It’s actually a part of the way we’re finishing the production on the game. We choose specific areas that we’ll focus on, and we review them with a laser-sharp focus. We hammer on the same section every day, playing it on a big screen with lots of the team watching, and in doing that we identify the things that need to get better for the next day.
The prologue was the first of these focus areas, so it was ready to be shown at GDC. Greg and Ray [BioWare co-founders, Zeschuk and Muzyka] literally grabbed one of the recent builds and used it in their demos, which is a good indicator of how close we are to being finished.
Yes. The 'cutscenes' are just times when you can't actually control your characters. It's all in-engine, with the same materials/textures and so forth, IIRC.
Remember those emergency transmission viral videos on Youtube? It turns out they're actually part of the prologue. Gametrailers has the sequence up as of today.
I had a hunch it'd be from the prologue - it looked similar to that piece of concept art with ashley firing at the sky.
Excellent! Shepard mk.4 - better or worse than mk.3 that we had for ages (x06, for example)? I'm ambivalent, really, though I think I prefer this new one.
Okay, my interest in this game (already pretty high) has just shot up by 456238%. Those new screenshots + that video have really peaked it.
On another note, there something that I've been thinking about in this game; if the machines that the game is based around wipe out ALL intelligent life they come into contact with, how come there's still knowledge of them? Even if it is only a legend, if evebody who meets them dies then nobody would have heard of them at all.
But I think there're probably artifacts from past civillisations lying around. I mean, annihilating all advanced life doesn't necessarily mean annihilating all trace of civillisation.
But I think there're probably artifacts from past civillisations lying around. I mean, annihilating all advanced life doesn't necessarily mean annihilating all trace of civillisation.
Yeah, but if you have any sense and you're conducting a mass cleansing like this every 50, 000 years then you makes sure there's no evidence of it. Otherwise you run the risk of people discovering you prior to your return, and finding a way to combat you. Especially if you're a robot; in sci-fi they alway tend to be super calculating, covering every option.
I guess (hope) Edcrab is right, and they come up with a cool twist to explain it.
You wouldn't even need artifacts or anything; it's probably archeologically provable. If you stretch out across thousands of worlds, and you find a ton of unconnected civilisations being destroyed at 50,000 year intervals, I'd bet a ton of legends will crop up.
But I think there're probably artifacts from past civillisations lying around. I mean, annihilating all advanced life doesn't necessarily mean annihilating all trace of civillisation.
Yeah, but if you have any sense and you're conducting a mass cleansing like this every 50, 000 years then you makes sure there's no evidence of it. Otherwise you run the risk of people discovering you prior to your return, and finding a way to combat you. Especially if you're a robot; in sci-fi they alway tend to be super calculating, covering every option.
I guess (hope) Edcrab is right, and they come up with a cool twist to explain it.
It's not a mass cleansing, really. Well, for who they choose to cleanse, it is, but not really in a wipe out all life in the galaxy sort of way.
The machines come every 50,000 years, not to wipe out all life, but to destroy advanced life. It just so happens that humanity is now a large space faring race and are now a very good target along with all these other alien species. So when the cleansing occurs, there is still primitive life left, possibly on many of the cleansed worlds. I was always under the impression that their goal isn't simple extermination, but killing and destroying until they've killed and destroyed these worlds to a more primitive state. This would leave plenty of room for legends to arise.
And really, who takes even 3,000 year old legends seriously anymore? 50,000 years is more than enough time for these things to fade into mythology and even become largely forgotten.
EDIT:
Excellent! Shepard mk.4 - better or worse than mk.3 that we had for ages (x06, for example)? I'm ambivalent, really, though I think I prefer this new one.
I like the new one a lot better. I keep hearing he doesn't look as distinctive as the old Shepard, but this newer one doesn't have razor sharp cheek bones or look quite as, uh, edgy anymore and just looks a little better overall. Not that it matters since I'll be making my own anyway.
You wouldn't even need artifacts or anything; it's probably archeologically provable. If you stretch out across thousands of worlds, and you find a ton of unconnected civilisations being destroyed at 50,000 year intervals, I'd bet a ton of legends will crop up.
I'm hoping for the Cool Twist(tm) too, though.
Yeah... unless they simply atomised the top half mile or so of crust on each planet they found advanced life on. I'd like to see archeological evidence survive that. My point is that unless the machines are really stupid (in which case they won't be fun to fight) they'd find ways to hide their presence. Which would include destroying all species of even moderate intelligence they encounter, although as I understand it they would only actively seek advanced civilisations. But anyway, I'm going to stop trying to poke holes in the logic of the game and just look forward to it. And hopefully not explode.
