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Mass Effect: Andromeda Pre-Release Thread

Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
3,181
Qufc.jpg


Rufc.jpg


Sufc.jpg


Tufc.jpg


Bony alien vulvas. :prosper:
EA finally got the finances to have hired Prosper, I see.

Christ, looks generic as fuck.
 

Septaryeth

Augur
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
298
They lgbt agenda is the least of my worries.

Shove as many cocksuckers you want in gsme, if they are well written characters, they will be good. Arcade gannon is a great way to handle gay characters.

Also the content wilk be probably lazy banal shit
Oh and even mire popamole mechanics and telltale level of c&c
They won't be well written and if the game follows Bioware's pattern of design at this point you'll probably have to fight them to prevent them from raping you. Seriously I mean at least in dragon age origins you had to build affection to romance people in mass effect it's like say one nice thing to a person then you're but 1 random click later in game away from bedding them. Safest thing to do in further installments of the ME series is tell the anyone of the same or indeterminate gender to fuck off whenever they talk to you.

Granted following the purging of the BSN perhaps Bioware might tamp down the LGBT a tad from direction on high of course.

Well, don't know about the writers behind this game, but the gameplay designer Manveer Heir made a speech about how videogame developers NEED to "reject stereotypes as a social responsibility to mankind".

I'm fine with whatever political agenda the developers have, but I think making it as as a duty which your fellow workers have to abide with seem rather extreme.
Still, his words have some grains of truth. While I believe the so called stereotypes in videogames were written due to the writer's inability of imagining something new (instead of this oppression by the entertainment industry conspiracy), nothing could go wrong with having different stories and narratives, right?

Then I remember he is the same guy who takes offence at Deus Ex for using the phrase Aug Lives Matter.

Long story short, it sounds like he wants diversity alright, as long as it's his version of it. I wonder how would that apply to a game that's all about colonizing exploring new planets?
 
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Joined
Sep 16, 2016
Messages
296
I think the aliens look pretty good without generic space armor on, but apparently the armor was deliberate according to a Eurogamer article referencing part of the Gameinformer coverage. That further cements my opinion that there are plenty of solid ideas in Andromeda, but the development team is too full of untested librul agenda pushers who have no idea what the hell they're doing.

I mean, there's a disconnect talking to nude aliens? Really? Anybody remember the Hanar/Volus/Elcor? You know, totally alien races that were in part differentiated from the other races by the clothes they wore (or lack thereof), their behaviors, drives and ways of communicating? Yet, shockingly, all of them were interesting and even occasionally sympathetic in their own ways. To quote a comment from that Eurogamer article, "Because god forbid aliens act in an alien fashion."

Article: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...y-odd-disconnect-of-talking-with-naked-aliens

Quick Edit: used some pronouns improperly.
 

Caim

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To be fair though this looks like a male of the species. Knowing Bioware the female ones tend to be a lot more bangable.
 

Alienman

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex Year of the Donut Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I'm surprised they didn't call the race "The Patriarch" (from the planet Mansplain, in the Cis-white-male universe).
 

Freddie

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I think the aliens look pretty good without generic space armor on, but apparently the armor was deliberate according to a Eurogamer article referencing part of the Gameinformer coverage. That further cements my opinion that there are plenty of solid ideas in Andromeda, but the development team is too full of untested librul agenda pushers who have no idea what the hell they're doing.

I mean, there's a disconnect talking to nude aliens? Really? Anybody remember the Hanar/Volus/Elcor? You know, totally alien races that were in part differentiated from the other races by the clothes they wore (or lack thereof), their behaviors, drives and ways of communicating? Yet, shockingly, all of them were interesting and even occasionally sympathetic in their own ways. To quote a comment from that Eurogamer article, "Because god forbid aliens act in an alien fashion."

Article: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...y-odd-disconnect-of-talking-with-naked-aliens

Yeah, ME4 has started delivering already. Full quote from Eurogamer. "we needed to dress them up, because as much as we wanted to make them look new or different or alien, you're always going to want to associate with them in some way. There's a really odd disconnect with trying to associate with an alien that's completely naked in front of you. You're standing there and 'hey I'm in clothes - why aren't you in clothes?' So it was definitely the right choice to make to clothe these guys."

