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Dragon Age Forum News (Sep. 13, 04)

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by chevalier, Sep 15, 2004.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Here are today's Dragon Age forum highlights, collected by NWVault. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

    David Gaider, Designer

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hmmm. Let's see.

    Fallout & Fallout 2
    Ultima IV
    Wizardry
    Shadowrun (for the Sega Genesis)
    Shining Force (also for the Genesis? I forget)

    Not in any particular order, those are probably the ones I enjoyed the most and played obsessively from beginning to end, and which did not drive me mad at some point. I would normally add BG to that, as I played it before I joined the company, but that's fine.

    As for the comment about me liking Planescape: Torment... I did like it well enough, but did not get into the Nameless One's story much at the time and did not finish it. A pity, as it's beautifully written. I'll have to try again sometime when I'm in the mood.

    More:
    Hey Gaider, I was suprised you didn't finish PS:T... I've always thought it was one of the most well written RPGs out there (in my opinion of course) and figured you, being the big-shot writer, would have gotten quite a kick out of it!
    Aren't there books or movies which you didn't enjoy as much as your friends did? I can recognize that it is very well-written and I appreciated it for that, at least. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it or whatever, but the Nameless One was not my bag (I did like the portayal of Sigil, however, which has always been one of my favorite settings). In an RPG, I suppose I just prefer to have my own character (which doesn't explain Shining Force, but oh well).

    Found out more about the world...
    Ok, here's my one question: What's the real name of the world?
    I second this one, as some new people to the forums continually think that "Thedas" is the name of the world. It is, but in a twisted acronymic way...
    Names are something we fight over like cats and dogs. Even if we can agree on every other aspect of something, the name we will argue about forever. Whatever you come up with eventually, just about everyone else will hate it and make fun of it but be unable to propose a superior replacement... and in the end they will get used to it and then will be unable to think of it as anything else. Which is a long way of saying that there IS a name for the world, but it's not a final thing yet.

    More:
    But I guess my question would be, 'Are there, or have there been, any predominantly underground living races, thus leaving major caves, caverns, and mighty underground halls to traverse 'now'?'
    Yes.

    More:
    Dave G: What is one thing that makes the Dragon Age setting unique from any other game you've ever played?
    In case you haven't noticed, I've avoided the all-encompassing answers that would require me to spill all the beans... like this one. Anyhow, that's enough questions answered for me. Off I go.

    The One Feature I would most like to see in DA is . . .!
    The One Feature concept was abandonned after the first couple of posts. I don't understand why the original poster wanted to limit it to that
    Because we tend to ignore wishlists. Succinct is good.

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    George, I understand what you are saying. But I'm not convinced that if z-axis was added to DA that it would be for "no reason". Many others in this thread have given good reasons to have it, and even you have given a good reason in this very post.
    And that's what Georg is saying. If we added it, it would be for a reason. You can't just "add the possibility" of it yet not take advantage of it. And simply "adding the possibility" of z-axis does not solve all the inherent design issues that crop up with it (nor are those issues simple teeny things that modders could solve on their own). As has been mentioned numerous times (in fact, one should really just go to that thread that Brennon pointed out... I, for one, am getting quite tired of repeating myself), something like this is one of those fundamental decisions you make that affects everything that comes after it, design-wise. It's not whether it can be done or whether it would be easy to do, it's what kind of game you want to make. Is having flight or wall-climbing so important to the type of game you're making, for instance, that you're willing to solve all the issues that come along with it and accomodate that possibility in all future decisions? he answer could be yes, the answer could be no. The answer should not, however, be yes without an understanding of the cost or why we might choose to focus our efforts elsewhere. I, too, could foresee the benefits of a z-axis to certain types of gameplay. And by all means you're free to ask for the sorts of things you'd like to see in DA. Having a feature like this in the game, however, is not a matter of flicking a switch or having a more interested or talented programmer on staff. Believe it or not, we do know what we're talking about.

