• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Mass Effect Community Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.

DevilDog

Member
Didn't watch the trailer, but I started ME 1 like a year ago on pc, then stopped after 10 hours or so. Was a great game but something must have side tracked me.

Was itching for an rpg yesterday so I booted up FF XIII and haven't been captivated so I think it's time I return to ME.

I've pretty much forgotten everything that's happened. Should I just continue or restart?

Heh, I know what you mean, for some strange reason I had an itch for an RPG as well, 60 hours into Dragon age Origins.

My advice would be that you start from the beginning, and if you get kind of bored of replaying the same sections just go to your saves.

Though Mass Effect is one of these games that can be played over and over again and still feel fresh.

If you think the first 10 hours are great, you're in for a treat still
 

Big Nikus

Member
Didn't watch the trailer, but I started ME 1 like a year ago on pc, then stopped after 10 hours or so. Was a great game but something must have side tracked me.

Was itching for an rpg yesterday so I booted up FF XIII and haven't been captivated so I think it's time I return to ME.

I've pretty much forgotten everything that's happened. Should I just continue or restart?

I think you should restart. Install some mods if you're playing on PC. The MEUITM mod makes the game look a lot better.
And stick to it even if the first one can seem a bit dated ! You won't regret it.

Like... What are people expecting in terms of the facial animation? Are you guys comparing it with stuff like Uncharted or something? Because it's not supposed to be on that level in conversations like that. Look more to something like in game Watch Dogs 2 conversations if you want to compare. Or well, The Witcher 3, whose end result only looks better due to them perfectly using a couple dozen hand crafted animations.

I think the facial animations look great.

Yeah, seriously. I guess it's just a meme now, "lol BioWare animations".
I too think they look really good, better than anything BioWare has done so far (well I still haven't played DA:I so I don't know for that one).
 

Anustart

Member
I think you should restart. Install some mods if you're playing on PC. The MEUITM mod makes the game look a lot better.
And stick to it even if the first one can seem a bit dated ! You won't regret it.



Yeah, seriously. I guess it's just a meme now, "lol BioWare animations".
I too think they look really good, better than anything BioWare has done so far (well I still haven't played DA:I so I don't know for that one).

Thanks for the heads up on MEUITM. Installing now and restarting! Good thing too, since I seem to have somehow missed character creation on my first go around.
 

Dany

Banned
How do they still not have a fucking release date yet. Just show us a shrug emoji at this point, so stupid.
They likely have a release date. But won't say it publicly. Happens all the time. They want to ensure the timeline for the games development isn't skewered before announcing a release date.
 
How do they still not have a fucking release date yet. Just show us a shrug emoji at this point, so stupid.
It's...hard to explain. It's on EA's end. There is a date set, and I won't say it now since I'll likely get a lot of "yea right" replies, but, it's sort of an "experiment" by EA, is what I'm told.
 
It's...hard to explain. It's on EA's end. There is a date set now, and I won't say it now since I'll likely get a lot of "yea right" replies, but, it's sort of an "experiment" by EA, is what I'm told.

But they're still waiting to see if the team ends up needing more time, right?
 

Dany

Banned
I wonder if the game will have time jumps. Like, father died in the opening. We inhabit main human colonly, jump to finding our other arcs and etc.
 
I just hope there's less auto-dialogue this time around than in ME3. I'm liking the look of the dialogue wheel.

Not entirely sure what Mass Effect 3 you played but there were no auto-dialogue situations in that game unless you specifically turned on the Action mode deep in the options menu, which no one did.
 

dr_rus

Member
Not entirely sure what Mass Effect 3 you played but there were no auto-dialogue situations in that game unless you specifically turned on the Action mode deep in the options menu, which no one did.

Oh come on, it's pretty apparent what he means as in ME3 you have loads of completely non-interactive cinematics instead of proper PRG style dialogs. Way more than in ME2 even.
 
Oh come on, it's pretty apparent what he means as in ME3 you have loads of completely non-interactive cinematics instead of proper PRG style dialogs. Way more than in ME2 even.

I'm still not entirely sure what you guys mean here. Are you saying that instead of Shepard acting out the scene in the car with Kai Leng for example the game should've just frozen time and inserted an out of place dialogue wheel so you could make a witty jab at him for the sake of meeting some RPG dialogue quota?

There's a line to be drawn between a rigid character constantly standing still making commentary and an immersive story scene playing out.

Even the Witcher 3 takes player agency and choice out of the players control for the sake of maintaining a cinematic moment in the story.
 

