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[Killthee]

So your character from the demo transfers into the game right? I got super far into the demo and the fucking thing froze right after the Wilson scene, anyone else encounter this?

Highly unlikely considering the demo skips some sections and doesn't actually create a save file.

 

[AlStrong]

Highly unlikely considering the demo skips some sections and doesn't actually create a save file.

Plus they probably want players to start with their ME1 comic. It's a shame it wasn't included in the demo as opposed to the "Previously on Mass Effect" video considering just how long the intro takes to get through, let alone multiple times.

 

[Lord Error]

Really good port indeed. What I just can't understand is why are the video sequences the worst performing part of the game? They skip frames and tear a lot, whereas whenever there's realtime cutscene or gameplay going on, thing looks great and run more smoothly. Videos not only skip/tear frames but have lots of compression artifacts too, but I guess that's expected for a multiplatform game at this point.

God damn. I hope this isn't what the lighting for ME3 looks like on all platforms.

That screen/scene has been special selected to make things look weird. The lighting in all versions of the game can cause some unspectacular results depending on the angles and setup, but from what I've seen it does generally look more natural in the PS3 version.

 

[mintylurb]

Not exactly..


Yes. The shadows are more pronounced, but that makes it look unrealistic.

Look at the shadows under his eyebrow, lip, and face, and on the underside of his nose -- they're way too dark.

Both versions look unrealistic. Miranada looks a bit off in the picture you posted because the lighting makes her looks like a zombie. If you're going to start claiming one version looks awkward a lot of times based on some selective screenshots then I can also post some pictures to show the 360 version in not so favorable light(pun intended) and claim those shots make the 360 version looks awkward a lot of times too but that'll be just silly.

 

[Tomasooie]

That screen/scene has been special selected to make things look weird. The lighting in all versions of the game can cause some unspectacular results depending on the angles and setup, but from what I've seen it does generally look more natural in the PS3 version.

Watch the video, there are quite a few instances where the PS3 version's lighting looks strange. Most of the time, both versions look nearly identical. I can't remember a scene where the lighting on the PS3 looked more natural. Post a screencap.

All things considered though, the port is great. The framerate was a lot smoother in some places. All the DLC is there, and the game is on one disc. No one should be turned away by any minor technical details.

 

[Mutagenic]

The two console versions look about the same on my setup but the 360 version runs much smoother. All this talk of the PS3 version using the ME3 engine feels like silly marketing hype at this point. I was thinking about picking this up on PS3 and selling my 360 copy, but I don't think I'll bother to now.

 

[jonnybryce]

Thoughts:

-Gorgeous game but graphics are a bit grainy.

-The videos are terrible, I'm hoping it's compression to speed up the download for the demo. Tearing, artifacts, there's no excuse; pure nasty.

-Story is confusing but that's to be expected diving into the game.

-Cover combat is actually really fun. Just beat Uncharted 2 and I have more fun shooting and fighting in ME2 demo.

-The face movements are a bit painful and robotic. Having recently completed Enslaved makes it even worse as that game had lifelike facial expressions.

-Pacing is a bit slow for my tastes.

-Can be a bit confusing to know where to go next as corridors all look the same.

I'm not instantly enamored as I hoped I would be but it's enjoyable. I'll probably pick this up.

 

[Tomasooie]

If you're going to start claiming one version looks awkward a lot of times based on some selective screenshots then I can also post some pictures to show the 360 version in not so favorable light(pun intended) and claim those shots make the 360 version looks awkward a lot of times too but that'll be just silly.

Then do it. I'd like to be proven wrong. I'm just posting what I noticed: most of the time they looked near-identical, and when there were major discrepancies, the 360 had the advantage.

 

[LiK]

Thoughts:

-Gorgeous game but graphics are a bit grainy.

-The videos are terrible, I'm hoping it's compression to speed up the download for the demo. Tearing, artifacts, there's no excuse; pure nasty.

