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Mass Effect - Say goodbye to our little friend!
Santa Claustrophobia
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New Update!
Oh Fuck!
Now available at GameTrailers. [vidURL="http://www.gametrailers.com/player/45796.html"]Here[/vidURL].
Updates!
Moar DLC?
BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk (Hey Jay!) has suggested we may see some DLC eventually. However, Greg Zeshuck said basically the same thing last August. A little birdie tells me this is more-or-less confirmed.
BDtS for Steam! Follow this link and BDtS can be enjoyed by those who bought this through Steam. (Thanks, Forar.)
Added: Here is a link to a list of issues the Steam version may have in general.
Mass Effect 2! ...maybe. They talk about some level design at GDC. That's all we know for now.
In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.
They called it the greatest discovery in human history...
The year is 2183.
It has been 26 years since humanity made first contact with an alien species after an accidental confrontation with the Turians exploded into open warfare.
It has been 26 years since humanity has joined the galactic community and stands amongst alien races that have called the stars home for tens of thousands of years.
You are Lieutenant Commander Shepard, XO of the SSV Normandy and an N7, the best the Alliance has to offer. Your record is exemplary and you have caught the notice of the Spectres, the most elite military branch of the Citadel Council, the largest and most powerful alien government.
For more than twenty years, humanity has wanted one of their own amongst the ranks of the Spectres. You are to be the next candidate for induction. All you need to do is prove yourself as capable as your record states under the watchful eye of the Spectre Nihlus.
What is Mass Effect?
Mass Effect is BioWare Corp's (creators of the Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire) latest RPG venture.
Combining a relatively robust character creation system, a new dialogue system, a new reputation system, third-person tactical combat, and a sleek and stylish but harsh and unforgiving original sci-fi universe, Mass Effect has made itself one of the finest RPGs in years.
Character Creation
Facial Customization
Using a fairly easy to use character creator similar to, but more limited than, Oblivion's, you'll be able to make your Shepard look however you like.
Even this...
Classes
There are six unique character classes in Mass Effect, three of which are specialized in either combat, tech abilities, or biotics, and three of which are hybrids, utilizing the talents of two classes, though they are more limited in scope.
Class information in spoiler:
Civilian and Military Background
You can't write your own biography for Shepard, but you can select his or her background from a list. These have the benefit of actually affecting dialogue involving your character while in-game and your civilian background will even open up a background specific quest for you and will give you alignment bonuses. And while these form your life and reputation leading up to the game, it will never limit your choices in-game.
Background bonus info in spoiler:
Talents, Leveling Up, and Reputation
Like any other RPG, you will gain experience for successfully killing enemies or completing quests. As you gain levels, you'll earn talent points, which you can then invest into your talents and increase in skill.
Talent and talent point reward information in spoiler:
And you may notice those two bars around the character's face in the screenshot. Those are the reputation meters. They aren't really Shepard's alignment as similar meters have been in previous BioWare games. Shepard is always more or less good, but how you choose to conduct yourself while on your noble mission will change how you're thought of and whether you lean more towards impatience, brutality, and getting it done at any cost or more towards finding the best solution for everyone, patience, and leniancy.
Morality in Mass Effect isn't all about cartoon evil and being good isn't going to decrease your renegade meter. You'll be able to fill both at the same time and there's never a way to decrease one or the other. If you perform a ruthless act on your goody-two-shoes character, they're stuck with having done it. You can't change your past.
Reputation bonus information in spoiler:
Let's talk dialogue.
Unlike BioWare's previous games, Mass Effect utilizes a brand new dialogue wheel.
Instead of being offered completely written out dialogue options that NPCs then respond to, you're given a short thought or feeling. The options are arrayed in an obvious logical order with positive responses being on the top, neutral responses in the center, negative options at the bottom, inquisitive responses that lead to more information on the left side, and options that advance the conversation towards its conclusion on the right. Once you select an option on the wheel, Shepard will then speak a full line or lines completely voice acted.
Or maybe even interact with the NPCs in more interesting ways. Such as punching them in the face. Or shooting them in the face.
Gears of Rainbow in Arms Theft Warfighter of the Old Republic
Unlike your average and traditional RPG, Mass Effect's combat is in no way turn-based and in no way Dungeons & Dragons or JRPG.
Instead, you'll play it as if it was a third-person tactical shooter. Because it is, in essence. It has a cover system like you've seen in plenty of games, but you can pause at any time and tell your squadmates to change their weapon or use their abilities.
You can also give them move and attack orders as a group in real-time. Or if you're playing on the PC, while paused you can give them individual move and attack orders.
Epic Scope burns more than it should.
Early in the game, you will gain command of the SSV Normandy, a small state of the art recon frigate.
Using the Normandy to get around the galaxy, you'll be able to travel to many different star clusters and solar systems, land on 32 alien worlds, and read about scores of others.
