Official Dragons Age: Origins thread

[steelcity_ballin]

Picked it up off steam today, only took about 1.5 -2 hours to download and install. I love steam. I haven't had much time to experiment with the game thus far but the game looks absolutely gorgeous. The controls are tight and precise. The camera controls they NAILED. Perfect! I haven't even had my first battle yet so maybe I'll change my mind, I doubt it. The UI seems perfectly placed, not obtrusive at all. The spoken dialogue matches with the facial animation very well. It's very very early but I am left wanting to call off work. I started the game as an elf rogue (city elf). I propose the use of spoiler tags as necessary due to how much story can be involved. I'm loving gaming on the PC again. I feel immersed already.

[Grape Flavor]

I knew this game would be good. I didn't know it would be this good. The reviews are spectacular, this is definitely on my must-buy list.

Honestly, most of the preview media for this game looked generic and cheesy, but I knew it being Bioware the game would rock in the end. Bioware just doesn't release mediocre games. If the game was sub-par they would have delayed it or cancelled it.

Have fun with Dragon Age! (I can't play it until I build my new rig )

[Kevin]

It's very very early but I am left wanting to call off work.

So true. Spent about 3 hours on it tonight but alas, it is 2 AM and am not looking forward to work tomorrow.

I started the game as an elf rogue (city elf).

Human rogue for me. I love how there are six different opening stories, depending on what character type you pick. Plenty of replay value here. Pretty slick that you can play out your character's back story. I wonder how quickly the game gets back to the same point.

I propose the use of spoiler tags as necessary due to how much story can be involved.

Heh, word. If you play as a human, be sure to get one of the people in the study to sleep with you. I think you can sleep with either, regardless of sex, but I didn't try it. Hot elf chick FTW.

So far, this game is really good. If you liked KotOR or Mass Effect, you'll love this one.

[Obsidian]

This game gets freakin IMPOSSIBLE about 10 hours in (yes I got that into it yesterday). The intros were pretty impressive but reviews are always inflated around launch day.

[Fastfreak39]

I'm close to being that far in as well and it does seem to have gotten quite difficult on the normal setting. Maybe I just haven't gotten the flow of the combat yet. Either way this game is so immersive and interesting.

[tanker27]

I third that, combat is difficult on normal. But then I started reading the manual and they want you to use the pause and go to each character and queue up an attack. I also found that a 2 melee and 2 ranged/support party is the best mix. Oh and lastly they also want you to use the combat setups for each party toon, even to the point where you develop custom ones.

While default works on your party members its not optimal.

The depth of the combat system is something I havent seen since Baldurs Gate and the original Neverwinter Nights. I am also about 10 hours in, playing a Dalish Elf Warrior, I am thinking about restarting. /shrug

None of the aforementioned is a gripe, I am in love with this game. (well sometimes conversations can drag on, but thats just to give you a full backstory)

[Scorpiuscat]

I am just over an hour into the game and I am very imrpessed. The game looks good and plays well and the narrative is outstanding.

I really am into the story so far, while I tend to get very impatient with some "cut scenes" in games, I found myself rivited with the story so far and very interested in everything NPC's have to say and speaking of NPC's. Its nice to see some very different personalities on them, every NPC has their own personanitly and voice.

Its all very impressive and since I got pre-ordered teh Collectors edition, it was nice to get all the redemtion coeds for the extra goodies.

[lethal]

Kinda offtopic, but Quad core users rejoice!

[tanker27]

Kinda offtopic, but Quad core users rejoice!

While I cant read the article at work...games site bah, damn Bluecoat & IT security, I can just guess that i7s are ruling the roost. DAO runs like butter on my i7.

[tfp]

Yep they are, HT is off unless stated for those that can't see the site.

Code: Select all

Res 1680x1050  FSAA 4x  AF 16:1
Radeon HD 5870 1G Ram was used

CPU                        Max/Min

Core7-920i @ 3.5    90/57
Core i7-860             73.5/46
Core i7-860 HT On   72.7/45
C2Q Q6600@3.6      72.3/46
Phenom II X4965BE @ 3.95 NB @ 2.5  71.3/47
Core it 750             68.8/44
Core 2 Q9650          63/40
Phenom II X4965BE  62.3/39
Phenom II X3720BE  53.0/33
Core 2 Q6600          48.8/31
C2D E8400@3.6       44/28
C2D E8400              37.1/24
Phenom II X2550BE  33.7/21
C2D E6600              28.4/18
Athlon64 X2 5000+   24/15


I'm happy I went with the Q9400 @ 3.33 the game should run very well for me on the CPU side, my 9600GT will be good enough I hope.

