Wednesday, April 5th 2017
Bioware Commits to Mass Effect: Andromeda Support; Will Act on Feedback
Mass Effect Andromeda was one of the most awaited launches of 2017, though an argument can be made that the game is currently in beta. The Mass Effect trilogy was one of the best-realized trilogies in gaming - let down, in the eyes of some users, by its ending; but if the indoctrination theory has something to go for it, I think it's one of the best endings that ever took form in this media. The original trilogy really went to show how a universe steeped in narrative, with an overarching plan already aligned for its trio of games, could deliver an intense, high-quality sci-fi experience.
Taking on a whole new galaxy should have been a time to improve and rebuild old systems, not breaking what was so very well done before. Even if the game is a looker, with the Frostbite 3 engine bringing graphics to the forefront, some things have taken a turn for the worst in a bid to save development time and resources. Mass Effect: Andromeda came out in what is an almost universally agreed unfinished state, with facial animations and overall writing suffering in quality compared to the previous installments, and a plethora of bugs fitter to an early access release than a AAA game. Now, Bioware has come forward, committing to act on fans' feedback and making up for the deficits that have no place in a Bioware game.
To wit, the company has pledged a number of patches in the coming months that address the games' numerous flaws, be it physics based (characters have appeared with crates stuck to their heads, enemies have spawned halfway through the ground), increased work on voice-overs, reworking some relationship arcs, and also the all-important facial animations. Because nothing is more immersion-breaking than a character with wonky facial animations and eyes that look like marbles in a spinning well saying something like "My face is tired".
Check out the upcoming list of fixes for the first update from Bioware, v1.05, that incorporates fans' feedback, due to release this Thursday, starting with miscellaneous bug fixes:
Taking on a whole new galaxy should have been a time to improve and rebuild old systems, not breaking what was so very well done before. Even if the game is a looker, with the Frostbite 3 engine bringing graphics to the forefront, some things have taken a turn for the worst in a bid to save development time and resources. Mass Effect: Andromeda came out in what is an almost universally agreed unfinished state, with facial animations and overall writing suffering in quality compared to the previous installments, and a plethora of bugs fitter to an early access release than a AAA game. Now, Bioware has come forward, committing to act on fans' feedback and making up for the deficits that have no place in a Bioware game.
Check out the upcoming list of fixes for the first update from Bioware, v1.05, that incorporates fans' feedback, due to release this Thursday, starting with miscellaneous bug fixes:
- Fixed an issue with Ryder's movements when running in a zig zag pattern
- Fixed various collision issues
- Fixed bugs where music or VO wouldn't play or wasn't correct
- Fixed issue where global squad mate banter sometimes wasn't firing on UNCs
- Fixed issue where player was unable to access the Remnant Console Interface after failing decryption multiple times
- Fixed issue where fast travel is sometimes disabled after recruiting Drack until the player reloads a save
- Fixed issue where Ryder can become stuck in the start of Biotic Charge Pose
- Fixes issues related to some saves
- Fixed issue where objective sometimes becomes un-interactable for players in multiplayer
- Streaming and stability improvements
- Improved tutorial placement
- Increased inventory limits
- Single player balance changes: Ammo crates, armor, weapons, nomad, profiles, attacks, and progression
- Multiplayer balance changes: Weapons, cover, and enemies (check back for detailed notes on balance changes)
- Improved matchmaking and latency in multiplayer
- Added option to skip autopilot sequences in the galaxy map
- Decreased the cost of remnant decryption keys and made them more accessible at merchants
- Improved logic, timing, and continuity for relationships and story arcs
- Improved lip-sync and facial acting during conversations, including localized VO
- Improved the appearance of eyes for human and asari characters
32 Comments on Bioware Commits to Mass Effect: Andromeda Support; Will Act on Feedback
Agreed Witcher 3 had also good stories. Just like ME1,2,3 ;)
Also, game recieves patches. Write stories on important stuff instead, like how Utopia was released yesterday, or how Steve is making serious progress on C# Aurora, or on DF's myth generator. You know, things people are actually interested in. People who aren't wankers.
Seriously, Mass Effect is so terrible it makes me angry. It's almost Fallout 4 terrible.
Now in Andromeda you have all of the above, but without the good characters. Not to mention the god awful dialogs. FFS you have a character whose face is tired with dealing with everything.
The only thing this game has going for it, is combat. But you know... if I wanted a 3rd PS with good action and combat, I'd play Gears of War.
Also bear in mind that all of the great artists, that worked on epic games of old, left Bioware a long time ago. Don't expect quality games from them in the near future.
That is also what I disliked about DA:I, it took away from the immersion SO much that it was full of map markers, and forced into this open world concept. With that game, the game concept took precedence over the immersion factor and the streamlined experience. For similar reasons I had more fun with Morrowind for all its clunkiness (try following a quest line there!) and mystery, than I had with the sequels that pushed map markers in your face.
The biggest joke about Bioware really is that the team that was responsible for their legendary status (Baldur's Gate), is actually a different studio entirely named Black Isle :) I'm really getting old. Shit.