Dragon Age: Inquisition Dev Admits Last-Gen Versions 'Crushed' The Team's Ambition

I really enjoyed the game. Very curious to know what more they would have liked to have done though...

and what crushed the ambition of mass effect andromeda and anthem? years wasted on those and no last gen version to use as an excuse

Its always going to 'limit' ambition if you are 'limited' by the hardware. Regardless of whether that's CPU, GPU, RAM or Storage capacity, its going to 'limit' what you can do. Its the same today, albeit with a 'higher' minimum spec (XB1S) and whilst some 'games' may be targetting 'higher' spec consoles with more graphical flourishes and/or higher frame rates, they were still built to be scaled 'up' for high-end hardware and 'down' for weaker hardware.

However, in the future, Devs may be 'unlimited' on what they can do because they are built for the 'cloud'. No need to scale 'up/down' for local hardware, no need to 'limit' file sizes to fit on disc/SSD - could basically have 'unlimited' CPU/GPU/RAM too. Instead of building 100's of millions of 'individual' consoles, they could design just '100's' of servers with millions and millions of processors to run 'any' sized game at the highest quality visual settings and 120fps streamed direct to your display. No need to 'port' down to whatever 'commercially available' hardware with a limited amount of processing capability and storage capacity. Its a bit like b eing able to play MSFS on a mobile/XB1S - hardware that couldn't run a game like that on weak 'local' hardware and even on high end hardware, still relies on Streaming to give players the 'whole World 'to explore which is far too much 'data' to fit on local discs/SSD's.

I know people maybe 'reluctant' to have 'always online' games but to get over the limitations of 'local' hardware, more and more will rely on 'streaming' - whether that's environmental data because its 'too big' to fit on local storage, whether its 'complex AI/Physics that's too 'intensive' for Local hardware to process in time to deliver a reasonable performance, whether its adding features like DLSS and RT, having 'worlds' that actually evolve over time naturally because maybe they are just completely running in the cloud so constantly 'evolving'.

Devs that develop for the cloud won't be limited by what companies can 'mass produce' for the commercial sector with all those 'rules & regs' they have to abide by to sell to the public, produce in their 'millions', won't have to optimise for a 'range' of hardware - just 1 version, running in the cloud and 'streamed' direct to your display.

There is going to come a time when people won't pay £500+ for 'local' hardware that can't play 'all' the games without streaming. Who is going to pay for the hardware when you can get the 'best' version streamed direct to a Display. Input Lag would be better on the streamed version too because the game is running at 120fps+ instead of 30fps, you'd get native '4k' with RT and 'ultra' visuals with streaming, not some 'reconstructed/upscaled' 1080p with dumbed down settings, maybe at best RT shadows. Streaming will be the only way to play some, if not all just because the 'size' is too big, the AI or Physics are too complex, the 'design' doesn't work on static hardware - like worlds that evolve naturally over time are possible because the 'cloud' is always on, processing the growth of grass, trees etc, processing the AI's 'working' life so buildings get 'built', crops get planted and grow naturally over time, Seasons change naturally etc etc - not 'static' worlds with some 'pseudo' time of day/weather/seasonal changes etc. Weather could impact the environment more - dry spells see the green fade as plants dry, then after rain see the plants react...

BioWare used to be one of the GOATs. Loved all their games from KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Baldurs Gate and Dragon Age. The sale to EA and the loss of the founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk seemed to be the end of them.

I personally loved Inquisition. If the next game in the series is current gen only then i have high hopes!

@lolwhatno First off, they already have a certain amount of control as its up to the Publisher/Developer to decide who has access to their software. You NEVER own the games anyway - you own a license to access which can be revoked at any time.

Internet being down limits what anyone can play or do these days, its getting as 'important' as electricity. There are numerous games that require an internet connection and with Game Pass/PS+/GwG, you need internet to verify you have a 'valid' subscription to play those games. You can't watch Netflix etc either.

Its NOT sustainable to build 'millions' of consumer grade hardware to distribute globally and with enough processing power to run the games. Games are starting to utilise 'cloud' to overcome issue (like storage capacity with MSFS) so there is going to come a time when the 'offline games are so stripped down by comparison, if they can run at all 'offline' at all.

That's because the biggest, most ambitious, most visually stunning, most performant games will all be 'streamed' to whatever display you have - if the internet does go down, you can still use 'mobile' internet and the most 'likely' reason your internet goes down is due to power cuts.

Whose going to pay £500+ on some console that can't play any of the AAA games 'locally' because they all require Streaming and all those games can be 'streamed' direct to any display without needing the 'console'. The size of games and all their High Quality assets can't all fit on SSD's/Discs so you still 'need' internet to 'download' the content, to patch the game etc to play them 'now' - let alone 'big' worlds all filled with unique and immense sized assets.

Its the natural progression - there will still be 'some' hardware for the foreseeable future but Streaming will become more and more important and the hardware will be for those reluctant to move with the times and/or want a 'retro' experience.

