Frosstbyte

So, I just found out about BioWare's new game tonight via Penny Arcade's newspost and I didn't see a thread about it here. It's called Dragon Age: Origins, calling it a spiritual successor to their famous series Baldur's Gate. I watched the preview videos on the site and they have me literally giddy to get my hands on this game and tear shit up. I haven't really played a different game since WoW came out, but this one may very well lead me to take a stab at something different.

Check it out. If you are a fan of BioWare, I don't think this preview will leave you disappointed.

Dragon Age Origins - Home

Light of Icarus

Well damn... This is a beautiful game. Looks like a typical action style game though. Boasting an over the shoulder view. I can't help but wonder at the other aspects of the game. With the improved graphics engine of the next gen systems it's sure to be a thrill of gore and violence. I might have to look into obtaining this game. Thanks for the link and the heads up!

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Reese

Really? To me the game looks graphically crippled. Models are really low quality, Animation is stiff, textures are low res. I just don't see this game winning any awards in the graphics department.

Now, I don't mind the graphics. This is Bioware we're talking about and I trust there's going to be more than pretty scenery.

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Light of Icarus

Lol, well you might be right, although I only watched a few clips to get an overall feel for it. With it being Bioware they will probably bring more to the table than meets the eye, that is the least we can hope for. How do you feel about Biowares other games? They're not exactly well known for great graphics, considering.

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Reese

I actually found other Bioware products to be pretty impressive. I recently re-played KOTOR and it's age didn't show at all. Mass Effect also looked very nice and clean. I'm not all turned off by the graphics, just to make that clear. It was most likely necessary since they are including a toolkit that allows for user-made content to be added to the game much like Neverwinter Nights.

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“It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

Light of Icarus

I always wanted to play Neverwinter Nights. And KOTOR was a really good game.
What was Mass Effect like in terms of gameplay and story line?

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Gabbyness

I've been twiddling my thumbs for quite a few months waiting for this game. My only major beef is the lack of co-op (if I'm not mistaken). Otherwise I suspect this will provide a pretty kick-ass single player campaign. I dig the artistry of the world, bad guys look bananas.

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tcp

All I have to say is: Baldur's Gate, baby!!! I trust BioWare to not let us down. It's not neccesarily a bad thing to be single player, much more focused and rewarding storyline.

OK, this is really wierd: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6232117...dlines;title;1
I don't believe that BioWare's gone corporate. I hope it just means they couldn't fit these additions in at the last minute. We get two DLCs for free, and one we pay $7 to get.
If they attempt to suck us dry with a bunch of DLCs, I will be really pissed.

Gabbyness

You're right, Bioware will not let us down.

But yeah . . . a $7 DLC released on the same day seems like . . . well, bad timing.

Then again, it's better than waiting month and months for an xpack I suppose.

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Shauk

the dlc is free for people who buy the game new or preordered. I don't see the problem.

Looking forward to this, not sure if I wanna pick it up on my ps3 for the no hassle gameplay or on the PC for the inevitable modability, I'm sure people will have all sorts of fun hax for it on the pc.

thing is pushing HDMI graphics on my tv is a much easier task for my ps3.

Zeraph

I used to say the same thing about Blizzard...

Rekna

I am going to have to boycott any game that has DLC released at the same time as the game.

YaWhateva

It's free though if you buy the game new. whats the problem? Batman AA had a DLC exclusively for the PS3 right out of the gate for free. was that bad too?

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“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

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LordEden

I'm not boycotting anything that has the words Bioware, Dragon, and Sword in it. DLC off the bat or not. If it has hack and slash action with Bioware backing, I'm jumping on the fucking band wagon.

I might actually buy this game. It's been a long time since I've done that.

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Baraka_Guru

Personally I don't care when DLC is released. I like the freedom of choice it offers.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

tcp

Just to clarify, two of the DLCs are free (The Stone Prisoner {NPC ally, adds many side-quests} and Blood Armor {gear, also works in Mass Effect LOL). One is not free, you will have to pay $7 (Warden's Keep {Dungeon}). I am hoping I am not going to have to buy too many addon packs since the community content should be sufficient.

