Dragon Age 2 - Here be spoilers.

[rk47]

It doesn't appeal to anyone. If you mention the word RPG to the crowd few years ago, they wouldn't have talked about third person shooters, but that's basically it for Mass Effect. It wasn't a traditional RPG, it was a huge change of mechanics from KOTOR. Some fans felt Bioware lost the plot after that, since Dragon Age took ...ages. (lol) to release and got disheartened. And no, Neverwinter Nights is an abomination. 

Personally it didn't take longer than 10 mins for me in Mass Effect to declare this isn't RPG, but I felt it was a good enough game. My only big issue with the game is that the media continue to harp it as an excellent direction for RPGs. That is not right at all.

 

[Mosesandstick]

What do you mean by it doesn't appeal to anyone? I think the ME & ME2 threads show that people can enjoy good 3rd-person shooting mechanics within a RPG.

[rk47]

What do you mean by it doesn't appeal to anyone? I think the ME & ME2 threads show that people can enjoy good 3rd-person shooting mechanics within a RPG.

Sorry. i meant 'everyone'

Was big mistake on my part.

[Paelos]

As long as they don't release the game with DLC already in it, I'll be happy.

[Lantyssa]

There's a chance to back out of it after his bitchfit. I found his FUCK YOU I WILL LEAVE convincing enough not to press him on it, but I suppose one's mileage may vary on that. Alistair in particular did not give a shit who was holding the mouse, he was doing shit his way, story-wise.

Unfortunately for Alistair, he picked the wrong elf to pitch a fit to.  Now instead of a king, he's a drunk and a selfish twit who fled prior to the final battle to stop a Blight.  Not that my elf had much respect for any humans, but he went well into negative territory right there.  Loghain was at least willing to admit he was wrong and die to make recompense.  Sure I wanted to watch him to suffer, but I can respect that while I use it against him.

[AutomaticZen]

There's a chance to back out of it after his bitchfit. I found his FUCK YOU I WILL LEAVE convincing enough not to press him on it, but I suppose one's mileage may vary on that. Alistair in particular did not give a shit who was holding the mouse, he was doing shit his way, story-wise.

Unfortunately for Alistair, he picked the wrong elf to pitch a fit to.  Now instead of a king, he's a drunk and a selfish twit who fled prior to the final battle to stop a Blight.  Not that my elf had much respect for any humans, but he went well into negative territory right there.  Loghain was at least willing to admit he was wrong and die to make recompense.  Sure I wanted to watch him to suffer, but I can respect that while I use it against him.

Yeah.  Alistair pitched his shitfit, I looked at my party and decided to tell him, "peace!".  He forgot who he put in charge. 

[Tebonas]

I really tried to emphasize with Alistair. But after the restraint I had to exercise in Orzammar not strangling the shit that called himself my little brother (oh the joy of that retard trying to kill everybody) so that the Wardens could have the Dwarves as allies in the fight, him throwing a hissy fit made me want to give him the boot myself.

[tmp]

As long as they don't release the game with DLC already in it, I'll be happy.

Not sure if that's what you mean but there's going to be "day 0 DLC", yes. Similar to DAO, it adds one more companion and some new locations/quests. Except this time it seems instead of storage chest it adds option to access character creator and redo your character's appearance while playing.

[Paelos]

As long as they don't release the game with DLC already in it, I'll be happy.

Not sure if that's what you mean but there's going to be "day 0 DLC", yes. Similar to DAO, it adds one more companion and some new locations/quests. Except this time it seems instead of storage chest it adds option to access character creator and redo your character's appearance while playing.

Then that fucking blows and I'm pissed.

[Sky]

Welcome to the new reality. Enjoy remembering back when day 1 DLC pissed you off.

I personally despise DLC, and having limited funds means I look at everyone saying how great shadow broker is and then I got and buy a full-length game for the same price. I just can't afford the DLC game, if it doesn't ship with the game, I'm not going to be seeing it.

Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to having limited funds, though.

