2797 réponses à ce sujet

[aries1001]

I finally bought the game (found some extra money ). I'll admit that I'm only in chapter 1 so far. And I must be playing a different game than those who deeply and harshly have critizied DA2. So far, no enemies have popped out of thin air, well there was one on a ledge, and then there of course were assasins, but it is kind of their job, wouldn't you say, to pop out of thin air. I like the game, so far. Saying more would either be a fan review or going deep into spoiler territory, so I'll leave it at that - here at least.

However, there's one thing I really, really miss from Origins, the tactical view it is. I've found it nearly impossible to 'scroll' through the party members with the mouse. It might be easier to remember this, or to do this, with a gamepad. But with a mouse, it is almost impossible, as said. Not to mention that the cursor (if that's the word?) jumps from one party member to another when changing between them. Strategies can't be planned nor can tactical plans be laid out before a battle.


Another thing might also be looked into and fixed, if possible; if you are to combat a group of people, you'll need to get close to them first. Then the line of attack will kick in, and the people will attack. I'm hoping this can get fixed so that e.g. a mage can use areo of effect spells like i.e. fireball...

[N7M]

The " <spoiler>* " missions were the worst for irresponsibly handled spawning waves of enemies.

*rhymes with "bed Penny"

[aries1001]

I've gotten a little farther into the game, played about 10 hours or so. I still like it The characters in the game are the best one I've met or seen in any Bioware game so far. I met Fenris last night...

I still maintain my plea to get the tactical overview back, it is really frustating not being able to zoom out, and to plan attacks, especially with the -ahem- -cough- wave combat. I've have experienced the wave combat in droves now. And it is not that bad an idea, the way it was implemented, however was.

I certainly understand the idea behind it, you open a door in a house (say Danarius's Mansion), shades pour out, after a while they call for their -ahem- friends. Then, in the midst of defeating those, the new friends call out for their friends. I know we have discusssed this very much here, but untill I experienced it myself, I couldn't believe it. I've also encountered enemies where the wave combat made much more e.g.
at the docks where assasins will pop out of thin air, but this is, as I said, in my first comment, their job-description, isn't it?

In other Bioware games, we could click on the characters to get them moving, not so in this one. (unless I'm doing it wrong?). We have to click on the character's portrait, it seems. Again, this might be easier to do with a gamepad as you cycle through the characters. I miss this feature, please bring it back - if techinically doable.

As said, I still like the game, the characters are very interesting, and the story so far seem interesting as well. If were talking scores, I don't get why anyone would give this game, DA2, a 0 or a 2, or even 4 or 5.
To me, right now it is in the 8-9, range, probably 8.510 - And it is the combat that's lowering the score. Based on story alone, so far I'd rate the game in the 9-10 range, probably around 9.5-9.6/10.

[Itkovian]

Now that time has passed and I have a better grasp of the game, here is another bit of constructive criticism:

Firstly, I love DA2. It's a good game, but it does suffer from a few flaws, most of which seem to stem from a stunted development period. Another year of work would have resolved most of these issues.

Things I particularly liked:

- The storytelling.

It's simply excellent, and step outside the box. Instead of a big epic storyline we get a very personnal one whose main element is not a single overarching threat, but simply the journey of the protagonist. Hawke's growth from nobody to champion.

I like how the side quests frequently "fit in" with each other, and evolve over each act. In many side quests actions I took in a chapter had impact on the next.

I enjoyed the companions, and the fact that their stories grow through time. The friendship/rivalry works better than the approval in DAO, and has excellent impacts. We basically get great variety in our relationships, and the characters feel more three-dimensional.

- The graphics and art styles.

I never thought DAO was too brown, but I've come to really appreciate the new art style. It is more meaningful, and once I got used to it I had no problem associating it with Dragon Age.

- The combat.

Just plain better tha DAO, at least as a warrior (especially a sword and shield warrior). It's more fun, more tactical (at least when playing at hard or higher) than DAO, and has more options.  I find myself enjoying DA2's combat far more than DAO, and I don't simply go through the fights to get to the story: playing combat is fun by itself.

- classes and abilities.

Like combat, I find the classes and abilitiy structures to be more fun and interesting. There's many more permutations than before, and planning out your character builds and companion builds is a fun activity in and of itself.

