Except game companies don't really care if a game reviews well -- they just care about money. Money, when you come right down to it, is the sole win condition. This is business, after all. I mean, Mass Effect 3 got a terrible reception from a lot of very, very loud fans, but Bioware still made another one. If reception mattered, EA might not have allowed Bioware to make another Mass Effect. If Mass Effect Andromeda really did make money, the studio would still exist.
Mass Effect 3's ending got a bad reception, the game was generally otherwise popular even amongst people who hated the ending. The multiplayer was a smash and you can still find a game today.
Money matters, but you seem to only think it matters in one instant. Simply, you think it's impossible for a title to net a profit but hurt the brand enough to harm future sales? That making money on Andromeda necessitated continuing funding the studio for several more years?
If you're a publishing executive, why would you give a shit about bad reviews if you've made loads of money? And if the bottom line for Mass Effect Andromeda really was good, they'd exploit the shit out of it to make more money. They'd have no reason not to (especially at a company as unconcerned about legacy as EA.) I mean, people crapped on the Transformers movies, but Paramount kept cranking them out since they made bargeloads of cash.
Edit: Now I'm trying to think of a game that was profitable but so bad it killed forward momentum. Which seems really similar to the "what game was profitable but had its DLC/studio killed in short order" issue.
What about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided?
They got off two DLCs and then folded. Killed the follow up game and series.
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OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
Except game companies don't really care if a game reviews well -- they just care about money. Money, when you come right down to it, is the sole win condition. This is business, after all. I mean, Mass Effect 3 got a terrible reception from a lot of very, very loud fans, but Bioware still made another one. If reception mattered, EA might not have allowed Bioware to make another Mass Effect. If Mass Effect Andromeda really did make money, the studio would still exist.
Mass Effect 3's ending got a bad reception, the game was generally otherwise popular even amongst people who hated the ending. The multiplayer was a smash and you can still find a game today.
Money matters, but you seem to only think it matters in one instant. Simply, you think it's impossible for a title to net a profit but hurt the brand enough to harm future sales? That making money on Andromeda necessitated continuing funding the studio for several more years?
If you're a publishing executive, why would you give a shit about bad reviews if you've made loads of money? And if the bottom line for Mass Effect Andromeda really was good, they'd exploit the shit out of it to make more money. They'd have no reason not to (especially at a company as unconcerned about legacy as EA.) I mean, people crapped on the Transformers movies, but Paramount kept cranking them out since they made bargeloads of cash.
Edit: Now I'm trying to think of a game that was profitable but so bad it killed forward momentum. Which seems really similar to the "what game was profitable but had its DLC/studio killed in short order" issue.
What about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided?
They got off two DLCs and then folded. Killed the follow up game and series.
Don't remind me. I wanted to see where Jensen's story led
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HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Game companies do care about reception since if it doesn’t affect sales at release (due to pre-orders) maybe it will starting a month in, or maybe it cuts down sales for the next release.
Many game companies famously don’t pay bonuses if the metacritic is too low (by too low I mean like 75).
PSN: Honkalot
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CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
Game companies do care about reception since if it doesn’t affect sales at release (due to pre-orders) maybe it will starting a month in, or maybe it cuts down sales for the next release.
Many game companies famously don’t pay bonuses if the metacritic is too low (by too low I mean like 75).
That's impossible, Honk. Obviously companies would give out bonuses in a rational and meritoric manner, it wouldn't make sense otherwise! /s
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Game companies do care about reception since if it doesn’t affect sales at release (due to pre-orders) maybe it will starting a month in, or maybe it cuts down sales for the next release.
Many game companies famously don’t pay bonuses if the metacritic is too low (by too low I mean like 75).
That's impossible, Honk. Obviously companies would give out bonuses in a rational and meritoric manner, it wouldn't make sense otherwise! /s
Executives only ever take exactly the bonus they deserve and no more.
If you're a publishing executive, why would you give a shit about bad reviews if you've made loads of money? And if the bottom line for Mass Effect Andromeda really was good, they'd exploit the shit out of it to make more money. They'd have no reason not to
...unless, again, they don't think it'll keep making money. They have more ways than just reviews to measure engagement. The multiplayer probably fell off quickly and wasn't selling many micros, especially compared to ME3's runaway train, community reaction was bad, reviews were bad, etc. The game sold well enough to be profitable but people didn't like it so the DLC isn't going to sell, a sequel isn't going to sell, multi isn't paying, so why would you pay an entire studio for three more years to gamble on a redemption job or a trickle of DLC money instead of quitting while you're ahead? It's only worth "exploit[ing] the shit out of it to make money" if it's likely to keep making money, and that risk calculation isn't as simplistic as "net profit after a month = net profit forever" model you keep relying on.
