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Mass Effect: Andromeda - E3 Info Dump

diaspora

Member
Music was great. First one had the best vibe out of the trilogy imo.

Eh, ME2 was better I think. Both the Illusive Man and Suicide Mission tracks lent itself to the atmosphere of the game and in general were more enjoyable tracks than the ME1 OST.

edit: I use a 10x fastforward key for like half of the game for ME1 anyway (Mako shit) so
 

Ralemont

not me
I gotta go with ME3. Yeah, it's more traditional epic music fare, but An End Once and For All is one of the most beautiful game tracks I've heard.
 

diaspora

Member
I gotta go with ME3. Yeah, it's more traditional epic music fare, but An End Once and For All is one of the most beautiful game tracks I've heard.

It fit the game and was used well if nothing else. Same goes for ME1 and ME2 tbh, it's just that I find the individual songs in ME2 and 3 (to a lesser extent) to be better.
 

jmood88

Member
Hope this is less your the key to saving the universe garbage. As someone who's played the others multiple times I hope its more of your own story and role. Kind of like Witcher. You have an arc but bigger things happen around you. Your a part of the world not the key for galactic civilization.
Geralt is personally involved with all the major shit that happens in The Witcher.
 

Schlorgan

Member
Hope this is less your the key to saving the universe garbage. As someone who's played the others multiple times I hope its more of your own story and role. Kind of like Witcher. You have an arc but bigger things happen around you. Your a part of the world not the key for galactic civilization.

Did you finish The Witcher 3?
At the end you have to stop the world from ending.
 

Blade30

Unconfirmed Member
Music was great. First one had the best vibe out of the trilogy imo.

The music in ME1 was more ambient, thus building a strong alien-ish otherworld atmosphere but imo it missed some actual music. The sequels on the other hand had bad ambient tracks (at least compared to the first one) but good music. I hope it's a mixture of the trilogy
 
The first half will be a tightly focused narrative regarding relatively small-scale skirmishes with a group of outlander/rebel factions. Eventually you'll infiltrate one of their strategically primary bases/networks only to stumble upon the existence of a race of ultra-powerful synthetics, that were many, many times larger than the Reapers. They call themselves the Andromedans. They were the ones that originally constructed the Reapers, however they were originally designed to act simply as autonomous vacuum cleaners, sweeping up what the Andromedans considered to be the germ-like entities in their realities, the infinitesimally small organics that get into all kinds of embarassing, and uncomfortable places, and eventually cause infections that threaten to give the Andromedans an inconvenient cold. The Reapers, left to their own devices, eventually developed melodramatic personalities that the Andromedans found absolutely adorable. You, Ryder ... must ... ride ... into the nether-regions of space, to unravel the mystery of their unknowable purpose.
That last part was very hitch-hikers guide to galaxy like. 10/10 Would play this!
 

diaspora

Member
The music in ME1 was more ambient, thus building a strong alien-ish otherworld atmosphere but imo it missed some actual music. The sequels on the other hand had bad ambient tracks (at least compared to the first one) but good music. I hope it's a mixture of the trilogy

I can agree with this.
 

AyzOn

Neo Member
That's exactly what they should move away from.



Concurred. It's eye-rolling and Bioware has over-used it so much (along with lackluster execution) that any gravitas in the narrative is completely lost.

Seems like we we´re both expecting a completely different game from them.
 

trembli0s

Member
Sounds like the usual Bioware Boilerplate. I loved ME1 and 2, 3 soured me right off. DA:I was really fun when it came out but ended up being an incredible chore with great moments.

Cautiously curious.
 

NaturaRex

Neo Member
It was definitely said that you could pilot Tempest, back when these ifnormation surfaced... you mean this isnt true anymore? No flying tempest into the planet and landing seamlessly?

I would be pretty disappointed if this turns out to be false.
Well all the interviews at e3 2016 I've seen and read, pertaining to traversal in Andromeda all talk about how they are iterating upon the Mako and making it fun but none of them mentioned anything about the Tempest aside from its name and design. I'm still hoping that in the coming months they will tell us more about it and maybe we still can actually pilot it.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Man, all of these details sound great, great, great.

