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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 10:47:08 GMT
I struggle to see why a spotlight needs to be explained, honestly. If someone thinks they’re interesting enough to write a codex entry about, I won’t complain, but it’s not something I’m clamoring for either. How a spotlight functions is pretty simple, as you just need a powerful light source and a lens, and I have no reason to believe a mage couldn’t manage either. That's not my point. Everything is just put down to magic now. They even joked about it in DAI by giving us the line when we are querying with Dorian about time magic in the Chantry in Redcliffe: "It's just magic, go with it." I'm getting a bit tired of this. Each setting should have its own limitations and the narrative should be kept within those parameters. Now it's just a case of, if we want it in our story ignore what was previously stated in the lore books, just go with it because now magic has no limits. Then there is the fact that no one previously mentioned it. No codices, no conversations, nothing. It isn't even in the lore books. There is a detailed description of Minrathous in World of Thedas and yet they never thought to mention it? How about Tevinter Nights? The floating aqueduct in Vyrantium was mentioned, so why not even a line about this in the stories set in Minrathous? Clearly, it was something that was thought up recently. So, I'm sorry, I want an explanation for it. Either it is integral to the narrative, so we do need an explanation, or some designer just thought it looked cool and it was shoehorned into a setting where it seems out of place because no one gives a damn about consistency now. I'd rather the society was quietly oppressive and dystopian through a rigid and rigged society you unravel as you interact with people rather than flashy searchlights. That's so... unsubtle. That's what I feel. I had imagined somewhere that looked impressive but there is this undercurrent of oppression and an implied totalitarian regime rather than the in your face approach. Obviously, it is too late now. What's done is done. Ten years has been a long time since the last game and I said I was going to treat this as if it was an entirely new setting that just has some similar features and names to the old one because I just knew they were going to mess with the lore in a way that would rub me the wrong way. It really doesn't matter if you played the previous games. The world of DAO is history. In some ways that is good. Now I can treat that as a stand alone game and all the important things I achieved in it are able to stand rather than being retconed and ruined in subsequent installments. The new reality is DAV and quite evidently anything is possible this time round and nothing will be as we originally understood it. |
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 10:54:04 GMT
But I suspect the nuance will be provided by the Shadow Dragons and Lucerni then anything else, plus the Qunari and the normal Tevinter Citizen caught in the middle of all this stuff. I do wonder if we shall see them at all. May be a quick cameo from Dorian and a reference to them but there has been no sign of them in any of the associated media in the last 10 years. To be honest, I don't know why they made Dorian return to Tevinter. He'd have been happier and safer chilling in the south. I'm still hoping there is an outside chance one of the Minrathous quests will involve him but in some ways perhaps it would be better not to see him at all as likely his portrayal will upset me, just as Fenris did in the comic series. And from some of the things I have seen I am a leeetttllleee suspicious of some of the Shadow Dragon stuff. I have no doubt there is something dodgy about them, in particular the Viper. Hopefully, Neve is as ignorant of this as Rook is and we can both have a rude awakening. |
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Post by colfoley on Jul 17, 2024 11:00:01 GMT
But I suspect the nuance will be provided by the Shadow Dragons and Lucerni then anything else, plus the Qunari and the normal Tevinter Citizen caught in the middle of all this stuff. I do wonder if we shall see them at all. May be a quick cameo from Dorian and a reference to them but there has been no sign of them in any of the associated media in the last 10 years. To be honest, I don't know why they made Dorian return to Tevinter. He'd have been happier and safer chilling in the south. I'm still hoping there is an outside chance one of the Minrathous quests will involve him but in some ways perhaps it would be better not to see him at all as likely his portrayal will upset me, just as Fenris did in the comic series. And from some of the things I have seen I am a leeetttllleee suspicious of some of the Shadow Dragon stuff. I have no doubt there is something dodgy about them, in particular the Viper. Hopefully, Neve is as ignorant of this as Rook is and we can both have a rude awakening. Plans change, maybe they couldn't get Dorian's VA back, etc. Now I wouldn't rule it out entirely and they seem to be keeping some things under wraps, but then on this point to...well seems they couldn't get Claudia Black back for one reason or another so its a possibility. I have referenced this before but its the big thing that makes them smell sus to me, of course I have also pegged Neve as the 'potential traitor', but if she is on the straight and narrow it does help that, as Varric said, us and her have only worked with them and not neccessarily full fledged members of the organization. This is the one thing that makes them stink to high heaven, though of course the other missing data point here is that how Rook will relate to the other factions as well. Maybe we are all barely afiliated with every other organization in the game as well, perhaps so the player/ Rook can still discover new lore about them together.
