Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017)

[FlareKnight]

Yeah I'm pretty sure the inclusion of the "screw you" ending for ME3 proves well enough that Bioware didn't learn a thing from the Mass Effect 3 fiasco.

Outside of that god awful ending, there were a lot of gameplay issues that are worrying for the franchise going forward. The quest management system was a trainwreck. Picking up quests by Shepard being a creepy guy spying on the conversations of others, terrible tracking of those quests and your progression on them. The war assets system was a weak downgrade from ME2 in terms of the upgrades there having actual impact on the unfolding of the final arc for that game while in ME3 it was far less impressive.

At this point trust is lost with the Mass Effect team. Whether they can pull off a good game we will have to see.

[Tokkan]

Originally Posted by Kyero Fox

Don't pretend that Dragon Ages Writing is any better. lol

I wouldn't know, he hasn't been Lead Writer for that long and wasn't Lead Writer for the main DAI game. But he wrote Solas, that's good enough for me. Solas is pretty awesome. He also wrote Mordin.

[Chosen_Hero]

Didn't the original ending get leaked by hackers and then everyone and their grandmothers read it prompting Bioware to change it? Besides all three games end pretty much the same way, make a choice then boss battle:

ME1: Kill or Save the Council - Fight Sovereign.

ME2: Destroy or Keep the Collector base - Fight Human Reaper prototype.

The only difference with ME3s ending was that it was the finite ending of Shepards story and that we were most likely not going to continue it, let's not act like your crew "dying" in ME2 was something THAT special considering how basic and easy it was to keep them alive you literally had to try to get them killed for them to die the only thing 1 and 2s ending had above 3 was that they hyped the next game.

Now I will admit that the first version of the ending was bad, gladly the EC fixed that and yes I am one of the people still salty that I didn't get to see the future of my Shepard and his love interest (Yes I chose red as my canon ending and got the good version of the endings [all of which I checked], without buying even one piece of DLC, so my Shepard lived).

[Tokkan]

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

Didn't the original ending get leaked by hackers and then everyone and their grandmothers read it prompting Bioware to change it?

The ending that was leaked mere months before release ended up being the same one we got. I think you might be confusing it with the scrapped ending involving dark energy.

[Rising Dragon]

And that one was no prizewinner of a story either.

[SidVicious]

Mass Effect: Andromeda will now ship in early 2017

http://www.masseffect.com/news/an-up...andromeda.html

[LoweGear]

This year's E3 has more info on Mass Effect: Andromeda, and it looks like they're really taking the 'clean slate' idea seriously.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/y2vgHOXeps0

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Frostbite engine really makes the game look awesome, and also the Tempest looks sexy .

More info from various E3 sources compiled by reddit:

Originally Posted by EA Play Trailer

-The new ship is called the Tempest. It's small enough to land on planets
-Asari, Salarians, Krogan etc are all in Andromeda
-The Mako has a boost feature
-Biotics are back
-You can switch shoulders during combat
-Facial animations are smoother/more detailed
-There is more than one Ark
-Before leaving, the Arks were located above Earth
-Passengers on the Ark have been kept in some kind of stasis during the journey. Female character is first to wake up

Originally Posted by Mac Walters,YouTube Live at E3

-Characters are a huge focus, Frostbite allows them to create more detailed characters
-The dialogue system will be familiar but they want to push the envelope with new mechanics
-There will be an 'evolution' of the morality system
-The protagonist's name is Ryder
-The woman at the end of the EA Play video is a FemRyder
-The goal of this game is to move forward. There will be callbacks to the trilogy however
-Ryder has a family. This family ties into the storyline (Maybe siblings, parents etc)
-ME3 multiplayer was a surprising success but they understand that fans didn't like how it tied into the single player, aims to improve this
-Development in the game is in the final stretch, they only want to show stuff that's totally finished and polished
-The Mako is the only vehicle in the game

