By which you mean they've tagged what's what better, yeah? Tasks and Missions, that kinda separation?
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The Mass Effect Community Thread
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By which you mean they've tagged what's what better, yeah? Tasks and Missions, that kinda separation?
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
I really hope BioWare or IGN show off the character creator. I want to see how much control we have over the little details.
Never was a fan of the face shape slider in the OG trilogy and DA: I as it felt quite restricting in how many different faces you could make.
shinobi602
Member
I don't know if they're tagged necessarily. Just the substance so far.
Freezasaurus
Member
About the same size as Nier: Automata. No big.
AWizardDidIt
Member
I was kinda bummed to hear you couldn't customize your squad's weapons in Andromeda but then a post on reddit sorta maybe makes me understand why they might have not included that. Basically, in ME1 it didn't really matter what weapon you put on your allies because the only stat that actually mattered to them was damage since how they used weapons wasn't influenced by heat or stability or rate of fire or anything else. In ME2 and 3 it did matter a lot but it was pretty much a binary "does the AI know how to use this weapon or not". Some weapons functioned so differently that the AI was just completely ineffectual with them so it was never a good idea to give those weapons (consider quick shot sniper rifles like the Viper compared to single shots like the Widow. The AI fires these two at exactly the same rate). If they knew how to use the weapon then the only thing that really mattered was damage because again, the AI was never constrained by the weapon's other stats. It just didn't make a difference.
I suspect because of the modding system in Andromeda, it allows you to change your weapons too dramatically for them to be able to design AI to use them very effectively. And again, if AI works like it did in the past, the only stat you're *really* adjusting is damage which is already controlled by levels. So rather than removing player choice, it looks like they're just removing the illusion of player choice. I still would have liked to modify the weapon they use just for cosmetic purposes (and not being able to customize their appearance at all is still a bummer) but I don't think it's as big a deal as some people are making.
I suspect because of the modding system in Andromeda, it allows you to change your weapons too dramatically for them to be able to design AI to use them very effectively. And again, if AI works like it did in the past, the only stat you're *really* adjusting is damage which is already controlled by levels. So rather than removing player choice, it looks like they're just removing the illusion of player choice. I still would have liked to modify the weapon they use just for cosmetic purposes (and not being able to customize their appearance at all is still a bummer) but I don't think it's as big a deal as some people are making.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
Liking these review tidbits Shinobi, keep em coming!
Character creator looks fairly detailed too: can't wait to get my hands on it this week.
Character creator looks fairly detailed too: can't wait to get my hands on it this week.
Dandy Lyin
Member
Indeed. The skin looks really flat/fake, even compared to DAI.
May have to go with the default.
DOWN
Banned
I am always tempted to try EA Access games on the early Access trials. It the three times I've done it they loook like relative shit because of Xbox One (NFS, Battlefront, DAI) in terms of image quality and more. It's like a spoiled first impression I'm not sure I want when my first impression could just be the PS4 Pro version if I wait.
Kind of mind boggling how bad they are at creating anything with hair and now that I think about it, it wouldnt surprise me if that was the exact reason we´ve never seen any creature with fur in now two galaxies combined. (even the doggy you got in ME3 was a robot)
God, I hope its not a bunch of wander around and find the next note or corpse style sidequests.
I loved Inquisition but thats the thing that really dragged it down for me and will result in me mostly sticking to the MSQ in future playthroughs. Those quests don't play into any of Bioware's strengths (mainly being their character writing and NPC interactions).
Thats the one thing I was hoping would change the most. I love bioware, I love open world games. Theres got to be a good balance in there somewhere compared to how many note quests there were in DAI.
They said they took lessons from Witcher 3 so heres hoping.
shinobi602
Member
It was one of the biggest pieces of feedback they took from DAI so, here's hoping
DeadlyParasite
Member
Where are the ME:A soundtrack leaks? I must have them. ლ(ಠ益ಠლ
DAI was supposed to be a multiplayer only game in the beginning and it probably had a shaky development cycle. There's very few meaty story missions in the game. If you didn't have to do the garbage MMO stuff to increase the Inquisition Power bar to actually access the story mission you could probably beat the game in 15 hours. Instead it takes at least 35+.
They've learned from DAI and said so explicitly. If there is mundane stuff it will probably be optional for real this time.
I've never heard that DA:I was supposed to be multiplayer only in the beginning - where is that from? Given how god awful the multiplayer in that game was I'm surprised.
