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[Mario007]

If its not like DA1, then I don't want it.

Actually it shouldn't be like DA:O! The combat in that game was incredibly slow, the level design was awful and certain quest dragged on for far too long. Never mind the cliched plot an ending that didn't give a sense of closure at all.

Having said that it shouldn't be like DA2 either, with annoying NPCs, too little lore, the total disappearance of exploration, recycled assets and combat system where the challenge was that there was more guys conveniently showing up after you beat the first wave of bad guys.

Take all these away and mix what's left and you'll have a great DAIII.

 

[Patryn]

It begins.

It's been an open secret that they've been working on Dragon Age 3 for years now.

Actually it shouldn't be like DA:O! The combat in that game was incredibly slow, the level design was awful and certain quest dragged on for far too long. Never mind the cliched plot an ending that didn't give a sense of closure at all.

Having said that it shouldn't be like DA2 either, with annoying NPCs, too little lore, the total disappearance of exploration, recycled assets and combat system where the challenge was that there was more guys conveniently showing up after you beat the first wave of bad guys.

Take all these away and mix what's left and you'll have a great DAIII.

I disagree.

 

[Squire]

It's been an open secret that they've been working on Dragon Age 3 for years now.

I was referring to the start of formal, official discussion. Signs of it, anyway.

 

[Patryn]

I was referring to the start of formal, official discussion. Signs of it, anyway.

They were talking about it and showing stuff as far back as PAX East. They just never said "Dragon Age 3."

 

[bengraven]

Where's Morrigan fuckers.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Dragon Age: Unreal Tournament

Cannot unsee something that looks like Unreal font with that logo

Yeah...cannot unsee that now.

I seem to recall Bioware giving an interview around the release of Dragon Age: Origins where they said that it would never become a fantasy Mass Effect. Did I imagine that interview?

BioWare had a bunch of interviews prior to Origins coming out where they said that kind of thing. I can recall several with Muzyka and Zeschuk where they specifically highlighted the value in having Dragon Age be a different kind of RPG than Mass Effect's more cinematic slant.
Here is one I was thinking of:

It's that subtle but distinct difference that makes Mass Effect's dialogue system a poor fit for Dragon Age: Origins, Muzyka and Zeschuk say, and it's a choice they think players will find natural when they finally get behind the controls. Additionally, the Dragon Age system, because it's not tied to a relatively small graphic with a maximum of five or six choices, can offer far more conversation possibilities than its third-person cousin.

"For those four to six choices you get, there are probably four to six times more you don't see that would be totally different depending on your origin choice, your choices up to that point in the game, whether you're male or female, and a variety of other things," says Muzyka. "It's about the role you're playing. Are you playing a set role, or are you playing a role you've defined yourself?"

 

[Squire]

They were talking about it and showing stuff as far back as PAX East. They just never said "Dragon Age 3."

Yes, I know. I'm saying we're probably getting close to an official reveal. I'm well aware the game is in production and has been publicly discussed.

 

[Mario007]

I disagree.

Which of the points do you disagree with? My critique of DA:O or DA2?

Where's Morrigan fuckers.

Yeah this really needs to be either resolved or at least relevant to the game. You can't just have her leaving with a demi-god and not even mention in the sequel. Though honestly all DA2 did was a lot of foreshadowing and implying to the overall DA plot+ the eruption of civil war.

 

[bengraven]

Which of the points do you disagree with? My critique of DA:O or DA2?



Yeah this really needs to be either resolved or at least relevant to the game. You can't just have her leaving with a demi-god and not even mention in the sequel. Though honestly all DA2 did was a lot of foreshadowing and implying to the overall DA plot+ the eruption of civil war.

Maybe DA3 will be an MMO and we can find out where the Warden and Hawke and Morrigan are 100 hours in.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Yeah this really needs to be either resolved or at least relevant to the game. You can't just have her leaving with a demi-god and not even mention in the sequel. Though honestly all DA2 did was a lot of foreshadowing and implying to the overall DA plot+ the eruption of civil war.

BioWare really screwed up that plot point. Its a fun cliffhanger but they've left it hanging for too long. I doubt they'll do anything big with the god baby since its possible you didn't opt to create it at all in Origins and BioWare isn't known for branching story with unique content.

