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[SerAardvark]

I do wish the romance arcs were a bit more complicated though, and if it were me writing them I'd make some characters just totally unwilling to commit to a relationship even if you've slept with them. Character writing in interactive games, especially RPGs, is always at its strongest to me when the NPCs don't exist entirely to serve the player. Romance in games unfortunately is so much that; you basically get to pick from your harem who you want and if you click the right dialogue you're guaranteed to get them.

Add in some heartbreak with a dash of tragedy. Don't always give the player exactly what they want. Get them dumped. Have them chase dead ends. Imbue characters with the illusion of autonomy and individuality.

It'd be nice if player choices/decisions impacted the relationships more, too. If you're going to play Ryder (or Shepard or whoever) as a sociopathic murdering asshole, then it stands to reason that a lot of the companions probably aren't going to like that, for example, and so might reject the player character (or break up with them if already in a romance). I'd like to see that kind of "feedback" from characters to - as you put it - at least give the illusion of autonomy and individuality rather than making it feel like Bioware's just interested in pleasing fans by letting them do whatever they want *and* romance/have sex with whatever characters they want regardless of plot logic or characterization.

 

[Luxorek]

Not sure I understand what's creepy about liking sex.

He didn't mean the sex itself, just the fandom that tends to focus on shipping and creating pornified art. I still remember those threads on BSN dedicated to squadmates you could romance that would go on FOREVER and attract some individuals waaaay too caught up in that weirdness.

 

[shinobi602]

There's nothing wrong with liking sex, I think it's more what EatChildren said about shipping culture or like I mentioned earlier how people abuse devs when they don't write a romance to their specifications. I see so many instances of people planning to romance a character before they even know anything about the character and once they find out they can't romance them, the abuse starts. Tbh if you plan your entire romance before you get your hands on the game you deserve to be disappointed, but that's an issue I see more on Tumblr (or on BSN, but that's not officially around anymore).

Regarding romances, I guess according to devs there will be flings/people not interested in anything other than hooking up so that should satisfy some people's play style. And yeah, DA:I had some weird romance moments, though I never romanced anyone other than Solas and just watched the others in YouTube videos. Solas's romance was so good and you do get dumped and you have no choice. There isn't a sex scene but the romance is so strong that you don't need it. If they write more romances that way, that'd be great. It was an improvement in terms of complexity of emotions.

I agree and I wasn't speaking in that regard. My comment was regarding Patyrn's post that being interested in the series' romantic relationships is "creepy" and that doing away with them altogether would be nice, which sounds wholly over the top to me.

He didn't mean the sex itself, just the fandom that tends to focus on shipping and creating pornified art. I still remember those threads on BSN dedicated to squadmates you could romance that would go on FOREVER and attract some individuals waaaay too caught up in that weirdness.

If that's what he meant, it just wasn't worded right then I guess. I agree that stuff's wacky, but just being interested in those romances in game is not creepy at all.

 

[DeadlyParasite]

I see people are already blowing my post and the topic out of proportion.

It's all in good natured fun and if you can't possibly handle the topic or the devs talking about such a miniscule (also optional) portion of the game then I'd think there are greater personal concerns going on than that.

The medium is (seemingly) maturing and these things will begin to appear more and more (The Witcher 2 and 3) and if your counter-argument is that it's creepy and your example is some weirdos post on a non-existent BSN board I think your argument is more flimsy than a sheet of paper.

 

[Yeul]

I agree and I wasn't speaking in that regard. My comment was regarding Patyrn's post that being interested in the series' romantic relationships is "creepy" and that doing away with them altogether would be nice, which sounds wholly over the top to me.


If that's what he meant, it just wasn't worded right then I guess. I agree that stuff's wacky, but just being interested in those romances in game is not creepy at all.

Yeah no worries I understood where you were coming from! I don't think they should be removed as well, it's part of the DNA of those games and the hits lands more often than any misses.

