Dragon Age Character Creator

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ZzZGuy

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2006
1,855
0
0
Originally posted by: nanobreath
Screw graphics. Screw cinematics. Same with animations, voice etc etc etc. Give me damn good gameplay, with a believable story, or a damn good story with acceptable, proven gameplay. You can give me sprites for all I care, I just want a good game. Now, I don't know if Dragon Age has any of this, full reviews aren't out yet. I don't see why other people are salivating over it yet, but at the same time it's hardly a dissapointment...yet.

I'm salivating over it because of the 20 minute gameplay footage with commentary posted in another thread and remember playing such games as Icewind Dale and other ones too long ago to remember the names of. I also very much like the voice acting and the graphics (gameplay graphics, the game engine cut scenes do look a bit crappy though). The game looks to be what I want thus far.


Back on topic, I did find the character creator rather limiting. It's mostly the degree of changes the sliders allow and too few presets such as eye brows, tattoos and hair. With regards to the comments of overt racism with the lack of different races (IRL humans), all I will say is it's political correctness BS when you really think about it. Think about where and what time this game represents in the real world and what groups of people lived there.
 
Oct 27, 2007
17,009
5
0
Originally posted by: nanobreath
Screw graphics. Screw cinematics. Same with animations, voice etc etc etc. Give me damn good gameplay, with a believable story, or a damn good story with acceptable, proven gameplay. You can give me sprites for all I care, I just want a good game. Now, I don't know if Dragon Age has any of this, full reviews aren't out yet. I don't see why other people are salivating over it yet, but at the same time it's hardly a dissapointment...yet.

Mass Effect had an amazing story, great gameplay and state of the art graphics. I guess I've come to expect more from Bioware.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Penny Arcade has a comic and comment about this CC.
Originally posted by: Tycho
I'm in a position to know, so hear me out: in your enthusiasm to begin playing a game in development so long that it became a kind of myth, don't leave the creator until you are absolutely overjoyed with your output. I mean it. Really look at what you've done, then go away for a little while, and then come back and look at it again. I made a dude that seemed alright, and then leapt in with both feet, but by the fifty hour point I was getting into fights just to watch him die. His mouth is plaintive and his eyebrows are hoisted in a kind of perpetual surprise that makes every dialogue with seem like he just woke up.
 

Krakn3Dfx

Platinum Member
Sep 29, 2000
2,969
1
81
Overall, this is disappointing. I hope the full game reflects more polished graphics, but so far I've been underwhelmed by videos of the game I've seen and this. It's a far cry from how detailed and visually appealing Mass Effect is IMO.
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Originally posted by: nanobreath
Screw graphics. Screw cinematics. Same with animations, voice etc etc etc. Give me damn good gameplay, with a believable story, or a damn good story with acceptable, proven gameplay. You can give me sprites for all I care, I just want a good game. Now, I don't know if Dragon Age has any of this, full reviews aren't out yet. I don't see why other people are salivating over it yet, but at the same time it's hardly a dissapointment...yet.

Mass Effect had an amazing story, great gameplay and state of the art graphics. I guess I've come to expect more from Bioware.

The story was derivative, the gameplay was clunky, but the graphics were pretty decent once I learned you could turned that damn grain filter off.

Mass Effect isn't the holy grail of gaming. It is actually one of my least favorite Bioware games.
 

QuantumPion

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
6,010
1
76
Originally posted by: Dumac
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Originally posted by: nanobreath
Screw graphics. Screw cinematics. Same with animations, voice etc etc etc. Give me damn good gameplay, with a believable story, or a damn good story with acceptable, proven gameplay. You can give me sprites for all I care, I just want a good game. Now, I don't know if Dragon Age has any of this, full reviews aren't out yet. I don't see why other people are salivating over it yet, but at the same time it's hardly a dissapointment...yet.

Mass Effect had an amazing story, great gameplay and state of the art graphics. I guess I've come to expect more from Bioware.

The story was derivative, the gameplay was clunky, but the graphics were pretty decent once I learned you could turned that damn grain filter off.

Mass Effect isn't the holy grail of gaming. It is actually one of my least favorite Bioware games.

Yeah I found mass effect to be highly over rated. I don't care how good the story or dialogue is, if the gameplay itself is total crap then what's the point, might as well just read a book.
 

atran5e

Golden Member
Sep 13, 2008
1,292
0
71
The graphics won't be the game's strong point, people forget this game been in production since like 2002
Played BG2 9 times in 10 years and each time, it felt nostalgic with or without mods.
Wonder how this will end up in a few years from now, with a solid toolset DAO could be around for quite a while.



 

flashbacck

Golden Member
Aug 3, 2001
1,921
0
76

I think the character creator changed my windows fonts!
I could swear when I clicked on the button to go the the bioware site, it minimized and all my windows fonts were different! Did it do this to anyone else?

