OS Neutral Dragon Age III - Inquisition

[say19]

^ This

It's true that DA2 was hugely disappointing - like many fans of Origins, I gave up playing it around half way through when it was clear it was going nowhere.

Who can say, but it sounds like they heard what people said about DA2 and tried to address these issues in DA3 (they can see the stats on how many people actually finished playing DA2 compared to how many people replayed DA:O multiple times (like me heh) - I'm sure it's not pretty).

I am hoping hoping hoping that it is back to DA:O style (in both mechanics and writing). But I am definitely not going to buy it just becaue it is a Dragon Age title. Not after last time.

I haven't played DA:O for a while now so when DA3 is released, my plan is to install DA:O again with a bunch of community graphics mods and whatever and play that through again. Then I'll read some DA3 reviews and see what I think.

 

[Cougarcat]

It's getting close to release time and I don't see any indications that Frostbite has or will ever be ported to the Mac by EA themselves, at least. Look at Torchlight 2. They promised a Mac release and it's been over two years now and there's no Mac port AT ALL and probably NEVER will be one.

I don't know what's going on with the Mac version of Frostbite (they were hiring OS X programmers a while ago, if I recall correctly), but the Torchlight II mac port still looks like it's coming. It has a Mac depot in the Steam database and the devs verified it's still being worked on. I'll believe it when I see it though.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I don't know what's going on with the Mac version of Frostbite (they were hiring OS X programmers a while ago, if I recall correctly), but the Torchlight II mac port still looks like it's coming. It has a Mac depot in the Steam database and the devs verified it's still being worked on. I'll believe it when I see it though.

I just know I don't much care anymore. Most people have stopped playing it for multi-player so you wouldn't get much use of that feature even if it appeared today.

I had started playing it on my older PC (which is still faster than using VMware), but after one of the updates, it started crashing like crazy and I don't believe there's been an update since then. Someone suggested it's using too much memory for Windows XP anymore, but that's not my problem since it advertised XP compatibility. It's theirs. But they don't care and don't do anything about it, apparently as I have not seen it do an update since then). The point is I don't expect much from them. For all the hoopla about how much Diablo 3 sucked, they had Mac support from Day 1 and have fixed most of the issues that made it suck. Some of the Torchlight Devs just quit and walked out for whatever reason and all I've ever heard is excuses why they couldn't be bothered to do the Mac port they advertised from the start (Too hard? BS, IMO. I think they simply didn't see enough people to bother).

I played Torchlight I on my Mac 2.5 years ago and it was OK, but it lacked a decent story (at least Diablo II's story was 'something' whereas this game was a load of nonsense). Torchlight 2 promised a HUGE world compared to one, but it seemed to have even LESS a story to hold it together. It was just one giant treasure collecting game and most of those items were both predictable and BORING. Diablo 2 (I haven't played 3 yet) at least had cool spell items and some pretty cool RUNE pieces you could build and the challenge of beating the highest difficulty by yourself was something else (well it wasn't possible with some classes due to magic restrictions, etc. but I beat it with a Necromancer, at least where your summoned minions could overcome the limitations you yourself might have. The sorcerer was unusable at the highest level without multiplayer since she couldn't even harm most monsters any longer). I played Torighlight I on the hardest difficulty it had and it was still obscenely easy.

Meanwhile, Dragon Age Origins is still my favorite RPG of all time (the Star Wars KOTOR ones were pretty cool too, but felt smaller and more limited and KOTOR II needed the Sith Lords fix to make it feel mostly completed). I would have liked to have seen Baldur's Gate with updated graphics (not just higher resolution support), but it was not to be and at current prices, I won't even buy it since I already bought the original games and the new ones aren't much changed, IMO except to run on newer computers. If they'd cut the price in half, I'd buy them. It'd be nice to see IcewindDale I & II as well, but then I can still play ALL of them using VMWare with Windows XP or 98). Dragon Age II wasn't even close to I, but it was OK. DA III sounds like it could be as good as one, possibly, although I doubt the political crap in it will be even close to the world-wide threat faced in one, but I see why they wouldn't want to do the same story all over again. It might have made more sense to have only one more blight left so they could go bezerk with the story line and have that all happening at once mid-way through the story they have here. Even so, a blight mid-way through would be cool as a plot changing device. Not being able to use my previous characters kind of sucks, though. I hated how they dumbed down the customization in II. I don't know what to expect from III, but playing it with a joystick/pad instead of a keyboard + mouse doesn't sound as appealing for RPGs to me unless the interface is really good. OTOH, playing it on my 93" 6.1 surround home theater relaxing on a couch instead of a computer monitor plus 2.1 system does have some real appeal.

