ME3 either felt mostly okay or it wasn't egregious enough to trip my memories of it.
I think ME3 might actually have some of the most brutal Renegade paths in the series, like ignomiously getting Wrex anonymously spaced post-genophage or 'dealing' with the Ardat Yakshi monastery. They're pretty fucked up and while I suppose they are 'pragmatic' choices in some twisted way they come with a complete disregard for the sanctity of life (or friendship, for that matter)
ME3 has you making the actual choices of lives versus complete annihilation. There's the line from Javik that's basically 'once your entire race has been annihilated, ask the ghosts if keeping to your principles was worth it'.
We can metagame this and say all the renegade choices are pointless because we know that the golden path can be gotten regardless. In universe though, the prospect of avoiding a new war with the Krogan and gaining support from the Salarians would be a lot more tempting.
I'm curious now though, since we are getting a remaster/remake... I wonder if any of the background stuff will get changed. Like will ME2 mention the Andromeda Initiative, or will the games tighten up some of the missed/forgotten story beats between games. Like most of the stuff with Cerberus or the Shadow Broker in ME1.
Especially since we're getting a sequel at "some point", and will supposedly deal with both sets of stories.
The morality of fucking over the Krogan shifts with context. If you've gone full Renegade through the trilogy, then Wrex is already dead and Eve is doomed. A second Krogan Rebellion isn't a possibility—Wreav straight up tells you that's what he's going to do.
All that makes sabotaging the cure a lot less psychotic than if Wrex and Eve are fine.
Also, the Council is fascist as fuck, right? You don't get a vote unless the Council deems your species "worthy," but you're still expected to obey its laws if you want access to the galactic economy. Worthiness is explicitly based on military power, indicating that's what the Council believes makes political power legitimate. The Council has no respect for the rule of law—Spectres' authority is only limited by whether the Council personally approves of their actions after the fact.
Worse, the Council constantly refuses to come to an ally's defense in time of war. That's, like, the basic idea of an alliance and they just ignore it on a whim. The batarians are assholes, but I can understand some of their frustration. They supported the Council's power for centuries only to be tossed aside purely because the Council believe the Alliance was stronger. Then there's what they do to Alliance in ME3. Regardless of your ME1 choice, the Alliance is only reason the Council still exists, and they still betray it the second things get hard.
There also don't seem to be any checks on the Council itself. We don't hear about a Citadel legislature or supreme court, just 3 or 4 randos exercising autocratic power. My first playthrough, I didn't really get why the Terminus Systems held themselves apart, but now I'm thinking they had the right idea.
I don't know why Liara's so dismayed to learn the Prothean's true nature. It seems like the only difference between the Prothean Empire and the Citadel Council is that the Protheans were better at being monsters.
I'm curious now though, since we are getting a remaster/remake... I wonder if any of the background stuff will get changed. Like will ME2 mention the Andromeda Initiative, or will the games tighten up some of the missed/forgotten story beats between games. Like most of the stuff with Cerberus or the Shadow Broker in ME1.
Especially since we're getting a sequel at "some point", and will supposedly deal with both sets of stories.
I sincerely doubt it. That's getting into actual remake territory (new voice acting, animation for scenes, etc) that the remaster is certain not to cover. Heck, even existing animation issues are being left alone (FemShep's manspreading, for example) and just the camera angle changed since that doesn't potentially tip over the house of cards that is the internal code the same way. In theory it would be more likely to work in a sort of DLC format, I guess, but again, that involves a lot of creating new stuff. But it would be kinda nice.
I'm still wondering where the DLC will pop up in the games, but assuming it'll be where they are in the originals if you start a new run with everything installed. It's just that, for two examples, Arrival kind of takes over in ME2 whether you want it to or not (which I guess makes sense from a story perspective, but less so when you consider that everything else just moves at the speed of plot), and Citadel's fanserviceyness does gain a bit from being played after finishing ME3, even if chronologically it has to take place before that.
Edit: I wonder if there'll be an option to disable (even if temporarily) certain DLCs? Or if you'll just be railroaded into them regardless? If you were it wouldn't be the worst thing ever but they can occasionally be jarring (Arrival, again, cutting you off from your squaddies, say). And who knows, maybe someone will want to start fresh in ME2 or ME3 without going through the relevant Genesis comic first.
