148 réponses à ce sujet

[Brockololly]

@EfanOne-



In the combat, was it just the beginning exaggerated part of the demo or did you get to play in the "real" part of the story with Hawke's family and all that? Did you end up pausing and doing more tactical combat or was it so easy that you didn't need to pause?



I'm still underwhelmed with the dialogue system and voiced PC, especially if its simply a rework of ME but with emotion icons or whatever. And the voice actor for Hawke is really make or break too...



Thanks for the impressions though!

[EfanOne]

@Brockololly



I chose to play as male warrior Hawke. You could also choose to be a rogue in the demo, but the mage was still locked.



From start to finish, I didn't pause at all or use any health potions. I simply rushed headlong and bashed the crap out of the darkspawn. Even when ogres came later they didn't give me any trouble. Yes, even during the 'real' part, with Hawke's family and some husband and wife team.



In short, it was damn easy. Keep in mind that I don't know if there was an option to change the difficulty (didn't check); or if the demo had already been set to 'casual'.



I said there was potential for tactics because the guy before me kept switching between characters to cast spells and then melee the darkspawn. Looked more impressive that way, but when I played it didn't seem necessary. Hopefully the finished product will have a ramped up difficulty to make it so.



I absolutely agree that Hawke's voice actor will make or break the game. From the demo he was in no way rubbish (don't know about the female voice, didn't try), but it wasn't too my liking. I'm guessing i'll warm up to him, but for now i'm still wishing he was silent so I could imagine different voices for him for different kinds of Hawke.

[Brockololly]

Yeah, I'm guessing the demo was on easy so people didn't get slaughtered. But still, I just hope the game plays well enough when you pause and play and that the speed of things doesn't sort of inadvertently make the pause and play style unnecessary or obsolete even on higher difficulties.



And yes, the voiced PC is "meh" to me too. Its like even if you pick a sarcastic option or an aggressive option, maybe I wanted Hawke to say it in a less aggressive way while the in game vO Hawke goes raging at someone- with player VO you lose that role playing ability.

[Calla S]

EfanOne wrote...
And not really liking male Hawke's voice for some reason. Personal preference aside, that's another reason i'm missing the old silent conversation system.

Hm, this makes me even more curious than I already was. What'd he sound like? Why do you not like him?

[GulfWarVet]

I didn't get to have a go but didn't like what I saw. egatereated or not I do not like the new game play. Period.



Oh and sort out the Planet of the Darkspawn Apes. The movement is akin to the TV series from 30 years ago and looks horrid. Why all of a sudden have they all gone Bow legged? Sever case of rickets in ferelden lately!! they are supposed to be formed from the racers of Ferelden not Chimps from our future!!



From playing origins through on 2 PS3's and 3 accounts if this is what DA2 is heading for then as the Dragons say "I'm out".



The players I watched where mashing the attack button something cronic, betahnay was arcane bolting 3 times a second, wheres the cooldown gone??



Sorry Bioware but I can't see how you went from origins to this and still kept the Dragon Age name.



i suggest you release a demo early and get feedback from the fans as I think you may be in for a rough time on release.



Evolution not revolution!!

[EfanOne]

@Calla S



Like I said, his VO wasn't bad. The simple and somewhat childish answer would be that he didn't sound as bad-ass as I thought he would be



He sounds very...pleasant. Like even when I chose an 'aggressive' response he would sound more like an indignant templar than an angered warrior. I guess that doesn't make much sense, but it is partly due to personal preference and my imagination; something the old conversation system complemented.



Like Brockolly said, with player VO you lose that role playing ability. With the old conversation system, if you wanted to be harsh there was say, 'cruel' harsh and 'sarcastic' harsh. With the Mass Effect style radial conversation system there seems to be only the three tones, 'good', 'funny', and 'bad'. There's less diversity there. Want Hawke to be harsh? Choose the 'bad' tone and however the VO performs it, that's what you get.



I read in a PC Gamer interview that with DA2 the creators were going for a more streamlined cinematic approach. I mean yeah, but DA was special in its own way. Why try to emulate Mass Effect?



