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[Isak_Borg]

It doesn't have any direction and it's clear in the game; it's like BioWare Montreal took a bunch of talented writers, developers, and artists and had them make a game with zero leadership or creative direction. I still don't know why Alec's memories are unlocked by finding glowing shit across the cluster in random places.

edit; Schreier made this clear when talking about the games development too right? They pissed around for the first 3 years making prototypes and throwing ideas around and actually ended up making a game in the last 18 months. Inquisition for all of its flaws is not directionless.

I remember the original Bioware team having a bible and some sense of direction of where it was going to all end up (Don't shit it up about ME3). This game just feels like they had too many cooks in the kitchen and were trying to make three different meals.

I'll never understand what should be an AAA title was tossed out half-baked. It would have been in everyone's best interest no matter what the cost to delay development until they knew exactly what they wanted because they basically killed the IP.

 

[Ennosuke]

I dropped this game some time ago, because there were more amazing games and I did not like some of the elements. Mainly I am hugely turned of by those sidequests and the Ubisoft-style open world. I am wondering, could I still make a linear Mass Effect experience out of it? Ignoring sidequests and the exploration, but instead do only the main quest and character quests? Anyone else had the same problems with the game, but ended up having fun?

 

[BossDarkseid]

I dropped this game some time ago, because there were more amazing games and I did not like some of the elements. Mainly I am hugely turned of by those sidequests and the Ubisoft-style open world. I am wondering, could I still make a linear Mass Effect experience out of it? Ignoring sidequests and the exploration, but instead do only the main quest and character quests? Anyone else had the same problems with the game, but ended up having fun?

Out of interest, what do you mean by Ubi open world?> I'm not that far (I think, Harvald or something is the planet name) and there aren't towers and while there are icons on the map it's not too bad (I think more skills unlock more so...yeah, maybe it gets worse). That said I think you can do it pretty linear, just do the Main Quest (and maybe Companion stuff if that tickles your fancy) and adjust the difficulty accordingly if you need to.

 

[Karu]

I dropped this game some time ago, because there were more amazing games and I did not like some of the elements. Mainly I am hugely turned of by those sidequests and the Ubisoft-style open world. I am wondering, could I still make a linear Mass Effect experience out of it? Ignoring sidequests and the exploration, but instead do only the main quest and character quests? Anyone else had the same problems with the game, but ended up having fun?

Yes, it's not even that hard, because the questlog is basically segmented into "Worthwhile Quests" and "Garbage Filler", juuuust short of not naming them like this lmao. I finished the game in a good 30-40 hour experience in a similar way to ME2 and 3.

 

[tearsintherain]

I dropped this game some time ago, because there were more amazing games and I did not like some of the elements. Mainly I am hugely turned of by those sidequests and the Ubisoft-style open world. I am wondering, could I still make a linear Mass Effect experience out of it? Ignoring sidequests and the exploration, but instead do only the main quest and character quests? Anyone else had the same problems with the game, but ended up having fun?

I bought the game 3 weeks ago and wanted to finish quickly so I could trade it in during gamestops trade bonanza, so I rushed just the main quest after 20 or so hours. Yup, you can totally just focus on the main quest and ignore everything else, although you still need to unlock all 4 planets and do some minimal stuff on them.

Even still, I'd debate whether its worth it. Beyond exploring Vaults (which I loved), imo there was really only one cool moment in the main storyline. There are a lot of setups to an obvious sequel, imo too much setup and no resolution. At the end of the game I didn't really feel like I had answered almost anything other than a tiny piece of a question I never really cared that much about.

But yeah, for $20 you can play for 20-30 hours, rush the main story, get a feel for the combat, and I'd say for any mass effect fan its worth the play through. I really wouldn't bother with any side quest other than loyalty missions though, virtually all the planet side side quests are 2007 world of warcraft filler quests.

 

[Cornbread78]

But yeah, for $20 you can play for 20-30 hours, rush the main story, get a feel for the combat, and I'd say for any mass effect fan its worth the play through. I really wouldn't bother with any side quest other than loyalty missions though, virtually all the planet side side quests are 2007 world of warcraft filler quests.

I would say the "Ryder Family Secrets" mission is worth it, as well as, the "Movie Night" mission..

 

[diaspora]

I remember the original Bioware team having a bible and some sense of direction of where it was going to all end up (Don't shit it up about ME3). This game just feels like they had too many cooks in the kitchen and were trying to make three different meals.

I'll never understand what should be an AAA title was tossed out half-baked. It would have been in everyone's best interest no matter what the cost to delay development until they knew exactly what they wanted because they basically killed the IP.

IMO it feels like people were trying to figure out what they wanted to cook for 3 years then scrapping something together in the last 18 months because they realized they had fucked around for most of the entire time. And while I like the idea of a delay, honestly they had 5 years to put something together- they should have shitcanned production when they realized they didn't have something viable to work with after the first 18 months.

 

[Ushay]

I didn't enjoy it that much myself, boiled down my personal gripes to several points:

• Remnant terraform magic felt cliched and cheapened the struggle
• SAM as yet another Cortana/Dinklebot exposition + hacking bot
• The Angaran look awful
• Facial expressions
• Unimaginative golden worlds - desert, ice, jungle, mountain, asteroid
• Busywork sidequests like visit 4 different points on a map
• Solid combat mechanics let down by the open-world structure watering down encounter design

Solid points, I really agree about the uninspired design of the Angara. They have done so much wrong with this chapter in Mass Effect and I sincerely hope they learn lessons from this and do it right the next go around.

 

[Mediking]

Andromeda actually has scope and a clear direction in the game... but I'll go more in depth about this in the thread I'm gonna do.

The writing isn't bad either.

But I will say that out of the entire cast.... Liam is trash. Pains me to say it but its true.

 

[Cornbread78]

Andromeda actually has scope and a clear direction in the game... but I'll go more in depth about this in the thread I'm gonna do.

The writing isn't bad either.

But I will say that out of the entire cast.... Liam is trash. Pains me to say it but its true.

His loyalty mission was pretty fun though..

 

[Patryn]

Andromeda actually has scope and a clear direction in the game... but I'll go more in depth about this in the thread I'm gonna do.

The writing isn't bad either.

But I will say that out of the entire cast.... Liam is trash. Pains me to say it but its true.

Liam works best if you pair him with Vetra. It's a unique experience.

 

[Orochinagis]

This party sidequest have not end.....

His loyalty mission was pretty fun though..

Dumb, and fun, yes.

 

[JarrodL]

Can someone who has successfully managed to get this running in HDR mode on PC share their settings pls?

I have LG C7 which should support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision modes. I have been trying in both borderless windowed and fullscreen modes, and both with HDR color enabled and disabled in Windows 10 settings. No matter what I've tried so far, either the game doesn't enable HDR for some reason (says "HDR mode: off" in video output menu) or my TV switches out of the HDR mode for some reason as soon as the game enables it (happens in fullscreen/with HDR color setting ON in W10, then it says "HDR mode: HDR10").

 

[Slackbladder]

Can someone who has successfully managed to get this running in HDR mode on PC share their settings pls?

I have LG C7 which should support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision modes. I have been trying in both borderless windowed and fullscreen modes, and both with HDR color enabled and disabled in Windows 10 settings. No matter what I've tried so far, either the game doesn't enable HDR for some reason (says "HDR mode: off" in video output menu) or my TV switches out of the HDR mode for some reason as soon as the game enables it (happens in fullscreen/with HDR color setting ON in W10, then it says "HDR mode: HDR10").

According to the EA ME:A E tech forum patch 1.09 broke HDR. http://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/HDR-issue-fixed-in-1-08-then-broke-in-1-09-Windows-Creators/m-p/6150505/highlight/false#M15652 I can't get it either with HDR on in W10. It doesn't show on my TV info (and it's obviously not working by the display). HDR support in this game has been a shambles. It worked at first. Then the Creators Update came and it didn't. Then patch 1.08 apparently fixed it. Now it's broken again. *smh*

 

[mbpm1]

Andromeda actually has scope and a clear direction in the game... but I'll go more in depth about this in the thread I'm gonna do.

The writing isn't bad either.

But I will say that out of the entire cast.... Liam is trash. Pains me to say it but its true.

Maybe, but it doesn't do a great job of communicating it.

All the concepts could have been good but most are delivered like a syfy original

And even when the concepts are good they're not particularly interesting

It's like a less cohesive inception

 

[prag16]

Maybe, but it doesn't do a great job of communicating it.

All the concepts could have been good but most are delivered like a syfy original

And even when the concepts are good they're not particularly interesting

It's like a less cohesive inception

Honestly how many game narratives rise above syfy original content? I would argue not many. (Actually certain syfy original content is pretty damn good, but maybe you'll call me a simpleton with simple tastes.)

And "good but not particularly interesting" kind of doesn't make sense as a statement. Not trying to pick on your personally, you certainly have a lot of company in the "ME:A bad writing" camp.

I maintain my position that I've held since day one. The lows are a bit lower, and there are somewhat more of them (may be expected with so much more 'content' than each trilogy game), but on average the writing quality is on par with the trilogy more or less. And arguments can be made that this squad is better than the ME1 squad (lots of people disliked Kaiden and Ashley, and most of the rest didn't really get fleshed out deeply until later).

This game also did by far the best job with crew interaction and banter (both in the Nomad and on the Tempest... maybe not so much during missions). Way more intersting and dynamic than crew members just standing around like mannequins in the same place the vast majority of the time.

Though I'll agree that Liam is pretty lackluster overall, even if he did still have his moments. I did laugh when I walked in on he and Jaal hanging around naked.

 

[Ernest]

Wish I could tell which missions are wastes of time before embarking on them.

So far, I'm skipping all missions that involve collecting/scanning multiple things on a planet.

Speaking of planets - I wish there were more, but smaller planets/levels. 4 seems like kind of a gyp, and they're each kinda too big. More planets that are smaller, and a bit more linear would've been far preferable.

 

[TC McQueen]

Liam works best if you pair him with Vetra. It's a unique experience.

I really don't get why they made Liam such a shit in Nomad conversations. He's alright everywhere but there, where he's an asshole to everyone but Jaal (IIRC).

 

[Mediking]

His loyalty mission was pretty fun though..

Liam works best if you pair him with Vetra. It's a unique experience.

Maybe, but it doesn't do a great job of communicating it.

All the concepts could have been good but most are delivered like a syfy original

And even when the concepts are good they're not particularly interesting

It's like a less cohesive inception

It's just... Liam's dialogue stuff is just trash compared to almost everybody else in the crew. I talk to the crew members alot (in towns, Tempest, and on the battlefield). And he offers nothing interesting to the table. Suvi offers something exciting but never capitalizes off it. She has a really interesting background but she's hardly talking. I think Gill is annoying but not as bad as Liam.

But on the opposite side... talking to Cora (love ya), Vetra, Peebee, Drack, that Salarian pilot, Lexi, and Jaal is awesome. Even SAM is cool. He tries to tell you jokes in the Pathfinder's room and that's great.

 

[mbpm1]

Honestly how many game narratives rise above syfy original content? I would argue not many. (Actually certain syfy original content is pretty damn good, but maybe you'll call me a simpleton with simple tastes.)

That's fair, but it doesn't change my opinion.

And "good but not particularly interesting" kind of doesn't make sense as a statement. Not trying to pick on your personally, you certainly have a lot of company in the "ME:A bad writing" camp.

I think what I meant to say was delivery, and exploration of those concepts. The ideas are fine, but they're delivered at a very simple level and not explored as much as I'd like.

I maintain my position that I've held since day one. The lows are a bit lower, and there are somewhat more of them (may be expected with so much more 'content' than each trilogy game), but on average the writing quality is on par with the trilogy more or less. And arguments can be made that this squad is better than the ME1 squad (lots of people disliked Kaiden and Ashley, and most of the rest didn't really get fleshed out deeply until later).

