Mass Effect Thread - Remastered Version Out Now

Discussion in 'Video Game and Fantasy Football Board' started by Illinihockey, Nov 7, 2016.

  1. Illinihockey

    Illinihockey Well-Known Member
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    AIP, pearl and IV like this.
  2. prerecordedlive

    prerecordedlive Sworn Enemy of Standard Time
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    Happy N7 Day, boys. Not pumped for this yet, but I will be once the details leak.

    ME2 and 3 are backwards compatible for Xbox One today, btw.
     
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  3. prerecordedlive

    prerecordedlive Sworn Enemy of Standard Time
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    Gotta assume it does. ME1 has been out for some time and I got a little ways into it, but I think the delay here was in how to get the multiple-disc thing to work. I don't see why they'd have trouble carrying save files from one game to the next, since people have had save files carry over from 360 to newly BC games (i.e. Red Dead Redemption saving your online progress).
     
  4. letan

    letan Just looking for the gator board
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    Will definitely be picking this game up. Loved the original mass effect series. The first game is probably one of my favorite games.
     
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  5. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    I really wish there were more gameplay in that trailer. But what I saw looks crazy. For a game that comes out in the spring, I know so little about it
     
  6. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    I'm really hoping the quality of this story is closer to KOTOR than the original ME trilogy.
     
  7. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    Idk man the first two installments of the ME Series was really well done in my eyes from a story stand point. Koror was incredible but I don't think that ME was far off at all until part 3 ruined everything
     
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  8. Odin

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    i'm not sure i've experienced a video game story as compelling or a twist as shocking as the original kotor, maybe tlou?. mass effect did a lot right but the main story wasn't quite at that level.
     
  9. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    Bioshock much, fam?
     
  10. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    yes. i can't stress enough how much i loved kotor.
     
  11. pearl

    pearl Fan of: White wimmens feet
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  12. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    it is far from kotor, tlou, bioshock
     
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  13. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    you're wrong
     
  14. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    I wouldn't say far but those are definitely three games I would above it.
     
  15. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    i could probably come up with a handful of others i like more. mass effect is elite but i think it's 2nd tier rather than top tier.
     
  16. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    You're pushing it man. As a whole, yes, 3 kinda killed what it had going for it. But one and two are top tier and I don't think many people outside you would argue against it. On characters alone it's top tier
     
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  17. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    handful might be excessive. mostly i can only think of kingdom hearts i would put above it.

    i'm not implying 2nd tier is bad when i put 4 stories in the top tier.
     
  18. je ne suis pas ici

    je ne suis pas ici Well-Known Member
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    yep

    also looks like they've managed that whole "diff galaxy outside of milky way timeline" issue by just saying yeah these people during the ME days were in cyro sleep for hundreds of years and viola they woke up. i allow it.
     
  19. AIP

    AIP Team bush
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    Bio shock was and may always be the best story in a game
     
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  20. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    Mass Effect is one of my all time favorite game concepts, but I never played ME3. I much preferred the gameplay of 1 over the dumbed down (imo) gameplay of 2.
     
  21. RingWraithe

    RingWraithe Trying to live vicariously....
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    Dragon Age and The Witcher fit in somewhere near the top in terms of story telling.
     
  22. DUCKMOUTH

    DUCKMOUTH People don’t you know, don’t you know
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    Agree. It sucked me in and never let go.

    Love it
     
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  23. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    The witcher is the only game from this gen that qualifies as an all time game. It told a fantastic story, had enjoyable gameplay, was flat out gorgeous and didn't stoop to the level of catering to the casual crowd like Bethesda did with FO4 and still found great success. I so look forward to the future at CDPR
     
  24. Illinihockey

    Illinihockey Well-Known Member
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    Fallout 4 was fun but a huge disappointment for me
     
  25. Illinihockey

    Illinihockey Well-Known Member
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    The story just kind of sucked. I know they were trying to make it a gray, not black and white decision but really all they left you with was 3 pretty blah options. The story just never drew me in ever. In the end your decisions were betray your father, betray your friends, or work against the advancement of mankind. Awesome, glad I just sunk 60 hours into feeling like shit at the end of the game. New Vegas also gave you 3 options but all of them were appealing in different ways.
     
