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Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Do we know the class of Cassandra? I would imagine templar. What is she like in the books?

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Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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I said come in! posted:

Please don't be a mess like DA2. Although all signs point to Bioware taking this game seriously this time. DAI really does look awesome. I guess if nothing else we have Witcher 3 to fall back on.

It really does look pretty. I always feel a bit shallow when I like good graphics, but it is nice to have.

The combat seems to be some cross between DA2 and DA:O, right? I wonder how that will work.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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It did not help that the first act was better than the second and especially the third act. Still, it is always a good idea to wait a week before buying the game. Some goons will probably preorder the game in any case, and we can hear what they have to say. If it is really bad there will also be uproar in the Bioware forums. Rome 2 looked and sounded awesome, and look how that release turned out.

And you should never fear to miss anything important by not preordering. If there is sufficient demand then any preorder bonus will be made available per DLC, and I would rather spend a bit more money for a DLC than buy a game which could turn out to be the next Sword of the Stars 2.

Edit:

Jastiger posted:

I've been going back through baldurs gate and will be doing baldurs gate 2 shortly. I'm really, really, really, REALLY wanting a continuation of that level of depth, character, storytelling, strategy, and immersion. They came super close with DA: Origins with the strategic play and interesting characters, but fell short with bland repetitive enemies and class imbalances. DA 2 took three steps back with its shoehorn plot, recycled areas and lack of character.

I really hope DA 3 goes back to its roots and gives us a more polished and complex DA 1 with more depth as seen in BG 2. I feel like they had a chance to make another epic franchise and dropped the ball. With this being the supposed last one, maybe we can get that BG level game by focusing on what made BG and DA 1 good.

And still the choice at the end of Throne of Baal was a single text choice. Option 1 and you become a god, option 2 and you stay mortal. Your choice makes no difference to the characters except for your sister or you love interest. Kind of like ME3. The different endings of DA:O felt more natural in my opinion. And class balance, well at least you cannot use time-stop traps in DA:O.

Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale are some of the best RPGs of all time (and look better than the drab DA games), but they still had flaws.

Torrannor fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Sep 10, 2013

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Jastiger posted:

You're absolutely right they had flaws, and I'm not glossing them over. But you can't deny that they had a MUCH better story telling and immersion factor, even for their generation. I can't help but feel that if Black Isle made Baldurs Gate in 2008 or so, it WOULD be much deeper and better because they obviously genuinely cared about the game. They used the tools available to them at the time. I mean the AI was horrible, and some of the interface was unintuitive, but goddam if it didn't suck you in and make you feel powerful. ANd the fights were actually challenging, you had to be tactical or you lost, just like in DA:O.

Speaking of which, where can I find Icewind Dale for cheaper and is Planescape: Torment the same company?

Just a heads up, Planescape: Torment is VERY heavy on the role-play and story aspect. I believe you can get through the game without killing more than 10 enemies if you play a rogue. The Icewind Dale games are just the opposite, more focused on the tactical combat, you create each character yourself and cannot gain any NPC followers. So there is no party member interaction, but the story is still nice, if not as deep as the BG games or Planescape. Baldur's Gate is like a cross between Planescape and Icewind Dale (even though it came first).

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Leelee posted:

KoB posted:

That Dragon Age Keep thing should be in the OP.

It already is.

Quoting the OP, he already linked to the save generator.

Perhaps we can have weapons that don't magically hang several inches away from your body in the air. That would be nice.

Torrannor fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Sep 11, 2013

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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kingcom posted:

He was my only spec'd healer and I didn't want to have to build that poo poo again with giggle squee or myself. Sure I could maybe get through it but I dont want to.

Not to mention that Merrill does not have access to healing spells. Anders is your only healer after Act 1 until the end game, unless your character can heal as well. And if you play a warrior or rogue, then you have to take Anders along if you take your sister into the Deep Roads, or else he will be your only healer for the rest of DA2. And besides, I romanced him in my first playthrough and found it OOC to kill him.


