390 réponses à ce sujet

[lx_theo]

Well, that was surprisingly informative. Thanks for the translation OP

[rpx78noob]

[quote]
A: First of all, we started with a working engine this time. It enabled us to create content much faster and earlier during the development process. Nevertheless, there were still aspects of the game that have changed since DAO so we faced a few challenges along the path.[/quote]
Rushing...
[quote]
Another main objective was to improve the look of the game. DAO was in development for a long time and was lagging behind a little in the graphics field when it came out. We tried to improve all of the game's graphical aspects including textures, models and animations, while giving the game a more unique art style.[/quote]

But everything else you got right. Now you went for the graphics and everything else fell short.
[quote]A: In contrast to popular belief, only few design elements were borrowed directly from ME. One is the talking hero and the other is the dialogue wheel. All other changes and refinements were completely independent, although a few of them may look similar, such as the customizing options for the hero and his companions.[/quote]Talking hero = less fantasy in a fantasy game.
Dialogue wheel = weak dialogue responses.
Customizing options = stripped down with poor gui compared to Origins.

[quote]Q: It seems DA2 abandons the free origin choice and its predecessor's variety of powers in favor of a defined and dubbed main character. What was the thought line behind this change?[/quote]A: In this game we wanted to tell a specific story, more personal. A talking hero wanting a fast game release is a very strong thing and so is a specific man with a history and greed of his own. This is a different approach which meant we had to give up the freedom of the character designs. The team believes that overall this approach is better financially and developes the genre towards more interesting economical directions.
[quote]Q: Kirkwall is a very small area compared to vast Ferelden we could play during the first game. Have you prefferd giving the city more depth over creating more places where you can hang around? Can you give an example?[/quote]A: This time we tried a different approach, a cheap one - enable the players to investigate only one main area, which we encoraged the player to think it has more depth and responsiveness. You can compare it to GTA game, where you are always in the same city but in this case 300x wider, or maybe even compare it to Assassin's Creed to a certain degree. The player gets the chance to learn about the its short history, characters and lame secrets of one place instead of visiting a place briefly showing more of the continent once before moving on to the next destination in his journey. It also enables a story arc which has a central shallow link - an illusion of things happening during the same time and not a long and flat timeline of events.
[quote]Q: Why are the city's streets not as crowded as one can expect from a city as congested as Kirkwall? Is it due to technical limitations?[/quote]
A: Yes, this is completely due to the game release dates. We had more people crowding the streets in early stages of development but we had to cut the number to be able to cope with the limitations of game consoles and low-end computers. It's not that we care about low-end pcs, it's just that console titles sell better.
[quote]Q: Could prolonging development time for the game result in a better variety within the city itself and avoiding reused areas, as seen in the game?[/quote]A: Obviously, more time would enable more areas and bigger variation. Honestly, we did not expect this to be such a big deal, but it seems the subject gave rise to a significant number of complaints by both critics and players alike. We publicly state that we listen to the reviews and we will try to address the issue in future games so that people think we'll make up for the next time.
[quote]Q: Does every battle consist of enemy waves? What is your answer for all those people that claim the lack of ability to know the number of waves and where they will pop up causes a battle that consists of reactions instead of tactics and planning?[/quote]A: Part of the tactical game is mashing up buttons. The waves might feel different, like, stupid, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. I do not agree with those that think the wave pattern is terrible as of itself, but I do agree that teleportation will be possible in real life, and thus i think it's kind of cool. We can use them more often to confuse the player and improve the breeding mechanic, for instance. All in all I think the waves are an excellent addition in the sea shores, i guess.
[quote]Q: Why is the tactical game view unavailable in this game? Is the reason technical, aesthetic or a design problem?[/quote]A: Support for upper angle of view means creating the graphics in such a way that'll enable cutting the upper parts of the geometry, when you use that option. This causes a decline in quality because it's impossible, or at least very hard, to create the same environments in this way. In short - it was a difficult decision but what the hell, let's ship it.
[quote]Q: Blood Magic is a forbidden art in the world of DA2, but the main character uses it freely during the game against civilians and Templars. How is that logical?[/quote]A: Well, sometimes you have to give up perfect inner logic to make the game more ambiguous. This is one of these cases. Anyway, this can be explained by the fact that the champion is someone who can do whatever he wants, even saying what the player doesn't want him to. No one is bold enough to lecture him about that, and not even the player will, in our point of view. This is kind of like when the authorities ignore certain crimes because the criminal's aid is of great importance, and templars are jobs like lazy cops, they just want donuts.
[quote]Q: Why is it no longer possible to manage your party's gear? Why is it that an armor worn by Hawke cannot be given to other characters?[/quote]A: You caught me on that one! What can I say... well, there are many... benefits... of keeping a unique appearance for the companions: they stay the same all over the plot, during cutscenes and dialogues and it's even indiferent during combat - they're easier to tell apart that way. We're thinking of painting them in all one colour for DA3 too, it makes sense. I know it limits the possible customization but think on the bright side, there are still many other elements you can upgrade such as placing small squares with cool names in weapons such as runes, accessories and even upgrade the main armor's stats.
[quote]Q: How much content is in DA2? Does it even get close to DAO's 100 hours of gameplay?[/quote]A: Everyone plays the game differently, and so the game's length varies greatly. A turtle can take thousands of years to end DA2. And so, in the end, DA2 is very long and can be prolonged by replays. It may not be as lengthy as its predecessor, but it is certainly a dubious epic RPG, far longer than many other games out there in the market, i just can't remember what games though..
[quote]Q: How were DAO's DLCs accepted? Did it influence your plans for such content for DA2?[/quote]A: The DLCs have been very popular. We broke all kinds of inner records at EA in this area. Of course DLCs are now an integral part of the game. We want players to continue enjoying the game as long as possible and DLC is the best way to achieve this goal.[/quote]

