130 réponses à ce sujet

[katamuro]

Another gameplay point which is either Bioware trolling us constantly or Bioware having two teams that never look at what each other writes. I am talking about how the short dialogue wheel choices like 50% of the time have no connection to what the character says. And that is present in every Mass Effect game and now even in DAI. And its not just subtle differences, sometimes its wildly different.

[wolfhowwl]

Hmm, it's actually funny you mention this because it's totally true and you can tell content was cut from ME1 as well. Did you know the combat-only planet of Therum where you rescure Liara originally had an entire hub-area like on Feros or Noveria too? It was cut.

 

But I think the fact that ME1 was obviously rushed is a testament to the fact that a rushed game isn't necessarily bad because it's not anything new with Bioware games and a lot of people much prefer ME1 for being the most ballsy sci-fi RPG/Action game and not a gears of war clone in the Mass Effect setting. Makes me think ME3's endgame was kinda meh because of design and not resource-constraints.

 

The ballsiest thing about ME1 was actually releasing it that state:

 

-horrible combat and gunplay

-RPG elements range from shallow to so bad they drag down the game

-shallow repetitive exploration and asset reuse on sidequests approaching DA2

-very unpolished and a technical mess to boot

 

The amount of passes this game gets for the "idea" of it and a contrarian backlash against ME2 is impressive.

[katamuro]

Well one of the things that we should remember is that no one has actually made anything similar. There is no other scifi action/rpg with the scope, the story or the characters to actually be in competition with. We forgive a lot of things because ME is rather unique. Also I am not sure which game you started on but I have played ME1 since 2008 and after playing it so many times I just focus on the good things. Also apart from the occasional texture popin the game works fine, they patched it quite well.

[Rivverrabbit]

Regarding the multiple communication animations, you have to keep in mind the two levels of thinking: in-game, and out-. In the context of the way a scene looks outside of the game's world, they'd choose differing animations depending on all sorts of factors: how the scene needs to play out, what looks best, what communicates to the viewer, what is most dynamic, what resources are available (reusing a simple finger-to-ear animation versus designing a more rarely-used video screen), etc.

So the ear-finger thing, from that perspective, is a way to communicate to us, the modern-day players, the person is speaking to somebody else. It's a very military signal, designed to let others know it's happening, and not to interrupt or to expect that person to be fully present. That people using earpieces these days don't signal is why they sometimes look like they're talking to themselves, or get mistaken for talking to others around them. It's not that you have to do it, it's a courtesy.

On the other hand, the in-game context for that same reason (that Shepard is signaling to others she's on the phone, ostensibly) is defeated when you consider that the universally understood signal of today would probably have drastically changed by then. I.E., it'd be a wrist tap or a chest tap, something involving the omnitool (which we can assume should handle all communication). BUT that's not necessarily true; it could easily remain as a universal signal, since it also involves the ear, just like shushing somebody or the "wait a moment" gesture are universally understood and will likely remain.

One other thing to consider is when a conversation is meant to be broadcast or seen by others versus when it's for Shepard's ears only. One would assume characters have chochlear implants or simple earpieces for when they'd rather not have their entire conversations projected through the omnitool -- just as you don't necessarily use speakerphone or Skype all the time today; it's a courtesy to the other person's privacy.

Keeping in mind the entire time that whenever we see an inconsistency, it probably wasn't inattention to detail so much as a conscious decision involving a huge list of factors like these. They chose a specific animation for a reason, not because they're idiots but because they're not omnipotent.

All of that being said, I would like to see a little more consistency in the omnitool usage. Dead Space, I agree, had a great UI, and the omnitool just seems to beg for that sort of involvement. It's perfect for it! It sucks that all it really ends up being is exactly the same as a radio. It's a plot device, it does whatever the story needs it to do with no consistency.

If in Dead Space Isaac aims a weapon, or can't sit and focus, the screen goes away but the conversation continues. Brilliant. If in Dead Space Isaac crouched down and put a finger to his ear, it wouldn't look strange because we have a consistent framework for how his RiG works. The omnitool is a hand"held" holoraphic projection interface; we should be able to use it in-game for more things! The map, communications, menu screens -- all should be incorporated, I think.

[katamuro]

I have to say I did love all the little things in Dead Space, how everything just seemed to work and all the menus were integrated into gameplay.

[CptFalconPunch]

The ballsiest thing about ME1 was actually releasing it that state:
 
-horrible combat and gunplay
-RPG elements range from shallow to so bad they drag down the game
-shallow repetitive exploration and asset reuse on sidequests approaching DA2
-very unpolished and a technical mess to boot
 
The amount of passes this game gets for the "idea" of it and a contrarian backlash against ME2 is impressive.

We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for ME1, it was rushed sure, but it delivered on an incredible amount of quality in its content. Just to think it took 4 years to develop.
ME2 already had all that work thanks to ME1. The reason it gets a free pass is because ME1 did incredible stuff with the story/narrative gameplay part. All ME2 had to do was fix the gunplay part. Which they did but ME1 deserves more praise for what they did. Its gonna sound bad, but all bioware had to do was copy Gears of war. It was way more work than that, but the creativity wasn't there as much anymore.

