BioWare - November Update Teasers

The November update for Bioware teased more Mass Effect and hinted at a Dragon Age reveal this December.

November Update

by Author - Casey Hudson

Posted on - November 29, 2018

General Manager of BioWare

Things are always busy at a game development studio, especially when we're finishing a game. A few years back, I toured a friend around the office as we were finalizing a game, and he said it was like being on a submarine - the tangible energy of professionals doing their jobs with intensity and purpose. As we approach the release of Anthem, it's starting to feel like that again…

First, Anthem. Now that we're past our Alpha milestone, we're at the part of the project where we're doing final tasks and changes, and doing a ton of testing and bug-fixing. And we're able to do one of my favorite parts of game development: the Play From Home build.

It's a tradition at BioWare. Late in a project, when the game is good enough and finished enough to really enjoy it as a complete experience, we enable it to be played at home by our developers. It's an incredibly important step, because it allows us to get out of the mindset of being at the office, and just be at home experiencing the game like a player instead of a developer. Everything that prevents you from loving the game becomes a task or a bug, so we know that when we finish that work, we'll have something really special.

As creative people, we have a need to try new things. And while Anthem is definitely something new and different, my first Play From Home session with Anthem started with some things I expect from a BioWare game: discovering a vast new universe to explore, being drawn into a compelling story, and meeting characters that I want to learn more about. But for me, it also quickly started to deliver its own magic: superheroic gameplay that makes me want to come back just for the feel of it, and being able to have friends join with me on my adventure so we can explore and fight as a team. Seeing Game Director Jon Warner arrive in my game, resplendent in his white-and-red Ranger Javelin, was particularly inspiring - especially when he led me to a secret location with Legendary treasure.

There is of course a lot of work ahead to get things ready for Anthem's Feb 22 launch date. And, since what you get with Anthem isn't just the launch game but the ongoing story, features and content that will follow in live service, there are teams already working on entire seasons of post-launch content. It's scary and exciting to work on something on this scale and complexity, but we're doing everything we can to make sure it's an amazing experience for you.

As busy as we are with Anthem, there's a lot more going on at BioWare. A couple of weeks ago it was once again N7 Day. It's one of my favorite times of the year - a day when people around the world share their experiences with Mass Effect. It's so inspiring to know that there are so many fans of the series out there that are enjoying the games we've made, and hoping that we'll make more. We announced one of the things we've done recently (a 4k enhancement to Mass Effect: Andromeda on Xbox One) but as we alluded to in our N7 Day video, that was just a small part of the plans we're making for Mass Effect going forward.

If you've been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter, you know we're also working on some secret Dragon Age stuff. Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we're excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won't tell you where to look…)

And even as we gear up for new projects, our Star Wars: The Old Republic team is hard at work delivering ongoing entertainment - envisioning new worlds and storylines that are some of the most ambitious and exciting that I've seen yet from that game.

What's common across all of these things - SW:TOR, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Anthem - is that each one in its own way delivers on our studio mission. They create worlds of adventure, conflict, and companionship that inspire you to become the hero of your story. That has always been at the core of the best BioWare games, and it's our commitment to you on everything we do going forward.

Thanks again for your continued support, and we'll have lots more to share in the coming weeks!

Casey

More information.

November Update
by Author - Casey Hudson
Posted on - November 29, 2018
General Manager of BioWare

Okay?

Things are always busy
…amazing experience for you.

Who cares.

A couple of weeks ago it was once again N7 Day.
…
If you've been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter

Big deal.

Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we're excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won't tell you where to look?)

It's christmas!

Okay now seriously. Bioware already teased stuff in the past on their blog only to present some letdown later. I'm kinda suspecting DA was mentioned only to keep fans not ditching Bioware completely. This year's N7 was a disgrace.

Tell Me lies tell me sweet little lies.

Sadly as a once die-hard fan of BioWare RPGs my interest has dwindled in the last few years. I'm afraid the next Mass Effect & Dragon Age will be live service games like Anthem.

Basically an internet connection to a server required just play single-player.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Tell Me lies tell me sweet little lies.

Sadly as a once die-hard fan of BioWare RPGs my interest has dwindled in the last few years. I'm afraid the next Mass Effect & Dragon Age will be live service games like Anthem.

Basically an internet connection to a server required just play single-player.