The Milky Way is a large place and you might not be able to go everywhere, but there's plenty to see in Mass Effect.
Vehicular Combat and Exploration
But you won't have to explore on foot. The planets you land on are vast and covered with rough terrain.
To compensate, you'll be able to drive the Mako, a heavily shielded and armed light all-terrain APC that is able to drop from high altitude from the Normandy for quick and relatively quiet insertions.
Drew Karpyshyn wrote a Mass Effect book once and his weird name is on the cover.
That's right, there's a novel!
Drew Karpyshyn was lead writer of Mass Effect the game and has written a prequel novel to the game. No, it's not a novelization of the game which wipes out everything you knew and loved about your Shepard by making something else canon.
Instead, it tells the story of Captain Anderson and his fateful mission with Saren twenty years ago.
There's also another book currently available under the title Mass Effect: Ascension.
Here's a brief quote from the Del Ray Books website:
Downloadable Content
Available for 400 MS points for the 360 version, "Bring Down the Sky" adds one explorable planet, a new quest line, about 90 minutes of gameplay, and a new alien race: the Batarians.
Bring Down the Sky, along with the first patch, has been released for the PC at this here site here. Installing Bring Down the Sky requires a BioWare Community account and a registered Mass Effect CD key.
BDtS for Steam! Follow this link and BDtS can be enjoyed by those who bought this through Steam.
BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk (Hey Jay!) has suggested we may see some DLC eventually. However, Greg Zeshuck said basically the same thing in August '08. A little birdie tells me this is more-or-less confirmed.
Hey! Therum is missing textures!
A PC game with bugs? That's unpossible!
Sadly, many have had issues with the PC version of the game. Obviously, make sure you have the latest drivers available. And while we're happy to help in this thread, contacting 'official' support personnel may have better results.
Here is a link to a list of issues the Steam version may have in general.
But this seems to work best for the Therum issue:
If you find you'd rather delete the files manually, you might have to do it more than once before success.
As of Feb. 11, there hasn't been a patch released to deal with this, though a patch is mentioned as coming soon (we don't know when yet). This may address the issue once and for all.
* All screenshots are from the PC version and all class, talent, and reputation information is courtesy of LookFreeGrenade because I stole them from him and didn't even pay him for it because he doesn't deserve it.
Also, because we're super-awesome forum people, we have been blessed with a link to awesome Desktop Wallpapers. Check them out here.
Oh Fuck!
Now available at GameTrailers. [vidURL="http://www.gametrailers.com/player/45796.html"]Here[/vidURL].
Updates!
Moar DLC?
BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk (Hey Jay!) has suggested we may see some DLC eventually. However, Greg Zeshuck said basically the same thing last August. A little birdie tells me this is more-or-less confirmed.
BDtS for Steam! Follow this link and BDtS can be enjoyed by those who bought this through Steam. (Thanks, Forar.)
Added: Here is a link to a list of issues the Steam version may have in general.
Mass Effect 2! ...maybe. They talk about some level design at GDC. That's all we know for now.
In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.
They called it the greatest discovery in human history...
The year is 2183.
It has been 26 years since humanity made first contact with an alien species after an accidental confrontation with the Turians exploded into open warfare.
It has been 26 years since humanity has joined the galactic community and stands amongst alien races that have called the stars home for tens of thousands of years.
You are Lieutenant Commander Shepard, XO of the SSV Normandy and an N7, the best the Alliance has to offer. Your record is exemplary and you have caught the notice of the Spectres, the most elite military branch of the Citadel Council, the largest and most powerful alien government.
For more than twenty years, humanity has wanted one of their own amongst the ranks of the Spectres. You are to be the next candidate for induction. All you need to do is prove yourself as capable as your record states under the watchful eye of the Spectre Nihlus.
What is Mass Effect?
Mass Effect is BioWare Corp's (creators of the Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire) latest RPG venture.
Combining a relatively robust character creation system, a new dialogue system, a new reputation system, third-person tactical combat, and a sleek and stylish but harsh and unforgiving original sci-fi universe, Mass Effect has made itself one of the finest RPGs in years.
Character Creation
Facial Customization
Using a fairly easy to use character creator similar to, but more limited than, Oblivion's, you'll be able to make your Shepard look however you like.
Even this...
Classes
There are six unique character classes in Mass Effect, three of which are specialized in either combat, tech abilities, or biotics, and three of which are hybrids, utilizing the talents of two classes, though they are more limited in scope.
