Dragon Age 2 official announcement

[HALover9000]

I'm going to get it on steam, 25% off right now.

I'd wait until all the daily deals are over before buying it at the general sale price. If you wait there's a good chance that it'll show up at more than 25% off, and even if that never happens you can still get it for $37 until Jan. 2nd.

[haLobEnder]

The development of this game is such a glorious trainwreck, it's hilarious. David Gaider in particular just doesn't know when to shut up.

I happen to like the fact that the developers won't 'shut up' on the boards. Name me another developer that communicates with the fan community as much as the DA2 team and Bioware in general.

(Though I do kind of wonder how they're managing to find time to post so much when they should be in the middle of 'crunch' time)

As for it being a 'trainwreck' I reserve my judgment on that. Bioware hasn't released a 'shitty' game yet (well, unless you count DLC) and until they do, I have no reason to suspect DA2 will not be of quality.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Bioware hasn't released a 'shitty' game yet

NWN's OC says hi.

[haLobEnder]

NWN's OC says hi.

OK, you got me. I tend to forget about NWNs existence unless reminded. Besides, a lot would claim that the 'value' of that game resides in it's community content.

I still think it's too early to claim DA2 is a disaster however. If anything the information I've heard about it lately has me pretty excited. This interview in particular.

[Galactus]

I'm in two minds actually.

Most of what I hear about the story/concept intrigues me, but the actual gameplay changes just seem moronic. not enough to turn me off from buying the game, but mildly annoying.

Oh, and I'm also worried about the short development cycle.

[WrightOfWay]

Jade Empire wasn't very good either.

As to the developers posting in the forums, that's what takes the game from boring mediocrity to hilarious trainwreck in my mind. From the stupid excuses for removing things that were in the first game ("we removed the overhead view from the PC because our artists worked so hard on the ceilings") to Gaider talking about how the latest revealed character was based on some Joss Whedon character, the whole thing is just glorious. I might have to start compiling some choice quotes into a text file to preserve it for posterity. I'm having way more fun following the development than I ever would actually playing the game.

[Galactus]

Jade Empire wasn't very good either.

Eh, it was a bit too short, but it wasn't a bad game. Not at all. It had a very well-executed twist I thought.

EDIT: In fact, I think you can see Jade Empire as the definite forerunner of Mass Effect in most ways.

[Lone-Wolf]

My favorite part about following the development over on BioWare's boards is the hilarious sense of entitlement some of the fans over there have. They complain about some of the silliest things.

I'm just glad the new PC is going to be voiced. Going back to a silent protagonist after Mass Effect felt like a major step backward.

[haLobEnder]

I'm in two minds actually.

Most of what I hear about the story/concept intrigues me, but the actual gameplay changes just seem moronic. not enough to turn me off from buying the game, but mildly annoying.

I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to the new changes. There seems to be this notion --especially on the Bioware boards-- that DA is primarily a PC franchise that's being ported to consoles, and thus the PC players should be Bioware's primary focus.

As a player forced to play on console for financial reasons, that just kind of irks me. First off, a majority of people who play any game these days will be playing on consoles, financially it makes sense for the franchise to become more console friendly. The first game was broken on the consoles. If not getting an isometric view on PC means the camera actually works on consoles, I'm all for it.

Secondly, from what the developers have said, the game plays pretty much the same way as Origin's did on the PC anyway. In fact, looking at the PC gameplay footage it looks like DA:O just with faster combat and a different camera.

Oh, and I'm also worried about the short development cycle.

I actually incurred a bit of fanboy wrath on the Bioware boards for voicing this same concern. Not to take more credit than I deserve, but I think I may have even prompted a developer to comment on the issue: Something along the lines of 'Bioware does not rush games ever. We've been working on DA2 since shortly after development on DA:O wrapped.'

Given that Bioware was only directly responsible for the PC version, that means technically they have had since March 2009 to work on DA2.

Jade Empire wasn't very good either.

We'll agree to disagree there. I really enjoyed Jade Empire.

Was it perfect? No. But personally I think the Jade Empire setting was a lot more interesting and original --at least from a Western perspective-- than that of Dragon Age.

...to Gaider talking about how the latest revealed character was based on some Joss Whedon character, the whole thing is just glorious.

If you're talking about the post I think you're talking about, perhaps you need to read it again. Pretty sure Gaider was saying that part of his inspiration for Zevran (not Fenris) came from Spike from Buffy. He was trying to point out just how much the personality of the 'inspirational character' morphs over the course of writing that character.

[Maegor Targaryen]

I'd like to see less creature fights and more people fights, and MORE dragons

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

OK, you got me. I tend to forget about NWNs existence unless reminded. Besides, a lot would claim that the 'value' of that game resides in it's community content.

If your game is terminally dull until other people do interesting things with it, you've released a shitty game. A worthwhile toolkit, maybe, but a shitty game.

[Tyrellius]

Started playing the PC version, man, it is like a totally different game. Loving the zooming out, pretty sure I'll be able to use my mages better now, compared to the PS3 version.

Are there any must have and uber cool mods that I need to know about?

[Tobin]

Started playing the PC version, man, it is like a totally different game. Loving the zooming out, pretty sure I'll be able to use my mages better now, compared to the PS3 version.

Are there any must have and uber cool mods that I need to know about?

I have a long list of mods that I use, but I'm a bit of a DAO fanfreak, so there you go.

I strongly recommend getting a 'respec' mod - I use the one that has a raven strategically placed in different areas that has a potion tied to its leg. It can also unlock specs that you could get through books, but by the time I got the mod, I had already unlocked everything on my own.