Originally Posted by Polygon and IGN interviews with Mac Walters/Aaryn Flynn

-Mass Effect 3's ending and your decisions won't affect Andromeda
-Relationships and romances will be more realistic
-Friendships and romances will take into account character temperaments. Some may be harder to talk to.
-Romance won't be limited to checking in a few times, then getting a romance scene.
-Mass Effect Andromeda is a story about becoming a hero
-The characters will be much younger and untested, drawing from themes of feeling out of depth or like an outcast
-Humanity are the aliens this time, it's the story of a stranger in a strange land
-BioWare are aiming for a character that is more than just a typical space marine, someone who recognises the impact their presence is having
-Instead of your character already knowing a lot about the Galaxy like Shepard, you're going to be discovering all of this stuff with them
-You won't have the kind of support Shepard would have. You're not exactly a Spectre this time
-The story of the game will be more personal this time, even though the scale is still grand
-The trilogy will act as a foundational background, but won't be a focus. There will be explainations for new players on what Krogans are, what mass effect field are etc.
-The trilogy was about a cinematic, grand, space opera with a titular character. With Andromeda they want to move away from this
-Instead of saying "You are this person" it's about saying "This is your role and this is the way you can play it"
-Andromeda will still be a human centric story, as it gives the player a foothold in the alien narrative
-In ME1, humans found themselves to be the underdogs in a larger galaxy, and this is ultimately a core theme of Mass Effect, not just the trilogy
-BioWare kept trying to solve the vehicle problem in the trilogy, but this time they've made it a core focus and tried to fix it early in development
-The online component will have no impact on the main story this time. There will be more positive ties between the singleplayer and multiplayer
-The core elements of branching dialogue, relationship building, exploration etc will remain intact
-Andromeda will feel like you're playing Mass Effect for the first time, as the setting/characters are new and unfamiliar, yet nostalgic to returning fans

Originally Posted by Yanick Roy (Studio Director)

-RPG elements are of course still there, allowing the player to control the story their way
-BioWare aren't worried about moving on from Shepard, they believe that as long as all the core elements of Mass Effect are there, people will play it
-There will be companions with 'loyalty' missions and new ways to get to know them
-The multiplayer will be similar to ME3's but with more freedom, dynamic gameplay and 'chaos'
-There will be more customisation than we've seen before. We can "own" our environments
-Andromeda is their biggest game ever. Exploration is a major factor, similar to what they tried to achieve in ME1
-Planets will have essentially one biome, inspired by planets from things like Star Wars
-There will be different ways to communicate with the races of Andromeda. Diplomacy, aggressiveness, combat etc
-The order in which you do quests/talk to people may also influence opinion of you and humanity
-We will be able to choose male/female, but they want to go a little bit further with this. More details to come soon
-The female Ryder isn't exactly the default face. There is a bit of a twist this time around but they can't say more yet
-The protagonist's role will be vast, their goal is to find a new home for humanity and the other races accompanying them, requiring a character of many qualities
-There will be references to the trilogy, but not so much as to flood new players with information
-The way the translators will understand the languages of the Andromeda species will be explained

Originally Posted by Aaryn Flynn (PlayStation Access and Inside Playstation)

-The trip to Andromeda has taken a really really long time (hundereds of years)
-The game draws parallels to today's space exploration advancements/themes
-The N7 character has nothing to do with Shepard
-New species. Some old, some new, some completely mysterious
-Choices will affect the species you encounter
-Planetary exploration is essentially the same mechanic as ME1, but much MUCH bigger/better with more freedom
-There's much more to the Tempest than meets the eye
-The 'Ark' is a huge part of the story, not just where Ryder wakes up
-Main character will be human, you can choose to play as a male/female Ryder
-There is a sense of continuity in the Mass Effect universe, despite starting fresh in a new Galaxy
-Mass Effect Andromeda is story/characters first, then with a large focus on seamless loading, exploration
-Frostbite has forced them to rebuild everything from the ground up, it's a clean slate in more ways than one
-Mass Effect VR is a possibility

Originally Posted by New Info (Various Sources such as Twitter and news websites)

-Same-Sex romances are still there
-Info about the collectors edition is coming this fall
-As the game runs Frostbyte, the PC hardware requirements will be similar to that of Battlefront and Inquisition
-More news may be coming in weeks instead of months.
-Codex entries will be detailed and in-depth as usual

[Dextro]

-Mass Effect 3's ending and your decisions won't affect Andromeda

Once again reinforcing the fact that ME3's ending was a coup out and is best forgotten.

[Kyero Fox]

-The female Ryder isn't exactly the default face. There is a bit of a twist this time around but they can't say more yet

Got me curious. XD

Bet you're a tranny. XD

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Kyero Fox

-The female Ryder isn't exactly the default face. There is a bit of a twist this time around but they can't say more yet

Got me curious. XD

I'm pretty sure that "quote" was misquoted. The trick/twist isn't about the face, but them using a female as default main character in promotion (like male Shepard was default in ME trilogy). See the gamespot interview version:

So moving on, so the Pathfinder character that was revealed at the end of the trailer appears to be a female by default this time?