Gabbyness

That's what I thought, when I read it. If you want the "legit" DLC (namely, new dungeon, spells, etc) you need to fork over 7 bucks. Which I will still do . . .

Bioware has got this and the new MMO coming out -- they can cement my eternal love this next year or two with these two titles

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Rekna

The reason i'm saying boycott the game is because if people go ahead and get this and buy the DLC then other game designers are going to do the same thing. Pretty soon it will be the norm to have to purchase DLC in order to get the full game. For example how long will it be until games are released as single player only but you can purchase the multiplayer as DLC. It is coming and this is just the next step to that.

Baraka_Guru

Did it say somewhere that the initial release is incomplete?

The purpose of DLC is for value-added options: you may choose to add to your experience as you see fit.

Look at the original release, look at the price, read the reviews: if it's worth it without downloading anything, then what's the problem either way?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Gabbyness

Yeah, Rekna, as much as I thought it was "bad timing" I don't really view it as an ominous sign of things to come. I think I will still have a really cool experience if I don't buy the DLC, which, however, I will, because I'm a sucker for more content.

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tcp

I do see the trend with DLC. When Fallout 3, a single player game, came with Games for Windows Live, I was very confused. It's purely a profit tool to coax people to buying new content on impulse. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising came out lacking critical features for the PC, yet they already have monthly DLC planned out. Hmm, I wonder if bug fixes or DLC content will be the priority. Although it's in a different class, being an MMO, Age of Conan came out with large parts of the world mostly empty to the disappointment of power levelers and explorers. Although, people were paying a monthly fee already. Sadly, game companies can get away with murder, still receive good reviews, and not have to worry about your complaints because you're just another number.

The interesting thing is DLC works really well on the console, but PC gamers are known to be stingy. If they don't deliver on the original game, not many people will buy the DLC. They can promise us new features, but they will be more obligated to fix bugs before asking us to buy more content.

In reality, however, the console market has eclipsed the PC, so we are easily ignored. Most games are sold on hype, and the consumers that we are, we are always ready to bite for the next new thing.

Shauk

comprehension people....


"
BioWare has confirmed the Dragon Age: Origins 'Warden's Keep' bonus content included with the Digital Deluxe Edition will also be released as $7 downloadable content at launch."


it's basically the "collectors edition" content for those who opt out of it.

tcp

Well the whole thing doesn't make sense, so it's hard to understand. Yes, the digital deluxe edition will come with Warden's keep, but only because you're already downloading the whole game, so they can easily throw in the extra download. However, it's essentially separate content because people who bought the full, retail collector's edition will still have to spend the extra $7 dollars for the DLC.
Dragon Age: Origins DLC details and limited-time offer - Neoseeker News Article
BioWare Plans Years Of Dragon Age DLC - Dragon age: origins - Kotaku
The two free, included DLCs will be free to anyone who buys the game retail in the first 6 months. I suppose they see it as something akin to royalties. Even, if people buy the game used, years down the road, they still can cash in on the DLC.
They also want to control the game experience. They'd like you to always be excited for the next DLC and I suppose tell them what you want so they can incorporate it.
I'd like to say you have to option to use community content only to control your own game experience, but they will probably release some must-have, game-changing content only available in the continued DLCs.

dkenpachi

I dnt know, this game's graphics are disgusting and this was a rushed up job by bioware. I rather wait for Neverwinter nites 3 or Witcher 2

YaWhateva

graphics arent everything. If this game has great gameplay (it's bioware, come on of course it will!) it will be awesome. And it's not like the graphics are terrible, it's no Crysis engine but in my opinion that would detract from the gameplay. Games that just want super graphics tend to have shit gameplay.

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“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

"This is my United States of Whateva!"

tcp

What makes you think the graphics are bad? They don't look bad at all. Dragon Age: Origins Video Game, E3 2008: Gameplay Montage HD | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Even if the game went back to the way Baldur's Gate looked (a decade ago) I would still play the game. It's not about the graphics. Realistic graphics doesn't bring immersion, it brings lag.

Gabbyness

I must have a bad eye because I thought those graphics were pretty solid.

They look like the proper evolution of NWN-NWN2.

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Baraka_Guru

Oh, man....the eternal question about video games: "Does it have good graphics?!"

