Random Thoughts on Video Games

Discussion in 'Video and Computer Games' started by Ringo, Sep 12, 2010.

  1. Mach1

    Mach1 Member+

    Jun 27, 2004
    Acworth, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If I remember correctly they did the same thing with Mass Effect 3 as well. I'm more than content to wait the few extra days.
     
  2. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ya may be thinking of Dragon Age, ME3 release and EA sub don't overlap. I plan to try out the trial at some point, just to see if I am in the mood for another ME game.
     
  3. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Mass Effect 3 had a demo with the beginning, a mission from Sur' Kesh and multiplayer.
     
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  4. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    dang, I don't remember that at all.
     
  5. Mach1

    Mach1 Member+

    Jun 27, 2004
    Acworth, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Played some ME: Andromeda last night with the EA early access. Enjoying the single-player so far, haven't touched multiplayer yet. The comments online about the uncanny valley problem with the human characters are true, although the aliens are really well done. It's a minor gripe for me. There seems to be a lot more dialogue than in previous games, which is a positive for me. I can spend hours just going around talking to characters. Your ship this go round is a lot smaller than the Normandy. The galaxy map is gorgeous.

    I miss Garrus.
     
  6. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I never got around to playing the trial but watching some extra footage of the game beyond the initial opening sold me on the game. There definitely seems to be ton to explore around the galaxy and plenty of politics back at the Nexus based on your actions.
     
  7. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    I was not sold on Mass Effect Andromemda and I am glad I had resevations about it. The game falls way short of the original trilogy going by the videos and reviews I watched on Youtube. Awful stilted facial animations, terrible juvenile writing, by all accounts boring characters and a ineffectual plot.

    I get the feeling they rushed it out of the door. I think EA had enough of giving them more time since this game was long overdue anyway. Five years in development. No wonder team leads were leaving them left, right and center. Also makes sense that the marketing of this game was condensed into the final two months of launch. The game was not up to the standard required and they did not want to show anything.
     
  8. Mach1

    Mach1 Member+

    Jun 27, 2004
    Acworth, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I haven't played enough of the game to be able to give a final verdict, but I'm still enjoying myself. One thing I will say is it does feel a lot like a cross between Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Insurrection in how questing and general progression feels. In Insurrection you went area to area doing quests to make the Insurrection stronger. Here you're going area to area doing quests to increase planet viability and make the Initiative stronger. The theme as well feels a lot more like the original Mass Effect compared to the sequels, more non-linear and more of a thematic emphasis on exploring.

    It is not without it's flaws, don't get me wrong. I have a hard time playing multiplayer for the moment because the positional sound is so out of wack; I have a difficult figuring out where I'm getting shot at. I do wonder if people's complaints with the writing does have something to do with the fact that there is so much of it. I maybe have 12 hours in so far, and I feel like half of that was story/dialogue, the other half gameplay. I'm ok with this; I love being able to go to practically every damn person in the game and asking them for their life story, but I'm sure there are others who don't. And you don't have to go up to everyone and ask them 20 questions...but the option is there.

    And yes, facial animations could be better, but to be honest I never felt Mass Effect did that great with facial animation in the original trilogy either, so that's not a total surprise to me.
     
  9. juventino13

    juventino13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2005
    Caribbean
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    The issue that people have with the dialogue is not that there is too much, its that its garbage. This was a run of the mill, unfinished, unpolished Mass Effect headed by a team that has never developed a full game by themselves and it shows. To give such a valued IP to a team that is clearly not up to standard was a huge mistake by EA and its gonna show in the numbers.
    A 75 Metacritic for a AAA franchise that scored above 90 for all of their previous entries is a disaster.

    I played the EA access and canceled my pre-order shortly after I was done, and it looks like I'm not missing much as the writing is dire throughout from what I've read. Such a shame too cause the gameplay is excellent
     
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  10. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    #2760 Taib, Mar 21, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2017
    I think you mean Dragon Age: Inquisition.

    No I do not think people's problem with the writing is that there is too much of it but the quality of the dialogue:


    That is just an example of how poor it is. Nobody speaks like that. It is so stilted as if it was written as fanfiction. It is embaressing. It is downright cringeworthy. Again, nobody would ever speak like that.

    I agree facial animations were not great in the trilogy but that was half a decade ago. In 2017 and with this kind of technology it is unacceptable. Dragon Age: Inquisition, the previous game by Bioware, did not have such a poor level of facial animations and that game came out in 2014. There are no excuses. They gone backwards from that.

    Agreed. This game looks unfinished and it most definately is unpolished. The team made the Omega DLC and made the multiplayer for MAss Effect 3 but this was their first proper full game albeit with many members from the previous Mass Effect team.I am surprised that even game critics are giving it low scores because Bioware games get a free pass most of the time. It s actually scoring less than Dragon Age 2 and that game was mediocre at best. User scores are downright horrible. I did not expect this although it makes a lot of sense now. This game probably went through development hell and EA lost patience with them and rushed it out the door.
     
  11. juventino13

    juventino13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2005
    Caribbean
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Well I mean, thats what you get when you shift pretty much the entire Bioware team that worked on the original ME to a new IP and leave the ME IP to Bioware Montreal who's only claim to fame was working on ME3's multiplayer. It was a gigantic mistake, and to be honest if it weren't EA backing this and if Bioware wasn't working on a new IP, this would have sunk the company, guaranteed
     
  12. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That right there is great news to me. The first was my favorite of all, with the most enjoyable part of the game being just going around interacting with all the different alien races on the Citadel, learning about them, and reading the codexs.
     