Well there's a trick there, I can't get into it, but yes, that's your female protagonist.

[Random Wanderer]

That seems an odd way to say it if all it is is "here's the default female protagonist (who you can edit if you don't like how she looks) and you can also play a male protagonist." I'm not saying that that isn't the way things are, but it seems a bit odd for them to call it a trick or a twist if it's just going to be exactly the same way all the previous games have been in terms of your character being male or female.

Anyway, it's been long enough that I actually want to play something like this again. Assuming I still have the means to buy/play games when this comes out (a bit in question, as I am currently without a source of income) I'll probably get it.

[Jinjer]

no problem with what the trailer's been showing so far

though i really wish i could play a non-human this time

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

That seems an odd way to say it if all it is is "here's the default female protagonist (who you can edit if you don't like how she looks) and you can also play a male protagonist." I'm not saying that that isn't the way things are, but it seems a bit odd for them to call it a trick or a twist if it's just going to be exactly the same way all the previous games have been in terms of your character being male or female.

The devs have dropped a lots of hints about it:
family picture with two kids in N7 day trailer,
dogtag in N7 day trailer,
saying the dogtag doesn't belong to the player character despite belonging to a Ryder,
saying N7 character is not the player character,
saying the game has a family of Ryders,
saying that character creation is different,
etc.

Most speculations are either it is similar to Fallout 4 (with siblings instead of spouses and the other half doesn't die but is an NPC - N7 character- in the game) or The Witcher 3 where you have a main protagonist, but will also play another character (most probably N7 guy).

[Chosen_Hero]

Video comparing everything we know so far to the original reddit leak: DO NOT WATCH IF YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE GAME FRESH WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING

... I had to change my pants after hearing all that you can do in this game, now I want the game even more.

[Kyero Fox]

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

Video comparing everything we know so far to the original reddit leak: DO NOT WATCH IF YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE GAME FRESH WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING

... I had to change my pants after hearing all that you can do in this game, now I want the game even more.

Uh huh, just remember Fable's big exciting gloating.

[LoweGear]

New 4K Demo video for Andromeda, showing how the game looks ingame.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/t1hBNALUk4w

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Already looks good to me, even in pre-alpha. There'll also be a new, official trailer to be released on November 7.

[Tokkan]

"More Remnant". So the leaks are true.


Also, apparently the male and female versions of the player character (Ryder) both exist simultaneously in the game universe and are brother and sister. And the guy in the N7 armour from that trailer awhile back is their father.

[LoweGear]

Official Reveal Trailer released today, i.e. N7 Day:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/pyZw_oqk7Q8

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

And for those who didn't see it before, the Andromeda Initiative trailer, which cements Andromeda's setting as taking place 600 years later:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/SPkv7DmeM1A

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

And accompanying articles as ME:A info goes into full force for this month, with more to come:

[Game Informer] Loyalty Missions Return In Mass Effect Andromeda

Looks like Andromeda's loyalty missions aren't tied to the main quest itself so there are no repercussions for ignoring them, unlike in ME2 where your chances of success with a character in the suicide mission was determined by whether or not you completed their loyalty mission.

[Game Informer] Meet Mass Effect Andromeda's Leading Voice Cast

And we finally got the names of the Ryder family: the father Alec, son Scott, and daughter Sarah. As mentioned months prior, the situation with Scott and Sarah isn't a John and Jane situation where you choose which gender is canon, rather you simply choose which character you play as, and the other one becomes an NPC.


Andromeda Initiative official site

Comes with a video briefing about the Andromeda Initiative. Also, the site seems to list the briefing as taking place in 2184, which kinda puts it as taking place between ME1 and 2? It also reveals that there are 4 Arks in all, along with something called the "Nexus" that'll also be part of the exodus.

Here's the blurb on the site about the details of the Initiative:

Originally Posted by Andromeda Initiative

Founded in 2176 and launched in 2185, the Andromeda Initiative is a civilian, multi-species project created to send scientists, explorers and colonists on a one-way trip to settle in the Andromeda Galaxy. With powerful benefactors lending their support, the program has grown substantially in scope since its inception. The Initiative’s ultimate goal is to establish a permanent presence on the seemingly resource-rich frontier of Andromeda, and eventually create a reliable route between it and the Milky Way Galaxy.

