26 réponses à ce sujet

[RavenousBear]

I finally got the ever elusive Strange Wood random encounter after endlessly traveling from Denerim to the Brecillian Forest. It is about time in my opinion!





I have become well acquainted with Old Tegrin...

[metatheurgist]

I applaud your patience, I have never seen that encounter and I've played a few times.

[sylvanaerie]

Saw it once a long time ago. And yep, I'm well acquainted with Old Tegrin. Wish he'd go back to Orzammar.

[RavenousBear]

metatheurgist wrote...

I applaud your patience, I have never seen that encounter and I've played a few times.

If have the PC version you can use the console to get the encounter. I was just stubborn and wanted to get it done without using the console.

[RavenousBear]

sylvanaerie wrote...

Saw it once a long time ago. And yep, I'm well acquainted with Old Tegrin. Wish he'd go back to Orzammar.

The problem with him is he always has the same junk and never updates his inventory. Now if he upgrared his inventory with useful items, such as Potential Healh Poultices, Grandmaster runes (especially Dweomer) etc. then it would not as bad encountering him 50+ times within 3 hours.

[dainbramage]

I may have modified rand_forest.GDA... Ain't nobody got time for dat 1% chance.

[Corker]

I got that on my very first PT, and had no idea it was this super-rare encounter. Never saw it again.

[Melbella]

I didn't realize this could be such a rare encounter. I usually find him 2 or 3 times per game. Then again, I tend to do a lot of backtracking. :-)

[DarthGizka]

This isn't about Old Tegrin - you'll meet him dozens of times once the normal random encounters are exhausted. This is about an extremely rare encounter called Strange Wood. I've never had it so far, and I've been around the block quite a few times.

Other encounters seem to be rare, too. For example, the one with the four shades I had only in my very first playthrough and never again.

I question the wisdom of burying content like that so deeply that 99% of all players will never see it, even if they play the game several times. In a similar vein, several quest strands require that you talk to your companions in camp, not out on the road. If you never go there or are not diligent enough about talking to them again and again and again then you'd never know that there was stuff to be missed. Thank the Maker - and all contributors - for the wiki.

[caradoc2000]

I've had the strange wood twice in about a dozen playthroughs.

The Twisted Forest is another rare encounter. I've only had it once.

[DarthGizka]

I thought the thing with the four sylvans was a standard feature connected to the story - that is, one of those things you get after gaining the support of new allies. Or perhaps related to poetree.

It's a tough one. You are placed squat in the middle of the circle of sylvans and everyone will get root-grabbed. Leliana died before anyone could do anything about it... Since then I always take precautions when travelling in the risky region - either giving Leliana the blood-gorged amulet to boost her HP, or taking an HP monster like Sten instead of her on the Imperial Highway.

[RavenousBear]

DarthGizka wrote...

I thought the thing with the four sylvans was a standard feature connected to the story - that is, one of those things you get after gaining the support of new allies. Or perhaps related to poetree.

It's a tough one. You are placed squat in the middle of the circle of sylvans and everyone will get root-grabbed. Leliana died before anyone could do anything about it... Since then I always take precautions when travelling in the risky region - either giving Leliana the blood-gorged amulet to boost her HP, or taking an HP monster like Sten instead of her on the Imperial Highway.

It is but there a quite of few random encounters that occur when traveling to the Brecilian forest that it is possible to miss or two of them in a playthrough.

I decided to solo the encounter myself after a few reloads since I could not stop the sylvans from killing my mages or rogues with their root-grabs. I do not allow my allies to fall in battle and that encounter guarantees death to your squishy characters.

[RavenousBear]

DarthGizka wrote...

This isn't about Old Tegrin - you'll meet him dozens of times once the normal random encounters are exhausted. This is about an extremely rare encounter called Strange Wood. I've never had it so far, and I've been around the block quite a few times.

Other encounters seem to be rare, too. For example, the one with the four shades I had only in my very first playthrough and never again.