I loved Mass Effect (super-stoked to play the 2nd one on ps3!), and in the end, I think most people will love DA2, me included. It's just that Bioware got my hopes up with DA (big fan of old school wrpgs like BG and Icewind Dale), only for DA2 to be something almost completely different.



When DA2 comes out, I'll most probably play the hell out of it. But deep down, I'll be missing the old DA, and all the broken expectations



Haha...and yes, playing demo yourself really does hit it home, rather than reading interviews or previews of it

[Calla S]

Thank you for the response! That actually sounds... intriguing, considering the different names that have come about in discussions on different potential voice actors. And, as far as I'm concerned, a less badass option might very well be just what I wanted, haha.

I'm so glad to hear that, while you have reservations about the changes they've made, you know that you'll still play it and still enjoy it. That's great to hear. 

[EfanOne]

@GulfWarVet



I'm pretty sure Bethany's spells had a cooldown period. The arcane bolts 3 times a second? I think that was her normal 'wand' attack.



And the darkspawn did move normally....until they got beaten and their 'backing off scared' animation was sort of like chimps. It's not as bad as you make it out to be, though.

[Apollo Starflare]

Okay I'll belatedly leave my thoughts on the demo here. I went on the Friday, but have been moving house this weekend so have only just gotten a chance to type this up! Played the demo twice, and had a lot of fun with it. Note: I havn't read through the thread as it's quite late, so sorry for any repetition here. Note2: All this was on the 360 version as that was the only version available, this would seem to be partly due to what I speculate was a last minute inclusion of DA2 to Eurogamer (it wasn't even listed in the booklet or on the map like everything else and was tucked away).

