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Author Topic: Mass Effect Andromeda  (Read 63818 times)
Falconeer
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Reply #105 on: March 17, 2017, 05:03:26 PM

Having played a few more hours, and after having extensively explored the first planet, I can safely say this is No Man's Sky with story and without the procedural voodoo.

jakonovski
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Reply #106 on: March 17, 2017, 05:04:40 PM

Also playing the trial. Too early to say anything about the meat of the game but it seems to run well enough even on my ancient rig (Phenom II 955, 8Gb, GTX660 Ti). Lots of jaggies and other visual noise in the effects though. Playing on mostly medium settings. 




« Last Edit: March 17, 2017, 05:06:41 PM by jakonovski »
Velorath
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Reply #107 on: March 18, 2017, 05:53:42 AM


I think the character models and animations aren't as good, but the environment seems much improved (playing on a PC I built last year so I can run the game with pretty good settings). We don't really get to experience too much in the way of open planets to explore in the trial time, but in theory the areas are much bigger in scope than the corridors when spent much of the last two games going through.

I read somewhere that some of the reduced customization options are due to the mocap. Personally I'd rather they had just stuck with what they did in previous games.

As I understand it, the customisation issues are based on a couple things; squad customisation was limited due to 'making them more independent and their own people' as well as making squad AI easier to do and improve it (failed, imo, as I didn't see any real increase in squad AI proficiency). The Ryder facial customisation decisions and issues stem from deciding to use facial scanning technology instead of face parts being blended together; largely to get better looking presets and Ryders, as well as decrease the difficulty in attaining custom characters that don't look like shit (as past CCs from Bioware have made such things a bit difficult for a portion of the player base). Again, I think they failed in their goals.

Yeah, I was just referring to the customization in the character creation. The companion stuff I'm ok with so far. You can allocate their skill points which is enough for me. All the crafting stuff for Ryder's gear seems micromanagey enough that I'd hate to have to figure all that out for the rest of the characters also. I didn't really pay too much attention to what my companions were doing in combat enough to notice if the AI improved or not. For now at the very least they seemed sturdy enough that I haven't seen them get knocked out yet in combat. I don't know how good they'll be at detonating combos though.
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Reply #108 on: March 18, 2017, 06:16:53 AM

Yeouch, a lot of not-terribly-encouraging views so far.

DA:I did not grab me at all. I have ME3 installed, but never got far, having played the MP far more.

I was not much of a fan of DA2...so that makes the last really good Bioware game, what, ME2?

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Jade Falcon
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Reply #109 on: March 18, 2017, 06:45:12 AM

Ya just before EA assimilated them.
Falconeer
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Reply #110 on: March 18, 2017, 05:08:50 PM

Inventory UI seems crap again. Maybe it's functional (is it?) but it's ugly as hell, one of those things that is uninspired at best, and uninspiring. Like, it feels a chore to have to open the inventory. And the map too. I mean, am I doing it wrong? Do I really have to hit ESC twice to close to map and return to the game? Idiots.

Ceryse
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Reply #111 on: March 18, 2017, 06:58:58 PM

Inventory UI seems crap again. Maybe it's functional (is it?) but it's ugly as hell, one of those things that is uninspired at best, and uninspiring. Like, it feels a chore to have to open the inventory. And the map too. I mean, am I doing it wrong? Do I really have to hit ESC twice to close to map and return to the game? Idiots.

Yeah, the UI is.. special. A lot of minor issues that just make you scratch your head. It comes across as a bad console-based UI, imo.

