General Games Discussion

[i_was_dumb]

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HakuSelphir wrote:
I love how people keep comparing it to what it is not: I've heard, so far, Diablo, Baulder's Gate, even Mass Effect....but, it's not really comparable to these games. It's far more comparable, even down to the exact formula of combat, to Neverwinter Nights. And, because of this, I am extremely addicted to this game. EXTREMELY addicted....namely because I loved NWN2 in all it's glory ><

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I never really compared it, I said I was reminiscent...

there were parts when I was in certain dungeons/tombs killing giant spiders and undead, looting items from corpses and chests, and I couldn't help but be reminded of baldur's gate: dark alliance

and im not sure, but I know I played baldur's gate a lot more than I did NWN, and maybe its the opposite for you, so maybe that is why we are both reminded of these games in an opposing manner while playing dragon age??? but once again, I don't know if that's true for you

[HakuSelphir]

I've played both, and NWN is definitely exactly comparable to DAO, down to the fact that you get party members who can all be influenced and can all teach your different things, even going so far as to make it so that you find random items that enhance your class (Such as the jar of blood that teach you blood magic in the DLC for the castle).

[i_was_dumb]

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HakuSelphir wrote:
Make sure you do the quest for the dog. It gets you a little friend later on.

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I love how his relationship with you is instantly like 99% positive, whereas a character I have had with me more often is barely at like 60% (going by eye, not actual number, as I didn't see an actual value, just the progress bar at the bottom of the character) (but i do understand why he is so trusting of me/ my main character)

but yeah, "CuJO" as mine is named, is awesome, I have him set up to attack lower levels, but if anything attacks me, he goes after it, he is so devote...

[sassifras]

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HakuSelphir wrote:
I love how people keep comparing it to what it is not: I've heard, so far, Diablo, Baulder's Gate, even Mass Effect....but, it's not really comparable to these games. It's far more comparable, even down to the exact formula of combat, to Neverwinter Nights. And, because of this, I am extremely addicted to this game. EXTREMELY addicted....namely because I loved NWN2 in all it's glory ><

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That's not completely accurate.

It is the spritual successor to Baldur's Gate (that was a huge point of Biowares marketing), so it makes perfect sense to compare it to that one the most.  It's compared to Mass Effect because it is Bioware's most recent big project, it's the one most fresh in people's minds, so of course they'd use what they know as a reference point.  Diablo makes the least amount of sense, but I can see why they would do it since it's comparing the biggest competitor over head view RPG from the past.  They expand upon the techniques that they used from NWN, but that's not what the game was inspired by.  The game plays with a hybrid style - KotOR + Baldur's Gate for the Consoles, and NWN + Baldur's Gate for the PC

Regardless, people will compare it to the game they relate it to the most.  You loved NWN, so you compare it to that. I loved BG, so I compare it to that.

All that matters, is that the game is (so far) absolutely fantastic

[sassifras]

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HakuSelphir wrote:
I've played both, and NWN is definitely exactly comparable to DAO, down to the fact that you get party members who can all be influenced and can all teach your different things, even going so far as to make it so that you find random items that enhance your class (Such as the jar of blood that teach you blood magic in the DLC for the castle).

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Have you played Baldur's Gate 1&2? (not dark alliance)  Because NWN got those things from that

[harryfrodo]

Has anyone been to the forest yet? I swear the game just jumped in difficulty a lot.

[HakuSelphir]

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sassifras wrote:

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HakuSelphir wrote:
I love how people keep comparing it to what it is not: I've heard, so far, Diablo, Baulder's Gate, even Mass Effect....but, it's not really comparable to these games. It's far more comparable, even down to the exact formula of combat, to Neverwinter Nights. And, because of this, I am extremely addicted to this game. EXTREMELY addicted....namely because I loved NWN2 in all it's glory ><

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That's not completely accurate.

It is the spritual successor to Baldur's Gate (that was a huge point of Biowares marketing), so it makes perfect sense to compare it to that one the most.  It's compared to Mass Effect because it is Bioware's most recent big project, it's the one most fresh in people's minds, so of course they'd use what they know as a reference point.  Diablo makes the least amount of sense, but I can see why they would do it since it's comparing the biggest competitor over head view RPG from the past.  They expand upon the techniques that they used from NWN, but that's not what the game was inspired by.  The game plays with a hybrid style - KotOR + Baldur's Gate for the Consoles, and NWN + Baldur's Gate for the PC

Regardless, people will compare it to the game they relate it to the most.  You loved NWN, so you compare it to that. I loved BG, so I compare it to that.

All that matters, is that the game is (so far) absolutely fantastic

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You're under the assumption that I'm bias enough to base my opinions on something like that - which I'm not.

The game is Baulder Gate's Spiritual Succesor, this simply means that it's meant to replace the game, not emulate it.

