Dragon Age: Origins gameplay and discussion thread.

[Vladimir]

Huh, simply no. Sword and shield warriors (such as Alistair) are meant to be played as tanks, true. But dual weilding or two handed warriors are meant as DPS class. They actually have less crowd control than a rogue, and if you play them right, they won't wear a heavy armor anyway.

Oghren and Sten are the worst characters in game. Low DPS, low survavibility, slow attack, high miss rates... A full Dex rogue can tank much better than them (by avoiding litterally all attacks), will dish out way more DPS (thanks to Momentum and backstabs) and provide more utility if needed (disarming traps, unlocking chests). Heck, even ranged Leliana is more effective than them once she gets the right talents (but a warrior could get those too). And I'm not even talking about Mages, who are so overpowered it's not even funny.
Dual wielding warriors aren't nearly as bad as two handed ones, but are still nowhere near as good as a DPS mage or a rogue.

To be honest, I think DA:O gameplay and game balance are subpar. Some mecanics are so overpowered it looks like none has tested them before release. That doesn't make the game bad, but sometimes you look at stuff and you're like "Wow, how comes no one realized chaining mana pots is retard?".

An excellent observation that matches my own.

In Neverwinter Nights I was able to create a “stand alone” dual-wielding rogue. Each rapier had a 50% chance of inflicting a critical hit, high dex increased attack and defense despite being “unarmored,” and he could disengage or selectively engage opponents almost at will. You can essentially do the same thing in DA:O. It works well for rogues and mages but the more traditional fighters are at a distinct disadvantage. Not to mention that the extensive dialogues favor someone who can thrust and parry with just his tongue.

[Scienter]

What is amazing is how you are saying rogues are better than warriors and that is only because of patches. They used to hit for nothing and required a large investment in hit to get any damage out of them.

Mages are really powerful though, no one can deny that. Though you do need a tank as otherwise, they can tend to be squishy (unless you go arcane warrior, then that imba just flies out the window)

Did you play an arcane warrior? If so how did you like it? If I make a second character, I was going to do a mage. TinCow went blood mage/spirit healer, but I'm curious about the combat mode for the arcane warrior. Does it work ok, or is the only point of the class to be able to wear armor instead of robes?

[Vladimir]

Did you play an arcane warrior? If so how did you like it? If I make a second character, I was going to do a mage. TinCow went blood mage/spirit healer, but I'm curious about the combat mode for the arcane warrior. Does it work ok, or is the only point of the class to be able to wear armor instead of robes?

I'm interested in this as well. If I ever get around to it I'll reengage my arcane warrior character. Right now it doesn't seem as satisfying as a rogue, especially early on.

[rajpoot]

For those who haven't read the Calling, here's a link to some backstory about the Architect.

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Architect


(http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Architect)

[Meneldil]

Did you play an arcane warrior? If so how did you like it? If I make a second character, I was going to do a mage. TinCow went blood mage/spirit healer, but I'm curious about the combat mode for the arcane warrior. Does it work ok, or is the only point of the class to be able to wear armor instead of robes?

If you play it as a regular mage, it's pretty bad. But if you play it as a tank, it's quite okay, though it lacks some kind of taunt.
It's also the best class if you want to solo the game. After a certain level, and with good weapons, it becomes unkillable (dodge everything, auto-heal during fight). Check youtube, there are videos of arcane warriors soloing the Dragons, Xiakkang or Loghain's sidekick without taking any damage on nightmare.

[Kekvit Irae]

though it lacks some kind of taunt.

Lack of taunts? Are you playing the same class as I am? The Arcane Warrior is nothing short of a walking neon sign reading "ATTACK ME!" A single, well placed Fireball or Blood Wound will taunt better than any of the Warrior talents.

With the right sustainable buffs, you can out-tank Carth... er, I mean Alistair. Four words: Combat Magic, Shimmering Shield. If that wasn't enough, try Rock Armor, Arcane Shield, Miasma, and Spell Wisp.

Want damage out the rear? Combat Magic, Spell Wisp, Frost Weapons, Flame Weapons, Telekinetic Weapons, and Haste. That's not including all the really nice damage spells like Blood Wound and Fireball.
A special note about the X Weapons spells: You can only have one active per mage at a time, so grab Telekinetic Weapons for your main character (you'll love it for the boss battles), and put Frost/Flame Weapons on your other two mages. Frost Weapons is an iffy one, since you'll face a good amount of shades and revenants in the game, all of whom are ice immune, but it works wonders against dragons.

Properly built and played, the Arcane Warrior is the most overpowered class in the game, especially when paired with Blood Mage and the Warden's Keep talents.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm going to knock this one down a few notches on my overall opinion - it does not replay that well. I left nearly two months between finishing the first run and seriously starting my second so that the second run would feel a bit fresher. Now I'm midway through and there are too many places I didn't want to see again, and too many gameplay choices which feel like they are very weighted in one direction. The plot itself doesn't come off any better.

The game needs better dungeon design, more varied and balanced skill choices, and a better spread of talents in party NPCs.

On the other hand my elven duel wielding rogue is far more dangerous than my mage ever was. I'm breezing through the situatuions which caused difficulty with my mage, doing more damage, and having far more fun. When playing a melee class the control issues I had with my mage melted away. I think to play a mage with full effectiveness you need to be using the PC version.

I still like the characters, and I still like the combat gameplay overall due to the challenge level.

My local library had the two tie-in novels so I borrowed them out of curiosity. Not expecting anything much from them but they might fill in some interesting detail. It's not like it will take more more than a day to read the pair so there's nothing to lose :shrug:

[Lemur]

Can't fully explain it, but playing DAO has convinced me not to buy Mass Effect 2. Something's gone off in the Bioware formula.

[al Roumi]

Can't fully explain it, but playing DAO has convinced me not to buy Mass Effect 2. Something's gone off in the Bioware formula.

I really hope not! I was always pinning more on ME2 than DAO...

[Meneldil]

I'm going to knock this one down a few notches on my overall opinion - it does not replay that well. I left nearly two months between finishing the first run and seriously starting my second so that the second run would feel a bit fresher. Now I'm midway through and there are too many places I didn't want to see again, and too many gameplay choices which feel like they are very weighted in one direction. The plot itself doesn't come off any better.

The game needs better dungeon design, more varied and balanced skill choices, and a better spread of talents in party NPCs.

On the other hand my elven duel wielding rogue is far more dangerous than my mage ever was. I'm breezing through the situatuions which caused difficulty with my mage, doing more damage, and having far more fun. When playing a melee class the control issues I had with my mage melted away. I think to play a mage with full effectiveness you need to be using the PC version.

I still like the characters, and I still like the combat gameplay overall due to the challenge level.

My local library had the two tie-in novels so I borrowed them out of curiosity. Not expecting anything much from them but they might fill in some interesting detail. It's not like it will take more more than a day to read the pair so there's nothing to lose :shrug:

Same here. I'm halfway through my second playthrough. My rogue (Dex 2*daggers) is indeed vastly better than my mage ever was, but even though I'm doing an "evil" playthrough, the game's mostly the same anyway. Maybe things will change once I get Loghain, but the plot almost ends by then.

[DisruptorX]

Something's gone off in the Bioware formula.

Indeed it has. They decided to finally make a great RPG for the first time since Shadows of Amn to close out the decade. A shocking twist indeed.

If only they hadn't made it so that mages were that much better than everyone else, though. Sure, you technically don't need them, but they are powerful to the point of ridiculousness. As noted, Arcane Warriors trivialize the hardest difficulty. And if you are playing on lower difficulties? Why bother bring the rest of the party! I don't like mages for this reason, it feels like cheating.

The core mechanics, on the other hand, are superb. Fluid controls, good camera, great UI. You'd never know its not a PC exclusive. The ease of control and fun of executing strategy puts garbage like NWN 2 to shame. This is the first time I've played a fully 3d party based RPG that at no time made me wish it was on a 2d engine instead. You never have to fight the controls or the camera. Its also quite challenging unless you abuse mages, which is a break from Bioware's recent fare. All they need to do is balance the next Dragon Age title.

Its not the perfect game that BG 2 was, but its more than I expected and a huge step in the right direction. Fun combat in a Bioware game? More likely than you think. With a class rebalance, more dungeons, and more sidequests in a sequel, it can hopefully only get better.

edit: just as a note, for the love of god, play the PC version. The console version has bad graphics, toned down encounters, and poor control. I'm not normally someone who really cares, I bought Fallout 3 on console so I could kick back and play with the gamepad, but Dragon Age, or any tactical game, is the sort of the thing you don't want to be playing on console.

[Ironside]

Can't fully explain it, but playing DAO has convinced me not to buy Mass Effect 2. Something's gone off in the Bioware formula.

It's another team that is making Mass Effect 2, so it might be good to figure out what you find is off in your opinion, as it doesn't need to be existing in ME2.

[Vladimir]

I'm going to knock this one down a few notches on my overall opinion - it does not replay that well. I left nearly two months between finishing the first run and seriously starting my second so that the second run would feel a bit fresher. Now I'm midway through and there are too many places I didn't want to see again, and too many gameplay choices which feel like they are very weighted in one direction. The plot itself doesn't come off any better.

The game needs better dungeon design, more varied and balanced skill choices, and a better spread of talents in party NPCs.

On the other hand my elven duel wielding rogue is far more dangerous than my mage ever was. I'm breezing through the situatuions which caused difficulty with my mage, doing more damage, and having far more fun. When playing a melee class the control issues I had with my mage melted away. I think to play a mage with full effectiveness you need to be using the PC version.

...



I agree with your assessment.

Mages have a lot of power but rogues have greater potential, ability, and individual effectiveness. I'm sure arcane warriors are great but what can you do when I disappear in front of you and then steal your purse from behind?

[frogbeastegg]

for the love of god, play the PC version. .
Swapping versions wouldn't fix any of the real issues, only the more superficial ones that were more immediately noticable in my mage playthrough. The thought of slogging a third time through the overly lengthy tunnel dungeons of Orzamar, and the tunnel dungeon in the Elven ruin, and the annoying to traverse tunnel dungeon with sky for ceiling that is the second half of the Elven forest, and the tunnel dungeon with trippy effects that is the fade, and the tunnel dungeon in a circle that is the mage tower, and the tunnel dungeon of the dragon layer, and ... Ugh!

Yes, I really, really hate these corridor obsessed area designs! Especially ones with such drab visuals and plodding "Go the long way just because" design. What is it with modern RPGs and creating more confined spaces than their predecessors? Why are more open and free areas like the Kokari Wilds or the first area of the forest so rare in modern RPGS? I was tired of it by Oblivion, sick to death of it by Fallout 3, and by Dragon Age the mere thought of a tunnel dungeon fills me with loathing. :thinks longingly of the open spaces of Baldur's Gate:

EDIT: Here (http://mikesrpgcenter.com/bgate/maps.html), an overworld map of Baldur's Gate which displays maps of each main area. Look at all that open space where you are free to wander about as you will! That made the tunnel dungeons feel like a change of pace and something special. Since the advent of 3D RPGs even the outdoor areas have been closer to corridors than spaces.

[Scienter]

frogbeastegg, your post makes me want to play Morrowind again. I loved that game so much.

[Vladimir]

frogbeastegg, your post makes me want to play Morrowind again. I loved that game so much.

Agreed. Perhaps the cost of modern, realistic game design limits their openness. Most people are confined enough in their daily lives that they don't want to pay for the pleasure of being forced down another hallway. (Another rogue plug) Openness allows you to exercise a little creative thought as you go about solving a particular meat and bone problem. The wilds were a fun area and some areas were quite tricky if your party didn't have a long range punch.

[DisruptorX]

Yes, I really, really hate these corridor obsessed area designs! Especially ones with such drab visuals and plodding "Go the long way just because" design. What is it with modern RPGs and creating more confined spaces than their predecessors? Why are more open and free areas like the Kokari Wilds or the first area of the forest so rare in modern RPGS? I was tired of it by Oblivion, sick to death of it by Fallout 3, and by Dragon Age the mere thought of a tunnel dungeon fills me with loathing. :thinks longingly of the open spaces of Baldur's Gate:


True. BG 2 didn't have any of those areas, though. And you are forgetting how absolutely atrocious the dungeons in BG 1 were, due to the pathfinding and characters blocking each other. BG 1 had a good number of dungeons. And BG 2 was mostly dungeons, and fantastic.

Now, I love BG 1, and would love to see more games with great open areas to explore. I didn't really like the open area battles that do exist in Dragon Age, though, since you can't chokepoint.

[al Roumi]

Also, in BG 1 and 2, you had to trudge around to discover those areas. Better role-playing yes, but some times arduous. Then again, the fact you can't fast travel out of a dungeon in DAO is simply a pain in the :daisy:.

Thing is, BG2 had a lot of "loose" content which is probably not seen as "concentrated" enough with narrative and action. I have never been that enthused with DAO's plot, it's almost too brash and obvious. BG wasn't neccessarily subtle but it was deeper I felt (it could just be that i was more impressionable when I played BG1 and 2).

I certainly can't face even a 2nd play through of DAO, the length of those dungeons is too great and too repetitive.

The silly pantomine-style hyper-gothic full plate armour is far too much for me (what is going on with those pauldrons????). Plus, not having played an MMO ever (i can't be the only one, surely!?), the whole combat system with "tanks", "dps" and "agro" is farcical, naf and too constricting for me.

/walking stick waving rant

[frogbeastegg]

And you are forgetting how absolutely atrocious the dungeons in BG 1 were, due to the pathfinding and characters blocking each other.
No, I'm not forgetting anything. In the depths of dark and stormy nights, unbeknownst to my waking mind I probably have nightmares about a group of adventures clanking about in armour, struggling to line up in a simple 2 rank formation as the phrase "You must gather your party before venturing forth." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93XFxKXdbqY) endlessly loops.

In fact BG might have been the very first stirrings of what grew into my dislike for tunnel dungeons. I didn't enjoy the dungeons in BGII much either; my fonder memories of the game are all linked to plot, character, or the freeform wonder of exploring areas like the starting city and taking on subquests. My general dislike of the dungeon crawling aspect of the BG series is the reason I didn't like Icewind Dale much. An entire game full of tunnel dungeons, gah!


Plus, not having played an MMO ever (i can't be the only one, surely!?)
You are not alone.

[DisruptorX]

The dungeon is kind of the RPG genre's thing. That, and dragons. Now, no doubt you can have a good RPG with no dungeons. Well, thats theoretical, I don't think I've ever played one.

What I wonder is if a game like Baldur's Gate would seem as open if it were in 3d and you could actually view the whole zone, rather than a tiny (especially in default 640x480) box of the whole. If it actually seemed as big, that'd be fantastic, but even Oblivion felt tiny. That could just be one of the many(many, many, etc) faults of Oblivion itself though. The whole map is a giant basin, so you can always see the entirety of the province.

[Meneldil]

I don't think the difference between BG and DAO is the 3d.

In BG, you could walk around in any given region (except for the dungeons, yes). I later games (KoToR, ICWD, NWN), you always have to follow a godamm road between two hills/two forests/two walls.

Even the most open areas of NWN2 (the forest in MotB) or DAO (the forest too) feel that way. You have a road, and you follow it. The limits around the road are just a bit farther than usual.

Now, I know most people here don't like MMO's, and especially hate WoW, but at least in WoW, you could run around and explore for real. Even without going to the most hidden places (the Troll village near Auberdine, Mount Hyjal, etc.), you could still go back to a province and find a place you've never seen before: a cavern of some sort, an abandonned village, a few easter eggs, etc.

