I posted earlier in this thread, after my first playthrough so my criticisms and compliments (some of both) will remain there. Just a few things to add after a second playthrough.
I tried playing on hard, and it wasn't so much "hard' as tedious. It felt like grinding through waves of enemies instead of coming up with a sound strategy to defeat them. After 2 playthroughs I've really taken a dislike to waves of enemies dropping from nowhere. I don't mind if they run in from around the corner - or even if an assassin "drops in" but all classes of enemies simply dropping in on my head was really immersion breaking. Also, where are all the abominations coming from - possessed mages rising from the ground - really. You have fabulous lore - please use it.
A note about assassins - I've seen several posts on this thread complaining about the difficulty they represent - I loved them. A truly difficult enemy that uses sound tactics to attack weaker targets- one of the better points of the game. I'm not fond of simply grinding away at an enemy for 30+ minutes (boss fights), but the assassins forced me to think about where all my party members were and who might be targeted and who could come to the rescue. The rogue skill trees (Subterfuge in particular) helped a lot with this. I generally run a 2-3 rogue party though so I do admit a bias.
After 2 playthroughs DA2 is a fun game but I'm not sure I'll play again until there is a patch, mods and possibly DLC to make me feel more connected to Hawke and her companions. From any other game company I would say DA2 was a really good game, from Bioware it's substandard. I'll go back to playing DA:O now (with mods) and writing (fanfic and mod dialog). I hope there is a DA3 and it is more like DA:O.
I believe I said in my previous review that DA2 felt more like a prologue to a bigger story, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Hawke and having more time to flesh out her story. But I want to roleplay a bigger story, not just play errand girl with a handful of scattered conversations with my companions.
Constructive Criticism
Débuté par
HawXV2
, mars 15 2011 06:50
Retour en haut
#1627
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:51
Lumikki
-
- Members
- 4 239 messages
Yeah, I agree. I actually liked them too. Sure, they are annoying enemies, but at least they are different.TanithAeyrs wrote...
A note about assassins - I've seen several posts on this thread complaining about the difficulty they represent - I loved them. A truly difficult enemy that uses sound tactics to attack weaker targets- one of the better points of the game.
Also like many sayed before enemies droping from nowhere is really bad. I played mostly in "normal" difficulty, then tryed in hard and did not notice much difference. So , I now play in nightmare and while it's little different, it just booring. There isn't really much any tactics here required, except running around. That's pretty much all tactics required in DA2. Avoiding damage, run around. Go behind corner and lure enemies on big pile for AoE's.
#1628
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 05:07
erynnar
-
- Members
- 3 010 messages
TanithAeyrs wrote...
I posted earlier in this thread, after my first playthrough so my criticisms and compliments (some of both) will remain there. Just a few things to add after a second playthrough.
I tried playing on hard, and it wasn't so much "hard' as tedious. It felt like grinding through waves of enemies instead of coming up with a sound strategy to defeat them. After 2 playthroughs I've really taken a dislike to waves of enemies dropping from nowhere. I don't mind if they run in from around the corner - or even if an assassin "drops in" but all classes of enemies simply dropping in on my head was really immersion breaking. Also, where are all the abominations coming from - possessed mages rising from the ground - really. You have fabulous lore - please use it.
A note about assassins - I've seen several posts on this thread complaining about the difficulty they represent - I loved them. A truly difficult enemy that uses sound tactics to attack weaker targets- one of the better points of the game. I'm not fond of simply grinding away at an enemy for 30+ minutes (boss fights), but the assassins forced me to think about where all my party members were and who might be targeted and who could come to the rescue. The rogue skill trees (Subterfuge in particular) helped a lot with this. I generally run a 2-3 rogue party though so I do admit a bias.
After 2 playthroughs DA2 is a fun game but I'm not sure I'll play again until there is a patch, mods and possibly DLC to make me feel more connected to Hawke and her companions. From any other game company I would say DA2 was a really good game, from Bioware it's substandard. I'll go back to playing DA:O now (with mods) and writing (fanfic and mod dialog). I hope there is a DA3 and it is more like DA:O.
I believe I said in my previous review that DA2 felt more like a prologue to a bigger story, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Hawke and having more time to flesh out her story. But I want to roleplay a bigger story, not just play errand girl with a handful of scattered conversations with my companions.
Hi Tanith! *waves and blows kisses* I was waiting to see what you thought. And yeah, glorified errand girl and no real way to connect with my companions ( I didnt' get Merrill to "friend" until Act 3? As you said, from any other game company this game would be really good, but from BioWare? Le, sigh. It is really substandard. And I want to love it, really. Please, mods, a rockin' DLC? Pretty please BioWare?
OH yeah, and the falling enemies...with endless waves of pissed off people...http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2978-Dragon-Age-II says it best. ROFL! And I found the assassins more reminiscent of fights in DAO, which is why I liked them, not just wading in and mashing my daggers as if I had a big spider on the end of it, to paraphrase Yatzee guy. A certain fight with nothing but assassins (no spoilers) with a certain character we all know (no spoilers) was one of the best fights in game imho. The High Dragon...one of the worst...the grind, the grind!
Modifié par erynnar, 04 avril 2011 - 05:13 .
#1629
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 07:08
Klimy
-
- Members
- 818 messages
Ok, guess it will not hurt to add my opinion to the list...
There are two issues that on top level for me,
- First copy-paste locations. I have no problem to re-use same visuals (like it was done in ME1), but in DA2 you just copy-pasted locations. I was very confused to play them, because I was wondering why Im in the same location I just was a second ago. And because same locations were reused, I didn't see a reason to enter them again, thus probably I missed some content because of it.
- The game has no ending. We have a beginning - where Hawk becomes powerful, then we get main plot twist - when Hawk makes a mess out of things between Mages and Templars. But no ending. I can't explain it and don't really care, because nothing can be done now, but I do expect full scale expansion VERY soon.
Lesser problems:
- Enemies jump out of nowhere. Ok, this is just funny how several waves of enemies jump out of windows without braking their legs
- Personally fact that you couldn't customize your allies didn't bother me. But maybe some minor looks change is welcomed (like it was with Merril and Anders).
- More crafting resources and more complexed crafting system would be nice. Crafting was so underpowered that it became useless. I saw no reason to go through crafting just for 2 health potions or one poison.
There are two issues that on top level for me,
- First copy-paste locations. I have no problem to re-use same visuals (like it was done in ME1), but in DA2 you just copy-pasted locations. I was very confused to play them, because I was wondering why Im in the same location I just was a second ago. And because same locations were reused, I didn't see a reason to enter them again, thus probably I missed some content because of it.
- The game has no ending. We have a beginning - where Hawk becomes powerful, then we get main plot twist - when Hawk makes a mess out of things between Mages and Templars. But no ending. I can't explain it and don't really care, because nothing can be done now, but I do expect full scale expansion VERY soon.
Lesser problems:
- Enemies jump out of nowhere. Ok, this is just funny how several waves of enemies jump out of windows without braking their legs
- Personally fact that you couldn't customize your allies didn't bother me. But maybe some minor looks change is welcomed (like it was with Merril and Anders).
- More crafting resources and more complexed crafting system would be nice. Crafting was so underpowered that it became useless. I saw no reason to go through crafting just for 2 health potions or one poison.
Modifié par Klimy, 04 avril 2011 - 07:10 .
#1630
Guest_Sareth Cousland_*
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 09:39
Guest_Sareth Cousland_*
Guest_Sareth Cousland_*
-
- Guests
Okay, here we go.
