Hate overhead views with a passion. They go along with loading screens with random images/hints, and mid mission load out screens as immersion breaking BS for me. Still it's too bad the option isn't there for people who like them. Not going to pretend I know the circumstances though. Time is money after all.
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Dragon Age II: No overhead view on PC, no toolset, audience is on consoles
- Thread starter Ventrue
- Start date
No, but in general console games sell at full retail for far longer than their PC counterparts, also Steam sales etc.aeolist said:
Indeed, This is all because the console version of Dragon Age was a poor relation to the PC edition. Note to Bioware, don't fuck the PC edition to rectify it, improve the Console version to match the PC. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face.brain_stew said:
Interfectum
Member
Draft said:
:lol bioware :lol
Mrbob said:
Maybe they had low expectations?
I don't know why people get so upset about it. They're following the money and obviously don't believe the money is there on the PC platform. What were they supposed to do...concentrate on the PC versions until they closed their doors? EA's not a patient overlord :lol
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Emonk said:
I feel the same exact way. I just checked my Steam. 123 hours played of Dragon Age: Origins. More than 15 in Awakenings.
Number of hours I'm going to play Dragon Age II....zero.
MrHicks said:
Oh, shut the fuck up. You do this same shit in every thread. If we could search your post count, I doubt you'd have more than 5 posts about anything else. We're not talking about Valve. Go peddle your horseshit elsewhere.
SimpleDesign
Member
You know me? :lolsubversus said:
Don't take your anger out on me for speaking the truth.
BananaBomb
Member
So sad. I saw this coming from before DA even came out - bye, bye, Bioware!
brain_stew
Member
Splatt said:
The completely ridiculous part was that the original Dragon Age was a great example of how to do multiplatform development right. It was tailored to the target platform and took advantage of the uniqueness of the PC platform and it was rewarded with great sales. If you succeed where so many fail then why the hell would you go and make everyone else's mistakes when you come to create a sequal.
jim-jam bongs
Member
bluedeviltron said:
Circle of Willis
Neo Member
Valve isn't just a PC developer, they're essentially a platform holder...
MrHicks said:
This is your original post:
MrHick said:
You said they aren't a PC dev, yet everything they do is still made with PC in mind for Steam. You also forgot PS3 and MAC. Valve's goal is to get Steam on every platform eventually, but they doesn't make the fact they focus on PC first and foremost.
Alien Swarm was just released for free on Steam, and Valve is also making a DOTA clone. Their games still have the best support on PC, how are they not still a PC dev?
Doubtful, unless Steam is going away. Their games are a gateway to the Steam platform.
BastardDraft said:
BastardInterfectum said:
Possible, after all I have to wonder just how much of Bioware has been assigned onto the monster project that is Star Wars: The Old Republic. This may be just a fig leaf hiding the fact that this is just an exceptionally cheap cash in to try to re-coup the very large initial cost of the Dragon Age IP.raphier said:
brain_stew
Member
Stop It said:
Why this is so difficult to grasp, heaven only knows. All games are better on the PC, I think console gamers are pretty accepting of that, so purposefully making your PC SKU worse in order to improve console sales hardly seems like a smart business decision.
Chrange said:
Do you have data, because there is nothing to suggest the 360 version of Dragon Age sold much better than the PC version worldwide. I guarantee Dragon Age 2 will sell much better on 360 though.
This sounds like a case of short development cycle equals streamlined development.
Chrange said:
It seems impossible that it didn't sell well. Steam doesn't release sales, but DA:O was on top of the Steam charts for quite a while, and that was both the regular and the more pricey ($64.99) Deluxe version. PC games also have far greater legs than console games.
Draft said:
The difference is also that the first DA was criticized pre-release for its shit-rock marketing (and also art style/setting to an extent), not its gameplay mechanics.
jim-jam bongs
Member
Cartman86 said:
Fucking hell. It was the way that the game was supposed to be played. Removing it means that DA2 is a completely different game.
brain_stew
Member
Cartman86 said:
Coding a new camera viewpoint in a 3D videogame is hardly rocket science or an expensive endeavor especially when the engine is already built for it in the first place.
Lostconfused
Member
Actually this is what I probably believe after reading your post. If Dragon Age 2 is coming out early next year, the cuts are most likely being made because of budget and time constraints rather than pure disregard and maliciousness towards anyone who would be playing it on PC.raphier said:
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
brain_stew said:
Exactly. The camera viewpoint is already fucking there. They had to go out of their way to remove it. Plus the removal of the toolset...
...oh FUCK. They're going to sell us the isometric camera angle mod, aren't they? FUCK!
I think I'm more mad at the lack of Toolset. While I agree that there aren't many (if any) custom campaigns, it helped improve lots of fuck-ups in the game (interface, glitches, faces, balance), add new models and textures etc. It even allows to create better characters thanks to much more availible options (compared to the toolset, the in-game character creator is very limited).
If those words are true, then fuck you Bioware. :/
If those words are true, then fuck you Bioware. :/
Circle of Willis
Neo Member
I'm playing through DA:O right now and I can't fathom playing this game without the isometric view.
I'm guessing that they'll piece meal itemization even further like ME2. Players will be using the same weapons/armor the whole game unless they preorder at GS...
I'm guessing that they'll piece meal itemization even further like ME2. Players will be using the same weapons/armor the whole game unless they preorder at GS...
