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Mass Effect |OT| Alien love in an elevator
- Thread starter Mr. Spinnington
- Start date
arhra
Member
There are three sidequests, one unique to each pre-service history option:sionyboy said:
Colonist: "I Remember Me"
escaped slave girl in the docking bay, radioed to you after you ride the elevator to leave the area.
homeless old navy guy who claims to have served with your parents, in the wards access corridor (the one between the two elevators you take to get from the presidium down to the wards)
old gang-mate from your childhood on Earth, hanging around near Chora's Den
Plus there are three sidequests (all available to any character) that tie into your psych profile choice, and give you a bit of extra dialogue or personal connection to the characters:
War Hero: "Espionage Probe"
The guy, Haliat, who lures you down then locks you in with the bomb was the leader of the raid on Elysium that you defended against, the most powerful of the pirates of the Terminus Systems, and your defence led to his humiliation and loss of power.
Toombs was from your unit on Akuze, and the scientist was part of the team that planned the attack
Kyle was your commanding officer at Torfan, and he saw how you operate (ie, ruthlessly).
And finally, there are two quests that open up at 75% Paragon/Renegade, respectively:
Paragon: "Besieged Base"
biotic fanatics have taken over a medical base and drugged the civilians, you have to eliminate the terrorists while avoiding civilian casualties (the civvies wander around randomly through the room you have to fight in)
Hackett asks you to go to a system and "negotiate" mining rights with some pirate fuck from the Terminus. He's an absolute dick, and if you respond at all with anything but the most ludicrous ass-kissing imaginable, it quickly turns into a massive firefight, and you find yourself forced to kill him. Unsurprisingly, Hackett isn't particularly disappointed with this outcome.
Captain Glanton
Banned
arhra said:
This is why I wish you could do a New Game + with a new create-a-character. No way I'm going through that period of being underpowered at lower levels again, so I'll never see some of these--nor will I play with a female Sherpherd, which I'd like to.
Allowing that might not make much sense, but neither does New Game +, anyway.
Moz La Punk
Member
Kung Fu Jedi said:
75%????
WTF?
This game is SMALL
I mean right now it all felt like I was just getting to know my crew and building their skills out.
I haven't had the feeling I've actually been on a big adventure. It all felt like this was just preperation for the REAL battles.
I sure hope you can take your crew and your own leveled up character to the next games. Right? Right?
Domino Theory
Crystal Dynamics
I'm on my fourth playthrough (starting to get worn out 
) and I was wondering if I could do this:
Currently, I'm playing through more playthroughs to get the ally achievements. Could I do my playthrough to the point of getting two ally achievements (since you can only be with two other people at one time), quit the game, go to a New Career with my character from the previous character, rinse and repeat until I have all ally achievements?
The only problem I see with this method is that I might lose any XP, weapons, etc.. I gain during the previous incomplete playthrough.
) and I was wondering if I could do this:Currently, I'm playing through more playthroughs to get the ally achievements. Could I do my playthrough to the point of getting two ally achievements (since you can only be with two other people at one time), quit the game, go to a New Career with my character from the previous character, rinse and repeat until I have all ally achievements?
The only problem I see with this method is that I might lose any XP, weapons, etc.. I gain during the previous incomplete playthrough.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Hellraizer said:
Until the end, Casey! Until the end!
ELEVATOR REDEMPTION.
Randy Lanzarote
Member
The inventory system is the worst point of the game, why they couldn't have broken the system down into sub-categories I'll never know. Instead when I want to offlaod a load of crap to a trader I need to go down, down, down the list. Would it have been so hard to have categories when you go to a trader screen? And converting things into Omni-Gel is a freakin' nightmare. 'Scroll down list....Press Y...Return to top of list....down, down again'. Ugh.... I really love the game, one of my favourites of all time, but god damn Bioware! Perhaps all the QC testers are paid by the hour, they were just there spending ages between each mission selling their Incendiary Rounds and Kessler pistols.
I hope there is some DLC soon for it, I've noticed plenty of elevators and doors across the main story planets that don't seem to lead anywhere, perhaps these will be the hook for a few more missions before ME2. But proper DLC please, no "Elanus Risk Control Weapons Pack" shit, I want more missions and a bit more story.
I hope there is some DLC soon for it, I've noticed plenty of elevators and doors across the main story planets that don't seem to lead anywhere, perhaps these will be the hook for a few more missions before ME2. But proper DLC please, no "Elanus Risk Control Weapons Pack" shit, I want more missions and a bit more story.
just completed the game..
biggest disappointment of 2007
holy shit does the framerate suck and the inventory system, vehicle and extra missions are absolutely awful
the gameworld and story/setting is great but just about everyting good about the game is not gameplay related.
