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[water_wendi]

Because people totally do backflips and shit in regular sword-fighting

That part when the dwarf takes a poison bottle, tosses it in the air, and then kicks it to the enemy is so extreme!

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Because people totally do backflips and shit in regular sword-fighting

That has nothing to do with what's off about DA2's animation, and it is very off.

 

[Lostconfused]

Well, if that's true than Origins' animations have to be atrocious. I love the character shuffle dance moves and the slowing hacking away at each other. At least in DA2 the combat actually looks like fighting.

Its going to be a great day when animations in an RPG actually look like fighting. But that day wont be here for a quiet a while yet.

 

[kai3345]

That has nothing to do with what's off about DA2's animation, and it is very off.

I'm not talking about the quality of the animation. He just said that DA2's sword fighting "actually looks like fighting" when it doesnt

 

[X-Frame]

Because people totally do backflips and shit in regular sword-fighting

They don't?

I'm not talking about the quality of the animation. He just said that DA2's sword fighting "actually looks like fighting" when it doesnt

Compared to Origins, it sure as hell does.

 

[Aaron]

Compared to Origins, it sure as hell does.

No, it doesn't at all. Real sword fighting looks pretty boring. It's two big guys in armor whacking each other with slabs of metal until one falls down, which DA certainly captured. It's not a sissy dance move, which DA2 favors.

 

[WanderingWind]

They don't?



Compared to Origins, it sure as hell does.

No, it really doesn't. It looks ridiculous.

 

[Lostconfused]

Faster = better.

In the case of the poor animation system that Dragon Age is using faster probably is better.

 

[lastplayed]

No, it doesn't at all. Real sword fighting looks pretty boring. It's two big guys in armor whacking each other with slabs of metal until one falls down, which DA certainly captured.

This. I've been involved in Viking/Dark Age style sword play, and while it can be fast and chaotic at times, it's way more like what we see in DA:O. Swinging a 5 foot sword or warhammer takes a hell of a long time, nothing like the instant cartoon style animations in DA2.

 

[Gattsu25]

No, it doesn't at all. Real sword fighting looks pretty boring. It's two big guys in armor whacking each other with slabs of metal until one falls down, which DA certainly captured. It's not a sissy dance move, which DA2 favors.

Dragon Age Origins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY5dl_oxvo#t=3m06s
Dragon Age 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XqKvKUTElA#t=0m45s

 

[RyanDG]

Dragon Age Origins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY5dl_oxvo#t=3m06s
Dragon Age 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XqKvKUTElA#t=0m45s

Man oh man George Lucas... Why?

 

[X-Frame]

Oh well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Nothing is going to convince me that Origins' combat isn't boring, not only to watch but also to control - so I am excited for what DA2 is bringing.

 

[Aaron]

Dragon Age Origins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY5dl_oxvo#t=3m06s
Dragon Age 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XqKvKUTElA#t=0m45s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

 

[SenorDingDong]

Oh well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Nothing is going to convince me that Origins' combat isn't boring, not only to watch but also to control - so I am excited for what DA2 is bringing.

Unless you are getting the console version it is my understanding that the sequel controls no differently.

 

[kai3345]

Oh well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Nothing is going to convince me that Origins' combat isn't boring, not only to watch but also to control - so I am excited for what DA2 is bringing.

You are acting as if DA is supposed to be an action game.

 

[cartman414]

Sad that some people are failing to grasp the potential problem here: lack of strategery.

And whatever happened to nerfing the mage class instead of turning it into one big skill arms race?

 

[Desi]

I am not one to mind a few stylistic additions. My problem with the look of the game is the design of structures. All the maps look big for the sake of being big which is made worst since there are no NPC's to fill it. Assassin's Creed, The Witcher, even no town FFXIII had a kind of visual population adds to the believability of a map. I hate the architecture design as well especially the barren clean art of the castle area compared to the barren sandy look of Lowtown. The character designs are a improvement over the first but the armor design made little progress, other than the very sharp fire nation battleship armor they used in the CG trailer and early screens. This is the same studio that made Mass Effect which has a wonderful style that borrows but still continues to impress with its play on shapes!

 

[Shawsie64]

Sad that some people are failing to grasp the potential problem here: lack of strategery.

And whatever happened to nerfing the mage class instead of turning it into one big skill arms race?

? Strategy?

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

? Strategy?

Strategery

 

[kamspy]

I'm playing Awakenings and some of the DLC from DAO right now.

