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Post by Shades of Night on Oct 6, 2014 1:19:32 GMT
Fiiinally got around to watching those two videos. My thoughts are that it looks decent. As already mentioned, freckles! I'm curious about how the elves will look. It's a shame that the Quinari horns aren't on a different thing from their hair, you'd think most horns would have the same kinda base? At least it looks like it. I do really like the variety of horns shown though But I want bigger! Looks like a fair amount that you can do though it's kinda hard to tell. I also don't know how I feel about what they mentioned with the lighting being made standard through all conversations? Because the lighting in that character creator seems a bit dim. Things I'm not so sure about: -Not having a portrait icon for your main character while your companions all have one. You just get a hand. That seems kinda... ehh... -Sliders without numbers, sigh. It would be so simple to do and would make refinding bits that you like or recreating a character so much easier. At least if they get the codes in like ME that will be something I guess. -The whole potions limiting thing. I never like having my potions and potion use limited. It seems like they don't go in your inventory anymore and you get a set number instead? I'm not sure, it's hard to tell because I don't think they showed the actual inventory itself. Uh oh, I seem to be overly critical or negative Really I don't think it's bad! At least it looks fairly pretty, I do really like the dual eye colour option. And the combat seems decently paced without having to do flying anime jumps everywhere.
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Post by deina on Oct 6, 2014 23:01:53 GMT
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Post by notabarbiegirl on Oct 21, 2014 1:44:29 GMT
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Post by Aeryn on Oct 30, 2014 17:06:52 GMT
Since the Keep entered open beta today, I suppose we can talk about it now? I'm pretty sure I clicked a NDA in my wild haste to get started during the closed beta? Heh.
While I'm glad the Keep exists, and it's cool to be able to make "perfect" playthroughs or whatnot, I think it's pretty lame that there's no direct import option. There are still a lot of kinks to work out (some fairly worrisome), and without Inquisition to actually import anything into, it's impossible to know what bugs will crop up at that point or if there will be missing data like they had with direct imports. So, at this point, I can't say the Keep is any kind of improvement. For such a simple database, it also feels needlessly complicated - if no information from my previous saves is actually being brought into the Keep, why in the world must I go through this sync process over and over again? It's time consuming, for apparently no reason at all? Varric's story and the art and all the pretty bits they've spent months working on loses its charm amidst the slow, cumbersome process.
One thing I've seen so far that I do outright hate is that you have to go into the Keep and promote one specific World State before you can create a new game in Inquisition that uses that information. When you have more than one person playing on a single unit (my husband and I on the PC), that's a pointless pain in the rear. I don't understand why they couldn't allow us to pick from a list of World States while in character creation. It feels like laziness.
And I'm done bitching now. I swear I don't hate the Keep itself, and I'm glad to know that so many choices will have an impact on Inquisition. I just really, really hope it actually works when it comes time to import.
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Post by Shades of Night on Oct 30, 2014 19:53:47 GMT
Ohh it's in open beta now? Hooray!
I got a beta code.... a few months back? When there was all the fuss about it. And quite frankly.... while at first it was all ooohhh shiny pretty art and new things, as you mentioned Aeryn it got old pretty fast, and annoying when creating more than one playthrough. It was at that point that I wondered why there was so much hype over getting keep keys, when really it's just like one of the Gibbed save importers/creators, but with pictures to slow you down.
And as pretty as the pictures are it would have been a LOT easier to navigate and create a worldstate in simple text with headers over each area. Some sort of option to get more info about a certain choice would have been helpful too as I can't remember what some of the more obscure ones even were.
I'll have to login again to check out any changes, because I haven't really logged in since the first time when I spent hours making all my worldstates, and found out DA2 didn't import, then found out the DAO import was from the last time it had updated the online profile (which it stopped years ago).
It's also probably important to note that although they have all these choices, I think I recall reading somewhere that this doesn't mean they all matter or make an impact on the story. I think the idea was to just get every choice they could think of in one place. I guess it also gives them the freedom to make some of the more obscure choices have consequences in later games if they want to.
I also agree that things working in the keep does not equal things working in Inquisition itself. Will be interesting to see how buggy the worldstates actually end up being.
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Post by Aeryn on Oct 30, 2014 23:02:52 GMT
I don't understand why they'd go through so much effort - because, even though I may not like everything about it, I do recognize that they really did want it to be something unique - without someone, somewhere realizing, "Hey, this isn't exactly... efficient." At this point, I wish they would have just fixed the current system of importing saves instead of pouring all these resources into creating a whole new way of making problems.
