156 réponses à ce sujet

[Osena109]

errant_knight wrote...

Osena109 wrote...

corret me if i am wrong but is there Euro ending as well or is this US ending refering to the PC?

This stands for 'ultimate sacrifice' not 'United States.'

oh thank you vary much Errant_Knight

[Jax Sparrow]

Osena109 wrote... corret me if i am wrong but is there Euro ending as well or is this US ending refering to the PC?

*correct* (sp)
*referring* (sp)

you did ask for correction

As for US... stands for Ultimate Sacrifice... i.e. main character turns Morrigan down and dies when they slay the archdemon. I understand completely your misunderstanding, as I made it too... People might want to think up better acronyms than ones that are already taken.

[grieferbastard]

Feraele wrote...

I have to say my excitement for this expac has gone steadily down hill...due to disappointment. But I will play it and see how it goes. Sigrun interests me...Orlesian warden not so much. Oghren not so much hehe At least they fixed the RTO content..it ports now from what I understand.

You know Feraele, I've been reading your posts on a few different threads. I can appreciate where Awakenings probably feels like a kick in the gut and almost personal, it's leaving out what seems to be two critical parts to the game for you: the non-player characters and the relationships (of whatever sort) they make with your character. Your interests in the game when you speak of them all seem to point to characters, not events, items, activities or the like.

As much as I'm a big fan of BioWare I can see where an expansion like Awakenings that focuses more on the story in how it relates to the Darkspawn, Ferelden, the Grey Wardens, new levels and some more peeks behind the curtain into the underlying story behind Thedas.... all nifty stuff, for someone like me it sounds awesome.

Yet that's not what you enjoy in the game as much, is it? Not that it's not cool and not that you probably can't and won't appreciate it but it's not going to have the flavor that you truly connected with in Origins it seems.

I'm going to be honest - I strongly suspect that neither future expansions nor DA 2 will continue the original characters. I've got to believe that with DA2 it *will* better reflect choices and events from DA:O. Even the Ulitmate Sacrifice. Awakenings has been a year in the chute and without question pinned to a release date since day one, which would explain the lack of correction to the sorts of bugs and complications that in a 5 year design like Origins would get worked out instead of being cut if they can't be fixed by release.

Are you still going to pick up DA2 if that's the case? While Awakenings and most the DLC are by their nature will be more object/environment/event oriented I've got to believe that the actual games themselves will follow in the same vein as Origins.

I'm surprised that only one person has given an answer other than Stage 5. Admittedly anyone who's in any point in a grieving process will always say they're at stage 5 no matter what their real feelings are, but still. For all the rage on the forums over it I'd expected a few more folks fessing up to 2 or 3.

[Lady Jess]

grieferbastard wrote...



I'm going to be honest - I strongly suspect that neither future expansions nor DA 2 will continue the original characters. I've got to believe that with DA2 it *will* better reflect choices and events from DA:O. Even the Ulitmate Sacrifice. Awakenings has been a year in the chute and without question pinned to a release date since day one, which would explain the lack of correction to the sorts of bugs and complications that in a 5 year design like Origins would get worked out instead of being cut if they can't be fixed by release.

Are you still going to pick up DA2 if that's the case? While Awakenings and most the DLC are by their nature will be more object/environment/event oriented I've got to believe that the actual games themselves will follow in the same vein as Origins.

Pardon my butting in:)

I think they will include, depending on choices up to two original party members. Morrigan, and Alistair. There's no way that ritual doesn't come into play for good or ill in the future. Zev, Leliana, Sten, Ohgren, Wynne...all had their appeals and attachments but weren't central any of the possible endings.

Personally, I'm still sad they're missing in this one. I loved both Alistair and Morrigan, they were by far my favorites. But I have come to understand it for now. And I'll likely keep buying, with hopes for "next time". And meanwhile, my story builds.

[Lady Jess]

grieferbastard wrote...



