@DSOGaming The new first person mod for Mass Effect: Andromeda comes with some fixes.

Modder ‘wavebend’ has released a new version of his cool first-person mod for Mass Effect: Andromeda. This mod lets you experience the latest Mass Effect game via a completely different camera perspective, supporting both exploration and combat scenarios.

Version 1.1f features a reworked sniper scoping camera for first person as the previous one had incorrect height while crouched and very badly positioned overall. Moreover, it removes head bobbing action while zooming/aiming down sights in all scenarios.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

In part 25 of a blog series on Mass Effect: Andromeda Shamus Young has declared BioWare dead.

Everything in Andromeda is constructed backwards. Instead of saying, “Here are the events of the past, what sorts of situations and stories would come from that?” the writer says, “I want the player to drive up this hill and shoot all the dudes at the top. What’s the simplest possible scenario I could use to justify that?”[4]

The player choices are few, arbitrary, poorly depicted, and lacking in interesting options. Dialogs are rare, linear, and lacking in player expression. The few characters you meet in the open world are shallow and bland. The villain is a sophomoric one-note bore. The worlds are, by design, a mostly empty wasteland with no history, culture, or wonder. Exploration of these alien worlds consists of driving around on pre-existing dirt roads[5] so you can gun down clusters of mooks.

The developer’s perception of what made the source material interesting is so wrongheaded that this project was in trouble before it ever left the dry-erase board. This team was not equipped to tell a space story on this scale. I don’t care if you’re talking about details-first or drama-first, this is not a storytelling team in any form. This storyteller might do an okay job if you want a linear shooter with fixed cutscenes and no player agency, but they’re completely unqualified to design a world to support dozens of hours of exploration, exposition, and player expression.

[...]

Shamus Young has dived into Mass Effect: Andromeda to work out what happened. Check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Hard to Swallow

While not technically impossible, the Andromeda Initiative does seem like a pretty big stretch for this setting. In just nine years they supposedly built this gargantuan vessel that’s “Almost as big as the Citadel”. Keep in mind that the Citadel itself was the largest spaceborne object ever constructed. It was created by the Reapers, and it was beyond the understanding of any of the Council races. Just one of the arms of the station was about the size of Manhattan. Imagine building five Manhattans in nine years! In space! And not just a stationary vessel, but one that can zoom through the cosmos at max warp!

And somehow NOBODY in the original Mass Effect trilogy ever talked about this spectacular feat of engineering?

Heck, who paid for this thing[1]? Where did the resources come from? The Council races, wary of military build-ups, have always been very picky about how many ships everyone has. How did they ever allow this?

In the space of just one year they got 80,000 people to sign up?

Having said all that…

[...]

For Link-Cable Mass Effect: Andromeda is the most disappointing game of 2017:

Editorial: Why Mass Effect: Andromeda is the Most Disappointing Game of 2017   

When 2017 was still new, there was a lot of anticipation surrounding the 4th chapter in the Mass Effect saga. BioWare had proven themselves master game makers not only with the first three games in the series but there other titles were largely all hits and the developer had cemented their reputation as one of the industries best, in fact we even named the game our 2nd most anticipated game of 2017, behind only The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Well time truly does make fools of us all, as the final game we received was rife with issues (both technical and artistic) and tarnished not only BioWare’s reputation but possibly ensured that we don’t get a new entry in the series for years to come.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Bioware cancels the support for the single player part of Mass Effect Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Update from the Studio

Since the release of Mass Effect™: Andromeda, we’ve worked hard to address feedback from our community. From improving animations to expanding customization options, we looked to respond to your concerns, and build on what you loved.

With each patch, you let us know we were heading in the right direction, and we're grateful to everyone who joined us on this journey. We're proud of what we created, and we hope you enjoyed it as well.

Early in development, we decided to focus Mass Effect: Andromeda’s story on the Pathfinder, the exploration of the Andromeda galaxy, and the conflict with the Archon. The game was designed to further expand on the Pathfinder’s journey through this new galaxy with story-based APEX multiplayer missions and we will continue to tell stories in the Andromeda Galaxy through our upcoming comics and novels, including the fate of the quarian ark.

Our last update, 1.10, was the final update for Mass Effect: Andromeda. There are no planned future patches for single-player or in-game story content.

In the coming weeks, our multiplayer team will provide details of their ongoing support and upcoming content, including new multiplayer missions, character kits, and what’s in store for N7 Day.

We appreciate all the millions of people who came with us to the Andromeda galaxy. We hope to see you again in the Mass Effect universe.

The Mass Effect Andromeda Team

Thank RPGFool!

@GameRant EA has sent out a survey to players of Mass Effect: Andromeda asking about its problems and would like to know their thoughts on the series future.

When Mass Effect: Andromeda was released on PC and consoles at the end of March, the sci-fi RPG didn't quite hit the mark. Rumors about its turbulent development seemed to suggest that a lack of direction about what the game would be, how it would play, and the technology used to make it contributed to making a game that was panned by fans and critics.

But it seems that the companies behind the game are looking to improve things in future. Mass Effect: Andromeda publisher EA has now sent out a survey to players to get their feedback on the game and what may have gone wrong. The survey asks how likely the player is to recommend the game to a friend (on a scale of 1 to 10) and gives them 400 characters to explain the reason for choosing that number.
[...]

@DSOGaming Mass Effect: Andromeda no longer has Denuvo DRM.

We don’t know whether this was intentional or not. After all, we’ve seen developers rolling out patches without the inclusion of the Denuvo anti-tamper tech and then re-applying it via a new update.

But anyway, right now, the 1.9 version of Mass Effect: Andromeda is not powered by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech (though the game is still protected by ORIGIN).
[...]

Bioware has released patch 1.09 for Mass Effect Andromeda. You can find the patch here - 
you can also read the full notes for this patch. Apparantly, Bioware has been working hard fixing and improving the facial animations in this game along with some problems. Here's an excerpt from the patch notes:

Various improvements to facial animations and cinematic scenes

Improved stability
[MP] Platinum difficulty added
Fixed issue where certain hair textures could disappear from female custom heads when using Facial Reconstruction Suite
Fixed issue where negative AVP could be displayed after reaching Nexus level 20
Fixed various quest progression blockers
Fixed issue where Ryder could be killed even when following directions during the guarded walk through Aya
Fixed issue where player could commit to relationships with both Jaal and Cora concurrently

Kotaku reports that Mass Effect: Andromeda will not get DLCs:

Sources: Mass Effect: Andromeda Will Not Get Single-Player DLC

Yesterday, a widely shared Facebook post claimed that BioWare had canceled Mass Effect: Andromeda’s downloadable content. The good news: that Facebook post was a hoax. The bad news: they guessed correctly. Mass Effect: Andromeda will indeed not be receiving any single-player DLC, three people familiar with BioWare’s plans have told me.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Common Sense Gaming analyzes Mass Effect: Andromeda:

What went wrong with Mass Effect: Andromeda

When Mass Effect: Andromeda dropped, back in March, I had seen all the criticism. As a defiant long-term, die-hard fan of the series up to that point, I had no doubt in my mind that, even if others didn’t, I would enjoy it. I would make it a game I enjoyed, come hell or high water.

I know for a fact I wasn’t alone.

For the first week, I played Andromeda every day. For the second week, every other day. By the third week, I was just playing the multiplayer. It took me a whole month to recognize that I had been playing an incomplete mess of a game.  It’s the black mark on an otherwise spotless IP I had adored for ten years.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Kotaku has penned down a lengthy article covering the five years of development of Mass Effect: Andromeda. The visions that the developers had at the start and how it turned out the way it did.

n early conversations throughout 2012, a team of directors in Montreal brainstormed ways in which to make the next Mass Effect that felt distinct. This group, which included several veteran BioWare employees as well as Hudson, who wanted to help guide the project through its infancy, had lots of fresh ideas for a new Mass Effect. There’d be no Reaper threat, no Commander Shepard. They could pick a brand new area of space and start over. “The goal was to go back to what Mass Effect 1 promised but failed to deliver, which was a game about exploration,” said one person who worked on the game. “Lots of people were like, ‘Hey, we never fully tapped the potential of the first Mass Effect. We figured out the combat, which is awesome. We figured out the narrative. Let’s focus on bringing back exploration.’”

...

Developed by the EA-owned studio DICE, Frostbite is capable of rendering gorgeous graphics and visual effects, but when BioWare first started using it, in 2011, it had never been used to make role-playing games. DICE made first-person shooters like Battlefield, and the Frostbite engine was designed solely to develop those games. When BioWare first got its hands on Frostbite, the engine wasn’t capable of performing the basic functions you’d expect from a role-playing game, like managing party members or keeping track of a player’s inventory. BioWare’s coders had to build almost everything from scratch.

By the time BioWare entered pre-production on Mass Effect: Andromeda, the Dragon Age: Inquisition team had built some of the tools that they’d need to make an RPG, but not all of them. Engineers on Andromeda had to design many of their own features from scratch, including their animation rig. “Frostbite is wonderful for rendering and lots of things,” said a person who worked on the game. “But one of the key things that makes it really difficult to use is anything related to animation. Because out of the box, it doesn’t have an animation system.” (Frostbite was later attached to an animation system called ANT, that source said, but it was full of “duct-taped issues.”)

