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Mass Effect 3 Demo Impressions [Online Open To All]

S1kkZ

Member
Did you expect anything different? Bioware made the main protagonist literally dying a total non-event in ME2.

project lazarus? almost forgot that, it was so fucking stupid. what was the reason for cerberus to bring shepard back? cant remember exactly but it was some "you are the only one that can save us!" bullshit.
 

Tookay

Member
project lazarus? almost forgot that, it was so fucking stupid. what was the reason for cerberus to bring shepard back? cant remember exactly but it was some "you are the only one that can save us!" bullshit.

Total plot device, so Bioware could "break up the team" and you'd have to work with a terrorist organization.
 
project lazarus? almost forgot that, it was so fucking stupid. what was the reason for cerberus to bring shepard back? cant remember exactly but it was some "you are the only one that can save us!" bullshit.

And on top of that they never even mentioned Sheppard having the prothean cipher in his brain as a reason, it was just your'e special a clone wouldn't be special. The cipher seemed like a great way to justify spending trillions but nope, just a way to redo the character creator screen.
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
I'd been avoiding it given the complaints all over the internet, but I decided to try my face code from ME2 in ME3.

computer-out-windowj9c8t.jpg


I hope like fuck this isn't representative of the final build. Priestly's "no wait guys not importing will be so much more fun!!!" bullshit doesn't give me much hope, but Jesus Christ does it not look like my character at all. It is literally the exact opposite. Completely different hairstyle and colour, different skin colour, different eyebrows, slight curve in the nose inverted to how it looked on my character, no jaw line, etc. The only thing it got right was the eye colour. The only thing.

Looking through the hair colours the actual hair colour I use isn't even in the game. I like the dark red. The darkest is still noticable brighter.

I'll be nerd raging like never before if this doesn't import correctly.
I've had ME2 spit out three slightly different face codes each time I've imported my ME1 save. Neither code looks like my imported character when used on it's own in ME2 itself in a new game, though I can get close to reconstruct it by combining the three.

My guess is the codes generated aren't 100% indicative of what the imported character actually looks like if inputted manually, but if imported from a save game (eg. into ME3) it'll look the same.
 

i-Lo

Member
Does anyone know why game devs and Hollywood (beside Firefly/Serenity) still insist on portraying sound effects in space?

Also, did the devs ever mention that the Mass Effect universe is an alternate reality? I ask since in sci-fi the past is generally either left alone or part of it appended to be of use in future but never obliterated. I still think Reapers destroying all life every 50,000 years is a bit too much of bad science.
 
Also, did the devs ever mention that the Mass Effect universe is an alternate reality? I ask since in sci-fi the past is generally either left alone or part of it appended to be of use in future but never obliterated. I still think Reapers destroying all life every 50,000 years is a bit too much of bad science.

That's where the beautiful second part of that word comes in. Fiction.
 

Tookay

Member
Does anyone know why game devs and Hollywood (beside Firefly/Serenity) still insist on portraying sound effects in space?

I think it's so ingrained in the culture that it would be jarring not to have sound effects at this point.

Sort of like how Hollywood has thunder coincide simultaneously with lightning.

Plus: It's always an excuse for sound designers to make cool effects for my subwoofers.
 

i-Lo

Member
That's where the beautiful second part of that word comes in. Fiction.

The pill would have been easier to swallow if it had been an alien species. However, the writers created the tale that is supposed to be based closely to our own history (looking at the timeline). And also if the Reaper cleansed Earth 50,000 years ago of "all organic life" then humans as shown in the game wouldn't even exist without the help of Reaper itself (i.e. they would have had to have a system akin to the Noah's Ark for genetic samples from which clones of all the species destroyed could be created again. And the only reason to let organic repopulate is to see technological evolution that may be integrated with existing Reaper tech.) All in all, the all encompassing "all organic life" is one massive weak link, provided Earth has been cleansed once already.
 
The pill would have been easier to swallow if it had been an alien species. However, the writers created the tale that is supposed to be based closely to our own history (looking at the timeline). And also if the Reaper cleansed Earth 50,000 years ago of "all organic life" then humans as shown in the game wouldn't even exist without the help of Reaper itself (i.e. they would have had to have a system akin to the Noah's Ark for genetic samples from which clones of all the species destroyed could be created again. And the only reason to let organic repopulate is to see technological evolution that may be integrated with existing Reaper tech.) All in all, the all encompassing "all organic life" is one massive weak link, provided Earth has been cleansed once already.

You're forgetting something essential, the Reapers wipe out all advanced organic life.
 

MNC

Member
Wait, we won't be able to have our ME1/2 Shepard faces? WHAT?

We will, I mean, I assume we will. Just saying, like many, that the face importing feature of the ME3 demo is broken. Using the same face code from ME2 won't necessarily work, sometimes to the point of generating a completely different face.

But as jediyoshi said it might not be built to be compatible via the codes, but instead raw data. Or it could be bugged in the demo. Who knows.

I'd been avoiding it given the complaints all over the internet, but I decided to try my face code from ME2 in ME3.

computer-out-windowj9c8t.jpg


I hope like fuck this isn't representative of the final build. Priestly's "no wait guys not importing will be so much more fun!!!" bullshit doesn't give me much hope, but Jesus Christ does it not look like my character at all. It is literally the exact opposite. Completely different hairstyle and colour, different skin colour, different eyebrows, slight curve in the nose inverted to how it looked on my character, no jaw line, etc. The only thing it got right was the eye colour. The only thing.

Looking through the hair colours the actual hair colour I use isn't even in the game. I like the dark red. The darkest is still noticable brighter.

I'll be nerd raging like never before if this doesn't import correctly.

Where can I get my ME2 face code? I want to try this myself.
 

rozay

Banned
Does anyone know why game devs and Hollywood (beside Firefly/Serenity) still insist on portraying sound effects in space?

Also, did the devs ever mention that the Mass Effect universe is an alternate reality? I ask since in sci-fi the past is generally either left alone or part of it appended to be of use in future but never obliterated. I still think Reapers destroying all life every 50,000 years is a bit too much of bad science.
As far as I know, the only time Shepard has fought in space in game was Arrival, and that scene mutes sound effects considerably. There was also the intro to ME2 which had no sounds.

edit: nvm, I just remembered the space battle cutscenes have sound effects. Guess that's BioWare trying to attract the normal audiences.
 

exYle

Member
Did you read what I wrote? I said had "Secret squadmate" been the title of the video, I wouldn't have been spoiled, since hearing a voice doesn't really mean jack shit. Could've been anything. But the name of the video spoils instantly, hence why the lack of being told "BTW THIS IS THE VOICE FOR SUCH AND SUCH" is quite annoying.

So, if you were balancing on the edge of a cliff by only your toes, you would blame the wind for knocking you off.
 

Mickiscoole

Neo Member
As far as I know, the only time Shepard has fought in space in game was Arrival, and that scene mutes sound effects considerably. There was also the intro to ME2 which had no sounds.

edit: nvm, I just remembered the space battle cutscenes have sound effects. Guess that's BioWare trying to attract the normal audiences.

I seem to remember a codex entry or something saying that the ship's computers simulate the sounds so that the pilots get some sort of feedback. Same thing as having windows on the ships. Not needed, but it feeds into the whole romanticness of space.

Or I could be thinking of a different space based game.
 

i-Lo

Member
You're forgetting something essential, the Reapers wipe out all advanced organic life.

See that's the thing, in the beginning of the demo there is no mention of "advanced" which would make FAR more sense. It makes me wonder if Bioware has an editorial division.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
EA/Origin seems to like to charge customers early. For some reason they've charged me already for ME3 and I can't modify my order now. Had the game preordered since last year.

>.>

Maybe they will ship it early.
 
EA/Origin seems to like to charge customers early. For some reason they've charged me already for ME3 and I can't modify my order now. Had the game preordered since last year.

>.>

Maybe they will ship it early.

