288 réponses à ce sujet

[Brumbek]

Euno17 wrote...

The fact is - Bioware did this to themsevles. Granted it was for a huge amount of money (860 mill) but they HAD to know what they were getting into when they attached themsevles to EA.

Exactly right. The BioWare owners knew what selling to EA meant. Although, part of me hopes they didn't fully realize the extent of what would happen to them. Still, it's a sweet deal for the owners and senior people...too bad the cRPG gamers suffer, but then again the mainstream gamers eat the recent titles up so oh well I suppose...

PoliteAssasin wrote...

Well that explains ME3's short
development time.... EA is trying to make a quick buck, but what they
don't realize is that they would make so much more money if they would
have the patience to wait for a quality product. They're all about
quantity over quality. The Bioware of old is dead unfortunately. I
figured something like this happened when I saw the excess amounts of
reused environments. Reminded me of ME1. I wonder if it's possible for
Bioware to go independent, or sign up with another publisher...

I'd like to agree but I have to admit I think EA's strategy does make the most money. Truth is there are just way more gamers who enjoy more constant action games (I'm tempted to say mindless). There's a reason CoD sells like crazy despite RPGs have much greater depth and thought...it's the age old struggle between the higher virtues and the baser virtues of humankind.

Regardless, I do hope BioWare gets out from under EA someday.

casedawgz wrote...

People are complaining about Dragon Age
2's length and are only doing the main quest. My point was that if
you're going to ignore all of the side quests, you can do anything
quickly. DA2 is not a short game. I'm currently 30 hours into my
playthrough and just finished act 2. DA2 is not a 12 hour game, and
people who rush through the main quest in 12 hours and then go on rants
about length are idiots. Seems like a pretty strong position to me.

Fair enough. It is long compared to most games...but I seem to remember Baldur's Gate 2 being bigger and better than BG1 in every way...

The point is DA2 has less content because it was clearly rushed. That is not a development strategy that any gamer OR developer should support. Hence, why I posted this thread in the first place. We must make our voices known or we deserve the rushed products that we get.

Modifié par Brumbek, 11 mars 2011 - 06:53 .

[Romantiq]

Good thing I didn't buy it. Played this half assed product at my friend's house and he is in process of disputing his transaction. Paying with credit card is always epic winning Ima sure witchers LOWER price tag of $44 (steam) will deliver a much more epic adventure. That'll be pretty sad hah but then again its Epic Anus pulling the strings so not much surprise here

On the side note, some of you mentioned tes V. Yeah it'll be a great game to talk about for years to come because of at the very least one thing - STRONG MODDING COMMUNITY.

Modifié par Romantiq, 11 mars 2011 - 06:59 .

[VanTesla]

Shocking...

[Gravbh]

Upsettingshorts wrote...

tbsking wrote...

You know, now might be a good time to chime in and say that I, and the rest of the naysayers who were all told to just wait and see and stop saying the sky was falling, turned out to be quite right.

Depends.

I don't think you're right.  Does that invalidate your position, or mine?  Or does it simply not matter?  I'm gonna go with that one.

"Predictions" such as they are, are worth even less than opinions 'round here.  

tbsking wrote...

I truly don't understand how you can say DA2 is superior to Origins.

They removed or didn't change stuff I didn't care about, added things I do care about, and told a story I found enjoyable.  But that's not really important - you don't have to understand why I or others like me feel the way we do, only acknowledge that we do without also insinuating that we must be idiots or presume to know our motivations.  So many people fail to do this, and that's why "Bioware sheep" end up getting upset.  It's not the game or the company we end up defending so vociferously, but ourselves,  by the implications that we must be blind morons to think the way we do.

It's about respect.  People can claim in a respectful manner that some of my favorite games are terrible - and some have.  It's possible.  But it's not something I've come to expect.  And not something I've always been able to follow through on myself, for that matter.  It's just the way it goes, I guess.

That's just the way things are nowadays. You see it in politics today as well. It's like John Stewart joked awhile back. I don't remember the exact quote but it was along the lines of "can't we just say 'I disagree with your politics but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler'." Except in this case it would be "can't we just say 'I disagree with your reasons for liking the game but I'm pretty sure you're not a mouth-breathing, ADD, consolized frat boy responsible for personally destroying every rpg I've ever loved'."

Modifié par Gravbh, 11 mars 2011 - 07:24 .

[Sylvius the Mad]

Brumbek wrote...

The BioWare owners knew what selling to EA meant. Although, part of me hopes they didn't fully realize the extent of what would happen to them.

Even if they honeslty believed any promises made by EA's management at the time of the acquisition, they had to know that those promises would not outlive that management.

I'm not saying that any particuarly assurances were made, or that any promoses haven't been kept.  I'm saying that a company a big, publicly traded company (like EA) answers to a Board of Directors, and to shareholders, and no executive team can keep promises in perpetuity.

We don't know the state of BioWare's finances at the time of the sale, either, or their prospects for one-off deals with various publishers.  We know that Microsoft demanded a console-exclusive period for Mass Effect.  If they didn't like that, then they would have been limited to a smaller pool of publishers, and EA may well have known that BioWare was suddenly a captive audience.

Personally, at the time of the EA acqusition I had been hoping that BioWare would switch to a self-published model, with a primarily digital distribution (something they were already doing to some degree with NWN modules and the BioWare store), but apparently they didn't think that was viable for a developer of their size.  Keep in mind that BioWare employs hundreds of people, and being an independent developer carries significant risks.  Ray and Greg may have made the EA decision partly as a way to ensure security for their staff.