Class information in spoiler:
Soldier
Starting Talents
Pistol
Assault Rifle
Combat Armor
Assult Training
Soldier Unlockable Talents
Shotgun - 4th point in Pistol
Sniper Rifle - 7th point in Assault Rifle
First Aid - 6th point in Combat Armor
Fitness - 6th Point in Assault training
Engineer
Starting Talents
Pistol
Decryption
Electronics
First Aid
Engineer Unlockable Talents
Basic Armor - 6 points in Pistol
Hacking - 7 points in Decryption
Damping - 4 in Electronics
Medicine - 5 in First Aid
Adept
Starting Talents
Basic Armor
Throw
Warp
Barrier
Adept Unlockable Talents
Pistol - 5 in Basic Armor
Lift - 6 in Throw
Singularity - 7 in Warp
Stasis - 4 In Barrier
Infiltrator
Starting Talents
Pistols
Tactical Armor
Electronics
Decryption
Infiltrator Unlockable Talents
Sniper - 5 in pistol
Fitness - 6 in Tactical Armor
Damping - 4 in Electronics
First Aid - 7 in Decryption
Sentinel
Starting Talents
Throw
Barrier
Decryption
First Aid
Sentinel Unlockable Talents
Lift - 7 in Throw
Stasis - 6 in Barrier
Electronics - 4 in Decryption
Medicine - 5 in first aid
Vanguard
Starting Talents
Pistol
Assault Training
Throw
Warp
Vanguard Unlockable Talents
Shotgun - 6 in Pistol
Tactical Armor - Assault Training
Lift - 7 in Throw
Barrier - 4 in Warp
Starting Talents
Pistol
Assault Rifle
Combat Armor
Assult Training
Soldier Unlockable Talents
Shotgun - 4th point in Pistol
Sniper Rifle - 7th point in Assault Rifle
First Aid - 6th point in Combat Armor
Fitness - 6th Point in Assault training
Engineer
Starting Talents
Pistol
Decryption
Electronics
First Aid
Engineer Unlockable Talents
Basic Armor - 6 points in Pistol
Hacking - 7 points in Decryption
Damping - 4 in Electronics
Medicine - 5 in First Aid
Adept
Starting Talents
Basic Armor
Throw
Warp
Barrier
Adept Unlockable Talents
Pistol - 5 in Basic Armor
Lift - 6 in Throw
Singularity - 7 in Warp
Stasis - 4 In Barrier
Infiltrator
Starting Talents
Pistols
Tactical Armor
Electronics
Decryption
Infiltrator Unlockable Talents
Sniper - 5 in pistol
Fitness - 6 in Tactical Armor
Damping - 4 in Electronics
First Aid - 7 in Decryption
Sentinel
Starting Talents
Throw
Barrier
Decryption
First Aid
Sentinel Unlockable Talents
Lift - 7 in Throw
Stasis - 6 in Barrier
Electronics - 4 in Decryption
Medicine - 5 in first aid
Vanguard
Starting Talents
Pistol
Assault Training
Throw
Warp
Vanguard Unlockable Talents
Shotgun - 6 in Pistol
Tactical Armor - Assault Training
Lift - 7 in Throw
Barrier - 4 in Warp
Civilian and Military Background
You can't write your own biography for Shepard, but you can select his or her background from a list. These have the benefit of actually affecting dialogue involving your character while in-game and your civilian background will even open up a background specific quest for you and will give you alignment bonuses. And while these form your life and reputation leading up to the game, it will never limit your choices in-game.
Background bonus info in spoiler:
Earthborn - Grants a Renegade point bonus
Spacer - Grants Paragon point bonus
Colonist - Grants Paragon and Renegade point bonus
Ruthless - Grants a Renegade point bonus
War Hero - Grants Paragon point bonus
Sole Survivor - Grants Paragon and Renegade point bonus
Spacer - Grants Paragon point bonus
Colonist - Grants Paragon and Renegade point bonus
Ruthless - Grants a Renegade point bonus
War Hero - Grants Paragon point bonus
Sole Survivor - Grants Paragon and Renegade point bonus
Talents, Leveling Up, and Reputation
Like any other RPG, you will gain experience for successfully killing enemies or completing quests. As you gain levels, you'll earn talent points, which you can then invest into your talents and increase in skill.
Talent and talent point reward information in spoiler:
Level 1-5 Shep earns 3 points per level squad earns 2 points per level gained
Level 6-20 Shep and squad earns 2 points each level
Level 21-35 Shep earns 2 points squad earns 1 point each
Level 36-60 Shep and squad earn 1 point per level
Shepard's Talents
Spectre Training - Elite agents of the Council the Spectres have access to special training unavailable elsewhere in the galaxy. Increases health, accuracy and the effectiveness of all attacks and powers.
Biotics
Barrier - Bolsters your kinetic shields with a mass effect field that can absorb a massive amount of damage. Attacks that penetrate the shields also penetrate this barrier.
Lift - Projects a sphere of powerful contra-gravity. Any object or creature struck is lifted into the air Enemies are temporarily immoblized untill they fall back to the ground.
