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Mass Effect 3 |OT| Space Jesus Returns (tag all spoilers)

Feature

Banned
Almost thought I lost the only squad member I cared for:
Grunt... I made him leave his team behind to save the arachnid fake queen or whatever, and he thought it was a good idea to leave behind and jump of a cliff with one of the enemies... I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I want you in my squad fssss... then he came back all bloodied up and I was happy.
 
Yes and I think I have figured out what it is. A while ago on a whim I downloaded the comicbook decision making DLC for ME2 I'm guessing it has something to do with this. The games I played using this are the ones that work. The ME2 saves based on my ME1 playthroughs aren't recognised even though thay are all still on my hard drive. So I am missing out on a lot of little things like Conrad verner. This is on 360 by the way.

Also just so I'm clear I didn't hate this game, and I don't want to come off as a "bandwagoner". I have played through the first two games many times and love them both. I just found ME3 to be dissapointing and rushed

I'm not a video game developer (technically), but if I was and I read neogaf (which I wouldn't, if I was), nothing would make me as angry as the word "rushed." Let me be clear about something: With the exception of indie games, every single current gen video game is "rushed." Yes, even a game by Blizzard who is infamous for releasing games "when they're done." Video game development is a balancing act between making a quality game and making a release date. Current gen graphics are amazingly complex, especially for games like Mass Effect who don't borrow engine tech from Epic. Every game that has a publisher (EA, Activision, Square-Enix, etc. etc.) is going to be under pressure from said publisher to release the game in a timely fashion. The internetis rife with horror stories from dev houses about "crunched" development and people having to work 80 hour weeks to make deadline. At some point, the developer has to make hard choices and sacrifice bits of a game in order to ship the game out the door. I'm sure there were tons of features that almost made it into Mass Effect 3, just as I'm sure that there are probably many hours of recorded voice acting that never made it in the game. To call the game "rushed" is a bit naive. Playing Mass Effect 3, it is clear to me that Bioware put its attention where attention was due. For elements to feel more "rushed" than others is natural. Perhaps at some point in the development cycle those features were meant to be fleshed out more. Considering that ME3 was delayed once already, I'm sure some things ended up on the chopping block. All things considered, however, I think Bioware did a masterful job by focusing on what is important to the game and the franchise: Voice acting and writing were impeccable, and the game played like a champ. One thing that really irked me when reading reviews was the lack of attention to how refined the game play in ME3 is when compared to ME2. I won't even mention ME1 since it might as well be a different series entirely. As someone who has been paying a lot of attention to game play and game play mechanics in games over the past year or so, ME3's focus on making the game more fun to play really resonated with me. The shooting mechanics in the game were tightened up beautifully, the level design was a revelation, enemy design was fanastic and varied, the AI for the most part provided a good challenge, and for the first time in the franchise the use of biotic powers was adequately integrated into the combat.

Finall, in conclusion, and I really do need to make these shorter, if the side quests or holstering animations (lackthereof?) made the game feel "rushed" to you, just consider what would have been taken away if more time were given to those elements. You say you don't want to hop on the bandwagon, but calling the game "rushed" is such a baseless and generic complaint that it holds almost no meaning. Like I said, every game is "rushed." Let us all be happy that the game we were given was of immense quality, and while if given infinite time it surely would have been better, at least its not a Final Fantasy game. :)
 
I just finished
Thessia and Kai Leng takes the reaper data and the planet is destroyed. Is there a way to stop Kai Leng and save the planet?

Also my readiness is at 50% at this point and I've been trying to do as many sidequests as possible. Is it too low to see the best ending?
 
Effective military strength is the key to the best ending, correct? Mine appears to be maxed and I think I'm done all the side missions/fetch missions
I just got to Horizon
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
I just finished
Thessia and Kai Leng takes the reaper data and the planet is destroyed. Is there a way to stop Kai Leng and save the planet?

Also my readiness is at 50% at this point and I've been trying to do as many sidequests as possible. Is it too low to see the best ending?
A) There is not.
B) It's pretty difficult without MP to get the best, but it can be done*. I don't know if you actually need 5000 in the bar score or not. I think 4000+ is enough, or something.