 

[cluthz]

DA2 was indeed not up to the standards of DA:O, but it was an ok game.
There are way too few RPGs made these, Skyrim and Witcher 2 was over 3 years ago now and I'm dying for a new RPG

If DA3 is better than 2, then I'm happy

 

[iKrivetko]

If DA3 is better than 2, then I'm happy

"Better than DA2" is hardly a compliment.

 

[yadmonkey]

Expectations are a bitch and DAO set a lot of them very high. DA2 didn't achieve greatness, but for me was still a lot of fun to play. Great RPGs are so rare that even a sub-par DA game is a gem in this day and age. That said, I have high hopes for DAI.

Then there's multiplayer. I was completely disinterested in ME3's multiplayer and in my prejudgement sort of annoyed that they even made it. It ended up being great, so I'm curious to see how DAI multiplayer turns out. Could make the XBO version worth getting in addition.

 

[Suture]

Really liked Origins, but DA2 was a letdown in many ways. I also refuse to install EA's client, so there's that. While I like DA, I'm avoiding this one unfortunately.

 

[skottichan]

I'll be honest, as much as I love Bioware and their games, I was so bored with DAO, the storyline was painfully generic and most of the characters were one note (Yeah, I'm looking at you Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana and Sten).

DAO was just such a friggen slog for me. I'm so glad I don't have to do another play thru to import to DAI. Being able to do the Keep to import playthrus is pretty brilliant.

I liked DA2 a lot more, story and character-wise, it was a lot more intimate and less Generic Fantasy™. Sadly, EA's rushing Bioware on it is what kept it from being a great game.

EA has been pretty hands off with DAI, and it's looking like it's going to be close to Skyrim in size. I'm really digging the representation in the game as well when it comes to the characters (and romances). I'm pretty psyched all around.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I'll be honest, as much as I love Bioware and their games, I was so bored with DAO, the storyline was painfully generic and most of the characters were one note (Yeah, I'm looking at you Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana and Sten).

DAO was just such a friggen slog for me. I'm so glad I don't have to do another play thru to import to DAI.

I can't fathom why you'd even play DA2 let alone consider DAI if you hated DAO so much. I think most people had the opposite impression. I think DAO is the best RPG I've ever played. It was perhaps not the best combat alone, but the ability to interact with (and yes sleep with) the characters was a total hoot compared to RPGs of the past that didn't let you do much more than ask how much for a room at the inn.

 

[Cougarcat]

I can't fathom why you'd even play DA2 let alone consider DAI if you hated DAO so much. I think most people had the opposite impression. I think DAO is the best RPG I've ever played. It was perhaps not the best combat alone, but the ability to interact with (and yes sleep with) the characters was a total hoot compared to RPGs of the past that didn't let you do much more than ask how much for a room at the inn.

I liked DAO, but I agree with him to some extent that the overarching plot wasn't that interesting. There's only so many times I can save the world before I don't care, especially when the enemy is generic Darkspawn. Mass effect had the same problem. This is something that DA2 fixed a bit though was lost in terrible gameplay so I'll never experience it, and I have hopes DI's plot will avoid similar pitfalls.

What makes BioWare games for me are the subplots and character interaction, although DAO wasn't as good as BG2 in that regard.

 

[skottichan]

I can't fathom why you'd even play DA2 let alone consider DAI if you hated DAO so much. I think most people had the opposite impression. I think DAO is the best RPG I've ever played. It was perhaps not the best combat alone, but the ability to interact with (and yes sleep with) the characters was a total hoot compared to RPGs of the past that didn't let you do much more than ask how much for a room at the inn.

I think you're misunderstanding me. I don't hate DAO. I just think that Bioware has made better RPGs.

