Topic: Dragon Age: Origins -> Update: DAO Ultimate joins GOG

[MysterD]

DAO PC = $34.99 on Amazon + free saver shipping currently.

[iPPi]

I've installed it along with the Blood Dragon Armor and The Stone Prisoner DLC add-ons.  I'll probably finally start playing tomorrow though because I didn't get time to actually start the game.

Before I start though, what is your opinion about the Warden's Keep add-on?  From what I've been reading it's essentially $7 for some extra storage space, which seems kind of steep.  I don't think I'll buy it unless I hear something better about it.

[Pugnate]

I am halfway through it and probably not worth the $7. I shouldn't have bought it, but at this point I am going to be buying anything DA:O related. Definitely overpriced though.

A few months ago I read some DA:O interview with Ray Ray Muzyka (founder of Bioware), and the interviewer asked something like, "Do you get all the fuss PC gamers make over DLC and whether it is worth the price? We certainly don't."

That irritated the hell out of me. It was some prominent website, and it just fucking irritates me how compassionate these so called journalists try to be. I mean I understand their livelihood depends on their relationship with developers, but they push it to a nauseating level. I sometimes wonder how they get the time to write with all the handjobs they are giving these guys.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

Tell us what character you roll when you do. You can add us to the social network thingee from Bioware.

[MysterD]

I am halfway through it and probably not worth the $7. I shouldn't have bought it, but at this point I am going to be buying anything DA:O related. Definitely overpriced though.

That's what I figured - bleh @ DLC not priced accordingly.

[iPPi]

We'll see.  If I end up really, really liking the game I'll probably buy it (like I would for AC2's DLC, for example).  Anyway, I plan on rolling an Elven Mage.  I will let you know the character's name and the social network thing once I've started.

[Quemaqua]

Warden's Keep is an absolute ripoff, and I wouldn't use it.  It's totally broken.  A huge number of people have basically had all their items lost that were in storage due to it breaking, and a lot of people can't even get it to work in the first place.  I could never even get it to run. Quest guy is supposed to run off and go somewhere and add a map marker, and he never does.  And don't be fooled into thinking that if it's working it must be okay... people have used it for tens of hours and then had it break for seemingly no reason.  I read two accounts of people who lost items so important to them they just quit the game entirely.  And no, they haven't fixed it yet, as far as I know.

[MysterD]

Warden's Keep is an absolute ripoff, and I wouldn't use it.  It's totally broken.  A huge number of people have basically had all their items lost that were in storage due to it breaking, and a lot of people can't even get it to work in the first place.  I could never even get it to run. Quest guy is supposed to run off and go somewhere and add a map marker, and he never does.  And don't be fooled into thinking that if it's working it must be okay... people have used it for tens of hours and then had it break for seemingly no reason.  I read two accounts of people who lost items so important to them they just quit the game entirely.  And no, they haven't fixed it yet, as far as I know.

That's ridiculous, Que - they really need to get the bugs and file integrity down-path - a lot of these companies been messing up DLC upon released; i.e. Bethesda w/ FO3 DLC and Bioware w/ their DLC. What are they doing? Do they have one team finish the Version 1.00 and that team set aside running Beta 0.70 and they team complete the DLC on the Beta .70 - so that there's a chance of some file integrity gone and the DLC won't work on V 1.00??? And they forget to try to run DLC on V1.00? I mean, seriously - WTF?

Geez, just bring back the days of BIG expansion pack days!

[Pugnate]

Warden's Keep is an absolute ripoff, and I wouldn't use it.  It's totally broken.  A huge number of people have basically had all their items lost that were in storage due to it breaking, and a lot of people can't even get it to work in the first place.  I could never even get it to run. Quest guy is supposed to run off and go somewhere and add a map marker, and he never does.  And don't be fooled into thinking that if it's working it must be okay... people have used it for tens of hours and then had it break for seemingly no reason.  I read two accounts of people who lost items so important to them they just quit the game entirely.  And no, they haven't fixed it yet, as far as I know.

I think patch 1.02 fixed it?

Anyway, I am not leaving any items there in case. I'd rather have the gold... though there are some items I have grown fond of.

[MysterD]

Bioware's Greg Zeschuk talks about how the JRPG over the years has NOT evolved - in many cases, not all cases.

[gpw11]

Hahaha.  I don't know if that guy has played many of his own games.

[Pugnate]

There definitely has been some evolution, especially in games like Mass Effect. But yes, plenty of age old Bioware mechanics remain a constant and obvious part of their games.

[PyroMenace]

Hahaha.  I don't know if that guy has played many of his own games.

Yea, he's so wrong its not even funny, in fact Ive seen more done with JRPGs than Bioware games (The World Ends with You). Not to diss on Bioware and I love their games, but the statement sounds like its coming from someone that hasn't really looked into JRPGs in a long time.

