inherit
57
0
1
32,678
SofaJockey
Not a jockey. Has a sofa.
13,131
August 2016
sofajockey
SofaJockey
SofaJockey
6000
7164
|
Post by SofaJockey on Mar 12, 2019 18:04:04 GMT
reminds me more of FO76, NMS I own both FO76 and NMS and I wouldn't put Anthem a million miles within the category of awful that is FO76 and NMS (not even 'new' NMS).
|
|
inherit
265
0
11,980
Pounce de León
Praise the Justicat!
7,910
August 2016
catastrophy
caustic_agent
|
Post by Pounce de León on Mar 12, 2019 18:05:17 GMT
The Division 1 survived after losing 93% of its player population, so I dont think games like these are inevitably dead in the water when there's mass protests. That said, I do think this pretty much puts BioWares reputation in a very poor light. Them screwing up the loot pools at higher difficulties is going to create a lot of detractors and negative press about the game. And personally, I dont think they fundamentally understand how the engine is impacting their loot tables. I am skeptical of the next DA game, because even though I think the story will turn out better (because Cathleen Rootsaert won't be handling the story), the fact that Anthem likely had to pull devs from Dragon Age means that less development time will have went into DA4. Game could end up having a good story, but ultimately falter due to an abundance of bugs. The only benefits they have right now is that they've already got a template for how the game works in Frostbite (thanks to DA:I), and the game (hopefully) won't be running on online-only servers. If anything is going to end BioWare, it'll likely be them constantly needing to use the Frostbite engine. Until that shit gets dropped, the quality of their games will continue to be up in the air. Dropping Frostbite would be the worst thing they could do now, IMO. They've already built a ton of tools and assets and trained devs for years to have experience with the engine (add to that the benefit of using that experience and assets all across different studios) - if they drop all of it, they'd have to do it all over again, only exacerbating the problems. Frostbite is here to stay, IMO. But you can't judge Anthem's performance just on engine alone - you have to factor in the fact that this is the first game of its type on the engine and the first game of its type for the studio. And it's quite apparent now that each studio has to go through the growing pains for big projects like that - there were no exceptions so far. Each game of this type, be it Division or Destiny, began with problems. They've got this engine figured out for their sRPGs tho - DAI was the first game of its kind on Frostbite and it performed really well for being such a debut, or the fact that it was held back by old-gen/design on 5 platforms. Anybody who brings Andromeda should keep in mind that that game's problems stemmed from its messy pre-production in a younger sub-studio and the fact that they basically had to re-make the game almost from the scratch in 1,5 year. If DA4's pre-production was solid (and so far we have no reasons to believe it wasn't) I have little doubts that they can do it and do it on tools that are available to them. What do you mean the first type of this kind? DICE developed the engine and has done online shooters galore with it.
|
|
Mobius Y
N3
The Legend Continues
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
XBL Gamertag: Mobius Y
PSN: Mobius_Y
Posts: 878 Likes: 2,129
inherit
2936
0
Sept 7, 2022 15:58:11 GMT
2,129
Mobius Y
The Legend Continues
878
January 2017
mobiusy
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
Mobius Y
Mobius_Y
|
Post by Mobius Y on Mar 12, 2019 18:05:31 GMT
reminds me more of FO76, NMS I own both FO76 and NMS and I wouldn't put Anthem a million miles within the category of awful that is FO76 and NMS (not even 'new' NMS). No Man’s Sky is still awful?
|
|
linksocarina
N5
Always teacher, sometimes writer
Teaching Mode Activated
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
PSN: LinksOcarina
Posts: 3,179 Likes: 4,063
inherit
Always teacher, sometimes writer
370
0
4,063
linksocarina
Teaching Mode Activated
3,179
August 2016
linksocarina
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
LinksOcarina
|
Post by linksocarina on Mar 12, 2019 18:06:20 GMT
To my mind, that statement is flawed. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games, including MEA and Anthem. They sure need to get out of the habit of launching unready, but the games are good. You've enjoyed the games? Good on you.
That doesn't change the fact that BW's last two offerings have been met with tepid reception at best critically. Commercially ME:A may have turned a profit but it wasn't deemed viable enough for longer term DLC. Anthem meanwhile is in the midst of playerbase drama that reminds me more of FO76, NMS, and For Honor. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, but the game is clearly not in a good place for a lot of very vocal and visible fans.
