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Dragon Age: Origins |OT| Letting The Fade fade out of memory

JoeBoy101

Member
I've had a Morrigan, Sten, and Alistar interaction with Constantine (my pooch), in camp. Alistar was amusing and Morrigan's was very funny. Sten's was a little interesting and, unexpected.

Leilana has had a lot of off-sides conversations/comments with him during play that have been amusing, "Okay, not gluttonous. How about, 'Admirer of fine cuisine?'"
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
I'm about 6 hours into the 360 SKU. I can't believe what an absolutely awful looking game this is on that platform. I'm not a graphics whore or anything, but I was exploring this forest area last night, and the environment art and texture quality looked like a PS2 shovelware game.

I guess it makes sense, as EA obviously decided to go lowest-bidder when contracting out the port to shovelware development house Edge of Reality, whose previous masterpieces were Over The Hedge and Shark Tale.

I still enjoy the game somewhat, but there is no excuse for how bad this game looks other than lazy porting.

Also, it turns out I'm not insane that the voice-overs have terrible compression artifacting, making them scratchy and distort at the high-range. The Eurogamer reviewer had the exact same observation:

"Let's be charitable and shrug off the poor-quality audio compression. There's a tinny, scrambled edge to the dialogue now, but that can only be because there's so very much of it to be accommodated without the benefit of a hard disk install."


Ugh I wish I got this game on PC instead...
 

Zeliard

Member
I really wish this game had a higher party limit, mostly due to the character interactions. I feel the need to have Morrigan and Alistair in my party at all times, and I've been mostly ignoring chars like the dog and Sten (outside of camp) due to that. It'll get worse as I pick up more people.
 

Gorgon

Member
GarthVaderUK said:
Eurogamer gave the 360 version 6/10:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dragon-age-origins-xbox360-review?page=1

Edit: it's same guy who did the PC version review.

Don't know about the 360 version, but I agree with his review of the PC version. I havne't played the game myself but I've spent quite a few hours at a friend's house watching the game, etc, and I feel his review matches my opinion so far. But then again, it's a matter of personal opinion.
 
FlyinJ said:
I'm about 6 hours into the 360 SKU. I can't believe what an absolutely awful looking game this is on that platform. I'm not a graphics whore or anything, but I was exploring this forest area last night, and the environment art and texture quality looked like a PS2 shovelware game.


Not sure how you can really say this as there isn't a DRASTIC difference when it comes to graphics really. Better textures sure...but looking at the comparison trailers its not that mind blowingly different.

Imo if it bothered me that bad, I'd simple get it on the pc. Who says its due to them doing a bad port?, perhaps they simple couldn't get everything in this game without making some sacrifices? Yet its better to have it on the consoles then not at all for those of us who either a. Don't want to play it on pc, or B. Don't have a pc capable.

Personally I just wanted the 360 version though I will probably double dip pc later.
 

REV 09

Member
Y2Kev said:
I think it's very difficult as a console player to really manage all four party members. I already feel extremely limited by only having 6 (5 really, since I am using quick heal) commands on the face buttons + modifier, and switching to another character doesn't actually tell me what abilities they have hotkeyed...I have to go and look at what each picture means :lol

I really wish I had a PC.
i recommend leaving the quicksave and sustained spells off the assigned slots on the console version. They're easy to just tap L and activate when needed. I only have the Activated Talents assigned to the quickslots and so far, 6 seems to be enough.
 

REV 09

Member
FlyinJ said:
I'm about 6 hours into the 360 SKU. I can't believe what an absolutely awful looking game this is on that platform. I'm not a graphics whore or anything, but I was exploring this forest area last night, and the environment art and texture quality looked like a PS2 shovelware game.
The small area off of Lothering and the swamp area where you find Morrigan were awful looking, but everything else has been decent to great visually. Given your playtime, i'm assuming that you're referring to one of those two sections....it gets better.
 
The game doesn't look much different from the PC version. There's a comparison video of all three versions and they all look the same. The only difference is the PS3 version seems to have a bit of slow down.

REV 09 said:
i recommend leaving the quicksave and sustained spells off the assigned slots on the console version. They're easy to just tap L and activate when needed. I only have the Activated Talents assigned to the quickslots and so far, 6 seems to be enough.

