If there is one thing Bioware could learn from Alpha Protocol is...

[IBlackKiteI]

Cerberus has demonstrated on several occasions the massive or seemingly inexhaustible budget of the organization (Several known bases, Normandy SR2 expenses, Reviving Shepard, an unknown amount of military assets, the ability to steal the technology of just about any other organization.

The squad mates becoming rogue agents or ship captains and such is pretty far fetched and a total break from the series mechanics though. So I will agree with you there that it is unlikely and if implemented probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

I would expect some ship to ship cinematic combat sequences with results based on choices made in game or maybe some sort of loose and dialogue based command quick time event thing, and probably more good old fashioned boarding the enemy vessel and destroying it from the inside or killing everyone aboard type of thing. Either that or we release our own Reaper or super weapons.

I do however expect support from the Geth and Rachni as a result of my "Paragade" play-through.

But just how much of the game will be dependant on previous choices?
What if you killed the Rachni, and the Geth Renegades, and everyone else you've come across?

I can't imagine entire races or characters having a major impact on the game when they may or may not even be in it due to what the player has done in the previous installments.
Then of course there would be those who do not have an ME savegame and would miss out on a lot of stuff if this were the case.

Ship to ship combat would be great, but if done would be little more than a cinematic thing as you described.
Like the beginning of the final mission of ME2.

Anyways, I reckon that in Mass Effect 3:

> Very few previous characters will have a major involvement or can be potential squadmates - As I said before characters that may not even be in the game due to what the player has done before will likely not be given a big role. Or at least won't be squadmates.
HOWEVER I wouldn't be suprised if Garrus and Tali return as companions. Because they're practically universally loved.

> The whole game will be about finding a way to kill the Reapers - Fighting the Reapers directly makes no sense, and I can't see the game going any other way. Sure there will be some fighting Geth/Mercs/Space Zombies here and there, but the Reapers are (supposed) to be the Big Bad, and being the last of the trilogy ME3 will be about kicking their asses once and for all.

And the rest is pretty obvious, like none of the core mechanics will be changed for instance.

I'm pretty curious as to what Bioware will do.
When ME3 comes I'll definitely grab it, and try very hard to not let the fanboys make me hate it. Again.

 

[darth.pixie]

It was a sadly underrated game and being Obsidian, that is a shame since they make some of the most interesting and compelling stories and characters in the industry. The others are Larian (old school) and CD Projekt.

Alpha Protocol was a show of what an RPG could be if people wanted it. Sadly Obsi are artists, not engineers and bugs put people off. In most(all?) of the Bioware games, you affect the situation quite little...even Baldur's Gate was subjected to this.

Spoiler

Remember Tamoko? I didn't kill her...so who did? Considering she could easily kill guards, her brother was looking for her(though he got sidetracked...) and the fact that she could have left the city easily...how did she die? Because Sarevok's epilogue makes no sense to me.

If the guys at Bio would make diverse dialogues, characters, left the ability of choice in their games...well if Obsi and Bio would somehow merge, than I'd reinstate my fandom. As is, though, it's not likely. And if EA would keep their paws off the games...

 

[Rayne870]

I'm pretty curious as to what Bioware will do.
When ME3 comes I'll definitely grab it, and try very hard to not let the fanboys make me hate it. Again.

The waiting sucks so hard eh

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

One plausible scenario I have concluded for ME3 is your squad is based on the surviving characters from the previous game with the possibility of a couple new additions. Their plot relevance would evidently be virtually nonexistent but they would be available for personal depth and exposition. I cannot contemplate an alternative, and this alone is a gamble. BioWare would be required to develop content some may not ever witness. That said, if Garrus and Tali are not in the game in a meaningful way (ie: not Wrex'd). I am almost certain it will hamper sales. Their respective fanbases are enormous and some are... a little more than obsessed.

At this juncture I cannot foresee the aforementioned probable, if only due to the cost. Instead we ought to look forward to multiplayer so EA can cash in or try to.

 

[kingcom]

Alpha Protocol was the only game I've seen where the dialogue wheel worked.

 

[kingcom]

Spoiler

Remember Tamoko? I didn't kill her...so who did? Considering she could easily kill guards, her brother was looking for her(though he got sidetracked...) and the fact that she could have left the city easily...how did she die? Because Sarevok's prologue makes no sense to me.

