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The Mass Effect Community Thread |OT2|

Xando

Member
True. But if Edmonton's new IP which is supposedly a Destiny/Division style game doesn't take off in an already crowded space, I could see them being told to take on the series.

I don't think so. If Dylan doesn't do well EA is probably gonna layoff most of Bioware and wait to see how DA does to decide Biowares future.

If DA also bombs and Bioware survives they're gonna make something for star wars.
 

prag16

Banned
It didn't have the ME feel i loved so much

See, I thought that was an area it succeeded in. For me it COMPLETELY had the Mass Effect feel, despite some jank and design issues. In fact if it DIDN'T have that feel for me I may have joined many others in the "7.5/10" camp. But getting immersed in the Mass Effect universe again felt spot on, which went a long way toward allowing it to squeak out a 9/10 from me, despite the flaws and bizarre design decisions.

If DA also bombs and Bioware survives they're gonna make something for star wars.

I'd personally shed no tears for DA. And in a vacuum I'd love to see a Star Wars game from Bioware again. But not at the expense of Mass Effect. notlikethis.gif

They have definitely cancelled whatever Quarian ark dlc they had, probably won't publish the planned books.

I don't know if we can say "definitely". But as someone else said here or in another topic, if we don't hear anything on that front by the end of June it's probably pretty safe to say "definitely". Would hate to see the other books canned; Nexus Uprising was actually solid, and gave otherwise trash characters Addison and Sloane some much needed depth; and you get a lot of background on Tann and Spender as well. (Though Sloane is still kind of a trash character; had no problem taking Reyes' side there, ESPECIALLY after reading the book.)
 

Patryn

Member
If EA's going to dump the IP anyway why not sell it? It's literally free money. Then again this is EA the franchise killer we're talking about here.

It's better for them to sit on it than to give it to another company and have it generate money for that company. If it ends up a success for other people, it inevitably leads to questions about why EA couldn't make it a success.
 

Xando

Member
See, I thought that was an area it succeeded in. For me it COMPLETELY had the Mass Effect feel, despite some jank and design issues. In fact if it DIDN'T have that feel for me I may have joined many others in the "7.5/10" camp. But getting immersed in the Mass Effect universe again felt spot on, which went a long way toward allowing it to squeak out a 9/10 from me, despite the flaws and bizarre design decisions.

Tbh i didn't like the open world areas very much. Most of the quest felt like boring filler stuff and often times i couldn't be bothered to complete all of it. The only time i had a somewhat Mass Effect feeling was during the loyalty mission which were imo the best part of the game.


I'd personally shed no tears for DA. And in a vacuum I'd love to see a Star Wars game from Bioware again. But not at the expense of Mass Effect. notlikethis.gif

I have a feeling that if Dylan and the DA aren't gonna do well that's gonna be it for Bioware. I'd like to see them do a Star Wars RPG (Based on the Sith Order would be nice) but i don't think we're gonna see a new Mass Effect for atleast 10 years (If ever).
 

Madness

Member
I don't think so. If Dylan doesn't do well EA is probably gonna layoff most of Bioware and wait to see how DA does to decide Biowares future.

If DA also bombs and Bioware survives they're gonna make something for star wars.

Eh, EA makes a killing off the tax cuts afford to BioWare in Edmonton and Montreal. No way they can lay off the studio especially as they just did a round of hiring and still have positions open. You would probably see Austin and Montreal staff be shifted to Edmonton and consolidated.

If Dylan flops, they will be back on DA or ME. There are too many series on Star Wars that adding BioWare as well makes no sense, especially as Austin is still with The Old Republic.
 
It's better for them to sit on it than to give it to another company and have it generate money for that company. If it ends up a success for other people, it inevitably leads to questions about why EA couldn't make it a success.

Yeah I suppose, questions will indeed be asked if for example CDProjekt gets the IP and makes it even better than ME3/ME:A.
 

Sai

Member
Yeah, it's still not great. Are you hosting? I always host when using headshot weapons even if it means starting solo. The difference is profound.
It is a little better when I'm hosting, but there's still a lot of struggle. :/

I might try it again in a few months. We'll see.
 
So what's the most constructive way to let Bioware know that I hate the pink lipstick they've put on default Sara Ryder in 1.06? Who should I be tweeting to, etc.

Also, is it just me, or did they change the skin tones and complexion of the presets as well? Going to have to do some comparisons when I get off work. Nevermind, I think it's just in the character creator, they look the same in game.
 

diaspora

Member
Very much this.

