Bioware General (Mass Effect/Dragon Age/Other)

[TTTX]

Had ME just been a Star Trek-y space opera, and if the reapers weren't a thing period, we would have been much much muuuuch better off as a whole.

ME2 and the Citadel DlC were by far the most entertaining parts of the whole series, because they just gave us a cool setting and a pile of interesting characters to play with. Basing the whole premise of the series onto "Chosen One" tropes is one of the thing that killed it.

Never bought Shepard as a chosen one, aside from ME1 where Shepard had something actually had something that them stand out from most other people the visions which only like Saren had outside of Shepard other then that in ME2 and ME3 Shepard wasn't all that special at least compared to others, well aside from the games keep telling you Shepard is very special when they aren't.

[Alienmorph]

Considering that in the first game he's the first Spectre, in the second one he's sooo important he has to be brought back to life, and that in the third one he essentially becomes Space Jesus...

And then ME:A came along and they started over. "You're THE Pathfinder, you're the one that must find the new home for humanity!"

[TTTX]

Considering that in the first game he's the first Spectre, in the second one he's sooo important he has to be brought back to life, and that in the third one he essentially becomes Space Jesus...

And then ME:A came along and they started over. "You're THE Pathfinder, you're the one that must find the new home for humanity!"

I never bought Shepard as special in ME2 and ME3 but only because the games are so bad as saying as to why Shepard is so special for even being bought back to life to begin with and in ME3 everyone is just more incompetent then Shepard that they appear special when the writing is just bad.

Well at least the Pathfinders have an AI in their head to help them so at least in the regard there is something that not everyone has, so at least they have that to make them somewhat special and the AI in Ryder are more enhanced then the others so they have that.

[SciFlyBoy]

ME2 left so much to expand upon. I read so many stories that focused on the intricacies behind the missions and time in between them that you could have many interpretations of the same mission. You could find a story that focused on Jack as a LI, then one with Miranda, etc. Stories of between the missions with fleshed out character interpretations. Stories of just a side character and the events that lead up to their appearance in ME2. I'm thinking Daro'Xen. I think there's more ME2 fan-fiction than any other ME series. ME3 was so final that it didn't leave us with much to expand upon. There was no more wonder after that.

[TheodoricFriede]

I half wonder if No Mans Sky Next is successful if EA will want in on that and try to release a "Mass Effect Andromeda Next."

Just an idle thought.

[Alienmorph]

I really really doubt that. EA is not famous for giving second chances. And thei're probably using ME:A to pretend they're right that the "single player games are deeeead" shtick is not just an excuse.

[TheodoricFriede]

Just saying. Its a very smart move if you think about it.

If they build enough hype, they can basically relaunch the game. Its already built. They win back some of the massive amounts of goodwill they lost. Bioware gets to pretend its still a studio people respect. Get enough big name reviews to say "its good now!" and people will start buying it.

Its unlikely, but this No Mans Sky thing sets a new (possibly dangerous) precedent. A critical failure doesn't have to STAY a failure.

[Alienmorph]

I'd be okay with trying to revamp underperforming games and give them a second chance. I just don't expect to be EA the one making that a thing, nor I think they're gonna move people to work on ME:A again, rather than on their glorified Destiny knock-off.

Heck, I'm surprised Sony didn't just tell Hello Games to fuck off and let No Man's Sky die, also.

[TheodoricFriede]

Given the current state of Bioware and the Dragon Age series, I cant decide if hearing Varric's voice again makes me incredibly happy, or miserably bitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEuh8SKLQ7k

[TheHawkster]

I'd buy an entire audiobook of Hard in Hightown narrated by Brian Bloom in his Varric voice. Cuz that voice is mmmm <3

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzxtiktNwos

Mid-Summer Update by Casey Hudson

"In the meantime, our Star Wars: The Old Republic team is hard at work on some amazing plans for the coming year, with new features and surprises that I think makes it the game’s most exciting year yet. And yes – we hear loud and clear the interest in BioWare doing more Dragon Age and Mass Effect, so rest assured that we have some teams hidden away working on some secret stuff that I think you’ll really like – we’re just not ready to talk about any of it for a little while…"

[Riptide]

More Mass Effect, eh?

Provided you survive Anthem.

And even then, it'll probably be First Contact or something. Hurray. Because that's what everyone wants, a fucking prequel.

I resent that in all the possible realities this is the one I live in.

[Alienmorph]

The only thing I would want that is remotely realistic is a remaster of the original games with more sidequests and character interactions. You know... give me more times with the setting and characters, since the main story is likely unsalvageable.

I don't give a flying fuck about getting a First Contact War game, since story-wise it have to follow the basic plot of that Godawful Illusive Man origin story comic. And I'm most definately not interested in the Andromeda galaxy and its incredibly boring and un-alien aliens.

Some side story set in the Milky Way before the reapers invasion would be the one case I could see an whole new game working. But the time frame to be setting that in is ridiculously smaller, and even if they manage to pull it off, I don't trust for a millisecond that EA will just let them make an enjoyable single-player-focused game, with no bs attached.

So yeah... I doubt there's anything but disappointment waiting for us if a new ME game comes... as always, I'be happy to be proven wrong tho.

[TheodoricFriede]

Honestly, I'm not sure they can offer me anything I would want anymore.

Ruling out shitty business decisions and anti consumer policies, i dont like the direction the Dragon Age story seems to be taking, and I WANTED more Andromeda, but will forever not get it.

I'm tired of the constant frustration. I'm tired of the constant controversy.

[magnuskn]

I still think you can do a return to the Milky Way and a true sequel to ME3 if they manage to fire Hudson and Hack Walters and get people to lead the story department who are not invested in "artistic integrity" and proving that they were not doing shitty writing. But that would pre-suppose that EA did not have their collective heads up their rectum and would actually be interested in telling a good story, instead of just generating more casinos to bilk children out of their parents money.

[Alienmorph]

And that's the pickle right there. EA likely pretty much written off ME already as another of those franchises they milked dry and abandoned, and Chudson is the one guy who could have a remote chance to convince those chucklefucks to reconsider.

But if Casey remains in charge of things, we're likely NOT going to get rid of Walters or move past the damn RGB turning point, since that's their baby. Not openly, at the very least. But if he leaves, EA is probably going to shelf ME permanently, or hand it over to some c-team and make some shitty multiplayer-only game or something that bad, to "prove" it's a dead franchise while making one last bit of money out of it.

Also also, if for some miracle Anthem works out, which is pretty much the only scenario in which I can see BW lasting long enough to make a new ME, the bulk of BW is going to have to work on that and its sequels/expansions for several more years. And we know what happened last time a B-team was in charge of a Mass Effect game.

[TTTX]

The only thing I would want that is remotely realistic is a remaster of the original games with more sidequests and character interactions. You know... give me more times with the setting and characters, since the main story is likely unsalvageable.

you can salvage the main story, it just needs a lot of rewriting especially from ME2 and onward.
although I wouldn't trust Hudson and Walters with that job as they would probably use it to validate the ME3 ending even more.

[Alienmorph]

you can salvage the main story, it just needs a lot of rewriting especially from ME2 and onward.
although I wouldn't trust Hudson and Walters with that job as they would probably use it to validate the ME3 ending even more.

Yeah, that's what I meant. You'd have to rewrite most of the story and main events of ME2 and 3, and of course the RGB finale. You'd end up having to redo most of the games tho, so I don't think we can expect that, no matter how much we'd like it. Especially with Mac and Cheese still in charge.

[Mazder]

I still say make the whole RGB choice a Blasto Parody and make a scene/moment of crewmates not liking the ending of Blasto and then arguing about it with either main character or another crewmate going "well I heard it was all from one guy on production anyway, so the next Blasto would be okay" and literally just drop it after that.
No need to address any of the problems, go about the rest of the games as if ME3's ending kinda just magically wrapped itself up and give the impression that our ME3 ending was either the Blasto film or hear-say from one soldier to another or something.

TBH there are a few moments in ME3 that worked out okay, and some that need just a tweak to work out, that Geth/Quarian war starting up again, for example, might be better off being a mid ME2 thing meaning Tali's treason accusation making a lot more sense.

Mind you I have been pondering someone doing a "best edit" for the Mass Effect series for a while now.
BUT if it did get rebooted or remade or updated then ME1 would have to have it's combat redone and that might piss off some purists, and it'll also get rid of some of Conrad Verner's stuff.

[Someone With Mass]

No mention of the fact that the geth committed genocide either. The writing regarding the geth and the quarians in ME3 was beyond subpar compared to ME2, where the lines and alignments were not as blatant or biased. Felt more like a fanfiction than something official.

[magnuskn]

God, yes. The Geth cuddling and clear demonization of the Quarians was so heavy that you felt someone pushing your head down on the monitor. "Hate the Quarians, you pleb, hate them! Aaaaah!". :-/

[Mazder]

To be fair before that it was a very heavy handed "Hate the Geth because they're the enemy because the Quarians say so" bias.
I felt ME3 added some decent demonizing of the Quarians too as TBH when it comes to artificial life they also did some similar shit. It basically went as a "they're both as bad, and as innocent, as each other" vibe for me.

