67 réponses à ce sujet

[texhnolyze]

I love Hinterlands, but I'm not staying there all the time. I do side missions and main story in other zones once in a while.

[Praehotec]

Shhhh be carelful, you'll wake the fanboys/girls.

 

Change is good, if you dont like them dont do them, Skyrim was the same, the main quest makes up for it, origins had them too!! etc etc.

 

As I said, I enjoy the game, that's not the point.  The point is, 30 hours into the game, most of it feels like filler added just so that the game could be sold as, "open world."  It would seem that Bioware responded to criticisms of DA2 being to linear and confined (with re-used environments) by trying to make a world the size of Skyrim's.  The problem is that (again, as far as I have yet seen) a large portion of the world was populated with trite filler material just so that the space could be filled.  Excellent world-building, mediocre quest writing (for side questing).

 

Look back to games like BG2.  How many side quests were there in those games, and out of them, how many were so sparsely detailed?  Having played BG2 recently, I can answer for you: not many (if any).  In addition, BG2 (and all the infinity engine games, IMO) had detailed and intersting main quests and quite large playable areas.  Sure, in terms of sheer open area DAI may be larger, but I think that BG2 and its ilk indicate that it is very possible to develop more meaningful side quests and still have an appropriately large and non-linear world.  I, for one, would be okay if the Hinterlands was 1/2 of its current size, if each of its quests were twice as interesting.

 

Again, I actually really like DAI, but it's not about whether one enjoys the game or not, and saying, "don't like the quests, don't play them."  Said side quests form a significant portion (the majority, perhaps) of the game...any RPG in fact.  Triple-A epic RPGs are rare enough that missing out on one is not an option for RPG fans.  This is about wanting a game that truly is everything it is promised to be.  Want to brag you have a huge, open world RPG with a deep storyline?  Make one in which ALL of the world is actually filled in a meaningful way.

[Giantdeathrobot]

As I said, I enjoy the game, that's not the point.  The point is, 30 hours into the game, most of it feels like filler added just so that the game could be sold as, "open world."  It would seem that Bioware responded to criticisms of DA2 being to linear and confined (with re-used environments) by trying to make a world the size of Skyrim's.  The problem is that (again, as far as I have yet seen) a large portion of the world was populated with trite filler material just so that the space could be filled.  Excellent world-building, mediocre quest writing (for side questing).

 

Look back to games like BG2.  How many side quests were there in those games, and out of them, how many were so sparsely detailed?  Having played BG2 recently, I can answer for you: not many (if any).  In addition, BG2 (and all the infinity engine games, IMO) had detailed and intersting main quests and quite large playable areas.  Sure, in terms of sheer open area DAI may be larger, but I think that BG2 and its ilk indicate that it is very possible to develop more meaningful side quests and still have an appropriately large and non-linear world.  I, for one, would be okay if the Hinterlands was 1/2 of its current size, if each of its quests were twice as interesting.

 

Again, I actually really like DAI, but it's not about whether one enjoys the game or not, and saying, "don't like the quests, don't play them."  Said side quests form a significant portion (the majority, perhaps) of the game...any RPG in fact.  Triple-A epic RPGs are rare enough that missing out on one is not an option for RPG fans.  This is about wanting a game that truly is everything it is promised to be.  Want to brag you have a huge, open world RPG with a deep storyline?  Make one in which ALL of the world is actually filled in a meaningful way.

 

I thought the Fallow Mire was actually well done; you're here to save soldiers, you do save soldiers while pacifying the region of demons along the way, and gain an agent in the process. Sure, it has like one quest that's just ''go kill this guy'', but you're not drowning in fetch quests.

 

Crestwood is almost only a longer, involved effort to quell an undead threat while grabbing a keep in passing. The Exalted Plains have you cleanse the area so that Orlesian troops can move it (albeit the Dalish do ask you a couple fetch quests, I personally didn't bother). The Western Approach has few quests, it's mostly about the exploring, grabbing the Keep and doing the main missions in the area. So yes, I find that the quests become more involved as the game goes.

 

And you're not really required to do fetch quests. I accumulate more than enough Power to unlock areas and story missions by doing bigger side quests, while ignoring the boring stuff and requisitions pretty much entirely. The main story alone provides about half the Power you need to move on to the next quest. People have reported finishing the story in less than 30 hours, so the Power requirement is nothing drastic, it's a simple gating like, I don't know, the gold requirement in BG2.

