Dragon Age: Inquisition Introducing Alternative to Save Imports

[StewShearerOld]

Dragon Age: Inquisition Introducing Alternative to Save Imports

Dragon Age: Inquisition will utilize the Dragon Age Keep, which will allow players to customize a "historical world state" based on choices from the first two games.

As much as the Dragon Age series is a franchise about commanding a team of fantasy warriors in battles against monsters, horrors and whiny, whiny mages, it's also a game about choice. Throughout both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, players are confronted with decisions that can affect the course of the story across games. Fans of the series, in turn, have understandability been wondering as to how Bioware plans to bring their past actions to the series' next iteration, Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Those players can stop wondering because Bioware has unveiled the blog post by Mark Darrah, executive producer for Dragon Age, "you'll be able to customize as much or as little about the world of Thedas as you wish." This will allow players to not only recreate the world the way they left it in past games, but also to tweak any elements or events they might have wanted to go differently.

While the studio is "continuing to investigate ways in which save files from previous games could be used," it devised the Dragon Age Keep as its primary solution to several problems. Darrah admits, for instance, that "some current save imports are buggy." The data files created by the Keep will presumably be more stable. Likewise, the Keep provides a way for player's choices to bridge the gap between the next-gen consoles and their predecessors. "It was a priority that our fans be able to have their decisions carry forward, regardless of their past or future platform," explained Darrah.

All of these good and logical explanations aside, as someone who invested quite a bit of time in Origins and Dragon Age 2, I think it will still feels disappointing to not be bringing my actual save file to Inquisition. Importing your is, in some ways, like an acknowledgment of the work you put into the game and the experience you had. Even if you can create something identical with the Keep, to me it's just not the same. That said, I'm curious to see what other's think of the Dragon Age Keep. Are you for it, or are you a sentimentalist like myself who's going to complain about an arguably ideal solution to a genuine problem? Either way, if you're interested in being a part of the Keep's beta, you can sign up now.

Source: Bioware


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[Camaranth]

Okay call me stupid, I've read the blog post but I still don't understand what the Keep is. Is it like the dlc comic thing they did for Mass Effect?

Big issue for me though is my 360 isn't online and I don't want it online so can I still get my import data into Inquisition?

Personal grievances aside, it is nice to see them recognizing the current system isn't ideal, that we care about the decisions we made from the previous games being carried over and creating a system to let us do that well. Cause it's all the little touched that make these games so great, I want a cameo of the dwarf I sent to the circle (or not) and if I killed someone they had better stay dead!

 

[Cybylt]

Well that's neat, especially for people like me who played Origins and 2 on a system they no longer have.

 

[octafish]

What a ridiculous farce. They don't care about your decisions, they have proved that more than once. Kill the Rachni, or spare the Rachni, it doesn't matter, look Rachni yay. How are they going to retroactively fix the Leiiana issue?

 

[mad825]

Great...As if Bioware games lacked meaningful choices, the pulled the gun on it completely. Congrats Bioware! Don't ever say you weren't corrupted by EA.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I'm really excited about it overall. I think it's going to be fascinating to look at the choice trees (even though I've pretty much already played what has to be damn near every combination of choices over dozens of play throughs) and I think it's a great solution to the cross-systems issue. The fact that they are putting such an emphasis on this and the choices is really encouraging too - because it means they've taken some of the dismay feedback about choices in other series and are likely trying to offer actual player participation in the narrative creation, which I think is a huge step.

People are going to nay-say and people are going to point backwards at other things and I get that, but the evolution of games like this - series like this - that attempt co-authoring are actually an important element of the development of narrative in the video game medium and I, for one, and really pleased to see it being worked on at least. Sure, it won't be perfect, and what is really? - but at least they are making the effort and I think it might turn into something special.

I also appreciate them acknowledging the buggy nature of the imports for the last games and how the inconsistencies - even within the game itself (like in Origins, recently, I made Anora queen and Alistair was still rambling about becoming King before the final battle, it was... off putting) - were disruptive. A solid transfer of decisions that will be reactive is definitely preferable.

 

[Compatriot Block]

I am on a different Xbox hard drive than I was on when I played Origins and 2, so this is awesome news. I've always wished game choices could be attached to a gamertag instead.

I just wanted to get some positive stuff in early before this devolves.

 

[TWEWYFan]

This is actually a pretty good idea I think, at least on paper. I mean I'll wait and see how it's executed but it'd be nice to have a way to experiment with different choices without having to potentially replay to whole games just to see what happens in the third.

