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Rumor: Mass Effect 4 details leak through survey

Steel

Banned
But if there aren't all the council races from ME1-3 (I NEED A TURIAN SIDEKICK) then why call it Mass Effect at all? Why not *insert generic other sci-fi setting here*?

If it's gonna be in the same universe then the giant robot Cthulhu's that nearly killed all sentient life are kind of a big deal.

I expect them to reuse the races, but the reapers ceased being robot Cthulhu's when Star child nuked the plot from orbit. And honestly, I expect that the remnants of an ancient race mentioned in the survey you find is probably stuff from the ones who made the reapers, so you'll probably get what you want.
 
The return to open environments in the first place is due to ME1 fans, and knowing that if ME1 was released today its side content would be ripped apart, they know they need to add toys to play with out there.
I guess that makes sense. I never thought of ME1 as an open-world game, but I did enjoy bouncing around in the Mako--even if a lot of the landscape geometry was terrible.

I was hoping for a return to explorable environments, but in a different way: taking the hubs and expanding them into large regions. You'd only need a handful of them, but they'd each have interesting quests and they would all be interconnected (e.g., having two or three quest lines per world, and having each affect the other).

Sounds like ME4 is taking the opposite approach: lots of smaller one-time-use worlds. Which I guess is closer to what ME1 had, but even back in 2008, I knew that ME1 needed improvement in that area.
 

diaspora

Member
I expect them to reuse the races, but the reapers ceased being robot Cthulhu's when Star child nuked the plot from orbit. And honestly, I expect that the remnants of an ancient race mentioned in the survey you find is probably stuff from the ones who made the reapers, so you'll probably get what you want.

The leviathans? I don't think we'll see them anymore.
 

kitzkozan

Member
Dunno... hope this isn't true. Sounds too much generic busy work. :(

Which is exactly why it sound legit lol. I'm expecting Ubisoft style busywork and enough "content" to last over 60+ hours which plenty of people will be happy with. :p Although the Mako should help speed up the process if it can handle well this time.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Summarised all the info into less PR fluff and by category.

NARRATIVE:
  • Premise: Set in the Helius Cluster of the Andromeda Galaxy, removed by time and space from the Mass Effect "Commander Shepard" trilogy and its ending. Play as a "Pathfinder" explorer leading expedition with the aim of establishing new home for humanity. Encounter "savage untamed lands", "cut-throat outlaws", and "warring alien races" in an effort to survive and colonies. Andromeda is home to a mysterious alien race, the Remnants, who've left their vaults and ancient technology throughout.
  • Game Objective: Explore 100s of solar systems (over 4x size of Mass Effect 3) collecting resources, developing your ship, crew, and arsenal, while engaging in diplomacy in order to set up colonies, while discovering the mystery behind the Remnants and racing to secure their technology.
  • New Species: Remnants, an ancient race who've left ruins and technology throughout the galaxy. And Khet, seemingly antagonistic.
  • Squadmates: Same as previous games: make friends, take two with you on missions. Cora is able to generate biotic shields you can fire out of. Drack is a Krogan.
  • Loyalty Missions: Same as previous games: complete to unlock increased loyalty and new skill tree for that character. Example: Krogan colony ship has been stolen by outlaws. Track down the ship and return it to increase loyalty with Drack. Dialogue trees and end game impacted by loyalty status.
  • Dialogue: "Meaningful choices". Deeper control over responses, such as interrupting conversation. Action based choices are physical choices to shape the course of conversation, such as pulling out a weapon and forcing them to open a door instead of attempting to do so purely via conversation.

EXPLORATION/CUSTOMISATION
  • Tempest Starship: Pilotable ship to discover 100s of solar systems. Customisable with trophies/loot/photos taken through the galaxy. Transition between flying ship, to landing on planet, to driving Mako, to getting out on foot, all seamless with no loading screens.
  • Mako Vehicle: Upgradeable with turbo boost, shield generator, hostile detector, etc. Customisable paint job.
  • Planets: 100s of surfaces to explore, for discovering places to colonise, and alien vaults/outputs to conquer.
  • Colonies: Build settlements on habitable planets. Able to decide what type of settlement for bonuses. EG: Recon Settlements will clear fog of war on space map and offer more strike team missions, meanwhile Mining Settlements will periodically supply crafting materials.
  • Blueprints: Allow you to craft alien technology using materials for better equipment and weapons, such as a jetpack for jumping, cryo-beam to target enemies, etc.
  • Crew: Customisable skill trees, gear, weapons, etc.

