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I'm Commander Shepard, and the Galaxy is Doomed: Let's Play Mass Effect What is Mass Effect? You've probably already played Mass Effect or at least heard of it. In 2005, Bioware had two hits on their hands: Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In the process, they'd discovered the problems with licensing someone else's IP with Star Wars and D&D, so the company decided to create their own intellectual property. While Bioware's previous RPGs used modified tabletop rules, this new generation of games would have mechanics designed from the ground up for a video game. The result was Mass Effect, an action RPG released in 2007 to critical and popular acclaim. Mass Effect is a science fiction space opera set in a future when humanity has unlocked space travel. The game follows the adventures of Commander Shepard as he (or she) works to save the galaxy. Mass Effect takes a lot of cues from its predecessors, but overall it's a different beast. Rather than being turn based, it's a third person shooter with cover mechanics. Instead of static camera angles with talking heads, Bioware pushed cinematic storytelling. And Bioware decided this new universe deserved a trilogy, with your character (and decisions) carrying over from one game to the next. What's the deal with this Let's Play? I'm a big fan of Mass Effect and its two sequels. I particularly enjoy the characters and story, and the fact that your choices carry over through the whole trilogy is neat. That being said, I've played through this series enough times that I know exactly what decisions to make. As a result, Shepard tends to live a charmed life. Shepard always says the right things, makes the right friends, and chooses the best possible option. Real life isn't usually like that, so I got to thinking: what if Commander Shepard wasn't quite cut out to save the galaxy? Shepard is just a soldier, a good one, but maybe that's not enough. The idea here is that I'll be using my meta-game knowledge to have Shepard make all the wrong choices. Wrong is subjective, but I'll be following a few general principles: 1) Get as many people unnecessarily killed as possible. Make choices that are funny, entertaining, or show off results you wouldn't see in a typical playthough. 2) Show off as much content as possible. 3) Where #1 and #2 conflict, #1 takes priority. That being said, I'll still show off alternate choices so you can see most of the content. Thread Rules Please, no spoilers. My intent is to make a Let's Play that works even if you're never played Mass Effect. Don't derail the thread with a bunch of bitching about Bioware or its fans. Criticism and discussion is fine, but let's keep it about Mass Effect, okay? There will be some opportunities for thread participation. I have a master plan mapped out, but some decisions can easily go either way. UPDATES Update 1: Enter Shepard Update 2: Eden Prime Update 3: Eden Prime 2: Echoes bogger fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Sep 1, 2014 |
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Update 1: Enter Shepard Welcome to Mass Effect!  Once you start a new game, you get some cool graphics floating around on the screen. There's no point to any of it, but it looks rad I guess?  We're asked to choose between male and female Shepard. The main difference is in who we can romance (yes, this is a Bioware game, so of course you can hook up with your party members). I happen to like female Shepard's voice a bit better, but I think she has "worse" romance options, so that's what we're going with.  Your last name is always Shepard, and that's what most people will refer to her by - either that or just Commander. Incidentally, "Shepard" is a reference to astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space. We can actually change the first name. It's a good compromise for voice acting that still lets you customize the name. No "star player of the Zanarkand Abes" here. The default female name is Jane, and I typically do J names such as John, Jim, Jenny, etc. So let's do something completely different! Perdito is Latin for lost.  The game will ask what our Pre-service history was. I rather like this idea - it gives some background on Shepard's past before the game starts. There are minor gameplay reasons to pick one background over the other, but for the most part it just changes some dialogue. Spacer: Both of your parents were in the Alliance military. Your childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting, never staying in one location for more than a few years. Following in your parents footsteps, you enlisted at the age of eighteen. Colonist: You were born and raised on Mindoir, a small border colony in the Attican Traverse. When you were sixteen slavers raided Mindoir, slaughtering your family and friends. You were saved by a passing Alliance patrol, and you enlisted with the military a few years later. Earthborn: You were an orphan raised on the streets of the great megatropolises covering Earth. You escaped the life of petty crime and underworld gangs by enlisting with the Alliance military when you turned eighteen. We're going to pick Spacer because I think it's the most interesting. In Colonist and Earthborn, your family is dead, which is bog standard for a RPG protagonist.  We get to pick a second background element that covers Shepard's exploits since she joined the military. Sole Survivor: During your service, a mission you were on went horribly wrong. Trapped in an extreme survival situation, you had to overcome physical torments and psychological stresses that would have broken most people. You survived while all those around you fell, and now you alone are left to tell the tale. War Hero: Early in your military career you found yourself facing an overwhelming enemy force. You risked your own life to save your fellow soldiers and defeat the enemy despite the impossible odds. Your bravery and heroism have earned you medals and recognition from the Alliance fleet. Ruthless: Throughout your military career, you have held fast to one basic rule: get the job done. You've been called cold, calculating, and brutal. Your reputation for ruthless efficiency makes your fellow soldiers wary of you. But when failure is not an option, the military always goes to you first. I pick Sole Survivor for this one. Mission going horribly wrong, everyone dies? That's going to be Shepard's MO.  Next we're asked to pick a class. This doesn't change any plot, but it's the largest gameplay decision we can make. There are 3 general types of classes - combat, tech, and biotic. Each class is either fully one type or a combination of two different types. Combat classes have survivability and are good with weapons. They shoot stuff and make it dead. Tech classes use their "omni-tool" for various abilities such as overheating enemy weapons, hacking, and healing the party. Biotics are essentially telekinesis specialists that mess with mass and gravity. They can push enemies around, shoot glowing balls of energy out to do damage enemies, and the like. I'm choosing Sentinel since I haven't played the class very much. The Sentinel class has a combination of tech and biotic abilities.  Since I've played through the game before, I get to pick a bonus ability!  Default Shepard is a no-go.  Gah! I somehow captured this frame while cycling through presets - the game must have been in the middle of shifting between the two faces.  That's better. I tried to make Shepard unique looking without giving her totally crazy proportions. The big pointy nose is distinctive, and she a scowl thing going on.  Let's do it!      Captain Anderson: Every soldier has scars. Shepard's a survivor. Ambassador Udina: Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy? Captain Anderson: That's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy. Ambassador Udina: I'll make the call.   The music here is really great. Most of Mass Effect's music was composed by Jack Wall & Sam Hulick. Jack Wall has done some music for the Myst series, Splinter Cell, and Call of Duty among others, so you may have heard his stuff before.  