Except it's much, much much more likely that it wasn't profitable to begin with, which caused all the subsequent draconian decisions.
I'll just say that the way EA reacted to ME:A if it somehow was profitable would make it a very, very unique case. The biz just doesn't work this way.
Except game companies don't really care if a game reviews well -- they just care about money. Money, when you come right down to it, is the sole win condition. This is business, after all. I mean, Mass Effect 3 got a terrible reception from a lot of very, very loud fans, but Bioware still made another one. If reception mattered, EA might not have allowed Bioware to make another Mass Effect. If Mass Effect Andromeda really did make money, the studio would still exist.
Mass Effect 3's ending got a bad reception, the game was generally otherwise popular even amongst people who hated the ending. The multiplayer was a smash and you can still find a game today.
Money matters, but you seem to only think it matters in one instant. Simply, you think it's impossible for a title to net a profit but hurt the brand enough to harm future sales? That making money on Andromeda necessitated continuing funding the studio for several more years?
If you're a publishing executive, why would you give a shit about bad reviews if you've made loads of money? And if the bottom line for Mass Effect Andromeda really was good, they'd exploit the shit out of it to make more money. They'd have no reason not to (especially at a company as unconcerned about legacy as EA.) I mean, people crapped on the Transformers movies, but Paramount kept cranking them out since they made bargeloads of cash.
Edit: Now I'm trying to think of a game that was profitable but so bad it killed forward momentum. Which seems really similar to the "what game was profitable but had its DLC/studio killed in short order" issue.
What about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided?
They got off two DLCs and then folded. Killed the follow up game and series.
Deus Ex, of course, it’s the brand of the studio. We are all attached to this franchise, but we cannot do everything, you know? So we have Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we have this co-development with Crystal [Dynamics] on The Avengers, and we have a third game in development, so it’s enough at the moment for us.
Except it's much, much much more likely that it wasn't profitable to begin with, which caused all the subsequent draconian decisions.
Assertions aren't arguments, and yours continues to rest entirely on your say so. I don't know why this debate needed to be renewed after it settled the first time, but it's not worth continuing so I'm bowing out of it.
Except it's much, much much more likely that it wasn't profitable to begin with, which caused all the subsequent draconian decisions.
Assertions aren't arguments, and yours continues to rest entirely on your say so. I don't know why this debate needed to be renewed after it settled the first time, but it's not worth continuing so I'm bowing out of it.
Never mind that people were arguing against my assertions with... assertions.
At any rate, I apologize for derailing.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
So anyway. I forgot I did want to talk about something before all this...whatever this was.
They came out and mentioned they scraped DA4 and started over around the time Anthem released. So given that we are probably 3-5 years away from it being released, I'd imagine we have decent shot of next gen only.
They came out and mentioned they scraped DA4 and started over around the time Anthem released. So given that we are probably 3-5 years away from it being released, I'd imagine we have decent shot of next gen only.
Especially since I'd wager getting Anthem fixed (or "fixed," depending on perspective) took/is taking a fair amount of resources.
cloudeagle on
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
They came out and mentioned they scraped DA4 and started over around the time Anthem released. So given that we are probably 3-5 years away from it being released, I'd imagine we have decent shot of next gen only.
I wonder when was this? I heard something about it being revamped in 2017 to better fit some kind of GaaS model or whatever(that was about the time Mike Laidlaw left) but I haven't heard anything recently.
Though I haven't been keeping up with it like that.
According to most articles, they flat out cancelled it in 2017 so all resources could move to Anthem. There are other articles talking about folks going back to Dragon Age right around when Anthem launched. Given how much prep work has to go in before you can even start coding, I'd imagine they may not have even started development. PS5/XboxN dev kits are already out in the hands of folks and I'd be shocked if EA didn't have some.
It's really more in the hands of EA. Will Frostbite 5 be available now or soon so the DA4 team can use it or will it lag behind the next gen consoles forcing them to use FB3 and Anthem tools.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
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ThegreatcowLord of All BaconsWashington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered Userregular
They came out and mentioned they scraped DA4 and started over around the time Anthem released. So given that we are probably 3-5 years away from it being released, I'd imagine we have decent shot of next gen only.
I wonder when was this? I heard something about it being revamped in 2017 to better fit some kind of GaaS model or whatever(that was about the time Mike Laidlaw left) but I haven't heard anything recently.
Though I haven't been keeping up with it like that.
Schrier's article reported that the original version was scuttled around late 2016/early 2017 due to the team being pulled in to save Anthem so that jives about right.
DA2 had what, 9 months of development time? Executives decide that sort of thing whether it's ready or not, and the developers are the ones to catch all the shit for it when it goes wrong.