[magnuskn]

I had no problem liking the non-renegade Geth from what Legion told us in ME2. But in ME3 they got such a heavy-handed white-washing, where the writers tried to push all the guilt from the Morning War onto the Quarians and completely tried to suppress the fact that the Geth did actually commit genocide on the civilian populace. Twenty-five million Quarians escaped of a population five billion. No matter if the Quarian leadership screwed the pooch and began using weapons of mass destruction, they simply cannot have been responsible for wiping out 99,5% of their own population.

It was just too much and obvious of a rewrite of history.

[TTTX]

To be fair before that it was a very heavy handed "Hate the Geth because they're the enemy because the Quarians say so" bias.
I felt ME3 added some decent demonizing of the Quarians too as TBH when it comes to artificial life they also did some similar shit. It basically went as a "they're both as bad, and as innocent, as each other" vibe for me.

the problem was that you basically had to play at least ME2 and ME3 in order to get the full picture.

ME3 played a lot on the geth are victims in a lot of the missions in the geth and quarian war or at least it comes across that way.

[Someone With Mass]

To be fair before that it was a very heavy handed "Hate the Geth because they're the enemy because the Quarians say so" bias.
I felt ME3 added some decent demonizing of the Quarians too as TBH when it comes to artificial life they also did some similar shit. It basically went as a "they're both as bad, and as innocent, as each other" vibe for me.

The geth were easy to hate from the start not just because the quarians said so, but because a faction of them actively attacked and killed people.
I also never got the vibe that the quarians were totally innocent in this whole deal, because they let the geth advance to that level to begin with and they must've handled it poorly for a war to break out.

Then again, it was that typical narrow-minded and asinine mentality of having to tell people literally everything, because god forbid that they draw some conclusions on their own or that there's some mystery that ruined everything. Including the Reapers.

I always hated when people said "We have to know why the Reapers do all of this!", because I knew that the writers could never have come up with something that lives up to the expectations and would only serve to hurt what was built up in the first place.

[Vol]

More Mass Effect, eh?

Provided you survive Anthem.

And even then, it'll probably be First Contact or something. Hurray. Because that's what everyone wants, a fucking prequel.

I resent that in all the possible realities this is the one I live in.

Reads more like preliminary work, or a much smaller scope game, if they have "secret teams" working on these projects. Though I suppose First Contact would let you reuse a lot of assets and the engine, so who the fuck knows. I interpreted it as meaning the next ME won't be a huge, expensive production. Which makes sense, given that while Bioware does get returns on their budgets, their branding isn't doing so hot.

And I dislike prequels on principle.

[TheodoricFriede]

Until proven otherwise I'm going to assume "Mass Effect Andromeda Next", a la No Mans Sky's most recent patch.

Its just too easy. If No Mans Sky Next is a success, and it appears like it will be, then it is a no-brainer that companies revisit old failures that are already done, and fix them.

It builds good will, its cheaper to produce, and in Bioware's case, lets them continue the Mass Effect story without doing what everyone wants, which is retcon ME3.

[TTTX]

And I dislike prequels on principle.

well most prequels in any media generally suck, like spin off.

one of the best and well loved prequels in any game series I can think off is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

[TheHawkster]

Frankly, I'm more interested they continue with Andromeda knowing the baggage Bioware will put themselves in if they go with a canon ending (I still want a post-ME3 Mass Effect game, hell a small-scale story is fine by me). I wouldn't mind if they change some stuff in the third game, but I have no interest seeing them overhaul the entire game or do another Mass Effect game with Shepard as protagonist. Let Shepard rest, dammit!

Then again, I'm biased since ME3 is my favorite in the series (Don't judge me)

[TTTX]

Frankly, I'm more interested they continue with Andromeda knowing the baggage Bioware will put themselves in if they go with a canon ending (I still want a post-ME3 Mass Effect game, hell a small-scale story is fine by me). I wouldn't mind if they change some stuff in the third game, but I have no interest seeing them overhaul the entire game or do another Mass Effect game with Shepard as protagonist. Let Shepard rest, dammit!

Then again, I'm biased since ME3 is my favorite in the series (Don't judge me)

Andromeda 2 has potential assuming it ever happens, but they really need to flesh out everything more, especially the Andromeda aliens who is just really generic and just feels like copy paste of either other aliens from other franiches or just messed aspects up of other races like the Kett which is basically the heretic geth, collectors and Reapers rolled into 1 without doing anything really different with it and the writing really needs to be better overall.