*On PC now you tweak the number in your save with an editor.
 
A) There is not.
B) It's pretty difficult without MP to get the best, but it can be done*. I don't know if you actually need 5000 in the bar score or not. I think 4000+ is enough, or something.

*On PC now you tweak the number in your save with an editor.

4000+ as effective or total military strength?
 

Sojgat

Member
I'm not a video game developer (technically), but if I was and I read neogaf (which I wouldn't, if I was), nothing would make me as angry as the word "rushed." Let me be clear about something: With the exception of indie games, every single current gen video game is "rushed." Yes, even a game by Blizzard who is infamous for releasing games "when they're done." Video game development is a balancing act between making a quality game and making a release date. Current gen graphics are amazingly complex, especially for games like Mass Effect who don't borrow engine tech from Epic. Every game that has a publisher (EA, Activision, Square-Enix, etc. etc.) is going to be under pressure from said publisher to release the game in a timely fashion. The internetis rife with horror stories from dev houses about "crunched" development and people having to work 80 hour weeks to make deadline. At some point, the developer has to make hard choices and sacrifice bits of a game in order to ship the game out the door. I'm sure there were tons of features that almost made it into Mass Effect 3, just as I'm sure that there are probably many hours of recorded voice acting that never made it in the game. To call the game "rushed" is a bit naive. Playing Mass Effect 3, it is clear to me that Bioware put its attention where attention was due. For elements to feel more "rushed" than others is natural. Perhaps at some point in the development cycle those features were meant to be fleshed out more. Considering that ME3 was delayed once already, I'm sure some things ended up on the chopping block. All things considered, however, I think Bioware did a masterful job by focusing on what is important to the game and the franchise: Voice acting and writing were impeccable, and the game played like a champ. One thing that really irked me when reading reviews was the lack of attention to how refined the game play in ME3 is when compared to ME2. I won't even mention ME1 since it might as well be a different series entirely. As someone who has been paying a lot of attention to game play and game play mechanics in games over the past year or so, ME3's focus on making the game more fun to play really resonated with me. The shooting mechanics in the game were tightened up beautifully, the level design was a revelation, enemy design was fanastic and varied, the AI for the most part provided a good challenge, and for the first time in the franchise the use of biotic powers was adequately integrated into the combat.

Finall, in conclusion, and I really do need to make these shorter, if the side quests or holstering animations (lackthereof?) made the game feel "rushed" to you, just consider what would have been taken away if more time were given to those elements. You say you don't want to hop on the bandwagon, but calling the game "rushed" is such a baseless and generic complaint that it holds almost no meaning. Like I said, every game is "rushed." Let us all be happy that the game we were given was of immense quality, and while if given infinite time it surely would have been better, at least its not a Final Fantasy game. :)

Well it wasn't meant as a compliment. I also stand by the combat being slightly improved. Inclusion of grenades to get the player to move from cover are good idea, but on insanity they just end up getting spammed. More of the powers are meaningful but since any class can carry any weapon now I can't understand playing as anything but a sentinal. You can carry the best guns, and have warp, overload (which also works as a good stun now) and throw. Using Liara who has singularity you dont even need a third squad member and carrying only a good rifle you can just spam the crap out of your powers because your weight limit is so low. Cerberus soldiers deploying smoke grenades to obscure power locks and visability is also a good idea but to my knowledge there is no way of dispersing it. Also a good way to get the player moving, but also more annoying than fun. The roll input also seems very touchy, half the time when I try to sprint I end up rolling off to the side or locking to cover. All the touted verticality is also not put to very good use and as for the level design being a "revelation" thats your opinion. I have also heard "fishbowl" used to describe them and I think that is more accurate. But that is in terms of encounter design not art direction (which is good if not excellent which has always been the case in mass effect). The angled design of cover in the geth architecture was also hair tearing. Some people found the encounter design in ME2 was very limited, you just stick to the furthest piece of cover and stay there. I have to think that part of that was the designers understanding the limits of their mechanics. In ME3 it seems like they think their game controls as well as Gears of War, when in fact it's not even on the same level as Binary domain. I mean snapping back to cover and then back out when you zoom in from "blindfiring"(for lack of a better term) seems like the definition of rushed or unfinished to me.