• The Mage class was selectable however unbelievably both times I went I ended up on the one machine which didn't have the class unlocked. Very annoying!
• Opinion on Mages from using Bethany: Very positive. I've recently finished a Mage playthrough on Origins and so the differences (and improvements) were easy to notice. To me the Mage felt like it benefited most from the combat upgrades (from what I have tried so far) with even standard ranged attacks being a lot of fun, as the mage runs through a series of animations launching projectiles at the Darkspawn. The skills were responsive and great fun to unleash, although Mind Blast seemed a little unweildy. The best bit? Using melee attacks. The animations even at this early stage look great, and I can already see why they chose a Mage Hawke for the video (the mage will again run through a series of animations ending in the flame burst attack seen in the trailer), it felt very satisfying, and more importantly: not overpowered! I mainly used it on archers after closing and stunning them. Ninja edit: The mage finisher I saw (twice) was awesome, crushing an Ogre into a ball just never gets old.
• I played first as a two handed warrior (a popular choice from what I could see, although that just means people were picking the Warrior class, s+s wasn't available to Hawke) and then a rogue. While one playthrough with each is hardly enough to form a definite opinion I greatly preferred my time with the rogue.
• 2-handed Warrior impressions: Wasn't a huge fan to be honest, but maybe it's just my playstyle. The animations do feel a bit too fast and not weighty enough, despite the rogue being faster I actually felt a bit more 'button mashy' with this class. This would be something that would reduce with time though, and the demo isn't really designed for tactical fights beyond to some extent the Ogre fight (they are obviously showcasing other things at this time).
• Sword and shield impressions: Only got to try this briefly with Aveline but I liked what I saw. The switch to a stance feels more substantial and the animations were satisfying. Can't say much more than that.
• Warrior talents: I noticed there the 'Battlemaster' tree, hadn't seen that mentioned around here before? Probably just missed it, but thought I'd mention anyway. It gave me an ability which stuns enemies.
• Rogue impressions: Great fun. It is fast, faster than Origins by some way. However it isn't all about jumping and combo's, it is undeniably still Origins gameplay under the hood, just... let loose. People guessed correctly when they speculated the reported 'teleport' move was a re-imagined Flicker. It's just that, and works well. The rogue had more abilties on offer than the warrior, much like often seemed to be the case in DAO. The bombs worked just like any DAO bomb, and the animations for the others were all impression, although the ability that seemed to be the DA2 version of below the belt seemed to get lost in the confusion of battle when I used it and I never really noticed the effect it had (again, this probably was due to the conditions more than anything). Lastly the jumping ability (which lets you backflip away from/over enemies was great fun, I wasn't hopping around like a demented wallaby, rather it fit in nicely with the rogue style of retreating when in over your head or getting in behind enemies to stick a knife in their back.
• Rogue talent trees: I noticed subterfuge, debilitation and dual weilding with others locked. Rather self explanatory really.
• A note on talent trees and the attributes screen: I like the new trees screen, however whether it was the fact I was rushed or the menu system it felt a bit fiddly selecting the skill I wanted to look at. The attributes screen is only noteworthy in that it now seems to list your attack and damage ratings, I think it updates any changes as you add points but can't fully remember. In general the level up screen (or 'character' as it's now known as) was much better presented than in Origins though (360).
• The plot: Nothing really new, although some dialogue cleared up why they go to Gwaren, the Horde has blocked off the road north and so they go through the Wilds. There is a fair bit you can ask Flemeth, and it suggested to me that she was aware the Warden would come to confront her (something about an expected meeting or something) she also mentioned the Dalish Keeper's name (Marathari) and after confirming with the Wiki this is indeed the same Keeper as the Dalish Warden's clan, so looks like we'll be seeing them again (I expect this has already been noticed but what the hay!)  Oh and it does sound like Hawke and Carver could have been at Ostagar (RE: "We've been running since Ostagar!") however I couldn't quite tell, and it could easily just mean the family has been running since then, although that wouldn't seem to jive with the timeline as Lothering burnt sometime after Ostagar *shrugs*
• Hawke's VA: *Note: Sorry Calla!* I am pretty much convinced it's Nicholas Boulton, he who voiced Bann Vaughan in DAO. There are some lines (particularly nice options) where it did make me unsure, so this is sadly not 100%, however I had the volume up quite high and a large number of the lines sounded far too much like Boulton for me to think otherwise. I even played through picking only nasty options the second time as that's the voice we are most familiar with heh.
• Varric's VA:...Has already been found out by the Varric thread (namely Namedforthemoon) however I shall add my opinion of Varric here: Not much to add beyond what others have already said but the Varric and
  Cassandra scene is the stand out moment of the demo for me heh. Their
  banter is just perfect, I found myself grinning stupidly when she
  interupts his first telling of the story, and Bloom matches Varric's
  already awesome animations with a great voice, right down to the little
  sigh of amusment he gives after winding Cassandra up. Equally his
  narration of the animated sequence (I'm guessing there could be more of
  them than just at the start this time? There are two in the demo) is
  great to listen to, he really does come across as an expert storyteller
  spinning a wild tale of adventure.
  
  Plus, seen up close Varric
  looks far from ugly (as many of us expected), he looks quite dashing to
  me, and while his hair seems blonde the rest is very much in keeping
  with the concept art. Chest hair included. ../../../images/forum/emoticons/wink.png
• Anything else: Cassandra seems a great character as well for her part, look forward to finding out more about her, curious as to how common Nevarran's are in the higher echelons of the Chantry considering they don't seem to get along with Orlais very well. Bethany seems fun, I liked what banter there was between her and Hawke, think that she could be a lot of fun to bring along just for the dialogue. Oh and Kate Mulgrew is better than ever as Flemeth, hope she doesn't spend too much of the game behind the scenes. Oh and the Hurlocks and Hurlocks are Hurlocks, they catch on fire or get cut to pieces just like in the last game, and have about the same level of intimidation to me, don't see what all the fuss is about. I do think the armor could do with looking less uniform though, even just making it look more worn and old would help with that.
• Lastly! The difficulty was actually harder than I expected. The demo has Hawke set to invincible but his/her health still goes down. If I wasn't invincible I would have died fighting the Ogre one time and I saw a few others in the same boat, it's not a walk in the park (well... The exaggerated bit is, but it's suppsosed to be!). That said I couldn't see any health potions available and such which meant a mistake killed you quick. It just underlined the importance the Tank still has in the game, I found keeping Aveline alive and agro'ing the thing made it much easier (yay tactics).