MISSIONS TYPES AND MULTIPLAYER:
  • Remnant Vault Raids: Ancient ruins in two variants. Standard: Accessed by finding and activating Remnant Monoliths, explored to find a "powerful artefact". Acquiring artefact triggers defence systems: robots, traps, and restructured layout. Rewards with valuable loot, crafting resources, and Star Keys. Orbital Facilities: Unlocked with Star Keys, provide permanent stat bonuses, and optional higher difficulty vault raids that add Khet patrols and outlaws. Rewards with rare loot and narrative acclaim.
  • Khet Outposts: Optional wave-based combat challenges that reward with XP, reduced Khet power and additional narrative options in the region if destroyed.
  • Strike Team: Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop AI controlled strike teams to be deployed on randomly generated, time sensitive missions. Include settlement defence and remnant artefact recovery. Strike Teams return 20 - 30 minutes later with XP, currency, and equipment depending on mission outcome. Spend money/resources to train Strike Team, and buy better equipment, to increase success rate and send on dangerous missions.
  • Active Strike Team: See above, however you can choose to complete the Strike Team mission manually via play using your multiplayer roster of characters. Able to play co-op with friends, more friends increasing difficulty and rewards. Bonus rewards for joining another players strike team mission. XP, loot, and customisation rewards for Strike Team played characters are cohesive with multiplayer specific horde mode.
  • Horde Mode: Similar to Mass Effect 3: four players against waves of enemies with additional objectives such as disabling a bomb or assassinating a target. Similar XP/loot rewards to Mass Effect 3. APEX funds earned to be used in single player.

My 5c:
- Strike Missions do sound like Inquisition, but actually sound much more like MGS: Peace Walker and to a lesser extent Phantom Pain. In that it's not just aimlessly sending diplomats, but has its own upgrade/customisation system to tackle stronger missions (just like Peace Walker), that can also be completed manually via co-op.
- And even then, the co-op Strike Missions just seem to be a way to integrate the horde mode into a cohesive single player environment. You can still, in theory, play them by yourself with your Strike Team characters. Or with friends as "multiplayer".
- Horde is exactly like Mass Effect 3, right down to the example missions and multiplayer specific characters.
- Resource for customisation makes me think of Inquisition.
 
So its Mass Effect again then? Story wise I mean. You are a human who finds ancient tech and you save humanity. You pick up crew mates who turn loyal. Add in the most recent Dragon Age structure. This is what I am getting from it at least. I know I know they want actual humans to spend actual human money on it so they will always centre it around humans being the be all and end all and must be saved etc but I get a little tired of it sometimes. Ancient Aliens Again. I don't know what I wanted - no I do it was more a Star Trek kind of thing - going out exploring and making new friends and solving problems and seeing new planets and being an emissary for mankind not its damn saviour again. Unrealistic on my part I know.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
Summarised all the info into less PR fluff and by category.

