286 réponses à ce sujet

[Stanley Woo]

AJRimmsey wrote...

Stanley Woo wrote...

why do people keep thinking I'm a lead QA guy? i've never implied i was a lead anything. I'm just a regular QA guy who also happens to moderate our forums.

because you used the royal "we" in a reply.
now your getting the flak for every gripe the game fostered..

you now have the burden of developing,publishing and taking the money for this release 

Understood. From now on, i will use the completely made-up pronoun "floi."

[aries1001]

Stanley Woo wrote...

why do people keep thinking I'm a lead QA guy? i've never implied i was a lead anything. I'm just a regular QA guy who also happens to moderate our forums.

Sorry about that....

I don't know why I have gotten it into my head that you're the Lead QA guy. However, I have now checked the credits in DA: Awakenings. And it seems that the Quality Assurance Lead is - Jason Leong. (at least for Awakenings). But I guess this is also true for DA2 as well. Nathan Frederick is the QA lead for Bioware as a company....

Again, sorry about mine, and probably other people's confusion, as well.

My points about how the QA job still stands, though...

[Azzlee]

Perhaps it should be taken as a compliment that people come here angry and vent their frustrations. You don't do that unless you care. Or your out to deliberatly cause trouble

But I can only look to Bioware to make a stand at EA for the development time, as I understand it, it would be their deadline to work to. There is a very clear and obvious level of quality between DA:O and DA2 that is put down to 3 things. Money (or lack thereof), the short development cycle and EA for making those 2 things a problem. Give me £50 and an hour, I'll draw you a pretty picture. Give me 50p and a minute, you won't.

[cipher86]

Okay, I can understand the reasoning of trying to appeal to a different crowd by changing the equipment system. But what's the reasoning behind the copy-paste dungeouns? I think there's a very small group of people that "don't mind" it, and I don't see how anyone would see such a change as an improvement to the varied locales DA:O provided.

[Gvaz]

Also I really hated that the only way to get a different LOOKING armor is to romance them. If you romance merril she suddenly gets this armor:



Why isn't this a reward for getting all the upgrades for a character? Why is it only from romancing her? Wouldn't that be the point?

[Revelo]

I hasten to point out, Stanley. That delaying a game for a few months isn't usually a bad thing, Epic are doing that with Gears 3 and thats given them the chance for a Public Beta to ensure the game is top notch, hell even cancelling a game isn't a bad thing either. Blizzard did that with Warcraft Adventures and we got Warcraft 3 as a result.

What i am saying is, would it have killed anyone to have waited 2 or 3 months to give the game a proper playtest to iron out all these problems? it could still have been out long before ME3 without issue. I wish I had waited to buy DA2 now, so I could have played a game that at least felt finished.

I won't bring up your Fenris comment earlier in the thread, as weak as I respectfully feel it is, it has been done to death. It's just disappointing that a formula everyone loves had to be taken apart like this. =/

[Eurhetemec]

It's been an option in every Bioware game for the last 10 years,  suddenly now it's a "Individual's imagination" issue?.

It wasn't an option in ME2. I don't remember it being an option in Jade Empire (was it?). It wasn't an option for some KotOR characters. It wasn't an option in Planescape: Torment. I'm sure there were others where it wasn't an option either.

[Eurhetemec]

It's just disappointing that a formula everyone loves had to be taken apart like this. =/

That's just the problem, though - not everyone loves this. It's a small minority of players who love this, and then there's a large majority of players who don't mind it, but don't really care, and find that it sometimes becomes a chore that makes them want to stop playing. Then there's another small minority who always find it a chore and hate it.

[StingingVelvet]

Stanley Woo wrote...

All right, how about this one: despite us having given you a thing in Dragon Age Origins, we are not necessarily able to give you the same thing in Dragon Age II for a variety of reasons. Usually, the reason is zots. Having a comparatively short developement cycle means that we either had to work faster and/or on a smaller scale. Faster was already a given, what with time being inexorable and linear and all, but a smaller scale means sacrifices, compromises, and cuts compared to the original, gigantic, epic game.

One small, tiny feature may not mean much to the end-user, but it migth mean fundamental changes to the game for a developer. Features may have dependencies that are complex or extensive, as they are rarely as modular as people believe. Ultimately, it is a disagreement between us, the developer, and you, the player. We can only implement features a certain way; we can't create a system that will please everyone. As always, we do what we can witht he time and resources available and try to please as many people as we can. After the fact, we can pay attention to feedback, both here on the forums and elsewhere, and try to do better next time.

It's understandable but from a player's perspective I paid $50 for both games.  One, Origins, gave me 100+ hours of unique quests in unique environments with a greater number of features.  The other, DA2, gave me less playtime, much, much less unique environments and less features/streamlined content.

So... while you guys have to make it on a much quicker timetable is a REASON for it, as a player it is not really justified.  Why am I paying the same (or more if I had not pre-ordered before you raised the price to $60) for much less?  How does that work out for the consumer?  Why should the consumer care about the shorter dev cycle?