    More:
    On the other hand how many good ideas are discarded because certain features, whether it's z-axis or whatever, is not available to those of us who would be using the toolset.
    Plenty, I imagine. Considering that every feature under the sun can't be implemented anyway, there's nothing new about that.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    Because there are already too many, what can there be to say it's new?
    There's plenty to differentiate the DA setting from fantasy settings that have gone before, just as there will be much in that setting that will seem quite familiar. I also imagine even some of the things that are different might not be "new", per se... it's probably been somewhere, somehow, right? At any rate, we're not telling just yet on any of these points.

    Georg Zoeller, Designer

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    ...Please consider the time it takes to incoporate all this, bug check it, refix things... and then take into account that you've spent a year and still got the rest of the game to make, and hope you don't screw up the horses next...
    The difficulty of implementing z movement is relative to the person doing it. A math/physics inclined software engineer (I am sure Bioware has at least a couple of these) would not break a sweat. No disrespect to you intended -- just providing info. Actually, your long list of issues is no more than a fun challenge for a genuine geek. I'm sure Bioware could find a staffmember to take on the job -- and love every minute of it.
    As mentioned numerous times now, implementing nearly every possbile feature, regardless which, is usually neither impossible nor extremely hard, after all we got some of the best people in the industry working here - it's a question of manpower/cost efficiency and whether or not the feature is compatible with the vision / design / story of the game. You can do [horses] (substitute for your pet feature) - it's not even hard. Even with the NWN engine it is possible, the DLA team already demonstrated that, but feel free to ask them how long it takes to create the required content - modelling, horse animation, character animation, interaction and combat animation, sound, etc - Short: it's expensive and as an expensive feature it is evaluated whether or not it adds enough to the story you want to tell or actually causes more trouble (such as the associated design implications mentioned in other threads), because if you to spend your zots into horses and instead of i.e. the swimming you need for your story, your priorities are screwed. Do we add [feature x] even if the campaign doesn't use it? Maybe, but more likely we are taking [feature y] instead because the campaign wants it. But all that has been said before. Disclaimer: Does this mean there are no horses in DA? I don't know, I'm on jade.

    More:
    In the case of this thread, I think we are just saying to implement the z axis free movement possibility and mechanism. Then, it will be there to use as anyone sees fit -- based on resources needed for the particular use (per your post).
    This is the intent of my original post.
    But this is not how it works ... things don't get added for now reason - they get requested for specific reason or use. Also remember that DA is a lot more "campaign first".

    As for flight and arrows - like in Daggerfall/Morrowind, it was the ultimate exploit to most encounters.

    It openend possiblities however as well, I loved the mission where you had to get into the guarded fort to get the bounty on your head lifted by the general but all the soldiers would attack you on sight because of that bounty, flying or climbing in from the side was really nice.

    Is Elder Scrolls IV or NWN2 a Threat to DA
    I think it would be fair to say that NWN cut short Pool of Radiance's lifespan on the market by a good share.
    Err, I think NWNs impact on the live span of PoR was minor compared to the impact other "things" had on this, which I'm not going to elaborate.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    There are alot of people who want DA to be NWN 2 done by BioWare. These comprise some of the suggestions because of familiarity.
    They will be disappointed. DA is not NWN2 (obviously) it's not D&D repackaged.

    As for the "draconic" class - We certainly never said that DA has one.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    Apparently, nothing else will change much -- beyond the locations, back story, etceteras -- okay, but, except for sequels, all games change that type of stuff.
    This deserves some serious rant rant IMO. Apparently you missed the fact that we haven't release any significant information on world, game rules, game mechanics and engine. So to say "apparently nothing else will change" is a pretty bold statement given that you actually don't have any information to back this

    We've gotten real resistance on new (to Bioware) game features we can see and use -- things that might really change the strategy, tactics, look, and feel -- e.g. levitation, climbing, horses, swimming, etceteras posted elsewhere -- too many zots we keep hearing (thats the issue with an all-new game, not enough zots to add the obvious -- because so many zots are used just to plow the old ground and get the new game system up to the old standard).
    The only resistance you are getting right now is the resistance to say "yes this feature is in" and "no, this feature is not in". We won't be saying that for a while, and if you want to read that as "they are resistant to putting feature X in", then this is your choise, but it's not what we are saying.