At the moment, nVidia's streaming brings 3090ti performance to any PC and Xcloud is basically XSX which allows them to bring Series games to Mobiles/Tablets/last gen Xbox hardware etc. There will come a time when the 'servers' are so much more powerful than you can buy any commercially available hardware built for 'public' use with all the 'rules/regulations' inc power consumption for 'domestic' use that will still require 'online' connectivity to stream the latest, most ambitious games because they will either need to run the game in the cloud entirely, or at least stream some aspect (environment, AI, Physics computation, Ray Traced lighting etc etc) because the local hardware won't have the computational power to do that in less than 33.3ms (for 30fps play).

MS/Sony etc could build industrial servers with 'billions and billions' of high speed processors to run millions of games simultaneously at the very highest settings and upgrading continuously to keep at the very forefront of technology instead of trying to design a 'console' that will be 'out of date' technologically the day it releases and expect it to 'last' 7yrs.

Like I said, you can 'buy' whatever hardware exists in the future but the 'best' version of any game can be played for 'free' direct to any display you want. Who's going to pay £500 to play a game at 1080p reconstructed up to 4k, dumbed down visuals etc and capped to 30fps to play 'locally' when you can stream 4k/120 Ultra visuals direct to your TV?

@lolwhatno First off, you NEVER own the software - yes you may have some licence to access games that are 'not' dependent on 'online' at all but the Software is owned by the dev/publisher. Its got nothing to do with 'greed' but that these publishers do NOT have to provide the Software - they do because how else can you use the license you purchased to access it in the past - hence you got games on a physical format.

100GB is 'nothing' and some games already eclipse this and that's with a lot of 'compression' and they certain are not using the very highest quality assets they made. Some of the assets alone they used in UE5 demo's are larger than 100GB each. You'll never fit the Earth at 1:1 scale with that much detail on a console as MSFS offers. There are games today that require a 'day 1' download of 30GB+ to give you all the necessary software because it won't all fit on disc!

As you 'NEVER' own the Software, it doesn't really matter where its 'stored' or running - you have a 'licence' to access it and if that game is 'dependent' on online, then that is part of T&C's of the License you purchased.

The direction of gaming is 'changing'. The game engines are being designed around scaling polygons according to output resolution - basically what Nanite does - so you can have 'character' models with billions of polygons - not a few thousand and filled with textures to 'look' more complex. A crowd scene with 'Meta' humans, all with their own bespoke and extremely complex AI, all the physics and interactions of objects to be calculated, all the RT lighting, shadows, reflections etc and in 'large' scale environments - that's just not going to be 'possible' on local hardware and certainly not able to store that amount of Data on an internal SSD. That's where Streaming comes in. Whether the 'entire' game runs 'in the cloud' or they utilise streaming to handle AI, Physics etc and/or world geometry streaming, its just not going to be possible on local hardware without streaming.

As good as games are 'today', they are still limited by the 'physical' limitations of the 'minimum' spec they are targetting. That's why worlds are so 'static' in general (unless you dumb down the artstyle) and why the 'AI' in Open Worlds are relatively basic. The amount of times you see the 'exact' same animations with 'NO' real progress in every settlement. Yes they may have a 'night/day' cycle, but does every village need someone chopping the same wood pile and never really progressing, stalls selling 'goods' that never change the quantity of stock etc. Or why some objects are breakable/moveable but others that should be, are not. God of War (PS4 has a lot of that - some trees break, others don't, some tables break, others don't.

Point is, the 'biggest', most ambitious games will not be limited by some cheap, fixed domestic hardware spec. The Consoles will be like buying a XB1S or Switch today (not saying these are bad consoles, but you aren't playing the 'latest' AAA games without relying on Streaming and the 'Local' experience would be 'worse', if not impossible without streaming. I know Nintendo's Streaming isn't 'great' right now, but with investment, it could play Guardians of the Galaxy running at 120fps on a RTX3090ti Server and 'ultra' settings (maybe utilising DLSS to hit 120fps) and 'stream' that instead or maybe add 'Game Pass' and play the XSX version as well as MSFS, the only way to play MSFS on XB1S is with streaming.

I'm sure some form of Local hardware will exist but its not going to offer 'Local' play of the majority of AAA games without needing an 'online' connection (either to stream some aspects or the 'whole' game) because the Local hardware won't have the spec to do it.

The games of the XB1/PS4 era will be 'retro' - limited AI, limited Physics, fixed state worlds etc etc - not that there is anything 'wrong' with this, but that does limit the ambition and scale of their project. You wouldn't have a 'Cyberpunk' issue because it would run on super-servers in the cloud with all the visual bells &whistles, streamed at 120fps to your display instead of trying to make it work on XB1S level hardware.

@lolwhatno As far as 'durable' goes, you are only able to play 'old' games as long as the old 'hardware' is still operational and can still be used with modern equipment. Its not 'easy' for me to play my 'OG' Xbox games now - because my 'modern' TV's don't have Scart or 'analogue' options to connect it. I have 1 controller left that 'worked' the last time I tried so even if my 'discs' are fine, trying to find 'working' hardware and the other products I need is an issue.

