Let's talk Mass Effect 2

[Jeivar]

So, now that it's been made clear that we should hold onto our savegames from ME1, and decisions made in the first one will impact the second, I'm in a state of mixed anxiety and anticipation at what the result will be: How are they going to make the basic plot and characters of ME2 mesh with the different choices Shepard had to face?

Most of all, I'm wondering about the NPC's, since I just become so damn attached to a good RPG cast. Hell, I still have a crush on Jaheira. :smallredface:

So who do you think will return? Assuming the "Shepard is dead" stuff is just bull, I think we can safely assume the possible love interests will make a return. Tali is fun and all, but her Pilgrimage is over and she would have returned to the Quarian Fleet after the end of ME1. Also, I can't think of anything left to do with that character. Same way with Garrus: Nice enough, but nothing special or terribly compelling once the first story is done with.

The one I'm in some doubt about is Wrex: He's cool, useful, entertaining, and with far more depth and intelligence than I initially assumed. Fun character. But on the other hand, it was entirely optional to just not pick him up for the crew in ME1, and then there's the resolution of that nasty confrontation on Virmire, which are two potential strikes against the developers giving him any significant role in ME2.

What do you guys think?

[Colmarr]

What "Shepard is dead" stuff?

The clever thing about Mass Effect was that they didn't really let you choose between Good and Evil, only between Nice and Nasty.

All of the basic outcomes are in play with either approach. It's not like KotOR, where there's a massive canon difference between the good ending (star forge destroyed) and the evil ending (star forge intact and in the hands of the bad guys).

So it will, I suspect, mostly be a matter of dialogue choices, and optional encounters.

For example: They could include a mission against a rachni colony. If Shephard saved the Rachni queen in ME1, the mission would include dialogue options. If Shephard killed the Rachni queen, then the colony was created by Cerberus during the events of ME1 and are purely a kill-on-sight mission.

Having said that, I'm curious how that can implement that. Does the save game info actually contain what a specific character did and didn't do?

[ondonaflash]

What "Shepard is dead" stuff?

Having said that, I'm curious how that can implement that. Does the save game info actually contain what a specific character did and didn't do?

The latest trailer has shots of Shepard's military file listing his status as dead.

... and that last part, that counts as a Stupid Question. See the Save Game not only Saves what you did and did not do, it also saves the items you have, the missions you completed, how much money and omni-gel you have, and where you were located at the time of the saved game. In fact, one could say that it Saves your Game so you can resume where you left off.

[Colmarr]

See the Save Game not only Saves what you did and did not do, it also saves the items you have, the missions you completed, how much money and omni-gel you have, and where you were located at the time of the saved game. In fact, one could say that it Saves your Game so you can resume where you left off.

And yet there are specific areas in the game that you cannot get back into once you have finished them (the Hot Labs area of Noveria springs to mind), and that are not mentioned again other than immediately after you finish them.

There's no guarantee that details of those areas or outcomes are secured somewhere in the save game, because it would be a waste of memory space to do so (unless ME1 was designed with the possibility of a very specific form of ME2 in mind).

Not to mention the fact that it's possible to play through ME1 with the same character multiple times (to reach level 60). What will they do if my Shepard 1-50 killed the Rachni Queen, but my Shepard 51-60 saved her?

[ondonaflash]

Well that depends. Did you overwrite your 1-50 save file? Because I'd assume, if you did, that it would be based off of the latest save. If you didn't then its probably safe to assume that you will have to select which save file you wish to load and then you use that to play Mass Effect 2. Like the export system for the Infinity Engine.

[Verruckt]

I've never been able to not take Wrex, I seem to remember him coming anyway even if you turn him down. The savegames contain all the information 2 would need to play off of, the game obviously knows what you did in the hotlabs because it will still prevent you from entering them even after you've loaded the game.

I hope for more guns, more weapon and armor modification, more armor models, more great characters, more awesome plotlines, and a Dev kit so I can finally play Dark Heresy the way I've always wanted to.

[Mewtarthio]

And yet there are specific areas in the game that you cannot get back into once you have finished them (the Hot Labs area of Noveria springs to mind), and that are not mentioned again other than immediately after you finish them.

You don't make any choices in the Hot Labs. I can't think of any significant choices that don't get referenced later in the game (except maybe the Fifth Fleet missions, but the game needs to record you completing those anyway).

[ondonaflash]

Improve the inventory interface! No longer trudging through lists of hundreds of items to determine what you want, and what you want to sell, whether or not the mods are worth keeping, or where your last key item was!

section each item off by type, and list them based on resale value. List them separately from the equipped items screen, possibly keep track of what the off planet party members have equipped at the time. Just make the inventory more comfortable to use.

[Arbitrarity]

I'm probably going to have to play through ME1 4+ times for every gender and alignment combo, with previous actions, to play ME2 properly. Then I have to play ME2 8+ times for every gender and alignment combo, fresh and continuing games.

Damn Bioware! Stop making so much hidden content!

[NeoVid]

Probably the part that will be most painful to implement is the fact that the Council might need to be entirely different depending on what you did at the end of ME1.

And there will have to be new characters. Considering you can lose 2 of your 6 squad members, it's a necessity. I'd just better be able to keep Wrex. They'd have to be crazy to lose the most useful and interesting character.

And I don't think there's any chance Shepard will be dead. You'll probably be able to transfer your old character straight over, from the little I've heard. And on that note...

(Goes off to make a perfectly minmaxed lvl 60 Vanguard with Singularity)

[Verruckt]

I'm probably going to have to play through ME1 4+ times for every gender and alignment combo, with previous actions, to play ME2 properly. Then I have to play ME2 8+ times for every gender and alignment combo, fresh and continuing games.

Damn Bioware! Stop making so much hidden content!

You'll have to do ME 1 8 times, if only because of the Aasari doubling the romance sub plots.

[Townopolis]

I need to replay through ME1. I deleted my whole Xbox profile and started clean, but haven't gotten to ME yet.

I don't think I'm going to go completionist on this one, though. I'm just going to stick with my sniping infiltrator plus Ashley and Wrex.

Eager Anticipation.

[warty goblin]

Probably the part that will be most painful to implement is the fact that the Council might need to be entirely different depending on what you did at the end of ME1.

And there will have to be new characters. Considering you can lose 2 of your 6 squad members, it's a necessity. I'd just better be able to keep Wrex. They'd have to be crazy to lose the most useful and interesting character.

And I don't think there's any chance Shepard will be dead. You'll probably be able to transfer your old character straight over, from the little I've heard. And on that note...

(Goes off to make a perfectly minmaxed lvl 60 Vanguard with Singularity)

Shepard being dead? Odds less than 5%. Shepard having amnesia? Odds north of 70%. I mean I hardly min maxed ME to a crazy degree or anything, but by the last battle, nothing was slowing me and my assault rifle down. About the only enemy that remained a challenge where those bloody annoying one shot kill rocket drones. Either the new batch of enemies make the old ones look like buttercups, or Shepard is getting toned down somehow.

Plus let's face it, when was the last time you didn't play an RPG where the lead character had amnesia?

[Jibar]

Interviews I've seen (Yay Gametrailers!) suggest that you will play as Shepard, but not for the whole game.
Which means he could actually die during the game, you'll play him in flashbacks, or they're messing with us and you instead are gaining the ability to take control of team mates.

[Jeivar]

Interviews I've seen (Yay Gametrailers!) suggest that you will play as Shepard, but not for the whole game.
Which means he could actually die during the game, you'll play him in flashbacks, or they're messing with us and you instead are gaining the ability to take control of team mates.

Hmm. Or maybe there's a section where Shepard either goes missing (presumed dead) or is captured or incapacitated, and then it's up to the sidekicks to fix things. It could be interesting, provided it doesn't take up more than, say one planet or something.

Who to go with if that's the case . . .

From the ME1 lineup, I guess I'd go with Ashley. Though I'm also tempted to go with Wrex if it means picking his dialogue options. Imagine that one. :smallsmile:

I'm REALLY hoping they don't go with killing Shepard for good. Call me a softie if you must, but I want those lovely romances to continue . . . :smallredface:

[Jeivar]

Shepard being dead? Odds less than 5%. Shepard having amnesia? Odds north of 70%. I mean I hardly min maxed ME to a crazy degree or anything, but by the last battle, nothing was slowing me and my assault rifle down. About the only enemy that remained a challenge where those bloody annoying one shot kill rocket drones. Either the new batch of enemies make the old ones look like buttercups, or Shepard is getting toned down somehow.

Plus let's face it, when was the last time you didn't play an RPG where the lead character had amnesia?

Well, maybe Shepard is severely injured at the start, to the point of needing rehabilitation, and so needs to relearn the skills gained in ME1.

Or they could just go with the simple, easy solution, and have you just start back at level 1. It would save the developers from having to expand the skill trees with each installment, and it would save us the weirdness of fighting streets thugs that could have taken Saren in a fight.

I mean, the skill trees aren't even really meant to be true representatives of the characters' skills. Take Wrex; He's been fighting for centuries. He damn well shouldn't have anything left to learn about shotguns.

[Mewtarthio]

You'll have to do ME 1 8 times, if only because of the Aasari doubling the romance sub plots.

Twenty-four times. The choice of background has a moderate impact on the game as well. And that's not even getting into the events on Virmire. :smallamused:

[Colmarr]

Well, maybe Shepard is severely injured at the start, to the point of needing rehabilitation, and so needs to relearn the skills gained in ME1.

To be perfectly honest, I'd rather not play Shepard if s/he's not going to be the Shepard I left at the end of ME1.

Give me another character instead, and let Shephard be a crucial part of the plot but not a playable character.

[endoperez]

From the information and asumptions (Shepard is presumed dead, Shepard is not really dead, you will not play the whole game as Shepard), I'd think the game starts without Shepard, but you get/save/find/heal/restore him as he was at the end of ME1 somewhere down the line. Perhaps somewhere where things are really starting to heat up and you could use some extra firepower.This way, you can start at level 1 and get Shepard as he was in ME1.

[Zeful]

I really hope there's less talky more shooty. It's really hard to do the citidel three or four times because of power outages, failure to save regularly, messing up your skills, or simple corruption of the save file (all of these have happened to me). Or at least no more than a half an hour between gunfights.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Maybe you'll play Sheppard in a brief tutorial level whereing you're keeping an eye on a promising young Spectre (The PC), customised with race/class/what-have-you, and get killed on-mission by a Magic Plot Bullet (Much like Nihlus at the begining of ME1)

At which point, the PC gets blamed, and turned down for Spectre-ship and ends up having to destroy the bloody Reaper fleet anyway.
Ported over saves would more than likely include "major" decisions, such as Party members alive or dead limiting or changes steps you take to clear your name, recurring party members, and confrontation with the rachnai, as well as completely switiching up interactions with The Council.

Plus, you'll get to hear "Sheppard was a jerk/really nice guy"s spouted by qrandom NPC Number seven.
/speculation/wishfulthinking (I really, really, want to play a Quarian Sniper.)

[AgentPaper]

I really hope there's less talky more shooty. It's really hard to do the citidel three or four times because of power outages, failure to save regularly, messing up your skills, or simple corruption of the save file (all of these have happened to me). Or at least no more than a half an hour between gunfights.

Or rather, even out the talking and the shooting. First the game has a lot of talking with a few bits of combat, then it changes gears entirely for the second 2/3 of the game or so where you're running around mindlessly wiping out all life on various planets.

[Maxymiuk]

I'm hoping they'll do something about how shopping was handled, since I got the impression that they threw it in only because it's "the done thing" when you're making an RPG. In the beginning you cant' afford anything good anything, and after a single round of sidequests, you're getting loot drops better than what the merchants have to offer. I think the only things I ever actually bought mere Medi-Gel upgrades and Spectre equipment.

So I'd say, either rework the economy, or throw it out altogether, since it isn't necessary.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Ditto on the economy, although I must confess that I've found the majority of the Collosus X Armour through shops on the Citadel (One fomr the BDtS DLC), and still haven't outfitted the whole squad, as well as having Garrus rut around in Light armour and Wrex in Medium. (My Infiltrator-Sheppard got Medium from Bring Down the Sky, and th eonly armour type for quarians in the game is light. These are the only Collusos-armoured sqaud members).

[mangosta71]

Think I'm gonna assume the "missing, presumed dead" theory for Shepard. Of course, it's also possible that ME2 will be set far enough after ME1 that the only reason to import a game will be to change some of the dynamics and none of the characters from the first will appear at all.

As far as the first, yeah, shopping was a hassle, and yeah, the only time you really needed something from the shop was before you could afford anything. But the biggest disappointment to me was the way the intimidation ending worked out. I'm playing this bitter, cynical, nasty character, practically screaming obscenities at Saren, and he gets all remorseful and offs himself instead of getting belligerent and more determined to see me dead? Though I was also a little disappointed with how easy the last fight was as a vanguard, too. Lift, shotgun, cutscene, oh look! Cooldowns are up! Lift, shotgun, game over. Was more interesting as a dedicated sniper inflitrator. At least then I had to have one of my teammates freeze him in place long enough to get a shot off.

[Arbitrarity]

Twenty-four times. The choice of background has a moderate impact on the game as well. And that's not even getting into the events on Virmire. :smallamused:

GAH.

Ok.
3 backgrounds. 3 personalities. 9.
4ish alignment options (really a spectrum, but major, minimal, paragon, renegade). 36.
Virmire. Wrex? Kaiden or Ashley? Kirrahe? 288.
Council? Udina or Anderson? 1144.
Romance plot? Which, if any? Your gender? 6864.
Queen? 13728 (IT'S OVER 9000!)
Did you save Feros colony? 27456.
Which people did you shoot?
Did Anderson get shot, or punch Udina in the face?
Which missions did you complete?
...
:smallfurious::smallfurious:*grumble*:smallfurious ::smallfurious:

[NeoVid]

Damn shops.

I used all the tricks: Only selling things to Dr Michel since she pays twice as much, only buying the licenses for Armax, Kassa, Serrice Council, and Geth Armory (that last one only if I'm using Wrex) so that the Normandy quartermaster won't sell tons of worthless junk, AND constantly reloading saves on the Normandy to randomize his inventory...

And after 3 playthroughs with one character, I still didn't have armor above Mk VIII for some of my characters.

Still, I did manage to get Colossus X Medium for Shepard, and Battlemaster X Heavy (both the best and coolest looking in the game) for Wrex, but having characters I used all the time with weak armor was a real pain.

[Knight13]

Give me another character instead, and let Shephard be a crucial part of the plot but not a playable character.
There's an interesting idea. Shephard is a major NPC and how he/she acts is determined by your choices in ME1.

[Hawriel]

Saw the teaser. Not thrilled about the idea that Shepard is killed. However I dont believe this. Bioware has already said that Shepard is the main character to the end of the series.

To the question of how will ME2 know what I did? Thats easy. It also was the toppic of afew threads on Biowares ME boards. When you finish the game, the game auto saves your character. You can see it in the profile selections when starting a new game. That saves character is most likely flagged with the information ME2 will use to alter its game. Decision points are the flags. Things like, did you kill the bug queen? Did you save the councel, Did you support a human domining stratagy at the end? Where you nice to Conrad. There are alot of points in the game that Will, can, or should effect events in the next game.

My guess is when you load ME2 and hit new game. It will ask you if you want to creat a character or load an existing one. With an option to load/import from ME.

[Serenity]

I have no doubt that Sheperd will be the PC again; considering the trailer suggests s/he's presumed dead, severe injury (possibly causing amnesia) seems the most likely for dropping you to level 1. If they justify it at all. After all, at the beginning of ME, Sheperd is already the lone survivor of a Thresher Maw attack/The Hero of the Skyllian Blitz/The Butcher of Torfan--feats that the level 1 Sheperd at the start of the game could not have achieved.

Returning NPCs: Kaiden or Ashley will return, depending on which one died at Virmire. Liara likely will too, especially if you were romancing her. Tali is a possibility, actually--I understand the tie-in novels have drama going down on the Flotilla. Garrus will likely have a cameo based on how you influenced him, but may well not be in the party. I think Wrex will be in if you kept him alive.

[Dragor]

My Shepard theory is that he's fallen out with the Council/ruling government and has gone rogue- instead of announcing that (as Shepard is now a hero on a huge scale), he's been announced dead.

