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Mass Effect - Bring Down the Sky and patch 1.01 out now for PC

PancakePancake Registered User regular
edited September 2008 in Games and Technology
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.
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Classes

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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


Civilian and Military Background

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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



Talents, Leveling Up, and Reputation

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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.

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



Let's talk dialogue.

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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.

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Gears of Rainbow in Arms Theft Warfighter of the Old Republic

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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.

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Epic Scope burns more than it should.

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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.

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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.

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Vehicular Combat and Exploration

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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.

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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.

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There's also another book coming out this July under the title Mass Effect: Ascension.



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.


* 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.

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Pancake on
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Posts

  • EriosErios Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Dig the new OP, Pancake. I have a few questions since I have been away from ME for a while:

    1) I hear the female renegade voice acting is quite good? Is this true?

    2) When should I start working on my tech talents as an infiltrator? What teammates are good to use?

    Also, carnage+high explosive rounds= lulz.

    Erios on
    Steam: erios23, Live: Coconut Flavor, Origin: erios2386.
  • PancakePancake Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Erios wrote: »
    Dig the new OP, Pancake. I have a few questions since I have been away from ME for a while:

    1) I hear the female renegade voice acting is quite good? Is this true?

    Way better. Male Shepard sounds kind of bored at worst and like an angry Canadian at best. Jennifer Hale does a much better job at being convincingly renegade.
    2) When should I start working on my tech talents as an infiltrator? What teammates are good to use?

    Also, carnage+high explosive rounds= lulz.

    I usually start as early as possible. Getting sniper rifles is important, but at least getting decryption up is probably a higher priority. I normally try to balance out combat and tech progress. At least having Advanced Overload by the time you leave the Citadel is probably a good goal.

    Pancake on
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  • BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Erios wrote: »
    2) When should I start working on my tech talents as an infiltrator? What teammates are good to use?

    Infiltrator was my choice for the first runaround - the good thing to do is get Decryption and Electronics to their masteries quickly, because that way you'll be able to decrypt and reveal everything on the 20 sidequest planets. Not to mention the skills themselves in combat are extremely useful.

    Other than that, Sniper Rifles and Armor are a second priority, with everything else coming after.

    BlackDove on
  • YerMumYerMum Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    UPS say that my xbox is coming back today, and I can get this back at the weekend, yay! Time for another run through of awesome :D

    YerMum on
    Rugged individualist
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  • Feels Good ManFeels Good Man Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I disagree, but for a different reason. When I hear Jennifer Hale, all I hear is Naomi Hunter, or Ms. Keane.

    Kind of forced me to play male. Ah well.

    It's kind of a stupid complaint, but man, it's annoying. Like walking into that random private guy in the Citadel, and immediately in my mind I'm all, "How are things, Liquid Snake?"

    Feels Good Man on
  • EddieDeanEddieDean Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Just started this game myself, and I'm loving it. Playing a Soldier, and I've just done Noveria after leaving the citadel.

    I asked a friend who's completed it these questions, and I'd be interested to see if you guys respond in the same way:

    1) Without spoilers, is there any recommended order I should approach the game in? I hit Noveria first, but I should probably have gone to get the Asari chick beforehand for dialogue with her mother, for example.
    2) Can I continue to play the game after completion to finish off any sidequests, or is there some final location I should leave till last?
    3) Items-wise, what's worth buying from shops? I figured I can probably do just fine picking stuff up off corpses and boxes. What items are worth getting?
    4) Are there a set of armour and weaponry which are absolutely the best? Without spoilers, how/when would I aquire those?
    5) Can one complete romance sidequests just by chatting to characters on the Normandy? I.E., do I ever HAVE to take certain characters with me if I want to experience those plots? I tend to take whichever characters will say the most in certain situations, so in future playthroughs I'd take the Asari chick and Wrex to Noveria, for the Asari and Rachnai plotlines there.
    6) Are there any plotlines you can only get with certain character types? I.E., are there any sidequests for just Soldiers, or just Vanguards, etc. Likewise, are there sidequests based on my history or gender?

    I think that's all I asked him. God, I'm loving this game.

    EddieDean on
  • LamoidLamoid Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    For number one, the generic order seems to be (from what I've read) Asari chick, Feros, then Noveria.
    And for number six yes, your choice of origin (spacer, colonist, earthborn) gives you a different sidequest for each one, two are quite good, one's kinda meh. You're military background doesn't give a new sidequest but it does affect the dialogue for some other quests.

