Bioware General (Mass Effect/Dragon Age/Other)

[SciFlyBoy]

Damn, I've been so busy this week with work and music and other household things I've only had about 3 hours to play. Plus my brother has been hogging the TV til midnight every night. Busy most this weekend, too. Ugh, maybe I'll get a few hours in on Sunday.

[Someone With Mass]

This game has one of the most unintuitive, shit menu systems everrrrrrr.

Anybody know how to make color customizations on your casual outfit actually stay put? I can change my jacket, but not the damn color.

And where is the armory where I can change weapons and armor?

I've had the same problem and it honestly made me ragequit and jump into the multiplayer for a bit. Which is baffling, since the customization works just fine there.

I don't mind having to click around, but when I'm getting lost in a menu, then we're going to have problems. I thought that I could change the weapons in the tab labeled "Inventory", but nope. That just shows you the trash you have on your person, which is utterly pointless, since you can't do anything with it other than look at recipes and shit.

Maybe it's not the best thing to grab designers and programmers who are fresh out of college.

[TTTX]

This game has one of the most unintuitive, shit menu systems everrrrrrr.

Anybody know how to make color customizations on your casual outfit actually stay put? I can change my jacket, but not the damn color.

And where is the armory where I can change weapons and armor?

I changed the color on my tempest outfist, not much of a problem.

as for the armory it's in one of the side room where the pilot is, look for loadout.

[Vol]

Oh, the custom color thing. Yeah. I failed to make it work for quite a while, until Lance told me the trick.

The trick? Hit spacebar after picking a color to lock it in.

[magnuskn]

Thanks, guys.

[Vol]

Edit: Bleh. Venting about silly political nonsense the game includes.

[magnuskn]

Edit: Bleh. Venting about silly political nonsense the game includes.

I'm actually quite interested in your take.

[Riptide]

So, despite the character creator being COMPLETE ASS, I wanted to show my Ryder off.





Really happy with her casual look. Went for a biker aesthetic. Seemed appropriate, given that she's an explorer.

[Mazder]

Edit: Bleh. Venting about silly political nonsense the game includes.

I'm actually quite interested in your take.

Same here.
TBH the game does force some random crap in at times so far.

► Show Spoiler

For example I just got to the little spat with the civvies in the hydroponics area. (How they "locked it down" when it was a public space and there was only about 7 people I don't know...) But the resolution was really just...BLEH. It was weak, you couldn't make them see sense at all and even if you get the good resolution it is still the same crap with no ramifications. And what's worse is the Pathfinder is releasing people form cryo singly anyway so why can't families be released together? If it's a matter of number then shuffle blocks around so you have families in a separate sub-block group....

[DarkStorm]

So, despite the character creator being COMPLETE ASS, I wanted to show my Ryder off.
Really happy with her casual look. Went for a biker aesthetic. Seemed appropriate, given that she's an explorer.

She looks pretty good, good job man.

[TheodoricFriede]

Well since Rip did it.





Personally i think he looks a bit like a young Bill Murry. Which is made even more spectacular by the fact my Dad looked like an old Bruce Campbell.

[Mobius_118]

This game has one of the most unintuitive, shit menu systems everrrrrrr.

Anybody know how to make color customizations on your casual outfit actually stay put? I can change my jacket, but not the damn color.

And where is the armory where I can change weapons and armor?

Press space when you get all your colors set.

Trust me, I had to figure that shit out too.

[Vol]

@magnus: I'll give my hot take when I finish this playthrough.

@Rip && Theo: Huh. Those are actually really good. Better than the presets by far. Good job, you two.

I found the obligatory nightclub. It's tame. Very tame. Full bodysuit tame. 50/50 men and women dancing, of course. I'm reminded of ME1, and how Fox News ran that silly moral panic piece, and how ME4 is somehow less provocative than that.

[Azint]

Jaal is precious. I like him a lot more than I thought I would.

[TheodoricFriede]

I found the obligatory nightclub. It's tame. Very tame. Full bodysuit tame. 50/50 men and women dancing, of course. I'm reminded of ME1, and how Fox News ran that silly moral panic piece, and how ME4 is somehow less provocative than that.

They were clothed but i totally sow some serious grinding when i was in there. Two women, a human and a turian.

[Spartanburger]

Somewhat minor spoilers, but nonetheless possibly interesting to those here.

