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Mass Effect (4): First Details & Images [Update 2: Video of Mako driving around]
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Agree completely why the hell are you guys so excited for the Mako exploring is good but when it's nothing but barren land, that might contain an item or some tiny sidequest then it's not that interesting.
Seriously bioware showed you a concept of a car that's nothing new it's still the Mako without the cannon.
Why the hype ??
Dobkeratops
OT Hard Carry
This, pretty much.
ME1's gameplay was clunky as hell and the Mako segments were absolutely dreadful and inane. Cool skyboxes I guess.
They fixed the shooting in subsequent games so let's see if they can make exploration actually fun and rewarding this time around.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
The texture pop-in was a nightmare, but tbf you could turn the grain off in the options menu. Was the first thing I did.
ME1 is one of my favourite games of all time but I think its a little too revered on GAF, the game had a LOT of problems, mostly the awful side quests and terrible controls/interface/UI. IMO ME2 fixed most of them, I preferred the smaller amount of more detailed side missions.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
It definitely is. To go back to anything ME1 did except the concept of exploration is a huge mistake. But hey, shaky moon buggy exploring barren lifeless vistas. As disappointing now as it was in 2007.
Crimsonsky
Member
Brutal.
I'm at zero hype for this. Certainly there are creative ways that Bioware could escape from the corner they wrote themselves into, but the question is can they? Unless they put someone like Patrick Weekes in charge I doubt it.
Do you know the difference between technical and aesthetic aspects?
eot
Banned
That has a lot to do with armor designs, doesn't it?
Yeah, when people talk about aesthetic and armor design what they really mean is early UE3 texture streaming problems and a screen effect that can be disabled.
Not the stuff found in this book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0761558519/?tag=neogaf0e-20
peanutbutterlatte
Member
What in your mind changed so much in the armour design? I guess ME1's had a more "onesie" vibe.
I'll explain the difference in one quick quote from p. 38 of the art book:
"The final design for standard human armor created a futuristic and form-fitting look while retaining a functional appearance that could be effective in combat."
From 2 on the series took a bulky plates, big shoulder pads and Kevlar mesh pattern approach. And it isn't just armor - the whole look of the series changed. It's really interesting to go back to this now 7 year old art book and compare it what we're seeing today.
Winterfang
Banned
The main character is not human? I hope is this just a single entry spin off to please the ME1 fans that has being complaining for years on end. And we get a proper sequel later on.
TheLegendOfMart
Banned
I do, I wanna hear about my Shep and Kaidan getting freaky and having a big family.
The only "proper" sequel they can do is set it a few hundred years after ME3 with hardly any information about the reaper war.
There's no way to properly continue off ME3 otherwise.
Cyber Caesar
Member
What about non human scares you?
mgs2master2
Banned
I am ok with this, if it goes this route.
Winterfang
Banned
Which this isn't is. Seems to be the story of some Alien we haven't heard about and what he was doing while Shepard was fighting the reapers/collectors/was dead
Because is a dumb idea that pleases a vocal minority and only helps to lower sales.
Baron_Calamity
Member
I guess it doesn't matter what they do, I will play the next Mass Effect game.
MasterForm
Member
For some reason I don't want this game to happen. I enjoyed the trilogy, but I'm not enthused about this game. I'll buy it, of course, because my hype will increase as launch gets closer.
Also, why is the abominable Mako back?
Also, why is the abominable Mako back?
Principate
Saint Titanfall
That's why Dragon age Origins did so terribly amiright and DA2 so well. What you said has nothing to do with sales potential of the game. They'll pick a human protagonist default and market it like they have and nothing would really change.
Such a weird hang up to have.
An interesting concept would be if this game was centered around some kind of seed ship that had hundreds people on board from all over the milky way. Maybe not explicitly a seed ship but maybe a refuge ship during the reaper war that travels through some phenomenon into a new galaxy. This would provide the reasoning behind having all the various races from the milky way there. It would also be a good excuse for exploration in order to find resources to help supply the people and to find a way back home or new place to settle.
It could also be good for some BSG intrigue and political drama between the various races and factions aboard the ship.
It could also be good for some BSG intrigue and political drama between the various races and factions aboard the ship.
Darkstorne
Member
I doubt many would disagree with you on how poorly it controlled (though I think that was mainly due to some of the planet's steep rocky designs). But after Mass 2 and 3 the Mako has become a symbol of exploration. A return to the Mako also means a return to planetary exploration - one of the biggest draws of, well, pretty much any space game.
Slackbladder
Member
Because apparantly it's no longer abominable. It's also vital for exploration.
Taking place at the same time as ME1/2/3 but in another galaxy (Andromeda is closest but how the fuck do you get there it's 2.5 million light years away?) makes sense. The look and feel of the game will be familiar but the explorative side of the game would be central.
Wait and see I guess but I'm hoping for the best.
Hibiki Kurosawa
Member
YES! The more like Mass Effect 1 gameplay, the better!
I read this in Udina's voice. Terra Firma party huh ?
Weapon holster!
BrassDragon
Member
Another event, another dose of non-information.