Man. That game ended up being quite the resource sink and not much to show for it.
And still is, since the service aspect of the game means they can't stop developing for it for quite some time, even if it never gains traction.
Which is why some people are a smidge worried about Bioware. :P
Back on topic, I'd like to hope the Anthem disaster causes a rethink of the games as a service element of the next Dragon Age, but if that winds up being the core system of DA like it is in Anthem, it might be too late to scrap it and overhaul for a second time.
It's a perfectly fine game. Best Iron Man game around!
It's just a matter of reach massively exceeding the grasp.
Also, I don't know how games work, can't the team just go back to the old build?
There is an excellent combat engine under Anthem's hood. It's just that everything surrounding that engine still feels like sketched in placeholder content months after launch. Of all the GaaS games that have launched recently - and I'm very much including Fallout 76 here - it feels the most shallow and least finished.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
It's a perfectly fine game. Best Iron Man game around!
It's just a matter of reach massively exceeding the grasp.
Also, I don't know how games work, can't the team just go back to the old build?
Yeah the game was fine, but even as someone who played and enjoyed it I don't think it was worth everything that went into it.
As for just going back to the old build well there are probably a ton of factors to consider. The way they were talking it seemed to be that they were building the next DA game to work in tandem with Anthem.
Anthem not doing so hot might have got some of the higher ups sweating and they may have changed course.
Also back in 2017 the game was probably being made for a current gen release. Now with the next gen on the horizon gears probably have to be shifted for that.
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
DA2 had what, 9 months of development time? Executives decide that sort of thing whether it's ready or not, and the developers are the ones to catch all the shit for it when it goes wrong.
Or, if not executives, management. The Schreier piece on Anthem made it sound like BioWare's upper management are a big part of the problem.
DA2 had what, 9 months of development time? Executives decide that sort of thing whether it's ready or not, and the developers are the ones to catch all the shit for it when it goes wrong.
Or, if not executives, management. The Schreier piece on Anthem made it sound like BioWare's upper management are a big part of the problem.
My biggest take away from that article was how the company dithered in preproduction for 5 years. Like, a lot of companies are lucky to get half of that for development in the AAA gaming space.
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ThegreatcowLord of All BaconsWashington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered Userregular
It's a perfectly fine game. Best Iron Man game around!
It's just a matter of reach massively exceeding the grasp.
Also, I don't know how games work, can't the team just go back to the old build?
Yeah the game was fine, but even as someone who played and enjoyed it I don't think it was worth everything that went into it.
As for just going back to the old build well there are probably a ton of factors to consider. The way they were talking it seemed to be that they were building the next DA game to work in tandem with Anthem.
Anthem not doing so hot might have got some of the higher ups sweating and they may have changed course.
Also back in 2017 the game was probably being made for a current gen release. Now with the next gen on the horizon gears probably have to be shifted for that.
Sounds about right. All we got from the Schrier article about Dragon Age was they wanted to make it more in-line with the Live Service model of anthem and that the version they had been working on up to that point (Spec Ops team deep in the heart of tevinter pulling off heists and whatnot) wasn't implementing sufficient amounts of live service functionality and contributed to it being scrapped. I recall one of the senior head honchos of bioware that left the DA team spoke to Schrier about that particular note.
Yeah Mark Laidlaw was the big man attached to that project that ended up leaving after it got rebooted.
And the relevant quote:
One thing that wasn’t discussed much on Joplin was multiplayer, according to a few people who worked on the project, which is perhaps why the project couldn’t last. While BioWare’s publisher and parent company, Electronic Arts, tends to give its studios a fair amount of autonomy, there are still mandates to follow. By 2017, EA had not been secret about its desire to make all of its major products into “games as a service,” best defined as games that can be played—and monetized—for months and years after their release. Traditional Dragon Age games did not fit into that category. Inquisition had a multiplayer mode, but was something like that really going to bring in the long-term revenue that EA wanted from expensive productions like Dragon Age 4?
Also my understanding is that when EA buys a studio, upper management ends up being replaced quickly. So there's that.
