Old Mass Effect Megathread: Original Camera Angles

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EPIC fat guy vids: Feb 3, 2011; squeak... squeak... SQUEAK!; Lipstick Apathy

Thor-Stryker posted:

I also didn't like FO: New Vegas because 80% of the map felt uninspired and empty compared to FO 3.

I could however, go for a Vampire Bloodlines sequel.

FNV is still the best entry. FO4 is packed full of stuff map-wise but it's rather shallow.

Bloodlines remake/sequel would be amazing.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:32

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# ? May 28, 2024 18:17

Arglebargle III: Feb 21, 2006

Sinteres posted:

They've owned Bioware since before the first Mass Effect or Dragon Age ever came out. Bioware's way bigger now than it ever was before EA bought it, so the idea that they bought Bioware to exploit its reputation and destroy it in a pump and dump is pretty silly. That isn't to say that EA doesn't have problems with churning out content at the expense of quality, but they aren't trying to kill Bioware.

It's not a pump-and-dump it's a long term divestment strategy.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:39

exquisite tea: Apr 21, 2007; Carly shook her glass, willing the ice to melt. "You still haven't told me what the mission is."

She leaned forward. "We are going to assassinate the bad men of Hollywood."

A rushed development cycle definitely contributed to the flaws in DA2 and ME3 but Andromeda had five years to get off the ground, so you can't put this one all on EA. It seems like Bioware bungled the project through and through.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:41

Shard: Jul 30, 2005

Burkion posted:

It's like you don't even believe in the porn industry

Look it up, that exact thing is made. Both in the awful CGI and awful live action formats.

Eh I wouldn't say awful. They served their purpose.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:44

evilmiera: Dec 14, 2009; Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

exquisite tea posted:

A rushed development cycle definitely contributed to the flaws in DA2 and ME3 but Andromeda had five years to get off the ground, so you can't put this one all on EA. It seems like Bioware bungled the project through and through.

To a point. EA are most likely the guys who got the ball rolling on some of the transfers and firings that set BioWare up to be what it is today.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:44

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

exquisite tea posted:

A rushed development cycle definitely contributed to the flaws in DA2 and ME3 but Andromeda had five years to get off the ground, so you can't put this one all on EA. It seems like Bioware bungled the project through and through.

for comparison: ME1 took 3 years, ME2 took 2.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:49

Groetgaffel: Oct 30, 2011; Groetgaffel smacked the living shit out of himself doing 297 points of damage.

EA is to blame for laying MEA at the feet of a grunt work studio.
The rest of the mismanagement is pretty much all on Bioware Montreal.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:52

exquisite tea: Apr 21, 2007; Carly shook her glass, willing the ice to melt. "You still haven't told me what the mission is."

She leaned forward. "We are going to assassinate the bad men of Hollywood."

I hope somebody does a postmortem on what happened with Andromeda but I suspect all its problems stemmed from a total lack of unified vision on what kind of game it should be and what story it should tell, from the first reveal trailer right up to release.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:53

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

christ, I new development on DA2 was intentionally short, but it was less than a year - 9 months! - from announcement to launch

# ? May 11, 2017 17:54

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

exquisite tea posted:

I hope somebody does a postmortem on what happened with Andromeda but I suspect all its problems stemmed from a total lack of unified vision on what kind of game it should be and what story it should tell, from the first reveal trailer right up to release.

I still am not really sure what the game was about, and I completed almost every quest.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:55

Pattonesque: Jul 15, 2004; johnny jesus and the infield fly rule

quick: what is the main narrative theme of Mass Effect: Andromeda

# ? May 11, 2017 17:55

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

being entirely unprepared, as a rookie, for the challenges that await you?

https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/23/15039926/mass-effect-andromeda-animation-what-happened-former-animator-speaks-out

# ? May 11, 2017 17:57

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Pattonesque posted:

quick: what is the main narrative theme of Mass Effect: Andromeda

Trash mobs. No one caring about what you are doing.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:58

Arglebargle III: Feb 21, 2006

JawKnee posted:

being entirely unprepared, as a rookie, for the challenges that await you?

https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/23/15039926/mass-effect-andromeda-animation-what-happened-former-animator-speaks-out

You write what you know I guess lol.

# ? May 11, 2017 17:59

evilmiera: Dec 14, 2009; Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

JawKnee posted:

christ, I new development on DA2 was intentionally short, but it was less than a year - 9 months! - from announcement to launch

That doesn't have to mean it really took 9 months, in fact I'm sure it doesn't, if that's what you're getting at. I think most of the problems with the game besides the messy and unfinished area design, weird combat and strange quest design stem from the studio experimenting and trying new things which could have worked well, but really didn't.