We open with a shot of a spaceship zooming past Jupiter.   Shepard is making her way up to the bridge.  Bioware put effort into this introduction. The planets are only on screen for a few seconds, but they look nice.       Shepard shoves a crew member out of the way. I guess it's important that she gets up to the bridge?  The music swells, and the camera does a dramatic swoop around to show Shepard's face.    The blue thing is a mass relay. Think of them as giant railguns that let you travel vast distances of space very quickly. Our ship, the Normandy, lines up with the relay.      Yeah, this game has aliens. Nihlus is a Turian, one of the three more important alien species. Nihlus turns around and walks away.    : You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!: Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid. : You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment.: Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story. Dialogue trees are different in Mass Effect. Rather than spelling out exactly what Shepard says, you pick a small snippet that only shows the general gist of it. You can usually make a choice while the other person is still speaking, so if you're quick, the conversation continues without any pauses. I like what this does to conversation flow, and it really does help support the more cinematic feel they're going for. The downside is that you never know exactly what Shepard is going to say.  : So there's more going on here than the captain's letting on.  Captain Anderson: Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime. : Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way.Captain Anderson: He's already here, Lieutenant. Joker shakes his head. Captain Anderson: Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing.  One trick with the dialogue trees: the upper option is typically a positive reaction, the middle is typically neutral, and the bottom is typically negative.  I'm not going to show off every dialogue wheel, but you can generally assume that if Shepard is saying something, I chose it. : Pff. Don't blame me. The captain's always in a bad mood.: Only when he's talking to you, Joker. With that, we're free to wander about the Normandy. On the right, you can see we've opened up a new Codex entry. The Codex gives more background information on the setting, but it's not required reading, so I'm just going to add these to the bottom of the update.  We only make it a few steps down the hallway before we stumble into a conversation. Engineer Adams: He's a Spectre. They're always on a mission.  : And we're being dragged right along with him!Engineer Adams: Relax, Pressly. You're going to give yourself an ulcer.  : Congratulations Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the captain? : Sounds like you don't trust our turian guest.: Sorry, Commander. Just having a chat with Adams down in engineering. Didn't mean to cause any trouble. The left side of dialogue wheels tends to have options to probe for more information, and the right side typically advances or ends the conversation.  : If all we're supposed to do is test out the stealth system, why is Captain Anderson in charge? And then there's Nihlus. Choosing Investigate immediately opens up another dialogue tree with more things to ask about.  : You don't trust Nihlus.: I don't like turians in general. Runs in my family. My grandfather fought in the First Contact War; lost a lot of friends when the turians hit us.Humanity's first contact with the galactic community was not a peaceful one. They ended up fighting the turians in what humans call the First Contact War. Turians call it the Relay 314 Incident. : That was thirty years ago. You can't blame Nihlus for that.Actually, this happened back in 2157, and the game starts in 2183, so it was only 26 years ago. Needless to say, there's still a lot of mistrust between the two species. : No, I guess not. But it still makes me nervous to have a Spectre on board, especially a turian.: We're an Alliance vessel, human military. But Nihlus doesn't answer to the captain like the rest of us. Spectres operate outside the normal chain of command.Earth itself is still ruled by separate countries. The Alliance is a united front for humanity out in space.  : Do you have a problem with the captain?: No ma'am! But I can't figure out what he's doing here.: Captain Anderson is one of the most decorated Special Forces officers in the service. If he melted down all his medals, he could make a life-size statue of himself.I'm picturing Anderson opening a door in his house and being showered with medals. I guess it's better than keeping a room full of lettuce or human hearts. : You don't send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. He's treating this shakedown run too seriously. Something big is going on.: What do you know about the stealth systems?Okay, so I gave Mass Effect credit for cinematic storytelling, but there's still a lot of standing in place with back and forth talking. It feels especially apparent in the first few hours when there is so much exposition. : I just know it masks our location from scans and sensors. Cutting edge technology.: The Normandy's the only ship with this prototype drive. But why are we fully staffed? A skeleton crew would be cheaper. Less chance of security leaks, too. : A full crew makes sense. We need the extra hands in case anything goes wrong. And the Spectre is just here as an observer.: Maybe you're right, Commander. But I just can't shake the feeling that we're out here on false pretenses.: Info's on a need to know basis, Pressly. Just follow the orders you're given.  We make it a whole two steps before tripping over another conversation.  : That's crazy. The captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre. : Not his choice, Doc. Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way.: Ha! You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins.   : I know how things work, Commander. I've seen my share of combat, but it's foolish to go looking for trouble.: You could both take a lesson from the captain. He's not afraid of combat, but he knows the value of restraint, too.: Sorry, Doc. But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!: What can you tell me about Nihlus?: Turians are generally well-respected by the other species. Their fleet has more patrols protecting Citadel space than any other.: They don't always get on well with us, though. Some people find them too rigid. Others still blame them for the First Contact War.Turians are heavily militarized and regimented. A lot of their culture, including the name turian ("centurion") is based off the Roman Empire. : As for Nihlus, I haven't said more than two words to him. He usually only speaks to the captain. Jenkins is a bit... enthusiastic. I guess it's understandable. What's the worst that could happen? : What do you know about the Spectres?: Only what I've heard. Spectre agents work directly for the Citadel Council. They usually work alone or in small groups.: Spectres don't have any official power, though. Basically, they're a shadow organization with a mandate to preserve and protect galactic stability.: Protect it at any cost. Don't forget that part, Spectres operate above the law!Spectres are a secretive organization consisting of an elite group of badasses - where have we seen that before? Oh yeah, every Bioware game ever. : Why don't we have any of our own people in there?: Spectres usually come from the Council races. Like the turians. We've been trying to get a human accepted into their ranks for years now. So far, it hasn't happened.: Hey Commander! You'd make a good Spectre!  Shepard is not amused. Yeah, like we'd ever become a Spectre.  : Let's not dwell on the past, Commander. Was there something else you needed?: How do you control agents with unlimited power?: I suppose the Council could revoke the Spectre status of an agent who got out of hand. At that point, Citadel Security Services would take over.: Those C-Sec grunts wouldn't stand a chance. A Spectre's worth twenty ordinary soldiers.: The Spectres police themselves. An agent goes rogue, they send another agent to take 'em down. That's Spectre justice! : You're from Eden Prime, aren't you Jenkins? What's it like?: It's very peaceful, Commander. They've been real careful with development, so you don't have any city noise or pollution.: My parents lived on the outskirts of the colony. At night, I used to climb this big hill and stare across the fields back at the lights from the main settlement.: It was gorgeous. But when I got older, I realized it was a little too calm and quiet for me. That's why I joined the Alliance. Even paradise gets boring after a while.It's nice to get some backstory on Jenkins. He's going to be a party member, so we might as well get to know him. : Any idea why Eden Prime was chosen as our destination?: Not really sure, Commander. Eden Prime's one of our most stable colonies. Good place to take the Normandy for her shakedown run, I guess. No real danger there.: But there's got to be something else going on. We've got a Spectre on board! That's why I'm so wound up. I can't wait for the real mission to start!I'm sure it will be perfectly safe. : Do your job, follow my orders, and there won't be any problems.After all, Shepard's missions always go off without a hitch. : Easy for you to say. You proved yourself on Akuze. Everybody knows what you can do.: This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!: You're young Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Don't do something stupid to mess it up.: Don't worry, ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up.: The captain's waiting for me.  We make our way to the back of the ship. It's only a couple more steps.    Usually when we have one choice on each side, either one advances the dialogue. It's a bit different from the standard wheels where only the right side options advance the conversation.   : I've never been there. : But you know of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? That's a real nice planet you have there. Wouldn't want anything to happen to it.  : Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place.: Is the Alliance truly ready for this?  : Is someone going to fill me in, Captain?   : This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. This conversation delivers on the cinematic storytelling a bit better. There are more dynamic camera angles, and Anderson & Nihlus move around a bit and gesture. It helps that Keith David does a fine job with Anderson's voice. The voice acting in this game is generally quite good. : I thought the Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago.: Their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives -- it's all based on Prothean technology.Protheans are the mysterious precursors with highly advanced technology. Not exactly groundbreaking writing, but Bioware does a decent job of fleshing them out.  As the opening scrawl said, humanity found Prothean ruins on Mars in 2148, and the technology there paved the way for faster than light travel and technology utilizing the mass effect. Pretty much all the starships and weapons in the game rely on the mass effect to work. To put things in perspective, 2148 is only 9 years before humanity met the galactic community, and 35 years before the present. Nihlus is right to say humans are still newcomers. Though even in this short timeframe, humans have managed to spread themselves across the galaxy. : But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study. : Why didn't we keep the beacon for ourselves?: You humans don't have the best reputation. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous. : The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard.: Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you.: What's going on, Captain?It's pretty obvious where this is going. : The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. Anderson punches his fist into his hand to emphasize power. : Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live -- a particularly useful talent.They talk about Akuze over and over in this opening section. It'll come up less often later, but at this point, Shepard is best known for Akuze. You know, the mission that ended in total failure and got everyone else with her killed. You guys sure Shepard's the woman you're looking for? : That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres.Yep, Nihlus is on our side, despite his somewhat menacing demeanor. : Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres? : We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job.: Just tell me what I have to do.: I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together.Oh good, looks like we'll have Nihlus tagging along with us for a while. : You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission.: Why is this beacon so important?: All advanced galactic civilization is based on Prothean technology. Even yours. : That was just a small data cache. Who knows what we can learn from this beacon? : Like who?: The Attican Traverse isn't the most stable sector of Citadel space. There are plenty of raiders and criminal groups active in the region.: They might figure a Prothean beacon is worth the risk of attacking an Alliance ship. Plus, Eden Prime is right on the border of the Terminus Systems.  : The last thing the Council wants is to get dragged into a major conflict with the Terminus Systems. We have to keep this low-key.: I'd like to know more about Eden Prime before we touch down.: It's a peaceful farming world, but it represents something much bigger. Eden Prime is one of our oldest and most successful colonies.Eden Prime must be a reference to the garden of Eden. The Prime part is probably just to make it sound futuristic. : It proved we were ready to face the challenges of settling new worlds, to forge a place for humanity beyond earth.: It symbolizes humanity's growth and evolution as a spacefaring species. And after this, it will be known as the world where humans made a discovery of galactic importance.Sounds like it would really tarnish our image if something bad were to happen.  : Just what they taught us in school. They were a technologically-advanced species that ruled the galaxy 50,000 years ago. Then they vanished.I guess Anderson went to school sometime in the last 35 years. : Nobody really knows how or why, though I've heard plenty of theories. But everyone agrees galactic civilization wouldn't exist without them.You'd think people would be more curious about this. All powerful civilization disappears without a trace? Meh, oh well - can I have their stuff? : Their Citadel is the very heart of galactic society. And without their mass relays, interstellar travel would be impossible. We all owe the Protheans a great debt.: Just give the word, Captain. : Captain, we've got a problem. : Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!: Bring it up on screen.Unlike, say, Star Trek, bringing things up on screen is not something we're going to see a lot.   We see some shaky cam footage with marines fighting. C'mon guys, at least get a tripod for your camcorder LP! It's not clear what's attacking from the grainy footage.   Things don't seem to be going well.   The marine is cut off and we hear an unidentifiable screeching sound.     That's certainly... something. I'm impressed Anderson knew exactly where to freeze the frame considering I don't see a timecode anywhere.   