Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[Delterius]

For a non-flying dragon they are just nice steps up the wall, very convenient.

Hell, a flying dragon can use it as a perch.

Careful you probably just gave away the plot twist of a friendly (old god) dragon ally. Cause that's never been done before.

Old God? The friendly dragon is likely Morrigan.

 

[Infinitron]

What Hardcore Fans Can Expect From Dragon Age: Inquisition

Excerpt from GameBanshee:

"It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]. That said, there were some things for DA2 that I felt were very powerful. The characters I felt did a better job of having their own stories or agendas. So we held on to a lot of that. We wanted to make sure they had their own arcs, whether you were romancing them or just friends. The other big thing that we kept from DA2 is that combat in general feels responsive. I think DA2 was very successful in making you feel like oh, I tagged that guy and moved in, I punched him in the face. Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

Combat in Dragon Age: Inquisition has been touted by BioWare as "more challenging" than that of the previous games. When pressed for specific examples, Laidlaw explained, "there are two big changes in terms of enemy opposition; there was much stuff with balance and they're tougher, and we don't have waves of dudes that explode in one hit. Enemy factions like the Red Templars, the Venatori, these enemies typically will work together quite effectively. The guardsmen with their large shields, generally if they're not in immediate combat they will try to place themselves so that your shots at the mages behind them will be deflected. Enemy assassins or other stealthy characters will actively hunt out your mages and rogues, your back rank characters."

Fighting the dragons will also be different to that of previous Dragon Age games, with players able to target the the legs and head of dragons individually. The properties of each dragon's breath will also come into play, interacting with environments.

"The way we developed them, we built the bases, and we had a team of level designers, and the creature guys, and the animators, and the visual effects guys, all of them would come in and play each dragon. They'd pick one dragon per day and it was about a two to three week cycle for them to go through them all. Then they'd go and make improvements, like making it so that his lightning breath electrifies the water."

 

[Grunker]

I tried out the Dragon Age Keep thing for laughs, it's actually pretty impressive. I wish other games with C&C had shit like it.

It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]

hey cool

how does that align with back-flipping dwarves though

Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

yes, as well know, trained warriors are defined by their ability to do somersaults in chain armor

 

[Kem0sabe]

What Hardcore Fans Can Expect From Dragon Age: Inquisition

Excerpt from GameBanshee:

"It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]. That said, there were some things for DA2 that I felt were very powerful. The characters I felt did a better job of having their own stories or agendas. So we held on to a lot of that. We wanted to make sure they had their own arcs, whether you were romancing them or just friends. The other big thing that we kept from DA2 is that combat in general feels responsive. I think DA2 was very successful in making you feel like oh, I tagged that guy and moved in, I punched him in the face. Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

Combat in Dragon Age: Inquisition has been touted by BioWare as "more challenging" than that of the previous games. When pressed for specific examples, Laidlaw explained, "there are two big changes in terms of enemy opposition; there was much stuff with balance and they're tougher, and we don't have waves of dudes that explode in one hit. Enemy factions like the Red Templars, the Venatori, these enemies typically will work together quite effectively. The guardsmen with their large shields, generally if they're not in immediate combat they will try to place themselves so that your shots at the mages behind them will be deflected. Enemy assassins or other stealthy characters will actively hunt out your mages and rogues, your back rank characters."

Fighting the dragons will also be different to that of previous Dragon Age games, with players able to target the the legs and head of dragons individually. The properties of each dragon's breath will also come into play, interacting with environments.

"The way we developed them, we built the bases, and we had a team of level designers, and the creature guys, and the animators, and the visual effects guys, all of them would come in and play each dragon. They'd pick one dragon per day and it was about a two to three week cycle for them to go through them all. Then they'd go and make improvements, like making it so that his lightning breath electrifies the water."

Dragon Age mmo in pre-production.

 

[eremita]

I tried out the Dragon Age Keep thing for laughs, it's actually pretty impressive. I wish other games with C&C had shit like it.

It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]

hey cool

how does that align with back-flipping dwarves though

Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

yes, as well know, trained warriors are defined by their ability to do somersaults in chain armor

Yeah, the animations are silly. But he's talking about responsiveness of the game to your commands. It was horrible in Origins - pathfinding and positioning in combat suck balls. Imo, this is partially the reason why Infinity Engine games play much better than NWN/NWN2/Origins. Combat implementation in those was a fucking mess. If nothing else, DA2 again felt like a game where you were really in control of the battlefield. It seems Inquisition brings that back, that's all he's saying.

 

[Infinitron]

If nothing else, DA2 again felt like a game where you were really in control of the battlefield.

Dude seriously

what

Fake edit: not only are you saying you felt "in control" in DA2 you're also saying it was closer to the Infinity Engine games than DA:O was

 

[Grunker]

I tried out the Dragon Age Keep thing for laughs, it's actually pretty impressive. I wish other games with C&C had shit like it.

