375 réponses à ce sujet

[Peter Thomas]

Alias Oddvar wrote...

How does magic resistance work in da2, is it still persentage based?

Resistances are all percentage based, including physical damage resistance (Armor).

is there still a da1 dodge % in da2?

There is a displacement percentage, which is a chance to avoid any attack, even if it's supposed to be an automatic hit.

Are there staff specific talents in da2?

I can't comment on specific abilities, but all Mage spells use the staff in some way.

Is cunning still used for skills?

I can't comment on skills.

which formula is used for attack vs defence when decideing if you land a hit or miss in da2?

Attacker's Attack score has the target's Defense + Displacement scores subtracted from it. That's the percentage chance to hit. Abilities that automatically hit still have the Displacement chance to miss. All abilities hit by default in DA2. It kind of sucked when your Arrow of Slaying missed a guy... Also most abilities have the chance of a critical effect.

Modifié par Peter Thomas, 08 septembre 2010 - 11:28 .

[Peter Thomas]

Aratham Darksight wrote...

I have some more questions about specializations in general.

• How "large" will a specialization be in terms of content? In Origins, they consisted of 4 talents and a passive bonus. In DA2, are they planned be the same, as big as a regular talent tree, or somewhere inbetween?
• Are specializations acquired the same way, one point every 7 levels, with your choice restricted by plot? Can a level 21 character have 3 of them unlocked?

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do this, Peter.

I can't comment on the nature of specializations or how/when you get them. Each specialization would be a single talent tree of regular size.

[Peter Thomas]

Arttis wrote...

Great job dude.
Will there be any passive abilites used outside of combat to increase speed that is not a spell?
Will there be a spell to increase speed outside of combat.
When I say speed I mean movement.

I can't comment on specific abilities.

[Peter Thomas]

Vaeliorin wrote...

Since warriors are apparently unable to equip bows, will they have some other means of ranged combat?  Obviously not skills (  ), but it was often nice in DA to open up on enemies with ranged attacks in order to weaken them before they reached you.  If you have warriors in your party, are you now forced to have them stand back and watch while the mages/rogues open up with the ranged attacks?

No Warriors don't really have ranged attacks. They have a number of ways to close with the enemy, and a number of ways to push enemies away, but their specialty is melee combat.

[Peter Thomas]

Faz432 wrote...

Of what you can tell us -

What is your favorite feature/part of the game currently?

Hm... not sure how much I can say. I'm a systems guy, so I kinda like the web of abilities and their interactions.

What feature/part are you most excited about between now and release?

The potential of the deathblow system is pretty neat.

[Peter Thomas]

0rz0 wrote...

- Will there be more balance between specialised and generalist approaches? For example you gave that example of a mage putting everything into magic, but then staying weak in every other area. In origins it was kinda similar, but the huge spellpower enabled the mage to neutralise/obliterate everything, before it coul even come near, effectively negating most drawbacks of such a build. Same for warriors and rogues, who needs defense when you got 50+ armor. And who needs armor when nothing can hit you (ok, I'm exagerationg a bit, but I hope I made the point clear).

In DAO most combat math worked on a linear scale. 5 Armor would negate 5 damage. Similarly with Attack and Defense. This led to a lot of problems in the higher levels where someone who had neglected the stat would get butchered, and someone who specialized would be invulnerable. Combat math now works on percentages with diminishing returns. Even if you have the most armor possible, some will still get through. Even the best defense has a small chance of getting hit, etc. Every class can focus on offense at the expense of defense, but it's part of my job to punish you for that.

- And in relation to that, will smaller bonuses in the secondary stats be more usefull? Using the same mage example you gave, if I put 2 points into cunning, will that make me actually slightly harder to hit or will it just be a slightly bigger number in the stat window (like in origins at higher levels, it didnt really matter if my mage had 50 or 60 defense, both were negligible).