Visuals
[Edited] After going back and looking at the design of DA:O, I must say that I preferred the overall feel of the first installment. The new graphics are nice, but too much on the anime side in many places. I can dig the new Qunari design (although they should have darker/bronze skin, like Sten, not lighter skin), it makes them look unique and menacing, but I hate the darkspawn redesign with a passion. The menacing, corrupted look of these creatures from DA:O was much better. The elves fit into the new style, but are too much anime-style as well, with few exceptions (Merrill being one of them).
While most areas were well-done and looked more detailed than areas in DA:O, the deep roads are the exception for me. They are too colorful and cartoony - the oppressive, dark feeling of the deep roads in DA:O is gone. I much preferred the barren, rocky environment as it was a strong contrast to other areas. All in all, I would prefer a return to the visual style of DA:O.
Audio
Environmental audio was much better in DA2 than in DA:O. I also liked the soundtrack a great deal. Voice acting was fine as well.
Combat
The new faster combat is not too bad, except for exaggerated moves which defy the laws of physics. In DA:O shield punch looked realistic, in DA2 it does not. Abilities like "hail of arrows" make no sense at all and are too far on the "cartoony" side of things (as is the worst aspect of DA2, described below). I played a mage because he felt less "pew-pew" - you did a good job there. Except for the exaggerations (combat moves, exploding enemies), the new combat is fine. Just remember that it is more satisfying to witness the occasional beheading as to see every single enemy explode in a cloud of blood.
Dialogue
I am generally a fan of the dialogue wheel - ME1 did that very well. In ME2, the paraphrases were not as skillfully done, and I often picked an answer that wasn't what I had thought. The DA2 wheel is totally flawed. Paraphrases should be shortened versions of what the character is going to say. In DA2, Hawke often ended up saying something totally different from what was indicated, so after a while, I chose my actions only according to the symbols, which dumbed the experience down for me. I also don't want to know which dialogue will lead to romance - guess, yes, but not "press button here to initiate romance". As said, I am a fan of dialogue wheels, but DA:O's dialogue was far superior to this - either get rid of the wheel at all or do it properly. Useless paraphrases and stupid symbols are the worst way to go.
Another criticism, directed at the voice actor of Hawke: Depending on which reply you chose, he would either respond like he was really angry or like he just came from a monastery. The variation was too great - in some dialogues, when I picked a direct response first and a diplomatic second, it seemed like Hawke was voiced by different voice actors or had terrible mood swings at the very least.
Story / NPCs
The story was okay, but there was too little depth behind it. Judging from the destiny trailer, I though that Flemeth would raise an army of witches, that we would uncover secrets of the ancient elves (varterral), that the mages would rebel against chantry rule, and that there would be another harvester in the deep roads. What we got is: Flemeth makes a basically useless foreshadowing appearance, the varterral is part of a "slay the creature to get the item" quest, and the harvester is a re-used model which has nothing to do with the flesh golem to begin with. Only the mages vs. templars conflict was there, and that was blemished by the fact that the veil is thin in Kirkwall, everyone and his mother is an abomination, Orsino is a blood mage who entertained relations with the murderer of Hawke's mother, and Meredith is actually possessed too. The story would carry greater weight if it came down to an actual struggle of fanatical beliefs, not demonic/lyrium possession. Up until the defeat of the Arishok, the game was an 8/10 for me, after that it declined. The ending totally ruined my play experience as it all came down to a cheesy transformers-style end battle which did not fit into the Dragon Age universe established so far.
NPCs: I liked the characters I travelled with, although I wished I could have talked with them more often. To add codex entries about their backstories was a poor substitute for that. The depth of interaction of DA:O was far superior to this. However, as I said, companions were okay, and the party banter was excellent.
Summary
I am sure I forgot some things, and after reading this it is much more negative than I intended. I loved the Black Emporium, btw - a nice hit at the curio gallery from PS:T, including a reference to a "bronze sphere" - that was a nice touch. Lowtown felt a little like Sigil too. I can see where you wanted to go with this game, and some things worked for me: skill trees, combat, qunari, ambient sound, soundtrack, general feeling and visuals up to a certain point. Others did not: darkspawn, soul calibur end battle, way too many demons and demonic possession, exploding enemies and ridiculous physics, re-use of models and maps, too many side quests and not enough story progression regarding the lore of Dragon Age. The last point is quite interesting, indeed - after both Witch Hunt and DA2, we are left wondering where the Eluvian leads. I can see the strategy behind this - get RPG buyers with DA:O, get action buyers with DA2, start the big bang (buck) with DA3. As you said yourself, DA2 is as much an entry point into the series as DA:O. Now we can get really started with the story, the changes that reshape the world. Imho, however, you alienated more of the RPG fanbase than you attracted action fans for the franchise. I think the best thing would be to create DA3 in the spirit of DA:O, with faster, non-exaggerated combat, total killing off of eastern RPG / cartoon elements, and one other element that DA2 sorely lacked: epicness. The epic hero's journey of DA:O has been totally missing in DA2. I could go on forever, but I have already produced a great wall of text, so that's it from my side.
[Edit - End notes] At the end of the day, I think DA:O was far superior to this second game. For DA3, I would prefer a return to the visual style and gameplay of DA:O, with minor improvements in combat pacing and ability trees (the only things that DA2 really did better). Avoid a voiced character unless the dialogue wheel is done right.
Visuals
[Edited] After going back and looking at the design of DA:O, I must say that I preferred the overall feel of the first installment. The new graphics are nice, but too much on the anime side in many places. I can dig the new Qunari design (although they should have darker/bronze skin, like Sten, not lighter skin), it makes them look unique and menacing, but I hate the darkspawn redesign with a passion. The menacing, corrupted look of these creatures from DA:O was much better. The elves fit into the new style, but are too much anime-style as well, with few exceptions (Merrill being one of them).
While most areas were well-done and looked more detailed than areas in DA:O, the deep roads are the exception for me. They are too colorful and cartoony - the oppressive, dark feeling of the deep roads in DA:O is gone. I much preferred the barren, rocky environment as it was a strong contrast to other areas. All in all, I would prefer a return to the visual style of DA:O.
Audio
Environmental audio was much better in DA2 than in DA:O. I also liked the soundtrack a great deal. Voice acting was fine as well.
Combat
The new faster combat is not too bad, except for exaggerated moves which defy the laws of physics. In DA:O shield punch looked realistic, in DA2 it does not. Abilities like "hail of arrows" make no sense at all and are too far on the "cartoony" side of things (as is the worst aspect of DA2, described below). I played a mage because he felt less "pew-pew" - you did a good job there. Except for the exaggerations (combat moves, exploding enemies), the new combat is fine. Just remember that it is more satisfying to witness the occasional beheading as to see every single enemy explode in a cloud of blood.
Dialogue
I am generally a fan of the dialogue wheel - ME1 did that very well. In ME2, the paraphrases were not as skillfully done, and I often picked an answer that wasn't what I had thought. The DA2 wheel is totally flawed. Paraphrases should be shortened versions of what the character is going to say. In DA2, Hawke often ended up saying something totally different from what was indicated, so after a while, I chose my actions only according to the symbols, which dumbed the experience down for me. I also don't want to know which dialogue will lead to romance - guess, yes, but not "press button here to initiate romance". As said, I am a fan of dialogue wheels, but DA:O's dialogue was far superior to this - either get rid of the wheel at all or do it properly. Useless paraphrases and stupid symbols are the worst way to go.
Another criticism, directed at the voice actor of Hawke: Depending on which reply you chose, he would either respond like he was really angry or like he just came from a monastery. The variation was too great - in some dialogues, when I picked a direct response first and a diplomatic second, it seemed like Hawke was voiced by different voice actors or had terrible mood swings at the very least.