And, I have single question for you - have you ever played the original NWN game? Because I'm pretty sure there's a seven year gap between the first NWN game and Baulder's Gate's first game ...Of course, this one was not created under BioWare's logo, however NWN, the one most people know about is made by the same people who made Baulder's Gate - that said, I still feel that NWN and DAO more closely similar than BG and DAO.

[HakuSelphir]

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harryfrodo wrote:
Has anyone been to the forest yet? I swear the game just jumped in difficulty a lot.

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Dude, I was traveling to this one place on my magi, and got stopped in the middle of travel due to a random battle - FIFTEEN FREAKING WOLVES JUMPED ME! T_T....I was like..."WTF?!"

[harryfrodo]

I just got through with a fight with two ogres, and then I saw some tombstone, inspecting it. I saved the game and started up this fight, but I just got absolutely destroyed. I assume I'm not supposed to beat him at level 8...

[HakuSelphir]

I was heading towards Orzammar at level 8 and got destroyed by some Bounty Hunters. Tried to beat them three times and couldn't kill a single one of them.

[harryfrodo]

Alright, so after messing around with like 5 different characters, I think I'm going to stick with my sword and board Warrior. I'm probably going to do-over my Rogue (going all the way up to Ostagar only really takes 90 minutes once you speed run while skipping dialogue) because I messed up on him I think. But for now I'm going to stick with those two.

[sassifras]

"It's far more comparable, even down to the exact formula of combat, to Neverwinter Nights. And, because of this, I am extremely addicted to this game."  I founded you having the bias on the fact that you admitted that you're addicted to it because of how much the combat is like NWN then you went on to say "namely because I loved NWN2 in all it's glory"  So you're addicted to DAO because you loved NWN2 and they are similar.  It doesn't have to be a conscious choice, it's a natural bias that occurs.  If the bias wasn't there, you wouldn't have included the fact that you're addicted to the game because you loved NWN2.  It's not a bad thing, people compare things to what they know - it's the only proper way to compare.  (this wasn't meant to be argumentative, but rather to show you how I came to my conclusion)

Also, there may be a 7 year gap between the first Baldur's Gate to NWN, but that gap means little since Baldur's Gate's gameplay, story, and graphics were updated with the release of Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal.  There is only a 1 year gap between that final revision of Baldur's Gate and the first installation of NWN.  As for playing NWN I thought it could be assumed when I stated how NWN was based from Baldur's Gate in another post.

"The game is Baulder Gate's Spiritual Succesor, this simply means that it's meant to replace the game, not emulate it."

That's not the definition of a Spiritual Successor at all.  If anything, it's the exact opposite.

"A spiritual successor, is a successor to a work of fiction which does not directly build upon the storyline established by a previous work as do most traditional prequels or sequels, but nevertheless features many of the same elements, themes, and styles as its source material."

You can argue all you want about what it's closer to, but spiritual successors feature the same elements, themes, and styles of the source materials - meaning it does emulates it - and Bioware is the one that named Baldur's Gate as the source material and not NWN.  So it still makes the most sense to compare it to what they said it was based on.

Message Edited by sassifras on 11-04-2009 02:36 PM

[sassifras]

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harryfrodo wrote:
Alright, so after messing around with like 5 different characters, I think I'm going to stick with my sword and board Warrior. I'm probably going to do-over my Rogue (going all the way up to Ostagar only really takes 90 minutes once you speed run while skipping dialogue) because I messed up on him I think. But for now I'm going to stick with those two.

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I decided upon a human warrior as my first major character.  I want to run a mage on my second run through, but I want to get a handle on the game more before I attempt leveling a squishy class

[Ellessdee]

when i played at comic con i made a rogue dalish elf, and i made him use bow and arrow most of the time and i felt it worked pretty well.  got my partner to draw most of the heat while i stood back. then when things got really bad i switched to duel blades and jumped into the fray.  maybe you should try that, instead of always running straight into battle with him. 

Message Edited by Ellessdee on 11-04-2009 05:57 PM

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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HakuSelphir wrote:

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harryfrodo wrote:
Has anyone been to the forest yet? I swear the game just jumped in difficulty a lot.

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Dude, I was traveling to this one place on my magi, and got stopped in the middle of travel due to a random battle - FIFTEEN FREAKING WOLVES JUMPED ME! T_T....I was like..."WTF?!"

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You sometimes get random battles at you cross the world map.

I actually just finished the Dalish elf treaty thing where you go to the forest and help them with their Werewolf property. What a wonderful story arc; Very well done...but VERY VERY DIFFICULT.

Fighting all those skeletons and that Arcane Horror Lich thing was a freakin' nightmare.

Also; I'm getting a bit annoyed with what Bioware did with the inventory system. You have to really conserve space or it will fill up very quickly...BUT if you buy the Warden's Keep DLC you get a freakin' stash at your camp.

That's quite a selling point, you jews; But I shouldn't have to pay for something that should have been included already for free. I find it hard to believe they didn't think of an inventory stash and just decided to use it as a selling point for their DLC.

