Mass Effect: Andromeda Pre-Release Thread

[Sykar]

Who needs this shit? They ruined the franchise already with the second game so thoroughly that all that is left is to let ME simply die.

First of all you can't really ruin something that's decline shit already. And second, the second was better than the first.

You mean, (the armed) Dr Phil in space , and simple 3DsMax cubes and cylinders to hop around , with frequent brakes of staring at the ass of octopus haired space prostitutes made the game better?

 

[Night Goat]

staring at the ass of octopus haired space prostitutes made the game better?

Yes.

 

[donkeymong]

Why would you still be optimistic after being let down thrice before.. once bitten, twice shy, no?

ME3 was unfortunately a decline in almost every way. Dumbed down combat .

??
Why? Because not every trooper had a shield that blocked most tech and biotic powers?
Otherwise the third game had more abilities and actually meaningfull evolutions of them unlike in Mass Effect 2,where its either ,for example,bigger radius or force.

No, because in the space of three games in changed it's genre from RPG to third person shooter.. I would imagine that would be decline in any sane person's book.

But Mass Effect 3 was an incline including the rpg department. More abilities, more customization, more branches for skills. And to add insult to injury, the third game actually had something that i can call party banter compared to the crappy second game where your party members where puppets the whole time(aside from 2 confrontation scenes) who existed only to tell psycho doctor Shepard the mommy and daddy issues they had and otherwise don’t meet and talk with each other. Hell, not even people that now each other did it like Tali when meeting Garrus.
And that in a game that was claimed to be squad oriented.
Damn , Mass Effect 2 was just pathetic crap, the worst game in the entire series. Even some shooters at that time offered more skills and customization than this "rpg".
Also the epitome of retardation,high heels in combat and unprotected skin in hazardous environments.

 

[donkeymong]

Who needs this shit? They ruined the franchise already with the second game so thoroughly that all that is left is to let ME simply die.

First of all you can't really ruin something that's decline shit already. And second, the second was better than the first.

You mean, (the armed) Dr Phil in space , and simple 3DsMax cubes and cylinders to hop around , with frequent brakes of staring at the ass of octopus haired space prostitutes made the game better?

Dont remember Miranda to have octopus hair,lol.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Why would you still be optimistic after being let down thrice before.. once bitten, twice shy, no?

ME3 was unfortunately a decline in almost every way. Dumbed down combat .

??
Why? Because not every trooper had a shield that blocked most tech and biotic powers?
Otherwise the third game had more abilities and actually meaningfull evolutions of them unlike in Mass Effect 2,where its either ,for example,bigger radius or force.

No, because in the space of three games in changed it's genre from RPG to third person shooter.. I would imagine that would be decline in any sane person's book.

But Mass Effect 3 was an incline including the rpg department. More abilities, more customization, more branches for skills. And to add insult to injury, the third game actually had something that i can call party banter compared to the crappy second game where your party members where puppets the whole time(aside from 2 confrontation scenes) who existed only to tell psycho doctor Shepard the mommy and daddy issues they had and otherwise don’t meet and talk with each other. Hell, not even people that now each other did it like Tali when meeting Garrus.
And that in a game that was claimed to be squad oriented.
Damn , Mass Effect 2 was just pathetic crap, the worst game in the entire series. Even some shooters at that time offered more skills and customization than this "rpg".
Also the epitome of retardation,high heels in combat and unprotected skin in hazardous environments.

Sorry, my sarcasm fuse just melted. I have absolutely no idea how to take this statement.

 

[Bliblablubb]

staring at the ass of octopus haired space prostitutes made the game better?

Yes.

Reminds me of MSG4... As far as I remember the game was about watching girls in wetsuits (and sometimes octopus hair) rubbing themselves on Snaaaaaaake. Huh.

Imagine Bioware pulling a stunt like that...

Looking back I consider ME2 the "best" game of the 3 as well, mostly because
a) the awsome soundtrack
b) Lair of the Shadowbroker is one of the best addons I played
c) I actually look foward to seeing the epic ending with a nice reveal

ME3? Far too depressing and weird in the end. Stop before the Cerberus base, play the Shitadel DLC and call it a day. That DLC would actually be the only reason for me to endure starting Origin again.

P.S. Can't get ME1 to run anymore, which is probably for the best.

 

[Bleed the Man]

staring at the ass of octopus haired space prostitutes made the game better?

Yes.

Reminds me of MSG4... As far as I remember the game was about watching girls in wetsuits (and sometimes octopus hair) rubbing themselves on Snaaaaaaake. Huh.

Imagine Bioware pulling a stunt like that...

