Dragon Age Dragon Age: The Veilguard Pre-Release Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[jaekl]

All companions need is enough personality that you feel a little sad and guilty when you're picking through their corpse after they get mauled to death by an owlbear. You can do that with barely any dialogue. Anything more than that is frivolous drama for girls and girl-adjacents.

 

[Falksi]

All companions need is enough personality that you feel a little sad and guilty when you're picking through their corpse after they get mauled to death by an owlbear. You can do that with barely any dialogue. Anything more than that is frivolous drama for girls and girl-adjacents.

The younger gen simply have no imagination.

I told a JRPG fan to play Phantasy Star 4 before X-mas, one of my personal favorite JRPGs, as it hits a real sweet spot of having the characters fleshed out enough so that their personalities are distinctive, but it also leaves you with a ton of room to wonder about their backstories, motivations, and relationships too. Pretty much all of the conversations serve the quest and it's main beats.

The kid bitched like a baby, because a past relationship between two of the characters Rune & Alys was only hinted at. It's states clearly they are previous acquaintances, it's hints that they may have been lovers, but the rest is left up to the player.

I love that. I have my own personal backstory in my head how things occurred, but the mystery is still alluring regardless. He just whines about it because not everything was spoon-fed to him lol.

 

[Silverfish]

He just whines about it because not everything was spoon-fed to him lol.

He gave up on the game and looked up one of those "[Insert Media]: Explained!" videos instead.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

In some Saints Row games they mock the playersexual angle of these Bioware games by allowing you to make advances on a female character but she rejects you by saying "you'll have to wait till *I* want it!", and it's set up in a very Mass Effect-y type situation. Nobody pointed out the implications back then, or since...

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

I'd like to note that in the previews, they said that you cannot succeed without the companions. Each of them has a reason why they need to be part of your party, why they need to help you stop the end of the world. I am really getting tired of this trend in CRPGs, where the party or the companions are as important or even more important than the PC. The PC should be the protagonist and the driving force of the story and the game, companions should not take such a prominent position. BG3 also had this issue, where the companions felt like they were more central to the story than your PC is. Granted, that's a Larian issue in general, but it's disappointing to see other studios starting to follow suit, although you could argue it was already starting to happen even before the Larian games.

This is because the entire franchise/genre is now focused on simping for companions.

That wouldn't be a problem if said companions were were written well enough. The main problem with these is that nothing interesting can actually happen during these conversation since they aren't a part of the main plot. Not only that, there's little chance for any sort of dramatic reveal since they are better placed in the main plot as well. After all you can't put too much weight to a conversation which may or may not happen depending on the player and need to take place in between other adventures. So these characters can mostly yap about their personal philosophy and backstory. And you need a very talented writer (Like Avellone) to be able to make that kind of dialogue any interesting.
It was a mistake to make all companions as wordy as the Torment ones because you need a specific type of character to make just listening to their worldview interesting. It worked extremely well in Tormant where every companion was following his own philosophy and every one of them was kinda nut, but it doesn't work nearly as well for your typical fantasy companions. I mean there's a reason why in your typical D&D novels characters usually don't spend 5 pages discussing political beliefs.

 

[Reinhardt]

I'd like to note that in the previews, they said that you cannot succeed without the companions. Each of them has a reason why they need to be part of your party, why they need to help you stop the end of the world. I am really getting tired of this trend in CRPGs, where the party or the companions are as important or even more important than the PC. The PC should be the protagonist and the driving force of the story and the game, companions should not take such a prominent position. BG3 also had this issue, where the companions felt like they were more central to the story than your PC is. Granted, that's a Larian issue in general, but it's disappointing to see other studios starting to follow suit, although you could argue it was already starting to happen even before the Larian games.

This is because the entire franchise/genre is now focused on simping for companions.

well, who else would simp for them if not biodrones? that elf thingy from dai had a face from which even mother would hide behind a locked door with an ax in hand.

 

[Tyranicon]

well, who else would simp for them if not biodrones? that elf thingy from dai had a face from which even mother would hide behind a locked door with an ax in hand.

And then you read the fan poll and find out Solas is the most romanced companion in the game.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vi-9XTyIx2kvu4hXb309b0NvdWL7Ub_Yj73le6WXzpI/viewanalytics



Do women like butt ugly bald men? That doesn't seem to have historically been true.

Also there wasn't a male romance for Solas? Wow, that's surprising lol.

 

[Cryomancer]

Origins is not even close to been "hated/made fun of ostentatiously by everyone". Most people at the time of release were disappointed by the downgrade of the mechanics, the shoulder camera or the RTwP and that Bioware were still shit at writing compared to MCA or Troika. The game is actually way better received nowadays with the absolute trash that was produced since then, but Origins was never universally hated here.