Liara wasn't old enough to pick up on the bullshit, also incredibly naive.
Part of her arc, really. She starts out naive and idealistic, almost childlike at times, fascinated by this ancient culture. It's like us when we're kids reading about Vikings and suchlike, and the first stuff we find out is somewhat sanitized. It's only later we start finding out the bits that make us wince.
Been watching Alex and Vinny at Giant Bomb and watching Alex play through ME3 got me to dive back in to the ME3 MP.
I really, really, sucked going back, but damn if it wasn't good. Though for all the enhancements for the series on Xbox the MP felt glitchier than I remember.
+2
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
lmao sometimes I forget really early Mass Effect marketing went through some pretty noticeable visual iteration before it even got to where it was launch lol
If, like me, you didn't get an omni-blade when they were originally in production, you can order one now. They'll only produce and ship these if they get 3000 order by Jun 4, 2021. If that amount is not reached then your payment is refunded.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
But then YNAB told me to sit down and shut up, so I guess that's that...
I thought about it but I already paid way too much for an N7 helmet that's going to sit on a shelf so
0
Options
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited May 2021
To be fair, US$60 is quite a bit less than I was expecting it to be. Not that I'm getting one (for similar anti-clutter reasons), but I was curious what it looked like so I clicked the link.
I really hope those rumblings of sorting out overseas distribution of things like the Legendary Cache come to pass. £75 for shipping (and that was the "early bird" discounted price) was just insane to me.
I don't expect it to happen, but weirder things have...
If, like me, you didn't get an omni-blade when they were originally in production, you can order one now. They'll only produce and ship these if they get 3000 order by Jun 4, 2021. If that amount is not reached then your payment is refunded.
Hoping for 3,000, looks like they are half way there already. Though I might need to find a stand that allows it to go sideways.
11.8GB, apparently, which both cracks me up (bigger than ME1) and isn't outrageous by current game standards. Interesting that it seems to cover "Visual improvements, lighting tweaks, stability, and targeted performance changes"... which you'd think would be in place already. I wonder how much extra spit & polish they've given it.
create your own Legendary Edition Box Art/Wallpaper/Icon tool
here's one I made earlier
basically you select squaddies in order of your favs and choose alignment and a favorite setting, a bit of fun to get hype in the week(s) before launch.
"Grip 'em up, grip 'em, grip 'em good, said the Gryphon... to the pig."
+13
Options
TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
That's a cool idea, my only gripe is placement of the background should move depending on location:
Blue Omega lulz as if m i rite and what's the deal with dextro food?
It’s huge. I didn’t think it would fit my giant head but it just barely does. It has a plastic ring at the top to fit smaller heads (and a neck strap that doesn't fit me), but having my wife try it on (she has a small head), it worked but looked very odd since it's just so big compared to her body. You'll also notice the front plastic visor is fogged, the helmet has no breathing holes in it. I couldn't wear it much longer than I had it on, not only was it fogging up but I was running out of air. If I was going to wear this as a costume, I'd need to drill some small holes to allow air in and out. Kind of sucks since it then runs the risk of cracking the plastic.
EDIT: You can change the color from blue to red via a switch inside the helmet.
I couldn't wear it much longer than I had it on, not only was it fogging up but I was running out of air. If I was going to wear this as a costume, I'd need to drill some small holes to allow air in and out. Kind of sucks since it then runs the risk of cracking the plastic.
Snorkle.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
+5
Options
SnicketysnickThe Greatest Hype Man inWesterosRegistered Userregular
I couldn't wear it much longer than I had it on, not only was it fogging up but I was running out of air. If I was going to wear this as a costume, I'd need to drill some small holes to allow air in and out. Kind of sucks since it then runs the risk of cracking the plastic.
So here's how it will perform. Some of these numbers seem to make no sense at a glance, but the game(s) will have Favor Quality and Favor Framerate modes; expect extra bells & whistles besides resolution or framerate in quality modes even if the numbers are seemingly the same.
And yes, Series X offers 120fps, PS5 does not.