I'm going to be honest - I strongly suspect that neither future expansions nor DA 2 will continue the original characters. I've got to believe that with DA2 it *will* better reflect choices and events from DA:O. Even the Ulitmate Sacrifice. Awakenings has been a year in the chute and without question pinned to a release date since day one, which would explain the lack of correction to the sorts of bugs and complications that in a 5 year design like Origins would get worked out instead of being cut if they can't be fixed by release.

Are you still going to pick up DA2 if that's the case? While Awakenings and most the DLC are by their nature will be more object/environment/event oriented I've got to believe that the actual games themselves will follow in the same vein as Origins.

Pardon my butting in:)

I think they will include, depending on choices up to two original party members. Morrigan, and Alistair. There's no way that ritual doesn't come into play for good or ill in the future. Zev, Leliana, Sten, Ohgren, Wynne...all had their appeals and attachments but weren't central any of the possible endings.

Personally, I'm still sad they're missing in this one. I loved both Alistair and Morrigan, they were by far my favorites. But I have come to understand it for now. And I'll likely keep buying, with hopes for "next time". And meanwhile, my story builds.

[Lady Jess]

also pardon the double post...< glares at the keyboard>

[SirOccam]

I definitely went through all the stages, but I am definitely at "acceptance" now. I am really looking forward to this. The only thing that bothered me was the lack of romances, but David Gaider posted that they aren't gone, just not really front-and-center. And I can live with that.



Despite what people say, I don't think there's any chance whatsoever that they will just drop Morrigan et al. and go with a completely new setup for DAO2. It's too clearly a sequel setup. Some have suggested that it will be concluded in expansions, but if an expansion-sized budget couldn't fit in things like romances and relationships (and the accompanying extra dialogue), then how will they do it in another expansion? There's way too much story to be told there.



I'm trying REALLY hard not to think of this as just stage 1 of a different process.

[Feraele]

errant_knight wrote...

Osena109 wrote...

corret me if i am wrong but is there Euro ending as well or is this US ending refering to the PC?

This stands for 'ultimate sacrifice' not 'United States.'

LOL you know I had a feeling someone was going to mistake "US" for the USA...and here we have it hehehe

[Feraele]

grieferbastard wrote...

Feraele wrote...

I have to say my excitement for this expac has gone steadily down hill...due to disappointment. But I will play it and see how it goes. Sigrun interests me...Orlesian warden not so much. Oghren not so much hehe At least they fixed the RTO content..it ports now from what I understand.

You know Feraele, I've been reading your posts on a few different threads. I can appreciate where Awakenings probably feels like a kick in the gut and almost personal, it's leaving out what seems to be two critical parts to the game for you: the non-player characters and the relationships (of whatever sort) they make with your character. Your interests in the game when you speak of them all seem to point to characters, not events, items, activities or the like.

As much as I'm a big fan of BioWare I can see where an expansion like Awakenings that focuses more on the story in how it relates to the Darkspawn, Ferelden, the Grey Wardens, new levels and some more peeks behind the curtain into the underlying story behind Thedas.... all nifty stuff, for someone like me it sounds awesome.

Yet that's not what you enjoy in the game as much, is it? Not that it's not cool and not that you probably can't and won't appreciate it but it's not going to have the flavor that you truly connected with in Origins it seems.

I'm going to be honest - I strongly suspect that neither future expansions nor DA 2 will continue the original characters. I've got to believe that with DA2 it *will* better reflect choices and events from DA:O. Even the Ulitmate Sacrifice. Awakenings has been a year in the chute and without question pinned to a release date since day one, which would explain the lack of correction to the sorts of bugs and complications that in a 5 year design like Origins would get worked out instead of being cut if they can't be fixed by release.

Are you still going to pick up DA2 if that's the case? While Awakenings and most the DLC are by their nature will be more object/environment/event oriented I've got to believe that the actual games themselves will follow in the same vein as Origins.