Lotish posted:

Didn't see anyone else post this interview. Particular points I thought the thread might be interested in:

Open world is loaded, but I don't need a world like Skyrim. Different open maps separated by loading screens worked for Baldur's Gate.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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If I understand this Dragon Age Keep thing right, at the moment you can only apply to join the beta at a later date, right? So right now it is just a website with a promise of more to come? That means we just have to wait until it is finished to see what choices are available to us.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Lotish posted:

In the last two games you get to know the villains pretty early on. You meet Loghain in person and see the Archdemon in your dreams; people talk up Meredith pretty incessantly in Act 1, so when you finally meet her you feel you already know her (and of course you meet the real villain, Anders, pretty much immediately. I wonder if it's going to be the same in DA:I?

Meredith walks by Hawke shortly before that thief tries to rob him and Varric introduces himself via badass archery (crossbowery? crossbowing?). She is the very first person other than the protagonists you see in Act 1.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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I decided to look it up to be sure, here in Gharbad's excellent and ongoing SSLP of Dragon Age 2 http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3559410

And it turns out that you first see the thief, then Meredith comes in and glares at him, she leaves, then Hawke and sibling walk in, talking to Bartrand. So she is the second person that appears in Act 1, and maybe Hawke did not even see her.

They are hinting at someone evil behind the scenes, so I doubt he/she will revealed too soon. The first part of the game will probably focus on gathering forces for the inquisition. As long as there is no bullshit like the Catalyst at the end this might even work.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Looking it up, the official symbol of the Seekers of Truth is a sunburst with an open eye. The connection to their job is obvious, all seeing eye, bringing light into the darkness etc.

Interestingly their sunburst is of a different design than the one the Chantry uses (simple sunburst with the rays all aligned counter-clockwise) which is also different from the symbol of the Maker (sunburst with elongated and intertwined rays at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock, and a red circle crossing/connecting the elongated rays and a black circle inside the sunburst itself) and different from the symbol of the first inquisition (sunburst with the open eye and a downward oriented sword behind the eye).

But we do not know what symbol the new inquisition will use. Did the Seekers/Chantry split occur after the ending of DA2?

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Agreed. They should just come out and say: "Sorry, we screwed up with the choices in the first two games. In the interest of a better story and more time spent to make DA3 as good as possible, we are dropping most of your choices from Origins and DA2. Demon baby is canon, Anders is dead and Leliana lives." This would probably get the Bioware forums overflowing with rage, but I would rather have them spend time to make Inquisition a good game than having them check if Hawke joined the mercenaries or the smugglers and inserting a footnote somewhere in the Codex. On the other hand, something that could work well is the issue of who rules Ferelden. Alistair is probably more willing to lend you troops than the rather paranoid Loghain.

Perhaps they could even announce that all choices that are not present in Dragon Age: Keep will not be relevant to Inquisition? That would be an interesting solution.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Alouicious posted:

He probably meant it was supposed to be the "origins" of the series, with subsequent games being entirely unconnected outside of setting.

I thought it was a reference to the different "origins" in the game itself? Human noble, Dalish elf etc.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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BioMe posted:

Really the most baffling thing about the continuity plan was Morrigan's demon baby. It's almost cliffhanger levels of a sequel hook and it was completely optional.

Exactly. And with Morrigan already announced as an importan figure in Inquisition, I can imagine several interesting stories that can be spun about the demon child. But with this choice being optional, this could become a huge train wreck as they try to keep the baby-less story interesting and consistent with the demon child story.


necessary voodoo posted:

Is dead Anders ~Bioware preferred canon~ like Alistair becoming king, or were you just throwing out examples? Honest question-- I don't follow the extra materials outside the games much, but I do know that Bioware tends to push certain choices from the games in their books and stuff.

This was just an example because I want Anders dead. I have no idea if Bioware indicated a preference for him being alive or dead.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Lotish posted:

However a small "sidequel" could probably have been easier to overlook, especially if they didn't hype it as much while working on a proper "sequel."

Like, imagine if DA:I didn't import poo poo from DA2 and, if it imported anything at all, only launched off DA:O's end states (because part of the game visits Ferelden); and then imagine if DA:Exodus only focused on the events in Kirkwall and didn't do anything to jeopardize the international balance--just its own; you could over throw the templars, overthrow the circle, burn them both down, but you kept it isolated to just that city. DA2 would be easier to ignore. (Which seems to be what they're trying to do anyway.)

