101 réponses à ce sujet

[Roosterred68]

was a dup....sorry for taking up space....
Rooster

Modifié par Roosterred68, 12 janvier 2012 - 07:40 .

[Roosterred68]

AshenSugar wrote...

I'd never touched a real RPG before playing Origins, or even knew very much about the genre -   Closest I ever got to an RPG was Diablo and Diablo II. I really liked this idea of actually being able to level up and equip my character with items! it was a totally new concept for me - sadly I didn't delve into it any further, and did not purchase Baldur's Gate, or anything similar.
 
I discovered Dragon Age Origins as a result of being a voracious blog reader.
 
There's a particular gaming blog I regularly read. and on this particular occasion the author was talking about her progress through a game called Dragon Age II. (I think I might have had some vague recollection of the title, as you tend to pick up such things via osmosis; but had never really paid it much attention). The blogger's lively description of the game really caught my imagination - From her description it seemed that the player was actually able to make various choices within the game that would affect how the story played out. I'd never come across anything like this in a video game before or (naive as it sounds) even imagined it. I was fascinated by the tales of her progress through Dragon Age II, and it caused me to expand my own research, reading various reviews and descriptions of the game.
 
It soon became clear that the fanbase generally regarded the first game in the series, Dragon Age Origins as a masterpiece, whereas DA II was considered by many to be a rather flawed creation. I ordered both games anyway - The DA:O Ultimate Edition, and standard DA II.
 
On first loading up Origins, and mucking around with the character creation, I settled upon a Cousland in the form of a male Warrior and so took my first step into Thedas.
 
I must admit, that for the first hour or so, I was completely lost, and caught myself wondering if maybe I'd made a mistake. I found it really hard to navigate through the castle, and was constantly getting lost (and increasingly frustrated) trying to find my way to the kitchen. The concept of stopping in order to check the map took quite some getting used to... I was conditioned toward navigating with the aid of 'constant' overhead maps such as the one in Diablo, which allow you to move around while the map is visible.
 
I found myself absolutely agonising over each dialogue choice, terrified of saying the wrong thing, and possibly screwing up my relationship with the characters (Oh boy, was I in for a big shock at the end of the introductory act!) When it all kicked off, and I found myself awake in my room, and it became clear what was occuring, I was filled with this real tense sensation of fear, not to mention horror!...  All I could do was react and do my best to learn the combat system.
 
I was absolutely all over the damned place during the first period of combat with the soldiers; not really understanding the tactics system. Somehow I muddled through with the difficulty set to 'Casual', getting hopelessly lost once again, and struggling to keep myself and my companion alive. Things seemed unbelievably chaotic, but I persevered, due to having seem my fledgling Warrior pull off some wicked-cool-looking sword moves on screen.. beside which, I was eager to learn how the story panned out.
 
In fact.. it was only later, within the Kocori Wilds, after having successfully defeated my first group of Darkspawn using all the members of my party that the game seemed to 'click into place'. Somehow, the sense of being in this lovely outdoor space, with a clear view of the horizon, and the ability to plan ahead for each encounter gave me a thrilling sense of freedom and exploration. The game was beginning to sink in, becoming solid...feeling less like a game, and more like a real adventure.
 
.... To cut a long tale short by the time I entered Lothering I was absolutely, 100%, totally, unconditionally hooked!... to the point when my shifts at work seemed like a grey dream in between Dragon Age sessions. I couldn't wait to get home and load up the game!
 
I probably missed around half the side quests, and made all kinds of lousy decisions and stupid mistakes during that first play through, but it didn't't matter. No other game since has had such a deep impact on me, or affected me at such an emotional level. I've completed it (and the expansion and DLC) four times so far.. and each playthrough provides some new insight and understanding about the game and the universe within which it takes place. I literally 'live' each moment of the experience, playing it completely in-character, and doing everything I can to totally immerse myself, feeling what my character feels.
 
Right now, all my friends are banging on about Skyrim, trying to convert me. I've bought the game, I'm sure it's great, but haven't even installed it yet.. far too busy with Dragon Age!

is it possible to share the same time/space?
Its like you read my mind...
Rooster

[Gotholhorakh]

Welcome!

I'm happy for you who are discovering this lovely, lovely game now - bloody amazing, isn't it?

I pretty much had a great big grin on my face when I first played that game, and all the way through it, and even at the end, the game just radiated quality, even where it plainly wasn't perfect.

DA:O, happy for newcomers finding it - especially if as one person said, you've got Skyrim to follow it up with - you are very spoilt and I'm jealous.

Modifié par Gotholhorakh, 12 janvier 2012 - 09:38 .