The more DA2 stuff I see the less interested I am. I want it to be good so badly, and I want a reason to put it on my Steam account right now. I just don't have one. It just looks so bland compared to DAO. If you showed me a video of each I'd peg the DAO as the sequel.

Maybe Bioware just hasn't brought the heat yet. I watched the whole PC Gameplay Dev Commentary linked at the top of the OP and it's woefully uninspiring.


Origins hit that perfect level of accessibility for me. I don't have the time or energy for another BG2, but DA2 seems a little too "lite".

 

[whatevermort]

I don't understand what's happening. We've had one review so far, from a hugely trustworthy publication, that game the original 94%, and gave this one the same, but said in the text body that it was a better game, that it didn't lose any of the tactics or the strategy of the first, that it wasn't dumbed down or more simple... and yet everybody is assuming, based on the EA marketing machine - because it did such a great job with DA:O? because everybody was hyped for it before it came out, right? Nobody assumed it was a broken, Marilyn Manson-soundtracked mess? - that this is a terrible game.

Just wait. There's a demo in less than a week. Play that before assuming you know how it plays, how much strategy is in there, or how easy it is. This incessant whining about a game that's not out yet...

 

[subversus]

I won't be happy till i'm in first person, circle strafing and tossing out fireballs to the mortal kombat theme tune.

Damn that would be glorious but we have Elder Scrolls for that.

 

[kamspy]

A lot of it is the environment. What I've seen looks bare. Other small quirks are console sized AoE target rings and some other UI uglies.

 

[Axiom]

The first screenshots were shit, the fact they focused so much on the fact it's going to be more accessible on console to the point we weren't even sure it was still even Dragon Age has been awful.

But it seems to have a lot more in common with DA1 than they let on, just with a faster action system. You can still pull out, you can still pause, issue commands and adjust AI behaviour - the results are just more immediate.

Nitpicking about graphics and animations if you're a fan of the first game is silly, and considering it's the same engine it's going to at least look the same as it did on PC.

Lack of choice in characters sucks, no origins sucks, less of anything compared to the first game sucks. I actually prefer the ME style dialogue system to the mostly illusion of choice from DA:O, though they both should be using the damn Alpha Protocol system.

Ignoring marketing, ignoring the weird dancing around and double talk from the devs about gameplay, you watch that video and that sure as hell looked like a Dragon Age game to me.

I like Dragon Age

 

[X-Frame]

I don't understand what's happening. We've had one review so far, from a hugely trustworthy publication, that game the original 94%, and gave this one the same, but said in the text body that it was a better game, that it didn't lose any of the tactics or the strategy of the first, that it wasn't dumbed down or more simple... and yet everybody is assuming, based on the EA marketing machine - because it did such a great job with DA:O? because everybody was hyped for it before it came out, right? Nobody assumed it was a broken, Marilyn Manson-soundtracked mess? - that this is a terrible game.

Just wait. There's a demo in less than a week. Play that before assuming you know how it plays, how much strategy is in there, or how easy it is. This incessant whining about a game that's not out yet...

QFT.

Can't wait to try the demo.

 

[kitzkozan]

Well, yea thats kind of annoying. Especially when the "antiquated gameplay" of DAO sold more than the totally radical collar grabbing ME games. DA1 wasnt perfect by any means but it could have been something really special if they went from DAO->DA2 like Bioware did with BG1->BG2. DA1 proved that games like that could not only sell but sell well. Bioware, however, wants the CoD crowd so they will continue to alter their games until they are CoD clones, i guess.

edit: and for those that dont understand the complaints, one day you will. It might not be with a Bioware game but itll be something else in your preferred genre that will totally change to appeal to people who dont give two shits about that genre (see SSX for the latest example).

It's happening with fighting games,especially Marvel vs Capcom 3 or Street fighter IV which are streamlined compared to their last offering.Sure it suck,but the compromise is well worth it imo as the scene is bigger than it's ever been since SFII.EVO2K11 will easily be the biggest and the major reason why is these new mainstream FG (along with the first proper Mortal kombat since 3?).On average,I think rpgs are selling better nowadays since Bethesda is selling as much or even more than SE (I'm sure Fallout 3/Oblivion sold better than FF XIII).Of course,the biggest drawback is that jrpgs are almost on the verge of extinction on HD consoles since they can't compete money wise (but most of them were always super niche).