The cerberus N7, Cerburus defector, and ardat yakshi missions all had similiar snow covered mountain exterior which leads me to a feeling of being rushed because other areas of the design sure don't lack for imagination. Maybe after thinking about it I am jumping on a bandwagoon. Maybe there is a good reason for that.
 

Eusis

Member
I'm having a very hard time coming to a decision on this and I'm hoping to get some help/perspective, not necessarily spoilers on how your decision ultimately plays out (Though saying if the implications aren't really touched on in the game is fine.

Huh, I didn't even realize that Eve could be killed and the game would continue. That's seriously cool. My issue is that I'm stuck with Wreave and Eve for obvious reasons. I know how she talks about how 'the females won't allow it' and other such things. This is the argument made for why you should cure the Genophage, but...

I don't think it's enough. I mean what could the females really do? If worst comes to worst they could be restrained and forced to breed. Or Wreave could easily go back on what ever he would tell Eve that would get her to insure that the females co-operated and breed. Wreave sort of intimates that he's more interested in empire building than Galactic Domination, but what about whomever succeeds him? Eve can only do so much to try and birth a cultural revolution when the leader, and essentially all of the males, are still the ones calling the shots. How long until the newfound unity that was brought about by the Reapers collapses, just as it did following the Rachni? This is a race that almost defeated the entire galaxy before and has the birth rates to ensure galactic domination within generations.

Moridin seeks redemption, but I think he's somewhat biased by it. When Eve said taht the Krogan were a great civilization, and Moridin blindly lays the balme for the collapse of Tuchanka at the hands of the Silarians, that just shows how his blinders are on.

But he's a great character, and the cruelest thing I could do would be to let him die in vain.

After completing that mission and reading
the silarian message that followed
I could actually feel a naught in my stomach. Such a shitty situation when
Wrex is dead
.
Yeah,
I wouldn't be TOO confident with Eve, though given that Krogan females have been warlords I guess they're equally capable in a fight. There's still the leadership issue though,
and I recall reading near the end of the game that
Wreav will advise the other Krogan to keep an eye on the tactics of the other races.

... Yeah,
may be better to not cure with Wreav in charge. Bonus in that there's less harm in deceiving him versus Wrex, though I'm not going into that.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
I'm afraid I have like 3-4 hrs of the dreadful multiplayer ahead of me to get up to 100% GR. I'm just under 3000 EMS...there's no way to get it above 5000.
 
Well it wasn't meant as a compliment. I also stand by the combat being slightly improved. Inclusion of grenades to get the player to move from cover are good idea, but on insanity they just end up getting spammed. More of the powers are meaningful but since any class can carry any weapon now I can't understand playing as anything but a sentinal. You can carry the best guns, and have warp, overload (which also works as a good stun now) and throw. Using Liara who has singularity you dont even need a third squad member and carrying only a good rifle you can just spam the crap out of your powers because your weight limit is so low. Cerberus soldiers deploying smoke grenades to obscure power locks and visability is also a good idea but to my knowledge there is no way of dispersing it. Also a good way to get the player moving, but also more annoying than fun. The roll input also seems very touchy, half the time when I try to sprint I end up rolling off to the side or locking to cover. All the touted verticality is also not put to very good use and as for the level design being a "revelation" thats your opinion. I have also heard "fishbowl" used to describe them and I think that is more accurate. But that is in terms of encounter design not art direction (which is good if not excellent which has always been the case in mass effect). The angled design of cover in the geth architecture was also hair tearing. Some people found the encounter design in ME2 was very limited, you just stick to the furthest piece of cover and stay there. I have to think that part of that was the designers understanding the limits of their mechanics. In ME3 it seems like they think their game controls as well as Gears of War, when in fact it's not even on the same level as Binary domain. I mean snapping back to cover and then back out when you zoom in form "blindfiring"(for lack of a better term) seems like the definition of rushed or unfinished to me.