Story / NPCs
The story was okay, but there was too little depth behind it. Judging from the destiny trailer, I though that Flemeth would raise an army of witches, that we would uncover secrets of the ancient elves (varterral), that the mages would rebel against chantry rule, and that there would be another harvester in the deep roads. What we got is: Flemeth makes a basically useless foreshadowing appearance, the varterral is part of a "slay the creature to get the item" quest, and the harvester is a re-used model which has nothing to do with the flesh golem to begin with. Only the mages vs. templars conflict was there, and that was blemished by the fact that the veil is thin in Kirkwall, everyone and his mother is an abomination, Orsino is a blood mage who entertained relations with the murderer of Hawke's mother, and Meredith is actually possessed too. The story would carry greater weight if it came down to an actual struggle of fanatical beliefs, not demonic/lyrium possession. Up until the defeat of the Arishok, the game was an 8/10 for me, after that it declined. The ending totally ruined my play experience as it all came down to a cheesy transformers-style end battle which did not fit into the Dragon Age universe established so far.
NPCs: I liked the characters I travelled with, although I wished I could have talked with them more often. To add codex entries about their backstories was a poor substitute for that. The depth of interaction of DA:O was far superior to this. However, as I said, companions were okay, and the party banter was excellent.
Summary
I am sure I forgot some things, and after reading this it is much more negative than I intended. I loved the Black Emporium, btw - a nice hit at the curio gallery from PS:T, including a reference to a "bronze sphere" - that was a nice touch. Lowtown felt a little like Sigil too. I can see where you wanted to go with this game, and some things worked for me: skill trees, combat, qunari, ambient sound, soundtrack, general feeling and visuals up to a certain point. Others did not: darkspawn, soul calibur end battle, way too many demons and demonic possession, exploding enemies and ridiculous physics, re-use of models and maps, too many side quests and not enough story progression regarding the lore of Dragon Age. The last point is quite interesting, indeed - after both Witch Hunt and DA2, we are left wondering where the Eluvian leads. I can see the strategy behind this - get RPG buyers with DA:O, get action buyers with DA2, start the big bang (buck) with DA3. As you said yourself, DA2 is as much an entry point into the series as DA:O. Now we can get really started with the story, the changes that reshape the world. Imho, however, you alienated more of the RPG fanbase than you attracted action fans for the franchise. I think the best thing would be to create DA3 in the spirit of DA:O, with faster, non-exaggerated combat, total killing off of eastern RPG / cartoon elements, and one other element that DA2 sorely lacked: epicness. The epic hero's journey of DA:O has been totally missing in DA2. I could go on forever, but I have already produced a great wall of text, so that's it from my side.
[Edit - End notes] At the end of the day, I think DA:O was far superior to this second game. For DA3, I would prefer a return to the visual style and gameplay of DA:O, with minor improvements in combat pacing and ability trees (the only things that DA2 really did better). Avoid a voiced character unless the dialogue wheel is done right.
Modifié par Sareth Cousland, 04 avril 2011 - 09:36 .
#1631
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 09:53
Aesdriel
-
- Members
- 18 messages
I wanted to add something to what I previously said:
Specialisations have to matter !
I find it rather silly that you can develop such specifics powers like the ones from the revears and templars without any explanation or any impact... I mean templars need tons of training and absorption of lyrium. Revears need dragon blood and training too.
Another exemple:
I found it nice that being a mage had an impact on how the story unfolds but playing a blood mage, even a fairly nice one, should impact the way Hawke sees blood magic.
Possible solution: the way the story is told, with big temporal elipses, could have been use to explain how hawke developped his skills. I makes more sense than just reaching a certain level and would be more rewarding and logical. Aid the templars ? You got the opportunity to train with them... Spend time with Anders, he can teach you how to be a better healer... I can see how it's interesting to let players play with the system (especially with respec potions) but sometimes less is more)
Anyone feeling the same about this issue ?
Specialisations have to matter !
I find it rather silly that you can develop such specifics powers like the ones from the revears and templars without any explanation or any impact... I mean templars need tons of training and absorption of lyrium. Revears need dragon blood and training too.
Another exemple:
I found it nice that being a mage had an impact on how the story unfolds but playing a blood mage, even a fairly nice one, should impact the way Hawke sees blood magic.
Possible solution: the way the story is told, with big temporal elipses, could have been use to explain how hawke developped his skills. I makes more sense than just reaching a certain level and would be more rewarding and logical. Aid the templars ? You got the opportunity to train with them... Spend time with Anders, he can teach you how to be a better healer... I can see how it's interesting to let players play with the system (especially with respec potions) but sometimes less is more)
Anyone feeling the same about this issue ?
Modifié par Aesdriel, 04 avril 2011 - 09:53 .
#1632
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 10:16
Eixle
-
- Members
- 30 messages
Modifié par Eixle, 04 avril 2011 - 10:21 .
#1633
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 10:38
Darth Wraith
-
- Members
- 559 messages
First of all, let me just say that I love the game. It's not as great as DA:O, but it's still a lot of fun. Some things are better than in Origins, and some tings are not. Let's take a look.
Combat.
Combat in DA2 flows much better than in Origins. The long wind-up periods before each swing are gone, and everyone respons much more swiftly when you click an enemy or ability. There are, however, two things that are worse. One is the way enemies keep spawning. Having more and more enemies drop down from buildings and crawling out of the ground isn't so much challenging as it is annoying. If the starting group of enemies doesn't pose enough of a challenge it would be better to make them tougher rather than bringing in wave after wave of reinforcements. The second thing is the camera. Having it centre on the selected character is a severe drawback. Whenever I try to place an AoE attack, there's no way to move the camera to a better angle. The fact that the targetting cursor snaps to nearby enemies compounds the problem. And if you happen to stand near a wall, it's even worse. Please, bring back the tactical camera.
Items.
There are way, way too many similar generic items in the game. I find a "Belt" that gives +4% physical damage. Then I find "Belt" that gives +4% physical damage. Then I find "Ring", which gives +3% physical damage. And they all have exactly the same icon. I'd much rather have fewer item drops but have them be distinctly different items with different abilities. And the star rating system is completely borked. I have, in my current playthrough, two rings with exactly the same properties; one of them has two stars (when viewed by my main character), the other one has four (again, when viewed by my main character). It looks to me like an item, found in a later act, gets more stars than the same item found in a previous act. And the junk items are silly. I understand why you did this, but a "Frayed rope belt" worth 3 copper pieces shouldn't even be mentioned in flavour text, far less take up space on the installation disc.
Armour.
I understand why you went with upgradeable companion armour rather than dressing them up from scratch. And mostly, it works. It's a lot easier to pick your companions out in a crowd during a fight than if they all wore matching suits of leather/plate armour. (Plus, Isabella looks smoking hot.) But you could at least allowed us to equip boots and gloves. And more customizable outfits, with perhaps some mutually excluding options, would have been great. Also, more item sets would have been excellent.
Recycling areas.
A lot of people have screamed bloody murder about this, but it's pretty much the least of my worries. Would I have wanted more unique areas? Sure. Does it detract from the game experience? Perhaps a little. Would I rather have had fewer quest? Hell no. On the whole I thought you guys did good at starting us out in different parts of the map, sealed off some passages and opening others. So while I hope for more original maps in any DLC you might come up with, I can live with the recycling already in the game. What would have been great, through, would be to see more changes to the city maps based on your actions in previous acts, like the huge statue in the Docks in Act 3. That was a great touch.
Talent trees.
One of the things I loved most about DA2 were the new talent trees. Much, much better than the old ones. And the ability to upgrade talents was brilliant. Well done!
Cross-class combos.