Thanks rjshae!

Eurogamer reports that Mass Effect: Andromeda may receive some quarian DLC.

...
And now, via the latest multiplayer APEX briefing, we've got another big hint.

For those not following Andromeda's semi-regular multiplayer events, these missions include small lumps of new story following investigations into the kett and Remnant enemies.

The latest mission involves a Remnant observatory, which has collected transmission data from what sounds like the quarian ark:

• ANALYSIS: "...trying to boost the signal. Unknown if... tech seems to be helping even if we don't know the... back to Keelah Si'yah. ...way home."

But there's no knowing yet whether this tease will materialise into something more - quarian ark single-player DLC, as fans hope, or playable quarians in the game's multiplayer mode, or just a loose thread left hanging.
[...]

Guilded is sceptical about the likelihood of Mass Effect: Andromeda getting fixed completely:

BioWare Can't Patch What Sucks About Mass Effect: Andromeda

A lot has been said of Mass Effect: Andromeda in the past few weeks. Whether it’s goofy saddle walk cycles, tired faces, or awkwardly forthcoming trans characters, BioWare’s latest has had its fair share of humiliation since release. And while the Canadian RPG gurus have promised to patch the more laughable issues plaguing Andromeda’s launch, there’s no getting around the fact that this isn’t the game players expected.

[...]

SCOPE & EXPLORATION

Once players get past the technical disappointments in the game’s opening hours, Andromeda’s most glaring and omnipresent problem begins to come into focus: its scope. While the game BioWare promised was grand and sprawling, the game players get is anything but. You’d think a new galaxy would have more than two new alien races, but you’d be wrong. In fact, it’s even worse than it sounds, because Andromeda actually rejects the opportunity to mine its catalog of races by cutting all but four of the classic aliens from the game.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

PC Gamer compares Mass Effect: Andromeda with The Witcher 3:

How The Witcher 3 succeeds where Mass Effect: Andromeda falls short

Comparing quests from the RPGs reveals remarkable design similarities, so why is one revered and the other divisive?

Fairly or unfairly, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has become a yardstick to measure other open-world RPGs against. It certainly manages to get some important things right—it balances a central storyline with sidequests that mostly seem important enough to engage with on the way, has characters and subplots who weave in and out of both, and reuses locations in a way that adds significance to them. I helped someone track down a lost goat over here, and won a round of cards over there.

But as well as being a useful yardstick for comparing games, The Witcher 3 is a convenient stick for beating them with. In comment sections it's a weapon of choice for whacking games that were created in different circumstances and lineages, as well as with very different aims. However, when it comes to Mass Effect: Andromeda there are a surprising number of things in common.

Both games involve a learning period early on during which players have to decipher which icons on the map point to things they'll find worthwhile, and which are distractions for completists. (Clearing monster nests in Velen is as boring as scanning more rare minerals on Eos; swimming out to every salvage point in Skellige as redundant as climbing to every mountaintop cache in Kadara.) And both games have similar quest design, the way they lead you from scene to scene by making you examine the environment, keep you updated with logs written in-character by an NPC, and have dialogue scenes that either alter how you portray the protagonist or become morality plays with unexpected outcomes.

[...]

Thank you for the info, henriquejr!

PCGamesN has ranked all Mass Effect games:

A definitive ranking of all the Mass Effect games, from worst to best

Thanks to the recent launch of Mass Effect: Andromeda, there are now even more ways to be wrong when it comes to ranking BioWare’s space opera and dating sim series. The last thing anybody wants is to be ostracised by society for having a criminally misguided opinion.

[...]

4 - Mass Effect: Andromeda

[...]

3 - Mass Effect

[...]

2 - Mass Effect 3

[...]

1 - Mass Effect 2

[...]

Farflame wants to know if the Watchers agree :)

Maylander reviewed Mass Effect : Andromeda on our forums and we have done a carbon copy of that post and turned it into an RPGWatch review (obviously with his approval).

The game starts well over 600 years later, as the human ark arrives in the Andromeda galaxy. You play one of two twins: The male or female daughter of Alec Ryder, the human Pathfinder. Both twins are part of his team. The Pathfinders, and their teams, are responsible for making sure planets are hospitable before new colonies are founded there.

The general idea, and overall concept, is mouth watering to science fiction fans, especially fans of series like Star Trek. However, most Mass Effect fans were still quite careful with getting their hopes up. It's been five years since the release of Mass Effect 3, a game that, despite having quite a few great moments, ultimately had its reputation marred by the terrible ending. Mass Effect: Andromeda is actually the opposite: Its problems begin at the start, or even before the start, as a lot of negative attention was drawn towards certain animation issues and cringe-worthy, "teen movie" style dialogues seen in the intro.

The criticism is valid, as the first few hours, the ones typically seen during the trial, really could have used some work. The first step to any Mass Effect game is to create a character, and that's where the first problem pops up: It's terrible. There are no two ways about it. It is possible to create something resembling a decent looking human being, but it's hard. It probably took me 20 minutes to finally create a character I found acceptable. Normally, I'd consider that sort of thing nit-picking, but in Mass Effect we all know that we'll spend a lot of time in cinematic dialogues, during which you get a close up of the main character whenever he or she speaks, making the appearance quite important.

The original thread that followed Maylander's review on our forum has been moved to the news section and linked to this article now.

Gameinformer discusses the dialogue system of Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Is Mass Effect: Andromeda’s New Dialogue System Better?

Spoiler warning: We discuss some minor plot points that occur during the first half of the game. Read at your own discretion.

The original Mass Effect trilogy put us in the shoes of the revered Commander Shepard, giving us agency in making decisions for this hero through a binary morality system categorized as paragon and renegade. With Mass Effect: Andromeda, the newest installment in the series, BioWare introduces us to a new hero and a revamped dialogue system that is meant to be less restrictive and more open-ended. 

Is this new system effective? How does it change the Mass Effect experience this time around? Editors Joe Juba and Elise Favis discuss its ups and downs.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

BioWare General Manager Aaryn Flynn annouced a lot of improvements for Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Hi everyone,

It’s been two weeks since the launch of Mass Effect™: Andromeda and we’re thankful to the millions of you who have already joined us on this journey. And though the game is now in your hands, it’s really just the beginning.

Since launch, our team has been poring over your comments and feedback, looking to discover what you like about the game, as well as areas we can evolve or improve.

This Thursday, we’ll release a new patch that addresses technical fixes (crashes, improved performance), but also adds a number of improvements we’ve heard you ask for, such as:

• Allowing you to skip ahead when travelling between planets in the galaxy map
• Increasing the inventory limits
• Improving the appearance of eyes for humans and asari characters
• Decreasing the cost of remnant decryption keys and making them more accessible at merchants
• Improving localized voice over lip sync
• Fixing Ryder’s movements when running in a zig zag pattern
• Improving matchmaking and latency in multiplayer

There are many more adjustments being made, all of which you can find in our patch notes.

Over the next two months we’ll be rolling out additional patches which will go even deeper and look to improve several areas of the game:

• More options and variety in the character creator
• Improvements to hair and general appearance for characters
• Ongoing improvements to cinematic scenes and animations
• Improvements to male romance options for Scott Ryder
• Adjustments to conversations with Hainly Abrams

These upcoming patches will also address performance and stability issues. And we’re looking at adding more cosmetic items to single player for free.

For multiplayer, over the same timeframe, we’re going to continue to build on the APEX missions that have been running since launch. We’ll be adding new maps, characters, and weapons. On Thursday, we kick off the first of three new chapters centered around The Remnant Investigation.

This is just a taste of what’s in store as we continue to support Mass Effect: Andromeda. And as always, you all play an important role in that. We want to hear from you about your experiences, both what you love about the game and what you’d like to see changed. We’re listening, and we’re committed to partnering with you as we continue to explore the Andromeda galaxy together.

Here’s to a great journey,

Aaryn

Thank you for the info Robert Grosso and rjshae!

@Techraptor Mass Effect: Andromeda is reported to have outsourced facial animations to other EA studios.

The news surrounding Mass Effect Andromeda continues, as a new report may have shed some light on the game's biggest shortcoming, it's animation.

According to a report by gaming historian Liam Robertson, BioWare apparently had all facial and character animations outsourced to other EA studios.

Robertson, who stated he spoke to several BioWare employees anonymously, noted that the company used new Cyberscan technology, which created digital scans of a person or object that is used to create 3-D models in-game. According to Robertson's sources, BioWare relied heavily on Cyberscan instead of using artists to sculpt faces internally, believing that Cyberscan would compensate for time for development.

The major problem that has arisen from this was the human character models and most alien characters were completely outsourced to other branches of EA. After initial scans were taken, they were shipped off to other studios. Robertson mentions one possible destination; EA Bucharest in Romania, although nothing is confirmed at this time.
[...]