I question the wisdom of burying content like that so deeply that 99% of all players will never see it, even if they play the game several times. In a similar vein, several quest strands require that you talk to your companions in camp, not out on the road. If you never go there or are not diligent enough about talking to them again and again and again then you'd never know that there was stuff to be missed. Thank the Maker - and all contributors - for the wiki.

I have had the shade encounter a few times without even trying to acquire it. It is no where as hard to acquire as the Strange Wood encounter in  my opinion.

I guess BW loves hiding Easter Eggs in their games for their players to acquire. Well, I think it is fair to miss on companion quests if you refuse to talk to them in camp. Or I may be biased since after playing other BW games in the past (KOTOR, KOTOR 2, ME Trilogy) it is standard to talk to your companions at your "base" so to speak.

[Melbella]

DarthGizka wrote...

This isn't about Old Tegrin - you'll meet him dozens of times once the normal random encounters are exhausted. This is about an extremely rare encounter called Strange Wood. I've never had it so far, and I've been around the block quite a few times.

Other encounters seem to be rare, too. For example, the one with the four shades I had only in my very first playthrough and never again.

I question the wisdom of burying content like that so deeply that 99% of all players will never see it, even if they play the game several times. In a similar vein, several quest strands require that you talk to your companions in camp, not out on the road. If you never go there or are not diligent enough about talking to them again and again and again then you'd never know that there was stuff to be missed. Thank the Maker - and all contributors - for the wiki.

Ah, ok, that makes much more sense! I have gotten that one once that I recall. The only time I remember getting ambushed by sylvans in a random encounter was in my last time through Awakening. Never in Origins.

[DarthGizka]

LoneWolf8588 wrote...

Well, I think it is fair to miss on companion quests if you refuse to talk to them in camp. Or I may be biased since after playing other BW games in the past (KOTOR, KOTOR 2, ME Trilogy) it is standard to talk to your companions at your "base" so to speak.

No, it isn't fair, and it doesn't make sense. In KotOR you had to enter the Ebon Hawk in order to travel, at the very least. In DA:O you only have to visit the camp once; after that there is little reason to do so beyond the only "Enchantment!" in Ferelden and some special items stocked by Bodahn. So you have reason to go there perhaps two or three times per playthrough, especially as you cannot even level and equip your companions properly while you are there. Not to mention that the poor excuse for a party chest is in a different location where the map and the party selector don't work either.

I don't have to refuse to talk to them in camp, and in fact I can't. If they have their mind set on talking then they will do so, as you well know. However, why would I suspect that talking to them in camp might offer new dialogue options if there is no indication of that at all when I talk to them elsewhere? "Can we talk later?" or "Let's go to the pub when we're done here", something like that.

In other games you get an indication when an interlocutor has something new to say, or when they might want to talk to you. New or changed dialogue options are even highlighted, and options leading to changed options are displayed differently as well. Of course, in the sorry mess of the DA:O engine and its toolset that would not be easy to do, especially as they seem to have had mostly code slaves on the team and very few programmers. In many ways the underlying game (ruleset, engine) has regressed to a point long before KotOR, and no one seems to have given a flying meow for anything that is not strictly related to audio and visuals, like playabililty.

Regardless of the limitations of the engine, there is no reason to restrict certain companion dialogue to an unrelated place which the player need not visit except once, and without any indication that people should go back there regularly in order to go through all dialogue options with a fine-toothed comb. Over and over and over again. Not to mention memorise everything because otherwise you wouldn't know whether the third option in the second sub-dialogue is new or not, and even then it might be difficult to distinguish between having seen it in the current playthrough or only in one of your former lives.

There is also a fundamental fallacy in an approach that gives you dozens or hundreds Old Tegrins in a row and then serves up a Strange Wood.

Modifié par DarthGizka, 10 février 2014 - 12:08 .

[Ferretinabun]

I've completed this game at least 7 times (with 2 more abandoned halfway through) and I've never had either Strange Wood or Twisted Forest.

