1664 réponses à ce sujet

[Lilacs]

Sounding like a hater? No. You are giving a company you love 'tough' love.  You've given concise constructive criticism and you've given ideas on how to enhance the game.  I've read your posts and responses. I agree with many of them. I'm quoting this post for your four points below and generating health while idle.  DA II had many great mechanics that could have worked beautifully in Inquisition.  We were informed that it would be a mix of the two previous games.  Now we have no reason to not believe that it wouldn't be so.  This is a beloved company. Why shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt?

 

I read a couple of days ago that we have Dragon Age: Inquisition in its current state due to platform issues.  Because Bioware released Inquisition on Old gen platform: x-box 360 and PS3, many of the contents were not included due to those two platforms limitations.  If that is the case then, Bioware shouldn’t release Inquisition on those two platforms, period.  The game should have been released on X-box one, PS4 and PC.  However, choosing to release the game on all five platforms simultaneously or concurrently some things would surely go wrong. Bioware has been silent on things. All the company had to do was to inform us of those shortcomings or major problems, for instance: " KEEPS and Strongholds, impacting the environment via our actions, could not be implemented into the game and as a result t those contents will not be included.  Nevertheless, be assured those contents could come your way via patches or DLC’s or even an expansion after the release of the game."  (An example of this is from CD Projekt Red.  The Developers spoke to its fan-base and informed them of an extended delayed to their upcoming: Witcher: Wild Hunt,)

 

I’m certain most fans would understand, and thus save a backlash outpour.  Conversely, if it is due to time constraint that those promised goodies can't be implemented, inform us, your loyal fans. I’m certain again; most of us will say take your time.  If Dragon Age: Inquisition has been delayed,  or the current delayed was amended and thus extended,  and though we fans desired to ‘get’ our hands on this beauty, we would wait. Dragon Age: Inquisition was sold to me via the demo, where the female Qunari was introduced to us. I learned about how we would be able to impact the environment and making hard decisions, and capture Keeps.  Being a medieval enthusiast, I saw stars.  I was ecstatic! World of Warcraft was introducing something similar for their new expansion. Yes, I wanted to wield that type of power; I wanted to be “an infamous Inquisitor” who places terror and fear in the hearts of warlords in Thedas.

 

I’m a long time Bioware fan. I love the company and its games, ME 2, slightly less so. From Baldur’s Gates to Dragon Age: Inquisition, I remained a steadfast fan. I always give the benefit of the doubt and keep an open mind. I’m still on my first play-through. I have an ON-OFF relationship with Inquisition. The game is breathtaking for certain and they are many great things in it. I will finish my first play-through and I will give my review, but in between actually playing inquisition: I explore its stunning world (I have tons of photos to add to the gallery on my blog.) =).

 

 

You're probably right. Like I said, I haven't actually played Dark Souls so I'm not in a position to judge.

 

Inquisition's combat system could have worked. This is all that BioWare had to do:

1. Use the DA2 combat system as a base (it employed good AI, comprehensive tactical options, and it gave you precise control over your party members).

 

2. Get rid of DA2's over-the-top animations; slow the combat down a bit and give it more of Origins' weight and believability. 

 

3. Get rid of DA2's magically materializing waves of enemies.

 

4. Reintroduce the tactical camera from Origins.

 

5. Sure, give players the option to hold down the right trigger to attack, if they'd rather play on normal difficulty and let the AI control their team-mates. But don't get rid of autoattack. Maker give me strength! When BioWare does things like that it leads me to the unhappy conclusion that they're completely out of touch with what their core fans want.

 

In other words, create a combat system that incorporates the best elements of Origins' and DA2's systems. Would that really have been so difficult?

No, it wouldn't. BioWare made it difficult for themselves by trying to simplify everything to appeal to casual gamers.

 

The result is a combat system that makes would-be tactical gamers throw their hands in the air and say, "Bugger it! We'll play this your way."

 

*Throws playbook and common sense out of the nearest window. Picks up/plugs in controller.*

 

"LEEEEEEEEEEROY, JENKINS!" lol.