[FlareKnight]

Oh dear god. We're at the point where collector's editions can actually say "game not included."

[LoweGear]

More Andromeda info summarized from the Game Informer magazine:

Originally Posted by NeoGAF

Adding more as I go along.

Backstory
-Around 2185, at the height of galactic progress, unaware of the impending Reaper invasion, several species band together for the "Andromeda Initiative".
-4 Arks, each carrying a different race, are built, housing thousands of individuals to chart a course to Andromeda.
-The Heleus Cluster is noted as having a significant amount of "Golden Worlds", or planets ripe for life.
-Each ark is led by a "Pathfinder".
-The Pathfinder, recon teams and others onboard are in cryosleep, unaware of what transpires in the Milky Way after they depart.
-You play as either Scott or Sara Ryder, the children of Alec Ryder (pathfinder of the human ark).
-Alec Ryder is voiced by Clancy Brown.
-Events at the start of the game occur that pass this role down to you, you are untested and unproven, unlike Commander Shepard of the previous trilogy.
-This doesn't mean Mass Effect is Ryder's story from now on, they want the game to feel like a complete story (while teasing other stories that could happen).
-More customization options than previous games.
-You can customize your father and your sibling, though not as extensively.
-The "Nexus" is basically a forward command center staffed by multiple species that arrives in Andromeda early to pave the way for the Arks.
-The Hyperion (humanity's ark) arrives at an incorrect location that's volatile and loses contact with the other arks and Nexus.

Inspiration
-The (much improved) Mako of ME1, the loyalty missions of ME2, the multiplayer of ME3.

Combat
-Global cooldowns are now replaced by individual timers.
-Powers are instead hotkeyed for quick use, no longer pausing to bring up a wheel and aim.
-Dynamic cover system (ala TLOU).
-Still a cover based shooter with a goal to get the player moving around the battlefield more.
-Jetpack allows for more movement variety; you can quick dash instead of rolling.
-Jetpack has a hover function that allows you to hit enemies seeking cover or survey your surroundings.
-Less emphasis on linear, clearly telegraphed environments that tell you a combat encounter is coming (though linear areas are still in the game).
-Game Informer's hands on was positive, feel the game has a clearer identity in combat than previous games.
-You still queue up attacks, combos, order your squad, etc.
-All key elements are still intact but the studio wanted to encourage more experimentation and wider variety of abilities.

-Class system is gone; instead you have full access to abilities from all classes, you can mix and match skills from tech, soldier or biotics.
-Goal is to allow players to try different approaches to combat without being locked in at the start.
-However, you can still specialize once you invest enough points into a category of skills, you unlock a profile that can get you bonuses for your particular play style.
-This is where class names like "Vanguard" (invest in combat and biotics) and "Adept" (invest in biotics) resurface.
-Invest in multiple categories and you unlock the "Explorer" profile.
-There is a narrative reason that allows you to reconfigure your points throughout the game so that you can try out multiple gameplay approaches without making multiple characters.
-You can customize your helmet, chest, shoulders, arms and legs, more extensive than previous trilogy.
-Many familiar weapons return, as well as new melee options like swords and hammers.

-The 'Kett' are the main enemy
-The team wanted players to experience the first time encountering a new alien species vs already having it established in prior games.
-Rather than painting them as mortal enemies, BioWare wanted to make them feel foreboding but not ugly as they want you to also empathize with them.
-Instead of having "linear slices" of planets that you land on, you explore these planets from the surface to their underbelly.
-Critical paths, optional planets, major hubs, loyalty missions return.
-Your land vehicle is designated the "Nomad", and the team got special guidance from NFS developers on its handling.
-The Nomad isn't sluggish and cumbersome like the Mako, it's very fast, still boosts and maneuvers much better.
-The Nomad doesn't have weapons, you can customize things like its speed and appearance.
-BioWare did not want to repeat having things like mineral nodes and multiple identical outposts scattered across planets.
-Points of interest include combat encounters, puzzles, narrative beats etc on planets.
-One planet, called 'Elaaden', is flagged as a possible habitat zone, however the surface is hazardous (no water, extremely hot); you can be pointed in this direction in multiple ways, for example, a Krogan can request the Pathfinder to find a missing colony ship or you can just choose to land on the planet yourself and see what you find.
-On planets, one of your priorities is to scout for drop zones for your crew that drop "forward stations" that establishes a foothold for you.
-These stations allow for changing up your loadout, fast travel point, etc.
-Planets can have multiple dangers like acid pools, burning wreckage, weather etc that can all kill you.
-Since Andromeda is a new galaxy, Ryder can actively scan and discover things in the environments; that gets sent back for analysis and unlocks new technologies for the player.
-Scanning and discovering these things also allows you to obtain blueprints to craft weapons and armor for yourself.
-You can create a wide array of items, not just ammo types and weapon mods, items that haven't been seen before in the Milky Way (thanks to new alien tech).
-Some plot threads and missions lead you across multiple planets.