  26. RingWraithe

    RingWraithe Trying to live vicariously....
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    Fallout and Fallout 2 I rank pretty high in terms of story and playability. I was a huge fan of Wasteland.
    Shit, I even had Fallout as my personalized car tag for years.
     
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  27. DUCKMOUTH

    DUCKMOUTH People don’t you know, don’t you know
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    Bet you were swatting the pussy away left and right
     
  28. TrustyPatches

    TrustyPatches Life is is a bunch of ups and Caleb Downs
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    You're straight up wrong
     
  29. RingWraithe

    RingWraithe Trying to live vicariously....
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    Good thing I was already married....
     
  30. prerecordedlive

    prerecordedlive Sworn Enemy of Standard Time
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  31. pearl

    pearl Fan of: White wimmens feet
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    http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...t-andromeda-39-s-new-approach-to-romance.aspx

    Mass Effect Andromeda's New Approach To Romance

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    by Kimberley Wallace on November 18, 2016 at 02:00 PM
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    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, 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.'"

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    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 do," 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."

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    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 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."
     
  32. Super Vegeta

    Super Vegeta I'm starting to feel like I'm entering my slut era
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    It's been far too long since a Mass Effect game.
     
  33. pearl

    pearl Fan of: White wimmens feet
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    http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/11/21/getting-to-know-the-tempest-mass-effects-new-normandy.aspx

    Getting To Know The Tempest: Mass Effect's New Normandy

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    by Joe Juba on November 21, 2016 at 04:00 PM
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    When you’re exploring the far reaches of space, it helps to have a home away from home. In the Mass Effect series, your ship serves a variety of purposes. It can be a military base, where you plot your next tactical move; it can be a clubhouse, where you hang out with companions and get to know them better; and it can be a command center, where you make decisions about your character’s progression.

    In the Mass Effect trilogy, players had the Normandy, which became almost as iconic as Commander Shepard. In Mass Effect Andromeda, you have the Tempest, a ship that functions like the Normandy in some ways, but also stands out with its own distinguishing features and innovations. Since players will spend a lot of time aboard this vessel exploring its corridors and interacting with its crew, we’re taking a closer look at what you can expect from the Tempest and how it helps in your mission to find a new home in Andromeda.

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    Areas of Interest
    During our trip to BioWare’s Montreal studio, we got a limited virtual tour of the Tempest. The team wasn’t ready to show off every corner of the ship, but we saw some of the major areas, like the bridge, the galley, the garage, and the Pathfinder’s quarters. You can seamlessly travel between these locations, with no loading screens or painfully slow elevators to hold you back.

    The bridge will be a more regular destination than it was aboard the Normandy. You still can drop by to talk to the pilot (a salarian), but handling navigation is your most common task there. Instead of going to a galaxy map in the middle of the ship, you stand on the bridge and stare out at the stars in front of you as you select your destinations.

    After passing through an elliptical corridor (similar to one seen on the Normandy), you are in the galley. This area has more of an atrium-like feel, with windows offering a nice view and stairs leading up to a seating area on a second level. One of the most conspicuous objects in the galley is a holographic interface that allows Ryder to modify skill-point distribution, which is how you change your abilities between missions.

    Farther back is the garage, which is where the Nomad (your Mako-like vehicle) is parked. Any visual customizations that you’ve made to the vehicle, like its paint job, are visible as you look down on it from the upper part of this tiered area.

    The Pathfinder’s quarters is Ryder’s personal space. BioWare tells us that players will have some control over the décor here, and the room gets more of a moved-in feeling as the game goes on. You might see various mementos in this room, like reflections of your progress in the critical path, or simple souvenirs like a rock.

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    The Look
    The Tempest isn’t just a smaller version of the Normandy. It’s a sleeker ship built for scouting, and its overall design reflects that purpose. The differences might not be so apparent when you see the ship flying through space, but the distinction shines through once the Tempest has landed.

    “The whole look I wanted for the Tempest is that extremely cantilevered balance to the ship,” says art director Joel MacMillan. “So you have this very long, thin fuselage, but then the landing gear would be situated at the back. I love the image of that being parked on a cliff face – it’s almost like it’s on a perch, and you see the nose extending off the cliff face.”

