Too much Mass Effect in my Dragon Age.

[Fenixhart]

Because Homoginizing games is a perfect thing to do, except that Mass Effect 2 didn't have anything near to what could be considered an RPG in any of the mechanics apart from choosing your class and the armour they wear.

I'm curious as to what you would Consider an RPG then , if Mass Effect was lacking in that Department.

And I'm all for it if it means killing outdated sacred cows that riddled Dragon Age.

[Deleted]

I'm curious as to what you would Consider an RPG then , if Mass Effect was lacking in that Department.

And I'm all for it if it means killing outdated sacred cows that riddled Dragon Age.

I do not consider a squad based tactical shooter in space with a dating simulator attached an RPG game really, an RPG game needs to define playing a role as it's main centre point. and "Being commander shepard" is a terrible role if thats the only one you can choose.

[Prod]

I'll just repost what I said about the dialog wheel on the other thread:

My one gripe with the dialog wheel is how it's always a clear-cut good/sarcastic/evil choices. While some say that it was kinda obvious/the same in DA:O, I disagree with that. For example, in DA:O, deciding Jowans fate: You either let him go, keep him imprisoned, or execute him. The morally good choice here would be to let him go. However, other good characters such as Wynne will disagree with you for letting a blood mage go. So in regards to this, it's kinda in the gray area right? Personally while I was a good guy, I hated Jowan's guts and decided to kill him.

Another example with Alistair when he meets his sister: You can either convince him to really try to reach out to her sister or to just not bother with her. If you do make him help your sister, the better (more good) choice is to make him all compassionate and stuff. The other choice is to toughen him up (since his sister does dis him either way). In this case, the compassionate choice is really more naive than compassionate (which we don't find out until we realize we screwed up, not allowing him to be a single king).

Then the sarcastic choices - in DA:O, some were sarcastic/good while some were sarcastic/bad (getting positive or negative approval from good/bad companions depending on the choice). Some people would think that those options are pointless and they might as well just stick with good/bad choices all the way; sorry for me wanting to add a little humor to my character.

With that said, is it really a good idea to limit down the good/evil choices to like what we see in the demo?

[Deleted]

I don't know why this is a debate. Last year BioWare said they would be giving DA2 the same treatment they gave ME2. Streamlining it.
We won't be getting a Baulder's Gate styled tactical D&D themed RPG. We're getting a hack 'n slasher.

Well, I should say "you're getting". I'm not buying DA2. I'm not trying to the demo. I have no interest in "streamlined" gaming, which is basically "console catering" gaming.

Amen to that. What worked for Mass Effect does not mean it will necessarily work for Dragon Age. But I guess having different franchises that are exactly that- different is too much for BioWare. I guess a lot of console players will like Dragon Age 2, but it will probably alienate a large percentage of it's PC fan base.

For me Dragon Age 2 is just a mere shadow of it's predecessor. I just hate the look and feel of the sequel. This was supposed to be a dark fantasy not the cartoony adventures of Mr.Beard Hawke and his gang. Still, I am interested in the whole narrative/10 year period thing and how the story plays out, so I will give the game a shot. But I'll be damned if I pay for it.

On a side note I sincerely hope they do not mess up The Old Republic, but I am starting to lose faith in BioWare as a company.

[Deleted]

Amen to that. What worked for Mass Effect does not mean it will necessarily work for Dragon Age. But I guess having different franchises that are exactly that- different is too much for BioWare. I guess a lot of console players will like Dragon Age 2, but it will probably alienate a large percentage of it's PC fan base.

For me Dragon Age 2 is just a mere shadow of it's predecessor. I just hate the look and feel of the sequel. This was supposed to be a dark fantasy not the cartoony adventures of Mr.Beard Hawke and his gang. Still, I am interested in the whole narrative/10 year period thing and how the story plays out, so I will give the game a shot. But I'll be damned if I pay for it.

On a side note I sincerely hope they do not mess up The Old Republic, but I am starting to lose faith in BioWare as a company.

