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Mass Effect - Tycho: He does WORK!
Santa Claustrophobia
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Mass Effect to be released on January 26. No specific confirmation, but there is reason to believe the 360 and PC version will hit the shelves at the same time.
Here's the old OP.
Going to reserve this space for ME2 info. Relevant ME1 info added as needed.
New Mass Effect 2 website.
Age verification required.
Two years have passed since the events of the first Mass Effect game. Galactic Apocalypse has been thwarted, but now, a new threat has emerged…
Human colonies have begun to disappear and it is up to Shepard to find out what is causing the disappearances and assemble a team to put a stop to it.
Mass Effect 2 will feature new worlds and locations, new weapons, new skills, and new characters to continue the story of Alliance Systems Navy Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. The shadowy organisation Cerberus will play a more significant role in the sequel as Shepard is compelled to join forces with them to make the mission a success.
Old friends and faces from the first Mass Effect will be able to return, depending upon choices made in the original, and there are many new ones that will either join with Shepard or attempt to hinder the mission.
Along with a larger selection of weapons compared to the first game, a new class will be introduced. Shepard and company will now be able to wield rocket launchers and other high-damage, high-satisfaction weapons. Ejectable heat sinks have been added to allow players to continue firing during hectic combat without being required to wait for the weapon to cool down normally.
So far, two new alien races have been introduced. The drell and the vorcha. Not much is known about the drell outside of recruitable character Thane, but there has been information released about the vorcha. Other races are planned as more details come to light.
And now a few frequently asked questions explained:
How will I be able to import my Shepard?
Exact details about how this will work have not been released. However, due to experience with how it works in Mass Effect, it is expected that the game will search for data files from the first game to load a list of Shepards that have completed the game. This data is not the same as the possibly many save files you may already have, so unless you are certain about which ones are gamestate saves and which ones are not, the best advice is to keep everything around until more specific information is available.
Will Character So-and-So return?/Will my love interest return?
Any characters that survived to the end of the first game will make an appearance in Mass Effect 2. This includes whomever you may have chosen as your love interest. So far, only Tali has been confirmed as a party member, but it has not been confirmed that any other ME1 character will be actual team members. Shepard must recruit the ‘best of the best’ to fill out the team and original members may not meet necessary criteria. Or, it may just be they might not wish to join depending upon who is already on the team. Exactly how many you may recruit from and the maximum potential teammates has not yet been confirmed. [strike]Though twelve is a number that has been mentioned.[/strike] (BioWare as apparently removed any reference to the number twelve in relation to recruitable characters.) Definitely more options than before.
Are elevators still a problem?
The developers have confirmed that they have been working to improve loading times. This includes the ‘hidden’ loading that would happen on elevators. It’s been said that while elevators still exist within the in-game ME universe, they are not expected to be as bad as they were originally.
I don’t like some choices I made in the first game. Can I make alterations to Shepard in the sequel?
To coin a phrase: sort of. No exact details have been released about making changes to imported Shepard characters, but BioWare is aware of such requests and have made comments to the effect that they are working on it. Christina Norman, a lead BioWare developer, stated that it will be possible to switch combat classes upon import.
Whether or not this means a physical appearance change is possible is unknown at this time.
Will there be new combat classes in the game?
No. There will be new skills introduced (such as a new biotic talent: Pull), but the combat classes will remain the same. Adept, Engineer, Soldier and the combination classes Sentinel, Infiltrator, and Vanguard will return.
They’ve said that if Shepard dies, he dies ‘for real’. What does that mean for Mass Effect 3?
It means that the Shepard that dies, is dead. BioWare has stated all along that Mass Effect is the story of Shepard's exploits. Therefore, Shepard must return for Mass Effect 3, even as a ‘canon’ character. The choices you’ll make in ME2 could lead to the death of that Shepard. If you don’t want Shepard to die, make multiple saves or simply start ME2 over again and make different choices.
What if I never played the first Mass Effect. Is there a KOTOR II-style introduction to the events of the first game?
Nobody outside BioWare/EA knows for sure how a ‘tabula rasa’ Mass Effect 2 will begin. Through interviews and message board posts, it is theorised that a combination of canon defaults and user choices will set the stage. But this has yet to be confirmed.
