I rather have a text chat than VoIP, but I guess both would be optimal.
Integrated VoIP is pretty much pointless on PC since everyone already has a TS/Vent/... server and/or Skype, both of which work much better than whatever thing games happen to use, disabling voice stuff is always the first thing I do when installing a new game and Mass Effect is no exception.
The voicechat in ME3 works pretty well in my opinion. Why fire up TS or Skype if the game played has a well working voicechat?
Anyways - back to OPs topic
I agree. More of the same would be fine.
A bit refined, tho. I'd love to be able to get a random enemy or location, but be able to exclude certain ones. For eample Give me a random Enemy, but not Collectors. Let's play on a random Map, but neither on Rio nor London.
Of cause those maps will most probably not be in the new ME-Game, but it works as an example.
Also I'd like to choose what I buy with my Credits, not get it randomly selected.
If Bioware wants to avoid the players buying only the elite stuff, add some restrictions or make them cost a buttload of Credits...
I rather have a text chat than VoIP, but I guess both would be optimal.
Integrated VoIP is pretty much pointless on PC since everyone already has a TS/Vent/... server and/or Skype, both of which work much better than whatever thing games happen to use, disabling voice stuff is always the first thing I do when installing a new game and Mass Effect is no exception.
Do you only ever play with friends? When pugging VoIP is important, much more important in a fast paced game than text chat.
It isn't hard to do. EA should make/buy their own fully featured protocol and stick it in their games.
Simple solution: add an option to ignore/mute a player. There are so many gains from having a chatbox that I don't think those very few people, 'breathers' and people listening to music, are enough of a counterpoint to it. Actually... how do those things even relate? Would there be more people breathing in your ears if there was a chatbox? If anything, there should be less.
Right, but a chatbox takes time to type out what you've gotta say. It's a little bit hard when you're in one the harder levels to even listen to what someone has to say, much less read what they typed or if you're the one typing not to get shot while typing.
I loath ME3 MP just because of it's connection to the SP war assets. I would love to be able to have a form of invite co-op for exploration, but I know I'm in the minority. The only part that get me though is the only arguments I get against it is "it wouldn't fit" but I used to read the same reactions to ME3 MP. Now in ME3 taking a risk to try something new worked in ME3 but don't dare try to expand the feature to larger scale co-op because change is bad...well another change would be bad even though ME1's style changed to the ME2&3 then 3 added co-op changeing it from SP only to SP with MP, but that's not important because...um just because. Rant over.....for now at least.
P.S. I'm not angry at ME specificaly but gameing in general is starting to get stale after year's of games staying the same because sure-profit of tried and true games outwiegh potential-profits of taking risks. It's why all CoD and BF games are boring it's why allot of new games have QTE and insignificant choices and it's why no RTS or good RPG's exist on console right now.
I played Dragon Age: Inquisition MP only ONCE and I didn't like it. Purely because I knew from the trailers that it would just be people rushing to beat it, ignoring half the enemies and generally not even caring about team-mates.
Same here. That's the biggest difference between ME3 Multi and DAI Multi, in DAI people try to rush, in ME3 you need to teamplay to survive mostly because of the "arena" aspect.
But it's not only that, ME3 is just more fun because it's a TPS, playing a game like DAI is only fun when you play singleplayer.
ME3 multiplayer is so badass, great design, great level design, awesome characters (you can make a lot of different builds) a lot of different weapons etc etc. The formula is absolutely great, and I m sure they can improve it, keep this formula and do more, expand it Bioware.
I would like to see a perks system just like Helldivers when you can call from the orbit backups: new weapons for you, ammo, health kits, turrets or even a mech. As for the mech I would like to be able to pilot a small version of the Atlas in MP, would be fun.
I loath ME3 MP just because of it's connection to the SP war assets. I would love to be able to have a form of invite co-op for exploration, but I know I'm in the minority. The only part that get me though is the only arguments I get against it is "it wouldn't fit" but I used to read the same reactions to ME3 MP. Now in ME3 taking a risk to try something new worked in ME3 but don't dare try to expand the feature to larger scale co-op because change is bad...well another change would be bad even though ME1's style changed to the ME2&3 then 3 added co-op changeing it from SP only to SP with MP, but that's not important because...um just because. Rant over.....for now at least.