► Show Spoiler

Reportedly, after you finish the main quest, if you talk to a Rynn Gee and then read the emails at the terminal next to her, you get confrimation that the Ark "Keelah Si'yah" is on it's way.

For the record, I haven't played the game yet, so I cannot confirm this. Won't even buy it until I finish ME3, which is not likely to be soon given the amount of work I have to do.

[Riptide]

Somewhat minor spoilers, but nonetheless possibly interesting to those here.

► Show Spoiler

Reportedly, after you finish the main quest, if you talk to a Rynn Gee and then read the emails at the terminal next to her, you get confrimation that the Ark "Keelah Si'yah" is on it's way.

For the record, I haven't played the game yet, so I cannot confirm this. Won't even buy it until I finish ME3, which is not likely to be soon given the amount of work I have to do.

What I find interesting is while I was on the Nexus, I heard two news reports. One spoke about how a worker had been killed doing EVA on the Nexus and their name was being withheld until their next of kin could be contacted in the Milky Way. Then, another one indicated that efforts to contact the decendants of the Nexus in the Milky Way were underway. I can't recall it word for word, but they mentioned setting up comm buoys or something, or waiting for them to be set into place, I don't know.

[Spartanburger]

they mentioned setting up comm buoys or something, or waiting for them to be set into place, I don't know.

Okay, so is it ever explained why quantum entanglement devices are seemingly forgotten? It's instantaneous data transfer, regardless of distance, with not network of buoys needed. The only thing you would have to worry about is the entangled particle being destroyed on either end (i.e., due to scourge in andromeda or due to reapers in the MW).

Hell, at least have entangled pairs set up between the arks and the nexus. Looking for the arks would be as simple as ringing them up and asking "yo, where you at."

[Vol]

I would assume that the appropriated geth telescope doohickey was kept on hand with instructions to use after 600 years passed in a very specific place. Like flicking on a light switch to let people know someone's home.

Unless...the Nexus/arks were programmed to drop a chain of buoys during the entire trip, like the cable across the Atlantic, but I'm not sure how that'd be fast enough to accomplish anything.

I like how the game both recognizes that everyone that was known in the Milky Way, other than krogan/asari, are long since dead, but also people talk about them as if they're still alive, because their own perception of the 6 century trip was 0 time. It's a very human touch, which I hope is intentional.

[Riptide]

they mentioned setting up comm buoys or something, or waiting for them to be set into place, I don't know.

Okay, so is it ever explained why quantum entanglement devices are seemingly forgotten? It's instantaneous data transfer, regardless of distance, with not network of buoys needed. The only thing you would have to worry about is the entangled particle being destroyed on either end (i.e., due to scourge in andromeda or due to reapers in the MW).

Hell, at least have entangled pairs set up between the arks and the nexus. Looking for the arks would be as simple as ringing them up and asking "yo, where you at."

No, as far as I can see, it's not.

It probably breaks down to the developers not wanting to have to acknowledge the Milky Way until they say so.

[Someone With Mass]

But...SAM is connected to Ryder via that quantum entanglement nonsense...

[TheodoricFriede]

I already love the angrara.

I have to say that as it stands now, if we get that Quarian ark with the hanar and drell, i think im ok with a real stay in Andromeda for the series.

[Alienmorph]

Okay, so is it ever explained why quantum entanglement devices are seemingly forgotten? It's instantaneous data transfer, regardless of distance, with not network of buoys needed. The only thing you would have to worry about is the entangled particle being destroyed on either end (i.e., due to scourge in andromeda or due to reapers in the MW).

Hell, at least have entangled pairs set up between the arks and the nexus. Looking for the arks would be as simple as ringing them up and asking "yo, where you at."

That one actually makes a relative amount of sense. The Arks left the Milky Way before even ME2, when the QED were still a new and rare thing. So I can see SAM being connected to one, but not being a thing commonly used throught the whole initiative.

[Mazder]

they mentioned setting up comm buoys or something, or waiting for them to be set into place, I don't know.

Okay, so is it ever explained why quantum entanglement devices are seemingly forgotten? It's instantaneous data transfer, regardless of distance, with not network of buoys needed. The only thing you would have to worry about is the entangled particle being destroyed on either end (i.e., due to scourge in andromeda or due to reapers in the MW).

Hell, at least have entangled pairs set up between the arks and the nexus. Looking for the arks would be as simple as ringing them up and asking "yo, where you at."

No, as far as I can see, it's not.