What if I played the first Mass Effect way too many times and I have a level 60 Shepard? Will any of that effort pay off in Mass Effect 2? I don’t want my Shepard to be ‘reset’.
Yes, but that depends. Exactly how an imported Shepard will be plugged into the game is not yet known, but we do know that because of the new skills and how they’ve made some modifications to the combat engine, old skills and skill levels may not work as they did before.
For example, if you had Throw as a skill and maxed it out at 12 points, you will receive some kind of in-game bonus to represent your previous knowledge. But you will not start at level 12 for the skill. The skill reset is to accommodate the new engine, but they will not ignore the effort you’ve put into your character up until now.
One time, I chose to perform action Y instead of action X. Will ME2 recognise this? I’ve played multiple times, how will I know which save to choose?
Yes it will. But the extent of what decisions Shepard made and how they will affect events in ME2 is not yet fully known. BioWare has stated that all choices made are tracked and kept in the numerous end-of-game save lists.
Currently, the ability to start a new game with an ‘old’ Shepard simply lists the first name, the date completed, and the level reached by the character. There is no information on what, if any, differences will appear when selecting a Shepard to import.
The first official FAQ list. (So far, the only official FAQ list...)
A new list FAQs on the BioWare forums:
Casey Hudson blogged some shit. More direct answers so some FAQs.
Preston Watamaniuk, ME Lead Designer, has this to say on New Game+. (Scroll Down).
Courtesy of TychoCelchuuu.
Facebook Page number 1
Facebook Page number 2
Facebook Page number 3
There are also rules to this thread. Please observe them as they will be enforced.
Having problems with the Pinnacle Station DLC on the 360? Here is the thread at the Official Forums talking about it.
Problems with Therum in the first Mass Effect? Solution in the spoiler.
Here's the old OP.
Going to reserve this space for ME2 info. Relevant ME1 info added as needed.
New Mass Effect 2 website.
Age verification required.
Two years have passed since the events of the first Mass Effect game. Galactic Apocalypse has been thwarted, but now, a new threat has emerged…
Human colonies have begun to disappear and it is up to Shepard to find out what is causing the disappearances and assemble a team to put a stop to it.
Mass Effect 2 will feature new worlds and locations, new weapons, new skills, and new characters to continue the story of Alliance Systems Navy Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. The shadowy organisation Cerberus will play a more significant role in the sequel as Shepard is compelled to join forces with them to make the mission a success.
Old friends and faces from the first Mass Effect will be able to return, depending upon choices made in the original, and there are many new ones that will either join with Shepard or attempt to hinder the mission.
Along with a larger selection of weapons compared to the first game, a new class will be introduced. Shepard and company will now be able to wield rocket launchers and other high-damage, high-satisfaction weapons. Ejectable heat sinks have been added to allow players to continue firing during hectic combat without being required to wait for the weapon to cool down normally.
So far, two new alien races have been introduced. The drell and the vorcha. Not much is known about the drell outside of recruitable character Thane, but there has been information released about the vorcha. Other races are planned as more details come to light.
And now a few frequently asked questions explained:
How will I be able to import my Shepard?
Exact details about how this will work have not been released. However, due to experience with how it works in Mass Effect, it is expected that the game will search for data files from the first game to load a list of Shepards that have completed the game. This data is not the same as the possibly many save files you may already have, so unless you are certain about which ones are gamestate saves and which ones are not, the best advice is to keep everything around until more specific information is available.
Will Character So-and-So return?/Will my love interest return?
Any characters that survived to the end of the first game will make an appearance in Mass Effect 2. This includes whomever you may have chosen as your love interest. So far, only Tali has been confirmed as a party member, but it has not been confirmed that any other ME1 character will be actual team members. Shepard must recruit the ‘best of the best’ to fill out the team and original members may not meet necessary criteria. Or, it may just be they might not wish to join depending upon who is already on the team. Exactly how many you may recruit from and the maximum potential teammates has not yet been confirmed. [strike]Though twelve is a number that has been mentioned.[/strike] (BioWare as apparently removed any reference to the number twelve in relation to recruitable characters.) Definitely more options than before.
Are elevators still a problem?
The developers have confirmed that they have been working to improve loading times. This includes the ‘hidden’ loading that would happen on elevators. It’s been said that while elevators still exist within the in-game ME universe, they are not expected to be as bad as they were originally.
