Oh boy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw
it looks great. I wonder how much cut content there will be by the time they release it though ;)
Meh.
Looks like Dragon Age: Inquisition in space.
Everything is better with Johnny Cash in it.
Quote from: Legbiter on June 15, 2015, 03:57:25 PM
Meh.
Looks like Dragon Age: Inquisition in space.
Funny, that was Princesca's observation as well.
Quote from: Caliga on June 15, 2015, 05:55:55 PM
Quote from: Legbiter on June 15, 2015, 03:57:25 PM
Meh.
Looks like Dragon Age: Inquisition in space.
Funny, that was Princesca's observation as well.
:hmm:
:huh: Don't look at me. I hate the Dragon Age games dude.
I have yet to finish ME3 (though I played the first two twice each). :blush:
Quote from: Caliga on June 15, 2015, 06:00:13 PM
:huh: Don't look at me. I hate the Dragon Age games dude.
Why? I haven't played, but they're well regarded, so I'm interested in hearing alternate opinions.
I don't like the fantasy world it's based in, the first game had crippling bugs in it, even though it's on rails to a large extent the main character wasn't voiced, I hated the combat, etc.
Yes, I realize some of these flaws were fixed later, but I just don't need yet another RPG to play. I barely have time to play games anymore as it is.
I see where you're coming from. I liked the world, but I found the game was years behind its contemporaries Mass Effect 1 and 2 from a technical and presentational standpoint which was a major disappointment for me at the time (I was hoping for Baldur's Gate gameplay with Mass Effect looks). That every map was filled to the brim with enemies whether it made sense or not didn't help (God, what an endless slog the Deep Roads section is).
Took my five years to get through the game (after two or three aborted attempts where I stopped ca. halfway through because I got bored), though the passage of time has mellowed my opinion a bit. Also, loading times on my current computer are less punishing than they were on my 2009 laptop or on the Xbox. :P
I could never get thru ME1 & now the graphics are too dated.
No real interest into this one.
Quote from: Legbiter on June 15, 2015, 03:57:25 PM
Meh.
Looks like Dragon Age: Inquisition in space.
I find this comment amusing considering how much the Mass Effect series clearly had on Dragon Age. But to the extent it being like DAI is a bad thing I guess I will find out in a few days.
Quote from: Caliga on June 15, 2015, 06:00:13 PM
:huh: Don't look at me. I hate the Dragon Age games dude.
You do? You HATE them? Then clearly you must have strong opinions about them...
QuoteI don't like the fantasy world it's based in
I don't know. It has its strengths and weaknesses. I certainly like its way it uses many of the typical tropes but I have a problem with the limitations it has on the story telling. Seems a bit strong to justify hate though.
Quotethe first game had crippling bugs in it
Bullshit and nonsense. To the extent this is true it certainly is not fair. It was not buggy by any reasonable standard. Did it have bugs? Sure. Believe me I know buggy games but this was not one of them.
Quoteeven though it's on rails to a large extent the main character wasn't voiced
On rails? Again I call bullshit it was a little bit on rails but certainly not excessively in its genre. Yeah it is not Morrowind or anything but it never claimed to be in that genre. And having the main character voiced was a really new thing at the time, heck Skyrim and most modern RPGs the main character still is not voiced. All the games since the first one the main character has been voiced so how does that factor in to you HATING all the Dragon Age games?
QuoteI hated the combat
Well I loved it. I thought it was amazing and balanced though granted the original DA:O they were still working out how to make a good encounter with their system. The expansion, DLC, and Sequel do a much better job. I get that it may not be your thing but HATE it? What about it justifies hatred? Do you just not like RPGs?
QuoteYes, I realize some of these flaws were fixed later, but I just don't need yet another RPG to play. I barely have time to play games anymore as it is.
Not really. They main character in the original is still unvoiced, the game world remains the same, and the combat is still pretty much the same. I get that it may not be your thing and we all have limited time but you said you hate it. This seems pretty weaksauce to justify emotions on that level towards the series. Do you honestly hate the entire series? Did you even play any of them beyond the first game?
Quote from: Syt on June 16, 2015, 07:08:24 AM
I see where you're coming from. I liked the world, but I found the game was years behind its contemporaries Mass Effect 1 and 2 from a technical and presentational standpoint which was a major disappointment for me at the time (I was hoping for Baldur's Gate gameplay with Mass Effect looks).
Huh. Well I have a hard time not seeing how that is not exactly what it is. Baldur's Gate combined with Mass Effect. The second one though is far more 'Mass Effected' than the first one though. Keep in mind originally that was not the intention of the series at all, it moved in that direction though after the success of Mass Effect.