Looking back I consider ME2 the "best" game of the 3 as well, mostly because
a) the awsome soundtrack
b) Lair of the Shadowbroker is one of the best addons I played
c) I actually look foward to seeing the epic ending with a nice reveal

ME3? Far too depressing and weird in the end. Stop before the Cerberus base, play the Shitadel DLC and call it a day. That DLC would actually be the only reason for me to endure starting Origin again.

P.S. Can't get ME1 to run anymore, which is probably for the best.

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets. Yes, it's awful and completely stupid, but I don't know how people manage to care for it when the entire game plot is based around a Deus Ex Machina that makes 0 sense and is the cheapest way to solve the whole Reaper thing, and it's introduced at the Mars mission, first mission after the prologue. For that moment forward I just simply didn't care at all the crap they threw at me.

And the Citadel DLC is some of the worst pieces of content that I have played, basing the entire thing purely on fanservice. I can see the value for the hardcore fanbase, but it's just so stupid and poorly thought out (the villain of the DLC is one of the most lore consistency breaking moments that I've ever seen, and I've played Fallout 3)

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets.

It gets hate because it definitively makes Bioware out to be the lying useless assholes that they are.

The whole spiel when ME1 came out was that your decisions would ultimately matter, the whole reason for save import was to carry on choices and we were told definitively those choices would affect the ending... Then we got the 3 colour ending that had fuck all to do with anything and even pissed all over what was written before.. THAT is where the fully justified hate comes from.

Well that and the fact that they turned an rpg in to a third person shooter for the moolah.

 

[Bleed the Man]

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets.

It gets hate because it definitively makes Bioware out to be the lying useless assholes that they are.

The whole spiel when ME1 came out was that your decisions would ultimately matter, the whole reason for save import was to carry on choices and we were told definitively those choices would affect the ending... Then we got the 3 colour ending that had fuck all to do with anything and even pissed all over what was written before.. THAT is where the fully justified hate comes from.

Well that and the fact that they turned an rpg in to a third person shooter for the moolah.

No, no, I know all that, but for me it's just mind blowing that so many people hated the ending instead of the entire storyline of the 3rd game. That's what I meant.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets.

It gets hate because it definitively makes Bioware out to be the lying useless assholes that they are.

The whole spiel when ME1 came out was that your decisions would ultimately matter, the whole reason for save import was to carry on choices and we were told definitively those choices would affect the ending... Then we got the 3 colour ending that had fuck all to do with anything and even pissed all over what was written before.. THAT is where the fully justified hate comes from.

Well that and the fact that they turned an rpg in to a third person shooter for the moolah.

No, no, I know all that, but for me it's just mind blowing that so many people hated the ending instead of the entire storyline of the 3rd game. That's what I meant.

Ah, right sorry.... You meant why specifically the ending when it was all shit?

Gotcha.

 

[racofer]

Ah, right sorry....

Joined: Nov 24, 2014
Messages: 364http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?search/member&user_id=19036

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Ah, right sorry....

Joined: Nov 24, 2014
Messages: 364

oh fuck here's another one.

BTW the post number doesn't usually get posted too.

Doughnut.

 

[Sykar]

Why would you still be optimistic after being let down thrice before.. once bitten, twice shy, no?

ME3 was unfortunately a decline in almost every way. Dumbed down combat .

??
Why? Because not every trooper had a shield that blocked most tech and biotic powers?
Otherwise the third game had more abilities and actually meaningfull evolutions of them unlike in Mass Effect 2,where its either ,for example,bigger radius or force.

No, because in the space of three games in changed it's genre from RPG to third person shooter.. I would imagine that would be decline in any sane person's book.

But Mass Effect 3 was an incline including the rpg department. More abilities, more customization, more branches for skills. And to add insult to injury, the third game actually had something that i can call party banter compared to the crappy second game where your party members where puppets the whole time(aside from 2 confrontation scenes) who existed only to tell psycho doctor Shepard the mommy and daddy issues they had and otherwise don’t meet and talk with each other. Hell, not even people that now each other did it like Tali when meeting Garrus.
And that in a game that was claimed to be squad oriented.
Damn , Mass Effect 2 was just pathetic crap, the worst game in the entire series. Even some shooters at that time offered more skills and customization than this "rpg".
Also the epitome of retardation,high heels in combat and unprotected skin in hazardous environments.

 

[Ulminati]

Krogan Dating/Insemination Sim pls BW.

How much jizz is produced in a single Krogasm, anyways? If their seed production is increased by their more numerous testicles (the quad) and their size compared to a human, is it more than twice as much? Or is the difference not very significant?

 

[donkeymong]

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets.

