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[LectureMaster]

'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' Is Bioware's Best Game in Ages. Here's How They Got There

Bioware dev John Epler looks back on the lessons learned from Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda

www.rollingstone.com

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Epler also comments on the possibility of some sort of Dragon Age collection, similar to the Mass Effect Legendary Collection that updated the original games for modern consoles in 2021. Having been at Bioware since the first Dragon Age game back in 2009, he would love to see a collection come together, but remastering the first three games in the series would be challenging as they were originally designed using EA’s proprietary game engines. The first two used their own custom Eclipse Engine while Inquisition used Frostbite, a platform famously used to build the Battlefield games.

The Mass Effect trilogy, on the other hand, used Unreal Engine, a more flexible and widely popular engine used in game development, which made the remastering process much easier for the Legendary Collection.

“I think I’m one of about maybe 20 people left at BioWare who’s actually used Eclipse,” Epler says. “It’s something that’s not going to be as easy Mass Effect, but we do love the original games. Never say never, I guess that’s what it comes down to.”

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It's not the studio who made all the beloved games anymore, folks.

 

[RoboFu]

rollingstone has gone way down hill.

 

[kikkis]

Just make a proper remake of the first one

 

[Magic Carpet]

Unreal Engine is the new McDonalds fry machine. Everyone can operate it.
Game developers are the new Fast-Food worker. Everyone can learn to do it.
Game producers are the new Franchise owners. Put the same thing on every street corner.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They have surgery and hormone experience, though. You can't have everything.

 

[Gonzito]

Oof

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Just make a proper remake of the first one

I can’t wait to learn which character was always trans!

 

[Thief1987]

I can’t wait to learn which character was always trans!

 

[RobRSG]

There are a few studios that would be up to the task, from the top of my head:

Panic Button
Virtuos
QLoc

 

[ahtlas7]

If only that were the only problem…

 

[March Climber]

There are a few studios that would be up to the task, from the top of my head:

Panic Button
Virtuos
QLoc

There is no need to hand this project to Bioware themselves.

 

[Puscifer]

Unreal Engine is the new McDonalds fry machine. Everyone can operate it.
Game developers are the new Fast-Food worker. Everyone can learn to do it.
Game producers are the new Franchise owners. Put the same thing on every street corner.

I hate reading this

 

[Brigandier]

Oof

 

[Quezacolt]

Just make a proper remake of the first one

No, let the first one be stuck in the past. At this point they would change the writing for much worse, like veilguard

 

[ArtHands]

They are readily available, works well and discounted to 90% frequently. I don’t see the need for any remaster?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

“I think I’m one of about maybe 20 people left at BioWare who’s actually used Eclipse"

Why should that matter?

You've a lot of pretenders at the studio now. Just get them to pretend to be game developers

It worked with Veilguard

I guess getting rid of the talent for 'modern' workers wasn't the best route eh

Who'd of thunk it

 

[Shake Your Rump]

It's fine. This is one reason to own an Xbox or PC. Just play the games there. Not every game needs to be remade every generation.

 

[Senua]

They are readily available, works well and discounted to 90% frequently. I don’t see the need for any remaster?

Not everyone games on PC

 

[RagnarokIV]

very few people at Bioware nowadays have experience on Dragon Age.

 

[HoleinOne]

No, let the first one be stuck in the past. At this point they would change the writing for much worse, like veilguard

No they wouldn't. No one's buying a remade Dragon Age with a revised script unless they're restoring content that was cut out of the original releases.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Origins aged well due to its nice baked lighting and high quality textures. The FX are kinda bad but still decent. Dragon Age 2 is a pos and can be skipped anyway and Inquisition looks fantastic because frostbyte ages nicely and at times it looks even better than Veilguard.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Not everyone games on PC

You can buy the 360 discs for a pittance and play on an Xbox. I'm a "PlayStation guy", but even I have an Xbox One just for this reason. Hell, even buying the digital version at full price is cheap. It's also free to play if you have EA Play or whatever.

We have to spend developer resources remastering everything for people who are Nintendo Switch only or something?

 

[ArtHands]

Not everyone games on PC

ok but they are also on last gen xbox one too.

Buy Dragon Age: Origins | Xbox

From the makers of Mass Effect comes the dark fantasy epic: You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of a legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind's ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon...

www.xbox.com

Buy Dragon Age™ 2 | Xbox

You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever.

www.xbox.com

Buy Dragon Age™: Inquisition - Game of the Year Edition | Xbox

Discover the ultimate version of Dragon Age: Inquisition which includes all DLC and add-ons. Explore the epic adventure that has been awarded over 130 Game of the Year awards. Take your place as the Inquisitor and lead a team of heroes to save Thedas from the brink of chaos.

www.xbox.com

 

[LectureMaster]

They are readily available, works well and discounted to 90% frequently. I don’t see the need for any remaster?