This was another outstanding idea, but it suffered a little in execution. There are, in my opinion, too few talent trees that allow for CCCs, forcing you to build all your characters a certain way if you want to use them. I really hope it's possible for you to make more talents across more talent trees cause or exploit Stagger/Disoriented/Brittle effects. Maybe a patch or DLC? I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Interaction with party members.
I liked going to the home bases of the various NPCs to talk with them. The party banter is among the best you guys have ever written. Aveline vs. Isabella and Merrill vs. everyone are a treat to listen to. I only wish you could have added more romance conversations. After all, the person you're involved in a long-term relationship with should be someone you get to know better than your buddies.
OK, that's what I had to say. I hope you find it useful, or at least informative. And again, thanks for a fun game.
Combat.
Combat in DA2 flows much better than in Origins. The long wind-up periods before each swing are gone, and everyone respons much more swiftly when you click an enemy or ability. There are, however, two things that are worse. One is the way enemies keep spawning. Having more and more enemies drop down from buildings and crawling out of the ground isn't so much challenging as it is annoying. If the starting group of enemies doesn't pose enough of a challenge it would be better to make them tougher rather than bringing in wave after wave of reinforcements. The second thing is the camera. Having it centre on the selected character is a severe drawback. Whenever I try to place an AoE attack, there's no way to move the camera to a better angle. The fact that the targetting cursor snaps to nearby enemies compounds the problem. And if you happen to stand near a wall, it's even worse. Please, bring back the tactical camera.
Items.
There are way, way too many similar generic items in the game. I find a "Belt" that gives +4% physical damage. Then I find "Belt" that gives +4% physical damage. Then I find "Ring", which gives +3% physical damage. And they all have exactly the same icon. I'd much rather have fewer item drops but have them be distinctly different items with different abilities. And the star rating system is completely borked. I have, in my current playthrough, two rings with exactly the same properties; one of them has two stars (when viewed by my main character), the other one has four (again, when viewed by my main character). It looks to me like an item, found in a later act, gets more stars than the same item found in a previous act. And the junk items are silly. I understand why you did this, but a "Frayed rope belt" worth 3 copper pieces shouldn't even be mentioned in flavour text, far less take up space on the installation disc.
Armour.
I understand why you went with upgradeable companion armour rather than dressing them up from scratch. And mostly, it works. It's a lot easier to pick your companions out in a crowd during a fight than if they all wore matching suits of leather/plate armour. (Plus, Isabella looks smoking hot.) But you could at least allowed us to equip boots and gloves. And more customizable outfits, with perhaps some mutually excluding options, would have been great. Also, more item sets would have been excellent.
Recycling areas.
A lot of people have screamed bloody murder about this, but it's pretty much the least of my worries. Would I have wanted more unique areas? Sure. Does it detract from the game experience? Perhaps a little. Would I rather have had fewer quest? Hell no. On the whole I thought you guys did good at starting us out in different parts of the map, sealed off some passages and opening others. So while I hope for more original maps in any DLC you might come up with, I can live with the recycling already in the game. What would have been great, through, would be to see more changes to the city maps based on your actions in previous acts, like the huge statue in the Docks in Act 3. That was a great touch.
Talent trees.
One of the things I loved most about DA2 were the new talent trees. Much, much better than the old ones. And the ability to upgrade talents was brilliant. Well done!
Cross-class combos.
This was another outstanding idea, but it suffered a little in execution. There are, in my opinion, too few talent trees that allow for CCCs, forcing you to build all your characters a certain way if you want to use them. I really hope it's possible for you to make more talents across more talent trees cause or exploit Stagger/Disoriented/Brittle effects. Maybe a patch or DLC? I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Interaction with party members.
I liked going to the home bases of the various NPCs to talk with them. The party banter is among the best you guys have ever written. Aveline vs. Isabella and Merrill vs. everyone are a treat to listen to. I only wish you could have added more romance conversations. After all, the person you're involved in a long-term relationship with should be someone you get to know better than your buddies.
OK, that's what I had to say. I hope you find it useful, or at least informative. And again, thanks for a fun game.
#1634
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 10:45
Axekix
-
- Members
- 2 605 messages
So I'm late to the party, and I don't know if Bioware is still following this thread, but I'll add my 2 cents anyway!
As for my thoughts on the game as a whole:
Positives:
In many ways I think DA2 matches and even exceeds the original. The game's visuals are much improved over DAO (performance bugs aside). I enjoyed the faster paced combat, and imo the overarching storyline is very intriguing.
The unique boss fights were fantastic. They felt much more intense than the ones in DAO, especially the Rock Wraith.
Also I think the companions were very well done. The dialogue was fantastic, and giving each companion their own "home" so to speak was a nice touch. I liked the fact that some of them had their own romances outside of the main character. It made the game feel that much more alive.
And of course I can't forget the family ties. I liked having the sense of family throughout the game and seeing how it effected Hawke. There were some really powerful moments stemming from familial interactions.
That said...
Negatives:
While the core storyline is fantastic, the game feels bloated with side quests that aren't particularly relevant to the overarching story. Some do weave into the main story well, but questing in this game felt more like a chore than an adventure at times. This is mostly an act 1 problem. Acts 2 and 3 are pretty succinct, but the pacing of act 1 felt slow.
Combat, while faster paced, also got very stale after a while. DAO seemed to require more tactical planning, while DA2 (as a 2h warrior at least) felt very "run-n-gun" so to speak. The first few hours were great, but once the newness of it all wore off, encounters really start to blend together minus the occasional boss fight.
I would have prefered more interaction with your love interest, but so far I've only completed one romance (Merrill) so I can't say whether that is unique to her character or not. Still, in the end, I felt a deeper connection to the DAO LIs than I have thus far with those in DA2, and of course this game spans a much longer time frame.
I really disliked the way the sibling relationships progressed. I can't really go into detail here due to the no-spoilers clause, but I will say that the interaction with Bethany/Carver in acts 2 and 3 was a lot thinner than I had hoped. It does all tie in at the end, but it just feels like a great opportunity for more character development was missed there.
I've only completed one play through, and I'm in the middle of my second, now. So I'm trying different choices to see their effects on the story. I'm sure I'll have more feedback once I've seen more of what the game has to offer.
I totally agree with this. Specializations in DAO were really well intertwined with the storyline, but in DA2, everything unlocks for Hawke on its own. My first play through (2h warrior) felt really odd to me because there was just no legit explanation as to how my Hawke became a Reaver. This was a bigger sticking point for me than I expected at first. Hopefully specializations can be worked back into the storyline in future titles.Aesdriel wrote...
I wanted to add something to what I previously said:
Specialisations have to matter !
I find it rather silly that you can develop such specifics powers like the ones from the revears and templars without any explanation or any impact... I mean templars need tons of training and absorption of lyrium. Revears need dragon blood and training too.
Another exemple:
I found it nice that being a mage had an impact on how the story unfolds but playing a blood mage, even a fairly nice one, should impact the way Hawke sees blood magic.
Possible solution: the way the story is told, with big temporal elipses, could have been use to explain how hawke developped his skills. I makes more sense than just reaching a certain level and would be more rewarding and logical. Aid the templars ? You got the opportunity to train with them... Spend time with Anders, he can teach you how to be a better healer... I can see how it's interesting to let players play with the system (especially with respec potions) but sometimes less is more)
Anyone feeling the same about this issue ?
As for my thoughts on the game as a whole:
Positives:
In many ways I think DA2 matches and even exceeds the original. The game's visuals are much improved over DAO (performance bugs aside). I enjoyed the faster paced combat, and imo the overarching storyline is very intriguing.