P.S. I should add that non-regenerating health was also a bad idea, because, not only does it add to the tedium of an already tedious game by forcing you to fast-travel back to camp, but it makes you feel like a failure after every battle, no matter how well you did (unless you come away completely unscathed, which is rare).

In DA2, if I won a battle with only Hawke left standing on twenty percent of health, I felt like William Wallace, because a win is a win is a win ... and now all of my characters are up and kicking again. In your face, Qunari tyrants!

 

In DA:I, if I clear out of group of Templars with only my Inquisitor left alive, and zero potions remaining, I feel like a loser who should have done better. 

Non-regenerating health could  have been good if combat had been more tactical. But, in Inquisition, you often feel as though there's not very much you can do to prevent your party from getting themselves hurt, so the system is unrewarding. When your party members swig several of your potions, you often feel cheated by the poor AI instead of feeling like you could have fought better.

P.P.S. Erm ... have I mentioned lately that I love virtually everything about KOTOR, Jade Empire, ME 1 and 2, and DA: Origins? Just thought I'd remind y'all because I'm starting to sound a lot like a hater. 

 

Also ... thank you Internet, for providing a place that an English person can say "y'all" without sounding ridiculous. lol

 

[durengo]

 

There are no useful rewards in the Temple, none at all. Generic weapons are useless, generic armor is useless, generic rings as well. Money at that point in the game are also useless, because if you are collecting the shards, it also means you are visiting pretty much every place. Those materials for crafting runes are the only items of value (now more than ever without dupe glitch).

 

Yeah, Arishok's Vitaar is the best in slot vitaar, but it comes so late in the game, that it is useless too. You had to collect all the shards for it, which means you are pretty much done with the game. What in the game is left? Corypheus, who is laughably easy. Maybe some dragons, which by that point are easy too. Maybe some skipped content that is 5 and more levels below you... Do you see the point? The final rewards from the Temple comes so late in the game, that there is no place left to use them. Compare that to SWTOR, where you will use your increased stats every day if you keep playing it, which you, unlike in the case of DAI, can.

the arishok vitaar could be useful for the next story expanions or dlc.but aside that .. there are no other useful rewards in the temple? maybe not in your game. i found blue and violett/purple daggers and bows there.. also purple rings and mighty runes also  a lot of money.

 

about that this all comes so late in the game.....like the new storage chests and the black emporium too.

like the option to change the armor color .

well...too late or not too late.....either way it is enjoyable.

 

and useful into the next story expansion.

[Jeffry]

and useful into the next story expansion.

Only if the content of those DLCs will scale to player's level and not have a set level like almost the entire game.

Also about any potential purple/blue weapons you might have found, they can be useful if you found them in the first, maybe second chamber. In the late game there are only 2 or 3 purple weapons that almost match those you can craft, none of them is found in the Temple. The temple is really badly done, it had so much potential for being an incredibly interesting and worthy side content, right now it is a time sink with useful rewards for the first half of the game only.

[DWareFan]

I find this post quite interesting as some of your thoughts are mine.

 

Skyrim was awesome because you didn't even have to do the main quest.  You could explore vast dungeons/caves and get so much lore about the Falmir and dwemers.  I was lost in just that, 900 hrs and I never finished the game.

 

DAI gives you beautiful environments, but where are my caves to explore, my dwarven ruins, the wonder of the lore that I'm not getting through the codex.  It's not there.  I give DAI a 4/10 for that.

 

In Skyrim, you expect that you're going to be exploring alone, that is the great fun of it.  You alone will fight those dwemer artifacts or the Falmir.  In DAI, you feel like you are all alone even though you have companions.  I too love Bioware games, but they really did not do a good job with the companion banter in this game.  There is far too little of it.  Companions should be talking to each other if not to the PC.  I give DAI 5/10 for that.

 

The main story and romances is where this story shines, 9/10 for that.  It's a shame because I find it very hard to get interested in the main story when I have to get to a certain level through boring side quests. 

 

I will continue to pick away at it and only bought it because my son loves it and asked me to play, but I wistfully wish for a compilation of DAO and DA2.  I did not want a watered down Skyrim.