The cerberus N7, Cerburus defector, and ardat yakshi missions all had similiar snow covered mountain exterior which leads me to a feeling of being rushed because other areas of the design sure don't lack for imagination. Maybe after thinking about it I am jumping on a bandwagoon. Maybe there is a good reason for that.

The combat in ME3 is incredibly fluid and easy, if anything perhaps a bit too easy. I simply haven't experienced any of your difficulties with the cover system or level design. The ME2 cover system was fantastic, and has been adopted by many other games. I find I move gracefully from one combat situation to the next, sowing destruction because I am a badass. The level design is a lot less corridor-based, it's clearly an improvement.

Also, you need a sniper rifle with a special mod to see through the smoke. It's a lot of fun to pick them off when they think they're hidden.
 

Jintor

Member
Fuck one button design. Reviving teammates, roll, snap to cover - all of these actions are not goddamn interchangeable. My character should never be doing something that I don't want them to do!
 
I'm afraid I have like 3-4 hrs of the dreadful multiplayer ahead of me to get up to 100% GR. I'm just under 3000 EMS...there's no way to get it above 5000.
My advice: unless you're doing it for cheesemints, don't worry about it. The ending choices are all dreadful. Just check out the option you don't get on youtube afterword.
 
Well it wasn't meant as a compliment. I also stand by the combat being slightly improved. Inclusion of grenades to get the player to move from cover are good idea, but on insanity they just end up getting spammed. More of the powers are meaningful but since any class can carry any weapon now I can't understand playing as anything but a sentinal. You can carry the best guns, and have warp, overload (which also works as a good stun now) and throw. Using Liara who has singularity you dont even need a third squad member and carrying only a good rifle you can just spam the crap out of your powers because your weight limit is so low. Cerberus soldiers deploying smoke grenades to obscure power locks and visability is also a good idea but to my knowledge there is no way of dispersing it. Also a good way to get the player moving, but also more annoying than fun. The roll input also seems very touchy, half the time when I try to sprint I end up rolling off to the side or locking to cover. All the touted verticality is also not put to very good use and as for the level design being a "revelation" thats your opinion. I have also heard "fishbowl" used to describe them and I think that is more accurate. But that is in terms of encounter design not art direction (which is good if not excellent which has always been the case in mass effect). The angled design of cover in the geth architecture was also hair tearing. Some people found the encounter design in ME2 was very limited, you just stick to the furthest piece of cover and stay there. I have to think that part of that was the designers understanding the limits of their mechanics. In ME3 it seems like they think their game controls as well as Gears of War, when in fact it's not even on the same level as Binary domain. I mean snapping back to cover and then back out when you zoom in form "blindfiring"(for lack of a better term) seems like the definition of rushed or unfinished to me.

The cerberus N7, Cerburus defector, and ardat yakshi missions all had similiar snow covered mountain exterior which leads me to a feeling of being rushed because other areas of the design sure don't lack for imagination. Maybe after thinking about it I am jumping on a bandwagoon. Maybe there is a good reason for that.
+1

Agree completely.
 

Ventrue

Member
Fuck one button design. Reviving teammates, roll, snap to cover - all of these actions are not goddamn interchangeable. My character should never be doing something that I don't want them to do!

Here is a weapon on a box. Did you want to pick it up? Haha, kneel behind the box instead. Multiple times in a row.
 
I'm afraid I have like 3-4 hrs of the dreadful multiplayer ahead of me to get up to 100% GR. I'm just under 3000 EMS...there's no way to get it above 5000.

You don't have to grind MP that much man.

Just do some basic calculations. Whatever you're Military Strength score is before you hit the point of no return, divide that by 5000. Say your MS is 7000. 5000/7000=71%. Then you just have to play 6 MP missions (4% per mission), no need to grind that much. Having 100% GR does not affect the quality of your ending vs 75%, as long as your EMS>5000.

