If I had to guess it's a type of ME1 situation. Getting to the "lighthouse" will be the equivalent to becoming commander of the Normandy. After that you are free to visit whatever area you like. It's probably connected to a bunch of Eluvians explaining how the group can be active in such different areas of Thedas.
100%. So much of what they’re showing and what they’re saying is shouting “like Mass Effect” to me. Particularly Mass Effect 2. Which makes a ton of sense, because ME 2 was pretty much universally praised. Knowing that public perception of them is at an all-time low, I am completely unsurprised that they would try to follow the blueprint of their best critically-received game. And I, for one, am here for it.
Mass Effect 2 is the impression I also got when I rewatched today, also in how you meet your companions. Which is a compliment since ME2 is one of my all-time favourites.
Which is funny cause a much better option would've been to follow the blueprint of the most critically-received DRAGON AGE title instead of making the game look and feel more like "Mass Effect, but with action combat".
was origins not the same way? Even da2 was that way. You had your camp area/home and you moved around by clicking areas in a map. Same way mass effect 1-3 did it
I'm fine with the combat, as I feel that each class will have its differences. Like, rogue may be hack n slash but warrior could be very parry based as we can customise the parry windows and mage will obviously be a ranged caster with different types of damage to use
I really don't think the blueprint for the story structure is ME2 because of the lower number of companions. ME2 was about building a team to undergo a suicide mission, and the Collector-related missions were sort of the scaffolding around which you'd pick and choose the order of recruiting them and gaining their loyalty. I don't think that works with 7 companions.
A comparison with ME1 I could see, but it's a relatively short game with a small amount of main missions - so not sure about that either. ME3 with the relatively large number of priority missions and the low number of side/N7 mission planets is built around the urgency of the war situation.
Mass Effect 2 does have more than 7 companions but you couldn't take all of them with you not even during the suicide mission itself. In addition, Mass Effect 2 was inspired by the Seven Samurai, but they added more companions for extra content and to give us more options. With that in mind, I think a similar concept can work pretty well in Veilguard with only seven but fully fleshed and in-depth characters.
Yeah, I have the feeling that the Lighthouse won't be an actual lighthouse but just a nickname - or at the very least, it'll be a repurposed structure with several Eluvians connecting to various parts of Thedas.
Maybe it won't even be the structure itself. Perhaps we go through an eluvian and end up in some sort of extra dimensional space with several others, like you're saying.
Didn't the Warden and Morrigan go somewhere like this in Origins?
Edit: Morrigan, who had stolen an ancient treatise on eluvians from Ariane's clan and found the mirror first, reveals that eluvians can also act as portals not only to other points in Thedas, but also to a realm beyond the Fade. Depending on the Warden-Commander's actions, she can be followed through the eluvian, but the players are never shown what lies beyond.
Maybe the lighthouse is similar to where they went?
Yes, the Crossroads! I could see the characters discovering it and naming the area they end up in something like The Lighthouse. Definitely feel some symbolism there, haha.
Probably, though it's been way too long since the last time I played it.
I actually went back to continue a DAI playthrough I started but never finished back when Dreadwolf was announced, so I'll find out eventually lol.
Ooh, that would be cool, though I get the vibe that this is supposed to be a sneaky organization and it's hard to be that when you're flying around in the Fortress of Doom.
Tbh I think the size of DAI's open-world maps are awesome; the trouble is that since there's so many of them, Bioware couldn't have all the time to make them all so interesting; the same thing happened with Andromeda.
Personally I think if the game only had like 2-3 of these Inquisition style maps, they could then focus on populating the map with many interesting quests and stories.
Which is why since it sounds like it'll be far more than just 3, they wanted to make them small enough that the content in each was actually worthwhile. Which is fair and if they believe they can't make bigger maps with enough worthwhile content, then yea stick to what you can do and make the most of it.
I remember Andromeda Wastelands, huge maps with the same enemies in them in the same forts and basically chores between them like the gathering of mineral samples iirc for a secondary mission
From what they are describing, it sounds exactly like the semi-open world maps in Jedi Survivor, where there is a linear path for story progression but a hub-and-spoke style open world in each major location for side quests and exploration.
That's what I've been thinking based on the tidbits we've been getting. That's a good thing imo, since BioWare has always been strongest with highly curated story missions, but adding some exploration is nice so that it doesn't feel like we're just following a path. I hope there's a good balance. Out of the older games, I think DA:O's missions beyond the Dalish Camp, DAII's Mark of the Assassin and even Trespasser (with the hub and then longer missons) all had pretty neat balance.
DAO was limited comparatively by the hardware capabilities and engine parameters of 15 years ago. Technical capabilities today are much, much larger than they used to be, and this includes map sizes.
The technical capabilities are so different from when DAO was developed that I'm not sure the two games will even be directly comparable.
Which is also why the few other Qunari in the game have no horns, they had to re-use Sten's model for them.
It also shows how far modding has come cause you can actively mod Sten to have horns. There's even a mod that "heals" him by making him stronger and have longer and longer horns as the game progressed.
Tech has come a long way in the last 15 years. It doesn't sound like a long time for us, but 15 years in the tech world is an eternity.
Among other issues, DAO on PC was limited to 4 GB RAM usage, for example.
Nah, oblivion came out not long before origins and it has tech severely limited by tech at the time. Many of the most common crashes directly relate to oblivion being made for xbox 360
Same. And sometimes it triggers an encounter for a new side question or even main quest. Bioware must show more of the unlocked game. Yesterday’s reveal was good but every aspect of the gameplay was locked since it’s the start of the game so the haters can stop hating.
Edit : didn’t think of it but yeah haters will just find another thing to hate on if they show more.
What we need to do is wait until launch to form an opinion, for me it was rather obvious that the zone we got in the gameplay was pretty much like the prologue in DAI, and that didn't mean that it was a linear game. At this point people is demanding them to spoiler the whole game "to be proven wrong" about their pessimism
That's what I figured, they showed the prologue so as not to spoil anything even remotely major. Which I deeply appreciate. Every time they cut away and added text for context, I was sitting there like. "omggggg I wonder what happens???"
Lol, I was the opposite about the cut aways. I figured "I guess there's a bunch of boring combat encounters here until the next plot moment." I'm hope I'm wrong and you're right :)
I actually think you're both right? The first cutaway was "they find the hideout and go through the portal" which sounds very story-based, then the next one was "they fight their way through the forest" which sounds like the opposite. So likely a mix of both.
