Dragon Age 2 - Demo Confirmed Feb 22con - Main forum

dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

Dragon Age 2 announced!!! Can't wait.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/07/08/dragon-age-2-revea...

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** Yes We CAN!! **

blmbox

Since 6347 Days

I hope they significantly improve the visuals, because they were really off-putting at times.

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UrukHaiPT

Since 6543 Days

Awesome! I loved Dragon Age. This and Witcher 2 in the same year, epic.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTbrSmJw_DM&feature=channel

dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

New Website:

Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.

Key Features:

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/

Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.

Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.

Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.

Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.

Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.

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New Website:

[quote]Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.

Key Features:

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/

Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.

Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.

Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
 
[b]Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.

Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.[/b] [/quote]

** Yes We CAN!! **

blmbox

Since 6347 Days

All sounds very exciting! Guess I'll have to get around to finishing the first one...

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Slabs

Since 7046 Days

Bit disappointing that they are going the Mass Effect route and restricting the player character to a Male/Female Human named Hawk. I would guess DLC will give us different races.

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blmbox

Since 6347 Days

Hmm, bit disappointing that there'll be a set character. But at least it means this character will have a voice, unlike the first game - it destroyed the immersion during conversations for me.

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dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

Yep this move is def meant for a more cinematic experience, i just hope we still get another 50hr epic!

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** Yes We CAN!! **

IRAIPT0IR

Since 5723 Days

What the hell is out in August???

Thats too soon if I want to play the first!!

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FROM THE DARKNESS I DRAW MY STRENGTH!!

blmbox

Since 6347 Days

It's not out this August... is it?

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IRAIPT0IR

Since 5723 Days

Posted by blmbox

It's not out this August... is it?

Ohhh shiiiit its the trailer LOL

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FROM THE DARKNESS I DRAW MY STRENGTH!!

GrimThorne

Since 6888 Days

Posted by dcdelgado

Yep this move is def meant for a more cinematic experience, i just hope we still get another 50hr epic!

"Cinematic experience?" So Dragon Age is about to get Mass Effected, maybe even "Fabled" when you consider the description of the game Bioware has given. Hawk is obviously another Shepard or another Hero from Albion.

He/She will probably be fully voiced, and that's always good, but restricting Hawk to being human means we won't get the multiple origins DA:O offered. Party and character armor and weapon customizations will probably be scaled back and modeled after ME2. And we can probably assume the game won't be as long to fit in with a more cinematic gameplaying experience.

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SimonM7

Since 7039 Days

ME2-ing it up is disappointing if true, but I do like the sound of a different visual style.

I'm not usually this shallow, but I will openly admit that I think Dragon Age looks absolutely physically pain-inducingly boring purely aesthetically. I've never been a fan of the LOTR school of fantasty, but you *can* give that stuff visual appeal with some effort, and Dragon Age is exactly the kind of brown medieval paste I can't stand.

So if they spruce those things up some, make coming into a new area or a new town meaningful presentation wise by actually changing up the scenery a little, and have characters in there that are halfway charismatic, I'm probably actually game for it.

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dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

You can understand why they might want to Mass Effect up DA, as Mass Effect is a Brilliant next-gen ARPG, but personally i loved that fact that DA was keeping to its old school rpg roots (even though after playing Mass Effect the selecting of text to speak in DA really did jar me), i think DA is a victim of its own success, as i'm guessing that not even Bioware thought it would do as well as it did on the consoles, and now with a big fanbase there looking to cinematic it up?, it also sounds like you could be in charge of armies or multiple squads maybe some rts elements there?, i dont know its all guess work at the moment? but Bioware have yet to let me down yet :)

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** Yes We CAN!! **

blmbox

Since 6347 Days

A kind of cel-shaded-but-not-really-cel-shaded look would be awesome for a fantasy RPG. A shame that no one's ever really tried it.

Posted by dcdelgado

You can understand why they might want to Mass Effect up DA, as Mass Effect is a Brilliant next-gen ARPG, but personally i loved that fact that DA was keeping to its old school rpg roots (even though after playing Mass Effect the selecting of text to speak in DA really did jar me), i think DA is a victim of its own success, as i'm guessing that not even Bioware thought it would do as well as it did on the consoles, and now with a big fanbase there looking to cinematic it up?, it also sounds like you could be in charge of armies or multiple squads maybe some rts elements there?, i dont know its all guess work at the moment? but Bioware have yet to let me down yet :)

One of the biggest criticisms of Dragon Age in reviews was that, at times, it felt like it was too old skool. I like how Bioware kept the game faithful to some of the company's predecessors, but after playing Mass Effect too many of DA's aspects felt stale in comparison - most notably the conversation system, as you pointed out.

I'm not at all surprised that they've decided to make it a more cinematic experience. I know many will be disappointed with that, but I prefer that kind of approach in a game so I can't say I'm not a fan of this news.

In reply to

A kind of cel-shaded-but-not-really-cel-shaded look would be awesome for a fantasy RPG. A shame that no one's ever really tried it.

[quote=dcdelgado]You can understand why they might want to Mass Effect up DA, as Mass Effect is a Brilliant next-gen ARPG, but personally i loved that fact that DA was keeping to its old school rpg roots (even though after playing Mass Effect the selecting of text to speak in DA really did jar me), i think DA is a victim of its own success, as i'm guessing that not even Bioware thought it would do as well as it did on the consoles, and now with a big fanbase there looking to cinematic it up?, it also sounds like you could be in charge of armies or multiple squads maybe some rts elements there?, i dont know its all guess work at the moment? but Bioware have yet to let me down yet :)[/quote]

One of the biggest criticisms of Dragon Age in reviews was that, at times, it felt like it was [i]too[/i] old skool. I like how Bioware kept the game faithful to some of the company's predecessors, but after playing Mass Effect too many of DA's aspects felt stale in comparison - most notably the conversation system, as you pointed out.

I'm not at all surprised that they've decided to make it a more cinematic experience. I know many will be disappointed with that, but I prefer that kind of approach in a game so I can't say I'm not a fan of this news.

raggnarok

Since 6347 Days

Jesus fucking christ, stop this fucking 'DA2 is another ME2' madness. I read about it on every forum. Everyone whines, complains, draws stupid conclusions based on ZERO FACTS. Just shut the fuck up, wait for some gameplay movies and then we can discuss. All we got now is some bullshit press release info which is garbage as usual and presents zero reliable information.
God, sometimes I hate Internet, bunch of speculating whiners :)

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GrimThorne

Since 6888 Days

Posted by dcdelgado

You can understand why they might want to Mass Effect up DA, as Mass Effect is a Brilliant next-gen ARPG, but personally i loved that fact that DA was keeping to its old school rpg roots (even though after playing Mass Effect the selecting of text to speak in DA really did jar me), i think DA is a victim of its own success, as i'm guessing that not even Bioware thought it would do as well as it did on the consoles, and now with a big fanbase there looking to cinematic it up?

But that's sort of the point dc, Dragon Age has outsold ME2 by more than a million and a half units. Despite EA's bloated claims after shipping 2 Million units, ME2 has only sold 1.6 Million units to date, a drop of nearly 800,000 in sales from the first ME.

The game with the deeper role playing elements remained the more popular game with RPG fans as we RPG fans always knew that it would. What's Bioware's logic, "Our new formula for ME2 sold less copies than the previous ME, so we're going to do the same thing to Dragon Age?" It doesn't make sense.

But I agree with you, it's all guess work at the moment as to what Bioware will do.

Posted by SimonM7

ME2-ing it up is disappointing if true, but I do like the sound of a different visual style.

I'm not usually this shallow, but I will openly admit that I think Dragon Age looks absolutely physically pain-inducingly boring purely aesthetically. I've never been a fan of the LOTR school of fantasty, but you *can* give that stuff visual appeal with some effort, and Dragon Age is exactly the kind of brown medieval paste I can't stand.

LOL! It was a very old game Simon, as old as the previous generation of consoles and before the arrival of dual core processors. Assuming that you followed DA's progress, you probably wondered like I did after awhile if it would ever get released all. So it must have been quite the effort for Bioware to bring DA up to speed. But I was grateful that they did.

I would only say to be careful what you wish for. Improved graphics for a more cinematic experience might also mean a radical shift in role playing elements. I don't care if they drop turn based combat, that's to be expected. But many at Bioware's forums have already created DA2 threads telling them that gutting the rpg formula for ME2 did not translate into more sales.

In reply to

[quote=dcdelgado]You can understand why they might want to Mass Effect up DA, as Mass Effect is a Brilliant next-gen ARPG, but personally i loved that fact that DA was keeping to its old school rpg roots (even though after playing Mass Effect the selecting of text to speak in DA really did jar me), i think DA is a victim of its own success, as i'm guessing that not even Bioware thought it would do as well as it did on the consoles, and now with a big fanbase there looking to cinematic it up?[/quote]

But that's sort of the point dc, Dragon Age has outsold ME2 by more than a million and a half units.    Despite EA's bloated claims after shipping 2 Million units, ME2 has only sold 1.6 Million units to date, a drop of nearly 800,000 in sales from the first ME.

The game with the deeper role playing elements remained the more popular game with RPG fans as we RPG fans always knew that it would.  What's Bioware's logic, [i]"Our new formula for ME2 sold less copies than the previous ME, so we're going to do the same thing to Dragon Age?"[/i]  It doesn't make sense.