I'm surprised that only one person has given an answer other than Stage 5. Admittedly anyone who's in any point in a grieving process will always say they're at stage 5 no matter what their real feelings are, but still. For all the rage on the forums over it I'd expected a few more folks fessing up to 2 or 3.

Not a kick in the gut, it feels more like..this has nothing at all to do with what we came to know as Dragon Age.  It feels like we were cut off at the knees.

Everything removed...like I put a book down in the middle of it, didn't finish it, and picked up another book and started reading that instead.

Characters I got to know, be it by friendship, or reliance on them during battle (not really into the romance thing as much as some but I understand)

The characters in this game (Origins) were very well done.  People get attached to  "most" of them.   The story line also was well done up to the point where we were mislead in the Epilogue on the Ultimate Sacrifice, making us think that ..that heroic ending mattered.   

Until I first saw that thread ..playing a dead warden is bs...I had no clue that the Dev team had no intentions of following through ...

We still don't know what is "canon" ...Oghren is touted "as the old returning favorite"  and its only after some weeks that the Dev team admits...he's THEIR returning favorite. 

Why weren't they just upfront about that.   Why did they make us wait 19 days in silence..for an honest answer about the world state of the sacrificed warden?

I suggest..that stringing people along, answering one post ..posts and ignoring  a heated 33 page thread ..is backwards thinking.

If there is an issue, and a strong enough one to cause several pages of controversy..then it behooves the powers that be, to 'fess up the truth or something close to it.

I am a fan of Bioware,  believe it or not.   I have also worked in customer service.....and no the customer is not always right.

At the same time,  you don't ignore your customers, you attempt to defuse whats going on, by giving an answer that is acceptable to your management and to the customers.   

As for DA:2 ..whatever it turns out to be.  I am expecting that it will be different.   But so far my enthusiasm is waning due to how this was treated with Awakening and "your choices will have an effect".

I don't blame people for being upset that their roleplayed established "romance" is suddenly whipped away. 

The companions were well done,  believable, fun to be around (well most of them).

The story drew you in as well.   I like the story and the characters, I also liked the idea of being a hero..ie: the Ultimate Sacrifice.   But that was taken from me.   It doesn't mean a thing..and won't for the future.

So I can honestly say that no, I probably won't get too excited about anything coming up..for the future,   and if I buy DA:2..that would be a large surprise to me.

My honest opinon..for what thats worth.

[RyuAzai]

The thing I think about, is if you defend the 'no romance' by saying they are more duty focused...



What the hell was the first game was about? The last two grey wardens, Feraldens only hope. They needed every second to gather all the forces and mount an offense against the blight? And even then lost the capital city to them and need to take it back.



How is suddenly another darkspawn threat more important then that? That one would decide to 'keep it their pants?" Or that you suddenly wouldn't jump into bed with someone? I mean it wouldn't be much different then the first game. And bioware has always included romance in their games.



I would just like to hear. "We just didn't want to focus on it in this game, we wanted to just tell a little story and not use resources on romance options." Not spend time and money.



Instead of trying to play it out that it might not 'make sense' for the character because of his or hers 'mission'

[The_Abyss]

Stage 0: Don't care.

[fatalerrors]

Don't really mind.

[Karlojey]

I think we shouldn't be complaining that our favorite companions and relationships are not appearing in Awakening because the Warden is at war and is rebuilding the Grey Wardens to take it to the Darkspawn. Just like in any war, relationships will have to be placed on hold when pushed into this situation. Generally, our relationships isn't the "meat" of the story, it's killing Darkspawn which I believe is what the expansion is all about.



As for the topic, I don't fall into any category. I'm still getting the game for the sole reason of seeing how my Warden would be able to progress his story until he forever liberates Ferelden from the Darkspawn.

[Lady Jess]

RyuAzai wrote...

The thing I think about, is if you defend the 'no romance' by saying they are more duty focused...

What the hell was the first game was about? The last two grey wardens, Feraldens only hope. They needed every second to gather all the forces and mount an offense against the blight? And even then lost the capital city to them and need to take it back.

