203 réponses à ce sujet

[AlexXIV]

JohnEpler wrote...

Riloux wrote...

I couldn't care less whether or not you take my criticism to the developers because I know it makes no difference. You're at the mercy of your publisher when decisions are made about what will sell and what won't. You caved in, and I don't normally blame companies for that, but Bioware is one of the last few that makes decent RPGs.

That's fine - you're certainly entitled to your opinion, and as I said, I respect that you aren't happy with the direction we've taken.

Hopefully we release products in the future more to your taste and if not, then that's too bad and I hope you find the game you're looking for elsewhere.

You probably may not talk about this. But to be honest I think if EA says 'You have 2 years to do this' then Bioware does not have much more say than 'Yes sir'. I mean it's like that in every company and every business. That's free market to you.

[Aesieru]

But didn't BioWare join willingly with EA?



I imagine that affords an amount of negotiation room.

[Stardusk78]

Twaddlefish wrote...

Great post, Exyle. I agree with a lot of the points you make.

John's said that he's not touched the demo for months, and doesn't know how the final fire effect looks. It's possible, as has been speculated, that the demo is an older build of the game, especially if people at Bioware have seen it months before. So, you never know, the might be just as grotesque as they were before and look slightly less the putty blokes from Power Rangers.

Oh, you think you guys are screwed with degrees. I have an Archaeology degree. I can dig a hole, but it'll be the best god damn hole you ever see!

Yeah, I have a bunch of degrees but education is only useful if you are educated in something useful.

[NinjaMarion]

JohnEpler wrote...

Hey, folks, if you don't want to read a post, replying with 'TLDR' is something you can probably avoid doing.

Exyle, that is a very well-written and fair criticism. While I hate to reply with anything significantly shorter, in the end - I hope you change your mind when you play the game. Certainly, the visual style is strikingly different and does, at first blush, seem to invoke a different feel than DA:O, but I believe that once you start playing the game, when you see the story and the world as a whole, you'll at least find it a little easier to live with, even if it's not exactly what you want.

But thank you for a well-written and intelligent criticism. We can't grow as developers without critique, and while we may not necessarily agree with everything you wrote, it's food for thought, at least.

There's been a thread about it in the demo discussion for about three days, but since it's yet to get any dev attention, I figured I'll ask here in hopes you see it and answer.

The text in the console versions of the demo is tiny. If you have an SDTV or even an HDTV and you just happen to be unlucky, it's nearly impossible to read. Based on the complaints you guys got about it for Mass Effect 2, this seemingly should have been something kept in mind while developing DA2, and as the demo build is fairly old, we've been holding out hope it's been fixed for the final build. But as this is something that will make the final game unplayable if it hasn't, it's kinda something we can't afford to bet our hope on. So could you please give us an answer on this? Is the text in the final build the same as the demo, or did you guys catch that it's small and difficult to read on SDTVs (and some HDTVs) and fix this for the final build?

[John Epler]

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

[Aesieru]

Wait wait wait..



Ehh... I won't get into it, but no degree is useless, it's all about your focus on things and your perseverance.



In any case, I think comparing Westwood to BioWare is a HUGE jump..

[Twaddlefish]

Having a quick look at my KOTOR box, it says Activision on it. And we all know what a bunch of money grabbing ****bags *they* are.

[AkiKishi]

AlexXIV wrote...
You probably may not talk about this. But to be honest I think if EA says 'You have 2 years to do this' then Bioware does not have much more say than 'Yes sir'. I mean it's like that in every company and every business. That's free market to you.

The only thing that should matter is. Is it worth spending £30 on. Loyalty is nice, but it cuts both ways.

[John Epler]

NinjaMarion wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Hey, folks, if you don't want to read a post, replying with 'TLDR' is something you can probably avoid doing.

Exyle, that is a very well-written and fair criticism. While I hate to reply with anything significantly shorter, in the end - I hope you change your mind when you play the game. Certainly, the visual style is strikingly different and does, at first blush, seem to invoke a different feel than DA:O, but I believe that once you start playing the game, when you see the story and the world as a whole, you'll at least find it a little easier to live with, even if it's not exactly what you want.

But thank you for a well-written and intelligent criticism. We can't grow as developers without critique, and while we may not necessarily agree with everything you wrote, it's food for thought, at least.

There's been a thread about it in the demo discussion for about three days, but since it's yet to get any dev attention, I figured I'll ask here in hopes you see it and answer.

The text in the console versions of the demo is tiny. If you have an SDTV or even an HDTV and you just happen to be unlucky, it's nearly impossible to read. Based on the complaints you guys got about it for Mass Effect 2, this seemingly should have been something kept in mind while developing DA2, and as the demo build is fairly old, we've been holding out hope it's been fixed for the final build. But as this is something that will make the final game unplayable if it hasn't, it's kinda something we can't afford to bet our hope on. So could you please give us an answer on this? Is the text in the final build the same as the demo, or did you guys catch that it's small and difficult to read on SDTVs (and some HDTVs) and fix this for the final build?