FWIW while I personally really like ME:A despite what I find to be deep design flaws and agree that it will be a long time before ME returns, people were being shifted from Edmonton iirc and Montreal to Motive before Andromeda came out. I don't think anyone should expect ME to return until 2022 at best.
 

Maledict

Member
FWIW while I personally really like ME:A despite what I find to be deep design flaws and agree that it will be a long time before ME returns, people were being shifted from Edmonton iirc and Montreal to Motive before Andromeda came out. I don't think anyone should expect ME to return until 2022 at best.

Had Andromeda been a huge success there's no way it would be 2022 until a sequel. That's not how EA operates.
 

deafmedal

Member
Fuck it. If shinobi says dad, it's likely dad. No more monies from me, EA. I don't care who is responsible for the lackluster critical response (even if I enjoy the game) and low sales, I will not purchase another game EA has anything to do with, including AP for ME:A even if MP DLC is awesome. If we get SP DLC I will buy it, of course.

Sucks, as I was kinda looking forward to new Battlefront and who knows what the Destiny clone will look like but gonna have to stick to mah guns and only support ME.

Does EA get any money from the BioWare store? I would like the Drack lithograph when it drops, and possibly some clothing options but would prefer if EA didn't get monies from that...
 

diaspora

Member
Had Andromeda been a huge success there's no way it would be 2022 until a sequel. That's not how EA operates.

Dylan for 2018, DA4 for 2019, ME:A2 at best would have hit 2020 without delays to the other two.

Both then and now, I don't believe BioWare can or will deliver multiple games back to back without at least 2 years of space.

Fuck it. If shinobi says dad, it's likely dad. No more monies from me, EA. I don't care who is responsible for the lackluster critical response (even if I enjoy the game) and low sales, I will not purchase another game EA has anything to do with, including AP for ME:A even if MP DLC is awesome. If we get SP DLC I will buy it, of course.

Sucks, as I was kinda looking forward to new Battlefront and who knows what the Destiny clone will look like but gonna have to stick to mah guns and only support ME.

Does EA get any money from the BioWare store? I would like the Drack lithograph when it drops, and possibly some clothing options but would prefer if EA didn't get monies from that...

... lol dude of course EA is getting the money.
 

SliChillax

Member
Fuck it. If shinobi says dad, it's likely dad. No more monies from me, EA. I don't care who is responsible for the lackluster critical response (even if I enjoy the game) and low sales, I will not purchase another game EA has anything to do with, including AP for ME:A even if MP DLC is awesome. If we get SP DLC I will buy it, of course.

Sucks, as I was kinda looking forward to new Battlefront and who knows what the Destiny clone will look like but gonna have to stick to mah guns and only support ME.

Does EA get any money from the BioWare store? I would like the Drack lithograph when it drops, and possibly some clothing options but would prefer if EA didn't get monies from that...
Chill out, it's a video game. EA releases other amazing games, not buying them because Andromeda failed is beyond stupid.
 

BizzyBum

Member
Do people actually expect a sequel to Andromeda?

It failed miserably and it's a dreadful game, personally. If / when EA decides to green light a new ME it will be from the ground up.
 

SliChillax

Member
Do people actually expect a sequel to Andromeda?

It failed miserably and it's a dreadful game, personally. If / when EA decides to green light a new ME it will be from the ground up.

Ground up how? They wont reboot it, forget it. The game doesn't need rebooting, just set it in a different cluster and act like nothing ever happened.
 

Maledict

Member
I think if they do come back to Mass Effect, in 7+ years or so, it will be back in the Milky Way. They will rely on the time passed since ME3, and the love people have for the original games, to reinvigorate the brand. It makes absolutely no sense given the reception to Andromeda to tie themselves to that setting.
 

diaspora

Member
Ground up how? They wont reboot it, forget it. The game doesn't need rebooting, just set it in a different cluster and act like nothing ever happened.

This. They don't even need to leave the cluster, just jump like 30 years and continue. The setting for Andromeda is significantly better than the Milky Way. The OT's strengths were in its characters and dialogue, the actual world was so much worse than Andromeda. Going back to the Milky Way post ME3 is as bad as just icing the IP tbh.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Really? How is the setting in Andromeda significantly better? Because of the Scourge? Of the mysteries surrounding the Remnants and their creators?

Angaras aren't particularly any more interesting than the Milky Way races.

And we've seen enough of the Ketts so that anything in a possible sequel would not really be interesting in their case. "Oh no.. .they're back to exalt us...but this time with even more troops!"
 

Ralemont

not me
Chill out, it's a video game. EA releases other amazing games, not buying them because Andromeda failed is beyond stupid.