Well, in hindsight treating DA2 like a standalone title in the same universe would have made sense, but the success of Mass Effect was difficult to ignore.

Just thinking about it, did anything carry over from Baldur's Gate to BG2, besides your player character and your equipment? If you killed and never revived Minsk in the first game, would he not appear in his cell?

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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The rivalry system was a good idea. Influence systems where you have to be nice to people to get influence, and where you need the influence to progress the stories of these characters are bad.

They should have added a second relationship meter. It only goes from 0 to 100, and fills up every time you gain friendship or rivalry points, but much slower. And when you get to 100 without having at least 80 friendship/rivalry, it would permanently lock your friendship/rivalry meter at 0 (ie. neutral). Then you would have a third story arc for that character, where they respect you not as a rival or friend, but just somebody with whom they sometimes agree and sometimes disagree. That would eliminate the need to game the system/play with a guide to get party members to 100% rivalry/friendship.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Do we know anything about the new talent trees? Will they go with the "do-quest-to-unlock-specialization" model of DA:O or will they use the DA2 system of specializations being unlocked at specific levels?

Another thing, I guess the inability of Dwarves to become mages will still be present, do you think we can play Qunari mages? Or perhaps Qunari cannot become rogues? That would probably fit better, we know about Sareebas, and it is difficult to imagine Qunari sneaking around.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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But credit where credit is due, Anders is not that bad of a character. I mean I despise him as does everybody else, but he is kind of effective in making you care about him. You care about him in that you want him dead, but apart from him, Varric and maybe Aveline I did not really care what happens to the other characters. And how often did a party member ever betray you in a way that Anders did? He did not belong to some shadow organization, sent to infiltrate and betray you, but instead he acted out of his own motivation and did not even want to harm you! He used you to achieve a goal, but especially if you romance him he does not really oppose you. Plus of course he has a little magically induced psychological problem, but if you think about it, his actions kind of make sense.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Stroth posted:

Yes it does. Every one of those things makes him a bad character, because every one of those things was terribly written.

I really wish people would stop claiming that 'Just because you don't like him it doesn't make him a bad character, you're supposed to not like him.' Because it's crap. People don't think he's a bad character because they dislike him, they dislike him because he's a terrible character. You're supposed to be able to sympathize with him, that's why there's a chance to spare his life at the end. He's supposed to be a tragic, glorious hero that does terrible things for the greater good. Instead he's a whining shithead that contradicts himself every other conversation and doesn't do anything but make things worse.

Could you give examples of him contradicting himself? I don't see them.

He is obviously not one of the great characters in video gaming, but calling him a bad character is going too far in my opinion. I also don't see why you think we are supposed to sympathize with him, just because we have the option to spare him at the end. Look at it from another angle, perhaps we are supposed to hate him, which is why we are given the chance to kill him at the end?

I mean we are obviously supposed to sympathize with him a little bit, since his principal objection to the treatment of mages has some merit. But I don't think Bioware wanted us to like him. He betrayed us in a really personal way. There is no way that Bioware did not want us to dislike him.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Geostomp posted:

There's a way to make a character with a valid argument that could still be hated good. Anders was not that character.

He was a massive hypocrite when it came to people he disagreed with, shoved "the Mage's Plight" issue into nearly every conversation (so much so that it became almost a running gag), had nothing resembling a plan or even support of any character other than Hawke him/herself, antagonized others in the group at any opportunity for the most petty of reasons, whines about everything, and deliberately lied about his activities in a way that only harmed his cause. Anders was intolerable as a person, even to the other characters, but he was kept in the group for seemingly no reason. When you make Fenris seem reasonable and well-adjusted, you know you've got a bad character.

So I agree that Anders was probably meant to be hated, but Bioware miscalculated just how much the player would detest him while still being stuck with him.


Anders may have claimed to be on the side of all mages, but his actions left a lot to be desired. He didn't just spite Meredith, he blew up a church with everyone inside! Including one of the very few people keeping Meredith's templars on a leash. Any mage with a brain would avoid damaging the very little sympathy they have with the public by attacking the Chantry itself for some petty vengeance. Anders did not.