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Lingz
Gibberling
Posts: 38
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Post by Lingz on Oct 30, 2014 23:20:47 GMT
I remember reading that the keep would let them fix the impending bugginess much quicker, since they wouldn't need to wait for permissions from Microsoft/Sony to edit the console versions. I've only seen the open beta, but I like it. It's shiny, ornate and colorful, which means I can admire it before sighing at the sleek, clean look the Inquisition seems to be going for. Sure it's clunky, tricky to use and a bit vague, but it's pretty and when you are finally done polishing your story, you can sit back and admire it. (And boy is it going to be pretty if the series keep going.) Still, it would be nice if it could also generate DA2 saves, giving players the option to jump into the series at any point they liked, but still follow the storyline they wanted to create.
And the hype for the Keep keys is the same hype you get when someone presents you an ornate box and lets you take a tiny peek, then slams it shut and asks for a token. You only caught a glimpse of something shiny and now you've got to know whats in there. Even if you are pretty sure it's just a spoon, you still need to find out!
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Post by melbella on Nov 12, 2014 1:49:40 GMT
I am starting to get excited about the release even if it means I have to be extra careful about what I look at over on BSN. I will be able to preload the game on Friday and actually play (well, start to make a character at least) late Monday evening. Unfortunately I have to work on Tuesday but I took the rest of the week off. If my pc won't run this game I am going to be soooo bummed. It should but stuff happens sometimes! Anyone else thoroughly avoiding spoilers at this point?
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Post by Aeryn on Nov 12, 2014 17:08:17 GMT
Yeah, I've stopped watching videos and reading stuff, too. The only videos I did watch were the three companion cinematic trailers. The spoilers have gotten a bit ridiculous - they showed the whole first hour of the game? Seriously? I don't get the appeal. It wouldn't be YOUR Inquisitor. It's just spoilers for the sake of being spoiled. I remember when they released a vid of the first 15 minutes of ME2, and when the game finally came out, the power of that scene was really diminished. I did read a few spoiler-free reviews from some magazines that made me super happy! It sounds like it's going to be amazing.
I'm worried about my computer, too! I meet or exceed all the requirements EXCEPT... I have Vista. D: Theoretically, it should work, it just won't be supported. Worst case, we'll go buy a copy of Windows 7, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. This computer is being replaced next month (Merry Christmas to me! XD), and I don't want to put any more money into it unnecessarily.
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Post by melbella on Nov 13, 2014 1:44:27 GMT
Yeah, I made of point of not reading more about the last live-stream once I learned it showed the first hour of the game. I will say though, if I hadn't played the ME3 demo (intro mission) I likely would not have been hooked enough to immediately go buy ME and ME2 and rush through both in order to have an import ready for ME3. But I guess it's different if you haven't played the game/series before. I don't need to see the DAI intro to get interested since I'm already familiar with the DA universe. I can wait till it's MY Inquisitor running around getting accosted by everything.
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Post by Aeryn on Nov 13, 2014 20:14:06 GMT
Eh, I couldn't help myself - new trailer: youtu.be/jJqxfkgSUogIt's a bit nauseating in the beginning (they should have slowed the camera sweeps down a bit, in my opinion), but it's a pretty nice little bit of action. Reminds me of the older Assassin's Creed trailers. I paused and replayed the sections where Cole vanishes and reappears several times. XD
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Post by melbella on Nov 15, 2014 1:02:37 GMT
Preloading now.....wheee!! Ugh, it's 23GB almost 24GB so it might take 'til Monday night to finish. I deliberately avoided looking at the achievements list, though I did see how many are available. Not sure how long my willpower can last but I don't want to see what they are just yet!
Edit to add: am now listening to the soundtrack (part of deluxe edition) and it seems suitably epic....it is Tuesday yet?!
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Post by Shades of Night on Nov 18, 2014 21:07:27 GMT
I am utterly unspoiled for this game so far because... I keep forgetting it's even coming out XD It's apparently out in the states now? Though not out here yet. I'm taking the opportunity (now that I've remembered it exists again) to look at the DA Keep again to possibly fix up my world states. Maybe it's just me, but that thing is SO unintuitive to use. I loaded my world state... and then could not figure out how to get out of the loading area and into the actual world state I'd loaded to actually edit and see it. Ended up being a tiny little button in the corner. Then I saw that the Warden was a default, so I thought 'Ah it'll be easy... I'll just change her name...' nope. Apparently you still can't change their name. Fortunately I do have a number of my Wardens uploaded (I thought I'd already used my uploaded Warden in this save state though, seems they reversed it) so I was able to grab the one I wanted. But ugghh they don't make it easy. ... And then I came to the default Hawke. Apparently you can use an uploaded Hawke now. Which means I need to hunt down DA2, fire it up, upload my Hawkes, wait for the changes to kick in on my profile, then I should be able to use then on the Keep. What a headache. They should have just let you recreate the Warden/Hawke (I mean you just need class, race, name) or directly upload the character files so it could grab the information it needs. We'll see if I have everything ready by the time it arrives on my doorstep
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Post by Gileadan on Nov 19, 2014 0:18:51 GMT
I'm in Europe and have been playing since Monday. The power of VPN compels it!
