Dragon Age: Origins

[s44]

Yes, after patching, it would not start. If you double click the exe, you get a message about side by side configurations.

As for the game itself, I'm not thrilled so far - thinking I shouldn't have been a mage. It seems to have the AD&D later revision mage problems - where mages theoretically start out weak and become very powerful, but due to increased resistances, end up weak even at higher level. I probably shouldn't be too surprised, given how openly hostile the game's lore is to mages, but still.

You're absolutely, totally wrong. The more mages in your party, the easier the game is.

 

[drebo]

The actual gameplay itself is very fun, and very much lives up to the hype. The tactical combat is OK. As far as difficulty goes, Normal is just right for about 85% of the game so far, but that other 15% of the game is so outlandishly difficult that it's just not worth trying. Infiltrating Redcliffe castle, for instance...there were not nearly enough potions to be able to do that on Normal. Not having a healer at that point was just not working. I had to switch to Easy in order to get through there. The next part of the game, though, ended up being way too easy on Easy. So I think the balance is off somewhat.

Another curious 85/15 split is that you spend approximately 15% of your time convincing people that they're not going to be eaten eyes first by demons. Seriously, that's not a joke. Virtually everyone you come across is convinced for one reason or another that they're going to die and it's your job to convince them otherwise. The conversation is ALWAYS the same, too.

I'm always for a good storyline, but the amount of self-loathing and self-pity in this game is over the top. So far, it's my only gripe and one of only two flaws in the otherwise fun game (the other being the balance and difficulty problems).

 

[Skott]

Yes, after patching, it would not start. If you double click the exe, you get a message about side by side configurations.

The patched exe was apparently built with an updated MS Visual C++ library. Go to Microsoft.com, download the latest MSCVPP library (use the x86 version even if you're running x64, since the game is a 32 bit app), install and the game will work again.

Some people are still reporting that this fix isn't working for them. So far it seems the only known for sure fix is uninstall/reinstall. Just be sure to save your saved game files if you already have started the game and choose to reinstall to fix the problem.

 

[Raduque]

You know, for the life of me I can't figure out how to unlock dual wielding. I've got 2 points saved up for it and I'm level 8. Maybe I just can't unlock it till a later level (though it only says combat training is the requirement).

 

[Kalmah]

You know, for the life of me I can't figure out how to unlock dual wielding. I've got 2 points saved up for it and I'm level 8. Maybe I just can't unlock it till a later level (though it only says combat training is the requirement).

You must be overlooking the dex requirement

 

[Raduque]

You must be overlooking the dex requirement

Mine's 18 and it says a minimum of 12.

 

[Kalmah]

Mine's 18 and it says a minimum of 12.

every class except mage can get dual wield at lvl 1 as long as you have a dex over something like 15 and you have one point in combat training skill.

:\

 

[Raduque]

every class except mage can get dual wield at lvl 1 as long as you have a dex over something like 15 and you have one point in combat training skill.

:\

Well, I don't know what's wrong. The game won't let me equip another sword no matter what. I tried two plain longswords, I tried Alistair's sword plus one I found called Oathbreaker, but no combination works.

 

[NoSoup4You]

You can't equip two "main-hand" swords at once, not until you've researched one of the 4th tier dual-wielding skills. For now, you'll have to settle for a longsword and a dagger in the second hand...etc.

 

[NYHoustonman]

The actual gameplay itself is very fun, and very much lives up to the hype. The tactical combat is OK. As far as difficulty goes, Normal is just right for about 85% of the game so far, but that other 15% of the game is so outlandishly difficult that it's just not worth trying. Infiltrating Redcliffe castle, for instance...there were not nearly enough potions to be able to do that on Normal. Not having a healer at that point was just not working. I had to switch to Easy in order to get through there. The next part of the game, though, ended up being way too easy on Easy. So I think the balance is off somewhat.

Another curious 85/15 split is that you spend approximately 15% of your time convincing people that they're not going to be eaten eyes first by demons. Seriously, that's not a joke. Virtually everyone you come across is convinced for one reason or another that they're going to die and it's your job to convince them otherwise. The conversation is ALWAYS the same, too.

I'm always for a good storyline, but the amount of self-loathing and self-pity in this game is over the top. So far, it's my only gripe and one of only two flaws in the otherwise fun game (the other being the balance and difficulty problems).

Regarding the 85/15 split, I actually somewhat enjoy it. You're not going to have as much trouble defending a caravan from some wandering darkspawn compared to, in your case, fighting through an occupied castle (that no one else really wanted to assault). It adds a bit to the believability for me.
I actually got through Redcliffe on normal with only Moriganna (no Mage Tower yet) - but she happened to level up during the first parts of the quest, and I put a skill into the first healing spell. Made a huge difference. Before that, it was damn near impossible. I will say that it gets a lot more interesting/satisfying once you have an established healer with you.