That's just low, Bioware. I'm pretty sure EA put you up to it.

[harryfrodo]

Seriously. As much as I want to play a Rogue, I feel like I screwed up with both which talents I got first and where I allocated my points. When I got him to the Dalish Elves forest all of a sudden he couldn't pick any locks, he stopped being able to sneak in combat, and every time he attacked the monster would turn on him, so backstabs were impossible.

I'm definitely going to have to rethink how to develop my Rogue next time around. Warrior seems to just destroy everything regardless of what talents you get.

And I doubt Mage will be as easy either.

[harryfrodo]

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Ellessdee wrote:
when i played at comic con i made a rogue dalish elf, and i made him use bow and arrow most of the time and i felt it worked pretty well.  got my partner to draw most of the heat while i stood back. then when things got really bad i switched to duel blades and jumped into the fray.  maybe you should try that, instead of always running straight into battle with him. 

Message Edited by Ellessdee on 11-04-2009 05:57 PM

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I don't. I actually sit in stealth for a good portion of the battle so that Alastair has enough hate to tank---but it's like he stopped being able to manage hate after a while, and I'd just pull aggro after a couple crits. I even set his gambits to spam enmity skills, and he never used any stance other than the one that increases enmity.

[harryfrodo]

Yeah. The inventory system does get cluttered very quickly. It just helps to micromanage stuff as you get them. If something's not immediately better, I just send it to the "junk" tab. If I run out of space for any reason, I just start deleting stuff.... but normally I just sell it off every time I enter a town. What's incredibly annoying are that synthesis materials count as slots in your inventory, so things get filled up very quickly even though, in actually a bunch of herbs should not carry the same burden as massive armor does.

I really only keep the healing pot herbs. Everything else is just sent to junk. If this bites me in the ass later, oh well. It's not like materials are hard to get.

This might seem like a silly issue, but I hate how convoluted the menu system is. Certain things are swapped through the left and right bumpers, other stuff through clicking triggers, and others through just moving the stick left and right. Unfortunately, this blurriness of interface causes me to constantly hit the trigger or press the RB when I really just wanted to go to the right. Getting to where I want sometimes takes more than one attempt, though I guess this just takes getting used to. Regardless, that's my only complaint about playing on the console version. I've also run into this strange issue where the menu literally locks up for 1-2 seconds, not allowing me to equip anything on my characters. I have to tab to the left or right and return to do so. This problem has only cropped up two or three times in the 15 hours or so I've burned playing this game though.

Frame rate is smooth and loading times are rarely more than 5 seconds (though I did install DAO on my Xbox 360 to improve these). Alastair's face looks awkwardly plain as though he is literally without complexion but just a white sheet of paper, but everyone else's looks practically as good as the PC version.

Message Edited by harryfrodo on 11-04-2009 08:34 PM

[HakuSelphir]

I'm enjoying this Dwarf Warrior too much...

Also, on what you said about mages being difficult...depends on how you make your mage. If you talk to Morrigan early on and become a Shapeshifter, it's pretty much easy-peasy, since your Spell power effects your stats in your shapeshifted stated...so, you really only need to bring up that one attribute the highest, and you will literally have astounding stats that makes you remarkably unkillable....especially in bear form...

[Blah_canbespanish]

Mage is ridiculously easy so far. The Entropy school of magic is just broken. Mark of Mortality does tons of damage, and makes it so the target can't be healed.

Have a companion warrior tank oriented, and you just plow through things.

[HakuSelphir]

Get Living Bomb for a hilarious AoE, or the second talent of the Lightning spell. Or, third talent for earth. Those three are the best AoE's I've come across so far.

[harryfrodo]

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HakuSelphir wrote:

I'm enjoying this Dwarf Warrior too much...

Also, on what you said about mages being difficult...depends on how you make your mage. If you talk to Morrigan early on and become a Shapeshifter, it's pretty much easy-peasy, since your Spell power effects your stats in your shapeshifted stated...so, you really only need to bring up that one attribute the highest, and you will literally have astounding stats that makes you remarkably unkillable....especially in bear form...

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I don't think I'll go Shapeshifter. For one thing, I'm horrifically arachnophobic, so seeing spiders on my screen is always unsettling. There's no way I could voluntarily put that crap in front of me in plain view. Another reason is that I'd rather just spam AoE spells. That seems a lot more fun to me than just attack some stuff as a bear.

[HakuSelphir]

Lol.

I guess it's not wise to actually look at the spider you can turn into, then. If you get curious, have Morrigan use it. The thing is hideous.

[harryfrodo]

Well, I'm not like freaked out or anything. I'm just uncomforted seeing oversized spiders in video games.

And no. I'm good. Thanks.

[HakuSelphir]

I just walked into Redcliff and got escorted to bann Teagen...and, I have Shale with me....

bann: "And who are these people? They are not normal travellers..."

Shale: "Oh, Good eye!"

Shale is freaking awesome!