Mass Effect™: Andromeda

[Gryphon]

[Hiromi]

Good looking trailer

[Sardorim]

No gameplay shown at all...

ME3 left a hugely bad taste in my mouth so this has to really blow my mind to get me to open my wallet.

[Michael P]

No gameplay shown at all...

Why would you expect any 18 months out?

[Xero Kaiser]

I need to see gameplay and hear details before I give a shit. Bioware games are no longer an automatic purchase for me.

[Sardorim]

Why would you expect any 18 months out?

Because they shouldn't show a trailer if they have nothing done enough yet.

[DurararaFTW]

Why would you expect any 18 months out?

Because there have been plenty of games that have shown gameplay more then 18 months out at E3?

Though personally, I'm more upset we don't get any voice acting, partymembers or even the new ship. We just got nothing, except the word Andromeda. And we already knew ME was going to that galaxy.

[Hiromi]

Game is 18 months away, that means Beta likely won't even start until spring or summer of next year, which means we're probably still in pre alpha or at best very VERY early ALpha which means I sincerely doubt there's anything worth showing off yet, this was the gaming equivalent of a pre teaser trailer

Because there have been plenty of games that have shown gameplay more then 18 months out at E3?

Though personally, I'm more upset we don't get any voice acting, partymembers or even the new ship. We just got nothing, except the word Andromeda. And we already knew ME was going to that galaxy.

game play videos this far out are virtually worthless and very rarely resemble the final product anything more than vaguely

Edit: I mean not everything is Kingdom Hearts 3 with a dev cycle that's apparently going to last half a decade

[simbob4000]

I'm going to guess that when it comes to setting up shop it's going to be less interesting than the base building stuff in Phantom Pain. Right now this game basically sounds like Mass Effect: Inquisition

Why would you expect any 18 months out?

Because this is the second year the game has been at E3.

Need to mentally prepare myself to begin a new trilogy that will occupy 400 hours of my life, at the minimum. I'm coming for you, Andromeda.

It's BioWare, the only winning move is not to play at all.

[William300]

I wonder which MA3 ending they will choose? I hope the synthesis ending, I think it has the most potential for future stories

[Immortal Weapon]

Why would you expect any 18 months out?

There were other games at E3 that are going to be released in that timeframe and showed gameplay.

game play videos this far out are virtually worthless and very rarely resemble the final product anything more than vaguely

Edit: I mean not everything is Kingdom Hearts 3 with a dev cycle that's apparently going to last half a decade

While it's likely any early gameplay footage wouldn't reflect the final product but at least we'll have an idea about how the game will play and likely take shape. A CG trailer gives us nothing.

[Crimz]

[Darth Godzilla]

The bullet points from about a week ago, (which are talked about in the video) multiplayer portion cut for space:

Backstory
-Around 2185, at the height of galactic progress, unaware of the impending Reaper invasion (though after Sovereign), several species band together for the "Andromeda Initiative"
-4 Arks, each carrying a different race, are built, housing thousands of individuals to chart a course to Andromeda
-Turians are confirmed in the game
-The Heleus Cluster is noted as having a significant amount of "Golden Worlds", or planets ripe for life
-Each ark is led by a "Pathfinder"
-The Pathfinder, recon teams and others onboard are in cryosleep, unaware of what transpires in the Milky Way after they depart
-You play as either Scott or Sara Ryder, the children of Alec Ryder (pathfinder of the human ark)
-Alec Ryder is voiced by Clancy Brown
-Events at the start of the game occur that pass this role down to you, you are untested and unproven, unlike Commander Shepard of the previous trilogy
-This doesn't mean Mass Effect is Ryder's story from now on, they want the game to feel like a complete story (while teasing other stories that could happen)
-More customization options than previous games
-You can customize your father and your sibling, though not as extensively
-The "Nexus" is basically a forward command center staffed by multiple species that arrives in Andromeda early to pave the way for the Arks
-The Hyperion (humanity's ark) arrives at an incorrect location that's volatile and loses contact with the other arks and Nexus

