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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by Ieldra on Oct 22, 2024 20:17:14 GMT
Well...so about DAV...based on a considerable amount of footage available online...
I might've said that DAV is the first Dragon Age game I did not want to buy (but will anyway, see below for more). That would've been mistaken. Because DAV is not a Dragon Age game. It's fake Dragon Age, devoid of all the fire that went into Thedas' creation. As just a game, it looks okish, maybe even good by some standards, but as a Dragon Age game, unless the footage we've seen is a 100% nonrepresentative sample of what is in the game (which I'm afraid it is, just not in that way), it will be such an utter failure that I am disappointed even though I did not really expect much in the first place.
There hasn't been a Dragon Age game after DAO that went where I wanted it to go. That I did not like, but I liked the world more than I disliked the direction, so I went along. DA2 was a rushed mess, and I hated its combat with a passion. Its personality system was liable to make Hawke as stereotypical as almost all of the companions in that game, but its story was good. It took me several playthroughs to make a Hawke that I wanted to take away from it, but there were these suprisingly memorable moments, and there were the Qunari, who were new an interesting. DAI....looked pretty. And it had better characters than DA2. Cassandra was very well written, I liked her almost as much as Morrigan, Leliana and Alistair. Dorian's story gave us great insight into Tevinter culture. Many small elements of the game were great, but as a whole package it was...ok. And it was the first game in the series that had lost contact with what I think was its foundational premise.
DAO was many things I liked. I could name half a dozen aspects where it was more to my liking than anything that followed. But here is what mattered most: DAO was not safe. It dared present us with supernatural horror as well the more human kind, it was emotionally and morally challenging, never a safe ride. It assumed we were not children who had to be protected from even imaginary danger, it assumed we knew the difference between fiction and reality. The essence of play, I think, is dealing with imaginary scenarios so that you can learn about them without any actual danger. And there was so much to learn. I never thought so much about my characters and their motivations in any other game, except maybe in another of Bioware's classics. Maybe. DA2, for all of its flaws, kept that up. I like DAI for what it was, but it was already much sanitized in comparison.
And now, there aren't even any spiders in DAV. Not that there must be. Spiders are such a tired old trope, I used to joke there must be some natural law that a CRPG had to have giant spiders as enemies, so common were they. If there aren't any big enough to bother putting them on the screen in the places we visit in DAV, no problem. But....the fact that they were removed matters much less than the reason. They were removed because they made some people uncomfortable! Uncomfortable? In a game that was supposedly about a threat to all human civilization? What insanity is that? Who the hell came up with this insane idea that games have to be a safe place? And a Dragon Age game of all things? Are we now so mired in our hyperreality that we take fiction for reality, take images for harmful in more than a figurative sense?
And if you don't mind a bit of cultural criticism, we need resilience. In material terms, the lives of us who can afford to play video games are much softer than people would've been able to even imagine just 200 years ago, but I think navigating the memetic pathways of the postmodern hyperreality we live in is much more stressful to our minds than people would've been able to imagine 200 years ago. You can isolate yourself with filters and blocking lists, our civilization's castle walls against memetic threats, an unfortunately necessary means of protection, but at some point you have to venture out into what has replaced the natural wilds and unprotected roads of the past. It is good to have a shelter. Not so good to have a prison instead.
I will buy DAV and I will play it. I owe it to myself to experience it for myself. No footage recorded by another could replace that. But I expect this to be like a third-hand experience. Like watching another person playing, experiencing imaginary danger one additional step removed from reality. Mired in hyperreality with no grounding left. Like, perhaps, being in the Fade without knowing that you are.
Something to explore, maybe, in another story about this world. But not one written by Bioware.
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Adia
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem
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Post by Adia on Oct 22, 2024 20:29:42 GMT
I try to put into words how I feel yet I somehow get slightly overwhelmed when I do because I'm just left so speechless. Betrayal, grief, sadness, rage? There isn't a lot to say that hasn't already been said; the neon purple everywhere, the smooth ugly Qunari, the silly looking darkspawn, the lighter tone, the streamlining of gameplay, the hand holding, unmemorable and politically safe companions, and so many other complaints... how can a team that includes people who worked on Dragon Age for more than 15 years butcher this game so badly? I waited 7 years for this game, we are 9 days away from release and I'm not sure if I even want to touch it. Sometimes, a picture does a lot more than words, so I'll attach one that I find the most absurd. The armor sets. They are so colorful, they insult my eyes. How can they mess up this badly?
