Dragon Age: Origins

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I don't think this has anything to do with time, 1992 or 2009

I really wish that was in DA:O too. Games are becoming more "kiddie fests" IMHO. No risk, no reward.

As a gamer of 20+ years, I can definitely say that the "casualization" of games is a good thing, and consumers and the industry agree, as games are moving increasingly in this direction. You know what the instant kills in BG2 that destroyed the character and gear added to the game? The necessity, annoyance and repetition of constantly reloading the game until the RNG smiled in your favor. What fun!

BTW, "realism" in a game with mages and dragons? LOL?

Many of those old school conventions were awful and tedious. I, and the large majority of the gaming population, are glad that game companies are realizing this and moving away from them at a rapid pace.

Games are supposed to be fun and entertaining. Clunky ancient game mechanics that do nothing but waste time are frustrating and useless.

 

[exar333]

As a gamer of 20+ years, I can definitely say that the "casualization" of games is a good thing, and consumers and the industry agree, as games are moving increasingly in this direction. You know what the instant kills in BG2 that destroyed the character and gear added to the game? The necessity, annoyance and repetition of constantly reloading the game until the RNG smiled in your favor. What fun!

BTW, "realism" in a game with mages and dragons? LOL?

Many of those old school conventions were awful and tedious. I, and the large majority of the gaming population, are glad that game companies are realizing this and moving away from them at a rapid pace.

Games are supposed to be fun and entertaining. Clunky ancient game mechanics that do nothing but waste time are frustrating and useless.

I think this is less of a game mechanic than a development choice. A ancient game mechanic is dying when your foot touches the enemy (e.g. Mario Brothers) rather than losing gear when a character leaves the party. Realism matters in an RPG, it's not about the subject matter, but whether the world they build "feels" real or not.

 

[you2]

But along with the casualization is the increase in 'dumbing' down games. No more tricky mazes to search; no more hidden doors; no more grand scale decisions to be made; no more puzzles to solves. The last game I played with rather interesting puzzles was space rangers 2 (not exactly a mainstream game). DA could have been loaded with tons of puzzles; complex maps; optional secret passages and such; but ....

So there is a good and bad side to "casualization" (or the term I prefer; dumbing down).

As a gamer of 20+ years, I can definitely say that the "casualization" of games is a good thing, and consumers and the industry agree, as games are moving increasingly in this direction. You know what the instant kills in BG2 that destroyed the character and gear added to the game? The necessity, annoyance and repetition of constantly reloading the game until the RNG smiled in your favor. What fun!

BTW, "realism" in a game with mages and dragons? LOL?

Many of those old school conventions were awful and tedious. I, and the large majority of the gaming population, are glad that game companies are realizing this and moving away from them at a rapid pace.

Games are supposed to be fun and entertaining. Clunky ancient game mechanics that do nothing but waste time are frustrating and useless.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I think this is less of a game mechanic than a development choice. A ancient game mechanic is dying when your foot touches the enemy (e.g. Mario Brothers). Realism matters in an RPG, it's not about the subject matter, but whether the world they build "feels" real or not.

Losing your gear when a character leaves is both a bad game mechanic and a poor development choice.

"Feeling real" in a game where I can push one button to instantly warp back in time and retry a situation over and over again until I "get it right" because bad game mechanics and poor development decisions will unexpectedly cost me hours of work? Okay...

How real does it feel when you get hit in the face with a fireball and get back up no worse for wear? Or when that orc smashes you with an axe and you barely get a scratch?

Yeah, realism in say, a football or racing game = good. "Realism" in a game like Dragon Age = LOL.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

But along with the casualization is the increase in 'dumbing' down games. No more tricky mazes to search; no more hidden doors; no more grand scale decisions to be made; no more puzzles to solves. The last game I played with rather interesting puzzles was space rangers 2 (not exactly a mainstream game). DA could have been loaded with tons of puzzles; complex maps; optional secret passages and such; but ....

So there is a good and bad side to "casualization" (or the term I prefer; dumbing down).

But, there were at least two annoying puzzles in Dragon Age: Origins, IIRC. If I wanted to solve puzzles, I'd go play Sudoku. So again, another plus for the "casualization" of games.

