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[diaspora]

A lot of the content is well written but the game's design is super fucked up. Like, the contagion or Dr Kennedy quests on paper are written just fine, but the quests design and travel mechanics are both designed to fuck with you in the worst way.

The quest distribution is sort of shitty too, and look- I'm not saying the quest design, travel mechanics, and quest distribution is shit by using Witcher 3 as a point of comparison (W3 sucks sometimes at quest distribution too honestly), but rather by using Jaws of Hakkon as a point of comparison. The Frostback Basin is better designed than the regions in ME:A, the quests are distributed in a more intelligent way that gets you to naturally progress through the region, and none of the quests (afaik) ask you to leave the region. Like look at the Salarian conspiracy- I thought the story and dialogue were great but:

1. you get the quest on the tempest and have to spend several steps to get to the next point on havarl
2. on havarl you fight some kett then engage in some dialogue with a guy there
3. then you go to elaaden to do this again
4. then you go to the nexus to do some scanning and talking

I think y'all get the picture.

So my issue here wasn't so much the story or quality of the dialogue but rather the quest's design to for you to fly across Heleus for frankly any fucking quest drives me up the damn wall. It's so fucking unnecessary.

 

[Arklite]

I just wanted to chime in here and ask a major question pertaining to this game.

Why did everyone review it so badly?

It has reviewed broadly as a 7, meaning good to decent, and it deserves that score given the state it released in, so it didn't review badly. If you mean bad perception, that's again due to the state it released in, and also it doesn't hit the same consistent high notes due to bloated design. It's a flawed sequel in a highly regarded franchise and reviews reflect it.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

I just wanted to chime in here and ask a major question pertaining to this game.

Why did everyone review it so badly?

The state it launched in hurt it badly. It was basically Destiny all over again.

 

[LORANT92]

Getting close to maxing out the non UR part of the MP manifest and I've never been more annoyed at getting 4 UR drops in 5 crates.

Spoiler

But hey, Hurricane I > II & Valiant II > IV

 

[prag16]

It has reviewed broadly as a 7, meaning good to decent, and it deserves that score given the state it released in, so it didn't review badly. If you mean bad perception, that's again due to the state it released in, and also it doesn't hit the same consistent high notes due to bloated design. It's a flawed sequel in a highly regarded franchise and reviews reflect it.

7 doesn't typically mean "good to decent" in the eyes of most been looking at metascores. Seems to mean more like "eh maybe okay".

It does still feel like this game was held to a different standard than some other big hitters though. Fallout 4 was worse imo in many of the areas ME:A was attacked for. Same with DA:I. Even Witcher 3 in some areas (and on top of that, TW3 was subjectively for me, kind of boring whereas with ME:A I was engaged throughout).

 

[Slackbladder]

I think that I am going to pick this up today. I love the first Mass Effect trilogy and judging from people's reactions after the patches, I think it's time. I am going to get the PC version of this so is there anything I should be aware of?

My specs are:
CPU: 4790K
Mem: 16gb
GPU: 1080 with a cooler
OS: Win 10

I want to play this at 4k as well. Thanks for your feedback.

I had this exact set up when the game came out. 4K 30fps is doable but reduce most things to high at the most. Some things could even be set to low or off considering the issue with on ship frame rates tumbling badly in certain areas. In the end I used the resolution scaling so it was around .60 to.70 of 2180p. That gave me 50fps with most things to high or highest. Still looked good though not quite as pin sharp as true 4K.
Now with my 1080ti and 7700k I can get 50fps and 4K but I do get frame drops so I need to go to the scaler and go to .90 for reliable 50fps. But I still get drops on the ship, but that's due to the engine. Nothing you can do about it until patched. I haven't played the game in a month so don't know if it's been fixed.

 

[Arklite]

7 doesn't typically mean "good to decent" in the eyes of most been looking at metascores. Seems to mean more like "eh maybe okay".

It does still feel like this game was held to a different standard than some other big hitters though. Fallout 4 was worse imo in many of the areas ME:A was attacked for. Same with DA:I. Even Witcher 3 in some areas (and on top of that, TW3 was subjectively for me, kind of boring whereas with ME:A I was engaged throughout).

