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Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Mazerunner posted:

ME1's numbers on its gear and poo poo were just numbers for the sake of numbers. Like you could do very different builds which is good (ie. gun that fires forever vs. gun that shoots once with the force of a tank) or funky stuff with ammo mods but when you were comparing like, two pistols or two armour sets it's like... 2% more guff or 1.5% crap and 0.5% poo poo? And then you actually use them and they are exactly the same, so you just use the one with bigger numbers which always ends up being the spectre gear in the end. But-but minmaxing you say! Well sure but 2 and 3 also had minmaxing except there's resulted in big noticable and meaningful changes vs a few extra percentage points here or there.

Same with the skills, it's just a bunch of small incremental increases to power, but not really meaningful game choices, besides I guess combat skills vs. non-combat skills, but that ends up just frustrating because noone likes seeing a crate they can't open because their lockpick skill is too low or whatever but they also hate gimping their strength or having to cart Kaidan around so he can open poo poo for them.

ME2 did good. Guns are actually differentiated gameplay wise from each other. Useless skills are gone. Ranking up skills gives big ups, with a capstone choice (plus the increasing costs to rank a skill as a nice balancer). BUT it removed too much. Too few guns, too few good skills (especially on squaddies), not enough meaningful gameplay customization.

ME3 got it right, especially after the dlc weapons came out. Now you have a huge arsenal. You got gear mods, you got weapon mods. Skill trees go up to 6 instead of 4 levels, with choices for the last three. More skills on Shep and squad that aren't chaff like electronics. Instead of trying to eke out a few negligible points you're making big decisions on how your characters play and feel. Ammo mods being class powers still sucks though although in multiplayer they weren't powers but were one-time use consumables for any class.


Essentially ME1 was good, but it wasn't good. Like even the vaunted number crunching min-maxing almost always boiled down to 'use the biggest numbers dumbass'. It was janky and poorly balanced, BUT it was doing something new, it had a lot of charm and you could do some silly gamebreaking stuff so I will never say it was really truly bad.

Yeah, 400% agreed. ME2's improvements were significant and ME3's were as well. Some people dislike the global cooldown, but I think it actually makes gameplay way more interesting because the existence of a global cooldown allows them to design powerful abilities with shorter cooldowns that are used according to situational need rather than in a "what is most efficient button click rotation" fashion. It's a really cool gameplay design choice that maybe doesn't get enough credit for how it opens up powers and helps to make the combat more dynamic.

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Codependent Poster
Oct 20, 2003

In Mass Effect 1 you could be an elite soldier and put your crosshairs right on a guy and miss them because of the weird dice roll mechanics they still had in place. That was bad.

However, console cheating to give yourself super speed was funny.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line
man 2007 had Crysis (remember how everyone was blown away by those graphics?), Psychonauts, NWN2:MotB, Portal... and a whole lotta bad games. Shadowrun hahaha.

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Like, if Adrenaline Rush had existed in ME1, it would have had to be a button with a 40 second - 1 minute cooldown just to stop it from being wildly and obviously too strong. Because of the global cooldown system in ME2 though, they're able to give this very powerful ability a short cooldown, because using it comes with the opportunity cost of you not being able to use other utility abilities immediately after hitting your bullet time. This also involves a more interesting tactical choice than "my good power is off cooldown, should I use it yes/no".

That goes for a bunch of other strong abilities, too. It's a really good design imo.

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

In Mass Effect 1 Shepard doesn't know how to use a scope on a sniper rifle unless you put points in the Sniper Rifle skill

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line
not knowing how to use something because you don't know how to use it is an odd complaint I think

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

I am not a career soldier like Commander Shepard literally is, but I reckon I could probably puzzle out what a rifle scope is and how to use it.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line
I'm not either, and have no experience with guns whatsoever - do all soldiers train with sniper rifles?

Pozload Escobar
Aug 21, 2016

by Reene

Lt. Danger posted:

I am not a career soldier like Commander Shepard literally is, but I reckon I could probably puzzle out what a rifle scope is and how to use it.

lol I highly doubt you would know how to use an actual "sniper" scope without some training bruh

Pozload Escobar
Aug 21, 2016

by Reene
Actual ranged scopes require an understanding of range and sighting and optics and conditions and what all the funny numbers and lines in the display mean.

Abstracting that into needing to put a point into a training skill is hardly an unforgivable design decision.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line
and in a more general sense I like that abilities/equipment or whatever are gated by stats - and content gating in general as well; I don't like games that let me do everything at any point, or even all in one playthrough.

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

I suppose it is theoretically possible actual space soldier Commander Shepard has never used a sniper rifle in their career. I imagine they have received some training though, since they carry a sniper rifle around with them regardless of class, and they apparently know enough to be able to point and shoot it but not enough to be able to put their eye to the scope and look through it.

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Well, it is a silly complaint. You can put points in the Sniper Rifle skill if you want Shepard to know how to use a sniper rifle, and from a gameplay perspective it's fun to have the player feel like their choice unlocked a new feature. That's part of the character building element of RPGs.

