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The Mass Effect Community Thread

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That is complete bullshit.

Yes, its easy IF YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. If you want to utilize that system you have to talk to your squadmates after each and every mission, do things at the citadel, Omega. All of that takes time and effort. You could just go from mission to mission and not bother with any of that and you will then get that HARD DECISION that all of you are all craving.

I just think a lot of you saying that the P/R dialogue options make the decisions too easy are forgetting that getting those options actually requires a fair bit of work. They're by no means "just given to you" with minimal effort. For me I love the fact that I can get the "best" option by doing what is required to do so.

You don't need much in the way of pre-emptive knowledge; the system's bias towards one sided morality should be pretty obvious by the time Tali's Loyalty Mission becomes available. And even if one did need knowledge before hand, they'd have the entire first Mass Effect to work with(ME2 is more about percentages than it is raw numbers, but the preference toward sticking with one side over the other is consistent in both titles).

But let's assume that the system isn't at all obvious. Then what's the "work" one has to do to succeed in it? Cause it's not like it's about figuring out each situation in order to come to the ideal conclusion. Success and failure is consistently based on a single, binary factor: "has a high enough percentage of Paragon/Renegade" vs. "doesn't have a high enough percentage".
 
You don't need much in the way of pre-emptive knowledge; the system's bias towards one sided morality should be pretty obvious by the time Tali's Loyalty Mission becomes available. And even if one did need knowledge before hand, they'd have the entire first Mass Effect to work with(ME2 is more about percentages than it is raw numbers, but the preference toward sticking with one side over the other is consistent in both titles).

But let's assume that the system isn't at all obvious. Then what's the "work" one has to do to succeed in it? Cause it's not like it's about figuring out each situation in order to come to the ideal conclusion. Success and failure is consistently based on a single, binary factor: "has a high enough percentage of Paragon/Renegade" vs. "doesn't have a high enough percentage".
I asked you this on the previous page. I think you spoke about the paragon/renegade unlocked dialogue options "invalidating" the regular ones, so if I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying it would've made more sense to just have "I don't need proof"/"You're wasting time" as the 2 options and essentially have them there in place of the standard ones if you have enough points to have unlocked one or both of them?
 
My custom characters come sexy and dressed to kill

16898376002_7956609c3d_b.jpg

16712049400_336ff7dd36_b.jpg

16898224102_8333ae5197_b.jpg

16692065317_2a38575d71_b.jpg


round 2 bitch let's go

thats a reference, playing nice I promise

Pffffft. What are you trying to do? Slay the Darkspawn and the Arch Demon or woe them with your character's dreamy eyes and sexy 5-o clock shadow and killer haircut.

This is what I mean! Making your own galactic space hunk
(sans -galactic)
and owning that character creator.

We don't need Vanderloos, we need legions of space hunks to save the day! You just gotta get good with that character creator!
 

SliChillax

Member
Pffffft. What are you trying to do? Slay the Darkspawn and the Arch Demon or woe them with your character's dreamy eyes and sexy 5-o clock shadow and killer haircut.

This is what I mean! Making your own galactic space hunk
(sans -galactic)
and owning that character creator.

We don't need Vanderloos, we need legions of space hunks to save the day! You just gotta get good with that character creator!

I agree but come one, don't blame it on the Vanderloo's if the Mass Effect character creator was utterly shit.
 
I agree but come one, don't blame it on the Vanderloo's if the Mass Effect character creator was utterly shit.

No where near was it utter shit, that's like nex-gen hyperbole. Mass Effect has always had a decent character creator with a good amount of customization. If you think that's bad try GTA Online now that has some limitation. Anyone with the right setting can make a Space-Hunk of the stars just as dreamy! We don't need Vanderleepard to save the galaxy from the Reapers! The best he would do is bring peace with his dreamy eyes!

We need to an action hero space Hunk! Not Vanderloo in tight suit wooing all the enemies with his killer abs!

Just for the record I am being satirical in regards to the space-hunkiness because it is fun to say
 
I asked you this on the previous page. I think you spoke about the paragon/renegade unlocked dialogue options "invalidating" the regular ones, so if I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying it would've made more sense to just have "I don't need proof"/"You're wasting time" as the 2 options and essentially have them there in place of the standard ones if you have enough points to have unlocked one or both of them?

