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Dragon Age II

Dragon Age 2's biggest problem with level design is not that their level designers are a bunch of slackers that reused the same levels 5 times and over, it's that there's no continuity. It's constantly teleporting around, you never embark on a quest, you just hit the nearest fast travel exit and click on the map where the quest tells you to go.

Know what continuity looks like? QuestA: You travel to Redcliff because you need to ask the Earl for troops, town's gone to shit because things are coming out of Redcliff castle, you don't know what exactly. QuestB you talk to the town mayor about the problem, you now know what the problem is, what you're going to fight, and how you'll do it. QuestC you learn about the possessed kid who's the root of the problem, go into the fade ... QuestD you solved the possessed kid's problem, but now when it comes to actually getting the help of the Earl,well he's poisoned, now you need to find the holy grail. QuestE,F,G,H You follow the footsteps of the guy who's been looking for the holy grail, you discover a brand new city, a small village, a temple, a valley, and another temple.

Lazy fucking level designers, lazy fucking game development. Big excuse of a cash grab.

Fun? Sure, on par with what they CAN do? Fuck no. Big fucking disappointment.
 
WabeWalker said:
Um, Fail...

I buy and play every game I post about
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WabeWalker said:
Also, I can guarantee you that the combined areas in Dragon Age 2 are greater than in The Witcher. Are you joking me? There is NO WAY that there are more areas in The Witcher. I can practically count the number of areas on one hand.
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Not disagreeing (since I haven't played DA2 yet), but did you ever finish DA2 and the Witcher? How far did you get? I figured you usually sample most games averaging about a 1/4 way into it.
 
WabeWalker said:
Now this is more like it. :)
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Are you admitting that you're winding people up? You had a pretty good run of good posts in the past, although I remember some rough patches. It's been a long time since I played The Witcher but I think it's larger than just a few areas. Dragon Age 2 uses the same areas ad nauseum, I don't think that actually makes it a "larger" game though.
 
WabeWalker said:
...
1) Re-cycled areas. Check.
2) Zero character customization. Check.
3) Confusing story that isn't tight and begins to wander. Check.
4) Early bugs and broken gameplay. Check.
Click to expand...

It is quite obvious you have never played the witcher or played past the first level. Do you even honestly play these games?
 
Climber said:
It is quite obvious you have never played the witcher or played past the first level. Do you even honestly play these games?
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Are you joking?

Yes, I played The Witcher, and no it wasn't anywhere near the masterpiece that it's been elevated to by some people. I'm done talking about it. Hopefully the second game in the series will be better than the first.
 
YEAH. Now game runs amazing. I am shocked! I get now 60 fps. Details maxed OUT ( VERY HIGH , AA 4x , Anizo 4x )
Dx 11 full details ON.


I using patch 1.02 + 270 beta :)

PC:
I5 2,66
4gb ram
GTX 580

:) Now game runs perfectly
 
litwicki23 said:
YEAH. Now game runs amazing. I am shocked! I get now 60 fps. Details maxed OUT ( VERY HIGH , AA 4x , Anizo 4x )
Dx 11 full details ON.


I using patch 1.02 + 270 beta :)

PC:
I5 2,66
4gb ram
GTX 580

:) Now game runs perfectly
Click to expand...

Wouldn't maxed out be 8xAA and 16xAF? ;)
 
No reason not to run 16x Anisotropic filtering all the time, most of the time the performance hit is negligible for the quality it gives.
 
Parmenides said:
Am I on Wabe's ignore list?
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No? What did I not respond to?

EDIT: Oh, you asked me if I finished The Witcher.

No I did not.

I also never finished watching the movie Dumb And Dumber. I walked out of the theater halfway through, and waited in the vestibule for everyone else to come out. Doing this doesn't preclude me from being able to declare that it's the worst movie I've ever seen. It's the worst movie I've ever seen. Period.

How far did I get in The Witcher? I've just looked at the walkthrough, and astonishingly, I was nearly finished. That last part of the game was a turnoff, and also extremely confusing. There you are doing all these things, then suddenly the game up and moves you to a different area, and you're kind of starting all over again. It was about as disjointed as a computer game could get. I detested it.

Dragon Age 2. I'm super close to being done, at which time I might even start again - that's how much I like it. Actually, I don't just like it. I love it!