Game is in desperate need of another 3-6 months to solve a number of the problems. Thankfully the multiplayer is pretty fun (even when you suck at it like I do).
jakonovski
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Reply #112 on: March 19, 2017, 02:15:50 AM

The UI is pretty bad, especially the codex and quest log. It's like a directory tree but without a tree view, so you mostly have to guess where you are. I say mostly because there's a tiny ellipsis in the corner if you're in a subfolder.
Velorath
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Reply #113 on: March 19, 2017, 03:21:11 AM

UI is definitely a mess. Even trying to check the quest log and look at different sections like the main quests, side quests, etc... is a pain in the ass which seems to require you to click were it says journal at the top to go back to the quest menu and then click on a different category of quest rather than just have tabs. It doesn't even come across as UI developed with consoles in mind because I can't imagine it functioning well in that capacity either. The devs have mentioned taking some inspiration from Witcher III when it comes to a lot of the side quests, but on a technical and UI level it feels inspired more by the first Witcher game.
jakonovski
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Reply #114 on: March 19, 2017, 06:33:11 AM

Played through the trial. Main story progression is gated pretty quick. Side quests are nice, but the mining/crafting is mostly disabled so after finding the one boss monster there's not much point to it. Still, you can see the promise of the colony building mechanics, hopefully it's not a bait & switch thing.

For quests, one semi reasonable way is to use the map as your quest log. That seems to be the only place where everything you can do in an area is displayed at the same time and you can switch focus simply by clicking.

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Reply #115 on: March 20, 2017, 07:03:53 AM

Finished the ten hours over the weekend. Here is the list of all the game breaking bugs and quirks that have made me regret preordering:

none

Yeah, I'm an unabashed fanboi. This game has some flaws (much like the first 3) but it appears to be giving me what I wanted, which is a Mass Effect game. Honestly though, for all the annoying quirks, if I could change just one - give me some new eye graphics that don't make the characters look like Chucky Dolls.

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jakonovski
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Reply #116 on: March 20, 2017, 11:59:18 AM

PSA: if you use a VPN to login from Asia the game will unlock now. Especially good for us Euros who otherwise will have to wait until Thursday.
Kageru
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Reply #117 on: March 20, 2017, 01:15:39 PM


Watched some streaming of the gameplay and it looked pretty average. Writing was bland, animations were bad, the combat has severe consolitis and lacked weight (but had lots of flash) and the gameplay was ultimately little challenges to fill up a "planet is done" bar. Jumping puzzles to scan the thing followed by space puzzles to power up an ancient artefact that is extremely visible, does exactly what you need it to do, and was never activated by the races present is just shallow busywork compared to the plot of the first.

It is very hard to imagine it gets substantially better later when it's opening is so weak.

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tar
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Reply #118 on: March 20, 2017, 01:21:27 PM

PSA: if you use a VPN to login from Asia the game will unlock now. Especially good for us Euros who otherwise will have to wait until Thursday.

Hmm. Good to know, thanks. Shoulda started preloading earlier I guess...
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Reply #119 on: March 20, 2017, 04:42:28 PM

Even the 8/10 reviews make this seem like a bad game. The general consensus is "Dragon Age: Inquisition in Space" but with more bugs and technical issues and worse writing. The comparison to DA: I is enough for me to probably not buy this.
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Reply #120 on: March 20, 2017, 09:36:27 PM

The shooting is pretty good with the right weapon. Get a Mattock and you'll feel the satisfying weight of every single shot. And things become pretty cool once you get inside the vault in the lake. Still too soon to tell how good it is (or isn't). Dragon Age Inquisition in space is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't feel right regardless. After all, this game is all about exploring uncharted and truly alien lands. Speaking of exploration, I am not sure I enjoy the Mako: the terrain is too messed up to drive around and instead of zipping left and right with my 6 wheel drive space jeep I keep ending up stuck and frustrated. Mmhmh.

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Reply #121 on: March 20, 2017, 11:33:02 PM

The Jank is strong with this game. Any of you on the fence should probably wait. I'm not even going to try the single player until they fix the skin tones in the character creator.

Combat in MP feels very awkward at the moment -- I'm too used to the tight gameplay of The Division right now. I'm not sure this switch to being a pseudo-cover shooter is a good thing.
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Reply #122 on: March 21, 2017, 10:40:44 AM

Please tell me that's some kind of satire.
koro
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Reply #123 on: March 21, 2017, 10:52:55 AM

It is more or less not possible to make a custom female Ryder who is anything whiter than "ambiguous ethnicity."