Companions having their own unique abilities is also quite fun.


Things I particularly disliked:

- No Item Descritions. That hurt, itemization is simply nowhere near as fun as in DAO anymore. It is much more fun to pick up a new sword and learn its backstory, than just knowing its name.

Items can have stories too, and without them they are simply bundles of stats that create no real meaning or attachment.

Bring back the huge Baldur's Gate descriptions. Those were excellent.

- Simplified Journals. In a game with tons of side-quests that take you all over the map, having no detailed journal is a real problem. Where are the notes about previous steps in the quest? Where's the little quest summaries we got in DAO?

DAO's journal was quite simply better in every way, shape, or form. It was more complete, more detailed.

The conversation log alone was an excellent feature that is sorely missing from DA2.

- Combat Waves.

I don't mind waves themselves, much, so long as it makes sense and is not excessive. The problem is that waves can be very dangerous when overused, which they are.

Basically, if someone is in a tough fight and thinks he's about to win the fight just as a new wave of foes pop up, the player will NOT see this as a fun challenge. The player will instead be frustrated.

Any combat mechanic that is more frustrating than enjoyable should be avoided, and waves are far too easily frustrating.

- Map reuse. This one is certainly due to having less development time, as such I would rather have map reuse with more content, than having simply less content.

But ideally, it would have been better to spend more time working on the game, so that the same amount of content would have had unique environments.

I appreciate the goal behind this, and prefer having extra content, but this is another issue that will frustrate players (much like the re-used maps in Mass Effect 1).

That's all I can think of for now. Hopefully it makes sense.

Thank you.

Itkovian

[IamonlyoneGuy]

One of the things which is annoying - especially on harder difficulites - is the Blood Mages.  Their attack drains my Healer's health before I have a chance to heal.

I do think that they might have added another act where the events at the end start to appear and it builds up into Act 3.

[Sinuphro]

aries1001 wrote...

I've gotten a little farther into the game, played about 10 hours or so. I still like it The characters in the game are the best one I've met or seen in any Bioware game so far. I met Fenris last night...

I still maintain my plea to get the tactical overview back, it is really frustating not being able to zoom out, and to plan attacks, especially with the -ahem- -cough- wave combat. I've have experienced the wave combat in droves now. And it is not that bad an idea, the way it was implemented, however was.

I certainly understand the idea behind it, you open a door in a house (say Danarius's Mansion), shades pour out, after a while they call for their -ahem- friends. Then, in the midst of defeating those, the new friends call out for their friends. I know we have discusssed this very much here, but untill I experienced it myself, I couldn't believe it. I've also encountered enemies where the wave combat made much more e.g.
at the docks where assasins will pop out of thin air, but this is, as I said, in my first comment, their job-description, isn't it?

In other Bioware games, we could click on the characters to get them moving, not so in this one. (unless I'm doing it wrong?). We have to click on the character's portrait, it seems. Again, this might be easier to do with a gamepad as you cycle through the characters. I miss this feature, please bring it back - if techinically doable.

As said, I still like the game, the characters are very interesting, and the story so far seem interesting as well. If were talking scores, I don't get why anyone would give this game, DA2, a 0 or a 2, or even 4 or 5.
To me, right now it is in the 8-9, range, probably 8.510 - And it is the combat that's lowering the score. Based on story alone, so far I'd rate the game in the 9-10 range, probably around 9.5-9.6/10.

Tell you what....play dragon age ultimate edition....finish it, do all the different classes and scenarios then pick the best scenario you want to transfer to dragon age 2. Transfer it then play dragon age 2. You will reaallly be upset when you do that. The fact is if you have played dragon age origins then play dragon age 2, you would obviously know where bioware messed up. If you never played dragon age origins...you will never understand why the majority of dragon age fans were upset.

[John Epler]

Allow me to remind everyone that this is the Constructive Criticism thread - not the 'people who have opinions that are not the same as mine are wrong' thread.

In other words, it's not really meant for discussion. That diminishes the value of the thread somewhat, though it's moving slowly enough at this point that we can still sort through it. Still, let's try and keep it out of the thread, shall we?