Everyone's going on about how Bioware's going to give us a cool twist, only it's going to be the same one from KotoR, which was the same one from Baldur's Gate. :P
Everyone's going on about how Bioware's going to give us a cool twist, only it's going to be the same one from KotoR, which was the same one from Baldur's Gate. :P
From what we know, I honestly don't see much room for a big twist, at least not one directly involving the PC, so it probably wouldn't be as big or impactful a twist. That doesn't mean it's impossible, of course.
Oh, and another thing: Mass Effect is the first game in a trilogy. It's possible that the story may develop in such a way that it will leave itself open to a twist even if Mass Effect itself doesn't.
Everyone's going on about how Bioware's going to give us a cool twist, only it's going to be the same one from KotoR, which was the same one from Baldur's Gate. :P
Um... how can they have the same twist when
in one game you're the amnesiac turned good dark lord fighting your old allies, and in the other you're trying to protect humanity from a race of ancient machines that have nothing whatsoever to do with you? (How can they if humaity is only a few thousand years old and these guys are probably millions of years old)
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
It's going to be a trilogy, isn't it? They'll find a way to do something interesting...
And the KotoR twist wasn't really all that much like the BG twist...
Yeah, definite similarities, but in one case your nature is revealed and in the other your identity as an established villian is revealed. Plenty of people saw both coming, but I'm blessed with a slow brain!
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
Or maybe they don't care because whenever any civilization is old enough to be able to stop them before they go on their cleansing, it's been so long that very few believe the validity of the stories about the Reapers and don't care to stop them or possibly don't even know where to look if they wanted to. And if they target all advanced life, the Reapers must be nigh unstoppable once they start moving.
But I'd assume time is a great ally when you have fifty thousand years. Especially when everyone who might have known is subsequently destroyed back into prehistory.
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
Or maybe they don't care because whenever any civilization is old enough to be able to stop them before they go on their cleansing, it's been so long that very few believe the validity of the stories about the Reapers and don't care to stop them or possibly don't even know where to look if they wanted to. And if they target all advanced life, the Reapers must be nigh unstoppable once they start moving.
But I'd assume time is a great ally when you have fifty thousand years. Especially when everyone who might have known is subsequently destroyed back into prehistory.
Yeah, but it would be kind of sloppy for them just to allow time to do the work, especially since it wouldn't have a 100% success rate in getting rid of the legends (suppose you have a species with photographic or collective memories?) and, as was pointed out earlier, they'd leave behind archeological evidence at the very least.
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
Or maybe they don't care because whenever any civilization is old enough to be able to stop them before they go on their cleansing, it's been so long that very few believe the validity of the stories about the Reapers and don't care to stop them or possibly don't even know where to look if they wanted to. And if they target all advanced life, the Reapers must be nigh unstoppable once they start moving.
But I'd assume time is a great ally when you have fifty thousand years. Especially when everyone who might have known is subsequently destroyed back into prehistory.
Yeah, but it would be kind of sloppy for them just to allow time to do the work, especially since it wouldn't have a 100% success rate in getting rid of the legends (suppose you have a species with photographic or collective memories?) and, as was pointed out earlier, they'd leave behind archeological evidence at the very least.
Well, we already know there are legends, but very few people take them seriously. So the machines are obviously doing something wrong if they don't want them hanging around. I think it's probably either on purpose or out of apathy.
Like pancake said, they're only after advanced civilisations. It's entirely possible they're actually really ecologically concerned, and do not want to destroy non-advanced life or destroy planets. It's Bioware; I doubt they're that black-and-white evil. They must have some motivation, which will affect the way they do things.
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
Or maybe they don't care because whenever any civilization is old enough to be able to stop them before they go on their cleansing, it's been so long that very few believe the validity of the stories about the Reapers and don't care to stop them or possibly don't even know where to look if they wanted to. And if they target all advanced life, the Reapers must be nigh unstoppable once they start moving.
But I'd assume time is a great ally when you have fifty thousand years. Especially when everyone who might have known is subsequently destroyed back into prehistory.
Yeah, but it would be kind of sloppy for them just to allow time to do the work, especially since it wouldn't have a 100% success rate in getting rid of the legends (suppose you have a species with photographic or collective memories?) and, as was pointed out earlier, they'd leave behind archeological evidence at the very least.