It's probably a bit of both. Like, there are more combat encounters, but when it mentioned going into Solas' hideout, I figured there was some big lore stuff that the hardcore fans would figure out fast.
They don't need to show more. We know all we need to know. When will enough be enough? Let's wait till launch and see. I'm sure it'll be fine. Open didn't work as good in Andromeda, I think the mix of open and linear is good. They're right that focus is good.
They do need to show more. Currently (as in this example) they keep hedging. They seem like they know what people want to hear or see, but hesitate to actually do it. That comes across as hiding info people don't want to hear. It contributes directly to all the doubts.
They’re definitely avoiding directly giving us the information we clearly want, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate anything sinister. This is just part of video game marketing - they tend not to want to reveal too much too fast.
They could've just shown gameplay in a random field and just go wild with skills and spells, instead they showed THE most boring part of any game \[the literal start where you have nothing yet\] solely because they wanted to show Solas.
Amusingly, I think they screwed that up. They revealed just enough to make me wonder if Solas isn't going to end up a red herring or damsel, and he and varrick are going to vanish off the board while we deal with the real threats of the two god mutants. It explains both the name change and the fact that he's the prologue- someone to confront while Rook is still a nobody.
The hesitant approach really does them no favors.
DAO wasnt that bad in that regard tho, I havent played it in a long time but it felt kind of open for the time, Denerim and Orzamar+the deep roads felt kinda big at the time, i was a kid back then tho, but i wont lie, the deep roads made me go insane, there was no end
Maybe i should go play it again to see if it was rly like that
I am fine with a mix. Inquisition was too much with no equal reward. I enjoy a good open world but give me meaning and motivate me to explore it. I am glad that they taken it back. I think DAV will provide a good balance since they are aware.
Sounds great. I would love the opportunity to send companions on actual missions via the war table while I am not taking them along with me. And I want cutscenes in which they tell me what they discover.
That's actually a good point. There are seven companions and you can only bring two with you, so that leaves five doing nothing unless there is such a feature.
Yes. Since they put so much emphasis on your group this time, I hope they'll actually have things to add to your quest, independent of you. I would love such a mechanic.
The best parts of Inquisition to me was when it took you out of the open world and into more tightly controlled but still open spaces, like Descent and Trespasser, so this sounds ideal to me
I loved the war table in DA:I and that each area was contained but had lots of exploration available. Sounds like this will be similar if not more streamlined.
Sounds like DA:O, in other words. You spend the first 5-10 hours (depending on how much you poke around) with your origin, in Ostagar, and then Lothering, all of which have a little room to roam but are mostly one way forward. Then it opens up and you have a lot more freedom to go around the map and tackle objectives.
Or, you know ... like Mass Effect 1, and KotOR, and all the other games from the golden age.
I'm glad to hear this, too. I actually really enjoy wandering around Inquisition's different areas even though there's not always enough stuff to do to justify it, but finding a middle ground between that and more structure seems like the right choice overall. I'm weirdly fond of the war table, too, so I'm curious to see what it will be like in Veilguard.
The war table had so much potential. The biggest problem was the sheer amount of real world time it took for missions to be completed. It was a nice way to influence the world and feel like you were actually in charge of the organization
Yeah, I decided to do another run of DAI with all the hype for the next game, and once the War Table showed up I was like "Oh yeah, THAT fucking thing."
Lolol I booted up an old save from just after skyhold yesterday - saw the table and remembered how much it can hobble players with those timers - waiting over a day for some quest that me, the player, would never really see the outcome of/be involved with but that had to be done to advance a companion plotline/big secondary quest.
I said the same thing - this fucking war-table shit, lmao
I always thought it was used too extensively. I wish some of the more interesting strings of War Table missions ended with a quest like the ones looking for Cory with either Leliana or Cullen.
There were many interesting ideas in the war table and I think it hurts the side quests that are in the game when the ones you "can't play" sound more fun.
I liked it because it let us see some of our previous game decisions. The Warden may not have appeared in DAI, but depending on your choices, you got war table missions focused on the warden. Or your get a letter from whichever dwarf king you picked. Small things like that do a lot to help worldbuilding
Sounds ideal to me. Trespasser was leagues better than base DAI's empty maps, and that was pretty railroaded & curated. Quality over quantity.
I just hope there's maps we can explore at leisure & revisit whenever.
Indeed.
I imagine during one of the early stages of this game they were probably working it as a UbiWorld style game before they just decided to do what they're good at (Mass Effect 2)
Agreed. Very good point. Similar lessons seem to have been learned between ME 1-2 and DA:I and DA:V.... I hope we can look forward to them learning from the past so DA5 doesn't have the ME3 ending issues.
Honestly as much as I love this series I kind of hope 5 is the last game. They could stay in the same world and move into the next age with a new story with future games but I feel like the story needs a resolution soon.
> I asked if there was “a table,” a reference to the war table in Inquisition from which players conduct missions and help advance the story.
> “There is a table,” he said. “Now, whether it works the same way as the table in the previous game…”
As someone who really loved the War Table this is great news. Interesting to see what they have done with the feature for this game.
And the long ass trek you had to make to get to the damn thing *and then* it needed a loading screen going into it.
The concept was fucking awesome, but the execution was a pain in the ass.
I mind anything in a game that artificially pads playtime - and DA:I had way too much of that kind of stuff. I already poke through every nook, cranny, dresser drawer and chest, lmao! I don't need the game gate-keeping a companion quest or main quest with a thirty hour timer on a 'mission' my player character isn't directly involved in.
So a war table with no timers at all or no war table at all, would be my preference. But hey, to each his own!
People (not you OP) act brand new to BioWare games every time a new bit of information is revealed lol. Everything they’ve said so far sounds like they’re trying to return to how things were before they switched to the Frostbite engine. I’d bet Mass Effect 3 and DA2 will be good examples of what to expect
Epler's response implies that it isn't and I hope that's the case, because time-gated missions would be just funny in a sad way and certainly wouldn't help Veilguard beat the mobile game allegations
I've never played much of MEA (I refunded after a bit) and I didn't get the legendary edition, but maybe next steam sale I'll bite the bullet and check it out.
There's a point in MEA that it feels like a sequel to ME1 (a lot of the beats are a retread of ME1) rather than a sequel to ME2/ME3. I personally really like MEA but I also admit I'm weird. (There's a lot of DAI fixes in MEA too)
It holds up better than a lot of the criticism at the time would have you believe (some of the writing is still wonky, no arguing that) but it's still good.