He perpetrated a terrorist attack without any support or even the knowledge of the Circle while announcing that he was doing it "for them", tying them to his crime. Orsino immediately, and rightfully, tore into Anders for basically dooming them all for his little crusade. Anders was not supporting the mages at all; he was just acting as a zealot, forcing every other mage to serve his cause because he and his buddy Vengeance can't take the idea of waiting. He just wanted to be a martyr for the cause, so he forced the worst possible outcome in the flashiest way possible so nobody could forget that it was Anders who fought for freedom. The Circle Mages should have been howling for his blood after this disgusting display.

His final act was irrational, criminally selfish, and morally reprehensible. Worse, he had the gall to get self-righteous about Meredith's reaction "proving" his point (which wasn't completely wrong given she was driven bugnuts, but still) when it was specifically what he was aiming for. He proved himself an unreliable loose cannon and devolved into being little more than a ranting abomination. He was every bit as crazy and dangerous as Meredith had become. After this, there's nothing he could have done that wouldn't have hindered the mages' cause even further.

I didn't see any reason to not kill him when given the choice.



You mention Vengeance, but dismiss him as just not wanting to wait. Hello? Vengeance is the reason Anders is so screwed up. Anders is an abomination, and it shows. Justice gets corrupted into Vengeance, and as a spirit of the fade, where time is meaningless (I always wonder how that would work), he indeed cannot understand the concept of waiting. Anders is compelled to act, as soon as possible, to exact vengeance against those who wronged him and all the mages. And even though a part of him might know that this will make it worse for the mages in the short run, he cannot act different because of Vengeance.

Of course he is a hypocrite for liking it when you sell Fenris to slavery, or berating Isabella for things that pale in comparison to his later actions, but it is just another sign on how the influence of Vengeance makes him irrational.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Pick posted:

Why should I interpret things their way? I paid for the game and I'll consume it my way.

I totally agree with you here. There are several ways to interpret DA2:

1. The one that is probably intended by the authors, and which leaves me totally unsatisfied with the storytelling.

or

2. My interpretation, which is not supported by out-of-game statements like interpretation one, but which makes me enjoy the game I paid quite a bit of money for.

Why would I ever go with another interpretation than 1? I recognize the failings of the game, and think it is very clear that DA:O had the better crafted main storyline. And there are games that cannot be rescued by liberal re-interpretation, so I will be careful before I buy their next product. But instead of constantly raging against the game every time I fire it up, I just enjoy it as much as I can. Death of the author is a real concept in literary science, so it is good enough for me.

It helps of course that the battles are quite a bit better than in DA:O. Baldur's Gate had great battles, Diablo 1+2 had great battles, but I was nearly always bored by the combat in Origins. The wave mechanic is not very clever, but I will take it if it is fun. Which it is, try juggling the enemies and your combo points as a rogue, I thought it was highly engaging. It cannot compete with the combat in Mass Effect, but there is a connection here, too. Battles in ME1 were much more boring than those in ME2 + ME3, so I guess Bioware needs at least one game to find out how to develop the right combat mechanics.

Of course the combat in DA2 is underappreciated because few players replayed it, so few people played the higher difficulties where things like friendly fire and combos being more important make combat much more fun.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Pick posted:

I hate Blood Magic because it's always so loving broken!

However, it will almost certainly be in DAI, if only because one of the characters is rumored to be a Tevinter magister.

That could actually be an interesting perspective for once. Because as far as we know, Tevinter is not overrun by abominations. So they obviously can hold them in check. I would guess anyone suspected of failing to resist the demons is killed quickly by the Tevinter templars and the magisters themselves. Remember that the Imperial Chantry is under mage control, and so are their templars. If the magisters control the templars access to Lyrium, they only have to make sure their highest ranks are not corrupted, perhaps by the other high ranking magisters joining forces to kill such an abomination, and accusations of someone being under the influence of demons being a valid intrigue scheme. The templars can handle the lesser mages.

