Dragon Age: Inquisition Pre-Release Thread

[Night Goat]

Got a helpful summary from one of my insider sources:

A summary of Game Informer’s coverage on Dragon Age: Inquisition.

If I had any confidence in the developer or the publisher, that would actually sound pretty good.

 

[Bobbles]

An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how or when to approach objectives. The term "free roam" is also used, as is "sandbox" and "free-roaming"."Open world" and "free-roaming" suggest the absence of artificial barriers, in contrast to the invisible walls and loading screens that are common in linear level designs. An "open world" game does not necessarily imply a sandbox. In a true "sandbox", the player has tools to modify the world themselves and create how they play. Generally open world games still enforce some restrictions in the game environment, either due to absolute technical limitations or in-game limitations (such as locked areas) imposed by a game's linearity.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Got a helpful summary from one of my insider sources:

A summary of Game Informer’s coverage on Dragon Age: Inquisition.

PLAYER CHARACTER + COMPANIONS + RACES
• A new mage waifu joins your party, Vivienne.
• Varric and Cassandra confirmed companions. Morrigan is not a party member.
• 3 classes to choose from of course: Warrior, rogue, and mage
• Protagonist is fully voiced and can be male or female.
• At least 3 races to choose from; when asked about Qunari, Mike Laidlaw says “Do we go to four? I don’t know. Definitely these are the safe bet”.
• Each armor retains a certain iconic look, but looks different on each character. They want the squadmates to each have an iconic look, but customize armor to tailor to each while retaining elements of that iconic look with least amount of effort
• Your racial choice colors your interactions with others once per dialogue.

EXPLORATION
• Going from Eastern Ferelden to Western Orlais. All in neat hubs.
• “Trying to drive exploration- something that frankly, Bioware hasn’t done in a while ever.”
• Players aren’t just funneled down narrow corridors. The demo showed a bog, desert, a mountain range, all enormous and freely explored in third person. Players are funneled down narrow paths instead.
•No reused areas like in DA2. Honest Injun.
• Lots of hidden optional things to find visit, caves, dungeons, corpses, etc that creates other unique sidequests. Also, if you have a mage in your group, you can use a spell to reassemble a crumbled bridge to reach a new area instead of taking the long way around.
• Weather effects can impact exploration. (Ex: Rain makes areas muddy, affecting combat. Sandstroms cause damage.) These are storybound events.
• Working hard to make large areas interesting; slopes, rocks, elevations and your character has tailored animations for overcoming each. Ease of movement key Press button for awesome.
• Some environmental destructibility.

COMBAT
• Combat will be based more on tactics instead of button smashing. (Slower attacks, more observation, and enemies that will force you to act carefully)
• Instead of swarming enemies, your foes have specialized roles. They will work together and force you to size up the battlefield. Always kill the mages first.
• You also won’t regularly see waves of new bad guys appearing out of nowhere to extend encounters. They'll appear out of nowhere in cutscenes.
• Enemies not level up with you. But all areas have level requirements.
• Warrior class has grappling chain that can pull enemies in close
• Enemy scenario: Fighting a massive, armored dragon, you can target a leg, send warrior into melee range to bash off armor, rogue can sneak up and poison the exposed limb, dragon stumbles around allowing others to unleash spells etc QTE for massive damage

FEATURES + DECISIONS
• Collect resources/materials and craft armor for you and all your party members; heavy emphasis on customization. Best gear is always visually unique.
• Can also restore a ruined desert outpost into an Inquisition stronghold. A base of operations, such as a castle, is hinted. Story will fellate you with increasingly bigger but functionally identical strongholds.
• Chantry/Templars don’t respect your Inquisition, you have “persuade” them through your own EXTREME means. You can will come across a fortress and if refused entry, you can will lay siege to it and break down the doors. What you do from there is your choice between two options.
• Dialogue wheel returns, but they’ve now added an optional addition to the wheel that gives you better idea of what to expect.
• Working very hard to ensure your saves/decisions will carry over to next-gen consoles in one off-hand dialogue line per major NPC

Made honest.

 

[Roguey]

Pretty disappointing how they're still balancing it for single character control with AI companions. Combat will probably be more interesting than DA2's but it's never going to get too demanding.

 

[Bobbles]

DA2 combat on the highest difficulty level was actually quite demanding.

 

[Infinitron]

Pretty disappointing how they're still balancing it for single character control with AI companions. Combat will probably be more interesting than DA2's but it's never going to get too demanding.

It's basically going to be fantasy KOTOR. I've always thought it odd that BioWare never tried returning to that control scheme again. After KOTOR, it was either third person with completely uncontrollable companions or top down with controllable companions. They never tried KOTOR's compromise again.

 

[Rake]

Pretty disappointing how they're still balancing it for single character control with AI companions. Combat will probably be more interesting than DA2's but it's never going to get too demanding.

It's basically going to be fantasy KOTOR. I've always thought it odd that BioWare never tried returning to that control scheme again. After KOTOR, it was either third person with completely uncontrollable companions or top down with controllable companions. They never tried KOTOR's compromise again.

DA2?

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

Got a helpful summary from one of my insider sources:

A summary of Game Informer’s coverage on Dragon Age: Inquisition.

If I had any confidence in the developer or the publisher, that would actually sound pretty good.