Nihlus does a little mandible thing here. Not sure what it's supposed to represent - surprise? Contemplation? It's a nice detail and unique to this scene. : Status report. : Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet. : A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon. : Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold.: Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in.NEXT TIME Tragedy! Betrayal! Actual gameplay! CODEX ENTRIES Aliens: Council Races - Turians Roughly 1,200 years ago, the turians were invited to join the Citadel Council to fulfill the role of galactic peacekeepers. The turians have the largest fleet in Citadel space, and they make up the single largest portion of the Council's military forces. As their territory and influence has spread, the turians have come to rely on the salarians for military intelligence and the asari for diplomacy. Despite a somewhat colonial attitude towards the rest of the galaxy, the ruling Hierarchy understands they would lose more than they would gain if the other two races were ever removed. Turians come from an autocratic society that values discipline and possesses a strong sense of personal and collective honor. There is lingering animosity between turians and humans over the First Contact War of 2157, which is known as the "Relay 314 Incident" to the turians. Officially, however, the two species are allies and they enjoy civil, if cool, diplomatic relations. Aliens: Extinct Races - Protheans Fifty thousand years ago, the Protheans were the only spacefaring species in the galaxy. They vanished in a swift "galactic extinction". Only the legacy of their empire remains. They are believed to have built the mass relays and the Citadel, which have allowed numerous species to explore and expand throughout the galaxy. Prothean ruins are found on worlds across the galaxy. While surprisingly intact for their age, functioning examples of Prothean paleotechnology are rare. Time and generations of looters have picked their dead cities and derelict stations clean. Some believe the Protheans meddled in the evolution of younger races. The hanar homeworld of Kahje, for example, shows clear evidence of Prothean occupation. The presence of a former Prothean observation post on Mars has caused a rebirth of "interventionary evolutionists" among humans. These individuals believe the god-myths of ancient civilizations are misremembered encounters with aliens. Citadel and Galactic Government - Spectres Spectres are agents from the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and answer only to the Citadel Council. They are elite military operatives, granted the authority to deal with threats to peace and stability in whatever way they deem necessary They operate independently or in groups of two or three. Some are empathetic peacekeepers, resolving disputes through diplomacy. Others are cold-blooded assassins, ruthlessly dispatching problem individuals. All get the job done, one way or another, often operating outside of the bounds of galactic law. The Spectres were founded after the salarians joined the Council. For many years, they operated in secrecy, as back-room "problem solvers". Only after the Krogan Rebellions did their activities become publicized. Assignment of a Spectre is less contentious than military deployment, but makes it clear that the Council is concerned about a situation. Humanity and the Systems Alliance - First Contact War Humanity's first contact with an alien race occurred in 2157. At that time, the Alliance allowed survey fleets to activate any dormant mass relays discovered, a practice considered dangerous and irresponsible by Council-aligned races. When a turian patrol discovered a human fleet attempting to activate a relay, they attacked. One human vessel survived, retreating to the colony of Shanxi. The turians followed, quickly defeating the local forces. Shanxi was occupied, the first - and, to date, only - human world to be conquered by an alien species. The turians believed the handful of ships they defeated represented the bulk of human defenses. So they were unprepared when the Second Fleet under Admiral Kastanie Drescher, launched a strong counteroffensive, evicting them from Shanxi. The turians mobilized for full-scale war, drawing the attention of the rest of the galaxy. The Council quickly intervened, forcing a truce. Fortunately for humanity, the First Contact War was ended with a diplomatic solution. Humanity and the Systems Alliance - Systems Alliance The Systems Alliance is an independent supranational government representing the interests of humanity as a whole. The Alliance is responsible for the governance and defense of all extra-solar colonies and stations. The Alliance grew out of the various nation space programs as a matter of practicality. Sol's planets had been explored and exploited through piecemeal nation efforts. The expense of colonizing entire new solar systems could not be met by any one country. With humans knowing that alien contact was inevitable, there was enough political will to jointly fund an international effort. Still, the Alliance was often disregarded by those on Earth until the First Contact War. While the national governments dithered and bickered over who should lead the effort to liberate Shanxi, the Alliance fleet struck decisively. Post-War public approval gave the Alliance the credibility to establish its own Parliament and become the galactic face of humanity. Planets and Locations - Terminus Systems The Terminus Systems are located on the far side of the Attican Traverse, beyond the space administered by the Citadel Council or claimed by the human Systems Alliance. It is populated by a loose affiliation of minor species, united only in their refusal to acknowledge the political authority of the Council or adhere to the Citadel Conventions. Their independence comes at a price; the Terminus is fraught with conflict. War among the various species is common, as governments and dictators constantly rise and fall. The region is a haven for illegal activities, particularly piracy and the slave trade. At least once a year, a fleet from Terminus invades the nearby Attican Traverse. These attacks are typically small raids against poorly-defended colonies. The Council rarely retaliates, as sending patrols into the Terminus Systems could unify the disparate species against their common foe, triggering a long and costly war. Personal History Summary - Profile Both of your parents were in the Alliance military. Your childhood was spent on ships and stations as they transferred from posting to posting. Following in your parents' footsteps, you enlisted at the age of eighteen. One of your first missions was an expedition to investigate Akuze, a lush world on the outskirts of Alliance space that had suddenly dropped out of contact. Arriving on the surface, your patrol found the settlement intact, but there were no survivors. At nightfall, the thresher maws struck - mindless abominations of teeth and tentacles that rose from beneath the earth. Constant gunfire couldn't drown out the shrieks of your fellow soldiers as they were dragged down to a gruesome death. Fifty marines died on Akuze. You were the only one to make it back to the landing zone alive. A monument on the planet commemorates the massacre, a grim reminder of the price humanity must pay as they spread throughout the stars. Humanity and the Systems Alliance - Timeline 2069 - Armstrong Outpost at Shackleton Crater becomes the first human settlement on Luna. It is formally founded on July 24, the 100th anniversary of the first lunar landing. 2103 - Lowell City in Eos Chasma becomes the first human settlement on Mars. 2137 - Eldfell-Ashland Energy Corporation demonstrates helium-3 fuel extraction from the atmosphere of Saturn. 2142 - Construction of Gagarin Station (Jump Zero) begins beyond the orbit of Pluto. 2148 - Prospectors discover the Prothean ruins at Promethei Planum on Mars. 2149 - Translation of Prothean data leads humans to the Charon mass relay. Systems Alliance founded to coordinate exploration and colonization of extra-solar worlds. 2151 - A shipping accident at Singapore International Spaceport exposes downwind communities to containers of dust-form element zero. Alliance begins construction of Arcturus Station. 2152 - Roughly 30% of the children born in Singapore after element zero exposure suffer from cancerous growths. Systems Alliance begins settlement of Earth's first extra-solar colony world, the planet Demeter. 2154 - Commander Shepard born. 2155 - Systems Alliance occupies completed portions of Arcturus Station as a headquarters. 2156 - Some children of Singapore exhibit minor telekinetic abilities. 2157 - Turians encounter human explorers; First Contact War. Occupation and liberation of the human colony of Shanxi. 2158 - Humans learn potential of biotics. An international effort to track element zero exposures begin. Roughly 10% of exposed children show some sign of biotic ability. 