48 réponses à ce sujet

[Theronyll Itholien]

Catt128 wrote...



[*]

• The ending. Is it me or things end too fast? As someone told me "As if they were in a rush". It gave me that feeling towards the end. And some events in the epilogue doesn't make a lot of sense, dates mostly.

• Needs more encounters like the Dark Alley in DA:O. I have all these cool spells but these darkspawn die way too fast. I can't take the time to do cool strategies. It usually involves brute force :/

• Characters like the Baroness. She's really interesting as a character but I get the feeling she could've had more potential. Everything happens so fast with her.
  .

I agree with all 3 points quoted. The ending seemed rather rushed. Btw, was I the only one that had to skip the last scene (where your character kills the Mother) for about 6 times before getting to the credits? Haha!

There were indeed too little encounters. Everytime I was traveling the world map I was waiting for the *cling!* + *crossing swords logo*. Too bad that happened... what? Only once? And yes, enemies did enough damage but they could've been made literally THREE TIMES as tough to take down, if you ask me.

The Pride Demon. Has anyone read the codex about demons? The pride demon is the most dangerous of all. If one pride demon gets through the veil, it could become a threat for entire Thedas!!!! We freaking butchered the demon within two minutes...

But other than that, I indeed think it's worth the money! That said, I bought it for about 22 dollars on cdwow.com so it was a bargain. But still, this expansion was good quality considering Bio didn't let us wait for a year!

Modifié par Theronyll Itholien, 30 juin 2010 - 10:57 .

[Ken555]

Well you were only supposed to go up about 10 lvls so it couldn't be too long, However I agree with Therony about how it was a good game to be made in such a short ime before Origins.

[Ken555]

I mean after Origins.

[Ken555]

Theronyll Itholien wrote...[

The Pride Demon. Has anyone read the codex about demons? The pride demon is the most dangerous of all. If one pride demon gets through the veil, it could become a threat for entire Thedas!!!! We freaking butchered the demon within two minutes...

Yeah, but we had health poultices, I mean imagine if the enemies had health poultices or spells like revival, I mean an archdemon can be taken down by a 4 man party.

[Arrtis]

Lets not give enemies 20 health pots each to use at 50% health now.

How annoyingly long those fights would be lol.

[Ken555]

I guess I'm just saying that if those digital opponents had einstein brains like us how hard it would make the game be.

[sil furyn]

Catt128 wrote...


[*]New Companions: Just one name. ANDERS. This guy rocks, so much. The "I didn't do it" scene made me laugh and from that point i fell for the character. This was my first playthough and  I travelled most of the time with Nathaniel, Anders and Justice. I have to say I didn't expect the new companions to be so well written. Nathaniel is a very good example of this; at first I was going to execute him ( I had a perfect excuse) but I'm really glad I didn't do it. Because I enjoy seeing that his personality changes as I play, and that makes him be more alive, more realistic.

Alright, there's a lot of bull**** on this thread but this really bugged me. First of all I'll say that Awakening is an abomination compared to origins. Anders is Alastair in mage form, he even sounds alike (I checked the credits to see if it was the same guy but it was someone new, to my surprise). Alastair's great, so why should I complain? I complain because while Alastair was funny, he also had a deeper character. Anders does not, his very character revolves around trying to be funny, and the parts where he's all 'serious' are sporadic and offer no explanations. Nathanial is even worse, because it's like halfway through awakening the writers decided to change his character completely. First he's all like "I hate you and the world because my dad was a gay bastard but I don't want to admit it." and then like half an hour later he's adoring you and proclaiming bestest friends for evars! It's stupid and low for Bioware. The writing is shameful and defiantely not up to Bioware standards. The main plot is inconsistent and does not explain itself, and the bugs alone make it almost not worth playing. The only thing they did well in Awakening was add new skills and new armour, plus runecrafting. I also liked the way archers became somewhat powerful, the only dissapointment is that none of this affects Origins whatsoever. If the new skills and armour could have been transfered to origins then the bull**** might almost have been worth it...

[Gaxhung]

Nathaniel was in denial, knew nothing of what happened except through rumors, he was angry at how his family ended up, how his father was supposedly a victim of dirty politics, in other words, he was sort of a hotheaded moron idialistic proud young man.