    Please carefully reread the threads where you see this resistance and you will see that we are discussing the pro's and con's of having certain features and if people say "this must be in", give reasons why "this" isn't necessarily a must from our point of view.

    I slowly get the impression that participating in discussions about any features on these boards or commenting on why things are not necessarily as easy as they are painted might actually a bad idea - because people rather want us the feed them hype about all the potential features that will be in the game, rather than have a serious discussion about it and get a "we don't think it's that important" or "we can't promise this right now" kind of answer.

    It is weird that people actually might want to get really hyped up and promised everything and the world rather than being getting honest but cautious answers, because anyone slightly connected to this industry knows that game development is a very dynamic and quite unpredictable process and that promising things is a really bad idea.

    Seriously, we could go here and talk about all the cool features we have planned for DA and all the innovations we are going to do, but that will cause these boards and half of the internet to burst in flames later on when we decide that one of these features wasn't as cool as it sounded and we cut it. Been there, done that, bad idea. (Just go over to the Obsidian boards and see how rabid people get when they discover that Winter 2004 can actually mean next year for the PC version of KotOR 2 - I mean, after following at least 1 game's lifecylce every selfrespecting game should know how to treat any releasedate, regardless who gives it.)

    The game rules will change -- but, we'll still be hacking, slashing, and casting spells -- hits and damage will be calculated differently (but that will be invisible to the player). Maybe a mana system, but hey, everyone does that these days -- only D&D is really different (slots).
    About the "invisible to the player" part, we will see ... as for the rest ... what do you ask for? A high fantasy RPG without spells and swords? Sorry, for that we would be the wrong address. I suppose nobody tried the "talking your enemy into the ground" approach so far, but then again I doubt this would be too popular ... but maybe we can include "whacking" on the list of possible actions.

    Sarcasm aside, I don't see the point in this. It's not that we said we want to invent a new genre.

    So, at the end of the day, DA will probably play and feel much like previous Bioware games (maybe great fun, but not new either).

    Given the lack of new (for Bioware) features, DA will rise or fall based on the Original Campaign story and its presentation/pacing. Hopefully, the creative freedom allowed by dumping D&D will result in a smashing hit in that department -- since, ironically, dumping D&D will limit zots available to do more.
    Will DA feel like a BioWare game? Hell, yes, that's what our customers expect from us. Will it be a copy of NWN with a different name or BG with a different story? No.

    I think NWN and KotOR are both pretty good examples that we are willing to do a lot things in our game quite differently from our previous games, but at the same time, we are trying to carry over some of the core ingredients, like "story centered", "memorable characters" from game to game - because they work, and because we know our customers expect these from a BioWare game.

    In fact, to call "nothing new" is quite premature, at this point it looks like DA is going to be one of very few RPGs that is actually not a sequel to another game when it hits the market.

    As for the "lack of new features", as I ranted above, that's an interpretation on your end that is based on (or rather not based at all) taking our unwillingness to discuss features at this point.

    And saying "dumping D&D will limit the zots even more" and then complaining about the perceived lack of innovation is a bit weird, because that would mean that you actually expected us to do a sequel to NWN. But just how much more [familiar/evolution instead of revolution] did BG2 feel after BG1? Certainly more than "BG vs NWN".
    When doing a sequel you are limited to the capabilities of the former engine and much less able to do any really groundbreaking changes than when you create something new.

    Finally - the idea that the story will play a very important role when it comes to determining whether or not DA will be a success 100% correct - after all, as said numerous times before, the story is one of our core ingrediences, probably the most important one, far more important than flashy features.

    Bottomline - I get the impression that honest discussion about the pros, cons and importance of a certain feature is not a good idea as it is read as "they don't want to do anything new". I can adjust accordingly..

    More: Just to prevent a wrong impression, we are certainly going to discuss features of the game before it is released - but please remember that DA is a fair way out and at this point, we are not ready to discuss any specifics.

    It is a bit unusual in this industry to announce a game this early and provide forums for it, but this allows the BioWare Community to play a important role in our development process and allows us to collect information and gauge trends and get input on certain parts of the game that are done early on. - I understand that this is quite different from what you usually see in this industry and that this causes some of the misunderstandings we see here at the boards from time to time but I still think it's the right thing to do.

