117 réponses à ce sujet

[Heimdall]

It seems that most people agree that the mounts were mostly useless in DAI.  That's what I found, anyway.  Exploring a new area was almost always best done on foot, given the likelihood of being attacked and generally being easier to be thorough.  Traversing old areas was generally best done by fast travel.  Also, no banter.  In fact there was virtually no upside to using the mounts except looking cool most of the time.

 

But I do want Bioware to continue including mounts, and not just because I'm imagining a cutscene of a charging line of Tevinter soldiers mounted on dracolisks against the Qunari.  I want horse and such to be of the world, present around us and part of the scenery.  Of course, the best way to do this would for mounts more practical.

 

Ideas?

[Hrungr]

Heh... in DAI, mounts were the most fun when taking long, peaceful rides in out-of-bounds regions.

 

I'm hoping now that they're no longer supporting older consoles, we can have all the party members on their own mounts. Ideally, we'd have our banter, be able to fight and collect our elfroot without ever having to soil our (Rich Antivan Learther...)  boots. And... it certainly wouldn't hurt if they were a wee bit faster.

 

But I'd like to have more reasons to use mounts than just getting from Point A -> B... 7.2% faster. I'd love to have a mounted chase scene a la Indiana Jones. Eg. Dismantling an enemy convoy at full gallop. Or weaving through, over and under a number of hazards and obstacles to get to X objective. I'd like to see armored and war-trained mounts that can actually help in a fight. And as you point out, mounted cavalry as part of an army (ranged and melee units) would be great.

 

More exotic mounts too, such as the giant scorpion they teased during the early development of DAI. Flying mounts (griffons/dragons/etc.) would be fantastic, but... I'd guess pretty unlikely. But dogfighting a high dragon through tightly clustered peaks and narrow, twisting valleys would be the dream for me.

[ladyiolanthe]

I mostly used my mount to help me jump up things that were too high for my Inquisitor to jump on her own.  ^-^ They were good for that. As for improvements, I agree with most of Hrungr's suggestions.

[nightscrawl]

Honestly, I think that party movement would be awful if the entire group were to be mounted. You know those times where you're standing around and all three party members keep dancing around, step left, step right, step up, step back, to get in just the right position so they are arrayed in perfect harmony around the PC? Imagine that on mounts... That would be horrendous, and absurd, and absurdly horrendous.

 

I like the idea of mounts, but I just don't think they fit well in these games.

 

That said, I think if they are going to have mounts that they should give us more incentive to use them. No, not by having ginormous maps -- I never used a mount once in the Hissing Wastes -- but by having mounted action be a part of the game. I'm not referring to combat, but in requiring mount use to get somewhere, more use in cutscenes a la Trespasser, perhaps have mounts be the way to solve puzzles. There can also be more meaningful dialogue, followers referencing mount use, perhaps interacting (petting, feeding) with mounts at stables or after dismounting, and so on. As silly as the Skyrim mounts were sometimes, I did like the idea that they just stood there, waiting, until you returned; a despawning mount is rather immersion breaking.

 

As for the mounts that we have, the movement is a little clunky and awkward. Horses don't turn or stop on a dime, but they are a lot more agile than the DAI mounts present them as being.

 

Also, while I agree that variety is nice, and I certainly don't wish to take away anyone's nuggalope or dracolisk, it might be nice if the player were encouraged to form a partnership with a single mount. The mount can certainly be one of your choosing, but bonuses might be given for continual use or something. History is full of military leaders who had affection for their loyal mounts, and this is something I'd like to see as well, rather than the player saying, "Oh, I feel like Bog Unicorn today and the Hart tomorrow."

[Krypplingz]

Make them go faster. It's nice to use them when you are finishing up the last touches of an area, especially if you have slow loading screens when fast traveling and it keeps your team from murdering the wildlife, but more speed would be welcome.

[Kaweebo]

Being able to attack while on a mount would be nice.

[BansheeOwnage]

Being able to attack while on a mount would be nice.

And gather materials, at least if they are presented in a similar fashion in DA4. Because if I have to dismount to pick up every elfroot in my path I'm just not going to use mounts - again.

