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Author Topic: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons  (Read 165687 times)

Tom

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #350 on: 02 Mar 2011, 12:10 »

The console is is horribly addictive and makes for soft gamers.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #351 on: 02 Mar 2011, 13:02 »

DA2 vanilla is plenty soft :3
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #352 on: 02 Mar 2011, 13:15 »

Quote
PAUSE PAUSE STRATEGY PAUSE PAUSE OH GOD OH GOD PAUSE PAUSE MY HEART PAUSE PAUSE ARRGH *whole party is dead*

*has to run like a bitch from the dark spawn*

OH GOD NIGHTMARE MODE IS SO EASY, BIOWARE SUX
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #353 on: 02 Mar 2011, 13:18 »

I don't know why anyone would use Carver as a tank. He drops so quickly it's a joke. PC potion use also seems to be bugged - on consoles it's a per-character cooldown but a lot of people (including me) have experienced universal cooldown for potions on the PC. A lot of tactics settings also seem to bug out.

:D DAVID GAIDER DLC FANFIC :D
Quote
Sebastian – Short Story

Princes aren't meant for chastity.

That's what I've been telling myself since my parents' soldiers dragged me to this cloister and left me to rot. They say I'm a disgrace to the Vael family name, that I'll be a weight around my brother's neck when he comes to rule Starkhaven. I say, if you're a prince with no power, you might as well use your title to have some fun.

"Sebastian?" The voice of my jailor, Captain Leland of my parents' personal guard, loyal to the death. In this case, my death. "Do you need anything more tonight, Your Highness?"

"I'm fine." Let him leave. I need to be alone. A moment, then his footsteps echo down the hall. We've done this every night; he should trust that I'll stay in my cell, obedient, asleep.

I unfold the note that was under my plate in the dining hall.

Sebastian— I know you hate it here. If you wish to leave, come to the back entrance at midnight. I'll make sure no one disturbs us.

It's a woman's handwriting, thin and gently looped. I wonder again who might have written it. Another novice, surely. There was a pretty girl I saw praying at the altar the other day; perhaps she was also given here against her will.

I check the door. I've been good; they haven't yet taken to locking me in. I mutter a quick prayer, "Andraste help me out of here and—"

The irony hits me and I stop. It's not that I don't believe. I've been faithful in my own way. I learned the Chant as a boy and can still jump in on any verse. I've tithed faithfully, what little coin I've ever called my own. I've stood up for what is right: I've fought against Tevinter's slavers setting foot in Starkhaven, I've been kind to our elves. And in return, Andraste's gotten me out of a good number of scrapes. It never seemed strange before today to ask Her aid in winning a lady's heart or a bar brawl. But can I truly ask Her to help me escape Her service?

Let me leave now, I plead silently, and you can have whatever you ask of me later. When I'm old. I'll gladly take vows in my retirement, like Grandfather, just don't make me give up my life now.

The hall is empty. No sign one way or the other if She heard.

My bow is in my hands. Grand Cleric Elthina insisted I be allowed to keep my belongings, thank the Maker.

There's a candle lit at the end of the hall. I loose an arrow, and it passes through the wick, leaving us in darkness. I wait, but no one comes. I am alone.

I run lightly and silently down the woven Antivan rug. I'm used to moving in darkness. At the end of the hall, a large window is shuttered against the winter chill. The wood is stiff with the dampness and difficult to move, but a hard shove of my shoulder gets one side opened to the night. There are no trees outside the Kirkwall Chantry, but I'm in luck. One of the outbuildings is wood, and tall enough to use.

There's a coil of rope at my hip, left to me by my mysterious partner-in-crime. I make a tight knot just past the fletching of an arrow and let it fly. With a quick addendum to my earlier prayer, I think, All right, Andraste, if you're going to let your Mothers catch me, do it, but just let this arrow hold. I can't think of a worse way to die than breaking my neck while trying to climb out the Chantry's window.

And she must be listening because the rope is taut, the arrow is strong, my grip is good, and in a heartbeat, my legs hit wood and I'm spooling the rope out slowly, climbing down.