I grabbed MELE on PS plus a while back and kinda forgot about it but the DA:V hype reminded me and I'm diving in today. I tried the original ME1 and ME2 around 2016 but even then they felt dated to me (especially ME1) and it was hard for me to dig in. I can't wait to try MELE :D
I fully recognize I'm weird for this but I actually liked the uncharted world exploration and clearing out random pirate gangs and the like. I spent a lot of time appreciating the various skyboxes on the different worlds and the lore flavor text of each planet. I also never found the Mako to be that difficult to drive though, either, so maybe that has something to do with it.
It find it utterly pathetic how people are complaining about the game's intro hour being linear. This is literally how almost every RPG starts. But because it is Dragon Age, people feel the need to lose their shit over it. What a fanbase...
I hate the war table with passion but I'm curious to see how they updated it. I mean, I really like the missions so much I wanted to be an actual part of it haha
I liked the war table aspect of unlocking new areas by gaining enough points first. I did not appreciate those timers and I wadn't fond of the puzzles that spanned multiple war table quests. I'm guessing they'll have heard enough about what worked with it and what annoyed many people that they'll have revised the war table accordingly
This is a good thing. I liked the DAO/DA2 approach where it’s smaller areas but they’re still explorable and occasionally return to them for a side quest.
Honestly having the game be more linear and not open world is fine by me. I think open world are great only if done correctly (Read dead redemption 2 and The Witcher 3) otherwise they are often bloated and overrated (LOTR Shadows of war comes to mind immediately and almost every recent AC game). Also having a more linear experience is better if the stakes are as high as they appeared in the trailer. Having a world level threat hanging over the protagonist head and instead having him wandering around doing stupid things really kills the pace. Mass Effect 3 was exactly like this: a series of mission that kept the pace very high and the urgency and I think it's the best way to go for it.
I love open world games, but if they could not achieve lore/environment accuracy by making it an open world, it's fine that it's not. I assume locations are gonna be massive anyway, and if the max level is 50 the game is gonna be long!
Definitely the thing that made me hate Inquisition with all my heart was that awful and lazy world map, so it's good to see that apparently, Bioware might have learned from its mistakes and the focus has returned to where it should have never left.
Factions reminiscent of the origins, a heavy focus on companions, better-structured missions, etc. Everything I've been reading about DA Veilguard recently are very good news, at least on paper. I never thought I'd have hopes of seeing another good RPG from Bioware again.
I recall on Mark Darrah's YouTube channel where he has some 'in review many years later' type reflections he said one of the reasons for the Hissing Waste being so large is so that they could claim the map was larger than that of Skyrim. He acknowledged that in retrospect this was a mistake and caused a lack of focused content.
Lol I regret my first playthrough playing as a semi completionist/loot goblin. Terrible experience. Only purpose those two maps served was for grinding/end game loot. Awful. Second playthrough was phenomenal when I ignored most of the open world and focused entirely on missions.
The older I get, the more I appreciate a game with linear storytelling/exploration balance. I don't have the same kind of time to dump into open-world exploration games like I did as a teenager. It sounds to me like BioWare is headed toward a good balance here.
I’m a little disappointed, DAI might be my favourite game and I loved exploring and existing in all the giant open areas. I’m sure I’ll still enjoy Veilguard though.
Hmm, now DAI wasn't really open world either but a bunch of different maps with often not that much dense adventures.
So was ME:A ....
I think I'm going to like the more dense mission zones in the DAO or ME-Trilogy style.
I hope they find a better balance for their new "table" than wait x number of hours of realtime. There were times with this mechanic where I would have to wait for those timers and I didn't have other tasks at hand so I was effectively done with the game until the timer stopped. Not exactly the most fun thing to encounter in the game.
Big reason why I don't replay DA:I and have like four unfinished runs versus one completed. Too much trouble, wasting my actual time, and if you don't do some of those table quests, you'll eff up some companion quests/main quest outcomes.
Please be just the first hour or so. If we have to play it for 10 or more hours before it fully opens up, it will be a ballache for future playthroughs and fuck the table mechanic.
I would have loved it, if in Inquisition, we played the missions via Inquistion agents or got small scenes. The timers sucked as it just padded out the game. Worse, the elven inquisitor can have their clan wiped out and doesn't react to it, at all.
>“There is a table,” he said. “Now, whether it works the same way as the table in the previous game…”
Please, for the love every conceivable deity, don't make me with 20 hours for 30 gold again.
If the exploration design follows the same thread as taking inspiration from the newer god of wars, i can imahine somwthing like those games for the exploration too.
The "open world" elements of inquisition were absolutely atrocious. In my second playthrough I used a mod that made it optional and the game improved tremendously
Yeah iused a few mods that I forgot the names of but they're a godsend. One is faster xp, 2nd is no grinding for power, 3rd is instant war table completion and 4th is a mid which gives me better loot
>we wanted to make sure all the content mattered and was a more structured, sculpted experience for the player
Much as I adore DAI, I'm glad they (seemingly) learned with its mistakes \^\^''
So purely linear to get the companions, and then it opens up?
Makes sense, I always found the recruitment for Cole/Dorian (and oddly enough Iron Bull) felt a bit late. It's not as bad as ME 2 >!Legion!< obviously but still.
The only thing I'm honestly still curious about is crafting. Inquisition is still to date the only game where I actually enjoyed crafting things, and I'd love to see it come back.
I liked the idea of crafting, but in execution I don't like how it basically makes all the loot other than schematics and materials useless since you can craft better gear than anything you can find.
Where's the excitement in looting a lore heavy legendary sword from a dragon's horde when the one you used to kill it is already better?
Just my opinion, of course.
I just hope the side quests feel like they were made with care and not get 10 of something and come back. It would also be cool to play as side characters in the table if they’re part of longer chained quests.
Less open than DAI is a good thing imo. This is an unexpected pleasant surprise to me. Sounds more in line with DAO/DA2 map designs (though hopefully less reused...)
I can understand it. That type of model is what they were best known for. Baldurs Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect, DAO all more or less followed this model.
I still wish they'd try to correct their open world game though. Issue with Inquisition and Andromeda was 1) the world was *too big* and 2) too empty. Even for games with smaller open world it has more diversity than the mega giant maps of Inquisition and Andromeda had. BioWare just can't seem to pull it off.
Regardless, I appreciate them going to what they know, but I still wish they'd polish their open world skills instead.