Seriously. The bar is set too high on graphics. You know why? Because in most cases gameplay is light years behind.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

high_jinx

i just goofed around in the newly free Dungeon's & Dragons online... even that has beautiful graphics, and it's 4 years olD! but besides that, don't be surprised when you could give a rats ass about graphics because bioware's mechanics and writing are just so awesome. i'd almost wager eating a turd that they wouldn't pull some kind of Chinese Democracy meltdown.

if you can't tell, i'm already seeing this game in my apneatic dreams !!

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Lasereth

Maybe so, but the trend of developers not really pushing graphical boundaries is getting old. The Wii is doing great, and its graphics suck dick, so developers think that people don't care. But they do. Look at Uncharted 2 and you can see developers who care about gameplay AND graphics.

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YaWhateva

yes but also look at games like Crysis that were piles of dogshit that just were about the graphics. I don't know what everyone is saying anyways, the graphics look good to me.

__________________
“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

"This is my United States of Whateva!"

Baraka_Guru

Okay, this is putting a different spin on it. When you bring the Wii into it, you are looking at a system with limitations compared to systems that have at least double the graphical power.

The graphics don't "suck dick" unless they compare poorly on a particular game when contrasted to another on the same system. Hey, NES graphics suck even harder dick. Many of the games are intentionally "lo-fi."

I doubt developers as a whole are stupid. They know what's going on with Wii, Xbox360, PS3, handhelds, PC rigs, online flash games, etc.

When a game project sets out for production, I'm sure they have thought out what balance of elements they want. They don't sit there and say, "Oh, don't worry about the graphics, just make sure it plays good. Let the intern do the graphics; that's cool."

I think what it comes down to is some projects want to "pull out all the stops" on graphics and tend to drop the ball on other elements. Sometimes it goes the other way, sure. But for quality developers like Bioware, I think they're fully aware of what works, what's valuable, and what people want. They can't please everyone on every element, but I think they're going to make a damn fine game out of this.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Lasereth

I'm not saying the graphics of this game look bad. I think they look great. I just hate blockbuster games that don't push graphics forward like the shitfest that was MGS4. The character models are great but the environment might as well have been MGS3. Halo 3 is the same. Watch videos on youtube of Halo 2 and 3 and at first glance you can't tell them apart.

I understand the graphics on the Wii are limited due to the hardware, but that's not my point. My point is that the Wii's success has made developers trend towards not pushing the graphical capabilities on other consoles.

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"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

Frosstbyte

I'd much rather have game designers who push gameplay instead of what we saw when the xbox first hit and you had tons of absolutely gorgeous (for their time) games coming out with jack, t and shit in the way of innovative and immersive gameplay. I think it's probably expecting too much from game designers writ large to ask for great graphics and great gameplay. MOST studios are going to hit one full tilt and let the other be a generation or so behind. BioWare has always been about gameplay first, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that this game looks a bit last gen. Occasionally a gem of a game comes along that does both, but you have to appreciate that rarity for what it is and not hope the rest of the industry will conform to it.

I've played with the character creator they released online though, and even just that has me chomping at the bit. I cannot wait.

Baraka_Guru

I was just watching some videos on the site. I'm starting to get a feel for just how much story is going to be in this game, that's for sure.

I totally want to be a Grey Warden.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Shauk

Yeah I'm still split on if I should get it for the ps3 or the computer. >.>

Leaning towards getting it for the pc at this point.

shalafi

I'm kinda leaning the same way but if I do that I'm gonna have to break down and finally buy a real video card which will probably mean a new power supply too

Shauk

yeah for me i'd say my system and the ps3 are both graphically capable. It's just a preference as to where I want to sit and how I want to interact with the UI. Knowing Bioware games, the KB/Mouse interface is usually stronger than the controller interface. That and I still think it'll have a stronger mod community on the PC.

BulletCatcher

If your itching to see a little action while waiting for release, head over to Dragon Age Journeys. It's a flash game put together by EA where you can earn in game items. From the site...

I've only played through the 'Flight to Orzammar' quest and wandered around the Dwarf village so far but for a flash game it's pretty deep.

Lasereth

Wow thanks. This is pretty cool. Very in-depth and well made for a flash game.

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"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert