Party banter disappeared with patch 3

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The studio is investigating this issue and would really appreciate the following information:

What Platform are you playing the game on? If PC, can you provide a DxDiag?

PC: http://hastebin.com/ekiwezosav.tex

What areas have you been in when the problem was reported? Have you already entered the Hinterlands? Are you mostly spending time on Critical Path plots?

I have noticed the issue on both of the inquisitors I have played since patch, one is basically done with the game (completeionist before doing final quest) the other is a fresher toon and had not been in hinterlands before the patch but did so afterwards. I have not seen any banter in Storm Coast, Hinterlands, Crestwood so far.

What is the the Race/Class/Gender combination of your Inquisitor?

Male Human Rouge

Male Elf mage

Also have female qunari warrior and female elf mage but havent been on either long enough to say it bugged.

What followers are you using at the time?

Rogue has mixed every set of companions and has used ones I have never used before in the overworld like the current combiniation I am sitting on of Varric,Cole,Sera.

Elf Mage is using Cassandra, Solas, Varric

How would you describe your play-style? How are you moving around in areas? For example, are you using the mount? Are you playing a mage and using Blink to move around areas?

Completionist, running around not using blink or evade (because it puts you in combat and you run slower). Never use mounts.

Are you engaging in regular combat? (Are you in combat every 30 seconds?) Are you playing in heavy-combat zones where non-player factions are fighting each other?

Not particularily so. Perhaps once every 5 min maximum.

How many hours have you spent in your current playthrough? (the one you are experiencing the banter issues in)

68 hours in Human Rogue, 6 hours in Elf Mage (male), other toons are 45 hours female elf mage, and 10 hours female qun warrior. So I think I know fairly well the level of banter I had been getting prior to this update.

Where do you expect banter to be firing?

I still get the object/event related triggers, I am not seeing random banter. I did manage to get exactly ONE banter event and that was the second after quest boss completion (this on my elf male mage).

In your comments you suggested that we should see banter once every 30 minutes. Now perhaps this was my imagination, but I feel strongly that in the overworld I was (pre-patch) seeing banter closer to once every 10 minutes.  (excluding event)

I wanted to post my experience as someone who played through the tutorial and only got to Haven pre-patch. I hadn't traveled to any of the regions pre-patch. After the patch I unlocked the Hinterlands and traveled there for the first time, with Varric/Cassandra/Solas via the War Map.

What Platform are you playing the game on? If PC, can you provide a DxDiag?

PC. Here's the DxDiag: http://hastebin.com/ifikovulih.tex

What areas have you been in when the problem was reported? Have you already entered the Hinterlands? Are you mostly spending time on Critical Path plots?

Summary: As I mentioned, this was a relatively new game, going to the Hinterlands for the first time. For the first half hour I went straight to the Crossroads, killed the enemies there, gained all the quests there, talked to everyone I could talk to, explored the homes, etc. At no time did banter fire during that first half hour. I then found a quiet spot near the first camp and idled. During that time banter did fire, fairly regularly. Afterward I went back to "adventuring" with the banter firing once more during that time.

Here's the breakdown:

5:50 pm: Start: - Cleared out the Crossroads.

6:20 pm: Started Idling - Found a quiet spot near the camp.

6:28 pm: First Banter - Cassandra/Solas.

6:38 pm: Second Banter - Varric/Solas.

6:47 pm: First Environment Comment: - Varric.

7:01 pm: Third Banter - Varric/Solas.

7:16 pm: Fourth Banter - Cassandra/Solas.

7:17 pm: Finished Idling - Started "adventuring" again.

7:35 pm: Fifth Banter - Varric/Solas.

7:55 pm: End.

So perhaps it's a combination of "nearly-new-game" and idling producing the most banter (as nearly 70 min of "regular" adventuring only produced 1 instance of banter, while idling for nearly 60 min produced 4 instances of banter and 1 environment comment)

What is the the Race/Class/Gender combination of your Inquisitor?