    Be patient, there will be loads of things to discuss when the right time comes, but don't expect us to engage into a "announced potential feature war" with other games every time another company releases information on their game - that wouldn't reflect the way we work and would be dishonest to our community.

    Maximizing Replay Value
    You can script anything, even totally random monster spawns when the player changes his pants.

    Orcs and goblins
    Do you think these and some other over used fantasy races will infiltrate into DA as well, oh the humanity, that would be horrible. Please, Great Bioware if there is any way do not let these poor green-skinned critters find their way into another game, but seriously, what are the chances of that happening?
    I guess whatever would happen (and I seriously don't know anything about these monsters in regards to DA), I can assure you that orcs would have no supply of shiny orange cloth in DA and in the age of normal maps, they probably would be very cool "skinned" instead of green Seriously, I have no clue whether or not those guys are in the game - if they are, I expect outbursts of "this is soooo lame, no innovation" or "they are supposed to have red eyes and a blue skin, just like Fire Giants", - if they are not, I expect cries of "damn it, no orcs, I won't buy this game" - so I guess it doesn't really matter.

    As for goblins, count me to the faction that doesn't like them, they smell. Btw,I'm sure a certain writer would find the idea of a "Drew" subrace very appealing, through I have to say, I'd be kind of frightened by the prospect, what's next - "Daves" instead of "Elves" ? Here are today's Dragon Age forum highlights, collected by NWVault. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

    David Gaider, Designer

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hmmm. Let's see.

    Fallout & Fallout 2
    Ultima IV
    Wizardry
    Shadowrun (for the Sega Genesis)
    Shining Force (also for the Genesis? I forget)

    Not in any particular order, those are probably the ones I enjoyed the most and played obsessively from beginning to end, and which did not drive me mad at some point. I would normally add BG to that, as I played it before I joined the company, but that's fine.

    As for the comment about me liking Planescape: Torment... I did like it well enough, but did not get into the Nameless One's story much at the time and did not finish it. A pity, as it's beautifully written. I'll have to try again sometime when I'm in the mood.

    More:
    Hey Gaider, I was suprised you didn't finish PS:T... I've always thought it was one of the most well written RPGs out there (in my opinion of course) and figured you, being the big-shot writer, would have gotten quite a kick out of it!
    Aren't there books or movies which you didn't enjoy as much as your friends did? I can recognize that it is very well-written and I appreciated it for that, at least. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it or whatever, but the Nameless One was not my bag (I did like the portayal of Sigil, however, which has always been one of my favorite settings). In an RPG, I suppose I just prefer to have my own character (which doesn't explain Shining Force, but oh well).

    Found out more about the world...
    Ok, here's my one question: What's the real name of the world?
    I second this one, as some new people to the forums continually think that "Thedas" is the name of the world. It is, but in a twisted acronymic way...
    Names are something we fight over like cats and dogs. Even if we can agree on every other aspect of something, the name we will argue about forever. Whatever you come up with eventually, just about everyone else will hate it and make fun of it but be unable to propose a superior replacement... and in the end they will get used to it and then will be unable to think of it as anything else. Which is a long way of saying that there IS a name for the world, but it's not a final thing yet.

    More:
    But I guess my question would be, 'Are there, or have there been, any predominantly underground living races, thus leaving major caves, caverns, and mighty underground halls to traverse 'now'?'
    Yes.

    More:
    Dave G: What is one thing that makes the Dragon Age setting unique from any other game you've ever played?
    In case you haven't noticed, I've avoided the all-encompassing answers that would require me to spill all the beans... like this one. Anyhow, that's enough questions answered for me. Off I go.

    The One Feature I would most like to see in DA is . . .!
    The One Feature concept was abandonned after the first couple of posts. I don't understand why the original poster wanted to limit it to that
    Because we tend to ignore wishlists. Succinct is good.

