Author Topic: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: GOTY Edition announced  (Read 17351 times)

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: DLC will use Origin, not BioWare Points
« Reply #40 on: Friday, October 10, 2014, 01:23:07 PM »
Dragon Age: Inquisition PC - System Requirements Revealed.

Quote
Recommended:
OS: Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit
CPU: AMD six core CPU @ 3.2 GHz, Intel quad core CPU @ 3.0 GHz
System RAM: 8 GB
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7870 or R9 270, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Graphics Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 26 GB
DirectX 11

Or, if you're playing on a slightly older setup, here are the minimum system requirements:

Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit
CPU: AMD quad core CPU @ 2.5 GHz, Intel quad core CPU @ 2.0 GHz
System RAM: 4 GB
Graphics CARD: AMD Radeon HD 4870, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Graphics Memory: 512 MB
Hard Drive: 26 GB
DirectX 10

Also worth noting - PC version has 4K resolution support and AMD Mantle support:
Quote
We recently got a hands-on look at the PC version of Dragon Age: Inquisition to get a sense of everything it has to offer. And because BioWare is a developer whose roots are in PC gaming, you can bet this version of Inquisition is the real deal.

It's fine-tuned for excellent mouse and keyboard play; it's got dozens of visual and interface options to tweak; and, of course, it's got 4K resolution and AMD Mantle support for the hardcore rig-building crowd.

In fact, we’ve teamed up with BioWare to reveal the very first screenshots of the PC version, along with its HUD and system requirements, all of which you’ll find below. But first, let's talk about how the game plays on PC.

EDIT:
DA:I console versions = 1080p on PS4; 900p on X360.

Offline MysterD

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Offline Xessive

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: Dragon Age Keep is online
« Reply #42 on: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 07:40:27 AM »
Dragon Age Inquisition Reviews are already in.. huh.

Here's a Metacritic summary of the critic reviews:
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/dragon-age-inquisition/critic-reviews

GameInformer gave it a 95/100, commenting:
Quote
The world, characters, and side quests of the single-player campaign are bigger and better than ever, but Inquisition doesn’t stop there. The multiplayer mode has you teaming up in four-player co-op for dungeon runs against one of three enemy factions. It captures a kind of excitement similar to Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, but instead of fighting off waves of encroaching enemies, you are coordinating more precise strategies against a smaller number of foes. These 20-30 minute runs provide a fun twist on a familiar style, and the post-match rewards are great for enticing you to play another round. The maps and classes at launch are plenty to get started, and BioWare has promised continuing support in the form of free DLC in the coming months.

After two disparate entries with different philosophies, Dragon Age’s identity crisis is over. With a mixture of open-world exploration, entertaining combat, and top-tier characters, the team at BioWare has found a winning formula that isn’t shackled to either Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age II. Inquisition is not defined by the traditions it returns to, but by the new directions it forges for this magnificent fantasy universe.

EDIT:
Sorry, wrong quote. Pasted in the correct one.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: Dragon Age Keep is online
« Reply #43 on: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 04:42:18 PM »


Offline MysterD

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« Last Edit: Sunday, November 16, 2014, 10:08:14 AM by MysterD »

Offline Xessive

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: Dragon Age Keep is online
« Reply #46 on: Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 01:03:59 PM »
God, I hope it's not another StarForce.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Update: Dragon Age Keep is online
« Reply #47 on: Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 03:45:45 PM »
God, I hope it's not another StarForce.

Don't we all!
And since it's from the ex-Securom dev's - I hope it doesn't have a keylogging fiasco, either.


Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition
« Reply #49 on: Monday, February 16, 2015, 05:08:10 AM »
Next patch (Patch #5) now in Beta for PC, which players can opt-into optionally via the Keep.
Some of the stuff in this patch (when final, it'll be for all platforms - PC, PS4, XB1, PS3, XB360) will add:
-> Storage in your Keep
-> The return of The Black Emporium shop (this was actually a DLC that came w/ new copies of DA2 - which had epic + rare equipment)
-> Can change your Inquisitor's look + voice w/ The Mirror of Transformation

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> New Patch in Beta adds Storage, TBE, etc.
« Reply #50 on: Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 11:41:11 AM »
I got this a few months ago.  But it sort of throws you into the deep end right off the bat, and I shied away from it, not knowing if I was going to like it or not.  After a couple of months of Borderlands: TPS, I gave it another try, powered my way through the introductory slog, clueless most of the time, and damn.  This is awesome.  So far, it's everything I wish all games of this type would be, including The Witcher 2 (which failed to keep my interest, twice).  Also, it's something to throw at whoever talks trash about the modern consoles.  It couldn't be much prettier or better behaved.

