885 réponses à ce sujet

[Peter Thomas]

lv12medic wrote...

I noticed this a lot when using archery in DA:O that groups of enemies would not react when attacked from a distance, only the enemy that was shot (and maybe one buddy) would react and initiate combat while the rest stood there watching the paint dry. Will DA2's enemies react more cohesively?

The player's attack range is within the enemy perception range, so they should react. Things like that in DA2 would be bugs.

[Peter Thomas]

Morroian wrote...

Will we be able to queue combat commands like Kotor in addition to having the tactics system? I would guess not based on the feedback I've heard.

I believe our queue is limited to the next action, then AI takes over.

[lunarknightmage]

thanks Peter for all of your info. it's much appreciated.



1. You've mentioned that the classes will be restricted to their own skills and weapon talents.



Are there plans for sub-classes or "hybrid classes" ( similar to what's done in Mass Effect ), that would allow players to access the skills and talents of the 2 hybrid classes? Like Warrior+Mage, Rogue+Mage, Warrior+Rogue.



2. Since Mages can only use staffs, and staffs have no weapon talents, will mages ever be able to improve their staff melee fighting skills, or learn new staff melee moves? Or will they be stuck with just basic staff melee attacks?



3. Finally, you also mentioned that it would be possible to build a mage that is oriented for close range combat. Does that mean through spells? Or, does that mean it is somehow possible for mages to be able to use other weapons and learn other weapon talents ( such as through a spec )?



thanks again.

[Ortaya Alevli]

Thanks for the answer. Now I'll express my gratitude with another question. hehe

Are there any plans pertaining to more emphasis on mundane tasks? To elaborate, will players be presented with options other than straight-up combat when dealing with certain situations? An example would be poisoning off-duty guards in City Elf origin story, and another stealing a key from Tilver using a combination of non-combat talents such as persuasion and pickpocketing.

[Peter Thomas]

Zzzleepy83 wrote...

Will specializations have more of an impact on your character's skillset and play style in DA2 than in DA:O? And if so, how come? Was it to make classes feel even more diverse?

Specializations are designed to expand on and in some ways focus the character's role in the party. It can also provide additional utility skills if you choose to only dabble in it. Ideally the ones you choose would complement your playstyle, but some can encourage you to go in a new direction with an interesting idea or ability. As the highest level abilities in DA2, they are supposed to be very impactful, though in their specific ways.

[Peter Thomas]

Lord Gremlin wrote...

You're awesome, Peter. Tell Gaider we love you more than him)))

Another question... I really liked that in DAO you could change combat difficulty anytime and there were no trophies/achievements tied to difficulty, so you could create best possible experience for yourself. Are you going to keep this great approach to difficulty in DA2?

There is debate over this that hasn't been resolved yet.

[Peter Thomas]

Arrtis wrote...

Will unlocking specializations give bonus stats?

This hasn't been locked down yet.

[Kileyan]

Thank you for responses dev guy Peter, I'm sold on Dragon Age II.

[Peter Thomas]

Altima Darkspells wrote...

1. Will combat between the systems (specifically, the PC and consoles) be drastically different in terms of enemies? For example, the consoles in DAO, on occasion, had fewer enemies on screen at a time and had certain battles in 'waves' instead of all at once. In other words, are you specifically building combat encounters for two different interfaces or focusing on the one with the most limitations?

On DAO there were 2 separate builds because of the differences between consoles and PC (engine and tools, etc). In DA2 it's the exact same game.

2. Inventory wise, will we have the same amount of 'slots' as in DAO?

This is a GUI related question.

Will items directly related to combat be more or less important than in DAO?

Equipment will be very important since having gear appropriate to your level factors heavily into combat calculations.

Will it be practical for characters to focus on more than one 'type' of weapon style, or will our characters--assuming they have a choice--be married to a particular type of weapons?

It all depends on what role you want the character to play in the party. The highest level talents and upgrades within a given tree will require more investment, though. You can invest all your points in the general trees if you want and still have a viable character, you just lose out on the weapon specific special attacks and abilities.

Will the rune system be returning, and if so, how will it be expanded?

The scope of the rune system hasn't been finalized yet.

3. Is the combat team aiming to make combat harder or easier than DAO? DAA was especially easy, as well. There's even a YouTube video of someone taking down the end boss on Nightmare in four seconds.

Part of the issue with Awakening was the way creatures scaled with levels, as well as how some of the combat stats and calculations were done in DAO. We've adjusted the systems to make them play more nicely at all level ranges. In regards to making it harder or easier, I guess the answer would be easy at low difficulties (if you prefer story), and harder at high difficulties (if you prefer really challenging gameplay).

4. Assuming nothing gets cut, what is your approximate estimate to how complete the game is, what with seven months to go?

Ah, I'd get in trouble if I said anything. Internal milestones, etc...