[HawXV2]

JohnEpler wrote...

Allow me to remind everyone that this is the Constructive Criticism thread - not the 'people who have opinions that are not the same as mine are wrong' thread.

In other words, it's not really meant for discussion. That diminishes the value of the thread somewhat, though it's moving slowly enough at this point that we can still sort through it. Still, let's try and keep it out of the thread, shall we?

Eh, I couldn't do that. This is a lot of feedback. I'd never want to read again, haha.

[ElitePinecone]

I've resisted posting constructive criticism while I replayed the game and thought about what I actually found could be improved. So much of the initial response was negative; while I thought this was justified in many respects, there were parts of the game I did enjoy.

The story seemed jumbled and hugely disjointed, lacking both a central focus (the Archdemon, Reapers, Star Forge, whatever) and any real explanation as to why Hawke was acting the way s/he did. It all felt so horribly contrived, lacked sufficient gravitas and seemed to indulge in deus ex machina more than I felt was necessary. The Qunari were perhaps the highlight of what amounted to a disappointing main campaign.

Some of the individual quests and much of the dialogue (particularly character interaction) were fantastic, but the overarching storyline and Hawke's motivations were poorly done. At no point did I feel as engrossed in the story as Origins, and the ending was particularly baffling, not to mention rigid. It felt like the world was moving and Hawke might give it a nudge or two, rather than the other way around.

Obviously map re-use was a gigantic problem, it made the last half of the game a chore. I can't see how this could be fixed apart from a bigger budget and a bigger commitment to actually build some environments.

The inventory was mysteriously absent of what made Origins fun; unique items and a huge range of gear. The lack of armour customisation for squadmates wasn't a huge problem, but at the same time some more variety would've been appreciated. 'Junk' seemed at best irrelevant and at worst a nuisance, there are surely better ways to give money to the character than have them scavenge around the world for a thousand items that sell for tiny amounts each. Not fun at all.

Combat was mostly fun, at least in its good range of talents and fast pace. I found the wave combat incredibly frustrating, however. It made no sense to downgrade from what worked so well in Origins - enemies that occupied a physical space - to have them jumping in randomly. Fighting through three waves of enemies in some of the nighttime Kirkwall missions was incredibly, massively tedious.

Characterisation was routinely excellent (particularly the romances, which apart from the leaps in time were done well), and some of the sidequests were the best I've seen in a Bioware game to date. It was very disappointing that such quality in the characters and sidequests were let down by a mediocre main plot and the disorientating leaps in time that threw us into the future for seemingly no reason at all. The quests involving Hawke's family were perhaps some of the strongest in the game, and I appreciated the small details of party banter.

I thought DA2 was a decent game, even approaching a good game, but completely lost in the shadow of its predecessor and pumped up far too much by overconfident marketing and an attitude of broadening or simplifying rather than improving on what worked so well. I'd like to think Bioware are astute enough to take the best lessons of DA2 and make a better third game, and I hope they see the wisdom in waiting to achieve quality rather than succumbing to commercial pressures. I'll be hesitant to buy DA3 until I know it's improved on its predecessor.

[mdigs150]

one of the big problems i had with this game was the discrepancy between your health and your enemies. this has been mentioned before i know but i just thought it felt much more balanced in origins where you could actually have more health than some enemies, rather than in da2 where critters have upwards of 500 health. this is particularly obvious with stuff like the arishok fight which seemed to last forever, and with certain other npcs. also it seemed pretty silly when winter's grasp exploded one shotting two of your melee party members and only doing about half (if you were lucky) to standard enemies. pet peeve. on a side note really looking forward to legacy looks like bioware listened to some of the criticisms particularly in regard to enemy waves so fair play for that! hopefully more story based dlc to come because i actually do really enjoy this game there are just some issues which can be fixed.

Modifié par mdigs150, 21 juillet 2011 - 08:37 .

[Morroian]

Just something to add for anyone monitoring this thread, its probably been said before but anyway..... Interaction with the characters is a bit too tightly controlled which can make the interaction seem artificial.

For future games I had the idea that maybe you could retain control through doing 2-3 companion quests at various stages through the game, triggered by the stage of the game as well as approval/friendship/rivalry at that point with the consequent dialogue surrounding those quests occurring at that time similar to DA2.

