658 replies to this topic

[Archmage Silver]

According to the German website cynamite.de (google translation), Dragon Age II will be playable at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany next week. The DA II debut trailer will have its first airing during the GamesCom as well. If anyone is going, see if you can get a look at things.

About time too, I can't do the news as good as you.

Heh, thanks for covering the news in any case.

[Archmage Silver]

Grey Wardens have a new article titled "Dragon Age 2: Framed Narrative?", which I think raises some interesting questions about the style change BioWare is experimenting with here, and I'm not entirely sure if I like where they're going with it. The Icewind Dale series was narrated in past tense though, and it worked there, so I guess it could work for DA II as well, but a lot depends on BioWare's execution of it.

[Archmage Silver]

Another interesting article is available at Grey Wardens, "Beyond the Circle Tower: Mages in Dragon Age II".

Edited by Archmage Silver, 15 August 2010 - 01:06 PM.

[Vicen]

That's pretty much what the fantasy genre does: use parts of real world cultures, customs, and so forth, and then modify them to suit the setting being used. Then there's the second part of the process where you add the fantasy elements, one of which in this case are the Qunari creatures themselves. Personally I don't see anything politically incorrect here. I do think that the Qunari now look too much like Draenei from World of Warcraft though. I guess we might even see a Qunari female as a romance option.

I also agree with you 100 percent that the Qunari females look way too much like the dranei in WoW...Also is there any explanation why Sten and the other random Qunari we see in Dragon Age 1 dont look demonic or what not at all?

[Archmage Silver]

Also is there any explanation why Sten and the other random Qunari we see in Dragon Age 1 dont look demonic or what not at all?

Read this article, there are some BioWare quotes in there explaining the changes. Of course, the real reason is that they wanted to widen the gap between the different races, as the complaint fielded was that the races looked too much alike in Origins.

[Vicen]

Heh that seems like quite a cheesy story they cooked up there but I will admit in DA all Quanri basically look like are bigger tougher humans who prefer corn row type hairstyles heh...I suppose they did need something dramatic like that to spice things up and not make them look so bland eh?

Edited by Vicen, 16 August 2010 - 10:47 PM.

[Archmage Silver]

Heh that seems like quite a cheesy story they cooked up there but I will admit in DA all Quanri basically look like are bigger tougher humans who prefer crow row type hairstyles heh...I suppose they did need something dramatic like that to spice things up and not make them look so bland eh?

Yeah, they're going to look good... you know, in cinematic trailers. With some new metal band supplying the music.

In other news, the Dragon Age II debut trailer will be released later today (Tuesday). Considering the fact that my birthday is tomorrow, I'll take this as my early present from BioWare.

[Cal Jones]

Happy birthday!

[Archmage Silver]

Happy birthday!

A day in advance, but I'll take it. Thanks!

The trailer should be released soon, I'll get the link up as soon as I have it.

Edit: EA Gamescom Live NOW!

So... there it was. It's a cinematic trailer titled "Destiny" featuring Hawke fighting a great horned Qunari in single combat. The feeling was something along Final Fantasy meets Warhammer Online. Not very inspiring, but fortunately it's just a cinematic trailer.

If you didn't catch the live show, you can now watch the trailer here.

Edited by Archmage Silver, 17 August 2010 - 07:25 AM.

[WeeRLegion]

Hm. Looks nice. But I guess that's what cinematic trailers are there for.

[Solar's Harper]

8th of March!?????

Ye gawds, that damn Qunari better win next time! My aging demands it, as does the God of War if that trailer says anything.

All said, the cinematic seemed rather "meh" material to my eyes, but they're picking a theme and sticking to it so it's fair enough for something short and sweet. If far from outstanding let alone at all explaining why the heck we should bother buying it...

Sure I bet those six packs, zoom effect flashbacks, dragons and bad-ass attitudes all attract someone, but jeez. Detail for buck?

Edit: Hello YouTube.

Edited by Solar's Harper, 17 August 2010 - 08:19 AM.

[Darziak]

Just seen the video and thought first and then

I used my video editor to see what those bits of flashes were.

WARNING! Image Heavy

Spoiler

Creature as seen here

The boss from Golems of Amgarrak DLC

Floating enemy


An epic fight against the Marilyn Manson Club

For our team we seem to have Templars

This is the New Shit!

Badass Hawke


There were also Burning Home, Deep roads, Flemeth, a dragon, a love interest (from what I guess anyway)

I feel like the classes are going to be merged together and you decide where to put the points, or Hawke was a Arcane warrior in that vid.

[Vicen]

It was certainly an interesting video thats for sure...Whether it remains to be seen if the game or storyline is any good...Im sure will find out sooner rather then later! But March 8th allready? Cant believe they could make a game that fast with all their other projects as well...

[darlarosa]

It was certainly an interesting video thats for sure...Whether it remains to be seen if the game or storyline is any good...Im sure will find out sooner rather then later!  But March 8th allready?  Cant believe they could make a game that fast with all their other projects as well...

Well what they seem to do is stack one game on top of another kind of like the game Jenga. It just depends on whether the tower will fall.