Well, we already know there are legends, but very few people take them seriously. So the machines are obviously doing something wrong if they don't want them hanging around. I think it's probably either on purpose or out of apathy.
Most likely deliberate in my opinion, out of some motive that is completely unfathomable to humans. :P
Well, we already know there are legends, but very few people take them seriously. So the machines are obviously doing something wrong if they don't want them hanging around. I think it's probably either on purpose or out of apathy.
Machine 24175: "For crying out loud, how much longer is this going to take?"
Machine 24261: "Tell me about it, every time you clean up the galaxy, some idiot race has to uplift and screw things up again"
Machine 24175: "Is a few eons of peace and quiet too much to ask?
Machine 24261: "Ah screw this, we got most of them this time, they've probably learned not to bother by now. Let's head back to my place and watch House. The signal for the next episode should have reached Px'omae Beta by now"
Machine 24175: "SCORE!"
*50,000 years later*
Machine 24175: " "They've learned not to bother" you said. YOU SUCK GARY!"
Machine 24261: "I guess some species are too damn stupid for their own good. Ah well, at least they got a second series of Firefly out this time"
Everyone's going on about how Bioware's going to give us a cool twist, only it's going to be the same one from KotoR, which was the same one from Baldur's Gate. :P
HA
I can see it, "Oh it turns out mankind eons ago created the machines and they went on a rampage killing all life, a group of humans escaped to a distant part of the galaxy they never reached/knew about/visted "earth""
Everyone's going on about how Bioware's going to give us a cool twist, only it's going to be the same one from KotoR, which was the same one from Baldur's Gate. :P
HA
I can see it, "Oh it turns out mankind eons ago created the machines and they went on a rampage killing all life, a group of humans escaped to a distant part of the galaxy they never reached/knew about/visted "earth""
And if anyone is concerned about the differences in graphical quality between the last batch of three screenshots released and the video, Chris Priestly of BioWare had this to say about the screenshots:
I think the different terms meant are "In-Engine" and "In-Game".
In engine means we use the engine to create a special area using the Unreal engine (the ngine we are using for Mass Effect) to take the screenshots. They are similar to in game shots, but are usually better composed and can be changed in subtle ways to make sure they look amazing. In game screenshots are shots that are actually taken from gameplay in a current build.
These screenshots you're refering to are all in game.
The newer Final Fantasies do the same thing, I think. They have a model for walking around town, a model for fighting and a nicer-looking model for cutscenes.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
Anyone read Alistair reynolds books, don't know what you'd call the series, but the ones involving Resurgam and Yellowstone?
I think it may be a twist like that.
Basically, machines left accross universe inhibit life partly because it always ends up in wars, and partly because they are making sure that the can limit damage from a galactic collision in a few billion years. But mainly these are caretakers left by an older race, that just seem evil but could be said to have good motives. They're still bastards, but that kind of thing.
Anyone read Alistair reynolds books, don't know what you'd call the series, but the ones involving Resurgam and Yellowstone?
I think it may be a twist like that.
Basically, machines left accross universe inhibit life partly because it always ends up in wars, and partly because they are making sure that the can limit damage from a galactic collision in a few billion years. But mainly these are caretakers left by an older race, that just seem evil but could be said to have good motives. They're still bastards, but that kind of thing.
Posts
Well it's a good thing Metal Gear Solid 4 is going to be ported to the 360.
PLEASE tell me you're not lying
HOLY
SHIT
This thread is full of laughs tonight! =D
Also... game looks dum. omg, no pvp? fail!
http://masseffect.bioware.com/_commonext/images/me/screenshots/2007/masseffect_14_1280x760.jpg
Yes. The 'cutscenes' are just times when you can't actually control your characters. It's all in-engine, with the same materials/textures and so forth, IIRC.
Send a pm my way if you're interested.
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2211
Excellent! Shepard mk.4 - better or worse than mk.3 that we had for ages (x06, for example)? I'm ambivalent, really, though I think I prefer this new one.
On another note, there something that I've been thinking about in this game; if the machines that the game is based around wipe out ALL intelligent life they come into contact with, how come there's still knowledge of them? Even if it is only a legend, if evebody who meets them dies then nobody would have heard of them at all.
But I think there're probably artifacts from past civillisations lying around. I mean, annihilating all advanced life doesn't necessarily mean annihilating all trace of civillisation.
