The next DRAGON AGE™: Behind the scenes at BioWare

It was also odd that we could get perks connected with mounts that were really redundant unless we were going to engage in mounted combat. It was rather odd, as though perhaps they originally planned something more but then decided against it. The fact that our companions disappeared when we mounted up so conversation was not possible during our long ride across country, the Hissing Wastes spring to mind, means there was less incentive to mount up even if it did get you there quicker. Even more annoying were the times I did use the horse and on dismounting received the tail end of a conversation, as though it had still triggered during the ride but I couldn't hear it. Which made me even less likely to use the horse as it was difficult enough to get conversations going as it was. If they could fix those drawbacks I would enjoy having mounts again, whether on land or in the air.  The trouble is they monitor these things covertly through your save games and the assumption might be that people didn't use mounts because they didn't like them, rather than because they hadn't got the mechanics right.

I must admit to being a bit dubious about the flying ships though. I was surprised when they introduced flying ships in Last Flight. I was never aware that aravels actually do fly. I thought by land ships they meant vehicles that moved by sail power as though they were afloat, not airships. Okay so the ones in Last Flight were simply being towed by griffon and kept aloft by magic but they still seemed a bit lore breaking. Dorian mentioned something about flying cows over Minrathous, so it would seem the Magisters do know the requisite spells required to levitate larger objects. However, if that is the case and the Wardens specifically came up with this form of transport during the 4th Blight, why did no one come up with an alternative to griffon power? Even if the creatures towing them had to stay land bound, floating wagons would be so much more comfortable and adaptable to the landscape that wheeled ones.  (Also the Dalish in the Exalted Plains could have floated their way out of the area). Then of course we also had the fact that both the Architect and Corypheus could fly, at least over short distances. How was this possible? The levitation spell is only meant to be used on inanimate objects.

Still at least the concept art would seem to suggest that those flying aravels are likely due to the lack of a Veil or through actually being in the Fade, seeing as other objects are floating too. That was of course the reason why Corypheus was able to move mountains, although again I think that was too overpowered, plus when they fell back down again it should have rendered the surrounding area like a nuclear fall out site. Yet the only thing that really suffered was Solas' orb.

Yeah I've never read any of the books but I heard a little about it a while back.

Flying ships, flying mountains, ancient legendary Gods that actually exist, magic that will alter the very fabric of the world... they are going a little bit too high fantasy imo.

High fantasy is very difficult to handle.

Flying has a tendency to make big maps feel small. I imagine it’s pretty difficult to make a landscape that’s compelling both to walk through and fly through, because you’re dealing with 2 very different travel speeds and 2 very different view angles. I’ve never encountered a game that does both well.

If flight appears in DA4, I hope it’s more focused on situations that require flight (e.g. traveling between Fade islands) vs. just shortening travel.

I agree with this, cuz I actually liked the little row boat mechanic to get to an island that had no bridge. Anthem was pretty as I flew past it at 60mph but it would just have been silly to walk through it when you could fly. Geralt's boat and horse mechanics made slowing down occasionally for some scenery enjoyment make sense. I think flying should be for specific scenes or very long distances. 

This is what I think too, honestly swimming and water mechanics in DA4 has me a lot more skeptical than flying airships. At least with airships and low gravity combat Bioware has a blueprint for that with MEA and Anthem. DA4 has already spent years in development and to throw in water gameplay, something BW have no experience in??? Just...why.

Personally I think water gameplay is really hard to do well and unless it is the main focus of the gameplay or story it can become very annoying and cumbersome especially in RPGs. As a comparison, AC:Odyssey had a ship which you could upgrade and steer to different land masses, and you could also use it to fight other ships and go to certain spots in the ocean to dive/loot ruins. I think it worked for Odyssey because it fit the setting and overall vibe but I can't really imagine it working in a game like DA4. Unless they made DA4 a pirate themed game but tbh that would be so weird in the context of Solas and the blight.

One way I think a flying airship could work in DA4 would be the ship acting as a fast travel medium. It could easily explain how the protagonist travels from Tevinter to Ferelden for example. At least this way fast travel would be believable and you could also imagine it being tied to the time constraints of the main story since it seems like it is a race against time to stop Solas/the blight. 

Eh. If there ever was such an overlap then it certainly isn't evident based on what we get from either culture in The Witcher, rendering the point moot.

And saying that "western" is a useless generalization because cultures have always shared some level of mutual influence and have a few common roots is like saying that "African" is a silly word because all people originate from Africa.

We all have at least a vague idea what it means because it's in common usage, and the fact that it references something so large and full of complexity that you can find all sorts of ways to pull it apart as a single concept if that's what you want to doesn't make it any less useful as a shorthand for something nobody would ever be able to talk about if we had to hash it out to the smallest cultural detail every single time.

And great. Fucking airships. Just... why? And why make the damn griffons extinct in the first place if they were just going to be brought back?

Considering the "realism" angle, modern AAA expectations and how other studios have done it, I doubt it. While I would also welcome it, I don't think insult arm wrestling will make a triumphant return, either. The implementation, or if it is even being worked on to begin with, will have to remain pure speculation for now. Or until Jason Schreier makes another article to prove otherwise.

Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire was also an excellent example of a nautical RPG.

What kind of sim can you expect from an RPG though? And shooting down a HP bar isn't so hot in my eyes.