A shadow moves below. For a moment I curse that I need both hands for the rope, and my bow is hanging uselessly from my back. Then I shake my head. If someone catches me, I won't fight. I have no hatred for anyone in this Chantry; they are good people, serving the Maker as they can. My complaint is with my parents, for sending me here as punishment, for forcing me to a vow of celibacy to protect my brothers' children from any rival heirs I might beget.

I will kill no one for my freedom. It's mine to value as I will and it's not worth a single life.

I drop to the ground and my boots stick in the clay. And now I see what I couldn't before. More than one person is waiting for me in the darkness of the Chantry's wall. This can't be my mysterious collaborator— she would be alone, not flanked by templars. For a moment, I think to flee, but my early training is too much. If I've lost this battle, I'll at least lose it with dignity. Princes never run.

One of the forms steps forward. It is a woman, grey-haired and crimson-robed.

"I see you got my note."

My heart leaps— can it be her after all, my fellow rebel novice? But then I recognize the voice. I've heard it, after all, for most of my life, leading the Chant in Kirkwall, in Starkhaven, throughout the Free Marches. Grand Cleric Elthina, Mother of us all.

"Y-your Grace," I stammer. Then it hits me. "You sent that note?"

She turns to the templars. "Leave us," she says briskly, but they hesitate. "I am in no danger from His Highness."

The templars leave and we are alone in the darkness.

"You sent the note?" She nods. "And the rope?" Again. Now I'm getting angry. "Why? Just so I'd show you how desperate I am? Do you think this is funny?"

"I wrote because I understand how you feel."

"I'm at your mercy here. Did you really need to taunt me with it?"
"Sebastian." Her voice is sharp enough to make me meet her eyes. They are dove-grey, soft, compassionate. "I am sworn to Andraste's service, but that does not make me ignorant of the world. I know it's not your choice to be here."

"It's not that I don't have faith—" I feel the need to explain.

"I know." Her voice is low, sad, and I suspect she's telling the truth. "Your parents want to use the Chantry to further their political goals." She pauses. "That is not an act of faith."

She takes my hand in hers and turns it over. She sets a bag in it, heavy with coin. I look inside — all gold. "This is the endowment they made in your name. If this isn't the life you want, use it to make another." As I stare, dumbfounded, she gently closes my fingers. "People serve the Maker in many ways, Sebastian. You don't need to take vows to do His work."

She gives me a crooked smile, deepening the lines in her face, then turns to walk inside. As her hand touches the door, I find my voice.

"But why?"

Elthina turns, and the moonlight gives her a glowing halo that I'm sure is no accident. "Because no one should ever enter the Chantry through the back door," she says. "The only one who can make this commitment is you, Sebastian. The front door will always be open."

With that, she's inside, and I'm alone in the night. I look at the bag of coins, enough to be free of my family, my titles, forever. Enough to start the life I've always wanted, free to follow my whims, to laugh and love where I choose. Enough to be…

Words race through my head: useless, aimless, selfish, alone.

I was in a tavern when Captain Leland found me. Is that where I want to meet my Maker?

Before I'm aware of it, my feet are moving, taking me out of the shadows, into the full light of torches and moon. "Thank you, " I whisper to Andraste, before my hand touches the smooth bronze of the door handle, and I walk into the Chantry. From the front.
« Last Edit: 02 Mar 2011, 13:20 by KvP »
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Tom

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #354 on: 02 Mar 2011, 13:22 »

Wait, doesn't the ogre kill Carver?

I have to admit, I actually carked it against the Ogre the first time round because I have been playing a lot of AC and shooters. I only really learn how to use a games control after the first time I die; I suck at gaming.
« Last Edit: 02 Mar 2011, 13:25 by Tom »
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JD

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #355 on: 02 Mar 2011, 20:00 »

If you start as a gal you get carver, bethany dies, if you start as a guy you get bethany, carver dies.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #356 on: 02 Mar 2011, 20:59 »

If you start as a gal you get carver, bethany dies, if you start as a guy you get bethany, carver dies.
Maybe if you're a male warrior or rogue. I went male mage and Bethany died.
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KvP

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #357 on: 02 Mar 2011, 21:12 »

Yeah, it's set up so you only have only one sibling and only one magic-user in the family. Mage -> Bethany dies. Warrior/Rogue -> Carver dies.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #358 on: 02 Mar 2011, 22:43 »

so regarding the bigness of the tits and such, i thought/heard that the design of the game changes based on who is retelling the story. when the drawf tells it every girl looks hotter and wildly tittier than if the other person told it. am i dreaming this?
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #359 on: 02 Mar 2011, 23:14 »