Then apart from that have dialogue exploring character backgrounds and beliefs like a combination of the DAO dialogue and the questioning belief quests of DA2 which proceed more in the manner of DAO triggered by friendship/rivalry and which can then influence friendship/rivalry.

[ioannisdenton]

i am gonna say about the artstyle: too much happy colors (i noticed it immediately), dark fantasy games need less happy colours, i cannot express it right but you get thefreeling i think, wounded coast's pallete and caves is NOT dragon age. I liked the idea that elves should not just be humanswith pointy ears but elves were just plain ugly. darkspawn; i liked them better in DA:O
as Sareth Cousland stated above me
"Base DA3 on the look & feel of Origins. Its art style and combat should be firmly rooted in the WRPG tradition. Especially the darkspawn & elves should return to their DA:O design. The color palette should also be considered (less is more – dark fantasy, WRPG)."

[brayl]

I just finished Dragon Age 2. I've been a long-time RPG player, starting back in the day with Dungeon Master, etc. I was disappointed with the endless waves of fighting. I turned down the difficulty because I got bored with 5 waves thrown at me just to move on to the next step in the game.

Next, why was the game so parsimonious with treasure and gold? I made sure I always had around 50 gold after this price was set by the fee to get to the Deep Roads. But, I never went over 75, because I had to keep buying potions to deal with those waves of monsters/thugs/etc. I liked the idea of finding gifts to give to the characters in DA, and was disappointed with the limited gifts in DA2. And why should I even find "stuff" if it's really just trash and to be turned in to the next available merchant?

Re: characters. Who thought it a good idea to restrict the classes to only one? I want my characters to pick up a weapon and a bow. I was very disappointed with Varric's inability to fight in close quarters, or with Isabella having no choice other than to be a tank, despite not being suited for it. I want my mages to use bows and weapons and wands. Sure, they will suck at being tanks, but that's for me to decide.

Finally, the storyline had a big flaw with Orsino acting as he does. That made absolutely no sense. That's what stuck in my craw the most.

This is the first time in all my years of game play that I took the time to give feedback to the developers. I like where DA is headed, and I'd like to see more software like DA or DA2 with corrections. Story is key for me. I don't care to squash 100 bugs at a time, as that market is filled by the Quakes and Halos of the gaming world.

Remember the "Role Playing" in the term RPG, and DA will be a franchise to be proud of. Thanks.

Modifié par brayl, 26 juillet 2011 - 01:45 .

[PSUHammer]

Replaying a Warrior playthrough to get all the stuff I missed on my very first play. One thing jumping out at me now is how casual Isabela is after 3 years of being away. You basically walk up and say "Hey, what's up? Oh nothing...remember when...??"

It was like you saw her yesterday. Kind of immersion breaking.

[King Cousland]

Bioware seem to be adressing the wave combat and map re-use concerns. My "wishlist" for DAIII is as follows:
*Less "cartoonish" art style - The graphics were an improvement over Orgins in DAII, but I felt that the new art style took away the game's rawness, and subtracted the darkness from dark fantasy. I also think the unrealistic combat needs to be improved. I don't think it'd be good to return to Origins style combat, but something along the lines of TW2 would be good.
*Orgins style inventory - I found it simpler
*More varied items - Less generic: "Ring" and "Amulet" should be scrapped. I also think junk should be done away with.
*Origins style merchant system - A trivial matter, but I preferred opening the mercantile system through dialogue with the merchant.

[King Cousland]

Almost forgot to add Orgins Style Companion Interaction (i.e. anywhere, not just through quests). DAII style was very immersion breaking, felt like they were just flings and acquaintances.

[Realmzmaster]

I would like to see items that have to be identified such as cursed items. I would keep the generic names until the item is identified. The character has to can get the item or items identified (by store spell, or companion), identify it himself/herself (either through lore or actually using the item). The item goes into the junk column until identified or may an unidentified column.

[Eurhetemec]

brayl wrote...

I just finished Dragon Age 2. I've been a long-time RPG player, starting back in the day with Dungeon Master, etc. I was disappointed with the endless waves of fighting. I turned down the difficulty because I got bored with 5 waves thrown at me just to move on to the next step in the game.