Their excuse for this is "we are in a different area of Thedas so everything is going to look "a little' different". Well in that case, can we go back to Orlais and Ferelden and never look back? The more I learn about this game, the less I want to play it...
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Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by witchcocktor on Oct 22, 2024 22:07:42 GMT
I don't really expect great armor design from BW but I am befuddled by these designs. The armor on the left and the weird squiggly design and the squiggly design on the right too..
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The Elder King
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Prime Posts: 19631
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August 2016
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by The Elder King on Oct 22, 2024 22:25:37 GMT
I don't like a good number of armor design shown, although there are those that aren't that colorful. I like a lot the Grey Warden full plate shown here. x.com/shinobi602/status/1836797725708341572I do also like the LoF armor, in the male version a lot more then the female one, and I think it fits the theme of that faction. I do however think that there should be a balance between the different type of armors, and hopefully the full game would reach that balance. DA always had, however, a lot of ridiculous armor designs in the past. It doesn't mean Bioware shouldn't strive to improve, but it was never something of a strong point in the franchise.
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Guardian
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Posts: 483 Likes: 802
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guardian
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Guardian on Oct 22, 2024 22:26:15 GMT
Well...so about DAV...based on a considerable amount of footage available online...
I might've said that DAV is the first Dragon Age game I did not want to buy (but will anyway, see below for more). That would've been mistaken. Because DAV is not a Dragon Age game. It's fake Dragon Age, devoid of all the fire that went into Thedas' creation. As just a game, it looks okish, maybe even good by some standards, but as a Dragon Age game, unless the footage we've seen is a 100% nonrepresentative sample of what is in the game (which I'm afraid it is, just not in that way), it will be such an utter failure that I am disappointed even though I did not really expect much in the first place.
There hasn't been a Dragon Age game after DAO that went where I wanted it to go. That I did not like, but I liked the world more than I disliked the direction, so I went along. DA2 was a rushed mess, and I hated its combat with a passion. Its personality system was liable to make Hawke as stereotypical as almost all of the companions in that game, but its story was good. It took me several playthroughs to make a Hawke that I wanted to take away from it, but there were these suprisingly memorable moments, and there were the Qunari, who were new an interesting. DAI....looked pretty. And it had better characters than DA2. Cassandra was very well written, I liked her almost as much as Morrigan, Leliana and Alistair. Dorian's story gave us great insight into Tevinter culture. Many small elements of the game were great, but as a whole package it was...ok. And it was the first game in the series that had lost contact with what I think was its foundational premise.
DAO was many things I liked. I could name half a dozen aspects where it was more to my liking than anything that followed. But here is what mattered most: DAO was not safe. It dared present us with supernatural horror as well the more human kind, it was emotionally and morally challenging, never a safe ride. It assumed we were not children who had to be protected from even imaginary danger, it assumed we knew the difference between fiction and reality. The essence of play, I think, is dealing with imaginary scenarios so that you can learn about them without any actual danger. And there was so much to learn. I never thought so much about my characters and their motivations in any other game, except maybe in another of Bioware's classics. Maybe. DA2, for all of its flaws, kept that up. I like DAI for what it was, but it was already much sanitized in comparison.
And now, there aren't even any spiders in DAV. Not that there must be. Spiders are such a tired old trope, I used to joke there must be some natural law that a CRPG had to have giant spiders as enemies, so common were they. If there aren't any big enough to bother putting them on the screen in the places we visit in DAV, no problem. But....the fact that they were removed matters much less than the reason. They were removed because they made some people uncomfortable! Uncomfortable? In a game that was supposedly about a threat to all human civilization? What insanity is that? Who the hell came up with this insane idea that games have to be a safe place? And a Dragon Age game of all things? Are we now so mired in our hyperreality that we take fiction for reality, take images for harmful in more than a figurative sense?