-Story is confusing but that's to be expected diving into the game.

-Cover combat is actually really fun. Just beat Uncharted 2 and I have more fun shooting and fighting in ME2 demo.

-The face movements are a bit painful and robotic. Having recently completed Enslaved makes it even worse as that game had lifelike facial expressions.

-Pacing is a bit slow for my tastes.

-Can be a bit confusing to know where to go next as corridors all look the same.

I'm not instantly enamored as I hoped I would be but it's enjoyable. I'll probably pick this up.

did you turn off the film filter? the grain is on purpose to make it look like a movie.

 

[|ync]

Looks like they didn't bother to polish the new shadow system or whatever on the ME2 content.

I get the feeling ME3 won't have the same issues as it is being built from the start with this stuff.

I was about to post the same thing. Probably a lot of the lighting "issues" are because all the ME2 light sources were placed and adjusted to look good in the ME2 lighting engine, then they switched lighting engines without changing the light sources so there are bound to be some oddities.

In ME3 they will be placing and adjusting the lights to look good in the ME3 lighting engine and everything should look fine.

 

[Yoshichan]

-Gorgeous game but graphics are a bit grainy.

Options -> Turn off film grain

-Can be a bit confusing to know where to go next as corridors all look the same.

Press L3 to see where your objective is.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

I finally tried the demo. It ran smooth to me*. Definitely a step up from Bioware Dragon Age PS3 (which I played about 5 different times). The graphics looked great to me. The controls were restrictive. There were times I wish I could whip out a Nathan Drake run around + cover + blindfire + runback while firing type stuff. Too bad it's kinda tank like.

I don't usually care for the scifi space theme (star trek, starwars) but the opening kinda caught my attention. This game is pretty good. They just need to step it up and call it a shooter with team abilities, and classes. Stop playing around and jump all the way in.

Edit: Oh and I think I made a big mistake playing this game half sleepy. The map layout and decoration nearly knocked me out cold. I kept going back to the same spot wondering if it was somewhere different. Darn space craft architecture.

 

[Kagari]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

 

[LiK]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

i dunno, Bioware did some amazing things with it. Some of the landscapes and cityscapes look gorgeous in the background.

 

[Yoshichan]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

But... but Mirrors Edge...

 

[∀ Narayan]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

I can't speak for console versions, but every PC game I've played that uses UE3 looks pretty good. (I haven't played to many UE3 games, mind you.)

But... but Mirrors Edge...

This, too.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Too bad it's so easy to use (it seem). I really hate that engine, the look of it is unmistakable.

Spoiler

Why SE? ffxi looked so awesome.

 

[Kagari]

Too bad it's so easy to use (it seem). I really hate that engine, the look of it is unmistakable.

Spoiler

Why SE? ffxi looked so awesome.

S-E only used UE3 once: Last Remnant.

 

[Stallion Free]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

There are more than a few games on PC that use it and look excellent.

 

[LiK]

S-E only used UE3 once: Last Remnant.

Other than the pop up textures, the TLR characters looked pretty nice and animated well.

Sowee Kagari-chan, i must disagree

 

[TTP]

I really don't get why the video sequences are so bad. Hopefully it's just for the demo (keeping the file size small and all).

 

[subversus]

I played the demo. The only thing felt wrong is 30 fps. Other than that it has above average graphics for console games. People arguing about screen-tearing/sub-hd and framerate on consoles are pretty funny. WOW, it drops to 25 FPS sometimes!!! Shieeeeeeeeet! Also screen tearing! And no AA!! And 1280*(gasp)600 res!!! You get what you pay for. So stop bitching and enjoy the fucking game because it is still cool. It's not like you lost 30 fps and AA dropped from 8x to 0.

 

[Kagari]

Other than the pop up textures, the TLR characters looked pretty nice and animated well.

Sowee Kagari-chan, i must disagree

Yeah but it had that trademark UE3 vaseline all over it.