I don’t like some choices I made in the first game. Can I make alterations to Shepard in the sequel?
To coin a phrase: sort of. No exact details have been released about making changes to imported Shepard characters, but BioWare is aware of such requests and have made comments to the effect that they are working on it. Christina Norman, a lead BioWare developer, stated that it will be possible to switch combat classes upon import.
We have five other great classes in Mass Effect to choose from, and we let you choose your class on import [...]
Whether or not this means a physical appearance change is possible is unknown at this time.
Will there be new combat classes in the game?
No. There will be new skills introduced (such as a new biotic talent: Pull), but the combat classes will remain the same. Adept, Engineer, Soldier and the combination classes Sentinel, Infiltrator, and Vanguard will return.
They’ve said that if Shepard dies, he dies ‘for real’. What does that mean for Mass Effect 3?
It means that the Shepard that dies, is dead. BioWare has stated all along that Mass Effect is the story of Shepard's exploits. Therefore, Shepard must return for Mass Effect 3, even as a ‘canon’ character. The choices you’ll make in ME2 could lead to the death of that Shepard. If you don’t want Shepard to die, make multiple saves or simply start ME2 over again and make different choices.
What if I never played the first Mass Effect. Is there a KOTOR II-style introduction to the events of the first game?
Nobody outside BioWare/EA knows for sure how a ‘tabula rasa’ Mass Effect 2 will begin. Through interviews and message board posts, it is theorised that a combination of canon defaults and user choices will set the stage. But this has yet to be confirmed.
What if I played the first Mass Effect way too many times and I have a level 60 Shepard? Will any of that effort pay off in Mass Effect 2? I don’t want my Shepard to be ‘reset’.
Yes, but that depends. Exactly how an imported Shepard will be plugged into the game is not yet known, but we do know that because of the new skills and how they’ve made some modifications to the combat engine, old skills and skill levels may not work as they did before.
For example, if you had Throw as a skill and maxed it out at 12 points, you will receive some kind of in-game bonus to represent your previous knowledge. But you will not start at level 12 for the skill. The skill reset is to accommodate the new engine, but they will not ignore the effort you’ve put into your character up until now.
One time, I chose to perform action Y instead of action X. Will ME2 recognise this? I’ve played multiple times, how will I know which save to choose?
Yes it will. But the extent of what decisions Shepard made and how they will affect events in ME2 is not yet fully known. BioWare has stated that all choices made are tracked and kept in the numerous end-of-game save lists.
Currently, the ability to start a new game with an ‘old’ Shepard simply lists the first name, the date completed, and the level reached by the character. There is no information on what, if any, differences will appear when selecting a Shepard to import.
The first official FAQ list. (So far, the only official FAQ list...)
A new list FAQs on the BioWare forums:
Casey Hudson blogged some shit. More direct answers so some FAQs.
Preston Watamaniuk, ME Lead Designer, has this to say on New Game+. (Scroll Down).
Courtesy of TychoCelchuuu.
Facebook Page number 1
Facebook Page number 2
Facebook Page number 3
There are also rules to this thread. Please observe them as they will be enforced.
ME Rules and Laws wrote:Shepard's Law wrote:Whilst a Mass Effect thread exists, the probability of a comparison between Ashley Williams to Nazis or Hitler or other fascists approaches 1.Gonad Corollary wrote:Invariably, discussions must refer to krogans and their reproductive configurations lest anybody forgets.Elevation Escalation wrote:Repeating a meme as proof of negative criticism is always an option. Especially when necessary to win.Insisting that the quality of a character is directly related to the familiarity of the voice artist.Xenocritical Contention wrote:The less a character is appreciated by an individual, the more insistent the argument that the character is universally bad for all.Demanding that a favourite character or character-type will trigger potential seduction scenarios.Class Warfare Postulate wrote:The sooner a player discovers a favourite combat class, the louder the insistence of its superiority.
Having problems with the Pinnacle Station DLC on the 360? Here is the thread at the Official Forums talking about it.
Problems with Therum in the first Mass Effect? Solution in the spoiler.
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.
Though a patch is mentioned as coming soon, we don't know when yet. This may address the issue once and for all.
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.
Though a patch is mentioned as coming soon, we don't know when yet. This may address the issue once and for all.
