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Mass Effect 3 Development Decisions


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#226
Sedman211

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jreezy wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.

EA? Assassin's Creed? They totally go together!:lol:


Lol I guess I messed it up. But you see what I mean.

#227
Guest_EternalAmbiguity_*

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lol at EA and Assassin's Creed.

#228
BeefoTheBold

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EternalAmbiguity wrote...

lol at EA and Assassin's Creed.


Translation: AC was Ubisoft.

#229
Dark_Caduceus

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Sedman211 wrote...

jreezy wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.

EA? Assassin's Creed? They totally go together!:lol:


Lol I guess I messed it up. But you see what I mean.


Dead Space 2 and Crysis 2 both had good campaigns, and the MP section was a fun time sink for a good while afterwards, I don't see the issue there.

#230
Il Divo

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BeefoTheBold wrote...

EternalAmbiguity wrote...

lol at EA and Assassin's Creed.


Translation: AC was Ubisoft.


Far as I can tell, doesn't AC remain Ubisoft?

#231
AdmiralCheez

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spiros9110 wrote...

AdmiralCheez wrote...

I actually don't play very many games at all, come to think of it.


:o Lies!

Truth.

-Metroid
-Pokémon
-Smash Bros
-StarCraft
-Mass Effect
-Portal
-Fire Emblem (and that's only sometimes)

I own DAO, Halo 2, Bioshock, Oblivion, and Dead Space 2, but I've only just started DAO and DS2.  Bioshock has to be reinstalled before I can play it, and I got Oblivion for free.  I also have a bunch of older games for PC and various Nintendo platforms, but I don't play them much.

#232
AdmiralCheez

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BeefoTheBold wrote...

Fair enough.

For me, this is one of the few things that I genuinely care about and hence one of the very few things that can actually get me annoyed.

But I would debate one point.

Bioware and EA are NOT seperate entities anyymore. They're one company. The acquisition was completed years ago and the changes post merger are completely obvious.

The only reason the word "Bioware" still exists is so that EA can leverage the good feelings people associate with that name for more profit.

Bioware has. Become one. With the Borg.

And now you know why I hate the corporations.

#233
BeefoTheBold

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Il Divo wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

EternalAmbiguity wrote...

lol at EA and Assassin's Creed.


Translation: AC was Ubisoft.


Far as I can tell, doesn't AC remain Ubisoft?


Kind of my point. EternalAmbiguity was laughing at someone listing AC as an EA item.

I meant to clarify that what she was laughing at was that Ubisoft did that series, not EA. Didn't mean to imply that was no longer the case going forward.

#234
BeefoTheBold

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AdmiralCheez wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

Fair enough.

For me, this is one of the few things that I genuinely care about and hence one of the very few things that can actually get me annoyed.

But I would debate one point.

Bioware and EA are NOT seperate entities anyymore. They're one company. The acquisition was completed years ago and the changes post merger are completely obvious.

The only reason the word "Bioware" still exists is so that EA can leverage the good feelings people associate with that name for more profit.

Bioware has. Become one. With the Borg.

And now you know why I hate the corporations.


Not alone.

#235
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Personally I have no problem with the idea of multiplayer but I DO have a problem with publishers and/or developers having this recent need to slap it on every one of their products because of some false hope of success companies have built up in their mind. In the context of this Galaxy at War co-op absolutely makes sense in Mass Effect 3, but not all games need a co-op/multiplayer mode, especially when "because this company did it and was successful" is the reason. Don't imitate, innovate.

#236
Il Divo

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Ah, gotcha.

#237
spirosz

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AdmiralCheez wrote...

spiros9110 wrote...

AdmiralCheez wrote...

I actually don't play very many games at all, come to think of it.


:o Lies!

Truth.

-Metroid
-Pokémon
-Smash Bros
-StarCraft
-Mass Effect
-Portal
-Fire Emblem (and that's only sometimes)

I own DAO, Halo 2, Bioshock, Oblivion, and Dead Space 2, but I've only just started DAO and DS2.  Bioshock has to be reinstalled before I can play it, and I got Oblivion for free.  I also have a bunch of older games for PC and various Nintendo platforms, but I don't play them much.


Would you kindly go play Bioshock!

#238
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BeefoTheBold wrote...

Kind of my point. EternalAmbiguity was laughing at someone listing AC as an EA item.

I meant to clarify that what she was laughing at was that Ubisoft did that series, not EA. Didn't mean to imply that was no longer the case going forward.


Dangit, Cheez you're not the only one.

#239
BeefoTheBold

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Il Divo wrote...

Ah, gotcha.


No worries.

I'm tired. Was in this thread a lot longer than I intended to be tonight.

I think I'm going to go relax and unwind for a bit.

Thanks for everyone who participated, even those who came to the conclusion that I'm an utter tool.