How is suddenly another darkspawn threat more important then that? That one would decide to 'keep it their pants?" Or that you suddenly wouldn't jump into bed with someone? I mean it wouldn't be much different then the first game. And bioware has always included romance in their games.

I would just like to hear. "We just didn't want to focus on it in this game, we wanted to just tell a little story and not use resources on romance options." Not spend time and money.

Instead of trying to play it out that it might not 'make sense' for the character because of his or hers 'mission'

I'm married to a soldier. When he's home, he's still on duty, but we have downtime to be together. Sometimes he gets sent away for that duty, for up to a year.

The way I see it (now) in Origins, we were traveling together, we were the last wardens in ferelden. It took (I am guessing) a year to do that, in which we lived, ate, fought.and on some occasions slept together. Bonds form in that situation, be it romantic or friendship.  Home was on the road. So, in a sense we were home, with our friends and romantic interest (if one was formed).

Now, in Awakenings, we are being sent on a mission. Away from home, away from our friends, and romantic interest (In my case Alistair, who is now king, my HNF his bethrothed). In the sense of a pseudo military lifestyle, it does make some sense.

I do agree however, that it would have been nice to know from the beginning, but honestly it might have changed how I played things, which might bite me in the butt later if/when they bring everything back together.

Modifié par Lady Jess, 07 mars 2010 - 06:17 .

[kennyme2]

I think what Bioware did with US was pretty cool. Giving player that much freedom is a plus in my book. Of course, being able to play the game with the real US ending would be ideal but since US ending is not what I chose, I'm hard pressed to feel angry about it.

I liked that there are no romances. Different from the usual Bioware game.

Modifié par kennyme2, 07 mars 2010 - 06:52 .

[Allison W]

Denial. They can't put both Sigrun and Mhairi in this game with absolutely no romance potential. That'd be torture. They wouldn't do that to us. Would they?

[Jax Sparrow]

The_Abyss wrote...  Stage 0: Don't care.

And you wasted whatever time it took to at least read the OP and then post this?  Sorry not buying what your selling.  There was some emotional payoff for you... or your a troll?

Allison W wrote...  Denial. They can't put both Sigrun and Mhairi in this game with absolutely no romance potential. That'd be torture. They wouldn't do that to us. Would they?

I agree that if they really wanted not to work on romances? they would have left us with the old characters.  like I said before, I think someone dropped the proverbial ball or it's some lame attempt at a joke.

Lady Jess wrote...

RyuAzai wrote...

The thing I think about, is if you defend the 'no romance' by saying they are more duty focused...

What the hell was the first game was about? The last two grey wardens, Feraldens only hope. They needed every second to gather all the forces and mount an offense against the blight? And even then lost the capital city to them and need to take it back.

How is suddenly another darkspawn threat more important then that? That one would decide to 'keep it their pants?" Or that you suddenly wouldn't jump into bed with someone? I mean it wouldn't be much different then the first game. And bioware has always included romance in their games.

I would just like to hear. "We just didn't want to focus on it in this game, we wanted to just tell a little story and not use resources on romance options." Not spend time and money.

Instead of trying to play it out that it might not 'make sense' for the character because of his or hers 'mission'

I'm married to a soldier. When he's home, he's still on duty, but we have downtime to be together. Sometimes he gets sent away for that duty, for up to a year.

The way I see it (now) in Origins, we were traveling together, we were the last wardens in ferelden. It took (I am guessing) a year to do that, in which we lived, ate, fought.and on some occasions slept together. Bonds form in that situation, be it romantic or friendship.  Home was on the road. So, in a sense we were home, with our friends and romantic interest (if one was formed).

Now, in Awakenings, we are being sent on a mission. Away from home, away from our friends, and romantic interest (In my case Alistair, who is now king, my HNF his bethrothed). In the sense of a pseudo military lifestyle, it does make some sense.

