Pasquale, I thought that was a very good post. My only qualm is whether or not this should be the focus of a "mass effect" game where it plays as a a hybrid third-person shooter/RPG. It sounds more like a hybrid roleplaying/strategy game. Perhaps you can merge all 3 but then you add in a driving game (mako) and possibly even a flight simulator (flying spaceship), there is every chance the game could become too unfocused with individual components not up to scratch, or simply too diluted so that players who only like parts of it get bored with the parts they don't like.
@Pasquale1234: It's a very interesting concept because it's very different. Sort of like a Civ game or a Master of Orion with a very sophisticated story presentation and from the perspective of one guy. I can see how that can be intriguing but I guess it would only work for side content. I think the audience for a Mass Effect game would expect a more focused main story. That said, it would be interesting to have a game like ME2, where the main story is really happening in the background and the focus of the game is on the side content. Only this time, your mission is not to build the team but to expand your colony.
It would be tough to implement properly though, I think. First of all, Malanek is right, you'd have to be careful not to water down the different components too much and second, I am always very skeptical of randomly generated content as you suggest. Especially in this case because a new settlement would usually have very specific needs.
But the idea is an interesting one for sure.
I was just generally trying to point out that exploration and story content are not incompatible.
What my post described does sound a lot like an RPG/RTS hybrid. They are my favorite genres, and I tend to approach both as a role-player creating (or co-creating) a story via emergent narrative derived from the choices I make. Not only the obvious choices (conversation options, how to resolve conflict) but also priorities in terms of which quest, mission, goal my character will take on first, how my character approaches problems / combat, etc. I personally enjoy that freedom, and like it when the narrative leaves some blank spaces for me to fill in.
It does sound like the team is highly invested in making the Mako much more responsive and fun to drive than it was in ME1. I think, too, that a lot of the dissatisfaction with it was due to the terrain, copied levels, and lack of interest in prospecting for minerals and completing item collections. If crafting and customization are a thing, players might be more interested in collecting the materials required.
Having a narrative emerge from open world sort of exploration is certainly not new to BioWare; it was their foundation - though they have certainly departed from that in some of their more recent titles. With a new engine and the ability to create and populate bigger worlds in higher resolution, etc. - they might actually be wanting to do more of that.
The current fanbase seems to have some fairly disparate interests, as exemplified by ME3's modes - which were action, rpg, and story IIRC. Some people loved ME1's exploration - others, not so much. I can't say I envy the team in trying to figure out how much to focus on what elements.
I do think that folks who expect a strong connection between the trilogy and MENext might be disappointed. A trilogy with a focused narrative was promised and has been delivered. This new thing is very much a product of its success, and might be very different in what it attempts to accomplish. I shudder to think about all the baggage they drug through the trilogy - replacement characters, alternate content to account for character deaths, etc. - that had to be hella expensive to do.
I also think the ME3 backlash - and perhaps DA2 to a lesser extent - might impact the types of stories they try to tell going forward. We might see more and more of the choices with consequences in side content, where the results will only impact that specific title. There is still a lot of grief over whether we should have expected Shepard would die or have a chance to live on - and I think BioWare would like to be able to satisfy people who come down on both sides of such questions.
At this point, I would expect MENext will have a focused narrative smaller in scope than previous titles. It may be along the lines of ME1, with a few main missions punctuated by exploration and side content. It could also be similar to ME2, where the main story percolates in the background, occasionally asserting itself while you're doing other things.
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