Dragon Age Origins.

[Fessels]

I get the reason for approval since that works in any situation, real life or in a game, except I hate having to up to someone to get them to do what I want.... But having to romance someone for it....seems ingenuous to me. I believe in treating followers with respect and earning theirs, so we'll see I guess. Depends how "cheesy" the romance thing is if it's forced on me. I always talk to NPC's anyway so there's that.

Well the talking in the party camp can speed things up, but handling NPC's who need help the correct way can improve the approval of one or more companions. And at the same time lower it for other companions so it is not a reliable option. There are also the gifts, and with those you can raise the approval of companions. Like yesterday I bought a gift for Morrigan from the feastday gift mod ( That you get with DAO Ultimate Edition. ) and her approval of +31 suddenly jumped to +81. The problem with the Feastday gifts is that you do not know for which character it is and what will happen. It could also have happened that Morrigan lost all approval. As for the normal gifts, well those are specific for each companion so if you can find out for who it is then it will raise there approval beyond any doubt. But ... you never know when you find a gift, either as loot or with a merchant.

EDIT: I think not having played a game that requires you to have followers to complete it is one of the things I can't yet get my head around. There seems to be no choice to do anything solo and you have to rely on your companions. It will also depend on how well done these followers are, but I believe they are very good from what I've read. From experience with TES games in particular, I could care less about any of the NPC's and can't remember half of their names because they are so boring, lifeless and obviously scripted. Vanilla followers in TES games are just robots and most other NPC's still insult me even when I saved the world.

I want choices to matter and what I do to have an affect which I'm hoping will happen. Anyway, I'll find out soon...

Just wait and see. each companion has there own attitude and view on life. And the banter between companions is quit often funny to very funny. ( In my opinion that is. )

I don't mind lag. I put up with a lot of that in some games. It's just that I get so annoyed with TES games and their high potential for crashing and other problems, so I don't want it again because if there's anything that puts me off a game it's crashing for no good reason that I can see. My current playthrough of Skyrim was perfect until recently when it started to freeze instead of crash....in a conversation with the mage at the College. Stupid things like that aggravate me. We had just fought a dragon with all my companions, the mages at the College and some soldiers and it was fine, but later when I talked to Tolfdir it froze...Not even in an intensive fight or something, but a conversation.

Sorry to hear that but shjees yeah that is Skyrim for you.

[Maigrets]

So I've got the game downloaded and started playing. Downloaded a heap of mods, mainly the ones you suggested and a few more, but I'm going to play for awhile before I install them. I imagine I have to start over for the hair and cosmetic mods, although I did DL the mod to change appearance mid game. Other like icons etc I can add anytime....correct????

I must say I was quite impressed with just the vanilla character creator selection of hair and eyes etc and the faces don't look too bad at all. I am going to add the whiter teeth mod though as they look terrible.

I chose a female human noble, a rogue and called her Isabel. I've only gotten as far as investigating the castle, meeting Fergus(?) and getting my dog out of the kitchen larder and killing some giant rats. That was amazing!!! I love him already and actually laughed out loud when I patted him and he rolled around the floor. I named him Fang because I was put on the spot to think of a name...

Everything I've seen so far is impressive. The animations are good and the voice acting superb. Having to get used to the movement and combat, but it will come.

Thanks for convincing me to try the game again. I don't really remember a lot about my first try years ago, and that was a mage so it had a different start anyway.

[Fessels]

So I've got the game downloaded and started playing. Downloaded a heap of mods, mainly the ones you suggested and a few more, but I'm going to play for awhile before I install them. I imagine I have to start over for the hair and cosmetic mods, although I did DL the mod to change appearance mid game. Other like icons etc I can add anytime....correct????

Normally the hair and cosmetic mods require you to start a new game indeed, and I know there is a mod that allows you to change the look of your character midgame. It is just that I have not used it so I can not tell if it works or not. Mods like the one with the icons can be added at any time during the game, and with mods like Improved Atmosphere ... well you can add it in a running game. But the downside is that if you have visited a certain area already then the changes from Improved Atmosphere will not be active in that area. So lets say you have already been to Redcliffe ( You have not but it is an example. ) and you install IA after that then eventual changes to the Redcliff area from IA will not be working. So if you want to use IA it is best to install it as quickly as you can to get the most out of it. But despite the fact that you can add IA in a running game I believe the author advises to start a new game to get the most out of it. ( All those choices to make. )

I must say I was quite impressed with just the vanilla character creator selection of hair and eyes etc and the faces don't look too bad at all. I am going to add the whiter teeth mod though as they look terrible.