[AshenSugar]

google_calasade wrote...

Morrigan absolutely tops the list. She's never out of the party. Most recently, some of her commentary during Redcliffe was priceless, like when you give Bella 500 silver.

After that, it's really even between Sten, Alistair, Shale, and Leliana.

Hehe, I also fell foul of Morrigan's brand of battery acid when doing some of the early Redcliff stuff. I admit to gaming the system a little on later playthroughs by leaving Morrigan at camp taking Wynn instead.

[csfteeeer]

AshenSugar wrote...

I'd never touched a real RPG before playing Origins, or even knew very much about the genre -   Closest I ever got to an RPG was Diablo and Diablo II. I really liked this idea of actually being able to level up and equip my character with items! it was a totally new concept for me - sadly I didn't delve into it any further, and did not purchase Baldur's Gate, or anything similar.
 
I discovered Dragon Age Origins as a result of being a voracious blog reader.
 
There's a particular gaming blog I regularly read. and on this particular occasion the author was talking about her progress through a game called Dragon Age II. (I think I might have had some vague recollection of the title, as you tend to pick up such things via osmosis; but had never really paid it much attention). The blogger's lively description of the game really caught my imagination - From her description it seemed that the player was actually able to make various choices within the game that would affect how the story played out. I'd never come across anything like this in a video game before or (naive as it sounds) even imagined it. I was fascinated by the tales of her progress through Dragon Age II, and it caused me to expand my own research, reading various reviews and descriptions of the game.
 
It soon became clear that the fanbase generally regarded the first game in the series, Dragon Age Origins as a masterpiece, whereas DA II was considered by many to be a rather flawed creation. I ordered both games anyway - The DA:O Ultimate Edition, and standard DA II.
 
On first loading up Origins, and mucking around with the character creation, I settled upon a Cousland in the form of a male Warrior and so took my first step into Thedas.
 
I must admit, that for the first hour or so, I was completely lost, and caught myself wondering if maybe I'd made a mistake. I found it really hard to navigate through the castle, and was constantly getting lost (and increasingly frustrated) trying to find my way to the kitchen. The concept of stopping in order to check the map took quite some getting used to... I was conditioned toward navigating with the aid of 'constant' overhead maps such as the one in Diablo, which allow you to move around while the map is visible.
 
I found myself absolutely agonising over each dialogue choice, terrified of saying the wrong thing, and possibly screwing up my relationship with the characters (Oh boy, was I in for a big shock at the end of the introductory act!) When it all kicked off, and I found myself awake in my room, and it became clear what was occuring, I was filled with this real tense sensation of fear, not to mention horror!...  All I could do was react and do my best to learn the combat system.
 
I was absolutely all over the damned place during the first period of combat with the soldiers; not really understanding the tactics system. Somehow I muddled through with the difficulty set to 'Casual', getting hopelessly lost once again, and struggling to keep myself and my companion alive. Things seemed unbelievably chaotic, but I persevered, due to having seem my fledgling Warrior pull off some wicked-cool-looking sword moves on screen.. beside which, I was eager to learn how the story panned out.
 
In fact.. it was only later, within the Kocori Wilds, after having successfully defeated my first group of Darkspawn using all the members of my party that the game seemed to 'click into place'. Somehow, the sense of being in this lovely outdoor space, with a clear view of the horizon, and the ability to plan ahead for each encounter gave me a thrilling sense of freedom and exploration. The game was beginning to sink in, becoming solid...feeling less like a game, and more like a real adventure.
 
.... To cut a long tale short by the time I entered Lothering I was absolutely, 100%, totally, unconditionally hooked!... to the point when my shifts at work seemed like a grey dream in between Dragon Age sessions. I couldn't wait to get home and load up the game!
 
I probably missed around half the side quests, and made all kinds of lousy decisions and stupid mistakes during that first play through, but it didn't't matter. No other game since has had such a deep impact on me, or affected me at such an emotional level. I've completed it (and the expansion and DLC) four times so far.. and each playthrough provides some new insight and understanding about the game and the universe within which it takes place. I literally 'live' each moment of the experience, playing it completely in-character, and doing everything I can to totally immerse myself, feeling what my character feels.
 
Right now, all my friends are banging on about Skyrim, trying to convert me. I've bought the game, I'm sure it's great, but haven't even installed it yet.. far too busy with Dragon Age!

That is one Masterful Post.
I Salute you

But i want to make a little comment about The Skyrim thing....