 

[NoSoup4You]

The 85/15 is just fine with me too. There's been several battles now that when I first started them, I thought there was no way I could ever win...etc. But perseverance has gotten me through all of them so far. Though I got lucky I suppose in that Redcliffe mission, Morrigan leveled up during the first encounter (the easy one) when the zombies come pouring out and attack the village. So I was able to get her that first, and crucial, healing spell which came in quite handy in the next battle by the bonfire. Without that spell... I shudder to think of how I could have won it. Even with it I needed many tries.

I found casting 'heal' on that npc named Tomas was a huge help since he kept using a skill similar to 'Pinning Shot'. I used a zillion potions too though, and that was on normal difficulty. What a battle, finally beating that after a ton of tries was the best.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I didn't find the castle hard at all on normal and with no healer. I only died once in the entire mission. I found Morrigan to be useful but she's a heartless bitch so I ditched her for Wynn shortly after that mission.

 

[dighn]

I didn't find the castle hard at all on normal and with no healer. I only died once in the entire mission. I found Morrigan to be useful but she's a heartless bitch so I ditched her for Wynn shortly after that mission.

I'm tempted to ditch her also but her banter with the "good" party members can be pretty amusing, especially with Alistair. I certainly don't need her because my PC is a mage.

Playing a mage in this game is really fun. The magic isn't as deep and epic as in D&D but mages have so much more versatility and endurance in this game. You can nuke, disable and heal, and you can spam all that. There's no attrition from dungeon crawling. Some of the spells are so useful they kinda feel cheap even (force field).

 

[coreyb]

I don't know why people complain about difficulty, this is the way games are supposed to be. Everyone is too used to modern games that you can just walk right through. It feels so good to finally finish a part that you have been working on for days. Hard is good!

 

[alcoholbob]

I don't know why people complain about difficulty, this is the way games are supposed to be. Everyone is too used to modern games that you can just walk right through. It feels so good to finally finish a part that you have been working on for days. Hard is good!

Spoken like a true Battle Toads warrior.

 

[BrownShoes]

My main character is a mage and he kicks ass. Heal and group heal are always useful but he's the most fun indoors or in enclosed areas where a fireball and an inferno are good tools for starting an encounter off right. I use two warriors and two mages and haven't had too many difficult encounters although I do save a lot just in case. As far as I can remember, I had the most difficult time with the party dupe encounter. I even got through the summoned dragon battle on one try although it was a long fight. The worst time I had was with the puzzle at the Gauntlet. I hate crap like that.

I like the storyline so far. I thought the DLC with Shale wasn't very good and the neither was the Grey Warden Fortress. I liked the story part of the Fort, just didn't think it was very long or worth it if you had to pay for it. Could always use the storage and the store but that's a bit of a rip-off.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Does this game have some sort of achievement system? I see that it isn't a GFWL title...

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Does anybody else have issues with the game crashing constantly? It's unplayable because it crashes every 5 minutes for me. This is unfortunate because the game seems to be of very good quality and I've enjoyed what i've seen of it.

The game would freeze up on me every 30-60 seconds when I first started playing, even in the character creation screen, and even worse when I got into The Fade. I turned my Graphics Detail down to low and that got me through The Fade. Then when I was cleaning out the spiders in the storage cave at the castle, I tried hiking them back up, and it seems fine now.

Game has some definite quirks/bugs, hopefully they'll figure them out and get that stuff patched.

 

[exar333]

Does this game have some sort of achievement system? I see that it isn't a GFWL title...

Yes, there are a number of achievements for this game. I believe you have to be logged-in the EA server (same for DLC) for this work, but I could be wrong.

The game would freeze up on me every 30-60 seconds when I first started playing, even in the character creation screen, and even worse when I got into The Fade. I turned my Graphics Detail down to low and that got me through The Fade. Then when I was cleaning out the spiders in the storage cave at the castle, I tried hiking them back up, and it seems fine now.

Game has some definite quirks/bugs, hopefully they'll figure them out and get that stuff patched.

Have not ran into any bugs here after about 20 hours of gameplay (graphical or game-play related).

My "review": I really am enjoying the game, but it certainly doesn't have the "wow" factor that Oblivion had when first playing it. The game does a better job at engaging you in the larger plot/main quest, but it feels much more restricted compared to an Eldar Scrolls game. I miss being able to enter every building and check every bookshelf/desk for items.

