79 réponses à ce sujet

[Shelled]

I'm betting all the meaningful side content went into the time it took to make this completely pointless and disastrous multiplayer mode. Even the multiplayer in mass effect 3 is better than this garbage.

Really bioware? Really? As a gamer I'm done with bioware, they're clueless.

[Xralius]

Obviously you fools haven't played DA:O lately. Even the Halla quest had multiple ways to complete it. The lerium potion delivery even had 2 ways to complete it. And those are the simplist quests in the game. All of the others had richer and more varied interaction than any sidequests in DA:I. Using "more codex" to justify the bland quests is just silly- there was plenty of codex in DA:O.

[Xralius]

An its not even about how many options you have to complete the quests, it's about atmosphere and interaction. DA:O crushes DA:I in this regard.

[Rylo151]

You guys should go back and play DAO and see how much more alive the world is even though it looks like crap, more people to interact with with REAL conversations, even the unimportant people had more to say than the side quests in this game.

[Schmonozov]

Nowhere to be found, instead of meaningful sidequests they took a ''fill the game with as many fetch-quests and pointless chores as we can'' approach, this makes me worry for the next mass effect game.

 

Not to mention this is probably the shortest mainstory of any bioware game so far if you exclude all these pointless chores, if you put no level-requirement and made the mobs scale to your level in the main quests the game would be ridicoulously short (sub-4 hours)

 

Lack of cutscenes and how they ''skyrim-ized'' the dialogues for most of the sidequests is also a major gripe I have with the game.

[shubnabub]

You guys should go back and play DAO and see how much more alive the world is even though it looks like crap, more people to interact with with REAL conversations, even the unimportant people had more to say than the side quests in this game.

DAO felt like one continuous experience, from sidequests to main quest. DAI feels like...Here's the main quest, and here's the theme park full of loot and fetch quests.

[Fizzie Panda]

TBH there's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much reading in this game, I often find myself complaining about a lack of story content

[Shelled]

TBH there's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much reading in this game, I often find myself complaining about a lack of story content

That's the problem. The actual story missions are short as hell and the majority of the game is just roaming through these large areas doing grind-quests....

[Fizzie Panda]

That's the problem. The actual story missions are short as hell and the majority of the game is just roaming through these large areas doing grind-quests....

Exactly! I thought it was just me too.

 

I've been doing so many side quests saving the story, knowing deep down there's not a lot left.

I honestly can't believe this is the game I've been waiting for.

[scrutinizer]

Nowhere to be found, instead of meaningful sidequests they took a ''fill the game with as many fetch-quests and pointless chores as we can'' approach, this makes me worry for the next mass effect game.

Then do not buy the next mass effect game. It is the only meaningful response to Bioware practices, and the only way to make a difference. If we keep buying their subpar products and accepting them (which we do by shelling out quite a sum for one game), they are going to continue making subpar products (why would they care to put forth some actual effort?). As long as the money keeps flowing... 

I have seen so many concers like yours and regrets over buying DAI on this forum, yet I have a feeling most of the haters are still gonna buy whatever Bioware throws next. 

I'm happy I resisted the hype and did not fall for the developer's lies. It saved me an equivalent of 70$ and, more importantly, my nerves.

Peace.

[Rylo151]

I just played DAO for a little bit, during the werewolf mission i came across a phylactery in a side room, it explained how it is an ancient elven warrior who has been trapped inside it for centuries and just wants to be released into the afterlife, then you are given multiple options of what to do with it. first you can learn more about it, and learn it can teach you the secrets of the arcane warriors (unlocking the specialization for you as well) if you set it free by finding the alter to release it. If morrigan is with you you can ask her if it is dangerous or not. 

 

Possible outcomes:

 

1.set it free to the afterlife

2. walk away

3. learn its secrets and set it free

4 learn its secrets and dont destroy it

5. keep it for yourself

 

for just a random distraction on a mission it had more choice, backstory and cutscenes than anything this game offers

[Rylo151]

just walked into a "town" and could talk to literally no one, but found 10 or more codex entries, thats good right?

[Suhiira]

You may note there are exactly zero non-combat skills in this game.

You may also note you have very limited control over your character stats (which are determined by the combat skills you select).

 

Unfortunately it seems Bioware has given up on character-centric games in terms of stats/skills.

Yes there are still dialog options which I guess is all that's necessary for it to be classed as a RPG.

[MonarchX]

Oh please! Why are so many people complaining about "Go there and do this" side-quests? What other type of side-quests do you expect? All RPG's have such quests, whether they are part of the main plot or simple side-quests. Heck, crafting alone needs a ton of material pick ups, but its fun and the result is rewarding.

 

With all that said, I do agree that there is a lot of side-questing that is simply un-rewarding. This is why there are these complaints. Its not that "Do this over there!" quests are banal, but the content behind them is boring. There is no reason to do many of these side-quests other than the side-quest itself, which can be pretty lame by itself.