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jul 17, 2024 11:11:11 GMT
And from some of the things I have seen I am a leeetttllleee suspicious of some of the Shadow Dragon stuff. Me too. I hope they are plenty ruthless and morally questionable as well. Revolutions are never pretty, they are a bloody affair and innocent people always die, no matter how noble the cause was to be. I really hope no faction is pure good. I want complex and grey as much as possible in this game. |
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 11:21:14 GMT
Plans change, maybe they couldn't get Dorian's VA back, etc. Now I wouldn't rule it out entirely and they seem to be keeping some things under wraps, but then on this point to...well seems they couldn't get Claudia Black back for one reason or another so its a possibility. This is true. He may have been willing initially because every bio of him I have seen he specifically mentions his work on DAI in voicing Dorian, so I think he was really proud of what he achieved with the character, but after they failed to come back to him in the first couple of years or so after Trespasser, perhaps he said he needed something definite in the near future or he couldn't promise anything. They couldn't do this because they were still up in the air over everything, so Dorian was quietly put to one side. This is the one thing that makes them stink to high heaven, though of course the other missing data point here is that how Rook will relate to the other factions as well. Maybe we are all barely afiliated with every other organization in the game as well, perhaps so the player/ Rook can still discover new lore about them together. This has been what has been puzzling me too. How much are they going to tell us about the factions in the CC? Are we recent recruits or associates working with them in a more unofficial capacity? Thus, could we be working for the Grey Wardens but have not taken the Joining? Are we just a Crow contact rather than trained in that organisation? Their training always seems to start with children, whether taken off the streets or born into the organisation, so normally Rook would have been with them for years. I would have thought the same was true of the Mourn Watch. Unless you were an undead accident like Audric, it would seem something you were trained in over a period of time. The Lords of Fortune are less problematic when it comes to being a recent associate but the Veil Jumpers are even more suspect to me than the Shadow Dragons. It is bad enough I am going to be looking sideways at my companions because I am suspicious about their associates but I am meant to be one of them myself. Ordinarily I like to know what I am getting into before joining up but I suppose I shall have to accept whatever reason they give me and assume that if they turn out bogus I was just deceived or my contacts were as ignorant as I was. |
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 11:24:12 GMT
I really hope no faction is pure good. I want complex and grey as much as possible in this game. I'm sure that will be the case. Our PC usually does end up killing a lot of people and it will actually make a change to have a specific cause to account for this, although it is still pretty much going to be justified by our "saving the world". |
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jul 17, 2024 11:31:09 GMT
I had imagined somewhere that looked impressive but there is this undercurrent of oppression and an implied totalitarian regime rather than the in your face approach. Yeah, I kept imagining the city as peaceful and beautiful at first glance. A real marvel you can't wait to explore. Only to realize there is something very rotten aside from the known slavery. Smaller unsettling details of this society coming to light as you snoop around. I feel kind of robbed of this by how the game is set up going full "reaper invasion" after 5min again. Sigh. I wonder if the game's narrative and pacing is more akin to ME3 than 2. The apocalypse is unfolding and we're racing against time, mission based. Of course it's possible that it's like DAI where after the first breach is dealt with we have more time and things quiet down for a while. Then again we're dealing with freed rampaging evanuris, so maybe everything is chaos. Going to be interesting how the game handles side quests and urgency. The searchlights do make sense given the circumstances, I just wish the game didn't start like this. |
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Post by colfoley on Jul 17, 2024 11:33:11 GMT
