I'm wondering if preloading with be available like it was for DAO? I hope so, and I assume that release date check is there *because* of preloading? I just know that with the hours I work, time I get home and when I try to get to bed I'd like to be able to preload the night before and then come home on the 8th and get right into it. :D Pretty painless DRM I must say, which I definitely like. I'll hopefully have enough time to finish Awakening before DA2 comes out (don't get a ton of time during the week to game, but my weekends are nice and open). I just hope the things that carry over from DAO don't expect me to also have completed all the DLC as well...

It will be imposible to tell what is imported until we can get a look at the flags. DA2 will be a cumulative import just like Mass Effect 2 and it was surprising just how many plot flags ME2 imported.

As far as i can tell it's basically the same as DAO, one time online auth after install and off you go. Uploading stuff naturally will require a recurrent log in but there's no way around that and it's totally optional so that's ok.

In regards to an ISO cam mod discussed above, i don't know how feasible it is. The only 'explanation' i'm aware for the lack of ISO is this one from Laidlaw:

“For budgetary reasons, we focused our work on a 3rd person view, that asks for very detailed and nice textures so that the player can admire the game with a close-up view,” he said. “With an aerial view [isometric] we should cover much more ground and so create other textures. Now, the game mainly sold on console, so we're going the way of the audience."

If it involves models and textures...i dunno. Besides, there's still no word on a toolset update for DA2 compatibility as far as i know so...

Edit: oops, forgot to post the source for that quote above, here it is

The thing I don't get is, if the game detects you have an active internet connection when you fire it up, it will do a DRM background check, but it defaults to off-line mode if there's no connection. So in essence, you still get the recurring DRM checks (if you're on-line). I'm wondering what the point of that is.

The wording is a biff off on that sentence, i can't tell if he means online as in 'you have an active connection on the background' or online as in 'logged in into your EA account from within the game"

It's the same as the DAO DLC, but not the same as the base game (which could be installed and played without ever having to connect to the internet).

He clarified it further along in the thread. It means 'if you have an active connection, the game will authenticate on startup'.

yes, i guess that's the correct way to put it.

In that case the only way to skip the recurrent checks is to kill the active connection, which is not practical at all.

Very true. I'm just not sure if I'll have time to beat Awakenings and Witch Hunt (the two I would assume actually carry anything over) before DA2 is released. I just hope they bugtest the flags better than ME2 did, since a few of those were bugged. :(

Hopefully there will be a save editor like Gibbed's to fix any bugged plot flags ourselves.

You do know that DA2 takes place DURING DA1 correct? In the demo when you meet Flemeth, right after Lothering is attacked it's the same time line from DA1 in that era, after you leave lothering in DA1 but before you meet flemeth again for Morrigan's personal quest.

The DA2 game spans 10 years and takes place within some of DA1, so many of the choices from DA1 will show in it.

Yes but Dragon Age Origins took place over 2 years so only the beginning of DA2 overlaps with it. Your choices in DA:O will have an affect on the later parts of DA2.

Or just configure your firewall to prevent the game from accessing the internet.

Yeah, you can probably do that too.

In any case, i think the main point is that the DRM in DA2 seems to be somewhat of a step back in regards to the first game.

Couldn't agree more. Although some people find disk checks very annoying. I always tought that if they absolutely have to include copy-protection in their single-player games, they should give us the choice of either a disk-check or online activation.

That way, everybody's happy, including me. And that doesn't happen often.