Dragon Age News Thread

Mssr. Daggermoor‏ @daggermoor
Seriously, #DragonAge2 has the best narrative framing device, ever. @davidgaider @patrickweekes and everyone else on that team: Respect.

Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes
I wasn't on DA2, but I agree. Their team did a fantastic job.

z.‏ @hyperionized
@mike_Laidlaw are you the one responsible for giving us the Cullen romance? If so, Maker bless you. Thank you so much. ❤❤❤

Mike Laidlaw‏ @mike_Laidlaw
Nope. I only take responsibility for bad things. The team is where all the fun comes from.

Keep in mind that modded hair, and the people who use them, have a certain aesthetic. I've looked at hundreds of modded hairs (for DA and Skyrim), and the VAST MAJORITY of them are for/from games like The Sims, which are not fitting with the type of atmosphere that DA or games like Skyrim provide. The devs have to take that into consideration as well when designing hairstyles. There is also the fact that those hairs require more elaborate hair meshes, which might not be as feasible on consoles or lower-end systems, which is also a dev consideration. If you have a bunch of NPCs on your screen with elaborate hair meshes, with fancy braids composed of many, many polygons, it's going to use more system resources. Also of consideration IS clipping and other problems. Some players are willing to put up with it, others are not (me). I don't take certain hairstyles in World of Warcraft for this reason, even though they are available.

Now, I don't think it's fair to continually rag on the DA devs for their hair. DA2 had a decent selection of new hairs, and some actually had slight movement. While most of them were not appealing to me (I like short hair, or pulled back off the face completely), they showed that they can make better hair. Those were all shoulder-length because, again, clipping is a consideration.

My favorite DA2 hair:


To be honest, all I want is a simple ponytail (without any bits hanging in the face); the one for Sara Ryder is mostly okay, but I'd still prefer no bangs at all. Wynne's hair was perfect for me, which is what I used. MEA has some pretty good male and female hairs, so hopefully they will borrow some resources. MEA also manages to do dual coloring, which is a nice improvement in making the hair seem real.

For me, one of the hair problems comes in with the followers, who often have their own unique hairstyles that the player doesn't have access to. Both Cullen and Blackwall have great hair that is not available to the player, while Cassandra and Sera rock the only pixie cuts in Thedas. DA2 had Avaline and Isabela with unique hair and accessories; I would have loved Avaline's ponytail (minus headband). And of course DAO had the fun Morrigan bun, which was also not available. Problems of comparison arise when it seems that the followers have access to hair that just looks better than most of what the player is given to use.


Now, perhaps we will get some better hair in DA4 since they won't be constrained by the older gen consoles this time 'round. We'll just have to see.

Agreed.

*drinks because hair*

Let's see if ProBoards has un-potato'd itself yet...

Patrick Weekes @patrickweekes
Cannot wait to see folks at #wwcyyc17! My first panel is the humor panel 9PM Friday. Hope to see you there and talk wordinating!

I'm not really a fan of modded hair that looks like sims hair. I get why that would be a pain in the ass for various reasons. But, there are some modes hairstyles that I think would suit both the story from a narrative point of view (like no zebra print bows or whatever) but that would expand the options. Low side bun with a small side braid, or just better/more attractive bangs.

But I'm kind of a weird player in which I don't particularly need a lot of "believability" in my character. I want her to be pretty. I want her to have attractive hair. I want her to have trimmed eyebrows. I want her to have a fit figure and armor that is attractive without being skimpy, even if it wouldn't be that useful in real life. I just want pretty hair. It doesn't have to be elaborate.

10/10 would team up with in hypothetical DA4

I am with you here. Now, Maevaris Tilani is another thing I would looove to have her with us 

I thought she was an interesting antagonist. The slave who was freed by Cory, but like Dorian still loves her country and wants to restore it. While she had no compunctions about working with a darkspawn, when she finds out that he really wasn't looking to revive Tevinter (and her turn into a mindless vessel), she turns on him. Which was interesting in itself - she didn't seem to fear him. While she had a conqueror's mindset, was also anti-slavery & anti-abuse. Everyone's a hero in their own story and all that...

I'd like to see her as a companion if for no other reason than she'd stir things up just being around. There'd be a lot of... interesting banter 'round the campfire.

Outstanding. Hopefully it will be a rage demon to watch it deal with the baddies. excellent. Or have a pride demon and the main character is seen on top of its shoulder using his/her bow to deal with the baddies. So much fun. Take my money Bioware. excellent

I know, but I'm sure after he reads my post, unlikely, he will decide it would be a good idea to put one in the game

Well, that's.....unsettling.