware should just go back to making Isometric RPGs with AD&D 2nd Edition ruleset but instead with a good turn based combat system.

Hahaha. Thats like saying Gearbox should just go back to making good fps shooters.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

I don't normally cross-post, but messing around with these gifs has brought me more entertainment than the game ever will:

 

[Jools]

Bioware should just go back to making Isometric RPGs with AD&D 2nd Edition ruleset but without all the retarded pretend-romance and SJW-pandering bullshit.

Fixed. I'd be happy if they just did that.

 

[pippin]

http://www.vg247.com/2014/11/02/dragon-age-inquisition-keep-the-last-court/
Apparently, there will be a tie-in text adventure DA game.

 

[Lhynn]

Why think bioware has the means to make good games anymore? their writers are retarded, their designers are retarded. The level of decline is simply too much to be worth thinking about it.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Why think bioware has the means to make good games anymore? their writers are retarded, their designers are retarded. The level of decline is simply too much to be worth thinking about it.

At least I have the Baldur's Gate Saga. They can never take that away from me.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

 

[Merlkir]

What a specieist shitlord.