I suspect that the only way to get the "perfect" ending without the multiplayer is to wait for the DLC that will allow you to push your MS rating to over 10,000.

On that note, multiplayer isn't awful but I can't see myself playing it for very long. No variety to it, certain classes are unbalanced, maps are all based off of single player levels and console style matchmaking. Plus given EA's past history, I wouldn't be surprised if the servers get shutdown 18 months from now.
 

Sojgat

Member
Also, you need a sniper rifle with a special mod to see through the smoke.

I know, also another reason any class can carry any weapon. In ME2 some character classes couldn't carry one so they wouldn't have included the smoke grenade mechanic in such a fashion. ME3 is tailoring player limitations to compensate for game mechanics when it should be the other way around.
 

GlamFM

Banned
16hrs in - still having a fantastic time.

BUT!

The game starts feeling "small" - is there only one hub?

Hanar Diplomat quest is bugged - I stopped playing. Hoping for a patch soon.
 

derFeef

Member
I'm afraid I have like 3-4 hrs of the dreadful multiplayer ahead of me to get up to 100% GR. I'm just under 3000 EMS...there's no way to get it above 5000.

I played for like 2 hours yesterday and it made my green bar from barely above minimum to fully full - and I have plenty of game left.
 

user_nat

THE WORDS! They'll drift away without the _!
Where does the >5000 for the "good ending" come from?

Isn't the good ending the one
that shows Shepard is alive for 2 seconds?

I had just over 4000 effective and got that one.
 
Is it me, or the quest system is disastrous in this one? Overhearing things on the Citadel is ok, but some of these quests are not visible on Galaxy Map (need to manually check the system and go there), Citadel quests have barely any tracking, Hannar quest is bugged and cannot be completed, etc.
 

Arjen

Member
Is it me, or the quest system is disastrous in this one? Overhearing things on the Citadel is ok, but some of these quests are not visible on Galaxy Map (need to manually check the system and go there), Citadel quests have barely any tracking, Hannar quest is bugged and cannot be completed, etc.

One of the few problems i have whith the game, my log is so freaking long with quest where i have no idea how i got them and where or what the hell i need to do to finish them.
 
Is it me, or the quest system is disastrous in this one? Overhearing things on the Citadel is ok, but some of these quests are not visible on Galaxy Map (need to manually check the system and go there), Citadel quests have barely any tracking, Hannar quest is bugged and cannot be completed, etc.

Yeah, there are a lot of nagging issues in this game. The writing and gameplay are fine for the most part, but the side missions, the lack of journal mission updates, the "let's stalk people and listen to their conversations" quest system, the lack of info on the galaxy map, lack of inventory (combined with lack of updates makes fetch quests a pain), ammo types constantly getting turned off, weird disc swapping on 360, the Galactic Readiness stuff, etc. etc. are all annoyances that hold the experience back when you get bombarded with them everywhere.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I know, also another reason any class can carry any weapon. In ME2 some character classes couldn't carry one so they wouldn't have included the smoke grenade mechanic in such a fashion. ME3 is tailoring player limitations to compensate for game mechanics when it should be the other way around.

I have never used a scope on the sniper, and have alternative ways to deal with the smoke grenade. I sometimes throw a shockwave through it to knock back everyone you can't see then move around so I can flank the enemies now suspended in midair from a different angle. Or straight up freeze the power wheel and scope out the units that throw grenades and charge > nova them. Or have liara use Stasis on them while I charge an engineer about to deploy a turret instead. Or, I guess, use a sniper rifle scope if I felt like using one. In ME2 the enemies never fully advanced on you, and let you sit in a spot all day long. So, it has nothing to do with certain classes not being able to use snipers. All the same mechanic in 2 would accomplish is temporarily getting in your field of view while you sit there and wait, while the enemies also sit there and wait.

You're thinking about everything far too linearly, and it shows with you saying you 'can't understand playing anything but sentinel'. Not to rag on the class specifically, but they all have something unique to offer and have a myriad of strategies. The combat is VASTLY improved in ME3.
 
