An open letter to Bioware

[Jake0fTrades]

I'm now officially going through the forums and asking permission to post stand out(IMO) ideas in the OP, giving credit to the ideas creator, of course. If there's any chance in hell that Bioware will actually see this, then I want it to be as good as possible. If you would like your idea in the front, write it out well and let me know(NOTE: I'll only be able to post so much in a span of time, so the response too a request may take a while. This is also still my personal letter, so I probably won't post things that I strongly disagree with. I encourage you to do that yourself in your own forum)

I'd like the animations and character movements to be more fluid and diverse. During cutscenes and in combat, I'd like to say that this improved immensely in between Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2, but I still feel we could do better.

Cutscenes already look amazing. I can't think of anything I'd adjust, save for the strange looking drinks and the way they're poured/drank.

In combat I think we can spice it up. I'd love to run from cover to cover, and see Shepard fire his pistol one-handed while he's moving. Or even instead of being able to no-scope, having Shepard hold his rifle in his left hand by the receiver and quick-draw his sidearm with his right hand.

I think each individual motion should look fluid and natural instead of static and rehearsed.



If you agree with what I've said here, please include it.

 

[Danpascooch]

It sounds like you want to play Gears of War.

Go play Gears of War. Please leave Mass Effect alone.

 

[sumanoskae]

It sounds like you want to play Gears of War.

Go play Gears of War. Please leave Mass Effect alone.

Thank you, but I'm not a big fan of Gears of War, it's just the only cover shooter I can stand.

I suggested Gears of War because it's the(Or at least one of) the reason that cover shooting is so popular, it does what it does well so if what you're doing is cover shooting it's a good place to look.(Gears also sells well, which is probably helpful for all the people working for Bioware)

RPG's aren't defined by their sluggish gameplay, it's just a common side effect of their enormous size. You can't honestly tell me that Mass Effect 1 controls better then Vanquish, even if it's a better game overall(Which I think it is). Mass Effect seems interested in changing that, so I see no problem with taking instructions from people who've been doing it longer.

I would like to play a game that was as fluid as Gears of War, but with actual story and depth, that's why I play Mass Effect

P.S: Isn't the fact that Bioware created a social network and used fan reply for Mass Effect 2 evidence that "Leaving Mass Effect alone" is the exact opposite of what they want us to do?

 

[varulfic]

One last thing. In my opinion, you really REALLY need drop the Paragon and Renegade as Charm and Intimidate ratings.

Oh god, yes, it's by far the worst thing in this otherwise great franchise. It wasn't that bad in the first game since you could just put points in charm/intimidate on level up (which I always maxed out immediately), but the way it worked in ME2 nearly destroyed the game for me. Since I actually implented my own moral code instead of choosing whatever would help my rating, I ended up with a very balanced moral scale with too low ratings on either side to open up new dialogue options. It really pissed me off to see exactly what I wanted to say in the dialogue wheel - only greyed out, taunting me. I ended up just hacking my save to increase my rating so it wouldn't interfere with my enjoyment. That's right, I fucking cheated in ME2, and if the same retarted morality system is implented in the third game I'm gonna cheat passed it again, because it's fucking stupid.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

All I have to say: fuck feedback. You never please everyone.

And a game is not a washing machine... but streamline too much and it turns into one.

I really wish devs would realize that a silent majority isn't necessarily going to tolerate massive unnecessary changes to a best-selling formula - especially if those changes are essentially genre-altering.

This is why I almost wept with joy when they restored Cole to his former glory for InFamous 2.

 

[Blindrooster]

All sounded pretty good to me. Save, of course, the bit about biotics using powers through walls and throwing 3 enemies (That you set on fire) back at their friends. This is a little 'Force unleashed.' No other character in the mass effect universe comes close to the power you described (Save for jac, but you're not jac. You're shepherd and this new power would have to come from nowhere.)Overpowering makes a universe feel less fun because you're no longer the underdog. Screw you lucas arts for the force unleashed tainting my star wars universe! Please don't taint my mass effect universe, bioware.

But seriously, the other points are pretty awesome.

 

[Timmibal]

As of late I have mad a few revisions and posted this on the Bioware forums. I had some issues with finding the correct area for posting, but hopefully if it gets taken down I can find the correct are. As of now it's in the Mass Effect 2 Official Campaign Quests and Storylines (Spoilers Warning), I saw a similar thread there, and nobody complained(So far)

Probably because the whole thing got buried under a million threads of 'ZOMG Tali is soooo cute she is totally my waifu she is so kawaii desu ne' from the peanut gallery. God knows it's why I stopped posting there. Wading through a sea of dross just to find a good discussion.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

-snip-

here's what i have to say...
MAKE THE MALE VOICE ACTOR MORE INTERESTING! HE SOUNDS LIKE A FUCKING MONOTONOUS MACHO-MACHINE!

seriously, i specifically stopped playing mass effect 6 hours in and restarted as a female just because the female voice actor actually sounds like a human being

 

[gl1koz3]

All I have to say: fuck feedback. You never please everyone.

And a game is not a washing machine... but streamline too much and it turns into one.

I really wish devs would realize that a silent majority isn't necessarily going to tolerate massive unnecessary changes to a best-selling formula - especially if those changes are essentially genre-altering.