Holy shit.

Well, now I'm not pre-ordering.

*was literally just about to pre-order*
 
I've had ME2 spit out three slightly different face codes each time I've imported my ME1 save. Neither code looks like my imported character when used on it's own in ME2 itself in a new game, though I can get close to reconstruct it by combining the three.

My guess is the codes generated aren't 100% indicative of what the imported character actually looks like if inputted manually, but if imported from a save game (eg. into ME3) it'll look the same.

And that's why I use a stock "John Shepard" for all my ME1 and ME2 games. No worries about a borked import!
 

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
The pill would have been easier to swallow if it had been an alien species. However, the writers created the tale that is supposed to be based closely to our own history (looking at the timeline). And also if the Reaper cleansed Earth 50,000 years ago of "all organic life" then humans as shown in the game wouldn't even exist without the help of Reaper itself (i.e. they would have had to have a system akin to the Noah's Ark for genetic samples from which clones of all the species destroyed could be created again. And the only reason to let organic repopulate is to see technological evolution that may be integrated with existing Reaper tech.) All in all, the all encompassing "all organic life" is one massive weak link, provided Earth has been cleansed once already.

See that's the thing, in the beginning of the demo there is no mention of "advanced" which would make FAR more sense. It makes me wonder if Bioware has an editorial division.

It is definitely not very descriptive in the demo, but I would assume Bioware at this point think that those who haven't played the previous games just need this base premise for the arrival of the Reapers and them trying to kill everyone off.

And those who have played the previous games and follow the story will know that it is just advanced races that they killed off every cycle, I would assume so they could continue their chain of events in regards to how species and their technology evolve to then later be killed off.

And seeing as you mentioned humans 50,000 years ago, I figured I would point out that it was 50,000 years ago that we as a species evolved to "Behavioural Modernity", this is also in the story of Mass Effect (as seen in the text vision from ME1) around the same time before or after the Reapers cycle started when the Protheans visited and studied Humans.
Which is one thing I really hope they go into or at least mention in ME3 seeing as it wasn't brought up in ME2.
 

sp3000

Member
Who is doing the OT for this, because it deserves a Dragon Age 2 style thread

I always thought Mass Effect 2 was a good game with some flaws. Now I see that it's actually a great game when I take a look at how bad ME3 is.


Does anyone know why game devs and Hollywood (beside Firefly/Serenity) still insist on portraying sound effects in space?

Also, did the devs ever mention that the Mass Effect universe is an alternate reality? I ask since in sci-fi the past is generally either left alone or part of it appended to be of use in future but never obliterated. I still think Reapers destroying all life every 50,000 years is a bit too much of bad science.

Shattered Horizon had an amazing simulation of sound in space.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Wasn't Chinner planning on doing one because of the MS court order thing?

He was, then he backed out because some people complained he'd shit all over it. Ducks *shrug*
 

GSR

Member
Wasn't Chinner planning on doing one because of the MS court order thing?

But yeah I don't think it deserves a DA II OT. DA II was a special case.

He was, but for one reason or another he had to give it up. I heard it was a communal decision.

Edit: Or good old-fashioned complaining, that works too.
 

Mxrz

Member
I've had the demo downloaded for a couple of days. I have had a couple of drinks tonight, so its as good a time as any take on some Bioware storytelling. But I realized all I really want out of the SP is more angry Miranda sex. So don't let me down, Bioware.
 

Wiggum2007

Junior Member
See that's the thing, in the beginning of the demo there is no mention of "advanced" which would make FAR more sense. It makes me wonder if Bioware has an editorial division.

Eh, it's called being reductive. It's just a quick paragraph summary of the story so far, gives casual players an idea of what's at stake while people interested in the lore know the details behind it all or will be willing to do a little deeper reading to find out.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Slightly more respectable than Deception.

1w9i6z.jpg
204e2k.jpg


Slightly.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Any spoilers beyond those character spoilers in there?

It's categorised by game, so yeah, there's an entire section devoted to everything in ME3. I'm not touching it.