Taking the respec potion will totally refund everything from stat points to skills, so you can finally dump 'shapeshifting' on Morrigan for something much more useful.

I got a storage mod that puts a chest in your camp, so you don't have to sell to Bodahn to keep important things out of your inventory without destroying them.

I love tinkering with my character's looks - so I got the 'more hair' mod - some of the styles are....odd....but overall I'm happy.

You have to watch though - I ran into some conflicts with Pinapple's texture/color addin, so 2/3rds of the hair 'colors' showed only as white or some psychadellic acid trip.

I haven't found a custom tattoo mod that I can use without having to implement it through the map editor, so I'm still looking.

'Of Noble Caste' or something like that - lets you start a more natural feeling Cousland game. Instead of meeting Duncan and everyone in the Great Hall armed to the teeth, you have more typical looking clothing. The mod also tweaks your starting armor/money as more befitting a nobleman.

Another Cousland-centric bit I got was a fully voiced Ser Gilmore companion NPC. It's really well written and built, the mod actor even tries to mimic the existing character's speech patterns. There is supposedly a 'romance' option for him, but I haven't seen much of it yet (determined to try this time through).

I like the Mabari, but I'm a sucker for Blight Wolves, so I got a mod that switches the dog model out for other skins. It's bugged on mine and doesn't allow the dog to show his name other than 'gen_0021' or whatever. But I haven't been able to name my dog for a while, so it isn't a big deal.

I also have the 'dog slot' mod that lets you keep the hound in the summonable slot - essentially giving you the dog as a 5th party member.

There are a ton of 'adult' and 'armor' mods, but I haven't tried them yet. I usually end up not being able to use the spiffy armor or it's unbalancing and I sell it.

The Wings of Velvet mage set is beautifully skinned, but is definitely not starting gear. It also was bugged for me, putting on the 'cold flavored' robe made the body of my mage disappear, making it look like I was a floating head with a staff riding behind me.

There are player-made campaigns and quests you can get too:

Fragments of Ferelden (player-made campaign, was decently written and longer than some of the official DLC)

Tombs of Calenhad (I haven't played this one yet, I just had to reinstall everything on my machine since my last upgrade - I'm starting a fresh game that should get me there now)

As for the article and DA2 --

I think I'd have rather kept the variety in races and starting zones rather than hear my character talk. As much as other people got hung up about it, I didn't really mind. I also liked knowing exactly what I was going to 'say' - having a 'paraphrased' comment to click on could have consequences I am not interested in. I didn't like the way it worked in ME, so I doubt I'll like it here.

This I'm happy to see though:

The design team also decided to inject a bit of common sense into the combat. "If you're a mage, and you're carrying around this big stick, why can't you hit someone with it?" asks Laidlaw, pointing out that ranged combatants, like mages and archers, had little recourse when the fighting got up close and personal. Now, rogues and mages also have melee attacks - not particularly strong ones, but certainly better than just standing there and getting socked in the face

Many times I'm out of mana and getting spit on by the hurlocks in the front - now I can smack them with my Lampost!

The 'skill web' sounds much better too - I might have used 'burning hands' 4 or 5 times total, whereas a fireball would be my opening move in nearly every encounter.

I hated having to dump points into stuff I didn't need to get where I wanted.

*edited because that was sooooo not a real word*

[Tyrellius]

Ta Tobin, I'll get the respec and storage mods. Do I need to have them installed prior to starting a game or can I use them on a previously started game.

Playing a female city elf dual weapon warrior this time, but I've only just got to Ostragar so a restart wouldnt be the end of the world.

[Tobin]

You should be fine, I don't remember having to restart for those particular mods.

Hair? yeah since that was part of the character creation process.

Everything else seemed to work on the fly.

Oh, I also have the 'lockbash' mod that makes it easier to deal with chests.

If you're playing a non-rogue character, you can right click as if you were going to open the chest. As soon as you get the 'insuficient skill' tooltip, the mod will auto-pilot your party rogue over to unlock the chest without having to switch characters.

If nobody in your party has a high enough skill to open the chest, you'll attack and bash it open. There is a percentage chance to lose whatever is inside, but I'd rather that than let the chests sit closed.

I'd say, the F!City Elf and the F!Cousland origin stories really hit me in the gut.

I actually cried at the Cousland one, :crying:

And yes - playing a mage on the PC version is much easier from what I understand.

It's the class I'm most comfortable with, so I usually 'ride' whatever mage is in my party if it isn't my main.

A dual mage party with Alistair tanking and a rogue for locks and it's easy mode.

[Darkostar]

I'd say, the F!City Elf and the F!Cousland origin stories really hit me in the gut.

I actually cried at the Cousland one, :crying:

Not as gutwrenching, but M!Dwarf Noble has to be my favorite.

[Galactus]

Dwarf Noble and Dwarf Commoner are interesting, because if you ONLY play one of them you're likely to end up with quite a different picture of a certain character...

[Darkostar]

I think I know who you're talking about, though it could apply to a couple others, but I always felt like Dwarf Noble missed out on some good character building with Alistair.

Still, for me, favorite origin, favorite Warden. M! City Elf is a close second.

/haven't done any female origins

[TrueMetis]

Dwarf Noble and Dwarf Commoner are interesting, because if you ONLY play one of them you're likely to end up with quite a different picture of a certain character...

Yes it was quite interesting, though if you pay attention you can get a the same picture that you get with the Dwarf Commoner as you would get with the Dwarf Noble.

[Tobin]

I liked how a number of the Origins had crossover references, so you could see echoes of what happened to the characters you didn't pick.