Some of the bonuses are percentages (like magic resistance). Things like Attack and Defense have formulae and arcance math going onbehind the scenes. The higher your attribute, the higher the stat percentage (with diminishing returns). When the stat is low, you still have a value, but if you neglect it the entire game, you'll need to invest a number of points before you start seeing a significant benefit.

- Will stats still serve as alternatives to skills (i.e. with high cunning you didn't need to invest into persuasion/lockpick skills and abilities at all).

I can't comment on skills.

- How will trap detecting/disarming work, if you can tell us something about that?

I can't comment on that right now.

[Peter Thomas]

Artoz96 wrote...

Hello Peter,

Can you answer a few question about magic system?

1. Will we have such spells like illusions? For example spell that makes copies of the spell caster depending on his magic power and giving the chance that enemy will miss mage and attack his copy?

2. What about summon magic? In DAO we had only 1 summon spell and it was useless.

3. Will we have chance base talents? For example if I hit enemy with lighting bolt it is 3/6/9% chance to restore 25% of mana.

4. Will we have one hit spells, I mean that, for example, warrior berserk had skill to hit an enemy with a strike that deals damage in proportion to the amount of all his stamina?

5. What about defence spells will it be like in DAO (they simply added defence points) or it will work some other way? For example like stoneskinn or protection from weapon in BG/NWN?

Thanks!

I can't comment on the nature of specific abilities. However I can say that abilities that add to your stats and capabilities will add in a way that stays relevant throughout the progression of the game, without requiring an upgrade.

[Peter Thomas]

WidowMaker9394 wrote...

Are mages limited to staffs or can they use swords? If they are limited to staffs, do they have staff-swords like the one Hawke used in the trailer or are they armed with lame treesticks?

Mages are limited to using staffs. The style of the staff is an art direction question.

[Peter Thomas]

AbounI wrote...

Are the character sheets definitly defined?I think about the skills and talents pages.

if yes, can we get them as exemple?It will allow us to understand the new mecanisms of the character building, with the requirements and talent trees.The best would be a kind of trailer like a character creation, :innocent:

It will worth more than thousand words

I've seen screenshots from PAX that showed the talent trees, but I don't know that we've released anything officially.

[Peter Thomas]

Siven80 wrote...

Will we still have a secondary weapon slot that we can switch to?

Example in DAO Warrior has a 2handed wepaon in slot A and a xbow in slot B for times he wants to plink away at enemies instead, even though he doesnt have talent piints in archery.

That's a GUI issue.

[Peter Thomas]

Systemlord Baal wrote...

1. Will Mages have some kind of advantage in combat if they focus on a particular part of their magic? Like a pure Elemental mage has an advantage over a "mix"-skilled mage?

A Mage focused in a particular tree will be able to get the highest level abilities and upgrades in that tree, making the abilties more powerful. There are additional benefits in some cases for reaching the end of a tree.

2. Will there be more variety in terms of robes? (looks)

That's an art direction question.

3. Are the spells you choose to skill gonna have an effect on conversations? (Like when Bethany deals with the Darkspawn and if you hadn't skilled Fireball or something, this wouldn't happen?)

That's a plot/story related question.

4. Do you plan on having capes in DA2? (Not really gameplay related, but I thought I could try^^)

That's an art direction question.

5. Will the Mage have a Staff ability tree to increase his effectiveness with that weapon?

No, the Mage will have plenty of spells, most of which use the staff in some way.

6. Do the mage finishing moves depend on skills? (You don't have spell X skilled so you can't use finishing move Y)

Finishing moves/deathblows are based on the ability used. The one in the PAX demo was the deathblow of a very specific ability.

[Peter Thomas]

ralphfromdk wrote...

Will we be able to make a "Hybrid" or what ever you might want to call it, like the Hawke from the trailer for example, melee 2hander, with some magic attacks, or are those maybe from equipment..?

i'm asking because i would really really like to make a character like Trailer Hawke xD

The trailer Hawke was a Mage wielding a staff. That is one of the concept staffs, but I can't say for certain if that exact model will end up in the final game. that's an art direction issue. A Mage in melee will use his staff in melee attacks instead of shooting projectiles.