[durengo]

Also about any potential purple/blue weapons you might have found, they can be useful if you found them in the first, maybe second chamber. In the late game there are only 2 or 3 purple weapons that almost match those you can craft, none of them is found in the Temple. The temple is really badly done, it had so much potential for being an incredibly interesting and worthy side content, right now it is a time sink with useful rewards for the first half of the game only.

ok....

 

i found a dagger there.. the dagger looks awesome...i can't craft the same dagger because i didn't have the schematic.i love how the dagger looks like and i wanna use it.i don't know but it could be a unique weapon.

 

not all player like to craft items anyways... why should they do that if they are able to find the items they wanna have into the temple?

not all player like to pick up ressources to be able to craft items...why should they do that if they are able to find the items they wanna have into the temple?

 

what about the gold? can you craft the gold? but you can find a lot of gold into the temple... and with that you can buy whatever you like to have.maybe rare items.

 

can you craft the arishok vitaar ? no ! well ...no problem because you can loot it into the temple.it's a unique item.

 

 You had to collect all the shards for it, which means you are pretty much done with the game. What in the game is left? Corypheus, who is laughably easy. Maybe some dragons, which by that point are easy too. Maybe some skipped content that is 5 and more levels below you... Do you see the point? The final rewards from the Temple comes so late in the game, that there is no place left to use them. Compare that to SWTOR, where you will use your increased stats every day if you keep playing it, which you, unlike in the case of DAI, can.

What in the game is left?????

....all what you skipped before and that could be much...

as example: sidequests... maybe romances...companion missions... dragons....conquer a fortress...and so on.

 

if i compare that to swtor and the holocrons ....

i know many people they skipped the holocron pick up part ..

they just play without increased stats. you wanna know why?

because the holocron pick up part is frustrating and you get nothing what you could use.

it doesn't matter if your stats are increased or not.

 

but it does matter if you get a awesome item that could be used for fights .

 

i love my dagger.

 

it does matter if you get a  item who is awesome only because of the look.

[ButterBreadBro]

Sounding like a hater? No. You are giving a company you love 'tough' love.  You've given concise constructive criticism and you've given ideas on how to enhance the game.  I've read your posts and responses. I agree with many of them. I'm quoting this post for your four points below and generating health while idle.  DA II had many great mechanics that could have worked beautifully in Inquisition.  We were informed that it would be a mix of the two previous games.  Now we have no reason to not believe that it wouldn't be so.  This is a beloved company. Why shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt?

 

I read a couple of days ago that we have Dragon Age: Inquisition in its current state due to platform issues.  Because Bioware released Inquisition on Old gen platform: x-box 360 and PS3, many of the contents were not included due to those two platforms limitations.  If that is the case then, Bioware shouldn’t release Inquisition on those two platforms, period.  The game should have been released on X-box one, PS4 and PC.  However, choosing to release the game on all five platforms simultaneously or concurrently some things would surely go wrong. Bioware has been silent on things. All the company had to do was to inform us of those shortcomings or major problems, for instance: " KEEPS and Strongholds, impacting the environment via our actions, could not be implemented into the game and as a result t those contents will not be included.  Nevertheless, be assured those contents could come your way via patches or DLC’s or even an expansion after the release of the game."  (An example of this is from CD Projekt Red.  The Developers spoke to its fan-base and informed them of an extended delayed to their upcoming: Witcher: Wild Hunt,)

 

I’m certain most fans would understand, and thus save a backlash outpour.  Conversely, if it is due to time constraint that those promised goodies can't be implemented, inform us, your loyal fans. I’m certain again; most of us will say take your time.  If Dragon Age: Inquisition has been delayed,  or the current delayed was amended and thus extended,  and though we fans desired to ‘get’ our hands on this beauty, we would wait. Dragon Age: Inquisition was sold to me via the demo, where the female Qunari was introduced to us. I learned about how we would be able to impact the environment and making hard decisions, and capture Keeps.  Being a medieval enthusiast, I saw stars.  I was ecstatic! World of Warcraft was introducing something similar for their new expansion. Yes, I wanted to wield that type of power; I wanted to be “an infamous Inquisitor” who places terror and fear in the hearts of warlords in Thedas.

 

[...]