It gets hate because it definitively makes Bioware out to be the lying useless assholes that they are.

The whole spiel when ME1 came out was that your decisions would ultimately matter, the whole reason for save import was to carry on choices and we were told definitively those choices would affect the ending... Then we got the 3 colour ending that had fuck all to do with anything and even pissed all over what was written before.. THAT is where the fully justified hate comes from.

Well that and the fact that they turned an rpg in to a third person shooter for the moolah.

Well, turning the series into a shooter happened already with the second game. But Mass Effect 3 offered halfway decent combat while the one in the second was pure crap.
And decisions of the first game already didnt matter in the second. Ah yes, reapers and Garrus as a Space Batman on Omega...

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

Seriously, ME3 depressing?
I actually don't get all the hate the ending gets.

It gets hate because it definitively makes Bioware out to be the lying useless assholes that they are.

The whole spiel when ME1 came out was that your decisions would ultimately matter, the whole reason for save import was to carry on choices and we were told definitively those choices would affect the ending... Then we got the 3 colour ending that had fuck all to do with anything and even pissed all over what was written before.. THAT is where the fully justified hate comes from.

Well that and the fact that they turned an rpg in to a third person shooter for the moolah.

Well, turning the series into a shooter already happened already with the second game. But Mass Effect 3 offered halfway decent combat while the one in the second was pure crap.
And decisions of the first game already didnt matter in the second. Ah yes, reapers and Garrus as a Space Batman on Omega...

Yeah, it doesn't get a pass just because it's a better 'shooter'.

 

[Crevice tab]

No, no, I know all that, but for me it's just mind blowing that so many people hated the ending instead of the entire storyline of the 3rd game. That's what I meant.

My guess is that the ending receives all the hate because it makes the 'Fuck you players!' Biowareian mentality so explicit even the most brainwashed Biodrones can't quite ignore and because it's The End. People might have foolishly placed enough trust in Bioware to play the whole crappy series to the end and hope it eventually gets better. Guess what happened... It didn't get better. So people started recognising that ME is shit but focused on the part that really betrayed their expectations- the ending.

 

[Infinitron]

BioWare: DAI will not be a "template" for Mass Effect/non-DA games, ME next-gen only

Seen this line of sentiment commonly here on GAF and other places on the internet, felt like it was significant enough to share. Great to see Mass Effect will continue to retain its own identity.

Aaryn Flynn chimed in on the Mass Effect thread.

I've seen a few thoughts like this recently, and thought I'd weigh in as much as I can right now. I have a good idea where it's coming from. All of our games are using Frostbite now. We've said the next Mass Effect (and our new IP, but I won't expand on that yet) uses some of the technology from DAI. We've been enjoying building larger areas that you can explore with less friction, so that'll be there as well.

But after that, the next Mass Effect will be (and should be) drawing on its own rich and successful past more than what DAI would say it should do. Take the Mako, something we've already shown in prototype form. We had that in ME1, and bringing it back is more related to a feeling that we can do it much better than we did before and fulfill the original promise of that gameplay. That has nothing to do with DAI. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that dropping the older consoles has had more impact on the overall gameplay goals of the next Mass Effect game than what DAI successfully accomplished.

We're very proud of what DAI has achieved, but that does not set a "template" for what every other game we make needs to be. Each game franchise needs to innovate and improve their experience based on what's best for it, not just what another game had success with because "well that was successful".

Hope that helps!

 

[imweasel]

Not surprising to see Bioware distance themselves from DA:I's abysmal content design after all the butthurt about it.

 

[Arulan]

I saw this posted on GAF and it looks fairly legit.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1031314

Sometimes I take surveys online for a little extra money.

One day last month I got one with this:

The Next Mass Effect Context:

The next Mass Effect game takes place in the Helius Cluster (a cluster of 100s of solar systems in the Andromeda Galaxy), far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard’s heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy. You are a pathfinder, a combat trained but un-tested explorer leading an expedition into the Helius cluster to establish a new home for humanity. As you explore this sprawling series of solar systems (over 4x the size of Mass Effect 3), collecting resources and building colonies, you will encounter the savagery of untamed lands in the form of cut-throat outlaws and warring alien races. To survive and colonize the wild reaches of space, you will need to grow your arsenal, your ship, your crew and make strategic (and often uneasy) alliances to fight against increasingly menacing foes. Along the way, you will encounter the remains of a once powerful and mysterious alien race, the Remnant, whose forgotten technology holds the key to gaining power in this region of the galaxy. As you uncover who the Remnant were, and the mysteries their ruins contain, you are drawn into a violent race to find the source of their forgotten technology that will determine the fate of humanity.