Techraptor has reviewed Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda Review – Finding Its Footing

It is hard to put into words the surge of emotions surrounding a game like Mass Effect: Andromeda. It has become, by no stretch of the imagination, one of the most talked about titles in the past few weeks and not necessarily for the right reasons. It certainly makes discussing such a game for review difficult, as pretty much any critique left to give has likely been stated already and is a rehash of ideas that just lead us down the same circular conversation of the game’s technical flaws.

It also puts me in an uncomfortable position, especially from the perspective of a fan of the series. The Mass Effect trilogy is one of the most important game series to come out of the seventh generation, warts and all. It is a larger than life legacy to live up to. Especially considering the growing cynicism surrounding a developer like BioWare as of late, and the massive backlash that occurred regarding the ending of Mass Effect 3, does Andromeda live up to that task?

[...]

It is the journey getting to that point that is somewhat rocky, however. Mass Effect: Andromeda, despite all its optimism, strong control schemes, decent character writing and quest design, still feels unpolished and hamfisted at times because of its presentation. Combine this with this sense of disappointment that nothing new was really done with the series, and you have a game that is good by all accounts but instantly forgettable at the same time.

Much like the character of Ryder, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a title that struggles to find its footing at first but does come around to more stable ground as the game progresses. It is a shame that the unpolished animations and technical hiccups really accentuate the underlying problems the game has. Andromeda is a good game and worth a play, but it is not a game that will light the world on fire, which is no doubt part of the overall disappointment many have for the title. There is hope, though, that the next Mass Effect title can do better. Much like the species of the Milky Way, a little blind optimism does go a long way.

Score: 7.5/10 Very Good

TechRaptor's Robert Grosso with some quick thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Quick Thoughts – Mass Effect: Andromeda

Mass Effect: Andromeda has been out for a week, and our preview of the game’s first ten hours was not positive. The game has gotten a mixed reception overall, but outside of the well-documented issues of bugs and facial animations, there is no real consensus as to the underlying issues Mass Effect: Andromeda has.

It’s a shame too, as the game itself is still quite good, despite it’s own shortcomings. Andromeda feels like a direct sequel in terms of gameplay to the very first Mass Effect, but suffers from the baggage of being a Mass Effect game. It is a legacy that Andromeda struggles to live up to.

It is not all bad for the game though. There is good combat and quest writing here, strong characterizations engulfed in a more lighthearted tone, and the multiplayer is still a top notch aspect that everyone should try. Ultimately though, the biggest problem Mass Effect: Andromeda faces is that it plays it safe with its material. Mass Effect: Andromeda will always have baggage of its name, and perhaps that does more damage to it than what was anticipated.

[...]

loading...

RPG Site has reviewed Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda Review

After the highs of the Mass Effect trilogy, being tasked with taking that universe further is a daunting order. An incredible space opera spanning three games with The Normandy’s crew isn’t something easily uncoupled from expectations into future games - or any Bioware title for that matter. Mass Effect: Andromeda's greatest challenge is surviving the series' towering legacy, and it is here that both its greatest successes and failures are found.

Andromeda's story, characters, environments, and sound are Mass Effect to their very core. Taking Ryder as far away from Shepard as possible gives the game the distance it needs to start somewhat fresh away from some of the minutiae of the trilogy. However, the goodwill built up by the Tempest’s crew and the journey into Andromeda is significantly damaged by struggling performance and a jarring lack of polish in places.

[...]

For all the hyperbole around rough animations online and for all the complaints I've had to raise in this review, it bears saying outright - Mass Effect: Andromeda is a good game.

It needs to be repeated over and over, as with any luck most of the worst offenders to its quality such as crashes can and will hopefully be patched. The facial animations melt into the background as the story immerses you - and it'd be silly to pretend that the trilogy didn't have any of that 'Bioware jank' going on - it's just more immediately noticeable here. Perhaps this console generation shift has moved the quality goalposts further than Bioware were able to reach in this title.

The back half of the game is certainly a drastic improvement on the early parts, and the way it wrapped up certainly boosted my impressions of the game. I'm particularly fond of Andromeda’s tone. It's hopeful, and feels more bright-eyed than the trilogy. Where the trilogy games each wrap up with the feeling that chapter is closed, Andromeda encourages you to return post-game and continue the adventure - because in a new galaxy, there's lots of exploring to do.

Andromeda has a spirit that I don’t want to see squashed by technical failures and a few questionable design decisions. Andromeda is ambitious and above all else it has heart - the deeper I got into the game, the more glued to it I became. Had it been anything less I would’ve sat my controller down and given up, but the journey most certainly made the struggle worth it.

Ryder’s tale feels like a solid beginning to something new. It needs more than a little polish, and probably some extensive work under the hood, but Andromeda has reassured me Mass Effect can exist without the Citadel, Earth, Shepard or even Ryder. This new galaxy left me with more questions than answers, but I’m okay with that. I hope another entry to the series means more exploration into every corner of humanity’s new home.

Score: 7/10

@Eurogamer Mass Effect: Andromeda has some character creator problems and Bioware is mulling over possible improvements but can't confirm anything for now.

We're looking at patching lots of issues and want to strongly support the game moving forward," lead designer Ian S. Frazier wrote on Twitter last night, in response to one fan asking whether facial animations for some characters might improve. "I can't say more just yet."

One of Andromeda's areas actively being investigated for tune-up is its character creator, whose relatively limited options have upset some fans.

"Can't promise anything yet, but we're currently evaluating various options for making it better," Frazier wrote.

Last week's early access trial for the game recieved a mixed response from fans, who flooded the internet with some of the game's worst examples of bugs in GIF form.

"Many of these issues will be patched out, and most are negligible - easily forgiven as you gaze out over a gleaming, windswept icefield studded with kett outposts, or glimpse a gigantic sandworm composed of flickering black shards arching through the skies of a desert world," Edwin wrote in Eurogamer's Mass Effect Andromeda review. "But it's staggering, nonetheless, that the game made it to retail in this state."

Today is the release day for Mass Effect: Andromeda in North America. The EU will follow on March 23.

Release Trailer

loading...

The Week Junior Magazine summarizes the first rections to the game:

Mass Effect Andromeda: Critics torn on 'inconsistent' RPG

'Breathtaking worlds' and 'frenzied combat' are spoiled by 'dull' characters and scripts, say reviewers

Five years after the last instalment, the Mass Effect series has returned - but critics aren't quite as impressed as they were with the original trilogy.

Mass Effect: Andromeda takes players outside the Milky Way galaxy to find a new home for humanity from four potential habitable planets.
[...]

Pretty Good Gaming checked out Mass Effect Andromeda:

Mass Effect Andromeda - What's behind those cold, dead eyes?

loading...

People are losing their damn minds over Mass Effect Andromeda's facial animations and we decided to check them out for ourselves. Yeah, they're bad. But this game is not a write-off.

@RockPaperShotgun John Walker is not impressed by Mass Effect: Andromedas opening hours.

...
Yeah, about that. The first few hours of Andromeda are a gruesome trudge through the most trite bilge of the previous three games, smeared out in a setting that's horribly familiar, burdened with some outstandingly awful writing, buried beneath a UI that appears to have been designed to infuriate in every possible way.

I had gone in assuming this would be more BioWare pleasure. So far - and let's be clear, there's lots of room and time for it to pick up and turn things around - the first few hours have been just awful.

This time out you begin by choosing whether you're a lady or a man called Ryder, daughter or son of a leading figure in an expedition to leave the Milky Way and start new lives in Andromeda. Using magic telescopes the various familiar races of Mass Effect were able to spot "golden planets" in the new galaxy, and setting out in massive ships called arks, each race shipping about 20,000 passengers, they set off on a six hundred year trip in cryo-tanks to reach the new lands. I love this start! It says, "We can be anything, do anything!" If that's the plan, the game isn't showing its hand in this early section.

I'm at a loss. What I expect from BioWare is slightly dodgy combat, but splendid writing and characters. What I've seen so far is some decent enough combat (but nothing beyond what you'd expect in a third person shooter), and some of the most dreadful writing. I cannot emphasise enough how poor it's been.
[...]

@PCGamesN Mass Effect: Andromeda has a launch trailer and its everything you would expect. The game will launch March 23rd.

loading...

s it set to current popular music? Yes. Is it edited together like a Hollywood blockbuster? You bet it is. Does it have lots of deep bass warbling? Of course it does. That’s right, Bioware and EA have dropped the suitably triple-A launch trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda, and it’s so slickly produced you could be forgiven for thinking it’s actually for a new Jerry Bruckheimer film. Give it a watch above. Then maybe another watch. Then maybe one more, and another, and a few more until its March 23 and we’ve got the disc in our hands.

PCGamesN reports that Origin allows you to check out Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda's Origin Access trial offers gated access to single-player, full multi

If you have Origin Access, you will get a ten-hour trail for Mass Effect: Andromeda. You’ll probably want to split that time between single-player and mutliplayer, though, as the single-player portion will be gated.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Farflame spotted this GodisaGeek interview with Fabrice Condominas:

Interview with Fabrice Condominas, Producer of Mass Effect: Andromeda

[...]

Was there much worry in moving away from Shepard, given how popular the character was?