Male Ryder can do white just fine with certain faces.

If you want a female Asian Ryder, boy are you in luck though. The game does those very well.

That said, the author behind Trippy's link is a giant prick with some kind of anti-SJW axe to grind.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2017, 10:59:40 AM by koro »
MahrinSkel
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Reply #124 on: March 21, 2017, 11:22:13 AM

On the one hand, I care about not being able to make a white character about as much as I cared about not being able to make anything but in most games. On the other hand, seeing the salt from people who bitch about such things is great.

And on the gripping hand, only idiots define themselves by the video game character they play.

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TheWalrus
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Reply #125 on: March 21, 2017, 12:14:51 PM

Yeah. Like I give a fuck what the character looks like. (Long as it's not 8 bit.) Story let downs really piss me off though.

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Father mike
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Reply #126 on: March 21, 2017, 12:15:33 PM

So, I just got my game key in email and registered it on Origin.  When the download started, it said the game would be playable at 41%.  Did anyone try launching before the download had completed?  If so, how did that work out?

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Reply #127 on: March 21, 2017, 04:37:55 PM

For once it actually works, so good job EA on that at least.
koro
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Reply #128 on: March 21, 2017, 06:52:57 PM

I cannot believe that the player's ship in this game is called the Tempest.

It is the worst pun.
Bunk
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Reply #129 on: March 21, 2017, 08:08:45 PM

20 hours in and this is definitely DA:I in space. Right down to doing area missions to earn points to unlock perks. If you didn't like Dragon Age's exploration of zones, don't bother. So far, the writing is mediocre. Nothing horrific, just nothing thats super compelling either. Combat is a big step up from Dragon Age - that was what ultimately made me put DA down.

Just kind of drives me nuts with all the reviews about how this is Bioware's worst game ever. Makes me realize just how over-rated some of their games were. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fanboi and loved most of them, but hardly any of them deserved the 90+ ratings they were getting at the time. They were all enthralling games with tons of flaws. No one reviewing this one seems to remember that.

My favorite so far is a Swedish site that gave Andromeda a 50/100. The same guy gave the new Zelda 100/100 and No Man's Sky 80/100. And they have an impact on Metacritic ratings...

They did patch in some graphic and cutscene improvements. Characters look less... dead now. Catchlights and reflections in eyes are important, ok.

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Special J
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Reply #130 on: March 22, 2017, 07:25:06 AM

It's a Mass Effect game so I wasn't going to be able to resist.  Got as far as the Nexus on my first go.

Had a pretty fun time running around and shooting things on the first mission so I think I'll find the combat pretty enjoyable.  I didn't much like DA:I combat, this seems better.

I know much is being made of the animations, but I don't find it's as bad as it it is being made out to be (at least so far).  But with two exceptions:

- Addison. Wow she bad. Badly animated, badly scripted, bad voice work, bad editing.  I've run into some of the awkwardness people talked about and it hasn't bugged me much, but she makes cringe.

- Face editor.  A step back from previous games.  The ones I've made just seem unnatural.  Luckily some vids showing up on youtube that have some better results so I might roll a better one up and start over before I get in too deep.
Ceryse
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Reply #131 on: March 22, 2017, 09:58:01 AM

Addison is the worst I've seen in terms of 'wtf, how did that get okayed?', but I'm not that far into the game so far (just finished Eos), and most npcs are better than that. None are what I'd call 'good', though.

I'm enjoying the game, just not nearly as much as I've enjoyed previous Mass Effect games. I really miss the tactical pause in combat.

I do like the strike team aspect, since they're determined to tie single player and multiplayer together somehow this seems like a pretty good way to do it. Of course, multiplayer is still fun (I've only had time to play three matches since launch, though).