Don't overlook Skyrim, it's a very good game, however, do not expect things like you can expect in DA:O

to me, Skyrim is.... like a Bag of Chips, a BIG one, that you're not gonna share.

yeah, you eat chips, you want'em, you keep going, but after you're done... there is little to nothing else, and then you're gonna move one to something that actually matters, like a dinner(like say DA:O or TW2).

Skyrim literally is a Bag of Chips : Simple, For Everyone, but ultimately little more than that, because theres no emotional attachment, theres no deep, intricate Storytelling, it's just you, and your chips that will ultimately never leave you satisfied before you eat an important meal.

Don't get me wrong, i really like Skyrim(i LOVE me some Chips!), and the first impression certainly grabbed me(for a time i thought i was my second favorite game ever, until the honeymoon period ended), but beyond it's fun factor, skyrim has little to nothing else, ultimately making it bland and simple.

but try Out Skyrim anyway, i'm sure it will be fun.

Oh, and if you need to check out awesome games, i would suggest The Witcher Series, but warned, you can't customize your character as much as you can in DAO, and in fact, is not even your character, but in things such as branching paths and storylines, it does it even better than DAO(IMO).

Modifié par csfteeeer, 13 janvier 2012 - 11:22 .

[AshenSugar]

I truth, it's pretty-much what I'm expecting from Skyrim, after having read the thoughts of many of the posters on here, I guess I won't be going into it with too many false expectations. I'm also given to understand that the interface and spell functions are pretty clunky on the PC version.

Before I even touch Skyrim though, I intend to complete DA II and the newly-purchased DLCs. Never really seem to have got the hang of combat in that particular game, and I'm currently trying my best to learn the intricacies of it, so that every fight isn't a precarious 'win by the skin of my teeth' experience. For some reason I'm pretty good at handling Origins fights, but suck at DA:2.....

After that I have Mass Effect, bought a couple of weeks ago, which I aint even touched yet.....

I've also heard of The Witcher (again as a result of browsing these forums) and I will certainly look into it at some point.

[DreamwareStudio]

AshenSugar wrote...

I truth, it's pretty-much what I'm expecting from Skyrim, after having read the thoughts of many of the posters on here, I guess I won't be going into it with too many false expectations. I'm also given to understand that the interface and spell functions are pretty clunky on the PC version.

Before I even touch Skyrim though, I intend to complete DA II and the newly-purchased DLCs. Never really seem to have got the hang of combat in that particular game, and I'm currently trying my best to learn the intricacies of it, so that every fight isn't a precarious 'win by the skin of my teeth' experience. For some reason I'm pretty good at handling Origins fights, but suck at DA:2.....

After that I have Mass Effect, bought a couple of weeks ago, which I aint even touched yet.....

I've also heard of The Witcher (again as a result of browsing these forums) and I will certainly look into it at some point.

You're probably having issues with DA 2 because of the waves.  The combat was not at all executed well with that game.

Skyrim is very, very good.

The Witcher and the Witcher 2 I cannot say enough good things about.  You can't go wrong with either one.  TW 2 is my GOTY.

[AshenSugar]

Aye, it's partly due to waves of meanies popping up behind my healer, regardless of how carefully I position my party, and partly due to poor stat and spell allocation on my part - Avaline was just not holding threat, and my Mages were constantly mana starved.

Since writing that, I (with much wailing and gnashing of teeth) parted with more money to buy Black Emporium DLC. I read a few guides and respecced. Things are much better now, though I think the price for Black Emporium is a real ripoff! - same cost as MotA and Legacy, for the ability to respec, a dog and a few mid-level items. 240 Bioware points would have been a much fairer price.

Modifié par AshenSugar, 14 janvier 2012 - 10:24 .

[caradoc2000]

To be fair, Black Emporium is free with a new copy.

[Lemina Ausa]

google_calasade wrote...


The Deep Roads, man, what a rush. I just wrapped up Anvil. Talk about some hard and exciting battles!

Actually for me personally, I detest the deep roads. I would go orzamar last all the time if it weren't for the fact that odgren is there and so I feel compelled to complete it before the forest. Unlike most people I don't actually mind the fade that much.

[DreamwareStudio]

Lemina Ausa wrote...

google_calasade wrote...


The Deep Roads, man, what a rush. I just wrapped up Anvil. Talk about some hard and exciting battles!

Actually for me personally, I detest the deep roads. I would go orzamar last all the time if it weren't for the fact that odgren is there and so I feel compelled to complete it before the forest. Unlike most people I don't actually mind the fade that much.