#240
BeefoTheBold

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EternalAmbiguity wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

Kind of my point. EternalAmbiguity was laughing at someone listing AC as an EA item.

I meant to clarify that what she was laughing at was that Ubisoft did that series, not EA. Didn't mean to imply that was no longer the case going forward.


Dangit, Cheez you're not the only one.


Male?

#241
didymos1120

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Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.


As noted, Assassin's Creed is a Ubisoft game.  Also, Crysis had multiplayer from the start, and it's hardly "random" considering it's an FPS, a genre which traditionally does have multiplayer modes.  Besides, EA is just the publisher for the games.  They don't own Crytek the way they do Visceral and Bioware, so the notion that they made Crytek add MP is extremely debatable.

#242
AdmiralCheez

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spiros9110 wrote...

Would you kindly go play Bioshock!

Yes, sir, immediately, sir!

#243
AdmiralCheez

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BeefoTheBold wrote...

Male?

Indeed.

#244
Guest_EternalAmbiguity_*

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BeefoTheBold wrote...

EternalAmbiguity wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

Kind of my point. EternalAmbiguity was laughing at someone listing AC as an EA item.

I meant to clarify that what she was laughing at was that Ubisoft did that series, not EA. Didn't mean to imply that was no longer the case going forward.


Dangit, Cheez you're not the only one.


Male?


Aye.

Edit: Ninja'd by Cheez! (and I'm totally not a fanboy, by the way)

Modifié par EternalAmbiguity, 28 octobre 2011 - 05:03 .


#245
BeefoTheBold

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AdmiralCheez wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

Male?

Indeed.


My apologies to EnternalAmbiguity then when he gets back.

In my defense, I've been in in this thread for hours and I'm damn tired. Night all.

Modifié par BeefoTheBold, 28 octobre 2011 - 05:03 .


#246
Sedman211

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didymos1120 wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.


As noted, Assassin's Creed is a Ubisoft game.  Also, Crysis had multiplayer from the start, and it's hardly "random" considering it's an FPS, a genre which traditionally does have multiplayer modes.  Besides, EA is just the publisher for the games.  They don't own Crytek the way they do Visceral and Bioware, so the notion that they made Crytek add MP is extremely debatable.


Maybe I was wrong to bash EA without thinking, but don't you think MP these days is a little misplaced?

#247
Garrgyle

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BeefoTheBold wrote...

There have been a number of large revelations on the development of Mass Effect 3 recently that have come to light. Some people agree with them and some do not.

I am of the opinion of not agreeing with them. On the assumption that it is okay to list recent decisions made by Bioware about Mass Effect 3 and debate/discuss their relative merits, I'm writing this to list them and their impact and/or lack thereof on the MASS EFFECT 3 game and beyond.

So, what are the three biggest impact decisions that have been announced in relatively quick succession in this late stage of the Mass Effect 3 development cyle?

1. Kinect support
2. Coop
3. Multiplayer

These are all features that are now IN THE GAME and will NOT be being removed. So, what impact do they have and is that impact positive, negative or neutral?

Kinect:

It can certainly be argued that the decision to add support to this is entirely optional and has no impact on the overall Mass Effect 3 experience.

I would argue that this is not necessarily the case. Certainly, nobody is putting a gun to my head and forcing me to use the Kinect functionality, but on the other hand, what INDIRECT impacts could it have had on Mass Effect 3 and what we can expect to see?

I would like to introduce the concept of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost">Opportunity Cost</A> .

Basically, the concept of opportunity cost is, "What could you have done instead?" Let's say you have $20 to spend and you decide to go get a pizza. The opportunity cost is you could have gotten a steak instead with your $20.

With me, the issue with adding Kinect is what you COULD HAVE DONE instead. Now, maybe you don't even have the $20 to begin with if you don't add Kinect. Maybe Microsoft gave you that $20 on the express condition that you go and buy a ****y pizza like Little Caesors.

But then the opportunity cost becomes the extra time added where you STILL HAVE PEOPLE WORKING ON THE GAME when you could have released the game without Kinect and had those resources devoted towards the NEXT game.

In other words, Opportunity Cost applies regardless. There's ALWAYS a next best option you could have chosen.

To me, I don't give a damn about Kinect and therefore ANY next available option that involves either releasing the game sooner or beefing up the single player in some way is a benefit. So I'd view this addition to ME3 as a potential negative given that, by definition, it has replaced something that I would have preferred.

Coop Mode

This mode caught a lot of people by surprise because, frankly, Bioware had very stridently talked about not having any form of multiplayer. While they never specifically ruled it out, they definitely implied that such would not happen.

Some fans might be turned off by the revelation that while simultaneously developing such a thing they were saying it was doing everything to make people think that they weren't. Therefore, by announcing such a thing late in the development cycle, they may in effect by springing an unpleasant surprise on fans who don't want this mode in the hopes of minimizing the impact on sales.

