texasairhead101
Member
These transitions when going planet to planet to scan is just brutally long.
Mass Effect: Andromeda - EA/Origin Access trial coming March 16th - 10 hour trial
- Thread starter Theorry
- Start date
Thank you 😊
I tried to like this game, I really tried. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and was really looking forward to Andromeda but...man.
Played around 6 hours, activated some towers in Eos but I ultimately couldn't deal with the jank. Character design, animation and writing are inexcusable and while combat feels better than in past Mass Effect games, it is just not enough to warrant a 60 purchase. The lack of polish is so apparent, especially when compared to other games I'm playing right now, it definitely feels like this game needed a good year more of development time.
If these negatives get ironed out in the future I might consider giving it another go, if not, I'll have to wait for Origin Access/a heavy discount.
Played around 6 hours, activated some towers in Eos but I ultimately couldn't deal with the jank. Character design, animation and writing are inexcusable and while combat feels better than in past Mass Effect games, it is just not enough to warrant a 60 purchase. The lack of polish is so apparent, especially when compared to other games I'm playing right now, it definitely feels like this game needed a good year more of development time.
If these negatives get ironed out in the future I might consider giving it another go, if not, I'll have to wait for Origin Access/a heavy discount.
I went with the default Scott - I don't trust the character creation should there be a sequel, after ME3 fcked up the characters by not including certain parameters that were in ME1 and ME2, meaning that my characters face completely changed and it was impossible to get back. Since then I've always replayed with the default.
Pretty much me at this point.
Martinski43
Member
Well that trial was not very long. Got to a big door and that was it. Had some side quests i didnt do because i wanted to do the 3 tower thing first.
Well still gonna play this one though, some janky face animiations isnt a big deal for me.
Well still gonna play this one though, some janky face animiations isnt a big deal for me.
The Dark Shape
Neo Member
I got the PS4 version tonight. It's a considerable downgrade from PC, with all sorts of floaty aliasing effects and lower texture quality. The framerate's a bit jittery, too (playing on a PS4 Pro with patch 1.03).
comshoplesce
Member
erm how?
Tranqueris
Banned
I just played up all my trial time and I think it was very successful in one way that Bioware probably didn't expect. It made me wanna play ME3 multiplayer again. I think the multiplayer in Andromeda is really great but so far it's the only thing I really like about the game and I don't think it's worth a full 60 dollars. Especially when it's not that different from ME3 multiplayer. The jetpack and the cover changes seem to be the biggest differences.
Also speaking of the new melee changes, I hate what they did with it. The melee in ME3 was satisfying because of the wind up animation, in Andromeda it just looks wimpy as hell.
Also speaking of the new melee changes, I hate what they did with it. The melee in ME3 was satisfying because of the wind up animation, in Andromeda it just looks wimpy as hell.
This is excellent. I think this would have served as a much better introduction to the Kett, and given a little more context for Pathfinder status.
The Dark Shape
Neo Member
There's a local shop that sells games as soon as they receive their shipment.
So I've been defending this game and the seemingly non-stop whining that has been filling GAF/the internet the last few weeks but now I've seen more from the early access stuff, I've just cancelled my pre-order. I might still get the game, depending on what reviewers say and seeing more gameplay, but I can't justify pre-ordering something that many are saying is so lacking in polish in key areas.
Lanrutcon
Member
Kind of how I feel too. I'll play it, but with this much jank and the absurd amount of games out atm can happily wait for a sale or something.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
The reason behind the lack of pale skin in CC.
What? Can you even hear yourself?
Actual Mass Effect Andromeda Dialogue said:
This game (from what we've seen so far) is a masterclass in cliche expositional monologues. Only they are presented in the middle of dialogues.
If anything, the current opening is incredibly cliche.
Some death occurs with basically no context to the relationships, so you are supposed to care based solely on the fact they are father-child. You inherit their mission / powers / whatever. How more cliche can you get?
Tranqueris
Banned
It's essentially the same as ME3, team up, gain currency, use currency to buy packs with cards that unlock weapons and characters. I'm not sure how much armor customization there is. You can change the color and unlock patterns when you get more cards for you specific character class. The classes are mostly the same, I'm not sure if the specific powers are the same as ME3. The biggest difference is the jetpack which makes it so you can jump higher in the levels and snipe down at the enemies.