 

[Luxorek]

The medium is (seemingly) maturing and these things will begin to appear more and more (The Witcher 2 and 3) and if your counter-argument is that it's creepy and your example is some weirdos post on a non-existent BSN board I think your argument is more flimsy than a sheet of paper.

Relax, pal. I never said anything about liking the presentation of sex in ME games being creepy [though it can be]. Just shared my understanding of someone's statement.

Also, BSN might not be around anymore, but the people that frequented it sure are. They are part of Tumblr, Devianart, Twitter, Reddit, probably Neogaf - they will continue to discuss the things that interest them the most, often the romance and characters involved.

 

[Patryn]

I agree and I wasn't speaking in that regard. My comment was regarding Patyrn's post that being interested in the series' romantic relationships is "creepy" and that doing away with them altogether would be nice, which sounds wholly over the top to me.

Shinobi, you're great, but you're putting words in my mouth.

I did not say "romantic relationships."

I said "sex and nudity", which is most definitely not the same thing.

I have absolutely zero problem with romantic stuff (although, yeah, some fans overly focus on them...). I'm just less than fond of the push towards more graphic sex and nudity.

If they were going to do a sex scene, I'd prefer something a bit more stylized like the Liara scenes in ME1. But I'd also be perfectly happy with just something like a fade to black, I can figure out what happened.

Call me a prude, but the scenes mostly just come off as awkward to me.

 

[Nostremitus]

He didn't mean the sex itself, just the fandom that tends to focus on shipping and creating pornified art. I still remember those threads on BSN dedicated to squadmates you could romance that would go on FOREVER and attract some individuals waaaay too caught up in that weirdness.

Did you even read the article? It wasn't serious at all. It was making fun of that fandom.

 

[DevilDog]

Only high schoolers like sex. Got it.

?????

Did you even read the article? It wasn't serious at all. It was making fun of that fandom.

Good Lord the clickbait bullshit online.

 

[shinobi602]

Shinobi, you're great, but you're putting words in my mouth.

I did not say "romantic relationships."

I said "sex and nudity", which is most definitely not the same thing.

I have absolutely zero problem with romantic stuff (although, yeah, some fans overly focus on them...). I'm just less than fond of the push towards more graphic sex and nudity.

If they were going to do a sex scene, I'd prefer something a bit more stylized like the Liara scenes in ME1. But I'd also be perfectly happy with just something like a fade to black, I can figure out what happened.

Call me a prude, but the scenes mostly just come off as awkward to me.

Seems kind of prudish but I don't mean to sound mean by that, I can respect your position

I still feel that thinking someone being fond of the sex scenes is creepy is unwarranted though.

 

[EatChildren]

Ship-wide announcement. "Everyone please form an orderly line to the Captain's quarters."

*only just awoke from hypersleep*

It'd be nice if player choices/decisions impacted the relationships more, too. If you're going to play Ryder (or Shepard or whoever) as a sociopathic murdering asshole, then it stands to reason that a lot of the companions probably aren't going to like that, for example, and so might reject the player character (or break up with them if already in a romance). I'd like to see that kind of "feedback" from characters to - as you put it - at least give the illusion of autonomy and individuality rather than making it feel like Bioware's just interested in pleasing fans by letting them do whatever they want *and* romance/have sex with whatever characters they want regardless of plot logic or characterization.

Yeah, exactly. And I imagine it's an extremely difficult and labour intensive thing to plan; tracking multiple facets of artificial decision making and having NPCs respond in a believable way, under the production limitations of having to make sure all lines are written and acted.

But that's the kind of stuff I look for and admire. Interactive mediums, especially narrative driven RPGs, are interesting in that respect. On one hand you want to give the player a high degree of autonomy in their actions so they feel they're shaping their own journey and protagonist, yet on the other a video game will ultimately have all content built to pander to the player to some degree. I'm sure it's very difficult to balance, but I admire RPGs that don't just make you feel like you're in control of you, but the world around you exists as an independent, autonomous agent. I like it when the decisions you make don't always have the predictable, desirable results. I like it when characters have believable personalities that seem to exist beyond the realm of giving you want you want, when you want it. And so in the case of romance characters that maybe don't play nice with your feelings and don't treat you the way you expected would be great.

