So... does being in before the lock actually DO anything? Or is it just... something.

Oh, and NO.

Checks self, yeah I'm pretty sure I'm real.

 

So you don't identify with people who believe they are capable of struggling or doubting if they are not homosexual? That doesn't seem right to me. There are hundreds of completely visible characters (straight or otherwise, or as I said, undefined) that struggle and suffer, but until we know the way they use their genitalia those experiences are invalid?

 

The fact that Edwin or Kivan struggled or suffered but didn't announce their orientation didn't make it any less valid to me. For all we know, they were homosexual, but again, I don't care or think about such a thing anyway so it didn't matter.

 

I just ignore a person's orientation at all times quite frankly, if a person is a total **** and homosexual they aren't in the party, if the person is a total ***** and straight they are out of the party. It makes absolutely no difference at all to me aside from the strict check that I have to determine if they match my own orientation.

Kefka, just above, a poster posted this: 'a person is smart, people are stupid'. That's the point here. Personally, you may not give two cents about a person's sexuality, and it may not inform their believability as a character or your ability to like them. That's fine. But, unfortunately, the majority of people don't. Not just bigots, or homophobes, but general people who have not met enough gay people to look beyond media representation. The media says that being gay makes one different. Softer, or more flamboyant and (and this is newer,) hella arrogant. Also, into fashion. Media is what informs most people of what they have no experience of, and gay (and LGBTQ) portrayal in media has always been painfully thin.

Imagine the vitriol when Kaidan was announced to be interested in pursuing a relationship with a male Shepard, or the vitriol we'd get if, say, Ser Barris, were announced to be gay. People would uproar, not because of any proof of straightness, but what was said about Cullen before this very game was released "I can't imagine him as gay", which was even more common than how he blushed around a female Magi Origin. I mean, that is evidence enough that media's portrayal of gays has been painfully lacking, to the point people still think of any "masculine" gay man as hiding himself beyond a wall of straightness.

Your point is a good one.  Until everyone (or most people, at least) believes that sexuality doesn't matter, then it does matter.  The more representation we have and the wider the representation, the more likely that this will happen.  We still regularly see people make the argument, "But s/he doesn't seem gay, so it just doesn't make sense for his/her character....." all the time on the BSN.  All the time.  What that tells me is that there are still many people who think a very specific and narrow way about how gay people act.  That's why I think it's important to have as wide a representation of gay people in media.  Video games need to have openly gay feminine men, masculine men, flamboyant men, introverts, extroverts, shy virgins, bold promiscuous types, soldiers, husbands, fathers, dancers, artists, teachers, kings, princes, etc.  After years of that, perhaps we'll see less of the "but it doesn't make sense for the 'knight in shining armor' to be gay" type of comments.

Said it before, and I'll say it again. "Exactly". Sexuality, gender and race matter until such a time where no one cares what you are. Even in Mass Effect, where being gay doesn't matter, and gender rarely matters (and the concept have race has gone 'bye bye'), we still need to connect to the narrative with xenophobia against humans, or it will be like the alpha version of the Matrix. Unbelievable.

Also, I'm back, but I have no idea for how long.

Gianna Parasini,

Spectre Nihlus,

Major Kirrahe,

Mum (Hannah Shepard),

Urdnot Bakara,

Maelon,

Aria T'loak,

Nyreen Kandros,

and one more that should be utterly obvious.

And that's it. Those are the characters which gave me an emotional impact far beyond the norm (any character who was on the Normandy such as squadmembers, Admirals Hackett and Anderson, Engineers Gabby, Adams and Daniels, Joker... etc are left out on purpose).

I'd prefer they go the DA route and just make preset faces with their character creator. My next vote would be for self-made faces outside the CC, like FemShep and Hawke times two. And I hope that all marketing just has a badass helmet instead of a face they spent money for (and maybe reversible covers for Fem and Bro). Sheploo drives me nuts, especially because he was always a better quality face than anything the CC could make up.

It's quite simple, really.  EA adds to a games budget (like most companies), when a game fits to certain set of specifications. Frostbite is one of them, so is having a multiplayer component, and connection to Origin. If any company under EA decides against one or more of these, their budget is docked. So no, ME will be under Frostbite until EA decides against supporting the engine. It will also have an online, multiplayer component and connect to Origin (through the ME/DA servers).

I wish they had skipped the optional recruiting of companions in favor of making them more pivotal to the main plot-line. Plus, that way we could of had more interaction between companions.