Sucks to be me. :-(

[Corker]

DarthGizka wrote...

In DA:O you only have to visit the camp once; after that there is little reason to do so beyond the only "Enchantment!" in Ferelden and some special items stocked by Bodahn. So you have reason to go there perhaps two or three times per playthrough, especially as you cannot even level and equip your companions properly while you are there.

Visiting camp also heals injuries, which I know I've made use of, especially early in the game.  I think a loading screen mentions that?  ...a loading screen may also say something along the lines of 'your companions may have things to say to you in camp,' too, come to think of it.  But it's been a long time, I may not be remembering correctly.

[DarthGizka]

Some people have a strict policy of not feeding companions to the wolves; this makes the free healing of 'injuries' moot. That is the case for all my characters except for the first one who died the True Death at age 10 in the Brecilian forest. With that first character I preferred healing injuries in the field using one of the free kits found in loot.

Loading screens flash by so fast that it is impossible to read anything most of the time (playing on an i7-4930MX with twin SSDs). In any case I've never been able to read anything useful there so far. But then I've played the game only for a couple hundred hours... Perhaps there is still hope.

[mousestalker]

All the kissing happens in camp. At least all the meaningful kissing does...

[DarthGizka]

Hehe, tent time. That sure is an argument for going to the camp.

[RavenousBear]

DarthGizka wrote...

LoneWolf8588 wrote...

Well, I think it is fair to miss on companion quests if you refuse to talk to them in camp. Or I may be biased since after playing other BW games in the past (KOTOR, KOTOR 2, ME Trilogy) it is standard to talk to your companions at your "base" so to speak.

No, it isn't fair, and it doesn't make sense. In KotOR you had to enter the Ebon Hawk in order to travel, at the very least. In DA:O you only have to visit the camp once; after that there is little reason to do so beyond the only "Enchantment!" in Ferelden and some special items stocked by Bodahn. So you have reason to go there perhaps two or three times per playthrough, especially as you cannot even level and equip your companions properly while you are there. Not to mention that the poor excuse for a party chest is in a different location where the map and the party selector don't work either.

I don't have to refuse to talk to them in camp, and in fact I can't. If they have their mind set on talking then they will do so, as you well know. However, why would I suspect that talking to them in camp might offer new dialogue options if there is no indication of that at all when I talk to them elsewhere? "Can we talk later?" or "Let's go to the pub when we're done here", something like that.

In other games you get an indication when an interlocutor has something new to say, or when they might want to talk to you. New or changed dialogue options are even highlighted, and options leading to changed options are displayed differently as well. Of course, in the sorry mess of the DA:O engine and its toolset that would not be easy to do, especially as they seem to have had mostly code slaves on the team and very few programmers. In many ways the underlying game (ruleset, engine) has regressed to a point long before KotOR, and no one seems to have given a flying meow for anything that is not strictly related to audio and visuals, like playabililty.

Regardless of the limitations of the engine, there is no reason to restrict certain companion dialogue to an unrelated place which the player need not visit except once, and without any indication that people should go back there regularly in order to go through all dialogue options with a fine-toothed comb. Over and over and over again. Not to mention memorise everything because otherwise you wouldn't know whether the third option in the second sub-dialogue is new or not, and even then it might be difficult to distinguish between having seen it in the current playthrough or only in one of your former lives.

There is also a fundamental fallacy in an approach that gives you dozens or hundreds Old Tegrins in a row and then serves up a Strange Wood.

You have a point of not being required to visit your camp compared to the Ebon Hawk in KOTOR. However with the game handing out runes as if they were candy that should be a hint that maybe the player should back to camp to enhance their weapons. Unless you are a mage of course. The Allied Supply Crates is another reason to go to camp although the game does not explain how the resources help your armies gameplay wise. I agree a party chest should have been added to the game rather than Warden's Keep. Really, why would the chest be located there if you can no longer enter the Keep yourself after you completed the DLC?