QuoteThat every map was filled to the brim with enemies whether it made sense or not didn't help (God, what an endless slog the Deep Roads section is)
I don't really get the Deep Roads endless slog thing if you played Baldur's Gate. That is not even remotely as long as some of those dungeons. None of the maps were particularly huge and each one had its own kinds of fights and quests and style. However there was that moment right after I met Branka and they had a room with weaksauce Darkspawn that I was like 'really?' before they got into the trap rooms and it got interesting again. I don't get the criticism about filled to the brim with enemies. It is not particularly monster dense compared to Mass Effect and certainly not Baldur's Gate.
QuoteTook my five years to get through the game (after two or three aborted attempts where I stopped ca. halfway through because I got bored), though the passage of time has mellowed my opinion a bit. Also, loading times on my current computer are less punishing than they were on my 2009 laptop or on the Xbox. :P
Fair enough. Not everybody is going to like everything. The 2009 laptop or Xbox might have been your problem. Desktops are where it's at: more power for less money.
Generally I say if you like RPGs, and especially RPG tactical combat, at least give Dragon Age a shot.
Quote from: Syt on June 16, 2015, 12:04:35 AM
I have yet to finish ME3 (though I played the first two twice each). :blush:
I have yet to even play it :P
I will get around to it eventually.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 16, 2015, 07:17:41 AM
I could never get thru ME1 & now the graphics are too dated.
No real interest into this one.
Consider giving ME2 a shot. It is a lot of fun and you don't really need to have played ME1 to enjoy it.
Dude, it's like your feelings are hurt or something. Calm down. :huh:
And yes, the first game had a crippling bug, as in I needed to go to some dwarf mine place and literally could not do it... at all. The advice from tech support was "restart the game from the beginning".
Well, for me DA:O combat was that grindy bit to get to story part. ;)
Quote from: Caliga on June 16, 2015, 08:24:27 AM
Dude, it's like your feelings are hurt or something. Calm down. :huh:
And yes, the first game had a crippling bug, as in I needed to go to some dwarf mine place and literally could not do it... at all. The advice from tech support was "restart the game from the beginning".
Oh no my feelings were not hurt at all. I thought I was just talking about the game. Chill. But you if you say something bizarre and ridiculous I am going comment on it.
Weird. I played it rather obsessively right at release and I never encountered any serious bugs. But hey we all have bad luck. But you said it had crippling bugs, as in it was loaded with bugs, which it certainly was not.
Quote from: Syt on June 16, 2015, 08:24:53 AM
Well, for me DA:O combat was that grindy bit to get to story part. ;)
Yeah if you feel that way this might not be your series :P
Ok having watched the trailer how in the world did anybody get 'this is Dragon Age in space' from that? It looked pretty much like any other Mass Effect trailer :huh:
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2015, 08:22:04 AM
I don't get the criticism about filled to the brim with enemies. It is not particularly monster dense compared to Mass Effect and certainly not Baldur's Gate.
Me neither, I don't get this criticism. Do people really enjoy playing a game where they walk alone across a desert? Whenever I've cleared an area in a game and I have to walk/run in that area because I forgot one piece of something somewhere, I get bored. I remember travelling at large through the Hissing Wastes of DA:I trying to find the pieces of a document I was missing. God, that was boring. And yet, there are people who hate the fights in game. I guess I must be a different breed of gamer.
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2015, 08:35:55 AM
Ok having watched the trailer how in the world did anybody get 'this is Dragon Age in space' from that? It looked pretty much like any other Mass Effect trailer :huh:
it's the same engine as DA:I. Some of the places do look similar in fact. But you've got lot more freedom of movement than in DA:I (jumping high in the air) and the graphics look more fluid, closer to Destiny, from what I've seen in the trailers, at least, since I didn't play that.
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2015, 08:35:55 AM
Ok having watched the trailer how in the world did anybody get 'this is Dragon Age in space' from that? It looked pretty much like any other Mass Effect trailer :huh:
same here
*shrug* Don't look at me, I haven't watched it.
Quote from: Valmy on June 16, 2015, 08:22:04 AMI don't get the criticism about filled to the brim with enemies. It is not particularly monster dense compared to Mass Effect and certainly not Baldur's Gate.
You're right, but for some reason it felt off to me. Like the devs had gone, created a map, and then filled it with mobs like in an MMO for no other reason than to drag things out. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just didn't feel right. For some reason I didn't mind in ME, even though especially the first one re-uses locations ad nauseam (I made up an explanation for myself that those would be prefabricated standard buildings :P ). It felt more organic/natural to me than just having a bunch of baddies waiting around a corner for the player to show up.
Again, YMMV a lot, but it just felt grindy and off to me.
Bioware to me is dead after they released DA:I.