 

I would have liked something that fleshed out the whole mage/templar war, and something to flesh out the winter palace. I didn't read the book so I was so lost during that whole quest. I liked the whole idea behind the Winter Palace, but I feel like it could of been more than what it was. 

I agree, that's actually one thing in ME2 and ME3 that were consistently right. Companions were (almost always), recruited or refused as part of the main storyline, you couldn't miss 'em. In Dragon Age they could be recruited, refused, seen but not talked to, ignored, or missed in the happenstance (disguised as a side quest that many human beings would rightfully not care about). That leaves way too many options, both in the now, and for future playthroughs and cameos. As it is, there are some characters who may have never met Leliana, but did anyway, because that's way too many choices.

Yeah, just in general, I think the fact that Varric and Sera had more to do in the Winter Palace than Vivienne says enough about just how many missed opportunities lingered in that quest/op/what-have-you.

As for the Templar/Mage conflict, I've always felt that that was the Reapers of the Dragon Age universe, and that the plot should never even pretend that the conflict is ever over... it ruins the build up from the first two games, while giving nothing in terms of a standalone one. Picking between the two factions should have felt more desperate, I should have been telling myself "am I really stirring the pot here, really? I HATE THE GREATER GOOD"... instead it felt more like ticking off a checklist. The transitions weren't there along with the rushed aspect. And it ties in with the Breach needing to get closed, especially when we closed off the initial rift in the prologue, it never felt like it got worse before it got better. I was never desperate to close the Breach, in fact, the transitions ensured I was never desperate or urgent ever.

In honor of Robin Williams:

 

If I could have Robin Williams' talent by just being hungry I probably would never eat anything ever again.

Bull says that they don't "look like us" anymore. That sort of implies that they still exist in the land that the Qunari left.

I think he said that IF they still exist they don't "look like us", iirc. So yeah, they might still exist, but not necessarily.

Plus we know that both the kossith and qunari are forerunners (read: broodmothers) to darkspawn Ogres. So the kossith are definitely big, horned and not *wildly* different looking from qunari, whatever Bull says, unless there's a strain of Ogre that has appeared in previous Blights that look crazy different from the Fifth Blight's ogres.

Also, the fact that stories are told about the Qunari departing their previous lands, whereas the kossith are hush hushy, suggest that if any were left behind, they were just more Qunari, especially considering that kossith are a previous evolution of qunari and not a separate species all together (which would have meant, again, that previous Blights' ogres weren't ogres at all).

I wrote a whole paragraph before I decided that I can't explain myself without (apparently) being condescending, so I think I'm gonna take another break.

BFK can be paranoid, sure, but this is EA we're talking about. It's rare they will let people download DLCs for free. 

Considering it's being advertised as a patch right now, I think we're safe. Plus, since the games release they were on and on about adding things to the game they didn't have time for previously, so I'm pretty sure the BE will be patched in (not even a DLC).

But honestly, I'm just excited for armour tinting, I am done with having orange arms. *Huff* I hate Dragon Webbing.

I think the subtitle of this thread should be: Things that would be nice to see, but that we would never demand be in the Dragon Age games. 

I don't think anything that's been in this thread can be interpreted as demanding, so I don't think a subtitle would be needed, haha.

I mean I know its policy in this forum for the most well meaning and respectful of threads to get WOW ENTITLED MUCH responses, and iirc this one has definitely had a few of those, but I would hope that anyone who works for Bioware has better reading comprehension than that.

Same, also I get scared when I feel like I have to apologize for other people's gross assumptions about me. This thread is under the subforum of Feedback & Suggestions, and has always had a remarkably civil tone. I think that's enough to convince and dev who have, are, or are intending to read this that we are by no means demanding but suggesting out of concern for lack of representation.

That's why the idea that we're homophobic or love straight acting seems farcical to me, because the majority of us believe this character archetype is missing from gay representation, not just in BioWare games, but in media as a whole.

Anyway, best we drop the small temper solar flare before it catches some driftwood.

Also, in everything else Natashina, I agree with you .

This seems really harsh, in my opinion.  The Alistair, Cullen, Blackwall type of guy has not been gay and some people would like to see that type of guy being gay.  It's not about devaluing the existing bisexual and gay guys, but none of them fit that type.  Dorian has a few things in common with them, but it's not the same.  Again, it's Tony Stark versus Captain America. 

