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[Fixers0]

 Visuals are generally regarded as one of the primary aspects for analyzing video games, and one general rule that applies to all fiction is that consitancy is one primary virtues. One thing that many people will most likely have noticed on their first playthough, that that many of the non-unqiue headmesh NPCs have totally inconsistant facial features, It has never been a major issue, but a while ago I started to realize what it could mean.

So why bring this is up? Certainly it isn't as big of issue of as Autodialogue our descisions getting retconnend, but recently I realizied that it's quite frankly, perhaps one of the most blatent signs that they have a total disregared and that they will do everything  they want regardless of it's qualities, So what's the big deal here? Because  it's quite symbolic for the way Bioware now handles matters of consistency: they don't, they're the desingers and they do what they want without any regard for literary standars. It also shows easily they think they can make us believe something is he same despite it blatently being different before. And for those of you won't know the details, here are the most severe victums of this policy.

Donnel Udina, (black hair, smoother face texture, He looks ten years younger. )
Captain Bailey, (Brown hair, despite having white in earlier material.)
Captain Kirrahe, (Skin colour changed to dull orange.)
Urdnot Wreav. (entirely different facial colour scheme.)
Engineer Adams.  (different hair colour, different fac texture.)
Conrad Verner. (Much lighter hair colour).

This will give you a small Impresion, what makes this seemingly minor issue have some weight is the fact that it is so blatent and obvious, the most important non squadmate NPC's (Bailey, Udina, Wreav) all have radically different facial features, leaving one wonder how the heck the devs didn't do anything about. There really only to possible explanation 1: They didn't notice 2: They didn't care. Both are bad, as both prove they point made in my second paragraph: They don't care about consistency.

Ultimatly though, this is not just a thread critizing the poor design of Mass Effect 3, It's rather an oppertunity to remind the Devs, and some fans of something. See, some of you will mostly likley attack me for "nitpicking" or "overanalyzing details", and the thing is: In a story such as Mass Effect, details are most important, and depending on how the writers handles them, they can become their best friend or worst enemy. It's the details that make up the whole, the pillars of the narrative, and even messing up just a few, or in some cases, just one, can ruin the entire construction. 

[ShepnTali]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Anderson. Without the voice, I'm not sure I'd recognize him. He has a much stronger jaw, that's for sure.

Modifié par ShepnTali, 29 juillet 2013 - 07:47 .

[Liamv2]

Is this really how petty you have gotten in your complaints? You normally make valid complaints about the series but this is just stupid have you not seen how much the graphics have changed throughout the series.

Modifié par Liamv2, 29 juillet 2013 - 08:49 .

[Cobalt2113]

Liamv2 wrote...

Is this really how petty you have gotten in your complaints? You normally make valid complaints about the series but this is just stupid have you not seen how much the graphics have changed throughout the series.

It really is ludicrous. Sometimes i wonder if the complainers would've been happier if they'd just released ME1 three times over.

[Clayless]

If I'm gonna be honest, people having their hair change slightly over a two year period is actually more realistic.

[Bourne Endeavor]

Really? Of all the things to nitpick, this is the one you choice? Frankly, most of the retextured faces look better.

[Bleachrude]

Hair colour?

Damn, I should talk to some of my female friends who literally gone through multiple hair colours...

Hell, I should talk to my uncle who has gone from grey to black to totally clean in a two year span...and tell him to share the space magic that allowed him to do this....

Seriously though, this is more due to the engine itself.

While ME1 to ME3 are built on the same Unreal engine (2.0), I'm pretty sure it's not the same version of said engine since ID has constantly update unreal 2.0 while they were also working on Unreal 3.0

[KaiserShep]

I think the modeling for Anderson is better in ME3. The hair color of Udina and Bailey were noticeable, but Wrex and Kirrahe? I honestly did not notice this difference, and I played the games back to back. I'd say this is pretty minor. In Wrex's case, his most important physical attribute, other than the unique scarring on his face, is the fiery looking colors on the shell on his forehead, which seems to be the same throughout.

Modifié par KaiserShep, 29 juillet 2013 - 10:17 .

[Clayless]

KaiserShep wrote...

I think the modeling for Anderson is better in ME3. The hair color of Udina and Bailey were noticeable, but Wrex and Kirrahe? I honestly did not notice this difference, and I played the games back to back. I'd say this is pretty minor. In Wrex's case, his most important physical attribute, other than the unique scarring on his face, is the fiery looking colors on the shell on his forehead, which seems to be the same throughout.

