Old Mass Effect Megathread: Original Camera Angles

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monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

The animation and dialogue for the Asari Doctor is top notch (end game clip so spoiler)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sqLypSHnP0&t=1230s

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:36

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 22:14

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

orange juche posted:

I know Duderyder was pretty bummed about his performance, he even said he would have done it completely different if there had been any direction at all for his lines.

There's a whole bit in the ending where he talks with SAM and, while a decent performance, it's all wrong for the context of the scene.

It's unfortunate because this is his first big speaking role, too, and I don't think he's a terrible performer!

The composer for ME:A appears to be John Paesano, whose work doesn't appear to be that awe-inspiring.

IMDB doesn't appear to list who the voice-over director was but it doesn't look like it was anyone from ME2 or 3.

Milkfred E. Moore fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Mar 20, 2017

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:37

JBP: Feb 16, 2017; You've got to know, to understand,
Baby, take me by my hand,
I'll lead you to the promised land.

I want to know how much this game cost to make.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:39

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

I want to know if the lead animator's name in the credits is Alan Smithee

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:41

SurelyForth: May 21, 2007

Milky Moor posted:

There's a whole bit in the ending where he talks with SAM and, while a decent performance, it's all wrong for the context of the scene.

It's unfortunate because this is his first big speaking role, too, and I don't think he's a terrible performer!

The composer for ME:A appears to be John Paesano, whose work doesn't appear to be that awe-inspiring.

IMDB doesn't appear to list who the voice-over director was but it doesn't look like it was anyone from ME2 or 3.

From her twitter feed, it looks like it was Caroline Livingstone. She did ME3 and DAI (at the very least) so she's hardly bad at her job as a rule.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:42

Banjodark: Jun 10, 2001; Beautiful and good
Punishing with his kindness
Jacob is perfect

SurelyForth posted:

From her twitter feed, it looks like it was Caroline Livingstone. She did ME3 and DAI (at the very least) so she's hardly bad at her job as a rule.

For all we know the script and scenes kept fluctuating throughout development as well.

Odd considering that the tone felt right in both those games and yet here it's just so odd.

It feels like everything went wrong in a perfect storm of mis-management.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:47

Captain Oblivious: Oct 12, 2007; I'm not like other posters

SurelyForth posted:

From her twitter feed, it looks like it was Caroline Livingstone. She did ME3 and DAI (at the very least) so she's hardly bad at her job as a rule.

Probably rushed as hell then. I'd gues that the Andromeda we actually have wasn't worked on anywhere close to 5 years but rather was developed much sooner than that due to management shakeups and restarts.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:47

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Rookersh posted:

Bioware doesn't exist anymore.

DA:O was a surprise success that took 6ish years to make and almost everyone working at Bioware to put out the door. EA had no faith in it, and suddenly it was one of their top selling franchises. So they did what EA does to highly successful franchises, and asked Bioware to make another one. Except for this new one, they wanted it started and finished in under a year, as they had a dream of an annual RPG franchise. Mind you that's hard enough to pull off for FPS games which are relatively simple to make with multiple teams. Bioware was expected to put together a full length AAA RPG in 6-7 months while also putting out the last of the DA:O DLC.

This killed the company. Huge swathes of people up and quit. They couldn't handle the stress. They couldn't handle what they were expected to do. Every single major program director and creative lead left the company during this year period where they were developing DA2. Go look at LinkedIn profiles for the major people that worked on DA:O, and more then half of them suddenly leave Bioware in 2010. The combat director quit and wasn't replaced for months, so they had no real lead directing what the combat should have been during that period. Major story beats and combat ideas got forced into the game in the final months of 2010 not because they were good, but because the game needed to ship in a few months and it needed to get out the door. To help the DA team actually finish DA2 in a somewhat annual fashion, they drew most of the ME2 team off ME, throwing them into this grinder as well.

By the time DA2 launched, around half if not more of the original "Bioware" was gone. Go through the credits of DA:O, ME1, or ME2 and start LinkedIning people, none of them work for Bioware anymore. Most left between 2010 and 2012.

It's been a pretty steady drain since then. Compare the credits list of Inquisition to the credits list of DA:O or DA2. It's almost an entirely new team, and it's a team that Bioware specifically hired to replace the losses from DA2. It's why so many styles have changed since then, why the gameplay changed so steadily, and why they chose to try so many new things. Because Inquisition wasn't made by the DA:O team trying their hand at open world game design. It was maybe 1/6th of the guys that even touched DA:O/DA2 suddenly getting an influx of new blood, most of it Bioware fans finally getting a chance to work for the company they loved, that had great new ideas for what they wanted out of future Bioware games.