Plans change, maybe they couldn't get Dorian's VA back, etc. Now I wouldn't rule it out entirely and they seem to be keeping some things under wraps, but then on this point to...well seems they couldn't get Claudia Black back for one reason or another so its a possibility. This is true. He may have been willing initially because every bio of him I have seen he specifically mentions his work on DAI in voicing Dorian, so I think he was really proud of what he achieved with the character, but after they failed to come back to him in the first couple of years or so after Trespasser, perhaps he said he needed something definite in the near future or he couldn't promise anything. They couldn't do this because they were still up in the air over everything, so Dorian was quietly put to one side. This is the one thing that makes them stink to high heaven, though of course the other missing data point here is that how Rook will relate to the other factions as well. Maybe we are all barely afiliated with every other organization in the game as well, perhaps so the player/ Rook can still discover new lore about them together. This has been what has been puzzling me too. How much are they going to tell us about the factions in the CC? Are we recent recruits or associates working with them in a more unofficial capacity? Thus, could we be working for the Grey Wardens but have not taken the Joining? Are we just a Crow contact rather than trained in that organisation? Their training always seems to start with children, whether taken off the streets or born into the organisation, so normally Rook would have been with them for years. I would have thought the same was true of the Mourn Watch. Unless you were an undead accident like Audric, it would seem something you were trained in over a period of time. The Lords of Fortune are less problematic when it comes to being a recent associate but the Veil Jumpers are even more suspect to me than the Shadow Dragons. It is bad enough I am going to be looking sideways at my companions because I am suspicious about their associates but I am meant to be one of them myself. Ordinarily I like to know what I am getting into before joining up but I suppose I shall have to accept whatever reason they give me and assume that if they turn out bogus I was just deceived or my contacts were as ignorant as I was. Honestly with organizations there are sort of built in circles of trust. Just because you are *in* an organization does not mean you are *in* an organization. Like I would imagine that the Warden we'll play almost has to have taken his joining...but we both know there is enough sus stuff going on in Weishaupt and with the first Warden that he may not have had a chance to really learn about what those big secrets are. Like if we just took our joining a day or a couple of weeks ago then we really won't have learned a lot about the really dangerous stuff. Actually this does put me in mind that I do have to wonder what the 'hook' for each organization will be to go to the bar and meet Varic. Like some are way more obvious and free then others...but why would the Grey Wardens or the Veil Jumpers just drop everything to head to Minrathous? Speaking of the Veil Jumpers likewise has some of that still going on. ROok's interest might be in exploring ancient ruins and fixing whatever is wrong with the Arlathan forest, like it says in the brochure, but if the Jumpers do have a hidden agenda then that does not imply we have to know about it.
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Post by colfoley on Jul 17, 2024 11:37:47 GMT
I had imagined somewhere that looked impressive but there is this undercurrent of oppression and an implied totalitarian regime rather than the in your face approach. Yeah, I kept imagining the city as peaceful and beautiful at first glance. A real marvel you can't wait to explore. Only to realize there is something very rotten aside from the known slavery. Smaller unsettling details of this society coming to light as you snoop around. I feel kind of robbed of this by how the game is set up going full "reaper invasion" after 5min again. Sigh. I wonder if the game's narrative and pacing is more akin to ME3 than 2. The apocalypse is unfolding and we're racing against time, mission based. Of course it's possible that it's like DAI where after the first breach is dealt with we have more time and things quiet down for a while. Then again we're dealing with freed rampaging evanuris, so maybe everything is chaos. Going to be interesting how the game handles side quests and urgency. The searchlights do make sense given the circumstances, I just wish the game didn't start like this. I don't know I kind of got the exact opposite impression from everything Dorian said. Granted Tevinter would probably have, I guess as you put it, a gothic beauty to it, but he also described the Imperium as being very old. Granted I suppose I was robbed of my vision to because I was picturing essentially a museum, just full of ancient history and really old looking buildings, but also crumbling in its own way, decaying, maybe a little too stuck in the past. Now we get neon lights and magic everywhere...so maybe not exactly what I would have pictured, but then I was never exactly wedded to the idea in the first place.