2160 - Systems Alliance Parliament formed. 2165 - Humans establish embassy on Citadel. 2170 - Batarian slavers attack the Alliance colony Mindoir. 2176 - Skyllian Blitz- Pirates and slavers attacked Elysium, the human capital in the Skyllian Verge. 2177 - Thresher maws devour the Alliance colony of Akuze. 2178 - In retaliation for the Skyllian Blitz, an Alliance fleet wipes out an army of slavers on the moon of Torfan. 2183 - Current date. Starships: Sensors "Light lag" prevents sensing in real time at great distances. A ship firing its thrusters at the Charon Relay can be easily detected from Earth, 5.75 light-hours (six billion kilometers) away, but Earth will only see the event five hours and 45 minutes after it occurs. Due to the light-speed limit, defenders can't see enemies coming until they have already arrived. Because there is FTL travel and communications but no FTL sensors, frigates are crucial for scouting and picket duties. Passive sensors are used for long-range detection, while active sensors obtain short-range, high quality targeting data. Passive sensors include visual, thermographic, and radio detectors that watch and listen for objects in space. A powered ship emits a great deal of energy; the heat of the life support systems; the radiation given off by power plants and electrical equipment; the exhaust of the thrusters. Starships stand out plainly against the near-absolute zero background of space. Passive sensors can be used during FTL travel, but incoming data is significantly distorted by the effect of the mass effect envelope and Doppler shift. Active sensors are radars and high resolution ladars (LAser Detection And Ranging) that emit a "ping" of energy and "listen" for return signals. Ladars have a narrower field of view than radar, but ladar resolution allows images of detected objects to be assembled. Active sensors are useless when a ship is moving at FTL speeds.
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Aug 23, 2014 22:21
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You are not picking nearly enough snarky choices for a failshep run. Oh uh... Looks good. Good format.
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Aug 23, 2014 22:57
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inept shepard, eh? That sounds fun. Interesting to see the game done in screenshot format, too. Also good to see that you are playing as the correct gender.
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Aug 24, 2014 00:40
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This is going to be interesting.
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Aug 24, 2014 07:44
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Not sure if you did it intentionally, but Shepard's default expression seems to be  . Seems appropriate.
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Aug 24, 2014 07:59
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I like where this LP is going and as someone who always strives for "perfect" Mass Effect playthroughs I'm excited to see how much Shepard can fail throughout the game. Can't wait to see more.
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Aug 24, 2014 08:12
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we can use a Mass Effect LP that is just taking the piss instead of critiquing the piss
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Aug 24, 2014 08:13
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I'm Commander Shepard, and I'm not having a good day.
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Aug 24, 2014 20:53
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SCALE ITCH 
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Any screenshot LP of Mass Effect and I'm sold. Screenshot LP of Mass Effect with a comically-inept Shepard? Oh hell yes.
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Aug 25, 2014 00:30
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Well, it makes sense that Anderson has gone to school within the last 35 years. Humaniy joined the galactic community, pretty much everybody had to go and learn about galactic history.
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Aug 26, 2014 04:03
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Now, I'm nowhere near familiar enough with Latin to make this educated, but the name you'd be going for is either Perditus (for the actual word) or Perdita (for a hypothetical female form). Just a nitpick.
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Aug 26, 2014 08:44
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Siegkrow posted:Well, it makes sense that Anderson has gone to school within the last 35 years.
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Aug 26, 2014 08:48
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anilEhilated posted:Now, I'm nowhere near familiar enough with Latin to make this educated, but the name you'd be going for is either Perditus (for the actual word) or Perdita (for a hypothetical female form). Just a nitpick.
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Aug 26, 2014 21:55
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Expect another update tomorrowish!StoryTime posted:Not sure if you did it intentionally, but Shepard's default expression seems to be Shepard's had a hard life. It's not going to get any easier. anilEhilated posted:Now, I'm nowhere near familiar enough with Latin to make this educated, but the name you'd be going for is either Perditus (for the actual word) or Perdita (for a hypothetical female form). Just a nitpick. Yeah, I know nothing of Latin. I came up with the name typing words into an English to Latin translator, so it doesn't surprise me that it's incorrect. Although now that I think about it, her name being a mistake is oddly fitting for this Shepard.
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Aug 27, 2014 00:33
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bogger posted:
Except it turns out it isn't a mistake! Hirayuki posted:"Perdita" isn't hypothetical; it's an actual female name.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:35
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Well, "Perdito" still sounds like a male version in Spanish or something. In order to try to steer this back on track: I loving hate this game. Bioware's previous attempt at an unlicensed universe, Jade Empire, was probably the best thing they put out since BG2. Then they came with ME and subjected it to every single fad out there - space marines, cover shooting, simplified "cinematic" dialogue - and they managed to fail at them all. The plot is generic, the shooting is wonky, special abilities get caught on terrain half the time, the level-up character progression feels unrewarding and meaningless since you have everything unlocked from the start. The sequels get better gameplaywise but for me, Mass Effect will always be Bioware in decline. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Aug 27, 2014 |
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Aug 27, 2014 18:38
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anilEhilated posted:Well, "Perdito" still sounds like a male version in Spanish or something. man i can almost FEEL the cheeto dust through the internet i'm kidding, it's fine to have opinions. but a lot of people really liked mass effect, myself included. It was also the first bioware game i played, which might have something to do with that.
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Aug 28, 2014 00:42
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anilEhilated posted:Well, "Perdito" still sounds like a male version in Spanish or something. It's fair to say ME1 is rough around the edges gameplay-wise. When it came out I didn't notice because I was used to playing RPGs, not cover shooters, so it seemed novel at the time. The sequels made some sorely needed gameplay improvements, and you really feel it going back playing ME1. Of course, I also liked the film grain option the first time I played through Mass Effect, so I dunno what I was thinking back then.