I do agree however, that it would have been nice to know from the beginning, but honestly it might have changed how I played things, which might bite me in the butt later if/when they bring everything back together.

Thank you for dealing with all that RL stuff but this relates how?  Judging by the preview via XFire the Devs showed, our toons will be going on more than "one deployement".  We have a new base of operations and new toons to get to know mentally and/or carnally.  Some mention of this by NPCs our toons married themselves too would have been logical.

[grieferbastard]

The biggest mistake people tend to make is justification. I could give my opinions, say 'I think they decided to do this because of X', or say what the advantages are.....

but that's not really going to change anything now is it? There was a business decision made for this expansion, a particular budget and timeframe to work within and Awakenings is what it provided. Personally I think it sounds awesome. What's really funny is that I'm looking forward to it most not just for DA:O but because I'm also playing a lot of DA tabletop at the moment and it's going to fill in some excellent pieces of the puzzle so to speak.

Yet what sort of justification is that for anyone elses wanting something else out of it and not getting it?

Which is fine. I'm impressed with the diversity of fans that DA has across a lot of spectrums of players, what sort of play they're looking for. It's human nature for us to assume that whatever we like is "normal". Thus we all figure that if something doesn't appeal to us than it's missing its 'normal' market. Normally I'd say you could compare fan bases to similar products but I confess I don't think I can pin a core market on DA:O yet aside from RPG fans, which is too broad a concept to be useful. Mass Effect/ME 2, NWN, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, all of those are RPGs too but it's easy to seperate their fans more than DA:O.

I'm tempted to buy stock in EA so I can get a stockholders report to see if it gives more detail on BioWares in and out. EA files a 10-Q and a 10-K with the SEC - a quarterly and yearly financial report on what they're making, spending, investing, divesting, that sort of stuff and it can give a good feel for which DLC generated more sales and revenue and often includes a lot of marketing detail and projections of future sales and expectations. Not sure how much stock you need in EA to get a detailed report or how they report on BioWare as a subsidiary. I guess I could call a broker because I want to buy stock in a volatile business (game publisher) for the long haul just because I want a detailed stockholders report and an opportunity to vote when stuff comes up.... well, not sure I'm that invested in DA:O so to speak.

@ Lady Jess;

You're not butting it, it's a public forum. I expect that some main characters will be referenced or have a cameo but a new game is going to need to start characters from level 0 almost certainly. Any of your old companions would be way out of scope for you and, well, wouldn't it feel strange? Dealing with them in another character when they're still connected to another of your characters choices? I expect it'll be a whole new game but full of connections to your old one.

We'll see. Awakenings is an expansion, not a whole game. DA:O funny enough seems to suffer most in the eyes of its fans because it was too good and set expectations too high. A standard that can't reasonably be kept in something far smaller and more limited like DLC and expansion.

Curse us consumers! Give us an inch and we'll demand a mile, eh? Nothing worse than a brilliant story to an RPG fan. Sooner or later it's going to end and, well, then what? Combine that with your own character being the middle of the story and people are never going to be happy with an ending unless they pick it. If the expansion had added to the middle of the game and not the end everyone would have been happier I think. By having the story go beyond the end but only some characters can get the full depth of it and others can not.... well, I can see where to a big RP fan that's going to go down poorly.

[Aybeden]

OK, just to clear up a few misconceptions made here and elsewhere, let's be clear about how my choice for my warden would have fitted in. I appreciate what follows isn't the same for everyone. First of all, no Ultimate Sacrifice ending plus the Grey Wardens need help in rebuilding. Second, this about the continuing relationship and the war (from the epilogue wiki): "Leliana, if romanced, will return with her love to the Grey Wardens to help rebuild the order if he/she could choose to do so, after which they join together in an effort to uncover the darkspawns' remaining secrets".

There you have it in a nutshell. It would have fitted perfectly into the expansion story. As it happens this isn't the only choice that a surviving warden and his/her romanced Leliana (or whoever) can make that would have allowed them to continue the story indefinately.

