A Little Dragon Age Rant.

[Saltysquidoon]

Ah yes, the objective, true fact of calling a game "shallow".


Decidedly NOT a subjective opinion, definitely not, no.

Oh no! I used one adjective that makes you internet correct!
How about we do a blow by blow.
Was DA2 pushed out in a year which resulted in massive reuse of assets and locations (among other things)? Yes
Was DA:I a game with tab-hotbar based combat, a mission table? Yes
Is DA:O 'Clunky' (Isn't that the word that must never be used when critiquing a game?) Maybe. Is it the 'clunkiest'? Who knows. Is it the slowest game ever made? Given it's RT I'm going to go with no.

If you like bing bing wahoo action games more power to you, they's obviously more popular (which is why EA made bioware go in that direction with ME and DA). That doesn't make them better RPGs than (barely) modified DnD ruleset.

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Any idea on what type of main character we can expect? I didn't mind playing as the Holy Messiah Mr. Inquisitor. Everyone always complains about that, but in my opinion it was cool playing as Jesus.

But I also wouldn't mind returning to a more grounded protagonist type like Hawke.

Given how Varick talks about needing a 'new kind of hero' that's 'like you' I'm going to assume we're going back to a build your own hero mold.

[Witchblade77]

I'm sorry if it was said before, but DAO was NOT. based. on song of ice and fire. it was based, loosely on the same HISTORICAL and pretty darn infamous events that have INSPIRED the song of ice and fire.

that said - visuals look like Tevinter, with all its magical nonsense. which would make sense, as they have been HEAVILY hinting at Tevinter as next location for a while now. and it would make perfect sense too, since from the very start, the lore basically blamed Tevinter mages and their meddling with golden city for darkspawn.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Ah yes, the objective, true fact of calling a game "shallow".


Decidedly NOT a subjective opinion, definitely not, no.

I prefer the type of gameplay Dragon age is going towards it feels more fun then.....what Orgins was. I still liked the game but Inquisition was cool to. Sorry but I think combat slowly improved, its by no means revolutionary but I don't need every game to be revolutionary.

[VinceVega]

Oh no! I used one adjective that makes you internet correct!
How about we do a blow by blow.
Was DA2 pushed out in a year which resulted in massive reuse of assets and locations (among other things)? Yes
Was DA:I a game with tab-hotbar based combat, a mission table? Yes
Is DA:O 'Clunky' (Isn't that the word that must never be used when critiquing a game?) Maybe. Is it the 'clunkiest'? Who knows. Is it the slowest game ever made? Given it's RT I'm going to go with no.

If you like bing bing wahoo action games more power to you, they's obviously more popular (which is why EA made bioware go in that direction with ME and DA). That doesn't make them better RPGs than (barely) modified DnD ruleset.

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Given how Varick talks about needing a 'new kind of hero' that's 'like you' I'm going to assume we're going back to a build your own hero mold.

DA2 had resused assets. But the story was good. And i actually liked the city. The repetetive dungeons have been annoying.
DA:I Hot bar was just something to get used to. The Mission Table was actually kinda fun. As you actually yould see some change sin the world if i remember correctly.
DA:O was an amazing game. But it was clunky. Loved the story and the setting. Always thought the ending was a but lacking in... impact? It just was to small for all the horror they have been building up the whole game long.
And you could play DA:I slow with top down. If you chose not to... who is really to blame?

I really liked DA:O and DA:I. Loved both settings. Always thought DA:O was a bit to small for the story they were trying to tell. DA:I in orlais and the keep was amazing. IMHO!!!!!
DA:2 was... well the companions were lackluster and the caves got repetetive REALLY fast. Story was great nonetheless.

But if you despise 2/3 of a game series, i don't think you will ever be happy with what comes next.

[Orby]

I prefer the type of gameplay Dragon age is going towards it feels more fun then.....what Orgins was. I still liked the game but Inquisition was cool to. Sorry but I think combat slowly improved, its by no means revolutionary but I don't need every game to be revolutionary.

