Dragon Age 2 official announcement

[Gunnlaugr ormstunga]

So, after a few months of rumouring and Bioware accidentally publishing erroneous release dates, the sequel has just been announced with predictably little in the way of solid info. http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/

I thoroughly enjoyed the original game, even if I still don't think Bioware are quite hitting their previous highs. Glad to see that the story seems to be moving away from DA:O's more traditional ancient mystical order vs. ancient diabolical evil and towards a more character-focussed experience.

So, what would y'all like to see for the sequel?

[Galactus]

That was remarkably empty statements. I mean, really, they MEAN nothing

[Tobin]

Looks suspiciously Alistair/Anders-less, but I would still probably really enjoy it.

I've played DA:O from start to finish 5 times now - and it still amazes me how the game is different each time.

Awakening really disappointed me with the lack of real party/npc interaction - a few cutscenes and that was it, nothing like Origins where you felt you could truly get to know your companions. I really hope they fixed that this time.

I would like to see more customization options - like armor dyes, uploadable/customizable tattoos, personal crests.

Battle scars from 'fatal' hits would be neat, but could get messy.

Having 4 romance options was nice - but there could have been more. My sister bitches that she couldn't tag Sten, but I was much more interested in seeing where the flirting with Teagan would go, (and since my mage is Arlessa of Amaranthene now...eligible for noble marriage! *cough*)

I liked the Dog - had lots of RP opportunities there and a warm sense of friendship. I missed the dog in Awakenings, even though I'm more of a cat person.

I like usable /gifts -- the gag gifts from April Fools, and Anders' kitten, etc. I hope they expand on that.

[Jurus]

So, what would y'all like to see for the sequel?

To be more like Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 in some aspects.

A storyline structure like in ME would definitely be better. DAO and ME2 were both basically Start->Recruitment->Finish while ME had a better story with a mix of fighting, investigations and mystery and so on. DAO is basically as linear as a FRP can be nowadays.

Bigger consequences for your choices. In DAO the choices were basically in two categories: Companions and which fraction to support in the story (e.g. Golem/Branka) . The latter was (at least on "normal" difficulty) strictly a moral choice since the end fight was so easy I hadn't used a single one of the "help groups". In fact a lot of people haven't. As for the companions you would rarely make the "wrong" choice. They are too obvious.

In ME2 you could basically get everybody killed including yourself if you didn't think about your choices well. Plus in DAO you know right away if you did good or not. In ME2 you can suffer the consequences for a "bad" choice 10+ hours after you've made it.

[Tobin]

In ME2 you could basically get everybody killed including yourself if you didn't think about your choices well. Plus in DAO you know right away if you did good or not. In ME2 you can suffer the consequences for a "bad" choice 10+ hours after you've made it.

Yipes, I'll have to keep that in mind - I just got the ME series from STEAM and was going to start playing soon...

[Renasko]

Yeah, while ME is not exactly flawless (ha), DA has a long way to go before becoming as good, in my opinion. The controls are a clumsy mess and pain to play in any significant difficulty level. The story is bland and terribly boring. They need to make the character's interactions more realistic. Lelianna rambling on for 5 minutes, without pause, is not normal human behaviour, unless the person is influenced in some way. Even then, you should be able to butt it in the middle of their speech and say something - anything. The variety of enemies could do with a serious upgrade in ideas, as well.

The greatest problem I found while playing was wanting it to be something it obviously was never going to be. There's a gap in the western game market for more traditional fantasy games. While I dislike the orcs and trolls in DA, I never mind them as much in other fantasy realms, so I don't know. I'm cheered by the thought of a more original game.

[Renasko]

I liked the Dog - had lots of RP opportunities there

'Good dog', 'bad dog'...oh yeah, lots of opportunities. Unless the beast acted differently during missions (I was shot of him, asap), I don't see how you can exactly RP with the dog...

[Galactus]

I enjoyed Dragon Age way more than either of the Mass Effects (mind, Mass Effect 1&2 are still very good games, with some significant advantages) It's pretty much the best RPG since BG2, IMNSHO.

Part of it is quite simple: I'm not an FPS person. I'm a strategy game person. I'm an RPG person. I like fiddling with stats and executing plans and having abilities interact with each other.

Dragon Age has a good set of characters, an interesting and reasonably well-thought out world that is... Very standard fantasy and yet not. In feel it reminds me of... Well, I don't know exactly. They play a lot of tropes very straight and yet subvert them, often in subtle ways. Bioware seems to do that a lot recently. Both Jade Empire, Mass Effect and Dragon Age are "standard X setting but with a bit more thought put into it".

Awakening was a rushed-out mess. And should be ignored.

I think ME2 in many ways went in the wrong direction: Companions often felt absent except during specific points, and they were never really integral to fighting (it mostly ended up with God-Killer Shepherd vs. the enemies anyway) it removed most of the equipment customization (that I rather liked) and pruned the skill trees into oblivion.