Hey y'all I have just started playing Mass Effect 1 on my Xbox one for the first time and am hoping to play through the trilogy before I check out Andromeda thought I'd pop in and say hi and let y'all know that I'm enjoying the game so far but not much about Mako also wish I could be better informed of the difficulty level of some of the side quests because I nearly got one shot killed in one of the side missions. Looked up online later on what the deal is and the guide recommended the mission be tackled with a level 30+ squad while I was at level 15 haha. Fortunately I saved before the mission so I just reloaded and play other missions instead. Just found the Asari scientist who joined my team and did some side missions. Gonna go to Fero or whatever it's called for the next story mission later
thought I'd pop in and say hi and let y'all know that I'm enjoying the game so far but not much about Mako also wish I could be better informed of the difficulty level of some of the side quests because I nearly got one shot killed in one of the side missions. Looked up online later on what the deal is and the guide recommended the mission be tackled with a level 30+ squad while I was at level 15 haha. Fortunately I saved before the mission so I just reloaded and play other missions instead. Just found the Asari scientist who joined my team and did some side missions. Gonna go to Fero or whatever it's called for the next story mission later I didn't really mind the power requirements, Never really noticed it barring me since I worked on completing the zones before moving forward anyway. I even liked collecting shards and finding the astariums. None of that bothered me.
Definitely shouldn't have worked that way though since I imagine there are people that just wanted to play it more straightforward rather than be forced to explore.
Just posted this in the discord, but there's a preview of the first few chapters of the book out.
https://toronto.overdrive.com/media/3064602
Some light spoilers about the Initiative's launch and arrival, including which species exactly are on the Nexus.
https://toronto.overdrive.com/media/3064602
Some light spoilers about the Initiative's launch and arrival, including which species exactly are on the Nexus.
Jesus Christ. I always gave Da:I a pass on it's terrible multiplayer because I assumed it was bolted in at the end after they saw how popular ME:3 multiplayer was. The idea that god awful mess was something that had been in development for years is bizarre, did they never even play it or something?
Poodlestrike
Banned
Feels like a safe assumption, tbh.
Seriously, though, they probably had to throw out most of their work when they found out they were making the next mainline game, instead of a multiplayer spinoff. Like, the combat was probably a lot more action-oriented, but then it had to share a basis with the party-based main game and... yeah. :mess
Good to know maybe I'll test ME3 this week to see
Why do you think what I'm saying is overblown? I PLAYED the game. I sunk over 160 hours into DA:I in a single playthrough.
And you know what I spent the vast, VAST majority of my time doing? Running around collecting shards, completing requisitions, completing fetch quests, and mindlessly heading to my destination to trigger something eventful. That and fiddling with my inventory every couple of minutes because I kept running out of space to manage 10 characters.
I enjoyed the story. I liked the characters (even Sera). I had fun fighting dragons. But that was the minority of my time with the game. The rest was in big, giant, open areas doing busy work like collection shards, mosaic pieces, finding ocularas, doing astrariums, collecting Thedas bottles, unlocking landmarks and points of interest, and then raiding the occasional cave or bandit camp. I feel quite confident in saying that 80% of my time in DA:I was spent on fluff rather than anything meaningful or substantial, and the level restrictions in place to prevent me from just sticking to the story (and my OCD) ensured I was doing mundane tasks far more often than any cool character quest or story event.
As I said, I found the story great. I loved the characters. I found the game visually spectacular. I found the music to be worth tracking down and adding to my playlist. I had fun fighting dragons. I had fun building my keep. I enjoyed sitting on my throne and passing judgment in often hilarious ways ("I also pass judgment on the box! End table for orphans!").
I adored 20% of the game and cherish those sections entirely. It's the rest of the game that plodded and dragged and got in its own way during my initial playthrough. Again, any given map maybe had only one or two truly interesting things to do there, and the rest was entirely insubstantial busywork.
Again, I don't really care about the size of the world. It could be the largest world ever, and the most technically complex game ever created. That still doesn't guarantee it'll be fun or enjoyable to play.
I don't ascribe to the belief that "bigger is better" when a razor-sharp, highly focused campaign can be just as easily transcend a bland open-world. There is elegance in simplicity as well. I understand the appeal of emergent gaming for games like Skyrim, but Mass Effect was never a Skyrim experience. Even at its largest and most grandiose, it was still a section of linear stories on modest-sized planets or with character-driven quests that had us there for singular and focused objectives and driven purpose. I understand many want the exploration element, but the things Mass Effect did best on story were often due to how well it was actually structured in bite-sized segments that retained a sharp and clear focus on establishment, build-up, and resolution.