Throw - Projects a mass effect field powerful enough to hurl objects and enemies out of the way.
Singularity - Projects a sphere of dark energy that creates an intense mass effect field. nearby enemies and objects are drawn into the singularity unable to escape its gravitational pull.
Stasis - Creates a powerful mass effect field that immobilizes a single target.
Warp - Projects a powerful mass effect field that wreaks havoc on a subatomic level. It weakens armor and inflicts damage over time on enemies.
Combat
Assault Training - Increases melee and weapon damage, also grants Adrenaline Burst talent.
Armor - Enables use of better armor, increases damage protection in battle.
Assault Rifles - Increases accuracy and damage with assault rifles.
Pistols - Increases accuracy and damage with pistols.
Shotguns - Increases accuracy and damage with Shotguns.
Sniper Rifles - Increases accuracy and damage with Sniper Rifles.
Fitness - Increases health and grants the invaluable immunity ability.
Tech
Damping - Increases the explosion radius on your tech proximity units. Use damping to shut down your enemies’ tech and biotic abilities.
Decryption - Allows you to open secure containers increases tech mine explosion damage and grants Sabotage talent.
Sabotage - Overheats enemy’s weapon so they cannot fire, and burns them for damage over time.
Electronics - Increases the strength of your shields and lets you use the electronics skill to repair or bypass objects.
Hacking - Recharges your tech proximity mines more quickly and grants AI hacking ability.
First Aid - Increases squad healing by improving the effectiveness of the medigel.
Medicine - Improves the recharge time of squad healing and grants the neural shock ability that devastates organic enemies.
Class Talents
Soldier - Front line warriors that are trained to withstand the physical punishment that comes with combat. Increases health at higher levels and gives limited health regeneration.
Engineer - Tech specialists can use innovative tricks to get the most out of every resource.
Adept - Focuses training to optimize their abilities.
Infiltrator - Increases damage done by tech mines and reduces overheating on sniper and pistols.
Sentinel - Increases damage and accuracy with a pistol and grants marksman ability.
Vanguard - Can use abilities to counter enemy biotic attacks and get into short range positions Increases biotic resistance and damage with shotguns and pistols.
Level 6-20 Shep and squad earns 2 points each level
Level 21-35 Shep earns 2 points squad earns 1 point each
Level 36-60 Shep and squad earn 1 point per level
Shepard's Talents
Spectre Training - Elite agents of the Council the Spectres have access to special training unavailable elsewhere in the galaxy. Increases health, accuracy and the effectiveness of all attacks and powers.
Biotics
Barrier - Bolsters your kinetic shields with a mass effect field that can absorb a massive amount of damage. Attacks that penetrate the shields also penetrate this barrier.
Lift - Projects a sphere of powerful contra-gravity. Any object or creature struck is lifted into the air Enemies are temporarily immoblized untill they fall back to the ground.
Throw - Projects a mass effect field powerful enough to hurl objects and enemies out of the way.
Singularity - Projects a sphere of dark energy that creates an intense mass effect field. nearby enemies and objects are drawn into the singularity unable to escape its gravitational pull.
Stasis - Creates a powerful mass effect field that immobilizes a single target.
Warp - Projects a powerful mass effect field that wreaks havoc on a subatomic level. It weakens armor and inflicts damage over time on enemies.
Combat
Assault Training - Increases melee and weapon damage, also grants Adrenaline Burst talent.
Armor - Enables use of better armor, increases damage protection in battle.
Assault Rifles - Increases accuracy and damage with assault rifles.
Pistols - Increases accuracy and damage with pistols.
Shotguns - Increases accuracy and damage with Shotguns.
Sniper Rifles - Increases accuracy and damage with Sniper Rifles.
Fitness - Increases health and grants the invaluable immunity ability.
Tech
Damping - Increases the explosion radius on your tech proximity units. Use damping to shut down your enemies’ tech and biotic abilities.
Decryption - Allows you to open secure containers increases tech mine explosion damage and grants Sabotage talent.
Sabotage - Overheats enemy’s weapon so they cannot fire, and burns them for damage over time.
Electronics - Increases the strength of your shields and lets you use the electronics skill to repair or bypass objects.
Hacking - Recharges your tech proximity mines more quickly and grants AI hacking ability.
First Aid - Increases squad healing by improving the effectiveness of the medigel.
Medicine - Improves the recharge time of squad healing and grants the neural shock ability that devastates organic enemies.
Class Talents
Soldier - Front line warriors that are trained to withstand the physical punishment that comes with combat. Increases health at higher levels and gives limited health regeneration.
Engineer - Tech specialists can use innovative tricks to get the most out of every resource.
Adept - Focuses training to optimize their abilities.
Infiltrator - Increases damage done by tech mines and reduces overheating on sniper and pistols.