Also of note is 4K on Xbox Series S, which might be a first?
PS4 & Xbox One: 1080p/30fps or 1080p/60fps
PS4 Pro, Xbox One X & Series S: 4K/30fps or 1440p/60fps
PS5: 4K/60fps or 1440p/60fps
Xbox Series X: 4K/60fps or 1440p/120fps
PC: tweakable, up to 240fps, 240Hz
Also you can grab some digital goodies for free. Included is the soundtrack for the entire main trilogy (including one new track for the remaster), and the digital extras previously included with ME2 & 3 collector's editions, like art books, comics and a digital lithograph. That's all here:
Edit: the digital bonuses will apparently only be available until May 31 or “until download capacity is reached,” so grab them sooner rather than later.
Those performance numbers also suggest to me that a Switch version is technically feasible, at least at 1080p/30fps docked. The bigger issue would be storage, as this is gonna come in at 100GB+ on consoles as it is which is just not reasonable on the Switch; at least without being able to break up the three games to install separately and presumably reduce texture resolutions throughout to get the asset sizes down. It would be extra work and maybe more than EA would want to cough up for, but it does at least now seem possible on a technical level.
create your own Legendary Edition Box Art/Wallpaper/Icon tool
here's one I made earlier
basically you select squaddies in order of your favs and choose alignment and a favorite setting, a bit of fun to get hype in the week(s) before launch.
It’s kind of crazy how many of those platforms can’t hit 60 at 4K. Like I know it probably makes sense with all the new effects but it’s still interesting. There must be a lot going on with the visual improvements
It’s kind of crazy how many of those platforms can’t hit 60 at 4K. Like I know it probably makes sense with all the new effects but it’s still interesting. There must be a lot going on with the visual improvements
One X rarely ever hits 4K/60, and PS4 Pro even less so. Mainly because they were so CPU-bound. They were always primarily 30fps machines at the resolutions they aimed for; even 1080p/60 options are moderately rare on them, but always nice when they are there.
Honestly I'm kind of impressed we're getting 1440p/60 on them, I really hadn't expected that. It's not typical at all.
It’s kind of crazy how many of those platforms can’t hit 60 at 4K. Like I know it probably makes sense with all the new effects but it’s still interesting. There must be a lot going on with the visual improvements
A lot of improvements come (I'm assuming) from shaders and filters, which can absolutely eat framerates alive. There's a number of shader mods for Skyrim that make the game look amazing, but stack a few too many and they'll drop your frames from 200 to 0.2.
EA has released free bonus content to download til the end of May, for those interested
"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination."
+3
Options
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
That cover thing is really cool
+4
Options
DHSChase lizards.....bark at donkeys..Registered Userregular
so playing around with cover thing i was struck suddenly with a fun idea for the premise of a remake or alternate reality version of the original trilogy. i mean doubtless the fanfic community would've stumbled on it, because it's a pretty obvious what if.
what if instead of the beacon being the first prothean relic found on Eden Prime it was Javik. his presence for any of the events of the first two games drastically changes their implications. it's fun prompt at the very least, because it would pull on every thread and necessitate completely different outcomes and more than likely ends up with a new Prothean Empire being the real antagonists.
just a thought that popped into my head when looking at all the backgrounds for the art generator because it's like oh yeah, they were a couple shovelfuls of dirt (in the grand scheme of the narrative) away from a radically different solution to all the dramatic problems of the first, and by extension the second then third games. hell, I am sure this has come up at least once on these threads, but as the remasters loom over the horizon it is fun to think about the story with the perspective of the whole narrative.
"Grip 'em up, grip 'em, grip 'em good, said the Gryphon... to the pig."
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
edited May 2021
This would be my strictly box-art composition take on the game - the waifus/hausbandos near the top, characters central to the core plotlines of the trilogy around the middle (and Virmire survivors as the vestigial side characters lol)
Posts
I think ME3 might actually have some of the most brutal Renegade paths in the series, like ignomiously getting Wrex anonymously spaced post-genophage or 'dealing' with the Ardat Yakshi monastery. They're pretty fucked up and while I suppose they are 'pragmatic' choices in some twisted way they come with a complete disregard for the sanctity of life (or friendship, for that matter)
We can metagame this and say all the renegade choices are pointless because we know that the golden path can be gotten regardless. In universe though, the prospect of avoiding a new war with the Krogan and gaining support from the Salarians would be a lot more tempting.