Inspiration
-The (much improved) Mako of ME1, the loyalty missions of ME2, the multiplayer of ME3

Combat
-Global cooldowns are now replaced by individual timers
-Powers are instead hotkeyed for quick use, no longer pausing to bring up a wheel and aim (you can still pause the combat but it's not how BioWare intends combat to function)
-Dynamic cover system (ala TLOU)
-Still a cover based shooter with a goal to get the player moving around the battlefield more
-Jetpack allows for more movement variety; you can quick dash instead of rolling
-Jetpack has a hover function that allows you to hit enemies seeking cover or survey your surroundings
-Less emphasis on linear, clearly telegraphed environments that tell you a combat encounter is coming (though linear areas are still in the game)
-Game Informer's hands on was positive, feel the game has a clearer identity in combat than previous games
-You still queue up attacks, combos, order your squad, etc
-All key elements are still intact but the studio wanted to encourage more experimentation and wider variety of abilities

-Class system is gone; instead you have full access to abilities from all classes, you can mix and match skills from tech, soldier or biotics
-Goal is to allow players to try different approaches to combat without being locked in at the start
-However, you can still specialize once you invest enough points into a category of skills, you unlock a profile that can get you bonuses for your particular play style
-This is where class names like "Vanguard" (invest in combat and biotics) and "Adept" (invest in biotics) resurface
-Invest in multiple categories and you unlock the "Explorer" profile
-There is a narrative reason that allows you to reconfigure your points throughout the game so that you can try out multiple gameplay approaches without making multiple characters
-You can customize your helmet, chest, shoulders, arms and legs, more extensive than previous trilogy
-Many familiar weapons return, as well as new melee options like swords and hammers

Enemy/Environments/Crafting
-The 'Kett' are the main enemy
-The team wanted players to experience the first time encountering a new alien species vs already having it established in prior games
-Rather than painting them as mortal enemies, BioWare wanted to make them feel foreboding but not ugly as they want you to also empathize with them
-Instead of having "linear slices" of planets that you land on, you explore these planets from the surface to their underbelly
-Critical paths, optional planets, major hubs, loyalty missions return
-Your land vehicle is designated the "Nomad", and the team got special guidance from NFS developers on its handling.
-The Nomad isn't sluggish and cumbersome like the Mako, it's very fast, still boosts and maneuvers much better
-The Nomad doesn't have weapons, you can customize things like its speed and appearance
-BioWare did not want to repeat having things like mineral nodes and multiple identical outposts scattered across planets
-Points of interest include combat encounters, puzzles, narrative beats etc on planets
-One planet, called 'Elaaden', is flagged as a possible habitat zone, however the surface is hazardous (no water, extremely hot); you can be pointed in this direction in multiple ways, for example, a Krogan can request the Pathfinder to find a missing colony ship or you can just choose to land on the planet yourself and see what you find
-On planets, one of your priorities is to scout for drop zones for your crew that drop "forward stations" that establishes a foothold for you
-These stations allow for changing up your loadout, fast travel point, etc
-Planets can have multiple dangers like acid pools, burning wreckage, weather etc that can all kill you
-Most planets have at least one major enemy base
-Planets can have areas, encounters and "super bosses" that are too tough for you to handle at first, encouraging players to come back later
-Since Andromeda is a new galaxy, Ryder can actively scan and discover things in the environments; that gets sent back for analysis and unlocks new technologies for the player
-Scanning and discovering these things also allows you to obtain blueprints to craft weapons and armor for yourself
-You can create a wide array of items, not just ammo types and weapon mods, items that haven't been seen before in the Milky Way (thanks to new alien tech)
-Some plot threads and missions lead you across multiple planets