And if they bring back Morrigan they'd either need to write off all the Grey Wardens that went along with her and maybe fathered the god baby with her or somehow bring them back, but not under the control of the player?

They should have dealt with all the Morrigan stuff in an expansion pack to Origins.

 

[Mario007]

BioWare really screwed up that plot point. Its a fun cliffhanger but they've left it hanging for too long. I doubt they'll do anything big with the god baby since its possible you didn't opt to create it at all in Origins and BioWare isn't known for branching story with unique content.

And if they bring back Morrigan they'd either need to write off all the Grey Wardens that went along with her and maybe fathered the god baby with her or somehow bring them back, but not under the control of the player?

They should have dealt with all the Morrigan stuff in an expansion pack to Origins.

I think with DA it's kinda weird. You have your decisions but there are certain canon elements that simply happen regardless whether or not it directly contradicts your decisions (Leliana at the end of DA2 being such an example). So I guess they'll just say that Morrigan having that kid is the canon story no matter what.

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

http://www.onlysp.com/2012/08/19/artists-linkedin-profile-lists-dragon-age-3/

?

 

[Enduin]

I'm down. I actually enjoyed DAII for the most part, despite being constantly disappointed and letdown by its extreme lack of polish and the fact that the entire game felt like a first draft, but there was a lot to enjoy. Simply put the game was rushed out the door, had they taken another year or so to balance the new gameplay mechanics and develop the characters and plot more it would have a lot better for it. To me its a shining example of missed opportunities and underdevelopment.

I'm indifferent to the Mages v Chantry plotline, but I could be interested in it if they do it right and add some nuance to the whole thing, which should be part of the plan if you are playing as an Inquisitor. As long as they just take the time necessary to actually do the game right I think it will turn out OK.

I also hope they de-ugly the Elves, something inbetween the Human look of DAO and the Alien look from DA2 would be fine, but straight up DA2 style would be quite unfortunate.

 

[Taruranto]

Yeah this really needs to be either resolved or at least relevant to the game. You can't just have her leaving with a demi-god and not even mention in the sequel. Though honestly all DA2 did was a lot of foreshadowing and implying to the overall DA plot+ the eruption of civil war.

I can't wait to see how they fuck-up the only vaguely interesting plot point of DAO! (since the rest is just a lazy LotR rip-off)

 

[Saty]

HL3 soon to follow confirmed.

 

[Patryn]

Which of the points do you disagree with? My critique of DA:O or DA2?

DA:O. I believe the slower speed worked in the combat system's favor, for one thing.

 

[SerRodrik]

DA:O. I believe the slower speed worked in the combat system's favor, for one thing.

It was definitely better than the crack addicts on rocket boots of Dragon Age 2.

 

[Piecake]

It was definitely better than the crack addicts on rocket boots of Dragon Age 2.

Im mostly fine with either (though tone down the stupid acrobatics of DA2), but for the love of god, no fucking waves

A wave or two in select situations where it actually makes sense is fine, but not every freakin fight

 

[Taruranto]

DA:O. I believe the slower speed worked in the combat system's favor, for one thing.

But the combat system was garbage.

You just fight hordes of humans or darkspaws that act like humans over and over, there was no strategy, no sense of progression whatsoever (since you could get the strongest spells like 4 levels in) no rare encounters... how they went from BG2 exceptional encounter design to this, i really don't know.

 

[Terra_Ex]

Looking forward to more awesome button antics from Silverman, cannot possibly see this franchise recovering all things considered and most certainly not to the extent that EA will deem successful. Watching this one from a distance just to see how far it will fall before the curtains are closed.

 

[Mario007]

DA:O. I believe the slower speed worked in the combat system's favor, for one thing.

I'm not sure which platform you played it. I can definitely see DA:O's combat working well with isometric view on the PC. However on the PS3, it was simply taking forever (especially the mages). I do think, thought, that DA3 shouldn't be a total button mash to win either.

 

[AppleSmack]

What is wrong with coop? Is it coop like they had it in NWN2 where you can play the entire game in coop?

