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Mass Effect |OT| Alien love in an elevator

kuYuri

Member
Himuro said:
Goddamn is Mass Effect pc poorly optimized. Have it maxed, the textures look like shit. Research, find out Bioware doesn't know how to code their own games and forgot to actually make the games maxed when you choose to do so in-game. So I had to go and turn anisotropy to max, stuff like that...manually... and the textures are still ass, mostly on npc's.

http://i48.tinypic.com/25aukx0.jpg

vs

http://i49.tinypic.com/i6fuhz.jpg

It's been a while since I played ME on 360, and even then, I played the game on an sdtv at the time, but did it really look this bad or is the pc that bad of a port?

The textures are just like that. Remember, this was one of the first gen UE3 games, when alot of developers were still trying to get used to UE3 that wasn't Epic Games.

Also, Mass Effect PC is way more optimized than the crappy 360 version.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Himuro said:
Why would you want to play ME with a gamepad when you have kb and mouse?

Well it was designed around the gamepad and not Kb/M initially and it shows in a few spots like the galaxy map and pause screen where neither is as smooth working as their console counterparts, but theyre not that big a deal in the grand scheme. Plus when a game can be played without issue on a gamepad its sometimes a lot nicer and more comfortable.

But I agree with the PC port not being what it could be, since my PC is brand new it runs a solid 60fps with max at 1080, but the textures are still a huge disappointment. I mean things are decent for the most part, but some spots are simply atrocious being barely more than large blocky colors. I seriously hope that ME2 on PC has some markedly higher res textures available over the console version.
 
hey dudes i just bought the god awful 360 version. i had played it a couple years ago and got to the part right after you expose seran for being the bad guy and the council makes you captain or whatever.

anyways, i need to know wtf to do from here. i go to random planets and anytime i fight anyone i get fucking stomped out. my guy can take like 3 shots and then i die. same with my 2 bros that are helping me. where do i go to level up this early in the story? its frustrating that every planet i go to i get my ass kicked so easily!
 
TheStevo said:
FrenchMovieTheme,

Did you go to the Artemis Tau cluster in the Milky Way and find Liara T'Soni?

no i dont believe so. like i said its been like 2 years, but the last thing i remember doing is exposing saren and then they promote me and give me that ship to go hunt him down.

i'll go look for this chick if that's going to help me!
 

squicken

Member
Turn it down to easy and have fun. I don't know if you made a mistake leveling but the game is only hard in a couple of specific places.

Once you get the hang of the combat then go back up a difficulty level.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
FMT,

The game is structured like Bioware's past Xbox RPGs. There are 3 "main" planets to go to for story stuff. The rest of the planets are for side quests and such.

If you're getting stomped so easily so early on, you are doing something incredibly wrong.
 

Shoogoo

Member
I just bought Pinnacle Station on the 360 and my xbox crashes every time I'm down in the simulator. I suppose it should load me back to the station but it just freeze like that. Is that a common issue?

Also, it's damn too easy.
 

kuYuri

Member
FrenchMovieTheme said:
hey dudes i just bought the god awful 360 version. i had played it a couple years ago and got to the part right after you expose seran for being the bad guy and the council makes you captain or whatever.

anyways, i need to know wtf to do from here. i go to random planets and anytime i fight anyone i get fucking stomped out. my guy can take like 3 shots and then i die. same with my 2 bros that are helping me. where do i go to level up this early in the story? its frustrating that every planet i go to i get my ass kicked so easily!

If you're ever lost, you can just view your journal, which always shows your mission objectives.

Also this might sound dumb and obvious, but if you're getting killed, take cover more often to let your shields/health regenerate. Keep your distance. You can usually defeat enemies by playing more tactically and taking advantage of your abilities.

What character class is your Shepard?
 
Strider2K99 said:
If you're ever lost, you can just view your journal, which always shows your mission objectives.

Also this might sound dumb and obvious, but if you're getting killed, take cover more often to let your shields/health regenerate. Keep your distance. You can usually defeat enemies by playing more tactically and taking advantage of your abilities.