I wish I could give you a definitive answer one way or the other, but the fact is that I'm simply not sure. I haven't played the game on the consoles in a while - all my playthroughs post-development were on the PC.

I will let folks know that this has been brought up. No promises on an answer, though.

[Twaddlefish]

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

Thanks for the defense John, but they've got a point...my degree is bloody useless at the moment! 

[Giltspur]

To OP, I mostly agree with you that I'm reluctant about the change in art direction.  I definitely don't like the new darkspawn as much as the old ones, and I don't like the oversized swords in this setting.  I do want Dragon Age to be gritty and realistic with some exceptions.  (I don't for example care if Isabela's armor is "practical" or not.  I expect certain amounts of realism to be sacrificed for style because that's true of all stories--not just video games.)

First impressions of Darkspawn grunts?  Masters of the Universe.  First impression of ogres?  Dexter's Laboratory.  Yeah, that's harsh but I liked the pulsating, vile, built-out-of-leftover-flesh look of the old ones more.

I will say that I mostly like the way the NPC's look.   Varric's great.  Isabela is improved over Origins (even if at the end of the day it seems like combined Captain Jack Sparrow with Chun Li from Street Fighter).  And I like the style on Anders clothes in that it seems expressive (in that he looks a little refined than he'd like to...but is still trying).  And I think the style they use to transition between the time jumps (including the cardboard cutouts of ocean waves ) and between frames are pretty cool.  

Maybe it'll all work.  I'll have to wait to see how it works out in the context of a full playthrough.  Though, I am inclined to think that  looking over the art and removing anything that comes across as being like a comic book and replacing it with "Ice and Fire...in a computer game" would be a welcome move.  Even if stylized works, grittier and more grounded is probably preferable.

Modifié par Giltspur, 27 février 2011 - 12:19 .

[John Epler]

Twaddlefish wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

Thanks for the defense John, but they've got a point...my degree is bloody useless at the moment! 

If Indiana Jones has taught me anything, it's that archaeology is your way to saving the world at least a couple of times over.

That movie is a realistic portrayal of archaeology, right?

[Noviere]

The only thing I dislike about the new art style is the darkspawn. After experiencing them in motion during the demo, they seem silly, rather than fearsome.

There's definitely a zombie vibe to them... Minus the revulsion. I don't know how else to describe them. If there was a children's TV show based on 28 Days Later, that's what the zombies would look like.

Modifié par Noviere, 27 février 2011 - 12:14 .

[AlexXIV]

BobSmith101 wrote...

AlexXIV wrote...
You probably may not talk about this. But to be honest I think if EA says 'You have 2 years to do this' then Bioware does not have much more say than 'Yes sir'. I mean it's like that in every company and every business. That's free market to you.

The only thing that should matter is. Is it worth spending £30 on. Loyalty is nice, but it cuts both ways.

It's probably worth 50 euro, but thing is it could be worth 60 or maybe 70. It's not about money. And it's not 'just a game'. It's a story and stories want to be told well. And in a game there is more to telling a story than the writing alone. It's also graphics, sounds, animations, etc.

[Twaddlefish]

JohnEpler wrote...

Twaddlefish wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

Thanks for the defense John, but they've got a point...my degree is bloody useless at the moment! 

If Indiana Jones has taught me anything, it's that archaeology is your way to saving the world at least a couple of times over.

That movie is a realistic portrayal of archaeology, right?

They didn't even OFFER a course on dodger boulders and shooting Na-zis. Although they did give us some handy advice about lead-lined refridgerators 

Modifié par Twaddlefish, 27 février 2011 - 12:18 .

[borelocin]

I have to agree with the OP about the visual style of the common darkspawn troops - more "saturday morning cartoon" ish.



Being a PC gamer I will of course just fix that with the inevitable "DA:O Darkspawn in DA2" mod.

[ThePrince593]

I tip my hat to Exyle19 and John

This was really well-written. It was also a refreshing change to the usual complaints and criticisms you can see on this forum. It is nice to see it IS possible to talk about our opinions/praises/concerns in a civilized and mature manner. Kudos to you, my good man. 

[AlexXIV]

Twaddlefish wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Twaddlefish wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

Thanks for the defense John, but they've got a point...my degree is bloody useless at the moment! 

If Indiana Jones has taught me anything, it's that archaeology is your way to saving the world at least a couple of times over.

That movie is a realistic portrayal of archaeology, right?

They didn't even OFFER a course on dodger boulders and shooting Na-zis. Although they did give us some handy advice about lead-lined refridgerators 

Well next vacation you should go to egypt, or peru, or ... anywhere you may run into an oversized boulder.

[the scrubber]

Riloux wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Riloux wrote...

I'm starting to think the greatness of DA followed Brent Knowles out the door when he quit. I think he may have been responsible for everything I loved about the game and now all that's gone without him. Shame. Mostly on Bioware.

Without trying to sound like too much of a jerk (well, I don't think that's going to happen), I think it's well established that you're not happy with the direction that DA2's taking. That's fine! Not everyone will enjoy everything we do, and we certainly don't expect to release every game to completely universal acclaim.