 

[Ceebs]

http://www.onlysp.com/2012/08/19/artists-linkedin-profile-lists-dragon-age-3/

I instantly saw that and thought "That looks like a rejected Unreal Tournament 3 logo"

 

[Patryn]

I'm not sure which platform you played it. I can definitely see DA:O's combat working well with isometric view on the PC. However on the PS3, it was simply taking forever (especially the mages). I do think, thought, that DA3 shouldn't be a total button mash to win either.

Mages should be slow. They're supposed to be glass cannons. Their spells pack so much of a punch, they shouldn't be shooting stuff off every second or so. The slowness is there to allow for melee fighters to come in and interrupt what they're doing.

It's just my opinion.

I was quite fond of the DA:O combat system. The only major problem was that the AI was terrible at arranging positioning, which led to the much-dreaded shuffling. But it included things such as position dictating damage and attack, so you actually had to be behind an enemy to backstab for instance, a mechanic that was sorely lacking DA2, where they instead reduced it to a simple button-press wherever you're standing.

 

[subversus]

my dream Dragon Age:

-toned down mature storytelling on par with Game of Thrones
-action combat with a pause
-free camera
-seamless open world
-randomly generated dungeons and landscapes with some hand-designed stuff thrown in
-bound to next-gen

I know they are making this game.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

I instantly saw that and thought "That looks like a rejected Unreal Tournament 3 logo"

I think its got more Wolfenstein in it:

 

[Piecake]

my dream Dragon Age:

-toned down mature storytelling on par with Game of Thrones
-action combat with a pause
-free camera
-seamless open world
-randomly generated dungeons and landscapes with some hand-designed stuff thrown in
-bound to next-gen

I know they are making this game.

I'd settle for less romance options and have the one or two that are available actually tie into the overall story so those romances dont feel like pointless mini-games for people who squee with joy when two video game characters get it on

 

[Trigger]

What is wrong with coop? Is it coop like they had it in NWN2 where you can play the entire game in coop?

We have no clue. Coop and their past comments make me think we're getting another action Dragon Age.

 

[Patryn]

I'd settle for less romance options and have the one or two that are available actually tie into the overall story so those romances dont feel like pointless mini-games for people who squee with joy when two video game characters get it on

Personally, I think the romances are a large reason for Bioware's downfall. Nowadays the fans are so demanding about that stuff that they practically force every companion to be a love interest for both sexes, simply because they know their fans would complain otherwise. So you have characters forced into shapes they don't belong as opposed to letting romances develop naturally for those characters that it is appropriate for.

 

[DocSeuss]

my dream Dragon Age:

-toned down mature storytelling on par with Game of Thrones
-action combat with a pause
-free camera
-seamless open world
-randomly generated dungeons and landscapes with some hand-designed stuff thrown in
-bound to next-gen

I know they are making this game.

I wouldn't want an open world. I'd rather have much larger, still-segmented maps. Instead of like thirty different maps for, say, Denerim, I'd like one big contiguous city.

Having an open-world in an isometric RPG just isn't all that great, IMO.

 

[Ceebs]

I think its got more Wolfenstein in it:

That too. Either way it looks really out of place for a fantasy RPG.

 

[Jharp]

I wouldn't want an open world. I'd rather have much larger, still-segmented maps. Instead of like thirty different maps for, say, Denerim, I'd like one big contiguous city.

Having an open-world in an isometric RPG just isn't all that great, IMO.

I hope you're not referring to the show Game of Thrones. Season 2 honestly reminded me of something akin to Dragon Age. Just fucking awful.

Now the books? Fuck yeah, I'd die for a Dragon Age story half as good as Clash of Kings, which is my personal favorite of the series.

 

[WorstUsernameEver]

I don't really understand criticism of Dragon Age: Origins' base mechanics for combat as "too slow". You know why it was too slow? Because they threw way too many filler enemies at you! That's a problem with encounter design though, which was worsened in DAII. Otherwise, I don't really see any problems with the animations, having them slow enough allowed me to judge the situation without things slipping from my grasp.

The game *did* have a lot of problems when it came to the ruleset and balance, which should definitely be solved for a sequel.

As for open world.. eew, maybe something like the original Dungeon Siege? Not open, but rather, continuous? I'm not sure if it would be an improvement though, open world doesn't automatically mean better.