And if you don't mind a bit of cultural criticism, we need resilience. In material terms, the lives of us who can afford to play video games are much softer than people would've been able to even imagine just 200 years ago, but I think navigating the memetic pathways of the postmodern hyperreality we live in is much more stressful to our minds than people would've been able to imagine 200 years ago. You can isolate yourself with filters and blocking lists, our civilization's castle walls against memetic threats, an unfortunately necessary means of protection, but at some point you have to venture out into what has replaced the natural wilds and unprotected roads of the past. It is good to have a shelter. Not so good to have a prison instead.
I will buy DAV and I will play it. I owe it to myself to experience it for myself. No footage recorded by another could replace that. But I expect this to be like a third-hand experience. Like watching another person playing, experiencing imaginary danger one additional step removed from reality. Mired in hyperreality with no grounding left. Like, perhaps, being in the Fade without knowing that you are.
Something to explore, maybe, in another story about this world. But not one written by Bioware.
There's a lot to unpack in your post, which I do agree with. First off, I think you summed it up nicely - Veilguard is to Dragon Age as what Andromeda is to Mass Effect - an okay game, that does not feel like it should have the lineage name attached to it that it does. If it were called "Generic Fantasy Setting X", I'm sure it'd be a fun game. However, attaching "Dragon Age" to the title means it carries a lineage with it, which sadly, does not meet that standard.
You bring up many good points, some that are tied into why this game is the way it is - gamers being uncomfortable; and not just gamers, but society as a whole. It's why spiders are removed. It's why the Qunari are pretty much gone in all but name. Why I hardly doubt we'll experience any dwarven society like we did back in Orzammar. I don't think any elves will face being called "knife-ear", but I'd probably guess the word "Shem" will be tossed about (unless they did not include that slur either;get rid of both, or keep both - only fair).
Cultural Criticism is perfectly valid. I think many seem to have forgotten that today, in an effort to create these "safe places" for everyone. Like you said - such things are good, but they can easily become a "prison" if not careful.
I think, like you, I will probably still play this in the end, long after it's been out. Vastly on discount and just judge it for myself. I also want to see the end of this, but I don't think saying my thoughts about it on here would be welcomed, if the honest review of Andromeda I have is anything to go by. One side feels I'm going too far by giving it the score I do, while the other says I'm being too favorable to it. I really hate how it feels like we're force to go along with the modern audience or stir up angst and vitriol, being called a "shill" or a "hater/tourist", despite I'd say most of us being here since Origins (if not longer!). There are some I can look at on both sides and say, "They have times they can be reasonable, but sometimes, go with one crowd or the other." Then, there's some that I can point to and go, "they're looking to incite for having a different opinion."
You have a very level head about you regarding all of this. It's nice to see and hear someone of a similar mind-set that can do this objectively without resorting to buzz words ad nauseam to rile up a side. A pleasure to read and reminds me why I usually don't post much on this board. This is the most active I've been in a long time lol
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Guardian
N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Posts: 483 Likes: 802
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guardian
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Guardian on Oct 22, 2024 22:28:37 GMT
I don't like a good number of armor design shown, although there are those that aren't that colorful. I like a lot the Grey Warden full plate shown here. x.com/shinobi602/status/1836797725708341572I do also like the LoF armor, in the male version a lot more then the female one, and I think it fits the theme of that faction. I do however think that there should be a balance between the different type of armors, and hopefully the full game would reach that balance. DA always had, however, a lot of ridiculous armor designs in the past. It doesn't mean Bioware shouldn't strive to improve, but it was never something of a strong point in the franchise. Oh my gosh, right? I mean...I know Origins is a really old game, but some of those armor designs? Yikes....DA2 I think looked all too similar to one another for me to really judge, but then we had Inquisition, which returned to a few levels of silliness for some armor designs.
But you're right - armor design was never the franchise's strong point.
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Praise the Justicat!
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Post by Pounce de León on Oct 22, 2024 22:39:25 GMT
I don't really expect great armor design from BW but I am befuddled by these designs. The armor on the left and the weird squiggly design and the squiggly design on the right too.. When you have a game design division that try to figure out how to make a game for almost a decade you have also artists with a lot of time on their hands. You get Kitty's Little Dollhouse as result.