I'm pretty sure someone said it, but hackers sifting through the files apparently have found only one body type for FemHawke. The huge knockers in the Fenris sex picture (ugh) are not the result of an unflattering camera angle, as it turns  out.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #360 on: 03 Mar 2011, 02:31 »

Just found out now that yes, DA:O saves are going to be ported into DA:2. I dunno why but for the longest time I didn't think this was a thing they were going to do. This means I'm going to have to start my game again on the PS3, since that's the console I pre-ordered the signature edition on because of the 360 shitting out on me and taking with it my two saves that I was pretty chuffed with.

Also, jesus shit I just decided to check out the bonus content. Pretty sure the only thing I won't have is the Dead Space 2 armor.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #361 on: 03 Mar 2011, 19:43 »

Tried starting this up again the other night, got up to the same part (running through the narrow rock area at the start, just after picking up the warrior lady and her injured partner) the pathing went all fucked and split my party horribly and while I could have fireballed some mofos and joined everyone back up again, with all the shit I've been through so far I just looked at the screen disappointedly, thought "this is a really fucked game" and quit out.

I think I just don't like this game, which is a shame, because I really liked the first one.
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KvP

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #362 on: 03 Mar 2011, 20:44 »

Just found out now that yes, DA:O saves are going to be ported into DA:2. I dunno why but for the longest time I didn't think this was a thing they were going to do. This means I'm going to have to start my game again on the PS3, since that's the console I pre-ordered the signature edition on because of the 360 shitting out on me and taking with it my two saves that I was pretty chuffed with.

Also, jesus shit I just decided to check out the bonus content. Pretty sure the only thing I won't have is the Dead Space 2 armor.
The save situation's a bit odd depending on what DLC you've played through.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #363 on: 04 Mar 2011, 01:26 »

Chart of dialog icons:

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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #364 on: 04 Mar 2011, 21:08 »

Game's leaked for consoles, from what people are saying the main storyline is really, really short (5-7 hours), but that's not really a revelation. One point of criticism is the friendship / rivalry system. In order to get gameplay rewards and missions from your companions you have to make sure that their meter is firmly on one side of the curve, which is to say, you can't be "neutral", you have to keep them either friends or rivals.

I've heard that it's pretty easy to fuck yourself out of missions (by being all buddy-buddy with Merrill but siding with the Templars in a dispute - Merrill seems to really have this problem badly, it even says so in the official strategy guide) so that sucks. The ME2 devs solved this problem by having paragon and renegade on two different axes.
« Last Edit: 04 Mar 2011, 21:21 by KvP »
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #365 on: 04 Mar 2011, 21:30 »

First official Merrill quote!
Quote from: DA2's awful writers
"Why do they call this a brothel? Does it have something to do with broth?

Looks like they were not kidding when they pointedly referred to her as a "virginal girl next door".
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #366 on: 04 Mar 2011, 22:32 »

yeah, someone i know picked this up at a fuckin swap meet. he said it seems a lot harder, he's died more often than DAO so far.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #367 on: 05 Mar 2011, 00:50 »

Here's a list of the known bugs that DA2 will be shipping with. I'm mainly posting because of game-breaking / quest-breaking bug towards the bottom of the list. Heads up.