Well ME3 isn't a bad game, it just writing issues with a few characters and the main the story and few minor game play issues like the journal not working probably with quests, But overall the game is great, game play overall awesome, characters are better then ever (well most of them) and the story do have some great moments.

[Alienmorph]

ME3 in terms of graphics and gameplay is the best in the whole series. I mean... ME:A looks a bit better, but if you can't animate a face right... and the jetpack was a nice idea, but considering that it's a tradeoff for leaving behind ME3's more functional cover systemn and all those cool powers they came up with thanks to the multiplayer classes... the story is almost completely fucked from its very beginning, but on a mechanical/gameplay standpoint there's a lot to like. It's why I've managed to stick around playing ME3's multiplayer for almost 2 years, despite the singleplayer campaign almost killing my whole enjoyment of the whole series.

As for doing an Andromeda 2... I could see it working, even though I'm not super interested into it, if they do something like set it a few decades after the first, and do a mini-reboot of sorts, and bring in better written characters and story, and some world-building worth a damn. Because I'm not going to get into a game where you scavenge knock-off Forerunner tech, and fight knock off Milky Way aliens, if one of the selling points of teh whole damn thing is "go to another galaxy and see strange new worlds, with strange new creatures!" and then it's like we never left the main setting, except there's far less fucks to give all around.

[magnuskn]

I personally couldn't be interested less in an Andromeda sequel. The Milky Way has far more interesting and complex political situations and if the first step in your new franchise (as I consider Andromeda to be with an ME skin) is so bad that it becomes a laughingstock of gaming fans, it's also a bad idea to try to force the issue. Going back and making a true sequel would make for a far more interesting set-up from the start. Yes, there'd be some backlash from "muh true ending!" purists, but it's been six years. Most tempers have cooled off by now.

[TheodoricFriede]

ME3 in terms of graphics and gameplay is the best in the whole series.

NOOOPE.

That game plays like ass.

Andromeda had the best gameplay. People just dont like to admit it because that game is poison. And In terms of the original trilogy, I'll take ME1 over anything.

[Alienmorph]

None of the ME games has a perfect gameplay. I just like the working melee and the variety of powers and skills. All games have flawed gameplay, so I understand people wanting to pick one style over another.

[magnuskn]

Yeah, I'm sorry. I loved ME3 combat. I played the multiplayer like crazy (and still never got that Harrier... grmblbl). Andromeda was nice, but for some reason a lot of the weapons and powers felt like they hit like wet noodles.

[Raga]

The *controls* in Andromeda and mobility are far and away the best. Some of the guns were nerfed. But frankly I'll take wimpy guns and mobility over crappy mobility any day of the week. Also, the original trilogy had severe problems with weapon balance. Certain weapons were literally just "you win" guns even on higher difficulty levels. As one example, I explicitly stopped using the Widow because it was so ridiculous it just made the game boring.

[Mazder]

The *controls* in Andromeda and mobility are far and away the best. Some of the guns were nerfed. But frankly I'll take wimpy guns and mobility over crappy mobility any day of the week. Also, the original trilogy had severe problems with weapon balance. Certain weapons were literally just "you win" guns even on higher difficulty levels. As one example, I explicitly stopped using the Widow because it was so ridiculous it just made the game boring.

Oh, this, so much.
I do love Andromeda's mobility, if it kind of made the squadmates either next to pointless on mid-low difficulties and a walking hazard/babysitting on the higher ones.

I wish I could get the weapon balance I want from the games.
I mean, using the example of the Widow, I, a regular ass human should not be able to run around with that thing and should be used in an "anti-material" role. It's the same as running around with a 50 cal all day and still being able to pop off headshots like i's a cardboard tube.

Mind you I also want a game where you can play as other races too, but it'll never happen now.
Shame as all the tech is there, they just need a story for it.

[Raga]

They ignored their own lore on the Widow. It's supposed to be an anti-tank gun mounted on vehicles. It weighs 39 kilos. It's completely dumb that you can just tote it around and fire it at a whim.

[TheodoricFriede]

Technically they do mention that they were able to build a newer version that weighs less without losing power.

Same with the Claymore and "re-calibrating the Mass Effect shooters" or whatever the fuck.

Its still dumb, its just the usual Bioware retcon dumb. Like how asari can identify as a gender that doesn't exist in their species.