"There's a Mako but we won't tell you how it's better than the first iteration. It's called Mass Effect but we won't give you the title, just don't call it Mass Effect 4. There'll be links to Shepard's story but we won' discuss narrative at this time. There'll be choice and customization and it'll be amazing when we finally deign to show it off. It's a true Mass Effect experience, trust us, because the last installment really showed how well we understand what the Mass Effect experience is."
Whatever happend to "show, don't tell"? With Dragon Age Inquisition they stated their intentions and then went radio silent until they had actual stuff to show
Some people's hype treshold is way, way lower than mine.
"There's a Mako but we won't tell you how it's better than the first iteration. It's called Mass Effect but we won't give you the title, just don't call it Mass Effect 4. There'll be links to Shepard's story but we won' discuss narrative at this time. There'll be choice and customization and it'll be amazing when we finally deign to show it off. It's a true Mass Effect experience, trust us, because the last installment really showed how well we understand what the Mass Effect experience is."
Whatever happend to "show, don't tell"? With Dragon Age Inquisition they stated their intentions and then went radio silent until they had actual stuff to show
Some people's hype treshold is way, way lower than mine.
Winterfang
Banned
Didn't they said they have an alien protagonist? I don't mind multiple races as an option but being forced to use a particular one is a really stupid decision.
MrChowderClams
Member
EA is changing their development practices to release earlier work to the public to create another feedback loop during development. The early work we've seen for ME4 is probably a result of this strategy. http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/06/18/e...amental-shift-in-how-it-makes-games-says-ceo/
Cyber Caesar
Member
Thanks for the clarification. I understand now. All I ever heard was a spin-off might happen where we play as a side character. I did like playing as non humans in the MP. I wouldn't mind the opportunity to do so in the SP.
CharmingCharlie
Member
It was all pretty underwhelming and incredibly vague to the point where I just thought "why are you even bothering to have this conference ?". I get they aren't ready yet to give us information and that is fine nothing wrong with that. But if you aren't ready to talk about the game then stop having bloody conferences about something you aren't willing to talk about.
As for what was shown and in reality they showed sweet F.A. I personally think the armours look terrible and the new Mako looks like a damn radio controlled car. Whilst I enjoyed the Mako in ME 1 I appreciated it did have it's faults and I can see this new Mako combining the bad things from the old Mako and the bad things from that damn hammerhead.
All in all pretty uninspiring stuff, right now I have the feeling Mass Effect 4 is going to be another Dragon Age 2 that's the vibe I am getting. I might have been enticed to experience a new Mass Effect if it had been set in a post reaper world (hell I could probably have got past them ditching Shepard). But this mid-quel/side-quel/we haven't got a clue what to do-quel is of zero interest to me.
As for what was shown and in reality they showed sweet F.A. I personally think the armours look terrible and the new Mako looks like a damn radio controlled car. Whilst I enjoyed the Mako in ME 1 I appreciated it did have it's faults and I can see this new Mako combining the bad things from the old Mako and the bad things from that damn hammerhead.
All in all pretty uninspiring stuff, right now I have the feeling Mass Effect 4 is going to be another Dragon Age 2 that's the vibe I am getting. I might have been enticed to experience a new Mass Effect if it had been set in a post reaper world (hell I could probably have got past them ditching Shepard). But this mid-quel/side-quel/we haven't got a clue what to do-quel is of zero interest to me.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
I understand what you mean but I somehow doubt it'll just be an alien, the protagonist is wearing an N7 suit so the protagonist is from the milky way most likely also male and female and judging by the build a human shape mostly. The greatly limits the possibilities of shown races. judging by the history of the multiplayer (which also features aliens using N7 stuff and ranks) it seems more likely to be multiple.
Then again I haven't heard the quote your talking about so it could be right.
Yeah, I'd like to think they meant, "we know we dropped the ball when it comes to the 'Mass Effect experience' in ME3, and we're going to fix that this time around", but it sounds more like they're patting themselves on the back for how great an experience it supposedly was. -_-
Does that include being forced to play as a human?
yeah its what im expecting
i dont care too much about mass effect anymore but one major disappointment with the mako in the first game was that different planets didnt change the handling or physics like those with stronger gravity and those with less gravity
eot
Banned
Nice alliteration, meight
I know a lot of people aren't fans of the grain filter, but I liked it, dammit. It made ME1 feel like some lost sci-fi epic from the early 80's. As long as it's optional (and defaults to "off" to preemptively silence the "b-but my beautiful HD!" whiners
), I don't see any reason why it shouldn't make a comeback.I know you're joking here, but there's an interesting discussion to be had here about how your choices affect an RPG. Should it be like a simulation, where everyone has a predefined personality irrespective of the main character's? Or should it be more like a movie script, where the roles of the supporting cast are written around the main character, and their personalities and other details are tweaked to accommodate the player's choices? I think both approaches have potential.
I thought the Mako was supposed to generate mass effect fields to compensate and normalize it so it couldn't be crushed, could still drive and grip surfaces with the right weight and traction in very low gravity, and keep driving conditions as level across the board for ease of use by the drivers.
