So....Mass Effect 4

[kenadian]

Bioware Montreal developing ME4 means that Hudson and Walters are done as leads for Mass Effect.

Both of them are employee's at Bioware Edmonton, and are unlikely to move to Quebec to work on ME4.

At this point given that ME4 will be developed by a whole new team, it could go either way. It could be awesome. Or it could be terrible.

Either way I won't be buying it until post release reviews come out.

Casey Hudson is leading ME4.

 

[Saladfork]

I am so done with Mass Effect. One of the only things I liked about the original ending was that it definitively ended the series, but then they went and "fixed" that.

Why can't anything just be a trilogy? Why does somebody always have to come along and extend it? I don't believe I've ever seen that turn out well.

I'm fully expecting another Phantom Menace.

 

[Quazimofo]

Bioware Montreal developing ME4 means that Hudson and Walters are done as leads for Mass Effect.

Both of them are employee's at Bioware Edmonton, and are unlikely to move to Quebec to work on ME4.

At this point given that ME4 will be developed by a whole new team, it could go either way. It could be awesome. Or it could be terrible.

Either way I won't be buying it until post release reviews come out.

kinda funny how both starwars and mass effect are now in situations where they could be terrible or awesome, and arguably by some shouldn't even have new installments anyway.

but yeah, unless i get caught up in the hype-wagon, and happen to have enough cash on hand to buy it day 1(which is unlikely considering my growing warhammer and warhammer 40k habit, exasperated by my hunt for d&d miniatures and good terrain), i will wait for reviews too.

Captcha: It's Super Delicious.
It very well could be Captcha, it very well could be.

also, are they going to update the spell-checker on these forums? i figured they would at LEAST stop redmarking captcha, let alone a number of these long standing franchises which aren't "proper" words like starcraft or warhammer.

 

[ABLb0y]

Yeah, I'll still pre-order it... Even if they do ruin it.

Even if you still have to play as a human, I'll still pre-order it.

Even if they replaced all the aliens with Jar-Jar, I'll still pre-order it.

... Yeah, I am pretty much a fanboy...

 

[kenadian]

I am so done with Mass Effect. One of the only things I liked about the original ending was that it definitively ended the series, but then they went and "fixed" that.

Why can't anything just be a trilogy? Why does somebody always have to come along and extend it? I don't believe I've ever seen that turn out well.

I'm fully expecting another Phantom Menace.

They "unfix" the ending, it was broken. The "new endings" (new being a misnomer here, they're same endings, just fleshed out much more) greatly expanded on the story, gave more background and a far better epilogue. You've gotta be the only person in the world I've ever seen who's bitched about the extended cut endings being worse than the originals. Even if you liked the plot aspect of the original endings, the EC endings are objectively better from a writing and technical standpoint. They were just plain horrible.

 

[verdant monkai]

I love the frostbite engine it is beautiful.

I hope to Christ that it is not a stinking prequel, I don't care what its continuity flaws are just don't make a God damn prequel. Look at what happened to Star Wars the prequels are widely hated by a lot of people.

 

[Eggsnham]

The only way they could make up for the monumentally disappointing ending of ME3 is if this new game was so utterly amazing that it made people's nipples cry tears of blood and joy. Which, as far as I know, is completely impossible.

 

[Saladfork]

I am so done with Mass Effect. One of the only things I liked about the original ending was that it definitively ended the series, but then they went and "fixed" that.

Why can't anything just be a trilogy? Why does somebody always have to come along and extend it? I don't believe I've ever seen that turn out well.

I'm fully expecting another Phantom Menace.

They "unfix" the ending, it was broken. The "new endings" (new being a misnomer here, they're same endings, just fleshed out much more) greatly expanded on the story, gave more background and a far better epilogue. You've gotta be the only person in the world I've ever seen who's bitched about the extended cut endings being worse than the originals. Even if you liked the plot aspect of the original endings, the EC endings are objectively better from a writing and technical standpoint. They were just plain horrible.