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/flashbacck/windowsfont.png

(look at the date modified column)

edit: ok, it looks like it just changed my vista color scheme . I don't know why in the world the character creator would be doing that. How annoying.

The font in my firefox are still messed up too. *sigh*
 

BrownShoes

Golden Member
Dec 28, 2008
1,055
0
0
To me, Dragon Age looks like the type of old school RPG that I used to enjoy and love.
Saying that, the graphics do look like poo.
 

StinkyPinky

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2002
6,954
1,264
126
Gee, some of you guys are ripping on the game because of the graphics? Based from trailers and a character creator I might add.

Wtf? Are you guys 10 years old?

Who cares about the graphics. Bioware make the best role playing games in my view. I'm happy to put up with dated graphics if the gameplay is awesome.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Gee, some of you guys are ripping on the game because of the graphics? Based from trailers and a character creator I might add.

Wtf? Are you guys 10 years old?

Who cares about the graphics. Bioware make the best role playing games in my view. I'm happy to put up with dated graphics if the gameplay is awesome.

QFMFT.

Graphic whores please go back to Crysis and stay there. Dragon Age is a classic RPG that caters to those who value game play and story over graphics.
 

ja1484

Platinum Member
Dec 31, 2007
2,438
2
0
Originally posted by: Red Storm
QFMFT.

Graphic whores please go back to Crysis and stay there. Dragon Age is a classic RPG that caters to those who value game play and story over graphics.


I'm a story guy, and I ain't sold on that either.

Quick Jim! Get the Grey Wardens to Gather The Nations before the Darkspawn Blight overcomes humanity!

Sounds about like every other fantasy based WRPG ever made.

Once again, I think if this succeeds it does so on the ability of BioWare to create memorable character interactions.
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
Originally posted by: ja1484
Once again, I think if this succeeds it does so on the ability of BioWare to create memorable character interactions.

That pretty much describes every BioWare game, so what are you so riled up about?
 

alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
6,380
448
126
I've noticed there's a lot of guys in the 30s-40s with a lot of pent up rage that get really defensive about D:AO because they haven't been catered to by their favorite developer (Bioware) by nearly a decade because the company decided to make money by moving to the consoles. Everyone who isn't hardcore like them are proletarians who love Crysis and/or Bethesda and/or casual gaming.
 

ja1484

Platinum Member
Dec 31, 2007
2,438
2
0
Originally posted by: Dumac
Originally posted by: ja1484
Once again, I think if this succeeds it does so on the ability of BioWare to create memorable character interactions.

That pretty much describes every BioWare game, so what are you so riled up about?

Who's riled up?

Saying a game looks derivative is not "riled up". It's speaking one's mind.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,201
214
106
Originally posted by: Astrallite
I've noticed there's a lot of guys in the 30s-40s with a lot of pent up rage that get really defensive about D:AO because they haven't been catered to by their favorite developer (Bioware) by nearly a decade because the company decided to make money by moving to the consoles. Everyone who isn't hardcore like them are proletarians who love Crysis and/or Bethesda and/or casual gaming.

Voila, well said.

Also, people saying "screw graphics, animations", etc... well, those are part of the so called game-play. It always makes me laugh when I read things like that, "give me good game-play, screw the rest!", sheesh... what's the "rest" exactly is you can play the game without the good "graphics" and "animations" and "music" and whatever else you can throw at the waste basket, or better asked, what exactly for those persons IS "game-play"? Item names? Voice acting? And what else? Textures? Nah that'd be part of the graphics, sorry I forgot.

But, yeah, I realize it, "game-play" is subjective, I guess then that "game-play" for instance in a "casual" game like Fallout 3 CAN be just activating switches, or "having just game-play" in a game like Crysis CAN be as simple as browsing the in-game settings, because the "rest" is good graphics and animations and sounds and music, so obviously it's a casual game because... what... because it does NOT look like Planescape: Torment anymore? I don't get it, and quite frankly, I don't want to.
 

ja1484

Platinum Member
Dec 31, 2007
2,438
2
0
Originally posted by: Zenoth
Voila, well said.

Also, people saying "screw graphics, animations", etc... well, those are part of the so called game-play. It always makes me laugh when I read things like that, "give me good game-play, screw the rest!", sheesh... what's the "rest" exactly is you can play the game without the good "graphics" and "animations" and "music" and whatever else you can throw at the waste basket, or better asked, what exactly for those persons IS "game-play"? Item names? Voice acting? And what else? Textures? Nah that'd be part of the graphics, sorry I forgot.