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
edited August 2019
Structurally BioWare didn't seem to really undergo much forced change in management after their acquisition by EA. A lot of the headlines about big names leaving occurred gradually over time, with alumni that had been with the company for a very long time. Most of the names are more involved in the creative process more than anything else like Laidlaw (barring people like Aaron Flynn or the founding doctors)
Hell, Casey Hudson came back after working for Microsoft for a while, which remains a point of contention for people holding onto hope for some sort of 'old guard BioWare'. I do hope that his promise to change the working culture of BioWare is a sincere one, and not just a platitude to cover up an attitude that has plagued them for 2 generations of videogames.
re: multiplayer, I personally think that BioWare's multiplayer offerings have been chasing the lightning in the bottle that was Mass Effect 3 ever since that mode was so well received. (NB I am obviously extremely biased in this regard) I think that Anthem probably edges out Andromeda in that regard - the actual context-based questing actually hews pretty close to Mass Effect 3 in ways I find more engaging than Andromeda - but what I think made Inquisition's multiplayer less engaging for me is the fact that the actual loot progression at launch didn't really involve a lot of unique, bespoke weapons with unique behaviours like Mass Effect 3 did (and is what Anthem is finally improving in this regard). Unlocking various shades of 5 different weapon behaviours (daggers/two-handers/one-handers-boards/bows/staves, iirc?) doesn't feel as exciting as the giant gallery of unique guns (and later, melee) one gets from a Mass Effect game. An Avenger is not a Mattock is not a Saber is not a Falcon is not a Particle Rifle, but a greatsword is still really just a warhammer and a greataxe animation with different numbers.
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Structurally BioWare didn't seem to really undergo much forced change in management after their acquisition by EA. A lot of the headlines about big names leaving occurred gradually over time, with alumni that had been with the company for a very long time. Most of the names are more involved in the creative process more than anything else like Laidlaw (barring people like Aaron Flynn or the founding doctors)
Hell, Casey Hudson came back after working for Microsoft for a while, which remains a point of contention for people holding onto hope for some sort of 'old guard BioWare'. I do hope that his promise to change the working culture of BioWare is a sincere one, and not just a platitude to cover up an attitude that has plagued them for 2 generations of videogames.
re: multiplayer, I personally think that BioWare's multiplayer offerings have been chasing the lightning in the bottle that was Mass Effect 3 ever since that mode was so well received. (NB I am obviously extremely biased in this regard) I think that Anthem probably edges out Andromeda in that regard - the actual context-based questing actually hews pretty close to Mass Effect 3 in ways I find more engaging than Andromeda - but what I think made Inquisition's multiplayer less engaging for me is the fact that the actual loot progression at launch didn't really involve a lot of unique, bespoke weapons with unique behaviours like Mass Effect 3 did (and is what Anthem is finally improving in this regard). Unlocking various shades of 5 different weapon behaviours (daggers/two-handers/one-handers-boards/bows/staves, iirc?) doesn't feel as exciting as the giant gallery of unique guns (and later, melee) one gets from a Mass Effect game. An Avenger is not a Mattock is not a Saber is not a Falcon is not a Particle Rifle, but a greatsword is still really just a warhammer and a greataxe animation with different numbers.
There was a thing recently about how important sound is to the feel of a weapon.
So everything has gone to shit again. The Grey Wardens have been tricked into thinking there's a mass calling and in their desperation have tried to raise a demon army. The idea is that they use it to storm the dark roads and kill the old gods. All the old gods. No more blights.
Shock horror, it's a trick by that dickhead magister Corypheus. I had to storm a castle, and kill a bunch of Grey Wardens. Now I've fallen into the fade.
And guess what? It turns out I'm not some special little boy chosen to save the world. It's all luck. Also the Grey Wardens under Corypheus's control helped blow up the summit.
Once I get out of here, I'm going to have to decide what to do with these chucklefucks, aren't I?
That's if we can get out of here before Stroud and Hawke end up killing each other. They are not getting on
ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited September 2019
Finally got back to the playthrough I mentioned a while back (where I accidentally deleted like ten hours of gameplay and had to start over), and completed my initial gameplay project: to get all the knowledge perks before doing anything of real consequence in the game while avoiding codex entries that give experience like the plague. (The sole exception was in the Storm Coast, where I had to get a codex entry to learn how to make a pendant of mercy so I could get the Blades of Hessarian as agents.) This was time-consuming, but the the hero of the story was the thing where you can gather crafting materials and valuable drops and turn them into power and, more importantly, a predictable amount of influence and, even more importantly, do this in perpetuity.
moar like dragon age requisition AHAHAHAHAHAH
but seriously Fallow Mire has two really easy to fill requisitions if you're looking to imitate my madness
I promptly got all the codex entries I'd overlooked, and gained a level. (Val Royeaux like damn!) But I also got a lot more dialog options that I missed on my first playthrough (where I was playing mostly blind so I didn't do that) a lot earlier on, and thus a lot more cool story stuff, a lot of conversations, more agents for the Inquisition, and even more (non-XP giving) codex entries.
My second gameplay project was relatively simple. Once my companions got level twelve, I bought respec medallions for all of them so their specialization abilities were unlocked. (Well, for the most part. Cassandra stuck mostly with Sword/Shield and Vanguard abilities, but now she has Spell Purge, so I can take her with me and have a tank instead of doing four mages for rift-hunting parties. Though four mages is also ridiculously fun.)