But you're right, I rarely ever finish titles. But keep in mind please that I'm not a critic, and don't profess to be one. If I had to finish every title then there's no way I'd ever be able to have a go at even a quarter of the titles that interest me. If I finish a title then it means something. I'm also close on Dead Space 2, having just arrived at Chapter 14.
 
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WabeWalker said:
I also never finished watching the movie Dumb And Dumber. I walked out of the theater halfway through, and waited in the vestibule for everyone else to come out. Doing this doesn't preclude me from being able to declare that it's the worst movie I've ever seen. It's the worst movie I've ever seen. Period.
Click to expand...

Your argument is now invalid.
 
WabeWalker said:
No? What did I not respond to?

EDIT: Oh, you asked me if I finished The Witcher.

No I did not.

I also never finished watching the movie Dumb And Dumber. I walked out of the theater halfway through, and waited in the vestibule for everyone else to come out. Doing this doesn't preclude me from being able to declare that it's the worst movie I've ever seen. It's the worst movie I've ever seen. Period.

How far did I get in The Witcher? I've just looked at the walkthrough, and astonishingly, I was nearly finished. That last part of the game was a turnoff, and also extremely confusing. There you are doing all these things, then suddenly the game up and moves you to a different area, and you're kind of starting all over again. It was about as disjointed a computer game could get. I detested it.

Dragon Age 2. I'm super close to being done, at which time I might even start again - that's how much I like it. Actually, I don't just like it. I love it!

But you're right, I rarely ever finish titles. But keep in mind please that I'm not a critic, and don't profess to be one. If I had to finish every title then there's no way I'd ever be able to have a go at even a quarter of the titles that interest me. If I finish a title then it means something. I'm also close on Dead Space 2, having just arrived at Chapter 14.
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I can't remember being confused at the story. I like complexity, but you should see if you still have your save and finish it (on a rainy day since apparently you have many others to finish). It ties together at the end pretty well. Nice punchline when you hear your last foe's final words. Not a predictable ending. Dumb and dumber.... man, that movie isn't supposed to be taken with a thread of seriousness. Ever seen something that is so dumb it's funny? It was not the funniest I've seen, but it can pull several chuckles out of the humorless of people. You must have had a really bad day. (and I don't really get into comedies myself)
 
Parmenides said:
I can't remember being confused at the story. I like complexity, but you should see if you still have your save and finish it (on a rainy day since apparently you have many others to finish). It ties together at the end pretty well. Nice punchline when you hear your last foe's final words. Not a predictable ending. Dumb and dumber.... man, that movie isn't supposed to be taken with a thread of seriousness. Ever seen something that is so dumb it's funny? It was not the funniest I've seen, but it can pull several chuckles out of the humorless of people. You must have had a really bad day. (and I don't really get into comedies myself)
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Are you going to buy The Witcher 2?
 
I just finished DA2. Um.... Really? That was it? It was enjoyable enough, but it's complete weaksauce when compared to it's big brother DA:O.
 
GregP24 said:
I just finished DA2. Um.... Really? That was it? It was enjoyable enough, but it's complete weaksauce when compared to it's big brother DA:O.
Click to expand...

I thought the combat was vastly superior. And this time out I really ended up liking my party members. The story unfolding chiefly through time rather than space was also very appealing to me.

The recycled environments did start to get on my nerves a little, but I was so focused on building my party, and on the combat, that it didn't bother me too much. No area of the game was displeasing to me, except for The Deep Roads, which I hated from the original game. That and The Fade - god I just hated every minute of The Fade in Origins. The Fade was actually why I gave up on Origins for six months. I just couldn't deal with the monotony of it any further.

After playing through Dragon Age 2 on Hard, and being forced to learn about the various skill trees, which were vastly superior to those linear 'trees' in Origins, for me, there's just no going back.

Not only that but DA 2 looks way better!
 
WabeWalker said:
Are you going to buy The Witcher 2?
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Pre ordered at D2D, though I wish I went with GOG. Supporting people who develop PC first. I like character customization like you, but the attitude of the devs towards PC gamers tells me that this is a good way to vote with my wallet. And I enjoyed the first one.

The biggest thing deterring me from DA2.. the DLC money grab. Figured I'd come out on top if I wait for the Ultimate edition. Should be some good mods about that time too.
 
Parmenides said:
Pre ordered at D2D, though I wish I went with GOG. Supporting people who develop PC first. I like character customization like you, but the attitude of the devs towards PC gamers tells me that this is a good way to vote with my wallet. And I enjoyed the first one.

The biggest thing deterring me from DA2.. the DLC money grab. Figured I'd come out on top if I wait for the Ultimate edition. Should be some good mods about that time too.
Click to expand...

Were there any good mods for the original Dragon Age? I haven't heard of any.
 
I really enjoyed one part of DA2, close to the end of the game

stabbing that butt f**ker of Anders in the back (literally), for blowing up the chantry. I enjoyed watching him die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! muahahaha
 
Interesting, I stopped around 26 hours into the game, i never finished it, I think I got to the part to where I have to choose the true successor to the throne in the Dwarf Noble storyline, and I had just gotten out of the Deep Roads and beat that one guy, the ancestor guy, the big golem guy, after that I stopped.
 
WabeWalker said:
I thought the combat was vastly superior. And this time out I really ended up liking my party members. The story unfolding chiefly through time rather than space was also very appealing to me.

The recycled environments did start to get on my nerves a little, but I was so focused on building my party, and on the combat, that it didn't bother me too much. No area of the game was displeasing to me, except for The Deep Roads, which I hated from the original game. That and The Fade - god I just hated every minute of The Fade in Origins. The Fade was actually why I gave up on Origins for six months. I just couldn't deal with the monotony of it any further.

After playing through Dragon Age 2 on Hard, and being forced to learn about the various skill trees, which were vastly superior to those linear 'trees' in Origins, for me, there's just no going back.

Not only that but DA 2 looks way better!
Click to expand...

Honestly, dude, that's crap. The combat system is different, not better. I personally still prefer the system in DA:O and the linear skill trees.
As for the story, the ONLY way we know time is progressing in the game is because the narrator says so. Nothing changes in the city. Hell, the characters don't even appear to age. I look much, much older than I did 10 years ago when I was 21. I never got the feeling that time was moving forward. The plot was so poorly done even the story quests felt like side missions. Each one was it's own neat little package wrapped up in each act. I won't point out the only exception because I don't want to spoil it for people still playing. And the little tiny thread that tied it all up in the end? You seriously think that was better than taking down the blight dragon and ending the blight? Seriously?
Truth be told, I've been following this thread since it's inception and honestly, you've worked yourself up into such a frenzy over DA2 that you talk as if it's the second coming of video games. Most of us are able to be at least somewhat objective about DA2, but you are so biased in favor of it that you couldn't be objective at this point if you tried.
 
GregP24 said:
Honestly, dude, that's crap. The combat system is different, not better. I personally still prefer the system in DA:O and the linear skill trees.
As for the story, the ONLY way we know time is progressing in the game is because the narrator says so. Nothing changes in the city. Hell, the characters don't even appear to age. I look much, much older than I did 10 years ago when I was 21. I never got the feeling that time was moving forward. The plot was so poorly done even the story quests felt like side missions. Each one was it's own neat little package wrapped up in each act. I won't point out the only exception because I don't want to spoil it for people still playing. And the little tiny thread that tied it all up in the end? You seriously think that was better than taking down the blight dragon and ending the blight? Seriously?
Truth be told, I've been following this thread since it's inception and honestly, you've worked yourself up into such a frenzy over DA2 that you talk as if it's the second coming of video games. Most of us are able to be at least somewhat objective about DA2, but you are so biased in favor of it that you couldn't be objective at this point if you tried.
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I finished DA 2 tonight, which is rare for me. And what's even rarer is that I'm thinking about starting again, right away.

I never do this.

So I guess that this is just one of those games that I love but which everyone else finds fault with. The last time this happened to me was with a game titled Fade To Black, by a company called Delphine software. While playing it I thought it was the best game I had ever played. When the reviews were finally published in the magazines I could hardly believe that they weren't favorable.

Surely this has happened to you at some point? Anyway, it's just a game. Sometimes we get too carried away around here.
 
WabeWalker said:
I finished DA 2 tonight, which is rare for me. And what's even rarer is that I'm thinking about starting again, right away.

I never do this.

So I guess that this is just one of those games that I love but which everyone else finds fault with. The last time this happened to me was with a game titled Fade To Black, by a company called Delphine software. While playing it I thought it was the best game I had ever played. When the reviews were finally published in the magazines I could hardly believe that they weren't favorable.

