A DRAGON AGE THREAD

[RIPPA]

Almost all the stuff I have seen is glowing which is nice

A few hints that long time players who are set in their ways might be unhappy with some of the changes made

[Kevin Wilson]

I'm ok with changes as long as they are good and fun (which I realize is incredibly subjective). With such a long development phase/time between games they should evolve, not just be a new storyline with the same gameplay. I'm definitely hyped for this, trying to clear out my new game backlog before it comes out.

But I won't be watching any videos or reading anything, I like to go in with as much of a blank slate as possible.

[The Man Known as Dan]

On 9/21/2024 at 5:29 AM, RIPPA said:

Almost all the stuff I have seen is glowing which is nice

A few hints that long time players who are set in their ways might be unhappy with some of the changes made

This has been a big problem for Dragon Age fandom for a while, and it’s usually one subset: the ones who aren’t Dragon Age fans, but are Dragon Age: Origins fans. There is a contingent online who are very very loud that are still angry this game isn’t more like Origins, and will not shut up about it, even though it’s been almost 15 years since Dragon Age 2 they still aren’t over it.

 

Personally, still liking how things are looking, but have tempered expectations. I’ve been replaying the DA games to build up to it and it’s interesting how my perception of all 3 has changed: some elements of Origins have aged like fine wine (the dark concepts are still horrifying, the Darkspawn, especially the ones in the deep roads are still horrid, the gameplay is still fun) while others haven’t (I imagine if I said the companion dialogue in that game felt “Very Joss Weeden” when it came out I’d mean it as a compliment, but I really don’t now)

[The Man Known as Dan]

And after writing some generally positive thoughts, I am forced to bring forth some really really rough news for us long time players. IGN released an article about how your universe's story carries over. Instead of continuing the Keep in order to keep the story cohesive between games, only 3 things from previous games will be used to set up your universe:

1. Who the Inquisitor Romanced

2. Did you Disband the Inquisition

3. Did you vow to save Solas or stop him

That's... it. And, uhhhh. I think that's an awful decision, personally. It was one thing when Andromeda didn't really have much carry over, because it's a game 600 years later in a different galaxy. That makes plenty of sense. Veilguard is a direct sequel to Inquisition, and they already confirmed Morrigan is in the game. How can Morrigan be in when none of the decisions made about Morrigan are relevant? They shape her characters completely. It just feels like they took away the one unique thing Dragon Age had over other universes like it in gaming was how much one game impacted the next, leading to avid diehards for the franchise. To just basically get rid of that is.... a very very bad decision imo, whether it made the writers jobs easier or not.

 

Edited September 26, 2024 by The Man Known as Dan
Was trying to make it spoilery, but is spoilering a decade old game worth it?

[JLSigman]

9 hours ago, The Man Known as Dan said:

And after writing some generally positive thoughts, I am forced to bring forth some really really rough news for us long time players. IGN released an article about how your universe's story carries over. Instead of continuing the Keep in order to keep the story cohesive between games, only 3 things from previous games will be used to set up your universe:

1. Who the Inquisitor Romanced

2. Did you Disband the Inquisition

3. Did you vow to save Solas or stop him

That's... it. And, uhhhh. I think that's an awful decision, personally. It was one thing when Andromeda didn't really have much carry over, because it's a game 600 years later in a different galaxy. That makes plenty of sense. Veilguard is a direct sequel to Inquisition, and they already confirmed Morrigan is in the game. How can Morrigan be in when none of the decisions made about Morrigan are relevant? They shape her characters completely. It just feels like they took away the one unique thing Dragon Age had over other universes like it in gaming was how much one game impacted the next, leading to avid diehards for the franchise. To just basically get rid of that is.... a very very bad decision imo, whether it made the writers jobs easier or not.

 

They really only need one more question and 99% of us who are mad about this will be satisfied - did the Inquisitor or Morrigan drink from the Well. That seems kinda sorta really important.

[RIPPA]

I realized when seeing that story that I never finished Trespasser

THEN I realized that its been 10 years and I remember NOTHING

Including who I romanced

[The Man Known as Dan]

10 hours ago, JLSigman said:

They really only need one more question and 99% of us who are mad about this will be satisfied - did the Inquisitor or Morrigan drink from the Well. That seems kinda sorta really important.

For me, I’d still want some more then that, but bare bones stuff just to lead to background dialogue to make the world feel more whole. Like, who leads Ferelden and Orlais? What was the decision of what happened to the Wardens in the South, exile or still around? Did Bhelen or Horrowmont take over Orzammar? It doesn’t have to play into the game, just come up with people bringing up how the South is dealing with the events going on. That shouldn’t be hard to do, and it feels like the bare minimum required to me.