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Aug 28, 2014 04:12
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Update 2: Eden Prime     : What about survivors, Captain?: Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority.: Approaching drop point one.   Wait, what are you doing facing backwards?  That's better.  Mass Effect has a lot of anti-alien conversation options. Our Shepard's going to be slightly space racist, but given the history of humans and turians, at least it's understandable here.  : Ready and able, sir!: The mission's yours now, Shepard. Good luck.  The Normandy drops us off... somehow. Though it doesn't seem to land. For that matter, when did we drop Nihlus off? It looked like he ran off the edge of the cargo bay into the sky. They probably just couldn't be bothered to animate the Normandy landing, but it's always seemed odd to me.   Before we get too far, let's check out our team.  Shepard is a Sentinel, which we decided in the first update. She has a combination of tech and biotic attacks.  Kaidan is also a Sentinel. Note that Shepard actually has a few extra skills Kaidan doesn't - we'll get into that more later.  Jenkins is a Soldier, the class focusing solely on combat. Between a Soldier and two Sentinels, we have essentially one full tech, one full biotic, and one full combat guy.  You've got to give Bioware credit for being good at skyboxes.  We head down the path and see some floaty blobby looking things.   Dude's just chilling. Actually, gas bags aren't entirely harmless. They don't attack you, but they explode when shot which can actually do some damage.    Heading down and to the right, we find an upgrade kit. Inside is an upgrade item for our weapon - I'll show this in more detail later.  We also pick up a grenade and Medi-Gel in the kit. Both are limited use items. Like you'd expect, grenades are exploding projectiles, but for some reason they're exploding floaty disks in this game. They actually stick to walls, too. Most of the time I forget I have them or accidently activate them when I'm trying to do something else. Medi-Gel is used with the First Aid talent to heal your party. Containers with weapons, armor, and upgrades are common in this game, but there's usually nothing interesting inside. Just assume I'm picking up a bunch of junk every so often.   When we turn around the corner, a cutscene starts.  Shepard motions for a halt.  Something seems amiss, but the coast looks clear.  Shepard motions to advance.  Jenkins moves forward...   ...and is immediately ambushed by drones.   Thus begins the game's first real combat.  We move forward a bit and crouch behind this rock. Enemies usually won't be able to hit you when you're behind waist high cover.  We pop up and blow away one of the drones. The blue wave in the screenshot is my shield getting pinged. You can see health bars in the lower left along with shields, my Medi-Gel count, and my Grenade count. Note that while shields slowly recharge, health does not.  The first enemy goes down and we immediately gain a level.  Kaidan kills the second drone, and I get the last one. Since these are tutorial enemies, they don't do much damage, and a slight breeze will blow them up.  Poor Jenkins. His name is a reference to Leeroy Jenkins of WoW fame, but it's pretty subtle. Hey, it was 2007, so give Bioware a break.    I'm surprised they gave Jenkins stats and everything, considering he's in the party for all of two minutes and dies before he ever does anything. Not sure what the point of that was. I guess it's to emphasize poo poo just got real. Bioware likes killing throwaway characters in the tutorial, but usually they at least make it through a fight or two. Maybe they intended to have him around longer earlier in development?   Here's where we are on the map. Haven't traveled very far.  When we move forward, another three drones appear.  Shepard lights one up and takes a few hits in the process.  Guns in this game don't have ammunition, and you never have to reload. To balance this, they have a heat meter that rises as you shoot. Laying off the shooting for a while will lower it. If you overheat your weapon, it takes a few seconds to cool down before you can use it again.   Kaidan takes out a second drone while my weapon cools off. I aim for the last drone and accidentally hit the roaming gas bag. Kaidan takes a big hit from it. : I've got some burned out buildings here, Shepard. A lot of bodies.  Now that we've had some combat, it might be a good idea to actually spend some talent points, so I open up the level up screen. Right now Shepard only knows Throw and Sabotage (which is learned from increasing Decryption). Sabotage - Does 50 damage in a 6m radius. Overheats enemy weapons. Burns them for 2 damage per second. Each little bar on the level up screen takes one point to learn, and we have 6 points to spend right now. Typically adding a point will just slightly increase that skill - for example, putting a point in Throw would increase its force from 600 Newtons to 650 Newtons. Sometimes adding a point will unlock a new ability or give a major boost to an existing ability. The boxes with up arrows signify a new ability or major upgrade. Not all talents are available right now. For example, Electronics is greyed out. We can't actually learn it until we put enough points in Decryption. The boxes with circles represent unlock points.    I learn First Aid and Barrier. The rest of my points go into Sentinel and Decryption. Sentinel reduces cooldown time on talents and increases pistol damage and accuracy.  Here's what Kaidan looks like after I level him up. Note that he gets fewer points to throw around.  It's a good idea to put abilities into quick slots so they can be accessed more easily.  Moving forward, we easily handle another group of drones, even without cover.    A pink-armored marine is being chased by drones.      I'm not sure about the pink armor, but she fights a lot better than Jenkins.       Uh oh, the lens flare heads are on to us!   This is our first fight with Geth troopers, but they're not much more difficult than the drones. They barely get any shots off.   : Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was going to make it. : I need a status report. Now.: Oh, man... We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit.: We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since.: Any idea what kind of enemy we're facing?: I think they're geth. : They must have come for the beacon.That would be the obvious explanation, yeah.  : You're coming with us, Williams. We need that beacon.: Aye, aye, ma'am. It's time for payback.: Describe what happened leading up to the attack.: We were sent out a couple nights ago from the main colony to secure the area.: Seemed like a routine patrol until the geth hit us. We never knew they were coming.: What happened to the researchers at the dig site?: I don't know. They set up camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine.: Tell me everything you know about the beacon.This whole conversation with Ashley flows awkwardly. Shepard demands answers on random topics without any kind of segue. It's one of the perils of non-linear dialogue trees, but they're usually better at disguising it. : They were doing some digging out here to extend the monorail and expand the colony. A few weeks ago they unearthed some Prothean ruins... and the beacon. : I don't know much about the beacon itself. But I heard one of the researchers say this could be the biggest scientific discovery of the century.Ashley doesn't seem to have any more answers than we do. This conversation is wholly unenlightening. : What else do you know about the geth?: Just what I remember from history class back in school. They're synthetics. Non-organic life-forms with limited AI programming created by the quarians a few centuries ago.Everyone seems to know galactic history through school. The thread talked about this a bit, but I wonder how quickly school curriculum changed after first contact. Seems like it would be difficult to give everyone on Earth a crash course in the history of multiple alien species. Most people probably just know about the important species or big events that effected everyone. I've mentioned it before, but the time frame is really interesting. Imagine how different life would be in 2014 if we encountered multiple alien civilizations in 1988. : They were supposed to be a source of cheap labor, but ended up turning on the quarians and drove them into exile.: After that, they just kind of disappeared behind the Perseus Veil. Nobody's really heard much from them since.: Have you seen a turian Spectre around here? The little smirk here always seems out of place to me. Remember Ashley just witnessed the death of her entire unit. : If you saw this guy, you' d know. Carries enough firepower to wipe out a whole platoon. Luckily, he's on our side.: Sorry. Like I said, no turians.: Move out! Ashley gives us a weapon, and it's time for the game's tutorial on equipment.  