[frogbeastegg]

My lexicon has two varieties of dungeon. Tunnel dungeons, which I loathe, and dungeons, which I do not.

Tunnel dungeons are the ones which are designed like a tedious, half hearted maze of corridors without much thought other than "We need to take up a bunch of space." and "The player should have to slog their way around most of it." Think of areas like the Deep Roads, any sewer map, any mine map, Fallout 3's and Oblivion's underground areas. They are dull to explore, visually dull, limited in gameplay (the whole chokepoint mechanic is all you really get to use in tactics), predictable, and entirely over-prevalent across the genre.

Dungeons are much better, and rather a scarce creature in games. A dungeon without 'tunnel' stapled in front of it is an enclosed area primarily designed for combat and exploration/looting which does not take the form of a wannabe rat maze. Dungeons like the D'Arnise keep in BGII are more enjoyable to explore, and tend to be more interesting as actual areas.

Although my two sets of examples seem to split the difference along whether an area is a building or not, building are not immune from being tunnel dungeons. The mage tower in DA:O is an excellent example of a building that's a tunnel dungeon: limited exploration, only one path, and loads of walking the long way around because a designer saw fit to make a door impassable while fighting off the same couple of creatures in the same scenery for floor after floor until you want to scream.

Fallout 3 demonstrated the difference quite well. It had a few hundred tunnel dungeons ... and it had the various big factories, the library, the museum and others.




I think BG in 3D might retain some of that open feeling, since deep down it's a case of open and free by comparison. If a 50x50 map is entirely open for you to walk where you wish it feels more open than a 100x100 map that is made up of glorified corridors.


Edit since this went up as I was typing:

You have a road, and you follow it. The limits around the road are just a bit farther than usual.
Yes, that's it exactly.

[DisruptorX]

I don't think the difference between BG and DAO is the 3d.

In BG, you could walk around in any given region (except for the dungeons, yes). I later games (KoToR, ICWD, NWN), you always have to follow a godamm road between two hills/two forests/two walls.

Even the most open areas of NWN2 (the forest in MotB) or DAO (the forest too) feel that way. You have a road, and you follow it. The limits around the road are just a bit farther than usual.


Well, that has much do to with the fact that all of those post BG games are poorly and lazily designed and are overall mediocre games. Dragon Age still has much of that design in it. I rate it highly because I think the combat is really fun, due to the ease of control I spoke of earlier and the challenging fights (mage abuse aside). Dragon Age plays like a great RPG, even if its overall level design is like kotor et al.

I agree with both you and frog that the level design in Dragon Age is not perfect, I am simply pleased by the gameplay and consider that a higher priority. This marks the first time since the BG games that Bioware seems to have put any thought into including a combat system that is any way strategic and I like that. Sure, its abusable, but whatever, so was BG, and how.

Unfortunately, from what I have heard, and which Bioware employees seem to corroborate, is that we will never see another Baldur's Gate 2 from Bioware. It was too hard to make, in terms of effort. :thumbsdown:

I like open RPGs too. My favourite RPG after the 2 Baldur's Gate games is SSI's Shattered Lands, which has interesting dungeons and interesting non-dungeon locations. Its also not nearly to the same scale as Baldur's Gate 2, which is rather unique in how immense it is. I don't think its really fair to hold all RPGs up to BG 2, as it is the finest game in the entire genre. That doesn't mean that one should tolerate messes like NWN 2, of course, but Dragon Age is clearly superior to that game in every category, and does all the things that previous 3d party based RPGs have messed up right, such as smooth controls, good cameras, UI that doesn't get in the way, etc.

[frogbeastegg]

I wonder if there's enough people here to get an RPG replay thread going? Play through some of the older - and maybe not so old - games and post opinions on how well they hold up.



NWN2 became a very good game with its two expansions and various patches. The original release was absolutely dire though, I agree. NWN1 on the other hand, ugh. Only Jade Empire keeps it from being the worst Bioware game.

Bioware have grown quite complacent. They found a formula with KOTOR and have been rehashing it in various shapes for years now. Prologue -> first real area -> crisis plot point -> choose the order to play these 3 or 4 overarching areas in -> bit where bad things happen when one area out of the overarching selection is left and/or the major plot tiwst takes place -> 'surprise' area where you do a load of fighting -> finale. Each of the overarching areas will have at least one big dungeon area, two clear cut good and evil sides which you need to choose between, and some kind of big boss battle. Meanwhile, for your party, there's the romanceable noble, drippy male character with a tragic past, the romanceable innocent female, the romancable more experienced female, the hulking and gruff warrior with a hidden soft side, the comedy character, the wise old man/woman, and the bundle of under-developed tag-alongs. There's a 50% chance that you will be captured at some point in the game and have to escape. There's a 25% chance one NPC will betray you. You will always hit the level cap before the end game if you explore even a bit. And so on.

I loved KOTOR. I'm tired of playing it's base formula in different skins.

[Krusader]

I wonder if there's enough people here to get an RPG replay thread going? Play through some of the older - and maybe not so old - games and post opinions on how well they hold up.



NWN2 became a very good game with its two expansions and various patches. The original release was absolutely dire though, I agree. NWN1 on the other hand, ugh. Only Jade Empire keeps it from being the worst Bioware game.

Bioware have grown quite complacent. They found a formula with KOTOR and have been rehashing it in various shapes for years now. Prologue -> first real area -> crisis plot point -> choose the order to play these 3 or 4 overarching areas in -> bit where bad things happen when one area out of the overarching selection is left and/or the major plot tiwst takes place -> 'surprise' area where you do a load of fighting -> finale. Each of the overarching areas will have at least one big dungeon area, two clear cut good and evil sides which you need to choose between, and some kind of big boss battle. Meanwhile, for your party, there's the romanceable noble, drippy male character with a tragic past, the romanceable innocent female, the romancable more experienced female, the hulking and gruff warrior with a hidden soft side, the comedy character, the wise old man/woman, and the bundle of under-developed tag-alongs. There's a 50% chance that you will be captured at some point in the game and have to escape. There's a 25% chance one NPC will betray you. You will always hit the level cap before the end game if you explore even a bit. And so on.

I loved KOTOR. I'm tired of playing it's base formula in different skins.

Hey, if Baldur's Gate 2 is made available on gog.com you can always try a 6-player Coop if possible...if it is possible over the net. Remember we tried it over LAN when it came out, but unfortunately it was during the Counter-Strike craze so we ended up playing Counter-Strike instead.

As for Bioware becoming complacent...I agree, but they found a formula which gives them profits, so from a business perspective so they must think "why change it?" I just hope they don't go Activision though, which a part of me fears with Mass Effect series. Although seeing how they have problems getting Return to Ostagar out for Dragon Age, maybe there wont be as many DLCs.

As for dungeons VS open-world, yeah that was one point with Dragon Age I disliked. Fallout 3 was also tunnelish, but at least they gave the impression it was open enough. Morrowind though is my favourite "open world" game. World of Warcraft too, but there were some "tunnel issues" there too, notably the numerous mountains & hills separating zones, making it only possible to leave or enter through select areas.

[rajpoot]

I'd like a game with a story like a Bioware RPG, with an open world like Morrowind....

The one thing I don't like in the Bioware formula is that the actual 'accessible' game world is very small.

Still, as long as they keep writing the stories and dialogues nicely, I'll be getting the games. Granted that it's getting repetitive but still there aren't many RPG that are half as good. I mean in the recent years, IMO there were hardly any RPGs that were brought anything new and noteworthy to the genre.....The Witcher was one, then there was Mount&Blade.....the rest were more or less average.....DA:O, stands, well above the average ones at least.

[DisruptorX]

Still, as long as they keep writing the stories and dialogues nicely, I'll be getting the games. Granted that it's getting repetitive but still there aren't many RPG that are half as good. I mean in the recent years, IMO there were hardly any RPGs that were brought anything new and noteworthy to the genre.....The Witcher was one, then there was Mount&Blade.....the rest were more or less average.....DA:O, stands, well above the average ones at least.

I think VtM: Bloodlines did the action-RPG sub-genre perfectly, better than Mass Effect even, though I loved Mass Effect's retro sci-fi aesthetics.

As for Baldur's Gate multiplayer...it honestly isn't that much fun. There's a number of little things that combine to make it irritating. Firstly, the game pauses during dialogue. This happens more than you would think. Secondly, each player wants to pause during combat, so the more players you have, the more pausing. Thirdly, both games are pretty tough, and quickload isn't so quick in MP. You can play it on virtual LAN over Hamachi, though, done it once or twice. As much as I like the game, it doesn't work as well as an RPG designed from the ground up for MP.

[Scienter]

I think VtM: Bloodlines did the action-RPG sub-genre perfectly, better than Mass Effect even, though I loved Mass Effect's retro sci-fi aesthetics.

I loved that game! It's a shame they didn't make more. Maybe they will now that vampires (although wussified) are popular right now. Or did the company who made it go under?

[Lemur]

I loved that [Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines]! It's a shame they didn't make more. [...] Or did the company who made it go under?
That would be Troika Games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games), and it's thoroughly deceased. Shame really, since both Arcanum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum:_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura) and VtM:Bloodlines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_%E2%80%93_Bloodlines) had the potential to be true groundbreakers, were they not rushed, buggy, etc.

There's great fan-based mods and patches for VtM:Bloodlines.

[Beskar]

I loved that game! It's a shame they didn't make more. Maybe they will now that vampires (although wussified) are popular right now. Or did the company who made it go under?

I know you mean about twilight, but you haven't seen what the Japanese are currently doing with Vampires. Let's say it is very taboo in Western Culture.

[Vladimir]

That would be Troika Games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games), and it's thoroughly deceased. Shame really, since both Arcanum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum:_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura) and VtM:Bloodlines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_%E2%80%93_Bloodlines) had the potential to be true groundbreakers, were they not rushed, buggy, etc.

That's unfortunate.

I agree. Although I could never bring myself to play an "evil" vampire the game itself was remarkable and an incredible journey.


I wonder if there's enough people here to get an RPG replay thread going? Play through some of the older - and maybe not so old - games and post opinions on how well they hold up.

Perhaps there will be interest this summer. I remember my attempt to play through the entire BG series again, only solo. I went through a lot of preparation, repurchasing, and modification only to play the game and realize how alone I felt during play. Perhaps that's a result of getting older :shrug: .

Instead of a book club it would be like a game club. Each player can add their own twists and relate the adventure making it feel like a story.

[Meneldil]

I know you mean about twilight, but you haven't seen what the Japanese are currently doing with Vampires. Let's say it is very taboo in Western Culture.

Huh man, you've obviously never watched a vampire porn movie.
Just for your information, the first modern vampire novel (Carmilla) is about a more or less openly lesbian vampire. It's been written by an Irish, in...1872. 25 years later Dracula followed the same path, with some quite erotical scenes (such as Jonathan Harker being blood-sucked to exhaustion by 3 vampire babes).
Nowadays, we have Anne Rice's books. Most of them have homosexual and bisexual sex scenes, involving two or often more characters, with some of them being barely legal (as in being immortal but looking like 14 year old teens). Tbh I found some of these books quite disturbing and unappealing.
Vampire is also a quite fashionable theme within the fetishist and gothic subcultures.

Japanese vampires are lame, just like pretty much anything comming from japanese pop culture. Gross and silly at the same time, full of clichés, weak plots, and what not.

[Xiahou]

That would be Troika Games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troika_Games), and it's thoroughly deceased. Shame really, since both Arcanum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum:_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura) and VtM:Bloodlines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_%E2%80%93_Bloodlines) had the potential to be true groundbreakers, were they not rushed, buggy, etc.

There's great fan-based mods and patches for VtM:Bloodlines.I'm apparently the only person on the planet who found the un-modded, vanilla Bloodlines to be completely playable. A couple glitches, a few CTDs, sure. But, it was never anything close to the unplayable bug-ridden mess most people tell me it was.

I won the game 3x without ever feeling the need for fan-made content or patches. :shrug:

[DisruptorX]

I'm apparently the only person on the planet who found the un-modded, vanilla Bloodlines to be completely playable. A couple glitches, a few CTDs, sure. But, it was never anything close to the unplayable bug-ridden mess most people tell me it was.

I won the game 3x without ever feeling the need for fan-made content or patches. :shrug:

No, the bugginess is extremely overstated. Its no more buggy than say Fallout 2. Actually, its less buggy.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm apparently the only person on the planet who found the un-modded, vanilla Bloodlines to be completely playable. A couple glitches, a few CTDs, sure. But, it was never anything close to the unplayable bug-ridden mess most people tell me it was.

I won the game 3x without ever feeling the need for fan-made content or patches. :shrug:
I played through the game at release with no patches, and other than a few minor glitches and some broken triggers in side quests it was all ok. The source engine was a bigger problem - it always makes me terribly motion sick.

[Ironside]

I suspect most of the bug issue was the one that could crash your game so you couldn't pass that point, thus being unable to finish the game normally. Then we also have that door that was almost impossible to open or when your computer changes into a furnature.

Still love that game and malkivian playthrough is still among the funniest games ever imho.

"Police officials has gone on record saying: Don't worry that crazy bastard will save him."
"One witness stated that the exchange was all like pow, pow, ah take that, oh you got me, take that, blam, aiee."
Or telling Jack about his plan... Without knowing it.
Among the easier to find we have the pet turtle.

[Meneldil]

Return to Ostagar has been released, finally.

The pros:
- Some new lore (regarding Cailan and Celene, the orlesian Empress)
- Some new banters (mostly with Wynne, Alistair, Loghain and occasionally Dog)
- It's only 3€

The cons:
- A shameless rehash of Ostagar, with a snow texture and some Darkspawn stuff. There's only one new zone.
- A new plate armor set. Huho, as if the game wasn't already filled with those. During my warrior playthrough, all 4 plate wearing characters had a full set, and I still had 2 or 3 more in my inventory, while I couldn't get any leather or cloth set.
- Cailan's armur is utterly useless. It's made for tanking, but requires a huge amount of strenght that no tank characters is going to reach at any time. Who the hell took care of the itemization?
- The new zones are all corridor-ish, even Ostagar camp.

All in all, I'm kind of disappointed. The lore ain't that exciting. The fights are overly easy. The loot is useless. Not a single new texture or stuff (unlike Stone Prisonner). Oh well. For 3€ I guess I shouldn't have expected anything better.

[Krusader]

Return to Ostagar has been released, finally.

The pros:
- Some new lore (regarding Cailan and Celene, the orlesian Empress)
- Some new banters (mostly with Wynne, Alistair, Loghain and occasionally Dog)
- It's only 3€

The cons:
- A shameless rehash of Ostagar, with a snow texture and some Darkspawn stuff. There's only one new zone.
- A new plate armor set. Huho, as if the game wasn't already filled with those. During my warrior playthrough, all 4 plate wearing characters had a full set, and I still had 2 or 3 more in my inventory, while I couldn't get any leather or cloth set.
- Cailan's armur is utterly useless. It's made for tanking, but requires a huge amount of strenght that no tank characters is going to reach at any time. Who the hell took care of the itemization?
- The new zones are all corridor-ish, even Ostagar camp.

All in all, I'm kind of disappointed. The lore ain't that exciting. The fights are overly easy. The loot is useless. Not a single new texture or stuff (unlike Stone Prisonner). Oh well. For 3€ I guess I shouldn't have expected anything better.

I'll echo that. Took me 20 minutes with listening to dialogue and team-banter.