[lethal]

For me the most interesting bit was comparing the C2D E6600 with the C2Q Q6600. Besides having two more cores, both cpus are essentially the same. The 6600 gets 28.4 fps average vs 48.8 for the quad. OC the Q6600 to 3.6 and its only trailing the i7 cpus. A dual core cpu like the E8400 at 3.6 only gets 44 fps.

[BKA]

I'm about two hours into the game, my time has been limited. But so far I'm loving it. Best purchase I've made sine Fallout 3. Got all video settings maxed out. Playing my first character as a Elf/Warrior. I want to start up a human character story line also. Can't wait for the weekend when I'll have much more time to play.

[tanker27]

So I was thinking what builds is everyone using?

Right now my Dalish Elf Warrior is going for the dual weapon approach.

Also does anyone know if theres a way to unlearn things to get skill points back or to reallocate them? I dont think there is but it doesnt hurt asking.

[SecretMaster]

Argh argh argh I hate all of you.

My CE will probably arrive today but I still have no computer to play it on. This blows

[shaq_mobile]

720 still manages to be a complete beast for the money. thats an amazing processor. im sorry i upgraded to 955 for the 70 bucks. if they made the 720 a BE, it would be such an amazing deal. the q6600 still does great. kewl

[steelcity_ballin]

I'm playing on an e6300 and 4850 at 1680 x 1050 and it's stutter free so far. Really impressed.

[tanker27]

So as I stated in a previous post the depth of the combat system is great. I have started playing around with the Combat tactics for how your party members react to certain situations and the system is endless. Master this and any combat you encounter will be trivial.....sort of.

So starting out on the Combat Tactics screen is nothing more than a "If Then" setup (or just a visual representation of scripting). On the left you have "If XYZ" then on the right "Then do ABC". The tricky part is matching up actions to corresponding talents, spells, or actions.

So the help:

1. First an foremost load up on Healing Poultices (least powerful is fine but get a lot!). (all party members share the same inventory/backpack) You can never have too many. Making an Herbalist quickly can help.

2. Use the "If" Statement HEALTH then < 50%

3. Select USE HEALTH POULTICE: Least powerful.

4. Do this for everyone in your party.

So what this does is anytime a party members health drops below 50% they take a Poultice. In doing this you quickly realize that for every action you can have a corresponding reaction and really it makes combat easier. I am hoping to get the mage the healing ability quickly so I can set up some sort of tank and spank setup ala World of Warcraft. Its going to take some time but I can see its probably very doable!

[BKA]

I played around with the combat system little last night. It does get really deep and I like how you can set up pretty much anything.

[David]

My human mage is going Frost/Entropy.

My dwarf warrior is sword and board.

The back stories are really good. I haven't finished on the dwarf, but it's pretty interesting. In creation you have to decide if you're common or noble, so I'm guessing they're different. The mage story is quite good, and definitely skews your view on the Templar.

I haven't messed with the tactic slots much, and that has made the game fairly difficult several hours in.

How is everyone playing? Baldur's Gate isometric view or NWN style third person? I use isometric in fights, and explore mostly in third person.

[Airmantharp]

I won't go so far as to say I hate you all, but I am now really really bummed that I didn't drag my machine with me on this trip. I'm glad to see the game is living up to it's hype though; when I first heard of it, I thought that it would be an afterthought, but I had just finished the first Mass Effect and was left longing for a second! Hopefully DAO will keep me busy till it gets here .

[Grape Flavor]

I'm close to being that far in as well and it does seem to have gotten quite difficult on the normal setting. Maybe I just haven't gotten the flow of the combat yet. Either way this game is so immersive and interesting.

I think that's good that they give the player a challenge. Much as I loved KotOR, combat on the default setting was total cake.

[Grape Flavor]

Those of you taking the "rogue" option, how is it fleshed out? Is there any stealth system? No spoilers please.

I went as a stealth Character in TES4: Oblivion (recommended since that's the ideal build for the best 2 campaigns), and it was awesome. It was like RPG meets Splinter Cell. (Except certain sections which involved a hell of a lot of running backwards while shooting )

[boing]

Played it for an hour so far and I'm pretty let down by it. Perhaps my expectations were too high after just finishing Mass Effect or it just reminds me too much of the disaster that spelt Neverwinter Nights 2, which had just about as much depth as a puddle of water from a leaking toilet.

I'm not too fond of the controls which a reviewer praised as "the best combat system that has always been Bioware's trademark has been polished to perfection". The Witcher, which I still consider to be the best RPG I ever played, had a much better and more fun action-oriented combat system which suited me perfectly. In Dragons Age I get the feeling that I click once on the enemy target, then lean back in my chair and wait, wait, wait and wait until one of us dies. Then rightclick on the corpse to take its inventory before moving on to the next monster.
Maybe it's more fun playing as someone with spell-capabilities since I play as a warrior, but even the horrible NWN2 had a combat system that was more fun than this (though barely). I have to admit that I haven't had a look at the combat tactics screen yet though.

I dislike RPGs where I have to control the camera besides my own characters. The Witcher was flawed in this aspect, Mass Effect just perfect. Dragons Age takes one step back in this aspect. Another thing I miss from Mass Effect and The Witcher is hearing the main character talking, the speech-system has taken a step back from ME to what was previously used in KotOR.

Surely, the dnd-geeks will love this game, with plenty of numbers everywhere and even more text just about everywhere on the screen. There are lots and lots of tiny details all over the screen if one fancies reading alot.

Holding my hopes up the story will save this game, but right now my first impressions are telling me to uninstall and reserve the space on the harddrive for Mass Effect 2.

[Obsidian]

Played it for an hour so far and I'm pretty let down by it. Perhaps my expectations were too high after just finishing Mass Effect or it just reminds me too much of the disaster that spelt Neverwinter Nights 2, which had just about as much depth as a puddle of water from a leaking toilet.

I'm not too fond of the controls which a reviewer praised as "the best combat system that has always been Bioware's trademark has been polished to perfection". The Witcher, which I still consider to be the best RPG I ever played, had a much better and more fun action-oriented combat system which suited me perfectly. In Dragons Age I get the feeling that I click once on the enemy target, then lean back in my chair and wait, wait, wait and wait until one of us dies. Then rightclick on the corpse to take its inventory before moving on to the next monster.
Maybe it's more fun playing as someone with spell-capabilities since I play as a warrior, but even the horrible NWN2 had a combat system that was more fun than this (though barely). I have to admit that I haven't had a look at the combat tactics screen yet though.

I dislike RPGs where I have to control the camera besides my own characters. The Witcher was flawed in this aspect, Mass Effect just perfect. Dragons Age takes one step back in this aspect. Another thing I miss from Mass Effect and The Witcher is hearing the main character talking, the speech-system has taken a step back from ME to what was previously used in KotOR.

Surely, the dnd-geeks will love this game, with plenty of numbers everywhere and even more text just about everywhere on the screen. There are lots and lots of tiny details all over the screen if one fancies reading alot.

Holding my hopes up the story will save this game, but right now my first impressions are telling me to uninstall and reserve the space on the harddrive for Mass Effect 2.

You're only an hour into the game. You're pretty much judging the combat on the tutorial. I believe Mass Effect is a better game but Dragon Age is well worth your time and hard drive space.

[Airmantharp]

You're comparing this game to Mass Effect and The Witcher, two games I just played through and loved. I sure hope your impressions improve, and I'm with you on Mass Effect 2, but I will definitely be playing through Dragon Age, regardless of any small qualms I have about it .

[Hawkwing74]

I'm enjoying the game a lot, but I'm having one problem. When reforming my party and selecting new party members from the 6 that I have, I can't click on the ones in the back row, no matter what I do. There doesn't seem to be any keyboard option to select them, you have to use the mouse. I've moved my mouse all over the entire screen and I can never select them.

Knowing me, I'm probably the only one experiencing this.

Edit: just had to restart the game to fix.

[David]

It's not really comparable to Mass Effect or The Witcher except that they're all RPGs. They're all great games, but I think the play style of each is different enough that they can't be directly compared.

Dragon Age is supposed to take us back to Baldur's Gate and the heyday of good, high fantasy RPGs. It's not nearly perfect. Having to control the camera is a little cumbersome, and the isometric view is nearly useless against enemies with range. Combat Tactics is simply a hassle. Why do I have to waste skill points to make my AI smarter? I miss the 6 person party. It feels like you just can't get a well balanced group with 4 members.

Story wise, I think it's shaping up to be as good or better than previous Bioware titles.

Regardless of it's problems, Dragon Age is a fantastic game, and I'm having trouble putting it down. For me it's a "oh crap, it's already 2am." game.


And this kind of bothered me at first, but it's really about as elegant as you can get given the circumstances.

[tanker27]

So I finally got my tank and spank group setup. BTW Allistar is NOT a good tank. One would think he is but ummm no.

My set up:

Tank: Ogrin or Sten
DPS: Liliana, (my toon), Zehvron, Shale Dog, Allistar
Ranged: Moragain, liliana
Healer: Wynne

I have built each ones specs around this and it work out well. My next run through I will try making a mage that heals.

[derFunkenstein]

You guys are like, light years ahead of me. I'm just to the point that I get to name the dog. But that's OK, despite the sub-optimal framerate on the PS3 version I really enjoy it.

[Hawkwing74]

I'm tempted to reroll mage, have the rogue (to open chests), some tank and Morrigan as a 2nd mage. Mage dps is awesome and the spells are much more fun to use than another shield bash.