What's that? The Thorian concept art?

Yep!

Utterly addicted. Question that's probably been answered:

What is the number next to the N7 logo in the lobby?

Player ranking, based on how many characters you've levelled up and maybe which challenges you've completed.
 

DarkKyo

Member
When the actual game comes out anyone know if you can re-customize how your guy looks at the start even if you're using ME2 data? Kinda like how you could at the start of ME2 with your ME1 character?
 

FStop7

Banned
Played the demo.

Interesting.

I liked the grim tone of the story and the appropriately changed color palette.

I am so-so on the combat.

I'll just throw this out there... I think this game should have been Mass Effect 2. Shepard got screwed and now here come the Reapers. This should be the dark middle chapter, in which the council races are running scared, everything is spinning out of control, and Shepard has to rally everyone together through a symbolic victory. And then ME3 should have been about the war itself.

I also like the idea that Shepard is starting to become a little unglued after experiencing so much loss. RPG elements, Bioware! Use them!
 

Mxrz

Member
If they're really going to pretend ME2 didn't happen or downplay it, I'm going to be annoyed. That was the impression I picked up from the demo and I didn't care for it. Here's to hoping.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The intro in the demo isnt the same as the intro in the full game, you know that right?

I generally consider the 'intro' to each Mass Effect game the content up until the point where you gain control of the Normandy and can start exploring at your own leisure. From what I know of ME3 the demo level isn't the entire introduction, but it is where the game begins and pretty much exactly how it starts.

The 'intro' then takes you to a couple of other locations, then you can explore.
 
Played the demo.

Interesting.

I liked the grim tone of the story and the appropriately changed color palette.

I am so-so on the combat.

I'll just throw this out there... I think this game should have been Mass Effect 2. Shepard got screwed and now here come the Reapers. This should be the dark middle chapter, in which the council races are running scared, everything is spinning out of control, and Shepard has to rally everyone together through a symbolic victory. And then ME3 should have been about the war itself.

I also like the idea that Shepard is starting to become a little unglued after experiencing so much loss. RPG elements, Bioware! Use them!

Really? I disagree. While the Collector story of ME2 was weak, its character stories were not only excellent but were trojan horses to flesh out the universe. We got to intimately taste a part of the krogan homeworld culture (and the weight of the genophage with Mordin's loyalty mission), the politics on the quarian fleet and their dealing with the geth while being seen as space gypsies by the rest of the galaxy, and even a bit of asari culture with getting to know their ways a bit better through Samara than we got to know through Liara in ME1.

Yes, the collectors were a weak thread, but the parts that were on that thread in ME2 were meaty, universe-defining parts that give some real impact to what happens in ME3. I wouldn't want the first time I visit the krogan homeworld to be begging for their help with the Reapers. I want to see what it's like from their perspectives, and explore the real depth of the krogan vs. salarian policy on whether or not the genophage should stay intact now that a cure is much more closer to being possible. Now, in ME3, we are armed with perspective that only ME2 could really flesh out when we actually do work these different cultures to help with the Reapers, even if it means having Shepard taking definitive sides in racial conflicts like the pro/anti-genophage argument.

In fact, it's this specific line of reasoning that I'm most looking forward to ME3.
 

rozay

Banned
Eatchildren, did you notice that the quarian mask was modelled after a pig's face? Can't unsee, and can't wait to pork Tali in ME3.
 

rakhir

Member
Anyone know if I'm going to be able to transfer my Mass Effect 2 Save from my 360 to My PC as I'd like to play Mass Effect 3 on my PC.
I don't think so, sadly.

But there's hope - people hacked they way and figured out how to play skyrim saves from 360 on pc, maybe will do the same here.

Also, when ME2 premiered i found a site devoted to importing saves for people that lost theirs or switched from consoles to pcs, so there's that.

EDIT: or that below. :)
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Used your mod powers to prevent Chinners |OT| didn't you?

I encouraged him. I don't know why, but I did. And then he conceded defeat to the rabble.

Last time I bet on a duck.
 
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