[Cúchulainn]

My Shepard theory is that he's fallen out with the Council/ruling government and has gone rogue- instead of announcing that (as Shepard is now a hero on a huge scale), he's been announced dead.

Don't be silly, on both of the endings Shephard was in good standing with the Council. The only possible reason for him to be 'announced' dead would be for infiltration, the only place he would need to infiltrate would be the Terminus systems. They weren't given much spotlight in ME1, aside from the Council constantly saying they couldn't do various things otherwise the Terminus would be all up in their grill. Plus if I remember correctly the Terminus are on the edges of Darkspace, if there's anywhere Shepard could learn more about the Reapers it'd be somewhere in there.

[Dragor]

Don't be silly, on both of the endings Shephard was in good standing with the Council. The only possible reason for him to be 'announced' dead would be for infiltration, the only place he would need to infiltrate would be the Terminus systems. They weren't given much spotlight in ME1, aside from the Council constantly saying they couldn't do various things otherwise the Terminus would be all up in their grill. Plus if I remember correctly the Terminus are on the edges of Darkspace, if there's anywhere Shepard could learn more about the Reapers it'd be somewhere in there.

That's an interesting theory.

ME1 ended that way, but we don't know whether ME2 will go on directly after- events may have transpired. Considering the way a Renegade Shepard acts, an eventual falling out seems inevitable, since Renegade Shepard seems to bring chaos wherever he walks and eventually even the humans would get sick of him. Paragon Shepard... that's a more difficult one.

But meh. It's all speculation, anything could happen really- Bioware left a lot of routes to explore, and the trailer to me doesn't seem to indicate much as to where it will go, although a focus on the Geth seems obvious (possibly making them less minion-like this time?). I think by this point it's quite obvious that Shepard won't be dead, as a) all the attachment to Shepard we got in ME1 would be squandered, and that's not really a Bioware thing, they know their fanbases/storytelling and b) the whole 'keep your save games' announcement.

I do like the idea of playing an infiltrating Shepard in the Terminus Systems, though.

[chiasaur11]

That's an interesting theory.

ME1 ended that way, but we don't know whether ME2 will go on directly after- events may have transpired. Considering the way a Renegade Shepard acts, an eventual falling out seems inevitable, since Renegade Shepard seems to bring chaos wherever he walks and eventually even the humans would get sick of him. Paragon Shepard... that's a more difficult one.

But meh. It's all speculation, anything could happen really- Bioware left a lot of routes to explore, and the trailer to me doesn't seem to indicate much as to where it will go, although a focus on the Geth seems obvious (possibly making them less minion-like this time?). I think by this point it's quite obvious that Shepard won't be dead, as a) all the attachment to Shepard we got in ME1 would be squandered, and that's not really a Bioware thing, they know their fanbases/storytelling and b) the whole 'keep your save games' announcement.

I do like the idea of playing an infiltrating Shepard in the Terminus Systems, though.

I remember someone once making the mildly interesting and totally insane decision of having Shepard put in a Geth body to infiltrate the enemy.

Would explain the expected level drop, and the "death".

[Green Bean]

I'm pretty sure this hasn't been posted yet, so here's the E3 Trailer. (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/prelude-to-mass-effect/49313) Looks like you won't be playing as Shepard for at least part of the game.

[Verruckt]

If the way the prequel novel set up the first game can be extrapolated to the second novel (worth the read by the by) and second game then my bets are Game will take place on both Omega (the Terminus equivalent of The Citadel) and the Migrant Fleet, and perhaps in Collector space. Enemies will include Cerberus to a larger extent than in the first game, and the trailers suggest either a new variety of Geth, or that the Collectors are mechanical in nature. I really hope that Hendel Mitra (Biotic Indian Viking) and his young charge River Tam Gillian Grayson make an appearance in the next game. And maybe we'll finally get to meet one of the Grissoms.

[Emperor Ing]

One thing i'm really hoping for is if they get rid of those damned elevator loading screens, specifically on the Normandy.

For the love of the gods, it's a 10 ft drop, do I REALLY need to go on an elevator?
And why does the supremely most advanced ship in the galaxy have an elevator that moves at a snail's pace anyway?!

[factotum]

One thing i'm really hoping for is if they get rid of those damned elevator loading screens, specifically on the Normandy.

For the love of the gods, it's a 10 ft drop, do I REALLY need to go on an elevator?
And why does the supremely most advanced ship in the galaxy have an elevator that moves at a snail's pace anyway?!

It's a limitation of the game engine, not the ship--it can't handle areas that are too large. (Guessing that's a holdover from the console version where memory is at a premium--same thing happened in Tomb Raider: Legend where you got loading screens about every 3 feet you moved because the console it was written on didn't have the RAM to store the entire game map and textures!).

[mangosta71]

Oh yes, it will be very nice if they make the PC version not pause for loading every 10 seconds....I don't give a rat's ass about the console version.

[Philistine]

The Normandy elevator wasn't even the worst part - I usually had to pause for "Loading" twice just taking the stairs between the crew quarters and the command deck.

[Optimystik]

I want Shepard to be the main character again, because s/he's slightly more than human and I like feeling that way in single-player RPGs. In Jade Empire you were a Spirit Monk; Baldur's Gate you were descended from a god; Morrowind and Oblivion both had you as more than just an exceptionally skilled mook also. Here in ME, Shepard was the only human to absorb the beacon, and we can't be sure what it may have done to him aside from the memories it implanted.

But more than that... I want a romance with Garrus! Bring him back!! Turians are hot! :smalltongue:

[Emperor Ing]

But more than that... I want a romance with Garrus! Bring him back!! Turians are hot! :smalltongue:

Speaking of which Bioware should generate the additional gender for ALL of the alien races (except Asari for legit reasons :smalleek:) all turians can't possibly be male. :P

[Philistine]

True - but it could be that we've already met any number of female turians, and humans just can't tell the difference between them.

For the rest, what other species are you looking for? Salarian females make up only 10% of total population and rarely or never leave their home planets. Quarians of either gender are rarely seen outside the Migrant Fleet. And we have seen a Rachni Queen. Most other species are either very different (elcor and hanar), only appear in bulky protective gear which could conceal a considerable degree of sexual dimorphism (krogan), or both (volus). Then there are the various constructed "races," such as Keepers, Reapers, and Geth, which as far as we know don't reproduce sexually.

In some SF settings (both Star Trek and Star Wars come to mind), the gender of most aliens is easy to distinguish because so many different species display the exact same sexual dimorphism as humans. When you think about it, though, that's more than a little odd.

[Emperor Ing]

For the rest, what other species are you looking for? Salarian females make up only 10% of total population and rarely or never leave their home planets. Quarians of either gender are rarely seen outside the Migrant Fleet. And we have seen a Rachni Queen. Most other species are either very different (elcor and hanar), only appear in bulky protective gear which could conceal a considerable degree of sexual dimorphism (krogan), or both (volus). Then there are the various constructed "races," such as Keepers, Reapers, and Geth, which as far as we know don't reproduce sexually.

In some SF settings (both Star Trek and Star Wars come to mind), the gender of most aliens is easy to distinguish because so many different species display the exact same sexual dimorphism as humans. When you think about it, though, that's more than a little odd.

1) Valid points, specifically about the salarians, but of course, there can be vocal and cognitive differences that make them distinguishably different from their opposite gender. I don't know about you, but hanar, elcor, and basically every single alien species (except asari of course) in MF sound distinctly male. :smalltongue:
2) I agree with the observation of other alien species from other Scifi universes, it's particularly discomforting :smalleek:

[Hawriel]

In some SF settings (both Star Trek and Star Wars come to mind), the gender of most aliens is easy to distinguish because so many different species display the exact same sexual dimorphism as humans. When you think about it, though, that's more than a little odd.


Its because human woman actresses played the female alians. How is this not obvious :smallconfused:

The human bipedal form is standard for all sentient life forms in any sci fi univers that comes out of TV or film. Funny that you mention Star Wars because it was one of the first main stream sci-fi settings to depict not only non biped aliens. Also female aliens that where not clearly mammalian oriented.

Star Trek actualy addresses this issue in few of its shows. However I put it down to style. Its just the way it works.

As for the elivator.

Out of all the desine flaws with the normandy you pick one that makes sence for some thing you cant understand? The elivator is (read should) act as a air lock. This is because it connects the crew deck with the cargo hold. This is a very large space with a very large door. If it is at all compromized the elivator can be used to gain access. This also has utility. Do you want to bring large heavy crates and equipment up a flight of stairs or drag them up a ladder in a small tube, or do you want to bring them up an elivator? The last reason is security. If the ship is boarded while docked or other wise grounded the attack will come through the cargo bay. The elivator is a choke point. However there should be at least one stair well that goes to the cargo bay. Plus at least one ladder hatch.

The Normendy's biggest flaw is the waisted space and the long open command deck. Again however, this was made by artists who where making a vidio game. Not actualy desining a real ship in detale.

[Jibar]

The Normendy's biggest flaw is the waisted space and the long open command deck. Again however, this was made by artists who where making a vidio game. Not actualy desining a real ship in detale.

That's a plot point though.
The ship isn't meant to be effective. It was all done as a way to strengthen relations with the Turians. At one point an officer will start complaining about the Normandy, pointing out all the ridiculous design and mentioning that for the cost it took to build it, they could have make 3 battlecruisers or something along those lines.
It was made by artists who knew exactly that this was not how you really design any kind of vehicle.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Wait - wasted space on the command deck? By which I'm assuming you mean the CIC/Bridge deck (First deck of the ship).
What I see is:
A cirular central area for the CIC, complete with Galaxy Map, so that the CO, or more likely, navigator can plot courses. I'm not sure the imperssion theeds to be that big, but, compensating for a little bit of personal space, Sheppard's party can all stand there, which would imply it was designed for a CO-XO-NavO hobnobbing over course plots.
This area is literally encircled by various consoles with various persons working them. One would assume LASAR, WEPCON, and other such data is tracked here, as well as ELINT, Shielding, and other such CIC-ish things which would be tracked on a warship. Around these consoles on either side is a relavtivly (compare to modern warships) wide passageway, which nonethless still shows some squeezing required for the ship's XO to hurry on past some blueshirt or other (REF: Opening cinematic).
This is connected by another, slightly more comfortably-sized P-way which is lined with consoles where the operatoprs have been afforded the luxury of chairs during their 8-12 hour combat watches. This is shown to contain the Ship's Heat Readouts, and is more than likely where the LASAR systems go, as operator fatigue is a factor in accuracy of the sensor (REF: Real-life SONAR operators).
This is followed by a bridge more cramped than any I've stood on, with a pair of helmsmen/lee-helmsman stations, and what I can only assume to be various other workstations which are to be manned by Gunner's Mates should the ship enter into Ship-to-ship combat.

Where is the wasted space? Is it in the fact that all the wires and piping are concealed neatly within the bulkhead?

EDIT'd:
In referance to the frieght elevator between Crew Berthing (Which is conviently situated off the accessable path) and the Cargo hold:
It's a bloody freight elevator. For moving frieght. You try to UNREP a warship that receives it's goods on the lowermost decks without one. While this doesn't explain the lack of ladderwell, it does explain the presence of such a space (Real-world referance: Aircraft carriers of frieght elevators leading from the AO's workshop onto the flight deck, used exclusivly for ordinance.)

The only wasted space I see is a wide-open Galley (which I must assume is only the wardroom) and the P-way leading to Crew Quarters (Which is very rightly manned by a pair of armed watchstanders.).

[Cúchulainn]

Thing is we haven't seen the inside of a Turian ship, or even know what their basic ship command structure is. I'd be more inclined to make a decision on the layout of the command deck if I knew what considerations they took in the first place and the difference between officer relations. Otherwise nothing particularly stands out to me as badly designed...aside from the fact that the galaxy map is maybe a tad too big for its purposes.

[Jeivar]

Incidentally, what's your preferred version of Shepard?

My male one was a gloriously good looking golden boy spacer war hero (hey, it's space opera :smallsmile: ) Infiltrator, who was mostly Paragon, but still shot a few bad guys in the face because it's just so damn satisfying to watch.

But I really prefer my female one: A tough-looking, butcher of Torfan (because as a colonist she truly understands the stakes), who had a rougher edge to her than Golden Boy, but without crossing into obnoxious douchebaggery. She just doesn't take any crap from jerks. And I made her a soldier, because I like the idea of Shepard, in battles and wars involving advanced robots, unkillable Krogan, giant bugs, and biotic aliens, getting by through sheer toughness, weapon skill, and badassery.

[Optimystik]

Male Shepard: Black Paragon Adept Nemesis.
I used Garrus as my rogue and Wrex as my tank. I enjoyed weakening/disabling groups of enemies with Warp and Lift, so he could Shotgun them to oblivion while Garrus hung back and sniped the heavies.

Female Shepard: Green-eye Redhead Renegade Soldier Commando.
I used Kaiden and Liara with her. Kaiden was the rogue and Liara was good at controlling the battlefield while I mopped up with the assault rifle. It was also funny stringing them both along until Ilos.

[Colmarr]

I used Garrus as my rogue

What do you mean by rogue? I personally never had any luck with using companions for anything other than close support. Sniping was particularly woeful, because the NPCs weren't smart enough to get out of the way of enemy rockets.

As for the question, my personal favourite was a male (assault rifle) soldier. I thought he had the "tough manly" vibe going on, but my wife described him as "ugly as sin" instead.

Going from soldier to adept on my second playthrough made me appreciate just how much damage a soldier can absorb. It was truly wonderful to be able to eat a rocket to the face and still win fights.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Green-Eyed Thanatos Shepard, Earthborn War Hero. Infiltraitor
He had kind of the Drill Sergant Nasty look to him, with the High-and-tight haircut and a scar right above his eye, and I, of course, made him a rough-and-tumble Sniper.
He had the rank and knew it meant that he didn't have to take no stuff from nobody. He was a Rengade, usually favouring Intimidation over charm ("I have the Doom Cannon, you're an unarmed civilian, I've slaughtered countless AI beasties with a slavering drive to kill me. Give me the codes.")

[Verruckt]

My first run I went with a big Scandinavian biker Shepard, Paragon soldier to the core using an assault rifle and sniper rifle, named "Mr. Shredder" and "Rape Cannon" respectively. Used Wrex and Ashley most often, the more heavy armor the merrier although when I didn't use Wrex I used Garrus.

Second run I played the standard female Shepard with a couple facial tweaks. That run was intended to be a renegade Vangaurd but I ended up going paragon anyway (her weapon of preference was a shotgun called "The Violator"). I think I used Kaiden and Liara mostly, lots of biotics in every direction.

Once I get my 360 fixed I'll have to do a dedicated Renegade run on one of the more malicious characters I've created and never gotten off the Citadel.

[Arbitrarity]

Female Shepard: Green-eye Redhead Renegade Soldier Commando.
I used Kaiden and Liara with her. Kaiden was the rogue and Liara was good at controlling the battlefield while I mopped up with the assault rifle. It was also funny stringing them both along until Ilos.

Whaaat. That's exactly the same thing I did, except I used Tali instead. Same appearance, same class, etc.

It seems the Renegade Female Soldier is a popular second character.

[Corvus]

First run through was the clean-cut male orphan who became the war hero, paragon to the core. Played as an infiltrator, going heavy in electronics, decryption, charm and sniper rifles. Took along Wrex and Ashley to do the grunt work while I sat back sniping. Wrex is my favourite of all the allies so I make an effort to save him - he better be in ME2.

Second time around a colony born ruthless female soldier - renegade to the core. She intimidates, threatens, extorts and summarily executes people and prefers getting up close and personal with a shotgun. Her team is Kaidan (for the techie work) and Garrus (who is being corrupted by her renegade attitude).

Planning on taking the two alien ladies - Tali and Liara - on the next run through.

[Guancyto]

It's hard to blame the majority (myself included) for liking Female Renegade; Jennifer Hale is surprisingly good at the "serious hardened badass" role. I went with Vanguard for that playthrough.

Paragon playthrough was the default male skin and an Engineer, which is more awesome than people sometimes give it credit for.

Wrex is, of course, my constant companion. Liara generally comes along too.

[Jeivar]

It's hard to blame the majority (myself included) for liking Female Renegade; Jennifer Hale is surprisingly good at the "serious hardened badass" role.

Oh yeah. :smallsmile: Jennifer Hale is my all-time favorite voice actor, and 1/3 of the reason I love female Shepard.