 

[Roguey]

DA2 combat on the highest difficulty level was actually quite demanding.

Not in ways that were enjoyable. As Josh Sawyer says, it's easier to lower difficulty from a high bar than to raise it from a shallow baseline.

It's basically going to be fantasy KOTOR. I've always thought it odd that BioWare never tried returning to that control scheme again. After KOTOR, it was either third person with completely uncontrollable companions or top down with controllable companions. They never tried KOTOR's compromise again.

Even DA2's core gameplay was better than KOTOR's.

Also the article said that it's like DA:O/DA2 in that you can choose to control your companions if you want to (but you probably shouldn't).

 

[Infinitron]

Pretty disappointing how they're still balancing it for single character control with AI companions. Combat will probably be more interesting than DA2's but it's never going to get too demanding.

It's basically going to be fantasy KOTOR. I've always thought it odd that BioWare never tried returning to that control scheme again. After KOTOR, it was either third person with completely uncontrollable companions or top down with controllable companions. They never tried KOTOR's compromise again.

DA2?

Compared to KOTOR, DA2 was also top down - they just didn't let you pull the camera up very far.

Even DA2's core gameplay was better than KOTOR's.

Please respond to the actual points people are making. I was talking about the control scheme, not the "core gameplay". Unless you think the KOTOR control scheme is directly related to its poor gameplay.

 

[Indranys]

Looks like everyone wants a part of Skyrim pie now.
Whatever they do, Todd Howard will always be the last man laughing, while watching Super Bowl or Nascar or whatever.
When he finds out that his son is watching that Gaider DAI video, he'll pat his son gently on the head and say:
"Son, don't be a loser like him. And videogame is only for socially retarded geek manchild people. Be a man like your daddy, use those pitiful people to make money while you play golf or something. Hush now, why don't you play baseball with your real friends."

 

[Roguey]

Please respond to the actual points people are making. I was talking about the control scheme, not the "core gameplay". Unless you think the KOTOR control scheme is directly related to its poor gameplay.

I did with the second sentence.

Also the two go hand-in-hand. Because micromanaging your characters is a pain (not being able to issue any move orders while paused, companions overriding your action queue commands when you switch to someone else), the combat can never be too tactical.

 

[abnaxus]

Just checked a Biodrone tumblr

Spoiler

 

[Bobbles]

I hope playable Morrigan will be part of the pre-order DLC.

 

[Frusciante]

Those screenshots look very pretty. Especially the the screenshot with the Qunari and castle in the background looks amazing.

If the combat is not too annoyingly bad I might pick this up. When it's on sale. Maybe.

 

[Akratus]

We all will, of course. It's a race to find the retardation and be the first to mock it.

 

[Jedi Exile]

Holy shit, those faces... Bio just can't do it right lol.

 

[Rivmusique]

• Working very hard to ensure your saves/decisions will carry over to next-gen consoles

Why bother? You don't even play the character from either game. Should just treat it separately from the others, with everyone hating DA2 and DA:O being so long ago.

 

[Aeschylus]

Screenshots look... well, like Skyrim, I guess. But wait, they got rid of health regen? o_O
No wai.

Holy shit, those faces... Bio just can't do it right lol.

To be honest, no one has ever really done it right while trying to make it look realistic. Such attempts will inevitably plunge into the uncanny valley.

 

[Roguey]

Why bother? You don't even play the character from either game. Should just treat it separately from the others, with everyone hating DA2 and DA:O being so long ago.

Gaider's aware enough to realize people are going to be upset if their dark ritual decision is overridden.

 

[Rake]

Gaider's aware enough to realize people are going to be upset if their dark ritual decision is overridden.

But how can be faithfull to that?
Let's say someone fucked Morigan, while another chose to sacrifice his Warden. How can DA:I take both desisions into account? Has Morrigan the OG baby or not?Is Warder alive or nort. The only way is to not mention it at all(which makes the whole point...pointless)
or change the story significantly(which BIO won't do)

 

[Rivmusique]

I thought they wrapped that up in a DLC?

 

[Akratus]

But how can be faithfull to that?
Let's say someone fucked Morigan, while another chose to sacrifice his Warden. How can DA:I take both desisions into account? Has Morrigan the OG baby or not?Is Warder alive or nort. The only way is to not mention it at all(which makes the whole point...pointless)
or change the story significantly(which BIO won't do)

How is this an issue? They say this happened or that happened. Geez, you're sounding like some beth/bio dev claiming that proper C&C is impossible.

 

[Akratus]

I want to fuck be fucked by Dragon. IF this shit won't tank only Exterminatus will be left as the source.

 

[Jack]

Let's say someone fucked Morigan, while another chose to sacrifice his Warden. How can DA:I take both desisions into account? Has Morrigan the OG baby or not?Is Warder alive or nort.

The operative part of that sentence being "I think the Warden didn't fuck Morrigan" and "I think the Warden died"

What happens isn't always going to be what you think should happen. It will, in fact, pretty much always work out the way Bioware think it should-- and that includes making assumptions about your past actions. For those people who are just going to stamp their feet and insist that it should be what they want instead, I can guarantee that there's no amount of explanation that will convince them it isn't some offense to their idea of how our universe should work... so I'm not about to try here on these forums.

:BiowareC&C: