Dragon Age 3: Inquisition announced

[zinfamous]

I'm not sure how I feel about this change. As has been mentioned, the game is far more Skyrim like in the open world, endless quest way of things. If is up to you to find a balance of leveling up and doing the nearly endless side quests (not endless, but it does take a long time), and doing the main quests. This run through, I ended up doing most quests, but I do plan to play through the game again, but focusing on the more interesting quests/rifts (rifts are a great source of reputation for inquisition points).

I feel the same way. It's probably way I played this more like Skyrim than DA:O. between that and this, I played Skyrim, and was hooked on that idea (pretty much hated ES games before that--well, I played them plenty of hours...just annoyed by the lack of direction)

Anyhoo, I learned to appreciate the lack of direction, and this game really puts you on that path if you want to accept it. I ran with it, and you can do endless fetch quests to level and get yourself fully immersed in the world that was created, but it will double your playtime. I played from hour 1 to hour 130 on Hard without any real problem (wondering in circles and missing a door here and there; letting the game run while I sleep one night...whatever), I would say this is still a solid ~70-80 hour game without too much repetitive mindless play, and solid leveling and challenge to make it worthwhile.

I like that each level matters. I'm somewhat jaded by MMOs, or other high level games, where it takes about 5 or 8 levels to notice any meaningful change. This one does it well.

 

[zinfamous]

Went ahead and "patched"

"We are unable to connect to EA servers to activate Dragon Age:Inquisition."

Can't activate?...um, I am sorry. I have 130 hours logged into this game, after paying $60. This game was activated 130 hours ago. I don't need to sign anything new, I don't need to agree to one more thing to fix something that has already been purchased.

Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable.

 

[Bateluer]

Went ahead and "patched"

"We are unable to connect to EA servers to activate Dragon Age:Inquisition."

Can't activate?...um, I am sorry. I have 130 hours logged into this game, after paying $60. This game was activated 130 hours ago. I don't need to sign anything new, I don't need to agree to one more thing to fix something that has already been purchased.

Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable.

They had some DRM server issues, I'm shocked. Reddit was reporting it all over the place. Supposed to be fixed now though.

 

[Red Hawk]

Went ahead and "patched"

"We are unable to connect to EA servers to activate Dragon Age:Inquisition."

Can't activate?...um, I am sorry. I have 130 hours logged into this game, after paying $60. This game was activated 130 hours ago. I don't need to sign anything new, I don't need to agree to one more thing to fix something that has already been purchased.

Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable.

Yikes. Looking at the BioWare forums, some people were able to figure out that the validation requests were returning 404 errors. So this is a server side issue, not a patch issue. Hopefully it gets resolved soon. This DRM does seem like more trouble than it's worth. Not "always on" bad, but if it's requesting validation this often, it might be the next worst thing.

 

[ControlD]

I must just be lucky. I installed the patch, saw the plastic looking hair, added the command line argument and was back to normal. I haven't noticed anything major except the search function showing the items on the radar screen.

Every time I see the "Connecting To Dragon Age Servers" I feel nervous. What is going to happen in a year or two when EA decides it is no longer profitable to keep those servers active?

 

[Red Hawk]

I must just be lucky. I installed the patch, saw the plastic looking hair, added the command line argument and was back to normal. I haven't noticed anything major except the search function showing the items on the radar screen.

Every time I see the "Connecting To Dragon Age Servers" I feel nervous. What is going to happen in a year or two when EA decides it is no longer profitable to keep those servers active?

I think the "Connecting to Dragon Age Servers" is more about syncing the game with its online features. It's not validating the game every time you run it (or else the DRM problems would be much more prevalent). DRM validation should happen periodically in Origin when you run the game's .exe. If you're seeing "Connecting to Dragon Age servers", the .exe is already running and you're past DRM validation.

 

[Anteaus]

I must just be lucky. I installed the patch, saw the plastic looking hair, added the command line argument and was back to normal. I haven't noticed anything major except the search function showing the items on the radar screen.

Every time I see the "Connecting To Dragon Age Servers" I feel nervous. What is going to happen in a year or two when EA decides it is no longer profitable to keep those servers active?

It's a reasonable concern, but they've been doing it as far back as the first Mass Effect. Most games these days ship with an integrated online component that may or not be obvious.

EA has gotten some well earned bruises over the past 5 years, but I have to admit that I've been generally pleased with Origin and how they have treated their PC games of late. The initial EULA was crappy but now it mirrors steam. I guess only time will tell.

 

[Red Hawk]

At least nowadays EA can say that it's not bloody Ubisoft. I think Ubisoft has taken the crown from EA when it comes to executive meddling, poor QA, anti-consumer practices and general carelessness.

 

[Anteaus]

At least nowadays EA can say that it's not bloody Ubisoft. I think Ubisoft has taken the crown from EA when it comes to executive meddling, poor QA, anti-consumer practices and general carelessness.