I liked the Fade.  I found the Deep Roads the most challenging and exhiliarating aspect of DA:O.  Finding the Legion, then charging across that bridge and into all those Darkspawn...ah, it was heaven.  I lost most of my party with injuries I could not heal which made the remainder a real challenge.  I refused to go back to camp or restock on injury kits.  That was one hard battle after another.  After that, though, everything has been easy, sometimes too easy.  I just took out Flemeth using only my Warden and Leliana, this being on nightmare using the Nightmare Plus mod.  I fear unless things get more challenging, I may get bored.

Modifié par google_calasade, 15 janvier 2012 - 02:39 .

[AshenSugar]

caradoc2000 wrote...

To be fair, Black Emporium is free with a new copy.

 It is?

I bought my DA:II brand new from Amazon last year, and no DLC came with it at all, certainly not Black Emporium.

[caradoc2000]

AshenSugar wrote...

caradoc2000 wrote...

To be fair, Black Emporium is free with a new copy.

 It is?

I bought my DA:II brand new from Amazon last year, and no DLC came with it at all, certainly not Black Emporium.

Yes, it is. Physical copies should contain the code on paper while digital ones in some electronic form.

Signature editions included the Exiled Prince as well.

[AshenSugar]

Damn, I wonder if there was some slip of paper in the box that I somehow didn't notice? Looks like I just wasted some money.

As for the Flemeth battle, I generally beat her on Normal mode, using a full party... having said that I always do it very early in the game, around level 11. It's a real 'edge of the seat' kind of fight.

[Druoga]

I bought the game (UE) about half a year ago, started to play but then got disinterested for some reason. During the holidays I had a lot of spare time on my hands so I decided to try it out more seriously. Now I've played it through three times already! Amazing game. The amount of detail and the dialogue... everything is just oozing of quality. My first serious character was an elven mage (mostly healer). I was very slow at learning the combat system so I resorted to just healing while letting the other characters do their thing. Now I'm more careful and using tactics more extensively . The climax for me was the Landsmeet with all it's possible outcomes. It really made me very careful with dialogue options and I frequently reverted to old saves if things didn't go my way. The ending was very emotional and during the epilogue I had this horrid feeling of emptiness. That's when you know something's really affected you. Can't remember having this feeling since I read Lord of The Rings the first time.

There are so many good things about this game I could just go on and on, but suffice to say it's my best overall game experience so far and I've played quite a lot of games. Still have Awakenings and all the DLC:s to play through.

[Krabman7]

I'm really late to the party too, just gonna start my FIRST playthrough today. (I have a 200 game backlog >_>)

Should I use any mods, since it's my first playthrough? I've looked at DA redesigned and improved atmosphere but I don't know if I should experience the vanilla faces/atmosphere first.

I downloaded JB3's textures though, just to make it prettier. Should I also get those bux fix mods mentioned in page 2? How about anything else?

[AshenSugar]

http://www.dragonage...file.php?id=903

I'd not want to play without the Personal Annoyance Remover. Warriors with the Champion specialisation have a sustained spell called Rally, which constantly spams this god-awful, 'booming' sound over and over again every time a party member wanders in and out of the aura's range. This mod removes the sound, and the visual effects that go with it, and other spells, which actually helps increase frame rate.

Sadly it doesn't seem to work for Legacy, and I get the same problem with the sustained spell 'Air of Insolence'... it's like playing the game with someone nearby constantly hammering on a huge cardboard box with their fists. I usually end up just never using the spell....

I also find the respec mod very useful, as it allows me to build my companions the way I want to build them, according to my own design. Purists may argue that this is a form of 'cheating', but I can live with that if it means that I get more personal enjoyment from the game as a result of having full control.

[DreamwareStudio]

Krabman7 wrote...

I'm really late to the party too, just gonna start my FIRST playthrough today. (I have a 200 game backlog >_>)

Should I use any mods, since it's my first playthrough? I've looked at DA redesigned and improved atmosphere but I don't know if I should experience the vanilla faces/atmosphere first.

I downloaded JB3's textures though, just to make it prettier. Should I also get those bux fix mods mentioned in page 2? How about anything else?

There are literally tons of great mods for DA:O.  Click on Projects and grab whatever sounds good to you.  Off the top of my head, I can recommend a few:

The Helm removal mod (automatically removes when not fighting and puts on your helmet while fighting is cool cause you can see your characters better during non-combat).  Be sure to disable it in the Fade, though.  It's buggy there.

