Chill Zone (The Tavetaan)

Mar 19, 2017 1:37:12 GMT majesticjazz said:

Mar 18, 2017 17:30:56 GMT shechinah said:

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Well that sucks. Basically the illusion of choice and that Ryder may not really be ours in the same way Shepard, Hawke, The Warden, and even the IQ was.

Yeah, you can still roleplay a personality but what personalities you can roleplay as is more limited. I do wonder if this was the result of a number of people requesting a more defined character and this is the Mass Effect team experimenting with that idea. I suppose I'd rather have it happen in the first game in Andromeda than see a repeat of Mass Effect 3's Shepard where it happens later on. Still, hoping the idea don't carry over to the next Dragon Age.

Mar 19, 2017 12:52:18 GMT majesticjazz said:

Mar 19, 2017 10:32:55 GMT shechinah said:

Yeah, you can still roleplay a personality but what personalities you can roleplay as is more limited. I do wonder if this was the result of a number of people requesting a more defined character and this is the Mass Effect team experimenting with that idea. I suppose I'd rather have it happen in the first game in Andromeda than see a repeat of Mass Effect 3's Shepard where it happens later on. Still, hoping the idea don't carry over to the next Dragon Age.

Well I know I cannot be an evil character like KOTOR cause ultimately we will be the hero of the story. I just hope there is enough variance in how we can become a hero.

I really hated that the Inquisitor was so goody 2 shoes and it was hard to veer from that. With my female Ryder, I want her to be sort of an Ice Queen and I fear that MEA will not have enough dialog options to play that type of character and I will be forced to play a character that already has a set personality that I cannot veer too far from.

I can say that you likely won't be able to play an Ice Queen as I think the auto-dialogue would counteract that attempt very quickly. So far, Dragon Age: Inquisition had more mean or harsh options. As I wrote, that may change later on in the game but as it stands, Ryder has a more defined personality that you can't veer that far from so I think Ice Queen is off the table. Sorry, I was hoping myself that  I'd be able to play a more stoic and professional charater for my second playthrough but that looks off the table as well.

That said, I have very recently heard that the auto-dialogue and Ryder's personality might be affected by which dialogue options you select. Basically, being similar to Hawke's personality. I do not have time at the moment but I can try later today to see if there has been any confirmation of this. I wasn't overall fond of that approach but I do prefer it in this case since it would still be options.

Mar 19, 2017 14:19:59 GMT majesticjazz said:

Mar 19, 2017 13:04:50 GMT shechinah said:

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So what type of personality seems to be the default for Ryder if being cold or stoic professional seems to be out of the question?

I played sisRyder and for her, I would say that the default seems to be generally being friendly. That's at the beginning, at least, and if it is true that dialogue choices affect Ryder's personality then you may be able to influence it away from that default. It just might not have an immediate effect.

Apparently you can check Ryder's personality in the codex according to this article by IGN. It apparently also lists Ryder's opinion of their squadmate. I think I'll check that to see what my Ryder's is. I should still have some amount of time left of my trial.

There is also this article by PCGamesN that says this: "Otherwise, who Ryder ‘is’, is up to you. Lead designer Ian Frazier says "as in the trilogy, you can be a jerk, but not a true villain. Ultimately you're a hero - you decide what kind of hero." You can react to others' statements with one of four tones (casual, professional, emotional, logical), and as you do so, Ryder's personality will settle accordingly, unlocking corresponding interactions - a hot-headed, emotional Ryder will be able to say and do things that a cool, collected Ryder won't, and vice versa"

Mar 19, 2017 18:40:04 GMT SilentK said:

Mar 19, 2017 18:28:04 GMT shechinah said:

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To me it sounds like there will be fun options to be had later on. Guess we are still laying the groundwork for our Ryders during the beginning of the game. Thank you for mentioning the codex, I'll take a look there tomorrow. Since the whole game will be available very very soon we will know for sure in a few days. So far I have liked my FemRyder a lot, going for emotional this PT 

I hope that is the case since I would vastly prefer that to the limited range I initially worried we had.  

If you could, would you mind posting a picture here of your Ryder's personality entry in the codex? I believe it is called something along the line of "Ryder's on-going psychological profile". Or maybe just write it down, if you would? For a comparison to mine?  It may turn out we played a similar Ryder, of course, that possibility cannot be ignored but it could be interesting to see the possible difference 

Codex > The Journey So Far > Ryder > Ongoing Psychological Profile

"Shows high levels of empathy and expresses passionate opinions."

I often choose the Heart options which often translated to showing concern and understanding. Sometimes also humor.

Keeps a sense of humor and rarely takes things seriously.

This was likely caused by a mix of the above Heart option and the Swirl options. Swirl options translates to casual including humor.

Seldom acts rashly or without premeditation"

True. I advocated caution when I could and choose careful actions. It may especially be caused by a decision where I choose not to attack unless left no choice.

I've edited out the other portions of the entry and added commentary below each to show what I often choose of dialogue options and how that might have influenced my profile. This was it says so far about my Ryder. In the entry, it notes that it'll be updater and be more in-depth later on. It also keeps tracks of your conversations with your squadmates including what you've learned about them. Likely, it also tracks your responses should any significant ones be made that could influence your relationship to them.

I'm not sure whether it is the "tone choices" that affect my psychological profile or if it is specifically what my character say but regardless, this does support the claim that our dialogue options and decisions affect the personality of our character. This would be very relieving.  

Mar 19, 2017 19:43:06 GMT SilentK said:

Ha ha, you beat me to it shechinah . I was just about to post a screenshot but I liked your answers better. Thanks for the text about how the dialogue works. I took a look at my codex and it reflects the way I have been playing.

Thank you Feel free to write what it thought your Ryder's personality was. I think it could be interesting to see.

 
It is comforting to know that my initial impression of the dialogue system and Ryder’s personality was flawed. It seems much more complex and nuanced which is promising and I am very curious to see how it adapts over time. It seems a more improved and detailed version of the personality system in Dragon Age II as it seems able to construct nuances such as being humorous and casual without that necessarily translating to showing a lack of empathy or being reckless. As with most Things in the game, we'll have to wait to see how well this system works.