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I really do like the whole setup for the Party Camp...sort of like the Ebon Hawk in the KotOR games.

The NPCs as a whole seem pretty well rounded and written. My favourite (so far) is Alistair and your dog; I enjoy Alistair's humour and the dog has interesting interactions with the other NPCs.

I've gotten the hang of the combat system, and now (about 10+ hours in) I'm finally getting around to figuring all the enchanting stuff and the like. The equipment levels for various armour and weapons is nice, I'm constantly completely broke because of buying new items.

As a whole though, the hours are disappearing as I get sucked in. Which I consider to be high praise for the game!

Bought the game yesterday, but have only been able to play it couple of hours with my XBox (yes, my computer can't run the game)

Started as Dwarf commoner and Fighter. The introduction part was very well made, though it gave me a impression of a being a bit too linear to my taste. Though that's minor disadvantage.

The interaction really shines on this game. Can't remember any RPG game since PS:T where one dialogue took several minutes to complete, with even interesting content. The voice acting is also very good so far, as all the texts are spoken and thus far haven't noticed that same voice has used more than once (*Cough*TES*Cough*Fallout 3*Cough*). Also, at least the game gaved me an impression that what replies you select actually really matters, as most games just tend to give tons of replies but the result is always the same.

Graphics seems very well done, though I don't but too much weight on them in terms of rating games. But, nice graphics is always a plus if the rest of the content doesn't suffer from it. And in DAO the content doesn't.

Controls seems okay to me, though the scrolling of your party members does at times make your head to ache. Couple of times my party member died because he was grouped by several enemies at the same time, and I wasn't able to switch to him fast enough for healing. I didn't have any problems with controls being too sensitive. Though at times targeting is a bit difficult, as quite often I end up starting conversation with my party member when I was trying to loot the corpse on the ground. Not sure if the same problem exists in PC version, but XBox version does have that problem.

A small gripe also comes from the small MMO feeling. The character generation and leveling up doesn't feel to give you much options, and the skills can be compared more to talents in WoW than actual skills in RPGs. Can't say how useful different skills are, as I have only played so little, but hopefully the skill system end up being better when I get more comfortable with it.

And now, back to DOA

This game is VERY addictive. Like Kipi said, the dialog is actually quite lengthy and interesting. The interaction between group members is often times hilarious, not to mention some little things like (spoiler):

Spoiler

the mabari marking a landmark as his territory and gaining a combat bonus while in the area

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So far I am pleased. The game is certainly interactive in combat as well, whether you're microing or choosing a strategic location to handle your fights. I did notice that certain specializations are easily found, though I'm not sure if they are an alternative to having someone teach it to you or perform a quest to earn it. As far as synergy goes, the Shapeshifter goes the worst with all the mages since he/she can't even sustain the spells while in a different form. Don't get me wrong, I like the class, but it looks like a less flexible version of the Arcane Warrior, who, unlike the Shapeshifter, can actually use spells AND fight at the same time.

Some characters actually DO take notice when you try to loot chests, or so I've found out. Once I got off with a warning and when I attempted again, was met with hostile comments, though no actual combat. Some of the scenery, or rather combat introductions are rather impressive (spoiler):

Spoiler

such as the campsite in the forest really being the feasting grounds of a shade

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Crenshinibon wrote:Some characters actually DO take notice when you try to loot chests, or so I've found out. Once I got off with a warning and when I attempted again, was met with hostile comments, though no actual combat.

Glad to hear someone found that--because it's not making any sense to me that my mage can steal stuff from rooms right in front of their occupants. But surely, if you were warned, that warning means nothing if it isn't followed up after you loot a chest? I think the only game I've encountered that made "if it isn't nailed down, grab it" a moral negative was Ultima VIIa. A shame the developers couldn't find a way of creating simple roleplayed mechanisms to deal with this in DA:O, though that may have to do with the kiddies not wanting their fun spoiled.

I still wasn't able to take the contents of the chest, but this person said that she would be telling the one in charge of this, so I have to assume that I might be met with hostility later, or will lose out on some quests or dialog options.

Crenshinibon wrote:I still wasn't able to take the contents of the chest, but this person said that she would be telling the one in charge of this, so I have to assume that I might be met with hostility later, or will lose out on some quests or dialog options.

That's possible, as the manual hints that some choices you make may affect even after long period of time. So you actually may never know if you lost or gained something by doing that.

Spoiler bellow

Spoiler

For example, I first thought it was only bad implementation that in Dwarf Commoner origin when you talk the servant lady who is washing clothes, and end the conversation with something intimating (sorry, can't remember what the reply was), she says she is going to tell the authorities about you, but nothing ever happened. Now I think it may affect something in later part of the game.

