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#226
hemeh01

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[Off-topic image removed]

I want more people falling from the sky !!!

Modifié par JohnEpler, 03 juin 2011 - 08:56 .


#227
AlanC9

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AAHook2 wrote...

I wouldn't say that the relationships are totally controlled by the player. There were milestones you had to achieve before certain stages would be available in some relationships. Once they became available it was up to you to decide where and how far you wanted to go.


I'll grant that there are a couple of preconditions, typically involving random encounters that only happen after you've brought the relationship up to the appropriate point so you can hear the dialogue. So it isn't quite possible to do the whole relationship without ever leaving camp.


For me, I loved the challenge of cycling through a Morrigan romance, picking up a slow boil Leliana romance and having both love endings by the end. It took a deft touch to manage. Morrigan ended up leaving in the end anyway so supposedly my Warden was well set up with Leliana, and Leliana seemed to accept that there were lingering deep feelings of attachemnt for Morrigan.


Itals mine. You're serious?

#228
In Exile

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There is a dedicated part of the RPG space dedicated to inventing content in the game for themselves. Nothing to be done about that.

#229
Anathemic

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hemeh01 wrote...

[Off-topic image removed]

I want more people falling from the sky !!!


With more thought, this could indeed be a jab to DA2... hmmmm

Modifié par JohnEpler, 03 juin 2011 - 08:56 .


#230
A Crusty Knight Of Colour

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@Anathemic:

I've played through the scene, I don't think it was an intentional jab. At least it wasn't an obvious one if you put it in context.

Modifié par mrcrusty, 03 juin 2011 - 05:39 .


#231
Anathemic

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mrcrusty wrote...

@Anathemic:

I've played through the scene, I don't think it was an intentional jab. At least it wasn't an obvious one if you put it in context.


Oh well, yeah I played through the scene too. It's still funny though lol

#232
A Crusty Knight Of Colour

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Anathemic wrote...

mrcrusty wrote...

@Anathemic:

I've played through the scene, I don't think it was an intentional jab. At least it wasn't an obvious one if you put it in context.


Oh well, yeah I played through the scene too. It's still funny though lol


[Off-topic image removed]
:D

In Exile wrote...

There is a dedicated part of the RPG
space dedicated to inventing content in the game for themselves. Nothing
to be done about that.


Lol. This is so Oblivion.

^_^

As for the issue of handling the passage of time, it's really something not many games are able to handle well. On the one hand, it makes for awkwardness in the plot. The sense of urgency is artificial as there's no way to handle time. On the other hand, a game like Fallout had a concrete timer and that put a lot of people off too.

I personally think that rather than a strict sense of time, you should represent events in the narrative by changing the state of the world appropriately. So if you have just passed a major narrative milestone, don't explicitly state "this much time has passed" without showing the changes, show the changes in the gameworld, specifically, how the player's actions have influenced it. I think Dragon Age 2 wasn't very good at this. Neither was Origins, but it better masked it since it didn't all happen in one city.

To follow on that point, if something is "urgent" and you decide to do other things too, set up a count where doing other quests before undertaking the "important" one has an effect. As in, make it harder. Even if it's only a HP boost for the boss and a few lines of dialog.

In terms of how this relates to companions, I think Dragon Age 2 had the right idea in barring progression of companion development just by abusing the gift system and instead, tying them to quests. It's good in theory, but it's execution left something to be desired, imo.

Modifié par JohnEpler, 03 juin 2011 - 08:56 .


#233
Anathemic

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Iorveth has officially hijacked this thread

[Off-topic image removed]

Modifié par JohnEpler, 03 juin 2011 - 08:56 .


#234
Skilled Seeker

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It's kinda pathetic how TW2 feels the need to make fun of other games, like it can't stand on it's own merits. I've seen numerious jabs at Bioware and a blatant jab at Ubisoft's AC without even trying to make it subtle. There's a thin line between friendly rivalry and downright immaturity and disrespect.

#235
Anathemic

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Skilled Seeker wrote...

It's kinda pathetic how TW2 feels the need to make fun of other games, like it can't stand on it's own merits. I've seen numerious jabs at Bioware and a blatant jab at Ubisoft's AC without even trying to make it subtle. There's a thin line between friendly rivalry and downright immaturity and disrespect.