[mangosta71]

My first character was a female renegade infiltrator. One of my favorite scenes in the playthrough was on Noveria, when she shoved her pistol into what's-her-name's face, and said quietly, "No one takes my gun."

I need to figure out how to get the bloody game working on my new machine for more good times.

[Jeivar]

One of my favorite scenes in the playthrough was on Noveria, when she shoved her pistol into what's-her-name's face, and said quietly, "No one takes my gun."


I did that every time. :smallsmile:

That's what I love about Mass Effect: You can be a dangerous, hardened badass, and still be a hero.

[Optimystik]

What do you mean by rogue?

Omnigel skillmonkey - you need a techie in your squad to pick locks, hack computers and repair the Mako. If Shepard isn't specced for it, your choices are Tali, Garrus or Kaiden.


Whaaat. That's exactly the same thing I did, except I used Tali instead. Same appearance, same class, etc.

It seems the Renegade Female Soldier is a popular second character.

What can I say? Hyper-Lesbian Space B***h is fun to play :smallbiggrin: Doubly so when she Punches out Wrex and ventilates his skull


I did that every time. :smallsmile:

That's what I love about Mass Effect: You can be a dangerous, hardened badass, and still be a hero.

Jade Empire took that about a million miles further. One of my favorite things to do was be the model of goodness all through the game, then pull a heel face turn right at the end and royally screw the planet :smallbiggrin:

[Joran]

I'm hoping they improve the "quests" (yay, I clicked on a planet, I picked up an odd tablet) and also made the tank a little more responsive and less boring.

My only playthrough was with Tali and Liara as my team. Liara would singularity, I would shotgun, and Tali was there to unlock stuff =P I thought Tali was a cool character though.


Jade Empire took that about a million miles further. One of my favorite things to do was be the model of goodness all through the game, then pull a heel face turn right at the end and royally screw the planet

I loved the universe of Jade Empire. I hope to see another game set in the Universe again.

[Jeivar]

I'm hoping they improve the "quests" (yay, I clicked on a planet, I picked up an odd tablet) and also made the tank a little more responsive and less boring.

I would also like to see some tweaks to the Mako. Like more varied weapons, and the ability to upgrade it; Say, having to choose between heavy armor or greater speed for instance.

[Jeivar]

]Punches out Wrex and ventilates his skull

Um . . . at what point do you get a chance to punch Wrex? :smallconfused: And how the hell does a human punch out a Krogan?

But yes, tough gun-toting space lesbians are fun. :smallsmile:

[Guancyto]

Jade Empire took that about a million miles further. One of my favorite things to do was be the model of goodness all through the game, then pull a heel face turn right at the end and royally screw the planet :smallbiggrin:

I did this the other way around. You spend the first 99% of the game screwing people over and kicking puppies, and then at the very last minute you say "yeah, let's not doom the entire planet to a slow, lingering death" and BAM! You're a hero, happy end.

[Optimystik]

Um . . . at what point do you get a chance to punch Wrex? :smallconfused: And how the hell does a human punch out a Krogan?

Well, by "punch" I really meant "shotgun-whip". I spoilered that for a reason, but I'm assuming everyone in this thread played the first one.


I did this the other way around. You spend the first 99% of the game screwing people over and kicking puppies, and then at the very last minute you say "yeah, let's not doom the entire planet to a slow, lingering death" and BAM! You're a hero, happy end.

Ya Zhen gets totally disgusted when you do that :smallbiggrin: (Assuming you kept him around anyway, which if you're being a jerkwad Spirit Monk you probably did)

[Jeivar]

Well, by "punch" I really meant "shotgun-whip". I spoilered that for a reason, but I'm assuming everyone in this thread played the first one.


If you mean the Virmire thing, then no, I reasoned with him. And if it's the Fist thing, I didn't care.

[Comet]

Female Shepard was in every way superior to the male one. The VA does a phenomenal job.

My favourite run-through, and the one I'm going to load for ME2, was as follows:
Paragon Shepard, dark haired, bright eyed optimist, Omni-Tool in one hand, pistol in the other. Finesse is the way to protect the universe. Everyone gets saved.
To compliment the naive Charlie's Angels feel, I always took Liara and Tali with me. Space chicks saving everyone with Omni-Tools and Psi-powers? Yes, please.

The alternative is a truly GRIMDARK male Shepard, clad in space marine armour and blasting away with his assault rifle. Xenophobic, violent and pessimistic. He's always running out of gum.

[Optimystik]

If you mean the Virmire thing, then no, I reasoned with him. And if it's the Fist thing, I didn't care.

Yes, Virmire. I had her brook no insubordination from that alien sack of crap.
(<3 Wrex)


He's always running out of gum.

Did anyone else feel a pang of loss for Duke Nukem after reading that?

[Emperor Ing]

I'd also like to see a bit more development on the quests. I dunno about you, but......after taking out 2 or 3 Cerberus strongholds from the quest the rear admiral alliance dude on the Citadel gives you, I got all exited cuz of 'yeah, i'm gonna storm the fortress and beat the crap out of every single one of them!' only to be extremely dissapointed to get the 'congradulations! You just defeated the Cerberus uber-fortress!' after killing 6 dudes.
I'm sorry, but, wtf?!

I would also like it if Charm or Intimidate were less important. It seems that any evil doer can be thwarted into stopping what they're doing by saying 'don't' :smallannoyed:
Especally at the end of the game with Saren. :smallmad:
At least they did it right with the Rogue Biotics on that ship they hijacked.

[warty goblin]

I would also like it if Charm or Intimidate were less important. It seems that any evil doer can be thwarted into stopping what they're doing by saying 'don't' :smallannoyed:
Especally at the end of the game with Saren. :smallmad:
At least they did it right with the Rogue Biotics on that ship they hijacked.

Huh, I'd prefer it if I could stop more people by talking at them. The problem I had in the first game was that it only applied to more or less named characters- I think there was one case in the game where I could talk a bunch of grunts out of having me shooting them. Made the whole paragon thing feel a bit weaksauce somehow. I mean not reasoning with the Geth, that's fine, they are organocidal machines and should die, but a lot of the dudes I fought were humans, or at least, and reasoning with them would have been nice.

[Philistine]

FemShep has one key disadvantage compared to MaleShep: FemShep can't hook up with Ashley. Since IMO Ash is the best-written and voiced of the romantic options in the game, I regard this as a serious drawback.

[Jeivar]

FemShep has one key disadvantage compared to MaleShep: FemShep can't hook up with Ashley. Since IMO Ash is the best-written and voiced of the romantic options in the game, I regard this as a serious drawback.

True, true.

But on the other hand . . . JENNIFER HALE! :smallsmile:

[Freejack451]

Did anyone else feel a pang of loss for Duke Nukem after reading that?[/QUOTE]


Woo hoo, my first reply on these forums!!!!!!!

Umm.. anyway, i think the bubblegum reference could also refer to the movie They Live. The man character, played by the wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, says the following line after entering a bank with a shotgun.

"I came to chew bublegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum!"

The quote may not be exact, but you get the idea.

[Emperor Ing]

Huh, I'd prefer it if I could stop more people by talking at them. The problem I had in the first game was that it only applied to more or less named characters- I think there was one case in the game where I could talk a bunch of grunts out of having me shooting them. Made the whole paragon thing feel a bit weaksauce somehow. I mean not reasoning with the Geth, that's fine, they are organocidal machines and should die, but a lot of the dudes I fought were humans, or at least, and reasoning with them would have been nice.

My point remains though, some characters, named or otherwise, seem rather submissive to mister/miss charmeypants.

Random Bad Guy: :smallfurious: "RAWR IM GONNA KILL YOU ALL RAWR RAWR!!!"
Shepherd: :smallamused: "Please Don't"
RBG :smallconfused: "What am I doing? Yeah, I will totally give myself up to the authorities for no good reason!"
Game: :smallsmile: "Quest Completed."
Me: :smallannoyed: "...seriously?"

[Gamgee]

Male, Green-Eye, Colonist, Sole Survivor, Adept, Nemesis(I think), and his name was Clark Shepherd.

He had a sorrowful look to his eyes and I designed him to actually sort of have a bad eye. A scar across the side of his face made this evident. He had a dark brown hair, but not black. He also looked very much like a real survivor. His lazy eye showed prominently in some cutscenes and this is why he isn't able to use most weapons effectively as he could only aim well with the pistol due to his eye. This is why he became an astounding biotic. He had a full Paragon bar, but on a few occasions did the Renegade thing the most notable was he chose to let the idiotic council die. After all he knows about survival, ad in times of crisis a council that slow and stupid would most certainly doom the galaxy. I mean they almost ****ed it over once with stupidity, best to just let them go really.

-----
The way I built his face I didn't know he had a sort of lazy eye until a few cutscenes, but I thought it was cool and I rolled with it. I also made up some of my own story as I went along :P

[Emperor Ing]

survivor. His lazy eye showed prominently in some cutscenes and this is why he isn't able to use most weapons effectively as he could only aim well with the pistol due to his eye.

That comment made me realize that most of the human characters appear to have Lazy Eye. :smallconfused::smalleek:

[Comet]

Fun fact:
I had no idea that there were any specialization classes or such in ME. After seeing the term "Nemesis" thrown around a couple of times in this very thread, I googled it.
Interesting, very interesting.

I didn't know anything about this stuff. And I have finished the game four times!

This may give me an excuse to give Mass Effect yet another replay :smallamused:

[Philistine]

How'd you manage that? Did you just skip the Luna mission every time?

[factotum]

I actually liked the planetary bits in the Mako in Mass Effect 1--it was like a true 3D version of the Star Control 2 planetary explorations; I think they should have more of that in Mass Effect 2! As for the Mako handling like a supermarket trolley full of rocks, well, considering the sort of terrain you were driving it up at the time I think it can be excused being a bit wobbly. On a flat surface it handled just fine.

[Guancyto]

I would've liked/would like the ability to upgrade and customize the tank along with everything else. Or at least do something to increase its silly shield recharge rate.

Being able to trick out the Mako would make it so the enemies in vehicular combat could have genuinely threatening abilities, too. What good is a hyper-advanced AI walker if its power shot can be defeated by repeatedly driving five feet to the left?

[Zeful]

I actually liked the planetary bits in the Mako in Mass Effect 1--it was like a true 3D version of the Star Control 2 planetary explorations; I think they should have more of that in Mass Effect 2! As for the Mako handling like a supermarket trolley full of rocks, well, considering the sort of terrain you were driving it up at the time I think it can be excused being a bit wobbly. On a flat surface it handled just fine.

Except the Mako's control scheme was crap. Instead of having a sensible, one stick for the turret the other for the tank, you had the "where ever the camera points you go" scheme from the wharthog.

[Comet]

How'd you manage that? Did you just skip the Luna mission every time?
Yeah, I did.

The sidequests I did were all more or less a dissapointment, so I started skipping them as a rule. Is the Luna mission better than the others?

That's something they should definetly improve for ME2. Sidequests that arent just storming the same base over and over again with slightly different enemies.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Except the Mako's control scheme was crap. Instead of having a sensible, one stick for the turret the other for the tank, you had the "where ever the camera points you go" scheme from the wharthog.

How would you have set up the control scheme?

For me, the Warthog handled just fine. Perfectly, even.

[Optimystik]

I would also like it if Charm or Intimidate were less important. It seems that any evil doer can be thwarted into stopping what they're doing by saying 'don't' :smallannoyed:
Especally at the end of the game with Saren. :smallmad:
At least they did it right with the Rogue Biotics on that ship they hijacked.

I disagree!
Are you kidding? Saren was my favorite use of the conversational skills. I had Femshep snap him out of Sovereign's control by effectively telling him what a p**** he was, and it worked so well that he blew his own brains out. That's one hell of an intimidate check!


FemShep has one key disadvantage compared to MaleShep: FemShep can't hook up with Ashley. Since IMO Ash is the best-written and voiced of the romantic options in the game, I regard this as a serious drawback.

Ugh. I couldn't stand her. Natter natter religion this sister that. When the time came to choose between her and Kaiden, I couldn't hit that no button fast enough I tell you.

As for voice actors, Brandon Keener (Garrus) blows everyone else clear out of the water, both Shepards included.


Yeah, I did.

The sidequests I did were all more or less a dissapointment, so I started skipping them as a rule. Is the Luna mission better than the others?

That's something they should definetly improve for ME2. Sidequests that arent just storming the same base over and over again with slightly different enemies.

While I agree with you on the sidemissions, the Luna mission is gold. The rogue VI sends just about every non-Geth robotic enemy after you in the bases. And of course, driving the Mako on the moon and seeing Earth in the sky is very cool also :smallsmile:

Of course, if you beat the game 4 times without specializing, you'll really think it's cake once you do. A Nemesis can tear through organic enemies like they're made of cellophane. I was flinging Krogan on Virmire around like squishy beachballs.

[Emperor Ing]

I disagree!
Are you kidding? Saren was my favorite use of the conversational skills. I had Femshep snap him out of Sovereign's control by effectively telling him what a p**** he was, and it worked so well that he blew his own brains out. That's one hell of an intimidate check!

Uhhh...try using a Charm check and you will see how ridiculous it is.

Saren: "MWHAHAHA!! You gave me some doubts before now I have none! I'm under mind control from the most advanced piece of...something in the universe!! MWHAHAHA!!!"
Shepherd: "We can still stop soverign"
Saren: "Hey yeah, we totally can!"

[Optimystik]

Uhhh...try using a Charm check and you will see how ridiculous it is.


The charm check is a bit unbelievable (It's closer to a Power of Love ending) but the Intimidate version that I mentioned was still nice.

Anyone remember reading these comics right when ME came out? So funny, and so true.

Penny Arcade on Mass Effect: #1
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071114.jpg
Penny Arcade on Mass Effect: #2
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071116.jpg
Penny Arcade on Mass Effect: #3
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071119.jpg

[Zeful]

How would you have set up the control scheme?

For me, the Warthog handled just fine. Perfectly, even.

The Warthog handles fine, it doesn't have any guns you can control though, so camera=direction of travel isn't bad. It's when the camera also controls a turret that you often need to fire while strafing that makes the camera controlling the direction of travel a bad idea. There's also the fact that you aren't briefed on the control scheme and have to figure it out for yourself.

I would have set up the mako's control scheme like any other FPS tank. The camera control moves the camera and the turret. The movement stick would dictate how the vehicle moves.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Ugh. I couldn't stand her. Natter natter religion this sister that. When the time came to choose between her and Kaiden, I couldn't hit that no button fast enough I tell you.

I know, it's almost like she was an actual person, with a history and family and opinions of her own. God, what were the designers thinking, putting a character like her into a role-playing game. *rolleyes*

[Arbitrarity]

I liked Kaiden and Ashley a lot more than Liara, at least. I did, however, sympathize more with each depending on which gender I was playing (not particularly unexpected).

[Jeivar]

I know, it's almost like she was an actual person, with a history and family and opinions of her own. God, what were the designers thinking, putting a character like her into a role-playing game. *rolleyes*

Yes, what indeed? The only decent NPC's are the cardboard-cutout ones, with no clear characteristics or thoughts beyond the PC's quest. Am I right or what? [/sarcasm] :smallsigh:

[Jeivar]

I liked Kaiden and Ashley a lot more than Liara, at least. I did, however, sympathize more with each depending on which gender I was playing (not particularly unexpected).

Ashley is my personal favorite, but I like Liara quite a lot too. Kaidan is okay, but he just didn't interest me. Plus, having Jennifer Hale falling in love with a blue-skinned, telekinetic, lesbian space elf, is . . . well . . . just too memorable to pass up. :smallsmile:

[Colmarr]

As for the Mako handling like a supermarket trolley full of rocks, well, considering the sort of terrain you were driving it up at the time I think it can be excused being a bit wobbly. On a flat surface it handled just fine.

That's another good point.

Hopefully planetary surfaces won't just be a lumpy plane spewed out by a fractal mapper. It'd also be nice to see some trees occasionally.


What good is a hyper-advanced AI walker if its power shot can be defeated by repeatedly driving five feet to the left?

You drove 5 ft to the left? I always jumped them. It was highly amusing - the stationary walker vs the kangaroo mako :smallbiggrin:


Anyone remember reading these comics right when ME came out? So funny, and so true.