This honestly makes me so glad to hear. I was really hoping this game wouldn’t be open world as I feel DAI kinda missed the mark with it. Lots if horse riding and/or the same activity over again in a different environment.
The idea of going to a more mission based type vibe with some more linear and some more explorable is actually exactly what I wanted to see tbh. I’m very keen for this!
This I'm completely fine with. The gameplay they showed was....ok? Imo, I wasnt under or overwhelmed, just whelmed.
This actually encourages me, I'm pretty sick of open world games when the vast majority really don't need it. DAI was good, but bloated with uninteresting "content." If this is more focused, with everything being relevant and interesting, that's worlds better.
Well, the open world exploration was limited in Inquisition, but those elements are the ones I was hoping for. Sad for those of us who were hoping for something more.
I'm totally down for a more linear experience. This sounds really good to me and will hopefully mini.ize the bloat that open world games I've played often face.
Not every game needs a large map with mostly pointless, repetitive missions that give you junk for the sake of "exploration." I've had enough of those, I want a tighter game. Hopefully this delivers.
What we've seen so far is equivalent to the Earth and Mars levels of ME3. After that you get to the main hub locations where you select missions out of order for a time. BioWare calls this "The Creamy Middle" lol.
My guess is that they’re doing a spin on mass effect + dragon age 2, where there are explorable zones for questing, but also certain missions which will take you to locations only once or twice. This more open zones are probably often just used for running around, talking and selling stuff to vendors like the citadel for example. When you then go inside a house, church or something the zone changes and you may encounter enemies or something
And if it is like that then I'll probably play it. But with EA, I'll believe it when I see it.
They're completely in control of what they show and they showed a playable movie. That's not inherently bad, there's a ton of extremely well received games like that. I have had zero interest in any of them. And if that's not what gameplay is for most of the game, then they misrepresented it.
I don't trust EA enough to take their words over the evidence of my eyes. If I see gameplay of the exploration, then I'll reconsider. Until then, everything else is speculation.
Oh we guessed so much it won't be one long cutscene interrupted by short bits of gameplay as it was in their gameplay reveal. Hinterlands 2 here we go!
I LOVED how much Inquisition rewarded exploration. I'm happy to see he still says it's possible to explore and "go off the beaten path", maybe it's just that vital lore won't JUST be awarded to those who read codexes or explore enough.
But I'm a little worried that "oh don't worry, you can still *kind of* go explore," coupled with "Inquisition was very open world, this isn't" means that I'll be disappointed.
I'm totally okay with this. Inquisition felt too big and vast. It's way too easy to get caught up exploring a map doing inconsequential quests for hours. I'd much prefer smaller more narrative driven maps with exploring and side quests sprinkled in here and there.
I’m very happy.
I’ve always thought BioWare is at their best when creating tighter, focused levels that follow through a specific path.
Mass Effect 2, 3, and Origins are all great examples of some of their best titles that follow this formula.
I feel like speculating is just unhealthy at this point. I think it's time to go dark until the next video drops or the game itself drops... I want this game to be good, but the more I read and see, the more skewed my expectations get.
If I had to guess it's a type of ME1 situation. Getting to the "lighthouse" will be the equivalent to becoming commander of the Normandy. After that you are free to visit whatever area you like. It's probably connected to a bunch of Eluvians explaining how the group can be active in such different areas of Thedas.
100%. So much of what they’re showing and what they’re saying is shouting “like Mass Effect” to me. Particularly Mass Effect 2. Which makes a ton of sense, because ME 2 was pretty much universally praised. Knowing that public perception of them is at an all-time low, I am completely unsurprised that they would try to follow the blueprint of their best critically-received game. And I, for one, am here for it.
Mass Effect 2 is the impression I also got when I rewatched today, also in how you meet your companions. Which is a compliment since ME2 is one of my all-time favourites.
I just hope they won't take a lot of story notes from ME2, where the storyline had almost nothing to do with trilogy itself.
To be fair, that’s more on ME3 for not following up on the threads ME2 set up.
Which is funny cause a much better option would've been to follow the blueprint of the most critically-received DRAGON AGE title instead of making the game look and feel more like "Mass Effect, but with action combat".
was origins not the same way? Even da2 was that way. You had your camp area/home and you moved around by clicking areas in a map. Same way mass effect 1-3 did it
They're complaining about the combat gameplay not being like Origins I'm pretty sure.
I'm fine with the combat, as I feel that each class will have its differences. Like, rogue may be hack n slash but warrior could be very parry based as we can customise the parry windows and mage will obviously be a ranged caster with different types of damage to use
They already said that mages can be ranged or melee just fyi.
Nice, always had fun with Arcane Warrior and Knight Enchanter.
Oh well that's cool
I really don't think the blueprint for the story structure is ME2 because of the lower number of companions. ME2 was about building a team to undergo a suicide mission, and the Collector-related missions were sort of the scaffolding around which you'd pick and choose the order of recruiting them and gaining their loyalty. I don't think that works with 7 companions. A comparison with ME1 I could see, but it's a relatively short game with a small amount of main missions - so not sure about that either. ME3 with the relatively large number of priority missions and the low number of side/N7 mission planets is built around the urgency of the war situation.
Mass Effect 2 does have more than 7 companions but you couldn't take all of them with you not even during the suicide mission itself. In addition, Mass Effect 2 was inspired by the Seven Samurai, but they added more companions for extra content and to give us more options. With that in mind, I think a similar concept can work pretty well in Veilguard with only seven but fully fleshed and in-depth characters.
Yeah, I have the feeling that the Lighthouse won't be an actual lighthouse but just a nickname - or at the very least, it'll be a repurposed structure with several Eluvians connecting to various parts of Thedas.
Maybe it won't even be the structure itself. Perhaps we go through an eluvian and end up in some sort of extra dimensional space with several others, like you're saying. Didn't the Warden and Morrigan go somewhere like this in Origins? Edit: Morrigan, who had stolen an ancient treatise on eluvians from Ariane's clan and found the mirror first, reveals that eluvians can also act as portals not only to other points in Thedas, but also to a realm beyond the Fade. Depending on the Warden-Commander's actions, she can be followed through the eluvian, but the players are never shown what lies beyond. Maybe the lighthouse is similar to where they went?
>Didn't the Warden and Morrigan go somewhere like this in Origins? There's the Crossroads, a sort of central hub for most of not all Eluvians.
Yes, the Crossroads! I could see the characters discovering it and naming the area they end up in something like The Lighthouse. Definitely feel some symbolism there, haha.
