Origin and Steam have more or less been equivalent in terms of features and performance for at least the past year so anyone saying Steam is better is wrong. One might prefer Steam, but that does not mean it is better.
Anyway, can we get back to discussing Dragon Age: Inquisition? Seems like Bioware is taking inspiration from Assassin's Creed when it comes to management aspects of the Inquisition. I also wonder how Varic's interrogation during Dragon Age II relates to this game. My guess is it takes place during the game? Would be cool if you are the one who orders the interrogation
My guess is that you'll see DA2 overlap a bit, kind of like Hawke's first year in Kirkwall coincided with the Blight. IE, after you ran to Kirkwall and actually got in, the next time you see Varric he says the blight is over and it's been a full year. So, I anticipate it opens and Cassandra is talking to Varric, then gives the book to Leliana, then goes back to Varric and says, OK LET'S GO FIND HAWKE. Because god dammit, they're going to tie up those loose ends or so help me...
At the end of DA2, we know the grey wardens are on the move, your warden from the first game is MIA, Hawke is missing etc. I would HAVE to assume, that heroes being what they are, they are all en route to taking on Celene and Orlais and all the crazy shit.
What would be fucking awesome and amazing is if you take your character, do your shit, and along the way not only do you run into your old comrades, but your old characters, and maybe, can even recruit them. Your warden became king/queen? Ok, so they're leading the Fereldan army there. They did not become king/queen, but stayed warden commander? You led them through Kirkwall to Orlais to deal with shit going nuts. Hawke sided with the mages? You lead a contingent to seek out weak areas of the veil. Hawke sided with the templars? You are tracking down rogue mages, as well as overseeing Kirkwall maintenance as the Viscount.
They have a huge opportunity to really nail this game. Throw backs to old characters (Because while it sucks not to continue their story, what REALLY sucks is literally when they just say, AND THEN THEY ALL DISAPPEARED because that keeps fucking happening) and old comrades is one of the biggest and best ways to make a connection. Not only do you remember how much you loved those chars/games, but it also means you have more of a way to continue building resources. You made both the warden and the champion famous; what would be fabulous would be to recruit them to your side. This can add in specific things; did you check out all the lore areas in DA2? Do all the achievements? Well, maybe it lends you a bit of knowledge, IE in the same way things change a bit with certain actions in ME3. Find all the alchemy/poison recipes? Bravo, look at this! Made all the armor upgrades? Whee. You can't play your old characters, but at least you can interact with them, and utilize their resources. (And it should go without saying, their RI's should be there too, because shit I miss Alistair and Fenris.)
I really, really hope they do something along those lines. Since they have specifically said this isn't DA3, it stands to reason the actual time line won't extend much, and will overlap a bit, paving the way for perhaps DA3. A way to sort of gather your troops and marshal forward would be fan-fucking-tastic.
I have no hope they actually do this though.