Sentinel - Increases damage and accuracy with a pistol and grants marksman ability.
Vanguard - Can use abilities to counter enemy biotic attacks and get into short range positions Increases biotic resistance and damage with shotguns and pistols.
And you may notice those two bars around the character's face in the screenshot. Those are the reputation meters. They aren't really Shepard's alignment as similar meters have been in previous BioWare games. Shepard is always more or less good, but how you choose to conduct yourself while on your noble mission will change how you're thought of and whether you lean more towards impatience, brutality, and getting it done at any cost or more towards finding the best solution for everyone, patience, and leniancy.
Morality in Mass Effect isn't all about cartoon evil and being good isn't going to decrease your renegade meter. You'll be able to fill both at the same time and there's never a way to decrease one or the other. If you perform a ruthless act on your goody-two-shoes character, they're stuck with having done it. You can't change your past.
Reputation bonus information in spoiler:
Paragon bonuses
5% - Opens 2 charm ranks and gives 1 free charm point
25% - Opens 2 charm rank, gives 1 charm point, and 10% first aid cooldown
50% - 10% Bonus health
75% - Paragon achievement, opens 2 charm rank, 1 free point, and 5% Shorter cooldown on all powers.
Renegade Bonuses
5% - Opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point
25% - Opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point, 10% weapon powers cooldown
50% - 1 health regeneration per second
75% - Renegade achievement, opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point, and 5% damage/duration on all weapons and powers
5% - Opens 2 charm ranks and gives 1 free charm point
25% - Opens 2 charm rank, gives 1 charm point, and 10% first aid cooldown
50% - 10% Bonus health
75% - Paragon achievement, opens 2 charm rank, 1 free point, and 5% Shorter cooldown on all powers.
Renegade Bonuses
5% - Opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point
25% - Opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point, 10% weapon powers cooldown
50% - 1 health regeneration per second
75% - Renegade achievement, opens 2 intimidate ranks, gives 1 intimidate point, and 5% damage/duration on all weapons and powers
Let's talk dialogue.
Unlike BioWare's previous games, Mass Effect utilizes a brand new dialogue wheel.
Instead of being offered completely written out dialogue options that NPCs then respond to, you're given a short thought or feeling. The options are arrayed in an obvious logical order with positive responses being on the top, neutral responses in the center, negative options at the bottom, inquisitive responses that lead to more information on the left side, and options that advance the conversation towards its conclusion on the right. Once you select an option on the wheel, Shepard will then speak a full line or lines completely voice acted.
Or maybe even interact with the NPCs in more interesting ways. Such as punching them in the face. Or shooting them in the face.
Gears of Rainbow in Arms Theft Warfighter of the Old Republic
Unlike your average and traditional RPG, Mass Effect's combat is in no way turn-based and in no way Dungeons & Dragons or JRPG.
Instead, you'll play it as if it was a third-person tactical shooter. Because it is, in essence. It has a cover system like you've seen in plenty of games, but you can pause at any time and tell your squadmates to change their weapon or use their abilities.
You can also give them move and attack orders as a group in real-time. Or if you're playing on the PC, while paused you can give them individual move and attack orders.
Epic Scope burns more than it should.
Early in the game, you will gain command of the SSV Normandy, a small state of the art recon frigate.
Using the Normandy to get around the galaxy, you'll be able to travel to many different star clusters and solar systems, land on 32 alien worlds, and read about scores of others.
The Milky Way is a large place and you might not be able to go everywhere, but there's plenty to see in Mass Effect.
Vehicular Combat and Exploration
But you won't have to explore on foot. The planets you land on are vast and covered with rough terrain.
To compensate, you'll be able to drive the Mako, a heavily shielded and armed light all-terrain APC that is able to drop from high altitude from the Normandy for quick and relatively quiet insertions.
Drew Karpyshyn wrote a Mass Effect book once and his weird name is on the cover.
That's right, there's a novel!
Drew Karpyshyn was lead writer of Mass Effect the game and has written a prequel novel to the game. No, it's not a novelization of the game which wipes out everything you knew and loved about your Shepard by making something else canon.
Instead, it tells the story of Captain Anderson and his fateful mission with Saren twenty years ago.
There's also another book currently available under the title Mass Effect: Ascension.
Here's a brief quote from the Del Ray Books website:
Del Rey Books wrote:Scientist Kahlee Sanders has left the Systems Alliance for the Ascension Project, a program that helps gifted “biotic†children harness their extraordinary powers. The program’s most promising student is twelve-year-old Gillian Grayson, who is borderline autistic. What Kahlee doesn’t know is that Gillian is an unwitting pawn of the outlawed black ops group Cerberus, which is sabotaging the program by conducting illegal experiments on the students.