[Kevin Wilson]

I wonder if that decision came down to it just being a different writing team, and ten years passing? The new writers may not have wanted to be "held down" storyline-wise on decisions a different team made and wanted to go in their own direction. The more that carried over, the more it may have restricted the direction they wanted to go.

I have mixed feelings about it, since it is a sequel with the same in-game characters more carry-over would have been nice, as if they wanted to go in a new direction they could have created/started a new world instead of continuing in the same one. On the other hand, its been ten years, how many people even remember the decisions they made in the last one (I don't, I remember who I romanced but that's it) and in the grand scheme of things is it going to impact the enjoyment of the next game. It seems like something the 1% of the hardcores will care about and they opted to go in their own direction instead.

I think throwing a bone sometimes to your biggest fans is a huge plus and I love when movies/games do it but its not something that I'm going to get upset they didn't do, as long as the game is fun. The game better be fun.

[assfax]

All I remember from Dragon Age was that I had Loghain executed.

[JLSigman]

BioWare has announced that Hans Zimmer (!!!!!!!) and Lorne Balfe are doing the soundtrack for Veilguard.

http://www.tumblr.com/bioware/763149600600244224/listen-to-the-full-main-theme-here?source=share 

[JLSigman]

The pre-load is available on X-Box, so there may be people trying to datamine spoilers.

[supremebve]

So, apparently after the hand-on previews, EA basically decided to not send review copies to anyone who was still skeptical about the game.  So, when you see early reviews, you should probably know that these reviews were from people who already liked the game when playing the preview.  Anyone who had even minimal criticisms about the preview will have to wait until launch to play, so their opinions won't be heard for days or weeks after launch.  Hopefully, the game is good and it won't matter, but that's a pretty shady business practice.

[The Man Known as Dan]

The review embargo lift is truly fascinating. Some reviewers who are notoriously harsh love this game. EuroGamer gave it a 5/5. Mortismal Gaming, arguably the most respected RPG game reviewer on youtube, gave it a 10 out of 10 and called it his Game of the Year and the best game of the series. Others really dislike it and called it a massive disappointment. 

I'm already getting it, but I'm fascinated on which side I'll land on. I have noticed the reviews tend to be split between Origins purists (the negatives) and ones who liked Inquisition (the positives). 

[supremebve]

7 minutes ago, The Man Known as Dan said:

The review embargo lift is truly fascinating. Some reviewers who are notoriously harsh love this game. EuroGamer gave it a 5/5. Mortismal Gaming, arguably the most respected RPG game reviewer on youtube, gave it a 10 out of 10 and called it his Game of the Year and the best game of the series. Others really dislike it and called it a massive disappointment. 

I'm already getting it, but I'm fascinated on which side I'll land on. I have noticed the reviews tend to be split between Origins purists (the negatives) and ones who liked Inquisition (the positives). 

Yeah, I'm going to get it any way.  I've played and beat all of them, but EA gets no benefit of the doubt from me with their shitty practices.  

[RIPPA]

For what its worth - the person who originally posted the story about negative reviews not getting review codes deleted the story

[odessasteps]

The review I watched this morning was positive and it’s from someone I don’t think it known for puff reviews. 

 

[RIPPA]

I guess I should wander into Target or Best Buy tonight and see if I can find a physical copy

[tbarrie]

Can anybody point me to info on what the controls are like for this game? Would it work well on Xbox, or would I want a mouse and/or keyboard to play it properly?

[Firebreaker Chip]

It's basically an action game with RPG elements, designed heavily with consoles in mind. You'd be fine on XBOX imo

[The Man Known as Dan]

Downloaded and ready to go when I get off work tonight. Will be interesting to see how it fairs

[RIPPA]

Just got a reminder that stores basically don't carry XBOX games anymore

Oh well - time to purchase the digital version

[RIPPA]

No Man Sky doing a 5 GB update right before I download this is not helping its case for being spared if I need more HDD space 

[odessasteps]

32 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

No Man Sky doing a 5 GB update right before I download this is not helping its case for being spared if I need more HDD space 

It needed it considering how buggy the expedition is. 
 

I thought this was a Game Pass game, since it seemed like it was being promoted on the Xbox home page. But It’s just part of the EA deal. 

[RIPPA]

You do get a discount if you have Game Pass/EA Play (I think it was 10% off)

[odessasteps]

I had thought about playing if it was part of Game Pass. 

But I have too much to do now since they added Halloween content to MLB the Show this week.