Then there's the awful characters which I'm not entirely sure how they became a thing.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:04

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

The characters in DA2 are far more memorable than literally any from Inquisition or DAO, and it is Bioware's best cast by far.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:08

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

evilmiera posted:

That doesn't have to mean it really took 9 months

Sure, but while I can find 'pre-development started at X' for some other games (ME1, ME2) I can't find that for DA2. All I can find is the announcement date. But I do know that there's a thread floating around in archives somewhere where a goon claimed to be a senior dev at Bioware, and that DA2 had a 1 year dev cycle.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:10

Groetgaffel: Oct 30, 2011; Groetgaffel smacked the living shit out of himself doing 297 points of damage.

Pick posted:

The characters in DA2 are far more memorable than literally any from Inquisition or DAO, and it is Bioware's best cast by far.

I'm sorry DA2 damaged your brain, friend.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:10

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Pick posted:

The characters in DA2 are far more memorable than literally any from Inquisition or DAO, and it is Bioware's best cast by far.

ME2/DA1 are the best casts

e: with the edge going handily to ME2

# ? May 11, 2017 18:12

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Groetgaffel posted:

I'm sorry DA2 damaged your brain, friend.

It's the best game of all time and the characters are a huge part of that.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:18

Admiral Ray: May 17, 2014; Proud Musk and Dogecoin fanboy

The real question is whether you think DA2 is a better, worse, or similar game to ME:A.

I think it was better, but then again I never finished ME:A because I just got too bored halfway through. DA2's story was kinda nonsensical towards the very end but I still played it twice.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:31

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

There's so much I'd be more willing to put up with if Mass Effect Andromeda's story was actually compelling. A lot of what drove me to complete the game through all of its bugs and issues - and a lot of the fun I convinced myself I was having - was towards the understanding (misplaced, as it turned out) that this was leading to something.

As it is, it's just a mystery box. So much has been shafted into either DLC or proposed future games that the story itself is as incomplete as the rest of the game.

Among the major questions completely unanswered that should have been dealt with:

What is the scourge?
Who is the benefactor?
Who killed Jein Garson?
There's no one else in Andromeda? Not even hints of another species, either in relics or in Kett Databases?
Are the Kett just all evil fucks? Really?
Why are the Angorans such a loving lovely race? (More meta)
Where's the Quarian Ark?
Why did your dad leave, umm, glowing things all over different planets for you to discover just to get some understanding of what led you to Andromeda? What the gently caress was that all about? He couldn't just loving tell you? (I get aggravated just thinking about this one, how it's such an artificial way to gate progress - why can't people just loving talk to each other instead of keeping everything super secret - especially after they are dead?)

For old time's sake:
Why am I shooting this tube?

Also regarding Mac Walters being an idiot:
If biologics vs. synthetics is such a universal problem, why aren't there any synthetic intelligences in Andromeda? (The remnant are effectively VIs, not AIs)

ashpanash fucked around with this message at 18:35 on May 11, 2017

# ? May 11, 2017 18:31

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Admiral Ray posted:

The real question is whether you think DA2 is a better, worse, or similar game to ME:A.

I think it was better, but then again I never finished ME:A because I just got too bored halfway through. DA2's story was kinda nonsensical towards the very end but I still played it twice.

DA2 also has the benefit of being a realistic length. It has limited chaff compared to DAI and MEA.

# ? May 11, 2017 18:33

Digital Flower: Sep 5, 2011

ashpanash posted:

Who is the benefactor?
Who killed Jein Garson?

Are we going to pretend that the answer to both of those questions isn't going to be Cerberus?

# ? May 11, 2017 19:08

Android Blues: Nov 22, 2008

Thor-Stryker posted:

I still haven't finished it for similar reasons. I loved classics like the Baldur's Gate series, but PoE's lore and style just felt very generic and Tolkien-esque. There wasn't a lot of creativity aside from the god system.

I also didn't like FO: New Vegas because 80% of the map felt uninspired and empty compared to FO 3.

PoE's lore is so far from generic Tolkien though. Like...maybe if you just scan the surface and are like, "oh, it has elves and wizards". It also has militaristic Hawaiian shark people, fantasy races as ethnic groups within unrelated countries rather than the residents of ethnonations, a war where the winning side blew up a god with explosives, a large imperial nation that isn't a video game-brand "evil empire", and people with weird death bug heads. To top it off it's designed around Renaissance/Age of Sail-era cultures rather than medieval ones.

