375 réponses à ce sujet

[Peter Thomas]

Sylvius the Mad wrote...

Peter Thomas wrote...

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

That's nice and vague.

Is it still possible to build a character who eschews combat (a Rogue could do this up to about level 12 in DAO)?

That depends on what you mean by that. Combat is unavoidable in the game, as a party. If you mean create a Rogue who has no damage dealing abilities and never attacks? Technically yes, it's possible to make a strictly support Rogue, but his useful abilities would be mainly CC based.

[Peter Thomas]

In Exile wrote...

So tactics are hardcoded? Does this mean that to optmize the party, we need to navigate the tactic screen? Or is this a question outside the scope of your particular design task?

The tactics table should be able to be manually cleared, but base AI behaviour like autoattack is probably beyond the scope of that.

[Peter Thomas]

jonluke93 wrote...

I'll try again will your character be able to block more than they did in Origins?

I answered your previous question. I answer the thread in order and it takes time. Patience.

[Peter Thomas]

andar91 wrote...

Could you explain how you and the other designers approached the system of implementing abilities in terms of avoiding repetition? What is the criteria when deciding what a particular ability will do? I'm particularly interested in spells. I realize you can't use specifics, but you can make up a Nug Bomb spell or Beard Attack spell or something for examples if you want. I'm just curious as to just how unique each ability is. Will each ability make you go..."Wow! That was _________ that he/she just cast!"

For the Mage it started with examining the DAO spell list and seeing which abilities were copies of each other or too similar. Which ones were popular factored in as well. Also which ones were unbalanced and harmed gameplay. After determining what kind of scope we wanted, the divisions of which class is good at what, and with a list of abilities we wanted to carry over, create logical divisions within the class, determine themes within them, and flesh out the trees. Each ability should try to provide something new and unique to the character, either a new capability, or a new way of doing something they already could. Each surviving ability then had to be adjusted to fit within the overall framework of the class, with modifications to power level etc, as well as coolness/utility factors. Not every ability will wow you, but each should have the potential to be very useful generally or critical to a specific build.

Those were the design goals/process anyway. We'll see if we succeeded.

There was a lot of discussion, debate, reviews, etc throughout this process, of course.

[Peter Thomas]

DarkLord_PT wrote...

First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.
Now that's done, my question relates to you mentioning that a character can only equip a weapon associated with their class.
In DA:O, your combat style of Sword and Shield or Dual Weapon was dictated depending on what you'd have in your off-hand: another sword/axe/mace or a shield. Yet, there was no restriction to your character of picking up the longsword no matter if your class was a Rogue or a Warrior.
Is it reasonable to understand that a rogue would now be stuck with a set of daggers (to keep the association with DA:O system) and be completely forbidden of using a longsword?
Or are the longswords flagged as equippable to both classes?
I ask this because I'm finding it confusing why a Rogue wouldn't be able to use a sword that a warrior with a shield could.
I'd understand if a longsword-like weapon could only be used on the main-hand, tho.

Again, thank you for your time.

A Rogue will only be able to equip weapons that can specifically be used by the Dual Weapon style (or Archery, of course). What they look like visually is subject to art direction, but daggers isn't a bad place to start. Small weapons.

The weapons used by the Warrior Weapon and Shield style will have a different representation and be much larger, again subject to art direction.

Combined between the appearance of the items and the nature of the animations of the fighting styles, it will hopefully seem more intuitive why they can't be used in the same way. Hopefully... :/

[Peter Thomas]

Tempest wrote...

Sorry again with 2 questions.  I will try to clarify some more.

1.  Will there be a larger variety or even a chance to have more than 2+ skill choices for our characters and companions?  Alistair, Sten, Oghren, Liliana, and the Warden (Depending on class) needed to put our points into Combat Training to fully utilize their strengths.  Which more or less left the rest of the skills as "fair" at best.  Non really improved the character much, and Morrigan was the Herbalist so....  Sorry, this is not a gameplay/RPG question.

2.  Will there be the same amount or even more banter between party members just like in DA:O?   I just don't want them to be silent with each other like in ME2, that REALLY was bothersome how my team-mates never talked to each other in that game.

Sorry this is a story/plot question.

[Peter Thomas]

HTTP 404 wrote...

do hammers, axes, and swords do different type of damage?

The exact implementation of items has not ben finalized. However, there is no inherent concept of Slashing, Piercing and Bludgeoning damage in DA, if that's the angle you were going for.

[Peter Thomas]

Alodar wrote...

Can the player still centre a Fireball on an individual creature and have the spell effect go off wherever the creature ends up or are can all fireballs be targeted on the ground only?