    Lamoid on
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  • DrunkMcDrunkMc Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    EddieDean wrote: »
    Just started this game myself, and I'm loving it. Playing a Soldier, and I've just done Noveria after leaving the citadel.

    I asked a friend who's completed it these questions, and I'd be interested to see if you guys respond in the same way:

    1) Without spoilers, is there any recommended order I should approach the game in? I hit Noveria first, but I should probably have gone to get the Asari chick beforehand for dialogue with her mother, for example.
    2) Can I continue to play the game after completion to finish off any sidequests, or is there some final location I should leave till last?
    3) Items-wise, what's worth buying from shops? I figured I can probably do just fine picking stuff up off corpses and boxes. What items are worth getting?
    4) Are there a set of armour and weaponry which are absolutely the best? Without spoilers, how/when would I aquire those?
    5) Can one complete romance sidequests just by chatting to characters on the Normandy? I.E., do I ever HAVE to take certain characters with me if I want to experience those plots? I tend to take whichever characters will say the most in certain situations, so in future playthroughs I'd take the Asari chick and Wrex to Noveria, for the Asari and Rachnai plotlines there.
    6) Are there any plotlines you can only get with certain character types? I.E., are there any sidequests for just Soldiers, or just Vanguards, etc. Likewise, are there sidequests based on my history or gender?

    I think that's all I asked him. God, I'm loving this game.

    1.) Do it any order you feel like. Then on your next playthrough, change it up. Things happen slightly differently depending on how long you take to get to each planet.

    2.) You will want to make a seperate save before going to Ilos, after that I don't think you can do any more sidequests.

    3.) Eventually you will be given access to special stuff in the Citadel's Armory, those are the only things I bought....ever.

    4.) See #3.

    5.) You can just chat them up. My toon banged the 1D-whining wonder just by talking I never took him in my party.

    6.) Not that I noticed. People can react differently depending on your history, but I don't recall any specific quests just for a specific class. Edit: Apparently according to the guy above me, there are. I didn't notice. Whoops! :)

    DrunkMc on
  • BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    EddieDean wrote: »
    Just started this game myself, and I'm loving it. Playing a Soldier, and I've just done Noveria after leaving the citadel.

    I asked a friend who's completed it these questions, and I'd be interested to see if you guys respond in the same way:

    1) Without spoilers, is there any recommended order I should approach the game in? I hit Noveria first, but I should probably have gone to get the Asari chick beforehand for dialogue with her mother, for example.
    2) Can I continue to play the game after completion to finish off any sidequests, or is there some final location I should leave till last?
    3) Items-wise, what's worth buying from shops? I figured I can probably do just fine picking stuff up off corpses and boxes. What items are worth getting?
    4) Are there a set of armour and weaponry which are absolutely the best? Without spoilers, how/when would I aquire those?
    5) Can one complete romance sidequests just by chatting to characters on the Normandy? I.E., do I ever HAVE to take certain characters with me if I want to experience those plots? I tend to take whichever characters will say the most in certain situations, so in future playthroughs I'd take the Asari chick and Wrex to Noveria, for the Asari and Rachnai plotlines there.
    6) Are there any plotlines you can only get with certain character types? I.E., are there any sidequests for just Soldiers, or just Vanguards, etc. Likewise, are there sidequests based on my history or gender?

    I think that's all I asked him. God, I'm loving this game.

    1. The proper way is Artemis Tau > Feros > Noveria > Virmire > What comes next. Many would say "There is no proper way", but they'd be wrong. There are hooks however to alleviate if you deviate from the order I outlined above, however the natural way is that way.

    2. Try to do everything after Virmire, or even before it. After you finish Virmire things sort of go on their own, but you will be able to travel the galaxy up until you need to go to Ilos. After you select Ilos, it's KOTOR one way to the end.

    3. Nothing's worth buying until much later in the game, sans the medi-gel and grenade upgrades

    4. Yes, SPECTRE gear VII for weapons and Colossus for armor, in the end, and the best of the best is only on the second playthrough when you go from 50 to 60 (can't cap 60 on first playthrough, have to play it at least twice, cap the first time is 50, however on the second playthrough the best gear is SPECTRE X weapons and Colossus X armor which was what Nihlus used if I'm not mistaken).

    5. Just talking to them is fine enough, don't have to take em anywhere. Have to talk to them after the story planets, and preferably as you complete the side planets in chunks.

    6. Not for gender, but yes for selection of past - all 3 have a unique quest that starts on the Cidatel after you complete your first story planet. You have to find the NPC to start it though.