One of the best things about that game is that it's very very intent on deviating from fantasy tropes and creating a fantasy world that's built around historical and sociological ideas, rather than around the echo of them you get from Tolkien. I think the actual content of its lore is pretty distinct from what you'd consider generic fantasy, and a million miles from Tolkien certainly. Style, I'd give you.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:10

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

Singing Sunflower posted:

Are we going to pretend that the answer to both of those questions isn't going to be Cerberus?

I'm just saying it was set up and not answered, not that the obvious answer isn't staring us in the face.

The point being, we can't even evaluate how dumb the answers actually are - and we probably won't get the chance. Maybe they'll be put it some book that I absolutely will never read.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:10

IcePhoenix: Sep 18, 2005; Take me to your Shida

Singing Sunflower posted:

Are we going to pretend that the answer to both of those questions isn't going to be Cerberus?

Do we even know that she's dead? The body was unrecognizable, wasn't it? It would be kinda dumb but let's not pretend that they wouldn't do it as a DLC hook

# ? May 11, 2017 19:13

big time bisexual: Oct 16, 2002; Cool Party

exquisite tea posted:

I hope somebody does a postmortem on what happened with Andromeda but I suspect all its problems stemmed from a total lack of unified vision on what kind of game it should be and what story it should tell, from the first reveal trailer right up to release.

Bioware was doing focus testing for Andromeda two years ago and one of the participants posted the survey they received. They stuck to this general outline but scaled it way back in scope.

quote:

Sometimes I take surveys online for a little extra money.
One day last month I got one with this:

The Next Mass Effect Context:

The next Mass Effect game takes place in the Helius Cluster (a cluster of 100s of solar systems in the Andromeda Galaxy), far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard�s heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy. You are a pathfinder, a combat trained but un-tested explorer leading an expedition into the Helius cluster to establish a new home for humanity. As you explore this sprawling series of solar systems (over 4x the size of Mass Effect 3), collecting resources and building colonies, you will encounter the savagery of untamed lands in the form of cut-throat outlaws and warring alien races. To survive and colonize the wild reaches of space, you will need to grow your arsenal, your ship, your crew and make strategic (and often uneasy) alliances to fight against increasingly menacing foes. Along the way, you will encounter the remains of a once powerful and mysterious alien race, the Remnant, whose forgotten technology holds the key to gaining power in this region of the galaxy. As you uncover who the Remnant were, and the mysteries their ruins contain, you are drawn into a violent race to find the source of their forgotten technology that will determine the fate of humanity.

Collect Resources to Fuel your Growth:

Scour solar systems and planets within the Helius Cluster to find valuable resources and blueprints of long forgotten alien technology that will allow you to craft better equipment and weapons, such as improving your leg armor to allow you to jetpack jump, or upgrading your cryo-beam (laser cannon) to target enemies or do area damage around you to clear out close threats. As you build your arsenal and resource infrastructure, you will be able to explore deeper into the increasingly dangerous and resource-rich solar systems of the Helius Cluster.

A Capable Crew:

Throughout the story, you will recruit seven distinct crew members to fight by your side. Each crew member has a unique personality and specific abilities that open up strategic options as you choose which two of them to bring into each mission. For example, Cora has the ability to deploy a biotic shield that protects everyone in the bubble while still allowing you and your squad to fire out of it. Your crew will grow alongside you as you explore the Helius Cluster, and you can choose how you upgrade your crew�s weapons, gear and abilities to increase their individual combat effectiveness. Create the perfect squad to react to any situation and to support your preferred gameplay style.

Your Crew, Your Story:

Your crew members aren�t merely hired guns � they are part of the living universe in the Helius Cluster that develops in response to your actions and choices. Increase each crew member�s loyalty by pursuing missions that are important to that specific character. For example, when a Krogan colony ship has been stolen by one of the outlaw factions leaving the colonists stranded without resources to survive, your Krogan squad mate, Drack, is determined to strike out against them. If you take the mission and help him track down the outlaws� hideout to return the ship to its rightful owners, Drack�s loyalty toward you and your squad will increase and Drack will unlock a brand new skill tree.
Explore each individual�s backstory and develop your relationship with them through conversations and unique missions. True to Mass Effect, what you choose to say will directly affect your crew�s loyalty and relationship with you, and will open up different conversations and narrative opportunities at the end of the game depending upon how you approach each encounter.

