User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

[Taskmage]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Do you think the Bioware from the KOTOR days would create a game where choice was so neutered that party members never got offended by the choices of the player or left the party because of them?

Actually, I had one party member desert me and disappear because I didn't choose their welfare over the city's, lost another to darkspawn because of an unfortunate choice of companions, killed a third myself because of an unforgivable act, and had a fourth turn against me because I stood with the mages and they had a hardcore prejudice, while another would have done the same if I hadn't made a strong friendship with them. Now the thing is, while my choices absolutely did have an effect on what became of those characters in the present story, my choices in DA:O affected not a damn thing so far as I could tell, so on the other hand I have no real faith that those decisions Matter with a capital M in the grand scheme of things as they do in ME. Another caveat: the one that actually turned against me was swayed back to my side ridiculously easily in a later scene by picking a dialog option that said "Join me," so that kindof stripped any weight out of the betrayal in the first place.

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Actually, I had one party member desert me and disappear because I didn't choose their welfare over the city's, lost another to darkspawn because of an unfortunate choice of companions, killed a third myself because of an unforgivable act, and had a fourth turn against me because I stood with the mages and they had a hardcore prejudice, while another would have done the same if I hadn't made a strong friendship with them. Now the thing is, while my choices absolutely did have an effect on what became of those characters in the present story, my choices in DA:O affected not a damn thing so far as I could tell, so on the other hand I have no real faith that those decisions Matter with a capital M in the grand scheme of things as they do in ME. Another caveat: the one that actually turned against me was swayed back to my side ridiculously easily in a later scene by picking a dialog option that said "Join me," so that kindof stripped any weight out of the betrayal in the first place.

I agree that a lot of the choices you made in DA:O had little effect on the overall plot, but you had so many choices that it hardly mattered. I loved that each origin story set a different mood for the rest of the game. Being betrayed by my brother and thrown out of my home made me all the more motivated to sort out whatever tasks stood in my way with returning. Character development didn't occur through stereotypical speeches or forced, brief exchanges; it occured through believable chit-chat during down time and through dialogue trees with actual consequences. A lot of that is gone in DA2, which isn't terrible, but they replaced with it a downgraded system that seems like two steps backwards.

My issues with DA2 is that the dialogue trees are extremely difficult to navigate. The lines you choose rarely represent the actual lines, and intent behind them, spoken by Hawke. The symbols beside them, while with good intention behind them, only make things more confusing. What exactly does a gavel mean? A fist? An olive branch? Sometimes I'm able to select an option where I let another character take over the conversation, but I rarely ever know how it's going to turn out. On top of that, Aveline is a huge cunt who never agrees with anything I do, whether it be in accordance with the law or against it. Fuck her, she's lucky she's the only tank.

Which leads me to ANOTHER problem. Why do character have certain skill trees completely removed? Why do I have to keep people in my group who I don't like just because they're the only ones with the skills I need? It's frustrating.

[Taskmage]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Dwarven noble too, huh? Best origin story imo. I agree about the dialog system. You'd think the icons would help, but it they were misleading as often as they were clarifying.

I like Aveline, but I don't understand her at all. I often got rivalry points doing things I thought would make her happy and vice versa. Anyway, she may be the obvious tank and Anders might be the only reliable healer, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to get by without either of them 90% of the time. It's really only stuff like dragons that demand them.

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Right now I'm playing on hard and she's pretty damn helpful. It's another situation where the game isn't actually difficult, but they throw something stupid at you every once in a while and call it hard. In one battle a Qunari mage appears out of nowhere and casts a spell that one-shots everybody standing near it, which also slows the movement speed of anybody around it. Not that the teammate AI actually tries to run away, but it's another nail in the coffin.

[Raydeus]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

What if Bioware was owned by or assimilated into Valve, though?

Oh man, that would be like the greatest-est bestest thing ever!!!! Mew!!

Same with Bethesda.

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Yes, BioWare would do well under Zenimax's umbrella.

[Raydeus]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Though I still question Bethesda's decision to let Obsidian make Fallout -1.

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Why let a franchise sit and collect dust?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Yes, BioWare would do well under Zenimax's umbrella.

Yeah, any company that needlessly uses Gambryo for three major releases is one I want to work for.

Oh well, at least Elder Scrolls V dodged that bullet.

[Raydeus]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Why let a franchise sit and collect dust?

You are being overly optimistic about it. Are you really Dak? <_<;

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Yeah, any company that needlessly uses Gambryo for three major releases is one I want to work for.

Oh well, at least Elder Scrolls V dodged that bullet.

Bethesda Games Studio used Gamebryo twice. Obsidian used it once. It was definitely the right move for Obsidian.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Bethesda Games Studio used Gamebryo twice. Obsidian used it once. It was definitely the right move for Obsidian.

I dunno, based off Elder Scrolls IV, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Junction Point using it for Epic Mickey, it doesn't seem like the right choice for any game its touched.

[Raydeus]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

Mods did make the engine look and work much better in Bethesda's games case, which begs the question. Is it the engine or the developer?

Alternatively which engine could work better for those games (mainly for Fallout and TES)?




Obsidian doesn't really count because they pretty much just made a bigger Fallout 3 mod and sold it separately.

[Malacite]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

As long as we're talking about old devs and such, anyone else miss New World Computing? The guys who made Heroes of Might & Magic 1-4 ?

I just found out that 6 even exists, and that it's out this spring. They're promising a much better job than 5 (I swear if they don't fix Necromancy this time I will absolutely flip the fuck out. FUCK WEEKLY CAPS ON RAISING DEAD!) but it's still the same Ubisoft guys so idk. 4's actually on sale for $10 right now but I'm holding out to see what 6 ends up being like first.


Also, to BBQ's earlier suggestion again with regards to homefront - Joystiq gave it a 2.5/5 stars LOL >.< IGN gave it a 7.0 but then again I take all their reviews with a grain of salt. WTF is THQ doing making an FPS anyway?

I still can't get over how absurd the premise of the game is. North Korea invades the U.S. and takes over? Bullshit. Never, ever, ever gonna happen. Reminds me of MW2's similar bullshit with Russia invading - Once again, NATO says hi. As if that weren't enough, need I remind ya'll that Germans are our friends now? And we all know what happens when you fuck with Germany...

[DakAttack]

Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

I dunno, based off Elder Scrolls IV, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Junction Point using it for Epic Mickey, it doesn't seem like the right choice for any game its touched.