    BlackDove on
  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Heh, I did those planets all in the wrong order. Oh well.

    And as a continuation from last thread, I've done just about every sidequest I could find. Even managed to finish all of those excavation and scanning missions.

    Now I'm almost finished with the game and am in my upper 40's. I think I'll manage 50 before the game ends.

    Heir on
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  • OpiumOpium regular
    edited June 2008
    This game looks incredible but unfortunately I always get extreme carsickness when playing shooters with a first-person or over-the-shoulder perspective (which is weird because I never get carsick in an actual real car o_O). Makes me so sad. I also can't play Metroid Prime, Bioshock etc. for that same reason. Quite frustrating because it really feels I'm missing out.

    Opium on
  • Bill NyeBill Nye Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Played and loved it back in November. So I just picked it up for PC eagerly anticipating future mods. I get the shivers just thinking about the possibilities.

    Well, after much fucking around in Vista to get my 8800gt sli configuration to work, I re-installed XP last night and it immediately recognized the two and welcomed me with open arms. So I'm happy to say that I'll be starting my PC journey into the game after I beat my last case in Trials and Tribulations tonight. /Cheers gentlemen.

    Bill Nye on
  • Bill NyeBill Nye Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Opium wrote: »
    This game looks incredible but unfortunately I always get extreme carsickness when playing shooters with a first-person or over-the-shoulder perspective (which is weird because I never get carsick in an actual real car o_O). Makes me so sad. I also can't play Metroid Prime, Bioshock etc. for that same reason. Quite frustrating because it really feels I'm missing out.

    Unfortunately, I'm beginning to get this way for fps as well. After around 40 minutes or so, I start feeling like ass. But luckily, I'm just fine with over-the-shoulder perspective.

    Bill Nye on
  • EddieDeanEddieDean Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Cheers for the answers to my questions, guys. That clears a load of stuff up.

    EddieDean on
  • RamiRami Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Are there any large differences between PC and Xbox versions?

    Rami on
    Steam / Xbox Live: WSDX NNID: W-S-D-X 3DS FC: 2637-9461-8549
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  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Nice OP Pancake. If anyone still hasn't bought this for the PC and your machine can run it go buy it. It's worth every penny if you like BioWare games or sci-fi at all.
    Rami wrote: »
    Are there any large differences between PC and Xbox versions?

    Yes they completely overhauled the UI and inventory to better take advantage of the keyboard/mouse. The inventory was a big complaint about the 360 version, it still isn't perfect, but I guess it's much better.

    Also you can order your squadmates around individually which wasn't possible on the 360, and they redid the hacking minigame. I guess the new one is better, but I didn't play the 360 version.

    The PC version also supports much higher resolutions, has higher res textures, and you can force AA in the console to make it look fantastic. And the load times are much better.

    Those long elevator rides PA did a comic about have been shortened significantly shortened unless they have dialogue in them. Most people complained about the Normandy elevator ride which is only a few seconds now.

    Drool on
  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    So I just picked this up for the PC. Looks awesome so far but there seems to be some problem with extremely pixilated shadows, mostly under peoples faces.

    Anyone else get this? And did the solution listed here work or should I just turn off the shadows?
    To remove the face shadows but keep the rest of them (even the body self shadows):

    Go to C:\Users\*yourname*\ Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config. At least that's what it is on my Vista64 installation. In XP it might be in My Documents or something.

    Open "BIOEngine" with notepad and search (Ctrl+f) for "DepthBias=0.012000" (without the quotes of course)

    Change this to "DepthBias=0.030000"

    Save and exit.

    And you're done

    Also, to increase the overall quality of the shadows you can change "MaxShadowResolution=512" to "MaxShadowResolution=2048" or even higher (I got up to 8192 without any performance loss on my 512MB 8800GT.

    I have a 320M 8800GTS, BTW. So I don't think I have other problems listed in that thread which seem to be ATI specific.

    lowlylowlycook on
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    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • SithDrummerSithDrummer Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    One thing to note is that for some reason, with the PC version, once I get 99+ omni-gel, I can no longer repair the Mako. It will slowly self-repair while travelling, but I cannot expend omni-gel to help it along.

    Oh, and fuck elevators. I'd be glad for a mod that removes those and every unskippable death/Mako/boss fight cutscene.

    SithDrummer on
  • David_TDavid_T A fashion yes-man is no good to me. Copenhagen, DenmarkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Also the game doesn't stop other applications from appearing ("Quicktime has a new update!"), but it does stop the game from reappearing.

    Other than that, solid gold.