SoSolaris

Neo Member
I'm still not entirely sure what you guys mean here. Are you saying that instead of Shepard acting out the scene in the car with Kai Leng for example the game should've just frozen time and inserted an out of place dialogue wheel so you could make a witty jab at him for the sake of meeting some RPG dialogue quota?

There's a line to be drawn between a rigid character constantly standing still making commentary and an immersive story scene playing out.

Even the Witcher 3 takes player agency and choice out of the players control for the sake of maintaining a cinematic moment in the story.

:/

I don't care about the detailed rpg mechanics or whatever. I'd just like less of the auto stuff is all, which is what I simply stated. ME2 struck a nice balance for me.
 
Date is set, but if they really need the time, EA's flexible. It's polish from here to launch..

The main concern these past months has been development problems and that playing coy with the release date was prelude to a delayed release.

It's reassuring to hear that's not the issue - can only applaud EA for letting them polish it to a shine.

Cheers, mate.
 

SliChillax

Member
but, it's sort of an "experiment" by EA, is what I'm told.

What does that even mean? Overall what I've seen so far hasn't gotten me excited about the game which I find so weird to say because the original trilogy is my favorite ever. I don't know if it's my fault for not getting excited or Bioware's, I'm in denial.
 
Looks great! The facial animations were a bit off... But otherwise amazing.

I was going to post this in the Gaming thread, but holy fuck there's some bitter people in there.
 

dr_rus

Member
Did anyone else notice how the video had UI from both console versions and the PC version?

The PS buttons were obvious, but there was a cursor on the dialogue wheel and Xbox buttons on the weapon wheel. (Sorry about the image quality, I'm capturing screenshots off my phone).

I'm guessing it was actually the PC version that we saw.

You think they'll be different? Most Frostbite games are exactly the same between consoles and PC, the only difference is resolution and fps. MEA will likely be the same.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
I'm still not entirely sure what you guys mean here. Are you saying that instead of Shepard acting out the scene in the car with Kai Leng for example the game should've just frozen time and inserted an out of place dialogue wheel so you could make a witty jab at him for the sake of meeting some RPG dialogue quota?

There's a line to be drawn between a rigid character constantly standing still making commentary and an immersive story scene playing out.

Even the Witcher 3 takes player agency and choice out of the players control for the sake of maintaining a cinematic moment in the story.

They're talking about stuff like a long conversation on the Normandy where you get to choose only 30-50% of what Shepard will say while the rest was already decided by Bioware.
 

diaspora

Member
Female Turians squadmate.

9c0.jpg
 
I was gonna say, the bitter cynicism in that trailer thread is palpable. Constructive criticism is one thing but some of those people speak as if BioWare have personally betrayed them.

I'm just happy we've got a meaty video in which to examine and discuss things over.
 

Maledict

Member
Wow. Mass Effect thread in General really do suck, don't they?

Not really.

It's a massive flagship game, that caused a huge backlash in its last entry, and has fucked up its marketing launch significantly this time round. I'm not surprised some people aren't happy - especially given how this was our first big combat trailer, and they focus a lot on animations which are just *bad*. I'd also suggest that this thread represents the most hardcore of fans of the series, who are much more inclined to be positive - but the wider gaming public still gets to have a valid opinion, as they will be the ones buying the game.

I also think they are making am mistake marketing wise by not doing much about the storyline of the game at all. So far, all I know is I'm the pathfinder in a new galaxy - it feels even less defined than Skyrims marketing did, and that actually *is* an open world sandbox game.

Mass Effect got its sales and fame off an incredibly strong character driven storyline. They need to be showing that more in trailers.
 

Silexx

Member
What does that even mean? Overall what I've seen so far hasn't gotten me excited about the game which I find so weird to say because the original trilogy is my favorite ever. I don't know if it's my fault for not getting excited or Bioware's, I'm in denial.

I'm merely speculating, but from what I've gathered, I think EA is trying to gauge what would happen if they announce the release date close to the actual release. Think like 6-8 weeks beforehand.
 

Luxorek

Member
Or well, The Witcher 3, whose end result only looks better due to them perfectly using a couple dozen hand crafted animations.

Naah, you don't get it, dude. This isn't some random conversation with a nobody NPC. It's from a cutscene that is most likely part of some main quest storyline. And that's what got people worried...

Bioware animations always got a pass from me, but I had a hard time with them in DA:I when due to Frostbite the graphics made such a big leap in terms of fidelity. There is just too big of a dissonance between the way the characters look and the way they move.