[Peter Thomas]

TMZuk wrote...

You mean... a swing with a twohander hits more opponents?

Yes. Currently the default attacks hit everything in a 120 degree arc in front of the character out to a certain distance (which may or may not be upgradable).

[Peter Thomas]

jhawke wrote...

Peter, thank you very much for taking the time to answer all of our questions. I'm sure I can speak for all of us here in saying that we really appreciate what you are doing.

I had a few more questions, if you don't mind.

1. I know that you can't comment on the specializations yet, but whether or not there still will be something called Arcane Warrior, will it be possible in DA2 to build a true "Battle Mage" or "Warrior Mage?"

That is, a mage who can wear heavy armor like warriors, can learn warrior and/or rogue skills, can use melee weapons other than staffs ( like swords ) and can learn weapon talents for that weapon.

IOW, will I be able to create a mage who can wear heavy armor, wield Sword and Shield with S+S weapon talents, and fight like a warrior. Or, a mage who can DW like a rogue?

Without getting into specifics, could you at least tell us if it will be "possible" to do the above?

Unfortunately most of it will not (which I've explained in other responses). ... But at least one thing should be.

2.  Also, will Mages get staff finishing moves if they use their staffs ( or staff/swords ) in melee?  How about spell finishing moves?

The scope of the deathblow system has not been determined yet, but deathblows trigger off of basic attacks and abilities and we intend them to be spread across all classes.

[Peter Thomas]

Chairon de Celeste wrote...

!) gda changes easily break each other easilly in da o -
that can be avoided to some extent if they get an extra folder
within the override directory structure. In some cases though
modifiacations must be merged into a single gda file alteration
to circumvent being able to just activate one of either modifications.
An entry to a modder faq wich explains the rules and priorities
of the engine, what works what fails, in wich folders it expets
a file to be, would be great here:

This is a tools question which I can't comment on.

2) Is adding keyboard inport support as an alternate to
the conversation wheel still work in flux or not, please?

This is a UI question.

[Peter Thomas]

Lyssistr wrote...

 Many thanks for your reply, one thing however, I feel that point 1. is somewhat "dodged". Micromanaging makes fights always easier anyhow, when the choice is available.

However, it is clear that some games cannot be completed without micromanagement. Sure this depends on the player skill etc but I can't imagine e.g. a couple of fights in BG/BG II to be completed without micromanagement, even on easy. Sure if you tune things to the hardest difficulty mode, micromanagement becomes more useful but 
this doesn't necessarily mean that battles are designed around micromanaged parties.

So my question is more about your design philosophy, when designing combat and how it is tuned around "hard fights", did you do that with a micromanaged party in mind or rather with aRPG combat in mind? Or to put it more directly is this a RTWP game, where the "WP" part is a necessity? 

Individual fights are implemented by designers whose levels they reside in. That is more a plot/implementation issue. What I deal with are the underlying combat mechanics. In that respect, at lower difficulties you shouldn't have to pause or micromanage to be able to survive a fight. End bosses shouldn't be easy, but should be survivable. Again, though, that would depend on exact implementations, which I can't discuss. As difficulty increases, the need to more optimally use your resources will increase as well. This is where you'd have to more closely manage your party. On the PC you can use the space bar to pause and look around the battlefield and issue orders. On console you pause and do similar with the radial menu. The goal for the system at least is that the higher difficulty levels will require you to use the capabilities of your entire party, not just your player character, to succeed. We haven't balanced everything yet, though.

[Peter Thomas]

BlackVader wrote...

Awesome thread! Thank you, Peter!

The number of specializations per class is not final, I guess...?
Will specializations add a complete 10-talent-tree (same size as the combat styles) or less?
Can we still take more than one specialization?