 

I kept telling developers over and over and over and OVER again how to get it right. To make side-quests meaningful, you must have 2 important factors:

1. Put effort into creating plots and stories behind them, not just a few lines here and there. \

2. Make them seem as if optional, but actually make them mandatory by making main quests hard or lacking some cool content of choices if side-quests are not performed. Make people do side-quests to level up, so they can actually progress further into the game. Don't let them do just one side-quest, but several. Its OK - they might not like it at first, but if those side-quests have great plots and stories, the 1st factor I mentioned, then players will feel rewarded! Another way is warn that player that if such and such quests are not performed, then someone un-cool or less-cool events will not occur. Maybe saving 10 villages that you didn't have to save will make some bad guy drop his sword as he runs away during the battle because one of the villagers has excellent bow skills and makes his enemies quit their jobs by shooting arrows in their knees! These are just example off the top of my head.

 

Get creative, BioWare - you used to do it all back in the day, but now you've been wasting time pursuing profits at the cost of quality content! Do both, like CD Project Red - best RPG developer ever since the original Witcher!

[MonarchX]

side quests and the companions quests are far superior to anything we have been giving in any prior DA game, the content of a single companion is probably double that of 2 companions from previous DA games if not more.

 

you dont need to do every side quest, i would actually recommend not doing so, roleplay your character its a damn rpg for makers sake, pick and choose what side quests compliment your character and do them, i did that on my first play through and got to lvl 20 pretty easy and thats more than enough to complete the main story.

 

problem im seeing with ppl on these boards is there to used to the linear of DA:O and DA2 an have zero idea what to do with a semi-open world game 

 

No, I think that people complain of content. You can have 1000s of side-quests and the game can still be very linear! Non-linear means that you can change the course of the main story, where choice A will take you on a very different patch than choice B. Side-quests can contribute, but they aren't what makes the game linear or non-linear. Reviews say that this game is non-linear and your choice greatly change the way game content is shaped. I sure hope so!

[Taura-Tierno]

So all I have to do to get to them is play for about three games worth of time. Very well, then. 

 

On a more serious note - if a game isn't able to produce a single interesting side quest in 15 hours of game time (and apparently 15 more), I think any criticism regarding side quests is valid.

 

If they're there later on, great. But spreading out content like that does feel like a quantity over quality approach. That being said - the main plot still gets better with every additional quest and it was already off to a great start.

During my first 15 hours of gameplay: 

* Found Astrariums with nice puzzles and an interesting rewards. 
* Saved a village from warring templars/mages. 
* Helped farmers get rid of demonic wolves. 
* Fought off a band of bandits, which resulted in access to a high dragon. 
* Found an ancient elven artifact for Solas. 
* Did a lot of (completely voluntary) exploring, finding neat little areas, caves, dungeons, forts and other non-quest related things, because I like exploration. 
* Did a lot of talking with companions, etc. 

That is aside from recruiting all companions, finding and siding with the mages, doing the Haven battle. 

During the next 10 or so hours: 

* Tracked down the Grey Wardens. Along the way, saved a village from undead and demons, discovered something interesting things about the mayor, claimed a fortress that had people to talk to inside, saw some epic things happening (dragon fighting a giant). A lot of exploration as well. 
* More or less completely explored the Western Approach. 
* Found an ancient Warden temple/stronghold occupied by Venatori that had some great loot. 

* Took a Grey Warden stronghold and claimed it for my own. Helped the soliders there out a lot, by figthing off monsters from their water supply and tracked down and eliminated darkspawn. 
* Found a dracologist who had some pretty interesting things to say, and helped him hunt down a high dragon. 

Also spent what felt like quite a few hours just chatting people up in Skyhold. And did some major quests like Adamant Fortress, that were pretty relevant. 

In the end, I think it's a result of them trying to satisfy those who wanted a less linear game (DA:O was extremely linear, despite it's epicness), while trying to strike a balance with having a story- and character-driven game. Did they do it perfectly? No. I do agree that side-quests had some more substance overall in DA:O. There could certainly have been deeper dialogues in many side-quests in DA:I. 

 

The more choices, the less substance they will have, or the more expensive it'll get. It's like DA2, you know? No races meant more focus on family and background (in DA:O race and background generally mattered very little aside from the Origin mission, with a few notable exceptions). 

If you would rather have a strongly linear game that's extremely deep and rich in detail all the way, that is fine. I like those games too. But I like more open games as well, and I see nothing wrong with Bioware trying to take Dragon Age down that path either. Especially since the main story here is a whole lot better than Skyrim, and it's still much more character-focused.

 

 

Nowhere to be found, instead of meaningful sidequests they took a ''fill the game with as many fetch-quests and pointless chores as we can'' approach, this makes me worry for the next mass effect game.