Characters
-Peebee: Asari squadmate shown in previous footage. Went off on her own after arriving on the Nexus and described as having a "bubbly personality". She's smart and not concerned with social norms and "niceties".
-Liam: Arrived with the Pathfinder, former police officer and described as having a "light attitude", bringing levity to situations.

The Tempest (Your Ship)
-Important to harken back to the Normandy as it was a fan favorite.
-There are no loading screens as you move through the ship.
-Galaxy map returns but rather than piloting a mini ship on a map, it is more immersive, you select a planet, the game gives you sense of traveling towards that planet, and when you back out, you're immediately at your destination.
-You don't pilot the ship manually, but it feels seamless as you go from planet to planet and see them from your bridge getting closer in the window.
-They wanted a seamless experience from picking a planet to walking down to your cargo hold, hopping into the Nomad and landing on a planet. There is a landing sequence and you get off the ship. No more loading screens and instantly popping up on the surface of a planet.

Relationships/Characters
-There are more relationships in the game than any other Bioware game (as they noted fans make a big emphasis on romance in the games).
-The squadmate with the least amount of lines in Andromeda has more lines than the squadmate with the most amount of lines in ME3.
-Due to complications in the awakening process, your sibling won't join you in combat but you can interact with them and build a relationship.
-Many of these dealings are optional, and discovering more about the Ryder family is a plot thread.
-BioWare is confident the details of this story are what differentiates it from a traditional "hero's journey".
-Loyalty missions return but they are not critical to the ending of the game; you can complete them after you complete the main story path for example.
-Emphasis that relationships don't just culminate in a sex scene, but rather characters can just want to get in the sack, while others are interested in long term relationships and others still aren't interested at all. Bioware wanted to capture more "shooting bottles with Garrus" moments in the game, of which there are plenty.

Multiplayer
-More evolved and refined form of ME3.
-Card based economy where you earn XP and credits.
-There are microtransactions but no real world money is required, you can unlock normally.
-You still set the map, enemy, as before but you can also activate modifiers that can give you decreased health (for greater reward) or more damage (less reward).
-Bioware also plans to release custom crafted missions with unique modifiers that players can't change themselves.
-These custom missions give you a 3rd currency, "mission funds" which allow you directly purchase items and weapons vs the mercy of random card packs; however these items are only available for a limited time in the store and can change often.
-In MP, you play as the "Apex Force", a militia strike team from the Nexus.
-Different enemies require you to use different tactics (some are shield heavy, some use heavy biotics etc).
-Playing MP will have advantages for the single player but it absolutely does not affect the ending of the game.
-New "Prestige" mechanic added: With several types of characters, you earn regular XP and prestige XP. The prestige XP goes into every character of that 'type', for example 'tanky' characters. Earning enough prestige can grant you added health for all tank characters, etc.

Choices
-No more Paragon/Renegade system.
-They want more nuance and subtlety and giving the player more opportunity to express themselves.
-You can agree or disagree with someone without being punished or cornered into a paragon or renegade choice.
-Dialogue option tones: heart, head, professional and casual.
-These don't affect you or sway a meter one way or another, rather they allow you freedom without worrying about unintended consequences.
-"Narrative actions" (previously "interrupts) return but rather than giving a "red"=bad or "blue"=good choice, it can say "shoot", leaving more ambiguity to your choice.

I am very much liking the return of individual ability cooldowns, as well as the removal of classes in exchange for a more free-form character creation system.

Also, the Gameplay Reveal for the game will be at The Game Awards 2016 on December 1.

And YES, MULTIPLAYER!!!!!!!!!!