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Post by illuminated11 on Jul 17, 2024 11:59:22 GMT
I struggle to see why a spotlight needs to be explained, honestly. If someone thinks they’re interesting enough to write a codex entry about, I won’t complain, but it’s not something I’m clamoring for either. How a spotlight functions is pretty simple, as you just need a powerful light source and a lens, and I have no reason to believe a mage couldn’t manage either. That's not my point. Everything is just put down to magic now. They even joked about it in DAI by giving us the line when we are querying with Dorian about time magic in the Chantry in Redcliffe: "It's just magic, go with it." I'm getting a bit tired of this. There is such an enormous difference between time travel magic and a spotlight that I’m at a bit of a loss at how to even approach this comparison. One fundamentally alters the metaphysics of the world, the other is an invention already possible even without magic. You can straight up summon a plague of locusts without explanation in Origins, how is that not any more preposterous? |
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Post by illuminated11 on Jul 17, 2024 12:07:02 GMT
I just hope Tevinter and its capital in particular isn't portrayed as comically evil dystopian with no redeeming features. Because slave society is eviiiil and we need to be hit over the head with how awful everything is about that society constantly. I'm not too fond of the 1984 vibes tbh. I'd rather the city was more gothic but with some beautiful color too. A mix of charming and horrifying. Floatinf stuff might be fine but the search light cyberpunk style is off putting at first glance to me. I'd rather the society was quietly oppressive and dystopian through a rigid and rigged society you unravel as you interact with people rather than flashy searchlights. That's so... unsubtle. I mean slavery is evil, so… lol… but more to the point, Dorian and Neve both clearly see worth in Minrathous, so it has its good qualities. And I thought the architecture did seem gothic, or at least Romanesque, although admittedly I don’t have the best eye for such things. I get what you mean about finding the searchlights off putting, I did as well, I’m just not as bothered by them anymore. The lighting in general gives the game a noir atmosphere, which may or may not jive with how people envision the Dragon Age setting. |
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jul 17, 2024 12:37:46 GMT
I mean slavery is evil, so… lol… but more to the point, Dorian and Neve both clearly see worth in Minrathous, so it has its good qualities. Yes of course slavery is evil but that doesn't have to mean society in completely unredeemably evil because of it. And also obviously plenty of people in Tevinter will not see slavery as evil. I totally understood the point Dorian was making even if that's a questionable stance at best. But you can understand the reasoning having grown up in that society and seeing how much worse it could be for some people. As for the 1984 vibes, I always thought that theme was more applicable to the Qun with their reeducation programs. I pictured Tevinter as a different kind of dystopian. But oh well, we'll have to see. Maybe it will all come together in the end. |
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The Rainbow Destined to Burn
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Post by jennica on Jul 17, 2024 13:28:52 GMT
Then there is the fact that no one previously mentioned it. No codices, no conversations, nothing. It isn't even in the lore books. There is a detailed description of Minrathous in World of Thedas and yet they never thought to mention it? How about Tevinter Nights? The floating aqueduct in Vyrantium was mentioned, so why not even a line about this in the stories set in Minrathous? Clearly, it was something that was thought up recently. So, I'm sorry, I want an explanation for it. Either it is integral to the narrative, so we do need an explanation, or some designer just thought it looked cool and it was shoehorned into a setting where it seems out of place because no one gives a damn about consistency now. We can see spotlights in 2020 Game Awards trailer, they weren't added recently. As for time magic, i also have a problem with it, but for a different reason. it's one thing to add a new type of magic, but if you introduce something as significant as time travel to a setting where it was previously thought to be impossible, then don't turn it into a simple plot device and then forget about it entirely. There is such an enormous difference between time travel magic and a spotlight that I’m at a bit of a loss at how to even approach this comparison. One fundamentally alters the metaphysics of the world, the other is an invention already possible even without magic. You can straight up summon a plague of locusts without explanation in Origins, how is that not any more preposterous? Yeah, it's not like we were shown that Tevinter has fighter jets and Internet. It's just spotlights...