I wouldn’t say worried. Anxious, probably. You get a lot of pressure, expectations, and all that. But it was necessary. As simple as that. I think at some point, it’s better to end the trilogy and say it was always a trilogy than to keep going and dragging that story out until people stop liking it. So I wouldn’t say worried, but certainly a bit anxious and nervous doing it. We barely had any doubt it was the right decision.

I played as FemShep in the Mass Effect trilogy and Pathfinder doesn’t seem to be quite as strong or badass. Was this deliberate? Was there a feeling of ‘we can’t repeat the same character’?

It’s not only that, it’s that we started from scratch. We wanted our character to reflect that. What is important is when your character arrives in the galaxy, the player doesn’t know anything about the galaxy and the character doesn’t either. That was important. So whether you decide your character is an incredible bad-ass soldier or a softer explorer, that was your choice. The important point for us, narratively, was that you started the same level as your character and you always have the same level of knowledge as your character. So on that basis, you cannot start the game with someone like Shepard, who obviously is experienced because otherwise you create a disconnect from the beginning.

I noticed Renegade and Paragon has gone, and has been replaced with new dialogue options like intellectual, professional, and so on. Why make the change?

What we wanted to move away from was any binary choices. What we found out, during the trilogy, was that offering binary choices kind of forced people to take a stand. What happened was when players decided what side they were on, they stuck to it. Then they, for example, they will stop reading the dialogue, they’d just pick the side they wanted to be on. We wanted the player to feel the freedom to make the choice they wanted to make without feeling judged. We also removed it because people on one side will judge people on the other side. We wanted to completely remove that feeling. So that forces us to get out of the binary system. And then when you need more than two choices, the resulting question was okay, how do we do it? And another dimension is when you want to build personalities and characters, it’s not only about what you say, it’s how you say it. That notion of tone becomes central to our choice. We also wanted tone to be part of what defined the choice and the relationships because two characters can say the same thing but depending on tone, it can be perceived very definitely.

[...]

IGN published a video of Peebee's Loyalty Mission:

17 Minutes of Mass Effect Andromeda:
Peebee's Loyalty Mission

loading...

Join us as we accompany Peebee on her loyalty mission in Mass Effect Andromeda.
This footage has been edited to avoid spoilers.

Thanks Farflame!

Stuff.tv has reviewed Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda hands-on review

Space’s greatest action-RPG is back - but can it live up to the original trilogy?

Ask anyone who played it and there’s a very good chance they’ll tell you the Mass Effect trilogy was the best action/role-player. Ever.

See, Mass Effect had it all: a gripping story, enthralling character relationships, a thoroughly believable narrative - and, of course, fast-paced combat interactions. Just don’t mention the ending.

When news broke at E3 2015, then, that a fourth installment - Andromeda - was inbound, the reaction was predictably one of serious excitement.

Now, almost two years and several delayed launchers later, a return to space is just weeks away.

Want to know what’s in store? We got hands-on with Mass Effect: Andromeda at EA’s HQ. Here’s everything we learned.

[...]

Besides the depth of character interaction, there’s also a refined class system - and, while you choose some aspects at the start, you’re not defined by these abilities indefinitely: character and class traits can be amended and tweaked throughout the game, adding layers of customisation to suit the situation faced.

This also makes Andromeda a highly accessible game, which players can choose to skim the surface of or, more likely, burrow right down into, exploring the facets of each skill, ability and weapons upgrade. How you feel about that will depend on the way you play the game, but the beauty lies in the fact that casual players can choose never to investigate their character further, essentially playing in default, while those interested can spend hours searching for the best ways to develop their skills.

Combat is similar, too, with the ability to play at a high level, deploying weapons, blasting baddies and moving on - or upgrading items and revolving through the large cache of tools and weaponry on offer in order to make the best of the situation.

[...]

Farflame spotted a story guide for Mass Effect: Andromeda at PCGamesN:

Mass Effect: Andromeda story guide - premise, plot, bad guys and the Cerberus theory

For all that BioWare have told us about the people and gameplay of Mass Effect: Andromeda, we still find ourselves wondering what actually… happens. 

In the original trilogy, the Reapers were established as the coming galactic apocalypse from the first mission of the first game, and the overarching conflict of the series was how to discover, forestall and then survive their eventual attack.

If you’ve followed Andromeda at all, you know there’s none of that this time around. You know you’re off to explore a new galaxy, but what exactly are your goals when you set out, and what challenges will you face when you arrive? Read on for everything we know so far about the premise, major plot points and antagonists in Mass Effect: Andromeda, including a fan theory that the Andromeda Initiative are much more than they seem.

[...]

RPG Site has previewed Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect Andromeda Hands-On: Finally reassured and impressed by Bioware's latest

Mass Effect: Andromeda is pretty damn close, and how close it is has left us a little... well, worried. The game is almost out and we've barely heard anything, so when EA finally gave us a call and asked us if we wanted to come and play the game we of course snapped their arm off.

Here's the good, short news: a little over three hours with Andromeda greatly reassured us that EA hasn't got anything to hide with its weirdly reticent marketing strategy - the game actually feels pretty damn good and seems to have some interesting, fresh new ideas for the series while remaining absolutely true to what people loved most about the trilogy. Also, no: it's not Inquisition in space.

You can find me nattering over some gameplay footage (provided by EA - they didn't let us record our own) - below. Then more words!

loading...

[...]

The system requirements for Mass Effect: Andromeda have been posted on Origin.

System Requirements

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5 3570 or AMD FX-6350
MEMORY: 8 GB RAM
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB, AMD Radeon 7850 2GB
HARD DRIVE: At least 55 GB of free space
DIRECTX: DirectX 11

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD FX-8350
MEMORY: 16 GB RAM
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB, AMD RX 480 4GB
HARD DRIVE: At least 55 GB of free space
DIRECTX: DirectX 11

A new video for Mass Effect: Andromeda that shows off squad commands and combat profiles.

loading...

Pre-Order Now: http://x.ea.com/27451
Watch Part 1 in the series: http://bit.ly/2lMDgqn

Welcome to the Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay series. In this video, learn all about how to customize your character, progress your skills, and command your squad. In Mass Effect: Andromeda, you are on a mission to find a new home for humanity. How far will you go?

Mass Effect: Andromeda - Coming Spring 2017 to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Xbox One

Subscribe for all Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay & trailer videos: http://bit.ly/1UnWxV0

Mass Effect: Andromeda has revealed its combat in this video.

loading...

Welcome to the Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay series. In this video, learn all about combat. Battle with weaponry from an alien galaxy, outmaneuver enemies with your jump-jet, and unlock the power of Biotics. In Mass Effect: Andromeda, you are on a mission to find a new home for humanity. How far will you go?

@GameRant Mass Effect: Andromeda will have all its difficulty levels available from the start and Dragon Age: Inquisition like trials will be present.

Humorous reference to notoriously difficult cult-classic Battletoads aside, the big news emerging from Frazier's brief Twitter discussion is that gamers won't need to beat Mass Effect: Andromeda once before being granted access to its most difficult gameplay mode. That's another big change to the way Mass Effect games have worked in the past, but fans of the series will likely welcome the ability to play on Insanity difficulty without having to plow through Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s presumably lengthy narrative once before.

Frazier also revealed that Mass Effect: Andromeda would have a mechanic that would "scratch the itch" of those craving something similar to the Trials feature of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Trials allowed players to strengthen enemies or hinder their own party during gameplay with the promise of better loot, and the feature was widely praised for making the game's side quests feel more challenging. Given the fact that Mass Effect: Andromeda will place a big importance on side quests, it makes sense a similar feature would be present somewhere in the game.

PCGamesN reports that you won't have many dialog options un Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda’s conversation options will be built around ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’

BioWare said earlier in the year that Mass Effect: Andromeda’s conversation options would be ditching the black and white morality of the original trilogy for shades of grey. Now the developers have gone on to say exactly how that will work.

In an interview with GamesRadar, creative director Max Walters explained:

"The reason [Paragon/Renegade] are gone is because they were very tied to the Shepard character, so they didn’t really make sense if we weren’t going to have Shepard as our protagonist. What we have now is based more around agreeing and disagreeing.”

Walters says this is in reaction to how binary Paragon and Renegade are. You choose red or blue and you stick to it, not thinking about your responses on a case-by-case basis. This new solution will hopefully change that.

"With agree and disagree it changes by the circumstance and it changes by the character you’re talking to, so you have to actually be more engaged in what’s going on, to know if you’re going to do that," Walters adds.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

PCGamesN compiled a character guide and a romance guide for Mass Effect: Andromeda:

The characters of Mass Effect: Andromeda - who you can batter, befriend and boink

Look beyond the starships, biotics and looming alien menaces, and it’s Mass Effect: Andromeda’s characters - the people (and aliens) with whom you fight, flirt and fu... umble - that will be its beating heart. The original trilogy was an escapist space opera famous for its scale, but its lifeblood was the same as that of any other great RPG: well-written, engaging characters. Who could forget Mordin’s merry songs of scientist Salarians, Tali and Legion’s debate over the soul of the Geth, or Garrus’s endless calibrations?

Hopefully Mass Effect: Andromeda will bring us many more treasured moments and viral memes. In anticipation of the game’s release, we’ve compiled all the information that’s been released on the squadmates and secondary characters from whom they will come.