So I'm about to start the
Cerberus headquarters
mission, about how much game is left? I'm assuming it's the last or near to last mission? I don't want it to end :(
 

Zen

Banned
Is it okay to lie like this?
ME3, character models, textures, etc, specifically took a hit so that they could have bigger more active and populated environments, along with the enhanced lighting. This isn't debatable, it's a fact. Fire up mass Effect 2 and compare cahracters that appear in both games, it's very obvious.

Dat_polygon.jpg


2

3
 
Damn, welp, it's been great :)

So second to last, when I finish it, does it automatically start the endgame or can I do some multiplayer matches first?
 
ME3, character models, textures, etc, specifically took a hit so that they could have bigger more active and populated environments. This isn't debatable, it's a fact.

Dat_polygon.jpg


http://s18.postimage.org/bc4u0fydk/Maranda.jpg

http://s15.postimage.org/sl2gwpdpm/The_new_kelly_Chambers.jpg

Nope.

The facial animation is fucked on some character models (definitely Miranda's) but the textures are undoubtedly better and I see no downgrading of geometry.

Also, while the textures for their clothing is poor it's still a pretty vast improvement on ME2.
 

Dresden

Member
Damn, welp, it's been great :)

So second to last, when I finish it, does it automatically start the endgame or can I do some multiplayer matches first?

I think you can do some,
you get back on the Normandy to head to the last priority mission
so you should have some time.
 

Zen

Banned
Nope.

The facial animation is fucked on some character models (definitely Miranda's) but the textures are undoubtedly better and I see no downgrading of geometry.

Also, while the textures for their clothing is poor it's still a pretty vast improvement on ME2.

Well, go back and play Mass Effect 2 like I did right before going into Mass Effect 3. You might want to know that in screenshot number 3, the character in question now has her hair made out of sparsely layered polygon shells that you can see when she turns a certain way. If you don't see the texture/polygon cuts, you aren't looking. The reason taht there's 'awkward' facial animation is before there are less polygons to animate with, leading to more awkward animations. Compare Miranda's lips and teeth to what you see in the opening of Mass Effect 2.

You can clearly also see the texture res cut when comparing the
Illusive mans face
 

Feature

Banned
What I hate about mass effect is the the way they force the squad play. there's never a big fight with 10 people on your side or something.
 
Thane spoilers
"Don't worry you won't be alone for long." ...What an odd thing to say to someone on their deathbed. Is my Shepard secretly suicidal?
 
ME3, character models, textures, etc, specifically took a hit so that they could have bigger more active and populated environments, along with the enhanced lighting. This isn't debatable, it's a fact. Fire up mass Effect 2 and compare cahracters that appear in both games, it's very obvious.

Dat_polygon.jpg


2

3

I still think the overall look is far superior, characters included - certainly on PC. But I was watching a bit of a console walkthrough on youtube and the downgrade in quality was very noticeable - more so than other games I've checked out.

Something went a bit awry with Miranda though.
 

Zen

Banned
Thane spoilers
"Don't worry you won't be alone for long." ...What an odd thing to say to someone on their deathbed. Is my Shepard secretly suicidal?

Not endgame spoilers, just supposition from what occurs up to that point.

Well
She has been unable to sleep, and when she does she's suffering from dreams about everyone that she has let die. She's obviously somewhat depressed and suffering from whatever the 'this is happening now' form of PTSD is'. Especially when your character almost cries during one part of the game after waking up from the nightmare.

I still think the overall look is far superior, characters included - certainly on PC. But I was watching a bit of a console walkthrough on youtube and the downgrade in quality was very noticeable - more so than other games I've checked out.

Fair enough. I'm playing it maxed on PC, and seeing some streamed footage I did of the end of ME2, reminds me of just how good/better the models are in that game. ME3 certainly has some things that look much better than M2, and wouldn't have been possible with the standards they had everything set to before.
 

Carbonox

Member
The
Banshees are awesome
(albeit bastards to fight).

However, regarding Asari worlds -
Was that monastery the only Asari world we get to visit? I want to visit Illium again :(
 
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