I know the problem with that and other ongoing scenarios for 'surviving' wardens is how it would work with the two of them adventuring together in the expansion when the romance options aren't there anymore. It doesn't seem insurmountable however. They probably could have the relationship existing in the background but fixed and unchanging, e.g.  it being referred to, them exchanging just a few affectionate words when they take a pause but no options for changing the relationship. Also, having to choose just one existing romanced companion (or one unromanced) to carry forward into the expansion to continue your adventures with. That would have suited me for the duration of the expansion.

However, I've been giving the overall questions a bit more thought. and want to move on, but first, just one more comment before I do so. Unless I missed something, I don't think the developers were sufficiently up-front about this expansion in the early days. People were left to assume whether right or wrong that because this was an expansion of DAO the romance options would still be there along with their companions and it came as a shock when the truth came out.  I think the developers are now handling things a bit better and at least they are now trying to sort out the issues regarding "dead" wardens and downloadable content.

Right, having got all that out of the way, I do appreciate that the (very well presented) endings of DAO are many and probably weren't written with an expansion in mind, though they do offer several ideas for the future. Also, I recognise that what I put forward above might have worked for companions like Leliana but ones like Alister wouldn't have been so easily sorted out - though I think not impossible. However, the expansion is nearly here, so unless there is a patch, we will have what we have. 

I've also changed my mind a bit regarding options for DAO2. I originally felt that  it should pick up directly from where DAO left off, i.e. no time gap etc. That was probably a reaction to my disappointment over this expansion. I'm becoming more open-minded now about it and whilst I still think it would be great to have my warden and my companions back, I don't think I'd be against it being time for "son/daughter of warden (and companion)" to meet up with "daughter of Morrigan" or whatever and continue the story afresh. In the meantime it would be nice to have another expansion that  keep the companions and the romance, but developer time may not allow it with DAO2 on the horizon.

My longer term view is still that it is important that the romance options aren't watered
down or removed again in the future because they are part of what made
DAO unique and so absorbing.

Sorry this is a bit long. I guess I took up the point regarding examining how our feelings about the expansion were changing.

Modifié par Aybeden, 07 mars 2010 - 08:33 .

[Sabriana]

I'm with the 'disappointed' crowd. I like the 'romance' aspect, and I understand that it there can be several reasons to not include them, but just saying that it would be 'shoehorned' or couldn't really work because this is an expansion is not valid. For example, HotU is also only an expansion, yet, it had a great romance option, at least for femPCs.

My favorite PC would just never make an appearance in the expansion, simply because if Zevran can't be there - her story is done. She and him can be happily rebuilding the GWs. When fully romanced, Zevran becomes very protective and is loyal to a fault. There is no way he would let her go off alone into a danger-zone, even if he had to stealth-sneak after her. So like I said, no Zevran will retire both, my HNF and Zevran permanently.

There are PCs that didn't get romantically involved to the point of falling in love. There are PCs who got dumped. And there is the new Warden without connections to the OC NPCs. Even a cheating PC returning to the OC love-interest shouldn't be too hard to handle. Heck, if they can 'hand-wave' death (US), they certainly can hand-wave that aspect, easily.

Zevran/Leliana have just as much right to be there as Oghren. However, Oghren is the neutral choice. If there could be only one returning, there's no way they could've picked Zevran over Leliana or vice versa. Can you imagine the outcry from the left-out NPC's fans?

Oghren is the safe and neutral choice. To say that they have no business being there because it's GW business is not valid, imo, because none of the OC companions, aside from Alistair are Grey Warden's either. The option for Zevran/Leliano to help the PC rebuild and recruit is clearly there. That is also GW business, yet they are fully involved in it.