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akots
N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda
Origin: akots
Posts: 767 Likes: 2,330
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767
August 2016
akots
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda
akots
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Post by akots on Oct 23, 2024 0:38:07 GMT
DAO was many things I liked. I could name half a dozen aspects where it was more to my liking than anything that followed. But here is what mattered most: DAO was not safe. It dared present us with supernatural horror as well the more human kind, it was emotionally and morally challenging, never a safe ride. It assumed we were not children who had to be protected from even imaginary danger, it assumed we knew the difference between fiction and reality. The essence of play, I think, is dealing with imaginary scenarios so that you can learn about them without any actual danger. And there was so much to learn. I never thought so much about my characters and their motivations in any other game, except maybe in another of Bioware's classics. Maybe. DA2, for all of its flaws, kept that up. I like DAI for what it was, but it was already much sanitized in comparison. IMO, there is a need to accept that the world of Dragon Age has ended with DAI. While the initial world building and story was on par with the best of the best, lore-wise, including D&D or Pathfinder universes, the whole thing went downhill from DAO to DA2 and then DAI. One can argue that this is how a corporate-owned things always work since there is no possibility of a third party to contribute, and the initial brilliant ideas simply run out on their own with time. DA2 with all its flaws was well within the spirit of the world that has been built in DAO. On the other hand, DAI has been stitched to the world by several thin threads. The only bridge I see between the world built in DAO toward the supposed DAV idea is the Trespasser DLC quest, which had even a thinner thread stitching it to DAI in turn. Thus, we have a thread on a thread, and the farther away it gets from the good initial story, the more remote and separated it feels. The same is true for Andromeda since the story and world of Mass Effect have ended in ME3. There is no continuation however the fans might want one. Every story as a stand-alone corporate-owned story comes to an end. Andromeda had a bad story, simply put, or the lack of any story if approaching with real scrutiny, while also being out of the spirit of ME universe completely. Bioware could have sold the rights to DA or ME if there were any buyers or should have spent a fortune to hire a team of superstar writers to expand the world and create new good stories. Alas, talented superstar writers do not work like that since they want their own stories in their own worlds, preferably outside of corporate environment, which is in essence a golden cage. Sanderson may be one of the few exceptions since he managed to finish the Wheel of Time books based or Robert Jordan's notes after his death. Same thing happened to Game of Thrones. As soon as GRR Martin left the room, somewhere around season 5, it all went downhill. It was still good IMO but paled in comparison to what it were in the beginning. Same thing happened to Lord of the Rings, Foundation, and The Witcher, and the list goes on and on in the past and in the future. If there is no disappointment, there is no real measure of success. Simply put, Bioware in its current state did not happen to have anything better and are trying to capitalize on their past while... well, entertaining the audience. It is entertainment industry after all, and one has to make some money. So, they are making something that is expected to sell OK but has no real thing behind it, and one has to accept that at this point in time. There are and will be other worlds created by other talented people, which will touch the right strings and play the right tunes that resonate. You can continue mourning, although TBH there is nothing to mourn. Both Dragon Age and Mass Effect has come to their end, and it is time to move on, at least for me.
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Post by themikefest on Oct 23, 2024 1:37:50 GMT
I preordered the game. I did not get the deluxe edition since $20 for the extra's is not worth it. Maybe if it was ten. I have moaned and groaned about some of the stuff seen so far, but I have said for the last few years I will get the game because I want to see how Solas will be dealt with. I don't care about the character. If a shutup Solas mod is created, I will likely get a copy for my computer.
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yarus
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Post by yarus on Oct 23, 2024 5:08:52 GMT
I've never seen a game so insecure and borderline resentful in its own identity that it feels the need to copy entire formulas --- from writing conventions to gameplay(God of War/Mass Effect) rather than draw inspiration from previous works. That in addition to the idiotic choice to limit continuity/imports from previous games to just 3 choices. Well, that's a lie. There's "Rage 2". So, congratulations DA4, you're in the same tier as Rage 2. You can continue mourning, although TBH there is nothing to mourn. Both Dragon Age and Mass Effect has come to their end, and it is time to move on, at least for me. To quote one of my favorite shows: "We don't move on. We hold that place in our heart, we close it off, we lock the door, we visit from time to time, but we don't move on. Even after we say goodbye." The memories and impact the first three Dragon Ages have had on me will always be real - and no matter what happens next those games will always have a special place in my heart and likely always will.
