34 réponses à ce sujet

[goishen]

Personally, I think the crew of ME2 is just awesome.  More characters == better. 

 

But one thing that I'm thinking is that this game might have only so many spots for your team.  In other words, you might have five places on your ship, but you might have ten different people to choose from.  That would introduce some replayability.

 

Hmmm.

 

EDIT :  And beside this, you're working with Cerberus in ME2, an avowed enemy of the council and the alliance.  Note :  You only had one character on your team that stood for law and order...  And that was Samara.  The rest were either criminals, thugs, assassins, or people disavowed by the council.

[Mcfly616]

I've always felt the overabundance of ME2 squadmates made them all rather similar to eachother and quite shallow. I hope they keep it around 6-8 this time around in order to not spread themselves too thin. Wouldn't mind having to choose between characters to fill spots on the ship (which, long ago I had suggested should've been done for ME1 and ME2 characters in ME3)

[Rivverrabbit]

I agree that the save import feature just never feels sustainable -- from one angle. If you have the same protag in a series (assuming MNext is a trilogy; if it's not, then this is moot), the save import changes have to be rather small -- and same for the characters. It's cheaper to introduce new characters if a bunch of them are basically optional (the suicide mission in the middle didn't help).

 

But what if you had the same villain throughout the trilogy, with a different protagonist each time (and a handful of consistent companions)? That might be a unique way to bridge the series, to keep save import changes, and to preserve the tone throughout.

Having said all that, I like best the idea of being unable to recruit every character in a single playthrough, but that doesn't work if the protagonist is the same for the series.

[KaiserShep]

If the next game isn't a standalone, I agree that it is better to keep most of the companion characters around through however many games are in that series. I think in retrospect one of the mistakes made in ME2 was introducing a mostly new set of companion characters, each of whom could be killed in the Suicide Mission. 

 

As much as I like some of the ME2 characters, Bioware would have been better off using the same core cast from ME1 through all three games with the exception of a casualty or two, or a couple additions in ME2 and ME3. It creates a lot less variables to account for in the third chapter and the amount of time spent with that cast provides more opportunities for the player to get invested in those characters, as well as providing more time for the writers to develop those characters.

 

Also missions where every companion can die should be saved for the finale of the final game.

 

So much this. If anything, IF this game turns out to be the first of another trilogy, recruitment should be spread out properly between the first two, with them possibly dying off depending on your decisions in the third. If a duology, obviously saving the "suicide" stuff for the second.

[Dunmer of Redoran]

My only hope is that they use the Approval system from Dragon Age. The only people who ever seemed to challenge Shepard were Wrex, the VS, Jack and Tali, and the latter two's dissension didn't actually change much, story-wise.

[Mcfly616]

My only hope is that they use the Approval system from Dragon Age. The only people who ever seemed to challenge Shepard were Wrex, the VS, Jack and Tali, and the latter two's dissension didn't actually change much, story-wise.

 Javik wasn't always agreeable. But I feel the same way. I don't like squadmates that are followers. We (the protagonist) should have to have similar traits to earn favor with specific characters imo. I can't take it seriously when everyone goes along with what I say without question.

 

 

I can only assume what this so-called "approval system" from DA is, as I don't play DA. But I find myself less and less enthused by such "systems" in general (e.g. the Paragon/Renegade system). I'd rather the game allow us to make our choices without holding our hands and being so predictable. I just want to roleplay, I don't want to be told exactly what path I'm walking. Too often Bioware diminishes the ability to act as we are, by presenting the opportunity to react to the obvious outcome to the choices given.

[KaiserShep]

 I can only assume what this so-called "approval system" from DA is, as I don't play DA. But I find myself less and less enthused by such "systems" in general (e.g. the Paragon/Renegade system). I'd rather the game allow us to make our choices without holding our hands and being so predictable. I just want to roleplay, I don't want to be told exactly what path I'm walking. Too often Bioware diminishes the ability to act as we are, by presenting the opportunity to react to the obvious outcome to the choices given.

 

I really enjoy the wider variety of dialogue companions get in the approval/disapproval system, where they react differently based on how much your actions reflect upon their own sense of morality. In such a system, a character like Liara or Kaidan would probably be harder to befriend if you go around threatening people and do something like wipe out the Rachni, whereas Wrex would respond positively to being a total hardass to people. You'd probably get points for Jack if you push the merc out the window.

[Mcfly616]

 In such a system, a character like Liara or Kaidan would probably be harder to befriend if you go around threatening people and do something like wipe out the Rachni, whereas Wrex would respond positively to being a total hardass to people. You'd probably get points for Jack if you push the merc out the window.

 Yeah...

 

 

It would've been nice to see how the relationships of the Shepard saga would've played out in such a system. Especially romances. Instead of just doing the obvious "flirt-flirt-flirt-pathetic excuse for a sex scene", you'd actually have to embody the significant others desires and values (or atleast appeal to them).

[Dunmer of Redoran]

I really enjoy the wider variety of dialogue companions get in the approval/disapproval system, where they react differently based on how much your actions reflect upon their own sense of morality. In such a system, a character like Liara or Kaidan would probably be harder to befriend if you go around threatening people and do something like wipe out the Rachni, whereas Wrex would respond positively to being a total hardass to people. You'd probably get points for Jack if you push the merc out the window.

 

The other thing about the Approval system that I'd quite enjoy is making it pertinent to the gameplay by introducing stat bonuses for approval scores. Morale, and all that good stuff. Getting Garrus on your good side, romance or bros? His shots will be more well-placed and deal more damage. Building rapport with Kaidan and not being a jerk? His sentinel synergy will result in improved biotic and tech detonation damage. Got Tali talking "butterflies and rainbows?" Expect outrageously fast tech cooldowns.

[daveliam]

Both sides of the argument really bring up good points in this thread.

 

On the one hand, I do really like the idea of having a small crew in the first game and having the majority of them be consistent throughout the series.  It would allow you build an ongoing relationship with them and see how your actions/influence affect their character growth.  It's one of the reasons why I enjoy Garrus and Tali so much.  We get to see them really grow and change in response to Shepard's influence over the trilogy.  Much more so than any other characters. 

 

On the other hand, I like the idea of having new characters introduced throughout the series.  It only makes sense that if the N7 protagonist of MENext is going to be going through the universe on a series of missions, that s/he will be meeting new allies as new threats arise.  It also adds a nice emotional aspect when characters don't make it through the series safely.  The Virmire choice is still one of my favorite Bioware scenes. 

 

Perhaps it would be best to have a combination of both.  In MENext1 (assuming it's another trilogy, let's say), have a small 5-6 person squad.  One or two of them might not survive.  In MENext2, 3 or 4 of the original squad members are back, plus they add in another 3-4.  Again, one or two of them don't make it.  Then in MENext3, have 5-6 of the past squad members joined by 2-3 new ones.

 

This way, we'd get a somewhat consistent squad (there would be 3-4 who are with you the whole time and another 2-3 who are in two of the games), but you would still have new faces, new storylines, and new dynamics within the squad.