Trust me when I say the issues with Fallout 76 are much worse compared to the problems in Anthem. That game is still broken on consoles in ways Anthem wasn't, and I mean game breaking bug broken. The comparison is easy to make because of proximity of release and a lot of folks love their Yellow Journalism that way so it's low hanging fruit. plus i'm just going to go on record and say the reaction to No Man's Sky was overblown too. I never played For Honor so I have no opinion on it, but I certainly can say that folks love feeding the conflict machine now a days in the gaming world.
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:07:51 GMT
reminds me more of FO76, NMS I own both FO76 and NMS and I wouldn't put Anthem a million miles within the category of awful that is FO76 and NMS (not even 'new' NMS). I didn't say the situations were exactly the same, I said the player base reactions were similar
but sure, try and twist my words
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:08:27 GMT
You've enjoyed the games? Good on you.
That doesn't change the fact that BW's last two offerings have been met with tepid reception at best critically. Commercially ME:A may have turned a profit but it wasn't deemed viable enough for longer term DLC. Anthem meanwhile is in the midst of playerbase drama that reminds me more of FO76, NMS, and For Honor. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, but the game is clearly not in a good place for a lot of very vocal and visible fans.
Trust me when I say the issues with Fallout 76 are much worse compared to the problems in Anthem. That game is still broken on consoles in ways Anthem wasn't, and I mean game breaking bug broken. The comparison is easy to make because of proximity of release and a lot of folks love their Yellow Journalism that way so it's low hanging fruit. plus i'm just going to go on record and say the reaction to No Man's Sky was overblown too. I never played For Honor so I have no opinion on it, but I certainly can say that folks love feeding the conflict machine now a days in the gaming world. Please point to me where I said the issues in the game were on par
|
|
linksocarina
N5
Always teacher, sometimes writer
Teaching Mode Activated
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
PSN: LinksOcarina
Posts: 3,179 Likes: 4,063
inherit
Always teacher, sometimes writer
370
0
4,063
linksocarina
Teaching Mode Activated
3,179
August 2016
linksocarina
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
LinksOcarina
|
Post by linksocarina on Mar 12, 2019 18:18:34 GMT
Trust me when I say the issues with Fallout 76 are much worse compared to the problems in Anthem. That game is still broken on consoles in ways Anthem wasn't, and I mean game breaking bug broken. The comparison is easy to make because of proximity of release and a lot of folks love their Yellow Journalism that way so it's low hanging fruit. plus i'm just going to go on record and say the reaction to No Man's Sky was overblown too. I never played For Honor so I have no opinion on it, but I certainly can say that folks love feeding the conflict machine now a days in the gaming world. Please point to me where I said the issues in the game were on par The fact that it reminds you of it is the problem, it shouldn't because it's a different scenario of problems between them all. Hence the problem of feeding the controversy that I mentioned...they all blend together into an amorphous blanket statement that satisfies a ton of people almost blindly. Hence the playerbase reactions being "similar." I hate that personally since its antithetical to any discussion.
|
|
inherit
7836
0
2,286
shinobiwan
1,171
Apr 19, 2017 19:26:11 GMT
April 2017
shinobiwan
|
Post by shinobiwan on Mar 12, 2019 18:21:04 GMT
To my mind, that statement is flawed. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games, including MEA and Anthem. They sure need to get out of the habit of launching unready, but the games are good. You've enjoyed the games? Good on you.
That doesn't change the fact that BW's last two offerings have been met with tepid reception at best critically. Commercially ME:A may have turned a profit but it wasn't deemed viable enough for longer term DLC. Anthem meanwhile is in the midst of playerbase drama that reminds me more of FO76, NMS, and For Honor. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, but the game is clearly not in a good place for a lot of very vocal and visible fans.
Maybe you didn't read carefully enough. He enjoyed the games, and therefore everyone else's feelings and criticism are invalidated.