I never said the original endings were better. I put this in another thread but I'll post my little pointless breakdown here:

Spoiler

Hoo, boy, this again. I'll try to keep it concise.

Things in original ending and how they were changed in EC

Things I hated

-The reapers motivations are explained. I always thought they were better off as unknowable lovecraftian monsters because the writers couldn't possibly come up with a satisfactory explanation and I was right. Imagine that.

-Starchild's logic makes no sense. Starchild explains himself more and reveals that he is even more illogical than I thought.

-The synthesis ending, which the game seemed to be trying to push as the 'good' ending, is an absolutely horrible thing to inflict on every living thing in the galaxy. No change. Still monstrous.

-The writers specifically told us that they were not going to boil the ending down to a multiple choice A B C at the very end and then did it anyway. Now we have.... A B C and D. Brilliant.

-Not really an 'ending' quip so to say as it's in the whole game but I don't like the whole crucible thing wherein the reapers are beaten by one macguffin. Wouldn't it have been brilliant if in like the first half of the game, the reapers find out about the crucible and destroy it and you need to come up with something else? still no change, but then I wasn't really expecting one.

-Shepard just accepts Starchild's word without question. This one was actually fixed. Kudos.

Things I liked

-It wasn't an unambiguously happy ending, bittersweet at best. The genocide of sapient life has been stopped, but at the cost of millions of lives and the galactic infrastructure that made the previous society possible. Things will never get back to normal and everyone is going to have to find alternate ways of space travel, if even possible.Hey guys, everything is fine. Look, the mass relays are getting immediately fixed! That was close, we nearly had to delay the cross-species Olympics!

-It effectively ended the possibility of sequels with a definite ending to the story, which I like a lot. I very much prefer a series that has a clear beginning and end. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about Bioware's plans for Mass Effect 4, of course..

The extended cut ruined the only things I liked and for the most part kept the things I hated. At least indoctrination theory makes more goddamn sense.

The original endings were horrible. The EC endings are also horrible. That's most of the reason why I'm done with Mass Effect.

 

[Quazimofo]

i still fail to see why people disliked the mako so much. In the elder scrolls games, horses do the same damn thing (i.e Cling to surfaces and turn horribly), yet people love em!

other than that, what is wrong with driving around a planet strategically timing your little jet boosts so they never push you off the ground, but make it look like you are instead bouncing around with your hydraulics listening to some phat beats?

The Mako was basically made out of Rubber and wasn't fun at all. It bounced all over the place and why would you even send a land vehicle when flying things are avaible?

The worst part though was that the planets were boring. There were no trees, no rocks, barely any wildlife, there was just ground (albeit in different color sometimes) and elevation, nothing else there.

well, it seems i landed on the planets that had more rocky outcroppings and the like than you did, but yeah it would be nice to have been able to drive around more worlds with flora and fauna instead of desolate, barely-habitable areas. on the other hand, most planets are the latter, and its more expensive to make the former, so to them i guess it was just economical realism. Same with the prefabricated pirate bases and outposts you find. Makes sense they are all the same layout and such if they were factory made, but not intended to be pirate bases.

But i guess i was just one of the few who really enjoyed the bounciness of that mako. it made everywhere just a bit more silly and that made it more fun. to me at least. if you just dont like it, to each their own, i wont blame you.

it did really help for one of the hardest encounters of the game though. you know the one, on that planet that was totally not mustafar whose name i cant remember that you found liara on? and if you were persistent, you could fit the mako through the gap in the wall you usually could have driven over, but an invisible wall said no, since that was supposed to be an on foot section?

it was fun killing all of those fucking stalkers and colossus in a car, rather than on foot with nothing but tons of grenades and desperation because you had no heavy weapons in ME1, and stalkers like blowing the shit out of your shields in 1 or 2 hits, and the colossus could instakill you if it wasn't the LAST place you went before Virmire.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I'd like to see a mass effect where I can really create my own protagonist. Race, backstory, appearance, the whole kit and kaboodle. I want to make a turian or a quarian, and not be a space soldier. I loved mass effect as a whole and I'm excited to see what they do. While I understand the complaints people had, I still enjoyed all three games.