 

Not to mention this is probably the shortest mainstory of any bioware game so far if you exclude all these pointless chores, if you put no level-requirement and made the mobs scale to your level in the main quests the game would be ridicoulously short (sub-4 hours)

 

Lack of cutscenes and how they ''skyrim-ized'' the dialogues for most of the sidequests is also a major gripe I have with the game.

But that's like saying "oh if I could cheat my way to the final level and have all the gear this game would be over very shortly". 

[Rylo151]

you can say you did all this interesting stuff but nearly all of them involve you reading some random codex entry, then magically knowing where and going to the map marker, either killing something or picking something up and then quest is over

[Nefla]

Agreed. Though I find the main story and companion quests to be utterly awesome, I'm so disappointed that all the random "sidequests" are so boring, meaningless, and basically a chore. Since they took inspiration from Skyrim, I wish they would have taken inspiration from the Skyrim faction storylines: fun, engaging, lore enhancing optional storylines.

[Rylo151]

I dont see the comparison to skyrim, even the fetch quests in that game had you going to dungeons and talking to people, never was there any quest "collect 25 shards randomly placed around the world for seemingly no reason at all".

And sure you got a few quests from reading about something in a book but they usually led to more interesring stuff, half the quests in this game involve you reading a codex then collecting stuff.

[Schmonozov]

During my first 15 hours of gameplay: 

* Found Astrariums with nice puzzles and an interesting rewards. 
* Saved a village from warring templars/mages. 
* Helped farmers get rid of demonic wolves. 
* Fought off a band of bandits, which resulted in access to a high dragon. 
* Found an ancient elven artifact for Solas. 
* Did a lot of (completely voluntary) exploring, finding neat little areas, caves, dungeons, forts and other non-quest related things, because I like exploration. 
* Did a lot of talking with companions, etc. 

That is aside from recruiting all companions, finding and siding with the mages, doing the Haven battle. 

During the next 10 or so hours: 

* Tracked down the Grey Wardens. Along the way, saved a village from undead and demons, discovered something interesting things about the mayor, claimed a fortress that had people to talk to inside, saw some epic things happening (dragon fighting a giant). A lot of exploration as well. 
* More or less completely explored the Western Approach. 
* Found an ancient Warden temple/stronghold occupied by Venatori that had some great loot. 

* Took a Grey Warden stronghold and claimed it for my own. Helped the soliders there out a lot, by figthing off monsters from their water supply and tracked down and eliminated darkspawn. 
* Found a dracologist who had some pretty interesting things to say, and helped him hunt down a high dragon. 

Also spent what felt like quite a few hours just chatting people up in Skyhold. And did some major quests like Adamant Fortress, that were pretty relevant. 

In the end, I think it's a result of them trying to satisfy those who wanted a less linear game (DA:O was extremely linear, despite it's epicness), while trying to strike a balance with having a story- and character-driven game. Did they do it perfectly? No. I do agree that side-quests had some more substance overall in DA:O. There could certainly have been deeper dialogues in many side-quests in DA:I. 

 

The more choices, the less substance they will have, or the more expensive it'll get. It's like DA2, you know? No races meant more focus on family and background (in DA:O race and background generally mattered very little aside from the Origin mission, with a few notable exceptions). 

If you would rather have a strongly linear game that's extremely deep and rich in detail all the way, that is fine. I like those games too. But I like more open games as well, and I see nothing wrong with Bioware trying to take Dragon Age down that path either. Especially since the main story here is a whole lot better than Skyrim, and it's still much more character-focused.

 

 

But that's like saying "oh if I could cheat my way to the final level and have all the gear this game would be over very shortly". 

 

No it isn't if I rushed the mainstory in any other bioware game it would take significantly longer to complete.

[Kantr]

How about saving everyone in Burning Haven? Getting soldiers back, talking to the Avaar guy and a whole load of side quests that send you down a rabbit hole of info.

[MiyoKit]

I dont see the comparison to skyrim, even the fetch quests in that game had you going to dungeons and talking to people, never was there any quest "collect 25 shards randomly placed around the world for seemingly no reason at all".

And sure you got a few quests from reading about something in a book but they usually led to more interesring stuff, half the quests in this game involve you reading a codex then collecting stuff.

 

The shards are to unlock doors in the Oasis... Also Skyrim did have boring collect quests - loads of them, in fact. I don't think anyone actually plays Skyrim for the story .

[Shared]

You may note there are exactly zero non-combat skills in this game.

You may also note you have very limited control over your character stats (which are determined by the combat skills you select).

 

Unfortunately it seems Bioware has given up on character-centric games in terms of stats/skills.

Yes there are still dialog options which I guess is all that's necessary for it to be classed as a RPG.

 

Acutally you can get several non combat skills from the inqusition perks. Including some that gives you more reply options in conversatsion.