[StingingVelvet]

GvazElite wrote...

Also I really hated that the only way to get a different LOOKING armor is to romance them. If you romance merril she suddenly gets this armor:

*snip*

Why isn't this a reward for getting all the upgrades for a character? Why is it only from romancing her? Wouldn't that be the point?

I romanced Anders and his armor is identical afterward, so maybe that is a Merril only thing.

[Deylar]

Stanley Woo wrote...

You can find armour upgrades for Fenris that "would be perfect for Fenris." All games have limitations. We can't cater to every individual's imagination.

That's b.s.

Because in Origins we could do that very same thing the OP is talking about.

[Exevier]

Stanley Woo wrote...

Tirigon wrote...
Wow I envy you for your job. Being payed for playing games before they´re even released must be heaven:)

it's a fulfilling job, sure, but I'm not sure if anyone should "envy" me for it. Being paid to to play games sounds fun, but you can't put it down when you get bored. You can't go and play another game once you're "done." And you get to see all the bugs, things that eventually get cut, and some awesome things made less awesome over time (or maybe you just get jaded after a while).

On the other hand, and this is the stuff you can envy me for, I get get to see a game built from the ground up. I get to work with dozens of highly passionate, talented people who love games as much as I do. And I get to critique and suggest and discuss things about the game that nobody outside the project will ever hear about. i get to see levels being built and implemented. I get to hear temp VO. I get to see how the translators work. i get to giggle maniacally when the forums starts speculating on story, characters, and plots.

And despite everything, I still consider it a plus that I get to hang out with all you guys here on the forums and talk about the game. Because you guys are awesome, even if we don't always agree on stuff and things.

That's really cool. I, for one, definitely appreciate you guys wading in here and interacting with the community. I hate all the flak that's been tossed around on the forums recently--all of you from Bioware choose to be here of your own free wills. For what it's worth, I'm extremely happy with Dragon Age II. Sure, I miss some of the features from Origins that didn't make it in, but I enjoy the new features and improvements far more. I only wish the community as a whole could be a bit more understanding to the development side of things.

Keep up the great work!

GvazElite wrote...

Also I really hated that the only way
to get a different LOOKING armor is to romance them. If you romance
merril she suddenly gets this armor:

Why isn't this a reward for
getting all the upgrades for a character? Why is it only from romancing
her? Wouldn't that be the point?

StingingVelvet wrote...

I romanced Anders and his armor is identical afterward, so maybe that is a Merril only thing.

I'm a little curious as to how this works. I romanced Merrill, and her armor changed. Not long after, however, Anders' changed slightly for me, and I didn't romance him. I flirted with him once, but that was about it. Maybe it was an Act 3 thing? Or because his armor was fully upgraded? Hmmm.

Modifié par Exevier, 15 mars 2011 - 09:46 .

[Tirigon]

GvazElite wrote...

Also I really hated that the only way to get a different LOOKING armor is to romance them. If you romance merril she suddenly gets this armor:



Why isn't this a reward for getting all the upgrades for a character? Why is it only from romancing her? Wouldn't that be the point?

Much worse is, non-romanced armor looks actually better.

[Gvaz]

I just want my party members to not look the exact same for 50 hours

[Deylar]

GvazElite wrote...

I just want my party members to not look the exact same for 50 hours

Its obvious they don't change their clothes.

[Galad22]

Deylar wrote...

GvazElite wrote...

I just want my party members to not look the exact same for 50 hours

Its obvious they don't change their clothes.

I wonder if they wash them ever. Hmm.

[StowyMcStowstow]

The problem is that Bioware only had 1.5 years to make the game. That is not enough time to fully implement... anything. For what it's worth, Bioware did a fantastic job with only 1.5 years in dev, but they really needed longer. The whole map re-use is simply inexcusable. could dig the companion armor, if it changed their appearance, but as it is, no.

[StingingVelvet]

StowyMcStowstow wrote...

The problem is that Bioware only had 1.5 years to make the game. That is not enough time to fully implement... anything. For what it's worth, Bioware did a fantastic job with only 1.5 years in dev, but they really needed longer. The whole map re-use is simply inexcusable. could dig the companion armor, if it changed their appearance, but as it is, no.

If they significantly changed their appearance every chapter it would have been more tolerable.  Similarly if you could switch between maybe half a dozen outfits for them it would have been more tolerable.  On the dungeon front if they had just reused assets but made new rooms and such it would have been more tolerable.

There were a ton of little ways to make the game feel less rushed they could have implemented but chose not to.

[killingsheep24]

Stanley Woo wrote...

You can find armour upgrades for Fenris that "would be perfect for Fenris." All games have limitations. We can't cater to every individual's imagination.

lol buddy, you added the limitations.

[Deylar]

StowyMcStowstow wrote...