Hm, I disagree on the writing but I'll agree on the squad. But I feel that if we're comparing first time squads I liked most of the new characters introduced in me2 and ne3 notably more than with most of the characters here.

This game also did by far the best job with crew interaction and banter (both in the Nomad and on the Tempest... maybe not so much during missions). Way more intersting and dynamic than crew members just standing around like mannequins in the same place the vast majority of the time.

Though I'll agree that Liam is pretty lackluster overall, even if he did still have his moments. I did laugh when I walked in on he and Jaal hanging around naked.

like someone said above Liam actually brought down the mood during squad interactions for some reason. I brought him along bc whatever his faults he's supposed to be a fun guy, but he came across as an ass to everyone almost

 

[Slackbladder]

My final take on the game.
I can withstand quite a lot of repetition in games, mediocre side quests and the like. What gets me however is feeling uninvolved with a game. By the end, and I put a good 60+hrs in (mainly because I was determined to get as much out of the game as possible), I just didn't care. Nothing really clicked. It all felt a bit 'meh'. It seemed to lack effective drama, suspense or threat. The only part I felt anything like that was (and I'll spoiler this - to do with SAM and Ryder)

Spoiler

when Ryder loses connection with SAM.

And that was sign posted very early on. The very last part of the game isn't too bad but up until then it felt as if nothing was at stake when everything was at stake. It was all too easy. And I don't mean the gameplay. Probably the best mission (apart from the last) was Cora's. There it felt as if a decision had weight, although ultimately I'm uncertain if it did.
So, added to the issues with the graphics, the bugs and glitches, it just felt way too average for me. I enjoyed what I could but really this was absolutely not what I was hoping for.

 

[emag]

I didn't realize the PC version was down to $20 (Target w/ Cartwheel) as well. I think I'll pick ME:A again -- I played through the Origins Access trial up to the first vault, including all the optional content, before launch (which led me to cancel my preorder) and more recently rushed the PS4 version to a little past the first vault (but couldn't stand the low framerate and PS4 controller).

How active is the multiplayer community on PC these days?

 

[TC McQueen]

I didn't realize the PC version was down to $20 (Target w/ Cartwheel) as well. I think I'll pick ME:A again -- I played through the Origins Access trial up to the first vault, including all the optional content, before launch (which led me to cancel my preorder) and more recently rushed the PS4 version to a little past the first vault (but couldn't stand the low framerate and PS4 controller).

How active is the multiplayer community on PC these days?

Not sure. I hear it's alright on higher difficulties, but bronze matches are probably laggy as fuck due to low population.

Here's a list of mods you should get if you go PC.

 

[Mediking]

Did Liam's Loyalty mission. It was cool... but still not better than Cora's.

Did Vetra's Loyalty mission... was actually pretty nice. Better than Liam's.

Did Jaal's Loyalty mission... it's tied with Cora's for being really good.

Doing Drack's Loyalty mission next.

 

[emag]

Not sure. I hear it's alright on higher difficulties, but bronze matches are probably laggy as fuck due to low population.

Here's a list of mods you should get if you go PC.

Thanks. I picked up the PC version for $20 and registered it to my Origin account. I'm going to play the Witcher 3 expansions first (both W3 and MEA have lengthy loading times, but I don't have space for both on my small SSD), but I'm looking forward to playing more MEA, particularly with those tweaks.

 

[jtb]

Wait, how do we get it for $20? I've been waiting to pick it up for PC, but have only seen it on deep discounts on consoles.

 

[Prophaniti]

Wow. I upgraded my buggy and now it travels faster than the game can load. The game stops and hangs every 30 seconds when I drive it now. That's impressively bad.

 

[astroturfing]

Wow. I upgraded my buggy and now it travels faster than the game can load. The game stops and hangs every 30 seconds when I drive it now. That's impressively bad.

yeah had the same.. even on Pro. it's constant.

and i love the game, feel no need to shit on it.. but this is awful, really hurts gameplay.

 

[SliChillax]

Solid points, I really agree about the uninspired design of the Angara. They have done so much wrong with this chapter in Mass Effect and I sincerely hope they learn lessons from this and do it right the next go around.

