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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Gaming The Inquisition's Here and It's Here To Stay: The Dragon Age Series

Discussion in 'Community' started by DocRevan, Jul 13, 2008.

  1. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Well it doesn't come out here till the 6th. It's going to be a nightmare few days between everyone else getting it and me getting it. :_|
     
  2. Imrahil

    Imrahil Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2000
    So I was in Gamestop last month and pre-ordered Assassin's Creed 2. Then I read about Dragon Age both here and on Penny Arcade and that made my realize my huge mistake. So last week I went back and switched my pre-order to Dragon Age. Crisis averted. :)
     
  3. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Well if you have to choose, you've made the right choice. :p
     
  4. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    If anyone's pre-ordered the Limited Collector's Edition from GameStop, check your order if you haven't done so recently.

    In the last week or so, there've been stories of unadulterated, pure horror filling other forums regarding GameStop switching people's pre-orders of the LCE to the "normal" edition, and turning the difference into store credit. There was a very small window of opportunity to pick up the PC or Xbox 360 LCE from GameStop. They were first available for pre-order around early August, and by the end of August (only about 2 weeks later), they had overshot their quota, and dropped the Limited Edition from their tracking forms altogether.

    So far, I haven't heard a single story about a successful LCE pre-order from that place. Like I said, if you haven't checked your order lately-lately, do it now before you get screwed.
     
  5. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    IGN UK's review of the PC version is already up.

    9.2.

    This one sounds tough as hell. While not extremely "radical" or genre-altering in terms of gameplay, it's still a massively epic story, just what we expect from the BioWare name. Plus around 80 hours of play time, counting sidequests, according to the review. You really have to pay attention to the subtleties of the dialogue in this one.

    (Also, the Aussie version of the game has apparently been heavily censored to fit in with their ratings-system. I'll be interested to see how their version differs in the end.)

    Another Xbox 360 review -- 9.4 out of 10.

    Amazon's already shipped my copy for Xbox. It seems that Steam is allowing pre-loading of the PC version, though the final unlock isn't going to happen until probably noon tomorrow.

    And War Dog looks like he'd kick Dogmeat's ass. To say nothing of your Fable II dog's.
     
  6. JEDI-SOLO

    JEDI-SOLO Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2002
    Is there going to be any difference in the 360 vs. PS3 versions?

    I was just going to get the PS3 ed. since I got the 160 g. and only a 20g. 360 unless there is going to be a huge difference.
     
  7. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Apparently the game installs at 6.6GB on the 360, versus not being able to fully install it on the PS3.

    Will that impact the performance? I have no idea.
     
  8. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    I've been hearing that the PS3 version is seldom stable after you start venturing out into the larger game world, with some serious pop-up and a less-than-super framerate compared to other versions. Mind you, these are message board comments from players, but that's what I've been hearing lately. Because this is BioWare's first PS3 title, there were probably bound to be some glitches. We'll see what the reviews tomorrow have to say. I'll be doing the install on mine once it gets here. And before I start my first character, I'll be downloading all the available DLC so that the startup'll be as seamless as possible. Already have points standing by for "The Warden's Keep."

    Some folks who've received early copies have already uploaded their characters to the BioWare social site.

    This bastard already has a Level 8 Dwarf Noble. Click on the character name for full, in-game stats in progress (he's an Xbox 360 player). It even shows what we're currently equipped with.

    For what it's worth at the moment, I've already got my player profile up and running there, but sans game-data until my copy arrives; probably in the next couple days. Anyone who wants to friend me there can do so.

    And finally:

    The DA:eek: Achievements list, for PC and Xbox. I assume the PS3 Trophies list will be very similar to these.

    Plan your playthroughs accordingly for maximum whoring.
     
  9. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Added. ;)

    Here's mine: http://social.bioware.com/12181/
     
  10. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    Confirmed. ;)

    Also, check out that one dude -- ****er's already hit Level 10, and has some nice stat-buffs since I last checked him out earlier today. Plus a new Reflection Amulet.

    There's currently live streaming of someone playing the 360 version, but how long it'll last, who knows. It's enough to keep my appetite whetted, at any rate. Currently, he's "Succubus Kissing."

