39 réponses à ce sujet

[GuardianAngel470]

I've seen a lot of posts recently that because of X, Y, and Z people have lost faith with Bioware. Many state that because Arrival was poorly executed it is a sign that Bioware is no longer a top notch company.

There are also many complaints about ME2 that people tout as signs of the death of Bioware (I'm paraphrasing).

These are a few things that prove that Bioware not only listens to their fans but also executes fixes. They are signs that Bioware, even under the control of EA, is still a top notch developer.

Sidequests:

ME1's sidequests were repetitive, they were dull at times, and infuriating at others. Enemy bases had all of three basic designs: Underground, mine, and above ground. Layouts changed sort of within these designs but they were really all the same.

On top of that, there was rarely any story to speak of. Usually it was just raid base A, kill mercs, collect item. There were a few exceptions but on the whole they all felt like the same mission.

In ME2, every single sidequest is unique. Level designs are unique, objectives are unique, and stories are unique. In fact, in ME2, sidequests HAD stories. There were several missions that spawned more missions and progressed in their own story arc. There were examples of this in ME1 (Cerberus related missions usually) but because of level design and storytelling methods it never really felt meaningful.

Two great examples from ME2 of this types of sidequest arc are the faulty AI missions and the Krogan invasion missions. Each mission was different. In the krogan missions, you visit a planet with very poor visibility and this adds to the tactical considerations you have. In the AI missions you do some haunting missions, visiting dead space stations and crashed space ships reading logs of the crew. It felt more important.

Bioware heard the community's complaints about the lackluster sidequests and fixed them completely in ME2. The missions feel varied, some have no combat at all but rather puzzles (rudementary ones but still) and they all have more compelling stories.

Enemies:

Lets be perfectly honest; ME1's enemies weren't very fun to fight. They were usually all the same and were usually bullet sinks. This partly has to do with combat, which I'll cover later, but for now lets just talk about how the enemies looked and how they behaved.

Nearly every merc looked basically the same. There was very little in the way of visual differentiation. Yeah some of them wore camo while others wore straight gray armor but really, it all blended together.

They all behaved the same way too. Aside from Rachni, Thorian Creepers, and husks, all the mercs and pirates behaved exactly the same, or at least it seem that way. As a result, fighting them became monotonous and boring. Even the geth had analogs to the Mercs (regular troops, walking tanks (Krogan and Destroyers), soldiers (geth shock troops and turians/humans) and so on.

In ME2, you have Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood pack as factions within the merc designation and each faction fights differently. Blue Suns use a lot of tech abilities, ARs, and Rockets. Eclipse uses biotics, vanguards, and the like. Blood pack uses Krogan and Vorcha, which both have significant regeneration abilities as well as armor. You also have Pyros in all shapes.

On top of that you have Husks which are a lot more fun to fight this time around in my opinion, Collectors and Harbinger, which also use their own type of heavy weapon and tactics, and Varren.

Again, Bioware heard the complaints about the monotony of combat and fixed them in ME2. They paid attention to the fans and devoted energy to satisfying our complaints, even after their merger with EA.

Combat:

As an examination of the other aspects of combat we have weapons, cover, and controls. In ME1, much of the time you just pulled the trigger until your enemy was dead. Biotics and tech powers were useful but not overtly so. There were serious balance issues with Biotics (something I've realized after playing a few missions against biotics on insanity). Each individual weapon felt the same when firing it. Every shotgun from the Storm on up to the HMWSG X felt the same.

On top of that, enemies were bullet sinks. They rarely reacted to being shot unless you knocked them off their feet and headshots meant nothing.

Cover was terrible because you had no way to initiate it without simply walking into a wall. There was no cover button and trying to leave cover when a Geth Destroyer or Krogan came charging up to you could often get you killed, as could trying to run away and accidentally walking into a wall.

In ME2, with the implementation of a dedicated cover button the player could choose to go to cover. It still has issues (namely when you are sprinting and get sucked into cover) but is vastly superior to ME1's cover.

Weapons each feel different. The Widow and the Viper are two totally different weapons that behave totally differently but both are considered sniper rifles.

Bioware heard the complaints about combat in ME1 and fixed them, creating a game that plays so much better and is so much more satisfying than trying to blast through a krogan's immunity with a pistol. Bending powers is a lot of fun.

