(I know it's long, if you want to check my blogs, where this is posted in seven parts)
With Mass Effect 3 multiplayer I think we've seen part the future of the franchise, co-op gaming, I'm not saying this would be a sequel, but a game expanding on the unverse.The game would be more about making yourself in the ME universe than
experience an epic story (that was Shepard's trilogy). Think of it as a merge
of MMO's and co-op and MP. You would have your own campaign, and you would be
able to look for "matches", that would be story driven co.op
missions, with ME3MP combat, and SWTOR flashpoints' mechanics in terms of how
the story and dialogue is unfolded. They've already done it, they just
have to combine it in a ME game.
It would take place some time before ME1, at the start you would choose your
species and gender (most of them are already playable in MP) and the faction
you want to start with. By faction I mean: The Blue Suns, Eclipse, The Blood
Pack, Turian Army, Asari Comandos, Salarian STG, Quarian Fleet, Human Alliance
and maybe another one (freelancers, spectres, Aria's mercs?). This would
determine great part of your own story (which would be basically ranking up in
each faction), since I would allow players to leave one faction for another, of
course this should have consecuences (as not being able to go back, or go back
but restarting as a rookie) so it's an important decision to make. Obviously
there are some factions you can't join (A krogan wouldn't fit well inside the
salarian STG, or a human in the Turian Army). Each character would have his/her
own different surname so npcs and other players can refer to them, members of
the same species and gender would be refered by the same surname, but that's
the price to pay for hearing it.
There would be two types of co-op. The first one is the classic co-op campaign,
you and a friend do everything together, from going shopping in Ilium to the
missions. And a more mp focused co-op, in which you look for a mission to do
with people. I'd put two types of mission to search, the general search selects
you people to play and selects any ramdom mission, the faction search would do
the same, except it would select a mission from the faction selected. Lore-wise
the explanation is simple for any case (other goverment finds out about the
mission and "asks" to have an operative there or a merc is hired to
help).
The conversation system is already in SWTOR, for those who don't know it each
player has a time to select a dialogue option and rolls a number, the player
with the highest number is the one to talk.
Powers and
level up system.
This part would allow more customization for each mission since the power wheel
cannot be applied well into mp. Since you'll be playing the whole game with
your character it's needed that he has the same level of variety in powers as
Shepard did, because of this before each mission you can map three powers
to the power buttons, works as in the ME3MP, but you choose from your powers
which three to use. That said I've redesigned the classification of powers to
get the old tactic feeling when preparing for a mission since the powers would
substitute the 1 mission supplies.
Character Powers:
These would be Fitness and the class specific power wich buff your character,
unchanged from ME3.
Active powers:
These are the ones you choose to map and use (throw, frag grenade, smash,
biotic charge...)
Passive powers (class specific)
This would substitute supplies and possibly gear. Being class specific means
that now you could customize your character to make it different from the rest
because of the several you would only be able to choose two to use for a
mission and the version of each power would change as seen with powers in ME3.
Examples of these are below.
Ammo power
Think of SP, you have your ammo powers that are more powerful than the MP
versions, but you have to activate them for each gun, since you have the power
wheel you don't need to map them, but in this game that would mean a need of
mapping at least one and losing the slot for another power. The solution is
that from the different ammo powers the player chooses to use one as if it was
gear, as with passive power except they have they're own category and slot.
All in all this makes that for a mission the player chooses weapons, mods,
three active powers, two passive powers and an ammo power, this feels now more
like gearing up for the mission than before.
The passive powers offer the chance to include some of the new mechanics that
has been added with MP dlc characters and so make each character feel more
unique. Here are the examples.
Soldier:
Weapons mastery: one per type of weapon, allowing bigger clips, more precision,
stability, damage, less recoil, you're a soldier, so
it's only fair that you're better with all weapons than
the other classes.
Grenadier: allowing to carry more grenades, grenades doing more damage, and
allowing to choose between having each grenade power have separate ammo
(instead of having 4 grenades you would have 3 fire and 3 frags, the numbers
are so one character does not end up carrying over 20 grenades, so if you have
6, choose this with 3 grenades powers you won't have 18 but 15) or throwing 2
grenades at a time (gives en extra grenade to multi-frag)
Some active powers (such as destroyer mode or blade armor) would need some
specific items (an armor that doesn't let you roll in exchange of more
protection).