In my opinion EA has been pretty fair to BioWare since Dragon Age 2.

I could see this going either way for BioWare. Sales for DAI and MEA weren't leagues above the previous games in the series and took significantly longer to make. If EA tells BW to go back to making 30 hour games that take 3 years to make I think that'd be better for all parties involved, including consumers.
 

diaspora

Member
In my opinion EA has been pretty fair to BioWare since Dragon Age 2.

I could see this going either way for BioWare. Sales for DAI and MEA weren't leagues above the previous games in the series and took significantly longer to make. If EA tells BW to go back to making 30 hour games that take 3 years to make I think that'd be better for all parties involved, including consumers.

lol, EA gave BioWare both time and a budget, it's up to them to make the most of it rather than trying to cram in the biggest fuckin thing they could possibly do.

Really? How is the setting in Andromeda significantly better? Because of the Scourge? Of the mysteries surrounding the Remnants and their creators?

Angaras aren't particularly any more interesting than the Milky Way races.

And we've seen enough of the Ketts so that anything in a possible sequel would not really be interesting in their case. "Oh no.. .they're back to exalt us...but this time with even more troops!"

Established political structures have been thrown out the window. Post ME:A, you have several settlements, all human-led and human dominated with other races starting to drop out of cryo and joining in. Between now completely new nation-states being formed in a cluster already "owned" by the Angara and which already have conflicts between each other there's a lot to be explored. Do Turians join a human settlement? What happens if a Turian becomes the leader of Prodromos and attempts to establish a governance closer to their military Hierarchy? The divisions between the races are a lot more blurred.

Edit: honestly, more world-building went into the Milky Way over the course of ME3 than 1 or 2.
 

Ralemont

not me
lol, EA gave BioWare both time and a budget, it's up to them to make the most of it rather than trying to cram in the biggest fuckin thing they could possibly do.

I think we're agreeing? in any case it feels like mismanagement of scope and project planning has been an issue starting with ME3, though it was only minor there (inability to properly integrate choices into Priority Earth).
 

diaspora

Member
I think we're agreeing? in any case it feels like mismanagement of scope and project planning has been an issue starting with ME3, though it was only minor there (inability to properly integrate choices into Priority Earth).

We are.

I can sympathise with BioWare with stuff like DA2 where 18 months straight up is not enough time to make a fully-voiced RPG but with ME:A they had both time and money; and even then a lot of the problems are inherently based in the design (12-15 step travel process) rather than just running out of time (bad eyeballs/facial animations).
 

BizzyBum

Member
The thing is, EA will never have the words Mass Effect and Andromeda be in the same title ever again, so you're either going to have another game in the Milky Way or another galaxy. lol
 

prag16

Banned
Do people actually expect a sequel to Andromeda?

It failed miserably and it's a dreadful game, personally.

Ridiculous.

I guess since these are opinions, I'll reveal a couple seriously dreadful games imo: GTA5 and RDR. TW3 was a solid 7.5/10 type game that failed to hold my attention through completion. So I guess I'll try to stop reacting every time somebody says ME:A is garbage.

I could see this going either way for BioWare. Sales for DAI and MEA weren't leagues above the previous games in the series and took significantly longer to make. If EA tells BW to go back to making 30 hour games that take 3 years to make I think that'd be better for all parties involved, including consumers.
Agreed. Even 65 hours was too long on my first playthrough. ~40 hour NG+ will be much better.
 

Bubble

Neo Member
I honestly think anything related to Andromeda are off the table. Far too much baggage with that name, and I think if EA decides to green-light another Mass Effect game, it is going to be set in the Milky Way.

Also would not be surprised if they did a hard reboot of the series, Would also appreciate if Bioware stopped doing open world and just did a ME2/ME3 type of game.
 

BizzyBum

Member
Ridiculous.

I guess since these are opinions, I'll reveal a couple seriously dreadful games imo: GTA5 and RDR. TW3 was a solid 7.5/10 type game that failed to hold my attention through completion. So I guess I'll try to stop reacting every time somebody says ME:A is garbage.

Yikes. I'll take note never to trust your gaming opinions in the future. lol
 
Pretty good solution for any issues with the Andromeda situation would be a multiplayer/Destiny route.
Basically just take the content of Andromeda, keep the Ryder story going in a way(Human Pathfinders) while people who pick the other main races get a similar but unique archetype for their Pathfinder.

Same worlds slightly expanded, maybe another system or two with more planets and species, mmo-hubs with the Destiny style drop in and out throughout the world.