 

I did not know that the game was released this way as a result of technical limitations on older consoles before; though I think, I could have guessed as much. Thanks for sharing anyway.

 

Now I freely admit to having no idea about game designing but regarding the problem of releasing DA:I on the old consoles, would it have been impossible to leave the features out for versions of the game on older platforms, whilst including them for the newer ones ?

 

Another possibility might have been to release the game on older platforms first; continue the developement on features that had to be left out due to techinical restrictions before and release a second version for next-gen consoles and PC after that. ( I personally would favor the first possibility over the secon; yet they both seem better to me than simply reducing the game to the lowest common denominator..)

 

As long as those restrictions for certain versions of the game releases were communicated clearly, it appears to me that this might have given everyone the chance to play the game without limiting those with better systems.

 

Again, I have absolutely no experience with the process of making a video game, especially not a big one like DA:I, so if I'm simply too naive in my ideas, please do tell.

 

the arishok vitaar could be useful for the next story expanions or dlc.but aside that .. there are no other useful rewards in the temple? maybe not in your game. i found blue and violett/purple daggers and bows there.. also purple rings and mighty runes also  a lot of money.

 

about that this all comes so late in the game.....like the new storage chests and the black emporium too.

like the option to change the armor color .

well...too late or not too late.....either way it is enjoyable.

 

and useful into the next story expansion.

 

First, I cannot judge the game as it is now based on a possible future story expansion so even if the loot i found came in handy in that regard, I cannot give DA:I credit for that as it is right now,

 

Secondly and this is just me personally, I did find neither picking up shards to be very enjoyable, nor did I experience unlocking doors with said shards to be particularly exciting. I was not excited about the loot but did not mind it that much either; since after opening the last door I had already explored every zone and killed every dragon so I did not really need it.

 

The only reason I collected all the shards in the first place was because I found the codex entry for the first glowing skull to be intriguing and was expecting some kind of big revelation behind the last locked door, that would make sense of it all. Instead, I got to face yet another demon, which was not even particularly strong.

 

So while you might have somehow found it to be "enjoyable either way", for me it was one of the game's biggest let-downs and very disappointing overall.

Should I play through the game again, I most certainly will not bother with shards anymore.

 

The shard quest is DA:I in miniature. Lots of work, lots of wasted time and potential and in the end nothing awaits you but an irrelevant reward and disappointment.

 

That sums up my personaly evaluation of it pretty perfectly.

[AlanC9]

Now I freely admit to having no idea about game designing but regarding the problem of releasing DA:I on the old consoles, would it have been impossible to leave the features out for versions of the game on older platforms, whilst including them for the newer ones ?

Depends on the feature. A purely cosmetic function can be cut easily enough; see, for instance, scars. But if it's gameplay or plot critical, you can't just cut it, you have to replace it with something else. And then test that something else, and so on.

[Lee T]

Now I freely admit to having no idea about game designing but regarding the problem of releasing DA:I on the old consoles, would it have been impossible to leave the features out for versions of the game on older platforms, whilst including them for the newer ones ?

The only exemples that comes to my mind are Splinter Cell Double Agent for original Wbox and 360 and Assassin's Creed Rogue and Unity. Both sets of game were released between generations and Ubisoft's solution has been to release two completely different games using the best they could of each generations (Double Agent had day levels in the next gen one and not on the previous gen for exemple).

So while you might have somehow found it to be "enjoyable either way", for me it was one of the game's biggest let-downs and very disappointing overall.

That's the crux of the issue. We may spout facts, numbers, contest "truth" and accuse of "lies", in the end all that matter is our own perception and how much fun we had playing the game. That is where the truth lies to each of us.

Clearly some of us enjoyed it and some of us didn't. I think that Bioware should focus on the fact that most of us on both sides of this deebate enjoyed their previous games, and think about what they did or didn't do this time that creates this schism. There has to be a way for Bioware to make a game most of us enjoy, they did it before.

[Rawgrim]

the arishok vitaar could be useful for the next story expanions or dlc.but aside that .. there are no other useful rewards in the temple? maybe not in your game. i found blue and violett/purple daggers and bows there.. also purple rings and mighty runes also  a lot of money.