I'm saying an ideal "you win with none of the negative repercussions" choice should either require way more effort, or not exist at all.
 
That is complete bullshit.

Yes, its easy IF YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. If you want to utilize that system you have to talk to your squadmates after each and every mission, do things at the citadel, Omega. All of that takes time and effort. You could just go from mission to mission and not bother with any of that and you will then get that HARD DECISION that all of you are all craving.

I just think a lot of you saying that the P/R dialogue options make the decisions too easy are forgetting that getting those options actually requires a fair bit of work. They're by no means "just given to you" with minimal effort. For me I love the fact that I can get the "best" option by doing what is required to do so.
The suicide mission was good because you have to use the knowledge you gain about your squadmates' history and personality to make decisions. For example, Zaeed was betrayed by his merc group and didn't follow orders, so putting him in charge of the support group is not a good idea.
 
It is bad, dude. But I really don't remember a very good vanilla character creation for comparison. Skyrim with Race Menu or ECE mods is really great, though.
that doesn't really convince me man. i've stated already I like the way my shepard looked, I think he was handsome, I didn't make him to look like me but having his own look helped me to identify with the game in experience, and I think the character creator may've been one of the selling points of the franchise - having the character you created be carried through in 3 different games.
 

DOWN

Banned
that doesn't really convince me man. i've stated already I like the way my shepard looked, I think he was handsome, I didn't make him to look like me but having his own look helped me to identify with the game in experience, and I think the character creator may've been one of the selling points of the franchise - having the character you created be carried through in 3 different games.
No one should be telling BioWare they did a good job with the ME character creator
 
no one is doing a good job of explaining why it is so bad.

It's only good if its objective is to create ugly characters. The hair options are awful, sliders lack variation... just look at the random NPCs, they are all based on the character creation.. they all look bad/unrealistic. If it was good, it would be easier to make characters as interesting as Jack, Kaidan, Liara, default Shepard.. Traynor and Cortez have their faces based on the character creation and they clearly look dull, unreal in comparison with other crew members:

378778772.jpg


OoLNj.png


Now look how Jacob and Jack look more real:

latest


480px-Jack_ME3_boxshot.png




Only in ME3 you have better sliders and with hair mods, you can achieve a good appearance (especially if you go female Shepard):

femshepcurlyhairshep1.png

(With some effort and mods you can juice a very good character like this but this doesn't make the character creation good)
 

Toa TAK

Banned
They need to get some notes from the Fallout creator.

That's the only game where I've come so close for my face to looking like me.
 

DOWN

Banned
They need to get some notes from the Fallout creator.

That's the only game where I've come so close for my face to looking like me.
Nobody needs to take graphical notes from Bethesda
no one is doing a good job of explaining why it is so bad.
How many ways do you need to hear that they are ugly, poorly affected by lighting, misshapen, unattractive, and technologically shallow?

They are low quality models executed in very poor taste, and it shows.
 
It's only good if its objective is to create ugly characters. The hair options are awful, sliders lack variation... just look at the random NPCs, they are all based on the character creation.. they all look bad/unrealistic. If it was good, it would be easier to make characters as interesting as Jack, Kaidan, Liara, default Shepard.. Traynor and Cortez have their faces based on the character creation and they clearly look dull, unreal in comparison with other crew members:

378778772.jpg


OoLNj.png


Now look how Jacob and Jack look more real:

latest


480px-Jack_ME3_boxshot.png




Only in ME3 you have better sliders and with hair mods, you can achieve a good appearance (especially if you go female Shepard):

femshepcurlyhairshep1.png

(With some effort and mods you can juice a very good character like this but this doesn't make the character creation good)
yes, I did notice that and I never thought about that before. So I'll say this - the character creator could've been better, much much better but I still wouldn't say it was straight up bad, even though it was used to make numerous npcs and side characters.

And that's one very good looking shepard. But I game on console though so I'll never be able to create one as good looking as that.

How many ways do you need to hear that they are ugly, poorly affected by lighting, misshapen, unattractive, and technologically shallow?