It probably breaks down to the developers not wanting to have to acknowledge the Milky Way until they say so.

Realistically it's to do with this.
But in terms of lore I think it's because they're literally waiting for a ping from the other Galaxy.
Which means they've either been forgotten about or the other Arks that are coming have embarked and they're the last ones who knew of the project and they're asleep in cryo.

I do like the idea of 600 years passing and there being a call just buzzing in some random room on the Citadel and it's just barely missed because of an OLD AS FUCK Wrex hobbled over with a walking stick and a beard bigger than Drax's and he just goes. "Aawww shit...missed the call..."
But that's fanservicy as all hell and would never happen.

[TheodoricFriede]

they mentioned setting up comm buoys or something, or waiting for them to be set into place, I don't know.

Okay, so is it ever explained why quantum entanglement devices are seemingly forgotten? It's instantaneous data transfer, regardless of distance, with not network of buoys needed. The only thing you would have to worry about is the entangled particle being destroyed on either end (i.e., due to scourge in andromeda or due to reapers in the MW).

Hell, at least have entangled pairs set up between the arks and the nexus. Looking for the arks would be as simple as ringing them up and asking "yo, where you at."

No, as far as I can see, it's not.

It probably breaks down to the developers not wanting to have to acknowledge the Milky Way until they say so.

I have found a log in the game that states that Andromeda has actually repeatedly tried to ping the Milky Way, and hasnt received a response.

[Someone With Mass]

I have found a log in the game that states that Andromeda has actually repeatedly tried to ping the Milky Way, and hasnt received a response.

Given the silly amount of illegal research and development the Initiative is involved with, (they even illegally replicated the Revenant machine gun to bring with them) I wouldn't be surprised if the receiver was hidden somewhere and possibly destroyed during the Reaper war and now nobody knows that the Initiative still exists.

[Alienmorph]

Gee, it's almost like they want to hammer down "Stop asking about the Milky Way, you're never ever EVER going back".

[Mazder]

Gee, it's almost like they want to hammer down "Stop asking about the Milky Way, you're never ever EVER going back".

If so it's a really subtle way of doing it, shoving it into a log you'd hear over a cutscene of travelling between hubs or in the background noise while in one of said hubs...

[Spartanburger]

They could totally create some sort of spacemagic explanation for why the pings to the MW aren't working, like perhaps the entangled pairs require "resetting" or "re-entangling" every few years or so, such that the communicators between Andromeda and the MW have simply deteriorated, while the one between SAM and Ryder was kept up-to-date simply due to proximity.

Or perhaps an easier way to explain it would be simply that the receiving end in the MW was destroyed by the Reapers. Like, the entangled pair for the humans was located in Arcturus, which got fucked up real bad in ME3.

[Vol]

Yeah, it's entirely possible, if not very likely, that any official quantum entanglement station in the MW would have been wiped clean when the Reapers took over, since they hit all the places that would contain them hardest. But it could be a plot hook, once they realize that Max EMS + Talimance + Destroy should be the canon. Heh.

Finished Cora's loyalty mission:

► Show Spoiler

I was surprised. I thought her slavish devotion to the asari teachings, which she does for good reason, would be subverted by the mission. And that the mission was literally to get the asari ark back, which seems a major plot piece, so squad missions must part of the critical path? But instead, she remains true to her asari-ness, and there's no rebuke per se. The reveal is a personal thing, not a philosophical challenge.

Also, the asari apparently brought literal children and babies on their ark.

But yeah, they really need some new asari faces, hopefully in a patch.

[Vol]

Also the power of a biotic bubble shield seems to be a few orders of magnitude greater than it used to be.

► Show Spoiler

Cora and Sarissa manage to team up to great a massive bubble that reflects a salvo from a kett starship, with it extending out of the asari ark a substantial difference.

[Alienmorph]

Gee, it's almost like they want to hammer down "Stop asking about the Milky Way, you're never ever EVER going back".

If so it's a really subtle way of doing it, shoving it into a log you'd hear over a cutscene of travelling between hubs or in the background noise while in one of said hubs...

Oh that's just one instance. The more you get into the story the more it hammers in really well that as far as the Andromeda Initiative people know, the Milky Way is lost and thei're all that's left. To say more would be spoiler territory, so I won't say it here.

[TTTX]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGuFUi7E_CI&list=WL&index=9

[Alienmorph]

Okay... is this for real?