Next, why was the game so parsimonious with treasure and gold? I made sure I always had around 50 gold after this price was set by the fee to get to the Dark Roads. But, I never went over 75, because I had to keep buying potions to deal with those waves of monsters/thugs/etc. I liked the idea of finding gifts to give to the characters in DA, and was disappointed with the limited gifts in DA2. And why should I even find "stuff" if it's really just trash and to be turned in to the next available merchant?

Re: characters. Who thought it a good idea to restrict the classes to only one? I want my characters to pick up a weapon and a bow. I was very disappointed with Varric's inability to fight in close quarters, or with Isabella having no choice other than to be a tank, despite not being suited for it. I want my mages to use bows and weapons and wands. Sure, they will suck at being tanks, but that's for me to decide.

Finally, the storyline had a big flaw with Orsino acting as he does. That made absolutely no sense. That's what stuck in my craw the most.

This is the first time in all my years of game play that I took the time to give feedback to the developers. I like where DA is headed, and I'd like to see more software like DA or DA2 with corrections. Story is key for me. I don't care to squash 100 bugs at a time, as that market is filled by the Quarks and Halos of the gaming world.

Remember the "Role Playing" in the term RPG, and DA will be a franchise to be proud of. Thanks.

Whilst I liked DA2 a lot, I have to agree with these criticisms, particularly the bolded ones. I liked some of the "wave" combat, but I felt it was grossly overused. The game was very very stingy with money and good loot, particularly before Act III (and even then!), and Orsino's behaviour near the end was borderline inexplicable.

[Reidbynature]

HawXV2 wrote...


Darkspawn

I'm sort of sleepy while putting this, but these designs are horrible. The original were much better, and a lot scarier. What happened to Genlock and Shurlock? Did Hurlocks get jealous and slaughter them all? Just bring back the old designs and put back in Genlocks and Shurlocks.

I agree with this.  Even though DA2 isn't the prettiest game itself (ugly ugly elves and corpse hands Bethany) there was a better art direction for the most part except when it came to Darkspawn who all took a step down and just generally looked dorky.

Although I could add a lot more about the game I would like to see improved I will just leave it right now and close with that I found the story took a real nosedive compared to Origins.  I mean I had some problems with it in Origins too, but it was still fairly enjoyable and overall a great game, but I just felt as though I was replaying a drawn out version of the Circle of Mages quest from Origins (both before and after the Arishok storyline went nowhere).  It didn't help that every outcome was essentially tainted and felt like I as a player had no real influence in the game.

Plus I've noticed that there are a lot of writers in this game.  Which just makes me wonder.  How is writing handled in this game?  Do you have one person who provides the overall direction of the project and makes sure that everyone is in line with the overall game and it has a consistent tone or is it more of a case of too many cooks in the kitchen?

[S Seraff]

brayl wrote...

I just finished Dragon Age 2. I've been a long-time RPG player, starting back in the day with Dungeon Master, etc. I was disappointed with the endless waves of fighting. I turned down the difficulty because I got bored with 5 waves thrown at me just to move on to the next step in the game.

Next, why was the game so parsimonious with treasure and gold? I made sure I always had around 50 gold after this price was set by the fee to get to the Dark Roads. But, I never went over 75, because I had to keep buying potions to deal with those waves of monsters/thugs/etc. I liked the idea of finding gifts to give to the characters in DA, and was disappointed with the limited gifts in DA2. And why should I even find "stuff" if it's really just trash and to be turned in to the next available merchant?

Re: characters. Who thought it a good idea to restrict the classes to only one? I want my characters to pick up a weapon and a bow. I was very disappointed with Varric's inability to fight in close quarters, or with Isabella having no choice other than to be a tank, despite not being suited for it. I want my mages to use bows and weapons and wands. Sure, they will suck at being tanks, but that's for me to decide.

Finally, the storyline had a big flaw with Orsino acting as he does. That made absolutely no sense. That's what stuck in my craw the most.

This is the first time in all my years of game play that I took the time to give feedback to the developers. I like where DA is headed, and I'd like to see more software like DA or DA2 with corrections. Story is key for me. I don't care to squash 100 bugs at a time, as that market is filled by the Quakes and Halos of the gaming world.