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Post by sjsharp2010 on Jul 17, 2024 13:38:39 GMT
This is true. He may have been willing initially because every bio of him I have seen he specifically mentions his work on DAI in voicing Dorian, so I think he was really proud of what he achieved with the character, but after they failed to come back to him in the first couple of years or so after Trespasser, perhaps he said he needed something definite in the near future or he couldn't promise anything. They couldn't do this because they were still up in the air over everything, so Dorian was quietly put to one side. This has been what has been puzzling me too. How much are they going to tell us about the factions in the CC? Are we recent recruits or associates working with them in a more unofficial capacity? Thus, could we be working for the Grey Wardens but have not taken the Joining? Are we just a Crow contact rather than trained in that organisation? Their training always seems to start with children, whether taken off the streets or born into the organisation, so normally Rook would have been with them for years. I would have thought the same was true of the Mourn Watch. Unless you were an undead accident like Audric, it would seem something you were trained in over a period of time. The Lords of Fortune are less problematic when it comes to being a recent associate but the Veil Jumpers are even more suspect to me than the Shadow Dragons. It is bad enough I am going to be looking sideways at my companions because I am suspicious about their associates but I am meant to be one of them myself. Ordinarily I like to know what I am getting into before joining up but I suppose I shall have to accept whatever reason they give me and assume that if they turn out bogus I was just deceived or my contacts were as ignorant as I was. Honestly with organizations there are sort of built in circles of trust. Just because you are *in* an organization does not mean you are *in* an organization. Like I would imagine that the Warden we'll play almost has to have taken his joining...but we both know there is enough sus stuff going on in Weishaupt and with the first Warden that he may not have had a chance to really learn about what those big secrets are. Like if we just took our joining a day or a couple of weeks ago then we really won't have learned a lot about the really dangerous stuff. Actually this does put me in mind that I do have to wonder what the 'hook' for each organization will be to go to the bar and meet Varic. Like some are way more obvious and free then others...but why would the Grey Wardens or the Veil Jumpers just drop everything to head to Minrathous? Speaking of the Veil Jumpers likewise has some of that still going on. ROok's interest might be in exploring ancient ruins and fixing whatever is wrong with the Arlathan forest, like it says in the brochure, but if the Jumpers do have a hidden agenda then that does not imply we have to know about it. I don't know about the Veil Jumpers but it's possible tha tthere's a nearby outpos tand ou rRook was assigned there. Hard t osay a tthis point without knowing more about the story. After all htat's kind o fhow we me tStroud h ewas on a mission near Kirkwall which wa show we met him as Hawke in DA2.
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 14:54:53 GMT
We can see spotlights in 2020 Game Awards trailer, they weren't added recently. It wasn't so obvious in the 2020 trailer and just appeared ambiance. Having lighting illuminating the area below isn't quite the same as a security spotlight and accompanying authoritative voice. I still think it is odd and amusing that Dorian would mention flying cows and not a flying security complex. That is my chief criticism, that it has never been mentioned before anywhere, not in the games or associated media. It seems a big enough deal to me that you would have thought it would be. As for time magic, i also have a problem with it, but for a different reason. it's one thing to add a new type of magic, but if you introduce something as significant as time travel to a setting where it was previously thought to be impossible, then don't turn it into a simple plot device and then forget about it entirely.  Don't get me started on the time travel plot again. That was really absurd. Part of the reason I prefer the Champions of the Just, apart from learning more of Corypheus' thoughts and Calpernia being a better, more logical and more interesting lieutenant is that confronting our enemy in the Fade mentally is an established part of the setting, so not lore breaking. I have to admit that outside of the time travel plot, the most absurd thing in DAI was not Corypheus being able to levitate a huge mountain complex at high speed (I put that down to the orb and red lyrium) but the fact that when it all fell back to earth the people below weren't decimated (including Harding) and a fair proportion of the area around it as well. Clearly the laws of physics don't apply to Thedas. 
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Post by sjsharp2010 on Jul 17, 2024 15:08:39 GMT
We can see spotlights in 2020 Game Awards trailer, they weren't added recently. It wasn't so obvious in the 2020 trailer and just appeared ambiance. Having lighting illuminating the area below isn't quite the same as a security spotlight and accompanying authoritative voice. I still think it is odd and amusing that Dorian would mention flying cows and not a flying security complex. That is my chief criticism, that it has never been mentioned before anywhere, not in the games or associated media. It seems a big enough deal to me that you would have thought it would be. As for time magic, i also have a problem with it, but for a different reason. it's one thing to add a new type of magic, but if you introduce something as significant as time travel to a setting where it was previously thought to be impossible, then don't turn it into a simple plot device and then forget about it entirely. Don't get me started on the time travel plot again. That was really absurd. Part of the reason I prefer the Champions of the Just, apart from learning more of Corypheus' thoughts and Calpernia being a better, more logical and more interesting lieutenant is that confronting our enemy in the Fade mentally is an established part of the setting, so not lore breaking. I have to admit that outside of the time travel plot, the most absurd thing in DAI was not Corypheus being able to levitate a huge mountain complex at high speed (I put that down to the orb and red lyrium) but the fact that when it all fell back to earth the people below weren't decimated (including Harding) and a fair proportion of the area around it as well. Clearly the laws of physics don't apply to Thedas. It's possibl eeveryone backed off knowing tha tthe Inquisito ran dtheir team were dealing with the problem.