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LawBringerSR2
N2
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, KOTOR
Posts: 122 Likes: 203
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lawbringersr2
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, KOTOR
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Post by LawBringerSR2 on Oct 23, 2024 9:15:18 GMT
I try to put into words how I feel yet I somehow get slightly overwhelmed when I do because I'm just left so speechless. Betrayal, grief, sadness, rage? There isn't a lot to say that hasn't already been said; the neon purple everywhere, the smooth ugly Qunari, the silly looking darkspawn, the lighter tone, the streamlining of gameplay, the hand holding, unmemorable and politically safe companions, and so many other complaints... how can a team that includes people who worked on Dragon Age for more than 15 years butcher this game so badly? I waited 7 years for this game, we are 9 days away from release and I'm not sure if I even want to touch it. Sometimes, a picture does a lot more than words, so I'll attach one that I find the most absurd. The armor sets. They are so colorful, they insult my eyes. How can they mess up this badly?
Their excuse for this is "we are in a different area of Thedas so everything is going to look "a little' different". Well in that case, can we go back to Orlais and Ferelden and never look back? The more I learn about this game, the less I want to play it...
Agreed. Sheesh, those armor designs look ghastly to say the least. But the worst thing is the lighter tone of the game, I miss the darkness of DA.
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LawBringerSR2
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Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, KOTOR
Posts: 122 Likes: 203
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lawbringersr2
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, KOTOR
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Post by LawBringerSR2 on Oct 23, 2024 9:20:20 GMT
DAO was many things I liked. I could name half a dozen aspects where it was more to my liking than anything that followed. But here is what mattered most: DAO was not safe. It dared present us with supernatural horror as well the more human kind, it was emotionally and morally challenging, never a safe ride. It assumed we were not children who had to be protected from even imaginary danger, it assumed we knew the difference between fiction and reality. The essence of play, I think, is dealing with imaginary scenarios so that you can learn about them without any actual danger. And there was so much to learn. I never thought so much about my characters and their motivations in any other game, except maybe in another of Bioware's classics. Maybe. DA2, for all of its flaws, kept that up. I like DAI for what it was, but it was already much sanitized in comparison. IMO, there is a need to accept that the world of Dragon Age has ended with DAI. While the initial world building and story was on par with the best of the best, lore-wise, including D&D or Pathfinder universes, the whole thing went downhill from DAO to DA2 and then DAI. One can argue that this is how a corporate-owned things always work since there is no possibility of a third party to contribute, and the initial brilliant ideas simply run out on their own with time. DA2 with all its flaws was well within the spirit of the world that has been built in DAO. On the other hand, DAI has been stitched to the world by several thin threads. The only bridge I see between the world built in DAO toward the supposed DAV idea is the Trespasser DLC quest, which had even a thinner thread stitching it to DAI in turn. Thus, we have a thread on a thread, and the farther away it gets from the good initial story, the more remote and separated it feels. The same is true for Andromeda since the story and world of Mass Effect have ended in ME3. There is no continuation however the fans might want one. Every story as a stand-alone corporate-owned story comes to an end. Andromeda had a bad story, simply put, or the lack of any story if approaching with real scrutiny, while also being out of the spirit of ME universe completely. Bioware could have sold the rights to DA or ME if there were any buyers or should have spent a fortune to hire a team of superstar writers to expand the world and create new good stories. Alas, talented superstar writers do not work like that since they want their own stories in their own worlds, preferably outside of corporate environment, which is in essence a golden cage. Sanderson may be one of the few exceptions since he managed to finish the Wheel of Time books based or Robert Jordan's notes after his death. Same thing happened to Game of Thrones. As soon as GRR Martin left the room, somewhere around season 5, it all went downhill. It was still good IMO but paled in comparison to what it were in the beginning. Same thing happened to Lord of the Rings, Foundation, and The Witcher, and the list goes on and on in the past and in the future. If there is no disappointment, there is no real measure of success. Simply put, Bioware in its current state did not happen to have anything better and are trying to capitalize on their past while... well, entertaining the audience. It is entertainment industry after all, and one has to make some money. So, they are making something that is expected to sell OK but has no real thing behind it, and one has to accept that at this point in time. There are and will be other worlds created by other talented people, which will touch the right strings and play the right tunes that resonate. You can continue mourning, although TBH there is nothing to mourn. Both Dragon Age and Mass Effect has come to their end, and it is time to move on, at least for me. House of the Dragon was the latest offender. After that banger of an S1 (I lived and breathed it when it came out), Miguel Sapochnik left the show (well, he was kicked out for giving a role to his non-actress wife), and the show went completely off the rails (save for a couple good scenes), to the point GRRM himself expressed his concerns about the future of the show (as he said, Prince Maelor not existing in it changes everything in a butterfly effect). I fear DA is next, and I would like nothing more than to be wrong.