Human / Warrior / Male

1. What Platform are you playing the game on? If PC, can you provide a DxDiag?  -  Playing on PC -  http://hastebin.com/ayaravaxav.tex
2. What areas have you been in when the problem was reported? Have you already entered the Hinterlands? Are you mostly spending time on Critical Path plots? All over the Hinterlands, finishing all side quests and companion quests, not critical path atm
3. What is the the Race/Class/Gender combination of your Inquisitor? Female dwarf Warrior
4. What followers are you using at the time? Various - mainly Varric Blackwall and Vivienne, but also Cassandra, Sera and Solas on occasions, with the same silences
5. How would you describe your play-style? How are you moving around in areas? For example, are you using the mount? Are you playing a mage and using Blink to move around areas? I am not using a mount and most of the Hinterlands is cleared now I am just mopping things up, so most areas there is little combat at all - Have ceased playing atm tbh without the banter its a bit of a dead game for me
6. Are you engaging in regular combat? (Are you in combat every 30 seconds?) Are you playing in heavy-combat zones where non-player factions are fighting each other? Not really any constant combat, just running from one area to another to complete outstanding quests/collect shards/close rifts etc
7. How many hours have you spent in your current playthrough? (the one you are experiencing the banter issues in) 21 Hours
8. Where do you expect banter to be firing? well I have done three full run throughs and never really noticed where the banter triggers, I just noticed the complete silence since the patch, even from Sera when we are in combat which is really strange - I thought I was getting some lines, then realised they were only the lines triggered by peoples personal quests, absolutely no other sounds from any companion in any area, otherwise

EDIT- out of interest I decided to check two other characters, to see if they have the same issue - both characters are still at haven and have varric cassandra and solas as party members, each played approx 2hours - on both of these characters banter seems to be triggering fine,after 10-15 mins standing idle in the hinterlands

They are a Human male rogue and female quanari mage

So I then decided to take the above warrior character I have had issues with and try at the same place in the hinterlands standing idle - it took 45 minutes for banter to trigger, between Varric and Blackwall, which is an unusually long time and does not get away from the fact that when questing absolutely nothing was triggering, despite having added Vivienne and/or Sera in as new party members. Ive never had vivienne and blackwall not have something to say to one another and having Sera being completely silent is simply freaky

Incidently being in combat has never affected my parties banter whatsoever, on previous run throughs they would continue conversations and even start them during combat, so much so that on occasion they failed to recognise the completion of a party members personal quest, if that party member were part of the conversation. I was also most certainly getting banter more often than once per half hour pre patch, more like every 15 mins or so, as long as I hadnt exhausted conversations of the party members I had with me, which is why I swap in different party members all the time.

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@EA_Nils wrote:

The studio is investigating this issue and would really appreciate the following information:

1. What Platform are you playing the game on? If PC, can you provide a DxDiag?

PC.  I can dig one up and attach it later, but every other game and program has no sound issues, so I'm sure we both know that isn't going to show anything.

1. What areas have you been in when the problem was reported? Have you already entered the Hinterlands? Are you mostly spending time on Critical Path plots?

Everywhere, far past it, no.

1. What is the the Race/Class/Gender combination of your Inquisitor?

Male dwarf warrior, male human mage, male elf mage, male human rogue, female elf rogue.

1. What followers are you using at the time?

All of them in various combinations with all of the previous list, except Viv hardly ever and Cassandra not very much.

1. How would you describe your play-style? How are you moving around in areas?

Walking.

1. For example, are you using the mount?

No.

1. Are you playing a mage and using Blink to move around areas?

No.

1. Are you engaging in regular combat? (Are you in combat every 30 seconds?) Are you playing in heavy-combat zones where non-player factions are fighting each other?

No, (no,) and No.

1. How many hours have you spent in your current playthrough? (the one you are experiencing the banter issues in)

Current is 87 hours.  290+ hours across all playthroughs.  In the 87 hour playthrough, I used only Blackwall, Solas, and Iron Bull for almost all of it.  I *think* I may have eventually gone through all of their banter on that one, but I am not sure.  Also, that was before patch 3 where I was not experiencing this issue as much as others were.  Since patch 3, all playthroughs have killed banter and music.

1. Where do you expect banter to be firing?

Anywhere.

If anyone has any experience with video capture, we would greatly appreciate that as well. We are looking for the following:

 

1. With three followers, idle in a safe area in an exploration zone. Be away from any combat including enemy factions who are fighting each other. A good place to do this would be right outside of the first Inquisition Camp in the Hinterlands. You must ensure that no combat is nearby for this test to be valid.
2. Enable subtitles
3. Idle for 30 minutes while running video capture – banter should be heard at least once. Alternately, you could idle for 60 minutes – banter should fire at least twice.
4. Upload your video and share the link with us here.

