Maybe I have too high expectations for ME:A, maybe this is entirely stupid. However, here you go, have my list:
Story
If ME:A is going to be the first part of a second trilogy, I'd love to see a slightly more consistent story telling here. That's especially true for the main story line, but also for smaller story arcs. In the old trilogy, we had several great story arcs, yet some got aborted at some point.
Also, if possible, instead of several one-shot-missions, I'm looking forward for more extensive story arcs, branching from the main plot. They can be separate from the main plot, but may also contribute to it. The old trilogy had some issues here, especially with small side missions, which didn't add that much to the big picture. Since all three games had the vibe of a race against time (well, at least that's what the story tried to tell us), doing random stuff entirely unrelated to the main plot / supporting plots, didn't help to keep that illusion.
Character development
Keep it consistent. Don't reduce characters to one or two traits, one or two issues and one or two dialogues dealing with them. That's what had happened to some of the main characters in the first trilogy, especially those with less supporters than others.
Rule of thumb: a well designed character provokes emotions, which is always a good thing, regardless of the emotion. A real "death sentence" for a character is a lack of emotions when presented to the audience.
Another rule of thumb: if the character happens to be important for the story, make sure his/her survival isn't sure at any point of the story. Nothing kills suspension more than the knowledge this character can never die 'cuz importance to the story.
If possible, avoid such characters & prepare replacements for him/her. Anyone can die, after all! That also makes saving of a certain character far more rewarding ...
Social Interaction
At least for me, ME wasn't about the Reapers only. The main story was good enough to work, but, let's be honest, wasn't very original. What makes the first ME trilogy special are the characters and the interaction with them. There are a lot of people around here who invested so much into some / all characters, they felt sad or even devastated when someone died or the game itself ended, because they knew they couldn't see 'em again - except in another playthrough, of course.
I think that's where ME truly wins: it's not (only) a game about shooting stuff, it also managed to emulate friendship and camaraderie in a very believeable way. No wonder "Citadel DLC" is viewed as one of the best DLCs by the community!
What I'd love to see here is an even more intense level of social interactions, more talks, more relationship levels (friendship, anyone). In the old trilogy, friendship was nearly mandatory, but not fully developed. Romances did happen, but felt a bit too formalized and sometimes rushed. Also some characters got utterly broken when -not- following their respective romance path: Miranda did no longer have any dialogue after "friendzoning" her in ME2. Liara definitely behaved more like a girlfriend than a close friend in ME3, even when the latter was the case. Ashley had nearly no redeeming dialogue if not your romance option - and we all know what had happened to Jacob.
Long story short: even if a player decides not to pursue the romance path of a character, don't lock him/her out from further dialogues with said character. A "no" to romance does not mean a "no" to friendship. 
Character story arcs
Do you remember Mordin? Do you remember those loyality missions? What about Tali? Some of the main characters got their own story arc. In case of Tali her story arc was spanning all three games. Mordin's story took one and a half game to find its conclusion. Liara got her own DLC-story in ME2. And know what? I totally liked that - because such story arcs added something new to those characters. They were still shaped by their own story which Shepard helped to resolve.
In ME3 even some of the non-squaddies got own story arcs.
I definitely want to see that in ME:A - especially for the squadmates. It's such a powerful tool used for character development and story telling, you'll add a lot of immersion and connection to a character.
By the way: the romance story arc is still a -separate- story. It may influence the character's story arc as well, but it's not the same thing. Otherwise ppl not pursueing a romance with said character won't see his or her story.
Importing old savegames
We won't see the Milky Way in this game and another 200 years have passed since the end of the Reaper War. Doesn't mean we can't benefit from an old save. I'd love to know what did happen after Shepard's story. What did happen to Liara? Primarch Garrus? If Shepard survived, did s/he become a diplomat or even president of the Alliance? What about the Krogans, what did happen to the Geth & Quarians after the end of their war?
Just that. I believe, we all want to know more about the whereabouts of our old friends. Most of them are dead in the 24th / 25th century, but some may be still alive, and all of them left a mark in history.
Board time / Day & Night / Lifelike ship routine
That's another thing missing in the original trilogy. Even in ME3 the Normandy felt a bit static. Some characters never left their place - and I'm not talking about Joker. I'd love to see some sort of "day-night-cycle", people wandering around (at least those not at duty post for the current shift).
In fact, I never had the feeling time was passing at all. That's especially odd since ME1 took some 6 - 9 months to finish or som. ME2 was spanning nearly 6 months, same for ME3. But never felt the time really passing.
That's why, I'm looking forward for a feature that gives me an illusion of passing time. Even if it's just said daily routine, a date shown here and there, an estimation how much time the ship needs to travel from A to B. Something like that.
Ship design
The Normandy SR1 lacked crew quarters. SR2 got such crew quarters, but not enough for all the crew shown in game. Commissioned officers usually have their own rooms, but I saw only those for Shepard and Miranda / Liara. Also the interior of the Normandy didn't fit with the exterior (neck section too short, feels less sleek and elegant in the inside than one would expect). Escape pods didn't exist before shown in the ME2 intro - and haven't been installed to the SR2 as well, the list goes on.
In short words: I don't expect a fully simulated ship in ME:A and maybe it's too late to ask: but the interior should be a bit more authentic. Even if I don't want to visit crew quarters, I expect to see doors leading to 'em. If I want to talk to a certain (officer / main character), I'd like to call them to the captain's quarter - or visit them in theirs. And if, at some point of the story, escape pods are used, they should be part of the ship's internal layout.
More diverse body / face models
Are we really going to be blessed with athletic bodies and beautiful yet standardized faces in the future? I'd love to see a bigger bandwith of body shapes: S, M, L, XL - same for height. Not everyone is 1,86m in the future - there must be a place for taller and smaller people too
Planetary exploration
Mako, Hammerhead - doesn't matter. What does matter, are interesting locations. Even if they're proceduraly generated, they can be interesting and fun to explore. After all, ME:A allows us to explore an entire new galaxy. And if we're allowed to explore planets, we may also be interested in exploiting resources, prepare a location for colonizing etc etc.
That's it for now. And there are still things on my list I'd love to ask.
Modifié par CptData, 09 juin 2016 - 08:44 .
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