However, if they 'archive' all games onto a digital service, they could literally be preserved forever. This is basically how MS, Sony and Nintendo are bringing 'retro' games to their 'modern' platforms. Maybe your N64, your PS1 or OG Xbox can't be connected to your 4k HDR Display so you only play the 'old' games via BC which requires internet - either Streaming or to 'download' a version. Fortunately with Xbox, owning the Disc is your 'licence' to play, but it still triggers a 'download' - the 'software' on disc is 'obsolete' unless you still have 'working' original hardware which won't last forever and once yours breaks down, finding a decent working replacement is likely to be 'difficult'.

As I said, its not really sustainable to build hardware to distribute 100m+ units around the globe - all with their own chips and Storage. Just on storage, if they all have 1TB of SSD storage, that's 100m TB's that could hold 'every' game ever made. 100m CPU's could be 1m 100x more powerful server CPU's for the 'same' raw materials - plus they are not having to ship products globally with rising fuel costs.

I know its not going to be an easy transition for the industry. Consumers themselves have become accustomed to owning their Games, much like people were with their music but then when you can play your music 'anywhere' and don't need a 'Hi-Fi' anymore, the Hi-Fi basically disappeared from 'mainstream'.

The disadvantage is that some games, especially those licensed games, is that they could 'disappear' once the license expires. If you 'own' a physical copy, its been possible to play on the hardware it was 'licenced' for if you still have working hardware. I had Microwave boxes full of games from the 80's on tapes - games for BBC Micro, Vic 20, CPC464, Amiga etc - boxes 'full' of games that I couldn't play because the hardware was obsolete and 'the Hardware I had was irreparable (or not worth finding out how much it may cost a professional to try and get it working. There's the 'future' of your Physical games - yes you may still have a 'working' N64, maybe lucky to have a working N64 controller too but when they wear out/break, those cartridges your bought are unplayable.

By the same token, I could play MSFS on my Console with the 'Disc' as long as both are 'operational', but with Game Pass Ultimate, I can play on ANY device, any time. Upgrade from 'console' to PC, no problem. Its like 'music', if you buy on CD/Vinyl, you can only play if you have the 'right' hardware, but buy digitally, you can access your music on any internet connected or paired device. Most cars these days don't even have physical media music players anymore.

As you 'never' own the actual Software, all the Licenses you do own are locked to your account, your 'profile' and stored in the cloud so you can sign in on compatible devices and play your 'games'.

As for pricing, it could well stay 'reasonable' because the dev teams are not trying to make their 'vision' work within the limitations of multiple hardware SKU's, having to try and 'optimise' for the weakest and still retain the look and feel they wanted. Publishers are not having to make Physical copies to distribute globally incurring all those costs and offset losses to the 'used/pirate' market.

I can't remember the last time my internet went down - the last time I had a powercut. It seems that any 'updates' are done late at night so doesn't impact me. With Fibre direct to homes as is the push, everyone could have sufficient and stable infrastructure to play games via streaming.

I can see more and more games, and MS themselves are actively seeking developers whose ambitions can only be realised by utilising the cloud. Whether that's entirely cloud based, or utilising the 'power/storage capacity' of the cloud to handle aspects the 'domestic' device cannot deliver adequately. If that means it has to be 'online', then it doesn't matter if its license is 'distributed' via Physical or not. It won't work without Online connectivity regardless. Good luck trying to play old 'online' games - you can't play Halo:CE online anymore on an OG Xbox despite owning the disc/licence. Maybe GTSport and GT7 will have their PS4/5 servers turned off when GT8 or 9 comes out so even if you have a licence, good luck playing it. With Streaming, the games are not 'licensed' to a specific 'hardware' era and being on a 'server' could remain playable forever. It becomes like 'the PC', not licensed to a limited time fixed hardware SKU, but the 'cloud' which, like PC's, can be upgraded and evolve over time but is still the 'cloud' and the 'cloud' could become the archive, the history and library of gaming - accessible to all to stream any game at any time to any display anywhere. As long as there is a connection to the internet (inc Mobile connections) you can stream the 'highest' visual and performance metrics your bandwidth can cope with and a speed of about 40Gbps is enough for 4k/120fps. It doesn't matter how 'complex' that 4k image with all the other complex processing needed was to produce in 8.3ms as that is all done in the cloud and streamed to your display....

Of course Pro's and Con's to each but if you are only buying a 'digital' licence on your digital profile, you are still saving the 'environment' from all that manufacturing of 'physical', the raw materials, the distribution costs etc. Nowadays, you don't even need to buy a license, you can get 'conditional' licenses on your account (like GwG/PS+/GP games are conditional that you maintain your subscription to maintain access). So what if MLB21 is no longer accessible, you can buy a permanent license OR just start MLB22 instead at NO extra cost. The Con of losing access in this instance is offset by being replaced by the latest version and its not as if you can't add MLB21 permanently to your 'collection'...