I think the facial animations look great.

They don't. I'm not hating. They just don't look great and that is plain to see. There is a trademark Bioware dead eyes stare going on here.
 
Naah, you don't get it, dude. This isn't some random conversation with a nobody NPC. It's from a cutscene that is most likely part of some main quest storyline. And that's what got people worried...

Bioware animations always got a pass from me, but I had a hard time with them in DA:I when due to Frostbite the graphics made such a big leap in terms of fidelity. There is just too big of a dissonance between the way the characters look and the way they move.



They don't. I'm not hating. They just don't look great and that is plain to see. There is a trademark Bioware dead eyes stare going on here.

Naah, I think I get it just fine. It's an improvement from their previous work, which in the end is all that REALLY should matter.

But even when comparing them with other, similar games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN6GxuEww14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=430ogs1hgnQ
https://youtu.be/00KNrZpp57U?t=1971

How do these look any better? Even something like Final Fantasy 15 doesn't look above and beyond what Mass Effect just showed, and that was a cutscene that was probably done in one long take. Surely you comprehend that when you begin to actually add variation in your dialogue system, that you can't just put your massive amount of actors in booths with facial capture gear on and let them play out all tangents, straight.

https://youtu.be/00KNrZpp57U?t=4288

Actually, here's a better example from FF15. Spoilers though, from first 3 chapters.
 

Dany

Banned
Two thoughts on Mass Effect 3 in my play through.

1. FemShep sounds so so soooo much better than the first two games. Jen Hale really gave a stellar performance to provide a more grounded shepard with some great nuances to whatever is occuring in a scene.

2. This is perhaps do to the massive drought of player choice. Like it is cut back by 30-40%. I completely forgot about this. There are entire scenes without player interaction. I had completely forgotten about this.
 

Maledict

Member
New video out showing off the Nexus and Arks

Hype-rion awaits.

And the voice of Avina returns hah.

EDIT: Things I noted during the video is that the Nexus is being built in pieces, I wonder if each arm of the Nexus is home to one of the four main ark species?

Okay, it literally is the Citedal. You could have shown me any of that interior footage and I would have sworn it was the citadel.

I do think the game is being pitched wrong tbh. They are straddling this curious line of "huge open world galaxy to explore" at the same time as they drag and drop everything we know and love from the original trilogy in. Feels like it's neither one nor the other.
 

Maledict

Member
Just signing up for the ME4 multiplery beta, and Gaf is listed as a social media platform alongside Twitter and facebook. Made me laugh that a website gets that much credit! ;-)
 
Awesome!

Okay, it literally is the Citedal. You could have shown me any of that interior footage and I would have sworn it was the citadel.

I do think the game is being pitched wrong tbh. They are straddling this curious line of "huge open world galaxy to explore" at the same time as they drag and drop everything we know and love from the original trilogy in. Feels like it's neither one nor the other.

I don't understand what you want them to do differently. Is there something about this setup that doesn't make sense to you? I think it makes sense that there is a large hub from which you undertake your exploration. Where else are they going to store the tens of thousands of people that came with me on this journey?
 

Maledict

Member
Awesome!



I don't understand what you want them to do differently. Is there something about this setup that doesn't make sense to you? I think it makes sense that there is a large hub from which you undertake your exploration. Where else are they going to store the tens of thousands of people that came with me on this journey?

It shouldn't *literally* be the Citedal. Agree with the need for a hub, but lets see something different - right now, a lot of what we are seeing feels (narrative and lore wise) just like a mass effect game set in the original galaxy would feel like.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
It shouldn't *literally* be the Citedal. Agree with the need for a hub, but lets see something different - right now, a lot of what we are seeing feels (narrative and lore wise) just like a mass effect game set in the original galaxy would feel like.

The people from the Nexus & the Arks came from around the ME2 timeline, what exactly were you expecting? Even if its 600 years in the future, the whole thing still launched during the original trilogy. It's just normal that the whole thing make you feel like its coming from there.
 

Yeul

Member
I mean like it or not there was a point that they reached in ME3 with the endings which meant that they needed a fresh start - and it's appreciated. They were never and will never declare a "canon" choice for that game so all they can do is begin again in a new galaxy and that's interesting. These people are just transplants, they are going to take influences from what they knew in the Milky Way to Andromeda. Even if it is 600 years in the future, they left the same age they are now, the tech for the most part is the same, there will be influences. Besides, the Stanford torus-esque models of space station is not new. There's no need to reinvent the wheel when the lore makes sense in this case.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom