2009 is also where the BioWare path to tragedy began. I'm sure Flynn did his best but he even admits here that as a programmer he felt he wasn't the best, and moving on from there, eventually he was GM of 2, potentially 3 disasters or 4 if you really don't like Dragon Age Inquisition.
Of course, EA is a big factor too, especially Patrick Söderlund who probably wormed his beloved Frostbite Engine into Aaryn's brain making them shift to it before they would inevitably have been forced to do it, but overall, I can't help but think the landslide began slowly because BioWare shifted around its structure and put too much responsibility in Aaryn's hands, maybe more than he is capable of.
I'm sure Frostbite is a little rusty to work with on some levels. I cannot speak to any of its experience but I can also say that to me it smells like a blameshift, away from the fact that a lot of talented people left over the years, and I need to point no further than to what Dragon Age Inquisition was versus what Andromeda was. If Frostbite was so bad how come Inquisition at least has an overall more consistent aesthetic, face animation and RPG systems that work? I know, it's two different teams, but that's also the point. Not everything comes down to tools, a lot of it is also individual talent you have employed and their ability to adapt to unfamiliar software and tools.
When they started Mass Effect Unreal 3 couldn't do a thing. They had to code its math equation functions and send to Epic Games, which is what is still in the engine (An Ex-ME1 dev told me on Discord), and yet Frostbite could do more. What was stopping them from recoding the basics? Talent. Talent is what, or lack thereof.
