166 réponses à ce sujet

[Dethares]

Seroxi wrote...

A lot of good points have already been made so I'll just bring up one issue.
The one thing in DA2 that bothers me to no end is the fact that I'm pretty much forced to drag certain characters with me throughout the game.

1. Aveline is the only character who can wield a shield(unless PC is a warrior)
2. Anders is the only character who can heal during Act2 and most of Act3(unless PC is a mage)

Sure you can play the game without having Aveline as a tank or Anders as a healer but they are hands down the best you can get and trying to play any other setup is rather... tedious. I can understand the underlying logic of Fenris not being able to tank or Merrill healing but some things should be overlooked.

I personally think that Origins handled this part a lot better by just allowing all warriors to use a shield and all mages to heal. This way I could bring the characters I like with me, not the characters I need with me. I hope this will be the case in the next installment of DA franchise.

Yeah....... but the abilities or the character's role (to me) is like another expression of who they are. Such as Morrigan..... she was strong and manipulative, thus she it made sense for her to be like a dps/ control, instead of a healer (besides the fact that she didn't come with any heals either, but that's not my point). I suggest to have more companions? That fit the roles needed? And maybe have a five member party? Origins had this issue too. Your only real tank with abilities of that sort was Alistiar and your healer was Wynne. Hmmm...........wow's dual spec???lololol

[Jaulen]

Sound issue:
If the camera was turned away, you couldn't hear what the companions or anyone else was saying.

Combat:
Bring back overwhelm/shred, please? I at first HATED it in DAO, but found I really missed it in DA2.

Bring back cool final kill blows, I often cheered when Sten would kick someone off his sword, or my rogue would go into some dual weild spinning beheading move.....often when playing DA2 I'd be like, "WTH? My mage just exploded some guy into bits by hitting him with a staff?"

And please, better (limited) use of waves...make enemies more intelligent (like shapeshifing ememies)....more tactical to kill them. Like utilizing CCC, potions, poinsons, exploding barrels, something.....just giving a baddy more hit points....meh. Although I did like that they would actually use a health potion. That was a plus.

Less exploding bodies.

Armor:
I like the ideas others have said of finidng companion specific armor, or when you DO find an upgarde for them ala DA2, it actually shows some sort of upgrade on the companion.

Please.....the mage robes....OMG. So ugly. So so so hideous. In fact, I want to write a fan fiction of Carver giving my fem!Hawke a set of robes as a gift once they get to Kirkwall and she fireballs him.

Hairstyles:
Please.....some better looking female hair, esepcially for pulled back styles...really, how many female rogues or warriors would be going around with hair hangind in the their faces...makes for blindspots *squish*

Companions:
Liked the companions in DAO and DA2. Liked that they interacted with each other and interjected with NPC chats. Keep.
Please, more companion interaction, and quests. Even lighthearted ones like Aveline....I was sure I was going to hate her before playing, and she's one of my favs now.

Liked the set after quest and Questioning belief chats with companions....but would also like opportunity to just ask them stupid questions.


Sidequests:
More quests related to the overarching story.
Also, more quests that open or close other quests based on what you did.
For multi-act games, sidequests that might not seem like much in one act, that are actually corss-act quests (see above). This would give replayability since you could open or lose quests based on choices you made (they don't need to be super involved).

Letters:
I did like the letters we'd get from people we'd have interactions with. Felt a little more continuous.
Also liked that you could run into NPCs in other acts and talk to them and see how decisions you made affected them.

[Melca36]

Cartoony darkspawn sucked. The emissary made me laugh.

[nightlordv]

neppakyo wrote...

PirateT138 wrote...

Here's a thought: Put more effort into the next installment and don't just phone it in.

DA2 has some parts that look very well done and polished, other parts reek of rushed/lazy development.

Like an ugly chick with a boob job and a lot of make-up. She looks great when you don't look too closely.

Or you find out she's really a man.

And I'll add, no restrtiction to one small town like DA2.

And no hawke. Kill the bugger off.

His whole family got whacked throughout the game why not? 
I don't care about Hawke honestly, for DA3 I would like to see the story about Morrigan, Flemeth, and that supposed God Child. I think it would be great if the last boss of DA3 would be the God Child.

[Dethares]

Inarborat wrote...

I agree with a lot that has been posted and apologies for repeating anything.  
 