[...]

Romance in Mass Effect: Andromeda - how you do it, whom you can do it with

A staple of BioWare games and cherished piss-taking opportunity for headline writers across the industry, you can rest assured that banging ‘romance’ will make a return in Mass Effect: Andromeda. Here's everything we know so far about what romance is like in the new game, and whom is susceptible to it.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

PCGamesN reports that you can craft and name weapons in Mass Effect: Andromeda:

You can craft and name weapons in Mass Effect: Andromeda, and there’s a dedicated melee slot

You’ll be able to craft and name your own weapons - including a krogan-style hammer - in Mass Effect: Andromeda, confirms lead designer Ian Frazier on Twitter. Melee weapons also get their own dedicated slot as opposed to being a context-sensitive omni-blade slash (though your omni-blade will be your starting melee weapon, and can be upgraded).

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

@Gamerant I doubt this news will surprise anyone but Mass Effect: Andromeda will feature a lot of romance options according to Michael Gamble.

Most intrepid Romeos (or Juliets) will first want to take a look at their own squad, which remains somewhat of a mystery for the time being. The ship will be driven by a Salarian pilot, and it has been revealed that an ex-cop named Liam and an Asari named PeeBee will feature as crew members. Aside of that, the galaxy is sure to hold plenty of surprises, though it’s clear some of the new species are destined to be friendlier than others. As can be expected in a modern BioWare title, traditional gender roles likely won’t play a factor into which romantic interests will be available.

@Mcvuk they report that Mass Effect: Andromeda will have optional multiplayer.

Mass Effect Andromeda's multiplayer mode will have stronger ties to the game's overall story, but will be entirely optional, Bioware has revealed. In an interview with Kotaku Australia, Bioware producer Mike Gamble spoke about how the game's multiplayer mode will differ from Mass Effect 3.

Exact details about what the multiplayer mode will entail are still thin on the ground, but players will be glad to hear that they won't be required to play it in order to get the most out of the main story. In Mass Effect 3, players were encouraged to try the game's multiplayer mode in order to improve their overall readiness reading, which determined how many characters survived the last battle. Mass Effect Andromeda's multiplayer, however, isn't required to finish the main story.

"There's a system that we use called the Strike Team system, and fundamentally it allows you to go between singleplayer and multiplayer within the game," Gamble stated. "And it's packaged around a meta-story of what's going on in Helios."

The meta-story can also be finished without participating in multiplayer missions.

"I can tell you that there's a loading screen - it's not entirely seamless - but it won't require you to stop your game and restart in a different mode. Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense," Gamble added.

According to the Bioware General Manager Aaryn Flynn there will be no season pass for Mass Effect: Anfromeda. See: -> Twitter

Thank you for the info, henriquejr!

How does character development in Mass Effect: Andromeda work? PCGamesN makes a few guesses based on the last trailer:

loading...

Mass Effect: Andromeda has a new trailer direct from NVIDIA's CES keynote.

loading...

Check out this NVIDIA GeForce exclusive trailer for Mass Effect™: Andromeda featuring new environments and gameplay, revealed at NVIDIA’s CES 2017 Keynote. Mass Effect: Andromeda is coming March 21, 2017 to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Pro, and Xbox One.

Mass Effect: Andromeda puts you in the role of the Pathfinder; an elite soldier, explorer and guide tasked with finding humanity a new home in an uncharted galaxy. From arresting visuals and thrilling combat, to epic story and characters, Mass Effect: Andromeda is truly the next generation of Action/RPG gaming.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is releasing March 21st North America and March 23rd internationally.

By Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare

On behalf of our teams across Montreal, Edmonton and Austin, I'm excited to announce that Mass EffectTM: Andromeda will be launching in North America on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 and beginning Thursday, March 23, 2017 in Europe. We appreciate your patience (and in fact, even your lack of patience in some instances) as we've been focused on completing the game. Here's a little bit of context into how we've gotten here.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is our most ambitious Mass Effect game to date. We're telling completely new stories, creating new characters, new planets, new species, and introducing new gameplay systems. And for the first time, we're bringing Mass Effect to the FrostbiteTM game engine, an incredible engine that's delivering a tremendous graphical jump from the trilogy to Mass Effect: Andromeda. To deliver on this, we're taking all the time we can to make sure you're getting the best possible experience.

Over this holiday break, developers at BioWare took home a version of the game in what we call the "holiday build". This is a longstanding studio tradition that goes back to the early days of the original Mass Effect. Many load up a PC or console and go home to play as much as possible at their leisure. Coming back from holiday, the feedback has been great. Getting the endorsement from members of our studio, many of whom played key roles on the original trilogy, was definitely a key factor in helping us lock in on the date.

Even more exciting for us over the last couple of months has been seeing the excitement build in the community as we've started to share more about the game. The passion you have for the franchise continues to drive us. And now, we're just a couple of months away from delivering a brand new Mass Effect experience to you for the first time in five years - richer, deeper and ready for exploration. We're excited about how far we are going with the franchise, and we hope you find it's been worth the wait.

See you in Andromeda,

Aaryn

@Wccftech they confirmed that Mass Effect:Andromeda will not be entirely explorable due to the absense of relays leaving the door open for new content at a later date.

Speaking about the Tempest, the ship players will be manning to explore the Andromeda galaxy in search for a new home, Mac Walters confirmed that it may not have access to the entirety of the galaxy, most likely leaving the door open for future games set in Andromeda.

@PCGamer they talk to the creative director for Mass Effect: Andromeda who advises you to keep your saves - just in case.

"I don't think it would hurt to keep them," Walters said. "Right now, to be honest, we are focused on this game, and as I've said to people before, we very much think of Andromeda as a series. What we do with that series is TBD at this point. I think right now, we know we don't want it to be a trilogy, in the sense of, we're planning this three-part story in three games. But that said, key elements like the Pathfinders, even the Ryders themselves, those are things that are going to make another appearance in the next game."

Walters said BioWare has been playing coy about the structure of Mass Effect going forward not because of any technical concerns, but simply because it's not "locking in" on a vision for the future just yet. He did reveal a little bit about the approach to Andromeda's ending, however, saying that it will be "complex," and a "big, bold ending, much like Mass Effect 1 was. But it's got a bit more variation, more akin to Mass Effect 2 in it, based on how you play." Given the not-entirely-positive response to the conclusion of the original Mass Effect trilogy, a strong finish for Andromeda has to be one of BioWare's top priorities.

PCGamesN reports about the Mass Effect: Andromeda novels:

Mass Effect: Andromeda novel Nexus Uprising will make sense of the latest trailer on March 28

Despite us not knowing much about the universe ourselves, Bioware are already hard at work expanding the backstory of Mass Effect: Andromeda. The previously announced novels have now been finalised with titles, release dates and even the odd plot hint. In an interview with Eurogamer, Bioware confirm these novels, particularly the first, provide more context for a variety of situations you actually encounter in-game - including what was showcased in the most recent trailer.

For what else there is to know about Mass Effect: Andromeda’s release date, story, characters and more, check our dedicated article.

 

As announced by Titan Books, the three novels will be:

• Mass Effect: Nexus Uprising, by Jason M. Hough and K.C. Alexander. Out March 28.
• Mass Effect: Annihilation, by Catherynne M. Valente. Out in summer.
• Mass Effect: Initiation, by N.K. Jemisin. Out in fall.

[...]

loading...

Thanks Farflame!

@Eurogamer they talk to Bioware about the squadmates, cut content and the missing release date.

Hey guys - let's start by dissecting the latest trailer a bit. In it we see a character named Sloane Kelly - she looks like the leader of the pirate settlement we're introduced to. And yet, on the Andromeda Initiative website we can see she was once a leader on the Nexus, the Citadel-esque flagship used to spearhead exploration into Andromeda. What happened there, and how long afterwards are we seeing?

Fabrice Condominas: What you see in the trailer is a tease of what happens to the different arks... obviously this is central to the story of how things didn't go as planned [on arrival in Andromeda]. People got spread out. You don't know what happened to the other arks. You may have seen we just announced some Mass Effect novels - I encourage you to look at their titles...

The first is named Nexus Uprising - I guess that's the one you're referring to?

Fabrice Condominas: Exactly.

That settlement - was that set up by the Milky Way races?

Fabrice Condominas: Yes - that outpost is something those species set up. You will be able to build them as well on the planets you encounter. Not on all planets: there are certain criteria you have to fulfill but you will be able to establish them as a player.

Mass Effect: Andromeda now has a gameplay trailer.

loading...

Explore the Andromeda Initiative: http://x.ea.com/27448

Mass Effect: Andromeda puts you in the role of the Pathfinder; an elite soldier, explorer and guide tasked with finding humanity a new home an uncharted galaxy. From arresting visuals and thrilling combat, to epic story and characters, Mass Effect: Andromeda is truly the next generation of Action/RPG gaming.

Mass Effect: Andromeda - Coming Spring 2017 to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Xbox One

Game Informers lists 22 random tidbits you probably didn't know about for Mass Effect: Andromeda.