Yea, this has been my experience as well. The game should have shipped without the quickslots and used the controller buttons for something more pragmatic.. like hotkeying inventory, quests or the map.
 

laserbeam

Banned
So came across a scary situation. In the whorehouse bedded a female elf but when it came to cutscene time it was totally a dudes voice even though model had tits etc.

Bioware trannytricked me :(
 

Gorgon

Member
Doytch said:
A big problem is the lifeless "delivery" of your lines, and the high-fantasy cliches that litter the world. Scottish dwarf? I NEVER!

This is precisely my "problem" with the game. Everything is very good in general even though some things could have been better. But as far as setting, ambience, etc goes it feels extremely derivative. I feel that I've seen it all before and after decades of gaming that really doesn't cut it for me anymore.

Doytch said:
. The choices themselves may be good, and offer you different ways of solving a problem, but they're presented in text that really isn't all that great.

I honestly will take traditional text based dialogue any day over Mass Effect or Alpha Protocol alternatives.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
REV 09 said:
The small area off of Lothering and the swamp area where you find Morrigan were awful looking, but everything else has been decent to great visually. Given your playtime, i'm assuming that you're referring to one of those two sections....it gets better.

No, I'm referring to
The wood-elf forest with the warewolf quest. It looks so bad
 
Gorgon said:
This is precisely my "problem" with the game. Everything is very good in general even though some things could have been better. But as far as setting, ambience, etc goes it feels extremely derivative. I feel that I've seen it all before and after decades of gaming that really doesn't cut it for me anymore.

Needs more bald space marines ;)
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
After playing the PS3 version for 15 hours+ I'm extremely happy with it. I was expecting the worst. It looks and run great, the framerate problem don't bother me much. It's worst isn't that bad (the worst that I've seen) and it's normal is good? I guess this is a game where you find out how sensitive to framerates you are. I'm in the, "it looks good to me" camp.

Also this game is amazing!

The dog is crazy. I was fighting the dragon with my best Paladin type player, I brought the dog along to deal damage. My paladin died, then I thought it was over. The dog held the dragon far better than the heavy on defense character could. It was a pretty tame while the paladin was dead. I guess the points where the dog would do a duck motion is when the dragon would try to grab it with it's mouth. That's the move that puts my paladin in trouble.
 

Zeliard

Member
mentalfloss said:
The game doesn't look much different from the PC version. There's a comparison video of all three versions and they all look the same. The only difference is the PS3 version seems to have a bit of slow down.

Kidding me? The PC version looks vastly better.
 

Paznos

Member
Ploid 3.0 said:
After playing the PS3 version for 15 hours+ I'm extremely happy with it. I was expecting the worst. It looks and run great, the framerate problem don't bother me much. It's worst isn't that bad (the worst that I've seen) and it's normal is good? I guess this is a game where you find out how sensitive to framerates you are. I'm in the, "it looks good to me" camp.

Also this game is amazing!

The dog is crazy. I was fighting the dragon with my best Paladin type player, I brought the dog along to deal damage. My paladin died, then I thought it was over. The dog held the dragon far better than the heavy on defense character could. It was a pretty tame while the paladin was dead. I guess the points where the dog would do a duck motion is when the dragon would try to grab it with it's mouth. That's the move that puts my paladin in trouble.
Cool good to hear, I'm trying to finish Borderlands before I start playing on the PS3 and from what I've seen in the videos it didn't look that bad to me either.
 

painey

Member
Im at the Mage Tower, theres an achievement for helping the Templars and Helping the Mages.. is it like Fallout 3 karma achievements where I will get to a set point where I must choose and I can quickly reload and choose a different choice to get both achievements quickly, or do you have to make a choice early and stick with it while you do the quest?

I told the Templar guy i'd go in and kill the monsters but I dont know if I cant help the Mages anymore?
 
played for a couple hours last night...elf mage

quick question from my "initiation" - is there, or will there be a way to avoid being hit at all? trying to move out of the way didnt seem to be working for me. i havent had any battles since this initial series of them so pardon the dumb question
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
I really want to play this on the PC, but I don't anticipate owning anything that can run it anytime soon (for the Baldurs Gateish overhead view, if anything). What're the general impressions on the console versions?
 