Male angarans look fine, females look awful.

 

[Wind's Howling]

10-15 hours in and I just reached Voeld. So far, this game is finally starting to click. The game is such a slow start, that I can definitely understand as to why people gave up.

It is no Mass Effect 2 but I actually like the exploration and just soaking in the beautiful atmosphere of the planets. Despite the overall jank in some scenes, there is something about this game that does keep pulling me back in.

I don't like how I can't change armor or weapons on the fly and that I have to go towards a loadout station in order to arrange this. It completely removes one of the points that makes Mass Effect an RPG in my opinion.

So far I have Jaal and Vectra in my party. I quite like these two. Much better than Liam.

 

[emag]

Wait, how do we get it for $20? I've been waiting to pick it up for PC, but have only seen it on deep discounts on consoles.

Use Target's Cartwheel app. $39.99 regular price, $19.99 with coupon, regardless of platform.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

When you are in cover, how do you change which direction you are facing?

 

[TC McQueen]

When you are in cover, how do you change which direction you are facing?

On a controller, I think it's L3, but it might be R3.

 

[diaspora]

When you are in cover, how do you change which direction you are facing?

Left Alt

 

[RedAssedApe]

looking to pick this up from Amazon for $20. is performance still spotty on ps4 pro?

is this game better or worse than Final Fantasy 15? (just finished that up) lol

 

[Mediking]

looking to pick this up from Amazon for $20. is performance still spotty on ps4 pro?

is this game better or worse than Final Fantasy 15? (just finished that up) lol

Andromeda is a million times better than Final Fantasy 15.

 

[Lucreto]

Andromeda is a million times better than Final Fantasy 15.

Both are great games. I have spent hundreds of hours on both.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Andromeda is a million times better than Final Fantasy 15.

that's not necessarily saying much lol although i know you're just answering my question

 

[mbpm1]

Andromeda is a million times better than Final Fantasy 15.

A million times zero is still zero

Jk

 

[RedAssedApe]

Any suggested graphical settings to turn off on PS4?

Grain, ca, motion blur, and depth of field.

There seems to be this haze around characters in cutscenes is that the motion blur or just the aesthetic of the game?

Also game feels stutters on the first planet I've landed on. :/

 

[Ralemont]

Did Liam's Loyalty mission. It was cool... but still not better than Cora's.

Did Vetra's Loyalty mission... was actually pretty nice. Better than Liam's.

Did Jaal's Loyalty mission... it's tied with Cora's for being really good.

Doing Drack's Loyalty mission next.

If this game were the loyalty missions + some of the better sidequests + main story + a few vaults and Kett bases, it'd be a worthy successor to Mass Effect 2. Luckily you can mold your playthrough to do pretty much that on replays which I imagine I'll enjoy a lot more (like DAI).

 

[thepenguin55]

His loyalty mission was pretty fun though..

The ham-fisted Star Wars references made me cringe a little but yes it was fun.

 

[Runner67]

Andromeda is a million times better than Final Fantasy 15.

No

 

[prag16]

No

Welcome to the ME:A OT for the first time. Have you played both games in question? You seem to be a big Final Fantasy guy based on your post history.

Not trying to play OT police or anything, but "No" as your first ever Mass Effect related post on neogaf seems like a low effort driveby.

 

[Cornbread78]

The ham-fisted Star Wars references made me cringe a little but yes it was fun.

Almost a star wars/space balls cross-over. It was a really odd tonal change, but it was the last loyalty mission I did, so it was a great pace breaker.

Welcome to the ME:A OT for the first time. Have you played both games in question? You seem to be a big Final Fantasy guy based on your post history.
Not trying to play OT police or anything, but "No" as your first ever Mass Effect related post on neogaf seems like a low effort driveby.

LOL.

At least the important moments of Andromeda's story were in order and they gave enough backstory to feel and understand the character's motivations. While I liked Final Fantasy XV better overall, the story and the character backstories were way too disjointed at times...

 

[Mediking]

Mass Effect: Andromeda does an amazing job at player choice and making you feel like you are truly impacting worlds and people. That's one of the biggest things why I love this game and can't stop playing.