Quote from: DA2 readme
Balance
-------
- The warrior's Rally talent does not correctly extend the benefits
of sustained modes to other party members.
- The mage's Horror and Petrify spells say that they have a 100%
chance of applying against "any enemy." Although these spells are
indeed just as likely to apply to a boss-level enemy as a
normal-level enemy, some enemies are immune to certain effects, no
matter the enemy's rank. For example, ogres of any rank cannot be
stunned by any ability and are thus innately immune to Horror.
- The mage's Arcane Wall upgrade indicates that it extends the
benefits of Arcane Shield to other party members. Although this is
true, the upgrade reduces the effectiveness of Arcane Shield in
doing so and applies a reduced version of the effects to other
party members.
- Varric's Embellishment talent refers to a movement speed increase.
The ability does not affect movement speed but does affect attack
speed.
- The secondary penalties applied by status effects like STAGGER,
BRITTLE, and DISORIENT (reductions in enemy defense, for example)
are smaller than described in the codex. However, the cross-class
combo bonuses themselves (extra damage vs. STAGGERED enemies, for
example) work as described.
- In rare cases, character statistics can become corrupted in a
manner that does not block progress but might make combat easier or
more difficult than intended. For example, Hawke might not sustain
injuries after falling in combat or might develop a negative
damage resistance score.
- Nightmare difficulty adds several effects that are not described
in-game, including the following:
1) Attacks from party members that hit more than a single target
(including attacks from a two-handed warrior or a
weapon-and-shield warrior) are capable of harming fellow party
members as well as enemies.
2) Enemy assassins have a chance to steal potions.
3) When enemy assassins strike from stealth, they bypass the
victim's armor.
4) Enemy commanders are able to taunt their allies into attacking
a single member of the player's party en masse.
5) When party members fall below 10% health, they suffer bleeding
damage that will further erode their health unless they are
healed.
6) Various enemies become completely immune to certain types of
damage; for example, dragons become immune to fire damage.

Plots (Minor Spoilers)
----------------------
 - Some side plots do not close properly if they are left uncompleted
when the story jumps forward in time. They remain open in the
journal but cannot be completed in the new timeline. They do not
prevent the game from proceeding and can be ignored.
- In some cases, characters in conversation make inaccurate
references to earlier events in Dragon Age II or to the events of
Dragon Age: Origins, if you imported a saved game.
- In the plot Fools Rush In, it is occasionally possible to pick up a
letter before Isabela tells you to do so. This prevents the plot
from progressing. To complete the plot, restore from an earlier
save and do not pick up the letter until Isabela says to search the
bodies.
- The plot Finders Keepers cannot be completed if you leave the
warehouse before finding the crate. This does not block progress in
the game as a whole.
- After you acquire the plot Who Needs Rescuing, the plot's opening
events sometimes fail to trigger. The plot cannot be completed if
this occurs, but this does not block progress in the game's main
plot.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #368 on: 05 Mar 2011, 01:41 »

That doesn't seem too bad for a newly released game. Considering New Vegas and all.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #369 on: 05 Mar 2011, 02:41 »

DA2 will also have maybe half of the content of New Vegas.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #370 on: 05 Mar 2011, 03:11 »

First official Merrill quote!
Quote from: DA2's awful writers
"Why do they call this a brothel? Does it have something to do with broth?

Looks like they were not kidding when they pointedly referred to her as a "virginal girl next door".

That's a paraphrase of one of Alistair's quotes from DA:O.

Quote from: Alistair
"Why do they call it a 'brothel?' There's no broth. Or is there?"
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #371 on: 05 Mar 2011, 03:18 »

They've re-used quotes elsewhere. I'm fairly sure one of the things Flemeth says in the demo was said by someone in DA:O.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #372 on: 05 Mar 2011, 03:29 »

Yeah, this game definitely gives me the feel that it's been rushed through the dev cycle. I'd like to be proven wrong.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #373 on: 05 Mar 2011, 07:23 »

Yep, and the bugs seem about, what, 1/3rd as bad?

But then I happily played V:tMB unpatched, so I am pretty easy going when it comes to bugs and glitches.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #374 on: 05 Mar 2011, 08:35 »

Yeah, I mean unless the bug makes the game physically unplayable I'm generally pretty forgiving with them.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #375 on: 05 Mar 2011, 09:31 »

That doesn't seem too bad for a newly released game. Considering New Vegas and all.

New Vegas is irrelevant- how many similar bugs have you actually seen in other BioWare games?

Worrisome.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #376 on: 05 Mar 2011, 11:03 »

aoe spells is only going to affect party members on nightmare difficulty?

wat?
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #377 on: 05 Mar 2011, 11:28 »

There are a lot more AoE spells in this version. If they did it any earlier then the most common complaint would probably be "How am I supposed to deal with all these enemies when I accidentally killed my team". Although I would prefer it if it appeared at "hardest" instead of "nightmare" I guess we can't have it all.