On the other had that leaves clear room for a trilogy remaster and potentially a Mass Effect 4(and multiplayer, etc doesn't complicate the MilkyWay or anything)
 

deafmedal

Member
Chill out, it's a video game. EA releases other amazing games, not buying them because Andromeda failed is beyond stupid.

Heh, what difference does it make to you? Not like my measly "hunger strike" will make any difference at all... kinda like voting for Hillary in Texas. Doesn't mean I still shouldn't do what I feel to be right. It was just a silly little rant
that I do plan on following through with, with the exception of that Drack litho
.

Besides, there are more than enough amazing games to play from other pubs/devs ;)
 
Really? How is the setting in Andromeda significantly better? Because of the Scourge? Of the mysteries surrounding the Remnants and their creators?

Angaras aren't particularly any more interesting than the Milky Way races.

And we've seen enough of the Ketts so that anything in a possible sequel would not really be interesting in their case. "Oh no.. .they're back to exalt us...but this time with even more troops!"

Yeah, my biggest problem with the Andromeda galaxy (well, the Heleus Cluster) was that it was just not particularly interesting. In ME1 we were introduced to so many species with so much history to them. The only civilization in Heleus is the Angara. They're fine... but its not enough.

There's still so much of the Milky Way we didn't see. I would love to go to more of the Alien homeworlds. We never even got to go to Palaven in ME3.

If there ever is another game, it would probably be a reboot, and I can't see them sticking with Andromeda for that.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
If EA's going to dump the IP anyway why not sell it? It's literally free money. Then again this is EA the franchise killer we're talking about here.

Short term free money at the cost of brand ownership and ability to use said brand later. It's extremely uncommon in the games industry for publishers to sell off brands/franchises just because they're not using them, as it denies that publisher rights to use the franchise again. Big publishers in particular would rather hoard IPs than sell them off.

And that aside, Mass Effect is still BioWare's baby, and I'm sure they'd rather it go on hiatus with the gamble of returning to it many moons down the track than selling it off to someone else.
 

prag16

Banned
What would you rate MEA, then?

The only two redeeming qualities for me is the combat is good and it can look pretty. Everything else is dog shit for a game that was in development for 5+ years.
Obviously not a popular opinion but I gave it a 9 in my "review". The long and short of it was I experienced no real bugs / glitches in my 65+ hours, and wasn't too bothered by the other jank. My main complaints are the padding and haphazard quest design, but enough of the quests were good to great, counteracting that. I really liked most of the characters, thought most of the writing was decent to good, and the story interested me. A lot of people shat relentlessly on those aspects but it all worked reasonable well for me. The visuals are nice and the combat is largely excellent. Most importantly, they NAILED the Mass Effect feel and atmosphere. There may be other "better games" but nothing else scratches the particular itch for me.

It'll be a major upset if it doesn't finish up as my GoTY. Leading as of now with Horizon in 2nd.
 

diaspora

Member
Obviously not a popular opinion but I gave it a 9 in my "review". The long and short of it was I experienced no real bugs / glitches in my 65+ hours, and wasn't too bothered by the other jank. My main complaints are the padding and haphazard quest design, but enough of the quests were good to great, counteracting that. I really liked most of the characters, thought most of the writing was decent to good, and the story interested me. A lot of people shat relentlessly on those aspects but it all worked reasonable well for me. The visuals are nice and the combat is largely excellent. Most importantly, they NAILED the Mass Effect feel and atmosphere. There may be other "better games" but nothing else scratches the particular itch for me.

It'll be a major upset if it doesn't finish up as my GoTY. Leading as of now with Horizon in 2nd.

The haphazard quest design can kneecap how people experience the story which ends up getting thrown under the bus to be fair. Of course some may not like it regardless, but still something to consider.
 

prag16

Banned
The haphazard quest design can kneecap how people experience the story which ends up getting thrown under the bus to be fair. Of course some may not like it regardless, but still something to consider.
That's fair. The shitty design did leak into the good quests too, as we've discussed.
 

CLBridges

Member
Turian Agent in MP is legit! Tactical cloak with flamethrower all day. And, with Recon Visor I can shoot through walls and hit the ascendant orb from any angle. I'm feeling good about the patch on the MP side of things.
 

diaspora

Member
I don't think BioWare's open world experiment has failed as much as they ever even made the attempt in the first fucking place. I've put hundreds of hours into Inquisition and Andromeda but the basic game design between these are almost exactly the same as DA:O Awakening and ME1 respectively with one key difference- the zones are larger.