What that shitfuck amounted to was 100 hours of offline MMO grinding with about 15 hours of story. Add terrible PC controls, braindead combat and loot system, a frustrating menu system, etc, etc and you have a 11/10 GOTY just because 2014 was otherwise a meh year for new releases anyway.
In the new Mass Effect they're using the same engine and marketing the game as you being the pioneer exploring new open world lands and setting up customized outposts, etc, exactly as they did with DA:I.
Oh, and the fact that Bioware went full tumblrsexual SJW retard with the title as well, violating my willing suspension of disbelief so that David Gaider and the fag hags on his writing team could preach the Gospel Of Tumblr in my gritty medieval fantasy did no favors to my otherwise bountiful good will towards the franchise.
Quote from: Legbiter on June 16, 2015, 06:50:07 PMWhat that shitfuck amounted to was 100 hours of offline MMO grinding with about 15 hours of story
Meanwhile they make ab announcement like this for SWTOR: "Knights of the Fallen Empire marks a renewed focus on BioWare-style cinematic storytelling in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™." :lol:
Course Legbiter's review of DA:I's problems was just as silly as everything he ever posts.
Quote from: Legbiter on June 16, 2015, 06:50:07 PM
What that shitfuck amounted to was 100 hours of offline MMO grinding with about 15 hours of story. Add terrible PC controls, braindead combat and loot system, a frustrating menu system,
Well, the controls were made for a controller, not a keyboard and mouse. that is their engine, I think. And it's difficult to mod. And even with 7 patches, they still haven't fixed everything there is to fix about the controls, that is true.
The combat system, I kinda like, but you need to constantly shift in and out of tac cam. The loot system is no different than any other RPG. The crafting is nice. 15 hrs of story vs 85hrs of MMO grinding is about the same for any RPG. I mean, I partly played BG1&2, I didn't spend much time on the main quests. In Skyrim, there is no real story. There is supposedly this huge civil war between Nords&Imperials, but really, you travel freely between all the zones and when you decide you actually engage in the civil war, it's over in 3-4 battles. In DA:O, before I could get to the main quest of rallying allies, I had to clear whole areas of baddies, just like DA:I.
I like what they tried to do with the fortresses, but it is incomplete work at best. It's not worth GOTY award, but it's worth 8/10 certainly. It's too bad I'm getting too old to play modern video games. I need a console. And a controller made for 12 year olds.
Quote
Oh, and the fact that Bioware went full tumblrsexual SJW retard with the title as well,
what does that mean exactly?
I really ought to play Mass Effect 3 someday.
Quote from: viper37 on June 17, 2015, 08:41:40 AM
The combat system, I kinda like, but you need to constantly shift in and out of tac cam.
:hmm:
Quote from: garbon on June 17, 2015, 01:03:28 AM
Course Legbiter's review of DA:I's problems was just as silly as everything he ever posts.
What I want to know is how come he gets away with that review, and Valmy jumps all over me for mine. :hmm:
Quote from: garbon on June 24, 2015, 12:43:08 PM
Quote from: viper37 on June 17, 2015, 08:41:40 AM
The combat system, I kinda like, but you need to constantly shift in and out of tac cam.
:hmm:
tactical camera is impractical, it does not zoom out enough.
in regular mode, trying to move your party in place is extremely difficult. Hold won't hold and archers close in on their target as if to melee them.
Quote from: Caliga on June 24, 2015, 01:09:53 PM
Quote from: garbon on June 17, 2015, 01:03:28 AM
Course Legbiter's review of DA:I's problems was just as silly as everything he ever posts.
What I want to know is how come he gets away with that review, and Valmy jumps all over me for mine. :hmm:
I jumped all over you because you said you hated the series and then posted weak sauce. You only played the first one and then gave up (for good reason granted) so I was like :rolleyes: come on do better than that. Reading it now it came off rougher on the screen than it sounded in my head though. Sorry.
Legbiter though has a political agenda, he does not like Bioware because they have gay relationships and shit. So his views on their games can be pretty much discarded.
Quote from: viper37 on June 17, 2015, 08:41:40 AM
QuoteOh, and the fact that Bioware went full tumblrsexual SJW retard with the title as well,
what does that mean exactly?
It means he hates Bioware because he has a political agenda and his opinions on them can be safely ignored.
Quote from: viper37 on June 24, 2015, 06:25:27 PM
tactical camera is impractical, it does not zoom out enough.
in regular mode, trying to move your party in place is extremely difficult. Hold won't hold and archers close in on their target as if to melee them.
I have issues with the tac camera but surprisingly that is not it. I do not like how you have to wait for some sort of arbitrary range to target with your characters and how the screen shifts around as you change people for orders. I do not like how you have to negotiate the terrain with your little cursor thing. But ultimately it works alright as far the zoom I think. But man why make it so clunky?