1. Ryder is intentionally more of a blank slate than Shepard at the beginning of Andromeda. "Shepard came on the scene, and it felt like they'd already accomplished a lot and they'd done a lot and they'd seen a lot - but I hadn't," says creative director Mac Walters. "That whole universe was new to me, and so there was a bit of a disconnect between me and my player character right from the start. And so, with this, I'd really like us to close that gap as much as we can without going full amnesia."

2. Your companion Liam has a British accent.

3. You find clues about what happened to the other arks. For instance, as you locate asari escape pods, you learn more about what happened to them and their ark, and that thread is eventually resolved in a mission.

4. Some quests take place on the planet where you discover them, and others point you toward new locations. "It's about a 90-10 split," says Walters. "Once you're on a world, you should feel like you can spend your time there and complete the level. The rest are either resolved from somewhere else or send you somewhere else."

5. Despite the series' long history, the move to new hardware and adopting the Frostbite engine means BioWare built all systems, tools, and assets from scratch for Andromeda.

6. All of the systems (though not necessarily all of the content) are currently implemented in the game. Now it's just a matter of "balance and tweaking," according to Walters.

7. Enemies of the same class have different abilities based on their race.

8. Not all of the races from the original trilogy appear in Andromeda, but they may show up in future installments. "We've designed the IP in such a way that they can all show up," Walters says. "For hopefully obvious reasons, they're not all going to show up in the first game."

9. The points you earn by gaining experience are applied to more than just your powers. It's the same currency you use for other kinds of progression, like improving the hover time on your jetpack and increasing the Nomad's speed.

10. The blistering heat of Elaaden is only one kind of environmental hazard. "Another planet you might have ice, or radiation, or another kind of hazard," says producer Mike Gamble. "We're trying to mix it up, and how you survive them will be different depending on the planet. Some might require a different Nomad upgrade, others will take shelter, and so forth."

11. For players worried the scope expansion will dilute the experience: "The key for us has been ensuring that the content is rich and up to BioWare quality standards," Walters says. "Believe it or not, as massive as this is, we've actually continued to restrain the scope as much as possible so we can bring quality to each of these areas and make each one memorable. That's a term I use a lot - I want these places to be memorable. I don't want it to be like, the white planet, the blue planet - I want to remember the names of the locations and the characters I meet."

@RockPaperShotgun Mass Effect: Andromeda is set in a different region of space but don't be surprised to see some familiar races show up.

Krogans are reportedly going to be there too, but apparently don't have their own ship. There's evidence to suggest that one of the blighters will fetch up on your team, however. The short-tempered rhino-Klingons feel a bit less played out somehow, but perhaps that's because they're based on a clearer, more timeless archetype and their aggressive nature can keep them in the frenemies bracket without requiring elaborate new explanation.

None of the other existent ME races have been spotted anywhere as yet. This doesn't mean a few of 'em them won't crop up somewhere in Andromeda, but creative director Mac Walters has told Game Informer that "For hopefully obvious reasons, they're not all going to show up in the first game." My guess would be that ‘obvious' means ‘we don't want to do basically the same thing all over again.'

Leaving out the factions we know are there, those in contention to be absent from the new galaxy are Quarians, Geth, Drell, Volus, Batarians, Vorcha, Elcor and Hanar.

WHICH IS ALL THE BEST ONES. Apart from the Vorcha. Space-goblins are too obvious.

I'll particularly miss the Hanar and the Elcor if they don't show up. Actual Otherness, not just more bipeds. Fortunately, Walters goes on to say that absent friends may not be eternally absent. "We've designed the IP in such a way that they can all show up." Even if these chaps didn't get their own colony ships, space magic can solve anything, remember.

@Game Informer they report on the new 'Normandy' known as 'The Tempest' in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Areas of Interest

During our trip to BioWare's Montreal studio, we got a limited virtual tour of the Tempest. The team wasn't ready to show off every corner of the ship, but we saw some of the major areas, like the bridge, the galley, the garage, and the Pathfinder's quarters. You can seamlessly travel between these locations, with no loading screens or painfully slow elevators to hold you back.

The bridge will be a more regular destination than it was aboard the Normandy. You still can drop by to talk to the pilot (a salarian), but handling navigation is your most common task there. Instead of going to a galaxy map in the middle of the ship, you stand on the bridge and stare out at the stars in front of you as you select your destinations.

After passing through an elliptical corridor (similar to one seen on the Normandy), you are in the galley. This area has more of an atrium-like feel, with windows offering a nice view and stairs leading up to a seating area on a second level. One of the most conspicuous objects in the galley is a holographic interface that allows Ryder to modify skill-point distribution, which is how you change your abilities between missions.

Farther back is the garage, which is where the Nomad (your Mako-like vehicle) is parked. Any visual customizations that you've made to the vehicle, like its paint job, are visible as you look down on it from the upper part of this tiered area.

The Pathfinder's quarters is Ryder's personal space. BioWare tells us that players will have some control over the décor here, and the room gets more of a moved-in feeling as the game goes on. You might see various mementos in this room, like reflections of your progress in the critical path, or simple souvenirs like a rock.

@Game Informer they look at how Mass Effect: Andromeda will move romances forward compared to the original trilogy.

Moving Forward From The Trilogy

BioWare is trying to evolve what it has previously done with romances; the team has learned from the original Mass Effect trilogy, and is taking those ideas in more interesting and believable directions. "We've built on it [from the trilogy]," Walters says. "We had a strong foundation for how [romance] was working. For me, typically in the trilogy it was a bit formulaic. You'd talk to them and then get to that one point in the game where there was no going and back and romance was going to happen. That's not real life. There should be some people who just want to hop in the sack immediately. There should people who are interested in a long-term relationship. There are people who aren't interested in romance at all."

This means more mature situations and dialogue, as Walters notes the first Mass Effect spent a great deal explaining the lore of the world and the different races through the characters than focusing on their individual personalities. "I think we've moved beyond just doing info dumps on characters," Walters says. "It comes back to the circumstances. That is what we should be talking about. What are those people actually thinking right now? I think that's the mature aspect of it. Let's not ignore everything that's going on just so we can have a moment to say, 'I love you.'"

Andromeda's Varying Relationship Types

The team wants romances to feel legitimate, not like an artificial game mechanic. Different characters want different things from their romances, whether it's physical or emotional, and Walters states that some romances can happen early in the game, while some characters may take longer to let their guard down. He also confirms that BioWare got rid of what he refers to as "the hard line," where you're trying to fit in romances before you reach a certain point and it cuts off the opportunity for a romance to occur.

Walters says the team wanted to make romances more varied than previous entries. "Just because someone has a romance doesn't mean they have a longer relationship arc with you," Walters says. The team even re-envisioned what a romance looks like. As Walters says, "Think of the relationship moment with Garrus in Mass Effect 3 where you [shoot bottles off the Citadel]. Does it always have to be, 'Get someone into the bed?' or can it be, 'Let's go have a bros' moment or a friends' moment.' I think once [our writers] started to think in those terms, it expanded what those scenes could be like. But if you want to get down to the sex scene stuff, we got aliens, alien environments...we keep coming up with unique places to have some interspecies relationships.'"

Walters says the writing team has worked hard to make sure characters are unique and fun to get to know. "The [characters] that aren't romanceable should have just as interesting and in-depth an arc as the ones who do," he says. "That's one thing we did to make it feel more natural. We have to check ourselves because we know the fans want romances, so the obvious thing is to make [everyone] romanceable, but that's not real. We're trying to find the balance between 'yes, it's a game,' but we want to make these characters as believable as possible and the situations as believable as possible."

@PC Gamer they have information on a new alien race for Mass Effect: Andromeda called Kett. There is a picture of the Kett at the link provided.

The good folk at Game Informer have revealed the first deatiled look at Mass Effect: Andromeda's alien bad guys, a new race known as the Kett. Art director Joel MacMillan says in the video that BioWare took a different approach to the creation of this race than it did with the ETs of previous games, in order to adequately differentiate them from the Milky Way aliens we're more familiar (and comfortable) with.

Unlike the "clean, sleek, hard surfaces" seen on the bulk of the races in the Mass Effect trilogy, the Kett have a more "organic" look to their armor and architecture. BioWare went back and forth a bit on just how alien to make them, though. There was some thought given to designing them to be dramatically more alien than the Asari or Turian, but ultimately the decision was made to keep them bidpedal-and clothed, too. ("Definitely the right choice," MacMillan said.)

Gamepressure has collected info about Mass Effect: Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda – everything we know and tons of new info following N7 Day

This year’s N7 Day has brought loads of new facts about Mass Effect: Andromeda. Bite into our recap written by a fan who knows the franchise like the back of his own hand.

The day has finally come for BioWare and Electronic Arts to reveal something more about the new Mass Effect. Although we still haven't seen any significant portion of gameplay footage (which is to be shown during The Game Awards event on December 1), there’s some video material and information that can help us make a preliminary outline of Andromeda. Below, I will try to analyze the most important news brought by this year's N7 Day. And things to work on are a plenty. [...]

Thanks Farflame!

The GI show shared their impression of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Blizzcon among other things.

loading...

