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[Official] Mass Effect: Andromeda Information and Discussion Thread

46K views 1K replies 129 participants last post by  Kuivamaa 
#1 ·
Launch date is 3/21/2017 in North America and 3/23/2017 in Europe

The Mass Effect series is probably my favorite video game of all time, and I'm excited to see what Bioware does for their next chapter in the series. I figured since it has been confirmed to be in development and some information about the game has started to come out, I might as well go ahead and start a thread to share and discuss information about it as it comes to light. There probably won't be much to talk about at first, but hopefully as the game draws closer we'll have more to discuss.

Some links to info:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-11-mass-effect-4-everything-we-know-so-far

https://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/32yzxf/last_month_i_took_a_random_survey_about_mass/

http://www.gamezone.com/news/we-finally-have-mass-effect-4-details-3417337

Teaser from E3 2014



E3 2015 Trailer



Quote from BioWare

Quote:
While we aren't ready to go into too many details just yet, as you saw in the trailer and can tell by the name, this game is very much a new adventure, taking place far away from and long after the events of the original trilogy. You will play a human, male or female, though that's actually not the character you saw in the trailer (more on that later). You'll be exploring an all-new galaxy, Andromeda, and piloting the new and improved Mako you saw. And through it all, you will have a new team of adventurers to work with, learn from, fight alongside of, and fall in love with.
Gameplay video



Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer



Official Gameplay Trailer

 
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#3 ·
What do you mean?
 
#5 ·
Lol no judging here. I think that's a perfectly valid request.

I for one hope they have more non-humanoid alien species. I mean I love the alien races of Mass Effect, but come on, it seems odd that that many races would have evolved to be almost identically proportioned to humans, especially the Asari, which are just blue space women with tentacle hair.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

I hope the gameplay remains very similar to ME3, but with an inventory system added back. Too bad it seems like it will be human-only PC again.
It would be nice to be able to pick your race. Unfortunately it seems the more freedom you give the harder it is to craft a good story. Example, Skyrim. Lots of freedom, not so great story.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

It would be nice to be able to pick your race. Unfortunately it seems the more freedom you give the harder it is to craft a good story. Example, Skyrim. Lots of freedom, not so great story.
That's not a very good comparison because the type of freedom Skyrim gives you isn't in character creation. Honestly unmodded their character creation is ABYSMAL. Having lots of character customization like has absolutely zero detriment to gameplay or story. Regardless of how you or I made Shepard look, we were all still giving the same speeches and watching the same cutscenes (depending on your choices). So I don't see at all how having the ability to pick a race would take away from the gameplay. If anything, it would add another level of diversity for peoples choices as I'm sure race would affect how you interact with certain people.

Worst case scenario it doesn't add another level of choice branching/consequences and all picking a race would do is change your physical appearance and change your backstory (like picking lone survivor or hero etc in me1). But if they've been paying attention to games like life is strange, dreamfall chapters, and the telltale games they should.

Now whether they allow this to happen or not I actually don't care, just didn't think it was fair for you to say the story would suffer for it.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by End3R View Post

That's not a very good comparison because the type of freedom Skyrim gives you isn't in character creation. Honestly unmodded their character creation is ABYSMAL. Having lots of character customization like has absolutely zero detriment to gameplay or story. Regardless of how you or I made Shepard look, we were all still giving the same speeches and watching the same cutscenes (depending on your choices). So I don't see at all how having the ability to pick a race would take away from the gameplay. If anything, it would add another level of diversity for peoples choices as I'm sure race would affect how you interact with certain people.

Worst case scenario it doesn't add another level of choice branching/consequences and all picking a race would do is change your physical appearance and change your backstory (like picking lone survivor or hero etc in me1). But if they've been paying attention to games like life is strange, dreamfall chapters, and the telltale games they should.

Now whether they allow this to happen or not I actually don't care, just didn't think it was fair for you to say the story would suffer for it.
Well I didn't say it would, and if anyone can do it Bioware can, but it does make it more difficult I think.
 
#11 ·
The whole open world concept seems nice and all but how are they going to tie in the previous events from the other titles? Between that, the way they screwed us over on the ending of ME3 and the remark about "power of new consoles" I doubt I'll be dropping money on this.
 
