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Dragon Age II |OT| The Revenge of Shit Mountain

HixxSAFC said:
Is this topic going to be worth bothering with if you don't subscribe to the 'poop mountain' and 'Dragon Effect' comments until after release?
No, leave now before your worldview is soiled by the mountain of shit and the dragon erect simplistic dialog choices
 

2San

Member
Durante said:
(The real reason I'll buy it is that the choices for party-based tactical -- and I use that word in the broadest sense -- cRPGs this year are basically Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age 2)
Probably for the next few years as well. Are there actual other active game series that play the same way?
 
Neuromancer said:
I'm just happy to be the pee-er, not the peed-on for once.

vpzpjp.gif


Sounds like something this man would say.
 

Hixx

Member
ElyrionX said:
Just tried the demo on the 360.

It was awesome. The graphics are a huge step up from the shitfest that was DA:O so obviously the people complaining about the graphics didn't play DA:O on the consoles. The skill trees look a lot more interesting now as well. Can't wait.

DA:O didn't even look that good on PCs. There were a few indoor areas that did look really great but the outdoor areas were pretty awful - 1080p on high even with mods. Ostagar/Redcliffe were nice but then you're struggling.
 

Vaporak

Member
K.Jack said:
So, all of you people who hate it and will never buy will stop posting after it's released. right?

Do we get to come back once The Witcher 2 is released for round 2 of the pissing match?

I'm sure this thread will get a ton of pro bioware/DA2 support from players once the game comes out, PC-GAF is a tiny minority after all.
 
DSN2K said:
ummm why buy something if you don't like it ?

People can have views on whatever the hell they want. And if they come from demo's, game play videos, reviews or simply based off the genre of the game itself then that is also completely fine.

this you cant talk until you have played it bullshit argument is incredibly stale.
Just because they have views, dosen't make them informed views. You kind of have to play the game to have that and if you don't why should I take you serious when you say "this game sucks"? It's one thing to say "I'm not interested in this game." or "This looks pretty bad", but it's another thing to say this games sucks and really have no backing.
 
I can't wait for this game. I fought through a lot of annoyances and still loved the first game. Most of those annoyances are gone and there are a lot of smart improvements across the board while it looks like they retained the relationship stuff that made DAO feel so unique compared to Mass Effect.

I'm still worried about the combat. It's in a weird middle ground where you have to button mash but there's no real feedback, no blocking, and no subtlety at all. Mass Effect 2 was a legitimately good shooter, but this isn't a good action game by any measure. They should have gone further.

Also, was there a ghost writer for the OP? Well done. Much better than the crazy MGS4-styled OPs.

And for the love of God, people, shut up about The Witcher 2. We need a GT5/Forza 3 style spin-off comparison thread.
 
you dont' have to button mash, there's supposedly a toggle option in the console version and the pc version just plain doesn't have button mashing at all.
 
tmacairjordan87 said:
you dont' have to button mash, there's supposedly a toggle option in the console version and the pc version just plain doesn't have button mashing at all.

I tend to jam on buttons even when I don't have to. There's no way I'm turning that off. I need to get some kind of workout for the 60 hours I'm going to spend playing this, even if it's just further destroying my tendons.
 
tmacairjordan87 said:
you dont' have to button mash, there's supposedly a toggle option in the console version and the pc version just plain doesn't have button mashing at all.

That's great for people who want it, but I want maximum awesomeness for my dollar.
 

Salaadin

Member
The quote are real? I know of the "awesome button" one...but the "exploding darkspawn" one? That was really said? Really?
 

Alucrid

Banned
I still find "to make it visually super hot" one of the funniest quotes ever. It's something Paris Hilton would say.
 

dionysus

Yaldog
Not ‘dumbed down’ or anything like that, but welcoming. Like Starting the game, your character walks up, says something kind of over the the top, and immediately starts exploding Darkspawn. - Mike Laidlow, Lead Designer, Tween

I am not sure how to react to this.

1) This condescending asshole really thinks the people who buy his games are dumb prepubescent boys drawing guns on their english textbook during class.

or 2) I should call the Canadian police because Bioware is employing tween labor.
 

Patryn

Member
dionysus said:
Not ‘dumbed down’ or anything like that, but welcoming. Like Starting the game, your character walks up, says something kind of over the the top, and immediately starts exploding Darkspawn. - Mike Laidlow, Lead Designer, Tween

I am not sure how to react to this.

1) This condescending asshole really thinks the people who buy his games are dumb prepubescent boys drawing guns on their english textbook during class.

or 2) I should call the Canadian police because Bioware is employing tween labor.

The real story is he uses that quote to say that people should use that first supposed "over-the-top" sequence to judge and evaluate the gameplay, despite all the damage control saying otherwise.

