Mass Effect: Andromeda

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Zoombie

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I love me some Mass Effect, and I'd love to explore more of the universe without the Reapers hanging over it - Babylon 5 transitioned nicely to a post-First-Ones universe, Mass Effect can do the same!

...seeing as how much ME ripped off B5, just saying...

(I kid, I kid - B5 ripped off a shitton of previous sci-fi, and that previous sci-fi ripped off other people, and so on back to the dawn of time.)

Though, this is just me, but I'd love to see Bioware tackle something in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. My idea was a Mass Effect style third person action RPG wherein you play as a Rogue Trader. Paragon is being a judgmental book burning xenophobe. Renegade is being an open minded diplomatic free thinker! And there will be a snarky romance option between the Eldar Ranger and the PC! LISTEN TO ME BIOWARE, I HAVE ALL THE BEST IDEAS! Like Jade Empire 2 and more isometric games!
 

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The little they showed (finally!) looked pretty interesting and very slick. They didn't really show enough, though, for me to really draw any judgments other than, "Hey, that looks pretty cool. TOOK YOU F$&%ING LONG ENOUGH!"

My only complaint, though, is that even with Frostbite, Bioware still can't create a decent face from scratch or do realistic (or even modern) facial animations. The only good human faces they ever did were the ones that were scanned in from the voice actor and/or face model (with the horrifying exception being Diana Aller's face in ME3. Poor Jessica Chobot). The skin on Ryder's face also looked very waxy. The Asari's eye movement's (at roughly 2:34) don't match the direction of her head or what she should be looking at. The lip syncing seems to be just as bad as previous games.

Facial animations and really bad, cliche body movements that are overused are two of Bioware's biggest visual problems in this series. They've just always sucked at character animations, and I really don't understand it given the high quality work they put into all of the other graphical and gameplay features.

How many times in ME3 did we see several different characters wring their hands while talking to someone? How many times did we see several different characters stand with a swagger and scratch their face while talking? Or do the resentful-looking, "shift weight to back hip and cross arms" movement that totally doesn't fit the conversation? How many times did we see a character put their fist over their mouth while talking, holding that arm at the elbow with their other arm? How many characters swagger for no reason at all while walking in a cut scene. Etc. Etc. Etc. (I'm currently replaying ME3 for about the 12th time, so this stuff is fresh in my mind, but it's always irritated me).

I really hope that they did some good mo-cap for this game. In ME2 and ME3, it seemed like they only had about 5 character animations that they just recycled for every character during every cut scene and conversation, even though most of them didn't at all fit the conversation or what was going on in the scene.

OMG, and the JJ Abrams-like lens flares. Ugh. It seems they're back in this new trailer.

Honestly, in the era of a game like Uncharted 4, with some of the most impressive facial/character animations and character mo-caps (from the actors) of any game I've seen, Bioware still serving up such shitty facials and character movements is really inexcusable for a high-budget game.

https://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/4qlte6/anyone_else_notice_this_resentful_walking_away/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHS7xexH8kA

Having said that, it's really only a somewhat minor annoyance (though it does take me out of the immersive feeling of the game) and I'm certain that the story and other visuals will be top notch. I just hope that they've finally caught up with the rest of the industry from an animation standpoint. They stated in the vid that the footage was "pre-alpha," so I imagine the finished product will be more polished.

I'm looking forward to N7 day to see what else they reveal.
 
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Zoombie

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Maybe they should hire CD Project Red?

I still remember the bit in the Witcher 3 where I was talking to a pair of guards and one of them wore a mostly face concealing helmet - with a small visor slit, and when Geralt mentioned he was a witcher, you could see the guard's brow furrow and eyebrows lift in shock. A tiny, well done detail that completely sells the facial expression of a bit character WHOSE FACE YOU CAN'T EVEN REALLY SEE.

That shit was amazing.
 