DAO's biggest problem was its soulcrushingly dull antagonists. Like Mass Effect 1, the world, and the potential is amazing, but the execution is subpar. The game mechanics in DAO were spectacular, just like Bioware's D&D games and KOTOR, but the story of the Warden was generic "you must save the world" tripe.

DA2, while having an amazingly crippled mechanics and tiny reused maps, had a much more satisfying story, compelling characters and more intimate plot.

It was perhaps not the best combat alone, but the ability to interact with (and yes sleep with) the characters was a total hoot compared to RPGs of the past that didn't let you do much more than ask how much for a room at the inn.

And this is why I enjoyed DAO for what it was, but the bland overall story and some of the one note party members is what dragged the whole thing down for me.

I don't get why we're not allowed to be critical of games, and still play them. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. I can admit that DAO is a slog, just like the first Mass Effect was, but I still love the worlds and mythologies.

Also, to clarify a "slog to play through" for me, is that it's not a game I'll play 100 times over. One play through for each origin was enough for me.


Also, historically, Bioware's 3rd game of a franchise has been the best when it comes to mechanics balance. ME had far too much crap to manage, ME2 had to little, ME3 pretty much nailed it.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I don't get why we're not allowed to be critical of games, and still play them. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. I can admit that DAO is a slog, just like the first Mass Effect was, but I still love the worlds and mythologies.

I guess the difference between you and me is that I don't play games I find "boring" or to be "slogs". Why would I waste my time on games I DO NOT LIKE? Yeah, you might try them, but it sounds pretty clear you played them through anyway. I started playing The Witcher, but I HATED the game mechanics and haven't touched it since and don't plan to. If I'm bored, I'll find another game or something else to do.

And no, I don't have much current desire to play DA2 again because it was so repetitive and other than the slight differences of playing with one sibling instead of the other, there's not going to be much variation.

I did play DAO through a half dozen times, but it was to try out all the origin stories and different endings. I did not do every little quest on subsequent plays, however. I did play it through again recently but that was because I didn't have all the extra downloadable content missions and expansion pack and for $5 for everything (plus the Mac version), it was hard to resist. I probably won't play it again for some time until I can at least forget some of the sub-quests.

OTOH, I have never replayed the Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale series since I saw little point in doing so. It's been some time so I may one day play them again if the "enhanced" versions ever come down to a REASONABLE price. I'm not paying "like new" prices for a 10 year old game unless they've completely overhauled the entire look of the game and they have not. I still own those series for Windows and I can still easily play them with VMWare and my old copy of Win98 and/or WinXP. While it would be nice to play on the Mac or even a newer PC, it still looks more or less the same with support for some new resolutions and a few meaningless (to me) game changes (like extra classes). Geeze, I paid like $10 for Test Drive Unlimited within a year of its release. $10 seems more in-line with what you get, particularly given how many more sales they could make at that price. I simply won't pay $20/25 for I & II when I already own the originals and the graphics are FOURTEEN years out of date (and yes poor graphics do affect game play compared to the same game with better graphics. If I wanted to imagine a D&D world in my head, I'd play the original RPG pen & paper game where you are only really limited by your imagination. Here I'm limited by the game what I can do, so it better look and sound good.

In general, particularly for Mac versions of games, some of these games staying at $20-30 several YEARS after their initial release is obscene, particularly when the Windows version is on sale for $5. And people wonder why the Mac can't get real traction in OS X gaming. In short order for the savings in the difference in price, you could afford a copy of Windows.

 

[Cougarcat]

I guess the difference between you and me is that I don't play games I find "boring" or to be "slogs". Why would I waste my time on games I DO NOT LIKE?

You're reading too much into that word. He DOES like it--he described the game mechanics as spectacular. It's just that one area, the plot, he finds wanting. That's entirely reasonable. IMO, if I only played games with good plots...I wouldn't be playing that many games. Sometimes I have to admit that the story sucks and just enjoy the great gameplay (i.e Blizzard games.) But this is harder to do for huge RPGs, imo, due to the time investment. There has to be something in the world that captures my interest. I also found DO's plot to be dull, but the gameplay and characters still made it fun for me to play, even if I found the world to be a bit too generic fantasy (there were aspects of it that were interesting, though, like the Fade.)

