Mass Effect 3 Catch-All

In the final tally, Asshole Shepard got 3 of my favorite characters killed* during the game proper, 2 of them by shooting, and then stumbled into the biggest bummer of an ending ever! I'm going to be my main Shep again just to wash the taste of this ponce from my brain.

*

Spoiler:

Technically, he got everyone killed, but that was later. Then Liara saves the next cycle, no doubt through her memoirs entitled f*ck This Guy: My Travels with Shepard, and How You Can Avoid His Traps.

To the No Consequences crowd, I say, yes, your choices do have consequences that aren't apparent at first. I have the visceral hatred of my player character to prove it.

conejote wrote:
Spoiler:

Where did the arachni go--their absence wasn't the result of my decision

Spoiler:

They got offended that you called them the Arachni, not the Rachni. They were all like, "oh, I guess we're Terran spiders now? Do all arthropods look the same to you? Racist." Then they went to sulk on the Crucible. So during the entire war, they're over there, helping to build it. You'd think a race that can breed such powerful soldiers so quickly as to force the galaxy to weaponize Krogans would be more useful on the front lines but hey, whatever, what do I know? I only saved the entire species from extinction. Twice.

Just played through one of the extended endings. I found it satisfactory. Enough so that I'll eventually play through again with my renegade character after all the ineviteble DLC is out.

After watching the other endings on youtube I'm really wondering how they'll manage any sequels.

gewy wrote:

After watching the other endings on youtube I'm really wondering how they'll manage any sequels.

They can't. There are too many different ways that the different plot threads could have ended up. The best they could do is decide on a 'canon' universe and go forward with that. Or do prequel stuff - there are a lot of settings that have been described in codex entries, planet descriptions, books, comics, etc that could be used for games.

Anyone else having trouble with the datapad app ? I'm about to start another run, but want to jack my readiness to 100% first - but the Galaxy at War section of the app won't work. I'm logged in on the Origin tab, and every other part works, but the GaW won't start then just announces that I need an internet connection.

Similarly, I haven't been able to ever login to Origin whenever I try to play the Infiltration game.

billt721 wrote:
gewy wrote:

After watching the other endings on youtube I'm really wondering how they'll manage any sequels.

They can't.

Indeed. Canon ending (which would be horrible), prequels, or nothing.

I may complain about the endings, but I do really respect that they didn't make heavy-handed moves to keep it open for sequels.

It'd be interesting to see them go with a canon ending, after all they've done with the imports and "your character".

I seem to recall Hudson saying that this will be the last time anyone will ever do such a thing with importing hundreds or thousands of variables through a series because it's just so complex, so I just want to see another company do it just to prove him wrong. I also wonder just how much effort it took to make it all happen compared to a story with less choices, or at least none that affect the story.

Scratched wrote:

It'd be interesting to see them go with a canon ending, after all they've done with the imports and "your character".

I seem to recall Hudson saying that this will be the last time anyone will ever do such a thing with importing hundreds or thousands of variables through a series because it's just so complex, so I just want to see another company do it just to prove him wrong. I also wonder just how much effort it took to make it all happen compared to a story with less choices, or at least none that affect the story.

I'd be surprised if anyone else does it anytime soon. Not only is it difficult from a story perspective - keeping track of all the possible story differences. But from a design perspective you have two choices - you either create a lot of content that only some of your users will see or you do what Bioware did and create alternate characters and such for the various situations (anything having to do with Wrex, for example). In that case, you're recording double the dialog for each place Wrex could appear as well as a second character texture and different reaction dialog from other companions, etc.

It just seems to be a lot more trouble than it's worth.

But you spend that extra time instead of spending extra time on something like tacked-on multiplayer. And people will replay the single player 2, 3, 4 times to see all the options. A 30-hour game will give 100 hours of play.

Stele wrote:

But you spend that extra time instead of spending extra time on something like tacked-on multiplayer. And people will replay the single player 2, 3, 4 times to see all the options. A 30-hour game will give 100 hours of play.

Hardly - most people don't finish games a single time, much less two or three. I'd love to see Bioware's numbers on how many people actually finished ME3.

billt721 wrote:
Scratched wrote:

...

I'd be surprised if anyone else does it anytime soon. Not only is it difficult from a story perspective - keeping track of all the possible story differences. But from a design perspective you have two choices - you either create a lot of content that only some of your users will see or you do what Bioware did and create alternate characters and such for the various situations (anything having to do with Wrex, for example). In that case, you're recording double the dialog for each place Wrex could appear as well as a second character texture and different reaction dialog from other companions, etc.

It just seems to be a lot more trouble than it's worth.