[Quemaqua]

Final Fantasy XII did more to shake up the traditional formula than any of Bioware's RPGs have ever deviated from their own path.  I do think Bioware has grown and is trying new things, but they're being done in very, very small increments.  And that's not necessarily a bad thing... but yeah, that's a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black.  I could site more sources as proof, but it sounds like everybody here kind of knows the deal already.

[iPPi]

I've put about 16 hours into the game now and it's a decent game.  There are definitely some problems and limitations with playing it on the console version -- the game doesn't feel polished, and there are performance issues.  I'm a little disappointed with the side quests though -- I do hope they get better.  Combat is kind of hectic and keeping an eye on everyone's health, when it's a thin red outline of the character's portrait is kind of annoying.  I think I should be grateful that I rolled a mage because thus far none of my party members can heal.  I wish the party AI was more dynamic and capable.

The game feels surprisingly like KOTOR in just a dark fantasy world instead.  I'm hoping the plot gets better though because it's pretty boring thus far and there aren't really any surprises yet.  Knowing Bioware though I'm sure there will be.

Anyway, I'm enjoying it, but I can see why most sites are giving RPG of the Year to Demon's Souls.  They're completely different games but Demon's Souls felt like a refreshing experience.  DAO somehow feels recycled.  It plays and feels all too familiar.

[Pugnate]

Yea while the game has been said to be the best RPG of the year overall by IGN, 1UP, Gamespot etc., they have been comparing the PC version of Dragon Age to everything else. It isn't surprising that Demon's Souls is considered the best RPG this year on the PS3. While Demon's Souls was specifically designed for the PS3, Dragon Age on the consoles is a PC port.

It is a pity that the game lacks polish and there are performance issues on the consoles. It is also a pity that none of this was really reported on the gamespot review, or I wouldn't have recommended you buy it. I somehow feel a little responsible.

It is also a pity there are issues with the HUD.

There should be a tactics menu in the options. I actually found the AI in Dragon Age to be some of the best I have come across in RPGs. They react very reasonably when you consider the tons of skills at their disposal, and the multitude of situational possibilities. I really can't think of a CRPG with better AI... especially having come out of NWN and NWN2.

iPPi, next time you can, buy a lot of health potions. Then program your companion AI to chug 'em when their health is below 25 or 50% -- whatever you prefer. Aside from that, pause often.

The main storyline is pretty standard fare, and there are few surprises in your path. What is different is the companion design, how they all feel so human with their random conversations and whatnot. You can talk to them whenever you like.

The other strength of the game is of course the combat, but it is a pity that it isn't quite as good on the PS3. I hope the game improves for you buddy.

[Xessive]

I'm having a problem with the DLC now. Every time I try to load up my game it says "this game contains premium content..." etc. and it refuses to load, when I check my DLC list it says my Stone Prisoner content is "unauthorized." I just went with the regular workaround to every problem I've had with the game so far: I logged out of the Online service and voila it works now.

A lot of people seem to be experiencing this issue. There are a few threads on the forums but this one seems to be the prominent one that some of the other threads link to.

[Pugnate]

Yea this happens to me every time, but it lasts ten seconds as the DLC is verified. 

First of all don't "auto login" and always start the game offline.

When you start the game, and click "DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT" you will notice all of your DLC is in the INSTALLED CONTENT (as in bought DLC) page.

So this is where you log in.

Once you log in, you will notice that the Warden's Keep and Stone Prisoner DLC is now in the AVAILABLE CONTENT (as in available to buy DLC) page all of a sudden.

If you try to load the game at this stage, you won't be able to because the DLC is being verified. Just give it ten seconds and you will see the DLC go to the AVAILABLE CONTENT page. That's when you shouldn't have problems loading.

I hope this helps. I guess worse comes to worse, you have to play offline.

[W7RE]

I've heard people mention before that the only class that can heal is a mage. Can you make up for that with potions (without breaking the bank)? Do you need to either roll a mage or suck up to any you run into so they won't leave you?

[Quemaqua]

I have no characters that can heal and I've been doing perfectly fine.  You can create potions pretty easily and find a lot of the ingredients for them as you go.

But yeah, this is definitely not RPG of the year in any capacity for me.  As cool as it is, as much as it gets right, that honor goes to Demon's Souls.

[Pugnate]

Yea you can make up for it with potions, but really, you will have a mage in your party and you can teach them the healing spell when they level up. If you go to the mage's tower, you will find a mage who is a fantastic healer. If you are asking if it is possible to play the game with four brawlers, then yes it should be, but I think you'd be missing out. If you feel the game's difficult compels you to be a mage, then that isn't accurate as you can recruit a mage really early.

But you can stock potions and set things up in the tactics menu so that whenever someone's health is below 25%, they take in a healing potion.

It is a bit disappointing that with every version of the patch, they've made the game easier, but I guess why there is a harder difficulty setting.