If that's true, then Bioware earns praises.

From what I heard, your origin story eventually catches up with you, so I'm not sure. Spoiler:

Spoiler

I know that you have to return to visit all origin areas eventually, so it's possible that when you visit yours, the effects of the choices you made will be seen.

So far, enjoying the game, dialogue choices are interesting....
having fun watching the differences in gameplay with mine(rogue human) vs the son-inlaws(elf mage)
got a little cocky...bragged to the boy about beating the first big boss in the tower with no problem, (he had problems..LOL), then next encounter I had, my party get taken out by some bandits...son-in-law thought that was karma..:laugh:

Crenshinibon wrote:From what I heard, your origin story eventually catches up with you, so I'm not sure.

I fully expect, from the entirely predictable mage origin story, that your PC will run again into your old friend/antagonist at some future point, where he'll be much, much more dangerous. We'll see.

Kipi wrote:Bought the game yesterday, but have only been able to play it couple of hours with my XBox (yes, my computer can't run the game)

Controls seems okay to me, though the scrolling of your party members does at times make your head to ache. Couple of times my party member died because he was grouped by several enemies at the same time, and I wasn't able to switch to him fast enough for healing.

I have discovered that if you hit Left Trigger and go to the Radial menu, you can toggle to a character while the game is paused. The bottom-most icon on the Menu is the Quick Heal, and this way you aren't stuck scrolling down the line when a character is about to eat it.

Aqua-chan wrote:I have discovered that if you hit Left Trigger and go to the Radial menu, you can toggle to a character while the game is paused. The bottom-most icon on the Menu is the Quick Heal, and this way you aren't stuck scrolling down the line when a character is about to eat it.

Thanx, that will ease playing quite much.

Have played some more, and got totally hooked. No boring moments, always something to do, and still I find and learn things, options and possibilities (tactics, char development, etc.) that I didn't know to exists before.

It's going to be a nice weekend...

Kipi wrote:It's going to be a nice weekend...

My daughter is already tired of me in one room playing my rogue and her husband in the other room playing an elven mage....both of us yelling down the hall at each other, " hey, guess what I just did, ...come look at this, etc..."
both of us off work this weekend.....guess she'll have to wear earplugs....:laugh:

Late to the party.. but:

I"m playing the Mage origin story (..though haven't progressed far), and for those who are also playing this:

..doesn't this "feel" like *Avencast*?

Of course the scope, map variations, in-game characters, etc. are all far more grand, but..

The interface, movement, spell-tree system, tutorial-like markers - are all remarkably similar. In some respects however, NOT as well done.

For instance the WASD movement doesn't have an intuitive feel, and the movement of the character is more "abrupt" and overall quite a bit less maneuverable. In particular the mouse doesn't work in conjunction with the keyboard, it's more of a poorly implemented "either mouse OR keyboard" system. I can't imagine how this works for fighter-types, but I suspect it isn't good. (..presumably it's better for consoles in this respect, perhaps closer to Jade Empire, which was just "OK" IMO.)

The Spell-tree system is like Avencast, and the various disciplines exceedingly similar to Spellforce (..though not dependent on finding spells).

I'm also pretty sure the graphics engine was created along-side Jade Empire, and yet there are some aspects of Jade Empire that were a little better - in particular some of the ground textures are relatively poor 2d "tiles" cobbles, stone block, and even dirt pathways look cheap, though they are interspersed with better varying terrain (..though note that Jade Empire *also* had some similar problems with textures). Distance views are similarly excellent with both games.

On the "plus-side" here, IF your system can handle Jade Empire then I think it's likely that it can handle this game.

..and yes, I've noted other aspects like the lack of day/night, etc.. that makes the game a little less compelling as well.

As far as story-line, plot, and characters.. Some good and some bad.

The stunningly obvious interracial conflict rip from the Witcher:

I haven't found it to be either as oppressive or as compelling as the Witcher - it's more like an "add-on". If you are interested in it presumably your interactions will have some bearing, but it isn't central to the game. You can simply "avoid" certain dialog choices, rather than constant pressure of being "sucked into" a conflict.

On the other hand the Templar/Mage thing is "original enough" AND is central to the story. It's oppressive enough, and yet has justifications for that oppression. IMO it is fairly compelling.

The various "named" characters (and there are many), are often generic, BUT they all seem to have their own personality - with dialog representative of their personality and background. Kudos here!


..well anyway - just some cursory opinions.

Welcome to the party.