I do things the way I wanna do them. I influence how people interact with others. This sensation reminds me so much of why I loved Witcher 3.

I can't help but flashback to how I handled the Krogan on Eladaan, helping Drack capture Spender, and cool Kadara is.

I really don't want this game to end... lol

Andromeda is totally in my top games of this gen.

Bioware... if ANY of you guys are reading this... please know that there ARE people who genuinely accept the game for what it is and can still love it despite some of the flaws it has.

 

[Lucreto]

Mass Effect: Andromeda does an amazing job at player choice and making you feel like you are truly impacting worlds and people. That's one of the biggest things why I love this game and can't stop playing.

I do things the way I wanna do them. I influence how people interact with others. This sensation reminds me so much of why I loved Witcher 3.

I can't help but flashback to how I handled the Krogan on Eladaan, helping Drack capture Spender, and cool Kadara is.

I really don't want this game to end... lol

Andromeda is totally in my top games of this gen.

Bioware... if ANY of you guys are reading this... please know that there ARE people who genuinely accept the game for what it is and can still love it despite some of the flaws it has.

I love the game as well. I love the current Bioware games. Inquisition is my most played game this generation and I have put nearly 80 hours into Andromeda and I still have side quests to do.

I hope to play it again soon hopefully with DLC.

Spoiler

#SavetheQuarians

If not I will cry into my Pathfinder Hoodie and drink from my Vortex tumblers.

 

[megalowho]

Mass Effect: Andromeda does an amazing job at player choice and making you feel like you are truly impacting worlds and people. That's one of the biggest things why I love this game and can't stop playing.

I do things the way I wanna do them. I influence how people interact with others. This sensation reminds me so much of why I loved Witcher 3.

I can't help but flashback to how I handled the Krogan on Eladaan, helping Drack capture Spender, and cool Kadara is.

I really don't want this game to end... lol

Andromeda is totally in my top games of this gen.

Bioware... if ANY of you guys are reading this... please know that there ARE people who genuinely accept the game for what it is and can still love it despite some of the flaws it has.

I can see you really enjoy Andromeda and I respect that - I liked it enough to put 60 hours in and finish - but this is such a generous and flowery take on the game's choice and conversation system that I feel like we experienced completely different games.

Nearly every conversation is a one sided exposition dump. You click through the wheel until all options are exhausted, then move on. There is no role playing involved when it comes to dialogue, only the slightest of tone variations that don't impact the direction of a conversation. If you want to romance a character, always pick the flirt option and you're in. There's no way to screw it up, they're prizes for the taking.

The conclusion to the Spender questline was agonizingly lame after some compelling sleuthing. The dialogue, the direction, the animation, just a dud. Who you choose on Elaaden felt like a cut and dry decision immediately, with no repercussions manifested either way. Just kicking the payoff can to sequels we'll never see. Kadara has a cool setup and look but again, you make a (to me, obvious) choice and nothing changes, there is no impact. Enjoy your emails.

There is so much filler NPC quest dialogue that bleeds together. It's an expedition of adolescents and shitty comedians offering checklist fluff over cookie cutter landmarks, actively taking away from the thin illusion of frontier discovery. The major story beats are a game of Mass Effect madlibs, with space magic called upon when needed. There are moments, quests and characters that resonated, but I never felt like I was leaving a meaningful imprint on the world, no matter how glowingly everyone spoke about my Pathfinding.

I wish the game leaned heavier into choice and consequence. I'd love a return to a more robust conversation system that BioWare used to excel at. Personally I'll remember Andromeda as a safe retread of an existing formula, with an overall tone that didn't work for me, exposing issues that bubbled under the surface of the series along the way.

 

[mbpm1]

It does make me question whether he's played any RPGs of this or the past two generations.

But he said he played Witcher 3, so scratch that.

 

[prag16]

It does make me question whether he's played any RPGs of this or the past two generations.

But he said he played Witcher 3, so scratch that.

So much of this is subjective. Witcher 3 after a while bored me to tears, and ME:A is my GoTY. We exist.