Deployed Strike Team Missions:

The Helius Cluster is 1000s of light years across, and you can�t be everywhere at once. As you develop more colonies, resource bases and settlements, you have to be able to keep them safe. Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop an AI controlled Strike Team that you can deploy to take on randomly generated, time-sensitive missions. Strike Team missions take many forms, including settlement defense and Remnant artifact recovery, which will take real-time to complete. Send your Strike Team out on a mission while you continue playing the main game and they will return, 20 � 30 minutes later, having gained rewards such as XP, currency and equipment based on the success of their mission. Spend money and resources to train your Strike Team and acquire better gear for them, which will increase their success rate and allow them to take on more difficult missions for greater rewards.

Active Strike Team Missions:

When you encounter a Strike Team mission in the Single-Player mode, you can leave your Strike Team at their base and decide to tackle the mission yourself with your Multiplayer roster of characters. You also have the option of tackling the mission by yourself, or recruiting up to three friends to play with you. The more friends you bring, the greater the challenge and the greater the reward. These missions will play out using the Next Mass Effect�s multiplayer Horde mode (more details on this later). These missions will include a variety of thematically appropriate objectives, like defending a Settlement against Khet attacks, or recovering a Remnant artifact off of a planet before an outlaw gang gets there first. By taking an active role in strike team missions, you can earn special Single-player rewards in addition to the usual multiplayer specific characters, weapons, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment which can be customized between missions. Additionally, players who join another person�s Strike Team mission will receive bonus in-game currency and multiplayer XP for helping others with their missions.

Multiplayer �Horde� Mode:

The next Mass Effect�s �Horde� multiplayer pits you and up to three of your friends against waves of enemy troops on various battlefields throughout the galaxy. Players fight together to survive increasingly difficult enemy attacks and accomplish objectives, like disabling a bomb near a colony base or assassinating a target. Progress through multiplayer missions to gain XP and earn new multiplayer specific weapons, characters, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment, which can be customized between matches. Multiplayer play will also earn you APEX funds (in-game currency), which can be used to purchase items and gear in the Single Player game.

Establish Settlements:

Search solar systems for rare habitable planets to establish a settlement that could serve as a base for humankind�s new home in the Helius Cluster. As you build permanent settlements, you will make strategic choices on where to focus your new base�s resources. For example: Recon Settlements will clear fog of war from the space map and give the player more strike team missions to choose from, while Mining Settlements will periodically supplement the player�s supply of crafting materials.

Dialogue:

Building upon the rich history of strategic dialogue that has defined the Mass Effect series, you can make meaningful choices in every conversation you have with characters that impact the way your game evolves. The next Mass Effect adds deeper control over your conversations through a greater ability to interrupt and change the course of the conversation as it is happening. During certain conversations, you will be able to take action based choices, such as the option to pull out your gun and force someone to open a door instead of convincing them to do it through conversational guile. Action based choices give you more options for how you approach dialogue with characters in the game and can lead to more extreme outcomes on the story as it evolves around the decisions you make when interacting with a huge cast of NPC characters.

Seamlessly Travel Through the Next Mass Effect Universe:

As you pilot your space ship, Tempest, across the 100s of solar systems that are seamlessly connected in the next Mass Effect, you will encounter new planets filled with valuable resources, intelligent life, conflict, and alien technology that all give you opportunities to increase the power of your character, your ship and your team so that you can build them into a force that perfectly suits your gameplay style. Transitions between activities, like flying your Tempest (space ship) across a solar system to land on a mineral rich planet, then jumping into your Mako (land vehicle) to explore the surface of planet, all happen smoothly without loading screens.

Customize and Share Your Experience:

Discover new things in Andromeda Galaxy, like alien artifacts and natural wonders, that serve as trophies and decorations that you can use to modify the look of your character, Tempest (Space Ship) and Mako (land vehicle). Customize the way your squad and your character look with clothes and aesthetic modifications that you unlock throughout the game. Photos you take from the far reaches of the galaxy can be used to decorate your starship or sold to certain characters.

Remnant Vault Raids: Find and activate Remnant Monoliths to unlock Remnant vaults. Explore abandoned Remnant ruins to find and locate a powerful artifact, but once you remove it you will trigger the vault defenses that will arm traps, activate defense robots and even change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. Fight your way out of the vault and you will be rewarded with valuable loot, including powerful gear, crafting resources and Star Keys that can be used to unlock massive orbital facilities in space that grant permanent stat bonuses.

Optional Elite Remnant Vault Raids are scattered around the Helius Cluster located in special orbital facilities that are unlocked by Star Keys. Similar to the standard Remnant Vaults, you enter them to retrieve a special artifact which will trigger the vault defenses that arm traps, activate defense robots and change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. However, Elite vaults ratchet up the difficulty of the encounter with increasingly powerful defense robots and traps, as well as roaming outlaws and deadly Khet patrols that are also in search of the elite artifacts. Elite Remnant vaults will test the limits of your combat and puzzle solving acumen, but with greater difficulty comes greater rewards. Gain rare loot, narrative acclaim and huge rewards for completing these daunting challenges.

