Dragon Age: Dreadwolf - Next Dragon Age Game

If I remember correctly, BioWare decided to use Frostbite because of multiple advantages (it was not imposed by EA as many like to think). Then they discovered along the way that it was good for 1st-person view and not meant to be used for 3rd-person view. They had to tweak it a lot to achieve what they wanted.

I'm sure you've already been there: commercial engines, like any framework, always require some expected work to glue everything, and some unexpected work because there are always bugs and parts that don't work correctly no matter how good it is. But if what you want to do is in the features, that should indeed work.

When it's internal code, however, probably spaghetti code which is not documented and only working if you use it as intended… it can be quickly very complex to sort things out. I suppose it's always the question of persisting or giving up on what has already been done and choosing another framework. It's always a difficult decision.
Exactly well said they had to force an engine to do things it was never meant to do.

BioWare messed up even more with Andromeda but you can't only blame Frostbite for that happening. As combat was one of the best aspects of Mass Effect: Andromeda.
 
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If I remember correctly, BioWare decided to use Frostbite because of multiple advantages (it was not imposed by EA as many like to think). Then they discovered along the way that it was good for 1st-person view and not meant to be used for 3rd-person view. They had to tweak it a lot to achieve what they wanted.

I'm sure you've already been there: commercial engines, like any framework, always require some expected work to glue everything, and some unexpected work because there are always bugs and parts that don't work correctly no matter how good it is. But if what you want to do is in the features, that should indeed work.

When it's internal code, however, probably spaghetti code which is not documented and only working if you use it as intended… it can be quickly very complex to sort things out. I suppose it's always the question of persisting or giving up on what has already been done and choosing another framework. It's always a difficult decision.

Yes, I get that. But in terms of third-person view, Frostbite had already been used for third-person games, and even adapted for racing games. I'd have thought that anyone deciding to use the engine would have realised that some custom work would be needed for their use case.

The bit I find puzzling is why it was so difficult to make RPGs with it, in particular. What I'm getting at is that whether you're making an RPG using simple token sprites (like Knights of the Chalice 2), or something more advanced in a triple A engine, the actual coding of the RPG bits is virtually the same - you have to figure out how you want to implement stats, skills, spells, inventory, levels, etc, and how they interact. I just can't quite imagine how an engine would impede you from doing that stuff. Do you see what I mean?
 
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I'm sure no matter how it turns out, even if likely a mediocre and crappy rpg, someone will write a glowing review and how Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is a "masterpiece" and "unfairly maligned" by "toxic, elitist hardcore rpg gamers"…etc etc… :lol:

It never fails, there is always one gamer somewhere who thinks a really bad game is just amazing, no matter if the game is universally negative reception or reputation…doesn't matter!
Yeah, it's not like this stuff is subjective or something! I've always said that, when it comes to media, it is best to follow the party line and zealously adopt the majority opinion. That's why I like isometric, party-based RPGs: because they are so popular and mainstream, unlike those godawful shooters, MOBAs, and MMOs that no one likes.
 
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Yes, I get that. But in terms of third-person view, Frostbite had already been used for third-person games, and even adapted for racing games. I'd have thought that anyone deciding to use the engine would have realised that some custom work would be needed for their use case.

The bit I find puzzling is why it was so difficult to make RPGs with it, in particular. What I'm getting at is that whether you're making an RPG using simple token sprites (like Knights of the Chalice 2), or something more advanced in a triple A engine, the actual coding of the RPG bits is virtually the same - you have to figure out how you want to implement stats, skills, spells, inventory, levels, etc, and how they interact. I just can't quite imagine how an engine would impede you from doing that stuff. Do you see what I mean?

Ah OK. From what I heard, it hadn't been used with 3rd-person view before and it was a big issue, but maybe it was incorrect. Hadn't been only used with Battlefield games before, when they started using it for DA:I?

The engine may already have managed the characters behaviour, not just the graphics, so it means this part of the engine had to be extended to implement the RPG elements. If that's true, instead of a flexible system meant to be used by anyone like Unreal and adding custom code through an API, they had to modify an existing code which was under development.

That's how I understand it anyway, otherwise I don't see why it should be a problem either.
 
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Ah OK. From what I heard, it hadn't been used with 3rd-person view before and it was a big issue, but maybe it was incorrect. Hadn't been only used with Battlefield games before, when they started using it for DA:I?

Not sure about the timings, but it seems Need for Speed used it in 2011, and Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel (third person) came out in 2013. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was another one. I just wouldn't have imagined it would be all that onerous (for a big studio) to sort out a third person view - I'd have thought it's essentially just a different camera controller, and the introduction of the animated player character. All the hardcore stuff of the engine - the renderer, the physics, the AI, and so on would remain the same - or at least I can't see why really deep changes would be needed.
 
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I see ...

There's also a comic series about one "Judge Dread" ... ;)
 
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I can't wait. While I enjoy Mass Effect more, they haven't made a game I dislike. Well, I wasn't a big fan of that semi-MMO released some years ago. Other than that, everything they make is worth playing.
 
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Dragon Age: Dreadwolf - Community Update - BioWare
Hello, everyone! And welcome back to another BioWare™ Community Update. It’s been a little while since we last spoke, but our work continues—as does the storytelling.

So far, years of effort have gone into our next game, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf™, with hundreds of people working to bring this shared vision to life. We’ve been quietly building it behind the scenes for a while now, so we wanted to give you a look at some stuff we’ve been working on! But let’s start with a little recap for those who might be new around here.
 
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