Dragon Age News Thread

I suggest we keep any details about the supposed 'leak' strictly to the one thread on that topic:

bsn.boards.net/thread/13334

Just in case.

Halloween Name‏ @mamaneeda
I had a weird nap dream where after what happens with Solas, Flemeth's... essence finds Hawke in the fade and uses her as a vessel...

Cori Nicole‏ @genevrael
The best of all possible worlds.

Halloween Name‏ @mamaneeda
I know right? It would never happen, as I always leave Stroud. 😂

Cori Nicole‏ @genevrael
Yeah I could never leave Hawke because Varric's sad face would kill me forever. Also I love Hawke so much it's practically a romance.



[HASH]DAT
(Delete the hashtag when quoting - thanks!)

I missed the leak yesterday and just caught up. I enjoy things like this and spoilers too, just gets me hyped. I think devs shouldn't worry about leaks and stuff because it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Gets people talking about the game and that's not a bad thing. I hold no opinion for the leaks except that I'd play through game they're selling. Lol.

I remember when it was spoiled that varric went bad with evil red eyes, possessed by his idol shard and you had to kill him. That was after the game came out even. 😂

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
So, I just had someone ask "Can you do class specific cutscenes?" and I'm gonna talk about it in general terms. Note: DA not confirmed.
So the ask is totally valid. "I picked this class, can you make that special and rewarding." So, yes, of course, right? Why wouldn't we?
And the answer, as you might expect is, "we could, but what would we give up in doing so? And is that worth it?"
It comes down to math. Say we want to have a boss kill in a cutscene, and we want to make is super special.
So, first we have to make the scene. Music, visual effects, scripting it into a likely-custom environment. Let's say it's expensive.
So compared to a "normal" scene, this one costs, let's call it "3 zots." It's 3 times as complicated and fancy as a normal. Worth it? Yeah.
But now we have to make some tweaks to it, because of races. Let's say elves and humans are even, but dwarf and qunari variants +1 zot each.
Okay, now we're up to 5. So that's not too terrible, but getting pricey, but still worth it, right?
But now we have to get fancy with the killing blow. We have three classes...but we have 5 core weapon types...uh oh.
More if you want blunt to be treated different from "stabbing" (mace vs. sword, let's say). Okay, so now it's getting pricey.

seb hanlon 🔵🗣‏ @hanlsp
Oh boy, I remember this system from DAO

Assuming height tweaks can be reused but are needed per variation, we have 5 times five "zots" in play.
But say we have some savings that bring that down to the deleriously good half-price. 12.5 zots!
So now, the question is: is supporting custom class-kills worth 12 other "normal" cutscenes? Sometimes yes...but then you have to ask...
..by doing it once, am I committing to doing it for all bosses? If 5, am I willing to spend 60 scenes of effort on 5 scenes the player sees?
Again, sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the cost is lower or higher. Doesn't matter.
What matters is this: every single feature you see in a came has to be run through this kind of filter. Because rarely is it free or easy.
Thanks for listening and have a lovely Thursday.

Patrick Weekes‏ @patrickweekes
What if I work smarter?

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
That's where the magical half-price came from, Patrick.

Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah
What is Patrick work Smarder?

Patrick Weekes‏ @patrickweekes
Given my Brooklyn Nine-Nine feelings, I prefer to work smort-er.


FranKelStein‏ @cateia97
By expensive, are you speaking in monetary terms, schedule, software/hardware limits, or a little of all? Just curious.

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
Pretty much all of it. Time is money.


Sylvius the Mad‏ Sylvius the Mad _the_Mad
Wouldn't doing fewer cutscenes help solve this problem? Have the content exist within the regular gameplay interface.

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
Sure, but that wasn't the question I was asked


Count Draecula‏ michael _Coles
Good old zots. Ever since this had to be explained in the NWN days, zots have served well.

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
I learned the way of the zot from @davidgaider himself.

David Gaider‏ @davidgaider
The Way of the Zot should have been a secret path in Jade Empire.


Michael LoCoco‏ @michaellococowi
DA4 will be horrible confirmed!!!

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
See, this is just the kind of positive, uplifting comment I love to see in my timeline.

Thanks, Michael. You're the LoCoco-est.


Jason‏ @_cuzzybubba
Maybe respond to the positive comments more instead of highlighting the negative.. I'm stoked for DA4

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
I will never respond to a positive comment....WAIT YOURS IS POSTIVE.

I AM UNDONE.


Victoria Phillips‏ @toriaphillips
Honestly, as a player I dont feel the need for that. The cutscene of Solas leaving a romanced Inq. is probably the best cutscene I know of

Mike "Afraid"law‏ @mike_Laidlaw
Attention to Mr @eplerjc who will be happy to know.




[HASH]DAT
(Delete the hashtag when quoting - thanks!)

Well, it let Bianca toot her own horn even more since she found a way to keep it shielded.   Yeah, maybe turn THAT research over to the Inquisition if you really want to help clean up the mess you made.....

When I argue about DAI vs. TW3 on the internet, I always keep in mind that DAI has four races and three classes, with a customizable protagonist. But it seems that very few players care about that, so they just praise the animations in TW3 and bash DAI. Anyway, we still have that versatile dagger in DA.

I don't understand why they need animations/cutscenes of all things. First, I would love a bit more acknowledgment of our spec in dialogue, especially "controversial" ones. Then we can talk about more advanced options.

Same for me....my archer never touched daggers except to pass them over to Cole. Yet she whipped out 2 of them from....somewhere?.....to kill that dragon. It was weird. Better to just ditch the cut scene and leave it as a regular dragon kill like all the rest.

Honestly, I think I prefer to have NPCs mention your class (and specializations) more often than to see it on cinematic cutscenes. But then again, if there's a big battle with some boss and your character is a mage and then all of a sudden you see them using a sword out of nowhere on the cutscene, it can ruin the whole sequence, imo. (Or to a lesser extent, if you're a rogue that uses a bow and then shows up with daggers on the cutscene) It worked for the archdemon but it probably wouldn't work for any other random boss. But if it's done in a clever way, it can work. For example, having the protagonist get hit and lose their weapon and then picking up a sword from the ground as a last resort (or have an NPC throw you one) and deliver the final blow with that.



I think they meant on more important fights that involve cutscenes, like Corypheus' Dragon. I think that if you're a rogue, the default scene is with daggers even if you use a bow and for warriors it's weapon and shield. I don't think they meant the regular deathblows DAO had, even though I really loved those and I don't think they would be too hard to implement, since they aren't used in cutscenes, they are just regular combat moves. The slow motion ones usually only happened with ogres, I think.

Emily‏ pentapod
Cheese shield earrings version 2 completed last night. (About half the size of the first version.) #DragonAge 😄

pbs.twimg.com/media/DLdn9BzVAAA7WKf.jpg

Also, the cheese inside the outer rind glows in the dark!! 🧀😃



[HASH]DAT
(Delete the hashtag when quoting - thanks!)

The rind glows in the dark? Outstanding!