Because that's the most token-y, stereotipical and clumsy way to write a transgender that I've seen outside of poor fan-fictions. That is NOT a good way to represent a minority that needs more aknowledgement, in my books.

Then again, people are so mad at the SJW elements that worked on Andromeda that this might be completely fake. Needs confirmation one way or the other.

[Vol]

Yes, that's real, you get it exploring the colony on Eos.

[Alienmorph]

Jesus Christ.

Is that how thei're supposed to be edgy and open-minded? By shoving in there a 2 seconds cameo of a transgender with the most stereotypical dialogue in the history of stereotypes? Fucking brilliant.

[TheodoricFriede]

Oh, was that what was going on? I didnt even process it.

I more just think its stupid because i cant imagine most post-op transgender people are in the habit of telling everyone they used to be another gender.

[Azint]

I honestly don't find it any more awkward than how they handled Krem in Inquisition.

[Alienmorph]

Oh, was that what was going on? I didnt even process it.

I more just think its stupid because i cant imagine most post-op transgender people are in the habit of telling everyone they used to be another gender.

EXACTLY.

Example: I follow a Warhammer 40k Youtuber called EgoQueen Alexis. She is a TG. She makes fun of herself all the time ("My whole life is like a bad Slaneesh joke") but she doesn't randomly go "Btw, my male name was "xxx"... good thing now that's changed." No normal human talks like that. It'd be like a gay person going "I used to suck my idiot boyfriend's cock alot... good thing now I found out I'm lesbian and I can be happy." That's a HORRIBLE way to put things that nobody with half a brain would use in real life.

Then again... their idea of a compelling gay character was bumping into Cortez as he listened to the final message of his dead boyfriend and crying like a sad anime girl. But I think they might have gotten even lower than that.

[TheodoricFriede]

I honestly don't find it anymore awkward than how they handled Krem in Inquisition.

Well at least this one just happens without all the stupid nonsense of the game berating you when you ask i why someone who is obviously a woman is dressing like a man in a world where anyone can be a soldier.


Frankly if they really want to do shove that in their games, they should learn some subtlety. Even Catherine, the game about cheating on your spouse with a demon, is more respectful than that.

[Vol]

It's the poor way it's framed that gets me, "Hello, I am a stranger, I came to Andromeda because the physical act of transposing galaxies lines up with the emotional act of transitioning, and here's my former name." The metaphor is clear, you don't need to lay it out so bluntly, like soft guitar is about to come on while a B-list celebrity starts reading off a PSA.

On a funnier note, apparently gay men are upset that they don't get enough romance options. I don't actually know who's romanceable beyond who I've met that seems like it, but there's a flaming latino guy I just met, so yeah. Given lesbians appear to be 33% of the population, I feel for my gay brethren. Only I don't, because even if I technically fall under their rainbow banner, I want them to shut the fuck up. Uncle Tom's in a log cabin, booooois.

I'm noticing that the monoliths are getting easier and easier as I go. Big, underground dungeon crawl->Small crawl->climb stuff to find runes so you can do Sudoku->Just hit the button.

[Raga]

They are specifically mad that Jaal isn't bi. Datamining indicated that he likely was and Bioware made the dumb move of being tight-lipped about romances before the game so people were excited for bi Jaal up until like a few hours before release. It was the apparent presence of files for a gay Jaal romance and the subsequent cut of that witch ticked them off. On the one had, I think they are being whiny snowflakes because they still get 2 options. On the other, I can understand why they are pissed off. If I only had 2 humans (and non squadmates at that) to pick from, I'd be pissed off as well. For better or worse, Bioware has spoiled me. For most of their games until DAO, if you were playing a straight chick you got 1 and only 1 choice. I never expected more, but since they started offering it, I'd be irritated if it was reduced.

[TheodoricFriede]

I just think its stupid that Gay men dont get an alien.

[Spartanburger]

I just think its stupid that Gay men dont get an alien.

I have a significant number of friends who are disappointed on the gay alien front. They're still enjoying the game, but their disappointment is certainly palpable.

I'm in two minds on it. For one, I think characters should have sexualities, and making everyone bisexual just to appeal to the fans is both silly and insulting to those very characters. And just as I think much of the bitching and moaning about Tali not being romancible by Femshep is silly, I think the more vocal and petty complaints surrounding Jaal's availability are just as silly. I had this discussion with an old RP friend regarding Vetra, long before we knew about her sexuality: I want her to have a sexuality, not just be whatever the fans want. If she ended up a homosexual, I would be disappointed, but would ultimately respect that. My friend had the same mindset: she would respect the choice to make Vetra heterosexual, even though it would still be disappointing to her.

