Dragon Age

[Tuncal]

I think the 3.2 million number is sold-in, or shipped copies. I hear that actual sells are around 2.7 million, which is not bad at all for an old school RPG. I'm very happy they're not pulling the plug on the series.

[Venkman]

Yep. Sold in. Not sold through. As in, retailers ordered that many but consumers haven't bought that many.

That we know about anyway, since this number doesn't include Steam or other digital download marketplaces.

[Paelos]

I really liked the game until I realized later on that I suck at playing anything ranged. I just like melee, /sigh.

[Merusk]

Yep. Sold in. Not sold through. As in, retailers ordered that many but consumers haven't bought that many.

That we know about anyway, since this number doesn't include Steam or other digital download marketplaces.

Pft.. if we start counting digital sales of PC games to PC gamers, what next?  Neilson counting DVR viewings and Hulu/ Network Site viewings?  that's madness and might give a more accurate picture but doesn't benefit big box stores/ advertisers!

[Riggswolfe]

Couple bits of news from EA's recent Q3 financial reports:

Dragon Age has sold 3.2 million copies.

Untitled Dragon Age game is expected for Q1 2011 on consoles, handhelds, and PC (also Dead Space 2).

You know, I find myself wondering what the hell that untitled game could possibly be. That's damn quick for it to be another RPG. That leaves little time for writing dialogue and such. I have a sneaky suspicion it's being done by a non-Bioware studio and is just using the IP but I'm not sure what it'll actually be. My worst fear is some kind of cheesy RTS or something.

[murdoc]

Untitled Dragon Age game is expected for Q1 2011 on consoles, handhelds, and PC (also Dead Space 2).

God of Dragon War Age.

[eldaec]

Couple bits of news from EA's recent Q3 financial reports:

Dragon Age has sold 3.2 million copies.

Untitled Dragon Age game is expected for Q1 2011 on consoles, handhelds, and PC (also Dead Space 2).

You know, I find myself wondering what the hell that untitled game could possibly be. That's damn quick for it to be another RPG.

This is EA, this is how they work, they'll be looking for Bioware to select the key franchises and to deliver a product every year.

Another DA game (it will be shorter) using the same engine and mechanics should be perfectly achievable in a year.

[Strazos]

Then again, Dragon Age was planned as a trilogy or whatever, so it's not like they have to make another game from scratch.

[Raguel]

So apparently DLC items won't be ported over to Awakenings. This news has been well received by fans.

[Lakov_Sanite]

So apparently DLC items won't be ported over to Awakenings. This news has been well received by fans.

Huh? I'm not even sure what that means. As in if you have the dlc armor, you wont be able to use it when you port a character over?

[Malakili]

So apparently DLC items won't be ported over to Awakenings. This news has been well received by fans.

Huh? I'm not even sure what that means. As in if you have the dlc armor, you wont be able to use it when you port a character over?

I thought that is what he meant, but it made to sense in context.  Maybe that all the prior DLC won't be bundled with it, like is sometimes done?

[Merusk]

No, pretty sure he means that the DLC you bought won't work in the x-pac.  The last line was irony.

Checked Bioware's forum, sure enough you can't use your DLC in Awakenings.  Obviously so you buy more.


http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Dragon-Age-Origins-Awakening-General-Discussion/Why-is-no-dlc-gear-in-expansion-policy-a-problem-1229246-1.html

[eldaec]

That news was well received by one fan, to wit, me.

But I'm that guy who thought it was awesome when Dwarf nobles lost all their DLC gear at the end of the origin story.

[Raguel]

No, pretty sure he means that the DLC you bought won't work in the x-pac.  The last line was irony.

Checked Bioware's forum, sure enough you can't use your DLC in Awakenings.  Obviously so you buy more.


http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Dragon-Age-Origins-Awakening-General-Discussion/Why-is-no-dlc-gear-in-expansion-policy-a-problem-1229246-1.html

Yeah, that's what I meant. I was too full of NERDRAGE to type anything else  

[Lakov_Sanite]

So, will shale not even be available?