The inventory system in Mass Effect is weird. Like you'd expect, we can equip weapons and armor to increase our stats. Most equipment has slots for further upgrades, which are separate items. While this sounds like it might allow for some interesting customization, in practice it usually amounts to scrolling through a long list of weapons and picking the one with the highest damage. You can rate equipment at a glance by the number at the end. For example, a Striker II pistol is better than a Striker I. I swap out Shepard's starting pistol, the Kessler I, for the new one we just got, the Striker I. It does slightly more damage, but it overheats more quickly and has slightly worse accuracy. Since Shepard is a Sentinel, she's only proficient with pistols. We can use assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles, but the accuracy will be terrible.  I found this new set of armor in a crate. It's a nice upgrade for Shepard. The Onyx armor Shepard starts with is unique - it has a special "N7" logo on it. Only Alliance soldiers who have been through special combat and leadership training get an "N" rating. Having any kind of N ranking makes you an elite soldier, and N7 means you're the elite of the elite. So Shepard actually does have an impressive service record beyond just Akuze.  That's all well and good, but the starting armor is junk, so we'll be using this new camo pattern armor for a while. I'll have more to say about the inventory system later.  We make our way down to the dig site. Note that Shepard now has two shield bars instead of one due to the new armor.  More Geth show up. I plink away at this rock and waste my Throw power. In Mass Effect 2 and 3 you can arc powers around obstacles, but they're strictly line of sight in this game. Mass Effect doesn't have MP, but powers take time to recharge after you use them.   I get closer and quickly mop up the Geth. These levels come fast at the start of the game.  Singularity normally wouldn't be learnable by a Sentinel, but it was the bonus talent chosen at the start of the game. The description doesn't make it sound nearly as cool as it is in practice.  Ashley is a Soldier like Jenkins, if you're wondering.  : Killing us isn't enough. The geth want us to suffer.Not exactly, Ashley. They're synthetic robots. I'm not sure they do things out of spite.    : Hard to say. Maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp.: Let's get moving. Williams, where's the camp?: It's just on the top of this ridge. Up the ramps. : I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there. : It's a good place for an ambush. Keep your guard up.   Meet our new pals, Husks. Unlike the Geth we've been fighting so far, these guys are actually dangerous. They can't do anything at range, but when they get near, they have an area of effect attack that does a lot of damage.  I use Throw to push the first one back, then focus on the other two.   Sabotage doesn't do much to the second husk. We still take them out without getting hit though.  : It must take a few hours for the spikes to turn people into husks. More light armor dropped here - but wait, it's for a turian? I bet Nihlus is going to join up with us soon and kick some rear end!  Okay, so there is one nice thing about the inventory system. You don't have to manually loot off enemies. Any item drops automatically appear in your inventory the next time you open it. That's a good thing since it's easy to throw enemies into unreachable places with biotics.  The door is locked. Someone in the party (Shepard) has the Decryption skill so we can hack it open.  Hacking the door is a simple minigame. The goal is to get your triangle from the outside ring to the center ring within the time limit. The moving red blocks push you back if you touch them, and the stationary orange blocks are barriers you have to move around. I'm playing the PC version, but if I was playing a console version, this would be a Simon-like minigame instead.   The door opens and we find some survivors. Human religions are still a thing, so I don't know what this line about the maker is about. Maybe this is the closest a scientist will get to "thank God" in 2183.  : Don't worry. We'll protect you.We're good at protecting people.  : Thank you. I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone. : It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp.: When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. They gave their lives to save us. Dr. Manuel, I like you. : What else can you tell me about the attack?: It all happened so fast. One second we were gathering up our equipment. The next we were hiding in the shed while the geth swarmed over the camp. : Agents of the destroyers. Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction.: We could hear the battle outside. Gunfire. Screams. I thought it would never end. Then, everything went quiet. We just sat there, too afraid to move. Until you came along.: Did you notice a turian in the area?  : I'm sorry. Manuel's still a bit... unsettled. We haven't seen your turian. We've been hiding in here since the attack.: Can you tell me anything about the beacon?: It's some type of data module from a galaxy-wide communications network. Remarkably well-preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime!: Miraculous new technologies. Groundbreaking medical advances. Who knows what secrets are locked inside?: We have unearthed the heart of evil. Awakened the beast. Unleashed the darkness.Unlike the Ashley conversation, this one is fun.  : What's wrong with your assistant?: Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit... unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin. : I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack.To be fair, Dr. Manuel does come off as a little crazy here. He's not completely wrong about everything though - maybe he's the only one who's read the thread title?      : You can't just go around whacking people in the head!Why not? : It was only a matter of time until he did something crazy. And dangerous.: I suppose you're right. By the time he wakes up, the meds will have kicked in.: Williams, take us to the spaceport.: Good luck, commander. Punching Dr. Manuel gave us some Renegade points. There are two "alignments" in this game - Paragon and Renegade. Unlike earlier Bioware games such as Knights of the Old Republic, the alignments aren't mutually exclusive - you could theoretically have a high Paragon score and a high Renegade score at the same time, though it's difficult. Being Renegade doesn't mean twirling your moustache while tying maidens to railroad tracks. Paragon or Renegade, you're still an Alliance marine with a mission. The main difference is in how you reach your goals. A Renegade Shepard will take morally questionable actions to get results. Paragon Shepard is more about being a big drat hero. In general, if you go full Paragon or full Renegade, things will work themselves out. It takes a specific mix of paragon and renegade actions to get the worst possible results. Though admittedly most of it won't come into play in ME1.  Moving on, we get dumped into another scene.   Earlier Nihlus said he was going to check out a spaceport.   : Saren?  Nihlus seemed intimidating before, but next to Saren, he's all hugs and rainbows.      : Don't worry. Oh crap. NEXT TIME Shepard horribly screws up another mission!