Adept:
Charge: hold down the button for more powerful versions of your powers,
cooldowns also grow (works only on tech or biotic active ones, not on modes)
Both hands: use the power twice on two targets or on one for a greater effect
at the cost of larger cooldown and having to draw your weapon each time you use
a power.
Biotic dodge: let's you teleport with dodge as seen in ME3 MP, allowing you to
go through walls, costs barrier.
Concentration: the effect of your powers last longer, choose between damage
over time or more damage for biotic explosions.
Habit: decreases your cooldowns a lot but your powers are less effective and do
less damage.
Biotic melee: your melee turns into a shockwave around you (asari heavy but
without tired animation), your heavy melee turn into a much powerful shockwave
at the cost of all of your barrier (banshee shockwave)
Vanguard:
Biotic dodge
Biotic melee
Shockwave punch: add a shockwave to your heavy melee without pulling a cooldown
(the shockwave is at grade 3)
Sword mastery: unlocks biotic slash and sword melees, works as in ME3 (needs a
sword, item that can be bought)
Agility: faster movement and dodges, biotic dodges can either not consume
barrier or cover mre distance
Charge
[The biotic classes are the only ones with acces to warp ammo and push
ammo (more damage, automatic weapons stun enemies, single shot knock
back and really powerful ones such as the widow or the claymore throw
the enemie back and on the floor, shielded and big enemies such as geth
prime do not suffer the two last effect and have only chance to be
momentarily stunned, as when they make a stepback in ME3) in exchange of
fire and freezing ammo]
Infiltrator:
Assasin: faster movement and dodges, unlocks assasination on
unshielded/unarmored targets, cloak needs to be active, is heavy melee with
instant kill effect. (phantom execution for example).
Sword mastery: here unlocks electric slash and shadow strike.
Sniper mastery: like soldier's
Pistol mastery: like soldier's
Cloak Generator: lenghthens cloak duration up to 200%, but makes the
cooldown up to 50% longer
Charge
Stun cloak: each time you cloak enemies around you are stunned, at max grade
you can choose to throw a smoke grenade or a flashbang at your feet each time
you cloak, flashbang effect does not affect you)
Engineer:
Charge (doesn't apply to drones, decoys or turrets)
Habit
Multitask: combat drone, defense drone and decoy don't share cooldown
Power drain: each time you damage a shield or barrier it refills part of that
damage to your shield
Enchancer: chance of enchancing the effect of your powers (larger area, more
damage, lasting more time...) choose between an even greater effect or a higher
chance
Medic: revive allies at a greater distance and restore more health, can choose
between restoring 50% of shields too or reviving two nearby allies at a time
Sentinel:
Charge
Habit
Shockwave punch
Power drain
Shield Mastery: unlocks shield heavy melee (needs Shield melee variant
item)
Tech cover: each time you take cover you create in front of you an tech cover
that moves with you throughout the cover (works as the shield but 50% less
powerful and without burn or freeze effect) you can choose to make it wider and
help teammates or make it more powerful.
Items
Armor parts and sets are unchanged, except it would include all ME1-3 versions
(including all dlc, even MP) but this time each is customizable. For example,
the Blood Dragon Armor is a set, you either equip it full or don't. The default
look is as it has been seen, but the dragon is an extra pattern exclusive to
the armor. Apart from that armor customization works as in ME3.
Weapons this time have an experience bar and level up with damage made to
enemies (not kills), leveling up a weapon to X will take time, but the only
requirement is to use it (this works on the basis that the more you use a
weapon the more used you get to it, less weight, and since you're knowing
better how it works you start modifying it, more damage, bigger clips...).
Mods stand the same, except you can buy mods with better or worse quality. A
level 5 mod will be expensive, whereas a level 1 will be very cheap. Buy a
level 5 mod or save a bit more for that SMG? that's the question players have
to ask themselves.
Weapons, mods and armor are bought at vendors at the different worlds, choosing
which to buy exactly.
Consumables come in supply packages, giving you a varying number depending on
the prize of the package of thermal clips, medi-gel and ops survival packs.
Heavy weapons enter the mission specific item/power/companion (which all map to
the cobra missile launcher button of ME3 MP). This means that for a mission you
can gain acces to one of the ME2 or ME3 heavy weapons with a preset amount of
ammo. This heavy weapons are not an instant kill one, just as in SP.
Melee variants are items that allow omnitools or biotic implants to do new
things. In terms of gameplay translates as having new animations for the melee
and heavy melee, including burning, freezing and electric effects. In this
category are included swords for infiltrators and vanguards and shields for sentinels.