I've seen a fair few bugs like this in bioware games, the quest related ones in Awakening were worse in my opinion (if only because they made upgrading the keep such a ballache).
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #378 on: 05 Mar 2011, 11:49 »

I think that in Origins, you got 50% damage from aoe on normal difficulty, and 100% on hard - they could've placed 50% on hard and 100% on nightmare.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #379 on: 05 Mar 2011, 13:08 »

That doesn't seem too bad for a newly released game. Considering New Vegas and all.
how many similar bugs have you actually seen in other BioWare games?
BG2 actually had a hell of a lot of under-the-hood bugs, mainly stuff like what's outlined above, with the game telling you one thing and doing something entirely different. In some cases, like with "variable bonus" weapons (+2 long sword that's +4 against dragons, but ends up being +4 across the board) it gives the player an advantage, in other cases (numerous glitched Shapeshifter abilities) they handicap the player. It took years for community modders to sort it all out. But I think most of that was mainly due to the impossible task of shoving AD&D rules into a computer game-shaped hole. It was bound to spring a lot of leaks.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #380 on: 05 Mar 2011, 13:15 »

BG2 was also 10 years ago at a time when polish was secondary to ambition.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #381 on: 05 Mar 2011, 14:55 »

Awakening had some, ME2 had a few bad ones (if I remember correctly one mission just ran out of heatsinks), but they are just bugs, and to be honest the ones that have been highlighted above sound (to my fanboy ears) not exactly all that bad. Irritating to some I am sure, but not crippling to overall enjoyment.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #382 on: 05 Mar 2011, 15:03 »

That's true. Aside from the quest breakers most players won't notice those bugs. And given they are known now I wouldn't be surprised if Bioware provides a launch day patch.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #383 on: 05 Mar 2011, 15:20 »


Racial differences allow us to explore different standards of beauty.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #384 on: 05 Mar 2011, 15:39 »

"Think like a general fight like a Spartan". Marketing gumph (favorite word of the moment) and artist speak I can deal with if I like the company. And yes I do like bioware, I like most game companies and they seem to be trying to do fun things for people like me.

I know that pethe criticsms you have are valid, and it helps to keep gaming companies "honest", but I just like them and don't begrudge the occasional slip up (as long as it is a minor one) in the hopes that when I do something similar I don't get shouted at :P
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #385 on: 05 Mar 2011, 16:20 »

BG2 was also 10 years ago at a time when polish was secondary to ambition.

While today, polish is secondary to making a shitload of money.


wooo
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #386 on: 05 Mar 2011, 16:44 »

You know what. Enjoy your complaining and longing for the older games. I personally do not share this view and think that I have been talking about this opinion enough.

So, anyway, see you guys later. I am going to be gone for a while playing Echo Bazaar (which I would advise everyone to have a look at, its a lot of fun) and just stop reading the comments here. Have fun, and if you do decide to rent DA I hope you enjoy it.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #387 on: 06 Mar 2011, 10:21 »

Sorry, I don't think that older games are "better" in any way. Hell, I'm so fucking excited for Skyrim that I don't know what to do in the meantime, and stuff like Minecraft and Mass Effect and the likes makes it clear that the medium is moving foreward. It's just sad to see that a company that used to make great games with deep, intriguing stories and a clear idea about what they wanted to say and do, has become a company that seems to focus on, well, tits and not so much else. There's probably a lot of ambition here, but from the demo it seems like they fail to get it across, and that's the big problem with DA2. The BG comment was probably not because "omg games /rpgs were better before Windows xp", but more a comment on how they were able to bring out the ambitions of being extraordinary.

There's a lot of games that does that today - Portal did it, Magicka does it, Minecraft, Psychonauts, etc. The great loss is that the biggest company around, one that used to have immense ambitions, seems like it's been reduced to jiggly motions and fast, unninvolving gameplay. It'll probably be fun, but when you have that much money, time and talent to work with, you should reach further than what the demo showed.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #388 on: 06 Mar 2011, 10:39 »

It's just sad to see that a company that used to make great games with deep, intriguing stories and a clear idea about what they wanted to say and do, has become a company that seems to focus on, well, tits and not so much else.