The second part though, how your dudes do not hold position or follow orders very well and basically just do what their AI tells them to do, is really frustrating. I really miss being able to give AI behavior instructions like in the first two games. Trying to do anything very complicated tactically is difficult. I do not really understand why that is, this was not a problem in the first two games. I am glad I am a rogue where all I really need to do is 'keep them busy and don't die'. Playing with friendly fire is still a nightmare.
Maybe the PC controls are better now because I was concerned about the consolitis but that has not really been a problem. The controls seem cool to me just as far as usability is concerned. Maybe I am just used to them.
Quote from: Valmy on July 10, 2015, 03:34:00 PM
I jumped all over you because you said you hated the series and then posted weak sauce. You only played the first one and then gave up (for good reason granted) so I was like :rolleyes: come on do better than that. Reading it now it came off rougher on the screen than it sounded in my head though. Sorry.
Don't worry I wasn't really mad. :D
I was thinking about playing the last one, but Princesca got it, told me it sucked, and never finished it, so I didn't bother. If she hadn't said that I might have given the series another chance... honest. :hug:
Hey no problem it is not for everybody. Weird it has its problems but no way does it suck. It is a nice change from the narrow hallways we have been playing in since DAO.
I don't think the most recent one sucked, but I would say that in some manner it really still isn't as fulfilling as the first outing. I'm not sure I can put my finger on why though.
Quote from: garbon on July 10, 2015, 04:08:33 PM
I don't think the most recent one sucked, but I would say that in some manner it really still isn't as fulfilling as the first outing. I'm not sure I can put my finger on why though.
I have some theories why that is but I am going to finish it first.
Quote from: garbon on July 10, 2015, 04:08:33 PM
I don't think the most recent one sucked, but I would say that in some manner it really still isn't as fulfilling as the first outing. I'm not sure I can put my finger on why though.
I have issues with the game, even though I liked it.
The controls, even if they are better now, I still don't like it, like the points Valmy mentionned about characters not holding on their place.
Then there's the fetch quests to gain power. You need a gazillion of these to get a few perks, but then you finish the game with like 300 power and there's just nothing to do with it.
I think it would have worked better if they made you buy perks with power points. Each perks costing more than the previous one, stuff like that.
The areas. The Hinterlands is a huge area. But the others, by comparison, feel small and constricted.
Story wise, there are a couple of things bugging me, but I don't want to spoil the game for Valmy just yet, and going into spoiler tags contest is not going to be fun, so I'll just wait and post in his threads when he's done.
Glad I didn't pre-ordered this one :)
It's bad (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/#more-435115)
This reminds me I never got around to play Inquisition's DLCs. Might do it now... or not.
Quote from: viper37 on March 15, 2017, 02:18:31 PM
Glad I didn't pre-ordered this one :)
It's bad (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/#more-435115)
Reviews have been surprisingly mixed, yeah.
I was never going to pick it up at release anyway, though. I am still playing through Tyranny and will switch over to Witcher 3 after I finish it.
Quote from: viper37 on March 15, 2017, 02:18:31 PM
Glad I didn't pre-ordered this one :)
It's bad (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/#more-435115)
Well I watched TB playing it on a VoD, the multiplayer anyway, and his assessment was 'it's not bad, a bit better than the last one anyway.' So the combat part seems decent enough. That certainly made me want to play a Vanguard, holy shit.
So if you want some spoiler free gameplay you can take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ZBqBbA6mQ
I read a similarly hysterical take down of PoE when it was first released and that turned out to be nonsense. But in any case I am eventually going to play Andromeda on my AAR so if it sucks you can at least enjoy watching me bitch about it.
Quote from: Caliga on March 17, 2017, 01:17:55 PM
Quote from: viper37 on March 15, 2017, 02:18:31 PM
Glad I didn't pre-ordered this one :)
It's bad (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/#more-435115)
Reviews have been surprisingly mixed, yeah.
I was never going to pick it up at release anyway, though. I am still playing through Tyranny and will switch over to Witcher 3 after I finish it.
Yeah you should never get their shit at release. Half the content is always DLC that drops a few months later everytime.
Quote from: celedhring on March 15, 2017, 02:20:18 PM
This reminds me I never got around to play Inquisition's DLCs. Might do it now... or not.
Heh. If you do I suggest playing it on a lower difficulty. The monsters have ridiculously large numbers of hit points. The DLC are pretty strong though, I thought, once you get passed that.
I was optimistic it could restore hope after ME3 but....seems not.
Quote from: Tyr on March 20, 2017, 12:11:31 PM
I was optimistic it could restore hope after ME3 but....seems not.
Bioware is in its decadence. I think they are just going to be making 'ok' versions of their previous games. Though I know they are working on a new property of some kind, so we will see.