 

[Ceebs]

I would love to see Bioware try to ape Game of Thrones for Dragon Age.

It would be absolutely atrocious. So much that it may pass from being terrible into being B-movie good. You know they would pick the worst parts of Game of Thrones and make it even worse and more juvenile.

(I do not care for the books or the show at all for the record)

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Personally, I think the romances are a large reason for Bioware's downfall. Nowadays the fans are so demanding about that stuff that they practically force every companion to be a love interest for both sexes, simply because they know their fans would complain otherwise. So you have characters forced into shapes they don't belong as opposed to letting romances develop naturally for those characters that it is appropriate for.

Yeah, I'd rather more romances be like Morrigan or Alistair's in Origins. Where both of those characters have possibly important story/plot roles and the romance can to some extent factor into things that way.

Having your Warden end up Queen or mistress to Alistair or being the father to the god baby and being able to go off with Morrigan into the eluvian world or whatever in Witch Hunt makes for a more interesting culmination of a romance storyline than just your typical creepy Team America style BioWare sex scene.

I wouldn't want an open world. I'd rather have much larger, still-segmented maps. Instead of like thirty different maps for, say, Denerim, I'd like one big contiguous city.

It would be neat if they maybe had a semi-open world structure, sort of like the STALKER games, with big zones connected to each other.

I would love to see Bioware try to ape Game of Thrones for Dragon Age.

It would be absolutely atrocious. So much that it may pass from being terrible into being B-movie good. You know they would pick the worst parts of Game of Thrones and make it even worse and more juvenile.

(I do not care for the books or the show at all for the record)

The whole concept of the Grey Wardens is already kind of like the Night's Watch- old, run down order of ragtag recruits from every corner of the world tasked with guarding world against supernatural threat that nobody believes in anymore.

 

[DocSeuss]

I would love to see Bioware try to ape Game of Thrones for Dragon Age.

It would be absolutely atrocious. So much that it may pass from being terrible into being B-movie good. You know they would pick the worst parts of Game of Thrones and make it even worse and more juvenile.

(I do not care for the books or the show at all for the record)

Actually, when listing all their sources for Dragon Age, they mentioned Game of Thrones. Funnily, they did not mention Lord of the Rings. They did the same thing when talking about Mass Effect 2. They talked about a bunch of tangentially similar things, like Alien, but didn't mention that they'd lifted elements wholesale from Revelation Space.

Bioware is weird that way.

I hope you're not referring to the show Game of Thrones. Season 2 honestly reminded me of something akin to Dragon Age. Just fucking awful.

Now the books? Fuck yeah, I'd die for a Dragon Age story half as good as Clash of Kings, which is my personal favorite of the series.

Are you sure you meant to reply to me?

It would be neat if they maybe had a semi-open world structure, sort of like the STALKER games, with big zones connected to each other.

So basically a larger scale version of what they already did in Dragon Age? The Zone feels largeish, but it also feels fairly small. Dragon Age is supposed to take the space of an entire continent. An open world is highly unlikely to be continent-sized without lots of fillers, and a STALKER-sized world runs the risk of feeling fairly small.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

So basically a larger scale version of what they already did in Dragon Age? The Zone feels largeish, but it also feels fairly small. Dragon Age is supposed to take the space of an entire continent. An open world is highly unlikely to be continent-sized without lots of fillers, and a STALKER-sized world runs the risk of feeling fairly small.

Yeah, I guess with a bunch of zones across the continent of varying size. Maybe with one main city, like whatever the main city of Orlais is. Make that fleshed out like Athkatla in Baldur's Gate 2 and go from there.

I'd just hope they can make environments with some sense of scope and scale.

 

[Piecake]

Personally, I think the romances are a large reason for Bioware's downfall. Nowadays the fans are so demanding about that stuff that they practically force every companion to be a love interest for both sexes, simply because they know their fans would complain otherwise. So you have characters forced into shapes they don't belong as opposed to letting romances develop naturally for those characters that it is appropriate for.

Yup, they definitely hurt the overall quality of the narrative and characters so that they could give the player more 'choice'

I'd just hope they can make environments with some sense of scope and scale.