Thats pretty interesting, did you pickpocket the diary from Tamoko to advance the plot? They attack you the second they advance the stairs so I didn't know you could even avoid fight. Ill assume you mean his epilogue though.

 

[Trolldor]

How your decisions effect the story. Seriously, after beating Alpha Protocol, I was spoiled of how all my decisions popped up and ending up effecting the outcome. Though it wasn't just the outcome, doing different levels before others had drastic effects. Characters you let live or die could have benefits or harsh consequences.

Now I realized then after playing Mass Effect, Dragon Age (never played Jade Dynasty and only a bit of Baldurs Gate) but I realized how little you really effected the story. Not that your choices didn't matter but they felt minimal and overall only a couple of choices really effected the outcome of the game.

anyone agree?

Yes.

Bioware said that the reason they couldn't fully explore choice/consequence was because ME was a trilogy, and that in the third and final installment they were going to go nuts.

I am skeptical.

 

[darth.pixie]

Spoiler

Remember Tamoko? I didn't kill her...so who did? Considering she could easily kill guards, her brother was looking for her(though he got sidetracked...) and the fact that she could have left the city easily...how did she die? Because Sarevok's prologue makes no sense to me.

Thats pretty interesting, did you pickpocket the diary from Tamoko to advance the plot? They attack you the second they advance the stairs so I didn't know you could even avoid fight. Ill assume you mean his epilogue though.

I didn't pickpocket her. I was friendly with her in BG 1. She told me what to do...I let her off the hook near the end fight and she left, distressed and dissapointed in him. Alright, good. I kill Sarevok, I get kidnapped...fast forward to the end and his epilogue (duh...yes, I meant that.sorry) and then it said he's off to mourn and bury her. ...Why? I did nothing. I was very confused about it and some people speculated she did some sort of seppuku/harakiri which is just weird.

 

[The Madman]

Spoiler

Remember Tamoko? I didn't kill her...so who did? Considering she could easily kill guards, her brother was looking for her(though he got sidetracked...) and the fact that she could have left the city easily...how did she die? Because Sarevok's prologue makes no sense to me.

Thats pretty interesting, did you pickpocket the diary from Tamoko to advance the plot? They attack you the second they advance the stairs so I didn't know you could even avoid fight. Ill assume you mean his epilogue though.

It's possible to not kill her if you play your cards right. She'll confront you before entering the final battle saying that she can't let you fight Sarevok. It's possible to talk her out of dying for him.

That said one of the Sarevok epilogues in Throne of Bhall is that he wanders off in search of her, so really, despite Yoshimo's quest for vengeance we've really no clue what actually happened to her. It's one of the few side-plot that the BG series never did resolve.

I didn't pickpocket her. I was friendly with her in BG 1. She told me what to do...I let her off the hook near the end fight and she left, distressed and dissapointed in him. Alright, good. I kill Sarevok, I get kidnapped...fast forward to the end and his epilogue (duh...yes, I meant that.sorry) and then it said he's off to mourn and bury her. ...Why? I did nothing. I was very confused about it and some people speculated she did some sort of seppuku/harakiri which is just weird.

We don't know what happened to Tomoko. Which is a pity because from what little we do know about her, she seemed like an interesting character. Baldur's Gate has a couple unresolved story points, I recall in one interview a developer from Bioware said the greatest mistake they ever did was make Throne of Bhall an expansion rather than a full third game. I agree with him!

 

[kingcom]

Spoiler

Remember Tamoko? I didn't kill her...so who did? Considering she could easily kill guards, her brother was looking for her(though he got sidetracked...) and the fact that she could have left the city easily...how did she die? Because Sarevok's prologue makes no sense to me.

Thats pretty interesting, did you pickpocket the diary from Tamoko to advance the plot? They attack you the second they advance the stairs so I didn't know you could even avoid fight. Ill assume you mean his epilogue though.

I didn't pickpocket her. I was friendly with her in BG 1. She told me what to do...I let her off the hook near the end fight and she left, distressed and dissapointed in him. Alright, good. I kill Sarevok, I get kidnapped...fast forward to the end and his epilogue (duh...yes, I meant that.sorry) and then it said he's off to mourn and bury her. ...Why? I did nothing.