    One player set it to "Nightmare" difficulty. Even then, the Ogre was shockingly easy. However, then in Lothering, he gave up because some Mabari war hounds and refugees totally pVVned him. He wasn't very good at the game, though. From the reviews, I gathered the beginning is much easier than later levels. One stream made me laugh a good deal, though, when the player switched out his sword+shield warrior (Alistair) for a rogue (Leliana), and was then repeatedly killed by two merc archers and their pet dog. Also, saw that same Xbox player in a brothel...many laughs to be had.

    When it comes to the archetypes (e.g., tank, healer, ranged/melee/positioned DPs), I'm wondering here if the joinable characters each better at their jobs than the main PC can be, due to their special backgrounds, etc? For example, in BG2: Throne of Bhaal, it was impossible for the PC to be anywhere near as good at melee DPs as Sarevok was; also, Kivan in BG1 was about 100 times better at ranged DPs than the PC, etc.

    Can we expect the same situation in DA:eek:? In terms of sheer effectiveness, is it worth making your PC an archer if Leliana would be much better, for instance? A healer, if Wynne or Morrigan would be better? A tank, if you couldn't hold a candle to Alistair? And so forth.

    I'm going to be shooting a kitten every day until UPS delivers my copy of this one. Please, UPS...think of the kittens.
     
  11. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    By the way, zac...you might double-check that my friend-request went through on your end of things. I got a pop-up message from the BioWare server, saying that I had a request from you, but when I went to the confirmation screen, there wasn't anything there, so I sent you one instead. Must be a beta-phase "hiccup," or something.
     
  12. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    Yeah it looks pretty broken at the moment. It takes far too long to load, and when I accepted your request, my friends list was still zero. Probably best to give it a few days until the rush of new accounts slow down.

    Edit - Maulfly is playing it right now! :eek:
     
  13. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    Really? What's her BioWare handle? I gotta see what directions other folks are taking with this one. I'll add her to the list. We really should get a TF.N circle going on this one. Oh, and I finally got an e-mail this morning saying that you officially added me, zac, so we're good now. [face_peace]

    And yeah, the entire site seems sluggish these past couple of days -- they're saying it should be "normal" by the end of this week. Can't believe it's taking this long to get friend-requests through it.

    I've been reading that there are some other differences between the two console versions -- although the Xbox 360 can handle more stuff on the battlefield (corpses, etc.), the PS3 version has a bit more texture-resolution, but isn't really as good at having a lot of NPCs on the field (corpses vanish, and stuff like that).

    Also, the Xbox 360 version comes with a catch -- it supposedly runs better when installed on the HDD, as BioWare explained that they optimized it for running off the HDD, as opposed to off the disc. Though that's the whole point of the HDD in a console. DA:eek: is a huge game (~20GB on the PC version), and to fit onto one DVD for the 360, it has to be compressed pretty tightly. I imagine the PS3 version doesn't have this issue, and that makes sense.

    They learned from Mass Effect, though, and made Dragon Age work better when installed.

    Lots of folks are currently having coronaries after seeing the download size of the Steam file, even after the preload -- 20GB is a ton of space for some folks, and I've seen several people cancelling their D2D order and simply buying the retail version off Amazon or wherever.
     
  14. Darth-Lando

    Darth-Lando Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2002
    I snuck out of work to pick up my copy this morning. Can't wait to get home and play it!
     
  15. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2007
    I just picked up my copy and opted for the 360 version because I read that the frame rate is supposedly the best. I was sorely tempted to go with the PC version. Tonight will be a late night for sure though and I am stoked. :)
     
  16. Maulfly

    Maulfly Moderator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2001

    The joys of a midnight release at one of the better local GameStops. [face_mischief]


    I'm not yet signed up on the social board for Dragon Age. Wasn't sure if I was going to do so at all, honestly...especially seeing as it's brand new and they haven't quite worked out the load issues. Still, if I do (and I probably will), I'll most likely use something obvious for my name over there. :p

    Got the game for the 360. First thing I did was put the disk in the console so I could sign into the EA network and link my awards from the DA: Journeys to my gamer account. Then entered all of the DLC codes (you do this in the game menu so it can be confirmed by the EA servers). Once everything was unlocked on the EA servers, then I downloaded it all to my console. The only thing I needed to buy was Warden's Keep, and the only reason I didn't do that with the game was because I needed to add MS points and it couldn't handle that very well. After downloading that bit of DLC, I went ahead and loaded the game onto my harddrive (I believe it takes up about 6.6GB of space on the 360).