Collect Resources to Fuel your Growth:

Scour solar systems and planets within the Helius Cluster to find valuable resources and blueprints of long forgotten alien technology that will allow you to craft better equipment and weapons, such as improving your leg armor to allow you to jetpack jump, or upgrading your cryo-beam (laser cannon) to target enemies or do area damage around you to clear out close threats. As you build your arsenal and resource infrastructure, you will be able to explore deeper into the increasingly dangerous and resource-rich solar systems of the Helius Cluster.

A Capable Crew:

Throughout the story, you will recruit seven distinct crew members to fight by your side. Each crew member has a unique personality and specific abilities that open up strategic options as you choose which two of them to bring into each mission. For example, Cora has the ability to deploy a biotic shield that protects everyone in the bubble while still allowing you and your squad to fire out of it. Your crew will grow alongside you as you explore the Helius Cluster, and you can choose how you upgrade your crew’s weapons, gear and abilities to increase their individual combat effectiveness. Create the perfect squad to react to any situation and to support your preferred gameplay style.

Your Crew, Your Story:

Your crew members aren’t merely hired guns – they are part of the living universe in the Helius Cluster that develops in response to your actions and choices. Increase each crew member’s loyalty by pursuing missions that are important to that specific character. For example, when a Krogan colony ship has been stolen by one of the outlaw factions leaving the colonists stranded without resources to survive, your Krogan squad mate, Drack, is determined to strike out against them. If you take the mission and help him track down the outlaws’ hideout to return the ship to its rightful owners, Drack’s loyalty toward you and your squad will increase and Drack will unlock a brand new skill tree.

Explore each individual’s backstory and develop your relationship with them through conversations and unique missions. True to Mass Effect, what you choose to say will directly affect your crew’s loyalty and relationship with you, and will open up different conversations and narrative opportunities at the end of the game depending upon how you approach each encounter.

Deployed Strike Team Missions:

The Helius Cluster is 1000s of light years across, and you can’t be everywhere at once. As you develop more colonies, resource bases and settlements, you have to be able to keep them safe. Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop an AI controlled Strike Team that you can deploy to take on randomly generated, time-sensitive missions. Strike Team missions take many forms, including settlement defense and Remnant artifact recovery, which will take real-time to complete. Send your Strike Team out on a mission while you continue playing the main game and they will return, 20 – 30 minutes later, having gained rewards such as XP, currency and equipment based on the success of their mission. Spend money and resources to train your Strike Team and acquire better gear for them, which will increase their success rate and allow them to take on more difficult missions for greater rewards.

Active Strike Team Missions:

When you encounter a Strike Team mission in the Single-Player mode, you can leave your Strike Team at their base and decide to tackle the mission yourself with your Multiplayer roster of characters. You also have the option of tackling the mission by yourself, or recruiting up to three friends to play with you. The more friends you bring, the greater the challenge and the greater the reward. These missions will play out using the Next Mass Effect’s multiplayer Horde mode (more details on this later). These missions will include a variety of thematically appropriate objectives, like defending a Settlement against Khet attacks, or recovering a Remnant artifact off of a planet before an outlaw gang gets there first. By taking an active role in strike team missions, you can earn special Single-player rewards in addition to the usual multiplayer specific characters, weapons, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment which can be customized between missions. Additionally, players who join another person’s Strike Team mission will receive bonus in-game currency and multiplayer XP for helping others with their missions.

Multiplayer “Horde” Mode:

The next Mass Effect’s “Horde” multiplayer pits you and up to three of your friends against waves of enemy troops on various battlefields throughout the galaxy. Players fight together to survive increasingly difficult enemy attacks and accomplish objectives, like disabling a bomb near a colony base or assassinating a target. Progress through multiplayer missions to gain XP and earn new multiplayer specific weapons, characters, weapon mods, and pieces of equipment, which can be customized between matches. Multiplayer play will also earn you APEX funds (in-game currency), which can be used to purchase items and gear in the Single Player game.

Establish Settlements:

Search solar systems for rare habitable planets to establish a settlement that could serve as a base for humankind’s new home in the Helius Cluster. As you build permanent settlements, you will make strategic choices on where to focus your new base’s resources. For example: Recon Settlements will clear fog of war from the space map and give the player more strike team missions to choose from, while Mining Settlements will periodically supplement the player’s supply of crafting materials.