[thats1evildude]

I wasn't in favour of the mounts to begin with, though I still used them quite a bit. I wouldn't mind if they were cut, though I know that would inevitably result in complaints because they were SO IMPORTANT to have in the first place and the Dragon Age fandom can't make up its collective mind. *sigh*

Besides the suggestions Hrungr made, I would suggest that if mounts actually caused damage to certain enemies when you ran them over, that would make them a little more useful.

[Sith Grey Warden]

I realize that combat on mounts is a big investment of resources, so I won't ask for that. But please let us gather resources while mounted. Otherwise, I'll never have any reason to get on a mount. Also, it would help if the animation to get on and off a mount was a bit faster.

 

The big thing they should do is give us quests that actually involve chase scenes as Hrungr suggested above. Racing like with swoops in KOTOR would also be fun. Just make there something where using the mount outside of cutscenes is integrated into the story.

[Inkvisiittori]

I want to be able name my mount and I don't want it to vanish into thin air couple seconds after I dismount it. The best thing about the horrible horses in Skyrim was that they were completely fearless. Nothing is better than watching your horse attack a dragon! 

 

The mounts were a really nice addition (my favorite is Royal Hart) but they felt a little bit too much like just a fast way to travel. 

[thebigbad1013]

I never use mounts myself. The lack of party banter is the primary reason for this, but I also tend to just enjoy exploring areas more when I'm on foot than on a mount. I doubt I'll use them if they are in future games.

[Midnight Bliss]

Mounts belong in MMOs, not Dragon Age.

[RoseLawliet]

Honestly, I think that party movement would be awful if the entire group were to be mounted. You know those times where you're standing around and all three party members keep dancing around, step left, step right, step up, step back, to get in just the right position so they are arrayed in perfect harmony around the PC? Imagine that on mounts... That would be horrendous, and absurd, and absurdly horrendous.

 

Companions never did that for me in previous games, but all the time in Inquisition. Maybe their movement AI just needs tweaking? In Skyrim, where you were only ever supposed to have one person following you (maybe two, if you had a follower and were doing a specific quest), you can get mods to allow more than one and they never run around like Inquisition companions did.

 

And I'm afraid I'm just that masochistic. If the only way for followers to have their own mounts and ride with the PC is for their pathfinding to be horribly glitchy or hyper... I'll take it. In a heartbeat. Banter is the big draw of Dragon Age companions for me, and they can't banter if they've disappeared into hyperspace.

 

Additionally, consider the extra characterization available if the companions' mounts are either unique to them or unchangeable. You can have a knight with his warhorse, a Dalish with a hart or halla, something garish and glitzy for a character like Vivienne... It just makes sense to me. And like you said at the end of your post, riders invested into their mount financially and emotionally. Think Geralt and Roach from the Witcher universe. (Ok, he might be a bad example, since he simply names every horse he rides "Roach", but my main point is that he wouldn't switch his horse for a dracolisk or battle nug. ... Or would he?)

[nightscrawl]

Additionally, consider the extra characterization available if the companions' mounts are either unique to them or unchangeable. You can have a knight with his warhorse, a Dalish with a hart of halla, something garish and glitzy for a character like Vivienne... It just makes sense to me. And like you said at the end of your post, riders invested into their mount financially and emotionally. Think Geralt and Roach from the Witcher universe. (Ok, he might be a bad example, since he simply names every horse he rides "Roach", but my main point is that he wouldn't switch his horse for a dracolisk or battle nug. ... Or would he?)

Great point, and I do like this idea as part of follower characterization, especially if they add dialogue to go along with it and it's not just some cosmetic thing.

Dorian mentions unicorns a couple of times in cinematic dialogue (as a metaphor for something rare and/or mythical), and we know he likes the macabre, so he might have been enchanted by the Bog Unicorn. :3

[RoseLawliet]

Great point, and I do like this idea as part of follower characterization, especially if they add dialogue to go along with it and it's not just some cosmetic thing.

Dorian mentions unicorns a couple of times in cinematic dialogue (as a metaphor for something rare and/or mythical), and we know he likes the macabre, so he might have been enchanted by the Bog Unicorn. :3

 

Ugh. He can have it. It looks too decayed for me to touch.

[nightscrawl]

^ Ha! I never use anything beyond the original Ferelden Forder on the very rare occasion that I do use a mount.