 

[Freezasaurus]

If they were going to do a sex scene, I'd prefer something a bit more stylized like the Liara scenes in ME1. But I'd also be perfectly happy with just something like a fade to black, I can figure out what happened.

I think the ME1 sex scenes were the most tasteful of the series so far. But Bioware really went in the other direction in the sequels after Fox News had a fucking fit over the scenes from the first game.

 

[Nostremitus]

?????


Good Lord the clickbait bullshit online.

pointandclickbait.com

 

[EatChildren]

And to backtrack a bit, that's another point to Vega's credit: despite the focus tested impression of him being a hulky macho meathead, he isn't available for romance options. He flirts, but he's not interested.

Not until a drunken fling on Citadel. But, you know, even Javik is available for that.

 

[Mindlog]

Is it going to come as a shock to anyone that the Quarian sweat thing was a troll?

 

[Big Nikus]

Shinobi, you're great, but you're putting words in my mouth.

I did not say "romantic relationships."

I said "sex and nudity", which is most definitely not the same thing.

I have absolutely zero problem with romantic stuff (although, yeah, some fans overly focus on them...). I'm just less than fond of the push towards more graphic sex and nudity.

If they were going to do a sex scene, I'd prefer something a bit more stylized like the Liara scenes in ME1. But I'd also be perfectly happy with just something like a fade to black, I can figure out what happened.

Call me a prude, but the scenes mostly just come off as awkward to me.

I understand what you mean. I like the romance stuff but sex scenes in videogames reeaallly suffer from bad animation, and they're never not awkward. Like, you can't animate sheets with the engine they use. Actually I've never seen a character in a 3D videogame sleeping under the sheets. They're always on top of the bed, fully dressed. And the way they move or kiss is so unnatural, sometimes I'd also prefer a fade to black. That's also why I liked the romance scene with Liara in ME1, it was a good alternative.
They should go full CG if they want to make good sex scenes. In engine is just weird most of the time.

 

[Yeul]

Is it going to come as a shock to anyone that the Quarian sweat thing was a troll?

Ummm, excuse me are you suggesting that peer-reviewed science was fake? I mean, look at that chemistry, it's full-proof.

 

[DevilDog]

pointandclickbait.com

lol

 

[EatChildren]

Do Asari sweat like humans given the similar physiology? Human sweat tends to have a distinct odor. Do you think Asari get sweat build-up in their head tendrils? There's a lot of crevices and folds. Maybe Asari heads always smell kinda sweaty.

 

[Dany]

I would rather see gameplay of the menu system than the game.

Maybe I'm cray

 

[Nostremitus]

Do Asari sweat like humans given the similar physiology? Human sweat tends to have a distinct odor. Do you think Asari get sweat build-up in their head tendrils? There's a lot of crevices and folds. Maybe Asari heads always smell kinda sweaty.

Or do the tendrils have some form of oily or slimy lubricant? They are squid-like according to that one Cerberus cook...

 

[Yeul]

Do Asari sweat like humans given the similar physiology? Human sweat tends to have a distinct odor. Do you think Asari get sweat build-up in their head tendrils? There's a lot of crevices and folds. Maybe Asari heads always smell kinda sweaty.

"Crevices and folds" makes me think of those shar-pei dogs, so probably like that. Ah there's the catch, the ultimate babe race but they smell like dog. Gotcha!

 

[diaspora]

Do Asari sweat like humans given the similar physiology? Human sweat tends to have a distinct odor. Do you think Asari get sweat build-up in their head tendrils? There's a lot of crevices and folds. Maybe Asari heads always smell kinda sweaty.

asking the hard questions

 

[Big Nikus]

I want to date an AI.
Don't care for organics.

 

[Officer.Sanchez]

I want to date an AI.
Don't care for organics.

 

[Bombless]

How about an Omniblade?

Spoiler

60$

 

[Yeul]

I want to date an AI.
Don't care for organics.