Honestly I think that's an incredibly silly thing to say. It kind of reeks of false nostalgia.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #389 on: 06 Mar 2011, 10:56 »

also mass effect was made by the same guys
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #390 on: 06 Mar 2011, 11:41 »

Derailing the thread in this particular direction seems sorta silly to me since I have sympathy for both sides and because I think it's easy to talk past each other on this subject since it depends on how you define ambitious. In the past I do think RPGs tended to emphasize expansiveness--for lack of a better word-- over audio and visual polish. Not because developers dreamed bigger or anything, but rather because of the serious limitations to what you could do with a mid '90s intel and a Voodoo card. As KvP pointed out on the first page, requiring full VA and quality cinematic cutscenes makes having branching choice/consequence systems or weird sandboxes like Fallout 2 more expensive to implement. Whether we like it or not, there does come a tipping point where devs have to choose what exactly they think is most important to spend their time on. So while I don't think Bioware is really less ambitious than they were, I do sometimes find myself wishing their ambitions were pointed in a slightly different direction, at least with Dragon Age. I liked the idea of living in a world where we have a slick cinematic FPS-RPG hybrid in the ME series as well as a throwback to their Infinity Engine days in the Dragon Age series. So while I'm prepared to be pleasantly surprised and enjoy the hell out of DA2, I must also say that I'm a bit afraid that I'll end up with something like the charming but seriously flawed Jade Empire.
« Last Edit: 06 Mar 2011, 13:32 by Alex C »
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #391 on: 06 Mar 2011, 12:01 »

Man I wanted to love Jade Empire so much. I liked it but the fact it was so close to being really good irked me. I really wish they'd revisit that game or something similar and actually polish it up this time around.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #392 on: 06 Mar 2011, 12:18 »

 
also mass effect was made by the same guys
Not specifically! Same company, different team. From what I understand, most of the talent for DA2 was pulled from DA:O and SWTOR personnel, whereas the ME guys have been working on ME almost exclusively. Gaider writes for all of Bioware's games but he's lead on DA games.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #393 on: 06 Mar 2011, 14:10 »

i mostly meant in terms of calling out bioware as a company
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #394 on: 07 Mar 2011, 00:26 »

Quote
Official Xbox Magazine
Mar 2, 2011

[90]
Next to its predecessor, Dragon Age II may be a slightly altered beast, but the minute Isabela slyly chirps "I like big boats, I cannot lie" to a Desire Demon in the murky Fade, you'll realize this game offers some of the deepest, nerdiest, most worthwhile 40 to 60 hours you'll ever love losing sleep over. [April 2011, p.70]
Isabela sure sounds like a fun character
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #395 on: 07 Mar 2011, 06:35 »

Really? "I like big boats...."? If they don't have an "all your base" reference after that I will be disappoint.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #396 on: 07 Mar 2011, 18:04 »

Quote from: Bioware
OK: Here is the story.

Auto-attack option for consoles was added in to the games late in the development cycle after the initial certification build was sent. The auto-attack functionality was sent to be added to the game for testing and approval. This was why staff said it was in game.

 Due to an error during mastering, the auto-attack file was omitted during manufacture.

We apologize for this. It was meant to be in game, but it is not currently in the console versions. We are working on how best to distribute this to console users. When we have information, we will let everyone know.
So no auto-attack for the consolers, at least not for the near future.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #397 on: 07 Mar 2011, 18:16 »

Reviews!
Quote
tag line: "action heavy combat, less classic RPG"

- great character interaction, action combat is fun

- story framing device is well implemented

- they say very little about combat, except that it's awesome to watch the rogue's combat animation and the Normal difficulty "almost plays itself"

- characters still have a number of equipment slots: rings, amulets, and belts.

- credible characters, non-credible game world: exploration is corridor based, even the best areas feel "sterile and lifeless"

- town areas are filled with lots of NPCs, who are described as barely animated, just dumbly standing around

- Kirkwall is "as clean as a barracks during officier's visit", no animals or smaller touches (we already knew this from the Chantry book chat)

- lots of quest areas have been recycled down to the last detail "five, six or more times"

- 88%
- PCgames.de


Quote
- We played DA2 for 50 hours. It only took us 29 hours to finish the first near-complete playthrough, but we kept going back and reloading to test all the different quest outcomes.