+1. My big beefs with Ubisoft right now are double-DRM and QA. Requiring Uplay on top of Steam stupid.

 

[Subyman]

Yup, Ubisoft should be worst company of the year this time. When the new BF comes out as a hot mess, they can switch the crown again.

 

[bystander36]

Went ahead and "patched"

"We are unable to connect to EA servers to activate Dragon Age:Inquisition."

Can't activate?...um, I am sorry. I have 130 hours logged into this game, after paying $60. This game was activated 130 hours ago. I don't need to sign anything new, I don't need to agree to one more thing to fix something that has already been purchased.

Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable.

I had that message, but the reason for the message was that it was already updating when you double click the game, and tried again once logged into Origin. It probably is already updating.

If you meant the in game loggin, you can just wait and play offline. If it fails to log in, you can still play, you just won't save to the cloud. At least I've been able to a couple times.

 

[poohbear]

after the patch performance is much smoother. anyone else notice this?

 

[bystander36]

after the patch performance is much smoother. anyone else notice this?

Not until I reattached the command line argument to remove the 30 FPS cap. I noticed the cutscenes were choppy...it took me a couple hours before I realized why.

 

[zinfamous]

I had that message, but the reason for the message was that it was already updating when you double click the game, and tried again once logged into Origin. It probably is already updating.

If you meant the in game loggin, you can just wait and play offline. If it fails to log in, you can still play, you just won't save to the cloud. At least I've been able to a couple times.

It was after full install, computer restart, origin restart, game integrity check, etc. It just wouldn't load through Origin--and I had played it offline before, and this wouldn't work. I'm just confused why it would have to be verified more than once?


What is the command line for hair and FPS that everyone is talking about?

 

[PenguinPower]

You can respec countless times throughout the game.

The only thing that starting choices determine:

-Class: you are either rogue, warrior, or mage...and dude or chic
-the crappy white weapons that you find ~5 minutes into the game (obviously, this is meaningless).

The main issue, really, is that warriors can not dual-wield, and can not use bows. classes are weapon dependent, so you want to choose the class that best suits a range of ways that you like to play.

--All warriors are mele. either shield and one-hand or dual-wield. Two of 3 classes are tanks, the other is DPS
--Warriors are either dagger dual-wield or bow. Crazy DPS and stealth, or ranged bow or ranged traps and bow.
--Mages are best used as one element type, + support/barriers. always ranged...well, until specialization


specializations: the 2nd point (level 10ish) where your choice is permanent.
--warriors: either better at being tanks, or better at being a zero health DPS monster (only dual wield specs)

--Rogues: DPS specialization with assassins. highest damage output in the game, but squishy. avoiding hits is easy, though. Also solid ranged trap and tonic bow specs. insane burst damage. (My bow Sera does things that I don't yet understand)

--Mages: Necromancer...eh, who cares. the support spec...eh who cares.
Knight Enchanter: breaks the game. Do this if you want easy mode. It's a mele-spec mage that can't be killed and kills everything else if you know what you're doing. fuck that noise.

Bow, rogue tempest with flask of fire and thousand cuts with tier 3 focus will out damage an assassin (11,400% weapon damage * 165 weapon damage with Tier 3 weapon.). Given that you can go stealth after every use, I'd say it's less squishy too.

 

[Red Hawk]

It was after full install, computer restart, origin restart, game integrity check, etc. It just wouldn't load through Origin--and I had played it offline before, and this wouldn't work. I'm just confused why it would have to be verified more than once?


What is the command line for hair and FPS that everyone is talking about?

http://forum.bioware.com/topic/532511-dragon-age-inquisition-patch-2/

"We're working on getting a hot fix out for the PC graphics issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, here is a workaround you can try:

To start, make sure the quality setting you choose is equal to the setting set for Mesh Quality inside Options>Graphics

You will need to add a new command line parameter. To do this:

Through Origin:

1. Right click on the Dragon Age Inquisition title
2. Go to game properties
3. Type the command line parameter in the Command Line Properties box.

Through shortcut:

1. Right Click Shortcut
2. Go to Properties
3. Under target go to the end of the field and type the command line parameter into the box

Once there, add the following command line parameter: -ShaderSystem.ShaderQualityLevel <quality setting>
In this instance, <quality setting> should be one of the following:

• Ultra
• High
• Medium
• Low

An example of how to set your quality to high would be: -ShaderSystem.ShaderQualityLevel High

Please note that once the hot fix is out, you will need to go back in and remove this workaround from your command line.

It’s also important to note that pre-patch 2, all users on PC were being forced to use the Ultra shader quality. This means that those of you playing on lower settings will notice a decrease in quality, particularly players using low or medium settings.
To achieve the same visuals as pre-patch, users on lower settings will need to change their settings to Ultra, which should likewise be used in conjunction with Ultra mesh quality. Mismatching the mesh and shader settings will result in other visual artifacts like overly shiny hair.
Please be aware that changing settings to Ultra may impact performance on some machines.

