Poodlestrike
Banned
Holy shit I was in the top 19% on the multiplayer rankings, lol. Didn't expect that.
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The Mass Effect Community Thread
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
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DeadlyParasite
Member
Yeah reading those stats was an eye opener, top 8% with 64 straight hours of multiplayer gametime. It's crazy knowing there are people out there I played with that had N7 ratings 3 or 4 times larger than mine.
Also can I just say how utterly great it is that I can play these games with a controller again. Since leaving my 360 behind years ago I've been stuck playing this series on potato PC controls. Playing with a controller without the need to reach for keybindings all the time is making my day.
Blue Ninja
Member
I was in the top 9, lol.
I need to see how ME3 runs on Xbone, I could totally go for some more MP.
DeadlyParasite
Member
I played a match of MP. It definitely looks and feels like a 360 game (less detail, 30 FPS) but it seems to perform quite well. No massive framerate drops or other issues.
Dandy Lyin
Member
I know that the Andromeda Initiative supposedly has nothing to do with avoiding the Reapers... but I kinda feel like it still does.
Maybe originally it was all about exploration, but then someone in charge found out about the possible impending extinction of all advanced life in the galaxy and that's why the mission launched when it did. Maybe the Ryder secret they've referred to is that Papa knew about the Reapers and that's why he insisted his family be part of the mission.
Maybe originally it was all about exploration, but then someone in charge found out about the possible impending extinction of all advanced life in the galaxy and that's why the mission launched when it did. Maybe the Ryder secret they've referred to is that Papa knew about the Reapers and that's why he insisted his family be part of the mission.
The Artisan
Member
I wasn't super blown away by the trailer tbh
didn't get to see the whole andromeda initiative thing yet but I really am wondering if Me2 will have been the only game in the series I truly enjoyed and the series itself not really one for me to embrace.
didn't get to see the whole andromeda initiative thing yet but I really am wondering if Me2 will have been the only game in the series I truly enjoyed and the series itself not really one for me to embrace.
Yeah. It feels weird for it to have *nothing* to do with the reaper threat even if it was advanced a lot quicker due to learning about the reapers.
Poodlestrike
Banned
I was totally certain that this was the case, but from the writeup of the Game Informer article, it seems like it was totally disconnected. Unless they're keeping that close to their chest, idk.
Poodlestrike
Banned
It's just surreally fortuitous timing, you know? Just before a race of machines hellbent on the destruction of civilization hits the milky way, the Council funds a mission to send people to Andromeda in a series of Arks, but that's just a coincidence?
The timespan from finding relays to the reapers entering the scene is really thin. Like... 20 years or something no?
DevilDog
Member
It's almost as If someone is trying to avoid something.
As for the trailer:
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"welcome back" sounds like it's being spoken by an AI or VI
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the quotes from Alec Ryder in the trailer of peace being shattered and seeing him seemingly detonating bombs and throwing people off ledges in previous trailers makes me think he's gone rogue doing shit with remnants tech and fucking with the khet
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going rogue is why Scott/Sarah Ryder become the next pathfinder
BrassDragon
Member
I see no way that the Andromeda Initiative will ever hold up to scrutiny from a continuity and plot logic perspective.
There'll be some fluff to help us suspend disbelief but real talk: it's all hand-waving to quietly reboot the whole franchise and get away from ME3's ending.
It's not elegant or smart but I'll live with it for the sake of a clean slate and a new adventure without baggage.
DevilDog
Member
Thank you for keeping it real, I feel so alone in this thread sometimes.
Andromeda is a soft reboot, the only way they can go after the corner they wrote themselves in ME3. It feels so weird seeing others trying to pretend so hard that the continuity is fine and logical.
I don't get how people have a problem with the reason. This isn't necessarily even in the top 10 initiatives going on the galaxy, it's seemingly solely driven by a visionary rich person with existing tech that isn't being used due to mass relays being easily available, and the galaxy is big enough for exploratory missions to happen without everyone being aware or giving a shit.
People's disbelief in this stretches credulity more than an entrepreneur funding a one-way space mission.
Because it is fine and logical.
People's disbelief in this stretches credulity more than an entrepreneur funding a one-way space mission.
Because it is fine and logical.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Naw, longer than that. Humanity found the Charon relay in 2149, but Asari had been using the relays since around 600 BCE. For reference, ME1 was in 2183, and the First Contact war was in 2157. Not sure when Sovereign was supposed to trigger the Cycle, but I doubt it was just 20 years after the relays were first used, they'd want to wait until the various sentient species had been thoroughly introduced to the system.
You'd think so, but again, GI article says otherwise. Apparently.
Yeah, the timing is surreal, but the cover story makes sense to me. Somebody wanted to see what was going on in Andromeda, and managed to round up enough like-minded individuals and funders to make it happen.
DevilDog
Member
No it isn't. Good writing can't exist if you throw in whatever plot device you want. It takes care, time and detail to make all these new elements exist inside that universe and feel connected and realistic.
Who are these rich people? How did they get rich? Are they responsible for creating other tech in the ME universe? How did they acquire these top engineers? Where were they during the construction of the Crucible? How is everyone ok with sharing top technological secrets with the human race who is being bullied by most races?
How did these insanely rich people acquire such idealistic natures? How are Quarians and Krogans going to pay for such a massive project? What do their people have to say about this?
Why haven't we heard anything about this in ME1-2? The promotional material makes it sound like it's the next frontier. Does noone care about it? Why wasn't this technology used in the miliary, which is what happens with every technological advancement ever realistically?
And these questions are nothing, they barely scratch the surface of things that would have to be accounted for to make this sound believable.
Right now, the Ark feels like another Cerberus scenario. Organizations popping out of nowhere, with infinite amounts of money that have insane technology that noone has ever seen before.
I'm sorry but it's too damn obvious that Bioware is trying to run as far as they can.
That's fine, they messed up, they want a do-over. Do it, rip the band-aid fast and move on.
This franchise needs more GRR Martin and less Marvel.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Poodlestrike
Banned
Shit, I had to use two sentences on one of those. I yield, DevilDog, this game's plot is unsalvageable.
Nostremitus
Member
I can assure you that there are people right now in the real world in war torn areas who have never heard of Space X plans for a Mars colonization fleet. Hell, there are probably people on this forum. Is it so hard to believe that people in the Mass Effect universe would mirror real life? Most of the things happening in Mass Effect 1 and 2 were essentially black ops. The general public wouldn't know many details, if anything at all. Likewise, the Pathfinder Initiative would have been need to know as well.
Shepard's team didn't need to know. They needed to believe that they needed to succeed or civilization would be lost.
Just because you(Shepard) didn't know about it, doesn't mean it wasn't happening.
Shepard's team didn't need to know. They needed to believe that they needed to succeed or civilization would be lost.
Just because you(Shepard) didn't know about it, doesn't mean it wasn't happening.
prag16
Banned
Because it IS fine and logical. There is an insane amount of nitpicking going on here. Sure it's somewhat convenient. But the suspension of disbelief needed is very mild.
DeadlyParasite
Member
Well N7 day's a wrap.
Can't please everyone I suppose but I'm really happy with the information we got, regardless of the contents of the trailer. Lots of positive details from game informer, the devs, shinobi, and their website.
The next big thing I hope to hear about in great detail is the final selection of squadmates. We know we've got a Human male and an Asari at least, and possibly a Salarian based on the trailer.
Can't please everyone I suppose but I'm really happy with the information we got, regardless of the contents of the trailer. Lots of positive details from game informer, the devs, shinobi, and their website.
The next big thing I hope to hear about in great detail is the final selection of squadmates. We know we've got a Human male and an Asari at least, and possibly a Salarian based on the trailer.
We're 600 years into the future though.
How many years does it take for light from Milky Way to reach Andromeda
Poodlestrike
Banned
Which (assuming the effect stopped expanding at FTL after it went through the relay network) is STILL 2.5 million years too early.
xplicitone
Member
What are the essential mods to play the trilogy on PC? I can't wait for the remaster that doesn't seem to be happening anymore.
I got it on Origin, if that matters.
I got it on Origin, if that matters.
How many years does it take for light from Milky Way to reach Andromeda
Andromeda is 2,538,000 light years away.
If you could travel at the speed of light (which you can't) it would take 2.54 million years to get there lol.
shinobi602
Member
I never meant to "shut" anything down, just that as of now, that's what it's set for. A delay is always possible but as of literally a few days ago from some conversations I had, it's well on track and the game's done but it's massive so a lot of polish is needed to get it up to that level of commercial release.
That's a lot of sequels.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
Well this is looking mother frakkin' magnificent I must say.
After initial reservations about the 2185 launch date of the expedition (Nexus first, then ARK ships), which puts it at the start of ME2, I've thought about this a great deal and think this makes the most sense in terms of an exploratory/discovery mission; which perhaps was expedited due to outside forces/a decision from the top of AI (Post Sovereign attack, the Milky Way was feeling less stable/safe).
I first thought it would make far more sense to be running from the Reapers, but that would change the tone of the expedition greatly: this way, we are leaving in our prime (after just defeating a Reaper no less) to search and explore and hopefully find rich resources to eventually (somehow) make a pipeline to the Milky Way to enhance humanity there as well. Any QEC devices onboard probably lost their point of contact in the Milky Way due to the Reaper War and just the flow of time one would think: so this full isolation makes sense in terms of lore.
