282 réponses à ce sujet

[aftohsix]

sorry

Modifié par aftohsix, 25 avril 2011 - 07:02 .

[Elhanan]

Sabriana wrote...

I want a RPG to be something that is shaped by me through game-play. I happen to like PC - NPC interaction, the more, the better. I want to see relationships between PC and companion NPCs grow and develop all through, not only when the CompNPCs need something. I want to customize the companions, in my opinion, the eternal same-ness of the companion was getting annoying. I love lore, background, item uniqueness. I love reading the in-game books, notes, etc.

I want my choices to matter in the long run, I don't want my PC to be the cleaning lady, clearing up messes that NPCs make through their choices. To me, a game has to be consistent and it needs to adhere to its own logic. Hawke, by the beginning of act III has killed so many people by simply walking around after dark, that entire sections of the city should be empty and ghost-town like. Or should I say even more empty than they already are.

I don't like being pressed into choices that don't even matter, and are there for show only. At least give me the illusion of choice. By the end of Act III, I didn't even bother to consider anything, I went the "ene mene mine mo" route to decide between the two factions, because by then I already knew it wouldn't make a lick of a difference.

The family angle was terribly underdone and over-dramatized at the same time. I was shocked to see that uncle and cousin survived, I was expecting them to die in dramatic fashion by the time Act II was coming to a head.

Hawke had all of appr. 4 conversations with Mother. I didn't know anything about her, other than her insisting to take her 2 apostate daughters into the central hive of the templars in all of Thedas. The place she run away from with her apostate husband, and living a life of continual worry and anguish because 3 members of her family had magic and was hiding from the Circle. So I should care about her because I was told to? Sorry, but that doesn't work for me, personally.

I dislike plot-holes that you can drive a truck convoy through. MageHawke is the most glaring one. I don't want to be told that it was necessary because of the story. It's *their* story, so they should write something that won't clash with the lore and background *they* came up with.

I want to be shown, not told. The more "show" the better.

Those are just a few points. It's early morning here, so my brain is not at full running speed yet. There is more, but those are major points for my personal RPG requirement.

NOTE!!!!!: Mind you, this is a personal taste/opinion/subjective post. Your mileage may vary.

I liked the NPC interactions of both games, but can see that the PC to Party interactions were stronger in DAO. And while I do not care for armor customization, I can see that many possible new models may have gone to waste w/o being seen, viewed, oir used in this current method.

For myself, the choices made available were still solid, as I have encountered much of the same in RL. While it is fun to make a difference via DAO options, I also like making tough personal decisions even if they do not matter in a larger scae, as this is what can determine character. I am responsible for what I choose; not for the decisions made by others that do not heed my advice, refuse to ask, etc. If I do not gain a benefit, but am content with making the proper decision for that character, that may be reward enough. Personally I do not recall being pushed into any coin-flip selections, but I ain't known as Sherlock either.

I differ in that I enjoyed running patrols in the various areas: initially one for day and another by night to search for loot. And occasionally, I had to do so more times than once to bait the vfarious gangs into showing themselves. It wasn't until later, and by accident that I discovered that someone may actually pay a bonus for these runs. Guessing the unexpected bonus made this more enjoyable for me.

I did not get the family dynamic much in my first run either. But in later play, I realized like in some families, people open up more when discussing other lesser matters. In this case, when in Act 1; click more on Dog and gather more face time with your family.

I do not see the MageHawke plothole, other than Templars appear to be as blind as grilled Nugs; must be the lyrium. Send a PM if you wish.

Thanks for the thought-filled reply.

[SilentK]

I use to think that all templars were blind and deaf. Spoke to a friend about it and he brought up what Bethany said quite early. That she needed money, status or power to hide behind. His theory is that Hawke is bribing templars left and right and any anyone else that knows about your magic ablities. Pretty much the same way that you tried to get into the city. Kirkwall has a bit of a problem with bribing of officials me thinks. And the 1:st year you are in a gang that keeps you safe.

That and my Hawke pretending to be a quarterstaff-fighter whenever templars are near.

edit: spelling is never easy

Modifié par SilentK, 25 avril 2011 - 07:27 .

[Rockpopple]

You know - the whole Mage thing... I didn't think it was that big of a problem. Like, I'll tell you - I had more of an issue with Chanters and beggers and prostitutes just standing there while you fight off 20 members of some crazy gangmembers in the middle of the street. Even if they were "hardened" by Kirkwall's tough streets, you'd think they'd at least get out of the way.

Personally, I didn't notice too many instances of Mage!Hawke fighting or using magic in front of Templars in Act I or in most of Act II. I mean if you're going around casting sustains in the Gallows during the Day... yes it breaks immersion but you're pretty much going out of your way to do it. I guess BioWare could have just locked the spells/abilities wheel in the Gallows...

[Hatchetman77]

Meh, imho Aliens is the best movie sequal ever made (**** the Godfather II) although it was an action movie and Alien was basically a slasher flick in space.  Terminator 2 changed the ultimate chase movie into a movie about destiny vs. freedom of choice and tackled subjects such as what it means to be human.  A sequal doesn't have to be more of the same.

That being said it SHOULD be an outgrowth of it's predecessor.  You take themes established in the first movie (or game in this case) and expand upon them.  That is what BioWare TRIED to do.  The also had a good concept to do it with.  However they did such a hackjob that the two archdemons stapled together idea doesn't sound so bad in comparison.  I agree that Bioware is unfairly blaming its audience's expectations.  However the REAL lesson here is that if BioWare plans to do something different, make sure you have the time and resources to pull it off.  If not then it may be best to stick with what has worked in the past. 

Also Laidlaw needs to shut up and let all this blow over before he makes the situation worse.  If he thinks I'm going to have forgotten about his comments blaming me for his failure the next time I look at a game with Bioware stamped on the front of the box then he's sorely mistaken.  ME3 could very well be the last BioWare game I ever play, and that's not just because of my disapointment in DA2 but more in BioWare's reaction to my disapointment. 

Modifié par Hatchetman77, 25 avril 2011 - 07:31 .

[Elhanan]

Sabriana wrote...

I think the combat was terrible. It was too fast, and it might just have been an impression, but to me it seemed like the attacking NPCs were slower than the PC and her party.

In the end, I just had everyone go in and hack away, hoping that they wouldn't mow down too many of their own allies.

I had the Companions on hold, in a bottle-neck, only to see them charge ahead anyway, or simply materialize right around Hawke at the worst possible moment Varric was especially prone to simply charge right into the middle of melee, just to be killed immediately.

My rogues (not RogueHawke) seemingly only warned me about traps when Hawke (or another "full charge ahead no matter what" melee fighter) had already triggered them. Isabela was especially bad about that. Isabela sees no traps, Isabela knows no traps.

Don't get me wrong, the characters were fine, I love Isabela and Varric, but their AI was at times incredibly terrible, especially in combat and trap recognition.

And please, don't even get me started on the ninja-parachuters materializing right on-top of Hawke's head. Yes right on top of her to the point where they clipped right into her. Or bosses with an insane amount of HP and huge amount of Potions. Or teleporting mages with spells that could single wipe the whole party in one fell stroke, and Hawke & Co had simply no room to avoid that - tactics? What tactics?

In the end, I simply tuned it *down* from NM to hard and even normal. Not because I couldn't handle it, but simply because I wanted it to be over with.

Note: the above holds my opinion, personal observation, and personal impression. For all I know, my game could simply be glitched to the max.

Now I enjoyed boh sets of combat, though I am hard pressed to play anything more difficult than Normal again for a while due to RL circumstance. I have to use the Pause key frequently for both, and while some complain on camera changes, I still am able to quickly swing around for a field view. My iitial run had a lot of reloads; not so much in the follow-ups.

Yeah; do not understand what creates the need for the Party to move when on hold; maybe Tactics related? That is still somewhat irritating as it occurs semi-frequently. Still, I had to give up on running an Injury free run early, and since poultices fall as needed, I just follow up combat with kits or a visit to the homestead for tea.

Seems that Cunning is used to auto-skill check for traps, so if you gain the Rogues late they may auto-scale with higher DEX. Getiing them a Resoec potion is helpful here depending on party needs, But the traps do seem to be more hidden than in DAO; harder to find and difuse as a Player.

Personally, I still get a charge from the para-troops and insta-Black hats, as it make some simple enounters more difficult. And I love to catch 'em as they descend; lined up for some AoE talent and/or spell to ruin their surprise. Maybe it does occur too frequently, esp when it involves arachnids, but I do not mind nearly as much as others.

Thanks again for posting!

[Rockpopple]

If you think about it, though, having Mages in the game at all automatically breaks immersion if you're gonna follow Origins lore.

In Origins, that Templar in Lothering said that he could identify you as a Mage on sight. Maybe he was special, but he said "He'd make a poor Templar if he couldn't tell." If that's so, and Templars can tell Mages on sight, at least the decent ones, then either Kirkwall has no decent Templars on duty in the Gallows during the day, or BioWare wrote themselves into a corner with the whole Mages vs Templars thing.

[DreGregoire]

I always got the impression that the Hawkes lived on the outskirts of Lothering and were careful to steer clear of templars, for that matter... oops spoiler... something a certain person says makes me believe it even more because of a banter in the beginning of the game. I hate dicussions in no spoiler sections.

added for topic purposes:

I think the developers are purposefully using their terminology in an attempt to make themselves appear reasonable; however, to me it just seems like they are trying to blame the audience for the dislike instead of their product. Telling me that I should or shouldn't like something and if I don't like that then I am in the wrong and should change my view is egotistical of the company spokesman; fortunately, the world doesn't revolve around said company.

Modifié par DreGregoire, 25 avril 2011 - 07:46 .

[erynnar]

Rockpopple wrote...

If you think about it, though, having Mages in the game at all automatically breaks immersion if you're gonna follow Origins lore.

In Origins, that Templar in Lothering said that he could identify you as a Mage on sight. Maybe he was special, but he said "He'd make a poor Templar if he couldn't tell." If that's so, and Templars can tell Mages on sight, at least the decent ones, then either Kirkwall has no decent Templars on duty in the Gallows during the day, or BioWare wrote themselves into a corner with the whole Mages vs Templars thing.

I caught that convo in DAO too. And as much fun as I have playing a mage (and it tickles my funnybone to go in front of Templars in the Gallows and do spells, just because it's silly), I think they wrote themselves into a corner. One reviewer said something similar...http://www.richardcobbett.com/journal/dragon-mage-ii/.  He too enjoyed it, but found that part ..silly.

Oh, I do hope you will all forgive me if I have sounded like a grumpy douche bag. I have had little or no sleep due to my mother in law calling and waking me up early to **** at my husband. And I am stuck at work taking cancer calls which interrupt my posting. So I am sure I come  off as disjointed and jerky.  Sorry guys!

Modifié par erynnar, 25 avril 2011 - 07:39 .

[Elhanan]

Rockpopple wrote...

If you think about it, though, having Mages in the game at all automatically breaks immersion if you're gonna follow Origins lore.

In Origins, that Templar in Lothering said that he could identify you as a Mage on sight. Maybe he was special, but he said "He'd make a poor Templar if he couldn't tell." If that's so, and Templars can tell Mages on sight, at least the decent ones, then either Kirkwall has no decent Templars on duty in the Gallows during the day, or BioWare wrote themselves into a corner with the whole Mages vs Templars thing.

But remember to toss in the monkeywrench that Demons may possess others besides Mages (masybe the dead, too), and it could explain the rampant. It may even explain why some Templars sensed Blood Magic for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

[erynnar]

Night Prowler76 wrote...

I dont think the average comsumer surfs forums about games etc, so I can see how someone would be shocked that a game that would appear to be a sequeal is totally re-vamped in such a short period of time, instead of say implementing smaller subtle changes over the course or the series.

I was on the forums before DA2 came out, and by the posts from BioWare and the Faq's, I was expecting the game to be shorter with less of pretty much everything, but most people dont go on these forums, so I dont blame them for being mad, It would be like Call of Duty turning into a Battlefield game in the course of a year, it would enrage the fans.

It was a mistake to put the "2" on this game, in general it hurt the DA franchise by just being sub-par.

See, I don't prowl the forums (until now, just a fanfic poster here until now). My hubby does that stuff more than me. So I was shocked at how different. I was excited for a new story (no Warden was fine with me). And as it was my b-day present, I didn't want spoilers. So, I kept to my usual habits. I didnt' surf forums about games and I waited with so much anticipation. I love BG, BG2, I loved watching hubby play ME, and ME2 (if I  could pry his hand off ME so I could play my ME2...grumbles).  So, I went on sequel with some changes and a new story to play with.  I was...disappoint.  

Mage is fun, but I would like the majority of how DAO was back with the things that are good about DA2 and then DA3 would be sweet!

[erynnar]

Elhanan wrote...

Rockpopple wrote...

If you think about it, though, having Mages in the game at all automatically breaks immersion if you're gonna follow Origins lore.

In Origins, that Templar in Lothering said that he could identify you as a Mage on sight. Maybe he was special, but he said "He'd make a poor Templar if he couldn't tell." If that's so, and Templars can tell Mages on sight, at least the decent ones, then either Kirkwall has no decent Templars on duty in the Gallows during the day, or BioWare wrote themselves into a corner with the whole Mages vs Templars thing.

But remember to toss in the monkeywrench that Demons may possess others besides Mages (masybe the dead, too), and it could explain the rampant. It may even explain why some Templars sensed Blood Magic for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Heck abominations could be made out of <spoiler>  EEP!

Edited because I accidently put a spoiler in here! SORRY!

Modifié par erynnar, 25 avril 2011 - 08:26 .

[Rockpopple]

Hee hee. Well that could be the case. The veil surrounding ( or beneath? I forget how that goes ) Kirkwall is extraordinarilly thin. Could be Templars have a difficult time 'sniffing out' Mages cuz magic's stink is everywhere all the time. The Chantry probably should have thought twice before building a Circle on what amounts to be a Hellmouth.

[Haexpane]

The fact is Bioware is actually surprised anyone noticed the endless Respawning waves and re-use of the same 5 locations.

They are like, "oh well, I guess that's somewhat fair, but you know, there is so much content!" They honestly are surprised that not everyone is a COD sheep that doesn't notice when a dev takes shortcuts.

[Alex Kershaw]

It was stupid to do a 180 degree turn on a game with a 91 metacritic score and good sales especially when there was just 18 months of development time.

[zsom]

Night Prowler76 wrote...

I dont think the average comsumer surfs forums about games etc, so I can see how someone would be shocked that a game that would appear to be a sequeal is totally re-vamped in such a short period of time, instead of say implementing smaller subtle changes over the course or the series.

I was on the forums before DA2 came out, and by the posts from BioWare and the Faq's, I was expecting the game to be shorter with less of pretty much everything, but most people dont go on these forums, so I dont blame them for being mad, It would be like Call of Duty turning into a Battlefield game in the course of a year, it would enrage the fans.

It was a mistake to put the "2" on this game, in general it hurt the DA franchise by just being sub-par.

Look.. just to set things clear before everyone thinks I'm some kind of Bioware fanatic, who thinks anything they do is perfect. I didn't like the idea of a reboot either. I wanted Bioware to continue the story with the warden and Morrigan, and I was pissed that the entire dark ritual/god child plot is being abandoned.

For some odd reason Bioware doesn't like true sequels... KotOR, DA, NWN all had a reboot. Even in ME they always drop most of the companions instead of going on with the story. Only BG had a real sequel...
I don't like all these reboots one bit...

But if I spend $60 on a game (or anything else), I at least read the official promotional material, so that I know what I'm getting... I'm not saying everyone has to like the game, or that you can't be disappointed with it. But was there really no way to know about all these changes? Was it really that big of a secret? That is.. well... I just can't understand it.

[Sabriana]

@ Elhanan

In nightmare, the camera top lock is horrible. I can't see a large chunk of the area, and the ninjas have on occasion wiped out my squishees before I could even react.

As for rogues, Varric enters the company early on, and reading the "Cunning" ability will tell you that this skill is needed for traps and locks. Perhaps a hiccup in the AI programming or scripts, who knows. I know very little about scripting.

The companions charging ahead despite tactics and/or commands did actually have some comical value. Like me yelling at the screen "No Fenris. NO NO.....dammit.... where's Varric? Oh my stars...no
"Woooshh" of goes the sustained fire trap. Wipe out. I'm sitting there hissing at the monitor, while my two supportive and loving children are cracking up in unison.

On the Mage thing:

Sorry, but the "mage" thing is important to me. It is too much of a turn-about. I'm told I need 'money' and 'influence' to escape the watching eyes of the templars, but strangely enough, that didn't work out so well for Arlessa Isolde and Arl Eamon. Connor was not only the child of influential and rich people, he was also a blood-relation to the royal line, nephew of Queen Rowan.

Yet, that wasn't enough to save him from being forced into the Circle. Isolde tries to circumvent that, but that didn't work out so well, did it? And Jowan, Teagan (sorry Teeeaaagan), Isolde, Alistair, Eamon and a host of others made this sound like Andrastian/Chantry law, not just Ferelden law.

Hawke used magic right in front of numerous guards, in broad daylight, in the Gallows right after stepping off the refugee boat, but no one saw it? Lol, whut? Seriously?

Although I did the same thing as SilentK, and moved her into melee-only in the Gallows, there were a few instances where her using magic in front of templars were unavoidable. Afterward my mageHawke had to listen to a high ranking templar (who really, really should know) that

Slight spoiler dead ahead:


"mages are not like you and me"

Hawke's face? o_O

So to me, it's a big deal. I love lore and background, I devour it. When it's so bluntly and blatantly broken it throws me off, and out of game.

[Rockpopple]

Different Circles, different nations, different way of doing things. Kirkwall was really the wild west when it came to rules compared to Fereldan.

Guards aren't Templars. There were no Templars in the Gallows at the beginning of the game, so when Hawke and co. saved them from angry Fereldans, why would they turn them in? To be dicks? It's not their job, anyway. Even in Fereldan, Templars skirted their duties in an emergency situation and didn't hunt illegal Mages right in front of them.

But yeah, the most immersive breaking moments in the mage game imo was with High-Ranking Templar Man, hand's down.

Modifié par Rockpopple, 25 avril 2011 - 08:39 .

[GammaRayJim]

If I remember correctly you land and are held in the Gallows until your Uncle Gamlin comes to get you, but that only happens after you use your mage abilities (playing as a mage of course) to help the guards deal with some guys that start a fight. In the Gallows which is the Circle in Kirkwall with Templars all around and no one say anything. And then when you help Cullen out in the hills with his Abomination fight it's over and he says not one thing to you... my God people how can you say being a mage in this game does not break immersion when everyone ignores the fact you are a mage apostate. A designer even stated in an interveiw that playing a Blood Mage "you have to give up perfect inner logic to have more fun"....really how are you suppose to immerse yourself in roleplay. Below is the question and answer taken from the interview with Yaron Jakobs lead level designer.

"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."

So when even BioWare admits to it not being logical I don't think myself or any other player who feels this way is offbase in anyway. And for me I never used the blood mage path I was just a mage and it broke all immersion for me...horribly. Hawke may be rich and have his mansion back at the point with Cullen but he is yet to become the champion. Origins already established that no matter what your ranking anyone with mage abilites goes to the Circle. I don't want to give up perfect inner logic to play a RPG it defies the whole genre.

[ejoslin]

No, everyone waits in the gallows for 3 days.

[philippe willaume]

+1 to the OP

On the mage thing
Saying that one should break the rules in order to have fun, is like saying that it is okay to a 22655789 hit point sword because it is fun to kill boss in one go.


Yes different countries it may be but Chant bashing seems to be fairly international and Kirkwall whilst being far an away is not whoop whoop town in butt creek canyon.
In fact Kirkwall is full of over enthusiastic templars and mages that don’t feel loved and that right from the start.

Now if you want to play a blood mage, surely there is way around, I mean there is help from the templar, circle or even companions (with whom you could hide if you were found out to be a dreaded blood mage)

Not to mention a quest or series of quest where you could get/make forged letters pretending that you do belong to the circle of whoop whoop town.
Or using a starting quest to grease the wheels.

And may be other side quests and appropriated hate/love in templar/circles quadrants plus a big support from the population when you help against the invasion by the you-know-who
May be one or several of the nightly-night roving bands with not tat much purpose but definitely up to no good could event be dedicated to the task of getting the pesky blood mage (please no Scoobidoo ending)

What I am trying to say, is there is no need to break the rules per say, you can  have a story line that caters for the actions of the blood mage player and stick to the settings

phil

Modifié par philippe willaume, 25 avril 2011 - 11:23 .

[Elhanan]

Sabriana wrote...

@ Elhanan

In nightmare, the camera top lock is horrible. I can't see a large chunk of the area, and the ninjas have on occasion wiped out my squishees before I could even react.

As for rogues, Varric enters the company early on, and reading the "Cunning" ability will tell you that this skill is needed for traps and locks. Perhaps a hiccup in the AI programming or scripts, who knows. I know very little about scripting.

The companions charging ahead despite tactics and/or commands did actually have some comical value. Like me yelling at the screen "No Fenris. NO NO.....dammit.... where's Varric? Oh my stars...no
"Woooshh" of goes the sustained fire trap. Wipe out. I'm sitting there hissing at the monitor, while my two supportive and loving children are cracking up in unison.