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Post by q5tyhj on Jul 17, 2024 15:16:00 GMT
wccftech.com/bioware-lead-writer-explains-why-blood-magic-isnt-available-to-players-in-dragon-age-the-veilguard/" Blood Magic is unlikely (editor's note: even in future games for player characters) because we've shifted it from a power boost to really being the key to a lot of nasty stuff we aren't interested in having the heroes do. I think it can be ethically neutral if you only use your own blood, but after seeing it used as a required part of mind control and demon binding in Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition, it's just not a road we want the hero to walk right now."
Boooooooo This is the exact opposite of the route they should be taking. And the stakes of the central conflict present an opportunity to give PCs a morally complicated choice: is blood magic worth the price, in order to stop Solas/the Evanuris? So this game would be perfect to allow the hero to get into some morally dubious territory. But whatever, still hyped.
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Post by jennica on Jul 17, 2024 15:42:41 GMT
It wasn't so obvious in the 2020 trailer and just appeared ambiance. Having lighting illuminating the area below isn't quite the same as a security spotlight and accompanying authoritative voice. I still think it is odd and amusing that Dorian would mention flying cows and not a flying security complex. That is my chief criticism, that it has never been mentioned before anywhere, not in the games or associated media. It seems a big enough deal to me that you would have thought it would be. I mean this (it's at 0:38, if time stamp doesn't work). What we saw in the 2020 trailer wasn't a security system, but in the end of the day, spotlight is spotlight. It works the same way, regardless if it used for security or something else. And while Dorian not mentioning flying security system may be odd, but you know what's even more odd? Qunari and elves changing their appearance in DA2. It's not even something that you can explain, but DA is video game series and not a real world. It makes sense to me that devs will add some new things and change others, because they changed their mind. There is obviously the line that they shouldn't cross, but i'm not sure adding flying (or rather levitating) buildings and spotlights is crossing that line. You don't even need to explain it much unlike with time magic. |
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Post by illuminated11 on Jul 17, 2024 16:21:26 GMT
We can see spotlights in 2020 Game Awards trailer, they weren't added recently. It wasn't so obvious in the 2020 trailer and just appeared ambiance. Having lighting illuminating the area below isn't quite the same as a security spotlight and accompanying authoritative voice. I still think it is odd and amusing that Dorian would mention flying cows and not a flying security complex. That is my chief criticism, that it has never been mentioned before anywhere, not in the games or associated media. It seems a big enough deal to me that you would have thought it would be. As for time magic, i also have a problem with it, but for a different reason. it's one thing to add a new type of magic, but if you introduce something as significant as time travel to a setting where it was previously thought to be impossible, then don't turn it into a simple plot device and then forget about it entirely. Don't get me started on the time travel plot again. That was really absurd. Part of the reason I prefer the Champions of the Just, apart from learning more of Corypheus' thoughts and Calpernia being a better, more logical and more interesting lieutenant is that confronting our enemy in the Fade mentally is an established part of the setting, so not lore breaking. I have to admit that outside of the time travel plot, the most absurd thing in DAI was not Corypheus being able to levitate a huge mountain complex at high speed (I put that down to the orb and red lyrium) but the fact that when it all fell back to earth the people below weren't decimated (including Harding) and a fair proportion of the area around it as well. Clearly the laws of physics don't apply to Thedas.