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helios969
N4
Kamisama
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Origin: helios969
Prime Posts: No Clue
Prime Likes: Who Cares
Posts: 2,127 Likes: 3,031
inherit
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Oct 24, 2024 10:30:55 GMT
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Kamisama
2,127
August 2016
helios969
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
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No Clue
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Post by helios969 on Oct 23, 2024 9:38:44 GMT
Agreed. Sheesh, those armor designs look ghastly to say the least. But the worst thing is the lighter tone of the game, I miss the darkness of DA. Absolutely terrible. It's like they hired a wannabe fashion designer to create these abominations...one with no taste whatsoever.
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Post by Reznore on Oct 23, 2024 9:44:08 GMT
Agreed. Sheesh, those armor designs look ghastly to say the least. But the worst thing is the lighter tone of the game, I miss the darkness of DA. Absolutely terrible. It's like they hired a wannabe fashion designer to create these abominations...one with no taste whatsoever. Those aren't the worst. There's a blue armor that looks like a muscle suit. Not sure who would want to wear that.
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helios969
N4
Kamisama
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR
Origin: helios969
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Post by helios969 on Oct 23, 2024 9:51:09 GMT
Absolutely terrible. It's like they hired a wannabe fashion designer to create these abominations...one with no taste whatsoever. Those aren't the worst. There's a blue armor that looks like a muscle suit. Not sure who would want to wear that. Ugh...where's Sera's jar of bees when you need it.
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Post by helios969 on Oct 23, 2024 10:13:51 GMT
Sooo...what are peoples' expectations on dealing with Solas. I'm kind of guessing at this point but my skept-o-meter has me thinking it'll be some binary BS like leave him trapped in the fade or rescue/"redeem" him. Personally I'd like the return of murder knife or even the option to make him tranquil...though I know that'll not happen.
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Post by fraggle on Oct 23, 2024 10:23:47 GMT
Sooo...what are peoples' expectations on dealing with Solas. I'm kind of guessing at this point but my skept-o-meter has me thinking it'll be some binary BS like leave him trapped in the fade or rescue/"redeem" him. Personally I'd like the return of murder knife or even the option to make him tranquil...though I know that'll not happen. I would love all that, ha! Options are always nice. I mentioned it before, but I hope that we can go all out on Solas, meaning BW resolves his story in this game and not another (joking, but WHO KNOWS!). In that case I'd love to have 3 or 4 really meaningful choices to deal with him. However, my expectations are... not gigantic. I'll just wait and see. As I will with a lot in this game. I'm still not so negative as almost all in here (coming in here feels like I live on a different planet as I have very different views on some things! ), but I am cautiously optimistic still.
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Post by LawBringerSR2 on Oct 23, 2024 10:42:19 GMT
Those aren't the worst. There's a blue armor that looks like a muscle suit. Not sure who would want to wear that. Ugh...where's Sera's jar of bees when you need it. Not gonna lie, I vastly prefer the boob armor from ME, DAO and Skyrim. But the thing is, that's not non-sexualized female armor, that's fucking male armor like the Romans/Greeks with pecs and abs. What the hell
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emissaryoflies
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Post by emissaryoflies on Oct 23, 2024 10:48:56 GMT
That armor is on par with the Batman Forever abomination. All it needs are nipples.