Especially since we're getting a sequel at "some point", and will supposedly deal with both sets of stories.
All that makes sabotaging the cure a lot less psychotic than if Wrex and Eve are fine.
Also, the Council is fascist as fuck, right? You don't get a vote unless the Council deems your species "worthy," but you're still expected to obey its laws if you want access to the galactic economy. Worthiness is explicitly based on military power, indicating that's what the Council believes makes political power legitimate. The Council has no respect for the rule of law—Spectres' authority is only limited by whether the Council personally approves of their actions after the fact.
Worse, the Council constantly refuses to come to an ally's defense in time of war. That's, like, the basic idea of an alliance and they just ignore it on a whim. The batarians are assholes, but I can understand some of their frustration. They supported the Council's power for centuries only to be tossed aside purely because the Council believe the Alliance was stronger. Then there's what they do to Alliance in ME3. Regardless of your ME1 choice, the Alliance is only reason the Council still exists, and they still betray it the second things get hard.
There also don't seem to be any checks on the Council itself. We don't hear about a Citadel legislature or supreme court, just 3 or 4 randos exercising autocratic power. My first playthrough, I didn't really get why the Terminus Systems held themselves apart, but now I'm thinking they had the right idea.
I don't know why Liara's so dismayed to learn the Prothean's true nature. It seems like the only difference between the Prothean Empire and the Citadel Council is that the Protheans were better at being monsters.
I sincerely doubt it. That's getting into actual remake territory (new voice acting, animation for scenes, etc) that the remaster is certain not to cover. Heck, even existing animation issues are being left alone (FemShep's manspreading, for example) and just the camera angle changed since that doesn't potentially tip over the house of cards that is the internal code the same way. In theory it would be more likely to work in a sort of DLC format, I guess, but again, that involves a lot of creating new stuff. But it would be kinda nice.
I'm still wondering where the DLC will pop up in the games, but assuming it'll be where they are in the originals if you start a new run with everything installed. It's just that, for two examples, Arrival kind of takes over in ME2 whether you want it to or not (which I guess makes sense from a story perspective, but less so when you consider that everything else just moves at the speed of plot), and Citadel's fanserviceyness does gain a bit from being played after finishing ME3, even if chronologically it has to take place before that.
Edit: I wonder if there'll be an option to disable (even if temporarily) certain DLCs? Or if you'll just be railroaded into them regardless? If you were it wouldn't be the worst thing ever but they can occasionally be jarring (Arrival, again, cutting you off from your squaddies, say). And who knows, maybe someone will want to start fresh in ME2 or ME3 without going through the relevant Genesis comic first.
Part of her arc, really. She starts out naive and idealistic, almost childlike at times, fascinated by this ancient culture. It's like us when we're kids reading about Vikings and suchlike, and the first stuff we find out is somewhat sanitized. It's only later we start finding out the bits that make us wince.
Steam | XBL
I really, really, sucked going back, but damn if it wasn't good. Though for all the enhancements for the series on Xbox the MP felt glitchier than I remember.
edit: I bought one
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I almost had to buy the talking plushie elcor....
lmao sometimes I forget really early Mass Effect marketing went through some pretty noticeable visual iteration before it even got to where it was launch lol
Doot-dee-dee-dooot.
There ya go. Wait, does this mean TIM's Vince McMahon?
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
https://gear.bioware.com/products/light-up-omni-blade-replica
If, like me, you didn't get an omni-blade when they were originally in production, you can order one now. They'll only produce and ship these if they get 3000 order by Jun 4, 2021. If that amount is not reached then your payment is refunded.
On the other hand, I'm also tempted.
But then YNAB told me to sit down and shut up, so I guess that's that...
Does either hand currently have an omni-blade attached?
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
I thought about it but I already paid way too much for an N7 helmet that's going to sit on a shelf so
I don't expect it to happen, but weirder things have...