3 € x 10 = 30 € which is the price of the next Dragon Age expansion.
So that means 20 minutes x 10 then doesn't it? A little over 3 hours of game time in the expansion perhaps? :wink:

[Meneldil]

This is why DLC are fundamentaly terribad. They can argue about the low prices as much as they want ('it's not even the price of a big mac, come on!'), we're still being ripped off. Poorly designed content that takes 20 minutes and doesn't really add anything to the game = fail.

[Scienter]

I know you mean about twilight, but you haven't seen what the Japanese are currently doing with Vampires. Let's say it is very taboo in Western Culture.

You've piqued my curiousity. Too bad I'm at work, there's no way I'm googling about Japanese vampires from here!

[johnhughthom]

After playing Mass Effect 2 the control scheme in DAO feels awkward and unwieldy. I played it previously on PS3 and enjoyed it, but it almost seems unplayable now on PC after being used to ME2 controls. Using a rogue getting into position with mouse clicks involves constantly having to move the camera around and the less said about trying to control it with WASD the better. Perhaps it will get easier when I'm used to it, but I don't really feel like getting used to it will be any fun...

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

That's how I felt on trying the demo - it didn't feel right at all for me, so I passed on the game.

[Meneldil]

After playing Mass Effect 2 the control scheme in DAO feels awkward and unwieldy. I played it previously on PS3 and enjoyed it, but it almost seems unplayable now on PC after being used to ME2 controls. Using a rogue getting into position with mouse clicks involves constantly having to move the camera around and the less said about trying to control it with WASD the better. Perhaps it will get easier when I'm used to it, but I don't really feel like getting used to it will be any fun...

I have no issue with the controls whatsoever *shrugs*
If you zoom out, it plays like a RTS, if you zoom in, it plays like a MMO.

[rajpoot]

Why don't they make all the games with simple controls like M&B or some TES game I'll never know.....why have the mouse movement thing at all! That's supposed to be for RTS games.

[Meneldil]

You don't have to use the mouse to play DA:O. WASD is more than enough, unlike MMO's where players who only use WASD will look like morons. I never use the mouse to move my characters in DAO, so *shrugs* again I guess :-P

I seriously don't see what's complicated or tedious or annoying with DA:O controls. Maybe that's because I'm an experienced MMO and RTS player, but I never had any problem at all. To go even further, I think the controls are about as good as you can expect for a party-based RPG. I am no fanboy of the game (I think the gameplay is lacking, and consider there are quite a lot of holes in the story), but DA:O is certainly not shamed by TES games.

[rajpoot]

Not shamed by any TES game. I agree to that....But I guess since the TES games were one of the first RPGs I ever played, I sort of got stuck to the idea of good RPGs using a mouse to look around and arrow keys to move around, with the LMB used to slash and attack.
No issue with controls, easy enough sure.....just would've liked them better had they been different.

BTW does Return to Ostagar change anything in the main storyline/dialogue or is it just a new area with side story like Warden's Keep?

[Ferret]

I never use the mouse to move either, just to loot and change view sometimes....

and yeah return to ostagar is just like warden's keep, a short side quest that gets some powerful items.

[Meneldil]

Not shamed by any TES game. I agree to that....But I guess since the TES games were one of the first RPGs I ever played, I sort of got stuck to the idea of good RPGs using a mouse to look around and arrow keys to move around, with the LMB used to slash and attack.
No issue with controls, easy enough sure.....just would've liked them better had they been different.

BTW does Return to Ostagar change anything in the main storyline/dialogue or is it just a new area with side story like Warden's Keep?

Well, it's more closely tied to the main plot than Warden's Keep, obviously. You learn a few nice things (if you're really interested in the plot).
- First, it seems that the defeat at Ostagar wasn't really Loghain's fault. Apparently, Cailan wasn't as confident as he seems when the player meets him, and actually thought a victory was really unlikely. Knowing that, Loghain's betrayal actually looks like a rational move (as opposed to a lame excuse to create an "evil betrayer" kind of enemy).
- Secondly, it also seems that Cailan was thinking about kicking Anora out to marry Celene I, the Empress of Orlais. Arl Eamon was at least supporting the idea.

The first point is kind of silly to be honest. I mean, we meet a King who seems eager to fight the darkspawn, and who is disappointed cause he thinks it's not a true Blight, but according to RtO, he was actually pretty much convinced victory was impossible. Err, yeah?
Even Duncan seemed somewhate confident that the Blight could be stopped at Ostagar, and now we're being told that it was clear from the very beginning that Ostagar was likely going to be a failure.

There again, I blame poor writting on Bioware's part. I think they didn't have a grand picture of the plot when they started to work on the game, and are changing it as they see fit as time goes. That makes for several contradictions and incoherences throughout the game.

[Centurion1]

I sorta liked Cailan to be honest, didnt see him as being a bumbling fool just young. I very much disliked Anora though, that woman was a total pain in the arse.

[frogbeastegg]

Return to Ostogar
So it's one big retcon with an hour's play time and some mediocre loot. How very exciting.

Poor Cailen never stood a chance; considering his genetics and mentor it's a wonder he turned out as well as he did. The prequel book showed that his father was a complete inept bumbling idiot, his mother was a robot without an emotional emulation subroutine, and Loghain was a complete and utter prat. Speaking of which, I retract my earlier comments about Loghain's actions not making sense based on his background. They carry on perfectly from the book because he never makes a jot of sense. If anything he's better in the game.

Tip: don't read the books. Unlike the Mass Effect ones, they're awful and add nothing at all except facepalm material.

[gaelic cowboy]

So it's one big retcon with an hour's play time and some mediocre loot. How very exciting.

Poor Cailen never stood a chance; considering his genetics and mentor it's a wonder he turned out as well as he did. The prequel book showed that his father was a complete inept bumbling idiot, his mother was a robot without an emotional emulation subroutine, and Loghain was a complete and utter prat. Speaking of which, I retract my earlier comments about Loghain's actions not making sense based on his background. They carry on perfectly from the book because he never makes a jot of sense. If anything he's better in the game.

Tip: don't read the books. Unlike the Mass Effect ones, they're awful and add nothing at all except facepalm material.

I was half thinking of getting this but reading the comments here I think I will pass I was gonna get summit for the 360 an I fancied an RPG looks like I gotta wait till ME3 or that Alan Wake

[Meneldil]

Tip: don't read the books. Unlike the Mass Effect ones, they're awful and add nothing at all except facepalm material.

Too late, I already read the Stolen Throne and still plan on reading the second one.

Fanboys kill me honestly. If you go by the comments of people on bioware social website, you get the impression that DAO books are the new parangons of fantasy, better than Tolkien, Salvador, Hobb, Martin and Eddings altogether. Then you read the book and you're like :dizzy2:

[Centurion1]

I nominate Halo books as being the best ever books based off a video game, with splinter cell a close second. (though im not sure of that order)

[rajpoot]

The second book is better than the first one. In fact I'd read the second one first.
Nowhere near brilliant or anything, but it's OK stuff if you liked the story of the games.
Furthermore, reading the second one will tell a bit about the Architect....which is something to do while one waits for DA:Awakening.

One of the few gripes I had with the first book was that they never clearly mentioned the numbers of the armies save for once.....I mean what is the count of a 'legion' in the Dragon Age world?

[Centurion1]

hard question because it often depended on the ruler. at the time of constantine he shrunk legions sizes considerably so no one general got too much power.

[frogbeastegg]

I was half thinking of getting this but reading the comments here I think I will pass I was gonna get summit for the 360 an I fancied an RPG looks like I gotta wait till ME3 or that Alan Wake
For all its flaws and disappointments, Dragon Age is still very much worth playing if you like the older school of Bioware RPGs. Just don't expect much from the plot; it's the combat and the party members' dialogue which carry the game.


Fanboys kill me honestly. If you go by the comments of people on bioware social website, you get the impression that DAO books are the new parangons of fantasy, better than Tolkien, Salvador, Hobb, Martin and Eddings altogether. Then you read the book and you're like :dizzy2:
Oh, I don't know. Eddings and Salvador are awful; I thought they were childish, simplistic nonsense when I was 14. Stolen Throne can happily sit beside them. The other three get frog ratings of good but flawed and on a 6 book long downward spiral (Hobb), very good if infuriatingly slow at writing (Martin), and good but better on a re-read and when read more widely than LotR (Tolkien), so yes, the comparisons that way make my mind boggle.


One of the few gripes I had with the first book was that they never clearly mentioned the numbers of the armies save for once.....I mean what is the count of a 'legion' in the Dragon Age world?
In generic fantasy land legion often means 1,000 soldiers. I took it to be around that number, firstly as DA is generic fantasy, secondly as its world and infrastructure can't cope with massive armies, and thirdly it fits in with the kinds of numbers we saw in the game's major battles.

[rajpoot]

So, why does the new Dragon Age comic here (http://blog.bioware.com/2010/03/01/dragon-age-the-revelation-comic/) (called Revelation), have Morrigan and Alistair referring to the Warden as her? That's so biased! I mean one place in the games peripheral stuff where the Warden is actually referenced to and he's a her......
(http://blog.bioware.com/2010/03/01/dragon-age-the-revelation-comic/)

[frogbeastegg]

So, why does the new Dragon Age comic here (http://blog.bioware.com/2010/03/01/dragon-age-the-revelation-comic/) (called Revelation), have Morrigan and Alistair referring to the Warden as her? That's so biased! I mean one place in the games peripheral stuff where the Warden is actually referenced to and he's a her......
(http://blog.bioware.com/2010/03/01/dragon-age-the-revelation-comic/)
Why does the Mass Effect out-of-game material always refer to Shepard as a him? That's so biased!

Why does the KOTOR out-of-game material always refer to you-know-who as a him? That's so biased!

Why does the Jade Empire out-of-game material always refer to the player character as a him? That's so biased!

Why does the Neverwinter Nights out-of-game material always refer to the hero as a him? That's so biased!

Why does the Baldur's Gate series out-of-game material always refer to the Bhaalspawn as a him? That's so biased!

And so on.

Maybe Bioware decided that the sizeable portion of their audience who play as female characters deserved a nod instead of the usual hand wave and 'oops your characters are not real' treatment?

If you don't like it, imagine the word is spelled differently. It's what some of us have had to do for years.

[Beskar]

Froggy has caught you now and she is not going to let you go.

I personally dislike actually calling people "him or her" for pretty much that reason, unfortunately, we don't really have the word in the English language which is gender neutral, hence I always say "They".


*Some one is talking about Froggy*
Me: "I think they are a very good moderator." or "I think their posts are a excellent contribution." etc

Unfortunately, when it comes to people with English as a second language and some native English speakers, they are completely confused and think 'frogbeastegg' represents a collective of people who moderate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they

[rajpoot]

Wow.....

I'm not a chauvinist all right.......it's just that like you said, most games do have male characters as canon....so guess it felt odd to see a 'her'.

So did not mean to offend the ladies on the Org.

[frogbeastegg]

think 'frogbeastegg' represents a collective of people who moderate.
Uh oh, the secret's out! :runs to the frog cave to begin emergency measures!:

With Bioware's earlier games I tended to play a male character because female ones had reduced or inferior content, or were just faintly embarrassing. Around KOTOR they started to improve, and finally with ME, ME2 and DA:O they have drawn even with their male counterparts in terms of content. Now we have - after 12 years - a real official female lead.

Can I swap Miss Official Warden for an official female Shepard? The Warden's such a bland character and the female version of Shepard is widely acknowledged to be miles better than the male thanks to the voice acting. Jennifer Hale is one of the best in the business.

Actually, thinking about the subject, Shepard is flat out the best female character in any game. She's a person first and always; the fact she's female is incidental instead of the defining factor. She does the same things as the male Shepard in much the same way but with a certain touch that's different, she doesn't pose or walk like a model, she doesn't have inflated proportions or a sex appeal outfit, and she doesn't even wear make up unless you choose to! That last is a minor miracle in and of itself; I can only think of a single other major female character (where graphical capability permits) who is not plastered with make up and that's the original Joanna Dark, before the hideous makeover. The Joanna who appeared in the original publicity and N64 game was very different to the one used for the launch publicity, 360 game and forthcoming remake.

[Scienter]

Actually, thinking about the subject, Shepard is flat out the best female character in any game. She's a person first and always; the fact she's female is incidental instead of the defining factor. She does the same things as the male Shepard in much the same way but with a certain touch that's different, she doesn't pose or walk like a model, she doesn't have inflated proportions or a sex appeal outfit, and she doesn't even wear make up unless you choose to!

Agreed! I was so happy to find out that Jennifer Hale was voicing Shepard for ME2, I was really impressed with her in ME1. :2thumbsup:

[Crandaeolon]

Actually, thinking about the subject, Shepard is flat out the best female character in any game. She's a person first and always...

What a profoundly amazing coincidence, just half an hour ago I was discussing Shepard vs. Warden with my betrothed. She's played DA:O, ME and ME2 and thinks that the Warden is a much more interesting character because of the room she is allowed to grow into, whereas Shepard is "emotionless, bland and rigid, always the same tough gal regardless of choices made in the game." My position is that Shepard is a soldier first and foremost, a more defined character, yes, but one that the story can delve into in a more profound manner. The Warden is more of a template, not really a "character" as far as traditional methods of storytelling would imply.

[Meneldil]

Well, it's hard for the warden to compete, in all honestly, simply for the fact he or she doesn't talk, whereas Shepard does. That gives quite some weight to the character.

I went back to ME after unlocking all DA:O achievements, and boy how I was surprised to hear the main character talking. A joke is much more effective if it said by someone rather than read on a screen. Plus the voice acting is actually pretty good, even in french.

[rajpoot]

It's been officially announced that Oghren is the returning companion in Awakening and not Alistair (who'd most likely be returning but not as a companion).

[Mailman653]

Dragon Age 2? (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/107/1076878p1.html)

[rajpoot]

To hell with the graphics! And who knows they might've been working on Dragon Age 2 parallel with DA:O, kind of like CA people do with Total War titles....great great news :yes:

[Secura]

Around KOTOR they started to improve, and finally with ME, ME2 and DA:O they have drawn even with their male counterparts in terms of content. Now we have - after 12 years - a real official female lead.

Can I swap Miss Official Warden for an official female Shepard? The Warden's such a bland character and the female version of Shepard is widely acknowledged to be miles better than the male thanks to the voice acting. Jennifer Hale is one of the best in the business.

Actually, thinking about the subject, Shepard is flat out the best female character in any game. She's a person first and always; the fact she's female is incidental instead of the defining factor. She does the same things as the male Shepard in much the same way but with a certain touch that's different, she doesn't pose or walk like a model, she doesn't have inflated proportions or a sex appeal outfit, and she doesn't even wear make up unless you choose to! That last is a minor miracle in and of itself; I can only think of a single other major female character (where graphical capability permits) who is not plastered with make up and that's the original Joanna Dark, before the hideous makeover. The Joanna who appeared in the original publicity and N64 game was very different to the one used for the launch publicity, 360 game and forthcoming remake.

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favourite post in the thread.

Seriously though, Shepard as a female lead is fantastic, and it's great that Dragon Age: Origins material is suggesting that a female Warden is canon. When was the last time an RPG did this, though? Knights of the Old Republic II has a canon female lead in The Exile, but when you consider the flaws of the game and storyline against the original (such is the bane of a rushed release), it doesn't really hold as much weight for me as Commander Shepard.