Well, I would qualify that by saying all PC games have the potential to be better on PC than their console brethren, as there have been PC ports past and present that have been truly dire.brain_stew said:
As I just edited above, this may not be entirely Biowares fault. Dragon Age had a long, turbulent and expensive dev process. EA may not be willing to let Bioware have as many resources as they would like for this sequel, and coupled with the fact that they would like higher console sales, may have forced this decision onto them.
It doesn't make it right, as it is still a very short-sighted decision, but I don't think Bioware have made it out of spite. I haven't really seen any evidence to suggest that they would wilfully screw over their PC audience. Further to this the initial looks at Dragon Age 2 have been pretty laughable, so maybe we're better off forgetting about the IP and remembering the good times with Dragon Age, and hope that the modding community comes to the rescue.
brain_stew
Member
firehawk12 said:
Each sale of a Valve game is a new Steam user or a previous user more entrenched in the community and more beholden to the platform and each and every penny generated from a Steam copy goes direct to Valve's coffers. A $10 sale of L4D2 to a new Steam user is worth more to Valve than a $60 copy sold on the 360 at retail, why do you think they have just given away two highly polished, high quality games recently? You think they like throwing cash away or something?
Confidence Man
Member
And the final step from being a premier RPG developer to a fully EA-assimilated, console-beholden bunch of shmucks has been taken.
From everything I've heard they seem to be taking DA2 a lot more in the direction of Mass Effect 2. I like that, because Dragon Age felt kind of stuck halfway between Baldurs Gate and Mass Effect.
And to be honest I don't mind if they make the combat more action-based, even with the zoomed out view there was nothing really tactical about the combat in Dragon Age 1 anyway.
I think it actually does cost them a lot of time. Because you have to design the areas to also be seen and look good from a much higher viewpoint.
And to be honest I don't mind if they make the combat more action-based, even with the zoomed out view there was nothing really tactical about the combat in Dragon Age 1 anyway.
zoku88 said:
I think it actually does cost them a lot of time. Because you have to design the areas to also be seen and look good from a much higher viewpoint.
Lostconfused said:
Which is a bit silly since they're unnecessarily adding full voice-over to what were previously silent lines of dialogue, which costs them both more time and money, as would these mythical "high production values" they keep going on about when it comes to the visuals.
Diablohead
Member
Dragon Effect with less dragon.
jim-jam bongs
Member
Cartman86 said:
Uh yes? Read the post from their forums. Dragon Age was unquestionably meant to be played on PC. They're gimping the PC version so that little console kiddies don't get upset that they aren't getting the best version.
Danne-Danger
Member
Wow, and after all that "this is our love letter to PC gaming!"-talk with the first one. Thats a really scummy move on their part.
But really, all things considered, the first game turned out to be kind of shitty except for the setting (generic plotline, easy combat, unbalanced classes, weird encounter balance, pretty bad writing (for video game standards), extremely shitty loot, horrible pay for cheats in disguise-DLC etc. etc.). It was fun to plow through once but the more I thought about the game as a whole the more disappointed I became with it. In comparison to BG -- the comparison that they drew themselves, all the time it was a very watered-down RPG experience. If they strive to make the sequel be even less than that (ME -> ME2) and cater to the console crowd then Im really not interested to see where they go with the series.
But really, all things considered, the first game turned out to be kind of shitty except for the setting (generic plotline, easy combat, unbalanced classes, weird encounter balance, pretty bad writing (for video game standards), extremely shitty loot, horrible pay for cheats in disguise-DLC etc. etc.). It was fun to plow through once but the more I thought about the game as a whole the more disappointed I became with it. In comparison to BG -- the comparison that they drew themselves, all the time it was a very watered-down RPG experience. If they strive to make the sequel be even less than that (ME -> ME2) and cater to the console crowd then Im really not interested to see where they go with the series.
There's more to the camera angle than engine code. Encounter design is going to start with how the player is viewing and controlling the action. Over the shoulder is fundamentally different from isometric, and really requires a whole different approach in terms of enemy behavior, spell behavior, room design, etc.
Bioware has decided to focus on the console audience because Bioware has that hunger. They've got that 4 million unit hunger, the kind that can only be satisfied by being a super hit on the Xbox. They want DA2 to be an Assassin's Creed 2 level hit. A Gears level hit. Dare I say, a MW2 level hit.
Someone's crunched numbers, and the 1 million guaranteed sales of a PC game built for PC gamers just isn't as enticing as the potential of 5 million sales across Xbox/PS3/PC if they can nail the marketing and timing (and if the game's OK enough to get the requisite 9s from mainstream publications.)
Bioware has decided to focus on the console audience because Bioware has that hunger. They've got that 4 million unit hunger, the kind that can only be satisfied by being a super hit on the Xbox. They want DA2 to be an Assassin's Creed 2 level hit. A Gears level hit. Dare I say, a MW2 level hit.
Someone's crunched numbers, and the 1 million guaranteed sales of a PC game built for PC gamers just isn't as enticing as the potential of 5 million sales across Xbox/PS3/PC if they can nail the marketing and timing (and if the game's OK enough to get the requisite 9s from mainstream publications.)
Im more thinking along the lines that the Witcher 2 seems like it is leading the way for PC RPGS, and is releasing around the same time Dragon Age 2 is releasing. And of course, Dragon Age 2 is appearing as not quite the improvement the Witcher 2 is seeming to be. At least we all hope the games are good. It might be reversed come release date.zoku88 said: