4818 réponses à ce sujet

[Rob Bartel]

As for Daniel.I.Bell's question about how much downloadable content other games and developers put out, it varies widely but is becoming more common now that the infrastructure is in place to support it on the consoles. In BioWare's case, we have a long tradition of doing this kind of thing. We were considered pioneers for releasing RPG expansion backs as part of our Baldur's Gate series, and then for providing a powerful RPG toolset and dedicated community site with Neverwinter Nights. Our Premium Module and digital delivery program for Neverwinter Nights launched before Steam did and we were embracing the concepts of Web 2.0 and user-generated content before those terms were invented. So, rather than pointing to what other companies have done, we'll point to our own legacy and hold ourselves to that standard or greater, wherever possible.



No new backpack is included in Return to Ostagar. We've discussed it internally and it would require some GUI changes and may have some memory management implications as well. That's not to say it won't happen at some point - just that the idea's currently been pushed to the backburner until we have what we need to tackle those problems.



As for 1 hour being too short for some, that's fair. Unlike Neverwinter Nights where our Premium Module program attempted to apply a bit of a "one size fits all" solution, our goal with Dragon Age is to provide a wide range of content that covers a broader variety of different wants and needs. Return to Ostagar represents our first piece of post-Day 1 content and we'll be announcing more others grow closer to release.



Regarding voice acting, it's definitely one of our major development expenses, particularly when you realize that we have to hire additional voice actors for all of the different languages in which the game has been released. We ran some initial experiments with a voice-less version of Return to Ostagar and ultimately decided that we just needed to bite the bullet and go for it - it just didn't feel right for the followers not to be able to react in a voiced manner to the emotionally charged situation in which they find themselves. Note that we had to make this decision before DA:O's launch, without sales figures to help guide us. In the end, I'm glad we were able to find room in the budget to make it happen as the results are great.



Also, I agree with sugasugaki (on p.5) that duration isn't always a useful metric to apply (go ahead and apply it to Return to Ostagar if you want to - that's not my point). We could very easily release a piece of downloadable content where the quest was to jog through 500 empty maps, beat up a Genlock in the final area, and jog back to the quest giver. It would certainly have a high duration but it's not something I could ever charge money for and still maintain even a shred of dignity. On the other hand, what if we implemented a cool new gameplay system or a new character class or bowstrings with no specific adventure attached? It would clearly have a greater inherent value than the jogging simulator I just proposed but how do you even begin to apply a duration to it? Regardless, all of that is off-topic and has nothing really to do with Return to Ostagar but it's worth considering. Some of our future content could potentially bump up against that sort of problem.

[Hel]

How will this price translate to the euro currency?

I hope we won't have to pay €5, because that would mean we'd be paying almost $7.5 for this add-in.
Then again, it has never been any different, so I suspect they'll just swap the currency symbols and leave it at that.

Oh well, good thing I'm a fan.

[Raxtoren]

lol, another dlc that probably was done at launch and re-released for extra cash ( EA runs the boat )

2 dlc after 2 weeks, yes that says it all, I have a question though, will the achievements for xbox360 work this time?

Mine glitched so I never got any for wardens keep GT "QUEZCOTL" will you this time see if it works properly before releasing and charge money for it? or will you gamble again , because you want your money quick?

[Luinnar]

Will there be anything new useful items for mages or those who don't use swords or heavy armor?

[Vethyr]

Can we have Alistair and Morrigan available to romance for same sexes

[Flamesz]

Let's see....

Spoiler

Alistair, You, Loghain and Wynne

are known to been at the Battle of Ostagar.

[Luinnar]

Any new abilities like in Warden's Keep?

[Reiella]

Crawling_Chaos wrote...

Raxtoren wrote...

lol, another dlc that probably was done at launch and re-released for extra cash ( EA runs the boat )
2 dlc after 2 weeks, yes that says it all, I have a question though, will the achievements for xbox360 work this time?
Mine glitched so I never got any for wardens keep GT "QUEZCOTL" will you this time see if it works properly before releasing and charge money for it? or will you gamble again , because you want your money quick?

Let me get this straight:

You will buy content you feel is a rip-off, just so you can get achievements?

You grossly underestimate the addiction that is GamerScore...  It can be rather disturbing.

[cuiwen]

Helekanalaith wrote...

How will this price translate to the euro currency?

I hope we won't have to pay €5, because that would mean we'd be paying almost $7.5 for this add-in.
Then again, it has never been any different, so I suspect they'll just swap the currency symbols and leave it at that.

Oh well, good thing I'm a fan.

Since WK was 560(?) Bioware Points and it was reported that the cz site announced it as 400 Bp go figure. Around 3,50 euro?

[Raxtoren]

Crawling_Chaos wrote...

Raxtoren wrote...

lol, another dlc that probably was done at launch and re-released for extra cash ( EA runs the boat )
2 dlc after 2 weeks, yes that says it all, I have a question though, will the achievements for xbox360 work this time?
Mine glitched so I never got any for wardens keep GT "QUEZCOTL" will you this time see if it works properly before releasing and charge money for it? or will you gamble again , because you want your money quick?

Let me get this straight:

You will buy content you feel is a rip-off, just so you can get achievements?

Why put achievement in the game if it doesnt work properly over the DLC?
And yes, I do like to collect achivements, is that some bizzare thing only I do? thats why MS brags about it all the time ,and countless sites and millions of people try to take them.
It's just evidence that the DLC was rushed, when achievements didnt even work, and they released it still.

Modifié par Raxtoren, 19 novembre 2009 - 08:37 .

[sugasugaki]

Rob Bartel wrote...

As for 1 hour being too short for some, that's fair. Unlike Neverwinter Nights where our Premium Module program attempted to apply a bit of a "one size fits all" solution, our goal with Dragon Age is to provide a wide range of content that covers a broader variety of different wants and needs. Return to Ostagar represents our first piece of post-Day 1 content and we'll be announcing more others grow closer to release.

I understand that you can't divulge info like "yes we're releasing an expansion," and I appreciate this bit about providing a "wide range of content"... sounds to me like there will be beefier DLCs/add-ons, etc on the way, which is what I'm looking forward to.

[Raxtoren]

Just so people know, it wasn't just mine,nobody got their achievements during the first days on the xbox360.

[DeXCasas]

I would rather have a larger more expensive expansion that makes it worthwhile getting back to the game, adventures based on each characters epilogue for instance packed along with a new class or something could make people that have finished the game go back to it. About this dlc, the price seems just fine considering it has voice actor work.

[Raxxman]

Can people stop with the 5 bucks is a McDonalds arguement.



1. Why are you comparing a game which you clearly profess to enjoy with the worst fast food chain in existence?



2. It's more like paying $5 for a Mars bar, sure Mars bars are good, but they're $1 and not worth $5.



3. Food has nutritional value, try living off computer games alone, no seriously please do.



Anyway, logic fallacy arguments aside, my question is:



With the apparent success of episodic content breathing life back into the point and click adventure genre, as shown by 2 seasons of sam and max, and a new monkey island campaign by telltale, why is it that Bioware hasn't adopted a similar DLC strategy?



Dragon Age lives and dies by it's story, yet excluding the stone prisoner, which has openly been admitted that it was going to be part of the game in the first place, the two DLCs announced have distilled down to a short dungeon romp with scraps of plot and some reskinned armour sets.



Surely a game like Dragon Age should be playing to it's strength. And a mini arc campaign spanning a 6 month release schedule in say 3 - 3-6 hour packets is a much more palatable proposition and plays to the companies strength, story telling, over it's weakness, combat.



Not expecting an answer mind.

[Fredescu]

Kings armour? Meaning another set of plate to throw on the pile? Will there be additional armour for cloth and leather wearers? The kings undergarments have some magical properties surely.

[Raxtoren]

Crawling_Chaos wrote...

Rob Bartel wrote...
I suspect it would take a typical first-time player about an hour to complete.

There will be outrage.

Not from me, but from all the people that thought Wardens Keep was a rip-off and whatnot.

I thought wardens keep was "okay" nice rewards in it etc, but it was obvious that WP could have come with the full retail game, having a team "working on DLC" when the game isnt even out yet and then release it on launch day is what pissed most people off,.
and you can believe in their pr-spin how much you want, funny, JRPG's never cut content and charge money for it.

Star Ocean 4 for ex had 3 extra dungeons, I finished the main story in 50 hours, and the 3 extra dungeons and all the side-quest lead me to play for 100+ hours.
could have cut that content and charge at launch day, but some people doesnt work for EA.

[Strategy Master]

To put the price factor of these DLC's into perspective, I brought mass effect for £6 off steam recently

[Kelevra007]

All the arguing..... it's as good as being on a political forum, but without all the swearing.

[Reiella]

Raxtoren wrote...

I thought wardens keep was "okay" nice rewards in it etc, but it was obvious that WP could have come with the full retail game, having a team "working on DLC" when the game isnt even out yet and then release it on launch day is what pissed most people off,.
and you can believe in their pr-spin how much you want, funny, JRPG's never cut content and charge money for it.

Star Ocean 4 for ex had 3 extra dungeons, I finished the main story in 50 hours, and the 3 extra dungeons and all the side-quest lead me to play for 100+ hours.
could have cut that content and charge at launch day, but some people doesnt work for EA.

Doesn't Disgaea count as a JRPG?

[Raxtoren]

Reiella wrote...

Raxtoren wrote...

I thought wardens keep was "okay" nice rewards in it etc, but it was obvious that WP could have come with the full retail game, having a team "working on DLC" when the game isnt even out yet and then release it on launch day is what pissed most people off,.
and you can believe in their pr-spin how much you want, funny, JRPG's never cut content and charge money for it.

Star Ocean 4 for ex had 3 extra dungeons, I finished the main story in 50 hours, and the 3 extra dungeons and all the side-quest lead me to play for 100+ hours.
could have cut that content and charge at launch day, but some people doesnt work for EA.

Doesn't Disgaea count as a JRPG?

No, its a SRPG.  and Tales of Vesperia was longer then DAO also, put all the content in their game, no cheap DLC charging afterwards at launch day.

[tanerb]

I pretty much bought all bioware games so far, and i also bought Dragon Age CE, and paid extra for Warden's Keep, But i will not buy this one. The reason is not that i find 5 bucks is too much for that short extension. the reason is i dont want you  guys get used to hide behind the strong original brand and sell quick, not detailed DLCs to us. I prefer to pay 20 dollars for a decent sized, well planned DLC than 5 similiar, hack and slash, new armor, new sword type of DLC. Even though the latter may be easier, the former will give you edge in the long term and make sure the brand lives.

Modifié par tanerb, 19 novembre 2009 - 08:53 .

[xsikal]

I'll pass... after Warden's Keep, I'm being a lot more judicious with DLC purchases.



At this point, I'm only going to buy DLC that adds a significant amount of content to the game and/or a new party character, (preferably romanceable).

[Tielis]

The epilogue save is right before the final battle? Oh my, I have Loghain in my party. I can't wait for this!

[libertypie]

Thanks for answering all these questions so far, Rob! I've got another:



For those of us who are playing off an epilogue save, is there ever going to be DLC content that "continues" the storyline past that endpoint? I've gotten the impression from what you've said so far that this particular DLC exists in a storyline-neutral time; that the male human noble PC isn't referred to as the King, for example. Is that right?