It's the same for the ME team. The brain drain has been bad, and the development of Andromeda has apparently picked off massive chunks of the team. The lead writer of the group was the lead writer for Halo 4, and he apparently clashed with a lot of the senior writers/main writers of previous ME games. A whole bunch of goon favorite ME writers have quit the company, and on various development forums have mentioned it was due to creative differences with the former lead writer. Gameplay leads have been leaving the ME/Bioware teams at a pretty steady pace since the game was developed as well. The story had to be picked up mid completion as the lead writer got forced out/quit and replaced, which likely doesn't mean great things for the narrative ( which we are also seeing here. ). Andromeda has currently had the great slow drip of Bioware talent since the dark days of 2010 when DA2 "killed" the company. They've been forced to cycle talent multiple times during the development of Andromeda, not just in management ( which has seen multiple complete turnovers ), but also among the rank and file people working on the game.

This isn't to say Andromeda can't be great, or that it won't live up to the hype. I'm personally hoping it does because I need something to play right now. But if it's good, it'll be good on it's own merits and it's own merits alone, rather then because "it's a Bioware game, I like Bioware!". Because Bioware doesn't exist anymore, it's a completely new entity and needs to be treated as such. People really need to be viewing this as "EA'S NEW ACQUISITION, BIOWARE VICTORY'S FIRST RPG. HOPE IT'S GOOD." rather then "Bioware always makes quality. I know what I'll get here.". As it is right now, EA is propping up Bioware's corpse with a new studio and hoping people don't notice while they keep using it as their RPG house.

Wow now I dislike DA:2 even more than I already did. Which was a lot.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:48

orange juche: Mar 14, 2012

On the music point, I think while the score was not as good as ME1 and 2, it still sufficiently captured the Mass Effect feel.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:49

Minera: Sep 26, 2007; All your friends and foes,
they thought they knew ya,
but look who's in your heart now.

10 minutes to the review embargo lifting, my body is ready... for a solid 9.8/10, truly a life changing experience. thanks for the money EA

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:50

Zzulu: May 15, 2009; (â°ËvËâ°)

I really want to join in the hatefest bandwagon because that's basically why I joined SA but after the trial I just can't muster up a whole lot of hate for the game, cuz i enjoyed it

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:51

Nichael: Mar 30, 2011

My prediction is mostly tepid 8s, a rare few 9s, more 7s than 9s.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:52

Verviticus: Mar 13, 2006; I'm just a total piece of shit and I'm not sure why I keep posting on this site. Christ, I have spent years with idiots giving me bad advice about online dating and haven't noticed that the thread I'm in selects for people that can't talk to people worth a damn.

Minrad posted:

10 minutes to the review embargo lifting, my body is ready... for a solid 9.8/10, truly a life changing experience. thanks for the money EA

you're welcome minrad

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:53

CJ: Jul 3, 2007; Asbungold

ME1 and 2 soundtrack was good and cool. I didn't like the Clint Mansell song from ME3 though.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:54

orange juche: Mar 14, 2012

Zzulu posted:

I really want to join in the hatefest bandwagon because that's basically why I joined SA but after the trial I just can't muster up a whole lot of hate for the game, cuz i enjoyed it

Same, like I get why people hate it, but I found an enjoyable game in it, and I like it more than ME3. ME1 was good but playing it again in TYOOL 2017 it has not aged well at loving all, ME2 was really good but linear, and 3 has good combat but the story never grabbed me.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:55

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

SurelyForth posted:

From her twitter feed, it looks like it was Caroline Livingstone. She did ME3 and DAI (at the very least) so she's hardly bad at her job as a rule.

Banjodark posted:

For all we know the script and scenes kept fluctuating throughout development as well.

Odd considering that the tone felt right in both those games and yet here it's just so odd.

It feels like everything went wrong in a perfect storm of mis-management.

Captain Oblivious posted:

Probably rushed as hell then. I'd gues that the Andromeda we actually have wasn't worked on anywhere close to 5 years but rather was developed much sooner than that due to management shakeups and restarts.

At this point, I think I believe Utnayan's crazy "THEY RESTARTED THE PROJECT TWICE DURING DEVELOPMENT" point.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:55

orange juche: Mar 14, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w1FV_80S-0

Regarding the ME:A music, while it isn't the best video game music score ever, the cinematography in the intro works with the music to make it way better combined than alone.

They were really trying to capture the positive vibe of the ME1 intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a27IdajHUU

orange juche fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Mar 20, 2017

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:57

poisonpill: Nov 8, 2009; The only way to get huge fast is to insult a passing witch and hope she curses you with Beast-strength.

"Man, what is wrong with that poetry chick?"

Minrad posted:

http://i.imgur.com/MA38J1Z.mp4

"I know! She's all, 'Uhhh, my face is tired, uhhhhh...'."

Minrad posted:

https://i.imgur.com/B8l1X2J.mp4

"What? Heard you talkin' poo poo, like I wouldn't find out?!"

# ? Mar 20, 2017 07:59

Sio: Jan 20, 2007; better red than dead

Here's the Gamespot review: http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mass-effect-andromeda-review/1900-6416638/

6/10. "Andromeda's combat soars but its storytelling sputters, making the series' first venture into uncharted space a shaky but occasionally satisfying new adventure."