I'm not terribly far yet, since I've spent more time learning how the play modes and party members work, and exploring and gathering stuff than advancing the story.  I've taken a half hour just to figure out what to do with 3 skill points.  I'm surprised there wasn't more talk about the game here.  It's definitely a high point.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> New Patch in Beta adds Storage, TBE, etc.
« Reply #51 on: Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 07:39:16 PM »
I got this a few months ago.  But it sort of throws you into the deep end right off the bat, and I shied away from it, not knowing if I was going to like it or not.  After a couple of months of Borderlands: TPS, I gave it another try, powered my way through the introductory slog, clueless most of the time, and damn.  This is awesome.  So far, it's everything I wish all games of this type would be, including The Witcher 2 (which failed to keep my interest, twice).  Also, it's something to throw at whoever talks trash about the modern consoles.  It couldn't be much prettier or better behaved.

I'm not terribly far yet, since I've spent more time learning how the play modes and party members work, and exploring and gathering stuff than advancing the story.  I've taken a half hour just to figure out what to do with 3 skill points.  I'm surprised there wasn't more talk about the game here.  It's definitely a high point.

I been wanting to play DAI on the PC, for a while. But, I think some after DA2 wrote off the DA series - could be why some ain't bought this.
Plus - this game hasn't been that cheap, either.

I basically been just waiting for it to get cheaper. It hasn't been cheap enough to suit me and it's not like I got a shortage of games backlogged over here, either.

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> New Patch in Beta adds Storage, TBE, etc.
« Reply #52 on: Sunday, March 22, 2015, 08:26:13 AM »
I played through DA: O on the 360, and liked it quite a bit despite the inferior graphics (for the system, let alone PC).  The DA 2 demo left me cold, feeling like constricted corridor runs inside a vast empty landscape you couldn't visit.  They completely turned that around in the current game.  It's a fully open world that looks terrific.  (The generation bump helps there, no doubt.)  It's more like Skyrim in that sense, though the 4-member party battles quickly leave comparisons behind.  Speaking of which, I love the optional tactical view.  It lets you micromanage every action from any character, or play more as a real-time brawler in the shoes of any party member.  Action pauses on tactical view, and time can be advanced manually or fully paused while issuing commands.  It becomes addictive to try to get the different character disciplines to coordinate the most effective attacks possible while taking the least damage.  The skill trees can be developed to help the party synergies.  Lots of gear to loot, craft and modify.  Huge, unique-looking and -feeling areas.  Must be hundreds of hours of stuff to do in here.  Great stuff, and a no-brainer for fans of the genre.  Way to go, Bioware.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> New Patch in Beta adds Storage, TBE, etc.
« Reply #53 on: Sunday, March 22, 2015, 03:21:03 PM »
I played through DA: O on the 360, and liked it quite a bit despite the inferior graphics (for the system, let alone PC).  The DA 2 demo left me cold, feeling like constricted corridor runs inside a vast empty landscape you couldn't visit.  They completely turned that around in the current game.  It's a fully open world that looks terrific.  (The generation bump helps there, no doubt.)  It's more like Skyrim in that sense, though the 4-member party battles quickly leave comparisons behind.  Speaking of which, I love the optional tactical view.  It lets you micromanage every action from any character, or play more as a real-time brawler in the shoes of any party member.  Action pauses on tactical view, and time can be advanced manually or fully paused while issuing commands.  It becomes addictive to try to get the different character disciplines to coordinate the most effective attacks possible while taking the least damage.  The skill trees can be developed to help the party synergies.  Lots of gear to loot, craft and modify.  Huge, unique-looking and -feeling areas.  Must be hundreds of hours of stuff to do in here.  Great stuff, and a no-brainer for fans of the genre.  Way to go, Bioware.

I must be one of the few that liked DA2, even despite my laundry list of problems w/ it. More so than anything - I think DA2 suffered from recycled environments (more so than anything else - this stuff drove me nuts); lack of DAO's strategy elements + removal of tac-cam; lack of customization of some of the characters' equipment; and the lack of epic scope in the story. That ain't all of it - but that's a good portion of the tip of the iceberg. Though, I really loved the new look + style of the graphics (more stylish here than DAO - DAO looked kind of bland and generic for dark-fantasy); the graphical technical quality on PC for DA2 (DX10+ support & high-res textures if you download them, it looked sweet); how personal some of the story was (i.e. stuff w/ Hawke's family); and that each chapter feels like its own story/game (actually, I liked Act 2 the best of the club); and I loved some of the characters (especially Merrill, Varric, Avelline; & also liked Isabella).

But, yeah - DA:O is a freaking masterpiece. Loved that game. I'm really looking forward to DA:I, when it drops a little bit more in price. 


Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC coming tomorrow on XB1 + PC
« Reply #55 on: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 05:06:00 AM »
I guess that's part of the reason for the 1.8GB patch I got last night.  The patch notes don't say anything about it, though.

Offline Xessive

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC coming tomorrow on XB1 + PC
« Reply #56 on: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 06:00:19 AM »
I'm getting an 877 MB update over here, on PC.

UPDATE:
Damn, it's $15! I'm sure it's good but EA and Bioware are notorious for overpriced DLC. I hope it's got a fair amount of content and a great story.
« Last Edit: Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 11:44:39 AM by Xessive »

Offline MysterD

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Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC coming tomorrow on XB1 + PC
« Reply #58 on: Thursday, March 26, 2015, 04:32:07 PM »
Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon DLC -> REVIEWS:

Metacritic:
PC Version.
XB1.

Scored out of 100:
PC Gamer -> 80

Scored out of 10:
Softpedia -> 8.5
Metro UK -> 6

No score:
Eurogamer.

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #59 on: Sunday, April 26, 2015, 10:20:17 AM »
Epic, epic game.  So impressive.  I finally finished it, with over 200 hours reported.  It turns out that this is hours that the game ran, not hours I played.  Leaving it paused for an hour to go eat dinner or something will add that hour to the overall time.  But still, even 80% of 200 is a huge amount of time in a game.

There is so much here.  The story, world, character details and skill choices, side branches of story and gameplay--did I say epic already?  And every line of dialog--every one--is spoken out loud at least competently.  That alone has to be a massive effort.  I worry that games of this scope may go away with the increasingly ADD attitude of gamers.  While we have them, let's not miss them.

The only real minus for me is load times, and I imagine that isn't an issue on PCs.  Lesser niggles include limiting active abilities to 8 per party member, and the rare program crashes.  These are clean exits to the Home screen, which leads me to believe it's some sort of unhandled exception/attempted trampling of privileged memory.  Saving often is good advice in any case, and the player resumes exactly where he (or the game) saved last.

I don't feel like doing a long writeup.  There are plenty of those already.  Here is one that pretty much agrees with my sentiments.

One final warning, plagiarizing what I linked:  What seems like the main game when you start out turns out to be a long prologue.  This is where I quit when I originally bought the game.  I'm so glad I gave it another chance.  You are dumped into the deep end right off the bat, and the climax of this sequence does not mess around, even on the second playthrough I'm into now.  Don't let it discourage you.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #60 on: Sunday, May 17, 2015, 03:51:48 PM »
So, I now have 12 hours or so into Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC). I feel like I have scratched the surface quite a bit and done a fair amount of stuff, yet I feel like I have not even come close to scratching much of this game. This game's huge...ridiculously huge. We're talking about Skyrim type of huge, in terms of the actual game-world + with so many things to do. And that would be just the Hinterlands itself, one of the first (huge) maps in the game - not even counting a few of the areas + towns that I've reached.

Importing your game-state, if you plan not to start from scratch w/ your game-state - this is likely going to come from how you set-up the Dragon Age Keep (online). It would've been nice if you they had an offline version of The Keep (for those who ain't always got a connection to the Net), but this is what you are stuck with. If you want to import your game-state, then you should let the DA Keep take your DA:O save; DA2 save; and/or just manipulate how you want the Tapestries (from DA1 and DA2) to be set-up for DA:I. DA:I will ask you if you want to import a saved game-state - and you begin DA:I from there. Characters who are in DA:I that appeared previous games (such as Varric), might still be in contact recently w/ characters from previous games + even tell you how certain characters are doing- and your game-state will be reflected based on your decisions. This makes the game feel like your decisions from previous games actually mattered, as already important decisions from older games have been mentioned (by Varric).

DA:I's story + plot is that your character is heralded as the new Hero, as you are able to control the Fade Rifts that keep opening and are swarming with an outpouring of monsters. You can close them - and it seems that nobody else has this power. From this, the Mage and Templar War (which really got to began to reach new heights in DA2) is the on-going saga here - and you're trying to decide if you can get everybody on the same page + (hopefully, if you can) recruit people to your group. Your objective is to try to stop the evil that's trying to tear this world apart. As one would expect from a BioWare game, the storytelling + narrative is at the very least quite good. Meanwhile, the Lore itself; the writing of the actual dialogue itself + voice-acting; and the character development stuff here is absolutely fantastic.