Bioware have gone in a very terrible direction, and I see EA moneygrabbing influences.

DA2 basically being Mass Effect - cartoon swords edition.
The Old republic getting a sudden influx of Mythic employees to work on it, leaving Warhammer Online to wilt even more.

EA gave Bioware tons of resources to use, more money and an easier time for publishing, Sadly they have also drained most of the soul from the company. And the writers are getting terrible, really, check out some interviews, one of them mostly talks about romances.
I hate romances in Bioware games. They feel so clunky and stupid.

[Smeeh]

im pretty sure they said it would play more like origins if you play on the harder settings, wich you cant in the demo, i for one hope this is true

[darkwarrior42]

I agree with pretty much everything Prod said, to the point where if they're using a dumbed down dialogue wheel that prevents you from even knowing what you're about to say, I'm not interested in buying the game. Which is sad, because Dragon Age: Origins is probably my favorite single player RPG, and I was really looking forward to a sequel (I had been avoiding reading too much about it ahead of time, but now I'll have to just to know whether this is true or not )

[Deleted]

What bothers me more about Dragon Age 2 is being forced to play a human with a VERY generic surname (Hawke?). I'd much rather stick to my Dalish warden, but now I have to play as the douchiest race in the game.

[Deleted]

One point I always find annoying is what people talked about the combat.

"it was too slow."
I loved the rather slowed down pace and realistic timing it had, it made it feel realistic, and it allowed me time to perform more complex tactical manuvers.

Dragon Age 2 fight mechanics are "zip around like some Anime character mashing the one skill button I need to use." It seems very over the top action for a game that was actually quite realistic.

I mean really, kick vials? Why can't he just throw them, kicking a glass bottle would have you smash it anyway.

[Deleted]

In DA:O I would occasionally go "Oh shit, she didnt like that, there goes my +rep". In ME I could see that going topleft or topright would get my sexy Shepard laid.

[Spurmwhale]

Well IMO i thought the dialogue was EXTREMELY tedious in DA:Origins. Its why it had horrible replayability because the game was so built around it. Despite the idea you could have multiples of outcomes thru dialogues the variation wasn't that plentiful, if anything, much of it was the same to open up different parts of it with very long and tedious speech from A to B's. It was probably one of the least reasons i'd ever want to play DA again, let alone a rpg these days. I mean i don't mind a good story especially with good cut scenes but wading thru A to B dialogue for half the game isn't my idea of enjoyable iwthout a consistent story driven cut scene rewards throughout.

ME2 is more my idea of enjoyable story driven cut scenes but even then there are more than a few aspects i don't like, for example the elevator music feeling of the city and clubs, etc. and i swear Bioware seems to give me that vibe in their games across the board to a fault. God i really hope SOMEBODY makes a Freelancer 2 some day SOOO BAD :P altho i enjoy the combat from ME2...

I haven't tried the demo yet, hate how i have to register with EA to even play it. EA has so much BS they make you go thru just to play their games...i remember being taken to some gamer page personal website a while back for some EA game where i mistakenly filled thaqt out and ended up with my name advertised across the internet :P I DESPISE the way EA markets...

[Sargerus]

i love the combat system in DA2, because in DAO everyone takes about 10 million years to swing a sword, even worse a 2-handed sword.

[Deleted]

i love the combat system in DA2, because in DAO everyone takes about 10 million years to swing a sword, even worse a 2-handed sword.

Try swinging a sword in real life, in a fight with something, it generally takes quite a while too.

[Deleted]

This is suppose to be a game not real life, i like you said if i wanted to have slow swing times i'd do it in real life.

Dragon Age is supposed to be a Dark Fantasy setting, hence for trying to be realistic. Are you going to complain about the graphics in DA:O because they looked to realistic?

[Sunseeker]

Dragon Age is supposed to be a Dark Fantasy setting, hence for trying to be realistic. Are you going to complain about the graphics in DA:O because they looked to realistic?

