But I don't see posters here clamoring for more sex and swearing (though I admit I did not read through all 120 pages).
There has been discussions of Dragon Age being more like The Witcher franchise when it comes to sex and nudity. Just letting you know.
With regard to quest design, that Bloody Baron/Ladies of the Woods questline was one of the best ones I ever played. You don't see them intersecting, there are no right choices, you can't help but empathize with the Baron despite his horrible flaws because of what he did for Ciri. It's so complex and dark it left me in shock and awe.
Indeed. What I didn't expect was that most of the major quests of TW3 were a pretty tough ride on the feels train. Only a few games managed to have such an effect on me like that, heh. 
I guess it's also mainly in the presentation. I remember there was this fist-fight quest, where you had to beat 3 guys in order to fight the champion of the country. However, the second guy comes to you and begs you to throw the fight, because the winner gets a bag of oat, so that he could feed his family (the country is at war and everyone is starving). I don't know, but the way he pleaded, I just genuinely felt sorry for him. Still, I had to win.
There has been discussions of Dragon Age being more like The Witcher franchise when it comes to sex and nudity. Just letting you know.
With regard to quest design, that Bloody Baron/Ladies of the Woods questline was one of the best ones I ever played. You don't see them intersecting, there are no right choices, you can't help but empathize with the Baron despite his horrible flaws because of what he did for Ciri. It's so complex and dark it left me in shock and awe.
I was able to not empathize with him easily. The guy was a monster.
That's good feedback to know that this pays homage to the character and is accurate. As a Witcher outsider who doesn't know this, it can leave a poor impression. Especially if the dialogue is flowing awkwardly.
I definitely understand this POV. My first experience with the franchise was the Witcher 2 and throughout the Tutorial and Prologue, I was thinking "Is this a joke? Terrible acting." But I've gotten so used to it and Geralt's character that it now fits. He's certainly not an emotionless character however, regardless of how his voice sounds. He's actually pretty empathetic compared to the majority of this brutal medieval world. I think you really need to play for a few good hours and get to know Geralt before you write him off as a robot.
But not here. At least, none that I saw and I have been in this thread since the beginning. If there was, must have been minuscule since I don't recall them.
It was more in other threads, but it has popped up her occasionally.
Mich like Mark Meer's voice acting improved throughout the ME trilogy, Geralt and his voice actor have increased in quality throughout the series. I tolerated him in The Witcher 2, but I actually enjoy him in TW3, mostly because I think the third game has given Geralt more versatility.
It was more in other threads, but it has popped up her occasionally.
I don't recall anyone saying they wanted nudity like in TW3. But I think it was discussed how the romances were done between the two games.
Honestly, I prefer TW to DA, but I like ME more than both. The sex for reward relationship is getting old. It's getting to the point where DA LI's seem more like prostitutes rather than people who genuinely like the PC. And eliminating LI's initiating the flirting was a bad move. It just makes it glaringly more obvious and the IQ just looks kinda desperate.
There's nothing wrong with an open world, or open world-ish like DAI.
The problem with DAI is that there was not enough story to fit into the world. With richer area storylines (like Jaws of Hakkon), it could have been amazing.
Heck I'd happily buy a DLC that adds more story to zones like the Exalted Plains or The Storm Coast.
The problem with trying to establish 'open-world' environments is keeping the appeal of revisiting them. Frankly, having follow-up quests just demands more developers to create short quests for small rewards. Instead of a story they should try changing the NPCs or specific areas to reflect time passage. Val Royeaux is the only place that really has something like this. Skyrim touched a bit on it by having the Khajiit caravans travelling around the holds. Adapt that to the Storm Coast where dwarven excavators randomly pop up around the ruins after you've cleared the area. That would liven it up. The refugees who appear after an area has cleared could include NPCs who are scavaging leftover items to sell. Or maybe once in a while a small ship lands along the shore with a crew talking about all the recent troubles. They could be from Antiva or Kirkwall, and they each have their own monologues. There's little joy in hunting the local animals for more crafting materials. After your character has surpassed its level you don't gain any XP from killing them. So it needs some random feature that's just fun to encounter but not fight.
I have not seen this mention but another thing I think Bioware should look at is Ciri walking animations. They do not appear exgaratted or sashsaying. They are normal. it would be nice to see normal female walking animations for women in Bioware games.
Mich like Mark Meer's voice acting improved throughout the ME trilogy, Geralt and his voice actor have increased in quality throughout the series. I tolerated him in The Witcher 2, but I actually enjoy him in TW3, mostly because I think the third game has given Geralt more versatility.
The drinking scene with Eskel and Lambert was a thing of voice acting beauty.
"Eskeeeelllllllllll...Eskel, chop chop..." *hic*
I agree. He has more facial expression and humor, too. The few scenes when he is worried about Ciri was quite touching.
Spoiler
Not just sadness either, there were scenes with Ciri where he was actually whole-heartedly laughing, grinning, etc. She brings out a whole 'nother side to him. It was beautiful.
And eliminating LI's initiating the flirting was a bad move. It just makes it glaringly more obvious and the IQ just looks kinda desperate.
I have not seen this mention but another thing I think Bioware should look at is Ciri walking animations. They do not appear exgaratted or sashsaying. They are normal. it would be nice to see normal female walking animations for women in Bioware games.
I'm honestly surprised it took this long for someone to mention this lol
Slightly off topic, but someone made this cool video. Shows how gorgeous the Witcher world looks etc, and the time lapses. As gorgeous as it is, I don't think DA:I is that far off in this bit. However bad the quests were, the areas looked gorgeous. A day + night cycle and some weather changes now and again could probably have enhanced DA:I quite a bit.