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Post by hookntackle on Oct 23, 2024 10:59:21 GMT
BioWare's idea of quippiness is terrible because it happens all the time, even in the middle of a major local apocalypse. It makes the characters involved look like oblivious airheads instead of someone trying to lighten the mood a little during tense situations. Imagine someone making a WW2 movie in the same tone as Bellara's recruitment mission. "There's several enemy battalions with lots of artillery right behind that ridge, wanna come along?" "Oooh that would explain all the explosions in the city." I know that's what you're probably saying, just wanna emphasize however that it's more nuanced than just the circumstances. It's humour we're taking about, one of the most natural things we have. There is no formula yet everyone feels it (broad strokes, mental dispositions etc) Some of the best quippiness can happen exactly when anyone's logical brain prompted with the question "is it time to joke around now?" would immediately respond "absolutely not". That's why bad jokes work. The information is mostly irrelevant, delivery is everything. That's not a case for "different strokes" mind you. I mean everything kinda is, but that's not my point. To attempt at a bad outlining: I often love the character who consistently and ruthlessly quips at everything, but almost all good examples of that, do it with a deeper "method" . Like it's their personal additional layer of language. On the surface it's still snarky, but you can see emotions through that, though you couldn't jot down what it is. It'd almost feel like a cop-out if instead they expressed remorse or sorrow plainly,and while the words chosen instead prompt eg disgust or disdain etc, after a second you'd realize "oh this is them being actually sad". It still may spell disrespect, but it lands differently. I said "ruthless" before, because this implies they're so emotional as to not take the time and consider choosing different behaviour for popularity or good manners. That's kinda why it works.
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Post by godkingsarevok on Oct 23, 2024 12:04:18 GMT
Absolutely terrible. It's like they hired a wannabe fashion designer to create these abominations...one with no taste whatsoever. Those aren't the worst. There's a blue armor that looks like a muscle suit. Not sure who would want to wear that. They really going out of their way to make women look like men.
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Post by Reznore on Oct 23, 2024 12:18:35 GMT
Sooo...what are peoples' expectations on dealing with Solas. I'm kind of guessing at this point but my skept-o-meter has me thinking it'll be some binary BS like leave him trapped in the fade or rescue/"redeem" him. Personally I'd like the return of murder knife or even the option to make him tranquil...though I know that'll not happen. They gotta take him out of the setting if they want to go on. They already got him stuck in the fade, so he can't do anything. With Inquisition, when he lost his power it's the second time he just can't act the way he wants.
Either way, by the time we might get to Solas, we might have killed two elven gods he couldn't deal with... Unless we can't kill them, and we have to trap their souls, and need a jailer...there's no reason to keep him alive/around.
The devs might give him the Blight, so we have to put him down, and he would approve.Perhaps with a way to save his "spirit" as a wisp reborn in the fade if you feel charitable.
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Post by The Elder King on Oct 23, 2024 12:32:11 GMT
Those aren't the worst. There's a blue armor that looks like a muscle suit. Not sure who would want to wear that. They really going out of their way to make women look like men. Given some of the skimpy outfits present in the game (one was shown before, and the mage version of the LoF), I don't see it. It's a dumb armor, and I'd have vastly preferred if they'd have used this slot for a cooler one, but I think the reaction is a bit exaggerated. I also think, given the 'boots', that it might be an armor that mimick or is based off a muscular monster.