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    George, I understand what you are saying. But I'm not convinced that if z-axis was added to DA that it would be for "no reason". Many others in this thread have given good reasons to have it, and even you have given a good reason in this very post.
    And that's what Georg is saying. If we added it, it would be for a reason. You can't just "add the possibility" of it yet not take advantage of it. And simply "adding the possibility" of z-axis does not solve all the inherent design issues that crop up with it (nor are those issues simple teeny things that modders could solve on their own). As has been mentioned numerous times (in fact, one should really just go to that thread that Brennon pointed out... I, for one, am getting quite tired of repeating myself), something like this is one of those fundamental decisions you make that affects everything that comes after it, design-wise. It's not whether it can be done or whether it would be easy to do, it's what kind of game you want to make. Is having flight or wall-climbing so important to the type of game you're making, for instance, that you're willing to solve all the issues that come along with it and accomodate that possibility in all future decisions? he answer could be yes, the answer could be no. The answer should not, however, be yes without an understanding of the cost or why we might choose to focus our efforts elsewhere. I, too, could foresee the benefits of a z-axis to certain types of gameplay. And by all means you're free to ask for the sorts of things you'd like to see in DA. Having a feature like this in the game, however, is not a matter of flicking a switch or having a more interested or talented programmer on staff. Believe it or not, we do know what we're talking about.

    More:
    On the other hand how many good ideas are discarded because certain features, whether it's z-axis or whatever, is not available to those of us who would be using the toolset.
    Plenty, I imagine. Considering that every feature under the sun can't be implemented anyway, there's nothing new about that.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    Because there are already too many, what can there be to say it's new?
    There's plenty to differentiate the DA setting from fantasy settings that have gone before, just as there will be much in that setting that will seem quite familiar. I also imagine even some of the things that are different might not be "new", per se... it's probably been somewhere, somehow, right? At any rate, we're not telling just yet on any of these points.

    Georg Zoeller, Designer

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    ...Please consider the time it takes to incoporate all this, bug check it, refix things... and then take into account that you've spent a year and still got the rest of the game to make, and hope you don't screw up the horses next...
    The difficulty of implementing z movement is relative to the person doing it. A math/physics inclined software engineer (I am sure Bioware has at least a couple of these) would not break a sweat. No disrespect to you intended -- just providing info. Actually, your long list of issues is no more than a fun challenge for a genuine geek. I'm sure Bioware could find a staffmember to take on the job -- and love every minute of it.
    As mentioned numerous times now, implementing nearly every possbile feature, regardless which, is usually neither impossible nor extremely hard, after all we got some of the best people in the industry working here - it's a question of manpower/cost efficiency and whether or not the feature is compatible with the vision / design / story of the game. You can do [horses] (substitute for your pet feature) - it's not even hard. Even with the NWN engine it is possible, the DLA team already demonstrated that, but feel free to ask them how long it takes to create the required content - modelling, horse animation, character animation, interaction and combat animation, sound, etc - Short: it's expensive and as an expensive feature it is evaluated whether or not it adds enough to the story you want to tell or actually causes more trouble (such as the associated design implications mentioned in other threads), because if you to spend your zots into horses and instead of i.e. the swimming you need for your story, your priorities are screwed. Do we add [feature x] even if the campaign doesn't use it? Maybe, but more likely we are taking [feature y] instead because the campaign wants it. But all that has been said before. Disclaimer: Does this mean there are no horses in DA? I don't know, I'm on jade.

    More:
    In the case of this thread, I think we are just saying to implement the z axis free movement possibility and mechanism. Then, it will be there to use as anyone sees fit -- based on resources needed for the particular use (per your post).
    This is the intent of my original post.
    But this is not how it works ... things don't get added for now reason - they get requested for specific reason or use. Also remember that DA is a lot more "campaign first".

    As for flight and arrows - like in Daggerfall/Morrowind, it was the ultimate exploit to most encounters.

    It openend possiblities however as well, I loved the mission where you had to get into the guarded fort to get the bounty on your head lifted by the general but all the soldiers would attack you on sight because of that bounty, flying or climbing in from the side was really nice.