I never noticed Wrex checking his watch in strip 2 before. Very cool :smallsmile:

[Maxymiuk]

You drove 5 ft to the left? I always jumped them. It was highly amusing - the stationary walker vs the kangaroo mako :smallbiggrin:


I'd dodge the shot and ram the mako into the poor bastard. Pin him down, then exit the vehicle and shoot him in the head repeatedly. :smallcool:

[Thanatos 51-50]

I'd dodge the shot and ram the mako into the poor bastard. Pin him down, then exit the vehicle and shoot him in the head repeatedly. :smallcool:

with my Hardcore Difficulty Soldier I drove up to them, rammed them, backed off, exited the tank and circle-strafed them until they fell down.

My Infiltraitor would park the Mako behind cover, Run to the edge of the rocky outcropping, and play pop-up sniper man.

All other Sheppards would have mah leet Mako skills with the dirving in circles contantly or kangaroo-jumping.

[Optimystik]

I know, it's almost like she was an actual person, with a history and family and opinions of her own. God, what were the designers thinking, putting a character like her into a role-playing game. *rolleyes*

Sarcasm meter exploding cap'n!

Garrus and Wrex had great characters too, and they didn't annoy the hell out of me. Hell, I loved Tali too, and wish her backstory got more attention (like what happens to that disc you find for her or what her people think of it.) Liara was wooden and uninteresting. It's just my opinion though, YMMV.


I'd dodge the shot and ram the mako into the poor bastard. Pin him down, then exit the vehicle and shoot him in the head repeatedly. :smallcool:

You can do that same strategy (jump-ram-pin) and stay in the Mako for the finish. The mako's machine gun tends to do a lot more damage than your weapons unless you're a soldier/vanguard with a souped-up shotgun.

[Toastkart]

You can do that same strategy (jump-ram-pin) and stay in the Mako for the finish. The mako's machine gun tends to do a lot more damage than your weapons unless you're a soldier/vanguard with a souped-up shotgun.

You also only get about 1/3rd the experience for kills in the mako.

While I've played through the game several times with various classes and paragon/renegade paths, my favourite has been a renegade male polyethnic shepard who's an infiltrator (I can't decide whether I like commando or operative better so I usually choose at random) and I usually take Ashley and either Wrex or Liara as teammates.

I don't know if its just me, but I always found it more fun to choose the ordinary renegade options during quests and missions rather than the intimidate option. Putting a bullet between someone's eyes seems to solve problems much faster than just threatening them into submission.

As for Mass Effect 2 itself, I'd like to see a different ratio of main story planes to side quest planets. Now that Shepard's been to 30+ supposedly uninhabited worlds, it makes little sense for him to visit 30+ more when he could be operating on habited planets or infiltrating the Terminus Systems or something like that.

I didn't have a problem with the mako itself, but was it just me or were all the interesting points on those worlds up the side of a near vertical cliff wall that took ten minutes to climb? That was the annoying part, not so much driving the mako itself. At any rate, a little more variable terrain than just jagged mountains and flat plains on the explorable planets would be nice.

Some more weapon variety would be nice, although I'm not sure in what way as they had a nice spread to begin with. Maybe more than just an ugly skin and an awesome skin for the weapons. The same goes for armor: some were awesome, others were just ugly.

[Maxymiuk]

You can do that same strategy (jump-ram-pin) and stay in the Mako for the finish. The mako's machine gun tends to do a lot more damage than your weapons unless you're a soldier/vanguard with a souped-up shotgun.

What Evrine said about XP loss. Plus, it's about style more than anything else.

[Arachu]

Heh, heh... Whenever I pinned an enemy with the Mako, I'd crush it like an insect (exactly so). Good times... :belkar:

Also, I forget the name of the planet, but there's ridiculously high terrain everywhere. It's dang near mountainous on this planet. That, was the scariest freaking planet in the game. Forget Asari commandos in strip bars, forget giant homicidal bugs, forget people getting impaled and converted into zombies. That terrain was the hardest thing ever.

So, basically, that planet was awesome :smalltongue:

I was borrowing it (and still got three playthroughs done :smallamused:), so I didn't get to go very far in Hardcore... But I remember having the strongest sniper in the game, the third-or-fourth tier explosive bullet, and biotic powers.
And, finally, I remember only one battle example; the bounty hunter ambush at Chora's Den (you know, two guys vs. three trained soldiers). Between me/Kaidan's biotics and the whole team's bullets, even though I used Lift constantly, it took a good half-hour just to kill two people. It was insane...

[/unrefined post]

[Lord Iames Osari]

Sarcasm meter exploding cap'n!

Garrus and Wrex had great characters too, and they didn't annoy the hell out of me. Hell, I loved Tali too, and wish her backstory got more attention (like what happens to that disc you find for her or what her people think of it.) Liara was wooden and uninteresting. It's just my opinion though, YMMV.

Sorry. The Ashley-hate really bothers me. The racism (or speciesism) accusations I can kinda see, even though I think her position is much more sophisticated and less hateful than the simple anti-alien bigotry exhibited by, say, Terra Firma or Cerberus. The religion thing - so what? She says she believes in God, and makes like 2 comments related to her belief in certain locales. But suddenly people are calling her a fundie bitch. Get a life people. If you want your protagonists to be enlightened atheists who get to thumb their noses at primitive superstitions, go watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.

And so what if she has a family who talks to her? OMG, she has a family! A family who are important to her. Gee, maybe realistic people tend to talk about things that are important to them, but no, it's "Shut up about your stupid sister, Ashley." :smallmad:

[/rant]

[Philistine]

Sorry. The Ashley-hate really bothers me. The racism (or speciesism) accusations I can kinda see, even though I think her position is much more sophisticated and less hateful than the simple anti-alien bigotry exhibited by, say, Terra Firma or Cerberus. The religion thing - so what? She says she believes in God, and makes like 2 comments related to her belief in certain locales. But suddenly people are calling her a fundie bitch. Get a life people. If you want your protagonists to be enlightened atheists who get to thumb their noses at primitive superstitions, go watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.

And so what if she has a family who talks to her? OMG, she has a family! A family who are important to her. Gee, maybe realistic people tend to talk about things that are important to them, but no, it's "Shut up about your stupid sister, Ashley." :smallmad:

[/rant]
This. Ashley is by far the most fully-realized NPC in the game, with opinions of her own, actual outside interests, and a background that's more than just "Generic Heroic Companion #1987452934." In fact, she's one of the best, most realistic NPCs I've ever seen in any game.

[Mewtarthio]

[/rant]

Agreed again. Side note: Ashley mentions in passing her belief in God in a private, intimate conversation and is labeled a "religious nut." Liara mentions her "goddess" all the time (and no, that's not just cursing; most Asari are pantheistic) and nobody gives her a second glance.

Note that my hatred of Liara's character is beside the point here.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Also, Ashley's feelings on alien species and their relationship with humanity (besides the fact that she is, quite reasonably, concerned with giving aliens you effectively just grabbed off the street access to the systems of a highly-classified warship):


If a bear's coming at you and the only way for you to survive is to sic your dog on it and run, you'll do it. No matter how much you love your dog, it's not human. It's not racism, not really. Members of their own species will just always be more important to them than humans are.

That's as near a direct quote as I can get without firing up a new playthrough, which is too much bother just to get one bit of conversation. It's also not the "Earth First" of Terra Firma, or the "Humanity should dominate the galaxy" philosophy of Cerberus (as revealed in tie-in novels). It is a reasonable, reasoned view of the universe. It might be wrong, but it is not malicious or hateful.

[chiasaur11]

Man, all this makes me hate the fact my computer can't run ME all the more.

It sits on my Steam list, taunting me.

[Guancyto]

I didn't hate Ashley, but I will say one thing: she gets a cooler sendoff than Kaidan if you choose to kill her.

Usually it's K-man that bites it in my games (because even though it's illogical and unfair, every time I hear his voice I start seeing Carth and aghsiahakalh), but it definitely changes the mood of the end of Virmire.

[Lord Iames Osari]

I'm pretty sure their sendoffs are the same. It just varies by which one you sent with the salarians and which one you then went to rescue.

[Jeivar]

Sorry. The Ashley-hate really bothers me. The racism (or speciesism) accusations I can kinda see, even though I think her position is much more sophisticated and less hateful than the simple anti-alien bigotry exhibited by, say, Terra Firma or Cerberus. The religion thing - so what? She says she believes in God, and makes like 2 comments related to her belief in certain locales. But suddenly people are calling her a fundie bitch. Get a life people. If you want your protagonists to be enlightened atheists who get to thumb their noses at primitive superstitions, go watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.
[/rant]

Too true. Ashley's alien thing is POLITICAL! She's concerned with Earth's POLITICAL situation in an alien-dominated galaxy. And yeah, she mentions her faith in God, TWICE, during very appropriate circumstances, and she certainly isn't pushy or arrogant about it . . . so it absolutely shocked me to go online and see internet sad sacks calling her a "religious nut". Um, excuse me? Do those folks even know what that means? No, they don't, they're just far more bigoted (towards faith, in this instance) than Ashley is ever portrayed as being towards aliens.

Ahem.

Anyway, yeah, she's one of the best crafted female NPC's I've ever come across

[Optimystik]

Sorry. The Ashley-hate really bothers me. The racism (or speciesism) accusations I can kinda see, even though I think her position is much more sophisticated and less hateful than the simple anti-alien bigotry exhibited by, say, Terra Firma or Cerberus. The religion thing - so what? She says she believes in God, and makes like 2 comments related to her belief in certain locales. But suddenly people are calling her a fundie bitch. Get a life people. If you want your protagonists to be enlightened atheists who get to thumb their noses at primitive superstitions, go watch Star Trek: The Next Generation.

And so what if she has a family who talks to her? OMG, she has a family! A family who are important to her. Gee, maybe realistic people tend to talk about things that are important to them, but no, it's "Shut up about your stupid sister, Ashley." :smallmad:

[/rant]

Dial it down man, sheesh. When did I ever call her a "fundie bitch?"

I didn't mind her backstory (the thing about her father was pretty touching, and the story of her little sister's first date was downright hilarious.) I just found her backwoods, "good ole gal" persona to be grating. It's not so much that she was a bad character, just that I found the others so much more interesting. Kaiden's backstory in "brain camp" was a much more engaging read. Garrus is a blank slate; you're free to mold him renegade or paragon (resulting in him becoming a spectre or rejoining C-Sec respectively), and I found that immensely entertaining. Tali's background was also intriguing, with her stories of the flotilla creating a strange mix of claustrophobia and nostalgia. And of course we all love Wrex.

That leaves Ashley and Liara. They weren't bad, just the least of a great lot. If I could have let Liara die I would have, but as it was Ashley had to bite the bullet. All I was saying was that I didn't really regret it much. No need for a s***storm.

[Lord Iames Osari]

You never did call Ashely a "fundie bitch," but I have seen others do so elsewhere. That post wasn't really directed at you so much as it was directed at the faceless internet masses.

[factotum]

Except the Mako's control scheme was crap. Instead of having a sensible, one stick for the turret the other for the tank, you had the "where ever the camera points you go" scheme from the wharthog.

PC version used WSAD to control the Mako and the mouse to control the camera, so I didn't have that issue.

[Stormthorn]

I mean, the skill trees aren't even really meant to be true representatives of the characters' skills. Take Wrex; He's been fighting for centuries. He damn well shouldn't have anything left to learn about shotguns

This.


That is all.

[Hawriel]

This. Ashley is by far the most fully-realized NPC in the game, with opinions of her own, actual outside interests, and a background that's more than just "Generic Heroic Companion #1987452934." In fact, she's one of the best, most realistic NPCs I've ever seen in any game.

Totaly agree. Bioware ME boards are full of Ashley haters because she is a "racist". I only thought one or two lines she had was particularly ignorant. However when compared to the crap dialog that some renigade choices have I cant blame Ashley as a chareacter for them. I blame the wrighters. The only problem I had with Ashley's character is agian a game issue. Unlike Garrus you cant influince Ashley later game thinking. She is still as suspisious of aliens at the end of the game as the begining. You cant push her one way or another. Even with the conversation that brings up religion. If you do it 'right' you can use belief to open her mind to aliens or harden it though actions taken in the game.

The one thing I wish they had in ME was more NPC character interaction. Elevator conversations where not enough. They should have had interactions like KOTOR 2 had aboard the Normandy.

Some one mentioned dissapointment about Tali's story.

The info you gave Tali, remember it was a choice to do it or not, will most likly be a plot point in ME2.

[mangosta71]

This is all making me wish I could get the bloody game running on my Vista machine. I miss my sniper rifle with HE rounds that kills everything in a 5 yard radius every time I pull the trigger.

For 2, I'm hoping that your party members will take cover intelligently. And snipe on occasion. I would like to see the Mako not bounce all over the damn place like a rubber ball. It also seemed a tad unrealistic that projectiles from the Mako's weapons traveled at light speed.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Moving away from the discussion of Ashley for a moment, I saw this article on another forum.

ME2 characters and new details revealed (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/me2-characters-locations-weapons-revealed)

Looks pretty good. :smallsmile:

[Jeivar]

Moving away from the discussion of Ashley for a moment, I saw this article on another forum.

ME2 characters and new details revealed (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/me2-characters-locations-weapons-revealed)

Looks pretty good. :smallsmile:

Hm. Another Krogan? That kind of seems to lessen the chances of having Wrex on board again, and why mention Joker rather than one of the ME1 party members unless they're not actually making a return?

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I'd really really like to have Ashley, Kaidan, Liara and that surly old Krogan back . . .

[Stormthorn]

I liked Tali. She is all that is needed back. Although Wrex would be nice.

[Cúchulainn]

Well Wrex, Ashley and Kaidan have the option to die in ME1, so it's not surprising their roles aren't set in stone in 2.

Anyway it's good to see a salarian will be joining the team, they're by far my most favourite race in the ME universe, followed by humans then krogan. I was hoping it'd be a STG member, Captain Kirrahe from Virmire would be awesome, if you save him he mentions he wouldn't mind working with Shepard again. Plus he's an infiltration expert, so that'd be perfect. I wonder how the salarian scientist and the krogan will get along. I'm betting...swimingly.

[Philistine]

I think the expression, "they get along like a house on fire" would be a good fit here: there's lots of screaming and running in terror, and afterward all you have left are ashes. :smallbiggrin:

[Optimystik]

Anyway it's good to see a salarian will be joining the team, they're by far my most favourite race in the ME universe, followed by humans then krogan.

I was hoping for a Hanar. It would be funny watching him trying to convert the whole ship to Protheanism before we blasted him out the airlock :smallwink:

Just kidding... anyway, I want to replace the human vendor on the Normandy with a Volus, they have much better prices. "See anything that interests you, Earth-clan?"

[Emperor Ing]

ya a part of me was hoping for a Hanar party member too, I wanna see those Jellies actually fight :smallbiggrin:

[chiasaur11]

I was hoping for a Hanar. It would be funny watching him trying to convert the whole ship to Protheanism before we blasted him out the airlock :smallwink:


The paragon solution there might be a tad less popular.

On the other hand, him preaching to the Geth would be money in the bank hoots.

The more I think about it, the more a Constable Visit type Hanar amuses me. Make it so, Bioware!

[Calemyr]

Near as I can see it, there are a few ways this could go:

Covert Ops: Shep ain't dead, but she* wishes she was. Put bluntly, celebrity sucks and it's no life for a Spectre with a job to do. In order to get back to the basics of ground pounding, she has to fake her own death. In short, you play as everyone's favorite human Spectre, but working under cover and without the resources she once enjoyed. That means allowing her friends to think she's dead as well as forming new alliances in order to get her job done.

Suikoden: Shep ain't dead, but she might as well be. She's out of comission (likely captured by the Collectors) and now it falls upon you, the best of what's left, to finish the job. You have to form your own crew, build your own name, but don't worry: if you can spring Shep from her prison, you might find yourself with one powerful ally. (I call this the Suikoden because Suikoden II allowed you to enlist McDohl from the original game if you loaded a 108 star save at the beginning of the game.)

Switchup: Half the game, you're playing as someone else. Half the game, you're playing as Shep. Could be Shep dies halfway through. More likely, you start out as the guy who learns Shep ain't as dead as she seems. There are a lot of games that do this: Metal Gear Solid 2, Kingdom Hearts 2, Devil May Cry 4, just to name a few.