If you really need an explanation, perhaps military grade sniper rifles in the space future require specialised training to use properly because of their extreme heat and recoil on firing. The sniper rifles in ME1 overheat in like two shots, that probably throws you off if you haven't had sniper training.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Lt. Danger posted:

I suppose it is theoretically possible actual space soldier Commander Shepard has never used a sniper rifle in their career. I imagine they have received some training though, since they carry a sniper rifle around with them regardless of class, and they apparently know enough to be able to point and shoot it but not enough to be able to put their eye to the scope and look through it.

I guess so. I don't recall off the top of my head, but do you not start the game with some skill points to distribute?

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Also yeah, they probably have hella overlays and biometrics and readouts on the scope and it's like working a really fancy Nikon camera and your Vanguard Shepard is just like, "ugh, I give up! I'll just use it like a club!".

Mr.Pibbleton
Feb 3, 2006

Aleuts rock, chummer.

A Buff Gay Dude posted:

Actual ranged scopes require an understanding of range and sighting and optics and conditions and what all the funny numbers and lines in the display mean.

Abstracting that into needing to put a point into a training skill is hardly an unforgivable design decision.

Scope bite is a pretty common phenomenon for people trying to use a long range rifle.


JawKnee posted:

I'm not either, and have no experience with guns whatsoever - do all soldiers train with sniper rifles?

It's more whether or not a soldier is trained to snipe, it's not all about the scope either just ask this fella.

Meme Poker Party
Sep 1, 2006

by Azathoth
ME1's only real flaw in that particular subject was allowing you to deploy with weapons you can't train for instead of just removing them.

Like a Soldier can train to use them all, but a Vanguard or something is only supposed to know pistols and shotguns no matter what training they undergo. What they should have done (and did do in later iterations) was just remove your slots for assault and sniper rifles in that case. But instead you still have them on your back for some reason and are just comically inept at using them.

Most people understand what is going on for gameplay purposes and just ignore the "off-limits" weapons. Other people go turbo sperg about it for basically no reason.

Meme Poker Party fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Dec 9, 2016

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

Only the Soldier and Infiltrator classes start with the Sniper Rifles skill, though you can select it as a bonus skill for other classes. However every Shepard can use every weapon regardless of class or skill points, but you can't "aim" with weapons you haven't put skill points into. This is not much of a problem for shotguns but a huge problem for sniper rifles (unless you just HE Rounds the sucker).

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Chomp8645 posted:

ME1's only real flaw in that particular subject was allowing you to deploy with weapons you can't train for instead of just removing them.

Like a Soldier can train to use them all, but a Vanguard or something is only supposed to know pistols and shotguns no matter what training they undergo. What they should have done (and did do in later iterations) was just remove your slots for assault and sniper rifles in that case. But instead you still have them on your back for some reason and are just comically inept at using them.

:agreed:

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

I did not think there would be serious opposition to "giving the player weapons they can't normally use is dumb" but this is, after all, the Mass Effect thread.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Lt. Danger posted:

"giving the player weapons they can't normally use is dumb"

Chomp8645 posted:

ME1's only real flaw in that particular subject was allowing you to deploy with weapons you can't train for instead of just removing them.

Seems like you two are in agreement though?

Number Ten Cocks
Feb 25, 2016

by zen death robot

Chomp8645 posted:

Other people go turbo sperg about it for basically no reason.

Mass Effect: Andromeda - Going Turbo Sperg For A Pretty Good Reason, Actually

(ME3, it bad.)

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

I was just generally posting, not targeted at anyone.

I also think sniper rifles in Mass Effect aren't really comparable to actual sniper rifle use in the real world because Mass Effect is a game, but this too is objectionable to some??

marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

A Buff Gay Dude posted:

Actual ranged scopes require an understanding of range and sighting and optics and conditions and what all the funny numbers and lines in the display mean.

Abstracting that into needing to put a point into a training skill is hardly an unforgivable design decision.

It may not be unforgivable but it still dumb and obnoxious.

Like I can forgive someone for cheating on a test but that doesn't mean I'm okay with it. I will demand they do better and not make poo poo decisions later.

Meme Poker Party
Sep 1, 2006

by Azathoth
"This is objectionable to some?"




"No really tell me. I have no evidence at all this is objectionable to some but I need to rage. I need my anger. I'm so lonely. Please say it's objectionable."

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Lt. Danger posted:

I was just generally posting, not targeted at anyone.

I also think sniper rifles in Mass Effect aren't really comparable to actual sniper rifle use in the real world because Mass Effect is a game, but this too is objectionable to some??

Nah, that's exactly the position I'm taking about the stats thing: it's a game, it's okay if your professional soldier needs to tick a spreadsheet box before he can look down the scope.

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Lt. Danger posted:

I did not think there would be serious opposition to "giving the player weapons they can't normally use is dumb" but this is, after all, the Mass Effect thread.