Perhaps such a Tevinter mage could speak with contempt of the non-Tevinter Chantry and their circle of magi, and how the quasi imprisonment and constant threat of being lobotomized/killed of course massively increases the temptation to turn to demons for aid. If he/she is a blood mage, I would bet it becomes an important plot point in the game since the Fade will be a major focus in Inquisition.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Mymla posted:

I'd bet real money that the Red Templars are gonna be virtually indistinguishable from the Cerberus Mooks from ME3. Lobotomized people used as trash mobs by the Big Bad.

Anyway, they're talking about the game I guess.
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/...estruction.html

So, bets on what companions are coming back and in what manner? Will Alistair show up for another three seconds, fit the word "swooping" in a sentence, and then leave?

Well, we already know about Varric, Morrigan and Cassandra (even though the last was not a party member before). After the ending of DA2 I would bet money on Liliana making a return as well, and probably in a relatively big role. Alistair could have a bigger part as well, pledging Ferelden troops to the Inquisition. And apparently Sten rose in Qunari society after Origins, so he could be our contact to the Qunari. I don't think any other party members of the first game will return, except perhaps Fenris due to his appearance in DA2.

I doubt that Fenris, Merrill, Sebastian or Hawke's sibling will return. Since they apparently had 3 (!) books set after DA 2 which featured Isabela, I would not be surprised if she was in the third game. Since Anders had quite a prominent role, and you sparing/killing him was so important for many of your party members, I could imagine him returning. So remember to tick the "killed Anders" option in Dragon Age Keep. Aveline could be the commander of the Kirkwall troops to the Inquisition, but although she was member of the armed forces before fleeing to Kirkwall, I think it would be a bit out of character for her to lead an army. Commanding the guards suits her much more. How much is left of Kirkwall anyway?

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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KittyEmpress posted:

Also, while salt pette and dragon stone or whatever Anders makes you get sounds like bomb supplies once you know it is a bomb, you have no reason to assume it is as a character. Hawke isn't exactly a scholar. And it makes sense (sort of) that he wouldn't turn Merrill over to the Templars, since either he or his sister would then be mages that had close association with a blood mage.

Hawke as a character has no reason to objectively know these people are screw ups until the point where they do screw up. Though I support the idea of being able to kill whoever turns against you in the dream permanently. gently caress you Isabella, turning against me for the promise of a ship. I have half a million gold, I can buy you fifty ships!

I did not know we were collecting bomb ingredients until Anders destroyed half of Kirkwall. I completely missed the reference. And Sela Petrae is only obvious in hindsight. So there is absolutely no reason to expect Hawke to know what Anders is up to, none at all. Especially if you don't play a mage. We might dislike that we cannot stop him from destroying half of Kirkwall, but then you could not stop Kreia from killing all the Jedi Masters you convinced to come out of hiding. No reason to hate on a characters just because your character was duped into helping them doing something dumb. And you can deal with Anders as you please! Forgive him or kill him, total player agency!

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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The Unnamed One posted:

I'd say if it was within the realm of your character's expertise, you should be able to at least call him out on it. A not very smart Warrior Hawke might not find out until it's too late, but a properly specced Mage Hawke could figure something out.

You know, like CRPGs have been doing for ages?

It is not unreasonable to think that even a mage Hawke would not know that Sela Petrae can be used as an explosive. In fact, there was a quest in Act 1 of DA2 that involves a dwarf who wants the secret recipe for explosives from the Arishok, since qunari explosives are more effective than the lyrium based dwarven explosives. We could extrapolate that Anders somehow got hold of this formula after the qunari left Kirkwall, and that very very few people would recognize Sela Petrae as something dangerous. So it would in fact be unreasonable to expect Hawke to pick up what he plans, whose only education would be whatever his father could provide in the backwater part of Ferelden they were hiding.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Considering that last we saw of Morrigan she was stepping to one of these elven mirrors that connect to the Fade, and DA2 has a quest about such a mirror as well, they are probably connected to what's happening with the Fade. Perhaps we need Morrigans help to get to the final boss?