It's also exciting to think where humanity is at at this point in the Milky Way, makes you think they could possibly end the games/series with the Milky way humans re-connecting with their Andromeda cousins due to some new technological advancement developed over the 600 years they were gone, possibly reverse engineered from defeated Reaper tech or Leviathan blueprints.
One must get their head canon straight before heading out on an expedition, no?
After initial reservations about the 2185 launch date of the expedition (Nexus first, then ARK ships), which puts it at the start of ME2, I've thought about this a great deal and think this makes the most sense in terms of an exploratory/discovery mission; which perhaps was expedited due to outside forces/a decision from the top of AI (Post Sovereign attack, the Milky Way was feeling less stable/safe).
I first thought it would make far more sense to be running from the Reapers, but that would change the tone of the expedition greatly: this way, we are leaving in our prime (after just defeating a Reaper no less) to search and explore and hopefully find rich resources to eventually (somehow) make a pipeline to the Milky Way to enhance humanity there as well. Any QEC devices onboard probably lost their point of contact in the Milky Way due to the Reaper War and just the flow of time one would think: so this full isolation makes sense in terms of lore.
It's also exciting to think where humanity is at at this point in the Milky Way, makes you think they could possibly end the games/series with the Milky way humans re-connecting with their Andromeda cousins due to some new technological advancement developed over the 600 years they were gone, possibly reverse engineered from defeated Reaper tech or Leviathan blueprints.
One must get their head canon straight before heading out on an expedition, no?
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Great fucking times.
Melchiah
Member
Agreed. Hopefully the new multiplayer will be at least as good.
I'm surprised, that your average match time seems to be far lower than mine.
My only worry about the multiplayer is the prestige system granting additional stats. In dragon age it meant the game was balanced around having a certain amount of promotions, which turned it into a huge, huge grind (each promotion was a tiny increase, but a hundred of them really added up).
Also, the fact their are Krogan present is dumb, lorewise. At the time of sending they are a race that is dying out, and viewed with disdain and suspicion by the rest of the galaxy. No-ones going to spare space on an unbelievably expensive, one shot arc to another galaxy just to take them along - and when they get there they will die out at some point anyways.
(I mean, the reason for sending the arcs in the first place is silly - we know there are millions of u explored worlds left in the galaxy as is, why would you go to another galaxy at all that expense and cost if you didn't think the reapers were coming?)
Also, the fact their are Krogan present is dumb, lorewise. At the time of sending they are a race that is dying out, and viewed with disdain and suspicion by the rest of the galaxy. No-ones going to spare space on an unbelievably expensive, one shot arc to another galaxy just to take them along - and when they get there they will die out at some point anyways.
(I mean, the reason for sending the arcs in the first place is silly - we know there are millions of u explored worlds left in the galaxy as is, why would you go to another galaxy at all that expense and cost if you didn't think the reapers were coming?)
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
I don't think it's confirmed anywhere that a whole ARK is going to be Krogan, there is definitely a colony ship that goes missing at some stage in the game...but I think that's a different thing (like a Tempest or something perhaps).
If there's only 4 ARKs then 1 whole one would never be Krogan IMO.
BrassDragon
Member
Cinematic trailer didn't really engage or inspire me at all. I expected a much stronger emphasis on story beats and characters. This would have been the moment to sell the new protagonist, setting and show how this pivots away from the Shepard trilogy.
Instead it's just action and urgency without context or investment.
The small glimpses of the antagonists aren't promising either; heavy voice modulation, demonic appearance and leviathan machines... it's not exactly subtle, is it? I thought exploring themes of colonisation and natives versus newcomers would give us a little more nuance than a race that, at the moment, looks cartoonishly evil. Hopefully that's intentional and they're more interesting once you explore their culture like, say, the Gargoyles in Ultima VI.
'We're the aliens' sounds like a piece of dialogue that fits comfortably with 'We fight or we die, that's the plan' - a cool one-liner that makes little sense when you think about it.
I'm glad they followed it up with the orientation video which is obviously geared towards the more hardcore fans. Best part is the roadmap of information releases.
The Game Informer article does suggest it's all on the right track and damn if it does't look pretty and visually interesting (with a more cohesive art direction than Dragon Age imo.)
Still, every promotional milestone we've hit over the years seems to be teasing the next reveal instead of showing us why this game matters beyond the brand name. I'm not asking for complete disclosure but was certainly expecting more story information for N7 day.
Instead it's just action and urgency without context or investment.