NARRATIVE:
  • Premise: Set in the Helius Cluster of the Andromeda Galaxy, removed by time and space from the Mass Effect "Commander Shepard" trilogy and its ending. Play as a "Pathfinder" explorer leading expedition with the aim of establishing new home for humanity. Encounter "savage untamed lands", "cut-throat outlaws", and "warring alien races" in an effort to survive and colonies. Andromeda is home to a mysterious alien race, the Remnants, who've left their vaults and ancient technology throughout.
  • Game Objective: Explore 100s of solar systems (over 4x size of Mass Effect 3) collecting resources, developing your ship, crew, and arsenal, while engaging in diplomacy in order to set up colonies, while discovering the mystery behind the Remnants and racing to secure their technology.
  • New Species: Remnants, an ancient race who've left ruins and technology throughout the galaxy. And Khet, seemingly antagonistic.
  • Squadmates: Same as previous games: make friends, take two with you on missions. Cora is able to generate biotic shields you can fire out of. Drack is a Krogan.
  • Loyalty Missions: Same as previous games: complete to unlock increased loyalty and new skill tree for that character. Example: Krogan colony ship has been stolen by outlaws. Track down the ship and return it to increase loyalty with Drack. Dialogue trees and end game impacted by loyalty status.
  • Dialogue: "Meaningful choices". Deeper control over responses, such as interrupting conversation. Action based choices are physical choices to shape the course of conversation, such as pulling out a weapon and forcing them to open a door instead of attempting to do so purely via conversation.

EXPLORATION/CUSTOMISATION
  • Tempest Starship: Pilotable ship to discover 100s of solar systems. Customisable with trophies/loot/photos taken through the galaxy. Transition between flying ship, to landing on planet, to driving Mako, to getting out on foot, all seamless with no loading screens.
  • Mako Vehicle: Upgradeable with turbo boost, shield generator, hostile detector, etc. Customisable paint job.
  • Planets: 100s of surfaces to explore, for discovering places to colonise, and alien vaults/outputs to conquer.
  • Colonies: Build settlements on habitable planets. Able to decide what type of settlement for bonuses. EG: Recon Settlements will clear fog of war on space map and offer more strike team missions, meanwhile Mining Settlements will periodically supply crafting materials.
  • Blueprints: Allow you to craft alien technology using materials for better equipment and weapons, such as a jetpack for jumping, cryo-beam to target enemies, etc.
  • Crew: Customisable skill trees, gear, weapons, etc.

MISSIONS TYPES AND MULTIPLAYER:
  • Remnant Vault Raids: Ancient ruins in two variants. Standard: Accessed by finding and activating Remnant Monoliths, explored to find a "powerful artefact". Acquiring artefact triggers defence systems: robots, traps, and restructured layout. Rewards with valuable loot, crafting resources, and Star Keys. Orbital Facilities: Unlocked with Star Keys, provide permanent stat bonuses, and optional higher difficulty vault raids that add Khet patrols and outlaws. Rewards with rare loot and narrative acclaim.
  • Khet Outposts: Optional wave-based combat challenges that reward with XP, reduced Khet power and additional narrative options in the region if destroyed.
  • Strike Team: Spend resources to recruit mercenaries and develop AI controlled strike teams to be deployed on randomly generated, time sensitive missions. Include settlement defence and remnant artefact recovery. Strike Teams return 20 - 30 minutes later with XP, currency, and equipment depending on mission outcome. Spend money/resources to train Strike Team, and buy better equipment, to increase success rate and send on dangerous missions.
  • Active Strike Team: See above, however you can choose to complete the Strike Team mission manually via play using your multiplayer roster of characters. Able to play co-op with friends, more friends increasing difficulty and rewards. Bonus rewards for joining another players strike team mission. XP, loot, and customisation rewards for Strike Team played characters are cohesive with multiplayer specific horde mode.
  • Horde Mode: Similar to Mass Effect 3: four players against waves of enemies with additional objectives such as disabling a bomb or assassinating a target. Similar XP/loot rewards to Mass Effect 3. APEX funds earned to be used in single player.

My 5c:
- Strike Missions do sound like Inquisition, but actually sound much more like MGS: Peace Walker and to a lesser extent Phantom Pain. In that it's not just aimlessly sending diplomats, but has its own upgrade/customisation system to tackle stronger missions (just like Peace Walker), that can also be completed manually via co-op.
- And even then, the co-op Strike Missions just seem to be a way to integrate the horde mode into a cohesive single player environment. You can still, in theory, play them by yourself with your Strike Team characters. Or with friends as "multiplayer".
- Horde is exactly like Mass Effect 3, right down to the example missions and multiplayer specific characters.
- Resource for customisation makes me think of Inquisition.

Thanks, I'll put that in the OP.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
Poor Bioware can't win. People have been asking for ME to return to the more ME1-style of gameplay (especially after ME3), and now that they did everyone's calling them Ubisoft :(

To be fair there is a huge difference between DAI and ME1 collect-a-ton wise. In DAI you needed to collect garbage to build the inquisition while in ME1 it was mostly for money and XP if you wanted them. Form that survey it seems like it's DAI and that you collect garbage to build colonies which is the objective of the game. It will be another DAI with like 4 story missions and 50 hours of collecting items.

I don't think it's linked in any form to 3 outside of the ME lore. Which is why it takes places in a distant time and place.
 

Lime

Member
Actually all I want is to silently walk around some barren planet with a huge space vista while 80's ambient synth is providing the texture of the experience.

If I get that, then I'm all good. I'll chow down all the bad AAA, Bioware trash with Ubisoft MMO design we otherwise will get.
 
I'm definitely feeling the DAI vibe of things... Which is fine by me!

Optional "bloat" is optional, afterall.
That's the interesting thing to me about DA:I. So many people can't soldier thru the optional exploration and collectathon to finish the story. Someone mentioned earlier that DA's combat was the real problem, and I agree.
The quest to the collection object wasn't worth it, didn't pay off. ME has better combat and much better lore IMO, so I think it will work. I'm also going to guess that the Mako is a "platforming" exploration vehicle with necessary upgrades to get thru areas, which will add a lot of challenge and fun.
 

thenexus6

Member
I think it would be really cool if the next Mass Effect took place hundreds or thousands of years after the Shepard trilogy. Kind of Like how the KOTOR games are set way before the movies. It would be cool to have this legend (Shepard) that everyone knows in the universe for his / her brave acts and now you are playing completely unrelated to that story line, but its still cool to have actually played as Shepard in the trilogy of games before.
 

Odah

Banned
That game sounds actually much more awesome and rpg-like than the whole Mass Effect-Sheppard Saga itself
 
So is the purpose of a survey like this just to judge how well they're describing/expressing these ideas in an appealing way? Surely it's too late in development to change the ideas themselves.
 
I expect them to reuse the races, but the reapers ceased being robot Cthulhu's when Star child nuked the plot from orbit. And honestly, I expect that the remnants of an ancient race mentioned in the survey you find is probably stuff from the ones who made the reapers, so you'll probably get what you want.

The already had the precursor to the Reapers in ME3.

They were stupid.
 

diaspora

Member
Even if this is in another galaxy, I don't see how they can reconcile this game with the me3 endings.

Why would they have to? If they leave the galaxy before shepard makes his choice, they won't ever need to address a destroy/synth/control ending. Shepard's choice is confined to the milky way.
 

DC1

Member
I will cautiously experience this game for the sake of my emotional intelligence.

I refused to be tossed aside like a 16th street night worker ...again.



..
Damn you Bioware! Don't make me fall in love again only to reveal, right before marriage, that you're a professional chicken head.
 

Bloomers

Member
Calling it now:
The Remnant are not any particular alien race, but "surprisingly" what was left of galactic society post-Reaper war.
No matter what ME3 ending, they reengineered Reaper tech to expand across the stars, but for some reason could not reform a stable society in the Helius cluster, and most of the history surrounding their attempts at civilization are now destroyed 100s (thousands?) of years later.

Enter new Cthulu-esque villain...
 
I just hope it actually has a decent story, and doesn't take a lot of inspiration from Inquisition with a bunch of open land to explore with not much meaningful to do in it, and a story that peaks a third (or so) of the way in.

But a lot of what's there sounds like it could be interesting. Hope they pull it off.
 

diaspora

Member
Calling it now:
The Remnant are not any particular alien race, but "surprisingly" what was left of galactic society post-Reaper war.
No matter what ME3 ending, they reengineered Reaper tech to expand across the stars, but for some reason could not reform a stable society in the Helius cluster, and most of their attempts at civilization are now destroyed 100s (thousands?) of years later.

Enter new Cthulu-esque villain...