In general, particularly for Mac versions of games, some of these games staying at $20-30 several YEARS after their initial release is obscene, particularly when the Windows version is on sale for $5. And people wonder why the Mac can't get real traction in OS X gaming. In short order for the savings in the difference in price, you could afford a copy of Windows.

I don't find this to be an issue anymore, especially with SteamPlay and the MAS (although I never buy games from the latter.) There are sales all the time. BG EE has already hit $5 before on steam sales, and I'll pick up Icewind Dale when it happens. But I'm only interested in it because I've never played it before. I have no interest in replaying huge RPGs because there are just too many games to play. I still have games from 2011 I have yet to play...thanks, Steam sales!

 

[Pootmatoot]

Well it's been 3 hours since release unlocking on Origin...

...and I'm having no luck so far.

I'm trying via Bootcamp on a 2013 Air - below spec obviously, but it coped with Shadow of Mordor just fine, so I'm sure it could run on minimum.

It looks like it's running quite happily and rendering quick and smooth, and I can see it when it's still in a window (ie haven't yet clicked on anything, and was on a different window while it loaded), but crashes as soon as I click it (and it auto-jumps to fullscreen),

Trying to see if I can hard-window it in a config file to not try to go fullscreen, but no luck so far, even with Bioware help on their forums. Looks like that config file is generated *after* your first save.... which I can't get to (or options) before the crash.

 

[appleii.c]

Well it's been 3 hours since release unlocking on Origin...

...and I'm having no luck so far.

I'm trying via Bootcamp on a 2013 Air - below spec obviously, but it coped with Shadow of Mordor just fine, so I'm sure it could run on minimum.

It looks like it's running quite happily and rendering quick and smooth, and I can see it when it's still in a window (ie haven't yet clicked on anything, and was on a different window while it loaded), but crashes as soon as I click it (and it auto-jumps to fullscreen),

Trying to see if I can hard-window it in a config file to not try to go fullscreen, but no luck so far, even with Bioware help on their forums. Looks like that config file is generated *after* your first save.... which I can't get to (or options) before the crash.

Image

Thanks for the update! Let us know how it runs. I'm looking forward to getting DAI. Was hoping for a Mac port but doesn't look like its going to happen anytime soon. Now I'm debating whether to get the PC version and run via bootcamp or PS version.

Anyone else have success running it on a Macbook Pro? I'm on a late 2013 retina with the 750m.

 

[VI™]

Thanks for the update! Let us know how it runs. I'm looking forward to getting DAI. Was hoping for a Mac port but doesn't look like its going to happen anytime soon. Now I'm debating whether to get the PC version and run via bootcamp or PS version.

Anyone else have success running it on a Macbook Pro? I'm on a late 2013 retina with the 750m.

I have the same computer and I'll be installing this tonight or tomorrow on Win7 via boot camp.

 

[mandoman]

I just tried a friends PS3 version of DAI for a couple of hours. I don't think I can get into it.

Toon creation was a bit disappointing. Something in the lighting makes weird reflections on the characters lips, where I just can't stand to look at my character. No matter what I tried, I couldn't make them look right. Maybe this will be better on the other ports.

Secondly, I'm not sure about the combat mechanic. It's to tactical/strategic. I know most prefer that mechanism, but I prefer skillful hack n' slash (like Skyrim). Yes, I'm one of those console players, you PC guys be nice.

Everything else seems pretty awesome though. Promising story line and incredible graphics for PS3. I bet the PC and XB1/PS4 versions will be incredible. Think I will skip for now and look elsewhere for my holiday RPG fix, and maybe try again when I can borrow my friends copy.

 

[antonis]

Do you guys know if the PC version is available on Steam and other stores, or is it Origin only ?

 

[VI™]

Do you guys know if the PC version is available on Steam and other stores, or is it Origin only ?

I bought my copy at Best Buy, but I think you may still be required to log in to Origin to get it running.

On the 750m rMBP, it was a little laggy at the base specs at 1920x1200 resolution. It took forever to install, so I only put about 5 minutes in to it. I'm going to see about tweaking it a bit. Also, I didn't realize that I'm limited to DX11 because of using Win7. I'll have to purchase Windows 8 I guess.