The Unnamed One posted:

Supposedly there's an entire decade separating Hawke fleeing Lothering to Anders' terrorist act (though you wouldn't figure it out if the game didn't tell you so). In the meantime Hawke was able to get that bigass estate of theirs, and has a few favors from significant members of Kirkwall's society. I'm extrapolating as much as you about Hawke's development, but wouldn't it make sense that s/he would learn more about magic and alchemic reactions in this period, which would be reflected in the higher level magic that s/he can now perform?

Anyway, I guess it's kind of a moot point, but having character abilities influencing the outcome of something is a cool feature that Bioware doesn't do a lot. (though DAII at least had the good sense of using your companions abilities to defuse situations sometimes, which is one of the legimately good things about the game).

There is no reason for Hawke to dabble in alchemy, since he always relied on outsiders for these things (buying potions/runes). Which of his specs should give him insight into alchemy? They all seem very mystical energy focused. But even if he did study alchemy, the base point stands: Nobody outside the qunari is supposed to know how to make gunpowder. That is the reason the qunari ships with cannons wiped out the fleets of the rest of Thedas. And why they could overwhelm their armies. Until their enemies wised up and used mages as cannon replacements. So no, there is really no reason for Hawke to know what is up. We can argue how Anders knows about this, but it is simply not realistic that Hawke would recognize the danger of Sela Petrae.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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HenessyHero posted:

E: It also helps to remember that Fenris also gets to be a companion in DA2, a game where every single mage except Hawke or Bethany is mouth-frothing insane with bad magic.

I can name at least one mage that is not mouth-frothing insane with bad magic. It is that half-elven dreamer kid you rescue in the Fade. And depending on your view, the dalish keeper is not insane as well.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Leelee posted:

A question for people- who would you *want* to see returning to DAI as either a party member or cameo? Choose out of prior party members from the last two games, so no cheating and saying Sandal. Or do you already have your choice confirmed?

The best party member of DA2 is already returning in Inquisition. Ditto for DA:O. I would prefer all new party members, with the exception of Varric of course, so I don't want anybody else returning as a follower. But for cameos, I don't really care. The only party member I want to return as a cameo is Liliana, in her role as an agent of the current Divine of the Chantry. The others can get a nod or a bigger role, as long as I can choose that Anders died at the end of DA2.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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COOKIEMONSTER posted:

Calling it now:

Iron Bull is that Qunari mercenary you meet in DA2 act 1 who doesn't want to be a Tal-Vashoth anymore.

Aveline shows up as a knight somewhere in Orlais.

There will be a subplot involving Merill, Morrigan, and eluvians.

The source of the fade rifts is the blood sluice machine/blood lake beneath Kirkwall channeling all the suffering and death in what was a pretty obvious attempt by the Tevinters to tear a hole in the veil... for reasons. Final mission sees the Inquisitor travel to Kirkwall to shut that poo poo down and repair the veil.

I think you are very wrong about Morrigan and the Eluvian. That Morrigan would return was one of the very first things we heard about DA:I, and considering the possible impact of DemonBaby, as well as the connection to the Fade that the Eluvian are said to have, I would be hugely surprised if they were not part of the main plot.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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necessary voodoo posted:

You mean how the majority of the speculation after ME3 was that everyone on the citadel had been slaughtered & the entire galactic fleet would've slowly died off from starvation after the mass relays were destroyed and all the aliens were cut off from their home planets and food sources? Yes, I was very satisfied with coming to the conclusion that that was one of the endings too. :downs:

This was always overblown. Only the Turians and Quarians could not eat Earth-grown food, and the Quarians are conveniently traveling around in their food sources (the liveships). There may have been hardship for the Turians, but presumably a planet as highly advanced as Earth could have provided the dextro-food the Turians needed, with the help of the Quarians maybe. And FTL travel was not wholly dependent on the Mass Relays, only without them they were too slow to cross the whole galaxy. It never was the total collapse of all galactic civilization like it was made out to be. Not to mention that one Asari explicitly states her people should build Mass Relays, so it sounds as if it was at least theoretically a feasible undertaking.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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The Crotch posted:

... the rest of the speculation about the ending was that a good chunk of the galaxy was destroyed when the Mass Relays blew up, given that the only previous example of a Mass Relay getting destroyed took out the nearest solar system.

