Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[Roguey]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

 

[DragoFireheart]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

It did.

 

[aris]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

It did.

What if it didn't?

 

[DragoFireheart]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

It did.

What if it didn't?

Then it might be a better game.

 

[Delterius]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

Indeed, that'd be giving them too much credit. What DA2 tried to do for lower difficulty settings is 'streamline' the gameplay so that you don't have to manage the entire party. Limiting your action to a single character can still be a interesting idea - hack and slash games can be good for what they are and so can action TPS's - but it, I think, just fell flat in DA2. You're supposed to do the same thing you did in other RTwP games, but with a single character at a time and without friendly fire.

 

[Roguey]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

It did.

It has nothing in common with them. It's Dragon Age: Origins combat with faster, over-the-top animations, the removal of longer player character stuns so you don't have to switch characters, and slightly different underlying systems. The ability to move out of the way of melee attacks and certain ranged spells is more of a move to eliminate visual dissonance than a move towards action gameplay.

 

[Zeriel]

Why is it that Bioware is pathologically unable to commit to a single genre for their games? It's open world but NOT REALLY; so dumb. Why not just commit to making a proper game in a given genre rather than taking a mish-mash of things that don't work well together?

Advertising.

And by this, I don't mean that they're misleading people by saying it's a bunch of different things as marketing, I mean that they literally construct the thing from the ground up to be an unholy smorgasbord of design as a way to sell more units.

More generally, this is what happens when you give the keys of the company to a large, public corporation. Every question you ask arises from, "How do we justify the costs of keeping our studio open to the shareholders? Well, we sell more copies. How are we going to do that?"

 

[sea]

Trailer was a whole lot of meh. Is it just me or were they trying to rip off the Blizzard style with this one? I also like how BioWare's version of being mysterious and cryptic is "use as many tired cliches out of context as possible."

No gameplay footage either.

 

[Brinko]

Trailer was a whole lot of meh. Is it just me or were they trying to rip off the Blizzard style with this one? I also like how BioWare's version of being mysterious and cryptic is "use as many tired cliches out of context as possible."

No gameplay footage either.

Well when the burning legion starting pouring in from the sky and Bioware being creative bankrupt at this point I don't doubt Sten will probably become Thrall and Morrigan some Jaina Proudmoore clone.

 

[Average Manatee]

Will be fun seeing Bioware make an open-world game.

In b4 Roguey posting links to prove it won't be open-world.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/10/dragon-age-3-confirmed-for-fall-2014/

The EA press conference at E3 has confirmed the release of Dragon Age 3, aka Dragon Age: Inquisition, in 2014. The game will apparently take place in “a vast open world”

Sup Roguey

Dah dah dee dah dah dah

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/371/index/16832520#16834750

Not Skyrim style, just larger areas and more openness to them.

It's not like you need the entire world to have seamlessly loaded regions to be open world. Baldur's Gate is open world and it sounds like thats what they are doing.

 

[Infinitron]

But it tried to be.

It didn't.

It did.

It has nothing in common with them. It's Dragon Age: Origins combat with faster, over-the-top animations, the removal of longer player character stuns so you don't have to switch characters, and slightly different underlying systems. The ability to move out of the way of melee attacks and certain ranged spells is more of a move to eliminate visual dissonance than a move towards action gameplay.

And click-combat in the console versions before they patched it out, probably to try to see if it would catch on with the consoletards.

Stop being naive plz.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

Trailer was a whole lot of meh. Is it just me or were they trying to rip off the Blizzard style with this one? I also like how BioWare's version of being mysterious and cryptic is "use as many tired cliches out of context as possible."

No gameplay footage either.

"actual gameplay footage"maybe you noticed

 

[Commissar Draco]

DA3 trailer looks even more bland and generic as f... than Skyrim2 Witcher 3 did. Won't buy demo.

 

[laclongquan]

So much fun.