[AnimalBoy]

I never go anywhere without Cornbread. (Orlesian Courser)

[Nefla]

I never used mounts in DA:I because I was desperate for party banter (which I still only got once every 6 hours or so). I'd rather not have a bunch more resources go to additional mount mechanics such as mounted combat but if they made party banter fire while mounted (even if it was something where it only showed the PC and one companion riding on the same mount and the banter was only between the two? I dunno) I might use it. If they gave the mount a personality and made it like a pet the way the Mabari from DA:O and DA2 were then I would definitely use it.

[Heimdall]

I never used mounts in DA:I because I was desperate for party banter (which I still only got once every 6 hours or so). I'd rather not have a bunch more resources go to additional mount mechanics such as mounted combat but if they made party banter fire while mounted (even if it was something where it only showed the PC and one companion riding on the same mount and the banter was only between the two? I dunno) I might use it. If they gave the mount a personality and made it like a pet the way the Mabari from DA:O and DA2 were then I would definitely use it.

I'm all for an option to comb my horse's mane 

[vbibbi]

Ditto to all on making sure companion banter remains, whether it means everyone has a mount or whether banter is artificially kept going even if only one person is visible on the screen.

There also needs to be a mechanic for looting resources, maybe investing a perk or money to purchase a beast of burden like a mule or its fantasy counterpart. Then that beast would automatically pick up items as long as we weren't in combat mode. Then when we got back to camp we could unload the pack animal and get the gear. But we couldn't access the gear until we got to camp.

Also just less resources invested in mount designs. Why do we need six or eight colors of horse, five of six harts, etc?

[Andraste_Reborn]

1. I want to be able to name them. (My nuggalope will always be Ser Nuggington, Arl of Nugsleigh in my heart.)

 

2. As others have said, we should be able to harvest resources and listen to companion banter while riding.

 

3. They could go a little faster.

 

I think the system needs a little refinement, but I hope they don't get rid of it. Galumphing through the Hissing Wastes on the back of Tiddles Majoris was one of the joys of the game for me.

[Madmoe77]

Mounts should and could serve for what they do in real life-faster travel and beasts of burden. Would be nice if they acted like a floating chest for more storage while out in those massive environments. Maybe consider the actual need for diversity in the creatures, Dracolisk for hotter sands and scorched regions, horses for average environments and so on. 

[Dai Grepher]

Make them battle capable. Danny the Druffalo could fight. We should be able to use him as a mount.

 

Mounts should be able to do different things. A horse should be able to enter a certain region that requires long travel. There should be a drake mount that lets you climb rocky hills. A spider mount should be able to climb walls and spin webs that bridge gaps. You should be able to mount a giant and use it to kill other enemies. A bronto mount should be able to charge right through man-made barriers.

[Heimdall]

I guess I'm mostly worried because Bioware has a history of dropping rather than improving upon some features that were not well received the first time.

[nightscrawl]

^ I wouldn't be surprised if mounts were here to stay, especially if they know they're going to have them going into development, and also if they're going to continue to have large maps. Furthermore, I'll wager that the banter issue kept a lot of people from using them, not only because the party disappeared while on the mounts, but because faster travel means less time in the zone, which means less time to hear banter outside of just standing around waiting for it. Almost all of my banter is heard while I'm doing my typical fill-out-the-map exploration.
 
About mounts (and the loss of a dog), David Gaider said,

We talked about having a pet and we ended up, like, we didn’t really have anything new to do with a pet. If we included it, it would only be because there was a dog in DA1 and DA2. Really, we only had the dog in DA2 because there was one in DA1. And then it’s like, well, the horse is going to take up so much animation time…. We kept dropping the plans for the horse from the previous games, and we were like, ‘If we keep making excuses for why we can’t do a horse, we’re never going to do anything.’ We kept saying we’re not going to do a horse because we can’t do everything — like, cause you couldn’t fight from horseback, there would be limitations. But it was like, well, we’re never going to get [a game where you] fight from horseback, unless we have a game where we just get you on a horse. And then as we iterate on that we can add all the other stuff. So we had to take the first step. But we couldn’t do that and have a dog. It’s not really my province but as I remember the conversation, that’s what was happening.