EDIT
First of all, a PSA: When you start creating your character, make sure you click the gender button at least once, even if it already shows the gender you want. Otherwise the game may get confused about your character's gender as far as NPC dialogue and romances are concerned. You will still look like the gender you picked, but treated as the other.
If you play on PC, download and install the latest video drivers, even if they are labeled beta. Especially if you use an AMD card. Otherwise, the game may not let you choose the Mantle renderer in the graphics option menu, even if your card supports it.
If the game stutters, even right in the beginning when you see your protagonist for the first time, do not be alarmed. Because of some technical issues, BioWare saw fit to force 30 FPS for cutscenes on PC, and the game is not very good at maintaining those FPS. Normal PC gameplay is locked to 60 FPS, though that limit can be turned off using the console or launch parameters.
Many users of old consoles (Xbox 360 / PS3) have reported that the game looks bloody ugly on those, especially hair looking like shiny glued-on plastic pieces. If you're playing on those consoles... caveat emptor. You might want to check some screenshots first.
First impressions, spoiler free:
PC controls are sadly a mess. Using an item, looting things on the ground or attacking an enemy do not cause your character to move up to the item or monster, you have to do that manually. If you try to interact with something but are too far away, your character will either do nothing (if you tried to loot or use a world item, even though the loot or item was clickable!) or swing at the empty air (if you tried to attack). Tactical camera is clunky, and some abilities plainly don't seem to work when used with tactical camera (grappling chain for example).
On the bright side, the game looks gorgeous on current consoles and decent PCs. There is a ton of great looking landscape to explore. I haven't gone far, but you can't round a corner in the Hinterlands without getting a new quest. The character generator is really really good, except for the poor choice of qunari horn/hair combinations. I only found half the companions so far, but none of them is annoying me, which is a fantastic change from DA2. And I can craft my little heart out. I felt like throwing a party when I randomly found some "mastercrafted greatsword" schematics.
You can sometimes participate in party banter now. Your companions are talking, and if it concerns you in some way, the dialogue wheel pops up on its own to let you pick your response.
Healing potions are now limited to 8 for your entire party unless you can increase that number by getting "Inquisition perks". They are automatically refilled whenever you enter a camp, and you can create more camps as you explore. Possible camp sites are noted on your map - once you get there, you just click the ground and voila, new inquisition pit stop site. However, there are also "tonics" - which refers to basically all potions that are not standard healing potions. These are equipped per character, not for the whole party, but they are also not automatically refilled on return to camp. You pay directly with ingredients from your inventory for those. Since there is also a regeneration tonic, you can work around the 8 healing potion limit a bit.
Overall, the writing seems to have taken a step up since DA2. Mages and templars are no longer crazy/fascist caricatures. Sure, some are bad on both sides, but there's quite a few decent ones on both sides too. I no longer feel like I'm navigating the asylum that was Kirkwall.
I'm enjoying my time with it. The controls are a bit of a damper, but I'm getting used to them... slowly.
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Post by melbella on Nov 19, 2014 19:28:47 GMT
PC controls are definitely a challenge but I am slowly getting the hang of them. Luckily I got used to WASD for movement in ME so that part isn't so bad but some of the design decisions kind of leaving me scratching my head. No walk toggle so I'm literally running everywhere. The loot mechanic is somewhat annoying....makes me feel like I am scanning for Reapers a la ME3. Not to mention loot out in the wild can be hard to see sometimes.
I'm not too happy with the new character leveling system either, where attributes are tied into abilities chosen rather than being increased on their own. There is no game manual included in the digital download (24GB and they couldn't manage to add a 1MB manual??) and the one I dl'd from EA is basically worthless. Looking forward to getting the official guide after I've finished the game once so I can see all the things I did wrong.
Anyway.....back to playing. I made it through the prologue and am now set to begin exploring in earnest.
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