Can't wait to see more footage.

-We will be able to choose male/female, but they want to go a little bit further with this. More details to come soon

This sounds very interesting! Sounds in line with recent Sims change, where they allowed for more flexible gender options.
 

Davide

Member
Eh, ME2 was better I think. Both the Illusive Man and Suicide Mission tracks lent itself to the atmosphere of the game and in general were more enjoyable tracks than the ME1 OST.
Yeah, ME2's was way, way better. The Attack (prologue), Humans Are Disappearing (prologue piano music), The Illusive Man, The Normandy Reborn (epic), Crash Landing, Suicide Mission, The End Run. Some of the best music in gaming.

-We will be able to choose male/female, but they want to go a little bit further with this. More details to come soon
Hopefully this means choosing accents.
 

diaspora

Member
IMO the ME folks could learn a lot from how the DA writers modified and improved on the dialogue wheel. Way better in Inquisition than any of the ME games- splitting responses across emotional reactions and making certain dialogue options dependent on class, race, and knowledge acquired prior to the conversation.
 

SCB3

Member
Just call it Mass Effect 4, BioWare


I believe they're leaving the door open to revisit Shepard and calling the game ME4 fits that tone.

Plus this is a new era, not really connected to the current ME universe other than name and universe
 
IMO the ME folks could learn a lot from how the DA writers modified and improved on the dialogue wheel. Way better in Inquisition than any of the ME games- splitting responses across emotional reactions and making certain dialogue options dependent on class, race, and knowledge acquired prior to the conversation.

As long as it's not Dragon Age II or Fallout 4 levels of bad I'll be happy. Haven't played DAI, but that sounds great.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
I wanted to like Mass Effect, but the bad combat ruined it for me, so I dropped it pretty early on and never played ME2 or 3. Hearing about the hamfisted relationships, goofy morality, shitty writing and terrible ME3 ending I feel like I didn't miss out much.

That said I like what I'm reading in the OP, but there is still almost no detail about the combat. Will it be similar(ly awful)? :p

Cross posting from the other thread.

I really really hate this, they finished the trilogy with Shepard and started a new game and what do they do? They still won't let us choose what species we want to play.
I'm guessing that would complicate things too much and would be overly ambitious. Honestly I don't have a problem with this, but it could be that I'm just biased as I would pick a human anyway. :p
 

diaspora

Member
I wanted to like Mass Effect, but the bad combat ruined it for me, so I dropped it pretty early on and never played ME2 or 3. Hearing about the hamfisted relationships, goofy morality, shitty writing and terrible ME3 ending I feel like I didn't miss out much.

That said I like what I'm reading in the OP, but there is still almost no detail about the combat. Will it be similar(ly awful)? :p


I'm guessing that would complicate things too much and would be overly ambitious. Honestly I don't have a problem with this, but it could be that I'm just biased as I would pick a human anyway. :p
ME2 and (moreso) 3's combat are fucking fantastic. 1 was legit ass.

As long as it's not Dragon Age II or Fallout 4 levels of bad I'll be happy. Haven't played DAI, but that sounds great.
Inquisition is a (albeit large) evolution of DAII's wheel. Significantly improved but using it as a base. Like certain conversation options that reveal parts of the lore are exclusive to say- mages or elves or dwarves.


Edit: choosing a race in ME would be a clusterfuck and frankly people asking for it have never made a compelling argument for it.
 
ME 1's soundtrack was, in my opinion, one of the best video game soundtracks. I still listen to it every now and then. ME: A 's soundtrack being similar would be great.
 
I wanted to like Mass Effect, but the bad combat ruined it for me, so I dropped it pretty early on and never played ME2 or 3. Hearing about the hamfisted relationships, goofy morality, shitty writing and terrible ME3 ending I feel like I didn't miss out much.

ME1 combat does not resemble that of the later games, which are legit third-person cover shooters.

Your other objections, I'll just say I don't agree but that's all subjective.