LoL now that is a mod I personally have no need for, it is one thing I do not care for because you can not zoom in close enough to see the teeth any way.

I chose a female human noble, a rogue and called her Isabel. I've only gotten as far as investigating the castle, meeting Fergus(?) and getting my dog out of the kitchen larder and killing some giant rats. That was amazing!!! I love him already and actually laughed out loud when I patted him and he rolled around the floor. I named him Fang because I was put on the spot to think of a name...

Yeah that is the benefit of starting as a Human Noble, you get a Mabari Warhound right smack at the beginning because of being Highborn. I am pretty darn sure you will come to love that dog for more then one reason. Once you are for instance past Lothering and have a few companions, then try to talk a few times ( so to speak. ) with Fang.

Everything I've seen so far is impressive. The animations are good and the voice acting superb. Having to get used to the movement and combat, but it will come.

If you have not installed EMAT yet then yeah it will take some time to get used to how you need to fight. Do not get me wrong but EMAT will not make you invincible of course but it will be quit the difference for you. ( At least I think it will be. ) But if you decide to use EMAT and you have set some tactics for Isabel and your active companions at that time then make sure to go in the skills menu and drag the 2 buttons added by EMAT to your quickbar. One will activate all the set tactic rules for both you and your companions, and the second one will set your Rogue Isabel and any other Rogue in your active group to try and backstab enemies if they have melee weapons. You only have to click those buttons once and then it will work throughout the rest of the game, so after that you could remove them if you want. ( But sometimes it can be handy to keep them on the quickbar. )

Thanks for convincing me to try the game again. I don't really remember a lot about my first try years ago, and that was a mage so it had a different start anyway.

Your welcome.

Mages are very powerful in this game, but I think I read some where on the DAO forums that the origin story of the Mages can be quit challenging. But that is stating the obvious I guess because starting with a level 1 player is always difficult.

[Maigrets]

Normally the hair and cosmetic mods require you to start a new game indeed, and I know there is a mod that allows you to change the look of your character midgame. It is just that I have not used it so I can not tell if it works or not. Mods like the one with the icons can be added at any time during the game, and with mods like Improved Atmosphere ... well you can add it in a running game. But the downside is that if you have visited a certain area already then the changes from Improved Atmosphere will not be active in that area. So lets say you have already been to Redcliffe ( You have not but it is an example. ) and you install IA after that then eventual changes to the Redcliff area from IA will not be working. So if you want to use IA it is best to install it as quickly as you can to get the most out of it. But despite the fact that you can add IA in a running game I believe the author advises to start a new game to get the most out of it. ( All those choices to make. )

Yes, well I spent quite some time today installing the mods I want to use so I'm about to start a new game and see if I messed anything up.... I was surprised to find that mods go into the Documents folder and not the game directory, which is limiting for me since my C: drive is a smaller drive I only use for the OS. My other drive is 1TB partitioned and that's where I install everything else so I don't want to be installing huge mods on C:. I don't think at this stage I'll be installing armour and clothing etc as from what I've seen the default ones look pretty good and there are lots of varieties.

When I get a look at the companions I may install mods for them though. Oh, and of course I did install SweetFX with a preset that makes the colours richer and more lifelike. It doesn't have any affect on performance like ENB's so it's worth it.

I'll make a list of what I've installed later, but I haven't added Improved Atmosphere yet because it's pretty big and by the time I got through all the rest of the mods I couldn't be bothered reading the instructions.... Maybe for the next playthrough as I don't think it will bother me.

LoL now that is a mod I personally have no need for, it is one thing I do not care for because you can not zoom in close enough to see the teeth any way.

It was when I saw my character's teeth when selecting the voice in the CC that I decided that one had to installed.

Yeah that is the benefit of starting as a Human Noble, you get a Mabari Warhound right smack at the beginning because of being Highborn. I am pretty darn sure you will come to love that dog for more then one reason. Once you are for instance past Lothering and have a few companions, then try to talk a few times ( so to speak. ) with Fang.

I installed the Extra Dog Slot and also Less Barking because I think that's going to be a thing.. Also Extended Dog Talents which gives him some passive Bonuses and other skills when leveling. http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1361/?