This is why I almost wept with joy when they restored Cole to his former glory for InFamous 2.

Yes, this is what I see, too. After them turning the change dial waaaay up with Mass Effect 2, because some kids complained that the first game is too cumbersome to play.

Well, my side of the story is that everyone I know here (no console players) were dissatisfied by all of the changes. And, as you say, they never even knew of any means to complain (they didn't need to). I just don't get it, why do the devs take the word so seriously. Unless they enforce some kind of feedback and identity policy (which is impossible) or anything, for all they know it could be one person writing all of the hate posts.

EDIT: They could have improved the "cumbersome" console issues by a million little tweaks, but, no... they overreacted like silly little girls and just, so to say, rewrote the alphabet, LOL.

 

[sumanoskae]

All sounded pretty good to me. Save, of course, the bit about biotics using powers through walls and throwing 3 enemies (That you set on fire) back at their friends. This is a little 'Force unleashed.' No other character in the mass effect universe comes close to the power you described (Save for jac, but you're not jac. You're shepherd and this new power would have to come from nowhere.)Overpowering makes a universe feel less fun because you're no longer the underdog. Screw you lucas arts for the force unleashed tainting my star wars universe! Please don't taint my mass effect universe, bioware.

But seriously, the other points are pretty awesome.

Actually you can already do that, it's called Pull Field. You just do that and have a squad mate (Mordin) use incinerate.

You can't, however, have it mean anything. All it really amounts to is a shit load of damage

 

[sumanoskae]

The platforming idea is a good one, though I think if it is included it should be class specific. With a route for biotic, tech and combat based classes. This would give classes like the sentinal and vanguard more of a choice when goin though a level.

For example adepts may be able to move large objects to clear a path, while an engineer could repair a broken door and a soldier could have more of an eye for more tactical routes like say an air vent. (remeber you will be with your group so you can't have any extreme platforming options)

As for melee I think this is comthing that has been missing from the game. Being able to dish out melee damage in close combat would be awsome, with certain classes gearing more towards the combat based classes like the soldier, vanguard and infiltrator. But having specific animations for the individual calss type (once again combat, biotic and tech), choosing your prefered style at the cutomisation screen on the Normandy.

Though my main beef is that I just want to customise my squad more.

I like your idea abut the platforming, mind if I quote you at the top?

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

I pretty sure that they are more into dragon age 2 than mass effect 3 right now actually.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

I havent played Mass effect 2 and I didnt read your post, but I just want to say that the opening post was the biggest ive ever seen.

 

[Karma168]

The platforming idea is a good one, though I think if it is included it should be class specific. With a route for biotic, tech and combat based classes. This would give classes like the sentinal and vanguard more of a choice when goin though a level.

For example adepts may be able to move large objects to clear a path, while an engineer could repair a broken door and a soldier could have more of an eye for more tactical routes like say an air vent. (remeber you will be with your group so you can't have any extreme platforming options)

This definitely. ever since killzone on the ps2 - which had various routes depending which of the characters you went - i've been waiting for a game to bring that back and with mass effect's class system this would probably be the perfect place to bring it in.

 

[sumanoskae]

I havent played Mass effect 2 and I didnt read your post, but I just want to say that the opening post was the biggest ive ever seen.

As far as I know there are two separate teams for each game

 

[Mr Pantomime]

I havent played Mass effect 2 and I didnt read your post, but I just want to say that the opening post was the biggest ive ever seen.

As far as I know there are two separate teams for each game

Um...sure.....

 

[Kakashi on crack]

hmm, call me negative, but I don't like a lot of these...

Some have good points, such as the adept being more of an adept instead of a soldier, but others seem to want to turn Mass Effect into a combination of different games. This looks, at least from what I read (I read almost everything up until the edit lines) to take the current mechanics, throw almost all of them out the window, and start fresh. Heck, they weren't the best mechanics, but they worked decently for the most part.

I think the paragon/renegade system should be more of a moral "how people view you" kind of thing that has nothing to do with charm/intimidate. Perhaps instead bringing back the first game's approach on the skills. (you could make yourself super powerful, or you could make yourself less powerful and instead capable of getting out of situations/getting better rewards.)


Lots of flaws, and lots of good points, too many for me to go through at three in the morning though.

 

[sumanoskae]

I havent played Mass effect 2 and I didnt read your post, but I just want to say that the opening post was the biggest ive ever seen.

As far as I know there are two separate teams for each game

Um...sure.....

There aren't?

 

[SpartyTheOneManParty]

I didn't read the whole original post because good heavens was it long and many parts I disagree. However, the Paragon/Renegade thing does indeed need a change. Never is it more clear than in Legion's loyalty mission.

That is perhaps the most morally ambiguous choice in the series and it gets lessened by "good points vs evil points." Shepard's arguments with Mordin over the genophage falls into this too because calling Mordin a heartless murderer is the "good option" when there is obviously more to it than Paragon Shep's naive outlook. There should be more events in the game where you get no points or Renegade points no matter which option you pick to really drive home the morally grey areas that frequent this series.

 

[SonicWaffle]

I read the first few paragraphs, and the overarching theme appeared to be "Make it not be Mass Effect anymore"

No thankyou. I thought ME2 was a brilliant improvement over an original that often got too bogged down in weak combat, and would like to see more of the same.