In Inquisition you learn that the Elves
were never destroyed by tevinter. The ancient elven civilization killed themselves through civil war and the human tevinter civilization picked up the remnants and built their society from that.
They could easily do a similar thing here where the "remnants" civilization destroyed themselves.
 

SliChillax

Member
Tempest Starship:pilotable ship to discover 100s of solar systems. Customisable with trophies/loot/photos taken through the galaxy. Transition between flying ship, to landing on planet, to driving Mako, to getting out on foot, all seamless with no loading screens.

Is no loading times a good thing though for such a huge map? I don't want it to be like No Mans Land or ME1 where all the worlds are randomly generated because of the lack of power and space to put everything in. I would rather have loading times with properly done worlds.
 

m_dorian

Member
I am not impressed but i need more info on this.
Also this "Multiplayer earnings to be used in SP" does not sound good to me as a SP mostly.
 
I'm excited its another Galaxy at least and not the Milky Way again. Surely the Reapers were a Milky Way only antagonist. Surely. Galaxies are very very very far apart. What the Reapers did cycle after cycle in the Milky Way was only that one Galaxy. The rest of the Universe was going on with its business not knowing nor caring what happens in the Milky Way. There are billions and billions of Galaxies. The one we are in is only 1. Andromeda is another. So that is exciting. I am still a little bummed we have to save Humanity again.
 
I'm excited its another Galaxy at least and not the Milky Way again. Surely the Reapers were a Milky Way only antagonist. Surely. Galaxies are very very very far apart. What the Reapers did cycle after cycle in the Milky Way was only that one Galaxy. The rest of the Universe was going on with its business not knowing nor caring what happens in the Milky Way. There are billions and billions of Galaxies. The one we are in is only 1. Andromeda is another. So that is exciting. I am still a little bummed we have to save Humanity again.

Yeah I really hoped the "humans are the special snowflakes of the galaxy" stuff was over.
 

diaspora

Member
I'm excited its another Galaxy at least and not the Milky Way again. Surely the Reapers were a Milky Way only antagonist. Surely. Galaxies are very very very far apart. What the Reapers did cycle after cycle in the Milky Way was only that one Galaxy. The rest of the Universe was going on with its business not knowing nor caring what happens in the Milky Way. There are billions and billions of Galaxies. The one we are in is only 1. Andromeda is another. So that is exciting. I am still a little bummed we have to save Humanity again.

I think "humanity" is within the scope of the humans on the ark, unless that's what you already meant.
 
This all seems really great, well structured gameplay mechanics and still sounds like Mass Effect, I could see some of this stuff being repetitive or the missions are really standardized, but I have high hopes. I'll just be glad to have the Mako back though, it faced criticism in Mass Effect 1, but to me nothing invoked exploring the vast and emptiness of space like the Mako did.
 

ironcreed

Banned

tumblr_mjg73aMAfQ1r8vjbro1_500.gif
 

Ralemont

not me
That's the interesting thing to me about DA:I. So many people can't soldier thru the optional exploration and collectathon to finish the story. Someone mentioned earlier that DA's combat was the real problem, and I agree.
The quest to the collection object wasn't worth it, didn't pay off. ME has better combat and much better lore IMO, so I think it will work. I'm also going to guess that the Mako is a "platforming" exploration vehicle with necessary upgrades to get thru areas, which will add a lot of challenge and fun.

Combat is going to make a huge difference for the side content. The more chances I get to play around with my vanguard builds the better.
 

Ovek

7Member7
Yeah me too. We can have bigger stories than that I think. It would be really nice if Humans were just another bog standard life form and not the hero all the damn time.

Never gonna happen, that being said all the other races you drag along on the Path Finder mission need saving as well.
 

shadowkat

Unconfirmed Member
Cautiously optimistic. I like the idea of the Mako returning and being upgradeable. I'm not sure about these strikes. I liked DA:I but not enough to finish it.
 
No doubt that I'll miss the series, but thank god this time there are more wRPGs around (Pillars, Divinity, Wasteland, etc) to fill in.
 
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