Too bad they stopped for Origins, since they say it was a huge hit. Why not continue it in that very same game?

Modifié par rpx78noob, 24 mars 2011 - 05:28 .

[Foolsfolly]

You can compare it to GTA game, where you are always in the same city, or maybe even compare it to Assassin's Creed to a certain degree.

You could, but trust me, you'd come out loosing in that comparison. The GTA cities feel alive, lived in, and especially Liberty City has loads of diversity. You can drive for 5 minutes around the map, stop, get out of the car and see completely different tilesets than the ones when you started driving. Each Borough was unique, with unique vehicles, NPCs, and clothing styles. There were graffiti, litter, sleeping bums in the alleyways, abandoned buildings, the spender of Time Square, gated communities, factory districts, docks.

Liberty City was MASSIVE and felt real.

Kirkwall is tiny and much the same. There's a quarry area in Lowtown that looks nothing like any quarry I've ever seen. It's just kinda....an L shaped place to walk and some water down below. If the NPCs and map didn't refer to it as a quarry I'd have no idea what that place was.

Obviously, more time would enable more areas and bigger variation. Honestly, we did not expect this to be such a big deal, but it seems the subject gave rise to a significant number of complaints by both critics and players alike.

Kirkwall's fine for a short stay. 7 years in a static Kirkwall, some 40-50 hours in the same location, it's just not enough. Imagine doing 40-50 hours in Denerim. It's roughly the same size as Denerim with maybe two additional load zones.

Blood Magic is a forbidden art in the world of DA2, but the main character uses it freely during the game against civilians and Templars. How is that logical?

A: Well, sometimes you have to give up perfect inner logic to make the game more fun.

I wish they'd just come out and say that more often. I had a huge argument about blood magic being evil in another thread a day ago.

There are many benefits of keeping a unique appearance for the companions: it gives them presence during cutscenes and dialogues and it's even useful during combat

Those reasons aren't enough. If you're afraid that warriors like Hawke and Aveline might look too similar (and who cares?) perhaps having multiple skins on different armors would help. Rogue armors that look different than Warrior or Mage armors. And then different sets looking vastly different. Yes, all the armors in DA:O looked alike. The answer wasn't to just remove armor.

And if you hated Miranda's outfit in ME2, just look at Isabela!

And the upgrading armor pieces you buy and find are boring. It doesn't change the appearance of the armor and the benefits are really slight. The most useful ones, to me, being the Rune additions. Throwing in a Spirit resist rune and that +attribute rune really help the companions shine.

It may not be as lengthy as its predecessor, but it is certainly epic RPG, far longer than many other games out there in the market.

Wh...what? I was just replaying Fallout: New Vegas which hasn't been out too awfully long and is more than double the game time of DA2. In fact, if I avoided side quests I bet I could beat the game in 6 hours. Maybe less.

Weird interview. Weird interview.

I can understand wanting the characters to all look unique and have their outfits fit the character. That's a niffty idea. But a HUGE part of RPGing is that drive to get the next best item. That drive is hampered, if not destroyed, by the fact that 99% of the items you pick up are for classes you're not and thus useless.

[Foolsfolly]

Talking hero = less fantasy in a fantasy game.

That's pure opinion, dude.