If you have not installed EMAT yet then yeah it will take some time to get used to how you need to fight. Do not get me wrong but EMAT will not make you invincible of course but it will be quit the difference for you. ( At least I think it will be. ) But if you decide to use EMAT and you have set some tactics for Isabel and your active companions at that time then make sure to go in the skills menu and drag the 2 buttons added by EMAT to your quickbar. One will activate all the set tactic rules for both you and your companions, and the second one will set your Rogue Isabel and any other Rogue in your active group to try and backstab enemies if they have melee weapons. You only have to click those buttons once and then it will work throughout the rest of the game, so after that you could remove them if you want. ( But sometimes it can be handy to keep them on the quickbar. )

I just installed EMAT after reading your post. I remember you mentioning it before, but forgot until now. I'm starting over anyway so there won't be any Tactics set.

Ironically, in this game I find using WASD to move a bit awkward so I've been using both mouse buttons or a bit of both..) as the mouse movement is smoother and I'm less likely to walk into walls. The only thing I really wish for is normal mouse look as in other games. I never really understood having to hold the RMB to look around, but if I hold both buttons to move and look it's a bit easier.

Oh well, time to fire up the game and hope it all works. Some I won't see immediately like the dog texture and a storage chest mod etc, but as long as the cosmetic and hair mods work in CC it'll be a start.

Another thing I like is the way the game takes it's own screenshots at various points and i found that the V key disables the HUD so that's nice. There are a lot of options that other games could learn from really.

[Fessels]

Yes, well I spent quite some time today installing the mods I want to use so I'm about to start a new game and see if I messed anything up.... I was surprised to find that mods go into the Documents folder and not the game directory, which is limiting for me since my C: drive is a smaller drive I only use for the OS. My other drive is 1TB partitioned and that's where I install everything else so I don't want to be installing huge mods on C:. I don't think at this stage I'll be installing armour and clothing etc as from what I've seen the default ones look pretty good and there are lots of varieties.

I was at first also a bit surprised about where to install mods, but that is just how it is for this game. As for the size of mods, well I have not found mods like the size of for instance Immersive Armours for Skyrim. ( Then again I do not know what room you have left on your drive with Windows. )

When I get a look at the companions I may install mods for them though. Oh, and of course I did install SweetFX with a preset that makes the colours richer and more lifelike. It doesn't have any affect on performance like ENB's so it's worth it.

Well I think the game looks great already so I have not tried any SweetFX presets with the game. Besides my monitor has settings for different moments ... like working with Text programs ... games etcettera. If I use the setting for games it looks a whole lot better, but for some reason it does not show on screenshots.

I'll make a list of what I've installed later, but I haven't added Improved Atmosphere yet because it's pretty big and by the time I got through all the rest of the mods I couldn't be bothered reading the instructions.... Maybe for the next playthrough as I don't think it will bother me.

LoL yeah after doing that it is quit a bit to read the info from Improved Atmosphere.

It was when I saw my character's teeth when selecting the voice in the CC that I decided that one had to installed.

LoL you have been playing quit a bit with the character creation menu. Well I did that to, especially with Zhai.

I installed the Extra Dog Slot and also Less Barking because I think that's going to be a thing.. Also Extended Dog Talents which gives him some passive Bonuses and other skills when leveling. http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1361/?

I know the mod I use it as well, the only reason I did not mention it was because you where not looking for game changing mods. ( And extended dog talents does do that ... a bit. )

I just installed EMAT after reading your post. I remember you mentioning it before, but forgot until now. I'm starting over anyway so there won't be any Tactics set.

Ironically, in this game I find using WASD to move a bit awkward so I've been using both mouse buttons or a bit of both..) as the mouse movement is smoother and I'm less likely to walk into walls. The only thing I really wish for is normal mouse look as in other games. I never really understood having to hold the RMB to look around, but if I hold both buttons to move and look it's a bit easier.

Oh well, time to fire up the game and hope it all works. Some I won't see immediately like the dog texture and a storage chest mod etc, but as long as the cosmetic and hair mods work in CC it'll be a start.

Well by default you will not find much space to store things you want to keep, but you could use one or both of these mods.

MerAnnes Camp Storage This mod has items in several storage 'chests" but nothing I personally would call cheating. ( They can be useful. )

Or this one, it has a whole lot more storage ... more organized but it does have a tome that is a cheat. ( But you do not have to use the tome. ) Also should you use the below mod ... do not teleport to it from the party camp, because when you return to camp then things get messed up. Everywhere else it seems to work very well.