I doubt the whole party is going to return regardless of how things play out. I can see Liara, Garrus, and Tali, because they each have a particular value to any likely mission (Liara is a Prothean expert, Garrus is probably a Spectre by now, and Tali is now a bridge between the Council and the Migrant Fleet). Wrex was just a hired gun (a good gun, but still...) and Ashley and Keidan were humans that just got pulled along for the ride.

* I am going to call Shep a she, if only because it simplifies things and who doesn't like Jennifer Hale?

Edit: Oh, and for the record, I prefer to play pistol-specced Infiltrators with commando training, lift as a bonus skill, and a good-natured practicality that places them on the balance between renegade and paragon. To quote Terry Pratchett: "A good cop who knows just when to be a bad cop."

[Guancyto]

I think the most pressing question on ME2 is this:

Since Joker is returning, has he fulfilled his lifelong dream of being a stand-up comedian?

[chiasaur11]

I think the most pressing question on ME2 is this:

Since Joker is returning, has he fulfilled his lifelong dream of being a stand-up comedian?

Or even his life long dream of standing up (Hey-O!)

[Optimystik]

Covert Ops: Shep ain't dead, but she* wishes she was. Put bluntly, celebrity sucks and it's no life for a Spectre with a job to do. In order to get back to the basics of ground pounding, she has to fake her own death. In short, you play as everyone's favorite human Spectre, but working under cover and without the resources she once enjoyed. That means allowing her friends to think she's dead as well as forming new alliances in order to get her job done.

That doesn't solve the problem of you starting out at level 40, but Bioware could always handle that with the Baldur's Gate 2 method. (Bonus points for that being a Bioware rpg too!)

Shepard was captured and tortured/contracted amnesia/got severely hurt and now needs implants, which results in a huge level reduction in game terms. This allows you to start the game without your array of iWin buttons but still lets you play as Shep. Hard not to make it cheesy though (ugh, amnesia).


Suikoden: Shep ain't dead, but she might as well be. She's out of comission (likely captured by the Collectors) and now it falls upon you, the best of what's left, to finish the job. You have to form your own crew, build your own name, but don't worry: if you can spring Shep from her prison, you might find yourself with one powerful ally. (I call this the Suikoden because Suikoden II allowed you to enlist McDohl from the original game if you loaded a 108 star save at the beginning of the game.)

This is my favored way of handling it, assuming you can't be Shep of course. Particularly the whole "finding Shep and enlisting him" thing, although I suspect there'll be some Badass Decay if you go that route.


Switchup: Half the game, you're playing as someone else. Half the game, you're playing as Shep. Could be Shep dies halfway through. More likely, you start out as the guy who learns Shep ain't as dead as she seems. There are a lot of games that do this: Metal Gear Solid 2, Kingdom Hearts 2, Devil May Cry 4, just to name a few.

Well, the trouble there is that you end up with two badasses instead of one, e.g. Dante + Nero, Snake + Raiden, Kain + Raziel etc. Of course, the galaxy barely beat one Reaper let alone a fleet, so maybe two badasses will be needed (just as it took both Kain and Raziel to beat Defiance.)


I doubt the whole party is going to return regardless of how things play out. I can see Liara, Garrus, and Tali, because they each have a particular value to any likely mission (Liara is a Prothean expert, Garrus is probably a Spectre by now, and Tali is now a bridge between the Council and the Migrant Fleet). Wrex was just a hired gun (a good gun, but still...) and Ashley and Keidan were humans that just got pulled along for the ride.

Keep in mind that Garrus would only seek to be a Spectre if you let him be Renegade. Paragon Garrus rejoins C-Sec. Either path also makes it unlikely for him to return, as much as I would like him to; If he becomes a Spectre he needs to go and get trained, and if he rejoins C-Sec he won't have time to go larking through the galaxy with you. I hope he stays playable but we'll have to wait and see.

Tali is also unlikely to return, she's got her pilgrimage to do whether you go Paragon or Renegade (Going renegade will make her extremely likely to ditch the team, in fact.) As nice as it would be to have a Quarian, you might end up with a new one; maybe a male?

[Calemyr]

The "Covert Ops" option doesn't really have a problem regarding the starting level. As you said, Baldur's Gate has the solution already: a sliding level window. New characters in ME2 start at a heightened level with a heightened cap (possibly level 30 up to level 70, 80 after you win the game once). Even a maxed out character then has 20-30 levels of growth to go. Add in new talents (particularly unlockable ones like Spectre Training and Class Specialization or possibly the introduction of third tier skills) to keep characters from running out of places to spend their points. Level in ME rarely had much impact outside of talent points, anyway, due to the fact that the enemies were always levelled to match the team.

There are two quotes I've seen since my last post. I don't remember the exact sources, but one was a designer saying "Boy, Shep better NOT die. We have a whole trilogy planned and that will certainly put a crimp in things." The other one was a teaser claiming your team would be investigating the disappearance of humans throughout Council space, which seems to confirm that the Collectors are on the scene.

EDIT: Oh, and about Badass Decay: sometimes it works the other way around. T3 in KotOR was the most useless pile of slag the game had to offer. In KotOR 2 the little droid became obscenely cool.

[Arbitrarity]

It's covert ops. Observe. (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-mass-effect/49799)

Sweeeet.

[Blayze]

Why am I trying to work out if the voice of that man who was defenestrated was that of Kaidan?

[Lord Iames Osari]

It isn't. I'm virtually certain.

Edit: In fact, I'm 100% certain, for the following reason: Depending on how you played ME1, Kaidan may or may not be alive, so they definitely wouldn't put him in the trailer.

[Corvus]

Had a look at the video.

Twice a female Quarian is seen with Shepard, which would seem to mean Tali is back. Also there is another human male with him, but it doesn't look like Kaidan - the skin seems too dark.

You also get a glimpse of what appears to be Liara in the hovercar with Shepard.

[SilverSheriff]

It's covert ops. Observe. (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-mass-effect/49799)

Sweeeet.

I came.:smallcool:

[Blayze]

It isn't. I'm virtually certain.

Edit: In fact, I'm 100% certain, for the following reason: Depending on how you played ME1, Kaidan may or may not be alive, so they definitely wouldn't put him in the trailer.

Then again, depending on how you played ME1, Shepard might be male or female. :P

[Lord Iames Osari]

Then again, depending on how you played ME1, Shepard might be male or female. :P

Ah, but they always used Default Male Shepard in the promotions for the first game. So it's just a continuation of that policy.

[Blayze]

Ah, but they always used Default Male Shepard in the promotions for the first game. So it's just a continuation of that policy.

That's the thing. Just as they've used Default Male Shepard for advertising the games, they could also pick certain NPCs who might not survive ME1 for advertising the games as well.

[Lord Iames Osari]

But they wouldn't, because one of the selling points is how ME2 will shape itself around the choices you made in the first game. So they'd show only the bits that are universally applicable.

[Starbuck_II]

EDIT: Oh, and about Badass Decay: sometimes it works the other way around. T3 in KotOR was the most useless pile of slag the game had to offer. In KotOR 2 the little droid became obscenely cool.

Did we play the same game?

T3M4 was the 3rd best character in KoToR (not counting main guy).

HK was only good due to his comments: T3M4 was better in combat unless you were a scout (only they have repair as a class skill, that way you get Regeneration for HK).

At least in Dark Side: Final place, Bastilla and T3M4. In fact, some battle only T3M4 survived. He just kept chucking grenades till they died (Jedi can't block that).

[Guancyto]

Did we play the same game?

T3M4 was the 3rd best character in KoToR (not counting main guy).

Zero personality, no force powers and really the only situation where he's ideal to use is the one you describe. Unless I've far missed my guess, most nonscouts brought Canderous because he could use stims.

Which is exactly why his KotOR2 incarnation worked as well as it did. He may be quite effective in the first one, but he isn't very shiny and is utterly forgettable.

Which... could work for ME2, really. Take a mechanically-good but personality-wussboy character like, I don't know, Kaidan and watch Shepard's Renegade influence at work.

[Colmarr]

It's covert ops. Observe. (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-mass-effect/49799)

Sweeeet.

Curse you, work internet filter! :smallfurious:

[Thanatos 51-50]

You also get a glimpse of what appears to be Liara in the hovercar with Shepard.

That's not Liara, it's the consort. She has the consort's voice acting and speech patterns, as well as the ssame designs on her face.

[Verruckt]

That's our new assassin friend that drops down and does some neck snapping, no idea what his species is, one we've not yet seen nor heard of as far as I know. I think the dark skinned human may be Hendel Mitra, a biotic commando instructor gone Malcom Reynolds towards the end of Mass Effect: Ascension. That might be a cool addition if they want to include a M/M romance sub-plot in this one. (as would only be fair really, as for every blue psychic space lesbian archaeologist there is a gay Scandinavian Punjabi commando waiting in the wings.)

[Thanatos 51-50]

There's some sort of Mass Effect iPhone App/Game thing coming out. It almost makes me wish I had an iPhone.

Now, let's all hope for a version us non-iPhoners can use.

Also - the E3 preview confirmed some sort of Heavy Weapons system.

[Emperor Ing]

Hmm, I wonder if finding the Prothean Sphere thingie has any effect on ME2 gameplay...

In case you're wondering what i'm talking about
finish the Consort quest on the citadel and she'll give you a trinket. Then to planet Eletania in the Hercules System in the Attican Beta Sector and try to find the Anomaly on your map.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Hmm, I wonder if finding the Prothean Sphere thingie has any effect on ME2 gameplay...

In case you're wondering what i'm talking about
finish the Consort quest on the citadel and she'll give you a trinket. Then to planet Eletania in the Hercules System in the Attican Beta Sector and try to find the Anomaly on your map.

I wonder what happens if you got the trinket and didn't grab the sphere or if you took advantage of the consort's other services, instead.

[SilverSheriff]

That's not Liara, it's the consort. She has the consort's voice acting and speech patterns, as well as the ssame designs on her face.

I don't know how anyone could tell; they all look the same to me....

[Comet]

I don't know how anyone could tell; they all look the same to me....
Racist. :smalltongue:

As for that trailer, it was very whoah. The music and everything was just top notch.

And we get high-speed hovercar chases in Mass Effect 2. Yay!
I can hope, right?

[Thanatos 51-50]

I don't know how anyone could tell; they all look the same to me....

The majornon-nametitleless NPC Asari characters have different facial tatoos/features, that is to say Martiarch Benezia, the Consort, the Asari Counciller and Liara T'soni all look different, I was too buys shooting or not caring about the others to see if they all really had unique tatoos.

It's quite readily identifiable, and presumably how the Asari tell each other apart, like stripes on a zebra.

Krogan, Turian, Saalarian, et. cetera? Couldn't tell you who's who at a glance (Besides Garrus having that hi-tek monocle and Wrex having that red head crest thing).

[Hawriel]

Hmm, I wonder if finding the Prothean Sphere thingie has any effect on ME2 gameplay...

In case you're wondering what i'm talking about
finish the Consort quest on the citadel and she'll give you a trinket. Then to planet Eletania in the Hercules System in the Attican Beta Sector and try to find the Anomaly on your map.

This actualy was the most dissapointing moment in the game. They could have had dialog or a cut seen but no. I get crappy dry text boxes.

[Arbitrarity]

I wonder what happens if you got the trinket and didn't grab the sphere or if you took advantage of the consort's other services, instead.

You can get the trinket, even if you use the consort's other services. It's triggered off the Elcor, IIRC.

[Lord Iames Osari]

This actualy was the most dissapointing moment in the game. They could have had dialog or a cut seen but no. I get crappy dry text boxes.

I know! They could make a cutscene of the Consort's ass as she swayed up the stairs, but couldn't even give us a montage for the entire other life we lived? Seriously!

[Thanatos 51-50]

You can get the trinket, even if you use the consort's other services. It's triggered off the Elcor, IIRC.

You don't. It took the mass effect wiki for me to even relise there was something if you appreciated the Consort's gift of Words.

In other news: New ME2 trailer is out on the officall Mass Effect Website.
This is what I get for fanning them on facebook.

[Jamie]

The screens and everything on Mass Effect 2 coming out of E3 is really, really making me want Early 2010 to come.

[Jeivar]

Damn, now I'm torn between watching that trailer to sate my curiosity, and the desire to know as little about the game as possible to avoid spoilers . . .

[Thanatos 51-50]

For those of you who want to avoid spoilers, info on the trailer is spoiler'd


Male Shep: "I'm gathering a bunch of specialists for a mission. It's not going to be easy. Chances of survival are slim."
There was one point quite early in the trailer where an Asari stated the words "Sheppard! But, you're dead!" when confronted with Default Male Shep.
UNID'd Female Voice: "We're picking up something on the long-range scanner, unidentified vesself.
Joker: "Scanning: That's not the Geth. Brace for evasive manuevers!"
And then scene suggesting a space battle and the Normandly getting bork'd.
Shep nuked a bunch of Geth. Well, it might not have been a nuke, but there was definatly missile action and a mushroom cloud.
I could swear that during one point, an enemy was marked as LOKI Mech or something to that effect when being looked at through a sniper rifle. Afer only one view, it was hard to tell.
Our assassian friend looked to be an Asari from the split-second glance we get.
The big, juicy words "Mass Effect 2"

Is a good trailer.

[Dhavaer]

If the neck-snapping assassin was an asari she must have had some kind of mask on. I'm guessing it was that new species, were they called drull?

[Thanatos 51-50]

The only new species named on the website is flavoured up to be antagonistic NPCs. They're a sapient species where the individuals rapidly adapt to the enviroment and have an average lifespan of 20 years and are excessivly violent.

I admit I made the asari assumption based on the colour of her face ebing generally sonstant with a heavily-tatooed Asari.
Also, on the wesite, there is mention of an Asari colony to recruit a dangerous assassian who is not aware of the contact, as well as mention of a high-security prison ship and protection of a Saalarian scientist on the Krogan homeworld.

[warty goblin]

The screens and everything on Mass Effect 2 coming out of E3 is really, really making me want Early 2010 to come.

Yeah, I totally agree with you on this. I find myself completely apathetic visa vie Dragon Age: Origins, which looks like the Witcher: Special Suckage Edition. Mass Effect 2 however has me pretty jazzed. I thought the first game had an insane amount of potential, which they failed to realize in some cases, but was nonetheless still one of my favorite games of last year. If they tighten up the combat a bit, and maybe add some more Paragon/Renegade options, I'll be happy.

On a slightly different note, has anybody else noticed this weird 'intense' jag Bioware's been on in terms of violence, etc? I'm certainly not opposed to the occasional graphic bit of gore in my games (I play Gears of War after all), but some of it just feels...unneccessary to me. Particularly in a game like ME, which to me worked because it channelled mainstream (as in, not military) sci-fi very, very well. Blowing off limbs simply doesn't fit in that paradigm, but vaporizing people, that feels right in the game's context. It also meant that when something more explicitely violent happened, ala the Geth spires, it was fairly shocking and evocative. I'm not saying I think this move is neccessary a bad thing in the case of ME2, having not played the game, but I find it curious nonetheless. Thoughts?

[Optimystik]

Yeah, I totally agree with you on this. I find myself completely apathetic visa vie Dragon Age: Origins, which looks like the Witcher: Special Suckage Edition.

Not me, I'm excited. Every time Bioware has been creatively let loose to do their own thing without an existing IP, they've delivered. (Mass Effect, Jade Empire.) I'm looking forward to Dragon Age every bit as much.

And they should really think of working on a Jade Empire MMO for the consoles; if any universe can suit a kung fu MMO, it's that one. We haven't even seen half of the game world.


On a slightly different note, has anybody else noticed this weird 'intense' jag Bioware's been on in terms of violence, etc? I'm certainly not opposed to the occasional graphic bit of gore in my games (I play Gears of War after all), but some of it just feels...unneccessary to me. Particularly in a game like ME, which to me worked because it channelled mainstream (as in, not military) sci-fi very, very well. Blowing off limbs simply doesn't fit in that paradigm, but vaporizing people, that feels right in the game's context. It also meant that when something more explicitely violent happened, ala the Geth spires, it was fairly shocking and evocative. I'm not saying I think this move is neccessary a bad thing in the case of ME2, having not played the game, but I find it curious nonetheless. Thoughts?

No big deal there, all their games have violence sliders. Jade Empire is probably the most violent game they have out; you can decapitate people, slit their throats, and make them explode in bursts of blood. Neverwinter Nights is also pretty gory (try casting Implosion or getting a string of crits with Great Cleave). Compared to those two, Mass Effect is pretty tame. So I don't think the violence will be an issue.

[warty goblin]

Not me, I'm excited. Every time Bioware has been creatively let loose to do their own thing without an existing IP, they've delivered. (Mass Effect, Jade Empire.) I'm looking forward to Dragon Age every bit as much.

Good for you. My concern with DA:O is that they seem to be trying to do moral grayness, something that in my admittedly limited experience they never really have been very good at. In the past the best they've done that I've seen is to make the clearly 'good' choice be in some way harmful to your character/piss off an NPC. The problem with that is the NPC is always clearly a self serving bastard. Hell in ME I chose the pro-alien position every time and Ashley still liked me just fine.


And they should really think of working on a Jade Empire MMO for the consoles; if any universe can suit a kung fu MMO, it's that one. We haven't even seen half of the game world.
Didn't play JE, and MMOs don't do a thing for me, so I'll take your word for it.



No big deal there, all their games have violence sliders. Jade Empire is probably the most violent game they have out; you can decapitate people, slit their throats, and make them explode in bursts of blood. Neverwinter Nights is also pretty gory (try casting Implosion or getting a string of crits with Great Cleave). Compared to those two, Mass Effect is pretty tame. So I don't think the violence will be an issue.
It's not the violence itself that bothers me. It's the bit where to me upping the violence in ME2 simply doesn't add anything, and quite possibly damages the atmosphere established in ME1. Look at the sort of sci-fi movie ME clearly is inspired by- there's not much in the way of explicit violence. Disintegrations fine, those are a sci-fi staple, but blowing off limbs and stuff like that to me just doesn't do anything for the game. To use an extreme example, it'd be like if a Star Wars game had Gears of War amounts of gore. It'd be hilarious for about ten minutes, and then would simply be jarring. Well, except for chainsawing ewoks. That would never get old.

[Optimystik]

Didn't play JE, and MMOs don't do a thing for me, so I'll take your word for it.

The "MMO" bit was just an acknowledgment that a vacuum exists in a saturated market - the only kung-fu MMO right now is Matrix Online, and it's terrible.

No, Jade Empire is an amazing RPG that you should absolutely try. You wanted a more complex alignment system? JE has that - your 'evil' character is more than just a brash thug a la Renegade Shepard; you're actually faced with the possibility that being hard on the world will be better for it in the long run by teaching people to be tough and self-reliant. The morality system also affects gameplay by allowing you to power certain techniques differently.


It's not the violence itself that bothers me. It's the bit where to me upping the violence in ME2 simply doesn't add anything, and quite possibly damages the atmosphere established in ME1. Look at the sort of sci-fi movie ME clearly is inspired by- there's not much in the way of explicit violence. Disintegrations fine, those are a sci-fi staple, but blowing off limbs and stuff like that to me just doesn't do anything for the game. To use an extreme example, it'd be like if a Star Wars game had Gears of War amounts of gore. It'd be hilarious for about ten minutes, and then would simply be jarring. Well, except for chainsawing ewoks. That would never get old.

You can't tell me you wouldn't want to decapitate Gungans all day :smallwink:

Anyway, as I said in my post, it's more than likely that the violence in ME2 will be adjustable to your tastes.

[Calemyr]

Hell in ME I chose the pro-alien position every time and Ashley still liked me just fine.

I would suggest that you entirely missed the girl's point if you think that would upset her. Ashley does not have any problem at all with alien races or human collaboration with them. She does have reservations with bringing foreign nationals onto a top secret experimental military transport without any limitations on their access. That's what she and Preston are commenting on (and not - I might point out - pressing the issue, merely bringing it up for consideration). It's not a question of whether they are human or not, it's about whether they are Alliance or not. It's a huge security risk and frankly at least some consideration towards securing the more sensitive areas SHOULD have been included.

The other two comments usually used to paint her as racist are equally misinterpreted.

The "dogs aren't human" conversation is pretty clear in the point she's trying to make: No matter how unified the races get, each will always think of their race's best interests first, just the way humans do. It isn't racism, a fact she points out - it's nationalism and it's self-interest and it's demonstrated to some degree in every race in the game.

The "can't tell the people from the animals" comment was meant to be an unsophisticated and blunt commentary on how diverse the citidel population was and how overwhelming it was for a woman who had never been allowed out of human colonies before. When you realize that this was the first time she'd seen the turtle-like krogan, the frog-like salarian, the jellyfish-like hannar, and the the elephant-like elcor, it seems pretty obvious that it's a clumsy comment made in awe rather than anything derogatory.

There's also another fact that people tend to ignore on this front: Ashley finds that human-first faction near the end of the game (Terra Nova or Terra Prime or something like that) to be disgusting idiots and comments to that extent.

As for their difficulty with moral grey, I agree. I think Zero Punctuation described it best, refering to it as a choice between being Mother Theresa and eating babies and that there really should be some middle ground (a point illustrated with a picture of Mother Theresa eating a baby). Jade Empire did do something interesting on that front, however, by providing moral justifications and shortfalls for either of the game's alignments. KotOR 2 did something like that, as well, with Kreia at one point accusing the Exile of stealing opportunities to grow from the weak for himself, claiming that the Exile's attempts to help others caused more harm than good.

[Guancyto]

Jade Empire did do something interesting on that front, however, by providing moral justifications and shortfalls for either of the game's alignments. KotOR 2 did something like that, as well, with Kreia at one point accusing the Exile of stealing opportunities to grow from the weak for himself, claiming that the Exile's attempts to help others caused more harm than good.

Yes and no. The two of them were a lot better than previous installments about that sort of thing, but they could be just as ham-handed as their predecessors at times. For instance, some genuinely Closed Fist choices (forcing slaves to fight for their freedom) actually gave less CF points and benefits than evil choices (selling the slaves yourself).

Open Palm was supposed to be about accepting your place in the natural order, but it's hard to explore the downsides of that when "your place in the natural order" is that of a superpowered instrument of righteous justice instead of, say, a dirt farmer.

Still, they've had a lot of opportunities to learn from their previous efforts and they've improved a great deal already, so I have high hopes for them.

Tracking the two morality axes separately was huge. KotOR II lent itself well to a lot of moral grey areas and encouraged careful consideration of your actions. This was badly subverted by the massive stat bonuses you got for either being completely light or completely dark. In ME you can be a little ruthless now and then without messing up your Light Side Mastery, and vice versa.

[warty goblin]

I would suggest that you entirely missed the girl's point if you think that would upset her. Ashley does not have any problem at all with alien races or human collaboration with them. She does have reservations with bringing foreign nationals onto a top secret experimental military transport without any limitations on their access. That's what she and Preston are commenting on (and not - I might point out - pressing the issue, merely bringing it up for consideration). It's not a question of whether they are human or not, it's about whether they are Alliance or not. It's a huge security risk and frankly at least some consideration towards securing the more sensitive areas SHOULD have been included.


Nevery accused her of being racist, merely pointing out that I generally chose the "Aliens? Awesomesauce!" options throughout, and although certainly not combative about it with her, it was never anything like a problem.

Maybe I'm spoiled by the Witcher, where people don't treat me as the greatest thing since sliced bread, and quite often treat me with a sort of apathetic hatred by default, but the general PC fawning of Bioware games has sort of run stale for me anymore. Partly I suspect it is because I'm not overly fond of party mechanics in games, and a certain amount of PC fawning is pretty much required for those to work, and partly it's because being The Most Awesome Person in the Room simply gets boring after a while. Ashley, and particularly Liara always felt a bit too easy to get along with, at least to me. Wrex was awesome though, since it was really possible to piss him off. Granted I chose not to, but having it be made abundantly clear that I could do so for understandable reasons was really quite wonderful.

But yes, definitely jazzed about ME 2. For me the blend of light roleplaying (I'm not huge on massive numbers of stats and spells), third person action, and exploration in ME1 worked perfectly. The repedative envioronments were a bit of a downer, but by no means a dealbreaker, and really, fighting through a dozen uniquely designed warehouses vs. a dozen warehouses that look alike isn't enough of a difference to me to warrent the extra dev time it would have cost. The major planets were unique, and Virmire simply rocked my world no end. I still consider it one of the best designed levels in any game ever.

[Calemyr]

I understand you didn't accuse her of racism, but I still have difficulty understanding why you expected her to bat an eye at a pro-alien Shepherd. Near as I could tell, Shep never says the aliens are better than humans, nor does Ashley display any dislike for aliens beyond a sensible amount of political caution. What was it that led you to that expectation?

As for that "PC fawning" thing, are you talking primarily about Shep's companions or the universe in general? Because, while I'll admit that the party got along better than is probably realistic, I would say the universe wasn't kind to Shep. Nobody outside the ship was friendly to the commander without an agenda - even Anderson, whose support of Shep conveniently coincided with his vendetta against Saren.

[Optimystik]

Yes and no. The two of them were a lot better than previous installments about that sort of thing, but they could be just as ham-handed as their predecessors at times. For instance, some genuinely Closed Fist choices (forcing slaves to fight for their freedom) actually gave less CF points and benefits than evil choices (selling the slaves yourself).

It makes sense that you move more slowly down the CF path if you're being thoughtful like that, because it means you're less of an unreasoning force of discord. And you can still max out Closed Fist by making all the "thoughtful evil" choices, so you're not really losing any benefits.


Maybe I'm spoiled by the Witcher, where people don't treat me as the greatest thing since sliced bread, and quite often treat me with a sort of apathetic hatred by default, but the general PC fawning of Bioware games has sort of run stale for me anymore.

In Witcher, almost every woman you meet is dying to ride your purple python. How is that any less fawning than a Bioware RPG?


As for that "PC fawning" thing, are you talking primarily about Shep's companions or the universe in general? Because, while I'll admit that the party got along better than is probably realistic, I would say the universe wasn't kind to Shep. Nobody outside the ship was friendly to the commander without an agenda - even Anderson, whose support of Shep conveniently coincided with his vendetta against Saren.

I agree. Shep's Spectre status actually made most people trust him less, just like it would in real life. This really stood out for me on Noveria, where the NPCs were instructed not to speak to Shepard and every faction in the NDC wanted to use Shepard for its own ends.

[Revlid]

So, Shepherd's going around, rounding a space-age suicide squad? Sounds awesome. :smallbiggrin:

Things I want to see in this game:
1. A non-evil A.I. character. NPC, Party, whatever. Come on, throw me a bone here, surely the gambling machine didn't have to be evil?
2. A romance option with Tali. We know she's returning, and she was something of a breakout character in the last game.
3. Customisable armour? Tags/icons/colours? Whatever. The cog (?) icon on the yellow armour in the trailer looks quite cool, is all.
4. A futuristic revolver. Just for giggles.
5. TALI ROMANCE. NOAW.
6. A higher Action:Talking ratio. The trailer promises this, but I'm not sure. Shepherd running faster out of combat would help, also.
7. The ability to help out the Krogan somehow. Not stupidly, just setting up a properly breeding colony with Wrex as its head or something.
8. Renegade paths that are less Jerky Mc******* and more Subversive McCivil. As it is, I have to be a goody-two-shoes if I want to talk someone into something. Maybe the Cerberus path will offer this?
9. Some kind of romance option with Tali would be nice.
10. Fix the Mako, somehow, someway.

And I want an Inquisitor videogame based off Mass Effect. But that's a separate barrel of wishlist.

Oh, and romance option with Tali: Great idea, or must have?

[Philistine]

Based on E3 promotional stuff and the newly-relaunched ME website, there are a few things we can safely say:

1) The squad will include at least one asari and at least one female quarian, though it's possible these might not be Liara and Tali (visible in a couple of frames of the newest trailer)
2) The blue-skinned asari in the car with Shep is Liara, and she will also be aboard the Normandy for at least part of the game, whether or not she's available as a squad member (E3 coverage)
3) New squadmates will include the neck-snapping assassin from a previous trailer, who is neither asari nor turian; a seriously crazed biotic who you'll have to spring from prison; and a salarian scientist who you'll have to rescue from imprisonment on a krogan homeworld, meaning it's probably not Lt. Kirrahe (ME Web site)
4) It's a good bet that Wrex and either Kaiden or Ashley will at least make an appearance in the second game, though it's still possible that they won't be available as squadmates (pre-E3 developer interview)
5) It's been announced that you'll be playing as Shepard through at least part of the game (E3 coverage)
6) Cerberus appears to be moving from sidequest to main-plot (ME Web site)
7) Existing preview footage has you fighting a lot of Geth Husks, though it's possible these are placeholders for other opponents that they either don't want to spoil or haven't finished yet (preview trailers)

* Seriously Spoilery Stuff 8) It's also a virtual lock that you'll play part of the game without Shepard, as there's a chance for Shep to die fo' realz (E3 coverage)
9) The Normandy is likely to get shot all to heck at some point in the game - as in, 'Abandon Ship' shot all to heck - and this is stated as a place where Shep could die (new trailer, E3 coverage)
_________
As for JE, my major beef was that there were so few "thoughtful CF" options - it seemed that by far the majority of the options available were just standard Thuggish Evil, despite the way it was described in the prologue. The slaver encounter already mentioned was one of the few times where I actually felt like my CF character was acting in accordance with the ideals of a CF philosophy - and yet the NPC gave him the OP reward! Points to BioWare for progress and for making an effort, but the execution was still lacking. ME dropped the idea of "Good Hero vs. Evil Villain" in favor of ""Boy Scout Hero vs. Badass Hero," which IMO was much more believable and relatable.


EDIT: Tali romance? You do realize that it would kill her, right?

[warty goblin]

In Witcher, almost every woman you meet is dying to ride your purple python. How is that any less fawning than a Bioware RPG?

Errm, because I'm a seriously good looking and (the way I play) well mannered dude who pretty much defines 'safe sex?' Most of the casual encounters in the game are just that insofar as I can tell. I'm not being fawned over particularly, I'm simply a nice, attractive and safe way to relieve a bit of pent up sexual tension. Of the more serious relationships, Triss had a previous thing with Geralt. It's strongly indicated that Shani did as well, and it isn't exactly like that relationship just materialized out of thin air in game either. I distinctly remember something like four different Shani related quests in Act 2 alone, two of which (the herbs one and the party) really didn't advance any of Geralt's main objectives in Vizima at all. That's hardly fawning.

Anyway, my fundamental point, perhaps expressed poorly last night, is that in Bioware games, the PC is pretty much the center of the universe, and it's pretty much always completely obvious. I simply didn't get this feeling in the Witcher, and to be honest, I really liked that.




I agree. Shep's Spectre status actually made most people trust him less, just like it would in real life. This really stood out for me on Noveria, where the NPCs were instructed not to speak to Shepard and every faction in the NDC wanted to use Shepard for its own ends.
If being a spectre made people trust Shepard less, the 'fool born a minute' addage is going to require supstantial upwards adjustment. I mean of the entire party, the only people I don't think trusted me were Wrex and possibly Garrus. Everybody else thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. To be fair, Tali liked me because I gave her the info on the Geth, and didn't worship the ground I walked on from day 1. Liarra fawned fairly hard however, it must be admitted.

[Revlid]

ME dropped the idea of "Good Hero vs. Evil Villain" in favor of ""Boy Scout Hero vs. Badass Hero," which IMO was much more believable and relatable.

Fair point. JE was flawed that way, and most other "Karma" systems aren't much better - at least this way it's intentional.

This is why I prefer a 4-point Karma system, as opposed to 2. Instead of "Good" and "Evil", have "Batman-style Good", "Superman-style Good", "Luthor-style Evil" "Joker-style Evil". A subtle vs unsubtle, or Chaotic vs Lawful meter, if you will.
Something to judge the ends, and something to judge the means.


Tali romance? You do realize that it would kill her, right?

Nonsense. A quick browse of the Mass Effect Forums renders some solutions.
a) Futuristic inoculation.
b) Plot-related Gethish techno-organic upgrade.
c) Abstinence.
d) Do it in the decontamination chamber.
e) Do it with her body-condom on (wow I wish I didn't have to read that one)

[Jeivar]

Revlid, you DO realize that judging by Tali's CLAWLIKE hands and GOATLIKE legs, there's no reason to assume Quarians look ANYTHING like humans, and may in fact be quite horrific by human standards?
A cool voice isn't everything.

[Jibar]

Revlid, you DO realize that judging by Tali's CLAWLIKE hands and GOATLIKE legs, there's no reason to assume Quarians look ANYTHING like humans, and may in fact be quite horrific by human standards?
A cool voice isn't everything.