Admiral Woofington
Member
I don't know why I have this feeling they're going to Dragon Age II the ME series with this game, having these different ideas and shit that will just fall on their butts and then Mass Effect 5 is going to redo everything from zero.
I mean ME3 should've been their DA2, but I don't know man. I don't think Bioware really learned their lesson with that outside of don't make promises.
I mean ME3 should've been their DA2, but I don't know man. I don't think Bioware really learned their lesson with that outside of don't make promises.
This game is sci-fi you guys, it's actually very easy to get themselves out of the plot hole developed by the Shepard Trilogy.
Use some Star Trek Logic mixed with star gate or sliders.
Start the game off at some point during the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3 , shepard exists and he's fighting for humanity to stand a chance against the reapers but the character you make is some super secret experiment that Cerberus is working on to clone a being that is immune to indoctrination or some such nonsense. Then you get sent on a mission to find a reaper and wrestle control over it but in the process you and your generic crew set up some sort of time hole explosion that kills everyone but you and you end up in some alternative universe where everything is the same except there is no shepard or reapers and you have to solve some brand new galactic crisis but without a rainbow laser available to clean up the plot as quickly and cleanly as possible.
Alternatively they could start the game off just after the green ending in the third game , perhaps the reapers oldest relay, long hidden is activated by the pulse rather than destroyed by it , this sends a reaper back in time and this reaper acts just like the romulan ship in star trek 2009, it destroys something central to the plot in the past that changes the entire course of history into a new timeline that the player gets to play. I don't know, maybe it blows up earth ?
I really don't see how they can make a new story set up within the original timeline without some massive retcons and wormholes and time travel.
The only alternative would still involve some level of retconning- perhaps the game opens immediately after the events of ME3 and regardless of what ending the player chose , it follows the red ending and embraces the indoctrination theory ending, writes off the last 4 hours of ME3 has being in shepards head and now you are off on a new adventure in SPACE but the reapers are dead so they can add in a super reaper or something.
Either way, the writers really have their work cut out for them. It's all fresh faces though, Edmonton doesn't have too much involvement here , Montreal is getting put through the paces on this one. I wish them the best of luck and hope things work out but it's going to be a massive hurtle overcoming the plot. I'm not worried about the gameplay - the same general idea with much better graphics will still work fine but it needs that storyline back bone.
Use some Star Trek Logic mixed with star gate or sliders.
Start the game off at some point during the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3 , shepard exists and he's fighting for humanity to stand a chance against the reapers but the character you make is some super secret experiment that Cerberus is working on to clone a being that is immune to indoctrination or some such nonsense. Then you get sent on a mission to find a reaper and wrestle control over it but in the process you and your generic crew set up some sort of time hole explosion that kills everyone but you and you end up in some alternative universe where everything is the same except there is no shepard or reapers and you have to solve some brand new galactic crisis but without a rainbow laser available to clean up the plot as quickly and cleanly as possible.
Alternatively they could start the game off just after the green ending in the third game , perhaps the reapers oldest relay, long hidden is activated by the pulse rather than destroyed by it , this sends a reaper back in time and this reaper acts just like the romulan ship in star trek 2009, it destroys something central to the plot in the past that changes the entire course of history into a new timeline that the player gets to play. I don't know, maybe it blows up earth ?
I really don't see how they can make a new story set up within the original timeline without some massive retcons and wormholes and time travel.
The only alternative would still involve some level of retconning- perhaps the game opens immediately after the events of ME3 and regardless of what ending the player chose , it follows the red ending and embraces the indoctrination theory ending, writes off the last 4 hours of ME3 has being in shepards head and now you are off on a new adventure in SPACE but the reapers are dead so they can add in a super reaper or something.
Either way, the writers really have their work cut out for them. It's all fresh faces though, Edmonton doesn't have too much involvement here , Montreal is getting put through the paces on this one. I wish them the best of luck and hope things work out but it's going to be a massive hurtle overcoming the plot. I'm not worried about the gameplay - the same general idea with much better graphics will still work fine but it needs that storyline back bone.
That would be some super lazy and boring ass writing. It really isn't all that hard to follow up ME3s ending. The only "hard" part is which ending to choose, which isn't that hard since Destroy us really the only option. Wormholes, time travel and all that shit is just fancy ways of avoiding the issue.
If you're going to spend a decade developing a universe and then you break that universe should then willing to take the time to put it back together, and show how it happens.
You don't think there's a lot of that universe that was still unexplored before they razed it all to the ground?
The main reason I'm good with them doing a parallel story is because they did build up so much interesting lore, then turned around and leveled everything. Now we're potentially left with yet another post-apocalyptic science fiction game where humanity's sifting through the ruins and rebuilding itself, except this time on an intergalactic scale. Maybe they can bring back the husks in a post-ME3 game too, so we can get the full "space zombie apocalypse" effect.
It's not about whether this Mako's slow and heavily armed or quicker and more agile. It's about being able to drive around and explore the surface of planets rather than being shuttled through a bunch of interconnected areas.