I'm a fan of just about any game that Jennifer Hale puts her vocal talents to, and still think a canon female Shepard would've been a better choice than the sometimes bland delivery of Mark Meer. Cam Clarke is one of my favourite male vocalists for games; gotta love the hammyness. :P

Any representation for women that isn't portrayed by unrealistic body proportions (like Lara could perform all those athletic somersaults without a damn good sports bra) or a stripperific outfit (Bayonetta for example) is great; it shows that developers are finally considering the female gamer. Since the release of the Wii (ugh) and games becoming available to a wider market, I get a lot less "oh, you play video games" than I did back in college when Beskie and I cut class to play Battlefront II. xD

[Centurion1]

You know secura i completely agree with you. i hate scantily clad video game characters. i dont find it "hot" and i would much rather prefer a women who actually wears armor instead of defying the laws of nature and blocking a sword stroke with her near naked breasts. I couldnt stand playing morrigan and always made her a arcane warrior so she could wear armor.

[Secura]

I couldnt stand playing morrigan and always made her a arcane warrior so she could wear armor.

I actually liked Morrigan's outfit, because it suited her life in the Korcari Wilds and her overall character as a shapeshifter. She doesn't need to be encumbered by robes or chainmail if she's going to transform into a spider or fling spells around, after all, and where would she even procure such clothing from anyway? That and I loved the reaction that her outfit garnered from Leiliana and Oghren; the indignant tone in Claudia Black's retorts regarding the perverts is fantastic.

On the other hand, I dislike the outfit of... say Ivy in Soul Calibur. Her outfit may be as stripperific as Morrigan's, but Ivy's supposed to be an up-close-and-personal kinda gal, stabbing/whipping the living daylights out of her opponents, but her scantily-clad form (and ridiculous proportions) would realistically have no real protective qualities at all.

They may both be fanservice outfits, but at least Morrigan's makes some sense.

[johnhughthom]

You really think something that exposes most of your body is suited for living in a forest? What about all the pointy branches, high grass, slimy plants, biting insects even poisonous plants? You would come home every night scratching, itching and bleeding. Although perhaps Morrigan enjoys that....


I guess she could have stolen a nice dress instead of some shiny mirror...

[rajpoot]

I found that the lady who drew the Revelation comic, Dana Russo has a gallery on DeviantArt. It has a nice collection of several other Dragon Age comics she's drawn.

BTW a few of the comics have mature content.

Link (http://aimo.deviantart.com/gallery/)

In the Revelation comic she's referring to her favourite Warden character who's a female-dwarf-noble, (I think).

[Mailman653]

http://aimo.deviantart.com/art/ME2-Shepard-and-Garrus-156963498

OT picture, but priceless!

[frogbeastegg]

So, Awakenings. Separate thread or continue to use this one? What's the general preference?

I decided that I shall start a new character in Awakenings. DA:O did not make me care about either of the characters I completed it with, and if I take a warrior/archer I can try out the final class type without needing to slog through Origins a third time. I don't want to play Origins again. Ever. It's downright tedious on a replay.

On the subject of gear in DA:O, I can't say that I like the light female armour. Sure it's an improvement over the standard chainmail bikini. It's the pointless stupid cat collar that gets me. Why? Just why?! Does my mage look like someone's pet? Speaking of mages, what's with the entire groin hugging ornament thing and "Oops, I put my bra on after my clothes!" effect?

[Meneldil]

Haha, it's kind of cheesy that you grow more attached to NPC's than to your own character in a RPG. I feel the same, I don't remember any of my 3 characters' name.

I think we can keep this topic for Awakenings. It was about to die, the expansion will probably bring it back to life a bit (though my overall feeling is that the org community doesn't like DA much).

[Secura]

You really think something that exposes most of your body

It doesn't really expose that much, really. Her legs are well covered, her arms are mostly protected... she's just showing hella cleavage and some midriff. If you lived in the woodlands and needed clothing, you'd make the best out of what rags you could find too, no? :P


though my overall feeling is that the org community doesn't like DA much

I love DA:O, but it feels as though it was Bioware's stop-gap for their fans until they could release ME2.

[Mailman653]

I like DAO too, I couldn't put down for almost two weeks straight.

[johnhughthom]

I like DAO too, I couldn't put down for almost two weeks straight.

Same. Zero desire to play since though.

[Meneldil]

Yeah, I liked it too. Unlocked all achievements, played the game 3 times and almost know it by heart. Still, I don't think I'll remind it much in 10 years.

[Krusader]

DA:O was good, but not rememberable as other games.

As for Awakenings, Bioware stated it has 15 hours of gameplay did they not? Considering the word was 60-80 hours for DA:O and I used 45 on first playthrough with all dialogue, I'm not keen on dropping 30 € for what I think is 10 hours worth of content, if not less. RtO was also very little for the price.

[Mailman653]

As for Awakenings, Bioware stated it has 15 hours of gameplay did they not? Considering the word was 60-80 hours for DA:O and I used 45 on first playthrough with all dialogue, I'm not keen on dropping 30 € for what I think is 10 hours worth of content, if not less.

That's a good point, I easly must of done 8+hrs on the first day without even noticing how much time I spent playing the game. Spending what I think is half the price of the original game on an expansion that I might might finish in a day and a half doesn't seem like a good investment dispite it's appeal.

[Meneldil]

I think the advertised lenght is more like 30 hours, but I might be wrong on this.

[frogbeastegg]

I liked DA:O a lot more on the first playthrough than the second. Some of the area design is very poor, and the pacing is all over the place. There were plenty of places I didn't want to revisit and none I looked forward to seeing again. Presentation is the another killer. Visually the game is bland, generic, boring and occasionally downright ugly, both in terms of design and in terms of graphics. The conversations are boring to watch and are years behind those of the original Mass Effect. The third and final blow comes from the plot - it's rubbish. Comparing what we got to what Bioware promised I do rather wonder if they a)read any fantasy books which aren’t aimed at young adults and b)played their own game.

The companions are mostly very good. They're one of the game's strongest points, and most of my better memories of the game involve standing around chatting or the pithy little comments they interject into conversations with other characters. I do like the challenge presented by combat and I like the need to think of tactics. The character building system is decent, though the skills are not balanced as well as they need to be. No good and evil metre, hurrah! Individual influence with your party which ebbs and flows in a reasonably natural manner, hurrah!

I shall pick up Awakenings when I can find it for a reasonable price. At first they insisted there would be no disc based version for the xbox, and the price they've been throwing around is far more than I'd want to pay. A few days ago I noticed a disc based version has quietly slipped onto the release schedules; roll on the discounts.

[Krusader]

Rock Paper Shotgun has a short article with videos of companions, as its coming out tomorrow in US and Thursday/Friday in Europe:

RPS article (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/03/15/awakening-wakes-up-tomorrow-trailer-fest/)

I'm just not that interested in this expansion really. When Steam has a Thanksgiving/Christmas sales again, I'll pick it up.

[Secura]

Oh snap... the DLC is out at the end of the weekend?

I was saving my points for Rock Band DLC this week, but I've been waiting for Awakening for a while. >.<

[johnhughthom]

18th = Thursday.

[Secura]

Bah, I think The Subways and Lady Gaga will end up cheaper than Awakening, so I'll have to wait til I can buy more points. :<

[Beskar]

Awakening is out on Thursday? I know what I will be doing then.

[Kekvit Irae]

Lady Gaga will end up cheaper than Awakening

Nothing is cheaper than Lady Gaga. Oh wait, you mean the Rock Band DLC... :juggle2:

[Kekvit Irae]

Ok, I installed Awakening and to my surprise none of my DLC stuff is working. Through searching the official forums, I found out it's by design. Now my Blood Mage is naked. -.-
Thankfully, there's already a mod for that. http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=874

[Meneldil]

Thanks for the link. Quite handy, as my rogue and war are covered with DLC items.

[Beskar]

Ok, I installed Awakening and to my surprise none of my DLC stuff is working. Through searching the official forums, I found out it's by design. Now my Blood Mage is naked. -.-
Thankfully, there's already a mod for that. http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=874

"Thankfully, there's already a mod" to make your Blood Mage naked?

For some reason, that is what I read your post as the first time.

[Mailman653]

Any first impressions from the expansion pack?

[Kekvit Irae]

Any first impressions from the expansion pack?

So far, it's on par with the original game. It adds a whole new tier of techniques for each class, a new teir for each weapon teir, three new skills (Runecrafting, +health, +mana/stamina), two new prestige classes for each class, there is a crap load of sidequests, some of your actions in DA will affect some dialogue in Awakening (just like ME1>ME2), Oghren is still the same lovable drunkard as he always was, and the writing and voice acting is still great..

Just about the only thing I don't like is that (if memory serves me correct), it was hyped as having a revamped dialogue system. I haven't seen any change whatsoever. Oh, and the memory leaks at around 30-60 minute mark.

[rajpoot]

While redoing several of my favourite bits in the original game to get in the mood for the xpack, I was going through the end of the Sacred Ashes quest with Leliana and Oghren both in my team. This time around I got a bit of dialogue which might be the 'scientific' explanation for the mystical power of the ashes.
When Leliana starts to get all excited about the ashes and their power, Oghren basically tells her to keep her pants on since he sees in the walls of the mountain very thick veins of Lyrium, and according to him, it's the Lyrium that is affecting everything within the temple walls, slowly changing stuff.

Edit:

The revamped dialogue system, if Bioware forums are an accepted source, simply refers to the fact that the Warden can no longer have long camp conversations with the characters about their past and stuff. Atleast that is what I understood.

[Kekvit Irae]

The revamped dialogue system, if Bioware forums are an accepted source, simply refers to the fact that the Warden can no longer have long camp conversations with the characters about their past and stuff. Atleast that is what I understood.

Then there's no point to gifts. At level 24, I couldn't care less about a meager +2 or whatever bonus to stats for having a high attitude rating. If there's no deep conversations, there's no point.

[rajpoot]

Here's what's exactly been done.
Quoting a user from the Bioware forum (no spoilers, the tags are there so that it remains neat) -



The dialogue changes.. I'm sure I will catch a lot of flak for this point but I feel it needs to be noted. For those of you who don't know what this is all about the way you can interact with your companions has been modified. In Origins you could initiate a conversation with party members in the field or in camp whenever you wanted via a right click, and from there you could delve through a great many dialogue options (some useful, some not so much but that's beside the point). In Awakening this functionality has been removed and replaced with companion interactions that are only available when it is convenient to the story, so to speak. You can no longer talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime, but are marshaled by plot flags signaling an important conversation needs to take place or the use of environmental mediums to to be a point of conversation. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? I can see the logic behind this change, some of the dialogue in Origins was essentially fat and this new system does fit well with the pacing of Awakening but the involving party conversations was one of the highlights of Origins for me and I found myself missing this aspect immensely. I couldn't help feeling that maybe I would have connected with the new cast on a deeper level if they felt more human and accessible. When there was no conversation available for a particular character you would hear a generic line of dialogue spoken as you would expect from right clicking on a non-important NPC.

Now I am sympathetic to why these changes were made, trying to slim down the "fat" dialogue, faster game pace needed a slimmer dialogue system, wanting to cater to players who didn't enjoy the conversation heavy Origins, and so on. That's all well and good and I'm not suggesting that this system should be reverted entirely for the next installment but I do believe a happy medium is in order. This isn't a Mass Effect hybrid game, it's a CRPG, plain and simple, slimming down the immerse elements like deep and involving conversation is not allowed!

Here's a link (http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Dragon-Age-Origins-Awakening-General-Discussion-NO-SPOILERS/DAA-Review---Balanced-Perspective-1767637-1.html) to the thread.

Why do they keep slimming stuff down? They slim down RTS games, they slim down RPGs, they slim down shooters.....they slim down everything. Not cool.

[seireikhaan]

Oooooooookey dokey... Not my best idea ever. Pulled all nighter to see if my suspicion that I could get through the game in one (long) sitting was possible.

Complement sandwich:

Goods:

1) I like the new specializations quite a bit, add some new flavor and strategy.

2) The expansion's construction seems, I dunno, somehow well built. Can't really put my thumb on what I mean.

3) Return of Wade.

Bads:

1) Ogren

2) Lack of warrior choices for NPC characters.

3) Game a bit easy at times with a rogue-focused party, as they simply deal out sooooooooo much damage.

4) No initiated discussions- kind of a problem for me, npc characters don't really feel all that well developed as a result.

5) Ogren

6) Howe kid? Really? Really?

Goods(again):

1) Rogues good enough to exclude Ogren from party.

2) New guy mage is easily best NPC- if for nothing else, his intro. Sorta like hippy, guy version of Morrigan(and the big plus of not starting with shapeshifting)

3) Game not as short as initially feared- roughly 11-12 hours into it. Plot fairly clear, but still estimating at least 5 more hours, maybe more.


Overall, probably not worth the price at the moment, as I'd figured. If not for them cleverly releasing it while I was on spring break, my discipline would have held better. Still enjoyable, I think. Also, all the more reason DA:O is better for PC- I'm willing to bet modders can get the new specializations, items, and stuff into the main campaign.

[Scienter]

What don't you like about Oghren, Yaseikhaan?

[seireikhaan]

What don't you like about Oghren, Yaseikhaan?
99% of his dialogue can be summarized as one of the following:

1) "Oghren, your breath smells terrible!" "Yeah, aint I a scamp?"

2) "Oghren, you really do drink too much." "Yeah, aint I a scamp?"

or lastly,

3) "Hey, *insert female NPC*, whatcha doing tonight?" "Get away, Oghren." "Aint I a scamp?"

It really gets tiresome after hearing it for what feels like the millionth time. For me, alcoholism and womanizing cease to be funny when that's the 99% of the character's development. I've had one reference to something unrelated, Branka. Which ended up being a reference for his womanizing. :wall:

[Krusader]

Here's what's exactly been done.
Quoting a user from the Bioware forum (no spoilers, the tags are there so that it remains neat) -


Here's a link (http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Dragon-Age-Origins-Awakening-General-Discussion-NO-SPOILERS/DAA-Review---Balanced-Perspective-1767637-1.html) to the thread.

Why do they keep slimming stuff down? They slim down RTS games, they slim down RPGs, they slim down shooters.....they slim down everything. Not cool.

Maybe they hope to keep the "traditional fans" while they slim down so more of the "RAAARGH! Why is there thinking involved, let me fight" crowd will buy the game.

[Mailman653]

IGN Awakening review, spoiler free (http://pc.ign.com/articles/107/1077905p1.html)


Though the main quest could probably be completed in a few days of focused play, exploring all the side quests and gathering up all the codex entries could take twice that time.
Sounds good to me!

Can someone explain how you port your character from the main game to the expansion? I've played through the game at least six times so does that mean I can only port the character I'm with now, or can I pick from my past characters?

[Meneldil]

You can pick any character you want. When you start a game, you have a choice: either you make a new Orlesian Warden, or you take any of the characters saved in your profile.

Note that, as Kekvit Irae said, a character using gear from DLC's (Warden's Keep, Prisonner of Stone or Return to Ostagar, and probably Blood Dragon Armor and other promotional items) will start naked.

[seireikhaan]

You can pick any character you want. When you start a game, you have a choice: either you make a new Orlesian Warden, or you take any of the characters saved in your profile.

Note that, as Kekvit Irae said, a character using gear from DLC's (Warden's Keep, Prisonner of Stone or Return to Ostagar, and probably Blood Dragon Armor and other promotional items) will start naked.
Its been odd for me. I got some of my DLC, but not all. eg- I started with the Helmet of Honleath, but did not get my two Warden's Keep-related swords. Also of note, items which I got from mods also came through. :shrug:

[Kekvit Irae]

Its been odd for me. I got some of my DLC, but not all. eg- I started with the Helmet of Honleath, but did not get my two Warden's Keep-related swords. Also of note, items which I got from mods also came through. :shrug:

Apparently, only The Stone Prisoner and Return to Ostagar import just fine without problems. Every other official DLC is hosed.