 

about that this all comes so late in the game.....like the new storage chests and the black emporium too.

like the option to change the armor color .

well...too late or not too late.....either way it is enjoyable.

 

and useful into the next story expansion.

 

And how would a blue\purple\violet dagger enhance the story in the next expansion, exactly?

[ButterBreadBro]

The only exemples that comes to my mind are Splinter Cell Double Agent for original Wbox and 360 and Assassin's Creed Rogue and Unity. Both sets of game were released between generations and Ubisoft's solution has been to release two completely different games using the best they could of each generations (Double Agent had day levels in the next gen one and not on the previous gen for exemple).

 
Having played neither of these games, I'd be interested in how they were preceived by their respective communities and whether or not there being two different versions of them was a frequent point of critique.
 

That's the crux of the issue. We may spout facts, numbers, contest "truth" and accuse of "lies", in the end all that matter is our own perception and how much fun we had playing the game. That is where the truth lies to each of us.

Clearly some of us enjoyed it and some of us didn't. I think that Bioware should focus on the fact that most of us on both sides of this deebate enjoyed their previous games, and think about what they did or didn't do this time that creates this schism. There has to be a way for Bioware to make a game most of us enjoy, they did it before.

 
I agree with the core of that statement, I do however think that it is both possible and perhaps even helpful for the developement of future installments in the series, to pinpoint exactly which part we did or did not like and why.
 
Because while I did enjoy Dragon Age: Inquisition as a whole it made some changes compared to its predecessors, which made the game less enjpyable for me and which I hope not to see in future releases.

 

Spoiler

For me personally these would be:

• Large zones filled with sidequests, that were not bound in by enough meaningful narrative and thus often felt like filler quests.
• Ungratifying ending with unchallenging bossfight.
• After-credit cutscene that made the whole story experienced that far seem like a teaser for sequels and/or DLC.
• Too grand scope of the storyline. (I personally felt a little lost and alienated from the world as head of an international military organisation like the Inquisition and would prefer to just be part of or lead a group of adventurers.
• Parts of the storyline being locked behind otherwise unrelated side-content.
• Little influence of the different character arcs on each other, the game world or the main plot.
• Combat system felt indecisive on which genre to cater to.
• Less meaningful variance in dialogue choices with siginifacant impact on either the game world or the story.

 

Note again, that these are mistakes that the game made for me personally and may be well-liked amongst other fans.

[Lee T]

Having played neither of these games, I'd be interested in how they were preceived by their respective communities and whether or not there being two different versions of them was a frequent point of critique.

I do not remember anything worth noting (They were clever with Double Agent though as the xbox version was playable on 360 too). 
 

I agree with the core of that statement, I do however think that it is both possible and perhaps even helpful for the developement of future installments in the series, to pinpoint exactly which part we did or did not like and why.

 
Indeed and we should voice the things we liked and the things we didn't like. I just wanted to point out that way too many post in that thread (and others) are about people denying each other's perceptions which doesn't bring much to the debate (since it's not a debate really).

[wicked cool]

My solution
Release a enhanced edition for next gen/pc. As a 360 player the game the game is 2 flawed to fix
Have the enhanced edition
1 add in the features you wanted in the base game
2 add a fun dungeon to boring areas such as stormcoast
3 add npcs with cutscenes to existing areas
4 add a town here or there with a tavern and store
5 give bandit bos's/templar bosses personality.

Doesnt have to be a skyrim clone. Take ideas from diablo or kingdom of amalur etc to add depth.
Playing diablo the other night and i realized dai combat reminds me a little of diablo
You have cooldowns and limits on weaponchoices depending on class. What dai needs is more of what diablo/dao and fallout did. You need monsters to emerge from coffins or come out of broken walls etc. you need some golems to activate and traps . You need more instances of tge evy demon encounter. Bring back the monster from the heas mage in da2. Go to nexus mods and check out fun FAN made quests and wake up to the fact tgat some of these are more fun tgan your side quests

[Rawgrim]

 

Some of you might be interested in this video. There is some great bit from around 21 minutes into the vid, and onwards. The points he makes there is what newer Bioware games just seem to miss.