Pocket Plane Party Camp

Another thing I like is the way the game takes it's own screenshots at various points and i found that the V key disables the HUD so that's nice. There are a lot of options that other games could learn from really.

Yeah those are nice features indeed.

[Maigrets]

LoL you have been playing quit a bit with the character creation menu. Well I did that to, especially with Zhai.

No more than any other game... I tell you when NPC's speak to you, especially close up the teeth are really noticeable and horrible. The Whiter teeth mod doesn't make them look like they had expensive dental work and they're not gleaming white, but more natural.

Well by default you will not find much space to store things you want to keep, but you could use one or both of these mods.

MerAnnes Camp Storage This mod has items in several storage 'chests" but nothing I personally would call cheating. ( They can be useful. )

This is the one I installed. Thank goodness you can buy backpacks as well because I can foresee the inevitable inventory juggling already. At least I have now found a merchant though. I just don't have any money....

[Fessels]

No more than any other game... I tell you when NPC's speak to you, especially close up the teeth are really noticeable and horrible. The Whiter teeth mod doesn't make them look like they had expensive dental work and they're not gleaming white, but more natural.

I never looked for that, guess I will try to look for after the movie on TV is finished. ( The first Hobit movie. )

This is the one I installed. Thank goodness you can buy backpacks as well because I can foresee the inevitable inventory juggling already. At least I have now found a merchant though. I just don't have any money....

Yeah the backpacks are definitely very useful in this game.

[Fessels]

As promised here are some screenshots from Ceridens Refuge mod.

You where correct Maigrets, it does improve his look.




The outside of Ceridens Refuge.


And a complementary group shot of Zhai and the current gang.

[Maigrets]

That really does look great. I think I'll install it now myself.

I believe that Alistair morph also includes a file that can be used in Character Creation if you want that look for a character. The first line of dialogue in your screenshot tells the story....

Neralos looks very smart in his Kaddis. Is that one of the Mystery ones? And the gear Zhai is wearing? I like the green, but not the pink so much.. P

[Fessels]

That really does look great. I think I'll install it now myself.

I believe that Alistair morph also includes a file that can be used in Character Creation if you want that look for a character. The first line of dialogue in your screenshot tells the story....

Neralos looks very smart in his Kaddis. Is that one of the Mystery ones? And the gear Zhai is wearing? I like the green, but not the pink so much.. P

Yeah it does look good.

And I think you are correct, maybe I will try the Alistair morph for the creation menu out with a future character. The Kaddis you see can only be found as part of the mod Wardens in Black, it comes with a collar as well. As mentioned before ... the items are very powerful so most people will most likely not use it. But maybe you think Fang can use the collar and the Kaddis. For some reason the author made the armour for the female mage and the female rogue look the same, which is a shame in my opinion.

As for the armour that Zhai / Leliana and Morrigan are wearing that is the FuruFuru armour mod. It is a very well made armour mod with interesting abilities. It is a Female only mod, and can give you two different sets depending on your choice, and it can give it to you in the colours Black ... Pink and White. Zhai wears the white coloured shooter version. A bit of caution with the FuruFuru mod, I first gave Zhai the black version ( While she was wearing the WiB Rogue armour. ) and everything looked good except for the boots. ( That one was invisible on Zhai. ) So I then gave her the white version and it is all visible on her, and the Black version is completely visible on Leliana. ( And I have not been able to find out why so far. )

I gave Morrigan the Pink version because I found it to be a bit funny to give a mage with her attitude Pink armour. ( Do not get me wrong I actually like Morrigan, I like her attitude and the banter between her and Alistair for instance are always very funny in my opinion.

[Fessels]

This better be good or I will gut you no matter what any one says.


Well ... uhmm ... I will see what I can do about her Morrigan?


How do you like them Mark of Death and Paralyse Flemmeth.


CHARGE!! ( It )


Finish Her Alistair!


Why you son of a ... Bastard you really did do it.


Well at least Zhai still holds first place with the highest Damage dealt Alistair.

[Maigrets]

Cool hat on the guy in the 1st screenshot. The helmets/hoods for mages look a bit ridiculous though, so I use the No Helmets mod.

Nice job on Flemmeth. I think she deserved to die.