The unique boss fights were fantastic. They felt much more intense than the ones in DAO, especially the Rock Wraith.
Also I think the companions were very well done. The dialogue was fantastic, and giving each companion their own "home" so to speak was a nice touch. I liked the fact that some of them had their own romances outside of the main character. It made the game feel that much more alive.
And of course I can't forget the family ties. I liked having the sense of family throughout the game and seeing how it effected Hawke. There were some really powerful moments stemming from familial interactions.
That said...
Negatives:
While the core storyline is fantastic, the game feels bloated with side quests that aren't particularly relevant to the overarching story. Some do weave into the main story well, but questing in this game felt more like a chore than an adventure at times. This is mostly an act 1 problem. Acts 2 and 3 are pretty succinct, but the pacing of act 1 felt slow.
Combat, while faster paced, also got very stale after a while. DAO seemed to require more tactical planning, while DA2 (as a 2h warrior at least) felt very "run-n-gun" so to speak. The first few hours were great, but once the newness of it all wore off, encounters really start to blend together minus the occasional boss fight.
I would have prefered more interaction with your love interest, but so far I've only completed one romance (Merrill) so I can't say whether that is unique to her character or not. Still, in the end, I felt a deeper connection to the DAO LIs than I have thus far with those in DA2, and of course this game spans a much longer time frame.
I really disliked the way the sibling relationships progressed. I can't really go into detail here due to the no-spoilers clause, but I will say that the interaction with Bethany/Carver in acts 2 and 3 was a lot thinner than I had hoped. It does all tie in at the end, but it just feels like a great opportunity for more character development was missed there.
I've only completed one play through, and I'm in the middle of my second, now. So I'm trying different choices to see their effects on the story. I'm sure I'll have more feedback once I've seen more of what the game has to offer.
Modifié par Axekix, 04 avril 2011 - 10:51 .
#1635
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 11:35
slopesandsam
-
- Members
- 1 messages
I'm glad they removed the non-combat skills. I didn't enjoy those in DA:O
But I'm not glad they removed all the skill-checks from conversation. This is something I really missed, and the thing that has become possibly my favourite part of RPGs, to the point where I started to think of it as an essential component of an RPG.
It would have been good if the Charm options relied on Cunning, and would backfire if you didn't have enough (and make for some hilarious dialogue, if there was a different, not-so-charming version if Hawke didn't have a high enough Cunning), and some of the threaten options relied on strength or dexterity (or possibly even magic, though that might have come with a risk of discovery as an apostate when you started shaking a glowing fist under someone's nose).
But that's my constructuve criticism. I would have loved some skill checks in the conversation. Instead, my attributes only counted towards combat.
But I'm not glad they removed all the skill-checks from conversation. This is something I really missed, and the thing that has become possibly my favourite part of RPGs, to the point where I started to think of it as an essential component of an RPG.
It would have been good if the Charm options relied on Cunning, and would backfire if you didn't have enough (and make for some hilarious dialogue, if there was a different, not-so-charming version if Hawke didn't have a high enough Cunning), and some of the threaten options relied on strength or dexterity (or possibly even magic, though that might have come with a risk of discovery as an apostate when you started shaking a glowing fist under someone's nose).
But that's my constructuve criticism. I would have loved some skill checks in the conversation. Instead, my attributes only counted towards combat.
#1636
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 12:41
MagneticMagnus
-
- Members
- 1 messages
I would have liked too see more of the storyline from DA 1 into DA 2.Some animations looked cool,some other unrealistic.I understand that you have to make it more flashy and entertaining,but a few didn't work for me.Sliding fast forward with warrior or attack behind your back with a mage's staff? Furthermore, a greater playground to play in,more cities,more challenging quest (for instance the delivery quests are not very satisfying.) And of course I miss the different races to choose from.It was still fun to play,but I have to admit:I liked DA 1 better.
#1637
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 12:47
kayrob
-
- Members
- 22 messages
First, I didn't read all 66 pages so I apologise if I repeat anything. I really love playing this game, and am currently on my third playthrough, but these are the two biggest issues I have with the game:
Can no longer equip two weapon sets
This didn't bother me so much for the warrior, but for my rogue it would have been so much less frustrating if I could quickly switch between daggers and bows, rather than: pause -> inventory ->equip. This was an important part of my big boss fight strategy and I used it with every boss.
Rogues should not be required to complete any quests
I'm thinking specifically of the Xebenkeck quest where I got all the way to the final room with my preferred 3 warrior + mage party only to find the door locked. So I had to go to Ander's clinic, get Varric, go back, unlock the door, go back to Ander's clinic switch him out, and then do the boss fight. I accept requiring rogues to unlock chests or doors that lead to loot, but not quests.
Keep up the great work Bioware!
Can no longer equip two weapon sets
This didn't bother me so much for the warrior, but for my rogue it would have been so much less frustrating if I could quickly switch between daggers and bows, rather than: pause -> inventory ->equip. This was an important part of my big boss fight strategy and I used it with every boss.
Rogues should not be required to complete any quests
I'm thinking specifically of the Xebenkeck quest where I got all the way to the final room with my preferred 3 warrior + mage party only to find the door locked. So I had to go to Ander's clinic, get Varric, go back, unlock the door, go back to Ander's clinic switch him out, and then do the boss fight. I accept requiring rogues to unlock chests or doors that lead to loot, but not quests.
Keep up the great work Bioware!
#1638
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 01:48
Dark_Wolf
-
- Members
- 1 messages
The first 2 acts of Dragon Age II on my first playthrough was amazing. My problem came when I realized that none of the choices you have change anything and that Kirkwall never changes.
So
1) Only give choices that actually matter. Big or small ones isn't important, but they must have an impact to not break immersion. I kept trying to be pro-mages but against bloodmagic, because the game seemed to give me this option, thus the ending was particularly frustrating for me.
2) Setting the story over many years was an excellent idea, but when nothing had changed in Kirkwall over 6 years this breaks immersion greatly.
3) While combat flowed better in DA2 than DA, controlling the entire party is still problematic and frustrating. Where Mass Effect 2's Nightmare difficulty was challenging and fun, DA2's was mainly slow-paced, random and depending too much on you knowing where the next waves would spawn. Perhaps going back to a more top-down perspective would help, making things more tactical? Incouraging players to take control of all characters also gives a greater connection to each of them. An alternative would simply be to make the AI a lot smarter and helping the player with setting up combos ("Frozen! Now hit 'em Hawke!").
5) The amount of combat, or rather the amount of foes broke immersion quite badly. In particular the nightly combats just seemed to have neverending foes.
6) Reused dungeons. Perhaps going back to the tilesets of Neverwinter Nights would help here?
So
1) Only give choices that actually matter. Big or small ones isn't important, but they must have an impact to not break immersion. I kept trying to be pro-mages but against bloodmagic, because the game seemed to give me this option, thus the ending was particularly frustrating for me.
2) Setting the story over many years was an excellent idea, but when nothing had changed in Kirkwall over 6 years this breaks immersion greatly.
3) While combat flowed better in DA2 than DA, controlling the entire party is still problematic and frustrating. Where Mass Effect 2's Nightmare difficulty was challenging and fun, DA2's was mainly slow-paced, random and depending too much on you knowing where the next waves would spawn. Perhaps going back to a more top-down perspective would help, making things more tactical? Incouraging players to take control of all characters also gives a greater connection to each of them. An alternative would simply be to make the AI a lot smarter and helping the player with setting up combos ("Frozen! Now hit 'em Hawke!").
5) The amount of combat, or rather the amount of foes broke immersion quite badly. In particular the nightly combats just seemed to have neverending foes.
6) Reused dungeons. Perhaps going back to the tilesets of Neverwinter Nights would help here?