I think they lack a strong vision now that the doctors left. I do not even know who is in charge now.
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 10:32:49 AM
Quote from: celedhring on March 15, 2017, 02:20:18 PM
This reminds me I never got around to play Inquisition's DLCs. Might do it now... or not.
Heh. If you do I suggest playing it on a lower difficulty. The monsters have ridiculously large numbers of hit points. The DLC are pretty strong though, I thought, once you get passed that.
Started playing the Inquisitor's tomb one. So far it's decent enough.
I agree with your assessment, btw. DA:I is just an "ok" version of DA. Not bad, playable, entertaining, but hardly compelling.
It's good. The other two are good to.
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 12:37:35 PM
It's good. The other two are good to.
I'm intrigued with the Qunari one. But it's the last one I should play, form what I gather.
Quote from: celedhring on March 20, 2017, 12:38:34 PM
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 12:37:35 PM
It's good. The other two are good to.
I'm intrigued with the Qunari one. But it's the last one I should play, form what I gather.
Wait you mean Trespasser? Really? I thought that one was fun. I mean with all the caveats of long boring grinding fights that DAI is filled with in its late game.
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 12:42:56 PM
Quote from: celedhring on March 20, 2017, 12:38:34 PM
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 12:37:35 PM
It's good. The other two are good to.
I'm intrigued with the Qunari one. But it's the last one I should play, form what I gather.
Wait you mean Trespasser? Really? I thought that one was fun. I mean with all the caveats of long boring grinding fights that DAI is filled with in its late game.
Yeah, Trespasser. I like the Qunari. The Arishock bits were among my favorite parts of DA2.
Quote from: celedhring on March 20, 2017, 12:36:14 PM
I agree with your assessment, btw. DA:I is just an "ok" version of DA. Not bad, playable, entertaining, but hardly compelling.
Yes. Yes it is.
Quote from: celedhring on March 20, 2017, 12:45:36 PM
Yeah, Trespasser. I like the Qunari. The Arishock bits were among my favorite parts of DA2.
You should definitely play it if you want to play DAI DLC. It, after all, concludes the story.
[/quote]
You should definitely play it if you want to play DAI DLC. It, after all, concludes the story.
[/quote]
Plus it nicely prepares the stage for the next game in the DA series, which will be set in Tevinter.
All in all, I found Trespasser to give a far more satisfying ending to DA:I than the original ending without DLC.
I have to say after watching the Co-optional podcast yesterday and watching Strippin stream it a bit I don't see what everybody is freaking out about with Andromeda. The game seems perfectly fine.
Insanely high expectations?
Quote from: Valmy on March 22, 2017, 09:29:36 AM
I have to say after watching the Co-optional podcast yesterday and watching Strippin stream it a bit I don't see what everybody is freaking out about with Andromeda. The game seems perfectly fine.
Yeah, that was my impression, too.
Quote from: Caliga on March 22, 2017, 09:49:33 AM
Insanely high expectations?
Probably but I don't see what Bioware has done the past six years to justify those sorts of expectations.
FAcial animations are poop. Just fucking awful. Otherwise, the game plays really well. In game menus suck, but this is Bioware, so what do you expect? They are known for their shitty menus and opaque GUI stuff.
I must say, reading Valmy's most excellent AAR of Mass Effect 1, reminding me and showing all the various plotholes and writing, I am thinking the reaction on unacceptably weak writing in Andromeda has to be overblown.
Quote from: Scipio on March 22, 2017, 10:38:17 AM
FAcial animations are poop. Just fucking awful. Otherwise, the game plays really well. In game menus suck, but this is Bioware, so what do you expect? They are known for their shitty menus and opaque GUI stuff.
Well my standards are so low I still think KOTOR has good facial animations :P
Yeah Bioware UI is pretty bad. Stupid crafting menu from DAI.
Quote from: Tamas on March 22, 2017, 11:08:02 AM
I must say, reading Valmy's most excellent AAR of Mass Effect 1, reminding me and showing all the various plotholes and writing, I am thinking the reaction on unacceptably weak writing in Andromeda has to be overblown.
Something that has been bothering me that last couple days: Tali has a recording from a Geth who overheard a conversation that happened after the Battle of Eden Prime yet you get the sense she had been shopping this information around the Citadel for a bit before Fist tries to set her up. So somehow she destroyed a Geth somewhere who was aboard the Sovereign after Eden Prime, removed its memory core, traveled to the Citadel and made enough noise to get herself in trouble? I mean you go straight from Eden Prime to the Citadel. That's impossible. Yeah this is the problem with me going back and playing these games.