 

Honestly even in the Infinity Engine games the only one I remember that only had involved quests was Planescape: Torment, which is in a league of its own in terms of stories. Thankfully; it sure as hell can't stand up with its combat.

[Praehotec]

I thought the Fallow Mire was actually well done; you're here to save soldiers, you do save soldiers while pacifying the region of demons along the way, and gain an agent in the process. Sure, it has like one quest that's just ''go kill this guy'', but you're not drowning in fetch quests.

 

Crestwood is almost only a longer, involved effort to quell an undead threat while grabbing a keep in passing. The Exalted Plains have you cleanse the area so that Orlesian troops can move it (albeit the Dalish do ask you a couple fetch quests, I personally didn't bother). The Western Approach has few quests, it's mostly about the exploring, grabbing the Keep and doing the main missions in the area. So yes, I find that the quests become more involved as the game goes.

 

And you're not really required to do fetch quests. I accumulate more than enough Power to unlock areas and story missions by doing bigger side quests, while ignoring the boring stuff and requisitions pretty much entirely. The main story alone provides about half the Power you need to move on to the next quest. People have reported finishing the story in less than 30 hours, so the Power requirement is nothing drastic, it's a simple gating like, I don't know, the gold requirement in BG2.

 

Honestly even in the Infinity Engine games the only one I remember that only had involved quests was Planescape: Torment, which is in a league of its own in terms of stories. Thankfully; it sure as hell can't stand up with its combat.

 

The point isn't that we don't want quests (I will probably grind the almost all of the side quests).  The point is that we (I at least) want said side quests to be meaningful, well-fleshed out and detailed.  Too many of the side quests have little preamble text, little to no dialogue, and little indication they have even been completed other than the "quest completed," message.  Even the quest log text does not change upon quest completion.

 

Look to Planescape Torment, or BG2.  For example in BG2, quests like the Unseeing Eye, heck, even the quest where you recover the stuffed bear for the ghost child.  I could list many more examples, and each of them was largely unrelated to the main quest and could be skipped, but were detailed, had involved stories, plenty of dialogue, meaningful decisions, etc.  Which side quests in Hinterlands or Fallow Mire had any of those?  I would argue none, really.

 

Fallow Mire looks fantastic, oozes detail and atmosphere, but has little concrete storyline.  Yes, you go there, kill some monsters on the way, and rescue your soldiers.  How much player dialogue is there?  How many meaningful decisions did you have to make?  How many fully fleshed out and detailed tales did you discover (not simply codex entry stories).  Yes, the people died from some plague.  How is that relevant, how does it tie into the story, other than to provide a backdrop to run around in a creepy swamp?  Why do we loot diseased flesh from the corpses in the swamp?  Can one cure the plague?  Perhaps later in the story this becomes more important, but there is nothing to foreshadow it if that is the case.

 

Sure, you can skip most of the side quests, but why would you want to skip a critical part of an RPG (side quests in many RPGs make up just as much or more of the content than the main story).  The side quests ought to be equally fulfilling as the main story.  DAI is a good game, but one can't help but think that it could have been even better.

[Scerene]

im sorry but this is the most idiotic notion that ive ever heard "dont give the game a bad review" based on the very first area you are pushed into. The hinterlands is supposed to be the introduction to the game and to hook people into the plot. Are you going to go around telling reviewers, "oh dont do the first area of the game, thats not the point". The fact is its a gorgeous place filled with large amount of pointless filler crap. Absolutely nothing felt all that meaningful to me, and its supposed to be the part where i should feel the most engaged. Thats what introductions to games are supposed to be, put forth the best foot forward, make a good first impression. You could argue that prologue is supposed to do this, but it isnt necessary, especially considering the fact that the prologue wasnt that great and very short to boot. The hinterlands was the second chance for the game to make a good impression. Honestly i can see why people would dislike it, and it basically shows you the gist of the game. There are large open spaces to explore but nothing particularly meaningful to find in them storywise. Ive done the stormcoast and parts of the hinterlands and a couple of story missions. The story missions have been great so far, but hours upon hours of filler quests dont feel that interesting to me, and thats the impression that DAI gives me. Its a combination of a MMO and skyrim. Its an absolutely gorgeous world and ive taken my time exploring the storm coast but there is so much busy work in the hinterlands that is very distracting, npcs all over the place begging you to do their pointless crap, and each time you talk to one hoping for something interesting you are asked to do something lame again. So far aside from the story missions and talking to companions i dont feel compelled to talk to anyone else, but feel like i should. Ive had to force myself to ignore large parts of the hinterlands and the game in general  to enjoy it and to me it makes absolutely no sense to suggest to people to just ignore huge chunks of the game so as to not give it a bad review 

[Scerene]

i cant help but feel like they could have condensed the game into fewer but far more meaningful things to do. There was so much potential there for something grand and interesting side quest wise and what does one get? A single player mmo.