At least their online attempt is a new game, with good graphics, not a game that is the same than previous one, witch already looked like the one before, plus some lame online features, and a store to milk the players

Don't know how Anthem will turn out, but at least it looks cool….

Anthem is the first BioWare game released on PC that I have no interest in. Prior to it, there were only a few mobile games and such that I didn't care about. Something tells me it's not going to be the last..

https://wccftech.com/anthem-alpha-signup-requirements/

At the same time, the Anthem Alpha signup page went live. The test sessions will run next weekend, on December 8th and 9th, though Executive Producer Mark Darrah clarified on Twitter that there won’t be a huge number of spots available since this Anthem Alpha is a technical test first and foremost.

Interestingly, if you pick PC as your platform of choice during the registration process, the minimum system requirements also appear.
…
OS: 64-bit Windows 10
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5 3570 or AMD FX-6350
MEMORY: 8GB RAM
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB, AMD R9 390 8GB
HARD DRIVE: At least 60GB of free space

Minimum. One can only wonder what would be recommended. i9 and 2080ti?

Originally Posted by Maylander
Anthem is the first BioWare game released on PC that I have no interest in. Prior to it, there were only a few mobile games and such that I didn't care about. Something tells me it's not going to be the last..

Unfortunately you are right, it seems. There were times I wouldnt miss BioWare game. Today I almost dont care anymore. On the other hand, I can only be pleasantly surprised now, as I expect nothing from them.

Originally Posted by joxer
https://wccftech.com/anthem-alpha-signup-requirements/


Minimum. One can only wonder what would be recommended. i9 and 2080ti?

Sniff smells like something you smell in every bathroom.

Simply put another unoptimized piece of crap.

If the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises are going to be locked to the Origin platform, they'll be of no interest to me. As far as Anthem goes, I've not heard a single thing yet that makes me interested in the project.

I have the impression to read one of those mails I receive sometimes from the leadership of the huge Corp I am working for. The only differences are those weird names I can see. Names I have cared for long time ago like "Mass Effect" or "Bioware".

All the Corpo lingo is used, "exciting", "inspiring" , "the tangible energy of professionals doing their jobs with intensity and purpose" ..
Is this guy talking about games?

I wish their the best for this new Anthem game, only because else they would kick off hundreds of people without a hint of remorse. And, yes, that includes also the inspiring and so exciting crew members of the submarine who are doing somehow a game.

Do not tell me those guys are not fully EA people now, please. Just read that shit.

The unfortunate thing is even if they are working on another Mass Effect or Dragon Age game, it is at least 2-3 years out now as all their resources will be focused on 'fixing' & DLC'ing Anthem. They are… short a studio now.

It's cute they still pretend BioWare is a thing.

zzzzzzzz

Hmm, they posted this on my birthday, talk about bad juju, fortunately everything still went fine.

Bioware obviously isn?t what they used to be but I?m crossing my fingers and still holding out hope for dragon age. It?s been a rocky series but as a whole I?ve enjoyed it for the most part.

Not much interest in BioWere at this point. But maybe the suits will surprise us.

Personally, I'm not interested in any Bioware game apart from SWTOR - and that as a Star Wars fan.

I do know that I'm an extreme niche, but I must say that most games the gamibng industry doies these days are simply not my taste. I surely miss the good old "just having fun" days. I mean, with games like … oh, well, there aren't many examples these days. Giana Sisters, for example. Trine 1, for example. So Blonde, for example.
Cheerful games.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
So Blonde

That game rocks!
Well, at least rocked back in the day when I was still hooked on adventures…

So funny that you guys comment so much about stuff you have "no interest in"

DA:O is already taken. So they can't call it Dragon Age: Online.

This is going to be difficult.

Originally Posted by Ovenall
So funny that you guys comment so much about stuff you have "no interest in"

Eh? I don't think people are not interested in November Update from Bioware, I read all their updates as am still interested, most probably others do too.
The problem is - the content of this update turned out to be mainly uninteresting.

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
DA:O is already taken. So they can't call it Dragon Age: Online.

This is going to be difficult.

No problem there. They'll just name the mmo Dragon Age: The Old Republic. If that fails, they can go with Dragon Age: Chantry. Where people will play as nuns. With big guns. And nake… Oops.