 

[exar333]

Losing your gear when a character leaves is both a bad game mechanic and a poor development choice.

"Feeling real" in a game where I can push one button to instantly warp back in time and retry a situation over and over again until I "get it right" because bad game mechanics and poor development decisions will unexpectedly cost me hours of work? Okay...

How real does it feel when you get hit in the face with a fireball and get back up no worse for wear? Or when that orc smashes you with an axe and you barely get a scratch?

Yeah, realism in say, a football or racing game = good. "Realism" in a game like Dragon Age = LOL.

Saving and re-loading games isn't part of the gameplay; you could argue that it does detract from the gameplay, but with the game 40+ hours, its pretty much neccessary.

You probably don't enjoy roleplaying, many people do, part of the immersion is making the game have actual "stakes". Before MMOs were "casualized" you lost your gear when you died, and had to go get it. Along with losing substantial amounts of $$$, you paid a price for losing. That is an EXCELLENT development decision.

Making games easier isn't neccessarily a good thing. You may not like roleplaying, but many others do.

Your opinion is just that, an opinion. It doesn't mean the gameplay or development decisions are bad, it just means you prefer easier, less immersive games. Theres nothing wrong with that.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Your opinion is just that, an opinion. It doesn't mean the gameplay or development decisions are bad, it just means you prefer easier, less immersive games. Theres nothing wrong with that.

Except that consumers are increasingly desiring "easier, less immersive games" and thankfully, game companies are smart and are rapidly moving the market in that direction. It's an "opinion" that the vast majority share, and it's a good one. Losing all of your hard-earned gear and stats because the RNG hates you or you get blindsided by a plot twist is not roleplaying; it is bad design and poor development, period.

You probably think games that come out with unlimited continues, instead of 3 lives and no continues, is "dumbing down" games too.

You probably don't enjoy roleplaying, many people do, part of the immersion is making the game have actual "stakes".

This has nothing to do with "enjoying roleplaying". It has to do with bad design and poor development choices. "Many people" don't prefer to be punished because of a random number generator or because the story changed in a manner they did not expect. Look at how WOW is going, for example. It is becoming more "casual" and less punishing...and it is more popular than ever.

Change is good. We look back at the old school games with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia and overlook their glaring faults.

 

[Ika]

Not sure how to impress Sten, he's an ass.

Give him paintings, that's his preferred item. After he warms up to you, pick the right dialogue choices and his approval SHOOTS through the roof. Then, you'll be able to do his personal quest - lots more approval. I think I went from 5 to 80 in a matter of about 40 minutes.

 

[coreyb]

Glad I already beat this game as I can't play it now that I own an ATI card. Crashes constantly. I would like to replay as a different race/class though...

 

[coreyb]

Losing your gear when a character leaves is both a bad game mechanic and a poor development choice.

"Feeling real" in a game where I can push one button to instantly warp back in time and retry a situation over and over again until I "get it right" because bad game mechanics and poor development decisions will unexpectedly cost me hours of work? Okay...

How real does it feel when you get hit in the face with a fireball and get back up no worse for wear? Or when that orc smashes you with an axe and you barely get a scratch?

Yeah, realism in say, a football or racing game = good. "Realism" in a game like Dragon Age = LOL.

Actually it's not.

That's what saves are for.

 

[Bateluer]

Glad I already beat this game as I can't play it now that I own an ATI card. Crashes constantly. I would like to replay as a different race/class though...

Whats going on with ATI cards? I have experienced no crashes or issues with my 4870 using the Cat 9.10 or 9.11s. Heck, I alt tab constantly, leaving the game paused. Actually alt tabbed out and went to bed with the game running.

 

[exar333]

Whats going on with ATI cards? I have experienced no crashes or issues with my 4870 using the Cat 9.10 or 9.11s. Heck, I alt tab constantly, leaving the game paused. Actually alt tabbed out and went to bed with the game running.

I have heard there are some issues with 4870 512MB cards (crashes and whatnot) but I have not personally experienced any of these issues (NV card personally).