See:

Mike Laidlaw said:
So there was no mandate, but I mean there were decisions that we made as a team that said, "Okay, this is, I think, more welcoming." Not "dumbed down" or anything like that, but welcoming. Like starting the game, your character walks up, says something kind of over the top, and immediately starts exploding Darkspawn. I haven't set my decks at all. I haven't spent points.

What it does, is it lets you get into the game and go, "Okay, cool. This is what their combat is like. I get that." Then the next thing you do is build your character.
 
Patryn said:
The real story is he uses that quote to say that people should use that first supposed "over-the-top" sequence to judge and evaluate the gameplay, despite all the damage control saying otherwise.
Well they are right, that part was the most fun to play with a warrior MC. As long as you treat it like a button mashy aRPG rather than something like DA:O.

Edit: The mage played pretty much the same through the first and last parts of the demo. Cast firestorm + fireball then everything dies and you move on to the next encounter where you do the exact same thing.
 

seat

Member
I'm getting tired of all the incessant trolling being dished out against this game (which no one here has yet played the final product, for Pete's sake) but I must admit I laughed at the "maybe I should've pressed A..." line.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
EviLore said:
System Requirements:
MINIMUM
-486 Intel processor or 100% compatible
-4MB RAM
-MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
-8MB hard drive space
-256-color VGA graphics card
-CD-ROM drive
RECOMMENDED
-486/33MHz
-1MB video card
-Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card
-Double-speed CD-ROM drive

Hahahaha nice op.
 
dionysus said:
Not ‘dumbed down’ or anything like that, but welcoming. Like Starting the game, your character walks up, says something kind of over the the top, and immediately starts exploding Darkspawn. - Mike Laidlow, Lead Designer, Tween

I am not sure how to react to this.

1) This condescending asshole really thinks the people who buy his games are dumb prepubescent boys drawing guns on their english textbook during class.

or 2) I should call the Canadian police because Bioware is employing tween labor.

They are not making this game for hardcore NeoGAF gamers. They are making this game for everyone, and their data said that a lot of people gave up before even finishing an origin story. They attempted to rectify that.

Having played the demo, I don't think they really completely accomplished what they were trying to do and it pales in comparison to the Mass Effect 2 intro, but I definitely understand the reasoning. And ultimately, why do you care so much? It's only 15 minutes of a 60-hour game.
 

Grisby

Member
Chuckled at the OP. A bit much but I can see where PC gamers are coming from.

Really enjoyed Dragon Age Origins on consoles and didn't get a chance to experience it with Gaffers at the time of release. Looking forward to 2 and Bioware hasn't disappointed me yet!
 

Hixx

Member
Ysiadmihi said:
Unfortunately those 15 minutes only reinforced fears that the game has been dumbed down.

How? Because the combat is more fast-paced? Because a list of words has been replaced by a wheel of words?
 
Ysiadmihi said:
Unfortunately those 15 minutes only reinforced fears that the game has been dumbed down.

I'm JUST talking about the intro. Once you get into the actual game, it's clear that it's a similar game with a streamlined interface and more (apparently optional) button mashing.
 

Durante

Member
2San said:
Probably for the next few years as well. Are there actual other active game series that play the same way?
Well, there was Drakensang and its sequel, which play the same way except better, but Radon Labs is dead now. I can't think of anything else.


I think this is one of the main reasons people are very critical of the direction Bioware is taking the series. Dragon Age: Origins was the only high-profile release in its sub-genre in many years, and it seemed like it could be the start of a minor renaissance of its style of play. But the sequel does everything possible to move away from that rare kind of gameplay.
 

Ysiadmihi

Banned
HixxSAFC said:
How? Because the combat is more fast-paced? Because a list of words has been replaced by a wheel of words?

No amount of careful phrasing can downplay the implications those two changes have on the game overall.
 

dionysus

Yaldog
dalemurphy said:
They are not making this game for hardcore NeoGAF gamers. They are making this game for everyone, and their data said that a lot of people gave up before even finishing an origin story. They attempted to rectify that.

They rectify it by having characters dish out one liners and having bodies explode in sprays of blood, yea I can't see any reason why I should have a problem with that. I am sure that it is just the first 15 minutes that are so juvenile...

Having played the demo, I don't think they really completely accomplished what they were trying to do and it pales in comparison to the Mass Effect 2 intro, but I definitely understand the reasoning. And ultimately, why do you care so much? It's only 15 minutes of a 60-hour game.

You are right, I can't believe I am on a gaming forum discussing such inconsequential games. Hey Neogaf, wake up, this stuff is unimportant! Why do we care so much? Shut this place down until we have achieved world peace and everyone has a full belly.

Seriously, the "you care too much" or "try harder" rhetorical attack is the worst attack you can make on a gaming forum. As I can just respond why do you care enough to respond to a post from an anonymous poster, one of thousands, on a gaming forum about an inconsequential game. By joining this forum, you are implicitly stating your consent to debate the subject at hand, which is games. To attack me for caring too much is absurd, because you have already stated that you care at least as much as me, just by being a member of neogaf.
 
