|
Mod edit: Welcome to gaming food megathread! It's a thread to discuss food you like to eat before, after or during gaming. Or maybe you just want to post gaming-themed food? Post your favorite recipes or products or cakes but they need some sort of gaming context. Pics welcome! Just don't break the tables. Any random Mass Effect: Andromeda posts (I've no idea why you would want to mention it here but hey, better safe than sorry) MUST include a pic of a tasty burger! Game/cook on!  Show us what you're working with! https://i.imgur.com/MA38J1Z.mp4  Don't like it? Just turn around... https://i.imgur.com/B8l1X2J.gifv ...and take a walk.  Otherwise, pour yourself a drink...  ...mosey on over...  ...and enjoy the thread! https://i.imgur.com/yqwMAQx.mp4  Welcome back to the world of Mass Effect. Welcome to the Andromeda Initiative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g1Jf7P89No https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOIzH6UcoW4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNG_szaXNNU Mass Effect 3 definitely had... an ending, and rather than follow up on it directly, Bioware has opted for something of a fresh start with Andromeda. Slightly before the events of Mass Effect 3, with most people still unaware there is a pending threat from the Reapers, plans were drawn up for the Andromeda Initiative, to take Ark ships containing the best and brightest of the various races to the nearby galaxy of Andromeda. 600 years later, we pick up with the player character Ryder as they wake up and find themselves thrust into the role of a Pathfinder, responsible for exploring and leading the way to a future in an unknown world. Bioware has been kind of tightlipped about this game so far, but as of November 7th, they have started their official reveal and promotion. They have explained in the past that this game is heavily inspired by the "greatest hits" of the original trilogy, namely a "much improved" Mako exploration experience, loyalty missions and the ME3 multiplayer (which was hands down the best part of that game). It also explicitly takes cues from Dragon Age: Inquisition, with large explorable zones full of puzzles and optional encounters. So here's more or less what we know so far. Backstory In 2185, a year before the Reaper Invasion more or less, several species band together for the Andromeda Initiative. They build four Ark ships, each carrying a different council race (Humans, Asari, Salarians and Turians), each vessel housing thousands of occupants. Their plan was to expand colonization to the "Golden Worlds" of Andromeda in the Heleus Cluster. The Ark ships are joined by the Nexus, which acts as a massive command center for the Initiative. Think the Citadel as a space ship instead of a space station. Each Ark ship is led by a Pathfinder, and the human ark, Hyperion, is led by Alec Ryder, voiced by Clancy Brown. You are either Scott or Sara Ryder, his child, and eventually, you will become the Pathfinder of the human ark, but you will have to prove yourself, since you're not an N7 certified Spectre bad-rear end like Shepard. I guess they wanted to bring back the daddy issues subplots of ME2 as well!  Combat and Gameplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrWgLMH8yRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3q_Nd5arZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts9WLMSAYVE Going back to Mass Effect 1, powers now have individual timers again instead of a global cooldown. Powers can be hotkeyed, as before, but more can be hotkeyed at once so you don't have to bring up the power wheel as often. In fact, the power wheel is gone, replaced by "favorites" that allow you to swap hotkey set ups on the fly. You can still bring up a wheel to change weapons, and part of the Combat Mastery power expands how many guns you can carry at once. The game is still a cover based shooter, but they want the player to be more mobile, with a "dynamic" cover system and a jetpack that will allow you to close gaps with targets, fly up to get a better angle on enemies in cover, or just scan your surroundings. Perhaps most significantly, they have removed the class system. All player characters have access to all the abilities, so you can mix and match tech, biotic and soldier abilities to suit your playstyle. Specializations can be unlocked once you invest enough in a category however, giving you a "profile" with bonuses to your playstyle. Want to be a "Vanguard" again? Invest in combat and biotic abilities and it'll unlock the profile and give you abilities suited to the name. If you invest in everything, you unlock "Explorer." If you decide you want to experiment or just don't like the build you've made, you can always respec. Armor is much more customizable than it was in the trilogy, and there are new weapons, like swords and hammers, for you to play with. The Paragon/Renegade system is being abandoned in favor of more "subtle, nuanced" interactions. The icon system from Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition will instead help you to predict what tone you will be using with a particular dialogue option. Dialogue interrupts are back in the form of “Narrative Actions” but are not color coded. Instead you might see an option to “Shoot” appear and have to decide if that is good or bad for yourself.  Enemies and Exploration The player will be the first to encounter the primary enemy species, the "Kett." While they will be primary antagonists, they are not meant to be uniformly evil and antagonistic like Reapers and Collectors were. Early on, Ryder and his team are met by a hostile Kett named the Archon.  