118 replies to this topic

[Mister Mumbles]

Eric5h5, on 25 February 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

I don't really understand the need to make real-time combat in an RPG...it doesn't make the game "more exciting" or anything, just less interesting.

More frantic, too. I hate being rushed through combat, at which point I'm much more likely to make mistakes. Even with the pause ability I found some of those fights a bit too hectic for my liking, and then also having to pause every few seconds lest another member of my party shall be knocked out when I wasn't looking. I like to be able to give thought to what I want to do and take as much time as I need. Also one reason why I stopped playing RTSs for the most part. They've just become too frantic for me.

Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to Avadon as well. With any luck, it should be out sometime next month. I should also finally give the Eschalon games the plunge. I keep eying them, but I always keep getting distracted by other stuff.

[the Battle Cat]

Eric5h5, on 25 February 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

I don't really understand the need to make real-time combat in an RPG...it doesn't make the game "more exciting" or anything, just less interesting.  

WRONG!  I mean right.  But I'm sure you're wrong about lots of other stuff.  Playing with reflexes and muscle memory, aka real-time combat in an RPG takes away the thing that makes RPG's so great.  And that would be that you are there to think about everything.  Review and analyze every item you pick up, making decisions in the shops, making decisions in the character stats when leveling up, deciding what each of your party is going to do for the team to win the battle.  Now, I'm playing Torchlight and having a lot of fun, but it would be 10 times more interesting to have the combat broken down into moves that require careful decision making.

[Eric5h5]

the Battle Cat, on 26 February 2011 - 10:19 AM, said:

But I'm sure you're wrong about lots of other stuff.

The moon IS TOO made out of green cheese!  It just makes sense!

Quote

Now, I'm playing Torchlight and having a lot of fun, but it would be 10 times more interesting to have the combat broken down into moves that require careful decision making.

Torchlight is ultimately descended from Rogue, which is of course turn-based.  I think the way it's structured as an action game pretty much works, but on the other hand I played with about half a dozen characters and am probably done with it (two of them made it--hardcore mode), whereas I played Moria with dozens of characters and spent a lot more time with it.

--Eric

[Tacohead]

I typically prefer turn–based combat as well in role-playing games but Dragon Age was an exception for me. The pausing certainly helps but you can't forget about the sophisticated tactics system that Bioware used in Dragon Age. It's somewhat difficult to understand and use at first but once you get the hang of it you have quite a bit of flexibility to “program” your characters on how to react in various different combat situations. Definitely not mindless hack and slash.

I'm a bit concerned about Dragon Age 2 though. It really does look like it's more console–orientated which isn't good. I guess we'll all know for sure soon though.

-PN

[UmarOMC1]

I just got the email and am downloading this sucker right now! Check your email!


EDIT: There's a built-in Release Date check and it can't launch until March 8, 0400 (time zone not specified, I assume it's based on my system time)! Well, at least I've the download out of the way!

[Bernie]

UmarOMC1, on 05 March 2011 - 01:13 AM, said:

I just got the email and am downloading this sucker right now! Check your email!


EDIT: There's a built-in Release Date check and it can't launch until March 8, 0400 (time zone not specified, I assume it's based on my system time)! Well, at least I've the download out of the way!

If it is based on your system time, then you could change your system clock. If it is based on getting an "OK" from a Bioware server, then it's field trip time!

[UmarOMC1]

Bernie, on 05 March 2011 - 06:16 AM, said:

If it is based on your system time, then you could change your system clock. If it is based on getting an "OK" from a Bioware server, then it's field trip time!

WHAT'S that letter after EN...? OHHHHH!!!

[Bernie]

UmarOMC1, on 05 March 2011 - 09:14 AM, said:

WHAT'S that letter after EN...? OHHHHH!!!

Are you feeling OK?
What ya watching?
Wanna take a bath?
Man, you're a guitar freak!

[Tacohead]

Will the Signature Edition be available after March 8th or is it strictly a pre-order thing? DA:O had the "Digital Deluxe" version available after its release (which I got dirt cheap a few months later from Direct2Drive) although this seems like something different - as in another way to get as much money from people as possible. Anybody know?

-PN.

[clocknova]

Just read this article.  Sounds very depressing.  I'm still wavering on buying DA:O, but I think DA2 is definitely going to be a pass for me.  Not my cup of RPG.  Looks like dedicated RPG fans are going to be relegated to indie games from now on.

[Janichsan]

clocknova, on 06 March 2011 - 04:30 PM, said:

Just read this article.  

Ugh – that sounds bad:

Quote

The review in PC Games has said that the majority of Dragon Age 2 plays out very much like the demo, meaning a lot of copy-pasted and narrow paths - ugly.

[Tacohead]

It's also listed as an "Action" title. Uh oh...