There ended up being some engine issue that complicated things. Spells that target the ground, only target the ground. So a Fireball will fly to the exact spot you targeted it. You might need to give moving enemies a bit of a lead in that case. OR invest in an upgrade that makes the AoE radius bigger. (for example)

[Peter Thomas]

[quote]TimelordDC wrote...

1. So, there is no fatigue system and no rest system. Have you designed any other feature to add some level of strategic depth to the combat?[/quote]

Individual combats have their depth, but I would call that tactical. Strategic depth would be related to depletable party resources and plot choices.

2. Will the threat system still be present? If yes, will usage of upgraded abilities draw more threat?[/quote]

The threat system is still present, but I can't comment on how individual abilites interact with it.

3. You mentioned that the Impact event is now fired at the beginning of the attack sequence and damage is applied before the animation completes? What happens if the animation is interrupted? Will this be only for 2H weapon-wielders or for all classes?[/quote]

The frontloading of animation events is for player characters only. When an animation is interrupted, no new events fire, but previous ones are already on the stack. If you swing, get 0.0001past when the hit event firing and have the animation interrupted, the hit event will still be processed. If you get hit before the hit event, then the animation will stop and it will never fire.

4. Are you planning to test some of the basic modding capabilities before release? Eg: adding a new class, adding a new item material, etc. The DA:O release (and till date too) has bugs related to these simple tasks. Hence, the question.[/quote]

This is a tools related question.

5. Will there be a similar thread from the tools/UI side prior to release? Or can the modding community at least make a (well thought out, critically edited) wishlist and submit them somewhere?
Or can you have a short beta for some modders to test some basic modding capabilities (related to Q.4)[/quote]

I don't know if anyone will make a thread similar to this. I had to get permission for this one. I'm also not sure how mods view wishlist threads. I don't know anything about beta plans either.

[Peter Thomas]

MasterNickw4t2 wrote...

First of all can you please send me the Alpha / Beta build. So that I may quality test it.

Secondly, most forums I go to are filled with people crying about streamlining games and here DA2 is one of the hot topics.
Will the PC version, as I've understood it so far, be a tweaked version of the current combat system in DAO, or will we have to embrace console gameplay ( X = win)?
Also I still hope DA2 will have a more tactical gameplay, than what I've heard about so far on the consoles.
Every Hands on impression I've seen have been on the consoles, and so far those I regard as knowledgeable have not been too happy about the outcome of combat on consoles. For example check the little bit RPS has
written about DA2.

The game is the same on PC and consoles, but feels different due to the mouse/controller interface. The parts used for the demos were pretty small and chosen for specific reasons. The newness can be a bit overwhelming. I'm not sure they'd be the best examples of how tactical combat can be in DA2.

[Peter Thomas]

AndrahilAdrian wrote...

Given how much Bioware have been promoting that model (inflatable swordstaffs and so forth) I would expect it to be in the final game. Is there any reason why it wouldn't?

It would make sense, but I can't make promises for another department.

[Peter Thomas]

Lotion Soronnar wrote...

Leveling is pretty much the same as Origins.

If it's completely the same, then that's dissapointing. Do attributes still start at 15-ish and end up in the 60+ range? Or have you made the system more logical?

The system is the same, though the number of points you'll get over the course of the game hasn't been determined.

Also, do two-handed swrods and two-handed axes share the same animation set?

Yes, two-handed Warrior weapons all share the same animation set.

[Peter Thomas]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Will Hawke have unique abilities that none of the companions fill?

It's still a work in progress, but it will probably work both ways.

[Peter Thomas]

Vaeliorin wrote...

Peter Thomas wrote...

Illborne wrote...
This is an excellent thread. Thank you, Peter Thomas.

Peter Thomas wrote...
Currently friendly fire is all or nothing, and only on Nightmare difficulty.

Does this mean that AOE effects are more powerful (and/or more common) in DA2?

Because the Warrior does AoE with most attacks, I'd say they're more common. Power is subject to future balancing.

Perhaps I'm reading to much into things here...but am I to understand that Warrior AoE attacks will now be subject to friendly fire (on difficulties where friendly fire exists)?  If this is the case, doesn't it arguably make a party with multiple melee characters a bad idea when playing with friendly fire?

Combat balancing is still ongoing, but if you use too many AoE type abilities around your party members when friendly fire is on, it will go badly without micromanagement.

[Peter Thomas]

_Loc_N_lol_ wrote...

Interesting.

Will there still be the breakdown of cloth/light/medium/heavy/massive and if yes will you make them more distinct and equally useful ? (medium, heavy and massive were very close in requirements in DAO, but medium barely protected more than light, because the scaling of leathers was much more advantageous than the scaling of metals)

Item balance has not been finalized, but we're trying to make different types of armor and weapons distinct in their usefulness and property ranges.