I would rather have had a tv-series or movies based on the source material
biggest disappointment of 2007
holy shit does the framerate suck and the inventory system, vehicle and extra missions are absolutely awful
the gameworld and story/setting is great but just about everyting good about the game is not gameplay related.
I would rather have had a tv-series or movies based on the source material
Randy Lanzarote
Member
One other minor thing, why is it when you add mods to armour or weapons, the stats do not change to reflect the effect it has on said item? For example, it would be handy to see my total shield power on my Mantis VI armour when I add a Shield Modulator, rather than just the base stats.
Littleberu
Banned
MercuryLS said:
Vanguard ; you'll enjoy the game a lot more, and it also makes the game a lot more flexible.
To make things easier. Make sure the armor you want equipped on a certain character is at the bottom of the list of the armor section and have at least one armor upgrade.
Go to that character's armor screen, press x to get into the upgrade screen.
Select an upgrade, press Y to turn it into an omni gel and immediately hold A afterwards. You have to do it before the message comes up asking you to turn it into the gel. You'll hear the equip clicking sound if it works BUT before you do anything click B for no.
This will take you back to the armor upgrade screen which will glitch and have 0 for stats. It's okay.
You have to select the last upgrade at the bottom and equip it (a message may come up for transferring upgrades to intended armor) and it'll automatically equip you with the respected last armor at the bottom of the list no matter the species or requirements. Woolah.
Go to that character's armor screen, press x to get into the upgrade screen.
Select an upgrade, press Y to turn it into an omni gel and immediately hold A afterwards. You have to do it before the message comes up asking you to turn it into the gel. You'll hear the equip clicking sound if it works BUT before you do anything click B for no.
This will take you back to the armor upgrade screen which will glitch and have 0 for stats. It's okay.
You have to select the last upgrade at the bottom and equip it (a message may come up for transferring upgrades to intended armor) and it'll automatically equip you with the respected last armor at the bottom of the list no matter the species or requirements. Woolah.
Moz La Punk
Member
It was the first non-story planet I went though, but like every non-story planet, there's not a whole lot to do.
Oh man - after 60 hours of playing from day one with just only the two collection sidequests incomplete, putting the game down for 4 weeks because of studies/just being too busy just so I could play through it properly, I finally beat Mass Effect today - and boy was it great!
You guys weren't kidding at all when you said the story and ending was epic... this is really one of my favorite entertainment experiences that I've ever had in gaming/movies/TV etc. - I was already hooked because of the incredible art of this game from the first video, so much to buy and play only the second RPG in my life, but the story and the ending were really grand...
I can also never bear to experience a game with hours upon hours of cutscenes ever again after being spoiled with Mass Effect - it really puts you into the story, , and you can find out what to need to know about the story yourself by choosing what to ask - and the fact that your own custom character is right there in the mix of it enhances it even more...
It is really a shame about the minor technical problems like the framerate, etc. - but again, they did not away from the good of this game for me whatsoever - I personally am glad that they went with the streaming and elevator decision, as I downright hate to see loading screens, and in a game like this, it would have surely taken away from experience - excellent decision...
I've avoided this thread after putting all of my gaming on hold just so that I wouldn't spoil myself on the story, and boy do I feel relieved that I can finally look around wherever when it pertains to Mass Effect...
What a game, and I await Mass Effect 2!
Time to beat it on the next difficulty now - I'm on Level 49 right now for the first playthrough, so I should get that Level 50 Achievement in no time...
You guys weren't kidding at all when you said the story and ending was epic... this is really one of my favorite entertainment experiences that I've ever had in gaming/movies/TV etc. - I was already hooked because of the incredible art of this game from the first video, so much to buy and play only the second RPG in my life, but the story and the ending were really grand...
I can also never bear to experience a game with hours upon hours of cutscenes ever again after being spoiled with Mass Effect - it really puts you into the story, , and you can find out what to need to know about the story yourself by choosing what to ask - and the fact that your own custom character is right there in the mix of it enhances it even more...
It is really a shame about the minor technical problems like the framerate, etc. - but again, they did not away from the good of this game for me whatsoever - I personally am glad that they went with the streaming and elevator decision, as I downright hate to see loading screens, and in a game like this, it would have surely taken away from experience - excellent decision...
I've avoided this thread after putting all of my gaming on hold just so that I wouldn't spoil myself on the story, and boy do I feel relieved that I can finally look around wherever when it pertains to Mass Effect...
What a game, and I await Mass Effect 2!
Time to beat it on the next difficulty now - I'm on Level 49 right now for the first playthrough, so I should get that Level 50 Achievement in no time...