But ME1 gets bashed for its RPG/gunplay mechanics, ME2 for its story, ME3 for its endings, and rightfully so.


For the record, I would love us to have more interaction through the omni-tool kind of like fallout.
Just not too action-y epic sci fi stuff of whatever thrown out there. What I loved about ME is that everything seems to have its purpose. That way imagination can go rampant on speculation and increase the atmosphere.

[katamuro]

Omni-tool has been underused, but hopefully if the next game as exploration as well as gunfights then we might see it being used more.

[Rivverrabbit]

I'd like to see a map function kinda like what we saw in the teaser for the upcoming The Division, where the map is displayed in the game-world holographically. Or even the radar, like the omni-tool would shoot out waypoints and basic radar markers, like enemies, around our character rather than having a HUD all the time. And the more still we are, the better it displays, but when we move it gets all shaky. That would be amazingly immersive.

[Nitrocuban]

I totally agree that ME1 had very much flaws, need for polish in every corner and parts of gameplay so bad that releasing the game like that was an insult to the players. It is obvious that ME1 could have needed a couple more years in developement to life up to its full potential.

And still it was fun to play and did make enough money to continue with ME2 and ME3.

 

I hope BW takes all the time they need with ME4 and give us the best game they can make, not (again) the best game they can make up till release deadline.

[katamuro]

I totally agree that ME1 had very much flaws, need for polish in every corner and parts of gameplay so bad that releasing the game like that was an insult to the players. It is obvious that ME1 could have needed a couple more years in developement to life up to its full potential.

And still it was fun to play and did make enough money to continue with ME2 and ME3.

 

I hope BW takes all the time they need with ME4 and give us the best game they can make, not (again) the best game they can make up till release deadline.

 

I disagree with you there. Sure it had its flaws, and it could have been better but considering no one has made something like that to date how do you compare it? And its easy to say this now, 7 years down the line, with all we had seen in the meantime. And lets not forget that games are made by people who would always have the urge to work on them and tinker with them for as long as they can so calling it an insult to players is actually insulting the dozens of people who worked hard to bring the game to you. After all despite all its flaws you did enjoy the game didnt you? Isn't that at least a testament to the good work that they have done.

 

And its easy to get a game stuck in development hell, the never-ending process where the "improvements" end up ruining the game so its important for someone to come along and say "Thats it, its not perfect, we couldnt do all the things we wanted to but its time."

 

Also we have seen enough proof from all kinds of games that sinking millions and years into a game is not a direct correlation into quality of the game.

[Farangbaa]

Daikatana

Anyone remember that? How you can from video game developper God John Romero to loser in a single, highly expected game.

[Nitrocuban]

I'm not saying ME1 was a bad game, I loved it.

But even then the gameplay was terribad, the guns not balanced at all, the inventory system a disaster. Mako "driving", the so called sidequests ... 

All that would have needed more time to rethink, polish, extend, test.

As awesome as ME1 was the first time I played it, I see now how much potential the game did not use.

I guess that happens with a lot of AAA games, but ME really rustles my jimmies cause I love the franchise so much

[Iakus]

If Mass Effect ended with 1, I'd probably still be playing it now.

[XXIceColdXX]

Keeping lore correct and continuity errors to a minimum should be priority if paying attention to detail.

Graphical slips ups here and there like incorrect gun in a cut scene doesn't bother me.

[Drone223]

When depicting morally grey groups make sure they are depicted consistently as morally grey. The STG was well depicted as a morally grey group since they actually got results and were competent in their actions. Cerberus on the other hand were suppose to be morally grey like the STG but in all three games they were depicted as mad scientist with all their projects blowing up in their faces their inconsistent depiction in all three games didn't help either.

[Linkenski]

Anyway, what was up with the change of Quantum Entanglement communications between ME2 and ME3? In ME2 it had this cool classic sci do feel of choppy and static video feed and it was also 2D, but in ME3 they used this 3D model 1:1 thing but without color. Honestly I preferred how it was in ME1 and 2. I think even that far into the future there will be connectivity choppiness between such exponentially long distances... I mean we are video chatting across several lightyears, right?

[katamuro]

Well have you noticed how the council holograms in ME1 on board Normandy when talking through FTL comms is way better than the one you get when you talk to council in ME2? 

I haven no idea why they did that either. As for the QEC its supposed to be outside the limitations of the normal FTL comms they have been using in ME1, the whole rulebook is out with that. Another possibility is that in Cerberus Normandy the QEC took up the whole floor underneath the meeting room and for ME3 the Alliance reworked it to fit in that one room. 

[Iakus]

Anyway, what was up with the change of Quantum Entanglement communications between ME2 and ME3? In ME2 it had this cool classic sci do feel of choppy and static video feed and it was also 2D, but in ME3 they used this 3D model 1:1 thing but without color. Honestly I preferred how it was in ME1 and 2. I think even that far into the future there will be connectivity choppiness between such exponentially long distances... I mean we are video chatting across several lightyears, right?