Downloadable Content
Available for 400 MS points for the 360 version, "Bring Down the Sky" adds one explorable planet, a new quest line, about 90 minutes of gameplay, and a new alien race: the Batarians.
Bring Down the Sky, along with the first patch, has been released for the PC at this here site here. Installing Bring Down the Sky requires a BioWare Community account and a registered Mass Effect CD key.
BDtS for Steam! Follow this link and BDtS can be enjoyed by those who bought this through Steam.
BioWare community manager Jay Watamaniuk (Hey Jay!) has suggested we may see some DLC eventually. However, Greg Zeshuck said basically the same thing in August '08. A little birdie tells me this is more-or-less confirmed.
Hey! Therum is missing textures!
A PC game with bugs? That's unpossible!
Sadly, many have had issues with the PC version of the game. Obviously, make sure you have the latest drivers available. And while we're happy to help in this thread, contacting 'official' support personnel may have better results.
Here is a link to a list of issues the Steam version may have in general.
But this seems to work best for the Therum issue:
The solution is usually quite simple - without doing anything else after landing on Therum - save your game, exit, go to the Steam\steamapps\common\mass effect\Binaries folder, and run the MassEffectConfig.exe
(if you are running Vista you will first have to right click on this file, and have it run in XP compatibility mode)
Once you run the config file, click on the Repair option, and then click on "Delete Local Shader Cache Files".
Restart the last saved game on Therum, and it should work.
Don't try to manually delete the shader cache files - you shouldn't have to if you use the config tool.
As of Feb. 11, there hasn't been a patch released to deal with this, though a patch is mentioned as coming soon (we don't know when yet). This may address the issue once and for all.
* All screenshots are from the PC version and all class, talent, and reputation information is courtesy of LookFreeGrenade because I stole them from him and didn't even pay him for it because he doesn't deserve it.
Also, because we're super-awesome forum people, we have been blessed with a link to awesome Desktop Wallpapers. Check them out here.
Santa Claustrophobia on
0
Posts
EDIT:
So I've learned to read, now. Isn't that nice?
Were threats of rectal trauma used?:winky:
I fixed the texture bug in Therum, it involved deleting the shader cache and restarting the game about 8 times, and reloading a save that wasn't on the surface of the planet.
Just heads up for anyone else who has the problem.
by who?
Wasn't that you in the other thread? I just woke up and skimmed it... I at least tried to tie it into religion in Mass Effect as an acceptable subject.
Mostly that was a reserve post in the case of any big news that might put the OP over the limit. (It's quite large and I shall probably need to make some changes to it...soon...)
EDIT:
Well, shit. I didn't realise that suddenly Transformers became the topic of conversation...
Basically, it's a brain implant that interacts with a super substance.
Besides, for inorganic reapers, what's the difference between doing it with meat and doing it with silicon?
The problem with this theory is that they never totally scrape the galaxy clean of sentient, organic life, which they are clearly quite capable of doing. If they do totally hate all biological life, then why would they develop a system that accelerates their development along a clearly planned route. And if they're suppose to improve upon the Reaper technology, how come the only information they're "allowed" to glean from the relics is just enough to allow them to operate the technology without any understanding of how it works?
This is why I don't buy the, "They needed use to develop new technologies." There's nothing in the game that points to races developing further upon the mass technology they found, and I it's explicitly stated in game that no one's every been able to duplicate or replicate the technology found in the mass relays, nor gain any understanding into exactly how it works. Furthermore, your theory fails to explain why the Reapers systematically annihilate organic life once it reaches a certain point. With this being the case, I hardly doubt they're keeping organic life around for a "creative R&D" perspective.
And in regards to Saren, the Reapers did in fact "take that dude" alive. He was used as their tool to invade and re-activate the Citadel to bring the rest of the Reapers back into our galaxy. As of yet, we have no idea what the Reapers had planned when they arrived, so it is quite possible they were going to harvest the races for their genetic biotic mutation. Even Saren was under the impression that they had a greater purpose for him. And in game, Sovereign is able to enhance his biotic implants and make him more powerful, leading me to believe this was just a first step in assimilating the biotic gene into the Reaper make up. They may not have been "surprised" by this mutation, because this was the mutation they were looking for.
I also don't remember anything in the stated canon about the Reapers being unable to replicate themselves.
And finally, I'm going with the Biotics theory because it ties together all the unique elements of the game. Honestly, what's the point in creating this near mystical force if it doesn't end up being central to the story. It would be like having the Force be totally ancillary in Star Wars, and not inherently tied to the narrative. And we have to ask ourselves, why is this iteration of the cycle important. Why is unique about this cycle that creates a story, beyond we're humans, and we want a story with humans in it. IMHO, if Mass Effect is going to continue with a compelling narrative, there has to be more to the story that "just because".