    David_T on
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  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    So I just picked this up for the PC. Looks awesome so far but there seems to be some problem with extremely pixilated shadows, mostly under peoples faces.

    Anyone else get this? And did the solution listed here work or should I just turn off the shadows?
    To remove the face shadows but keep the rest of them (even the body self shadows):

    Go to C:\Users\*yourname*\ Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config. At least that's what it is on my Vista64 installation. In XP it might be in My Documents or something.

    Open "BIOEngine" with notepad and search (Ctrl+f) for "DepthBias=0.012000" (without the quotes of course)

    Change this to "DepthBias=0.030000"

    Save and exit.

    And you're done

    Also, to increase the overall quality of the shadows you can change "MaxShadowResolution=512" to "MaxShadowResolution=2048" or even higher (I got up to 8192 without any performance loss on my 512MB 8800GT.

    I have a 320M 8800GTS, BTW. So I don't think I have other problems listed in that thread which seem to be ATI specific.

    The pixelated shadows are symptom of the UE3 engine. All UE3 games have them to some degree. You can turn of dynamic shadows and that will get rid of them, but you lose all shadows in the entire game and it makes the world feel very flat.

    I used the ini tweak you posted and it worked great for me. It basically gets rid of most of the face shadows during conversations and smooths them out by making them higher res overall.

    I really didn't notice them after I made this change.

    Drool on
  • ZetxZetx 🐧 Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    One thing to note is that for some reason, with the PC version, once I get 99+ omni-gel, I can no longer repair the Mako. It will slowly self-repair while travelling, but I cannot expend omni-gel to help it along.

    Oh, and fuck elevators. I'd be glad for a mod that removes those and every unskippable death/Mako/boss fight cutscene.

    Are you sure it's not just the shields being damaged and not the Mako itself?

    Zetx on
    76561197966849367.png
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Is the right front wheel of the Mako made out of cardboard or something? After every fight I glance down at the status and that wheel is always damaged. I swear that once it turned red after I drove around roughly. Does a flashing red wheel do anything? I didn't really notice a difference.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    It happend to me all the time too. Whenever you fall a great distance you usually land on the right front wheel. I don't think it being red changes how it handles though. It's squirrelly as hell fully repaired I don't think they can make it much worse.

    Drool on
  • subediisubedii Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I think they just ran out of money and had to replace the right front wheel with one of those Firestone numbers they had lying around spare.

    Everything else in the Mako: Futuristic technology

    Right front wheel: Ancient Earth Artifact of DOOM.

    subedii on
  • mastmanmastman Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    My work has an excellent internet connection but your OP breaks the fuck out of it.

    MUST GET TO 2ND PAGE

    mastman on
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    B.net: Kusanku
  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    mastman wrote: »
    My work has an excellent internet connection but your OP breaks the fuck out of it.

    MUST GET TO 2ND PAGE

    That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

    Darmak on
    JtgVX0H.png
  • BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    So I just picked this up for the PC. Looks awesome so far but there seems to be some problem with extremely pixilated shadows, mostly under peoples faces.

    Anyone else get this? And did the solution listed here work or should I just turn off the shadows?
    To remove the face shadows but keep the rest of them (even the body self shadows):

    Go to C:\Users\*yourname*\ Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config. At least that's what it is on my Vista64 installation. In XP it might be in My Documents or something.

    Open "BIOEngine" with notepad and search (Ctrl+f) for "DepthBias=0.012000" (without the quotes of course)

    Change this to "DepthBias=0.030000"

    Save and exit.

    And you're done

    Also, to increase the overall quality of the shadows you can change "MaxShadowResolution=512" to "MaxShadowResolution=2048" or even higher (I got up to 8192 without any performance loss on my 512MB 8800GT.

    I have a 320M 8800GTS, BTW. So I don't think I have other problems listed in that thread which seem to be ATI specific.

    Have the same graphic card you have, that didn't help me at all, in fact, it did absolutely nothing.

    BlackDove on
  • tofutofu Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I had a dream I was playing Mass Effect 2.

    It was pretty fun.

    tofu on
  • PancakePancake Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Oh, and fuck elevators. I'd be glad for a mod that removes those and every unskippable death/Mako/boss fight cutscene.

    No one is modding out the elevators.

    They're actually disguised loading screens.

    Pancake on
    wAgWt.jpg
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    BlackDove wrote: »
    So I just picked this up for the PC. Looks awesome so far but there seems to be some problem with extremely pixilated shadows, mostly under peoples faces.