As my DM so regularly tells me...it's a game not a simulation. "Fantasy" being the key word here, in DAO it took forever to do anything. I like the faster-paced combat in the demo mostly due to the fact that I can pause and plan my moves easier, reminds me of Kotor where when you told your party to do something....they did it! Half the time when I told my party to do something in DAO, they didn't even do it right.

I'm also glad there isn't a top-down view, never liked it, made the game too impersonal.

Also: Don't really like the limited race choices. Pretty lame. Especially with the excuse of "you only get to play human because we retconned the world and now all the races are more isolationist and don't like each other so humans will only follow humans." While this is legitimate from a historical perspective, it breaks the "we're a wide world of acceptance" commonplace in D&D-esque fantasy worlds.

[Against the Modern World]

As my DM so regularly tells me...it's a game not a simulation. "Fantasy" being the key word here, in DAO it took forever to do anything.

I hate this argument that fantasy setting allows stupid and unrealistic things.
Yes, there're dragons, undead, fireballs and whatever else, but it's written in the rules of the setting, so it's a norm there. If you could ressurrect someone with just a gesture+few words - ok, because there's a spell resurrection in game's lore.
But until some codex/rulebook clearly states that there's a low gravity, or armor is made from ultra-light metal alloys - no, it's not ok to do acrobatic jumps and backflips in full plate.

[Sunseeker]

I hate this argument that fantasy setting allows stupid and unrealistic things.
Yes, there're dragons, undead, fireballs and whatever else, but it's written in the rules of the setting, so it's a norm there. If you could ressurrect someone with just a gesture+few words - ok, because there's a spell resurrection in game's lore.
But until some codex/rulebook clearly states that there's a low gravity, or armor is made from ultra-light metal alloys - no, it's not ok to do acrobatic jumps and backflips in full plate.

I find this counter-argument laughable. People can having magic powers galore, you can have mythical beasts whose physiology is impossible by the same rules of physics you wish to ground players in, and yet, you still want those "laws" to apply? Saying "oh you can't do a backflip in plate" in a fantasy setting is tantamount to saying "there can't be dragons." You don't take issue with the incredibly unrealistic, only the slightly unrealistic?

Doesn't it seem silly to say "you can't do a backflip in plate" while you're in the middle of killing a dragon with a flaming longword and your buddy is casting lightning-bolt with a flip of his fingers?

[exstarcraftfan]

I haven't tried the demo yet, hate how i have to register with EA to even play it. EA has so much BS they make you go thru just to play their games...i remember being taken to some gamer page personal website a while back for some EA game where i mistakenly filled thaqt out and ended up with my name advertised across the internet :P I DESPISE the way EA markets...

I just blocked the .exe in Zone Alarm(though I got EA account).If you block the executable in your firewall you dont need to register.

edit:and dont tell me that you dont have a firewall because wow players are paranoid(at least I used to be)

---------- Post added 2011-02-28 at 08:17 PM ----------

Try swinging a sword in real life, in a fight with something, it generally takes quite a while too.

btw I hope that you can make Hawke more muscular because the 1 in the demo doesnt look like he can lift that sword(he is max 45 kg so yeah it was ridiculous that he can wield it with 1 hand)

[Kellorkleft]

I'm honestly going to play DA2 regardless of the changes. I play a game for a good story and fun. I don't care a whole lot about the specifics of the RPG mechanics as long as they don't suck. DA2, like ME2, is quite simplified and streamlined. It doesn't necessarily make it bad, and I enjoyed ME2(I thought the first ME sucked).
Like I said, I'm a story person. If the characters and plot is nice, and the gameplay doesn't drain the fun out, I won't have any problems.
I know my tastes are quite different from other people's, but thats my take on it. I'm sorry some of you wont be enjoying it.

On a side note: Hawke? Are you kidding me? HAWKE? Sheperd is at least symbolic, but Hawke just sounds like...
Linkara: Because poor literacy is KEWL.