- the side quest centering around your share in a mine is divided into six miniquests that unlock as you progress through the three acts

- the game world feels dead, even the central market is empty and dull, random NPCs are lifeless, etc. etc. HOWEVER, you can hear town square discussions about the Warden's actions in DA:O

- "If you've seen one interior you've seen them all." They list a ton of repetitions, a dungeon in the sewers is identical with an above-ground slavers' hideout, etc. etc.

- too many loading screens

- MQ is 15 hours long

- many of the quests are offered through letters arriving at your home

- quests are as varied as the quest areas are identical (i.e. extremely)

- battles are compared to Doom 3 of all things - they hate enemies that keep spawning in your back even when your're standing in front of a dead end, but the boss battles are fun

- battle difficulty is similar to Awakening

- Spirit Mage + improved resurrection = invincible party. Generally the balance tips heavily towards mages.

- tremendous replayability

- Normal difficulty is extremely easy, can be played without ever using enchanting or crafting.

- interface too small and minimalistic, easy to click at the wrong thing in battle

- most items are useless

- companions rock

- 8.5
- Gamersglobal.de

Game Informer disappointed, gives it an 83% (people are gonna be pissed about that one)

So far:

PCGamer: 94
OXM/PS3M: 9/10
GamesMaster: 90
PC Games: 88
Gamestar: 87
Gamersglobal: 84
GameInformer: 83
SFX: 3.5/5

Given the state of game reviewing and the fact that this is a Bioware game, most of these are surprisingly low. Below 85 is a pan.
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #398 on: 07 Mar 2011, 18:17 »

First perfect score!
Quote from: Escapist Magazine
Like many people, I moved to a new place after college. I didn't know a soul in New York City or how to get around, and just buying groceries was an impossible task. By the time I left ten years later, I knew that town like nobody's business. I wasn't anyone special, but if you dropped me anywhere in the five boroughs, I could tell you a memory, which corner to avoid, and where to get a slice - the kind of familiarity you only get after exploring a location until it feels like home. That's what Kirkwall will feel like after playing Dragon Age II.

After the bombastic location-hopping in Origins, it's refreshing to experience such a personal story and become emotionally connected to the struggles of a single community. The framed narrative of Varric regaling the Chantry Seeker Cassandra with your deeds as you accomplish them is a unique presentation that makes the player feel like you are part of the history of Kirkwall, that the myriad of tasks and sidequests you complete are important not just for Hawke but for the whole city. Finding a serial killer who gives white lilies to his victims, or making a mine safe again so the workers can return feels somehow more meaningful than ridding the world of Darkspawn just because that's the plot dangled in front of you.

In fact, like Uncharted 2 and Empire Strikes Back, Dragon Age II is the rare sequel that improves upon its already excellent predecessor. The dialogue options inspired by BioWare's work on Mass Effect allow you to roleplay the voiced character of Hawke however you want. Thanks to handy symbols in the radial menu, you can be a snippy prig, a righteous hero, or a wiseass depending on your mood and the situation presented to you. Your mannerisms and choices will affect how your companions feel about you, but instead of only rewarding the player for placating, say, your friend Anders' desire for all mages to be free from the Circle, you also gain benefits from a contentious relationship. Get far along enough on either end of the spectrum from Friend to Rival and your companion will receive strong (and distinct) bonuses to combat.

I love this system, because it encourages you to make solid roleplaying decisions early. If you waffle and try to make nice when you actually can't stand Anders and his heavy-handed "Mages rock!" political stance, then you get no benefit at all. If I've learned anything from a lifetime of RPGs, mechanics that support storytelling and vice versa are the goal of all good game design and Dragon Age II manages this perfectly.

The party-based combat is frenetic, with no auto-attack making you feel in the thick of it with constant button-pressing. (If the no auto-attack annoys you, it's possible to turn this feature back on in the options.) I enjoyed taking a more active role and not being forced to pause after every spell or special move goes off to give more orders - although you can micro-manage the tactics if you're OCD about it. Even micro-managing is a breeze because you can pause and give separate orders to each character before you restart the combat. This, coupled with the move-to-point command, lets you order your party to move in separate directions and offers the finely-tuned tactical play that was only possible in the PC version of Origins. Orders you do make with the improved radial menu are immediate, rather than annoyingly waiting for your next strike or a spell animation to play, further quickening the pace of the action. Using the tactics menus to preprogram behaviors is more effective than ever before, with more intuitive triggers and options, and it allows you to focus on the character that you want to rather than babysitting one you don't.