[JakePT]

I am loving DA2 so far myself, even though there are some changes I'm not too fond of (biggest one being the lack of the isometric camera, or at least a camera that zooms out further and isn't anchored to a character), but that was incredibly obvious right from the moment it was announced. There was no way in a hell a game of this genre wasn't going to have to make some sacrifices to be released so soon.

That said, adversity breeds creativity. Having to make the game so quickly was no doubt the reason the entire story is set in, and about, a single city. While I too miss the huge scale epic adventure, I still love the idea of this story since it's so unique compared to other RPGs and doesn't follow the same cliché story structure.

I just hope that the (IMO, largely unjustified) negative fan reaction, and lower-than-it-shoud-be metacritic (publishers really care about that sort of thing) will mean that Dragon Age 3, whatever form it takes, gets the time it deserves.

I'm just glad Mass Effect 3 wasn't given the same treatment. Sure, it's the shortest development cycle of any game in the franchise so far, but at least it got almost a full two years to build off of already polished and mature game.

[tbsking]

JakePT wrote...

There was no way in a hell a game of this genre wasn't going to have to make some sacrifices to be released so soon.

[joriandrake]

JohnnyDollar wrote...

Romantiq wrote...
Ima sure witchers LOWER price tag of $44 (steam) will deliver a much more epic adventure. That'll be pretty sad hah but then again its Epic Anus pulling the strings so not much surprise here

You can get it for that same price from GOG (CD Projekt's sister company owns it).  You also get a free good old game with it (pick what you want out of 5 games).  Also, NO DRM!

I usually buy stuff on Gamersgate

[TysonL87]

I agree this game was rushed! I demand them to no longer say they make.. um what was it they always say quality games or idk i'm waiting for SWTOR and god he always says story this and story that

[WidowMaker9394]

The music in DA2 is his best yet. He should rush his music more often.

(I'm serious)

[Pixieking]

Hey, not seen this before. Thanks for the link.

[viverravid]

Guys, no way was this game rushed in the manner of, say, KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords.
It's really quite polished. Looks like they had a firm date from the start, and they set out to do the best they could do with the time and money available. 2 years is not unreasonably short for a AAA title.

The issue is that the core fanbase doesn't like the tradeoffs that were made. And some things, like the new combat mechanics, can't be the result of a rush job, as the quickest way to do it would have been to leave them as they were from DA:O.

[Satyricon331]

I'm sorry if someone already made this point (I haven't read the entire thread), but if it's true EA held Bioware to a tight deadline, then Bioware likely shares much of the blame for whatever failings DA2 has (although granted, I have yet to verify for myself whether there are any... except in the art department). Unless EA sprang a sudden deadline on them at the last minute, Bioware made very ambitious changes knowing exactly what schedule EA was holding them to. They could have refocused their time on, say expanding the game's content if that area is lacking, or making more cave and room designs, etc.

Modifié par Satyricon331, 11 mars 2011 - 08:08 .

[jussyr]

EA is ruining both Bioware's games and reputation as a company. Personally, I hope the developers leave and start an indy company after finishing up their current franchises.

[CaimDark]

This is just sad. Obvious, but sad. I (and I am sure many others) used to think of Bioware as a company that doesn't take shortcuts and doesn't compromise quality, much like Blizzard.If this becomes a trend, Bioware risks losing the brand recognition it enjoys today. "Rush jobs" might make financial sense in the short term, but is a dangerous road to take in the long term. Just ask Guitar Hero...

[Vengeance of the Grave]

Strop spamming the forum.
End of rine.

[Darji]

Garak2 wrote...

You know Bioware likely isn't happy with the finished product but when the boss sets a deadline.....

But stanely said they are very happy with the game. And that it is wha t they wanted to create.....


At topic: Yeah it was known for a long time in the community but finally something is admitting it. One or even 2 more years would have made a very big difference. You really cant pull out an great RPG in 2 years. It needs a least 3 years atleast. This way you can put in way more details and make the world feel much more atmospheric

[Fitty Stim]

Dansayshi wrote...

Lets just hope the witcher 2 and Elder scrolls 6 prove to be decent.

I'll be happy if The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is decent let alone TES:6...

[captain.subtle]

Upsettingshorts wrote...

slimgrin wrote...

Bethesda is enormously ambitious with their games.

Ehhh... yes and no.  They're certainly good at giving that impression, that's for sure.

I guess you haven't heard that the combat is probably being developed by Arkane?

[Vengeance of the Grave]

This isnt really news lol

[Twaddlefish]

**** you, EA. **** you to the very depths of hell. You make enough money from the constant Madden/NFL/FIFA games you push out every single year, so why not leave a genuinely great team alone and let them do their own thing? ****, Bioware should just split from EA and go to Valve, it's not like those guys care about release dates (Episode 3, can I get a hell yeah?).

EA must've seen how Lucasarts rushing KOTOR2 crippled a potentially amazing game to just a good one. Considering Bioware know what they're doing and can be relied on to deliver the goods, they should just back off and let them do it. They know the returns will be worth it.

But nooooo. Seriously, **** EA. As bad as Activision.

[PhrosniteAgainROFL]

Yeap, I heard it on this week's GirlFight. Christine said it. Game was rushed.

Reviewers said that music in DA2 was better than DA:O's. That guy Zur knows how to work in short dev cycles. Nice

Modifié par PhrosniteAgainROFL, 11 mars 2011 - 09:41 .