Gameplay from DA:I is ridiculously huge in scope, as it feels like a bunch of different types of games + gameplay. For a game with so much ambition, one might expect the game to collapse under its own weight somewhere by trying to do too much and cater to so many different styles of gameplay - but, this game actually does not. This game succeeds, where many others wouldn't in delivering the kitchen sink. DA:I feels like a combination of Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare style of pausing to give orders; the major return of the tactical-cam + strategical gameplay; the world map with areas you can travel to; return of auto-attack); Dragon Age II (faster paced-combat; action-style gameplay); Skyrim (a huge open-world to explore w/ tons of one-off quests + quick fetch quests); Assassin's Creed style collect-a-thon quests (find X areas, find X locations, find X items, etc); and MMO's even (the game-world is ridiculously huge; and this game even have auto-run + auto-attack feature is even here).

By doing main quests, side quests, collect-a-thons, etc - you gain also Power points, which you can use to take on certain side + main missions. To be able to tackle some side quests + main quests, you might find yourself often having to do some side-quests, collect-a-thons, & find-a-thons just to gain enough Power to able take on some of these more-involved quests (which often have decision-making in them). The game-world is huge, so save a lot - b/c you shouldn't be surprised if you are Level 4 and then turn into an area on the map that is loaded with Level 12 enemies.

While you can use Keyboard-mouse combo or a controller here, I have been playing with the keyboard-mouse combo. If you have the camera down at ground-level right behind your character (in the 3rd-person over-the-shoulder view), you're going to have to control them directly like Dragon Age II - WSAD-style (or whatever you set the customizable keys to move to) & use keyboard-mouse combo to do attacks. Now, there is a key to auto-attack for basic melee + ranged attacks - and the player doesn't have to pound to attack the keys if they want to play the game entirely like an action-game (which is how things were in Dragon Age II). You can use the auto-run to move around in a straight direction (and also use the right-mouse button to turn the cam so they move a certain direction), which is often found in MMO's since often maps are so huge + so you aren't wearing out the spring key or movements...and your hands. You certainly can switch b/t characters at any time + switch to another party-member, as well...just like the previous Dragon Age games. No matter how you play, combat is over fast + furious - feeling like its at a speed similar to that of Dragon Age II. Combat looks and feels great, no matter how you play it.

Don't let DA:I's combat speed fool you...thinking that it this not that tactical, either. On Normal difficulty, it feels somewhere b/t both Dragon Age: Origins + Dragon Age II. Some battles, I feel fine just attacking Dragon Age II style, in a more action-orientated way. Other times, I might die a few times, reload some saves, then resort to DA:O style of combat - enlisting the overhead tactical camera, which can lead to success.  The overhead tactical camera is back, making it returns from DA:O & has its own improvements. You can hover the mouse over enemies to see their weaknesses, some stats, current effects, & things of that sort. This is also the only way you can play the game like an old-school Baldur's Gate game (or most other Infinity Engine game) where you can just click-and-point with the mouse to give commands, movements, and things of that sort - if you prefer to play the game like a strategic-style classic cRPG where you can command small parties. At any time, you can switch from rolling the mouse-wheel forward or backwards; or just hit the proper key to switch b/t the two camera modes.

Combat is also changed, as I have not seen any Mage-style healing spells or resurrection spells. You have potions that you can replenish at Camps. Since some maps (like The Hinterlands) are huge, you can find spots on the map where you are allowed to set-up Camp. Here, you can Rest (to restore health) + replenish potions. If a comrade goes down in combat, you can go over to the comrade; stand by them, and try to revive them, if you don't get hit in a certain amount of times - which feels right out of a Gears of War and any other action-style game when you are trying to bring up a knocked-down comrade. Also, magic points are basically gone - all attacks and spells have their own timed cool-downs before you can reuse the skill again. B/c of these small changes, this also makes the game feel more offense-based in its combat than ever before, as well.

That certainly isn't everything that I can talk about - but this is certainly plenty, I think, for now. So far, I am thoroughly impressed with something so extremely ambitious, huge in scope & has so much going on - yet it never seems to fall under its own weight by trying to do too much. Many other games, would've failed somewhere by trying to do so much. Loaded with so many different styles of gameplay; different quest types; & decisions to make (in the typical main missions + side missions that are not one-off quests nor collect-a-thons); and the typical BioWare expertise (storytelling, character development, Lore, and things of that sort) - Dragon Age: Inquisition so far is an excellent + extremely ambitious game. I really can't wait to dive back into this and play some more - so, I think I'm going to just do so

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #61 on: Sunday, May 17, 2015, 04:44:57 PM »
The one thing you may not realize is that playing with a controller gives you better gameplay in tactical-cam (quasi-turn-based) mode.  My understanding after lengthy conversations in the BioWare forums is that KB+M does not provide you with a time-advance button, and you have to work around that awkwardly if you want to micromanage your battles (which you very much can do with a controller).  I recommend you try this out, if you have a suitable controller.