Game Informer's Ben Hanson, Joe Juba, Suriel Vazquez, and Dan Tack share their exclusive impressions of seeing gameplay and playing BioWare's Mass Effect Andromeda before talking about Blizzcon's highlights (especially Sombra's introduction in Overwatch) and much more.

To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below...

4:20 - Mass Effect Andromeda impressions
35:02 - Blizzcon 2016 impressions
39:20 - Overwatch's Sombra
46:50 - Owlboy
53:30 - NES Classic Edition
58:50 - Community emails

Best Buy lists some features of Mass Effect: Andromeda and shows the box art:

Synopsis

Mass Effect: Andromeda takes players to the Andromeda galaxy, far beyond the Milky Way. There, players will lead our fight for a new home in hostile territory as the Pathfinder - a leader of military-trained explorers. This is the story of humanity’s next chapter, and player's choices throughout the game will ultimately determine our survival.

Product Features

• Chart your own course in a dangerous new galaxy
• Unravel the mysteries of the Andromeda galaxy as you discover rich, alien worlds in the search for humanity’s new home
• Lead the first humans in Andromeda on a desperate search for our new home
• In this new chapter of Mass Effect, meet and recruit all-new, interesting characters caught up in an epic space saga filled with mystery and galactic conflict
• Fight with your Pathfinder team in battle against terrifying enemies and creatures
• New additions like destructible environments, boosted jumps for added verticality, and all-new weapons and Biotics make combat more thrilling than ever
• Build a formidable hero with amazing weapons, powers and technology
• With a much more flexible skill and weapon progression tree, you can replicate your play style to make you unstoppable against new, powerful alien enemies
• For 1 player or up to 4 in multiplayer mode

Here's a new trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda:

MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA – Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer – N7 Day 2016

loading...

The journey to Andromeda begins now. Navigate the uncharted reaches of the Andromeda Galaxy to unravel its mysteries, discover vivid alien worlds, and lead the charge to find a new home among the stars. How far will you go to become humanity’s hero?

A new promotional video for Mass Effect: Andromeda titled Andromeda Initiative.

loading...

Join the Andromeda Initiative today: http://x.ea.com/25657

The time has come to prepare for a future beyond the Milky Way. Be among the trailblazers to join the Andromeda Initiative and chart a course for humanity to explore an unknown galaxy. Sign-up now! Orientation begins November 7, 2016.

Mass Effect: Andromeda - Coming Spring 2017 to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Xbox One

Dark Horse Comics may have accidentally leaked Mass Effect: Andromeda's release date.

Although originally slated for a 2016 launch, Mass Effect: Andromeda was pushed back to the fourth quarter of EA's 2017 fiscal year in March. All going to plan, this means the next slice of sci-fi role-playing should be with us between January 1 and March 31 of next year—and now it appears Dark Horse Comics has inadvertently uncovered exactly when. 

As spotted by Destructoid, an Amazon listing of the publisher's incoming The Art of Mass Effect: Andromeda states the book will be released "simultaneously with the game" which is due March 21, 2017. Having just checked Amazon's UK site, it suggests a launch date of March 23—which could point to a delayed release for the UK and Europe.

While unconfirmed for now, the dates do line up with EA's end of fiscal year suggestion. We've reached out for official confirmation nonetheless. 

BioWare's N7 Day—its annual Mass Effect celebratory event—is just around the corner on November 7 so we're likely to discover more then.

VG247 asked Bioware about the open world design and RPG mechanics of Mass Effect: Andromeda:

We asked Bioware about Mass Effect Andromeda’s biggest challenge: going open world but remaining true to its roots

Bioware General Manager Aaryn Flynn talks a little about the challenge of Mass Effect’s latest.

[...]

How does the more open play style fit in with the choice-driven nature of Mass Effect? It seems like meshing those two things together properly would make things quite a bit more difficult.

Yeah, it does, oh yeah. It’s one of those things where we didn’t estimate properly I think… [laughs] It’s a lot of work.

I think one of the great things for us is that we’re learning how to still provide a really special narrative experience – one that is beautiful, and polished, and full of choice and consequence all at the same time as having this experience that is still more self-directed and lets you feel like you’re really in the environment and in the space and truly in control of things.

Where do you think Andromeda stands in terms of RPG mechanics? Each of the Mass Effect games has a different balance between the action game and the RPG…

Yeah, they do, definitely. So… we talk about Andromeda as the spiritual successor to Mass Effect 1. To us this means that we think about y’know… really, Andromeda is our chance to do a lot of things that were ideas that we couldn’t really do on Mass Effect 1, but now we have a chance to do them because our own experience is greater, the hardware is greater, so many other things have been pinned down for us.

That really allows us to do that, to return to some of those ideas from the first game and do right by them, and so that’s the way we think about it. Hopefully you feel the same way about the game when you play it.

PCInvasion reports on a new contest titled 'Explorers Wanted' where you get to voice an npc in Mass Effect: Andromeda. To look at the full set of rules go here.

BioWare have launched an ‘Explorers Wanted' contest in which the winner will be voicing an NPC in the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda. Two scripts are provided for would-be-NPCs to work from; one being Jordan Tate who is described as an ‘indie documentarian', and the other role listed as the self-explanatory ‘Tough Mercenary'.

To enter, all you need to do is choose your preferred script, record a vocal take (video is also acceptable) and then send it to BioWare at the provided address in the article linked above. You've got until 28 September to give it your best effort. The guidelines note that while added dramatic flair is entirely up to you, "No accents, makeup, costumes, or props are necessary: just a recording of you speaking in your natural voice."

It's a voice acting contest, so your voice is the important part. It's not clear whether the actual role is for Jordan Tate or ‘Tough Mercenary', or if the winner (the page notes a singular winner) will be voicing somebody else entirely; but the victorious entrant will be informed "on or before" 30 November. If you do win, you'll be "flown to one of our recording studios, put up in a hotel for up to two nights, and perform in a professional recording session".

loading...

IGN writes that Bioware has revealed the main characters in this game. Mark Walters, Bioware's creative director, revealed this when commenting on the gameplay in this game:

We're seeing our male character, at E3 we got to see our female character. A little surprise here: These two are actually brother and sister. “They both exist in the game world at the same time. If you're playing as the female Ryder, your brother is out there somewhere in the universe.

Aaryn Flynn, general manager of Bioware just uploaded a new tech video to YouTube.
In it, he explains how the Frostbite engine makes ME: Andromeda look better than ever
and also explains the cutscene at the end a bit. You can watch the video here .

The source is Mass Effect's Facebook page here.

BoboTheMigthy also mentions it in this thread.

Bioware has confirmed a rumor that they are releasing a series of novels based on the Mass Effect universe. Gamespot has written an article containing some possible information about the first book titled Mass Effect Andromeda: Initation.

According to the report, there will be four new Mass Effect novels in all. The first one, which is reportedly titled Mass Effect Andromeda: Initation, is being written by N. K. Jemisin; the report said it's due out in August 2016. The document also revealed that Mass Effect series writer Mac Walters will pen the last one, which does not yet have a title but is slated for March 2018.

In an official blog Bioware writes

This past weekend, information came out regarding our new series of Mass Effect novels from Titan Books. These novels will give us the opportunity to expand the Mass Effect universe and bring new stories to life outside of the games.
Unfortunately, it's still too early to go into more detail about the books or when they will be released. But don't worry, we'll have a proper announcement with all the juicy details at a later date.
We are still in the midst of the creative process, but we are working with a talented group of writers to bring these exciting new stories to our fans.

Read the full article from gamespot here

Read the official comment from bioware here

PCGamesN reported on a chat the Bioware bosses had with Eurogamer which confirmed that the original series choices won't effect events in Mass Effect: Andromeda.

It doesn't matter which colour-coded ending you picked when you were chatting to the ghost kid at the end of Mass Effect 3, as your ending choice won't carry across to Mass Effect: Andromeda. It is in an entirely new galaxy, after all.

Eurogamer had a chat to BioWare studio boss Aaryon Flynn and Mass Effect creative Mac Walters, both of whom confirmed that they wanted Andromeda to stand apart from the original trilogy.

"We acknowledged [your final decision] in the endings of Mass Effect 3 and I think that's where we want to leave it for now," Flynn said. "We want this to be a new story and it would be very hard to say it's a new story but also that you need to understand how [the past trilogy] ended."

Since Andromeda's setting removed from the Milky-Way by considerable distance - and presumably time, with the woman protagonist shown in the E3 trailer awaking from cryo-sleep - it frees the writers up to leave Shepard's story behind.

[...]

"We've done it in such a way that allows all of those decisions you made to remain intact in the canon of the universe, but also allows a new story to begin," Flynn added.

It does sound like there will be some nods to the original trilogy, however. I just hope BioWare keeps them subtle, instead of veering into fan service that makes little sense. 

"It's important for us to have elements from the Trilogy for fans to have in the background," Walters explained. "Ultimately this is intended to be a fresh story, but we want to have things for people to find and go 'oh, I remember that character'.

Mass Effect: Andromeda's protagonist, Ryder (named for Sally Ride, the first American woman in space), will be a bit different from Shepard, the developers say.