    Is Elder Scrolls IV or NWN2 a Threat to DA
    I think it would be fair to say that NWN cut short Pool of Radiance's lifespan on the market by a good share.
    Err, I think NWNs impact on the live span of PoR was minor compared to the impact other "things" had on this, which I'm not going to elaborate.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    There are alot of people who want DA to be NWN 2 done by BioWare. These comprise some of the suggestions because of familiarity.
    They will be disappointed. DA is not NWN2 (obviously) it's not D&D repackaged.

    As for the "draconic" class - We certainly never said that DA has one.

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    Apparently, nothing else will change much -- beyond the locations, back story, etceteras -- okay, but, except for sequels, all games change that type of stuff.
    This deserves some serious rant rant IMO. Apparently you missed the fact that we haven't release any significant information on world, game rules, game mechanics and engine. So to say "apparently nothing else will change" is a pretty bold statement given that you actually don't have any information to back this

    We've gotten real resistance on new (to Bioware) game features we can see and use -- things that might really change the strategy, tactics, look, and feel -- e.g. levitation, climbing, horses, swimming, etceteras posted elsewhere -- too many zots we keep hearing (thats the issue with an all-new game, not enough zots to add the obvious -- because so many zots are used just to plow the old ground and get the new game system up to the old standard).
    The only resistance you are getting right now is the resistance to say "yes this feature is in" and "no, this feature is not in". We won't be saying that for a while, and if you want to read that as "they are resistant to putting feature X in", then this is your choise, but it's not what we are saying.

    Please carefully reread the threads where you see this resistance and you will see that we are discussing the pro's and con's of having certain features and if people say "this must be in", give reasons why "this" isn't necessarily a must from our point of view.

    I slowly get the impression that participating in discussions about any features on these boards or commenting on why things are not necessarily as easy as they are painted might actually a bad idea - because people rather want us the feed them hype about all the potential features that will be in the game, rather than have a serious discussion about it and get a "we don't think it's that important" or "we can't promise this right now" kind of answer.

    It is weird that people actually might want to get really hyped up and promised everything and the world rather than being getting honest but cautious answers, because anyone slightly connected to this industry knows that game development is a very dynamic and quite unpredictable process and that promising things is a really bad idea.

    Seriously, we could go here and talk about all the cool features we have planned for DA and all the innovations we are going to do, but that will cause these boards and half of the internet to burst in flames later on when we decide that one of these features wasn't as cool as it sounded and we cut it. Been there, done that, bad idea. (Just go over to the Obsidian boards and see how rabid people get when they discover that Winter 2004 can actually mean next year for the PC version of KotOR 2 - I mean, after following at least 1 game's lifecylce every selfrespecting game should know how to treat any releasedate, regardless who gives it.)

    The game rules will change -- but, we'll still be hacking, slashing, and casting spells -- hits and damage will be calculated differently (but that will be invisible to the player). Maybe a mana system, but hey, everyone does that these days -- only D&D is really different (slots).
    About the "invisible to the player" part, we will see ... as for the rest ... what do you ask for? A high fantasy RPG without spells and swords? Sorry, for that we would be the wrong address. I suppose nobody tried the "talking your enemy into the ground" approach so far, but then again I doubt this would be too popular ... but maybe we can include "whacking" on the list of possible actions.

    Sarcasm aside, I don't see the point in this. It's not that we said we want to invent a new genre.

    So, at the end of the day, DA will probably play and feel much like previous Bioware games (maybe great fun, but not new either).

    Given the lack of new (for Bioware) features, DA will rise or fall based on the Original Campaign story and its presentation/pacing. Hopefully, the creative freedom allowed by dumping D&D will result in a smashing hit in that department -- since, ironically, dumping D&D will limit zots available to do more.
    Will DA feel like a BioWare game? Hell, yes, that's what our customers expect from us. Will it be a copy of NWN with a different name or BG with a different story? No.

    I think NWN and KotOR are both pretty good examples that we are willing to do a lot things in our game quite differently from our previous games, but at the same time, we are trying to carry over some of the core ingredients, like "story centered", "memorable characters" from game to game - because they work, and because we know our customers expect these from a BioWare game.