That all said, in a Role Playing game, where the player character is supposed to be granted a certain level of freedom, it is certainly disappointing that the homosexual dudes get shafted (heh) in that they get no options from the "main" cast. By main I mean the core squadmates: Cora, Jaal, Liam, PB, Vetra, Drack. Though the other characters on the ship might get way more content this time around compared to the original trilogy, the core romantic options will always be the squadmates. And this time around, my gay bros get nothing. Even more disappointing is the lack of a homosexual alien romance. If my memory serves, there hasn't been a ME game with one. Ultimately, not having these options available limits the ability for the players to roleplay how they want.

This is actually one of the reasons I wasn't very thrilled with the small squad size; a larger squad gives more options for variation, and we could have more "core" squadmates who are homosexual, bisexual, and hetero options for both genders of the PC. More importantly, at least for me, it means we see more variety in the characters we're presented with. If the only straight romance options I was presented with were characters who I simply did not romantically connect with (see ME1), I'd be left with no-one except old faithful. More people = more options = higher chances of finding a character that "clicks."

I like to think of it this way: If I had no straight alien romance in my Mass Effect game, and if even among the straight human romances, I could only choose from what is essentially support staff rather than the main squadmates, I'd be pretty damned disappointed. And let's not pretend that many people here wouldn't be having a fucking fit right now, bitching about "BioSJWare," if this were the case.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I completely understand the disappointment my friends are experiencing, and support them when they respectfully voice their concerns and disappointment. But, the instant those complaints become extremely nasty, perhaps slinging attacks and slurs at BioWare or individual developers, or treating the issue as if it's some conspiracy, or the end of the world, I cannot stand by them any more.





At least nobody is seriously whining about not being able to romance your twin. Though, I hear the fics already exist.

[magnuskn]

Okay, Peebee's annoyingness factor shot up by, like, 100% when we got to talk on the ship. Hope that doesn't last. Well, she ain't a repulsive wormlike creature like Sera, so at least that's something.

[TheodoricFriede]

Okay, Peebee's annoyingness factor shot up by, like, 100% when we got to talk on the ship. Hope that doesn't last. Well, she ain't a repulsive wormlike creature like Sera, so at least that's something.

She gets better. She always is a bit annoying, but that first talk on the ship is the worst.

[Raga]

Peebee doesn't bother me as much as I thought she would. Sera's just an idiot. An idiot who somehow thinks her idiocy is a feature and not a bug. I haven't got to her personal quest yet, but I think it's more apparent that Peebee has actual issues of some kind that probably have their routes in something(s) that happened to her. She's also not in your face about how "right" she is like Sera was.

[Spartanburger]

So if you buy Fornax when you have the EGM installed, there's a copy of it next to your bedtable (model just looks like any other tablet, so no pron). After every mission, you can go up and find another issue with some ridiculous name to it. Eventually EDI sends you a message stating that she will place an automatic subscription to the mag, given how much Shepard has been looking it over.

It might just be stuck, or it might have something to do with having the Romance tag with Tali, but now every time I go up, it's the same "Quari-gasm" issue every time.






It's the little things.

[Su37]

Okay, Peebee's annoyingness factor shot up by, like, 100% when we got to talk on the ship. Hope that doesn't last. Well, she ain't a repulsive wormlike creature like Sera, so at least that's something.

I hate her more than I do Liara. I'm actually impressed they managed to make a more obnoxious character.

Anyway, I'm going to lose about two and a half hours of progress because of a bug. My galaxy map won't update with new systems, which prevents me from going where I need to. Extremely irritating.

[Someone With Mass]

Man, I have barely left the Nexus because my impulse to scan and do everything before the main mission kicked in.

Also, I got the Talon in the multiplayer and it's just sad that it does more damage and has a tighter spread than my Katana shotgun which is three levels above it. Still love that little revolver, though.

All I have to say about the in-game animations (aside from that it's painfully obvious when they switch to motion cap), is that I think they should have made characters gesture more with their arms/bodies. A lot of people back in the old days became obsessed with that littler skip Tali does when you say that the feelings are mutual in ME2. How would her romance had been if she and Shep had just stood there and talked?