The positive interpretation by including this mode is that it is being billed as entirely optional in that it IS possible to get the "optimal" ending without ever playing the coop missions. The negative interpretation is that it immunizes players from their choices in previous games by giving them extra ways to build galactic readiness by doing the "optional" coop and/or it raises the bar on how much of the single player sidequests an individual has to do if they don't want to do the coop.

It is entirely possible that the amount of galactic readiness is unchanged, but this once again runs into the "Opportunity Cost" concept.

What could have been done with the added resources? How much quicker could the game have been released? Did Mass Effect 3 gain more fans than they lost by adding this mode and announcing it so late in the development cycle?

My personal view would be that it will not add as many new players as the amount of players who get deeply turned off by a combination of feeling mislead and/or abandoned by Bioware including a feature that was not a part of what they associated with the Mass Effect 3 brand before.

Multiplayer

The key thing to ask yourself with the inclusion of this feature is whether or not it adds or detracts from the Mass Effect 3 experience or is a net neutral.

This answer might vary depending on the type of gamer that you are. For a gamer like me, this stongly detracts because it both makes me feel like Bioware is abandoning me as a gamer and because it makes the game feel less story focused. I would associate it to the difference between Bioshock 1 and Bioshock 2.

Adding MP to Bioshock 2 did not generate a great deal more playtime or buyers, and the MP piece was not very popular, but it did have a large impact on the storyline. Bioshock 2's storyline was noticeably weaker and less focused than #1. The main villain was not nearly as interesting and compelling and the character development not as robust.

Naturally, these are all simply my opinions, but I felt that it made for an overall weaker singleplayer game without the upside of bringing in individuals attracted to MP. Does Mass Effect 3 risk the same dilution of it's brand and core concept by spreading itself too thin?

Once again, Opportunity Cost is a relevant factor to consider. Nobody was forcing Bioware to devote resources to this item. Unless it brings in a great many players that it otherwise would not have gotten, which is a questionable value proposition based on many other shooter titles that are EXCLUSIVELY FOCUSED on MP, or unless it is setting the stage for a MUCH STONGER emphasis on MP in future games, then what was the point of including this feature?



Frankly, I don't understand why so many people are turned off by these features.

Don't like Kinect? Don't use/buy it. 
Don't like multiplayer? Don't play it. 

I do understand your "opportunity cost" argument, but I think you place too much emphasis on the costs of these features. You even mention in the Kinect portion how microsoft probably gave them money to put it in their game. You can count on that. Positive cost there.

As for multiplayer, have you looked at it? It uses identical models from the single player. The only resource cost here is in drafting the levels (using reworked modeling) and creating and maintaining a 4 player multiplayer network, which is definitely not costly. 

#248
javierabegazo

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Sedman211 wrote...

didymos1120 wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.


As noted, Assassin's Creed is a Ubisoft game.  Also, Crysis had multiplayer from the start, and it's hardly "random" considering it's an FPS, a genre which traditionally does have multiplayer modes.  Besides, EA is just the publisher for the games.  They don't own Crytek the way they do Visceral and Bioware, so the notion that they made Crytek add MP is extremely debatable.


Maybe I was wrong to bash EA without thinking, but don't you think MP these days is a little misplaced?


I wouldn't so much say "misplaced" as "stagnant in originality of design".  :happy:

#249
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EternalAmbiguity wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

EternalAmbiguity wrote...

BeefoTheBold wrote...

Kind of my point. EternalAmbiguity was laughing at someone listing AC as an EA item.

I meant to clarify that what she was laughing at was that Ubisoft did that series, not EA. Didn't mean to imply that was no longer the case going forward.


Dangit, Cheez you're not the only one.


Male?


Aye.

Edit: Ninja'd by Cheez! (and I'm totally not a fanboy, by the way)

It's okay to be a fanboy of Cheez. Most people on here seem to be. Except me, I'm a rebel that way. 

#250
Ricinator

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javierabegazo wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

didymos1120 wrote...

Sedman211 wrote...

Maybe there's an EA trend starting here for completely random MP modes in SP games:

Assassin's Creed
Mass Effect
Dead Space
Crysis

If this keeps up, we WILL see it in Dragon Age next.


As noted, Assassin's Creed is a Ubisoft game.  Also, Crysis had multiplayer from the start, and it's hardly "random" considering it's an FPS, a genre which traditionally does have multiplayer modes.  Besides, EA is just the publisher for the games.  They don't own Crytek the way they do Visceral and Bioware, so the notion that they made Crytek add MP is extremely debatable.


Maybe I was wrong to bash EA without thinking, but don't you think MP these days is a little misplaced?


I wouldn't so much say "misplaced" as "stagnant in originality of design".  :happy:


i'd say misplaced