But you don't care about that! You care about my decisions in the game's story. Actual spoilers for new players.
Male Qunari--well, technically Vashoth--Mage. Going for Rift Mage, because it feels like the most likely choice a mage character would make post-Haven. After learning just how much they didn't know about the anchor and the existence of this other thing, the orb, they would want to know more about what exactly is on their hand and what's connected to it, and wouldn't be content with "I don't know why but if I point my hand at a rift it closes" anymore. Of course it's also possible another mage would be manipulated in this direction by Solas.
As ever, I try to get along with everyone as long as it doesn't feel like something my character absolutely wouldn't do, because it's not just about friendship, it's about keeping the troops happy. So, given how well Cassandra and I get along and the approximate similarities between Cassandra's and Vivienne's politics, I have no idea what Vivienne's problem with me is. I have progressed exactly as far along in their made-it-to-Skyhold personal fetch/kill quests and they both greatly disapproved of me freeing the mages.
Speaking of, full alliance with the rebel mages; it would have felt hypocritical otherwise. And yet my attempted romance with Cassandra is going well; I haven't advanced the story beyond unlocking new areas since arriving at Skyhold but got the 75+ approval conversation with her already and have mashed the romance conversation options wherever possible. And, more adorably, had the "Cassandra loves smutty literature" conversation.
Maybe Vivienne knows I looked it up and am working my ass off to ensure that a softened Leliana, and not her, becomes Divine. If anyone could see into the hidden math of how the Divine Election works without a guide, it would be Vivienne, because politics is how she do.
Cole likes that I understand the little things he's doing around Skyhold to make things better. Varric likes that I trust him even if he and my maybe-GF aren't too fond of each other right now. I've killed a dragon (my gear and tactics weren't great so I had to cheese it with broken dragon AI at the end) and drink a lot with Iron Bull, so he's getting over the mages thing; he's even given me tips on leadership (which is why I want to know all my companions so well). Dorian knows I'm basically him as a straight Vashoth and with less personal style, so he's happy. When I wander around with collectibles, I have Bull and Dorian out, because I want to see their relationship progress. Sera likes me helping her take digs at the nobles. Blackwall seems to be in awe of me. And Solas enjoys my desire to know more about magic, history, the Fade, all of it. I think even Vivienne is slowly coming around to me (even as she watches her dreams of being Divine crumble).
When you're not romancing her, Josephine largely does her job, so nothing special there, but there is a certain hint of manipulation in my free mage who wants mages to be free sticking by and supporting his Templar friend when he tries to kick his lyrium habit.
...and that's all I have right now. Seriously, I have not advanced the story one jot since reaching Skyhold; I've mostly completed old quests I left unfinished because Cole would miss out on approval otherwise. I also figured out two possible explanations for why Cole always gets quest approval even when he's not in the active party: one, more likely, he's a spirit of compassion and can tell when you do nice things for people, and two, less likely, even when he's not in the active party he's still following you around in super-stealth passive mode, watching what you do.
Shadowen on
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GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
Man I had started a game with a Brienne-inspired Inquisitor and I really should get back to that because I want to blow up demons with spell purge
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
I literally spent an entire play through having never recruited Vivienne, because I felt it was probably the only surefire way I knew of that wouldn't have resulted in Vivienne becoming the fucking Divine lol
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CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
Interesting choice of location. AFAIK our government doesn’t give a shit about helping tech companies.
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
I thought there was a very, very small grant in certain states like Victoria or something
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited September 2019
I realized I hadn't synced my "I finished everything except Trespasser and I'm about to go on the final dungeon run of that too!" save with my current playthrough using Trespasser's Golden Nug.
...well hello Jaws of Hakkon's tier 4 schematics when I haven't even completed Wicked Minds and Wicked Hearts/Here Lies The Abyss. (The best part is, as tier 4 gear, even if I use tier 2 or even tier 1 mats they'll still be better than what I have right now, and then I can make better versions later on to retain that appearance.)
EDIT: Seriously, middle-of-the-road tier 2 found gear is usually around 160 for heavy armor. With Plate Mail of the Dragon Hunter and tier 1 materials, you get 225. You could probably make that on waking up in Haven the first time.
EDIT 2: But no, even heavy armor requires cloth, and you get no cloth drops before visiting the Hinterlands except when you're a mage receiving cloth from the "go talk to the smith, the quartermaster, and potions boy" quest.
Only thing I'm annoyed about is there's no way to craft vitaar. That would have been a cool extra thing for your potions table.
But speaking of where I am in the game, though, I thought that you had to complete both of those before you could get the big love scene in the Cassandra romance, but I finished that quest already. Is that an update with Trespasser, or like a hidden thing where if you do a romance in one playthrough you can do that same romance more easily in the next?