#1639
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 03:24
ms_sunlight
-
- Members
- 181 messages
slopesandsam wrote...
I'm glad they removed the non-combat skills. I didn't enjoy those in DA:O
But I'm not glad they removed all the skill-checks from conversation. This is something I really missed, and the thing that has become possibly my favourite part of RPGs, to the point where I started to think of it as an essential component of an RPG.
I'm actually glad they did away with that, as I've always found it encourages metagaming.
#1640
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 03:58
John Epler
-
- BioWare Employees
-
- 3 390 messages
Axekix wrote...
So I'm late to the party, and I don't know if Bioware is still following this thread, but I'll add my 2 cents anyway!
We are!
That's.. really all I have to say.
Ahem. Carry on as normal.
#1641
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:23
Shibibiba
-
- Members
- 18 messages
JohnEpler wrote...
Axekix wrote...
So I'm late to the party, and I don't know if Bioware is still following this thread, but I'll add my 2 cents anyway!
We are!
That's.. really all I have to say.
Ahem. Carry on as normal.
Feedback would be nice!
I just mean, sales aside it seems DA2 (an at least in My case ME2) aren't being received as well as their predecessors. Considering the numerous complaints about certain issues, does Bioware have any response?
#1642
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:31
Aireoth
-
- Members
- 48 messages
ms_sunlight wrote...
slopesandsam wrote...
I'm glad they removed the non-combat skills. I didn't enjoy those in DA:O
But I'm not glad they removed all the skill-checks from conversation. This is something I really missed, and the thing that has become possibly my favourite part of RPGs, to the point where I started to think of it as an essential component of an RPG.
I'm actually glad they did away with that, as I've always found it encourages metagaming.
Ummm, so does no skill checks, in fact, it makes it a bit worse. IE: Varric Deal with It = Elaborate ruse, auto success, win. I stab you in the face = Autosuccess, fight and win. Talk him down = Auto sucess if you follow the right dialogue tree. Fight = Fight.
Without skill checks, all skills other then your core two are made redundant, Warriors might as well only have Strength and Con, Mages Wisdom and Magic, Rouges Dex and Cun. There streamlined you game for you.
All it has done (in combination with the limited dialogue wheel) is turn the game into a slightly interactive movie, an Action Adventure game, without the RPG aspect. Use Ability on Bad guy. I love Mass Effect, but still argue that we don't need another ME game, though I'm a 'hardcore' gamer, which means the market will continue to move away from me to capture the Maxim reading, Coors drinking, frat/soroity crowd.
I hope they take the positive of this game: Faster Combat, Shiny graphics, and the attempted more intreging story and fix the: Recycled Areas, Darkspawn textures, Generic Enemies, Role Playing Elements, and give the player an active role in the story rather then an observer.
Modifié par Aireoth, 04 avril 2011 - 04:33 .
#1643
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:31
Pacifien
-
- Members
- 11 527 messages
I always figured BioWare preferred to let their games be their response. Seeing the development of the ME2 DLC, each release seemed to address one concern or another that popped up in the forums.Shibibiba wrote...
I just mean, sales aside it seems DA2 (an at least in My case ME2) aren't being received as well as their predecessors. Considering the numerous complaints about certain issues, does Bioware have any response?
#1644
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:39
thebatmanreborn
-
- Members
- 400 messages
Bioware is very well known for listening to the voices of their fans. Just check out the quote below or go to http://www.videogame...huk.html?page=2 and read the interview for yourself (its Dr. Greg).
Q: What's your reaction to that?
GZ: What you don't listen to is the loud internet commentary. The loudest voice is probably not the one you listen to. You listen to the person who put a lot of thought into it, who went out of their way to provide feedback. We're starting public testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the fans are encouraged to write up their perspectives in the private forums. You're not allowed to break NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) - if they want to talk, they can talk all the want in their official, appropriate area. It's interesting to read, and the incites of the fans are valuable. I think there's a sort of thuggish mentality of the crowd on the internet, with people jumping on board. I think it would be very rare that you would find valuable things in the comments section of anything. Occasionally there's stuff, but we're not swayed by it. You can really be reactive to that. We tend to be very analytic, we put it down and move it around until we actually understand it. But I think one of the ways we make great games is by being really, really open to criticism.
Q: What's your reaction to that?
GZ: What you don't listen to is the loud internet commentary. The loudest voice is probably not the one you listen to. You listen to the person who put a lot of thought into it, who went out of their way to provide feedback. We're starting public testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the fans are encouraged to write up their perspectives in the private forums. You're not allowed to break NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) - if they want to talk, they can talk all the want in their official, appropriate area. It's interesting to read, and the incites of the fans are valuable. I think there's a sort of thuggish mentality of the crowd on the internet, with people jumping on board. I think it would be very rare that you would find valuable things in the comments section of anything. Occasionally there's stuff, but we're not swayed by it. You can really be reactive to that. We tend to be very analytic, we put it down and move it around until we actually understand it. But I think one of the ways we make great games is by being really, really open to criticism.
Modifié par thebatmanreborn, 04 avril 2011 - 04:39 .
#1645
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 04:42
DragonAgePoo
-
- Members
- 12 messages
Pacifien wrote...
I always figured BioWare preferred to let their games be their response. Seeing the development of the ME2 DLC, each release seemed to address one concern or another that popped up in the forums.Shibibiba wrote...
I just mean, sales aside it seems DA2 (an at least in My case ME2) aren't being received as well as their predecessors. Considering the numerous complaints about certain issues, does Bioware have any response?
OMG lol
Pacifien you might want to edit or even erase that post.
If Bioware lets their games be their response, and Dragon Age 2 and the Arrival DLC is what we get.... that's not a good sign.
The only real complaint about ME2 is too much combat and not enough other stuff. So they release Arrival and......... it's all combat.
And then there's Dragon Age 2. People have been telling the devs here for the last year + how bad some of these changes were going to be. And then they released Dragon Age 2.
So yeah, think about changing your post because if that's how it is Bioware is screwed.
Let me screenshot it first though. That should make for some fun conversations.
LOL Bioware lets their games be their response. Thanks for the laugh.
#1646
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 05:24
NeoNight1986
-
- Members
- 48 messages
my two cents. granted everyone else has posted what i already think... so ill be short and sweet.
recycled areas... aleady said, however i must admit doing it was not the major issue.. as it has been done many times before... its the mini map not ever changing that was aggravating. IF your going to reuse an area at least TRY and mask it. change a few colors, do something..
Combat... to much. The fights every few steps against the same bad guys over and over.. got very silly. and needless to say aggravating. i enjoyed the strategy of haveing to aim a well placed AOE spell, i enjoyed having to tell my party to go here to attack them so forth and so on.. the way it is now however its nothing more than a Free for all....
combat over powered rouges already said.. mages so forth.as well i noticed. granted not as bad or hard. (though i must admit each mage only having 2 spells was.... supriseing. and it was very obvious most of hte time. mage spell. teleport... mage spell.. teleport. silly. i thought the AI would have been abit better... people have said if you want a decent game you must increase the difficulty to nightmare. granted its a personal thing but i thought normal.. should have been normal and the higher difficulty should be only used if you want a challenging game. if people cant play it on normal, thats why you have simple or easy...
i miss the combo's for spells. they did good at making it cross class combo's .. but they took away single class combo's... such as freezing the enemy then stone fist em to shatter.
exploding enemies are ok... but it was far over done.