Why the deficiency is beyond me.

Yes, the game is enormous, and extremely addicting, like Oblivion and Skyrim were years earlier.  I'm nearly finished with my 2nd playthrough, and I intend to start a 3rd soon after that.  I was a human Tempest Rogue first time, and an elven Knight-Enchanter mage the second.  I won't spoil what works out best.  Perhaps I'll go for a dwarven or Qunari warrior next time.

The 7th patch seems to have cured all crashing.  It works very stably now for however long I leave it on.  Kudos to BW for the support perseverance.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #62 on: Monday, May 18, 2015, 02:54:18 PM »
The one thing you may not realize is that playing with a controller gives you better gameplay in tactical-cam (quasi-turn-based) mode.  My understanding after lengthy conversations in the BioWare forums is that KB+M does not provide you with a time-advance button, and you have to work around that awkwardly if you want to micromanage your battles (which you very much can do with a controller).  I recommend you try this out, if you have a suitable controller.

Why the deficiency is beyond me.

Yes, the game is enormous, and extremely addicting, like Oblivion and Skyrim were years earlier.  I'm nearly finished with my 2nd playthrough, and I intend to start a 3rd soon after that.  I was a human Tempest Rogue first time, and an elven Knight-Enchanter mage the second.  I won't spoil what works out best.  Perhaps I'll go for a dwarven or Qunari warrior next time.

The 7th patch seems to have cured all crashing.  It works very stably now for however long I leave it on.  Kudos to BW for the support perseverance.

What's the button on the gamepad to do the time-advance thing?

Since I do have tac-cam in Options Menu for Gameplay set to Auto-Pause when Going Into Tactical Cam, I have to hit the pause button (I moved this to Middle Mouse) to un-pause the tac-cam.

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #63 on: Monday, May 18, 2015, 04:52:43 PM »
Right trigger.  Hold, time moves.  Let go, time stops.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #64 on: Sunday, May 24, 2015, 11:04:57 AM »
SPOILERS in this article linked below for DA:I.
So, you have been warned...

PC Gamer -> The Making of DA:I.


Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #65 on: Sunday, May 24, 2015, 12:33:41 PM »
I've played through the game twice now, following the branching path differently in each, so I think I'm beyond any spoilers.  The entire first page of that article is spoiler-free.  The only mention of specific DA:I content is "the Hinterlands", which is the first map beyond the starting base of operations.

All the sexual-politics bullshit is quite unfortunate, but luckily, it is totally avoidable in-game (but not nearly as avoidable in the BW forums).  You choose who to romance, if anyone, and which characters and their stories to explore further.  When Gaider says here that it's a politically charged topic, he should remember who it is that's making it any kind of issue at all.  Otherwise, the game is absolutely essential, and this sad SJW nonsense doesn't get in the way of anything of substance.

Thanks for the link.  I'll read the rest of it later.


Edit:  I finally read the rest of this.  No surprises there.  Page 4 confirmed something I suspected, but wasn't quite sure about.  Definitely don't read Page 4 until you get all the way through the game.  Pages 2 & 3 contain substantive spoilers too.
« Last Edit: Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 06:42:18 AM by Cobra951 »

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #66 on: Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 04:04:05 PM »

DAI & DA2 Spoilers
(click to show/hide)

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #67 on: Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 08:51:50 PM »
That's one of my favorite moments.  I leave a save file right before the cutscene, so I can replay it later.  A lot opens up too, perhaps too much at once.  Just pay attention to the enemy level in the different areas.  That should help you decide when to tackle each, at least in the first playthrough.  I've been mixing it up this time.  The specializations of your companions become available as well.  Lots to learn and do.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #68 on: Friday, July 03, 2015, 09:05:22 PM »
After approx. 165 hours, Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC) has been completed.
Fantastic RPG. One for the ages, for sure.

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #69 on: Saturday, July 04, 2015, 09:31:22 AM »
I was wondering if you stuck with it.  Well done.  I'm in my 4th playthrough, Qunari Knight-Enchanter this time (fire mage mostly, which seems most fitting for a Tal-Vashoth named Adaar).  The Winter palace was especially challenging as a Qunari, as you might imagine, at least at first.  I can't get enough of this.  I'm near the end, with only the final mission in the main game and in the JoH DLC to go, and I'm already thinking about how I'm going to RP my way through it next.

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #70 on: Saturday, July 04, 2015, 07:52:11 PM »
I was wondering if you stuck with it.  Well done.  I'm in my 4th playthrough, Qunari Knight-Enchanter this time (fire mage mostly, which seems most fitting for a Tal-Vashoth named Adaar).  The Winter palace was especially challenging as a Qunari, as you might imagine, at least at first.  I can't get enough of this.  I'm near the end, with only the final mission in the main game and in the JoH DLC to go, and I'm already thinking about how I'm going to RP my way through it next.