Not all aliens may be hostile, however. It is believed that the Angaran are interested in learning more about their guests.  To get from world to world, you will be using the Tempest, which is similar to the Normandy. Notably, it has no loading screens as you move about the ship, so that particular nuisance from ME3 is no more. You don't control a simulation of your vessel on the galaxy map, but instead select a destination, and then travel happens more or less immediately but with an "immersive" transition.  Exploration of worlds with the Nomad is supposed to be deeper than just bouncing around the surface of a planet, examining minerals and shooting giant worms with a tank. In fact, the Nomad has no guns! Remember, you are an explorer, not a soldier. Each world is supposed to be explorable from the surface to its "underbelly," mixing combat encounters and puzzles and stories throughout the journey on each planet, and to help you get around the Nomad is supposed to be much faster and more maneuverable than the Mako. An example of exploration from Game Informer describes a possible hospitable planet you are meant to explore: "Elaaden" has a hazardous surface, with no water and extreme heat. If you choose to pursue the planet for exploration, you can start by taking on a Krogan request to find a missing colony ship on the planet or simply drop in and explore at your leisure. As you explore a planet, you will establish "forward stations" not unlike the camps used in Dragon Age: Inquisition. These places will give you the option to swap out your loadout and restock any consumables you might have used, like Medi-gel. You will also have at least one major enemy stronghold that you can assault per planet. Each planet has optional "superboss" content. Think the high dragon fights in Dragon Age Inquisition again and you probably have the right of it. Characters and Companions Bioware brags there are more relationships in this game than in any other Bioware game to date. The squadmate with the smallest amount of lines in this game still has more than chattiest of squaddies in Mass Effect 3. Not all relationships culminate in sexy-times, though; there are more “shooting bottles with Garrus” moments.   Scott and Sara Ryder: You are playing one half of the brother/sister duo, but the one you don't play suffers “complications” from the hypersleep awakening procedure and will be unavailable for missions. They will remain on the ship for you to build a relationship with, however. The names Scott and Sara are just the defaults, but if you wish to keep the default name for yourself, then characters in game will use it when talking to you, rather than exclusively addressing you always as Pathfinder or Ryder. You can modify both siblings and they will stay customized in game. Also, while Shepard only had one default appearance that was based on a real person, all the presets for the Ryder twins are scans of real people. The twins have different backgrounds that will likely be addressed while they are acting as NPCs: Scott served at the Arcturus Station outpost during his military service leading up to the Andromeda Initiative, while Sara worked in Prothean artifact research. At the outset of the Initiative, however, they are only recruits, with no specialized assignments like their cohorts. While Shepard has his "Dirty Dozen" in Mass Effect 2, Ryder will have the "Magnificent Seven."  Peebee: An asari explorer and adventurer who traveled to Andromeda with the humans rather than on the asari ark; she wants nothing more than to finally explore where no one has gone before. Her real name is Pelessaria B’Sayle; "Peebee" is just a nickname. She isn't concerned with public niceties, but is supposed to have a bubbly personality. She has a new ability called Invasion and favors a Sidewinder Outlaw pistol in combination with a biotic destabilizer.  Liam Kosta: A human former police officer who serves the Pathfinder team as their Crisis Response Specialist. Born in London, he originally studied civilian engineering at the university level before going into peacekeeping, where his work with HUS-T1 brought him the exposure he needed to be hand-picked by Alec Ryder for the Andromeda Initiative. Cora describes him as an "idealist." A close ranged specialist, he uses dual omni-blades to prime targets for detonation. Cora Harper: A biotic who has served four years alongside asari commandos before being tapped to serve as operational specialist and second in command of the Pathfinder team. Originally Alliance military, she was transferred to the Citadel Council's Valkyrie Program where she was embedded with Talein's Daughters. She's proud of her "Huntress-grade" biotics and uses Biotic Charge to close with her shotgun.  Nakmor Drack: A krogan with 14 centuries of soldiering, pirating, and mercenary...-ing under his belt. He's older than most Asari matriarchs, but he hasn't lost his edge yet. He couldn't resist joining the Andromeda Initiative with its promise of a whole new galaxy of things to shoot. A master of the Krogan Bloodrage, Drack wades into combat with enhanced melee damage, damage reduction and health regeneration. Ryder doesn't need an army; Ryder's got Drack.  Vetra Nyx: A turian, who before the Andromeda Initiative was something of a rover and smuggler. She'll tell you she's good at getting people what they like and shooting what they don't, and cleaves close to friends and people she considers family. She uses highly customized armor that provides her with increased shields for superior survivability and strikes down her foes with a modified Cyclone assault rifle.  Jaal: This Angaran with a Monocle is a resistance fighter, armed with a sniper rifle and some kind of space poncho. Jaal has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because his family is considered important, and he is frustrated with how the war with the Kett is proceeding. He looks to the coming of the Initiative to the Heleus Cluster as an opportunity to change the course of a war that has scattered his people across a half dozen planets and throttled their population and culture. Mac Walters confirmed that another companion, a Salarian, was cut. It's possible the character will reemerge later, but Bioware has said they don't want to repeat the mistake they made with Javik. "Hey, those guys are cool, but can I bang them?"  This is a Bioware game, so what do you think? Bioware has confirmed there are numerous Love Interests (LIs), but they have not promised that all of them are your companions; Aaryn Flynn's personal favorite romance is someone you meet on a particular planet and you do not travel with. Moreover, some of them are open to the idea of letting you play the field and others are very not! There are also other important characters who may or may not join your team.  Alec Ryder (Clancy Brown) is a distinguished soldier and veteran of the N7 program. One of the first through the Charon Relay, he is at the forefront of humanity's journey to Andromeda. At the outset of the game, he is your commanding officer and Pathfinder; how you come to assume his role is a question that has yet to be answered. As with the twins, what you see above is only his default appearance--in editing your character, his appearance will be adjusted to create a family resemblance. SAM is the AI who rides along with the Pathfinder team; while SAM is remains in the ark, a neural implant allows it to share the Pathfinders' experiences. Developed by Alec Ryder to improve his situational awareness and problem solving faculties, all members of the Pathfinder away team are connected to SAM through their implants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9qx8-MS8XQ Kalo Jath is the Tempest's Salarian pilot. Naturally, this precludes him from the away team, but he's enthusiastic to be a part of crew. Hopefully he won't be getting quite as intimate with the ship as Joker did.  The Archon seems to be against us, intercepting the Tempest early in its adventures, demanding we "Surrender or burn." Why the hate? Multiplayer  Together we are the...Apex Force! According to Bioware, the Andromeda multiplayer is a more "refined" version of Mass Effect 3's. Some things have changed (everyone has jet packs but there's no heavy melee) and others have stayed the same (it's still peer-to-peer instead of dedicated servers), and if you want more details, you may want to mosey on over to the Andromeda Multiplayer thread. Or maybe just stick with Mass Effect 3's multiplayer because that's still good and no one at EA gives a poo poo if you Cheategine yourself a million credits anymore so you can have the funnest guns. Story wise, the multiplayer sets you up as the Apex Force militia strike team, based on the Nexus, going on missions to secure the Initiative's future in the Heleus Cluster. Crunchwise, this is reflected in Strike Missions that let you score single player bonuses by doing multiplayer maps with some kind of gimmick. One example is starting a map with 10x as much ammo as your normal maximum, but there are no ammo pick ups on the map.  Development: Mass Effect: Andromeda has been in development for a long time, and during that time, there have been some high profile departures from the studio. The game's original Lead Writer, Chris Schlerf, left Bioware for Bungie in February of 2016, and the lead Editor Cameron Harris left the game industry entirely the following month. Mass Effect Creative Director Casey Hudson also left Bioware for Microsoft back in 2014, leaving the game in the hands of Mac Walters. The game is also being worked on in part by basically every studio in Bioware's arsenal at the moment because, quote, "it's a big game." This has some people worried there are too many cooks working on this particular soup! Reception: Hoo loving boy! You probably know this by now, but this game has had a rocky reception since well before its launch. Maybe a lot of those fears of mismanagement and departures were justified! I've put some posters' thoughts on the Origin Access trials in the second OP, but if you want opinions about the released game, there's no shortage to be found! Boxart and Preorder Details   Standard edition: $60 Deluxe edition: $70 Super Deluxe: $100.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0cEi5ezcu0  DLC Bioware's GM Aaryn Flynn has confirmed that there will be no season pass for DLC with Andromeda, and he's mum on their plans for future DLC for the moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjfIPkv4WDY Complete the Andromeda Initiative Orientation to unlock a Pathfinder helmet and more! Collector's Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rFYjSIeUZM Your own little RC car with a mobile phone app instead of those classically bulky controllers. Game not included. PC Specs  Ein Sexmonster posted:They're nearly identical to the BF1 ones. Which actually doesn't need anywhere near those specs. I can run the game smoothly on the minimum card, but I am locked to the lowest settings. So if you don't want it to be pretty, or only want to play multiplayer, I'm sure you can get by. Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Jul 3, 2017 |