Either way, I'm sticking with my R&D concentration camp theory.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The biotic implants are just a crutch. Humans are themselves just beginning to understand this natural ability to manipulate Dark Energy. Think bigger and broader.
Also, other races in the galaxy, like the Asari, are naturally biotic, so the exposure to element zero could have merely been a catalyst for humans, or simply a coincidence.
And you tell me...what's the difference between having to fly a spaceship across a giant gate, versus achieving the same effect with just your mind?
360-exclusive still, or is PS3 joining the party?
We've basically been told(more or less) we won't here anything about ME2 until we buy Dragon Age.
It's blackmail I tell you...BLACKMAIL!
But yeah...they're keeping quiet about it until DA is released.
Then we should get an explanation that better than 'you wouldn't understand'. From a practical standpoint, it's just a convenient choice by the devs to place the story 200 years in our future so as to provide some kind of easy and identifiable starting point. Otherwise, they could've just as easily called it KOTOR 3 and make the appropriate changes...
Their origin has clues that they didn't make themselves (Why does Sovereign have or need internal spaces for human sized inhabitants?), and that they need organic life to develop around a specific technology and to a specific level kind of indicates that whatever it is they're looking for cannot be created by gigantic spaceships with their own consciousnesses.
I'd say that whenever they were created, like the geth, they developed beyond their creators' expectations and rebelled. Like SkyNet, they decided organic life sucked and killed all 'advanced' life and then realised that they needed something only the organic races could provide. Maybe they each component boards like they were peanut brittle. Or maybe they simply consume the energy that is stored in these devices.
They will take centuries to complete the scouring of the galaxy, so whatever it is they want needs to be in plentiful supply.
probably 360 first, then PC a year later.
Donno about PS3
At least Mass Effect is as awesome as it is.
Awesome blackmail.
have you ever fought a sea bass, one on one?
They are vicious
I was having trouble playing for more than 5 minutes with my 8800 GTS, and found the same complaints in Steam and Bioware forums that you did. After fighting with the game for a few hours on and off (bought it during the Steam deal along with a bunch of other things), I finally tried swapping drivers, like several threads suggested. I removed my 180.48 drivers (most recent on the Nvidia site at the time, though I've heard there are 180.84 drivers available now as well) and installed 175.19 (from around July last year, I believe), and lo, I managed to finish the game with only 1 bug and one outright crash. YMMV, but I am now a believer in the glory of the 175.19 drivers. At least for Mass Effect. Which is awesome.
Speaking of which, I finally beat the game last night, and enjoyed the hell out of it.
My main quibble was with the elevators. Oh god, so many elevators, and they just took sooooo loooooong to get anywhere.
As I've heard elsewhere, the game sure talks a lot, which at times felt sort of like I was tediously going through the motions, but I felt the same way near the end of KotoR too, so I knew what I was getting into, and perhaps I just tried to push through too much too quickly.
My first playthrough was as a Soldier, which in hindsight may have been a poor choice. Having some guaranteed combat power on hand is always nice, but with squad auto-levelling on (a mistake, I'm sure) I often found my crew a bit behind on being able to hack or bypass certain objectives. While this could've been combated with a little personal direction in their skill levelling, it still left me desiring to always have a tech member with high electronics/other skills on hand, and to balance that I tried to grab a high biotic member, which left me almost always running the same pair of associates.
Now I'm looking at doing a New Game+ run for more achievements, as well as doing all the content I skipped (while very little seems to actually be timed, I'm a sucker for a good flow to the "oh god, we have to go now, go go go" main storyline, and found myself buried in the "final dungeon" as it were without the ability to go back and finish up a giant pile of side quests and content.
So I guess I'm pondering whether I want to do a New Game+ with my soldier, perhaps doing more of the Renegade chains/actions (as with KotoR I'm a sucker for the 'Good Guys', so I maxed out Paragon and only accidentally snagged a bar or so of Renegade), or abandon that character altogether and start anew with a Tech or Tech Hybrid class, so I can a little more freely adjust my party on a whim without feeling required to have a certain character or characters along to snag odds and ends throughout the levels.
With the idea that Mass Effect 2 will take actions and previous characters into account, it's something I'm giving thought to, but given that ME2 might take years to come out (and/or get onto Steam), I suppose I've got time to kill.
Hopefully the first downloadable content will hit Steam eventually as well.
I'd believe in the "They were waiting for us to develop biotics because they want them" theory if it wasn't the case that every current major race in the galaxy can do it. Krogan, Salarians, Asari, Humans, if it's this unique ability which has evolved for the first time in a billion years why does everyone have it suddenly?