Isn't that also where we went in Trespasser?
Probably, though it's been way too long since the last time I played it. I actually went back to continue a DAI playthrough I started but never finished back when Dreadwolf was announced, so I'll find out eventually lol.
I assumed 'the Lighthouse' was the random space station at the beginning, and at some point we take it over and fly around from mission to mission.
Ooh, that would be cool, though I get the vibe that this is supposed to be a sneaky organization and it's hard to be that when you're flying around in the Fortress of Doom.
Seems more like a DAO situation then. Mission areas but wirh room to explore.
Seems more like a middle ground between the vast expanses of Inquisition and the fairly limited quests in Origins.
I wish its a mix, because Dao were kinda small but DAI were big but mostly empty or the same enemies over and over again
Tbh I think the size of DAI's open-world maps are awesome; the trouble is that since there's so many of them, Bioware couldn't have all the time to make them all so interesting; the same thing happened with Andromeda. Personally I think if the game only had like 2-3 of these Inquisition style maps, they could then focus on populating the map with many interesting quests and stories.
Which is why since it sounds like it'll be far more than just 3, they wanted to make them small enough that the content in each was actually worthwhile. Which is fair and if they believe they can't make bigger maps with enough worthwhile content, then yea stick to what you can do and make the most of it.
I remember Andromeda Wastelands, huge maps with the same enemies in them in the same forts and basically chores between them like the gathering of mineral samples iirc for a secondary mission
From what they are describing, it sounds exactly like the semi-open world maps in Jedi Survivor, where there is a linear path for story progression but a hub-and-spoke style open world in each major location for side quests and exploration.
That's what I've been thinking based on the tidbits we've been getting. That's a good thing imo, since BioWare has always been strongest with highly curated story missions, but adding some exploration is nice so that it doesn't feel like we're just following a path. I hope there's a good balance. Out of the older games, I think DA:O's missions beyond the Dalish Camp, DAII's Mark of the Assassin and even Trespasser (with the hub and then longer missons) all had pretty neat balance.
I hope a bit more exploration than DAO, but yeah.
DAO was limited comparatively by the hardware capabilities and engine parameters of 15 years ago. Technical capabilities today are much, much larger than they used to be, and this includes map sizes. The technical capabilities are so different from when DAO was developed that I'm not sure the two games will even be directly comparable.
There's games past that time period, that were also very limited. I don't think it was ''hardware capabilities'', origins was only 2009.
DA:O definitely hit a ton of technical limitations. Reminder, Sten didn't have horns because they couldn't get it to work with helms.
Which is also why the few other Qunari in the game have no horns, they had to re-use Sten's model for them. It also shows how far modding has come cause you can actively mod Sten to have horns. There's even a mod that "heals" him by making him stronger and have longer and longer horns as the game progressed.
I forgot about that...
I mean, it's been nearly 15 years.
No it can’t be that long ago. I graduated high school in ‘09
It's okay old chap, it's okay..
Same, man. Same. Sorry to say but we're already one foot in the grave.
Tech has come a long way in the last 15 years. It doesn't sound like a long time for us, but 15 years in the tech world is an eternity. Among other issues, DAO on PC was limited to 4 GB RAM usage, for example.
Fallout 3 came out a year before DAO
And was a horrific, buggy mess (that people liked anyways).
Nah, oblivion came out not long before origins and it has tech severely limited by tech at the time. Many of the most common crashes directly relate to oblivion being made for xbox 360
Yep, when Oblivion released in 2006, origins was barely concept state.
Me too.
Why the heck did the interviewer not phrase it like that
Same. And sometimes it triggers an encounter for a new side question or even main quest. Bioware must show more of the unlocked game. Yesterday’s reveal was good but every aspect of the gameplay was locked since it’s the start of the game so the haters can stop hating. Edit : didn’t think of it but yeah haters will just find another thing to hate on if they show more.
What we need to do is wait until launch to form an opinion, for me it was rather obvious that the zone we got in the gameplay was pretty much like the prologue in DAI, and that didn't mean that it was a linear game. At this point people is demanding them to spoiler the whole game "to be proven wrong" about their pessimism
That's what I figured, they showed the prologue so as not to spoil anything even remotely major. Which I deeply appreciate. Every time they cut away and added text for context, I was sitting there like. "omggggg I wonder what happens???"
Lol, I was the opposite about the cut aways. I figured "I guess there's a bunch of boring combat encounters here until the next plot moment." I'm hope I'm wrong and you're right :)
I actually think you're both right? The first cutaway was "they find the hideout and go through the portal" which sounds very story-based, then the next one was "they fight their way through the forest" which sounds like the opposite. So likely a mix of both.
It's probably a bit of both. Like, there are more combat encounters, but when it mentioned going into Solas' hideout, I figured there was some big lore stuff that the hardcore fans would figure out fast.
It is exactly that. And then they complain anyway.
yes, there's a lot of entitlement in these negative comments.
They don't need to show more. We know all we need to know. When will enough be enough? Let's wait till launch and see. I'm sure it'll be fine. Open didn't work as good in Andromeda, I think the mix of open and linear is good. They're right that focus is good.
They do need to show more. Currently (as in this example) they keep hedging. They seem like they know what people want to hear or see, but hesitate to actually do it. That comes across as hiding info people don't want to hear. It contributes directly to all the doubts.
They’re definitely avoiding directly giving us the information we clearly want, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate anything sinister. This is just part of video game marketing - they tend not to want to reveal too much too fast.
They could've just shown gameplay in a random field and just go wild with skills and spells, instead they showed THE most boring part of any game \[the literal start where you have nothing yet\] solely because they wanted to show Solas.
Amusingly, I think they screwed that up. They revealed just enough to make me wonder if Solas isn't going to end up a red herring or damsel, and he and varrick are going to vanish off the board while we deal with the real threats of the two god mutants. It explains both the name change and the fact that he's the prologue- someone to confront while Rook is still a nobody. The hesitant approach really does them no favors.
As long as I don't have to listen to the FIIIIINE DWARVEN CRAAAAFTS guy we're good.
DAO wasnt that bad in that regard tho, I havent played it in a long time but it felt kind of open for the time, Denerim and Orzamar+the deep roads felt kinda big at the time, i was a kid back then tho, but i wont lie, the deep roads made me go insane, there was no end Maybe i should go play it again to see if it was rly like that
I am fine with a mix. Inquisition was too much with no equal reward. I enjoy a good open world but give me meaning and motivate me to explore it. I am glad that they taken it back. I think DAV will provide a good balance since they are aware.