As for the Joining being a secret, it really isn't that much of a secret anymore, ever since Anora blurted out the fact that death is very possible due to the ritual, in full earshot of the whole Landsmeet. Zevran also mentions that the GW always dies before offering to do prevent it. He just doesn't know that it has to be a GW who slays the archdemon, but then, neither does she at that point. Although Zevrans offer has nothing to do with the Joining but with the slaying of the archdemon, it still points to the fact that the GW secrets are not quite that secret any longer.

I am in a holding pattern, in that I will wait and see. I'm not saying that I will never buy the exp, but it is possible. There are more reasons for my waiting than game-content btw, but those do not belong here. By the time I make my decision, the modding community (hopefully) will have found a way to transfer the content of WK over. I don't own RtO, and I don't plan on it, so that isn't really any consolation for me.

Before I get told to get a boy/girl friend and get over it, I can like whatever I want as aspects of the games I pay for. Romances do not have to be a central part, but I do like to have them in games that I purchase with my money, which I worked hard for. I don't plan on ever buying and paying for something that does not give me what I want, just because there are people who don't know that individual tastes, opinions, and choices are..., well, individual.

Modifié par Sabriana, 07 mars 2010 - 09:49 .

[Giltspur]

grieferbastard wrote...

Stage 1: Denial

Stage 2: Anger

Stage 3: Bargaining

Stage 4: Depression

Stage 5: Acceptance


Having seen the variety of threads on this topic I'm regularly amazed at how many people seem genuinely upset over how these things are handled in even just an expansion. Obviously a lot of folks got a deep emotional response out of the game and that's awesome. So I'm curious; for those who are upset and if you're honest with yourself about the realities of what will and will not be included in Awakenings, what stage are you at?

I'm excited about the expansion because it allows me to import my character, has new abilities, a stronghold and deepens one of the villains from the first game, the Darkspawn.


I never pick the Ultimate Sacrifice ending, but I can defintely understand why so many are upset over how that was handled. 

I don't understand the reaction to romances not being included.  Let's consider the four.

The Morrigan romance was one of my favorite parts of DAO.  But that doesn't mean it needs to be continued in DAOA.  It really wouldn't make any sense either given that she's in Orlais and given that Awakening is in Amaranthine.  

Zevren and Leliana are tougher.  They can continue traveling with you in the ending.  Of course, there's nothing in the ending preventing the romance being put on hold as you part ways for awhile either.  Maybe Leliana has to go to Orlais while you go to Amaranthine for example.  Since video game stories are a bit of a collaboration between developer and gamer, there's going to be give and take.

Alistair.  Well, if he's king, things are going to be on hold a lot.  He is essentially a prisoner of obligation. 
So he's not going to always going have time for himself or his wife.

So having romances on hold doesn't seem like any big problem.  What about adding new ones?  Well, it would make sense for Orlesian wardens or for people that were dumped by their DAO partners or for folks that just like to cheat.  But I can understand if Bioware felt their resources better spent elsewhere.  The most important thing is that they have future plans for Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana and Zevran.  None of that needed to happen in Awakening though.

Modifié par Giltspur, 07 mars 2010 - 11:20 .

[Ceridraen]

I'm just glad they're not ripping it apart, personally. I do wonder how many times I'll go through this one, without the PC-romance-connection angle. I played a dwarf girl just to pair her up with Zevran - by that point, I was pretty sick of the game play - and I could live with never, ever seeing The Fade again.

[Lord_Darkmoon]

I'm disillusioned. Maybe some day I can make myself load up an older savegame and do the dark ritual. And then maybe I buy Awakening, import my character and play it. But I think this will not be for quite some time.

I hope that Bioware learned from the whole affair and will only have one ending in DA 2 or support every ending they create.

[ankuu]

guys i am sure that the team understood everything and will bring back the romances in future expansions and/or sequels. they were going to do that anyway, as David Gaider said. maybe you'll even be able to romance the new awakening char in future "episodes" when you'll know them better.



now move you butts and rebuild the grey wardens! that's a commander's job.

[Cell1e]

Sabriana wrote...