Surely this has happened to you at some point? Anyway, it's just a game. Sometimes we get too carried away around here.
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I'm sure it's happened to all of us. I enjoyed Two Worlds while the rest of the world hated it.
 
There's still no toolset for the game... I doubt there's one coming out. I was waiting to play the game with some nice community mods that take away annoyances and make the game better (like a ton of mods did with DA:O). I've had the game purchased on Steam since day 1 but haven't played it yet... this greatly disappoints me :(
 
WabeWalker said:
Dumb And Dumber. It's the worst movie I've ever seen. Period.
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How dare you! Dumb and Dumber is my favorite movie!! Carey's best work by far! This actually brings up a GREAT analogy, thanks for bringing it up:


DAOrigins : Dumb and Dumber :: DA2 : Dumb and Dumberer
 
I just did the dragon fight on hard last night with 3 rogues (Isabela, Verric and myself) and Merrill. Was a fun fight - best one in the game for me so far. I died 3 times (I was the main tank along with Sprinkles the Dog), Isabella died twice and Verric once. Merrill got down to about 20% a few times but never died. I jacked up all of our FR to crazy levels so the dragon fireball only did about 15-20 points dmg on each person. Was pretty good at avoiding it too usually.

Best fight so far, and it's the second thing I have done in Act 3 after finishing Isabela's companion quests.
 
I beat the high dragon last night with Aveline as my tank, me as a DW rogue, Merrill, and Anders. I didn't bother with fire runes in my armor or getting any fire resistances and still did fine by juggling my heals and potions at the right times. The only tough part of the fight was the 3 separate waves of enemies that come out, with the 2nd wave having a dragon, and the 3rd wave having 2 dragons. Good thing my rogue can one-shot those things, otherwise it would have been much harder.

Since the dragon is immune to brittle I was pissed that I couldn't drop a massive assassinate on it and take a ton of its health away but mark of death + assassinate still took a decent chunk out of its helth away a few times with my 265% critical damage bonus.

The last 25% of the fight was annoying because the dragon just sat up on its perch and Aveline became useless. I swapped a bow into my rogues hands and just beat on it while running around dodging those fireballs. Finally it came back down to melee range for the last 5% of so of its health.

Hybris was definitely the harder of the two fights for me.
 
The fight with the high dragon was designed to last - with those dragons and dragonlings coming at you in waves, your party management skills are tested to the core.

I defeated the high dragon on Hard, and felt that it was a testament to the things I had learned about leveling my party. It was an affirmation that I had finally found the formula for a winning combination.

It was just a great feeling when the dragon finally went down.
 
I definitely had the most trouble with the High Dragon, and I did both of the optional "destroy the books" and "find the scrolls" boss battles.
To me, both of those battles weren't as bad just because the huge area of effect spells (Firestorm/Tempest/Etc.) could be abused in those fights, especially with mana potions.
I pretty much had Anders go nuts with those (and cone of cold) while my main and Isabella went bonkers with the big damage Rogue abilities and Fenris used all of his crowd clearing abilities. I won 'em both on the first try, but I had a hell of a time with the Rock Wraith, High Dragon, and Varterral on the first go-rounds.
I think how you play the game affects the difficulty of some battles anyway. I tend to favor the up close and personal approach, which doesn't work too well in some of those extended 10+ minute fights.
 
I didn't mention that I played it on hard, so yeah it was definitely tough.

Hybris for some reason kept resisting my brittles the first few go-arounds, so I kept whittling down on it and got overwhelmed by the adds a few times. The time where I finally beat him it took only about 5 minutes in total because I got him brittled twice, hit him with hex of torment, and a mark of death, and dropped an assassinate on him taking about 30% of his health each time, so it was quick. During that fight I had 5 or 6 unused skill points on my guys so I don't feel too bad about it, and merrill isn't specced as a blood mage so I couldn't take advantage of its weakness to nature dmg. I guess I can't complain about it being tougher than the high dragon then!
 
Just got out of the Deep Roads. Does this game start to pick up after this point? I'm losing interest quickly.
 
Pingis said:
damn, that means i wasted money. but thanks for the reply.
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Yeah, if you don't like Chapter One, then nothing is going to make you suddenly fall in love with the rest of the title.

My only advice would be if you were playing on Normal then switch to Hard, because Normal is a total waste of time.
 
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