 

[antonis]

I bought my copy at Best Buy, but I think you may still be required to log in to Origin to get it running.

On the 750m rMBP, it was a little laggy at the base specs at 1920x1200 resolution. It took forever to install, so I only put about 5 minutes in to it. I'm going to see about tweaking it a bit. Also, I didn't realize that I'm limited to DX11 because of using Win7. I'll have to purchase Windows 8 I guess.

Ah thanks for this info. Dependencies with Origin servers might hold me back a little, not sure yet. Using W8 will it be running on DX12 ?

 

[VI™]

Ah thanks for this info. Dependencies with Origin servers might hold me back a little, not sure yet. Using W8 will it be running on DX12 ?

From what I've read. It even said that it may be pushed to Win 7.

 

[Pootmatoot]

I have a solution for anyone running on Bootcamp using an Intel dual core with internal graphics and getting the Black Screen of Death at startup!

You need this set of drivers. They aren't the ones recommended by Intel Update or by Windows update, they're a random set that's a little older.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=24329

I've been playing now for 10 hours on a 2013 Air. It runs just fine (on Low, obviously). The loading times are a little silly (but the areas are huge, so it's something you only do every few hours) and there's a problem with the specular settings (unless you select High on Mesh Quality, everyone has shiny plastic hair.... but anything other than Low can go a bit funky.... I'm sure it will be patched).

This is apparently because they don't support dualcore CPUs.... which seems insane, give that a Steam survey last year showed that's 55% of the PC gaming market... and a lot more in the ultrabook category.

But yup.... all going well! Enjoy!

 

[appleii.c]

I bought my copy at Best Buy, but I think you may still be required to log in to Origin to get it running.

On the 750m rMBP, it was a little laggy at the base specs at 1920x1200 resolution. It took forever to install, so I only put about 5 minutes in to it. I'm going to see about tweaking it a bit. Also, I didn't realize that I'm limited to DX11 because of using Win7. I'll have to purchase Windows 8 I guess.

I have a solution for anyone running on Bootcamp using an Intel dual core with internal graphics and getting the Black Screen of Death at startup!

You need this set of drivers. They aren't the ones recommended by Intel Update or by Windows update, they're a random set that's a little older.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=24329

I've been playing now for 10 hours on a 2013 Air. It runs just fine (on Low, obviously). The loading times are a little silly (but the areas are huge, so it's something you only do every few hours) and there's a problem with the specular settings (unless you select High on Mesh Quality, everyone has shiny plastic hair.... but anything other than Low can go a bit funky.... I'm sure it will be patched).

This is apparently because they don't support dualcore CPUs.... which seems insane, give that a Steam survey last year showed that's 55% of the PC gaming market... and a lot more in the ultrabook category.

But yup.... all going well! Enjoy!

Thanks for the info, guys! I really appreciate your posts. This definitely sounds encouraging! I think i'll stick with the PC version and run it via bootcamp on my 750 rMBP. Gonna go pick it up in the next couple of days as well as get WIN 8 on bootcamp installed.

VI, If you get a chance to tweak it a bit and give it some more play, i'd be curious to know how it goes. Once I get mine set up, i'll post my experience with it as well.

 

[Washac]

I stopped using bootcamp a little while ago, but how would this game fair on my setup, Mac Pro specs below, other than that I will be setting up Bootcamp on another drive under Yosemite running win 7 mainly just for this game ?

If I get the right answers I may well go for bootcamp again even though I do not have a lot of truck with EA.

Thanks.

Just a sucker for an RPG

 

[cluthz]

I stopped using bootcamp a little while ago, but how would this game fair on my setup, Mac Pro specs below, other than that I will be setting up Bootcamp on another drive under Yosemite running win 7 mainly just for this game ?

If I get the right answers I may well go for bootcamp again even though I do not have a lot of truck with EA.

Thanks.

Just a sucker for an RPG

It requires a 2GHz Intel Quad Core and recommends a 3.0Ghz Quad.
So you are ok here.
It requires 4870 and recommends 7870, so you are ok here too.

You are well above minimum reqs, but a bit below recommended, so I'd expect somewhere around Medium/high settings.

DA:I doesn't release in EU yet, so I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but you seem to be well above minimum specs.