A thought I had is that in fact there is something horribly fundamentally wrong with biotics, and that biotic ability is an always occurring side effect of intelligent life. The reapers don't have the resources to totally destroy all life, it just keeps coming back and keeps getting to the verge of this disastrous outcome, which is why the reapers hate us so much since biological life keeps almost messing up the universe. Thus they put all this into place to guide us down predetermined paths to destroy us before we can get to this point of biotic disaster. They take all our tech and research so as to look for better ways to control organic life.
Omnigel! They are here for the omnigel!
exposure to element zero that hasn't occurred on such a large scale in the history of the universe, driving a huge and varried biotic mutation in countless alien species? to varying degrees of strength and success? Providing a wide range of data points for research and possible integration? questionmark?
I boot the game and sneeze omni-gel... I'd doubt the Reapers would need to hibernate for 50,000 years just so they can collect a bunch of slime best used to skip boring mini-games.
But then, I don't understand that logic... So there you go!
I was just being silly, blasted Omnigel was the most boring part of the game.
EEZO exposure is just the way humans first developed it. Like being bitten by a radioactive spider or infected by midichlori-
That's either disturbing or awesome. I haven't decided yet.
Except that it has occured, every single time intelligent life has used reaper technology for around a billion years. The only difference between the species in this time and the last is
Exposure to element zero is possibly the most common thing which occurs to any species, since all life uses the mass relays to get around, thus biotics being common this time means biotics are always common and not unique to this life cycle.
But it's not a natural ability. In the codex, it says mass effect fields (i.e. biotics) are generated by running a current through a sample of element zero. Humans can do it without an amplifier, because they can alter the magnetic fields of their bodies in subtle ways. That doesn't mean they can do it without element zero, though. And neither do humans naturally produce the substance.
Plus, that distinction between doing it with spaceships and doing it with your mind is important to us, but
Disturbingly awesome?
More like epicly awesome. So were her lips plump and puckered?
All five of them.
Plus, there is currently no canonical evidence that says that exposure eezo is required for all races to develop biotic talents. Kaidan mentions that amongst humans, 60 percent develop nothing, 30 percent suffer from various ailments, and 10 percent show any signs of being 'useful' for biotic training. But those numbers cannot be directly correlated to any other races.
Anyway, I read a post a while back that you can save the crazy fan by using either charm or intimidate (and that he might turn up in number two), is it possible to convince him not to do something stupid and get himself killed without using charm/intimidate? Also on that note, I'm thinking of replaying this for the first time since last january and using the same character. In the sequel if you do multiple run throughs how does it decide which 'major choices' (saving the council et al) that you made for number two, it'll be the first run through I presume?
"They did seem to show up awful quickly after the crash."
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
I'd guess that they'll let you choose the run rather than the character.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Either way, my point was that the Reapers already have the ability to warp reality in the same way that Biotics does. It's the same phenomena, and they set up the infrastructure that basically reveals all of this to the organic races. This is why I disagree with ironzerg's proposal that Reapers "want" biotic power.
However, the suggestion that the reapers want to prevent organic life from accidentally destroying the universe with it holds more promise. The Reapers want them to develop their understanding of Mass Effect fields in a limited, controlled fashion. Then they all get wiped out before they can un-Bang the universe.
Wait, by 'crazy fan', do you mean Conrad? If so, damn! I never knew he'd go off and get himself into trouble - I've always had high enough of one of the two skills to talk him out of doing anything...
Anyway, my take on the Reapers is similar to most out there, but I don't think they're particularly interested in organic life itself. For some reason, I feel that they perform the periodic extermination in lieu of a natural evolution system. They advance organic life to a set point and begin a culling process, each time completing it faster than before thanks to their accumulated improvements, and eventually converge on perfection.
No idea what they get out of it at the end, though. An acheivement or something, I guess.
Thank you for stopping there.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The wails of the damned trillions are to Reavers what the "Achievement Unlocked" notice is to us.
Mostly just bragging rights.
No canonical evidence? There is actually quite a lot about biotics and how they develop/how common they are in the Galactic Codex: Essentials that came with the game:
Innate biotics in all asari regardless of exposure to element zero.
Strength varies due to genetics.
No implants necessary.
Turians:
Biotics gained through exposure to element zero.
Roughly equivalent to humans in frequency.
Implants required.
Far more stable, but less peaks and valleys. Turians biotics are almost uniformly of moderate power with very rare standouts in either direction.
Krogan:
Biotics gained through exposure to element zero; very rare success rate in gaining powers.
Very low negative reactions.
Of those that gain biotics, almost all are low powered.
Implants required.
Before the genophage, it was an acceptable risk to use surgery to create powerful biotics. 1000 to 1 success rate of the already 1000 to 1 biotic krogan.
Because of the decreased birth rates, surgery is no longer risked.
Salarians:
Biotics gained through exposure to element zero.
Implants required.
Very low success rate in gaining powers.
Roughly equivalent to humans in frequency of negative reactions.
Low to moderate ability in the few examples of successful biotics.