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:22:05 GMT
Please point to me where I said the issues in the game were on par The fact that it reminds you of it is the problem, it shouldn't because it's a different scenario between them all. Hence the problem of feeding the controversy that I mentioned...they all blend together into an amorphous blanket statement that satisfies a ton of people almost blindly. I hate that personally since its antithetical to any discussion. Go on the Anthem subreddit and tell me the reaction you see there isn't similar to the hooplah over FO76 and NMS. (the calls for boycott remind me of For Honor, but you said you have no experience with that game so....)
|
|
linksocarina
N5
Always teacher, sometimes writer
Teaching Mode Activated
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
PSN: LinksOcarina
Posts: 3,179 Likes: 4,063
inherit
Always teacher, sometimes writer
370
0
4,063
linksocarina
Teaching Mode Activated
3,179
August 2016
linksocarina
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
LinksOcarina
|
Post by linksocarina on Mar 12, 2019 18:22:40 GMT
The fact that it reminds you of it is the problem, it shouldn't because it's a different scenario between them all. Hence the problem of feeding the controversy that I mentioned...they all blend together into an amorphous blanket statement that satisfies a ton of people almost blindly. I hate that personally since its antithetical to any discussion. Go on the Anthem subreddit and tell me the reaction you see there isn't similar to the hooplah over FO76 and NMS. (the calls for boycott remind me of For Honor, but you said you have no experience with that game so....)
Whether you think the comparison is appropriate is really beyond the point, hell even gaming news sites are starting to compare the backlashes.
They are all idiots. What do you want me to say?
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:24:36 GMT
Go on the Anthem subreddit and tell me the reaction you see there isn't similar to the hooplah over FO76 and NMS. (the calls for boycott remind me of For Honor, but you said you have no experience with that game so....)
Whether you think the comparison is appropriate is really beyond the point, hell even gaming news sites are starting to compare the backlashes.
They are all idiots. What do you want me to say? Idiots for what? Comparing a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content to a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content?
|
|
linksocarina
N5
Always teacher, sometimes writer
Teaching Mode Activated
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
PSN: LinksOcarina
Posts: 3,179 Likes: 4,063
inherit
Always teacher, sometimes writer
370
0
4,063
linksocarina
Teaching Mode Activated
3,179
August 2016
linksocarina
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
LinksOcarina
|
Post by linksocarina on Mar 12, 2019 18:26:52 GMT
They are all idiots. What do you want me to say? Idiots for what? Comparing a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content to a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content? That, and the boycott thing. That's really childish to me. The problem is this: the comparison doesn't hold water unless you throw it into generic terms like you did above here. Its really easy to do that....and it's really easy to sell a narrative on that. Feed that controversy. So yeah, people are really idiotic to compare a bunch of games which "failed" if you want to call it that, for having similar issues when they are far from the same.
|
|
midnight tea
Twitter Guru
gateway beverage
Posts: 7,093 Likes: 16,583
inherit
gateway beverage
109
0
16,583
midnight tea
7,093
August 2016
midnighttea
|
Post by midnight tea on Mar 12, 2019 18:29:27 GMT
What do you mean the first type of this kind? DICE developed the engine and has done online shooters galore with it. Open-world online shooters with things like flying mechanics, 3rd person perspective, ability trees and RPG/dialogue tree/cine systems that will be further expanded over years of live services? Or just a pretty narrow type of online shooters that the game like Anthem (or any BW game) simply isn't? It's been well publicized over years that devs at Bioware (and other EA studios) are creating many, maaaaaaany tools for DICE's original engine to handle story-focused RPGs and aRPGs (or just games that aren't online shooters).