    Anyone else get this? And did the solution listed here work or should I just turn off the shadows?
    To remove the face shadows but keep the rest of them (even the body self shadows):

    Go to C:\Users\*yourname*\ Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config. At least that's what it is on my Vista64 installation. In XP it might be in My Documents or something.

    Open "BIOEngine" with notepad and search (Ctrl+f) for "DepthBias=0.012000" (without the quotes of course)

    Change this to "DepthBias=0.030000"

    Save and exit.

    And you're done

    Also, to increase the overall quality of the shadows you can change "MaxShadowResolution=512" to "MaxShadowResolution=2048" or even higher (I got up to 8192 without any performance loss on my 512MB 8800GT.

    I have a 320M 8800GTS, BTW. So I don't think I have other problems listed in that thread which seem to be ATI specific.

    Have the same graphic card you have, that didn't help me at all, in fact, it did absolutely nothing.

    I did this and the shadows appear better I think. No FPS hit. I didn't mind them before but I think they're nicer now.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • SithDrummerSithDrummer Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Pancake wrote: »
    Oh, and fuck elevators. I'd be glad for a mod that removes those and every unskippable death/Mako/boss fight cutscene.

    No one is modding out the elevators.

    They're actually disguised loading screens.
    That aren't needed on many PCs.

    SithDrummer on
  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Yeah they are, otherwise you would be seeing the loading disc a lot more. I do think it's funny that sometimes I'll take the Normandy elevator and still get a few seconds of loading when I turn the corner.

    Drool on
  • Bill NyeBill Nye Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I can't believe a 7200-10000rpm hdd can't load faster than that.

    Bill Nye on
  • SithDrummerSithDrummer Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Bill Nye wrote: »
    I can't believe a 7200-10000rpm hdd can't load faster than that.
    Exactly this.

    But the only time I was very annoyed with them was on Noveria, where they were every few feet and all missions seemed to be one-shot "go here and fix this then come right back" tasks reminiscent of Deus Ex 2. Even the sheer number of them on the Citadel didn't faze me too much because the mass transit usually bypassed them. But Noveria... Jesus.

    SithDrummer on
  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    It's the huge fucking textures that take so long to load. I honstly wasn't ever very annoyed by the elevators. I've come to accept loading, and it gave me a chance to check out all the cool armor and the details of the characters.

    What I mean is Shepard's got a pretty nice ass.

    Drool on
  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    BlackDove wrote: »
    So I just picked this up for the PC. Looks awesome so far but there seems to be some problem with extremely pixilated shadows, mostly under peoples faces.

    Anyone else get this? And did the solution listed here work or should I just turn off the shadows?
    To remove the face shadows but keep the rest of them (even the body self shadows):

    Go to C:\Users\*yourname*\ Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect\Config. At least that's what it is on my Vista64 installation. In XP it might be in My Documents or something.

    Open "BIOEngine" with notepad and search (Ctrl+f) for "DepthBias=0.012000" (without the quotes of course)

    Change this to "DepthBias=0.030000"

    Save and exit.

    And you're done

    Also, to increase the overall quality of the shadows you can change "MaxShadowResolution=512" to "MaxShadowResolution=2048" or even higher (I got up to 8192 without any performance loss on my 512MB 8800GT.

    I have a 320M 8800GTS, BTW. So I don't think I have other problems listed in that thread which seem to be ATI specific.

    Have the same graphic card you have, that didn't help me at all, in fact, it did absolutely nothing.

    I did this and the shadows appear better I think. No FPS hit. I didn't mind them before but I think they're nicer now.

    Hmmm, seemed to work for me as well.

    lowlylowlycook on
    steam_sig.png
    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Not for me. I go to Kaidan on the Normandy and he looks like ass, just as before.

    BlackDove on
  • lowlylowlycooklowlylowlycook Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    BlackDove wrote: »
    Not for me. I go to Kaidan on the Normandy and he looks like ass, just as before.

    Hmmm, I seem to remember something about two entries. One thus,

    DepthBias=0.012000

    the other

    DepthBias=0.012

    And only changing the former would work. But my file just has the latter and changing it worked.

    lowlylowlycook on
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    (Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
  • DroolDrool Science! AustinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Yeah there are two entries and UE3 reads from the bottom up so if you only change the first one it ignores the setting. Change the second one, or just change both to make sure.

    Drool on
  • GoodOmensGoodOmens Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Bought, installing, eagerly awaiting. Hopefully this will be an RPG that actually holds my interest through to the end (I'm looking at you, KOTOR and Oblivion and Baldur's Gate and....)

    GoodOmens on
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    IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
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