(Sorry about the typo. Thanks, Azarhal.)

The protagonist in Mass Effect: Andromeda, Ryder, is not a hero — at least not yet. BioWare Creative Director Mac Walters said that, unlike with Shepard’s story, Mass Effect: Andromeda follows the more traditional hero’s journey.

“Commander Shepard, the way I put it was, a hero (when we met them — him or her) who became a legend,” Walters told IGN. “For me, the people in Andromeda’s story are people who haven’t yet achieved hero status.

Read more.

A new trailer for Mass Effect Andromeda released for E3 which debuted at Electronic Arts' EA press conference.

loading...

Aaryn Flynn, general manager of Bioware, penned an update on this game on the Bioware site. Aaryn Flynn writes, among other things, about the new features in this game:

More Freedom: One of our biggest ambitions is to give players an unprecedented level of freedom for a Mass Effect experience -where you'll go, how you'll get there, and how you'll play. 

New Uncharted Worlds: We're leaving the Milky Way behind and headed to Andromeda, where we'll meet new allies, confront new enemies, and explore fascinating new worlds. 

The Next Great Mass Effect Experience: Mass Effect: Andromeda will be the first Mass Effect game for today's consoles and the first built on the Frostbite engine. We're pushing the technology to deliver visuals, story, and gameplay that have never been done in franchise history.

And, btw, the game wil now ship in early 2017:

But we also know we need the right amount of time to make sure we deliver everything the game can be and should be - that's our commitment from all of us to all of you. Because of that, Mass Effect: Andromeda will now ship in early 2017.

According to GameRant, Bioware's  Senior Director of Creative Development have this to
say about the game, in a tweet: 

Played Mass Effect Andromeda yesterday and then today our new IP. Both of which are looking stunning. Today I wore a plain t-shirt. 

GameRant goes on to conclude this, among other things:

Despite McNally's reassurance that Mass Effect: Andromeda is going well, the constant delays and development team restructuring has got many worrying about how Bioware's upcoming titles are going to turn out.

@Eurogamer they report on an investor call that led to an annoucement. No Mass Effect: Andromeda this year. Expect it sometime Q1 2017.

No Mass Effect: Andromeda this year. EA has said in an investor call that the fourth main Mass Effect game will be released during the first quarter of 2017, which spans January to end of March.

That period represents the fourth quarter of EA's financial year - which begins April, ends March - and blockbusters earmarked for this period tend to come out as close to the end of March as possible. This allows maximum time in development while keeping the release within the financial year.

Mind you, Mass Effect 2 came out at the end of January and Mass Effect 3 at the beginning of March, so there's hope for a marginally earlier launch.

The Mass Effect Andromeda Lead Writer Chris Schlerf has announced his departure via a series of tweets. Maybe not surprising considering his ties to Bungie and Halo 4.

To confirm what some folks asked about a few months back, I am no longer working on ME:A at BioWare Montreal.

https://twitter.com/schlerf/status/699403211266916352

Sincerely one of the best experiences of my career-I'm incredibly grateful to have worked w/ such talented & truly wonderful human beings.

https://twitter.com/schlerf/status/699403331333033984

Think MEA is really gonna blow people away; couldn't be prouder to be part of it, & excited like a lil kid to play the final when it's out.

https://twitter.com/schlerf/status/699403406008410112

All that said, very happy to be back in Seattle, working with this scrappy little company called Bungie that some of you may have heard of.

Bioware has confirmed that Mass Effect: Andromeda will be shown off at this year's E3.

It seems like we’ve been waiting for some truly big news about Mass Effect: Andromeda for quite a while now. Bioware seems keenly aware of that fact and the company announced the date when we’ll finally get that big news. The company revealed they will be showing off their new title at this coming E3. As we’ve pointed out, Bioware is redefining storytelling with this latest iteration.

The company announced on their official page that they would be showing the game off  and said they were quite excited to be able to show more of the game that they have mostly just been talking about. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing Bioware talked about on their page. They also looked back at the year the company has had when it comes to games, particularly they mentioned the story of games like Dragon Age: Inquisition.

“At conventions from coast to coast, we met countless people who told us stories that made us laugh, cry, and remember why we make games. We saw fantastic cosplay and even put on a fashion show full of brand-new items that we developed based on feedback from all of you,” the company said. Now we’ll just have to wait and see what kind of information the game will be bringing to the show at E3 but it seems likely whatever they do show is going to be worth the wait.

More information.

Should Mass Effect's newest installment change up the basic formula of storytelling?  GamingBolt weighs in.

There’s no easy way to decide how Mass Effect: Andromeda should go about its story. Should it go full open-world sandbox and allow players to craft their own narrative? Should it lead players down a multitude of curated scenarios? Should it approach quests like the Witcher 3 does, balancing scripting and personality with memorable sub-plots? What could Bioware possibly due to redefine story-telling with Mass Effect: Andromeda? There are plenty of ways to go about it and the developer could even pick and choose various practices to cull together some new way of advancing the plot.

Perhaps in this day and age it’s just unrealistic to expect a revolutionary new form of story-telling in video games like Mass Effect. You can experiment to your heart’s content with games like Her Story and Undertale but how do you possibly apply those principles to the Mass Effect universe without alienating its fans? The last time Bioware experimented with its story-telling and offered a conclusion that fans didn’t agree with it earned them near universal hatred. However, Mass Effect did manage to present a third person shooter/RPG title with a comprehensive story and universe to explore. Considering the stories in some games with higher budgets these days, Mass Effect was ground-breaking in retrospect.

More information.

Select/start discusses Mass Effect: Andromeda's launch date, save game transfers, and more.

More information.

Chris Wynn, senior development director for Mass Effect: Andromeda, has left both the project and Bioware.

Thanks, Couch.

Chris Wynn, the senior development director for Mass Effect: Andromeda, has announced he's left both the project and Bioware. He tweeted out the news on December 22nd:

As of this time, no reason have been given for his departure from the studio.

Before working on Bioware's sci-fi RPG series, Wynn worked on franchises like Gears of War and Madden. He has not revealed if he has any new projects lined up.

Update: Bioware has issued a statement concerning Wynn's departure: "Chris was a great member of the team. We want to thank him for his contributions and we wish him the best in his new adventures. Development of Mass Effect Andromeda continues to move full speed ahead at BioWare Montreal, Edmonton and Austin."

More information.

Mass Effect: Andromeda level designer Jos Hendriks is playing ME:A properly for the first time, and has taken to Twitter to share his excitement over the upcoming space opera.

Mass Effect Andromeda level designer Jos Hendriks has taken to Twitter, to share that he has been playing Andromeda properly, for the first time. According Hendriks, he now has played Bioware’s upcoming title in context with content created by his fellow team members.

Over the past year, Bioware developers have been teasing Andromeda on more than one occasion, but the most recent tweets from Bioware’s level designer, reveal some new info regarding the development process of the 3rd-person action RPG.

The next Mass Effect installment is scheduled for a release in the 4rd quarter of 2016, but if Hendrik’s recent tweets are to be believed, he’s now “playing the game like you would if/when you get it"...

More information.

Here is the official video from Mass Effect: Andromeda's Extra Life N7 day (no spoilers included).

Thanks Eye.

With lack of news on the new Mass Effect game Andromeda, even a tweet is perhaps interesting enough. BleedingCool spotted (and Eye infomed us of) the tweet from Senior director of creative development Alistair McNally, stating that the game will be the largest and best of the series.

Spent today reviewing creative progress on #MassEffectAndromeda. I believe it to be the best (and certainly largest) Mass Effect ever! #Hype

Ars Technica has done an interview with Aaryn Flynn and Creative Director Mac Walters. 
Here's a quote about how the the game will start from a clean slate:

The idea of having the slate wiped clean, so to speak, is very attractive to both Flynn and Walters; Flynn mentioned that it's long been a regret of Walters that they spread the Mass Effect story far out over the entire Milky Way galaxy, with the game's galactic map showing a civilization that appears to stretch from arm to arm without too many unexplored nooks and crannies."With Andromeda," said Walters, "our goal is to start that at a much smaller scale-though the scales are still massive-and give you a sense that there is much more to explore, rather than saying ‘here's the whole galaxy.'"

Thanks to Anacronian Stryx at the Bioware forums for finding this.

Aaryn Flynn has updated the Bioware blog with news that the new game in this series will
be called Mass Effect: Andromeda. 

Flynn says this about the game: 

While we aren't ready to go into too many details just yet, as you saw in the trailer and can tell by the name, this game is very much a new adventure, taking place far away from and long after the events of the original trilogy. You will play a human, male or female, though that's actually not the character you saw in the trailer (more on that later). You'll be exploring an all-new galaxy, Andromeda, and piloting the new and improved Mako you saw. And through it all, you will have a new team of adventurers to work with, learn from, fight alongside of, and fall in love with.

You can view the Mako and other things in the trailer here. Be sure to listen to the music
as well as you're in for a surprise.

According to Aaryn Flynn:

.....we are still many months away from the game's release date in holiday 2016

Conal Pierce has made this thread about the upcoiming game on the Bioware forums.