The DA series has been absolutely terrible at that. I am definitely not expecting any improvements on that front

 

[drkOne]

I think this is what survey was really for. Dragon Age II's marketing was an absolute mess. They clearly didn't know how they wanted to market the game.

Funny thing is that DA:O marketing was also a mess and almost kept me from buying the game.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Funny thing is that DA:O marketing was also a mess and almost kept me from buying the game.

THIS IS THE NEW SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[Jharp]

Are you sure you meant to reply to me?

Yeah, why?

 

[Trigger]

Funny thing is that DA:O marketing was also a mess and almost kept me from buying the game.

I never saw any of the promo stuff outside of a Game Informer article. I'd probably avoid it myself if the marketing was my only exposure. I question what the communication is like between the devs and PR.

 

[RedSwirl]

BioWare really screwed up that plot point. Its a fun cliffhanger but they've left it hanging for too long. I doubt they'll do anything big with the god baby since its possible you didn't opt to create it at all in Origins and BioWare isn't known for branching story with unique content.

And if they bring back Morrigan they'd either need to write off all the Grey Wardens that went along with her and maybe fathered the god baby with her or somehow bring them back, but not under the control of the player?

They should have dealt with all the Morrigan stuff in an expansion pack to Origins.

Isn't part of the problem that DAII wasn't the sequel they originally planned? Didn't the director of Origins want to follow it up with "Exodus"? Anyway, at the very least we can assume Flemeth will play a role in DAIII.

As for exploration, that's the one thing BioWare still sucks at. In my opinion the least bad they've been able to do is Mass Effect which sort of resembles a classic JRPG world map.

 

[Patryn]

I never saw any of the promo stuff outside of a Game Informer article. I'd probably avoid it myself if the marketing was my only exposure. I question what the communication is like between the devs and PR.

Bioware marketing is generally pretty terrible.

 

[Subitai]

Where's Morrigan fuckers.

Some people may have killed her...I think you mean Flemeth!

I wanna be a seeker like Cassandra (and Leliana? ). If she and that mage from the movie are in it, that's enough for me to give it a shot. Maybe the Seekers taking up the mantle of the Inquisition. Also the Seeker armor was sweet from the movie and not armor derived from DA2.

 

[Gbraga]

Is it ok to be hyped for this one?

 

[Patryn]

Is it ok to be hyped for this one?

It's ok to be hyped for any game you want. You're allowed to have your own opinion.

If you're asking if most people are going to be hyped, I suspect there's going to be an awful lot of skepticism, and the preview threads are going to post after post of people piling on the series regardless of what is shown.

 

[Durante]

Is it ok to be hyped for this one?

No.

Despite all the negative pre-release information, I somehow let myself be hyped for DA2. It was almost as bad a disappointment as NWN1.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Bioware marketing is generally pretty terrible.

"We're gonna throw out a buzz-word here, but not explain how it relates to actual gameplay."

 

[Durante]

Mages should be slow. They're supposed to be glass cannons. Their spells pack so much of a punch, they shouldn't be shooting stuff off every second or so. The slowness is there to allow for melee fighters to come in and interrupt what they're doing.

It's just my opinion.

I was quite fond of the DA:O combat system. The only major problem was that the AI was terrible at arranging positioning, which led to the much-dreaded shuffling. But it included things such as position dictating damage and attack, so you actually had to be behind an enemy to backstab for instance, a mechanic that was sorely lacking DA2, where they instead reduced it to a simple button-press wherever you're standing.

I completely agree with everything you said, especially the part about magic.

In most good fantasy games, magic is "balanced" with melee by being slow, limited in use, and by its practitioners being very vulnerable. In return, it's very strong. When you make mages just archers that sling spells instead of arrows you're doing it wrong.

Actually, when listing all their sources for Dragon Age, they mentioned Game of Thrones. Funnily, they did not mention Lord of the Rings. They did the same thing when talking about Mass Effect 2. They talked about a bunch of tangentially similar things, like Alien, but didn't mention that they'd lifted elements wholesale from Revelation Space.

Bioware is weird that way.

So I'm not the only one that noticed. At least they were copying from an interesting source.