Despite the dumbing down of the genre,you will always have an Arcana heart or Virtual fighter that's a more hardcore experience.The same is true of the rpg genre :Bioware and Bethesda are now mainstream along with Lionhead studio/Square-Enix,but you still have the Demon's/dark souls+The Witcher.

 

[Darklord]

I don't understand what's happening. We've had one review so far, from a hugely trustworthy publication, that game the original 94%, and gave this one the same, but said in the text body that it was a better game, that it didn't lose any of the tactics or the strategy of the first, that it wasn't dumbed down or more simple... and yet everybody is assuming, based on the EA marketing machine - because it did such a great job with DA:O? because everybody was hyped for it before it came out, right? Nobody assumed it was a broken, Marilyn Manson-soundtracked mess? - that this is a terrible game.

Just wait. There's a demo in less than a week. Play that before assuming you know how it plays, how much strategy is in there, or how easy it is. This incessant whining about a game that's not out yet...

I don't think it'll be a BAD game, I just hate the direction they took the series in.

 

[kitzkozan]

I'm playing Awakenings and some of the DLC from DAO right now.

The more DA2 stuff I see the less interested I am. I want it to be good so badly, and I want a reason to put it on my Steam account right now. I just don't have one. It just looks so bland compared to DAO. If you showed me a video of each I'd peg the DAO as the sequel.

Maybe Bioware just hasn't brought the heat yet. I watched the whole PC Gameplay Dev Commentary linked at the top of the OP and it's woefully uninspiring.


Origins hit that perfect level of accessibility for me. I don't have the time or energy for another BG2, but DA2 seems a little too "lite".

It's lighter yes,but the PCgamer review stated that it took 50 hours to finish the game so it's not that barebone.

My biggest gripe with the first DA wasn't the lack of polish or the slow pace of combat,but the uninspired world+derivative story.This one seems much better from that perspective since it's not really about darkspawn and the choices+consequences are rumored to have much more impact.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

This one seems much better from that perspective since it's not really about darkspawn and the choices+consequences are rumored to have much more impact.

Making the game take place over a decade was definitely a great idea in that regard.

 

[Zeliard]

and yet everybody is assuming, based on the EA marketing machine

Nah, based on Bioware's own words. DA:O was lambasted pre-release for its shit-rock marketing - DA2 has been criticized for gameplay changes Bioware has discussed. The demo next week will be the final word.

 

[kitzkozan]

God the BioWare forums are creepy.

I post there from time to time and it's not that bad if you ignore the creepy/freaky stuff. It's actually a well spoken forum much like GAF if not more biased of course.There's also plenty of debate over ME vs ME2 or DA vs DA2 and casual vs hardcore fans.

 

[Nairume]

Lack of choice in characters sucks, no origins sucks, less of anything compared to the first game sucks. I actually prefer the ME style dialogue system to the mostly illusion of choice from DA:O, though they both should be using the damn Alpha Protocol system.

Isn't that what DA2 pretty much is doing? Simplifying dialog choices down to icons that represent disposition sounds a lot more like AP's stance system than it does ME's dialog wheel. At the least, they definitely are acknowledging AP's ideas by lifting the whole Friend/Rival perk thing.

 

[Lostconfused]

Isn't that what DA2 pretty much is doing? Simplifying dialog choices down to icons that represent disposition sounds a lot more like AP's stance system than it does ME's dialog wheel. At the least, they definitely are acknowledging AP's ideas by lifting the whole Friend/Rival perk thing.

No, they are using the Mass Effect conversation system. The way Alpha Protocol handled conversations would not work in a standard bioware rpg.

 

[Hixx]

Since this seems to be the 'DA2 looks crap' thread, here's some (new?) pictures, linked due to hugeness (PC screens).

http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/0041.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/047.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/082.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/077.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/foundry.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/hanged-man_2.jpg
http://bioware.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/019.jpg

And the ARTICLE they came from.

To me it seems the same as DA1. Some ugly ass exteriors while interiors still look pretty nice.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

No, they are using the Mass Effect conversation system. The way Alpha Protocol handled conversations would not work in a standard bioware rpg.

It's a bit more sophisticated than the Mass Effect dialog wheel from what I've seen, especially with regards to the party dynamic. It's probably the only thing they've showed off so far that interests me.

 

[Felix Lighter]

A few low quality textures but overall, I think those PC shots look quite good.

 

[Lostconfused]

It's a bit more sophisticated than the Mass Effect dialog wheel from what I've seen, especially with regards to the party dynamic. It's probably the only thing they've showed off so far that interests me.