I think it is sensible that the more private/intimate discussions should be discussed within the camp rather in out in the open in Denerim or during the expedition of the Deep Roads. Do you really want Morrigan to discuss Flemeth's plan for her in the middle of a pub with bystanders? As for indicators for new conversations opened for companions, I can see it being helpful.

Modifié par LoneWolf8588, 10 février 2014 - 10:36 .

[Corker]

DarthGizka wrote...

Some people have a strict policy of not feeding companions to the wolves; this makes the free healing of 'injuries' moot.

I beg your pardon?

Loading screens flash by so fast that it is impossible to read anything most of the time (playing on an i7-4930MX with twin SSDs). In any case I've never been able to read anything useful there so far. But then I've played the game only for a couple hundred hours... Perhaps there is still hope.

So because your machine is fast, no one else could ever know that there were reasons to go to camp?

I read a lot of useful things on the loading screens, particularly on  my first playthrough. Which was also my first cRPG. Which was also my first video game that wasn't Atari Super Breakout or Solitare.  Yet I had no trouble understanding that camp was a place that was useful to go to sometimes.

[Mike3207]

I'd ask the OP if he did it for the encounter, or he thought the Axe was worth the effort. I know when I finally see the Warden Tower Shield finally drop from Sophia, it's a good enough shield to put the 2.5 hrs in to get it.

[metatheurgist]

Having played most Bioware games, I've learned that there is usually a place to talk to your companions and that you should catch up with them after major events to get their opinions.

[DarthGizka]

Corker wrote...

DarthGizka wrote...

Some people have a strict policy of not feeding companions to the wolves; this makes the free healing of 'injuries' moot.

I beg your pardon?

Free healing of complications resulting from death - a.k.a. 'injuries' - is not a very big attraction if you don't let your companions die in the first place. I'm not the only one who uses that rule.

For the problem currently under discussion - inducements for visiting camp - the relevant point is that not all players will necessarily want to benefit from free death cures.

(regarding loading screens that flash by too fast to read)

So because your machine is fast, no one else could ever know that there were reasons to go to camp?

Wrong. Not all people necessarily know what is written in the loading screens since for some of them they flash by too fast to read.

Of course, by writing 'some' instead of 'at least one' I'm leaning a bit out of the window here. But I guess I'm not the only one playing the game on a machine that must be almost as fast as the boxen typically used by game developers.

I read a lot of useful things on the loading screens, particularly on  my first playthrough. Which was also my first cRPG. Which was also my first video game that wasn't Atari Super Breakout or Solitare.  Yet I had no trouble understanding that camp was a place that was useful to go to sometimes.

Then you must have been lucky enough to see a screens that contained useful information. Cudos.

Hence you have shown that at least some people learnt that information from loadings screens. However, that does not imply that all people must know it.

The contended assertion is that all people necessarily know - or have reason to suspect - that you have to go to the camp to get certain companion dialogue options that are not available elsewhere, even though they are not related to the camp.

Same problem as with the representatives of the allies who are supposed to show up there. First I heard of it was in some discussion here (about what to donate or whether to donate at all and so on). So I went to the camp and sure enough there they were with their hungry chests.

However, I concede that the designers can reasonably assume players to read all quest entries and the codex entries relating to controls. From the post-coronation save of my first full playthrough I pulled the - unread - codex entry 266 which contains the following text:

... As you improve your relationships with party members, head back to camp to speak with them. They'll be much more willing to open up when they don't have to worry about death around every corner ...

Although I'd say that a pub would be a safer place than camp. Less chance of shriek raids, and fewer ears radar-dishing to find out what the Warden is up to with whomever.

Anyway, I guess one could reasonably say that I should have deduced from that blather that companions assume death to be around every corner outside of camp, and that therefore certain dialogue options would only be available in camp and nowhere else. Mea culpa.

Modifié par DarthGizka, 11 février 2014 - 03:03 .