Just... don't bring back vehicles. It's my only wish.
Mako 2.0 should never happen.

Yes, do this! something like Dragon Age where you have various races and classes you can choose for the protagonist and who each has their own beginning level. I'd love to see the galaxy through the eyes of a turian or salarian

I second (or third?) this motion.

A Dragon Effect would be fantastic.

 

[Quazimofo]

snip

snip

I never said the original endings were better. I put this in another thread but I'll post my little pointless breakdown here:

Spoiler

Hoo, boy, this again. I'll try to keep it concise.

Things in original ending and how they were changed in EC

Things I hated

-The reapers motivations are explained. I always thought they were better off as unknowable lovecraftian monsters because the writers couldn't possibly come up with a satisfactory explanation and I was right. Imagine that.

-Starchild's logic makes no sense. Starchild explains himself more and reveals that he is even more illogical than I thought.

-The synthesis ending, which the game seemed to be trying to push as the 'good' ending, is an absolutely horrible thing to inflict on every living thing in the galaxy. No change. Still monstrous.

-The writers specifically told us that they were not going to boil the ending down to a multiple choice A B C at the very end and then did it anyway. Now we have.... A B C and D. Brilliant.

-Not really an 'ending' quip so to say as it's in the whole game but I don't like the whole crucible thing wherein the reapers are beaten by one macguffin. Wouldn't it have been brilliant if in like the first half of the game, the reapers find out about the crucible and destroy it and you need to come up with something else? still no change, but then I wasn't really expecting one.

-Shepard just accepts Starchild's word without question. This one was actually fixed. Kudos.

Things I liked

-It wasn't an unambiguously happy ending, bittersweet at best. The genocide of sapient life has been stopped, but at the cost of millions of lives and the galactic infrastructure that made the previous society possible. Things will never get back to normal and everyone is going to have to find alternate ways of space travel, if even possible.Hey guys, everything is fine. Look, the mass relays are getting immediately fixed! That was close, we nearly had to delay the cross-species Olympics!

-It effectively ended the possibility of sequels with a definite ending to the story, which I like a lot. I very much prefer a series that has a clear beginning and end. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about Bioware's plans for Mass Effect 4, of course..

The extended cut ruined the only things I liked and for the most part kept the things I hated. At least indoctrination theory makes more goddamn sense.

The original endings were horrible. The EC endings are also horrible. That's most of the reason why I'm done with Mass Effect.

funny thing, indoctrination theory only explains why the ending didn't happen, but never offers a new one. so if indoctrination theory was true, then what happens? people who say it all makes sense and would be the best ending, seem to forget that if that was the extent of it, that's a non-ending. there is absolutely no closure whatsoever, because Shepard just all-but-dies and nobody explains what happened and why in the real world.

 

[Quazimofo]

I'd like to see a mass effect where I can really create my own protagonist. Race, backstory, appearance, the whole kit and kaboodle. I want to make a turian or a quarian, and not be a space soldier. I loved mass effect as a whole and I'm excited to see what they do. While I understand the complaints people had, I still enjoyed all three games.

Just... don't bring back vehicles. It's my only wish.
Mako 2.0 should never happen.

Yes, do this! something like Dragon Age where you have various races and classes you can choose for the protagonist and who each has their own beginning level. I'd love to see the galaxy through the eyes of a turian or salarian

I second (or third?) this motion.

A Dragon Effect would be fantastic.

it very well could be, if they made the races matter past the intro level, but that would be rather pricey to make. Its too bad that the days of crappy graphics which allowed money to be spent on everything else are all but gone, unless the budget of the game starts getting absolutely stupid big, which is just bad business.

 

[AnarchistFish]

Will rule cos there's no other possibility for a mass effect game

 

[SpectacularWebHead]

I spoke to a bioware developer at a cosplay photoshoot about ME4, all he said was "You shouldn't call it Mass Effect 4".

