JayKay
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Post by JayKay on Jan 12, 2017 16:36:49 GMT
Someone asked Mike Darrah on Twitter about DA2: The Exhalted March and him, along with David Gaider, Mike Laidlaw, Mary Kirby, and others divulged details. You can read it all here, but here are some of the highlights. - Despite what most people assumed, the expansion wasn't canceled because of how many fans were unhappy with DA2, but because of the move to the Frostbite engine. They realized that it would take some manpower to try to figure out how to get it to work for RPGs, and they couldn't switch engines for an expansion, so they decided it would be better overall to focus on working with the new engine with the new game.
- The Exhalted March was being called "Project Nugstorm" at the time because Bioware has a policy of creating project titles that are so silly so that developers don't get attached to the name when they create the official title. This apparently caused a few funny e-mails from EA asking "What the hell is this you're developing?"
- Exhalted March's high concept premise would have involved a continuation of the red lyrium aspect, along with the qunari invading the Free Marches while it was at it's weakened state, and the Chantry beliving they needed to come in and wipe the whole place clean. Hawke would have teamed up with groups in Starkhaven (including Prince Sebastian and we would have gotten more material with him) as well as the "pirates of the Armada" (Pirate Captain Isabela?) to try to stop both groups from tearing the Free Marches apart.
- People assumed that when Bioware said that ideas in Exhalted March moved to Inquisition, they were talking about the Mage/Templar conclusion of the events of Here Lies the Abyss, but it actually looks like it was going to be the Red Templars. They talked about how the templars of Kirkwall and other places in the Free Marches would have taken pieces of the red lyrium statue of Meredith and crushed and snorted her remains to become even more powerful.
- A big thing that would have changed thing was that David Gaider actually planned on killing off Varric at the end of Exhalted March.
- They also talked about going to a PAX panel where Laidlaw had on a shirt that had a Hang Man game that revealed one of the big locations of Exhalted March, a place called Estwatch, and hinted that the expansion would have started in the Hanged Man tavern, and apparently fans figured it out within hours. They also talked about how much they enjoyed that panel, seeing fans passionate about the series after a tumultuous time post-release of DA2, and that fan reaction was why they went to PAX with a huge demo of Inquisition, as a sort-of thank you.
- Slightly off-topic, they also explained about Sandal's semi-disappearance from DAI--apparently, one of the developers said that if he showed up in Inquisition, then that would mean he would have to show up in EVERY Dragon Age from that point forward, and one of the developers didn't really like it.
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Post by Catilina on Jan 12, 2017 17:01:56 GMT
Interesting. What about Hawke, who exiled from Kirkwall? What about Hawke, who wasn't capable to execute Anders? Sebastian would been joined? He looked seriously. What about Anders?
The Meredith-abomination was a lovely idea!
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Max Deltree
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Post by Max Deltree on Jan 12, 2017 17:09:19 GMT
- Slightly off-topic, they also explained about Sandal's semi-disappearance from DAI--apparently, one of the developers said that if he showed up in Inquisition, then that would mean he would have to show up in EVERY Dragon Age from that point forward, and one of the developers didn't really like it.
What is funny about this is that Sandal going to Orlais was something we took as a major hint that the next game would be there.  |
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Post by phoray on Jan 12, 2017 19:27:46 GMT
- Slightly off-topic, they also explained about Sandal's semi-disappearance from DAI--apparently, one of the developers said that if he showed up in Inquisition, then that would mean he would have to show up in EVERY Dragon Age from that point forward, and one of the developers didn't really like it.
What is funny about this is that Sandal going to Orlais was something we took as a major hint that the next game would be there. Oh. Are you sure? I thought Bodahn said they were going to Tevinter in the game. But I have only 3 PTs under my belt, so I haven't memorized every line yet. |
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Max Deltree
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Post by Max Deltree on Jan 12, 2017 19:40:46 GMT
What is funny about this is that Sandal going to Orlais was something we took as a major hint that the next game would be there. Oh. Are you sure? I thought Bodahn said they were going to Tevinter in the game. But I have only 3 PTs under my belt, so I haven't memorized every line yet. I found this on the Dragon Age Wiki: |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2017 21:37:38 GMT
Here's Mike Laidlaw's tweets explaining most of it -
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Dabrikishaw
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Post by Dabrikishaw on Jan 14, 2017 5:08:36 GMT
So most of the planned material showed up in Inquisition, in one way or another.