What character class is your Shepard?

well first off my armor has only 12 defense. i have a better armor but i guess my level isn't high enough. as far as taking cover, i try to and then these dudes come fucking running after me and blast me around the corner. i just fought this boss of some kind of the planet to find liara tsoni or whatever and they killed me in like 4 seconds :lol

also i just checked and i am a vanguard..... and i haven't been spending my level up points! i didn't see any onscreen notification that i had any to spend. maybe that is the problem :(


p.s. my shield metere appears to be only 2 little bars (on the side of health). how can i increase my shield??
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Question: Where the hell can I find the new DLC (whatever Station)? Last time I played, it gave me no indication of where it might be...it must be tucked away in some galaxy/cluster.
 
FrenchMovieTheme said:
well first off my armor has only 12 defense. i have a better armor but i guess my level isn't high enough. as far as taking cover, i try to and then these dudes come fucking running after me and blast me around the corner. i just fought this boss of some kind of the planet to find liara tsoni or whatever and they killed me in like 4 seconds :lol

also i just checked and i am a vanguard..... and i haven't been spending my level up points! i didn't see any onscreen notification that i had any to spend. maybe that is the problem :(

Ha, yeah, that would be it. Still though, the difficulty in Mass Effect is like a light switch. It can be really hard until you get the right abilities to the right level then all of a sudden the game becomes incredibly easy.

Snuggler said:
Question: Where the hell can I find the new DLC (whatever Station)? Last time I played, it gave me no indication of where it might be...it must be tucked away in some galaxy/cluster.

Argos Rho, I think. It's one of the systems towards the lower left side of the cluster of systems on the right side of the galaxy map.

Enjoy Shepard's bizarre smile he/she has while talking to anyone on the station.
 

kuYuri

Member
FrenchMovieTheme said:
well first off my armor has only 12 defense. i have a better armor but i guess my level isn't high enough. as far as taking cover, i try to and then these dudes come fucking running after me and blast me around the corner. i just fought this boss of some kind of the planet to find liara tsoni or whatever and they killed me in like 4 seconds :lol

also i just checked and i am a vanguard..... and i haven't been spending my level up points! i didn't see any onscreen notification that i had any to spend. maybe that is the problem :(

Oh yeah, not spending your skill points is definitely something that will get you killed. :lol

As far as Vanguard goes, you can spend some of those points on Tactical Armor and Barrier to boose your defense. Tactical Armor will increase your overall damage reduction, while Barrier will increase your Shepard's base shields and allow you to cast Barrier, which further increases shields while it's in effect.

If you see an enemy such as a Krogan charge towards you, you can either equip Hammerhead rounds on your weapons to stop them in their tracks or use a Biotic ability such as Throw to knock them back and give you some breathing space.

Oh yeah, since your Shepard has no Engineer skills, try to have either Garrus, Tali, or Kaidan as a party member to have someone with Electronic/Decrypting skills in your party.
 

Spoo

Member
Beat this for the first time today :O Was a really awesome game, but on the 360 the framerate is so damn terrible I seriously thought I was going to have a seizure. Please, God, let it be a locked 30 for ME2.
 
Spoo said:
Beat this for the first time today :O Was a really awesome game, but on the 360 the framerate is so damn terrible I seriously thought I was going to have a seizure. Please, God, let it be a locked 30 for ME2.

According to the Devs, ME2, on 360, should have a pretty good framerate. I think they said it was locked at 30.
 

kaskade

Member
Oh noes. I'm at the nuke part in the game when you have to make your desision on who you want to save. I chose
ashley
and I went back and cleared all the geth. Now nothing is happening. I can't go anywhere and I can't speak to ashley. Am I really stupid or did my game fuck me?
 