Yeah, I've been pretty much unable to stop playing DA:I, since I got it. And, I finally finished it last night. I did most of it, mind you - even a lot of the MMO-style quests + collect-a-thons. I really got into the War Table and seeing how those turn out. And often, I'd just go out there to explore, while I sent some guys off to do...whatever missions that we don't see what happens, but read the results after X amount of time goes by. And boy, does the time fly - w/ so much variety here (Loyalty Quests, Main Quests, MMO-style quests, Collect-a-thons, huge open-world to explore), it was hard to just put the damn thing down. I just kept wanting more.

Many games, by around 20-60 hours (well, that depends on how I feel about the game - if its gameplay got repetitive or the story/character began losing me, or both), I'd be looking at some point to just wrap up the main quest. Not DA:I. I couldn't shake this game for the longest time. I had to keep playing, whenever I had the time to do.

Oh, BTW - how's Jaws of Hakkon DLC?
 

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #71 on: Sunday, July 05, 2015, 06:04:19 AM »
Pretty much my experience too.  I'm glad not to be alone in this.  I'm surprised this game got no more attention at OW.  Perhaps everyone else is too busy or involved with other things.  It is quite the time sink.

JoH has a separate storyline involving the previous inquisitor from 800 years before.  Your main quest is to find what happened to him.  There are also side quests, including an extra dozen shards
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.  It has the prettiest and most interesting map in the game.  It has some strong new gear, schematics and materials (Tier 4).  Also, it has by far the greatest combat difficulty in the game.  Suggested entry level is 20, and everything seems to level up with you.  I'm at Lv 26, and everything is right there with me.  There will be some nearly unfair surprises.  I'll say no more.  It's quite the thrill.  It could probably be rushed through in under 10 hours, but the way we play, it's one more nifty playground to visit, explore and spend a few dozen hours.  It's also a great place to use that godly gear that didn't get much use in the vanilla game.  And some more Scout Harding!  Love the character and the voice actor.

If you get it, I strongly suggest exploiting the green blobs that rifts drop, because they are the only source of one important new material.  By exploiting I mean that
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.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #72 on: Sunday, July 05, 2015, 09:08:22 AM »
I don't know about others, but I really didn't like the first game, which is why I haven't played this one. I know I've mentioned my distaste for the first game's (what I felt was) offensively generic fantasy before, and I only say it here to indicate why I haven't played this one. I've heard lots of great things about it, actually almost universally positive things, but everyone seemed to kind of hate the 2nd, at least as far as people I know that played it, so that pretty much sunk any hope I had of getting into the series. I just never even took another look at it after that first one, really, figured it wasn't for me. Do you need to play the first two to appreciate Inquisition, or is it sort of its own thing? I really liked the combat system and stuff in the first game. Mechanically I felt like it was super fun; the world and the writing were what turned me off. If they managed to improve those things, I could potentially be interested. I mean I understand you guys were fans of the first game, so maybe you can't really tell me whether or not it's changed enough for me to give it a try, but I'm still curious to hear how you think this one compares to the previous 2. Which ... hell, I suppose I could review the thread, you've probably been talking about it, and I'm sure I missed most of the conversation.

EDIT - Well, the gameplay still sounds fun, and I like that the world is more open. I guess all I'm really curious about now is how the world holds up. From the perspective of someone who felt the first game did nothing new or unique with their high-fantasy setup, how does this one compare? I really wanted to like the game, especially since I heard so much good about the writing and story and such, but man, I played like 10 hours or something and just ... ugh. Every time another redundant cliche that took itself way too seriously for what it was popped into the game, I just felt my heart sink. The game seemed to really lacked imagination there, if not conviction. Admittedly it could have improved as it went on, but I did watch videos and stuff later on trying to get more a sense of the whole package, and it never came together for me. I also found the "dark" tone of the game super artificial, like it was trying to be edgy without actually containing anything terribly interesting or controversial or even violent. I get the sense they kind of dumped that superficiality as they went and that Inquisition doesn't suffer from that, but any confirmation from you guys on all this would interest me. I'd watch reviews, but I went into DA:O after checking out reviews and thinking it would be something I'd love (despite the fact that the ad campaign seriously turned me off), so I'm leery here.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #73 on: Sunday, July 05, 2015, 03:23:45 PM »
With 4GB VRAM GTX 960 - I'm able to throw Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC) at 1080p at max in the roughest area that I have run into in this game - i.e. the inside of Skyhold w/ all the fire, post-processing w/ lots of people in there and whatnot going on. Bouncing around 40-60 frames here a bit. Locking it down to 50 frames w/ EVGA Precision X 15 is the sweet spot for me.