But I agree with you, it's all guess work at the moment as to what Bioware will do.

[quote=SimonM7]ME2-ing it up is disappointing if true, but I do like the sound of a different visual style.

I'm not usually this shallow, but I will openly admit that I think Dragon Age looks absolutely physically pain-inducingly boring purely aesthetically. I've never been a fan of the LOTR school of fantasty, but you *can* give that stuff visual appeal with some effort, and Dragon Age is exactly the kind of brown medieval paste I can't stand.[/quote]

LOL!  It was a very old game Simon, as old as the previous generation of consoles and before the arrival of dual core processors.  Assuming that you followed DA's progress, you probably wondered like I did after awhile if it would ever get released all.  So it must have been quite the effort for Bioware to bring DA up to speed.  But I was grateful that they did.

I would only say to be careful what you wish for.  Improved graphics for a more cinematic experience might also mean a radical shift in role playing elements.  I don't care if they drop turn based combat, that's to be expected.  But many at Bioware's forums have already created DA2 threads telling them that gutting the rpg formula for ME2 did not translate into more sales.

SimonM7

Since 7039 Days

Well I've nothing against dated graphics (even though that sounds like a weird statement to make), I just mind the complete lack of visual identity in most western role playing games in general. I think Oblivion looked insanely dull too, but it had enough novelty to it with its open structure for me to persevere.

With Dragon Age, with BioWare being "free" of the D&D license limitations could develop a unique looking fantasy world, but I guess they weren't really that interested in doing that. It is, for all intents and purposes, still a brown D&D thing still. I guess you could argue that Mass Effect borrows heavily from established sci fi things too, but I reckon it still makes for a fairly unique looking whole.

I hope that their allusion to a new visual style means they're more actively pursuing some personality in that regard. I'm not usually the douchebag that goes "GAME X SHOULD DO Z AND Y TO PLEASE ME! ME, ME, ME!!", but in this case it is literally what's standing between me and interest in spending time in this world.

The Dragon Age world, to clarify. Otherwise would be a tad dramatic. :D

In reply to

Well I've nothing against dated graphics (even though that sounds like a weird statement to make), I just mind the complete lack of visual identity in most western role playing games in general. I think Oblivion looked insanely dull too, but it had enough novelty to it with its open structure for me to persevere.

With Dragon Age, with BioWare being "free" of the D&D license limitations could develop a unique looking fantasy world, but I guess they weren't really that interested in doing that. It is, for all intents and purposes, still a brown D&D thing still. I guess you could argue that Mass Effect borrows heavily from established sci fi [i]things[/i] too, but I reckon it still makes for a fairly unique looking whole.

I hope that their allusion to a new visual style means they're more actively pursuing some personality in that regard. I'm not usually the douchebag that goes "GAME X SHOULD DO Z AND Y TO PLEASE ME! ME, ME, ME!!", but in this case it is literally what's standing between me and interest in spending time in this world.

The Dragon Age world, to clarify. Otherwise would be a tad dramatic. :D

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dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

Actually it does make sense as 1.8mil ME2 sales where 360 only, DA had around 1.6mil on the 360 and 800k on ps3, so if they could get the ME2 sales on ps3 and 360 for DA2 they could push 3million plus, also lots of fans on the DA forums were calling for a more cinematic experience with conversations revamp top of the bill, so i can def see were there going from the cinematic viewpoint, but i still think this game will be very deep and still retain an old school feel.

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** Yes We CAN!! **

GrimThorne

Since 6888 Days

Posted by dcdelgado

Actually it does make sense as 1.8mil ME2 sales where 360 only, DA had around 1.6mil on the 360 and 800k on ps3, so if they could get the ME2 sales on ps3 and 360 for DA2 they could push 3million plus, also lots of fans on the DA forums were calling for a more cinematic experience with conversations revamp top of the bill, so i can def see were there going from the cinematic viewpoint, but i still think this game will be very deep and still retain an old school feel.

We can only speculate at this point if a release on PS3 would have given them back the 800,000 players they lost with ME2, but clearly DAO sold strongly on the consoles. But I didn't bring up those numbers to highlight platform sales, but to note that the "new and improved Mass Effect2" with it's gutted RPG formula did not resonate with all the fans of the first game. If this happens to Dragon Age2, you can expect a similar falling away by fans.

And THAT is what doesn't make sense to me. It's clear that we are going to lose origins, they've locked the human protagonist in, even gave him/her a name. I realize this is necessary if they are going to voice the character, but I wouldn't like to lose my inventory or have my party member's abilities shaved down to a few skills sets. I want to be able to customize their armor and weapons as well as my own.

Eh.........fuck. Nobody at Bioware is listening.