I'm honestly surprised it took this long for someone to mention this lol
I've only played one Ciri section but her walking animation looked bizarre to me. 
The ending is often the part of the game seen by the fewest players. It makes good business sense to limit the resources spent on it.
I have never finished my favourite BioWare game. I frankly don't care what the ending is like.
I have not seen this mention but another thing I think Bioware should look at is Ciri walking animations. They do not appear exgaratted or sashsaying. They are normal. it would be nice to see normal female walking animations for women in Bioware games.
So much this! Ciri's spine was not flopping impossibly from side to side while running, she actually looked like a person.
Warning long post. Who knows how long this thread has so I thought I'd throw in as many of my thoughts in one post as possible. Hopefully without writing an essay. I do have other opinions about this but I think this wraps up my major issues with DAI.
What I liked about TW3 and my comparison to DAI.
*snip of fantastic post*
Well that's my full feedback. TL;DR.
The last time a game had a big impact on me was The Last of Us. I've played other games since then but none that made me care about the characters and story the way I do, until TW3.
I totally agree with you on all points 
when playing TW3 I couldn't help but be reminded of how lacking DA:I was in so many aspects. If only BioWare would stick to what they're good at instead of constantly trying to capture new audiences and keep up with the trends while spreading themselves thinner and thinner.
I just want to touch on this comment because I have seen a lot of threadites comment on how much sex is in TW3. This is how I always know they haven't touched the game.
First of all, AFAIK and/or I am doing something wrong--TW3 does not open with a sex scene. Nudity =/= sex scene.
Second, I have poured about 50+ hours in the game already and Geralt has had one sexual encounter and that was with Triss, whom my Geralt is in love with. That scene was more tame than Sera and femInquisitor. So, if someone is joking about how much sex is in TW3, they're doing so while misinformed.
About the Unicorn...
Spoiler
All other sex scenes are optional.
Yep, the unicorn thing is optional. I've beaten the game and never saw it. The only sex scene I ever had was the one with Triss, one whole sex scene oh no! Anyway, I don't get why people are flipping out over the nudity in TW3 but are somehow ok with DA:I. I distinctly recall ladyboobs and Dorian butt on full display in DA:I. 
Both games are rated M for a mature audience. Mature people should be able to deal with the odd scene involving nudity, and some harsh language every now and again. Not saying one has to cheer for it, just be able to deal with it and accept it.
Both games are rated M for a mature audience. Mature people should be able to deal with the odd scene involving nudity, and some harsh language every now and again. Not saying one has to cheer for it, just be able to deal with it and accept it.
But wont someone think of the children! (the children with bad parents who let them play M rated games?)
Can I play the game without choosing anyone to romance?
I hate playing pre-made characters - cause I couldn't care less about their special little backstory and I'd never consider "What would Geralt do?" Cause - don't care.
None of the DAs are perfect - I've only played one cRPG that I would even consider close to perfect (Neverwinter Nights - Persistent Worlds) - but I prefer to make my own character (glaring at you "Shepard" - you're just as bad as this Geralt fella)
So - no, Bioware... please, PLEASE do not be like the Witcher 3 in this aspect.
Can I play the game without choosing anyone to romance?
Considering the game starts with a post-sex scene, the answer is no.
Anyway, I don't get why people are flipping out over the nudity in TW3 but are somehow ok with DA:I. I distinctly recall ladyboobs and Dorian butt on full display in DA:I.
The difference is in DAI it was optional whereas in TW3 it is not.
@Hanako Ikezawa: Settles that then. Thank you.
Slightly off topic, but someone made this cool video. Shows how gorgeous the Witcher world looks etc, and the time lapses. As gorgeous as it is, I don't think DA:I is that far off in this bit. However bad the quests were, the areas looked gorgeous. A day + night cycle and some weather changes now and again could probably have enhanced DA:I quite a bit.
Day and night cycles makes a lot of difference when you are constantly revisiting areas.
At first, I found some of DAI areas very beautiful (and they really are), but I got tired of some of them.
In comparison, I just played Skyrim yesterday (with a few mods, but still) and the game still amazes me. I got out from a dungeon at the top of a mountain just in time to get the sun setting over the valley bellow, with settlements and a few mammoths roaming in the wilderness.
Another thing that I notices is that, although the maps in DAI are big, they are not designed like the ones in TW3 and Skyrim. They are more constricted in terms of movement (many blocking mountains and structures), more cluttered (cave entrances and some buildings obstruct the vision and sometimes you will fight without seeing what is going on) and with less impressive sprawling vistas.
What DAI does have is less repetition. Lots of unique landmarks and terrain features - and the game is visually appealing too, of course.
But I found more interesting and less tedious to explore the worlds of TW3 and Skyrim.
TW3 because it is simply more impressive.
And Skyrim because of the emergent gameplay: you are running away from a bear and stumble in a bandit camp and while they fight each other, you jump into the water from an impossible height just to emerge next to a ruin that you never know was there, ready to be explored. Skyrim can be boring and buggy, but when the world reacts to you like that it is brilliant.
And I think that is the key for an open world: there are several encounters in TW3 and Skyrim (but specially in Skyrim) that nobody will experience in the same way, but in DAI the mobs will be in the same place, the entrances for dungeons will be at the same place, the quest givers in the same place, the dialogues are the same, the combat is more or less the same thing. You can do things out of order, but in the end, it sometimes feel like It is a linear game inside an open world.
@Hanako Ikezawa: Settles that then. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Retour en haut