Squee
2661
Yeah, I certainly wouldn’t need a guide either, but I’m enough of a dork that even if it’s mildly well written and presents secrets and behind the scenes anecdotes for various parts I could have fun reading it. I heard a lot of good about the Fallout 3 guide, and the latest hardcover version of it sounds even spiffier.
Book that looks like that should probably come with a full set of d20 rules for using the setting.
shang
2663
Such bullshit again. I know it’s only three days, and I shouldn’t get annoyed, but it just irks me on principle that Europe gets shafted again. A simultaneous global release can’t really be that bloody difficult to accomplish. I’m tempted to just find a torrent on the 3rd and then move my save game over to the real thing on the 6th.
GoGamer.
[ul]
[li]Oct 30, 2009 4:45 PM Picked up IRVINE, CA
[/li][li]Oct 30, 2009 8:07 PM Left FedEx origin facility IRVINE, CA
[/li][li]Oct 31, 2009 12:52 AM Arrived at FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
[/li][li]Oct 31, 2009 4:53 AM Departed FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
[/li][li]Oct 31, 2009 5:50 AM At dest sort facility TULSA, OK
[/li][/ul]
Arrrrghhh! It’s twenty-five miles away. Okay, so if I go over there now, break in and take it, that doesn’t count as stealing because I already own it. I think that’s how it works.
sigh I would already be playing if I had my pre-order Dimensional Portal +2 Seven-League Boots bonus!
Bah, I have to wait till next Friday for it to be sent out. At the earliest I will get my hands on it on Saturday next week, what with the late release date. :-/ At least I will be aware of any starting kinks to work out when I am starting out.
Funny that GoGamer is shipping already since they’re still accepting Pre-orders. I just put one in for the CE late last night.
It was the cloth map that decided it for me… it appeals to some old-school Ultima memories.
Thanks for the pic!
I don’t suppose you consider opening the book to a random page and snapping a pic of the guide’s page layout?
What’s the point of the regional unlock days? If my pre-order is delivered early (say the day before official release) what is the point of making me wait until the Friday to unlock it? I’m not overly bothered by it, it just seems something of a needless nuisance.
idrisz
2670
it’s in full color, the lore section is extremely detailed near the back, I haven’t look through the walkthrough yet.
Sarkus
2671
As far as I know, those are regional release days and don’t have anything to do with your ability to play the game (not sure about the availability of DLC, though Tom said earlier it was already up for reviewers). There are people already playing DA:O in North America even though the release is still a few days away.
Ahhh, okay. It was just the bit where Derek said ‘Local regional unlock days are unchanged.’ that made me think there was some unlocking procedure a la Steam, whereby you had to twiddle your thumbs before you could play!
Lux
2673
That was, in fact, referring to the Steam version unlock days.
Sarkus
2674
Ah, I didn’t realize this was about a Steam specific issue. Obviously Steam has to follow the release date set by the different regions. But that’s true of all digital delivery providers as far as I know, though I suppose you might be able to get around that.
In general, though, there is nothing at Bioware’s end that refuses to let you play your game if you get it before the official release date in your area.
A few streams are up over at justin.tv. Both that I saw were xbox streams.
My game is currently shipped from gogamer. Most likely I’ll get it on Monday.
-Tim
idrisz
2676
this game is fucking hard on 360, and bad companion pathfinding doesn’t help.
I’m not sure if encounter scale with character level or not, but I can’t get past this one side quest encounter at all, 8 tries and blood mages like 2 shots me.
Quick! don your dragon armor and horde of other dlc equipment to counter the difficulty!
Charles
2678
Sounds like a traditional bioware experience.
One major thing I find strategy guides useful for are maps and screenshots. Sometimes there are web resources that have those things (half the time stolen from official guides), but the major FAQ sites are mostly text-only, and sometimes text just doesn’t give me the information I need.
There are other bonuses - DoubleJump guides in particular are really well written and attractively designed, plus have interviews and such. I’ve really loved Working Designs’ self-published strategy guides, back when that company was still around - more of their wacky sense of humor.
There’s also the “lap” factor - I don’t often buy guides for PC games because I can just glance over to my other computer for a guide, but it’s a pain in the ass to do that for console games, since I’m several feet from the nearest internet-capable computer. (Though that’s changing, as I now have things like my Kindle that can theoretically load a FAQ or three off Gamefaqs and be referred to much like a guide. And I just got a netbook.)
Finally, for fan guides to exist, someone has to get interested enough in the game to research and write a guide, to completion. And for it to be helpful, they have to be a good writer, with a good grasp on the appropriate language (English, in my case) and a good grasp on how to explain details and walk people through the game. Some games, this happens over and over. Many people write thousands and thousands of words in exhaustive detail on every last sidequest and game system. Others, no one bothers, ever. To my intense annoyance, Metal Gear Acid 2? One guide, which is threadbare to start with and ends maybe a third of the way into the game. And even if it happens, the official guides usually come out day and date with the game, if not sooner. Unless the game has been leaked or someone’s imported it (in which case their data may not be accurate), it generally takes some time for a thorough fan guide to pop up. If you’re playing faster than the guides get written, you’re out of luck.