A 7 for many probably means 'wait for a sale', which I don't see as unfair for Andromeda. For different standards I'd say Fallout is the only criminal getting free passes for how buggy they are. It's bad, each game from Fallout 3 and forward deserves a point or two off from jank and instability.

 

[Madness]

A lot of the writing, quest design and some gameplay aspects are easily worse than any animation hitches for me. Everything just feels rushed, inconsequential at times. Very poor tasks, exploration design. And then things like every Asari having the exact same face etc.

There are some other things as well. But there was some reviewer that stated it felt like an indie fan attempt at making a Mass Effect game and I agree with that. It could have been so much more. This was the first ME game where I just wanted to skip things. Didn't care for the codex non-narrated, didn't care about what so and so had to say if it wasn't a main squad.

 

[evilsin]

Finished last night with 92% completion, didn't do all the miniscule tasks. Well, this was certainly very enjoyable. I can see where people were coming from critisizing the game for some of its shortcomings, still I didn't mind them. I guess I'm not that picky in the end.

Now to hop on the second playthrough to get the platinum.

 

[SlickVic]

Finally finished up the main story over the weekend (and most of the side quests). Overall I enjoyed the game a lot. I had a lot of fun with the combat and while I primarily stuck to a vanguard build with charge, nova, and either flamethrower or VI remnant, I also really liked having a solider, adept, and infiltrator build to switch to when the situation called for it. Combining the shooting with biotic and tech powers, this is probably the most fun I've had with a third person shooter in a long time. While I would've liked a dedicated cover button, I'm not sure I would trade it for the jump and dash abilities on the face buttons. I really like the mobility Ryder has.

I was also probably fortunate in that I didn't run into as many bugs as others. I think the most aggravating thing I ran into was how easily ambient dialogue between crew members and Ryder cuts out mid-sentence. I liked Ryder and the squad quite a bit, but it's frustrating when a lot of the best dialogue to flesh out these characters occurs in the banter between squadmates on the Nomad, but it seems to cut off in the middle quite easily.

As for the story,

Spoiler

I did enjoy seeing the rise of Ryder to take on the role of Pathfinder. I wanted to play as a bit more lighthearted and goofy than my previous run as Shepard, as it felt like it fit the character well (but still also have the serious moments when it made sense). I really enjoyed the overdramatic acting at the end of Movie Night.

As far as the end of the story, I do wish we were left with some answers than questions at the end, especially now that the future of the franchise seems so uncertain. Would love to know more about the Jardaan, the scourge (I liked how it was essentially the opposite of Mass Effect relays in the original trilogy of something left from the past but this time actively inhibited travel in that cluster), and it would be nice to know definitively who the benefactor was. I'm curious how much of this gets addressed in potential single player DLC (sounds like if there is DLC, it would revolve around the Quarian ark), but I hope we get something.

 

[Horns]

The most frustrating part of this game, PS4 version, is the freezing up after putting it in standby. About a third of the time it freezes up when I turn it back on. I can access the menu but can't move. I get that being online all the time creates problems but other always online games do not freeze up like this. No other big complaints otherwise.

 

[valkyre]

That movie night quest should be featured in every developer seminar out there as a prime example of SHIT quest design that has to be avoided at all costs...

My God... what a fucking farse.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

For comparison post counts of other Bio games' |OT| here:

1) Dragon Age 3 - 27 000 posts
2) ME2 - 23 000 posts
3) ME3 - 16 000 posts

ME4 - 10 000 posts so far.

Kind of crazy. Wonder what are the next steps (and when??? 2022?) for this franchise.

 

[JimmyRustler]

So I finished the game the other day and because it was so horrible restarted ME1 immediately after. The quality difference in dialog writing is daunting to say at least. How the fuck did this dialog writing got a pass? Andromeda has probably the most cringeworthy dialog that ever touched my ears. Just... why? Who the fuck thought this would be a good idea? It's like most of it was writte by some first grade kids. It's fucking embarassing to think both ME1 and Andromeda are coming from the same studio. What a disgrace. Jesus...

 

[Rodhull]

So I finished the game the other day and because it was so horrible restarted ME1 immediately after. The quality difference in dialog writing is daunting to say at least. How the fuck did this dialog writing got a pass? Andromeda has probably the most cringeworthy dialog that ever touched my ears. Just... why? Who the fuck thought this would be a good idea? It's like most of it was writte by some first grade kids. It's fucking embarassing to think both ME1 and Andromeda are coming from the same studio. What a disgrace. Jesus...