I mean of all the dick, money grab moves, this has to be pretty high up there.

[Velorath]

So, will shale not even be available?

I mean of all the dick, money grab moves, this has to be pretty high up there.

Shale won't be available, but that's because Oghren is the only party member returning for the expansion (as a party member anyway).

[Malakili]

Oh well, wasn't planning on buying this anyway, so not exactly a big deal to me.

[Lakov_Sanite]

So, will shale not even be available?

I mean of all the dick, money grab moves, this has to be pretty high up there.

Shale won't be available, but that's because Oghren is the only party member returning for the expansion (as a party member anyway).

I.E. They didn't want to pay the A-list voice actors again for an expac.

[Velorath]

So, will shale not even be available?

I mean of all the dick, money grab moves, this has to be pretty high up there.

Shale won't be available, but that's because Oghren is the only party member returning for the expansion (as a party member anyway).

I.E. They didn't want to pay the A-list voice actors again for an expac.

Yeah, I'm sure it would have cost them a fortune to pull Leliana's voice actor away from doing shampoo commercials.


Edit:  The reason for the new cast is likely due to the same reasons that Mass Effect 2 had half the party members from the first game only appearing in cameos.  When you give players the power to kill off party members, you have to take that into account when you're doing any follow-ups.  It makes more sense to develop new characters rather than say "well, we've developed a lot of good character stuff for Alistair here, but you aren't going to see any of it because he died in your game".

[Ingmar]

I think Oghren may be the only party member in the first game that you can't skip, miss out on recruiting, kill, or otherwise chase away actually? Maybe you can order him to leave the group I guess but I don't recall an in-story way to drive him off.

[Velorath]

I think Oghren may be the only party member in the first game that you can't skip, miss out on recruiting, kill, or otherwise chase away actually? Maybe you can order him to leave the group I guess but I don't recall an in-story way to drive him off.

I think if you drop his approval down really low, you can make him fight you and then kill him or make him leave, but you'd really have to go out of your way to do that.

[Fraeg]

I agree after paying for all the DLC stuff that it is a dickbeater move.   That said...

WAG and armchair dev stuff ahead:

Could part of it be trying to develop an expansion and wanting to do it without the burden of developing something for all possible possible permutations of prior DLC?  This is a bit of a stretch, but iirc the primary motive by the WoW dev team for giving the horde pallys and the allys shaman was for making things easier on the dev team for encounters.  When each side didn't have access to all the same stuff it made it much harder to create encounters that were challenging, but could be done by both sides.

Sooooo stretch that idea to the breaking point and could the same apply to the expansion? wipe the slate clean and it was easier to make the expansion.

Hmmm I am not buying what I typed at all  

Finally did a bedroom/tent scene,  wiith my female dwarf rogue and Leliana.  Not sure what I expected, but uhmmmm yeah "much ado about nothing" comes to mind.

[Velorath]

I agree after paying for all the DLC stuff that it is a dickbeater move.   That said...

It's pretty lazy on their part, but at the same time I expect an expansion to offer up better loot than stuff from the base game due to the higher levels involved.  Do people really want to play through the whole expansion wearing the Blood Dragon armor still?  Plus, I don't really have any sympathy for people who bought DLC for the gear rather than the actual content.

[Lakov_Sanite]

What happens to your hero if he happens to be wearing the armor though, just start off the game naked?  Not having the same party members I can understand for time purposes but importing the armor and weapons would literally take about ten minutes worth of work if that, by transferring over what, 10megs?

[eldaec]

I imagine you don't carry forward any armour and start out balanced for whatever the situation is you start out at.

[Velorath]

I imagine you don't carry forward any armour and start out balanced for whatever the situation is you start out at.