Dialogue:

Building upon the rich history of strategic dialogue that has defined the Mass Effect series, you can make meaningful choices in every conversation you have with characters that impact the way your game evolves. The next Mass Effect adds deeper control over your conversations through a greater ability to interrupt and change the course of the conversation as it is happening. During certain conversations, you will be able to take action based choices, such as the option to pull out your gun and force someone to open a door instead of convincing them to do it through conversational guile. Action based choices give you more options for how you approach dialogue with characters in the game and can lead to more extreme outcomes on the story as it evolves around the decisions you make when interacting with a huge cast of NPC characters.

Seamlessly Travel Through the Next Mass Effect Universe:

As you pilot your space ship, Tempest, across the 100s of solar systems that are seamlessly connected in the next Mass Effect, you will encounter new planets filled with valuable resources, intelligent life, conflict, and alien technology that all give you opportunities to increase the power of your character, your ship and your team so that you can build them into a force that perfectly suits your gameplay style. Transitions between activities, like flying your Tempest (space ship) across a solar system to land on a mineral rich planet, then jumping into your Mako (land vehicle) to explore the surface of planet, all happen smoothly without loading screens.

Customize and Share Your Experience:

Discover new things in Andromeda Galaxy, like alien artifacts and natural wonders, that serve as trophies and decorations that you can use to modify the look of your character, Tempest (Space Ship) and Mako (land vehicle). Customize the way your squad and your character look with clothes and aesthetic modifications that you unlock throughout the game. Photos you take from the far reaches of the galaxy can be used to decorate your starship or sold to certain characters.

Remnant Vault Raids: Find and activate Remnant Monoliths to unlock Remnant vaults. Explore abandoned Remnant ruins to find and locate a powerful artifact, but once you remove it you will trigger the vault defenses that will arm traps, activate defense robots and even change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. Fight your way out of the vault and you will be rewarded with valuable loot, including powerful gear, crafting resources and Star Keys that can be used to unlock massive orbital facilities in space that grant permanent stat bonuses.

Optional Elite Remnant Vault Raids are scattered around the Helius Cluster located in special orbital facilities that are unlocked by Star Keys. Similar to the standard Remnant Vaults, you enter them to retrieve a special artifact which will trigger the vault defenses that arm traps, activate defense robots and change the architecture of the vault itself to stop you from escaping. However, Elite vaults ratchet up the difficulty of the encounter with increasingly powerful defense robots and traps, as well as roaming outlaws and deadly Khet patrols that are also in search of the elite artifacts. Elite Remnant vaults will test the limits of your combat and puzzle solving acumen, but with greater difficulty comes greater rewards. Gain rare loot, narrative acclaim and huge rewards for completing these daunting challenges.

Khet Outposts:

As you explore planets throughout the Helius Cluster, you will encounter Khet Outposts. These outposts are optional combat experiences where you enter the outpost and fight off waves of enemies. Destroy Khet outposts to earn XP, rewards and thwart their growing power in the region. Your allies will reward you with praise and increased narrative options as you fight to remove the Khet presence from the region.

Drive and upgrade your Mako (land vehicle):

Explore the surfaces of 100s of planets in the Helius Cluster in your versatile land vehicle, the Mako. Whether you are looking for a place to set up a colony, searching for a Remnant vault or attacking a Khet Outpost, you will enjoy getting there in your Mako. Equip and upgrade your Mako in dozens of ways, like adding turbo boosters, upgrading your shield generator or adding a Hostile Detector to your radar to create the ultimate planetary exploration vehicle. Finally, get your Mako looking the way you want with a custom paintjob.

Not even in a spin-off can they resist taking the stakes to epic proportions. Mechanics sound a lot like Inquisition.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

Inquisition in space seems like a safe bet.

The Helius Cluster is 1000s of light years across

1000 hours of gameplay! Think of all the fetch quests you can enjoy.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

On the upside, no Casey Hudson or Hamburger Hepler are involved.

 

[Kiste]

make strategic (and often uneasy) alliances to fight against increasingly menacing foes.

you will make strategic choices on where to focus your new base’s resources

make meaningful choices in every conversation you have with characters that impact the way your game evolves

For some reason I suspect that Bioware will find a way to roll all the consequences from your decisions into some sort of UI bar that fills up.

 

[Space Satan]

Loyalty Missions: Same as previous games: complete to unlock increased loyalty and new skill tree for that character. Example: Krogan colony ship has been stolen by outlaws. Track down the ship and return it to increase loyalty with Drack. Dialogue trees and end game impacted by loyalty status.

Strike Team: Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop AI controlled strike teams to be deployed on randomly generated, time sensitive missions. Include settlement defence and remnant artefact recovery. Strike Teams return 20 - 30 minutes later with XP, currency, and equipment depending on mission outcome.
Timed missions worked so well with DAI.

 

[His Majesty]

Can't wait to collect all the space shards spread over the hundreds of planets.