I recall reading some outrageous stuff about design decisions behind ME3 characters, too lazy to look them up, but it was about just as hilarious and out of touch as this. It's even better that designs for space opera wannabe like this were mostly acceptable, but their reasons behind them... What I think, like someone else noted, it looks pretty much like remodeled and skinned Turian, which may tell that they either don't have budget or talent for new animations, or maybe they can but then can't work out the AI and new models get stuck everywhere, or they just don't care. Now how many years this has been in development?
 
Joined
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Messages
296
Yeah, ME4 has started delivering already. Full quote from Eurogamer. "we needed to dress them up, because as much as we wanted to make them look new or different or alien, you're always going to want to associate with them in some way. There's a really odd disconnect with trying to associate with an alien that's completely naked in front of you. You're standing there and 'hey I'm in clothes - why aren't you in clothes?' So it was definitely the right choice to make to clothe these guys."

I recall reading some outrageous stuff about design decisions behind ME3 characters, too lazy to look them up, but it was about just as hilarious and out of touch as this. It's even better that designs for space opera wannabe like this were mostly acceptable, but their reasons behind them... What I think, like someone else noted, it looks pretty much like remodeled and skinned Turian, which may tell that they either don't have budget or talent for new animations, or maybe they can but then can't work out the AI and new models get stuck everywhere, or they just don't care. Now how many years this has been in development?
Someone in the comments section claimed that the relatively unsurprising design of enemies in the original trilogy was due Unreal Engine 3 limitations. I can't find anything backing that up, but it'd make sense and I'd honestly be more or less fine with it. The comment stated (from CrashOkami, if anyone wants to control+F to find it on the eurogamer article) that enemies needed to operate on similar rules to the player and that makes sense on the limited memory capacity of the 360/PS3. But then, why is this still an issue? New engine, new tech. As a related aside, the weird formations on their chest could've even been animated in some bizarre way, kind of like that one scene from the opening of ME1 where the Turian Spectre's face mandibles (or whatever the hell they'd be called) twitch upon seeing Sovereign. It was an interesting use of alien physiology to indicate emotion in an easy-to-understand but ultimately still foreign way. But nope, they're wearing clothes so we can only really see their weird penis heads.

So, with all of that said, I don't think it's that they don't have the budget for new animations or models. EA is probably assuming that this will sell quite well and likely threw a lot of money at the project, so I'm guessing this translates very specifically to a genuine lack of talent at modern BioWare. ME4 has definitely started delivering, alright. I get less hopeful about its quality with every press release.
 

Freddie

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Yeah, ME4 has started delivering already. Full quote from Eurogamer. "we needed to dress them up, because as much as we wanted to make them look new or different or alien, you're always going to want to associate with them in some way. There's a really odd disconnect with trying to associate with an alien that's completely naked in front of you. You're standing there and 'hey I'm in clothes - why aren't you in clothes?' So it was definitely the right choice to make to clothe these guys."

I recall reading some outrageous stuff about design decisions behind ME3 characters, too lazy to look them up, but it was about just as hilarious and out of touch as this. It's even better that designs for space opera wannabe like this were mostly acceptable, but their reasons behind them... What I think, like someone else noted, it looks pretty much like remodeled and skinned Turian, which may tell that they either don't have budget or talent for new animations, or maybe they can but then can't work out the AI and new models get stuck everywhere, or they just don't care. Now how many years this has been in development?
Someone in the comments section claimed that the relatively unsurprising design of enemies in the original trilogy was due Unreal Engine 3 limitations. I can't find anything backing that up, but it'd make sense and I'd honestly be more or less fine with it. The comment stated (from CrashOkami, if anyone wants to control+F to find it on the eurogamer article) that enemies needed to operate on similar rules to the player and that makes sense on the limited memory capacity of the 360/PS3. But then, why is this still an issue? New engine, new tech. As a related aside, the weird formations on their chest could've even been animated in some bizarre way, kind of like that one scene from the opening of ME1 where the Turian Spectre's face mandibles (or whatever the hell they'd be called) twitch upon seeing Sovereign. It was an interesting use of alien physiology to indicate emotion in an easy-to-understand but ultimately still foreign way. But nope, they're wearing clothes so we can only really see their weird penis heads.