Either They're taking he series in an interesting new direction, Or EA is shitting in a case and labelling it "Mass Effect: Warfighter"(Pahahahaha)

 

[Frezzato]

I can see the corporate side of Ubisoft Montreal just saying, "Scrap everything, start over, this is a new generation of consumers we're talking about." And by the time Mass Effect 4 comes out, they'll probably be right because:


1.) People who buy ME4 (probably) won't have played Mass Effect 1 since it came out in 2007, a lifetime in gaming terms

2.) Mass Effect 4 will probably come out on the next generation of console platforms, so re-capping the story from ME 1-3 would be too much trouble and confusing or frustrating


It's too easy for people to ask that everyone pretend the past didn't happen. Look at all the Hollywood movie reboots that have taken place. I bet that there's a lot of people who played Operation Flashpoint on 360/PS3 that didn't play the original on PC. Same thing for Deus Ex Human Revolution or Ghost Recon. So what I'm guessing will happen is that Ubi Montreal won't want to alienate anyone, therefore players will play as humans only.

 

[FitScotGaymer]

Casey Hudson is leading ME4.

Lol.

He is staying on as "Executive Producer" but he is remaining in Edmonton, and a Project Director (read:someone else) will be heading up the actual project in Montreal. So day to day he won't actually be doing anything.
Basically he is going to be to ME4 as George Lucas is now going to be to Episode 7. That is, nominally in charge but not really.
He will pop his head in (virtually via skype most likely) to check in now and again. That is all.

kinda funny how both starwars and mass effect are now in situations where they could be terrible or awesome, and arguably by some shouldn't even have new installments anyway.

but yeah, unless i get caught up in the hype-wagon, and happen to have enough cash on hand to buy it day 1(which is unlikely considering my growing warhammer and warhammer 40k habit, exasperated by my hunt for d&d miniatures and good terrain), i will wait for reviews too.

Captcha: It's Super Delicious.
It very well could be Captcha, it very well could be.

also, are they going to update the spell-checker on these forums? i figured they would at LEAST stop redmarking captcha, let alone a number of these long standing franchises which aren't "proper" words like starcraft or warhammer.

I am adopting a wait-n-see attitude.

I second (or third?) this motion.

A Dragon Effect would be fantastic.

They already did this. It was called Dragon Age 2.

 

[Saladfork]

snip

snip

I never said the original endings were better. I put this in another thread but I'll post my little pointless breakdown here:

Spoiler

Hoo, boy, this again. I'll try to keep it concise.

Things in original ending and how they were changed in EC

Things I hated

-The reapers motivations are explained. I always thought they were better off as unknowable lovecraftian monsters because the writers couldn't possibly come up with a satisfactory explanation and I was right. Imagine that.

-Starchild's logic makes no sense. Starchild explains himself more and reveals that he is even more illogical than I thought.

-The synthesis ending, which the game seemed to be trying to push as the 'good' ending, is an absolutely horrible thing to inflict on every living thing in the galaxy. No change. Still monstrous.

-The writers specifically told us that they were not going to boil the ending down to a multiple choice A B C at the very end and then did it anyway. Now we have.... A B C and D. Brilliant.

-Not really an 'ending' quip so to say as it's in the whole game but I don't like the whole crucible thing wherein the reapers are beaten by one macguffin. Wouldn't it have been brilliant if in like the first half of the game, the reapers find out about the crucible and destroy it and you need to come up with something else? still no change, but then I wasn't really expecting one.

-Shepard just accepts Starchild's word without question. This one was actually fixed. Kudos.

Things I liked

-It wasn't an unambiguously happy ending, bittersweet at best. The genocide of sapient life has been stopped, but at the cost of millions of lives and the galactic infrastructure that made the previous society possible. Things will never get back to normal and everyone is going to have to find alternate ways of space travel, if even possible.Hey guys, everything is fine. Look, the mass relays are getting immediately fixed! That was close, we nearly had to delay the cross-species Olympics!

-It effectively ended the possibility of sequels with a definite ending to the story, which I like a lot. I very much prefer a series that has a clear beginning and end. I'm sure I don't need to tell you about Bioware's plans for Mass Effect 4, of course..