Anyway, word assault over. You may continue.

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, I kinda liked what I saw.

Modifié par Apollo Starflare, 03 octobre 2010 - 03:53 .

[lunarknightmage]

Apollo Starflare wrote...

Okay I'll belatedly leave my thoughts on the demo here. I went on the Friday, but have been moving house this weekend so have only just gotten a chance to type this up! Played the demo twice, and had a lot of fun with it. Note: I havn't read through the thread as it's quite late, so sorry for any repetition here. Note2: All this was on the 360 version as that was the only version available, this would seem to be partly due to what I speculate was a last minute inclusion of DA2 to Eurogamer (it wasn't even listed in the booklet or on the map like everything else and was tucked away).
[list]
[*]The Mage class was selectable however unbelievably both times I went I ended up on the one machine which didn't have the class unlocked. Very annoying!

[*]Opinion on Mages from using Bethany: Very positive. I've recently finished a Mage playthrough on Origins and so the differences (and improvements) were easy to notice. To me the Mage felt like it benefited most from the combat upgrades (from what I have tried so far) with even standard ranged attacks being a lot of fun, as the mage runs through a series of animations launching projectiles at the Darkspawn. The skills were responsive and great fun to unleash, although Mind Blast seemed a little unweildy. The best bit? Using melee attacks. The animations even at this early stage look great, and I can already see why they chose a Mage Hawke for the video (the mage will again run through a series of animations ending in the flame burst attack seen in the trailer), it felt very satisfying, and more importantly: not overpowered! I mainly used it on archers after closing and stunning them. Ninja edit: The mage finisher I saw (twice) was awesome, crushing an Ogre into a ball just never gets old.

hey.  thanks for the detailed description.

I'm especially pleased and interested about what you said re the mages.  especially the mage melee attacks.

Based on your impression, did the mages in the demo melee fight like the trailer Hawke?

Do you think someone, like myself, who intends to play a more melee-oriented mage, especially with the new staff-sword, will be satisfied?

And, did you get a chance to see the Mage spell/talent tree?  Any hints of Arcane Warrior or any "battle mage"?

thanks.

[Mike Laidlaw]

Apollo Starflare wrote...

[*]2-handed Warrior impressions: Wasn't a huge fan to be honest, but maybe it's just my playstyle. The animations do feel a bit too fast and not weighty enough, despite the rogue being faster I actually felt a bit more 'button mashy' with this class. This would be something that would reduce with time though, and the demo isn't really designed for tactical fights beyond to some extent the Ogre fight (they are obviously showcasing other things at this time).

A lot of people have commented on that, especially after the gameplay video leaked, and so I did some digging. Since that demo "shipped," we've slowed down two-handers a bit. No, not to Origins slow (I personally found those anims kind of painful to watch. Who would enter into combat with a sword they couldn't swing effectively?), but we've changed what's called "the cancel window," so that you perform more of the swing before you can blend into another.

Quite pleased with the overall effect. That timing change and new audio have given two-handers quite a bit more heft.

[lunarknightmage]

Mike, I was just wondering if you could please comment on the plans for melee-oriented mages.

By the time the game is finished, is it your plan to make it so that Mages can be bad a** melee fighters like the trailer Hawke??

are you still tweaking the mage melee combat attacks and animations?

thanks.

Modifié par lunarknightmage, 03 octobre 2010 - 04:05 .

[SirOccam]

Apollo Starflare wrote...

Okay I'll belatedly leave my thoughts on the demo here. I went on the Friday, but have been moving house this weekend so have only just gotten a chance to type this up! Played the demo twice, and had a lot of fun with it. Note: I havn't read through the thread as it's quite late, so sorry for any repetition here. Note2: All this was on the 360 version as that was the only version available, this would seem to be partly due to what I speculate was a last minute inclusion of DA2 to Eurogamer (it wasn't even listed in the booklet or on the map like everything else and was tucked away).