    So far playing like a charm other than one or two audio hiccups (click on an unimportant NPC or two and it seems like they should be talking, but you can't hear them). Only scratched the surface, but it seems to be promising a detailed, complicated world with plenty to keep track of. I love the fact that in this game while consequences matter, it doesn't necessarily rub your nose in it...you may not even realize that you've just said or done something that will keep you from ever having someone in your party or may (or may not) come back to bite you in the rear when you need help later. I won't know for sure until later in the game.

    For my first run through, I decided to go with a male Dwarf noble who is a product of his caste but generally a fair and honorable man.





    [b]EDIT:[/b] You know...after looking in on the social site...I think I'll avoid it for now. It seems to be mainly full of really unhappy people who can't figure out how to get their DLC to work. Also a bunch who can't seem to get their game to boot or such (not sure, but I suspect those are owners of the PC version).
     
  17. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    You're a lucky bastard...er...chick, Maul, as I'm still waiting for Amazon to get me my copy. It's even disappeared from my "Current Orders" page there, meaning I can't track it; meaning that my insanity grows by the hour.

    I hear that the head-smashing starts about halfway through your Origin, but that there's a lot of world-building BioWare dialogue to get through first. Then again, that's usually a good thing. Like polymath mentioned, they're saying that the PS3 version is slightly better graphically, with shorter load times, but I can't imagine how compressed textures are anywhere near as bad as framerate issues and graphical glitches.

    I also hear there's also lots of blood. I mean LOTS.

    [image=http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/child-very-excited.jpg] [image=http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/child-very-excited.jpg] [image=http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/child-very-excited.jpg]
     
  18. Maulfly

    Maulfly Moderator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2001
    Oh yes...there is lots and lots of blood. [face_devil]

    For those that prefer sanitized cleaving of people, you can actually turn off the blood in options. But if you do that, what gore will your dog lick off of you to heal himself? (Saw mention of that in passing somewhere.)

    Yeah, frame rate issues are worse than slight graphics issues. And honestly, the graphics aren't horrible in this game. Maybe not utter top-of-the-line or full realism, but still very good (if slightly stylistic--look at the size of everyone's hands!) for a console.
     
  19. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    THIS.


    Yep, I'm hearing from folks who've cross-compared the two console versions that the texture-issues aren't even noticeable unless you're an experienced game reviewer. So, for the Xbox 360 version, we're getting basically the same graphics as the PS3, plus benefits. And reportedly, many of the PC folk aren't even getting the benefit of blood-spray one way or the other, since they're having to run the game at such low settings.

    I hear the Human Noble Templar origin is extremely action-oriented. And that you evidently receive War Dog during it.

    I also hear that the Male City Elf gets raped.
     
  20. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    I saw Aragorn playing it last night too.. Still 48 hours to go for me. :( I think I'll avoid this thread until then.
     
  21. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    Also, anyone who prefers sanitized cleaving of people can likewise pick up the de-balled, Itagaki-less PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden II, but that's a whole other thread, probably.
     
  22. Leto II

    Leto II Jedi Padawan star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2000
    You could still register and link up your account, so we can track your game-stats and make fun of you lots. [face_mischief] Have a feeling there's gonna be many a DLC-bitchery post there for the next few days, though the "Spoilers" forum is still generally pretty pleasant.

    Also, does Aragorn have a user account there, too?
     
  23. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2007
    I started with a human noble warrior and yes, you get the war dog during the origin story. I only played a few minutes before the kiddo needed some attention. Now that he's asleep, it's time to dive in once more.
     
  24. Maulfly

    Maulfly Moderator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2001
    Send me a link to the site you're on, that way I make sure I've got the right one. BioWare had a forum and were going to shut it down in favor of the new EA one, but the EA one is having...issues...so they reopened the BioWare one.

    And why would you make fun of sweet little ol' me? [face_batting]

    I think the other origins might run across Dog soon afterward, but I haven't gone far enough to know for sure. Either way, I'm being nice to the dog in the kennel in the place before you officially become a Grey Warden just in case.
     
  25. Imrahil

    Imrahil Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2000
    Been playing for a few hours, am now level 5. I'm intrigued by the story so far and am curious how/when the other origin stories join the main one. For instance, has anyone else meet Alistar? My character looks almost exactly like him, so it makes cut scenes very confusing, lol.