Its one of the reasons I love the game, learn something new every time you play.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

I know Alpha Protocol was hated by many, but it was (IMO) the only really innovative RPG of the last few years. Even if was just the setting. Mass Effect was just a reskinned KotOR and Dragon Age was just a generic Tolkien story with the usual Bioware limited dialogue choices.

 

[darth.pixie]

I didn't pickpocket her. I was friendly with her in BG 1. She told me what to do...I let her off the hook near the end fight and she left, distressed and dissapointed in him. Alright, good. I kill Sarevok, I get kidnapped...fast forward to the end and his epilogue (duh...yes, I meant that.sorry) and then it said he's off to mourn and bury her. ...Why? I did nothing. I was very confused about it and some people speculated she did some sort of seppuku/harakiri which is just weird.

We don't know what happened to Tomoko. Which is a pity because from what little we do know about her, she seemed like an interesting character. Baldur's Gate has a couple unresolved story points, I recall in one interview a developer from Bioware said the greatest mistake they ever did was make Throne of Bhall an expansion rather than a full third game. I agree with him!

Ah, a third Baldur's Gate...that would have been awesome. Especially since Sarevok was my favourite character in the whole game (I gradually realized that my PC was becoming just like him after playing though everything and ending up as a Neutral Evil super-powerful bloke who slaughtered bushes if they looked at him wrong).

The fact that we don't even know how she ended up with Sarevok in the first place makes it even weirder. Or who his mother was since he mentioned her killed by Rieltar but she was a priestess who would have killed him like the PCs (dream thing in pocket plane)? The man is just full of mysteries.

I would have wished for more character dialogue (asking Sarevok about his past, talking to Imoen about her god abilities and so on) but that's what mods are for I guess...I wouldn't want Bioware to restart and redo the franchise though.

 

[PeterDawson]

How your decisions effect the story. Seriously, after beating Alpha Protocol, I was spoiled of how all my decisions popped up and ending up effecting the outcome. Though it wasn't just the outcome, doing different levels before others had drastic effects. Characters you let live or die could have benefits or harsh consequences.

Now I realized then after playing Mass Effect, Dragon Age (never played Jade Dynasty and only a bit of Baldurs Gate) but I realized how little you really effected the story. Not that your choices didn't matter but they felt minimal and overall only a couple of choices really effected the outcome of the game.

anyone agree?

I disagree to a point. Mass Effect, your decisions have consequences, especially come the sequel. Dragon Age there does seem to be less of one, but yeah, Jade Empire, I felt very little. I'm prefectly fine with the level presented in the Mass Effect series, hell I'm fine with Dragon Age, but certainly more results is nice.

 

[kingcom]

I didn't pickpocket her. I was friendly with her in BG 1. She told me what to do...I let her off the hook near the end fight and she left, distressed and dissapointed in him. Alright, good. I kill Sarevok, I get kidnapped...fast forward to the end and his epilogue (duh...yes, I meant that.sorry) and then it said he's off to mourn and bury her. ...Why? I did nothing. I was very confused about it and some people speculated she did some sort of seppuku/harakiri which is just weird.

We don't know what happened to Tomoko. Which is a pity because from what little we do know about her, she seemed like an interesting character. Baldur's Gate has a couple unresolved story points, I recall in one interview a developer from Bioware said the greatest mistake they ever did was make Throne of Bhall an expansion rather than a full third game. I agree with him!

Ah, a third Baldur's Gate...that would have been awesome. Especially since Sarevok was my favourite character in the whole game (I gradually realized that my PC was becoming just like him after playing though everything and ending up as a Neutral Evil super-powerful bloke who slaughtered bushes if they looked at him wrong).

The fact that we don't even know how she ended up with Sarevok in the first place makes it even weirder. Or who his mother was since he mentioned her killed by Rieltar but she was a priestess who would have killed him like the PCs (dream thing in pocket plane)? The man is just full of mysteries.

I would have wished for more character dialogue (asking Sarevok about his past, talking to Imoen about her god abilities and so on) but that's what mods are for I guess...I wouldn't want Bioware to restart and redo the franchise though.

Yea that would have been great. I was a big fan of the innocent, naive Imeon eventually getting the confidence and power to talk down to her once oppressor. Perhaps my favourite conversation in the game.