I'm with the 'disappointed' crowd. I like the 'romance' aspect, and I understand that it there can be several reasons to not include them, but just saying that it would be 'shoehorned' or couldn't really work because this is an expansion is not valid. For example, HotU is also only an expansion, yet, it had a great romance option, at least for femPCs.

My favorite PC would just never make an appearance in the expansion, simply because if Zevran can't be there - her story is done. She and him can be happily rebuilding the GWs. When fully romanced, Zevran becomes very protective and is loyal to a fault. There is no way he would let her go off alone into a danger-zone, even if he had to stealth-sneak after her. So like I said, no Zevran will retire both, my HNF and Zevran permanently.

There are PCs that didn't get romantically involved to the point of falling in love. There are PCs who got dumped. And there is the new Warden without connections to the OC NPCs. Even a cheating PC returning to the OC love-interest shouldn't be too hard to handle. Heck, if they can 'hand-wave' death (US), they certainly can hand-wave that aspect, easily.

Zevran/Leliana have just as much right to be there as Oghren. However, Oghren is the neutral choice. If there could be only one returning, there's no way they could've picked Zevran over Leliana or vice versa. Can you imagine the outcry from the left-out NPC's fans?

Oghren is the safe and neutral choice. To say that they have no business being there because it's GW business is not valid, imo, because none of the OC companions, aside from Alistair are Grey Warden's either. The option for Zevran/Leliano to help the PC rebuild and recruit is clearly there. That is also GW business, yet they are fully involved in it.

As for the Joining being a secret, it really isn't that much of a secret anymore, ever since Anora blurted out the fact that death is very possible due to the ritual, in full earshot of the whole Landsmeet. Zevran also mentions that the GW always dies before offering to do prevent it. He just doesn't know that it has to be a GW who slays the archdemon, but then, neither does she at that point. Although Zevrans offer has nothing to do with the Joining but with the slaying of the archdemon, it still points to the fact that the GW secrets are not quite that secret any longer.

I am in a holding pattern, in that I will wait and see. I'm not saying that I will never buy the exp, but it is possible. There are more reasons for my waiting than game-content btw, but those do not belong here. By the time I make my decision, the modding community (hopefully) will have found a way to transfer the content of WK over. I don't own RtO, and I don't plan on it, so that isn't really any consolation for me.

Before I get told to get a boy/girl friend and get over it, I can like whatever I want as aspects of the games I pay for. Romances do not have to be a central part, but I do like to have them in games that I purchase with my money, which I worked hard for. I don't plan on ever buying and paying for something that does not give me what I want, just because there are people who don't know that individual tastes, opinions, and choices are..., well, individual.

Great post Sabriana, I totally agree with you! I am at the grief stage and probably wont move from there for quite a while!
I was so excited when I discovered games with romance in them, there are too many games out there that are just shooters/hack and slash etc.
To discover a type of game that lets you build friendships and even a romantic interest, well that was so amazing for me! I have been busy this past year or two playing all the great romantic rpg's and when DAO came along it topped the bunch. I became a die-hard fan of DA. I had so much fun playing through over and over the game with the different romance options.
Other game types I played once to see the story line and then left in the cupboard and forgot, but DA I just couldnt get enough of downloading hair/face and clothes mods and trying them out with my favorite romance option Alistair.
I am really disappointed that the developers didnt include some type of new romance or flirt for Awakening. There are too many games out there that just don't cater for us romantic souls. I am also a little angry too. I have no inclination to play Awakening and am glad now that I didnt pre-order it.
I have a feeling that the decision to leave out the romance was a financial one, it must take an awful lot of work and time  to write in romance angles and integrate them properly with the story and I have a feeling they wanted to release Awakenings before the public lose interest in DA.
Anyway Bioware or whoever makes these decisions I just wanted to let you know how upset I am!

Stage 5-Acceptance will be a long time coming.

Modifié par Cell1e, 07 mars 2010 - 03:11 .