But, yeah, I realize it, "game-play" is subjective, I guess then that "game-play" for instance in a "casual" game like Fallout 3 CAN be just activating switches, or "having just game-play" in a game like Crysis CAN be as simple as browsing the in-game settings, because the "rest" is good graphics and animations and sounds and music, so obviously it's a casual game because... what... because it does NOT look like Planescape: Torment anymore? I don't get it, and quite frankly, I don't want to.


You and I? We could also get along.

I remember CliffyB doing a speaking bit a few years back at something, GDC, E3 or something talking about how graphics DO matter because visuals can be used to affect the player's experience. What they see, and their reaction to it, DOES have an impact.

If you think back on your gaming history, most people can probably find de facto examples of this. One of my most enduring gaming memories was exiting your crashed ship in the original Unreal. In fact, several portions of that game are burned into my brain because of what I saw and it's unique aesthetic.

Half-Life 2 had some similar instances with character animation and physics interactions. "whoa" moments.

No doubt this post will incite a bunch of ranting as to the merits (or lack thereof) of CliffyB, the Unreal series, the Half-Life series, and a bunch of other tangential bullshit, but that just proves that people never fail to be adept at missing the point.

 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,201
214
106
Originally posted by: ja1484
Originally posted by: Zenoth
Voila, well said.

Also, people saying "screw graphics, animations", etc... well, those are part of the so called game-play. It always makes me laugh when I read things like that, "give me good game-play, screw the rest!", sheesh... what's the "rest" exactly is you can play the game without the good "graphics" and "animations" and "music" and whatever else you can throw at the waste basket, or better asked, what exactly for those persons IS "game-play"? Item names? Voice acting? And what else? Textures? Nah that'd be part of the graphics, sorry I forgot.

But, yeah, I realize it, "game-play" is subjective, I guess then that "game-play" for instance in a "casual" game like Fallout 3 CAN be just activating switches, or "having just game-play" in a game like Crysis CAN be as simple as browsing the in-game settings, because the "rest" is good graphics and animations and sounds and music, so obviously it's a casual game because... what... because it does NOT look like Planescape: Torment anymore? I don't get it, and quite frankly, I don't want to.


You and I? We could also get along.

I remember CliffyB doing a speaking bit a few years back at something, GDC, E3 or something talking about how graphics DO matter because visuals can be used to affect the player's experience. What they see, and their reaction to it, DOES have an impact.

If you think back on your gaming history, most people can probably find de facto examples of this. One of my most enduring gaming memories was exiting your crashed ship in the original Unreal. In fact, several portions of that game are burned into my brain because of what I saw and it's unique aesthetic.

Half-Life 2 had some similar instances with character animation and physics interactions. "whoa" moments.

No doubt this post will incite a bunch of ranting as to the merits (or lack thereof) of CliffyB, the Unreal series, the Half-Life series, and a bunch of other tangential bullshit, but that just proves that people never fail to be adept at missing the point.

It's always been there, the appreciation of graphics (and animations, and everything, but mostly graphics). I've been playing games since the original Mario Brothers on the NES, people in the same boat have seen all the advances of graphics technologies to this day, we lived through the wow's of the Super FX chip of the SNES, we were all amazed by the extra details given by the memory pack of the N64 and Perfect Dark, we almost universally acclaimed the evolution AND revolution that was Half-Life, we saw what FarCry, Half-Life 2 and DOOM 3 managed to do. But within all that period, within all those advances we NEVER (and yes I do speak for the majority of the gamers like me who played Mario and Duck Hunt) turned our head nor attention away from "graphics", we freaking DEMANDED it, and the better it was, the better the game was, generally speaking. I still remember going "to the Arcades" when at home I only had an SNES (for those who lived that period you will remember that Arcade games always had advanced graphics that back then seemed impossible to ever see happen at home, unless you were extremely rich) and thinking how amazing the graphics were in those games and how much I wanted a console at home capable of having games "like that", exactly due to the amazing graphics, popularity of "good graphics" is NOTHING new.

Now, of course there ARE exceptions, there's always exceptions, but that's probably also subjective I guess. I mean, look, I DO still play the original Mario Brothers on a used NES I bought from eBay a few years ago, I don't play it regularly, it's VERY rare, but when I do plug in my NES and play some games I don't stop playing them all of a sudden because the graphics are old, nor do I feel the urge to leave that and start up Crysis to cleanse my mind of all those obvious pixels, but I do NOT ignore the graphics for what they are either, what they are is an integral part of the game-play, it's just that simple. I mean, hey, anyone remembers the Nintendo VS. Sega war back then? What kind of arguments you guys think were on the table huh? Story lines? Sound effects? No, not at all, it WAS graphics VS. graphics and animations VS. animations debates.