Hey yeah lemme date SAM.

 

[Luxorek]

Did you even read the article? It wasn't serious at all. It was making fun of that fandom.

whatthehellareyoutalkingaboutJimCarrey.gif

I didn't post that article, didn't mention it, haven't had it in mind at all.

 

[IKizzLE]

Any word on the multiplayer beta?
The game comes out soon...not sure how much feedback they can realistically incorporate.

 

[DeadlyParasite]

Supposedly information on it before the end of the month according to one of the devs on twitter.

Speaking of multiplayer though I ventured online for a match and made the fatal mistake at looking at the leaderboards. Somehow if I wanted top spot in Canada I'd have to beat someone with an N7 rating of 67,000. That's both equally depressing and amazing. The sheer amount of hours that'd require...

 

[Bombless]

I stopped shy of 410 hours...and I consoder that to be A LOT of game time.

Spending that long in the new mp would be great.

 

[diaspora]

Still pissed the multiplayer beta isn't being offered on PC.

 

[EatChildren]

I have such fond memories of the open Mass Effect 3 multiplayer demo, and being overwhelmingly surprised at how good it was. Firebase Ghost, maining that Infiltrator. Such good times.

The added mobility and open zones of Andromeda will definitely impact the multiplayer. I just hope they haven't doubled down on the bigger-is-better premise. The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer worked due to its refined elegance and simplicity. I just hope it retains a similarly addictive appeal.

Man, I have so many positive memories associated with Mass Effect 3's multiplayer. It's legitimately one of my favourite of all time. Nailing a good squad that knew how to play, stayed together, revived, etc. So rewarding, intense, and so much fun.

 

[Bisnic]

Still pissed the multiplayer beta isn't being offered on PC.

Yeah, I hope this isn't a sign that the PC version will be less supported/optimized than the console versions. I don't want a repeat of the past trilogy. ME2 was the worst offender with its long loading times(that a simple mod could fix by removing the animated loading screens), or even no mouse wheel in the menus or no keybinds for accessing the sub menus(also in ME3). And obviously no controller support, but we already know they fixed that at least.

 

[diaspora]

Yeah, I hope this isn't a sign that the PC version will be less supported/optimized than the console versions. I don't want a repeat of the past trilogy. ME2 was the worst offender with its long loading times(that a simple mod could fix by removing the animated loading screens), or even no mouse wheel in the menus or no keybinds for accessing the sub menus(also in ME3). And obviously no controller support, but we already know they fixed that at least.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was just to avoid people data mining it before the game itself drops.

 

[Salz01]

Any news yet how robust character creation is and how customizable the the characters are? Like finding different armor sets etc....

 

[EatChildren]

Any news yet how robust character creation is and how customizable the the characters are? Like finding different armor sets etc....

Individual armour slots for helmet/chest/legs/arms. Armour ranked Roman numerically like the first game. Craftable pieces.

 

[Bisnic]

I'm really curious to see how the character creator is like.
To be honest, I'm surprised we STILL haven't seen that. i'm sure they'll show it next month, but still...

 

[SliChillax]

However good the character creation is, it will never be able to produce a better and more realistic face than the default ones which are created in high detail. I never liked making custom faces.

 

[DevilDog]

However good the character creation is, it will never be able to produce a better and more realistic face than the default ones which are created in high detail. I never liked making custom faces.

The lazarus project ran out of budget.

 

[Patryn]

While, yeah, a custom face will never look as "right" as the default face, I far prefer having a unique face that I made than going with the default.

The only Bioware game that I ever went default was Dragon Age 2, and that was just because the faces I wanted to make did not look at ALL like they fit in that family.

I just want more than 1 or 2 viable hairstyles. The hair in DAI was TERRIBLE.

 

[Ridesh]

MaleRyder default face is really well done in the cinematic trailer, FemRyder not so much in the gameplay trailer.

I guess they haven't showed Liam and Cora because they're still polishing them? Perhaps human faces are not a big jump over Inquisition.