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 05:19 |
|
|
Pattonesque posted:Interesting non-psychotic thread about the animation problems from a current Naughty Dog/former ME animator (will just put the first tweet here) VideoGames posted:OK. This thread has gone nuts again and moves astoundingly fast. Ride on, Ryders!                      This game has its moments:  https://i.imgur.com/UMvUVoM.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/EulPH5N.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/LZD2OCq.mp4 https://twitter.com/PixelMatt64/status/843858253750722560 https://files.catbox.moe/w3lt83.webm https://giant.gfycat.com/MarriedDistantEkaltadeta.mp4   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RbsT20AbDY     https://i.imgur.com/F6IXfyF.mp4 Also when I notice posters giving advice to avoid particular bugs, I'll try to add them here: SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Welp, first gamebreaking bug encountered. Want the best graphics? Go to your Andromeda folder and make the following edits. quote:\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Andromeda\Save\ProfOpts_profile marshmallow creep fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Apr 14, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:22
|
|
)
|
Mac Walters is the guy who locked himself in a room huffing his own farts until he came up with the ME3 original ending right.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:22
|
|
|
I'm ryder shepherd and I need to find a space kid
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:27
|
|
|
Neat, I look forward to it.
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:27
|
|
|
I'm not sure I care much for Scott's (or is it Liam's?) wispy beard.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:29
|
|
|
Key unanswered questions: • Who is the bulkiest squadmate I can gay romance?
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:31
|
|
|
Eej posted:Mac Walters is the guy who locked himself in a room huffing his own farts until he came up with the ME3 original ending right. I believe Mac Walters wrote the beginning, end, and Kai Leng. Guess what the three worst parts of ME3 are! I was tentatively excited about Andromeda until I heard that Walters was in charge. Now its firmly dropped into "Wait for reviews and probably a sale, if at all."
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:30
|
|
|
Show me the galaxy map, show me that uncharted worlds plays in the galaxy map, or, gently caress off
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:33
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/BioFanOfficial/status/795733562226044929 new book out earlier than expected?
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:35
|
|
|
If they make this as much fun as ME2 with the 70s sci fi aesthetic of ME1 then I'm in there day one baby. Bioware seems to tacitly accept that ME3 was crap, which is much contrition as I require from my soulless, publically traded entertainment overlords.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:35
|
|
|
For the benefit of the new thread, Information from new Game Informer issue (stolen from another forum) quote:Backstory
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:35
|
|
|
Mac Walters was the lead writer of Mass Effect 3 and as such was responsible for the writing as a whole. Now shut the gently caress up about it and let Andromeda fail on its own merits
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:36
|
|
|
Pattonesque posted:https://twitter.com/BioFanOfficial/status/795733562226044929 Goodreads is not a reliable source for release dates.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
Did they remove Renegade/Paragon because the average gamer was afraid to push the red option? I felt pretty "nuanced" already being a space rear end in a top hat who was also not a space racist.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:42
|
|
|
In a big twist. We'll find more Reapers. Instead they'll be called Creepers.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:45
|
|
|
Here's another video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjfIPkv4WDY
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:46
|
|
|
I just wanna know how hosed earth\milky way is after all those races stuck there after the explosions of the gates. Sures, its 600 years after ME3 but they can't gloss over it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:47
|
|
|
Ok I'm willing to accept the possibility that this will be fantastic. All they have to do is maintain the characterisation, dialogue, tone and synth from the trilogy and I'll be all in. Base management bullshit be damned.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:46
|
|
|
Eej posted:Did they remove Renegade/Paragon because the average gamer was afraid to push the red option? I felt pretty "nuanced" already being a space rear end in a top hat who was also not a space racist. Paragon/Renegade was pretty broken in the early games in that it basically encouraged you to go all in one way, characterisation be damned. They'd fixed that by 3, sure, but at that point what was it even there for? It was a vestigial part of a system that they'd basically removed. Daztek posted:Here's another video This is far better than the other trailer they released today. Give me this atmosphere.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:47