And, also, there's the 2D and 3D differential to consider. A 2D game, platformers or not, just as long as it's in 2D CAN have pretty much all the "old'ish" graphics and animations you can think of and it WILL be fun as long as the "game-play is there", yes. But with a 3D game, it's a whole different story. As I mentioned earlier, and now speaking for me entirely, I for one do play many 2D games from the NES and SNES era, or new ones like World of Good for instance amongst many others, I have heaps of fun (and not just due to nostalgia, I actually play them because I feel like I want to like any others like Crysis or TF2, it really makes no difference for me, it's damn game, I play games to have fun, and not just to remember how it was when I was ten years-old). But when I TRY to play old 3D games it IS very difficult to have fun BECAUSE of the old graphics and animations and whatever else impacts on the visuals and the overall experience.

I mean ask me to play Mario All-Stars OR... I don't know... say a game like Jedi Academy, and I WILL pick up Mario All-Stars even though I AM a fan of Star Wars and science-fiction in general, why? Because of the graphics, or ELSE I WOULD play Jedi Academy if you gave me graphics and animations from a period like... say 2004 or so at the least (that's about the time period for Half-Life 2 and DOOM 3 and so on). Anyways... in the end I guess that it's all relative, right? So, whatever, those of you out there content with "old graphics" in a 2009 game, fine, maybe you ARE content with them, that's good, but PLEASE oh please don't also deny the fact (for me, it IS a fact) that graphics, good or not ARE part of game-play in ANY video game out there, you can't just say something like "well, screw graphics, give me game-play", alright, well then what if BioWare would all of a sudden and just for the heck of it give you Dragon Age with graphics from 1998? Would you still honestly be content with that? Think sharp edges and no illusions of curves anywhere you look at, think blurry textures, no physics whatsoever, and VERY blocky and awkward (by today's standards) animations, would you then STILL honestly say something like "well, at least I still have my game-play", I would be very surprised if that was the case and I would be the first one to offer you my humble and perhaps useless thumbs up.
 

GaryJohnson

Senior member
Jun 2, 2006
940
0
0
There may be some equating here of graphics to aesthetics. One can affect the other, but they are not the same thing. One can be attributed to a better game engine and the other can be attributed to a better use of the game engine.

I don't see a problem with DA's "graphics", but aesthetically speaking there are a few things that don't sit right with me. The characters in big bulky suits of armor tend to move like characters in skin-tight mocap suits and not like characters in big bulky suits of armor. The characters also look kind of oddly shiny against the very dark and scuffy environments they are placed in. And, as I'm sure other people people have noticed, some of the armor and weaponry in the game looks comically oversized while some of it looks to be appropriately proportioned.

So I think there is a lot of contrast and not a lot of subtlety in DA. Speaking as a minimalist I tend to enjoy subtlety more, and I think in games that people find aesthetically appealing you tend to see a lot better use of it.

All that being said, I don't find the aesthetics in DA to be offensivly sub-par and I am greatly looking forward to the story.
 

StinkyPinky

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2002
6,954
1,264
126
In the real world, resources are limited and time is a constraint. Sadly all too often it is gameplay/quests/plot elements that gets the cut rather than the graphics (Crysis for example). Obviously I'd rather have both, but if there's a choice I'd cut a bit of eye candy any day of the week
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
Originally posted by: ja1484
Originally posted by: Dumac
Originally posted by: ja1484
Once again, I think if this succeeds it does so on the ability of BioWare to create memorable character interactions.

That pretty much describes every BioWare game, so what are you so riled up about?

Who's riled up?

Saying a game looks derivative is not "riled up". It's speaking one's mind.

Says the man who posted 7 times in a thread about a game he doesn't like and isn't excited for.
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
Originally posted by: Zenoth
Voila, well said.

Also, people saying "screw graphics, animations", etc... well, those are part of the so called game-play. It always makes me laugh when I read things like that, "give me good game-play, screw the rest!", sheesh... what's the "rest" exactly is you can play the game without the good "graphics" and "animations" and "music" and whatever else you can throw at the waste basket, or better asked, what exactly for those persons IS "game-play"? Item names? Voice acting? And what else? Textures? Nah that'd be part of the graphics, sorry I forgot.

But, yeah, I realize it, "game-play" is subjective, I guess then that "game-play" for instance in a "casual" game like Fallout 3 CAN be just activating switches, or "having just game-play" in a game like Crysis CAN be as simple as browsing the in-game settings, because the "rest" is good graphics and animations and sounds and music, so obviously it's a casual game because... what... because it does NOT look like Planescape: Torment anymore? I don't get it, and quite frankly, I don't want to.

If you can't separate aesthetic qualities from functional qualities, then I don't know what to say to help you.

The difference in gameplay vs graphics is why I can go pick up a game from GoG and enjoy it twice as much as some new, shiny, shallow snorefest.

Of course, one would like to have it all, but more often that not, substantial things like gameplay, plot, characters, and dialogue get cut to make sure some guy's shin armor reflects light in a realistic manner.

 
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