I am glad you are enjoying the AAR :)
You're actually tempting me to do a full walkthrough of the saga. Mako segments though :bleeding:
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 10:30:06 AM
Quote from: viper37 on March 15, 2017, 02:18:31 PM
Glad I didn't pre-ordered this one :)
It's bad (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/#more-435115)
Well I watched TB playing it on a VoD, the multiplayer anyway, and his assessment was 'it's not bad, a bit better than the last one anyway.' So the combat part seems decent enough. That certainly made me want to play a Vanguard, holy shit.
So if you want some spoiler free gameplay you can take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ZBqBbA6mQ
I read a similarly hysterical take down of PoE when it was first released and that turned out to be nonsense. But in any case I am eventually going to play Andromeda on my AAR so if it sucks you can at least enjoy watching me bitch about it.
major critics are hovering around an 80% score. While that does not seem so bad, for a major company (EA), that invests a fuckton of money in advertising on all these sites, that tells a lot.
Quote from: Valmy on March 20, 2017, 12:33:44 PM
Bioware is in its decadence.
Bioware does not exists anymore. It's an internal EA studio with a given name, but anyone who worked at Bioware prior to EA take over and who worked on DAO or Mass Effect is gone, including the founders.
They've nominally kept the name Bioware for marketing reasons, but everything is handled by EA-Main branch. Well, actually, they call it "EA worldwide studios", it's a merge Bioware, Maxis and EA Mobile.
I was just reading a story that mentioned one of the BioWare founders was opening a brew pub here in Edmonton.
There's always Obsidian and CDProjekt.
I wish Obsidian got a shot at another AAA project though.
Quote from: viper37 on March 22, 2017, 02:55:38 PM
major critics are hovering around an 80% score. While that does not seem so bad, for a major company (EA), that invests a fuckton of money in advertising on all these sites, that tells a lot.
Yeah but those are the people I don't trust. The people I do trust say it is alright. I am expecting something of the quality I have come to expect from Bioware these days.
Quote from: viper37 on March 22, 2017, 02:58:58 PM
Bioware does not exists anymore. It's an internal EA studio with a given name, but anyone who worked at Bioware prior to EA take over and who worked on DAO or Mass Effect is gone, including the founders.
Well that is not literally true but yes all the big wheels who we knew and loved are gone. Which is pretty amazing for such a short period of time. Over at Obsidian virtually all the Black Isle people are still there.
I plan on talking about this when I get to Mass Effect 2 because that is when I realized Bioware, as I knew it, was in trouble. I have reconciled with the new regime since but it took awhile.
Quote from: Valmy on March 22, 2017, 03:13:27 PM
I plan on talking about this when I get to Mass Effect 2 because that is when I realized Bioware, as I knew it, was in trouble. I have reconciled with the new regime since but it took awhile.
I think ME2 was a vast improvement over ME1, personally, but it still had one major problem, being made for consoles. Straight level, narrow corridors, a few jumps up and down, get to the boss, end the level.
Quote from: viper37 on March 22, 2017, 03:17:27 PM
I think ME2 was a vast improvement over ME1, personally, but it still had one major problem, being made for consoles. Straight level, narrow corridors, a few jumps up and down, get to the boss, end the level.
ME2 was excellent. It was not the quality that concerned me. It was the kinds of design decisions they were making. But again I will talk about this at depth when I get to that game in my AAR.
Quote from: celedhring on March 22, 2017, 03:06:48 PM
There's always Obsidian and CDProjekt.
I wish Obsidian got a shot at another AAA project though.
I don't. I much prefer them making the games they want to make with our support. Though I am sure they would be overjoyed to get a big AAA contract.
Is CDProjekt going to make anything besides Witcher gams?
Quote from: Valmy on March 22, 2017, 03:33:25 PM
Quote from: celedhring on March 22, 2017, 03:06:48 PM
There's always Obsidian and CDProjekt.
I wish Obsidian got a shot at another AAA project though.
I don't. I much prefer them making the games they want to make with our support. Though I am sure they would be overjoyed to get a big AAA contract.
Is CDProjekt going to make anything besides Witcher gams?
Yeah, they've got a cyberpunk one in development.
I enjoyed DA Inquisition. I guess it's no surprise that I am enjoying Andromeda. Yeah, the stuff on facial animations is true. But it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for me. Currently about 15 hours in on the 3rd planet.
Quote from: Fate on March 22, 2017, 07:19:27 PM
I enjoyed DA Inquisition. I guess it's no surprise that I am enjoying Andromeda. Yeah, the stuff on facial animations is true. But it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for me. Currently about 15 hours in on the 3rd planet.
That is what I thought. Thanks for confirming it.
Quote from: Scipio on March 22, 2017, 10:38:17 AM
FAcial animations are poop. Just fucking awful. Otherwise, the game plays really well. In game menus suck, but this is Bioware, so what do you expect? They are known for their shitty menus and opaque GUI stuff.