    In fact, to call "nothing new" is quite premature, at this point it looks like DA is going to be one of very few RPGs that is actually not a sequel to another game when it hits the market.

    As for the "lack of new features", as I ranted above, that's an interpretation on your end that is based on (or rather not based at all) taking our unwillingness to discuss features at this point.

    And saying "dumping D&D will limit the zots even more" and then complaining about the perceived lack of innovation is a bit weird, because that would mean that you actually expected us to do a sequel to NWN. But just how much more [familiar/evolution instead of revolution] did BG2 feel after BG1? Certainly more than "BG vs NWN".
    When doing a sequel you are limited to the capabilities of the former engine and much less able to do any really groundbreaking changes than when you create something new.

    Finally - the idea that the story will play a very important role when it comes to determining whether or not DA will be a success 100% correct - after all, as said numerous times before, the story is one of our core ingrediences, probably the most important one, far more important than flashy features.

    Bottomline - I get the impression that honest discussion about the pros, cons and importance of a certain feature is not a good idea as it is read as "they don't want to do anything new". I can adjust accordingly..

    More: Just to prevent a wrong impression, we are certainly going to discuss features of the game before it is released - but please remember that DA is a fair way out and at this point, we are not ready to discuss any specifics.

    It is a bit unusual in this industry to announce a game this early and provide forums for it, but this allows the BioWare Community to play a important role in our development process and allows us to collect information and gauge trends and get input on certain parts of the game that are done early on. - I understand that this is quite different from what you usually see in this industry and that this causes some of the misunderstandings we see here at the boards from time to time but I still think it's the right thing to do.

    Be patient, there will be loads of things to discuss when the right time comes, but don't expect us to engage into a "announced potential feature war" with other games every time another company releases information on their game - that wouldn't reflect the way we work and would be dishonest to our community.

    Maximizing Replay Value
    You can script anything, even totally random monster spawns when the player changes his pants.

    Orcs and goblins
    Do you think these and some other over used fantasy races will infiltrate into DA as well, oh the humanity, that would be horrible. Please, Great Bioware if there is any way do not let these poor green-skinned critters find their way into another game, but seriously, what are the chances of that happening?
    I guess whatever would happen (and I seriously don't know anything about these monsters in regards to DA), I can assure you that orcs would have no supply of shiny orange cloth in DA and in the age of normal maps, they probably would be very cool "skinned" instead of green :) Seriously, I have no clue whether or not those guys are in the game - if they are, I expect outbursts of "this is soooo lame, no innovation" or "they are supposed to have red eyes and a blue skin, just like Fire Giants", - if they are not, I expect cries of "damn it, no orcs, I won't buy this game" - so I guess it doesn't really matter.

    As for goblins, count me to the faction that doesn't like them, they smell. Btw,I'm sure a certain writer would find the idea of a "Drew" subrace very appealing, through I have to say, I'd be kind of frightened by the prospect, what's next - "Daves" instead of "Elves" ? :rolleyes: - ok, bad one, I need to catch some sleep.

    Dragon Age's graphics...... and other games
    Read, understand, feel enlighted. Click Here

    Seriously, we can give you the best looking graphics ever on a magazine cover next month, but maybe you would ask us then why the game isn't ready for ship yet.... or which graphics card we did run those graphics on? DA will have state of the art graphics when it is released, nothing more can be said about that at this point as it's kind of pointless to discuss the graphics of games that will not be released for several years. In a year or two, graphics cards will have features you don't even know today, so whatever screenshot you see today, be it ours, be it one of another game, is not going to reflect what will happen in the future. I for my part, having seen some of the stuff in those dark corners where graphics programmers dwell, am not worried in the slightest about DA's graphics.

    Brenon Holmes, Programmer

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    There was some discussion on flight, climbing and horse riding a few weeks back (well... maybe more than a few weeks...). Here's a link if you folks are interested in reading up on the various thoughts and considerations that are taken into account when looking at these sorts of features. How about... ahem... riders?

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hero Quest series. Evar.