Parties... i should be able to have just as much of a challenge and just as much fun having a party of mages, as a party of warriors... or a party of rouges.. and even a party of all of em or a balanced party. DAO did a decent job at this.. this game is very restricting if you dont have a balanced party.. granted i understand it, but nwn, DAO i could have the people i wanted for there personality or for there class and have a challenge. not really here. its ether to easy.. or borderline to hard.. and it gets aggravating. more of a personal thing though
story. lack of main plot... bad, bad bad. i enjoy having a reason to do what i do... this is contested though as some people really liked the main plot, so i count it as personal. also it was very depressing... i mean very few story lines in this game end on any semblance of a even ok note. (it seemed to me) if i want that ill go read Shakespeare
inter character development and chatter.. WONDERFUL! this is one of the few areas i can say you TRULY did a great job with!!! keep it up!!! .taking to your party members the chatter in between them selves in both Cut scenes and in the world in the party great job guys!
Love interests. or LI ME2 .was on the right track definitely even DAO did decent. here.. it seems alittle less. like they had a good foundation.. but just left stuff out for some reason. seems incomplete. more conversations, or even little things you can do... I did like the armor change though
at least Merrel did.
Conversation options.. decent job, going mass effect 2 was not a bad choice. but not a good one either. however the lack of any real chance to change any of the outcomes of the major events was bad.
Armor... see what everyone else has said and you get the idea.
junk- at present useless. even items i thought would be very important... the game treats like "Junk". so obviously .. its not.
Skill tree's WELL DONE! i think its improved over DAO. though i did like the unlocking of the LOTS of prestage classes i miss some of the story reasons for unlocking em to. Blood mage, Arcane warrior. Duelist even.
Blood mage... i would think if i went down that path as a mage it would have had some major story parts... didnt seem so to me. and thats disappointing. you did do well with the "hey i am a mage let me help" .. but again it seemed like a foundation, and you left out alot of potential.
I noticed how in many respects DAII was crafted with many Mass Effect II concepts and it shows. This to me was a bad thing. Mass effect 2 is a Shooter scifi action first rpg. Dragon age is NOT THIS. if you wish to change it into another mass effect then just pool your time into making a mass effect. Dragon age appeals to another side of the gamer stream. the Never winter nights side. the RPG side. first. dont change it anymore, look to the roots before trying to grow another tree else it will fall. (yahoo for useless analogies!)
I am sure there was more.. but thats the most of it. Granted this is with the understanding that i have not beaten it.. (i am only a few hours from beating it.. but i cant bring myself to even open the game anymore..) I read a quote and i agree with it.. "It is the best game ive played in a year... however its the worst Bioware game i have ever played as well." I dont know if EA is to blame or if Bioware is to blame... I do know however the Dev time is not enough.. and it shows.. alot. The game seems incomplete and again it shows.
thank you and good luck bioware. you are one of my top dev groups.
... ok not so short lol and maybe not the sweet thing either x.x:whistle:
recycled areas... aleady said, however i must admit doing it was not the major issue.. as it has been done many times before... its the mini map not ever changing that was aggravating. IF your going to reuse an area at least TRY and mask it. change a few colors, do something..
Combat... to much. The fights every few steps against the same bad guys over and over.. got very silly. and needless to say aggravating. i enjoyed the strategy of haveing to aim a well placed AOE spell, i enjoyed having to tell my party to go here to attack them so forth and so on.. the way it is now however its nothing more than a Free for all....
combat over powered rouges already said.. mages so forth.as well i noticed. granted not as bad or hard. (though i must admit each mage only having 2 spells was.... supriseing. and it was very obvious most of hte time. mage spell. teleport... mage spell.. teleport. silly. i thought the AI would have been abit better... people have said if you want a decent game you must increase the difficulty to nightmare. granted its a personal thing but i thought normal.. should have been normal and the higher difficulty should be only used if you want a challenging game. if people cant play it on normal, thats why you have simple or easy...
i miss the combo's for spells. they did good at making it cross class combo's .. but they took away single class combo's... such as freezing the enemy then stone fist em to shatter.
exploding enemies are ok... but it was far over done.
Parties... i should be able to have just as much of a challenge and just as much fun having a party of mages, as a party of warriors... or a party of rouges.. and even a party of all of em or a balanced party. DAO did a decent job at this.. this game is very restricting if you dont have a balanced party.. granted i understand it, but nwn, DAO i could have the people i wanted for there personality or for there class and have a challenge. not really here. its ether to easy.. or borderline to hard.. and it gets aggravating. more of a personal thing though
story. lack of main plot... bad, bad bad. i enjoy having a reason to do what i do... this is contested though as some people really liked the main plot, so i count it as personal. also it was very depressing... i mean very few story lines in this game end on any semblance of a even ok note. (it seemed to me) if i want that ill go read Shakespeare
inter character development and chatter.. WONDERFUL! this is one of the few areas i can say you TRULY did a great job with!!! keep it up!!! .taking to your party members the chatter in between them selves in both Cut scenes and in the world in the party great job guys!
Love interests. or LI ME2 .was on the right track definitely even DAO did decent. here.. it seems alittle less. like they had a good foundation.. but just left stuff out for some reason. seems incomplete. more conversations, or even little things you can do... I did like the armor change though
at least Merrel did.Conversation options.. decent job, going mass effect 2 was not a bad choice. but not a good one either. however the lack of any real chance to change any of the outcomes of the major events was bad.
Armor... see what everyone else has said and you get the idea.
junk- at present useless. even items i thought would be very important... the game treats like "Junk". so obviously .. its not.
Skill tree's WELL DONE! i think its improved over DAO. though i did like the unlocking of the LOTS of prestage classes i miss some of the story reasons for unlocking em to. Blood mage, Arcane warrior. Duelist even.
Blood mage... i would think if i went down that path as a mage it would have had some major story parts... didnt seem so to me. and thats disappointing. you did do well with the "hey i am a mage let me help" .. but again it seemed like a foundation, and you left out alot of potential.
I noticed how in many respects DAII was crafted with many Mass Effect II concepts and it shows. This to me was a bad thing. Mass effect 2 is a Shooter scifi action first rpg. Dragon age is NOT THIS. if you wish to change it into another mass effect then just pool your time into making a mass effect. Dragon age appeals to another side of the gamer stream. the Never winter nights side. the RPG side. first. dont change it anymore, look to the roots before trying to grow another tree else it will fall. (yahoo for useless analogies!)
I am sure there was more.. but thats the most of it. Granted this is with the understanding that i have not beaten it.. (i am only a few hours from beating it.. but i cant bring myself to even open the game anymore..) I read a quote and i agree with it.. "It is the best game ive played in a year... however its the worst Bioware game i have ever played as well." I dont know if EA is to blame or if Bioware is to blame... I do know however the Dev time is not enough.. and it shows.. alot. The game seems incomplete and again it shows.
thank you and good luck bioware. you are one of my top dev groups.
... ok not so short lol and maybe not the sweet thing either x.x:whistle:
Modifié par NeoNight1986, 04 avril 2011 - 05:36 .
#1647
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 06:05
Mystique83
-
- Members
- 40 messages
I would like to add some points I don't like in DA2 and I
forgot to mention within my first post in this thread.
That's all for now. Thank you.
forgot to mention within my first post in this thread.
- Cooldown
I think the cooldown was a bit to
slowly. And I don't understand why there is a cooldown for healing
potions? I can understand it for spells, but healing potions? Though
the fights were very easy to handle without healing potions I think
the cooldown is annoying.
- Specialisations and skills
I think in DA2 there was no positive
effect of the specialisations I chose for my Hawke. If I chose
Templer for example it had no special powers or abilities or
requirements.
The skill tree was too simple imo. A
Warrior with Shield and Weapon had only 3 or so abilites to attack.
The rest of the skills were only for the defense.