The change in combat isnt something I actually mind, one of the things I really enjoyed from Dragon Age 2 was the more action based combat. Unfortunately one of Inquisitions weaknesses was its combat, unless you were playing a mage. Inquisition was a step down from DA2 in its combat if you were a melee. Everything was clunky. as hell.

[Pakheth]

One of the very few criticisms I have of Origins is its brownness. The world looks boring as fuck. On top of its better graphics, I much prefer Inquisition's artstyle as well. Even villages look much better.

As for everything being so high fantasy, I'd wager the city is Minrathous, which is the most magical place on Thedas proper, said to have buildings held upright by magic. Ferelden was a comparatively backwater, feudal country known for its simple, rugged people. Tevinter is the thousands-years old most powerful human nation on the continent, home to its mightiest and most prideful mages lording over an undercast of mundanes and slaves, it should by all rights have a much more grandiose architectural style, and if Dorian is any indication the Vints like to show off.

The magic bow I'll grant is somewhat silly, but over the top weaponry started with DA2. Hell even some DLC and unique weapons in Origins look ridiculous compared to the usually quite grounded armor sets.

Agreed. Origins was brown, grey and brown. It looks so fricking dull. I welcome more color with open arms. I am actually quite hyped about DA4. I want to know how the whole Dread Wolf problem can and will be solved.
Also really hope we get to see Fenris again.

[Saltysquidoon]

But if you despise 2/3 of a game series, i don't think you will ever be happy with what comes next.

Nooooo, don't criticize *product* you are just supposed to consume *product* and be excited for next *product*s.
I already said I enjoyed DA2's story, but I'm not going to pretend having a good story somehow absolves it from being a bad game.

Even Bioware admits that DA2 was rushed and resultantly a lower quality than it should have been (back when the company had standards). Its also well-known inquisition's development was a shitshow because EA forced them to use their FPS engine to make an RPG.

[Jastall]

Agreed. Origins was brown, grey and brown. It looks so fricking dull. I welcome more color with open arms. I am actually quite hyped about DA4. I want to know how the whole Dread Wolf problem can and will be solved.
Also really hope we get to see Fenris again.

Fenris, the Sten and Dorian are three characters that I'm sure we'll see again, whenever as companions or not. Varric narrates the trailer but I do hope he stays that at most, a narrator and nothing more. I like the little guy but it's time for other characters to get the spotlight.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Nooooo, don't criticize *product* you are just supposed to consume *product* and be excited for next *product*s.
I already said I enjoyed DA2's story, but I'm not going to pretend having a good story somehow absolves it from being a bad game.

Even Bioware admits that DA2 was rushed and resultantly a lower quality than it should have been (back when the company had standards). Its also well-known inquisition's development was a shitshow because EA forced them to use their FPS engine to make an RPG.

Enough with the dumb meme, Yeah DA2 clearly was rushed but it still offered some good fun and the Templare V Mage storyline was cool if a bit short. Inquisition was good and while by no means revolutionary, it deserves the praise minus their armor and attire people use like it decided to copy Earth cultural designs.

[Edge-]

Even Bioware admits that DA2 was rushed and resultantly a lower quality than it should have been (back when the company had standards). Its also well-known inquisition's development was a shitshow because EA forced them to use their FPS engine to make an RPG.

Sure, but plenty of us still enjoyed it. I preferred it to DA:O specifically because of the gameplay improvements, it felt a lot better to play even if it lacked when it came to environments and some of the other tidbits.

And, again, it's not "well-known", because it's not factual. BW devs have repeatedly gone on-record saying that EA has never forced them to use Frostbite. Respawn similarly said that they were not forced to use Frostbite, either in the development of their titles (Apex Legends running on Source, Fallen Order on UE4). I doubt you'll find much disagreement in the belief that EA strongly encourages the use of Frostbite (i.e. if you license another engine it comes out of your total budget!), but there remains no evidence that it was forced.