 

[jonnybryce]

did you turn off the film filter? the grain is on purpose to make it look like a movie.

:lol Thanks. I find it annoying.

Options -> Turn off film grain

Press L3 to see where your objective is.

Thank you, too. I liked it better when I thought that was randomly appearing as a friendly tip. Now I'll probably spam it more than I should.

It makes sense but I still find the levels to be disappointingly monotonous. Not a huge deal though. Will buy.

 

[subversus]

One thing I noticed and REALLY disliked - horrible sound quality. I have Creative X-Fi Titanium on PC and I thought that ME2 doesn't really use it anyway. It seems it does.

 

[mintylurb]

Then do it. I'd like to be proven wrong. I'm just posting what I noticed: most of the time they looked near-identical, and when there were major discrepancies, the 360 had the advantage.

How can both version look near-identical most of the time when you previously said "The lighting looks really awkward a lot of the time on PS3" haha. Smh. Some of you guys are so transparent.

Anyway, I'll pick up this version when it hits $20 or something.

I played the demo. The only thing felt wrong is 30 fps. Other than that it has above average graphics for console games. People arguing about screen-tearing/sub-hd and framerate on consoles are pretty funny. WOW, it drops to 25 FPS sometimes!!! Shieeeeeeeeet! Also screen tearing! And no AA!! And 1280*(gasp)600 res!!! You get what you pay for. So stop bitching and enjoy the fucking game because it is still cool. It's not like you lost 30 fps and AA dropped from 8x to 0.

Oh. It's not even 720P? Hahah.

 

[LiK]

:lol Thanks. I find it annoying.



Thank you, too. I liked it better when I thought that was randomly appearing as a friendly tip. Now I'll probably spam it more than I should.

It makes sense but I still find the levels to be disappointingly monotonous. Not a huge deal though.

no prob. the levels are more diverse as you progress. they did a better job changing it up between the main quest and sidequest locales in ME2. ME1 was terrible in comparison.

 

[subversus]

Oh. It's not even 720P? Hahah.

I don't know what res it does have, it was just an example. like 100px in resolution makes that huge difference.

 

[vodka-bull]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

You are aware that Mirror's Edge used UE3 too, are you?

 

[∀ Narayan]

Yeah but it had that trademark UE3 vaseline all over it.

UE3 games do have a distinct look about them, but I would hardly describe it as "vaseline". Sub-HD games definitely look as though Vaseline was smeared across the screen, though. I played through the PC version of The Last Remnant a little bit, and while it did have that distinct UE3 look about it, it certainly didn't look as though Vaseline was covering everything.

 

[Always-honest]

Too bad it's so easy to use (it seem). I really hate that engine, the look of it is unmistakable.

Spoiler

Why SE? ffxi looked so awesome.

Fairytale Fights

 

[Grisby]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

I dunno, I thought Bioshock, Gears 2, Mirrors Edge, and Mass Effect 2 looked amazing. And I've only played them on my 360. Oh, and more recently Enslaved was quite beautiful at times.

UE3 might produce middling results for the average developer but given enough time and budget it can look amazing.

 

[mintylurb]

I don't know what res it does have, it was just an example. like 100px in resolution makes that huge difference.

Oh I see. Your other examples were all correct so I figured 600P res was correct as well. N/M. Lulz averted.

 

[Mutagenic]

I agree, UE3 continues to look better and better.

 

[LiK]

UE3 is like clay, just need to mold and shape the shit outta it. and maybe sprinkle some powder to make it less shiny.

 

[electroshockwave]

Even though I don't really like UE3 it's a massive exaggeration to say that it's the worst engine ever. Even if we're just talking about engines in AAA games Gamebryo has just about everything else beat.

 

[subversus]

UE3 looks ugly on consoles because lack of AA, smeared textures and tearing take away too much from it. When IQ is crisp it shines. The engine was built with PC architecture in mind, that's why it looks and runs better on 360. PS3 UE3 games always have and will have some issues.