However, you do understand that when you go to every thread and post, essentially, the same thing 'DA2 is too casual and will suck', your posts begin to take on a 'oh, great, this person feel.' Any valid concerns you raise are more likely to be ignored, which I think would be counterproductive to your criticisms.

I mean, you're certainly entitled to post whatever you wish. Just bear in mind that after a while, you will be mentally lumped into a certain category by the developers and your points are far more likely to be ignored.

More succinctly - I'm about ten times more likely to bring up the points of someone like the OP (or even someone with criticisms who presents them and discusses them in a civil fashion) than someone who goes thread to thread to post, essentially, 'BioWare are sellouts/ruining RPGs'. Even your 'Dragon Effect 2' signature makes me less likely to read what you're posting.

I couldn't care less whether or not you take my criticism to the developers because I know it makes no difference. You're at the mercy of your publisher when decisions are made about what will sell and what won't. You caved in, and I don't normally blame companies for that, but Bioware is one of the last few that makes decent RPGs.

its a bit unfair to blame bioware for being at the mercy of the publishers since that is simply how the world works nowadays and if you couldnt care less if they take your criticism then why post it in the first place. moreover bioware are renowned for listening to feedback and integrating it into their future games. if they are to get decent constructive feedback from their customers then they need more people like the OP rather than your frankly quite whiney nad repetative posts.

[Aesieru]

What about the hat? The hat is what makes Indiana!

[jheise4321]

My question is..How do we all know darkspawn even have a big roll in this game? They could just be at the beginning and that is it. I mean it spans 10 years past the blight or so. At the beginning you fight darkspawn while running from Lothering but after that in all the demos you watch you won't fight them for a long while. Most of the game is in Kirkwall looking at the map. I know the computer playthrough Mike Laidlaw did and the one for Xbox on Gamespot there were no darkspawn at all and up to the point of the xbox demo is probably a good 10 hours into the game or so. When helping Isabela you are level 6-7 which is a good portion into the game.



Now if darkspawn are a major part I hope the difference isn't just regulars and brutes. That would be a big disappointment. Where are all the Genlocks????

[Stardusk78]

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

It's not elitism; I am angry at myself for studying 'useless' things and I am trying to spare the younger generation the pain I have unwittingly inflicted on myself.

[Aesieru]

Stardusk78 wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Alright, let's cut out the 'These are useful degrees' talk. It smacks of elitism, and while that may not be the intention - I'm going to nip it in the bud.

It's not elitism; I am angry at myself for studying 'useless' things and I am trying to spare the younger generation the pain I have unwittingly inflicted on myself.

Going by experience here, I'll let you into a secret.

An employer could truly care less what you got your degree in, because they're going to pretty much teach you everything (or near everything) on the job anyway (unless you're trying to be a scientist) and because your persistence with a "useless thing" shows you stick to what you pick.

You just need to have confidence.

[Gebert]

I actually like the new Darkspawn design, but what I don't like is their animations. They're kind of .... peculiar? Weird? I don't know the right word for it, but there is something wrong with them. And I also wish they'd have other weapons than sabres and crossbows.

Modifié par Gebert, 27 février 2011 - 12:22 .

[NinjaMarion]

JohnEpler wrote...

NinjaMarion wrote...

JohnEpler wrote...

Hey, folks, if you don't want to read a post, replying with 'TLDR' is something you can probably avoid doing.

Exyle, that is a very well-written and fair criticism. While I hate to reply with anything significantly shorter, in the end - I hope you change your mind when you play the game. Certainly, the visual style is strikingly different and does, at first blush, seem to invoke a different feel than DA:O, but I believe that once you start playing the game, when you see the story and the world as a whole, you'll at least find it a little easier to live with, even if it's not exactly what you want.

But thank you for a well-written and intelligent criticism. We can't grow as developers without critique, and while we may not necessarily agree with everything you wrote, it's food for thought, at least.

There's been a thread about it in the demo discussion for about three days, but since it's yet to get any dev attention, I figured I'll ask here in hopes you see it and answer.

The text in the console versions of the demo is tiny. If you have an SDTV or even an HDTV and you just happen to be unlucky, it's nearly impossible to read. Based on the complaints you guys got about it for Mass Effect 2, this seemingly should have been something kept in mind while developing DA2, and as the demo build is fairly old, we've been holding out hope it's been fixed for the final build. But as this is something that will make the final game unplayable if it hasn't, it's kinda something we can't afford to bet our hope on. So could you please give us an answer on this? Is the text in the final build the same as the demo, or did you guys catch that it's small and difficult to read on SDTVs (and some HDTVs) and fix this for the final build?

I wish I could give you a definitive answer one way or the other, but the fact is that I'm simply not sure. I haven't played the game on the consoles in a while - all my playthroughs post-development were on the PC.

I will let folks know that this has been brought up. No promises on an answer, though.

Ah. Kinda sucks to finally get the attention of one of the devs and it's one that hasn't played the console versions to know the answer But I definitely appreciate the response and definitely hope we get an answer (for the positive) once you pass it on.