|
|
Polka Dot
N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
Posts: 679 Likes: 1,207
inherit
10957
0
Feb 14, 2019 20:07:41 GMT
1,207
Polka Dot
679
Feb 14, 2019 18:50:29 GMT
February 2019
polkadot
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
|
Post by Polka Dot on Mar 12, 2019 18:31:23 GMT
Did BioWare really want to remove magical healing from DAI, or was that a compromise they made due to limitations imposed by Frostbite? I really don’t see how that would be an engine issue. That just seems like a straight up attempt to experiment with another gameplay approach. I thought the same thing when I typed it - however - as part of the reduction in the number of skills available, testing may have revealed that players would be happier/more successful with more offensive or other support talents from mages, and were satisfied using healing pots. None of us really know the full story there. Most of those I know were deliberate changes. They reduced the number of available skills which was to reduce the... I think the term they used was "cognitive load" of having 30 abilities on your bar. They found that very few players actually used tactics, and few understood how to make the most of them. That's why they were simplified. Removing magical healing was done for a number of reasons, but again it was a deliberate decision (which didn't quite pan out the way they hoped). Gear swapping is the only one I'm not sure about. IOW - dumbed it down. I understand that making combat tactics user programmable is another workload, but those who don't care for the feature never had to use it. DAO and DA2 both had pre-programmed sets of tactics that people were free to use, and they'd automatically update as new talents are learned. Really, changing only the strategy (which mostly addressed positioning) could have a big influence on how any given battle turned out. Frankly, I don't know that removing/limiting tactical options is actually any easier for the devs, because it means they have to make all of the tactical decisions on behalf of players who will be using a wide range of builds and strategies in their follower AI designs. I found it very difficult to keep certain party members alive in DAI, but I never had those issues in DAO or DA2. Also, you were still able to switch characters and they even brought back the tactical camera and pausing in DAI. Most of the time I used that feature, it was to reposition ranged fighters who got in trouble from closing in (also to try to find downed teammates to rezz them). Instead of having to do it all blow-by-blow in real time, I find it much easier - and more satisfying - to program their behavior before the fight starts. There will always be limitations and things some people aren't thrilled about. I, for example, wouldn't be thrilled if - for some reason - they got back to the engine they used for older DA titles or got back to combat from DAO. Many people like it - I find it slow and pretty clunky. JMHO. You're certainly not alone there. I've seen plenty of complaints about the warden shuffle and whatnot, but then DA2 swung the pendulum the other way. In terms of combat movement speed, they sought to find a happy medium with DAI, and for the most part, I think they achieved it. I personally would have been very happy to have kept all of the other combat mechanics from DAO rather than having to accept the restrictions imposed by DA2 & DAI. They could have simply sped it up a bit and left (most of) the rest as is.
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:32:56 GMT
Idiots for what? Comparing a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content to a game with broken mechanics, terrible technical performance, and a lack of content? That, and the boycott thing. That's really childish to me. The problem is this: the comparison doesn't hold water unless you throw it into generic terms like you did above here. Its really easy to do that....and it's really easy to sell a narrative on that. Feed that controversy. So yeah, people are really idiotic to compare a bunch of games which "failed" if you want to call it that, for having similar issues when they are far from the same. Given the publicity that Anthem's failings have garnered, I think its an entirely understandable and appropriate comparison to make. Though we are not lacking in comparisons to games like Destiny 1/2 and the Division as well which are far closer in genre.
|
|
sentinel87
N2
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Posts: 175 Likes: 412
inherit
382
0
Apr 11, 2024 18:07:27 GMT
412
sentinel87
175
August 2016
sentinel87
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
|
Post by sentinel87 on Mar 12, 2019 18:37:35 GMT
It feels like Bioware is at a crossroads, or more specifically the Edmonton "core" studio is. Edmonton chose to go the looter shooter route with this game and I think that speaks to a desire within the studio to do something different. If this is just a one off that they decide didn't pan out and they go back to their more traditional games remains to be seen.
While I have no doubt that internally the studio is striving to retain their identity as the devs that write great characters and stories, I fear that trying to shoehorn them into genres that they don't fit will end up hurting their ability to have engaging stories and characters in the first place. It's just going about it the wrong way. Thus they will stop being known as the studio does great characters.
Meanwhile you have the AC franchise starting to morph into an Action RPG in a somewhat similar vein of ME3 or DA2.
Bioware should pick a genre and stick with it. Either the action RPG that they have been doing for a while now or the looter shooter. I don't think they can keep doing both going forward. At least not just the Edmonton studio by itself.
As to the Frostbite engine; DAI was fine on it and that was their first game. There are plenty of articles discussing the difficulties with the engine, specifically having to create new tools to work with RPG mechanics. At this point they have to be all in place. It's just a mater of managing their dev time properly. It wouldn't surprise me if Anthem had the same problems that MEA did with the team wildly over estimating what they could create and not willing to let go of an idea when it was no longer feasable.
|
|
linksocarina
N5
Always teacher, sometimes writer
Teaching Mode Activated
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
PSN: LinksOcarina
Posts: 3,179 Likes: 4,063
inherit
Always teacher, sometimes writer
370
0
4,063
linksocarina
Teaching Mode Activated
3,179
August 2016
linksocarina
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda
LinksOcarina
|
Post by linksocarina on Mar 12, 2019 18:39:14 GMT
That, and the boycott thing. That's really childish to me. The problem is this: the comparison doesn't hold water unless you throw it into generic terms like you did above here. Its really easy to do that....and it's really easy to sell a narrative on that. Feed that controversy. So yeah, people are really idiotic to compare a bunch of games which "failed" if you want to call it that, for having similar issues when they are far from the same. Given the publicity that Anthem's failings have garnered, I think its an entirely understandable and appropriate comparison to make. Though we are not lacking in comparisons to games like Destiny 1/2 and the Division as well which are far closer in genre. And yet id rather those comparisons because it's at least closer to genre. I'm sorry, I just disagree on it being appropriate.