    Scott Meadows, Programmer

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hands down without a doubt: Leisure Suit Larry 1 - In the Land of the Lounge Lizards. Played it over and over and it never got boring...Old school is the best, nothing beats classics

    James Henley - Technical Designer

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    I'm sure everyone that knows BioWare can trust us, by now, to put out something solid and new rather than "old water in a new bottle." A lot of effort is going into breaking away from the almost overly-established rules that D&D has created in the roleplaying world. This is not Dungeons & Dragons, my friends. This...this is Dragon Age.

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hmmm, my favourites...there's more than 5, that's for sure. In no particular order, I would have to say:

    Final Fantasy Tactics (try beating the entire game using only Ramza, and fire everyone else/kill your guests at the start of each battle...it's a real challenge)

    Fallout (beautiful post-apoc game!)

    Shining Force (the entire series for both Sega Genesis and Sega CD)

    Neverwinter Nights (come on, that's a given!)

    Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII, & IX (Classic gaming, that)

    Dragon Warrior (the entire NES series, from 1 - 4)

    Destiny of an Emperor (little known NES game, but probably the best RPG ever made)

    Lunar: The Silver Star & Lunar: Eternal Blue (the original Sega CD ones, not the PSX remakes)

    I'd say that covers it for now.

    More:
    I suppose I just prefer to have my own character (which doesn't explain Shining Force, but oh well).
    Shining Force was just too good NOT to like, especially with the massive amount of characters in it. [​IMG] - ok, bad one, I need to catch some sleep.

    Dragon Age's graphics...... and other games
    Read, understand, feel enlighted. Click Here

    Seriously, we can give you the best looking graphics ever on a magazine cover next month, but maybe you would ask us then why the game isn't ready for ship yet.... or which graphics card we did run those graphics on? DA will have state of the art graphics when it is released, nothing more can be said about that at this point as it's kind of pointless to discuss the graphics of games that will not be released for several years. In a year or two, graphics cards will have features you don't even know today, so whatever screenshot you see today, be it ours, be it one of another game, is not going to reflect what will happen in the future. I for my part, having seen some of the stuff in those dark corners where graphics programmers dwell, am not worried in the slightest about DA's graphics.

    Brenon Holmes, Programmer

    Z-axis...How important is it in an RPG?
    There was some discussion on flight, climbing and horse riding a few weeks back (well... maybe more than a few weeks...). Here's a link if you folks are interested in reading up on the various thoughts and considerations that are taken into account when looking at these sorts of features. How about... ahem... riders?

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hero Quest series. Evar.

    Scott Meadows, Programmer

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hands down without a doubt: Leisure Suit Larry 1 - In the Land of the Lounge Lizards. Played it over and over and it never got boring...Old school is the best, nothing beats classics

    James Henley - Technical Designer

    Is DA for real, or just old water in a new bottle?
    I'm sure everyone that knows BioWare can trust us, by now, to put out something solid and new rather than "old water in a new bottle." A lot of effort is going into breaking away from the almost overly-established rules that D&D has created in the roleplaying world. This is not Dungeons & Dragons, my friends. This...this is Dragon Age.

    Dev's fav RPGs?
    Hmmm, my favourites...there's more than 5, that's for sure. In no particular order, I would have to say:

    Final Fantasy Tactics (try beating the entire game using only Ramza, and fire everyone else/kill your guests at the start of each battle...it's a real challenge)

    Fallout (beautiful post-apoc game!)

    Shining Force (the entire series for both Sega Genesis and Sega CD)

    Neverwinter Nights (come on, that's a given!)

    Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII, & IX (Classic gaming, that)

    Dragon Warrior (the entire NES series, from 1 - 4)

    Destiny of an Emperor (little known NES game, but probably the best RPG ever made)

    Lunar: The Silver Star & Lunar: Eternal Blue (the original Sega CD ones, not the PSX remakes)

    I'd say that covers it for now.

    More:
    I suppose I just prefer to have my own character (which doesn't explain Shining Force, but oh well).
    Shining Force was just too good NOT to like, especially with the massive amount of characters in it.

    [ September 16, 2004, 20:30: Message edited by: chevalier ]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 3, 2018
    chevalier, Sep 15, 2004
    #1
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