Eteric Rice
Member
Okay, so I bought this game today. I can't make any comments about the gameplay yet (aside from the dialog system is really cool), but I will say one thing.
This game shouldn't have shipped.
I'm still in the very beginning of the game
and I've already encountered inconsistant frame rate, texture poping, characters on my team getting stuck behind NPCs (taking 10 fucking minutes to get out).
Oh, and I walked through a wall Mario 64 style.
I hope Mass Effect 2 has a much improved version of the engine, because while the game is neat and all, the errors are all over so far. I'd personally take a hit to the graphics if it meant that they fixed some of this stuff.
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm still in the beginning. But being in the beginning and getting this many problems is worrying to say the least. I hope they send out a patch or something.
This game shouldn't have shipped.
I'm still in the very beginning of the game
(near the part where I have to catch a train to get the beacon back)
Oh, and I walked through a wall Mario 64 style.
I hope Mass Effect 2 has a much improved version of the engine, because while the game is neat and all, the errors are all over so far. I'd personally take a hit to the graphics if it meant that they fixed some of this stuff.
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm still in the beginning. But being in the beginning and getting this many problems is worrying to say the least. I hope they send out a patch or something.
Skilotonn said:
Same here. I gave it to my wife for Christmas, so I didn't really get a chance to play it until she beat it a week ago. She's been on my case to play through it so she could talk to me about the story. Finally beat it last night. Took about 40 hours on normal doing every side mission I could find, and hit level 50 on the last planet you visit in the game. I really, really enjoyed the game. Wonderful and surprising story, with fun combat once you get the hang of things. And a wonderful soundtrack too.
There were definitely some rough edges, some the fault of UE3 (Mark Rein, Epic needs to fix their shit!), some the fault of Bioware (horrible inventory management, squad AI could be very weak, and squad commands didn't work very well in many circumstances). Hopefully both parties can get things smoothed out for the next game, and I'm really hoping to see ME2 by 2009. I'm absolutely fine with the current graphics for this gen, as long as the texture loading and frame rate issues get fixed (hey, Microsoft, how about allowing developers the option to install stuff to the HDD to improve this particular problem in UE3 if Epic can't fix it themselves?) for the next two games.
Early on in the game, I really hated that the ability to take control of each party member that existed in the KotOR games was gone. Once my biotic abilities were up and I could throw and lift, I didn't care so much.
I would still love to have that type of party control back in the future, if only to play as Wrex. Speaking of which, Wrex better be in the next game. One of the best characters in a game in a long time, and the Krogan are some of the coolest looking alien designs I've ever seen.t4ng0 said:
What is it about the combat that's lame?
Do you mean that your character's are not as proficient as combat as you want them to be, or do you just find the combat to be boring?
When you first start out the combat skills are very low. Assault Rifles are very inaccurate, Sniper Rifles are next to impossible to use, etc... If you crouch down you will find that you become a bit more accurate. Also if you use zoom then that will help as well. If using the assault rifle try short controlled bursts. The combat gets better as you and your team get more points for combat skills and biotic/electronic powers. You'll also encounter more interesting enemies.
Moz La Punk
Member
The ending is where the game finally picks up. Too bad the game then, you know, ENDS.
Randy Lanzarote
Member
t4ng0 said:
As already stated, combat sucks initially because you are so awful with every weapon available. Assault spew projectiles all over the room, trying to use the sniper rifle makes you feel like Michael J Fox on a cold day, and your tech powers are the equivalent of throwing a wet sponge.
In the early missions don't go trying to equip yourself with the best shotguns or sniper rifles, in an attempt to go all Charles Bronson on the geth. Stick with the pistol, just mod that out to the max. The pistol is the best weapon at the start of the game because;
*Every assault rifle you'll find until a few hours in will have an accuracy rating of 1. They are crap.
*Sniper rifles are out the question unless you want to spend 20 seconds trying to line up a shot.
*Shotguns...unless you want to run up to the enemy and engage at point blank, a bad idea when you have about 100 health points, avoid it.
Give it time, as your powers and skills progress, combat becomes one of the most fun parts of the game. Singularity + Warp + Throw = hours of fun for everyone.