The game is faster paced, which I really like.

What I didn't like is the difficulty being locked down in the demo. Even inventory management was taken out of my hands - it's really hard to test the limits of complexity in the game without being able to ramp up the difficulty and without being able to test out a lot of the abilities. One can edit their AI team's conditions at least, so that's good.
 
dionysus said:
They rectify it by having characters dish out one liners and having bodies explode in sprays of blood, yea I can't see any reason why I should have a problem with that. I am sure that it is just the first 15 minutes that are so juvenile...

Yeah, there were no one-liners in Origins.

You are right, I can't believe I am on a gaming forum discussing such inconsequential games. Hey Neogaf, wake up, this stuff is unimportant! Why do we care so much? Shut this place down until we have achieved world peace and everyone has a full belly.

Seriously, the "you care too much" or "try harder" rhetorical attack is the worst attack you can make on a gaming forum. As I can just respond why do you care enough to respond to a post from an anonymous poster, one of thousands, on a gaming forum about an inconsequential game. By joining this forum, you are implicitly stating your consent to debate the subject at hand, which is games. To attack me for caring too much is absurd, because you have already stated that you care at least as much as me, just by being a member of neogaf.

You're not reading good. I'm responding to you getting hot and bothered by the INTRO. Not the whole game. The intro. You jumped to a million conclusions seemingly based on the INTRO.

Again, the INTRO.
 
Ysiadmihi said:
No amount of careful phrasing can downplay the implications those two changes have on the game overall.

You didn't answer the question though. If the game didn't look like complete ass graphically I would have said it was better in every way from Origins going from the demo. The combat was exactly the same on PC just faster and I always liked the wheel better than a list of things that your character says, then he doesn't even say it and the npc's assume you already said something when you click a response.

Everything else was locked out really. Got a small glance at the skill tree and it looked more or less the same, just seperated into groups rather than a big list. I don't see how that's "dumbing down" at all.
 

DangerStepp

Member
The system specs broke me. LOL!

I guess us PC gamers aren't too hot for this one? I didn't play the first. What am I missing here?
 

Durante

Member
tmacairjordan87 said:
The combat was exactly the same on PC just faster
THis is completely untrue. The very fact that it is "much faster" completely changes the battle dynamics. From melee characters closing in much more quickly to mages not needing to be protected during long casting times, it's a much less deliberate affair.
 

Hixx

Member
Ysiadmihi said:
No amount of careful phrasing can downplay the implications those two changes have on the game overall.

Sorry I'm not seeing it. The combat in DA:O is dull for the majority of the time. This is coming from someone who has put 50 hours into it over the last 3 or so weeks. The only difference in DA2 is that it was quicker and that it animated differently to go with the new speed. You have to remember the first fights in Origins to compare rather than the mid-late game dungeons. There was no tactics in those, just hitting your attacks and mowing through them.

I can see why people dislike the wheel, it makes the dialogue choices more clear-cut but its not like Origins had subtle choices in the first place.

I think a lot of people are remembering DAO for being better than it actually was. There's complaints about maturity/juvenility now and I'm thinking that the original was the same. It had OTT gore. Stupid one liners from characters. An incredible amount of cheesy innuendo.

People are seeing massive differences where I'm just not. I don't get it. The biggest difference is in the visual style, complaints about that I understand and accept (but will again disagree with it, but like I say can accept they don't like the change). The changes elsewhere aren't sweeping or vastly different enough to change how the game plays drastically.

Durante said:
THis is completely untrue. The very fact that it is "much faster" completely changes the battle dynamics. From melee characters closing in much more quickly to mages not needing to be protected during long casting times, it's a much less deliberate affair.

For me, melee moving in so slowly was more frustrating than anything. I spent more time on my Dual-wield rogue getting into position than actually attacking stuff.
 

Patryn

Member
dalemurphy said:
Yeah, there were no one-liners in Origins.



You're not reading good. I'm responding to you getting hot and bothered by the INTRO. Not the whole game. The intro. You jumped to a million conclusions seemingly based on the INTRO.

Again, the INTRO.

Again, Bioware released this demo so that people could make impressions about the game.

We're not judging something that has been leaked, or been deemed "not ready for release." Bioware opened themselves up to this criticism by releasing that portion of the game.

Are people being exceedingly negative? Yes. But I've seen a lot of defenders moving the goalposts. First it was "Wait until you play the game!" Now that people have, it's all "You can't judge it until you played the full retail version!"

I expect that the next comment will be "You can't judge it until you've beaten the game!"

And I say all this as a person who, while troubled by some of the changes, doesn't really dislike the game. I just think Bioware's PR team needs to be fired.
 
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