Something like that ...

[Theronyll Itholien]

sil furyn wrote...
Alright, there's a lot of bull**** on this thread but this really bugged me. First of all I'll say that Awakening is an abomination compared to origins. Anders is Alastair in mage form, he even sounds alike.

I agree completely and I also said that in my main post. I'm surprised you didn't mention the Justice & Sten similarities.

Still, I liked Anders.

I still can't fathom why people keep insisting on comparing this expansion with the original in this fashion. The original was 60+ hours and it was in development for almost 6 years. Awakening was about 20 hours and it was in development for a few months! I sincerely wonder why people completely fail to take that under consideration before giving their unforgiving opinions.

Anders made me laugh, Oghren made me laugh more than in Origins, and I almost jumped up from my chair when I was introduced with Justice so cool I found that character the moment he entered my party.

It's simply impossible to make a character that has just as much depth as a character in Origins. It's a freaking expansion. Not Dragon Age 2.

[Lady Catastrophe]

Aside from the horrific game-breaking bugs and rushed ending,I rather enjoyed Awakening.While I do think Theronyll is correct in saying a lot of work went into the game,I do think it could have been something so much more.The companions (minus Velanna and part of Oghren) were all very likeable,but there simply wasn't enough time to get to know them properly.



For an expansion,I think it was pretty good despite it's flaws.

[Trooper Guy1]

 The only the I truly liked about Awakening was how it went (somewhat) deeper with the Darkspawn and it seemed like you were actually doing what a Grey Warden should be doing, hunting down Darkspawn. I also feel the game was rushed and I noticed it during the Joining segments, development of characters, and the ending. 

The other thing I have to say is: The Lost and his Infernal Golem ftw.

"I will kill you, and he will know that he has failed to destroy The Lost!"

[Moca68]

Theronyll Itholien wrote...

If anyone here is like me and has been waiting to buy Awakening, having a hard time getting convinced that this isn't some over-glorified DLC, let me tell you: Awakening rocks. Time and passion has been put in this expansion!  There are a lot of cutscenes, a nice amount of quests, improvements in the gameplay environment that are noticeable the moment you take control of your character for the first time, nice new gear, and great new skills!!

It's truly a great expansion.

Some weird things, in my opinion:

• Oghren is the only old companion joinging you again. OGHREN! WHYYY Oghren OUT OF ALL?!?! That is what went through my mind. He got me laughing ocassionally but was he anywhere near my favorite? Absolutely not;
  
• You no longer have your awesome dog;
  
• DLC items such as Starfang and the Warden armor set are gone.

And then there are the companions who are terribly similar to those you know from Origins, even in voice-acting:

• Anders = Alistair    (lighthearted comments, sarcastic, healthy dose of self-pity mixed with humor)
  
• Justice = Sten     (foreign, stoic, straightforward, pragmatic)

Oh well. Awesome expansion nonetheless. Having great fun with it!

In part, I agree...No quest to find Morrigan? A big minus!!!

[MindYerBeak]

I don't have any of the problems outlined with Awakening. That's because I haven't bought it and have no intention of doing so after the bad things I've read about it on this and other posts.

[Theronyll Itholien]

MindYerBeak wrote...

I don't have any of the problems outlined with Awakening. That's because I haven't bought it and have no intention of doing so after the bad things I've read about it on this and other posts.

There was also allot of moaning and whining and crying about Alpha Protocol, while that game is so much more than what most shallow reviewers and short-sighted, impatient gamers think.

People hate Alpha Protocol. People love Alpha Protocol.
People hate Awakening. People love Awakening.

To not judge a game by yourself merely because you read comments/reviews about it that made you biased is pathetic.

[heretica]

MindYerBeak wrote...

I don't have any of the problems outlined with Awakening. That's because I haven't bought it and have no intention of doing so after the bad things I've read about it on this and other posts.

You should have an opinion of your own. I read bad reviews about the game but I wanted to see by myself if it was that horrible. I had some spare money so i bought it and i'd say it's worth it.

I enjoyed 25 hours of fun, that's why I buy games.

[Moca68]

MindYerBeak wrote...