Sorry about any frustration this may have caused."

 

[zinfamous]

Bow, rogue tempest with flask of fire and thousand cuts with tier 3 focus will out damage an assassin (11,400% weapon damage * 165 weapon damage with Tier 3 weapon.). Given that you can go stealth after every use, I'd say it's less squishy too.

That's probably true--My Sera did some nasty shit to a level 21 dragon (Hissing Wastes). About 40% health drop at the opening.

Though, I thought Thousand Cuts was deactivated with Bow equipped? A actually removed it from her skill bar and she's still making those big hits. I did give her that unique bow that shoots 3 arrows at a time.

 

[Red Hawk]

Update from BioWare employee Conal Pierse on the BioWare forums:

"Later on today we'll be implementing a hotfix for Patch 2 on PC to address graphical issues our players have been experiencing. This fix will ensure that the graphics settings are working correctly for everyone; however, players who are using lower graphics settings will notice changes to the visuals they are used to.

Before Patch 2, released December 9, shader quality for all PC users was being forced to run at Ultra. This impacted the performance of low-end machines and caused some unintended visual artifacts for users whose mesh quality was set lower than Ultra. As a result, users with Low or Medium mesh settings saw hair that was shinier than expected.

We attempted to address this in Patch 2 by binding the two settings so that mesh and shader quality were always the same. However, this fix wasn't properly implemented, and it forced shader quality to Low. We provided a command-line workaround Tuesday, but that still required players to ensure that the new shader quality matched their mesh settings.

This hotfix will correctly bind the mesh and shader settings and eliminate this issue. However, now that shader quality is being set correctly for everyone, players using lower settings will notice a decrease in the quality of visuals. This includes the removal of some features such as scars and freckles.

Most notably, the lower settings do not support blending of the age layer, so some users may notice that their Inquisitor (or custom Hawke) has aged considerably. And while this change is how it was originally intended to work, it could be understandably frustrating for people who created their characters before Patch 2.

If you would like to correct this change, you can set your mesh quality to High or Ultra. This will enable features that are disabled on lower settings, but may impact your framerate and performance.

We're sorry for any stress or confusion this may have caused, and we thank the community for helping us quickly identify and address this issue."

 

[Anteaus]

Does anyone know how to turn off DOF and Motion blur?

 

[Red Hawk]

Does anyone know how to turn off DOF and Motion blur?

The Post Processing Effects setting (not Post Processing AA) controls both depth of field and motion blur. Turn that off and you turn those off.

 

[zinfamous]

Most notably, the lower settings do not support blending of the age layer, so some users may notice that their Inquisitor (or custom Hawke) has aged considerably. And while this change is how it was originally intended to work, it could be understandably frustrating for people who created their characters before Patch 2.

If you would like to correct this change, you can set your mesh quality to High or Ultra. This will enable features that are disabled on lower settings, but may impact your framerate and performance.

We're sorry for any stress or confusion this may have caused, and we thank the community for helping us quickly identify and address this issue."

Well, that's rather terrible if you want or need to run mesh at medium or lower, and you've already got an end game character. I don't think this will effect me, but damn that is horrible.

 

[Red Hawk]

Well, that's rather terrible if you want or need to run mesh at medium or lower, and you've already got an end game character. I don't think this will effect me, but damn that is horrible.

I asked Conal to clarify this:

"So basically, if I'm reading this right, the patch will cause facial features to appear as they already should have if the shader setting bug hadn't been in the original release of the game. In other words, the patch isn't causing the age change, the age was always like that but was hidden by the shader bug.

It's a bit disappointing that the patched lower settings don't support things like facial scars."

His response:

"Yep, that is correct. And unfortunately, yes, the loss of some visual features is part of performance trade-off for lower graphics settings."

The fault for the face problems ultimately lies with the original release of the game, the patch just ended up exposing it as part of the fix to the settings bugs.

 

[Anteaus]

The Post Processing Effects setting (not Post Processing AA) controls both depth of field and motion blur. Turn that off and you turn those off.

Hmm I'll take another look. I thought it only allowed me to turn it down to low...I didn't realize off was an option. Thanks.

 

[sactoking]

So I keep seeing this compared to Skyrim in many ways. I really like Origins, never played 2. I HATED Skyrim. Thought it was incredibly boring. On the fence about Inquisition but if it's too "Skyrimmy" then I may have to avoid.

Unfortunately, looks to be the same with Witcher 3...

 

[zinfamous]

Hmm I'll take another look. I thought it only allowed me to turn it down to low...I didn't realize off was an option. Thanks.

Yes, it's either on or off. I don't like that these two features are bundled together--Why can't I turn on DoF and turn off motion blur? It's a PC version, for chrissakes. :\