Maxinquaye

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Well, I got some good new wallpapers from my desktop from that video I posted in the OP. :D

Anyway, what I’m most curious - or excited - about is to see if BioWare can reclaim the crown as the top studio for story driven action RPGs. They’re going to have to raise their game if they’re going to compete with CD Projekt Red now.

Next year we’re going to, probably, start to hear about Cyberpunk 2077, CDPRs next big game. There’s also some game they haven’t revealed yet, a AAA game that’s supposed to be out this year. We’re running out of 2016 soon, though...

In essence, I want my BioWare back, the BioWare that made ME1-2, and DAO and Jade Empire and KOTOR. I hope CDPR will spur them to new heights.
 

lilyWhite

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If I want tedious horribly-unbalanced (in either direction) combat and storytelling that thinks helping people should ruin their lives in ways you can't possibly predict is good writing, I'll play a CD Projekt Red game.

The last thing BioWare needs to do is to think CD Projekt Red is competition in the slightest, and the last thing I want is BioWare thinking they need to do anything but what BioWare does.
 

shortstorymachinist

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I love me some ME, but playing the games multiple times really dispels the illusion that all your choices affect the gameplay in a significant way. I deliberated for a good five minutes the first time I played the bomb scenario on Virmire. The second time around it was sort of disappointing to realize that the dialogue didn't change all that much post-Virmire, and you essentially got the same result with a different paint job. I'm hoping Andromeda will have greater replay value in that respect, although I know it's a tall order, and I already love re-playing ME so it's just sort of my lofty ideal.
 

KateSmash

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The last thing BioWare needs to do is to think CD Projekt Red is competition in the slightest, and the last thing I want is BioWare thinking they need to do anything but what BioWare does.

Agreed.

This is a trend I see increasing among gamers saying "these games in a similar genre need to all be alike - like the latest one we deemed the best for these rather arbitrary reasons". It wasn't that long ago everyone tripped over themselves to say more rpgs needed to be Skyrim. And what we got were games that didn't do open-world very well. (I love Inquisition - but let's be honest, vast and largely optional zones didn't add much to the game)

Yes, The Witcher is pretty and CDPR is working some serious animation magic. Yes, that's something to aspire to industry wide. But good lord, I thought The Witcher was boring as hell and would probably quit gaming if that were the writing standard narrative games are held to.

Bioware does lovable characters with heroic stories. Whatever missteps they've taken in the last 5-6 years, they still accomplish that. That's the draw of Bioware games.

I swear some days I feel like the only gamer in the universe that could give two winks about freaking graphics.
 

Zoombie

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If I want tedious horribly-unbalanced (in either direction) combat and storytelling that thinks helping people should ruin their lives in ways you can't possibly predict is good writing, I'll play a CD Projekt Red game.

The last thing BioWare needs to do is to think CD Projekt Red is competition in the slightest, and the last thing I want is BioWare thinking they need to do anything but what BioWare does.

Well, I did just say that I wanted their facial animation.

I mean, my perfect game would be plot by Obsidian, characters and gameplay by Bioware, animation, graphics and content breadth by CD Project, bug testing by Valve...

I forget how the corrilary of the joke goes, but I remember that it was 'bug testing by Obsidian.'

EDIT: And just to note...I made my jokey post, admired the Witcher 3's facial animation, but afterwards, I was chatting with one of my non-AW internet friends and I mentioned this conversation, but went on to say...that after about three or four play throughts of ME1, I never really noticed or cared that NPCs used the same stock animations, or that everyone had the same body type, or that clothes looked painted on, or that you never actually saw anyone punch anyone else becuase the animation couldn't handle the actual contact of two 3d models and have it look good.

And you know why?

It's cause the story was really good. And the universe was genius. And they actually had relatively hard science in the codex. And I personally found the gunplay a lot of fun in ME1 and am still sad that they removed infinite ammo guns in ME2 and 3 (even if I know why they did it.)

Graphics are nice. But the game is where its at.
 
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Matt T.