• The Mage class was selectable however unbelievably both times I went I ended up on the one machine which didn't have the class unlocked. Very annoying!
• Opinion on Mages from using Bethany: Very positive. I've recently finished a Mage playthrough on Origins and so the differences (and improvements) were easy to notice. To me the Mage felt like it benefited most from the combat upgrades (from what I have tried so far) with even standard ranged attacks being a lot of fun, as the mage runs through a series of animations launching projectiles at the Darkspawn. The skills were responsive and great fun to unleash, although Mind Blast seemed a little unweildy. The best bit? Using melee attacks. The animations even at this early stage look great, and I can already see why they chose a Mage Hawke for the video (the mage will again run through a series of animations ending in the flame burst attack seen in the trailer), it felt very satisfying, and more importantly: not overpowered! I mainly used it on archers after closing and stunning them. Ninja edit: The mage finisher I saw (twice) was awesome, crushing an Ogre into a ball just never gets old.
• I played first as a two handed warrior (a popular choice from what I could see, although that just means people were picking the Warrior class, s+s wasn't available to Hawke) and then a rogue. While one playthrough with each is hardly enough to form a definite opinion I greatly preferred my time with the rogue.
• 2-handed Warrior impressions: Wasn't a huge fan to be honest, but maybe it's just my playstyle. The animations do feel a bit too fast and not weighty enough, despite the rogue being faster I actually felt a bit more 'button mashy' with this class. This would be something that would reduce with time though, and the demo isn't really designed for tactical fights beyond to some extent the Ogre fight (they are obviously showcasing other things at this time).
• Sword and shield impressions: Only got to try this briefly with Aveline but I liked what I saw. The switch to a stance feels more substantial and the animations were satisfying. Can't say much more than that.
• Warrior talents: I noticed there the 'Battlemaster' tree, hadn't seen that mentioned around here before? Probably just missed it, but thought I'd mention anyway. It gave me an ability which stuns enemies.
• Rogue impressions: Great fun. It is fast, faster than Origins by some way. However it isn't all about jumping and combo's, it is undeniably still Origins gameplay under the hood, just... let loose. People guessed correctly when they speculated the reported 'teleport' move was a re-imagined Flicker. It's just that, and works well. The rogue had more abilties on offer than the warrior, much like often seemed to be the case in DAO. The bombs worked just like any DAO bomb, and the animations for the others were all impression, although the ability that seemed to be the DA2 version of below the belt seemed to get lost in the confusion of battle when I used it and I never really noticed the effect it had (again, this probably was due to the conditions more than anything). Lastly the jumping ability (which lets you backflip away from/over enemies was great fun, I wasn't hopping around like a demented wallaby, rather it fit in nicely with the rogue style of retreating when in over your head or getting in behind enemies to stick a knife in their back.
• Rogue talent trees: I noticed subterfuge, debilitation and dual weilding with others locked. Rather self explanatory really.
• A note on talent trees and the attributes screen: I like the new trees screen, however whether it was the fact I was rushed or the menu system it felt a bit fiddly selecting the skill I wanted to look at. The attributes screen is only noteworthy in that it now seems to list your attack and damage ratings, I think it updates any changes as you add points but can't fully remember. In general the level up screen (or 'character' as it's now known as) was much better presented than in Origins though (360).
• The plot: Nothing really new, although some dialogue cleared up why they go to Gwaren, the Horde has blocked off the road north and so they go through the Wilds. There is a fair bit you can ask Flemeth, and it suggested to me that she was aware the Warden would come to confront her (something about an expected meeting or something) she also mentioned the Dalish Keeper's name (Marathari) and after confirming with the Wiki this is indeed the same Keeper as the Dalish Warden's clan, so looks like we'll be seeing them again (I expect this has already been noticed but what the hay!)  Oh and it does sound like Hawke and Carver could have been at Ostagar (RE: "We've been running since Ostagar!") however I couldn't quite tell, and it could easily just mean the family has been running since then, although that wouldn't seem to jive with the timeline as Lothering burnt sometime after Ostagar *shrugs*
• Hawke's VA: *Note: Sorry Calla!* I am pretty much convinced it's Nicholas Boulton, he who voiced Bann Vaughan in DAO. There are some lines (particularly nice options) where it did make me unsure, so this is sadly not 100%, however I had the volume up quite high and a large number of the lines sounded far too much like Boulton for me to think otherwise. I even played through picking only nasty options the second time as that's the voice we are most familiar with heh.
• Varric's VA:...Has already been found out by the Varric thread (namely Namedforthemoon) however I shall add my opinion of Varric here: Not much to add beyond what others have already said but the Varric and
  Cassandra scene is the stand out moment of the demo for me heh. Their
  banter is just perfect, I found myself grinning stupidly when she
  interupts his first telling of the story, and Bloom matches Varric's
  already awesome animations with a great voice, right down to the little
  sigh of amusment he gives after winding Cassandra up. Equally his
  narration of the animated sequence (I'm guessing there could be more of
  them than just at the start this time? There are two in the demo) is
  great to listen to, he really does come across as an expert storyteller
  spinning a wild tale of adventure.
  