[seireikhaan]

Ok, finished the game. More compliment sandwhich:

Pros:

1) Game does a pretty solid job of making you want to end the game and see what happens. Seems like a solid choice presented to you right before the end.

2) Despite what I thought was overdoing it, in terms of upgrading armor and weapons, the final boss still presented a challenge.

3) NPC's behave a bit more realistically at a juncture point at the end, ended up having to fight two at once for it. However, radical choice was made, radical consequences to be expected.

Cons:

1) Game started looping on me after the final battle, with the cutscene not wanting to go away after it was done. Took hitting escape a lot to get out.

2) Game ends abruptly. I thought I'd get a bit more story, or at least see *character redacted, you'll know when you get there* again. But nope. I was hoping a few more things might get expanded upon, cleared up. Especially the concept of the Children were not explained, for some reason.

3) Related to 1, massive technical problems. Final battle took forever, due to enormous lag problems. Probably the memory leak thing. Very irksome, DA:O had no such problem.

4) In terms of enemies, there's not much new in concept. Some "new" enemies are basically re-skins of other enemies from DA:O

Pros, again:

1: End "credits"/epilogue seemed more thorough than DA:O was, on a per capita basis, anyways.

2) I rather liked the story, for the most part. They had a fair bit of good ideas. Only issue- see con #2.

3) Last few areas well designed, not an excessive dungeon crawl-fest to get to the last boss, unlike DA:O, which took roughly three years to get through the last battle.

[rajpoot]

I just realised it, there isn't any dog.....why? Where'd the dog go?

[Meneldil]

Apparently, an advertising shipped with the game shows the date 01.02.2011 and a blood dragon. DA2? Looks like it.

[Beskar]

Does anyone know how to edit a saved file so I can change a result of a quest? The game did a bug and it has really upset me, I will put it in spoilers.

I went to the city and I got a quest from the smugglers to talk to this bar guy, I ultimately never did it anyway, since I got another quest from the guard to put an end to the smugglers. So I went around and killed the smugglers, etc etc. So I went to the guard to talk to him and he just goes "You are not better than a common murderer" "I don't want to talk to you". So I am sitting here going "What the..." and all the city guards go "Even Grey Wardens can be bought for gold". So yeah... now my entire city hates me, because the quests bugged and there is nothing I can do about it and if I want to correct it, I would have to re-do the whole expansion when I am most likely near the end of it. It has really frustrated me and it prevents me from even continuing the game, because it is utterly stupid that I should be penalised for something I didn't even do.

[frogbeastegg]

Played and completed. Awakenings was like a digest version of the main game; same general overview (forest area, deep road area, fade area, big battle area, etc) but more condensed and in some ways better for it. It felt like there was less filler; fewer repetitive battles, less slogging around desolate areas to fill in blanks on the map. I won't attempt to play through it a second time as I know I'd enjoy it a lot less.

It took me around 16 hours to do the main quest with nearly all of the side quests. I went back to an earlier save to try the other side of the big choice you make, so that’s some additional play time. Not bad.

Anders=Alistair with a different name, class and model. It's even the same voice actor, right? Or if not he sounds remarkably similar.

Lots more good banter dialogues. The characters I acquired early on were an interesting bunch. Nate and Anders were a golden pairing, both in terms of what they gave me in battle and in terms of banter. Sigrun was nice. Ogren managed to be mostly tolerable. Justice would have been more interesting if I'd had more time with him, as the game didn't give him much chance to talk to me. I couldn't stand that magic elf chick; constant vocal attitude and whining about everything, and she was an inferior mage compared to Anders anyway.

I started out with a newly built warrior/archer as planned, hit level 20 and decided it was not suited to me at all so I imported my rogue/dual wielder. Deadly in Origins, he became death incarnate in Awakenings. 36% of the total party damage belonged to him according to the heroic stats ... and everyone else had 7% or under. I walked all over everything the game threw at me; sky high dex plus all of the evasion boosting skills meant little could hit me, solid armour and a tonne of health meant the hits which did get through barely made me blink, and dual wielding a pair of ubered up weapons with massive bonuses to critical chance and damage and backstab damage meant I dealt good damage with my basic attack, meaning skills and modes could be saved for when they were most needed.

Awakenings feels like it should be the end of this particular entry into the Dragon Age universe. The story is tied up, the characters have been assigned detailed fates, and the game mechanics can't offer much more without some heavier tweaking. I've played as all 3 major character types, seen all 4 main endings for the basic game and both for Awakenings, got all of the achievements, and definitely feel like I am done. Time for a true sequel, not more DLC or expansions.

[Beskar]

Completed Awkening now myself. It is a pleasant expansion taking a total of 11:30 for the first playthrough. It left me inspired to re-do the entire game up to Awakening on a character, to trying make an experience out of it all. Possibly doing Awakening as a Cousland would bring up some very interesting choices.

[Crandaeolon]

Finished in around 15 hours with almost all sidequests. Sadly, the power creep and more uniform difficulty made the actual gameplay experience worse IMO - you start powerful and end up overpowered. There's pretty much not a single challenge in the whole game, and this on Nightmare. I didn't lose a single battle, and a party member was downed perhaps half a dozen times across the entire game. Even the endboss was pathetically easy for an archer plucking away at long range, other party members nearby in hold position. About archery... something is seriously wrong if the most effective way to play a class is to activate a couple of abilities and then keep auto-attacking. The dual-wielding Momentum rogue has at least a few useful combat Talents, but the archer is actually penalized for using Talents. Debilitating attacks mean little when any target dies in seconds, and using them is pretty much pointless anyways on the higher difficulties where debuff durations are extremely short.

In short I agree with Froggy, game mechanics need a serious overhaul. The new Mage abilities and specializations are especially ridiculous. More useful active Talents, less boring sustained abilities, nerf damage across the board, make status effects useful again.

[rajpoot]

Finished it now. Didn't do many side quests, just rushed through.
So first thought is, that putting in the rune crafting system in such a short expansion seems useless.
Second, they really have made the warrior class better. Of the two new specializations, the fade one is actually quite good for damage dealing.
Third, the epilogue was....very thorough. Though it kind of rubbished the Origins epilogue.
Spoiler about the epilogue-

Origins said that the Warden decided to pursue Morrigan....I was hoping that after Awakening, that'll be mentioned somehow in the end, but it wasn't.....all it said that the Warden vanished without a word.

[Kekvit Irae]

Alienware is giving away a free DLC shield in limited quantities. Around than 240,000 left. (http://www.alienwarearena.com/news/70/dragon-age-origins-awakening-exclusive-tier-7-shield-giveaway/)


Bulwark of the True King

Dragon Age: Origins Stats


* Tier 5
* +3 Willpower
* +2 Constitution
* +3 Defense
* +1 Armor

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Stats


* Tier 7
* +5 Willpower
* +3 Constitution
* +3 Defense
* +1 Armor
* Absorbs Damage

[Secura]

Wow, that's a nice shield; does it upgrade automatically if I upload my Origins Warden into Awakening?

I'm yet to get the latter, you see. :3

EDIT: Nevermind, it's North America only! :<

[Kekvit Irae]

Wow, that's a nice shield; does it upgrade automatically if I upload my Origins Warden into Awakening?

I'm yet to get the latter, you see. :3

EDIT: Nevermind, it's North America only! :<

I don't think it upgrades, but the code grants you two shields, one for Origins and one for Awakening, so it's possible you get a new one if you transfer a character into Awakening.

And as for the little NA-only problem, you could always get a Yank friend who doesn't play to sign up and give you his/her code.

[Secura]

It's also PC only, I have the game on 360. :<

I really should have read it better; I play a tanking character, saw it and got pretty excited (I got reallly unlucky with the Fade Wall shield), so kinda jumped on it with a reply without looking deeper into the link.

Thanks anyway! :P

[Kekvit Irae]

To those who read the codex entries, did anyone else notice Bioware pulled a "Mass Effect 2" on us with Awakening? Some codex entries don't match up with what I did in Origins.
Regarding Isolde: "She gave her life to free Connor from demonic possession." Uhh... no, she didn't. I didn't go all the way back to the Circle Tower just so she could die.

[Krusader]

To those who read the codex entries, did anyone else notice Bioware pulled a "Mass Effect 2" on us with Awakening? Some codex entries don't match up with what I did in Origins.
Regarding Isolde: "She gave her life to free Connor from demonic possession." Uhh... no, she didn't. I didn't go all the way back to the Circle Tower just so she could die.

That was a bug in Origins too.

[Kekvit Irae]

Just when I thought I was done buying new DLC for DA:O after the craptastic Return to Ostagar, Bioware pulls out an April Fools Day DLC pack.

http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/feastday


Throughout Thedas, the great holiday of Satinalia is marked by sumptuous feasts, wild celebration, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Amid the feasting, it is customary for friends, lovers, and traveling companions to exchange gifts and pranks.

Feastday gifts and pranks offer the player a chance to explore the approval system in Dragon Age: Origins at greater depth by making your companions despise or adore you. Feastday gifts and pranks packs are available for purchase individually or as a combo pack containing both the Gifts and Pranks.

Feastday Gifts and Pranks are available for the following party members:

* Alistair
* Leliana
* Morrigan
* Shale
* Wynne

* Dog
* Loghain
* Oghren
* Sten
* Zevran

* Feastday gifts and pranks are only playable from Dragon Age: Origins game.

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/dragonage/assets/images/addon/dog_pranks.png


Not bad for only three dollars.

[Krusader]

Nice.
Although I'll wait, as the scenes from that DLC pack will surely end up on Youtube later.

[Kekvit Irae]

Nice.
Although I'll wait, as the scenes from that DLC pack will surely end up on Youtube later.

If you're a PC owner, then there's one more reason why you should wait: EA takes your money without giving you your DLC. (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/58/index/2030223/1) Apparently, this only happens if you buy it from the BioWare store and not from in-game menu.

[Krusader]

If you're a PC owner, then there's one more reason why you should wait: EA takes your money without giving you your DLC. (http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/58/index/2030223/1) Apparently, this only happens if you buy it from the BioWare store and not from in-game menu.

Bioware seems to have blunders with is fans these latest two months. First Ostagar, then Firewalker DLC, the Bazaar and now this...luckily I still have my 1200 Bioware points...although will wait and see if other peoples have problems buying the Kasumi DLC for Mass Effect 2.

[Kekvit Irae]

After FINALLY being able to download the April Fools DLC, I am now laughing my butt off at the cleverness of some of the tricks. I gave the Uncrushable Pigeon to Shale, which now resides on her shoulder. As an apology, I gave her the Pet Rock (which I named Alistair). Good times.

EDIT: Oh, and not to mention that the tricks are actually pretty useful. The Butterfly Sword (for Sten) gives a +12 Attack, +1.5 Armor Penetration, "Rainbow Power", "Attracts Butterflies", and "Low Morale"

[Kekvit Irae]

Bioware has just announced The Darkspawn Chronicles DLC. (http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/)


You now fight as the Darkspawn! The city of Denerim, jewel of Ferelden, girds itself for war. As a hurlock vanguard, you alone hold the power to make thralls of your fellow darkspawn and drive them into the heat of battle. Heed the archdemon's call--Denerim must burn!

* A look at an alternate history: what if your character had died in the Joining ceremony, and the Grey Wardens marched under Alistair's command instead?
* A standalone adventure in which you command genlocks, hurlocks, shrieks, and even the mighty ogres.
* Complete the module and unlock an epic Darkspawn item in DA:O and Awakening.


All I can say is... AWESOME!

[rajpoot]

Dragon Age Machinima. The Warden's Fall, Episode 1 -


http://www.machinima.com:80/film/view&id=49389

Can't get it to show in the post for some reason. So, I've put in the link to the page.

[Mailman653]

Where does the video fit into the DA story? Is it after the first game and before awakening, or is the the awakening story? (I never got the expansion pack).

[rajpoot]

It's after the Archdemon is slain, and before Awakening. The Wardens, far as I understood, are the Orlesian Wardens who have already died by the time Awakening begins. The bald Warden with the round shield on his back is most likely Kristoff.
There are a lot of 'maybe's because this is just the first episode. The whole story is about Kristoff and his final mission.

Edit:
If you didn't get the Awakening, then the story won't make sense I guess. But it still is a very well done video. Makes me want to start messing about with the toolset myself.

[Monk]

Bioware has just announced The Darkspawn Chronicles DLC. (http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/)




All I can say is... AWESOME!

I had hopes that it would've had a bit more depth, but at $5 I don't have a lot of room to complain. It was nice and mindless and amused me for about an hour, though I can't say I would play it again. :book:

[johnhughthom]

More DLC: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/94/index/2899778

[Monk]

More DLC: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/94/index/2899778

This is my angry face. :skull:

I guess the most logical question is why? We already know the story of Leliana's journey into the chantry, she gives quite a lot of detail when recounting it during the main game. Why devote an entire DLC to something we already know is beyond me. While we're at it, why not devote an entire DLC to Ostogar and... oh.

I like the idea of taking control of a former party member as your character, but shouldn't we be focusing more on future events rather than the past? Dragon Age 2 is likely an inevitability at this point, why not some in-between stories like the sten's journey home? Bah, i say.

[Krusader]

Question is easy to answer:

They got the story already. Only have to fill in a few gaps, expand and stretch a bit there and done. Overpriced DLC for little amount of work (although Bioware might surprise us).

[Double A]

I heard somewhere you can get a lot more money in the Dwarf Noble origin than any other one, yet even after selling almost everything but weapons, armor, and poultices, I only make 63 sliver. I think I made more money in my pansy Dalish Elf origin... what am I doing wrong? Is there some kind of hidden stash of gold if you can pick locks?

[Ironside]

I heard somewhere you can get a lot more money in the Dwarf Noble origin than any other one, yet even after selling almost everything but weapons, armor, and poultices, I only make 63 sliver. I think I made more money in my pansy Dalish Elf origin... what am I doing wrong? Is there some kind of hidden stash of gold if you can pick locks?

Haven't done it, but you're to agree to support one of the nobles for a lot of money (100 gold iirc) and then sell the "check" for less money in a store (since you only keep money at the end).

[Secura]

More DLC: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/94/index/2899778

So Corinne Kempa was telling the truth! More Leliana! <3

[Double A]

I don't even have Return to Ostagar. If I don't plan on getting now, and I'm in Ostagar for the first time, should I open up the mage's chest? I read on the wiki you can't get some kind of magic staff if you open it.

[Lemur]

More Leliana! <3
Hottest bisexual bard evar. Of course, I'm having a hard time thinking of any other bards, so I guess the competition isn't fierce.

[Meneldil]

Shame on Bioware. I played through DA:O three times in a row, bought RtO and WK and realized this once awesome company turned into a bunch of greedy bastards. So no DA:OA or any other cheap DLC either. As for ME2, I'll get it when it's on sale on Impulse or Steam.

[Double A]

Shame on Bioware. I played through DA:O three times in a row, bought RtO and WK and realized this once awesome company turned into a bunch of greedy bastards. So no DA:OA or any other cheap DLC either. As for ME2, I'll be it when it's on sale on Impulse or Steam.

Who publishes BioWare games again?

Exactly.

[Monk]

Shame on Bioware. I played through DA:O three times in a row, bought RtO and WK and realized this once awesome company turned into a bunch of greedy bastards. So no DA:OA or any other cheap DLC either. As for ME2, I'll be it when it's on sale on Impulse or Steam.