I could barely push over 25-30 frames inside w/ the 560 Ti w/ some stuff on High + Medium in this area. At these same settings w/ the 960, 60 frames no freaking problem.

Beautiful.

Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #74 on: Monday, July 06, 2015, 07:40:53 AM »
I don't know about others, but I really didn't like the first game, which is why I haven't played this one. I know I've mentioned my distaste for the first game's (what I felt was) offensively generic fantasy before, and I only say it here to indicate why I haven't played this one. I've heard lots of great things about it, actually almost universally positive things, but everyone seemed to kind of hate the 2nd, at least as far as people I know that played it, so that pretty much sunk any hope I had of getting into the series. I just never even took another look at it after that first one, really, figured it wasn't for me. Do you need to play the first two to appreciate Inquisition, or is it sort of its own thing? I really liked the combat system and stuff in the first game. Mechanically I felt like it was super fun; the world and the writing were what turned me off. If they managed to improve those things, I could potentially be interested. I mean I understand you guys were fans of the first game, so maybe you can't really tell me whether or not it's changed enough for me to give it a try, but I'm still curious to hear how you think this one compares to the previous 2. Which ... hell, I suppose I could review the thread, you've probably been talking about it, and I'm sure I missed most of the conversation.

EDIT - Well, the gameplay still sounds fun, and I like that the world is more open. I guess all I'm really curious about now is how the world holds up. From the perspective of someone who felt the first game did nothing new or unique with their high-fantasy setup, how does this one compare? I really wanted to like the game, especially since I heard so much good about the writing and story and such, but man, I played like 10 hours or something and just ... ugh. Every time another redundant cliche that took itself way too seriously for what it was popped into the game, I just felt my heart sink. The game seemed to really lacked imagination there, if not conviction. Admittedly it could have improved as it went on, but I did watch videos and stuff later on trying to get more a sense of the whole package, and it never came together for me. I also found the "dark" tone of the game super artificial, like it was trying to be edgy without actually containing anything terribly interesting or controversial or even violent. I get the sense they kind of dumped that superficiality as they went and that Inquisition doesn't suffer from that, but any confirmation from you guys on all this would interest me. I'd watch reviews, but I went into DA:O after checking out reviews and thinking it would be something I'd love (despite the fact that the ad campaign seriously turned me off), so I'm leery here.

It's been a long time since I played the first game.  The second I played recently, after going through Inquisition a couple of times (and while still playing it--I haven't really put down the 3rd game since I started it).  The one caveat I have for you is that the lore and world are still pretty much the same.  If you didn't like it the first time around, chances are you won't like it now.

There is a vast open world.  It's not a single continuous world as in Skyrim, but varied large maps.  That allows each area to have its own unique look and feel.  Once everything is loaded, you can free-roam without load screens or other immersion breakers.  The characters in the world are detailed and your companions each have a substantive story, which you can explore via dialog.  The more you talk to them, the more to do in relation to them opens up.  Voice acting ranges from competent to stellar, and every single line of dialog is spoken.  I have nothing but praise for Bioware on this front.

The combat has been simplified from previous games.  Though the tactical camera makes a return after its absence in DA2, the tactics themselves are nearly nonexistent.  After playing the 2nd game, I'm now more aware of their glaring absence.  Still, the AI is fairly competent, and companions are easily micromanaged through the tac-cam when desired.  You can also play as any member of your party in real time.  The combat is varied, and you choose the 8 abilities you want to map to 8 buttons from a variety of trees.  There are also many passives to take advantage of, and some synergies between them to discover.  You can find or craft ever-improving gear.  These apply to you and to all companions.  This player-character development is much of the appeal of the game for me.

The environments, creatures and characters are much better looking and more detailed than in the previous games.  A picture paints a thousand words, and there are screenies and videos out there galore, so I won't try to describe them.  The new engine pays off handsomely, even if it introduces a few rough edges.  For example, the following behavior of the party is wonky at best, irritatingly stupid at worst.

The story is strong, though it loses some steam mid-game.  Perhaps losing focus is a better description.  The world opens up, and there's some confusion about how to proceed, with quite a bit of side content that is not central to the story..  This doesn't bother me, since I like getting lost in a huge detailed world.  But there has been some criticism from more story-focused DA fans.

You can choose from 4 races, and 3 classes each--except for dwarves, who can't be mages.  Each of those classes will be further divided into 3 specializations (after a certain point in the game).  The 9 possible companions showcase these 9 class possibilities.

