Mass Effect: Andromeda

That was the problem I had really.

SquintyMcSquint » Mon Nov 25, 2013 9:46 am wrote:The DLC ending is the best out of a gooseberry fool bunch, I think. You fail, but the next cycle defeats the reapers with Liara's info thing. All other endings were utter turd.

Hey, my ending where Shepard became a sentient robot was awesome.

Lagamorph » Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:49 am wrote:That was the problem I had really.

Whilst most of the races survive and remain unchanged, you're still essentially enslaving an entire sentient species by taking away their free will and forcing them to carry out menial work.

"Harbinger to aisle three, aisle three please, there has been a spillage."

There were no good options, I agree, and that made the ending really bittersweet. However, I know that we're all reasonable people here, and we all know that sometimes there are no good options, or at least no wholly good ones. Even if there are a wide range of choices, as we had here (at least once Bioware noticed how everyone hated the original ending), that doesn't guarantee we'll see anything but degrees of badness among them. This was, sadly, one of those cases. I can't bring myself to hate it for that.

Anyway, I have a few ideas about where ME4 might go. How about, for example, a Firefly-esque smuggling crew mixed up in a sinister plot of semi-galactic proportions, perhaps? ME1-3 gave us top-end gear, ships and a huge overarching story etc. Why not have the next main arc focus on a band of rogues and misfits working from the bottom up, within the framework of a smaller, tighter but no less interesting or entertaining plot?

I rather like the idea of a scaled-down game. We can still go across the galaxy, presumably exploring remote worlds again (Attican Traverse/Terminus Systems would be a great place to explore), however the smaller plot/nemesis scale should allow for a tighter story experience, plenty of great character development (a chance for great writing to be the order of the day), retention of series' hallmark decision-making conversations, as well as greater freedom in what they could do. They could even add a proper ship customization feature (exterior and interior), species customization even, or do the impossible and give us a new iconic ship to fly and perhaps also customize.

Incidentally, with the galaxy having such a vast number of uncharted worlds (99%+ of them)... what about adding an Indiana Jones/Uncharted vibe to the proceedings, with the greater freedom of movement and exploration such an angle would provide? Then we could keep the paleotech of the Protheans, Inusannon or whoever in the mix along with the established races.

The ME4 writing staff has plenty of options to go along with.

I'd like to see the next game set thousands of years in the future. That way, they can skip over the whole "which ending is canon" thing and incorporate elements from all them due to the amount of time that has passed and avoid too much fan exclusion. It'll still annoy a lot of people of course but since when has the series been majorly impacted by your choices anyway?

I really want to see a focus on discovery again like ME1. We've had a lot of time to get used to the existing races and important locations now so I think it's time we explore a new region of space, or even a new galaxy if they used the timelapse to explain us mastering Mass Relay technology ourselves. I want to be part of a huge exploratory dreadnought sent on a one way trip to unknown space where you discover new cultures and planets while looking for a way home. It could be a chance to add some strategy elements as well, when I say huge dreadnought I mean huge. I want to manage the crew and the ship itself, send teams out on recon missions, research new tech, the works.

I really don't want another galactic threat being our motivation, I'd like to see an interesting villain ala Letho in Witcher 2. It could even be a rival aboard the same ship who has different ideas about what you should be doing. This way seems like a good mix of big events and a smaller scale story.

An interesting villain would be really nice to see, and the setting being an ark ship heading to another galaxy would be pretty interesting (I'm thinking shades of Stargate Universe), but I don't think that I'm ready to see the back of the ME galaxy just yet.

I would love to see the return of Mako exploration as well, but perhaps on fewer worlds than ME1, so that they can be much more detailed, even if they're desolate wastelands.

I think it would be cool if it was set some time in the future where everywhere had been isolated for a while and people had only started figuring out how to build mass relays for themselves. As a result from every planet being cut off for so long, all the old governments would have effectively dissolved or fractured, creating a kind of "wild west" situation where there is no Council and no real centralised authority.

Your character would be privateer employed to track down bounties and take out pirates and others who take advantage of the current lawlessness of the galaxy. You earn bounties for successful missions and valuable loot, which you can use to upgrade your ship and gear. This leaves things fairly open as regards to the main plot, which could pit you up against some evil corporation trying to take over from the old Council, an empire being forged by some previously undiscovered species or maybe some other kind of alien threat.