P.S. I'm not angry at ME specificaly but gameing in general is starting to get stale after year's of games staying the same because sure-profit of tried and true games outwiegh potential-profits of taking risks. It's why all CoD and BF games are boring it's why allot of new games have QTE and insignificant choices and it's why no RTS or good RPG's exist on console right now.
I see your point, and I thought the same before the game came out. Mass Effect is a singleplayer game and that is where the focus should stay.
And yes, in my opinion the Multiplayer should not in any way tie into the singleplayer game.
That said, ME3 Multiplayer is fun in my opinion. And since there is a Multiplayer mode announced for the next ME game, I'd be happy with a refined version of the ME3 Multiplayer.
If they change it completely, it may suck.
On the other hand, it may not - we might get something new that is still fun. I've not tried the DA:I-Multiplayer, but from what I read here, It seems to be rather bad, and that is the risk in doing something new.
But in general I absolutely agree with your rant - The industry as a whole is quite stagnant.
That btw is the reason why indie games are so successful presently.
If people stop preordering games and only buy what they really like, we might see a change in that.
I preordered myself and got burned. I won't do that anymore.
Right, but a chatbox takes time to type out what you've gotta say. It's a little bit hard when you're in one the harder levels to even listen to what someone has to say, much less read what they typed or if you're the one typing not to get shot while typing.
I don't mean to use it for communication during combat. I just want to be able to write to my fellow players in the lobby and between waves. Sometimes I've come across a really awesome person who seemed to almost roleplay by calling out approaching enemies and such, and I had no way of communicating anything in return. I think he stopped doing it towards the end, probably because he might've felt silly when no one responded. Other times I wish I could ask people if they felt like doing some heavy tech/biotic group because, well, tech/biotic explosions are just so darn fun, but again, no way of doing that. Or when you've bled out and there's only one or two teammates left, I wish I could cheer them on.
Most of all, though, I just really wish I could extend a friendly 'gg :)' after a smooth run - or even after a very tricky one that almost ended in failure. It's not about writing out complex strategies in the middle of the action, it's just about having some friendly chatter before and after a game, because quite a few people I've met playing ME3MP are awesome and I can't show my appreciation for that.
I don't mean to use it for communication during combat. I just want to be able to write to my fellow players in the lobby and between waves. Sometimes I've come across a really awesome person who seemed to almost roleplay by calling out approaching enemies and such, and I had no way of communicating anything in return. I think he stopped doing it towards the end, probably because he might've felt silly when no one responded. Other times I wish I could ask people if they felt like doing some heavy tech/biotic group because, well, tech/biotic explosions are just so darn fun, but again, no way of doing that. Or when you've bled out and there's only one or two teammates left, I wish I could cheer them on.
Most of all, though, I just really wish I could extend a friendly 'gg :)' after a smooth run - or even after a very tricky one that almost ended in failure. It's not about writing out complex strategies in the middle of the action, it's just about having some friendly chatter before and after a game, because quite a few people I've met playing ME3MP are awesome and I can't show my appreciation for that.
I see you had some god times. But all that's stopping you from doing what you want is plugging in a mic (at least if you're on PC).
I've used a headset, a desk-mic and a webcam-mic and all work fine.
And whenever I had a really good game, I just hold the push-to-talk button and say "Awesome game guys! Thank you!".
If you're on console - I think all the consoles the game is out on have microphone hardware of one kind or another. Maybe that's an investment to benefit from.
Do you only ever play with friends?
When pugging VoIP is important, much more important in a fast paced game than text chat.
I see you had some god times. But all that's stopping you from doing what you want is plugging in a mic (at least if you're on PC).
I've used a headset, a desk-mic and a webcam-mic and all work fine.
And whenever I had a really good game, I just hold the push-to-talk button and say "Awesome game guys! Thank you!".