|
|
|
incoherent posted:I just wanna know how hosed earth\milky way is after all those races stuck there after the explosions of the gates. Sures, its 600 years after ME3 but they can't gloss over it. THey died.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:52
|
|
|
CottonWolf posted:Paragon/Renegade was pretty broken in the early games in that it basically encouraged you to go all in one way, characterisation be damned. They'd fixed that by 3, sure, but at that point what was it even there for? Sweet angry scars on my Femshep that's what
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:52
|
|
|
Eej posted:Did they remove Renegade/Paragon because the average gamer was afraid to push the red option? I felt pretty "nuanced" already being a space rear end in a top hat who was also not a space racist. Nothing wrong about being a speciecist, humanity all the way bro.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:53
|
|
|
incoherent posted:I just wanna know how hosed earth\milky way is after all those races stuck there after the explosions of the gates. Sures, its 600 years after ME3 but they can't gloss over it. Assuming they don't repair the relays or build new ones somehow, every stranded planet still with useable spaceships will have to travel at regular superluminal speeds to other worlds. If they can go the same speed as the Andromeda Initiative arks, which get to Andromeda in 600 years, it'd take ships within the Milky Way about 14 years to travel the approximate radius of our galaxy. Many key worlds are closer spaced than that. I'd say that by the time the arks get to Andromeda, things are up and running again in our galaxy, just at a much slower pace than before.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:57
|
|
|
Daztek posted:Here's another video Thanks, added it to the OP. CottonWolf posted:This is far better than the other trailer they released today. Give me this atmosphere. I agree.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:57
|
|
|
Wait, they're leaving the fourth ship unannounced but the example they give is a Krogan request. Is the fourth ship a mix of races or maybe let you decide during the character creation questionaire?
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 22:59
|
|
|
The fourth ship will be filled with baby reapers and starchildren
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:01
|
|
|
incoherent posted:I just wanna know how hosed earth\milky way is after all those races stuck there after the explosions of the gates. Sures, its 600 years after ME3 but they can't gloss over it. They are absolutely glossing over it, there is no reason to canonize the post ME3 universe at any point. The whole reason for the franchise to another galaxy is to avoid doing exactly that.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:01
|
|
|
So this game is gonna be DA:I on space basically? Looking forward to wasting time exploring every nook and cranny possible instead of doing the main quest. I just hope they don't pull out a Hinterlands for the first planet.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:02
|
|
|
I never actually finished ME3 at all. In fact, I don't think I got more than about half way in. I should correct that one of these days, yeah?
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:03
|
|
|
Ciaphas posted:I never actually finished ME3 at all. In fact, I don't think I got more than about half way in. Yeah. Regardless of what happens at the very end, the way most of the main threads wrap up before that is excellent.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:04
|
|
|
Macdeo Lurjtux posted:Wait, they're leaving the fourth ship unannounced but the example they give is a Krogan request. Is the fourth ship a mix of races or maybe let you decide during the character creation questionaire? They say it's a distress call from a colony ship. Could be a much smaller ship sent to seed one planet, rather than a species-carrying ark. I assume the arks and the Nexus are all enormous, and hold tons of colony ships.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:05
|
|
|
Hedrigall posted:I assume the arks and the Nexus are all enormous, and hold tons of colony ships. Based on that second trailer, the Nexus looks Citadel sized.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:07
|
|
|
I'm a sucker for these games. It scratches most of video game itches. Sci-Fi cover based RPG shooter? I've been wondering when the marketing machine would start.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:09
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/Cameron__Lee/status/795660976829988864
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:09
|
|
|
._.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:09
|
|
|
can't wait for the inevitable not-Geth to join our cause and call us Ryder-Pathfinder
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:10
|
|
|
Story's probably gonna be poo poo but if the multiplayer is half as fun as 3 I'll play it
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:12
|
|
|
Trump: "ASSUMING CONTROL" *skitters, rubs its tiny legs across nearest female intern*
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 05:19 |
|
|
Teron D Amun posted:can't wait for the inevitable not-Geth to join our cause and call us Ryder-Pathfinder Seems like your guy actually has a set first name this time around. Though I guess that might just be your sibling.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2016 23:13
|
|