BioWare's new IP: Anthem

polonyc2 said:
new trailer...

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the new trailer actually renewed my interest in the game...I wasn't loving the previous trailers and info dumps but this looked and sounded pretty decent...if they can nail the seamless transition between single player and multiplayer and get back to classic Bioware storytelling and dialogue this could be very interesting...​
 
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polonyc2 said:

the new trailer actually renewed my interest in the game...I wasn't loving the previous trailers and info dumps but this looked and sounded pretty decent...if they can nail the seamless transition between single player and multiplayer and get back to classic Bioware storytelling and dialogue this could be very interesting...​
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Looks like the typical shallow garbage people have come to expect from EA, I wouldn't believe the marketing sound bytes. If EA actually stood behind their marketing spin then they would do what CDPR just did with Cyberpunk and release unedited footage of raw gameplay. It's still very much looking like a glorified Destiny/Warframe clone.
 
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthems-conversation-system-allows-for-two-dialogue-choices/

During a Q&A session at a pre-panel press briefing on Anthem at PAX West, BioWare debuted footage of the conversation system players will use in Fort Tarsis, the singleplayer area players visit between multiplayer missions.

Forgoing the complex conversation wheel of previous BioWare games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, Anthem will only allow for two dialogue choices in conversations. The two choices aren't aligned with a morality system of any kind, but do differ in tone slightly.



When asked why the system was simplified for Anthem, executive producer Mark Darrah replied, "We are showing this to an audience that is not used to these kind of decisions and conversations. We wanted to keep it simpler, but we also don't want to present you with any false choices."

Fort Tarsis is where you'll do most of the talking, and from a first-person perspective as opposed to the third-person javelin camera in the shared world. Conversations pull the player in close and provide supplemental information about who you're talking to, whether they're tied to a political faction, and whatever back story BioWare deems important. Character models look great, and the facial animations are leagues better than Andromeda's, but I'll still miss the impression of complexity I got from more choices.

Clearly, Anthem isn't just another BioWare RPG, but I don't blame anyone for expressing concern at its differences from the studio's previous games. Change is hard, but everything we know about Anthem so far points to an impressive, entertaining cooperative shooter with a heaping of BioWare's storytelling on the side. It's hard to be mad about that.
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Better put any expectations of a deep RPG narrative on ice.
 
Anthem is now in alpha testing

Last week, the Anthem team passed its Alpha milestone – meaning that every part of the game is in, and functioning...it’s a ton of fun to play, and full of engaging character moments and storylines...but it’s also exciting to see people around the office (and at our partner studios) grouping together for adventures in this new world we’ve created...

http://blog.bioware.com/2018/09/25/anthem-hits-alpha/
 
Blade-Runner said:
It's still very much looking like a glorified Destiny/Warframe clone.
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That's precisely what I expect. I also expect that BioWare's typical story telling style will be a huge part of it the way its been for all their games.
 
Dan_D said:
That's precisely what I expect. I also expect that BioWare's typical story telling style will be a huge part of it the way its been for all their games.
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Huge part? They already said two options tops with slightly different tone, meaning completely meaningless choices in a completely meaningless game.
 
M76 said:
Huge part? They already said two options tops with slightly different tone, meaning completely meaningless choices in a completely meaningless game.
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What you fail to understand is that this isn't really all that different to Mass Effect or Dragon Age. In Mass Effect in particular, you really only get two choices in most cases. Everything else is just talking and just creates the illusion of choice. Go through a save game editor for one of those games and you'll quickly discern that you rarely have more than two choices for anything. BioWare is good at providing the illusion of choice. Keep in mind that anything that's designed to be multiplayer is going to have a weaker and more generic story line than a single player RPG. While the original 8 class storylines in SW:TOR are generally good, (excluding the Consular story), they are still more generic than what we saw in the aforementioned games.
 
Dan_D said:
What you fail to understand is that this isn't really all that different to Mass Effect or Dragon Age. In Mass Effect in particular, you really only get two choices in most cases. Everything else is just talking and just creates the illusion of choice. Go through a save game editor for one of those games and you'll quickly discern that you rarely have more than two choices for anything. BioWare is good at providing the illusion of choice. Keep in mind that anything that's designed to be multiplayer is going to have a weaker and more generic story line than a single player RPG. While the original 8 class storylines in SW:TOR are generally good, (excluding the Consular story), they are still more generic than what we saw in the aforementioned games.
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Oh I understand perfectly. Mass effect had 4 choices when you had paragon/renegade options. Or two when you didn't. The rest of the choices were asking for additional info.
Anthem has two fake choices that will result in the same thing, so basically you have no choice at all.

Keep in mind that anything that's designed to be multiplayer is going to have a weaker and more generic story line than a single player RPG
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And that's the root issue. Yet Bioware/EA insists this will be just as good. First thing is that I don't believe that for a second. Second thing, why even try to sell it as such? MP players don't care for long storylines, they just care about fragging or whatever that is called nowadays everything else is just a distraction. And Those who would play it for the story don't give a crap about the multiplayer part.
 
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M76 said:
Oh I understand perfectly. Mass effect had 4 choices when you had paragon/renegade options. Or two when you didn't. The rest of the choices were asking for additional info.
Anthem has two fake choices that will result in the same thing, so basically you have no choice at all.