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Post by Gileadan on Oct 23, 2024 12:48:09 GMT
BioWare's idea of quippiness is terrible because it happens all the time, even in the middle of a major local apocalypse. It makes the characters involved look like oblivious airheads instead of someone trying to lighten the mood a little during tense situations. Imagine someone making a WW2 movie in the same tone as Bellara's recruitment mission. "There's several enemy battalions with lots of artillery right behind that ridge, wanna come along?" "Oooh that would explain all the explosions in the city." I know that's what you're probably saying, just wanna emphasize however that it's more nuanced than just the circumstances. It's humour we're taking about, one of the most natural things we have. There is no formula yet everyone feels it (broad strokes, mental dispositions etc) Some of the best quippiness can happen exactly when anyone's logical brain prompted with the question "is it time to joke around now?" would immediately respond "absolutely not". That's why bad jokes work. The information is mostly irrelevant, delivery is everything. That's not a case for "different strokes" mind you. I mean everything kinda is, but that's not my point. To attempt at a bad outlining: I often love the character who consistently and ruthlessly quips at everything, but almost all good examples of that, do it with a deeper "method" . Like it's their personal additional layer of language. On the surface it's still snarky, but you can see emotions through that, though you couldn't jot down what it is. It'd almost feel like a cop-out if instead they expressed remorse or sorrow plainly,and while the words chosen instead prompt eg disgust or disdain etc, after a second you'd realize "oh this is them being actually sad". It still may spell disrespect, but it lands differently. I said "ruthless" before, because this implies they're so emotional as to not take the time and consider choosing different behaviour for popularity or good manners. That's kinda why it works. Thank you for a well thought out reply. I really don't mind a character who "ruthlessly quips" in nearly any situation, that can be an interesting person that is enjoyable to get to know better. When nearly everyone quips most of the time is when I'm beginning to have a problem. If it was just Bellara it would be totally fine. People are different. But every bit of dialogue I've seen so far gave me a feeling of a fun, relaxed atmosphere with very little tension. Rook and Varric jog through swarms of demons left and right (optionally on fire) and don't seem overly worried. They go to "rescue" Neve and she essentially just goes "Venatori lol I was just playing along". The world is burning and everyone's having a good time. If the main characters in the story don't seem very concerned about what's going on, why should I be?
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Post by hookntackle on Oct 23, 2024 14:20:14 GMT
I know that's what you're probably saying, just wanna emphasize however that it's more nuanced than just the circumstances. It's humour we're taking about, one of the most natural things we have. There is no formula yet everyone feels it (broad strokes, mental dispositions etc) Some of the best quippiness can happen exactly when anyone's logical brain prompted with the question "is it time to joke around now?" would immediately respond "absolutely not". That's why bad jokes work. The information is mostly irrelevant, delivery is everything. That's not a case for "different strokes" mind you. I mean everything kinda is, but that's not my point. To attempt at a bad outlining: I often love the character who consistently and ruthlessly quips at everything, but almost all good examples of that, do it with a deeper "method" . Like it's their personal additional layer of language. On the surface it's still snarky, but you can see emotions through that, though you couldn't jot down what it is. It'd almost feel like a cop-out if instead they expressed remorse or sorrow plainly,and while the words chosen instead prompt eg disgust or disdain etc, after a second you'd realize "oh this is them being actually sad". It still may spell disrespect, but it lands differently. I said "ruthless" before, because this implies they're so emotional as to not take the time and consider choosing different behaviour for popularity or good manners. That's kinda why it works. Thank you for a well thought out reply. I really don't mind a character who "ruthlessly quips" in nearly any situation, that can be an interesting person that is enjoyable to get to know better. When nearly everyone quips most of the time is when I'm beginning to have a problem. If it was just Bellara it would be totally fine. People are different. But every bit of dialogue I've seen so far gave me a feeling of a fun, relaxed atmosphere with very little tension. Rook and Varric jog through swarms of demons left and right (optionally on fire) and don't seem overly worried. They go to "rescue" Neve and she essentially just goes "Venatori lol I was just playing along". The world is burning and everyone's having a good time. If the main characters in the story don't seem very concerned about what's going on, why should I be? Fair enough, I get that. To be honest I avoid footage as much as I can - but you're totally right, everyone can't be the funny guy. I did hear a lot of trashing MEA in this regard, but glaring other flaws in writing nonwithstanding, the rag tag we're new at this sort of vibe totally worked for me per se (I always found the OT crew had strangely little chemistry in any way, safe for very few hamfisted exceptions added halfway through) That wouldn't work in this setting though I'm afraid, since it's cataclysmic from the get go.
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