Good: Story, cast of characters, graphics (does not detract for me, but not amazing), main quest is very intriquing/engaging.

Bad: Many side quests are pretty generic, restrictions in running/exploring.

Meh: Although I like the ability to influence your party characters and either gain/lose standing with them, it feels very re-hashed from the KoToR series (Bioware veterans should notice this).

I would rate the game as follows:

Gameplay:9
Graphics:8
Sound:9
"Wow Factor":8

Overall: 8.5

 

[VashHT]

I don't know why people complain about difficulty, this is the way games are supposed to be. Everyone is too used to modern games that you can just walk right through. It feels so good to finally finish a part that you have been working on for days. Hard is good!

Totally agree with you man, the satisfaction of winning a battle without losing a single party member after you just got your ass handed to you in the same battle a few times before that is great. I'm really liking the combat system a lot, feels good to actually have your choices in tactics matter and make a huge difference in battle. I can't wait to get a healer though, my main usually gets knocked out first since he's a rogue, hopefully that will happen less when I max stealth (allows you to stealth during combat).

 

[Alienwho]

The game would freeze up on me every 30-60 seconds when I first started playing, even in the character creation screen, and even worse when I got into The Fade. I turned my Graphics Detail down to low and that got me through The Fade. Then when I was cleaning out the spiders in the storage cave at the castle, I tried hiking them back up, and it seems fine now.

Game has some definite quirks/bugs, hopefully they'll figure them out and get that stuff patched.

I think I figured out my problem. I reset my BIOS/disabled my overclock and I haven't had one crash since. I'm thinking though that it wasn't my overclock that was having problems with the game, I think it was having the HDMI/Audio enabled in the BIOS that was crashing it for some reason (even though I don't use the HDMI port). I haven't re-enabled my overclock and just turned off the HDMI to test this because I'm going with the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' philosophy for now.

It's strange though because I have played dozens of games without any issue until Dragon Age. I'm glad I got it working and have enjoyed the game. This game just shines with quality and polish.

One thing I really love about Dragon Age is that I can go from my Desktop to actually playing the game in under 10 seconds. I have never played a game that allows the user to jump into actual gameplay so quickly.

One more thing, I have put in roughly 22 hours into the game now and the stats say that I am 10% done and have explored 25% of the world. That's crazy! I haven't even spent any time reading any of the codex's or talking with my posse. I can't imagine how long it would take somebody that is actively involved in the story and lore and read's all the codex's and converses with the team.

 

[phexac]

Where do you see how much of the world you have explored?

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I think I figured out my problem. I reset my BIOS/disabled my overclock and I haven't had one crash since.

Well, I got my replacement GTX260 from EVGA today, and the problem seems to have completely gone away, so apparently it was the videocard. This is actually the 2nd time I've RMA'd in the last month, the last one they sent me to replace my original one would cause L4D1 to freeze up with a sound loop with high or very high shaders turned on as well as the Dragon Age issue. The one I got today has neither of those problems and looks like a newer revision of the card.

My original and the first replacement were -AR versions of their GTX260, this one is -B3 and physically looks different, so hopefully I just got a newer version of the card. Seems awesome so far.

 

[Koudelka]

This has been pissing me off for a while now.

Twice now i have loaded up a saved game only to find my main character has missing equipment. It literally just fucking vanished, and is now gone from every single saved game.
What the hell? Tried searching official and steam forums, havent found a topic yet.

Anyone else experience this?

 

[garritynet]

Well I just got done logging in two hours and I gotta say that this game is freakin' awesome! A friend of mine at work is always telling me to play BG and I am always like "dude, no way am I playing that game. It looks terrible." I also had no interest in playing DA and for the most part I could not understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of it since I had forgotten about KOTOR, JE and ME. By forgotten I mean never played and thus this company Bioware meant nothing to me. Like literally, I had no idea they had such a history of famous games.

Well I got the game for heck of it. Mostly because I am sick and can't go to work and I wanted to see what the 5770 is capable of. I had heard people complaining about DAs hefty requirements. I installed it, went into the CCC, maxed everything out, started the game with everything on high. It ran. It was a slide show, but it ran. I made my character, fought some wolves and quit. I OCed my card to 950/1400 and changed the CCC to maxed out everything except AA where I have it set to Edge-detect 4x instead of 8x. It runs smooth. Super smooth. I don't know if its 60fps but its def. over 30. I would rather have a smooth running, nice looking game than a graphics juggernaut that I have to run on low.

I had so much fun, its a shame I have to go to work tomorrow else I could stay up all night playing.

Oh yeah, I run at 1650*1050 just in case anyone cares.