What about the story, does it have any punch? The premise sounds intriguing, playing as an AI's meat puppet as it colonizes a new galaxy. :hmm:
Quote from: Fate on March 22, 2017, 07:19:27 PM
I enjoyed DA Inquisition. I guess it's no surprise that I am enjoying Andromeda. Yeah, the stuff on facial animations is true. But it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for me. Currently about 15 hours in on the 3rd planet.
I'm dubious about this. A Mass Effect game without Shep or the Reapers doesn't feel right. And while I greatly enjoyed Inquisition there was much MMO inspired bloat there. I looked at the specs last night - 55G of empty HDD space? Really?
G.
Quote from: Grallon on March 29, 2017, 10:03:05 AM
Quote from: Fate on March 22, 2017, 07:19:27 PM
I enjoyed DA Inquisition. I guess it's no surprise that I am enjoying Andromeda. Yeah, the stuff on facial animations is true. But it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for me. Currently about 15 hours in on the 3rd planet.
I'm dubious about this. A Mass Effect game without Shep or the Reapers doesn't feel right. And while I greatly enjoyed Inquisition there was much MMO inspired bloat there. I looked at the specs last night - 55G of empty HDD space? Really?
G.
On the otherhand, it is about time for the story to move elsewhere and 55GB isn't all that crazy in these days of affordable 1TB drives. Heck even my 4 year old PC has 2 of those attached.
It is not like the Reapers was such a super compelling plot. Star Control 3 already had that exact set up, though that game had an incredibly lame resolution to that plot at the end so cannot really be compared to ME3.
Quote from: Valmy on March 29, 2017, 11:01:52 AM
It is not like the Reapers was such a super compelling plot.
Trying to find a way to defeat the Reapers was what was compelling - the near impossible odds. Too bad they cheapened the whole plot with that tangent the trilogy took with Cerberus - and that horrendous jumping cliché Kai Leng. :glare:
If you haven't read it - I suggest this series of article on the Trilogy by Shamus:
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=27792
It's long but worth it.
G.
I haven't played ME3 yet so I, beyond knowing people did not like the ending, I am trying not to spoil myself too much. But I will certainly check it out after I do. Thanks :)
Quote from: Grallon on March 29, 2017, 10:03:05 AM
Quote from: Fate on March 22, 2017, 07:19:27 PM
I enjoyed DA Inquisition. I guess it's no surprise that I am enjoying Andromeda. Yeah, the stuff on facial animations is true. But it doesn't ruin the rest of the game for me. Currently about 15 hours in on the 3rd planet.
I'm dubious about this. A Mass Effect game without Shep or the Reapers doesn't feel right. And while I greatly enjoyed Inquisition there was much MMO inspired bloat there. I looked at the specs last night - 55G of empty HDD space? Really?
G.
Reapers were replaced by the Kett Emprie (humanoid religious/gene editing zealots) as the big bad and Protheans were replaced by the Remnant as the highly advanced, extinct people of Andromeda. I think it works.
I just finished a full play through of Andromeda at 67 hours with 87% completion of all sidequests/main story. It's not as good as ME3 but the graphics are absolutely gorgeous (bought a 1080 Ti just for the game). I don't love the characters as much as I did after ME3, but a more fair comparison would be how I felt after ME1. I'll be buying Andromeda 2 if they make it. It's not like we have many other options for space opera RPGs. Maybe the Witcher guys should take a stab at the genre.
Quote from: Valmy
I haven't played ME3 yet so I, beyond knowing people did not like the ending, I am trying not to spoil myself too much. But I will certainly check it out after I do. Thanks :)
People didn't like the original ending. They released a new ending with extended cinematic a few years back and the Leviathan DLC which were a huge improvement.
My only gripe with the story - ME3 finale notwithstanding - is that ME2 felt a lot like a rethread/sidequest. The Collectors felt very much like Geth 2.0 from the first game, and I didn't care zilch for them as enemies.
It was still very fun to play. And Cerberus was an interesting concept, even if they kinda wasted it in the end.
Quote from: Valmy on March 29, 2017, 11:11:00 AM
I haven't played ME3 yet so I, beyond knowing people did not like the ending, I am trying not to spoil myself too much.
It's not a bad game, it's just not as great as we all hoped it would be. And it's still a 32bit engine, tweaked ME2 engine (Unreal 3) and it shows its limits.
But games had graphical mods that greatly enhance the textures, in case I didn't mention it ;)
Talk to me once you reach ME2, I'll point you in the right direction.
Quote from: celedhring on March 22, 2017, 03:35:17 PM
Quote from: Valmy on March 22, 2017, 03:33:25 PM
Quote from: celedhring on March 22, 2017, 03:06:48 PM
There's always Obsidian and CDProjekt.