The extended cut ruined the only things I liked and for the most part kept the things I hated. At least indoctrination theory makes more goddamn sense.

The original endings were horrible. The EC endings are also horrible. That's most of the reason why I'm done with Mass Effect.

funny thing, indoctrination theory only explains why the ending didn't happen, but never offers a new one. so if indoctrination theory was true, then what happens? people who say it all makes sense and would be the best ending, seem to forget that if that was the extent of it, that's a non-ending. there is absolutely no closure whatsoever, because Shepard just all-but-dies and nobody explains what happened and why in the real world.

A lot of people wanted closure,but I never really did. I just wanted an ending that wasn't bloody terrible. Some of my favourite endings have been open-ended, like blade runner or inception, and I would have been completely cool with mass effect ending like that if it was done in a way that was... ah... not what we got.

 

[airrazor7]

I'm a little curious to see how it turns out but, if that Ipad game they released is an indication of things to come, well let's just say I'm keeping me hopes low on purpose.

If anything I feel that Bioware isn't done with the current universe of Mass Effect. There are some many more interactive stories to tell. Think about all of the interesting adventures other characters that were peripheral to Shepard's story. For example, the upcoming Omega DLC, I'm hoping that the playing gets to go through the experience playing as Aria T'Loak and not as "Shepard rode in on his ship to save the day for everyone, again!(fucking superman)." I think there should be more mass effect games like that.

I want to play as Garrus while he had his vigilante squad on Omega. I want to play as Liara in during the events that preceded the Shadow Broker. I want to see how it all began from her perspective. I want to play as Jack as she hitch-hiked and murdered her way across the galaxy until her imprisonment. I'd be happy to keep the same engine and game mechanics but if want to do something different, you can have a stealth/action game by focusing on Thane or a stealth/espionage game by focusing on Kasumi. If you really want to make a streamlined 3rd/1st person shooter, let it be about Zaeed's path of vengeance. Heck, give me a game where I can play as the absolute Samara as she chases Morinth across the galaxy and within the same game let me play as the deadly, seductive Morinth as she evades her mother again and again.

There are so many more stories to be told through gameplay but alas, I know all of that is just wishful thinking...

 

[Bayushi_Kouya]

I am of the opinion that Mass Effect 3 was a great game, tainted by some broken promises and a hastily rewritten ending. The other 95% of the game was good. Great, even. Just that last part was kind of a screw up.

Unlike more recent disappointments (AC3), I will still plop my money down on the counter for ME4. UNLESS I detect one of the following.

#1. Prequel
As a writer, the idea of the prequel is offensive, to me. So many of them rob their prede(ante?)cessors of ontological inertia and serve as a cheap and lazy way to reset the setting so that you can have Stuff Get Wrecked from the same starting point. It is my feeling that Mass Effect does not need prequels. ME1 IS the prequel.

#2. The Tyranny of Choice
Much as I dislike many elements of JRPGs, at least they are willing to strongly characterize their protagonists (even if there's only two kinds of protagonists in JRPGs, and they're both some iteration of Angsty Male Teenager With Confidence Issues). Having another prot who's dull as dishwater boring because the story has to adapt to whether he's a humanitarian or a badass will bore me, and not get me to do a second playthrough. Skyrim is the epitome of this tyranny -- you handle your character's build and the order in which he tackles quests, but otherwise, the world would clearly turn without you and whatever choice you make. ME3 escaped that -- the choices you make matter to the Defense of All Intelligent Life fleets, even if they don't the ending. More of that, less of stuff like LA Noire.

And to everyone asking for create your own protagonist, down to species, recall that every unique beginning story/staring area, more content is going to be taken out of the middle/end of the game.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

He is staying on as "Executive Producer" but he is remaining in Edmonton, and a Project Director (read:someone else) will be heading up the actual project in Montreal. So day to day he won't actually be doing anything.

I suddenly feel a great deal of pity for the poor schmuck who's going to have to take Hudson's napkin scrawlings and somehow use them to build the framework for a playable game.