|
|
inherit
3439
0
9,184
alanc9
Old Scientist Contrarian
7,831
February 2017
alanc9
|
Post by alanc9 on Mar 12, 2019 18:46:28 GMT
Specifically, I'm talking about the limitations on skills accessible at any given point in time. DAI was stripped of the ability to change gear during combat (in spite of toting it around in inventory) and programmable tactics. MEA resorted to this weird classless profiling thing where you could change abilities anytime, but still have only 3 available for immediate use. Was any of that BioWare's choice, or were they simply trying to make the best of what they could do with Frostbite? Did BioWare really want to remove magical healing from DAI, or was that a compromise they made due to limitations imposed by Frostbite? Since just about every FPS ever has magical healing, it's unclear how Frostbite could possibly cause a problem in that area. From dev comments, I got the impression that the devs weren't too fond of systems which required the player to pause the action in order to manage one character effectively. (Arguably this represents the influence of MP, although this has been a long-term trend with Bio games.) And IIRC they hadn't liked the D&D 3.0 "golf bag" approach too much either. It was never quite clear why warriors lost access to ranged weapons, though. Something something class roles was all the explanation we ever got.
|
|
inherit
98
0
Feb 18, 2020 17:11:03 GMT
3,042
Steelcan
2,078
August 2016
steelcan
|
Post by Steelcan on Mar 12, 2019 18:48:18 GMT
Specifically, I'm talking about the limitations on skills accessible at any given point in time. DAI was stripped of the ability to change gear during combat (in spite of toting it around in inventory) and programmable tactics. MEA resorted to this weird classless profiling thing where you could change abilities anytime, but still have only 3 available for immediate use. Was any of that BioWare's choice, or were they simply trying to make the best of what they could do with Frostbite? Did BioWare really want to remove magical healing from DAI, or was that a compromise they made due to limitations imposed by Frostbite? Since just about every FPS ever has magical healing, it's unclear how Frostbite could possibly cause a problem in that area. From dev comments, I got the impression that the devs weren't too fond of systems which required the player to pause the action in order to manage one character effectively. (Arguably this represents the influence of MP, although this has been a long-term trend with Bio games.) And IIRC they hadn't liked the D&D 3.0 "golf bag" approach too much either. It was never quite clear why warriors lost access to ranged weapons, though. Something something class roles was all the explanation we ever got. I mean on the laundry list of design decisions I took issue with in DA:I, restricting ranged attacks to mages and rogues wasn't something I took a lot of issue with.
|
|
inherit
ღ Grumpy Old Man
1046
0
Feb 12, 2024 15:48:21 GMT
15,499
Space Cowboy
They call me a Space Cowboy
4,937
Aug 17, 2016 20:09:17 GMT
August 2016
spacecowboy
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire
|
Post by Space Cowboy on Mar 12, 2019 18:49:18 GMT
Specifically, I'm talking about the limitations on skills accessible at any given point in time. DAI was stripped of the ability to change gear during combat (in spite of toting it around in inventory) and programmable tactics. MEA resorted to this weird classless profiling thing where you could change abilities anytime, but still have only 3 available for immediate use. Was any of that BioWare's choice, or were they simply trying to make the best of what they could do with Frostbite? Did BioWare really want to remove magical healing from DAI, or was that a compromise they made due to limitations imposed by Frostbite? Since just about every FPS ever has magical healing, it's unclear how Frostbite could possibly cause a problem in that area. From dev comments, I got the impression that the devs weren't too fond of systems which required the player to pause the action in order to manage one character effectively. (Arguably this represents the influence of MP, although this has been a long-term trend with Bio games.) And IIRC they hadn't liked the D&D 3.0 "golf bag" approach too much either. It was never quite clear why warriors lost access to ranged weapons, though. Something something class roles was all the explanation we ever got. Yeah I’d say it was more design choice and multiplayer that inspired those changes. Dai did have magical healing, just very limited access
|
|
inherit
ღ Grumpy Old Man
1046
0
Feb 12, 2024 15:48:21 GMT
15,499
Space Cowboy
They call me a Space Cowboy
4,937
Aug 17, 2016 20:09:17 GMT
August 2016
spacecowboy
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire
|
Post by Space Cowboy on Mar 12, 2019 18:50:55 GMT
Since just about every FPS ever has magical healing, it's unclear how Frostbite could possibly cause a problem in that area. From dev comments, I got the impression that the devs weren't too fond of systems which required the player to pause the action in order to manage one character effectively. (Arguably this represents the influence of MP, although this has been a long-term trend with Bio games.) And IIRC they hadn't liked the D&D 3.0 "golf bag" approach too much either. It was never quite clear why warriors lost access to ranged weapons, though. Something something class roles was all the explanation we ever got. I mean on the laundry list of design decisions I took issue with in DA:I, restricting ranged attacks to mages and rogues wasn't something I took a lot of issue with. I can see them wanting to make classes unique. I wasn’t too thrilled with them turning mages into Jedi though.