I wish Obsidian got a shot at another AAA project though.
I don't. I much prefer them making the games they want to make with our support. Though I am sure they would be overjoyed to get a big AAA contract.
Is CDProjekt going to make anything besides Witcher gams?
Yeah, they've got a cyberpunk one in development.
Release date: 2077. ;)
I've only played a few hours, but so far this seems quite fun.
Quote from: garbon on April 28, 2017, 07:21:56 PM
I've only played a few hours, but so far this seems quite fun.
Cool. I hope it remains so until the end.
Well, I could have done without the sudoku mini-game. :D
Quote from: garbon on April 29, 2017, 08:29:40 AM
Well, I could have done without the sudoku mini-game. :D
You could be playing memory or match the colored text in ME2 instead :P
Or whatever that spinning wheel thing was in ME.
Upgraded from the trial. Enjoying it so far. Annoying bug where I can't play it full screen, but have to play windowed borderless.
It seems my worst fears were realized. EA has decided to axe Mass Effect as a franchise due to the controversy over ME:A. So damn typical. EA interferes and creates problems for a franchise and then ends the franchise for being unable to continue to be good. It is not nearly as comically egregious as it was with Ultima and Wing Commader but still...pretty rough.
At least this means when I finally finish my AAR it will be a complete series! :P
Where'd you hear this?
If true, not surprising. EA is pretty much the worst game company ever. :(
Quote from: Caliga on May 22, 2017, 09:39:13 AM
Where'd you hear this?
If true, not surprising. EA is pretty much the worst game company ever. :(
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-05-11-mass-effect-series-on-ice-following-andromeda-disappointment
It's dead Jim.
And yeah EA is pretty shit. The other big publishers are not much better though for things like this though.
The kicker is that Andromeda is a quantum leap in gameplay. It also sets up some really neat ideas. They are just colossal fuckwits.
Quote from: Scipio on May 22, 2017, 11:25:46 AM
The kicker is that Andromeda is a quantum leap in gameplay. It also sets up some really neat ideas. They are just colossal fuckwits.
There were mean articles posted on the internet though!!11.
Though not nearly as mean as what usually gets written about EA's management.
I am really enjoying Andromeda. It's fun to be Star Treking in a sitch where there are new civilizations to you, but there's no Prime Directive type issues. Also, I love the jump jets, the biotic dodge, and the pew pew stuff. The daddy issues stuff is handled in a very clever way. I like it.
Quote from: Scipio on May 23, 2017, 10:02:08 AM
I am really enjoying Andromeda. It's fun to be Star Treking in a sitch where there are new civilizations to you, but there's no Prime Directive type issues. Also, I love the jump jets, the biotic dodge, and the pew pew stuff. The daddy issues stuff is handled in a very clever way. I like it.
I need to get back into it. Was very snappy but then I lost a little interest with the Angora. Just don't really care that much about them.
Quote from: garbon on May 23, 2017, 10:25:40 AM
Quote from: Scipio on May 23, 2017, 10:02:08 AM
I am really enjoying Andromeda. It's fun to be Star Treking in a sitch where there are new civilizations to you, but there's no Prime Directive type issues. Also, I love the jump jets, the biotic dodge, and the pew pew stuff. The daddy issues stuff is handled in a very clever way. I like it.
I need to get back into it. Was very snappy but then I lost a little interest with the Angora. Just don't really care that much about them.
I find the Kett a lot more compelling, and their interaction with the Angara is very interesting. And sort of obvious; it's telegraphed very well what in fact is going on, and although it's unsubtle, it's not badly done at all.
Quote from: Valmy on May 22, 2017, 09:44:00 AM
And yeah EA is pretty shit. The other big publishers are not much better though for things like this though.
The Elder Scrolls series is still kicking :)
I'm so glad that [spoiler]Cerberus[/spoiler] gets a token appearance in this installment. :D
Quote from: garbon on May 31, 2017, 06:17:06 PM
I'm so glad that [spoiler]Cerberus[/spoiler] gets a token appearance in this installment. :D
Fuck yes. And they are so lampshaded it's hilarious.
Wrapping up all of the side quests before finishing off the main quest leg I'm on- Hunting the Archon. I've got about 80 hours in this thing. It's a little easy, frankly. Maxed out all the allies, and I'm running out of research credits.
Fucking Bioware. They're officially dropping support of Andromeda single player. No single player DLCs will be released. I would have gladly given them my money to finish the quest lines like the Quarian Ark.
Guess that's it for the Mass Effect IP...
Considering the fanboi backlash at launch I can't blame them for not putting any more resources into this.
before the game was released, Neil hinted at problems with the game. I thought it was due to a simple lack of confidence in the Montreal team, but it seems deeper than that.