This is just a silly strawman, I don't think anyone is saying that. People are taking issue with what you actually said, which was that the player being unable to scope in without putting a point in the Sniper Rifles skill was dumb.

Lt. Danger
Dec 22, 2006

jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

There is no need to be upset Chomp8645. I don't think anyone is cross here.

marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

JawKnee posted:

Nah, that's exactly the position I'm taking about the stats thing: it's a game, it's okay if your professional soldier needs to tick a spreadsheet box before he can look down the scope.

Nah.

I have an entire button on my controller/mouse dedicated to "aim." I don't care what gun it is, when I press that button, it should do something.

The skill can abstract accuracy/damage/response time/skill cooldowns or whatever, but my button should work.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line
okay

Meme Poker Party
Sep 1, 2006

by Azathoth

marshmallow creep posted:

Nah.

I have an entire button on my controller/mouse dedicated to "aim." I don't care what gun it is, when I press that button, it should do something.

The skill can abstract accuracy/damage/response time/skill cooldowns or whatever, but my button should work.

I'm sorry but the button-awesome connection was not pioneered until 2011.

In dark age of games sometimes you would press a button... and something awesome would not happen. Spooky!

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Lt. Danger posted:

I also think sniper rifles in Mass Effect aren't really comparable to actual sniper rifle use in the real world because Mass Effect is a game, but this too is objectionable to some??

Wait, but...

Lt. Danger posted:

I suppose it is theoretically possible actual space soldier Commander Shepard has never used a sniper rifle in their career. I imagine they have received some training though, since they carry a sniper rifle around with them regardless of class, and they apparently know enough to be able to point and shoot it but not enough to be able to put their eye to the scope and look through it.

Lt. Danger posted:

I am not a career soldier like Commander Shepard literally is, but I reckon I could probably puzzle out what a rifle scope is and how to use it.

So, like, which is it? Is it unrealistic that Shepard can't scope in by default, or...the other thing...

This is a silly argument.

Codependent Poster
Oct 20, 2003

Regardless of if Shepard could use the scope or not, there's still a chance that you could have dedicated a lot of skill to it, line up a headshot, then the dice roll goes "nope you missed lol."

Removing the dice roll mechanics of the shooting part was a great decision for ME2.

marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Chomp8645 posted:

I'm sorry but the button-awesome connection was not pioneered until 2011.

In dark age of games sometimes you would press a button... and something awesome would not happen. Spooky!

What a time to be alive.

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Codependent Poster posted:

Removing the dice roll mechanics of the shooting part was a great decision for ME2.

was this a thing in ME1? I legit don't remember that. I remember aim-assist.

Zzulu
May 15, 2009

(▰˘v˘▰)

JawKnee posted:

the only mod I want is one that removes color from textual choices, and scrambles their placement around

This wouldnt work too well with the ME games though because a lot of the time you got like 4 words of text to describe what the choice was and then you clicked it and an entire cutscene where shepard does a lot of stuff you could never have predicted would happen

The colors was sometimes the only indicator where the hell the choice might be headed

Cowcaster
Aug 7, 2002



having to invest points in a skill to use a weapon in an rpg is a pretty common game mechanic and complaining about it is pretty weird

that said handwaving it away as "even marine todd had to train 30 days in the desert sniping insurgents in ghillie suits to master the power that is the sniper scope that's loving realism baby" in this videogame of faster-than-light sexbot blue alien lesbian cum jizz element zero generic space frog nonsense is ranking up there with the dumbest loving thing i've seen lately

JawKnee
Mar 24, 2007





You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Zzulu posted:

This wouldnt work too well with the ME games though because a lot of the time you got like 4 words of text to describe what the choice was and then you clicked it and an entire cutscene where shepard does a lot of stuff you could never have predicted would happen

The colors was sometimes the only indicator where the hell the choice might be headed

fair enough, an expanded dialogue mod (like the similar one for FO4) would be nice there too, but mostly it's because even years later I know just to go to a certain direction rather than reading or even caring what my character is going to say

Meme Poker Party
Sep 1, 2006

by Azathoth

JawKnee posted:

was this a thing in ME1? I legit don't remember that. I remember aim-assist.

Yeah I was gonna say that I don't really remember this as a thing. But I think what was a thing is that while scoped the crosshair was just a visual and didn't actually mean your shot would be pinpoint accurate. Normal scatter still applied, which could be considerable if you had low skill or +scatter modifiers. So in that way you could have a target in your sights but still miss through scatter, which could easily seem like Morrowind-style lol dice roll.

Not positive though, it was so long ago.

Meme Poker Party fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Dec 9, 2016

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marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Cowcaster posted:

having to invest points in a skill to use a weapon in an rpg is a pretty common game mechanic and complaining about it is pretty weird

It comes down to make a good compromise between a shooter and an RPG. ME1 isn't that.

Fallout NV did it well in my opinion. You can aim with any weapon, but skill investment makes you more accurate with less sway and scatter and do more damage.

My button always does something! Awesome!

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