Beyond that the FPS engine has proven capable in sports games, in action games, in racing games, in open world games etc. etc. BioWare's problem is that they don't seem to bother investing in engineers, like ever, so their games are never technically impressive and are often technical nightmares, either in development or in the final product. Coupled with awful decision making, see: Hero Engine decision on SWTOR, scrapping all the work they did for Frostbite in DA:I and rebuilding it in ME:A....and then scrapping all that work and rebuilding it all for the third time in Anthem.

[Zaktar]

There are no other Dragon Age games after Origins

Dragon Age 2 is really an underrated game. I think a lot of people, myself included, went into it expecting the same type of game and same type of story that Origins had, but the developers went in a different direction. DA:O is effectively one long story, like a sprawling film; DA2 is more like 3 seasons of a TV show. Not in terms of length, but rather in terms of story construction. Things happen between acts, characters grow and change, and you get to watch how the city and the people change over the course of time. I get that people don't like it because there are a lot of recycled locations, but to me they made that element of the game work. You keep coming back to these familiar locations and because of that what has changed stands out more. I keep coming back to DA2 because I've never played another game like it in terms of story.

I wasn't a huge fan of how the game systems changed, but I dunno once I got used to them they were fine and I had more than enough fun. The waves of enemies at first felt a bit silly, but ultimately it added a different kind of challenge than DA:O had.

[Greyvax]

As much as i loved DA 1-3..... after the utter failure known as Anthem, i won't be buying any BW games unless it gets critical acclaim.

[blankfaced]

Origins was good. The combat was clunky and so were the controls, sure it had a better story than two but it wasn't great. The combat and controls got better in the second two but then like was said in two the returning to zones over and over was a bit much. Inquisition was the closest to a good DA game they've done. I'm excited for this one, thank you for the links!

I hope crafting scales so we can always make gear that's useful to fill in spots we don't find drops for.

[Nalam the Venom]

There are no other Dragon Age games after Origins

That's the only one i have not played. My first one was Dragon age 2 and then i played inqusition.

[Nerovar]

Shame. I was hoping for a more bleak tone like we had in DA:O. I liked the combat in Inquisition though (even if it was a bit shallow).

[Traveler Voltin]

looking at the pictures again
If that is suppose to be Triventer then i want to know more about the Qunari since Triventer is not doing well against them even though they are "magically more Advanced" than everyone else.

[Gallahadd]

Honestly, I like the fact that each game has had it's own setting, and thus its own aesthetic. This game (IIRC) is set in the Tevinter Imperium, the HOME of unrestricted magic. If the setting wasn't kinda fancy and a bit... otherwordly, I'd be pretty upset. I mean, this place is meant to be the most advanced, magical nation in the whole of Thedas. If it looked the same as Fereldan, I'd be pretty let down.

[Saltysquidoon]

And, again, it's not "well-known", because it's not factual. BW devs have repeatedly gone on-record saying that EA has never forced them to use Frostbite. Respawn similarly said that they were not forced to use Frostbite, either in the development of their titles (Apex Legends running on Source, Fallen Order on UE4). I doubt you'll find much disagreement in the belief that EA strongly encourages the use of Frostbite (i.e. if you license another engine it comes out of your total budget!), but there remains no evidence that it was forced.

Hey, I'm not too big to admit when I'm wrong. I looked up the interview and that's what the guy said. I'm not sure if that makes the situation better or worse though.

[tehealadin]

I was a bit surprised with the look of Tevinter, however I suppose it makes sense for it to look a good deal different from other nations given its nature.

[Traveler Voltin]

RIP Templar spec.

i hope they open up more builds. Warriors being stuck with 2h or 1h+shield has been annoying. same with rogues being stuck with daggers or bow.
i like the magic in DA2 and hated it in DA:I so hopefully cooler magic will be in DA:4.

also this annoys still.
DA2 Lightning yellow. spirit purple.
DA:I Lightning purple. Spirit yellow.

whos stupid idea was it to change that? the color scheme made more sense in DA:2