    Unlike the Normandy, the Tempest isn’t necessarily a one-of-a-kind ship. It is the scout ship for the human ark Hyperion, which means that the arks for the other races theoretically have similar ships. However, that shouldn’t make you feel like your ship is any less cool. “The idea is that there are other ships out there,” says creative director Mac Walters. “We don’t tend to see the other ships. We wanted to make the Tempest feel unique and special to the player.”

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    Being There
    Letting players move throughout the Tempest with no loading screens helps immerse players in Mass Effect Andromeda, and that goal manifests in other ways aboard the ship. For instance, what you see out the windows will reflect your location in space and change as you fly to different celestial objects.

    In the Mass Effect trilogy, you were met with a static backdrop in the few places you could look out into space from the Normandy. That isn’t necessarily a bad solution, but it doesn’t do much to make players feel like they are part of the world. That’s why the team pushed to make your surroundings aboard the ship more convincing. “When you look out the window of the Tempest, you should see space out there,” Walters says. “If you’re parked in front of a planet, you actually see that planet everywhere you go on the Tempest.”

    If you decide to go explore the planet sitting outside your window, the team also wants that to happen with minimal interruptions. Selecting your destination, flying there, landing on the planet, and then rolling out onto the surface in the Nomad is going to be as continuous a process as possible. “With memory limitations, with loading limitations, there was a real problem; if you wanted to go from one place to another, you had to unload everything, you had to reload everything – it was a long time,” says technical director Harold Chaput. “It really broke the flow of the game. Now, it’s so much smoother to be on the ship, land on a planet, jump around, go inside a building. It’s all very seamless, so breaking down the barriers frees up the player to explore and do activities. It makes it easier to make a rich and full environment.”

    One piece of immersion you won’t have? Flying the Tempest yourself. “Part of what made it hard is, we had debates about whether you should be able to manually fly the Tempest all the way around,” Walters says. “Ultimately, we had to say ‘Not in this game.’ If you try to do too many things, everything starts to suffer. But we had working prototypes of that, and it was compelling, but it wasn’t compelling enough.”

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    Your Crew
    As much fun as it is to roam around a spaceship, the characters of the Mass Effect series have always been a bigger draw. Like previous games, your party gathers aboard your ship, and they find their own areas of the Tempest where you can seek them out. However, they won’t always be standing still in one spot. They stick to a general vicinity, but they might be doing different things in that space. This extends beyond your fleshed-out companions to regular NPCs, too. One goal for Mass Effect Andromeda is to make the Tempestfeel more active than the Normandy, with fewer stock crew members standing around inert.

    “There are some limitations to what they can do; they won’t be running around the whole ship as you are,” says space lead Jessica Hara Campbell. “But they’ll be doing things and interacting with the ship, because it’s a small crew and everybody has a job. So they need to be looking like they’re active. They may be doing things that draw you toward them, or they may be calibrating.”

    The Tempest fills many roles in Mass Effect Andromeda. It gives players a home base to return to, it functions as a hub for social interactions, and it acts as your gateway to the rest of the galaxy. Hitting the right balance is a challenge, but BioWare is looking closely at what previous Mass Effect games did correctly on those fronts. “Mass Effect 1 did a good job of using the Normandy for those pinch points in the critical path, and Mass Effect 3 did a good job making it feel alive with the way the characters moved around the ship,” Walters says. “The Tempest is a combination of those two things. Much more of those ‘Hey, we’re a team, let’s figure this out and have a chat’ after a mission, but also lots of interactions.”

    The Normandy is near and dear to the hearts of many Mass Effect fans. From what we’ve seen, the Tempest offers everything Shepard’s ship did, plus some new innovations to make the ride even smoother.

    To learn even more about Mass Effect Andromeda, click on the banner below to enter our hub of exclusive content.

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    Email the author Joe Juba, or follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Game Informer.

    Filed under: feature, ea, mass effect, pc, electronic arts, bioware, playstation 4, xbox one, andromeda, tempest
     
  34. DUCKMOUTH

    DUCKMOUTH People don’t you know, don’t you know
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    About to start ME 1-3 playthrough

    Think this will be my 4th time
     
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  35. Artoo

    Artoo 1312
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    I'm not sold on this one yet. Going to wait a bit after it comes out to see how the community is reacting to it.