As someone who also played Mass Effect 1 recently that's some real hyperbole there.

 

[Springy]

As someone who also played Mass Effect 1 recently that's some real hyperbole there.

As someone who finished a Mass Effect replay last night, I'd say they're not far off. Dialogue in Andromeda is fine, but the quest writing, world building and story especially? Different leagues.

 

[Rodhull]

As someone who finished a Mass Effect replay last night, I'd say they're not far off. Dialogue in Andromeda is fine, but the quest writing, world building and story especially? Different leagues.

So is the dialogue fine or the worst thing to hit your ears? Little bit of a difference between the descriptions there.

 

[Tenshin]

The most frustrating part of this game, PS4 version, is the freezing up after putting it in standby. About a third of the time it freezes up when I turn it back on. I can access the menu but can't move. I get that being online all the time creates problems but other always online games do not freeze up like this. No other big complaints otherwise.

Same on xboxone when you continue to play after standby ,need to load latest save

 

[prag16]

As someone who also played Mass Effect 1 recently that's some real hyperbole there.

Agreed. WAY off the mark. I was getting bored trying to finish Horizon after I got done with my first ME:A playthrough. So I spent the last few days playing through ~1/2 of ME1...

And man, it's rough. The writing and dialogue are okay (on par with ME:A) but the combat is horrifyingly terrible by comparison. And I almost forgot how meh all the characters were when limited ONLY to ME1.

ME1 hasn't aged as well as ME2/3.

 

[JackelZXA]

Agreed. WAY off the mark. I was getting bored trying to finish Horizon after I got done with my first ME:A playthrough. So I spent the last few days playing through ~1/2 of ME1...

And man, it's rough. The writing and dialogue are okay (on par with ME:A) but the combat is horrifyingly terrible by comparison. And I almost forgot how meh all the characters were when limited ONLY to ME1.

ME1 hasn't aged as well as ME2/3.

I really disagree. I think ME1 is much more carefully written. Drew was just much more talented and offered actual time to polish the writing of the first game.

Granted I usually avoid most of the UNC missions these days (i have all the achievements anyways) so I usually play the 17 hour version where you mainly do the major planets. (I also have it memorized which characters get the best bonus dialog on each one)

Combatwise...I really like the squad control on the PC version of ME1, and I modded my copy of the game to give myself strong weapons (not the ultimate ones...) I drop shepard some level 7 versions of default gear and armor and my squad some level 10 armor. It's still pretty balanced but gives me the second slot options and makes the early game much more palatable. Better stats just make the shooting feel better than it otherwise does. (Accuracy and power) I played the games again last year and I still like ME1 a ton. It's great still. Everything I see of andromeda just seems corny and....immaturely written. (I just watched the movie night clip about an hour ago and it felt so cringy and lame...The Citadel party dlc felt better than this by a mile)

 

[bati]

ME1 hasn't aged as well as ME2/3.

Gotta disagree with this. I replay the trilogy once a year or once every two years and ME1 still holds up really well. In my opinion it even has better combat than ME2. Especially biotics are great, in ME2 they were neutered thanks to armor and shields and ME3 brought some glory back with combos but they're still the most devastating and tactically rich in ME1.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Agreed. WAY off the mark. I was getting bored trying to finish Horizon after I got done with my first ME:A playthrough. So I spent the last few days playing through ~1/2 of ME1...

And man, it's rough. The writing and dialogue are okay (on par with ME:A) but the combat is horrifyingly terrible by comparison. And I almost forgot how meh all the characters were when limited ONLY to ME1.

ME1 hasn't aged as well as ME2/3.

u mad.... That can be the only explanation.

The dialog and writing in general in ME1 is on another level entirely. Every 2nd dialog in Andromeda made me facepalm. It's plain embarrassing. I mean, just look a Liam's loyalty mission. When they interrupt the "villain" of the mission all the time due to a private conversation? It was just...

I don't know. Perhaps the whole game was just too lighthearted for my taste. Loved how most of the original trilogy had this serious undertone because of the looming reaper threat. Here you have a similar thing with the Kett but they're presented like a complete joke to everyone.

Guess I should thank Bioware though. Andromeda made me appreciate the original trilogy so much more. Just started replaying it on PC the first time (only played it on the 360 so far) and am loving the port.

 

[Renekton]

The dialog and writing in general in ME1 is on another level entirely.

For me at least, they are in the same ballpark.

 

[prag16]

For me at least, they are in the same ballpark.

Yeah.

Maybe the lighter tone was the issue for some people, as mentioned.

And no Exzorcist I'm not "mad".

 

[Cornbread78]

Finally finished all

Spoiler

5 planets

and the

Spoiler

Argon ship mission

How long will it take me to do just the loyalty missions (I already did Drack and Cora), the romance options and the main story now?

 

[Diablohead]

Gotta disagree with this. I replay the trilogy once a year or once every two years and ME1 still holds up really well. In my opinion it even has better combat than ME2. Especially biotics are great, in ME2 they were neutered thanks to armor and shields and ME3 brought some glory back with combos but they're still the most devastating and tactically rich in ME1.

It's personal choice but I love everything about 1, the gun combat, the loot, the way the game plays, it might be aged visually in areas but the game itself is solid and entertaining to me.

 

[prag16]

It's personal choice but I love everything about 1, the gun combat, the loot, the way the game plays, it might be aged visually in areas but the game itself is solid and entertaining to me.

"Solid and entertaining" I can agree with, but the "vastly better than ME:A" claims I can't get on board with, even with you give ME1 some dispensation for being 10 years old. ME:A is only a few odd design choices away from being full blown outstanding imo. Getting ready to jump into my second playthrough soon. Might hold out for one more patch I guess.

 

[Ralemont]

Remember when a telepathic plant pooped out fully armored asari clones in ME1?

 

[Springy]

So is the dialogue fine or the worst thing to hit your ears? Little bit of a difference between the descriptions there.

Yeah, I was a little out of it there, I thought they were referring to the writing as a whole, not specifically the dialogue. The dialogue is fine.

 

[emag]

Remember when a telepathic plant pooped out fully armored asari clones in ME1?

I loved that stuff. Yeah, it's gamey/cheesy as hell, but it's fun, much like just about everything on Noveria.

 

[Mr. Phellps]

I love ME1, but the reality is that its story only truly picks up when you land on Virmire.

 

[PtKid]

After giving up on Mafia 3 Story due to repetition and frankly terrible mission design, I am about to start Mass Effect Andromeda.

Could anyone give me any insight on what i should and should not do. I gather that Main Missions and Loyalty Missions are good, however are there any other "Tasks" worth playing?

If it helps last open world game i played and completed everything was Horizon and not once did i feel bored.

Thanks

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

There are a bunch of stuff I like and some things I don't. But it's really bumming me that we probably wont get this finished.

 

[Madness]

I love ME1, but the reality is that its story only truly picks up when you land on Virmire.

Nah. Story had me hooked from first step onto Eden Prime. The Citadel, Normandy, recruitment and visiting other locales, the game had it all. Ilos and when you see the Protheans, what really happened to them, thinking long and hard about decisions like the Rachni queen on Noveria. That was BioWare. Then EA came in and has been in and we have seen the results since. Say what you will about Rockstar, but you know no matter where they take their online social club, microtransaction the multiplayer, they will deliver the killer single player experience which improves on the previous in all regards.

 

[jesu]

Good God Suvi's accent is so fucking annoying...

That's my accent

 

[Cornbread78]

Peebee, stop making me go to 100 different planets..

 

[bati]

That's my accent

Which would be? I've heard quite a lot of people from Scotland, Ireland and Wales talk and it was never that 'bad'. It sounds like the voice actress is trying way too hard with the accent which makes it a little off putting.

 

[diaspora]

After giving up on Mafia 3 Story due to repetition and frankly terrible mission design, I am about to start Mass Effect Andromeda.

Could anyone give me any insight on what i should and should not do. I gather that Main Missions and Loyalty Missions are good, however are there any other "Tasks" worth playing?

If it helps last open world game i played and completed everything was Horizon and not once did i feel bored.

Thanks

Focus on stuff in the personal/companion quest folder and do whatever you think is interesting from the planet quests folder.

u mad.... That can be the only explanation.

The dialog and writing in general in ME1 is on another level entirely. Every 2nd dialog in Andromeda made me facepalm. It's plain embarrassing. I mean, just look a Liam's loyalty mission. When they interrupt the "villain" of the mission all the time due to a private conversation? It was just...

I don't know. Perhaps the whole game was just too lighthearted for my taste. Loved how most of the original trilogy had this serious undertone because of the looming reaper threat. Here you have a similar thing with the Kett but they're presented like a complete joke to everyone.

Guess I should thank Bioware though. Andromeda made me appreciate the original trilogy so much more. Just started replaying it on PC the first time (only played it on the 360 so far) and am loving the port.

Are you joking? ME1's writing is a fucking trashfire even stans agree with. The entire initial Citadel section is some of the worst stuff they've put out- from Shepard's nasally indignation that the council doesn't give a shit about his "visions" to them using a vague tape recording as "irrefutable" evidence.

 

[Gator86]

Good God Suvi's accent is so fucking annoying...

She's the only NPC I refuse to talk to.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

I love ME1, but the reality is that its story only truly picks up when you land on Virmire.

That's because you spend a large portion of the story investigating potential leads (Therum/Noveria/Feros), which is naturally slow. But I'd say it worked out as a buildup to the grand finale.

 

[diaspora]

That's because you spend a large portion of the story investigating potential leads (Therum, Noveria, Feros), which is naturally slow. But I'd say it worked out as a buildup to the grand finale.

Right but I think to a large degree that's the worst part. We have Shepard trying to chase a guy down because of his dreams and a vague tape recording while trying to stop him from reaching something he doesn't know even exists or what it even is if it did.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

Right but I think to a large degree that's the worst part. We have Shepard trying to chase a guy down because of his dreams and a vague tape recording while trying to stop him from reaching something he doesn't know even exists or what it even is if it did.

It's not without its flaws, but to this day I still think ME1 has the tightest and most cohesive plot of the trilogy's installments. ME2's main story was a mess and ME3's started out nicely but quickly went downhill from there.

 

[diaspora]

It's not without its flaws, but to this day I still think ME1 has the tightest and most cohesive plot of the trilogy's installments. ME2's main story was a mess and ME3's started out nicely but quickly went downhill from there.

IMO this is more of a condemnation of the series than anything else.

 

[Frozenprince]

Hopefully we get DLC announced at E3

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

Hopefully we get DLC announced at E3

They've never announced ME DLC at E3 so I wouldn't hold your breath. That said, the June patch is supposed to be here soon. If there is any DLC at all, I imagine they will start talking about it shortly after this month's patch is out.

 

[geordiemp]

I had a lot of fun with the combat and while I primarily stuck to a vanguard build with charge, nova, and either flamethrower or VI remnant, I also really liked having a solider, adept, and infiltrator build to switch to when the situation called for it. Combining the shooting with biotic and tech powers, this is probably the most fun I've had with a third person shooter in a long time.

Combat was great, I played hardcore ps4 and was infiltrator with a dhan, ED and incinerate (and a Black widow),

Running and gunning as a tech infiltrator was great fun and I appreciated it, I weight combat greater than dialogue.

Also the combat and missions picked up last 1/3 with loyalty and the big main missions, fantastic stuff.

 

[Ovek]

Hopefully we get DLC announced at E3

There isn't a team left to make DLC any more. I suppose EA might farm it out to another studio and have what's left of Bioware Montreal over see it, but I just don't see EA pumping money and resources in to a game that didn't hit review or sales targets.

EA won't even mention Andromeda or the Mass Effect franchise as a whole at E3.

Hope im wrong though.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Hopefully we get DLC announced at E3

I hope not. They still got plenty of patching to do first.

 

[HKA6A7]

There isn't a team left to make DLC any more. I suppose EA might farm it out to another studio and have what's left of Bioware Montreal over see it, but I just don't see EA pumping money and resources in to a game that didn't hit review or sales targets.

EA won't even mention Andromeda or the Mass Effect franchise as a whole at E3.

Hope im wrong though.

An MP event from a couple of weeks ago teased the Quarian ark.
Seems like Montreal went back to dlc development / assist, just like part of the BW Austin team. In other words, there's a group to make more content, but not a whole game since they've dropped the ball.

 

[diaspora]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Quarian ark was APex missions.