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JayKay
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Post by JayKay on Jan 14, 2017 6:16:56 GMT
I mean, it makes sense--why let a bunch of potentially good stories or characters go to waste?
Except for Varric dying. That idea can fuck right off.
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Post by Sifr on Jan 14, 2017 7:56:28 GMT
Oh. Are you sure? I thought Bodahn said they were going to Tevinter in the game. But I have only 3 PTs under my belt, so I haven't memorized every line yet. Got to that part the other day in my latest playthrough. As mentioned above, Celene offered both Sandal and Bodahn a position at her court after she acquired one of Sandal's enchantments. Would have been nice to see this mentioned in DAI, even as a throwaway line from Morrigan. Perhaps they asked permission to return home to Ferelden when the Orlesian Civil War began? Bodahn told Hawke that he felt Kirkwall was getting too dangerous to remain in and he wanted Sandal somewhere safer, so the last thing they needed in Orlais was to find themselves stuck in the middle of yet another war (for the third time in 10 years). I mean, it makes sense--why let a bunch of potentially good stories or characters go to waste? Except for Varric dying. That idea can fuck right off.Yeah, what the actual hell, Gaider?  |
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Post by bella on Jan 14, 2017 8:33:19 GMT
I have a feeling Sandal is off doing his own thing by now. I mean, it's obvious the dude can take care of himself, and he seems to be somewhat connected to the story going forward. So I don't know, will be interesting to see if and why we ever run into him again.
But thanks for bringing out the highlights! I wasn't around when all the DA2 controversy went down, but I think the overall story and characters are some of the best in any BW game I've played. Would have been nice to get an expansion, but hey at least we did get some of the content in DAI.
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Post by flyingovertrout on Jan 15, 2017 13:28:00 GMT
I adore DA2, so awesome to read this. Thanks!
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mmoblitz
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Post by mmoblitz on Jan 25, 2017 3:49:03 GMT
Thanks for this. DA2 is my favorite of the series. Love the companions in this one and the banter is the best of the series for me as well. They seem more like friends than just people running on missions/quests together. Like the combat and Tactics as well.
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Post by Trilobite Derby on Jan 25, 2017 17:37:53 GMT
I really could have done with more Sebastian. Alas.
It's cool to see the ideas that don't make it!
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Post by lobselvith8 on Jan 29, 2017 2:25:56 GMT
Someone asked Mike Darrah on Twitter about DA2: The Exhalted March and him, along with David Gaider, Mike Laidlaw, Mary Kirby, and others divulged details. You can read it all here, but here are some of the highlights. - Despite what most people assumed, the expansion wasn't canceled because of how many fans were unhappy with DA2, but because of the move to the Frostbite engine. They realized that it would take some manpower to try to figure out how to get it to work for RPGs, and they couldn't switch engines for an expansion, so they decided it would be better overall to focus on working with the new engine with the new game.
That's a bit odd for them to say now when they admitted, pre-Inquisition release, that they considered not going forward with another Dragon Age game (which, admittedly, surprised me a great deal that they would even admit to such a thing). It's not like Inquisition was a sure thing at the time. |
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Post by Sifr on Jan 29, 2017 8:39:55 GMT
That's a bit odd for them to say now when they admitted, pre-Inquisition release, that they considered not going forward with another Dragon Age game (which, admittedly, surprised me a great deal that they would even admit to such a thing). It's not like Inquisition was a sure thing at the time. They might have feared that EA would force them to rush Inquisition out on an impossible deadline like they had with DA2 (and many suspect with ME3, given it's rushed ending). I'd have been heavily reluctant to commit to another game straightaway, lest the corporate overlords attempt to interfere in the dev cycle, because they'd not learned a damned thing about why the last two didn't do so well. |
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