Khet Outposts:

As you explore planets throughout the Helius Cluster, you will encounter Khet Outposts. These outposts are optional combat experiences where you enter the outpost and fight off waves of enemies. Destroy Khet outposts to earn XP, rewards and thwart their growing power in the region. Your allies will reward you with praise and increased narrative options as you fight to remove the Khet presence from the region.

Drive and upgrade your Mako (land vehicle):

Explore the surfaces of 100s of planets in the Helius Cluster in your versatile land vehicle, the Mako. Whether you are looking for a place to set up a colony, searching for a Remnant vault or attacking a Khet Outpost, you will enjoy getting there in your Mako. Equip and upgrade your Mako in dozens of ways, like adding turbo boosters, upgrading your shield generator or adding a Hostile Detector to your radar to create the ultimate planetary exploration vehicle. Finally, get your Mako looking the way you want with a custom paintjob.
...
They asked my satisfaction with each of those descriptions.
You can choose for yourself whether or not to believe me.
But please look at my posting history first. I'm no troll.
EDIT: And I love Mass Effect.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:24

Moola: Aug 16, 2006

Pick posted:

It's the best game of all time and the characters are a huge part of that.

I dont know why you think this gimmick is good or funny?

# ? May 11, 2017 19:33

christmas boots: Oct 15, 2012; To these sing-alongs 🎤of siren 🧜🏻‍♀️songs
To oohs😮 to ahhs😱 to 👏big👏applause👏
With all of my 😡anger I scream🤬 and shout📢
🇺🇸America🦅, I love you 🥰but you're freaking 💦me 😳out; Biscuit Hider

Pattonesque posted:

give Mass Effect to Obsidian imo

Andromeda is already missing a strong ending though

christmas boots fucked around with this message at 19:36 on May 11, 2017

# ? May 11, 2017 19:33

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Moola posted:

I dont know why you think this gimmick is good or funny?

It's not a gimmick.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:34

Android Blues: Nov 22, 2008

Meredith fan. Good taste. It's a shame you don't get her backstory unless you do the Templar route, because it's pretty cool and adds more dimensionality to her character for sure.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:41

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

Meredith is awesome and she's also basically right even if I usually side with the mages anyway.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:42

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Ah yes Hawke, I can see you are a mage, and I hate mages so much that I do unspeakable things to them, but I'm not going to do them to you because

# ? May 11, 2017 19:43

Pick: Jul 19, 2009; Nap Ghost

JawKnee posted:

Ah yes Hawke, I can see you are a mage, and I hate mages so much that I do unspeakable things to them, but I'm not going to do them to you because

The answer is pretty much entirely "because you are rich" which imho adds credibility to the game if anything.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:44

Android Blues: Nov 22, 2008

I wish they'd stuck with the original plan and had whichever faction leader you side with prove to be vindicated while the other one goes all wacky monster when they're about to lose. That would be smarter and make Orsino/Meredith more interesting characters.

Admittedly it is pretty cool if you're mage Hawke and side with the templars that she has an extra line about how you're trying to use blood magic to subvert the templars when she turns on you.

# ? May 11, 2017 19:45

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

Pick posted:

The answer is pretty much entirely "because you are rich" which imho adds credibility to the game if anything.

hahaha

# ? May 11, 2017 19:46

Moola: Aug 16, 2006

Pick posted:

It's not a gimmick.

what am I looking at here?

# ? May 11, 2017 19:49

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

big time bisexual posted:

Bioware was doing focus testing for Andromeda two years ago and one of the participants posted the survey they received. They stuck to this general outline but scaled it way back in scope.

So take that, remove almost all proposed feature depth and plug it into mass effect, and you get Andromeda

# ? May 11, 2017 19:51

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# ? May 28, 2024 18:17

christmas boots: Oct 15, 2012; To these sing-alongs 🎤of siren 🧜🏻‍♀️songs
To oohs😮 to ahhs😱 to 👏big👏applause👏
With all of my 😡anger I scream🤬 and shout📢
🇺🇸America🦅, I love you 🥰but you're freaking 💦me 😳out; Biscuit Hider

Moola posted:

what am I looking at here?

A massive nerd that has video game memorabilia on her wall.

I'd like to see her stop a home invader with her generic medieval fantasy poster. Probably should have invested in some fine hanzo steel :colbert:

# ? May 11, 2017 19:54

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Old Mass Effect Megathread: Original Camera Angles

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