You are right. I'm re playing Origins. The unique thing that I don't like is that the gameplay is too dissociated from the lore. You can use blood magic in front of templars consequence free. No problems, no one cares about it. But compared to shit like Forspoken, is a masterpiece.

Devs in the 90s: We got 10 dudes and the budget of a lemonade stand. We'll personally build the technology that powers this game and create an entire genre.

Devs now: We only have a tiny budget of 300 million, a small workforce of 5000 and a megacorp in our back pocket. Best we can do is push out some shovelware on Unity. It'll also be completely unplayable for the first year after release.

Devs back in the day were built different.

Devs in 90s where hired by merit.
Devs in 2020 are hired by diversity.

And is not only devs. Chris Avellone still canceled even after proving his innocence, this is worse than Stalin purges(guilty till proven innocent). And in his place, a lot of "sweet babies" are being hired as writers.

 

[jaekl]

well, who else would simp for them if not biodrones? that elf thingy from dai had a face from which even mother would hide behind a locked door with an ax in hand.

And then you read the fan poll and find out Solas is the most romanced companion in the game.

View attachment 51551

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vi-9XTyIx2kvu4hXb309b0NvdWL7Ub_Yj73le6WXzpI/viewanalytics



Do women like butt ugly bald men? That doesn't seem to have historically been true.

Also there wasn't a male romance for Solas? Wow, that's surprising lol.

Let's see here, doing some quick maths I'm seeing that the bioware audience is approximately 80% homosexuals/women. No surprise here.

 

[Shuruga]

I'd like to note that in the previews, they said that you cannot succeed without the companions. Each of them has a reason why they need to be part of your party, why they need to help you stop the end of the world. I am really getting tired of this trend in CRPGs, where the party or the companions are as important or even more important than the PC. The PC should be the protagonist and the driving force of the story and the game, companions should not take such a prominent position. BG3 also had this issue, where the companions felt like they were more central to the story than your PC is. Granted, that's a Larian issue in general, but it's disappointing to see other studios starting to follow suit, although you could argue it was already starting to happen even before the Larian games.

Agreed... the only Larian game I've played is DOS2 and this really stuck out to me. My PC seemed more like a spectator to the other characters than the focus of the story. That, the style of the maps (a few large maps with stuff packed into every square kills a sense of scale and pacing for me), and the odd humor sapped my enthusiasm for BG3 to the point I still haven't played it.

To bring it back to DA: the gameplay video where Varric is telling the PC that the soon-to-be companion is "the best detective I've ever met" or whatever is an obvious pander to set up the character as competent and someone the PC (and player) should be excited to meet. But I couldn't help but wonder, "wait, how many detectives has Varric known?" Based on prior games I would have guessed "none."

 

[Storyfag]

It was a decent game for the time

No.

I was promised to be able to enslave nations using powerful necromancy. They have failed to deliver, and I shall forever disdain them.

Not to mention their unabashed plagiarism of Warhammer Fantasy regarding daemons and magic, the Derp Roads, level scaled encounters AND poor enemy variety.

Camel, what do you disagree with? Do you deny BW made false promises? Do you deny they commited plagiarism? Do you claim the Derp Roads were enjoyable? Or that the encounters did not scale to the party level? Perhaps you would like to compare and contrast DAOs enemy variety to that of BG2, or even BG1?

 

[Tyranicon]

So I finally read through the transcribed discord Q&A and apparently they're shying away from using "race" as a term now? Has that always been a thing or is it just a modernism?

Q: What do you mean by lineage?

John Epler: Lineage is the term we use for Elf/Human/Dwarf/Qunari.

 

[Shuruga]

So I finally read through the transcribed discord Q&A and apparently they're shying away from using "race" as a term now? Has that always been a thing or is it just a modernism?

It was "Race" in DA:O and DA:I:

Screencaps

 

[Cryomancer]

So I finally read through the transcribed discord Q&A and apparently they're shying away from using "race" as a term now? Has that always been a thing or is it just a modernism?

IS not only them. WotC will do it too.

The fact that Dwarves where unable to use magic in AD&D made some magocracies mainly Glantri to sees them as subhuman, no different than animals and it lead to conflicts. Dwarfs aren't just "short man", they are other species in D&D. Same with elves.

But sadly we went from gender and "race"(species would be a better therm) affecting quests, story and attributes/aptitudes to "everyone is the same" bs

 

[Alienman]

Curious about the name change. Dreadwolf actually sounds cool and menacing, something crunchy and marketable. Veilguard seems more like a name for some xyz-faction in a Tolkein footnote.