 

Frankly, the hostile tone in the past day accusing people of 'idealizing straight people' and 'internalized homophobia' has made me really want to avoid this thread, and that's a shame because it's a very enjoyable thread up until now.  And, I find it particularly disturbing that it's coming from other gay people. 

 

I'm just going to lay low and avoid the thread for a bit, I think, because I'm not interested in turning this thread into the rest of the BSN, where tempers rise and insults fly.

Yeah, same. I'm beginning to live in an irrational fear of this thread being shut down because my temper showed about a second ago. Time to take a breath.

The thinly veiled homophobia in this thread is just perplexing. All this talk about having a character fulfill a knight archetype seems like a terrible, disingenuous excuse to include a straight-acting, and therefore "acceptable" to some, gay character. Of course, Dorian is sassy, flamboyant and likes fashion so he can't possibly fit the arbitrary made-up criteria for the trope despite being deeply caring and protective of his people, while staying true and loyal to his convictions.
There's also the fact that Dorian is the first gay male companion in the series, and he defies the pattern of "morally grey" characters listed in the OP. Which makes me all the more suspicious about the legitimacy of the suggestion/complaint.
 

Some people here find Kaidan interesting? I... don't think I have words for that. Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather have a complex, multi-layered, conflicting character like Dorian than some boring, generic and two-dimensional macho knight. I trust Bioware's judgement to keep delivering amazing queer characters in their games (hopefully we'll see Maevaris next).

First, can we not call it straight acting? I had a post, quite literally three pages ago, that emphatically stated that SEXUALITY IS NOT TIED TO PERSONALITY. Add that to the fact that every gay or bi male we have seen has a touch of sass, an obvious interest in fashion or a bit of flamboyancy... you know what, screw it, I'm going to just reinsert it here:

"Every major gay character to date has a bit of flamboyance, a touch of arrogance, a flair for out of this world fashion that excludes them from being the everyman, the hero we all read about in children's fairytales. And before i get called bigoted, flamboyance and being fashion forward is fine (so is a bit of ego), but we see them ALL THE TIME. There are gay (and bi) men and women out there which have none of those traits, who are unambiguously moral, who are the good dads and the average who get our existence mocked, denied and sidelined due to the media's slow acceptance of the fact that being gay, or interested in the same gender, has nothing to do with personality." -Lieutenant Kurin

Let me restate it. FLAMBOYANCY IS FINE, SASSY IS FINE, KNOWING HOW TO TIE AN ASCOT IS FINE. BUT IT ISN'T A COMMON TRAIT AMONGST ALL MEN WHO ARE ATTRACTED TO MEN. And this hits a personal nerve with me, because I've had "friends" who have accused me for being homophobic because I am not sassy, not flamboyant and dress like a classy lumberjack, if I ain't gay enough for you because I'm unfashionable, not sassy and have no idea what a blank-tini is, well then I'd say the homophobe would be you, as it takes one to assume that all men who like men have similar personalities. And all of this is reinforced by the total lack of gay or bi men who DO LACK THE ABOVE TRAITS in media.

And as for Kaidan, well he has his s-h-i-t together, is smart and loyal, and has a whole host of complexity, from his past experiences in BaAT (and the guilt he has), to the fact that he's a teacher, a family man, and has very real fears during the war. While everyone was talking about planets being taken over and thresher maws, Kaidan introduces us to the more personal story of his father going MIA escaping the reapers (and, by the end of ME3 is still MIA), and his fear that the students he trained AREN'T READY, and may lose their lives any minute now. Kaidan is a tired old soldier, who wants something to fight for and is more than ready to settle down, but, you're right, all the of the above are exclusive to straight people, I forgot.

The major difference would be that Mass Effect has a whole galaxy to fill. If we're talking planet to planet, they actually have less per location than Dragon Age, one unique race per. Honestly, we already have humans, elves, dwarves, qunari (with a small q), the enigmatic Fex, possibly kossith, and darkspawn versions of four of those. That's a lot to contain to a small continent without it getting confusing as to who are from where. ("We came from north of Seheron", "we came from North north of Seheron!")

I know this a little off-topic, but I went through a month of serious eye strain when looking at a white screen with black text.  I also had these tiny little spasms in my right eyelid that wouldn't quit.  It would only get worse if I was looking at a computer monitor to the point where I'd have an ache around that eye.  It didn't really hurt so much as become very bothersome.  I'm getting more sleep again, and I replaced my video card.  The latter is connected because I was getting weird screen fracturing while watching even youtube videos, and that seemed to make things worse.  Now I'm in the process of fighting with my game to get some mods to work.  

 

All I want is a recolor for the Skyhold jammies that works, damn it.  I still push and hope for color options to be put into the game, so I don't have to mod my game just to get something that isn't sodding beige.  I also want console gamers to have the same options.  Why BioWare went with just that one color I don't understand. 

 

Sorry, personal grumble of mine.  I've hated that outfit since I laid eyes on it back last September.  It was terrible in Alpha, it was terrible in Beta and it's terrible in the gold version of the game. 

Preach. My clothes shouldn't clash with my skin.

Way to take a revered icon and turn into a matter of "sexism."  

 

Look, I've been vocal in the past about a few things that I have felt were unintentionally sexist and I felt could use improvement.  I'm not getting into it now, but I have expressed my viewpoint.  That being said, I find it a tad...disturbing (for lack of a better word) that folks are taking what is more or less a non-sexual nude depiction of Jesus/Joan of Arc for Thedas and turning it into a matter of sexism and the "male gaze."  It isn't supposed to be and this is one of those cases where I feel like it's being made a much bigger deal than it is.

 

If you don't like it, don't use it.  However, please try to stop jumping to the conclusion of "sexism" when it comes to this.  If it was forced; if it was depicted in any sort of lewd or tantalizing manner, then I'd understand.  As it is, I think folks really need to let this one go.  The older I get, the more I realize one of the biggest ways to keep yourself sane.  You pick your battles.  This one isn't worth fighting.

 

Edit: There is also a statue of what appears to be a topless woman holding up a sword in Crossroads.   The nude/topless woman religious icon for the Chantry isn't exclusive to weapons.  It's more sacred than sexual and I think it represents her sacrifice while she was burned alive for her beliefs and for causing an uprising.  The lore is worth reading.  

 

 

Edit #2: I checked out the codex entry from the Black Emporium for the nude statue of Andraste that's in there.  It wasn't that she was nude so much as the artist put a lot of...intricate details into it.  That was the scandal, or at least my takeaway.  It was that she was depicted so realistically, rather than more of the spiritual image shown above.

 

I don't think it was because she was depicted sans clothing.

Yeah, even in previous concepts (and maybe codexes) of Val Royeaux, she is often portrayed in a sort of stylized nudity (often with a sword sticking out of her bosom to represent Hessarian's regret). Free Marches she's heavily armoured, and in Fereldan she's draped with cloth but with sword and shield as the warrior.

That statue in the original Black Emporium (as apparently there's one somewhere in Fereldan/Orlais) had everything to do with distracting bits and erm... other features. Now you have to touch it to get a sense of it... which is so much worse if you ask me.

And again, not one depiction of Jesus on the cross is clothed. Max clothing is a loincloth, minimum is a stylized... roundness. Man I had to use a lot of ellipses for this.

Maybe it is a bug. Either that or she tried a new rash cream on her left arm, because she finally put it down. Right arm is still sticking out weirdly though. She should probably try the cream on that one too. Or maybe she's afraid of touching the horn on her belt.

It's probably the horn, done to minimze clipping. (Why they didn't hang it from the back of the armour so it could only *maybe* clip with 2handers, I don't know. 

The only game I even play on my 360 now is Mass Effect. I'd love to see a remaster. 1080p, maybe 60fps, seamless transition between games, all dlc on disc...

I'd also like to see:

1. Unified appearances, closing the gap in character models between 1 and 3 (now with better textures!). This goes double for FemShep, make her default face the only default face and pick a damn body model for her.

2. Kaidan and MShep romance in ME1, and it being all import friendly, mainly because it sucks having to wait to be gay (if you're male) for three games, and Kaidan is canon bisexual (any other characters, like most of ME2s cast, would just illicit ire if they were opened up, so I'm okay with them staying straight... well, maybe Jack).

3. A better CC, and an ability to change face in game on the Normandy, while tossing out the CCs in between ME1-2, and ME2-3.

4. Consistent casual clothing, you'll update all of them anyway, might as well open em up to both 2 and 3, maybe 1.

5. ME1's inventory system turned into 2 and 3's armour customization.

6. Ability to say goodbye to Traynor (romanced or not), at the FOB on Earth (she's the only romance left out, except possibly Kelly).

7. Chakwas, Adams, Kelly, Gabby and Kenneth all make an appearance at the Citadel Party. They don't even need their own scenes, but just let em show up and hang with one another, also let us take Kelly to bed as a confirmed romance.