Depends on how far they go with it. Party members pitched in their lines during specific conversations in previous Bioware games in DA2 they just added a dialog option for it. Now if that means there will be more dialog lines for your party members then its an interesting new addition otherwise its still pretty much the same. I haven't played Drakensang but I thought I read some posts that in that game the entire party has dialog options for conversations.

A few low quality textures but overall, I think those PC shots look quite good.

Well at least we can be certain that it won't look any worse than DA:O or at least I doubt they would intentionally make the models and textures worse when they reuse them for DA2. I guess it will look better on consoles though, those DA2 looks better quotes had to come from somewhere.

 

[Stallion Free]

According to the article those shots are DX9 and settings equivalent to what you would see on consoles.

*sigh*

I wonder if the demo will include the DX11 settings.

 

[Yasae]

I don't think it'll be a BAD game, I just hate the direction they took the series in.

Bingo. They keep touting speed and brevity as an improvement in every new game they make. They invent problems where there are none to make the game marketable instead of coming up with solutions.

 

[JWong]

Bingo. They keep touting speed and brevity as an improvement in every new game they make. They invent problems where there are none to make the game marketable instead of coming up with solutions.

Solution for improving a bad game. Get rid of everything that's bad.

That's what they did with ME2, and it works.

 

[Nirolak]

According to the article those shots are DX9 and settings equivalent to what you would see on consoles.

*sigh*

I wonder if the demo will include the DX11 settings.

Unfortunately not.

 

[Lostconfused]

According to the article those shots are DX9 and settings equivalent to what you would see on consoles.

*sigh*

I wonder if the demo will include the DX11 settings.

Besides the DX11 additions everything else in those screenshots probably is what you would get at max settings anyways.

Unfortunately not.

What? So they are making a demo specifically for PC with PC features stripped out. Time to find a new reality to live in because this one stopped making sense a while ago.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Damn, this demo can't come out soon enough. Then everyone can really decide if they like the game or not, by actually playing it, instead of going off marketing information.

Also, anyone plan on putting an OT together?

 

[mercenar1e]

Besides the DX11 additions everything else in those screenshots probably is what you would get at max settings anyways.

What? So they are making a demo specifically for PC with PC features stripped out. Time to find a new reality to live in because this one stopped making sense a while ago.

maybe the graphic differences in Dragon Age 2 on DX 11 isn't noticeable or impressive.. they would be on the PR defensive until launch.. prob losing some customers

 

[Nirolak]

Besides the DX11 additions everything else in those screenshots probably is what you would get at max settings anyways.

What? So they are making a demo specifically for PC with PC features stripped out. Time to find a new reality to live in because this one stopped making sense a while ago.

The DirectX 11 features were one of the last things finished, which would likely be months after they submitted the demo to QA.

I mean, the demo doesn't even have the character creator, so I think it's a pretty safe bet it's fairly old.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

The DirectX 11 features were one of the last things finished, which would likely be months after they submitted the demo to QA.

I mean, the demo doesn't even have the character creator, so I think it's a pretty safe bet it's fairly old.

I've also read that the demo will be locked to normal difficulty. So I'm sure they'll be complaints about that too.

 

[Lostconfused]

The DirectX 11 features were one of the last things finished, which would likely be months after they submitted the demo to QA.

I mean, the demo doesn't even have the character creator, so I think it's a pretty safe bet it's fairly old.

Probably but it does make the demo at least somewhat pointless if we have to wait until some one buys the game and starts posting in the screenshot thread to find out how it looks like on PC.

I've also read that the demo will be locked to normal difficulty. So I'm sure they'll be complaints about that too.

We can start right now.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I've also read that the demo will be locked to normal difficulty. So I'm sure they'll be complaints about that too.

Ugh. That is very unfortunate. I really wanted to get a sense of the differences between difficulties.

 

[Salaadin]

The DirectX 11 features were one of the last things finished, which would likely be months after they submitted the demo to QA.

I mean, the demo doesn't even have the character creator, so I think it's a pretty safe bet it's fairly old.

No character editor? Oh well, I guess Ill have to spend the time to make on on release date then.

Did they release the character creator standalone last time and then let you import your character over when the game hit?

 

[Confidence Man]

Solution for improving a bad game. Get rid of everything that's bad.

That's what they did with ME2, and it works.

Like warriors dual-wielding, a detatched top down camera, and being able to equip party members, among other things?