[Peter Thomas]

vania z wrote...

May I ask question about interception? 
As was mentioned, if you do enough damage in one hit, you can knockdown running enemy(to intercept him). But if I could do such damage, it means that in fight almost always everyone will be on the floor. So,when someone is not in fight mode(ie is not swinging his blade) or is doing something else, will my damage be higher? Just to avoid constant knockdowns in regular fights. 

If you're fighting very weak opponents (like at the start of the demos we've given), your attacks will be knocking around enemies all over the place. Another reason for the closing basic attacks is so that this kind of distance change won't interrupt the player's attacks with a move-shuffle-shuffle type action.

In a more reasonable fight against tougher opponents, it will generally be your special abilities that knock people around, unless you've made your character in very specific ways.

Damage is the same regardless of animation state, though there may be abilities to capitalize on certain things.

[Peter Thomas]

Arrtis wrote...

Possible to make a support warrior?

Yes. Probably the most broken support ability we're testing right now is a Warrior one. It will need to be balanced carefully, but would make for very interesting Warrior-heavy parties.

[Peter Thomas]

DarthCaine wrote...

Any info on whether using mods might mess up save games that we intend to import, like create bugs?
(I'm not sure whether this falls under gameplay questions)

This would be a tools related question, kinda.

[Peter Thomas]

Ibaru88 wrote...

And would I like to ask another question?...
"May I? Oh, yes, I think I might."

Will your stats, skills or abilities (other than the diplomacy skill or whatever it's called) affect your dialog options, similar to how you occasionally got a "cunning" or an "intelligence" option in DA:O and if so, will they be more or less frequent?

You may, but you might not like the fact that that's a story/plot related question that I can't answer.

[Peter Thomas]

nightcobra8928 wrote...

compared to origins, what are the slots for equipment? (head/torso/arms/greaves/accessory/belt/etc)

Your character has the same slots as before, minus the arrow/ammunition slot.

[Peter Thomas]

Tamcia wrote...

Thanks a lot for doing this - appreciate it a lot!

Here are some questions I have:

1) Specializations (Templar, Champion, Arcane Warrior, Battle Mage etc) - you mentioned that in the trailer Hawke was a mage with a staff (I swear its a camouflaged 2 handed sword), will the specializations cross over to the other class area of expertise? Clarification (just like goold old HK-47 from KOTOR) - Hawke was making some good melee moves and finished with magic, so will specializing allow lets say a warrior to take some similar skills to a mage/rogue, like Hawke could melee rather well and not wearing cloth armor, while still being a mage at his core?

I can't talk about specializations right now.

1.5) Will I be able to play as Hawke in the trailer - nice mlee moves, fire from my sword/staff and that arm ripping spell - is that just "cinematics" or is it an actual specilization for mage?

Assuming those art resources end up in the final game, and your character has the right stats and abilities, you should be close. Artistic license is taken with cinematics, but the animators have tried to make the melee attack animations interesting.

2) Its probably a plot thing, but can you at least hint, whether we will see anything like "Vigils Keep" in Awakenings - I really enjoyed building it up and would love it to be more complex etc.

This is a story/plot related question.

3) Will companions get more than simple stat boost  for positive relationship - like in Mass Effect 2, you get usable abilities, instead of +12 strength.

Interaction (and consequences of interaction) with followers is a story/plot related question.

[Peter Thomas]

Lotion Soronnar wrote...

Do attributes still start at 15-ish and end up in the 60+ range? Or have you made the system more logical?

Also, do two-handed swords and two-handed axes share the same animation set?

Please don't repost questions. I'm going through the thread in order and will get to it when I have time.

[Peter Thomas]

Suicider_11 wrote...

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

does this mean bows and staff/staves are intended to have runes also? :wizard:

I stand by my previous comment.

[Peter Thomas]

ralphfromdk wrote...
That's one mighty armor wearing, in-your-face melee oriented mage

it doesn't seem to go with what you say about mages being long range AoE types

or would that be a talent tree maybe..? ala arcane warrior... please let it be possible and not just for show, 'casue i would very much like to make a trailer Hawke character :3

A Mage is made for ranged AoE, but does have other abilities and basic melee attacks as well. They won't be as good as another class, but they can still fight at close range. It also depends on how you build your character.

[Peter Thomas]

The Hardest Thing In The World wrote...

Rune enchanting needs to be re-designed completely. Imagine a warrior trying to make a Paragon rune in Awakening.

Will items still be tiered?

The items have not been finalized yet. New items found as the game progresses will be more powerful than older ones, but won't work on the same material tier system as DAO.