Your opinion of Dragon Age 4 releasing in late 2022 (possibly early 2023)

that is an interesting idea. Just switch em.

Still it carries a lot of risk with it.

I don't put a lot of weight behind the claims of it needing live service elements.  EA has claimed they have had live service elements in their games for a decade so I just cannot see how a game would be even allowed to start down the development path without them.

That doesn't mean it was doom and gloom for EA or Disney either, its not always about meeting the mathematical calculations because there are variables that cannot always be accounted for.  See I don't always think if something has bad online presence mean is a crash and burn or the next thing is going to be a failure.  The predictions for Anthem changed publicly I think three times over the years, but everyone was so attached to the last number that is what they latched onto for the numbers are fluid.  I think the predictions for Anthem jumped just because of how many people were playing the online Beta even with all the negativity that launched around it.

I agree that it's something they've always had, but would COULD be different is the delivery of said live service elements. Technically speaking, the multiplayer aspects of Dragon Age and Mass Effect followed the live service structure as they were online-only, were updated with free content/patches, and said updates were supported by way of microtransactions. What might be different now is that EA also wants the single-player campaign to also follow the live service model. As an example, certain quests could be on a daily/weekly timer (requiring an online connection), it could get free (albeit small) story additions, as well as updates and gameplay improvements.

To me, the biggest reason for the development extension had more to do with transferring to Anthems engine. I doubt every element was able to transfer over from the previous engine, and they likely they likely need to adapt elements of Anthems engine into what they had planned for the game.

Not gonna lie, mildly disappointed even though I totally expected it.

But only mildly since I'm no longer holding my breath for games like I used to, especially for Bioware games, maybe I've gotten out of that age or maybe I have experienced one too many disappointments.

Most likely I'll forget about DA4 until 2 months before its release. * le shrug*

I have to agree with that. Especially since Anthem's patches came into the several GB of data range, most likely to fix dependencies on hacks that were being, slowly but steadily, pushed out of the engine. So there's no reason to port over a game into a new engine that isn't even "complete". It seems highly unorthodox.

I picked "indifferent", but what I really or specifically mean is "unsurprised". And not in a "I'm disappointed/lost faith in BioWare, oh they're so shitty I'd expect nothing less" kinda way. Purely just not surprised - in fact I'm surprised that some people are surprised/taken aback by this timeframe, like. After the reboot as detailed by Schreier, and with the way their time periods between game releases have been steadily increasing in recent years, there was no waaay this game was coming in 2020 and even 2021 didn't seem all that realistic a hope either, all things considered. Course I would much rather have had the game Yesterday!!, but this isn't a shocking revelation in any way imo. Anyways I'm still optimistic about / excited for the game and ofc the wait will be agonizing as per.   Also I'm as obsessive and invested in this franchise as the next hardcore fan, emotional stuff from the story still makes me teary today and I still check the BioWare news feeds almost daily, but if you're feeling like personally hard done-by or strung along by BioWare as if they're somebody you're dating casually who is avoiding or refusing to commit or something, take a step back bruh, this is not healthy behavior. Go play some other games or take up some other hobbies in the meantime, waiting is a passive, not actively-involved, process. 0.2

I feel a broad mix, but the dominant feeling here is what I would call "optimistic indifference".

Barring things like excessive 'wokeness' or complete sidestepping of major open plot points... I'm just optimistic for another Dragon Age game.

The indifference comes from the fact that real life is real and doesn't care how we feel, and that there are other things in life besides video games.

I would be so bold as to say; if the worst thing about my day is finding out a beloved franchise won't be resurfacing for a while...
From my high-powered smartphone in a temperature-controlled environment with near-instant access to clean, fresh water; with a working fridge filled with a variety of nutritious and delicious foods...
I could go on (thank you capitalism and free markets!)

But if that's the worst, then I have it pretty good, so I'm not worried about the wait.
Solas will just have be patient with my questions.

Yep - it is lower.  I didn't say it wasn't, just that the money invested wasn't wasted.  But even "lower" is up for debate as deferred returns can be higher year on year.  Ignore Anthem for a moment. 

If DAI had released as intended in 2013, without the extra playable races and without the Cullen and Solas romances, return on investment would've commenced sooner.  Would the lifetime ROI of DAI be lower, the same or higher than what they eventually got?  I don't know - because I don't know the numbers we're dealing with - but I suspect it would've been lower.  That is really the extent of the 'logic' I was applying when I made the post you quoted.

Maaaaybe...

The money spent on "pre-reboot" DA4 is wasted - assuming that they really did throw it all out and start again - because they will not see any return for that money.

The money spent on Anthem - up until the theoretical - and very temporary - suspension in my proposal - isn't 'wasted', it simply has its return deferred.  And yes; money now is almost always better than "more" money later.  This is true for my business and even moreso for a business where stock prices matter, but as long as the investment still brings a return - then it hasn't been wasted.

It's all fairly academic, though.  The decision was made and here we are.  I'm just grumpy about it 

Indifferent is what I voted. At this point, I'm deciding if I wash my hands of Bioware and EA permanently. Just play DAO or DA2 when I need a DA fix or MEA trilogy if I need an ME fix. There are too many other studios now that are doing a very nice job in filling the void Bioware left behind.

Yeah ther's plenty to keep me busy as well which is why I'm indifferent as well I'd rather Bioware take the time they need and make sure they've done it right and they are happy with it I'll wait. I've got plenty to keep me busy either with my backlog future games coming out like the Jedi game next week or even more playthroughs of the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games we do have.