#12 ·
The ending of ME3 was perfectly fine, and I don't think they're really planning on tying it in because it takes place in a completely different galaxy. Even if they do tie it in it will probably not be anything major.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

The ending of ME3 was perfectly fine, and I don't think they're really planning on tying it in because it takes place in a completely different galaxy. Even if they do tie it in it will probably not be anything major.
It was supposed to be a different story arch but inside the already established ME universe, last I heard. Do you mean a different galaxy as in "a different galaxy within the ME universe" or as in the first trilogy never happened (not sure that it matters either way to be honest though, as inter-galactic travel was never broached in the previous titles [everything relied upon the Mass Relays for inter-system travel]).

Anyway, I wouldn't expect it to massively alter the game play if 4 takes place before the third title and could understand only minor audio news clips about Shepard and reapers etc. If it happens before the events on Eden Prime then that's fine too (so long as the tech progression ties in with the timeline smoothly). Obviously if it takes place after ME3 then I'd expect fairly heavy tie-ins.

I think they really painted themselves into a corner with the first 3 titles. All they can really do now is either a spin-off of a parallel event arch or a prequel/post-ME3 sequel with a different main showing life after whatever you chose to do in ME3. That's why I'm so skeptical. It was always about the reapers and Shepard and I think they're going to have a really hard time finding a good way to branch out and get away from that while still staying inside the extensively fleshed out ME universe.

My opinion of the ending is that it lacked the gravity and logic the rest of the series seemed to carry. Both the original and the "extended" endings felt rather anti-climactic. Especially since you always saw Shepard gasp if you chose to kill the reapers. I mean for crying out loud you can bring peace between the Quarian and Geth which completely relegates the reaper's to obsolescence! Yet somehow you still have the same three endings. They should have made it so that f you go into the final battle for earth with Quarian and Geth support the reapers back off and go back to dark space until a time when they might be needed again. At least then you have room for further franchise development that doesn't include Shepard or the characters of the other short-lived races.

Of course, that's just me.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by thwl View Post

I want to romance a cyborg. EDI look alike. Don't judge.
+1 make it happen Casey, oh wait ...
redface.gif
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpecTRe-X View Post

It was supposed to be a different story arch but inside the already established ME universe, last I heard. Do you mean a different galaxy as in "a different galaxy within the ME universe" or as in the first trilogy never happened (not sure that it matters either way to be honest though, as inter-galactic travel was never broached in the previous titles [everything relied upon the Mass Relays for inter-system travel]).

Anyway, I wouldn't expect it to massively alter the game play if 4 takes place before the third title and could understand only minor audio news clips about Shepard and reapers etc. If it happens before the events on Eden Prime then that's fine too (so long as the tech progression ties in with the timeline smoothly). Obviously if it takes place after ME3 then I'd expect fairly heavy tie-ins.

I think they really painted themselves into a corner with the first 3 titles. All they can really do now is either a spin-off of a parallel event arch or a prequel/post-ME3 sequel with a different main showing life after whatever you chose to do in ME3. That's why I'm so skeptical. It was always about the reapers and Shepard and I think they're going to have a really hard time finding a good way to branch out and get away from that while still staying inside the extensively fleshed out ME universe.

My opinion of the ending is that it lacked the gravity and logic the rest of the series seemed to carry. Both the original and the "extended" endings felt rather anti-climactic. Especially since you always saw Shepard gasp if you chose to kill the reapers. I mean for crying out loud you can bring peace between the Quarian and Geth which completely relegates the reaper's to obsolescence! Yet somehow you still have the same three endings. They should have made it so that f you go into the final battle for earth with Quarian and Geth support the reapers back off and go back to dark space until a time when they might be needed again. At least then you have room for further franchise development that doesn't include Shepard or the characters of the other short-lived races.

Of course, that's just me.
Different galaxy in the same universe.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

It would be nice to be able to pick your race. Unfortunately it seems the more freedom you give the harder it is to craft a good story. Example, Skyrim. Lots of freedom, not so great story.
Skyrim really didn't attempt to provide a good story though. Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition are made by BioWare and have race choices, and writing quality is at least on par with Mass Effect (less complex story but better dialogue I think). I played some ME3 multiplayer recently and they did a surprisingly good job in gameplay design for other species and classes.
 
#17 ·
ME3 multiplayer was a surprise gem. It was a lot of fun. I expected it to be just tacked on, but they did a good job, and I'm glad to hear that it sounds like they're putting something similar in 4.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by thwl View Post

I want to romance a cyborg. EDI look alike. Don't judge.
why go for 1 on 1?

needs an "orgy" ending. if you don't lay anyone during the main story (but have completed the loyalty missions), there will be an option for a space orgy at the end. it would also be set up like that ship mission (where if you didn't have the loyalty of certain people, they died, or the ship was crippled in some way), some people will not or will be present.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

Different galaxy in the same universe.
Is there a source you'd recommend where I could brush up on the announced plans? I'd like to read up on some of this before commenting further.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpecTRe-X View Post

Is there a source you'd recommend where I could brush up on the announced plans? I'd like to read up on some of this before commenting further.
I have a couple links in the OP, granted the Reddit link is still unconfirmed at this point, but the info is being backed up by a reputable person, so it's likely real.
 
