Dragon Age: Origins Catch-All

A glowing IGN UK Review

One of his highlights is the amount of detail put into the lore of this universe.

Rat Boy wrote:
Elycion wrote:
IUMogg wrote:

This is a little disappointing. According to Mr. Chick, it's easy to run out of backpack space and if you want access to a place to store items it cost extra irl money.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/11/d...

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

They just need to have the player character say something interesting when the inventory's full:

"I gotta pawn some of this stuff."

"Too much baggage!"

Hahah. Was that from Sacred when you played as a Dark Elf?

stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Elycion wrote:
IUMogg wrote:

This is a little disappointing. According to Mr. Chick, it's easy to run out of backpack space and if you want access to a place to store items it cost extra irl money.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/11/d...

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

They just need to have the player character say something interesting when the inventory's full:

"I gotta pawn some of this stuff."

"Too much baggage!"

Hahah. Was that from Sacred when you played as a Dark Elf?

FAIL. That was the warrior from Diablo, though I suppose not a lot of people played as the warrior.

Your mom's Princess Leia?

Oso wrote:
Elycion wrote:

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

Agreed. Warden's keep is an add-on, not a native part of the game. If all of the over-entitled nerd-rage reaches critical mass, the next time this comes up, the developer will choose not to add additional content, rather than throwing the test audience a bone.

DLC is here to stay. Sure the publishers need some time to figure out how to balance revenue with player happiness, but the days of pay once, up-front are gone. If the developers have to pay the salaries of teams working on the game, the money has to come from somewhere. The key to pricing DLC is to make the price trivial or to make the DLC optional. $7 seems trivial enough to me and I'm broke, but if I couldn't find some way to scrape up $7, I could be happy enough playing the game the way the design team first imagined it.

Besides, even if we do complain about not having permanent storage, when they make it available, we'll soon be complaining that the difficulty level has been nerfed. We gamers are difficult to please.

This sounds a little different than most dlc. Based on how I read Tom Chick's piece, the extra storage is a solution to an inherent flaw in the game. I haven't played the game yet, so I obviously can't comment on that, but this seems closer to charging for a patch than charging for new content. Does the Warden's Keep add anything else? Like new quest or items? Then it would make sense as dlc. I don't care one way or another. It just something I came across and thought people interested in the game would like to know.

My CE was in my mailbox when I came home from work tonight. Still not very far in the game, I'm an explorer and I'm soaking in the atmosphere. So far pretty pleased, it seems pretty rich and the conversations aren't nearly as cheesy. Quite the opposite: you can tell there's some uncomfortable overtones on certain subjects. It runs pretty smooth and I'm sure DAO-specific drivers will probably arrive soon to make it even better. My only issue is the camera doesn't rotate how I liked it in Neverwinter (although there may be a setting I haven't noticed yet) and disappointingly my first combat are rats in a cellar, made all the more silly that my body is completely covered in blood splatters afterwards. As the reviewer in PC Gamer UK said, the game looks much sharper and nicer in motion than it does in stills, at least in the PC version.

Here's my hot redhead having a bitter argument with my mother:

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a263/kevlarcardhouse/DAOriginspic.jpg)

About this Warden's Keep deal ... is it for 360 only? or is it going to be available for PC players on day 1 too?

Also, here's some nice quotes from that IGN UK review:

"Bioware’s achievements in all this are incredible. It cannot be stressed enough at the depth of the universe they have conjured. Every corner you look, there is a sense of age, of something old. Entire mythologies for multiple cultures have been brewed up, entire religions mapped out in their own belief systems, history that stretches back hundreds, if not thousands, of years."

" ... it is abundantly clear from the moment it begins that Bioware is telling a tale head and shoulders above the competition. Dragon Age: Origins is deep, complex, and mighty."

I'm pumped. Come on Tuesday!

Subscribing to the thread. Assume regular hype and salivation.

Getting my thermal bottle ready...

Wardens keep is supposed to add additional quests, items, etc. so yes definitely more than just a place to stash your jank.

IUMogg wrote:

This sounds a little different than most dlc. Based on how I read Tom Chick's piece, the extra storage is a solution to an inherent flaw in the game. I haven't played the game yet, so I obviously can't comment on that, but this seems closer to charging for a patch than charging for new content. Does the Warden's Keep add anything else? Like new quest or items? Then it would make sense as dlc. I don't care one way or another. It just something I came across and thought people interested in the game would like to know.

I think you are right there, I certainly am glad to be chatting about this. I think we differ on how we view Chick's piece (OOCT?) I read it as saying that test audiences wanted permanent storage, but it wasn't in the developer's vision for the game.

*Caveat: One of my favorite game series of all time is STALKER. Many, many, many players complain about the carry-weight penalty and there are a ton of player generated mods to "fix" this issue. IMHO, the carry limits are a feature, not a bug and add to the immersion factor. I may be importing that argument into the Dragon Age thread more than I realize. Still, you are right that we won't know until we play. I'll be buying the Warden's keep as soon as its available, but until I actually play it, I don't feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

Rat Boy wrote:
stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Elycion wrote:
IUMogg wrote:

This is a little disappointing. According to Mr. Chick, it's easy to run out of backpack space and if you want access to a place to store items it cost extra irl money.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/11/d...

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

They just need to have the player character say something interesting when the inventory's full:

"I gotta pawn some of this stuff."

"Too much baggage!"

Hahah. Was that from Sacred when you played as a Dark Elf?

FAIL. That was the warrior from Diablo, though I suppose not a lot of people played as the warrior.

In my defense it's been a LONG time since I installed Diablo.

stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Elycion wrote:
IUMogg wrote:

This is a little disappointing. According to Mr. Chick, it's easy to run out of backpack space and if you want access to a place to store items it cost extra irl money.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/11/d...

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

They just need to have the player character say something interesting when the inventory's full:

"I gotta pawn some of this stuff."

"Too much baggage!"

Hahah. Was that from Sacred when you played as a Dark Elf?

FAIL. That was the warrior from Diablo, though I suppose not a lot of people played as the warrior.

In my defense it's been a LONG time since I installed Diablo.

And the Warrior was the worst one.

IUMogg wrote:

This sounds a little different than most dlc. Based on how I read Tom Chick's piece, the extra storage is a solution to an inherent flaw in the game. I haven't played the game yet, so I obviously can't comment on that, but this seems closer to charging for a patch than charging for new content. Does the Warden's Keep add anything else? Like new quest or items? Then it would make sense as dlc. I don't care one way or another. It just something I came across and thought people interested in the game would like to know.

Here's the press release on Warden's Keep to clarify things:

The Warden’s Keep premium DLC will provide players of Dragon Age: Origins with a new dungeon-exploring adventure, new loot including a set of ancient Grey Warden armor, a chance to gain two of six mysterious new abilities, a new base complete with merchants and a party chest to store their hard-earned items. The Warden’s Keep adventure is based on an ancient myth in the Dragon Age universe, where two centuries ago the legendary guardians known as the Grey Wardens were expelled from the land amidst a storm of blood and betrayal. Until very recently, the Wardens have been in exile, while their fortress remains overgrown and reportedly haunted. Over the long years, legends of great treasures and forgotten lore have been told of this hidden location, but no one has ever ventured there and returned alive. Warden’s Keep gives gamers the chance to unearth this lost chapter of Grey Warden history. With their trusty party and a new guide, Dragon Age: Origins players will have an opportunity to unravel the mystery behind the fall of Warden’s Keep, and finally reclaim it for the order.

I think the inventory got attached to the DLC and wasn't originally part of the planned release.

Limited inventory space! Having to leave loot worth less on the dungeon floor since your bags are full! Oh no that sounds just like pretty much every other RPG ever made! The horror!

LeapingGnome wrote:

Limited inventory space! Having to leave loot worth less on the dungeon floor since your bags are full! Oh no that sounds just like pretty much every other RPG ever made! The horror!