Actually, concept art does suggest that Quarians have human like faces, even if their limbs are somewhat different.
The idea of them mating while impossible medically wouldn't be impossible physically.
Or... something.

[warty goblin]

Fair point. JE was flawed that way, and most other "Karma" systems aren't much better - at least this way it's intentional.

This is why I prefer a 4-point Karma system, as opposed to 2. Instead of "Good" and "Evil", have "Batman-style Good", "Superman-style Good", "Luthor-style Evil" "Joker-style Evil". A subtle vs unsubtle, or Chaotic vs Lawful meter, if you will.
Something to judge the ends, and something to judge the means.

At this point, I think it's safe to say the entire concept of a morality meter bores me. It in essence reduces the core of the story to an XP meter, which is far, far too simple a device to be effective. Let me decide whether my decisions are right or wrong, and have people's reactions to me dependant on my actions, not a crappy numeric abstraction of them.



Nonsense. A quick browse of the Mass Effect Forums renders some solutions.
a) Futuristic inoculation.
b) Plot-related Gethish techno-organic upgrade.
c) Abstinence.
d) Do it in the decontamination chamber.
e) Do it with her body-condom on (wow I wish I didn't have to read that one)

Sometimes RPG fans disturb me. This is one of those times.

[Philistine]

Nonsense. A quick browse of the Mass Effect Forums renders some solutions.
a) Futuristic inoculation.
b) Plot-related Gethish techno-organic upgrade.
c) Abstinence.
d) Do it in the decontamination chamber.
e) Do it with her body-condom on (wow I wish I didn't have to read that one)

Non-starters, for various reasons.
A) Tali's already had this, and it's still not enough - she's still at risk of a sudden, agonizing death if she ever cracks her faceshield.
B) How could this possibly work without serious risknear certainty of fatal complications (infection and/or rejection)?
C) You could do that, but in that case what's the point? Seriously, this is not just me being an evil disgusting jerk - without at least the potential for a sexual relationship, what you're describing is a friendship rather than a romance.
D) If the decontamination process is thorough enough to make the chamber safe for Tali, it will kill Shepard.
E) High risk, low reward: she still has to be fully encased in some sort protective suit at all times. If that suit is thin enough to allow for... external stimulation... then you risk tearing it, leading once again to sudden, agonizing death. It probably isn't, though - in humans, at least, the genital area would be protected due to the concentration of nerve endings and major blood vessels in that region.

And then, as Jeivar points out, there's the near-certainty that she's not all that human-like underneath the suit... The "Tali Romance" movement really is just kinda weird and creepy.

[Revlid]

Revlid, you DO realize that judging by Tali's CLAWLIKE hands and GOATLIKE legs, there's no reason to assume Quarians look ANYTHING like humans, and may in fact be quite horrific by human standards?
A cool voice isn't everything.

Firstly, shame on you for being so shallow. :smallwink:

Secondly, not according to concept art (http://completemasseffect.com/index.php?title=Image:1172792186.jpg), or the novels, which vaguely describe the Quarians as humanoid. Plus it's a Space Opera, what are the chances?


At this point, I think it's safe to say the entire concept of a morality meter bores me. It in essence reduces the core of the story to an XP meter, which is far, far too simple a device to be effective. Let me decide whether my decisions are right or wrong, and have people's reactions to me dependant on my actions, not a crappy numeric abstraction of them.

Oh, I agree entirely - note that I said "Karma System". I have no problems with Karam meters being "under the hood", so to speak, but the options still need to be present and clear in each situation, as do their consequences. Crappy numeric abstractions don't need to be shown to the player, but the game itself needs them to work out what happens next.


Sometimes RPG fans disturb me. This is one of those times.

On the one hand, you're not alone. On the other hand, I'm shipping a crack pairing, so I'll take what support I can get.

What do you all think the 19 weapons will be? My guesses:
1: Pistol
2: Assault Rifle
3: Shotgun
4: Sniper Rifle
5: Grenades
6: Dual Pistols
7: Grenade Launcher
8: Missile Launcher
9: Minigun
10: Combi-weapon?
11: Close Combat Weapon 1?
12: Close Combat Weapon 2?
13: Flamethrower?
14: Slug Weapon?
15: Weird Alien Gun?
16: Bouncing Bullet Gun?
17: Laser Weapon?
18: Ion Cannon?
19: Shock Gun?

[Jeivar]

Firstly, shame on you for being so shallow. :smallwink:


If avoiding sex with a creature with a human-like upper face, but a, say, Predator-like mouth, thick fur on her breasts, Grendel-ears, goatlegs, and weird alien orifices all over her scalp adds up to me being shallow . . . then, yeah, I'm just fine with that. :smalleek:

[JMobius]

At this point, I think it's safe to say the entire concept of a morality meter bores me. It in essence reduces the core of the story to an XP meter, which is far, far too simple a device to be effective. Let me decide whether my decisions are right or wrong, and have people's reactions to me dependant on my actions, not a crappy numeric abstraction of them.

Here here. Alignment meters are one of the worst fads to strike RPGs in some time.

[Jeivar]

If I may move on to a different subject: What's your favorite character moment in Mass Effect?

I'd have to go with the vidmail from Ashley's sister, ending with sis mentioning having seen pictures of either Kaidan or male Shepard:

"He's cuuute. Talk to ya later sis!"
Followed by that wonderful frozen smile and ". . . let's just pretend that didn't happen . . ." :smallredface:
And of course my reply is: "The damage is done, chief."
"Oh, shoot me now . . ."

:smallbiggrin:

Another favorite is one of the early conversations with Liara, when she's commenting on her fascination with Shepard's exposure to actual, working Prothean technology.
-"Sounds like you wanna dissect me in a lab somewhere."
And our dear, socially awkward scientist gets all flustered and responds with. "What? No! I never meant to offend you Shepard! I merely meant that you would make an interesting subject for an in-depth study . . . NO, that's even worse!"

:smallbiggrin:

[Optimystik]

If avoiding sex with a creature with a human-like upper face, but a, say, Predator-like mouth, thick fur on her breasts, Grendel-ears, goatlegs, and weird alien orifices all over her scalp adds up to me being shallow . . . then, yeah, I'm just fine with that. :smalleek:

The shallowness comes from assuming that a relationship with Shepard would have sex as a requirement.


At this point, I think it's safe to say the entire concept of a morality meter bores me. It in essence reduces the core of the story to an XP meter, which is far, far too simple a device to be effective. Let me decide whether my decisions are right or wrong, and have people's reactions to me dependant on my actions, not a crappy numeric abstraction of them.

When you can individually code every NPC Bob, John and Larry to react differently to you based on whether you saved that derelict ship in the Argus Rho system but nuked the colony in Tau Beta from orbit, get back to us then. Until then, I'll take the alignment meter, thanks.

It's not even all that unrealistic; for a larger-than-life figure like a protagonist, the layperson will only be hearing vague and wildly exaggerated tales of your exploits anyway. "Paragon" and "Renegade" are both nonspecific and encompassing enough to capture that word-of-mouth, rumor mill feel.

[Erloas]

Maybe I'm remembering the wrong game, but I thought I heard something about a version of the assault rifle with a scope.

An obvious weapon would be an SMG. The issue with that and a lot of other weapon types is that the designs of the shotguns and assault rifles would have to be changed from their current incarnations to make room for new weapons. The SMG for example generally has a higher ROF, more moving accuracy but less stationary accuracy, less range and a bit less power then an assault rifle. However the current design of the assault rifle doesn't really leave room for that, especially since there are no issues with using these assault rifles at very short range.

Flamethrowers are always fun, I hope they add one of those.

I think we'll see a lot more specialized guns, and as a result probably fewer ammo upgrades, just using different guns to make up for it. A missile launcher isn't that much different then a sniper rifle with high explosive rounds, several of the weapons with inferno rounds give similar effects to a flamethrower, just not in look.

There are quite a few hidden attributes to weapons that are going to have to be shown to help differentiate between that many different types of weapons.

I also think some of the bionic and tech attacks, or at least their general effects, are probably going to be moved to weapons and increase their damage to make them more common to use.
As it is, a lot of those attacks are nice but they aren't even needed to still be able to lay waste to a lot of the enemies you come across.

[Mewtarthio]

If I may move on to a different subject: What's your favorite character moment in Mass Effect?

I'm fond of the moment when Ashley quotes "O, Captain! My Captain!" (http://www.bartleby.com/142/193.html) before the sex scene, particularly since you can call her out on it.

[mangosta71]

It's not even all that unrealistic; for a larger-than-life figure like a protagonist, the layperson will only be hearing vague and wildly exaggerated tales of your exploits anyway. "Paragon" and "Renegade" are both nonspecific and encompassing enough to capture that word-of-mouth, rumor mill feel.

I would point out that, in a lot of cases, the renegade doesn't leave anyone behind to spread word of mouth. :smallamused:

[Lord Iames Osari]

If I may move on to a different subject: What's your favorite character moment in Mass Effect?

"I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain... I was supposed to be their leader, these people trusted me... It wants me to stop you... but... I won't! I WON'T!"

Rest in peace, Fai Dan.

[Optimystik]

"I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain... I was supposed to be their leader, these people trusted me... It wants me to stop you... but... I won't! I WON'T!"

Rest in peace, Fai Dan.

That was classic, but the big emotional moment for me was deciding the Rachni Queen's fate. No matter which choice I made, I felt actually invested in the game at that point.

[Jeivar]

That was classic, but the big emotional moment for me was deciding the Rachni Queen's fate. No matter which choice I made, I felt actually invested in the game at that point.

"We shall sing of your forgiveness."

Yeah, that was a good one too. I never saw any reason to kill her.

[Optimystik]

Best of all, if you spared her she'll be in the sequel! :smallbiggrin:

I wonder if you can visit her new planet, just to check in and see how things are going?

[mangosta71]

Best of all, if you spared her she'll be in the sequel! :smallbiggrin:

Has that been confirmed?

Also, I never played the kind of Shepherd that allows the Council to decide her fate. How does that play out?

[Thanatos 51-50]

While the Quarians have a crippled immune system, they do receive hi-tech innoculations as they leave for their Pilgramage. There is no evidence that these wouldn't work if their bio-suit's intergrity were breached, and a Tali/Shep romance should certainly be possible, even if no offspring would be produced.

However, Quarians adopt a 'better safe than sorry' approach and don't remove their enviromental suits, anyway. It's like an extra layer of protection, and, to my knowledge no Quarian has ever been brave/foolhardy/homicidal enough to test whther those innoculations were 100% effective against 'every day' dnagers that immunized sapients have.

Their crippled immune system would actually make it easier for them to receive cybernetics/mechanical implants, as should be noted on Tali's concept art linked earlier, as their system's won't "reject" any parts, on accounts of not being too able to recognise a foriegn body in their system.

Provided a suitably sterile enviroment, there is no reason Tali could NOT get an implant that allows her to survive the outside world.

One would also note that the Normandy, at least is sterlised, as the gangplank has a presumably through for a top-grade Alliance ship decon system, observed whenever you enter.
One assumes the cargo bay is similarly deconned.