Himuro said:
Goddamn is Mass Effect pc poorly optimized. Have it maxed, the textures look like shit. Research, find out Bioware doesn't know how to code their own games and forgot to actually make the games maxed when you choose to do so in-game.
The story I heard is that some BioWare tester posted on their forums and said while testing ME they were testing the game mostly on SDTVs so no one caught the Garrus texture issue. Personally I didn't notice the Garrus issue (played on 360) but I did notice that at least one of the Normandy's crew members had horrible textures on her suit compared to the rest of the NPCs.

edit: maybe I did notice the Garrus issue on 360 but I just don't remember because its been a while.
 
Count of Monte Sawed-Off said:
According to the Devs, ME2, on 360, should have a pretty good framerate. I think they said it was locked at 30.
I'm just hoping it still has 2xAA. Some of the recent media I've seen makes it looks like there isn't any (such as the gamespot 12 minute gameplay preview). Also the textures just seem to be way lower than ME1. Again, could just be bad quality media. If that turns out to be the case though, I may end up playing it on PC.
 

Wark

Member
Time to start my re-play through before Mass Effect II comes out. I absolutely love the soundtrack in this game -- usually I wouldn't enjoy listening to music similar to it, but I think the composition matches the game's atmosphere nicely.
 

Zzoram

Member
The combat in this game is really balanced only for Soldiers. Even Vangaurds have a tough time, because Shotguns are pretty awful.

In fact, only Pistol and Assault Rifle are actually good guns, Sniper and Shotgun are terrible for general use. Soldier has the advantage of a ton of health and better armor, which helps a lot since the combat encounters tend to be really hard.
 

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
Zzoram said:
The combat in this game is really balanced only for Soldiers. Even Vangaurds have a tough time, because Shotguns are pretty awful.

In fact, only Pistol and Assault Rifle are actually good guns, Sniper and Shotgun are terrible for general use. Soldier has the advantage of a ton of health and better armor, which helps a lot since the combat encounters tend to be really hard.
You're joking right?

The AR is shitty compared to everything else in the game. The Sniper is God's will and the Shotgun is his fist.

Soldier's are only good for thing - immunity. Infiltrators can tank just as well as a soldier if not better (arguable), while being twice as versatile.
 

kuYuri

Member
Zzoram said:
The combat in this game is really balanced only for Soldiers. Even Vangaurds have a tough time, because Shotguns are pretty awful.

In fact, only Pistol and Assault Rifle are actually good guns, Sniper and Shotgun are terrible for general use. Soldier has the advantage of a ton of health and better armor, which helps a lot since the combat encounters tend to be really hard.

You must be doing it wrong, cause Vanguard was the first class I used and I kicked ass with a shotty.
 

Flavius

Member
ThePeacemaker02 said:
Oh noes. I'm at the nuke part in the game when you have to make your desision on who you want to save. I chose
ashley
and I went back and cleared all the geth. Now nothing is happening. I can't go anywhere and I can't speak to ashley. Am I really stupid or did my game fuck me?

It's been a while, so someone else can pop in and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you need to
go up the tower and you'll be picked up by the Normandy.
 

Doytch

Member
No, you don't need to go anywhere. I just had a glitch like that happen in my game. Saved Ash, cleared the area, no cutscene. Had to reload a quicksave (just before I entered the area where she was) and the second time it triggered. Most likely a bug.
 
To anyone who says the sniper is only for certain situations: start a new playthrough, and power it all the way up.

Come back and have your crow. We'll be waiting. :D
 

jjasper

Member
Zzoram said:
Shotgun is terribly inaccurate at long distance, and if you get close you tend to die. Snipers get good?

Play as vanguard use your barrier and lift and throw to get close. Then when close and warp+shotty takes them down. Use Adrenaline Burst and repeat.

And for the sinper rifle with an infiltrator/commando and leveling it you are pretty much taking things down in one shot by the end of the game.
 
Zzoram said:
Snipers get good?

Yes. Best gun in the game.

It's dogshit if you don't put some points in to it though, which is I think where people get the idea that it sucks.

It goes to nigh unusable to godly.
 