The problem is that Bioware only had 1.5 years to make the game. That is not enough time to fully implement... anything. For what it's worth, Bioware did a fantastic job with only 1.5 years in dev, but they really needed longer. The whole map re-use is simply inexcusable. could dig the companion armor, if it changed their appearance, but as it is, no.

I disagree. If they could make tons of tops I can't wear brcause I am mage and can't wear armor. And they can make upgrade outfits to my companions.

Then maybe they can let me fit and change my companions.

Yeah, there is a little bit of awkward and stupidity around.

Quit making excuses for them.

Modifié par Deylar, 15 mars 2011 - 10:12 .

[DarkAngel1979]

Stanley Woo wrote...

it's a fulfilling job, sure, but I'm not sure if anyone should "envy" me for it. Being paid to to play games sounds fun, but you can't put it down when you get bored. You can't go and play another game once you're "done." And you get to see all the bugs, things that eventually get cut, and some awesome things made less awesome over time (or maybe you just get jaded after a while).

I have to agree. It's like how I love bacon, but I don't really want to see it being made, ya know? I left that life long ago. Now I only occasionally get on open or closed betas when I go all fanboy on something (haivng industry experience helps secure a spot on closed betas ).

The worst part of doing QA for games though is having to play the horrible, horrible junk that you get from some development studios and knowing that the project you're working on is likely to get canned, so that part of your work assignment is finding time to cozy up to some other testers and their team so that you get a chair to sit on when the music stops... while some of your friends and coworkers get downsized. I'm guessing you don't get too much of that at Bioware, though maybe some of the people who work QA at EA have to suffer through that.

[DownyTif]

Eurhetemec wrote...

It's just disappointing that a formula everyone loves had to be taken apart like this. =/

That's just the problem, though - not everyone loves this. It's a small minority of players who love this, and then there's a large majority of players who don't mind it, but don't really care, and find that it sometimes becomes a chore that makes them want to stop playing. Then there's another small minority who always find it a chore and hate it.

That's a big assumption. I don't buy your "small minority who love this" and "large majority who don't mind". I understand what you mean though, but I'll make an assumption too with my perception. I think that when buying an RPG from Bioware, the majority of customer expects to have the ability to equip the companions. A minority will be extremely frustrated to see it removed, while almost the rest will probably hate the change (since it's Bioware) but live with it, then a minority with love the change. Because again, we are talking of a Bioware game.

They did the same thing in ME2, but there it makes sense (well to me). Because you are Cerberus, so you always have the latest and best equipement. Then you can upgrade the armors with technology that can be applied to any armor, but there isn't a lot you can do, since it's Shielding, Armor... that's about it. I liked the fact that I could change the way my companions in ME1 looked, but the change they made was inspired and fitted nicely (my opinion again). In a world like Dragon Age, you have an almost infinite amount of enchentment combinations for your armors, a lot of different materials and on top of that different classes (rogue = light armor, mage = no armor, warrior = heavy armor). So, to simplify the system the way it was done, I think it doesn't make sense, especially that some upgrades are restricted by romance and quests (and I heard by the fact that you played Awakening).

Yes it could have been simplified from DA1 and this thread is full of nice ideas. Less armor loot, a smith to "adjust" the armor, only armor sets instead of gloves, boots, etc. But it was not simplified, it was removed.

[corebit]

OK Stanley, who decided upon the incredibly short development deadline this time? I understand all games have deadlines they need to meet.

I'm sorry, but 1.5 years was WAY TOO short for DA2. Expansions take this much time, but not proper sequels. When I heard you announce the release dates for DA2 and ME3 I was surprised, and not in a good way.

When you merged with EA you promised us that no matter what, Bioware would not let EA affect the quality of its games. Your company name is among one of the most respected in the industry, but why can Blizzard take its sweet time with its games, and yet YOU can't?

Modifié par corebit, 16 mars 2011 - 01:39 .

[Alpr]

Idk why you're complaining about that when shields and crap mostly require stats that the classes dont use. Use S&S on a mage? sorry, you need 20 str and con to equip them. What's the freaking point of that then? Use a S&S warrior instead of a mage acting like a warrior.

[Sen4lifE]

Perhaps you could work in patches? I'm not suggesting adding a bunch of new game mechanics, but like adding some things in.. maybe new icons for items? though I don't know if that'd be possible anymore. Like a free update so they don't seem so reused? And maybe add some armour equippable by your companions at stores? Again, don't know if that's possible, but it'd be kind of cool. Reskins would be kind of lame. I mean they're fun, but paying $4 for a bunch of reskins that could have been options in the original game is a money scam that EA does repeat too much. :S Making some cool, new, cheap and not overpowered armour is okay in my book though.

I must agree that this game's deadline should have been extended.  Deadlines are good, but RPGs take time.   I'm confident most of RPG players would rather wait for a game an extra year if it meant it had better quality to it.

Modifié par Sen4lifE, 16 mars 2011 - 02:26 .