When does TW2 make fun of other games? The pic sequence I quoted was my own joke, obviously it's not meant to offend DA2. You're taking this way too seriously.

Modifié par Anathemic, 03 juin 2011 - 06:07 .


#236
A Crusty Knight Of Colour

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As much as I like the game, I'd rather not turn this thread into another Witcher 2/Dragon Age 2 thread, despite being part of it.

Back to how the passage of time and companion progression is handled... or at least something on topic, please.

I personally think that rather than a strict sense of time, you should represent events in the narrative by changing the state of the world appropriately. So if you have just passed a major narrative milestone, don't explicitly state "this much time has passed" without showing the changes, show the changes in the gameworld, specifically,
how the player's actions have influenced it. I think Dragon Age 2 wasn't very good at this. Neither was Origins, but it better masked it since it didn't all happen in one city.


To elaborate on this point, in Origins, it would've been nice if after solving the Orzammar issue, in say, Bhelen's favour, you would see more Dwarves in Denerim. Similarly with removing the curse on the Werewolves. Maybe some ambient conversation talking about it or acknowledging it happened.

If you had solved the Orzammar issue in Harrowmont's favour, then have NPCs talk about that. Maybe the merchants can bring up how hard it is to trade with them. Maybe prices for Heavy Armor and Weapons are slightly more expensive.

Just small things that acknowledge that a)the passage of time is indeed flowing and that b)your actions have consequences that are felt by those in the gameworld.

Come to think of it, it happened a little in certain areas. But a little more emphasis on this aspect would certainly be appreciated.

Modifié par mrcrusty, 03 juin 2011 - 06:20 .


#237
centiumcuspis

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like in KOTOR if one destroyes the *spoiler* Shark and the kolto supply and med-kit prices skyrocket.

#238
Sidney

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mrcrusty wrote...

To follow on that point, if something is "urgent" and you decide to do other things too, set up a count where doing other quests before undertaking the "important" one has an effect. As in, make it harder. Even if it's only a HP boost for the boss and a few lines of dialog.


I think instead of that, and the pure clock is awkward in games at times, you have to "punish" in other ways. A few extra HP isn't a real punishment. Say you take the gig to find Seamus but once you agree to go find him and you know the Winters are on the trail if you finish another quest before you free him then instead of you getting him the Winters do. You then hear about his return and maybe there's some dialog somewhere else to give you the "other" info you get about him but you didn't save him, you didn;'t get the XP - and that is the real punishment.

Something FNV did was to let you fail quests and I liked that. There is no way to fail quests in DA2, or DAO IIRC, and it just makes things feel so very easy. Time is one thing that can cause you to fail quests and while people might not like the clock some sense of urgency is certainly realistic, immersion adding I'd think, and also a greater challenge.

#239
A Crusty Knight Of Colour

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Well, that is ideal. But Bioware haven't been great at the whole "allowing people to fail quests" aspect. Add to the fact that the most urgent quests are likely to be narrative centric and their inability to write truly branching narratives (so far) doesn't make things easy. In New Vegas, the sheer number of quests and their design made it okay.

Failed quests for Caesar's Legion? That's okay, there's still 3 other main questlines to pick from.

But yes, ideally, a sense of urgency has to be an actual sense of urgency. If you don't act in time, then you fail the quest. Making it harder is another option, but HP stacking was just a suggestion. There are other ways to make the quest harder, or have negative repercussions.

#240
abaris

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Sidney wrote...

Something FNV did was to let you fail quests and I liked that. There is no way to fail quests in DA2, or DAO IIRC, and it just makes things feel so very easy. Time is one thing that can cause you to fail quests and while people might not like the clock some sense of urgency is certainly realistic, immersion adding I'd think, and also a greater challenge.


Totally different genre. But it shows how the illusion of a living breathing world with certain sets of rules can be build, given the time and commitment.

#241
AAHook2

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[quote]AlanC9 wrote...

[quote]AAHook2 wrote...