You can walk around waterfalls of magma unscathed and survive having your internal organs crushed by crushing prison as far back as Origins, so people in Thedas might just be built differently from the rest of us puny mortals, haha. More seriously, I agree. I hate the time travel plot line and find Champions of the Just so much better written for many reasons, some of which you stated here. It's unfortunate most people sided with the mages and probably never see it. I don't want magic to be used to justify some crazy plot twist or scenario and then never be mentioned again. I'm not sure where to draw the line when it comes to the practical side of magic in a city run by mages, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Much of Dorian's conversations on Minrathous are focused on the social aspects of Tevinter, how their power structures work, not necessarily the finer details of their engineers' and inventors' accomplishments. I'm not even sure he mentioned Minrathous having indoor plumbing, although its been a few years and I haven't reached Inquisition yet on my replay, so maybe he did and I forgot. But I don't really need him to mention it either, because, I mean, it's based off Rome. They already had that. I'd find it weirder if they didn't include it.
And ultimately, yeah. Some things will be envisioned after the fact, or changed, or retconned. It's just part of the creative process and building around a setting over the course of a decade and a half, with a team of creatives that fluctuates in the meantime. But I don't mind changes that seem reasonable and within the realm of possibility, even if I perhaps question the overall tone and atmosphere they create. I wouldn't be surprised if the spotlight is some sort of holdover from when Dreadwolf was a stealth game about spies.
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jul 17, 2024 16:58:28 GMT
Gosh, yeah, the time travel stuff was so misplaced. You cannot introduce something so OP and then never mention it again. No idea what they were thinking, really bad idea. So I hope going forward we'll all pretend that never happened and time travel is NOT a thing in Thedas.
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Post by sageoflife on Jul 17, 2024 17:01:24 GMT
Gosh, yeah, the time travel stuff was so misplaced. You cannot introduce something so OP and then never mention it again. No idea what they were thinking, really bad idea. So I hope going forward we'll all pretend that never happened and time travel is NOT a thing in Thedas. They did say that only the Breach made it possible.
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Post by illuminated11 on Jul 17, 2024 17:08:07 GMT
They did write themselves an out by basing it on the Breach. And it seems to specifically be a result of the instability of the Breach, rather than pre or post Veil magic, considering Solas knew nothing about it. But still, I would have rather they avoided it altogether.
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jul 17, 2024 17:16:17 GMT
Gosh, yeah, the time travel stuff was so misplaced. You cannot introduce something so OP and then never mention it again. No idea what they were thinking, really bad idea. So I hope going forward we'll all pretend that never happened and time travel is NOT a thing in Thedas. They did say that only the Breach made it possible. Right. Thanks for reminding me. Been a long time. But still with how powerful the evanuris are it's the kind of thing that could be recreated, technically. But yeah, I guess we'll just put that behind us as a really weird aberration. I hate time travel with a passion because it never makes any damn sense so when I played DAI I groaned. Not HERE too, please! |
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 17:40:41 GMT
Much of Dorian's conversations on Minrathous are focused on the social aspects of Tevinter, how their power structures work, And you don't think a flying security system is relevant! |
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 17, 2024 18:04:20 GMT
But I don't really need him to mention it either, because, I mean, it's based off Rome. Pretty sure they didn't have flying security in ancient Rome either. Also, I assume the part of the city we were in was more downtown rather than the enclave of the Altus because those buildings didn't make me think of ancient Rome much either and are definitely nothing like what we saw in the Netflix series, much of which took place in the southern city of Nessum. in and around the Summer Palace of the Black Divine. I'm also hoping that we are going to have a day/night cycle so we can see it in daylight when we next visit. Still, I don't want to be too critical because at least they do appear to have put more into depicting Minrathous than they did Val Royeaux but I must admit these shots taken from the show are more how I imagined Minrathous would be.  www.cartonionline.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Dragon_Age_Absolution_03.jpg  And this is a shot of Rome taken from the Vatican but again the buildings have more a sandstone appearance and what I term a Mediterranean look rather than north European.  Even the Missing seemed leaning more that way in style, although you can see the floating structure (without security beams) in the comic. 
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Don't get me started on the time travel plot again. That was really absurd. Part of the reason I prefer the Champions of the Just, apart from learning more of Corypheus' thoughts and Calpernia being a better, more logical and more interesting lieutenant is that confronting our enemy in the Fade mentally is an established part of the setting, so not lore breaking. 