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
Rollo Larson said:
played for a couple hours last night...elf mage

quick question from my "initiation" - is there, or will there be a way to avoid being hit at all? trying to move out of the way didnt seem to be working for me. i havent had any battles since this initial series of them so pardon the dumb question

I've avoided many hits simply by running away with my human mage. (pc version)
 

Zeliard

Member
Rollo Larson said:
played for a couple hours last night...elf mage

quick question from my "initiation" - is there, or will there be a way to avoid being hit at all? trying to move out of the way didnt seem to be working for me. i havent had any battles since this initial series of them so pardon the dumb question

Melee attacks can generally be dodged by simply moving your character away at the right time. Long-range attacks are very difficult to dodge.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
Jayge said:
I like Alistair for what he is and all but... what the HELL do you have against Jon Snow? :lol


O no, Jon is great. I'm just saying the similarities are quite obvious.

On a side note i have real trouble deciding who to take with me and I don't even have all the party member. This is gonna get bad when I finally do.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
Am I crazy or does choosing to save
Conner
by enlisting the mages' help instead of using
blood magic
give you like 3 extra hours of gameplay? This quest diversion is HUGE.

Though I seriously hate the fade.
 

Not a Jellyfish

but I am a sheep
Zeliard said:
Kidding me? The PC version looks vastly better.

Agreed. Even watching that comparison video the character model looks better, running animation is more fluid and really it just looks way better all around IMO.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Zeliard said:
Melee attacks can generally be dodged by simply moving your character away at the right time. Long-range attacks are very difficult to dodge.

You can actually dodge a melee attack by moving out of the way? Isn't it just a dieroll?
 

epmode

Member
Rollo Larson said:
quick question from my "initiation" - is there, or will there be a way to avoid being hit at all? trying to move out of the way didnt seem to be working for me.
You can definitely run away but I'm pretty sure that you're going to get hit once the attack animation starts (unless it's a miss as dictated by normal accuracy values). If that makes sense.
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
lorddarkflare said:
ANy significance in that party?

The party conversations should be the greatest thing ever :lol

Besides, having 3 tanks must kick ass. Arrows are for pussies!
 

Krackatoa

Member
You can interrupt attacks by stunning or freezing the opponent mid-startup of the attack animation. Running or moving out of the way only works on certain attacks.
 

jabipun

Member
FlyinJ said:
You can actually dodge a melee attack by moving out of the way? Isn't it just a dieroll?

You can move to more situate yourself out of deadly positions - but you can't technically dodge as it were a DMC game.

If the animation begins and you think "oh shit, let's run the fuck away" you'll still get hit even if the attack doesn't connect from an animation prospective.

But you can still move around to avoid sticky situations within a battle.
 

Zeliard

Member
jabipun said:
You can move to more situate yourself out of deadly positions - but you can't technically dodge as it were a DMC game.

If the animation begins and you think "oh shit, let's run the fuck away" you'll still get hit even if the attack doesn't connect from an animation prospective.

But you can still move around to avoid sticky situations within a battle.

Hrm, I'm pretty sure I've moved my mage out of the way of certain melee attacks during pause and had them completely whiff and do no damage. Could have been just a coincidence where they would have been calculated as missing anyway, but I've done that quite a few times and it's always seemed to work.
 
Zeliard said:
Kidding me? The PC version looks vastly better.

I think this varying depending on who you ask. There is no denying pcs look better. Yet not the extreme prejudice that some people hold against it the consoles version as if they look nothing alike.
 

LCfiner

Member
Y2Kev said:
Am I crazy or does choosing to save
Conner
by enlisting the mages' help instead of using
blood magic
give you like 3 extra hours of gameplay? This quest diversion is HUGE.