[AutomaticZen]

Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to having limited funds, though.

The holiday shopping season saw my already huge backlog swell.  I sadly put off buying Dead Space 2 to work on the backlog.

[Bunk]

Isn't that extra character what you get for preordering the deluxe version? If so, then it had to be available day 0 anyways, so why not offer it as DLC for the non-deluxe purchaser?

[Mosesandstick]

Isn't it going to be just like Shale, ripping apart a key part of the game to stop re-selling? 

[Sjofn]

There's a chance to back out of it after his bitchfit. I found his FUCK YOU I WILL LEAVE convincing enough not to press him on it, but I suppose one's mileage may vary on that. Alistair in particular did not give a shit who was holding the mouse, he was doing shit his way, story-wise.

Unfortunately for Alistair, he picked the wrong elf to pitch a fit to.  Now instead of a king, he's a drunk and a selfish twit who fled prior to the final battle to stop a Blight.  Not that my elf had much respect for any humans, but he went well into negative territory right there.  Loghain was at least willing to admit he was wrong and die to make recompense.  Sure I wanted to watch him to suffer, but I can respect that while I use it against him.

Then I'm not sure why you were complaining about the ending.  


EDIT: As for Extra Companion Guy, he was a bonus if you pre-ordered before January 12th, yeah, but he'll be available to buy on day one if you didn't (which I didn't, because I wanted it on Steam, and I am crazy). The other thing you can still get for pre-ordering.

[rk47]

  DLC.

Disappointing. Although from the dev's perspective, its easy money.

[Muffled]

Well, it would be easy profit if not for people like me who get so disgusted with the nickel and dime shit on launch that they just don't buy the game. :(

[Sjofn]

I like DLC, personally, but then I am someone who plays the Sims. Have since the beginning. I am pretty used to paying money to add shit to my game. So as long as the DLC isn't shitty, I don't have a problem with it, and any DLC that does sound shitty (like you, Darkspawn Chronicles), I just don't buy. I extra don't have a problem with Sebastian or Shale, as they are more pre-order/new game incentives than anything. I would actually be more mad if I couldn't buy the extra guy for DA2.

[AutomaticZen]

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/5887403&lf=8

Hi everyone

Recently there has been some concern over the DRM (Digital Rights Management) included with Dragon Age 2. Hopefully this post will help clarify what the DRM is for all versions of Dragon Age 2.

Steam versions use Steam DRM, no other DRM is added.

Non-Steam versions (digital or retail disc) are as follows:
- No disc check, you do not need the disc in drive to play.
- No limit on the total number of PCs you can install and play the game on.
- There is a limit to the number of unique/different PCs that can start/play the game within a time window [5 PCs in 24hrs].
- Each install requires logging in to your EA account to verify game ownership and if you are a member of these forums, you have an EA account.
- You can play offline but the game will require a login check after a select period of days.

Release Control (does not use securom)
      . It does not install anything to the PC.
      . Sole purpose is to check with a server to validate whether the game release date has passed or not. 
      . It completely removes itself after the game release date has passed. 
      . You will not be able to play until that date has passed.
      . Dates & times are set to the retail street date per country.

Hopefully this explains the DRM included in Dragon Age 2.

If you still have questions, please ask them here. However, this thread is NOT for the general discussion of DRM, the pros and cons of other DRM systems or any talk about circumventing DRM (which is against the rules of conduct and will be diciplined as such). Thanks.

Guess I'm cancelling my Amazon signature edition and switching to the Steam version.

[Tebonas]

I might remember wrong here, but didn't you have to log into the EA account on the Steam version of Dragon Age 1 as well? That is gone now?

[Koyasha]

That DRM doesn't really bother me.  There's no limited number of activations, no need to be constantly connected, etc.  Hell, I think Dragon Age checked in more often than that for its DLC.

I am somewhat unhappy that they chose not to put their signature edition on Steam, as I have come to prefer having all my games on Steam, but eh.

[Velorath]

Yeah, that DRM doesn't sound particularly bad.