The small glimpses of the antagonists aren't promising either; heavy voice modulation, demonic appearance and leviathan machines... it's not exactly subtle, is it? I thought exploring themes of colonisation and natives versus newcomers would give us a little more nuance than a race that, at the moment, looks cartoonishly evil. Hopefully that's intentional and they're more interesting once you explore their culture like, say, the Gargoyles in Ultima VI.
'We're the aliens' sounds like a piece of dialogue that fits comfortably with 'We fight or we die, that's the plan' - a cool one-liner that makes little sense when you think about it.
I'm glad they followed it up with the orientation video which is obviously geared towards the more hardcore fans. Best part is the roadmap of information releases.
The Game Informer article does suggest it's all on the right track and damn if it does't look pretty and visually interesting (with a more cohesive art direction than Dragon Age imo.)
Still, every promotional milestone we've hit over the years seems to be teasing the next reveal instead of showing us why this game matters beyond the brand name. I'm not asking for complete disclosure but was certainly expecting more story information for N7 day.
DevilDog
Member
The stupid amount of detail that the writer had to put into Mass Effect was one of the many things that made it so great. If you want to create such a vast and detailed unuiverse you have to put in an insane amount of thought, one that you consider useless nitpicking, and that I consider mandatory.
I mean what are you going to say to Tolkien (RIP) and GRR MARTIN when you meet them? Dude y u so nitpicky?
I said that my questions are nothing in the scale of things, and I appreciate taking the time to answer them, but we'd better argue about the specific reasons numerically after they come out. (That, and I'm bored ツ )
Although, I have to say, rich people do it cause of boredom? I mean, come on, if you were a rich person or a scientist there is no reason to be bored in a galaxy filled with so many technological wonders you don't understand and so many investment opportunities, even with other species. We're controlling space-time here.
Hey, we have a life outside of black ops and we visited the Citadel regularly. Not even a single ad about it man. They way Bioware made it sound, it seemed like this was a pretty huge deal. Like going to the moon for the first time kind of deal.
If you're funding a project this big, it means you're like the Space Bill Gates, How did you get this rich? Did you invent the space IBM? If you're that rich, it means you had an impact in the world. What was that impact?
DeadlyParasite
Member
You guys really went ham with ME3 multi. Puts me to shame. I'm afraid to look at the playtime for people in the top 1%.
BrassDragon
Member
Even if trillions of Galactic citizens are in the dark about the project, we all played through several games involving the Galaxy's biggest movers and shakers with no awareness this initiative was underway.
Hell, we discussed the end of civilisation with the frigging Shadow Broker and even as the most informed person around, her best contingency plan was salting the Milky Way with time capsules instead of getting a record to the Andromeda colony. Again, some authorial hand-waving is a-ok if we get a wonderful new setting out of it but saying it's all perfectly and seamlessly integrated into the original world building is a stretch.
Hell, we discussed the end of civilisation with the frigging Shadow Broker and even as the most informed person around, her best contingency plan was salting the Milky Way with time capsules instead of getting a record to the Andromeda colony. Again, some authorial hand-waving is a-ok if we get a wonderful new setting out of it but saying it's all perfectly and seamlessly integrated into the original world building is a stretch.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
I guess when you're considering the time capsule ending, those are for the Andromeda people should they ever make it back to the MW galaxy.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Mass Effect was born out of inconsistencies, and I say this as someone who is also needlessly pedantic about certain inconsistencies. The whole hook of Mass Effect and the associated timeline makes no sense. Humans are far too widespread with massive established colonies, with far too greater population, resources, and funding, to be plausible within the canonical timeline of discovering the relays, encountering extraterrestrials, establishing colonies, and the beginning of the first game. It's a ludicrous, implausible amount of progress over an extremely short period of time.
And that's ignoring all the other silly shit, notably Cerberus and their magical space bucks. Honestly that could be applied to a lot of the species; actual economics and progress of colonies/construction/fleets/space is never properly considered or mapped out.
So yeah. While the Andromeda Initiative lacks a lot of plausibility from external logic, I don't really see it at odds with the series established internal logic. That being a lack thereof.
And that's ignoring all the other silly shit, notably Cerberus and their magical space bucks. Honestly that could be applied to a lot of the species; actual economics and progress of colonies/construction/fleets/space is never properly considered or mapped out.
So yeah. While the Andromeda Initiative lacks a lot of plausibility from external logic, I don't really see it at odds with the series established internal logic. That being a lack thereof.
BrassDragon
Member
This sums up my thoughts; now having said that, I hope the reboot of the setting provides a better foundation for consistency in world building.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
My internal head canon is full steam ahead with Andromeda Initiative Logic
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