The only two other (recent) examples I can think of is The Witcher1/2 which carries a few things across, which is really little bits of flavour, and has a story you can manipulate fairly well, and Alpha Protocol, with it's web of cause and effect (within one game).

Generally I think you're right though, it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, especially without awesome planning. I think the main problems are the difficulty of executing it, especially with an AAA project that stretches over many years per game, and also on what they deliver as it sits in the uncomfortable middle-ground between the story being authored by writer and player. Presumably all those costs have to be counter balanced by something awesome at the end of it to make it all worthwhile. In terms of the larger story it probably wasn't worth it for the ME trilogy, but was for the small stories within it.

As far as RPGs go, I agree with Obsidian that there needs to be choices and consequences, but really you can only go so far, or at least a developer has to be realistic about what they can achieve. Would ME have had such a following if your choices were limited to the squad, for example?

I'm reminded of episodic games, and what they promised a few years ago, and ME is essentially a really big episodic game. In an alternate world, I wonder how a collection of games would work out if you could step away from having a main plot that the player has to follow, but instead is a collection of those shorter stories building up, sold separately. I'm reminded of the bookshop shelves full of small paperbacks of star wars and star trek stories, and I think it would be very interesting if there was a game framework that a load of short standalone episodes could feed into a central world state (A similar system for Dragon Age, or any ongoing vast world, would work well).

I think it's an interesting idea, but I just can't see anyone going for it who would actually have the resources to make it happen while they still sell big boxes.
edit: It occurs to me that Bioware used to be that company, where they could put out a bunch of games/expansions and build upon that common base of resources, ship an editor and let people make modules (NWN), they tried it with DA1, but it looks like that's history for them now. I'd be really interested to see what people could come up with with the combined assets from ME1/2/3 and publicly released editing tools.

Just watched the "extended cut" on Youtube because I couldn't quite bring myself to replay the ending. Glad I didn't - unless I missed something, it didn't seem like there's a whole lot more there.

Scratched wrote:

I seem to recall Hudson saying that this will be the last time anyone will ever do such a thing with importing hundreds or thousands of variables through a series because it's just so complex, so I just want to see another company do it just to prove him wrong.

Telltale Games. The Walking Dead.

StaggerLee wrote:

Just watched the "extended cut" on Youtube because I couldn't quite bring myself to replay the ending. Glad I didn't - unless I missed something, it didn't seem like there's a whole lot more there.

I played it - albeit from The Long Walk (right where Shepard fends off Marauder Sheilds), and I agree. I found it to be overly pedantic since I came to all the conclusions they spelled out on my own. It further illustrates my theory that many people who were unhappy with the original ending but liked the EC really just need to have everything spelled out for them.

nel e nel wrote:
StaggerLee wrote:

Just watched the "extended cut" on Youtube because I couldn't quite bring myself to replay the ending. Glad I didn't - unless I missed something, it didn't seem like there's a whole lot more there.

I played it - albeit from The Long Walk (right where Shepard fends off Marauder Sheilds), and I agree. I found it to be overly pedantic since I came to all the conclusions they spelled out on my own. It further illustrates my theory that many people who were unhappy with the original ending but liked the EC really just need to have everything spelled out for them.

Exactly how I felt. If anything, I disliked it more because it took things away from my imagination and make too much explicit. Also it interrupted the pretty music.

StaggerLee wrote:
nel e nel wrote:
StaggerLee wrote:

Just watched the "extended cut" on Youtube because I couldn't quite bring myself to replay the ending. Glad I didn't - unless I missed something, it didn't seem like there's a whole lot more there.

I played it - albeit from The Long Walk (right where Shepard fends off Marauder Sheilds), and I agree. I found it to be overly pedantic since I came to all the conclusions they spelled out on my own. It further illustrates my theory that many people who were unhappy with the original ending but liked the EC really just need to have everything spelled out for them.

Exactly how I felt. If anything, I disliked it more because it took things away from my imagination and make too much explicit. Also it interrupted the pretty music.

Nah, it was probably more like the effect Avatar had on some people.

A lot of the love for Mass Effect was, I think, the way it brought you into that world. Especially the end of ME3. Then it just ended so abruptly and ejected you to the BUY MOAR DLC! screen. The extended cut--and all the time since a person's original playthough and all the talk about the game and everything--made for a smoother transition.

As for pretty music, scenes from the ending of Mass Effect would make a pretty good YouTube video for Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush."

CheezePavilion wrote:

... Then it just ended so abruptly and ejected you to the BUY MOAR DLC! screen.

Random (probably wrong) thought: I wonder if this ("it ended abruptly") is just the sentiment we attach to everything we liked so much we didn't want it to end. *shrug*

CheezePavilion wrote:

As for pretty music, scenes from the ending of Mass Effect would make a pretty good YouTube video for Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush."