It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]

hey cool

how does that align with back-flipping dwarves though

Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

yes, as well know, trained warriors are defined by their ability to do somersaults in chain armor

Yeah, the animations are silly. But he's talking about responsiveness of the game to your commands. It was horrible in Origins - pathfinding and positioning in combat suck balls. Imo, this is partially the reason why Infinity Engine games play much better than NWN/NWN2/Origins. Combat implementation in those was a fucking mess. If nothing else, DA2 again felt like a game where you were really in control of the battlefield. It seems Inquisition brings that back, that's all he's saying.

The responsiveness in DA2 was even worse. They went completely to the other end. Kinaesthetics made it feel like characters were made of paper, the damage was amped down, the speed amped up. So instead of considered swings and blows that gave you an overview of the battle, you had frantic spamming of abilities and a constantly shifting battlefield. With constant spams of damage numbers and ability impacts. It was hellish, and ultimately the largest doom in DA2. According to him, speed has been toned down, but I find that very hard to believe since they just released a video with combat that look carbon-fucking-copied from DA2. Same speed, same silly maneuvers, same paperthin characters and ability impacts.

So:

If nothing else, DA2 again felt like a game where you were really in control of the battlefield.

No. The opposite is true. DA was slow and methodical. DA2 was a hyperactive child on amphetamine.

 

[Delterius]

And both sucked when it comes to battlefield control since a) the primary method for control is threat mechanics and b) it is not intended for you to create and exploit chockepoints. But DA2 is much worse than DA:O if only because everything is exploding all around.

 

[bloodlover]

I tried out the Dragon Age Keep thing for laughs, it's actually pretty impressive. I wish other games with C&C had shit like it.

It's closer to Origins in overall feel. It's bigger, it's bolder. It plays slower than [Dragon Age 2]

hey cool

how does that align with back-flipping dwarves though

Some people would get annoyed because they thought I was dismissing Origins, but when your character took a long time to shuffle into position it was like, 'you're a trained warrior, you can do better.'"

yes, as well know, trained warriors are defined by their ability to do somersaults in chain armor

Yeah, the animations are silly. But he's talking about responsiveness of the game to your commands. It was horrible in Origins - pathfinding and positioning in combat suck balls. Imo, this is partially the reason why Infinity Engine games play much better than NWN/NWN2/Origins. Combat implementation in those was a fucking mess. If nothing else, DA2 again felt like a game where you were really in control of the battlefield. It seems Inquisition brings that back, that's all he's saying.

Nwn 2's problems came from the shitty camera and strange angles. This is a problem when you mix isometric view with 3d. Indeed IE games were better in this regard but that's because of the fixed angle and camera. And let's not pretend that BG didn't have atrocious pathfinding.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Did they finally include an ability queue? DAO/DA2 didn't have one.

 

[eremita]

I stand behind what I said. Silly animation, sparkly effects etc. are irrelevant, I was talking about technical design/implementation of game mechanics . The game is still set in rounds, yet when I issue an order, the character will immediately respond, when I navigate someone in key position (like behind someone's back for backstab), he will get there flawlessly - he's not "floating" there, getting stuck or collide with other models. Engaging characters is a fucking nightmare in NWN2/DAO and that has nothing to do with camera! Also, look how rounds are calculated; in DA2 it won't longer happen that your run away, yet you still get hit by a previously engaged melee character even though he's on the other side of the map now. That is horrid in NWN and DAO. So, again, DA2 is much more responsive, pathfinding and positioning (again, in COMBAT) are much more polished. I can't believe you guys can't see that. That's what I was talking about, so did, I think, Laiodlaw and you counter with fucking aesthetics...

As a game with RTwP combat, DA2 is the greatest achievement since IE games so far (don't remember Fallout Tactics much).

 

[Grunker]

I stand behind what I said. Silly animation, sparkly effects etc. are irrelevant,

Good thing I didn't comment on that at all. Read again. Animation speed, damage being cut into more integers assuring less overall clarity, paper kinaesthetics, messy decals, etc. DA2 is easily one of the messiest combat systems out there.

As a game with RTwP combat, DA2 is the greatest achievement since IE games so far

When your game has worse combat than NWN2, you know you've got a problem.

 

[eremita]

I stand behind what I said. Silly animation, sparkly effects etc. are irrelevant,

Good thing I didn't comment on that at all. Read again. Animation speed, damage being cut into more integers assuring less overall clarity, paper kinaesthetics, messy decals, etc. DA2 is easily one of the messiest combat systems out there.

As a game with RTwP combat, DA2 is the greatest achievement since IE games so far

When your game has worse combat than NWN2, you know you've got a problem.