And nothing is saying Andromeda won't have those. I expect it to, in fact, but I am still... concerned... until any worries are allayed. Again, Dragon Age: Inquisition lacked this focus. It's rambling adventure was vast, but it's focus was aimless and sloppy and unbalanced, often having little or no rhyme or reason for where many of its characters or events took place on the smaller scale. There were few places there that had any personal attachment to party members, no "this is my home" or "this is my village" or "these are my people" moments within the world. References, sure, but nobody in the Inquisition has any personal attachment to the Hinterlands or The Fallow Mire or The Hissing Wastes, and thus I don't really either.
Mass Effect did it a bit better. "This is Tuchanka, home planet of Wrex." "This is Palaven, home planet of Garrus." "This is Thessia. Liara grew up here." "This is Rannoch, home for both Geth and Quarians." Etc.
We'll see how Andromeda holds up. DA:I left me empty.
SliChillax
Member
Looks horrible, especially the eyes. I'll stick with the stock face.
Yeah they got real specific there.
Dude looks high as a kite. Pupils like dimes. I think I wil either stick with default or more likely pick someone's Rider from Reddit thanks to the face code sharing. I'm sure you can make something decent.
I'm pretty sure this one is intended to be a recreation of Alec
For the record his other Ryder is some monster factory shit.
I got very excicted when the game started to download on my Xbox One.
Not long now.
I almost don't want to jump in right away on EA Access. For one, I don't want to feel rushed playing the single player, and I have little interest in the multiplayer to begin with. Secondly, I don't want to have less than ten hours available to me, if that makes sense.
I'll probably dive right in though. Can't wait to explore another Mass Effect game. Can't wait to met the Kett and roidragers. Also, who the hell are the Remnants?
I still say at some point, you'll come across another race or races that fled the Milky Way during a previous Reaper cycle. I also wonder, if at some point, they'll introduce a secondary pathfinder team sent from the Milky Way post Reaper invasion.
It would be pretty interesting to jump the games forward massively in this new trilogy (lets face it, if it sells well, we're getting another one). Like, skip forward 500 years or so and see the fruits of the Pathfinder's labour in Andromeda. Rediscover the outposts and golden worlds you set up, and how the colonies have flourished (or not).
For whatever corner they wrote themselves into with ME3 and the Reapers, moving to Andromeda is a great way to wipe the slate clean, and offer a shed load of possibilities. I'd almost be disappointed if MEA2 was the Ryder's facing another big bad just because, retracing the steps of the Shepard trilogy.
Enough of possible sequels though, a new Mass Effect is round the corner. Woop!
Not long now.
I almost don't want to jump in right away on EA Access. For one, I don't want to feel rushed playing the single player, and I have little interest in the multiplayer to begin with. Secondly, I don't want to have less than ten hours available to me, if that makes sense.
I'll probably dive right in though. Can't wait to explore another Mass Effect game. Can't wait to met the Kett and roidragers. Also, who the hell are the Remnants?
I still say at some point, you'll come across another race or races that fled the Milky Way during a previous Reaper cycle. I also wonder, if at some point, they'll introduce a secondary pathfinder team sent from the Milky Way post Reaper invasion.
It would be pretty interesting to jump the games forward massively in this new trilogy (lets face it, if it sells well, we're getting another one). Like, skip forward 500 years or so and see the fruits of the Pathfinder's labour in Andromeda. Rediscover the outposts and golden worlds you set up, and how the colonies have flourished (or not).
For whatever corner they wrote themselves into with ME3 and the Reapers, moving to Andromeda is a great way to wipe the slate clean, and offer a shed load of possibilities. I'd almost be disappointed if MEA2 was the Ryder's facing another big bad just because, retracing the steps of the Shepard trilogy.
Enough of possible sequels though, a new Mass Effect is round the corner. Woop!
I don't know how Andromeda will play out, but it would be pretty cool to jump forward a generation or two to see how the colonies have developed and grown. Scott, Sarah, and the longer-lived NPCs could still make cameos.
Thanks. Wanted to make sure before I cleaned up my SSD.
Thanks. Wanted to make sure before I cleaned up my SSD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC9QeIZQ7TM
Replaced the launch trailer soundtrack with the one from interstellar. Worked out better than I was expecting.
Replaced the launch trailer soundtrack with the one from interstellar. Worked out better than I was expecting.
what's with the big ass logo
Foxhound286
Member
That is correct.
"Killl meee!"
Officer.Sanchez
Member
Can you play as a custom femryder and leave the default male and dad ryder?
I think so?
exmachina64
Banned
This makes me very happy.
I remember doing that for the first trailer when people complained about Johnny Cash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_jBD7B6N6Y
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I hope it's not too difficult to make a decent looking asian character.
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
I'm assuming one of the preset face models will be Asian.
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