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited October 2019
Checklist for this playthrough:
Soften Leliana
Check.
Dorian and Iron Bull end up together
Yeehaw, ride 'im cowboy. There's even a dialog option with each of them back at Skyhold after Iron Bull lets the cat out of the bag in party banter. Dorian's adorably confuzzled and Bull's got that new-relationship fuzziness when talking about Dorian. Also I sided with the Chargers during Bull's quest so no heartbreaking breakup.
Hit level cap and complete all non-Trespasser DLC before the final main game quest
Check.
The Inner Circle in fancy Inquisition uniform using Jaws of Hakkon's Dragon Hunter armor schematics.
Check, at least until I got better armor in Descent. I even accidentally gave Dorian and Bull matching pink-purple from the materials I used without having to use the armor tint.
And the big one, Softened Leliana made Divine. Big ol' check.
At this point, Trespasser is just a stroll in the park. The biggest challenge will be getting all the stat boosts from the Harlequins.
Also, fun fact: you can use a save-game trick in conjunction with the Golden Nug and having one other character who's made it at least as far as Haven to get the armor schematics from Inquisition perks without having to spend perks. Save your game before getting a new perk, get an armor schematic perk from Cullen, sync with the Golden Nug, save your game in a new slot (the second save might not be necessary, but for, ahem, savekeeping), load up the other character, sync with the Golden Nug twice (again, might not be necessary, but to be certain...), save (you don't have to but it means your other character won't have to sync again if/when you load it again), then load the first save from your original character
Granted, in my opinion, there really aren't even 19 perks that are worth getting, but in my case it allowed me to get More Healing Potions rather than using a third perk on the third group of schematics.
EDIT: Got all five Harlequins. Easy, once you know the trick.
Getting to the last Leliana quest, without being sure if you succeeded until the nearly last portion, is as nail-bitingly nerve-wracking as the ME2 final story mission, even with a guide.
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What about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided?
They got off two DLCs and then folded. Killed the follow up game and series.
Don't remind me. I wanted to see where Jensen's story led
Many game companies famously don’t pay bonuses if the metacritic is too low (by too low I mean like 75).
That's impossible, Honk. Obviously companies would give out bonuses in a rational and meritoric manner, it wouldn't make sense otherwise! /s
Executives only ever take exactly the bonus they deserve and no more.
Except it's much, much much more likely that it wasn't profitable to begin with, which caused all the subsequent draconian decisions.
I'll just say that the way EA reacted to ME:A if it somehow was profitable would make it a very, very unique case. The biz just doesn't work this way.
And there's the difference. Also it sounds like it wasn't that the series was killed because it was poorly received, it was killed in favor of things that would make even more money.
Assertions aren't arguments, and yours continues to rest entirely on your say so. I don't know why this debate needed to be renewed after it settled the first time, but it's not worth continuing so I'm bowing out of it.
Never mind that people were arguing against my assertions with... assertions.
At any rate, I apologize for derailing.
Makes me wonder if we'll be getting news on N7 day.
That said there is a non-zero chance that we'll be looking at next gen console releases so I wonder how is it gonna work.
We could be looking at a situation like DA:I where it lands on both platforms.
Especially since I'd wager getting Anthem fixed (or "fixed," depending on perspective) took/is taking a fair amount of resources.
I wonder when was this? I heard something about it being revamped in 2017 to better fit some kind of GaaS model or whatever(that was about the time Mike Laidlaw left) but I haven't heard anything recently.
Though I haven't been keeping up with it like that.
It's really more in the hands of EA. Will Frostbite 5 be available now or soon so the DA4 team can use it or will it lag behind the next gen consoles forcing them to use FB3 and Anthem tools.
Schrier's article reported that the original version was scuttled around late 2016/early 2017 due to the team being pulled in to save Anthem so that jives about right.
Wud yoo laek to lern aboot meatz? Look here!
It's just a matter of reach massively exceeding the grasp.
Also, I don't know how games work, can't the team just go back to the old build?
And still is, since the service aspect of the game means they can't stop developing for it for quite some time, even if it never gains traction.
Which is why some people are a smidge worried about Bioware. :P
Back on topic, I'd like to hope the Anthem disaster causes a rethink of the games as a service element of the next Dragon Age, but if that winds up being the core system of DA like it is in Anthem, it might be too late to scrap it and overhaul for a second time.
There is an excellent combat engine under Anthem's hood. It's just that everything surrounding that engine still feels like sketched in placeholder content months after launch. Of all the GaaS games that have launched recently - and I'm very much including Fallout 76 here - it feels the most shallow and least finished.