#21 ·
After reading both of those links I have to agree with RVallant's first post. This sounds like something that doesn't know what it wants to be in terms of game play and the whole "moving to a new galaxy" thing is going to be stupidly hard to pull off as it is. If I wanted to build outposts and collect resources I'd play an RTS or TBS, I like to get story when playing RPGs. I think I'll skip this title, maybe pick it up after a few price drops. I definitely won't be pre-ordering the collectors edition like I did with ME2 and 3 though.
 
#22 ·
We had three good ME games so, in my opinion, anything they have in the pipeline needs to deliver. As a developper, I would feel the pressure knowing this franchise has quite a bit of avid fans. I would not be surprised if they actually pull it off and offer a story similar to Dragon Age Inquisition. Remember how much we all raged after that low blow DA2? We had quite a few frowning heads saying the next DA installment will not live up to our expecations. I believe Inquisition is one of the best in the series and cleans the slate.

Call me a blind fool but I have faith in them getting a good ME4 out. I will ignore the fact that Casey left and wait until we have more details. They will not rush this one
thumb.gif
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpecTRe-X View Post

After reading both of those links I have to agree with RVallant's first post. This sounds like something that doesn't know what it wants to be in terms of game play and the whole "moving to a new galaxy" thing is going to be stupidly hard to pull off as it is. If I wanted to build outposts and collect resources I'd play an RTS or TBS, I like to get story when playing RPGs. I think I'll skip this title, maybe pick it up after a few price drops. I definitely won't be pre-ordering the collectors edition like I did with ME2 and 3 though.
Well since those links offer very little concrete information, it's awfully early to start saying it's not going to be good.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpecTRe-X View Post

After reading both of those links I have to agree with RVallant's first post. This sounds like something that doesn't know what it wants to be in terms of game play and the whole "moving to a new galaxy" thing is going to be stupidly hard to pull off as it is. If I wanted to build outposts and collect resources I'd play an RTS or TBS, I like to get story when playing RPGs. I think I'll skip this title, maybe pick it up after a few price drops. I definitely won't be pre-ordering the collectors edition like I did with ME2 and 3 though.
Dragon Age: Inquisition has similar micromanaging mechanics and doesn't skimp out on story compared to other BioWare games. You can have both.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

Dragon Age: Inquisition has similar micromanaging mechanics and doesn't skimp out on story compared to other BioWare games. You can have both.
Yeah I haven't played the game, but it seems like they're wanting to go a similar direction with ME4, and Inquisition seemed to get good reviews.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wishmaker View Post

We had three good ME games so, in my opinion, anything they have in the pipeline needs to deliver. As a developper, I would feel the pressure knowing this franchise has quite a bit of avid fans. I would not be surprised if they actually pull it off and offer a story similar to Dragon Age Inquisition. Remember how much we all raged after that low blow DA2? We had quite a few frowning heads saying the next DA installment will not live up to our expecations. I believe Inquisition is one of the best in the series and cleans the slate.

Call me a blind fool but I have faith in them getting a good ME4 out. I will ignore the fact that Casey left and wait until we have more details. They will not rush this one
thumb.gif
I can appreciate that and I think their reaction to that pressure is to try something new for the franchise even if it isn't necessarily the best fit for the franchise given what its fans are already used to and comfortable with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

I have a couple links in the OP, granted the Reddit link is still unconfirmed at this point, but the info is being backed up by a reputable person, so it's likely real.
Quote:
Originally Posted by superhead91 View Post

Well since those links offer very little concrete information, it's awfully early to start saying it's not going to be good.
So which is it, you can't have it both ways. And all I'm saying is that it likely won't be something I'm going to buy or be good in my eyes. I'm not speaking for anyone else.

Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

Dragon Age: Inquisition has similar micromanaging mechanics and doesn't skimp out on story compared to other BioWare games. You can have both.
That was one of the 2 things that turned me off to that game. That whole campaign map really irritated me, almost as much as the whole MMO feel/look. Though the latter was my own fault for not reading more about it before I bought it. I played maybe 6 hours of it before burning out and going to a more enjoyable game.
 
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