8. All Collector's Edition/Pre-Order special items and armours are unlocked by default, I'd rather that than them being excluded, even if they are recolours.

9. This may no longer be possible, but I'll say it anyway, flesh out talks with Kasumi and Zaeed in ME2, and considering his history as leader of the Blue Suns, make Zaeed a positive choice for squad leader in the suicide mission.

9. Let us turn off helmets ALL THE TIME, EVEN FOR SPECIAL FULL BODY ARMOURS.

I'm glad the Black Emporium is back, sort of (how did it move from Kirkwall exactly), but I'm less fond of the fact that this still adds nothing to the bedroom. The Mirror of Transformation would've been a perfect addition.

Yeah, the Chantry Garden description does suggest money from tithes, and considering that the other garden both unlocks a bard's song and 4 extra plant spots, it seems something is missing here.

Also, side note: I wish the Stained Glass upgrades changed the stained glass all over the castle, not just our "loading screened" bedroom.

For Cass, I'm glad they changed, as her face was a boring, non descript oval in DA2, completely forgettable. Leliana only looks older and Varric has had that ridiculous chin pared down. The changes have been good overall.

I need to point out that preference is not so simple a thing as I prefer one gender to another. It may well be - I can't speak for everyone - but it can also have to do with physical build, facial features, etc. It's not like every straight person is attracted equally to all persons of the opposite gender.

There's an important difference between (1) the writers not directing their mind to the NPC not being anything other than straight, because social reasons and (2) the *players* assuming an NPC is straight because of their outwards attraction to the opposite gender.

Cullen's writer may have written him as straight. But the player can't know that. The player can only see what's in-game. And in that regard the player may be making inferences based on cultural conventions that are grounded in the dominant views (i.e. we infer sexuality from outward preference). Josie is an example here: look at the bisexual thread, and the people questioning it.

Yeah, absolutely, but I was trying to use in game examples, the only coded preferences in game have been by gender or sex and race. And I mentioned Josie too. Drives me nuts that unless a bisexual character hits on every possible person, they aren't considered bi by the general public, speaking as a bi man (with a heavy preference for men, which is why I identify with both gay and bi), I get how annoying it is.

The difference that I see isn't that people were questioning that he was bisexual. They were annoyed that he strongly preferred females to the point that it was awkward for a male to romance him. Most of us want to see bisexuals with a variety of preferences. The issue is that every single bisexual male LI has shown a preference for ladies. Bull is arguable, but he still pretty much only mentions gals outside of the Quizzie and Dorian.

With regard to his job, it's not that people were saying he wasn't bisexual, it was the implication that he's bisexual because of his job, as if a job can determine your sexuality. I've never seen anyone claim that he's not bisexual, but maybe I'm mistaken.

This is my exact problem with most bi male characters. It seems that often the reason is "I look beyond gender" (Anders...) or that "sometimes, but I prefer women" (Zevran and possibly Bull). But what are we gonna do?

Bisexuality does not mean one is attracted to both genders equally and acts the same around them. Assuming Cullen was straight just from his DA:O cameo would be reasonable but by no means certain. Most bisexuals have a preference, and it's not like other bisexuals in Dragon Age haven't illustrated that. Leliana has a marked preference for women, while Josephine has one for men. If Cullen HAD been bisexual, all the files gone through, he would have had a preference for women, and that's OK.

Plus, I still believe Kaidan is more biromantic and heterosexual, because falling in love is never about someone's parts (not to mention he doesn't call a male Shep sexy from my experience), and you know what? That's OK too. Shepard and Kaidan (provided the latter is alive), have been through the equivalent of hell together twice, and a huge confrontation on Horizon too. It makes sense that they would care for each other more and more, and eventually realize they thought of the other as more than friends. It's why I love the Kaidan romance.

OP, This would be a nice to have. But right now what should be focused on for the game is getting it working properly with patches.

 

The character editor from DA2 was nice but was a DLC. If you just got the plain game without the DLC you couldn't edit your character in game.

 

Our guess is they will probably add it in a DLC pack like they did for DA2.

 

Still a nice to have but not a necessary thing right now.

It was DLC that came with every purchase of a new copy of DA2 if I remember correctly. Unless you bought used, you could change your appearance for nothing at all.

I have just come to accept that long-haired Dorian looks remarkably similar to the film version of Sirius Black. This is good. Very good.