Edit: One question, not really about Mass Effect but I'll ask it anyway. Is there one UE3 engine which can do decent real-time hair? The hair is such a letdown in ME, in the character creation screen you've got a lovely shadered armour, great complexion on the skin, and then hair that looks like something from Q3 days. The only decent hairstyle for blokes is bald or shaved, the rest look like they were taken from a Lego game or something. The women are no better. Such a shame...
kmfdmpig said:
yeah I know how combat is intended to work-
+crouch for better accuracy
+bursts for better accuracy
+use teammates powers on select guys
+etc etc
I've played GRAW etc and this squad combat blows. I keep dying- even on easy- so it seems like the only way to fight is to stay as far back as possible. If i do that, my squad mates die almost immediately and i can't hurt anyone with my assault rifle. If i go forward and take cover, the enemy just charge and own me up close- even when i switch to a shotgun. I'm looking for a strat in combat so i can keep playing this game for all the other awesome things- so don't think i'm insulting mass effect as a whole
Edit: thanks the advice sionyboy- too bad i've used tons of points towards assault rifles
sionyboy said:
I have to strongly disagree with you about your choice of weaponry. The assault rifles are indeed not so great at the beginning of the game, but they quickly become incredibly powerful and far more accurate as you progress past the early stages. You can tear though foes with a powered up assault rifle. Add some sort of heat reducing enhancement and take advantage of the decent range and superb rate of fire and power. If you are doing any side missions in which you can pick off enemies from a distance, sniper rifles are superb and can pick off many foes with a single shot when properly powered up. Also, if you're squaring off against enemies from a great distance who are using sniper rifles, they can kill you long before you ever get close enough to use a pistol. I personally think the combination of assault rifles and sniper rifles is easily the best way to go for weapon/ soldier oriented fighters. Pistols seem very good early but they are weak if you compared powered up pistols to powered up assault rifles.
Randy Lanzarote
Member
AKS said:
Bare in mind that my advice is intended for people starting out in the game. I'm not trying to suggest you stick to a pistol throughout the entire game.
Saying that, I just played through for the third time as a Biotic. Pistol and Sniper Rifle all the way. I can't imagine playing through as a soldier class again, the weapons become so boring once you get used to utilising your tech/biotic skills.
sionyboy said:
Saying that you should mod the pistol to the max game me the impression that you were suggesting using it thoughout the game. I'd use those talent points elsewhere if I had my choice of weapons.
Of course not every class can even use the assault rifle effectively. In such a case, pistol and sniper rifle combined with biotics or tech skills would be a good idea.
Randy Lanzarote
Member
AKS said:
Ah right, I just meant mod it with the upgrades/ammo types rather than trying to get the ultimate 'Lancer I' assault rifle/Hammer sniper rifle etc. I didn't mean to max out skill points in it, my bad.
I'm a bit of an RPG noob see, so my first playthrough mass effect was pretty difficult in the early stages since instead of looking at skill points/weapon stats I'd just equip myself with the most powerful assault rifle and shotgun and any mod to make it even more powerful. Course I was spewing bullets everywhere and dying at somewhat regular intervals. Perhaps some people who are finding it hard are approaching the game from a GRAW/R6V perspective instead of trawling through the squad member pages to see what weapon would be ideally suited early on in the game.
Second and third playthrough I grabbed a pistol and stuck with it until I got a few side missions and points under my belt, not to mention something better than those Lancer/Avenger assault rifles.
Slackbladder
Member
A Biotic with an Assault Rifle fully maxed is pretty fun. But I finished the game on 'Insanity' with a Vanguard with a maxed out Shotgun. Lift and Throw were the only other skills I used along with Barrier. And with a level 10 Spectre Shotgun with two level 10 Scram Rails and level 10 High Explosive rounds even Saren at the end was over in barely 6 minutes. It's great fun to watch people fly when you blast them. You can make them bounce off the ceiling and walls. I was in hysterics. Great fun!
Slackbladder said:
I haven't used the shotgun nearly as much as the other weapons and never as my primary weapon of choice. It doesn't seem to be as effective as the assault rifle. I'll have to try it next time in my next run through it. I was thinking about using the Vanguard class, too. I haven't tried the Vanguard yet.
gollumsluvslave
Member
Yup pretty much the same for me.
Whilst there is obviously the technical issues, I couldn't stop playing, and all told would probably say Mass Effect is my GOTY 2007.
It is very much a case of 'the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts'.
It took me a good few hours to get to grips with the combat, but it works.
I can forgive the few rough edges in terms of framerate and texture pop - although for some reason it wasn't as bad for me as I was expecting; pop-in was nowhere near as bad as Halo 2 for example, and framerate only got patchy a few times - most of the time it was perfectly fine for me - and this is coming straight off the back of COD4.
Ignoring the tech issues, there are a few other flaws i'd like to see addressed for Mass Effect 2:-
1. Team Mate AI / Commands - if we aren't allowed to take control of the NPC's ourselves, then I'd prefer a more robust action system - plenty of times I wanted my NPC's to take cover, but they would just stay out in the open. Pathfinding was a bit hit and miss too.