Remember the "Role Playing" in the term RPG, and DA will be a franchise to be proud of. Thanks.

all this  

[TEWR]

Here's what I wrote on another thread for how to improve the Dragon Age series starting with DA3

Here's my take on how to improve/fix the DA series in DA3. Now guys, remember, this is just my opinion. Be warned though, I'm going to do some shameless thread plugging of some of my previous threads.

Combat: Keep DA2's combat system. Everything was pretty much flawless. The animations are amazing. But, I think DW rogues need to either be tinkered around with for their current animations or given a new one, because their striking movements in front of an enemy don't look like they put any impact into their swings. With the others, it actually looks like it hurts. With the Rogues, to quote Filament, they're too "arm-y".

Now, let me move to Greatsword animations. I think the animations should stay, but if you use up all of your stamina on abilities, then the animations slow down by 25%. So, you either continue striking at 75% of your normal attack speed until you build up some stamina again, or you drink a stamina draught. That's basically what those potions do. They give you more stamina. Not just stamina to use abilities, but in terms of not being exhausted.

Archers, Mages, and S&S are perfect. Well, mostly perfect. I don't like the S&S speed dash that Aveline does.

Now, let me move onto abilities. I think there should be a touch of realism in the abilities. Mighty Blow's 6 ft. jump is unnecessary. It should just be a full-force slam into the ground. Then there's Scythe. I think the speed dash it does should go. If possible, could you make it look like they're sprinting? If not, then I'm fine with it. You get the idea. Redo the abilities that are OTT to have a touch of realism.

Next, enemies need to use the same animations we do. I dislike knocking enemies back and they're stuck using Origins' animations with a 3% boost to attack speed. I also think they should use some of our abilities as well. From what I saw of Malvernis, he uses Rock Armor I think. That's good. That's a step in the right direction.

Now, for combat in general. You need to make all enemies use actual tactics. Commanders should command their enemies. Mages should heal their allies. Stuff like that. One example I like to give is a commander telling all of his S&S men to form a line to attack enemies (and to add to it, Archers should get behind them), and they become immune to damage. The only way to damage them is to use an AoE spell that knocks them back. It wouldn't damage them, but it would disrupt the line so you could damage them again.


Art Style and Art Direction: I'm not sure of the difference between the two, so I'm just going to combine them. If someone could explain to me the difference, it would be much appreciated.

Anyway, first off, I like the new look of each race. But they seem a bit too shiny. I don't know, maybe I'm just seeing things. Also, most of the elves should be given the same amount of detail to make them attractive as some of the elves in DA2. Athenril, Merrill, Fenris, Orsino, Fenarel, and many others were beautiful. 

I love the new designs of each race of Thedas...

except for the Darkspawn for the most part. The Hurlock grunts need to revert to their old design. The Genlock design is great imo. But I think the color should be gray. Ogres look closer to the Kossith in DA2 in terms of the face, but it's too mushed. And they need to be purple again. Purple made them look a lot closer to Kossith than Kirkwall tan did. Hurlock Emissaries need to lose the S&M equipment on their face and drop the elf ears. Hurlock Alphas are great. Genlock Alphas need to be slightly smaller than Hurlock grunts.

They also need sharp teeth again. And don't even think of changing the Shrieks! Their design from DAO was perfect!

So, to sum it up:

1) I love the new designs of Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and Kossith.
2) Hurlock Alphas, Genlocks, and Genlock Alphas are great.
3) Hurlock grunts need to go back to the old design.
4) Emissaries and Ogres need to be tweaked to be better.
5) Shrieks should stay as they are.

You can find more information about the races in my Darkspawn thread, which also serves the purpose of a thread dealing with the other races: http://social.biowar...5/index/7494031

now for the world itself. This is a dark fantasy game, so you do need to give it a dark and gritty feel. To that end, I think you should try and find a better engine, like Skyrim's or FFXIII's. See here (http://social.biowar...1/index/7802145)

This also requires the cities to feel more alive: http://social.biowar...1/index/7691016

Denerim was dead and lifeless, and Kirkwall was in a coma. Bioware, you really do need to work on making the cities feel alive. It adds to immersion. I'd also like to see the world be more open. I despise traveling from one area to another with nothing in between. If I was lucky in Origins I'd get a random encounter, but even that barely satisfied me. I'd like to see the world be more open.

Characters: Keep doing what you do. I love Merrill, Aveline, Varric, and Isabela. The others I like, but I did want to say certain things to each one. Which can be seen in this thread: http://social.biowar...4/index/7915225 (and don't worry, this one isn't mine )

There's also the issue of characterization. You guys didn't allow us to get to know Meredith or Orsino. With Meredith, you have to side with her to hear her sob story. But because it comes so late, I couldn't care less. By this time, it seems more like something she's imagining because of how crazy she is than what is really the truth, despite it actually being the truth.

Then there's armor. While I like unique looks for companions, I loved customizing armor. Bioware, all you really needed to do was give us one set of armor unique to the companions that could serve as their unique appearance in the future. Make it an armor set you get on their final companion quest, where it's their ultimate armor set. Then, that would always serve as their uniquel look. Morrigan was the same way, sort of. You could customize her, but Morrigan's Robes and the Robes of Possession both served the purpose of her unique appearance, and she is dressed that way in Witch Hunt.

Story: It has to make sense. Do more showing and less telling. Give us more choices that don't lead to the same conclusion. Give us some proactive protagonists. DA2's biggest faults were that Hawke was a reactive protagonist when he should've been proactive and that the Mage-Templar conflict was loosely, and I do mean loosely, connected over the three acts.

A rise to power involves making connections and being proactive. The Mage-Templar conflict was supposed to be a story of Freedom vs. Security, but it just became good vs. evil. I made a post about some of the thigns that I would've done for the Mage-Templar conflict, but this is a no spoiler section. If you want me to PM it to you, just send me a PM asking for a PM. Or quote me.

Family: I think you guys went overboard with the whole family death thing. I think both of the siblings should've lived. IMO, having Bethany go to the Circle and Carver go to the Wardens would've had more of an impact on Hawke as a character. Or even Bethany in the Circle and Carver in the Templars. That could've helped the Mage-Templar conflict out considerably.

Not to mention the fact that we barely got to know Leandra, so we really didn't care for her. Thankfully, Legacy allows us to have more of a connection with her.
I think you only needed to kill off one character, and you know who that was (no people I don't mean Gamlen ).

DAO allowed us for the most part to get a connection to our family, so when they died or we were taken away from them, we actually felt something. The only Origin story that failed to do that for me was the DE origin. The only sadness I felt was that Mahariel wasn't going to 'frolick in the woods' with Merrill anymore, as they cared deeply for one another.

It also didn't help that we didn't get to talk to Templar Carver or Circle Mage Bethany at all. The family was obviously allowed to visit them, as Leandra visits Bethany, so why can't we talk to her? Find out how life in the Circle is? Or tell Carver that he's a colossal ******?

Friendship & Rivalry: It needs to be worked on. I can be pro-mage yet a dick to Anders, and he acts like I'm anti-mage instead of just Anti-Anders. That's a big problem.

Love Interests: Cassandra and Athenril. Give me those two in DA3 and I'll be happy.


This is what I've thought up so far. If I think of anything else I'll either edit this post or make a new one.


EDIT: Horses and Gorillas. And new races/creatures ( http://social.biowar...1/index/7876424)

and also.....

Also, Origin stories:


First, I predict  (really it's actually me hoping) we'll be playing as a person who is recruited into the Seekers and can either:

A) Side with the Templars
Want the status quo to return
C) Side with the mages


Second, here's what I'd like to see depending on race:


1.) Human -- Warriors and rogues are from Nevarra. You're a guard for the ruling family, the Pentaghasts, and your elite service catches the eye of the now broken Chantry. They are in dire need of more able people to help restore order, so they recruit you.


Mages on the other hand are a Tevinter slave. Your master abuses you and your family, and has gone so far to use your own sister as fodder for his spells. Fed up, you brutally slay him but are now awaiting execution. Many slaves have been planning another revolt for years and are now ready to do it if you are killed because you exacted justice, were friends with most of these slaves, and they too are fed up with Tevinter's system. Leliana, seeing what you did as justifiable and working undercover for the White Chantry, uses her bardic arts to persuade them to release you into her custody so as to avoid Tevinter facing another revolt. This revolt would destroy Tevinter, which while the Chantry would be happy to see, they have other issues.


2) Elf -- Warriors and Rogues are from Antiva. A former assassin of the Antivan Crows, you left that life long ago when you fulfilled your last contract against a corrupt noble planning to take over the Antivan throne. Haunted by your past killings, you keep convincing yourself that it was nothing personal. But you have killed men, women, and even children because the Crows told you to. At the local tavern in glorious Antiva City, you overhear something outside. You venture outside to find the noble who hired the Crows standing over your guildmaster's corpse. Seeing you, he has now worked to frame you for the crime, and now the Crows hunt you relentlessly. Your only sanctuary is in the now broken Chantry as the Crows won't touch you there, but you vow to get revenge on that noble and prove your innocence.


Mages however are apostates from the Circle, now on the run. Your mother was a Dalish outcast long ago, and you are seeking them out for safe shelter from the rogue Templar dogs that now hunt you. Traveling from village to village, you avoid going near the Chantries. When you eventually find the Ralaferin clan and its Keeper Gisharel, you see more Templar dogs. These ones however, are not after you, but are after the Keeper and his First. With no other choice, you defend them from the Templars. They offer you shelter within their clan, but the Seekers who are led by Cassandra arrive and take you with them. Their numbers are more than the clan, and you tell them not to try and defend you. You'll gladly submit so long as they will not be harmed. Cassandra agrees and you go with them.


3.) Dwarf -- Warriors and Rogues are an exiled Noble caste dwarf from Orzammar for a murder of one of Bhelen's/Harrowmont's allies that the Assembly doesn't know if you committed or not, but Bhelen/Harrowmont says that should new evidence be brought to light that condemns you, they will hunt you down. Cast out, you now wander Ferelden, unsure of what to do now. The only person who said they would still talk to you is a good friend of yours from the Mining Caste who said he'd help you in any way he could. As you wander the countryside, you think to yourself that you'll become a mercenary or a smuggler. Working for a new mercenary company or smuggler group, your skills catch the attention of the Seekers. The Seekers have been doing some spying on you and now approach you. They know about your contact in Orzammar, and want to use that to help bring the Templars under their control again. With the Chantry now fractured and Dagna's books having caused a free Circle to be established in Orzammar, they need as much lyrium as they can get. Even if you refuse, they threaten to use forged evidence against you and send it to Orzammar. With not much choice, you grudgingly accept.


4.) Tal-Vashoth -- Once a devout follower of the Qun, you left that life seeking a freedom you never thought possible. Your time as Tal-Vashoth has showed you the flaws of the Qunari as well as the flaws of everyone else. Wandering about, you sell yourself as mercenary to the Chantry. The mages and Templars don't matter to you. The Chantry isn't important. What matters to you is your new freedom. Freedom to live your life the way you choose to.

Females have an added reason for leaving the Qun. They wanted to prove that they could fight. That women can indeed be warriors. If she can't prove it to the Qunari, she'll prove it to herself.


 


Lastly, all of these roles would preferably be fully voiced by different VAs  and Bioware shall implement a voice toggle.


This took me about 30 minutes at least to think up (wasn't keeping track of time), so people may have beaten me to certain ideas and there may be kinks in my ideas.

That was something I wrote a while back in a different thread, and I just copied and pasted it on the thread where I made the first post up top. Those are just my ideas for Origin stories. They're nothing special. but hey, they're not too bad

Modifié par The Ethereal Writer Redux, 18 août 2011 - 11:59 .

[TEWR]

Also, wasn't this thread stickied at one point? Why is it no longer sticky?

[TEWR]

I never said it was likely to happen =P. Just wishful thinking mostly.

But, I do feel the need to say that 1 VA can do different voices. It doesn't have to be 12 VAs for 12 characters. It could be 1 VA for two voices. Hugh Laurie and Robin Atkin Downes are able to do two different voices each.

Then you have Robin Williams. He can pretty much do any voice.

*Starts imagining Dwarf PC with Robin Williams' voice*