390 réponses à ce sujet

[AlanC9]

The Brigand wrote...

The easiest way out here would've been to just let players equip whatever they darn well please on their party companions while still keeping their unique appearances. Yeah, it's a bit of a copout, but it's still better than having 2/3rds of your looted equipment become vendor trash just because nobody in your party will touch it.

That's not quite the easiest way. The easiest way would be to dump the whole looting paradigm in the first place, the way ME2 did. Then there isn't any 2/3 or your loot to sell in the first palce.

[Johnny20]

All developers will get crap from time to time. Some of it justified, some not so much.

I however, think Bioware should stop trying to defend the changes and shortcomings of Dragon Age 2. In my opinoin they should probably just stop talking about it altogether.

Everyone (fans, Bioware, reviewers, small children, household pets, etc) knows that this game was rushed out, and that is why most of the changes were made.

Dragon Age 2 pales in comparison to Origins in almost every single way, and everytime they do an interview defending the game, or saying changes were for a legitimate means (other then rushing, or dumming it down) I generally feel lied too, and they're talking tripe, to be quite honest.

Just stop, Bioware. Work on DLC, Dragon Age 3 or whatever to shut us up. Turn our opinion from negative to positive by releasing something that isn't garbage. We will forgive you, you can take our money and we can all forget this ever happend. I, for one, still support the Dragon Age series, I adore it. I thank Bioware for it. But Bioware must've known, that Dragon Age 2 was never going to stand up to Origins, no matter what their excuses.

I don't mind change, I'm happy for the games to evolve and change, be it setting and/or characters. But Dragon Age 2 devolved into a sloppy, repetitive, drab mess of a game that was quite obviously rushed out.

It's too late to do anything about Dragon Age 2 now. Bottem line is: Dragon Age 3 MUST be better, in almost every single way.

[Icinix]

TaHol wrote...

"A: Yes, this is completely due to technical limitation. 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."

Assassins Creed anyone? There you can CHOOSE how much you want to have people bumping at you in every corner. And even little is a lot more than in DA2. I can't stand when these people defend their poor performance in game design by saying that something was difficult to do. Yet it is done in several other games, and earlier. How about getting a better engine? Lyrium seems to be an old hag in wheelchair. If you can't make a better engine, get a licence to better one.

...their earlier work with Aurora didn't have the people running around the cities either..but cdProjektRed had no issue getting Aurora to work with good numbers of people, who even ducked for cover whent he rain hit...which is why I doubt the claim of it being a technical limitation...as I mentioned earlier...I stuffed around with the toolset and had heaps of NPCs..the game didn't struggle...so I don't get why they're so opposed to it...same as Mass Effect...the Unreal Engine is more than able to support huge numbers of people on screen..yet they limit the world populous...

[The Brigand]

AlanC9 wrote...

That's not quite the easiest way. The easiest way would be to dump the whole looting paradigm in the first place, the way ME2 did. Then there isn't any 2/3 or your loot to sell in the first palce.

Hah, true.

[EccentricSage]

"A: Well, sometimes you have to give up perfect inner logic to make the game more fun. 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. No one is bold enough to lecture him about that. This is kind of like when the authorities ignore certain crimes because the criminal's aid is of great importance."

Ok, I'm normally sympethetic to the devs, but I think this guy is just plain lazy and thinks fans want everything dumbed down. I think if anyone were to be replaced, this is the guy.

You should NOT have to sacrifice logic to make combat fun. You should design your levels more intelligently so that you aren't fighting in the middle of a public place and not getting any reaction from people, or from Templars. If for story reasons you have to have a public fight, and witnesses will live to attest that you are using blood magic, etc. then there needs to be a logical way out of that. Maybe being seen using Blood Magic could instantly align you with the Mages, and cause the Templars to see you as a threat.

For example, I like how in Origins, if you get caught pick-pocketing in Denerim, when you are traveling it will trigger an encounter with a huge number of guards who are there to bring you to justice. That sense of consequence made pick-pocketing more of a challenge and a risk, thus creating depth. It also increased immersion.

The idea of excusing everything Hawk does as "OMG, he is just too awesome, so no one will EVER challenge him at any point in the game" is just pants on head retarded. It ruins the entire concept of NOT being some 'chosen one' or 'hero'... it ruins the concept of being a guy who starts off as a nobody and has to EARN a reputation and power in Kirkwal.

It really is as though the writing devs and the design devs are COMPLETELY at odds with each other on this game, and Laidow should have noticed that, and should have made some tough calls as to WHAT this game is about, and WHAT can actually be accomplished without constant immersion breakers and a sense of dissonance between the story/cutscenes and game play/game mechanics.

[Seblin]

Wow this interview with one of the Lead designers really helps me understand some of the decisions made in this game. He is completely oblivious to the failings of the game. Did he even see it played out after writing apparently brilliant ideas on a whiteboard in a meeting room?

[EccentricSage]

Deified Data wrote...

addu2urmanapool wrote...

"

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?

A: Well, sometimes you have to give up perfect inner logic to make the game more fun. 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. No one is bold enough to lecture him about that. This is kind of like when the authorities ignore certain crimes because the criminal's aid is of great importance."

Weak!

Is he wrong? The same logic applies to being a mage in general. Why would the Templars let you run around in robes with a staff slung over your back, slinging fireballs? They wouldn't. Would you rather there be no mage option to begin with?

Weak or no, his logic is as close as we'll ever be to an answer. Presumably mage Hawke is subtle enough to lie low during acts I & II, with no one daring to touch him during act III. It follows a certain reason, does it not?

In Ferelden there was in-game logic behind mages.  The mages were tollerated as long as they kept a low profile outside the tower, were associated with the circle, cooperate with Templars, bribe Templars, etc.  To top it off, the Warden is exempt from much of the rule of law during a Blight, and a mage Warden is now under the jurisdiction of the Warden's and not the Templars.  You even have one of the Templars in Lothering commenting on Morrigan.

Why couldn't they build the story, lore, and gameplay in Kirkwall to be at least somewhat congruent as it was in Origins?  It's not JUST that they were terribly rushed, it also shows lack of oversight on Laidow's part and sheer lazyness and lack of imagination on the part of the level designer.

[Deviija]

Most of that read was painful. Spinzone much.

[Fraevar]

Deviija wrote...

Most of that read was painful. Spinzone much.

What Devi said.

[Lord Coake]

Nice. At least now we know why Kirkwall is a ghost town. Poor consoles can't keep up.

Well, that and if the average CoD twitcher ran into a crowd in game, they'd complain about not being able to butcher it for achievement points.

[Delixe]

I find it amusing they talk about replay value as I see little to none in DA2. Even if you can sit through the mind-crushingly boring endless waves and repeated locations a second time, what is the point? No matter what you choose the ending is always the same. With DA:O you had all the origins for starters but then there were all the builds to explore and while the end result of the game is the same, the way you got there and aftermath can be widely different. Hell even Mass Effect 2 has two distinctly different outcomes and several choices can futher effect Mass Effect 3.

If Bioware are expecting the same kind of sale figures from DA2 DLC I think they will be very disappointed because most people wont want to play it again and console players will likely sell the game once it's finished and just keep their saves. Which of course is going to put more second-hand copies of DA2 in retail stores which is going to futher hurt the new sales of DA2.

What a mess they made with this game.

[Lotion Soronarr]

Now I know whom to blame for the mediocre areas in DA2. Really.

The best DA2 areas barely compare to the worst DA:O had to offer.....

[Meneldhil]

Holy crap. What a bunch of BS.

DAII was a huge fail. This "level designer" (lol) should be fired, along with the rest of DA team. And honestly, all of Bioware should be disbanded, given how their games have been getting worse and worse with each release since KOTOR.

There's no excuse for releasing such a lame game. Had it been a eastern-european cheap RPG, it would have stayed unknown. Given this is Bioware, the cheap crap called DAII still gets reviews all over the place, sometimes with ridiculous marks (the "11/10, best rpg evar lol!" syndrom).

[abaris]

EccentricSage wrote...

Ok, I'm normally sympethetic to the devs, but I think this guy is just plain lazy and thinks fans want everything dumbed down. I think if anyone were to be replaced, this is the guy.

As has been said numerous times: Its highly unlikely for this guy, or any other employee for that matter, to speak his own mind. They're probably heavily coached by the PR department.

Just think of the making offs you find on any given DVD - the actors all had a wonderful time, and it was such an opportunity, and love, happiness, flowers all around. That's about the gist of these interviews, be they about a movie or a game.

[CLime]

Glad they realize the level copypasta did detract from the game to a significant degree.

The bit about crowding in Kirkwall is... disappointing. Such a small feature like being able to shove townspeople in the Witcher adds a ton of presence to a location, makes it feel inhabited.  I realize why sacrifices like these in console adaptations make sense for the company.  That doesn't mean those of us with PCs that don't run on coal have to like it.

I love DA2 overall, and it certainly improves on Origins in several areas, but the variety of environments (or lack thereof) was a huge detriment.

Modifié par CLime, 23 mars 2011 - 10:41 .

[Johnsen1972]

Good read, thx for the translation! That guy was at least honest in some aspects.

[Anacronian Stryx]

All right that does it, It is now time for the two Doctors to place the whole DA team on a constant educational diet of Baldurs Gate 1+2 force play.. and a topping of Planescape Torment to finish it of.

[Sandiel]

I read the interview. I'm still dizzy from all that spin. In fact, I'm feeling more vertigo than James Stewart.

[Lycidas]

My summary:

Q: Why?

A: We were lazy and thought we would get away with it!

[Alex Kershaw]

The guy is talking BS. There's no way they didn't think the reusable assets were fine in testing.

[Johnsen1972]

I just translated the interview in german. The german community wants to have a statement from Bioware regarding DA2.

http://social.biowar...LP.html#6725742

Thx for sharing the interview.

Modifié par Johnsen1972, 23 mars 2011 - 01:55 .

[segatakai]

Easier to tell the characters apart? Wow, just wow. How stupid do they think we are? There are four of them!
I really liked the idea to choose different equipment depending on the build of the character in question, or sometimes just for good looks.

[OriginalTibs]

They likely didn't think recycling lairs would be a big deal because they overestimated the players, imagining they would be more interested in the story than the furnishings.

[Shinimas]

OriginalTibs wrote...

They likely didn't think recycling lairs would be a big deal because they overestimated the players, imagining they would be more interested in the story than the furnishings.

Please tell me you aren't serious, I need to keep at least some faith in humanity.