Enemies react to being shot, especially when hit in the head. Headshots do more damage than a body shot and powers each feel unique when used.

Vehicular Implementation:

As much as I personally liked the Mako, it had issues. Some of them were based on the terrain and some on controls. Reverse was counterintuitive as it wasn't so much going backwards as going in reverse of the camera angle. Much like the Tank in Halo but faster and therefore worse.

The terrain was terrible and often frustrating and had a way of inhibiting exploration.

Though I personally believe it was an over compensation, Bioware removed the Mako and all vehicular segments from the game. They did listen to the complaints and probably decided that it would be too much trouble to fix something that they hadn't heard much positive feedback about.

Minigames:

dIn ME1, minigames consisted of pressing certain buttons in a certain order to hack into things or using Omni-gel to cheat the system. It was boring, motonous, and unrealistic. It had no ingame relevance because it just prompted you to press A, B, Y, or X to hack something.

In ME2, Bioware created the Bypass and hacking minigames. These minigames, which are very distinct from each other, are more realistic to the game world. In one you match certain lines of code to hack a terminal while in the other you couple certain nodes to hack a door or safe.

They are contextual to what the player is trying to break into as well and as a result don't rip the player from the game world so badly.

Though I'm not sure how many feel about this, I find it a plus that everyone can hack and bypass. An Adept and a soldier couldn't hack or bypass anything in ME1 without a squadmate on hand to do it for them and as a result could often miss out on valuable weapons, mods, and armor.

If you aren't sensing a theme here yet I must not be explaining it very well. Bioware consistently paid attention to fan complaints and consistently corrected for them.

Graphics:

ME1 had a major issue with texture popping. Every level, every area, had this problem. It was a huge complaint fans and critics of the game had because it detracted from the overall experience. I've also heard that it didn't matter how good your system was (from Xbox to high end gaming rig) the textures always popped.

By contrast, ME2 has virtually NO texture popping, which is a feat in and of itself I've heard because the Unreal Engine is notorious for texture popping. A major gripe many had with ME1 is basically GONE in ME2.

Bioware heard and they fixed.

Galaxy Map:

This one is a smaller, less meaningful problem but nonetheless one that Bioware addressed. In ME1, you had a LOT of sidequests and missions but, aside from the Citadel, Noveria, Liara, Feros, Vermire, and Ilos, these missions were NEVER displayed on the map itself.

In order to find an assignment, you had to exit the galaxy map, open your journal, and read the entry for that mission. This meant that you had to wait through a small loading screen and get back to where you were while remembering what system in which cluster your next mission was.

In ME2, you almost never have to do this. On top of all hub worlds appearing on you map, all discovered missions, all resource sources (post LotSB) and all main missions appear on the map itself, allowing you to go from place to place easily and seamlessly.

And last but not least:

Elevators:

Again, I feel like this was an overcompensation but Bioware heard fan complaints about the length of elevators. Now, out of curiousity, I timed the worst offender the Citadel tower elevator, and it clocked in at 49 seconds. I personally don't have a problem waiting 49 seconds from the moment I press the button to the moment I can step out but many did and that is legitimate.

Bioware answered these complaints with the implementation of full on loading screens. Personally I prefered the elevators as they were more immersive but to each their own.

In Conclusion:

Many felt that Bioware failed them in ME2. They see the structure of the plot, the death of Shepard, and the railroading of Cerberus as flaws too big to allow them to enjoy the story. They view the rather lackluster Arrival DLC as the end of Bioware as an excellent developer. They see the merger with EA as the end of everything quality from Bioware.

Every point I've made pertains to Bioware post-merger. Every plus, every advantage, every address of a complaint was made after Bioware became a part of EA. I hope that I can persuade many to see the enormous lengths that Bioware went to address their fanbase. Many developers would not have gone so far but Bioware did.

[Infinite Legend_]

I always like it when people complain about ME1 when other people complain about ME2, tis like one can not have faults without the other also being brought in.

[Gentleman Moogle]

I think I'll get a jump-start and start complaining about ME4.

Be a trend setter.

[xzxzxz701]

Oh damn! Somebody still has faith in Bioware! Quick guys, get the net!

[DrRedrum]

I like Mass Effect. Bioware has done a good job with KOTOR as well. I have spent many hours on both series.

Let the good times roll.

[aimlessgun]

What I got from this: complain your ass off because there's a chance you'll get what you want.

