Jan 11, 2018 - Learn how to download your downloadable content (DLC) for classic Origin games, Crysis, Dragon Age, and Shift 2: Unleashed, and buy DLC.
When BioWare moved from Dragon Age 2 to Dragon Age: Inquisition, something was lost. It was an expansion called Exalted March.
We didn't know about Exalted March until BioWare canned it, and we weren't told why it was dropped. But we assumed; we assumed BioWare wanted to get away from the negative reaction to Dragon Age 2 and onto something new ASAP.
'But not so!' Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw revealed on Twitter last night. 'It was the move to Frostbite.
First off? Why did we cancel it? Easy to assume it was ?the reaction? to DAII, but not so! It was the move to Frostbite.
— Mike Laidlaw ? E3 (@Mike_Laidlaw) January 12, 2017'We had an opportunity to do [both] at the same time, but knew as it would be the first time that engine did 'RPG stuff' it would be hard.
'As most everything in making games, it certainly was challenging. Great engine, but took tons of time. Had we tried to do both [Exalted March] and the Frostbite transition, both would have suffered a lot, especially from lack of engineering folks. So [executive producer Mark Darrah] made the call to stop development on EM and go all in on what would become DAI.'
Exalted March didn't make it much past concept, Laidlaw said. Exalted Marches are the name given to religious crusades by the game's churchy Chantry.
'The idea, however, was that [EM] followed the red lyrium chicanery of DA2 with the Chantry becoming VERY UPSET, while various aspects of the qunari started to make moves on the turbulent Free Marches [of which the game's Kirkwall is a city state].
'And thus it fell to Hawke [you] to stop things from going to hell (again) while working with Starkhaven and the pirates of the Armada.'
The story would start at the Hanged Man tavern in Lowtown, take place on the nearby island of Estwatch, and had, in Laidlaw's opinion, 'some really interesting stories to tell'. You'd find out more about follower Sebastian's family, apparently.
'But as it stood, I think shutting it down was the right call.'
'There is plenty of evidence that it can cause brain damage'
Dragon Age 2 came out in 2011, and was heavily criticised for being rushed, environments reused and so on. Nevertheless it had some interesting ideas, such as being set in one city over a number of years - time would roll on by, say, a decade, when you reached a certain point. This allowed you to see the consequences of your actions years down the line.
Two story add-ons were released after the game. One was Legacy, which added a much needed new location (the base game was starved of them), a prison, where the big baddie of Dragon Age: Inquisition lurked, no less. The other was Mark of the Assassin, which featured actor Felicia Day as guest party member Tallis, and also a new location.
Paul Dean wrote a Dragon Age 2 retrospective for us a few years back.
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Dragon Age 2 and the lack of Ultimate Edition? (DLC Store Discussion)
In the hype for the upcoming release of Inquisition I have started to play though the series again. Recently I had acquired the DA:O Ultimate Edition for my pc and so far it has been great! Been getting right into and enjoying it!
I had been looking for the follow up DA:2 for my pc, after previously playing it on my PS3, and I have came up against a bit of a problem. DA:2 has no Ultimate Edition.
The reason Bioware/EA gave for this was the fact that no retailer would stock it as they felt it would not sell. Essentially.
This means that anybody looking to play through the series fully (With all Story DLC) will be subject to the Origin store and fork out $20 dollars in DLC for a game that now sells online anywhere from £3-£15. Meanwhile can still get Origins: Ultimate Edition for around £5.
Now when they started releasing DLC for DA:2 they removed DA:2 from Steam, stating that Valve were Restrictive in how DLC should be sold.
This cause all DLC to be moved to Origin (IMO I think it was a move to push Origin). Thus all DLC has moved to Origin, and the price is non-reflective of the games age, nor the competitive market. (If there was one, I however refer to the price the base game is sold at in retailers.)
From experience of playing on consoles I know that while retailer prices for base game drops, DLC remains constant. Look at Origins DLC price on PSN, all of it still costs ~£28 not including Awakening which is a further £15. Not reflective of the games current market.
All I am asking for is for a digital package containing all enclosed DLC which is reflective of the current market and base game. Just redeemable codes included in the purchase, not a whole rebranding and packaging of the product. Almost call it a Legacy Bundle! Especially with the new game releasing on PS4 and XB1 we will see a new set of fans who may want to experience the older games and get more background on the story and world in which they have just discovered.
I don't think EA/Bioware have intentionally held the DLC behind the Origin/DLC store paywall like PSN in which it will have no reflective price to the market or base game retailers. They did release all their 'pre-order' DLC for free to all fans, depending on what your stance on pre-order bonuses are it's relatively a step in the right direction.
I just want to purchase all this content for a current day market price.
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