5. Are there non-humanoid companions a la Dog and Shale? If so, these companions were quickly overshadowed by their dwarven, elven, and human comrades, in terms of combat effectiveness. How will you prevent them from occuring once more?

I can't comment on the status of followers, but combat effectiveness would be balanced in the same way we're balancing it for all the current classes. One thing I think harmed them was a reliance on non-standard equipment types.

6. Does your team play more as Garret or Marian?

Ah... er... well, I can't speak for the rest of the team, but I always play as LadyHawke. She's just so much nicer to look at...

[Peter Thomas]

relhart wrote...

Is the enemy AI being given any hard counters to PC mages (in the form of either abilities or resists)? In DAO mages could run around fairly unmolested aoeing at will, and the AI didn't seem to have any tailored way to oppose them.

Hard counters tend to be... er... hard. We could make a bunch of 100% magic resist enemies, but that would completely destroy a party of mages, while doing little or nothing to anyone else. We prefer to have balanced encounters, as well as balancing the classes so that no individual class overshadows all the others like in DAO.

That being said, we are trying to make the resistances and aptitudes of different enemy types more distinct, to give viable strategies against certain groups.

[Dave of Canada]

Not sure if this was a bug but on my rogue whenever I stealthed around solo, enemies would often attack my team (they spawn and walk a dozen miles away to attack my team in the order room whenever my stealthed Warden approached).

Do you have any plans to fix this behavior and allow rogues to stealth around without worrying about their team?

Modifié par Dave of Canada, 08 septembre 2010 - 05:26 .

[Peter Thomas]

Stefanocrpg_rev91 wrote...

I have some questions related to the combat system and gameplay and about the rpg elements.

- There will be enemies autoleveling? If yes, how is it handled? I'd prefer to have, for example, a larger number of enemies to fight due to my level instead of having the same powered or weakened.

Enemies will autolevel, but that majority will be around your level. Higher ranks will be higher levels. There are also area restrictions, so an individual area could put them above or below you.

- Do you still gain xp by using your non-combat related abilities like picklocking or disarming some traps? And I'm certainly not the kind of guy who the game to be "masseffectized", but I like very much how experience points were handled in ME2, not based on how many mobs you killed during the missions but just focused on the completion of the mission itself.

The exact nature of the XP system isn't finalized. In general, you get XP from combat encounters and plot events. Skill use has not been determined yet.

- Will the game have stat-check (based not only on persuasion/intimidation, but on the char's abilities, class, sex, and even on his value of strenght, dexterity...) during dialogues or other situations?

This is a story/plot question.

[Peter Thomas]

Lord Gremlin wrote...

Ah, yes, important question. After Golems of Amgarrok DLC i just must ask: did you include endless respawn anywhere in DA2? And by endless I mean situations when you stay in one place and enemies will keep coming forever, no matter how many you will kill.

This is a story/plot related question.

[HTTP 404]

will there be crossbows?



will two handed weapons include new types of weapons like Spears, Halbreds?

[silentassassin264]

Will you still have physical and mental resistance checks? And will the computer be insane with theirs again? I never got to overcome those pesky mages with Holy smite.



And thanks for doing this.

[Arrtis]

Will enemies respawn after you leave an area for a time?

Like in the dalish forest some enemies respawn after you leave and reenter the area.

[tmp7704]

Peter Thomas wrote...

The Rogue weapon styles will be the highest DPS against a single target. A Fireball or similar might do more total damage, but it's spread out over a lot of people.

This would mean that damage-oriented mage can only in best case match damage output of rogue who simply shoots targets one by one with a bow. The best case meaning, each of mage's spells manages to hit at least X targets and actual presence of enough targets in the fights in the first place. In addition, the target-by-target approach provided by the rogue drops the damage output of enemies faster, because the individual enemies are taken out sooner.

With this in mind, what advantage can damage-oriented mage offer for the player to make themselves as viable damage source as bow-focused rogue?

edit: additional factor -- aoe damage being reliant on having enough targets to hit also drops over time as fight goes on and enemies are eliminated. Single-target damage remains more or less steady throughout the fight from first enemy all way to the last.

Modifié par tmp7704, 08 septembre 2010 - 05:55 .

[Knight Templar_]

Will areas have respawning creatures/whatever to fight? As in, if I leave the area and then come back, will it still be clear of creatures/people?

Further explination: After clearing an area in the Deep Roads in DA:O, that area would be clear for the rest of the game. Will that be the case?

Modifié par Knight Templar , 08 septembre 2010 - 05:48 .

[JakePT]

On the dual-wielding warrior thing, that's who I was in Origins, and I really dug it. With DA2, is it conceivable that I could build a Rogue that functions in a similar way. i.e. Heavy focus on close quarters combat, with reasonable defense so you can get right in there and hack away?

[Sylvius the Mad]

Peter Thomas wrote...

Two-handed weapons, weapon and shield, dual weapons and archery each have their own weapon style tree. Staff doesn't because it's the only weapon available to the Mage.