If you're on console - I think all the consoles the game is out on have microphone hardware of one kind or another. Maybe that's an investment to benefit from.
The thing is, I'm not a native English speaker, which makes me feel uncomfortable when speaking to others, especially Americans and Brits, etc. I get self-conscious, you know? I actually tried saying something once in a game of ME3, but there was no response and I wasn't sure if my mic was off or perhaps too low. Never tried again after that. Anyway, I just feel more comfortable being able to type 
and I think it should be there anyway, if only for the people who don't have a microphone plugged in.
The thing is, I'm not a native English speaker, which makes me feel uncomfortable when speaking to others, especially Americans and Brits, etc. I get self-conscious, you know? I actually tried saying something once in a game of ME3, but there was no response and I wasn't sure if my mic was off or perhaps too low. Never tried again after that. Anyway, I just feel more comfortable being able to type
I'm not a native speaker either.
Just say something like "Hello from Germany" and they will know.
I know it might be hard to make yourself do that in the beginning, but as long as you know the vocabulary - grammar is secondary to get the message across.
I'm not a native speaker either.
Just say something like "Hello from Germany" and they will know.I know it might be hard to make yourself du that in the beginning, but as long as you know the vocabulary - grammar is secondary to get the message across.
My grammar isn't the problem. A British 'gaming buddy' of mine even said I spoke his language better than most of his kinsmen 
but I think that's common because we're taught how to speak it properly without all the 'shortcuts' that you create and adopt with your first language.
But that doesn't matter. Sure, I could say 'Greetings from Denmark', but it's unnecessary, as my accent will give it away sooner or later. Rather, it's a social issue. It's hard to explain without getting into detail and I think this is all kinda irrelevant here. Instead, I'm curious why you wouldn't want a text chat. For the people who are listening to music, or don't have a mic, or aren't comfortable talking to strangers, or whatever else. Are there any drawbacks at all?
Of course, everything can be boiled down to a matter of resources, but I think enough people would benefit from it (and that text chat shouldn't be too hard to implement, although I admit I know little about such things) that it shouldn't be a sufficient argument against it.
I either play with friends or music, in both cases I don't coomunicate with PuGs (which I'd probably do if there was a text chat).
I don't see how, I've done platinum PuGs just fine without it, also I don't know what you consider a "fast paced game" but Mass Effect would definitely not be on such list for me... this is a casual coop game, not something like Quake or Super-Hexagon.
Well the vast majority of people can speak much faster than they can type, and can also do it while still using the controls to shoot thing. Sure, you don't need to communicate at all, but then that isn't the point since you asked for text chat and said things like teamspeak have voice chat covered. They don't when you are pugging. If you don't want to talk fine, but just don't suggest the feature is already covered by third party software.
now that i have been thinking about it
bioware for multiplayer please do it like
we start out as 4 man squard
on a open world planet then we have to do missions to complete it
with storyline content ( kinda like starwars the old republic mmo)
the person with the best answer gets extra points and yeah wins the cutscene ( gets to see his or her character speak for the rest of the group)
I see your point, and I thought the same before the game came out. Mass Effect is a singleplayer game and that is where the focus should stay.
And yes, in my opinion the Multiplayer should not in any way tie into the singleplayer game.
That said, ME3 Multiplayer is fun in my opinion. And since there is a Multiplayer mode announced for the next ME game, I'd be happy with a refined version of the ME3 Multiplayer.
If they change it completely, it may suck.
On the other hand, it may not - we might get something new that is still fun. I've not tried the DA:I-Multiplayer, but from what I read here, It seems to be rather bad, and that is the risk in doing something new.
But in general I absolutely agree with your rant - The industry as a whole is quite stagnant.
That btw is the reason why indie games are so successful presently.If people stop preordering games and only buy what they really like, we might see a change in that.
I preordered myself and got burned. I won't do that anymore.