 

[The Madman]

I would have wished for more character dialogue (asking Sarevok about his past, talking to Imoen about her god abilities and so on) but that's what mods are for I guess...I wouldn't want Bioware to restart and redo the franchise though.

Fully agreed. While a third Baldur's Gate would have been amazing, it's too late now to change anything and although it wasn't perfect, Throne of Bhall still had a satisfying conclusion. I did like how Sarevok was portrayed and brought back, he was a genuinly interest character and I loved the parallels ToB mad by comparing him to the player character. But alas Baldur's Gate is over and sometimes it's best to just leave a series lie rather than risk bringing it back and ruining the series legacy.

As for Alpha Protocol, I often view it the same way I view Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. An amazing rpg in its own way that's sure to maintain a cult following in the years to come, but which was seriously held back by issues upon release. I can only hope that with time AP also receives the sort of dedicated fan-attention Bloodlines received with unofficial patches and mods to tweak and improve the games overall experience.

 

[Royta]

The downside of Alpha Protocol was that many people didn't delve into the mechanics and simply played it like a shooter. Which doesn't work. You can't go around sniping with a Pistol if you don't have points into it, it just doesn't work that way here.

The storymechanics were simply divine, even Yathzee commented on how great it was. And that says something.

I bought the game for 5 bucks NEW to see what the fuss was all about and I'm glad I did. It's innovative, not perfect, but a very great game that I recommend everyone to try atleast once.

 

[Freechoice]

Deciding the fate of the council in ME1, has Effects in ME2 shapes a lot of the atmosphere.

The human council doesn't believe you as much as the alien one. It makes no difference whatsoever. That's the general rule of thumb with Bioware games. Lots and lots and lots of talking with little real effect on the gameplay or story. The fact that the paragade system gets you the same results regardless also speaks volumes about how little choice matters in such a game. And don't say the Rachni or the geth or whoever is gonna make a difference in ME3. Either some unimportant background characters or stuff is going to be lost or Bioware will kill off a meaningful squadmate despite the fact that it requires owning Mass Effects 1 and 2 to get a theoretical best ending. There's no good repercussions for their games. They dumbed down the Rachni decision for Legion's loyalty mission (it's the fucking geth; they don't give a shit) and there was so much good stuff going on between Morinth and Samara. Why the fuck could you only pick one? You're Commander-goddamn-Shepard, grab one's arm, point a gun at the other and tell them to give up their 400 year feud with a blue or red decision. You're Shepard, you've done that before.

But yes Alpha Protocol probably had a good cause and effect system and henceforth a dynamic story but it was lost on the masses, myself included because of the severe lack of polish in the non story elements of the game.

Was I the only person that noticed how clunky the combat was, how one eye tended to be more open for some characters when they were emoting and that Kelly would tell you you had emails after telling you you had emails?

Or that you could get infinite squad points?
Or how my vanguard got stuck up on a post after charging only to get picked off because she had nowhere to go?

 

[sanguis3k]

thats because the choices you make in Mass Effect are supposed to affect the next game.

that i always felt was the biggest damn cop-out i have ever seen. if you want to make your decisions worth something make it affect both the game you are playing right now and the next one. It doesn't have to be massive but just making the effort would be nice

 

[octafish]

snip
As for Alpha Protocol, I often view it the same way I view Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. An amazing rpg in its own way that's sure to maintain a cult following in the years to come, but which was seriously held back by issues upon release. I can only hope that with time AP also receives the sort of dedicated fan-attention Bloodlines received with unofficial patches and mods to tweak and improve the games overall experience.

That is how I feel about Obsidian games in general, they have a definite Troika vibe about their games.

I enjoyed Alpha Protocol more than I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, and I thought Thorton was a douchebag.

 

[Dragonborne88]

Alpha Protocol is one of the games I return to from time to time just because it's really fun, and the dialog is really well done. I do love how so many decisions tie together at the end, and playing a martial artist/Stealth guy was way more fun then it should have been.

The game was flawed, yes, but Obsidion, despite the hate always thrown on them by people, are excellent designers...just not so good at the developing part. Example: New Vegas...WAY better in atmosphere and story then Fallout 3, which I hated. Get Bioware to develop, and Obsidion to write the story, and you have a God-Tier game right there.