In reply to

[quote=dcdelgado]Actually it does make sense as 1.8mil ME2 sales where 360 only, DA had around 1.6mil on the 360 and 800k on ps3, so if they could get the ME2 sales on ps3 and 360 for DA2 they could push 3million plus, also lots of fans on the DA forums were calling for a more cinematic experience with conversations revamp top of the bill, so i can def see were there going from the cinematic viewpoint, but i still think this game will be very deep and still retain an old school feel.[/quote]

We can only speculate at this point if a release on PS3 would have given them back the 800,000 players they lost with ME2,  but clearly DAO sold strongly on the consoles.   But I didn't bring up those numbers to highlight  platform sales, but to note that the [i]"new and improved Mass Effect2"[/i] with it's gutted RPG formula did not resonate with all the fans of the first game.   If this happens to Dragon Age2, you can expect a similar falling away by fans.

And THAT is what doesn't make sense to me.  It's clear that we are going to lose origins, they've locked the human protagonist in, even gave him/her a name.   I realize this is necessary if they are going to voice the character, but I wouldn't like to lose my inventory or have my party member's abilities shaved down to a few skills sets.   I want to be able to customize their armor and weapons as well as my own.

Eh.........fuck.   Nobody at Bioware is listening.

dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

We know nothing yet for sure so moaning about gimped or missing features makes no sense at all, and if DA2 turns out as critically a success as ME2 then I for one will be Very happy.

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** Yes We CAN!! **

SimonM7

Since 7039 Days

I think Mass Effect 2 was sort of a rude awakening, I really wasn't prepared that it'd be.. the thing it was. I'm not even sure I even really dislike the game, it just sort of removed things that didn't work in ME without filling the void. I found myself trying to linger in environments, *looking for something* and time and again having to realise there's really nothing to look for anymore. I hated the loot in ME because the loot itself was 99% garbage, but a loot *system* is still an element that contributes to the pacing of an RPG-esque experience. Without it, rushing through tight corridors was a bit of a shocking shift towards a shootery pace, one that subsequently made the world feel disjointed and split into "levels" rather than being a large, living space that you'd thoroughly explore.

Ultimately - though I played it through - I was sorely disappointed in Mass Effect 2, but I may one day return to it on its own terms and enjoy it a fair deal more.

But my point here is that Dragon Age just by virtue of being a classic RPG has elements to it that I can't imagine even Bioware would remove outright. I can see them wanting to update the storytelling of it to something approaching ME, mechanically, because that's an incredibly well executed way of role playing a story, but I sincerely doubt it would ever get ME2 levels of extreme.

In fact I wager even ME3 brings a lot of systems back, improved rather than cut out.

In reply to

I think Mass Effect 2 was sort of a rude awakening, I really wasn't prepared that it'd be.. the thing it was. I'm not even sure I even really dislike the game, it just sort of removed things that didn't work in ME without filling the void. I found myself trying to linger in environments, *looking for something* and time and again having to realise there's really nothing to look for anymore. I hated the loot in ME because the loot itself was 99% garbage, but a loot *system* is still an element that contributes to the pacing of an RPG-esque experience. Without it, rushing through tight corridors was a bit of a shocking shift towards a shootery pace, one that subsequently made the world feel disjointed and split into "levels" rather than being a large, living space that you'd thoroughly explore.

Ultimately - though I played it through - I was sorely disappointed in Mass Effect 2, but I may one day return to it on its own terms and enjoy it a fair deal more.

But my point here is that Dragon Age just by virtue of being a classic RPG has elements to it that I can't imagine even Bioware would remove outright. I can see them wanting to update the storytelling of it to something approaching ME, mechanically, because that's an incredibly well executed way of role playing a story, but I sincerely doubt it would ever get ME2 levels of extreme.

In fact I wager even ME3 brings a lot of systems back, improved rather than cut out.

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icemanufc

Since 5681 Days

Posted by dcdelgado

We know nothing yet for sure so moaning about gimped or missing features makes no sense at all, and if DA2 turns out as critically a success as ME2 then I for one will be Very happy.

I have to agree DC ME2 is the best ARPG i have played period.

Back on topic, i'm just very interested to see what Bioware are going to add/remove from DA2, but like you said they have yet to let me down.

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icemanufc

Since 5681 Days

According to Dr. Ray Muzyka, senior vice president of EA and co-founder of BioWare, “Dragon Age 2 will simultaneously deliver an epic story and set a new bar for intense action in the genre.”

We’d expect nothing less than a jaw-dropping story from a BioWare game, but the company’s new emphasis on action is interesting. The game promises that players will be able to “think like a general and fight like a Spartan,

think like a general? squad or some rts tactics?

fight like a spartan? more real time like combat?

I like what i'm hearing so far.

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dcdelgado

Since 6875 Days

Me to.

are thoes in-game pics?

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** Yes We CAN!! **

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