Santa Claustrophobia on
0
Posts
It's a work in progress anyway.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
I'm not offended. But if you're going to criticise, it'd help if you offer alternatives or solutions. I've seen some pretty amazing OPs, but that doesn't change the fact that 20 pages in and somebody new shows up who posts a question clearly answered in the OP.
It's an appetiser to the conversation that follows. You'll have to forgive me if I see OPs more as utilitarian than entertaining.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Steam Name: Dr.Oblivious
If you can't live for the now, at least live for the future.
/ -Liara is a valuable member of society.
– Liara's okay
\ -She's a [strike]cylon[/strike] geth! Get her!
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
There's a long three-part interview with Casey Hudson on that site. If it's not a must-read, it's at least a must-skim. The site has helpfully bolded what they deem to be the most interesting stuff, but really, all of it's worth reading. There's information about the armor locker, research projects, galaxy exploration, resource gathering, mission structures, N7 missions, etc. Just read it.
Spoilers ahoy!
edit:
dupe of Wet Bandit's link
Curses!
Damn you temptation
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
ME2 Tali romance confirmed?
Oh god we'll be able to mod our own armor/weapons/equipment and customize their appearance?
Even the ship? oh god oh god oh god I need to play ME2 now.
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
Tali is a romance option like priests molesting altar boys is a romance option. She's like 15!
Actually she was 17 or 18 in the first game and 19 or 20 in ME2.
We went into this in great detail in a previous thread I think.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Eh. Not sure if I'd want to see it in the game or not. I liked Tali as a character but I'm not sure how a romance would work out. It's not like they're Bioware's forte or anything.
Anyway, that interview is really good and has a lot of great information about how the game is going to play. I feel really pumped about it, especially with the information about how the uncharted worlds are going to play this time around.
So, y'know, no hunting for mineral deposits in the Mako. Thank god.
Everything has been gone into in great detail. Everything.
And the release date link is fixed. It used to point to an article, but the source made changes.
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My only suggestion would be to add the "rules" to it.
By the Quarian system, Tali is an adult after you give her the Geth data from her sidequest.
And for reference, as a percentage of max lifespan, Liara is younger than Tali.
Oh yeah, I meant to do that. It'll be up in a moment.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
This said, the combat (outside of heat sink ammo) sounds much improved and more engaging; I am excited for it in all honesty, but that gripe took back seat to some of the other, more eminent problems. Bah. Sometimes I wish Bethesda would get back to their Morrowind days so I can enjoy some pure, non-linear RPG-ing again.
/whine
But she's not human. You don't necessarily apply the same standards as you would with a human teenager.
One, that really doesn't need to be stuffed in a spoiler. But I guess I stuffed my comments in a spoiler for no real reason as well. Two... they spend a lot of time in that interview talking about how they're refining the combat, yes. They also spend a considerable amount of time talking about how they're making it a better RPG as well.
Most especially, as I pointed out in my comments on the interview, they talk about how they're making the uncharted worlds a lot more engaging and trying to fill up the universe and make it seem less barren, as well as making your choices throughout the game matter even more in the endgame, and not having the endgame just be choice a vs. choice b at the endgame crisis point.
ALSO, ME is an action-RPG. It's not a pure RPG, a turn-based strategy RPG, or a party-based RPG like Dragon Age. Deal.
But yeah heat-sink ammo sounds like balls because fuck that shit I want to use my sniper rifle all the goddamn time.
Okay then perhaps we'll rule out romance because if she ever leaves her hermetically sealed suit in your presence she'll die.
Do we know for sure that all the previous team members are going to be team members in this one if they survived? We know they're appearing, but have they all been confirmed? If not, who has?
if i had to guess then it would be
ascension spoilers
i love how after just finishing reading that book the image i had in my head of the migrant fleet inside and out was pretty close, and that they still make every one else wear envirosuits onboard.
Same here. Time for some tentacle porn.
I was kinda wondering that as well. Will old team members be playable still? I feel like I've only seen gameplay with the new people.
Yeah, I am mainly just being a whiner. I was expecting more of a KoTOR-style game when it first came around. Tightly strung together, but also without a bunch of time sinks that do nothing but prolong your play time and give you more money. Which is what Mass Effect essentially was (in regards to linearity), KoTOR with shit tons of filler. Sort of disappointed me, I guess.