 

[Legion]

So it is basically the comic thing PS3 Mass Effect players had to allow them to have the choices they want without playing the previous games.

Not a bad idea really, as somebody has played both Dragon Ages to the point where I cannot really enjoy them any more, it is a nice thought knowing I can set things up the way I like without playing through 40+ hours of content again.

Although I wish they'd stop with the "choices matter" spiel. The games never have meaningful decisions carry over into the sequels. At worst it tends to involve a couple of lines of dialogue changing and at best it involves a few cameo's from characters from the previous games.

In some ways I'd prefer it if they kept them as separate games. It's not like they need to mention the events of the previous games considering it is set in a different country with a different focus for the story.

 

[Another]

Seems fine to be. I can remake the world as i left it, and new players can craft their own backgrounds. Win Win as far as i'm concerned.

 

[Mirrorknight]

Good. If this actually works and the game is worth getting, I can still have all my choices from Origins carry over, then pick what happened in 2, making it so I never actually have to inflict playing through the entirety of 2 on myself.

 

[Infernai]

What a ridiculous farce. They don't care about your decisions, they have proved that more than once. Kill the Rachni, or spare the Rachni, it doesn't matter, look Rachni yay. How are they going to retroactively fix the Leiiana issue?

Knowing Bioware, i can foresee four possible outcomes.

1. The Leliana seen in 2 wasn't the real Leliana if she's killed in origins. She's actually Leliana's...umm, Long lost twin sister err...Anailel? Eh, whatever, it'll do as a placeholder name. Anyway, she went on a quest to find her sibling and eventually found out from getting Oghren utterly wasted where the urn was. She went there, found her dead sister, and put the pieces together: The Warden killed her. Wanting to lure the warden back out she took her sisters identity and joined the Seekers, hoping to lure the Warden out and exact revenge for her dead sibling.

2. The maker/Flemeth raised her somehow (Probably the most likely)

3. Bioware will just retcon it so that she never dies.

4. The whole issue will never be explained and dropped entirely.

 

[Simple Bluff]

What a ridiculous farce. They don't care about your decisions, they have proved that more than once. Kill the Rachni, or spare the Rachni, it doesn't matter, look Rachni yay. How are they going to retroactively fix the Leiiana issue?

Knowing Bioware, i can foresee four possible outcomes.

1. The Leliana seen in 2 wasn't the real Leliana if she's killed in origins. She's actually Leliana's...umm, Long lost twin sister err...Anailel? Eh, whatever, it'll do as a placeholder name. Anyway, she went on a quest to find her sibling and eventually found out from getting Oghren utterly wasted where the urn was. She went there, found her dead sister, and put the pieces together: The Warden killed her. Wanting to lure the warden back out she took her sisters identity and joined the Seekers, hoping to lure the Warden out and exact revenge for her dead sibling.

2. The maker/Flemeth raised her somehow (Probably the most likely)

3. Bioware will just retcon it so that she never dies.

4. The whole issue will never be explained and dropped entirely.

It was already retconned I believe; she was "healed" by Andraste's Sacred Ashes - yes, even if you decapitated her. Ashes can fix that. At least it makes more sense than Anders' retconned death...

Nathaniel: ... Anders? Holy fuck dude, we thought you were killed! We saw you get cut down and everything!

Anders: Oh that? Nah... you guys just confused me for somebody else. Silly you.

Nathaniel: Oh, of course. Now, let's not bring this up again, ever.

EDIT: Oh gosh, I'm a terrible forum-goer. In my haste to insult the game, I forgot to say anything relevant! Well, I'm behind this idea. Having to replay the first 2 games in their entirety just to get the import I want would be a massive hassle. Streamlining the import process is something Bioware should've done a long time ago.

To be honest, I like a lot about what I hear about this game. I'm hopeful.

 

[sirjeffofshort]

If all goes as planned this is an amazing boon for me, since my 360 started to crap out I've been using my PS3 exclusively and was actually wondering if I'd have to re-play these games on the PS3 when the next one came out just to have the personalized save state... full disclosure, I may just play them again anyways (especially the first).

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I remember when Knights of the Old Republic 2 did this like nine years ago. You could pick and choose the fate of Revan in the first few minutes of the game when you talked with Atton.

 

[MarsProbe]

Sounds good to me - I never actually bought/played DA2 and my DA:O saves are long gone now so it'll good if there's a way to set things up at least more or less the way I had them (provided I can actually remember the choices I made - Origins was a while ago now).

 

[MrMixelPixel]

This is a fantastic idea and I hope they implement it well. They've already brought back the race options. I'm gonna choose to be stupidly optimistic.