Wreav, not Wrex.

[KaiserShep]

Woops. My mistake.

[Kataphrut94]

Can't comment on the others (on account of not giving a ****) but I think Wreav's change of appearance was for the best. Now he looks like an actual distinct individual and less of a clone of Wrex. Seriously, the only difference between them in ME2 was Wrex had a few scars and hugged you when you first saw him.

[AngryFrozenWater]

It doesn't matter what the reason behind this is. I think the point is that continuity is not one of BW's strong points. It not only shows up in ME, but also in DA. Compared to DA2, ME3 is handled well.

Modifié par AngryFrozenWater, 29 juillet 2013 - 10:46 .

[agentN7]

Face tan, hair dye, weight loss and plastic surgery. Oh yeah, and a more evolved game engine.

[Petiertje]

Robosexual wrote...

If I'm gonna be honest, people having their hair change slightly over a two year period is actually more realistic.

^^This^^

The software and engine is more advanced, same thing happend to Varric in the DAI trailer. I'm sure the dev team does as much as possible to make a match with the innitial appearance. However, i think that if they succeed to make an exact match, that there will be complaints that they didn't used the new engine to it's full potential. Don't get me wrong OP I'm not trying to say that such complaints would be made by you, just in general that there would be people who would complain about that.

[JamesFaith]

Nearly three years of game time and characters dare to change their look? Hell, some even change their clothes during this time.

If this is ultimate insult to you rather never visit school reunion after three years, changes of look of your former classmates would be unbearable for you.

[Tron Mega]

ShepnTali wrote...

I'm surprised you didn't mention Anderson. Without the voice, I'm not sure I'd recognize him. He has a much stronger jaw, that's for sure.

how come i havent seen a thread on the justification for anderson getting a make over?

[CptData]

Morocco Mole wrote...

I like how you rant about only minor facial changes at best (due to graphical improvements) and somehow excluded Ashley who really was modified into something terrible..

Only if you see "make-up" as something terrible.

The only real thing I don't like in Ashley's new appearance is the boob job. C'mon, she comes with a nice handful A-sized cups in ME1 which miracly mutated to C in ME3. Not even the hair job rubs me the wrong way since women tend to change their hair from time to time. But increasing boobs by two cups? Nah. Doesn't fit Ashley's character.

Which is another insult: Ashley's character in ME1 was well defined and somewhat flexible when it comes to Shepard's influence. Paragonize her, and she's a quite fascinating character. Rubbing her the wrong way, and you won't find her enjoyable at all.
In ME3, Ashley's pretty much lacking large parts of her character. The only two defining traits are "family" and "distrust", the later one pushed far beyond the limits from a writer's position. The dialogue dealing with her religious side got bugged out (also known as the afterlife-talk), the flirty attitude shows now and then, but does no longer define the way she is.
Overall it shows that Ashley (and Thane as well) got written not by her original writer Chris L'Etoile but by some other guy that seemed to have a difficult time understanding her character.

So in case of Ashley there are TWO "ultimate insults to continuity": appearance and character.

---

By the way, since I was talking about Ashley's boob job: does anyone dislike the boob job for Liara as well? I do, since her stuff is enormous now, from ample A to double D within 3 years!

Modifié par CptData, 29 juillet 2013 - 11:54 .

[Kel Riever]

The ultimate insult? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say character inconsistency from a story perspective is far more insulting that the visual appearance changes in ME

[in it for the lolz]

Because they used hair dye?

[Wolfva2]

Visuals are regarded as one of the primary ways of analyzing video games? Really? Since when? Considering just a few years ago the only really adjustable character graphic was the character screen portrait, and that game play showed your character's face as a pixelated blur...

It's only in what, the last 10 years or so, that we've even been able to get easily distinguishable characters. To kvetch about how the pictures have changed with the advent of new tech and gaming engines...well, all I can say is I feel like I'm at the zoo watching chimps pick bugs off of each other. Yes, OP. You're nitpicking.

[DirtyPhoenix]

lolz OP.. I look different than I looked 3 years ago. I guess I should sue god for messing with my graphics engine huh

[Han Shot First]

Robosexual wrote...

If I'm gonna be honest, people having their hair change slightly over a two year period is actually more realistic.

...especially if that person is a vain politician. I never quite understood the complaints about the change in Udina's hair color. Does hair dye not exist in the Mass Effect universe?
.