DA:OA was quite bland in my opinion, very meh. I think it was around the third or fourth major boss fight where I realized.. not a single character who i had met was likable or at all relate-able. Don't get me wrong they were quite interesting, but interesting does not transfer into likability. I didn't want to see any of those people live through the encounters we were going into, yet I was stuck with them at my side. There was one character who I found to be tolerable, and Bioware took quite the :daisy: route and killed her off. I was really disappointed. She may have been bland, but she was the only person I actually wanted to talk to. I uninstalled the game shortly after the 4th hour mark, and will likely never go back. IMHO you're not missing much.

Mass Effect 2 on the other hand, well, i detailed my thoughts on that months ago. Still play it to this day. :yes:

[Krusader]

Shame on Bioware. I played through DA:O three times in a row, bought RtO and WK and realized this once awesome company turned into a bunch of greedy bastards. So no DA:OA or any other cheap DLC either. As for ME2, I'll be it when it's on sale on Impulse or Steam.

Agreed...but you missed Mass Effect 2 (or did you?). Was 40% off on Steam on Saturday.

[Meneldil]

I'll get it for 5€ on a christmas sale. Yeah I know, I plan way in advance :D That's how I got ME1 last christmas

[Double A]

I should probably play ME1 again... I made the mistake of not being a vanguard on my first playthrough. Honestly all I need is a shotgun with unlimited ammo or charge.

I think I only was a soldier in ME1 because all of the non-soldiers either looked wussy or girly (it was like 3 years ago, ok? I was 13!)

[Meneldil]

ME1 is easy enough with any class, or so I think. I had no problem whatsoever finishing the game in hardest difficulty mode, as opposed to DA:O

[Double A]

Oh yeah, ME1's fine with any class, because you can use all the weapons even if you aren't specialized in them. ME2's easy too, because the Carnifex hand cannon kicks ass.

But I just want to be a Vanguard so I can get shockwave AND carnage.

[Mailman653]

Dragon Age 2: Confirmed? (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/110/1104630p1.html)

[TinCow]

Yes, and apparently it's a completely new storyline and will involve a new character, so no importing your old one (http://kotaku.com/5582189/dragon-age-2-is-an-all+new-game). That pretty much puts to rest any ideas that DA was going to go the epic route of Baldur's Gate.

[Mailman653]

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/


Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.

Key Features:

•Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.
•Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.
•Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
•Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.
•Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.

Seems like DA2 will be a very different game, sounds almost like Fable. I have mixed feelings about the game apprently being given a radical change.

[Vladimir]

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/



Seems like DA2 will be a very different game, sounds almost like Fable. I have mixed feelings about the game apprently being given a radical change.

I'm hopeful but will wait a bit. Hopefully the tactics will receive a touch-up. I started to really enjoy it. However, it's a pitty you couldn't adjust the formation and distance.

The time span of 10 years seems like they'll be able to add a lot of flexibility.

[rajpoot]

No importing? I'm disappointed. Very. Guess it's time to say goodbye to our Wardens now. :cry:

[TinCow]

More news (http://kotaku.com/5582435/dragon-age-ii-pulls-a-commander-shepard): the player character in DA2 will be limited in the same way as ME2. The character will be a Human named Hawke and the player will only be able to choose gender and class (Fighter, Mage, Theif). No more choices of race or name.

[Vladimir]

More news (http://kotaku.com/5582435/dragon-age-ii-pulls-a-commander-shepard): the player character in DA2 will be limited in the same way as ME2. The character will be a Human named Hawke and the player will only be able to choose gender and class (Fighter, Mage, Theif). No more choices of race or name.

:yawn:

[Krusader]

Adds Dragon Age 2 to Wait and See List.

[Meneldil]

Well, I honestly don't know what to think about all this. DAO was a completely unoriginal game, so in a way it's a good thing they're trying to do something with the franchise. But well, I'm not sure I find most of these changes interesting.

[Monk]

Yes, and apparently it's a completely new storyline and will involve a new character, so no importing your old one. That pretty much puts to rest any ideas that DA was going to go the epic route of Baldur's Gate.


No importing? I'm disappointed. Very. Guess it's time to say goodbye to our Wardens now. :cry:

Very disappointing news, i had hoped the Dragon Age series would shape up similiar to Mass Effect and be a story arc expanded over multiple games. Happy to see a sequel, but very underwhelmed by the direction. ~:(

[Vladimir]

Were people really that interested in the story? The ending was known from the beginning. There was no mystery, just a lot of running around to get to the end.

[seireikhaan]

I'm rather glad they aren't dragging out the last game's player character. It was already stale by Awakenings, never mind a whole 'nother game. Not sure how to feel about the new direction- I'll just take a wait and see approach to see how it unfolds.

[Monk]

Were people really that interested in the story? The ending was known from the beginning. There was no mystery, just a lot of running around to get to the end.

It was about the journey, not the destination.

[Beskar]

Dragon Age had an excellent story, especially all the different possible beginnings. As "know the destination", you know at the very end you was going to win, but nothing said about the whole Old God story and Morrigan running off. All these other twists and plots, etc. Dargon Age was truely a game which has been missing from the market for years.

I am unimpressed by them removing race and character choices. Though, I could have saw the sequel as being a daughter/son of Morrigan.

[rajpoot]

I read somewhere on the Bioware forums that Hawke is not the son/daughter of Morrigan after all, and is just a blight survivor and a champion of Kirkwell (or Kirkwall)...the latter title I believe will be earned in game itself, and we'll start as a nobody. BTW Kirkwall is a small little place near the sea, south of the Free Marches on your Thedas world map. :P
The only reason they're fixing the name and race, most likely, is because they're giving the character voice over this time......so maybe the game is going the Mass Effect in a sense.
The white haired woman on the cover of the mag, is either Morrigan or Morrigan's daughter.....though personally she looked more like Flemeth to me with all the wrinkles and white hair.

[TinCow]

I'm also conflicted about it. Being unable to pick your race and name seems to greatly limit the RP aspect of the game and remove any chance of the series being the successor to BG that Bioware kept harping on about. At the same time, that identical system worked pretty well in ME1/2. I have mixed feeling about ME1, but ME2 was a great ride while it lasted. That gives me hope that the choice can still result in an entertaining game. That said, the change essentially makes the DA series into the ME series, but set in the fantasy world instead of space. Do we need an identical game with swords instead of lasers? I remain unconvinced on that point.

[rajpoot]

Five Facts about Hawke by GameInformer (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/09/five-facts-about-hawke-in-dragon-age-ii.aspx)

Pay heed to number five. Wardens might not be a major part of the game at all...maybe a few appearances here and there.
And the whole Morrigan thing, even that might not be there, for all we know that white haired girl on the cover might be someone totally unrelated.

In which case, I still have hope. If the story isn't being continued from DAO, and is totally different, then perhaps our Wardens haven't been swept under the rug as yet, perhaps another expansion or some game in the future, will pick up the thread where it was left off.

Edit:
And this also makes me better disposed towards Hawke. If he isn't planning to steal the GW's limelight, then maybe his name does not sound so dumb to me after all.

[Ja'chyra]

Meh, I thought the whole game was poor, immature sex scenes and no going back to areas that you've completed killed it for me.

[Beskar]

Meh, I thought the whole game was poor, immature sex scenes and no going back to areas that you've completed killed it for me.

Immature sex scenes?

They are basically going "they had sex" without revealing anything at all, to keep the censors happy. You can easily find mods which change them, to either more graphic to remove them completely.

As for not returning to areas, there was never a need to.

[Secura]

immature sex scenes

I couldn't disagree more.

[rajpoot]

IMO ME1 handled the scenes better than both ME2 and DAO.

[Monk]

Meh, I thought the whole game was poor, immature sex scenes and no going back to areas that you've completed killed it for me.

Immature? I didn't see that. The scenes did play off as awkward thanks to the really odd character animations and models, but the way relationships were handled didn't feel immature to me. The Witcher on the other hand...

[rajpoot]

And lasses do from him hide away, for lustful the witchman is above all measure....

:clown:

[Meneldil]

Immature? I didn't see that. The scenes did play off as awkward thanks to the really odd character animations and models, but the way relationships were handled didn't feel immature to me. The Witcher on the other hand...

Immature might not be the exact word to describe them. Ridiculously unrealistic would probably fit more.

"Hey Morrigan, I got this shiny stuff for you. And this one. And this one too. And yeah, Leliana is ridiculous. Let's get laid.
(...)
(15 minutes later)
Hey Leliana, I know, I know, Morrigan is annoying as hell, I'm sorry for what I did with her. I trully am, I swear. Shall we have sex now?"

[Monk]

Immature might not be the exact word to describe them. Ridiculously unrealistic would probably fit more.

"Hey Morrigan, I got this shiny stuff for you. And this one. And this one too. And yeah, Leliana is ridiculous. Let's get laid.
(...)
(15 minutes later)
Hey Leliana, I know, I know, Morrigan is annoying as hell, I'm sorry for what I did with her. I trully am, I swear. Shall we have sex now?"

Valid point, there is an aura of "gamey" around them at times. For the most part the attempt to make it serious was there, hence my comparison to... other games. :no:



And lasses do from him hide away, for lustful the witchman is above all measure....

:eye twitch:

[rajpoot]

:eye twitch:

It's a line from the story Edge of the World (title might be wrong), in the book, The Last Wish.

[Monk]

It's a line from the story Edge of the World (title might be wrong), in the book, The Last Wish.

Never read it myself, but in conjured up... memories. :angry:

:laugh4:

[Mailman653]

In game DA2 screen shots. (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/dragon-age-2/1105779p1.html)

[rajpoot]

And new concept art. (http://greywardens.com/2010/07/new-dragon-age-2-concept-art-shots/#more-8882)

I'm thinking we need a new thread now for DA2.
And I hope the Miranda Lawson-esque chick in the first picture is a romance option.

[Krusader]

Seems like Dragon Age 2 will be like ME2:

Mass-Effectifaction of DA2 (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/07/13/the-mass-effectification-of-dragon-age-2/)
Followup article, explaining DA:O was Bioware's most-selling game (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/07/13/dragon-age-biowares-smashiest-hit-ever/)

I actually prefer the DA dialogue system (although including some stuff from ME2 wouldn't be bad). In ME2 you quickly knew what each option would bring (top of wheel = Paragon, middle = neutral, bottom = Renegade). Im wondering if they will use same inventory and leveling system too!

*Adds DA2 to the "Wait and See" list*

[Beskar]

Mass Effect style leveling and Conversation system wouldn't be too bad. However, I really dislike most of the baby-ing of Mass Effect 2 compared to Mass Effect 1. Especially those "thermal clips" which were bugged and removed a lot from the game.

[rajpoot]

Four companions revealed! (http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamestar.de%2Fspecials%2Fspiele%2F2316313%2Fdragon_age_2.html&sl=auto&tl=en)
The companions are at the very end of the article, on page 2. Aside from that nothing new. I used google translate, but it's kind of confusing. If someone who knows German can do it, that'll be great.

Companions (as translated)-

Bethany: Hawkes sister is a magician and supports her brother in the battle with fire spells.
Cassandra :The Inquisitor has a burning interest in the hero did Hawkes.
Varric: The dwarf Hawke has accompanied on his travels and is the storyteller in Dragon Age 2nd
Flemeth: The mighty shapeshifts and mother of Morrigan from Dragon Age: Origins is also in Dragon Age 2 again with the party.


I'll wager Cassandra is the girl from the concept art.

[Monk]

Flemeth: The mighty shapeshifts and mother of Morrigan from Dragon Age: Origins is also in Dragon Age 2 again with the party.

I knew it. I had a feeling the old bat would surface sooner or later, despite what happened in DA:O.

[Vladimir]

I knew it. I had a feeling the old bat would surface sooner or later, despite what happened in DA:O.

So that's it? That's the tie-in?

[Monk]

So that's it? That's the tie-in?

:shrug:

Might be a minor tie-in, or she may play a role a la Kreia from kotor 2. Who knows at this point? From the look of the screens it seems to be in a very early stage, i wouldn't be surprised if in a few months DA2 goes underground and we don't hear much for a while.

[rajpoot]

Flemeth, is far too important to be killed off in the inglorious way it was done in DAO. For one she seems to be the only person to whom everything makes sense, and considering game lore, she's also the second oldest NPC in (the oldest I think is the Guardian in the temple).
Infact I have a hunch that she might turn out to be the person who's narrating the story of DA2.

Edit:
The Google translation is faulty. Flemeth will be present, but not as a party member.

[rajpoot]

Screenshots from GI article. (http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/new-dragon-age-ii-pics/1096773) (Link to Game Trailers forum)

Flemeth the Dragon. That's a Darkspawn in her paw.
832

[Beskar]

So I am guessing that Morrigan getting pregnant isn't the official story then.

[Vladimir]

So I am guessing that Morrigan getting pregnant isn't the official story then.

Which would be a much more interesting story: The rise of the old gods. This "Hawke" story sounds so adolescent.

[johnhughthom]

So we're going to have a party member that can turn into a dragon? :no:

Whatever happened to that game Bioware told us about 5 years or so ago, where all the magic would be "low magic", most people would never have seen a spell/wizard/magic artifact and a simple fireball would be a top level spell... :sad:

[rajpoot]

No no....Flemeth's not a party member. Someone at the wikia translated the line from the GI article and it roughly translates as "Flemeth will also be present." and not what I originally posted using Google Translator.
There's more info at the wikia (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Commdor/Dragon_Age_II_GI_cover_story), with main points from the article. Apparently the world is on the brink of a war, and a seeker of the Chantry sits down to listen to Hawke's story (with Varric the dwarf being the narrator...not Flemeth as I had guessed...) with hopes that she might be able to use what she learns from it to prevent the war.

Basically the game will start at Lothering during the blight and end 10 years later when Hawke becomes the champion of Kirkwall.

[Vladimir]

Basically the game will start at Lothering during the blight and end 10 years later when Hawke becomes the champion of Kirkwall.

Again, boring. It sounds so wonderfully mystic to refer to life as not a destination, but a journey. However when the end is known, what is the point of the journey?

If it is a journey than the destination should take form as you travel to it, not be a walk to a set place and time.

[Monk]

Again, boring. It sounds so wonderfully mystic to refer to life as not a destination, but a journey. However when the end is known, what is the point of the journey?

If it is a journey than the destination should take form as you travel to it, not be a walk to a set place and time.

The point is in the experience. The exploration of how instead of why. If you find that boring then to each their own.

[tibilicus]

Just purchased Dragon Age today after pondering the purchase for some time. I decided to get it based on Bioware's superb job with the Mass Effect games and, after seeing this thread reach 20 odd pages, assumed all the talk must be based on something.

I was pretty surprised the find out it was actually a real RPG, not a combat orientated shooter with RPG elements like ME and ME2. That actually made me quite pleased in many ways however. Seeming there seems to be a heap of DLC for it and apparently the initial game itself is massive, I guess I wont be up to speed with the conversation in this thread for some months yet.

[Meneldil]

Honestly, you shouldn't get the DLC's. They are trully of bad quality. Even for 7$/€, it's not worth it. Most are only 30 minutes long (the first, then it gets down to 15-20 minutes if you replay them). The Stone Prisonner is the only good one, because Shale is a wonderful character.

[tibilicus]

Is Awakening worth the money?

Also, sounding completely like a fool here, how do I bring the tactics menu up (Xbox 360). I genuinely can't find it anywhere..

[Monk]

Is Awakening worth the money?.

IMO: No, Awakening is not worth it. It's just a dull affair. It doesn't expand the gameplay, fix any of the annoyances from the first game and is very bare bones when it comes to characters. It feels like a step backward imo.