The Normandy doesn't kill Sheppard, Tali is just too paranoid to remove her suit and adopt more casual wear for fear of a rogue infection.

~~~
I would also like to note, that, while there is A quarian shown in the trailers, there is no garuntee that it's Tali.

And I still want to play as a Quarian Sniper.

[Jibar]

And I still want to play as a Quarian Sniper.

Oh good. I'm not the only one with this dream. :smalltongue:

[Jeivar]

And I still want to play as a Quarian Sniper.

Why a Quarian sniper?

[Revlid]

Why a Quarian sniper?

'Cause it's cool? I guess? Although I can see some difficulty in scope/visor interaction.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Why a Quarian sniper?

"300 years ago, my ancestors created the Geth, and when they became sentient, we started a war.
My ancestors gave up, and we became a species without a home, set adrift amongst the vast expanses of the Galaxay.
I was taught thins aboard the Migrant Fleet. I know the underbelly of the most complicated vessel like the back of my hand, and the circutry in cybernetics traces itself in my dreams.

And I know the Geth.

Years ago, I departed on my Pilgramage, but the aim and the goal was too small. Every 'gift' was a mere pittance, nothing would ever be good enough to save my people, except one thing.

Erasing our mistake.

They prepare us well for our journey. They arm us. They protect us from the bacteria and infections from outside the fleet. They teach us to shoot, to hunt, to gather.
I decided then and there that I would not set one foot aboard a Quarian Vessel again.
Ever.
I would eradicate the Geth, and give my people a Planet.

One bullet at a time."

[mangosta71]

That's cool and all, but it would be more honest to say "We lost." rather than "My ancestors gave up." IE,


"300 years ago, my ancestors created the Geth, and when they became sentient, we started a war. We lost.
We became a species without a home, set adrift amongst the vast expanses of the Galaxy..."

[Zeful]

Tali does say that the her peope lost the war with the geth.

But it's still a pretty awesome kind of character.

[Cristo Meyers]

"300 years ago, my ancestors created the Geth, and when they became sentient, we started a war.
My ancestors gave up, and we became a species without a home, set adrift amongst the vast expanses of the Galaxay.
I was taught thins aboard the Migrant Fleet. I know the underbelly of the most complicated vessel like the back of my hand, and the circutry in cybernetics traces itself in my dreams.

And I know the Geth.

Years ago, I departed on my Pilgramage, but the aim and the goal was too small. Every 'gift' was a mere pittance, nothing would ever be good enough to save my people, except one thing.

Erasing our mistake.

They prepare us well for our journey. They arm us. They protect us from the bacteria and infections from outside the fleet. They teach us to shoot, to hunt, to gather.
I decided then and there that I would not set one foot aboard a Quarian Vessel again.
Ever.
I would eradicate the Geth, and give my people a Planet.

One bullet at a time."

Alright, that's it. I have to play this game...

...*checks pockets*...

...anyone know where I can get $20?

[Optimystik]

Has that been confirmed?

I saw it on the Bioware boards, but don't ask me to find the exact thread.


Also, I never played the kind of Shepherd that allows the Council to decide her fate. How does that play out?

Was that an option? I never took it myself if so. Maybe I should make a "neutral" Shepard.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Alright, that's it. I have to play this game...

...*checks pockets*...

...anyone know where I can get $20?

Cristo:
Disclaimer:

I made that up off the top of my head. It's far from any sort of offical stuff.


That's cool and all, but it would be more honest to say "We lost." rather than "My ancestors gave up." IE,

I actually debated typing "We Lost".
Let's call it in-character interpretation, casting our fictional Quarian as an individual who only gives in when Death's cold fingers grip his heart.

[Cristo Meyers]

Cristo:
Disclaimer:

I made that up off the top of my head. It's far from any sort of offical stuff.

I know, but you're talking to someone that was sold on Medieval 2: Total War because of someone else's story from a campaign they played.

I've been watching this game for some time now, it's just that the announcement of a sequel finally stirred up enough memories to actually look into it.

[chiasaur11]

Trust me on this:

Check if your computer can run it first.

27 bucks I'm not getting back.

[Optimystik]

Trust me on this:

Check if your computer can run it first.

27 bucks I'm not getting back.

That's the nice thing about consoles; you know that you can run any new game that comes out no matter how old your X360 is. :smallwink:

Between that and the rampant DRM, I'd say PC gaming is on its way out.

[JMobius]

Has been for quite some time unfortunately.

[Cristo Meyers]

Trust me on this:

Check if your computer can run it first.

27 bucks I'm not getting back.

Only thing short is .2 on the processor, which is more than made up by the 3 GB of RAM and the 512 GeForce 9800(?) vid card.

Figure if my PC can play Fallout 3 without difficulty, it can probably play this.

[Blayze]

Trust me on this:

Check if your computer can run it first.

27 bucks I'm not getting back.

Have you tried tweaking the .ini files?

http://www.tweakguides.com/ME_1.html

[chiasaur11]

Have you tried tweaking the .ini files?

http://www.tweakguides.com/ME_1.html

Thanks.

Have a pal whose been trying to make the thing work with earlier shaders. I'll pass this right along.

[Erloas]

If you can't run Mass Effect at least reasonably then you aren't even attempting to be a PC gamer. Even a low end system of $600 from a few years ago will run the game. Unless you are still running a single core CPU and/or don't have a dedicated graphics card you shouldn't have a problem.

The frequency specs listed on the minimum requirements are in terms of P4s (for Intel) and all of the newer lines of chips are much faster clock-for-clock then those.

In terms of PC gaming, the industry has been learning a hard lesson these last few years and it seems like they are starting to come around in terms of DRM. Also a lot of games are coming out on both, its just that there really isn't anyone to influence developers to make a PC exclusive or even a temporary PC exclusive like you get with all of the consoles. PC gaming is far from dieing, and sales numbers are almost meaningless because they have yet to have a method of tracking digital sales on a large scale.


As a side, it was the information on Mass Effect 2 and the fact that you can carry over saved game data that finally got me to purchase Mass Effect. Something I had thought about sometimes but didn't actually do.

[Zeful]

If you can't run Mass Effect at least reasonably then you aren't even attempting to be a PC gamer. Even a low end system of $600 from a few years ago will run the game. Unless you are still running a single core CPU and/or don't have a dedicated graphics card you shouldn't have a problem.

That's a ham-handed statement to make. I don't upgrade my PC every six months (which I believe is the average time it takes for a faster chip to be released). Heck I wouldn't buy a new PC until the thing can't run games that are approaching 4 years old. It's not practical

[Destro_Yersul]

I just read an article on this game in OXM. You know that Geth they show at the end of the trailer?

apparently he's a unique character.

[Emperor Ing]

I just read an article on this game in OXM. You know that Geth they show at the end of the trailer?

apparently he's a unique character.

I had a feeling from the N7s decaled on it.

A part of me was hoping that Shepherd became a Geth. Oh well. :smalltongue:

[Erloas]

That's a ham-handed statement to make. I don't upgrade my PC every six months (which I believe is the average time it takes for a faster chip to be released). Heck I wouldn't buy a new PC until the thing can't run games that are approaching 4 years old. It's not practical

You can go a long time with a PC without having to spend a lot. My old PC from 04 I think would have meet the minimum specs for Mass Effect. My brothers PC that was about $600-700 in late 06 early 07 (I forget when exactly we put it together for him) will run the game without any problems.

It has nothing to do with getting the newest and best. Even a mid range system will play games for quite a long time.

If you are going to call someone still using a P4 and AGP a PC gamer at this point then I may as well claim I'm a console gamer because I own a PS2. Of course most P4s with AGP cards are still going to meet the minimum specs for Mass Effect, although I couldn't say how well the game actually runs at minimum specs.

Heck even buying a $350 Acer and putting a $50 budget video card in it will still run just about everything.

[Optimystik]

Heck even buying a $350 Acer and putting a $50 budget video card in it will still run just about everything.

If you're spending that much, you might as well buy an Xbox at that point and keep your existing PC than upgrade everything and go to the hassle of moving all your files/reconfiguring everything.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Apparently, E3 has started, which means theres a bunch of interviews and stuff floating around.

The ME2 guy is particularly well-spoken, (as opposed to the AC2 and SC:C guy), and confident-seeming in his work.

Heavy weapons looks to have an ammo counter and there's some type of homing missile.
Area-based damage is in the game. So far, I've only seen taking out a mech's legs, but hopefully, we're talking about dropping headshots with sniper rifles, too.

Also, a little birdie told me that Alpha Protocol is on the floor for E3.
I'm one very happy geek.

[Philistine]

Alpha Protocol and Dragon Age: Origins are both scheduled for October, with Mass Effect 2 about six months behind. There's a good bit of news coming out of E3 on all three titles right now.

[warty goblin]

If you're spending that much, you might as well buy an Xbox at that point and keep your existing PC than upgrade everything and go to the hassle of moving all your files/reconfiguring everything.

On the other hand, PC games are so much cheaper it's disgusting. I picked up two complete, relatively new (as in came out in the last year) titles the other day for a grand total of $60. There's easily somewhere north of a hundred hours of content in them as well.

Also, the eastern Europeans seem to favor PC development, and that's where about 80% of my favorite games come from anymore. American/western European PC games feel pretty much like console games on the PC to me. Eastern European games on the other hand have the guts to be positively weird.

[Erloas]

That is one very nice thing about PC games, they almost always release a fair amount cheaper then their console counterparts and they generally go down in price a lot faster too.


Well I just beat ME for the first time yesterday (having purchased it 1-2 weeks ago).

The only real issue I had with the game is that almost everything is trivially easy. I had it on the second difficulty setting, so I could easily increase it and maybe that would change.
I was a scout (or infiltrator, electronics and a sniper rifle) and even with very little use of my electronics abilities and a pistol it was still easy to kill just about everything. Krogan mercenaries and the 4 legged geth were just about the only things that would live through a single shot with the sniper rifle. The shield damaging and weapon DOTs from electronics seemed like they weren't even worth using when even a pistol takes down the shields of just about everything in a couple shots. I probably didn't even using healing gels more then half a dozen times throughout the entire game.
About the only thing that was really a threat at all were rockets, and they weren't a threat so much as just annoying because they either missed or you were dead and reloading.

Which was how most of the harder encounters were, not so much a fight for your life going back and forth, every challenging encounter was either you waste them or you get wasted very quickly. The Thrasher Maws were the same, you either drive around in a circle and they die or they happen to pop up under you and you reload (is it possible to take one out on foot? I only tried it twice and it didn't even seem possible considering the areas they put them in.)
Even a pistol, the weakest gun (usually at least), would take out most things you are fighting in just a few hits.

I still really liked the game, that was just the biggest complaint I have about it. I'm going to be getting ME2 for sure.

[Zeful]

That is one very nice thing about PC games, they almost always release a fair amount cheaper then their console counterparts and they generally go down in price a lot faster too.


Well I just beat ME for the first time yesterday (having purchased it 1-2 weeks ago).

The only real issue I had with the game is that almost everything is trivially easy. I had it on the second difficulty setting, so I could easily increase it and maybe that would change.
I was a scout (or infiltrator, electronics and a sniper rifle) and even with very little use of my electronics abilities and a pistol it was still easy to kill just about everything. Krogan mercenaries and the 4 legged geth were just about the only things that would live through a single shot with the sniper rifle. The shield damaging and weapon DOTs from electronics seemed like they weren't even worth using when even a pistol takes down the shields of just about everything in a couple shots. I probably didn't even using healing gels more then half a dozen times throughout the entire game.
About the only thing that was really a threat at all were rockets, and they weren't a threat so much as just annoying because they either missed or you were dead and reloading.

Which was how most of the harder encounters were, not so much a fight for your life going back and forth, every challenging encounter was either you waste them or you get wasted very quickly. The Thrasher Maws were the same, you either drive around in a circle and they die or they happen to pop up under you and you reload (is it possible to take one out on foot? I only tried it twice and it didn't even seem possible considering the areas they put them in.)
Even a pistol, the weakest gun (usually at least), would take out most things you are fighting in just a few hits.

I still really liked the game, that was just the biggest complaint I have about it. I'm going to be getting ME2 for sure.

I played an infiltrator on my first play through and found the play experience to be different. Yes, with a good pistol and weapon enhancements you could probably down any enemy's shields with a single shot, but the ability that takes down shields also disables many of their abilities to give a a brief window away from those bothersome attacks.

And there's nothing like sitting on a hill where the geth are two-six pixels in size and scoring two or three head shots in a minute while taking fire. Or trying to get a bead on the geth firing rockets at you at full zoom without Assassination (which, without a high-end rifle is damn hard).

As for the thrasher maw, I hate the things, such that I would identify any round areas on the map and mentally say "Thrasher Maw here" I managed to kill one, before simply giving up and leaving the things to their own devices. But I blame the poor Mako controls for that.

[warty goblin]

I played an infiltrator on my first play through and found the play experience to be different. Yes, with a good pistol and weapon enhancements you could probably down any enemy's shields with a single shot, but the ability that takes down shields also disables many of their abilities to give a a brief window away from those bothersome attacks.

And there's nothing like sitting on a hill where the geth are two-six pixels in size and scoring two or three head shots in a minute while taking fire. Or trying to get a bead on the geth firing rockets at you at full zoom without Assassination (which, without a high-end rifle is damn hard).

As for the thrasher maw, I hate the things, such that I would identify any round areas on the map and mentally say "Thrasher Maw here" I managed to kill one, before simply giving up and leaving the things to their own devices. But I blame the poor Mako controls for that.

That is one thing I really loved about Mass Effect, that you could be, and frequently were engaged by enemies at ~400 meters or so. So few games do this, which is unfortunate, since it allows for so much awesomeness, either the afformentioned picking them off, or else driving the Mako in there like a bat out of hell, then jumping out and shotgunning people.

[Thanatos 51-50]

That is one very nice thing about PC games, they almost always release a fair amount cheaper then their console counterparts and they generally go down in price a lot faster too.


Well I just beat ME for the first time yesterday (having purchased it 1-2 weeks ago).

The only real issue I had with the game is that almost everything is trivially easy. I had it on the second difficulty setting, so I could easily increase it and maybe that would change.
I was a scout (or infiltrator, electronics and a sniper rifle) and even with very little use of my electronics abilities and a pistol it was still easy to kill just about everything. Krogan mercenaries and the 4 legged geth were just about the only things that would live through a single shot with the sniper rifle. The shield damaging and weapon DOTs from electronics seemed like they weren't even worth using when even a pistol takes down the shields of just about everything in a couple shots. I probably didn't even using healing gels more then half a dozen times throughout the entire game.
About the only thing that was really a threat at all were rockets, and they weren't a threat so much as just annoying because they either missed or you were dead and reloading.

Which was how most of the harder encounters were, not so much a fight for your life going back and forth, every challenging encounter was either you waste them or you get wasted very quickly. The Thrasher Maws were the same, you either drive around in a circle and they die or they happen to pop up under you and you reload (is it possible to take one out on foot? I only tried it twice and it didn't even seem possible considering the areas they put them in.)
Even a pistol, the weakest gun (usually at least), would take out most things you are fighting in just a few hits.

I still really liked the game, that was just the biggest complaint I have about it. I'm going to be getting ME2 for sure.

Come on! Try an Infiltraitor on insane using the same tactics.
Way scaled-up enemies and practically all enemies being able to cast Shield Boost and Immunity makes things... difficult.
Especially since neither Sabotage nor Dampening block those abilities. Overload becomes very useful at this point, and biotic team-mates throwing and liting are great assests, as are HEX rounds.

[Optimystik]

Come on! Try an Infiltraitor on insane using the same tactics.
Way scaled-up enemies and practically all enemies being able to cast Shield Boost and Immunity makes things... difficult.
Especially since neither Sabotage nor Dampening block those abilities. Overload becomes very useful at this point, and biotic team-mates throwing and liting are great assests, as are HEX rounds.


...Pretty much that, yeah.

[Blayze]

I cheated all the Achievements on -- since I can't be bothered playing it more than once -- and started on Insane as an Infiltrator from level 1. The race against time area was fun, but difficult. Once I cleared the entire first half -- or so I thought -- and charged towards the final objective only to have a sniper dart round the corner and whack me with perfect accuracy.

I'd expect nothing less. This game is shaping up to be a 3D FPS version of I Wanna be the Guy.

[Arbitrarity]

Yeah, Insane is just tough enough to be fun, until you get a few levels, assuming Adept, Soldier, or Infiltrator (IMHO, strongest 3 classes). Immunity, or full lockdown, pretty much makes most encounters trivial.

I love killing Saren/Sovereign with lift-spam, it's hilarious.
Lift....
You fell? Sorry. Lift.
Again? Well, here you go, Lift.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Yeah, Insane is just tough enough to be fun, until you get a few levels, assuming Adept, Soldier, or Infiltrator (IMHO, strongest 3 classes). Immunity, or full lockdown, pretty much makes most encounters trivial.

I love killing Saren/Sovereign with lift-spam, it's hilarious.
Lift....
You fell? Sorry. Lift.
Again? Well, here you go, Lift.

No, it doesn't.
Plugging the same nameless Krogan with a Spectre X Sniper Rifle with two Fritctionless MAterials X Mods and HEX rounds, twelve ranks in sniper rifles and a few Assassinations over 12 times makes things frustrating.

What makes it difficult are his twenty buddies all filling you full of holes, and now time toactivate your Shield Boost or Immunity.

And that's if you get the DROP on Nameless Krogan and he hasn't used Immunity on Himself, yet.

EDIT:
Also, never before have I seen so many Thresher Maws break to the surface right below me.

[Zeful]

Also, never before have I seen so many Thresher Maws break to the surface right below me.

I've had it happen a grand total of twice. It's where I learned that flat, crater-like areas are simply not worth exploring. Maws deal enough damage that you must waste your Omni-gel repairing the Mako, and the Mako doesn't do enough damage to justify even bothering with them.

[Maxymiuk]

I've had it happen a grand total of twice. It's where I learned that flat, crater-like areas are simply not worth exploring. Maws deal enough damage that you must waste your Omni-gel repairing the Mako, and the Mako doesn't do enough damage to justify even bothering with them.

I don't know why people have trouble with tresher maws. They're embarassingly easy, if ridiculously tough. The only trick to fighting one is to change the direction you're going every time it goes back underground - otherwise it has a good chance of resurfacing right under your wheels.

[Guancyto]

I don't know why people have trouble with tresher maws. They're embarassingly easy, if ridiculously tough. The only trick to fighting one is to change the direction you're going every time it goes back underground - otherwise it has a good chance of resurfacing right under your wheels.

Even better, sit still within range of its poison spit. When it spits, drive five feet to the left. Drive back and continue shooting. It will rarely (if ever) submerge and you'll never get hit.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I don't know why people have trouble with tresher maws. They're embarassingly easy, if ridiculously tough. The only trick to fighting one is to change the direction you're going every time it goes back underground - otherwise it has a good chance of resurfacing right under your wheels.

My only problem is when it resurfaces right under me, truth be told.

[Optimystik]

Even better, sit still within range of its poison spit. When it spits, drive five feet to the left. Drive back and continue shooting. It will rarely (if ever) submerge and you'll never get hit.

Quoted for truth. The less they submerge the better off you are.

[Revlid]

I adopt the same tactics as above, except that instead of driving to the left, I jump.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I find they submerge after they take a set amount of damage equiivlant to one cannon blast.

[Optimystik]

Here's one way the PC version of ME is superior - you can modify the .ini files.

Doing so creates interesting effects, like Being able to play as Garrus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OyTqEXk7J8) :smallsmile:

[Thanatos 51-50]

This is a more appropriate place to put this:
Fanning ME2 on facebook is a good thing. This is how I've be become aware that there is new DLC in the works for ME1 (http://clanbase.ggl.com/news.php?nid=322182&Source=rss), apparently designed to 'bridge the gap' between the two.
And it's apparently more or less done, seeing as bioware employees were playing it before leaving for the E309 conferance.

I just finished my Insanity playthrough to prep the storyling for ME2, though.

If I'm playing through AGAIN for this, It's going to be on 'normal'.

[Emperor Ing]

Doing so creates interesting effects, like Being able to play as Garrus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OyTqEXk7J8) :smallsmile:

Damnit i've always wanted to play as one of the alien races. :smallfrown:
Especially when they tell you you're the first human spectre :D
It's a certain long-shot, but i'd love to find some thing that lets me change my species. :smalltongue:

[Jibar]

The DLC was something that did disappoint me with Mass Effect.
They promised that there would be some new episode like content that would bridge the gap and the only DLC for the longest time was rather unconnected to the main story and was really just one long sidequest. A very good sidequest, but sidequest none the less.
For that original promise, they need to actually have the sequel in the works. I can understand that there were details still be sorted out and what not, but still, it's just the littlest bit late.

[Starbuck_II]

The Thrasher Maws were the same, you either drive around in a circle and they die or they happen to pop up under you and you reload (is it possible to take one out on foot? I only tried it twice and it didn't even seem possible considering the areas they put them in.)


I've killed 4 on foot.
2 on my character and 2 for my bro: he can't beat them.

You get more Xp on foot. Extremely hard let me say: I usually blast it three-5 times with Mako to weaken it first.

[Guancyto]

I've killed 4 on foot.
2 on my character and 2 for my bro: he can't beat them.

You get more Xp on foot. Extremely hard let me say: I usually blast it three-5 times with Mako to weaken it first.

Crack's a hell of a dru- I mean, Stasis Mastery's a heck of a nice ability, isn't it?

[Faraaz]

I still want to play mass effect 1