No toolset or isometric camera for Dragon Age II

PC News | UPDATE: Response from BioWare.

In what will likely come as disappointing news to the purist and creative Dragon Age fans out there, BioWare has revealed in a French gaming magazine that the PC release of Dragon Age II will not feature an isometric camera view or tool-set, despite its predecessor featuring such things.

The isometric camera view was the primary (and often only) viewing option for many older role playing games; and fans were pleased to see it as an option in the PC release of Dragon Age, echoing the role playing view and style of another popular BioWare title, Baldur's Gate. According to BioWare, the lack of an isometric camera in Dragon Age II can be put down to high quality models and textures, as they do not wish to remove players from the intended visual presentation and quality.

As for the tool-set, a popular modding program used by fans to creatively enhance Dragon Age with their own items, characters, and quests, BioWare did not have much more to say other than it was simply no longer part of the package, citing that while the tool-set was powerful it was also 'very complicated'.

Dragon Age II is chalked up for an early 2011 release across PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

UPDATE: This news must have made quite an impact within the Dragon Age community, with BioWare now offering a directly reply in relation to the tool-set and isometric views.

There appeared to be a little bit of mistranslation regarding the isometric camera. While the traditional isometric camera of Dragon Age will still not be making a return, a similar 'tactical view' option will take its place. BioWare have stated that it is unlikely to pull back as far as the traditional isometric camera, but still offer flexibility in disconnecting from the main character and issuing party commands.

As for the tool-set, it is indeed true that there will be no tool-set shipping with Dragon Age II. However, the tool-set BioWare are using for the title closely resembles the tool-set used for the original game, and they are looking into the option of updating the older community tool-set to support modifications for Dragon Age II.

Hopefully the new 'tactical view' as well as potential tool-set updates will be revealed in the coming months.

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21 Comments

Frozencry

2 years ago

Ffffffffff.

If that new 'tactical' view is balls, I'mma be mega pissed. As if slap the PC gamers in the face like that.

jesuslol

2 years ago

I see this not ending well. Why say that the 'tactical' view is removed and replaced with another 'tactical' view? It seems retarded. Couldn't they have just said oh the tactical view is slightly changed so it doesn't zoom out as far? I think that replacing it entirely with a new system is going to make a massive mess of this game.

Dragon Age was meant to be a spiritual successor to all the old school crpgs. Now it is turning into fantasy Mass Effect.

Benza

2 years ago

man fuck the tactical view, no tool set? That's absolutly insane.

the entire reason I bought it on PC over console was for the toolset and the insane amount of mods. The stuff in those mods is ridiculous, fully realised new charecters with voiced dialouge, custom storylines etc

If they don't update the toolset to work with Dragon age 2 then I'm going to be mighty fucking pissed off.

Jahanzeb

2 years ago

I read the Game Informer article at the newsagent, basically they are making it more console-ised, optimising it for the console first. Kinda like Mass Effect 2.

Frozencry

2 years ago

^Which is really, really gay.

They already significantly dumbed down the combat system by removing DnD rules from it (and let's face it, DA: O is pretty much Baldurs Gate 3), so now they're just going all Mass Effect?

Don't get me wrong, I like ME, but it s**ts me off when they screw the more hardcore fanbase off by killing the hardcore appeal. I want my isometrics and my selective combat, it's why I love DA: O.

And also I'm with Benza: no toolset is retarded.

Argh! /mumbles

Jarrod

2 years ago

Its a bit silly to go the path of Mass Effect anyway. Mass Effect was never a 'hardcore' PC game. It was always a clumsy third person shooter with a dash of role playing thrown in for good measure. Some of ME2's design changes were questionable, but a lot of them made for a more polished product regardless of the platform it was released on.

Dragon Age, on the other hand, wasn't the same type of game, and ways always supposed to be the closest to 'old school' role playing design. That was its market, and that was largely what attracted its substantial PC following.

Killing that isn't like Mass Effect -> Mass Effect 2, its literally changing the game's market entirely, and likely to do more damage than good.

el_rezzo

2 years ago

This article mirror's my opinion on Dragon Age.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/07/13/dragon-age-biowares-smashiest-hit-ever/

It also doesn't help that Bioware came out and said they want their next game to sell 10 million copies. Hopefully they don't overthink DA2 to the point where it falls apart, rather than polishing it similar to ME->ME2.

light487

2 years ago

Hrmm.. sucky.. They removed the toolset because "it was too complicated"??? Yer right.. they just want to release DLC and make more money in my opinion. Toolsets have always been fairly complicated and even the most complicated ones have been made to work by those indy mod/expansion makers... heck even in some cases, they have even re-engineered them to do things the original toolset was incapable of doing! So that's just bull dust..