Honestly, you shouldn't get the DLC's. They are trully of bad quality. Even for 7$/€, it's not worth it. Most are only 30 minutes long (the first, then it gets down to 15-20 minutes if you replay them). The Stone Prisonner is the only good one, because Shale is a wonderful character.

Agreed. Other than Stone Prisoner the others never felt like much beyond a very short side-show. I liked Warden's Keep but it sorta just ends, never to be mentioned again.

[johnhughthom]

IMO: No, Awakening is not worth it. It's just a dull affair. It doesn't expand the gameplay, fix any of the annoyances from the first game and is very bare bones when it comes to characters. It feels like a step backward imo.

Bored the life out of me, didn't get around to completing it, probably never will. Playing it felt more like a chore than a game.

[rajpoot]

I was pretty surprised the find out it was actually a real RPG, not a combat orientated shooter with RPG elements like ME and ME2.

Savour this one. DA2 is going to be ME2 style.

Edit:
Awakening's story and characters might've been duller than Origins, and I specially disliked the limited dialogue which could be triggered only at pre-decided times, but in some ways Awakening was a step forward. The over all choices-consequences deal was more complex. There were more than a few quests which interdependent and how you finished one affect the other. Also the result of the many of the choices was apparent by the end game itself, unlike Origins where it was all in the epilogue.

[tibilicus]

Savour this one. DA2 is going to be ME2 style.



At this point I'm thinking that might be a good thing. I feel like I'm doing something wrong in combat as I'm getting my behind handed to me constantly. I just got repeatedly annihilated by an Ogre in the fade. A rage quit did in fact follow.

[Monk]

DAO is a bit notorious for sudden, out of nowhere difficulty spikes. Playing on anything above Normal without using the Tactics menu is almost impossible imho.

[tibilicus]

I still don't really know how the tactics menu works so at the minute I'm saving often. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I open a door and it turns out there's a ridiculously hard NPC or mob behind the door. Also, I'm currently playing a human warrior but from playing as Morrigan and Wynne it feels like the mage is the easiest of the classes to play, is this generally the case? Their combination of healing and hold powers means you can stay out of the fight and just spam the heal spell, or so it seems.

[johnhughthom]

It's pretty much accepted that mages are overpowered, especially if you have two (or even three). My last playthrough I didn't use mages at all and enjoyed it more than my other playthroughs, though Genlock Emissarries were a nightmare without magic.

[seireikhaan]

It's pretty much accepted that mages are overpowered, especially if you have two (or even three). My last playthrough I didn't use mages at all and enjoyed it more than my other playthroughs, though Genlock Emissarries were a nightmare without magic.
Ah, yeah, I can see that. Templars aren't even much help either until you get holy smite, and even then, you pretty much need two templars to totally neutralize them. Arrow of slaying works very well too, but again, that's a high level skill. Plus, to get it, you either need to make a dex-based warrior, which can be problematic, or you can use a rogue, but then you're leaving many good rogue skills by the wayside. :shrug:

And yes, mages are really strong. Unless you make them a shapeshifter and spend your time in wolf form. Its a bit of an issue that the best way to counter mages is with your own.

[seireikhaan]

In unrelated news, patch 1.04 was released (http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14383-dragon-age-104-patch-released/). Apparently most of its bug fixes.

[rajpoot]

I still don't really know how the tactics menu works so at the minute I'm saving often.

I don't have a Xbox so I don't know how much this helps you, but, here's a tactics guide (http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Gameplay-Strategy-and-Tactics-Spoilers-Allowed/Unofficial-Dragon-age-tactics-guide-231735-1.html) on the Bioware forums.

If you need help just opening the menu, then -

Your tactics are in the character status menu. Hit select and go to the page where you level up your character, when they get a level up. From there press triangle to access your tactics screen.




Interactive Map of Thedas (http://gameinformer.com/p/da2map.aspx) (With places marked which are expected to be in Dragon Age 2.
Good news is they have Par Vollen and Minrauthous both marked in there, along with a bunch of other places. So we might get learn a bit more about the Qunari and actually check out the capital of Tevinter Imperium.
Bad news is that they don't have the Anderfels or Antiva marked.

[Meneldil]

It's pretty much accepted that mages are overpowered, especially if you have two (or even three). My last playthrough I didn't use mages at all and enjoyed it more than my other playthroughs, though Genlock Emissarries were a nightmare without magic.


Heh, oddly, the most overpowered mages are the ones who rarely cast spells. The Arcane Warrior is incredibely badass. I never took the time to really focuse on mine, but I've seen videos of an Arcane Mage soloing pretty much every end game boss on nightmare. Without losing much health everytime.

It goes to show just how poorly the game is balanced. I know it's not a multiplayer game, but it sometimes look like the game wasn't even tested before going gold.

[tibilicus]

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3180562

New preview. So it's basically confirmed now that DA2 will be ME in a fantasy setting. As much as I love the Mass Effect series, I'm struggling to see what was so bad about the combat of DA:O. I also don't understand why Bioware wants to throw away the more tactical approach to combat, surely the answer lies some where in the middle? I think the ME2 combat system worked well due to the fact it was essentially a third person shooter with RPG elements. I think exporting that system to the Dragon Age universe, one which is focused much more on close quarters combat will be a much harder task. If the series moves towards the tactical style of ME I also think that might not be such a good thing. Even on Insanity difficulty in ME2, you rarely had to issue orders telling your squad mates where to go. At most, you would click and tell them to take cover and that was it.

[Monk]

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3180562

New preview. So it's basically confirmed now that DA2 will be ME in a fantasy setting. As much as I love the Mass Effect series, I'm struggling to see what was so bad about the combat of DA:O. I also don't understand why Bioware wants to throw away the more tactical approach to combat, surely the answer lies some where in the middle? I think the ME2 combat system worked well due to the fact it was essentially a third person shooter with RPG elements. I think exporting that system to the Dragon Age universe, one which is focused much more on close quarters combat will be a much harder task. If the series moves towards the tactical style of ME I also think that might not be such a good thing. Even on Insanity difficulty in ME2, you rarely had to issue orders telling your squad mates where to go. At most, you would click and tell them to take cover and that was it.

Even though your heart is breaking - laugh Monk, laugh.. ~:(

It's like Bioware is trying everything they can to make me not want DA2. I'm a well documented raging fanboy when it comes to the ME series, but that is not what Dragon Age needed... at all. This news of DA2 becoming a "hack and slash" game, forgoing it's tactical routes is about as disappointing as finding out the new X-com game is a FPS. Seriously, what is the point of turning this franchise into Mass Effect with swords?

Did both games not have their place in the current generation? Must we really marginalize the state of gaming further with this homogenization? Is variety not the spice of life? According to Bioware: No, yes and no.

[rajpoot]

Another GI preview. (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/23/dragon-age-ii-a-look-at-the-art.aspx?PostPageIndex=1)

The updated look for DA2 -
Before, I think Origins was kind of like Death Dealer meets The Hobbit. It was half really “raah, scary” and half really whimsical. We wanted to take it into more of a desolate feel and kind of strip it down to a hot-rod Samurai look. Not only visually, but in terms of the actual storytelling motifs that appear in those movies. The cautionary tale was really appropriate for DA2.

They are simplifying the game, just as they simplified ME2. As always probably to make it 'accessible' to more types of gamers. I mean I'm sure more shooter fans bought ME2 than ME. This kind of sucks, but since ME2 was fun to play and very engaging despite having no inventory and just one type of armour, I'm sure that DA2, despite not being what we might have wanted it to be, would still be a great game.

[tibilicus]

Another GI preview. (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/23/dragon-age-ii-a-look-at-the-art.aspx?PostPageIndex=1)

The updated look for DA2 -
Before, I think Origins was kind of like Death Dealer meets The Hobbit. It was half really “raah, scary” and half really whimsical. We wanted to take it into more of a desolate feel and kind of strip it down to a hot-rod Samurai look. Not only visually, but in terms of the actual storytelling motifs that appear in those movies. The cautionary tale was really appropriate for DA2.

They are simplifying the game, just as they simplified ME2. As always probably to make it 'accessible' to more types of gamers. I mean I'm sure more shooter fans bought ME2 than ME. This kind of sucks, but since ME2 was fun to play and very engaging despite having no inventory and just one type of armour, I'm sure that DA2, despite not being what we might have wanted it to be, would still be a great game.

No doubt it will be great, Bioware have a knack for making quality games. What disappoints me though is that the sequel seems to be loosing its RPG elements by the day. Instead of making a character we can define and sculpt as our own (RPG), we are instead merely deciding the story of Hawke (character driven game). People may disagree but to me that isn't really an RPG. That's just you, the player, deciding the story of a character. The character sculpted isn't really your own kind of like Shepard. You made Shepard's decisions but in the end it was the difference between X and Y, the good or the bad Shepard. Dragon Age seems to have more than this shade of good and bad and more than the X and Y decision. Because of this, in some ways, decisions immerse you more. Mass Effect relied mostly on visuals and amazing cinematic sequences to hit home its decision and role play process, nothing wrong with that as it worked great. But Dragon Age has an equally good decision making process, one which relies less on cinematic and one which in many ways, makes you think a lot more.

I guess I was just hoping the Dragon Age team would try for the second game to refine the formula and produce a true RPG, but one which works better than Dragon Age. Not just take the mechanics from there other games and paste them over Dragon Age 2. Point being that my Dragon Age character feels more like a character influenced by my decisions, Shepard on the other hand does not. I kind of like that attachment in games and have doubts over I can feel an attachment to Hawke like I do my Dragon Age character.

[rajpoot]

No doubt it will be great, Bioware have a knack for making quality games. What disappoints me ...... my Dragon Age character.

I know what you mean....it's kind of bitter sweet...but it's a simplification that's taking place everywhere....in almost every genre. It's a sales thing I guess.

[johnhughthom]

I know what you mean....it's kind of bitter sweet...but it's a simplification that's taking place everywhere....in almost every genre. It's a sales thing I guess.

The killer is that DA:O sold better than ME2, so they simplify DA 2 to make it more Mass Effecty. Umm... wha??

[Monk]

The killer is that DA:O sold better than ME2, so they simplify DA 2 to make it more Mass Effecty. Umm... wha??

If it isn't a sales thing then it becomes vision related. You can already tell something happened in the time between Origins and now that changed the team's priorities in the game they want to make, the story they want to tell. Maybe that thing was as simple as seeing Mass Effect 2, and the phrase "How cool would it be to make a game like that?" was uttered at a business meeting. This of course suffers one problem: not everyone who likes Dragon age liked Mass Effect (and vice versa). :no:

I liked both of them, but even still the sudden change of everything I liked about Origins is a hard pill to swallow. That art style (as featured in the gameinformer link) is especially hideous for Darkspawn, they look completely comical.

[seireikhaan]

I liked both of them, but even still the sudden change of everything I liked about Origins is a hard pill to swallow. That art style (as featured in the gameinformer link) is especially hideous for Darkspawn, they look completely comical.
Same for me. I don't feel quite like judging the game itself yet, since its a ways off and I'm not entirely sure how the pc version will play out. But the art.... bleh. The original DA had excellent art, even if it wasn't the most graphically spectacular game ever. This looks, well, like a comic book.

[rajpoot]

Early gameplay video at GI. (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/26/dragon-age-ii-an-epic-in-progress.aspx)

Taking a lot of time to load for me....

[Double A]

It's pretty much accepted that mages are overpowered, especially if you have two (or even three). My last playthrough I didn't use mages at all and enjoyed it more than my other playthroughs, though Genlock Emissarries were a nightmare without magic.

Dude.

Crippling Shot + Hurl.

[johnhughthom]

Dude.

Crippling Shot + Hurl.


You want me to vomit on them?

[tibilicus]

Rumour going round the Bioware social from those who saw an early version of the game at Comic-Con seems to bring the words Ninja Gaiden and "Dynasty Warriors in RPG format" up in many threads. Now make of this what you will but it seems Bioware may be moving into the area of over the top fantasy combat, make of that what you will.

More interestingly, apparently new DLC based on the Deep Roads is in the works and one of the Bioware staffers at Comic-Con stated that Bioware would like to continue DLC for Origins, even after Dragon Age 2 is out. Whilst of course none of this is concrete, it's generating a lot of discussion and suggests to me at at least that the role of origins, as opposed to what Mass Effect was to Mass Effect 2, will have less impact on Dragon Age 2 and the world of Dragon Age II itself. Perhaps it's Bioware's aim to make the Dragon Age series a more tighter narrative, one which has a much more concrete story and more "canonicity". If this is the case, it will probably dramatically alter the way the series plays out.

EDIT:

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/28/a-look-at-the-qunari-evolved.aspx

All I can say is, are the Dragon Age team beginning to lose their minds? I've never had any reason to lose faith in Bioware before but I just have to ask why? Sure, the Qunari, or Sten at least looked too humanoid, but why did they have to be re-branded as some semi-daemons. This and the new art style fuels my worries that Dragon Age 2 will be some Comic style mess. I hope Bioware convince me otherwise.

Apparently they're also changing the way Elves and Dwarves look. I don't understand why they can't just fix Origins' flaws and build on what they already have. It sounds like DA II is going to cause a major continuity crisis for a lot of people.

[Beskar]

That tactics menu is really easy. Even if you are sure what to do, all you do is like "Alistair -> Defender -> Aggressive", "Morrigan -> Damage -> Ranged", etc.

Not sure why so many people had problems with it.

[Monk]

EDIT:

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/28/a-look-at-the-qunari-evolved.aspx

All I can say is, are the Dragon Age team beginning to lose their minds? I've never had any reason to lose faith in Bioware before but I just have to ask why? Sure, the Qunari, or Sten at least looked too humanoid, but why did they have to be re-branded as some semi-daemons. This and the new art style fuels my worries that Dragon Age 2 will be some Comic style mess. I hope Bioware convince me otherwise.

Apparently they're also changing the way Elves and Dwarves look. I don't understand why they can't just fix Origins' flaws and build on what they already have. It sounds like DA II is going to cause a major continuity crisis for a lot of people.

And thus the Dragon Age team ruins the original game. Taken from your link -


The change in qunari appearances have practical roots as well. “Art wanted to create more space between the races so we changed the way the qunari looked,” says senior artist Matt Goldman. “We have also changed the way elves and dwarves look for that matter, but qunari seem the most dramatic because you only ever saw Sten in Dragon Age: Origins.”

This is not how you tell a story or establish a setting, Bioware. You cannot - CAN NOT - change things so radically without completely destroying the setting's sense of identity. It kills continuity, confuses fans and serves to disconnect the player from the experience. It's not an excuse to completely redesign the people of your universe because "Our artists were bored". I'm glad you have original IPs now, but good god you have to have respect for them. Changing things so broadly demonstrates lack of respect for the IP you've created, and if you don't care then why should I?

edit: Also the above is not true. We saw more Qunari than simply Sten, the problem was the DA team was lazy and used Sten's model for all the Qunari we encountered, this painted the picture of a race who had a very established appearance even if it was not the desired intent.

[seireikhaan]

And thus the Dragon Age team ruins the original game. Taken from your link -



This is not how you tell a story or establish a setting, Bioware. You cannot - CAN NOT - change things so radically without completely destroying the setting's sense of identity. It kills continuity, confuses fans and serves to disconnect the player from the experience. It's not an excuse to completely redesign the people of your universe because "Our artists were bored". I'm glad you have original IPs now, but good god you have to have respect for them. Changing things so broadly demonstrates lack of respect for the IP you've created, and if you don't care then why should I?

edit: Also the above is not true. We saw more Qunari than simply Sten, the problem was the DA team was lazy and used Sten's model for all the Qunari we encountered, this painted the picture of a race who had a very established appearance even if it was not the desired intent.
I disagree. It does not affect my view of the original game. That's like saying that Star wars ep. 1 through 3 ruined 4 through 6. Bioware's pulling a Lucas on us, sadly. DA 2 is heading rapidly from the "wait and see" category where I might have bought it fairly early if I heard good news to the "hope one of my roommates gets it to see how the game is" category. Otherwise I'm hands off.