ETA: "Unplayable", "dumpster fire", etc. are typical gamer hyperbole, but yeah the combat is significantly improved in the sequels.
 
I wanted to like Mass Effect, but the bad combat ruined it for me, so I dropped it pretty early on and never played ME2 or 3. Hearing about the hamfisted relationships, goofy morality, shitty writing and terrible ME3 ending I feel like I didn't miss out much.
Interesting. It seems you completely conveniently glossed over the tons of praise the franchise has gotten since the first game.
 

diaspora

Member
I have to wonder how many people were put off from ME as a series due to the first game's utter dumpster fire of gameplay.
 

SCB3

Member
I have to wonder how many people were put off from ME as a series due to the first game's utter dumpster fire of gameplay.


At the time it was highly regarded and felt like a successor to KotOR, plus the story was fantastic and the decision stuff was somewhat innovative at the time
 

diaspora

Member
At the time it was highly regarded and felt like a successor to KotOR, plus the story was fantastic and the decision stuff was somewhat innovative at the time
Sure, and it played like ass. I usually go back and replay certain sections for getting screenshots but its almost unplayable at this point without using
Code:
Bindings=(Name="MiddleMouseButton",InputMode=BIO_INPUT_MODE_NONE,Command="SloMo 10 | OnRelease SloMo 1",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)

To increase gamespeed 10x to get through Mako sections, sidequests, elevators and... most of the walking.
 

diaspora

Member
My guess would close to zero. Because the first game's gameplay was great.
Maybe if you don't like good gameplay, upgrade systems, or inventory systems sure.

Power use, gunplay, inventory, and power/weapon upgrades in ME3 make ME1 seem amatuer hour in comparison. Like trying to compare Pokemon Blue to the latter games in gameplay.

edit: Like powerups and buffs relied ona completely shithouse upgrades and inventory system. Retooling the offence and defensive abilities towards the dynamic between powers, power buffs, and weapon types against shields, barriers, and armor was a massive improvement in every area of gameplay.
 

DOWN

Banned
I have to wonder how many people were put off from ME as a series due to the first game's utter dumpster fire of gameplay.
Not many considering it was a hit, BioWare's flagship series last gen, and EA said is a huge part of what attracted them to BioWare to support sequels.

keep up with that delusion tho
 

diaspora

Member
Not many considering it was a hit, BioWare's flagship series last gen, and EA said is a huge part of what attracted them to BioWare to support sequels.

keep up with that delusion tho
If you want to argue against why the gameplay was shit, then make an actual arguement for the merits of ME1's offensive and defensive mechanics. This sounds like when people argue why Pokemon RBY is the best gameplay-wise because it kicked off the series despite the gameplay being borderline broken.
 

DOWN

Banned
If you want to argue against why the gameplay was shit, then do it. This sounds like when people argue why Pokemon RBY is the best gameplay-wise because it kicked off the series despite the gameplay being borderline broken.
Replacing/improving a feature means we should all repeatedly trash the old games and convince ourselves everyone agrees with that retrospective despite the actual reception the game had ✔️
 

diaspora

Member
Replacing/improving a feature means we should all repeatedly trash the old games and convince ourselves everyone agrees with that retrospective despite the actual reception the game had ✔️

B-b-but the reviews is pretty hollow when it was mechanically ass. Latter games and its contemporaries offer context as to why it was poor, trying to remove that context is just silly.
 

DOWN

Banned
B-b-but the reviews is pretty hollow when it was mechanically ass. Latter games and its contemporaries offer context as to why it was poor, trying to remove that context is just silly.
Yes, removing context is just silly.
CZwOmB1WAAQowdJ.jpg
 
-The female Ryder isn't exactly the default face. There is a bit of a twist this time around but they can't say more yet

Ryder has a family. This family ties into the storyline (Maybe siblings, parents etc)

Been thinking about these two statements and how they relate.

It's already been speculated the antagonist is actually Ryder's N7-affiliated family member... My notion is that you create male and female twins at character creation and whichever you pick as hero will make the other sibling into the story's villain (or, at least, the oppossing force.)