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Aug 28, 2014 04:15
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oh hey, it's that music I hear every time I die 
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Aug 28, 2014 05:15
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You know, having never played Mass Effect before, I always thought the "N7" logo was simply the Normandy's logo. Interesting to find out there's a different meaning behind it.
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Aug 28, 2014 12:04
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jaydee864 posted:You know, having never played Mass Effect before, I always thought the "N7" logo was simply the Normandy's logo. Interesting to find out there's a different meaning behind it. Yeah, I'm not sure N7 is even really explained in-game. It's all over the promotional materials for Mass Effect, but it's just sort of... there. I own The Art of Mass Effect which says the following about Shepard's uniform: The Art of Mass Effect posted:The first images of Commander Shepard put him in white armor, which didn't fully capture his character. The "N7" suit was designed to portray Shepard's experience and gritty determination, while its scarlet stripe symbolizes human blood-something he would be willing to sacrifice, when needed.
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Aug 29, 2014 23:21
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bogger posted:Yeah, I'm not sure N7 is even really explained in-game. It's all over the promotional materials for Mass Effect, but it's just sort of... there.
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Aug 29, 2014 23:47
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Oh my god, that pink armour is the worst (not because it's pink). And how stupid do they expect people playing this game to be? It's obvious from the conversation with the mad doctor that there's another Turian there, and when he shows up he couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if he'd tied a woman to some railroad tracks.
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Aug 30, 2014 13:50
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Tiggum posted:Oh my god, that pink armour is the worst (not because it's pink). And how stupid do they expect people playing this game to be? It's obvious from the conversation with the mad doctor that there's another Turian there, and when he shows up he couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if he'd tied a woman to some railroad tracks. I dunno, I think the color is pretty dumb. Bright pink is awful camouflage unless you're fighting in the barbie universe. And yeah, Saren being evil is supposed to be obvious. The character design and "game over" music telegraphs it.
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Aug 30, 2014 15:06
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Tiggum posted:Oh my god, that pink armour is the worst (not because it's pink). And how stupid do they expect people playing this game to be? It's obvious from the conversation with the mad doctor that there's another Turian there, and when he shows up he couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if he'd tied a woman to some railroad tracks. Aside from DA2 (which I've admittedly never played), when's the last time Bioware made a main/final villain who didn't make the player go "oh, yeah, he's totally evil" the first time they saw them?
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Aug 30, 2014 16:52
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Tiggum posted:And how stupid do they expect people playing this game to be? It's obvious from the conversation with the mad doctor that there's another Turian there, and when he shows up he couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if he'd tied a woman to some railroad tracks.
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Aug 30, 2014 16:58
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Xander77 posted:He just
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Aug 30, 2014 18:08
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Regalingualius posted:Aside from DA2 (which I've admittedly never played), when's the last time Bioware made a main/final villain who didn't make the player go "oh, yeah, he's totally evil" the first time they saw them? Again, Jade Empire.
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Aug 30, 2014 20:18
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Tiggum posted:Well, more that it's absurd that Nihilus didn't notice. "Just casually stand with my back to this guy who's being really loving ominous and isn't even supposed to be here." Same with the mad doctor, no one there thinks maybe there's another Turian around? Nope, must be Nihilus. Or this guy's crazy. Let's just ignore the possibility that there was actually a Turian here before we arrived. Nihlus and Saren already knew each other - that much is clear from the conversation. It's like unexpectedly meeting an old buddy of yours in the middle of a war zone. You'd probably be relieved to have help rather than suspicious your friend is secretly plotting to kill everyone. Nihlus was caught off guard, which admittedly makes him look pretty bad since he's supposed to be this badass Spectre.
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Aug 30, 2014 21:41
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I've said before that the game doesn't really do much with the Spectre concept. Having two Spectres running around, representing the two poles of the alignment meter would have: Introduced the concept of alignment to the player. Gave it a coherent shape to which the writers could adhere. Show what Specters are actually supposed to be, besides space-murder-hobos, and established a pretense of the galaxy having concerns beyond those Shepard is involved in. Oh well.
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Aug 30, 2014 22:20
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They definitely could have done more with Spectres, Nihlus in particular. There are plenty of other ways to demonstrate Saren being evil. Although his death works for this playthrough as it nicely shows the mission going to hell. The next update is almost ready - though I was hoping we'd have a second page by now since page 1 is getting super long.
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Aug 31, 2014 19:40
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I think if there are 7 more posts after this one, the eighth will be a new page; shouldn't take too much time to get.
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Aug 31, 2014 19:55
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bogger posted:They definitely could have done more with Spectres, Nihlus in particular. There are plenty of other ways to demonstrate Saren being evil. Although his death works for this playthrough as it nicely shows the mission going to hell. It would've been nice if Bioware had spent a bit of time expanding on Nihlus more; say, give him an optional dialogue sequence with him a'la Jenkins. Something to flesh him out and make his death a bit more impacting, but without adding on a significant amount of time to the prologue for people doing replays.
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Aug 31, 2014 19:56
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I just did a run like this and there was something fun in watching everyone die, even if it meant deliberately failing persuade checks all over.
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Aug 31, 2014 20:17
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Xander77 posted:
Whoa, whoa, whoa. A galaxy beyond Shepard? That's just crazy talk.
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Aug 31, 2014 20:24
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Night10194 posted:Whoa, whoa, whoa. A galaxy beyond Shepard? That's just crazy talk. Hey, there's lots of galaxy beyond shepard, without it the game wouldn't have its primary antagonist: The stupidity of everyone else in the galaxy.
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Aug 31, 2014 20:38
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yeah that's what "it's not called Mass Effect 4" is going to be all about
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Aug 31, 2014 20:38
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 04:52 |
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I think I miscounted earlier. This should be the last post on this page.
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Aug 31, 2014 22:32
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