[Infini]

I personally loved the Hinterlands, very enchanting place. That said, I do agree with the sentiment.

[DarthSliver]

I don't care for the Hinterlands, I use it for when I need Power Points. 

[RedWulfi]

I got bored so i carried on the plot but now it says I should be level 15 to go xD I'm 11. Aw man. A lot of grinding to do.

[Melca36]

I spent 20 hours in the Hinterlands and enjoyed every second of it -- I found ancient temples, underground rivers, monuments atop mountains and so much more. I dinged lvl7, raised my Influence to lvl3, and acquired 23 points of power all while neutralizing the Mage/Templar war in the region.

 

You'd be crazy to skip all of this content.

 

Exactly.   Its a beautiful area with lots to do and experience. The problem is a great many gamers want instant gratification and everything handed to them. Its why alot of games have been watered down and dumbed down.

[Melca36]

i cant help but feel like they could have condensed the game into fewer but far more meaningful things to do. There was so much potential there for something grand and interesting side quest wise and what does one get? A single player mmo.

 

You want a game in one area and where enemies materialize out of nowhere...you want everything handed to you.  Some of us want our moneys worth and thats what we're getting.

[DavoRaydn]

i just started the game this weekend ( yay for motherboard dying 2 days before launch lol) and i have to admit i am feeling a bit overwehelmed lol. I'm in the hinterlands and my quest log is so full lol and by now i have unlocked  other areas like the stormcoast en fallow mire en some others and I have no idea what should come first. I 'd wish there was some kind of level range so i could have some kind of indication what is the "right"way to go...

 

Or maybe i should just get into "skyrim"mode and do whatever i want ....and run when i encounter enemies i can't defeat lol

[Melca36]

I love Hinterlands, but I'm not staying there all the time. I do side missions and main story in other zones once in a while.

 

Exactly. You can open up new areas. As I said before. People/gamers have gotten lazy and just want everything handed to them.

[Melca36]

I truly think the message of this thread was lost on everyone.

If you like the Hinterlands, this topic does not apply to you.

There are players who hate the Hinterlands and wont leave because they think that is all there is. Because of that, they are giving the game poor reviews.

I hope this makes more sense now. If you're enjoying the Hinterlands, then you won't be giving the game a poor review.

Alright. You may now carry on below, likely ignoring this message.

 

Its absolutely ridiculous is people are assuming the Hinterlands is the only area of the game and it proves how lazy gamers have gotten if they believe that.

[LostLogics]

Thanks! I was starting to get worried I would be unable to complete The Hinterlands seeing that a lot of the mobs are 12+ and I've barely hit 8. Time to head back to the keep and see what else is next!

[GhoXen]

The final quest for Hinterlands was actually pretty glorious. I did leave Hinterlands at a reasonable point, but I'm glad I went back and completed the area 100%. =D

[LostLogics]

Its absolutely ridiculous is people are assuming the Hinterlands is the only area of the game and it proves how lazy gamers have gotten if they believe that.

 

Do they though? Really? I mean, the reason why I've stayed on in Hinterlands for as long as I have came from the idea that I could find and complete the zone, and continue to the next, complete that one, so on and so fourth. Now, having understood that this is not feasible, if at all possible, I adjust my gaming style and approach accordingly

[Scerene]

You want a game in one area and where enemies materialize out of nowhere...you want everything handed to you.  Some of us want our moneys worth and thats what we're getting.

what are you babbling about? everything i described is pretty much the opposite of that. I want an engaging storyline, how you could jump from that to wanting enemies to appear out of thin air, which by the way occurs in DAI too, is beyond me. Several times over the course of the game ive had enemies and enemy camps just magically spawn on top of me. I like the game, its a great game, but 90% of the game consisting of mmo style filler quests isnt my idea of getting my moneys worth. You are projecting what you value on to me. The game is also poorly optimized, suffering from buggy cutscenes and poor fps on high end pcs.