[zyntifox]

Interesting link Rawgrim, haven't seen that one. Gonna listen to it now, can't wait for Torment!

[Morroian]

You're probably right. Like I said, I haven't actually played Dark Souls so I'm not in a position to judge.

 

Inquisition's combat system could have worked. This is all that BioWare had to do:

1. Use the DA2 combat system as a base (it employed good AI, comprehensive tactical options, and it gave you precise control over your party members).

 

2. Get rid of DA2's over-the-top animations; slow the combat down a bit and give it more of Origins' weight and believability. 

 

3. Get rid of DA2's magically materializing waves of enemies.

 

4. Reintroduce the tactical camera from Origins.

 

This is pretty much spot on.

[SwobyJ]

 

Some of you might be interested in this video. There is some great bit from around 21 minutes into the vid, and onwards. The points he makes there is what newer Bioware games just seem to miss.

 

Backed it and so looking forward to its release. No rush, but looking forward to it.

[levyjl1988]

What do you expect when you start making a game too open world. It loses the pacing and importance of the world. The game is so stretched out one can simply forget what they did in a prior mission because the fluff is way more than the meat. 

[ButterBreadBro]

What do you expect when you start making a game too open world. It loses the pacing and importance of the world. The game is so stretched out one can simply forget what they did in a prior mission because the fluff is way more than the meat. 

 

I expect a game series that I have known so far for exactly not losing its story, to not make that mistake in the transition to an open world game.

[9TailsFox]

I expect a game series that I have known so far for exactly not losing its story, to not make that mistake in the transition to an open world game.

I never wanted transition to open world. I have more fun in DA2 by taking care my cave, than in huge empty and boring maps of DA:I.

[Fireheart]

58 pages... damn, I gotta get in on this lol.

 

I've began thinking that maybe the reason the game's main story is so short is because, you know how they were working on Exalted March for da2? Then they decided to cancel it and focus on the next game in the series, a new main game. Gaider also stated that some elements from the expansion are present in dai. Recently, I've thought that maybe dai IS the expansion? Awakening, for me, I finished iirc somewhere 25-30 hours. The main story in dai is what, 10-20 hours? I have a pt where I started the templar mission at 23 hours (10 of which were spent wandering the Hinterlands) and by the time I got to Corypheus, I was at 40 hours. It took me 17 hours to go from the early-game templar mission to the final story mission. I recently started a new playthrough where I just completed the Templar mission at 8 hours. dao and da2 both took me 60 hours+.

 

I think that dai IS Exalted March, what they did was make a couple changes since Hawke would no longer be the protagonist, and no previous companions besides Varric would be coming back. The length of the game adds evidence to my claims. But in order to make the game seem more like a full, main game in the series, they needed to make it bigger, add some extra hours to the play time, so they made all these fetch quests to give players something to do, and added the Power system to force players to do the extra content so they wouldn't notice how short and small the game really is if they only stuck with the main quests. Also kind of explains the lack of side quests where you can RP your character. Awakening had a few such quests, like did you have the guards defend the farmlands or the city (I think)? But still not as much as Origins. Looking back at dai, it really smacks of expansion pack, just with a couple add-ons and switch-arounds.

 

Also, there is a new interview Mike Laidlaw which STRONGLY implies [re: confirms] that the game being put on last gen systems had something to do with how dai turned out.

Spoiler

One problem the team did have to tackle was maintaining Inquisition's simultaneous development across five platforms, including two console generations.

"We established fairly early on we would maintain gameplay parity. Visually, obviously, we knew there would be differences - if there wasn't then we'd have severely missed our mark. PC is a powerhouse now, PS4 and Xbox One have the benefit of a decade of hardware development." The PS3 and Xbox 360 in comparison have "memory limitations", Laidlaw continues, but sometimes the limitations lead to new ideas.

"Yes we could have had more enemies on screen, but instead we were able to think about how we could have enemies that work together - buffing each other, for example. Was there a potential for us, if we went beyond Gen 3, to go further? Sure, but we have to build a game that we are able to ship in the box."

