Hello everyone! How have you been? Also, welcome new members and watchers!

First there's something I gotta ask you guys. It was planned for these news and updates journal entries to be just about upcoming games and Expansions/DLCs in the Dragon Age series, but would you also prefer to hear some news about the Dragon Age comics, books and the table-top RPG? If you do, type it in the comments

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Now let's get right on some sweet new information and some speculation about the upcoming third installment to the Dragon Age series from the past two months.

Dragon Age 3 is in pre-alpha stage. Here's what Allan Schumacher and Cameron Lee have told us about it:
"The only one that really has a "rigid" definition is beta, which essentially means feature complete. No new features are going in. But internally, our alpha is close to the same thing. Core features are in, and newer features will generally stop unless some form of playthroughs testing indicates that we need to add or cut some features to deliver the type of product we want.
We do have deliverables for finishing levels and game features, which is a large part of the sprint reviews. We'll break things down into milestones and so forth, and milestones get broken down into sprints. For each milestone the producer types will say "We want the game at this state" and the scrum teams will commit to various work/features to deliver for the milestone goals. We typically have 3 sprints in a milestone, and at the end of each sprint, we show off the stuff we've done to the big wigs like Mark and Aaryn and so forth.
We're still very much adding new features now. We may have concepts for things we want in the game, so we aren't just randomly adding things, but as development goes along you realize that the original idea just isn't as awesome as you envisioned, so you tweak it to make it more enjoyable (this is called "iteration"), and to flesh out the gameplay aspects, the writing, etc". - Allan Schumacher

"The pre-alpha disc is for people to take home over Christmas to allow extra feedback on plots and the features we have in the game at this point. We're not close to alpha.
Nothing is ever simple in game dev, but you can think of the various stages as:
Pre-alpha = In production
Alpha = Feature complete (fix bugs & polish, last minute changes)
Beta = Feature & content complete (fix bugs & polish)
Final = Pray to the old gods you guys love the game" - Cameron Lee

DA3 will be limited to a human protagonist for the player, but future installments in the series will have choosing races available. This is what Mike Laidlaw typed on twitter:
"Sorry, for those who love elves and dwarves, but long term I’d like to see all four races playable. Future plans!"
This is great news. Hopefully future games will be as awesome as Origins too.

The Bioware Social Network and other Bioware/Dragon Age-related forums have become toxic. David Gaider was asked about his thoughts on this and this is what he wrote: [link]

Mike Laidlaw says that they will work on how much your choices and outcomes in the previous games will affect DA3 when you import your saves. "We'll go into details on importing and the like later, but we will be making sure imports have impact."

Dragon Age 3 will have travel and area variety. It has also been cleared that we will be able to travel to Nevarra, Orlais, Ferelden, and the Free Marches. This better become true. Hopefully EA will give them as much time as they need to accomplish everything they've promised.

The books and the comics - will they have influence in future games? What about our imported choices?
"The two prequel novels are canon-- there is nothing for them to conflict with. And it is fine to assume that, if your particularly playthrough matches up with the events depicted in Asunder or the comics, those events occurred in the way they're portrayed and will be treated as such in future games. If your particular playthrough does not, then those events either happened differently or not at all. In a game we have the luxury of that kind of variability. In either case, you'll only see how it works once DA3 comes out." - David Gaider

There was a rumor going around that DA3's release date is going to be delayed because of next-gen consoles.
"It's a rumor. So far still on track for late this year. If any delays happen, I'd rather they be for quality than any other factor." - Mike Laidlaw

DA3 will be visually beautiful thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine and the Enlighten technology from Geomerics. Enlighten is a development tool that enhances lighting in video games, and unlike ever before, it ensures lighting takes on a far more realistic quality. In whole, Dragon Age III: Inquisition will look divinely awesome.
"Can you make fantasy beautiful in a different way? We think we have something special for Dragon Age 3: Inquisition. The game will shun the subdued colour palette and harsh brown feel typical of much current fantasy media.
There was a pre-production period where almost on a weekly basis I'd be sitting in the environment reviews and being blown away by what was coming out - it looks stunningly beautiful. So I think when we do start releasing screenshots, people won't be disappointed." - Neil Thompson

And finally, here's some interesting things/info that popped up on twitter from the DA team during the Dragon Age III Sprint Review Day 4: (read the whole thing here > [link])
- There will probably be a minion in the game. I don't know if it will be an NPC or some animal.
- A new monster joined the Despair Demon in the Inquisition, the Fear Demon.
- Tactical combat will return.
- According to Chris Priestly, fans will be satisfied with the amount of customization.
- BioWare says that DA III will be "gorgeous". There will be "different areas, environment types, lighting, flora and fauna, scenery, etc." Some big improvements will be easily seen.
- There will be many new places and characters but we will meet some old friends.
- It is possible that dynamic weather like rain or snow will be implemented. As Mark Darrah wrote: "Sweet rocks now can be wet."
- Animations have been changed: they "aren't racist". Whatever that means.
- There were discussion regarding eye blink animations.
- One of the Dragon Age III characters will be a challenge for cosplay fans

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That's about it so far. Everything sounds awesome to me, and made me even more eager for the actual game!

How about you guys? Are you hyped or still unsure/unsatisfied about some facts? Feel free to type whatever's on your mind in the comment section!

Have an awesome day everyone!