My experience with DA:O was very positive, no crashes in 60 hours of gameplay (and I did alt-tab here and there). The only issue was the occasional quest-related glitch that is 100% expected in a game of this scope. The polish of the game was impressive to me, especially with the way games have been released in the last few years.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I have heard there are some issues with 4870 512MB cards (crashes and whatnot) but I have not personally experienced any of these issues (NV card personally).

My experience with DA:O was very positive, no crashes in 60 hours of gameplay (and I did alt-tab here and there). The only issue was the occasional quest-related glitch that is 100% expected in a game of this scope. The polish of the game was impressive to me, especially with the way games have been released in the last few years.

I had about half a dozen random crashes with Dragon Age on my NVIDIA 8800GT 512 MB. Not a terrible amount, but annoying, nonetheless.

 

[exar333]

I had about half a dozen random crashes with Dragon Age on my NVIDIA 8800GT 512 MB. Not a terrible amount, but annoying, nonetheless.

I had to dump my 8800GT and disable my discrete sound card last year because they would not play nice with Fallout3. FO3 was a great game, but it had a lot of bugs at launch; I will say that DA:O is a lot more stable and polished.

RPS - what kind of crashes have you seen? Did they happen during gameplay or during location loads? I didn't have any crashes, but the screen loads during the last 25% of the game took forever (especially during the last big battle).

 

[Malladine]

As a gamer of 20+ years, I can definitely say that the "casualization" of games is a good thing, and consumers and the industry agree, as games are moving increasingly in this direction. You know what the instant kills in BG2 that destroyed the character and gear added to the game? The necessity, annoyance and repetition of constantly reloading the game until the RNG smiled in your favor. What fun!

BTW, "realism" in a game with mages and dragons? LOL?

Many of those old school conventions were awful and tedious. I, and the large majority of the gaming population, are glad that game companies are realizing this and moving away from them at a rapid pace.

Games are supposed to be fun and entertaining. Clunky ancient game mechanics that do nothing but waste time are frustrating and useless.

I agree with your last paragraph, your first sentence not so much. I too am a gamer of 20+ years, and "casualization" is far too general a term to use along with your single example.

For example i could take it to mean that the leaning towards games with more graphics and less gameplay or that a tendancy towards making games easier is "casualizing" in which case i'd definately disagree it's a good thing.

AS a long time gamer I appreciate a challenging game. MP is easy - other people are the challenge. But making gameplay itself challenging could potentially be innovative, if it's given a chance and not abandoned because it isn't immediately accessible to the least experienced gamers. Sure it's argueable you'd make more money as a company that way, but $ doesn't mean the game is truly good.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I had to dump my 8800GT and disable my discrete sound card last year because they would not play nice with Fallout3. FO3 was a great game, but it had a lot of bugs at launch; I will say that DA:O is a lot more stable and polished.

RPS - what kind of crashes have you seen? Did they happen during gameplay or during location loads? I didn't have any crashes, but the screen loads during the last 25% of the game took forever (especially during the last big battle).

Crashes..."Dragon Age: Origins has stopped working." I've also experienced the super long load times as well.

 

[Ika]

Crashes..."Dragon Age: Origins has stopped working." I've also experienced the super long load times as well.

I don't think I've had a single crash on my HD5770, and that's pretty damn impressive - FO3 crashed every 10-15 minutes for me, and even Mass Effect gave me a bunch of issues on this computer.

I have noticed that Dragon Age seems to have some sort of memory leak, though... if I play for more than a few hours, the load times become absolutely unbearable, even when entering a two-room house. I actually didn't notice this until I got to Orzammar - then I'd have to wait upwards of two minutes just to go to the Commons district. Same issues in Denerim, too... I don't think I ever had these problems in any of the other areas, which is odd. Restarting DA:O fixed the issue, albeit temporarily.