I don't have any of the problems outlined with Awakening. That's because I haven't bought it and have no intention of doing so after the bad things I've read about it on this and other posts.

Some people also write that life sucks! You will kill yourself after reading this information?

[BallaZs]

I dunno, Awekaning could be better..

I mean its great, and exciting but why do we get Oghren? WHY? I didn't even played with him, he was in the camp always...

I'd prefer to meeting some of your old companions like : Sten, Alistar, Leliana, Morrigan

And meeting them: I mean to be with u again, not just a 2 mins dialogue, or a f_in mention.

Anyway I think that they'll make Morrigan's own DLC, or expansion so thats the reason why the did not put her into the game, or just mentoined her (it has some issues too to get her dialogue at the end)

Awakening is a nice game, even if its full of bugs. A patch can solve that.

I'm really hoping for another expansion where you can actually team-up with DAO companions, or trying to find Morrigan.

Summation: Enjoyable game, but way too easy. They have rushed it a little.

It worth the $, or a bit less.

[LordJohn]

I wish I could write a reply about the bugs/good things you all have written, but alas, I can't even LOAD the %^&*ing thing! I keep getting the "load failed" message, despite doing all the stuff suggested everywhere in the Forums (updating video card, downloading the Radr.ll thing). ANY ideas what to do next? I'm about to return the game to Best Buy!

[Hollingdale]

Firstly, Anders is not like Alistair. Alistair is goofy and unsure of himself with strong ideals of justice whereas Anders on the contrary is flamboyant and confident with a pragmatic world view. They may ''sound' very much alike but they are not.



Also Awakenings was obviously rushed and/or made with a slightly too low budget but that doesn't mean that no passion went into the making of it. Indeed whether a game is polished or not hasn't necessarily anything to do with whether or not it was forged by passionate hands.



Personally I think that the story, which is better written than that of Origins and the cast, which is made up of realistic nuisanced people not dogmatics make a strong case for those who would say that passion went into the making of Awakenings.

[Zanderat]

Gaxhung wrote...

Think of killing the Brood mothers in Kal'Hirol as a trigger for the endgame, like how you go to Arl Eamon to trigger the fall of Denerim in DAO.

The Mother is b***chy in more than one way.

Please clairfy this point.  I just killed the BM's.  Did I just close off half the game?  I haven't even been to Blackmarsh yet!

The other thing that I got from this thread was that the Architect is never explained?  I have to read The Calling?  Lame, very lame.

Modifié par Zanderat, 06 juillet 2010 - 06:03 .

[Anathemic]

Modifié par Anathemic, 07 juillet 2010 - 06:36 .

[Perseus the Paladin]

I found this thread very interesting because there are a number of viewpoints and good points being made.



My own reaction to Awakening frankly was dismay for "what might have been".



As a game, Awakenings should have been like Baldur’s Gate 2 – it appeared to have been conceived as the brilliant sequel to an immensely popular Dragon Age Origins. However it seemed that for financial reasons, EA / Bioware cut the storyboard to ribbons and rushed out a partially-finished product.



DA Origins is certainly one the best games I have ever bought in 25 years of computer game-playing. The bugs I spotted were few and I was more than compensated by an absorbing creation of fantastic characters in a fantastic world. The gamer became totally immersed in the game and I, the player did not want this game to end. After that, trying to be objective about Awakenings is difficult.



I really tried to like Awakenings and made continual allowances for obvious problems. Eventually I completed the game as far as the final decision point. Unluckily I then accidentally discovered the two potential outcomes and decided not to go further.



Observations



1> NPCs

I really liked the Anders character with his “it wasn’t me” attitude. I also quite liked Nathaniel - although - my Warden was a Cousland and there was far too little interaction in respect of the murders of the senior members of the Howe and Cousland families.



I also was pleased to see Herren & Wade, as refugees from Denerim, were still sniping at each other,



However I was rather stunned when I found the only recruitable NPC from Origins was Oghren. I wanted to see the “Painted Elf” again. Because of his verbal interplay with Wynne, Shale and the rest being so hilarious, I kept Zevran in my Origins party more-or-less permanently.



Both Wynne and Alistair who had been my Warden’s other main companions seemed bizarrely remote and hardly recognised him. Sorry! That was not very logical!