[Lotion Soronarr]

You know..I'm playing Drakensang: The River of Time ATM, and the first town you visit is so much better than Kirkwall, it's not even funny.

Really...I keep going trough other areas and towns in other games - even from slighly different genres (like Two Worlds 2 or Crysis) and the area design is so much better and pleasing to the eye that I have to ask myself who mae this guy lead level designer....

Really. This is damn depresseing.


B.t.w - Drakensang rocks. A beatufull old school CRPG.

[Mooh Bear]

Altima Darkspells wrote...

Mooh Bear wrote...

Bioware is on a downward slope, but they used to have pretty good support. BG/BG2/NWN/KoToR/ME/ME2 were more or less clean from the get go. DA: O and DA2 are the exceptions. And the years of support they gave to NWN are just amazing. On the other hand, Black Isle/Obsidian has a long track record of very buggy games: Fallout/Fallout2/KoToR2/NWN2/Alpha Protocol/FNV. Fallout 2, KoToR2 and Alpha Protocol were never really cleaned up. NWN2 got decent support and is running more or less fine after 2 extensions. It's too early to say for FNV.

BG, BG2, NWN, KotOR, ME, and ME2 all shipped with bugs of varying degrees.  I remember, in particular, that NWN was particularly bad for bugs.  Thing is, BioWare used to be good at supporting games and putting out decent patches.

Even games as recent as ME2 for the PS3, which is nothing more than a port, shipped with serious, save game deleting bugs.

As for Obsidian, KotOR 2 was rushed by its publisher.  Alpha Protocol was rushed (and suffered heavily from Sega meddling) by its publisher.  NWN2 suffered from poor optimization, but it was still superior to NWN1 in every way that mattered.  Even with all their technical flaws, many people enjoy the story and game elements.  Obsidian games may not be the best, but no one can say that they don't care about their games.

Heck, Obsidian spent five hundred man-hours on a single scene in Alpha Protocol.

This all just is repeating what I said.  BioWare used to be good at support.  NWN1's premium modules helped pay for its patching.  With DAO, millions were spent on its DLC, and we've gotten, what, four patches?  And, of course, not even all the major bugs are fixed.  And one of the patches had to fix things that were broken by the previous patch.

This is going in circles. Bioware games are buggy, that's a given. But Obsidian games are buggier and are almost never fixed. Why they're not fixed is kinda irrelevant. If Obsidian is chronically understaffed/underfunded, that's their problem, not mine (as a customer). Now, Bioware's DA games have been given the short end of the stick. But the rest got decent treatment. So far at least.

[MrWakka]

Somewhat off topic, but its a shame alpha protocol will never get a sequel. I felt the series had a lot of potential. Actually, now that I think about it... I liked it better than DA2.

That said, BioWare games have bugs in as much as other developers have bugs. While there are exceptions, they are not usually game breaking. In fact, while i've had the odd crash here or there, I cannot say I recall any major bug being an issue for me in a BioWare game, save the Juhani sidequest bug in KotOR.

Obsidian on the other hand... As much as I enjoy their games, they are not as technically proficient, and everyone kind of expects bugs of a more serious nature in their product. I used to chalk that up to them not having the clout BioWare had for extra QA time or the budget for it.

NWN2 in particular was very flawed out of the gate and had over a gig in patches to get it somewhat stable, I wouldn't say it was superior to nwn in a few ways, much less all that counted, but that is straying back off topic...

Modifié par Mrwakka, 24 mars 2011 - 01:02 .

[mr_nameless]

Great gods, can't believe I'm reading this. Who in the world made this game?? Par-time Bioware staff???? What a disgrace.

[Tom Jolly]

"This time we've tried a different approach --- We've arranged for this carrot to be rammed, unapologetically, into a particularly ominous orifice. We think it is going to be a positive experience for the gamer."   If only we had known what we were buying.

Modifié par Tom Jolly, 24 mars 2011 - 02:01 .

[Monica83]

i have no word....... keep your eyes open people and wake up this is how EA work...

[Captain Sassy Pants]

Mooh Bear wrote...

Altima Darkspells wrote...

Mooh Bear wrote...

Bioware is on a downward slope, but they used to have pretty good support. BG/BG2/NWN/KoToR/ME/ME2 were more or less clean from the get go. DA: O and DA2 are the exceptions. And the years of support they gave to NWN are just amazing. On the other hand, Black Isle/Obsidian has a long track record of very buggy games: Fallout/Fallout2/KoToR2/NWN2/Alpha Protocol/FNV. Fallout 2, KoToR2 and Alpha Protocol were never really cleaned up. NWN2 got decent support and is running more or less fine after 2 extensions. It's too early to say for FNV.