 

[coreyb]

I never experienced ANY crashes with my 285GTX for the 6 or so months I had it. I immediately had crashes when I switched to the 5870 with Dragon Age. It's really frustrating as I've heard so many good things here about ATI which made me finally switch from Nvidia. But now I'm regretting it as I've had problems with 2 games the first week I've owning my new card. sad really

 

[Tequila]

Enjoying the game so far but it really makes me yearn for BG2. I'm playing on nightmare with an elf rogue, Alistair and Morrigan. Replaced Morrigan for Wynne until done with Mage quest. First toon was a warrior but found it a bit dry so restarted as rogue. Mages are way OP, only need one to get by. Three person party is all you need and Alistair + Morrigan are the perfect entertaining combo

The game is difficult at first but once you figure out the right skills it gets a lot easier. For Alistair get Taunt asap and as soon as Morrigan dings get her Force Field. For DW rogues get Momentum which turns your rogue into a blender. Alistair taunts, Morg FF on him and my rogue rips up all the mobs stupidly trying to hit

I don't know why people put off Circle Tower. I find that a lot easier and more fun than Redcliffe. Also you get nice perma stat increases out of it. What I do is all the side quests in Lothering then go to Brecilian and do all the quests and enter the werewolf ruins up to the mini dragon. Then I backout and go to Circle Tower then back to werewolf ruins.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I had a question on becoming a blood mage.

Spoiler

I fought a blood mage in the Elven Alienage who was a slave trader. At the end I made a deal with him to teach me blood magic to let him go. But afterwards, it still says that the Blood Mage option is "Not yet activated". What am I doing wrong? My mage is lvl 17 and has 2 points to spend on the Spec classes but none of them are activated. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[oddyager]

Anyone know how many talent points your character is going to have by end game? I think you start with two, then pick up another free point based on your origin and another freebie after the Joining. You get one per level (25 cap?) so that makes 28 so far. I also found a list of tomes you can buy from vendors (I read 4) but are there also tomes you can find from quests/dungeons? I'm playing a rogue and hoping to max all of my rogue skills, assassin and dual wield. Possible?

Thanks.

 

[coloumb]

I had a question on becoming a blood mage.

Spoiler

I fought a blood mage in the Elven Alienage who was a slave trader. At the end I made a deal with him to teach me blood magic to let him go. But afterwards, it still says that the Blood Mage option is "Not yet activated". What am I doing wrong? My mage is lvl 17 and has 2 points to spend on the Spec classes but none of them are activated. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks a bunch.

You don't learn anything - you do however gain something - complete info about your choice is here: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Caladrius

There is only one way to learn blood magic

 

[masterxfob]

i know it isn't condoned, but i pirated the game to test on my system. amazingly, i'm able to run this game on a p4 2.8 with a 6600gt gfx card at the lowest settings and at the lowest resolution . now, i'll just have to purchase the super duper mega deluxe champion edition of the ages to support bioware and get all the dlc now

 

[TheNiceGuy]

I was wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
My main character is a female warrior, and I have specialized everything in archery. I now have all the archery attributes - and she sucks so bad. Weakest character. I had to give up on the "bandits" quest, and totaly on the "proving" fights (barely beat the first guy), and am now stuck at the "Javia" boss. I have tried everything, but she is so weak, and archery sucks compared to everyone else. I'm guessing mage was the way to go for a strong main character.
Anyway, put a lot of time into the game so far, definatley not going to restart to change class and have to go through everything again.
Is it possibleto play the main quests straight through? Or is it normal to have to do tons of side missions, to build up attributes, before you can get through?
I'm currently using the dog, the Morgan or whatever, and the assasin guy.
Any hints?

 

[Ika]

I was wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
My main character is a female warrior, and I have specialized everything in archery. I now have all the archery attributes - and she sucks so bad. Weakest character. I had to give up on the "bandits" quest, and totaly on the "proving" fights (barely beat the first guy), and am now stuck at the "Javia" boss. I have tried everything, but she is so weak, and archery sucks compared to everyone else. I'm guessing mage was the way to go for a strong main character.
Anyway, put a lot of time into the game so far, definatley not going to restart to change class and have to go through everything again.
Is it possibleto play the main quests straight through? Or is it normal to have to do tons of side missions, to build up attributes, before you can get through?
I'm currently using the dog, the Morgan or whatever, and the assasin guy.
Any hints?

I thought archery sucked too, until one of the loading messages told me heavier armor slowed down the rate of fire. I got myself a nice set of Dalish leather, a rapid aim bow, and now my archer slings consistent 40-damage arrows. That's not bad when Alistair does 30-40 damage per hit, at the same rate, but needs to run up to the person to hit. Rapid aim really helps with a longbow, it makes it a LOT faster.