There would also be social items for your little homeship (it's size would make
space for up to four people).
Factions
and character progression
Your character start as part of one of these factions, doing the faction
exclusive missions (personal story) allows you to rank up inside that faction,
ranking up will give you access to new npcs (vendors, highranking personel),
areas on the faction zone (Alliance HQ for example), your own homeship (a small
4 ship for up to four people in wich to freely travel around the galaxy), and
missions (such as N training in the Alliance).
When visiting HQ of another faction you will only be able to visit public areas
and offer yourself to help with missions (special faction training of highly
classified mission you won't be able to do).
Each species has acces to different faction set by the lore (a krogan in
salarian STG doesn't make sense), you can always leave your faction and join
another one, but that has consecuences, most will consider you a traitor and
some even try to dispose of you. If you change faction lots of times some won't
accept you back, and joining back will always be faced with some kind of
punishment. Military groups tend to be more strict with this than mercenaries.
You can keep your homeship, if you pay a fine. (social items bought for
the ship cannot be taken away).
Mission
mechanics
They start with a brefing cutscene in which player engage in a conversation,
asking question about the mission, the other squad members...
Throughout the mission there can be some banter between the characters (like
squad members did in previous ME).
Mission specific power:
This takes the slot that used to be the missile launcher in ME3MP. This
power changes from mission to mission, here are the varieties.
Heavy weapons: just as they worked in SP, equiped with button
Power: a good example would be an airstrike, they tend to be very powerful so
each player can use it once. With the airstrike if you click it when facing an
enemie it will strike having the center the location of that enemy at that
moment, for a more tactical approach you can hold it and an area of effect
marker will appear. An area scan can be other example.
VIP: this (or these) is the person you're trying to extract safely, by default
it will just follow the players around, it can be ordered to take cover in one
place or run to a location with the click of the button.
Squad mate: for more difficult mission you may count with the help of npc
wingman, they use their powers autmotacally, you can order them to fire at an
enemy, take cover, (if you get too far away they will get back to follow you)
and revive other players. If those wingmen get shot down they will bleed
out and die, using your medi-gel does not heal them. If the players completes
the mission with the wingman alive he will get bonus xp.
Other thing to notice is that in some mission you'll have vehicles helping you,
from an airship to a mako in which a player can hop to an automatic turret. In
other missions you may face yourself with civilians, will the player help them
or not? There are also interactive objects around: doors that can hacked
and opened/closed, explosive barrels, objects that can fall...
If a player is completely killed in a mission he will come back in the next checkpoint,
but will suffer a great lose in experience and credits. There aren't many
checkpoints so you don't want that.
Challenges: these are secondary objectives that can be completed for bonus
experience and credits, they can range from making a number of enviromental
kills to scorting the VIP without him being hurt.
This missions can be done when exploring the galaxy (you get to a planet and
you discover an anomaly or get a call like in ME1), picked up at Factions HQs
or simply be searched as we do now for matches in ME3MP, categories descrived
in the previous part.
Exploration
The exploration of the galaxy will be like ME2's, featuring new planets as
some, like Palaven, can be a players starting zone. These will have different
locations as the Citadel, some available to everyone and other as the military
HQ only available to members of it.
Since your ship is a lot smaller than the Normandy SR-2 it doesn't make sense
to probe planets, though looking for anomalies like in ME3 could happen for
finding missions.
multiplayer
modes
The first has already been mentioned, co-op story driven missions.
The second would be classic MP, that's ME3MP as we know it, updated to the
new gameplay features.
The we would have competitive multiplayer, in other words, player versus player
MP. Bioware already considered this but didn't do it because it didn't match
the lore, here it'd make sense. Apart from the team versus and all versus all
modes classic MP objectives can be easily turned into pvp modes:
-Retrieve objects into capture the flag mode
-Hack and scort into kill of the hill (by teams or all vs al)
-Kill enemies into Juggernaut
The probems arise when putting biotic powers here, without shields a player
could be lifted by another but, is he defenseless? If he's pushed out of the
map it should be an instant kill. All in all biotics could be overpowered so
it's more about balancing the classes than any other thing. Also there probably
won't be grabs since it could be too easy to kill with that, unless a solution
is found for putting it in pvp.
Modifié par Silcron, 22 octobre 2012 - 02:15 .
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