And now that the TPS portion seems to be getting so much love, I cannot help but groan and think that by the time the third game comes around, it is going to be Modern Warfare... IN SPACE! I realize that is an entirely retarded idea and is NOT going to happen, but with old properties like Deus Ex turning into Final Deus Fantasy Ex, I find it hard to be optimistic.
Tali is the only ME1 crew member specifically confirmed as a party member. Garrus is confirmed as appearing (but no definite word on party status) and BioWare has stated that whomever ended up being a love interest will also feature at some point.
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all me1 party members if you haven't killed them, were confirmed as appearing in me2.
I left that unsaid (the OP already states it). But it might confuse people about whom is actually a party member. Only Tali has been specifically confirmed.
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Everyone's been confirmed as at least appearing.
Tali has been confirmed as being a squad member.
The love interests have been confirmed as not being squad members.
I think Wrex has been confirmed as not being a squad member.
Garrus is still up in the air, but I have a hard time believing that they'd give him his own video if he only had a cameo.
That's kinda funny, since Garrus and Tali are the two people I almost never used in ME1.
Source please.
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Here's the OP in a thread from the official forums:
Don't bother me with your they'll be back in ME3, or oh it fits the story. I'm not interested. I don't care if the graphics turn out to be the best we'll ever see. I don't care about the so called "edginess" that Bioware are trying to force into ME2. I mean come on, look at the "relationships" in DAO, is that what you want? I read a post on the Dragon Age forum yesterday morning with a quote from eurogamer that sums it up perfectly:
"....you'll also be alienated and a trifle bored by its...clumsy attempts at edginess, like a college professor trying to act cool....."
It's becoming clear that Grunt and Subject Zero and the idiotic marketing campaign have set the tone perfectly for what Mass Effect 2 is going to be. That type of game and those types of characters hold no interest for me and I have no interest in a so called trilogy were we were told our choices matter, only to find that was utterly misleading and one of the most important characters in ME1 for a lot of people is not recruitable.
Flame all you like and check your excuses at the door. I've had enough.
And here's the Community Coordinator's response:
As to the main point, I think the OP is over-reacting a little bit, but we all have to keep in mind that people enjoy different elements of our games differently. While for me the story and the combat of Mass Effect are much more important to my level of enjoyment, some people (like the OP) may think that the optional romances in Mass Effect is THE core feature. While I disagree with them, I don't ridicule them for the belief.
As Casey has said, the romance your chose to follow in Mass Effect 1 will continue in the Mass Effect series, but it is not going to play a prominent role in Mass Effect 2. I harken this to Raiders of the Lost Ark. In Raiders, Indy romances Marion. Still, the Marion romance was not a key part in either parts 2 or 3 (yes it comes back in part 4, but we will do a better job and I don't want to think about part 4 anymore so I'm moving on). My point is that just because it was an important element in the first part doesn't mean that it MUST be a core part of subsequent parts.
I know some fans will be a little disappointed with this, but it is important to remember a few key things:
1 - Your existing romance is not dead.
2 - It will still be a part of the Mass Effect trilogy,
3 - There is romance in part 2 (for those who want it)
4 - There is a great deal of coolness in Mass Effect 2. Even if this bit of news upsets you, we have so much coolness coming, we hope we'll more than make up for it in other ways.
I suppose while not 100% confirmed, it seems about 98% likely the love interests won't be back as squad members, since I don't know how, or why, they'd minimize those romances and still have the love interests in the squad.
I'll look for the original source of the Wrex cameo stuff, but that's kind of been thrown around as "common knowledge" so much I'm not sure it'll be easy.
Well, judging by the MEForums OP quote, that's one shrill motherfucker. People couldn't handle their mud when SuZe was announced... And having not read the OXM in question, I still have no idea the specific text being debated. A link to that would help immensely.
And also, I believe the intimated when the first footage (when it was mistakenly stated the flying car scene was related to the love interest) appeared that whomever the love interest was wouldn't be a significant factor within the game. The problem is, not everybody picked the same love interest and in any case, at least one of the other options survives.
Going by that, the only reasonable conclusion is that there are only two ME1 characters likely to appear as regular features in ME2. I'm pretty sure I came to the same conclusion in a previous thread, but that was yonks ago, so I'm not going to bother looking for it.
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