Though I seriously hate the fade.


you’re crazy.


ok, maybe not. but...

this is just an educated guess but I’m pretty sure you’d have to do the entire circle of magi tower quest anyway once you got there to enlist their help fighting the Blight.

that would happen regardless of your decisions at Redcliffe.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
LCfiner said:
you’re crazy.


ok, maybe not. but...

this is just an educated guess but I’m pretty sure you’d have to do the entire circle of magi tower quest anyway once you got there to enlist their help fighting the Blight.

that would happen regardless of your decisions at Redcliffe.
Okay. To be honest I have this neurosis. I HATE having more than one open quest. I will actively avoid engaging in side quests or diversions. I need to play a game in its entirety, then I can go back and one by one do the side quests. Having this HUGE diversion in the middle of my plot quest is driving me insane.

PS THE FADE SUCKS THE FADE SUCKS IT SUCKS IT SUCKS
 

hulot

Member
Zeliard said:
Kidding me? The PC version looks vastly better.
At $199?

aidan said:
I really want to play this on the PC, but I don't anticipate owning anything that can run it anytime soon (for the Baldurs Gateish overhead view, if anything). What're the general impressions on the console versions?
On 360, graphically, at first it's underwhelming but you get used to it. Definitely could look better for a 360 game. Tacticswise also suffers from being limited to 3rd person view and inability to order move commands for better positioning (ie you have to be in control and move the character yourself). But if you can't get it on PC, I don't think the console versions are unplayable and the UI is rather well done for the wealth of information it needs to display.
 

kodt

Banned
mentalfloss said:
The game doesn't look much different from the PC version. There's a comparison video of all three versions and they all look the same. The only difference is the PS3 version seems to have a bit of slow down..

1080p, max settings, 8xAA 60+ fps on PC

You can tell quite a difference between that and the 360 version. (I have PC version, roommate has 360 version )
 

Zeliard

Member
Dyno said:
Overall is this game better than tricked out Oblivion, the same, or not as good?

Vanilla Dragon Age on PC is much better than any version of Oblivion with any combination of mods.

Y2Kev said:
Okay. To be honest I have this neurosis. I HATE having more than one open quest. I will actively avoid engaging in side quests or diversions. I need to play a game in its entirety, then I can go back and one by one do the side quests. Having this HUGE diversion in the middle of my plot quest is driving me insane.

PS THE FADE SUCKS THE FADE SUCKS IT SUCKS IT SUCKS

I have literally like 10 current quests going on right now. Might actually be even more.

And that's just the main quests and the stuff from Lothering. :lol

hulot said:

lol
 

LCfiner

Member
Y2Kev said:
Okay. To be honest I have this neurosis. I HATE having more than one open quest. I will actively avoid engaging in side quests or diversions. I need to play a game in its entirety, then I can go back and one by one do the side quests. Having this HUGE diversion in the middle of my plot quest is driving me insane.

PS THE FADE SUCKS THE FADE SUCKS IT SUCKS IT SUCKS


I agree with ya, to an extent.

All the time that I’m doing this story centric tower quest I keep thinking about Redcliffe and what’s going on over there. I can’t get it out of my head that I have unfinished business over there.

I keep thinking I shoulda ended that Redcliffe storyline by picking one of the other options and then I could do Sulcher’s Pass or something else now instead of this damn Fade stuff.

Oh, and Fuck The Fade. it sucks. looks like something out of Morrowind’s anus.

except for
spirit form.
you move around like a PIMP.
 

Zeliard

Member
The Fade's visual design is hideous and the gameplay in it in the Mage origin is very basic (since it's at the start of the game and mostly a tutorial), which is a shame when most of the rest of the game looks and plays pretty damn beautifully.

It actually gave me a very poor first impression of the game, especially the visuals. Unfortunate start to the Mage origin.
 
Tenks said:
ITT console peasants realize why PC is the master race

Masters at defending pc gaming to the death is more like it. And I'm a pc/console game player, but some comments I've seen are just plain arogant.

*edit* but back on topic, some of you have completed this game already. Did anyone offer up a completion time yet? I'm 7 hours in and still extremely early on.
 

Durante

Member
Did anyone else get the "Helm of the Deep" without "earning" it?

(My "registered game promotions" list on the bioware social network thing has 11 entries and I have yet to start playing :lol)
 

Rad-

Member
I was complaining about rogues being underpowered earlier but now that my guy has leveled and looted up, he's whooping butt like he's supposed to. He's getting the most kills by far.
 
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