Advanced Quickbar (gives multiple quickbars)
Alley of Murders, Castle Cousland, Hammer and Anvil Inn,  Hilltop (In-game quests)
Arcane Warrior Fix (fixes a bug where an arcane warrior constantly sheaths their weapons when casting)
Duncan's Dark Armor
Dual Weapon Abilities for Arcane Warriors
Leliana Item Set
Less Tedious Fade
Nightmare Plus

[alex90c]

To be honest I'd only recommend ambience mods like DA redesigned and Improved Atmosphere for your first playthrough, and then get more afterwards. I mean personally for me, I like my first playthroughs of games to be as "vanilla" as possible.

[elananimosity]

Nubile DAO player here as well... 30 hours in and only one main quest finished - I play games very thoroughly the first go around

Having recently gotten a "next gen" system and having only tackled Little Big Planet on it, I walked into the store clueless about what to get.

Most of my rpg exp was with Final Fantasy, LOZ, and a bit of WoW. The clerk effectively talked me out of buying FF13 and I'm so happy he did - i literally want to go back and give him a high five.

For anyone browsing, who hasn't played the game yet, please do so.

If you can get through the first hour or so - basically the basis of your characters origin story - you will be AMAZED. I never thought a game could hold my interest like this. I want to convert my mmorpg addicted friends to DAO and start a revolution. A game that has an end, but not quite - how fancy and alluring!!

[DreamwareStudio]

elananimosity wrote...

Nubile DAO player here as well... 30 hours in and only one main quest finished - I play games very thoroughly the first go around

Having recently gotten a "next gen" system and having only tackled Little Big Planet on it, I walked into the store clueless about what to get.

Most of my rpg exp was with Final Fantasy, LOZ, and a bit of WoW. The clerk effectively talked me out of buying FF13 and I'm so happy he did - i literally want to go back and give him a high five.

For anyone browsing, who hasn't played the game yet, please do so.

If you can get through the first hour or so - basically the basis of your characters origin story - you will be AMAZED. I never thought a game could hold my interest like this. I want to convert my mmorpg addicted friends to DAO and start a revolution. A game that has an end, but not quite - how fancy and alluring!!

DA:O really grabbed me after I hit Lothering.  I really, really enjoyed the Deep Roads, but I've lost some steam on it upon reaching the Landsmeet due to it getting too easy for me.  Hopefully, that won't happen for you.

If it does, you can do what I did.

Get Baldur's Gate 2 with Throne of Bhaal.  Though the models are dated, everything else is okay graphically.  The story for it is utterly engrossing.  You can definitely see where some of the characters in Origins borrowed heavily from a few of the NPCs in BG 2.  Anyway, I started playing BG 2 on Thursday, and have gone pretty much nonstop.  I started playing yesterday at 5 PM.  It's now 6:30 AM.

Now THAT is immersion.

Modifié par google_calasade, 22 janvier 2012 - 01:47 .

[RainSkG]

I'm also somewhat new to the game and I'm really loving it. I have played others RPGs in the past but none like this one. I find myself pausing in every battle to carefully issue commands.I know many say the game is easy, but I have died many times since the beginning and I'm playing in Normal, haha. The combat style in this game is very different from the others I've played (like Final Fantasy and Golden Age, both turn based or Oblivion, for example, real-time combat but not like DA, which is more tactical).

But it really is great and I'm enjoying every moment, even when I'm dying, haha. The story, the characters, the choices, the music... And despite comments I have read, I would love to play Dragon Age II next, if I can find it here, that is.

Anyway, thanks BioWare for making such great games! I think this is the third I've played (the others being Mass Effect 1 & 2 -two of my favorites-) and I know I'll continue to play more BioWare's games.


* I apologize in advance for my english!

Modifié par RainSkG, 08 février 2012 - 02:56 .

[Ferretinabun]

RainSkG - Don't panic about the difficulty. I really don't know what it is, but the first run-through is always the hardest. I suppose it's because, later on, you'll know what to expect, how to build characters, who to bring... whatever it is, after the game is spookily far easier after the first time around.

[K_Tabris]

I agree, this game is fantastic! It's such a rich, interesting world full of diverse characters, subplots, decisions to make, lore to discover, as well as being highly replay-able. Every once in a while, I get the urge to re-experience the game in a different way, with a new character.

This is one game where Bioware's creativity shines. Withing the established Origins and overall story arch of the game,there is a lot of room to add personality to your own playing character.

@RainSkg I haven't been able to play above normal in this game yet (BG, forget about it ) You already said it: it's the story, characters and choices that really lure the player in.

[TheDayWarden]

Glad so many people are still discovering DA:O, I've been pretty much obsessed with it since the day it was released. No game has ever had me make such an emotional investment in the characters and plotline. Dragon Age 2 wasn't the disapointment to me that it was to some people, I think it's a good game, but c'mon...it's no Origins, let's face it.