[Xessive]

Yea this happens to me every time, but it lasts ten seconds as the DLC is verified. 

First of all don't "auto login" and always start the game offline.

When you start the game, and click "DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT" you will notice all of your DLC is in the INSTALLED CONTENT (as in bought DLC) page.

So this is where you log in.

Once you log in, you will notice that the Warden's Keep and Stone Prisoner DLC is now in the AVAILABLE CONTENT (as in available to buy DLC) page all of a sudden.

If you try to load the game at this stage, you won't be able to because the DLC is being verified. Just give it ten seconds and you will see the DLC go to the AVAILABLE CONTENT page. That's when you shouldn't have problems loading.

I hope this helps. I guess worse comes to worse, you have to play offline.

That's what used to happen before. It just took it a bit to register. Now, it just flat-out says that my DLC is unauthorized regardless of how many times I log back in. It shows The Stone Prisoner in the purchase list now, and the one in my DLC list actually has the word "unauthorized" next to it. I logged in again and it just acts like my DLC was illegally procured.

This only started happening after update 1.02a, which was a minor bugfix for update v1.02. It's clearly a problem since it's not just happening to me. I don't really care that much about the online stuff, it's not a multiplayer game anyway.

Anyway, on to the game. I'm not content with my Elven Fighter, I'm getting bored with the lack of "cool" combat abilities and his inability pick locks, so I'm restarting. I think I'm gonna go Ranger this time.

[iPPi]

I think I might do that with the potions thing.  I just haven't yet because I've allocated all the combat slots to use abilities.  However, as each character gets stronger they get more and more abilities, which then become unused because I can't allocate enough tactics to them...

The AI is decent when you program them to use abilities and stuff, but there's a level of micromanagement to it that I don't like about it.  I'm running myself (mage), Morrigan, Leillana, and Allistair right now.  I think I might ditch Allistair and do the Stone Prisoner quest to get Shayle -- I hear she's a very formidable tank or damage dealer.

Xessive -- you will get rogues to join your group that will be able to pick locks.  Obviously you will miss a few locked boxes early on though, but you do get a rogue to join fairly early on.

[Xessive]

Xessive -- you will get rogues to join your group that will be able to pick locks.  Obviously you will miss a few locked boxes early on though, but you do get a rogue to join fairly early on.

Well, Leliana is the only rogue so far and I was able to get her to join me as soon as I made it to Lothering. The only other rogue/assassin is Zevran, who may join you later. I use Leliana to pick locks occasionally but since I have my party members level up automatically she had focused on things other than lock-picking, since she's more of a bard. I set to manual level-ups later but it's a while before I get a skill point to invest in lock-picking.

Either way, I was in the mood for a change.

[ScaryTooth]

I started playing DA today. I'm enjoying it. I made a human mage. Haven't got to do much yet though. Just got through the opening stuff.

[MysterD]

So, I redeemed my codes and all for Stone Prisoner and Dragon Armor DLC. So, yeah - since the game does it all basically for you, does anybody know where these un-extracted files for Stone Prisoner and Dragon Armor DLC are located at? I'm guessing it might be a ZIP file? Or does DAO destroy the compressed file once it completely installs the DLC?

[Pugnate]

As long as you long in with your profile you can redownload those if need be.

[iPPi]

For a game that does have its problems (interface, performance, etc), this game is quite a bit of fun.  I'm enjoying it, and it is surprising that I've managed to put in 18 hours into it already, having only started a few days ago.

[gpw11]

I've put about 16 hours into the game now and it's a decent game.  There are definitely some problems and limitations with playing it on the console version -- the game doesn't feel polished, and there are performance issues.  I'm a little disappointed with the side quests though -- I do hope they get better. 

Bioware games have the shittiest side quests. There's usually a ton of them but they're generally all the same and boring as hell.

[MysterD]

As long as you long in with your profile you can redownload those if need be.

Yeah, I knew that much.
But, I really don't wanna DL them again, if say down the line I put this game on a newer PC and all - whenever I get a newer PC.

I would like to take the uncompressed files RAR/ZIP/or whatever format these DLC files actually are if the PC doesn't pull an Impulse and basically destroy them after a DL and does the extraction - i.e. Stone Prisoner was around 530 MB, when I was watching it download last nite - and just cut them to disc so I could just install them. So, did the game save the uncompressed RAR/ZIP/or whatever format file somewhere on the hard drive and keep it?

I mean, hell - you can DL the Toolset separately as a ZIP - why can't I do that w/ the DLC?

Oh, I find it kinda silly that you have until April 30th, 2010 to redeem your code to a Bioware profile. Great, so those who don't buy this before April 30th, 2010 are screwed out of DLC. That's crap. These should be redeemable as long as EA/Bioware's in business.