Creating fun combinations of spells for a devastating effect, like using a fireball to start a grease fire in Origins, has now been expanded across all three classes with a concept called cross-class combos. Each class has a debuff they can bestow and abilities that do excessively more damage against the other class's debuffs. Rogues can disorient foes, which allows the warrior in the party to destroy lesser thugs with a single move that does triple or even sextuple damage. Mighty blows from warriors wielding two-handed blades stagger enemies, and mages can exploit that with a chain lightning spell for an instant death. The tactics system dovetails nicely with cross-class combos by allowing you to use the debuffs as triggers for abilities, again reducing the need to micro-manage and letting you to focus on the action of backstabbing the crazy Templar knight.

A slight drawback is that the spells and abilities with these combos are only available in a few of the many talent trees of each class and, because the damage that these combos generate is so above and beyond normal combat, it forces the savvy player into only investing in those trees, especially on the higher difficulties. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome when you smash a dude for tons of damage, but the combo abilities should have been peppered throughout all of the trees. Nobody likes forced choices producing a cookie-cutter party.

The difficulty level has been lessened so that on the default setting you don't feel like every fight means frustrating trial and error. There are still occasional fights that will kick your ass, especially with assassin-type enemies that stealth around the battlefield and pop up to take out your mages, but, in general, the curve may have been adjusted too strongly as even early boss fights can feel artificially easy. Players who grok the cross-class combo system, or who loved the challenge of avoiding friendly-fire in Origins, would do better to start on Hard or even Nightmare if you're saucy.

Any complaints I may have about Dragon Age II are minor annoyances, easily ignored for the leaps made in other areas. Simplifying the crafting system to reward the kind of player who must search every nook and cranny without muddying up the inventory is a novel change that was much needed in the genre. The triumphant sound that plays when you discover a new source of raw lyrium or a new recipe makes you feel good, but not as awesome as it feels to visit a crafting table and just be able to purchase the Elfroot potions or Deathroot poisons you need. Some players may have loved min-maxing every piece of equipment for each party member in Origins, but I didn't miss anything by just concentrating on their weapons and accessories. I was content to discover the specific armor upgrades for companions that are sprinkled around the city, again rewarding the player for exploring.

Not only does Dragon Age II play better, it looks absolutely gorgeous. Gone is the mess of pixels and aura bugs that were the graphics of Origins and in its place is a combination of  environments that just sing  -- the golden statues of Andraste in the Chantry, the ships docked in Lowtown, the eddies of the Wounded Coast and the dank caves and dungeons all look wonderful. Individual textures may not look amazing under scrutiny, but as a whole each character's face is expressive across a wide range of emotions. If I have a concern, it's that certain dungeons below Kirkwall are visited two or three times with only small variations. "Oh, we're in that place again. Glad somebody restocked the chests with treasure."

The advancements in RPG mechanics would be enough to set it apart, but the real achievement of Dragon Age II is in the story-telling. I could point out the improved combat and graphics till there's blood covering my face, but BioWare is one of the few companies that uses the advanced computing power available to modern game designers to let you actually play a role. As Hawke, you care about your mother and family, you care about your city and the conflicts that threaten to tear it apart. In a game as dense as this, and it will occupy at least fifty hours if you follow every hook, it's a triumph to just complete the story. But if I was proud to become the Champion of Kirkwall, I was more happy to have the tools to tell the story the way I envisioned it.

Bottom Line: A pinnacle of role-playing games with well-designed mechanics and excellent story-telling, Dragon Age II is what videogames are meant to be.

Recommendation: Buy it, steal it, beat up your little brother so you can play it.

5/5

Notice the reference to auto-attack functions that aren't actually in the game. Probably a review build thing. Probably.
« Last Edit: 07 Mar 2011, 18:27 by KvP »
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Re: Dragon Age 2: Fuckin' Bitches, Stabbin' Dragons
« Reply #399 on: 07 Mar 2011, 20:31 »

Quote
town areas are filled with lots of NPCs, who are described as barely animated, just dumbly standing around
I remember Origins having the same problem, for the most part.
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