Sections of the game were adjusted as a result, as it became clear that some ideas were not going to work as originally planned. A version of the game demoed at PAX Prime in 2013, around a year before the game's final release, showed hints of a war simulation system, where players would have to focus on building up and maintaining military strength around their captured keeps. "We had to do some changes," Laidlaw admits. "That was something where we had a good working prototype but we hit a snag due to the technical limitations on it. Having multiple forces fighting works fine on PC but you end up in a situation where having realistic-feeling war on the older consoles is exceedingly challenging."

The game used to feature more environmental destruction, too, and a greater number of options for solving missions. Boats could be burnt and bridges collapsed to affect the strength of enemy forces. These items were cut based "a little bit [on the last-gen] platforms, a little bit about the flow of the gameplay," Laidlaw adds. "We didn't want to build a military campaign simulator and have one zone riddled with that but others that don't have keeps be different - we wanted a consistency across the game.

"So it was about recognising the things from playtests where we realise we can almost do something but it does fall down at a certain point. And we did reuse some of that - for example, when moving the trebuchets in Haven - so we didn't throw 100 per cent of the systems out.

 

http://www.eurogamer...s-of-dragon-age

 

Was also stated that DAI started out as a multiplayer game. http://www.gamespot....y/1100-6423362/

 

I have to put this disclaimer: This is only my OPINION.

[ButterBreadBro]

58 pages... damn, I gotta get in on this lol.

 

I've began thinking that maybe the reason the game's main story is so short is because, you know how they were working on Exalted March for da2? Then they decided to cancel it and focus on the next game in the series, a new main game. Gaider also stated that some elements from the expansion are present in dai. Recently, I've thought that maybe dai IS the expansion? Awakening, for me, I finished iirc somewhere 25-30 hours. The main story in dai is what, 10-20 hours? I have a pt where I started the templar mission at 23 hours (10 of which were spent wandering the Hinterlands) and by the time I got to Corypheus, I was at 40 hours. It took me 17 hours to go from the early-game templar mission to the final story mission. I recently started a new playthrough where I just completed the Templar mission at 8 hours. dao and da2 both took me 60 hours+.

 

I think that dai IS Exalted March, what they did was make a couple changes since Hawke would no longer be the protagonist, and no previous companions besides Varric would be coming back. The length of the game adds evidence to my claims. But in order to make the game seem more like a full, main game in the series, they needed to make it bigger, add some extra hours to the play time, so they made all these fetch quests to give players something to do, and added the Power system to force players to do the extra content so they wouldn't notice how short and small the game really is if they only stuck with the main quests. Also kind of explains the lack of side quests where you can RP your character. Awakening had a few such quests, like did you have the guards defend the farmlands or the city (I think)? But still not as much as Origins. Looking back at dai, it really smacks of expansion pack, just with a couple add-ons and switch-arounds.

 

Also, there is a new interview Mike Laidlaw which STRONGLY implies [re: confirms] that the game being put on last gen systems had something to do with how dai turned out.

Spoiler

One problem the team did have to tackle was maintaining Inquisition's simultaneous development across five platforms, including two console generations.

"We established fairly early on we would maintain gameplay parity. Visually, obviously, we knew there would be differences - if there wasn't then we'd have severely missed our mark. PC is a powerhouse now, PS4 and Xbox One have the benefit of a decade of hardware development." The PS3 and Xbox 360 in comparison have "memory limitations", Laidlaw continues, but sometimes the limitations lead to new ideas.

"Yes we could have had more enemies on screen, but instead we were able to think about how we could have enemies that work together - buffing each other, for example. Was there a potential for us, if we went beyond Gen 3, to go further? Sure, but we have to build a game that we are able to ship in the box."

Sections of the game were adjusted as a result, as it became clear that some ideas were not going to work as originally planned. A version of the game demoed at PAX Prime in 2013, around a year before the game's final release, showed hints of a war simulation system, where players would have to focus on building up and maintaining military strength around their captured keeps. "We had to do some changes," Laidlaw admits. "That was something where we had a good working prototype but we hit a snag due to the technical limitations on it. Having multiple forces fighting works fine on PC but you end up in a situation where having realistic-feeling war on the older consoles is exceedingly challenging."