As for the view angle.. why limit a game's popularity by such a move?? If they really wanted to, they can have an option to turn the isometric view on hidding away in the bowels of the menus to prevent it from being used by mistake or by the people you are trying to target with your "new" tactical view and preserve the game's visual appeal. There's no technical reason to not have the option there and that's what makes such a decision, given that the view is so popular, a bad one.

Nietzsche

2 years ago

As everybody's pointed out they are turning it into a Mass Effect fantasy clone. I find it hard to complain as from what I heard most people brought the console version, which was a clearly inferior product. Most of the changes will greatly benefit those audiences which is a shame/inevitable. Of course the hardcore which was the originals audience is getting screwed by this. There is one good thing though, it's still using the same engine so all the parts will be there hopefully.

Hopefully the companion system will be changed mainly cause I was trying to get their opinion higher and not playing how I wanted to play.

light487

2 years ago

Nietzsche wrote

Hopefully the companion system will be changed mainly cause I was trying to get their opinion higher and not playing how I wanted to play.

+1..

Definitely agree with this.. I only played the first few hours of DA so don't know the full effect of the system but I found I was constantly either re-loading because I said something "wrong" or working on staying on their good sides. It's one thing to have realistic reactions but I remember some of them were likened to a spoilt brat who is going to take their ball home if you don't let them win every time.

Benza

2 years ago

light487 wrote

I think they mean it was too complicated for them not for the users. As in it's a hell of a lot of work to put together.

Cyph

2 years ago

Sounds like a 'tactical' failure on Bioware's behalf.

RPGs are quickly going down the 'dumbing-down' path, where the intended audience will be 'Xbros' (or what ever console player term) who will be unable to do anything but dribble on the controller, waiting for the game to play itself so they can ogle at the copious amounts of blood and boobs while shouting expletives.

And here was I thinking the original Dragon Age was too simplified.

Fetidchimp

2 years ago

I am not a pc gamer but i would hardly call myself what was described here.

I mean i was able to read the update.

Island_Wolf

2 years ago

I'm guilty myself for getting the console version (but then back then, I did have PC where Dragon Age would be playable even at the lowest settings) but I really hate to see the future of RPG getting to this.

Too bad when they see a way to get more money, they will do it... it is just sad really

. It wasn't like DA:O was doing bad too so it didn't need to change. ME2 was already disappointing for me (the changes made me get motion sickness from playing)... Bioware just continues to disappoint for me lately.

Benza

2 years ago

Island_Wolf wrote

ME2 was already disappointing for me (the changes made me get motion sickness from playing)... Bioware just continues to disappoint for me lately.

Really? Huh?

that seems like something that's more of a problem with you then a problem with the game. Like maybe you should get that looked at?

Cyph

2 years ago

I have family members who experience similar feelings when playing only certain types of games. It's not as uncommon as you may think.

Sin Ogaris

2 years ago

Nietzsche wrote

Hopefully the companion system will be changed mainly cause I was trying to get their opinion higher and not playing how I wanted to play.

See, I had absolutely no issues with the companion system, I was an absolute bastard to every NPC I met in my travels but I was Mr Smooth in camp and all my party loved me (except when I cheated on Morrigan, but even then she was still happy to see me all the time after that). The companion system was painfully simple I thought, find the item they want and you're home and hosed.

el_rezzo

2 years ago

Sin Ogaris wrote

Yep, I had no problems either. My main concern was how drawn out the game felt. The mages guild pretty much killed it for me, so damn boring. I had the same problem with the first Mass Effect, whereas the second hummed along perfectly. I will say that Dragon Age was a better game though, probably because of the nostalgic feel it gave me of the old computer RPG's.

To further distance themselves from the cRPG will only alienate the original audience more, this is after all dungeoning and dragoning. DA2 will still sell boatloads of copies but it may takeaway some goodwill in the longterm. I am also reminded of this http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=267

Jahanzeb

2 years ago

Dwarf politics bored me so much that I felt like studying during the summer break.

Island_Wolf

2 years ago

Benza wrote

that seems like something that's more of a problem with you then a problem with the game. Like maybe you should get that looked at?

True. But that doesn't stop me from not likely ME2 more though >.> . Customisation is more lacking in ME2. I never worried about armour and weapon and it has the feel that it is a simplified version of ME.

Benza

2 years ago

Jahanzeb wrote

Dwarf politics bored me so much that I felt like studying during the summer break.

Dwarf Politics? That was the bit that got you?

Man dwarf politics was a blast compared to the fucking deep roads.

It just kept going and going and going and going and going and going and going.

I mean fuck, we get it, it's big.

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