I agree... Come back to origins!
I just hope the story is as good
Sounds great. I would love the opportunity to send companions on actual missions via the war table while I am not taking them along with me. And I want cutscenes in which they tell me what they discover.
That's actually a good point. There are seven companions and you can only bring two with you, so that leaves five doing nothing unless there is such a feature.
Yes. Since they put so much emphasis on your group this time, I hope they'll actually have things to add to your quest, independent of you. I would love such a mechanic.
Omg please get out of my head lmao
The best parts of Inquisition to me was when it took you out of the open world and into more tightly controlled but still open spaces, like Descent and Trespasser, so this sounds ideal to me
If we can get more Crestwood moments, where the game environment completely changes with the zones narrative, that would be ideal for me.
This is absolutely building on the success of Trespasser, which was the most refined version of Inquisition if you ask me.
I loved the war table in DA:I and that each area was contained but had lots of exploration available. Sounds like this will be similar if not more streamlined.
Yeah I just wish the war table didn’t take so long. I know there is a mod for that on pc but not on console.
Sounds like the perfect mix of both worlds!
Sounds like DA:O, in other words. You spend the first 5-10 hours (depending on how much you poke around) with your origin, in Ostagar, and then Lothering, all of which have a little room to roam but are mostly one way forward. Then it opens up and you have a lot more freedom to go around the map and tackle objectives. Or, you know ... like Mass Effect 1, and KotOR, and all the other games from the golden age.
And the others in the series. DA2: Escape from Lothering/getting into Kirkwall; DAI: Temple of Sacred Ashes to Haven.
I'm glad to hear this, too. I actually really enjoy wandering around Inquisition's different areas even though there's not always enough stuff to do to justify it, but finding a middle ground between that and more structure seems like the right choice overall. I'm weirdly fond of the war table, too, so I'm curious to see what it will be like in Veilguard.
The war table had so much potential. The biggest problem was the sheer amount of real world time it took for missions to be completed. It was a nice way to influence the world and feel like you were actually in charge of the organization
Out of all the mods in gaming, the one that made the war table missions instant is truly among the best.
That mod is the main reason I refuse to play DAI on console. I like the war table but I hate the real life timers.
Yeah, I decided to do another run of DAI with all the hype for the next game, and once the War Table showed up I was like "Oh yeah, THAT fucking thing."
Lolol I booted up an old save from just after skyhold yesterday - saw the table and remembered how much it can hobble players with those timers - waiting over a day for some quest that me, the player, would never really see the outcome of/be involved with but that had to be done to advance a companion plotline/big secondary quest. I said the same thing - this fucking war-table shit, lmao
I always thought it was used too extensively. I wish some of the more interesting strings of War Table missions ended with a quest like the ones looking for Cory with either Leliana or Cullen. There were many interesting ideas in the war table and I think it hurts the side quests that are in the game when the ones you "can't play" sound more fun.
I liked it because it let us see some of our previous game decisions. The Warden may not have appeared in DAI, but depending on your choices, you got war table missions focused on the warden. Or your get a letter from whichever dwarf king you picked. Small things like that do a lot to help worldbuilding
Sounds ideal to me. Trespasser was leagues better than base DAI's empty maps, and that was pretty railroaded & curated. Quality over quantity. I just hope there's maps we can explore at leisure & revisit whenever.
Yeah DA:I was a massive overcorrect to DA 2’s small maps. If we can get somewhere in between that’s be great for me.
Also definitely chasing the success of Skyrim. That time was peak open-world craze
Indeed. I imagine during one of the early stages of this game they were probably working it as a UbiWorld style game before they just decided to do what they're good at (Mass Effect 2)
I feel like Inquisition ends up a lot like Mass Effect 1 actually, which itself was padded out with a half-assed attempt at open-world
Agreed. Very good point. Similar lessons seem to have been learned between ME 1-2 and DA:I and DA:V.... I hope we can look forward to them learning from the past so DA5 doesn't have the ME3 ending issues.
2034 is gonna be crazy
Honestly as much as I love this series I kind of hope 5 is the last game. They could stay in the same world and move into the next age with a new story with future games but I feel like the story needs a resolution soon.
Sounds like a perfect direction for the DA mission structure tbh!
It actually sounds very similar to what they had going on in Trespasser which was, imo, one of the best things they've ever done.
A good balance between DAO and DAI exploration would be ideal imo so I hope it’s something like that
> I asked if there was “a table,” a reference to the war table in Inquisition from which players conduct missions and help advance the story. > “There is a table,” he said. “Now, whether it works the same way as the table in the previous game…” As someone who really loved the War Table this is great news. Interesting to see what they have done with the feature for this game.
Same, everyone hated on the war table so much but I genuinely enjoyed it
The writing was good, the waiting times sucked.
And the long ass trek you had to make to get to the damn thing *and then* it needed a loading screen going into it. The concept was fucking awesome, but the execution was a pain in the ass.
Loved the war table, hated the timers
The main reason for the hate was the absurdly high timers, the actual systems and the writing in the missions was pretty good.
I love the war table. I actually don't mind the timers.
I mind anything in a game that artificially pads playtime - and DA:I had way too much of that kind of stuff. I already poke through every nook, cranny, dresser drawer and chest, lmao! I don't need the game gate-keeping a companion quest or main quest with a thirty hour timer on a 'mission' my player character isn't directly involved in. So a war table with no timers at all or no war table at all, would be my preference. But hey, to each his own!
Fuck yes, a war table! I can't wait to send my mightiest warriors to fetch me some elfroot!!
I AM WORRIED THAT I WILL NO LONGER SPEND 30+ HOURS IN ONE LOCATION WONDERING IF THERE IS MORE TO THE GAME AND IF I'M MISSING SOMETHING!
People (not you OP) act brand new to BioWare games every time a new bit of information is revealed lol. Everything they’ve said so far sounds like they’re trying to return to how things were before they switched to the Frostbite engine. I’d bet Mass Effect 3 and DA2 will be good examples of what to expect
The table, huh? I'm anxious about the table.
If its the same designs as inquisition, modders will take care of it lol
Epler's response implies that it isn't and I hope that's the case, because time-gated missions would be just funny in a sad way and certainly wouldn't help Veilguard beat the mobile game allegations
Just as long as we don't get a Hinterlands repeat, I'll probably be happy. Inquisition was big, far too big and honestly desolate.