And that's the root issue. Yet Bioware/EA insists this will be just as good. First thing is that I don't believe that for a second. Second thing, why even try to sell it as such? MP players don't care for long storylines, they just care about fragging or whatever that is called nowadays everything else is just a distraction. And Those who would play it for the story don't give a crap about the multiplayer part.
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For the most part I agree. However, I think it will appeal to a niche market of players but that's not the type of game you bet the farm on.
 
Invitations are being sent out for the closed alpha that runs December 8 and 9. I got one, but of course the website isn't working.

EDIT: Was able to get in and sign up with Waterfox. There are 4 3-hour sessions next weekend, 2 on each day.
  • 09:00 - 12:00 CST (UTC -6)
  • 14:00 - 17:00 CST (UTC -6)
Standard NDA applies. You can still sign up for the PC alpha, but both the PS4 and Xbox One are already on a waiting list.
 
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signed up for the closed alpha. wish the sessions were held later, i might be able to play towards the end of the later sessions.
 
Got invited to alpha and signed up for all sessions on Saturday/Sunday. I expect this to be EA's attempt at a Destiny clone and the only reason I have Destiny 2 is because they gave it away for free lol.
 
I'll definitely be paying careful attention to Alpha reactions...at least the ones that aren't declaring it to be the best or worst game ever.
If it's truly a Mass Effect/Destiny hybrid, I can't imagine hating it.
 
Domingo said:
I'll definitely be paying careful attention to Alpha reactions...at least the ones that aren't declaring it to be the best or worst game ever.
If it's truly a Mass Effect/Destiny hybrid, I can't imagine hating it.
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This is why I am still approaching it with cautious optimism. I loved the Mass Effect multiplayer and would love to see that expanded into an open online world like Destiny. Fact of the matter is I was disappointed Destiny didn't mix in more space magic in the gameplay. One power on a long cooldown isn't very interesting, and they made it worse by applying a similar timer to grenades. The dealbreaker will be what they're planning to do with microtransactions and multiseasonal DLC passes that seem to be the hot trend in multiplayer games these days.
 
Yea I also got a Alpha invite...I am REALLY hoping it plays like Mass Effect MP (Really loved it). So I will give it a chance for sure....let hope Bioware learned from the Andromeda mess....Of course I can't make a purchase decision based on Alpha of the game. We are what limited 6 hours this weekend? Not enough time to really get into it.
 
I figure the alpha is enough time to at least show the direction of the game and any overarching good/bad things about the game. Thanks to timeframes, if it's a complete disaster, they don't have very long to make it right. If it's really good, the final product will likely be similar.
 
Brackle said:
Yea I also got a Alpha invite...I am REALLY hoping it plays like Mass Effect MP (Really loved it). So I will give it a chance for sure....let hope Bioware learned from the Andromeda mess....Of course I can't make a purchase decision based on Alpha of the game. We are what limited 6 hours this weekend? Not enough time to really get into it.
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12 hours if you signed up for all 4 sessions. I think that is plenty of time to get a feel for the direction the game is going.
 
I should've guessed they are not going to allow people from EU participate.
 
I'll be there...finished the pre-load..ready to check this out.

My Origin handle is the same - xerack

Feel free to add me - I'm going to try and be on for all 4 time slots.
 
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pre-loading now and planning on giving it a whirl tomorrow morning if anyone wants to join up? origin name is delitax
 
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I know people will be dancing around NDAs but as carefully as you're allowed to I'm looking to see indicators on whether this is good, has staying power, and is hopefully more than what I think it is: A painfully shameless corporate product that's an obvious Destiny knock off for all intents and purposes.
 
I'm going to at least be on for the first session in the morning.
Q-BZ said:
I know people will be dancing around NDAs but as carefully as you're allowed to I'm looking to see indicators on whether this is good, has staying power, and is hopefully more than what I think it is: A painfully shameless corporate product that's an obvious Destiny knock off for all intents and purposes.
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We just can't talk about specifics. I'll certainly be sharing my opinion on whether or not I thought the gameplay was good, though.
 
Armenius said:
I'm going to at least be on for the first session in the morning.

We just can't talk about specifics. I'll certainly be sharing my opinion on whether or not I thought the gameplay was good, though.
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I know. Not asking anyone to get in trouble. :)
 
Name on Anthem for me will be dvsman too, feel free to add!

I pre-loaded on my main gaming box last night (3418dw+2xTitan Xp), but downloading it to try on my new laptop too just to compare (15.6"1080p@144hz+1070 max q).
 
Got into the alpha. Hopefully I'll have time to play it during those times on both days. Going to try to be up early enough tomorrow morning to get in on the first play session since I doubt I'll have time to do the second. Hopefully can get in on both Sunday, but we'll see.

Edit: If folks feel like adding me to Origin so all us [H] folks can team up my username is "derangal". Don't try to add the user "Derangel", that is also my account but it is an inactive one that I don't use anymore.
 
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Preloading as well, I'll be Lorien-H. Sent friend requests to everyone who posted their origin names and if I missed anyone feel free to add me.
 
Curious to see how much of the game is available to us.
Also WTF is this bs? Somebody took my name.

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