 

[Bisnic]

I guess they haven't showed Liam and Cora because they're still polishing them? Perhaps human faces are not a big jump over Inquisition.

I bet they're keeping it as some kind of surprise because your teammates will have the faces of Tom Cruise and Emma Watson or some other less known celebrities lol.

 

[Patryn]

I bet they're keeping it as some kind of surprise because your teammates will have the faces of Tom Cruise and Emma Watson or some other less known celebrities lol.

Given that they haven't announced the VAs for them, I think you're right and it's going to be a minor celebrity a la Miranda.

 

[Dandy Lyin]

However good the character creation is, it will never be able to produce a better and more realistic face than the default ones which are created in high detail. I never liked making custom faces.

Re-playing the ME trilogy, it's kinda shocking how bad all of the non-custom NPC faces can look in comparison to the handcrafted ones.

It's something that never really bothered me before because I had only played as female Shepard so I was used to looking a little weird... But now I am playing as Shepaloo and I can't imagine playing as a custom male shep... I think it's impossible to make one that doesn't look like a potato.

While, yeah, a custom face will never look as "right" as the default face, I far prefer having a unique face that I made than going with the default.

The only Bioware game that I ever went default was Dragon Age 2, and that was just because the faces I wanted to make did not look at ALL like they fit in that family.

I just want more than 1 or 2 viable hairstyles. The hair in DAI was TERRIBLE.

I've always gone with a custom face in Bioware games, except for my my recent playthrough of ME. With DA2, at least the custom faces looked like they were made with the same tools as the default ones(I used a custom face, but default Hawke's hair thanks to a mod). The textures and art style are consistent with NPCs and custom players. In ME it's such a drastic difference. It's like it is two different games with some of them.

DAI's CC was decent, especially for male characters(female humans looked like dwarfs to me)... The lighting, and awful hair dragged it down. Some of the facial animations were really overdone, which often made your character look terrible though.

 

[TC McQueen]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was just to avoid people data mining it before the game itself drops.

You'd think devs would just hire a temp to clean out all the non-essential data from their betas, but I guess that methodology is lost on them (or they can't afford it, which is kind of absurd).

 

[TC McQueen]

Given that they haven't announced the VAs for them, I think you're right and it's going to be a minor celebrity a la Miranda.

Liam will be (Insert name of somewhat well known, but totally affordable black actor who is not Michael Dorn here).

 

[SliChillax]

Re-playing the ME trilogy, it's kinda shocking how bad all of the non-custom NPC faces can look in comparison to the handcrafted ones.

It's something that never really bothered me before because I had only played as female Shepard so I was used to looking a little weird... But now I am playing as Shepaloo and I can't imagine playing as a custom male shep... I think it's impossible to make one that doesn't look like a potato.


I've always gone with a custom face in Bioware games, except for my my recent playthrough of ME. With DA2, at least the custom faces looked like they were made with the same tools as the default ones(I used a custom face, but default Hawke's hair thanks to a mod). The textures and art style are consistent with NPCs and custom players. In ME it's such a drastic difference. It's like it is two different games with some of them.

DAI's CC was decent, especially for male characters(female humans looked like dwarfs to me)... The lighting, and awful hair dragged it down. Some of the facial animations were really overdone, which often made your character look terrible though.

It's why I've played the trilogy a million times but never as Femshep. Her face looks like it's been randomized in the character creation and that's it. Sheploos face is perfect on the other hand.

 

[Ralemont]

Add in some heartbreak with a dash of tragedy. Don't always give the player exactly what they want. Get them dumped. Have them chase dead ends. Imbue characters with the illusion of autonomy and individuality.

Sounds like you should play a female PC in each game. BioWare loves to fuck with them. The straight male romances are very straightforward in comparison.

 

[Dandy Lyin]

Sounds like you should play a female PC in each game. BioWare loves to fuck with them. The straight male romances are very straightforward in comparison.

I never really thought about it, but it's so true. Blackwall, Thane, and Solus all spring to mind right away.