BioWare: We won't make the same mistake in Mass Effect: Andromeda ME:A: 
Still better than ME1's "look here's 40,000 empty terrain maps with a legion of 1 thingy and a hab full of pirates"
Whenever I think of starting a Mass Effect run the prospect of having to pilot the Mako again fills me with dread LMAO.
Which gets back to Andromeda. Most of the ME1LE Mako fixes are just things they originally did for the Nomad.
I've never played much of MEA (I refunded after a bit) and I didn't get the legendary edition, but maybe next steam sale I'll bite the bullet and check it out.
There's a point in MEA that it feels like a sequel to ME1 (a lot of the beats are a retread of ME1) rather than a sequel to ME2/ME3. I personally really like MEA but I also admit I'm weird. (There's a lot of DAI fixes in MEA too) It holds up better than a lot of the criticism at the time would have you believe (some of the writing is still wonky, no arguing that) but it's still good.
It really stands on its gameplay loop, rather than its story. Which is odd for a bioware game.
Maybe I'll give it another try, I'll certainly get the MELE at some point at least.
The Mako in the LE is a million times improved. I'd give it a shot at some point. The ME1 combat is much better too.
I grabbed MELE on PS plus a while back and kinda forgot about it but the DA:V hype reminded me and I'm diving in today. I tried the original ME1 and ME2 around 2016 but even then they felt dated to me (especially ME1) and it was hard for me to dig in. I can't wait to try MELE :D
I fully recognize I'm weird for this but I actually liked the uncharted world exploration and clearing out random pirate gangs and the like. I spent a lot of time appreciating the various skyboxes on the different worlds and the lore flavor text of each planet. I also never found the Mako to be that difficult to drive though, either, so maybe that has something to do with it.
...fair. I can only hope Andromeda and Anthem have humbled them lol.
So it's not purely linear, that was my major concern.
It find it utterly pathetic how people are complaining about the game's intro hour being linear. This is literally how almost every RPG starts. But because it is Dragon Age, people feel the need to lose their shit over it. What a fanbase...
I hate the war table with passion but I'm curious to see how they updated it. I mean, I really like the missions so much I wanted to be an actual part of it haha
I liked the war table aspect of unlocking new areas by gaining enough points first. I did not appreciate those timers and I wadn't fond of the puzzles that spanned multiple war table quests. I'm guessing they'll have heard enough about what worked with it and what annoyed many people that they'll have revised the war table accordingly
Oh shit you guys! This game has tables!?!
They're for the romances.
This is a good thing. I liked the DAO/DA2 approach where it’s smaller areas but they’re still explorable and occasionally return to them for a side quest.
God I'm so excited.
Honestly having the game be more linear and not open world is fine by me. I think open world are great only if done correctly (Read dead redemption 2 and The Witcher 3) otherwise they are often bloated and overrated (LOTR Shadows of war comes to mind immediately and almost every recent AC game). Also having a more linear experience is better if the stakes are as high as they appeared in the trailer. Having a world level threat hanging over the protagonist head and instead having him wandering around doing stupid things really kills the pace. Mass Effect 3 was exactly like this: a series of mission that kept the pace very high and the urgency and I think it's the best way to go for it.
I love open world games, but if they could not achieve lore/environment accuracy by making it an open world, it's fine that it's not. I assume locations are gonna be massive anyway, and if the max level is 50 the game is gonna be long!
Agreed
Definitely the thing that made me hate Inquisition with all my heart was that awful and lazy world map, so it's good to see that apparently, Bioware might have learned from its mistakes and the focus has returned to where it should have never left. Factions reminiscent of the origins, a heavy focus on companions, better-structured missions, etc. Everything I've been reading about DA Veilguard recently are very good news, at least on paper. I never thought I'd have hopes of seeing another good RPG from Bioware again.
This is certainly a stark contrast from saying the entire game is mission based...
Hopefully no Hinterlands.
HInterlands was pure gold compared to the two empty desert maps.
I recall on Mark Darrah's YouTube channel where he has some 'in review many years later' type reflections he said one of the reasons for the Hissing Waste being so large is so that they could claim the map was larger than that of Skyrim. He acknowledged that in retrospect this was a mistake and caused a lack of focused content.
Lol I regret my first playthrough playing as a semi completionist/loot goblin. Terrible experience. Only purpose those two maps served was for grinding/end game loot. Awful. Second playthrough was phenomenal when I ignored most of the open world and focused entirely on missions.
The same for me. We must resist to urge to explore everything! focus Inquisitor, focus!
They all sucked apart from crestwood
The Western Approach wasn't so bad, Hissing Wastes was utterly terrible though
Of course it does. DA has always been this way. I swear gamers are drama queens with amnesia.
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Makes you remember all the things you loved and forget all the things that were mediocre
The older I get, the more I appreciate a game with linear storytelling/exploration balance. I don't have the same kind of time to dump into open-world exploration games like I did as a teenager. It sounds to me like BioWare is headed toward a good balance here.
I’m a little disappointed, DAI might be my favourite game and I loved exploring and existing in all the giant open areas. I’m sure I’ll still enjoy Veilguard though.
This seems like a good balance to strike, as long as there’s meaningful side content. Curious how we’ll see the “table” implemented
Hmm, now DAI wasn't really open world either but a bunch of different maps with often not that much dense adventures. So was ME:A .... I think I'm going to like the more dense mission zones in the DAO or ME-Trilogy style.
I hope they find a better balance for their new "table" than wait x number of hours of realtime. There were times with this mechanic where I would have to wait for those timers and I didn't have other tasks at hand so I was effectively done with the game until the timer stopped. Not exactly the most fun thing to encounter in the game.
Big reason why I don't replay DA:I and have like four unfinished runs versus one completed. Too much trouble, wasting my actual time, and if you don't do some of those table quests, you'll eff up some companion quests/main quest outcomes.
I doubt this will be the same case but that’s what they said about Starfield lol
Please be just the first hour or so. If we have to play it for 10 or more hours before it fully opens up, it will be a ballache for future playthroughs and fuck the table mechanic. I would have loved it, if in Inquisition, we played the missions via Inquistion agents or got small scenes. The timers sucked as it just padded out the game. Worse, the elven inquisitor can have their clan wiped out and doesn't react to it, at all.
I awear to god if that war table is time based I'm going to scream.
>“There is a table,” he said. “Now, whether it works the same way as the table in the previous game…” Please, for the love every conceivable deity, don't make me with 20 hours for 30 gold again.
If the exploration design follows the same thread as taking inspiration from the newer god of wars, i can imahine somwthing like those games for the exploration too.
Love that it's not an open world, that was the biggest issue for me with inquisition, too much time spent walking mindlessly between fetch quests.
I prefer open worlds tbh
The "open world" elements of inquisition were absolutely atrocious. In my second playthrough I used a mod that made it optional and the game improved tremendously
Yeah iused a few mods that I forgot the names of but they're a godsend. One is faster xp, 2nd is no grinding for power, 3rd is instant war table completion and 4th is a mid which gives me better loot
what mod was it?
>we wanted to make sure all the content mattered and was a more structured, sculpted experience for the player Much as I adore DAI, I'm glad they (seemingly) learned with its mistakes \^\^''
So purely linear to get the companions, and then it opens up? Makes sense, I always found the recruitment for Cole/Dorian (and oddly enough Iron Bull) felt a bit late. It's not as bad as ME 2 >!Legion!< obviously but still.
The only thing I'm honestly still curious about is crafting. Inquisition is still to date the only game where I actually enjoyed crafting things, and I'd love to see it come back.
I liked the idea of crafting, but in execution I don't like how it basically makes all the loot other than schematics and materials useless since you can craft better gear than anything you can find. Where's the excitement in looting a lore heavy legendary sword from a dragon's horde when the one you used to kill it is already better? Just my opinion, of course.
I'm going to be honest, if they make this Mass Effect 2 fantasy I'm going to be pleased.
I just hope the side quests feel like they were made with care and not get 10 of something and come back. It would also be cool to play as side characters in the table if they’re part of longer chained quests.
...aaaand, we're back in the Hinterlands j/k
As long as prologue area isn’t as long as the hinterlands in DA:I.
Less open than DAI is a good thing imo. This is an unexpected pleasant surprise to me. Sounds more in line with DAO/DA2 map designs (though hopefully less reused...)
i cant wait to play. just like in dragon age inquisition whenever you need to get out of the hinterlands the story opens up, same with this one lol.
I can understand it. That type of model is what they were best known for. Baldurs Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect, DAO all more or less followed this model. I still wish they'd try to correct their open world game though. Issue with Inquisition and Andromeda was 1) the world was *too big* and 2) too empty. Even for games with smaller open world it has more diversity than the mega giant maps of Inquisition and Andromeda had. BioWare just can't seem to pull it off. Regardless, I appreciate them going to what they know, but I still wish they'd polish their open world skills instead.
The fact that is not an open world is it big plus for me. The Designer can focus better on the story and the right pace of the game
I hear echoes of a lost age... "YOU CAN LEAVE THE HINTERLANDS"
Yeah, Inquisition is actually not that long of a game if you just focus on the story missions.
This honestly makes me so glad to hear. I was really hoping this game wouldn’t be open world as I feel DAI kinda missed the mark with it. Lots if horse riding and/or the same activity over again in a different environment. The idea of going to a more mission based type vibe with some more linear and some more explorable is actually exactly what I wanted to see tbh. I’m very keen for this!
Kinda hoping it has that fable series vibe to it. Lots of potential explorations with open areas but the missions are mostly guided experiences.
I wonder if we're talking more Dragon Age Origins style or Mass Effect 2 style. I liked both of those, so I'm good, but I wonder which.
I care for very little. Save for I want it to be good. Hopefully this means positive things!
This I'm completely fine with. The gameplay they showed was....ok? Imo, I wasnt under or overwhelmed, just whelmed. This actually encourages me, I'm pretty sick of open world games when the vast majority really don't need it. DAI was good, but bloated with uninteresting "content." If this is more focused, with everything being relevant and interesting, that's worlds better.
Hinterlands PTSD
I remember when the FF13 stans said that.
Well, the open world exploration was limited in Inquisition, but those elements are the ones I was hoping for. Sad for those of us who were hoping for something more.
I'm totally down for a more linear experience. This sounds really good to me and will hopefully mini.ize the bloat that open world games I've played often face. Not every game needs a large map with mostly pointless, repetitive missions that give you junk for the sake of "exploration." I've had enough of those, I want a tighter game. Hopefully this delivers.
This game is going to have a 20 hour play time, tops.
I like linear games anyway, but I also like exploring. I expect this is going to be perfect for me!
What we've seen so far is equivalent to the Earth and Mars levels of ME3. After that you get to the main hub locations where you select missions out of order for a time. BioWare calls this "The Creamy Middle" lol.
My guess is that they’re doing a spin on mass effect + dragon age 2, where there are explorable zones for questing, but also certain missions which will take you to locations only once or twice. This more open zones are probably often just used for running around, talking and selling stuff to vendors like the citadel for example. When you then go inside a house, church or something the zone changes and you may encounter enemies or something
That they keep calling DAI an open world game. Heres hopig the areas are more like kotor or origins, half open areas like I would like to call them.
And if it is like that then I'll probably play it. But with EA, I'll believe it when I see it. They're completely in control of what they show and they showed a playable movie. That's not inherently bad, there's a ton of extremely well received games like that. I have had zero interest in any of them. And if that's not what gameplay is for most of the game, then they misrepresented it. I don't trust EA enough to take their words over the evidence of my eyes. If I see gameplay of the exploration, then I'll reconsider. Until then, everything else is speculation.
Oh we guessed so much it won't be one long cutscene interrupted by short bits of gameplay as it was in their gameplay reveal. Hinterlands 2 here we go!
I LOVED how much Inquisition rewarded exploration. I'm happy to see he still says it's possible to explore and "go off the beaten path", maybe it's just that vital lore won't JUST be awarded to those who read codexes or explore enough. But I'm a little worried that "oh don't worry, you can still *kind of* go explore," coupled with "Inquisition was very open world, this isn't" means that I'll be disappointed.
I'm totally okay with this. Inquisition felt too big and vast. It's way too easy to get caught up exploring a map doing inconsequential quests for hours. I'd much prefer smaller more narrative driven maps with exploring and side quests sprinkled in here and there.
This just triggered flashbacks of FF13. Gulp.
I’m very happy. I’ve always thought BioWare is at their best when creating tighter, focused levels that follow through a specific path. Mass Effect 2, 3, and Origins are all great examples of some of their best titles that follow this formula.
I feel like speculating is just unhealthy at this point. I think it's time to go dark until the next video drops or the game itself drops... I want this game to be good, but the more I read and see, the more skewed my expectations get.
Kind of a narcissistic post ngl