Can you share any current plans on maximum character level?

I can't talk about specializations or XP right now.

Does the damage of a mage's staff impact the power of his spells directly or does it have a seperate stat (magic/spellpower) to determine the effect of spells again?

The damage a character does in his basic attacks are dependant on his weapon and his primary attribute. Damage for virtually all abilities is based (not necessarily equal to) that base damage number. As you level and get better equipment, the power of your abilities will increase as well. Their descriptions/tooltips will tell you how much damage they do, based on your current stats and equipment.

[Peter Thomas]

The Hardest Thing In The World wrote...

Will items be tiered? I find this very annoying. On one play through, I specifically waited until I'm level 18 before I return to Ostagar. To my disappointment, I still got a level 5 Maric's sword.

Items are still being worked on. Certain items have a set power, whereas other scale depending on what level your character is when they are created. Properties scale with the power level of the item as well.

[Peter Thomas]

In Exile wrote...

Are we allowed to disable tactics and have the entire party user controled on the PC? 

I know improving tactics has been a focus for the Bioware team, but I personally love to micromanage my party and would like to have the opportunity to fully determine all of their actions with no imput from the AI.

I don't know if the AI can be completely disabled in that way.

[Peter Thomas]

AbounI wrote...

Will we keep the right to have two sets of equiped weapons?I mean, IE, a warrior can have in set 1 a sword and a shield, and in the second set, a bow.There was an option to easily change between set 1 or set 2 during the fights.
Hope we will not loose that.

This is a UI related question.

[Peter Thomas]

SteveGarbage wrote...

Thanks a ton for doing this.

I haven't seen these questions asked so I'll give them a try:
1. How is travel handled in DA2? Is it the same type of world map system like in Origins or will there be something new?
2. How does the framed narrative work in terms of tackling major questlines? In Origins, once you cleared Lothering you could choose any one of the four or Denerim. In DA2 will it be similar in that you get to a certain point and are able to choose which part of Hawke's story you want to hear Varric and Cassandra talk about and, by extension, play?

These are plot/story related questions that I can't comment on.

3. Will runes and enchanting be back in a similar form or will weapon and armor modifications be handled in a new way?

The rune system has not been finalized yet, but is intended for all weapons and chest armor.

[Peter Thomas]

Geirahod wrote...

Can we disable the autoattack option playing on a pc if we want to?

Thank you ^^.

I don't know if it will be released like that or not.

[Peter Thomas]

Xewaka wrote...

You mentioned about six "talent trees". In the case of the rogue and warrior, two of these are combat styles. Are the other trees also combat oriented (e.g. maneuvering, armor proficiencies, etc) or do we get "utility" talent trees (such as thievery - pickpocket, lockiping- on rogues or metalsmithing on warriors)?

All the talent trees are abilities that have some bearing on combat.

[Peter Thomas]

jhawke wrote...

1. Will we be able to customize our weapons and armor, both their appearance and their attributes?

Will weapon and armor also be able to "level up" with the character the more we use them?

This way, instead of dropping one weapon or armor for a more powerful one, we can stick with a certain weapon or armor we like. The more we use it, the more powerful it will become. Also, we will be able to customize its appearance ( like color ) and its attributes by taking it to a weapon's smith, for example.

Will anything like that be implemented in DA2?

thanks.

Like DAO, individual items will not have major appearance changes and will not change their stats over the course of the game. The exception is slotting runes into certain types of equipment, giving them those extra properties.

[Peter Thomas]

Gorgophone wrote...

If rogues still gain a bonus to damage for backstabbing, will their AI tell them to flank enemies on their own? In Origins we had to manually place rogues behind enemies most of the time.

Thanks for answering so many questions!

Being behind an enemy is beneficial, but not necessary for Rogue critical hits. The Rogue also has abilities to ensure his appropriate orientation with the enemy. As to if the AI system itself can be given movement commands to get behind a target, I can't say. That system has not been finalized yet.