  Plus, seen up close Varric
  looks far from ugly (as many of us expected), he looks quite dashing to
  me, and while his hair seems blonde the rest is very much in keeping
  with the concept art. Chest hair included. ../../../images/forum/emoticons/wink.png
• Anything else: Cassandra seems a great character as well for her part, look forward to finding out more about her, curious as to how common Nevarran's are in the higher echelons of the Chantry considering they don't seem to get along with Orlais very well. Bethany seems fun, I liked what banter there was between her and Hawke, think that she could be a lot of fun to bring along just for the dialogue. Oh and Kate Mulgrew is better than ever as Flemeth, hope she doesn't spend too much of the game behind the scenes. Oh and the Hurlocks and Hurlocks are Hurlocks, they catch on fire or get cut to pieces just like in the last game, and have about the same level of intimidation to me, don't see what all the fuss is about. I do think the armor could do with looking less uniform though, even just making it look more worn and old would help with that.
• Lastly! The difficulty was actually harder than I expected. The demo has Hawke set to invincible but his/her health still goes down. If I wasn't invincible I would have died fighting the Ogre one time and I saw a few others in the same boat, it's not a walk in the park (well... The exaggerated bit is, but it's suppsosed to be!). That said I couldn't see any health potions available and such which meant a mistake killed you quick. It just underlined the importance the Tank still has in the game, I found keeping Aveline alive and agro'ing the thing made it much easier (yay tactics).

Anyway, word assault over. You may continue.

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, I kinda liked what I saw.

Nice writeup. I think we had the same reactions for the most part (though I thought the 2-handed animations were pretty good...they seemed weighty to me, but not glacially slow like in Origins). But I've been trying to remember for a month now what the Dalish Keeper's name was that Flemeth mentioned...didn't even think to check to see if it was the same Dalish clan from the Dalish origin. Very interesting.

Did you happen to get a decent impression of Cassandra's accent? I sensed a very light accent there, and I really really liked it, but I couldn't really place it in real-world terms. I'm curious to see if it stood out any more for anyone else.

I think the Ostagar thing could match up pretty well. We don't really know  how long it was between Ostagar and the destruction of Lothering, but it doesn't seem like it was all that long. All we know is that it's destroyed by the time you complete one of the treaties, so realistically speaking it happened at some point during the course of that first major effort.

A couple of survivors fleeing the defeat at Ostagar would probably move pretty slowly, and it makes sense that they'd head straight for Lothering, knowing the Darkspawn would be right on their tails. Interestingly enough, as Lothering is the Warden's first stop after Ostagar as well, I'm wondering if that makes our chances of a Warden cameo better.

Modifié par SirOccam, 03 octobre 2010 - 04:05 .

[Mike Laidlaw]

lunarknightmage wrote...

Mike, I was just wondering if you could please comment on the plans for melee-oriented mages.

By the time the game is finished, is it your plan to make it so that Mages can be bad a** melee fighters like the trailer Hawke??

are you still tweaking the mage melee combat attacks and animations?

thanks.