2. Better inventory management. Probably the worst design decision IMO.
3. Tighten up the loot balance - way to much loot around, which coupled with the non-existent inventory meant lots of Y presses.
However, even in spite of these niggles, it was a blast.
I'm glad Bioware had the balls to be so ambitious
Hopefully Mass Effect 2 won't be too far away!
â Narayan
Member
Whoa, wait. What the Hell?! How are you doing that?Kadey said:Depends. Col X for Turians looks different for example. The only character to get a dramatic look is Wrex because of his build.
t4ng0 said:
The good news is that once you get a few hours in and start finding more accurate assault rifles, then you'll be doing quite well. The assault rifle power (overload I think) makes it more stable as well, and should be helpful.
Even if you've put your points into the assault rifle the pistol and shotgun should still work fairly well. I used the shotgun quite a bit, particularly when enemies were closeby, without having any points in it.
I would say that sionboy's advice is very good. If the enemies are far then try using the pistol, if they're close use the shotgun. Once you get a better assault rifle then you'll be able to use that as it works pretty well at all but extreme distances.
The_Shamess
Member
I think that it is a cool idea to have the choices you make in Mass Effect 1 carry over as a ripple effect into Mass Effect 2, but I really don't want to get screwed by that either. I don't want to miss out on something cool in Mass Effect 2 because I didn't make the "correct" decision one Mass Effect 1, this concern mainly revolves around your characters in your party
Does anyone agree?
Does anyone agree?
the difficulty curve is kind of weird -- you have to be thoughtful about your strategies at first, and then as your equipment and skills improve you quickly become untouchable, even if you bump the difficulty a notch. i hope they balance that for the sequel.
drohne said:
Yeah, I'm steamrolling everything on Hardcore at the moment. My shields are so high that my life really never goes down except on attacks that directly affect your HP. It's still a lot of fun but a challenge would be nice. Also, I think poor enemy AI has something to do with this as well.
Psychotext
Member
=Onewsguy said:
I'm stuck on Benezia with a shitty balanced party because I knew nothing about what abilities I would need before I had to decide on a party for this planet. I keep getting knocked down to death, EVERY TIME. Sometimes I make it to stage 2 only to be knocked down to death. It's frustrating.
Does anyone have any recommendations on how to beat this boss?
I'm a Vanguard and my party consists of Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (I am for sure dumping her as soon as I get off this rock).
Does anyone have any recommendations on how to beat this boss?
I'm a Vanguard and my party consists of Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (I am for sure dumping her as soon as I get off this rock).
Attack You
Member
I was ready to throw this one back in the mailbox, but decided to attempt a second playthrough to see if ignoring the side quests ups my enjoyment of the game. It was yummy the first time around, but piling on the side quests was a bad idea. I don't normally do those in RPGs, either. I don't know what possessed me here.
I tried my best to make my fem-Shepard out to be the supreme ultra mega bitch in all the known universe, but I kept racking up paragon points entirely by accident. Despite that I put space monkey brains on the restaurant menu, kill anyone who has the audacity to transmit a distress signal, and keep fetch quest items for myself, I apparently still wasn't enough of an asshole as my paragon points were right up there with my renegade points. So, yeah, I call mulligan...with a vengeance.
Also, it's a shame my Fem-Shep couldn't jump Wrex and rock a hole through the side of the Normandy. Would've made the last boss look like a pillow fight. I settled for Liara in the hopes of having smurfs rule the universe at a later time. Er, assuming female humans can actually impregnate the Asari... Er, assuming that's how the Asari reproduce... Er, wait, how does sex work again? (leaves to read codex)
I tried my best to make my fem-Shepard out to be the supreme ultra mega bitch in all the known universe, but I kept racking up paragon points entirely by accident. Despite that I put space monkey brains on the restaurant menu, kill anyone who has the audacity to transmit a distress signal, and keep fetch quest items for myself, I apparently still wasn't enough of an asshole as my paragon points were right up there with my renegade points. So, yeah, I call mulligan...with a vengeance.
Also, it's a shame my Fem-Shep couldn't jump Wrex and rock a hole through the side of the Normandy. Would've made the last boss look like a pillow fight. I settled for Liara in the hopes of having smurfs rule the universe at a later time. Er, assuming female humans can actually impregnate the Asari... Er, assuming that's how the Asari reproduce... Er, wait, how does sex work again? (leaves to read codex)
Jamesfrom818
Banned
Man I'm hooked on this game. I've been getting to work groggy this past week because I stay up late playing this. Are there any guides out there with decent looking character creation templates?