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I'm cautiously optimistic. This trailer shows basically no actual gameplay aside from walking and jumping, and I want to see what combat and exploration looks like before I make any judgments on it.

Honestly, what's going to make or break this game for me is whether they jam the open-world stuff into it or not. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but I hate it how developers are jamming open-world elements into every game under the sun. Dragon Age: Inquisition got so boring for me after a while that I didn't even finish it (I actually enjoyed DA2 more), and a huge part of that was how boring the quest and world design was. Instead of poring their development efforts into a smaller handful of really good sidequests like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, they made hundreds of MMO-style fetch and kill-this-thing quests. And this is very subjective, but I thought the Inquisitor's companions were the most boring cast ever to grace a Bioware game.

Every thing I've heard makes me think they're turning ME:A open world as well, and that we'll be using the Mako to explore huge but boring worlds, ala ME1 but worse. I've enjoyed some open-world games like Far Cry 3 and 4, but it usually wrecks RPGs for me. It's the main reason I'm not interested in The Witcher 3.

It feels like Bioware has been on a downward spiral for years now, but hopefully they can turn this around with ME:A. I'm looking forward to the big trailer in November they're pumping up.
 

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As tempting as it is, I don't know if I want to invest in another Mass Effect game after what happened in Mass Effect 3. (Didn't enjoy that one.)

Off topic derail: Lol, Matt, I felt almost the same way about DA:I. I don't feel attached to this cast like I did with Dragon Age Origins or even Dragon Age II. (Yes, I thought Dragon Age was okay.) The open world felt so big and bland to me. To me, as I'm playing it, it feels like it tries to be like Skyrim (or an MMO?) too much, but without that feeling of actual freedom and discovery that Skyrim and the older Elder Scrolls games usually gave me.

Yeah, can't really put my finger on it, but DA:I didn't excite me as much as DA:O did. It was the only Dragon Age game where I didn't really like the Romance options, too. (Which makes me sad, as Romance is part of the appeal for Bioware game.)

Anyway, back on topic: I'm curious on how Bioware will approach this one after that weird Mass Effect 3 thing.

I wonder how the worldbuilding and alien species will be like this time around, if Bioware has made any major changes...

Hopefully no more Reaper stuff.

ETA: Oh, please, no tons of that weird scanning planets stuff, Bioware. I can't remember much of it, since I rarely did it, but I remembered it felt so dull. I don't like any spaceship or mining stuff. I prefer to shoot things (outside of the spaceship/vehicle) in my shooting games, lol. :p
 
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Zoombie

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Aww...I'm apparently one of the few people in the universe who loved mako stuff...

But that's because I played the hell out of Starflight back in the day and it reminded me of the joy of exploration in that game.
 

Latina Bunny

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Aww...I'm apparently one of the few people in the universe who loved mako stuff...

But that's because I played the hell out of Starflight back in the day and it reminded me of the joy of exploration in that game.

I could be misremembering, since it's been a long, long time since I've played these games, but is Mako the part where you have to scan planets or was that planet scanning only Mass Effect 3?

Because I really, really did not enjoy scanning planets and outrunning Reapers at all. >_< I didn't sign up for that stuff.

I just wanted to shoot stuff, flirt with Garrus, and chat with Mordin and other aliens and whatever the hell Legion was.
 

KateSmash

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No no. The Mako is the cruddy little landing vehicle/rover you drive around in ME1. The one with absolutely no steering (that spawned all the later jokes of Shepard being unable to drive) and constantly defied the very laws of physics. You took it out in the main quests, but most of the side quests took you to open planets to go looking for bases and whatnot. A lot of the landscapes where fun to drive through.

I personally love the Mako. Idk, it made the galaxy feel bigger than it did in 2 and 3 when you just let Edi scan from orbit.
 

VeryBigBeard

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A lot of the landscapes where fun to drive through.

Both literally and figuratively.

I believe one of the DLCs for ME2 features the wreck of the Normandy SR-1. The Mako is sticking up at an alarming angle from an ice formation or something--stuck in the level geography one, last time.