Have you tried this mod at all: (Could these url's be any longer.... )
Class and Specialization Pack

I'm not going to do it now, but maybe next playthrough. I find I'm enjoying the mage class more than my Rogue, even though it's hard starting out as anything can one hit you. At first I thought ...only three races and classes???....but there are a LOT of ways to specialize and paths to take.

EDIT: BTW I left you a PM yesterday in case you didn't see it.

[Fessels]

Cool hat on the guy in the 1st screenshot. The helmets/hoods for mages look a bit ridiculous though, so I use the No Helmets mod.

The first time I met that guy he did not look like that, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw he improved his look. The helmets and hoods for mages are not completely to my liking as well, but since I use custom armour mods I do not think the No Helmet Mod would help Wynne and the other mages.

Nice job on Flemmeth. I think she deserved to die.

Agreed.

Have you tried this mod at all: (Could these url's be any longer.... )
Class and Specialization Pack

I'm not going to do it now, but maybe next playthrough. I find I'm enjoying the mage class more than my Rogue, even though it's hard starting out as anything can one hit you. At first I thought ...only three races and classes???....but there are a LOT of ways to specialize and paths to take.

EDIT: BTW I left you a PM yesterday in case you didn't see it.

And no I have not tried that mod yet? ( Mainly because this is the first time I see that mod. ) I will certainly take a look at that one, looks like it could be interesting indeed. ( But it also would need to be compatible with my current game. ) Thank you Maigrets.

[Maigrets]

The first time I met that guy he did not look like that, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw he improved his look. The helmets and hoods for mages are not completely to my liking as well, but since I use custom armour mods I do not think the No Helmet Mod would help Wynne and the other mages.

I don't know if the mod works for custom helmets and hoods, but it doesn't remove the vanilla ones altogether. It just moves them to another clothing/armour slot and you still keep any bonuses etc, you just can't see them except in the inventory screen.

[Fessels]

I don't know if the mod works for custom helmets and hoods, but it doesn't remove the vanilla ones altogether. It just moves them to another clothing/armour slot and you still keep any bonuses etc, you just can't see them except in the inventory screen.

Ah I see, perhaps I will try it out to see if it works for me. As for the Class and Specialization Pack mod ... I tried out and it looks like it has potential, but I guess it is best used with a new character from what I saw of the mod in game. So like you I will use it with a future character.

[Maigrets]

I found the link to this mod while browsing the Bioware forums and might be something to look into at some point. It's apparently very hard, but the first stage can be played at level 8-10. It has very good reviews in the comments.
Tombs of the Undead

[Fessels]

I saw that mod, but I am staying away from adding quest mods until I have played the entire game and its DLC's. But it does look like it could be a fun one to play.

[Maigrets]

I saw that mod, but I am staying away from adding quest mods until I have played the entire game and its DLC's. But it does look like it could be a fun one to play.

Same here as I don't want to mess up my current game. I was just thinking it might be worth looking at later.

Another question...

Have you played Drakensang: The Dark Eye at all. I watched a couple of Youtube videos and it looks quite good. It came out in 2008 and the gameplay is very much the same as DA:O, you have a party and is story driven. Unfortunately, it's not available in my country on Steam, but I might see if my local store can get it.
Drakensang - The Dark Eye

[Fessels]

Another question...

Have you played Drakensang: The Dark Eye at all. I watched a couple of Youtube videos and it looks quite good. It came out in 2008 and the gameplay is very much the same as DA:O, you have a party and is story driven. Unfortunately, it's not available in my country on Steam, but I might see if my local store can get it.
Drakensang - The Dark Eye

No I have never played it, and from checking the website of the game store in my home town it is not for sale for me either. But I looked at a few videos on youtube, and although there are things I recognize ... much of what I saw was not impressive enough to say that I would like to try it out to be honest.

[Maigrets]

Another question...

Have you played Drakensang: The Dark Eye at all. I watched a couple of Youtube videos and it looks quite good. It came out in 2008 and the gameplay is very much the same as DA:O, you have a party and is story driven. Unfortunately, it's not available in my country on Steam, but I might see if my local store can get it.
Drakensang - The Dark Eye

No I have never played it, and from checking the website of the game store in my home town it is not for sale for me either. But I looked at a few videos on youtube, and although there are things I recognize ... much of what I saw was not impressive enough to say that I would like to try it out to be honest.

I thought the reviews and a couple of the better Youtube videos looked quite good. Graphically nice. Anyway, moot point because I probably won't be able to get it.

PM sent.