Mass Effect games are also available on Steam. People want to see quality of life improves of the older games, see them on modern platforms, etc. Let alone Origin on Steam is broken as fuck, you need loads of mods to make it work properly, check the review section.

 

[Kacho]

Mass Effect games are also available on Steam. People want to see quality of life improves of the older games, see them on modern platforms, etc. Let alone Origin on Steam is broken as fuck, you need loads of mods to make it work properly, check the review section.

I tried Origins recently and it was more trouble than it’s worth. We definitely need remasters on all platforms with controller support on PC.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Just make a proper remake of the first one

With stuff like your family being brutally murdered in the prologue? I'm afraid modern audiences won't be able to handle that.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Understand the engine and let’s go improve Dragon Age Origins that game is a blessing and I admire dragon age 2.

 

[mayham2199]

Origins aged well due to its nice baked lighting and high quality textures. The FX are kinda bad but still decent. Dragon Age 2 is a pos and can be skipped anyway and Inquisition looks fantastic because frostbyte ages nicely and at times it looks even better than Veilguard.

Man I tried origins on PC and I still thought it looked bad. I remember when it came out one of the main complaints was it looked old and that was during the 360. D2 is bad but the story is actually worth it and that story continues into #3.

 

[ArtHands]

Mass Effect games are also available on Steam. People want to see quality of life improves of the older games, see them on modern platforms, etc. Let alone Origin on Steam is broken as fuck, you need loads of mods to make it work properly, check the review section.

A hyperbole considering reviews indicate it is the issue of extreme minority, when the overall aggregated review is pretty positives.

They are also playable on modern Xbox via backward compatible too

 

[LectureMaster]

A hyperbole considering reviews indicate it is the issue of extreme minority, when the overall aggregated review is pretty positives.

They are also playable on modern Xbox via backward compatible too

Extreme minority? Seriously? If you never knew the game why bother with this ridiculous take? Just because positive reviews not mentioning doesn't mean they are running the game without mods. Literally the highest rated guide on Steam is teaching you how to fix the game's technical problems.

And by your logic, Mass Effect legendary edition should never have been well received because the originals are available on PC and Xbox. Jeez.

 

[DaciaJC]

I wouldn't trust modern Bioware for a second with faithfully remaking the original DA games, absolutely not.

 

[mayham2199]

I wouldn't trust modern Bioware for a second with faithfully remaking the original DA games, absolutely not.

The ME LE edition is amazing IMO.

 

[Skifi28]

A hyperbole considering reviews indicate it is the issue of extreme minority, when the overall aggregated review is pretty positives.

They are also playable on modern Xbox via backward compatible too

Cool, then make a PS and Nintendo collection and leave PC and xbox out of it since they can already play them. Everyone's happy.

 

[nial]

You can buy the 360 discs for a pittance and play on an Xbox. I'm a "PlayStation guy", but even I have an Xbox One just for this reason. Hell, even buying the digital version at full price is cheap. It's also free to play if you have EA Play or whatever.

We have to spend developer resources remastering everything for people who are Nintendo Switch only or something?

But it would also be for PlayStation only people? Nintendo + PlayStation folks as well.

 

[Sooner]

Plus, it would be difficult to back and patch in all the new pronouns that have been created since then.

 

[EviLore]

RIP BioWare 1995-2012.

 

[ArtHands]

Extreme minority? Seriously? If you never knew the game why bother with this ridiculous take? Just because positive reviews not mentioning doesn't mean they are running the game without mods. Literally the highest rated guide on Steam is teaching you how to fix the game's technical problems.

And by your logic, Mass Effect legendary edition should never have been well received because the originals are available on PC and Xbox. Jeez.

Yes, definitely seriously. I knew the game and this is definitely not a ridiculous take at all. Just because they are positive (or negative) doesn’t mean they are running with mods too. I don’t see the need to pretend that they are bad suddenly to beg for any remaster. Let the developers move on.

Cool, then make a PS and Nintendo collection and leave PC and xbox out of it since they can already play them. Everyone's happy.

So they can sold like 8 copies?PS players can buy them on a PS3 and Nintendo players don't buy 3rd party games according to NeoGaf. If they really wants the games they would have already buy them on a budget PC, or a cheap Xbox by now.

 

[Gp1]

Play on pc, mod the shit out of it.

Origins and Inquisition has/had a healthy modding community.

(although modding the third game is a major pain in the ass. Sometimes it works, sometimes not)

 

[Braag]

Just make a proper remake of the first one

Trust me, you don't want that.

The ME LE edition is amazing IMO.

The LE edition is not a remake. Just a remaster.