The game used to feature more environmental destruction, too, and a greater number of options for solving missions. Boats could be burnt and bridges collapsed to affect the strength of enemy forces. These items were cut based "a little bit [on the last-gen] platforms, a little bit about the flow of the gameplay," Laidlaw adds. "We didn't want to build a military campaign simulator and have one zone riddled with that but others that don't have keeps be different - we wanted a consistency across the game.

"So it was about recognising the things from playtests where we realise we can almost do something but it does fall down at a certain point. And we did reuse some of that - for example, when moving the trebuchets in Haven - so we didn't throw 100 per cent of the systems out.

 

http://www.eurogamer...s-of-dragon-age

 

Was also stated that DAI started out as a multiplayer game. http://www.gamespot....y/1100-6423362/

 

I have to put this disclaimer: This is only my OPINION.

 

I do doubt that DA:I just fills the role of an addon; why update graphics so convincingly and take a longer time in developement if you just wanted to cash in on an expansion.

 

That said, the main story is completed rather quickly and not nearly as interesting as the things I could personally imagine "my" Hawke doing during a possible Exalted March, but that chance is gone, I figure.

 

 

 

I never wanted transition to open world. I have more fun in DA2 by taking care my cave, than in huge empty and boring maps of DA:I.

 

Neither did I; but I didn't oppose it either. In principle I still don't, since I have hope that the developers might rectify their mistakes in possible future releases.

I, too, would take smaller, more restricted levels over an open world any time, provided more of the things I do in those, actually interest me. Shouldn't come as a surprise that as an avid fan of video games in general; I do not mind spending times in more confined spaces if there's fun stuff to do.

[Uccio]

I've began thinking that maybe the reason the game's main story is so short is because, you know how they were working on Exalted March for da2? 

 

Now I really hope they would have gone through with it and ditch DAI. 

 

Hindsight is a b****.

[Inalt]

I never wanted transition to open world. I have more fun in DA2 by taking care my cave, than in huge empty and boring maps of DA:I.

 

I expect a game series that I have known so far for exactly not losing its story, to not make that mistake in the transition to an open world game.

 

Completely agree.

I really can't understand what's so good about open world and exploration. Besides there is Skyrim for this. I expect much more important things in a BioWare game like a great story and great quests, companions, decisions,....

I strongly hope BioWare remembers their strengths and don't try to make more Skyrim clones.

[Viper371]

I read a couple of days ago that we have Dragon Age: Inquisition in its current state due to platform issues.  Because Bioware released Inquisition on Old gen platform: x-box 360 and PS3, many of the contents were not included due to those two platforms limitations.  If that is the case then, Bioware shouldn’t release Inquisition on those two platforms, period.  The game should have been released on X-box one, PS4 and PC.  However, choosing to release the game on all five platforms simultaneously or concurrently some things would surely go wrong. Bioware has been silent on things.

 

 

I've read this too.  And It is exactly the problem I have with consoles.  I don't consider console users "dumb", but consoles are antiquated hardware from the day they are released.  The PS3 and X-Box 360 have the equivalent of a Gefore 8800GT for video card.  I haven't had that hardware in my computer for over 5 years.

When the next game in the franchise release, if they want to develop a product that is fit for consoles, they'll have to develop for hardware made in 2012-2013. It's already a mainstream product from 2 years ago.  If the next game is released in 5 years, I'll have a brand new computer wich will play games designed for hardware inferior to my current computer.  In effect, consoles are dragging advances in computer gaming because software developpers need to cather to old hardware bases.   Even if there is another generation console by then, it will be new, and they will still develop the game for Xbox One and PS4.

 

Although impractical, game developpers should consider selling stripped down versions of their products for consoles instead of limiting us, PC users, in our enjoyment of the game.  But I'm dreaming.  They'll never do that.

[Elhanan]

Completely agree.
I really can't understand what's so good about open world and exploration. Besides there is Skyrim for this. I expect much more important things in a BioWare game like a great story and great quests, companions, decisions,....
I strongly hope BioWare remembers their strengths and don't try to make more Skyrim clones.

Am expecting exploration in the Mako for ME4. But I do not expect to see this next in the DA series; am guessing it will be contained more in size like in DAO.