I wouldn't say that the relationships are totally controlled by the player. There were milestones you had to achieve before certain stages would be available in some relationships. Once they became available it was up to you to decide where and how far you wanted to go. [/quote]

I'll grant that there are a couple of preconditions, typically involving random encounters that only happen after you've brought the relationship up to the appropriate point so you can hear the dialogue. So it isn't quite possible to do the whole relationship without ever leaving camp.
[/quote]

Sure, to see the Morrigan relationship play out, you had to get through the mirror dialogue. You had to wait for the Grimoire dialogue to kick. You then had to Go through the Circle Tower sequence, pick up the fake grimoire, then you could seek out Flemeth. After that Morrigan goes cold on you and you have to decide whether or not you want to play her if you love me you wouldn't act like you love me game.

[quote]
For me, I loved the challenge of cycling through a Morrigan romance, picking up a slow boil Leliana romance and having both love endings by the end. It took a deft touch to manage. Morrigan ended up leaving in the end anyway so supposedly my Warden was well set up with Leliana, and Leliana seemed to accept that there were lingering deep feelings of attachemnt for Morrigan. [/quote]

Itals mine. You're serious?
[/quote]

Sure. It took forever for me to get the conditions right for Leliana to even open up a love relationship if you went for Morrigan first, which I did. Waited till after Morrigan asked to break up to fully persue Leliana, but it got a little delicate to keep both in the right conditions get their love endings in the build up to the finale and the epilogue.

I do believe Leliana makes mention of your relationship with Morrigan, but still wants to stay with the Warden in Denerim.
It's not really that simple. You had to be careful with your dialogue choices or you'd get stuck on best friend land with Leliana.

Yeah, maybe it's stupid, but it's what I was going for with the story. Wanted the classic love triangle. So sue me. :P
Once I knew it was possible, I was determined to play it out that way. It wasn't as easy as it sounded either. To do it without lying to either was kind of tricky.

#242
AAHook2

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[quote]mrcrusty wrote...

[quote]Anathemic wrote...

[quote]mrcrusty wrote...

@Anathemic:

I've played through the scene, I don't think it was an intentional jab. At least it wasn't an obvious one if you put it in context.
[/quote]

Oh well, yeah I played through the scene too. It's still funny though lol

[/quote]


:D

[quote]In Exile wrote...

There is a dedicated part of the RPG
space dedicated to inventing content in the game for themselves. Nothing
to be done about that. [/quote]
[quote]
Lol. This is so Oblivion.

^_^

As for the issue of handling the passage of time, it's really something not many games are able to handle well. On the one hand, it makes for awkwardness in the plot. The sense of urgency is artificial as there's no way to handle time. On the other hand, a game like Fallout had a concrete timer and that put a lot of people off too.

I personally think that rather than a strict sense of time, you should represent events in the narrative by changing the state of the world appropriately. So if you have just passed a major narrative milestone, don't explicitly state "this much time has passed" without showing the changes, show the changes in the gameworld, specifically, how the player's actions have influenced it. I think Dragon Age 2 wasn't very good at this. Neither was Origins, but it better masked it since it didn't all happen in one city.

To follow on that point, if something is "urgent" and you decide to do other things too, set up a count where doing other quests before undertaking the "important" one has an effect. As in, make it harder. Even if it's only a HP boost for the boss and a few lines of dialog.

In terms of how this relates to companions, I think Dragon Age 2 had the right idea in barring progression of companion development just by abusing the gift system and instead, tying them to quests. It's good in theory, but it's execution left something to be desired, imo.

[/quote]

HEY! screw you guys if it was so easy for you to do it! <_<:D
I kept having to go back and redo my courtship of Leliana because I kept running into confrontational Morrigan dialogue or the dreaded let's just be friends dialogue with Leliana.
And I honestly tried not to spam with the gifts.

As for time...I agree. I kind of want at least some mark of how long it takes to go from one place to another and if making two trips back and forth between two locations, conditions should adjust for the time it takes to travel and what might have occured in the gap of time that passes.
Origins was better than Dragon Age 2 of course in representing the feeling of things changing to some degree. The destruction of Lothering  marked a significant shift. Zevran's appearance, The Landsmeet etc. .

I think a good fix is yes, the player hesitates at different stages of the narrative, consequences should mark that time is an issue.

#243
AlanC9

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AAHook2 wrote...
Sure, to see the Morrigan relationship play out, you had to get through the mirror dialogue. You had to wait for the Grimoire dialogue to kick. You then had to Go through the Circle Tower sequence, pick up the fake grimoire, then you could seek out Flemeth. After that Morrigan goes cold on you and you have to decide whether or not you want to play her if you love me you wouldn't act like you love me game. 


And here, I think, is where we part company completely. Who's the "you" who's deciding whether or not to play that game?

#244
the_one_54321

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I liked Morrigan for being a believable character, and I'd like to see more characters that actually respond to rapid change with uncertainty and hesitance.

#245
hemeh01

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Skilled Seeker wrote...

It's kinda pathetic how TW2 feels the need to make fun of other games, like it can't stand on it's own merits. I've seen numerious jabs at Bioware and a blatant jab at Ubisoft's AC without even trying to make it subtle. There's a thin line between friendly rivalry and downright immaturity and disrespect.



CDPRed is not guilty if there are people falling from sky in EA games... And the Witcher was just trying to see if the troll was telling the truth about something that happened in that game. Nothing to do with EA.

Plus, what is wrong with enemys falling from sky? I think is great. No need of keep running around to find more enemys. I hope DA3 will pass in a single place, like a cave... And every enemy will just fall in there, in the proper time, to make the story going. Think in the massive amount of story they will be able to put in the game, since they will save time from make scenarios... Could be a travel in time for 100 years. DA3 - 100 Years in a cave. AWESOME!!!:o

#246
the_one_54321

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Any more contentions comparisons between TW2 and DAII will result in reports to BioWare mods. this is not a threat or a defense of either game. I just don't want the thread to go too far off topic.

#247
hemeh01

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the_one_54321 wrote...

Any more contentions comparisons between TW2 and DAII will result in reports to BioWare mods. this is not a threat or a defense of either game. I just don't want the thread to go too far off topic.


Ok, I am sorry.:(

#248
John Epler

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Let's bring it back on-topic. If you'd like to discuss the Witcher 2, there's a thread for that in the Off-Topic forum.

Feel free to use examples to illustrate your points - as they relate to DA2. If you're just interested in continuing the whole versus line of debate, please take it elsewhere, as this really isn't the place.

Removed a bunch of image spam as well.

#249
Otaking_EA

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"Deeper RPG mechanics"

Immersion. - The game is both believable and interesting, and you have an interesting and compelling place within the story.

Customization - You have as many paths to interact with that world as possible whether it is choice in your character, your equipment, your companions, or tweaks to game difficulty.

Reactivity - The world reacts to your efforts to change it.

Tactics - As the higher difficulties are approached, combat is like a puzzle to get through. The puzzle requires resource allocation, party build engineering design, and roleplaying skills to get through/aid with the fight (Examples of roleplaying: supporting templars has templars show up in fights etc. Learning of the boss's hidden weakness in a conversation/quest beforehand.).

"Epic RPG"

Drama, comedy, and horror - The game can evoke strong emotional responses in the audience.

-Now for my tangent and strongly worded hints...

Bioware is strong on drama and comedy, unfortunately weak as far as horror goes.

I would dearly love to see a stronger horror element. Hearing NPCs blandly describe how their son could become a nightmarish creature from the fade in a ponderous speech that never takes shape later is a real missed opportunity for example. Then there are the NPCs that spout a one liner like Wilmod "You've hit me for the last time" in a whiny voice before turning into an ABOMINATION in a poofy cloud of smoke just makes me giggle a bit when with the right setup it could evoke real fear in the audience.

There is a lack of lighting, music, sound effects, and physical acting effects to support horror in the game in general, even though the engine easily supports these things. Something called an Abomination should be more of a terror, and be supported by an enemy that is truly a threat to a party in terms of game mechanics to support FEAR.

Which evokes more fear in the actual player right now? Abominations or assassins...hmm

#250
the_one_54321

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Otaking_EA wrote...
Which evokes more fear in the actual player right now?

There's a house in the Elven Alienage in Denerim that I think fits the horror bill quite well, during the Denerim arc.