Repeat all that you want. BW actually encourages to do so. To see patterns and what not.

[tariq071]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

Some very good notes in here, guys. Enjoying reading them; I find discussions about the elements of each game that are particularly strong (or weak!) to be of particular interest, as it helps to get down to the essential "alchemy" of each game.

Well, Mr. Laidlaw , here is an possible idea that doesn't require long production cycle or way to many resources. Take BG II and other classics(BG, ID, etc..), keep all game mechanics and redo graphics, add voice overs.

Result, your bestseller(s) just got fresh and powerful.No need to invent hot watter al over again.Then you(BW PR that is) can say that if someone doesn't like it can move on.

Since those titles would be PC first(which made them great at the first place), there would be definite lack of "awesome" button, but i am sure that any inteligent being can live with that sacrifice.

Thanks


BTW , can anyone tell me who is Hawke?

Modifié par tariq071, 01 avril 2011 - 09:22 .

[Dethares]

[/quote]
His whole family got whacked throughout the game why not? 
I don't care about Hawke honestly, for DA3 I would like to see the story about Morrigan, Flemeth, and that supposed God Child. I think it would be great if the last boss of DA3 would be the God Child.


[/quote]

KILL MY SON!!!??? Makes for good literature. Sounds Shakespearish. 

[Seroxi]

Dethares wrote...
Yeah....... but the abilities or the character's role (to me) is like another expression of who they are. Such as Morrigan..... she was strong and manipulative, thus she it made sense for her to be like a dps/ control, instead of a healer (besides the fact that she didn't come with any heals either, but that's not my point). I suggest to have more companions? That fit the roles needed? And maybe have a five member party? Origins had this issue too. Your only real tank with abilities of that sort was Alistiar and your healer was Wynne. Hmmm...........wow's dual spec???lololol

Morrigan didn't have any healing spells when she joined your party but she had the healing talents available to her(which I often picked). I agree with you when you say that someone not being able to heal makes sense, like I pointed out in my original post, but I don't think letting Merrill heal would be that big of an issue lorewise(I know this is a threat about the future installment but I'm bringing this up as an example here).

In Origins you could heal with either Wynne or Morrigan. Alistair, Oghren and Shale all could tank Having more companions might sound nice and all but considering all the time and effort you have to put into one companion we can't really expect Bioware to add extra companions just so people could build an optimal setup.

[nightlordv]

tariq071 wrote...

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

Some very good notes in here, guys. Enjoying reading them; I find discussions about the elements of each game that are particularly strong (or weak!) to be of particular interest, as it helps to get down to the essential "alchemy" of each game.

Well, Mr. Laidlaw , here is an possible idea that doesn't require long production cycle or way to many resources. Take BG II and other classics(BG, ID, etc..), keep all game mechanics and redo graphics, add voice overs.

Result, your bestseller(s) just got fresh and powerful.No need to invent hot watter al over again.Then you(BW PR that is) can say that if someone doesn't like it can move on.

Since those titles would be PC first(which made them great at the first place), there would be definite lack of "awesome" button, but i am sure that any inteligent being can live with that sacrifice.

Thanks


BTW , can anyone tell me who is Hawke?

I was just thinking how cool it would be to have a reboot of Baldur's Gate to more modern area. Too bad Bioware doesn't own the rights.

[Mekah]

Skills:
- Persuasion has to come back. As an investment/reward mechanic it's presence is sorely missed in DA2. It allows for more options and variety in resolving quests and conflicts that simply deferring to a companion can not and does not.
- Crafting has to come back. Whatever you want to call the "system" in DA2, it isn't crafting. You just order stuff from shops from your house. Again there should be some investment/reward mechanic at work here.

Combat:
- Go back to Origins' more realistic look/feel. Swinging a heavy weapon should look heavy, not like Devil May Cry. Rogues should have to maneuver behind an enemy to backstab, not use some kind of magic teleport. I wouldn't mind if it was sped up a little, but DA2 combat just looks/feels too cartoonish.
- No waves of enemies. Removes any tactics when your party is always in the middle of a circle of respawning enemies.
- Have mages and enemies that use a variety of spells that the player uses, like Origins.
- Let us plant traps again.
- Cross-class combos are cool, but there needs to be more variety with more creative combos like Origins had. Like a rogue throws a grease bomb and then a mage can use fire spell on it.

Companions:
- I like the idea that they all have a unique look, but if you're going to go that route I want to be able to modify equipment I find to suit them, even if it means I have to pay a tailor or blacksmith to make it "theirs". I hate finding cool new gauntlets but since I can't use them and no one else can either they just get sold.
- Unlock the combat roles. I don't like having to take Aveline if I want a sword and shield tank, or Isabela if I want a dagger rogue. It's enough that I have to choose my party based on class, now I have to choose based on individual weapon preference too? That's silly and needlessly restrictive. I get that you want them to be unique, but isn't class, outfits, and personality enough?

[Gamer790]

I think making it easier to keep focus on the main plot by weaving some secondary quest into the narrative and just cutting out several arbitrary side quests the ones where you just stumble upon random items throughout the world would be nice (I mean seriously. Is Hawke the only person that knows how to hold on to his/her things?)
I never really cared for crafting. I preferred that ME 1 system where the player would just loot various tools from their enemies rather than having to go through the tedious process of hunting down resources just to make one rune or potion. I would still like to have specific merchants for purchasing things like runes, potions or grenades and for enchantments.

zambingo wrote...

Speaking of toggling weapon types...

Warriors get 2H and Shields
Rogues get Daggers and Archery
Mages get Staves and wah wah wah nothing.

Mages should get wands. for melee the wand could just have a murder knife blade on the hilt or something. Wands make sense for apostates because they can be hidden. Perhaps the difference between wands and staves (beyond attack animations) could be differences in power and accuracy. Wands more accurate (higher critical chance or something). Staves more powerful (better overall attack).

Having a Wand option set up could also set up options for enchanted, one handed daggers. The animation for wands could concievably work for holding a short dagger too. So while you, BioWare, can still maintain distinct differences in classes (as seems to be your intent with DA2), you can pacify/appease two parts of your player base by 1. including wands 2. that then providing the opportunity for enchanted daggers. Sure it's not Spellweaver, but it's a compromise.

I actually kinda like this idea.  It's always nice to add new styles of play.

Modifié par Gamer790, 01 avril 2011 - 09:42 .

[Horus Blackheart]

well put Mekah. When people ask me if there's any parts of DA2 i like, honestly there are lots of things I like. The problem is it gets stifled by the layers of mediocre stuff that seems like it was bolted on. This game feels like the collage drop out desperately trying to live up to its parents expectations yet failing. Shamus in the game has a killer line about disappointing his father, which sadly I cant remember clearly right now but it fits so well. I want to love the game to see past its flaws but it's constantly reminding me of them.

[Katzen]

Can we get curly hairstyles? There is no love in this game for us girls with big beautiful curls.

[DiTHmaphacks]

Being an old fashioned gamer and stuck at the Icewind Dale age i prefered the DA:O slow combat style as it feels more strategic for me but i cant blame any company for trying different stuff in their games.Games can only get better if changes occur.What ticks me off in the combat portion of the game in DA2 is how the potions are too overpowered and healers are actually not needed.And please stop spawing more waves of mobs out of sky/ceiling or blocked corridors.In ME more enemies were coming from somewhere,even ships were dropping them but in DA2 being an unreal universe they just teleport out of nowhere.

Also the skill system needs a bit of rework (example my warrior didnt have any energy to do any skills from the sustain modes energy cap) Also i would love the mages to go back to a more Forgotten Realms type of skill learning.Meaning that each level giving you the option to learn certain spells from all trees instead of focusing on one tree at a time.

I would love also for the inventory to make its comeback in a better shape.The star system imo was a big failure.There were times that items with more stars offered my character less benefits but just because the armor or lesser 2nd stats were better it had more stars.Let the players figure this out.Oversimplifying things is not always better.

Voice casting was top notch imo although some of the conversations and lines were completely off with the mood of the time.The city is in the brink of war and i am just sitting somewhere gossiping and laughing instead of doing something about it.I would love if some timers were put in the quests so you get different results in conversations.Someone comes to me and says he is in need of immediate assistance i agree to go right away and i later go and do 20 more quests and when i arrive i am just in time ! I understand that people to lose a quest because of not putting it in priority may be a bit off but you can at least add a couple of lines of conversation for quest givers to show their dissatisfaction.

Companions for me was a failure in a way in DA2.Most of the companions seemed spoiled and whined a lot(especially ur brother) and with the exception of Isabela with the twist in her story felt too uninteresting for me.The conversation games between the companions worked pretty well almost i would love to have more.And the moral lines set by the characters in your group seemed better tuned and was a large improvement since DA:O.

As for the progression of character,I was a champion before i started the game.I was a noble before i entered the city.I was badass before the half of act1.And after that i was the same till the game ended.With the minor additions of a character moving to your house pretty much there isnt any progression (except for random people greeting you in the streets with hello champion and stuff).Also being a champion of Kirkwall didnt feel that i was as awesome as being a Grey Warden. Even some GWs i found in Kirkwall were more awesome than me(Instead of helping me they just left with the i have more things to do and i cant interupt with your business).

As for the story.Being a game that at least for me was 1/5th of DA:O first playthrough doesnt help to set the mood for an epic adventure.This is a story about a guy who loses everything,he goes into *slavery* for 1 year and after he frees himself he gets back all his lost fortune,becomes the champion and everyone lives happily ever after.Boooooring.Thank god that i had preordered the digital and had the DLC or else i wouldnt have gotten important pieces of the story.The DLC situation is getting ridiculous really.Also the ending seemed a bit off.Even though i could choose different things i was guided towards a certain ending whatever i did.
Also my characters history is completely unknown to me.I could have been a school teacher,an actor or even a fairy for all i know.Little things like this the least engaging game i have played from Bioware.

Graphics were top notch and the game run smooth for me without encountering almost any bugs so good job there.Also sounds were nice but the music was not as good as the DA:O.I still sometimes play the OST from DA:O but the OST from DA2 didnt even make it as a playlist in my WMP.

Overall i think a lot of changes happened.Most for me were to the worst but some for the better.Now you guys need to keep the good things and change the bad so you get back on track on making top games.

So again this year i was hugely dissapointed by one of the companied that i love.First Square kills Final fantasy.Then Blizzard kills Starcraft2 and now Bioware kills a game,also Crysis2 getting battered ??? where does this world going to.If TW2 and Skyrim fails it will be one the most promising years that turned to the biggest dissapointment.

[Melca36]

Bring back some customization back for the other characters.

You have a female audience/gamers that you seemed to have **forgotten**.

If we cant customize at least let us be able to **change the colors**...anything!!

Please bring back finishing moves....

It was cool being able to decap or take down an ogre.

Having a body explode when I backstab is ridiculous.

Also...why was the wounded coast so dead? An occasional seagull flying over would have added to the game.

Have the fade be a **compromise** between the Origins and DA:2 version.   The same goes for the Deep Roads.

Clicking on a character to wait for a cutscene is not immersion. I can understand while it maybe necessary but too many just diminished the experience.

And now for the good comments.........

I actually grew to like Hawke but it still felt lonely playing her. Hopefully some DLC will fill some of the time gaps.

Loved all the characters.....Varric was the coolest of them all.

I really appreciated Aveline and Isabela.... As a female a gamer you brought on two very strong yet very different characters.

As someone who has dealt with women recovering from eating disorders (I'm a certified dietician) I absolutely LOVED how Isabela had meat on her.

She was not the typical stereotypical skinny female character. Thank you for that! :-)

Husband gamer would have like a female companion that was a combination between Merrill and Isabela,
He loved Isabela but just can't get into Merrill.

Bring back Flemeth! Loved her.

And really enjoyed Sandal. Am I wrong to assume that by the time Dragon 3 comes out he will speak even more coherently??

All in all I rate the game a 7/8

It was fun but it could have been better. I know there are cost issues, but I just would like to say I am one of those gamers who has no issues with paying for a game as long as it has a good amount of replayability.

Origins has a bit more replayability but I do hope DA:2 will improve on that with some DLC

Thanks for reading.

Modifié par Melca36, 01 avril 2011 - 10:54 .

[RagingCyclone]

All of what Melca stated plus better Q&A. There are several places of dialogue that need to be streamlined. Fenris is a recent example I played where he would have one pose during one line of dialogue, and then jump to a completely different pose that you could tell had been pieced together instead of made into a seamless conversation. All of the companions with the exception of Sebastian have these issues, and it causes a loss of immersion when it looks like really bad editting in a movie.

[ZombiePowered]

Continuation, obviously. There's whole goddamned war now, I need to get neck-deep in that political muck!

- Combat
I liked the combat in DA2--it was fast, reactive, and powerful. I'd like more of that; more abilities, more combos, more animations, and more powerful sound effects. Cutting someone open isn't pretty, and it shouldn't sound pretty. I'd like to see less combat though--I got jumped far too often in DA2. I racked up such a body count that I find it hard to believe that people continue attacking me. Make the combat matter more, don't swamp us with it.
I'd also like executions back. They were fun, and brutal. Also, dismemberments should be more reasonable. I love seeing arms and legs and heads flying, but I really like watching the mutilated guy reeling back in horror at the realization that he just had his limbs separated from his body. When enemies explode like meatbags, I get the fun of blowing off limbs, but none of the impact of what I just did to that bastard.
Finally, and this is just an optional side thought, I wouldn't mind having wounded enemies that just roll around on the ground moaning in pain. The aftermath of a fight is typically worse than the fight itself.
- Character Interaction
I'm assuming this means with companions. Naturally, I'd like more. More conversations, and the ability to talk with them whenever I like--though not to blast through the dialogue like in Origins. Pace it, allow for one conversation per home base visit. And allow me to suck face with my lover whenever I damn well please. Also, make the romances feel more involved. They felt too much like things were occuring in the background that I wasn't apart of.
- Environment
If it's as interesting a place a Kirkwall, I'd be game. I'd also like to more actively involved in finding out the background of whereever I am--the "Band of Three" entires were interesting, but I would've liked to discover stuff like that through dialogue or quests.
- Characters
If Bioware is writing them, I'll be happy.
- Lore
Again, Bioware rocks at this. Keep it up.
- Story
I really liked the framed narrative, and am excited to see how Bioware will tell the next tale. I really enjoyed not having and ultimate big baddy to look forward to the entire time. Even the lasts boss' moral impairment was unneccesary. I like gray. Black and white morality is from a past era. We are mature enough to be involved in our games and think about them critically and feel conflicted about our choices. Also, if the story will be similar to DA2 style, we should meet the big players earlier on, so we can see them changed by the events that shape us. O and M were missing that--I wanted to see them in a less conflicted, stressful time.
- RPG Elements
DA2 and DA:O had great RPGing. I really like the voiced protagonist, though. And the dialoge wheel really helps me play more in character. I'm happy with the way DA2 did it--However, if Bioware has the time and money, I would not be against a greater range of emotions, or at least refinement of the current choices. I like being firm, but sometimes Hawke just came across as a bastard. This isn't essential, but it would be a nice layer of polish.
- Music
I think the music in DA:O and DA2 was good, even great--but it could have been so much more. I think battle music should be less generic and more exciting. Make it more badass, deeper, more brazen. More like the battle music in films such as Gladiator or LotR. Also, the trailers for DA games have ever teased with the electric guitar accentuations. I think those should be in game. The combat is finally fast enough and visceral enough (especially if death moves are put back in, and dismemberments are more reasonable) to make it work. It would really add a unique taste to the game, and show that, while existing in a medieval-esque fantasy world, DA is anything but separated from modern times, and the conflicts and issues present within it.

I'd say that increased companion interaction and realistic (i.e. brutal but not utterly shattering the laws of physics) combat are the most important, with the story refinements I suggested in third. Music is fourth, because most people don't tend to pay much attention to the music but, at least for me, improving and stylizing it as I suggested would really improve the experience of playing the game. It would make me feel as awesome as the gameplay and story do.

[Horus Blackheart]

ZombiePowered speak for yourself on the music front *I happen to like a score I can emerse myself in. Bioware talk about the 4 pillers i'm adding a 5th just for what good music brings to the table.

[lazuli]

I like the look of DA2, even the animations and other changes that others have found dubious. That said, as pretty as the new characters are let me give them different sets of armor. Or at least stop putting Mage Hawke loot in my Rogue Hawke's game unless you're going to include some account-wide storage option.

[Tigress M]

Great idea OP and I'm glad to see this thread is being watched!

- combat
The repetitive waves of mobs got quite old by then end of the game.  I think they would be fine some of the time, but I think combat would be much more enjoyable if we didn't have to wade through that every single fight.  A combination of new and old enemy behavior would be welcome in the future.

Bring back killing blows and slow motion, non-cutscene elite and/or boss kills.  And most importantly, don't have the PC stage killing blows when she didn't actually do them, nor have her use skills or spells for those kills that she doesn't possess.  That was very immersion breaking for me.

The "click a button and something happens" was great in theory but in practice it wasn't really as touted.  I still had party members shuffling around each other trying to get a hit in.  Not as bad as in Origins, but it happened enough that I noticed it.

- character interaction
I really liked how both NPCs and Hawke's companions interacted with her differently, based on her personality and in the case of companions, their f/r status.  Keep this in the future, it added a lot of depth.  

What I missed though, was PC initiated dialog.  Please add some next time around.  Something as barebones as having three topics we could discuss with each companion, and limiting chats to once per Act would have helped (in other words, give us three topics, we choose one in Act 1 and then in Act 2 we could talk about one of the other two topics, etc).  

And finally, LI interaction.   Two things I'd like to see here.  1)  Allow the LI to initiate some romantic moments (like the giving of a rose or the reciting of bad poetry) and 2)  Give us the opportunity to initiate intimate moments with them (allowing us to kiss them or invite them to bed when the mood strikes).  

- environment
If the plan for DA3 is to span another few years, let the places we visit reflect changes in that time period.  That Kirkwall remained stagnent in the seven years Hawke lived there (minus a statue showing up in the Docks in Act 3) seemed very unrealistic.  

And, if you feel you have to reuse maps, please at least take the time to modify the mini-map to reflect the cut off locations of said maps.  

- characters
Give us more time to get to know characters you intend to kill off so we can feel some sort of connection to them when they die.  Having Bethany/Carver die in the prologue did not move me in any way because I didn't know them.  Had I spent a day in Lothering before fleeing the Darkspawn, including giving me an opportunity to see my siblings "in action" so to speak, their dying might have affected me much differently.  

-rpg elements
If you're going to continue using the same skill tree setup and interface, the only thing I'd suggest is having some indicator letting us know when we've filled a tree.  There was nothing that annoyed me more when leveling up then to have to check trees to make sure I'd gotten all the upgrades filled, only to find I had, and being forced to back out of that tree to select another.  Minor thing, but another immersion breaker.  

- music/sound
Work on sound balance.  I enjoy playing under a headset, but was forced to forgo that with DA2 because even after forcing stereo, I could barely hear the dialog over the music and sound effects.  No amount of tweaking the sound sliders made this any better.  In addition, perhaps give us another slider for barks so that when we have to turn up the speech slider full throttle to hear anything, we aren't overwhelmed with the barks during combat, drowning out the music.  I love Origins score, but I honestly can't tell you if I like DA2's or not because other than places like the Hanged Man, I can't hear it because if I turn up the music volume, I can't hear anything else.  

Modifié par Tigress M, 02 avril 2011 - 12:09 .

[Persephone]

Tigress, you put it perfectly. +10000 approval!

[am_victory]

I absolutely adore the in-party banter, the companion quests, the romances. That's my favorite part of the both games - please, never do away with that.

[SilentK]

* Loved the voiced Hawke so pretty please keep that. For me the voices, and the wheel was a great improvement over DA:O. I connected more with Hawke. I would love to continue with Hawke in DA3, don't know if I'm in a minority here =) I my Hawke

* I loved having scenes with my companions when talking to them. I wish that we could have had this in DA:O. Imagine talking to Alistair, he is offering the rose to the female warden, him walking up and giving it to her and the a major kiss. It could have been just as great a scene as Fenris coming up to the house after a certain q or the Anders-kiss. When Leliana told us that she studied dance she could perhaps have taken a few steps just to show off, that would have been so sweet. After playing DA2 the lack of scenes is one of the things that bother me most when trying DA:O again. Being able to interact with them and not just seeing them from the shoulders and up when talking.

* I love my companions. If I could get a dream team it would be Hawke and then the LI:s from DA:O and DA2. Throw in Cassandra and Cullen because it feels like they are just waiting to jump into the game.

* Rival/Friend-system is great! It has made my 3:rd Hawke so much fun, for the first time I'm doing rival with Anders, it was great to see Merrill rival for the first time with Hawke nr 2. For me this makes replays a must and it sort of feels like you don't really know them well until you have seen them both ways. I guess that means that there is more material that you won't be able to see in every play through, on a rival path you won't see the friend-specific things but for me this is worth it. Still remember always keeping Morrigan in camp just because she never approved of my actions. I always had her on max friendship in the end. Because I never used her in game. With the DA2 system she would have been on full rivalry and I'm so curious how you would have written that. She remains the only LI from DA:O that I haven't done the whole romance arc with, just bedded once.

* Love framed narrative =) great stuff. Would have been nice to see one or two scenes earlier with the certain future bad guys. Perhaps something when first walking into the gallows. You don't have to know what they will be in the future, but you will have seen them. And know how much or little they care for each other.

* Keep some kind of home for Hawke/protagonist and companions. If it works with the story I would love that.

* I like knowing when there is something new to say. I always use up my conversations about as quickly as I get them so this has been a good system for me to try to control myself a bit =) this way I don't end up in the ¨Garrus-calibrations¨-thing that I usually do. And I don't have a LI that is quiet for 1/4 last bit of the game. This happens to me all the time. Leliana is quiet now and I haven't got the ashes yet or even seen Redcliff. Perhaps one to two 'bring Fenris out for a friendly walk about town' when you just chit-chat. You can use it when ever you want in that act and you initiate it. Hmmm.... just pondering a bit.

edit: minor spelling stuff

Modifié par SilentK, 02 avril 2011 - 03:57 .

[StingingVelvet]

I liked combat in DA2 (on PC), just get rid of the constant enemy waves appearing out of nowhere. So, more of that.

I liked the story, I just didn't like having no control over it. Get rid of the JRPG-style rails and cinematic focus and get back to real RPGing, but keep the awesome mages v. chantry dynamic, which is probably the most unique aspect to DA's world.

Equipping companions is a MUST. Seriously.

[Zeevico]

Things I enjoyed in DA2:
1. Companions, and companion interactions. Well written as always. It's the lack of interactions which is annoying.
2. Friendship/Rivalry: an okay system for interactions, but plainly there should be some things that push people over the edge.
3. The NPCs generally. They are well written, but the plot that revolves around them was (respectfully), in my view, lazily written. However, In DAO, one could often converse with many different people, not always related to the storyline, and learn more about the world and the characters therein. In DA2 this is not present. The world feels much less realistic. Kirkwall feels less like a city than a place where sidequests inexplicably collide.
4. A screen that shows dps, attack rating etc was great (the appearance of said screen was not).
5. The family-based quests were good and gave a sense of attachment to the game world.


Drop:
1. Poorly written sidequests. Here's your doodad, mser, and thanks for the set amount of coin and experience. How rewarding! Random spawning thugs in lowtown? Hurrah. And the last of them naturally lead a note to their hideout, which ensues in yet another fight. This is lazy and it takes the game nowhere.
2. Enemies falling out of the sky or spawning from nowhere. Tactics? Where art thou? I have to reload the game 5 times to "memorise" spawn locations and quantities on nightmare mode to play this game. That's an annoying way to play a game.
3. Mages teleporting. It contradicts your own game world's stated logic and it goes unexplained, which is symptomatic of lazy writing. A codex entry justifying short-range teleportation would be less lazy, but still a lazy way of fixing this problem..
4. City/level designs in DA2 are boring, repetitive and bare.
5. DA2 smacks of a lazy approach to writing, particularly in the main story
arcs, but also in NPCs. Companions aside, having NPCs that can only
talk to you once on giving and getting a quest is irritating. Meet
Sketch: exchange 2 lines of dialogue which explain nothing about his
identitty and his decision to move to Kirkwall, do nothing to develop
his character; and move on. Drop that: drop that now. Fewer, richer quests is better than lots of quests that don't advance the world or story you're trying to tell.
It is possible to make a focused, short and excellent game that captures
the 'dark heroic fantasy' mood. If you make a short game, focus on the
things
people love about the game. Don't try to stretch it out needlessly with
mooks and bare bones fetch quests that don't advance anything about the
game
world, the main character, major npcs or companions.
Don't spend too much time remaking graphics you already have. Instead, spend the time on level design, some new creatures, and better writing.

Modifié par Zeevico, 02 avril 2011 - 07:57 .