^ This is a meaningless test.  No one plays the game standing still for 30 minutes in an empty area.  The point is that the natural ocurrance of banter while playing is not happening.  

Maybe everyone is looking at this bug wrong.  It's starting to look like it is not the "banter timer" itself that is causing the issue, per se.  I would bet at this point that too many things are interrupting and resetting the timer.  For example, when music FINALLY starts playing, it stops if I open my inventory, or the character screen, or save the game.  Kills it dead and it does not resume, even if it was only playing for ten seconds: back to empty silence.

Nils, I don't know if you can pass that along, but from everything I've read on the forums, there's at least half a dozen tests where people go stand in a corner and then banter starts firing.  I don't think there's an issue with the sound files, or the code that plays them, or the mechanic that checks who's in your party and chooses which interaction to queue up.  I think it's being interrupted by too many things, too often.

The official forum post said "rigorous internal testing was done" for "several hours."  Going to guess:  party was left standing in a corner for a few hours, with nothing around, and subtitles on, and a video capture running and debug logs recording and no one actually playing the game normally.  I understand.  I work with a lot of engineers: their first instinct is to test the "pure" mechanical function of their system, and if it's working, declare there's no problem.  But we're looking at this from the wrong side.  Their perfectly-functioning system is being reset by something.

It would be nice if i didn't have to choose between hearing the music and opening a menu, too ;P

1. Playing on an Alienware 18, Windows 7. Dxdiag: http://hastebin.com/letehikeru.tex

2. First began to notice it in Crestwood, then subsequently in the Western Approach. My character is level 13 so she's well past entering the Hinterlands, and currently spending time on both side quests and critical path plots in Crestwood and the Western Approach.

3. Elven Rogue Female

4. I've switched them around to try and get some banter, but the constant has been Solas.

5. Yes, my character is moving around, as that is what is necessary to play the game. I don't use the mount because I enjoyed the party banter I was getting. (As a side note, my war table banter has greatly increased.)

6. Combat is occurring with semi-regularity. Mostly now as a result of plot points where combat is required, like finding the darkspawn outside Griffon Wing Keep. Definitely not in combat every 30 seconds. Most of the time is spent going from quest point to quest point, while also looting and/or gathering herbs and metals.

7. Current playthrough is 30 hours.

8. I expect banter to be firing everywhere except Skyhold and perhaps locations where there is already a lot of ambient dialogue, like Val Royeaux and captured keeps.

edited to add: Won't everyone "expect" banter to be firing everywhere? I'm not sure what that question is trying to get to, so in the interest of being more specific, I know that Solas and Sera have some banter/bickering when entering the Exalted Plains. With a previous (now completed) playthrough, the first time I entered the Exalted Plains was for Solas's personal quest. I headed essentially straight there from the starting camp, passing through the Dalish camp, where Sera had some not-kind things to say about the Dalish, crossed the stream, and to the cutscene for the quest. I did the same thing to try to recreate my steps in my current playthrough, and got dead silence. I'm fairly certain that the party makeup in both cases was Sera/Solas/Cassandra. The difference was that my Inquisitor was a Human Female Rogue.

1. What Platform are you playing the game on? If PC, can you provide a DxDiag?

PC, Windows 8.1. DXDiag:

http://pastebin.com/PArVCHFk

2. What areas have you been in when the problem was reported? Have you already entered the Hinterlands? Are you mostly spending time on Critical Path plots?

Problem occurred in all areas, including Hinterlands, Storm Coast, Fallow Mire, Hissing Wastes, and Exalted Plains. Banter occurred in Hinterlands and Storm Coast, and in Hissing Wastes during this test. No banter occurred in Fallow Mire or Exalted Plains. On current playthrough, have logged approximately 78 hours, and am yet to complete Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts. Have only heard twelve to fourteen instances of banter. This averages to approximately one instance of banter every several hours.

3. What is the the Race/Class/Gender combination of your Inquisitor?

Elf, Mage, Female

4. What followers are you using at the time?

Have been consistently rotating followers, aside from Cole because he gets himself killed too easily.

5. How would you describe your play-style? How are you moving around in areas? For example, are you using the mount? Are you playing a mage and using Blink to move around areas?

Have never used a mount, Blink, fade step, or any other similar movement enhacements. All movement has been on foot, and I have a habit of doubling back into areas to explore them further or to return after restocking potions and grenades.

6. Are you engaging in regular combat? (Are you in combat every 30 seconds?) Are you playing in heavy-combat zones where non-player factions are fighting each other?