[AdmiralCheez]

Saphra Deden wrote...

It's not dead, it just has this thing attached to her that you don't want to talk about. It's like developer cancer...

Good one, boss.

[WeasleX]

I say, if we have a lot of people whining about this game, it must mean it's alive and well. Usually if there are only fan boys on a web sites forum, it usually means a small forums population. So keep it up haters, you know we love you... even if we don't say it... at all.

[Eyesofjon]

Mass Effect 2 was Game of the Year for a reason that's all I have to say

[Eyesofjon]

Double

Modifié par Eyesofjon, 07 avril 2011 - 03:52 .

[marshalleck]

They won't be dead until TOR flops.

[DrRedrum]

I have to agree with Saphra on this one.
EA has a long track record of offing companies. Some of the mediocre, others great.

Be wary of the their shifty logo.

[MassEffect762]

Zombified?

[GuardianAngel470]

aimlessgun wrote...

What I got from this: complain your ass off because there's a chance you'll get what you want.

That's half of it. The other half, as evidenced by the lack of a vehicle in the main game and the mission end screens, is to make sure to voice what you like about the game too.

If the devs only hear how much their vehicle sucked and never what people liked about the vehicle sections what happens is they cut it completely. They overcompensate because they never hear what people actually want, only what they don't.

People disliked the Mako but mourne the lack of exporation. In order to get what you want, you have to state what you want.

@Saphra, all of the improvements and additions that Bioware made to the game to satisfy their fans were made while under the EA banner.

Also, I'm not trying to say one game is better than the other; each have their faults. What I'm saying is that Bioware are still working tirelessly to make good games, even after joining EA.

[aimlessgun]

That's a good point.

"Stuff I liked" threads just don't have the legs that complaints do though :/

[Turnip Root]

Lets see. Mass Effect 2 gets over 70 perfect scores, over a dozen game of the year awards, sells over 3 million copies and somehow that means that Bioware is dead?

I'm surprised you people don't drown on your own saliva.

[royceclemens]

It's the funniest thing. The two biggest complaints about BioWare are 1) That they've started making action games instead of RPGs and 2) That they've sold out by making games under the EA banner.

The former compaint... Does not explain Jade Empire, which is an action game (sorry, it isn't even up for debate like ME2 is) made two years before anyone could possibly blame EA for the radical shift in gameplay.

And the latter complaint... Does not excuse the fact that BioWare first started hitting it big by making licensed games. In fact, nine years passed (1996-2005) between original BioWare IPs. Oddly enough, this never comes up in the "BioWare sold out" arguments.

I'm sorry, folks, but they've been going in this direction for quite a while now.

[Keltoris]

Mass Effect 2 has never once made me worry about Bioware's liveliness.*

...Although the Hammerhead called their sanity into question.

(For the Hammerhead lovers, I have never finished Firewalker: Volcano Station without dying at least once because the bloody thing decided not to jump. It will always kill me at least once with a little spluttering hop.)


* - ME2 takes me roughly 4 hours longer to do a full playthrough than ME1, while DA1 took twice as long as DA2. That's the only thing that worries me about their "deadness".

[Turnip Root]

It's mostly PC gamers that like to whine. Anything that doesn't have at least a 300 page book which explains how to use the menu they will deem to be "dumbed down" for consoles.

[Keltoris]

Turnip Root wrote...

It's mostly PC gamers that like to whine. Anything that doesn't have at least a 300 page book which explains how to use the menu they will deem to be "dumbed down" for consoles.

Lies! Us PC Gamers throw out the manual, then yell for explanations on the forums!

[Gentleman Moogle]

Keltoris wrote...

Turnip Root wrote...

It's mostly PC gamers that like to whine. Anything that doesn't have at least a 300 page book which explains how to use the menu they will deem to be "dumbed down" for consoles.

Lies! Us PC Gamers throw out the manual, then yell for explanations on the forums!

No no, you've got it wrong. We through the manual AT the forums, then complain when it only knocks one person unconscious. 

[Keltoris]

Gentleman Moogle wrote...

No no, you've got it wrong. We through the manual AT the forums, then complain when it only knocks one person unconscious. 

Ooo, I'll have to try that.


Of course, in some cases we complain before we get the manual.... I think Lionhead was telling us this time last year Fable 3 would be simultaneous...