Yeah the game was fine, but even as someone who played and enjoyed it I don't think it was worth everything that went into it.
As for just going back to the old build well there are probably a ton of factors to consider. The way they were talking it seemed to be that they were building the next DA game to work in tandem with Anthem.
Anthem not doing so hot might have got some of the higher ups sweating and they may have changed course.
Also back in 2017 the game was probably being made for a current gen release. Now with the next gen on the horizon gears probably have to be shifted for that.
Or, if not executives, management. The Schreier piece on Anthem made it sound like BioWare's upper management are a big part of the problem.
My biggest take away from that article was how the company dithered in preproduction for 5 years. Like, a lot of companies are lucky to get half of that for development in the AAA gaming space.
Sounds about right. All we got from the Schrier article about Dragon Age was they wanted to make it more in-line with the Live Service model of anthem and that the version they had been working on up to that point (Spec Ops team deep in the heart of tevinter pulling off heists and whatnot) wasn't implementing sufficient amounts of live service functionality and contributed to it being scrapped. I recall one of the senior head honchos of bioware that left the DA team spoke to Schrier about that particular note.
And since I keep referring to it, here's the article in question https://kotaku.com/the-past-and-present-of-dragon-age-4-1833913351
Yeah Mark Laidlaw was the big man attached to that project that ended up leaving after it got rebooted.
And the relevant quote:
Wud yoo laek to lern aboot meatz? Look here!
Hell, Casey Hudson came back after working for Microsoft for a while, which remains a point of contention for people holding onto hope for some sort of 'old guard BioWare'. I do hope that his promise to change the working culture of BioWare is a sincere one, and not just a platitude to cover up an attitude that has plagued them for 2 generations of videogames.
re: multiplayer, I personally think that BioWare's multiplayer offerings have been chasing the lightning in the bottle that was Mass Effect 3 ever since that mode was so well received. (NB I am obviously extremely biased in this regard) I think that Anthem probably edges out Andromeda in that regard - the actual context-based questing actually hews pretty close to Mass Effect 3 in ways I find more engaging than Andromeda - but what I think made Inquisition's multiplayer less engaging for me is the fact that the actual loot progression at launch didn't really involve a lot of unique, bespoke weapons with unique behaviours like Mass Effect 3 did (and is what Anthem is finally improving in this regard). Unlocking various shades of 5 different weapon behaviours (daggers/two-handers/one-handers-boards/bows/staves, iirc?) doesn't feel as exciting as the giant gallery of unique guns (and later, melee) one gets from a Mass Effect game. An Avenger is not a Mattock is not a Saber is not a Falcon is not a Particle Rifle, but a greatsword is still really just a warhammer and a greataxe animation with different numbers.
There was a thing recently about how important sound is to the feel of a weapon.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Shock horror, it's a trick by that dickhead magister Corypheus. I had to storm a castle, and kill a bunch of Grey Wardens. Now I've fallen into the fade.
And guess what? It turns out I'm not some special little boy chosen to save the world. It's all luck. Also the Grey Wardens under Corypheus's control helped blow up the summit.
Once I get out of here, I'm going to have to decide what to do with these chucklefucks, aren't I?
That's if we can get out of here before Stroud and Hawke end up killing each other. They are not getting on
but seriously Fallow Mire has two really easy to fill requisitions if you're looking to imitate my madness
I promptly got all the codex entries I'd overlooked, and gained a level. (Val Royeaux like damn!) But I also got a lot more dialog options that I missed on my first playthrough (where I was playing mostly blind so I didn't do that) a lot earlier on, and thus a lot more cool story stuff, a lot of conversations, more agents for the Inquisition, and even more (non-XP giving) codex entries.
My second gameplay project was relatively simple. Once my companions got level twelve, I bought respec medallions for all of them so their specialization abilities were unlocked. (Well, for the most part. Cassandra stuck mostly with Sword/Shield and Vanguard abilities, but now she has Spell Purge, so I can take her with me and have a tank instead of doing four mages for rift-hunting parties. Though four mages is also ridiculously fun.)
But you don't care about that! You care about my decisions in the game's story. Actual spoilers for new players.
As ever, I try to get along with everyone as long as it doesn't feel like something my character absolutely wouldn't do, because it's not just about friendship, it's about keeping the troops happy. So, given how well Cassandra and I get along and the approximate similarities between Cassandra's and Vivienne's politics, I have no idea what Vivienne's problem with me is. I have progressed exactly as far along in their made-it-to-Skyhold personal fetch/kill quests and they both greatly disapproved of me freeing the mages.
Speaking of, full alliance with the rebel mages; it would have felt hypocritical otherwise. And yet my attempted romance with Cassandra is going well; I haven't advanced the story beyond unlocking new areas since arriving at Skyhold but got the 75+ approval conversation with her already and have mashed the romance conversation options wherever possible. And, more adorably, had the "Cassandra loves smutty literature" conversation.