|
|
inherit
3439
0
9,184
alanc9
Old Scientist Contrarian
7,831
February 2017
alanc9
|
Post by alanc9 on Mar 12, 2019 18:57:27 GMT
|
|
wright1978
N4
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Prime Posts: 8,116
Prime Likes: 2073
Posts: 1,632 Likes: 2,469
inherit
1492
0
2,469
wright1978
1,632
Sept 8, 2016 12:06:29 GMT
September 2016
wright1978
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
8,116
2073
|
Post by wright1978 on Mar 12, 2019 19:03:43 GMT
It feels like Bioware is at a crossroads, or more specifically the Edmonton "core" studio is. Edmonton chose to go the looter shooter route with this game and I think that speaks to a desire within the studio to do something different. If this is just a one off that they decide didn't pan out and they go back to their more traditional games remains to be seen. While I have no doubt that internally the studio is striving to retain their identity as the devs that write great characters and stories, I fear that trying to shoehorn them into genres that they don't fit will end up hurting their ability to have engaging stories and characters in the first place. It's just going about it the wrong way. Thus they will stop being known as the studio does great characters. Meanwhile you have the AC franchise starting to morph into an Action RPG in a somewhat similar vein of ME3 or DA2. Bioware should pick a genre and stick with it. Either the action RPG that they have been doing for a while now or the looter shooter. I don't think they can keep doing both going forward. At least not just the Edmonton studio by itself. As to the Frostbite engine; DAI was fine on it and that was their first game. There are plenty of articles discussing the difficulties with the engine, specifically having to create new tools to work with RPG mechanics. At this point they have to be all in place. It's just a mater of managing their dev time properly. It wouldn't surprise me if Anthem had the same problems that MEA did with the team wildly over estimating what they could create and not willing to let go of an idea when it was no longer feasable. Given the trashy nature of anthem I have my doubts about their ability to transfer well. Maybe it’s just seen as a stepping stone/learning exercise to shedding their old skin completely. I hope they turn back to focusing on sp action rpgs. i have doubts about frostbite. from hair, degree of open world, lack of civilization etc. Maybe these are all design choices who knows.
|
|
officerdonnz
N3
The Fat Controller
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem
Origin: OfficerDonNZ
Posts: 805 Likes: 1,975
inherit
The Fat Controller
10628
0
1,975
officerdonnz
805
December 2018
officerdonnz
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem
OfficerDonNZ
|
Post by officerdonnz on Mar 12, 2019 19:10:18 GMT
I've never finished DA:I or ME:A as I found both to be too open with far too much filler and fluff, not much of a main plot and got boring fast. I'd get more enjoyment out of re-plaything the NWN OC and that has it's flaws.
|
|
inherit
ღ Grumpy Old Man
1046
0
Feb 12, 2024 15:48:21 GMT
15,499
Space Cowboy
They call me a Space Cowboy
4,937
Aug 17, 2016 20:09:17 GMT
August 2016
spacecowboy
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire
|
Post by Space Cowboy on Mar 12, 2019 19:11:34 GMT
Unfortunately knowing the reasoning didn’t make me like it any better... but water under the bridge. Lol
|
|