-PN

[UmarOMC1]

Yeah, there are a few things I'm concerned about regarding DA2 (said topics covered in that article being the main ones), but I'm willing to still give it a play through- I don't think I'll be deleting DA:O, though, and if I'd neither at this point I'd jump on that Ultimate Edition DA:O ($39.99 for everything!? I paid $65 for the Deluxe Edition!). I'm still wondering, though, if I'll be able to play DA2 at 0400HRS local Eastern Standard Time? Where's the server it's doing the time check with, anyway?


EDIT: Tried launching again, now it states 0300HRS, March 08, 2011 rather than 0400.

[UmarOMC1]

I was wondering why I couldn't hear anything in Dragon Age 2. My audio  out is set to the Digital Optical Audio/TOSLINK on my setup to  my Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 surround sound setup. For SOME reason Dragon Age 2 changes the settings in Audio MIDI Setup (/Applications/Utilies/)- not the output, but the format. I have it set to 44.1kHz 2-Channel 16-bit, which works-  I HEAR Dragon Age 2 in the background right now as I write this and  after I changed it back to my settings, but upon EVERY launch so far,  Dragon Age 2 changes my settings to 48kHz which does NOT work!

It's not really a fix but the only work-around [for me/my setup] is to launch Audio MIDI Setup first and, after clicking Play  in Dragon Age 2's launcher screen (which is the catalyst to the failing sound), press the Cmd-Tab to switch  apps, change to the working setting and switch back to Dragon Age 2.

The camera angles, I find, are a bit annoying in it's being difficult to control the angle. After zooming out to a wide angle to view more of the battlefield, zooming back in doesn't return the camera to a more "over-the-shoulder" view, making it difficult to gauge direction. What seems to fix that? Restarting the game. Handling the battlefield is a bit difficult and losing track of the pointer is quite easy. I really don't feel the sense of polish as I do in Origins, but I've only just begun.

[ltcommander.data]

http://social.biowar...age/da2-patches

I wonder if they will make the high-resolution texture pack available for Mac? Especially now that the top MacBook Pros have 1GB of VRAM as well. They recommend DX11 for most of the benefits so perhaps it'll have to wait for Lion's more advanced OpenGL implementation, although you'd think it'd just be direct texture substitution and not require code changes that are API dependent. I do remember arguments before about whether textures in OS X take up more memory than in Windows so perhaps that's not helping either.

[Janichsan]

All reviews for DA2 I saw so far agree that the game has been "streamlined" (according to some to a degree that it's almost shallow) and that it's by far not as good as DA:O. At least one reviewer suggested that it might have been better if Bioware hadn't put the game in the Dragon Age franchise.

On the plus side: most reviewers lauded the amount of choice you are given and the impact your choices have on the storyline - that actually appears to be the case to a larger extent then in DA:O.

And more thing to nitpick: why the heck have the Qunari suddenly horns??

[clocknova]

"Streamlining."  Code word for "consolization," or fixing what ain't broke.

[strangemax]

Just a couple of things I've run into with DA2. One, I can't get the installer to run on my 2011 macbook pro. It keeps quitting. I haven't had a chance to contact support, so for now I'm going to assume it's just a fluke. I was able to install it fine on my Mac Pro, and in bootcamp on the macbook.

As far as graphics, the windows version using directx11 if visually stunning. The Mac graphics on my Mac Pro on high are nice, but there are some problems with shadows glitching. I turned on vsync, but that didn't help. The mac pro has a ATI Radeon HD 5870.

I haven't had much time to play, those are just my initial observations. I'll probably ending up playing in bootcamp since I have that option, but the mac version should be a good experience for those who don't want to run bootcamp (assuming the installer problem on my macbook pro is a fluke).

Oh and as for the differences between origins and DA2. The combat system is a bit more simplified and has a quicker feel to it. There are plenty of reviews detailing that. One thing I found cool that I haven't read anywhere is that if you customize the look of your main character, the npcs that start the game match the look. Initially you start the game running away with your mother, sister, and brother. So having their looks change to match yours is a nice touch.

[devSin]

Did you download the official hi-res texture pack when playing under Windows (it isn't and won't be Mac compatible, apparently)? How does it perform with the 5870?

[TG_Thakkar]

o/  Gamers !!

Introduction first.  I am Sunny Thakkar, one of the Senior QA personnel at TransGaming Inc.  Been a long time lurker on the IMG forums and its nice to finally meet you all.

Regarding the High Res Texture Pack, apart from the potential patching issues noted on the BioWare forum ( http://social.biowar...-6394633-1.html ), another factor for the pack's absence is the need for  DirectX 11 features which are currently not available on Mac.  

If you are curious about performance when using the texture pack on Windows, you can take a peek at some numbers here - http://social.biowar...index/6395368/1

cheers