You carry forward anything except for the DLC stuff.  I don't think they've said how the game handles it yet though, so I don't know if it just carries forward whatever your character is wearing, or if everything in your inventory or stuff your party members are wearing carries over as well.

[Tebonas]

So you are possibly at a disadvantage because you spent money for DLC (or bought the collectors edition). That would be beyond retarded.

[eldaec]

So you are possibly at a disadvantage because you spent money for DLC (or bought the collectors edition). That would be beyond retarded.

A disadvantage against what? This is not a competitive game.

Also, seriously, bioware game, just how hard do you think the first 10 minutes of combat (before they shower you with yet more shiny junk) is going to be?

[Riggswolfe]

So, will shale not even be available?

I mean of all the dick, money grab moves, this has to be pretty high up there.

Shale won't be available, but that's because Oghren is the only party member returning for the expansion (as a party member anyway).

Wait, what? About the only two members of my party who expressly said they were sticking around with me after the game ended were Leilana and Zevran. So, the two who specifically said "hey, I want to stay with you" aren't coming back? WTF?

Edit: Ok, I read the FAQ for the XPAC. I don't like their decisions here. I may pick it up, but really, the idea of none of the characters I liked coming back irritates me. Not to mention no romances, no dlc items carrying over, etc. It really feels like a cash-in which is depressing to me. If I do pick it up it will only because I'm extremely curious about the Architect.

[Tebonas]

Disadvantaged against the difficulty curve of the game. If the expansion takes into account a reasonably well equipped character (with a balanced equipment) from the first game, you have to scale the encounters at the beginning differently. Especially with Melee characters.

[Slyfeind]

Shale won't be available, but that's because Oghren is the only party member returning for the expansion (as a party member anyway).

Ew, yick. I thought Oghren was okay...merely okay. It doesn't sound interesting if I can't have my old chums with me.

[Velorath]

Edit: Ok, I read the FAQ for the XPAC. I don't like their decisions here. I may pick it up, but really, the idea of none of the characters I liked coming back irritates me. Not to mention no romances, no dlc items carrying over, etc. It really feels like a cash-in which is depressing to me. If I do pick it up it will only because I'm extremely curious about the Architect.

That's the downside to choice, and it's a problem Bioware is going to have to struggle with for ME3 as well, since much like DA:O it allows for the possibility of just about any party member to die.  It sucks, but it's they only way you can avoid short-changing people for the choices they made in previous installments.  As it is, they're allowing people to retcon away one of the endings in DA:O in order to bring their character over into the expansion.

Oghren is probably my least favorite character, and I doubt I'll use him in the expansion.  I liked the video of new party member Anders though, so it's not all bad.

[Sjofn]

I'm not sure I buy the shortchanging thing, really. I do buy "fuck it's a lot of work and we don't want to bother writing for a character that a lot of the player base probably killed off, so we'll just ditch the entire party," though. Which is understandable, but I don't know how many times they will be able to get away with it in the Grand Scheme.

If they were worried about "shortchanging" they wouldn't have a bunch of choices in the base game, either, because you can't see everything they've written in one playthough.

[Velorath]

If they were worried about "shortchanging" they wouldn't have a bunch of choices in the base game, either, because you can't see everything they've written in one playthough.

There's a difference between not being able to see everything in one playthrough, and telling players, "ok, you killed off these characters so now you don't have the option of using them in every subsequent game we put out unless you start a new character".  It essentially punishes people who play "evil" characters because each game they'd probably be missing out on more and more content.

[Lakov_Sanite]

So what we are really getting here is a half-assed sequel and NOT an expansion.  We won't be carrying over any party members(except the shitty one), no DLC that people even paid for(this includes new powers from wardens keep i assume)and I have a sneaking suspician we may not even carry over regular gear. Also, since it's an expansion there probably won't be as much content as was in the original game, nor will anything be greatly improved upon gameplay-wise. Basically, the worst of both worlds.