  13. Mach1

    Mach1 Member+

    Jun 27, 2004
    Acworth, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Now that's a bit harsh. The game has issues, don't get me wrong, but we're not talking Daikatana here. There's still a lot going for it. Yes, human animations are clunky and the uncanny valley syndrome is in full effect, but the rest of the game is gorgeous. I could just stare at the galaxy map. The gameplay modifications from previous games are an improvement, in my opinion. Multiplayer still seems to be fun.

    If the current reviews and sentiment hold, my guess is we'll look back on this as a misstep, but not a disaster.
     
  14. juventino13

    juventino13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2005
    Caribbean
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    #2764 juventino13, Mar 25, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2017
    Took me a while to find this thread again, lol. I don't think its harsh at all, I honestly think that if BioWare wasn't working on a new IP, EA would have shut them down, assuming Andromeda doesn't meet sales expectations (doesn't look like they will) plus that awful Metacritic score.
    What I do see as a more likely possibility is that BioWare Montreal gets shut down
     
  15. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hey you PS+/PS4 owners, don't pass on downloading DiscJam this month. Fun Tennis/Tron/Windjammerish game. Wouldn't say it is amazing as Rocket League for a pick up and play online game but definitely solid.
     
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  16. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    APRIL 21st!!!
    Cities Skylines is releasing on the xbox one on April 21st!

    LINK
     
  17. teammellieIRANfan

    Feb 28, 2009
    Club:
    Perspolis
    Nat'l Team:
    Iran
    Anyone playing Zelda?
    I've put 60 hours in, I've only solved 30 shrines. However I've spent all my time exploring and looking for shrines (and doing the shrine quests to unlock a new shrine). I've found and unlocked another 40-50 shrines (bringing my total to 70-80 once I solve them). Saving them for later :D
    Still have not played anything of the main story haha
     
  18. thebigman

    thebigman Member+

    May 25, 2006
    Birmingham
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Does look good

    I might get a switch 'for the kid' lol
     
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  19. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    Can not wait for the E3 reveal.



    Looks like Microsoft over delivered from that screenshot. Will need to see more games running though.
     
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  20. Mach1

    Mach1 Member+

    Jun 27, 2004
    Acworth, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    [QUOTE="Taib, post: 35311495, member: 113527"Looks like Microsoft over delivered from that screenshot. Will need to see more games running though.[/QUOTE]So if I'm a developer and I'm releasing across platforms, and I do want to take advantage of the new systems capabilities, I'm going to have to practically write 4 different engines. XBone, PS4, PSPro, Scorpio. Jeez.

    Microsoft has already stated they will not allow exclusives to the Scorpio. This is not a new console generation, so everything must work on the XBone. I'm interested, this might be a reason to finally get a 4K TV, but I do wonder how many developers have the interest and the resources to develop something that will take full advantage of what Scorpio has to offer.
     
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  21. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    No, a developer does not have to write a different engine since most modern game engines are designed to scale with different platforms. Write different code, yes and use higher fidelity assets on the higher tier consoles if they want the most out of the Scorpio and PS4Pro. That is normal, though. PCs work like that since they are variable platform and in this cycle, the PS4 has for the most part performed better than the XB1 anyway. It is not that much work since in the video the original Forza Horizon 3 code was running on Scorpio no problem. Even without dedicated support any XB1 game can be downscaled from a higher resolution to a lower resolution causing a big increase in visual fidelity. It is up to the developers. They do not have to use the added power of the PS4Pro or Scorpio and there will be still be benefits for those owners such as higher framerates and downscaling.
     
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  22. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    So I finally got around to trying "Mass Effect: Andromeda" this week.

    The facial animations are indeed less than great, but that hasn't really bothered me to the extent that it seems to have bothered a lot of players.

    My main gripe with it so far is the story: I find even the main quest boring and occasionally confusing. It doesn't feel like a real "Mass Effect" game, more like if the developers had found a "Mass Effect" fan fiction online and adapted it verbatim.

    It does seem clear now that this game was rushed out the door, which sucks. They should have more respect for what is one of their most successful and most beloved IPs.
     
  23. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    The main quest is boring but the side quests are reptitive. They just devolve into going to the marker, scanning something or fighting enemies and then you get some dialogue. Then you have to go the next marker, rinse and repeat. They are all the same and I have seen people not do them in order. They just go to the closest marker to save time. Most of the time in the game the player is just travelling around in the Nomad, scanning objects and fighting enemies. That is the gameplay loop in this game. It is just boring. The structure of the game is poor and they did not even bother creating original and new areas for sidequests. If they had done that the sidequests would have been much more interesting in the narrative sense.But no, just drive to the loacation and scan and move to the next one.
     
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  24. juventino13

    juventino13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2005
    Caribbean
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    So far ME:A is selling well below what EA is expecting. I see Mass Effect going on a hiatus for a while
     
  25. Taib

    Taib Member+

    Lazio
    Italy
    Sep 7, 2007
    Club:
    SS Lazio Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    I know EA was expecting 3 million copies sold on launch and 6 million life time sales. I have not seen any sales figures though.
     

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