[Monk]

I disagree. It does not affect my view of the original game. That's like saying that Star wars ep. 1 through 3 ruined 4 through 6. Bioware's pulling a Lucas on us, sadly. DA 2 is heading rapidly from the "wait and see" category where I might have bought it fairly early if I heard good news to the "hope one of my roommates gets it to see how the game is" category. Otherwise I'm hands off.

We're not gonna see eye to eye on this, i fear! I understand the concept of denying continuity, in the same way Highlander 2 never happened I can claim the same for DA2. But I'm of the opinion that doing this to the IP devalues the source material and the overall universe Bioware had sought to create. While the fun of the original will be intact, what made it special will not be.

However, I will fully agree that this is fast becoming a game I want no part of.

[rajpoot]

DLC about the deep roads confirmed.
Golems of Amgarrak (http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/).

And yay! The Warden is returning once more!!

Trailer for DLC on MMORPG.com (http://www.mmorpg.com/showVideo.cfm/videoId/1800)

Edit :
While the redesigned Qunari seem...well...weird.....But it will now kind of make sense why Ogres have horns while other Darkspawn do not.

As far as breaking the continuity is concerned I don't think it'll matter much because I sincerely doubt that there will be any major continuity at all....Aside from the major decisions like who's the king/queen, I doubt that anything else will have much effect.

[Vladimir]

"some are born without horns"

I wonder how many of their women die during childbirth.

[tibilicus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OruQuvu-HVI

A video interview with some of the devs. Nothing new really, just summarises much of what has been posted here.

[rajpoot]

DA 2 Podcast (http://dragonage.bioware.com/cdn/L/DA2/assets/podcasts/podcast-01.mp3)

New facts -


Decisions made in DA:O will show up in future iterations of the DA universe.
Cassandra is an Inquisitor in the employ of the Chantry.
Cassandra is interrogating Varric the Dwarf on the actions of Hawke over the last 10 years to better understand how the world came to be on the brink of war.


So actually it wasn't a seeker, but an inquisitor who's listening to Hawke's story....whatever that means.

[rajpoot]

Second Podcast. (http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/dragonage2/assets/podcasts/podcast-02.mp3) And some concept art for the four races.

Concept Art -
867

Listening to the podcast kind of makes me sad. The chap goes on and on about how great all the different races are going to look, and the only thing I can think of is that they've limited the player's race to human.
Edit:
The Qunari lady looks nice. Lot nicer than Sten's banter in DAO made it sound.

[Double A]

Rumour going round the Bioware social from those who saw an early version of the game at Comic-Con seems to bring the words Ninja Gaiden and "Dynasty Warriors in RPG format" up in many threads. Now make of this what you will but it seems Bioware may be moving into the area of over the top fantasy combat, make of that what you will.

More interestingly, apparently new DLC based on the Deep Roads is in the works and one of the Bioware staffers at Comic-Con stated that Bioware would like to continue DLC for Origins, even after Dragon Age 2 is out. Whilst of course none of this is concrete, it's generating a lot of discussion and suggests to me at at least that the role of origins, as opposed to what Mass Effect was to Mass Effect 2, will have less impact on Dragon Age 2 and the world of Dragon Age II itself. Perhaps it's Bioware's aim to make the Dragon Age series a more tighter narrative, one which has a much more concrete story and more "canonicity". If this is the case, it will probably dramatically alter the way the series plays out.

EDIT:

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/28/a-look-at-the-qunari-evolved.aspx

All I can say is, are the Dragon Age team beginning to lose their minds? I've never had any reason to lose faith in Bioware before but I just have to ask why? Sure, the Qunari, or Sten at least looked too humanoid, but why did they have to be re-branded as some semi-daemons. This and the new art style fuels my worries that Dragon Age 2 will be some Comic style mess. I hope Bioware convince me otherwise.

Apparently they're also changing the way Elves and Dwarves look. I don't understand why they can't just fix Origins' flaws and build on what they already have. It sounds like DA II is going to cause a major continuity crisis for a lot of people.

"You only saw Sten in Dragon Age"

What about those Qunari mercs? I've seen like 20 of them. NONE of them have horns. Also, the Qunari helms probably couldn't fit someone with horns.

And is that Qunari doing magic or something in the last pic? I'm pretty sure Sten said they lock up their mages...

This is like if they gave the Elcor wings.

[rajpoot]

The way he's holding it, it looks more like a skull than anything else. In which case he's most likely doing Hamlet and not magic :clown:

[Mailman653]

DA 2 release date announced (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/dragon-age-2/1113444p1.html)

[rajpoot]

Trailer. (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid541261008001?bctid=586540293001)

So I hate the new Qunari, but it seems I'll love the game. And Hawke has some cool powers. Seems like he'll be a match for the Warden after all.

[Beskar]

Trailer. (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid541261008001?bctid=586540293001)

So I hate the new Qunari, but it seems I'll love the game. And Hawke has some cool powers. Seems like he'll be a match for the Warden after all.

I think Hawke is probably possessed by a dragon or something. He is definitely using blood-style magic though.

I find it weird.. they are calling it a sequel, but it seems completely different to the original. It is like saying Final Fantasy 13 is Mass Effect 1's sequel. Makes you go "huh?"

[rajpoot]

I think Hawke is probably possessed by a dragon or something. He is definitely using blood-style magic though.

I find it weird.. they are calling it a sequel, but it seems completely different to the original. It is like saying Final Fantasy 13 is Mass Effect 1's sequel. Makes you go "huh?"

Anything is possible. And far as the sequel thing is concerned, I'll wager that it won't seem so much of a sequel considering the new art style and everything. We might see familiar faces, but I doubt we'll even recognize them....I mean we've already seen the concept art for Flemeth....she looks nothing like Flemeth.
And they've definitely changed the Qunari a lot. This one is infact roaring and snorting like an ogre insted of shouting like a man.
But the awesome thing is that at the end of the trailer, where you see Hawke walking with the logo in the background, those are most certainly in-game graphics, and they look great....(though Hawke walks a little....funny...almost as though he's over doing it).

All said, I liked the Sacred Ashes trailer a lot better.

Edit:
Maybe this Hawke is a mage-warrior of sorts? At 1:01 there's a move which was featured in the concept art as the finishing move for a mage Hawke.
At 1:29 you can see Flemeth.

[rajpoot]

Article on 1UP. (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3180929)

Flemeth seems to have her hands in every pie.

[Vladimir]

~inappropriate pie pun removed~

[Gregoshi]

Ahem, Gentlemen...can we dial back the testosterone level just a tad? What you do with your pixels is more a private matter than worthy of a forum discussion. Thank you.

Let's see how my froggy impression is... :stooge_larry: No, I can't do it, but just picture it in your mind. :yes:

Edit: Thank you Vlad. :bow:

[rajpoot]

I missed a pun?

Anyway...another article (http://pc.ign.com/articles/111/1113408p1.html) on IGN.
Be warned, this one has some spoilers about the characters and the story in it.

[Beskar]

I am looking forward to DA2.

Though I wonder though, how moddable will it be? DA1 was very moddable, but ME2 is no where near the same moddability.

[johnhughthom]

I'm going to stop reading about DA2. If I read any more I'll just decide not to buy it. It's Deus Ex 2 all over again...

[Meneldil]

Game doesn't work very well for console gamers, so they just dumb down the series. As simple as that.

Good gods thanks for not porting Starcraft or Diablo to console Blizzard.

[Double A]

I'm going to stop reading about DA2. If I read any more I'll just decide not to buy it. It's Deus Ex 2 all over again...

Hi old person.

...

Anyway, I still don't get the Qunari change. Sure, they say Sten is weird. I guess all the weird Qunari come to Ferelden, because I've seen at leat half a dozen Qunari mercenaries with no helmets or horns. The helmets indicate that someone with horns would be pretty damn uncomforatable as well.

Oh, and you'd also think that, I dunno, maybe someone would mention something like :daisy:ing horns.

The only way I can see this all working is if everyone from DAO is dead and the game is set at least 100 years in the future. Yeah, then I can see Flemeth like that and maybe even the Qunari like that. If the game is good.

[johnhughthom]

Game doesn't work very well for console gamers, so they just dumb down the series. As simple as that.

That's the thing though, it worked perfectly well on console, I played on PS3 before PC and it was fine.

[rajpoot]

One of the members at the wiki, Ausir (who is also the founder of the Vault wiki and the Witcher wiki) interviewed Fernando Melo, the online producer for Dragon Age. He's asked a couple of questions that were posed by the wiki community.
Here's a link (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Ausir/Gamescom_2010:_Interview_with_Fernando_Melo) to the blog where he's posted the interview. It clarifies several things, but no new info really.

Oh yes, one good thing that it reassures the players of is, that still more Origins DLC is on the way and it'll allow players to wrap up their stories. Atleast that's what I hope he meant.


Are there any plans for more DLC for Origins before Dragon Age 2?
Yes, we’re not finished with Dragon Age:Origins, there is more content coming, we’re going to have some more details very soon, actually. And then we’ll talk more about it when we get there.

Will it bridge Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2?'
Not so much a bridging, I think it’s going to be more of an opportunity for people to close off some points that were left open in Origins, it will be an opportunity for them to kind of go back and revisit some places and find some characters they might want to have a final encounter with. We’re going to talk a bit more about it when we actually announce it, but I think people are going to be happy with this.

[Mailman653]

New DLC: Witch Hunt (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/dragon-age/1115896p1.html)

[tibilicus]

That announcement makes me happy and sad. I'm happy because we get to go into the Morrigan story one more time but it makes me sad that such an announcement seems to suggest they want to tie up the Origins tale for good, including most of the characters from Origins.

Personally I would have liked there to be room for more Origins characters in the future but this doesn't seem to to be the direction Bioware wants to go in. Some things are also best left a mystery in my opinion; Morrigans story was one of those things. I think not knowing the fate of Morrigan added food for thought and added a welcomed unpredictability to the series. It would have also meant that there was a chance of the Origins story/events carrying right through the trilogy, I doubt this will be the case now.

[Monk]

That announcement makes me happy and sad. I'm happy because we get to go into the Morrigan story one more time but it makes me sad that such an announcement seems to suggest they want to tie up the Origins tale for good, including most of the characters from Origins.

Personally I would have liked there to be room for more Origins characters in the future but this doesn't seem to to be the direction Bioware wants to go in. Some things are also best left a mystery in my opinion; Morrigans story was one of those things. I think not knowing the fate of Morrigan added food for thought and added a welcomed unpredictability to the series. It would have also meant that there was a chance of the Origins story/events carrying right through the trilogy, I doubt this will be the case now.

Tying up the Morrigan plot thread was always on the agenda, but I sorta hoped we'd get a full game dedicated to it, instead of a DLC pack (however long it turns out to be). I'm actually glad Bioware is making new stories again (instead of the retreads we've gotten before) but... I kinda find myself hoping this is the last DLC for DAO. Not that I hate the game, but because this is getting ridiculous. Every time I put the game away and uninstall it, more DLC is announced.

If this keeps up i'm gonna end up in the same way I did with Fallout 3, complete franchise exhaustion.

[rajpoot]

This...is.....awesome!

Atleast that's what I hope. It's bittersweet. The $7 price tag scares me since this might not turn out to be the grand ending I'd been hoping for (actually there's no 'might'....for $7...this certainly won't be the grand ending I'd been hoping for). Still. Bioware is giving us an ending and that's what counts. It'll be nice to start DA2 without wondering where next will be see our Warden or Morrigan. For now...I'm hoping that they make this even better than Leliana's song. I mean Golem's of Amgarrak...'twas...disappointing.

And from the screenshots, it like we're getting our faithful old Mabari back. Yay! :beam:

[Beskar]

I think it will explain why Flemeth returns as a white-hair buxom twenties sorcess porn-star in DA2.

Interesting view of the trailer, with some 'hints' pointed out - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gt-pop-block-dragon-age-2/703595

Also, Dragon Age 2 comes out on my birthday. Is it fate?

[Beskar]

Right, I found out why Sten doesn't look like a demon and the one in the video does.

During the qun-ari war, the qun-ari took large amounts of the Thedan, integrating humans into their culture. Either using them as slaves and servants, or enlightening them to the Qun, and thus they were religiously converted. While all of Thedan eventually kicked the Qun'ari out, there were many left behind which over the generations have been following the qun, plus that island off the coast is full of Qun believing humans.

Sten is simply a human who has embraced the Qun.

[rajpoot]

Right, I found out why Sten doesn't look like a demon and the one in the video does.

During the qun-ari war, the qun-ari took large amounts of the Thedan, integrating humans into their culture. Either using them as slaves and servants, or enlightening them to the Qun, and thus they were religiously converted. While all of Thedan eventually kicked the Qun'ari out, there were many left behind which over the generations have been following the qun, plus that island off the coast is full of Qun believing humans.

Sten is simply a human who has embraced the Qun.

That's a more plausible explanation than some just having horns by chance.
So Sten is a hybrid....

[Beskar]

He might be purely human, just tall. People from the different areas have some sort of 'racial traits', so he could simply come from a darker skinned tall human place which was conquered and converted to the Qun.

Here is the source of this information (http://greywardens.com/lore/the-arrival-of-the-qunari/)

copy and paste of the more relevant bits:

To others they are heathens, worshippers of a strange religion that seek to spread it to “lesser” races by force.

It was a dark time for Thedas, with the nations of mankind being forced to once again unite against a common enemy… this one intending not to destroy, as the darkspawn did, but rather to conquer a land they saw as in dire need of enlightenment. The qunari proved themselves to be the most frightening sort of opponent of all: religious zealots.

They divided children from their families and sent adults to ‘learning camps’ for indoctrination in their religious philosophies.

For every tale of suffering recorded, there was another that tells of enlightenment from something called the ‘qun’. This is either a philosophical code or a written text, perhaps both, and some claim it may even be akin to the qunari god. Unlike the Chant of Light it governs all aspects of qunari life, both secular and spiritual, and the qunari are devoted to following its tenets strictly and without question.

one Seheran who converted reported pity for those who had not, as if the conquerors’ religion led to a sort of self-discovery. ‘For all my life I followed the Maker wherever his path may lead me,’ he writes, ‘but in the faith of the qun I have found the means to travel my own path. If only all my people could understand what it is the qunari offer us.’

Dealing with those of the local populace which had converted to the qunari religion proved difficult, especially as some of these had lived under the qun now for generations

Rivain was the only human land that embraced the qunari religion after being freed [Rivain is the sea-faring nation present in Dragon Age 2]

[rajpoot]

Witch Hunt Trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-dragon-age/703831?type=flv); Seems like Morrigan is playing the antagonist this time.

Edit:
The Origins mabari has been confirmed as the final companion.
Link (http://dragonage.bioware.com/dao/witch_hunt/)

[Beskar]

Witch Hunt is a waste of money and a waste of time.

All it is, is references to DA2 with odd chatter about Kirkwall, and that concept art monster. The scene with Morrigan was a very short chat dialogue which unless you romanced her and had the special baby, all you get is basically "flemeth is a threat, bye". No answers to anything, and a lot of more questions.

[Vladimir]

Well that's a shame. I wonder if their new (i.e. new to me) gameplay and marketing strategy is paying off.