We are, yes. And I believe you'll find that most mage casts are quite a bit more physical than they were in Origins. So, yes, you'll look quite a bit more bad-ass with your staff.

To be fair, though, we're not focusing the mage class on maximal melee damage. If you want that you should go warrior or rogue (depending on whether you prefer AOE or absolute devastation to single targets).

[Brockololly]

Good stuff Apollo!

And good to hear that the warrior animations have been slowed down to give the swords more heft, Mike. Certainly doesn't need to be as slow as Origins, but that video made it seem like Hawke was twirling a baton not a supposedly massive two handed sword.

Still not sold on the jumpy rogue stuff or anything but I suppose gameplay videos will properly confirm/bust that concern on the combat in general on the PC.

As for the story/plot stuff- let me try and get it sorted out:

- So the Hawke family is fleeing from Lothering which has been destroyed, moving south through the Blightlands on their way to catch a ship in Gwaren which would take them to Kirkwall. On their way south they meet up with Flemeth who tells Hawke to take some package to a Dalish clan- possibly the clan from the Dalish Origin, which was moving north in Origins?

My question regarding the Dalish keeper Flemeth mentions is that I was wondering if its the Dalish Keeper from the Origins story or if it was maybe Ariane's Dalish Keeper she mentions in Witch Hunt?

And about Ostagar- so, its possible that Carver maybe fought there?

I'm just wondering, is the part with Hawke and family fleeing the actual start of the game? Its my impression then that they're fleeing from an already destroyed Lothering at that point, no? So we would never see the actual destruction of Lothering? Just confused on the timeline...

Modifié par Brockololly, 03 octobre 2010 - 04:29 .

[Dave of Canada]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

To be fair, though, we're not focusing the mage class on maximal melee damage. If you want that you should go warrior or rogue (depending on whether you prefer AOE or absolute devastation to single targets).

I'm always one to challenge myself with minimalist runs and such, do you suspect a melee mage playthrough to be entirely possible [if extremely difficult] or I'm just crazy to bring the idea up?

[lunarknightmage]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

lunarknightmage wrote...

Mike, I was just wondering if you could please comment on the plans for melee-oriented mages.

By the time the game is finished, is it your plan to make it so that Mages can be bad a** melee fighters like the trailer Hawke??

are you still tweaking the mage melee combat attacks and animations?

thanks.

We are, yes. And I believe you'll find that most mage casts are quite a bit more physical than they were in Origins. So, yes, you'll look quite a bit more bad-ass with your staff.

To be fair, though, we're not focusing the mage class on maximal melee damage. If you want that you should go warrior or rogue (depending on whether you prefer AOE or absolute devastation to single targets).

Thanks, Mike.

Basically I want a character who can transition between melee attacking and spell casting. like trailer Hawke.....lol.

True, I won't be dealing max melee damage, as you said, but unlike the other classes, I would be able to cast spells as well.

Here's hoping Arcane Warrior or some similar "battlemage" spec will appear in DA2......

In designing the mage melee attacks, are you also taking into account that you now have bladed staffs?  So instead of just "whacking" enemies with a blunt stick, you can now stab, slice, cut, chop of heads, etc. with the staff sword?

[Mike Laidlaw]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

To be fair, though, we're not focusing the mage class on maximal melee damage. If you want that you should go warrior or rogue (depending on whether you prefer AOE or absolute devastation to single targets).

I'm always one to challenge myself with minimalist runs and such, do you suspect a melee mage playthrough to be entirely possible [if extremely difficult] or I'm just crazy to bring the idea up?

Well...you could constantly run up to your target. That would do it. Would certainly be an interesting challenge!

Mages seamlessly switch between melee and ranged based on the distance between themselves and their target. If you are attacking someone who moves into melee range, you'll start thumping them with your bad ass staff moves. If they stay at range, you'll throw bolts like you did in Origins, just with more style.

[CoS Sarah Jinstar]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

Apollo Starflare wrote...