There's also a menu called Strike Team that has some special missions that you can do with a team or send an NPC team but that requires waiting a set amount of time for them to do it and then come back. The rewards for those missions is a pack that corresponds to the level of difficulty of the mission. So bronze level pack for a bronze mission.
A lot of what I'm hearing is making me oddly optimistic again but not really for the right reasons.
People are saying it's janky and maybe have some issues with the exploration or going from planet to planet... but those are generally the same criticisms people had of the first game. ME1 is one of those games I happened to enjoy for hundreds of hours despite heavy amounts of jank. Basically every individual part of ME1 felt mediocre in isolation: the on-foot controls were barely good enough, the Mako controls sucked, the UI sucked, the animations were janky, the graphics looked sort of low-budget, the planet surfaces were barren, etc. But depending on what you happen to appreciate in video games, they all came together to create something more than the sum of its parts.Traveling the galaxy, rolling across planet surfaces, and interacting with the Normandy felt coo. ME1 for me really nailed the feeling of having your own space ship in a way 2 and 3 didn't quite accomplish.
What I've read about the trail so far suggest BioWare at least tried to bring back the components that game ME1 exploration its feel: the seamless transition between ship and planet along with the terrestrial vehicle exploration. If Andromeda nails all that I'm probably willing to put up with the jank.
What I'm really worried about is what people are saying a bout the dialogue and story. That was probably the one individual part of ME1 BioWare did nail -- it was a great introduction to that universe with just the right pulpy sci-fi TV show feel. Characters and story are probably the top reason I play BioWare games in general. It's the one thing that's holding up Dragon Age Inquisition the most as I play through it. And I guess my other big fear is that Andromeda brings DAI's featch quests and MMO/F2P-style game design into space so I guess I'll read more impressions about that.
People are saying it's janky and maybe have some issues with the exploration or going from planet to planet... but those are generally the same criticisms people had of the first game. ME1 is one of those games I happened to enjoy for hundreds of hours despite heavy amounts of jank. Basically every individual part of ME1 felt mediocre in isolation: the on-foot controls were barely good enough, the Mako controls sucked, the UI sucked, the animations were janky, the graphics looked sort of low-budget, the planet surfaces were barren, etc. But depending on what you happen to appreciate in video games, they all came together to create something more than the sum of its parts.Traveling the galaxy, rolling across planet surfaces, and interacting with the Normandy felt coo. ME1 for me really nailed the feeling of having your own space ship in a way 2 and 3 didn't quite accomplish.
What I've read about the trail so far suggest BioWare at least tried to bring back the components that game ME1 exploration its feel: the seamless transition between ship and planet along with the terrestrial vehicle exploration. If Andromeda nails all that I'm probably willing to put up with the jank.
What I'm really worried about is what people are saying a bout the dialogue and story. That was probably the one individual part of ME1 BioWare did nail -- it was a great introduction to that universe with just the right pulpy sci-fi TV show feel. Characters and story are probably the top reason I play BioWare games in general. It's the one thing that's holding up Dragon Age Inquisition the most as I play through it. And I guess my other big fear is that Andromeda brings DAI's featch quests and MMO/F2P-style game design into space so I guess I'll read more impressions about that.
nelsonroyale
Member
My interest in the game is lowering even further...I wonder if the reveal footage they showed on PS4 Pro was misleading...
I hit my breaking point for this game and cancelled my preorder. I'll consider picking it up for cheap later on if theres enough to make it worth while but right now the game doesn't sound so hot.
Darkstorne
Member
Yeah, I was already annoyed by it the second time it started up. I assumed it would only happen once per system, but between every planet and anomaly? Unable to be skipped or even sped up? Holy crap, I'll just never scan anything in this game if it isn't removed immediately. And I LOVED scanning in Mass 1 purely for the planet descriptions.
There's a local shop that sells games as soon as they receive their shipment.
my condolences
cripterion
Member
The reason behind the lack of pale skin in CC.
Maybe instead of doing things like stupid face paint, ridiculous hair colors and crazy weird tattoos they should have made other priorities in their CC...
GGNKovalski
Member
I'm still super excited to play it. I've watched a ton of footage and besides the facial animations, I think it looks great.
Got to wonder though. I'm sure this has been said earlier but I wonder if they simply ran out of time. They had a hard deadline and the higher-ups/EA wouldn't budge so they had to prioritize certain things over others. I expect (especially with the backlash so far) that over the coming months this game will get a bunch of patches to tighten/polish it up.