I personally love the Mako. Idk, it made the galaxy feel bigger than it did in 2 and 3 when you just let Edi scan from orbit.

I love it, too, and would love to see it in ME:A but the uproar would be too much. I think it's gone for good.
 

Zoombie

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Well, the hover-craft included in the DLC for ME2 was actually a lot of fun to drive too.

That, plus the more open scale areas from ME1?

I'd be down for that.

Down like a town!
 

Opty

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I love it, too, and would love to see it in ME:A but the uproar would be too much. I think it's gone for good.
ME:A is bringing the Mako back. They've specifically talked about it making a comeback and have already given a very brief, pre-alpha demo of it.

Thankfully, they're saying it will be much more user-friendly and more fun to drive. I kind of liked the Mako in ME1, but the physics of it were very wonky at times.

https://www.vg247.com/2016/06/13/ma...asier-to-drive-thanks-to-need-for-speed-team/
 

VeryBigBeard

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Well, I missed that.

I liked the hovercraft, but it felt tacked on. It made that DLC so very, very long. That planet was one of the most beautiful in the game, but jumping lava and trying not to get hit by a single turret because the hovercraft came with armour like paper did distract a bit from the tension around the investigation.
 

Zoombie

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True...

Personally, I'd forgive a lot if they just brought the infinite ammo guns back.

I mean, have heat clips for "rapid cool down", but if you're out of heat clips, you should still be able to cool the gun down the old ME1 style way.
 

VeryBigBeard

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True...

Personally, I'd forgive a lot if they just brought the infinite ammo guns back.

I mean, have heat clips for "rapid cool down", but if you're out of heat clips, you should still be able to cool the gun down the old ME1 style way.

I wasn't bothered by the guns thing but then I played the game half for enjoyment and half with an eye to game design.

What I wanted back was the Colossus Armor. I think that was the name. The best armour, to the point of being overpowered, but it was also by far the best looking. It was the only armour that made the Sheppard look like a Spectre.
 

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No no. The Mako is the cruddy little landing vehicle/rover you drive around in ME1. The one with absolutely no steering (that spawned all the later jokes of Shepard being unable to drive) and constantly defied the very laws of physics. You took it out in the main quests, but most of the side quests took you to open planets to go looking for bases and whatnot. A lot of the landscapes where fun to drive through.

I personally love the Mako. Idk, it made the galaxy feel bigger than it did in 2 and 3 when you just let Edi scan from orbit.


Ah, I see. I haven't played the first Mass Effect (due to it being on XBOX, a system I didn't have at the time). I've only played Mass Effect 2 on PC and ME3 on PS3.

Ugh, vehicles. I usually dislike vehicle driving in most games. (There are only a few games where I sort of enjoyed the vehicles.) I can give the Mako a chance if it has decent controls (and I don't have to race or something).
 

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Dang, guys, none of you enjoyed the angry world of testosterone-fueled man-rage that was The Witcher as much as I did. I liked DA:I and ME:3 a lot too, I'm pretty easy to please with my rpgs.

I'm gonna play it, but have a distinct meh response right now, mainly because, and your guys said it, I want old Bioware back. And I realize that's impossible, and don't want be resistant to change because of nostalgia. What I'm hoping is that they can open up the game world, something that I never got from Mass Effect's dull, monotonous hallways and constant railroading. The sheer scope of space opera can limit it, at times, and ME constantly suffered for this. I'm assuming the new game is going to have more of a colony building theme, thus the inclusion of the Mako. Obviously I like open world games than some of you, so it comes down to preference. My worry is an endless succession of boring, half-finished (but pretty) planets, with a tightly-confines story and characters constantly trying to out-wacky each other.

Anyone else hoping they go back to a menu system more like the first one. Upgrades, so boring!
 

KateSmash

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I'm trying so hard not to give in and get hype but ...

N7 day is Monday, y'all!


I'm bracing myself for a full trailer. Maybe a release date (finally).
 
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