BG, BG2, NWN, KotOR, ME, and ME2 all shipped with bugs of varying degrees.  I remember, in particular, that NWN was particularly bad for bugs.  Thing is, BioWare used to be good at supporting games and putting out decent patches.

Even games as recent as ME2 for the PS3, which is nothing more than a port, shipped with serious, save game deleting bugs.

As for Obsidian, KotOR 2 was rushed by its publisher.  Alpha Protocol was rushed (and suffered heavily from Sega meddling) by its publisher.  NWN2 suffered from poor optimization, but it was still superior to NWN1 in every way that mattered.  Even with all their technical flaws, many people enjoy the story and game elements.  Obsidian games may not be the best, but no one can say that they don't care about their games.

Heck, Obsidian spent five hundred man-hours on a single scene in Alpha Protocol.

This all just is repeating what I said.  BioWare used to be good at support.  NWN1's premium modules helped pay for its patching.  With DAO, millions were spent on its DLC, and we've gotten, what, four patches?  And, of course, not even all the major bugs are fixed.  And one of the patches had to fix things that were broken by the previous patch.

This is going in circles. Bioware games are buggy, that's a given. But Obsidian games are buggier and are almost never fixed. Why they're not fixed is kinda irrelevant. If Obsidian is chronically understaffed/underfunded, that's their problem, not mine (as a customer). Now, Bioware's DA games have been given the short end of the stick. But the rest got decent treatment. So far at least.

Let me know when the bugs in DA:O get patched. I know that I am still waiting.

[MrWakka]

Monica83 wrote...

i have no word....... keep your eyes open people and wake up this is how EA work...

I take issue with letting BioWare off the hook and blaming EA. While EA did rush the project, the flaws are not of a nature typically associated with a rush job. (buggy, unpolished, etc..) The primary flaws are seen in the entire approach in the games direction, from the combat alterations, recycled level design, story and character quality, and quest design. These are aspects not only trumpeted by BioWare employees, but ones in which they have taken an active interest in defending as good choices and the future of the franchise.

[Monica83]

Mrwakka.. bioware is EA now

[terrordactyl1]

"This time we tried a different approach - enable the players to investigate only one main area, which has more depth and responsiveness. You can compare it to GTA game, where you are always in the same city, or maybe even compare it to Assassin's Creed to a certain degree. The player gets the chance to learn about the history, characters and secrets of one place instead of visiting a place briefly once before moving on to the next destination in his journey. It also enables a story arc which has a central link - a lot of things happen during the same time and not a long and flat timeline of events"

I guess that explains why I keep going to the same cave 30 times over. They want me get a deeper understanding of where each pebble lies.

[MrWakka]

Monica83 wrote...

Mrwakka.. bioware is EA now

BioWare is a division of EA, Im not going to blame the failures of DA2 on John Riccitiello or the marketing team. Mike Laidlaw, Yaron Jakobs, and David Gaider are all a part of the BioWare division, and were the key parties responsible for the way DA2 turned out.

Mike Laidlaw, Lead Developer, has been VERY vocal in his support of DA2's changes and was responsible for alot of them.

Yaron Jakobs, lead level designer, did not think recycling a handful of maps would be an issue.

David Gaider was the lead writer.

Now if there was a memo telling BioWare to change the gameplay to be more mass market in appeal, and to simplify the gameplay drastically; If it went on to say to only use as few resources as possible, recycled content is a priority; If it ended by saying to not worry about the depth of story or choices, railroad the player to a cliffhanger so we can pump out DLC. Then, sure, I'd say blame EA. However, all evidence shows that the buck stops at the BioWare studio.

EA is EA, they knew the nature of the beast from the start when they first started dealing with them. They reached out greedily for the millions being offered. Much like a mage using blood magic, you might say they have become an abomination, unrecognizable from their former self, but they went into it with eyes wide open, willingly.

Sure, a bit exagerated, but there you have it. Demons seek mortals to corrupt, its what they do. It isn't until a mage gives in that they can cross over. So i'd argue it is more the mages fault than the demon, which merely acts on its natural instincts.

Modifié par Mrwakka, 24 mars 2011 - 02:13 .

[TheKnave69]

Mrwakka wrote...

EA is EA, they knew the nature of the beast from the start when they first started dealing with them. They reached out greedily for the millions being offered. Much like a a mage using blood magic, you might say they have become an abomination, unrecognizable from their former self, but they went into it with eyes wide open, willingly.