The only non-indie games I'd buy at the momen't are Mad Max(c'mon man it's Mad Max I have no choice) and Elite Dangerous. Mad Max is in my top 5 movie franchises of all time, plus I get to build my own custom car with the Magnum Opice it's like catnip for a guy like me. Elite Dangerous will be the first real space game I've seen on console since StarFox and Star Wars Rogue Squadron on N64.
On the other hand, it may not - we might get something new that is still fun. I've not tried the DA:I-Multiplayer, but from what I read here, It seems to be rather bad, and that is the risk in doing something new.
It doesn't suck in the traditional sense. They tried to do the same thing with DA:I as they did with ME3. Only thing is that they are very different games.
Take ME3's MP and plop it into a setting of DA:I, you're gonna get killed or people will just grow bored of running for the end boss. Or both. And that's what's happening.
Anyway, back on topic. If you can't talk during the games, then your only recourse is to tell people what went wrong in the lobby after a mission. It is a way to gain cohesion among the team, but I just don't think it's the best one. Speaking will overrule typing almost any day.
My grammar isn't the problem. A British 'gaming buddy' of mine even said I spoke his language better than most of his kinsmen
But that doesn't matter. Sure, I could say 'Greetings from Denmark', but it's unnecessary, as my accent will give it away sooner or later. Rather, it's a social issue. It's hard to explain without getting into detail and I think this is all kinda irrelevant here. Instead, I'm curious why you wouldn't want a text chat. For the people who are listening to music, or don't have a mic, or aren't comfortable talking to strangers, or whatever else. Are there any drawbacks at all?
Of course, everything can be boiled down to a matter of resources, but I think enough people would benefit from it (and that text chat shouldn't be too hard to implement, although I admit I know little about such things) that it shouldn't be a sufficient argument against it.
Sure, it wouldn't hurt, still most of the time it wouldn't be used - at least not ingame, since the game is too action rich, to allow typing during the game, but I guess it wouldn't take away from the game itself, no.
The only non-indie games I'd buy at the momen't are Mad Max(c'mon man it's Mad Max I have no choice) and Elite Dangerous. Mad Max is in my top 5 movie franchises of all time, plus I get to build my own custom car with the Magnum Opice it's like catnip for a guy like me. Elite Dangerous will be the first real space game I've seen on console since StarFox and Star Wars Rogue Squadron on N64.
Wasn't Elite dangerous devellopped independent from a big publisher, too? Not sure about that.
Wasn't Elite dangerous devellopped independent from a big publisher, too? Not sure about that.
It's made by Frontier Development who I consider more than an indie developer but still not huge like EA Ubi etc. I rate them on quality since I don't know what devs are and aren't indie.
It just seems a little forwards and a bit silly to bother plugging in a mic, finding the right volume, adjusting the mouthpiece, and holding down the button to say something along the lines of "good job" or "sweet we're all turians".
The other day I was playing with a hardworking volus, and the only way I could thank him for his shield boosts was with a friendly, affectionate light melee tap. Unfortunately he took this as a sign of dismissal and I didn't get any more boosts.
I mostly play PuGs, and I feel like there's a lot of potential for friendly teamwork through chat boxes. Plus, I see a lot of typing in games like TF2, L4D, and Chivalry, all of which are just as "action rich" as ME3MP.
It's made by Frontier Development who I consider more than an indie developer but still not huge like EA Ubi etc. I rate them on quality since I don't know what devs are and aren't indie.
You have to distinguish between Developers (The ones actually designing and coding the game) and Publishers (The ones who fund the devellopers and do the sales and marketing stuff).
EA and Ubisoft are both Publishers.
Bioware and Frontier Developments are Developers.
Bioware is under contract of it's publisher EA - that is where they get their payment and game budgets from.
Frontier Development is an "indie" developer, because it doesn't depend on a big publisher to get their funding and do the marketing.
It used crowdfunding (via kickstarter.com) to get the money and they do the marketing by themselves.
The relationship between developer and publisher is similar to a band and its record label.