+1

Really how many leather bucklers (which sell for 5 gold) do I really need? Having to sell junk is part of RPGs. The only game I ever really kept stuff was Diablo. Sometimes I would want to switch elemental damage types (like from fire to ice) so it was nice to have a backup weapon. But that is really the exception.

I've got it and I am really enjoying it so far. However, one complaint. I am getting TREMENDOUS load times between areas. Like 5 minutes. Seriously. Anyone else getting that?

I should have dug into DA: Journeys earlier...To get one of the items you have to beat the game thrice, and it is not by any means a quick half hour browser game. It's also hard, and seems to require some grinding. The prize I really want is an amulet that gives 5% added damage to all magic types. You have to beat the game on hard..hopefully I can get it done tonight.

If anyone has done this and has advice on character builds or anything, let me know please. I can't get by what I think is the last major fight, against an ogre and two Alpha Genlocks.

JimmDogg wrote:

I've got it and I am really enjoying it so far. However, one complaint. I am getting TREMENDOUS load times between areas. Like 5 minutes. Seriously. Anyone else getting that?

On PC, JD?

Wayfarer wrote:

Wardens keep is supposed to add additional quests, items, etc. so yes definitely more than just a place to stash your jank.

I keep my jank in my pants where it should be! (Couldnt resist)

I'm forgetting my lunch tomorrow so I have to come home (just after 11:00 AM local time) to pick it up. While I'm here, I might as well start the download on Impulse!

On PC, JD?

Yeah. I am checking the system specs now. I don't have a top of the line machine, but I am in the "recommended" territory. I only have 3 gigs of RAM. I don't have any problem running the game when it loads, it just takes forever. I am running a defrag now. Console gaming FTW.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Limited inventory space! Having to leave loot worth less on the dungeon floor since your bags are full! Oh no that sounds just like pretty much every other RPG ever made! The horror!

I don't mind the limited space, but do mind not knowing which items are more valuable.

JimmDogg wrote:
On PC, JD?

I am running a defrag now. Console gaming FTW.

Yeah, because no console games have long load times

I haven't had a single load time so far that lasted over 20 seconds myself. Sounds like some weird situation with your machine. Maybe try reinstalling?

Jeff-66 wrote:
JimmDogg wrote:
On PC, JD?

I am running a defrag now. Console gaming FTW.

Yeah, because no console games have long load times :-)

At least if there is, you know it is the game's fault. There's something daunting about the number of possible problems a PC game could be suffering from..

Me thinks you guys with the game are posting too much, get playing! j/k Please keep the rest of us updated and increasingly more jealous.

So, what races/classes y'all playing? I'm thinking of trying a Human Mage, though I almost never play a caster.

I am actually a big "mage person." But I am very very tempted to play as a Dwarven Commoner. Having read the book, I hope we can join the "Legion of the Dead."

Edit: but I am likely to start with an Elf commoner mage first.

mrwynd wrote:
stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
stauf7 wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Elycion wrote:
IUMogg wrote:

This is a little disappointing. According to Mr. Chick, it's easy to run out of backpack space and if you want access to a place to store items it cost extra irl money.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/11/d...

There's been a lot of nerd rage about the entire "Day One DLC" and inventory issue. I just can't buy into it. I cannot recall a single RPG I've ever played that didn't use limited inventory space as a mechanic, Dragon Age is no different here.

They just need to have the player character say something interesting when the inventory's full:

"I gotta pawn some of this stuff."

"Too much baggage!"

Hahah. Was that from Sacred when you played as a Dark Elf?

FAIL. That was the warrior from Diablo, though I suppose not a lot of people played as the warrior.

In my defense it's been a LONG time since I installed Diablo.

And the Warrior was the worst one.

You shut your filthy mouth! The warrior wipes the floor with Diablo!

I play quite a few crpgs, but I rarely play a caster. Usually I'll play some kind of rogue or ranger. I'm thinking about trying a mage, since the backstory is set up to keep mages from being all powerful. Plus, I'm ready to bash some Chantry heads in.