They tried to make a menacing wolf model, but it constantly came out as a regular regular-looking dog. So the name had to be changed.

 

[PunchYouInTheFace]

Do women like butt ugly bald men?

Damn. If you have to ask. Es ist over für dich. It's joever. I recomment a ticket to Pattaya, Thailand.

The demographics of that poll are probably mostly women.

everyone is the same

At least I can confirm that Mark Darrah said that "you can pick your differential" in Dragon Age (including the existing limitation, Dwarf can't cast magic etc.)

 

[Skinwalker]

Dreadwolf was a dumb name. Veilguard would be better, if they didn't stick an annoying THE in it. Three games with no THE in any of the titties, and now this. Are you happy, THE Biowhore?

 

[MerchantKing]

well, who else would simp for them if not biodrones? that elf thingy from dai had a face from which even mother would hide behind a locked door with an ax in hand.

And then you read the fan poll and find out Solas is the most romanced companion in the game.

View attachment 51551

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vi-9XTyIx2kvu4hXb309b0NvdWL7Ub_Yj73le6WXzpI/viewanalytics



Do women like butt ugly bald men? That doesn't seem to have historically been true.

Also there wasn't a male romance for Solas? Wow, that's surprising lol.

Historically it didn't matter what women liked. The only thing that mattered then was whether or not you get to hear their Lamentations after crushing the male members of their tribe in battle and seeing them driven before you.

 

[Camel]

@Camel, what do you disagree with? Do you deny BW made false promises? Do you deny they commited plagiarism? Do you claim the Derp Roads were enjoyable? Or that the encounters did not scale to the party level? Perhaps you would like to compare and contrast DAOs enemy variety to that of BG2, or even BG1?

DA:O is a decent game while everything you listed is valid. Mobs scale to the party level but some areas like Orzammar and Denerim are dangerous if you’re underleveled and the revenants are challenging enemies.

 

[Tyranicon]

But sadly we went from gender and "race"(species would be a better therm) affecting quests, story and attributes/aptitudes to "everyone is the same" bs

IIRC, if you can interbreed you are the same species, and elves in DA can interbreed with humans. I think the result is always a human though (human superiority ). Not sure about dwarves or bull people.

Race is probably the more accurate and traditional term, but it's 2024 so words can't be used by their definition anymore because everything needs to be sanitized into 100% unoffensive blandness.

 

[Camel]

IS not only them. WotC will do it too.

DnD is replacing race with species.

 

[Cryomancer]

"you can pick your differential" in Dragon Age (including the existing limitation, Dwarf can't cast magic etc.)

But still shit.

Imagine Morrowind with this awful "everything must be equal". the game would be shit.

dwarves

In D&D, there is a thing called "Mul" https://darksun.fandom.com/wiki/Mul

Since woman don't like manlet, such creatures can only exist in Athas, when the slave is forced to be get a child by a Dwarf and the woman almost always die https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mul

You can't find it in 5e cuz 5e is baizuo shit, but they tends to have almost the same muscle density of Dwarves and almost the same statue of humans, ie - they are very powerful. A bellow average Mul would be on par with a ultra heavyweight fighter human. But they are away male and infertile.

if you can interbreed you are the same species, and elves in DA can interbreed with humans

Well, Grizzly bear and –polar bear can have a hybrid child despite being different species

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly–polar_bear_hybrid

_____________________

About what I said about Blood Magic in Dragon Age origins in front of templars, you can only use consequence free cuz they removed reactivity from it >



And sadly, BioWare decided to replace this cool blood magic with the worst """necromancy"""" ever in inquisition and this shitstorm of a game would't be any different...

 

[PunchYouInTheFace]

But still shit.

Imagine Morrowind with this awful "everything must be equal". the game would be shit.

Well, Mark specifically use the world "Differential". It's different and equally unique from how he explained it.

Since Dragon Age doesn't really do +2 Str for Orc or +2 Charisma for Elf (one of the few advantage of their abstract ability number system), I think it's safe to say that they are focusing to involve your character background (lineage, faction and class) more in the dialogue reactivity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZN1XExhzyQ


I guess we'll see. Dragon Age doesn't really have a good track record on character reactivity. It's all about binary choices (and good story).

 

[Cryomancer]

Dragon Age doesn't really have a good track record on character reactivity.

What!?

If you want to become a ruler in Origins, you need to play a female human and romancing a specific companion and having maximum personality. And DA:O is not the unique example, in therms of race, no game beats Arcanum.

 

[Storyfag]

IIRC, if you can interbreed you are the same species

Nah, there are plenty of cross-species hybrids. The definition used to be that you're the same species if your offspring is fertile, but nowadays even some fertile lion-tiger hybrids were bred, so yeah...