I am surprised their Archives site (where you can upload/download your custom Ryders for others to see and use in character creation --  the new face codes function, basically) isn't up and running yet, though. It was supposed to go live on the 21st at the latest. That'll help those who want good looking(ish?) Ryders and suck at using the character creator (or are just too lazy to).
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Reply #132 on: March 22, 2017, 03:19:07 PM

Im on to the second settleable planet and I'm enjoying myself. Game's far from perfect, but its keeping me interested.

It seems like there was a flag set to npcs to determine whether or not they were important enough to bother animating. Those with low importance just stand there and mouth out words. The ones that matter are certainly passable.
Don't have a clue how Addison made it out of QA though - utterly laughable. Have yet to see another what I would call an important npc anywhere that bad though.

It gets really obvious how much of an exact copy of DA:I this is when you get to the war table cryo pod assignment table, and pick your perks.

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Riggswolfe
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Reply #133 on: March 23, 2017, 05:37:03 AM

The game is fun to play but my god...the animations, especially on the faces are just awful. Ryder in particular seems to be badly facially animated. Like, when I got the Tempest, my Ryder was supposed to look excited/awed. I think. Instead Ryder looked like a person in the midst of a slowly developing stroke where part of the mouth was already paralyzed. I've also seen movement animations that are awful from characters looking like they have had severe neck injuries so can't turn their head, to other characters walking like both arms are dislocated and a hot poker was shoved up their rears. Cora did this right after I woke up to be told "Gratz, you're a Pathfinder now!"

I will say, Ryder's voice acting is pretty bad good and I haven't encountered any bad voice-acting. I also second that Liam is the first starter male companion that isn't painfully bland and/or annoying.

I just finished Eos. I do like the general story of this game but those animation issues are so bad it is painful. And the character creator seems half made and the skin tone thing is annoying. As it being unable to tweak eyebrows or eye shape.

« Last Edit: March 26, 2017, 08:33:10 PM by Riggswolfe »

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jakonovski
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Reply #134 on: March 23, 2017, 02:09:43 PM

Content is lower quality for sure, even without the technical issues. But I do like how the game world is unfolding in this. Locations seem tobe evolving quite significantly, which is how it should be in a game about planetary colonization.   
Special J
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Reply #135 on: March 26, 2017, 08:19:40 AM

Done with Eos main quest and am working on Voeld.  I enjoy this game way more when I'm not on the Nexus. The Nexus just sucks.  It's boring, the NPCs are bland or unlikeable, and lots of animation fails are concentrated here.  Unlike the Citadel, going through there and talking to people is just a slog.  I just want to get through it and back to exploring.
El Gallo
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Reply #136 on: March 26, 2017, 09:27:56 AM

If you purposely tried to make the worst PC UI imaginable, you could not come up with a more miserable one than Andromeda's.

This post makes me want to squeeze into my badass red jeans.
Father mike
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Reply #137 on: March 26, 2017, 09:34:07 AM

Everyone seems to have a different thing that upsets them.

Personally, I hate the way all the Turians's eyeballs clip thru their eyelids during conversation closeups.

I would like to thank Vladimir Putin for ensuring that every member of the NPR news staff has had to say "Pussy Riot" on the air multiple times.
Maledict
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Reply #138 on: March 26, 2017, 12:06:02 PM

The fact that outside of Peebee there's only one Asari face is just... embarrassing. There's even a scene where you are talking to two of them - and they have the same face. Or walking down a corridor and there are four identical asari.

Something went very wrong during this games development cycle and I'd love to know what it was. The early, early previews talked about proceduraly generated worlds with 100+ planets so I'm guessing they wasted a lot of time and energy on that. I really, really wish Bioware hadn't listened to the people who think ME1 was brilliant and the other games a massive step down. There's a reason Me2 is still the most praised and successful of the series.
jakonovski
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Reply #139 on: March 27, 2017, 03:37:27 PM

Players: ME1 was great!

Bioware: We hear you. Here's DA:I with a ME reskin.

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