Lets look at other open world games like Watch_Dogs 1/2, Division, Witcher 3, Fallout 3/ NV/ 4, TES, GTA5. The design of Inquisition and Andromeda are closer to that of DA Awakening, and ME1 than any of those games. Those games have one singular large world with roaming NPCs, dynamic day/night cycles, weather, etc. All things the entire DA and ME series lack including Andromeda and Inquisition. These two basically take the zone-based design of their predecessors and just make the zones larger which combined with quests that ask you to hop between zones to fuck up the moment to moment experience of the story and writing.

ME1-3 and DA:O/ Awakening had a tighter narrative specifically because the zones were both smaller and focused on their own internal narrative which in turn was tied to the main story thread of the game. By scaling up significantly the zone sizes in Inquisition and Andromeda they made it more difficult if not outright impossible to actually experience what's IMO a great story when consuming/experiencing it on a moment-to-moment way. It feels like they're trying to make their own open worlds by simply taking the zone-based designs of DA:O/Awakening and make the zones larger which IMO isn't open world, it's the same inherent game design. Hakkon and Crestwood are the two main instances that I can think of that was a really well-done large zone. The Frostback Basin had no quests (IIRC) that took place outside the Basin itself and they were all written to be directly relevant to the main plot and setting of the region.
 
God, people on gaming side act like ME:A is the shittiest game ever made. I know it has problems, but come on, there is also a lot of good in there.
 

prag16

Banned
God, people on gaming side act like ME:A is the shittiest game ever made. I know it has problems, but come on, there is also a lot of good in there.

I grimace every time a new topic is made over there. It always devolves into the same shit. And I still struggle to figure out where the "horrible characters" and "horrible writing" charges comes from. I've said it before but has to be at least in large part caused by rise tinted trilogy goggles. Because otherwise to claim that the trilogy has good characters/writing while ME:A has horrible characters/writing, this does not compute.
 
I grimace every time a new topic is made over there. It always devolves into the same shit. And I still struggle to figure out where the "horrible characters" and "horrible writing" charges comes from. I've said it before but has to be at least in large part caused by rise tinted trilogy goggles. Because otherwise to claim that the trilogy has good characters/writing while ME:A has horrible characters/writing, this does not compute.
Yeah, I especially dislike the "horrible/boring characters" claim. I mean there are some cringy moments for sure, but a significant portion of those interaction are actually pretty fun. Like, how can you not like Peebee after hearing her banter with Drack? Or how can you not appreciate Drack, after doing his loyalty mission. Or the whole poker thing with the group and them trying to beat Gil.

For the most part, ME:A had a very fun crew.
 
God, people on gaming side act like ME:A is the shittiest game ever made. I know it has problems, but come on, there is also a lot of good in there.
Yup.

The same people entering literally every thread that remotely fits and saying the same thing over and over is probably the most annoying thing I have experienced on Gaf in over 10years of following.
Specifically places like the patch thread and doing a "Can't patch characters and story" driveby is obnoxious as hell.
If the game is absolutely irredeemable forever to you, why do you need to go into a thread about fixes in the first place?
 

prag16

Banned
Yup.

The same people entering literally every thread that remotely fits and saying the same thing over and over is probably the most annoying thing I have experienced on Gaf in over 10years of following.
Specifically places like the patch thread and doing a "Can't patch characters and story" driveby is obnoxious as hell.
If the game is absolutely irredeemable forever to you, why do you need to go into a thread about fixes in the first place?
I'm still convinced a lot (obviously not all) of the people shitting on the game claiming to have played it dozens of hours, have actually barely played it.

There's no other way to conclude that the characters for example are drastically worse than the trilogy. Aside from a massive case of rose tinted trilogy goggles, which they also deny up and down.

Oh well. I'll try to ignore such shit posting moving forward.
 

BizzyBum

Member
While I agree the driveby shitposts are annoying (it happens to a lot of games), the original crew are leagues better than Andromeda's, IMO. I guess it's a bit unfair to say considering the OT had 3 games spanning years while Andromeda was 1 game but even after playing just ME1 years ago I felt they were a stronger bunch. The only new members who I like are Drack and Peebee.

The tone of the game threw a lot of people off, too. It was too lighthearted for me and a lot of the jokes just fell flat. Nothing felt serious and the characters always had these awful one liners. The OT had it's comical moments too but it was definitely a much more serious game and felt like the stakes were higher even though Andromeda was in a completely new galaxy with an immediate threat (was was lame and uninspired). First two new species we meet and they are both bi-pedal humanoids? Angara are Twi'leks.. awful uninspired design.
 
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