I can get over the animations if the story is good but one thing that I just don't understand is why the CC is so fucking bad. Like, DA: I's CC was far from perfect but all they had to do was copy that but with more options and it would have been fine.
Got to wonder though. I'm sure this has been said earlier but I wonder if they simply ran out of time. They had a hard deadline and the higher-ups/EA wouldn't budge so they had to prioritize certain things over others. I expect (especially with the backlash so far) that over the coming months this game will get a bunch of patches to tighten/polish it up.
I can get over the animations if the story is good but one thing that I just don't understand is why the CC is so fucking bad. Like, DA: I's CC was far from perfect but all they had to do was copy that but with more options and it would have been fine.
Is it there any graphics options? did you play on 1080 or 4k tv ?
I think the internet is overreacting as usual. Or maybe i'm just able to look past the lack of polish which obviously is disappointing but I still like the game.. probably because it is Mass Effect and I can still get to it.
NOTE: I am one of those who love ME1 but think ME2 is the worst part of the trilogy by far.
IDK, I'm just seeing a vast overreaction but it is also understandable after games such as Horizon: Zero Dawn.
The Dark Shape
Neo Member
There's chromatic aberration and one more, though I can't remember which it is.
I'm playing in 4K HDR on an LG C6P.
The vibe I'm getting from this game is adequate. It won't be witcher 3 amazing but will probably satisfy mass effect fans. Ironically like a worse dragon age inquisition. Expectations and hype were way to high for this game. With recent rpgs challenging graphical, story telling, and typical rpg elements, this looks like it will feel a bit dated.
nelsonroyale
Member
Any chance you can post some screens of the game?
EventHorizon
Member
I must be the only one who doesn't like the combat. It looks to be mostly wave based encounters without much context or tactical potential. The move to more action based combat in BioWare games has changed them away from their original style. Along with the lack of a strong story/conflict to drive the game, ME:A simply is no longer the type of BioWare game I fell in love with.
Darkstorne
Member
So I'm a huge fan of Mass 1 (my favourite in the series) and I've put 7+ hours into the trial now. For the most part, I'd say it's capturing that Mass 1 story vibe better than 2 and 3 did so far, but so far for all the same reasons that The Force Awakens recaptured A New Hope's story vibe. It very much feels like "same shit different day", but for all the right reasons.
HOWEVER
And it's a pretty big however. One of the main reasons I loved Mass 1 is because it was trying something completely refreshing. Not only was it a brand new IP, it was one of the first successful RPGs to really integrate action-based shooting mechanics into a role playing combat system. It introduced the dialogue wheel as a brand new method of conversation to video games, and it was insanely impressive by visual standards. The game very much felt like it was trying to move the genre forwards (and absolutely did, of course). Andromeda on the other hand... well it isn't moving anything forwards. If anything it's as though it's striving to stay BEHIND the curve. So while games like The Witcher 3 have redefined expectations when it comes to writing (even for side quests), environment design, and completely seamless open world environments, Andromeda is doing absolutely nothing new, and only relying on rebuilding everything Mass Effect as a series had already done last gen but in a modern engine. And it doesn't even take advantage of an industry-leading engine to push visuals and animation quality - even those aspects make it feel like a PS3.5 game.
Finally, where story is concerned it's impossible to say where that quality will sit overall, but most Bioware fans mean they love character writing when they mention story. Bioware have always struggled with writing plots, whether that's with games that have basic plotlines so short they need to pad 80% of the game with entirely disconnected side plots (DA:O), no real plotline to speak of at all that instead relies purely on character writing and development (Mass Effect 2), or in the case of Mass Effect 1 a plot line that is completely broken right from the very start: Saren is looking for the Conduit so he can get inside the Citadel and flip the switch that calls for the Reapers. He needs this backdoor entrance from the Conduit because his Spectre status has been revoked and he is branded as a criminal for his actions during his... search for the Conduit... hmmm. But what Mass 1 did succeed in was creating this sense of mystery and an ancient evil beyond comprehension, all drip fed at perfect intervals throughout the game. And so far Andromeda seems to be setting up a similar ancient mystery. My only concern here is that the writing team couldn't deliver on Mass 1's Reaper mystery. They set it all up perfectly with Mass 1, completely ignored it in Mass 2 and created the Collectors for you to deal with instead while they worked out what to do about the Reapers in Mass 3, which amounted to... well not much of anything. Most fans will still agree that the Reaper story (especially Harbinger) was left unfinished. We've all had to create headcanon endings.
So to me Andromeda will depend on a quality story, and quality character writing, which at this point is anyone's guess. We'll have to wait on reviews and our own playthroughs to see if it delivers there. But when it comes to the other elements that made Mass 1 so great (brand new industry-leading advancements in gameplay and visuals) Andromeda brings nothing to the table, and if anything disappoints. I'm worried this will be another Fallout 4 - a decent enough game that feels mostly "by the numbers", doesn't really excel at anything in particular, and fails to meet fans' lofty expectations set by previous entries in the series.
Son Of Sparda
Member
A question for people who have played the trial/have the full game.
Can you make SAM's voice any more clear? From the videos, I honestly can't understand 90%-95% of what he is saying.
Can you make SAM's voice any more clear? From the videos, I honestly can't understand 90%-95% of what he is saying.
Pro has two modes 1800P and 1080P with better graphics. The 1080P mode might also perform better.
I can't really see the 1800P mode having jaggies though, unless it's due to that bug. That is actually an issue even on PC version right now due to that terrible post processing DoF bug
Played a couple of hours this morning, and it feels........old....
Not sure if it's because I've been playing Horizon, but what I have played feels quite dated, the movement and jumping just feels very light, combat isn't particularly snappy, and it looks, well, not terrible, but pretty bad, on XBO.
Plus, I just can't get over the faces.......I picked default female Ryder, and jesus........
Not sure if it's because I've been playing Horizon, but what I have played feels quite dated, the movement and jumping just feels very light, combat isn't particularly snappy, and it looks, well, not terrible, but pretty bad, on XBO.
Plus, I just can't get over the faces.......I picked default female Ryder, and jesus........
cripterion
Member
Nope.
The character editor is actually the least flexible and with the least options of any they've ever made. It's such a fucking letdown -- I can't even explain it.
Thankfully the default Sara looks great... It'd have been nice if we were allowed to make some basic edits to her though.
If you want to do any editing, you get a handfull of horrible faces ranging from hideous to comically deformed to use as a base to make little adjustments to, and for the most part it's impossible to make anything decent.
Really?, she doesn't even look human.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The character editor really is baffling levels of terrible, enough for me to question whether or not they hit technical and/or production difficulties and either ran out of time or bizarrely overlooked the status of the editor. It reminds me of way back when Mass Effect 3 launched and the Shepard face import function was broken, and as a fan you couldn't help but wonder how something so basic yet fundamentally expected wasn't given fairly significant attention before shipping.
I mean...there's not even an eyebrow slider. Regression of nuanced sculpting tweaks I could complain about but at least assume a trajectory of intended yet failed technical attempts in face building. But no eyebrow slider? How is something like that just...forgotten?
I mean...there's not even an eyebrow slider. Regression of nuanced sculpting tweaks I could complain about but at least assume a trajectory of intended yet failed technical attempts in face building. But no eyebrow slider? How is something like that just...forgotten?
Son Of Sparda
Member
Oh, ffs Bioware. Some of us are not native English speakers, you know.
Thanks for the answer man.
Yeah, considering they've already announced they'll be patching more creator stuff in, it does scream of FINANCIAL YEAR RELEASE BOYYYYS
Maybe if you've only focused on isolated gifs that were chosen because something looked odd. I played the game for hours last night and she's great.
The game improves on past Mass Effect games in almost every way. I don't understand the negativity at all -- Yes, it has some standard Bioware jank. Who gives a fuck? It's gorgeous.
They've (Mike Gamble + Bioware PR to Lady insanity) said that there'll be a later patch at an unknown date that'll have some more options for the CC.
Which basically indicates or corroborates that the game was rushed to release even after 5 years of various degrees of production, when it's fundamentally against the nature of a RPG to have your first-time players stuck with a character they aren't satisfied with for their first impressions, because of a subpar character creation tool.
I have no idea why anyone would thing doing long transitions like that EVERY time would be a good idea in a game like this. You could click on a cluster/area by mistake and instead of just pressing escape to back you have to wait for that stupid animation to finish, same for simply traversing between planets/clusters...it takes an awful lot of time for what is essentially a map for fast travel selection.
Mass Effect 1/2/3 did it perfectly and never changed it over the series because it didn't need fixing !
Which platform?, looks bad on XBO when I played it this morning, the faces just look bloated, and barely look human.