They are low quality models executed in very poor taste, and it shows.
I get that but how many ways do you need to hear that not everyone was dissatisfied with their results in the character creator? That's all I'm saying here. There weren't good reactions in this thread to my shepard but I personally still liked the way he looked, and that's what matters most anyway. I'm not disputing the rest of what you're saying, though, but the "poor taste" isn't on those who decide to create their own shepard instead of using the default.
 

DOWN

Banned
I get that but how many ways do you need to hear that not everyone was dissatisfied with their results in the character creator? That's all I'm saying here. There weren't good reactions in this thread to my shepard but I personally still liked the way he looked, and that's what matters most anyway. I'm not disputing the rest of what you're saying, though, but the "poor taste" isn't on those who decide to create their own shepard instead of using the default.
I was already aware and did not dispute that some people were somehow satisfied by custom faces, and my heart goes out to those people.
 

DOWN

Banned
I dunno what to tell you, man.
Let's just be thankful that they'll only improve from the rather robust sliders and skin effects of DAI, which allowed characters of similar quality to Vanderloo if you have the technique and eye. The character creator had faults when it came to hair and facial hair, but it certainly was so good they didn't need any scanned preset models for the main character like Mass Effect was saved by.
 
Let's just be thankful that they'll only improve from the rather robust sliders and skin effects of DAI, which allowed characters of similar quality to Vanderloo if you have the technique and eye. The character creator had faults when it came to hair and facial hair, but it certainly was so good they didn't need any scanned preset models for the main character like Mass Effect was saved by.

Yeah that character creator was so damn out there, all those options to create anything. So I made something awful, I just have no idea how to show it on here.

Seriously my knowledge of linking pictures on gaf is awful, so I must go to google and then I shall reveal the abomination!
 

foxtrot3d

Banned
It is bad, dude. But I really don't remember a very good vanilla character creation for comparison. Skyrim with Race Menu or ECE mods is really great, though.

Nope, I disagree. Only because Mass Effect is one of the FEW games where I can actually make a good looking black character. My main Shepard was a beastly looking fuck with actual black people hair. Unfortunately, I had to give my black Inquisitor white people hair because of course we can't ever have more than one black person hairstyle. It's always the same with games with character creators for black hair you get: low fade, HIGH fade, afro, dreads, and maybe cornrows because we know people are still rocking cornrows in 2015. Fuck that shit.

My Shep (modded ME2 version to give him TIM eyes):
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Inquisition's face creator is excellent and I figure ME4 will adopt it completely. That supposed private PAX thing leak from a little while back (that I fully believe was legit) stated Frostbite 3 and their tools allowed them to add a lot more tweaks and diversity among facial structures of humans and aliens. Hopefully the campaign allows us to play as other species.

BioWare's problem is hair. Hair is hard in general, especially when you have to render a lot of characters. But I don't know if it's the engine or their artist, but it almost always looks like complete shit. Bad styles, plastic, excessively shiny, motionless, weird billboarding, etc. UE3 is a shit engine for hair, so I can somewhat forgive them for that, but Inquisition has no excuse.
 

diaspora

Member
Inquisition's face creator is excellent and I figure ME4 will adopt it completely. That supposed private PAX thing leak from a little while back (that I fully believe was legit) stated Frostbite 3 and their tools allowed them to add a lot more tweaks and diversity among facial structures of humans and aliens. Hopefully the campaign allows us to play as other species.

BioWare's problem is hair. Hair is hard in general, especially when you have to render a lot of characters. But I don't know if it's the engine or their artist, but it almost always looks like complete shit. Bad styles, plastic, excessively shiny, motionless, weird billboarding, etc. UE3 is a shit engine for hair, so I can somewhat forgive them for that, but Inquisition has no excuse.

I would accept all of the bolded if it meant we could get more styles.
 

Agremont

Member
I left them on on my renegade.

Going to have to take a screenshot if I can find the save file somewhere.

Right, I took a few screens of my renegade shep. Not the best screens but they'll have to do.




I personally don't think he suffers from the "low quality" feel previously mentioned in this thread, minus perhaps the hair. And he ended up just the way I wanted him to, which was a first for me.
 

prag16

Banned
Are there any rumblings of EA re-releasing the trilogy on xo/ps4?

There were rumblings, including Aaryn Flynn from Bioware actually showing up in this topic to ask people what they'd want in a remaster.