Maybe Vivienne knows I looked it up and am working my ass off to ensure that a softened Leliana, and not her, becomes Divine. If anyone could see into the hidden math of how the Divine Election works without a guide, it would be Vivienne, because politics is how she do.
Cole likes that I understand the little things he's doing around Skyhold to make things better. Varric likes that I trust him even if he and my maybe-GF aren't too fond of each other right now. I've killed a dragon (my gear and tactics weren't great so I had to cheese it with broken dragon AI at the end) and drink a lot with Iron Bull, so he's getting over the mages thing; he's even given me tips on leadership (which is why I want to know all my companions so well). Dorian knows I'm basically him as a straight Vashoth and with less personal style, so he's happy. When I wander around with collectibles, I have Bull and Dorian out, because I want to see their relationship progress. Sera likes me helping her take digs at the nobles. Blackwall seems to be in awe of me. And Solas enjoys my desire to know more about magic, history, the Fade, all of it. I think even Vivienne is slowly coming around to me (even as she watches her dreams of being Divine crumble).
When you're not romancing her, Josephine largely does her job, so nothing special there, but there is a certain hint of manipulation in my free mage who wants mages to be free sticking by and supporting his Templar friend when he tries to kick his lyrium habit.
...and that's all I have right now. Seriously, I have not advanced the story one jot since reaching Skyhold; I've mostly completed old quests I left unfinished because Cole would miss out on approval otherwise. I also figured out two possible explanations for why Cole always gets quest approval even when he's not in the active party: one, more likely, he's a spirit of compassion and can tell when you do nice things for people, and two, less likely, even when he's not in the active party he's still following you around in super-stealth passive mode, watching what you do.
https://screenrant.com/ex-bioware-lead-writer-australian-studio-summerfall/
...well hello Jaws of Hakkon's tier 4 schematics when I haven't even completed Wicked Minds and Wicked Hearts/Here Lies The Abyss. (The best part is, as tier 4 gear, even if I use tier 2 or even tier 1 mats they'll still be better than what I have right now, and then I can make better versions later on to retain that appearance.)
EDIT: Seriously, middle-of-the-road tier 2 found gear is usually around 160 for heavy armor. With Plate Mail of the Dragon Hunter and tier 1 materials, you get 225. You could probably make that on waking up in Haven the first time.
EDIT 2: But no, even heavy armor requires cloth, and you get no cloth drops before visiting the Hinterlands except when you're a mage receiving cloth from the "go talk to the smith, the quartermaster, and potions boy" quest.
Only thing I'm annoyed about is there's no way to craft vitaar. That would have been a cool extra thing for your potions table.
But speaking of where I am in the game, though, I thought that you had to complete both of those before you could get the big love scene in the Cassandra romance, but I finished that quest already. Is that an update with Trespasser, or like a hidden thing where if you do a romance in one playthrough you can do that same romance more easily in the next?
Check.
Dorian and Iron Bull end up together
Yeehaw, ride 'im cowboy. There's even a dialog option with each of them back at Skyhold after Iron Bull lets the cat out of the bag in party banter. Dorian's adorably confuzzled and Bull's got that new-relationship fuzziness when talking about Dorian. Also I sided with the Chargers during Bull's quest so no heartbreaking breakup.
Hit level cap and complete all non-Trespasser DLC before the final main game quest
Check.
The Inner Circle in fancy Inquisition uniform using Jaws of Hakkon's Dragon Hunter armor schematics.
Check, at least until I got better armor in Descent. I even accidentally gave Dorian and Bull matching pink-purple from the materials I used without having to use the armor tint.
And the big one, Softened Leliana made Divine.
Big ol' check.
At this point, Trespasser is just a stroll in the park. The biggest challenge will be getting all the stat boosts from the Harlequins.
Also, fun fact: you can use a save-game trick in conjunction with the Golden Nug and having one other character who's made it at least as far as Haven to get the armor schematics from Inquisition perks without having to spend perks. Save your game before getting a new perk, get an armor schematic perk from Cullen, sync with the Golden Nug, save your game in a new slot (the second save might not be necessary, but for, ahem, savekeeping), load up the other character, sync with the Golden Nug twice (again, might not be necessary, but to be certain...), save (you don't have to but it means your other character won't have to sync again if/when you load it again), then load the first save from your original character
Granted, in my opinion, there really aren't even 19 perks that are worth getting, but in my case it allowed me to get More Healing Potions rather than using a third perk on the third group of schematics.
EDIT: Got all five Harlequins. Easy, once you know the trick.
WoW
Dear Satan.....