If both twins end up as commanders of an Ark, it opens some interesting possibilities for BioWare:
- You can use both the male and female Ryder in the marketing visuals because they're both valid characters in the game, with a voice and design that's recognized by all players instead of just the ones who identify with one version of Ryder.
- You can fully exploit the talent of the voice actors for both genders.
- You can expand on the Paragon/Renegade dynamic by having your twin be the opposite mirror image of your character's outlook.
 

prag16

Banned
Been thinking about these two statements and how they relate.

It's already been speculated the antagonist is actually Ryder's N7-affiliated family member... My notion is that you create male and female twins at character creation and whichever you pick as hero will make the other sibling into the story's villain (or, at least, the oppossing force.)

If both twins end up as commanders of an Ark, it opens some interesting possibilities for BioWare:
- You can use both the male and female Ryder in the marketing visuals because they're both valid characters in the game, with a voice and design that's recognized by all players instead of just the ones who identify with one version of Ryder.
- You can fully exploit the talent of the voice actors for both genders.
- You can expand on the Paragon/Renegade dynamic by having your twin be the opposite mirror image of your character's outlook.

That's an interesting route for them to go, and as good a theory as any at this point. I could see that working very well, perhaps with the exception of the last point. Not really sure how well a dynamic where the protagonist is the renegade and the antagonist is the paragon would work; could be tough to pull off well. Would be intriguing though.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
Did anyone notice in the E3 trailer, near the end with the Arks, that the planet next to them is actually Earth and not some Andromeda planet? If you look close enough, you can see the Great Lakes located between Canada & the US.

iUHx7iF.png


Could the game actually start from there? During ME3 events? Although since Earth doesn't seem to be under attack yet, could it be even before that?

Hopefully it's not just a cutscene.

Since we see only one Ark in the N7 Day 2015 trailer, I wonder what happened to the others? Went to other galaxies? Got separated along the travel? Hm...
 

DOWN

Banned
Did anyone notice in the E3 trailer, near the end with the Arks, that the planet next to them is actually Earth and not some Andromeda planet? If you look close enough, you can see the Great Lakes located between Canada & the US.

iUHx7iF.png


Could the game actually start from there? During ME3 events? Although since Earth doesn't seem to be under attack yet, could it be even before that?

Hopefully it's not just a cutscene.

Since we see only one Ark in the N7 Day 2015 trailer, I wonder what happened to the others? Went to other galaxies? Got separated along the travel? Hm...
It straight up says in the OP that the Arks are stationed over Earth and launch from there, and it also is highly likely this game starts before ME3, as we know the Arks are attempting to flee before the Reapers come in order to prevent total extinction once they arrive at Earth. So yes, the Arks are above earth and before the invasion.
 

bunkitz

Member
Been thinking about these two statements and how they relate.

It's already been speculated the antagonist is actually Ryder's N7-affiliated family member... My notion is that you create male and female twins at character creation and whichever you pick as hero will make the other sibling into the story's villain (or, at least, the oppossing force.)

If both twins end up as commanders of an Ark, it opens some interesting possibilities for BioWare:
- You can use both the male and female Ryder in the marketing visuals because they're both valid characters in the game, with a voice and design that's recognized by all players instead of just the ones who identify with one version of Ryder.
- You can fully exploit the talent of the voice actors for both genders.
- You can expand on the Paragon/Renegade dynamic by having your twin be the opposite mirror image of your character's outlook.

Oh. Well that would be a really unique way to go about it. I'd love that. I believe they've already said that it won't just be a simple Paragon/Renegade morality system anymore, though. That there are going to be plenty of gray areas, if I recall correctly.
 
It straight up says in the OP that the Arks are stationed over Earth and launch from there, and it also is highly likely this game starts before ME3, as we know the Arks are attempting to flee before the Reapers come in order to prevent total extinction once they arrive at Earth. So yes, the Arks are above earth and before the invasion.
That's not stated anywhere.
 
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