So, with all of that said, I don't think it's that they don't have the budget for new animations or models. EA is probably assuming that this will sell quite well and likely threw a lot of money at the project, so I'm guessing this translates very specifically to a genuine lack of talent at modern BioWare. ME4 has definitely started delivering, alright. I get less hopeful about its quality with every press release.
Turian reaction to Sovereign was good example of what they had in ME1. We know lead writer left, but I wonder if they lost other staff as well. They took shortcuts, like aliens having four fingers because five is more pain to animate, but then we got Hanar and Elcor like you mentioned. They were a bit cheesy but instead of developing them, they remained on background for the rest of the trilogy. It's also sort of interesting that in ME1 there were various aliens on board in couple of missions, but that never happened in later chapters, even if anything Normandy is ideal vessel for stealth missions, being that transporting diplomats or inserting or recovering special ops team. Would had make much nicer fetch quests for ME3. However, there was just more bling bling added to Normandy, but in that sense it was actually more static environment in 2 and 3.

Those tentacle face statues were actually original design for Protheans, but animating their heads was too much of a challenge, so we got Javik the Space bug instead. I don't think it was wasted resources for Miranda's ass, because that was created already for ME2. Some Reaper enemies were cut, again because they couldn't animate the models. I think that's not the main issue however, but that they could just get so very few enemy units in the scene at once, officially because of console and engine limitations, but I find that difficult to buy.

Space opera is genre that isn't that used in PC gaming but I gave up hope that BW can build something great on that front long ago. It's kinda bitter sweet how only entertainment has turned from anticipation for a possibly good game to anticipation for how much they fuck up their own franchise this time.
 

J1M

Arcane
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
14,616
I think the aliens look pretty good without generic space armor on, but apparently the armor was deliberate according to a Eurogamer article referencing part of the Gameinformer coverage. That further cements my opinion that there are plenty of solid ideas in Andromeda, but the development team is too full of untested librul agenda pushers who have no idea what the hell they're doing.

I mean, there's a disconnect talking to nude aliens? Really? Anybody remember the Hanar/Volus/Elcor? You know, totally alien races that were in part differentiated from the other races by the clothes they wore (or lack thereof), their behaviors, drives and ways of communicating? Yet, shockingly, all of them were interesting and even occasionally sympathetic in their own ways. To quote a comment from that Eurogamer article, "Because god forbid aliens act in an alien fashion."

Article: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...y-odd-disconnect-of-talking-with-naked-aliens

Quick Edit: used some pronouns improperly.
It's pretty easy to read between the lines of his statements in that video. The naked thing is just a lie and he struggles to draw a parallel to the uncanny valley, which is I'm sure how his media team prepped him to respond.

The real reason is pretty simple: if they aren't wearing different colors they will all look the same due to a mix of human nature and the limitations of the art team.
 
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pippin

Guest
DAI's reception was lukewarm at best, and this game seems to be yet another one for the Bioware chart, so unless there's some sort of controversy then I think this could kill Bioware for good.
 

Atlantico

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Make the Codex Great Again!
DAI's reception was lukewarm at best, and this game seems to be yet another one for the Bioware chart, so unless there's some sort of controversy then I think this could kill Bioware for good.

It very well may kill Bioware as an independent entity. EA is not known for patience for declining sales.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
DAI's reception was lukewarm at best, and this game seems to be yet another one for the Bioware chart, so unless there's some sort of controversy then I think this could kill Bioware for good.

It very well may kill Bioware as an independent entity. EA is not known for patience for declining sales.

I'm p sure the market for a cinematic space dating game with occasional violence is big enough to keep them truckin'.
 

imweasel

Guest
The more I see of this game the shittier it looks. My already very low expectations are now even lower. There is definitely no more talent left at SJW-Ware.
 

Wirdschowerdn

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http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...t-andromeda-39-s-new-approach-to-romance.aspx

The article we've all waited for:


Mass Effect Andromeda's New Approach To Romance

meabreakdown610.jpg


Romance is one of the most popular elements of the Mass Effect series, and deciding which relationship to pursue is the most difficult choice for some players to make. After all, who wants to be lonely in space? And who wants to spend their time on the wrong partner?

BioWare has let us cozy up to various party members through the years, and each have their own memorable moments. The best part of exploring romantic arcs is that characters often reveal different sides of themselves, such as Jack allowing you to see her emotional side to her, and Garrus showing he's not always calm and collected when it comes to matters of the heart. For Mass Effect Andromeda, BioWare wants to make romances more natural and realistic, featuring different levels of intimacy. While the team isn't ready to talk about these love connections in detail, we did uncover some basic info by chatting with creative director Mac Walters.