Anyway, I hope that gives you some idea.  But don't bother if you don't have the time.  This is a game which will take a couple of dozen hours to really get started.  It's downright dangerous if you have other important demands on your time.  :)

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #75 on: Monday, July 06, 2015, 10:19:39 AM »
That is actually kind of a danger, but one I'm always willing to risk if the game is good enough. But if the world itself is the same level of generic fantasy, I don't know that I'd be able to stomach it. I mean I love fantasy, and tropes don't bother me ... I don't know what it was exactly about DA:O I couldn't take. Just this sense of the unimaginative and that there weren't going to be any surprises, I guess? With this one, I'd probably have to really try it out or watch an extended series of videos to get a sense of that. Maybe I'll try to do that at some point. I mean if you've gone through this many playthroughs, there has to be something special here. Though honestly, I should probably just shake it off and try to get back to finishing up some of the Witcher games. Either way, you've put this somewhat on my radar.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #76 on: Monday, July 06, 2015, 12:36:17 PM »
That is actually kind of a danger, but one I'm always willing to risk if the game is good enough. But if the world itself is the same level of generic fantasy, I don't know that I'd be able to stomach it. I mean I love fantasy, and tropes don't bother me ... I don't know what it was exactly about DA:O I couldn't take.[ Just this sense of the unimaginative and that there weren't going to be any surprises, I guess?
Yep. That's exactly it w/ DAO + DAI - the plot + fantasy is pretty much typical stuff in the Main Quest.

Though, don't get me wrong - everything here is extremely well-executed.
Actually, these quests probably have the best actual missions, gameplay-wise. I used quite a bit more strategic + overhead tac-cam tactics and BioWare tactical pause in those missions.

The interesting stuff story-wise + character-wise mostly happens in the Loyalty Quests, TBH.

DA:I Final Mission Talk in below Spoilers
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Quote
With this one, I'd probably have to really try it out or watch an extended series of videos to get a sense of that. Maybe I'll try to do that at some point. I mean if you've gone through this many playthroughs, there has to be something special here. Though honestly, I should probably just shake it off and try to get back to finishing up some of the Witcher games. Either way, you've put this somewhat on my radar.
What makes DAI special is it mixed so many elements are crammed into one big variety of gameplay - and that this game doesn't fall under its own weight, of trying to do so much. What sets DAI apart from most big open-world games (like say Skyrim) is that its story + especially character development is way better than what most other open-world games offer up. You have MMO-style quests (i.e. Kill X enemies, find X areas). You have Collect-a-Thons straight out of Assassin's Creed games. You have the Loyalty Missions - where often story + character development's very important. You have the Main Missions (where these are often the most tactical, other than fighting boss-like characters + Dragons). And a lot of times in Loyalty + Main missions, you do have to make some important decision...that's going to change how the game turns out.

Though, one quest on the main mission bucks the trend of focus on tactical combat, in favor of something else...
"Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts" Spoilers
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Offline MysterD

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #78 on: Tuesday, July 14, 2015, 07:00:54 AM »
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC) is $20 at Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dragon-age-inquisition-windows/6267109.p?id=1219201810210&skuId=6267109&ref=199&loc=FKSJxY2VJAk&acampID=1&siteID=FKSJxY2VJAk-u.AbXD9NeTdKk2gh1AUkDA

With over 160+ hours pumped into this...I cannot recommend this game enough, if for some reason you're missing this.


Offline Cobra951

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Re: Dragon Age: Inquisition -> Jaws of Hakkon DLC out on XB1 + PC
« Reply #79 on: Tuesday, July 14, 2015, 08:52:04 AM »
. . .

The interesting stuff story-wise + character-wise mostly happens in the Loyalty Quests, TBH.

. . .

What makes DAI special is it mixed so many elements are crammed into one big variety of gameplay - and that this game doesn't fall under its own weight, of trying to do so much. What sets DAI apart from most big open-world games (like say Skyrim) is that its story + especially character development is way better than what most other open-world games offer up.

. . .

I should have mentioned that in my last post.  The game is extraordinary when it comes to developing the stories of the companions and other central friendly characters the PC interacts with.  After 4 playthroughs, I'm still finding entire new personal stories that are told through conversations, cutscenes, new missions (both quests and war-table) and even new areas to visit.  Some of these developments are thrilling.  They can completely change your assessment of who is who, and what is what.  Granted, I could have seen everything in probably 2 playthroughs with the help of major spoilage from walkthroughs.  But what's the fun in that?  So far I've refused to look anything up, even the locations of stuff for the weaker fetch quests that I always end up abandoning.  Spoiling this stellar game would be a crime.