On the Mage thing:

Sorry, but the "mage" thing is important to me. It is too much of a turn-about. I'm told I need 'money' and 'influence' to escape the watching eyes of the templars, but strangely enough, that didn't work out so well for Arlessa Isolde and Arl Eamon. Connor was not only the child of influential and rich people, he was also a blood-relation to the royal line, nephew of Queen Rowan.

Yet, that wasn't enough to save him from being forced into the Circle. Isolde tries to circumvent that, but that didn't work out so well, did it? And Jowan, Teagan (sorry Teeeaaagan), Isolde, Alistair, Eamon and a host of others made this sound like Andrastian/Chantry law, not just Ferelden law.

Hawke used magic right in front of numerous guards, in broad daylight, in the Gallows right after stepping off the refugee boat, but no one saw it? Lol, whut? Seriously?

Although I did the same thing as SilentK, and moved her into melee-only in the Gallows, there were a few instances where her using magic in front of templars were unavoidable. Afterward my mageHawke had to listen to a high ranking templar (who really, really should know) that

Slight spoiler dead ahead:

"mages are not like you and me"

Hawke's face? o_O

So to me, it's a big deal. I love lore and background, I devour it. When it's so bluntly and blatantly broken it throws me off, and out of game.

You are told IG that money and power may help. You may suspect that is not true, but have no direct knowledge to determine if this is fallacious or not. And while it has been of little help in Ferelden, here gold does have a way of making inner Dwarves of many.

Yeah; kinda goofy during Act 1, but them looking the other way after Hawke gains prestige made more sense especially after how one ended up getting into Kirkwall proper. Just use that hidden knife more to make yourself feel more martially trained....

In my system, Varric detects traps well enough, and often will state when one is sighted. My problem has been finding it as a Player, and getting him to disarm before the XP is lost (and you thought I was worried over Injuries).

I use the camera almost exactly as I did with DAO; it just does not pan as far back, so no full areas are revealed. Most of the time, this is enough for me; only hiccup are those wooden staircases with the sharp turns, or like bends in the tunnels. See if that helps.

But NM and Friendly Fire are out for me. I recently became even more impaired, so my Twitch skills are at minimum, and I do not wish to try and master the Tactics again for every NPC in every session. Plus, I like to cast Cone of Cold. A lot.!

Modifié par Elhanan, 25 avril 2011 - 10:19 .

[Morroian]

zsom wrote...

Look.. just to set things clear before everyone thinks I'm some kind of Bioware fanatic, who thinks anything they do is perfect. I didn't like the idea of a reboot either. I wanted Bioware to continue the story with the warden and Morrigan, and I was pissed that the entire dark ritual/god child plot is being abandoned.

How do you know its being abandoned? All indications are that Morrigan's story is not over.

[Ariella]

zsom wrote...
Look.. just to set things clear before everyone thinks I'm some kind of Bioware fanatic, who thinks anything they do is perfect. I didn't like the idea of a reboot either. I wanted Bioware to continue the story with the warden and Morrigan, and I was pissed that the entire dark ritual/god child plot is being abandoned.

For some odd reason Bioware doesn't like true sequels... KotOR, DA, NWN all had a reboot. Even in ME they always drop most of the companions instead of going on with the story. Only BG had a real sequel...
I don't like all these reboots one bit...

But if I spend $60 on a game (or anything else), I at least read the official promotional material, so that I know what I'm getting... I'm not saying everyone has to like the game, or that you can't be disappointed with it. But was there really no way to know about all these changes? Was it really that big of a secret? That is.. well... I just can't understand it.

This isn't a reboot. A true reboot would be to try wiping the slate clean and saying nothing ever happened, no blight nada.

NWN had a sequel ,two in fact, that covered the story from a different angle: SoU, and Hordes was a true sequel to SoU so your supposition is shakey at best. As for ME, they DID go on with the story, just not in the way you expected them to. As for the reasons thery didn't do NWN2 or KoTOR 2 is they wanted to get out from under other people's IPs and do their own. Has nothing to do with disliking sequels.

[randName]

Good one OP, a bit on the rant side, but I like a good rant ~ and well one thing that is at fault, it has been discussed on the forums, but probably not with its own thread before.