But nothing solid. E3 should give us a good indication (if it's happening, it stands to reason there should be a very high chance it gets announced by then).
 
There were rumblings, including Aaryn Flynn from Bioware actually showing up in this topic to ask people what they'd want in a remaster.

But nothing solid. E3 should give us a good indication (if it's happening, it stands to reason there should be a very high chance it gets announced by then).
I agree. If we don't hear anything by E3, then I'm not sure it's happening any time soon.
 
BioWare's problem is hair. Hair is hard in general, especially when you have to render a lot of characters. But I don't know if it's the engine or their artist, but it almost always looks like complete shit. Bad styles, plastic, excessively shiny, motionless, weird billboarding, etc. UE3 is a shit engine for hair, so I can somewhat forgive them for that, but Inquisition has no excuse.
I don't understand how a company like BioWare or Bethesda can't make decent hair but mod groups from The Sims like PeggyHair can.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
I don't understand how a company like BioWare or Bethesda can't make decent hair but mod groups from The Sims like PeggyHair can.

The Sims is also a drastically different type of game. Complex hair can require a significant amount of processing power that might be needed for things like shooting.
 

prag16

Banned
If we don't hear about it at E3 I will move my opinion of "definitely coming" to "maybe, maybe not"

If these 2017 negative nancy guys (you know who you are, you bastards!!!) turn out to be correct, in retrospect, no E3 2015 showing for a remastered trilogy might not mean as much. Hell, even with Q3/4 2016 release for ME4, a scenario in which they reveal a remaster on N7 day then launch it Q1 2016 isn't inconceivable.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
If these 2017 negative nancy guys (you know who you are, you bastards!!!) turn out to be correct, in retrospect, no E3 2015 showing for a remastered trilogy might not mean as much. Hell, even with Q3/4 2016 release for ME4, a scenario in which they reveal a remaster on N7 day then launch it Q1 2016 isn't inconceivable.

I don't consider 2017 to be a bad thing though. Nothing would be more tragic than having ME4 end up being the rushed mess that ME3 was.
 
It's practically a Bioware company mandate for each employee to release teasing tweets every month of the latest build. To me that's an indicator of no later than 2016. I stand by next Nov.7 2016 release.
 
I'm saying an ideal "you win with none of the negative repercussions" choice should either require way more effort, or not exist at all.
didn't you also say that such a choice also invalidates the regular choices that were there available before? if it wasn't you i'm sorry, I was mistaken & thinking of someone else who said that
 

diaspora

Member
I'm saying an ideal "you win with none of the negative repercussions" choice should either require way more effort, or not exist at all.

It would be better if they took a cue from DA:I's choice about
The Wardens. You can either keep them and almost wipe them out in deployments or exile them and doom southern Orlais to the Darkspawn.
But either way in this case, there is no "good" or perfect choice.
 

wolfhowwl

Banned
didn't you also say that such a choice also invalidates the regular choices that were there available before? if it wasn't you i'm sorry, I was mistaken & thinking of someone else who said that

The regular Paragon/Renegade choices are invalidated because the Persuasion option is so much better.

In the case of Tali's trial instead of having a dilemma where the player has to choose between two mixed choices, you end up with a scenario where there is one perfect option and two relative failures. There is no longer any reason to choose those unless you're deliberately sabotaging your playthrough.
 
The regular Paragon/Renegade choices are invalidated because the Persuasion option is so much better.

In the case of Tali's trial instead of having a dilemma where the player has to choose between two mixed choices, you end up with a scenario where there is one perfect option and two relative failures. There is no longer any reason to choose those unless you're deliberately sabotaging your playthrough.
so would it have made more sense to replace the regular options with unlocked the paragon/renegade options if the player reached them?

instead of still leaving them available along with the unlocked ones that is
 

Zolo

Member
The regular Paragon/Renegade choices are invalidated because the Persuasion option is so much better.

In the case of Tali's trial instead of having a dilemma where the player has to choose between two mixed choices, you end up with a scenario where there is one perfect option and two relative failures. There is no longer any reason to choose those unless you're deliberately sabotaging your playthrough.

You just have to remember: What would Phoenix Wright do?
 
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