What I know of the storyline is interesting, but I do not like that is supposed to be a sequel....it feels more like a spin off. I do not say that because I can not play my warden. I say that because from what I see, hear, and read it sounds like they're rebuilding the style of everything about DAO from the ground up.
Some of it works like the Quenarri(sp?) having a less human appearance or somethings being very extravagent (in particular because the story of Hawke is a flashback sequence of a story someone else is telling so things can be exaggerated).

Oh hello again everybody

[Kulyok]

Interesting. I wish I could watch the trailer at work.

And happy birthday, Archmage Silver! May your splendid archmag-y tecniques bring you and us more good DA(and not just DA) news in the future.

[Cal Jones]

Well, the Sacred Ashes trailer bore no resemblance to the gameplay we got in DA:O so I'm assuming this is something similar. It's a representation - they probably wanted to show swordplay and magic, so Hawk gets to do both. He may not, when it comes down to the actual game.

[Archmage Silver]

Just seen the video and thought first and then

I used my video editor to see what those bits of flashes were.

I feel like the classes are going to be merged together and you decide where to put the points, or Hawke was a Arcane warrior in that vid.

Well, the Sacred Ashes trailer bore no resemblance to the gameplay we got in DA:O so I'm assuming this is something similar. It's a representation - they probably wanted to show swordplay and magic, so Hawk gets to do both. He may not, when it comes down to the actual game.

I agree with Cal Jones here, I think it's just the people responsible for the cinematic trailers taking some liberties vs. the actual gameplay for the epic effect. And thanks to Darziak for screenshotting the flashbacks!

Interesting. I wish I could watch the trailer at work.

And happy birthday, Archmage Silver! May your splendid archmag-y tecniques bring you and us more good DA(and not just DA) news in the future.

Thanks, 'tis much appreciated!

It was certainly an interesting video thats for sure...Whether it remains to be seen if the game or storyline is any good...Im sure will find out sooner rather then later! But March 8th allready? Cant believe they could make a game that fast with all their other projects as well...

Well what they seem to do is stack one game on top of another kind of like the game Jenga. It just depends on whether the tower will fall.

What I know of the storyline is interesting, but I do not like that is supposed to be a sequel....it feels more like a spin off. I do not say that because I can not play my warden. I say that because from what I see, hear, and read it sounds like they're rebuilding the style of everything about DAO from the ground up.
Some of it works like the Quenarri(sp?) having a less human appearance or somethings being very extravagent (in particular because the story of Hawke is a flashback sequence of a story someone else is telling so things can be exaggerated).

Oh hello again everybody

I wouldn't put too much weight on the cinematic trailer, as we all still remember the Marilyn Manson trailer for Origins.

As for the Qunari, if you look a bit up on this page, we were discussing that bit with Vicen, and BioWare's explanation would lend to the effect that this is more than designing races anew for just "another game in the series". This is most likely the way they're going to continue on in further titles, should it prove successful.

To stun myself, I predicted that they'd use Qunari in some cinematic trailer with metal music before yesterday's trailer was released:

Heh that seems like quite a cheesy story they cooked up there but I will admit in DA all Quanri basically look like are bigger tougher humans who prefer crow row type hairstyles heh...I suppose they did need something dramatic like that to spice things up and not make them look so bland eh?

Yeah, they're going to look good... you know, in cinematic trailers. With some new metal band supplying the music.

[Archmage Silver]

News Recap:

• IGN has put up a DA II preview from EA Gamescom 2010 here. It's worth reading, although I recommend taking it with a grain of salt. Another good one is available at 1UP.
  
  
• BioWare has updated the DA II site, allowing people to watch the cinematic trailer, and check out the world, gallery & game info sections.
  
  
• You can download a HD version of the trailer here.

Edited by Archmage Silver, 18 August 2010 - 02:00 PM.

[Crazee]

This thread here is discussing a very interesting new feature. Effectively, the game keeps track of how many times you pick each type of response (flirty, aggressive, kind, etc.) and will pick the one you use most in situations where the player cannot make the decision. More interesting is that it can affect the tone of voice when you pick another option. If you've been a badass killer the entire game, and then select a diplomatic approach, this will be reflected in the tone of Hawke's voice. Read the thread for a better explanation.

I think this news is at the same time exciting and a little bit rubbish. It's a cool feature for sure, but it kind of takes away some of the role-playing - Bioware doesn't know why I've picked a particular response, but the tone of voice will be altered regardless... Does that even make sense?

Personally, I believe that as soon as I get into the mindset that DA2 and DA:O shouldn't be compared, I'll start to enjoy it a lot more. I have no doubts it will be a good game in its own right.

[Archmage Silver]

Yeah, those previews in my previous post cover that one as well. Personally I'm still doubtful when it comes to the VA - if I hate someone's voice, then I just hate it. This could potentially render the game unplayable for me, but I guess I should trust BioWare to pick someone with a neutral tone of voice.

News:
New Combat Screenshots @ CVG
DA II Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw Video Interview @ GameSpot

Bioware has described Dragon Age 2 as a direct sequel to the first game but one that features a single new hero, Hawke.

That's somewhat interesting when many people seem to consider it to be more of a spin-off.