[Mazder]

They ignored their own lore on the Widow. It's supposed to be an anti-tank gun mounted on vehicles. It weighs 39 kilos. It's completely dumb that you can just tote it around and fire it at a whim.

Well, more like an Anti-tank rifle like the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle.

Technically they do mention that they were able to build a newer version that weighs less without losing power.

Same with the Claymore and "re-calibrating the Mass Effect shooters" or whatever the fuck.

Its still dumb, its just the usual Bioware retcon dumb. Like how asari can identify as a gender that doesn't exist in their species.

Yeah, I hate the Claymore being a "Krogan only" shotgun never remained a thing...
It made the gun special, rather than "this is the best boomstick right now".

I always took the Asari thing as "we're calling ourselves female because it'd make it easier for the other races to associate us that way".
It's another part of Asari superiority complex to me, it'd be as "oh, poor simple aliens an't fathom asari as we are, let's make it simple for them by getting involved in their identifications like gender".

[TheodoricFriede]

I always took the Asari thing as "we're calling ourselves female because it'd make it easier for the other races to associate us that way".
It's another part of Asari superiority complex to me, it'd be as "oh, poor simple aliens an't fathom asari as we are, let's make it simple for them by getting involved in their identifications like gender".

Sigh... They literally, throughout the series, only refer to themselves as female. Its in the fucking codex.

Its like me identifying as a monotreme.

[Raga]

Asari biology makes no sense anyway. What they should have been is hermaphrodites, but people would have hardcore freaked out about that. They are the product of trying to be edgy by having an alien romance, while simultaneously making the "alien" as inoffensive and conventionally attractive as possible so as not to get any actual backlash.

[Mazder]

Sigh... They literally, throughout the series, only refer to themselves as female. Its in the fucking codex.

Its like me identifying as a monotreme.

Hey, I never said it was a good headcanon, only that's the only way I can justify it TBH.

It's all down to us being unable to write monogender/genderless stuff and not make it a tad confusing when writing identifiers that'd gel well in a sentence.

Asari biology makes no sense anyway. What they should have been is hermaphrodites, but people would have hardcore freaked out about that. They are the product of trying to be edgy by having an alien romance, while simultaneously making the "alien" as inoffensive and conventionally attractive as possible so as not to get any actual backlash.

Would have been slightly better than the only other alternative of "we advanced so far we do all breeding through IVF/cloning vats and we forgot how to do it 'manually' so I guess you teach them the ways of captain kirk/brannigan".

[TheodoricFriede]

Im trying to play Andromeda again. Its actually been a struggle.

Its not a matter of gameplay or story, thats never bothered me. It's just overall frustration that is tied to this series. Everything is tinged with a bit of anger, sadness, or bitterness.

[Vol]

Well, it took me from the post-launch of ME3 until ME:A came out to have the heart to replay the trilogy. Problem with ME:A is that there's not much to do differently or again that I care to do. Though not trying to 100% it would probably make the experience much quicker, heh.

[TheodoricFriede]

I think its official.

I just cant play Mass Effect anymore and still get anything positive out of it.

[Alienmorph]

I haven't been able to since the ME3's extended cut. Sigh...

[TheHawkster]

Last time I played ME3 was 6 years ago. And recently, I've been lots of multiplayer (Its still pretty active on PC)

Let's just say I've made peace with the trilogy flaws or no flaws and I intend to do trilogy replays two times a year since I've returned to the franchise few months ago.

Regardless of its current state and the design decisions Bioware made with the trilogy, Mass Effect is still dear to my heart.

[Mazder]

Andromeda for me feels more like an ME3 expansion than anything else in terms of "actual functions" as all gameplay is basically improved ME3 movement and gunplay and modding.
Storywise it's more like a "Legends" novel/story where it's not based ON Mass Effect but definitely a story that can take place but ultimately has no impact on anything. Kinda like the way Star Wars Rebels in right now, except Rebels is actually good enough to stand on it's own and is just, well, good.

Overall I think I can play mass Effect again easily IF they take the little bit of good dun modding from Andromeda and re-update the trilogy with that mechanic replacing ME1's outdated RPG style that clearly fit it for it's time but the series obviously tried to abandon after ME2.
That way the old ME1 can be ME1(Classic) and we can all have a mark of honour if you played the OG trilogy or the remake and know the differences.

[Raga]

I've actually had no problem replaying ME and had done so multiple times before Andromeda came out. My biggest issue was always actually ME1, which I've played about 500 times and I find really boring. Anymore when I go back, I usually skip it and go straight to the second one, using one of my bazillion ME1 savegames for every Shepard iteration imaginable I've built up over the years.