I also like DAO for the lack of any prescribed "morality meter" (funny, Bioware pretty much invented the concept and then brought the genre forward by removing it...) While paragon/renegade is less clear-cut good/evil than Dark/light or Closed Fist/Open Palm (which had some, unfortunately undeveloped, ndos towards it)

I also loved the origin stories and the way they helped define your character. My Aeducan heir was a totally different character from my mage. That was a stroke of brilliance. Unfortunately they varied in quality (the dwarf ones were the best, I think)

[gladius]

So, what would y'all like to see for the sequel?

Less copy/pasting

Less dungeons

More open areas

Better fighting - Use better AI or lower hit point or do something else to make it challenging. Mobs spawning from thin air even when it makes no sense, is a pathetic solution.

[Tobin]

'Good dog', 'bad dog'...oh yeah, lots of opportunities. Unless the beast acted differently during missions (I was shot of him, asap), I don't see how you can exactly RP with the dog...

I wrote a long reply, but even I don't know what the hell it meant, so...

It boils down to this: I think the Dog was a fleshed character and not a cardboard cutout. There were chances for you to get involved with him that opened possibilities for RP options, even if the game didn't specifically build them out. There is more to work with that could be added in or tweaked by player mods or even (OMG) fanfiction.

[Jurus]

'Good dog', 'bad dog'...oh yeah, lots of opportunities. Unless the beast acted differently during missions (I was shot of him, asap), I don't see how you can exactly RP with the dog...

Not much of an interaction but while on location you can send it to bring you the stuff it finds sniffing around.

And since we're speaking of the dog. On my first playthrough I called him Tyrion and on my second/current one I called him Sandor :D

[Renasko]

Not much of an interaction but while on location you can send it to bring you the stuff it finds sniffing around.

And since we're speaking of the dog. On my first playthrough I called him Tyrion and on my second/current one I called him Sandor :D

Fair enough, but Fable, and even before that, the Bards Tale, had a dog in it that you could interact with. Hardly breaking the mould.

As for the beast's name, I gave mine the name 'Cuán', meaning 'little wolf' in Gaelic. I found it amusing because one of my Westie terries has the same name. Comparable much, eh? :D

[Space Bandito]

Not much info.

Intrigued that the story line will take place over "a decade". Also looking forward "an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go."

I hope that means more characters that make me yell or laugh. Battles that will make me nervous or excited to see what is around the next corner. Some times it simply felt like a grind.

Definitely agree that we need more customization. A few runes for swords was not even close.

[Tobin]

The game wouldn't let me name my dog after the first few play-throughs, I'm pissed.

Names I had:

"BigWig"

"Pretorian"

"Ned"

[Lord Baelish]

I love DA:O (completed it 4 times so far and got another 2 playthroughs on the go now) but there are definitely some improvements I would like to see.

- More variety of enemies. Darkspawn/Abominations/Wolves/Humans got boring after a while. Let's have some more strange monsters.

- More romance options, particularly NPC ones. I enjoyed messing around with Bella and getting Leliana jealous, but I'd like to see a fully-fleshed relationship with an NPC. I did think Teagan would be an option for a while.

- More interesting human villains. Loghain was good but there weren't many others.

- Greater variety of origin stories. Only having one for a warrior/rogue human is annoying. I wanted to be a commoner.

- Morrigan! We need more of her and her demon baby.

[Galactus]

I did think Teagan would be an option for a while.

It's pretty obvious that there was supposed to be some way to make Teagan take up Eamon's role. (presumably if you somehow didn't cure the Arl) one of the knights even mentions as much ("We either need to cure the Arl or make Teagan take over.") but it seems like a cut plot point.

[davos]

I really liked DA:O. It had some significant flaws but in many ways it was the best fantasy RPG since BG2. The origin stories were surprisingly meaningful though their impact faded as the game went on. Going back to Ozamar playing as an excilled prince was surprisingly emotional to play through. Yes, your origin could have had even more importance and your choices could have been of even more significance. They did push the limits of what has been done previously, even if the result left me wishing they would have taken it further. The characters were by and large interesting and there were a number of marvelous interactions. If they can stay in the same vain as DA:O but expend on the importance of origin stories, give even more importance to choices, and clean up the bugs that plagued the release version of the first game they will do fine. Of course since Bioware is now owned by EA I fear they will not be given the freedom to do this right.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

I mean, really, they MEAN nothing

Not entirely true.

# Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.

While I don't believe them about the shapes itself around every decision stuff--go watch the Alpha Protocol guys talk about how much choice costs at some panel or other--taking place over a decade? That's new, and potentially quite interesting.

Now, what's making me nervous are the comments in a few articles about a newer, more reactive combat system and more action. These concerns are exacerbated by the news that--apparently--your hero's last name is fixed. I don't need Mass Effect in my Dragon Age, thanks.

[Erlend]

BG2 was a much better game than BG. ME2 was a much better game than ME. So DA2 should be pretty awesome, right?

And I'm actually glad that it looks like we are playing a new character instead of continuing with the one from DA. After the end of DA:O (and even more after DA:A) the story felt nicely wrapped up, and I had a ton more abilities than I knew what to do with, so a fresh start will be nice.

[Galactus]

ME2 was a much better game than ME

I disagree. ME2 was better, but not much better. Too many things went in the wrong direction.