The label enables the band to record their music, does the advertisement, presses the CDs and sells them. In return a big part of the money from the sales goes to the label instead of the band. If the band has access to money to be able to do all that by itself or hired people, they do not need a label and can use the revenue from the CD sales by themselves without having to adhere to a contract. That all is very simplified, but roughly that's how it goes.
Now you might ask why so many developers let themself bind to a big publisher if they could do it with crowdfunding instead?
There are three big reasons:
1. Crowdfunding is unreliable. You might think your Idea is great, the general public might not be persuaded that easily and your project might already fail due to lack of funds.
2. If you want to make a game of a certain series, you're not allowed to do so, if a publisher or someone else holds the right to that series, else you'll be sued to kingdom come.
3. Crowdfunding can accomplish a lot if the public likes your idea, but there's no budged like the budged of a big publisher. Mass Effect is a prime example. All those fancy cutscenes and voice actors - that cost a crapload of money. That is why indie games mostly have less graphic fidelity and textbased storytelling. I rarely mind that "oldschool" kind of stuff, but it is another experience to play the ME-Series compared to - say Shadowrun Returns - still a great game, no question, but just imagine what it could have been, presentation wise, if a big publisher was behind it.
Sorry for playing the big smartass here, but that is a topic every gamer should know about in my opinion.
You have to distinguish between Developers (The ones actually designing and coding the game) and Publishers (The ones who fund the devellopers and do the sales and marketing stuff).
EA and Ubisoft are both Publishers.
Bioware and Frontier Developments are Developers.
Bioware is under contract of it's publisher EA - that is where they get their payment and game budgets from.
Frontier Development is an "indie" developer, because it doesn't depend on a big publisher to get their funding and do the marketing.
It used crowdfunding (via kickstarter.com) to get the money and they do the marketing by themselves.
The relationship between developer and publisher is similar to a band and its record label.
The label enables the band to record their music, does the advertisement, presses the CDs and sells them. In return a big part of the money from the sales goes to the label instead of the band. If the band has access to money to be able to do all that by itself or hired people, they do not need a label and can use the revenue from the CD sales by themselves without having to adhere to a contract. That all is very simplified, but roughly that's how it goes.
Now you might ask why so many developers let themself bind to a big publisher if they could do it with crowdfunding instead?
There are three big reasons:
1. Crowdfunding is unreliable. You might think your Idea is great, the general public might not be persuaded that easily and your project might already fail due to lack of funds.
2. If you want to make a game of a certain series, you're not allowed to do so, if a publisher or someone else holds the right to that series, else you'll be sued to kingdom come.
3. Crowdfunding can accomplish a lot if the public likes your idea, but there's no budged like the budged of a big publisher. Mass Effect is a prime example. All those fancy cutscenes and voice actors - that cost a crapload of money. That is why indie games mostly have less graphic fidelity and textbased storytelling. I rarely mind that "oldschool" kind of stuff, but it is another experience to play the ME-Series compared to - say Shadowrun Returns - still a great game, no question, but just imagine what it could have been, presentation wise, if a big publisher was behind it.
Sorry for playing the big smartass here, but that is a topic every gamer should know about in my opinion.
Still I find FD to be far above all the other indie games I've played, so even though they are indie the game seems like so much more than it's competition. Thank's for letting me finally know the difference though. 
Tbh I'm not worried about this aspect, ever since ME2 the series has done a great job with the combat and I'm hoping to put another 292 hours on ME:NMP, because those were 292h of fun
*hangs head* Over 900 hours.
fml
EDIT : 978 to be exact. Just had to go look, didn't I?
Still I find FD to be far above all the other indie games I've played, so even though they are indie the game seems like so much more than it's competition. Thank's for letting me finally know the difference though.
That may well be. I havent played Elite: Dangerous myself, yet, because I'm currently unemployed and can't afford anything.
But since I've played the original on the C64 already, I'm really looking forward to get my hands on it, once my financial situation improves.
I'm a fan of the genere anyways - I played the **** out of the X-Series (until the fiasko they did with X-Rebirth, that is...)
If Elite: Dangerous is only somewhat like the original of the old times, it has to be a blast.
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