[Sjofn]

I might remember wrong here, but didn't you have to log into the EA account on the Steam version of Dragon Age 1 as well? That is gone now?

I honestly don't remember, although you needed an EA account to get any DLC (including freebie shit like Shale) so Steam people probably made one anyway.

I haven't connected to their servers in ages, partly because there is a weird bug where it thinks my DLC is not my DLC. So I can merrily play offline with no problems, but if I log in it gets all confused and whines I have DLC installed I didn't pay for. Which I did, of course, pay for. And can use while offline. It's very odd.

[Tannhauser]

I have the same problem.  Downloaded Shadow Broker and it won't recognize it.  So no DLC for me I guess.  I will try it in offline mode, didn't think of that.

[Mosesandstick]

How does it check how many unique computers are using the game if it doesn't connect to the internet?

[Merusk]

I haven't connected to their servers in ages, partly because there is a weird bug where it thinks my DLC is not my DLC. So I can merrily play offline with no problems, but if I log in it gets all confused and whines I have DLC installed I didn't pay for. Which I did, of course, pay for. And can use while offline. It's very odd.

I had this problem when I reinstalled DA a few months back.  IIRC to fix it you have to delete all of the folders containing the DLC and let them reinstall.  (Because even if you uninstall the game, it still leaves a ton of stuff resident on your hard drive.)  There were a few threads about it on both the Steam and Bioware sites.

[AutomaticZen]

Yeah, that DRM doesn't sound particularly bad.

It's not that bad, but I prefer dealing with Steam if at all possible, so knowing DA2 uses Steamworks is a plus.

[Paelos]

I was going to buy it on Steam anyway, so this doesn't change anything.

I am still going to wait until it goes on sale in July with whatever summer deal they run.

[Rasix]

You're going to save probably a whole $10 for 4 months of waiting.

edit: Ahh, poor Rift, it releases a week before this.  Bioware games take over my gaming upon release.

[Bandit]

I have the same problem.  Downloaded Shadow Broker and it won't recognize it.  So no DLC for me I guess.  I will try it in offline mode, didn't think of that.

I had some issues when purchasing ME2 DLC twice in the same weekend.  Mostly it was due to the fact that paypal was crapping out on redirect (after money already out of my account).  EA/Bio support fixed the problems instantly (through chat interface) or within 24-hours (through email).  So if you are experiencing problems with any DLC, their support seems pretty good.

[Paelos]

You're going to save probably a whole $10 for 4 months of waiting.

edit: Ahh, poor Rift, it releases a week before this.  Bioware games take over my gaming upon release.

Worth it. I don't have time for much gaming anyway until April 15th. And then I go to the lake. I'll probably be bored of playing WoW regularly by then as well.

[Sky]

I'm looking forward to DA2 for steam sale July or xmas 2012.

[Shrike]

I'm looking forward to DA2 for steam sale July or xmas 2012.

Pretty much this.

I liked DA1, but not enough to spend $60 on it. I bought it on a Steam sale. Haven't bothered with DLC. I wasn't that fond of the game. Probably will do the same thing with DA2.

[Paelos]

Whenever they put out a package with the full DLC released to that point and some other shit in a "For those of you who missed the launch" bundle, I'll probably snap that up. Still, not for $60. $40 is now my absolute max, and only then if it's a sure thing.

[Sky]

I'm not in the camp with DA1 that I am with Civ V, I feel I definitely got my money's worth and enjoyed it. But I didn't finish it and I can't really develop the urge for another playthrough (unlike ME where I have to keep myself from another playthrough).

Iirc, when DA1 launched it was cheaper to pick up the DLC separately.

My DLC between DA and ME is borked because apparently I have two Bioware/EA/whatever accounts. Talk about a convoluted shitty system.

[tmp]

So, that mysterious "02/01/2011" thing teased about in the Awakening boxes?

Announcing the Dragon Age Legends closed Beta test

/wetfirecracker

though i suppose at least it wasn't reveal of countdown to a countdown. Still.