Although it's a shopped, with Donna Simson in your corner you dont actually need opponents

Spoiler

 

[Cyberarmy]

Trailer was a whole lot of meh. Is it just me or were they trying to rip off the Blizzard style with this one? I also like how BioWare's version of being mysterious and cryptic is "use as many tired cliches out of context as possible."

No gameplay footage either.

Yeah, I first thought Burning Legion was invading with green meteors again. "It's no naturel storm!"

 

[Gurkog]

Next year EA will announce World of Dragoncraft... and Bioware will implode in an orgy of mental masturbation.

 

[Borelli]

In DA2 you click on an enemy your character attacks by itself while you choose which abilities to use. It's the same kind as BG/IWD/DA1, it's only actiony visually.

 

[Roguey]

And click-combat in the console versions before they patched it out, probably to try to see if it would catch on with the consoletards.

Stop being naive plz.

It's functionally no different than auto-attacking. They never patched it out, they patched in an auto-attack function. They did it to appease those who think Diablo got it right with its click-for-every-attack.

 

[Infinitron]

And click-combat in the console versions before they patched it out, probably to try to see if it would catch on with the consoletards.

Stop being naive plz.

It's functionally no different than auto-attacking. They never patched it out, they patched in an auto-attack function. They did it to appease those who think Diablo got it right with its click-for-every-attack.

Click for every attack is the first (and most important) step towards the hack and slash action RPG model. I also read that they studied God of War's design for DA2. They would have made it hack and slash if they had the time, but were left with an uncomfortable and shitty compromise.

Anyway, what have you learned about DA3's combat?

 

[Roguey]

Click for every attack is the first (and most important) step towards the hack and slash action RPG model.

If you want to believe every turn based game is a turn based action game.

I also read that they studied God of War's design for DA2.

It doesn't show. Maybe you're thinking of Dungeon Siege 3? Because Obsidian said console hack and slash action games were their primary influence and I can see the path of intent there.

They would have made it hack and slash if they had the time, but were left with an uncomfortable and shitty compromise.

Nooooooooope.

Anyway, what have you learned about DA3's combat?

They'll talk about it later this year when they can actually show it.

 

[Infinitron]

Nooooooooope.

OK, keep on believing DA2's combat was some brilliant predetermined design and not a half-assed unfinished mess like the rest of the game ccamwept:

 

[Roguey]

Nooooooooope.

OK, keep on believing DA2's combat was some brilliant predetermined plan and not a half-assed mess like the rest of the game ccamwept:

I already said what it was. I wouldn't call it brilliant either.

By the by Arcanum also has a "click for every attack" option and you have even fewer options when it comes to giving your followers commands. One can say DA2 was an attempt to make it more like Arcanum, only with ~awesome~ animations and more companion control (just no micromanagement outside the tactics screen).

 

[Kem0sabe]

DA1 had mediocre combat and encounter design, DA2 just followed up on that.


Looking back, DA1 released during an obvious decline of the genre, and most of us lapped it up without taking the time to realistically compare the game to the forefathers it was trying to ape. It really wasn't all that good, this entire series is one big letdown.

 

[Roguey]

DA1 had mediocre combat and encounter design, DA2 just followed up on that.

DA2 was actually significantly worse when it came to content. From dozens of interesting encounters to fewer than a dozen. It could have perhaps been a better game had they taken the IWD2 approach to sequels, but they likely noticed the lower review scores and sales it received and decided to go for the big gamble.

 

[Kem0sabe]

DA2 was actually significantly worse when it came to content. From dozens of interesting encounters to fewer than a dozen. It could have perhaps been a better game had they taken the IWD2 approach to sequels, but they likely noticed the lower review scores and sales it received and decided to go for the big gamble.

I think there was a big push from EA/Bioware for a homogenized approach to Bioware's rpg's, Mass Effect would be the sci-fi flagship title with Dragon Age assuming the fantasy niche.


Everything points to DA2 being a "strategic decision" to introduce a new rpg sub genre, much like ME did to a point. I don't see Bioware backing down from that decision, and we will probably see a bigger push for "cinematic action experience" in DA3 than we saw from DA1 to DA2.