To problem with animation speed, I can relate (and they're slowing it down in inquisition), although I didn't have a problem with it (in regard of awareness of what's going on the battlefield and adapt, which is the only one relevant...). Some things you said are not true - with cross-class combos (which is a must have on higher difficulties), the party damage output is huge, killing trash mobs almost immediately. Also, you were spamming basic abilities, your important/strategic abilities/spells had actually longer (some even much longer) cooldown than those in Origins...

 

[circ]

DA 2 combat felt responsive? What DA 2 combat did they play. They should have gone back to DAO combat.

Anyway, I watched some videos of it the other day. Textures look pretty fine, BW still can't do hair, but they're not alone in that.

 

[Ulminati]

How did this make 300+ pages?

 

[Grunker]

How did this make 300+ pages?

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...league-of-legends.43220/page-517#post-3589236

 

[Ulminati]

The LoL thread had 4½ years and a shitload of patch updates, tornament player drama and "Lel, silver scrub" to reach that size. This has only been around for 2.

And it still doesn't answer the question of how the Codex can muster up energy to write 300 pages about this turd pre-release. You'd think all hopw had been abandoned after DA2.

 

[Grunker]

The LoL thread had 4½ years and a shitload of patch updates, tornament player drama and "Lel, silver scrub" to reach that size. This has only been around for 2...

...is an actual RPG, is a Bioware product, and is its own self-contained Best Thread Ever. Just leaf through it. 80% of this thread is the same 4 or 5 people saying the same thing over and over, and a bit of Infinitron news updating.

The Way of the Codex(tm)

 

[Ulminati]

is a Bioware product

Just leaf through it

Did I kill your dog or is there another reason you hate my guts enough to suggest this?

 

[Lhynn]

is a Bioware product

Just leaf through it

Did I kill your dog or is there another reason you hate my guts enough to suggest this?

Thread delivers more entertainment than the game ever could.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I remember when I thought DA:O was comparable to Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and had hopes that the sequels would improve.

Those were some naive days.

How did this make 300+ pages?

Bitching and moaning with some trolling and lulz?

 

[drukQs]

Our fortifications must be modelled after our shoulderpads.

I have a feeling that they are there to fend off the dragons. Still retarded though.

You stole the thunder for my joke!

"So you guys spent a fortune to buy the worlds all iron? Just so you could kill a drunk dragon as it flies into the wall?"

For a non-flying dragon they are just nice steps up the wall, very convenient.

Well, at least these guys look memorable, somehow.

I don't even remember DA1 companions... there was Imoen and... Alister? Alistor? ALISTAR, yeah, that one AND DA2 companions were memorable in a sense that I wanted to skin alive most of them.

Better to be forgotten than remembered for how awful you were.

Still. you don't remember Morrigan? Leliana and her hilariously opera song at the camp? Then it was warrior code guy/race, drunk dwarf, elf assassin. all I remember now

I'm pretty sure he meant Leliana with "Imoen" on his comment, they were very similar (And by similar I mean identical, personality and look wise)

 

[kris]

Our fortifications must be modelled after our shoulderpads.

I have a feeling that they are there to fend off the dragons. Still retarded though.

You stole the thunder for my joke!

"So you guys spent a fortune to buy the worlds all iron? Just so you could kill a drunk dragon as it flies into the wall?"

For a non-flying dragon they are just nice steps up the wall, very convenient.

Well, at least these guys look memorable, somehow.

I don't even remember DA1 companions... there was Imoen and... Alister? Alistor? ALISTAR, yeah, that one AND DA2 companions were memorable in a sense that I wanted to skin alive most of them.

Better to be forgotten than remembered for how awful you were.

Still. you don't remember Morrigan? Leliana and her hilariously opera song at the camp? Then it was warrior code guy/race, drunk dwarf, elf assassin. all I remember now

I'm pretty sure he meant Leliana with "Imoen" on his comment, they were very similar (And by similar I mean identical, personality and look wise)

I know he did.

 

[Elfberserker]

I always thought that Imoen was more cheery and playful personality, while Leliana was more religious and...Well...Not so innocent nor optimastic as Imoen.
Of course I am comparing BG and BG 2 Imoen and not the thorne of bhaal Imoen, because I haven't played that yet.

All of Dragon age: origins felt that they were attempt to put more depth to various streotypes from bastard princes and rogue girls etc, etc rather than trying to create new type of characters. In my option they were not complete failuries, because to me they made sense, but they didn't quite got that magical x that made them apart from other 1 million attempts to do the same.

 

[pippin]

Leliana was Imoen as much as Morrigan was Viconia. I thought it was a well known fact that Bioware likes to recycle their stuff. In fact, pointing this out can be a source of real butthurt among biodrones (even more than pointing out other glaring flaws in their games).