Yeah, but if you have any sense and you're conducting a mass cleansing like this every 50, 000 years then you makes sure there's no evidence of it. Otherwise you run the risk of people discovering you prior to your return, and finding a way to combat you. Especially if you're a robot; in sci-fi they alway tend to be super calculating, covering every option.
I guess (hope) Edcrab is right, and they come up with a cool twist to explain it.
"Captain, she canno' take the hype! Expectation drive is going critical, something's got to give!"
I'm hoping for the Cool Twist(tm) too, though.
It's not a mass cleansing, really. Well, for who they choose to cleanse, it is, but not really in a wipe out all life in the galaxy sort of way.
The machines come every 50,000 years, not to wipe out all life, but to destroy advanced life. It just so happens that humanity is now a large space faring race and are now a very good target along with all these other alien species. So when the cleansing occurs, there is still primitive life left, possibly on many of the cleansed worlds. I was always under the impression that their goal isn't simple extermination, but killing and destroying until they've killed and destroyed these worlds to a more primitive state. This would leave plenty of room for legends to arise.
And really, who takes even 3,000 year old legends seriously anymore? 50,000 years is more than enough time for these things to fade into mythology and even become largely forgotten.
EDIT:
I like the new one a lot better. I keep hearing he doesn't look as distinctive as the old Shepard, but this newer one doesn't have razor sharp cheek bones or look quite as, uh, edgy anymore and just looks a little better overall. Not that it matters since I'll be making my own anyway.
Yeah... unless they simply atomised the top half mile or so of crust on each planet they found advanced life on. I'd like to see archeological evidence survive that. My point is that unless the machines are really stupid (in which case they won't be fun to fight) they'd find ways to hide their presence. Which would include destroying all species of even moderate intelligence they encounter, although as I understand it they would only actively seek advanced civilisations. But anyway, I'm going to stop trying to poke holes in the logic of the game and just look forward to it. And hopefully not explode.
From what we know, I honestly don't see much room for a big twist, at least not one directly involving the PC, so it probably wouldn't be as big or impactful a twist. That doesn't mean it's impossible, of course.
Oh, and another thing: Mass Effect is the first game in a trilogy. It's possible that the story may develop in such a way that it will leave itself open to a twist even if Mass Effect itself doesn't.
Um... how can they have the same twist when
And the KotoR twist wasn't really all that much like the BG twist...
I know, I was just pointing out that it would be easy (well, kind of) for them to erase all traces of their existence if they wanted to. Hmm... so maybe they want us to know about them for some reason.
I like the idea that the machines might be anti-promethean. That's a really gorgeous plot point.
Or maybe they don't care because whenever any civilization is old enough to be able to stop them before they go on their cleansing, it's been so long that very few believe the validity of the stories about the Reapers and don't care to stop them or possibly don't even know where to look if they wanted to. And if they target all advanced life, the Reapers must be nigh unstoppable once they start moving.
But I'd assume time is a great ally when you have fifty thousand years. Especially when everyone who might have known is subsequently destroyed back into prehistory.
Yeah, but it would be kind of sloppy for them just to allow time to do the work, especially since it wouldn't have a 100% success rate in getting rid of the legends (suppose you have a species with photographic or collective memories?) and, as was pointed out earlier, they'd leave behind archeological evidence at the very least.
Well, we already know there are legends, but very few people take them seriously. So the machines are obviously doing something wrong if they don't want them hanging around. I think it's probably either on purpose or out of apathy.
Most likely deliberate in my opinion, out of some motive that is completely unfathomable to humans. :P
Machine 24175: "For crying out loud, how much longer is this going to take?"
Machine 24261: "Tell me about it, every time you clean up the galaxy, some idiot race has to uplift and screw things up again"
Machine 24175: "Is a few eons of peace and quiet too much to ask?
Machine 24261: "Ah screw this, we got most of them this time, they've probably learned not to bother by now. Let's head back to my place and watch House. The signal for the next episode should have reached Px'omae Beta by now"
Machine 24175: "SCORE!"
*50,000 years later*
Machine 24175: " "They've learned not to bother" you said. YOU SUCK GARY!"
Machine 24261: "I guess some species are too damn stupid for their own good. Ah well, at least they got a second series of Firefly out this time"
Machine 24175: "True. Reavers rock."
HA
I can see it, "Oh it turns out mankind eons ago created the machines and they went on a rampage killing all life, a group of humans escaped to a distant part of the galaxy they never reached/knew about/visted "earth""
Halo? Is... Is that you?
I think it may be a twist like that.
Revelation space? Brilliant books.