Highest combat frequency was perhaps every five to ten minutes in Fallow Mire and Hinterlands pre-Skyhold. I have spent an hour without any combat in Oasis and Hissing Wastes, over a multi-hour session with no fast travel or other movement aside from walking, and have not triggered anything besides two environmental comments. Solas apparently should rediscover throat lozenges.

7. How many hours have you spent in your current playthrough? (the one you are experiencing the banter issues in)

The current playthrough is 78 hours in. The previous playthrough was approximately 130 hours. Neither triggered more than a dozen banters.

8. Where do you expect banter to be firing?

On regular maps, every thirty minutes to an hour out of combat. Ideally not interrupted because a wolf is getting gored by a halla on the other side of the hill.

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If anyone has any experience with video capture, we would greatly appreciate that as well.

This is my first attempt at video capture. I actually get banter during this playthrough, but hopefully it'll still be a bit of help.

Link: http://www.filedropper.com/untitled3x264001

Transcript is as follows:

At the start of recording, I have been in Hissing Wastes for approximately four to five hours, mostly out of combat due to the sheer size of the map. I have heard two instances of Solas complaining about the dryness -- environmental comment; one instance of Blackwall, Solas, and Sera remarking on the lights in the distance -- plot/quest trigger; one instance of Dorian complaining about the sound of sand moving over said -- environmental. All other comments were related to either entering a tomb or stumbling on a local trigger. At this point in the playthrough I have heard a total of perhaps ten banter instances, perhaps less, after 78 hours.

At 1:23, I begin idling and leave the computer.

At 2:00, a nearby combat triggers the party's combat stance.

At 6:00, combat ends around the party.

At 23:00, red enemy indicator appears on radar. This has never prevented banter from firing before.

At 23:51, something attacks the party. It deals with it. Red enemy indicator remains on radar.

At 35:18, red enemy indicator disappears from radar.

At 35:25, banter between Solas and Dorian.

At 42:31, I re-assume control, collect loot, and run around without engaging in combat.

At 47:05, banter between Solas and Iron Bull.

At 44:42, audio anomalies begin. All audio except for foosteps cuts out. All other sounds will stutter in and out for the next two minutes.

At 47:50, recording ends because the recorded file size exceeds 30GB.

Somewhat amusingly, this means that almost 10% of all banter in my game occurred while I was away from the computer.

I will attempt another recording session while remaining in an area for an extended amount of time.

Hi,  I made two video captures, one for about 50 minutes, 45 minutes of which I was in the room then gave up.  The other I let run while I was gone.  Both are too large to upload to youtube without some movie editing software, which I do not have.

Is there a site that you are aware of where I could send the videos for your review?

Thank-you,

YK

Okay, started playing with Kiri (elf/male/mage), IronBull, Dorian, Varric.  Ran around for about 15-20 minutes collecting deathroot and paragon's luster.  Avoided combat.  Got bored and did two of Frederic's quests: Sharper White Claws and The Abyssal High Dragon.

Started game at 4:24 pm.  Stopped playing at 5:43 pm.  Only two quest related dialogues occured.  Varric after destroying all the traps in the Sharper White Claws quest said something along the order of "someone's going to come running." Varric again after planting the dragon lures, something along the lines of he can't believe we were baiting a dragon and he should've stayed home.

No one else has said a word the entire playthrough.  Dorian and IB in my last game, prior to patch 3 were always chatting each other up.  To the point where I told my daughter I was thinking about showing IB what fireballs could do because he kept cheating with Dorian on my Inquisitor.

Varric is usually good for a wry comment or two.

In this playthrough, prior to patch 3, everything was going about normal (conversations at least firing sometime), after patch 3, in the Western Approach... nothing.

I've tried these three switch-ups:  Sera, Cassandra, Varric.  Cole, Vivian, Ironbull. Ironbull, Dorian, Varric.

I love this game, but I play it for the ground-breaking relationship building and the chatter.  It makes it come alive.  Now the game is... hard to play with all this silence.    ☹️

The world is beautiful.  The scenery amazing, the way the water moves and the wind blows through blades of grass and flowers in the Hinterlands. The story is interesting, and the characters are a wonderful mix... I was really looking forward to getting to know them all.

I hope you all can figure this out.  I play this game on two systems, although heavy preference is given to the PC, since the graphics are amazing and my 360 has a bit of trouble rendering all the textures.  🙂