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:04

Random Asshole: Nov 8, 2010

Varam posted:

Here's the Gamespot review: http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mass-effect-andromeda-review/1900-6416638/

6/10. "Andromeda's combat soars but its storytelling sputters, making the series' first venture into uncharted space a shaky but occasionally satisfying new adventure."

Wow, very first review and we're already into The Forbidden Numbers. Not good (for Bioware)!

Edit: Wait, what? There are only four playable worlds? That's pretty loving amazing, considering we were promised SEVEN!

Random Asshole fucked around with this message at 08:11 on Mar 20, 2017

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:05

Minera: Sep 26, 2007; All your friends and foes,
they thought they knew ya,
but look who's in your heart now.

a 6

wow, it's terrible

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:05

M_Sinistrari: Sep 5, 2008; Do you like scary movies?

Admiral Ray posted:

is this actually part of the game

like

what

My reaction was more like :catstare:

Despite not going out of my way to look into anything about Andromeda since I was in the 'this is bullshit' camp with ME3, I did hear they were going to go a bit all out on stuff like this and well...that's a bit more than what I was expecting. I do agree that it does look like that's where most of the animation resources went.

As far as what I've seen of my fiance playing his 10 hours allotment, I'll consider picking this up after it's hit the going on sale mark. It's not seeming as good as earlier efforts, but it's not on the DA2 "not touching it until it's $2 and even that's paying too much" mark.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:06

Captain Oblivious: Oct 12, 2007; I'm not like other posters

Milky Moor posted:

At this point, I think I believe Utnayan's crazy "THEY RESTARTED THE PROJECT TWICE DURING DEVELOPMENT" point.

It was never really in doubt that Utnayans posts had tiny kernels of truth in them. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a project with as much turmoil as we know Andromeda has had at the upper management level has probably seen a restart or two. Making an observation like that doesn't make him a credible insider or whatever.

The rest of it was purestrain crazy ranting that there's no real reason to take seriously

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:06

Funky See Funky Do: Aug 20, 2013; STILL TRYING HARD

E: Beaten

PC Gamer: Marred by inconsistency and in need of a polish pass, this vast new sci-fi frontier nonetheless rewards dedicated exploration. 80.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:07

CJ: Jul 3, 2007; Asbungold

https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/60f36t/mass_effect_andromeda_review_thread/

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:07

isk: Oct 3, 2007; You don't want me owing you

A 6. Holy poo poo.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:09

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

(partially beaten)
CNET: "wait til Andromeda drops below $40." https://www.cnet.com/au/products/mass-effect-andromeda/preview/

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:08

drink Dr Pepper actually: Oct 11, 2012

Even IGN couldn't muster an 8. http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/03/20/mass-effect-andromeda-review?page=2

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:09

cams: Mar 28, 2003

at what point did the trial end? i just finished the main quest on eos and i imagine i am passing that point

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:10

The Kins: Oct 2, 2004

Eurogamer: No score - "The combat crackles and the worlds are lush, but mediocre writing and tepid quests add up to what is probably BioWare's worst RPG yet."

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:11

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

cams posted:

at what point did the trial end? i just finished the main quest on eos and i imagine i am passing that point

When you've done the third monolith and cross the bridge to the island in the lake.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:11

Nichael: Mar 30, 2011

Wow, worse than I thought and I wasn't expecting much.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:12

cams: Mar 28, 2003

oh haha people are talking about video game reviews

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:12

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

destructoid 6.5

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:12

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/20/14961928/mass-effect-andromeda-review-xbox-ps4-pc

quote:

For many players, these myriad issues may understandably be a deal-breaker. Mass Effect: Andromeda is largely not a fun game to play. The missions are boring, the action repetitive. But for a certain kind of person � and I count myself among them, for better and for worse � the story is just enough to merit the investment. Completing a boring mission might bring you closer to a character you�re really attached to, or, on a grander scale, you might see the world evolve in fascinating ways. I loved watching the various colonies grow from tiny settlements into thriving communities over the course of the game � even if nudging this progress felt like checking off my chores.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:13

Roobanguy: May 31, 2011

definitly looks like general consensus is a 3/5 game. which is a bummer.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:13

cams: Mar 28, 2003

Doctor Spaceman posted:

When you've done the third monolith and cross the bridge to the island in the lake.

...did it end there and not let you do that dungeon? if so that is bananas, that poo poo was fun as hell

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:14

Perfect Potato: Mar 4, 2009

Dragon Age 2 was a rancid piece of poo poo and even that managed a tight rope walking 80-ish average after the requisite review score Bioware Bump. The fact that this is already below that is eye opening to say the least

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:15

Nichael: Mar 30, 2011

monster on a stick posted:

The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/20/14961928/mass-effect-andromeda-review-xbox-ps4-pc

That's reassuring, actually. I like Bioware games for the character and I'm pretty okay if the other aspects are not great as long as the characters are fun.

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:15

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 22:14

Minera: Sep 26, 2007; All your friends and foes,
they thought they knew ya,
but look who's in your heart now.

http://venturebeat.com/2017/03/20/mass-effect-andromeda-review/

55/100

# ? Mar 20, 2017 08:15

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