Dragon Age

[schild]

Don't even care about the aliasing and such. The art is bad. BAD.

[Paelos]

Don't even care about the aliasing and such. The art is bad. BAD.

Do you consider this version (DA2) of the art bad, or is this an indictment of the entire series including DA:0?

[schild]

DA:O was nothing stellar, this is just like 5 steps back. Everything about it is bland. From the art quality to the overall style to the background of the game itself. Maybe they'll slather enough bloom on it that we won't notice (like they did in many parts of the first one).

The lead character could not be more boring. Ritz McWarrior. Meh.

[Paelos]

I must admit I'm not pleased about playing a static voiced character, but I would imagine that you can change the looks ala Shepard.

The part that annoys me the most out of those photos is the way the blood and ground look so out of place.

[Bunk]

I installed a Diablo style loot randomizer mod for DA recently - it's really quite fun. The loot is totally random in both enchantments and the models used, so every possible weapon or armor model in the game can show up.

The result, is my dinky little Elf rogue using a "long sword" that was clearly a model intended for the bigger darkspawn types to use. The bloody hilt is bigger around than her shin. Looks cool though. 

You have a link handy to that mod? Sounds awesome. Or at least remember which mod site you found it on?

This is the one: http://dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1406

It's not perfect, you'll end up with heavy helmets that give mana regen, and that sort of thing, but it is kind of fun. Since the models are random, I find myself trying everything on just to see if they look cool, because really, who cares whether Alister's helmet is gimpy as long as it looks cool.

It even includes Diablo style prefixes and sufixes, which end up with some amusingly named items.

[tmp]

.. did they fire all their artists? Or is this build not using the final rendering engine?

Supposedly not the final build, one of their writers commented the version he currently plays/develop for looks better than that. And honestly, they'd need to be... desperate, to call it done at this stage.

It does make you wonder though, they've been giving interviews few months earlier how they're going to enhance the engine to make things "super hot". It's like very little visible progress was done in that time.

[tmp]

The lead character could not be more boring. Ritz McWarrior. Meh.

He can be a mage, too 

[Sjofn]

I like the mage robe in that second German screenshot! I don't really like the new darkspawn look though. They look more unfinished than anything, though, so hopefully that changes.

[Paelos]

The ground looks like it was rendered from Morrowind.

[Ingmar]

Yeah I hope that is really unfinished. Because, wow, ugly.

[Mosesandstick]

I hope things get better, but 2/3 years for a sequel to a game that took 5 (or more?) years to finish? And how are the teams split? Is this the same team who did DA? Who was working on the DLC?

[Ingmar]

Part of me wonders if this was originally part of the allegedly-several-years-worth of DLC Dragon Age was going to have and it just got feature-crept into a sequel.

[tmp]

Some excerpts from DA timeline at gameinformer. Pretty detailed and interesting, "contain several clues as to central themes and key locations you'll explore in the series' next entry".

Kirkwall sounds like a nice place 

[veredus]

I installed a Diablo style loot randomizer mod for DA recently - it's really quite fun. The loot is totally random in both enchantments and the models used, so every possible weapon or armor model in the game can show up.

The result, is my dinky little Elf rogue using a "long sword" that was clearly a model intended for the bigger darkspawn types to use. The bloody hilt is bigger around than her shin. Looks cool though. 

You have a link handy to that mod? Sounds awesome. Or at least remember which mod site you found it on?

This is the one: http://dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1406

It's not perfect, you'll end up with heavy helmets that give mana regen, and that sort of thing, but it is kind of fun. Since the models are random, I find myself trying everything on just to see if they look cool, because really, who cares whether Alister's helmet is gimpy as long as it looks cool.

It even includes Diablo style prefixes and sufixes, which end up with some amusingly named items.

Perfect thank you!

[Margalis]

"Visually super-hot" 

It sounds like in this game you can only play as the single main human character rather than choosing your own race etc. I thought Japanese RPGs were all about being restrictive and story-based and western RPGs were all about the wonderful freedom to choose.

[Tebonas]

Having a totally different experience with the different race/class combos was part of the fun in Dragon Age. I don't get this decision. I blame people wanting full speech for the main character. That might get expensive with too many choices.

[Ingmar]

"Visually super-hot"  

It sounds like in this game you can only play as the single main human character rather than choosing your own race etc. I thought Japanese RPGs were all about being restrictive and story-based and western RPGs were all about the wonderful freedom to choose.

Um, no. The kinds of choices that JRPGs don't give you (the ones that happen *during* the story) will almost certainly still exist here. Choice about who the main character is background-wise, or role in the story-wise, has never been a guarantee in western RPGs (particulary in the Bioware/Black Isle/Interplay lineage) - and even here you're still choosing gender and class.

[Lantyssa]

I blame people wanting full speech for the main character. That might get expensive with too many choices.

THey could easily use the same voice for all races.  While most tended to have specific accents, not all were.

The different origin stories were amazing, and the middle felt very similar, overly long, and made me very bored.  If they make the origin the same but make it so the middle has a lot choice and is more exciting, then it'll be okay.  (Note:  I say this knowing it won't be an early purchase for me.  I was never all that impressed with the first one.)

[sickrubik]

Big Patch incoming for Dragon Age:

http://kotaku.com/5590169/enormous-patch-coming-tomorrow-for-pc-dragon-age

[Lakov_Sanite]

Daggers will now properly assign the dexterity-based damage bonus

 

[tmp]

Daggers will now properly assign the dexterity-based damage bonus

 

Dragon Age: Origins 1.02a

Balance
Daggers now apply 0.5 points of damage per additional point in dexterity and 0.5 points of damage per additional point in strength, as originally intended. This increases dagger damage for high-dexterity characters.

[Goreschach]

How dare this game have bugs. Fucking morons, what were they thinking?

[rk47]

C'mon, half a year to fix a broken stat tying to specific weapons? Oh I forgot, these patches are free, unlike paid DLCs I should be damn grateful to Bioware.

All hail Bioware!

[Sjofn]

Players may now receive notes of appreciation from their Origins love interests.

 

Getting default equipment instead of appearing naked in Awakenings is nice too, although you'd think that would've gotten patched way earlier! Better late than never, I suppose. Maybe I'll give Awakenings another (third) whirl now.

[tmp]

C'mon, half a year to fix a broken stat tying to specific weapons? Oh I forgot, these patches are free, unlike paid DLCs I should be damn grateful to Bioware.

All hail Bioware!

I don't actually get that part in patch notes about the daggers, since as far as i could tell they did fix that as "early" as in 1.02... unless that was actually community-made mod i had installed that fixed it while the default game remained broken   Or it's something console-specific, dunno.

[Fabricated]

Oh good, they're going to turn it into a shitty semi-action game instead of just refining the pretty good Baldur's Gate type game they had already. I guess people were confused by the scary numbers and having to actually compare equipment.

How dare you say th...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SuJ5T9sfAA

oh.
 

Wait, there's a "classy" fantasy IP that has been made into a game?

...wait, there's a classy fantasy IP period?

[Lakov_Sanite]

The sad thing is I'd have much more enjoyed dragon age if it felt half as much action oriented as that trailer. Instead we got the mage tower bullshit.

[Ingmar]

The sad thing is I'd have much more enjoyed dragon age if it felt half as much action oriented as that trailer. Instead we got the mage tower bullshit.

I liked the mage tower (the first time)!

[Sjofn]

Hell, I liked it the first TWO times. Then the third time I finally went "OK, I've done my time." And got the Skip the Fade mod. 

[rk47]

The lack of dwarf / elf choice is depressing cause you get to miss all the good flavor dialogues, especially the dwarves. I really enjoyed being a jerk in noble dwarf and a greedy bastard for the casteless. Elf is elf.

[Sjofn]

I will miss humans being a jerk to my elves and me being a giant bitch right back, yes. :(

[Tebonas]

Goodbye Lawful Stupid dwarven noble. I will miss you 

[Paelos]

So I can import my saves from Dragon Age, but it only affects the world around the main character instead of the appearance and race. Also, I get the only choice of one human customizable character who isn't trying to stop a blight, but just roaming around in the countryside on some other mission that apparently takes place over a long period of time.

There are just so many ways that experience seems dumbed-down from the original instead of expanded.

[Hawkbit]

I suspect that in time we'll see this franchise go more episodic and offer 10-20 hour storylines from different character angles.  Maybe then you'll get to play your dwarves and such. 

[Ingmar]

So I can import my saves from Dragon Age, but it only affects the world around the main character instead of the appearance and race. Also, I get the only choice of one human customizable character who isn't trying to stop a blight, but just roaming around in the countryside on some other mission that apparently takes place over a long period of time.

There are just so many ways that experience seems dumbed-down from the original instead of expanded.

I'm not sure it follows that a storyline that isn't about a blight is dumbed down, but that's what you seem to be implying.