I think Quantum Entanglement is supposed to be the answer to FTL communications.  It's instantanious, but only to a single point.  Thus why Shepard needs three of them in ME3:  One to Hackett.  One to Anderson, and one to the Council.

 

Standard communications should, of course, have lag and choppiness, since they have to go through comm buoys and have lightspeed limitations in-system, as well as the risk of Reapers damaging or destroying the buoys.

 

If anything, I would think it was strange that the Alliance okayed the extravagence of three QEC devices on a frigate, even if it was supposed to be a mobile command center.  Those tings are expensive!

[Linkenski]

The ballsiest thing about ME1 was actually releasing it that state:

 

-horrible combat and gunplay

-RPG elements range from shallow to so bad they drag down the game

-shallow repetitive exploration and asset reuse on sidequests approaching DA2

-very unpolished and a technical mess to boot

 

The amount of passes this game gets for the "idea" of it and a contrarian backlash against ME2 is impressive.

Back in 2008 it didn't actually seem all that ballsy to be hoenst. The bias towards uniform games and systematized design in AAA wasn't as big back at the early years of last gen and I'm actually getting tired to see how little our industry embraces risky and somtimes deeply flawed ideas within games like ME1 did. I love ME1 and I know so many others who still do. I played it for the first time in 2010 and I could see how crap it was back then just as I can now. Didn't stop me from enjoying it as a whole and similar I didn't stop playing Alpha Protocol just because its gunplay is **** when it has so much potential and passion put into it as a whole.

[katamuro]

I think Quantum Entanglement is supposed to be the answer to FTL communications.  It's instantanious, but only to a single point.  Thus why Shepard needs three of them in ME3:  One to Hackett.  One to Anderson, and one to the Council.

 

Standard communications should, of course, have lag and choppiness, since they have to go through comm buoys and have lightspeed limitations in-system, as well as the risk of Reapers damaging or destroying the buoys.

 

If anything, I would think it was strange that the Alliance okayed the extravagence of three QEC devices on a frigate, even if it was supposed to be a mobile command center.  Those tings are expensive!

 

Well Normandy already had a cerberus made QEC. Also there was FTL comms before QEC, in ME1 you have the FTL comms in that room behind the bridge. And there is a codex entry describing how FTL comms work.

[Iakus]

Well Normandy already had a cerberus made QEC. Also there was FTL comms before QEC, in ME1 you have the FTL comms in that room behind the bridge. And there is a codex entry describing how FTL comms work.

Right, but the Cerberus made QEC could only go to the one in TIM's office.  It's useless for calling Earth, or whatever.  That's what makes them so secure, only the unit's counterpart can pick up the signal.

 

And yes, there are FTL comms, but the buoys they rely on are not everywhere.  And are the first things to go in wartime. 

[katamuro]

they never really explain the rules of QEC in mass effect. But yeah the main reason why they used QEC instead of standard ftl comms was because reapers destroyed those. 

[MrFob]

I thought EDI and the codex cover the rules of QEC pretty thoroughly in ME2 and 3. What more did you want to know about it?

[Iakus]

I thought EDI and the codex cover the rules of QEC pretty thoroughly in ME2 and 3. What more did you want to know about it?

 

 

Yup

 

EDI's explanation

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqquP4VhiM

 

Codex:

 

Communications: Quantum Entanglement Communicators (QEC) 

 

When a pair of quantum-entangled particles is separated, a change to one particle will affect the other instantaneously, wherever it lies in the universe. QECs exploit this effect to transmit binary data any distance. Two pairs of entangled particles are necessary for transmission and reception.

 

While QEC technology is extremely expensive and difficult to produce, it offers two enormous advantages. First, it allows instantaneous communication over any distance without reliance on the network of comm buoys, which is limited due to the sheer volume of space. Further, destruction of buoys hampers a foe’s military intelligence; comm buoys are the first targets of raiders in wartime. Second, quantum communications cannot be intercepted between source and destination, allowing no "wiretaps."

 

Unfortunately, QECs cannot replace the galactic civil communications infrastructure. First, they have extremely limited bandwidth. A single entangled particle can only transmit a single qubit (quantum bit) of data at once. Second, the system’s exclusively point-to-point nature precludes peer-to-peer networking and data dissemination through the galactic extranet.

 

The most strategically appropriate military application of QECs is at the headquarters level. Each Alliance colony would maintain a QEC at its military headquarters and each fleet flagship in its CIC. All the pairs for these would be located at a central facility within Arcturus Station. During an attack, a facility would signal Arcturus to transmit its information to every other fleet and colony. However, destruction of the comm center at Arcturus would collapse the entire network.

[katamuro]

Ah, I forgot it. I was just reading an article somewhere on the whole quantum entanglement thing and it got superimposed in my brain. 

 

Also while sure we do complain(not without cause) about the ways in which the details in ME3 were let down. But lets remember the little details of the planets that you had to survey and scan in both ME1 and ME2, the flavour texts giving is little glimpses into the MEU. At leas in some planets it made it worthwhile to scan and hunt for the 100% explorer.