 

[Haunted]

Well, we all knew that the PC version would remain the one to get, whether this is using the "Mass Effect 3 engine" (newer revision of UE3 is what it is >_>) or not.


This is purely for PS3-only people.

 

[Stallion Free]

"UE3 is ugly on anything"

proof by The Octagon / his work on www.deadendthrills.com

 

[DSN2K]

wasnt Bioshock UE2.5 not 3 if I remember correctly!?

 

[Kyoufu]

Not like it matters if you get it on 360, PC or PS3. ME2 is ME2.

 

[shwimpy]

I love how a fairly new developer in Rocksteady utilized UE3 close to perfectly in Batman:AA yet so many of these experienced developers can't code worth shit when it comes to the PS3.

 

[∀ Narayan]

wasnt Bioshock UE2.5 not 3 if I remember correctly!?

Correct, albeit highly modified.

 

[dark10x]

UE3 is ugly on anything, so I don't know why you guys are arguing. Worst. Engine. Ever.

Couldn't disagree more. The engine can produce some amazing results.

The problem, of course, is that with so many different games using it, some are bound to look ugly. It's not the engines fault.

"UE3 is ugly on anything"

proof by The Octagon / his work on www.deadendthrills.com

Any way to get AA like that in UE3? When I try to use any high-end AA options with UE3 games, the framerate suffers quite a bit. I've been using the ATI "MLAA" option for now, as it produces nice results with next to no performance hit, but I'd like to do something more.

The PC is so promising on the image quality front, but you give up perfect framerates when pushing AA on demanding titles.

 

[.la1n]

I was wondering when the tired old UE3 complaints would pop up in this thread. Can't wait for UE4 to come out so everyone can use that as their whipping boy.

 

[DSN2K]

I was wondering when the tired old UE3 complaints would pop up in this thread. Can't wait for UE4 to come out so everyone can use that as their whipping boy.

give it year then it will be "oh look one more generic UE4 game" :lol

 

[Stallion Free]

Any way to get AA like that in UE3? When I try to use any high-end AA options with UE3 games, the framerate suffers quite a bit. I've been using the ATI "MLAA" option for now, as it produces nice results with next to no performance hit, but I'd like to do something more.

The PC is so promising on the image quality front, but you give up perfect framerates when pushing AA on demanding titles.

8x AA on both my 5850/460 give me 60 fps 95% of the time. On certain games it's 100% of the time.

 

[Lord Error]

I finally tried the demo. It ran smooth to me*. Definitely a step up from Bioware Dragon Age PS3 (which I played about 5 different times). The graphics looked great to me. The controls were restrictive. There were times I wish I could whip out a Nathan Drake run around + cover + blindfire + runback while firing type stuff. Too bad it's kinda tank like

Yeah, cover shooting and character movement here is incredibly clunky and less sophisticated compared to UC2 (seriously wtf at the person above who said the opposite...), but still much better than in the first game. It's workable, and as someone said it's like Star Trek - you shouldn't focus too much on the technical or you'll miss the good adventure thing the game has clearly going on.

Couldn't disagree more. The engine can produce some amazing results

To be fair, the games people usually bring up as proof that it can offer amazing results are games where the lighting engine has been completely rewritten from the default one - like Mirror's Edge or new MOH single player,

 

[Square Triangle]

Played through the demo, I didn't notice anything different from what I played nearly a year ago on the 360. Either way, since I never bought any of the DLC and I love the franchise this is a buy for me.

Especially since Dragon Age 2 looks like complete garbage in every department.

 

[shwimpy]

Yeah, cover shooting and character movement here is incredibly clunky and less sophisticated compared to UC2 (seriously wtf at the person above who said the opposite...), but still much better than in the first game.

The cover to jump over obstacles mechanic is so dumb. :lol