Zzoram

Member
Dang, I should've picked Infiltrator for my PC run. I ended up doing Vanguard because I kept hearing that it was the strongest class. I remember when the game first came out, people were saying Infiltrator and Sentinel were the worst classes. Can Sentinel even use guns? The description doesn't say.
 
Doytch said:
No, you don't need to go anywhere. I just had a glitch like that happen in my game. Saved Ash, cleared the area, no cutscene. Had to reload a quicksave (just before I entered the area where she was) and the second time it triggered. Most likely a bug.
Maybe I'm thinking about another game or another area of this game but does that part have snipers? I remember something not triggering because there was an AI that I didn't kill.
 

jjasper

Member
Zzoram said:
Dang, I should've picked Infiltrator for my PC run. I ended up doing Vanguard because I kept hearing that it was the strongest class. I remember when the game first came out, people were saying Infiltrator and Sentinel were the worst classes. Can Sentinel even use guns? The description doesn't say.

They can use a pistol and I think you can eventually get marksman for it. It is basically a support class send your party up ahead and you stay back and hit them with your biotics/tech.
 

Rubezh

Member
Looking at the galaxy map on my fourth playthough reminds me how much potential was wasted. There should have been new systems or clusters but we got recycled assets and a pointless arena addition. If the DA DLC is any indication, it looks like Bioware may have a better DLC structure planned for ME2.
 

Metroidvania

People called Romanes they go the house?
DY_nasty said:
You're joking right?

The AR is shitty compared to everything else in the game. The Sniper is God's will and the Shotgun is his fist.

The problem with the AR is that they start out with 1 accuracy rating, so you're better off not using one until you start getting like ones with 34 accuracy.

By the time you get to the Spectre X with as much damage as the Spectre shotgun and ~77 accuracy baseline, I'd argue it's the best out of all the weapons.

Same with snipers, to some extent, they get much better after you put 8-all 12 points into it.

I just don't like the fact that assassination (and carnage) are really only useful for one shot, while overkill and marksman can keep on going for around 30 seconds of destruction. It's why I picked the AR for my bonus skill on my adept and engineer.
 
So, I've made a new XBL profile since this game first game out, and now I have to go through everything and play through EVERYTHING again. I had all sidequests completed, and 2 maxed out characters...

Kind of sucks when you've played through the game ~6 times and the profile you're playing no shows no record of it. But, nothing nails the atmosphere more than the opening credits and the galaxy map - holy cow it is so awesome.
 

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
Metroidvania said:
The problem with the AR is that they start out with 1 accuracy rating, so you're better off not using one until you start getting like ones with 34 accuracy.

By the time you get to the Spectre X with as much damage as the Spectre shotgun and ~77 accuracy baseline, I'd argue it's the best out of all the weapons.

Same with snipers, to some extent, they get much better after you put 8-all 12 points into it.

I just don't like the fact that assassination (and carnage) are really only useful for one shot, while overkill and marksman can keep on going for around 30 seconds of destruction. It's why I picked the AR for my bonus skill on my adept and engineer.
Pistol still does more damage per shot than the AR. Which I find hilarious... Marksman >>>>> Overkill. It changes the pistol from being something that is only marginally better than the AR into something that is at least twice as good.

AR can't knock anyone down either. Thats the biggest issue...
 

Kweh

Member
Anyone get random crashes in the PC version of ME1? I’m talking a hard lockup, happened to me last night. Just wondering if the game is known for it or if my graphics card is going tits up just in time for ME2 :/
 
Kweh said:
Anyone get random crashes in the PC version of ME1? I’m talking a hard lockup, happened to me last night. Just wondering if the game is known for it or if my graphics card is going tits up just in time for ME2 :/
Not had a crash but I've found a bug. In Noveria you have to take an elevator to fix some landlines. I go in the elevator and just stand there. I pressed the button but nothing happens. Still bugs after all this time.
 