Moving Forward From The Trilogy

BioWare is trying to evolve what it has previously done with romances; the team has learned from the original Mass Effect trilogy, and is taking those ideas in more interesting and believable directions. "We've built on it [from the trilogy]," Walters says. "We had a strong foundation for how [romance] was working. For me, typically in the trilogy it was a bit formulaic. You'd talk to them and then get to that one point in the game where there was no going and back and romance was going to happen. That's not real life. There should be some people who just want to hop in the sack immediately. There should people who are interested in a long-term relationship. There are people who aren't interested in romance at all."

This means more mature situations and dialogue, as Walters notes the first Mass Effect spent a great deal explaining the lore of the world and the different races through the characters than focusing on their individual personalities. "I think we've moved beyond just doing info dumps on characters," Walters says. "It comes back to the circumstances. That is what we should be talking about. What are those people actually thinking right now? I think that's the mature aspect of it. Let's not ignore everything that's going on just so we can have a moment to say, 'I love you.'"

garrus610bottles1118.jpg


Andromeda's Varying Relationship Types

The team wants romances to feel legitimate, not like an artificial game mechanic. Different characters want different things from their romances, whether it's physical or emotional, and Walters states that some romances can happen early in the game, while some characters may take longer to let their guard down. He also confirms that BioWare got rid of what he refers to as "the hard line," where you're trying to fit in romances before you reach a certain point and it cuts off the opportunity for a romance to occur.

Walters says the team wanted to make romances more varied than previous entries. "Just because someone has a romance doesn't mean they have a longer relationship arc with you," Walters says. The team even re-envisioned what a romance looks like. As Walters says, "Think of the relationship moment with Garrus in Mass Effect 3 where you [shoot bottles off the Citadel]. Does it always have to be, 'Get someone into the bed?' or can it be, 'Let's go have a bros' moment or a friends' moment.' I think once [our writers] started to think in those terms, it expanded what those scenes could be like. But if you want to get down to the sex scene stuff, we got aliens, alien environments...we keep coming up with unique places to have some interspecies relationships.'"

Walters says the writing team has worked hard to make sure characters are unique and fun to get to know. "The [characters] that aren't romanceable should have just as interesting and in-depth an arc as the ones who are," he says. "That's one thing we did to make it feel more natural. We have to check ourselves because we know the fans want romances, so the obvious thing is to make [everyone] romanceable, but that's not real. We're trying to find the balance between 'yes, it's a game,' but we want to make these characters as believable as possible and the situations as believable as possible."

jackshepard610romance111816.jpg


This also extends to characters' sexualities. BioWare has been praised for its diversity and inclusion of various sexual orientations in its games, but it has also been criticized for shoehorning them in, particularly in regards to bisexual party members. While characters have various sexual orientations in Andromeda, Walters said the team made sure that it makes sense for the individuals, and doesn't just come out of left field. He feels Andromeda does this much better than past games. "It has to be a part of who they are," Walters says. "It's can't just be, 'We need to have three male and three female [options].' We do look at the balance and make sure there's good inclusivity, but I'd much rather say if we need to do that then we have to rethink that character."

In Andromeda, BioWare wants the relationships between the characters you see the most to be the strongest, but it also wants to offer more casual interactions. Not every moment needs to be intense and heavy; sometimes you'll just go on a casual date. "We tried to deepen the relationships that you could have with your crew on the Tempest, and some of the relationships are more minor and minute and aren't even on your ship at all," Walters says. "There are people that you can find in the world and go on a date or something like that."

Whether you can romance multiple people comes down to the character; some will be okay with you dating others, while certain personalities will feel betrayed. "There are at least a couple that don't seem to care," Walters says. While BioWare isn't sharing specific numbers of romanceable characters, Walters did tease the amount of options in the game. "By my count, if you include squad, crew, and light romances, we have more romances than we've ever had before," he says. "And like I said, the relationships are more in depth than we've had before."

Romance Is Here To Stay

BioWare knows how popular the romances are, but that's not why the studio includes them. These relationships provide something that no other element could. "Our games are often about characters, about drama, and romance just seems to fit in that realm," Walters says. "Even aside from what Mass Effect has become, I think it just makes sense. You put people in these stressful situations. There should be tension. There should be love. There should be all of those ranges of emotions with the characters."
 

Somberlain

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The best part of exploring romantic arcs is that characters often reveal different sides of themselves

Like Ashley turning from very bland and average to one of the tranniest looking video game characters in existence.
 

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