I didn’t really care for the other new NPCs and frankly found the females a little hard going



2> Game Layout

The design of the major areas – Vigil’s Keep, Amaranthine, Black Marsh, the Wending Wood and Kal'Hirol was great and well up to standard of Origins. Actually exploring these areas was for me the best part of the game.



The design of the minor areas was not good. Many, such as farms, had no access to buildings, and were completely under-utilised. Why was Knotwood Hills included? What was the purpose of the Lynching? Again this was probably a leftover remnant.



Two apparently adjacent coastal locations – the Shipwreck and Ruined Chapel on the cliff appeared to have become separated by the city of Amaranthine. Again there was little real purpose to either



3> Game Quests

Many ancillary quests were extremely weak and fell into the basic “go & fetch” variety serving no purpose other than as fillers. Some like “Blight Orfans” even failed to reward the player with experience points.



Other “find resources” quests seemed as though they should affect the final outcome. Did any of them (or any of the Warden’s decisions) make any real difference to the end game?



4> Game Balance

Even though NPCs and enemies are levelled to the experience of the Warden, a number of things were seriously wrong in the balancing.



Players could start a new character at Level 18 or import a Level 23/24 character from Origins. It is therefore unlikely that the final Levels would be the same. This means that loads of Skills and Abilities will not have come into play. Also there could be big disparities due to items and gold at the beginning which in turn influence the purchasing ability.



More seriously items found and recipes inscribed in the Journal were more attuned to a start at Level 1. The effect a Lesser Health Potion or a Spring Trap could have was negligible. Of course, better items later become available as the game progressed – but trying to carry around items of such low value is not useful.



5> Crafting

Here was a good idea that went bad. I really like crafting and was particularly pleased to see that Rune crafting was now possible



However if the player is to craft at the Expert or Master level, many items must be gathered or bought. Starting from the lowest level of Rune-crafting, the player was required to have access to over 100 individual ingredients or recipes to make the Level 7 rune. This is both costly and very time consuming. It is also required the player to sacrifice two runes with +6 properties to make one rune with a + 7 property. How can that be good value?



Another problem for the crafter is that two principal shopkeepers as well as the party storage chest are located in the Throne room. Assuming different NPCs have different crafting expertise, the Throne Room is the one game location with limited access to NPC crafters.



6> Unexplained items

The function of certain items was poorly defined at best. Heraldic paint sounded possibly useful (I found out later it was actually too useful giving ridiculous boosts to the stats). However Ser Pounce-a-lot surely was more than a joke? I never did manage to get it to work. The Wade Forge required good armour-making material. However when I returned with the Pure Iron I had purchased, they did not want it!!



7> Bugs

Lastly Bugs, bugs and more bugs! As a former Software Test Manager, any commerical software with so many issues means that the amount of testing done before the release was pitiful. Many bugs were so obvious or so game-critical that it is hard for players not to lose their patience.



Okay! What now? Bioware say they are working on a bug fix. My opinion is they should rework and re-issue the original concept. There is every justification to suppose that DA Awakening could be as good as DA Origins.



However my gut tells me that EA / Bioware will continue to release questionable add-ons that further detract from the original concept.

[CalJones]

I actually want to play Awakening - I bought it when it came out but read so many horror stories about patch 1.03 and the game breaking bugs that I have yet to install that. I went away to play ME2 instead (I had 9 or 10 runthroughs on that - when I play a game, I play it to death), and went on holiday.

As far as I'm aware, there is still no new patch to fix these bugs. Once there is, I'll load it up. But not before.

[magickingdom]

  I was disappointed with awakening. I imported my mage. All my items from 1 dlc were missing after the third save. I rolled back and recovered them only for them to be gone on the 5th or 6th save. I replaced them and went on. Still npcs in my group would randomly show up missing weapons.
  Frequent crashes to desk top cost me items and time. Not to mention the mem leak.
The dialogs in camp were no longer possible.
The plot was nice, and many nice weapons and armor were found, but it seemed awfully short. I finished before I was able to look at romance etc.
The best I could give DAA is D-
I installed the 103 update etc.
Had I know then,  what I do now, I would not have purchased DAA