I also think it would be cool if you had more control over your character, like being able to pick what species you belong to. Maybe different species would impact on how people respond to you, for example you could more easily intimidate people by being a krogan while playing as asari would make you more persuasive and diplomatic. Playing as solarian would give you better science skills and more intelligence points while turians would be better at gaining loyalty from the crew.

You know how zombie modes and spin-offs were a big thing in games this past generation (Red Dead and Assassin's Creed 3)? Well... why not do something similar with Mass Effect?

Instead of just doing a zombie spin-off or alternate universe though, I think it'd be really cool if Bioware did a War of the Worlds-Mass Effect spin-off. It could be set in 1900s England, as the original story is, or it could be a more contemporary 2180s affair, with Shepard as the protagonist, meeting up with his/her comrades along the way. If it takes on the original era as its setting, everyone would be dressed up in attire fitting for the time (nods to Doctor Who?), and the Martians would obviously be the Reapers, and the game would take a more survival and stealth-based approach, perhaps featuring a new movement system.

If that's too impractical, maybe they could give it to TellTale and have them tell the story in their typical comicbook style, using all the original cast. The score would (preferably) be inspired by the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds musical, and the events would (mostly) be familiar to fans of the original story, but I think it'd kick a lot of arse, giving us more time with Shepard and co in a totally new setting.

Alvin Flummux » Sun Apr 20, 2014 1:33 pm wrote:You know how zombie modes and spin-offs were a big thing in games this past generation (Red Dead and Assassin's Creed 3)? Well... why not do something similar with Mass Effect?

Instead of just doing a zombie spin-off or alternate universe though, I think it'd be really cool if Bioware did a War of the Worlds-Mass Effect spin-off. It could be set in 1900s England, as the original story is, or it could be a more contemporary 2180s affair, with Shepard as the protagonist, meeting up with his/her comrades along the way. If it takes on the original era as its setting, everyone would be dressed up in attire fitting for the time (nods to Doctor Who?), and the Martians would obviously be the Reapers, and the game would take a more survival and stealth-based approach, perhaps featuring a new movement system.

If that's too impractical, maybe they could give it to TellTale and have them tell the story in their typical comicbook style, using all the original cast. The score would (preferably) be inspired by the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds musical, and the events would (mostly) be familiar to fans of the original story, but I think it'd kick a lot of arse, giving us more time with Shepard and co in a totally new setting.

A book on the female anatomy. Having woman trouble?

Alvin Flummux » Sun Apr 20, 2014 2:33 pm wrote:You know how zombie modes and spin-offs were a big thing in games this past generation (Red Dead and Assassin's Creed 3)? Well... why not do something similar with Mass Effect?

Instead of just doing a zombie spin-off or alternate universe though, I think it'd be really cool if Bioware did a War of the Worlds-Mass Effect spin-off. It could be set in 1900s England, as the original story is, or it could be a more contemporary 2180s affair, with Shepard as the protagonist, meeting up with his/her comrades along the way. If it takes on the original era as its setting, everyone would be dressed up in attire fitting for the time (nods to Doctor Who?), and the Martians would obviously be the Reapers, and the game would take a more survival and stealth-based approach, perhaps featuring a new movement system.

If that's too impractical, maybe they could give it to TellTale and have them tell the story in their typical comicbook style, using all the original cast. The score would (preferably) be inspired by the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds musical, and the events would (mostly) be familiar to fans of the original story, but I think it'd kick a lot of arse, giving us more time with Shepard and co in a totally new setting.

Is there something you don't understand?

How you think that is a good idea.

It'd be a fun little spin-off, a diversion. It's not as if the series doesn't have the charm or sense of humor to pull it off.

>Mass Effect
>1900s England

They should do a spin-off that retcons the ending of ME3.

I know it was bittersweet, but sometimes there are no happy endings Mafro.

It was gooseberry fool and completely ignored plot points set up in the previous games.

Mafro » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:29 pm wrote:It was gooseberry fool and completely ignored plot points set up in the previous games.

Such as..?

Alvin Flummux » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:32 pm wrote:Such as..?

Check the pages and pages of it in the Mass Effect 3 thread. Not wasting my time arguing about that absolute shambles of an ending yet again.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

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