I'm happy I got the soundtrack. Listen to it every now and then. It's great.

Finally some news of a single player story DLC.

Leviathan, coming in summer (so sometime in the next 6 weeks?).

Cost is $10 or 800 Microsoft points.

So where does the DLC fit in? Before the ME3 end?

Are you so lazy that I needed to quote the whole article here?

Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3, players will be thrust into the darkest corners of space where they will hunt a mysterious being rumored to be powerful enough to destroy a Reaper. As they race against time, they will begin to unravel the secret of the Leviathan. Explore uncharted systems and new areas on the Citadel, interact with brand new characters, unlock the AT-12 Raider shotgun and M-55 Argus Assault Rifle and discover more about the mysterious history of the Reapers.

Not so much lazy, just cognitively challenged. I read that bit, just didn't make the connection between "Taking place during" and my question I blame the fact that it's still early morning and I didn't get much sleep last night.

I'll tell you what's lazy: NOT POSTING AWESOME PICTURES!!

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/WqCcJ.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/l9APh.jpg)

Awesome pictures are awesome.

It is great to have first glimpse of some new singleplayer DLC.

I just finished Mass Effect 3, and I have to say it's my favourite video game series of all time. That's not to say it's perfect... I turned the difficulty down to easy in 3 because I found the combat such a grind (stay in cover, shoot a bit, get back in cover let shields regenerate, rinse repeat). But I just got so heavily invested in the lore and characters that Bioware created that I was willing to overlook that and some cheesy dialogue. I loved the ending too, one of the choices just fit my Shepherd perfectly. I played it without any reloads and lived with consequences, the consequences sucked but I loved that they were my consequences. Example, near the end-

Spoiler:

When the Illusive man points the gun at the back of Anderson's head there is a Renegade interrupt option. I dithered, Anderson was killed instantly. I gather it's possible to have a final goodbye chat with him, but that's just not how it worked out for me.

Now I have a Mass Effect shaped hole in my gaming itinerary, and I'm craving something similar. Can anyone recommend a story driven RPG that can scratch the same itch? Preferably scifi but fantasy will do, too. I've already played both Dragon Age games (and for what it's worth, though I enjoyed them, neither had the same resonance with me). Any suggestions?

Edit: Whoah, overdid the word consequence maybe?

kergguz:

Combat in ME3 is one of the best single player experiences for TPS/tactical squad shooting that I've ever played. Not saying that you should enjoy it; we all enjoy videogames in our own way, but if you've a mind to making the combat less "grindy" on a possible revisit, some suggestions:

1. Don't sit in cover. Use cover as a defensive measure, but always keep moving. Your shields will ideally be regenerating while you move around, so you should be good to go once you're in a better position.

Flanking is awesome. The maps are designed to make flanking the AI work like a sledgehammer, so use it to your advantage. Order your squaddies to take position and allow the AI to advance on it. Once the AI is locked into behavior, move around them and shoot them from behind or from the side. They'll never know what hit them.

2. Power combos. ME3's power system is designed to work like a JRPG, almost. Combining squaddie powers with your own multiplies their effect exponentially. For instance, applying Throw on a target Liara has Singularitied will make the target explode in a Biotic Explosion, heavily damaging all nearby targets. You can make extremely short work of a bunch of crowded Cerberus troops this way, especially if you happen to be flanking them, too.

Just a suggestion; no pressure. Please enjoy the game the way you like; it's an awesome game.

Larry: Interesting comments, and to be honest I never really put much thought into how to approach combat like that. Really, I was just there for the story. Perhaps on my next playthrough I'll give it a go, now that I've seen how it ends. Cheers.

There's a new weapon pack out too, the Firefight Pack, for $2 on PSN and 160 BioBucks elsewhere. It includes 7 new weapons for single-player, including the M-90 Indra, Reegar Carbine, Krysae Sniper Rifle, Cerberus Harrier, and Geth SMG from multiplayer, along with two new weapons, the Blood Pack Punisher and the Adas Anti-Synthetic Rifle.

The Leviathan DLC also includes the two pre-order guns: the AT-12 Raider shotgun and the M-55 Argus assault rifle.

So I'm playing through Knights of the Old Republic, and it's interesting to see the DNA of Mass Effect in this game. Just finished the Manaan storyline, and hey! I had to explore underwater in a mech-suit to find an ancient ruin. I just kept thinking of that screenshot I posted upthread of Shepard in the mech.

nel e nel wrote:

So I'm playing through Knights of the Old Republic, and it's interesting to see the DNA of Mass Effect in this game. Just finished the Manaan storyline, and hey! I had to explore underwater in a mech-suit to find an ancient ruin.

That was a cool mission.