Kweh said:
This is a strange one...my game freezes whenever I try to equip Tali with a shotgun :S

Yeah, nothing like that for me. So idk dude, did you dl this from steam? Maybe Verify the Integrity of the Files.
 

sca2511

Member
Slackbladder said:
Not had a crash but I've found a bug. In Noveria you have to take an elevator to fix some landlines. I go in the elevator and just stand there. I pressed the button but nothing happens. Still bugs after all this time.
had the same bug, pretty annoying since I had to load up a save from the start of the level.
 

Kweh

Member
xKilltheMx said:
Yeah, nothing like that for me. So idk dude, did you dl this from steam? Maybe Verify the Integrity of the Files.

Ah sorry forgot to say I switched to the 360 version, so I am getting the Tali bug in that :/
 
Didn't really see this posted in the thread, so I'll go ahead and add this. I typed up this list of the differences between the Platinum Hits bonus disc, Limited Edition bonus disc, and Preorder bonus disc. If it says "exclusive", that means that content isn't shared with any other disc, although it may or may not be on the Marketplace:


Platinum Hits:

Introduction Video

Documentaries:
The Vision of Mass Effect
The Making of Mass Effect
Interactive Storytelling
Sci vs. Fi: Mass Effect (Exclusive)
Making Bring Down the Sky (Exclusive)
Beyond the Game (Exclusive)
The Future of Mass Effect (Exclusive)

Soundtrack:
20 Music Tracks (10 are exclusive)

Design Galleries:
Introduction to the Design Galleries
The Creatures of Mass Effect (207 Images)
The Environments of Mass Effect (200 Images)
The Technology of Mass Effect (207 Images)

3 Gamer Picture Packs:
Series One
Series Two
Series Three

1 Premium Theme:
Mass Effect Normandy Premium Theme (Exclusive)

Trailers:
2005: X05 Teaser Trailer
2006: E3 Gameplay Trailer
2006: X06 Gameplay Trailer
2007: E3 Gameplay Trailer
2007: TV Trailer
2008: Downloadable Content Trailer (Exclusive)
2007: Adept Gameplay Trailer (Exclusive)
2007: Soldier Gameplay Trailer (Exclusive)
2007: Vanguard Gameplay Trailer (Exclusive)
2007: Sentinel Gameplay Trailer (Exclusive)

Bringing Down the Sky DLC (Exclusive)


Limited Edition:

Introduction Video

Documentaries:
The Vision of Mass Effect
The Making of Mass Effect
Interactive Storytelling
Inside BioWare (Exclusive)

10 Music Tracks

Design Galleries:
Introduction to the Design Galleries
The Creatures of Mass Effect (207 Images)
The Environments of Mass Effect (200 Images)
The Technology of Mass Effect (207 Images)

3 Gamer Picture Packs:
Series One
Series Two
Series Three

4 Themes:
Concept Art of Mass Effect (Exclusive)
Heroes of Mass Effect (Exclusive)
Places of Mass Effect (Exclusive)
Villains of Mass Effect (Exclusive)

Trailers:
2005: X05 Teaser Trailer
2006: E3 Gameplay Trailer
2006: X06 Gameplay Trailer
2007: E3 Gameplay Trailer
2007: TV Trailer


Preorder Disc:

Introduction Video (Exclusive)

Documentary:
Inside Mass Effect (Exclusive)

3 Music Tracks

2 Gamer Picture Packs:
Series One (Exclusive)
Series Two (Exclusive)

2 Themes:
The “Distress Call” (Exclusive)
Uncharted Worlds (Exclusive)

Trailers:
2005: X05 Teaser Trailer
2006: E3 Gameplay Trailer
2006: X06 Gameplay Trailer
2007: E3 Gameplay Trailer
 

theRizzle

Member
Is it just me, or are the achievements for the 360 version so broken?

I played through the game using only Ashley and Wrex, except for
Virmire when you have to lose Ashley briefly
and at the end I only got the achievement for having Ashley in my party for most of the game. I also played on Hardcore and never changed the difficulty once, yet I didn't get the achievement for that either. Not a huge deal, it's just a little frustrating.

Also, do I have to manually save my game once it goes back to the title screen after the credits in order to have a NG+ or whatever to load?
 
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