It was never a good speculation. The visuals of the destroyed Mass Relays in the DLC and in ME3 are totally different. They came about in drastically different ways, so it is not necessary that they have the same explosiveness/effect. And since the Sol system has a Mass Relay, why would Earth be severely damaged in a low military readiness ending while escaping unharmed in a high military readiness ending, if the whole system was destroyed by the Charon Relay anyway?

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Pick posted:

You must have the gay Alistair all the fangirls wanted!

Hey! What about us fanboys? We wanted a gay Alistait as well!

But it is of course no contest, as a character Zevran is much more interesting. And I agree with not liking Leliana very much. So I guess it is a bit typical Bioware that Leliana and Isabella are probably the only party member to appear in all three games.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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I have no idea and just said I did not use it or something like that.

If they take my suggestions they will put greater focus on romances! :cheeky:

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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TheWorldIsSquare posted:

Well Mass Effect 3 already screwed it up so we'll see.

Makes me want to dispute that claim, but we shouldn't :ohdear:

I put Varric, Aveline and Anders as the party members I used the most. Anders was a lovely character but he was the only healer I had, Aveline was not bad at all, and Varric was my bro.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Kibayasu posted:

Yeah, I imagine he's just talking about the cinematic itself though if you ask me I'd prefer the fade-to-blacks they did in ME2 and 3 far more than the on-screen scenes in ME1. ME1's weren't terrible or anything but all of it just seems like pointless titillation to me, a reward for the player. No real value is lost by just implying sex through dialogue rather than actually animating it.

Really, a bit of half-naked cuddling/kissing and a fade to black is about the most tasteful sex scene a video game can have. It is obvious what is going on, and if they want to see hardcore sex, I am sure there are other video games out there for them.

Though now that I think about it, are there any western games with explicit sex in them? I know about Japanese visual novels, is that all?

I would not see the "upgrade" of Varric's graphics to be a sign that he can be romanced. You could not romance Flemeth in DA:2. And it is probably just a general Bioware thing, making their games and the characters in them prettier.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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ARACHNOTRON posted:

if we're going to have sex in video games, might as well go whole hog and pull a San Andreas or Fahrenheit.

Leelee posted:

Maybe we'll get a Heavy Rain type of situation with the sex scenes...

Ugh.

I did not play any of these games, do you mean quick time events like in FFXIII-2? That would at least be interesting...once.

I hope they tone the blood splatter way down. It was especially bad when you immediately entered conversation after a battle and were drenched in blood. I did not notice it one my first playthrough, since my mage Hawke pulverized the enemies at a distance and was relatively clean afterwards, but it was quite noticeable with my rogue Hawke.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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I just imagine that after the fight when you are speaking with someone, you would at least wipe your face with your sleeve or something like that. In fact, I would clean my face in any case, since blood in your eyes or your mouth is probably not very comfortable, or sanitary. It just breaks my immersion if they are calmly talking while their face is full of blood.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Edit: Sorry for the double post, browser error.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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I just hope we have no pointless threesomes or foursomes. If I was confident in their writing abilities, especially concerning romances (which I am not), then perhaps they could find a way to model a believable threesome situation. Where all partners are having a believable interest in each other. But while I consider the Cortez romance as quite good, I think they should try to focus more on "traditional" two-person relationships.

Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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Pick posted:

Huh? I didn't do that one (I play Femshep only) but I didn't realize it was a threesome?

Sorry for the confusion. I thought the Cortez romance was quite good, so they have shown they can write acceptable romances, and should focus their energy in bringing all relationships to that quality. Before that they shouldn't bother with moresomes. The silly threesomes and foursomes were only in Dragon Age, future humanity is apparently a big fan of monogamy.

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Torrannor
Apr 27, 2013

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The Sharmat posted:

That's not that surprising, given the weight they seem to give to the opinions of their forums' users. If they're one of your main windows into your fanbase, romances will look to be a HUGE priority by necessity.

But how do you know that romances are not a huge priority for their customers? I guess the Bioware forums are more representative of their fanbase than the SA forums.

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