- 2nd Weapon
I missed the slot for the 2nd
weapon.
That's all for now. Thank you.
Modifié par Mystique83, 04 avril 2011 - 06:05 .
#1648
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 06:32
Dormiglione
-
- Members
- 780 messages
I agree, some feedback would greatly appreciated.Shibibiba wrote...
JohnEpler wrote...
Axekix wrote...
So I'm late to the party, and I don't know if Bioware is still following this thread, but I'll add my 2 cents anyway!
We are!
That's.. really all I have to say.
Ahem. Carry on as normal.
Feedback would be nice!
I just mean, sales aside it seems DA2 (an at least in My case ME2) aren't being received as well as their predecessors. Considering the numerous complaints about certain issues, does Bioware have any response?
#1649
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 06:35
Turran
-
- Members
- 534 messages
(Posted before, but there are some more points that bothered me 
)
A change in genre?
It felt like Dragon Age: Origins, was focused on decisions, speaking and immersion, really creating a world and having a character which shapes it, fully bringing the player into the game with deep connections. It felt a lot like an RPG.
With Dragon Age 2, it seemed like you took that and threw it out of the window and tried to make a game which would suit a much larger audiance, which is a good buisness look on a product, but not with a game which is designed for a certain audiance to begin with. It seemed like you did base it all around the combat, which fell flat. The majority or choices which actually affect the world were taken out along with the things such as Aggression (An option found in Origins) and Persuasion. On one video it was said by one of your designers or someone that "You hit a button and something awesome happens!" .. (You should never let this man go near another dev video again..) This just shows that you were trying to make the game more action oriantated. It just seems like a MAJOR step back, you changed the genre half way through, which means you really shouldn't of named the game after Dragon Age at all.
Mixing your games
It really does seem that you went "Alright guys, we have Dragon Age, lets make it better! But how? ..What about Mass Effect?! That sold a lot!" So you mixed the two games together, the speaking wheel? What was wrong with a mute player? Or just long sentances voiced out? You even took animations from Mass Effect, which felt like a slap in the face as it seemed like you tried to sneak them in? (One example is drinking.. You order a drink it is nearly EXACTLY the same as Commander Sheppard ordering a drink along with the actual drinking animation).
Flooding of enemies
This lead to the most boring and frustrating combat I have ever faced. There was no challenge, the fact was enemies dropped and appeared from thin air, surrounding your group. Sure, sounds awesome on paper and words, but put it into a game and it means there is NO tactics needed at all, just a large AoE fest. Dragon Age: Origins had somehow got it right, tactics involved and yet there were no floods of enemies which appear from thin air.
This also made fights rediculous, as if ANYONE dies in the first wave of anything, your group is going to struggle in the next 2 maybe 3 waves to come.
And my BIGGEST annoyance..
Changing the design of races in the game, so they are either 'more alien' or 'more awesome and bad-ass'... It leaves me scratching my head why you changed the designs from the dark game genre which sold millions, to cartoony more 'bad-ass' races which ruin the darkness of the game.. It baffles me..
)A change in genre?
It felt like Dragon Age: Origins, was focused on decisions, speaking and immersion, really creating a world and having a character which shapes it, fully bringing the player into the game with deep connections. It felt a lot like an RPG.
With Dragon Age 2, it seemed like you took that and threw it out of the window and tried to make a game which would suit a much larger audiance, which is a good buisness look on a product, but not with a game which is designed for a certain audiance to begin with. It seemed like you did base it all around the combat, which fell flat. The majority or choices which actually affect the world were taken out along with the things such as Aggression (An option found in Origins) and Persuasion. On one video it was said by one of your designers or someone that "You hit a button and something awesome happens!" .. (You should never let this man go near another dev video again..) This just shows that you were trying to make the game more action oriantated. It just seems like a MAJOR step back, you changed the genre half way through, which means you really shouldn't of named the game after Dragon Age at all.
Mixing your games
It really does seem that you went "Alright guys, we have Dragon Age, lets make it better! But how? ..What about Mass Effect?! That sold a lot!" So you mixed the two games together, the speaking wheel? What was wrong with a mute player? Or just long sentances voiced out? You even took animations from Mass Effect, which felt like a slap in the face as it seemed like you tried to sneak them in? (One example is drinking.. You order a drink it is nearly EXACTLY the same as Commander Sheppard ordering a drink along with the actual drinking animation).
Flooding of enemies
This lead to the most boring and frustrating combat I have ever faced. There was no challenge, the fact was enemies dropped and appeared from thin air, surrounding your group. Sure, sounds awesome on paper and words, but put it into a game and it means there is NO tactics needed at all, just a large AoE fest. Dragon Age: Origins had somehow got it right, tactics involved and yet there were no floods of enemies which appear from thin air.
This also made fights rediculous, as if ANYONE dies in the first wave of anything, your group is going to struggle in the next 2 maybe 3 waves to come.
And my BIGGEST annoyance..
Changing the design of races in the game, so they are either 'more alien' or 'more awesome and bad-ass'... It leaves me scratching my head why you changed the designs from the dark game genre which sold millions, to cartoony more 'bad-ass' races which ruin the darkness of the game.. It baffles me..
#1650
Posté 04 avril 2011 - 06:48
ms_sunlight
-
- Members
- 181 messages
Aireoth wrote...
ms_sunlight wrote...
slopesandsam wrote...
I'm glad they removed the non-combat skills. I didn't enjoy those in DA:O
But I'm not glad they removed all the skill-checks from conversation. This is something I really missed, and the thing that has become possibly my favourite part of RPGs, to the point where I started to think of it as an essential component of an RPG.
I'm actually glad they did away with that, as I've always found it encourages metagaming.
Ummm, so does no skill checks, in fact, it makes it a bit worse. IE: Varric Deal with It = Elaborate ruse, auto success, win. I stab you in the face = Autosuccess, fight and win. Talk him down = Auto sucess if you follow the right dialogue tree. Fight = Fight.
Without skill checks, all skills other then your core two are made redundant, Warriors might as well only have Strength and Con, Mages Wisdom and Magic, Rouges Dex and Cun. There streamlined you game for you.
All it has done (in combination with the limited dialogue wheel) is turn the game into a slightly interactive movie, an Action Adventure game, without the RPG aspect. Use Ability on Bad guy. I love Mass Effect, but still argue that we don't need another ME game, though I'm a 'hardcore' gamer, which means the market will continue to move away from me to capture the Maxim reading, Coors drinking, frat/soroity crowd.
I hope they take the positive of this game: Faster Combat, Shiny graphics, and the attempted more intreging story and fix the: Recycled Areas, Darkspawn textures, Generic Enemies, Role Playing Elements, and give the player an active role in the story rather then an observer.
I would beg to differ, Aireoth. One of the things I really like about DA2 is that I can choose the conversational response I feel like; I am not restricted by not having enough points in one thing or another but can react honestly according to the character I am roleplaying.
In DA:O converseley, one thing I do early in every playthrough is put points into coercion as early as possible simply because otherwise I know I won't have all the conversation options I want to have available to me. They are the first 4 skills I pick. Likewise the first stat I pump is always Cunning simply to unlock skills.
I can think of games (*cough* NWN *cough*) where, after the first playthrough, I have
felt strongly encouraged to metagame and build a character based on
conversational skills (*hack* NWN2 *hack*) simply because I couldn't do what I wanted to otherwise. Maybe it's just me and my weak, weak will, but there you go.
It's fine to have certain tasks that are suited to different character builds, but I strongly dislike being shepherded into how my character reacts or what they say simply because I haven't put enought points into this stat or that stat. Personality should be a choice, a matter for roleplaying not metagaming.