Interesting analogy.  As I was playing the game, I thought of it as kind of a dark satire about corporate greed.  The primary motivation for Hawke is the acquisition of money...  Just saying.

[Zmajc]

The more interviews and blog posts from current/former Bioware emloyees i read the more it seems they have totally abandoned games which made them what they are... unforgettable classic RPG's.

They're so hype on ME series they think every future game they make should be like this.

This interview was really painfull to read i'm deeply offended and pretty much lost faith in BioWare.

So long and thanks for all the fish. Meanwhile i'll go replay BG2/PS:T for 20th time.

[FedericoV]

OPini wrote...

A: This time we tried a different approach - enable the players to investigate only one main area, which has more depth and responsiveness. You can compare it to GTA game, where you are always in the same city, or maybe even compare it to Assassin's Creed to a certain degree. The player gets the chance to learn about the history, characters and secrets of one place instead of visiting a place briefly once before moving on to the next destination in his journey. It also enables a story arc which has a central link - a lot of things happen during the same time and not a long and flat timeline of events.

Great find and thanks for the translation. Just a side note on that passage. No, pls, avoid comparison with city games like AC or GTA games. Its' mostly embarassing for DA2 and that comparison is one of the reason why players and reviewers consider it "such a big deal".

[Xewaka]

You're looking at the wrong place to find their criticism for DA 2.
You just have to wait 'til DA 3 is announced, then they'll start bashing on DA 2 to market DA 3.
That's the precedent, anyway

[Monica83]

Bioware is dead now... With people like ladiaw or their lead designer..... And with EA as a publisher.. I hope things will be better for DA3 but i don't think it will change from the dragon age 2 formula... I bet the main protagonist of DA3 will be hawke again......

[Ahicz]

Well, what do you expect really? I mean, he's one of the designers, of course hes not going to say that all the changes people hate made the game bad? Of course hes going to defend them.

[OPini]

SCpanther wrote...

kelsjet wrote...

Filament wrote...
Yeah, I know what the term means, bigot.

If I am a bigot for calling a stove "a stove", then you are a racial supremacist for thinking that this guy should get a free pass.

We were promised a Bioware game. Instead we got 4 levels repeated 50 times with identikit waves of trash mobs to fight. This guy is directly responsible for this (notice the "Lead" in "Lead Level Designer").

If that's not the core definition of "getting jewed", I don't think anything else can be.

You can provide links to some bogus definition of the term you used but the reality is that the word "jewed" has historically been derogatory to Jews, implying they are money-grubbing hagglers and cheats.

Thanks SCpanther!

To kelsjet, sure because he's a Jew then the game's bad, really, are you THAT dumb? He worked on DAO too! Was that game ****ty as well? Do you actually believe he was the one who made the decision of repeating the same level 100 times over? He's just the designer, designing what he is told to design! This was obviously a decision made by higher ranking people within BioWare...

And as a Jew I find your comments very insulting, next time someone tries to "Jew you out" I'll be sure to let you know, as we all have a secret brotherhood that aims to take over the world and the gaming industry and produce mediocre games that sell for a lot of money! Oh, and I forgot to mention we all carry gold coins in little pouches hanging by chains around our neck! *cynical*

Geez people grow up! Prejudices are so 20th century!

Modifié par OPini, 24 mars 2011 - 03:24 .

[MrWakka]

Ahicz wrote...

Well, what do you expect really? I mean, he's one of the designers, of course hes not going to say that all the changes people hate made the game bad? Of course hes going to defend them.

There are other options, it really just depends on his own personal convictions.

If he truly believes he was right, well first i'd suggest he take a step back and re-evaluate, but beyond that sure, defend your creation, the world isn't going to do it for him. While I may strongly disagree I can respect his desire to try and counter the chorous of voices crying out in anger about the game.

If he is just following the company line, and has to get out there for damage control, he could offer a more apologetic approach, recognizing that many fans were not happy about the game, but that the company will take all feedback into account going forward and that he is also pleased that many fans enjoy the changes. In the future they will see if they cannot master the vision they have and appeal to both sides.

If he is unhappy about the game, well, he really shouldn't be making these interviews. By doing so he is actively lying about it in order to sell more copies.

So there, some other things he could have done. I'd argue his present approach likely only serves to further alienate the fans his design choices angered, but as long as he doesn't go with the tagline "Mike Laidlaw is going to make you his *****" for DA3, he should be fine; albeit not helping BioWares rep with the core fanbase that is upset.

[AngryFrozenWater]

Thanks for the translation! The interview had some good questions. By now BioWare must know they are on the wrong track.