Squadmates
-Peebee (nickname): Asari squadmate shown in previous footage. Went off on her own after arriving on the Nexus and described as having a "bubbly personality". She's smart and not concerned with social norms and "niceties".
-Liam: Arrived with the Pathfinder, former police officer and described as having a "light attitude", bringing levity to situations

The Tempest (Your Ship)
-Important to harken back to the Normandy as it was a fan favorite
-There are no loading screens as you move through the ship
-Galaxy map returns but rather than piloting a mini ship on a map, it is more immersive, you select a planet, the game gives you sense of traveling towards that planet, and when you back out, you're immediately at your destination
-You don't pilot the ship manually, but it feels seamless as you go from planet to planet and see them from your bridge getting closer in the window
-They wanted a seamless experience from picking a planet to walking down to your cargo hold, hopping into the Nomad and landing on a planet. There is a landing sequence and you get off the ship. No more loading screens and instantly popping up on the surface of a planet.

Relationships/Characters
-There are more relationships in the game than any other Bioware game (as they noted fans make a big emphasis on romance in the games)
-The squadmate with the least amount of lines in Andromeda has more lines than the squadmate with the most amount of lines in ME3
-Due to complications in the awakening process, your sibling won't join you in combat but you can interact with them and build a relationship
-Many of these dealings are optional, and discovering more about the Ryder family is a plot thread
-BioWare is confident the details of this story are what differentiates it from a traditional "hero's journey"
-Loyalty missions return but they are not critical to the ending of the game; you can complete them after you complete the main story path for example
-Emphasis that relationships don't just culminate in a sex scene, but rather characters can just want to get in the sack, while others are interested in long term relationships and others still aren't interested at all. Bioware wanted to capture more "shooting bottles with Garrus" moments in the game, of which there are plenty

Choices
-No more Paragon/Renegade system
-They want more nuance and subtlety and giving the player more opportunity to express themselves
-You can agree or disagree with someone without being punished or cornered into a paragon or renegade choice
-Dialogue option tones: heart, head, professional and casual.
-These don't affect you or sway a meter one way or another, rather they allow you freedom without worrying about unintended consequences
-"Narrative actions" (previously "interrupts) return but rather than giving a "red"=bad or "blue"=good choice, it can say "shoot", leaving more ambiguity to your choice
-Decisions aren't necessarily obvious "right" or "wrong", there are pros and cons to each and you'll just have to play the game the way you want

The future
-Mass Effect: Andromeda leaves the door open for more games (obviously)
-New game+ mode allows you to change your gender if you choose
-BioWare is coy about multiple endings; "it's a suprise", "it's different than the trilogy"

Some of the changes sound good, like the combat stuff. Some are a bit worrying, like the vehicle not having combat options. Does that mean those big open spaces won't have combat? That sounds boring.

[Darth Godzilla]

Was really hoping for the best but that gameplay trailer does not look good. That the environments looks way too video gamey fakey for what they're going for. That first place the player is running around in starting at the 1:05 mark looks less like a place and more like a video game hub area with a few NPCs going standing about here and there. That would in and over itself be a terrible thing, but it seems to run counter to what BioWare is trying to do. Same can be said for all the environments the video shows off, they all look less like actually locations, (which has nothing to do with how outlandish they may be) and more like bad video game stages.

That animation when the player character takes the gun during the dialogue part looks terrible. I'm sure it's meant to be a cool moment, but it's so slow, and the player characters face is doing weird stuff throughout that it comes off more goofy than badass. If that was a scene in a movie it would make me wonder what the other takes looked like if the when the actor slowly taking a gun with there mouth open and then awkwardly smiling was the best take they had.

The shooting looked pretty terrible. I was hoping them bring a Gears of War guy on a one point would mean the shooting could at least turn out better, but this gameplay trailer has discouraged that idea.

[Darth Godzilla]

Pre-Geth-war Quarians? Your character started their journey sometime during Mass Effect 2. The Quarians are in their suits before the events of the first Mass Effect.

The game itself takes place safely away from the third game, in both time and space.