Steam | XBL
Hoping for 3,000, looks like they are half way there already. Though I might need to find a stand that allows it to go sideways.
Helmet should be here tomorrow.
11.8GB, apparently, which both cracks me up (bigger than ME1) and isn't outrageous by current game standards. Interesting that it seems to cover "Visual improvements, lighting tweaks, stability, and targeted performance changes"... which you'd think would be in place already. I wonder how much extra spit & polish they've given it.
Steam | XBL
create your own Legendary Edition Box Art/Wallpaper/Icon tool
here's one I made earlier
basically you select squaddies in order of your favs and choose alignment and a favorite setting, a bit of fun to get hype in the week(s) before launch.
Blue Omega lulz as if m i rite and what's the deal with dextro food?
Helmet:
It’s huge. I didn’t think it would fit my giant head but it just barely does. It has a plastic ring at the top to fit smaller heads (and a neck strap that doesn't fit me), but having my wife try it on (she has a small head), it worked but looked very odd since it's just so big compared to her body. You'll also notice the front plastic visor is fogged, the helmet has no breathing holes in it. I couldn't wear it much longer than I had it on, not only was it fogging up but I was running out of air. If I was going to wear this as a costume, I'd need to drill some small holes to allow air in and out. Kind of sucks since it then runs the risk of cracking the plastic.
EDIT: You can change the color from blue to red via a switch inside the helmet.
Snorkle.
Emergency
Induction
Port
D3 Steam #TeamTangent STO
So here's how it will perform. Some of these numbers seem to make no sense at a glance, but the game(s) will have Favor Quality and Favor Framerate modes; expect extra bells & whistles besides resolution or framerate in quality modes even if the numbers are seemingly the same.
And yes, Series X offers 120fps, PS5 does not.
Also of note is 4K on Xbox Series S, which might be a first?
PS4 & Xbox One: 1080p/30fps or 1080p/60fps
PS4 Pro, Xbox One X & Series S: 4K/30fps or 1440p/60fps
PS5: 4K/60fps or 1440p/60fps
Xbox Series X: 4K/60fps or 1440p/120fps
PC: tweakable, up to 240fps, 240Hz
Also you can grab some digital goodies for free. Included is the soundtrack for the entire main trilogy (including one new track for the remaster), and the digital extras previously included with ME2 & 3 collector's editions, like art books, comics and a digital lithograph. That's all here:
https://www.ea.com/games/mass-effect/mass-effect-legendary-edition/mass-effect-bonus-content-download?isLocalized=true
Edit: the digital bonuses will apparently only be available until May 31 or “until download capacity is reached,” so grab them sooner rather than later.
Steam | XBL
Steam | XBL
Lmao
"Oops! All Liaras"
One X rarely ever hits 4K/60, and PS4 Pro even less so. Mainly because they were so CPU-bound. They were always primarily 30fps machines at the resolutions they aimed for; even 1080p/60 options are moderately rare on them, but always nice when they are there.
Honestly I'm kind of impressed we're getting 1440p/60 on them, I really hadn't expected that. It's not typical at all.
Steam | XBL
A lot of improvements come (I'm assuming) from shaders and filters, which can absolutely eat framerates alive. There's a number of shader mods for Skyrim that make the game look amazing, but stack a few too many and they'll drop your frames from 200 to 0.2.
what if instead of the beacon being the first prothean relic found on Eden Prime it was Javik. his presence for any of the events of the first two games drastically changes their implications. it's fun prompt at the very least, because it would pull on every thread and necessitate completely different outcomes and more than likely ends up with a new Prothean Empire being the real antagonists.
just a thought that popped into my head when looking at all the backgrounds for the art generator because it's like oh yeah, they were a couple shovelfuls of dirt (in the grand scheme of the narrative) away from a radically different solution to all the dramatic problems of the first, and by extension the second then third games. hell, I am sure this has come up at least once on these threads, but as the remasters loom over the horizon it is fun to think about the story with the perspective of the whole narrative.
#NoBluePotatoes
And one for that other Shepard.
This would be my strictly box-art composition take on the game - the waifus/hausbandos near the top, characters central to the core plotlines of the trilogy around the middle (and Virmire survivors as the vestigial side characters lol)