[gpw11]

So, um...is there like a way to toggle the labelling that happens when you hold down the Tab key? 'cause it's a bitch to constantly hold down and I feel like I'm missing a lot of stuff if I don't have it down constantly.

[MysterD]

So, um...is there like a way to toggle the labelling that happens when you hold down the Tab key? 'cause it's a bitch to constantly hold down and I feel like I'm missing a lot of stuff if I don't have it down constantly.

Sadly, no. Geez, I wish there was such an option, as well. Maybe we both should bitch enuff on Bioware's boards, they'll add such an option. Though, they might sell it as DLC.

You know, I liked in The Witcher, there's a toggle option to toggle the labels on and off to see every important character and important object you can interact with. It will not be highlight a color, but b/c the label's floating over the object, you know you can interact w/ it.

[ScaryTooth]

So, I've been playing for a little bit, and I just got past the first tower. Had all kinds of trouble killing the Ogre. I made a mage. But I really don't feel powerful at all. But I really don't want to start over. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'm putting my points in willpower, magic, and constitution. But I cast about 6 spells and I'm out of mana. I can't heal worth a shit, and I do crappy damage. It's hard for me and 3 other party members to kill 4 bandits. It's kind of pissing me off. I've tried different tactics, but I think I'm just missing something.

Mostly, to kill a few guys. My other party members die, and then I run out of mana. So I run away to a safe spot, and wait for my health and mana to slowly fill back up, then I can take on one guy. And then I run away again...Have to be missing something right?

[ScaryTooth]

Okay. So having 4 party members makes a big difference. After getting, Sten. The game seems to be leveling out. We'll see. I've completed 4 quests since I got him without much trouble.

[MysterD]

So, I've been playing for a little bit, and I just got past the first tower. Had all kinds of trouble killing the Ogre.

I made it to the Ogre - dude been beating the hell out of me for the last hour or so...
Came real close a few times - but "Real close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

[ScaryTooth]

After everyone died. I kited him around the room for about 10 minutes, waiting for my mana to fill up just enough to hit him with winters grasp. Finally got him.

[ScaryTooth]

how many characters can you pick up in the game and have at you disposal? So far I have 5.

[Pugnate]

5? Including yourself you have four... not counting the creatures you can summon. You can have tons to choose from, and they will reside at your party camp.

Try to update the game to the latest version, and it will get a bit easier.

Mages are quite weak early on, but later become easily the most powerful. I wouldn't spend much on constitution for the mage... You keep the mage at the back covered by the two tanks (Alistar and Sten).

If you have the stone prisoner DLC, I'd go there first. The NPC you unlock there is the best tank in the game, and can easily take the most damage.

So right, keep your mage and your ranged attacker (the bard chick) at the back and the two tanks upfront.

With your mage, the magic points determine the spell power and the willpower affects the mana level.

With Alistar concentrate on filling the sword and shield skill points, and invest in dexterity, and strength... and some in constitution. Make sure you give him a one-handed weapon and a shield of course.

With Sten, concentrate on the two handed sword skill and invest in strength and some constitution. Give him a big sword two handed weapon which blocks out the shield slot.

If you do the stone prisoner DLC, the NPC there can take tons of damage. Just concentrate on his constitution and strength.

I wouldn't auto level the other characters. To me, it is all part of the fun.


edit:

Another piece of advise I have is that you give each character an alternative ranged weapon. You can switch weapons with a single hotkey.

Later when your mage is casting blizzard spells and firestorm spells, that can also hurt your party, you can have them all switch to range so they hold back, while you cast a big spell like earthquake, blizzard or firestorm.

Aside from the stone prisoner, another great NPC is a mage you get from the mage's tower quest. That is EASILY the best healer in the game, and she really makes the game significantly easier.

[iPPi]

I haven't had any difficulties with combat except for Kolgrim and the High Dragon.  Kolgrim took several tries to set up and execute appropriately because of positioning issues and because Kolgrim hits like a truck.  The High Dragon... luckily is an optional fight and I have decided to skip it for now and come back to it when I am better equipped, as by the time I arrived at the point to summon it I had very few healing potions left, and my mage is really a backup healer (I'm running Alistair (tank), Shale (dps), Leliana (ranged physical dps), me (mage ranged magic dps + heal)).  I'm considering swapping out Alistair and getting Shale to tank and bringing in either Sten, or the healer from the mage tower, which I have not acquired yet.

[Pugnate]

In terms of difficulty, I think the major difference is that they are playing on the PC.

[MysterD]

I got by the Ogre earlier - yay!

A lot of running around and using my dog as a meat shield helped, as my Rogue and Alistair pummeled him w/ their skills. Not an easy battle, but I survived...barely.

Made my way to The Chantry w/ Morrigan. Took out some Highwaymen on the way, too.

I'm really enjoying this game. Some 6 1/2 hours in or so...