[*]2-handed Warrior impressions: Wasn't a huge fan to be honest, but maybe it's just my playstyle. The animations do feel a bit too fast and not weighty enough, despite the rogue being faster I actually felt a bit more 'button mashy' with this class. This would be something that would reduce with time though, and the demo isn't really designed for tactical fights beyond to some extent the Ogre fight (they are obviously showcasing other things at this time).

A lot of people have commented on that, especially after the gameplay video leaked, and so I did some digging. Since that demo "shipped," we've slowed down two-handers a bit. No, not to Origins slow (I personally found those anims kind of painful to watch. Who would enter into combat with a sword they couldn't swing effectively?), but we've changed what's called "the cancel window," so that you perform more of the swing before you can blend into another.

Quite pleased with the overall effect. That timing change and new audio have given two-handers quite a bit more heft.

You guys slowed down the 2 handed fury of death? Thank God!   Don't think it needs to be as slow as Origins but at the very least it should at least "feel" like it has weight to it, rather than look to be as effortless as swinging around a toothpick.

Thanks Mike, hearing that made my whole day.

Modifié par CoS Sarah Jinstar, 03 octobre 2010 - 05:11 .

[Brockololly]

I just think at least in terms of animations, having played Arkham Asylum again recently, that game just gets it right. You've got animations that have some weight to them and don't feel floaty, while still being fun to watch and being a tad over the top. So if DA2 could emulate Arkham Asylum in the fluidity and heft of animations, that would be awesome

[Mike Laidlaw]

Brockololly wrote...

I just think at least in terms of animations, having played Arkham Asylum again recently, that game just gets it right. You've got animations that have some weight to them and don't feel floaty, while still being fun to watch and being a tad over the top. So if DA2 could emulate Arkham Asylum in the fluidity and heft of animations, that would be awesome

Damn it. Now I have images of Hawke hanging upside down from gargoyles.

[CoS Sarah Jinstar]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

Brockololly wrote...

I just think at least in terms of animations, having played Arkham Asylum again recently, that game just gets it right. You've got animations that have some weight to them and don't feel floaty, while still being fun to watch and being a tad over the top. So if DA2 could emulate Arkham Asylum in the fluidity and heft of animations, that would be awesome

Damn it. Now I have images of Hawke hanging upside down from gargoyles.

Thats kinda a scary mental image, Lady Hawke doing death from above might just be overkill.

[Brockololly]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...
Damn it. Now I have images of Hawke hanging upside down from gargoyles.

Ah, but you'd need capes in DA before we can have HawkeMan hanging from gargoyles dispensing vigilante justice in Kirkwall.

slimgrin wrote...
The animations in AA are nothing short of superb. They look practical, brutal, and elegant. You nailed it when you say they'reonly a tad over the top which is exactly why I enjoy the combat in the  game. It feels up close and personal. 

I could do without so much bullet time, however.

Yeah, the animations sort of set the tone in a game; so if they look all floaty it takes away from any "wow" factor you might have and instead you start nit picking. And  I think the key in AA's animations are the transitions from move to move- its not a herky jerky transition, but going from one attack to the next often maintains that sense of momentum and keeps things fluid and believeable.

I actually didn't mind the bullet time slowdown though- I felt like it worked since it gave you the chance to actually admire the animations. Too often in those sorts of action games everything goes by so fast you can't appreciate whats going on- so seeing everything slow down and watch Batman do his thing was pretty neat I thought.

I guess the killing moves in Origins are bullet time too- well, maybe not, I guess just the Ogre kills were, I think...

Modifié par Brockololly, 03 octobre 2010 - 05:34 .

[KnightofPhoenix]

Brockololly wrote...

I just think at least in terms of animations, having played Arkham Asylum again recently, that game just gets it right. You've got animations that have some weight to them and don't feel floaty, while still being fun to watch and being a tad over the top. So if DA2 could emulate Arkham Asylum in the fluidity and heft of animations, that would be awesome

Yea that game's animation was almost flawless.
I played challenges just to see Batman in action. It never looked or felt boring. 

Modifié par KnightofPhoenix, 03 octobre 2010 - 05:30 .