Wait, what?  Mages can't use non-staff weapons?

Why not?  That's a terrible restriction.

Peter Thomas wrote...

filetemo wrote...

has any combat rule been dramatically changed from DAO to DA2?

There
have been a lot of major under the hood changes. Pretty much the entire
combat system has been redone in various ways.

Will you let us see it, this time?  "Under the hood" doesn't have to mean "secret".

As your increase your character's damage bonuses, and give them
stronger equipment, the strength of your abilities will increase as
well. What attribute factors in to that is based on your class.
Currently it's Warrior = Strength, Rogue = Dexterity, Mage = Magic.

Does this mean it's no longer possible to build a viable dex-build Warrior or Strength-build Rogue?

Peter Thomas wrote...

Currently friendly fire is only active on Nightmare difficulty.

I really hope you change that.  Friendly fire is a must in any game with AoE attacks.

Peter Thomas wrote...

We decided to separate weapon
styles based on that and other reasons (like budget) given at various
times. This is an explanation, critiques should be in a different
thread.

DAO Rogues could use 2H swords, even though they couldn't learn any 2H weapon talents.  Is it still true in DA2 that characters can equip weapons (or combinations of weapons) even if they weren't intended for that class?

Peter Thomas wrote...

If an enemy tries to hit you and you run too far away before it connects, it will miss.

That's new.  That's an action mechanic.

[Peter Thomas]

Blastback wrote...
for taking the time to awnser all of us. Just one more from me.  For now.

What other reasons besides making classes more distinct was
there for taking archery and duel wielding from warriors?
Can you tell some of us are a little disapointed/obsessed with this?

Yes.

















Heh...

What other reasons besides making classes more distinct was
there for taking archery and duel wielding from warriors?

Well, I'm not sure how much more I can tell you. Time and money are big factors. We don't have unlimited people or resources. There is also the issue of conceptual and gameplay distinction. How do people think of the differences between Rogues and Warriors in DAO and where do we want those classes to be. Even the words "Rogue" and "Warrior" end up in debates. But they're pretty much RPG staples.

In terms of gameplay difference, how much was there between a Warrior and a Rogue using the same style? If you use them in the same way, why not have it be the same class? We decided to go the other way and enforce separation between them to give them an actual gameplay difference in feel and purpose. In the end, everyone in DA2 is a fighter (you can't avoid every fight in the game), but the way in which they fight differs with class: Strength, Dexterity, and Magic. To further distinguish them, we divided them by ranges of operation. Warriors are close-range. Mages are long-range. Rogues are a hybrid that can switch between the two. The downside of their versitility is that most of their abilities are geared towards single target, whereas the Warrior and Mage affect areas. Partly to compensate, against a single guy, a Rogue owns.

In terms of style Dual Weapon and Archery seemed the most suited towards precise, single target damage. Arrows rarely hit multiple people at once (though there is an ability for that!). An argument was made for Dual Weapons affecting areas, but really that would be due to speed, which is a Rogue trait anyway. And it's kinda more satifying to sweep a single huge sword through a row of guys and see them explode than kill them with (comparative) pinpricks.

The classes have further distinguishing characteristics in the specifics of their abilities, but this is what relates to the weapon styles.

This is some of our reasoning, and arguments were made both ways. At this point, it's too late to change. I'm giving this as a partial explanation, to let you see some of our reasoning, not as an invitation to a debate.

Modifié par Peter Thomas, 12 septembre 2010 - 04:17 .

[Arrtis]

Will Willpower affect more than it currently does?

Which at the moment stamina/mana and mental resistance.

[tmp7704]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

DAO Rogues could use 2H swords, even though they couldn't learn any 2H weapon talents.  Is it still true in DA2 that characters can equip weapons (or combinations of weapons) even if they weren't intended for that class?

No, it was said in this thread that characters can only equip weapons for which they have combat style. I.e. only mages can use staves, only warriors can equip 2h weapons and shield, and only rogues can equip bows. Similar restrictions are applied to weapons assigned to dual-wielding and weapon+shield styles.

[Peter Thomas]

DiosMios wrote...

Will there be any way to improve mages' melee staff attacks?

Will mages using weapons have to sheathe their weapons in order to use most -if not all- spells?

Equipping a better staff will improve your basic attacks, both melee and ranged. All attacks by the staff (at any range) are the damage type of the staff, so any bonus to that damage type will work at both ranges. A Fire staff deals Fire damage, so any Fire damage bonus applies to both.

All ability animations assume the character has their weapon in their hand. When combat starts or they use a combat ability they should draw their weapon.

[Peter Thomas]

Arrtis wrote...

Will you allow the player to save on nightmare difficulty?
I think it would make it more of a nightmare if you could not save.

RPGs are supposed to be long. Having to do that in one sitting would be nightmarish.


Hey, wait a minute...